Heading down through the tower, it was ominously quiet, the screeching ghouls and other defenses strangely absent as they made their way slowly down to the desert below.
But found there a surprise they did...
The metal gate that blocked the entrance swung open as they approached...revealing a scene of beauty. A pleasant forest, grass spreading forth all around, the sound of a nearby river gracing their ears. In every direction they looked, life sprouted forth from the earth and filled the air. A deer watched them from nearby, unafraid as it stood there.
Jan dragged himself outside with the help of the others. "We...we did it." He breathed out in awe.
Leets gazed around, awestruck by the sight. "Yeah, we did," he murmured, wondering how far the tower's power reached. "Uhm, any one have any idea how to navigate a forest?"
"Just walk? Or we could try and warp back?"
Looking over Jan, and again at the forests around them, he nodded to Viki. "Probably should just teleport us back to Baron. I'd rather not find out the hard way if we brought predators into Wasteland along with fauna."
"Okay. I can bring us back there just easily. Just stick close," She chanted, a glowing aura surrounding them... and then they were there. It may have been a blink, or just they didn't notice, but they were now standing right outside Baron, the homely village outside just as they'd left it.
"Mind pointing us which way is the nearest doctor or such? You explored the most of this place out of all of us, Jan."
Leets remembered encountering a white mage before, and Jan remembered having traveled briefly around the town, where to find an inn or several white mage spots.
"I just need to lie down." Jan insisted. "We can't be bothering too much since we have to go help Cecil's scouting party."
"I think you need more then a lie down, Smith. If you really want to go along with the scouting party, you should at least get one of those White Mages to fix you up," retorted Leets, half dragging, half carrying the injured negociator.
"Ugh...fine, then. There's some up at the castle. My earlier comment about needing to rest is still important, though. I'll go get us a room, if you want to bring one of them o the inn."
"Glad to see your skull isn't rattled as the rest of you," Leets joked. "Let's get that room then so we don't drag that poor mage floor to floor to find you."
Heading to the inn, the innkeeper, seeing Jan's condition, was glad to help them to a room, waving off payment in the interest of helping his fellow man. "I'll keep watch, go get a white mage."
Leets nodded in thanks before parting from his comrades. Quickly setting his bearings, he headed towards the castle to find a White Mage who would help Jan.
Being a known sight, a guard waved to him as he approached. "Ho, leets. Keeping up your training?"
OOC: As you're trying to find people, I'm going to tone down your unconscious hiding
Leets grinned, waving back in greeting. "Yes, sir, I have," he answered, before assuming a contrite posture. "I'm sorry I can't reminisce, but is there a White Mage available today?"
"Certainly, I'll get one..."
Soon a Miss Higgens was following Leets back, heading up to the inn.
They couldn't really follow her words as she went to work, but it definitely had an effect. Jan could feel his body healing right then and there, a warmth going through him as the pain swiftly faded away.
"You're looking better, Jan," commented Leets, watching the color come back to Jan's pale face. "Can he go out yet or should he stay in bed longer?" he questioned Miss Higgens.
"Oh, he should be all fine," The mild mannered supermodel of a white mage replied.
"Hey...does your profession draw beautiful women like yourself to it or something?" Jan decided to humor Leets by showing that he wasn't going to die anytime soon. That was his justification and no one was going to keep him from claiming different.
"Hmm," She tapped her cheek. "Well, I guess there are a lot of lookers among us. I never really thought about it," She smiled dazzlingly.
"Would you like to go out for coffee later?" Jan grinned.
"Oh!" Her eyes twinkled. "Sorry, I'm happily married to my lovely dovey hunk." She turned. "I think you're all well. Just give a call if you have any other injuries to treat." Man, you'd think all concealing robes would fit more discretely.
Jan snorted, then barked out a laugh. "Well, at least I made her day brighter." He looked amused as he looked over at Leets. "Well, I'm healthy enough, I guess."
"Well...don't we have a trip to get off to?" Viki cheerfully added in from where she was sitting.
"Assuming Smith is done flirting," said Leets snarkily. "What happened to that mission of yours that the King gave you?"
"A man can never be done flirting." Jan responded. "Besides, it happens in a few days. I, personally, just want to rest."
"Understandable. You were just stabbed." Leets nodded. "Rest up, Smith. We'll resupply and be off when you're ready."
