Witchers of Nifelheim - Part 3

Circi quickly turns around, the loud thump of her spider legs against the floor giving radiance a good echo, "You burn down my house I will ensure that you do not leave it. Am I understood?" A deep flehm filled breath escapes her, "I cannot use your pentagrams as I am not a witcher." She looks across the party, it's clear shes taking this moment to case you for the first time.

"Okay no pentagrams then, hahaaahaa...." Ursula quickly said with a nervous laugh.

Kaylee Brown wrote:"Okay no pentagrams then, hahaaahaa...." Ursula quickly said with a nervous laugh.

"That staircase's a natural bottleneck, limiting any enemy advance to single-file, and we're all at the top with the highground" Rogue adds "If we've been pushed back even with those advantages, then we shouldn't really be fighting whoever it is anyway."

Twilight looks inside. Her frown at the ready. Howevr, seeing that there's no direct conflict, her face turns to surprise.

"What the... Where's the webbing?"

Disgruntled purple wrote:Twilight looks inside. Her frown at the ready. Howevr, seeing that there's no direct conflict, her face turns to surprise.

"What the... Where's the webbing?"

"Inside the computering?" Rogue suggests to Twilight.

Rain looks to Twilight, "As it turns out Circi can't actually shoot webs and she is a very hospitable woman if not a bit stern. Who would have guessed!"

As another enters her home Circi moves back to the living room. Her darkened eyes fall on the purple woman, "You are with this group of witchers?" She looks to the group in its entirety and then back to Twilight, "You dont exactly fit in. I'm sure that's tough for you. I know what that's like." She nods, she turns her head, coughing into her shoulder, "May I inquire about your name?" She leans back on her spider legs, lifting her feet off of the ground, the lowermost legs press into the floor, the ones in the middle press into the lower corner of her wall, and the top press into the middle of the wall, holding her like a sort of hammock.

"Right" Kaylee nodded to Rogue: "And with Radiances spell active, we'll get a heads up on the enemy presence, long before they get close.
I think we're all set to begin our descent" She released a small smile and looked at everyone.


As Twilight walked in, Kaylee waved to her, then looked at Circi a little reproachfully:
"Circi... that's not true, Twilight's an important part of our team"

Kaylee Brown wrote:"Right" Kaylee nodded to Rogue: "And with Radiances spell active, we'll get a heads up on the enemy presence, long before they get close.
I think we're all set to begin our descent" She released a small smile and looked at everyone.

"Now we just need to actually open the door" Rogue says, stamping his foot on the floor in the spot Radiance pointed out, "Anybody got like a crowbar or something?"

Looking around, Twilight was taking in the situation. When she heard the computer wisecrack, a wave of dissapointment visibly washed over her, making her pinch the bridge of her nose and sigh loudly in disgust.

"That just hurts..."

She shakes it off, then looks at Circi, wary of her every move. The intensity and focus of her gaze made it seem that any sudden twitch could make her fire a spell in the direction of the arachnoid sinner. She took a low, clear voice as she replied to her.

"It's a bit soon to make such statements, miss. Perhaps you should first give your name before I give mine. After that, a brief summary on what transpired here, how things got like this and what exactly your existence is."

A brief pause. Her gaze not losing the intensity for now.

"I am Circi. I'm just stating what I see." She pushes herself off the wall and onto her feet, her spider legs curling behind her back apart from two which fall over her shoulders, "I do not doubt that you are important to this team." Her voice breaks a moment causing her next words to fall dead silent. She pauses and clears her throat, "Hello? What I mean when I say you don't exactly fit in is that you have many of these battle ready witchers. It's clear they have years of experience under their belt." She tilts her head at Twilight, "You aren't as well built as them, I'm guessing your Witcher weapon isn't used all that much?" Circi quietly walks to the group gathered around, her bottom leg comes up and slams into the cracks between the floorboards. She begins to pry it upwards hoping to pull the board out without damaging it..

Rain summons her poleaxe and drives the top spike into the floorboards, "I think she's trying to say you look like a mage." She pulls the spike up hoping to pull out the boards.

C̷O̴N̴S̶U̸M̵E̵ wrote:"I am Circi. I'm just stating what I see." She pushes herself off the wall and onto her feet, her spider legs curling behind her back apart from two which fall over her shoulders, "I do not doubt that you are important to this team." Her voice breaks a moment causing her next words to fall dead silent. She pauses and clears her throat, "Hello? What I mean when I say you don't exactly fit in is that you have many of these battle ready witchers. It's clear they have years of experience under their belt." She tilts her head at Twilight, "You aren't as well built as them, I'm guessing your Witcher weapon isn't used all that much?" Circi quietly walks to the group gathered around, her bottom leg comes up and slams into the cracks between the floorboards. She begins to pry it upwards hoping to pull the board out without damaging it..

