|
    |
.~{:-:[ Pirate's Log ]:---------—:}~.
How did they get to here? Deposited on the shores of a sunlit, tropical island by a quiet Inhuman male who teleports with a giant egg, he says simply, "I will be back tomorrow." And disappears again. Not the aventuring type…the convenient teleporter. We have Maximus…the somewhat crazy ex-King of a secret city of powered people. The other two would know him as Maximus. They know he has some sort of abilities, and that he needed help with getting through a potentially dangerous and unknown situation on an island. There's remnants of a city there, he said. He wants information. Tanya, Vic and Kaleb know they are getting paid to guard him through the ordeal, and…if Kaleb put up a fight about it, last night at that bar…well, Tanya is very good-looking and that's an excuse to come along. And Maximus can be very…/convincing/…particularly in the short term. The group has a reasonable amount of spelunking type gear…such as flashlights, rope, food rations, /bug spray/, a flare gun, and aside from a small backpack, with an assortment of things, Maximus is carrying none of it. He is dressed in short, khaki pants with a British explorer hat on, long socks and hiking boots and he generally looks like he's about to do a gay porn about meeting Tarzan. The shorts are definitely too short.
The island does not disappoint. It has a beach about 20 yards deep, that seems to ring the island. AWESOME shells have been deposited on the beach. There's a weird crab just meandering down the way, totally unafraid. Then begins a forest of palms and big, rubbery plants with broad leaves. The ground has some underbrush, but its not terrible. There is a sound of birds. Its reasonable to assume a certain amount of wildlife, like wild pigs, turtles…and so on. The island seems to rise in the middle…probably some sort of volcanic thing going on there.
"Well…lets find a path or something like that, hmm?" Maximus rolls his shoulders and grins broadly. "Ahhhh…the salt air is so good for the hair."
*
Come to the bar with Kaleb, Vic thought. It will be fun, Vic thought. In all fairness, it does seem pretty cool so far. An island! He's getting out of New York more! And if Billy can go to Italy for gelato, surely this is like that. "Have you ever done this before?" he asks Kal. In his gear, he looks like a boy scout… probably from the same gay porno. He offers Tanya a friendly smile. "Hi, I'm Vic," he says. His head bobs in an amiable nod to Maximus.
*
Kaleb was in this for the curiosity and convinced Vic it was good for them. Kaleb, as always, was well overdressed. Slacks with the crease in them, decent footwear, vest stayed on though he took the tie off. Heavens to Betsy. Were it not for the perminantly judgemental look and derisive attitude he'd be an even better looking kid. Still he wasn't a prat about the beach or the salt in the air. Maybe because he was salty enough? Who knows. It was a nautical term that meant grizzled and bitchy and that he could manage. To Vic he noted, "Ya know… still not the weirdest thing to happen in the last two weeks." He hefted the robe over his shoulder and he answered, "Yes and no. Last beach I stormed though was in Monaco. I don't think that's the same though."
*
"You're paying for my dry cleaning bill, by the way," Tanya replies immediately to the black-haired man. He's rich enough, according to what was shared across the space between them at the bar. Escourt the guy through a jungle island after some treasure. Hell, she'd agreed half to see if he was smoking something at the time, but now…
White sand stretches out and she eyes the wall of greenery with a purse of her plump lips. She doesn't look too far from a certain person whose name sounds startingly like Tara Troft, down the gadgetry and weaponry at her belt, and those shorts do her long dancer legs some serious justice. Add in the collarbone and cleavage and well…she's ready to take on the world. Or at least some undergrowth.
The woman glances over at Vic and Kaleb and smirks. "You brought along the Boy Scouts, sir?" Even the title given to Maximus has a subtle air of disregard for its weight. Her green eyes roll to him even as she plays nonchalantly with her hair, braided into one long glossy length.
*
Maximus is /definitely/ digging on Tanya's adventure gear…and the boyscout uniform. Kaleb gets a look up and down but he's not showing nearly enough leg. REGARDLESS of his appreciation for their attire, however, he waves his hand magnanimously, "I brought along the finest crew ever assembled! Now…" he waves his hand some, "lead on. Whoever is the bravest, or the most powerful, or the most impervious to ancient, poison dart traps or…pits, or…WHO KNOWS…yes yes, THAT person, go first…there will be a path around here somewhere. You see…this island was inhabited by Mystics…and Pirates…and also my own people for a short time. And one thing all three of those have in common? An appreciation for paths." He grins crookedly with sharp eyes.
There is indeed a path! Its a little overgrown…a trail of rough, flat stones off to the right that leads inward. However, there is also a wooden sign nailed to the tree at the start of it that has an ominous pictograph of a giant spider attacking a robed figure. There is another path as well,100 yards away from the other one, so that they must have totally different routes. This one has 4 numbers written on it. 1, 1, 2, 1.
*
Vic regards Maximus for a moment, then says, "I'll go first." He doesn't even know he's immortal, but hey, he might get a chance to find out. When he notices the sign he stops, looks at it, then turns to Maximus. "What are we looking for?" He points up the trail. "Because of it's to get bitten to death by a giant spider, let's go this way." He flashes Maximus a broad, sweet, dimpled grin, his teeth straight and pearly white.
