Let's go find a dragon

[Knight of Iron]

"She didn't stay long enough to find out," Exodus answered, "She abandoned them."

[Condensation]

Minuet raised her eyebrows.

[Knight of Iron]

"Aaand now she's attacking us."

[The Awakened Salad]

9 hours ago, Tani said:

Rylia checks her swing, drops her sword, steps forward, and shoves Ara into Exodus. She then summons her sword.

A short distance away, hidden among the branches of a tree, a figure watched the exchange with amusement. 

Quote

Tentatively poking my head back through the door. Not completely sure if I want to rejoin, so I'd prefer if no one started an interaction yet.

 

[+JesterLavorre]

19 minutes ago, Knight of Iron said:

"Aaand now she's attacking us."

“I’m sure she has her reasons.” Ara picks herself up off the ground, looking at Rylia with a hurt expression. “Let’s hear her out.”

[Knight of Iron]

1 minute ago, JesterLavorre said:

“I’m sure she has her reasons.” Ara picks herself up off the ground, looking at Rylia with a hurt expression. “Let’s hear her out.”

"Very well."

[S4S]

On 7/25/2021 at 8:26 AM, Trutharchivist said:

"So, I'll just inspect Ni's body to find out why he died, and then we can bury him." Said Sef.

Quote

Let me know how "in-depth" of an inspection Sef performs on Ni, and I will provide necessary details accordingly.

 

[Quivil]

"Call your demon, and I'll stop." Her sword is up, ready to swing at a moment's notice.

[Knight of Iron]

3 hours ago, Tani said:

"Call your demon, and I'll stop." Her sword is up, ready to swing at a moment's notice.

Exodus crossed his arms. “What demon? Why me? Please, I beg of you, explain yourself. If you don’t, you’re not leaving us any other choice.”

Edited August 5, 2021 by Knight of Iron

[Isabelle6060]

Cara found the graveyard and proceeded to dig a grave with Orpheus. Struggling just a little bit, Cara managed to hoist Ni onto Felicity's back. Cara led Felicity to the graveyard and awkwardly pushed Ni's body into the grave. She started to put dirt back in the grave while softly singing a sad song to herself.

@Trutharchivist@Channelknight Fadran @Onimur @Random Bystander @S4S @Knight of Iron

[Trutharchivist]

On 4.8.2021 at 6:24 AM, S4S said:

Let me know how "in-depth" of an inspection Sef performs on Ni, and I will provide necessary details accordingly.

Quote

Let's assume it was relatively shallow. If he died from a clear natural reason Sef should recognise it, but if it's a little obscure he wouldn't.

 

On 13.8.2021 at 9:44 PM, Isabelle6060 said:

Cara found the graveyard and proceeded to dig a grave with Orpheus. Struggling just a little bit, Cara managed to hoist Ni onto Felicity's back. Cara led Felicity to the graveyard and awkwardly pushed Ni's body into the grave. She started to put dirt back in the grave while softly singing a sad song to herself.

@Trutharchivist@Channelknight Fadran @Onimur @Random Bystander @S4S @Knight of Iron

Sef and Gal both stood there quietly, listening. They knew it was better for them not to try and say anything. Gal did his best not to pull his notebook from his bag, though he itched to do just that.

Quote

Cara has some magic in her singing, right? Some emotion manipulation or something?

 

[Knight of Iron]

On 8/14/2021 at 2:13 PM, Trutharchivist said:

Sef and Gal both stood there quietly, listening. They knew it was better for them not to try and say anything. Gal did his best not to pull his notebook from his bag, though he itched to do just that.

The sun began to set, and the sky became a brilliant dome of many colors—shades of blue, and of orange, and of purple. Orpheus stood, head bowed low, as the last of the dirt was thrown back into place.

"It's best we be getting off to bed," he said after several minutes, his voice gravelly. "We leave before the sun rises."

Quote

I'm going to give Tani a bit to respond but otherwise I propose we retcon the immediate danger so Exodus's group can get some rest.

