Sneaking Group # 01: There exists a narrow passageway at a the northwest tower of the palace with so narrow the sliver of an entrance that few notice it is even there. Slipping through it reveals a narrow corridor and a spiralling of stairs which lead into a very strange room. No taller than three feet, it stretches the width of the tower itself and those of a keen mind for architecture may realise that this "floor" is secreted beneath the second and fourth stories -- for there is no clearcut third in this tower. The floor and ceiling here emit an iridescent glow akin to the shell of the turtle for they have been treated with a fine varnish into which powdered pieces of shell have been incorporated. This provides sufficient light to see a series of think gold and silver chains criss-crossed about the room in intricate patterns, forming a 'cell' of sorts around a plain, red paper lantern that is suspended in the middle.
The chains connect to this lantern and to access it, one must break them down strand-by-strand -- for attempts to phase through them are met with malfunction, abilities cancelling out when the chain is phased but a quarter inch into the skin. Painful, perhaps, but an old defense mechanism that triggers ringing of three soft, rusted out bells. Worry not, team, for no guard comes running at such disturbances and there is time sufficient to reach the lantern.
Here, it can be noted that the "plain" of the lantern is a lie, for the red paper bears the marks of thousands of tiny characters written in a brown ink that once shone crimson and brighter when first bled from the palms of the writers. Blood writing covers every available scrap of the paper and does not smudge or fade at any attempts to brush at it. Contact with the lantern, though it glows with a faint light, results in a cold shiver heading down one's back and the whisper of Malicant's name running through the mind.
The lantern itself can be removed from this floor, but an unease will follow any that carry or store it henceforth. It feels as though something watches and waits for it, yet cannot reach out and take it. Attempts to burn or cut open the lantern would be met with failure, for something incredibly strong holds it together and may even be holding something in...
Sneaking Group #1: Marius, Enjolras, Damian & Zel
There exists a narrow passageway at a the northwest tower of the palace with so narrow the sliver of an entrance that few notice it is even there. Slipping through it reveals a narrow corridor and a spiralling of stairs which lead into a very strange room. No taller than three feet, it stretches the width of the tower itself and those of a keen mind for architecture may realise that this "floor" is secreted beneath the second and fourth stories -- for there is no clearcut third in this tower. The floor and ceiling here emit an iridescent glow akin to the shell of the turtle for they have been treated with a fine varnish into which powdered pieces of shell have been incorporated. This provides sufficient light to see a series of think gold and silver chains criss-crossed about the room in intricate patterns, forming a 'cell' of sorts around a plain, red paper lantern that is suspended in the middle.
The chains connect to this lantern and to access it, one must break them down strand-by-strand -- for attempts to phase through them are met with malfunction, abilities cancelling out when the chain is phased but a quarter inch into the skin. Painful, perhaps, but an old defense mechanism that triggers ringing of three soft, rusted out bells. Worry not, team, for no guard comes running at such disturbances and there is time sufficient to reach the lantern.
Here, it can be noted that the "plain" of the lantern is a lie, for the red paper bears the marks of thousands of tiny characters written in a brown ink that once shone crimson and brighter when first bled from the palms of the writers. Blood writing covers every available scrap of the paper and does not smudge or fade at any attempts to brush at it. Contact with the lantern, though it glows with a faint light, results in a cold shiver heading down one's back and the whisper of Malicant's name running through the mind.
The lantern itself can be removed from this floor, but an unease will follow any that carry or store it henceforth. It feels as though something watches and waits for it, yet cannot reach out and take it. Attempts to burn or cut open the lantern would be met with failure, for something incredibly strong holds it together and may even be holding something in...