Isle of Coldridge 2023 - Phantasmagoria - A Magmal Room

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Asher passes into the next room with a deep breath taken in, though the heat of the air stifles his breath and the professor is forced to cough and steady his breathing. "Oh great...it would be magma." he says with a frown, pressing close to Sinclair and calming himself with the feel of closeness. "So...any ideas how to brave this?"

Naessa is visibly overwhelmed by the heat, to the point her face is covered to protect it from the initial blast. Only after recovering from this does she look around, taking note of Asher's question to the group as a whole and thinking about a solution. When the barrels are noticed, her attention shifts from them and then to the only exit, then back to the objects. Speaking only after an idea is formulated, "Does anyone happen to have something that can get those out of the magma so we can create a path?" since nobody could fly or walk through the lava.

Thaeloc rolls his eyes seeing what the next test to come at them is. Seeing the half ruined bridge and the barrels. "I wonder how much weight those can take and not sink. Also what are they made of not to be on fire." Looking at the passed out Ruiri still on the shield. "You guys can use that rope and strap him to my back. I am use to holding more weight then that daily."

Sinclair glues himself to Asher's side, looking around the room and slowly lacing his fingers through the triton's. He holds his hand for a moment, squeezes, then lets go to speak to Naessa. "These barrels, some of them look pretty broken down, but others don't look that bad. I feel like it might be a bit of a guessing game, but is otherwise a good idea. We have almost no other options, really." He looks up at Asher and studies his face, frowning a little. "Your back looks awful, by the way. When we get out of here, you should let me stitch it up. Hopefully I can grab my bag, and I can clean you up. Or anyone else that needs it. I keep a lot of stitching materials on me because of all the fights I get into." The heat slowly makes him sweat, and Sinclair feels a little nauseated. He presses a hand to his stomach for the comfort before asking, "And how do we get the Count across? And Thaeloc is right. Those barrels will probably sink with weight on them." The demon falls silent as he considers Thaeloc's plan. He was the largest of them all, but that didn't convince him. "You're already large. The added weight might make you sink faster. I just don't know of any other solution..."

The heat of the place intensifies with a subtle roar of disturbance...

Asher squeezes Sinclair's hand in return, "I'll be okay." He says, though it does hurt pretty badly. "I could likely fly across...though for some reason this place is keeping my wings stifled. Perhaps it's the magic of it? Some things are allowed and others are not? Very strange." The triton listens to all of the suggestions and nods, "We don't have a lot of choices. But you must do your best to protect the Count." This last thing said to Thaeloc, "I don't believe you are a coward, so here is your chance to protect him." Asher takes the count and prepares to lift him as well as he can, hefting the dead weight of the man in a surprising way. However, it does cause the blood from his wound to quicken with the effort. He grunts in pain, attempting to hand the man off to Thaeloc's back when he is ready. Assuming that goes okay, he looses a breath and moves to inspect the barrels.

Naessa makes good on the promise she'd made to herself, assisting Asher by offering over the red potion she'd procured earlier. Whether that's accepted or not, she too then studies the barrels more, stating, "I want to go first and test their sturdiness, if that's fine. That way any danger can be worked out before any of you end up in peril," in a protective manner.

Sinclair listens to Asher, then smiles. "You have wings?" The demon had no clue, and he tries to imagine them on Asher for a moment until he feels nauseated again. "I'm down with whatever. I just want out of here. I'm not the best with heat." And in truth, he's sweating a lot, both due to his injury and being heat-sensitive. His scarlet eyes study the magma before he looks over at Naessa. "Are you sure? I can go first if I need to. We're about the same weight."

Asher is beginning to feel the nausea as well, sweat beading on his forehead from both the heat of the magma and the thickness of his costume. He nods to Sinclair, "I do. Unfortunately, they won't seem to emerge. I'm not sure why that is." Asher places one foot on a barrel and tests how well it will do when pushed into the magma, though he doesn't jump right up on it. "Well, we do need to do something. Even make a path to cross on, that will take a lot of effort though." The professor's mouth twists in a thoughtful way.

Naessa responds to Sinclair with, "Appreciated but your safety is more important, and I can get any injuries healed later once we're out of here. After deciding that creating a direct walkway across the lava would take too much time, the Haunt now moves to step on the barrel nearest to her, carefully aiming for the middle in case the surface is slippery or otherwise degraded in some way.

Sinclair inhales and listens to Naessa, nodding in understanding. "As long as you're sure. You know what you're capable of better than me." Sinclair steps onto a barrel too, just to test the waters, fifth from the bottom on the left side, just ahead of Naessa. It sinks a little at first, and he tries his best to just not bolt across the room as fast as possible.

