[Cumbria, Helvellyn August 7th 1251, 5:00 AM] [It is a good thing you are all inside a very dark tower, because the sun is definitely up now and you are all feeling very tired. BUT, you have now managed to climb to the top of the tower where you are met with who, you assume, is Belit- Sheri. She is kneeling in front of a sun dial on the ground, and there is a large water clock on the wall behind her. She is in black robes with long-tangled dark hair and her unblinking, cold light-grey eyes stare forward, not acknowledging your presence. She seems almost in a trance.] [Begin] #06* Moriel bows, because being (excessively) polite never hurt in situations like this. "Please excuse my companions, lady." #06* Eliana 's hands are curled into fists. She's staring at Belit-Sheri, but thankfully the timepyr does not burst into flames. [Belit-Sheri finally does speak, though she still does not seem to look in the direction of anyone in particular. "You have come here for a purpose. I trust you now have a better understanding of how we must treat Time. We must not fight against it, we must flow with it, allow it to aid us in its way. If you try to fight the current, you will drown. What is it you seek?"] #06* Rolf grumbles, "How do you fight time, that don't make no sense." [A hint of a smile crosses her lips and she nods. "Exactly so."] #06* Eliana scowls, then - slowly - forces her hands to relax. "Clearly a lesson we needed to learn," she says, heavy sarcasm in her voice. #06* Cosimo raises an eyebrow under his sand-repelling turban, but as only his eyes are visible, it isn't easy to notice. "and yet so many people kill time simply because they can" #06* Moriel says carefully, "It seems a creature was sealed in a tomb somewhere in Britain long ago, and now someone seeks to release it. A Pierre de Fontaine said you might be able to tell us more. We have been...dispatched...to prevent this." His mouth twists at the last sentence. [She shakes her head. "Nobody kills time. They submit to time. It is the first lesson we all must learn. Patience. Time is ever moving, and we are but statues in its wake." She then answers Moriel "I know of Pierre de Fontaine. He came to see me once. Why do you believe this creature exists?"] #06* Moriel shrugs. "A stone with ancient writing was delivered to the Court of Love by a dying man. He had been poisoned and could tell them nothing before he died." [She seems unconcerned by the man's death. "Have you this stone?"] #06* Moriel shakes his head. "It remains in the Court of Love." #01 I could try to write the inscription from memory. [She nods. "That would be sufficient."] #06* Moriel yields the floor to Eliana! #06* Thalaba covers her mouth as she yawns before Eliana draws her attention "Amazing.." #06* Eliana glances around, determines there's nothing for her to actually write on, and lets out a small sigh. She sits on the ground and opens her bag, pulling out the torn page and a stick of charcoal, both with sand still on them. #06* Cosimo watches the woman closely as Eliana sets to work #06* Eliana brushes off the sand, flips the page so the blank side is up, and starts writing. #06* Moriel tries not to wince as he sees the torn page. #06* Eliana takes her time, sketching the words from memory, and eventually finishes. She eyes the page critically before picking it up and standing, walking over to hand it to Belit-Sheri. [Belit-Sheri takes the page from Eliana and begins to stare at it. She seems for a moment to weaken herself greatly as she concentrates on the piece of paper and suddenly the scene in the tower fades away and you all appear to be underground in some sort of cavern. In front of you a man dressed in what appears to be some sort of ancient Greek attire is carving something into a large stone wall in front of you.] [It is in the same ancient script that is on the tablet.] #06* Cosimo looks around, first to one side and then to the other. #06* Rolf growls lowly as he looks around. #06* Eliana is startled at first, but then she sees the carving and her brow furrows in concentration as she tries to figure out what he may be writing. #06* Moriel goes still, then starts rapidly taking in as many details of their surroundings as he can. When he sees the man carving, he has to stop himself from stepping forward to get a closer look. #06* Cosimo notices the man, but seems a bit preoccupied and doesn't spend too much time on the man or his work. [After some time, Eliana and Moriel begin to decipher the text as it is carved. It reads "Imprisoned within these walls lies Troile the Usurper. She was sealed away here at the sacrifice of many soldiers in order to save mankind from endless slaughter. Should any man free her, may he suffer at her hands, and may the gods be merciful to mankind."] [Once that is finished, the scene fades again and Belit-Sheri drops the paper and breathes heavily, clearly exhausted. After a few moments, she seems to regain her composure.] #06* Eliana lets out a breath, and says, in Latin, "" #06* Moriel 's eyes go wide. He says softly, "Troile...?" #06* Eliana says, her eyes now on Belit-Sheri, "" #01 well... whatever her gender, the fact that she is who she is makes this a bit more complicated. ...yes. #06* Moriel bows to Belit-Sheri. "Thank you for showing that to us, lady." [Belit-Sheri speaks once again. "You have what you came for then. I suppose you will need to sleep until tonight. The sun will set in sixty-four thousand eight-hundred and nineteen seconds. You may sleep here until then." She, herself stays seated. Her eyes remain open, but it is unclear whether she is actually awake and alert.] #06* Eliana huhs softly. She's no longer