The first time you saw the Stone, it was kind of pretty, wasn't it? The towers looked like they were growing out of the rocks, the trees were thick and green all around, and billows of steam made the whole thing look like it was floating in the clouds. You almost wouldn't believe it was a place people were sent to die.

The moment you stepped through the doors was like walking into the biggest cathedral you've ever seen: vaulted ceilings high as the sky, statues carved into the walls, the expanse of the mosaic floor. A stream from outside flowed right into those rumbling boilers and powered gears that ticked and clacked at the far side; you could hear steam hissing in the pipes like roots in the pigeonhole walls full of coffins and narrow walkways. It was all echoes.

It was nice, for the last thing you'd ever see.



You awoke in silent, claustrophobic darkness.

The lid of your coffin was loose; fresh air could be had with little effort, and you could clear your lungs of the noxious gas that had put you to sleep. Your escape from the pigeonhole slot would prove more difficult, but not impossible.

Narrow, cracked walkways spanned the length of the room beneath each of the twelve rows of coffins. The walkways were only reachable by a single gated elevator, which rested on the ground and was overgrown by lichen and weeds.

The mosaic floor was rippled and split by roots and sapling trees. The copper pipes had turned green like decaying vines. The stream still flowed into the churning boiler, and the gears still turned and groaned. Jagged holes in the ceiling let in the rain and gray stormy light, and the room echoed softly with the drone of machines, the hiss of steam, the drip of water.

From within a hollow corridor, a woman was singing.

The heavy doors had been left wide open, their hinges rusted away. The drawbridge outside was nothing but a shattered ruin of metal and a few broken boards. Beyond it, the road to civilization was gone.

Rose exhaled. It had been a breath that was long held, innumerably long. It was a great relief to finally let it flow out. Although she had perceived her awakening and the lid of the coffin cracked every so slightly open her eyes were still closed, unprepared to be awash with light no matter how faint after their long rest. So, my sleep has ended. How long could it have been? Perhaps the world outside had ended in calamity to become a sun-backed wasteland devoid of any life. Perhaps the kingdoms the witch had once knew had fallen, and new ones had risen in their place. Perhaps it's only been a couple of minutes. She jested to herself. That was certainly unlikely. Despite the great time she had likely spent inside the coffin her body had not atrophied, likely some sort of magic incantation placed on it was to thank for that. How ironic. Was the use of magic not the reason I was sent here? She tested herself before committing to rising, flexing her fingers and massaging her joints. Despite the lack of atrophy there was a great amount of soreness, but that was to be expected.

She knew she had to move. If the incantation that held her had broken others may have as well. She was in a prison, and not a nice one. The Stone was where they sent the very worst of criminals, those who have committed any number of taboos, and those around her were unlikely to be very friendly. She set to escaping from her confinement, kicking forcefully at the now-loosened lid of the coffin that had confined her for so long. The lid was slow to come free, only slowly separating from the body of the coffin. After a minute it finally fell to the floor, making a distinct thud as it landed against the part-mosaic part-root floor. Rose slowly slid out of the enclosure, landing with a wobble on the unsteady and twisted ground. "Phew! Finally, it's good to be out of that box!" She exclaimed loudly to no one in particular in a high, chipper voice that seemed very uncharacteristic for an evil witch. She stretched out, enjoying her new-found mobility. She was greatly saddened by the lose of her old outfit, a fine silken cape complemented by a green tunic and a pair of form fitting black breeches. She even once possessed one of the pointy hats that has inexplicably became bound with witch folklore and donned it proudly. Her clothing had now been replaced with a roughspun shirt that would be likened to a potato sack, and an equally unflattering pair of drab pants that served as a makeshift prison uniform. She frowned, "I'm definitely not going to let anyone force me into a coffin again until the day I die." She said, once again speaking to no one in particular but well aware that her still trapped fellow prisoners may be listening.

Rose turned her attention the the her surroundings, a once beautiful structure. During her sleep it had been reclaimed by the earth, once clean mosaic flooring now one with gnarled roots. The Stone could at one time have been a tourist attraction, but now it was dilapidated and in obvious disrepair. No one has cared for this place in some time. It's been abandoned, she observed. But there was something of greater interest than her surroundings: A soft voice singing. Friend or foe, she was aware of how unprepared she was. She was absent of any witching supplies, but she was already forming a mental checklist of what she would need to find. First would come logs and kindling, supplies for a fire. Something to serve as a cauldron, then reagents. Roots, moss, plants, and much more. And then the supplies needed for the dark arts, chiefly finger bones and blood. The bones of the dead held a special power, the bones of the finger in particular. She would be on the lookout, but for now she had her singing friend to worry about. She wasn't totally helpless without her magic but absent of a weapon she had little hope in a fight. Even if she did find a weapon she was clumsy with a sword and hopeless with a bow, only having a passable grasp at how to use the staff she once carried as a weapon. She would confront the singer with the hope that she would be friendly.

She meandered towards the corridor from which the voice echoed. As she drew near she finally called out, "Hello? Who is that? A friend, I would hope."

"The time has come Carnifex. Awaken, and serve our God." He opened his eyes and saw only the inside of the lid of his coffin. He felt pain in his ribs and jaw, apparently when they froze him in time with whatever gas they used, it stopped his body from even healing. He gave a strong push against the lid and watched as it fell to the ground with a heavy thud. He stepped out and looked around, there was dust everywhere, and there was music playing somewhere. "What is that noise? It annoys me! Find out who it is, and stop them. Use your imagination to do so." He nodded, "Yes masters, I shall do what you ask." He made his way out of the room and heard a voice call out in the distance, "Hello? Who is that? A friend I hope." Carnifex looked around to see if he could spot anyone, and noticed a girl on opposite him on a floor lower then him. He decided to be friendly, and when the opportunity presented itself, he would kill them. "Hey! Up here! Can you see me?!"

