Anastasia Ursa/LittleManKitten
Spoiler (click to show/hide):
Littlemankitten Wrote:Anastsaia has never been to the fungal wastes before. She wasn't very impressed. It was fucking hot and humid and she could feel the larger spores smack against the few exposed parts of her skin. everything was this weird, dreary shade of blue that even Stellia rejected in her color palette. Not to mention the damn sound of absolutely everything ejecting spores, the fauna, the flora, the damn ground kept on puffing out spores at her. The ecosystem must be pretty hard to be in even as a mushroom with all the real-estate being taken up. Thankfully, she could see the walls of Nirvana slowly getting closer, soon enough she'll be in relative safety. Assuming Nirvana didn't succumb to the wastes the last time a messenger updated the other cities about its status.
While traveling through the Fungal Wastes, Anastasia passes by several log huts with smoke pouring from the chimneys, just like the first one. Movement could be heard inside each of them, but the glass was dark enough on the windows that the inhabitants and their actions couldn't be seen.
After traveling several miles into the Fungal Wastes, encountering only harmless creatures. One dog-like creature, several flying creatures, and some Mushroom men who seemed to pretend Anastasia didn't exist as they moved from one place to another, all of them either made of or covered in mushrooms, spreading spores and causing more to begin growing. At one point, Anastasia encounters a cow made of mushroom, mushrooms sprouting from its back as it fires spores into the air, barely sparing her a glance and simply 'Moo'-ing.
It seems everything was content with just ignoring Anastasia, and for once in her life, she was ok with that. Even in her tired state she knew better than to think all of these creatures were originally this way. She knew that if she overstayed her welcome in these wastes she would become just like them. Sure she was a bit surprised she didn't meet some kind of mushroom dragon thing but she didn't want to jinx herself so just kept walking. When she comes across the cow she just keeps walking to, it definitely wasn't good for food anymore, and served no purpose to her, and was just more opportunity to become like them.
Soon after passing by the Cow, Anastasia starts to hear footsteps behind her, followed by a low growling, however when she turns her head, the creature and noise are gone.
About the third time she turns her head, the creature is standing there in front of her, slowly taking form as it walks out of one of the mushrooms, appearing as though it phased through it. The creature is a green-colored wolf, covered is moss and mushroom growths, shooting spores into the air.
annnnnd she jinxed it... Oh well, it doesn't sound all that big based on the noises it was making. She just wished it would stop hiding and show its damn face. Just as she thought she was finally losing it she sees the wolf coming out of one of the mushrooms. Yea, thankfully not a weird mushroom dragon. Welp, it looks like she needed at least one more fight before she found some semblance of safety. With a yawn, Anastasia reached to her back and unsheathed her weapon, getting into a battle stance.
(Fight:)
The wolf didn't seem all that keen on attacking first, so Anastasia took that opportunity to charge it and hit it directly in the torso with her hammer. The wolf flies back into the mushroom it came from and a bunch of spores and what looked like some kind of blood came out of it, judging by the sound it made it wasn't expecting such a serious hit. The wolf then turns around and opened it's mouth. It's tongue apparently doubled as a harpoon and it shot out of its mouth towards Ana. Ana yelped in surprise and jumped out of the way, making its attack miss as its tongue retracted back into it's mouth. Anastasia hits it on the head with her hammer, wanting to get rid of whatever that attack was. A sickening crunch resounds from its skull, but it keeps moving, despite its head now rolling at strange angles. Now that Anastasia was in slightly closer proximity to its head, it fires it tongue at her again. This time it pierces her skin, and she could see it draining something out of her and into it's body. It's head starts to reform its normal shape as this happens. Not having any of this, Anastasia hits it on the head again, causing its skull to fully cave in this time around, and it falls limp. She rips the tongue out of her arm and throws it on the ground.
Just as she was about to thank Avenir for this victory, two more of those damn things sprouted out of nowhere! Hey that wasn't very fair. With a growl, one of the wolves moves it's body around strangely, and suddenly all the drifting spores in the air suddenly all converge on Anastasia at once. Those things were surprisingly sharp to! Blood spurts onto the ground as Anastasia is minorly lacerated. Anastasia cries out in pain and only barely manages to dodge out of the way of the second wolf using its tongue attack on her. Anastasia's temper flares momentarily, but she quickly calms down as she thinks about the situation. Her skin mending itself back together as she does. Quickly digging a potion of regeneration out of her pocket, she chugs it. Throwing the bottle on the ground, she concedes to herself that she is still a little pissed off. With a roar, a red mist forms around Anastasia and pulses through the wolves, causing them to reel back and whimper. One of the wolves tries to use the spores in the air again, but her psychic attack seems to have done the trick, and it can't execute it properly, causing all the spores to fall harmlessly on the ground. The Other wolf uses its tongue again, but this time around it was incrediblely easy to dodge.
Anastasia attacks one of the wolves. These ones seemed squishier than the other, and her hammer easily sinks into its flesh. Causing a huge indentation that would be fatal for most creatures, but this thing seemed to barely keep a hold on life. Both of the wolves try and bite her now, she dodges one of them, but that leads her right into the jaws of the other. Luckily for her, it seems these things bites were to weak to pierce her flesh all that much, and only a small trickle of blood came out from the small wound. The other wolf tries to use the gathering spores in the air again. This time it does work, and more spores hit her, causing more lacerations. Thankfully, that regeneration potion was keeping her in the game. Anastasia tries attacking the other, healthy wolf, but it dodges out of the way barely. She curses under her breath. She then suddenly coughs up blood, probably due to all the spores and damage she's taken so far. The wolf bites her again, once again causing only a tiny wound. She also dodges out of the way of another tongue attack. Anastasia sends another wave of red mist through the wolves, causing the injured one to keel over on the spot, and the other one to howl in pain. The remaining wolf makes a last effort to tongue Anastasia, but this time it fires it straight into the ground, making dodging uneccesary. With that, Anastasia hits the last wolf in the face, causing its head to detach from the body.
Anastasia huffs, glad the fight was over. She was in a surprising amount of pain, especially since she wasn't doing to hot even before the fight. Gathering any useful items the wolves may have dropped, Anastasia continued hobbling in the direction of Nirvana, hoping to get there as soon as possible.
Spoiler (click to show/hide):
After traveling not too much further, with no further problem, Anastasia finally exits the Fungal Wastes, then enters into a flat plains area, covered with black grass, Nirvana closing in the distance.
The city was surrounded by a colossal stone wall, with a large red gate. When Anastasia came upon it, a man covered head to toe in grey armor, with a blue cloth cape and loin cloth, the standard garb of Nirvana guards. The man saw Anastasia approaching and shouted down to her "Hark, traveler, I am Sir Fing, please state your business."
Anastasia was probably one of the happiest spectross alive when she got out of those Avenir forsaken wastes. By Avenir everything about the fungal wastes were horrid, and she wanted nothing more than to burn it all to the ground. Regardless, she pressed forward. The plains were a much nicer place to be. The strange colored grass reminded her of Avenir's hair, not quite as perfect though. Once she finally got to the gate, she sized up the walls and stuff. Very similar to Azraq, probably not as well built as Solstace's walls though. She then turned her attention to the guard that hailed her and did her best not to insult him right off the bat. "I am looking for a place to rest after a long journey, maybe find some gear to buy while I'm at it."
The guard looked over his shoulder and seemed to be talking to someone else, then turned back to Anastasia, waaay down below "Excuse me for further questions, however it's really odd to see a Spectross so far from Solstace. What brought you near here in the first place? All that's nearby are the Goddess-forsaken Fungal Wastes." he shouted down at her.
Anastasia huffed and rolled her eyes. Yes yes she knew she was a Spectross away from Solstace does every damn person have to mention it!? Trying to keep her cool, she addressed the guard again. "Well, it's kind of a long story, I was sent to Azraq for a mission, then I met someone, then we went all the way to the colosseum to proceed with said mission, but we found out we needed three people to participate, then we went to monsteropolis, then had a city fall on top of us. And then I found out while I was knocked out my companion got kidnapped, and now I'm here, which is the closest city, to try and think about my plan and rest."
The guard nods, then turns away from Anastasia for a long several minutes, then turns back to Anastasia and yells to her "We're opening the gates, enter quickly so we can close it back.", then almost immediately after he says this, the gates open just wide enough for Anastasia to enter.