*
Kaleb looked at teh sign shining a torch at it before turning it off. "Well, if we keep hitting forks it's saying left, left, right, left. Or that's the way to a crunchy biblical death." The nattily dressed young man offered objectivly, "Or they're a terrible marching band and have no rythem and deserve to be eated by man eating spiders." His eyes narroed in veiled contempt taking the moment to picture a tronbonie being crumpled like foil in mandibles. He squint and looked to Tanya arching an eyebrow not quite knowing what to make of her and looked back to Vic, "You're not allowed to make me explain to my brother why you got eaten or only half of you comes back. He's already pissed at me." He looked to Maximus and seemed game, "Your Excellency, how reliable was your contact about this place?"
*
"I'd rather not deal with large spiders, like the kid said," Tanya opines, thumbing towards Kaleb. "The other one…the cricket on my shoulder can't take it. No, Boy Scout, you're not taking the lead. Since the boss knows where to go, let him take the lead. One of you next to him and one of you next to me."
Folding her arms only accents her natural asset and she looks to Maximus for further information, resting her weight on one foot. It gives her a decidedly slouchy posture that only pulls more attention to her hips and legs, in those knee-high, lace-up boots.
*
"I have researched this place, /personally/. We should find some sort of stone construction, deeper in. It would be large enough to support a hundred or more people…and since everyone involved is smart, on higher ground. There were mystics here, and we lived on the island too, hundreds of years ago. A group of my people. We left due to not getting along with the mystics, and the mystics left due to /pirates/. Once we find the city, I will recognize the buildings created by my people. We must go deeper into the island before I can be helpful. I care little which path we take to do it. With this group, I fear nothing." Maximus puffs his chest, some, posing on the beach. "Numbers? I am not leading. That's why I hired you. I am…squishy. My talents do not lie in being able to handle sudden, physical events. Things poke me and it hurts." He puts on his bug spray.
*
Vic moves away from the spider trail. "That makes sense," he says to Tanya, and he quirks a small grin at being called a boy scout. Hee hee. "I bet you'd enjoy Kaleb," he tells her, "but I'll go with you if you prefer. I just want to help out." God, he sounds so sincere. Then Maximus says he's not leading and, well, damn. He's the boss. So Vic picks the trail with the numbers sign. "Let's go here. I think we can defeat math."
*
|ROLL| Tanya +rolls 1d20 for: 6
*
|ROLL| Vic +rolls 1d20 for: 1
*
|ROLL| Kaleb +rolls 1d20 for: 17
*
Down the numbers path they go! Maximus refuses to go first. So, Tanya can lead, then Vic, then Kaleb then Max last. The path is nice and smooth for a while. Its almost quaint. Everyone is forced to eventually put on their bug spray, or be gnawed up by noseums, or similar critters. Its not very hot, even. Its nice. Tanya gets just a light, moist dewy glisten to the top of her breasts. It might be why Vic doesn't notice a THING happening around him. Kaleb sees it though, those vines aren't right…something about their configuration seems unnatural. Being an architect, his eyes can follow the line until it suddenly clicks in his brain. There is a net trap ahead and Tanya and Vic are right about to step into it!
*
Kaleb gave the woman an unmoved look. Oh yeah it was getting to him still though somehting that maximus snapped him out of his attitude disfunction, "Wait like old temple? We talking ziggaurat or Hiva or Mayan architecture? Or somehting like hte Preah Vihear Temple in Cambodia? Are we in Cambodia?" Holy moly he was moving forward and was now hanging on the answer. Who knew the kid paid attention to ancient real estate. Maybe he'd try to buy it Who knows. "Vic, that might mean pit traps! I never seen a real one before. I always walked one for our welcom mat but my building manager was disagreeable to the improvement." Sadness. And his eyes went up and it was all he could to try to get to hem fast enough. The good news? He could try to command a person to do a thing. The bad nrews is it was one person. "Stop!" And his hand pointed to exactly why. If anyone wanted to keep going hwy that was on them. Well except Maximus. He still didn't answer his 80,000 questions so he had an arm thrown in front of him.
*
Tanya, having taken the lead, is apparently in charge of clearing the path of any debris. There isn't a lot of it and the machete's edge, sharpened prior to disembarking from the boat, makes quick work of it. She has the blade raised to slice through the next set of crisscrossing vines when Kaleb's voice rings out. Coming to a halt, she puts one hand on her hip and turns in place, the blade now hanging in her grip parallel to her leg.
"Now what?" She sounds…bored, even if she's dewy and covered in bug repellant.
*
Vic has a relaxed gait. Things are pretty easygoing, and so is he. He's alert, though. Very observant. That is some grade-A dew-glistening. Huh-what? "Sure, pit traps," he says. And he bumps into Tanya as she turns and faces him. Right up against that glistening dew. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry," he says as he steps back. His cheeks are pink, and he turns away to look at Kaleb. "What is it, Kal?" He could do with a pit trap to eat him up just now.
*
Maximus stops when the arm is held out, and he answers all of the questions with, "The construction we are after will look Attilan. Hmm. Think…Greek, I suppose, in a way. Greek without columns. Greek with a bit of Asian." Maximus the ever helpful. "The mystics construction…I'm not sure. What sort of places do you imagine weird, wizards living in? Really dark…tall towers, I have no idea. Why are we stopped?"
