Venturing into Nasiim's Tower - Ch. 1 (Quest)

[Aegis]

For those who lived in Kalzasi, all would have heard the many stories around Nasiim's tower. In the latest generation of youths, the story was that it was built by the Zatrian family to house a particularly ugly child that had been born. But that story was always said in jest. Just as with the generations before them, none ever truly knew what the tower was. And it had been years since researchers had given up trying.

But something had changed.

Now, there was a small feeling in the back of several people's minds, spread around Karnor. It would be obvious that it was a foreign feeling, but there was no malice, no danger, no worry attached to it. To some, it might feel like the whisper of a lover, asking them to come back to bed; to others, the feeling of opening an invitation to the ball of the season. Regardless of how it was interpreted, Florian, Nathan Cross, Talon, Rickter, and Euripedes would all be receiving this feeling, at different points in the season.

And if they chose to accept the invitation, then they would receive a direction, a tugging feeling, that would cut through the geography of the world; the point of a compass, in each of their heads. And it always pointed to the same spot in Karnor, in the north, on the edge of Lake Udori. To a small, unassuming ruins of a tower on the water.

Upon arrival at the tower, each of the five individuals, regardless of when they had arrived, would hear a chime. If they looked around them, be it within the dusty stone walls or the backwash that surrounded it like a moat, they would see that the world had stopped moving around them. Wind would not flow, water would not ebb, and any companions that didn't have an invitation would be frozen in place just like everything else.

And in the back of the ground floor of the tower, a glowing line carved a rectangular shape into the stone wall. A door. Once it was completed, the stone within dissolved, a door of silver, blinding light, and the invitation in their heads would grow stronger. They could ignore it if they wished. If they chose to decline it, the invitation would be revoked, the door would shut, and the world would go back to moving again.

But if they accepted it, if they chose to walk through the door of glowing moonlight, they would find themselves taken deep within the tower, the proper part of the tower, and all five of them would find themselves in a space, endless depth of silvery, white light, in all directions. All five of them would have arrived at exactly the same time into this glowing void.

And they would find nothing else around them.

► Show Spoiler

RULES
1. All rules herein must be abided by or IC consequences will be applied to the PC.
2. All players must post once a week. There is no post order between my posts. If there is a circumstance that will cause a delay, make me aware prior to the next post deadline. Repeated failure will result in IC consequences and removal from the quest.
3. All CSs must be Up-to-Date before joining the quest.
4. Entering the tower may be done on any timestamp regardless of the other players.
5. Spirits, NPCs, Companions, etc, any being that is not the PC will not find entry.
6. Be very specific in your first post of what is being brought with you. Clothes, gear, etc. Make sure to include how your PC arrived at Nasiim's Tower and how they went about getting there.
7. This thread does not time lock your PC, and until the thread finishes and rewards distributed, there is no memory or consequences from the thread. Upon completion of the thread, the consequences will be applied at a later date of the player's choosing.

[Talon]

T A L O N

17 Ash 121

The invitation, when it came, held with it a note of familiarity that Talon could not quite place. It told him to be ready. It told him to prepare for a journey. So that is what Talon did. It danced on the edges of his awareness, a gentle calling that compelled him to spring into motion. He finished working on projects in his shop, turning over what he could to his apprentice and the other staff. He worked ahead in his duties around the palace, delegating what responsibilities he could and pushing himself to complete what could not be. Then came the preparations, the stocking of supplies and the checking of his equipment. He had grown accustomed to making trips into far places of the world, from the Warrens to as far as the Kingdom of Atinaw.

“Going somewhere, beloved?” Talon looked up to see Aoren staring at him with a curious look in his eyes. He nodded to his bondmate.

“Yes. I cannot explain it but…” He looked out over the balcony of his room toward the Lake Udori. Whatever was calling to him urged him toward that direction. It was not the first time he had felt such a calling. There had been the urge to move and act when Pahoran and his family had cried out for his help. There had been the need to move and do something when he had felt Senara’s pain and suffering. This was something similar though not quite as strong. Aoren gave him a nod. He stepped forward and only then did Talon realize that his partner was dressed for travel as well. The Skyforge Raiment that he had spent nearly a year working on at the forge covered his bondmate’s frame. His raven wings fluttered at his sides as he smirked at him.

