Retrieving the Merlin’s Tear(Esme)
Date: 2025-06-20 18:05
(Retrieving the Merlin’s Tear(Esme):Esme)
[Fri Jun 20 2025]
In the ruins of a crumbling Mage’s Tower
The haunting and swirling mists of Camelot’s ruins partially obscure the once grand tower that rests just up ahead. Its stone facade is half crumbled, exposing a vine laden interior about halfway up the tower.
An overgrown courtyard with a barely visible stone walkway winds off the main path and toward the tower. The mist hangs heavy in the eerie silence, only broken by the occasional distant clash of swords from a near-forgotten era
It is about 70/spanF(21C) degrees. The mist is heaviest At Birch and Atlantic/span
“And at the time, I didn’t have Mori as belonging to The Order. Her behavior seemed reminiscent of a ‘Lone Wolf’ type, as she wasn’t hunting with any associates. I apologize for not investigating further and working off a hunch.” Buck adds.
“But it creates an additional risk of exposure,” Miles points out to Buck. “Say Mab brainwashes you, and you hand her your files on Ambrose, and then Mab uses that information to force Ambrose to do horrible things. Shit that makes New Haven a markedly worse place,” he continues to present a hypothetical. “Or say Ambrose refuses, and she murders that fictional grandkid. I think,” Miles admits, brows furrowing as he goes. “That you should consider being a bit more responsible. Careful with what you record and how it’s secured. That sort of care is something our librarians are circumspect about, and maybe, just maybe, there’s a bit you could learn from them,” he advises cordially. “And on that subject, there’s a charm I’ve seen on the market that lets you forget anything you want. Might be a handy tool if you’re keen on adopting a little better infosec, bud.”
The descent down into Camelot was relatively painless, if not just physically exerting between the walking and the climbing and the skirting the edges of some potentially dangerous areas. Once they land in the ruins of King Arthur’s Court Esme takes a moment to just adjust to the eerie atmosphere. “Alright, step carefully. Don’t fuckin’ touch anythin’ unless you’re sure it’s not trapped.” She explains, starting to lead the group out toward the courtyard area. “Our goal is a tower near here, used t’ belong to Morgan LeFay. S’where our target item supposedly is.”
Buck smiles to Miles, “As I’m unaffiliated, I suppose I’ll have to get a few favors with The Order and you can buy it for me as a birthday present, hmm Miles? I’d be happy to carry it around if you think my methods of business aren’t up to your standards. I’m always willing to work with those in the same line of work like your Scrolls and Librarians.”
“It isn’t me that you hurt, unless you’re talking about the number of arguments I had to have with Mori to get her to calm down without feeling like we were betraying her,” Patience says to Buck. She shakes her head. “I can only imagine that you’ve said the same to Mab and all of the others. How do you expect any of us to trust you when you’re selling Orderites to the Hand one day, and Lord knows, helping Templars and werewolves hunt down a Hand member the next?” She might just be stating general statements but then she adds, “This is why I didn’t get back to you about your ‘ideals’, Mr. Ransom. I simply do not trust you, and the more you shmooze about how your betrayal of one of us will work in my favor, the less I do.” She lifts a hand to rub her face, nods slowly at what Miles says, probably a lot more politely than her own claims, though she doesn’t look convinced by the responses, and she sighs.
Shay simply brushes a hand along Patience’s back, somewhere between her shoulder blades. “I’ll try my best,” he promises her, before that hand is drawn back to rest on the pommel of his sheathed sword again, as is to be his default pose. He purses his lips, head bobbing along to Esme’s instruction as he trails behind the adventuring group leader. “Aye aye, boss lady.”
Patience turns from the conversation with a sigh and says, “Alright. Tears.” And she reaches into her bag for the weapons she’d not yet strapped to her body. “Thanks Shay,” she says seriously of him, and then turns to slide her ass to the back of the group behind people far better at fighting potential scary things, than she is. “I’ve got wards and the like under control as needed,” she promises.
Buck shrugs to Patience, “You’ve stonewalled me on your opinions of me and we’ve just met.” he motions to Shay, “I said before I worked with Shay on the Bayview case, so he knows how I work. If you aren’t willing to come to the table and work together,there’s plenty of folks in The Order that will. My hope is to have a good working relationship with all of the different groups, but I can understand your concerns.”
To Patience, Miles mentions that: “There’s a chick I went to high school with who’s a grandma at thirty-two.” Just in time for the team to reassemble during their traversal down to Camelot. “Misty,” he observes with a grimace as he stares out over the ruins. “I’ve got rope, and some flares.”
“If there’s any ancient locks to be finagled, I can work on them. I’m also a pretty light foot in regards to keeping hidden and keeping an eye out.” Buck notes to Esme.
“To his full credit, Mr. Ransom here’s done a great job on the investigating case with the Bayview murders. And helped me fix up my fuck up with that werewolf cub when I shot at him with my bow,” Shay heaves out a sigh at the memory of it.
“Often it takes a few data points to form a trend. I’ll prove myself in time, Miss Vasquez.” Buck says quietly as he keeps his head on a swivel and looks around, narrowing his eyes to look into the mists.
The idea of being watched is prevalent as the group progresses. The mist swirls lazily but not malevolently. Esme nods as people sound off what they’ve got, but she’s quiet and alert. She lifts a hand to pause the group when they come to the beginnings of an overgrown pathway with the tower in the not too far distance. “Alright, eyes and ears open…might need that magic touch of yours after all, Buck.” She murmurs, motioning to what looks like some kind of contraption built in to one of the trees in the courtyard.
