Sha'Mori: The City of the Dead

[Hysteria]

Closed

Talen Shadowalker was a shady figure before becoming a Capitan of the Ixian Knights and now in charge of securing information that others preferred hidden he had become even more so. The boy had learnt to kept his ear to the ground, his nose where it didn't belong and his fingers in many pies. The short and slightly unkempt boy was barely 13, but was a talented fighter and shadow practitioner and his unassuming figure only made him more dangerous.

Talen had heard whispers of an archaeological find of the century, a city that pre-dated most of the current human cities and was filled with wondrous treasures and terrible dangers. The youth had instantly put out feelers for the city, eager to find out more about the mystical city. Talen made his way through the night time streets to follow up on one lead for a slightly more reputable contact.

The boy pulled his cloak around him tighter against the night’s cold as he approached his destination. One of many of his informants, the man spent most of his time at a little Tavern where the beer was cheap and the company mild. This particular man was not the shady character that the youth normally dealt with; instead he was a retired archaeologist who worked with a number in his profession to organise trips and document their findings. The men and occasional women he worked with tended to spend weeks in the far off jungles searching for treasure and knowledge and often not finding either.

Talen had contacted the man a few weeks ago about the city, Sha'Mori as it was called in the nearly forgotten tongue, or The City of the Dead. Apparently the man had found what Talen was looking for. The youth turned the corner and reached the tavern. As he entered the smell of smoke and spilt beer stuck Talen and the boy paused for a second before pushing through. Talen made his way to one of the tables and an older man dressed in thick woollen cloths and smoking a pipe.

“Arthur, good to see you again.” Said Talen sitting down.

“Oh, Talen! Good to see you my boy!” Arthur paused, “Uh, bit parched you know.”

Talen smiled at the man, despite his hatred of being called ‘boy’, he knew Arthur was a good source of information. Talen singled one of the serving girls and was shortly brought two pints of beer. Arthur grinned took his eagerly.

“So what have you found out?” Asked Talen.

“Oh, I found out more about that City of the Dead. It seems that an Explorer by the name of…oh... that’s right; Sir Reginald found a city made from black stone deep in the heart of the jungle.” Arthur took another swig of his beer, “It seems the old chap went in with twenty men and came back with three and those died coming back through the jungle. He described the city as a treasure trove of… well treasure.”

“And the reason he lost so many men?” prompted Talen.

“Oh yes, he said the inhabitants were still there, twisted by some sort of magic and extremely hostile. They entered the city, but were soon attacked and had to fight their way out.”

“I see. Did he describe what they looked like? Or what exactly they were?”

“Well... no. It was probably just some bad fruit or something, made everyone go gaga. The thing about these types of expeditions is that you always lose someone. Its just the way it its.”

Talen paused to contemplate the idea and then moved on.

“Did you bring the maps?”

“Oh yes.” Arthur reached into his coat and pulled out a roll of parchment, “Do you have the agreed trade?”

Talen smiled at the old man's dislike of asking for the bribe and pulled a small bag of gold and placed it on the table as Arthur placed the maps down. The two then took the others and slid it back into their coats.

“What do you think is actually there Arthur?” Asked Talen.

“Well, its hard to say. Maybe some gold, some good relics or something. Could also be some magic things. I do know this, those maps have been copied before, I could see some newer ink stains on the originals. I would guess that there have been quite a few others seeking Sha'Mori, but the dang thing is that I haven't heard of a single one finding it again.”

A smile crept across Talen's face.

“That's because I've never looked for it.”


* * * *

The next few weeks had Talen planning the trip. The youth had already known that he had to travel to the island of Luthmor far to the east of Scara Brae and now with the map he would be able to navigate to the city. The task was simple in theory, but the need for the youth to put together an adventure party was the hard part. Sourcing adventurers in Scara Brae turned out to be surprisingly easy the youth managed to assemble a variety of people.

Added to this there were the costs of supplies, passage and wages. The youth dipped deep into the coffers of The Nine and his own personal funds to pay for the expedition, and he realised that the risk of failure was quickly becoming greater. Talen didn't let it faze him though, the idea of adventure was just too great. The day soon arrived for the group to depart the shores of Scara Brae and travel via ship to the small island.


