Author: Scilla, Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 8:38 PM, Post Subject: [P] A Ringing Call

How long must a civilization be dead- Scilla could hear the distant doubt in her head. Before the term 'graverobbing' no longer applies? It was an uncomfortable thought, but one she would have to live with. She swallowed the harsh, silent words as she began deeper, keeping behind Jesgil as she moved. It grew dark quickly, and the little light that made it past her blindfold vanished, though her 'vision' did not dim by any notable amount. She started as Jesgil lit a lantern, the vibration of the sudden flame and the shift of the heat giving a momentary startle to the snakes of her hair.

In the dead of night, or the darkness of indoors, torches and lanterns were common for travelers. Even when inside their own houses people used candles to find their way.  Scilla was no exception, when all by her lonesome, she would light candles and torches, enjoying the light and warmth they provided. Yet, when her eyes were covered, the fire was a different story. As far as she could tell with her limited connection to the snakes, they didn't see in the same manner that she did. They saw heat, or… Something related to heat, and more specifically felt the vibrations of the world. She relied on that to get around, though it was a deadened sense. When her eyes were covered, and she stroked that connection, it brought about their instincts as well. Fire was bright, loud, and pulsated with heat. The subtle shifts of the heated air in the enclosed space threatened to perturb her. It was slight, no more than a subtle touch on her nerves, but the last place she needed to feel such nervousness was here. 

"I wonder how long it's been since someone's walked through here." Scilla said as the sloped passage slipped further into the earth. There were alcoves along the stone walls, small indents that held empty candle slots, burned out years prior. They had not gone deep when the short passageway opened into actual rooms. It was hard to discern what the room exposed to the outside was for, but the relatively undisturbed inner chambers were a bit more clear. The one they directly entered was some form of common room, numerous doors, and a small firepit in the center of the room. Chairs and various odd items had been scattered, and the signs of abandonment were obvious. Vines overtook it all, though in the absence of light they seemed closer to roots, brown and ragged. 

The still air of the wide room felt wrong, as if they had intruded on something, like a burglar who had stepped into the room of a sleeping occupant. What exactly it was did not make itself immediately apparent, but once they stepped further in, it moved. A mass of vines that sat in the far corner of the room shifted, many redundant limbs dropping to the ground and shuffling into motion. Branches against dirt scraped as if hurriedly moved to a separate room, out of sight of the duo. As it nearly sprinted into the room, it audibly crashed into something, as the loud ringing of off-tuned brass sounded, ringing against the ground before settling, and the building returned to silence once more. 

Scilla herself shifted, stumbling back in fear as the thing moved. In her own eyes it was difficult to judge, but the many limbs scraping gave her some horrid image of a twisted, inhuman beast. "By the stars!"

Author: Jesgil, Posted: Tue Apr 9, 2019 1:58 PM, Post Subject: [P] A Ringing Call

"More than likely druidic arts," Jesgil replied as her eyes scanned the carvings on the wall, trying to decipher them as well. "Those skilled with it than control the very matter of the land with ease, adding in an extra protecting along with the gnome's illusionary arts. … Though if there is no one else here that is manipulating them, then either it can only grow under certain circumstances with a limited spread, or a plant demon contracted to the source that is meant to kill all intruders." She tried to make the last bit sound as comedic as possible, but there was a good chance that didn't go so well. After all, humor was not apart of her working conditions…

Still, it was clear that their home was more connected underground, even though that was also where the vines were coming from. Gnomes did have homes within the hills, and this was apart of their defense system, so it should make sense… right? "Though I have you a protective aura, we must still tread carefully," Jesgil said as she tucked her axe under her arm: out of the way, yet easy to access just in case. As for her other arm, the space around shifted once more as a new item was called forth: an oil lantern for some extra light. Getting it lit up, Jesgil was the first to step forward into the darkness…

Author: Scilla, Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2019 10:52 AM, Post Subject: [P] A Ringing Call

Magic was… An odd thing to Scilla. Across her travels she had met many mages and other wielders of the arcane, and yet despite their frequency across the world, she never seemed to get used to what they were capable of. It was almost ironic, considering her cursed eyes, but perhaps her own inability to control her own strengths was what led to her slight discomfort she felt in the presence of the otherwordly. She could sense… Changes about Jesgil, but her limited senses gave little idea of what had happened. However, she did not need to see to understand the actions taken.