“What? You didn’t think you’d be going alone, did you?” Talon just smiled. He pressed his brow against that of Aoren’s before returning to his packing. He counted and recounted everything before he began to outfit himself with his own Skyforge Raiment. He just finished tugging on his boots when Aoren presented him with Xuè yá, Bloodfang. The crimson sword had rest within Talon’s chambers for quite some time, unused and a memory of something that he had been trying to forget.

“It’s time, beloved.” Talon took the sword into his hands, holding it within its scabbard. With a steady hand he unsheathed it and beheld the blood red blade with elven script along the blade. Talon swung the sword carefully. It was as light and balanced as the day he had forged it. He stared at the sword. In it he could still feel the anger and pain that had gone into collecting everything needed to make this blade a reality. He could still feel the ache and sting of what followed afterwards. That ache had lessened significantly over time but he suspected there would always be something akin to hurt whenever he thought back to that time. With a sigh and a nod, Talon sheathed the sword and fastened it to his hip. He picked up his featherlight bag, looked to Aoren and nodded.

“Rickter?” Talon paused as he reached out to their other half. He mentally wrapped himself around Rickter, given the wolf the equivalent of a mental hug. Distantly, he could hear something similar ringing in the Rathari man’s reverie. He smiled.

“He will be along. Come.” Together, the two of them went to the balcony and turned their sights toward Lake Udori. Spreading his wings, Talon took off at a spring and then jumped into the air. He ascended into the skies, soon joined by his bondmate as the two of them took flight and made their way out of Kalzasi and toward the shores of Lake Udori. Talon enjoyed the peace of it. He enjoyed the simplicity and thrill of just flying along with the sense of adventure that called to him. When they finally arrived at the lake and beheld the unimpressive structure of Nasiim’s Tower, Talon felt the calling in his mind grow stronger.

“Here.” As soon as his feet touched the earth just at the edges of where the tower stood, Talon heard a chime resound through the air. He shivered and felt a power wash over him. It did not hurt but Talon, for a moment, received the flash of a memory. Old and ancient from deep within himself. The landscape shifted before him and he beheld not the ruined tower surrounded by water but a magical place. People walking across a stone courtyard accented with trees and all manner of arcane looking baubles. A wall with towers, each topped with a magical crystal, and robed figured discussing things in an animated fashion. As soon as the vision came, it was gone and Talon felt…something. He felt the familiar dissonance that sometimes came when a memory from one of his older selves presented itself. He did not know from when that vision came or even from which of his previous selves it came from, but it was there. That told him that the stories of Nasiim’s Tower being ancient were truer than people realized.

“Did you feel that?” Talon turned to face Aoren. His bondmate stood stock still. His wings were midway through folding onto his back and he was frozen in mid-stride. Talon blinked at him. He waved a hand in front of Aoren’s face. “Aoren?”

Looking around, Talon saw that his partner was not the only thing frozen. Birds were still in mid-flight. The leaves on the trees were not swaying. He frowned.

“Hello?” Talon extended his senses into the aether. He opened himself up, searching for something that might give him insight into what was transpiring. His senses were filled with the normal life that suffused wild places. He could feel Aoren’s heartbeat. He could still sense the flight of the birds. He could still sense the breeze that had been on their skin moments ago. It was as if he had simply been placed in a space between those moments. It made no sense to him but he sensed no immediate danger. Not that he could make out at least. It was as he was about to turn away from the tower that he beheld the makings of a doorway. It shimmered with the light of moonlight glowing in the midnight skies. Again, he felt that calling, the gentle invitation to press onward. Whatever awaited him within the mystery of Nasiim’s Tower, it was clear that he was meant to go forward alone. Talon cast one more look back to his bondmate. He stepped up to Aoren, touched a hand to his beloved partner’s face and pressed their brows together.

“Stay safe, my love. I will return.” He did not know if Aoren would feel any of this but he pressed a kiss to the man’s brow anyways. “I promise.”

