Avena (IC)

Subject: Avena (IC) Sun Feb 22, 2015 11:05 pm

Avena

There was a castle on a hill.

It was a tall hill, overlooking an ocean to the south and a beautiful pine forest to the north. The east and west were forested coastline, sloping down away from the castle to meet with the ocean. This coast stretched forth, seemingly forever until meeting with the horizon.

The castle was built with beautiful, glossy white stone, the central tower being placed at the tallest part of the cliff. From this tower a precarious dock suspended curiously hundreds of feet above the water, taunting the waves that crashed against the cliff side. Aside from this strange dock, the castle’s architecture resembled that of a Norman keep, and it looked as if it been pulled straight from 12th century Europe. Oddly enough, the castle was not overgrown, and did not show any signs of weathering. Despite this, the castle was nearly void of sentient life.

There were no peasants or nobles walking about, enjoying the warm day. No hammering of a blacksmith busy at the forge. No clippity-clop of horse hooves on the cobbled streets. No royalty busy at work within the castle walls. No clang of metal against metal in the training fields, as there were no knights in shining armor. Instead, the castle seemed to be home to a few chirping birds and brave squirrels. However, from the tallest tower smoke wafted, someone having evidently built a fire and taken shelter within the fortified walls.

It was nearing sunset, perhaps an hour left before the glowing ball of fire that was the sun would touch the horizon. Suddenly there was movement from the central tower, a curious figure leaning out the window and surveying the forest. This figure quickly adopted a stance of surprise, before retreating back inside the tower. There he pulled out several books, and began mumbling things under his breath. It was he who’d lit the fire.

Miles out in the forest, the air shifted. However, the incantation hastily mumbled by the figure in the tower seemed to shake and bend in accordance with the words. The shift ripped in two, part of it displacing into the outer bailey of the castle, the other half remaining in the forest.

It was in the outer bailey of the white castle that strange things began to happen.
People began to appear.

* * *

In a sudden flash of near-purple light, a very curious being suddenly arrived standing on the soft grass within the outer bailey. She was young, she was rather pretty, but her outfit could only be defined as incredibly odd. It appeared to be a diving suit, complete with a full tank of air, though it was of the steampunk variety and was obviously meant for teenage girls to wear. The near skin-tightness was the first clue.

Despite the suit’s feminine nature, it was equipped on the left hand with a rather intimidating 1½ foot long needle, connected to a strange apparatus that fit like a bracer over the girl’s lower left arm. Attached to this bracer was a glowing red vial that was connected to the needle. It was obvious this device was meant for siphoning something, but anyone unfamiliar with ADAM and how it was produced would never guess what.

The girl’s right hand was free of any such devices, and instead she held her diving helmet casually against her side. The helmet only had a single ‘eye,’ giving it a cyclopean look. The girl looked around wide-eyed, confused at the sudden change in scenery. She was very pale-skinned, a side effect of living underwater with the absence of the sun, and her straight, chin-length black hair lacked the natural bounce only such exposure could give. Her stance was also rather strange, her natural at-rest position forcing her knees to bend inward slightly at an odd angle.

She marveled at the stone walls and the grass, having never seen such things before. Her gaze turned upward, gazing at the sky and at the sun. She cringed, shying away from the brightness and feeling exposed in the open air. Since the day she had been born, she’d known a roof over her head and thousands upon thousands of feet of water hanging above her. The open sky and the lack of anything at all in the space above her was frightening and disorienting.

Posts : 141 Join date : 2014-10-01 Age : 29

One moment he was aboard the standing aboard the Shadow of Intent, the next he appeared in the outer bailey of the castle in the same flash of purple light that the girl had appeared in.
He was an imposing figure, a saurian creature standing seven feet six inches tall, and wearing dull bronze colored armor that was covered in runes.
Thel blinked at the sudden change in lighting, and looked around. The walls reminded him of Keep 'Vadam on his homeworld, but this was obviously a different design.
After his eyes had adjusted, he looked around, taking notice of the girl. A human he thought, remembering the somewhat shaky ceasefire between the UNSC and the Sanghelli. While he would've preferred the company of his fellow warriors, or the Master Chief, this one would have to do for now. He approached her.

Avena (IC) THEL-VADAM

Posts : 204 Join date : 2014-09-28 Age : 26

Without warning, the ballons and lollipops (or the fire and hell) was gone, and another figure stood not too far away from the others. "Mmph?"

