[IC] Unquiet

[Mokley]

"No. I think I'll take my chances out here."

"Which God are you anyway?"

"I've made a deal like this before y'know. Usually these things don't shake out too well for us mortals."

The self-declared god flickered and staticked at the far side of the gaping, crumbling, jagged, machinery-filled chasm that used to be the mosaic floor. Its sharded eyes glowed round and white, it grinned like hot melted plastic. Its eyes followed Nali round without any need to turn its head.

I AM RSHALOGG, HUNGRY ONE.

Rshalogg stretched out its thin arm over the edge of the crumbling chasm, and it unfolded its sharp staticked fingers: in its dark palm glimmered a small trove of precious gemstones: diamonds, rubies, sapphires.

Nali would find her pouch to be empty.

Rain stood at the opposite end, her back to the god -- now that the floor had fallen through, there was no safe way to reach the rotted front door. The only way out was up -- or past the god and into the hallway that led toward the ogre. She found that the rubble from the roof had created a steep but climbable pile of rock and wood and plaster that led up to the top of the ruined wall -- but once the top of the wall was reached, it was a significant drop to the muddy ground below.

"Well why don't ya just blast 'im?" Rigby roared at Rose, having finally swallowed the banana peel. He hopped like a little blue monkey on the bone-strewn remains of old caskets, casting his hateful eyes between Rose and Rshalogg. "Yer a witch, right? And ya just said you've got a commune with a demon or somethin, right? So blast 'im! Kapow!" He swung his fist in the air so hard he nearly lost his balance. He was so completely and utterly focused on the idea of blasting their way out of every situation that he failed to notice Nali's changing eye colors or Rshalogg's widening grin.

BOOM

A small explosion rumbled at the other end of the hallway, and the walls of the Stone trembled.

The woman's voice once again began to sing -- fainter, weaker, but determined to sing to her dying breath. The floor under their feet began to crumble at an alarming rate; the gears at the bottom of the chasm below began to creak and hiss and churn. Soon, the floor would turn to little more than sand, the rubble of the roof would drop into the chasm, and the only way to avoid being dropped with it would be to cling to the uneven stones of the walls. There were moments to act: to dart into the hallway where the floor was intact, to traverse the treacherous path to the broken front door, to climb the wall, or to accept the help of the grinning god.

Outside the wall where Rain stood, the sound of shuffling and grunting could be heard. The explosion had been the sound of the ogre escaping the room at the end of the hall. It had walked around the castle, and now stood wet and muddy on the outside of the wall, peering up with its ugly face, a person-sized hammer slung over its shoulder.

The song filled the Stone.

[drewccapp]

Rain kept glancing back at the people and "god" behind her as she search the walls for a way to climb out since the door was not longer an option. Fear kept her from hearing or even listening to anything that was said around her or to her. She found a steep yet climbable pile of rubble that while not perfect would be better than going past the "god" and into the loud hallway with the big thing banging on the door. She slipped once, then twice as she pulled herself up and found a loose piece of rubble. Fortunately, each slip only stopped her progress instead of losing progress since she kept three points of contact at all times.

"Come on," she mumbled to herself. "Just like when you climbed up that house to blow up that Venitech service station." Only then she at least had a grapple line and a little assistance.

After a few moments she found herself standing outside the wall with singing starting up behind her and shuffling and grunting from somewhere out here. She glanced around, hunger pangs really starting to get to her, although the adrenaline from her fear of the "god" at least partially kept the pain at bay. She figured she could manage for a few minutes before the urge to stuff her face with dirt overcame her. She glanced back at the others debating whether she should help them or not.

They are criminals. A strong argument that had some weight to it. One could never know what horrible deeds a criminal would do to her.

You're a criminal too. Rain winced internally at that. No no no. There was no way should could consider herself a criminal; she was a revolutionary. That line of thought could only be the Stone talking.

They're living people. That was true and she did feel some sympathy towards their suffering in the Stone along with her.

SHUT UP! I'M HUNGRY FIND FOOD!

Ultimately, hunger won out in the end and Rain scanned around for a safe way to get clear of this area and find food. They were completely capable of helping themselves, and from what she could tell they were considering the "god's" proposal. One that Rain would never consider, since magic always comes with trouble.

[Bubsy 2]

Rose glanced at the squalling child, imploring her to "blast 'im!" She shook her head. "I'm afraid it doesn't work that way. If we don't want to be ogre food, or demon food, or crushed, or killed in any other number of gruesome ways we better follow our friend up there." She said, pointing at Rain, who was already climbing the steep pile of rubble and making her escape. Rose didn't trust her ability to suppress the demon with her current lack of power, so the deal was off the table. That same lack of power meant she wouldn't be able to use magic to aid her escape- it looked like the climb was the only sensible option.

So Rose elected to follow Rain. The blue-haired girl, eager to escape, had already made her way up the wall, and looked like she was already jonesing to find her way down. Rose began to climb after her, calling out, "Hey! Friend, you're not planning on leaving without us, are you!?" Rose gave her a look of exaggerated mock sadness. "We should stick together, we're not exactly in familiar territory, and we don't know whats outside!" She was struggling to be heard over the ogre and the singing and the falling rubble and all the other very loud and very crazy things happening around them.