“Because he’s trying to please everyone,” Patience mutters through a tense jaw to Shay. For a long moment, she looks at Buck and then dryly states, “Noted that you’d go behind my back to get what you want, Mr. Ransom.” There’s a pause as she turns to trudge after the others, but she says, “There is no way to please everyone. There never will be.” She nods aside to Buck. “I hope you will. I’m only reacting to the literal things you’ve admitted to doing. It’s distasteful, but… whatever. Not why we’re here. Let’s talk another time.” She pinches the bridge of her nose in a moment of frustration, and mutters something beneath her breath about ‘sun’ and ‘mist’ beneath her breath before just falling entirely quiet, and walking behind the rest. She’s definitely going to be the problem child of this group if she’s supposed to be quick and nimble on her feet…
Buck pulls out a thermos and pours himself a little bit of coffee in the thermos cap, sipping on it as he motions to the tree, “Where I’m from, I don’t think trees come like that. I’m pretty sure that’s some level of magical or engineered trap in that tree. If you want me to go get killed checking it out, I’d be happy to oblige.”
“I’m probably not getting through there without just booking it and making a whole hell of a lot of noise and mess,” Miles admits to the rest of the group as he pulls up to a stop to consider the path ahead of them. “I can probably outrun most of those traps, but I’m all speed and no precision. Shay, what do you think?” he turns to check in with Shay.
Patience’s accusation is given a nod from Shay to acknowledge it, but his focus is quickly drawn away towards the overgrown courtyard and the one contraption among many that’s been pointed out, and so he opts to focus his attention on the here and now instead. He tilts his head, in an attempt to survey the environment, trying to gauge just how many of the same traps are laid out there for them – probably a futile attempt. “Hm. If Mr. Ransom is offering to help with disarming the traps, I think we should give it a shot,” he says, turning to Miles. “I don’t think Pax is looking too confident there. Might be best if we try disarming them,” then a flick of his chin towards Buck.
Buck glances over at Esme, “You’re the expert on this, what sort of things should I be wary of in ‘trees not being as they should be’ here in Camelot?”
“Drop bears,” Miles warns Buck seriously, expression pursing as he eyes the path before them with skepticism. “It sounds like you’re up, then, Buck.”
Patience is still in grumpy, frumpy, sun-out angst mode, obviously. The strain and stress of it, even through the mist in a world of perpetual twilight, is beating her down. Physical activity of any high caliber is probably not in her wheelhouse, though she sticks close to the others. “Sorry,” she mouths over to Esme, as if probably aware that her dramapiling isn’t helpful, and then she gives Shay a wide-eyed look. “I uhh. Yeah…” A pause, and then an even quieter, “Thanks.”
seems like she could go either way on making it through herself or having someone go on ahead. She lightly chews her lower lip, considering the options. Then she decides, “Shay, Buck. You two take point.” She indicates the path. “Shay can try to spot ’em, Buck can disarm them. We’ll cover in case something goes awry.” Then she considers Buck and supposes, “Y’ever see that weeping willow thing in Harry Potter? That liked t’ attack people an’ shit? Just don’t get too close.” She quirks a grin.
//OOC Okay so. I think aid is still a bit messed up so. Shay, you can try a perception roll first and we’ll do the rollchallenge for that and depending on how you do, I’ll give Buck some extra ‘bounces’ on his disarm try! Learning experience so apologies in advance for any fumbles.
“Aah, got it. Whomper’s Wood.” Buck mumbles as he crouches down low, giving a glance over at Shay as he creeps forward slowly ready to look at the intricate workings of the trap.”
“Whomping Willow,” Patience mutters, as Buck names the figurative tree similarly. “They’re all over the misty streets in New Haven too…” As Esme names Shay and Buck, the diva slides a little closer to Miles with a quick, half-smile up at him. “You can just carry me -and- run, right?” is her hopeful plan for if this doesn’t work so well.
“Shit, I’ve seen those things in the mists on the surface,” Miles grimaces at Esme’s popculture reference and its application to their reality. “I don’t wanna see what they’re like all the way down here. All petrified and ancient and shit,” he shakes his head, content to linger at the back for now. “If push comes to shove and we can’t disable them, I can probably carry Pax through and book it.”
Seemingly having had the same idea at the same time as Patience, Miles rewards her backup plan with another elbow nudge.
Patience slants a smile to Miles, and despite the sun, this time she looks a bit pleased. “My hero,” she offers, though she’s not quite at the point where laughter is going to help her any.
Esme’s instruction prompts Shay to turn to Buck with a nod, saying nothing while he immediately steps up to take point just as told. His steps going forward are extremely careful from now on, body leaning forth as far as he can, further away from where his feet is stood. By the twist of his mouth into a grimace there? It is not looking good. “Shit… I’m trying, I’m trying,” he murmurs, barely loud enough for everyone else to hear. He’s struggling.
Buck murmurs back to Shay, “Hey, it’s all right, bud. Weird place, weird mist. These traps are probably not even made of this world and grown with magic. It’s pretty hard to spot them.”
Obadiah walks up, fashionably late as ever, and fashionable he is, and leans over Patience’s shoulder while her and Miles plot princess carry Olympics. Leaning in close he whispers, in his most convincing Ambrose impersonation, “Now why on earth would you run from a tree?”
“Because its bark is terrible, but its bite is worse,” Patience quips back to Obadiah, keeping herself close to Miles for that super-necessary-heroic-carrying that may be upcoming in their future, though she gives the fellow a hug of greeting, warm and fond, and says, “We figured it out by the way. Youngest child syndrome. That’s you. Miles is the middle child.”
The groups is as the edge of a pathway long overgrown and currently trying to attempt to navigate it with Shay and Buck taking point. Esme has her crossbow leveled toward one of those pesky trees just in case.
Unfortunately for Shay, shit’s really overgrown. Still, he does manage to spot a few closer ones that are nearby and is able to give Buck a heads up about -those- ones.