He was dressed quite strangely in a red, abestos-lined suit (somewhat darkened from being scorched). In his black and yellow gloves he held something odd. A weapon? It looked homemade. Whatever it was, a continual pilot light was lit at the nozzle, glowing blue.

The red clad figure stared at the castle, tilting his head for a moment, and then turned to look at the other people he'd been placed near. The gas mask he wore flashed as he did so. It covered his entire head, and the dark tinted lens hid any sign of emotion.

A symbol representing fire was printed in yellow on the shoulder of his red suit.

He tapped his boot thrice, as if pondering something, and began walking over to the others, wondering if they knew who the party was for, and if the bounce-house (castle) was free to use.

Posts : 160 Join date : 2014-09-28

With another burst of light, a fourth being appeared near the three already present. For a moment, the being appeared to be made purely of light, tinged slightly blue. But then he unfurled his wings. The bright tendrils of energy didn't extend far from him, but once they were no longer curled around his body, his armor could be seen. It was brilliant, ornate gold, with a white cloth and belt across his front and back. His head was covered with a white hood, though it appeared that all he had for a face was darkness. Most unusual, though, was the state of his armor. It appeared to be badly beaten, slightly singed. Where it was cracked only white light shone through, but the cracks were quickly closing on their own.

Tyrael looked around, wondering what had happened. The last thing he remembered was throwing El'Druin sword at the Worldstone, fully expecting to be killed in the explosion... Surely he was not dead. It would be a strange thing for an angel to go somewhere after death. Speaking of his sword, though... He did not have it, of course, but- There was a smaller burst of light, and it materialized in the air before him. He caught it easily and sheathed it at his side, at least slightly comforted.

That settled, he finished looking around him, noting the two other beings nearby. Two appeared to be human, though oddly dressed, but the other... He was uncertain what it was, but though he had never seen anything like it besides a demon, somehow he doubted the rules he knew applied... Wherever he was. He gave it a moment's thought, then settled on a course of action. He approached them, though he stayed a distance away, and bowed his head. "Greetings."

Posts : 8 Join date : 2015-01-05

The Runaway was strumming air chords on the strings attacked to the blade of her weapon. She was celebrating successfully breaking into the treasure room of yet another castle. When she looked up her surroundings had changed, but weren't completely foreign. It seemed she was in another castle already. "C'mon, I hadn't even started looting yet! Must have been one hell of a lag spike... Oh well, I better get this show on the road!" With that she straightened herself up and slung her great axe over her shoulder effortlessly. She blew a stray strand of hair out of her vision only for it to swing right back. Then she noticed she wasn't alone. "Hey! You guy's new minions or something? More the merrier!" Without a moment's hesitation she charged forward only to stop halfway setting the haft of her weapon on the ground so she could point and laugh. "What's up with the funny looking suit? And you lady look like one of my old tutors!" At this she threw her head back and cackled wildly.

Picture of The Runaway:

Posts : 42 Join date : 2014-09-15 Age : 25

Something was different. He obviously wasn't on Pandora anymore, or Elpis for that matter. He let out an annoyed sigh, and then yelled out towards the sky, even though no one he knew was listening. "This isn't what I meant when I said that the moon wasn't enough!" The little robot rotated around on his single wheel, examining his surroundings. He saw a few people, none of which he recognized.

He responded to the girl with the giant battle axe. "Minions? Well, I guess I'm a minion, now that I think about it, Jack's minion, not your's, lady." He then said to himself, "Man, I wish I had a minion." The little robot introduced himself to everyone, "I'm CL4P-TP, but you can call me Claptrap."

Posts : 141 Join date : 2014-10-01 Age : 29

Thel took stock of the new arrivals. This was certainly an interesting array of beings. He decided to respond to the introductions with one of his own.

"Greetings. I am the Arbiter." he spoke in a deep voice fitting of a creature his size.

Subject: Re: Avena (IC) Mon Feb 23, 2015 1:13 am

Eleanor was momentarily at a loss for words. It wasn’t that she’d never seen people appear out of thin air before, but rather the variety of people that appeared, several of which she weren’t sure were human or not. Scratch that, several of them definitely were not human. They couldn’t be splicers using the all-too unstable teleportation plasmid; they lacked the telltale signs of deterioration and insanity.

…Though one of them was yelling.

Father, Eleanor thought, they called you Johnny Topside. Are these what the people of the surface are like? A solid negative reply was Delta’s answer, enough to make Eleanor uneasy. This is the surface, is it not? Yes it was, but it was not like the surface Delta had known. That brought to mind the question of where she was…and how she’d gotten here. Something was wrong.

