Catacomb of Ashes In-Character

[Twelveseal]

As Virgo freed herself, the chaos only worsened. The archers posted around the beach take aim and loose, but at the savage beasts tearing through the palisade and not the escaping captives.

The sky rumbles with thunder once more as the first fat drops of rain begin to fall, few, yet heavy. Out on the sea, lightning dances on the waves.

Ropes are torn free from the wrists of a lithe man, rescued by a woman who had just moments before breathed fire at her would-be attackers. Men who even now charged at her and the man she'd freed. He ripped the blindfold from his eyes and took in the scene with sharp eyes.

"Tch! Weapon, need a weapon..." It was clear he wasn't ungrateful by the simple fact that he hadn't bolted. However, thanks were an afterthought, paid with a nod to the woman who still perched atop the pole. "Shit... There!" His eyes landed on the supplies piled just beyond the sands, beneath the trees. And with that he was off, feet pounding divots into those same sands. The woman, for her part, merely smirked.

[Draconic]

Rixia Ad-Khalein
Night?



Rixia gave a start as she felt her bonds give way. It took some willpower not to flail about just in case she wasn’t actually being rescued, but with how adamant her captors were about keeping her restrained earlier, it was unlikely that they would free her now, even if it might save their lives. Not that she would help them for free. While that kind of generosity wasn’t exactly out of character for her, it was at least reserved for people who hadn’t tried to kill her in the past half-hour.

C’mon, a girl had to have standards.

She immediately grabbed at the blindfold, and pulled it back and over her head, tossing it aside.

“Thanks,” she greeted the woman in front of her, taking a moment to massage her sore wrists. “I was getting really sick of all that.”

She wasn't particularly enthusiastic about seeing what was going on for any reason other than making sure she could survive the next few minutes, but at this point, she was expecting something that was flat-out insulting.

Roll for Perception = 23 (to try and figure out what in the name of Lemuria’s dancing chickens is going on)

The situation is devolving into utter chaos. The initial creature that the cultists clashed with was probably this thing that's still on a pole:

This thing that's still on a pole (click for image)

Okay, that was just an unfair advantage, that girl had actual for-real puppy dog eyes. Rixia hadn't even said a word to her and she already wanted to be her best friend. She wanted to buy her a steak and pat her on the head. C'mon Rixia, get it together, this is a person, not a pet. Still, what kind of utter bastard would try to burn a wolf-girl with puppy-dog eyes at the stake? Well, uh... yeah, the answer to that question was all around her and having what looked and sounded like a very bad time. Cool.

Judging from the general location the noise was coming from and the conversation, it seems like they captured it near their perimeter.
As for what's currently attacking them, well...

It's pretty much exactly what it sounds like; they’re being assaulted by some kind of deformed dinosaurs. The big one looks like a Tyrannosaurus if you'd given it short, straight horns swept back from its skull and a vaguely beak-like mouth. The little ones have similar deformities, but are clearly some kind of deinonychus-like creatures. The lighting is uncooperative, but they seem to all share a red and black color pattern.

The cultists themselves are in disarray; some are running for their rafts, more interested in facing the storm than the beasts. Others are trying to subdue escaping captives. Most have rallied to a strong-looking man who's probably Ouyig.

Probably Ouyig (click here for image)

“I’ll admit, I should have been expecting something stupid. But this is my fault for assuming I was in a sacrificial pit and not at a damn circus.”

It was a pretty new experience. She usually loved it when she was right. Oh well. At least she had a better idea of what was going on and what her surroundings were like. And could move. That was a plus.

Other cultists are trying to get a woman in robes to the boats with limited success, in part because she keeps trying to compel them to kill the sacrifices. Presumably Esthra.

Esthra (click here for image)

Of note, there is a large burn scar on her face that marrs her looks.

A few of the warriors are ignoring both of their leaders and trying to escape behind the stone doors carved into the mountain's base, seemingly deciding that's the safest place to be. What exactly is beyond that door, though, is a mystery.

Right. Esthra. She stared at the woman, this... utter disgrace of a magician... and was just incensed.

