Post by Yamaroshi Riel on Oct 12, 2008 23:24:31 GMT -5
Yamaroshi hurriedly followed behind Talon. He was partly relieved that their adventure in the burning land of wherever they were was going to end, but anxious as well. If they failed, they would not get the books, and if they made any mistakes, history might change, and who knows what would happen to them?
That was not to say that it did not excite him as well. He would see all of the zodiac books gathered in one spot. Perhaps they were quick enough, he could look inside them. After all, as long as they were put back into their original spot, what difference would it make?
Still, the chance of that happening seemed rather slim. Nonetheless, it was something to keep in mind. It did not seem impossible. This was all assuming the two wizards could reach the zodiac chamber.
Post by Talon Windwaltz on Oct 20, 2008 2:46:43 GMT -5
As if Theophilus lacked all stealth, the ancient wizard had left a very clear trail through the library. This late at night, even the oldest and wisest of scholars had retired, and the desperate arson didn't think leaving a mess of things mattered.
Books were scattered everywhere, as if Theophilus knew a vague way into the Zodiac Chamber but didn't know the exact details. With greater stealth, Talon moved from bookshelf to bookshelf, following the trail until he came at last to the pool of water.
Of course. The great pool of the Library of Alexandria, surrounded by torches and stone structures. As if it weren't obvious enough! "Are you worried about getting your feet wet?" Talon said back to his companion.
Post by Yamaroshi Riel on Oct 20, 2008 2:54:54 GMT -5
All Yamaroshi could do was observe as Talon followed the trail left by Theophilius. He almost wondered why Talon had brought Yamaroshi along. After all, the boy did not know anything about their mission apart from their final objective.
Eventually they reached a pool surrounded by torches, and Talon turned to him. He was relieved that he was still in this.
"Umm...I suppose not," he said, answering Talon's question. "Does that mean you found it?"
Post by Talon Windwaltz on Oct 20, 2008 3:02:48 GMT -5
Talon didn't respond for a moment, gazing down at the pool beneath him. "I don't know, but maybe." The future Headmaster slid down into the pool, allowing the water to engulf half of his Egyptian clothed body, and swam lightly towards the statue of Isis. It was incredibly evident that this whole set up had everything to do with the Zodiac Chamber.
But what was it?
His eyes finally fell on a rather interesting little design. It was an uncharted Ptolemaic map of the celestial sphere. However, unlike the usual locations on the spheres, he noticed there was a compass in the center where the Earth usually was, and eight directions -
Northeast North Northwest West Southwest South Southeast East
There were also eight holes surrounding the map.
Talon gazed around the room, noticing the four torches. "Hey Yama!" he shouted back to his companion, "Look at those torches, tell me if there's anything odd about them."
Post by Yamaroshi Riel on Oct 20, 2008 3:38:47 GMT -5
Yamaroshi observed Talon as he walked into the pool, one eyebrow raised. He wondered if the Headmaster meant for him to follow, but stayed out just in case. He preferred not to get wet if he didn't have to. And then, Talon turned to him and replied, and asked him the question about the torches.
Yamaroshi nearly answered, "I have no idea," letting Talon figure it out, but having felt unnecessary through their entire journey thus far, Yamaroshi decided he should at least try to answer. "Umm..."
He approached the closer of the two torches to his right, taking a close look at the design, which included a tortoise. "There's a turtle on this one," he said, then approached the Northeast torch. "and a bird of some sort on this one," he continued after examining it.
He then looked to the Northwest torch, but for the first time noticed a hole in the ground. He noticed a similar hole on the East side. "I wonder if we're supposed to put the torches in the holes?"
He then continued to the next torch. "Not that I would know which one to put where. Wait, hold on." By the torch at the Southeast corner of the pool, he saw a book lying open on the ground. "I found a book...but it looks like it's in Chinese."
Post by Talon Windwaltz on Oct 20, 2008 3:43:36 GMT -5
Talon furrowed his brow as he listened to Yamaroshi and examined his own diagram. His mind wasn't clicking, and considering the urgency of their mission, it was the worst time for that to happen. He traced his finger around the diagram, as if it would in some way help him understand the puzzle. Yamaroshi's words didn't help much.
A bunch of animals on torches?
It didn't click until the final statement Yamaroshi said, about the book in Chinese. Theophilus had left a crucial clue! "Yamaroshi, it's the four heavenly kings!" Talon responded, knowing for certain the other Elementalist would have no idea what he's talking about. "The Tortoise, the Bird...Chinese, it all makes sense. I'm going to guess the other two are a Dragon and a Tiger."
He forgot, however, which cardinal direction they each represented. "Check the book and see if it has any pictures showing the animals in a certain direction, then take the torches and put them in the holes."8
Post by Yamaroshi Riel on Oct 20, 2008 3:57:19 GMT -5
With Yamaroshi's explanation, Talon seemed to have a sort of epiphany. That was good, because Yamaroshi would probably not have been able to figure it out himself. He looked at the book. There was no diagram on the page, but a few flips and he found what he (hoped) he was looking for. A bird, a tortoise, a tiger and a dragon, positioned at South, North, West and East respectively.
"Alright, I think I understand," he said, picking up the nearest torch, that of the Tiger, and placed it inside the hole on the west. The next one, with the design of the Dragon was closest. He picked it up and ran to the other side of the fountain, grabbing the Tortoise's torch with his free hand and placing the Dragon's torch in the Eastern hole. He then approached the Northernmost hole and placed the torch inside. Finally, he took the remaining, ran over to the South hole and placed it inside.
Post by Talon Windwaltz on Oct 20, 2008 6:21:46 GMT -5
In the first moment, nothing happened.
