Fantasy RPG Forum - Standing Trials

"I can't be Meira." The young lady replied, and then shoo her head. "I don't know who you are, but I can assure you my name is Meira. You look pale, girl. Here..." Meira reached into her satchel, and drew out a pouch of ground up herbs. She handed these to Elowen, "Goat weed flowers and valerian root. All ground up. Try some, it might put whatever is agitating you at ease." Meira tried to press the herbs into Elowen's hands, and would note that Meira's hands were as cold as they'd ever felt to her.

Whether she took the herbs or not was her own to decide. Regardless, Meira turned back toward the two tunnels. "I know this section. He's too fleet of foot to follow in the dark, but we can cut him off at the pass in this direction." She pointed at the tunnel with lights and crystals and herbs. "I could use your help, but it might be dangerous. Best you stay here, girl." She didn't see the ferret Winston as anything other than a creature, but gave him a puzzled look as he appeared to squeak out words that resembled her own language. "Is this your pet?"

Meira shrugged, "No matter, I need to find him before his uncle realizes he's gone again."

So saying, she darted off into the lighted passage.

Azrael went down the dark passage, which by dint of his peculiar sort of dark vision was perfectly easy to see what was all around him. There were cave drawings around. Of a female figure, holding a gem high over her head in a crudely drawn 'diamond shape'. He could hear the pitter patter of feet ahead, and the words spoken by a child, "Go away!" Then, a light appeared, and dimmed his sight slightly. The light came from a crystal the boy was carrying. It obscured some of the cave drawings nearer to where the boy was. "You're not wanted here!"

So saying, the boy, Tobias jogged down further along the tunnel, allowing the crystal to shine his way through.

A voice called to Azrael through the echoes in the shadows, that had been plaguing Rharne of late. Oh but you are wanted, most desperately. Come and meet Perfection, if you dare. The boy will lead the way.

The light at the end of the tunnel appeared to be the boy's crystal that he was holding, but there was enough darkness here for Azrael to find his way.

Elowen and Winston:

The first thing Winston would notice as he travelled the crystal tunnel, was that each and every crystal appeared identical in dimensions, cut, and formation to the crystal that had been held in the young Tobias' hands. He alone would notice this, being someone that workeed stone and jewels often, at least in the form of wells. It wasn't clear that these were any well he'd noticed before, although the prismatic light from them did remind of miragestones. In spite of their rainbow glow, they were very unlike the miragestones he'd ever seen. Bigger for one, twice as big as Winston's head, at least. And he felt a slight sensation as he viewed them.

Elowen would also feel this sensation. If either of them had ever longed or wanted something in bitterness, they would notice it now coming back to the front of mind. Otherwise, if one or neither of them had ever wanted something purely for themselves, they would feel a cold, foreboding sensation wash over them, telling them to turn back.

The voice spoke to both of them in unison, this time not in their heads, but vibrating from the crystals all around. The crystals appeared to displace, as if not quite in one spot or another, but all over and at the same time nowhere. They shifted and displaced, shimmering and shivering in place.

"There must be something you've wanted, purely for yourselves? Even now, perhaps, there is something you wish to have." The lady's voice lilted and chuckled. She was both a young voice and an old dessicated dead voice at the same time. As if the syllables she spoke came not from one being's vocal chords, but several. "Do not touch the crystals, that way leads to despair. The utter failure of animating spirit."

Elowen noticed for her part some plants scattered acorss the walls, and they also had a peculiar quality, as if they were the same plant and shivering in place, the same way as the crystals. Although the fact that the crystals were all identical more or less escaped her.

They too beckoned with a feeling, but this was one of cold foreboding and loss.

As they traveled down the tunnel, they saw no sign of the young Meira. Whether it was truly the old woman's younger self or not.



Azrael took the path better seen by his darkened eyes. The boy was always in sight, as Azrael was quite capable of keeping pace, and his animated desire to seek out an answer to this puzzle kept him going.

Although he was guarded, it became apparent that there was no need to be. The boy tossed nothing back at Azrael, and didn't make any more threatening motions toward him.

However, as he caught a glimpse of the gem in the boy's hand, ahead, following the light as he was, he felt an odd sensation welling up in himself. If he'd ever coveted or desired something strongly for himself, just himself, he'd feel it wrapped up in that crystal. If he'd never felt such a purely selfish desire, he would feel nothing but cold ache inside, telling him that this was wrong. That he should turn back.

"But no." Said a voice, travelling over the darkness like it shook the very shadows to produce sounds. "Come down to the end, see this through. And if you want a glimpse of what I can offer, only stare at the boy's crystal a few more moments..."

If Azrael wished to acquiesce with the voice, or not, he had these sensations to grapple with. It was his choice how to react.