The Storming of Marrowbrook Castle (Phoenix City Chronicles)

"Well, we might as well see if those traps respond to some thing non-living, or if its just motion. As well as the that gap makes me think that there may be more to this than we see." she says brightly "Besides it shouldnt take to long, now should it?"

"Sure, why not!," Knuckles trudged back toward the grave room, "I've been looking for an excuse to hit something anyway..."

Once in the graveyard, he swung his fist down at one of the stone crosses, splintering it into rubble in one shot.

"Wish granted," he looked to Kaylea, "Now let's get back to the pit."

"Thank you Knuckles." with that she scooped up a couple handfulls of gravel.

walking back to the other room she throws one handfull of gravel in to the room.

"Okay, so we got rocks," Burk shrugged as she came back with the rocks, "But we still gotta throw 'em across. That's a pretty big pit, you guys."



"Well spoken," Tal sighed, "Prove neccessary, it may yet, to send a moving pawn across."



"Unlike Ms. Kaylea, it would be fair to say you gentlemen have not considered all your resources yet," Nevara smirked and shook her head, "The plan is clearly to simply move nonliving matter to the first stone, as a form of intelligence gathering. Once that has been accomplished, a shadow will be sufficient to toss the rubble to additional platforms."



"Gee, thanks Nevara; dunno what we'd do without your input," Knuckles rolled his eyes.



"We are wasting valuable time bickering," Kradu huffed, "Let us commence with the plan and cease discussing the obvious."

As the rocks passed over the air above the first platform, they were burned to ash by flames that came from the walls on either side.



"Well, that's one less pawn you need raise, necromancer," Brother Light smiled a bit.

"Huh. Apparently this one is based on motion..." she says as she slings the othe pile of gravel farther into the room.

Unfortunately, good as Kaylea's aim was, the gravel fell short of the moving platform, which was considerably farther out than the first, it seemed.



"Told ya so," Burk laughed, "I guess we need one of those shadow things."

Cellus' eyes suddenly lit up with an idea and she slipped to the front of the group as they tried to figure out what to do next. With a small smile on her face, she quietly knocked an arrow in her bow and loosd it across the pit.

"She's a genius!," Burk knocked himself in the head at not having thought of that.



"Hai," Tal nodded firmly, clearly impressed.

The arrow soared high across the chasm, but stopped short midway, not far before the second platform where the dirt had fallen short, and hovered in mid-air, crackling with ...lightning?!

Watching as the stones flew across the pit, and the trap activating with just the stones going across and the groups combined agreement that it was activated by movement and not by anything just living.

'Well i guess that shoots down that plan...' watching as the flames fizzle out and fade back to the walls just like before.

Moving to the side of the path as Cellus seemed eager to get to the front of the crowd for some reason,
'Whats her rush, is she going to try to get across on her own...' going silent as he saw her pull out her bow.'...well this is pretty clever, shes thinking quick on her feet'

Watching as the arrow flies across the chasm, and stops about midway where the dust of the stones landed, then in his own suprise watching as it froze in the air and cracked with a flash of lightning.

"Whats going on here, first theres fire, and now we have to deal with lightning... things just seem to be getting better and better."


Taking a closer look at everything that happened,
"Well seems that there is something that is able to be penetrated but cant be seen out in the middle of the chasm, like a sort of wall... but there is nothing as resemblance to ground out there ~pointing out the rock dust that fell~ anyone have any ideas on how we might be able to get past this?"

"And yet, notice I did, that the platform has moved past this wall's particular location," Tal noted, "Indicate, this does, that the platform is not impeded by the wall."



"Or that the platform moves beneath it," Nevara added.



"Well that's easy enough," Burk shrugged, "We just need someone who can hold onto the platform as it goes beneath."



"Let us not forget the electricity Cellus did not place in her bolts to begin with," Kradu warned, "It is safe to assume this wall is charged with magical lightning."



"Cerys could hang on a ceiling by those claws; I've seen him do it," Knuckles grinned, "What's more, he can jump from shadow to shadow to pass those flames, and he's the fastest guy I know."

Cellus turned to Cerys, "I think that's the best plan of action, if you're up to it Mr. Cerys," she said before her face became grave, "But remember, we have no idea what could be on that last platform, so you must be careful."