Rose was slowly progressing up the hill of rubble. The pile was unstable, and Rose wasn't the most athletic Witch around. Each handhold she grabbed threatened to give away, each step met with a slip and a danger of falling back down to the Stone's floor. But somehow she barely held on each time, precariously making her way up one handhold at a time.

When she finally reached the top of the rubble, she took a step up onto the wall, almost reaching the promised escape. But a piece of plaster went out from under her back foot, destabilizing her footing and almost causing her to tumble back to the ground. She caught the lip of the wall with one hand, barely saving herself from the fall back down. She looked meekly up at the blue-haired girl. "Could I get a little help? Please?"

[chukklehed]

Grace woke suddenly, calm and collected. She had long ago learned to wake from her trances with a clear mind, and that talent saved her now. She pressed against the confines of her darkness, determining they were wooden. She heard the chaos outside her temporary cell, and knew she was in danger, so her right arm lashed out, stone shattering wood as her false limb battered against the yielding coffin lid. Gripping the edges of her box, she pushed upright, taking off her right glove and checking the runes engraved in the living stone.

"I doubt they knew about my arm and leg, else I would no longer have them..." She mused to herself, satisfied that all her etchings were in good order. Three of them still glowed with the souls they contained, temporary housing until she could build them new bodies. The rest had been destroyed when she was captured, and for a moment sadness welled in her chest, but she let it go with a prayer for their well being.

Grace pulled herself out of her coffin, wedged into a corner of the room, and took stock of the situation. There was no word for it but chaos, and she had no inkling of what was happening, but could feel the anguished souls of the recently killed. This was not a place for any soul, living or dead, and she protectively clutched at the wrist of her right arm. She hurried, hunched over, to where she saw other humans, but said nothing to them, trying to understand what was happening first.

[shylarah]

Darkness, filled with nightmares mixed with memories that wove with fragmented visions. The sweep of time, flowing past unnoticed. A distant pounding that grew louder, and the sound of a strange but compelling song....

The girl awoke with a jerk, slamming her head against the top of her coffin as she tried to bolt upright, the impact bringing tears to her eyes. She fumbled in the dimness of the cracked prison for the only thing she truly cared about, and nearly sobbed in relief when her questing hand came across the worn fabric of her beloved plushie. Tucking it securely into the length of rope that served her as a belt, she reached for the brilliant crevice that indicated access to the outside world. The pounding from her dreams seemed to have faded, as had the rhythmic call of the rain -- had it been raining? But there were other sounds, the rumble and crash of falling stones and the hum and tick of...why did she have the mental image of gears?

The girl scrabbled at the gap, and managed to wrench the cover of her coffin aside enough to squirm free, taking a deep breath of air that wasn't so stale. She could smell rain and dirt, and for a moment her heart soared. She was free, somehow she was free, and she'd be able to go back home to--

The thought ground to a halt, a pained sob nearly bursting from her lips but she choked it back. She remembered what had happened. She remembered where she had been sent. This must be the Stone. And there was no going home, no one waiting for her if she did. The child shivered and opened her eyes to look around, only to squeeze them shut again against the blinding light. So long in the dark, and she was nearly blind out of it. Strains of a song filled her ears, tugging at her thoughts. A lingering trace of vision flitted past her eyelids, a horrific figure that claimed to be a god, seeking to possess a woman. And the song...the song was important. The god was evil, her experience with the thing that clung to her mother told her that. It was the same sort of thing, darkness and madness and contradiction, and she hated it.

But the song, the song was the opposite. Whoever was singing, she thought that person might be someone she could trust. The child ventured to slit her eyes open, still needing to squint against the brightness. There were other people there, and she didn't trust them. People would hurt you and hate you and lock you up in a coffin. She didn't want to get too close to them, but could hardly avoid it, unless....

Forcing her protesting limbs to move, the girl clung to the tangle of ivy and other plants that covered the wall, working her way slowly around the edge of the room. She didn't look at the dark shape with the glowing eyes. Even unable to make it out clearly, instinct whispered that looking at it would only bring pain. She prayed the blurry figures that must be the other people she heard speaking wouldn't see her as she picked her way around the edge of the room, aiming for a level other than the one they seemed to be on, and trying to head for the singing.

[Wishful Stray]

The air around her had become heavy with a mix of rage and a desperate hunger, the offering of gems glittering in front of her did little to dispel it. So transfixed she paid little attention to the going on around her, the strange witch leaving to scramble up the wall after the quiet one, the two new comers scrambling out of their coffins. It was like time had stopped, the singing, the crashing, the orge's insistent banging all had become muffled and had faded out.

The only things that existed were her, the false god, and the abyss.

All Nali could see was the gems, and with each passing grain of time her control slipped more and more. It wasn't like she had many options, takes Rshalogg's offer and be damned with another affliction outside her control, let the hunger win and possible consume those around her, climb the wall and perhaps be able to control herself until by some miracle she found more gems, or take the suicidal route and attempt to consume the ogre at least that way it would be killing two birds with on stone. A low growl rumbled in her throat in annoyance at the situation, at herself for being caught in the first place, at the witch who caused all of this, at her parents for being poor. She stood there berating herself into self pity and hate for what seemed like ages but in truth only a few seconds had slowly ticked by.

