Relics of Death (Invite Only)

[mugenginga]

(OOC: Me, FF, and Ani. Also the potential of growing into a plot, so it may become a very exclusive kind of Invite Only. Order is me, FF, Ani)

The group had been pretty silent on the trek from Void City. There had been complaints about the walk, it had taken a solid few hours to get to the castle. Magus was always ready, like a spring. It was just as clear as it had been before the man could turn deadly in the time it took to blink. There was a distinct lack of wild animals and "monsters" in this world from what he could tell. He wasn't used to that.

The draw bridge was, as likely expected, up. Magus narrowed his eyes at it. From what he could make of it, it wasn't up because of any system. There were the remnants of a chain system, but they weren't connected. The moat surrounding the fortress-like building was almost dried up. What little moisture there seemed to have collected from rainfall. The castle itself was fairly decrepit. The drawbridge was somewhat rotted, and quite soaked. Fire wouldn't be effective for how thick it seemed to be. He could handle it, he supposed.

The issue was the presences. Not as much a magical ability as a sense due to who he'd spent most of his life with, he could sense the presence of undead. He'd been known to animate a few corpses himself, although he'd always tended to leave actions such as that to the Mystics below him. They seemed to be concentrated below the main area. He knew castle layouts well enough, at least from the era this seemed to be a relic of. Likely the dungeons.

He turned to Ion again. It was blatently clear who he regarded the highest in the group. And when you considered he didn't seem to regard any of them that well? Ion was recognized as more than a dog or a flea, but that didn't mean there was much in the way of respect for the child. He'd been weakened by a simple barrier spell. Despite being more than most could cast, he was obviously stunted somehow in magic. Magus found himself wondering if it was a self block.

"I assume I'm going to have to handle the drawbridge?"

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Ion had lead the way to the castle. It had been a long walk, and not just because of the distance. He'd been going slowly, not daring to stop because of Magus. He wasn't regretting deciding to go along with this man, but Magus still scared him a bit.

Ellie had been hanging back behind Magus. Okay, she had to wonder why Ion had suggested they go to the creepy haunted castle in the middle of nowhere. That definitely seemed more like something that was Magus' style, sure, but again, creepy haunted castle in the middle of nowhere.

Ion stopped as he saw the drawbridge. It was up. Looked like they weren't getting in anytime soon, then.

He jumped as Magus addressed him. Magus seemed to be particularly good at getting that reaction out of him. Oh, right, getting the drawbridge down.

"If it's not too much trouble," Ion said.

[Sweet_Chef (Ani)]

Tara had hung back a few feet from Ellie, making up the rear of their strange group; it was a position she was used to. Back home, Danny, Willow, and Mary would all run ahead, excited to get to their destination, and Malcom would be close behind to keep an eye on them. She was always in the back, the last one, the person who actually took her time in life. This time it wasn't a case of speed, seeing as they were all going at the same rather slow pace. However, Tara did it simply out of habit; that and the fact it kept her a nice distance away from all of them.

Just because she was traveling with them, that didn't mean she was close to them; it was purely out of survival reasons. Even with the slow pace, the walk was long, and getting through a forest wasn't an easy task. Tara cursed the fact that she was out of shape, and by the time they reached the castle, she leaned against a tree to try and catch her breath. As she did so, she took one look at the fiendish-looking monstrosity and blanched, eyes going wide. "We're going in there?! What are you people, nuts?!" she breathed incredulously.

Hearing Magus and Ion's exchange of words, Tara's question was answered and she audibly groaned. "Great... a haunted castle in the middle of the woods. This just spells House of the Dead..." she muttered, shaking her head. She walked over to stand with them, wondering what Magus would do to get the drawbridge down. Hmm... maybe she should duck and cover.

[mugenginga]

Magus nodded. He took a few more steps forward until he was about two feet from the edge of the moat. The spell he intended on casting reached far enough, but he wanted to be sure he wasn't too close to the edge. In case it damaged the bank, which seemed a bit water damaged. He turned around and drove his scythe into the ground. The pointed end meant the ground gave way well. He addressed the group after placing the scythe there.

"Those of you with weak minds might want to take more steps back. This spell isn't known for giving what some would call 'warm fuzzies'," he grimaced a bit at that term. It was something Leene's descendant would have probably used. He turned back towards the castle.

Even before the chant began, Ion would be on edge. Canary probably wouldn't be in the greatest place either, although his "power" was of a different sort than Ion's. For the latter, the fons would be hard to nail down. It was entirely possible the spell he was casing drew on the seventh fon, only someone from a world where fons controlled magic like they did in Auldrant could know for sure. While the most powerful and destructive spell the mage possessed, it also worked around a more cosmic power. Destruction... and creation, not that Magus could use it as such. At the very least it was too strong for its own good, and the main reason Crono and his two friends had almost lost to him. The Masamune had been the reason they had barely won, at least in Magus' mind.