Places.... Places everyone.... Curtain in two minutes.....!

Shadows on the wall of Romulus' mind began to gesture and move. Memories crawled like spiders to far away places. Faces and murders mingled. Anxious breath filled his lungs, air. Pure air spilled into his heavy chest and he opened his eyes.

A crack of light split the space in the box. Is it a box..? Or a coffin...? What scene is it? His mind jumbled out meanings and words that gave little or no relativity to his disposition. Romulus pushed against the darkness and felt resistance. He pushed again, his muscles working for the first time in ages. The darkness gave way and light filled his vision. Romulus shut his eyes under the harsh assault of the sunlight and collapsed onto the coffin lid.

Warm, wet air washed over his body causing his light cotton tunic to stick to his back. It was hot and humid, much hotter than Rock Bridge ever was. Romulus look up, shielding his eyes with one hand, memories resurfaced. Prison...murder. Murderer. Me. The Stone. Death. Death. Death...Dea...

He heard voices from somewhere.





"Who is that?"



"A friend,"

"Can you see me?"

"..I would hope."

Above or below. Maybe both? Romulus was still disoriented from his ordeal in the coffin. Wheezing softly he stood up. He was on a walkway, surrounded by a dozen chambers. He could hear the steady hum of mechanical machines and faintly, far away someone was singing. Romulus could tell that time had touched this place. Then he remembered the play...

When Adamar awoke, he found himself standing almost upright instead of on his back. He was still enclosed in darkness, but it seemed that his coffin was propped up. He slowly rose his hand to his face, caressing the flat bronze plate that masked him, and his hands, the gauze that bound them away from the outside world. After confirming that his attire was still intact, he attempted to draw a deep breath of air, but his cold lungs remained inert.

Good.

The darkness would have proved bothersome for any normal man, but one on his way to undeath such as himself would find that he could pierce the void and understand the things around him. The lack of light was no hindrance to Adamar's darkvision, as he lined his fingertips against the crease between the lid and the coffin. Pushing the lid with one hand, and digging his fingers of his other hand between the gap that was forming, he was able to slowly drag the lid to the side, revealing the musky room around him. As he stepped outside, he looked up. The floor his coffin had been laid upon ages ago gave way to the undergrowth. His capsule fell with the collapse, landing in the upright position against the rubble along the same wall. Closer inspection deduced that his coffin actually landed on someone else's in this room below, crushing them. He paid no mind to the tragedy, instead noting the condition of the rest of the room. Moss, dust, cobwebs, rust. Through the break in the floor, some of the back wall was taken down as well, pouring daylight into small puddles of old rain water. Not large enough to crawl through, glaring outside only revealed dead wastelands for as far as the foggy vision would allow.

He stepped down from the rubble, and faced the doorway, which had long since had its wooden door rot away. It was then that he saw the one final piece that he was missing; a small leather pouch. He remembered in his final moments before the royal guards sealed his coffin, those who were departing with his staff and tome must have dropped this pouch without noticing. Realizing what it truly was, Adamar quickly strode to it and knelt down, frantically opening the bag. Peering inside, he saw the crumpled parchment, once drenched in blood now dried. He delicately unfolded the creases to see that his Phylactery was still intact. The fell contract that bound his undead soul to his rotting corpse was the key to keeping his spirit in this world. While he was certainly not pleased that his life's work was taken from him when they confiscated his tome, he would much rather have this. In time, he would rewrite the spells as he remembered them or learned more, and while time consuming, he had all the time in the world to create more items such as staves.

This? This tiny scrap of paper. Covered in the final drops of Adamar's blood. It was the one thing he could never replace.

Content with making it out lucky in this, he stowed the Phylactery away on his person before approaching the doorway itself. It was then that he heard the soft melody of a hum in the distance. Of course others would have awoken before him, and surely there will be more to awake afterwards. If he was to secure himself in this horrid place, he needed to act now.

He secured his mask around his face, and made his way down the corridor.

Darkness surrounded him, he drifted through an endless sea of nothingness, the abyss that haunted his sleep. the abyss from which The seer spoke to him.. Devoid of sound his screams fell on deaf ears, he gave up long ago.. Devoid of thought his mind felt numb, only memories were left.. Devoid of hope he waited for escape, escape he felt would never come. Time was a lost notion, month, years, decades, Thadeus knew not how long he had been in this void, nor how much longer he’d be here, but he didn’t care, the emptiness had grown on him, there was an odd sense of peace to be found in here.

“Rise human.. Your body is free”

A familiar chorus came from the distance, echoing, hundreds of voices, shouts, whispers, cries, all distorted, chaotic, yet strangely harmonic as they spoke. and as they faded away he felt his body jolt, and suddenly, he was falling. falling through darkness and below him, he could see light, the light got closer and closer, and eventually, it enveloped him. His eyes opened and his body moved for the first time in so long, he instinctively attempted to get into a sitting position, but was met with the cold hard surface of the coffin lid knocking him back down again.

“Perfect way to get up..”

Thadeus muttered a curse as he rubbed his head, he lay there in the cold surface of the coffin for a few seconds, adjusting himself to the light that seeped in. this time he reached up to meet the lid, pushing it, it took him a couple of attempts but eventually it slid of hitting the ground with a loud thud. Time sure had taken it’s toll on his surrounding, roots had cracked into the one polished mosaic floor, slithering their way in and out of the ground, vines and moss populated several parts of the room and a layer of dust covered it all like a veil.