//ooc Alright buck, you’re up! We’ll do this in two parts. This first one will be to disable the ‘spotted’ ones and if that goes well, we’ll move on to trying to disable the ‘not scouted’ ones. For this first one, when it comes time to roll, use 6 bounces. Also feel free to add me to your friends list if you want to send me tells with any questions.
Miles is in the midst of making some type of smart-assed response but just guffaws at Patience’s superior answer and cedes the ground there. “They should,” he answers Patience’s whispered question. “Depending on what you’re shooting, anyhow.” His brows crease together while he watches Shay and Buck survey their path forward, then asks Obadiah, “Any good with traps?”
Obadiah pauses and does the math in his head, walking through all the variations of what Patience could possibly be referring to before eventually shrugging it of and nodding. “That means King is the oldest right? I can see that.” He slips the cufflinks from his shirt and rolls up his sleeves, “I’ll just run where you guys run. No sense in me getting in the way.” He pauses and watches Buck a moment then says, “Well… I mean… No? I can try to help though.”
“I’m sorry, it’s too misty, I guess,” Shay’s brow twists into a clear wrinkling frown, disturbed of his own inability it seems, especially of something that he likes to take some pride in. “If you get hurt, I’ve brought bandages and a first aid kit,” he assures Buck in the meantime.
Buck could also use fast reflexes if it helps.
Picking his way through the traps that have been pointed out, Buck attempts to disable some of them, but it seems like the mist is making it pretty difficult. He has a switchblade in hand and some small tools that he’s working with.
“That was smart thinking,” Patience tells Shay, clearly approving of his choice to be prepared in ways that she’s clearly not considered in the last minute rush of things she’s been in lately. “If it was just alive I could put people under magical cloaks when they ran past but… something tells me that won’t help.” So she grimaces, and holds her breath metaphorically, to see what Buck can handle.
The traps are old and ancient but Buck gets partial credit because he’s fast and probably had disabled more than one type of trap n his lifetime. He does eventually get some of the spotted ones disabled but one end up tripping and an arrow zooms out of one tree, narrowly avoiding hitting anyone and burying into one of the gnarled trees. Which thankfully does not do anything.
Esme exhales a low breath, staring at the arrow. “Okay. Alright. Good job so far. Let’s uh, try to keep going.”
//00C okay let’s try this again with some alterations since we’re all learning here. Shay give me another perception check.
The arrow whizzing past them causes Shay to duck and shield his head from reflex almost immediately, no stranger to being peppered at with more than just one, apparently. Luckily for him and everybody else, the trap was way off its mark anyway. After gauging out that that’s proobably the last of it, Shay rises back up. “Shit, you guys alright?” He turns to spare a glance behind him at the rest of the group with a nervous little chuckle, then eyes Buck, appraising. Noticing that Mr. Ransom over there is also fine, Shay decides to heed Esme’s instruction and does just that, he keeps on going with his eyes seeking to pierce through the mist. More focus this time, and less grimacing from him this round at least.
“Hey, how’d Dovie do in the hospital?” Miles checks in with Obadiah while Shay and Buck scout their path forward. “I meant to swing by with a pizza, but kind of got caught up pulling other people out until I needed to pass the fuck out from exhaustion,” he relays. “She wasn’t doing too hot in Gabe’s car, though. Puking blood,” he winces, then peers at Patience. “Do you have a preferred way to get carried? Are you looking for like the whole princess carry? ’cause I’d probably be a little faster if I just throw you over my shoulder like a sack of flour,” he teases.
Buck nods with a tip of his hat to Shay, “Hey, it isn’t an adventure without taking an arrow to the knee, is it? That one was a little high, though.”
motions for the others to move in to the cleared space of the courtyard while Shay and Buck move on ahead.
Shay has a much easier time spotting the next obstacle of traps to give Buck a heads up about them.
//OOC okay Buck, go ahead and try disabling again! When it comes time for the ‘roll x’ just do ‘roll 1’
Zzzzing. The trap-fired arrow rushing harmlessly past punctuates Miles’s sentence and causes him to jolt.
“She’s ok,” Obadiah says softly to Miles. “I took her home last night from the hospital.” He shrugs a moment then and then gets quiet at the jolt.
Esme does not actually move, but has to set up some things quickly inside while traps are being disabled!
“Thanks for pointing those out to me, Shay. That was a snap.” Buck says as he deftly disables some of the traps. “That does worry me for what is further on inside of here. There are probably to catch dumb animals that wander this way to ward this off or to catch food.”
Buck grimaces as he picks his way through the underbrush, picking through some vegetation, “Seems like this place is pretty overgrown. I bet some of these things were more pristine when this was still around. Probably was some kind of normal military defenses that got left behind when this thing…do we know what happened to make Camelot fall? I may have to ask Mr. Hale if The Endless Library has anything on it.”
“Oh shiiiit,” Patience mutters when an arrow flies out of the tree. Ducking down and back behind the Mercer bros, she listens as they talk, grimacing about the mentioned woman’s injuries and then saying, “It’s been hellacious. You guys have been heroes about it though.” Slipping along with the others, definitely hovering close, she says to Miles, “I’d much prefer princess treatment but everyone staying alive trumps that, so… best judgement!” It’s said with an attempt at a smile, though again she seems very off her usual game here, where illusions aren’t much use.
“There’s way too many traps to just ward off ‘animals’,” Shay adds, maybe sounding a bit dire, but definitely a belated response whilst processing Buck’s previous statement. In his defense though, he was busy gawking at random dirt and grass.
“Ah,” Obadiah says, before blushing slightly. “King and Miles are big damn heroes not me. I wasn’t there,” he mutters as he reaches out a hand and rests it on Miles back, waiting for the elder Mercer to make the decision on next steps.
Buck glances back at Obadiah as he asks, “What sorts of things to King and Miles get up to that has you call them heroic? I guess there’s been a lot of people being put in the hospital lately, so pulling people out of the mist and saving them from abduction is pretty heroic.”