Sinclair steps diagonally on a whim, the barrel in front of him looking rather worn. It's a long stretch, but he manages, soon standing fully atop the next barrel. He winces when the magma touches him, a lick of it spraying his arm and creating a nasty burn through the fabric it eats through. The hiss he lets out is long and especially gritty, but he doesn't say anything. He doesn't want the others worrying about him.

Asher watches both Naessa and Sinclair while holding his breath, relieved when the barrels seem to hold up under their weight. The Triton moves to the barrel behind where his beloved first stood, taking his steps carefully and standing to his full height. "Come on, " he says to Thaeloc," The magma looks to be coming up. Those bricks won't last much longer. Be careful with yourself and the Count. When the Magma sprays Sinclair, the Triton frowns deeply, though tries to press on and focus as the demon had told him to. His thoughts are on watching the others, but also with getting across safely.

Naessa keeps watch over the others, mindful of where they end up on the pre-made path leading to safety. Weighing the two options, she decides finally to aim for the one diagonally ahead of her, copying Sinclair and very carefully moving to step upon it without falling into the magma bath, she hopes at least.

Sinclair watches the magma rise and his stomach twists in knots. He briefly looks back at the professor and sees him still on the bricks, motioning to the one he first stepped on. "There, professor. Step there. It was solid as rock to me. Come on." He looks at the other barrels around him, then takes a chance and steps diagonally again, hissing through his teeth with anxiety as both feet hit the barrel.

Asher hops to avoid any magma on the bricks, then nods to Sinclair. He frowns at the trouble Naessa is having on her barrel, though watches Thaeloc as well to gauge how he is going to handle the count. Taking Sinclair's advice, he steps on to the original barrel the demon had chosen first.

Thaeloc watches what barrels the others have jumped to as he secures the count on his back the ropes looped around his shoulders. As it looks most look to be using the ones on the left side he picks the right. Not to be selfish or solo but to leave more options for the others without him in the way. moving to the end of the bricks Thaeloc moves on the first barrel to the right at the end of the bridge.

Naessa very narrowly avoids injury as her chosen barrel proves to be a bad one and she's forced back to the starting point. Partially out of frustration, there's a reflexive attempt to turn to her canine form, which catches the Haunt off guard as it actually works. Relieved by this unexpected development, there's a moment's preparation taken, before the shapeshifter jumps, intent on leaping over the ruined object and to the one two diagonal spaces ahead of where she currently resides.

Asher frowns deeply at all of the breaking barrels and those of his party failing to get to safety right off, Thaeloc appears safe for now with the Count, and he is certain Naessa will be okay as well - there isn't much he can do from his position. For now, he follows the last barrel Sinclair was on, using the path created by the demon. He feels the itch of his wings after seeing Naessa's transformation, though he doesn't feel they are ready just yet.

Naessa lets out a yelp as paws touch magma, leading to growls that are quite clearly swears, all while she very hurriedly tries to leap from the wrecked barrel to the one right next to where Asher began his journey previously. That it's done with panic is apparent, a feeling she'll get over once safety is reached again, and no sooner.

Sinclair hears the crash of Naessa's barrel and looks over his shoulder to see a black dog going feet-first into the magma. He wants to help, but he's mired in place, currently afraid of moving forward. His eyes are no longer scarlet, but a vivid shade of yellow that rivals amber, slowly lightening to a paler shade. His fear is written on his face, as the other side of the room feels so far away. He steps forward then, looking to get to the next barrel, and hurrying to do so.

Thaeloc to his amazement pulls off a glorious backflip with the count on his back. Looking back to the group working the left hand side he wonders if he should join them or keep with his plan to stay out of the way. He will give it one more shot, surly who ever designed this maze of magma wouldn't put two bad barrels right next to each other as he trues the barrel right behind the one he just tried.

Naessa lets out a chuff of relief when the barrel she'd aimed for remains steady, allowing her to determine where to go next. While playing it safe would ensure she got there with no more injuries presumably, there is also the refusal to have others test the safety for her. Therefore, a leap northeast is attempted, with the hope it doesn't prove to be the wrong choice.

Asher still follows the path that Sinclair is making, deciding to play it safe so as not to worry the demon nor to further bother his injuries from the axe. He grunts a bit from hopping to the next barrel, worried when those around them keeping finding bad barrels to jump on. "Why not follow this path?" is asked of Thaeloc, "Maybe that side has more bad barrels? Or maybe Sinclair has just had good luck."

Thaeloc tried to go the other way but has been trouble so he choices to follow the good clear path that has already laid out in order to protect his cargo the count. Going to the left and stepping onto the barrel to left at the emd of the bridge. :You know Asher i think you are right. I was trying to leave room for all of tou guys but got to keep the count safe."