Plot stuff for both groups in the morning!

@Tani

[Trutharchivist]

6 hours ago, Knight of Iron said:

The sun began to set, and the sky became a brilliant dome of many colors—shades of blue, and of orange, and of purple. Orpheus stood, head bowed low, as the last of the dirt was thrown back into place.

"It's best we be getting off to bed," he said after several minutes, his voice gravelly. "We leave before the sun rises."

@Tani

Quote

Just one thing - for an idea of mine to help advance the plot a little I'm going to need this to be a full moon night. Hope no one has a problem with that!

Gal walked back to the tower, though not before Sef whispered to him: "don't forget the meeting at dawn." The fact they were going to leave before it didn't natter - it was a very special kind of meeting. 

After Gal left, Sef walked over to a gravestone, on which was written: "Oswald May you enjoy your afterlife. Come by sometimes."

It was somewhat weird, but when you have friendly ghosts in your house you must put up with that. He nodded to himself and went back to the tower, too.

Quote

BTW, it's a bit weird that Orpheus takes charge. I guess that Talnic is not exactly an option, though, seeing to the fact that he's kind of gone for now, since it seems that Tesh doesn't have time to RP here.

... I hope you followed that sentence and understood it, because I'm not sure I did.

 

[Knight of Iron]

Orpheus walked back to the tower alongside Owlson, and found himself a room to sleep for the night. He didn’t want anyone to be near him, now his secret was out. The demon that lived inside him. But he also couldn’t help thinking about what Zanidar had said about the world ending.

Quote

Zanidar has quite the influence over Orpheus’s actions nowadays.

 

[Isabelle6060]

On 8/14/2021 at 2:13 PM, Trutharchivist said:

Cara has some magic in her singing, right? Some emotion manipulation or something?

Quote

Uh, yeah, however, in this particular situation she was too quiet for any emotion manipulation.

 

On 8/17/2021 at 7:32 AM, Knight of Iron said:

Orpheus walked back to the tower alongside Owlson, and found himself a room to sleep for the night. He didn’t want anyone to be near him, now his secret was out. The demon that lived inside him. But he also couldn’t help thinking about what Zanidar had said about the world ending.

 

Cara settled Felicity down for the night, found a room to sleep in, and fell asleep.

[Knight of Iron]

Quote

Rewinding the clock a bit to get stuff going...

“There’s a small town there,” Exodus said, pointing. “We can, perhaps, stay the night in an inn. We’ve got a... shortcut to try out tomorrow.”

@Condensation @JesterLavorre

@The Awakened Salad

Quote

Just since you’re watching, Salad. Also, Random Bystander  returned it seems, so hurray! Orpheus and everyone is all off to bed, basically. The suns setting and we shall soon timeskip until the morrow.

@Random Bystander

Edited August 18, 2021 by Knight of Iron

[S4S]

Quote

Before a timeskip into "tomorrow"...

A bright summer sun hung amid pale blue skies.

Warm light radiated from the heavens above, with a handful of soft white clouds proffering patches of shade to the rolling hills of wild grass below. The clouds moved lazily across the sky, pushed along by a gentle breeze that flowed across the open land and hushed the fields of emerald green. It was only a scattering of oak trees that broke through the endless plains of grass, with their tall branches rustling lightly to the rhythm of the passing wind.

Atop one of the larger hills in this field of green, a young girl stood overlooking the landscape that stretched out in front of her. Holding the thatched sun hat that matched her summer dress, San smiled as she deeply breathed in the calming breeze that brushed across her face while curling a loose strand of brown hair behind her ear.

Glancing at her feet every so often, San continued to follow the small dirt path that was hidden in the tall grass. The path had started just outside the village where she lived, continuing outward as it spun its way far into the grassy hillside. Weaving its way over cresting hills and gentle valleys, the secluded pathway continued on for some time. After a few more minutes of walking though, San circled one last hill as the trodden path began to meld back into the wild grass.