Esme has visibly relaxed a little now that the majority of the traps seem to be taken care of and the group is able to advance a little further, closer toward the tower. “Morgan LeFay was pretty fuckin’ paranoid near tha end I imagine.” She figures to the group. “Okay. I think we can make this final stretch and get inside.” She supposes, casting another cautious glance around. “Just step lightly.”
OOC:// Okay! This is an optional bit. You can either just head inside the tower or if you want to chance falling down the hole, you are welcome to do a ‘try stepping lightly’ with Dexterity. Failure on this roll will result in falling down.
//OOC 1 bounce rolls
“Sometimes the real hero is the guy who goes into the hospital to spend time with people who’ve been fucked up, not the adrenaline junkie that drags people out of the mist,” Miles pats Obadiah’s shoulder encouragingly. “Hospitals are fucking scary.” Nodding along to Esme, Miles tries to keep tight to the path cleared by Shay and Buck, planting his hand to the small of Patience’s back just in case he needs to foist her up and run.
“Hospitals suck.” Esme agrees wholeheartedly, taking up the rear of the group and watching people progress.
“They’re the fucking worst,” Miles confirms to Esme.
As he picks his way through the mists, Buck nods back to Miles, “Robert and I were doing a headcount of everyone we knew who was captured and rescued. Pretty sure Hallmark is making a killing with ‘Get Well Soon’ cards. Lots of folks got some bad injuries, but they’re recovering well.”
“I mean, y’all all did more than me. When the sun’s out I feel… useless,” Patience says as if that’s going to cheer Obadiah up at all. Maybe it will – competitive Fae that he is. But then it’s her turn to have to try and pick her way through and well… well.
Patience isn’t in heels today. That helps.
Shay leads the rest of the group alongside Buck, obscured eyes still peeled for any other contraptions or worse, because the worst ones are the ones that you don’t expect. He’s too good for falling down holes though, but he probably could’ve easily spotted that one out anyway, judging by how attentive he’s being right now.
“I should open a gift card store near the hospital. I’d make so much money,” Miles has a moment of brilliance inspired by Buck, but then he shrugs the clever plan off. He doesn’t step particularly lightly. If anything, he’s probably a little louder than wise.
Obadiah is kind of an asshole and picks his way through pathway in something that looks like a waltz as he crosses the pathway, almost falling over the edge, but not really, or was it? He finally gets to the otherside and bows as if this were a performance. “Yes well. You both and Ambrose have faith in me, even if I don’t have it in my self.”
brings up the rear, stepping carefully along as everyone else goes and venturing inside with the others!
In a sing-songy kind of voice, as the edge of the sun wears away enough for her to actually not fall into a hole in the ground this time, Patience says to Obadiah, “That’s because we love you, silly!” When they’re all past the dangerous hole, even Miles with his stompy boots, she flashes that same strained-but-real smile over to Shay and Buck and offers a thumbs up.
Inside the ruins proper, things don’t get too much better. The feeling of being watched intensifies in the once-opulent room. Now a ruined relic. “Great fuckin’ job guys.” Esme smiles to Shay and Buck. “Alright. Let’s spread out a lil and see what we can see.” She figures.
“I’ll watch the stairs,” Shay announces, and sashays over towards it.
Wandering the first floor, Miles’s attention span gets the better of him and he quickly finds himself wandering around, squinting over the ruins in search of anything that can – if only briefly – capture a modicum of his interest.
Buck peers around the room as he glances up the stairs and meanders around, running his fingers along the walls, “Interesting…I wonder how long this thing has stayed standing after all these years.”
“It looks like there used to be other doors here, but…” Miles trails off as he wanders the first floor of the tower, scrutinizing the walls. “They’re sealed off somehow.”
When Shay goes one way and Miles goes the other, Patience is left just sort of standing there for a moment. It’s quick enough, before she’s just sort of tipping up her head and searching the space around her visually, though she moves in the ruins only where the others go.
//OOC 1 Bounce rolls!
“No traps here,” Shay declares, with a curious croon rumbling through. “Mm… but the stairs look like they could just fall apart at any moment. It’ll be risky to go upstairs if anyone of us is going to try.” A beat, while he continues to observe. “There’s also… some glyphs here. I can try to make them out, but, is there anybody who wants to help? Pax? I know you’re good with occult shit.”
“Sure, I’ll try!” Patience calls out to Shay with a firm nod. She looks up from whatever she was peering at, to wander over to where Shay stands, to squint at those, instead. “Maybe not good,” she warns. “But -okay-.”
is specifically looking for books, arcane symbols, and other things of note. Turning over some different things in the room, Buck doesn’t find anything he’s looking for. “For such a powerful sorceress, she certainly kept her books in order. Can’t chance someone coming across anything useful down here in her antechamber.”
Buck wanders back over to Shay as he says, “I can take a look at these symbols. I’m not an arcanist, but I’ve read a few books. You think Patience may have some insight? If she’s studied, she’ll be far better of an eye at this than I am.”
“Ooooh,” Miles seems to have found something of interest – to him at any rate – but by the time he’s made the noise, he’s already pocketed the goods and wandered back over to where Shay calls for Patience’s help at the stairs.
Buck doesn’t know what the command for assisting is.
Patience did it wrong pretty sure.
//OOC I am trying to divy out information on the other rolls. I think it’s ‘assist’? Or I might have to do the assist thing on my roll end. Help rollchallenge or help try or help roll might have some info!
Shay beckons Patience and Buck along towards him. “Come, just don’t get on the stairs yet,” he motions a hand to the part of the wall and the stairs where the glyphs are scattered. “You wanna help with the gawking too, Miles?” He turns to the man when he approaches.
