The Castle (IC) [M] {04}

[Stygian]

The sound of wings approaching was far too quick and too late for them to notice. In a short but dreadful moment, something screeched, and then threw itself out of the dark at Rynkura. The mottled, fleshy and ashen gathering of leather and claws flashed large fangs under black eyes for a second as it struck the tigress head-on, and dragged her off into the dark. Her grip almost pulled Cogidubnus along with her, before she vanished entirely with a few flaps of wings, leaving only silence. Rynkura was gone. And they were one less in the darkness.

- -

There was a pause. Then, with a slight clatter of claws, Sal maneuvered herself around to the front of the pillar, sitting forward on her haunches and looking down at them. They could almost see her clearly.
   'I had to. And you weren't slaves. More something alike to being 'compelled'. I hope it wasn't too discomforting,' the spider said, the two large humanoid-like eyes in her face glimmering in the shadows. 'I'm just doing what I think I have to. And that does not include hurting you.'
   Right after Sal had finished the sentence, Aisha noticed movement beneath the spider-woman. Slipping out from under her strange dress, a few skittering spiders began lazily making their way down the column. 'Of course, if I have to do it again to make sure no one is hurt and I have your help...' Sal said meaningfully, adding pressure to her argument.

[Cogidubnus]

 Rynkura's hand was like the outstreched hand of heaven to the wolf, and he grabbed and held onto the Angel's arm even as he tried to get enough leverage to pull himself the rest of the way up. Right as he was about to pass the pivot point and be able to slide back into the stairway, without sound and without warning Rynkura was snatched away, the sudden beat of leathery wings and the Angel's cry of surprise the only warning Cog received. Almost instantly the wolf's hand darted back to the stone stairway, Cog forced to catch himself a second time.
He almost didn't make it. Once again, that eerie silence descended, and the wolf dangled from the lip of the stairs in complete and total silence. It would have been less frightening if there was a noise - something, anything, to break the yawning null, but the wolf and hell itself remained quiet. It was almost entrancing and somehow terrifying to watch.

He had no options, and couldn't hold on for much longer anymore. Cog's fingers and arms were strong indeed, but catching yourself from a fall twice is exceedingly difficult to do once. Especially one-handed. He couldn't pull himself up until his sword was elsewhere, and as much as he would rather die than lose his sword, to sacrifice the blade to save his life was a trade he would make any day.
He didn't necessarily have to right then. His left hand came up, and lightly tossing he dropped the blade on the stairs in front of him, and just in time to keep himself from tumbling into the darkness his other hand slapped onto the edge, and the wolf began to strain and pull himself up. The left side did most of the work, but with both sides of his body now pulling, he managed to get his upper body up and over the edge.

Cog managed to slide a knee over the lip of the stairs, and that clenched it. From there, he mounted the stairs quickly, his ears straining to hear some sign of their lost Angel.

[lucas marcone]

"RYNKURA!" Ian couldn't stop himself from shouting. He would have started shooting if not for the fact he couldn't see anything any more, and he didn't want to hurt his friend.

[Angel]

Ketefe watched, frozen, as Rynkura was swept away from Cog by a leather-winged, rotting ... thing, and Cog pulled himself up. The feline ran to the wolf, thinking a million things at once and trying to stay quiet in case Rynkura was still around.

Is Cog okay, where's Rynkura, is she hurt, what was that thing, what should we do, will it come back, oh shit, oh shit shit shit...

"Cog, are you okay? What was that..." she said in a quietly panicking tone, not really believing anyone knew the answer. "How can we get her back?"

[Cogidubnus]

 Cog lurched back up onto the stairs, and snatched up the sword lying at his feet. Ketefe's inquiry and Ian's exclamation was the only sound in the darkness, and both outcries were quickly swallowed up into the silence. Rapidly the null void surrounded them again, and Cog backed away from the edge, his field of vision sweeping over the darkness, looking for the blue glow of the angel tigress.

"I'm fine, Ketefe." he said, keeping his sword in a high guard. "And I don't know what that was."  He paused, searching through the darkness. He felt a tightness in his gut.
How would they get her back?

He didn't answer Ketefe's last question. He didn't have an answer.