“I need a drink...Something strong preferably”

He muttered to himself as he continued observing his surroundings, and that’s when he saw a figure, in the far side of the room it walked towards a hallway.

"Hello? Who is that? A friend, I would hope."

Thadeus thought of saying something, but was caught of guard as another voice spoke, he couldn’t quite figure out where this voice was coming from at first glance. it seemed to be coming from above, but some vines covered his view of the figure.

"Hey! Up here! Can you see me?!"

He decided to wait a bit before making his presence known, slowly making his way closer to them, not saying anything yet.

One would normally wake up feeling refreshed, but this was not the case for Genevieve. Then again it wasn’t a normal sleep she had just woken from. Her whole body was stiff, and felt heavy. Taking a big breath started coughing, her lungs felt raw and dry, as if they were full of dust. She opened her eyes, but could see nothing, as it was so dark inside the coffin. All she could hear was the repetitive sound of water droplets hitting stone. She felt different, her body was different. She pushed hard against the lid of her coffin, but it did not budge an inch. She was not claustrophobic, but panic nonetheless was starting to set in. Why was she awake? Why was she not dead? How long had she been locked away in the stone?

She took another deep breath, and used all the strength in her legs to kick the lid off her coffin. The lid clattered to the floor, making a loud echoing sound. She sat up and leaned over the edge of the coffin, doing her best not to hyperventilate or start crying. Tears filled her eyes, and she quickly wiped them away. That’s when she noticed her hands; they were different, longer and more slender. However long she had been in the coffin, time had not stood still like it had for the others, it had only slowed. She had been thirteen when she was put into the stone, just a little girl. Jeanie looked down at her body, her legs were longer, her baby fat was gone, and she had breasts. She had the body of a young woman now, so she assumed she had to been in stone for around a decade, but her surroundings beg to differ.

The place was overgrown with tree roots, moss, and weeds. The floor was cracked and eroded. Ivy and vines grew up the walls. She clumsily climbed out of the coffin, and stepped awkwardly on to the floor into an ankle deep puddle of water. The broken pipe above was the source of all the stagnant water surrounding her coffin, and it had been what was making the dripping noise. She wore a green longsleeved dress that was now two sizes too small, making her all the more uncomfortable in her new body. She had no idea what was going on, and seems to be completely alone until she heard the others voices, and someone singing.

“Hello?” She said hesitantly to anyone that could hear her. She was surprised to hear her voice sounding so grown up, she sounded like her mom. Thoughts of the last time she saw her mother flashed into her mind, and she subconsciously reached for her neck, and ran her finger over the three scars. She looked around her surroundings and spotted what looked like a man in a mask, he was far down the long hall of coffins from where she stood, but she instantly hoped that he didn’t notice her. Remembering that she was in the stone, a place full of murderers, rapists, psychopaths, and dark magic users she regretted announcing her presence at all. She wondered if she could hide, before anybody tried to kill her.

Two had answered Rose's call, although she was sure there was more, and as of yet whoever had been singing was unaccounted for. After all there were a great number of coffins, certainly four would not be all to make it out. The first to answer her came from above, a man who at the very least wasn't trying to kill her quite yet. Another answered, a timid women who was still among the coffins and seemed to be doing her best to retract the greeting she just uttered. Rose was certain whoever else had awoken were waiting to commit any number of nefarious deeds. It was the Stone, after all, and these were certainly not nice people. However she would need allies, and the two that were so eager (Or not so eager in the case of Genevieve) to answer her call would have to do.

"Greetings, I can indeed see you up there." Rose said, gazing up at the man. She preformed an exaggerated bow, "I am Rose, and I would hope that you don't have any ill intentions. I'm certain we have both been involved any number of terrible crimes, although I think it would be best for both our sake that we be civil. After all, we may soon not be alone. If there is still someone civilization in the outside world there may be people coming to recapture us. Although if you don't intend to be friendly, allow me to warn you." Rose rose from her bow, grinning, "It will not be overly easy to kill me." Rose twirled around, facing away from the man and taking in her surroundings, "Of course that isn't only a warning for you, that also serves for anyone that may be listening."

Rose knew also that the girl was listening as well. She twirled back around towards the coffins above and called out to her, "As for the girl who is attempting to hide from us, I can tell you're somewhat scared, or else you wouldn't have recoiled so quickly after calling out. If you're scared you can come down here, I assure you that I'm no villain. Or, perhaps I am, it's not as if you can trust someone in a place like this. Either way I will do my utmost to keep you safe, since you don't seem to be the type best suited for this place. Of course only if you're willing to trust me, that is." Rose's smile still maintained. She was very mindfully maintaining a carefree attitude, elsewise they may think her to be scared, which she certainly was not. She would not be some weak women to be preyed on.

I've certainly talked up a storm, haven't I? I'd better give them a pause, or they won't be able to get a word in edgewise.

Carnifex heard what the girl said and smiled, "Splendid, a free gift. I'll toy with her when the time comes, for now it is best to make friends." He looked around and noticed a stair case that went down a level, "Stay there, I'll be down in a second." He made his way down and stood before the girl, he then made a theatrical now and introduced himself, "My name is Carn, a simple yet dangerous man, it is a pleasure to meet you young miss."

