RPG Latham Adytum

[The Harlequin]

[I]The Harlequin easily finds the house on his second attempt, but finds it deserted. While rummaging through the house, he hears a rather heated argument from next door. Thankful that Spyder's voice is among them, he walks out and creeps into the next house. Seeing no Lightbearers around, he moves into the field of vision of Spyder, cutting her off in mid-tirade. Amazed by her sudden silence, the others turn and look. After a long moment, the silence is broken.[/I]

Valeigh: What the hell do you tihnk you were doing, runnning off like that?

The Harlequin: What the hell do you think you are doing, waiting around? It's far to dangerous.

Valeigh: Blame Spyder.

Athen: Does it matter? Let's go.

[I]As the others leave, The Harlequin casts a reproving glance at Spyder.[/I]

The Harlequin: You should have known better.

Spyder: Shut up. You would have done the same if it had been me missing.

The Harlequin: Not really...

Spyder: What!

The Harelquin: I would have looked for you on my own.

Spyder: How typically you.

[I]Spyder and The Harlequin follow the others out the door.[/I]

[liamc2]

Athen: honestly. .we seem to be going no where, we need to go and attack Sellum. .head on

Rico: but-

[i]Athen coughs and raises a hand[/i]

Athen: I can easily go alone. .that was what my intentions were, until Eps decided to stick his nose into my business, what happened to him was his own fault.

[i]Athen paused to wait for a dispute, but there was none. Satisfied, he continued to walk out of the door[/i]

Athen: *calls out* I need to head back to my original safehouse, devastator slugs are running low. If we need safe shelter, thats the place to be. Strange that after such a journey, we end up where we started:rolleyes:

[RicoTranzrig]

[COLOR=darkblue][i]Rico looked towards the arid horizon...[/i]

Rico: If we knew where to go from this city...

Spyder: That isn't a possibilty yet...we have some unfinished buisness to do.

Rico: I realize that...the sad truth.

Harlequin: But our house is our house...there's something about it that keeps us safe most of the time...we're no better off if we go into the city, even though we are much stronger than the commoners.

Valeigh: Time to go home...[/COLOR]

[liamc2]

OOC: cant let. .rpg. .die. .so. .many. .done. .for. .><. .otaku. .is dieing. .NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! AAAAAAAAAAAACK!

________

[i]The group followed Athen through the suburbs until he stopped in front of a large house.

Large cracks ran thorugh the bricks, gutters hung rusted and tiles were cracked. It didn't stick out at all from the othr houses, nor did it look inhabited. .the perfect cover.

Athen kicked open the door and walked down the hall, coming to a dead end, two broken doors lead to rat infested rooms either side. But that wasn't what Athen was interested in. He ran his fingers across the wall, pulling out a key from his pocket. He pushed the oddly shaped key in, and an odd metal sound resounded.

Athen then pulled on the wall. .which turned out to be several inches thick and made of titanium alloy. . .

Harlequin walked in and lit a candle, the dim glow illuminating a comfortable set up. Athen walked into the center of the room and lit a gas lamp, soon the whole room was as bright as day.[/i]

Valeigh: what is this place?

Spyder: dunno . . Athen was the one that found it

Athen: *grabs a couple of cartridges out from a few crates* this was the residence of some friends of mine. .they built this in case of nuclear war, but the lightbearers came along and there wasn't any need. They were tortured and 'converted' I managed however to steal the key. .and this has been my storehouse ever since.

[i]Athen walks over to ones side, fumbling with the wall for a while, he motions for Harlequin to help him, and they both lift up a titanium window, letting in fresh air and light.[/i]

Athen: there. .if you haven't noticed, those 3 crates a packed with ammunition. .stuff that my firends packed. .bit of a redneck family aswell if you will. .I think theres a bit of tinned stuff in the corner aswell. .

Rico: *nods* so what now?

Spyder: *closes the door* we wait. .get some rest. .

[The Harlequin]

The Harlequin: If you say so. I however...

Spyder: Damn it, don't start that again.

Athen: Oh yes, I forgot about that.

Valeigh: You have some kind of problem?

Spyder: Harlequin is exquisitely prejudiced.

Harlequin: That's the first time I've heard it decribed that way. Anyway, I don't need to sleep, so I'll watch. From OUTSIDE.

[I]The Harlequin turns and quickly leaves the room before anyone can object. They all hear his light landing as he leaps on to the roof. And in all their hearts, their is one sincere question... 'why the hell does everyone here spend so much time on the roof of whatever place they are staying??? I mean, really....'[/I]

Rico: So, what exactly is this prejudice you speak of?

Athen: Remember how I said this was the house of a rather redneck family? Harlequin doesn't like renecks. Which is strange, considering half his family were back country yokels.

Spyder: That's why he hates it, he has so much to live down.

