[Celestial Arms Quest 2-4] Last Exit To Brooklyn

[Capsule]

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Capsule was disheartened to find herself in a darkened area, one that smelled of dirt and decay. It almost pained her to brighten up the place with her Magic Light, and with good cause, too. As the light dispelled the dark, Capsule spied a preserved skull embedded in the wall across from her. She pressed her hands against her mouth, stifling a cry of alarm. Skulls. There were dozens, possibly hundreds, of skulls lining the wall, almost as if they were used as the very foundation. Her shoulders trembled as she realized where she was. This was a catacombs, not unlike the one she had stumbled upon while exploring the underground areas of London. But… the catacombs under the abbey were much tidier. The bodies were concealed in slots in the wall, not left to be used as some sort of crude wall decoration.

"Relax." Capsule almost jumped at the voice. The Trickster was still with her, it seemed. "This is only the catacombs beneath the main city of Lonsdale. You need to find a way through and to the top, to stop It from happening. Toodles, Adventurer~." And with that, he was gone. Capsule only had the comfort of her Magic Light to keep her company. The silly little thing was wearing the Desue Blob skin she had purchased last Halloween, though the Magic Pumpkin skin would be more fitting for the Trickster and his lot.

With the light hovering a foot ahead of her, Capsule warily began her search for the much coveted exit. The catacombs were not large enough to accommodate her polar bear or crystal reindeer, so she was dreadfully lonely. If only she could have brought Bosco along… but there was bound to be something dangerous down here, and the dog was lucky to not have died when she faced Brachyura. That did not stop her from longing for the company of the dog, however. Bosco was her dear friend and companion, now that Fiver was no longer in the picture.

Feeling sullen, Capsule lowered her eyes to the ground, idly counting her footsteps. She supposed she had the dragon egg, too, but the darn thing was no good to her right now. Sometimes, she could not help but feel that the woman who traded her the egg had been pulling her leg this entire time. A dragon egg? Ha! It was very possible for a dragon to be encountered in game, but certainly not in any spot Capsule had heard of or frequented. Regardless of how conflicted she felt, she took out the egg from her magic bag.

There was no change in the black, porcelain smooth egg, but there was that warmth that seemed to pulsate beneath her finger tips. She cradled the egg close to her heart. It may have been her imagination, but it almost felt like warmth pulsed to the rate of her heart beat. This was as close as she would get to having a companion during this portion of the quest.

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∝: 503
♫: Current Value
✏: ---
@: Capsule

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[Capsule]

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The faint sound of voices echoed into the portion of catacombs that Capsule was wandering about in. At first, she was concerned. Seeing as how she was currently underground, it was safe to assume that there were monsters lurking. From her exploration of Underground Londinium, Capsule knew there were things such as Ratmen, kobolds, and machines. Her level should be more than high enough to deal with such lowly creatures. It would prudent to remain alert and avoid making too much (preferably no) noise.

Fully expecting to run into trouble, Capsule placed the egg back in her bag, and took out her staff. Her Magic Light turned a corner, towards where the voices had come from originally. Capsule could not see them, but she could still hear the voices. They were getting clearer… She toggled on Hearing Aptitude to help get a better connection. Unfortunately, she could not make out what they were saying, but it sounded like one was male, and the other female. If she kept going in this direction, she might even bump into them.

Capsule was not deterred by the prospect of bumping into some fellow Adventurers, provided they were not hostile. It could be bad for her if they decided to turn against the support, especially if they were dps roles. She paused at a spot where the voices were the loudest, but nowhere in front of her. Where…? "Shall we, then, milady?" That voice sounded familiar.

Cringing before she even started, Capsule pried at a skull hanging loosely from the wall. Its jaw was gaping open, which made for a perfect grip. Bits of dirt and bone rained down as Capsule forced the skull free. Almost immediately, a light gust of wind crept in from the small hole. The voices also grew louder and much clearer, almost deafening with Hearing Aptitude activated. Whoever was there was on the other side of the wall. Capsule paused, afraid she had been seen, but when no alarm was given, the woman pressed an eye against the opening.

