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Post by Vanitypirate on Mar 13, 2018 6:48:59 GMT -8
Tilly's eyes widened in mild alarm as her shoulder was grabbed by the boy, but she shot Lekalis a grateful look as he pried the fellow off of her.
"Ah, hands off, friend." She told him cooly, brushing off her shoulders, though she did make the effort of parting from her perch on the crate and sidling around Lekalis, gladly putting distance between herself and the Squire-- why Courcy was defending the fellow after that, she had no idea. She drifted closer to the hatch.
"What Lekalis said is right." She nodded and folded her hands, "We haven't run into anything yet, and we'd best move quickly so keep that lovely trend going, so..."
She motioned to the hatch, "..let's get moving, if you lot are ready?"
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Post by Bloodtrailkiller on Mar 13, 2018 16:33:55 GMT -8
/The Limestone Tower/
The Squire spared a frantic glance to Lekalis, the blunt end of the spear, then Tilly with a shaky breath. He shook his head and sighed; palming the metal cap as he took a step back and flexed his fingers, looking to Elaine again before clearing his throat and resuming his stoic statue-like stance from before.
"I.. I see."
He replied flatly, looking back to Elaine who was reaching for the crate now, cautiously taking her seat again; her eyes never wavered from their tired expression, as they watched the Party.
The Squire looked back and to the hatch,
"You lot should go first." He almost ordered as he pointed to the hatch and took some steps back, closer to Elaine. His eyes, as veiled as they were, twinkled with a child-like fear of the Dark...
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/Lekalis/
He looked over to Courcy, grabbing his arm; his brow was furrowed and he looked over her face with some incredulity before sighing and shaking his head. He gave a relenting sigh, looking to the floorboards, then Tilly as he rolled his shoulders and planted his spear into the ground. He cast a glance to Courcy with a risen brow,
"Fair enough..."
Though he remained a touch skeptical of his newfound comrades. Most battle brothers and sisters he'd rallied with proved to be a bit untrustworthy in where their blade goes... It was getting to his head, he knew this much. Albeit, it didn't soothe any worries he had on The Squire.
His features played the part of mirrored stoicism to the maile veil of the boy, he took a step back behind Courcy and set himself on the other side of the hatch. He knelt there, and idly examined the hatch to busy himself...
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Post by black379 on Mar 13, 2018 17:42:15 GMT -8
Courcy sighed, rolled her shoulders, and cast a worn glance to her partners as well as the strangers. They were lucky not to have had a run in with the fish folk yet, but it only heightened their paranoia about it. Strange how it was no easier to trust another person even when faced against monsters.
"Well?" She leaned over the hatch too, opposite of Blood. In part the question was to everyone - whether or not they were ready. But she meant it for Lekalis specifically - to elucidate his plan.
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Post by Vanitypirate on Mar 13, 2018 18:17:40 GMT -8
Tilly smiled at the boy and nodded, "Got'cha. Stay close?" Before she settled in next to the hatch, crouching.
She looked to each of her compatriots, a touch amused. "Are we gonna just stare at it 'til the sun goes down?" Tilly jested, slipping Beansprout from her hat and laying it flat against the hatch with the intention of allowing him to seek out any potential threats from below.
She waited, and, with a small, haphazard shrug, leaned on her elbows to put her ear up to the hatch and listen, herself.
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Post by Bloodtrailkiller on Mar 13, 2018 18:54:57 GMT -8
/The Limestone Tower/
The Squire watched Tilly stoop over and place the bizzare dagger down on the hatch, though he swallowed his questions to watch Courcy lean over with some pubescent interest before he turned and looked to Elaine who nodded; beckoning the boy over for her to lean her shoulder against.
They waited, dutifully, for the hatch.
"W... What's that?" He hazarded to ask, pointing down to Tilly's dagger, realizing that the item wasn't simply an ornament or flower in her cap...