Upon entering the city, the gates close right back, almost right on her heels. The city itself was nothing special, most of the houses were made of stone, like the wall, and had wooden rooves. The inhabitants were almost all Were-Beasts, with the number of humans sighted being countable on one hand. Any and all flowers growing in the city were entirely black, like the grass. At the center of the city, in front of the temple of Pradera, was a large pool of liquid, something typically absent from other cities.
Nearby, Anastasia could see several guilds; The Emerald Crab, the The Rainbow Flamingo, and the Hidden Raven. Each one's stone having been colored in the respective color of their name, and being almost identical in terms of size and shape. Closer inspection, however, reveals that the vast majority of structures in the city were actually identically constructed.
Thank Avenir these guards weren't idiots like so many others she's encountered. When she entered the gates, she gave everything a cursory glance. Everything looked so similar, how boring. The irony was of course lost to Ana, so she walked down the main street, ignoring the looks she got from the many were-beast. This must be the city of the were-beasts similar to how Solstace is the city of Spectross. Well, there were worse places to be. She stopped a good way away from the pool of liquid, looking across it towards the temple. "Pradera huh? Well, not as bad as Zalaam, at least she'll make a good seat for Avenir." She muttered under her breath, looking at the building that's lined the street she was at. Three main guilds were stationed here it seemed. Perhaps they could offer valuable assistance. First though, she wanted to find a blacksmith of some sort.
The trip to the blacksmith is pretty short, though despite it being so close to night, there are many Were-Beasts that Anastasia had to push passed in the streets, on her way there, however she reaches the stone building, which looks almost the same as the rest, and enters the dusty shop.
When she enters, the shop owner, another man in the same armor as the guard on the wall, waves to her "Hello, welcome to 'Hit it With Your Sword', the only store you can shop at without traveling across miles and miles of monster-infested, Goddess-Abandoned land." he said, unenthusiastically. The items in the shop were all marked with tags specifying a cost of 1-3 [C], and everything was made of bronze. One side of the store had suits of bronze armor, one side had bronze shields, and the very last wall was covered with bronze swords. While everything looked well-crafted, they were still bronze.
Anastasia frowns as she enters the shop, why was everything made of bronze? She gives a curt nod to the shopkeep and spends on a minute giving all the displayed wares a look before turning to the shopkeep. "You got a bronze fetish or something? Don't suppose you have anything made of higher quality metal? Though I will have to concede everything seems to be pretty well made for what it is." Credit were credit was due, hopefully he doesn't have a heart attack after getting complimented by a Spectross.
The man shakes his head "It's the best metal we're allowed to use, everything else is confiscated and stored by the king." he explains, then sweeps his arm out in front of him "This... is the best I have to work with." he finished. The man then made his way around the counter and, motioning for Anastasia to follow him, pointed at each type of item "I have Bronze Swords, Bronze Shields, and Bronze armor." he said.
Anastasia sighs. It seems this city had a bit of bit of a ruler-made problem. She followed him as he pointed to all the various items, usually she would already be out of the blacksmith, but being so tired she was a bit more sluggish on the uptake of being an ass. Just as she was about to tell him he had nothing she wanted, she came up with an idea. "Well, how about this, I have a few items I don't really need right now." She pulls out her bronze armor, axe and tiara from her backpack, as well as the silver gunblade. Pointing to the gunblade, she grins. "I can give you a chance to work with a better quality material. How about you melt all this down, and make me something either for my arms, or for leggings. I won't tell anyone about it, you'll just make it for me and I'll be gone and no one will have to know you worked with some nice stuff."
The guard looked thoughtful for a moment, and despite the fact his face is completely hidden, Anastasia could swear that he was smiling. After only a moment, he quickly nodded "I'll have it done by the morning." he said, before pointing over at his counter "Drop the items on the counter and I'll get started immediately." he concluded, rubbing his hands together.
Anastasia grinned as she placed the items on the counter. Most of it was bronze so he knew how to work with it, but that silver item would be were the real magic should happen for him at least. Hopefully he'll make something as good as everything else in here looks. Especially knowing its a spectross that wants it. "See you in the morning then." She raised a hand up as a signal of departure and left the store. Welp, time to see if she can't find a place to rest and some help. She headed over back to the guilds and briefly wondered which one she wanted to go to. Well, she didn't have to wonder long before she was suddenly pushed right in front of the entrance to the rainbow flamingo. By the time she had turned around whoever pushed her was already gone. With a growl of annoyance, she turned around and opened the door, figuring fate decided for her.
Upon walking in, Anastasia is greeted by the usual sight of a pretty standard guild interior; Stone desk, wooden walls and floor, the guild banned on one wall. However, she's also greeted by the sight of a red-headed woman, dressed in black leather with a sword strapped to her back, arguing with the fully-armored individual at the desk. The woman was yelling at the clerk that she had killed the monster specifically mentioned in the quest, but the clerk was yelling at her that the head she had brought back belonged to a monster twice the size of the one mentioned, and that someone else had already killed the right one. Next to her was the head to a Fungal Golem, oozing green liquid down the desk and onto the floor.
Over to Anastasia's right was a girl dressed in a black suit jacket and pants, with a matching hat, blue tie, and white button-down, with a red bow in her hair, sitting across the table with a man in city guard armor, who was accusing her of cheating at the game of cards the man had just lost.
Over to Anastasia's left was a platinum-haired girl, dressed in in white, with gold armor on her legs, a gold tiara, a white dress, and white gloves, throwing daggers at a target, landing each one on the bullseye, practically landing each dagger just far enough away from the previous that they don't bump each other, but still hitting the bullseye.
And behind the girl arguing with the clerk, a girl who looked to be a Paladin, wearing a white dress and gold armor, with a gem-encrusted golden sword on her back, was patiently waiting her turn. She lances over at Anastasia as soon as she walks in and gives her a smile, after which she returns to watching the argument in front of her.
After traveling not too much further, with no further problem, Anastasia finally exits the Fungal Wastes, then enters into a flat plains area, covered with black grass, Nirvana closing in the distance.
The city was surrounded by a colossal stone wall, with a large red gate. When Anastasia came upon it, a man covered head to toe in grey armor, with a blue cloth cape and loin cloth, the standard garb of Nirvana guards. The man saw Anastasia approaching and shouted down to her "Hark, traveler, I am Sir Fing, please state your business."
Anastasia was probably one of the happiest spectross alive when she got out of those Avenir forsaken wastes. By Avenir everything about the fungal wastes were horrid, and she wanted nothing more than to burn it all to the ground. Regardless, she pressed forward. The plains were a much nicer place to be. The strange colored grass reminded her of Avenir's hair, not quite as perfect though. Once she finally got to the gate, she sized up the walls and stuff. Very similar to Azraq, probably not as well built as Solstace's walls though. She then turned her attention to the guard that hailed her and did her best not to insult him right off the bat. "I am looking for a place to rest after a long journey, maybe find some gear to buy while I'm at it."
The guard looked over his shoulder and seemed to be talking to someone else, then turned back to Anastasia, waaay down below "Excuse me for further questions, however it's really odd to see a Spectross so far from Solstace. What brought you near here in the first place? All that's nearby are the Goddess-forsaken Fungal Wastes." he shouted down at her.
Anastasia huffed and rolled her eyes. Yes yes she knew she was a Spectross away from Solstace does every damn person have to mention it!? Trying to keep her cool, she addressed the guard again. "Well, it's kind of a long story, I was sent to Azraq for a mission, then I met someone, then we went all the way to the colosseum to proceed with said mission, but we found out we needed three people to participate, then we went to monsteropolis, then had a city fall on top of us. And then I found out while I was knocked out my companion got kidnapped, and now I'm here, which is the closest city, to try and think about my plan and rest."
The guard nods, then turns away from Anastasia for a long several minutes, then turns back to Anastasia and yells to her "We're opening the gates, enter quickly so we can close it back.", then almost immediately after he says this, the gates open just wide enough for Anastasia to enter.