"Heh...not just that. Just try and take it all in. We're one fifth of the way through all this."
Leets smiled in agreement, remembering their recent success. "Yeah, it's starting to pay off," he said, "anyway, take a break, we'll check back with you in the morning."
"Fine. All of you should rest up as well."
(For finishing at work)
------------
And so the victorious duo ("Trio," Viki complained) rested in Baron for a number of days. These days were relaxing, as Jan's early discovery of the white mage massage parlor and convenient sympathy points lead to many days spent on his chest, his back carefully getting massaged by young ladies with an odd ability to miss his flirting. Leets found himself saying goodbye to the wandering magician Felix who left him with a strange set of scarfs as a farewell gift, beginning his studies of the red arts as he called them. He was certain they would be a hit down the road.
Mary, meanwhile, vanished one day. Unlike Felix, he didn't leave a note, heading off after breakfast quietly. His last words were "There's something far over that horizon. And it has a drink I haven't tried yet and an ass I haven't kicked."
The remaining vigiliant duo carried on though, refreshed and relaxed as they gathered at the docks, a week hence. A group of burly knights joining them, and even sharing some heavy fur coats they'd made for the journey northward. The ship "Dawn's Outing" stood proudly before them at the docks, the captain finishing some final words to the crew as they stood ready to board.
"And when I had just gotten used to being in the desert too." Jan sighed. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket. "So, how long do you think this voyage will last?" He asked Leets.
"Days. Weeks. It's not like we aren't used to long trips," retorted Leets, patting his ever growing collection of nicknacks. It felt a little odd with two bags to carry, but at least he was able to adjust his belongings before they burst their seems.
"Besides, with everyone else leaving, maybe we'll get lucky on this trip."
"Lucky?" Viki, for some reason, didn't seem to have brought anything to carry outside of her outfit she had on.
She also seemed not to be preparing for the heavy cold either. Strange girl.
Perhaps it had something to do with her unique method of travel. In any case, Leets didn't give her oddity much thought. "Dunno. Maybe something to help out with the next Tower we have to tackle," replied Leets. "I don't honestly look forward to another giant scorpion crippling us again." He frowned, rubbing his arms to ward off the chill as he reminisced of their recent success and rewards.
...speaking of rewards... expecting a fairly long trip, Leets decided he was long overdue in checking exactly what kind of loot they made out with at the Tower. Digging into his new bag, he pulled out one of the papers that were inside.
At a glance, they seemed to be someone's journal entries. A travel journal it seemed, by the way it was dated. He could read it if he wished.
Curiosity tugged at him. A travel journal... in the tower itself? Maybe it was from another adventurer, he mused, though if its owner had dropped it, then it probably wouldn't be much help. Still, he skimmed over it, trying to see what kind of person it was that wrote it. A poor sap that got dragged into the wrong place or a failed hero.
The boat started off, the sailors working around them.
"January 1921, Chesepeak, Russia"
"It's been darn cold since we got here. But I think the digging is going well. Much as I expected, there are old records here of time before modern man, history alive and well deep within these mountains."
---
OOC: Place yourselves. I can keep going over the trip if you'd like :)
Leets' brows rose in surprise at the familiar name. Is this from my world? Or someplace similar? he wondered. It was just one coincidence, and it wasn't like it hasn't happened before, but it still made a connection to him. He continued reading, ready to move to another page when this was done. Maybe the trip won't be so long after all?
OOC: Apologies for taking so very long.
IC:
Continuing to read, the trip seemed all too quick as the weeks past on.
----
"March 1923, In the Atlantic"
"Following our research, we seek the lost city of Atlantis. I have cause to believe that it exists and indeed is hidden behind a some kind of supernatural field of distortion. Bringing with us the statue of Io, it is my hope we will be able to pierce this barrier and find the island that has been lost to man for generations."
---
"March 1924, Discovery"
"In the center of the island, there appears to be a large tower, its entrances well defended...or they would be had not age taken their toll on the mechanisms. It is amazing to conceive that they had this level of technology so long ago. Electric doors! In castles! It truly boggles the mind."
----
"April 1921, Chesepeak, Russia"
"Though the winds of winter have began to quiet, spring does not truly come to this barren corner of the north. My butler, Jeeves has taken sick, which has slowed progress. The natives have been kind enough, though it appears they view us as strange for doing research in these frigid mountains."
---
"March 1924, Eureka!"