Talon activated the kinetic powers of his boots and stepped upon the surface of the water leading up to Nasiim’s Tower. He walked across the surface of the water and up to the doorway. With one last look back to Aoren, he stepped inside the white light and to what awaited him inside.

► Show Spoiler

Talon is bringing the following things with him, all of which are listed in detail on his character sheet:
1 Xuè yá, Claymore of Regeneration, equipped.
1 Set of Skyforged Raiment Armor (Torso, Legs, Cloak, Boots), equipped.
1 Circlet of Warding, equipped.
1 Ring of Lightning, equipped.
1 Ring of Ice, equipped.
1 Waterskin, equipped.
1 Fountain Jug [Featherlight Bag]
1 Featherlight Bag, equipped.
1 Traveler's Kit which contains: [Featherlight Bag]
Bedroll (1), Hempen Rope (50 ft.), Torch (x5), Tarp (1), 1 Set of Toiletries, 10 days of rations, 1 Set of Eating Utensils (i.e. tin plate, cup, fork, spoon, knife), Flint & Steel
3 Jovmandr's Elixir [Featherlight Bag]
1 Restoration Balm [Featherlight Bag]
1 Alchemist's Fire [Featherlight Bag]
1 Spellwright's Ink (Greater) [Featherlight Bag]
1 Aetherite Stylus (For writing with spellwright’s ink) [Featherlight Bag]
500 gp [Featherlight Bag]

[Florian]

60 Ash 121

There were going to be consequences. He knew that when he left Zaichaer without a word — not even to Eitan — he would not be accepted back with open arms. The tugging on his mind, the insistence, the deal he had made; they all outweighed his regard for the consequences. Florian was amazed he had made it so far to begin with, that fate had allowed him to slip out of Zaichaer. His goal wasn't Kalzasi, though, and he had no intention of letting slip the secrets of the expedition, and he wasn't going to even make it that far. He had ridden the train to Shemashk, and fate allowed him to make it to the tower on foot unharmed.

It was a gamble on a bargain made in the Warrens with a woman strange and powerful enough to make it her home. He was betting his life for his freedom, but even now it made sense to take it. He had already walked into his death at his first thought of working for the government, the military, and there was nothing he nor Eitan could do to avoid his death sentence, no matter how optimistic he was, no matter how much he promised to keep him safe. While it was a gamble, to him, it was one of the only chances he had to untangle himself.

The invitation itself wasn't unpleasant, though Florian's expectations were tainted by the deal he had made to even recieve such a thing. It tugged him north and he trudged through the winds and chill of northern Karnor in late Ash, and he was as ill-prepared for the journey as he had been for everything else that had bombarded him for the past two seasons. But his coat was tugged close, and he stepped from the woods into the ice-cold water and spotted the tower that called to him.

It disappointed him, but he waded through the water towards it anyway. His legs and shoes and socks were soaked and he felt the cold to the bone, but he had already made it so far. Florain was nothing if not persistant, and with his first step onto the tower, he heard a chime. The wind stopped. The water stopped. The sound stopped, and Florian was left to see his breath fog up the cold. He wasn't sure what he had expected, but it still wasn't enough to deter him from entering the tower and facing the glowing door before him. Fear and regret bubbled up in his stomach, but it was far too late to change his mind. There was no choice but to force those feelings aside, and he had accepted this fate the very same second he had boarded the train in Zaichaer.

He reached a hand up to the pendant around his neck, the pendant he had gifted his mother and taken back from her mutilated corpse. With second thoughts banished from his mind, he walked through the door and into the glowing void.

► Show Spoiler

Florian has:
- a nonmagical chain & pendant made of gold and a single ruby
- rations for a week & a waterskin
- the set of clothing (including a coat) that he's wearing
- his letter from his mother, folded into the breast pocket of his coat
- his wits

[Euripides]

9 ASH 121

It was Jieun, she was sure of it.

Years of having heard the woman’s voice had made her certain that that was the voice that beckoned her into the deep wilderness. The voice that spoke first reason, then want, then a burdening lamentation that the ex-legionnaire was not with her. And so the woman shuffled out toward the trees, contemplating not how she would get there but how long it would take her. The risks would see themselves sorted later. How much later; she had not been sure. On some level, she had suspected that she should find herself victim to bandits on the road. Of course, they would only find her lacking.