Turning toward the familiar surroundings, the young girl noted the small stream full of memories that split through the fields of luscious green grass, nested between a set of hills deep within the plains. Crystal-clear water gurgled across smooth river-rock, flowing steadily downstream as the sound of trickling water rang softly through the air. Further down along the bank of the small stream, a large oak tree grew with long branches reaching out across the water, providing a comforting source of shade for those who had found this tiny oasis.

Moving underneath the ancient limbs of the massive oak, San noticed a small pair of boots that had been dropped at the base of the tree. Gently picking up the discarded shoes, she looked out across the wide-open creek.

Standing barefoot in the middle of the clear stream, a small boy stood with his trousers rolled up to his knees. Crouching just above the flowing water, the boy was sweeping his hands back and forth through the chill creek as though he were looking for something.

“Ni-i!” San called out.

Tilting his head slightly, the small boy turned to look over his shoulder at San. Noticing her standing on the edge of the creek through bright green eyes and a smile that shone even brighter, Ni excitedly spun as he quickly began rushing towards San, splashing and nearly falling into the water on more than one occasion as he hurried back towards the bank. San couldn’t help but laugh at Ni’s childish display; he was only four years younger than San, but where many would consider San to be rather mature for her age, Ni was quite the opposite. The boy seemed to always have his head in the clouds, living in a world all to his own that no one could ever take from him.

Clambering up the edge of the stream towards where San stood beneath the oak tree, Ni beamed brightly as he reached into his front pocket, pulling out a small object in an enclosed fist. San reached into one of her own pockets as well, pulling out an object of similar size and weight. Crouching down to Ni’s height, the two extended their enclosed fists towards each other.

“Ready?” San asked quietly, “Three… two… one!”

At the exact same time, San and Ni opened their hands. In each of their palms was a unique stone with a gold and brown striped pattern, but different in shape and size. Papa had called the stones “tiger eye” long ago, and San could definitely see why as the light danced off the smooth surface of each gemstone, causing the patterned lines to shift like moving fur on a wild cat.

Although the stones were very similar, the stone that San held was larger than Ni’s, but Ni’s had smoother edges and curves with less blemishes than the one that San held.

“Ooohhh!” San exclaimed softly as she pointed at Ni’s stone, “Yours looks very pretty! I think your stone is one of the smoothest ones that I’ve seen!”

Giggling softly, Ni extended the stone out to her while showing his other empty hand. San smiled as she placed the stone that was in her hand into Ni’s open palm before swapping to hold the stone that Ni had been holding. The two then placed the traded stones safely back into their pockets.

San didn’t remember when it had first started, but every time Ni wandered off to this hidden stream, he would look among the rocks and pebbles in the creek for a tiger eye stone that was even better than the last one he found. If the stone he found surpassed the beauty of the one he had given to San the time before, he would swap the stone out with the newly discovered one. But on occasion Ni would deem the newest of his discovered stones not good enough to exchange, and San would simply hold onto the same for another day or two until Ni found one he thought was better.

San was happy with whatever stone was given her though; big or small, smooth or rough, it didn’t matter to her. The fact that it came from Ni was all that mattered. He was a strange kid, but San would forever love her little brother for that very same reason.

“Thank you, Ni!” San whispered enthusiastically as she handed the small shoes she had grabbed earlier back to Ni, “You ready to head home? Mama said Papa would be back soon, and she wanted to see if we could race him home and surprise him. Do you think we can beat him home and hide before he gets back?”

Eagerly nodding his head, Ni grabbed the boots from San. Without even pausing to put them on though, Ni simply turned and dashed up the bank of the stream towards the dirt path San had followed earlier to find him.