The cold in the air, sucking up the heat of the day before the brittle sounds of ice cracked and shuttered. It was clever, she had to admit, but something else in her cried out, near mute, that to disturb this place was wrong. Shoving the feeling aside she cautiously followed Jesgil, to the entrance of the buildings. All along the outer walls the script seemed to stretch across, but many of them did not seem to be magical runes, or at least were not the typical ones, instead depicting instruments and notes, vague outlines of people in different stances, holding widely varying tools of music. Even in the cleared patches however, it seemed incomplete, as if something besides the writings were supposed to be observed, but perhaps whatever was brother to it was long lost to nature.

"I can't quite… Make any of it out." Scilla admitted as she strode closer, the wall a fuzzy image, seemingly random indents reflecting her sight. She was tempted to reach out to read it, as if it were braille, but the thought of venomous vines kept her hands at bay. 

Some of the script referenced other beings aside from the ones that played the instrument, and even the shape of them was vastly different. Despite their repeated presence, whatever reference to them that would go into more detail was lost, and even the images themselves seemed faded or covered with moss. "How do you think they controlled the vegetation? It seems far too localized to be natural." Scilla herself could hardly tell what was poisonous, and what was simply normal plant matter. 

As her voice echoed out, she turned, focusing on an entrance to a hollow building. Though the vines and plants harbored there as well, it did seem to connect underground to some other chambers. "Perhaps we should head in?"

Author: Jesgil, Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2019 1:07 PM, Post Subject: [P] A Ringing Call

Jesgil smiled as she watched Scilla bound about so easily through the foliage. Despite the blindfold, she could easily detect any raised roots that many would trip over or any of the trees that were raised around them. It could be the echolocation idea she had earlier, though watching the snakes under her cap move probably hinted at an extra set of eyes aiding her as well. Both could very well be a possibility! Still, the fact that her actions were not as limited as she thought with the covering did alleviate some of the worry… Until her pacing slowed down, at least.

The thick vines were one thing, but the flowers and mushrooms they supported were certainly another, color-coated to warn of their dangerous effects. However, it also meant the pair were getting closer as well. At the very least, the vines were not moving as if living tendrils.  Dealing with Grab Grass was bad enough as is, especially when weeding.

I would suggest keeping a step back," Jesgil said as she pulled out a bandana before closing in on Scilla to cover her mouth with it. He was not too worried about the snake hair, as they would need to have fangs that would penetrate Lacriamium silk to dare do any harm to the woman. As she did this, she also chanted, "Awaken, thy blood, and grant thy protection," in a draconian tongue, enveloping the gorgon in a light glow. With it settle, she smiled before turning around, pulling out an armlet and fixing it to herself as she chanted once again, "Grant me thy scales." With that, her bare legs began to be bare no more as a lair of silver dragon scales began to spout from her skin and armor up her exposed legs.

"Grant me thy ice," were the next set before she took a deep inhale, a wave of ice escaping her lips as she exhaled across the dangerous plants that took over the land, encasing them in ice before she held her hand out, summoning forth a beam of light, which soon took shape into a battle axe. With the ice making the vines more brittle, she used the heavy weapon to chop up the proximity of the danger into bits and pieces.

After a bit, Jesgil wiped the sweat off her face as she had a new look of the things behind it before noting some carvings along the wall. "I think we found some gnomish script," Jesgil alerted, heading over to the writing along the wall: most likely the commands used to keep the civilization hidden before their demise.

Author: Scilla, Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2019 12:42 AM, Post Subject: [P] A Ringing Call

It did cross her mind as she began to walk that being barefoot was far from the best option, especially given the notoriously poisonous plants of the region. She had walked through various ivy's with defensive barbs, and the rashes were nothing to laugh at. If she brushed against them here though, she knew it would be far more serious. Her own snakes produced some level of venom, but the production of venom did nothing to defend from venom, much less of another animal or plant. With that in mind, she feared that she'd have to rely fairly heavily on Jesgil.

As they headed out, the rolling hills were quick to hide the town they had just left, especially as they almost immediately left the main trails. In stunning speed, the progress of society blended and vanished into the background, and little else but many shifting hills of bright grass was visible all around. Considering all that they had was a direction, Scilla was aware that they could be traveling for the better part of the day. However, luck seemed to smile upon their travels, as odd, unnatural shapes began to appear in the horizon of hills as they neared the second hour of their walk.

While they traveled, Scilla seemed to walk with an avid bounce in her step. While blindfolded, she seemed quite used to the obstacle, and even seemed quite pleased with the easygoing rise and falls of the earth. Things in her way such as stray roots or rocks she avoided, and she was even prone to brief bursts of speed as she would slide down the steeper hills. Not once, however, did she ever seem to consider taking off her blindfold.