* * * *

Talen had been on the deck of the ship for hours supervising the loading. People, supplies, donkeys and equipment were all loaded and looked after. The little warrior brushed a hand through his short black hair and walked to the edge of the ship and lent against the rail. The day had only just started and the morning sun pushed across the seaport gently. Talen's blue eyes stared east and were full of adventure.

The ship was a large Galleon, commissioned from a Captain who had earned a name seeking adventure and gold, the perfect person for the trip. His boat was fitted out with enough storage for the trip, and most importantly room for animals. Soon the others would arrive and the trip would begin.

[Melancor]

Sylvan held the small piece of paper before him, "It seems like this is it!" He said out-loud, though to no one in particular; the ports of Scara Brae where always bustling so much with activity at this time of morn one had to be yelling to carry on a conversation. Men of all shapes and sizes, loaded objects with cranes and other devices into ships equally diverse. Some steam ships here, small fish boats there, state frigates sharing the docks with with smaller, more modest and antiquated vessels, though few could compete with the imposing size of the Emerald Lady, a large galleon that by all accounts seemed to have had sailed through countless rough voyages.


"Dock 5.
Five before noon.
Don't be late!"

He sighed as he reconsidered what he was doing. The small note he had acquired from a stranger at a tavern a couple days ago. He hadn't a chance to catch his name, however he caught a very large glance of the man and his workings. He had signed up for an expedition of a life time; he himself, a very well seasoned sailor, could never have been more exited about the adventure. However, life had taken an even better turn for the best; a lovely lady, as he described her, who he'd been courting for a while was bearing his child. The news had made him ecstatic, though in order to secure a living place for his new family he couldn't afford to leave on an expedition for such an indefinite amount of time, specially one into such a mysteriously dangerous place.

Perhaps more from stupidity than from compassion Sylvan offered to take over his post on the crew. He would have been surprised if the man had ever thanked anyone more in his entire life. However, now, for some reason, all those 'thank you's seemed lacking.

He waddled over to the makeshift bridge connecting the dock to the deck of the Emerald Lady, taking a place among the enlisted men ready to sign in. Thinking was his enemy, he was convinced. Sylvan wasn't willing to doubt himself any longer, he would sail into island and come back a wiser person. Then perhaps, he could actually figure out how to even begin helping Melancor. And who knew? perhaps in that island he would fins something that could shed some light on his own personal mystery, after all, Melancor was quite old, maybe even older than this ancient city.

"For a second I though you wouldn't come!" tilting his head toward Silvan with a large smile on his face, a man looked at him. Long strands of red hair ran from his head down into his back, where a set of interestingly-shaped pole arms hanged, attached loosely by leather straps. Possibly his most amazing feature, though, was the pair of dark horns that he hefted, "I'd been looking at you for a while, for a second I though, 'We got another runner!'"

"I wouldn't say I didn't think it twice," responded Sylvan returning the smile, "To be honest It was sort of spur of the moment!"

"Heh! You either got some serious gut or your noodle doesn't turn up there! I've heard men have been finding ways to get off this assignment for weeks now, but those are the ones hired through those unions! You won't believe me if I told you I saw one a couple minutes ago come an stare at the ship for no more than a minute before turning the other way, running away like he shat his pants or something! I though you'd be the second!"

"I almost was!" Sylvan let out a sincere laugh, picturing the scene. No he wasn't the one to run away from compromises, even if now it seemed he'd possibly been deceived into it; the thought that all people on that ship could be just as interesting as this man made the risk worth while.

Transferring the weight of the large bag he carried onto one of his hands the man stretched a friendly hand to Sylvan, "Tulma Grey, it seems we'll be mates from now on!"

Sylvan took his palm, "Just Sylvan, I'm afraid, pleased to make your acquaintance!"

"You know when we're scheduled to leave port?" quickly returning his arm to the bottom of the bag he struggled to re-balance the weight of the large bag on his bare chest.

"No idea, to be honest I don't know much of the specifcs, just where to come , when and at what hour!"

"Well, whenever that is," Tulma continued, "I hope it's on schedule, I hate delays, and with this head of expedition... I heard he was only a kid!-" Both men's focus shifted again into the line as it began moving once more. As the line traveled ever so slowly up the tram, the side of a small black-haired head, peaked through the edge of the deck.

[Sybilla]

'One last look at the market was a mistake,' Sybilla thought. Not only was there nothing notable, enchanted or otherwise, in this small port's market but eh crowd had set in. Everyone, it seemed, had deemed it a good day for an early lunch. Sybilla sighed, 'Always turns out this way.'