Rain summons her poleaxe and drives the top spike into the floorboards, "I think she's trying to say you look like a mage."  She pulls the spike up hoping to pull out the boards.

"Okay, I guess that works too" Rogue says, "And hang on, does that mean I don't look like a mage?"

"You look like a jester." She says quietly, her black eyes turning to Rogue, "Not a good one either."

C̷O̴N̴S̶U̸M̵E̵ wrote:"You look like a jester." She says quietly, her black eyes turning to Rogue, "Not a good one either."

"A jester?" Rogue repeats, "You need to get out more, what kind of jesters've you seen? And even if I were a jester, I'd be the best one."

Twilight shakes her head slightly. "Your observations are correct, up to a certain height. My physical development is lacking compared to the rest of them. But your statements are based on your sight, not the full knowledge on the situation." She gave her a look, like a stern teacher. "Next time, perhaps you should inquire why something is rather then sprouting an opinion based on a first glance."

She briefly looked outside, then back in. "So, is 8 silver a strange price for empty jars?"

"I give opinionated and wrong answers to get correct and often times factual answers. If you intentionally give wrong answers and opinions more often then not your going to get the answers you desire." She glances back at Twilight, "So... How about I ask you something purple unicorn? Why is your accent so heavy? What's so many pegasi and unicorns doing in these parts when said races are exceedingly rare? I have never heard such an accent in all my years and I have met people of all walks of life. Yet... You're an oddity. Why is that purple unicorn?" She digs into another board attempting to pull it up, "You lot are hiding more then your letting on and I'm sure your Witcher "Friends" know just as well as anybody else who even takes a glance at you."

"I'm afraid I'm not capable of giving answers to that yet." She answers. "I met you what, 5 minutes ago? It's too soon to bare my hand yet. Simply put, I'll tell the information to those I know and know I can trust with it. Maybe once we know eachother better I'll tell you all about it. For now, my lips are sealed about that. I'm sure you understand."

She looked outside to the merchants. "I'm going back out now, I was in the middle of a conversation when I heard someone scream bloody murder."

Alyx emitted a small chuckle in Twilight's mind:
"Why you pinching yourself? I thought the Cyberwebs joke was funny."


"Eight Silver?" Ursula looked back at Twilight in surprise: "That's dirt cheap for empty jars, where the heck did you see that price?"


The floorboards began to come off one by one, as the conversation went on. A few of them began catching an ashen, dark tint, as the burning poleaxe came in contact with the wood, slightly singeing the edges.

Pretty soon, the sight of earth and numerous roots came into view. Ursula crouched down and began moving them out of the way, until, a large stone plate came into view, with a round handle, seemingly intended to be pulled.


"This is it" Kaylee said, looking at you: ".....ready to re-live our old nightmare?" she asked, and heavily swallowed.




As Twilight neared the door to the cottage, you spotted Johan, sandwiched between the two merchants, as all three of them walked towards you. When the three neared the house, Johan sheepishly smiled. The two merchants gloomily peaked inside the cottage and nodded to everyone there.


"..our.. companions expressed a.. vague interest in accompanying us to the tomb" Johan said with a nervous smile.


One of the merchants sighed: "...did you really travel here to wander around an old Precursor ruin, in search of a miracle weapon against Glystaria? You're not children, but still believe in fables?"

His partner rubbed his forehead: "..what nonsense... waste of time"



"Well, we already got here.. and found the tomb.." Johan said, peeking down at the stone plate:
"Might as well jump in."


"Alright, get ready" Kaylee called, taking a firm hold of the stone plate handle: "Weapons out, lets not take any chances... she looked down at the plate and got ready to pull:
"..ack... its heavy... might need a hand with this" she winced slightly, trying to pull on the handle.

Radiance steps over to give Kaylee a hand. "Before we head down," he address the group "we should make sure we have ample supplies. These stairs could well go down past 40 floors and the journey could take more than a day. Dehydration and fatigue from lack of food and water could spell death for any of us."

Circi looks to the two Merchants, "I guess I'm just throwing a party." She whispers, "Do you two want coco?" She slides a spiderlegs through her kettle and pours a couple more cups offering it to the merchants.