Thadeus Aldor

He watched the figures talking with a mixture of curiosity and unease, unsure if he should make his presence known or not. But the woman, Rose as she presented herself, did have a point. They had just awoken into the ruined remains of what once was The stone, many things could have happened to bring it to this point, and many things could be after them if civilization still holds, or even if not, who knows what lurks in there parts. Allies, even if temporary and discardable, would be of best his best interest. Thadeus walked away from the coffins, closer to the light that seeped in from cracks in the walls and ceiling

"You sure do talk a lot for someone that has just woken from.."

As he said this he stopped for a few seconds, glancing through a large crack in the wall next to him that he had now noticed.He could see the outside of where The rest of the stone once proudly stood, a mark of the power of law over those who dare break the rules, towers that once seemed to sprout from the very rocks that sustained them now lay collapsed on the ground, or barely standing. the drawbridge ripped from it's place, leaving only shards of metal and wood behind, he could not see much beyond the mist that surrounded The stone.. What happened..

"..However long we've been asleep for.."

Thadeus walked up to the figures and took a very slight bow, not nearly as over the top as the theatrical nonsense the two had done.

"My name's Thadeus.."

he chuckled to himself, a slight hint of sadness present as he thought of the abyss he had been trapped in while he was asleep, the ever present reminder of his deal with The seer, as if his mark wasn't enough.

"And I've taken enough deals in my life to know that at least this one will likely tip in our favor"

The hollow stone spaces echoed with the mechanical churns, groans and hisses of steampowered machines. Rain pattered on the vaulted roof, trickled down the cracks in the walls and pooled on the rippled mossy floor. The voice sang and lilted mournfully, distant and ethereal.

Rose was absent of any witching supplies, but she was already forming a mental checklist of what she would need to find. First would come logs and kindling, supplies for a fire. Something to serve as a cauldron, then reagents. Roots, moss, plants, and much more. And then the supplies needed for the dark arts, chiefly finger bones and blood. The bones of the dead held a special power, the bones of the finger in particular.

Trees grew just outside the open doorway of the Stone, drenched in rain -- but wood might more conveniently be found in the oldest of the coffins, brittle and cracked and filled with the dry bones of convicts who had not been so lucky. A recess in the wall behind the hot boiler was hung with shelves full of gears and machine parts, including some that might makeshift readily as pots.

She meandered towards the corridor from which the voice echoed. As she drew near she finally called out, "Hello? Who is that? A friend, I would hope."

The singing suddenly stopped. The only sounds were the voices of the newly-awoken and the churning and hissing of machines.

It was then that Adamar heard the soft melody of a hum in the distance. Of course others would have awoken before him, and surely there will be more to awake afterwards. If he was to secure himself in this horrid place, he needed to act now. He secured his mask around his face, and made his way down the corridor.

The corridor stretched dark and long, away from the churning crypt of the Stone, deeper into the mountain. At the far end of the corridor was a bright light, like sunlight -- though it was clear by the broken ceiling of the crypt that it was raining outside.

Halfway down the corridor sat a stone statue of one of the Old Gods: a perching winged beast that had a humanlike body, the tail of a scorpion, and seven snakelike heads that swarmed and bared their stone fangs. It was illuminated in haunting silhouette against the light from the end of the corridor.

The statue faced a heavy reinforced door, padlocked.

Another noise resounded out of the bright room at the end of the corridor: a heavy crack, the low huff and grunt of a large beast, and the skiff and skid of heavy footsteps and something dragging against stone.

A huge silhouette blocked out the light at the end of the corridor, and a great ugly ogre stooped to peer through the arched doorway. It sniffed noisily and growled deep in its throat; it smelled something peculiar, but its eyes were too weak to make out what it might be. The ogre was too large to squeeze through into the corridor, so it remained within the bright room, its attention fixed on the smell of flesh and the sound of foreign voices.

Thadeus thought of saying something, but was caught off guard as another voice spoke, he couldn’t quite figure out where this voice was coming from at first glance. it seemed to be coming from above, but some vines covered his view of the figure. He decided to wait a bit before making his presence known, slowly making his way closer to them, not saying anything yet.

Remembering that she was in the stone, a place full of murderers, rapists, psychopaths, and dark magic users, Genevieve regretted announcing her presence at all. She wondered if she could hide, before anybody tried to kill her.

While Rose's voice filled the cavernous room in verbose greeting -- and while the others began to gather around her -- Genevieve might notice a quick-moving shadow along the uppermost level of coffins. Just as quickly it disappeared into one of the pigeonhole recesses in the wall.

A little girl was suddenly standing beside Thadeus.

She had short dark hair, almond eyes and sweeping horns atop her head. She was dressed in a coarse smock, and she held a squirming white rabbit in her hands. The child stared up at Thadeus absently, blinking, as if waiting for him to tell her what to do.

A low rumble and a sharp crack shattered her dark crypt, dust and gravel rushing in and out of the air around her as her lungs rasped back into life gasping out short dry coughs. Nali reached out weakly grasping at the nearest opening, something to pull herself free from her grave, the hunger slowly bubbling up once more inside her, violent and angry at having been denied and confined for so long.

She managed to stumble a few steps forward as the rumbling grew until the back wall of her small pigeonhole crumbled destroying the small box she had woken from.

The shock and wind from the collapse surged behind her clawing to get past her and out to free air, stealing her breath as it shoved her out of the alcove tossing her to the ground like a mere rag doll as it swirled and spiraled up and out in a billowing cloud.

Groaning she curled up in a small ball, cradling her left side laying motionless for a few moments before the words of others made their way up to her plateau. Curious she rolled over crawling to look down over the edge where it looked like a woman and two men had gathered, it was short work to identify them as occupants of the coffins littering the walls, well at least some of them.