This whole shenanigan had gone way past annoying and boring, and now she didn’t even care about that. This was getting absurd! It was a complete mess!

And Esthra was just demanding that her not-quite-followers come back and give their lives for… whatever her cause was. Rixia was honestly starting to doubt she had one. This woman was a terrible priestess. Mad or not, they were supposed to be faithful to their patron deity, and Rixia was beginning to think that Esthra’s had distanced itself not out of malice or apathy as was typical, but just because she was so, unbelievably bad at playing her role.

A lot of the prisoners were beyond saving, but just as many had escaped and were either fleeing, attacking their captors, or like her own rescuer, freeing other sacrifices. Oh, and apparently there were saurian creatures running amok in the sacrifice pit. Because of course there were. Were they here because of that beastkin person?

No, that didn’t make sense. But why were they here, then? They had similar characteristics, and seemed to be working together, but they were very clearly not all of the same species. They had to have been sent here by people. But no one knew there was anything here, right? Wait, no, that was just an assumption because anything less would be obscenely stupid! Which depended on another assumption that Esthra had any idea what she was doing, which she didn’t! Which meant…

“Oh my god,” she groaned helplessly. “No… Did she not do background checks on her sacrifices?! Did she—Of course she didn’t, she’s dumber than a rock,” Rixia almost sounded like she was about to cry, “so she just had her mooks snatch anyone off the street and actually expected no one would notice. Holy shit she pisses me off so much she’s just so stupid! How is she even a mage?!” This whole execution was just so dumb! Why?!

And Esthra was still only concerned with making sure as many people died especially for her. How did this woman even make it to her current position?

Roll for Persuasion = 4 (to get Esthra to get back here)

“Hurry, complete the ceremony faster, you weak-minded fools!” Rixia drawled in a crass imitation of the priestess’ voice. Ironically, it sounded a lot more pleasant than the real thing. “Esthra, you’re now explicitly demanding that your followers botch your so-called ritual!” she shrieked in pure outrage. “And now you're running away on top of that! Honestly, who even cares?”

“Nice scar by the way. Your face is almost as gross as your personality. Let me guess; a little souvenir from the last time you messed up this exact ritual, right? Unless it was somehow even more embarrassing. C'mon, you can tell me, I'm not exactly a stranger to shoddy spellcraft and magical mishaps. You know, if whatever you’re trying to sacrifice us to even exists, rushing its summoning ritual, or… whatever you’re trying to do, is just as likely as not to backlash on you! Or more likely, doing nothing, or just something unpredictable and pointless. I’m sure you don’t care if you die to summon it, but what about dying to accidentally jab it in one of the eyes? Does it have eyes? Actually, don’t answer that, the only way I could care less would be if I didn’t exist. Oh! What about dying to posthumously give birth to a flying tuna?” she giggled at the absurdity. “Would you like that? Is that good for you?”

Rixia honestly never even imagined that she had integrity as a mage – or that such a thing was even possible – sorcery was taboo. But this was the most slipshod execution of any spell that she had ever encountered, and it was infuriating! Not to mention that she would know; she was telling Esthra the truth. She wasn’t a stranger to shoddy spellcraft and magical mishaps. She’d had some very embarrassing experiments herself when she started learning. But this? This was in a class of its own. She couldn’t take much more of this sideshow.

Oh, actually, Rixia did have an idea about how Esthra managed to become high priestess of whoever-Not-Sothoth. Literally everyone else went and died. Like the rotting sewer rats you’d find in an alley behind a cheap food cart after a particularly greasy thunderstorm.

“I don’t give a damn what your state of mind is, or who you worship. Try to burn us all if you absolutely have to. But for the sake of everything that you claim to believe in, and so that everyone here doesn’t end up as some dirty joke about overcooked meat with you orgasming as the punchline, could you at least make sure your demonic ritual doesn’t do literally nothing?! Because I'm pretty sure that’s exactly what’s going to happen now.

“Do you even care about pleasing your god, or is this big show you’ve put on just your personal bloodsport! Answer me, you hack!”

[Twelveseal]

For all that Rixia yelled her criticisms, the rant was lost in the distance and rising din. The deranged priestess seemed to have heard none of it.