The net trap is set up across the path. The group will have two options…they can disarm the trap. There are 4 vines it definitely could be attached to, but they are SO TWISTY its really hard to tell, which goes to which, or they could venture off the path and go around the trap entirely. DUN DUN DUN! (If you go around the trap, turn to page 21. If you try to disarm the trap, turn to page 75.)
*
Kaleb looked to VIc and said in that tone of 'I get what I want for a living and that is my super power', "Stay put a second." He smiled warmly to Tanya, "Oh gee I'm sorry be my guest." When did he look so angelic all of a damn suddon? Oh yeah, spite. He said drily after seeing if she was gling to walkinto it and thereby learn what it did… for educational purposes! He took a deeo breath and reluctantly pointed up up. "Thing's going to fall on you. Go say hi. See how it works. Feel free to educate we wee scouts." Oh yeah, that one wasn't dying. He looked to Vic and siad "Now you can move, man, just not…tereish. So Attilan? I need to see this It sounds amazing."
*
Talk about face-planting. She doesn't budge an inch and watches Vic do his blushing-stammering bit. Okay, she can tell, it really was an accident, not some juvenile attempt to deep-dive into her plush curves.
"Don't worry about it, Boy Scout. I won't hold it against you." Then, Tanya glances up to see the tangling of vines and frowns. Kaleb's commentary earns him an amused snort and she does take a cautionary step or two back, hips swaying in her short-shorts. "Hey, he's useful after all. Well, let's see it then. Go solve the riddle, kid. I'll cut you down if you get caught. I'm not kissing your owies away though," she adds, momentarily pointing the machete towards him.
*
Its definitely a trap like…the net is concealed on the ground…and if you step on it, it'll fly upwards and trap you, dangling, in a tree. So, setting it off, would work..but whatever they set it off with would be…then, caught in the tree. Or…disarming it. Or going around.
*
Ugh, Boy Scout. Vic is marked for life. He was just trying to dress sensibly for spelunking! Being prepared. Vic smiles, though, and he says, "Thanks. I wasn't watching where i was going." Then he looks up at the net trap and his brow furrows. He steps back when Tanya does, giving her and her machete space. "Are there any rocks or logs around?" he asks, and he scours the jungle floor. He won't miss a log or pile of rocks if it gets yoinked up in a net. "I'd rather not be the test subject, but if it's the easiest way…
*
|ROLL| Maximus +rolls 1d20 for: 11
*
There are medium-sized varieties of rock and log, strewn in the nearby area. The best looking rock though, has a spiderweb right in front of it with one of those black and orange spiders with 6 inch legs, that look like they could catch birds, but realistically are pretty harmless. Big though! If he doesn't get the /best/ rock…everyone is totally gonna know its because of the spider.
*
Maximus pulls out a granola bar and eats it while he lets the minio-er…mercenaries… clear the path.
*
Kaleb wasnt' even so moved to power his way aroud that one but asked, "Can't we just chop the net withthe machette? It's gotta have a counter weight or… well… Okay if it's magic maybe not?" He paused. A scowl formed and he realized all the normal rules may not apply. "Awww if wizards did wizard crap to this place I'm calling bunk!" he looked to Maximus and said "How does all that finger wiggly stuff work anyways? ANyone know?"
*
Tanya raises an eyebrow. "If it's magic…? You all can't believe in that stuff. It's all…sleight of hand and people being slow enough to miss it. There are no such things as wizards, only people toking up and others taking advantage of it."
A sigh and she steps over to see what has Vic occupied…and sees the spider. A quiver and she makes a face. "Ugh, that is one big bastard. Boy Scout, move." With the tip of her machete, she reaches out and attempts to flick the spider to one side, away from the general group and into the jungle's foliage.
*
|ROLL| Maximus +rolls 1d3 for: 3
*
|ROLL| Tanya +rolls 1d3 for: 3
*
|ROLL| Tanya +rolls 1d20 for: 14
*
"Actually…" Vic pauses, then just lets that trail off, because 'my dad is the Sorcerer Supreme and magic is totally his deal' is not what he's going to say. He steps aside but is quick to say, "I'm not afraid of it. It's just a spider." Once it's out of the way, though, he takes up the rock and carries it like it were Styrofoam. The Boy Scout is strong. He brings the rock to the net and tosses it on. "Magic has rules," he tells Kaleb. "It's just a trick of figuring out what they are."
*
SPROING! The net shoots up into the air and takes the rock with it. The path is again safe! Unless there is any reason not to, the group can continue onwards. They see, after about an hour of walking, that there is a deep ravine ahead. No one could miss it. Its too far to jump. They have been steadily climbing upwards towards the center of this island, so the way down is pretty far, too, waves crashing against jaggedy rocks. It is POSSIBLE…that they could scale down, swim, and climb up the other side. But boy that would not be a party. Its also possible that some of the overhanging vines could be used to SWING across it! Or…they could use the bridge. Here's the thing though, it REEKS of being trapped. It has 8 planks on it, 4 sets of two, and some vines that are all wound up around each other. Across the other side of the ravine…a city peeks out of the jungle.