“Ni!” San called out as she rushed after scampering brother, “Ni, your shoes! Mama said-”

But it was too late. Already out of earshot, Ni had circled around the hill and disappeared out of sight.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, San smiled weakly as she placed her hands on her hips. Sometimes she felt that it was hopeless: that Ni would ever grow up. But then again, who would ever want to grow up. Who would ever want to leave a world where the summer days were long and full of laughter, and the nights full of stars and dreams? San was only eleven years old, but sometimes she felt that even she was getting too close to the world that the grownups lived in. Maybe that was why something as small as finding joy in a simple stone made all the difference…

Holding her sun hat tightly as she dismissed the passing thought, San began jogging to see if she could catch up to Ni before Mama found him barefoot with dirty feet again… for the fourth time that week…

- - -

The nighttime air outside the Wizard’s Tower was brisk and cold, with a winter’s chill that sliced through fabric and pierced to the bone. A slight fog hovered above the frozen ground, and the moonlight cast small refractions of light on the hardened frost and snow. An aura of silence and mystery hung in the air, and it almost felt as if the chill winter’s night had frozen time itself.

But from somewhere within the graveyard just beyond the Tower, the air seemed to shift slightly. Like cold steel being bent under extreme stress, it was as if reality itself had begun stretch and warp by an unseen force. A dense aura of unexplainable energy began to build within the small graveyard, increasing in weight and magnitude as the sensation grew stronger and stronger. The air began to feel heavy, and the frost on the ground seemed to sharpen with intensity as the rising energy swelled.

Reaching its peak, the looming energy inverted suddenly, shriveling inward on itself as it faded into nothingness. Only a feeling of hollow emptiness remained, as though the Realms themselves had become strained and weary. The draining sensation lingered though, seeming to draw out its influence like the fog that skimmed the winter earth.

It was only a matter of moments though before a small hand tore through the dirt, straining upward as it reached toward the moonlit sky.

[Isabelle6060]

Quote

Is it morning now, or is more stuff with Ni being a zombie going to happen beforehand? Just curious. 

 

[Knight of Iron]

Quote

Since I didn't get a response from Connie or Jester, I'm going to add that they slept in a tavern in the small town.

Wᴀᴋᴇ ᴜᴘ.

Orpheus sat up in his bed, gasping, heart pounding. He panted, looking around, but realized there was no immediate threat. He'd had a terrible nightmare the night before. Battles with demons, everyone had learned his secret, and he had to take charge... oh, wait.

He fell back into bed. Couldn't he pretend he wasn't on this quest? Just a little longer?

WAKE UP.

An impossibly loud voice, in his mind. He jumped out of bed in fright, and stumbled over to the nearby wardrobe. His arms were a bit scarred from tearing apart the demon's corporeal form the other day, but they seemed to have healed alright.

No, he couldn't even pretend. He was tricked into this quest, ages ago, before he knew what he was saying. The conglomerate of souls that was Zanidar, however righteous he may make himself out to be, had manipulated a child into this. And he couldn't escape. And he was probably going to die.

He threw a shirt on and exited the room, to wake everyone up before the sun rose.

"Everybody! Time to get up."

@Trutharchivist @Tesh @Random Bystander @Channelknight Fadran @Onimur @Isabelle6060

---

Exodus stretched his arms in the small room he had rented for himself, at the tavern. He'd quite indulged himself sleeping the night before, receiving a solid three hours of quality sleep. However, they had best be on the move. They had somewhere to be, before the sun rose.

He walked to the room next over, where he had payed to have a room for both Ara and Minuet.

He knocked softly on the door. "Ara," he sang, "Minuet, wake up."

@Condensation @JesterLavorre

[S4S]

5 hours ago, Isabelle6060 said:

Is it morning now, or is more stuff with Ni being a zombie going to happen beforehand? Just curious.

Quote

A couple hours too late, but no I didn't have anything else planned for Ni until morning. As a heads up though to anyone who goes to the graveyard, I'm sure people already guessed it, but Ni's grave is empty and he is nowhere in sight.

 

[Condensation]

5 hours ago, Knight of Iron said:

Exodus stretched his arms in the small room he had rented for himself, at the tavern. He'd quite indulged himself sleeping the night before, receiving a solid three hours of quality sleep. However, they had best be on the move. They had somewhere to be, before the sun rose.