He wasn't whispering the chant, though. He wasn't in a fight, there was no need to conceal the language of magic Zeal had constructed its own conversational speech around. The truly interesting part, one Magus couldn't be aware of because the Island only translated as necessary, was that the group would understand the words. Magus had muttered them earlier, so they hadn't been. The Island could only translate if the langauge was heard.

The words would be understandable, but the nature of the energy Magus was using would allow them to be heard in their original context as well. They'd hear the words, the'd understand the meaning. None of the group could possibly know the language, none were from Zeal. The language was that of magic in Magus' homeworld, an intuitive thing those who could cast spells knew. The language of Zeal had been built around it. In an ironic twist in regards to the seventh, the original form was strangely melodic, almost like a song from an enchanting dream.

"Anumo miran reo zalz woru-pito yaza en juru aka-ze quoro..."
"From the edges of space I call thee! Thine cosmic destruction in a perfect triumvirate! Shadows of the void, at my command!! Disperse...

The magical energy he was putting off had reached a rather high point. His aura was also rather dark. Not evil, for those who considered the terms one and the same. Not even black. Canary would be seeing an almost void like miasma of dark colors making up Magus' aura by this point. As he trailed off with the last words, he shot his right hand towards the gate.

"DARK MATTER!!"

The energy that shot out over the gate was pretty massive. It was a black pinpoint spot, although those with very sharp eyes would realize it was a triangle. Fangirls were probably having trouble not squealing by now with what it was clear to them Magus had just done. The triangle grew out to an even larger triangle the size of a small crowd of people. It was pitch black, and what seemed to be distant stars of all things could be seen moving within.

The triangle seemed to occupy its own dimension. A fourth dimension, somehow, as it didn't seem to belong in the one they all stood in. It moved in a way that would have been impossible to pin down to those who had not seen it before. This seemingly two dimensional triangle moved and twisted in a somehow four dimensional manner. A white triangle with the same properties as the black one, yet somehow more a part of the current dimension while still remaining seperate from it, appeared in the center of the "star field".

The white triangle moved in the same fashion as the black one, just in some kind of ingraspable reverse. The energy it was putting off was enough that even those without magic would feel something in the way of slight oppression. The most magically dense of the group would still feel their hairs raise from the energy. The two triangles continued their odd dimensional dance for about three seconds before they disappeared in a flash of dark light. It had been more impressive than any "sprite" could pull off in any case, and it wasn't done.

Because the next thing to happen consisted of an explosion. As the triangles flashed away, the draw bridge pretty much shattered. None of the shrapnel was all that small, and somehow it didn't explode outside the ill defined area the triangles had resided in. It hit the edges of that space like there was a wall there before the rain of thick wood pieces fell into the moat below or gathered at the base of where the drawbridge had once been. Magus lowered his arms. At least this time it looked like he had expended energy, but it still didn't seem enough for what he'd just done.

He'd misjudged the strength of the door. Fire2 would have likely sufficed, and he found himself glad he hadn't used the full energy of the spell. That took ten seconds of concentration to maintain, and there was a chance he'd have blown part of the castle up too. A fairly good one. He turned a bit and with a quick heave pulled his scythe out of the ground. He noticed at least some of the group was staring at him and narrowed his eyes. He straightened up and waited for the inevitable reactions. Whether they'd be fear or excitement, he really wasn't sure with this group.

(OOC: The spell = present of sorts for FF. Yes, FF, I was inspired by Indignation. Ani, you're not supposed to understand, so just call it cool and leave it at that. XD)

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Ion felt a chill move up his back as he felt the energy in the air rise. Canary was freaking out completely, and Ellie had pulled him off of her head to comfort him, but the bird was still absolutely freaking out, possibly more than he did with doppelgangers. Well, Magus had been right about the spell not giving people the "warm fuzzies."

In a way, the spell reminded Ion of one of Jade's. However, Ion didn't have time to finish that thought before the drawbridge exploded. At least none of the shrapnel had flown their way, which had been intentional, Ion knew. And at least it finally showed some drain on Magus.

"Jesus, Magus, was that... Dark Matter?" Ellie finally asked. She placed Canary back on her head. "It felt like... ow. I am suddenly reminded of why I had so much trouble with that boss fight."

