Turn 12 (Skipping 1 Turn)
Before the group proceeded any further, Jude brought up something that was news to most people there. Apparently, you could be infected with lycanthropy, but since Jude had already cured his, and nobody else said they were infected, there was nothing further to do except proceed forward. Aizen went over and finally looked over the many bodies on the floor that were pushed to the sides.
On a quick inspection, it seemed someone had already looted them, although there were plenty of gorgeous blue-tinted all-metal swords remaining. The swords had only confirmed what Aizen's look at them from a distance told him. They were spotless. Pristine. Not even dried blood was on them. Unfortunately though, beyond their beauty, balancing, and absurdly good corrosion and dirt resistance, they otherwise seemed like normal longswords that wouldn't do anything more than what Aizen's sword would do. Nevertheless, Aizen took one just to be safe. Can't be too prepared. (If, for whatever reason, you want your character to carry one along anyway, Gaijin, let me know in parentheses in your next post and I'll write it in here after the fact.)
Everyone decided to follow Vale upstairs since they didn't really have any other indication of where to go. Except for Azazel who, without a single further word to anyone, got up from where he was sitting and walked down to the lower levels, and also Jude, because he thought Azazel was a prophet. And what awaited the group on the upper levels was... Stairs. And more stairs. The upper levels seemed to escape a whole lot of the havoc that was wreaked upon this castle ages ago. One or two frozen corpses here and there. Some pieces of battle equipment here and there. Not much else. And in the rooms of the towers were opulent rooms. Some of them seemed to have been used for storage. Some idle chests of brilliant treasure lay around some the rooms. Others had papers and books scattered around in them on tables and bookshelves.
A quick look revealed that a few of the books laying around were old journals taken from the corpses of the soldiers in the castle. Many of them didn't have much, if any details of the war waged by Kraos on the Castle of Iron as the soldiers who possessed these journals all died that day, and the ones that survived were, of course, simply not here. There were ominous lines at the end of some of the jourmals though that were hastily written on the last pages.
"Kara will not fall."
"Nothing affects her."
"The bitch won't die."
"She has fought with us to the very end."
Perhaps most interestingly, was a war room with a large map of Aria laid out on a table. But there didn't seem to be any markings on it. And at one of the mid-towers of the castle was a medium-sized room with a large bookshelf, a table and chair, an ornate bed, a single chest, now open and empty except for some old female clothes, and a window overlooking the dark snowy mountains below. This room was rather spartan compared to the others. But then there was a male voice directly behind them.
"I knew Kraos, you know... "
Behind them in the doorway was a fit black-haired man in what looked to be his 50s. He had had on a simple black robe but was also wearing an ornate amulet and some jeweled rings. He spoke again.
"I was one of her military officers. After Kara was sealed here, Kraos then entrusted me to look over this castle. To ensure that nobody would break the seal."
He gently leaned on the door frame now, looking very soberly upon them all.
"I know that you killed those who I've asked to look over this castle with me. I guess in the end though... That... Was my fault."
He closed his eyes wearily and rubbed them a bit.
"They were a little too zealous in guarding this place and they struck first. By the time I found out what was going on, the skirmish had already started... Rather than cause more death and pain, I decided not to strike. Not... Yet anyway."
He looked at all of them again now in turn.
"I just need to know one thing and one thing only. Are you all here to release Kara?"
Valerius, Aizen, and Lumpy are now at point T1.
-
Azazel and Jude hurried off to the lower levels, but as Jude began to go downstairs, he slowly but surely began to know that this was the way to Kara. Further, ancient memories that were not Jude's own of a woman's voice began to echo in his mind.
"You are lucky that Kara and I are even considering these talks, now you will surrender unconditionally to the kingdom of Aria or you will be exterminated... "
As they reached the first lower levels, Jude saw more of the past devastation and the large store rooms, and there was an unmistakable powerful humming in the background. but Azazel did not even pause for a little bit, continuing on at exactly the same pace as before and starting down stairs again to the second lower level. And with that, another ancient memory came into his mind.
"Do you think I wanted to kill him? He was like a father to me! He WAS a father to me... "
Azazel and Jude are now at point B1.
-
Hrolf shook his head and went over to look once more at the sword impaled into the ground that controlled the flow of red magic over Kara's body. This time, he made sure to look for every possible thing he might have overlooked on his first quick inspection. And then, suddenly, the simple answer came to him. The spell was made to keep Kara IN her imprisonment, but it was not made to really keep anyone else OUT. Hrolf imagined that was what the shield wall blocking the entrance to the bottom basement was for, although why it parted for him and nobody else was an absolute mystery to him. He was very damn sure he had never even been here before. Not even in the general vicinity of this castle. As for the magical binding, he would need to yank the sword out of the ground and exert his magical will upon it as well, and then, like a pin holding a door to its frame, the magic would unwind and break. It would be no mean feat to pull the sword out and remove the seal, but he could do it.
"You know I never really wanted to branch out as much as you did. This magic of the very truth of this world though... It intrigues me very greatly..."
This newfound knowledge excited Hrolf immensely. He could finally awaken her! But... Was that really the best idea? He stood up then and looked out upon it all and then upon the still peaceful form of Kara, wondering what he should do. The decision now seemed to be in his hands.
"No, Kara! You can't do this. It is completely unacceptable! He's raised us from the very beginning. We must think of something else... "
Hrolf rolls a 2 with a d2 and finds out how to break the imprisonment. To pull the sword out requires two turns.