"We've found it! By the heavens we've found it! The crew is half dead, two of our ships gone, but we have preserved! The architecture here is beautiful, likely from the same period as the underground chambers we discovered a few years ago in Russia."
---
"March 1924, Final Message..."
"It took some doing..but we pried through the tower... It was like our very essence was being torn apart though. People aging...changing before our eyes. Our crew shrank from fifteen to five in the first minutes inside this dreadful place. This..." An ink stain trails off here, with the parchment nearby burned.
---
"Febuary 1924, Still on the Atlantic"
"It is has been a tough journey for our men, the road has been long and still we have not found Atlantis. If I was home, I would be celebrating my son's 8th birthday today. I hope he is doing well, as it has been a long time since I last saw him. I'll be back soon, son... Then we can travel together. Happy Birthday, Leets."
"Do you want to get anything for the trip, Viki?" Jan asked the girl, having recovered with the time they had spent. It was nearly the day to leave, and he had noticed the lack of preparation on her part.
The documents proved to be interesting as Leets rearranged them in chronological order, forming a coherent story. Some details seemed relevant to their quest as the coincidences seemed too close to ignore.
Seeing the date and the journalist's own words only hammered in how old the the towers were. Did this mean the towers existed in the other worlds or did the explorers not realize they were transplanted off their world? If they existed in other worlds, then just how long have they been creating the Wasteland with bits taken from other worlds? The Statue of Io seemed out of place from what they knew of the towers though. Perhaps it carried a Starstone of its own? He wondered if there was a sketch in the journal.
It was when he reached the last page when he felt his senses go numb. With trembling hands, he reread the final document, mind racing at the inked scrawl on the yellowed page. Intellectually, he knew the dates were off by several decades, but this was one coincidence he couldn't simply pass off.
OOC: Olguin, I started the ship travel...that said, you can ask the same question on the ship if you'd like for exciting viki antics! :)
It'd been quiet the last few days, the air getting colder as they went further and further north. Leets had been busy most of the trip digging through the stuff they'd brought back from the tower. Viki? She'd been a handful. Sometimes there, sometimes not. Something about losing a hand of cards to yomi resulted in various beef dishes being brought to Jan. Her explanation involved cows, twisted space, and giving Jan a bit of a headache.
But it was peaceful now, looking out over the cold waters, seeing the swimming fish alongside them. There had been some dolphins a few days ago, but they were gone now. Strange how those walruses seemed to be gathering around them though. There was almost twice as many now as there.... was that spears they were holding? Walruses don't hold spears.
"Did you bring them here?" Jan asked Viki, assuming the weirdness was related to the slim mage. It typically was.
"Bring what here?" She asked a bit dreamily, glancing after his arm. "Oh...no."
It was a sad state of affairs when spear toting walruses didn't even rate on the weirdness scale. On the contrary, Leets wondered if they were from a village brought over by whatever pull the Demon had over this world--though the reasons for snatching walrus village was thankfully stymying his acceptance of reality.
As it was, he leaned a little over the rail, though just out of their range--they were armed and probably proficient after all--and tried to see if he could catch snippets of any language.
The passage of the ship and the noise of the waves drowned out any communications they may have been doing. But his eyes were sharp enough to tell they were definitely encircling the ship.
There wasn't much that could be done despite the threatening movements from the walruses. Of all the times to be short a mage. Leets had little faith that the ship's hull would stand against the spears, but maybe they were misinterpreting things and the walruses were simply warning them off?
It was possible, though the thought wasn't entirely reassuring.
OOC: Sorry, just noticed this.
IC:
The thud of SOMETHING smashing into the front of the haul was not reassuring. The fact that the ship briefly stopped moving, sending most of them to the floor wasn't either.
The negotiator had braced himself, snatching an arm out to catch Viki before she landed on the ground. "Hey, easy there." He gestured for Leets.
"Get the noncombatants into the deck, Leets!"
"We're under attack! Anyone with long range weapons, get out here!"
He pulled out a handgun, and began moving towards the front of the ship to see what was going on up there.
Leets boggled, pushing himself back to his feet as Jan took command of the situation. "I don't recall signing up for the navy," groused the Thief, but followed Jan's advice and helped the injured and unarmed down to the bowels of the ship away from the fighting.
