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Post by Eric on Mar 9, 2008 3:21:22 GMT 9.5
(they have a lantern)
Luke grinned at the two. "Oh no, you two go next. And when we find Will I want you to apologize to him." He crossed his arms and stared at them sternly. "Got it?"
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Post by Treijim on Mar 11, 2008 19:18:16 GMT 9.5
[Groovy]
"Yes sir," the both said at once.
Conir went in first. His descent was silent and quick. He then called out for Jared to follow. Jared did, but once he disappeared into darkness, there was a cry and a thud.
"Ow! What was that?" came Jared's voice.
"You tripped. Here," replied Conir.
"Stupid stone. I can't see anything."
"Luke's got a lantern. Where is he? Hey look, there he is. Hi Luke!"
"He can't see you waving, you idiot."
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Post by Eric on Mar 13, 2008 3:11:43 GMT 9.5
Luke chuckled and descended the stairs slowly, keeping the lantern out in front of him. He'd bee through caves and dungeons before. This was no different to him. His cloak swished through the air behind him, flapping in the flow of air from above ground to below. Even though he was confident that there was nothing down here but imagined fears, he drew his sword just in case.
Holding up the light he called for the three boys. "Conir! Jared! Other boy! Come to the lantern if you can see it!"
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Post by Treijim on Mar 15, 2008 8:34:46 GMT 9.5
Conir and Jared stepped into the light's radius, blinking their eyes and looking up at Luke with an edge of admiration. The third boy soon followed, but he was holding something in his hand. He slipped it into his pocket. Jared and Conir didn't see.
"Nice sword," Conir said, watching it catch the light and throw dull streaks of brightness about the walls. "So do we just walk around down here aimlessly?"
[Again, I've got nothing specific in mind in terms of the castle's layout, so feel free to make things up]
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Post by Eric on Mar 15, 2008 9:40:31 GMT 9.5
Luke shook his head, "No not aimlessly." He knelt down and looked around the floor for something. "We need to look for clues as to where Will is, and if there's anything else down here." He began walking down the corridor and holding the lamp high to cast the most light around.
After not too much time they came to a room and Luke looked around grimly. The room was dark, but was very vaguely lit by four candles, one at each corner. Luke moved to the centre holding the lamp and set it down there. The room was largely empty, but there was an old lantern lying on the ground and other bits of trash scattered across the floor.
The young warrior picked up an old dagger. It was plain and simply made. Its scabbard was nearby and was simple leather. He looked around and everything else seemed the same simple quality, or lower. "It doesn't cost much all of this stuff," Luke murmured to himself. He handed the dagger to Jared. "I hope you can use it, cause I'm starting to think we may not be alone down here after all."
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Post by Treijim on Mar 21, 2008 16:19:09 GMT 9.5
The boys seemed astonished upon finding lit candles down here. Even they knew a candle only lasted so long, and someone would've had to be down in the past day or so for there to still be candles there. Suddenly, they seemed edgier than before, as though they had real reason to be concerned.
Jared nodded and took the dagger, "Yessir, I can."
"Who do you think is down here?" Conir asked. "Or... animals can't light candles, can they? No it has to be people. Probably thieves."
"Ghosts can light candles," Jared teased.
Conir hit his friend in the arm. "No they can't! Stop being stupid! Anyway, you can't stab a ghost with a dagger. Right, sir?"
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Post by Eric on Mar 22, 2008 13:20:12 GMT 9.5
Luke chuckled at the antics of the younger boys. "I don't think ghosts can light candles. They don't exist, and even if they did, why should you be afraid of them?" he asked. He looked around the room more as he spoke. "Think about it, if you can't harm ghosts, how can they harm you? Aren't ghosts intangible?" By now he was peering down the corridors, using the lantern. There were more candles lighting the hallways. A considerable greater amount than the room they stood in.
He looked back around the room and spotted something glinting in the corner nearest him. Luke moved over, careful not to blow out the candle or catch his cloak on fire. Picking up the object he dusted it off and looked it over. It was a small ring with a symbol of a sword behind a skull. "The Shadow League," he gasped, pocketing the ring. He turned to the kids. "You three be very careful. It would seem this is an outpost of the Shadow League, a guild of thieves and assassins that are widespread and extremely deadly. It's been said they can kill you with a needle and rob your house in broad daylight without being seen." He gestured for them to follow him and moved slowly and carefully down a tunnel. "You said ghosts, well these might as well be."
