NM Part 19

To recap from last episode. The group has delivered the costumes to the valley theater to find that to finish the chapter they must perform the final act of a play written by the town bard. Upon exploring the upper level of the theater a room was discovered where the nature of the nightmare gripping the town was revealed as well as a method of escape from the town. While the other members of the group debated whether to cut and run or stand and face the horror that damned the Town Sebastion has slipped from the theater sofar unnoticed.

And Sebastion is running for the place those notes said were the way out. He tries to run as fast as he can go, panic in his heart, but a determined scowl on his face. He heads toward the library, his steps thudding against the road.

Ka'len looks down the ladder then back while his brows lift, "then it's decided... lets go and collect Sebastion and get this place's troubles unravelled. At least if we have no other choice but to flee we'll have a way out." He reaches for the scripts that were dropped earlier and then starts to climb down the ladder, "Hey Sebastion, did you hear all of what we were talking about?" He looks around for a moment while halfway down, "uh, Sebastion?"

Marduke nods to Ka'Len as he turns back to the papers and charts around the room he is in. Looking over them as he muses to himself and shakes his head, "I am not going to get much more out of these then they are incomplete." Glancing back and tilting his head, "Hmm something wrong there?" Moving over to peer down and just shaking his head as he climbs down the ladder after Ka'Len.

Remi nods some at Ka'Len, letting out a quiet breath as he resigns himself to staying in this spirit forsaken town and try to end whatever evil is lurking here... The Bard's ears drooping a moment, before he follows after the others down the ladder. His curiousity piqued soon after as he hears the swordsman call after a seemingly AWOL Sebastion, "Uh... What's going on?"

Alba's ears snap to attention as Ka'Len's call to Sebastion goes unanswered, lips pressing into a thin line. Muttering vicious, biological imprecations under her breath, she storms out of the loft, glad to have something truly annoying to take her mind off the mad genesis of their imprisonment. "WARRIOR!" she thunders, knives appearing in her hands by her own special magic. "ANSWER, SANDS TAKE YOU!"

The the party realizes that Sebastion is missing he makes good time to the Library, though as he enters the building and looks about it becomes clear that finding which of the empty bookcases covers the doorway out of town before they catch up may prove a tad daunting.

Sebastion looks around with his eyes widened. He doesn't hear the others, but he immediately sneers and sets himself to pulling bookcases out of the way, trying to find where the keyhole to his escape might be found. While he tries to push the shelves around, especially the ones at the walls, he uses them to block easy entryways, to delay in case they catch up with him before he finds it. Windows and doorways. Any extra few moments is precious.

Ka'len looks up as both Marduke and Remi ask what's going on. His eyes flit to Alba's shout and then he bites off a curse. "He's gone... damn it.." The young man drops the scripts near the costumes and starts to race towards a door while lifting his voice to shout over his shoulder, "He's must've made a run for it.. The library!"

Marduke jumps off the last step and peers out the door, "And he will be long gone by now. We could run it and see if we can catch him before he finds the exit. Though frankly, a part of me isn't all that upset to see the coward go. I will follow if you run else I suggest we start working on memorizing our lines." Sighing as he taps his staff and glances to the door.

Remi can't help but be slightly startled by Alba's outburst, glancing at her in mild bemusement, before Ka'Len's statement makes the Bard realize what's going on... An instant frown on his face, as he exclaims, "He's got the key!" And then moves to follow the young swordfighter... Only pausing a moment to look at Marduke, "Yah, he's a coward... But it's the principle of the matter!" And then right away running outside, both his palms emitting a brief, orange glow...

Alba's annoyance flares into fury as Sebastion is confirmed missing, and she doesn't bother with the ladder; she simply hurls herself off the edge, running the moment she hits the ground, knives dripping with poisonous magic. "SEBASTION! I WILL PEEL AWAY YOUR FACE AND WEAR IT FOR A HAT!!"

Several bookcases crash down to block the doorway, though there's not enough time to block the front windows. The shutters will have to do. Glancing about there seem to be some faint scratchs along the wall around one of the large cases near the rear of the Library, evidence that it had been moved at some point. As those that choose to pursue sebastion head towards the library they can see clouds swirling about over the building, as though the town itself can sense what is about to happen. For Alba and Ka'len the library is in sight and they'll reach the front door shortly. Marduke and Remi falling behind.

Sebastion spots the most likely bookshelf, and turns to jog over toward it, and instantly try to move it out of the way, hands grasping and trying to move it away from the wall, and push it away. He gives a grooowl of effort as he does this. He's single-minded in his escape, in an effort to try and move as quickly as possible, sparing no conscious attention to the approaching dagger-wielding Viera. "I hope this is real... Look up my boss when you're out," he mutters, effort in his voice, but his voice kept down, almost like praying.