Talon watched as Yamaroshi placed the last torch into the hole and heard a large sound as if some kind of ancient mechanism (in this case, modern mechanism) had been set off by his solving of the puzzle. The future Headmaster wondered if a door may have opened somewhere else, and that the entrance was just --
Before he could think anything else, Talon was swept underwater as if a strong current had just grabbed him and pulled him in. He found himself being sucked, along with the pool around him, INSIDE the Goddess's statue through some kind of stone draining device at the bottom of the pool.
He seemed to fall through the water for a very long time, before finally landing with a thud on a very mushy, damp, sticky plot of earth. It seemed the area around him was made of some kind of combination of wet sand, soil, and granite. He was most definitely underground. Torches, one of which knocked over and extinguished, led the way deeper into the cavern. The Elementalist waited a moment to see if the other could somehow follow.
Post by Yamaroshi Riel on Oct 21, 2008 0:54:31 GMT -5
Yamaroshi too heard the sound of the mechanism, and expected some sort of passage way to open. Instead, Talon vanished into the pool.
Yamaroshi stood still for a few seconds, wondering what he should do. Had he, perhaps, completed the puzzle incorrectly? If that was true, Talon and Yamaroshi were finished.
Or it could have been that he had solved the puzzle correctly, and Talon had been moved into the Zodiac chamber.
Though he was reluctant, Yamaroshi decided that he might as well jump into the fountain. If he did die, it would have been no different from if he had stayed behind, because there was no way he could get back without Talon.
Yamaroshi jumped in and was likewise swallowed by the pool. As he fell, he suddenly became certain that he had jumped into a trap. He regretted his decision until he hit the ground and saw Talon nearby.
Post by Talon Windwaltz on Oct 21, 2008 1:01:18 GMT -5
A few moments had passed and Talon was wondering whether or not Yamaroshi was going to follow. In fact, for a moment, the future Headmaster wondered if the Earth Elementalist could follow. If the pool above had been drained, then jumping all the way down to this cavern would be quite dangerous. Talon took a deep breath and decided he didn't have time to wait.
However, just at that moment, Yamaroshi arrived. Talon was relieved. He didn't want to leave his companion behind unless he absolutely had to, and even then he'd make sure to come back for him. Plus, he knew that he'd need the other Elementalist's help at some point or another. Nodding to him, he whispered, "Let's follow the torches."
Talon decided to head on down the path, and after about five minutes of straight walking, he came at last to a dead end that was covered by a strange device. It appeared to be some kind of lock, functioning in a similar fashion to one found on muggle high school lockers. Instead of numbers, however, there were symbols. Symbols Talon recognized as being the signs of the Zodiac.8
Post by Yamaroshi Riel on Feb 15, 2009 17:29:54 GMT -5
His excitement was building. It seemed they were getting closer and closer to their goal: The zodiac books. It was true that they would not be able to take any of the books from the chamber, but their goal was simply to discover what happened to the three air books. But maybe they would find something out about the last book of earth and the books of fire. There were also the water books, but they did not excite him as much.
When he and Talon got to the end of the hallway, he took a look at the device, and for a brief moment was not sure what it was. After a closer look, however, he noticed Taurus and Scorpio, the symbols of the two books he had already examined, and quickly realized that the remaining symbols were the other zodiac signs.
Post by Talon Windwaltz on Feb 24, 2009 1:53:42 GMT -5
"I believe it's some kind of lock," responded Talon quietly to his companion. As he stroked a hand across the polished surface of the device, he examined each of the symbols with an inquisitive eye. "I think the Chamber might be just beyond this door." That was a hope. He couldn't be completely sure, of course, but it was a good guess.
But what of the lock? The future Headmaster pondered over it, looking around the general area for any kind of clue as to what the lock was supposed to be. Theophilus had left behind that helpful clue for unlocking the statue...why couldn't he leave some kind of way of opening the Chamber?
What if he were in there right now? It would take him a little while to figure out how to use the books, since he had no understanding of the Elements, but that didn't mean they had a chance to slack off. Talon decided to go for it and try to test out the lock - what would be the worst that could happen?
"Prepare yourself," said Talon to Yamaroshi, "I don't know what will happen when I turn this." He grabbed a hold of the device and shifted it to face...Virgo.
Post by Yamaroshi Riel on Feb 24, 2009 3:25:45 GMT -5
Yamaroshi merely nodded back to Talon and watched as he turned the device. He heard a reassuring click which seemed to imply that Talon knew which one was right. Of course that thought didn't last long. After all, how could he have known?
Having helped to solved the puzzle that got them past the fountain, Yamaroshi felt confident that he could do the same here, even though what they had to do appeared straightforward.
"So I guess all we have to do is..." he reached out and shifted it slightly. "...keep guessing until we get the right one, and..." he continued to shift the device until it landed on Taurus.
Last Edit: Feb 24, 2009 3:29:06 GMT -5 by Yamaroshi Riel
Teagan Offline: This board is full of nostalgia.
Aug 22, 2020 8:39:09 GMT -5
Missing the old MH: gotta say missing when MH and all that was around.
Nov 6, 2019 0:02:30 GMT -5
Willow_lazy: why tf are there 400 posts about adidas
Sept 6, 2018 17:35:57 GMT -5
Azrael: I'm not hard to find, since I'm the only one there who goes by "Azzy", I'm pretty sure. XD
Feb 10, 2018 16:44:41 GMT -5
Azrael: Dunno if anyone still pops by here from time to time, but if any of you mofos do and still feel like gettin' yo nerd on, I've been hanging around this here place a bunch recently: www.roleplayerguild.com/
Feb 10, 2018 16:44:10 GMT -5
Azrael: hold onto your pantaloons
Jul 25, 2016 5:16:43 GMT -5