Chapter 40
With the departure of the spirits the party have been left alone on the shore of the lonely tor, the massive hill rises up out of this shallow part of the eternal ocean as a gentle slope. It is covered in long green grasses, soft heather, carpets of wildflowers and the odd blossom decked tree. At the top, a good two mile walk up gently sloping hillside i a silvery stone structure that sparkles under the seemingly endless sunshine of the oceans Eternal.
Vazkor looks around at everyone after the spirits left, the man seeming contemplative... And slipping a hand into a pouch then to retrieve that crystal he got, having previously stored it away. Holding it in his palm as he glances at it, and then remarks, "I think it's a key of sorts... But I guess we'll find out its exact nature soon enough." The man shrugging then as he looks up that tor, eyeing the structure, and adding towards everyone, "... Shall we?" Securing the Griever onto his bow, Kier looks towards Talon and then the others, before motions for Penny to move towards the front as well, "This time..." Levelling a look at Talen, "Please do not get eaten." And with that he checks the bowstring, and his quiver before getting in step with Vazkor and preparing for the ascent.
Talen stretches and wipes his eyes dry. He nods at Vazkor, "Aye, we should get moving. I hope the key leads somewhere interesting... though, interesting in a good way, not oh-god-oh-god-we're-all-going-to_die intersting." The viera chuckles then, and starts up the Lonely Tor. Talen looks back at Kier when he speaks, a cheeky smile on his lips, "Eh, that's your style, not mine. But at that moment in time, I couldn't see any other way to retrieve the coin. If it's stupid, but it workds, then it's not stupid, yeah?"
Penny still looks slightly shell-shocked, in a way, from the glimpse of Alexander she was given, her poleaxe propped on her shoulder as her armor faintly sparkles. Vazkor speaking actually startles her back to the present, in fact, and she looks around quickly, then shakes her head to clear the cobwebs, as it were, "Yeah, uh... Yeah." She moves to where Kier motions her, ready to march. She gives Talen a look, eyebrow arched, while falling into step, "When is the later form of interesting *ever* preferred?"
"I believe we shall." Thaylorn offers in soft reply to Vazkor as his gaze goes up towards the top of the nearby hill. "At least Griever is no longer an issue, so I believe we should be safe enough, no?" The Burmecian asks with a glance back to Kier for a brief moment before he merely shakes his head and follows the others upwards towards that silvery structure. "Not ever I don't think." He adds to Penny's statement.
Raziel remains quiet for a few moments, his head bowed slightly while a thoughtful expression comes to his features. Slowly looking up though he looks over at Vazkor and nods, "I'm sure it will be of use, but I can look and see if I can figure it out as we journey." He glances to Penny as she passes and then Thaylorn before nodding a little, "I think he chooses to insert brevity into a serious situation. Let's move."
The path up the hill is winding, weaving backwards and forwards slowly as if it is in no real hurry and as they get closer to the top the magnificent field of white and silver crocuses can be seen spreading out in all directions around the island until they reach the plateau at the top. It is quite peaceful, the weather is clear and fantastically beautifully, the sun i warm and crowning the top of the island is a shrine to Bismarck, with Whale Motifs all over the place. It is an open sided shrine with four pillars holding up a magnificently carved roof. The floor is one big watery pool and in the centre standing on a plinth is a large glass bottle. From the shore it is difficult to see "What" is in the bottle but there is a sense of magic, of warding all about the pool and anyone with a dram of sense can detect that it is not a good idea to try and wade out there.
Vazkor waits for everyone to fall in line with him... Before he nods, and then starts moving towards the top of the Lonely Tor. The swordfighter following that winding path, not rushing or anything, conserving his energy for whatever event awaits at the peak... Though he soon ends up walking next to Raziel, and offers the Aegyl that crystal, remarking, "Here, you look it over for a bit then." Before going silent again... And only slowing down again when they eventually reach that structure and the water's edge. The man arching his brow as he looks down at the cool liquid, and then turns to Thaylorn mildly questioningly, "... You still able to sense this kind of thing?"
Quiet now, Kier takes up the dog leg of the group, falling in to cover the rear as the rest ascend, watching the path, and the walk behind him, but every so often looking at the charm that has sealed itself to his bow, as if half-expecting it to try and bite him. All it does is make the young man look amused about something once more.