The shrill singing broke through her thoughts as another chunk of the Stone came crashing down mere inches from where she was standing. As much as the jewel thief loved to fool herself about escaping of her own volition she wasn't that naive, yet still her mind ran through each option all of them ending up with her dead at very least, but with the false god she had a chance to live a little longer and perhaps that should be enough for her.

"What do you mean by host?"

The question slipped out from her chapped lips, her eyes still feasting on the offered jewels, to anyone else she probably seemed as someone obsessed with wealth and she had no inkling to explain her situation; the idea of standing in a damned building arguing terms with demon struck her as strange and a soft pearl of laughter bubbled up from her, though the laughter was laced with a taste of panic and resignation.

Another crash found itself drowned out by the hysterical singing, it filled Nali's head swarming her senses until only the hunger was strong enough to withstand. She had to get out of her and if she had to be damned once more to live than so be it, a slender hand snatched out and just as quickly a sapphire disappeared pooling and melting across the woman's tongue soothing the rage and hunger for now.

"The gems and a way out and I'll agree."

Both her tone and her eyes had a calmness to them, like one resigned to their fate to die, a lying smile plastered across her face as she stuck her hand back out like one would for a handshake.

"Let's not waste time, hmm? I don't feel like dying here."

[Mokley]

After a few moments Rain found herself standing outside the wall with singing starting up behind her and shuffling and grunting from somewhere out here.

When Rose finally reached the top of the rubble, she took a step up onto the wall, almost reaching the promised escape. But a piece of plaster went out from under her back foot, destabilizing her footing and almost causing her to tumble back to the ground. She caught the lip of the wall with one hand, barely saving herself from the fall back down. She looked meekly up at the blue-haired girl. "Could I get a little help? Please?"

Grace pulled herself out of her coffin, wedged into a corner of the room, and took stock of the situation. There was no word for it but chaos, and she had no inkling of what was happening, but could feel the anguished souls of the recently killed. This was not a place for any soul, living or dead, and she protectively clutched at the wrist of her right arm. She hurried, hunched over, to where she saw other humans, but said nothing to them, trying to understand what was happening first.

Forcing her protesting limbs to move, Amuné clung to the tangle of ivy and other plants that covered the wall, working her way slowly around the edge of the room. She didn't look at the dark shape with the glowing eyes. Even unable to make it out clearly, instinct whispered that looking at it would only bring pain. She prayed the blurry figures that must be the other people she heard speaking wouldn't see her as she picked her way around the edge of the room, aiming for a level other than the one they seemed to be on, and trying to head for the singing.

"The gems and a way out and I'll agree."

Both her tone and her eyes had a calmness to them, like one resigned to their fate to die, a lying smile plastered across Nali's face as she stuck her hand back out like one would for a handshake.

"Let's not waste time, hmm? I don't feel like dying here."

A mist of rain softened the harsh landscape. All around the Stone were the shattered remains of old burned trees, now covered in moss and wrapped in new vines. From the spot where Rain stood in the muddy grass -- and where Rose clung to the top of the wall -- they had a clear view of the valley over the cliff's edge.

The landscape below the Stone was a rocky expanse of tufted weeds, crumbling metal pieces of old mechs and broken catapults, rusting helmets and muskets, the stark lines of bones overgrown with high grass. The outside of the Stone was dark with old burn marks, soothed by age.

A crash and a grunt announced the approach of something big, long before the ogre pushed through a stand of rotted trees. It stood more than seven feet tall with grimy rock-colored skin, dressed in what amounted to an old rag of a skirt; an enormous hammer was slung over one bony shoulder. It peered down with dull eyes over a bulbous nose and hooked teeth, and it gripped the hammer a little tighter when it caught sight of Rain. A low, gurgling growl rumbled in its throat. It had not yet noticed Rose.

A fangy grin stretched white across Rshalogg's flickering face, and the god's glowing eyes narrowed in humor at Nali's bold acceptance.

YOU ARE THE INTELLIGENT ONE.

A black clawed hand stretched out. The moment it touched her hand, a swirl and storm of empty darkness enveloped the hungry thief. Rshalogg gripped her arm tightly while the shadows of his form swung and spun. Flashes of eyes dizzied around Nali's head before her mouth was forced open and something hideous and cold was thrust down her throat. She blacked out and collapsed just as the last tendrils of shadow disappeared between her lips.

Now that the dark god had vanished, Amuné would find her path clear of obstacle save for the rubble and broken coffins that stood in her way. The weakened sound of singing echoed in the dark arched walls of a wide corridor, at the end of which was a bright open doorway.

Should Amuné decide to continue toward the singing, through the doorway, it would take a moment for her eyes to adjust to the bright light that filled the vaulted room on the other side. A gigantic hole had been recently smashed through one wall of the room, clearing the way outside into the scraggled grass and misty rain. The source of the room's light was not the sun.

The wide empty room was filled with pipes -- the very same pipes that crisscrossed the walls of the Stone and ended at each of the prisoners' coffins. The pipes trailed up and over the ceiling, or along the walls of this room, and all of them met in a mass of hissing metal at the source of the light and the singing.

A young girl was held against the wall by pipes and wires, as if she'd been half-engulfed by copper tendrils. Thin tubes were stuck into her head and pale skin so that she could barely move. She was glowing from within, bright enough to light up the room.

She stopped singing, her throat dry and cracked. Her eyes opened wide in fear, and the light within her dimmed and faded. She focused on Amuné, but didn't make another sound.

