<@Dreol> [The Tomb of Moloch, Carthage, June 25th 1261, 3:00 AM] <@Dreol> [You have all managed to enter a tomb by discovering and removing a block of black glasslike rock in the cliff face of the coastline of the former city of Carthage. You discovered within the tomb a pedastal with a bowl and dagger and writing (in Latin, as it happens) that says "Any who wish to enter the tomb of Moloch must make a sacrifice to me to prove their loyalty."] <@Dreol> [Also the room is pitch black. But Eliana has fire.] <@Dreol> [Begin] #06* Moriel just looks at the writing. Then at the bowl and dagger. "And what happens if we do not?" he murmurs. #01 I presume we can leave. #06* Eliana starts pacing the room, looking for any indications of an additional - if probably blocked - passage on the floor, ceiling, or walls. we could sacrifice one of their number... their guards are plenty #06* Moriel shakes his head. "They'd likely miss whoever we took. We don't want to attract attention." their loyalty to *it* would be proven, however. #06* Rolf looks to Cosimo strangely, then gestures at the bowl. "Yeah, stuff all of 'em in that bowl? They want blood, not sausage." #06* Moriel gives Cosimo a sideways glance, but decides not to comment. Instead he starts looking around the opposite side of the room from Eliana. #06* Moriel notes the outline of a sealed passage, but no way to open it, and turns back to the bowl and dagger with a sigh and then a deepening frown. #06* Eliana runs her gloved finger along the wall. "Hm." #06* Rolf looks over at Eliana. "What, too dusty for ya Or you find something?" #01 A sealed passage here. #06* Cosimo looks closely at the basin. "well... it would appear that someone was loyal at least. they left reminants of their proof" #06* Eliana examines the wall for another moment, then says, "I think I can walk through." #06* Moriel looks back at Eliana at that, blinking. "...safely?" #01 Likely, yes. #06* Moriel hesitates. "But we don't know what is beyond...it does not seem wise for you to continue alone. Perhaps you could find the mechanism to unseal the passage, however?" #06* Eliana nods, already removing and tucking away her gloves. "Nothing corporeal should be able to harm me. You may need to find another light source, however." #06* Moriel shrugs. "We can wait for a little time. Finding another light source would likely take as long." #06* Eliana reaches into her bag and withdraws a large shard of glass, or maybe a mirror? It's certainly very reflective. She slashes her right finger and then draws a symbol on it, concentrating the entire time. That done, she flips it over and stares into her own reflection, and she... fades, becoming translucent, like a ghost. #06* Moriel watches this with a mixture of worry and fascination. #06* Eliana nods to the others, the flame on her shoulder still burning (if also translucent) and steps through the wall. #06* Rolf seems unsurprisingly bored, eyes glowing once she's not lighting up their world anymore. #06* Cosimo remains motionless and silent in the darkness. #06* Moriel waits quietly as well, and...well, Rolf can no doubt see his worried expression even in the dark, but hopefully no one else can. <@Dreol> [Eliana steps into the stone, you see her move in until her body has just barely disappeared and then suddenly she is flung backwards into the room and falls into the far wall, like... literally, since she is incorporeal.] #06* Cosimo looks up from his meditation. #06* Rolf starts and heads over towards the wall. "Hey, Eliana, you, uh, in there?" #06* Eliana pushes her way out of the wall and starts pulling off her cloak and rubbing at her arms, dropping her shard in her haste and becoming opaque again. She spots the fire on her shoulder and literally screams before she realizes - oh. #06* Eliana stares at the fire instead. #06* Rolf takes a few steps back as Eliana has a bad drug trip. #06* Moriel cuts himself off halfway through a shout and starts toward Eliana. He stops abruptly when she seems to be jumpy and just watches her worriedly. "Are you all right?" #06* Cosimo looks at the wall from whence she came, lest something followed Eliana out. #06* Eliana whips her attention around to look at Moriel - she's been crying, that much is obvious; red is welled around her eyes like tears. "" she says, in Italian. #06* Moriel takes a slow, careful step towards Eliana and offers her a plain black handkerchief. "" he asks quietly in Latin. #06* Eliana takes it. "" she replies in Latin, her statement becoming more of a yell as she clenches the handkerchief tightly in one hand. #06* Moriel blinks. "" #01 #06* Eliana lets out a growl that sounds like it really should be coming from Rolf or Victoria. She sets the handkerchief on fire and throws it to the ground, slamming her foot on it almost before anyone can realize it's burning. #06* Cosimo frowns. "it taunts us... even now. this is why it should not be honored with a name." #06* Moriel glances at Cosimo and then back to Eliana. He says softly, "That was not a taunt." #06* Eliana doesn't respond; she just wipes at her eyes with her sleeve. #06* Cosimo turns to Moriel. "it attacked one of ours. it sits and waits." He shakes his head. "it taunts us. call it what you wish." <@Dreol> [Pierre sighs and approaches the bowl. "I will spill some blood, if no one else will. We must enter the tomb."] #06* Eliana picks up and puts her cloak back on, flipping the hood over her head, and checking her wrists, her bag, and any other personal items. #06* Rolf nods at Pierre, looking around quickly with a growl in his tone. "Anyone got a problem with that?" #06* Moriel frowns at the bowl but doesn't otherwise respond to Pierre. He's keeping an eye on Eliana in his peripheral vision as he watches the historian. #06* Eliana also scoops up her mirror shard, shoving that back into her bag. "I've no doubt that circumventing this demand will only result in what happened to me," she says, her voice clipped. "Although I *would* like to simply break down the wall." #06* Cosimo clearly does not approve of shedding blood for this, but remains silent and does not interfere. #06* Moriel shakes his head wordlessly in response to Rolf's question. <@Dreol> [Pierre raises the dagger and