Talen chuckles at Penny, and then Thaylorn. "Sometimes you don't have a choice but to face your own death, yes? That key unlocks something, and it is what lays beyond, that we do not know of. So I was simply stating, yes by way of brevity, that I wish for it to be a good interesting." He walks the rest of the way in silence, until they come to the shrine. "Hmm. Well..", Talen looks around, "Not quite what I was expecting actually."
Penny heh's and nods at Talen's clarification, marching the rest of the way up in silence. Upon reaching the top, she stops with everyone else, looking around at the shrine, it's architecture and design, and even the view this high point above the oceans, "I didn't know what to expect, myself, honestly... All this Spirit Realm stuff is pretty new to me, y'know? But..." She turns her gaze to everyone else, "We're here, so what now?"
Thaylorn merely follows the others up towards the path while giving Talen a small nod in response, enjoying the tranquility at least for a while as they approach the odd shrine and the wide pool held beneath it. "I sadly, at least for now seem to have lost a portion of my affinity for the water." He replies to Vazkor with a small smile "All I can feel is it's magical." A shrug is given briefly "There has to be some way to that in the middle though, maybe if we swim?" He shakes his head "It looks more like the water is guarding whatever is in there, so it's not to be taken lightly."
As the ascend to plateau Raziel looks at the key and his expression shifts slowing from inquisitive, to a growing annoyance at something before finally he thrusts it back at Vazkor, "I know I should know that, but I can't place it." He shakes his head and exhales before muttering, quietly, "don't loose it though, Vaz." The man catches the dark skinned fellow's eye before he walks on to the edge of the pool and looks from the water's edge to the middle. "I don't think wading in is a good idea. I can try to fly over, but chances are that'll be warded too. Still... no telling til I try." He reaches out a hand over the water and waits for a moment to see if anything happens.
As Raziel's hand moves between the first two pillars the air sparkles and the aegyl's hand presses against a flat surface on the other side of the pillar and words begin to form out of the air.....
Vazkor hmms and nods some at Thaylorn... Before he raises his brow some as the crystal key is offered back to him. The man taking it back, and shrugging at Raziel some as he answers, "... We'll find out soon enough, no doubt." And he keeps it tightly in hand as he turns to watch the Aegyl reach out... Only to blink at those words. Looking around a moment to see who might have spoken them, before he realizes they seem to come out of thin air... And glancing at everyone then, before he takes a deep breath, and politely asks, "Well, Lonely Tor, may we enter?" And waits expectantly, ears perked...
Silence... nothing answers Vazkor's request...
Kier says, "What." Kier quips as he moves to seat himself, and look out at the endless ocean, "Did you just expect to say friend, and enter?" Shaking his head once more as he moves to his pack, and pulls out a piece of jerky, sharing bits with Dust as he looks around for a moment, and then taps his sandalboots on the ground once, exhaling through his nose. Obviously not being a help, nor wanting to interfere."
Talen hmms and rubs his chin, "Half a moment!" The viera races around to the side ninety degrees clockwise, and stops... sticking his hand betwen the pillars at roughly the same height and space as the aegyl had. "Four sides... four pieces to the puzzle!" It's a long run for the young Viera and as he pushes his hand between the next set of pillars that holding up the roof of the shrine words begin to form....
Penny just stands, watching the others, Raziel particularly when the Aegyl reaches out and has his hand stopped, ears flicking at the verse received in response. She giggles slightly at Kier's comment, "My, but wouldn't that just be too easy if it were the case?" Cocking her head, she blinks at Talen's attempt, and the identical response, "I dunno... If so, wouldn't the verse you got be different than what Mister Raziel got?"
"It's not as easy as that, I feel." Thaylorn offers in reply to Vazkor as he moves up to the pillars as well, to curiously peer at them "With all the whales, maybe we have to ask Bismarck for aid?" He presses a hand against one of the pillars before looking back towards Raziel but as Talen moves about he hmms thoughtfully, nodding as he gets the idea to around, but as the words are just repeated he pauses "Maybe that's not quite it. Lunar path, allow us entrance so that we may continue on our quest." He speaks out, getting a sudden idea.
The Burmecian seems almost suprised that his words warrented a reaction. "Well then." Thaylorn remarks as he hears the chime and soft voice speaking "Guess it's as simple as walking on those to the center?" Is offered softly as he moves to step on the first of the stones to trek to the center of the pool, if the barrier allows him past.