Upon entering the city, the gates close right back, almost right on her heels. The city itself was nothing special, most of the houses were made of stone, like the wall, and had wooden rooves. The inhabitants were almost all Were-Beasts, with the number of humans sighted being countable on one hand. Any and all flowers growing in the city were entirely black, like the grass. At the center of the city, in front of the temple of Pradera, was a large pool of liquid, something typically absent from other cities.
Nearby, Anastasia could see several guilds; The Emerald Crab, the The Rainbow Flamingo, and the Hidden Raven. Each one's stone having been colored in the respective color of their name, and being almost identical in terms of size and shape. Closer inspection, however, reveals that the vast majority of structures in the city were actually identically constructed.
Thank Avenir these guards weren't idiots like so many others she's encountered. When she entered the gates, she gave everything a cursory glance. Everything looked so similar, how boring. The irony was of course lost to Ana, so she walked down the main street, ignoring the looks she got from the many were-beast. This must be the city of the were-beasts similar to how Solstace is the city of Spectross. Well, there were worse places to be. She stopped a good way away from the pool of liquid, looking across it towards the temple. "Pradera huh? Well, not as bad as Zalaam, at least she'll make a good seat for Avenir." She muttered under her breath, looking at the building that's lined the street she was at. Three main guilds were stationed here it seemed. Perhaps they could offer valuable assistance. First though, she wanted to find a blacksmith of some sort.
The trip to the blacksmith is pretty short, though despite it being so close to night, there are many Were-Beasts that Anastasia had to push passed in the streets, on her way there, however she reaches the stone building, which looks almost the same as the rest, and enters the dusty shop.
When she enters, the shop owner, another man in the same armor as the guard on the wall, waves to her "Hello, welcome to 'Hit it With Your Sword', the only store you can shop at without traveling across miles and miles of monster-infested, Goddess-Abandoned land." he said, unenthusiastically. The items in the shop were all marked with tags specifying a cost of 1-3 [C], and everything was made of bronze. One side of the store had suits of bronze armor, one side had bronze shields, and the very last wall was covered with bronze swords. While everything looked well-crafted, they were still bronze.
Anastasia frowns as she enters the shop, why was everything made of bronze? She gives a curt nod to the shopkeep and spends on a minute giving all the displayed wares a look before turning to the shopkeep. "You got a bronze fetish or something? Don't suppose you have anything made of higher quality metal? Though I will have to concede everything seems to be pretty well made for what it is." Credit were credit was due, hopefully he doesn't have a heart attack after getting complimented by a Spectross.
The man shakes his head "It's the best metal we're allowed to use, everything else is confiscated and stored by the king." he explains, then sweeps his arm out in front of him "This... is the best I have to work with." he finished. The man then made his way around the counter and, motioning for Anastasia to follow him, pointed at each type of item "I have Bronze Swords, Bronze Shields, and Bronze armor." he said.
Anastasia sighs. It seems this city had a bit of bit of a ruler-made problem. She followed him as he pointed to all the various items, usually she would already be out of the blacksmith, but being so tired she was a bit more sluggish on the uptake of being an ass. Just as she was about to tell him he had nothing she wanted, she came up with an idea. "Well, how about this, I have a few items I don't really need right now." She pulls out her bronze armor, axe and tiara from her backpack, as well as the silver gunblade. Pointing to the gunblade, she grins. "I can give you a chance to work with a better quality material. How about you melt all this down, and make me something either for my arms, or for leggings. I won't tell anyone about it, you'll just make it for me and I'll be gone and no one will have to know you worked with some nice stuff."
The guard looked thoughtful for a moment, and despite the fact his face is completely hidden, Anastasia could swear that he was smiling. After only a moment, he quickly nodded "I'll have it done by the morning." he said, before pointing over at his counter "Drop the items on the counter and I'll get started immediately." he concluded, rubbing his hands together.
Anastasia grinned as she placed the items on the counter. Most of it was bronze so he knew how to work with it, but that silver item would be were the real magic should happen for him at least. Hopefully he'll make something as good as everything else in here looks. Especially knowing its a spectross that wants it. "See you in the morning then." She raised a hand up as a signal of departure and left the store. Welp, time to see if she can't find a place to rest and some help. She headed over back to the guilds and briefly wondered which one she wanted to go to. Well, she didn't have to wonder long before she was suddenly pushed right in front of the entrance to the rainbow flamingo. By the time she had turned around whoever pushed her was already gone. With a growl of annoyance, she turned around and opened the door, figuring fate decided for her.
Upon walking in, Anastasia is greeted by the usual sight of a pretty standard guild interior; Stone desk, wooden walls and floor, the guild banned on one wall. However, she's also greeted by the sight of a red-headed woman, dressed in black leather with a sword strapped to her back, arguing with the fully-armored individual at the desk. The woman was yelling at the clerk that she had killed the monster specifically mentioned in the quest, but the clerk was yelling at her that the head she had brought back belonged to a monster twice the size of the one mentioned, and that someone else had already killed the right one. Next to her was the head to a Fungal Golem, oozing green liquid down the desk and onto the floor.
Over to Anastasia's right was a girl dressed in a black suit jacket and pants, with a matching hat, blue tie, and white button-down, with a red bow in her hair, sitting across the table with a man in city guard armor, who was accusing her of cheating at the game of cards the man had just lost.
Over to Anastasia's left was a platinum-haired girl, dressed in in white, with gold armor on her legs, a gold tiara, a white dress, and white gloves, throwing daggers at a target, landing each one on the bullseye, practically landing each dagger just far enough away from the previous that they don't bump each other, but still hitting the bullseye.
And behind the girl arguing with the clerk, a girl who looked to be a Paladin, wearing a white dress and gold armor, with a gem-encrusted golden sword on her back, was patiently waiting her turn. She lances over at Anastasia as soon as she walks in and gives her a smile, after which she returns to watching the argument in front of her.
Ophelia/MiscChaos
Spoiler (click to show/hide):
MiscChaos Wrote:Ophelia has a brief moment of... not regret, but worry as Alice rambles on about the faith they now share. She does not think she is likely to go back on her decision, but she thinks she might be more comfortable sharing her faith with someone a bit less... enthusiastic. Her internal attempts at tact appear to be working. She thinks. She would need to test it externally to be sure, but she's unsure if her companions would take offense if it turned out her efforts were not sufficient enough. Well, she rather doubts it in the case of Alice. That brings up the question of whether her fellow follower would object to being her guinea pig in this endeavor. It's something to ponder when she has some flexible downtime. For now, however, they've met back up with Annie. And Annie looks somewhat worried about her conversion to the faith of Masino. "Have no fear. I am not as enthusiastic as our friend." She whispers to the nonbeliever, trying to reassure her that she wouldn't have two people yelling about JUSTICE to her. As they make their way out of the city, she has a moment of regret that they have to leave. Besides Ferraille, this is the only place she's been to where everyone accepts her and even seems to welcome her without regard to her race. It's... nice. It's enjoyable to be able to wander without fear of drawing someone ire or being forced to defend herself or even having to hide her appearance to prevent the previous two outcomes. It's pleasant to not be called a plague or a slut or something derogatory simply for existing. She will miss it if she does not find any others.
Such thoughts take up her attention until they come across the orc encampment. It's smaller than the one she already snuck her way through, but being caught by the barbaric bitch prevents her from being too confident about her stealth skills. Especially since she isn't alone this time. And one of her party is apparently not tolerant of the continued existence of these orcs in particular. She agrees with Annie's assessment that if they loiter long enough to clear this encampment, it is possible for their target to escape. She places her hand on Alice's shoulder. "JUSTICE must be done, but it does not always have to be swift. We know where they are. They are not likely to go anywhere, unlike our target in the Colosseum. Once our business is done there, we may come back to bring reckoning upon them." She says, trying to convince her fellow follower to agree to Annie's plan. Unspoken is she's worried about their chances. She doesn't know how many orcs are in the camp or how strong or well armed they are. Attempting to do so before going to the Colosseum could result in them not making it at all or arriving so tired that they don't get anything done. She'll be more willing to risk it afterwards if she's still on speaking terms with her current party.
Spoiler (click to show/hide):
Annie seems startled by Ophelia's emphasis on 'JUSTICE' and just stares at her blankly for a moment, then facepalms slowly. Alice, however, inhales to protest, however Annie puts her finger to her lips before she can say anything "Look, I promise that if the Orcs are still here when we get back, we'll help you kill them.", looking directly at Hel when she says the word 'we'. Alice frowns momentarily, but nods understandingly after a moment of silence.