From here, the city looks amazing. Its as if someone ripped it right out of a Jules Verne novel…with angular, thick volcanic rocks forming trapezoidal buildings, and large archways…writing in unknown languages, creepy pictographs…and all with a glaze of vines and moss, and colorful, poisonous birds. &R&R Max gets excited that he practically hops. "So Close!!"
*
Kaleb eyes the area and tilted his head asking the group because ya know as much as he loves a good swing on a vine asked, "Ummmm there's four pairs of two boards. Wha're the odds of the numbers out front being code for the bridge?" He bit his lip and ya know he broke shaking his head, "I have no faith in being the one to walk across to try that. I draw the line at steep drop rocky death. I have weekend plans." He nodded pragmatically. See? reasonable and no one had to know that his heart was racing at about 280 right now. That's right, make the crabby face and people will ignore you. Victory!
*
"Whoever goes first gets an extra $2000." Maximus just…tries to find out how much their life is worth to them.
*
"Done," replies the brunette, walking not over to the bridge, but over to one of the hanging vines. She yanks on it first, testing its sturdy winding about one of the gnarled branches above, and then wrapping it about her wrist. "I will see you gentlemen on the other side." She even blows them all a kiss. What a minx.
And then, with machete strapped to her belt, she takes a running start and flings herself out across the abyss.
*
|ROLL| Maximus +rolls 1d20 for: 17
*
|ROLL| Tanya +rolls 1d20 for: 8
*
As they say…she chose wisely. The vine totally is strong enough to hold her. She looks like a total badass, letting go of the vine to drop on the other side. Maximus whines though, "I am NOT vine swinging…" Not YET anyway.
*
"I have no idea what I'd even do with that kind of money," Vic says. He eyes the bridge, then shakes his head. Too much room for second guessing. Is the numbered board the trapped one or the safe one? Is the numbering correct or is that part of the trap as well? No thanks. Tanya has found a way that works. "I'll take you across," he says. "Just hang on to me. Kaleb, will you be able to get across? We'll need a strong vine." He starts tugging on a few here and there, looking for one that could possibly hold up to three people in case they dogpile him.
*
Kaleb stood and watched. There were heroes and then there were men like Kaleb who would really rather live to see their goals reach fruition. He looked up to Vic and the indignity of the question and said Of course I… have no idea. Look i'll be right back I'm going to try and see how useful those beams are. EIther way we need to get back too?" He considered blowing his cover however the problem remained that if the bordes were mixed he'd definiately rupture the bad boards…AND the good ones. He muttered things his Mother would rather not hear him know how to say and tring together in one thought. Systematically he decided to go back and see if there was anything heavyish he could lob as a test. Hell could he reach them with machette? Let us find out.
*
Kaleb can certainly test out the first set of boards just fine by just poking at it with something, or his foot while he holds onto something. He has a sound theory to test! As he pokes at the left board, it holds and seems very sturdy.
*
On the other side of the canyon, Tanya waits as patiently as she can. The heat is getting to be annoying. Sweat trickling in places tickles and she's not about to strip layers to cool off. To be honest, there's not much to strip anyways.
The city itself gains a lingering look of interest. She's intrigued, truly, but wandering into a place out of a comic book without back-up doesn't appeal to her. Thus, keeping a careful eye on those brightly-feathered birds, she makes her way where the other side of the bridge meets the solid ground beneath her feet. What helpful things she could shout are…probably more snarky than helpful and so she simply watches, peridot-green eyes mentally calculating what odd trappings could be hidden on the bridge and its boards.
*
Vic follows after Kaleb. "Be careful," he frets. "Let me tie a vine around you so if the bridge fails you won't fall with it." He'd be stuck swinging in the middle, but he'd be alive! He tests a vine and draws it toward Kaleb. "Your brother would kill me if I let anything happen to you," he explains, like trying to soothe a possibly biting dog with a 'nice doggie' tone. And he tries to tie the vine around Kal's waist.
*
"Hey! I need a safety vine too…that sounds like a good idea." Maximus tries to pick out a really good one and tie it around himself too, copying Vic's effort with Kaleb.
*
On the far end…where Tanya is alone…and no one can save her if something were to suddenly happen….
*
nothing happens.
*
|ROLL| Maximus +rolls 1d20 for: 15
*
A colorful bird lands nearby and starts squawking. Its super annoying and loud.
*
Kaleb successfully made the first part of the bridge. He looked super proud of himself and then super pallid. OH garden gnomes that was a long long way down. He was …suuuurveying it. Yeah. Totally just checking out the cool view. We were totally not half petrified in a fear of falling to our doom. Well Max was but not Kaleb right? Suuuurely not. He looked up to Vic and said , "Ya know I'm a super big fan of that though here. Grab." He grabbed at teh vine and tied it around himself and tugged for good measure and stepped on the next board testing the rest of his theory. It was…solid? Hell he looked surprised too. "Ginchy." He actually grinned a bit and more confidantly took to the right one next and then just hopped back to the left last one like a cocky parrot and smiled with the audacity that he totally wasn't rethinking his entire life up until now back on board one. "Yeah they left us a map. Probably means they want us in one piece when they sacrifice us to the volcano to satiate some ancient island god." Sure he could be glib now that he was on solid ground again.
*
Tanya first…then Kaleb, then Vic, then last, Maximus. All safely across. Now what looms ahead of them is the city…beautiful and alluring…with so many secrets and probably a few skeletons as well!