--
To both Tilly and Lekalis there was only the distant lapping of the water against the distant Boardwalk, a soft croaking noise from the foundations of the tower...
But, past that, for Tilly; Beansprout strained, its roots spreading a bit over the board it was placed on. There was the thick dulling sensation in Tilly's fingertips, a pulse of pain as her veins constricted for a moment, then eased into the sappy sensation.
The board itself paled, losing its resplendent red hue as the roots dug into the board. The tips of Beansprout's frillery and along some of the grain of the grip, red began to show.
Perhaps more importantly, Tilly would now feel a freedom as Beansprout seemed to suck the life out of the woody boards. There was something holding it back, for certain; a fire that kept its otherwise magical intuition from flourishing.
With dogged determination however, Beansprout was able to sense something waiting... Farther out; watching from about sixty meters out. There were several things but specifically what... that was lost as weakness came over Beansprout and Tilly again.
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/Lekalis/
The Ex-Lord's mouth opened and his brows rose in an ever snooty manner before he cast a glance to Courcy and 'ah'd, biting his tongue and shrugging, as he looked up to the Squire and Elaine with a smile, before looking about the armory.
He verily looked forward to seeing what was in the crates, and the man at the top of the tower...
For now, he cleared his throat and looked to Tilly planting her ear on the hatch like some kid. It was a curious thing, as he realized her liveliness was to be subdued some in the coming months. His mind wandered, and he had to resist the urge to pat her on the back as she stooped so enticingly low.
"I heard nothing. It seems clear."
He spoke up, to clear his thoughts, as he looked to the cast around him yet again...
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Post by black379 on Mar 13, 2018 20:32:08 GMT -8
She heard no protest from Blood now, probably for the best. Even if the pair had been stranded long enough to spoil their minds, Courcy and her party couldn't rightly leave them. Upon the 'all clear' she assisted in opening the hatch once more.
"After me." To avoid the frustration from before, the redhead decided to take the vanguard. After all, she thought herself the most apt for combat, or at least that was why she was here. When the ladder was in place (she would help with that too) Courcy meant to be the first down.
While she was a bit proud to take the reigns herself, if only for a moment, she didn't abandon her caution either.
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Post by Vanitypirate on Mar 13, 2018 21:14:36 GMT -8
"His name's Beansprout, and he's quite lovely; he's the planty-bit of the knife, and he lets me know when there's some creep or black-magic out there I oughta watch out for." Tilly explained with a nod and a small, half-stifled yawn as she leaned back away from the hatch as it was opened. As she flexed her fingers and slipped the faithful Beansprout back into her hat, she felt it all at once:
She was dead tired. For once, she was more grateful than anything that this expedition was coming to a premature close.
"Speaking of: ground floor's safe, but there's something waiting out there about... hm, a hundred or so paces away. Mind yourselves when we head out onto the boardwalk; keep away from the edges and all. Might be good to keep our new friends more in the middle of us." She continued, with a frown that grew as the stench of the ground floor hit her.
In another swift motion, she wound the silk, red cloth around her hand again and pressed it up to her nose.
"Right then. Off we go." With Courcy starting down the ladder, Tilly fixed her hat atop her head and winked cheekily in Lekalis's direction before making to follow the hellion.
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Post by Bloodtrailkiller on Mar 14, 2018 21:45:55 GMT -8
/The Limestone Tower/
The Squire visibly stiffened as Tilly mentioned the entity, as far as it was. He took a sharp gasp of surprise and looked to Elaine, then the other members of the party; apparently baffled by their nonchalance on the matter,
"Something? I-Is it bad? How can you tell!?" His gaze went to the dagger; he'd rather clearly heard Tilly's explanation but doubly doubted it.
Elaine tried to set a soothing hand on the boy's back, but it wasn't enough, not through the maile and armor. She rather hung limply against the Squire's support as she kept her eyes glued to the hatch, as though it were a beast itself...