The group then moves into the mountains and slowly makes their way towards the Colosseum. After traveling a sizeable distance, the group comes upon a Rock Kragg, however the skeletal creature, covered in stone, doesn't seem to notice the group as they pass by, instead focusing its attention on a nearby tree, seemingly waiting for it to walk close enough to ambush. Trees, however, do not move, therefor the creature will likely be here for some time.
When the trio makes it to the Colosseum, there seems to be different guards at the gate, however clothed in different armor. One of the two guards holds his hand out motioning for them to stop, then clears his throat and speaks much more loudly than needed "Halt! Are you lot here to take part in the Tournament of Fools? All three of you would need to participate, as it's currently three-person squads only." The other guard speaks almost immediately after the first has finished "However, if you're prostitutes, I happen to have some spare [C]" he says, and though his eyes are shadowed by his helmet, his head cocks slightly, so it could be assumed that he was winking.
Ophelia stares flatly at the lewder of the guards before turning to the guard that seems to actually be doing his job. They didn't just dodge a Rock Kragg and walk around a mountain just to be propositioned after finally reaching their goal. "Yes, we learned that it was a 3-person squad during our first visit. As we were short a member, we have rectified that and returned. Is there any further information we need before we are allowed entry?"
Alice and Annie follow Ophelia's lead, ignoring the second guard as well, and remaining focused on the first. "No, we'll just let the front desk know that we have another group, and let you in." he said, motioning to the second guard who rings the bell above his head three times, before the door opens slowly.
When the group enters, the room is not only carpeted, but the stone walls are also covered in very fine tapestry, with all of the different emblems of every Mercenary group in Chaldea, as well as every major city. There were even tapestries that Ophelia couldn't recognize, and many of them. Annie was slowly and coolly scanning the area with her red eyes, while Alice was looking all around at the many tapestries and quickly listing off all of the ones she recognizes, though if she was talking to Annie, she was ignoring her, and if she was talking to Hel, she was speaking too fast for her to pinpoint which was which.
The group traveled down the long corridors with a guard flanking them on either side until they reached a solid black wooden table with yet another guard seated at it, with a clipboard and a sheet of paper in front of him. "Ah, welcome to the Colosseum of Fools. To enter you into the matches, I require each of your first and last names, as well as the name of your group together." he said, turning the clipboard to face the group. There was no line currently, so nobody was waiting behind them, the competitors all seemed to be absent from the hallway, likely all quartered for the night. Before any of them could give their names, however, the Knight perked up and looked directly at Alice "OH d-did we do something wrong, milady?" he said, sounding frightened, however Alice quickly shook her head "No, no, don't worry, we're just here looking for someone else." as she spoke, the guard quickly took the clipboard back, and then signed Alice's name for her, then moved it back to Ophelia's side of the table, seemingly calmed down "W-well, that's good to hear, I hope you find who you're looking for. Rest assured, it's good to see you." he said, sounding somewhat less nervous.
As Ophelia walks down the hallway, she considers whether her education was incomplete or not. There are a lot of tapestries that she is unaware of the meaning of. A lot more than she anticipated. At the very least, a source of information is nearby since Alice seems to know so she can work on filling the gaps very soon. Also it seems Alice was more famous than originally anticipated. If someone within the Colosseum sees her and becomes frightened by her, then she has quite a bit of renown in the area. It may be prudent to see how far that renown goes and if it is likely to cause problems or smooth things out further down the road. At the very least, maybe it can open a door here and now.
"The person we are looking for is a Ralph Kipling. Are you aware of this man? Also, I do not have a last name. Will that be a problem?" Her last name technically would be Techra since that is the name of her lady, but she refuses to use it. That would tie her to Lady Techra and that would cause problems for her lady. That is unacceptable
When Ophelia says the name Ralph Kipling, Ophelia notices Annie stop scanning the room and freeze next to her, however only briefly, but following this, Ophelia feels as though Annie is watching her.
The guard at the table, however, rubs his chin and lifts the clipboard, looking at it closely "Hmm... he's not on the list. Rest assured, Alice, if he was, I'd bring him to you immediately. Are you sure the person you're looking for is here?" Alice looks worried, however Annie whispers to the two of them "He's here. He must have signed up under an alias." then she quickly grabs the clipboard and scribbles her name on it, before quickly walking away from the group in long strides "I'll be back later, you can call our group whatever you want.", she called back over her shoulder.
"Understood." She says to Annie as she leaves. Ophelia can't help but feel Annie's habit of barely speaking to her team and leaving does not exactly lend itself to building comradery, but she can't be sure. Still, it makes it hard for her to ask why she froze like she did when she does not stay in the area. She will have to ask at some point because it seems important. "As asked before, does the fact I have no middle name raise a problem? Also, could you keep us appraised of a man of this description?" She asks, giving the description of Ralph she was given before leaving the mansion
Alice watches Annie as she leaves the room, then turns to Ophelia and whispers "Do you think she really needed to use the bathroom?" quietly, while the guard shakes his head at her question "Just make up a last name, then. You'll probably need one, anywa-" Alice grabs the clipboard off the table and scribbles Ophelia's name onto it, then gives her the last name 'Kallis', smiling at her proudly "There you go! I got ya covered, I hope you like it!" she says, giving her two thumbs up. The guard glances at the paper and nods "That works. No need to worry, I'll let Alice know if we find a man of that description, however, understand that people come here to fight, so most of them are wearing full suits of heavy armor." he explains, then adds "Oh, and be sure to write down a name for your group before you head to your quarters." he says, handing Alice the key to their room, with a tag dangling from it with the number '86' on it.
Ophelia is more tempted than she would readily admit to follow Annie's suggestion of calling the team "Whatever You Want". However, she's aware that may also have some lewd connotations to it. Given that she has been propositioned by guards every time she's come to this place, that may be a poor decision. But what would be a good one? Given Annie's cringe when she says Justice, she is hesitant to include it in the name. But she also feels like Alice may object if some form of righteousness isn't present. Annie is a detective, right? "Finding Justice" She finally decides. It's not like she has to stick with the name for long anyway. With that decided and the key taken, she makes her way to their specified quarters
Alice noticeably smiles when Ophelia says the name and adds "Make sure the Justice is capitalized~" in a singsong voice as they make their way to the room. The walk to the room is rather long, and Alice continued pointing out all of the various banners that she recognized, until they reached their destination, a black wooden door with a silver nob and the number '86' on it, at eye level. Alice quickly unlocked the door and opened it, walking inside and looking around. The room was quite large, with a bathroom, the various items therein made of a dark grey metal, with running water, the curtains designed to resemble banners of yet more houses, cities, or mercenary groups she didn't recognize. There was only one bed in the room, though very large, and a kitchen attached to the main room, the counter and table made of the same dark grey metal.
As she looked around, Alice suddenly asked "Uh. How is Annie going to find the room? She wasn't there when the Guard gave us the key..." after which she walked over and sat on the bed, staring at Ophelia.
Ophelia raises an eyebrow when she sees there is only one bed. Well, she didn't have any problem sharing a bed last time and she doubts she will this time. She just wonders if her comrades will have the same thought process. The rest of the room looks fine for not being owned by someone of Lady Techra's wealth. It's likely larger than the room she owns in the manor. "Annie is a detective. She can likely track us down. She also knows where the front desk is and since her name is on our team roster, she will likely be able to ask there and find us. I am concerned, however. I am not sure if she will travel unmolested in this town given the reception we have had both times we have arrived. It would be a shame to finally get into the Colosseum and lose one of our teammates immediately."
Just as Alice opens her mouth to reply, the door to their room opens and Annie walks in, slowly taking off her overcoat as she does so and hanging it on a nearby hook as she kicks the door closed, then locks it. As she casually glances around the room, Alice speaks up "Annie! Ophelia thought that something terrible happened to you and that we'd have to fight a person short." she said, to which Annie raised an eyebrow "Oh?" and glanced over to Ophelia... then to the bed "These places seem to frequently count on people traveling either alone or with a single companion. Then again, most of the time, the fights here are one on one, so it's understandable in this instance." she said, as she glanced into the bathroom.