“Nope,” Miles bluntly answers Shay’s invitation with a shake of his head. It would seem he’d rather gawk at the gawkers.
Shay waits while the others figure out how to do the assist thingy. Ahem.
Patience sidles over to Shay, pulling out a book that’s probably entirely hand-written by her. It’s at least better than a spiral bound notebook! She peers at the glyphs, and then starts to flip through pages in her tome, to see what she can find. Maybe she knows. Maybe not.
Obadiah looks at the book as Patience shows him the book and squints and shakes his head slowly. “I… I am not the smart scroll,” he muses and then looks around. “I am not sure I am being completely helpful.”
As everyone starts to fan out, Esme eyes over a few things curiously but she’s here for one thing and she doesn’t see it. She glances toward the glyphs but lets the others try and figure out
The perusal of the room doesn’t seem to yield much over all, though Patience notices some of the symbols on the sealed doorways match the ones on the stairwell when Shay calls people over.
As they’re starting to consider the glyphs and trying to figure out more about them, the gylphs glow a faint purple but nothing else immediately seems to happen.
//OOC Okay we’ll see what happens here.
Buck//ooc Okay, so when I attempted to assist Patience, it probably changed my assist over
“I don’t know if it helps, but there’s symbols on the doors that look just like these ones,” Patience says as she flips through her book. Eventually she pauses on a page, then squints up at the wall, then back down on the book again. She’s nerding out a bit, one fang poking idly against her lower lip as she tries to figure things out. Eventually, she points out a specific group of symbols and their translations to Shay.
Putting his field guide away, Buck gives a nod to Patience as she and Shay work together on it. “You’re the expert here, Patience. It looks like you all got the right key to the arcane lock.”
Obadiah is a typical Mercer. A dumb-dumb.
With the help of Patience’s tome, both her and Shay begin to try and match the symbols on the stairs and the wall with the ones that Patience has drawn on her notes. “I think… yeah,” he hovers an index finger the specific group of symbols that Patience is pointing out, in agreement with her. “Think that’s it.”
Esme wanders closer to the stairs as the gylphs are being deduced. “I’m not seein’ any indication of what we’re lookin’ for down here. It must be upstairs.” She figures with a frown as the glyphs pulse purple again.
“Well, let’s figure out if the glyphs mean anything first,” Shay tells Esme, still in the process of looking over the translations on the tome it appears. “Don’t want ’em to be this LeGay’s magical trap.”
Taking a few steps back, Buck squints at the symbols as he tarries more towards the stairs, “Pretty sure arcane symbols glowing is what they do right before they explode, or unleash whatever arcane spells are woven inside of them.”
“Guys…” Patience says after a moment longer of pondering her book. “Shit. They’ve been activated. They look like glyphs used to summon someone to a location and… that purple glow? It’s not a good thing.” She gestures to Shay, snapping her book closed and almost reverently tucking it away again. “I mean, maybe they’ll bring someone cool here, but just as likely it’s some kind of demon…”
“Oh, was it because I called ’em LeGay? I’m sorry,” Shay apologizes to no one in particular.
“Didn’t Morgan Le Fay like…” Miles tries to remember the lore of Camelot as he starts to wander towards the stairs to follow the group should they ascend. “Didn’t she like… bang her own brother and then raise her baby to be a murdermachine aimed to kill him?”
Shay says “Nevermind, I am not sorry.“
//OOC 5 minutes break and then we will set up for combat!
Obadiah sighs and reaches into his backpack and looks at Miles. “Is Pax an official Mercer now? Did she just Mercer this situation?” He looks to Patience and blows her a kiss as he pulls out his carbine.
gets her gear prepped, “We almost made it.” She grumbles as she levels her bow near the glyphs.
“Yeah, if the stories are true to events,” Patience answers Miles with a nod of her head. “Arthur and Morgan La Fay had a son named Mordred who murdered him.” She’s still busy staring at those purple glyphs, but talking about patricide apparently has her reaching for her weapons.
Patience says, dryly but almost playfully, “She was probably a demon-blooded witch, like the Hollow bitches.“
“They’re not all demon-blooded. I know a number of people from The Hollow Conclave.” Buck notes as he draws out his Colt Python .357 Magnum Revolver and starts to load it with salt loads from his speed loader. “I figure anything that’s getting summoned may be some kind of spirit or demon, and I’m ready for both.”
Alright, all jokes aside, the mention of summoning and people actually reaching for their weapons quickly prompts Shay to do the same. “The Hollow Conclave has mundane ritualists and sorcerers among their ranks, the ones who traffic in demonic rituals. So, not too far away from demon-blooded anyway,” he says, as he unsheathes his broadsword.
“Spiritus Sanctus, Dominus vobiscum.” Buck chants as he starts to load the bullets in the Revolver, offering up a quiet blessing as he loads each chamber. “Mors te sequatur, daemon.”
Buck continues quietly, “Dona eis requiem.” another chanted phrase, another bullet in the chamber. “Momento Mori.” he murmurs as he loads the another chamber. “Mors Venit, Mora Omnia.” then he loads the final bullet in the last chamber. “Salva nos a paccatis nostris. Amen.”
With a final brilliant flash of 04purple and a malicious, feminine cackle from somewhere up above. The glyphs finish activating and the group finds themselves surrounded by ghostly swordsmen, knight of Morgan LeFay, starting to emerge from the sealed off walls and on the stairs.
“No habla,” Miles/b>/span“I am really tired of those guys,” Obadiah says before locking and loading, following the tried and true method of spray and pray
Patience says “Shit! “
“Fuck, they don’t play,” Miles groans after taking a couple hits, backpedaling up the stairs.
Take cover! make sure you keep them off of Patience, they got a swing on her! Buck says.(Encourage)
Shay says “What the fuck?! Okay, who needs triage?“
Buck obadiah (Laststand)
Obadiah says “shiiit “
Shay makes a quick retreat from a 52Ghost53ly Swo95rdsman wielding a rapier after trading blows with the creature, quickly reaching for and rummaging through his bag. “Triage! Who needs it?!”