Sybilla had opted to spend the few morning hours she had before reporting to vessel combing the market, but nothing exciting was to be found the fourth hour in. Simple glamour enchantments on cheap jewelry, rushed armor "reinforcements" to exploit the amateur adventurer market, or dubious items in general. One such item, a ever burning baking oven, had spouted flames when she had asked to examine it. Not the best thing if one liked what they were wearing.

The market's now crowded condition made it one of the few times that being technically blind was a benefit, that is if your guide happened to be a several hundred pound elemental guiding you around. People wither moved to the side as the coming or moved out of instinct as they heard something that heavy heading toward them.

Free of the market crowd, Sybilla pulled a note from the inside pocket of her traveling cloak and handed it to the elemental. While technically blind, Sybilla has no vision from her own eyes, a attempt to duplicate the elemental's vision had achieved partial success. It hadn't restored her vision but let her share its sight. A third person perspective was better than none she thought at after the attempt.

"The Emerald Lady, sitting in Dock Five, between sunrise and noon."

Shaking her head, Sybilla motioned for the elemental to hand the note back, "Why I've agreed to sail to a deathtrap of an isle I'll never know, " she asked but it refused to answer. The market they'd just left did not. Some adventurers had decided to test the "reinforcements" on the armor she had thought was shoddy and had found verification in the form of their uproar. That was the reason she had to the adventure, searching small port markets for unique or extraordinary items was a best a fool's errand. She'd either have to pay a better enchanter to learn from them or "salvage" the knowledge and materials from items she would find. A mythical abandoned city full of treasure would be the perfect place for some "salvage" work.

Her elemental's sudden stop brought her focus back to where they were. Etotia was its name and in the five years since her attempt at duplicating its vision it refused to communicate, either verbally or in writing. The young enchantress had thought she'd severed its bondage, but in continued service in the store she worked and then the thankfully ease of getting to come with her on this journey had proved that fear unfounded.

They arrived at the Emerald Lady, a tired looking but well maintained and stocked galleon if the crates waiting to be loaded were any indication. They got in line behind Tumla and Sylan, with Tumla's unusual pole arms being the most interesting thing in view.

"Good to know someone on this trip knows how to swing a weapon, because void knows I don't, " Sybilla joked. Tumla's guffawing at the joke proved his good humor, but he was still fighting to not tip over the pier into the drink. She softly patted Etotia, it was mad of iron, and offered, "Let Etotia carry that to the ship before you decide to swim the isle."

[Hysteria]

Gently flying,
The wind blows.
I fall from the sky.
~ * * ~

The last of the provisions had been stored and Talen was looking out to the sea as the call to cast off rang through the ship. The youth had already stowed his gear under the deck when he boarded the boat hours ago and carried with him only one of his sword strapped securely to his back. A dark hand reached around Talen's head and touched his chest softly. The youth just managed to resist jumping into the air in fright.

“Boy...” whispered Midnight into Talen's ear, “This should be an interesting voyage.”

Talen swallowed as his skin gained a sheen of sweat. Sensing his nervousness the woman laughed and ruffled the boy's hair. Talen partly regretted and partly loved that he had signed up the dark elf. She was the most beautiful thing Talen had ever seen, if anything was going to make him hit puberty, it was her.

“HAUL ANCHOR!” screamed the Capitan.

Crewmen rushed all over the ship like ants. Tightening, loosening, lifting and pulling, they were doing everything imaginable under the shouts of the captain and first mate. Slowly the ship started to move away from the dock and drifting out to open sea. The tall sails were unfurled and ship lurched forwards under the westerly wind.

Talen managed an awkward grin to Midnight and partly stumbled across the deck to Tulma and the two other members which he had not yet greeted.

“Yo.” Said Talen with a mini wave of his hand, “Welcome to the Emerald Lady. I am Talen, the leader of the trip.”

Talen's eyes shifted to the golem and back to the other two before continuing.

“We are going to have a meeting in the captains room in about an hour. Make sure your stuff is stowed securely under the deck before then. Otherwise, enjoy the view and try and stay out of the crews way.” Talen smiled at the last comment.

[Duffy]

Below deck, Duffy nursed a sturdy hangover that rigidly kept him firmly planted on the edge of his bed, bent forwards, hands propping up his head. This trip had at the time been the exact sort of thing he had needed to distract himself from the assault on the Catacombs of Scara Brae, the last fandango with an ancient enemy - as it turned out, it was nothing but trouble and already he hated himself for volunteering.