Nali's eyes widened as a snare child appeared, before chiding herself at being taken unaware, it was after all how she got in this mess. Their posture and tones gave no signs of animosity or hostility, instead it gave off a vibe of comradery with faint indication of distrust.

Pursing her lips together, she sat up stretching slowly working life back into her limbs wincing as cramps and discomfort soon followed. Being stagnant in a box for years did little wonders for the body, but at least she bore no signs of aging or any other calamity. Her blue eyes rested briefly back on the small group debating on making her way down there before continuing the observation of the remaining Stone, cautious and wary. Surely something catastrophic had to have happen to render such a monument to noting but a decrepit skeleton of its former glory.

Another shake of her head drew her out of her thoughts as a wave of nausea and pain hit her drawing a sharp hiss from the redhead as she desperately clawed at her belt praying to which ever God was listening that her small stash of jewels still existed on her person. With each movement the pain grew causing the young women to double over as she finally wrapped her hand around the bags drawstring pulling it out. Shaking fingers pulled at the knot as her blue eyes slowly started to shift to yellow, a faint aura of blood lust slowly exuding from her.

A soft clinking echoed of the ground as bright lights of red, yellow, green, white, and blue glittered happily in the sun. A pile of small gems spilled out onto the ground, barely enough to sate the hunger raging but enough that she could manage to keep it tamed for a week at most.

Annaliese sighed quickly snatching up a small Topaz popping it into her mouth not even bothering to wait for it to melt before swallowing it, the relief was brief but enough to dissipate the desire for blood and change her eyes back to normal. Flopping back onto her back she lazily scooped the rest back into the bag stowing it away once more.

'Seems I owe someone an offering after all...'

The sarcastic thought rolled around in her mind before being replaced back with the original inquiry as to if she should join the small gathering down below her. Draping an arm over her eyes, she enjoyed the reprieve from the light, a thief by trade she dallied little with the day time preferring to move by night, but that was before the world became an unknown.

"Looks like we'll become fast friends, you and I."

Another sarcastic remark aimed up at the cheerful ball of yellow shinning happily up in the sky, as she sighed once more sitting back up mentally cursing the guards who didn't allow her to keep her cloak. Her pale skin wasn't us to the hot rays of the sun and had already started to gather a pink tint; a quick scramble and a few steps found her resting against a wall in the shade with a good view of those below.

"Well aren't you all a cheery bunch."

It was easy enough work to raise her voice so that it echoed off the remaining walls and make it's way down to the others, yet Nali made no move to join them.

The last thing Rigby remembered, he was being shoved into a box that smelled like old man feet.

Now his eyes were all crusty, his lungs felt like a smoker must feel, and his legs were both asleep.

"HnnnggggrrrrrrRRRYYYYAAAAAAA!!!"

He punched the lid of his box, but nothing happened. He swung his sleeping leg upward and cracked his bare foot against the lid. He couldn't feel anything -- his leg was asleep -- but he figured that wasn't a good thing.

"Get! Out! Git! Move! Hya! Kwah! Hnnngggg!"

He struggled, he flopped onto his stomach, he gave a heave with his arms, and he got the damn thing open enough that he could get his arm around outside and shove the thing over. Hot damn that took forever.

Now what?

Rigby scrambled out of the box and out of the pigeonhole, and he sat down on the high platform to rub the blood back into his legs. People's voices echoed all around him; people were standing around on the ground floor, having speeches and gawping and being confused and playing cool like they knew what was going on.

Nobody knew what was going on.

Rigby hopped to his feet and leaned over to peer down at them. He was ten years old, he wore gray prison clothes and a gray stained bandage around his head, his unruly hair was the color of cracked mud, his skin was as blue as a summer sky, his eyes glowed like yellow flames and his teeth were sharp as nails.

He hocked a loogie and spat it down below, hoping to hit someone over the head.

"Oy, what you losers doin'?" he shouted, and his voice echoed loudly over the churn of machinery. "Who's got somethin' ta eat? I'm gonna starve. I'll fight ya for it. I'll fight all o' ya. I'll eatcha." He flashed them a fangy grin, crouched on the platform like a monkey.

---

Thunder rumbled.

Bits of plaster fell from the vaulted ceiling; new dark fissures veined the murals overhead.

Machines groaned and snapped; steam hissed and whistled.

A chunk of stone broke away from the ceiling and exploded with a CRASH against the floor, spraying the escapees with plaster and stone fragments.

Rain poured in through the widening splintered gaps, and the ceiling crumbled faster. Bigger slabs of plaster and stone crashed to the mosaic floor, threatening to crush those standing beneath.

A car-sized chunk of the ceiling broke away, hurtled downward, and crashed with a deafening impact. Mosaic tiles flung into the air, the floor shifted and broke and gave way under the weight.

The chunk of ceiling fell through the crumbling floor and crashed into the churning metal below. Through the hole in the floor, far below, was an impossible and dark network of cogs and gears and chains and boilers and pipes, churning and clanking and hissing and rumbling. It was all lit up from below by a pale orange glow, like a dying sun.

The floor was breaking.

The ceiling was falling down on top of them, piece by piece.

The woman's voice began to sing again, louder and more fervently, in a language none of them had heard before: Iruditae elagri dae, ilasria lin di samnia gro.

A great hammer at the other end of the hall slammed into stone. The ogre grunted with the effort.

And above -- through the emptiness left by the broken ceiling -- darkness and violet swirled among the lightning and stormclouds. Rain pummeled down into the Stone.