[Draconic]

Rixia Ad-Khalein
Night?

No reaction?

Really?

"Gosh, she really is rude," Rixia muttered to herself. She shrugged. Oh well. No use dwelling on it. Esthra would be back later. She was counting on it. The woman was, after all, an idiot. She wouldn't be able to resist coming back here to... do whatever she wanted to do with the charred corpses. Pose them? Lick them? Play with them? It was sure to be something gross and deeply unpleasant. Esthra clearly wasn't in it for faith if she wanted to continue a ceremony after it had been interrupted beyond repair. Well, either that, or she was just a lot dumber than Rixia had concluded. Whatever happened, she'd be coming back here, and this neighborhood tinkerer would be waiting. Hopefully she wouldn't get herself (completely) eaten by reptilian theropods before she could deliver her due invective. But for now, she had other business.

She couldn't just leave the wolf girl to die. Unfortunately, there were a number of cultists — or maybe just thugs — between her and her target. They'd be a problem, but only if she got too close, since they were already panicking. It really wasn't very impressive. Here was Rixia, unarmed, stripped to her underwear, and until a minute ago, tied up and blindfolded, and she was more composed than the brute squad.

She really wished she had her spellbook.Here was Rixia, unarmed, stripped to her underwear, and until a minute ago, tied up and blindfolded, and she was more composed than the brute squad.



She really wished she had her spellbook.

[Twelveseal]

With a roar of frustration, the wiry old northman still bound seems to muster some inner strength from his wiry muscles, snapping the strained rope his movements had already frayed. "Can't you worthless whores just shut up!?!" With one free hand he jerks the blindfold from his eyes as he drops to the sands below, joints cracking and creaking as he moves. "Can't even let a man die in fucking peace..." He wraps the cloth around his hand and sets to wrenching a thick chunk of jagged stone from around the base of his former sacrificial pole. "Gods-damned lunatics and their slack-jawed babble..." He continues to grumble as he works, throwing his sun-browned back into it.

Meanwhile, the deranged priestess seems to have finally caught some small piece of Rixia's rant... or maybe not. Perhaps her fervor, her madness, is such that she can no longer withhold her desire to see the sacrifices given to her god. In either case, she lashes out with her strange spear, pointing the charred wood at the shouting young woman. The heavens seem to answer her, as a pillar of flame twists out of the stormy sky to strike where the girl stands! Her mad casting, however, isn't enough to prevent the warriors attending her from doing as their commander ordered, virtually dragging her towards the boats.

[Wardogs667]

Sigurd patiently waited for the situation to unfold and see if the rest of the captives would be just as audacious as him. With the cacophony that was now ensuing it was sure that the others had gotten off their hooks, good. Sigurd himself then proceeded to slip off his hook and restraints and immediately looked to free the person he was just speaking to; not only out of the promise but more bodies never hurt a fight.

**Roll for perception: 8** Sigurd too focused on getting more bodies into the fray only bothered with a quick look around and caught so much as to only see the confusion on either side. and that the one beside him was now gone.


"HAHAHA, so much for that one!"

**Roll for perception: 13** Looking around again: "So it's a free for all..." Sigrud rushes the nearest cult member. As he rushes to the nearest foe he shouts to Ireki, "Fancy you here; we'll talk later!"

Sigrud readies for battle as he comes to a stop.

[Twelveseal]

The woman Sigurd moved to rescue looks up at him in confusion and a mix of gratitude and annoyance as she finally drops from her post and removes her blindfold, carefully eyeing the chaos. "You... thank. Appreciate?" Her features twist into a scowl as she tries to decide what to do.

She takes particular note of the burliest of the cultists, armed with heavy axes and blades of bone as they charge to Ouyig's aid or to secure the boats. "Should go." She nods to Sigurd and crouches, following the lean man who'd run for the supplies, though she seems more interested in using the sparse trees and brush to cover her movements.

Meabwhile, Sigurd's shout reaches its intended target. With a jolt of surprise, the wolf-like woman, whose eyes the cultists hadn't bothered to cover, whips her head to look at him where he stands. Surprise and confusion give way to recognition and a fierce smile as she sees him.
"Lord Shisa smiles upon us, surely! I can see you haven't neglected his training, so let us do his work!" She looks back at the savage beasts that tear at the fortifications around the beach.