*
.~{:--------------:}~.
*
The city has a lot to offer for the explorer, as far as…architecture and story. The walls tell the tale of strange mystics, a cult of the occult, but with a tropical lean. Those spiders in the picture…their creation. The city itself does not seem dangerous, though there are signs that other inhabitants emptied it of its traps, such as sprung rock-falls and so on. There are rough, Pirate graves. The skeleton of a dog. There is a broken crypt that seems to line up for the mystics inhabitants, but a look inside shows that if there was loot to be found here, the Pirates probably took it. Old, ratted tents hang loosely. Maximus does take a bit of a lead, through here. He's obviously looking for something very specific, and after a few 'streets' in the small city, he finds it. He points and indeed, there is a set of buildings apart from the rest that have a different look. Instead of trapezoidal, these buildings have a constant use of the keystone archway. Running water can be heard nearby, and seems to disappear into the largest building. "The information I need will be in there…possibly even written on the walls. I hope. I hope its that easy. Now, who has the torch?"
*
Unless he shows up, we can assume that Vic is following and being generally useful.
*
Tanya's been sauntering along, off to one side and slightly behind of Maximus. It wouldn't do to overtake the man's lead, because that would be disrespectful…and well, he's paying for it all. Wouldn't want to lose that $2000 bonus. She takes it all in with the eyes of a visitor rather than someone with a degree in archeological history or architecture. Gee, that arch is nice. That platform there would be a good spot to sunbathe. Damn, but those colorful birds are making a racket.
She glares at the birds, for all the good the hard look does her. Cathartic, at best.
She eyes the mouldering tents with general wariness. The crypt is given the same attentive lingering apprehension, but no boogie-things pop out.
Maximus asks for a torch. "You mean…flashlight. Here," and she hands off the metallic element to the Inhuman after unclicking it from her belt. "Lead the way, sir." Again with that shadow of disdain for the title's weight. Can't keep the sass from this one.
*
Kaleb seemed to not mind the sass so much now that Tynya stopped amking kid jokes at him for 5 min. Crossing into the area where the temple was his eyes got huuuuuuge like saucers. The unflappable kid, was flapped. Oh the flapping. "Wooooooah" escaped him and his fingers twitched eanting to draw it. It was dark though and really for now he'd have to try to commit much to memory as he could.
The teen caught up having the rope and the other flashlight bringing Vic in tow. "This place is amazing, Sir. We know when it was built? What was its original purpose? Did the pirates know?"
*
Vic is brought, keeping close to Kaleb because someone has to keep him safe. "Yeah," he says, "this place is just so… wow. Why do you think a place like this would get abandoned? He's heard stories of haunted places like this, and curses and whatnot, so he keeps a sharp eye on everything, taking it all in.
*
Maximus takes the flashlight from Tanya and then flips it on, swinging the light towards the opening. He begins walking towards it, "I do not know you too well, but…let us say that it is old…like the ruins of the ancients that still poke up through the dessert sands, betrayed by the Nile. My people…have been on this planet for millenia, but…always rather hidden." He squints his steel eyes. "Some knowledge of our…past…has been lost, glossed over by a more polite and careful society. Things that we have done that others would call…terrifying…like any society, have not been spoken of in such a long time that the only remnant of it is a whisper, or a line in an obscure poem. But, do you not think that we could learn from the past?" He grins crookedly. "If we have no pressing need, we can explore the rest of the city once I have what I came for."
Maximus heads in. He stops fairly short ways in though, because it is an overwhelming sort of weird that assaults the group. Yeaaaaah…sketchy past? There is writing that no one, besides Maximus, can read, all over the walls, and huge, hideous statues of a robed figure with a tentacled face with a lamprey-like mouth. There's a singular eye at the top. One hand holds an orb, and the other one holds an obelisk. There is a full set of pirate clothing at the base of the statue, along with a green bottle. The floor is covered in what looks like a fine ash. Running through the center of the room, paralell to the door, is that river, which steams up the place, so that the walls have a weeping effect happening. Its a volcanic stream…heated.
*
Maximus's explanation gains him a disbelieving period of attention from Tanya. Millenia? That's…well, it sounds far longer than what she knows of humankind on the Earth. Her lips thin and she reminds herself that she's got a nice paycheck coming when all this weirdness is over and done. With Kaleb and Vic in tow, she remains in the man's shadow as they enter the mysterious building in question.
The flashlight's bright circle showcases the writing, definitely one she's never seen before in her life, and she squints at the statue of the tentacle-creature.
"I didn't sign on to deal with people attacked by sea-life," she grouses quietly. The amount of moisture in the air is nearly stifling and she unconsciously wipes away a runnel of sweat along her temple. "I don't think he had a good time," she adds with a point towards the pile of clothing. "Unless he just decided to go skinny-dipping in that water. It probably wouldn't be half-bad." Her eyebrows flick up as she seems to seriously consider the idea, eyeing the river.
*
The stream could probably be bathed in. Its not that fast-running and its definitely not full of exotic, sulfer-based organisms that would infect her open pores and turn her orange.