“Hello,” Eleanor said, looking between the glowing armored man, the tall definitely-not-human-thing, and the other thing in a red suit with a dark mask. “I’m Eleanor.” Her accent was British in nature, causing her pronunciation of the R in her name to ascend to an ‘ah’ sound.

Her attention shifted to the other girl present, confused at first by the laughing. She frowned mentally. Delta had never struck anyone for disliking his suit. She would not be angry for someone disliking hers either. It simply symbolized too much for her. The word ‘tutor’ brought back memories of her rehabilitation, which she tried to stifle before they became too painful to bear.

“Do any of you know what this place is?” Eleanor asked politely. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Posts : 160 Join date : 2014-09-28

Tyrael shook his head. "While I have seen many castles, this one is not familiar." He spoke just slightly faster than seemed neccesary, in a deep voice that, despite being quiet, could be heard easily from a distance. He bowed, spreading his wings behind him for a moment, and introduced himself, "I am the Archangel Tyrael."

He continued looking around, curious. It was odd, he hadn't intended to teleport anywhere, nor had he had time to. It was evident he had been caught in the explosion of the Worldstone, but he was also still alive. Where was he? No explanations he could think of made much sense, but then nothing else around him did either. Something was evidently amiss, but he would just have to wait to find out what. In the meantime, he looked around at the other beings who had appeared. One, at least, seemed familiar. She was some type of knight or mercenary, though he was leaning towards the latter. Not anyone he knew, though. Tyrael decided he would at least let the others introduce themselves, though he most of all wanted to return to Sanctuary, no matter what happened to the strangers.

Posts : 204 Join date : 2014-09-28 Age : 26

The figure clad in red, or Pyro, as he was reffered to, muffled something out and shrugged in answer to Eleanor's question. "Murr hurr mphuphurrur, hurr mhp phrr." He looked once more at the castle and pointed as he gave a hop of what seemed to be excitement. "Hudda hudda huh!"

Everyone looked like they were dressed to go to a party, yet no one was heading toward the giant bounce house. Holding the weapon - or for further explanation - flamethrower, in one hand, Pyro held out his other toward Eleanor. "Mhnk nhya mhph?" (Possibly "Dance with me?" or something of the sort...can't really tell))

Posts : 8 Join date : 2015-01-05

"Well duh you're not my minion! Way too scrawny, no way I'd trust you to guard my hard earned loot." She closed her eyes and patted her chest with mock pride. The Runaway barely registered the peculiar name it wanted to be called by before turning to attention to the groups most monstrous member.

"You're the Arba whoba whaty? Run that by me again will ya?" She took her free hand and pretended like she was unclogging her ears.

When Eleanor asked what this place was the Runaway shot her an 'I'm stupid look'. "What do you mean by that? This is just another castle of Opulencia, and somewhere in here there's a treasure room with my name written all over it." She took a deep breath. "Ah, I can smell the loot already. In fact if I hadn't stopped to chat I'd half done clearing this place out by now!"

"Since none of you seem to be trying to stop me... I guess I won't have to put anyone down." There was a hint of disappointment in her voice. "Wouldn't want to enlist any of you lot to protect my stash... Oh well, not my problem!" She said her enthusiasm returning.

"Whoa, whoa, you're an angel? Shouldn't you be in the clouds or something?" The Runaway hunched over and slapped the side of her knee like it was the funniest thing ever. "Oh wait, were already there!" Then she continued howling with laughter for a few moments before straitening herself up once more. "That might explain the pacifism at least, I'll relay to my employer not to post any of you in his castle. Now I really best be going."

With that she started to strut her past the group in a direction that she hoped was the shortest path to the heart of the castle. She turned around briefly to the guy in a funny suit who was making unintelligible noises. "If you wanna stop me you're gonna have to speak up bucko!" This caused one last rise of laughter from her and she raised her hand behind her in a dismissive gesture as she went.

Posts : 141 Join date : 2014-10-01 Age : 29

"Are you quite sure that this castle is one from 'Opulencia'?" Thel asked. "This place does not seem familiar to anyone else. Have you considered that this might not be your home?"

Since others had their weapons out, he took a handle out from and held it in his hand. For now it did nothing though.

Subject: Re: Avena (IC) Mon Feb 23, 2015 2:58 am

As if Runaway had triggered some sort of automated response, there was movement from the central tower. Out from the large double doors came the same figure who'd been atop the tower moments ago. He was bipedal, but it became apparent as he came closer that he was not human. Or at least he wasn't anymore.