Nali awoke to the sound of laughter inside her own head. She was laughing, and her face was smiling, like an involuntary spasm she couldn't control. Her own voice spoke:

"A curse! Hungry for sapphires and diamonds, I see, or the blood will run."

Nali's hands and legs pushed her to her feet, where her body swayed unsteadily. Her hand stretched out, and her mouth grinned while her eyes admired the way her fingers closed around a handful of rubies.

"But isn't blood the more delicous?"

Nali's head turned around, slowly, and she saw Grace and Rose at the crumbled wall on the far side of the room. Her grin broadened, impossibly wide.

"Theirs, for example?"

Nali's hand tossed the rubies and caught them a few times, then fondled them thoughtfully.

"But, a deal is a deal."

Nali's head tipped back, and the rubies were dropped into her open mouth. They melted and soothed down her throat, calming the amplified bloodlust that roiled in her stomach.

"Gather your strength, thief."

Nali tilted her head quickly and cracked her neck, narrowed her eyes, and laughed again; the sound echoed on the walls of the Stone. Slowly, Nali regained the use of her own hands, could work her own mouth and decide on her own what she was looking at. Rshalogg voluntarily retreated to the back of her mind -- a dark, roiling presence full of anticipation, pride and mockery. She knew, instinctively, that he could and would take control of her body whenever he pleased, but that now he was only content to watch and listen and gather the power he had lost. Another gemstone materialized in her palm -- she could summon them at will, with only a thought. He spoke to her, a voice pounding in her skull:

NOW YOU'RE EATING FOR TWO.

[drewccapp]

"Hey! Friend, you're not planning on leaving without us, are you!?" Rose gave her a look of exaggerated mock sadness. "We should stick together, we're not exactly in familiar territory, and we don't know whats outside!"

Rain jumped when she was called out to. She glanced back towards the person who called at her with the same expression she had when the authorities had captured her: utter fear. "Hey! Friend," had been the words yelled to her when she had been caught the last time. Then she had seen that filthy traitor Casius whom had been her supplier for the mission she had been one. Thankfully, he had no clue who her comrades were in her war against the government. For her this was only yesterday although she had no clue how long she had been committed to the Stone. The Venitech had rushed her processing to keep things quiet.

She looked meekly up at the blue-haired girl. "Could I get a little help? Please?"

She took a moment to calm down somewhat and reached down to help Rose up when she heard a crash sound and turned her head to see an ogre among the ravaged trees. "Right, just great. Better out here and able to run I guess." She looked back at her new friend as she pulled the woman up. "Name's Rain. We should get out of here before big guy over there gets to us." She pointed at the ogre approaching through the trees.

"The gems and a way out and I'll agree."

Both her tone and her eyes had a calmness to them, like one resigned to their fate to die, a lying smile plastered across her face as she stuck her hand back out like one would for a handshake.

"Let's not waste time, hmm? I don't feel like dying here."

Rain had a bad feeling about what was about to happen. Things were terrible right now, and she believed that they would only get worse. Way worse. Then she heard the laughter that sent chills down her spine.

"A curse! Hungry for sapphires and diamonds, I see, or the blood will run."

Nali's hands and legs pushed her to her feet, where her body swayed unsteadily. Her hand stretched out, and her mouth grinned while her eyes admired the way her fingers closed around a handful of rubies.

"But isn't blood the more delicous?"

Nali's head turned around, slowly, and she saw Grace and Rose at the crumbled wall on the far side of the room. Her grin broadened, impossibly wide.

"Theirs, for example?"

Rain pulled Rose up quicker. "Come on! Lets go!" Then she reached down to the other person. "Come on lets get away from the scary 'god' demon thingy." She resisted the urge to leave the other person to their demise and waited for them to (hopefully) quickly grab her hand so she could pull her up. "Come on. Come on." She urged repeatedly, fearful of the ogre at her level and the "god" in the Crypt of Stone. She'd rather risk her life in the war-destroyed landscape around her filled with ogres than deal with a "god" whether its weak or not.

[chukklehed]

Rain pulled Rose up quicker. "Come on! Lets go!" Then she reached down to the other person. "Come on lets get away from the scary 'god' demon thingy." She resisted the urge to leave the other person to their demise and waited for them to (hopefully) quickly grab her hand so she could pull her up. "Come on. Come on." She urged repeatedly, fearful of the ogre at her level and the "god" in the Crypt of Stone. She'd rather risk her life in the war-destroyed landscape around her filled with ogres than deal with a "god" whether its weak or not.

Grace looked up at the offered hand, then at the Old One in it's new body and the tunnel past it, and seemed to make a decision.
"Sorry, go on ahead without me, I think I'm too heavy for that climb." she smiled slightly, trying to express her thanks at the thought, then walked around the room, heading for the tunnel. Her left leg came down heavy every time she took a step, making her gait sound like a limp. Her eyes were fixated on the woman as she dumped a gemstone into her mouth. Interesting, Grace thought idly, briefly. wondering what that was about before refocusing.

I've read enough about Old Ones to have a general grasp, She thought to herself, simply walking past. This one seems weakened somehow, and it takes some time to fully corrupt someone, and she looks mostly harmless on her own. If she attacks me, I think I can probably defend myself. Either way, she wanted to know what was on the other side of that hallway, and she needed to find some time to build new golems. There were plenty of broken souls around, after all. Perhaps she could find a use for them.

