| Logs |
2009 July 19
| When The Bough Breaks |
| Realms |
Retired
| Reality Fault |
General Info
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| Realms: Bough Logs |
Fifth Movement, Entre'Acte
And then, just like that, as if the time in Polaris were a fading memory, the group find themselves around the campfire, on the trail down from the Marist temple on the slopes of Mount Meru. The stars are different, somehow, or maybe they are simply remembering that they were different from their time in Polaris, so long ago.
Vhibishasa is lying beside the campfire, sleeping peacefully, and the mountain forest is quiet but for the chirping of insects and the hooting of night birds.
Norris is obviously confused at first. The experience seemed to take forever, and then at some point, he faded off, as they sometimes do. But now, everything's back to normal...except it was clearly no dream. He remembers everything. He looks around for his friends, and sees Jareth awaking. "Was alla that real?" he queries the goatherd somberly.
Jareth is sitting with a hand on Mikal's hair, very close by her. He jumps at Norris' voice, but he nods, voice calm and soft, "Yes, I think it must have been."
Norris is still...not skeptical, but finding it hard to accept that he was once a god. Is still a god, somehow. That all this time, he had more knowledge than he could ever imagine of smithing inside him, but it was all locked away, along with his identity. "How you feelin'." he asks of his friend, moving to sit closer. "Seem like you wuz pretty comfortable wi' it all."
Mikal awakens silently, as is her wont, and lies still for a moment to let her senses inform her about her current surroundings. She's abruptly reassured, though, at the combined scent of woodsmoke -- and the soft sounds of her pack's voices. Whatever it is touching her hair can't be dangerous. Her packbrothers wouldn't let that happen. She smiles quietly, her eyes fluttering open to see where people are.
Norris is vaguely remembering a conversation that Inanna and Lilith and Lokei all had after he 'went away', it coming back to him in drips and drabs.
Rpahael is curled up also beside the filre, tail curled about his nose as he dozes happily.
Mikal shifts to curl up against Jareth, smiling with lazy pleasure, and reaches out to rest a hand on Raphael as well. She glances between the two young men, still smiling, and murmurs to Norris, "Mmhmm..."
Norris doesn't start, but he was clearly not aware of her waking. "Hey, Rabbit." he rumbles. He doesn't seem stiff so much as he's feeling a little off kilter. "You look very relaxed too."
Jareth smiles lopsidedly, "She's used to having a goddess inside her, I think. More used than we."
Mikal nods relaxedly as she rises, "I think so. It's nice to feel... yes, what Jair said." She adds thoughtfully, looking around at the darkness, "We should get moving, yes? We want to reach Angkor Wat as soon as possible." She steps over to gently close a hand around Vibhashana's foot, murmuring, "Awaken, please?"
Mikal stays out of arm's reach -- it's never wise to startle predators, after all.
Vhibishasa's leg twtiches a little at the touch, then he makes a quiet sound. "Mmph.. I'm awake now.... Give me a bit to waken fully...." He doesn't quite startle as a predator does, but he does stretch, showing off quite the impressive panoply of claws.
Norris started to ask a question, but then trails off when Mikal is trying to stir the rakshasa. He's not sure if this can be talked about among others. Instead, he queries, "Is there a time constraint ah's not awares of?"
Mikal straightens and steps back, a faint smile on her face as she watches. She turns to look at Norris at his words, then shakes her head, "Not that I know of, Bear. Just our mortal lives, you know? I mean, yes, we could try again in another life... but it seems somewhat hit or miss, and personally I think it'd be foolish to throw this chance aside in the hopes that a future life would be better for our questing."
Norris nods. "Ah's just saying...it's a middle o' th' night. An Vhibishasa did just go through a harrowin ideal wi' Mara. Sure's we kin wait fer him t' get a good rest?"
Jareth stands as well, still preoccupied with what he learned. He's beginning to wonder if the compassion he's always felt comes from that time. The time of worry for the Architect, when he was recently the mad god's lover and worried for him.
Mikal smiles at Norris, "It's almost dawn, Bear. Might as well get things rolling."
Mikal looks around, then starts to pack up her bedroll. Once she's done she strokes Raphael's side, smiling, "Wake up, sleepy head!"
Raphael *snurfs*, and manages to rouse himself. giving a wide-mouthed yawn in the process. he stands, still a little sleepy, before shaking himself thoroughly. After that, it's like he's been jump-started, and he appears ready to trot about, as he snuffles about the brush surrounding the campsite.