He was seven feet tall, and he looked as if he were made entirely out of quicksilver. His body was feline in shape, but he lacked fur or any major details, appearing smooth to the touch. His eyes were a shocking bright blue, and did not appear to have pupils. He had short triangular ears that looked almost out of place on his body, but they moved as rapidly as any cat's. He had a long, thin tail, also hairless, that whipped back and forth as he ran towards the group.

He stopped running about twenty feet from the group, very out of breath. He leaned over, putting his hands on his knees, and gasped for breath. He wore a white cape for clothing, but other than that he was wearing nothing else. His body gleamed in the light, sending reflections every which way. Needless to say he was very shiny, and oddly handsome in his own way. A keen eye would have noted that his hands had five fingers, like a human, but his feet resembled paws.

"H-hey," he gasped, looking up at the group. He didn't seem well-prepared to deal with a group of perfect strangers. "I- uh-- Welcome to Castle- what was the name of this castle... uh." He took a deep breath, standing up to his full height. He fell silent, his gaze locked on some distant point to his left as he tried to remember the name of the castle. "AH!" he gasped suddenly. "Castle Arrad! Welcome to Castle Arrad, of the extinct warlords of Avena! Haha. I spend six months in a castle reading all about it and can't remember it's name. What a sma--" He fell silent for a long moment. "I'm sorry I tend to get off topic easily. Um. Where are my manners? I'm Lellis."

Lellis. Another strange name for another strange being. Eleanor was not liking the lack of answers, nor the fact that now two people seemed to know exactly what was going on and one of them was clearly a bumbling idiot. She sighed mentally, recalling patience.

"Anyway I uh--" Lellis stumbled, tripping over his words, "I uh-- I--" He seemed to snap. "Oh for the love of the-- do any of you know how you got here?!"

Posts : 141 Join date : 2014-10-01 Age : 29

At the sight of the being running towards them, Thel activated his sword. From either end of the handle, blades of blue plasma came sizzling forth, and causing the air to smell of ozone.

However since the being did not attack, he lowered his sword. "I seem to have been teleported here, although the only ones who can accomplish such feats are the Ancients."

Posts : 204 Join date : 2014-09-28 Age : 26

Pyro stared emotionlessly at the Runaway while she made fun and laughed at him, and as she started to walk away he slowly raised his flamethrower. His intentions were never made clear because he was soon distracted by a fluffy kitten hopping toward them from afar.

He looked in wonder at the kitten that began to run up to them, and he set his flamethrower down, clapping excitedly. "Mmph mphna mprh!" He ran up to the creature and hugged it happily.

Posts : 160 Join date : 2014-09-28

Tyrael contemplated this new information. Arrad... It was not a familiar name in the slightest, which only confirmed his suspicions. He was somewhere entirely different from where he had been moments before. This was worrying because, despite the fact that he appeared completely healed already, he was far from the strongest he could be. And he didn't like jumping into things without knowing what was going on.

He turned to Lellis, and shook his head. "I do not know how I got here," he admitted, "perhaps you could explain what you know?"

Posts : 8 Join date : 2015-01-05

The Runaway just blew off the Arba creature or whatever it called itself. "I don't see what else this could be, just another day in life. Now if you'll excuse me, like I said, I really best be going." She paid no further heed to the others until a metallic cat-man burst from a tower ahead.

Runaway once again rested the half of her weapon against the ground watched him with amusement. "You alright there little guy?" She called to him. "You seem to be all tuckered out, maybe you could borrow a hamster wheel or something to help you get in shape." It mattered little to her what he wanted to be called, there was only one thing she wanted to know. "Lellis Smellis, so are you like the boss of this castle or something? If so get ready to dance!" The Runaway shuffled from side to side like a fighter in the ring as she awaited his response.

Then his next question gave her a kick. "Haha, here I am a veteran castle looter and I still don't know how they send us off on raids. Magic would be my best guess, but the doohickey I usual arrive standing on isn't here... Also this is the first time I've arrived already inside the walls." She shrugged. "No matter, just saves me some time." Then pointing the head of her axe towards Lellis she demanded. "So where's the loot at? Spill it already! Or has cat got your tongue?" At this she started cracking up yet again.