[shylarah]

The child slowed as she drew closer to the thing that called itself a god, but suddenly it was gone, and a lady was laughing. A wave of foreboding swept through the child, both a pressure from her magic and chills brought on by the words someone spoke that echoed through the room. She reached the doorway and ducked inside, lifting a hand to shield her eyes that still hadn't adjusted to the brightness after so long in the dark. She dropped it as the singing ground to a halt, and gasped as her vision cleared enough to made out another girl. The other youth was maybe twice her age or a little less, and glowing with a gentle luminescence. But she was wrapped in wires and tubes, some of them burrowing into her like parasites.

The younger child clutched her kitten doll tighter, her stomach knotting at the sight. Who would do something like this? No, Amuné knew the answer. People didn't care about them. The older girl must have magic too, and people had feared and hated her for it as well.

"Like me." The words came out in a hoarse whisper, barely loud enough to be heard. As the light faded, the Seer moved forward, drawn by the girl's plight, and her expression. She knew that look. That inability to do anything. She knew it far too well, and the pain that it brought. She reached out a hesitant hand, not sure if she should touch anything or not. Those tubes couldn't be good, but she didn't know much about healing, and certainly didn't have any medicine or other supplies that she might use to do something. Even bandages would have to be ripped from her own dirty clothing, and that would put bad stuff in an open wound.

The older girl looked weak, too. Was she dying? Was that why she'd stopped singing? Cautiously Amuné touched one of the lines, trying to see how secure it was. A prickle like static ran up her spine and made her shudder. She knew, somehow, that the girl was important, and that she'd been stuck here like this a long time. She traced the path of the tube to where it buried itself in the teen's upper arm, but when her fingertips brushed against skin she froze. A moment later she yanked her away as if burned, stumbling back a few steps. In that brief moment, images had burst into her head, a confusing blur she couldn't draw much sense from. Dark, awful things, like the one that had beein in the other room, beating against a wall, were the thing she saw clearest. But the wall was cracking.

"H-how--" The child's voice voice cracked, rusty from disuse. "How do we fix it? Keep them away?" Regardless of the answer, she steeled herself in case she triggered another vision and slid her hand past the tangle of tubes, to gently grasp the hand of the other girl. "I'll stay for now," she said softly, looking back in the direction she'd come from.

Nobody should have to die alone.

[Wishful Stray]

'Eating for two? Is that some weird pregnancy joke?'

Nali's eyebrows shot up amused by the Dark God's jeering nature, her head was still foggy from being taken over; it wasn't the same as with the hunger she still had her memories of what just happened and her talking and laughing to herself like a maniac wasn't a very pleasant one. Her lips pursed together as she folded her arms across her chest, musing over her newest arrangement,at the very least she could remember what had happened.

'First of no weird voodoo magical insemination, I am not having a demon baby god.
Also, if you need to use my body I'd prefer you'd ask first.
No doing anything weird while I'm sleeping.
Keep all mocking and jeering to a minimum while I'm talking to others.
No talking to yourself and laughing like you're deranged, granted you probably actually are.
Anything else?
Ah right.
Don't make me do anything I wouldn't actually be willing to do myself. If you do well see whose quicker, my knife or you're ability to take over before the blade find's my heart.

Any questions?'

She smiled cheerfully, bold arrogance and false bravado was enough to keep her reasonably calm enough to try and bargain with one of the Old Gods,but since when did she decide to back down from anyone or anything. A soft sigh and a quick motion brushed her hair back out of her face as she looked around once more, the crumbling wall to disheveled to support her weight, the tunnel to small for her to fit through, so they only real option she had was to try the front door.

'Interesting...'

Humming softly her heels clicked slightly as she made her way through the fallen rubble heading towards the doorway the God had been blocking. A simple thought and a small pool of gems materialized in her hand, she resisted the urge to let the gems fall scattered to the ground but the thief in her couldn't let go such precious stones; she chuckled slipping them into her pouch keeping them close to her, a second nature at best.

[Bubsy 2]

Rose accepted the girls hand, hoisting herself up an onto the wall. She gave the girl a toothy grin, "Thank you. I almost didn't think you were going to help." Rose let out a slight chuckle. Apparently almost dying was amusing to the witch. Rose looked down at those still below, particularly Nail. She shook here head, "Bad deal. Those things don't bargain unless they're going to get the better end of the deal. Most demons need to trick you into stealing your soul, but it seems like our friend is eager to lose it. I wouldn't take a deal like that, y'know, learned better... er..." Rose realized she didn't know the name of her savior, or for that matter anyone else that had lived through the earthquake. "I'm Rose, by the by." Rose didn't extend her hand to be shook, instead forcibly grabbing the blue-haired girls hand and shaking it.

This would be a normal albeit slightly weird interaction in any other situation, but here in a collapsing prison being attacked by an ogre at what seemed to be the end of the world Rose's calmness might have been slightly unnerving to some. In fact it seemed she didn't care a fig about the apocalypse happening around her, or at least if she did she wasn't visibly worried. She looked at the ogre trotting towards them. "Unless you have a plan to take that thing down I would recommend we get down onto the ground and start running. I would... well, y'know, 'magic' it but, uh, there aren't exactly a lot of reagents on hand. Maybe with some chalk and a small blood sacrifice... no, no, actually that would get pretty messy, on second thought let's just run."