[Gareeku]

Hearing a faint noise, Gareeku's ears perked up. It was then that, with widened eyes, the wolf saw a mass of web flying at him and Aisha. Hearing the pantheress' exclamations, Gareeku didn't need telling. Darting to the side, the warrior rolled along the floor a litte, before whirling round to check on Aisha. Seeing that she had got her leg caught in some of the web, the wolf brought his sword down in an effort to slice through the webbing and free her. Turning round again, Gareeku could now see the spider woman more clearly than before. Growling softly, the wolf watched as small spiders lazily began descending the pillar as Sal spoke.

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha's sword had sliced through more of the webbing that held her leg, but if she were to swing it any more with just the little dexterity her left hand had, she would have probably sliced herself, as well.  But when Gareeku's blade came down, slicing the rest of the web, she was relieved to see that he hadn't been caught.  She sent him a soft smile of gratitude, before trying to get to her feet.

That was when she noticed movement and realized that Sal was speaking, and that now she was a little further down upon the pillar where they could at least catch the outline of her body.  The panther stood next to the wolf, her sword raised, and ears pinned as she heard her words.  But at the sight of the small spiders, as they slowly but purposefully came down the pillar, Aisha cringed and backed up a few steps.  The expression on her face was that of pure revulsion.

"Oh no..." she snarled up at her.  "'Compelled' my ass!  You say that you don't want anyone hurt, but then you go and knock out our friend, attempt to get us stuck, and then release those things at us.  Yes, it is discomforting.  There are better ways to earn trust and help, and you're not exactly exercising it."

Aisha then straightened up, and lowered her sword.  As much as it was shown that she didn't want to, she placed it back on the sheath on her hip, and glanced up to where Jeremiah was holding on for his life, and back to the spider woman.  She tried to make her voice reasonable, but still there was showing a hint of anger.  "Show us how you actually want to help.  Call your little beasts back, and help Jeremiah down, or at least tell us what you were planning to do, and your passage may be considered."  Her head lowered, mostly so she could keep an eye on the scuttling arachnids.  "Because, really, you don't want to fight us, and more so the others."

*     *     *

It was just a few inches.  Just a moment, and Rynkura would have gotten Cogidubnus back on his feet again.  But, before anyone's hearing--even the tiger's--could discern it, something had swooped from the darkness and slammed into Rynkura.  The Healer, grunting loudly with surprise, unwittingly had let go of the wolf...the staff also thrown from her grip and onto the stairs.

"No!" she cried, though it was hard to tell if she was heard, as the creature of darkness grasped and carried her into the shadows...the group, divided by a gap in the stairs, were soon to be out of her sight.

"Where are you taking me!?"  Rynkura growled as she struggled, wings flapping in a ferocious whirlwind in a fighting attempt to dislodge herself from the thing.  When she found it futile, her hands coursed with electricity to try downing the demonic creature, claws also digging into its flesh...she had to get back to the others...

[Boog]

Jeremiah squeaked at the back of his throat and clung to his strand of webbing tighter. Trust the spider? To get me down? Is she INSANE!?
Because you're one to talk.
Bal. Not the time.
Perhaps it is. Your ability to withstand a fall is... limited. You may want to accept the offer of aid, if only for now. I realize the risks associated with this individual, Nex continued, But what are our options?
Remaining here stubbornly and falling, sir. Poor choices.
Shaddap Cab. The frog shut his eyes tight. This just wasn't his day.

[Stygian]

Aisha's words seemed to have done nothing, until, almost a bit hesitantly, the skittering arthropods stopped, and then crawled out of sight, and Sal began to climb, head first, down the column. Placing her hands on the floor, she flipped over and stood up, dusting herself off and straightening her odd clothing with two sets of hands.
   'Alright. Fair,' the spider said. 'You really don't have much to put up against me, that's a lie, but I can agree with some things. And I don't want to help you, unless I have to, because it really would be pointless right now.' She began walking toward them, the sight of her smooth steps and too many limbs too eerie not to be frightening. 'But all I need to do is go down there, and this can be over.' She stopped by a statue, about ten steps away from the wolf and panther.

