Let's go find a dragon

[Channelknight Fadran]

5 minutes ago, Ookla the Grammatical said:

"Yeah, let's hope." She looked away, feeling kind of guilty. "So, Val, what are you here for?"

"It's honestly just an excuse to get out of school, and... other things."

[Condensation she/her]

Just now, Ookla the Channelknight said:

"It's honestly just an excuse to get out of school, and... other things."

"No, not here. At the school. Although I am kind of curious about those other things."

[Channelknight Fadran]

2 minutes ago, Ookla the Grammatical said:

"No, not here. At the school. Although I am kind of curious about those other things."

"I'm just here for basic education. The other reasons..." Val thought for a moment. "How about I wait to tell you that until after we get out of town?"

[Condensation she/her]

20 minutes ago, Ookla the Channelknight said:

"I'm just here for basic education. The other reasons..." Val thought for a moment. "How about I wait to tell you that until after we get out of town?"

"Okay, but you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

[Channelknight Fadran]

Just now, Ookla the Grammatical said:

"Okay, but you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"No, I don't mind telling. It's just that if I say stuff here, then they'll toss me in eighty new classes."

[Condensation she/her]

6 minutes ago, Ookla the Channelknight said:

"No, I don't mind telling. It's just that if I say stuff here, then they'll toss me in eighty new classes."

"Oh." Minuet smiled, not sure what else to say.

[Tesh Any pronouns]

6 hours ago, Ookla the Ethereal said:

“Umm...” Avren began as a copy of this apparent prophecy was thrust into his hands. Looking around, this group was stranger than he had thought. Younger, too. And was that an elf? 

“Do you have a leader?” He asked the boy. 

Quote

Sorry... 

School. 

I didn't think people would respond so quickly.

Talnic glanced at the speaker, raising his eyebrows. How was he supposed to respond to that?

"I suppose I was the one who kicked everything off," Talnic said, chuckling softly. "If that's what you define as being a leader, then I guess that would be me. I am also, very likely, the one here with the most experience with dragons." He shrugged. "If someone else wanted to take charge, though, I wouldn't complain. I'd just keep everyone walking in a straight line."

[The Awakened Salad they/them]

8 hours ago, Ookla the Rōnin said:

Sorry... 

School. 

I didn't think people would respond so quickly.

Quote

No need to apologise, life is busy!

8 hours ago, Ookla the Rōnin said:

Talnic glanced at the speaker, raising his eyebrows. How was he supposed to respond to that?

"I suppose I was the one who kicked everything off," Talnic said, chuckling softly. "If that's what you define as being a leader, then I guess that would be me. I am also, very likely, the one here with the most experience with dragons." He shrugged. "If someone else wanted to take charge, though, I wouldn't complain. I'd just keep everyone walking in a straight line."

The man who replied, to Avren’s surprise, was about the same age as himself. “And you’re...” he looked down at the prophecy in his hands, trying to take in the words. “You’re serious about this. Finding a dragon.” 

He could’ve left. Walked away and left this mad crew to whatever grisly fate awaited them. There weren’t many stories of dragons in the west, but everyone there knew never to bother the beasts. 

But there was that pull again. Some invisible string tying him to this group. Travelling with a group was safer, he reminded himself, and maybe... these people would be nice. They were closer to his own age, after all, so maybe he could make—

No. He reined those thoughts back in, stifling his hopes before they could catch alight. He would travel with them, for a while, and when they reached another city, he would leave. That was all.

So instead he asked, “Do you... would you object to one more?” 

[+JesterLavorre she/they]

1 hour ago, Ookla the Ethereal said:

So instead he asked, “Do you... would you object to one more?” 

"Of course not! More the merrier, so they say. I mean... if everyone else is okay with it." As Ara speaks, her illusion, a picture perfect copy of herself, is still behind her, now skipping in place.

[The Awakened Salad they/them]

58 minutes ago, Ookla the Sprinkle said:

"Of course not! More the merrier, so they say. I mean... if everyone else is okay with it." As Ara speaks, her illusion, a picture perfect copy of herself, is still behind her, now skipping in place.

Avren watched, spellbound, as an exact clone of the girl in front of him skipped along behind her. 

“That’s... amazing,” he said, stumbling over the words. “You’re an, um, illusionist?”