Rose began to scan the wall, searching for a way down. She noticed the exterior of the prison was caked with vines and other greenery. It looked like she found her way down. "Well, that certainly looks like our best bet." She said, gesturing towards the vines."Last one downs ogre food?" She said with a playful smile. "We better be quick about it." Rose grabbed a thick vine, giving it an exploratory tug. It seemed sturdy enough... hopefully. She grabbed onto it and began to slide her way down, hoping the ogre wouldn't run up and swat her off.

[Mokley]

"Come on! Lets go! Come on lets get away from the scary 'god' demon thingy."

"Last one downs ogre food?"

"Sorry, go on ahead without me, I think I'm too heavy for that climb."

"How do we fix it? Keep them away?"

Any questions?

Rain and Rose were, quite simply, far too slow. Or maybe the ogre was much faster than they had anticipated. In either case, the two had only made it part of the way down the vine-crossed wall when the beastly giant showed up, huffing from the effort of loping halfway around the Stone. A rainy mist started falling again, and the ogre's breath huffed in pale clouds in front of its mangled mouth.

The ogre's hand shot out toward Rain, but she managed to slip out of its grasp -- and fell ten feet to the muddy ground below. It took the ogre a second to register that it had not, in fact, captured the girl, and it stared at its open palm in confusion. While the gears were turning in the ogre's thick head, Rose had the chance to climb safely to the ground.

The ogre lifted its hands in the air and looked down, surprised to find that both women were still free. "Hah!" it breathed in dumb frustration, and it reached out to grab Rose by the arm.

There were three ways to go from here, if they wished to run. To the left was the fresh path the ogre had just made through the sapling trees and scraggled brush that led back around the rear of the Stone; behind the Stone were high rocks and cliffs that were near impossible to climb with any sort of efficiency, but following the path would bring them to the back room of the Stone. To the right they could make it to the front entrance of the Stone, and the broken remains of the drawbridge that had once been the only safe means of reaching the mainland. Or, they could attempt the climb down over the cliffside, using the rocks and small trees as hand and footholds.

---

"HA haha! Wouldn't you rather live and see what I'll do, rather than die and waste a perfectly good opportunity for chaos?" Rshalogg was positively thrilled by Nali's restrictions, and he had no intention of remembering them. "I'll use you as I please. In exchange, I'll lend you my power. Everything you want. Desire is a beautiful thing." He was thinking of blood and of making masses of people bow in fear at his feet when he spoke of desire.

It would be a bit of struggle over rubble and along the crumbling pieces of what was left of the floor, but eventually Nali would find her way to the double doors at the front of the Stone, forced open and broken on their hinges. The misty rain outside billowed in; tall grasses waved gently, and weeds had grown over the rotting pile of wood that had once been the bridge to the mainland, an imposing distance away. From here, the cliff was a sheer drop into a deep ravine. To the left were the sounds of struggle between Rain and Rose and the ogre; to the right were trees and shrubs and a hike around the side of the Stone, which was situated alone on a mountaintop.

"Let's find the nearest city," Rshalogg suggested eagerly. "We'll rule it before the other gods realize the girl's stopped singing."

---

At the end of the hallway, in the room full of pipes that had gone quiet and cold, the girl had stopped singing, her light dimmed.

She stared at Amuné, her eyes barely focusing as the child spoke and touched her hand, and she shook her head slowly.

"Җȿɖɷɹʘ ʃ♦ ɘʥʯͼӿ₰◊ⱷ."

Through her power and the touch of the girl's hand, Amuné knew she had said I can't die. She meant immortality: she was incapable of death, no matter how many centuries she'd seen, no matter how many pipes had been stuck into her skin and fastened to her bones. The girl squeezed her eyes shut, flexed her fingers, and began to pull with her arms against the tubes that held her fast against the wall.

"∞ⱷↄℓ₹ ᾣᵷᵠ." < Help me. >

There was no longer a reason for her to stay here: there were no more living people feeding her power, and the pipes and clockwork that had fueled her song had gone cold and dry. Now that the Stone was only filled with corpses and rubble, there was nothing left to prevent the Old Gods' return. Rshalogg was only the first. She was not shocked at this: she'd only prevented the inevitable for as long as was possible. Now, all she could do was free herself from this place.

With a firm tug, each of the lines would release from the girl's skin without blood, though with a wince of pain. It would take a great deal of strength and effort, however, to lift her out of the web of pipes -- strength that Amuné alone did not possess. She stared around the room, sad to see that her dear ogre friend had gone -- and she caught sight, dimly, of Grace in the doorway.

[drewccapp]

"Sorry, go on ahead without me, I think I'm too heavy for that climb."

One thought ran through Rain's mind at that statement. You have got to be kidding me! Who in their right mind would be willing to stay near a monster like that? It just possessed that woman! Who knows what it's capable of. She didn't care to hide her expression, making it quite clear that she thought she was crazy. Then there was the girl going to towards the singing and whatever that was only could be insane too. This whole place was insane, even the ogre!

Rose introduced herself, at least someone seemed to have their marbles all in one place. She then pointed out towards some vines.