slices it across his palm. He winces slightly and the blood pools in the wound for a moment before he wills it to fall into the bowl, filling it with a pint of his own blood. Scraping is heard as the door swings open revealing another dark room.] #06* Eliana glances at the blood in the bowl, but she doesn't touch it. Instead, she heads for the doorway - hesitantly for the first step, and then she steels herself, glares in the ex-wall's direction, and increases her pace. <@Dreol> [Pierre follows Eliana's lead. Victoria is looking around the room and then looks at the dark room and then at Rolf and widens her eyes.] #06* Moriel falls in a step behind Eliana, still giving her the occasional worried glance. #06* Eliana looks about ready to set anything and everything on fire. #06* Rolf catches Victoria's look and snarls as he barks, "Knights!" and strides forward, almost pushing people aside to advance to the front of the ranks, hands curled into claws as he does so. <@Dreol> [Victoria runs in after him.] #06* Cosimo watches as the last of the party enters and follows, taking one last glance back to make certain that there is nobody following. <@Dreol> [As soon as Eliana enters the room, everyone sees what is inside it. There is a large stone sarcophagus in the center, and the sides of the room are littered with piles of rubble. Behind the sarcophagus are two knights. There are dressed in antique gold armor and are both wielding swords, ready to attack.] #06* Moriel blinks at Rolf, too startled at first to step aside before he's pushed. After the Gangrel pass, though, he draws his sword, advancing warily. #06* Eliana focuses on the knights. Good. Something to kill. <@Dreol> [And as soon as Cosimo enters the room, he is tackled. A quick moving figure darts out of the shadows. (Oddly, no one even saw him before now) and pins Cosimo against one of the piles of rubble, while his fangs dig into Cosimo's shoulder. He quickly rips the fangs away letting a good amount of loose blood fall in the process and rushes forward into combat with the others.] #06* Cosimo hisses at the form, drawing his sword and slashing at the form as it darts away from its initial attack. #06* Cosimo frowns as the blade fails to connect. #06* Rolf swings his big hands around, hard, to smash into one of the golden- armored knights, tearing into the armor and managing to score a hit to the body. "Guarding. Pfeh." <@Dreol> [The knight winces at the attack and screams out, but continues moving towards Cosimo and swings his sword, missing completely due to reeling in pain. The second knight, on the other hand manages to connect, but the sword fails to penetrate Cosimo's skin.] <@Dreol> [Victoria leaps at the second knight and slashes him across his back cutting through the armor and leaving a large gash in his back.] #06* Eliana whirls to face the wampyr who attacked Cosimo and reaches one (ungloved, she never put those back on) hand out to it. The room suddenly brightens as the attacker's entire upper body bursts into flame. #06* Moriel moved automatically to defend Eliana before realizing that *all* of their opponents were attacking Cosimo. And then he has to control a flinch as one of them *bursts into flame* a few feet away from him. <@Dreol> [The vampire screams in terror. And as that happens, Pierre moves to the side of the room with the dagger drawn.] #06* Cosimo starts to slash at his initial attacker, but after it burst into flame, he spins attacking one of the knights instead. his first slash misses (likely because of the sudden change in targets and dodging the fireball-man), but his second connects. <@Dreol> [The knight stumbles back towards the pile of rubble that Cosimo was earlier tackled into. A moment later, the rubble seems to explode and from the cloud of dust and rock emerges a woman. She is a young-looking woman, about 5'1", has light brown hair which hangs in a loose braid down to the small of her back. She is dressed in an ancient spartan dress which is covered in old, dried, blood, and has a couple drops of fresh blood running down her lips, which still look mostly drained of color. Her eyes look filled with rage and fury. She leaps atop the knight that was unfortunate enough to just be knocked closer to her and sinks her teeth into his neck, and the color slowly begins to return to her skin.] <@Dreol> [The vampire, who is on fire dives into some rubble in an attempt to put out the fire in dirt.] #06* Cosimo thrusts his sword at the other knight, his sword sinking into the man's arm. #06* Rolf leans into the guy he was already engaged with, as he turns to face Anstace chomping on his friend, with a slight snarl and a, "Dumb of you," before he brings a massive claw down, denting the helmet and then rending the armor across the chest, striking the gold-clad knight down. <@Dreol> [Victoria is rushing towards the knight, and then Rolf kills him, so she lifts up the knight's sword and throws it across the room it flips a few times and then lands in the vampire's back, who then screams and promptly dusts in Eliana's fire.] <@Dreol> [And the new girl drains the rest of the knight's blood and drops him limp on the ground. People can kill him easily now. But she looks fine.] #06* Eliana focuses on the young woman. She flexes her fingers, another flame appearing in her palm, but she doesn't actually throw it at her. "Who are you?" It sounds more like a demand than a question. #06* Anstace looks a the group warily trying to judge what their intentions might be. finally she speaks in ancient Greek, #06* Eliana furrows her brow, briefly puzzled, before responding the same language (though a modernized version): "" <@Dreol> [Pierre walks over from his corner and lowers the dagger. He also speaks in Greek. ] #06* Anstace looks at Eliana emotionless. #06* Eliana just stares at Pierre for a moment before turning to Anstace. "" #06* Rolf flicks his hand downward, and then looks at the bodies of the guards. Who the hell was guarding here anyway... #06* Anstace glances at Pierre, considering his words until Eliana speaks again. #06* Cosimo spits in disgust. <@Dreol> [We will find out what Anstace is talking about next week. Same wamp time, same wamp channel.] <@Dreol> [Session end]