As they approached, Scilla slowed, her own senses picking up the structure, as well as its… Surroundings. While the hills and unkempt grass seemed rather constant across the area, the immediate surroundings of the structures seemed even more wild. Ancient stone could barely be seen, as they had been gripped and smothered by the veined tendrils of vines. The vines were not without their fruit however, as numerous flowers sprouted from the denser concentrations, wide pedals of red-white stripes with a yellow stigma sprouting from the middle. 

In total it seemed that there were many structures built into the hills themselves, but the land seemed shockingly eager to bury the abandoned place with an unnatural quickness. What would stand out from the reclaimed land was perhaps the most apparent risk, an influx of bushy plants that swayed with the wind, grass deadened and drained around each member. The plants seemed an odd mixture, the shape and texture appearing to be a form of mushroom, with the large, grabbing leaves of a flower, and the barbed bushiness of a cactus. Its color, unlike its prettier vine neighbors, was a grim, rotted brown. 

Scilla stopped as she inspected the structures and the plants from a distance, slowly walking about them with cautious steps. "Looking for an entrance of some kind… Best bet is maybe a room that's, for the most part, sealed, away from the elements."

Author: Jesgil, Posted: Wed Mar 6, 2019 2:39 PM, Post Subject: [P] A Ringing Call

A smile went on her face as Jesgil stated, "Pleasure to meet you, Scilla," as she adjusted her stance back to something more casual. AS for the sphinx, a golden hue crawled around his body, becoming brighter and brighter in a quick moment until it suddenly vanished, the sphinx being no more and the idol falling onto the ground once more, sounds of clicking coming from it as the puzzle reset once more. Understandable, seeing as gnomes were small beings who hid within the mountains, hills, and foliage. He wouldn't exactly fit…

Collecting the idol from the ground, Jesgil dusted it off before having the item vanish into the void, back to where she retrieved the object before a box appeared in her hands. "Though I may not have the cure to everything we may face here, I can, at the very least, reduce the symptoms so they would not be quite lethal," she stated as she opened it up, sorting through her bottles of potions and antidotes before closing it once more. "Something we will worry about when the time comes if need."

Still, all Nofre Ari gave the pair was the direction, yet not the distance, so all they had left was to move forward. The key thing to note would be to keep in mind the scenery, since many poisonous plants had distinct characteristics to them as more warnings. Being barefoot was not exactly the smartest thing to be right now as the pair moved forward, but at the very least she had a solution for that when the time came…

Author: Scilla, Posted: Fri Mar 1, 2019 3:40 PM, Post Subject: [P] A Ringing Call

Scilla had to bite her tongue, though if she were alone she could likely handle whatever she came across, it was clear that Jesgil hadn't quite picked up why her eyes were covered. In practice, she would absolutely hate to freeze an animal or someone else accidentally, especially given the fact that she had no real way to care for them until they recovered. For an animal, it was likely that some other predator would come along and claim the victim as easy prey. Even then, the poisonous flowers were a problem, though it did leave her wondering how they functioned, be it lathered thorns or puffs of spores.

With Jesgil, she stood a better chance against the plants, but that still left her rather blind given the precaution she would have to take. As Jesgil placed her hand on Scilla's shoulder, Scilla glanced down at her hand, and oddly the snakes seemed to hardly notice the hands presence. "Thank you! My name is Scilla. Just… Scilla." She hesitated as she stated her name, but otherwise moved on in stride. 

"The biggest issue is going to be the plants, if it's like ivy then decently thick clothes would be enough, but if it's thorny, or uses spores, then… It gets a lot more complicated. I guess we'll have to wait and see what's there." She said as she began to walk. 

Author: Jesgil, Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2019 11:39 PM, Post Subject: [P] A Ringing Call

"You would be correct to assume that," the sphinx remarked, looking down at the gorgon. "The Geetanjali were actually a gnomish tribe and used the natural foliage and illusion magics to hide their homes and using the trees to absorb the sound of the instruments they had made. However, when their kind had vanished from the land, there was no one to keep hold of the fake walls that hid them and the natural protections to overgrow. As for the animals that roam those lands, they would most likely have adapted and gained resistances to the poisons that come from said plants. The flowers would be your biggest threat, especially one whose vision is limited as such…"

This, of course, left Jesgil into a mix into a offered hand of assistance, and all things considered, it was hard to resist. After all, her concious would keep stabbing at her to allow a"blind" person wander into such a dangerous region. "Let's not worry about that at the moment," Jesgil assured her, hand moving to pat her head before catching it and the sight of the snakes before moving to her shoulder. Never be too careful. "For now, we should seek out that of what you seek."

Removing her hand from the gorgon's shoulder, Jesgil took the trim of her outfit and gave her a small bow, stating, "I am Jesgil Yamar. May our journey be fruitful."

