[IC] the Fog of Yggdrasil

[Tyki]

smarty0114 said
John plays back the events in the room over and over in his mind. He had entered the room and the door had closed behind him. Then he had faced the skeletons with the axe. Could it be the skeletons that were the problem. Did he need to dismember them again? Or maybe? Was it his dagger. John picked up his dagger and began dismembering the skeletons, hoping that the door would open soon.

as soon as he retreives his dagger a portion of the wall slides open for him to continue onward, leaving him not needing to dismember skeletons anymore

[smarty0114]

Tyki said
as soon as he retreives his dagger a portion of the wall slides open for him to continue onward, leaving him not needing to dismember skeletons anymore

John cautiously enters the tunnel and makes sure the way is clear before continuing on just a tad quicker.

[Tyki]

smarty0114 said
John cautiously enters the tunnel and makes sure the way is clear before continuing on just a tad quicker.

he finds an empty room with nothing more than a statue and a pressure plate in front of it

[smarty0114]

John almost steps on the pressure plate before throwing his dagger on to see if it triggers anything dangerous.

[Tyki]

smarty0114 said
John almost steps on the pressure plate before throwing his dagger on to see if it triggers anything dangerous.

the dagger isn't sufficient to trigger a response as he's too weak to trigger it without actually stepping on it himself, being a child

[smarty0114]

John sighs and decides to risk stepping onto the plate, seeing it as the only way forward. John slowly steps on the plate and waits for something to happen.

[Tyki]

smarty0114 said
John sighs and decides to risk stepping onto the plate, seeing it as the only way forward. John slowly steps on the plate and waits for something to happen.

the statue animates, seizing him by the neck suddenly and without warning but just holding him in place, not actually applying pressure before a female voice like that of his mother's says into his mind "prepare yourself child. for one lie will mean your head will roll. now speak your name"

[smarty0114]

Tyki said
the statue animates, seizing him by the neck suddenly and without warning but just holding him in place, not actually applying pressure before a female voice like that of his mother's says into his mind "prepare yourself child. for one lie will mean your head will roll. now speak your name"

"J-J-J-John Royheart," John stammers nervously to the statue, somewhat calmed seeing as how the voice sounds like his mothers.

[Tyki]

smarty0114 said
"J-J-J-John Royheart," John stammers nervously to the statue, somewhat calmed seeing as how the voice sounds like his mothers.

"tell me john, what was your last trial?" she asks, her voice softening despite the situation at being able to tell he's not lying

[smarty0114]

"I had to kill some skeletons with an axe," John said, calming down once he realized that this would be easy as long as he didn't lie.

[Tyki]

smarty0114 said
"I had to kill some skeletons with an axe," John said, calming down once he realized that this would be easy as long as he didn't lie.

"this voice is your mother's isn't it?" the statue asks, getting the voice just right to sound like a loving mother despite having him by the throat

[smarty0114]

"Yes it is," John said, staring the statue in the face

[Tyki]

smarty0114 said
"Yes it is," John said, staring the statue in the face

"do you miss her?" the statue asks, seeming to take joy in the questioning despite the conditions, as if it was rare for it to talk to anyone at all

[smarty0114]

John hesitated to answer. He didn't want to appear weak by missing his mother, but he also didn't want to lie. He decided that telling the truth would get him farther and said, "Yes I do. Very much so."

[Tyki]

smarty0114 said
John hesitated to answer. He didn't want to appear weak by missing his mother, but he also didn't want to lie. He decided that telling the truth would get him farther and said, "Yes I do. Very much so."

the statue contemplates him before asking "if you had the choice between knowledge, offense, and defense, which do you think she'd want you to have?"

[YamiCuoreLaroux]

Tyki said
"three more" the creature says evenly, not giving any explanation to why it said it before immediately asking "if i were to give you help, what would you ask for? knowledge, defense, or offense?"

Stefan thought about this for a minute. What would be a good answer? If he had defense, he might stand a better chance in a fight against whatever creatures might find him, but the older boys in the village back home had sometimes said that a good offense made a good defense. But then, what if he wasn't able to make any hits first? He didn't think he was that fast. Or if he was ambushed, it would be good to have a chance at surviving a few hits, but he would only be able to fight back so much before he became exhausted. Then there were all the potential dangers of this place that didn't even have to do with the creatures to be found here. His father always told stories about ancient places like this having traps and natural dangers like unstable floors or ceilings...

What would his sister say?

She knew a lot of things. She would probably know what to say here without even having to worry about it for long. He wished he knew.
"I...I guess...I just want to know how to make it through this test. Or know about what else could help me."

[Tyki]

YamiCuoreLaroux said
Stefan thought about this for a minute. What would be a good answer? If he had defense, he might stand a better chance in a fight against whatever creatures might find him, but the older boys in the village back home had sometimes said that a good offense made a good defense. But then, what if he wasn't able to make any hits first? He didn't think he was that fast. Or if he was ambushed, it would be good to have a chance at surviving a few hits, but he would only be able to fight back so much before he became exhausted. Then there were all the potential dangers of this place that didn't even have to do with the creatures to be found here. His father always told stories about ancient places like this having traps and natural dangers like unstable floors or ceilings...

What would his sister say?

She knew a lot of things. She would probably know what to say here without even having to worry about it for long. He wished he knew. "I...I guess...I just want to know how to make it through this test. Or know about what else could help me."

"so you wish the gift of knowledge then?" the creature asks evenly, not seeming to care but still growing interested in regards to his choice

[YamiCuoreLaroux]

Tyki said
"so you wish the gift of knowledge then?" the creature asks evenly, not seeming to care but still growing interested in regards to his choice

"I guess...yes. I would like knowledge, please." Even though he was still a bit scared, his mother had been very good at drilling manners into him. Besides, the last thing he wanted was to make this creature angry. He had enough ahead of him to worry about without adding on something that could have been that easily avoided.

[Tyki]

YamiCuoreLaroux said
"I guess...yes. I would like knowledge, please." Even though he was still a bit scared, his mother had been very good at drilling manners into him. Besides, the last thing he wanted was to make this creature angry. He had enough ahead of him to worry about without adding on something that could have been that easily avoided.

the creature contemplates him for a bit before patting his head with a bony hand in an oddly fatherly manner before reaching into it's robes to retreive a small, leather bound book and hand it to stefan, waving to an open door way for him to pass before returning to it's slumber in it's chair

[YamiCuoreLaroux]

Tyki said
the creature contemplates him for a bit before patting his head with a bony hand in an oddly fatherly manner before reaching into it's robes to retreive a small, leather bound book and hand it to stefan, waving to an open door way for him to pass before returning to it's slumber in it's chair

Stefan is a bit surprised at the creature's action, but carefully accepts the book. He turns to the doorway, but stops to look back at the creature for a moment before leaving. "Thank you," he whispers. Turning back to the door, Stefan makes his way over and prepares to walk into the unknown. He takes a good look at the book in his hands, wondering what it is.