- -

If the thing gripping Rynkura could speak, then it certainly did not do so. All she got for a response to her words were ragged, fiendish breaths. Her struggle made some good, but far from enough to get her back to her friends; the thing was too strong for that. So she resorted to more violent measures, and then she got a reaction. Her claws pierced the creature's thin flier's skin, and the electrical buildup coursed through it, striking sparks off its claws and making it twitch and flail. As its wings failed, Rynkura felt herself and the thing begin to plummet. The creature thrashed, but it was beginning to singe, like a convict being executed in the electrical chair, and the irregularity of its motions was testimony to its quick death at the tigress' hands. Letting out a final screech, its grip slipped, and it fell away from her, tumbling into the dark.
   But it did not end there. For whatever the thing had signaled with its last breath was quickly responded to by answering cries from within the darkness. Rynkura fought to straighten on her own wings, but just as she slowed down, three shapes dove out of the blackness, all empty dark eyes and bared fangs and leathery wings. They struck her, and then everything went black.

[lucas marcone]

"How?" Was all Ian could muster.

[Gareeku]

As he listened to Aisha speak, Gareeku watched as Sal seemingly called off the spiders' advancement. Standing his ground, the wolf looked on as Sal descended from above, watching her come to a stop when she was about ten steps away from him and Aisha.
"I'm not letting you any further until you tell us what exactly it is that you are after, and why." the wolf said as he stood firm, blade in hand as he spoke, his voice possessing a commanding tone, coupled with finality.

[Sunblink]

Prior to when the stairs had given away and Cogidubnus had nearly plunged into the yawning abyss below, Keaton had almost expected that something--something--in their sordid Castle-adventure would go right. That the stairs would have supported all of their weight despite the collective strain on their ancient frames.

Unfortunately, the situation degenerated quickly. First the stairs had crumbled, Cog managing to save his life by awkwardly grabbing at the ledge of the stair's remains. Then Rynkura had attempted to help him by flying over. And then--

--then she was gone. Everything happened so fast. All throughout those events Keaton was only capable of watching, an expression of thunderstruck horror engraved over her features. Vaguely, in the back of her mind, she would realize that she would later hate herself for her inaction, but at the moment she was just too horrified. What was that thing which had snatched up Rynkura? All she had been able to see was a vague blur, membranous wings, and the vague visage of something hideous. This could've just been a random attack by one of the many demons dwelling in this Castle, but why did she feel like this was orchestrated?

On his own, Cog managed to draw himself back up onto the ledge. Keaton felt ashamed that she didn't react--that she had frozen up, but right now that self-pity was overwhelmed by concern for Rynkura. How could they reach her?

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Cogidubnus]

 Cog slowly lowered the sword back down to his side, his eyes peering into the ink-like darkness of hell. The eerie whistling of the distant wind still rang in the wolf's ears, somehow obscenely loud in the dead silence. Cog's sword allowed him to see, but only just in front of him, and no matter how hard he looked for a dot of blue amidst the sea of black, he simply could not see the angel.

He stood silently, the silence somehow irritating the wolf. They couldn't just leave her here, to die in this pit. She'd risked her life to save his, and now...
Cog ground his teeth. It was all too easy for the wolf to imagine himself in Rynkura's place - blind, deaf, falling endlessly into darkness. Alone and lost in hell. He'd come so close...
How could he abandon her?

The wolf cursed softly, and moving carefully on the stairway turned towards Keaton. He flipped his sword around so that it faced the Cubi hilt-first.
"I can't see her, Keats. You're the only other one with wings here - can you fly?" he asked, his voice hesitant.

[Stygian]

Even as Cog spoke, he knew that it was not a good idea to ask Keaton to do what he was suggesting. Faint rustling sounds and the near-imperceptible echoes of inhuman cries from every direction over the ambient sounds of the darkness made him guess that sending someone else out into the dark would be as good as suicide. In fact, some of those sounds seemed to be approaching on them...
   A small, fluttering something swept by the wolf right behind him, passing quite close. He could hear its high-pitched cries strengthening, as though it had been startled by its presence. For a moment he thought that the thing had been a bat, but something in the way it sounded made it seem not so.

- -

Gareeku's question made the spider snort, and she made a sort of low chittering, scraping sound of irritation. 'You're not...' she began, but then cut herself off, clamping her fanged mouth together. 'Alright. I'm planning to kill them. Just the two bats, none of the others.' She put a pair of hands on her hips, and leaned with another against the statue beside her. 'All I need is the bats, and then I'm free to help you as much as we can agree on.'

