The Seven Keys.

[Vixandra]

Cali

I laid a hand on my whip and could feel what Yris did in part. It did feel wrong. I looked at the sword and felt drawn to it, as if by simply touching it I could answer questions.
Because of that pull, I mentioned it to Yris. "Its calling me, the sword. Um... is it supposed to do that?"
I flicked my whip nervously, flames licking into the air, burning whatever it was that felt wrong in the vincinity, though my attention was on Yris and the sword.

 

[DarkThoughts01]

Lucia,Micaelae,and Ambrasia

Lucia came upon her Lord just as he raised a terrifying apparition,sending it shrieking after a number of serving maids wiht a laugh,Ambrasia trilling fakely behind him.
"gods...ive forgotten what its like to just let my power go..."he murmered cheerfully,then turned to Lucia."yes Lucia?"
He asked smoothly,and Lucia felt herself blush,an illusion hiding it without thinking.

"Lord,the other are leaving,i came to warn you that the castle is stirring,we should leave."

slowly frowning,Micaelae thought a moment then nodding."yes yes,i guess we should,come Ambrasia"he said wihtout thinking and turned on his heels,heading towards an exit,Lucia and AMbrasia glaring daggers at each other as they followed.

Cecilia

Cecilia looked hurt for a moment,but just a moment.Her body became a bit more full figurede and the dress she wore tightened,slitting up the sides to her thigh,every step showing off an almost scandalous amount of leg,
Seeing the smile and taking it for a repraisal,
"oh that my Lord?it is nothing, i can do so Very much more my Lord."She bowed her head formally,smiling slyly and giving her lips a slow lick."but yes,let us take our leave My Lord".

 

[The GrandMage]

Yrismir

He forwned, and looked at Cali. "But it didn't do that earlier? I don't like this. But we do need it, I guess. So it might be best to try to get it...But still, something is very wrong here..."

He glanced around, conflicting emotions running through him. What had happened down here? Had they been here? Had they done something? Was it all a trap? No, there was no reason to this, and it was all so random.

Besides, how could they take the key if only one of the King's blood could? And if they somehow managed that feat, well,...something like that wouldn't sit well. Whomever ha taken it would eventually fall to it's power. Wouldn't they?

But if so, what hope had evil of ever winning the Race?
Things only got more and more confusing...

Yrismir turned, looking at Cali, and then the sword. He cursed louydly, grabbing Cali as he headed towards the door. "It's an illusion! They've somehow managed to get it already! We have to seal the exits, search everyone!"

 

[poohlive]

Goven made a half hearted leap in front of the guard, smiling as the sword slid deep within the elvin flesh. It purred with ecstacy, which Goven could feel running up and down his spine. It liked death, lusted after flesh that ripped and tore beneath its razored blade.

"I think we'll be all right," He whispered into the ear. The guard weakened, and began to fall. Goven held him up, like some drunkard who had gotten up too fast. Only, his strength wasn't all that great either. So, instead it turned into two boxers in the late round, hugging each other for strength and support.

The guard slipped off the blade, fell to the floor stone cold.

Goven reached his hand out to the wall, to support himself.
"I have seen them, lost in time. I can no longer find my friends..."

Shaking his head, Goven turned to Nexus, "Please, let's take out leave. I feel the titans have finally found us out. They can't have the jewel box... we need to protect the jewel box."

 

[Vixandra]

Cali

"This has been one of those days," I swore, chasing after Yris.
We ran across the vault guards- "Secure the castle, no one in and no one out, on my orders! Double my father's guard, the rest to the exits! NOW!"
We ran, Yris leading the way and I spoke.
"Yris- is there a spell we can do to pinpoint the swords location or something? I mean... I feel it here in the castle, it hasn't left yet. But I don't know where it is, damn it. I can't tell one end of this maze from another!"
I was actually thankful I had someone with a clue with me. I'd have long since had to slow down if I was on my own.

 

[The GrandMage]

Yrismir

"No, I didn't spell the sword earlier, I can't..." Yrismir stopped, and grabbed Cali, pulling her around to face him, a confused expression on his face.

"You can feel it, are you sure? When did this start? If it's true, I could try using you as a focus for a scrying. But it will only be as exact as your feelings. Tell me, can you tell what direction it's in? Unless you have a connection deep enough, it won't work."

 

[Vixandra]

Cali

I looked at him confused. Magic was not my strong point. Killing people- that I was good at. Stealing things- my forte. But magic, not me.
"I..." I stumbled for a moment as he jerked me around to face him. I pointed to the left of me, through walls, slightly down, through floors. "It feels like its that way. But I've never even held it before... I don't know if I... how to... ah hell. Try the focus thing, what can it hurt?"

