The discordant whispers and quiet, clanging cries of the oily stone around Max's neck strengthened into Orion; and from there, toward the tunnel that led to Canis. But halfway down the tunnel its ringing became piercing, a howl, as if in agony, as if lost souls twisted to be free.

A cold wind swept up, as if in answer, from one side of the tunnel; and the mist cleared enough that an alcove, swaddled in deep, unnatural shadow, could be seen. There was a strange freshness to it, as though the rock there had not been lying bare for millennia, as though something had cleared a path here not long before; but the odors that wafted up from below were... stale. Dead air, left pooled for... time immeasurable.

Within the alcove was a broad, deep, lightless mouth of stone: an unknown tunnel leading down. Max's stone rang most urgently here, a cry, a wail.

No light, natural or magical, would illuminate this tunnel. Its darkness was immortal and complete. The slope was steep, smooth, and the deeper one went the colder it would get, until it felt as though they had submerged in water: not drowning, but deep, and dark, and cold; and the whispering...

...The whispering grew stronger the deeper one got.

If they had the courage, or perhaps the stupidity, to traipse hundreds of yards down, into the mouth and down the throat of stone, through the whispering dark and the icy touch of unsettling mist... What would they find?

__________

This is the second part of [Quest] The Hole and a continuation of 'On the Search - Sort Of.' New characters may join at any time. There is no post order.

@Max @Black @Qisziux @Oka @Crown @Sword

If someone could describe what was going through Max's mind as he followed the noises of the oily stone, it would be 'elevator musak'. He trotted down the tunnel, stumbling every once in a while, licking his lips at the foul taste in his mouth, his stomach churning.

So he startled as the ring became piercing, hurting his ears, all four paws leaving the ground with a squeal, forgetting he'd been scared by the time he'd hit the ground and darting forward to sniff the wind. "Ew," he sneezed, shaking his head at the loud noise too close to his ears.

He poked his head down the hole, blinking, before lolling his tongue out in a doggy grin and, unless stopped, would begin to trot inside.

Black was padding along slowly, studiously, behind Max. His head came up, scenting the air, here; it was misty, coolly unwelcoming. And it was dark.

He turned to his children.

"There may be danger. I will go with the dog. If you wish, you may seek your Kings in the cave just behind, whilst I do this." And then, awaiting little more, and with little apparent concern, he stepped to the lip of the hole.

Max had disappeared down into the darkness. He turned, and looked straight at his children and--whether Deli was present or not--added, "Do not trust this dog of many colors."

And then he turned, and vanished down into the black.

He was darkness, after all. It suited him. And it was his task to look after Max: to look after anyone. He was Guardian. This was his purpose.

The whispering grew louder, the lower they got. His paws slipped, repeatedly. Even with a flare of magic, his eyes could barely pick out his path; the darkness was unsettlingly unnatural, and there was no natural glow to provide even the slightest speck--no reflection, no dim glow--for their descent. He had to feel his way, instead, grunting now and then in surprise as a paw slipped on the steep slope. Twice he fell, sliding and scrambling with grunted woofs, until he could catch his feet again.

And all the time, the whispers were growing louder.

Excitable as the children were, at least they were obedient.

Crown paused where he'd been trailing Black with his brother, white eyes staring owlishly with faint bobs of the head. His horns arched through the air with a final nod and his bleated, "okay." There was no reason to not have faith in his father's safety and survival. The dog was wise and he was strong. He'd guided them thus far, out of death and into the wonder of life once more.

And... the idea of seeking out the Kings and acquiring wings excited the twins.

Crown butted his head against Sword's shoulder, huffing a soft "come on" and quietly leading the way back through the chilling tunnel.

;exit crown (and sword!) to orion

Deli

Deli followed Max to this tunnel, all the while looking totally unconcerned with whatever was going on. They were interested in where the stone could lead them, sure, but it was like they had no fear for whatever would be at the end of the road.

They stepped towards the tunnel and looked back at the dog when he spoke to his kids, grin widening on his face. "Awwww, why don't you trust me? What did I ever do to you?" They pulled their lip out, pouting, as if actually hurt, but then chuckled and turned, stepped right into the hole without a second thought.

As they descended, trying to actually be a bit careful with where they put their feet, the whisperings had them pausing. Perhaps they should be a little more careful. Opening their senses to the world around, they tried to get a better sense of what was ahead, whether through hearing or smell or the feel of vibrations, though they doubted even enhanced sight would be able to see through this utter darkness.

---

Ah. There was a gathering- heading towards him, then past. Purity had be rather inactive as of late- especially after fleeing from that burnt place to Canis. Like hell he didn't go back to see what the flames uncovered, to scavenge until the land was picked dry. Not to say that he would stay- oh, no no. What if another being decided to accost him? He was much too busy to be interrupted by death swirling above.

No. Nose flaring, he turned to watch the procession, tail flagging high. Maybe he wasn't too busy to let these Gembounds simply pass by, no- he'd stalk behind them, a toxic glare held level at each ones' backs. Where did they think they were going in such a large group? There was nothing in Canis for them. There was nothing anywhere.

They weren't headed to Canis, Purity was soon to discover. Their direction was one far more sinister than decay and death- void and darkness were in their future, soon revealed as they came upon the crack in the wall. "This is what the fuss is all about?" The remark was idle albeit loud enough for the others to acknowledge. As the twins passed by once more, a single thought arose in his mind. 'Cowards.' He gave the briefest flick of a tail to them in dismissal before he peered in, the others already diving in.

Well. His nostrils flared as he stepped in, comforted by the sheer black that surrounded them. He'd follow in their footsteps once his vision went out.