Sinclair has been super lucky so far, but he's likely to run out of luck eventually. When he sees that Asher isn't far behind him, it makes him feel some better, but he doesn't pay close attention to the look of the barrels as a result. He's too busy thinking about Asher, so he steps forward for the next barrel soon afterward, only looking closely afterward.

Asher has had about enough of this sandwich costume, it is bulky and now covered in a layer of blood that has spread out over the bread of the outfit. He rips at the back of it in an effort to free himself up a little, and for some extra breathing room through the wounds. Following Sinclair has proven successful thus far, though when the demon steps on a failing barrel, the Triton yells out in both worry and anger at this entire dungeon. His wings finally emerge, clearing the holes he'd torn in his costume and spreading into an array of brown feathers with teal colored tips. While surprised at this transformation, he doesn't waste any time and swoops in to save Sinclair with a grab at the Cinnidu Tulyn. Though carrying more weight while injured does have it's drawbacks, he attempts to land them on a barrel nearby.

There's a loud pop and a spray of magma from the middle of the room...

Sinclair gasps when the barrel breaks and he tries to scramble back. The barrel isn't the only thing that buckles, and he soon finds himself on the knees on the broken barrel, doing his best to backpedal. The demon gets some pretty nasty burns as a result, and sees no way to get free immediately. He wants to dive forward, but the pain is too blistering at first. It's a pain that he can't immediately ignore, and that scares him. When he is grabbed by Asher, he lets out a yelp of surprise, though he soon realizes that the professor has grabbed him and hauled him out of harm's further reach. As they land, he winces a little, but looks up afterward. He sees Asher's beautiful wings and tries not to stare too long, but it's just another thing about the professor that he finds irresistible. Plus, those wings helped save Sinclair from a worse fate. As enamored as he is though, he soon motions diagonally. "That one," he says, pointing to the northeast of him. "I'm heading that way." Then he does.

Naessa looks on with concern once again, as Asher and Sinclair find themselves in a quite dangerous spot. Being so far away, all the Haunt can do is watch anxiously, attention torn between them and Thaeloc's steady progress on the other set of barrels. Once the former pair is safe again, there's a faint sigh of relief and then she's moving to follow their lead, sort of. The goal is the barrel that's two north and west of her current location, due to it being proven to be safe already. Only after landing will there then be another look across to see how Thaeloc is doing.

Thaeloc now off the bridge and on a known safe barrel follows the path the rest of the group has laid out for him and jumps with the count on his back easy. The added weight of 100 or so pounds is nothing to his half a ton he carries with armor, weapons, and a boulder in his belt. (gift from blackfrye) As he moves diagonal to his left to a safe spot.

Sinclair sighs from relief when his barrel holds strong, and he decides to make another move diagonally toward the end of the room. He bites down on his bottom lip as his legs hurt from the burns, but he doesn't let it slow him down. He gives a hop over, landing firmly on the barrel, the end looking to be in sight.

Asher watches Sinclair, glad he is safe for the most part. Looking back to ensure the safety of his fellow comrades before making a move of his own. Thaeloc is handling the Count well, so no worries there. And Naessa is still holding strong. He makes a hop and attempts to have his wings carry him a little further, figuring he may as well put them to use. Hopefully the barrel he chooses isn't a bad one.

Naessa pauses to let the ache of her wounded limbs subside again prior to making another leap. That she'll pay for it later is ignored, for getting past the molten liquid is far more important, and with that in mind, a leap is taken. It's a short one this time though, with her destination the barrel northeast, since it was between two ruined ones and the odds of it also being bad were far less.

Sinclair hops diagonally to the same barrel that Asher does, but accidentally stumbles a little trying not to bowl him over, so he bypasses him to hopefully make landfall. The noises he makes in terror are not dignified, and his moves are not exactly graceful. Still, in a last ditch effort to get to safety, he gives himself an added 'oomph' to push to the safety of the bricks by the door.

Asher tries to regain his footing when Sinclair attempts to share his barrel, he grabs the lyre on the demon's back and uses momentum to push them to safety on the landing. Naessa is watched, as well as Thaeloc. If he has to fly them to safety, then he will. Yet there is a clear path of good barrels to hop on to.

Naessa realizes all too late that the odds had not been in her favor, and thus is left scrambling to get back to one of the safe spots established. As there was a path established by Sinclair and Asher, she now moves to follow it, positioning herself diagonally before leaping over each in turn.

A door to the east creaks open, revealing a room with a large stone slab with carved sigils. The heat seems to follow everyone in...

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Last modified on December 5, 2023, 15:03:29