Rico: That's not prejudice, that's obsession...

Spyder: So? At least we get a devoted sentry, without anyone who needs sleep losing it.

[Ravenstorture]

[I]Spyder sings a few lines of "redneck past" by ben folds five and follows Harlequin outside and onto the roof.[/I]

Harlequin: Was there something?

Spyder: Yes, you [I]know[/I] I can't get to sleep without you.

Harlequin: So, do you want me to come inside?

Spyder: No, just don't let me fall off the roof.

[I]Before Harlequin can voice an argument, Spyder curls up beside him and falls fast asleep in his shadow from the moonlight. Harlequin sighs and puts his arm around Spyder, looking out over the ruined city and destroyed signs of life.[/I]

[liamc2]

[i]Athen looks around the shelter, and notices that Valeigh and Rico and involved in an engaging conversation. He sighs and climbs out the window to get some air. .this place seemed a bit to crowded for him[/i]

Athen: *chuckles* young love. .heh. .

[Ravenstorture]

[color=crimson][SIZE=3][B]THIS RPG ISN'T OVER UNTIL SELLUM IS DEAD, PEOPLE, SO KEEP POSTING!![/B][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Flash]

Come on now, Cloricus. Don't spam, and stay out of Ravenstorture's RPG. She's the creator, whether or not you participate is up to her.

And now back to our regularly scheduled Role-Playing. :)

[The Harlequin]

[I]Seeing Athen jump out the window, The Harlequin calls out softly.[/I]

Harlequin:Someone lock the door?

[I]Athen looks up, sees Spyder's somnolent state, and climbs up softly.[/I]

Athen: I assumed you two were busy. Otherwise I wouldn't have troubled myself with the window.

[I]Harlequin takes off his cloak, bundling it up. Laying it beside him, he gently shifts Spyder's head off his lap. Athen looks on, unsurprised at Harlequin's tender concern. [/I]

Athen: You're fraud you know Harlequin.

[I]Harlequin looks at him, surprised.[/I]

Harlequin: I'm not sure I understand that...

Athen: You never show a shred of emotion around anyone else, yet you go out of your way to be gentle to her.

Harlequin: You only just realised that?

Athen: Well, no... The chance just hasn't come up to expose you before.

Harlequin: Well, I do have a reputation to maintain, so I'd ask that you keep it quiet.

Athen: I hate to tell you this, but it's really quite obvious.

[I]Harlequin looks startled for a moment, then bursts into soft laughter. His mirth awakens Spyder, who again moves next to him and lays her head on his lap.[/I]

Spyder: What are you to laughing at?

Athen: We're discussing Harlequin's attempts at hiding emotion.

Harlequin: Such as they are.

[I]At his wry admission, Spyder too starts laughing. Very soon, they are all consumed with mirth.[/I]

[Ravenstorture]

[I]Spyder rolls onto her back and stares up into harlequin's face, smiling.[/I]

Spyder: It always comes back to just us three, doesn't it?

Harlequin: Are you complaining?

Spyder: No, but.... well, you know why.

Athen: Do you still dream about it?

Spyder: I used to, but I haven't since I got my blade back.

Harlequin: You haven't slept since you got it back.

Spyder: Well, I didn't dream of it then.

Harlequin: Do you dream of it every night?

Athen: Do you?

Harlequin: I don't dream.

[I]Athen nods, Spyder chuckles.[/I]

Spyder: Athen, what do you see?

Athen: I see us three, standing before the alter, recieving our blades.

Spyder: I usually see us fighting Sellum, or my Father getting killed.

[I]Harlequin holds Spyder closer as she closes her eyes at the memory.[/I]

Spyder: Where is your oath blade, my love?

[The Harlequin]

[I]Harlequin suddenly looks grim, and sighs.[/I]

Harlequin: Buried. I didn't bother to bring it with me.

Spyder: What!

Harlequin: Death...alters...one's perception somewhat. All sorts of things change. I no longer believe that something a trivial as a blade really means anything. I'm not even sure if I care anymore whether Sellum is killed or not.

Athen: How can you say that?

Harlequin: Make no mistake, I still want the Lightbearers destroyed. But even if Sellum is eliminated, someone will take his place. The only way it can be ended is if the Lightbearers are destroyed to a man, and all traces of them scoured from the earth.

Spyder: But there is no way we alone could acomplish that!

Harlequin: I know. But that is something I would devote myself to. Not the death of a single man.

Spyder: You've changed so much. I'm not sure I know you anymore.

[I]Harlequin looks stricken. Spyder, quickly rephrases...by kissing him hard.[/I]

Spyder: Worry not, my sensitive rock, I love you still.

Harlequin: If you two decide to go after Sellum, doubt not that I will go with you.