You page, "It was Bismarck, seems Thaylorn was right you just had to ask him" to Penny. Raziel looks over at Kier as he sits down and then he smirks, "it looks like yes, you do just say friend and enter more or less." Looking at Thaylorn then the man stops and mutters to himself, 'that's going to take some getting used to,' before in a louder voice nodding, "a good impulse there Thaylorn." He nods to Talen and Penny in responce to their contemplations, but as the entry opens he starts to follow after the burmecian quietly. The path Thaylorn threads from stepping stone to stepping stone is not an easy one... the stones are wet and slightly rounded making it a treacherous path to follow.
Vazkor frowns mildly as he watches Thaylorn... And then mutters as an aside towards Raziel, Kier, and anyone else in earshot, "... Semantics." Before he just shrugs and moves forward to cross those stepping stones... The man moving lightly, nimbly, but making it look easy as he continues forward, seeming to find the rounded, wet stones no hindrance in his forward progress at all... And even going so far as to glance up as poor Thaylorn manages to not be so lucky, and in a blink of an eye, his body a blur, suddenly skipping a couple of those stones entirely as he hops forward, and grasps the Burmecian by the shoulder. Plopping him right back onto that stone without much further ado, and just nodding at him.
By comparison, the fact that there's all this WATER here, even if it's still, is messing a bit with Kier's balance. He doesn't lose his balance, but he does end up closer to the edge than he'd like on more than one occasion as he closes in on the much more nimble Vazkor. The muttered word is returned with a single reply, "Spirits."
Talen hmms and steps forward cautiously onto the first stone. When he doesn't immediately sink into the water, he carries on, stepping lightly and carefully on each stone. "Slow and steady keeps you dry.", he says, "Though I wonder if Raziel will fly?"
Penny blinks as Thaylorn's request gets a response, ears perking as she recognizes the voice that answered and smiling. When it's her turn, she follows the path of stones, stepping from one to the next with care, but not much trouble. Having a big, long pole with which to balance is probably at least partially responsible, perhaps... "Don't know, I'd think flying for this would be more trouble than it's worth maybe, at least in this case."
Thaylorn's bare feet slip on one of the more smooth of the rocks, causing him to nearly go tumbling into the water below, luckily enough though Vazkor is quick and nimble enough to catch him. "Guess I'm just not used to this form again, yeah that's it!" He chimes out in his defense for slipping like that before continuing on the path.
Raziel's arms go out and he balances himself carefuly as he starts to follow after Thaylorn. As Vazkor sprints up and past though he looks up quickly and blinks for a brief moment before looking down once again and continuing up as he responds, "if I don't need to fly I typically don't.. this makes Vazkor happy because everytime I do I shave time off of my life, though I'm still puzzling out some of what I've been told about that since we've started this journey." He looks up and realizes he rambled on there for a moment before he pushes ontowards to the center and the protected item.
Despite Thaylorn's near mishap the party manage to make it out to the island.... it's a small square of white marble raised above the water with a silvery plinty of stone and atop it a large bottle. It is lying on its side and held in a small stand that appears to be part of the plinth. Inside the bottle is the model of a ship, small and quite delicate, it's a masterwork of exquisite detail and quite how it got in the bottle is hard to comprehend.
Vazkor grins a moment at Thaylorn... Then glances back at Raziel and shrugs, remarking as he does so, "... Let's hope all our questions will be answered by the end of this." And then just keeps moving in, nimbly crossing those stepping stones with long strides... Until he finally hits land again. Wiggling his boots a moment at the island soil, and waiting for the others to make their way onto it as well, even as he turns to regard that bottle... Peering at the model ship within, "... And another puzzle, no doubt much harder than the last one."
The Vieran trained hunter moves forwards to look at something with the bottle then, leaning in close as he seems to be intent on something there. He moves around on all sides of the boat. Blinking as if he hadn't actually seen what he'd seen. Reaching into his pockets, he fishes around until he finds a small tube, and then goes back to it again, "The Lunar Path..." Then he moves to another spot, "Focus... upon the Whale..." And then finally he settles back and glances towards the others, "And entry will be granted." Sighing once more, he holds out the small glass for Talen to use, "This sounds more like the things you deal with, not me. Go ahead." Stepping back to give others space, he waits...
"Hmmmmm.", the viera ponders, taking the glass and staring at the ship. "Focus upon the whale. If you look around, the place has many whale motifs... if it is not here... perhaps one in the water?" His ears straighten up tall, "Perhaps the bottle is meant to float?"