Rigby pumped his fists in the air and hooted with delight.

A deep voice bellowed out of the swirling darkness in the sky -- and even Rigby went quiet in slack-jawed awe.


The voice's echo rumbled in the distance for a long minute before it was finally overtaken by the hiss of the rain.

The void in the sky awaited a response.

More people appeared. A couple agreed to her request for cooperation. Others stood silent, observing, unmoving. A voice came from the distance, remarking on Rose's anachronistic cheer. At least, to Rose it seemed a bit anachronistic, since it seemed the world had become so gloomy and ruined from her point of view. "I'm glad we're all... er, some of us are... well, I'm glad we're not killing each other, at the very least. Very productive in a room full of murder-" Before she could ramble off again she was interrupted by the squalling of a petulant child, screaming about food and challenging the collective group to a fight. Rose's face flushed with anger, "What a dreadful child you are. I don't like being interrupted, okay? Remember that. Don't interrupt me." She rummaged in her pockets. No food. Unless... do I still have it? Rose finally found what she was looking for, and produced, with perfect comedic timing, the peel of a banana. She supposed the stasis must of applied to it as well. This is absurdly ridiculous, that I've been left with this. A bit too convenient. She dangled it, glancing towards the boy. "I don't suppose you want to fight over this? Rose taunted the boy.

She started another sentence, but was once again interrupted. The very foundation of the prison shook, roofing fell in chunks, calamity was happening around them. And all at once it stopped and now the Stone was being rained on. Oh, the rain. I enjoy the rain. Rose thought to herself a very inconsequential though. And then a voice bellowed in the distance, demanding their identity. The voice echoed for a minute, and no one replied. Rose glanced around, deciding to venture a greeting.

"Uhhhhh... I'm Rose? Who might you be?"

She was still holding the banana peel which may well be thousands of years old.

The screeching of a small child, at least Nali thought it was a child, broke her away from her wandering thoughts. She had been thinking about her time before the Stone before waking up to a decaying place where everyone was forced to be friendly, where a giant ogre was not trying to smash an opening so he could reach their small band, where mysterious women don't spend their day singing and acting rather hysterical from what the last verses of the song implied.

She yelped as she dodged a large chunk of mortar and brick, the ground beneath her shaking violently as if trying to fling her from her ledge. 'Great, just what I need. For the damn place to fall apart.' The dry sarcasm in her thought brought a short bark of a laugh before deciding to reevaluate her current situation. It seemed that the violent force shaking the Stone was hell bent on sending everything, and anyone still sleeping down into the abyss that was once the floor. Flirting with the idea of just climbing higher and finding her on way out Nali watched in amusement as the boy child demanded food and challenge everyone to a fight. She smirked slightly as he had cut off the goody two shoe witch, the hunger within her snarled at the thought, if it was one thing they agreed on was that witches were no good. Curious at to what was going on, her perch offered very little vantage in viewing those down below.

A sharp crack and the crunching of stone and wood made the red head look up seeing a rather large chunk of the ceiling tumbling down towards her with all the intent to sweep her away like the rest of this damned place. The soft sprinkling of rain reached her first, as the dirt on her arms and legs slowly shifted into mud and smears, 'This is just perfect...' Another sarcastic thought, as she nimbly made her way down towards the next ledge easily continuing her descent as the water turned the stones slick and added a dull shine to them. Her boots let out a soft echo as she jumped down to the middle arena, walking precariously to the gaping edge looking down into the angry teeth of a hungry beast, the gears and cogs churning and hissing in exertion against the onslaught.

Jumping back slightly at the voice booming from the sky, she looked up craning her neck back to get a better look at the sky and the disembodied voice. She barely registered the witch give an answer as she closed her eyes letting the rain wash over her feeling the thrum and will behind the voice before opening her eyes again choosing to ignore the question making her way over towards the small group, patting the small boy-child on the head before titling her head grinning slightly at the lady dressed in prisoner garb.

Nali was glad she got to keep her own apparel.

"Are you always this cheery, even to giant voices in the sky?"

Another tilt of her head as she observed the small boy, sweeping her gaze over the area noticing the ogre was on this level before sighing, the sharp echoing and beating was coming from the shaking foundation he was hammering at and whatever was making the place collapse probably wasn't going to keep him from killing them all.

"Voice in sky, Ogre beating his way in here, could this day get any better..

This is what you get for trying to fight against Venitech. Don't worry, you won't be alone with all these other criminal scumbags sleeping nearby. Those were the last words that Rain heard from the executor that put her to sleep. A dreamless sleep that she never expected to wake up from ever again. Perhaps it was best that she had no dreams. All those years of thought would probably only cause more and more hatred to grow.

Then Rain realized something had changed. She was thinking clearly now. She opened her eyes and instead of darkness she found herself lying in the coffin with a crack of light peeking through the right side of its lid. She proceeded to feel herself all over just to make sure she wasn't missing any parts. She then pinched her cheek and winced in pain as her nails dug in briefly. Now that she had successfully checked to see if she wasn't dead she could proceed with an escape.

Rain felt pretty sure she could hear people on the other side of the Stone. This both worried her and excited her. This meant that the other prisoners were free, but also murderers and possibly rapists were on the other side of this stone barrier. After a few moments of thought she decided that would have to be a risk she'd have to take since she couldn't stand another moment in this representation of her failure to destroy Venitech and the government it held total power over. She shoved on the lid once and felt it budge only slightly, but it still stood strong.

