12-30-2016, 04:32 AM
Celestia's choice words did the trick. Veritas was calm again, at least for the moment, and that meant the group could move forward without too much concern. Celestia would of course keep an eye on him, both to keep herself aware of his mental state and to watch for any further developments from the curse, but for the time being they were past the worst of the curse. Veritas obliged Revan's request, creating and then tossing a copy of the book to him. And then they moved on.
The group passed through several chambers, which seemed suspiciously empty to Celestia, at least until she spotted the debris on the ground. Bones, and bits of metal and rock, which she concluded were the remains of previous explores, and now-broken defences of the ruins that they face. One might assume that meant that the ruins had since been pacified, but Celestia remained on edge. They'd already encountered one trap that was still active, so who could say what other defences might still be active?
What they initially found was not nearly so dire. It was a treasure room, with the door blasted open sometime in the past, and a number of pedestals which held valuable items. Or at least, had held them sometime in the past. Most of them were empty now, but there were still a few that were occupied. Veritas immediately gravitated toward a pair of unusual weaponry, but Celestia left them to him and focused on others.
The items which caught Celestia's attention were an ancient book, and an orb with small grooves criss-crossing the surface. They markings formed a clear pattern, but it was one she didn't recognize. The purpose of the former was obvious to her, even if the specifics were not: if it were held in a room and on a pedestal such as it was, it was sure to be a book containing some power of its own, and likely to have important knowledge as well. She was confident that she could not only make use of the book, but do so relatively safely, and thus not only would taking it assist her but it might protect others as well. The orb meanwhile, she took for the exact opposite reason. She had no idea what it was, and was intrigued by the prospect of finding out. She took a few moments to conjure a set of plain saddle bags, to make carrying her finds easier, she was prepared to leave.
It was then that she noticed that Revan was no longer paying attention to the room itself, but rather watching the way they had come, and perhaps more to the point he was listening. Celestia took that as a sign to pay attention, which was just moments before Revan grew tired of waiting and tossed a bit of dry grass he lit on fire into the hallway ahead. Skeletal forms of animate, deceased bipeds emerged from the darkness, bits of flesh still hanging off a few of them, and the light glinting off their armour and weapons.
Revan immediately engaged the undead, and with the limitations of the hallway it gave Celestia a moment to think. Unless one of them could find a secret entrance, or blast or dig their way through a wall, the only way out was through the undead. That meant they were essentially stuck, and while they might be able to attrition their way through the horde, without knowing exactly how many animate skeletons there were waiting for them it was not the most appealing prospect. This was particularly true given that the ruins seemed to be 'well fed', as it were.
“We should push for the exit,” Celestia called out, as she held relatively still while she started charging a spell, “the larger chambers should provide avenues to fight or flee!” She didn't feel the need to mention that she was about to try and create such an opportunity, as the purpose of what she did next was sure to be obvious. When the spell was ready, she let fly a mass of burning rock into the hallway, aiming at a spot just above many of the skeletons heads. The ball collided with the raised axe of a skeleton reading to charge, detonating early, but it was enough. Several undead at the rear were able to deflect the burning shards of ruck with shields or armour, but a number were brought down by the attack from above. She charged forward, following in the wake of her meteor and planning to capitalize on the damage it did. When she got close, she let loose a blast of wind and heat that, while it wouldn't bring down any undead directly, would knock them over. A few might be incapacitated by the suddenly, wildly flailing weapons of their allies, but more to the point the hallway would be relatively clear while they recovered. Celestia made a motion with her hoof for Revan and Veritas to follow as she charged over the bodies and into the next room.
The group passed through several chambers, which seemed suspiciously empty to Celestia, at least until she spotted the debris on the ground. Bones, and bits of metal and rock, which she concluded were the remains of previous explores, and now-broken defences of the ruins that they face. One might assume that meant that the ruins had since been pacified, but Celestia remained on edge. They'd already encountered one trap that was still active, so who could say what other defences might still be active?
What they initially found was not nearly so dire. It was a treasure room, with the door blasted open sometime in the past, and a number of pedestals which held valuable items. Or at least, had held them sometime in the past. Most of them were empty now, but there were still a few that were occupied. Veritas immediately gravitated toward a pair of unusual weaponry, but Celestia left them to him and focused on others.
The items which caught Celestia's attention were an ancient book, and an orb with small grooves criss-crossing the surface. They markings formed a clear pattern, but it was one she didn't recognize. The purpose of the former was obvious to her, even if the specifics were not: if it were held in a room and on a pedestal such as it was, it was sure to be a book containing some power of its own, and likely to have important knowledge as well. She was confident that she could not only make use of the book, but do so relatively safely, and thus not only would taking it assist her but it might protect others as well. The orb meanwhile, she took for the exact opposite reason. She had no idea what it was, and was intrigued by the prospect of finding out. She took a few moments to conjure a set of plain saddle bags, to make carrying her finds easier, she was prepared to leave.
It was then that she noticed that Revan was no longer paying attention to the room itself, but rather watching the way they had come, and perhaps more to the point he was listening. Celestia took that as a sign to pay attention, which was just moments before Revan grew tired of waiting and tossed a bit of dry grass he lit on fire into the hallway ahead. Skeletal forms of animate, deceased bipeds emerged from the darkness, bits of flesh still hanging off a few of them, and the light glinting off their armour and weapons.
Revan immediately engaged the undead, and with the limitations of the hallway it gave Celestia a moment to think. Unless one of them could find a secret entrance, or blast or dig their way through a wall, the only way out was through the undead. That meant they were essentially stuck, and while they might be able to attrition their way through the horde, without knowing exactly how many animate skeletons there were waiting for them it was not the most appealing prospect. This was particularly true given that the ruins seemed to be 'well fed', as it were.
“We should push for the exit,” Celestia called out, as she held relatively still while she started charging a spell, “the larger chambers should provide avenues to fight or flee!” She didn't feel the need to mention that she was about to try and create such an opportunity, as the purpose of what she did next was sure to be obvious. When the spell was ready, she let fly a mass of burning rock into the hallway, aiming at a spot just above many of the skeletons heads. The ball collided with the raised axe of a skeleton reading to charge, detonating early, but it was enough. Several undead at the rear were able to deflect the burning shards of ruck with shields or armour, but a number were brought down by the attack from above. She charged forward, following in the wake of her meteor and planning to capitalize on the damage it did. When she got close, she let loose a blast of wind and heat that, while it wouldn't bring down any undead directly, would knock them over. A few might be incapacitated by the suddenly, wildly flailing weapons of their allies, but more to the point the hallway would be relatively clear while they recovered. Celestia made a motion with her hoof for Revan and Veritas to follow as she charged over the bodies and into the next room.