"Yes. It is because of that fact, plus the fact that most people here will have two people as backup, caused some concern about your safety. It is good to know you are safe." She says, explaining her thought process. "Earlier, you seemed to recognize the name I gave to the guard. Is he who you are looking for as well?"
Annie then went into the bathroom and turned on the water, starting the tub filling, seemingly not hearing Ophelia's question. Alice glanced over at Ophelia "I didn't notice that. Hey, Annie, Ophelia's talking to you!" she called over, while laying back on the bed, and crossing her legs. Alice then called over to them "Sorry, preparing to bathe, can't hear you." though just loud enough for the two of them to hear.
(You and Alice got low rolls for that, you actually both have higher Charisma xD)
"This is a rather important subject, so I hope you will forgive me if I continue asking about it." she says in response. It directly impacts her ability to fulfill her Lady's objective after all. This is information she simply cannot afford not to have. Especially if she is supposed to be trusting Annie in battle.
Annie seemingly hears Ophelia this time, as the rustling of clothes stops briefly, but resumes shortly thereafter. However, at this point, Alice gets off the bed and makes her way over to the bathroom, opens the door and sticks her head in, then Ophelia could hear her arguing with Annie for a moment, though couldn't make out their words.
Alice then reaches into the bathroom and pulls Annie into the room's hallway, leading to the main room "There, now I'm sure you can hear us just fine." she says, with Annie standing in front of the two of them in a cute pair of sky blue panties and a matching bra, both with little white bows on them. "We were asking if Rorph Kaplin is the guy you're looking for, too." she says, butchering the name, but at least finally having Annie's attention.
"His name is Ralph Kipling, actually, and yes, he is the person I'm looking for." she said, standing there in her underwear, blushing "D-did you have to pull me out like this to ask that?" she asked, causing Alice to seemingly just now notice that Annie wasn't fully dressed "O-oh." she said, looking Annie up and down.
Seeing everyone prepare for bed, as Ophelia understands it anyway by not being fully clothed, she begins stripping down as well. "For any particular purpose? My employer wishes to find him for her own purposes." Which is the best way she can possibly say she wants him dead. "It is unlikely that our purposes conflict." In that if Annie wants him alive, Ophelia can wait to kill him until later. Her lady told her that if he's caught, he's likely to be brought to Monsteropolis, but that place no longer exists. She likely will find it easy to kill him if he's brought near there.
Annie crossed her arms and shifted her weight "I'm just supposed to find him and report back to the employer where he is or what has become of him." she explained, watching Ophelia strip her clothes off, but refraining from reacting. Alice looked back and forth between the two girls, then shrugged and started tugging her dress off, which caused Annie to roll her eyes, as Alice stripped down to her plain white bra and panties.
Alice and Annie then took turns bathing, then each occupied a side of the bed, leaving more than enough room for Ophelia in between them.
Seeing the other two come out of the bath, Ophelia takes her chance to take one of her own. She doesn't bother to redress afterward, she's just going to bed anyway. When she rejoins the room, she asks one last question before bed. "And if he turns out to be dead?" She might as well know how Annie would react before making it a problem.
Annie quietly replies "Then I guess that's what I'll tell my employer."
With her question answered, she lays down between them and prepares to sleep.
*****
In the morning, Ophelia feels a familiar warmth against her body. Opening her eyes, she finds that she's groping Annie's right breast with one hand, and has her other hand between her thighs. When her eyes adjust to her surroundings, she can see Alice, still in her underwear, picking up a letter from the floor, which seems to have been slid under it. After holding the letter in front of her for a moment, she groggily calls behind her "Hey, girls, we have a fight in an hour, we need to get read and head down to the uh... arena." without looking over her shoulder.
Annie seems startled by Ophelia's emphasis on 'JUSTICE' and just stares at her blankly for a moment, then facepalms slowly. Alice, however, inhales to protest, however Annie puts her finger to her lips before she can say anything "Look, I promise that if the Orcs are still here when we get back, we'll help you kill them.", looking directly at Hel when she says the word 'we'. Alice frowns momentarily, but nods understandingly after a moment of silence.
The group then moves into the mountains and slowly makes their way towards the Colosseum. After traveling a sizeable distance, the group comes upon a Rock Kragg, however the skeletal creature, covered in stone, doesn't seem to notice the group as they pass by, instead focusing its attention on a nearby tree, seemingly waiting for it to walk close enough to ambush. Trees, however, do not move, therefor the creature will likely be here for some time.
When the trio makes it to the Colosseum, there seems to be different guards at the gate, however clothed in different armor. One of the two guards holds his hand out motioning for them to stop, then clears his throat and speaks much more loudly than needed "Halt! Are you lot here to take part in the Tournament of Fools? All three of you would need to participate, as it's currently three-person squads only." The other guard speaks almost immediately after the first has finished "However, if you're prostitutes, I happen to have some spare [C]" he says, and though his eyes are shadowed by his helmet, his head cocks slightly, so it could be assumed that he was winking.
Ophelia stares flatly at the lewder of the guards before turning to the guard that seems to actually be doing his job. They didn't just dodge a Rock Kragg and walk around a mountain just to be propositioned after finally reaching their goal. "Yes, we learned that it was a 3-person squad during our first visit. As we were short a member, we have rectified that and returned. Is there any further information we need before we are allowed entry?"
Alice and Annie follow Ophelia's lead, ignoring the second guard as well, and remaining focused on the first. "No, we'll just let the front desk know that we have another group, and let you in." he said, motioning to the second guard who rings the bell above his head three times, before the door opens slowly.
When the group enters, the room is not only carpeted, but the stone walls are also covered in very fine tapestry, with all of the different emblems of every Mercenary group in Chaldea, as well as every major city. There were even tapestries that Ophelia couldn't recognize, and many of them. Annie was slowly and coolly scanning the area with her red eyes, while Alice was looking all around at the many tapestries and quickly listing off all of the ones she recognizes, though if she was talking to Annie, she was ignoring her, and if she was talking to Hel, she was speaking too fast for her to pinpoint which was which.
The group traveled down the long corridors with a guard flanking them on either side until they reached a solid black wooden table with yet another guard seated at it, with a clipboard and a sheet of paper in front of him. "Ah, welcome to the Colosseum of Fools. To enter you into the matches, I require each of your first and last names, as well as the name of your group together." he said, turning the clipboard to face the group. There was no line currently, so nobody was waiting behind them, the competitors all seemed to be absent from the hallway, likely all quartered for the night. Before any of them could give their names, however, the Knight perked up and looked directly at Alice "OH d-did we do something wrong, milady?" he said, sounding frightened, however Alice quickly shook her head "No, no, don't worry, we're just here looking for someone else." as she spoke, the guard quickly took the clipboard back, and then signed Alice's name for her, then moved it back to Ophelia's side of the table, seemingly calmed down "W-well, that's good to hear, I hope you find who you're looking for. Rest assured, it's good to see you." he said, sounding somewhat less nervous.
As Ophelia walks down the hallway, she considers whether her education was incomplete or not. There are a lot of tapestries that she is unaware of the meaning of. A lot more than she anticipated. At the very least, a source of information is nearby since Alice seems to know so she can work on filling the gaps very soon. Also it seems Alice was more famous than originally anticipated. If someone within the Colosseum sees her and becomes frightened by her, then she has quite a bit of renown in the area. It may be prudent to see how far that renown goes and if it is likely to cause problems or smooth things out further down the road. At the very least, maybe it can open a door here and now.
"The person we are looking for is a Ralph Kipling. Are you aware of this man? Also, I do not have a last name. Will that be a problem?" Her last name technically would be Techra since that is the name of her lady, but she refuses to use it. That would tie her to Lady Techra and that would cause problems for her lady. That is unacceptable
When Ophelia says the name Ralph Kipling, Ophelia notices Annie stop scanning the room and freeze next to her, however only briefly, but following this, Ophelia feels as though Annie is watching her.
The guard at the table, however, rubs his chin and lifts the clipboard, looking at it closely "Hmm... he's not on the list. Rest assured, Alice, if he was, I'd bring him to you immediately. Are you sure the person you're looking for is here?" Alice looks worried, however Annie whispers to the two of them "He's here. He must have signed up under an alias." then she quickly grabs the clipboard and scribbles her name on it, before quickly walking away from the group in long strides "I'll be back later, you can call our group whatever you want.", she called back over her shoulder.