Subject: Re: Avena (IC) Mon Feb 23, 2015 5:43 pm

"I was also teleported here, it seems," Eleanor replied, "but this is not the location I'd hoped to arrive at." She could hear the ocean crashing against the shore, but she could not see it over the walls of the castle. Somehow she doubted it was the same ocean she had just come from. It was not the ocean that housed the dying city of Rapture. This place was too strange, too different. These people, she thought, did not belong here any more than she did. So she was lost... and none of her Sisters were here. For a frightening moment she worried for them.

"Loot?" Lellis repeated, in response to Runaway's bold question. Confusion momentarily crossed his face. "Far as I can tell this castle's been abandoned for years. Any loot that was here is long gone...but there's quite an extensive library." He laughed to himself, staring at the ground, and did not stop laughing for an uncomfortable thirty seconds. After this, he went quiet and looked blankly up at the group. "I'm sorry what was I say-- Right! You're here! From another place! And you don't know how you got here! Fantastic, because I've got no clue." His eyes narrowed as he looked over each member individually. "And from the looks of you people, I'd wager none of you are from the same place either. What an incredible phenomenon... Magic must be at work here. Maybe science depending on your point of origin. The two are one and the same in some places."

Posts : 42 Join date : 2014-09-15 Age : 25

Claptrap said as he approached Lellis, "Science and magic are both the same, they're both really confusing."

Posts : 141 Join date : 2014-10-01 Age : 29

Thel narrowed his eyes at the man "You have no idea how we got here, yet you seem to have been expecting us." he stepped forward "Explain yourself Lellis"
His grip tightened on the handle of his sword, the blades still active and making a moderately quiet sizzling noise, a little louder than it would have been from standing underneath high voltage power lines.

Posts : 160 Join date : 2014-09-28

Tyrael crossed his arms. Lellis would have reminded him of a friend, had he not been so... Scatterbrained. He would have raised an eyebrow had he actually had a visible face. "Where is this place?" he asked, trying not to appear too irritated.

Posts : 204 Join date : 2014-09-28 Age : 26

The red clad figure had quickly gotten distracted by a butterfly, and was currently chasing it around the group of people. He tripped over his flamethrower that had been dropped on the ground and fell on his face, but got up just as happy as he'd been the moment before the accident. Stooping over, Pyro picked up the weapon once more and walked back to the group, butterfly forgotten.

He watched the conversation with interest, but everything seemed to be bland now, and he was becoming bored. All he could hear was unintelligible chatter:

"Arboo fleebingo kay?"

"Wubbue lyptoe saydah foobirds sirp?"

As soon as he heard "fleebingo" he knew these people were definitely boring. There weren't enough rainbows. His grip tightened on the flamethrower, and he laughed, which came out very muffled through his mask.

Subject: Re: Avena (IC) Tue Feb 24, 2015 1:45 am

Lellis looked distinctly uncomfortable. He smiled nervously, a slight chuckle escaping him. "Ah well, I didn't know you were coming. At least not for very long. Ahaha." His eyes darted between the sword the giant thing was carrying and the sour expressions upon everyone's faces. "You see I'm sort of a magician. Sort of. This makes me in tune with some of the...winds, I suppose... that regulate the dimensional plane of this universe. You all shifted through to this dimension at the same time in the same place. Sensing the disruption, I shifted your arrival point from somewhere out in the forest to inside the wall here. For most of you anyway."

Posts : 8 Join date : 2015-01-05

"Well that's a bummer..." The Runaway trailed off. She mumbled under her breath. "The owner of this castle must be real newbie..." Everything else Lellis said fell on deaf ears. "I'm tired of standing around, if there's no monsters to fight or treasure to be claimed, why don't you steer me towards the exit? The day's still young and I have more, BETTER castles to hit!" After a pause she added. "Or maybe this is a new tactic to deter looters, talk their ear off and confuse the hell out of them!" She yawned. "Whatever. In the time I've spent here I could have broken into several troves! Just show me the way out so I can get on with my day already..." Her foot started tapping impatiently and she held out her wrist as if she was checking an imaginary watch.

Posts : 42 Join date : 2014-09-15 Age : 25

Claptrap said to the group, "I don't see why everyone's so irritated. I think this could be the beginning of a really great adventure! We just need an epic soundtrack that suits our epic journey for whatever we're doing! Lucky for you guys, I am a MASTER BEATBOXER!" Claptrap then did a stupid dance, that seemed to be something related to the choreography of Gangnam Style, and Thriller. As he did this, he made fart noises that vaguely resembled drums. "FACE THE WRATH OF MY SLIGHTLY DISAPPOINTING DANCE MOVES!"

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