The archers fired once, twice... their arrows slashing into their heavy hides as they hauled themselves aboard, still, a full dozen slaming into the crew as they roared battle cries in some strange foreign tongue, their hides marked with what looked like tattoos. Up close they seemed more man than walrus, though it was hard to say. Especially with them so violent. The noncombatants followed the invisible leets into the inner decks.
"...I suppose I can't pursuade all of you to stop your attack?" Jan tried.
Strange grunts and noises passed between them, the others, smacking back their opposition before a rather large one stepped forward, making a loud series of clicked that caused them to stop. He pointed a spear at Jan, and returned in horrifically accented and muttled english "You enter territory... you our prey. You surrender?"
"We didn't come here to attack. We mean your people no harm. We merely wish to pass through."
Once everyone was settled into their hiding places, Leets returned to the deck, stopping just short of the entrance when he heard the harsh, unfamiliar language of the walrus-like invaders. Pressing up against the wall, he focused on his ability before carefully slipping onto the deck. A quick look at his surroundings made it obvious that there was no way to catch them by surprise if he tried to fight directly, so he let Jan do what he did best while he searched for an ambush position if negotiations failed and something needed sniping.
The walrusman snorted, seeming not impressed with that. "You enter our waters. We beat you. Your ship ours. Your treasure ours. We not fight cowards though. We will let you live."
"I'm sorry, but that just won't do. It is not a balanced deal since we did not seek to invade your waters purposefully." Jan replied with as much certainty.
"We're on a mission of exploration, but we won't hesistate in defending ourselves, either."
The negotiations seemed tenuous, though at least no one had raised arms yet. From what he was hearing, they seemed barely better than pirates, but it was somewhat true that they were trespassing on the Walrus-Men's territory.
Even if they didn't exist to the ship's navigator until this moment.
Still, it wouldn't do to break Jan's attempts of talking down further hostilities. Quickly creeping towards the fallen soldiers. He whispered individually to those that could still fight. "Jan Smith is trying to negotiate our way out of this. Hold back your attack unless they stop listening."
The walrus-man stepped forward. "You refuse surrender? You wish to fight to death?"
"We are not cowards." Jan replied, standing his ground as he stared at the walrus-man.
The walrus-man looked at him for a moment. He seemed slightly puzzled, but then broke out in a toothy grin. "This good. Beating cowards bring little glory. Even if ship nice, not good adult story." He shifted his spear around, holding it in a grip ready for quick downward thrusts at Jan. "Ready, not coward? Chuk-toi will take your head."
"Under one condition. When you lose, you have to listen to what I have to say."
"You'd think to fight us to submission? Brave human..." He ran his spear along his teeth. "I listen to strength." With that he jabbed quickly, the dangerous spear going right for Jan's heart.
Jan swiftly moved so his body was parallel to the spear, bringing up his gun to fire the point off it...
The spear, made of some kind of animal bone it seemed, shattered... though the follow up sledgehammer punch to his side wasn't so gentle, nearly downing him with brutal strength alone.
Jan stumbled backwards, trying to get out of harms way. With the warrior's weapon gone, he had to just stay out of reach of those vicious punches. As he fell back, he took steady aim and opened fire at the walrus man's leg to dissuade him from continuing this little fight.
The creature grunted as the bullet entered... But kept on, amazing endurance keeping him up. "Grawr, puny man mage? Take more than a little magic to take me down," He smashed his fist downward.
Jan barely avoided losing his head on this pass. He decided that he wasn't going to respond to the taunts as he aimed and fired on the same leg once again.
The second shot stuttered the walrus as he gripped his leg in pain. "Grr...stop that!"
"Do you give up?" Jan asked, staying back and aiming for the same leg again...
He winced. "Grrr... What manner of wizard are you?"
"The kind that has the distinct advantage." The negotiator responded. "My name is Jan Smith. What's yours?"
The walrusman struggled and stood. "I am Or-sh-hun, Son of Hus-hen-hun."
The duel seemed one-sided, though the walrusman--Orshun?--stubbornly refused to admit defeat. "Come on, Smith, stop goofing off," he murmured, training the sight of his (rarely used) pistol on potential troublemakers in the crowd if someone decided to be ambitious and interrupt the duel.
"Will you admit defeat?'
The walrus-man roared something that sounded like a curse, eying Jan's gun considering.
"To your magic, you win the day...Know, if north from here, your ship will run aground. These waters are not meant for such ships."