Author: Scilla, Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2019 9:58 PM, Post Subject: [P] A Ringing Call

"Oh, of course!  Thank you so much!" Scilla responded as Jesgil took her hand. A smile broadened across the reptilian featured woman's face, and a glint of sharp teeth become apparent. Scilla eagerly followed along, and even when being led by the hand, it seemed as if she had some idea of her surroundings, especially the terrain underfoot. The exact extent of whatever sight she had was not apparent, but she did have the map,after all. 

The smile faded into something more confused as Jesgil stepped away, and she even took a handful of steps back as the puzzle-statue shattered in the air, replaced by the shimmering image of a sphinx. To her limited vision, it was a… Confusing sight, it was clear to Scilla that it was a summoned being, but the vibrations it gave off were especially odd, its exact shape shimmering and shifting almost uncontrollably in a red outline, almost a mist in how it appeared so disconnected from everything else. As the conversation between the otherworldly being and Jesgil

The threats were discouraging, Scilla was absolutely no fighter. Looking back, while she had been pressured into a position where she had wielded something like a hammer before, she had never truly held a weapon with the intent of harming something, or someone else. Sure, there was here… Gaze, but she loathed the idea of dooming some creature to an unpleasant death in the hours that would follow, especially because there was little she could do if she accidentally caught Jesgil in the curse. Although, that did assume that Jesgil was even willing to assist. She was willing so far in helping her get information, but information and spelunking were two, very different things.

"Northeast, then?" Scilla repeated. She kept the thought in her head, not wanting to risk anything to mark it on her map at that moment. "I've heard that it's been overgrown, but it sounds a bit worse than I anticipated. I just figured that it had been… Reclaimed by nature. Um… You wouldn't happen to be willing to assist me, would you? I mean, if there's much left there, we could split anything else of value!"

Author: Jesgil, Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2019 11:31 PM, Post Subject: [P] A Ringing Call

Tuning forks? That was certainly an interesting object to seek out for an excavation. Then again, seeking out a musical culture in general did seem to have an air of fancy to it. Was she a bard trying to seek out ancient tunes and tools? An archeologist? … Maybe it was echolocation! That would certainly explain the thick blindfold. If her eyes were too sensitive to sunlight or damaged in any way, maybe she wanted to see about ways to amplify or focus it. A smile crept on her face as she skimmed the map some more. Besides, from the escape of breathe, it was clear there had been little to no help before arriving to her.

"I may not know too much, but I think I know someone who could… We just need to move elsewhere is all. Don't want too scare the populous too much, right?" She assured her with her signature smile, even if she thought the woman with snake hair could not see it. She moved to lightly take her hand, making sure she was giving signs of not being forceful to her before guiding her down to a less crowded region. However, once the pair arrived, she let her hand slip away, taking a few more steps forwards as her tongue clicked,"Awaken, thy blood, and grant me thy gift," in draconian tongue. The air warped as a new item began to meld into this realm before falling into Jesgil's palm: a small statue.

Of course, as it was, it was useless to the gorgan's goal. So, she turned it around to reveal the puzzle that sat in the bottom before turning the dials before reassembling its seal and tossing it into the sky. The object was quick to crack before shattering open, summoning forth a Sphinx that stood well above the pair. "You have summoned me, Mistress Jesgil. By which means may I be of assistance?" it declared boldly, staring down at the two, though quick to flinch as Jesgil started to pet its chest.

"I'm sorry for neglecting you, Tharn. Things have just been busy as of late." Though the sphinx muttered something about calling him by his actual name, Jesgil went straight to the point. "My friend here seeks knowledge of an ancient musical tribe. Do you happen to know of anything?" Silence hung in the air as the beast thought, eyes closed in meditation before opening up sharply.

"What you seek is the home of the Geetanjali. They reside north to north-east of here, though the lands that surround their homes have been plagued with natural threats of vines and poisonous flowers. If you wish to head there, you best prepare for such threats, along with the natural wildlife…"

Author: Scilla, Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2019 10:46 PM, Post Subject: [P] A Ringing Call

The woman that faced Jesgil was odd, her skin was a stark white, and apart from the blindfold, patches of scales appeared across her flesh. Perhaps the most striking of all was that underneath a form of beanie that she wore on her head, hair did not stick out, instead, numerous snakes idly and passively watched Jesqil, as others simply focused their gaze elsewhere. Her clothing, apart from the blindfold, didn't seem to imply allegiance to either a monastery or a cult, but given her physical appearance, the second seemed dreadfully more likely than the first. On closer inspection, the blindfold itself seemed dreadfully thick as well, as if it were meant to completely block out any light whatsoever, not just to obscure her vision.