Ka'len races ahead of Alba, though her words about faces and hats reach him and he redoubles his pace to be as from the angry viera as possible, but also to get to the library as swiftly as possible. "Damn damn damn, why did I give him that sword?!" He snarls to himself and grips his scabard, as much to keep the sheathed blade from bouncing around as to make sure it's ready. Upon reaching the Library he tries the door before ramming his shoulder into it, should it be blocked, "SEBASTION!!"

Marduke runs along but falls behind as he glances to Remi and shakes his head, "Something feel a bit off to you about all this?" he offers and turns to continue on his way towards the library, "oh well." His staff tapping on the ground occasionaly as he moves along.

Remi runs alongside Marduke, seeing the other two sprint ahead, a frown on the Bard's face as he tries to pick up speed to reach the library anytime soon as well. Sparing Marduke a brief glance as he goes meantime, and answering between breaths, "What in particular? This whole town is off..."

Alba lowers her shoulder as she reaches the Library, intent on using her momentum to slam into the door... but veers off as Ka'Len blocks her path, fetching up hard against the Library wall rather than run headlong into the swordsman. "PEEL YOUR FACE!" she screams, her foot lashing out at the nearest window, and revealing one reason among many that Viera as a people prefer spike heels.

The door and window both hold fast, the shutter rattle violently at the kick but do no give. The door still blocked but opens a little as the bookcase is shoved back a bit. The bookcase sebastion is moving is stubborn and heavy, sliding back a bit but not falling away. Though he can see runes carved into the wall behind it, he's obviously found the right spot.

Sebastion's face pales and his heart pounds as he hears Alba screaming a very violent threat that he is fairly certain she would go through with. He tries again to puuuull at the bookcase, glancing at the door as it's slid open slightly. He bought himself some time, but he's not sure if it's enough, by the panicked look to his face. He tries to pull it further away from the runes, enough so that he can get access to them. "C'mooon," he growls.

Ka'len snarls while staggering back and rubbing his arm. He looks at Alba then before moving over to try and help her with the window. "Door's jammed," he grunts while trying to tear open the shutters, or down... or anything to get them a way inside of the building.

Marduke runs up to the blocked door and frowns as he moves up towards the door and motions to Ka'Len, "Windows, he couldn't have blocked them all in such a short time." he offers but stops as he notices that the door has already been opened a bit and moves over to try helping him get it further open.

Remi skids to a halt infront of the library, and briefly watches the others try to get in by force... The Bard seeming to ponder a moment, before he steps forward, speaking up, "Lemme try the door..." And raising his hand, palm out, towards the blocked entrance then, his palm starting to glow... But then he seems to think better of that move, shaking his head, "No wait, we might need this place still, don't want to burn it down!" And drops his hand right after. Instead shifting his feet apart then, and his chest puffing out as he takes a deeeeeep breath in preparation of another tactic... [High Note]

Alba shrinks away from the window, flattening her ears as Remi's voice, often one of the better things, in her view, about wetlander living, becomes a full-out sonic assault on ears and wood alike. Once the last echoes of the sound fade, she leaves Ka'Len and Marduke to the window, hurling herself against the door, feet scraping against the ground, the blade of her knife scraping against the tiny opening. "SEBASTION!!"

The bookcase falls over with a crash revealing an archway of runes carved into the wall behind it. Next to the arch another circle of similar symbols around a wide slit in the wall the right size for the sword blade to be inserted into. The window shutters on one of the windows is torn down by Ka'len and Marduke, though there's still the wood and glass of the window itself to deal with. The sonic attack rattles the door violently causing cracks to form, the cracks deepening and wood begining to splinter as Alba throws herself against it once more.

Sebastion huffs out a breath as the bookcase crashes down, and reaches to grab the sword as soon as he finds the slot for it, pulling it out with the sound of metal singing against the scabbard, and tries to fit the weapon into the slot, panting and wheezing. Alba's screaming is freaking him out!

As the blade is inserted into the slot the runes come to life and illuminate the room. A single beam of light lances down from the rolling clouds to strike the roof of the library and a shockwave of energy errupts from the forming portal spreading outwards. The windows shatter spraying Marduke in shards of glass and splintering wood though Ka'len manages to dive out of the way. The shuttered widow on the other side of the door buckles but holds protecting Remi, Alba however getting piefaced by the door as it's slammed shut by the force. Though little more than her pride is hurt by the impact.