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Post by Treijim on Mar 28, 2008 8:32:44 GMT 9.5
The boys listened to the story keenly. Conir and Jared stood shoulder-to-shoulder but the third stood apart from them, and he eventually found something else to look at. They said nothing as they headed down one of the candlelit tunnels.
The dungeon had a sort of eerie romantic feel to it. It was the sort of place one hears of in fairytales. A princess would be taken to the dankest dungeon of the most distant castle and wait for the knight to rescue her. Here, the candles burned away in an almost unearthly manner. Jared swiped his hand over a flame but felt nothing. He turned to Luke to say something, but the third boy nudged him silent. They turned one corner, and then another, and there were more stairs.
"Luke, what does intangible mean?" asked Jared, but the responding echoes were so frightening that he stiffened and pursed his lips. They all stopped to listen.
"You should whisper," Conir said softly.
Then there came a voice. "Hello?" The boys froze. They looked at Luke, but he hadn't spoken.
"It's William," whispered the third boy. "It came from this way. Come on."
Out of the darkness came a corridor lined with prison doors with small barred windows. They began to check them, when Jared stopped them. He pointed silently to something at the end of the corridor. It was a dark figure, taller than Luke, shrouded in black. It took them all some moments to realise he was not facing them, nor was he aware of their presence. Jared took it into his own hands to remedy the situation. As he drew nearer on his own, he saw the sword and skull symbol embroidered into the back of the man's tunic. This was all the proof he needed. He crept right up behind the man and lifted the dagger high over his head.
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Post by Eric on Mar 28, 2008 8:46:41 GMT 9.5
Luke was with Jared in an instant. The guard seemed to have just noticed them, but Luke bashed him on the head hard with his sword hilt. The man crumpled to the ground, but his slight breathing showed he was just unconscious. Luke turned to his charge. "You don't end someone's life in such a fashion," he said, his tone reprimanding. "Do you know what a breach of honour that is? He hadn't openly provoked us, so there was no reason to kill him. Understand?"
Luke crouched without waiting for an answer, his displeasure clear. He searched the man and found a key that fit the cell door. Luke opened it to Will. "Well there you are Will. That was quite a fall you took, are you okay?" he asked, dragging the man into the cell and returning to the kids. "And to answer your question Jared, intangible means you can't touch it, not of substance. Think how a ghost can go through walls, that's cause it has no substance. So if you can't harm a ghost, how could a ghost harm you?"
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Post by Treijim on Apr 1, 2008 19:35:52 GMT 9.5
Jared seemed a little shaken. He realised what he was going to do and went to throw the dagger to the ground, but instead he slipped it in a loop of his belt. Conir and the third boy soon joined them. When they saw William, they all seemed very pleased that he was all right. William limped out of the cell. He was grubby and didn't look very happy, and he had a metal brace around his right wrist for some reason.
He stared at Luke a moment. "Yeah I'm okay I guess. My leg hurts." He winced and shook one leg after the other, and then he looked at the other three boys. "Why'd you bring those guys down here? They're jerks."
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Post by Eric on Apr 2, 2008 10:38:36 GMT 9.5
Luke smiled assuringly and sat William against a wall so he could look at the injured leg. "You'd be surprised Will. When they saw what happened they got really worried about you." He felt gently along Will's leg, finally finding a swelling in his ankle. "Hmm, seems like just a sprain. We need to get you out of here." He sighed and looked down the hall opposite the way they'd come. He wanted to go down there and see if he could defeat the leader of the this outpost. It might be a strong blow to the Shadow League. However he'd trained himself to resist temptation for doing what was right.
So he helped Will to his feet and let Jared and Conir help him to walk. "Also Jared, Conir, don't you have something you want to say to Will?" Luke asked, ushering them on ahead. The third boy began to walk after them, but Luke grabbed him and held him hard by his wrist with his sword ready. "You, I saw the mark on your arm. I thought there was something suspicious about you and now I know. What are you up to?"