*
Echo said casually, "Or he might be having himself a good time. We dunno. Still…" Blue eyeds took in the details. He was good with architecture, not anthropology. It was alsmost as if humans were jsut a vehicle to build more stuff and the stuff was the important part as much as someone mightdisregard the carboard box a birthday present came in. "They're not the only civilization to get covered up by history that's still kicking." Bold statement to say out loud, but he didn't elaborate. "Vic you seeing this?" Fingers went up to investigate the orb that was held by the statue. "This is too too weird."
*
|ROLL| Susan Storm +rolls 1d20 for: 4
*
|ROLL| Vic +rolls 1d20 for: 20
*
|ROLL| Maximus +rolls 1d20 for: 14
*
Vic's eyes widen and he snatches Kaleb's hand away just before he can touch the orb. "Kaleb! That could be trapped. Look at these piles of ashes all around. They could be people who tried to grab that orb!" Thank goodness for his previous host's plethora of teachable moments that would make an intelligent occupant develop healthy paranoia. "Let's just make sure everything is in order before we start collecting souvenirs." He pauses, then adds, "I don't want you to get hurt. It's not just because Kellan would kill me."
*
Maximus awwwwwws at the sweet affection for Kaleb's life, displayed by Vic. God, its adorable. He smiles with a general longing for such a similar thing, but its short lived. "I…wouldn't touch it. I mean…/I/ could. But not you." Maximus doesn't touch it though, like a big pussy, and moves further into the structure. There is one hall and this splits off into multiple rooms. Several seem like dorms and are basically empty. The last though, definitely what Max was looking for. It is a broad, circular room with a large altar at the far end that looks like it has a coffin on it. There is more of the ash on the floor in this room as well, and sets of clothing about the altar. Growing from the altar are small, blue, crystals, that seem to form trails up the wall, and down. The walls here are littered with that language. Maximus says, "Don't touch the crystals. You will die." He offers as a matter-of-fact warning, then shines the flashlight along the walls and becomes enraptured in whatever he's reading.
Outside, the racket of the birds grows silent. But, there are sounds. Shuffling sounds. Booted feet on the ground sounds. One sounds particularly large. Others, almost like mice.
*
Tanya watches the two young men banter back and forth about the orb in question. She considers it, but only momentarily.
"Boy Scout here is right," she says, walking back to stand beside Maximus, all smoothly-rolling hips and poise. One hand strays to the pistol at her belt and lightly caresses it, as if memorizing its presence in order to quick-draw it. "Let's not be touching anything here without the boss's permission. He knows best." At Maximus's warning, she points to the Inhuman to accent the general consensus on things. No touchie.
Still more 'no touchie' with those crystals, in the room they eventually reach, and she carefully scans the room. The coffin is something out of a Hammer horror film and it's this she wanders over to, though she stops beyond the general diameter of the fallen piles of clothing.
"Wanna bet there's a mummy in here, boys…?" Her voice fades out as she realizes just how silent and close the room has become. "Hey, you two, stay nearby. Can you hear…?" The gun is in her hand, pointed towards the ceiling, and she motions to the two younger men to get over here, nearer to her and Maximus.
*
Kaleb halted. His fingers twitched and then curled into a ball and lowered. "Is it because I would haunt you forever and ever for not saying something sooner?" Which was Kaleb Miller for 'thank you'. We think. He sighed, "You're right. Hey Tayna, wanna come poke this orb and see what it does? Looks neat." He wasn't serious but yeah, he'd say it. She was on board though with Team No-Touchie and honestly? He seemed good with the warning. "Good to know. There's, um…" People. His palms subtly faced the floor somehow, coinsidently and "conveniently" burying all the sound of them as they moved. Funny that. No mutants here, no sir-ee. Nooothin here but a scout troop not touching things.
"It's because you're my friend," Vic says, and he ruffles Kaleb's hair. Then he bids Tanya come look at the orb, and Vic pinches the bridge of his nose. And he laughs. He explores the temple as they go in a distinctly hands-free way. Maximus' warning about dying if one touches the crystals causes him to give Kaleb another look. See? Everything is an attempt to murder them.
Vic nods to Tanya and says, "Yeah, I hear it." He takes Kaleb by the sleeve and tugs him along as he goes over to the woman to stay close. "Your Lordship?" he says quietly to Maximus, "it might not be a bad idea to stay close, so we can protect you."
*
Maximus looks sharply at Vic. "Oh…titles. I like it. But its technically….actually…Lordship is fine. I am reading. Take care of the problem. Nothing will harm me in here. If I hear screaming, I'll come help." Max offers Vic a toothy grin, overbroad, then goes right back to reading.
MEANWHILE!! You know…its a little hard to see the threat, at first. Because the threat is very small. He's a man about 6 inches tall…Pirate-y-ish, if one can tell, also…not entirely fleshy. But, not slow either. "AYYYYYYYE, I heard 'em in here, me maties! Now where be the treasure-thieving…AHHHAH, prepare ye for yer doom, ya trespassin' piles o' bull semen!" The little pirate rattles his sword and starts charging at Kaleb. The rest didn't hear the group's location well enough and will need another round.
*
|ROLL| Tanya +rolls 1d20 for: 19
*
The assassin blinks and looks around as a very angry voice comes out of nowhere. It's…a very small angry voice, with a rather sea-faring brogue to it, and Tanya finally realizes that it's coming from far below, like…on the floor of the temple.