--
Courcy's aide and initiative brought her to the fore of the party, and back into the dim lower floor. The stench was there but it had largely been aired out through their time talking to Elaine and The Squire.
The Corpses standing in the room before were still there; stiff and mid-swing.
In the Dark, it seemed clear enough, given the immediate silhouettes...
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/Lekalis/
The Ex-Lord had been caught at the end of the retreat and so, was stuck staring at the Squire and Elaine; realization hit him rather physically and his brows shot up in surprise, looking down the hatch to the departed Courcy and Tilly, who was a bit in the middle granted but... Lekalis offered a weary smile to their assumed wards and nodded;
"It's quite alright..." He offered kindly, a hand outstretched and making to wave away the stench from below.
"... We're prepared for whatever comes to us. We've slain countless skeletons and undead, as well as vile brigands and druidic spriggans and leshens." He assured them in an attempt to soothe their mild panic.
He minded Tilly's words and nodded, motioning them down... It might give them some assurance if they had someone guarding their back. With some awkwardness, he moved to take the rear, preemptively to nudge them forward...
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Post by black379 on Mar 15, 2018 9:01:07 GMT -8
Courcy scowled at the statuesque soldiers. Her face was twisted in part by the offensive smell, even if it was less potent than before. She wasn't keen to stick around, though from what Tilly said, they were probably heading into trouble.
The hellion readied her weapon, cautiously approached the door, and peered into the dense fog. She awaited her companions before moving further.
Judging by the battle stances of the corpses about the room, she at least suspected they would at least get the chance to see the fishfolk before they were killed. A fighting chance.
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Post by Vanitypirate on Mar 15, 2018 9:51:22 GMT -8
Tilly's heels clicked against the ground as she hopped the last two rungs down off from the ladder, hand pressed hard against her nose and mouth to filter the nauseating air through a slightly-less-nausesting cloth.
She kept her eyes cast upwards and her mouth tightly closed shut, as she watched for her compatriots to follow down the ladder.
There was some heaviness in her limbs, and already she fantasized about a cozy nap beside the fire-- a thought preferable to the happenings inside this tower and down the boardwalk.
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Post by Bloodtrailkiller on Mar 16, 2018 3:50:36 GMT -8
/The Limestone Tower/
The Squire stared at Lekalis for a few moments, clearly gauging the man's worth with as little as he'd been given.
Eventually, the boy glanced away and shrugged, nodding,
"R-right... Alright." He sighed, glancing to Elaine who was starting at him with the utmost incredulity; she gave a grumpsome huff and seemed to cede any complaints.
As Courcy neared the door leaving the Limestone door, the potency of the interior waned t'ill it was barely notable; the saltsome regency of the outside air giving some fair relief to the otherwise cramped scents of the tower.
Though, as for danger and things warranting caution; there was 'aught but fog, and then more fog, and flotsam. The subtle hush of waves against the boardwalk leant some sooth to the situation.
If it weren't for the prior warning of Tilly, it seemed there would be no cause for alarm at all.
However... Courcy would be able to note that the fog had gotten a shade darker.
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/Lekalis/
His smile only widened as he stretched his arms out and nodded,
"Ah, see there; naught to fret on... Come then, we've got quite the walk ahead of us..." Lekalis happily informed,
"... Though the after the boardwalk there's a bit of rough ground t'ill we're back on the road, and that itself is in a rough state..." He mused on, listlessly as he made his way down the ladder, casting a cheery smile to Tilly as he made his descent.
Granted, the aroma was still foul, he didn't find any need to cover his nose. Even if he wanted to scrub himself clean in the moment, there wasn't any dire need for it. Once he was back at the Hamlet, there'd be plenty of time to bathe... Florence would need to as well, after being in the Warrens so foul...
... The thought of her down in the dark and muck made his gut churn, and his smile rather suddenly vanished as he looked to Tilly; his mood fell to something more focused and somber.