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Post by Treijim on Apr 6, 2008 18:43:45 GMT 9.5
Jared and Conir each had one of William's arms around them, but William still seemed annoyed by their mere presence. They began to talk quietly ahead as the third boy remained behind with Luke.
The third boy had wild hair and pale steely eyes that seemed to sparkle in the lantern's glow. When Luke grabbed his arm, he stopped and slowly turned to look at the hand that grasped him. Then he looked up at Luke with a sort of childish scowl. He yanked his arm away with surprising speed and turned to face Luke with his body.
"You don't know anything," he said. "I can tell you what you don't know, though. You don't know how dangerous a place like this is." He nodded his head sideways, motioning to where Conir, William, and Jared had been gagged and grabbed by men in dark cloaks. "Now it's your turn."
Suddenly a dagger was in his hand and he ducked low and aimed a quick jab for Luke's forward leg.
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Post by Eric on Apr 15, 2008 14:14:49 GMT 9.5
Luke dodged aside, though the dagger just grazed him, the wound wasn't deep. Not wishing to kill a child he instead delivered a hard kick to the boy's back. "I've been attacked first now you realize. No more hesitations to kill if it's in battle." He brought his sword around as the boy rose from the ground, holding his sore back. Another attack proved futile as Luke swiped with the tip of the sword, tearing the boy's shirt and skin. The wound wasn't deep, though the boy still gasped with pain.
Luke knelt in front of the boy and offered him a hand. "Listen child, you are young. You can make a choice. You need not live a life of crime and villainy if you do not wish to." But before any response could come a number of black swathed men appeared with halberds at the ready. The message was clear, they wanted Luke to drop his weapon. The young warrior looked around and sighed. There was too many to deal with right now so he sheathed his sword and unbuckled it from his belt, throwing it on the ground. He raised his hands as chains were fastened around them. But he cared more about the younger boys right now, all of them.
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Post by Treijim on Apr 30, 2008 22:19:19 GMT 9.5
Hessian bags were placed over all their heads and they were walked up and down stairs, always through corridors that were cold and dark, until they came into a room that felt warm. Fire crackled in their ears. The bags were tugged off, and they were all standing in a line in a strange room. It was strange because one couldn't tell how large it was. The corners were lost in shadow and the walls didn't appear to be straight or consistent. The ceiling was out of sight. Before them, the floor rose in a few steps and then levelled out where there was an old chair. It looked ordinary enough, but there was something about the oldness and simpleness of it that made it seem so out of place.
William glanced over each shoulder. Men with axe spears guarded the doorway behind them, and he could've sworn he saw another hiding in the shadow, watching him. He shuddered and turned away, looking up to Luke but saying nothing. Then he heard a door open.
[Your turn to introduce the leader I guess]
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Post by Eric on May 16, 2008 3:29:05 GMT 9.5
From the door came a tall man in a black cloak that was wrapped around his body. He seemed strong, though many of his underlings were clearly more muscular. But there was something terrifying about him nonetheless. Perhaps it was his dark eyes or his black hair that was neatly trimmed and combed. He came to the chair and sat down and looked up and around the room. "So filthy and dark. Could we perhaps get some more light? I'd like to see how work is going and get an eye at the sturdiness of the walls and ceiling."
Several torches were lit and the room was shown to be about the size of the throne room in the castle above. Fairly large and with a rather high ceiling though much still seemed to be under construction. The cloaked man seemed satisfied however and nodded his satisfaction. Then he turned to the captives with a look of delight. "Well this is interesting three peasants in the company of a warrior. You look quite royal there, might I be told your name?"
"Luke."
"I see, that's your name but not your form." A wave of energy washed over the boy and Luke suddenly found himself kneeling in his noble robes, his body soft and weak as a palace boy's was. "A noble! What are you doing hanging around with such filth? Please please do come with me my young sir. I have been wishing to chat with one of fine breeding for a long while." He looked to the guards and ordered them to release Luke.
The boy stood up and brushed himself off and followed the man into the back room. Before he left he whispered to Jared "Do what you can."
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