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha watched the arachnid woman as she spoke, with narrowed eyes and a look of pure suspicion.  One couldn't blame the panthress, after all that had happened to her...all of these horrendous events, as far as she could remember, having been started with this creature in front of them.  But Aisha's eyebrows quirked at her answer to the question that Gareeku posed.  At least it looked like Sal answered rather honestly, when it was easily seen that she could have just attacked them and left.

"The bats?" Aisha inquired with a tilt of her head, her working hand crossing over her chest in a half-completed crossing of arms.  She tried to remember what the whole deal was.  She was awake when they had come into the chapel and a second bat was mentioned, but she was also exhausted in mind and body.  "...I take it one of the bats you mean is Sebastian."  She hummed.  "I wish I knew what kind of bone you have to pick with him...but from what I remember, he and the other bat aren't on the same side."

She shook her head, uncertain, and looked between the spider and Gareeku, and back again.  "Whatever business you have with them is not of our business, but Sebastian is rather our host.  It'll be hard to hold responsibility for sending someone down to kill him," she pointed out.  Her voice was no longer full of anger, but of calm reasoning.  Cautious, but calm.

[Stygian]

The spider took two steps around the statue, getting a bit closer but then leaning back on the statue. She shook her head and closed her eyes. All of them, or at least it seemed so. 'No, you don't understand. I have to kill them both. Otherwise I'll never be free to get out of here. And I have to kill the old bat before your "host", otherwise it won't work.' Her voice was lined with anger and a bit of anxiety and pain, beneath the hard seriousness.

[Boog]

Jeremiah was of the professional opinion that, if it got the spider on her merry way, as many bats as she was interested in could go find some rope and hang themselves.
But then, Aisha does have a point.
Who was that!?
You again, oh fearless wonder. You gripping that spider silk tight enough? 'Cuz if you drop us I'm gonna fucking-!
He's a bastard. He killed the cubi woman, he screwed up Cog, he's done plenty of reprehensible things. Jeremiah continued thinking to himself, horrified with the conclusions he was reaching, But so's the other bat and so's the spider. And he didn't have to take us in. Sebastian's a bastard, but he's OUR bastard, and we can't turn on him now. The frog resisted the urge to pound the stone before him with his fist, Fuck.
Sir, she speaks of freedom. Perhaps if we tried to cut her some manner of deal... Jeremiah licked his lips nervously. Cab, represented as an angel, never did something without an ulterior motive. His advice, even when it related to the survival of Jeremiah and the entire curse with him, always had some slant on it to act in his favor. The lion's words were poison that the art teacher rarely listened to.
But right now, the manipulative personae was probably the one who knew best.
"And we're not likely to let you until you tell us why." Jeremiah leaned out from the pillar a bit (Just remember don't look down. There's nothing important down in the direction you're about to look in-Nrrrrg nrrrrg nrrrg!) to look at the spider, "Big on reasons around here. Call it a Being thing."

[Stygian]

Sal looked up at the frog angrily, and looked as if she were about to snap out at him again. But then her eyes flickered back to Aisha for a bit. She seemed to argue with herself, clearly aggravated over something. The, just as they were about to speak again, she lifted her hand and uttered an irritated 'Fine. If you have to know, go ahead.' She gripped the high collar of her odd outfit, and then undid it in the back, pulling it down.
   At first, they couldn't really see anything clearly, though Aisha's enhanced sense of sight brought her a glimpse of glowing reddish orange. Then, Sal arced her neck a bit and turned her head. Runic, dimly glowing symbols came into view, forming a slim but detailed collar-like pattern around her neck.
   'Get a good look?' the spider said angrily, and turned her head back to glare at them. 'It's called a "Binding", simply. It's a sort of magically imbued tattoo that enforces obedience to an owner, in this case, the head of the Don'Chel family.' Her voice was charged sharp with loathing. 'Better than some other things, of course, because you can find loopholes in the commands your owner gives you, but still pretty bad because you are aware of what you're doing all the time.' She glared daggers at them all, as if daring them to ridicule her for her situation.

