STORY THREAD : In the Black Tower

Sapphire watched as the images faded from sight. Their reflections back to normal. She was glad the mirrors were ment for intruders or she might have been in trouble... She sighed and took a deep breath "all right I think we should take a break."

Sapphire turned and was likely met with a range of reactions or experisions to what had just happened. But hit with it so soon after having her brain metaphorically pushed through a very small ring of crazy Vinnie's waist high look was one of shock and horrified eyes gazing wide up at her.

Almost comically the loud mouth for once had nothing to say as her hand covered her mouth backwards in a pose that would normally have been relaxed, maybe even contemplative but now was just a collection of fingers clinging to her cheeks and covering her mouth so she wouldn't scream or wet herself.

A small squeak was all the response Sapphire got.

Sapphire simply shook her head and slapped Vinnie across the face "get a hold of yourself woman! This is no time to brake down" she leaned into her ear "I know what you suspect of me. Don't make me use that knoqledge against you" standing back up "so get yourself in gear. We all need rest. After what we heard, the next levels won't be easy... And... I can't use my magic in here..." she trailed off. Looking at the stairs to the next floor.

After hearing Sapphire say she cant use her magic, was the first time most would have ever seen the calm and cool collected elf widen her eyes; followed by the question just about every one else might have. "So if you cant use your magic, can any of us?" Glancing over to the cleric in particular.

The slap unexpected left the little halfling reeling.

Those wide eyes went wider still and when Sapphire pulled back she would see the hurt there on the bard's face which flickered and was pushed back and down out of sheer practice quick enough. In a week she'd been tortured, plagued, and shoved into dealing with a rag tag bunch of people she didn't know and didn't trust. Especially since she strongly suspected the lot of them were a bunch of face melter's, especially the so called cleric. Evil, creepy, disguising, skin peeling, face stealing-

But now, worse, was that the one person she ahd trusted and supported in this suicide run had struck at her when she needed her friend most and a mind made fragile through recent events felt a small crack break through something. Some harms, caused by slight and incurious actions, can not be undone so easy if at all.

She held her hand to her stinging cheek and stepped back from Saphire, a fear and caution born there that wasn't before. For a moment, if they hadn't been several floors up this damn stone tower she might have thought of bolting and leaving all of these fools to the eventual death she suspected would be waiting for them at the end of this. It did knock enough sense into her though that she could start her mind going and thinking and she turned to the elf to consider what she had said. And turned partially away form Sapphire in the process.

"There's a simple way to be sure."

She glanced at the cleric out the corner of her eye, 'wedgie' she murmured casting a simple prestidigitation.

One could see the look of pure discomfort on the male cleric's face as he pants was lifted in a painful position.

Sapphire looked at them, her face still emotionless "fools. I said I can't use magic, never said you could not. Now the what ever waits for us knows we have magic users." there came a growl from her, but one you would expect from an animal, not a human.

She looked at the stairs as the song stopped playing. She knew the instrument. Her mother played on it lots of times. She knew exactly where it was in the tower. And if it was being played, while her mother wasn't here... Another shiver crawled across her body "we need to be very careful from here on out" her whisper was like a shout in the now dead quiet floor. Only the moon lighting it.

Calm returned to the elf's face. Sitting down on the floor next to Timmy. "Well since we have time, do you mind explaining what we might run into?

Morrigan was still quiet through all the proceedings. She still did not know any of these people except for the Cleric who wanted to be called mom, the guard from the Abby. The bard seemed to be falling apart at the seems and so it seemed was this Saphire woman. The bard thought Morrigan was a face melter, sad she knew but well the little one was cracking up anyway. With the ease and grace of one long practised at being quiet she seated herself right where she stood. She doubted a fire would be lit, not that it would make any difference. She pulled out some small rations she had on her and began to eat and drink slowly. It had been a hard day. Soon she would have a light nap and then prepare her spells. As she ate and listened to the others she considered her predicament, she had lost everything that she was. This was the first time she actually felt upset about anything.

Sapphire walked around the room. Avoiding the stairs "I made a promise to my mother. I would never use my abilities in the Tower. I plan on keeping that promise. If I don't, very bad things would happen" she looked outside from a window "clouds are coming..." she turned back to the party "get some rest... We all need to be ready for what lies ahead. If anything, there will be things that are not. That's as much as I can say..."

The remains of the creatures were at their feet. Piled up and burned as to not let the stench and anything else spread.

Sapphire was worried. So far she hasn't seen a single trace of the gaurd that usually protected her mothers throne. Especially the captain. He was a very close friend. She would be devistated if he died... Or worse... Became one of these walking abomanations!

Noticing that Sapphire's face had a hint of worry in it, made Lia worried. If what we faced so far is any indication, there are more similair, or more horrifyig beast to come. Best to be on the alert while in this wretced tower of death.

The sky suddenly lit up, the room you are in gets hue of blue and purple, as you see lightning arch from a clear cloudless sky. The sound was almost defining, the entire twoer seems to shake with the force of the impact. A small jolt runs through your bodies as a current, flows through a metal that should not be able to conduct electricity.

It was sudden, unexpected and completely utterly probable at this stage.

Vinnie felt the vein in ehr eye twitch as she tried to not go into a small freak out as they stood surround by corpses an bodies and gods new what else hidden in this over sized metal penis tower that some soem some woman made before mothering Saphire for, Vinnie was partly, insanely convinced, the sole purpose of mind fucking them to death!

"Who. Pissed. Off. Which. Fucken. God."

She said, eyes still stuck to the lightning in the walls around them.

The jolt she felt pulled her out of her thoughts "a deity? My dear vinnie, I'm sure if a deity tried to zap us he wouldn't do it in such a way that we don't feel anything... Nor would he miss" she shook her head. Now wasn't the time to worry about him, if he was dead she would mourne him later. Right now they needed to get to her mothers throne room.

Lia knew that jolt wasn't natural, but with the way things were going lately that didn't surprise her that much.
"The bigger question Vinnie, is what is outside to get that rath; or why at all the gods would do such a thing. Mother wouldn't do such a thing..... Without reason"
And starts pondering to herself what might have happend to cause this freak of nature.

"I'm not looking for damn reason, I'm looking for someone to blame and swear at."

Vinnie stated in a completely reasonable tone of voice as she tensed and watched the fireworks on the wallpaper doing the hoggy jig, waiting for the next damn atrocity to come strolling through the adamantine wall...

The sun was rising, basking the black tower in a golden glow. The twoer was slowly beginning to heal itself. Sapphire was slumped in her mother's chair, tired, exhausted. The shock of seeing what happened to her lifelong friend had its toll on her. She simply watched as the adventurers began to count and devide the gold she allowed them to take. Her gift from her mother was across her lap. Soon she was asleep