 

[RoneLith]

Garin took one final snif of the air and was content that there were no hostile's in the area. He would sleep well tonight, it had been a long time since he had a friend. He hoped that they would be together for a long time. Slowly his eyes fell shut as sleep enveloped him.

 

[LadyFairy]

Tela was very proud of herself, she had acutlly mannaged to catch a couple of rabbits, and return before Garin awoke. She had been awake sence just before sunrise. She didnt know why there was nothing in the area that she could detect that was a danger to them at the moment..... normaly she awoke with the dawn, not before.

Changing from her wolf form into that of a human, she begain skinning, and fixing one of the rabbits for there breakfast. The other she would prepare and save for later in their journy.

She watched as Garin woke to the smell of the cooking rabbit,. Good morning.. How did you sleep????

 

[The GrandMage]

Yrismir

Yrismir nodded, and turned, grabbing a guard. "You, bring me a basin of water and the fastest messenger in the castle. NOW!"

He turned back to Cali, and began chanting very fast, searching through on e of his beltpouches and pausing to make bizarre signs with his fingers.

 

[Vixandra]

Cali

I looked at Yris and tilted my head to the side as he started to chant. Part of me wondered if this was going to hurt much... not that it'd stop me, but still, no one likes to be in pain.

 

[BlueEyedLady]

Trianna

As the last strains of Trianna's song dies away, she sits back and closes her eyes, rubbing them hard. She could tell that she was tired but she had no thoughts of going to sleep with Ramas near death and Tana in danger once again.

Standing, she put up her lyre and took up her bow and arrow, running a finger along the taunt string of it to reassure herself as she looked at the door wondering what was happening outside of it.

Stretching, she went over to check Ramas' wound once again, putting more salve on it and rebandaging it, brushing her hand along his brow and dipping the cloth in the water to bathe his forehead before she went to the door to listen outside.

All was quiet...very quiet...and she didn't think that was a good thing. With a whispered prayer to the Gods for Cali and Yrsis' safety she paced the room, her keen elvin hearing bent on any noise that might make it's way into the room.

 

[RoneLith]

Garin awoke with a yawn and a long stretch. He had slept too long, perhaps he had been too careless. His sleep had been too deep and luckily it just caused him a small bit of hurt pride, he had hoped to gather breakfast for her. He sniffed the air and conceded to her skill, it does smell really good. She had even gathered another, she was a better wolf that he had given her credit for. He laughed inwardly at himself, gently he shifted into his human form with that sweet smile of his on his face. "I have the feeling you will never cease to amase and surprise me," he said with a light chuckle. "As for sleep, I slept to heavily however, I am glad I did. Thank you again for the bed roll. Allow me to break camp for you seeing as how you are so kind as to gather food for us." With that said he quickly went about rolling up the bed rolls and setting them next to her pack, not wishing to by chance break her trust he had gained by rumageing through her belongings. He sat down nearby and waited taking the giant claw off the belt and setting it next to him, its long talons covered by a soft leather sheath. "Is there something I can do to help?"

 

[LadyFairy]

She smiled at him and said. Thank you for your help breaking up the camp.. the rabbit is almost done. Which way do you suggest we travil today? Tela ejoyed Garin's company very greatly, and found that for some reasion tho they just met that she trusted him.

After they had eaten she placed the bed roll's in her pack. Working with Garin they put out the small camp fire, and cleaned the area. Smiling and sending him a feeling of warmth,and turst. She said. Your skill's are much better than mine, if you would lead the way.. i would greatly appreceate it.

 

[LadyRozes]

baddies

Nexus looked at goven as though he grew extra limbs..already they were being detained enough for things to get out of hand.."what do you mean the jeweled box?!...Goven!?! What are you doing?! .. " Nexus clasped govens arm gently but firmly and ushered him towards their room, thinking it was better to be out of view if they werent able to leave right away... especially after killing the guard .. there was no way they were getting out without fighting.. she wished she had slept with that king ..perhaps at this time they could have kept the sword in his chained hands rather than goven's not mad ones...


before the guards could do anything or react.. Nexus flashed a small flare briefly blinding the guards before disappearing into the door of their room.

*******
Snider looked the girl over once more... now was not the time to be thinking in that direction girlie..but later I assure you I will take what you offer so willingly

Just as they were headed out the door, Nexus and goven ushered themselves in again..

Nexus looked at Snider, briefly noticeing that his wounds were no longer so servere.. perhaps that chit was worth keeping around..

"we need another way out the palace is swarming with guards and we have but a few moments before anyone realizes that the sword is no longer where it is supposed to be.."

Before Snider could say anything there was a pounding on the door," YOU IN THERE!! WE NEED TO INSPECT THE ROOMS ANS GUESTS, WE ARE IN A STATE OF URGENCY!!! I IMPLORE YOU ... OPEN OR WE WILL HAVE TO TAKE IMMIDIATE ACTION.."