Was it pity or simply a need for entertainment that had them forcing a weathered guitar into her hands and pointing a knife at her? Sing, they said. She’d hadn’t done it in a long time, she told them. And they seemed not to care; the knife pressed into her collarbone and she let out the first warbled note as her hands found their perch on the strings. Jieun’s voice still rang in her ears, the vision of her dancing merrily as if in a field of flowers taking hold as they sat her on the edge of their cart and continued on their way.

Her voice cracked around a request for water some hours on. They’d grown bored of her. Mostly left her to strum aimlessly at her newly acquired guitar and send a prayer up to whatever god would listen. They would watch her, carefully, quietly, as she slipped into her mother’s tongue and invoked the gods to carry her swiftly to her lover. The terrible crooning would earn her a swat on the back of her head and a warning to tone it down, but this was why they had taken her from her path, wasn’t it? And aside from that: they were nothing compared to the Warrens and the things she’d experienced below.

The woman would not be able to convince them of such. Boredom turned to irritation turned to indifference into what happened to her when they kicked her off the cart. Despite herself, she curled around the guitar. The harsh angles of her frame curved around the instrument, hit the dirt path hard. She sucked in a breath, listened as the cart continued on and the bandits laughed with browning teeth and ruddy faces before there was nothing but Jieun’s voice in her ears. She shuddered, lifted herself from the ground to check if the instrument had been damaged. Another ding to match the many others marring what had probably been beautifully carved wood.

She sighed, shoulders slumping before the urgency in Jieun’s voice picked up. Stumbling feet carried her on, breathing ragged. She hadn’t fully recovered from the season past, but — she would make it. She would crawl if she had to; she’d done it before. And just as she stepped through the brush, a cough pushing past her lips —

This! Here, my love!

Was it a sob coming from her or Jieun?

Closer; come closer.

There was no hesitation. A slow shuffle at first, turning into an unbalanced, drunken walk as a grin stretched over her face. Fingers clutched at the guitar. Maybe she could present her love with a song when they met again, finally. The woman would not notice the way the world around her stopped. She would not notice the way the birds had gone quiet and the waves of the lake had ceased. Instead, the only “world” she could envision was what lay beyond the door and the void and the moment when Jieun’s voice would be matched by her face, her hands, her lips on her.

► Show Spoiler

Euri has: a guitar and blind faith this is not going to end well.

[Rickter]

Ash 18, 121 AoS

Ever since Talon had returned from the tower that lingered several days out along the shore of Udori, there had been a steady calling akin to the ones he remembered feeling back within Searing. Though this time it didn't feel like the Echo, just a nagging tug that often distracted his instincts a moment or two. After having been annoyed with wanting to explore it alongside the prince, Rickter has been delayed in achieving that mentality. Though he wasn't without option the following day, as Hannah didn't have knowledge on anything related to the Udori, but she certainly knew of someone who did.

Thus the wolf prepared for his own personal expedition, geared up with his Skyforge Raiment given to him by Talon, he had decidedly prepared for this trip with his Triple-barreled pistol strapped to the left of his waist. The pouch closest to the holster carried his shells, and he even strapped the dragonshard iron-based lantern to the outer right hip. He stood with arms crossed over one another, his shoulders slightly hung with patience as he watched the man arrive from the summit of the Cloudhaven District. Trevor Sivaaras. Rickter hadn't forgotten their last encounter within the Midden together, and the interesting times they had during the PInnacle Games.

Seeing the black-robed mage approach in his battlegear amused the wolf, mostly because of the flashy shoulder buckle strapped across the man. As the corner of his pointed mustache lightly twerked, the mage's smug grin grew into a friendly gesture at the sight of Rickter. "Well you've gotten pudgy since the games." The wolf almost narrowed his eyes on the man but promptly observed, half-amused by the attitude the mage rather possessed.

"So you're the one Hannah said would know about the tower?" He then acquired with at least some slight warmth in his tone.