[+JesterLavorre she/they]

54 minutes ago, Ookla the Ethereal said:

Avren watched, spellbound, as an exact clone of the girl in front of him skipped along behind her. 

“That’s... amazing,” he said, stumbling over the words. “You’re an, um, illusionist?”

“Sort of... I can do other things too, but I’m best at illusions. I’ve sort of had to hide to survive these past few months. Hopefully I won’t have to anymore if we’re successful.”

[Knight of Iron she/they]

Orpheus watched as some of the travelers  showed off their powers. And they were interesting, but Orpheus began to feel at a disadvantage. He had no powers.

Yᴏᴜ ᴄᴀɴɴᴏᴛ ʟɪᴇ ᴛᴏ ʏᴏᴜʀsᴇʟғ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴛʜɪs. Yᴏᴜ ᴅᴏ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴘᴏᴡᴇʀs, ʏᴇᴛ ʏᴏᴜ sᴜᴘᴘʀᴇss ᴛʜᴇᴍ.

“Like I’d use the literal power of the devil,” Orpheus muttered to himself, a little louder than he intended. He glanced around furtively. It’d be best if the rumors of himself never returned. The rambling psychopath.

[The Awakened Salad they/them]

28 minutes ago, Ookla the Sprinkle said:

“Sort of... I can do other things too, but I’m best at illusions. I’ve sort of had to hide to survive these past few months. Hopefully I won’t have to anymore if we’re successful.”

I know how that feels, he thought, wondering what happened to this girl, and how she seemed so optimistic. 

“Sounds useful,” he replied, shoving down his rising envy. “Oh, I’m— my name’s Avren.”

[Tesh Any pronouns]

"My... abilities..." Talnic said slowly, careful to not let anything unintended slip out. The longer he would be around these people, the more they would learn about him, and that would be more information that they could use against him. He would be cautious, just as he had been in the past. "Are rather useless. You all know about the prophecies. I likely won't have another one for a few months after we finish this quest. I don't know where that came from." Talnin pulled off his glove and held up his hand, and tapped the simple golden ring he wore around his index finger. "This allows me to sense the presence of other humans. I can tell how many are in a room before entering, and it is impossible to sneak up behind me. Unfortunetly, it can't sense beings of another species, so it will be mostly useless for what we're planning on doing."

Talnic put his glove back on, and then removed a map from his coat pocket, the paper crinkling in his gloved hand. Talnic unrolled the map and held it up against the wall, pointing to the dot that was Zemel. "We are here," he said, then began moving his finger along a faint charcoal line that he had sketched onto the map the previous night. "This is the best route for us to take to get to where the majority of the dragons are located. I made it so we avoided any small villages, and only go through the large ones to get supplies. The trip should take about two months, maybe longer, depending on the weather. Before we leave, we will need to get supplies to last us until we reach Noter. From there, we will be able to stock up again in Tarboda, although the ferrymen do charge quite a lot to take you across the river. However, they always are aware of the recent activities of the dragons, so it would be a good place to be. I'd suggest getting enough rations for four weeks, maybe more, if you can afford it. And if you don't have other things like a travelling cloak or coat, a bedroll, or waterskins, you'll need those as well. It will be cold, especially as we move farther North, so keep that in mind." Talnic pulled the map down from the wall, rolled it up, and shoved it down into his pocket. "The market on the East side of Zemel is best for things like this, in my experience. Questions? "

[Condensation she/her]

"Are we coming back here after we've gotten our stuff? Because I have everything I'll need."

[Tesh Any pronouns]

1 hour ago, Ookla the Grammatical said:

"Are we coming back here after we've gotten our stuff? Because I have everything I'll need."

"It would probably be best to meet in the market. That way we won't need to head back through town when we leave."

[Knight of Iron she/they]

1 minute ago, Ookla the Rōnin said:

"It would probably be best to meet in the market. That way we won't need to head back through town when we leave."

“This sounds good to me,” said Orpheus, “Though I currently don’t have enough for four weeks of rations, unless I leave my sister destitute. And I’m not going to let that happen.”

[Tesh Any pronouns]

2 minutes ago, Ookla the Knight said:

“This sounds good to me,” said Orpheus, “Though I currently don’t have enough for four weeks of rations, unless I leave my sister destitute. And I’m not going to let that happen.”

Talnic reached into his coin pouch and pulled out a gold coin, one of several left over from his last job. He held it out to the kid. "That should be enough to cover it," he said.