The boat rumbled, the steady motion of barrels and crates rolling and tumbling to and fro on tenterhooks above. It felt exciting, the air tingled, Duffy knew this feeling all too well - it was the patient crest of a wave before a ship's departure, one he enjoyed himself aboard the Prima Vista. He burped, pushed himself upright and wobbled over to the door, a bundle of black cloth, emotional disturbance and far too many blades. If one were to find himself consoled by clichéd, he was every bit the looker for a mission to a 'city of the dead.' If only he did not feel dead himself.

He stumbled out into the corridor and looked to his left, then his right. Sailors and passengers alike streamed past in a criss-cross weave, and without thinking, he strode out into the river of productivity and allowed himself to be carried, head throbbing, towards the meeting room that Talen had outlined for the captains to convene their council of war. He whistled a merry little tune that was slightly, as ever, out of tune as he went, arms dangling by his sides and knees demi-buckling in his usual enthusiastic style for life.

"Yo ho ho, and a bottle of..." Wherever he had left it.

[Melancor]

OCC: I'm assuming since no one else has posted, that it's been my turn

As soon as he'd boarded the ship, almost immediately after meeting Talen, the head of the expedition, it didn't take long for him to loose sight of Tulma and the female who had offered her unusual assistant to help Tulma with his provisions. It almost seen as if the rest of the men on the bridge hadn't been properly examined in an attempt to make up for lost time. But all in all, Sylvan was glad if not a little anxious the ship had finally set sail. He found himself alone again, although an innumerable amount of heads ran to and fro the deck securing and safeguarding what ropes be needed to operate the ship properly. For a second he though it too silly to actually see one of those men drop from one mast and swing to the other via one of the thick ropes, almost like an acrobat or a monkey; he figured he'd probably see creatures with a lot more agility than this man in the new island.

Sylvan braced himself as the ship was impacted by surging waves that attacked all vessels leaving harbor. Taking a along glance into the waters Sylvan reckoned that at some point he'd sunk many vessels just like these, with either crashing waves or snapping them in half with powerful tentacles, Melancor had been a cruel overseer of his waters. Although in the face of this constant uncertainty of what he was doing, all heroic or notorious tales of Melancor's seemed all the more insignificant. There was danger looming in the horizon where at the time all he could see was water; he knew that in the distant seemingly from below those perilous waters the dreaded land, home of Sha'Mori, would appear. Until then, however, he would try to hone his thoughts, sharpen them as a blade he didn't seem to use very often.

I shouldn't spend more time sea gazing, he though, his body not responding; his eyes were dead set on the dark waves, The meeting should be any time soon.

"You seem lost in thought, too lost if I had to say." An arrogant voice emerged from the multitude of rushing voices, a chill ran down his spine almost automatically, something that, in the few months he'd been walking around in that body, he'd just felt then for the first time.

Sylvan turned his head ever slightly, attempting to cautiously regard the voice, unsure if it had been speaking to him or not. A human was standing mid-deck looking directly at melancor with a pair of deep silver eyes that felt like cold arrows on his back. Sylvan was unsure if he had ever seen a human more haggard-looking than this one. His features were sharp, with a pair of thin silver eyebrows that came together at a heavy wrinkle, an effect, it seemed, from too much frowning. Still the male did not look awfully old, perhaps not old at all. if any indication of his youth was the fairness of his skin, had it not been for the sickly unusual pale color,Sylvan would have judged him at around mid twenties.

He didn't bother responding. In reality he was still unsure what to make out of the comment; indeed Sylvan had been known to think unnecessarily, but the worth and the content of his though was something solely he would have a right to deem clear or not. Looking away from the figure Sylvan fastened his cloak, apparently to cover from the wind, truly, to scare that persistent chill away. What other would have regarded as a dismissal seemed to only have encouraged the human, Sylvan rushed for retorts as the sound of heavy boots against the deck approached him. It took but a few seconds for the male to reach Sylvan, and in a show of confidence, or one of undeserved superiority, he took a hold of Sylvan's shoulder and tugged it in a violent manner.

"Nice to meet you too." Sylvan asked indifferently, though obviously annoyed, " Did you loose something?"