She hadn't missed Tara's House of the Dead reference before, and had been about to ask her about that when Magus had started casting Dark Matter. But she had totally been about to start fangirling about that one too. House of the Dead had been one of her first experiences with zombies in video games. Her parents had never let her play Resident Evil. Never had any problems with House of the Dead, though.

[Sweet_Chef (Ani)]

Tara involuntarily flinched when Magus shoved his scythe into the ground, but gladly did as he advised. She returned to her previous position by the tree, not wanting to be on the receiving end of another lightning attack. When he spoke in some weird language, she was startled to find that she could understand it, even though she'd never heard it before. However, Tara had played quite a few video games in her life, and she could tell by words alone that this one would be a doozy. Ducking behind the tree, she watched the spell unfold, feeling the tiny hairs on her body stand on end from the sheer power of it.

It was so strong that she instinctively gripped the tree, fighting against a force that wanted to shove her down and throw her back at the same time. And then, just like that, it was over; Tara watched with wide eyes as the drawbridge exploded and collapsed upon itself. When the dust had settled and Magus turned back to them, she walked out from her cover and back over to the small group. She was a little pale, and her eyes were as wide as humanly possible, but her expression was a mixed one. "That... was awesome. And I've seen some pretty cool spells before," Tara stated at last, grinning a bit shakily.

She was indeed awed and impressed, but at the same time she was extremely intimidated and just a little frightened. She glanced over at Ellie when the fellow gamer spoke, nodding slightly. "Hmm... I think you're right. It looked and acted like dark matter, and from the sound of those words, that's what he was summoning..." Tara sweatdropped, grin turning sheepish. "But, uh... that's just my guess. Heh..."

[mugenginga]

Magus looked a bit miffed at Ellie. Yes, it had been Dark Matter. He had said that as the final part of the incantation. While the spell itself was of words only the people of Zeal could have known, the final part used the same language the group had been understanding up until now. Likely a result of this dimension. It was possible the words of the spell had been "translated', but it didn't change the fact he'd said Dark Matter as plain as day. He heard what Ellie whispered, but chose to chalk it up to Ellie and focused on Tara as she said her bit.

He didn't understand that much, either. Dark Matter was merely the name of a spell. Apparently in her world it had a different meaning. He'd noted Tara had been more interested in the spell than not. Well, it was his most powerful, even if he had used a weaker version of it.

"I would think that would have been obvious," Magus stated to Ellie in regards to her question, "Since I'm the only one in the group that seems able to fight without panicking or passing out, I suppose I should go first."

He really wasn't a nice guy. He walked towards the group with swift steps. Some of them may have thought he was moving to attack. He turned towards the castle again and ran forward a bit, suddenly leaping into the air and landing just in front of where the shrapnel that hadn't fallen into the moat had rested. He took a moment to stabalize and turned back towards the group. That had been right out of an anime, and was rather impressive, especially with his cloak. He rested the spike of his scythe on the ground.

"Are you coming?"

Probably not, Magus realized. The group probably weren't capable of that. Wonderful, he didn't exactly have spells good for transport. He took a step forward and glanced down a the thin layer of water in the moat. It wouldn't be enough to freeze for a makeshift bridge. Well, the moat wasn't too high. If they had to they could climb down and then back out. He'd probably have to help the shorter members of the group, like Ion, unless the young magic user had a spell that could help.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Ion blinked as Magus lept into the moat. Woah. He managed to scramble over to the edge just as Magus landed squarely on the ground and asked his question. Ion looked over the edge. It was a bit of a drop, but not too far of one. Still, with this robe and his physique, he was going to need some help down.

Ellie looked down at Magus, then backed up enough that she'd have a good running start before running toward the edge of the moat.

"Meaaaaaaat buuuuuuuuuuuuns!"

Ellie made a rather impressive leap for a girl of her profession (video game fanatic/member of the resistance against the doppelgangers) and landed next to Magus...

On her face.

Ion blinked at Ellie's rather impressive face fault. "Ellie, are you okay?" She gave a thumbs up. "I guess she's okay."

[Sweet_Chef (Ani)]

Tara held her sheepish grin at Magus' comment, then blinked at what he said next. "...hey! Excuse me if I panic! Where I come from, people can't shoot lightning and don't look like a cross between a troll and a vampire!! Sheesh..." she scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. However, when Magus leapt the moat with ease, her jaw appropropriately dropped. "Woah... okay, now I know I can't do that. Not even going to try. Nope," Tara stated with a shake of her head, eyes wide from what she'd just witnessed. Of course, she did indeed need to get over there somehow, and she let out a deflated sigh.