[Knight of Iron she/they]

2 minutes ago, Ookla the Rōnin said:

Talnic reached into his coin pouch and pulled out a gold coin, one of several left over from his last job. He held it out to the kid. "That should be enough to cover it," he said.

Orpheus reached slowly for the gold coin, disbelieving. This man must be rich, to just give this to him like that. He took it and held the weight of it in his hand. It was lighter than he had imagined, yet still heavier than any other denomination of coin.

 “I... thank you.”

 Suddenly the reality set in that he, if they could somehow pull this off, could be rich. Never having to worry about his hunting skills not being enough. Never stressing for his mother, or his sister. He could actually be well off, for once in his life.

He slipped the coin into his pocket, and continued forward with real determination. He didn’t think this ragtag crew of the mysterious prophecy warrior and the enthusiastic students (albeit some were more reluctant; Orpheus specifically felt bad for the youngest, the elf) could even find this dragon. But for the first time, he allowed his heart to carry a little hope that they would.

[Tesh Any pronouns]

1 hour ago, Ookla the Knight said:

“I... thank you.”

Talnic nodded. He could understand not having much. Besides, he wouldn't spent the money on anything other than food himself.

"All right. Meet by the potter's stall at the market in two hours. Let me know if you need help with anything. I don't want anyone to run out of food when we're in the middle of nowhere."

Remember, Talnic thought, it's your duty to see these people out alive, but after that, leave them behind. You dragged them into this mess. Get them out of it. Then they won't be your problem anymore. Don't open up, don't share, watch from a distance. It's for the best.

As it always has been.

[Condensation she/her]

Minuet thought for a second. It'd probably be good to have extra food, she mused. And if I didn't need it, I could give it to someone else who does. Decided, she followed one of the people to the market.

[The Awakened Salad they/them]

Cold dread spiked through Avren at the thought of going to the market. The chance of being recognised was low, but if he was... 

He didn’t have any food. Or money, for that matter. And he didn’t want to risk getting caught stealing. Not now. 

He watched as the leader handed a gold coin to the younger boy, wondering if he could ask for the same. People began to depart, but Avren was rooted to his place, caught in a web of indecision. 

[Knight of Iron she/they]

1 hour ago, Ookla the Grammatical said:

Minuet thought for a second. It'd probably be good to have extra food, she mused. And if I didn't need it, I could give it to someone else who does. Decided, she followed one of the people to the market.

As Orpheus walked to the market, he noticed one of the academy students following him, a girl with curly red hair. He hadn't been a part of all the chattering of the students that first night, mainly sticking close to the mysterious man he had been led to, so he didn't know her name or her powers. Or if she even had powers.

He had ignored learning about the different magic systems of the world when he was growing up, mainly because he didn't care too much. The only powers he had any degree of detailed knowledge about were the... darker powers. And from what Orpheus had learned, he doubted many people had those.

"You need food as well, then?" Orpheus asked, turning to her suddenly.

[Condensation she/her]

2 hours ago, Ookla the Knight said:

As Orpheus walked to the market, he noticed one of the academy students following him, a girl with curly red hair. He hadn't been a part of all the chattering of the students that first night, mainly sticking close to the mysterious man he had been led to, so he didn't know her name or her powers. Or if she even had powers.

He had ignored learning about the different magic systems of the world when he was growing up, mainly because he didn't care too much. The only powers he had any degree of detailed knowledge about were the... darker powers. And from what Orpheus had learned, he doubted many people had those.

"You need food as well, then?" Orpheus asked, turning to her suddenly.

"What?" said Minuet, caught off guard. Her people sense didn't warn her about their intentions, of course. "I've got plenty, but more can always be good. Well, to a certain extent."

[Tesh Any pronouns]

2 hours ago, Ookla the Ethereal said:

Cold dread spiked through Avren at the thought of going to the market. The chance of being recognised was low, but if he was... 

He didn’t have any food. Or money, for that matter. And he didn’t want to risk getting caught stealing. Not now. 

He watched as the leader handed a gold coin to the younger boy, wondering if he could ask for the same. People began to depart, but Avren was rooted to his place, caught in a web of indecision. 

Talnic noticed one of the others watching him, seemingly nervous. As the others began to leave, Talnic strode up to him. "You don't have to come, you know," Talnic said quietly.