[I]The three sit in silence for a while, each consumed by their own thoughts.[/I]

[Ravenstorture]

[I]I lay curled in Harlequin's lap and thought back to the days where I used to live with my family, and everything was how it should be. I never would have guessed my father would have been killed, brutally murdered in front of me, by a religious fanatic with blue blood. That the world would be taken over by them, and life changed completely. But nobody saw it coming... the changeover was so sudden, so well planned... there was a slight hiccup to the way things were in everyday life but afterwards... well, you adapted. I was so shocked at how easily my mind just sat back and told me that this was simply how things were going to be from now on. I still fought, however, defied the religion at all cost (some costs being my family and my normality) but I think still that it is worth it. But there was no way on this scarred planet that I would let this be what people perceive as 'normal'. I vowed every day to fight until my ultimatum - beyond death, beyond capture. I was stunned to see the my father die, it seemed as if he fell away from me, as if we were standing together, his back to a cliff edge, and when he told me his thoughts he had simply released my embrace and fell back, over the edge and out of sight. Behind my closed eyes I could see his body fall slowly through the air to the raging sea below, flocks of gulls swirling oblivious to the fate of my world slipping through my fingers and onto the sharp, jagged rocks of despair below. And not once, during my whole revelation, did I stop loving him - even just a bit. He was staring straight into my eyes when the last breath fell from his lips and sank to the ground below. He loved me so much, it was as if he spent the last seconds of his life in bliss because he was looking at the person he loved the most and thinking of how proud he was of me. He still told me that in my nightmares.
The image became a dream and I slept, unaware of the tears that streamed down my still face.[/I]

[Raiha]

[COLOR=royalblue]Valeigh: ...

[i]She took Rico's face in her hands and gently touched her lips to his forhead. Then she turned around and faced the window, her arms around her shoulders....[/i]

Rico: What was that for?

Valeigh: ...Just wanted to tell you...before we all die.

Rico: You think it's that hopeless?

Valeigh: After the events of the night...yes.[/COLOR]

[liamc2]

[i]Athen swung his legs over the side of the roof, looking at the clear night sky[/i]

Athen: if only one good thing came out of this. .it would have to be the night sky

[i]He turned around to see if anyone was listening before going on[/i]

Athen: . . .it was weird how all the pollution vanished when the factories closed down. .I have no doubt that the lightbearers had some wacked out machine that sucked it all up. .heh. .but such is the price for a clear sky and clean water. .

[The Harlequin]

Harlequin: And would you consider it worth it?

Athen: I really don't know. Spyder?

Spyder: I'm not sure either. Harlequin?

[I]Harlequin waits a moment before answering.[/I]

Harlequin: Yes. I'd consider it worth it even had the pollution not gone away. The New World is far more interesting than the shattered wreck we left behind.

Athen: You make it sound like to we all travelled to another planet.

Harlequin: In many ways we did. If you dragged somebody from the Old World here, to this time, and asked them where it was, they'd not have a clue. The world changed so much. Nothing is recognisable anymore. Not even ourselves...

Spyder: You consider death worth it.

Harlequin: Death was no big thing. Remember, there were so many times I longed for death. And I was so disappointed when it came.

[I]Suddenly frustrated, Harlequin stands up and starts to pace, almost seeming to leave the other two.[/I]

Harlequin: What does it matter. The past is done, the future is a cycle, and the present an illusion.

[RicoTranzrig]

[COLOR=darkblue][i]Rico's eyes stayed wide open throughout their entire conversation. He wasn't sure how to approach what Valeigh just did, but he'd surely talk about it, even though he was startled by it.[/i]

Rico: We could always escape from the city.

Valeigh: And do what?

Rico: Whatever...you know? It's not like we won't be able to live out there. Who knows what lies out of this place.

Valeigh: The lighbearers stalk the outskirts of the city...we won't get out easily.

Rico: And they'll come for us if we stay.

Valeigh: We can't abandon the others.

Rico: Of course not...that would be cowardly.

Valeigh: Then what?

Rico: ...I don't know right now...

Valeigh: They'll come for us...we'll die...

Rico: What did you want to tell me anyway?...[/COLOR]

[Ravenstorture]

Spyder: So, what do we do then? If killing Sellum does nothing (except forfill our prophecy), and the world is better how it is, then.... what?

Athen: So you're giving up now too, then?

Spyder: I don't see it as giving up.

Harlequin: We can probably live separately to the communes of lightbearers, and survive.

Spyder: But is that all it comes down to? Survival? I don't want to live that way! I don't want to spend the rest of my life running away from these monsters! I want to... be free again.

Harlequin: There is probably another way.

Spyder: And we are yet to find it. But we have come this far....

[Raiha]

[COLOR=seagreen]Valeigh: ......It's something you might already know.

Rico: Like what?