"Not exactly. I know only of it in passing, and that the stories Northerners tell are ridiculous." There came a slight accent that Rickter knew to be familiar, something akin to the Kathalan language he could hear when Aoren spoke.

"And I suppose this'll be a favor I owe you, in return for a visit to this tower?" The wolf finally loosened his arms and stretched a little, with a deep breath drawn in before a contented exhale followed.

"We'll can sort out the details later, of course." The mage retorted as he stood with his shoulders tall toward Rickter, to which the wolf lightly chuffed as he gestured for the man to get on with it. As Trevor stepped around toward an open space within the garden, the mustached man twizzled his hair with mindful introversion in his face. From what the wolf understood this was the process some Traversers used to Spatial Map between extended locations. Sooner or later he too would need to learn how to utilize this faucet, if he wished to be able to ever keep up with Talon on a proper windy day.

With a gentle lift of his hands, he pointed out two fingers on each, drawing them into a circular gesture toward the point of air he focused on. Within seconds embers sparked to life as aether created a portal, releasing a wet riverbank smell into the area as the wolf glimpsed at the other side. Within seconds the faint tugging he felt in his being intensified, drawing him to cross the threshold and walk out into the other side. He regrettably still had that minor lag of delayed perception after his feet landed, as Rickter had not yet overcome that aspect of his own Traversion either. As he hunched over for a moment to catch his breath, from the rush that slightly winded him in the crossing, Trevor followed over with a short amount of mirth to add.

"Still haven't gotten used to it yet? Hannah must be easy on you then." The man teased while Rickter stood straighter once more, ready to shoot him a minor look of aggravation, before the dissipation of the portal followed with a sudden chime from the tower above. A sound he never anticipated as he felt it reverberate over his skin, he felt a sense of a shudder as he looked onward at the unimposing tower. It was such a strange thing to behold, as he could only ponder what created this sudden tone. Almost as quickly as it died out so too did the rest of the world around, and though that silence had yet to settle in on Rickter, he couldn't help but still appraise the architecture nested within the banks of Udori.

"What an odd place..." He nearly loathed to admit it as he looked toward Trevor, who had also suddenly gone quiet from where he stood. And then it finally started to sink in. "Oy... Trevor." The wolf observed to see that everything about the man, from his dorky mound of styled hair all the way down to the light tilt of his boot tip on the grass, as not a damn thing about him changed even for a lingering second. Wary glances toward the environment around him led him to observe the stillness in the air, as he realized then something more had transpired than just the chime of a bell. "....Motherfucker..." He then sighed before hearing something within the tower, the faint glimmer of magic illuminating the interior beyond the doorway, emitting a soft pitch of resonance in his ears as he looked toward the base of the structure.

This feeling, while still not the Echo, felt surprisingly close to whatever it was before. And though the Circle of Wandering was not the intended destination this time, it seemed that whatever calling this was deemed Nasim's Tower as the next step. Trekking across the moat he reached the threshold of the tower's entrance, poking inside carefully to witness the semblance of another portal somehow. A glowing doorway made of pure light beckoned him, and every fiber in his being felt pulled toward this once he'd lain eyes on it. There came that faint thought of hesitance as he gandered for a moment, until finally he gave into the curiosity of the unknown.

With a wary sense of trepidation, the wolf stepped through,.

"Common" "Synskrit"
"Rickter" "Trevor"

[Nathan Cross]

Dusk of 27th of Ash, 121


Nathan rubbed his eyes and stared at the ceiling, instead of the ceiling he was greeted with Crimson’s eyes staring back at him. “What the-“ his protest was cut short when he felt cold steel on his throat, he turned his gaze downward and saw one of Crimson’s dolls holding a knife to his throat. He turn his gaze back toward Crimson and saw the Aidolon smiling.

He sighed. “Alright, I’ll find a new plaything for you.” Another doll hops onto his chest and pointed another knife at his throat. “Yes, yes, I’ll get you a mage to play with. We are conducting another raid in the Knobs.”