"Understood." She says to Annie as she leaves. Ophelia can't help but feel Annie's habit of barely speaking to her team and leaving does not exactly lend itself to building comradery, but she can't be sure. Still, it makes it hard for her to ask why she froze like she did when she does not stay in the area. She will have to ask at some point because it seems important. "As asked before, does the fact I have no middle name raise a problem? Also, could you keep us appraised of a man of this description?" She asks, giving the description of Ralph she was given before leaving the mansion
Alice watches Annie as she leaves the room, then turns to Ophelia and whispers "Do you think she really needed to use the bathroom?" quietly, while the guard shakes his head at her question "Just make up a last name, then. You'll probably need one, anywa-" Alice grabs the clipboard off the table and scribbles Ophelia's name onto it, then gives her the last name 'Kallis', smiling at her proudly "There you go! I got ya covered, I hope you like it!" she says, giving her two thumbs up. The guard glances at the paper and nods "That works. No need to worry, I'll let Alice know if we find a man of that description, however, understand that people come here to fight, so most of them are wearing full suits of heavy armor." he explains, then adds "Oh, and be sure to write down a name for your group before you head to your quarters." he says, handing Alice the key to their room, with a tag dangling from it with the number '86' on it.
Ophelia is more tempted than she would readily admit to follow Annie's suggestion of calling the team "Whatever You Want". However, she's aware that may also have some lewd connotations to it. Given that she has been propositioned by guards every time she's come to this place, that may be a poor decision. But what would be a good one? Given Annie's cringe when she says Justice, she is hesitant to include it in the name. But she also feels like Alice may object if some form of righteousness isn't present. Annie is a detective, right? "Finding Justice" She finally decides. It's not like she has to stick with the name for long anyway. With that decided and the key taken, she makes her way to their specified quarters
Alice noticeably smiles when Ophelia says the name and adds "Make sure the Justice is capitalized~" in a singsong voice as they make their way to the room. The walk to the room is rather long, and Alice continued pointing out all of the various banners that she recognized, until they reached their destination, a black wooden door with a silver nob and the number '86' on it, at eye level. Alice quickly unlocked the door and opened it, walking inside and looking around. The room was quite large, with a bathroom, the various items therein made of a dark grey metal, with running water, the curtains designed to resemble banners of yet more houses, cities, or mercenary groups she didn't recognize. There was only one bed in the room, though very large, and a kitchen attached to the main room, the counter and table made of the same dark grey metal.
As she looked around, Alice suddenly asked "Uh. How is Annie going to find the room? She wasn't there when the Guard gave us the key..." after which she walked over and sat on the bed, staring at Ophelia.
Ophelia raises an eyebrow when she sees there is only one bed. Well, she didn't have any problem sharing a bed last time and she doubts she will this time. She just wonders if her comrades will have the same thought process. The rest of the room looks fine for not being owned by someone of Lady Techra's wealth. It's likely larger than the room she owns in the manor. "Annie is a detective. She can likely track us down. She also knows where the front desk is and since her name is on our team roster, she will likely be able to ask there and find us. I am concerned, however. I am not sure if she will travel unmolested in this town given the reception we have had both times we have arrived. It would be a shame to finally get into the Colosseum and lose one of our teammates immediately."
Just as Alice opens her mouth to reply, the door to their room opens and Annie walks in, slowly taking off her overcoat as she does so and hanging it on a nearby hook as she kicks the door closed, then locks it. As she casually glances around the room, Alice speaks up "Annie! Ophelia thought that something terrible happened to you and that we'd have to fight a person short." she said, to which Annie raised an eyebrow "Oh?" and glanced over to Ophelia... then to the bed "These places seem to frequently count on people traveling either alone or with a single companion. Then again, most of the time, the fights here are one on one, so it's understandable in this instance." she said, as she glanced into the bathroom.
"Yes. It is because of that fact, plus the fact that most people here will have two people as backup, caused some concern about your safety. It is good to know you are safe." She says, explaining her thought process. "Earlier, you seemed to recognize the name I gave to the guard. Is he who you are looking for as well?"
Annie then went into the bathroom and turned on the water, starting the tub filling, seemingly not hearing Ophelia's question. Alice glanced over at Ophelia "I didn't notice that. Hey, Annie, Ophelia's talking to you!" she called over, while laying back on the bed, and crossing her legs. Alice then called over to them "Sorry, preparing to bathe, can't hear you." though just loud enough for the two of them to hear.
(You and Alice got low rolls for that, you actually both have higher Charisma xD)
"This is a rather important subject, so I hope you will forgive me if I continue asking about it." she says in response. It directly impacts her ability to fulfill her Lady's objective after all. This is information she simply cannot afford not to have. Especially if she is supposed to be trusting Annie in battle.
Annie seemingly hears Ophelia this time, as the rustling of clothes stops briefly, but resumes shortly thereafter. However, at this point, Alice gets off the bed and makes her way over to the bathroom, opens the door and sticks her head in, then Ophelia could hear her arguing with Annie for a moment, though couldn't make out their words.
Alice then reaches into the bathroom and pulls Annie into the room's hallway, leading to the main room "There, now I'm sure you can hear us just fine." she says, with Annie standing in front of the two of them in a cute pair of sky blue panties and a matching bra, both with little white bows on them. "We were asking if Rorph Kaplin is the guy you're looking for, too." she says, butchering the name, but at least finally having Annie's attention.
"His name is Ralph Kipling, actually, and yes, he is the person I'm looking for." she said, standing there in her underwear, blushing "D-did you have to pull me out like this to ask that?" she asked, causing Alice to seemingly just now notice that Annie wasn't fully dressed "O-oh." she said, looking Annie up and down.
Seeing everyone prepare for bed, as Ophelia understands it anyway by not being fully clothed, she begins stripping down as well. "For any particular purpose? My employer wishes to find him for her own purposes." Which is the best way she can possibly say she wants him dead. "It is unlikely that our purposes conflict." In that if Annie wants him alive, Ophelia can wait to kill him until later. Her lady told her that if he's caught, he's likely to be brought to Monsteropolis, but that place no longer exists. She likely will find it easy to kill him if he's brought near there.
Annie crossed her arms and shifted her weight "I'm just supposed to find him and report back to the employer where he is or what has become of him." she explained, watching Ophelia strip her clothes off, but refraining from reacting. Alice looked back and forth between the two girls, then shrugged and started tugging her dress off, which caused Annie to roll her eyes, as Alice stripped down to her plain white bra and panties.
Alice and Annie then took turns bathing, then each occupied a side of the bed, leaving more than enough room for Ophelia in between them.
Seeing the other two come out of the bath, Ophelia takes her chance to take one of her own. She doesn't bother to redress afterward, she's just going to bed anyway. When she rejoins the room, she asks one last question before bed. "And if he turns out to be dead?" She might as well know how Annie would react before making it a problem.
Annie quietly replies "Then I guess that's what I'll tell my employer."
With her question answered, she lays down between them and prepares to sleep.
*****
In the morning, Ophelia feels a familiar warmth against her body. Opening her eyes, she finds that she's groping Annie's right breast with one hand, and has her other hand between her thighs. When her eyes adjust to her surroundings, she can see Alice, still in her underwear, picking up a letter from the floor, which seems to have been slid under it. After holding the letter in front of her for a moment, she groggily calls behind her "Hey, girls, we have a fight in an hour, we need to get read and head down to the uh... arena." without looking over her shoulder.
CeeCee/Lilbooth
Spoiler (click to show/hide):
lilbooth Wrote:Cee Cee perked up somewhat as the scent turned from the castle. She was close, the scent was growing stronger. It wasn't far off now, but she was quite tired after tracking all day long. When she happened upon the Chimera she was confused. What stood before her was a rather normal looking young women. Who possessed a gnarly set of eyes and an immense amount of strength. Cee Cee figured she'd been tracking some strange half-human half-monster all day... but she looked rather normal. Some sort of magic propelled her inhuman traits but it was nothing like what Cee Cee expected. She took a few mental notes of how the girl looked and where she was. She knew that the chimeras were dangerous but she had reason to believe that this girl would attack her, and she could run away if need be. She stood tall and strong and threw her voice as far as she could. "Hello? Are you alright?" She called out ready to turn and run if need be.