Scilla audibly let out a breath of relief as Jesqil seemed to earnestly ponder the question, even if it seemed that she didn't outright know the answer. Most people had either given her a flat no, had skirted around helping her with some excuse, or had outright ignored her in favor of walking to wherever they needed to be. "I was told that there were some ruins of a small civilization near here, that's been gone for… A very long time. They had a very musical culture, and I was hoping to see if anything that lasted was left behind. Specifically, tuning forks." She was aware of how odd it sounded, especially coming from her. 

"Even if there aren't any, or they're in poor shape, I could possibly find something else of value to make the trip worthwhile. Do you know much about the nearby area?"

Author: Jesgil, Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2019 10:16 PM, Post Subject: [P] A Ringing Call

Adjusting… was hard. While she had been within eye sight of so many in the past, and not once ever been shaken by it, it was as if all eyes were now upon her, looking her over carefully as she seemed to struggle to get her steps in line. After all, since the war against the invading insects from Onnen, it seemed Jesgil had pushed herself too hard. "Damage" had been done to her that she simply could not fix, nor could she hide so easily like with her hair.

Her feet were now arched much higher, leaving her on the balls of her feet as her ankles hovered in the air. Covering them with heels were certainly an option, but the toe talons  said otherwise, making the front area too large to cover up without special order. Another thing that would require special order would have been gloves, seeing how her fingers not only elongated a bit, but the loss of a digit on both hands were pretty noticeable. These factors alone made it difficult to handle Tillan or her other duties. It meant needing to retrain herself in her methods again from the ground up: a process that would certain be exhausting and mundane-feeling.

Her attention was drawn away from her own worries when a voice called out to her from behind. Carefully stepping around, she stood face to face with a young lady with a map in hand and blindfold over her eyes asking for directions. Was this some kind of monk training or was it more of a kind of initiation ritual? Please don't be the latter, echoed in her mind quickly before gazing over the map. "Let's see… If I were some ruins, where would I be?" she mused aloud as her finger scouted the map before her. "If its not rude to ask, would there be any reason why you seek these ruins out?" If anything, it would help her shut up the voices in her mind that said she had to do this for much darker reasons…

Author: Scilla, Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2019 9:36 PM, Post Subject: [P] A Ringing Call

Scilla had gone most of her life without knowing what a tuning fork was, but in the span of a day she had gone from ignorance, to wanting. She had stretched her pockets too thin as of late anyway, and the very few she had found from merchants either were part of an expensive set, or rang out in a note that was far from her need. If she had the money to spare, she would have gotten one of the more expansive sets, but unfortunately such traders were unwilling to part with only one.

It had all started, in short, a handful of nights ago as she stayed at an inn. She had grown used to the wary nature of those she had come across, and the group that inhabited the inn along with her were no different. Musicians, traveling bards who had formed a sort of band that traveled from place to place. From what she knew, such a thing wasn't uncommon, and she had heard small groups gather and play at the inns they stayed at for some extra pocket change, but this time, a noise struck her in a way that grabbed her attention.

While she quietly ate the hot soup from the Inn's kitchen, the snakes upon her head seemed to be riled, a noise striking them as it struck her. A ringing, harsh but constant, echoing as the vibrations came off it with such a frequency that it almost overwhelmed her. She could see it, the first thing she could see the exact shape off through the snakes senses, almost perfect save for its blur of motion, a two pronged metal stick, a tuning fork. It had been an awkward few minutes afterwards, asking question after question to the bards, even being allowed to hold and ring the fork on her own. What struck her in a different way, was that, as its vibrations let out into the air around the fork, she could see the outlines of the world nearby just a little bit better.

It was then that she knew what she wanted, and from there she moved onward. Tuning forks were not uncommon by any means, but given the materials and use, not many people made them. If she had to guess, most of them came from just a few places, perhaps a smithy who specialized in such odd tools. Instead of seeking one out, she simply wished to find one, to own one, and that goal was why she had found herself out in the Plains of Bohar, seeking a rumor that a traveling merchant had told her. Near a town that saw many travelers, old buildings and structures off the beaten path were said to have been owned by a small tribe that loved music, and all the  instruments they could acquire. 

How long ago they lived there she did not know, only that the land had taken back what was settled, and only scavengers sparsely visited. Exactly where it was though? …Scilla didn't have the slightest idea. So that's why she found herself, map in hand, wandering the marketplace as she asked person after person. "Do you know where the nearby ruins are? I have a map here, but I don't know where they'd be…"