Penny oooh's at the ship-in-a-bottle once she reaches the little island at the center of the shrine, stepping up to it and leaning close to peer at the little ship within, not quite touching the bottle with her nose, but close enough that her breath mists the glass slightly, examining the ship's tiny details with keen interest, "I've seen a couple of these before! The Guard Commander at the Cathedral has some in his office, I even saw an unfinished one on his desk once! I didn't really get a chance for a close look, though, at the time. This is soooo neat..." She blinks and looks up at Talen and Kier, "Huh? Focus on what?" Focused Penny clearly is not, at the moment, at least not on anything outside that bottle.
As penny is looking into the Bottle she seems to see something, her face lightning up, her lips move but before the mouse can speak her form wavers, growing translucent and then with a POP she vanishes and the bottle catches a stray beam of light and glows.... You page, "You found the Whale, it's the Lunar Whale... the airship in the bottle i the Massive Ship of Legend! However seems you were so focussed on it you sorta completed the riddle before being able to speak!" to Penny.
"Should we even be messing with this? We were looking for coins, and this does appear to be some shrine to Bizmarck." Thaylorn remarks as he follows the others, eyes narrowing as the tiny ship in it's bottle comes into view, a curious inquisitive look showing on his face for a moment. "Then again, we'd have probably already been pushed back if we were not supposed to be here." He shrugs and lets the others inspect the small boat for the time being, but when Penny suddenly vanishes the Burmecian moves in close. "What in the world?!" He starts, glancing to the others for a moment before looking more closely at the boat in the bottle.
Raziel's thoughtful expression turns to one of shock as Penny suddenly, and quite literally, pops out of existance. He looks at her, or rather where she was, and then he moves in quickly and reaches out for the glass before stopping himself and he too tries to get a better look, responding to Thaylorn as he does, "because if I were to hide it.. what a good place... but, there is something on the ship, obviously." His eyes never waver as he looks over the ship and mutters, "please be there."
Raziel blinks and then his hand shoots out towards Vazkor, "The crystal, it's from the Lunar Whale! A key.. use it!" Of course how to use it, well that is completely lost as suddenly Raziel, like Penny before him vanishes with a POP.
And now two of the party are gone... Raziel's cryptic message echoing in their ears as the sunlight sparkles off the perfect crystal of the bottle... two down....
Vazkor blinks, and almost instantly, on instinct, takes a quick step forward, hand reaching out to reach for the disappearing Penny... Though only raising it halfway before he realizes there's not much point to finish the motion. Looking over at Thaylorn and Raziel then as the two approach the bottle, he starts to open a mouth to issue warning... Only to be interrupted by Raziel's statement about the key... And then the Aegyl's disappearance right after! The man reaching for Raziel as well, lunging, only to grasp at air, and letting out a frustrated little growl... Right before he starts to quickly retrieve that crystal, and look at it in his palm, as well as glancing up at the bottle... Seeming to ponder then, and soon checking to see if there might be a cork in the neck or not... Keeping the key ready to poke it in the bottle's neck if it proves to be empty.
Vazkor starts to turn around back to the others again, looking slightly wide eyed as he shouts, as quickly as he can, "The ship is the Whale!" Right before there's a POP, and the swordfighter is gone...
Talen hmms as two people disappear, and he gives Vazkor a level look. "Resist the temptation to smash it, we do not know if it will return the two. There is something they've seen, a whale symbol of some sort, if the saying on the ship is true." The viera sighs as Vazkor vanishes. "Hah, clever Spirits... the ship IS the whale... but ... how do you get onto it?"
The Burmecian decides that hey, maybe it's not a good idea to mess with the bottle that has apparently eaten two of his group members. With that in mind, Thaylorn steps a few steps back from the object. "The crystal, shove it into the bottle!" He offers towards Vazkor, taking a stab in the dark at how it might be used reflecting upon Raziel's final message. Then Vazkor is gone. "This doesn't make any sense..." He begins as he turns to examine the bottle and then it's almost like he realizes something and turns to Talen. But before he can say much of anything he fades, and vanishes like each other person in the group has so far. And then there was one... Talen is alone before the bottle with its little ship inside... lost and alone.... everyone else has vanihed.....
Talen blinks and chuckles lightly, "Well, that explains how they got it inside, doesn't it. It's not the whale, it's the Lunar Whale." Blink. POP. "Eeeeh?"
And then there were none... with a soft bubbling sound the stepping stones retract and the Lonely Tor is once more very much alone... the party have left... to where.... well that is a story for another time...
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