The fact that she felt famished didn't help her situation any. The hungrier she felt that more and more tired she would be. In fact she couldn't help but be impressed by the fact that she wasn't comatose right at this moment. She tried again to shove the lid off the top of the coffin. Again all it did was budge. Now she had a couple inches of light when before it could only be a sliver. She panted heavily and coughed a few times as dust kicked up and now flowed through the crack this was worse than some of the byproduct of some machines she'd worked on.

Rain clenched her teeth and put herself in a position to give her some leverage and pushed extra hard. The grinding of stone on stone clearly sounded through the area as she manage to give herself a foot and a half more of space. She flopped back down and panted harder than before. "OK... I think I'm done." She caught her breath after a few moments and realized that she could probably squeeze herself out of the coffin now if she slid out on her side.

She grabbed the ledge of the lid and wrapped her leg around the other side so she could pull herself out more easily. "One. Two. Thrrrree." She pulled herself out with a bit of effort and found herself lying on her stomach outside. Outside. She giggled to herself filled with joy. She was free. Free! She didn't care about anyone that was watching her because none of that mattered. She flipped over to her back and stared up at the sky.

The swirling black sky. Only now was she becoming aware of her surroundings. "Wait a minute... aren't these crypts supposed to be closed off to the world?" She then heard the hammering at the door. She then glanced over to the others in the room and sat up. "Uhhh... did the world end while I was asleep? Or did I miss something?"

"Uhhhhh... I'm Rose? Who might you be?"

"Are you always this cheery, even to giant voices in the sky?"

"Uhhh... did the world end while I was asleep? Or did I miss something?"

Rigby bounced and leaped down to the crumbling floor, skittered out of the way of falling concrete, teetered on the edge of the growing glowing chasm in the floor, bounded to Rose's side, snatched the banana peel while she was distracted by the voice-in-the-sky, and he stuffed the whole thing in his mouth. Nali patted him on the head and he growled with his mouth full and leaped again to perch atop a fallen slab of concrete while the Stone rumbled and broke all around them.

It seemed not a one of them was taking this calamity seriously.

After all, who could fear death who had been dead?

Several of those who had stood around Rose plummeted into the churning glowing depths below. Their bodies flailed like ragdolls, broke on the gears and spun into the brightness beneath. Another was struck in the head by concrete and thrown headfirst into the clockwork abyss. Those who had awakened from certain death were being slaughtered one by one, their blood spattered on the pipes. It was as if the Stone were intent on the deaths of the condemned.

And then there were four.

Rose would hear the voice from the sky whispering in her ear. That's a pretty name. Perhaps you will be mine, Rose. A piercing pain stabbed her head, then a bursting pressure like something was forcing itself into her skull. Taking her over. Something dark, deep, menacing.

The singing reached a fevered pitch, behind the banging of the ogre's club. At the same moment, the Stone thundered and the roof collapsed in a torrential fall of stone and rain.

Rose was suddenly released and thrown back; the voice was gone from her head in an instant. She would see a shimmer of a shadow -- huge, flickering, white-eyed -- flung away from her and smashed against the trembling rubble.

The singing stopped.

The thunder stopped.

The rain stopped.

The walls stopped shaking, and the roof stopped breaking.

The gears below squealed to a halt, and the orange glow died.

Before them was a monstrous dark shape, full of sharpness and decay, its eyes big and glowing white. It twitched and flickered and towered over them like emptiness itself. This was what had tried to force itself into Rose's mind, before the singing in the next room had driven it out.

But the song was done, and they all were dead -- save four.

Its voice was like the hiss of a snake.

I AM A GOD IN NEED OF A BODY. YOU ARE ALL BODIES IN NEED OF YOUR GOD. DO I HAVE A VOLUNTEER?

The singing had weakened him; he could no longer hang in the sky and bellow down at them with the threat of worldly power. He could no longer force his way into Rose's head -- but he could accept an invitation.

The shadow twitched and flickered like static, and its bright eyes stared through them.

HURRY, OR SHE WILL SING AGAIN. He chuckled darkly. AND YOUR BLOOD WILL RUN.

Rain confused and worried waited for some sort of response to her dazed question. She was answered with a cacophony of noise as the Stone around them collapsed. Panicked, she jerked her head around looking for any sort of escape as quickly as she could. Nothing was coming to her. Her mind was a blank. Fear blinded her. She breathed heavily doing everything she could to keep herself from screaming out in fear.

Then came the roof. Rain froze. She was dead. After being freed from this prison that may have well have been death, not five minutes had passed and she was going to die. In spite of everything she had done in her life before this and in spite of everything she deserved there was no way she could be prepared to die. She held her breath and closed her eyes hoping for some sort of miracle. All she heard was the stone crashing around her and her heart pounding louder than ever.

Then silence. Suddenly silence. She slowly opened her eyes only to see what she could only describe as a demon before the remaining Prisoners of Stone. She heard its voice as it called out to them.

Its voice was like the hiss of a snake.

I AM A GOD IN NEED OF A BODY. YOU ARE ALL BODIES IN NEED OF YOUR GOD. DO I HAVE A VOLUNTEER?

No! That was no god! She shook her head in fear and backed towards the wall that was behind her.

HURRY, OR SHE WILL SING AGAIN. He chuckled darkly. AND YOUR BLOOD WILL RUN.

She swallowed hard. "No. I think I'll take my chances out here." She turned to face the wall and scanned for any rocks she could climb up. If anything she could escape this cage and see what had changed in the world around her. Maybe she could make it back to her home city of Caiross and see what had become of it. While she hated the government that ruled it, there were people there she cared for and she wanted to know what had become of them. She had to know.