"Besides... the Fire Demons children will treat us no more kindly than these madmen will." And with that the wolf-woman, Ireki, drops from her pole, revealing her torn bonds, and makes not for the supplies but to Sigurd's side.

- - - Updated - - -

Ghoro, meanwhile, finally manages to wrest the axe from his opponent's belt and begins the straightforward task of returning it to him via his face. He barely seems to be inconvenienced by the knives sticking from his hide.

[Draconic]

There may have been some tangible warning. Someone chanting, or making an arcane gesture. If there was, Rixia didn’t notice it.

As a rule, she trusted her instincts. She didn’t always have the best judgement, but she at least could be sure of her awareness.

Roll for Reflex Save = 22 (Natural 20)

What she noticed was how it felt. She sensed the magic almost before it hit; the torrent of energy coalescing beneath her. She took a breath and whirled aside, just barely vacating her position as a pillar of twisting flames erupted from the ground.

“Whoops. I think someone was just a little off there,” she grinned, then with a roll of her eyes, “I guess it’s fair game to just set fire to anyone for now?

“Come too think of it, if whatever rite these guys were trying to pull off just needed them to burn people, why didn’t they do that sooner? Did Esthra the Understudy not have the ability or talent to make this pretty light show by herself, or is someone just really bad at timing their spellcraft?”

Rixia had to admit, she felt… lighter in a way she couldn’t really describe in a physical sense. She’d never had the chance to be truly open about magic anywhere except her mentor’s ‘cottage.’ It was nice not to have to hide anything.

Of course, there was still plenty of time for some fear-driven lout to come after her after things started to settle down.

[Mormarth]

Saraya

Okay.

Inhale, cough on smoke, cough some more.

Cough.

Clear your throat.

Cup hands around mouth, inhale (better), exhale.

Right.

Best thing to do when situation is out of control and reference is bring it back to reference.

So, shift.

This is a riot, city guards are coming down on everyone involved, the best thing to do in that case is slip off into the shadows and get to a temple and blend in.

Unfortunately, this is in the middle of some godsforsaken jungle-island and the locals appear highly predatory.

So.

Slip off into the shadows and...

I cast my eyes to the structure a bit further back into the jungle, that has the look of a stockpile.

I could test my luck and sneak on that archer focusing on those beasties, but then that makes them 'my' problem, and the fellow with the axe is right out.

So, go for what expands my options.

I get low to the ground, thinking inconspicious thoughts, and skulk off in the direction of what would expand my options.

And hopefully, I'll have room for extras.

Charity is godly, after all.

[Twelveseal]

The strange woman who had freed the lithe man dangles from the metallic pole for a moment longer, her gazed locked on something in the direction that same man was running. Something had caught her eye at the pile of crates, barrels, and jumbled equipment. However, the yell of another man, one whose chest smoldered from the flames she'd unleashed on him, drew her back to her own predicament. With another deep breath, with more faint blue sparks, she unleashed yet another strangely-roaring torrent of blue flame at the man, before hurling herself down to the sands once more. This time, however, she bolted behind Rixia, a wry smile on her face as she made for the last remaining captive; a portly man with heavy mustache and beard who even now whimpered where he hung.

However, she stumbled as she moved, for the ground itself trembled. The volcano rumbled as if in answer to the coming storm's thunder, belching smoke to meet the clouds... and with it, something else. With a cacophony of screeches, something took flight from amid the crags and rocks. Leathery wings beat the night sky as a multitude of strange, bat-like creatures lurched into the sky and flitted among the trees, tearing at anything in their path!

Meanwhile, the young warrior Vargrulf worked to free finally is, the two of them managing to untie his bonds just in time for him to drop down, the flames of the madman's own immolation kindling the fuel beneath them. He clears the flames readily, a rope-marked hand offered to help Vargrulf down. "Well met, Vargrulf. I am Dor, a son of Jeroo, and I offer you many thanks. I will fight by your side proudly!"