Game: Great minds think alike (Part II)

Ian listens closely to what Xanarox says. Only by fully concentrating can he understand the single words.

"You know," he says, "if I had a choice, I'd just build up my own realm, and live there for eternity without caring about gaining ever more power, and without wasting my time with troublemakers. All I really want is total freedom through total power. Unfortunately, I know enough of Abyssal history to know it just doesn't work that way. Even if you ever get there, some day someone's coming and destroying it all. It's such a waste, really."

Entering the tower, the doors close all by themselves behind Blackthornes. He is in a dark corridor, four yards wide, built from dark red bricks, each one half the size of a human.

The lich is gone. The corridor leads another ten yards straight ahead, then ends in another corridor, like in a T-shape. At about half the way, a single wooden door is built into the left wall.

Without knowing the reason for it, Blackthornes has the feeling he has just entered a ghost house...

Ian focusses on Xanarox. The boy-like assassin wears a simple leather armour; except of that... what was it that Ian wanted to examine? Oh right, equipment. A simple leather armour is the most obvious piece. Then there is...

The tower doors close behind Blackthornes, breaking Ian's concentration. what was he about to do? Examining Xanarox. So, there's this dark brown leather armour. Besides that, Xanarox wears a...

He wanted to examine Xanarox, right? Right...

Ian examines particular parts of Xanarox. First, he looks at that item at...

The second item is attached to... what was the first item? The armour, maybe? No, it was something else.

The next item... the armour? No, it definitely was something else. But what?

Meanwhile, Xanarox stands up, and takes a look around. "Noone close... fine."

Yes, that was it! The strange glass full of brown, slimy worms Xanarox holds in his hand. Ian can clearly see it.

"Maybe I should stop eating them." He stares at the glass, then frowns. "Leave my mind! I'm your servant, yes, but not your property! Yes, yes, I know. And I wouldn't be as easy to control without the larvaeworms, right? I'm so tired of you, father. I'm so tired."

He opens the glass, takes one of the slippery worms, and puts it in his mouth. He makes a single bite, then swallows. A light thunder can be heard from the distance. For a full five seconds, Xanarox doesn't move at all.

Finally, he opens his eyes, and they have turned pearly white. "Oooh... the power..."

Just a moment later, he shakes his head, and his eyes have returned to normal.

"Why did you have to give me two souls, father?" Xanarox whispers. "Either a mortal or a fiendish soul would have been more than enough. Divinity? Pah! Leave me! Leave me alone! I don't care about your offerings, unless you say that you set me free!"

He turns around, throws open the tower's doors, and vanishes in the corridor, smashing the doors behind him.

The moment Ian thinks about entering the tower, he finds himself inside - within the corridor, only two steps behind Blackthornes. There is no sign of Xanarox or the lich.

[OOC: What's up with MG and Azure?]

The moment Blackthornes turns towards the stairs, he is gone from the corridor. Ian can see his silhouette in the distance somewhere on the stairs.

In total darkness, Blackthornes stands on a wooden staircase leading into nothingness. There are no walls, no ground, nothing giving the least sense of security. The only ways are up or down, but even the way up seems very insecure: A single false step, and you fall into... infinite darkness.

The eerie light from before appears again, this time no more than twenty yards farther down the staircase.

As Blackthornes is no more than two steps away from the light, it suddenly flares up, and rushes past him in a split second. Another split second later, the light dances before his eyes.

Someone inside me? Who are you? Fiend, but not fiend. Evil boy tried to knuckle me down, but I was too slippery. You are here for the gate. Why can you see me? Noone has seen me since... I left the city. I want back. I have been torn out of my body, my cage, my home. My heart, it has been torn out. No, no, it is still beating, deep inside. Is it my heart? I am not sure. But it is strong, a mighty energy, and evil boy wants to suffocate it, wants to harm me. Do not harm me! I have done no bad. I want home!

I have never been given a name. Never. No, the old mage never realized I was alive, sentient even. Was I sentient back in the city? I don't remember. Hurting? Why do all souls always hurt each other? I know of creation and perishment. I know of the pain of birth and the pain of death. Sometimes, it is just part of... of the natural order. But willingly inflicting pain on others? Yes, there is a natural order where this happens. But it is not a pleasant order. It destroys itself and everything else. The Lady once told me about it. Oh, how I miss her! Have you ever seen the Lady?

Naruk frowns. "They're quite small, one wing only little smaller than one of your hands, so I don't think they suffice for flying..."

Just when Naruk finishes his sentence, MG's feet move from the ground, and his quickly flapping wings raise him a foot above the ground.

Naruk blinks. "Impressing."

Ian walks down the left corridor way. After about five yards, he hears a short, screeching sound behind him. He turns around and looks at a dead end. The corridors have changed.

In front of him lies a corridor that leads to another T-crossing, and two wooden doors are set into the wall at the right side.

The first door Ian inspects shows nothing unusual. But the moment he opens it, he suddenly finds himself catapulted to the ceiling... or at least that's what he first thought.

But he's still down there, opening the door. It's only that Ian looks down at himself while he opens the door. And the blink of an eye later, the entire corridor is filled with flames and colourful magical rays.

The inferno ends as quick as it begun, and all that is left of Ian - the Ian that opened the door - is a pile of ashes.

Another second later, Ian finds himself in front of the door again, just before opening it.

Once more, Ian finds himself catapulted to the ceiling.

He watches himself opening the door, and sees a dark whirlwind beyond. The door shatters into thousand pieces as it is sucked into the massive twisting spiral of air - and so dies Ian's body.

And once more, Ian finds himself in front of the door, short before opening it.

Looking down the left side, Ian sees a stairway about five yards ahead, leading downwards. The corridor is empty... at first. Suddenly, Xanarox and one of the liches stands there. The lich just finishes casting a spell, and a square - a line moving over each side of the walls, floor and ceiling - shimmers in golden light, before it disappears again.

"We'll just pack this tower so full of traps and destructive magic that even a demigod would die in here," Xanarox says. "Together with the interdimensional shifting in this place, those planewalkers won't even come to the cellars."

"And in case they do," the lich adds, "the cellars are already prepared. Even if there's a demigod among them."

Silently, they vanish again, and the corridor is empty once more.

The corridor to the right side ends in a large double-winged door, made of a combination of wood and steel.

Ian walks to the staircase, as he suddenly feels the desire to turn around. He takes a look behind him, and - sees himself passing the point where the lich casted his spell. Suddenly, a thousand flying tiny blades fill the entire corridor, the last blades twisting in the air only inches from Ian's face - the "real" Ian's face. The Ian that just passed the shimmering square has been torn apart into a thousand tiny bloody pieces.

A second later, the scene vanishes again.

The staircase spirals about four yards downwards, ending in a large hall about five times seven yards large and two and a half yards high.
Two black armours stand on each of the five walls, each holding a mighty weapon in one or two hands. Two steps away from the staircase, a circular pool of clear water, about a foot deep, is set into the ground.

Naruk stares at MG for a few seconds, blinks twice, then shakes his head. "This is the most amazing gnoll I've ever seen."

With that, he returns to the wall he leaned on before, and prepares to get some sleep himself.

I don't know all too much myself, Mani replies to Azure. I felt his power, and he is no opponent the group can hope to best. He seems to be very intuitive... I believe invisibility will not help against him, for he might still sense us. The best strategy in fighting him might be to avoid him at all costs. But I am not a seer, so take this only as a guess.

[OOC: I wasn't sure if Azure was still continuing his discussion with Mani. If not, we can move on with the game. After sleep/rest, what's everyone going to do?]