Norris huhs, looking around. His sense of the passage of time has been futzed with ever since sleep was no longer a needful thing...and the experience they just had doesn't help on that front either. He gets up, stretches, and watches Mikal gather her things, and wake Raph. Lokei. This is still really strange, even for the smith, who takes most things in stride. Perhaps it's not because the world has changed as much as he himself, has changed.
Mikal giggles, watching her half-brother with amusement. She'll take a moment to wash her face and hands in the nearby stream as well, gasping slightly at the night-cool water and shaking the drops off her hands... then she returns and beams, "I'm ready when you all are!"
Jareth is starting to pack what few things he has out around the camp. He's oddly quiet, thoughtful as he tries to process the strange situation in which they find themselves. For a moment, he freezes and wonders, did Raven know?
Norris is lost in his own thoughts, pondering what this means, now that they know who they are. "Is we different cause we's who we wuz? Or is still all just cuz mortals still got enormous power heres?" he queries no one in particular as he gets his things together.
Raphael and Vhibishasa have both taken drinks from the stream as well, and Vhibishasa is in the process of packing up his bedroll. "I should be ready now," he says.
Mikal blinks bemusedly at Norris, "Still all what just because of mortals?"
Norris looks at Mikal solemnly. "We's told we kin do magic cause all mortals kin, if they apply themselves. An ahm just wondering if the divine in us done made a difference, or if we's really just still plain folks."
Mikal nods to Vibhashana, smiling again, and waves to Raphael, "Want point, big brother?" The big raptor-wolf sneezes loudly, shaking his head -- then bounds energetically off down the trail. The slight girl waves everyone on ahead of herself, putting Jareth between the two more powerful entities, then shoulders her pack and follows. She smiles at Norris's words, saying simply, "Don't know. I still feel like me, though."
Mikal is silent for a moment, traipsing along down the trail... then she curiously adds, "What's that about all mortals doing magic, though? I don't recall that one?"
Norris blushes, with no explanation as to why. Perhaps some internal interpretation of what she said. "Alla th' folks we met said that mortals has th' most power heres. It's why th' Seneshal wanted our help, an' why Mordred wuz recruiting so much mortals."
Mikal says pragmatically, "Having power doesn't necessarily equate to doing magic, Bear. Not having to sleep or eat or drink or excrete is a fantastic power... but not manipulatable magic. Did you mean something else?"
Norris shrugs. "Mebbe. But i's allus done thought that that's why i's could calm folks now. An why yew could control fires, annat. Cuz we's mortals." He indicates Jareth. "Cat's new voice, too."
Mikal is silent for a long time, thinking carefully. She looks a bit troubled, but finally says softly, "Bear... I've always been able to control fire. And... the angels were shooting fire and flying when they battled the rakshasa. That doesn't make them mortal, though. We know Moroni isn't mortal, you know?"
Jareth speaks back over his shoulder, "And I've always been able to tell what people are feeling."
Mikal nods thoughtfully, unsurprised to hear that -- Jareth's abilities with humans have always amazed her.
Norris's brow knits. "Yeah, but they's angels..." He trails off, as his friends speak. "Well...if all mortals caint learn t' do things like we does, then why's it matter? An if it's only because we's who we wuz, then why hasn't th' aelfar or sommat else wondered about it?"
Mikal looks a bit puzzled, "Why does what matter, Bear? What should the aelfar be wondering about, then?"
Jareth trots a little to catch up to the rakshasa, not quite sure where to start with his questions.
Norris shakes his head. "Mebbe it doan matter. Ah's jsut confused. Ah get confused a lot. It's just that iffn' humans caint do magic, there there's not near no value to 'em in Mordred's army, not like they dun implied. And Cuz we can, should be that th' aelfar should be done wonderin' why."
Mikal explains gently, "Bear, there's an old saying that an army marches on its stomach. Logistics is what limits conquest. An army mostly of mortals means logistics doesn't matter near as much! You don't have to collect, organize, pack, ship, protect, sort out, and keep track of tons and tons of food, water, and so on."
Jareth turns around, walking backward to say, "Bear... the aelfar, the angels, the rakshasa... they can't do this." He stops and holds up his hand, concentrating hard on his palm, hoping it works as he tries to create a small flower.