Qisziux had followed Max and the others, partially out of a grudge against Max calling him squishy, and partially from curiosity of the (obvious inferior) necklace and where it was leading them. The noise of the necklace quickly became annoying, and he hoped it'd stop once they got to their destination.

As the others entered the pitch black, he hesitated, definitely because he was waiting for the stragglers to catch up and NOT because he was afraid. He frowned at how the darkness seemed to practically swallow up the gembound who entered, so he got a bright idea- He could make light, right? He could help brighten up the tunnel! He grinned with excitement, as he prepared to cast the spell. But, to his frustration, and embarrassment, nothing more happened than a faint flicker of light.

He quickly looked around, hoping no one else saw his failure, before hurrying into the dark, toxic-smelling tunnel. At least no one could see him now, which would be a travesty in nearly all situations except this one. He was completely blind, which no sense-enhancing spells to help him navigate. He even ended up bumping into someone. "Hey!" He yelled, his voice probably seeming even louder in the quiet and close-corridors of the tunnel.

"Spoken Words."
Thoughts

tags: ---
notes: lazer beeeeeeeam

coding by wulf for template purposes

Oka followed the group closely behind. Their collection of flowers had slowly disspated as they went, leaving Oka with a single stray flower. They clutched it closely to their head. It gave them a little bit of comfort as their group crept deeper within the cavern. Despite the awful smells assaulting their nostrils. "Danger?" They said quietly. Oka was scared, but they were even more scared to leave alone. They felt safer with this group. The strange hooved creatures had left, leaving Oka with the collection of strange dogs, a cat, and Qisz. Oka reached out with a tentacle, searching for their shell. They placed the singular flower on a spike of their shell.

"Stay." They said. It grew a sling root, and then wilted. Sitting on Oka's shell innocently. They frowned, mentally, and plucked it from their shell.

Oka climbed down the cave wall, carefully. The caution was unneeded, for them atleast. Their slime helped them stick to the walls easily.They clung to the walls as if their life depended on it. But, Oka couldn't see very well in general, let alone the dark. And that howling. The noises that stone made, it was terrifying. It was all too noisy. Their eyes were mere nubs within their head, prepared for something to attack it at any turn. They almost immediately changed their mind about wanting the stone. There was a brief spark of light, allowing Oka to see Qisziux for a moment.

Oka flowed down the tunnel, closer to Qisziux. Never mind how Oka felt about them as a gembound, they were safe and familiar to it. They flinched when they heard another voice. One they didn't recognize, asking about the 'fuss'. Not that Oka had any idea what fuss meant. Oka decided to touch on something they did recognize. "Whys it making that sound?" Oka said, straining to be heard above the sound of that thing around Max's neck.

The whispering grew more and more intense.

Long minutes would be spent trudging farther, and farther, and farther down into the cold dark...

...And Max's crystal began to scream. It shattered an instant later, its pieces falling to the ground, its brief resonant cry silenced; but ahead, there was now light.

Of a sort.

A dull, violet, not-light; as if light were reversed. All colors, here, would appear to be negative--black things white, white black, their colors twisted and negated. No light could pierce this place. And a constant, incessant whispering, maddening to the mind, lurked in this room, almost able to be understood, begging the Gembound to listen, to simply listen, to struggle forever, and ever, to make out the words that haunted this room...

Centered in the room was a vast slab of oily black stone, shining like pale marble in the void-light, rainbow hues dancing dim over its surface. It was from this that the glow came, and the voice. It felt wrong. Like a thing that should not be, an alien something inserted into an otherwise-healthy world; a thing that might spread, and sicken... a thing of blackness, and chaos.

It promised them things.

All they had to do... was listen. Come close, and listen.

_________

The Gembound have discovered:

THE DARK ALTAR

All Gembound present at the Dark Altar, bar Max, are now considered Touched, as per this thread, and will experience the listed Visions of Corruption effects.

It is possible to cleanse this stage via the chrysalis; or these Gembound may choose to further their urges as laid out in that thread, and see where this corruption takes them...

Max is considered Corrupted, and is closer to changing than the rest. His stage cannot be cured.

@Max @Black @Qisziux @Oka @Purity

He hissed at the bump, back leg raised before kicking back gently to whap in the air at whatever was there. "Back off." The growl was low and snarly, eyes glancing back to see a silhouette in- No. No silhouette at all. He could feel his nose crinkling at the disturbances crawling across his skin.

When he looked back, a dull, velvet light hit his senses. There was... More to it, too. Even with him behind the others, he stepped forward first, jaw hinged open. A brief wince was all he gave to the necklace shattering. Shame.

But, this? This was no shame at all. The shadows were highlighted, and he held his paw up in examination.

'How curious.' A faint smile curled across his lips. Gently, ever so gently, his toes came to rest on the slab with claws curling to tap at its surface. This oil was what they were after. It was his. Their's, perhaps, but the whispers screamed at him to draw himself ever more to the slick plane. The thing that gave them life, that flowed through their veins, held them together and made them whole, it all shared its oily texture with this.

It consumed him in one glance. Power. Things unknown curled around him, and his smile grew to a wicked grin as he paced around the rock like a preacher at the altar. "It's gorgeous." His voice drifted, entranced, nearly quaking with the thrill of excitement running through his fur. "It's... It's power." His eyes glanced up to the others. "You feel it too, don't you? Nothing- This is like no magic I've ever seen. This- this is more powerful than that dragon." He could rival the masters with this.

But, he shook his head minutely, drawing back for a second and bringing his paw back under himself. "Tell me you hear them, too. The whispers, the... The power surging from this thing. We can use it." His mind interrupted, only briefly, to correct himself silently. 'I can use it. I can become greater than I've ever thought possible with this.' His grin grew sinister as his head angled down, sharp pinpricks of white pupils focusing on the others. Let them see if they wanted to share.

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