Buck yells out to Obadiah, “You’re not going down today, bud. Stick in there and keep with it.”
Obadiah is not looking too hot
The swordsman indeed do not play. “Fuck! Back off!” Esme/b>/span“It barely works on me,” Patience says through gritted teeth. She’s bleeding, though she’s given up the fight for the moment in the effort to put wards on the others taking damage. “Help them, Shay. There’s a brief shake of her head, and she slips back a little further.
Shay rushes for Obadiah, looking to drag him out of the chaos of the ongoing melee. “Come here, lemme take a look at you first!”
Pulling a bola out from a belt at his waist, Miles whips it at a spectral swordsman’s legs.
emote yells as Buck points to a 52Ghost53ly Swo95rdsman wielding a rapier, “Focus fire on them, make sure you spread out so th(Encourage)
Esme says “Fucking ow!/b>/spanBuck patience (Laststand)
Patience says “Well… fuck.“
Shay says “Holy fuck, they hit HARD! I need to pull back!“
“Stick with us, Patience! We’re coming for you!” Buck yells.
“Yeah… not going to go well,” Patience says to Buck with a shake of her head. She turns to run, but throws up a few more of her wards, inlcuding herself this time while muttering, “I hope these are helping some! I can’t fight while I use them!
“Someone switch with me, I’m fighting this second swordsman!” Shay calls out, harried by a 52Ghost53ly Swo95rdsman wielding a rapier whilst the man struggles to parry its vicious attacks.
Order, fight together! You can push them back. Be the Mercers we know you to be! Buck/b>/spanObadiah throws his glass bead into the air as he retreats, “Come on Calypso! Need your sweet ass here!”
Buck starts to charge in on Shay’s ghostly swordsman, looking to give the man some reprieve.
These ghosts may have been made a tad too difficult but you know what? This is an action movie goddamnit and the adventurers always win the first battle. Or else there’s no one to live to tell the tale. So they kill another knight and are able to focus fire on the remaining swordsman.
Shay says “Buck! Over here!“
Buck//ooc omg I love the colors on that octopus
Buck ooc//also, I’m still figuring out how leadership works
Leaping in, Miles intercedes in front of Shay, though he already looks battered and worn out himself, and jabs his harpoon at the spectral swordsman. “I won’t be able to take more than one or two hits,” he warns. “Esme, you good?”
Esme is pretty sure octopi cannot survive in this kind of environment and there is not a secret lake from Atlantis indoors!
//OOC I am going to try and desummon everything an end the fight! Everyone do some cool thematic winning the fight pose and I’m going to make some heavy tweaks to the final boss since clearly I am bad at tooling things.
“I’ll take it after you, Miles. Make sure we’re parrying it evenly so nobody gets wounded. We’ve got a lot to explore!” Buck notes.
Buck//ooc Hey, this is awesome, we’re all figuring this out. 😀
is not looking hot either. “I could use some stitches probably!”
Esme is not looking hot either. “I could use some stitches probably!”
“If you take a hit in, pull back and I’ll take your spot!” Shay urges Miles whilst he hurriedly bandages his bleeding upper arm, content to allow him to finish the last someone if the harpoon-wielding Mercer wants to take the final kill.
“If you take a hit in, pull back and I’ll take your spot!” Shay urges Miles whilst he hurriedly bandages his bleeding upper arm, content to allow him to finish the last Ghostly Swordsman if the harpoon-wielding Mercer wants to take the final kill.
“Your octopus looks strangely familiar,” Patience gasps to Obadiah, not out of breath but clearly hurting. She’s lucky though in this regard; she can shut down pain receptors significantly, and though she teeters, she holds strong, doing her best to keep up those wards on the men and Esme, deepest in the fight.
Shay is bandaging his own upper arm, that is, but he’s allowing Miles to finish off the last of the ghostly warriors.
Pulling out a bandage, Buck moves towards Esme to bandager her up with triage before moving in to back up Miles and Shay with the ghostly swordsman.
“Shay!” Miles protests while he ducks and dodges around the spectral swordsman. “Quit trying to make me look cool and take its fucking head off.”
//ooc Buck try attack skipping? You’re red for some reason.
Shay is trying to make his retreat because Buck shows up as red and combat is a little buggy, looks like. (OOC)
Buck//ooc command stacked, waiting on my turn
Buck//ooc maybe because I’m a non Orderite? Let me see if I can surrender if that works.
Patience thinks maybe it’s Obadiah needing to do this.
Shay can also try surrendering. (OOC)
Patience// However long 10 ticks is, Shay and Buck are helpless that long now, I think.
Buck nods, “Seems like everything is good and our blood is certainly boiling now. How’s that for arcane wards?”
Obadiah holds his side and coughs some, “Jesus fuck.” He takes a breath then adds to Patience, “Thanks. I am pretty sure I learned it from you.”
Patience squints at Shay as if she can’t really tell if he’s serious or not, and finally asks, “What did you learn from me?” For the moment, she’s focused on simply resettling her body, though the blood in the room has her nostrils flaring from time to time, and she asks, “How bad is it? Some of you are wounded – more than just cuts and bruises?
“Everyone good? Make sure you check yourselves for any sort of ectoplasmic residue. Sometimes these sorts of things don’t make physical attacks but rather make wounds to your spirit that you may not even notice for some time. Things that may lead to depression, anxiety, just a feeling of listlessness as some of their spirit lingers on you. Don’t want to have to pull out an exorcism if any of that spirit starts to grow.” Buck says with a smirk.
Obadiah says “Regeneration will take care of most of it in an hour.“
Obadiah gives a thumbs up with a smile.