The flower that appears in Jareth's hand is almost alien looking, with bright purple outer petals and tendrils of a heart-stopping scarlet color. In the center are yellow structures that reach outward. Jareth grins, some part of him remembering that this is called a passion flower.
Norris ohs. He'd never thought about that. Mikal would know, of course. This is her backyard. But then he's pointing at Jareth's palm. "An how's that not magic? Or izzit just that they caint done do complex things like we done?"
Mikal ooohs delightedly at the flower, beaming at Jareth, "It's gorgeous, Cat! What is it?" To Norris she says matter-of-factly, "It's something to do with our willpower, according to both the aelfar and Tigernmus... but I don't know much more than that, Bear. Sorry."
Jareth says, "They can't create thing, Bear. Except by using their hands. They can't create it out of the ether. " He grins at Mikal and tucks it behind one of her ears, "A passion flower, lovely."
Mikal blushes and squeaks unwittingly with happiness as Jareth gifts her with it, holding still until he moves his hand away -- then she throws herself gleefully on him in a quick hug!
Norris nods. "Well, guess ah aint done gonna worry about it fer now, then. We's should jsut get onna road."
Mikal takes a breath, very gently touching the flower next to her face with careful fingers... then she beams at Norris, "There's nothing wrong with thinking about things, Bear -- it's just I'm not sure what it is exactly you're worrying about, you know?"
Norris doesn't know how to explain...and then it just comes to him. "Iffn' we's just like every other mortal, then folks aint gonna be lookin too closely at us. But iffn't they done *know* we'd differetm cause we can do things mortals caint...then that's a worry, yeah?"
Mikal gives Norris a rather perplexed look, "Um... yes. So? So we don't show off. I thought that was obvious... did I miss something?"
Norris rubs his forehead. "Just cause us usin our powers aint allus obvious, dun mean folks caint sense it. Ah kind think of at least three or four times when magic wuz used an it coulda gotten back to sommat. Assumin that angels caint just see us from afar. But ah guess you'd right. Iffn' someone knew, we'd be in more obvius troubles."
Mikal shakes her head at Norris, still looking confused, "So... what are you saying? Or asking, or whatever?"
Norris shakes his head. "Ah's jsut sayin that ahm done worried. Thassal. Let get movin. Dun like t' be out in th' open like this, so close to our goal."
Mikal looks more perplexed, looking around at the jungle around them, but says nothing. Instead she simply continues following the others towards the hidden city.
The Dawn comes, and finds the group already on the trail heading down the mountain. A morning fog has rolled in, cloaking the plains below them as they descend into it. But by midday the fog is starting to break apart.
At the base of the mountain, now visible, they can see a large temple complex, surrounded by a seemingly perfectly square moat. And in the center of the square complex, a series of distinctive stone buildings.
Vhibishasa looks at the complex and recognizes it instantly. "That is Angkor Wat," he says.
It takes most of the rest of the day to make their way down to the fog-shrouded plateau where the ancient temple lies. The actual, constructed causeway appears to be on the far side, while the land-bridge is on the side closest to the trail that the group is descending.
Mikal glances at Vibhishana inquiringly, "So... it's a city. Is it sacred? Do you know where we're going? Are there any traps or dangerous animals or people living here still? What exactly are we looking for, please? Will our goal be warded or hidden or puzzled?"
Vhibishasa says, "I do not have answers to some of your questions, Rabbit. It has been a long time since any of the raksasha came to Angkor Wat. It is a sacred city, built by mortals in the Waking and echoed here, in the Dreamtime. It is a monument and a representation of Mount Meru itself. I do not know what animals or people might still be here. As for what we are seeking, there is a vault beneath the central temple, which holds a vajra, as well as a number of scrolls which will give us answers as to what may have happened to the Architect, penned by Lord Krishna and hidden here. I am certain there will be wards of some kind, likely puzzles and secrets as well."
Mikal blinks at that, thinking... then brightens, "Adventures?! Let's go!" She nearly skips down the trail towards the city, hurrying along.
Jareth shakes his head in fond amusement at the enthusiasm shown by his little mate. He himself moves a little more slowly. The thought of wards and possibly guardians has him going cautiously. He doesn't feel useless in battle any more, but he knows the others are still much superior to him.
Norris moves carefully behind the others, bringing up the rear as he is wont to.