[Boog]

Jeremiah stared at the markings on her neck for a minute, face betraying nothing (anyone's guess why, it wasn't nearly so loyal usually). Inwardly he was laughing his head off at the irony, but even then could still appreciate the horrible situation the spider was in.
"... That explains a bit..." He nodded, still staring, "But I find myself wondering if there are other methods of removing it. It's a tattoo; one can always burn it off or have it disenchanted, unless the spells involved allow neither- augh!" His feet slipped on the stone and, for a second, the artist nearly fell to his death. He barely managed to keep his grip on the web and brace is feet against the pillar again. "You know, we really have to start meeting under better circumstances. Tell you what. The way things are going, you're DEFINITELY not getting through here without a fight, and you have no idea how long the big goddamn ice dragon is going to stay unconscious. Help me down and your odds of getting through unscathed goes up significantly." Clinging to a strand of spiderweb, a natural form of trap, hanging MUCH too high over the stone floor, and trying to out-bargain a demonic spider the man grinned, "And with what you're trying to do you can't afford a scratch, can you?"

[Mel Dragonkitty]

As if to emphasize Jeremiah's words Mel moaned and twitched a little from her spot on the floor. No longer really unconscious she wasn't really conscious either. The voices of the others floated past without meaning anything more than the confusion over why her bed was so darn hard. A bit of frost sparkled around her as she tried to make herself more comfortable on her impromptu bed.

[Aisha deCabre]

Listening to the spider, Aisha's look hadn't softened at all...though she was indeed beginning to wonder more about Sal's motives for taking down the bats.  She still hadn't explained why Sebastian had to be included...just that he did have to be, right after the older one as well.  And that was when Jeremiah spoke up from his precarious ledge of the side of a column, heads swiveling in his direction.

A little harsh for a question, but it was effective.  The panthress turned back to Sal as she suddenly revealed her reason...shown in a glowing circle of magic about her neck.  Aisha's eyes narrowed, and she uncrossed her arm.  "Now that is the definition of a slave," she muttered.  It was proof, but she still found it hard to pity the thing.

Then Jeremiah spoke again, and Aisha's ears pinned to her head.  How are we ever going to get out of here without a confrontation...?

"Our amphibious amigo up there has something of a point," she turned back to the spider, trying to ignore her fierce glare.  "Things can be dispelled.  Or if they can't, really...this old bat, the head of the Don'Chel line, if he's taken out, then what does Sebastian have to do with it...unless he becomes the one to owe obedience to?"  She guessed, tilting her head in curiosity.  "That's the case, maybe he can be reasoned with to let you go.  It's hard to tell what one would do after more than a hundred years."

Then out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement.  Mel, twitching, and groaning, nearly about to wake up.  Better think fast, then.

[Stygian]

Sal snorted, and looked down at the floor again. 'You may think well of people like that. Me? I am just trying to get free. I've seen cruelty like you can't imagine, girl. And I don't think so highly of that monster,' she said, voice and speech acerbic. 'Especially since he knows what my opinion on him is. And especially since I know just how hard this thing is to remove.'
   For a few moments, the spider just stood there, sunken in cold, inner rage, and it looked like they were not going to get anywhere. Then, she stood back up, straightened her clothes though they didn't need it, and hissed a bit. 'Alright,' she said, and passed a stray glance toward Mel. 'Let's work with this. Say, I go down there, and I make sure that the old groat gets it. Then I help the rest of your friends up. And then, if he refuses to release me, you kill him for me. Does that run with you?'

[lucas marcone]

"Maybe we should get to that platform." Ian said heading down the steps some. "Maybe getting of the ageing and obviously unreliable steps is a good idea."

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha's tail flickered in the air, a gesture of some impatience as she listened to the spider.  It certainly felt like they weren't getting anywhere with trying to bargain, and the strain of the decision kept weighing on the adventurers' minds.  Sal had pointed out that she wasn't going to trust the bat that far, and that brought up a curiosity on whether or not he really -would- think of setting her free.

And that was when she made an offer...to go after the older bat and help their friends up out of the pit...and to kill Stygian if he didn't return the favor.  Aisha was indecisive...it was a choice between their friends' safety, bringing the castle back to normal, and backstabbing the one who had become their help throughout the ordeal.

The panther wasn't one to betray, if she could help it.  But it seemed that was the best deal they were going to get out of the spider.  And she still felt adverse to even trusting her.