[i]She raised her hand and bend down her middle and fourth finger, forming the universal sign of love. Rico stared for a few seconds, then looked at Valeigh. She dropped her hand to her side and looked him in the eye, face flushing blue.[/i]

Valeigh: ......understand?

Rico: Perfectly.[/COLOR]

[RicoTranzrig]

[COLOR=darkblue][i]Rico's eyes gave a serious look towards Valeigh. His eyes were wide open and he felt a slight pain in his chest. Heavy, but it didn't bother him. The feelings were strong now that they were out in the open. He had to respond...[/i]

Valeigh:...

Rico: There's always a way out of a bad situation.

Valeigh: IF not?

Rico: Then we run...and wait...

Valeigh: Do you think the others are thinking of running away from whomever's chasing us?

Rico: Yeah...they know a lot more than we do. *Rico takes her hand and raises it up to brush with his lips.*

Valeigh: What should we do?

Rico: Are you talking about the dillema that we have now or the one concerning the lightbearers.

Valeigh: *blush* mmm..

Rico: If you're talking about the lightbearers, then we should find a way to combat against them without getting killed...though if you're asking what we should do right this moment, just the two of us, I'd say, "Just let our hearts decide because they've already decided a long time ago."

[i]Rico let go of her hand and they sat on the hardwood floor. He waited for her to move...[/i]

Valeigh: ??

Rico: Come here...I'll keep you warm and safe for the night...not like the previous days where we kept our distance.

Valeigh: Thank you...Rico.

Rico: I don't know what's going to become of us because of this...but I hope for the best....[/COLOR]

[Raiha]

[COLOR=seagreen]Valeigh: .....I think it is.

[i]She curled up and Rico wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling him close to her. Valeigh sighed and looked up at him.....[/i]

Rico: What is it?

Valeigh: ...nothing bad. I just like that...

Rico: Me too..........[/COLOR]

[Ravenstorture]

[I]Spyder sat in silence for a while, contemplating. She then stood, abruptly, and kissed Harlequin passionately before running and jumping off the apex of the roof. A dull thud was heard a second later, then silence. Athen and Harlequin ran to the edge of the roof and peered over the edge. Spyder's body lay on the hard ground below, twisted and lifeless.[/I]

[The Harlequin]

Athen: Oh my god. What now?

Harlequin: We wait a day or so. Actually, I'm very interested to see how long it takes, and what exactly what happens May answer a few questions.

[I]Harlequin climbs down and arranges Spyder's body, laying her head in his lap. He is obviously not going to move until she is reanimated.[/I]

[liamc2]

[i]Athen looks at Harlequin and thinks for a while[/i]

Athen: hmm. .I'll go look for some rations. .maybe I'll find a pineapple and we can have oursleves a luau! *starts humming indiscriminant Hawaiian tunes*

Harlequin: *raises and eyebrow*

Athen: *cough* or I could just get some jerky and meditate the night away. .

[Ravenstorture]

[I] I felt a falling sensation, nausia seeping through from my bones and liquidising my organs. Weightlessness overcomes me, followed by a brilliant white light and the sound of screaming. The screams sloidify and I am floating in plasma, my body stretched beyond belief in the nonexistant primordial soup of my memories in HTML, or whatever the physical equivalent is. There is a low growling sound at the back of my head and distant limbs begin to numb under the weight and cold of the liquid. No air, no breathing, my body is saturated with the static of existance. No life flashing before my eyes, no cupboard filled with all the things I have lost. Damn, I had been looking forward to that. Sudden release of pressure, the slime I lie submerged in slips away beneath me and I lie in a cast iron bathtub in an old house. The house has been wrecked by fire, and the roof is supported on one side by a blackened wall, the other side dips low to the ground. I stand and find no blood in my head. Here come the memories...[B]howlonghaveyoubeeninthatbathtubyoungeladyasksmymothershestandsbhindmeandhandsmearollingpinsoicanrolloutthedoughihavemadeforthechristmaspuddingfortonightsdinneriscoldihavebeensittingoutsideforanhournowandnobodyhascometofetchmebutitdoesntmatterbecauseiwasneverlovedlikemyatherlovedmehestandsbeforemeandpushesmyfaceintothebleedingbodyofmymotherwhohasjustgivenbirthtotheendofmyfreedom...[/B]

I awake witha shock, and look around me. It is dark, cold, wet, raining.... my head lies in the lap of my god. He is carved of stone and stares lifelessly ahead. I stand and find that I have needles suck in my body, and Harlequin suddenly laughs and stands and knocks me to the ground with his stone fist I fall and fall and fall and land and the pain overcomes me and my legs are broken and I am lying in the lap of my god, Harlequin, he smiles down at me and strokes my face. I hear the distant humming of an hawaiian tune and wonder if the passing isn't over yet...[/I]