The group moves forward, down the mountainside to the plateau, and begin to walk across the land-bridge. The stone gatehouse that stands here does not have an actual gate, or if it did once it is long gone. Instead the stone is overgrown as nature seems to assert itself in this place.
Crossing the moat seems to bring about a change in atmosphere for the group. The birds seem more awake and active, the air smells a bit fresher and rich with the scents of flowers and humid leaves, and the sky seems a richer shade of blue, not at all cloaked by fog. The path that leads towards the tier upon which the entire temple is built upon is fairly straight, through the trees of the jungle, and though the path does not look like it has been trod much, still it is clear of trees and anything larger than dry grass.
Approaching the archway that covers the stairs leading up to the first tier, there is a shrine of some kind beside the path. Made from brown basalt, within is a trio of statues, and a triskele mandala pattern on the floor that is the same as the one upon on Sumaru. Banners beside the entrance to the shrine have writing in many languages; each can find a language they speak on it, and they all say the same: YOU WHO WOULD ENTER ANGKOR WAT, STEP RESPECTFULLY AND STEP LIGHTLY, FOR HERE THE DREAMS OF MORTALS ARE KEPT ALIVE.
Norris peers at the text as he steps up next to his friends. "wunder whut that mean." She smiles at Norris, "Do unto others as they'd like done unto them, Bear." Looking around in fascination, she pauses before the altar, checking to see if the statues are the entities she saw at Sumaru as well. The statues are the same: Brahma, Vishnu, and Kali.
Jareth smiles crookedly at Norris, "It's a sacred place. It's one of the places that keep the world going the way it's supposed to. A bastion."
Norris hnhs. "meanin' whut? The way it's supposed to? Or a way opposite from whut th' Architect wants? Or a way opposite what the Aqal want?"
Jareth thinks about that for a moment and says, "The Aqal want it all dead. They're eating it all. Maybe this is a place that's trying to keep that from happening. AFter all, they're eating dreams."
Mikal tosses a handful of flower petals over the statues, murmuring a quiet prayer in respectful puja to the three entities. She stands there a moment in reverence, before turning and heading for the city again, "Bear, if we had all the answers we wouldn't need to come here, would we?" She flashes a smile over her shoulder at him, adding, "So c'mon! Let's go find out!"
Norris nods thoughtfully at Jareth, following in Mikal's wake.
The stairway through the arch leads to the first tier. In actuality, this tier is walled in, the ground being about halfway up the tier's height as seen from outside it. The stairs lead upwards, then at the edge of the wall, they lead downward again to the ground within this tier. There is a set of stairs in front of the group, but they have collapsed in upon themselves, leaving the paths that go around the second tier walls to the far side of the temple. The stairwell that is collapsed is actually a covered archway that looks like it lead upward at some point, like a tunnel leading up to the next tier. But it is filled with rock s and debris, blocking passage through it.
Norris is looking around when he sees the stairway is blocked off. At first he gets this bemused look on his face, and then he realizes it's not just a trick of the light. "Ever'thin' up here seem newer. Less worn away by th' elements." he comments casually. "Ev'n th' domes."
Mikal leans over, hands on her knees as she tries to peer up the rock choked stairwell. "Umm... don't think we're going to make it up here, everyone..."
Norris peers at the stonework. "Mebbe we coul. Ah could give it a shot, like."
Mikal glances back over her shoulder at Norris, then straightens, looking around, "What domes?"
Jareth's gaze sort of sweeps around, just taking the place in and then he gets, usurprisingly, a bit distracted by the rear view of Mikal leaning over like that. Her question and Norris' comment focus his attention a little and he repeats, "Domes?"
Norris points to high above. "Th' tops of the structure, ah mean."
Mikal looks up, but mostly just sees wall. She shrugs, then studies the wall thoughtfully, wondering if she can climb it.
Jareth raises his gaze upward and blinks, "Oh! Those domes." He actually feels himself flushing. How exactly had he missed those?
Norris takes a moment to explain himself more clearly to the distracted Jareth: after coming up the stairs from the ground level to this tier, all the stonework, from the walls to the domes of the temple, everything appears slightly newer, less decrepit, less time-worn.
Jareth looks over the place with Norris' words in mind, nodding slowly. It's as if something has wrapped the city in protection. Perhaps the collapsed stairway is simply another layer of that protection.
Norris takes a moment to carefully assess the clogged stairway. "Caint just move th' rubble. Could cause more t' come down, mebbe hurt peoples. Hnh."