It seemed that the situation was getting widely out of hand .. and Nexus was clueless as to how to get them out..

 

[LadyRozes]

Tana looked at Ramos and felt her small feeling of security wash away with the tears silently dripping off her face.. she shoved her face into growl's fur and hugged him tightly .. letting her fear of the situation override her emotions.

*****

As Tildiir wove through guests he noticed the unusual activity outside in the hallways .. giving a silient indiation to his guards one of them came forwards and updated the king of the proceedings with urgency silently he told them to block all exits and entranceways of the ballroom and to make sure none of it came here... there were reasons to keep them oblivious to the crisis that was occurring outside.

He smiled thinking his daughter slipped into her role very easily.. and hoped things were going well for them. May Lorena watch over them ..in their time of need.

He then sent a missive to his friend sabaka .. he was sure that the dwarf would love to get involved in this mayhem around the palace...

 

[The GrandMage]

Yrismir

Yrismir grabbed the guard as he returned, repositioning him so he held the basin at a good length. Yrismir reached into his beltpouch, and pulled out a handful of powder, throwing it into the water with a barked command.

The surface became still and turned a deep silver. Yrismir finished his incantation, and threw an arm out at Cali, his hand mere inches from her face. His mind jumped forward, leaving his body locked in position. He slid around Cali's consciousness, skirting thoughts and memories, seeking the connection. He found it, a strand of magic running through her mind. He grabbed ahold of it, and pulled it, connecting it to the spell for scrying.

After a minute of making sure the spell would hold, he jerked back to his body, near collapsing from the jolt. He got his legs back under him, and shook his head, looking towards the basin.

The surface of the water fogged, and images began to form. "Well, I wonder how well this will work. I'll be really pissed if it just shows the wall you pointed at."

 

[RoneLith]

Garin shifted back into his wolf form and smelled the air. A scent caught his nose that he had not smelled for sometime, and old and familur scent, one that was his favorite before his curse.

Yeast he said to her mind. I smell the fermentation of something nearby. Its very faint but it's there, perhaps a village or a farm, either way I say it is our best chance. It comes from within the neutral zone and slightly to the north. I would say about a day's walk, or a run, he flashed his smile at her. If you think you can keep up. He chuckled and took an early lead before waiting for her to catch up.

 

[Vixandra]

Cali

It didn't hurt, whatever it was Yris did, but it sure felt strange.
I shook my head to clear it a bit and looked into the misted over bowl. "I don't think it'll show the wall. I want it to show me my family sword. Those ratbastards will pay for taking it. Oh yes, they shall pay dearly."
My hand ran along my whip as I spoke, a subconcious action on my part.
I looked at the magic swirling through the bowl, tinged with the purple flames I knew instinctively were my own and a darker flame that was Yris'.
"That's pretty," I whispered before a solid image began to form in the bowl.

 

[DarkThoughts01]

Cecilia

As the three argued Cecilia clutched at Sniders arm,getting rewarded with a short yelp of outrage.
"hold still a moment M'Lord"she murmered as her eyes opened,her free hand raising forward into the air.As the three watched her hand her power flared.


Snap she calmly snapped her fingers.


And abruptly the three dissapeared from sight.

The guards battered the door down,peering left and right.
"huh...guess no ones here"the guard snorted and they fanned out,poking around the room before finally leaving.

A moment later the group reappeared,Cecilia flustered and breathing a bit deeply."Gods....whatever is around this place makes that hard to do.."she said more to herself then the others as she leaned against Snider.
With an effort she composed herself."that should have bought us a few minutes at least yes?

 

[LadyFairy]

Laughing Tela quickly gatherd her pack, and changed forms following after him.

 

[poohlive]

Sabaka

He had been in his room, purposely missing the boring boring boring boring procession of the ball. The fact that he had to call it a procession, made it just the more reason why a dwarf shouldn't go. If it didn't have the words DRUNKEN BRAWL in the main caption of the party, dwarves found a way to excuse themselves.

It's just good practice.

He heard of the coming ruckus though. Apparently, the elves were in a bit of a hub bub about something. The dwarf snuffed something from his beard. He imagined what it could have been. Someone wore a purple gown and it made someone else's magenta gown look silly. Well, stop the world, we need to fix this calamity.

But, words of theivery and fighting caught his ear too. He grabbed his axe, and was already set to join in on one of the search parties surrounding the castle.

"Good," An elf commander assembled a group of young trainers, and the all too eager dwarf, who had a hard time seeing even as everyone else knelt down.

"Well, here's our job. We need to search each of the rooms in the eastern wing. Ok? Everyone ready?"

"What?"

"That's our assignment."

Assignment!!! They used the word assignment, "Damnit boy, we're supposed to go kill the bad guys. Where are they?"