Ka'len draws his blade finally and he lifts it, turning the weighted pommel towards the glass. He hesitates for a brief moment before the sound of the crash within is lost beneath the sound of Remi's voice reverberating in his ears. With a snarl he slams the hilt forward into the glass, intent upon shattering it. The light shining through the windows is his only warning before he drops down and out of the way while reaching out a hand to make a grab for Marduke and pull him down and to safety himself, "Down!"

Marduke is just not having a good day in any shape or form. Pulling on the wrong thing, or being at the first end of a exploding window. Falling back he lets out a groan of pain and closing his eyes an d laying there for a moment, "This hurts." Moving to sit up and starting to pull glass out of his skin muttering a cure spell.

Remi was taking another deep breath, to send another sonic wave at the door, when Alba attacks it again instead... The Bard holding off then, and just standing around for a moment as he tries to decide how to help get inside the library. And just about then, that shockwave hits... The Bard jumping a bit, startled, as windows explode and Alba gets a face full of door. Yelling a mere moment after, "I think he's using the sword!"

Alba looses a pained squawk as the door slams shut on her face, slumping against it for a moment, dazed. "...Using the sword," she snarls sotto voce, trying the doorknob and hammering at it again with her shoulder, "*I* shall use the sword, and I shall play a game with it, I shall see how many of his organs I can place upon it before he dies, and I shall save his eyes for last, and I shall *feed his bones to the rats when I am done!*"

As the energy wave subsides a glowing portal rests on the wall within the archway. As Sebastion dives through it to escape the wrath of Alba a crack of thunder rumbles throught the town as the pillar of light retracts into the sky leaving a looming darkness in it's wake. For Sebastion time and space seem to warp and distort, random images flashing and twisting in front of his eyes as he feels himself ripped from the spiritual trap and hurled through the spirit planes back to the physical world. He finds himself laying on a roadway staring up at the sky moments later. Sitting up he can see the city of Emberstrand in the distance. He was home.

To those left behind the door is finally forced open, the wall on which the portal had formed scorched and charred. The runes cracked and useless. The sword falls from the slot to clatter to the floor, looking none the worse for wear after it's use. Also scattered on the floor were the chess pieces Sebastion was carrying. A few moments later Bob finally catchs up to the group "Ummm folks I think the town's pissed off.. better grab that stuff and start running!"

The man is torn free from the hellhole, and feels himself yanked through space and time, through the realms of the spirits, and finds himself staring at... an ordinary sky. He climbs up to his feet, and looks off toward the city of Emberstrand. Sebastion reaches up to the scarf, and pulls it off, discarding it to the side, and then the armor. He's got to move quickly. He's going to make sure no one from in there can recognize him. In his lonesome, he says, "Master, I hope you have guidance now... I'm going to need it."

Ka'len moves in quickly, racing back towards where the light had come from. He looks around for a moment and then growls and throws a punch at a bookshelf, though he stops himself short of actually hurting himself. Withdrawing his fist then the young man walks over and he picks up the blade before looking at where it fell from. He tilts his head, nodding to Bob, but then mutters, "does it still work? Nevermind. This changes nothing." Shaking his head he slips the recovered weapon into his belt.

Marduke is climbing his way in and looks over the portal, "No it is burned out and worthless now, lets get back to the inn and quick. He was a fool anyways, probably going to do better without him in the ranks I hate to say, and I almost never say that about anybody." Shaking his head and turning to start heading out. "Lets move quick."

Remi runs into the library, one of his palms out, ready to hopefully hurl a fireball after a retreating Sebastion... But seeing only a scorched portal then, he skids to a halt, and frowns deeply... Slowly lowering his hand again, before he just angrily ducks down to pick up the chess pieces. Tucking them away as he remarks, "Let's hope the portal lead to somewhere even worse instead..." And then turns to leave the library again, as per Bob's advice.

"It does," Alba says, lips pulling back from her teeth, "it goes back to the world we belong in. It is a wide world, but Brother flies an airship, and to travel is pleasure enough of its own. To scatter his entrails all along the path of our return, will be greater pleasure still." As Ka'Len and Remi take up the dropped items, she turns toward the door. "The swordsman is correct, this changes nothing. Best we heed the skull, and return with swiftness."

The group gathers up the sword and scattered pieces, with the Inn too far to run to before night falls the only option on this side of town is the Marlon estate. Stopping by the theater to gather up the scripts and costumes the group heads to the safe haven to hunker down for another night of the screaming ghouls that roam the streets. Time to get what rest they can and study the details of their next task.

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