"WHAT THE SHIT?!" Her first instinct is to be rid of the freaky little bastard.
No more freaky little bastard. It was like using a shotgun on a rat. Overly-effective.
She grimaces and shudders. "What the hell — I did not sign up for this!!!"
*
Kaleb looked to Vic notentirely certain how to process this new information. He grabbed Vic's sleeve and hid behind the woman withthe gun and hoped for the best. In truth he put all of his focus into flipping thorugh sound layers like LPStrying to play triage and dispatch to help them draw as little attention to themselves as possible. Totally coinsidental!
*
Vic grimaces as the report of the shot gun echoes in their vicinity. The little skeleton all but explodes, and Vic winces on its behalf. "It didn't look too harmful. Kind of cute in a furious way. You could keep one in a terrarium and.. I'm not sure what they eat." He stays behind Tanya as he speaks on behalf of the obliterated skeleton.
*
Cute! Yes…cute. The other six members of this crew don't hear the group. It takes them some time, in searching the area near to where they initially recognized intruders, before they finally make visual contact. They come into the room, brandishing pretty typical Pirate gear. 3 are human sized…again with being mostly skeletal. One has a bushy red beard, clinging to whats left of his jaw. One has a gun…but its the sort of gun he has to light, which he starts doing. There are two other small pirates, as well, these being just as aggressive as the first one, racing forwards all creepy, like being attacked by bugs. In the logic brain, one KNOWS these can't do super lots of damage, but…logic brain never stopped anyone from flailing like a little girl when there's a bee around. The last though, definitely more of a threat. THIS pirate is HUGE. Way larger than a normal human. He's a solid 11 feet tall and he comes in last. Giant skull, huge gloved hands. Giant sword! There's really enough for everyone, and appropriate helping-sizes for one's general choices. "Awful quiet, aint they." Rumbles the voice of the giant.
*
|ROLL| Tanya +rolls 1d20 for: 6
*
|ROLL| Vic +rolls 1d20 for: 15
*
|ROLL| Susan Storm +rolls 1d20 for: 15
*
"It was a tiny, humanoid thing who was not going to play nice, Boy Scout," Tanya mutters, still brandishing the gun. "I have no idea how you think of these things."
But then comes the rest of the pirate party and she stares at them, wide-eyed and speechless. The goad of the most giant of them is enough for her to find her voice again.
"I'll show you quiet," she snarls. The air around her is suddenly disturbed as…something detaches from her very person. Is it shadow? Is it condensed ink? Whatever it is, it's malevolent — even standing too near to it is like the siren song of standing too close to the edge of a cliff. Come into my embrace, it seems to whisper to the most primal of the psyche.
The largest pirate is given a brutal glare with eyes blackened in all but those peridot-green irises and he seems to rock before becoming rather slack-faced. "Go on, kill the rest of them," she commands, a dangerous hiss lingering in every consonant. The gun is held towards the ceiling again. She seems awfully certain that they won't need it shortly.
*
Kaleb gave pause to this and as much as he loved to try to make things explode by yelling at them (And he really did), he had to ask, "Can we just have him ask them to stand down?" he shook his head and had, well flashlight in hand at the ready like a cudgel waiting to see if Tanya could do that. A hand pressed over his mouth and he thought deeply before turning that card over.
*
Vic gestures to the massive pirate skeleton and says to Tanya, "I think of them as not being like that." He doesn't seem inclined to collecting the huge pirate, or the human-sized ones either. He glances to Kaleb to make sure he's safe, then as the shadow separates from Tanya and does something to the giant skeleton, he says, "I've got the others."
Boy Scout doesn't waste time discussing it, either. He darts forward, and he darts forward fast. The first human-sized one, with his ruddy beard, takes a punch to the face that makes his skull explode, not unlike the gunshot did to the little ones. Vic ducks low to dodge a sword that swishes close enough to snip off a curl of his hair, and he crushes the thing's spine in his hand. Squeeze annnnd pop! That's… yeah. He's a strong boy.
*
The giant pirate skeleton is wrapped around Tanya's pinky at once…and he turns on his fellow maties with devastating effect. The one human-sized one that Vic doesn't destroy with gruesome barehanded, possibly earning the adventure a PG-13 rating, is slammed into the wall with a mighty strike. The little guys are a lot faster though, and are able to dodge his lumbering feet. They are left with the two small ones…one angrily trying to attack Tanya, and the other, poor Kaleb.
*
Well diplomacy was out the window. He turned and took a deep breath lining up the remaining rabble and was really hesitant to use it indoors ever again but bowling for tiny pirates! His eyes squint and with just rage there was a multiple octave shriek that poured out of him like an audible lazer shattering the rabble that was crushed beneath the onslaught. Unfortunately for those gathered it was not a lazer and didn't stop at the ground and while indirect it was still hurtful and deafening. He was going to ride that out until they stopped moving. Now was a great time for the living to cover their ears.
*
Biggun' go smash! Somewhere, in the less distracted and mostly terrified corner of her brain, Tanya is proud at the ability to take control of a situation that could have ended badly. The big guy goes to town, which leaves her dealing with the second angry little buccaneer to attack her.
The gun goes off again, aimed at the attacker, and she snarls a curse before darting to one side. "Sorry, Kaleb, cat's out of the bag now! Just — don't get hurt!"