"Ummm, ok. Well, we don't know. We think they're hiding in one of the rooms, but we aren't sure. You see, they stole something from the king, and since we have a lot of aristocrats here, we need to be very delicate of the situation... "

At about that time, the dwarf realized he wasn't going on any assignment search and rescue party with any group of elves. He rushed off on his own, busting down doors and grabbing up pieces of information here and there, whenever he could, just enough to keep him going and busting open more doors.

"Now, this is what I call a party," He yells, as his axe dives deep into the wooden frame.



Goven

Goven stood, but it wasn't really standing. He leaned far to the side, lop sided, barely up. He looked as if he were going to fall over any second, and the only thing stopping him was a slow rocking back and forth.

It steadied him for the moment.

"I told you... didn't I? The first thing I said... we'd need a fast way out of here. That was my only concern!! I cared about nothing else, nothing. I didn't care how we got it, what we needed to do... all I wanted was a quick exit. You fucking pieces of shit!!!"

This inteligent argument to their predicament seemed right in his mind. He spoke the words, at least tried to... but it came out jumbled and mumbled. Somewhere in the middle he made a refernece to his sister, and some boy she ran off with.

In the end, it sounded more like he was yelling at them to yell at them than anything else.

"No one's touching the jewelry box. Tork!!!"

The ogre came into the room, stumbling through the small archway.

"We have guests, invite them in."

With a growl that seemed to shake the very foundation of the building, the ogre grabbed the entire door, pulled it off its hinges, and threw it into the group of elves, who were either standing in amazement or pulling out their swords.

The ogre only needed to make a few pitiful swipes at the rest of them. One or two ran for the hallways, the rest were as jumbled up as the shattered door at their feet.

"Now. Jenna is waiting for her jewelry box," he motioned the sword when he said jewelry box, and noticed again that he mentioned his sister, "I'm going to take it to her... anyone want to join me, they are more than welcome. Tork!! Lead the way."

Goven dragged the sword behind him, as he sang a rowdy drinking song he'd heard spending a few years with the crew of Mighty Minnow.

Tork, leading the way right out the hallway, and seemingly towards the front gate, was destroying anything and anyone that got in his path. A one ogre battering ram.

"She'll sail it blue, till we drop the Loooooooooooooooo"

He laughed at that, dragging the sword.

 

[Vixandra]

Cali

Yris concentrated on the bowl before us, digging through it, pulling my power along for the ride.
Just as something started to form, I heard a huge smash, crash, boom!
And I felt it, the sword, it was near the boom.
"Yris- come on, I know where it is! But there's something... not good with it... shit who cares, lets go! Guards- get me mages and a healer. I think we're going to need it."
That said, I grabbed Yris and took off down the hall after pulling my magic out of the bowl. I didn't understand how I did it, just that it came back into my hands when I asked it too.
Was going to have to ask Yris to teach me more about this stuff later, I noted mentally as we rounded a corner that stopped me cold.
Elvin soldier lay in ruins with a door, blood coating the floor like wax. There were no concious survivors as far as I could tell.
"This looks bad," I whispered, looking up at Yris. I retook my whip into my hand, feeling it flare to life with my anger, my disgust that someone would do this in my father's home. Amazing how territorial I was after just a few hours. Must be some kind of instinct or something.
"Whoever did this is going to pay," I growed before taking off again. "Hi-yaku! Hurry up!"

 

[The GrandMage]

Yrismir

His steps faltered as she grabbed ahold of him. Pain lanced through him as his spells broke, the image that had appeared flickering out of his thoughts as he stumbled, overwhelmed by the sheer pain of magic run amok.

He pulled himself together, racing after Cali as he tried to straighten out his mind. When they came to the carnage, he tossed his staff to his weaker hand and drew his sword. He glanced around and took point, hurrying through the bloodied bodies in search of its cause.

 

[RoneLith]

The day wore on as the two of them raced through the plains, skirting the forest. Any passerby might have thought it strange to see two wolves who both looked to be forest wolves out side of their territory. However no one noticed them and Garin's keen nose kept them away from any would be hunters. As they grew closer to the smell he could see that it was indeed a farm and a vinyard no less, he had not had wine for many years now but still the taste and smell of it was still very familur. He stopped and waited for her to catch up. She was faster than he had thought, as he panted trying to catch his breath, quickly before she reached him and noticed that he had to push himself harder to stay ahead. Just in time he was able to look as if the run had not even fased him at all. He looked up at the sky, there would be a full moon tonight, he had to stay as a wolf. There would be no wine for him this night.

Perhaps it would be wise for you to return to your other form, Ms. Moonbrook. He said as she caught up to him. Two wolves approaching will only get impaled with arrows, but a Druid priestess and her wolf companion might be a welcome sight and a warm bed.