The two dolls hopped off his chest and lay motionless on the floor. Nathan blinked and the Aidolon was nowhere to be seen. “That brat.” Nathan sighed in relief, stood up, and made his way to the balcony of his apartment. There’s been something that’s been itching in the back of his mind, he can’t quite explain it but it feels like it’s nudging him to go somewhere north of the city. He decided to ditch his military garbs and wore his civilian outfit, leaving only his ring as an identifier of who he is.

He picked up his half-burnt cigar from the night before and lit it. After three puffs he peered into the Slipspace and vaulted into a designated area within the Central Sky Station. He quickly raised his ring to show the Reconciliator guarding the area before he sent a chomper after him.

“Business?” the Reconciliator asked him

“Yup. Know any ship heading to Kalzasi?”

“Official?”

“Nope”

“Ask the ticketing office then, I ain’t paid enough to keep tracks of all outgoing flights.”

Nathan nodded and made his way to the ticketing office. A man was sitting at the desk behind the glass window reading flipping through a newspaper.

Nathan cleared his throat to get the man’s attention, the man didn’t budge at all. Nathan cleared his throat one more time. Without lifting his gaze the man pointed at the ‘On break’ sign hung by the window.

Nathan lifts his hand to show the ring he was wearing. The man took one glance at it and he stood up immediately.

“Sir, what can I do for you?”

“Know any ship heading to Kalzasi?”

“Local airship or not?”

“Local. Any trade ship?”

The man took out a book and flips through the pages. “Ah yes sir, platform seventeen. A merchant’s ship headed to Kalzasi, they’re scheduled to leave in a few minutes.”

“Where’s platform seventeen?”

“To the left, then straight on down.”

Nathan ran to the intersection and blinked his way to platform seventeen. He saw the crew pulling the ladder up. He blinked to the door where the crew was standing.

“At ease. Reconciliator business.” Nathan pats one of the crew’s shoulders as he showed them his ring and made his way inside the ship.

It was a few hours later that they neared the place where Nathan felt he needed to go. Nathan has ordered the ship to fly lower before entering Kalzasi’s airspace so he could blink to the ground easier. After thanking the captain he blinked to the area near the water.

“Goodness, that’s quite the drop.” Nathan then made his way toward the unassuming ruins of a tower on the water. He blinked and came face to face with the stone wall of the tower.

“Nice place to look for a new plaything right?” he asked his Aidolon. The Aidolon didn’t respond. “Come on, enough with your tricks.” Nathan moved to face the Aidolon and waved his hand in front of her face. Strange. That’s when he noticed a fish jumping out of the water to catch a bug, but it was as if they’re frozen in place. He turned around and realized that everything except himself is frozen in time. That’s when he noticed a glowing line carved a rectangular shape into the stone wall, forming some kind of a door. He felt the tugging in his head grow stronger. He then took a step inside the door.

► Show Spoiler

• 1 Set of Clothing (Coat and footwear included)
• Flint & Steel
• Two pieces of punching daggers
• Ten pieces of lesser Dragonshards
• Abjinurium Edged Ring

[Aegis]

It would seem to the five that were summoned that they all appeared into existence, into the plane of endless, silvery moonlight, at the same exact time. There was no sound in here, there was no sense of time, no sense of depth or distance. If mouths moved, nothing came out, if hearts beat, it would not be heard. Even thoughts within their minds would feel muffled.

But all things pass, and this would too, though it would be impossible to gauge if this empty void lasted for mere seconds or millennia. Soon the world around them would begin dissolving and fading away, and a new one would appear before them, as though it had always been there. As though they had always been a part of it.

Talon would find himself in chains, his arms bound at the wrist in iron, hanging from a chain above his head. He would feel his wings similarly cuffed. His ankles had a chain running between their bonds as well. He was naked, save for a dirty pair of small clothes. He would be able to see he was in an iron cell, and he was facing the door. He was not injured nor in any pain. He would be able to see two people, a man and a woman, in sailors' attire in the walkway between cells, and behind them, five treasure chests.