"Well, that certainly looks like our best bet." She said, gesturing towards the vines."Last one downs ogre food?" She said with a playful smile. "We better be quick about it."

"Right now, I'll take a best bet any day," Rain commented as she started climbing down the vines.

Suddenly the ogre rushed towards them at a crazy speed. How on earth was something so huge so fast? It lunged at her trying to grab her, but reflexively she kicked at the wall to push herself away from the monster's grasp. She had managed to slip out of its grasp, but she felt the vine she held onto snap and let out a breath in surprise as she fell the remaining distance to the mud with a loud slap. She laid there stunned a few moments while the ogre stupidly looked at its palm with a dumb expression on its face.

An idea popped into her head and she started covering herself in mud and then she started crawling away from the dumb giant. Hopefully, Rose would take after her example and disguise herself too. Maybe it would think that it had literally crushed her into nothing. That would be great. She headed towards the front of the stone towards the drawbridge. She was unaware of the fact that it had finally recovered enough to grab at Rose.

[shylarah]

Unable to die? Amuné was surprised by the claim. The double-sound of the words, one language she didn’t know spoken, and another deeper meaning resonating with her soul, that surprised her too, but it bothered her far less than the dark things that waited at the borders of the world. Whatever the other girl’s power, the younger child wouldn’t turn away like everyone else did.

When asked to help, she wasn’t sure at first what was wanted. But as the strange teen worked to free herself from the mass of tubes, Amuné understood. Seeing them come free was unnerving, as was the lack of blood, and the child shuddered. But she wouldn’t let her unease decide her actions. The singer meant safety, or at least something safer, and she wouldn’t give that up if she could help it.

With the last of the lines removed, Amuné took a step back. What now? The other girl didn’t seem to be very strong, and considering how long she’d been there, the younger child was not surprised. It happened when a person had to stay in bed for a long time to get better -- when they got up, they were always weak and not just from being sick. But she was too small to be any use helping the teen out of her tangled cocoon. The child looked around, hoping to find something that might help, or inspire an idea. Instead she saw a woman in the doorway. She gasped and backed away, her expression frightened. The Stone was where all the worst people were sent. What sort of criminal now faced her? How could she get away -- and could she help the other girl escape too?

[chukklehed]

Grace looked at the child in front of her, sadness in her eyes. She had seen that same expression on too many faces. People who saw a monster instead of a girl, or a demon in the skin of a woman. For once, however, there was a chance that she could turn that fear around. She knew the reputation of this place. The Stone was where they sent witches and mass murderers. The girl probably assumed Grace was the latter, and if a girl like her was here, it likely meant that she was one of the former.

"Do not be afraid of me, small one." Grace spoke, her level voice betraying none of her emotions. "I believe we are more alike than you think." She slowly removed the glove on her right hand, once more revealing an arm of living rock. Though it was shaped as naturally as if it had grown from her shoulder, the arm was rough and dull gray, except where faintly glowing lines of runes traced around its length.

Tucking the long glove into her pocket, Grace knelt to one knee, not moving from the doorway yet. "My name is Grace. What are the two of you called?"

[shylarah]

Backing away from the woman, Amuné’s shoulders encountered the cold stone of the far wall. The child didn’t trust the newcomer. She claimed they were alike, but only bad people were sent to the Stone. If someone wasn’t evil, then how would they end up here? She pulled the stuffed kitten from her belt, wanting the reassuring pressure of its soft face against her own. Her eyes widened as the woman removed one glove to show an arm apparently made of stone.

“How--” The question was quickly cut off, and the child pressed her lips shut. No, she shouldn’t be talking to this woman. Shouldn’t let her get near. The only explanation for an arm like that with glowing patterns on it was magic and magic was bad. Using magic was wrong, everyone knew that. It was why Amuné’d had to try so hard to keep from Seeing things, not that she’d been entirely successful. That was why she’d ended up where she was now, because of her visions and...

A shudder ran through her. No, she didn’t want to think about that. The strange woman speaking again was a welcome distraction, even if the girl would’ve rather not encountered her. Grace was a normal enough name. But the only reply given in return was a stiff shake of the child’s head.

[Bubsy 2]

Rose knew that going down the vine was- well, it wasn't exactly smart.

In fact it was actually a pretty dumb move, not much more then a gamble. There were a number of things that could've gone wrong: The ogre could swat them. The vine could break. The ogre could stomp them. Maybe her body, not having moved for years, perhaps centuries, would lose grip. The ogre could grab them and eat them.

Unfortunately Murphy's Law was not on the witch's side. The ogre moved like something that was not a giant lumbering monster. The ogre's hand shot out at Rain, barely missing her, the girl falling into the mud below. Luckily she got out unscathed, but that truth wasn't the same for Rose. As she made contact with the ground the massive creature grabbed at her, desperately grasping for her arm. The ogre successfully caught its prey.

Rose felt herself being lifted into the air, the crushing pressure of the ogre's hand on her arm like a vise. She heard a loud snap, and felt a sharp pain in her arm. Shit, shit, shit, shit, not good, not good. She was internally screaming, and then she externally screamed. A sharp, shrill, very loud screech escaped her mouth- it seemed like witches, as a rule, were good screamers. For the first time since awakening Rose had lost her cool, understandable since she was dangling in front of an ogre's gullet with a broken arm. "Let go of me you bastard!" She grunted out in pain. Okay, c'mon Rose, think, you've got to get out, you've got to get out or you're going to die.