"No. But you on the other hand, better not intend on loosing it." Sylvan's mouth relaxed though his eyes grew only more tense, was this guy for serious? "How old can you be kid? You are obviously not one of the crew people. So I take it, you are part of the land team."

"What's it to you if I am?" Sylvan had to pause his thoughts this time to shed that cold feeling which had only grown increasingly annoying, from his back. it only took a couple moment to realize the feeling was not natural. This man seemed to radiate it, forcefully imposing it on him to pass as some kind of instinctual fright.

"I am part of the land team. It is bad enough there is some feeble-looking elves on the group, and no you, some adventurous kid. I've been on enough errands to be a good judge of character, and it is always those pensive ones, lost in their own selves that break first. I am not going on the land with someone like you in my team ."

Sylvan snorted. It was unbelievable to him that he'd seen such a contrast in people so rapidly; just a couple minutes ago he'd been having a pleasant chat with a few folks, and out of nowhere some freak started man-handling him. At the corner of his eye he caught Tulma's silhouette disappearing into a doorway. The meeting. With a careful, though steadfast arm, he chopped the man's hand off his arm, "Whatever you think of the enlisted people is not of my concern, and to be honest I couldn't give a rats ass of what you think of me. Judge of character my ass. First make sure people don't see through your auric spells before you come lecture me about being any decent." The man seemed bewildered at Sylvan's steady response, though Silvan was equally surprised, "Now if you don't mind. The meeting will be starting any time soon, and I would like to be there on time."

Without saying more, and disregarding the human's attempt to chill his bones Sylvan disappeared into the doorway.

[Hysteria]

Talen entered the room late, with nearly all of the island team and the Captain already there. The youth managed a sheepish grin and walked in front of the group sitting around the cabin.

“Well boys and girls, you know me. I’m Talen and I am the organiser of this little shindig. Behind me you have Captain Buckley.”

The Captain was a sharp faced man with eyes that seemed keen for adventure. He wore his brown hair short and simple but he was dressed in a crimson doublet and pants both immaculate. His eyes glinted as he nodded his head a little in acknowledgement.

“Then we have Mathews, Rebecca Red…”

“Bec.” Corrected the girl.

“Right, Bec. Then Drake, Tulma Grey and… we seem to be missing our Dark Elf.”

“Probably with one of the crew.” Uttered Drake.

The serious man didn’t crack a smile as a few of the others chuckled. Drake was far from a normal human. His disposition and humourless disposition set Talen’s nerves on edge, but the man was certainly talented.

“Lucky fellow he’d be then!” Tulma broke into a laugh at his own joke. The tiefling looked around with a big grin on his face.

“Well…” Talen did his best to regain control of the conversation, “we also have with us Duffy, Sybilla and Sylvan… No relation to each other.”

“What we have everyone is your standard trip into the unknown. We head to the shores of Luthmor. For those of you who don’t know, it’s a island far to the east populated mostly by Faye. We land, pick up any additional supplied in the city and then head through the jungle to the city of the dead. Should be nice and easy; with plenty of danger. Captain, did you want to say a few words?”

Buckley stood up and cross his arms behind his back.

“Welcome officially aboard the Emerald Lady. This is the fastest ship on the sea filled with the latest magical enchantments to help us on our way. I have one simple rule on this ship; don’t get in the way of the crew. They are well trained sailors, so either find somewhere on the deck quiet or stay below deck. We should reach the island in two days. The boat will stay off shore whi…”

The captain’s voice trailed off as a bell rang from outside. Everyone in the room looked at the captain as he rushed to the door and burst onto the deck. As if on a second thought he turned around and yelled back.

“We’re under attack!”

The room erupted and the team spewed out of the door and onto the deck after the captain. Sailors were running across the deck with all manner of weapons, but the seas around the boat seemed empty.

“What’s going on?” The Captain bellowed but no one seemed to know.

There was a flash of green to the side of boat and a sailor fell to ground impaled with an arrow. Another flash on the other side ended with a strange feminine scream as a mermaid fell dead on the deck of the ship. Midnight, the absent dark elf lowered her bow with a smile and nocked another arrow.

Talen moved forwards calmly and drew his sword. The Snake blade gleamed in the sunlight as the youth levelled it towards the ocean. Seconds later the air was filled with Merfolk armed with a variety of weapons. Some fired from a distance others landed with thuds on the deck and engaged with swords and spears.