Looking over the groups plan and putting it into consideration,

"I would agree that it could be done, as for the last platforms we still do not yet know so that will be the trick to it."

Gathering himself up for what he was about to do, Cerys ran through the plan in his mind on where he would go to, and how to do it.

Extending his claws preparing for the grabbing of the underside if the platform, Cerys hopped out to the platform and procceeded to climb to the underside of it clinging onto it, awaiting the moment to jump to the second platforms underside.

As the second platform crept ever so closely to the one he was on, he shadow hopped to the underside of the second platform clinging to the bottom of the platform as the first.

'Well alls good so far... now for the last platform...'

As Cerys moved along the trapped room's weak spot - its underside - he was doing very well, but when he saw the third platform, he knew exactly why it was that he, and he alone, had to complete this mission.

The platform looked sturdy enough from afar, but from this close, he could see that it was on a hinge. A hinge that would have given way under the weight of a normal human being, let alone anything heavier.

Looking at the way the pins were rigged for the added weight to drop anyone off the platform,

'Well guess the weight of anyone else would break the last platform... but i myself being able to change to a cat.. that shouldnt break the pins... so here goes.'

Holding onto the bottom of the platform, cerys shifts back to his cat form, then proceedes to shadow jump over to the far wall, as he lands on the wall, he creeps down the wall, testing out the platforms integrity. Seeing that it isnt faultering, he continues over to the shining object.

Under the small pile of dust, Cerys found, lo and behold, a golden key. Getting back, of course, was a small matter, and soon he arrived at the platform on the other side.



"Way to go, Cerys!," Knuckles patted him on the back a little too hard.



"Nice one!," Burk chimed in, patting the cat on the back before he'd even had time to recover from the last one.



"You never fail to impress," Brother Light smiled warmly.



"Well spoken," Tal nodded.



"It all makes sense now...," Kradu said cryptically, as if thinking aloud.

Cellus let out a sigh of relief and a laugh, scooping up the nekomimi and giving him a tight hug, "Great job, Mr. Cerys!" she said happily before realizing she had most likely overstepped her bounds and setting down her companion sheepishly. "Now that we have the key, I guess we can go to the third door now, right?" she asked the group at large.

"Our hero." she beams, reaching out and scratching the cats head. "Well shall we try that last door then?"

"It would seem to be the appropriate course of action," Nevara nodded, "By your leave, Cerys."

Giving a small smile to victory, for getting back with the key in hand,
'Well it was a pain to get over there but made it back with the key in tow.'

No sooner than he arrived back at the platform where all his collegues were at, it felt as he got slapped on the back, and hearing Knuckels voice afterwards, saying his congratulations to him for getting back.

'Well you could be a little easier on the patting, that would have knocked me out if it was my head you ~pet~'

No sooner than he finished Burk seemed to apply the same so Cerys, yet again in the same spot... almost rolling over in the little bit of pain from those two blows, he was cradled by Cellus, in a more gentle manner than the other two.

'Now this i could get used to.'

Looking up at Cellus's face, seeing it turn a little red for some reason, being put back down, Kaylea came forth and reached out to scratch his head.


Taking the key in hand, Cerys turns back into his former half cat form, and proceedes to walk forward, albit a little dizzy from the two blows by Knuckles and Burk, manages to get to the third door and pulls up the key, placing it in the keyhole.

Looking back to the group,
"Unknown to what lies behind here, are we all ready to go through."

The next room was too small for everyone to fit in at once, but it was not the room itself, but what was in it that mattered; a flight of stairs, leading downward.

Cellus looked around at the group wtih a nervous smile, "Well, I guess there's nowhere to go but down..." she said, stepping forward and beginning her descent down the stairs.

"Down it is then." she sighs resalutely and follows after Cellus.

As the others followed suit, the group found that, at the end of the stairs, they were standing in a corridor which turned sharply around a corner and out of sight.



"I got a bad feeling about this," Knuckles groaned.

Kinda giving off a feint laugh,
"Well weve come this far, and we were able to get past that other room... so we all should be able to get out of this one as well."

Heading down the stairwell behind some of the others.

"I would have to agree with you on this one too Kunckles, it is a littlebit of a bad feeling for me too."

Cellus looked back at the group, "We'll just have to be careful on how we proceed," she said, matter-of-factly, "But if we go by the engraving, we should be expecting some sort of maze."