Rain looks to the two Merchants, "Well. Stories or not wouldn't it still be wise to search into these claims?" She kneels down grabbing the stone handle, "Whether or not it's true is irrelevant."

Circi adresses the witchers once more, "You speak of fables and lies yet many witchers believe fables and lies of us "Sinners" none the less welcome to the party." She reaches down and begins pulling up on the stone plate.

Kaylee Brown wrote:

"Well, we already got here.. and found the tomb.." Johan said, peeking down at the stone plate:
"Might as well jump in."


"Alright, get ready" Kaylee called, taking a firm hold of the stone plate handle: "Weapons out, lets not take any chances... she looked down at the plate and got ready to pull:
"..ack... its heavy... might need a hand with this" she winced slightly, trying to pull on the handle.

"I should probably go at the front with my shield" Rogue suggests, summoning his Witcher shield, "You with me on this, Rolo?"

The merchants looked at the offered coco with hesitation and politely declined.

"I'm with you" Rolo quietly said. You can almost sense him nervously squinting at the stone plate: "..this is gonna be a strange deja-vu"


"Ready?" Kaylee called, getting a better grip on the handle: "One, two, Three!-" she called and leaned back, pulling at the handle with all of her might. Her prosthetic leg emitted a brief mechanized creak, under the strain.

The two merchants raised their eyebrows at the sound, they couldn't see the prosthetic through the clothing but they had the impression that something was up. As you began pulling with all of your might, you heard the stone plate give way. A sharp cracking sound echoed over the living room and the stone plate came off, releasing a gust of dead air.








The stone plate moved into a vertical position, revealing a circular staircase that descended and vanished in darkness. The smell of rotting flesh and mold briefly assaulted your senses, before the cloud of dead air dispersed around the living room and the smell became less prominent.


A cold chill ran down your spine as you looked at the ancient, cracked stairs. A very vivid image of your dream briefly flashed before your eyes, the fear, the pain, the feeling of being pursued by something invisible, overwhelmed you for a fraction of a second, increasing your breathing and heart beat.

A few moments passed, before you realized you were just staring at the darkness below, as beads of sweat rolled down your forehead.


It was quiet here, no parasites, no lifeforms below, no one was attacking.
Radiance couldn't sense anything down below or around the small cottage, sitting in the middle of the woods.


Johan wiped the sweat from his forehead and quietly cursed on his native language.

"..I didn't think.. the memories would feel so vivid" Kaylee quietly said, her face starting to loose color:
"...the supplies from our camp should last for another week or so, lets go.. I'm.. getting a very unnerving vibe from this place."

Kaylee looked to the side and nodded to Rogue to lead the descent. Johan stood directly behind him. Snapping his fingers, he conjured a small ball of light and left it to hover over his head.

Kaylee Brown wrote:"I'm with you" Rolo quietly said. You can almost sense him nervously squinting at the stone plate: "..this is gonna be a strange deja-vu"

"Think of it more along the lines of, at least this time we'll know what lies ahead of us?" Rogue suggests.

Kaylee Brown wrote:The stone plate moved into a vertical position, revealing a circular staircase that descended and vanished in darkness. The smell of rotting flesh and mold briefly assaulted your senses, before the cloud of dead air dispersed around the living room and the smell became less prominent.

"Well, somebody forgot to properly design the ventilation" Rogue comments, waving his free hand in front of his face to waft away the smell.

Kaylee Brown wrote:Kaylee looked to the side and nodded to Rogue to lead the descent. Johan stood directly behind him. Snapping his fingers, he conjured a small ball of light and left it to hover over his head.

"Everyone else who's coming, form up behind us. The rest of you, stay preped, we might need cavalry in a hurry" Rogue says to the group, before taking his first tentative steps onto the stairs.

Rain steps into the hole, looking down into the darkness, "Yeesh... That's deep." She says in her Nyx tounge. she hastily follows behind Johan. Keeping herself close to the wall.

Circi lowers herself down, her spiderlegs guiding her decent. Each leg reaches for a new step as she hangs herself over the center of the hole. She begins begins climbing down the steps each leg reaching for leverage as she circles herself around the staircase. The gentle tap of her legs against the stone echos quietly within the hollow stairway. She carefully lowers herself deeper and deeper into the pit.

As you began your descent, the smell of decomposing flesh and mold began to slowly grow more prominent. The staircase was enveloped by a shroud of unnatural darkness. The shadows felt too heavy here, as if they had a three dimensional volume. Johan's light just barely illuminated the freezing stones of the staircase, as if something was dimming its magic.