She sighed, running a hand through her bangs.  A moment of thought, and she nodded slowly.  Gods, don't let us regret this.  "I guess it might."  Aisha glanced up to Jeremiah, and back to Gareeku.  "What do you two think?"

[Sunblink]

Still engrossed with her inner panic and turmoil, Keaton hastily glanced about the darkness-suffused chamber, mismatched gaze of ocher orb and glowing gold combing through the darkness in search of their missing companion. Despite the almost perfect visual clarity her new ocular apparatus provided, she could detect no sight nor sound of Rynkura, much to her increasing dismay. An encroaching expression of defeat started to spread along Keaton's features, a visage exacerbated under the volatile magnification of her emotions, and for a second she seemed as though she was about to scream aloud to vociferate her frustration, but such an outburst never occurred. She was interrupted from her musings by Cogidubnus's comment.

"I--" Keaton froze, then her teeth sunk into her lower lip. Not piercing the flesh, this time, quite fortunately. "I can't fly. I never--I never learned how to, I--"

Without realizing it, she was starting to ramble. Amidst what could've turned into a very hateful tirade Keaton managed to hook onto her emotions and reign them back in, especially as her gaze landed on what she had identified as Rynkura's staff. It was resting on the platform beneath. Fortunately the outcropping of the collapsed stairs was enough for Keaton to reach it with an outstretched tentacle, the claw formed on the end scooping up the staff, then drawing it back into its owner's clutches. Keaton seethed a little, weighing the enchanted staff in her hands. At least she had done something. Minimal progress.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Boog]

"Sounds perfect," Jeremiah replied, cautiously shifting his grip on his lifeline, "It gets her what she wants and, more importantly, out of our collective hair. Sebastian won't like it, but I think it shouldn't be too hard to get him to see reason. Of course," he added, tilting his head, "It'd sound a lot better if someone would GET ME THE HELL DOWN!"

[Cogidubnus]

 Keat's negative response made the wolf's face fall, and the whispered, leathery sounds of flying things served only to make the wolf's face fall a little farther. He looked out into the inky darkness plaintively, his free hand clenching unconsciously, and uttered a single small, sharp curse.

"I'm sorry." he said to no one in particular. The words tasted like ash in his mouth, a lie, as if he had reached his first obstacle and was giving up on the tigress. He could still see himself falling down into the darkness, endlessly. As irrational as it sounded, the wolf wanted to jump out after the angel. Throw the sword out into the darkness and try to use its white, holy glow to see her that way. Build a glider right there. Something. Anything.
He took in a deep breath, and uttered a sharp curse again.

"Back up. The way is shut." he said, waiting for the others to turn so the wolf could follow. He noticed Keaton's grab Rynkura's staff, and keeping an eye out for a telltale blue glimmer, waited for the others to go back.

[Stygian]

It was just after Cog spoke that a trio of flapping things, like the one that had just passed him, dove by, making strange and agitated little noises. He thought he could hear more of them in the dark, a growing fluttering sound, like bat's wings. One of the creatures flew back past, and he caught a glimpse of shiny horns and teeth, before the long-tailed little monstrosity slipped out of sight.

- -

'Oh, shut your yap!' Sal said, snapping out and directing her black-eyed glare at Jeremiah where he hung. For a moment she just stared at him, and then she struck out with a hand, stepping forward and almost posing, as a long white band whipped out from her palm. She wove her hand around, and added another one, combining long threads of silk in a dazzlingly fast sequence of weaving into a long, tightly webbed net. Before the frog could say much more, the new, sticky web struck him, and wrapped around the column behind him, together with his head and torso. And so he was both secured to the pillar and rendered unable to utter more than incoherent moans.
   'I'll get you down when we're finished,' the spider said disregardingly, and then looked back to Aisha.

[Gareeku]

"You'll get him down now/." Gareeku replied, his voice possessing a calm tone as he stared at the spider woman. He clearly didn't trust Sal in the slightest, but if they were going to get anywhere then it looked like he would have to agree with the deal. "Fine, whatever. It's a deal. However, if I so much as even smell an intent to break the deal, then I won't hesitate to kill you."

[Mel Dragonkitty]

It became apparent that Mel's level of consciousness was rising by the uncomfortable little shifts she was making as she realized her awkward position on the marble floor. Her claws made unaware gouges in the stone as discomfort began to pull her back from the darkness.