The girl straightened up and turned her head slowly towards CeeCee, a piece of the creature still dangling from her teeth as she looked. She spat it back onto the body as she stared at CeeCee and squinted her eyes. After what seemed like several minutes of her eyes adjusting, she finally spoke “Is that YOUR shield?” she asked, seemingly confused by it, her voice no stranger than any other girl’s.
Cee Cee spun to the side glancing down at the shield strapped to her back. "I suppose? It was a gift I received after defending Monsteropolis. I’m not of Barton blood if that’s what you're asking."
The girl scowled at the shield from the distance and ripped off another chunk of the monster’s flesh, chewed it, then swallowed it almost wholly “Oh really. Where are you heading?” she asked, almost sarcastically, as she went in to tear off a big chunk of the monster’s throat, as it finally died.
”I’m on an assignment from the Black Dragon Mercenary Guild, they issued a search of Baskerville. I found a building there that seemed to be less destroyed than the rest of the town, but it was full of dead mercenaries. And unless you have been trying to disguise your scent, you were there as well. I’ve been tracking you all day. "
The girl froze for a moment and licked the blood off of her lips “Oh, you’ve been following me and you have a Barton Shield?” she said, accusingly as she straightened up from the creature and started moving towards CeeCee, dragging the black chains hanging off of her wrists, ankles, and neck along in the dirt.
"Look, I’ve not come to harm you. You are clearly very capable and I would pose you no threat. I used to have a full set of Barton Armor, I worked with their knights to hold the undead horde from Monsteropolis. It ended up not making a huge difference because of the whole falling city thing but I was struck down twice in the battle, and the Barton’s saved me."
The girl seems to only get angrier and starts lurching forward in long steps, leaving the carcass behind, screaming at CeeCee “YOU WORKED WITH THEM, YOU’RE ONE OF THEM, YOU AND THEY DID THIS TO ME, I’LL EAT YOU!” with one of her steps, she crushes the ground into rubble, then grabs a bolder from the mass, seemingly brandishing it as a weapon. [Indris has entered Extreme Range]
Cee Cee sighed as the women flew into a rage screaming at her. She had nothing to do with what was done to her, but apparently, it didn’t matter. She turned on a dime and mounted Slongvir, fleeing as quickly as she could.
After a few moments in which it looked like the screaming, roaring girl would catch up to her, Slongvir manages to outrun her, leaving her behind. As she fades out of view, CeeCee could see her ripping a tree out of the ground and throwing it in anger.
Within minutes of swift riding, Cee Cee neared the gates of Barton Castle. She hurriedly hailed the door guard, in fear that the women may still be chasing her. She turned to the first knight she saw and said, "Take me to Lord Barton at once."
The knight at the door, who looked like literally all of the others, in terms of armor and body type, nodded at her and waved his arm towards the other knight, who slowly cranked the gates open for CeeCee. After entering the structure, she is immediately greeted by two more knights, one of which speaks up “Lord Barton didn’t expect you back so soon, milady. How did your mission go?” he asked, as he and the other knight led her towards Lord Barton’s chambers.
"It ended quite abruptly, unfortunately, but otherwise it was mixed. It started off well but went downhill since the start of this morning. "
The knight nodded understandably, as he knocked on the door to Lord Barton’s chamber “Milady is here to see you, milord” he announced. Lord Barton opened the door quickly, though only a crack, then opened it fully, and motioned for CeeCee to enter the room. “Please, come in Lady CeeCee,” he said, stepping aside. The room looked the same as it had before, however, this time in the center of the floor, with a stack of shapes and a board made of wood, with the same shapes as the stack cut into it. Sitting next to the board, and the shapes, trying to jam a triangle into the circular hole, was a little girl. (https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/320297872270688277/493546295240163328/3f2235f952acfd8ebafd953a7e8e2eff.jpg)
She looked up at CeeCee with a questioning look, and let out a small “Awoo?”. Lord Barton noticed CeeCee looking at her, and spoke up in response “Ah, I should introduce you. This is our as-of-unnamed creation from your companion’s, yours, the Frost Cragg’s, and my own likeness. She’s been matured to assist you, however, has a lot to learn. I thought that you may want to name her yourself, so I have not done so.” he said, with a nod.
Cee Cee walked closer to the girl and crouched down next to her. "I hadn’t really stopped to consider a name. Maybe Magnolia, in honor of my fallen companion." She took a few moments to examine her, looking for her own features hidden amongst the mixed gene pool. She looked the girl in the eyes and placed one of her hands under her chin, "You are Magnolia. I’m CeeCee and this is Lord Barton." She said gesturing to herself and then the Lord. She stood up and walked a few steps away from Magnolia, standing by Lord Barton’s side.
"So, a slow learner you said?" She questioned, gesturing at the blocks Magnolia was struggling with.
Magnolia let out a “Hoot hoot?” when CeeCee touched her face, and didn’t seem to register what she was telling her, she merely returned to trying to pound the triangular block into the same hole, as if trying enough times would make it fit. Lord Barton nodded slowly when CeeCee asked him about Magnolia’s learning problem “Well, you see, a problem I’ve never encountered with my other creations happens to have occurred with this one. I’m not sure which part it was, as I’m used to OwlBears exhibiting higher intelligence than… you know. I have been attempting to teach her the basic shapes, and she has made some progress… she now knows the Triangle does not fit in the square hole.” he explained, nodding slowly.
"So all of the others were of normal intelligence when they were formed? I didn’t know what a triangle was until I was eleven so I’m not too worried about that. But this is troubling. I have news from Baskerville. The whole town is ruined, the facility you own in the center is partially destroyed and full of dead mercenaries. And I only found one of the Chimeras, who was very upset to learn that I had worked with you. I tried to speak to her but she seemed very keen to eat me. I can tell she was chained and held there against her will. What exactly where your men doing to them in Baskerville? " She asked.
Lord Barton frowned when CeeCee gave him the news “That’s terrible… all of those people dead because of my own experiments. Those poor people.” he said, sitting down on his bed and gently rubbing the top of Magnolia’s head. At this point, she had stuck the triangle block into her mouth and was sucking on it, while trying to jam the circular block into the square hole. “You see, Lady CeeCee, that one had quite the temperament… she had attacked several medical personnel who were trying to feed her, so she had to be put in chains for safety. The scene that you saw in Baskerville is a result of those creatures escaping. I want them captured to keep them from hurting others, to rectify my mistake of letting them loose. I also believe that I can make them safer to have around, like our dear Magnolia. As you can see, she’s quite docile.” he explained, a grief-stricken expression on his face. “We did, however, manage to capture one of them, and she’s being held in a much safer location.” he finished, nodding slowly.
"The one I met seemed to have quite the bloodlust and rage. That coupled with the inhuman strength she possesses makes her a danger to everyone." Started Cee Cee, feeling quite conflicted. Lord Barton had created these creatures, the girl she met didn’t seem to enjoy the life she currently had and she blamed Lord Barton for her suffering. But, if she was so unstable perhaps holding her somewhere was safer? "I don’t know much about these experiments Lord Barton but these chimeras are unnatural, and you don’t seem to have any control over them. Now, I’m not a fan of keeping them locked up but if you think that is the safest thing to do I’ll leave you to it. I’d like to leave Magnolia with you for some time, I don’t think I’ll have much to teach her while on the road. One of the Chimeras that was in Baskerville is only a few minutes ride from the castle, though I can’t fathom how your knights could hurt or detain here. I’d like to collect my other gear as promised and be on my way." She said while sitting down next to the man.
"I should be back in only a few days to help care for Magnolia but I have a report to turn in for the Black Dragon Guild."
Lord Barton gently wrapped his arm around CeeCee’s shoulders “It’s a very difficult task, and specialized equipment is required, however, even then we do lose some men. With those creatures running loose, I do highly suggest taking Magnolia with you, as she would greatly increase your chances of survival against both the normal threats that one always faces and the creatures as well. She may not seem like much to you, however, she’s every bit as strong as your former companion and even stronger.” he nodded reassuringly as he spoke, then motioned to one of the nearby Knights to open his vault, which the man did immediately, once again revealing the vast wealth of equipment that Barton owned from his many exploits as a Mercenary.