To Talon's right was simply a wooden wall, and a ladder that went upward. Behind him, another wooden wall. To his left, more iron bars. And within them, Rickter hung in a similar position as Talon, with an extra metal collar locked around his neck. Rickter would be able to see all of the same things, and was in a similar state of undress and griminess. And to Rickter's left, one more cell, with Nathan strung up in a similar position. However, Nathan also was gagged and blindfolded in addition to his chains.

The two men in sailor's clothes were none other than Florian and Euripedes. Florian would find that his personal belongings were missing, except for the pendant that hung from his neck. He would also find a saber hanging from his left hip, a pistol in a left side torso holster, and ring of jailer's keys hanging on his right hip, and garbed in smelly, sweaty sailor's clothing. Euripedes was equally dressed, with two guns and a machete.

And for a brief moment, the entire room bobbed up, then back down. It was dark save for the single lantern hanging near the ladder on Talon's right. It was hot, humid, and salty in the air, and the space smelled of the latrine buckets in each of the cells. Buckets that had not been emptied in a while. The room bobbed again, and with it, the boards around them creaked and groaned.

► Show Spoiler

I will post again on the morning of November 4th, potentially earlier if everyone has posted at least once.

There is no post order, and if everyone has posted at least once, you may post again (as much as any of you would like) up until I post.

You may ask me additional questions about the scene and environment if you'd like. I may give you an answer or I may tell you that you'll need to make an attempt to find out IC.

Have fun and good luck.

[Euripides]

She would have thought she was used to the odd suspension of time within some undetermined space. She thought, at the very least, that she would be prepared for some measure of discomfort. Which — she was. For Jieun, she would not mind moment of unease so long as she reached the end goal. But this was beginning to be something else. Even as the brightness faded, the room remained illuminated as if the sun shone into it. Clear as day. The slight glow of her eyes like the dim flick of a flame.

As her gaze swept over the room — the cells and the people within them — she was reminded of a time that she had left behind. Not entirely; the results of her shackling remained clear in her frail frame and the pallor of her skin. She licked her lips, sucked in a breath as the first finger of panic wrapped around her throat.

“Where are we?” She croaked out the question as her gaze dipped down to the weapon in the man’s hands before her. A horned man; scarred. Another beat of trepidation. She’d seen plenty of scarred individuals in her time in the Warrens. Maybe this was just a dream. A warped memory. “Is this another level of the Warrens?”

If they had forced them deeper into the Warrens, she feared more for their return than their descent. Something was bound to have noticed whatever entrance they used to get here. Had she been sleep for it? They would have woken her, or left her behind, thinking she were already dead. She breathed a sigh, the sound just barely bordering a wheeze as sweat pooled at the base of her neck and soaked into the clothes she wore.

“Who are these men?” She felt laden down with too much weight and when she looked, there were weapons to match that of the horned man’s. A pretty horned man, and three grimy beasts in a cage. "Who are you?" She could write a song about that. An epic tale of some bastard harem. Jieun would love it.
And it was in this moment that she noted that her head had gone quite. That her thoughts were her own, and hers alone. No voice to echo or reply.

“Jieun?” She glanced around, the colder fingers of dread slipping around her throat as she wheezed again. Her voice cracked around the missing girl’s name. “Jieun, where are you?” Why couldn’t she hear her?

[Talon]

T A L O N

There in the formless white void, Talon beheld four other people. He saw Rickter step forward out of the blinding whiteness and he felt a measure of relief knowing the skilled wolf would be with him. Talon let his eyes fall upon a Lysanrin that he did not recognize. A pale and thin woman who looked ready to fall over at the slightest brush of wind. He then saw another man that he did not recognize. Before he could speak through the din of deafening silence, the light grew both brighter and dimmer at the same time. He blinked and found himself spiraling into a dizzying state of muffled thoughts and weightless falling. Instinctively he tried to spread his wings in order to catch himself but with a jarring jangle of iron shackles, Talon snapped back to awareness with a pained groan.

