<JadedDM's Private Thread>

[JadedDM]

Since the doors are all closed, Aeolus decides that the woman probably didn't go through them. So he continues forward for now, figuring he can always backtrack later if necessary.

[chese780]

At this point, Aeolus is at the entrance to the large, open room. Looking around, he can see that the room is just like every other would be, if it weren't for the fact that the ceiling is much too high to be inside a building. Actually, the ceiling isn't even visible from where Aeolus stands. In front of his is a very large door, made of some shiny yellow metal, emblazoned with similar runes as before. Along the walls are random ledges overlooking the floor below.

[JadedDM]

Aeolus tries to open the golden door, unless it turns out to require more puzzle solving, in which case he'll fly up to one of the ledges to see if he can get a better view of what's above.

[chese780]

Looking to the door, Aeolus can see that it is made exactly the same as the one he saw before, however there is no response when he touches this one. Around the door is a stone masonry that shows four key-like indents, but no handle or obvious opening mechanism. The door is obviously magical in origin, shown by the pulsing glows around the more detailed areas.

Seeing no clear way to open it, Aeolus decides to fly up to a ledge. This ledge is the second off the ground, just barely above the door's peak. When he lands there, Aeolus can see an entrance in front of him. However, this entrance shows a room beyond it, with an entrance similar to itself directly across from it. It's as if he were staring through a mirror.

[JadedDM]

Aeolus attempts to go through the mirror entrance then.

[chese780]

Aeolus (Ariven Gate, 473)
(OOC: Only using transitions when something changes.)

Stepping through the entrance, Aeolus sees himself facing the same room as before, however a few things have changed. He went through on the east side, but now he is standing on the west side facing the east. Sitting in front of the gate now is the woman he saw before, except this time she makes no notion that she sees Aeolus.

[JadedDM]

Confused, Aeolus watches the woman to see what it is she is doing. He also looks around to see if anyone else is around that he can see, as well.

[chese780]

Looking around, the room is exactly the same as before. No one is there, except for him and the woman. The woman is just sitting in front of the door, seemingly waiting.

[JadedDM]

Aeolus will take note as to whether the woman appears armed or dangerous in any way. If not, he will squawk to get her attention. If she does look dangerous, he'll instead attempt to sneak back the way he came.

[chese780]

The woman is not armed in any way, nor does she look dangerous. As she sits there, Aeolus can feel the same sense of magic coming from where he came and straight in front of him. After trying to get her attention with a squawk, Aeolus sees the woman turn to face him, however, she says nothing.

[JadedDM]

Not fully grasping what is happening, Aeolus tries speaking to the woman in common. That was the language most humans spoke, anyway. "Who are you? Where are we?" he asks.

[chese780]

(OOC: Didn't realize I ranked up. Cool.)

The woman smiles a little, continuing to sit there. Despite the distance between them, Aeolus can hear her words clearly. "Who am I? Oh, that won't matter right now. As for where we are, well... That's a different story," she says, getting up. "We are currently ten years in the past, in an old temple."

Suddenly, a loud noise rings out from the seemingly unseen ceiling. It sounds much like something trying to slam itself at a stone wall to break it. The walls shake and the floor trembles. The woman looks up at the ceiling, then to the golden door.

"I thought we would have more time to talk, but it seems not."

[JadedDM]

Although Aeolus speaks and understands Common, there are numerous phrases that are alien to him. He's never gotten the hang of the nuances of the language. Humans never seem to say what they mean, constantly relying on metaphors, adages, and idioms.

He assumes the woman is using such a turn of phrase when she says they are 'in the past.' Because otherwise that statement makes no sense to him. The past is...well, the past. You can't be in the past. It has already gone. Just thinking about it makes his head hurt.

"This place is breaking up. We have to get out of here before we are buried!" he caws. That much seems obvious to him, but the woman is so calm, as if she wasn't concerned at all. Perhaps she was not all there. That would explain her strange comment about being in the past.

[chese780]

(OOC: Lol. If I can expect one thing from you Jaded, its that you RP things fabulously.)

The woman sighs, "I forgot about language barriers. Well, we only have so long to talk before it manages to get down here."

The noise ceases above them and the woman suddenly stands up. "WAIT. I think I made a mistake. With all the time I spend in my plane, I forgot how this place works... We're... not ten years... Should have taken a right... This is much, much worse."

She turns to the exit, watching as stones begin to fall from the archway. She starts to rapidly move towards it while trying to talk to Aeolus over her shoulder. She stops in front of the entrance and something seemingly impossible happens.

Aeolus feels the ground below him tremble slightly as he begins to feel like it is moving upward.

[JadedDM]

Aeolus follows after the woman. He has no idea what she is talking about, but she seems to know where she is going. When the floor seems to move, he squawks loudly and flaps his arms in surprise. This doesn't accomplish anything, other than to knock a few loose feathers free. It's an old evolutionary response, pure instinct.

"What is happening?" he manages to ask. "How do we get out of here?"