"Best crack on quickly then."
Lekalis swiftly stepped ahead, making to take up Courcy from the rear though he halted some four off meters away from her,
"See anything..?"
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Post by black379 on Mar 16, 2018 11:52:52 GMT -8
"There's nothing." Courcy responded over her shoulder, though her eyes made to peer through the fog again in case she had missed something. Unfortunately the threat was still in hiding, waiting to snare the group when they had no shelter to retreat to. And Courcy, at the helm, was likely the first to be caught.
She paused, sighing deeply to soothe anxious nerves. The hellion began slowly out of the tower. "Stay close, won't you? You've got my back."
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Post by Vanitypirate on Mar 16, 2018 14:47:30 GMT -8
Tilly waited a touch impatiently at the base of the ladder, awaiting the descent of the religious folk upstairs.
Cloth pressed against her nose, she silently lamented the fact that, while Florence had warned her of the simple fact of sensitivity to odor being a symptom to expect, the doctor had neglected to warn her of the intensity of it.
She wondered if this was how Lekalis felt all the time. The thought amused her as her eyes watched Lekalis descend with a smile on his face.
Her amusement waned when his smile did. She reached out to pat, in some attempt to be comforting, at Lekalis's shoulder as he passed by.
Her eyes flitted to the top of the hatch, and she hazarded to speak,
"Let's be patient for the folk we're escorting, yeah?"
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Post by Bloodtrailkiller on Mar 16, 2018 15:11:47 GMT -8
/The Limestone Tower/
Courcy's persistence seemed futile at first, before she caught a glimpse of something rather familiar to a merc; a spear, with a jagged head, clutched by something hugging a crate in some crude means of camouflage.
It was sixty meters out, as Tilly mentioned; its eyes were like black pearls that glimmered unnaturally clearly to the Hellion despite being so far out and marred by fog, with utter frustration, it vanished as soon as Courcy could perceive it. A ripple of water being the only sign of its tangibility.
"We're coming! Don't fret." The Squire announced curtly, huffing as he started down the ladder quickly then aided Elaine down the ladder respectively; with due care, she limped down, her wounded ankle lifted just so that she might not place too much pressure on the joint.
The boy shot a glance over to Tilly,
"We can handle ours--" He paused, his voice stern, then wavered as he saw the corpses so frozen and stiff; Elaine was thankfully on the ground as he turned away and she futilely reached out to him, leaning against the ladder instead as The Squire stepped past Tilly and moved closer to the stiff bodies.
Elaine gawked in frustration, then fell silent before she murmured a prayer Tilly might hear as she moved her hand from either brow, to the center of her forehead, then chin;
"War-Star be pleased, sacrificed we to your light", she repeated the incantation a few times before she clutched her starry amulet, her head bowed still.
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/Lekalis/
He gave a partial smile to Tilly as she patted his back on the way towards Courcy, though it was scarcely passable as appreciation for the matter as he now listened to Courcy's words; he nodded sagely and straightened a bit.
"That's good, might be we'll get out of this with our blade's clean yet." The Ex-Lord japed, his smile gaining some cheeksome permanence as he shrugged, knowing full well of his own jinx as he loosely braced his spear.
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Post by Vanitypirate on Mar 19, 2018 8:06:45 GMT -8
Tilly watched them file past, stifling a yawn-- not out of boredom, but exhaustion. Her thoughts were foggy and difficult for her to grasp, like sand.
She would have much liked to depart from this wretched boardwalk.
She took a step towards the pair as due realization hit her: these were their comrades that these lone survivors were leaving behind.
And she was going to ask them to hurry and leave. It felt vile.
"I know this must be... difficult for you. I've had to leave good friends behind, too. It's never easy." She began, tentatively, slipping her hands to rest inside her pockets.
"...But we really ought to hurry out of here. We can come back later when we're all patched up, yeah?"
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