Laue — Roleplayer Guild

Zander Parliah

The Azure Sorcerer was exhausted and fleeing, and Zander was furious. He chased the mage through a hole in a wall - most likely the way he got in, as the barrier just about ended here - he could teleport away now, if he had the strength. Out of breath and out of magic, Azure was in a hard position - and he wasn't certainly as fit as a regular paladin. "So the hound has smelled the blood, and is after his prey?" Azure sneered at the paladin. "I'm done here. I have no interest in any of you. So why don't you live a little bit longer and stay out of my way?" Catching his breath, Azure draws his ruby sword, yet unable to flee.

<Brief battle with Azure here>

Lacking the element of surprise, Azure wasn't as dominant in a swordfight. Still, Azure's sword cut through everything like it was paper, including Zander's weapon, which was eventually rendered useless. However, even when Zander did hit Revin with light, the mage somehow shed the ignited mana to prevent it from spreading (slang for mage's source of magic), and his burn wound would be nearly instantly healed. After enduring another barrage of Zander's attacks, Azure took out a scroll out of his belt and unfurled it. "HOME! the mage shouted, as the scroll disintegrated and opened a portal, which he quickly jumped through. Zander had a moment to jump through the portal before it closes, but taking on against all of the Azure Covenant, unarmed, would pretty suicidal.

Paladins

A few days have passed since Azure Sorcerer's attack. Sebastian was healing at an incredible pace, nearly regenerating, though he was still unconscious. Curious, huge, crossbow-like devices were being hanged from the ceilings, mounted on walls all over the fortress, though nobody really knew what they were, only that Sebastian ordered to install them if they ever passed testing, whatever that was.

The candidates were ordered to take off their Paladin armor, and given a set of warm, comfortable clothes, if a bit ugly. Led down to the dwarven tunnels once again, where life was now bustling once again. Let through massive halls this time, they could see various merchant stalls, smithies and other tradesmen. Humans were allowed to venture into dwarven lands to trade, well, those who were in good standing with the Inquisition and have enough coin to actually afford something, so it was not uncommon to see various nobles, influential merchants and paladins themselves to walk these halls. After passing the Grand Bazaar, and after a few more sets of tunnels and stairs, they came across a cave. Unlike everything else, the cave was not lit. A little bit up further, the cave branched into two sides, with the right one being block by a massive, ornamental stone door.

"This is it." said their guide. "This is the place for the trial. While I understand you have questions to the Grand Inquisitor, but the timing is crucial. As he probably told you, it's going to be a nightmare of a month for you, but I'm going to provide you with details.

This dark cave is treacherous. Various cave dwelling beasts, pitch black darkness, cliffs and ledges and cold air. That door you see is your destination - should you triumph over the Cave of Trials, you will exit through that door - behind it lies the key to open the door and the source to your new powers. You will have to climb cave walls, traverse vast underwater sections, all the while fending off the darkness and the creatures that dwell within it. The light will be your only way to find a path, and the only way to fend off the beasts - they fear light. Nowhere will be save, rest will be the greatest luxury. You will be given a few loaves of bread, and that's it. Water you can find, plenty of it in fact. Just not all water in that cave is good for you. And exactly a month after today, normally harmless mold is going to release their spores, which will cover the entire cave for several days - they are lethal to humans who breathe them in. And that's why you start today - the caves just cleared after the last release of the spores.

This trial will push your body and mind beyond their limits - it is one thing to seldomly use the light for battle, and another to use it constantly, uninterrupted. You will have to learn to swim, climb and even sleep while maintaining your light, all the while constantly moving forward. You will meet thousands of decaying skeletal remains of the past candidates. You can turn back any time you want, but you will never be given another chance to perform the trials. And before we begin, a little bit of history:

The cave of trials was used for millenniums by multiple people, mostly dwarves, for various reasons. After Grand Master Grinnoc gained his powers, he traversed this cave, and at the end it left a great source of power - for those who can reach and handle it. Thousands tried, but only fifty succeeded - the original Witch Hunters. For Grinnoc, it took a week to traverse it. For everyone else - a month.

I wish you all the best, makes us proud."

After his long speech, their guide gave each candidate a bag and some thin rope to affix their month's supply of food to their belts. It was time to begin the trial.

Mages

Several days have passed since the new mages were saved by The Witch and brought back to the fortress. A rather calm atmosphere was broken when a big discovery was made at the library - a lot of mages gathered around to see what the fuss was about. In the center was a young woman, and several books and maps laid out on the table in front of her - she had found something called Luminesca's Vault near the fortress grounds, in secret underground tunnels - and entrance was not far. Any attempts to find what Luminesca is, or what's in the vault were met with failure - the books which most likely contained that information were in an ancient language, lost to ages. Still cheerful, the girl who made this discovery - Sera, decided to gather volunteers for her expedition, and found plenty. Getting what supplies they had on hand, gathering all those books and maps in her backpack, Sera and her company set off.

Sera - The Guardian of Idrolen Village [+]

Thick vegetation finally fully covered the sight of their fortress - everything was so overgrown. Find a small trapdoor was like searching for a needle in a haystack, though the fires of several pyromancers helped to clear the ground and burn through the decayed trapdoor. These tunnels, narrow at first, quickly expanded into a vast underground complex - old armories, various hidden exits, even a hidden dungeon and a few torture rooms - likely the unofficial ones. Unlike everything in the fortress, lack of exposure to the elements preserved most of the items stored in here. Luminesca's Vault was supposed to be the deepest part of this underground complex, straight past the dungeons. The dungeons themselves were a gruesome sight. Whoever abandoned this place, has left their prisoners locked in their cells. Lighting up the long abandoned sconces, torches or just using alternate magical methods of illumination, the mages finally approached a long, wide hallway, with a massive stone door at the end. The hallway's walls were carved with various ancient writings, as was the door.

Setting up a camp of sorts, the mages decided to investigate the area around them: some to help Sera with finding a way to open the door, others just exploring and the rest screwing around with ancient torture devices.

Alicia

After saying her final goodbyes, Alicia has left for the fortress. Though she has never been there before, she knew where to find it. Traveling along the narrow cliff all the way up to the top was a rather scary experience, but all of it was made up by this beautiful, massive fortress at the top. After introducing herself to the guard at the front gate, she was led inside. Work was underway - some kind of devices were being installed all over the fortress. "What are those gigantic crossbow things doing there?" she asked the guard. "We were told to do this as soon as Grand Proffiar Thornar's invention passes testing, whatever that testing was. Well, I was told they did, right as Grand Inquisitor got wounded by that damn Azure. But at least that damn dwarf is OK - if you believed him, these things pushed Azure back out of his workshop! And they are automated, whatever that word means. What a bunch of bullshit if you ask me."

So, Azure already made his move, and even managed to wound the Grand Inquisitor himself. The situation was dire. Proffiars - they were dwarves who came up with new ideas and realized them, though they used the word "invented" for that. The majority of breakthroughs in metallurgy, medicine and brewing came from the dwarves, along with sigils - mystical tattoos said to amplify a paladin's power. Some sort of giant crossbow defense system wasn't too alien of a concept compared to some things Proffiars come up with, though the actual results are dangerous sometimes.

Given an order to wait for Sebastian's recovery, Alicia decided to visit the Dwarven Grand Bazaar - one of her more traditional wishes. Besides, she did have the money to spend.

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