It was quiet here, not a gust of wind, not a cracking of stone, just a heavy shroud of silence that slowly grew deafening as you descended further and further below. Your heart beat became audible and felt too heavy, your breathing too loud. You must have been descending for 10 or 15 minutes and the vertigo of the circular motion around the staircase began to grow unnerving, uncomfortable.

Nothing showed up in Radiance's senses, no life in every direction. Everything felt dead.



"..how long does this stupid thing last?!" Ursula blurted out after a while. The sound echoed across the staircase, betraying heavy anxiety and fear in her voice.


"I think.." Johan quietly called, as a faint, green, ghostly glow began to creep up over the stairs from below: "-we're here.."




First Rogue, then Johan, then everyone else slowly stepped down the last flight of stairs and entered a cave. It was small, maybe 5 meters in length and in height. Dull looking stalactites hung from the ceiling, dropping a small drop of water, from time to time on the floor.

Everything in the cave looked like a natural formation, except for one thing.


A door, a massive three meter tall structure that stood at the far end of the cave, decorated with intricate carvings and built into the middle of the wall, right in front of you. You couldn't make out the details in your dream, but up close, you could see the carvings on the door, they depicted figures in hooded robes, gathered around some kind of sphere, that was carved into the middle of the two double doors.


The species of the robed figures was unclear, nor was their expressed emotion in the carving. You couldn't see their faces as they were looking inward, at the carving of the sphere in the door. Only their robed backs and the hooded backs of their heads were depicted.

Slightly hunched over, stretching their robed limbs towards the sphere, it was unclear if they were reaching for it, in desperation, in fear, or in reverence.


The door was closed shut. Bizarre looking statues of two flipped pyramids, were floating on each side of the door, glowing a pale green and slowly spinning on their axis - the only light source in the room.


"..wow.." you heard Kaylee's voice faintly echo across the cave: "...the architecture is so different from the previous tomb"


As you slowly step onto the stone floor of the cave, the awful smell became more prominent and you finally saw its source.


There was a skeleton, laying against the wall, just next to the staircase. An earth pony, or sea pony, by the looks of it. Encased in faded rags and a few scarce plates of armor, mostly around his forearms, the skeletons jaw was hanging open at an unnatural, wide angle.

There was nothing left to depict his emotion, but for some reason you couldn't shake the feeling that the skeleton was staring into space in fear, in horror.

Charred, shrivelled up remains of a Witcher blade, laid clutched in his bony finger tips. A horizontal line of tiny holes were visible just over his head, on the wall behind him.




Kaylee grimaced and slowly walked into the center of the room. The two merchants followed, when they saw the skeleton they slowly walked up and sat next to him on their knees and quietly stared at him. There was something ceremonious about their behavior, as they both sat and stared at the skeleton.

Ursula watched them for a moment, then followed suit, sitting next to the two, in line.



Johan stood in the center of the room and waved at his ball of light to rise higher, illuminating the surroundings.
Kaylee began looking around.

Kaylee Brown wrote:A door, a massive three meter tall structure that stood at the far end of the cave, decorated with intricate carvings and built into the middle of the wall, right in front of you. You couldn't make out the details in your dream, but up close, you could see the carvings on the door, they depicted figures in hooded robes, gathered around some kind of sphere, that was carved into the middle of the two double doors.

The door was closed shut. Bizarre looking statues of two flipped pyramids, were floating on each side of the door, glowing a pale green and slowly spinning on their axis - the only light source in the room.

"Hello again" Rogue says to the door, before turning back to the others, "How did we open this thing in the dream again?"

Kaylee Brown wrote:As you slowly step onto the stone floor of the cave, the awful smell became more prominent and you finally saw its source.


There was a skeleton, laying against the wall, just next to the staircase. An earth pony, or sea pony, by the looks of it. Encased in faded rags and a few scarce plates of armor, mostly around his forearms, the skeletons jaw was hanging open at an unnatural, wide angle.

There was nothing left to depict his emotion, but for some reason you couldn't shake the feeling that the skeleton was staring into space in fear, in horror.

Charred, shrivelled up remains of a Witcher blade, laid clutched in his bony finger tips. A horizontal line of tiny holes were visible just over his head, on the wall behind him.

"So we weren't the first, huh? I wonder who they were? I know, I'll cast Speak with Dead and ask... Oh, wait, sorry, wrong rp" Rogue catches himself.