“I’m out of bandages,” Shay admits to the rest of the adventuring crew, once he’s picked himself up from being knelt down on the hard cold floor. He checks on the wrap of his own gauze around his injured upper arm. “But I’m not bleeding no more at least, no. Any of you still have some spare bandages but can’t triage, you can hand ’em to me.”
“I didn’t bring bandages,” Obadiah confesses with a tired smirk. “I didn’t think it would be this bad.” He looks back out of the castle, “Should we fall back and regroup?”
“I’m on my last ones, but if you can get me a stipend to gather a few from The Order supplier I’d be obliged. I have to hit up Carver at Sevenfold Tactical with a list of things that I need.” Buck notes as he looks through his things.
“Well, a good lesson for all of y’all to start bringing your own bandages next time, at least. If you can’t use ’em, maybe someone else can, right?” Shay easily says, hoisting the heft of his sword as his attention drifts up the precarious set of stairs. “It’s gonna be a bitch trying to go up there. I don’t think we can all go in at once, and I’m pretty damn sure I heard cackling coming from upstairs.”
“I never carry them because they don’t work for me and I haven’t learned that art yet,” Patience confesses to Shay. “From now on, I’ll try to carry some too. For emergencies.” With that said, she looks over to Obadiah suspiciously, as if she can scent his wounds more notably than he’s willing to admit, but it’s a fond pat on his arm as she says, “You’d better not get yourself hurt badly,” and then she’s heading past him to check on Miles too. “I know you’re the tough Mercer,” she quips, her own bleeding slowed, and the residue drying on her hip, visble through torn denim shorts. “But you good, Miles?”
groans as she gets up to her feet after some recovery time. “Okay. Fuckin’ hell…” She exhales heavily. “I wasn’t expectin’ -that- much of a fuckin’ fight.” She frowns, the ghost corpses already dissolved into the aether. The ghostly cackling from upstairs continues and they can all see when a woman appears in the stairwell, ghostly, medival witchy, and definitely wearing what they came here to get.
“How about I make it easy and come to you?” She asks the dishevled and recovering group. “I haven’d had visitors in a long time.” And she doesn’t seem keen to keep them.
“Want me to just banish her, Esme?” Patience asks, reaching for her tome, and flipping it open to a post-it note marked page. “I totally can.”
“Well, you just announced your intention to the bitchy witchy,” Shay steps up protectively in front of Patience, staring down (up?) the witchess over there on top of the stairs.
“Well then, if it isn’t the famed Morgan Le Fay.” Buck says as he reaches up to tip his hat to the apparition, while reaching in a pocket to put his hand on a small burlap bag of rock salt. “If you’d like to come down, we can negotiate for your favorite little jewelry piece. You probably don’t need that in the afterlife you’re living, do you?”
“I don’t get the impression she’s just going to chill there and let it happen,” Miles seems to agree with Shay, hopping down from the stairs to stare at the spectral entity with the glowing necklace. “She wasn’t exactly a chill person when she was alive, right? I don’t imagine that gets better when you’re dead.”
Obadiah looks up tired at Patience and winks before looking to Esme, “Yah dead? Or do I have to kill you for dragging me down here, missing two parties, and getting me killed?” Drama squiddy.
“Be my guest if you wanna try.” Esme tells Patience, “But I think she’s wearin’ what we need and banishin’ her might take it with us.” She levels her bow. “Any chance you wanna just give us the necklace and we’ll be on our way?” She nods toward Buck’s question.
LeFay grins visciously as she drifts about partway down the stairs, floating over a missing patch. Dark energy crackles from her finger tips. “I don’t negotiate with thieves and trespassers.”
Esme looks vaguely amused to Obadiah. “Die t’gether right?” //OOC I have hopefully adjusted things to be…less deadly! This fight might go much quicker as well as a 1 v 5 but I am going to set the fighting to turn based as well so we have a little bit of breathing room and can be a little more thematic with stuff. I hvae to afk for like 5ish minutes and then we will start.
Patience lifts her hand to her mouth, slicing a fang into her wrist. She doesn’t often use blood, but for this…
Pulling out his revolver, old west style as Buck attempts a trick shot to ping the physical necklace and break the chain off the ethereal form of Morgan Le Fay with his salt loaded bullets, waiting until the right time in Patience’s ritual where the apparition is distracted.
// Obadiah thinks Buck is so cool
Buck//ooc has been called the main character of Haven 7 a few times lol
//OOC I’d like you both to do a roll 3 and I will determine outcomes based on all 3 rolls, not just the final one 🙂
Buck//ooc holy shit lol
Patience doesn’t know what just happened…
Buck//ooc Oh, that was the assist from like way before on the stairs, I guess it popped on the next roll
//OOC Seems like Buck’s ‘assist’ persisted to your next roll. Good to know! Okay, working up a response!
Shay thinks Patience never made any roll in the first place anyway when Buck assisted, so the assist only came up right now when Patience actually makes a roll, yes. (OOC)
Obadiah sucks his teeth as Buck and Patience mercerize the situation. “They’re good,” he says to Miles
Buck//ooc the fact that ‘Mercerize’ is a verb makes me laugh out loud.
“Pax is like, really smart,” Miles confirms to Obadiah. All the same, he keeps his harpoon at the ready. Maybe he just really wants to jab 83a gh89ostly95 mage31 wear31ing a 9602g08l14o20w21i28n29g31 3129n28e21c20k14l08a02c96e.
Another classic adventure move that isn’t used nearly enough is acting while the Villain is talking. Pax starts casting her binding ritual, Buck pulls out his pistol and several things happen at once.
Bloody shackles erupt around Morgan LeFay’s wrists while she’s starting to chant out a spell, preventing her from finishing the somatic part and keeping her in her spot. She lets out a roar of irritation just as Buck’s pistol goes off and that bullet flies true, tearing through Morgan’s neck right where the necklace lays. She’s a ghost, of course, so it goes through her, but the necklace is real and starts free falling.