regarding Belit-Sheri with hostility, but rather... curiosity. #06* Eliana stands there for a moment, looking at her, before walking over to retrieve the page the other wampyr dropped to the ground. #06* Cosimo shakes his head slowly, taking in the whole "experience". He then looks at his companions. "well... shall we?" #06* Moriel nods and says quietly, "We may as well." He walks to a wall and sits down crosslegged in almost exactly the same pose he took up yesterday. #06* Eliana puts the page away carefully before wandering to a corner and setting up sleeping camp. This may or may not involve bear traps for anyone foolish enough to bother her. #06* Rolf sighs and says, "I don't know how you'd fight 'gainst time, but this is all pretty slow goin'." #06* Moriel lifts his head and opens his eyes again briefly. "I expect it will become uncomfortably fast before this is all done." #06* Thalaba sighs softly and finds a spot for herself to spend the rest of the day. #06* Cosimo finds a spot against a wall, places his back against it, and then closes his eyes. [Exactly sixty-four thousand eight-hundred and nineteen seconds since the last time she spoke, Belit-Sheri stands up, and regardless of your current state of consciousness, she says "It is time to go."] #06* Cosimo opens his eyes the moment he hears the woman speak, his eyes focus on the source of the voice #06* Eliana starts awake and checks her possessions. [Belit-Sheri walks over to one of the walls and places her hand on it, the wall seems to be deteriorating before your eyes. You see it begin to be eaten away from the outside by weather, cracks appearing throughout the wall eventually growing mold on the inside due to the moisture, eventually some of the looser stones begin to fall away from the wall, and within moments, a six-foot section of wall is opened, as if thousands of years had past. As you peer out, you notice that there are stairs on the outside leading down to the ground at the back of the tower.] #06* Moriel picks himself up after a fuzzy waking-up moment of wondering where he is. He bows again to Belit-Sheri. "Thank you again for your aid and hospitality, lady." #06* Cosimo watches the woman closely as he stands. his eyes dart from the woman to each of his companions in turn #06* Cosimo notices each seems to be accounted for and at least in the same condition that they were earlier that day. [Outside is also just barely dark.] #06* Cosimo bows his head in appreciation to Belit-Sheri and then looks at his companions. "Come... it is time to go. We are wasting time, and from what we have learned, that can only hurt us further." #06* Rolf leaves, looking over his shoulder a moment before shaking his head. "You get there when you get there." #06* Eliana nods to the maybe-goddess. "Thank you." She's being astonishingly polite. And then she walks out, down the stairs. [Once you have all exited Belit-Sheri touches the wall again and the stones seem to leap back into place, stacking themselves, and then the mold goes away and the outside becomes less weathered, until it is completely polished as if it were just assembled that day.] #06* Moriel looks back at it and blinks. "I suppose that explains how she maintains this tower." #06* Thalaba followed the rest down and looks back up when the stones return to their original place. "I need to get one of those... " #01 Learn to rearrange time and I'm sure it will be easy. #06* Cosimo walks down the stairs purposefully, or at least so caught up in his own thoughts that he isn't paying attention to anyone other than to make sure he doesn't run into anyone or anything #06* Eliana reaches back for her hood, then frowns when there isn't one. #06* Moriel starts down the stairs, frowning in thought. "Troile. Who would seek to free her?" ...or do they know what it is they seek to free? #06* Moriel is thinking out loud. He shakes his head at himself. "...to go to so much trouble without knowing seems unlikely..." Maybe it's another one'a them high clan plots.... but then again, them high clan sorts are afraid'a the old power. #06* Moriel nods. "Anyone releasing an old power...wants upset." "Remember the shattered crystal dagger.. " She says out of the blue. "In the vision I had.." #01 Of course I remember. #06* Eliana sounds vaguely insulted. #06* Cosimo stops suddenly, shaking his head and returning from his thoughts. He turns around to notice he had outpaced the group. He returns hearing only "Remember the shattered crystal dagger." #06* Moriel glances at Thalaba, jarred out of his thoughts. "...we should find out more about it." the only dagger we know of like that was the one we gave to Jenny... you have seen both. were they the same? #06* Thalaba thinks about it for a moment, going over the details of the vision. "Yes I believe so. " Mm. We can hardly ask Jenny about it... #06* Rolf chuckles and says, "Malkavians actin' crazy, that's a new one." #06* Moriel blinks. #06* Cosimo looks at Moriel. "why not?" #06* Moriel raises his eyebrows at Cosimo. "Do you think she would tell us? More, do you think she would tell us the truth?" And if she did, what would it cost? Clearing our names only seems to have brought this about. I do not care to see a greater disaster. well... it is information. if the price was right, i don't see why not? #06* Moriel grimaces. "I suppose there can be little harm merely in finding out what the price would be." #01 You can follow that path. I plan on doing some research. #06* Moriel tilts his head at Eliana. "On?" #06* Eliana continues to concentrate on the stairs. "Of course. Perhaps there is written record." #01 I need to learn that language, as well. [Session End]