Mikal blinks as it suddenly registers, "Oh! You mean those stepped domes in the center, Bear, right?" She looks up at the wall, calculating... then sighs. She could probably scramble up with rope and spikes, like she'd climb trees at home in Sta- er, in her dreams... but she doesn't think she has enough rope to haul everyone else up and over. "Dammit. I don't think I can get us all over this wall." She sighs, glancing back and forth, "Well, guess we're just stuck walking until we find an open way to enter. Left or right, guys?"
Norris huhs. "Left. That's s'pose be good luck, ah think?"
Mikal grins at Norris, "Is for me! Left it is, then."
Jareth nods, "Left is good for me." He turns to grin at the rakshasa accompanying them, "What about you?"
Raphael is already trotting briskly off with Mikal following. She doesn't like the absolutely flat, featureless ground surrounding the temple city -- there's no cover at all, which makes her feel creepy! The sooner they find a way in, the better, as far as she's concerned.
Jareth follows along, keeping himself in the middle as he usually does.
Mikal eventually cautiously turns the corner made by the looming walls, glancing up uneasily at the turretted tower high above her. She sighs in relief at sight of another stairwell's decorations, and heads that way hopefully.
The group heads roughly deosil, though they cannot see the mirror anymore. The green vines clinging to the stonework seem remarkably vibrant here, even though there doesn't appear to be anyone to tend them or the grounds. The corners of the walls that surround the next tier up have small towers upon them, suggestive of battlements but based on the fine stonework and relatively small stones used, they were never meant for any sort of serious defense.
The stairwell Mikal heads to appears to be in good condition, or at least better than the prior stairwell. However, as she examines it, in the stairwell behind her she thinks she hears the sound of footsteps running on stone...
Mikal turns around and steps to what little cover she can get from the decorations around the stairs she's examining. She draws her bow warily and whispers, "Wolf, company..."
Mikal nocks an arrow and waits silently, her eyes bright and intense. Someone who might actually know something? She sees nothing moving in the stonework before her. She continues to wait, listening.
Mikal frowns, not hearing anything any more. She waits -- maybe the person is hiding.
Jareth watches Mikal slip into a stance he recognizes as waiting and he gets himself as close to the wall and as out of sight as he can. He's got his knife and he pulls it out of its sheath as carefully as he can.
Norris pulls his mace free when he sees Mikal draw her bow. "Yuh, keep yer head down." he agrees when Jareth keeps a low profile. For a moment, he's dissapointed that he cannot calm what he cannot see. He peers around, hoping for a hint of the hidden figure.
Raphael glides across the coverless plain to the far wall as swiftly as he can, then drifts silently forward towards the stairs, sniffing intently.
Vhibishasa remains quiet; Mikal can tell he's in a predatory mode as he remains close to the wall, though holding himself as if ready to pounce. Raphael's nose twitches, and he glances to Mikal, letting her know he can't scent anything unusual.
Mikal looks puzzled, but then shifts and paces carefully forward so she can cover Raphael while he peeks down the stairs. [See anything?]
The raptor-wolf pads forward, carefully keeping to as much cover as he can; he appraches the stairway from the side, peering down it. Confusedly, he lets Mikal know that he sees nothing down there.
Mikal peers cautiously down herself as well, carefully studying the side walls and ceiling to make sure whomever it was didn't just jump through a hole and out of sight.
Raphael clarifies: He doesn't scent anyone or anything other than the greenery, a handful of small animals scampering about -- but none large enough to make that sound on stone. There are birds around, shich can be clearly heard, but he doesn't msell any people other than Mikal, Jareth, Norris, and Vhibishasa.
The stairwell seems to be of decent condition; there does not appear to be any holes, cracks, or crevaces that something person-sized could squeeze into.
Mikal sighs and shakes her head in disgust, turning and heading back to the inner stairwell she'd been examining earlier, "Ghosts. Let's get on with it."
Norris seems confused, but nods and slings his mace.
Jareth's eyes move around, just scannin for whatever he can see and he sees traces and trails of energy along the pathways where generations of feet must have walked in their pilgrimages to the holy city. When Mikal seems to dismiss whatever she was concerned about, he stands and sheaths his knife, following her and unwittinly following along one of those paths of energy.
Mikal marches irritably up the stairs, muttering to herself. She looks around, bow still in hand as if she'd love half a chance to shoot an attacker just now.
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