Regardless of what happened there, Rain knew for a fact she had to get out of here.

The sudden silence sent an eerie chill up the red head's spine, her arms subconsciously reaching up to try and rub warmth back into her sides. With the rain stopped the cold slowly started seeping into her bones, the hunger pooling in her stomach started to churn. It seemed the gem from earlier wouldn't be enough to sate it this time, the forbidden taste of blood starting to well up in her mouth as she bite her tongue trying to stave off what could possibly be the inevitable. A shaky sigh left her tormented chest as the other woman, the one in prison rags, was thrown back by a strange creature.

Hair slipped into Nali's face as her head titled trying to make sense of the specter in front of her.

I AM A GOD IN NEED OF A BODY. YOU ARE ALL BODIES IN NEED OF YOUR GOD. DO I HAVE A VOLUNTEER?
...
HURRY, OR SHE WILL SING AGAIN...AND YOUR BLOOD WILL RUN.

"Do all God's look so...strange?" Curious Nali circled the strange apparition, sway lightly as she did the loose rubble and various holes in and around the floor made completing a perfect circle rather hard to do. "Besides you could just be a demon wanting our souls. How do we know if you're a Good God, or a Bad God? Which God are you anyway? There are so many, wouldn't helping you upset the rest of them?"

If she was going to die in this place then she saw no reason to be respectful in front of any self-pronounced God. 'Besides it's not like I have any room for something else trying to wrest control from me..though I wonder which would win...some ancient God..or this curse of mine...' Her thoughts failed to mimic her cheerful nature as she stopped her circling looking back towards the other girl. The one who looked like she would take off up the wall like a scared rabbit any moment, but at the rate the Stone was crumbling Nali doubted she would get very far.

Shrugging she hummed softly walking over to the girl, "Wouldn't it be better if we just tried unbarring the front door? There's a good chance the wall could come crashing down while you're still climbing. We don't even know if it'll hold anyone's wait..." Her tone was cheerful enough, after all she was trying not to scare the poor girl. By the looks of her, the thief wasn't sure she even belonged in this damned place but it was far from it for to have the right to judge anyone else.

She looked back at the other two, actually looking over the small boy gleefully chewing on...a banana peel? A small chortle of laughter escaped her at the sight, there wasn't even a banana. A quick hand covered her mouth trying to hide the small smile on her face before coughing attempting to disperse the laughter hanging in the air around her. "You know, he might be small enough to make it up the wall.." She mused out loud wondering how to even ask the boy, he was so enthralled with the banana peel after all.

'Food. He's probably hungry..'

She wasn't sure why, but it bothered her the idea of their small makeshift group being broken up. Whether it was from the hunger wanting to keep food around or the thought of being alone again she wasn't sure. Either way more people meant a lower chance of her dying. Quickly switching gears, a twirl on her heel she headed back over to the boy and the witch as well. "Perhaps, we can continue this discussion elsewhere? I for one don't want my blood soaking into the ground, nor do I want to become food for the ogre..." She grinned while she talked, an easy going smile, one that was simple to hide behind after all aren't most thieves carefree. Her brow scrunched as she tried to remember what the small boy had yelled out a few minutes earlier, but in this strange place it felt like hours had already pasted since she woke up.

The hunger would have none of it, all of her thoughts turned towards food as her eyes slowly started to glow a pale yellow, forcing her to quickly scramble for the pouch tucked in her belt the rain had made her fingers slick making it hard to work the knot on the pouch, the air around her rippling slightly with the growing blood lust.

The gears stopped turning, the voice stopped singing, the room stopped shaking, and Rose's banana peel was gone. She had been flung rather violently after that thing tried to enter her head, but she rose mostly unharmed.

She shot a glance at Rigby, "That's just not fair. You're going to owe me one of those kid." Rose said with a wicked grin.

All things considered Rose was taking these events rather well. The building around them was almost destroyed, several of the people around them just died, and an evil spirit claiming to be a God just tried to invade her body. Suffice to say most people would be severely unnerved by what was going on around them but Rose had been around the block a time or two during her time as a Witch. One of the unfortunate consequences of dark magic was that something like this happened every once in a while. She was familiar with creatures like the darkness before them: An upjumped demon or some other unsavory sort that thinks they can imitate a God and steal a mortal form in exchange for some vague promise. Of course there was always the cursory chance that it really was something as powerful as a God, but Rose didn't really consider that.

Rose gave the creature a mischievous look, "Maybe I'll consider it if you buy me dinner first? I'm sorry to tell you but you're not my first, I hope that's not a problem. There might even be another evil spirit rattling around my body as we speak, I hope you're okay with sharing." She dropped her smile. "I've made a deal like this before y'know. Usually these things don't shake out to well for us mortals. Sorry, but I think I'll take a pass, and I recommend the rest of you do as well. Rose's usual grin returned.

Rose wasn't the only one that remained oddly cheerful in spite of everything around them. One of the other girls, the redhead, maintained a similarly disarming grin, suggesting they leave. "Oooooo, I like you. I agree, it is in our best interest to get out of here as quickly as possible, although I'm not sure which way would be best. I'll leave it up to you three, but decide quickly." Rose's grin had maintained, of course.

Rose took her chance to sit back. She would observe them. It was important to know if they could be relied on and this dilemma would certainly show if they were capable. She took notice of the slight change in the redhead's appearance, her eyes subtly turning a shade of yellow as she fumbled for a pouch on her belt. For once she said nothing, deciding she would let them speak.