"So, who's gonna go... first." She stopped mid-sentence, watching her fellow fangirl soar across the moat. Tara was about to compliment her, but then she faceplanted, making the brunette let out a snort and a giggle. "NICE!! Impressive faceplant, Ellie! Excellent form! I give you an eight for the flight, a nine for the cheer, and a TEN for sticking the landing!!" she called, grinning. Until, of course, she realized that now it was just her and the short, thin, swamped-by-robes girl.

Tara glanced from Ion, to the moat, to Ion, to Magus and Ellie, and finally back to Ion before rolling her eyes. "Okay, fine, I get it. Geez..." she muttered, kneeling down. "Climb on, Miss Mage. I hope you're as light as you look." Tara, obviously, was telling Ion to climb onto her back for a piggyback ride across the moat.

[mugenginga]

(OOC: If you have a weak stomach and can't deal with it in writing, at least make sure you haven't eaten before you read this. )

Magus had an expression best described as a sweatdrop as Ellie leapt into the air. He noticed her "flight" path and took a few steps backwards. It was impressive in its own right, as he walked over what remained of the drawbridge not in the moat without looking. His nose wrinkled a bit and he turned his head. The grip around his scythe tightened a bit as he made a full turn away from the group.

He didn't hear Tara's "compliment" of Ellie's achievement. His stance tightened a bit. Even for how ready he seemed to fight before, anyone watching him would realize he was even more ready for a fight. He didn't seem frightened, but he seemed serious. Serious and very ready.

His head wasn't moving, but his eyes flicked around the courtyard area of the castle. There didn't appear to be anything here aside from the presence beneath the castle and the display dead ahead from the drawbridge opening. No, that wasn't true. There were traces of things, most definently. But they were at best a week old, perhaps a little older. There had been a major fight here, Magus was sure of that.

Ellie would probably be the first one to see what Magus had reacted to. Canary would be aware of the week and then some traces. Probably aware of the presences below the castle by now as well. If the yellow bird knew what ghosts, especially violent ones, felt like, he would know what was flooding the area beneath the castle. If he knew what demons felt like, he'd have a slight chance of knowing what the traces of energy here were. Many had been there, but only two had been strong enough to keep a presence after the time that had passed.

Aside from the auras and feelings, there was something very physical that Magus was reacting to. Straight back from the large opening that had once contained a drawbridge was the remains of a wooden structure. Rising up to what would be parallel to Magus' lower chest was a large square-cut piece of wood. Scattered around it were smaller pieces. They seemed to have been cut to those that could notice that, but at angles. It was consistent with a bladed weapon, but whatever it had been must have been very sharp for how clean the cuts were.

For those that could infer exactly what had been there and also had good spacial sense, it would be clear that there wasn't enough wood. The rest of the wood was in the area, but the back right tower was too high for the iron spikes and the smaller pieces of wood they had been in to be visible.

Running down the front of the one standing piece of wood was a combination of blood and excrement. Both had soaked into the once clean wood as much as was possible. It ran right down the front and gathered in a pool at the ground. Most of it was there, and it was a tossup if there had been more blood or urine. While it was centered around the base of the standing piece of wood, there were spots of blood soaked ground to the sides as well.

Magus could not have told the group the exacts of what had happened. He could get close. Someone had been executed here, or had gotten damn close. Done in a way that was meant to make a point. Magus knew enough things that he was pretty sure whatever had occurred had ended with the victim not dying here, if he or she had died at all. Judging by the energy, a rescue attempt had likely been made. If the person had died, Magus was confident it hadn't been here. If it had, the body would likely still be hanging.

The place smelled to high heaven, as well. The sweat of the victim had soaked into the wood. The blood was clear on the ground, showing a decent amount had been shed. Beyond that, there was the excrement. Whoever had been executed had likely spent days attached to what had once been there, and been forced to empty their bladder and bowels while there. Magus didn't even think of mentioning to Tara the issue. Once again, he wasn't a team player. Once Ellie got her face off the ground, the smell would hit her, though. Magus' lip was spread thin and he was staring at the remains of what had been a literal crucifixion with a cold and emotionless gaze.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

The hand that Ellie had held up changed from a thumbs-up to a raised middle finger at Tara's "compliment." She groaned and climbed to her feet just as Magus reentered fight mode. The smell hit her in an instant, and Ellie covered her nose with a sleeve. Canary had poofed his feathers all out. He could sense things, but he couldn't pinpoint it exactly. But Ellie could tell he was sensing something.

"What is that...?" Ellie asked, as she stepped closer to Magus so she could see exactly what he was in the courtyard. And then she took a step back.

"...Oh god. Oh Jesus. Holy crap. I think I'm going to be sick," Ellie said as she realized what she was looking at. That was quite plainly a cross, even if someone had cut part of the arms off. Someone had been crucified here. Her face paled, and then went green. She was covering her mouth and nose with both hands now. Oh God. Maybe this hadn't been a good idea after all.