He walked to the room next over, where he had payed to have a room for both Ara and Minuet.

He knocked softly on the door. "Ara," he sang, "Minuet, wake up."

MInuet tapped on Exodus's shoulder from behind him, having already gotten up to practice in a safer space.

[+JesterLavorre]

8 hours ago, Knight of Iron said:

Exodus stretched his arms in the small room he had rented for himself, at the tavern. He'd quite indulged himself sleeping the night before, receiving a solid three hours of quality sleep. However, they had best be on the move. They had somewhere to be, before the sun rose.

He walked to the room next over, where he had payed to have a room for both Ara and Minuet.

He knocked softly on the door. "Ara," he sang, "Minuet, wake up."

Ara woke, stretching and yawning. The road was not kind to her, though she was beginning to grow used to it. Still, a bed was a nice change of pace.

Ara reached down, gathering up her tools and materials with practiced hands. She had spent the night working on some things for Exodus and Minuet. Some little things to maybe help them open up some more. They both seemed so lonely. Ara knew what it was like to be afraid to reach out, so she knew she had to help them.

All packed up, Ara grabbed her bag, slipped on a shirt and some trousers she had bought in town (she was still getting used to those, but they were infinitely better than dresses), and pulled the door open with a flourish. “Good morning, Ex! Feeling any better today?”

[Trutharchivist]

9 hours ago, Knight of Iron said:

Wᴀᴋᴇ ᴜᴘ.

Orpheus sat up in his bed, gasping, heart pounding. He panted, looking around, but realized there was no immediate threat. He'd had a terrible nightmare the night before. Battles with demons, everyone had learned his secret, and he had to take charge... oh, wait.

He fell back into bed. Couldn't he pretend he wasn't on this quest? Just a little longer?

WAKE UP.

An impossibly loud voice, in his mind. He jumped out of bed in fright, and stumbled over to the nearby wardrobe. His arms were a bit scarred from tearing apart the demon's corporeal form the other day, but they seemed to have healed alright.

No, he couldn't even pretend. He was tricked into this quest, ages ago, before he knew what he was saying. The conglomerate of souls that was Zanidar, however righteous he may make himself out to be, had manipulated a child into this. And he couldn't escape. And he was probably going to die.

He threw a shirt on and exited the room, to wake everyone up before the sun rose.

"Everybody! Time to get up."

Gal rose quickly, pushing his stuff hurriedly into his backpack. He then walked outside the tower and waited there, shaking his sleepiness and focusing on the upcoming convention of the parliament. Sef told him to attend this month - apparently, he thought the prophecy held more import in it than what Gal thought.

_______________________________________

Meanwhile, In the library, Sef was already awake. He drew a diagram on the floor - it wasn't necessary, but it helped holding a more stable connection to the Ideal Realm. He San on a chair in the middle of the diagram and waited.

_______________________________________

Meanwhile, in Tarboda, a book merchant with some peculiar face features stood inside a diagram of his own. The sign above the door said that this store was named: "N. Owlson books", and the sign on the door said that the shop was temporarily closed.

_______________________________________

Deep in the mountains, a group of ten Wanderers of the Owlson tribe - the leaders of the Parliament - stood inside a complicated diagram of their own. They were ready.

_______________________________________

In random places around the continent, Owlsons got ready for the meeting - for some of them it already begun - and meanwhile, many Wolfsons finished their own meetings, since the last one was their's.

Quote

I hope it's fine. The Owlson meeting is at dawn, but during to time differences it already started for some.

Also, Knight, would you mind me placing a Wanderer - either a Wolfson or a Snakeson - near Exodus' group?

 

[Channelknight Fadran]

"Agh." Valzwyn pulled her blanket over her eyes. "Do we have to get up now?"

[Isabelle6060]

21 hours ago, Knight of Iron said:

"Everybody! Time to get up."

Cara groaned. "Five more minutes."