The silky swirls of her Darkforce power go after it as well, binding and attempting to suffocate the thing all at once. With her attention here, she's unable to help the others — though from what she saw earlier, that Boy Scout kid — Vic? — just basically punched through a pirate's head.
Then comes that shrieking and she claps her hands to her head, squinting and attempting not to stumble into Maximus. Oh man. She's going to need a stiff drink when she gets home. Or maybe six.
*
Vic is reminded in the ouchiest of ways that Kaleb is far from helpless. He clamps his hands over his ears and grimaces. With his hands thus occupied, there's not a whole lot he can do except dart back to his people. He's all sorts of ready to stamp on those little bastards, even if they are kind of cute in their weird, repulsive way, but he's boots aren't needed here, so he just kneels and hides his head with his arms as best he can while clamping his hands over his ears. Make it staaaaaahp.
*
"Kree, dammit, what the fuck?!" Maximus suddenly shouts as he's snapped free from his reading to the plight of the group. He's bumped into and then he covers his ears immediately. And something…happens? To Max. He looks like he's way more affected by the sound than he really should be. He falls down to his knees and his steel blue eyes are wide as the deafening ringing vibrates through his skull. He looks…frightened.
Caught up in dark force, the stationary one stands no chance, and niehter does the running one. Both little pirates…pretty well explode. Honestly…its the way they would have wanted to go. (don't kill me)
With a very little 'shiver me timbers'.
The party is now safe-ish, unless people want to touch stuff. They are heavy one Giant Skeleton Pirate, that probably shouldn't be brought back home. They do have to get a now-psychotic Maximus back to the beach by the morning.
*
Kaleb just bore down on the remaining few who tried to scatter, so he pushed harder. The sound quite literally crushed them and shook them appart until their boned fractured, collapsed, and started to be compressed into rubble like running over mice with a car.
And then?
It stopped.
Kaleb took a deep breath and looked kinda exhaustedHe winced a lit and rubbed his left ear with a finger. Remembering the last time he did this in doors he quickly turned bloodshot eyes to Vic first. He was moving. This was good. This was really really good. He wlaked over and set ahand on Vic's shoulder which was effectivly all he knew how to do. He was terrible at compassion and worse at appology; the latter really never occurring to him to ever do. "I think that's all of them."
*
|ROLL| Maximus +rolls 1d20 for: 20
*
With the sonic attack finally over, Tanya can check to make sure that everyone's still alive. The original four of them seem unscathed and…hey, the giant buccanner is just standing there, awaiting command.
"Okay, okay — that's it, I'm done, no more pirates, no more jungle, I'm going back!" Glancing over to see that their benefactor is alive, if not doubled-over and still shaken, she facepalms. "You two, help him to his feet. We need to get out of here. You…Mugsie." She gestures to the tall pirate, nicknamed for his ugly mug, " — go make sure the rest of the building is clear of anything that wants to attack us."
*
The Giant Skeleton Pirate turns around and lumbers back outside. It slices at some birds. There does not appear to be anything else trying to actively attack them, though the island is surely full of many other terrible wonders. A little…sluthing, or…imagining, on the way out, and they can take a decent guess at what happened. The mystics might have fallen, or left, due to the Pirate attack, but the Pirates were left with a host of magical curses, from falling into traps before…and after. And of course, the Inhumans stuff seemed so tempting, and that destroyed them really nicely, which the mystics knew well enough to leave alone. The giant skeleton will sadly, prove to be too large for that bridge. But, if Tanya wants to walk him down the spider path……………………………………………..
*
Vic smiles up at Kaleb weakly. "That… was sure a thing you did. Thank you." His ears are still ringing, but no serious damage done. He turns to Maximus when Tanya mentions getting him. "Oh, sure, of course," he says. He gets to his feet and makes his way over to Maximus. "Hey, we're getting ready to go. Did you get what you need, Your Lordship?" Skull Punisher is just Boy Scout again, here to help. "She's just going to make sure the rest of the temple is safe." He offers a hand to Maximus to help him up.
*
Maximus is definitely not awesome. When the sound leaves, he still seems dazed, though that doesn't stop him from talking, "Its for the good of the people…they didnt have to die. You killed them! YOU KILLED THEM!" But he is definitely not talking TO anyone actually in this room. And a moment later, it shifts and he seems hyper aware of everything, "Lets go. Lets go. He's trying to kill me now. I know it. Whatever he's doing. Its a race…a race to see…" Dude aint right, as he takes Vic's hand and is helped up. He is not entirely without sense and he can follow a path and so on. But, his reasonableness and sanity has been jostled. "I hired all of you. Yes…yes…I have it. I have what I NEEEEEEED."
*
Kaleb sighed and gave Vic a shrug. It was a thing. Now he wasn't saying anything. Dude was shouting, the people inthe room were pretty put out, he wasn't allowed to touch or take anythign and now thye were being pushed to leave when the place was just getting good. that Max was taking them back? Well it bummedhim out a bit. Still he had the wonders of what they did get to see. Good field trip.
Maximus did allow the group to forage around for things. Some took pirate swords, just simple, old weapons, or made drawings of the place. And then, back to the beach for their pick-up in the morning.