(Astral Dive) Tomb of the Exarch

[Yumyumcrow]

Continued from Beyond the Obelisk...

Briar Rose pokes her head through the portal. She experiences a feeling not unlike dipping her head through a fall of cold water, or an aqueous bubble. There is a feeling of wet; a pressure; a sense of yielding...

And then she is sucked through, drawn in like an insect trapped in amber...

She is standing on a small beach, sandy and pebble strewn. Waves crash, chewing on the beach and off to her left and right, clawing at the hardy cliffs. She is on an island. Azure sky. Wine dark sea. The island is all sand and rock and intimidating cliffs.

The way forward is a narrow path that scythes through the rocky interior.

[Briar Rose]

This is magnificent. Beautiful. Wondrous.

Could the scythes cut her? Was this a defence, or the ascetic of the Exarch entombed?

Briar Rose stares in awe. Feeling like she should step forward, but it is the absence of weight tugging on her hand that causes her pause. She'd given it to Star. So much for that sense of safety. Though she should have expected and all or nothing deal. Sinking into meditation wasn't, it was a jolt, a pull, the pain and suddenly - ! Here. Or there rather.

She stays, she decides. To see if Star will come through, but if he doesn't. She'll go forward and see for herself.

[Star]

Nice trick.

It's the trick, isn't it? The Vanishing Act. Except, you know, there'd totally been a hand in his and now there wasn't.

Uh.

Damn.

It's not like he can just leave her. It's totally that and not wanting to see the MURDER TOMB OF THE EXARCH himself that makes him step through.

[Yumyumcrow]

Star steps through the portal. He feels the hard, cold, slap of the boundary between the Astral and a Dream Realm - just like the Thyrsus, it feels like has just walked through a waterfall.

And he is on a sandy, pebble strewn beach.

On a rocky island, under an azure sky with a wine dark sea behind him. Waves crash in the surf, breaking the silence.

Now that there are two to share the dream, there is a breath of wind, salty from the sea. And the cry of a distant seagull.

[Briar Rose]

"Hi." she says, a wry grin upon her face, "Looks like were both not dead." still giving a gander towards the scythed landscape, "Think those rocks can cut us if we get too close."

"So, this is totally some Homer shit ya?" she says, not realizing how it sounded pulling out he reference, after she didn't know what the Fates were a short time ago.

"So, forward?" she asks, knowing there had to be more then this magnificent beach.

[Star]

Ummm.

Okay.

Yeah, sure it's no mausoleum that would make the Colossus of Rhodes look like a toy soldier. There's no trumpeting angels carved out of diamond accompanying an ascension. No orchards grown in a maze of mystic sigils, each bearing fruit which, when cut upon, had a perfectly formed profile portrait impression where the seeds were.

But he supposed it worked. Just not. Y'know. Very Exarch-y.

"Maybe Homer Simpson," he answered irreverently. "Sitting on a beach guzzling Mai Tais."

It's awfully tempting to just reach out and see if he could make the water from the waves stop. Instead he looks, using Aether eyes to see if there's any tell-tales of spellcraft.

"Sure, sure. Lead on."

[Briar Rose]

A laugh, a head shake, "Mai Tais be amazeballs right now." because that was what the important part of the sentence was.

Looking at the rocks and the waves. Briar Rose, makes to shape her Will, makes to move across the beach towards the path and -

"Y'know I thought you'd add 'McDuff.'" See, she totally knew book things, and not that she's stalling for time.

  failure

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2020-04-18 11:32:59		Briar Rose rolls 5 to Astral Moooove (Resolve 3 + Gnosis 2) (10 Again)		2, 5, 3, 4, 3		failure

[Yumyumcrow]

This dream realm is not the Astral Sea.

Here... One must walk. As Briar Rose soon discovers.

And so she (reluctantly) puts one foot in front of the other and heads off along the narrow path that carves it way to the islands rocky interior, with Star following along behind.

And there they find it. In a bowl like depression framed on all sides by rocky ramparts - the Tomb of the Exarch.

OK. Not so much Tomb - but a grecian style temple: old, ancient, crumbling. Not a lot of vegetation. The air seems thicker, here: a heady presence, filled with unspent static electricity. There is an aroma of incense and burned offering teasing in the heavy air and even the sounds of the sea seem to fade out.

Braziers burn marking the path as it reaches the grecian structure, yet somehow, they don't seem inviting.

The source of the heady atmosphere is obvious to those with the Sight. The building is festooned in magical seals and glyphs. Blue. Grey. Crimson.
Briar Rose can also tell that Life is weak here. This is no place of healing and health.
Star sees so much more: In addition to the Blue, Grey and Crimson seals and glyphs, he can clearly see additional spells of Purple and White. Many of the seals are latticed together, supporting and reinforcing one another. Under his Supernal Vision, the temple-like structure shimmers with power.

[Star]

Walking again? Lame-tastic. At least his residual self image aquaster has the trusty old sneaks.

"I just like saying Mai Tai?" he explained. Some words were just fun to say. Others, not so much. Aaaaaaand... that's a tomb. At least more of the expected visual impression. "Mind, Space, Fate..."

"....Death and Prime," he listed off as he squinted slightly for the final two. "Mastigos with a splash of Fate? Y'know, with a spreadsheet and Mystagogue who specialized in Legacies, we could totally narrow that down to, say, five-ish?"

Closer, but not crossing any lines.

"Unfortunately? I don't think we've got either. I might be able to Scrut up some info. How's your peeping game? Need some Prime lenses?"

Or, like.

Were they just gonna go ahead and go, sans common sense.

[Briar Rose]

Briar Rose almost blows a raspberry as her feet move, and propel her forward. Astral was supposed to be way much more funer.

"I see the Mind, Space and Fate, but yeah. I haven't study Prime. Not a lick. It would be useful, but I'm stubborn." she shrugs, "If you wanna throw them on me, I won't object." she says, leaning forward, then moving forward.

Bad thing about Life? The ability to rewrite your flesh, to knit wounds and heal hurts, it was hell on your self preservation.

"This isn't a place of healing, or health, is like. I dunno, maybe the opposite, but maybe not. But I know it's not vibing with the Green,"