---------------

Ion blinked as Tara addressed him as "Miss Mage." Oh. They'd thought he was a girl? Well, it wasn't like he hadn't been mistaken as one several times since he got here. Maybe he needed to stop wearing long loose robes.

"Oh. Actually, I'm a boy," Ion said. He looked up as he suddenly started hearing several expletives from Ellie from the other side of the moat. "Ellie? Is something wrong?"

"Um, you guys might not want to come over here," Ellie called back. She looked over at Magus, and then back at the crucifix. Jesus christ. What a way to go... What a nasty way to go. She could smell the human excrements from here, and it was nasty.

[Sweet_Chef (Ani)]

Tara blinked in surprise at Ion's statement, looking at him incredulously. "...seriously? Daaaaaaaaamn, boy! I've seen girls more manly than you!" she exclaimed, jaw dropping. Hearing the cursing as well, she looked back across the moat, but could only just make out Ellie and Magus staring at something. Standing up, Tara glanced from the two across the moat to Ion and back again. "Huh. Wonder what's freaking them out so bad. I'd guess my theory about the undead was right, but I don't think they'd be staring if that was the case..."

She paused for a few moments, then looked back at Ion and slid her hands into the pouch of her hoodie. "So. What do we do? Stay here, or head on over and join'em?"

[mugenginga]

Magus had begun to relax as Ellie turned new colors. He frowned, but his general expression made it hard to tell. Of course the group would be like this. It was clear to Magus that the group weren't used to things like battles and such. Magus glanced back towards Ion. It was possible the young magic user was, he was reacting less poorly to things than Ellie and Tara were, but Magus had no doubt about Tara. He took a few steps forward and glanced around.

There didn't seem to be much in the way of activity up here. He still felt the familiar presence of spirits below, but up here all that seemed to be left were traces. He turned towards Ellie, who still seemed to be trying to convince her body to not throw up. Even for those that knew battles, this probably wouldn't be comforting. Magus was used to this kind of thing for what he had once been. The "lord" of the Mystics. He'd simply been amusing them and the easily stroked ego of Ozzie. He glanced up at the dimming sky.

"If we don't stay here, we will have to stay outside," Magus turned towards Ellie, "It is unlikely we'll be attacked here due to this display, there is no good reason to not remain here."

Then again, he could just stay here himself. The group was annoying. He was even willing to call them more annoying than Crono's group had been. Tara was a big part of that, at least Crono and his friends were used to fights...

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Ellie finally forced herself to look away from the gruesome scene. People often talked about the "trainwreck" effect. She finally got what they meant.

"I-If we're st-staying here, then can we please, please, please, please stay somewhere in here where we don't have to look at that?!" Ellie asked, pointing at the crucifixion scene as she said that. "I don't wanna sleep next to that thing!"

She fidgeted a bit, and hopped from one foot to another. This place unnerved her as much as it did Canary, who still looked like a glorified baby chicken with how much he'd poofed himself out.

-----------------

"I don't think we have much of another choice," Ion said. He crouched down next to the moat, and started carefully climbing down the moat. Something gave out under him, and fell to the bottom. "I'm okay!" he hastily added once at the bottom. He stood up and brushed himself off. At least the moat wasn't too muddy.

He made it up to where Ellie and Magus were, and stopped right behind Ellie. His eyes were fixated on the scene before them. "Oh my."

He wasn't having to keep his lunch down, but he did look disgusted.

[Sweet_Chef (Ani)]

Tara could tell Magus was saying something to Ellie, but she couldn't hear what. 'They better not be talking about me...' she thought, frowning. Returning her attention back to Ion, she nodded and waited for him to go down first. Tara gasped when the ground collapsed beneath him, jumping back so that she wouldn't be taken with it. "Are you okay?!"

She smiled in slight relief at his answer, then followed him down into the moat. Trying to stay on the dryest patches, it took her a bit longer to get over than the rest. "So. What's making you guys freak out... so.. much..." Tara's voice died as she took in sight- and smell- of the scene before her. At first, shock overcame nausea, and she could only stare with wide eyes and gaping mouth.

"Sweet Jesus... holy... th-that's..." And then the queasiness hit her full-force, as her pale skin turned a sickly green color and she gagged. Covering her mouth with her hands, Tara turned on her heel and ran back out onto the moat. Leaning against the outer wall for support, she emptied the contents of her stomach- what little there was- onto the mud. She'd never seen anything so disgusting and disturbing in her life; not even in school when they went over genocides.