A tall figure with reddish hair passed by. This was obviously the male, for his voice was deep, and -- 'Hiro?' There was no denying it. That was Hirosame, and following him was some girl. 'Oooooh.' Hiro, alone with a girl? What an interesting turn of events. Too bad they were not discussing anything worthy of gossip, but stuff she had learned from the Trickster and deductive reasoning. How long ago had they seen the Pumpkin head and his cronies? That party she had walked into felt less special now.

She considered calling out to them, but what could she say? And why bother, really? If Hiro was having some alone time with a girl (an awkward choice for a date, if you asked her), it would be wrong to bother them, or continue to eavesdrop. She waited a few minutes until they had passed, before hurrying along. That gust of wind had given her a big clue, at least.

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∝: 500
♫: A Promise
✏: I see you...
@: Capsule

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[Capsule]

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In places like these, wind could not be taken lightly. That meant that there was an opening nearby. Normally, one would use something like a lit match to estimate the source of the wind, but Capsule had something better; the Messier Order Divining Rod. This souped up wand had replaced the divining rod she used to find the cuneiform at some point, and came with three skills from three different subclasses: Pathfinder's "Battle Perception", Sage's "Sense Element", or Scholar's "Evaluate". The skills were kind of basic, but they had their uses.

Right now, Sense Element was going to be of great use to her. Capsule activated the skill now. The Sage class interested her immensely, but this was as close to being the subclass as she would ever get. She loved her animal and monster friends too much to switch to anything else. Doing so would only leave her lonely and make soloing a pain again. Capsule turned the wand this way and that, until the tip glowed. It was pointing her forward, the same direction Hiro and the girl had gone.

The further Capsule went down the winding tunnels, the cooler the air became. On several occasions, she thought she heard voices, voices that sounded nothing like Hiro the girl. On others, she distinctly heard the squeaking and teeth clinking of Ratmen. It was nearly impossible to tell where either sounds were coming from, as echoes carried easily in the tunnels. Sometimes she swore the noises were behind her, and would whip around, expecting to come face to face with a hideous hybrid of rat and man. There was never anything there, though she had a feeling someone was watching her every move.

At some point, the sensation grew too strong to bear, and Capsule began to powerwalk. She was close to sprinting, and stopped a scream from escaping her throat when something furry brushed against the back of her head. Her mind was dying to know what was stalking her, but fear of being caught out kept her from looking back. And she was too close to getting out now to let some old rat person or ghost stop her! The wind Sense Element detected had gotten stronger, to the point where she felt confident in following the flow on her own.

Translucent hands and grubby paws grabbed at her from behind as she spied it. There was an opening twenty feet away. It was small and appeared to be made after a cave in, but sure enough there was light. It was from there that she would be freed of this home for the dead, and could begin the next step for this questline. Her spine itched as the number of appendages reaching out to her grew in intensity. Holding her down… they were trying to stop her. Something slimy and warm dripped down onto her shoulder, and then a hot tongue not unlike that of a dogs was gliding across her cheek.

Capsule shivered as the wet trail stained her cheek, but refused to fall for such a trap. There was only a few more feet to go! Even running was dangerous. She dared not pause to look down at her feet, but she could feel the beings behind her trying to trip her up. They wanted her to fail the quest. Perhaps they were too bitter about their deaths, did not know she was trying to help them, or simply did not care. If they thought they could break her stride or hold her down, they were wrong.

With her Magic Light bobbing along ahead of her, Capsule dived into the hole. Strong hands seized her by the back of her shirt, legs, and feet, but she ignored them and struggled to pull herself in. For some reason, her head was starting to get light, like it had when she fainted after reporting back to the Sage. 'No...'

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∝: 653
♫: In the House, In a Heartbeat
✏: To be continued...
@: Capsule

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