The base of his wings sent a jolt of pain into his back as he attempted to extend them while they were chained. He felt the weight of the iron chains on his arms, binding his wrists and weighing down his ankles. Panic and fear flared within him as he came to the realization that he was chained within a cage that was ill suited to a man of his stature. As he got his wits about him, Talon took a few calming breaths. Panic would not help him. Fear would not help him. He let his eyes adjust to the darkness of the room and quietly took stock of his current physical state. He was naked except for some ratty clothes that barely covered his form. The soft bioluminescent glow of the witchmarks of his Siltori heritage added little to the lantern light that was nearby. Perhaps only just enough for Talon to make out his own form in the darkness.

He closed his eyes and centered himself. He could feel the rocking of what felt like a ship sailing upon the waves. It was warm and humid. The feeling of grime, dirt and sweat clinging to his body accompanied the smell of full chamber buckets. Wherever he was, it was a place that must have been far to the south of Kalzasi. He felt cramped and stifled. Avialae were beings of open air and breezy mountains. It was uncomfortable to be confined to such a small space, even in the best of circumstances. Chained as he was, caged as he was, he felt very much like an imprisoned bird that had been robbed of its freedom. Talon opened his eyes and looked around.

He looked over to see Rickter similarly bound and chained. While the sight of his beloved wolf in such a state angered him, there was little that he could do without first getting a clear idea of the situation that they were in. Looking past the bars of his cell, Talon managed to make out the form of two people. Vaguely he could make out the form of a third person in another cell, bound and gagged. While questions raced through his mind, Talon did not have nearly enough information to answer them. Reaching inside of himself, Talon searched for the wellspring of power that flowed within his soul. Finding it still there, he opened himself up to the flow of the aether around him and attuned his senses to the auras of the people that he could make out. He looked keenly at Rickter’s aura, gauging to see if his beloved wolf was injured or if something was impeding the flow of his aether. He looked over the auras of the two people outside of his cell and finally to the aura of the bound and gagged figure, discerning what he could, if anything.

“If this is the Warrens, it is new to me.” He answered one of the questions being posed by the woman asking them. Talon moved past the discomfort of feeling chained. It was a feeling that every Avialae hated. Even feared. Instead he focused on the other things his senses were telling him. This did not feel like the Warrens. At least, not that he had ever felt. He remembered going to Nasiim’s Tower. After that…everything had gone white.

“Will you release me?” He asked the obvious question. If nothing else, he might as well start with the obvious. It would at least tell him something.

[Florian]

Florian extended his hand in front of himself. He saw his scars in the dim light. The pendant still lay around his neck, but nothing else was his. Through his fingers he could see the largest man he had ever seen, even chained up and imprisoned. He was winged, and Florian supposed he was Avialae. His only experience with the race was second and third-hand accounts of the prince of Kalzasi, but they seemed difficult to mis-identify. He put his hand down and, with that movement, heard the jingle of keys at his hip, though he could not recall locking anyone up. Nor could he think of a reason why he would have locked them up in the first place.

The lantern swayed with the ship. He had been on airships plenty, at least, and he found the movement was similar to what it felt like being onboard during a storm. He had entered the tower, and he had stood in the light, and now he was here. It was surely connected, but he couldn't fathom how you could fit a ship into a tower. Maybe it was not something he was supposed to understand. It took a few moments for Florian to realize that people were speaking, and he caught the tail-end of the avialae's request. 'release me?'

They sounded Kalzasern. That made sense; the tower was closer to Kalzasi than Zaichaer. He had to travel a fair distance to make it there, though he hadn't seen anyone enter the tower with him. He reached for the keys on his belt and started to unlock the avialae's cage, and then the chains and cuffs that bound him.

"What's your name?" One by one, he tested the keys against the locks and the shackles released. He walked to the next cage, the one that the winged man had looked at first, and began to unlock him, too. He realized this was some gesture of trust granted to Kalzaserns he didn't know, but he figured the worst they could do to him now was kill him. Something told him that would be a better result than returning to Zaichaer empty-handed.

From the edges of his vision he could see a third person, bound as well. But Florian was no jailer, and he unlocked him just the same, starting with the blindfold and gag. With everyone released, Florian took a few steps away from anyone to take stock of who he was with.

"I'm Florian." He stated, though his anxiety was visible by the white of his irises. "Did any of you enter the tower? When?" He tilted his head at the scared woman. "Who is Jieun?"