Witchcraft was a very exact art. It required preparation. It required exotic reagents. When one performs a spell or ritual they are in essence borrowing a piece of some hellish deity's power, all the steps that go into it are merely to appease whatever terrifying creature that is being called on. In theory it is possible to cast magic without going through the proper rituals. Of course attempting to call on a creature's power without performing these rituals was absolutely, totally, completely insane, and was certain to draw some sort of terrible repercussion. Any respectable witch would not consider this. In a world of blood, bones, and child sacrifice it was the closest thing there was to a taboo. It was simply in bad taste- bad for the witch herself, bad for the people around her, bad for the demon they're calling on, all in all a very unwise idea.

All of this is to say that Rose was about to do exactly that. Rain would more then likely be unable to save her from the ogre. She couldn't get out by herself. She needed magic. She rose her free hand to her mouth, putting a finger to her teeth. Very pointy teeth. Pointed teeth were a valuable asset for any witch. They were scary, they were handy as a weapon, they could do all sorts of things. She bit down, drawing blood from herself. The blood dripped freely to the ground. It wasn't much of an offering, but it was more than nothing. She chanted under her breath, "Xaphan da mihi spiritus autem ignis." It was a small spell. If there was a hellish being listening the ogre would be hit by a small blast of fire- not enough to kill it, more than like, but it should hobble it, and hopefully force it to release her. Of course that creature wouldn't be happy to share it's power. It'd more than likely take more from her- maybe more blood, maybe a limb, maybe it would decide to set her on fire too.

She could only hope it would only maim her a little.

[Mokley]

"My name is Grace. What are the two of you called?"

But the only reply given in return was a stiff shake of the child’s head.

Rain started covering herself in mud and then she started crawling away from the dumb giant. She headed towards the front of the stone towards the drawbridge.

"Xaphan da mihi spiritus autem ignis."

The ogre tugged on Rose's arm, nearly -- though unintentionally -- dislocating her shoulder with the force of it. The beast squinted at her and sniffed her, confused by the blabber of words that poured out of her mouth.

BOOM

A sharp, deep, bloody pain slammed into Rose's chest; a flash of brilliant white fire exploded in the ogre's face; the ogre let go, roaring and stumbling back in frightened pain, waving its meaty hands in front of the bubbling red of its swelling eyes and mouth; something neon blue and brilliant orange swung through the air like a serpent through water, and it curled up in the dead branches of a half-uprooted tree.

The ogre, in his unbalanced confusion, tripped backward on a gnarled bush, bashed his head on a boulder with a sickening squelch, and disappeared over the edge of the cliff.

Inside the Stone, the girl-in-the-pipes gasped in horror, her eyes wide and shimmering with tears.

"GOOK!" her desperate voice echoed -- and desperately, she waited for a response. She breathed faster, scanned the room, listened for the booming thump of Gook's footsteps, but she was greeted with only silence -- and the presence of a new power that frightened her far more than Rshalogg. She struggled furiously, nearly crazed, yanked out one arm and then another, and screamed as she pushed against the tangle of metal that had grown around her.

She wheezed, stared pleadingly at Amuné, then to Grace, her heart beating like a rabbit's, struggling against the hunter's trap.

"∞ⱷↄℓ₹ ᾣᵷᵠ." < Help me. >

Outside the front door, Rain -- coated in mud and bits of weeds -- crawled her way toward the ruins of the bridge, away from the blast of fire, away from the screams, away from Rose and the blood on the rock.

"What in the bloody hell do ya think yer doin'?" Rigby asked through a mouthful of fruit, sitting cross-legged on a crumbled post by the bridge, watching her with confused amusement. He'd got the fruit from a tree a few feet behind him; it was heavy with round purple plums. "Zat some kinda spell? Whatever it is, it didn't work. Yer still a fugly human-witch."

Rose was now faced with the thing whose power she had used to inadvertently destroy the ogre: the thing that now stared at her from the boughs of a decaying tree. It was wrapped among the branches like an enormous, translucent, electric-blue snake with glowing yellow eyes -- horned, bearded, and striped in neon violet. It ticked its claws against the dead wood, but it did not make a sound.

Rose's chest was bleeding. A symbol had been carved deep into her flesh and bone -- a symbol universally used by witches to call thunderstorms. The god that had answered her call was Lha-tak, god of natural disaster -- and it was staring into her soul.

^{art by Hannah Christenson}

[chukklehed]

Grace moved then, ignoring the fear of the girl against the wall and taking hold of the one in the pipes. "Forgive me if I hurt you," She said as she pulled the girl free, "but I fear we have run out of time." She fought down the bile in her throat as metal was pulled free from flesh and bone, ignoring the horrific noises that made. Finally the girl was free, and Grace held her gently against her own body like a mother carrying her child, and turned to the other girl in the room.

"I have no time to earn your trust now. You have a choice, either follow us and live, or run from me and be consumed by this place. If you follow me, no harm will befall you as long as my body moves." Then she turned, moving swiftly to the hole in the wall that led outside. Then she saw what had frightened the girl in the pipes. She backed away from the new god, wondering what fool had summoned it here, then turned and moved in the other direction, looking back briefly both to see if the other girl was following them and if the god had noticed them escaping.