There’s a little flux of magic from LeFay and she breaks free of the bloody shackles, flying toward the group now but not going for the necklace.
//OOC Okay! Everyone give me one super cool thematic moment of attacking/doing whatever and we’ll get this wrapped up :heart:
“Shay, fuck her up,” Miles/i/span/b urges Shay, lunging forward as though he intends to do just that, but instead he slides. His target isn’t 83a gh89ostly95 mage31 wear31ing a 9602g08l14o20w21i28n29g31 3129n28e21c20k14l08a02c96e, he’s moving to grab the necklace that Buck’s shot loose while Patience binded the witch, and to snatch it up before the spectral fragment of Le Fay can register its loss.
“Oh Fuck!” Buck/i/span/b says, just as surprised that the trick worked as anyone else. “I’ve only seen that done in movies. I was trying to distract from Pax’s binding. Grab it and run!” he yells, heading towards the door as he yeets the bag of rock salt in a ‘pocket sand’-like spray up towards the apparition. He posts towards the door, making sure to cover their escape if they’re running, or get a good spot for fighting if they do stay and duke it out.
“Shit, she’s strong,” Patience says as she watches LaFay break through the magic, though thankfully it held in place long enough for Buck to do his thing. She’s too tense to bask in the moment of complimentary conversation from the Mercer duo, but maybe she will later. For now, she darts backwards, probably assuming that she’ll be the ghost’s target, and up go her hands. It’s magic again, glimmering around her own hands in motes of light, as she tries to hide Miles’s dash for the prize from the spirit herself.
Obadiah lowers his weapon when Buck fires, staring at the bullet, before blinking once. Is Buck that good of a shot? Did fate intervene? Only Obadiah knows for sure.
Patience didn’t get a chance to assist, and now Miles has a broken assist on him too.
//OOC Interesting that it let you assist when he marked 0 for assists! Might be a bug to report.
Buck ooc//fucking Obie doing some luck bullshit here for sure
Fucking up a ghostly apparition might not do very well, but Shay notices what Miles is planning to do and steps up to the challenge anyway. Patience beats her to it, but with a flick of his wrist behind aimed at the ritualist, he commands shadow to tangle about Patience’s frame and enshroud her within it – and when Buck tosses that bag of rock salt at 83a gh89ostly95 mage31 wear31ing a 9602g08l14o20w21i28n29g31 3129n28e21c20k14l08a02c96e Shay/i/span/b rushes up the stairs to meet the witch.
Cloaked by Patience’s illusions, Miles slides beneath the ghost and catches the necklace from thin-air. Rolling and pushing back up to his feet, he turns to face the ghost from behind, just in time to see Buck blast it with a bag full of rock salt, creating an opportunity for Shay to be a big damn hero.
Miles runs for the falling necklace, Patience’s magic helps in making him the least of 83a gh89ostly95 mage31 wear31ing a 9602g08l14o20w21i28n29g31 3129n28e21c20k14l08a02c96e‘s priorities. LeFay’s attention seems to be on Patience, seeing that she cast something but not immediately knowing what. Then she’s being absolutely blasted with rock salt from Buck. Obadiah is supporting in the way he knows best. Esme/i/span/b is totally helping by offering some distracting arrow fire probably.
Shay steps up, meeting the severely weakened mage and has an opportunity to deal a very cinematic final blow as Miles recovers the necklace.
Shay is one for practicality than theatrics; Buck’s rock salt is gods-sent, affording the sword-wielding man the opportunity to loft his blade upwards, before a clean, vicious strike aimed at 83a gh89ostly95 mage31 wear31ing a 9602g08l14o20w21i28n29g31 3129n28e21c20k14l08a02c96e‘s head strikes true – a total shot in the dark from Shay/i/span/b, seeing how his target is at least spectral in appearance after all, but it’s still an attempt for the coup de grace.
Obadiah slips his gun away and pulls out his switch blade with a *schtick* and then starts to pick his nails while Miles, Buck, and Shay do their thing supporting the brilliant Patience. “Do you think I act like a youngest child?” he asks Esme already convinced of their success.
From where she’d crouched, concealed by Shay’s shadows, Patience watches as Miles and Shay, with the aid of Buck’s buckshot and the luck that Obadiah carries in spades. Big damn hero is not her role, she’s more than content back on the back lines there with Esme, keeping the chaos from dropping any of these people that mean so much to her. “Looks like he got it,” she breathes over to the other woman, eyes a bit wide – but probably unseen in her little shell of shadows. Take that, sun!
Patience whispers from her concealment, trying to mimic a ghostly hiss to Obadiah “Yessssssss…”
“Of course you do.” Esme grins to Obadiah in agreement with ghost-@Pax, winking to the man. She lowers her own bow, relieved that things seem to be working out.
The sword strikes cleanly through 83a gh89ostly95 mage31 wear31ing a 9602g08l14o20w21i28n29g31 3129n28e21c20k14l08a02c96e, because of course it does, but the intent is important…and the rock salt absolutely helped. With a final shrill shriek, Morgan LeFay’s spectral form dissipates there on the staircase. Any glowing glyphs have died down now and an eerie silence falls back over the tower. The sensation of being watched hasn’t seemed to lessen at all, but there’s no malice in the experience. Just a passive watching.
“Nice fuckin’ job!” Esme/i/span/b enthuses in the aftermath. “But we really oughta get the fuck outta here before something else decides we ain’t allowed to leave.” //OOC Thank you all for coming along! You can do a final pose if you want and then travel 120009. Once in there, use escape and it should insta port you back to Stop 271. I’m not sure if traveling to 0 (which is 271) is working properly.