"Fine.She’ll learn the way I did." Said Cee Cee as she stood up. "Have you got any other work for me, my Lord? I’m not sure when I’ll be back but if there is a reward involved I’d be happy to return."
Lord Barton nods as CeeCee agrees to take Magnolia with her, then replies “Hmm. Well, I have gotten reports of a Spectross woman attacking other Mercenaries that we have hired to track down and help us capture the loose creatures” he explained before continuing “I would very much appreciate it if you found her and ensured she didn’t keep stopping us from capturing those dangerous creatures. Not necessarily through violence, we don’t mind what method you use as long as she no longer interferes with us. We don’t have many specifics, however only so many Spectross are outside of Solstace. If you find her and stop her, I’ll gladly give you something else from my vault.” he explained, again giving Magnolia a gentle pat on the head, then added “Are you intending to spend the night, Lady CeeCee?” he asked.
"I suppose it’s late already. I’ll stay till morning. If you’d like to come to meet my new mount I’ll have to go stable him before I head to bed. Thank you for your hospitality again my lord. "
Spoiler (click to show/hide):
Lord Barton remains seated and considers for a moment "Hmm... I've seen enough creatures by now that I'd rather not take the trip out there. You can, however, take Magnolia with you and show her your new companion. She will probably find it amusing... she finds most things amusing." he said, motioning towards Magnolia, who was now trying to jam a star-shaped block into a Triangular slot, while chewing on the Circular and Square blocks. When Lord Barton motioned to her, with her mouth full, she simply cocked her head and let out a soft "Hoot-hoot?" and spit out the circular block.
Lord Barton remains seated and considers for a moment "Hmm... I've seen enough creatures by now that I'd rather not take the trip out there. You can, however, take Magnolia with you and show her your new companion. She will probably find it amusing... she finds most things amusing." he said, motioning towards Magnolia, who was now trying to jam a star-shaped block into a Triangular slot, while chewing on the Circular and Square blocks. When Lord Barton motioned to her, with her mouth full, she simply cocked her head and let out a soft "Hoot-hoot?" and spit out the circular block.
Alexander Telluria/Centaurific
Spoiler (click to show/hide):
Centaurific Wrote:Following a further series of confusing sounds and gestures, Alexander is left befuddled. This befuddlement vanishes when the torch is thrown. Regretting his prior decision to attempt conversation, though suspecting that he would have felt bad had he attacked without warning, he leaps into action. He starts shooting the goblins, aiming for the one covered in bones first. He also yells, "Goblins are attacking!" He really hopes he didn't just ruin someone's life.
Spoiler (click to show/hide):
(Coming when the battle is edited into his previous post)
(Coming when the battle is edited into his previous post)
Lilith Rose/Mark3000
Spoiler (click to show/hide):
Mark3000 Wrote:Lilith almost smacked herself when she realized the armored figures were looking straight at them. As the figures began to shift position, Lilith began to feel her body tense up. That is until one of them tries to hide behind a foot tall plant. "What?" Lilith blurted out as she watched the armored figured attempt to hide. This thing must have known we could see it. Looking to Metia and Camilla, she decides to at least see if she could talk to them.
Lilith approached the armored figure behind the plant slowly trying to come off as nonthreatening as possible. "Hello? My name is Lilith. Me and my friends are just trying to get through the forest. We don't need any trouble"
Spoiler (click to show/hide):
Metia and Camilla wait patiently while Lilith goes over to the armored figure and speaks to him. The man holds completely still as she approaches and glances over his shoulder when she speaks to him, seemingly believing that Lilith is speaking to someone else, as if he was actually hidden. From behind Lilith, Metia calls out "Yes, she's talking to you, you're completely visible!", to which the man responds by looking down at the plant that wasn't hiding him, and back up at Lilith. The man then stands up straight, and clears his throat "You can't see usss..." he whispers, as he backs into the bushes and crouches down, the rest of the green-armored men continuing to stare at them from the bushes. Metia rolled her eyes "Well, this is certainly new... I say we continue on our way, and if these guys attack us, we set them on fire." she said.
Metia and Camilla wait patiently while Lilith goes over to the armored figure and speaks to him. The man holds completely still as she approaches and glances over his shoulder when she speaks to him, seemingly believing that Lilith is speaking to someone else, as if he was actually hidden. From behind Lilith, Metia calls out "Yes, she's talking to you, you're completely visible!", to which the man responds by looking down at the plant that wasn't hiding him, and back up at Lilith. The man then stands up straight, and clears his throat "You can't see usss..." he whispers, as he backs into the bushes and crouches down, the rest of the green-armored men continuing to stare at them from the bushes. Metia rolled her eyes "Well, this is certainly new... I say we continue on our way, and if these guys attack us, we set them on fire." she said.
Amun Khufu/MrBlah
Spoiler (click to show/hide):
mrblah Wrote:collab post
Amun's initial impression of the shop and its owner could be described with one word; disgusting. He had to bite back the bile rising up his throat at the sight of Fuuuuurd, but the prospect of goods eventually won him over and he checked what the shopkeeper had to sell. His eyes were amateur, and he wasn't sure how to properly spot weapons of interest, so he deemed it appropriate to lean on Lyanna for advice. "Miss Lyanna, would you think this is any good?" He picked up a random... sword, or some kind of weapon, and held it out to her.
Lyanna looked with disgust at the weapon, but her face only showed it for an instant before turning into a look of disinterest "I don't recommend anything in this store" she whispered "I think this is just what they have... not what they deem to be suitable weaponry." she finished, grabbing it carefully from Amun's hand, as if it was made of glass, then putting it back on the shelf. Meanwhile, Lucia was just staring at her feet.
He had a feeling, really. Amun sighed in his disappointment. He'd been hoping for a chance to arm himself better to prepare for what was to come, but... this place didn't seem like it'd match his interests. "Yes, I suppose you're right. Let's continue on then." The group of three make their way out of the rusted shop, and continued to journey randomly through the street, hoping to spot another shop that'd be selling something more... useful.
Amun's prayers would be answered—or half of it would be. The next destination seemed to be a strange... shop, that at least sold food. Amun inspected the so-called alqarfs as Lyanna did, then turned to her for her expert (or, well, more experienced than his) opinion. "Are these worthwhile, Miss Lyanna?"
Lyanna looked closer at the Alqarf, then sniffed at it "Well, they seem to only live off of these, so they must at least be edible..." she said, sounding unsure. LuLu continued just staring at her feet, beside Lyanna as she and Amun looked around. Lyanna put the Alqarf back on the shelf and looked at some of the others.
"Then it unfortunately looks like this is the best we can get." He sighed. Amun took a few of the Alqarfs and headed toward Mirble with a bunch of them in his arms. 1, 2, 3, 4... and 5. "How much for all of these?" He hoped he had enough to pay, that is, assuming they're even using the same currency.
Mirble smiled as Amun approached the counter, while Lyanna and Lucia followed close behind him. "Ah, I see you're a man of culture as well." he said, as Amun placed the Alqarfs on the counter. He then slowly poked each one, counting out loud and nodding with each, then stopped short after the fifth "Hmm, well, each of these is half of one [C], so I'd suggest either getting one less, OR one more." he said, smoothly. After he had finished speaking, he glanced over Amun's shoulder at Lyanna and Lucia.
Half of one [C]?! For these... measly foods? The former noble felt offended, more so because that would completely deplete his entire supply of [C] than anything. It felt humiliating... and he was going to further humiliate himself. Amun looked back to the other two. "I don't suppose either of you would have any more [C]?" He didn't mention the fact that he couldn't pay, just so as to not alienate the possibility of haggling with the shopkeeper. But it would be nice to know if they had anything to pitch in so as to better plan in the future.
Mirble doesn't respond to any of it, opting to remain silent. Lyanna whispers to Amun softly "I lost everything but my armor in the destruction of my home, I didn't have any [C] on me." while Lucia doesn't say anything, she just stares at her feet, not seeming to register that anything is going on. When Mirble notices Lyanna whispering, he finally speaks up "If you think that's too much, I guess I could give you three for one. If I go too much lower, I'll be practically giving them away. We do have to feed the people living here, and it's not as though these aren't valuable... they have regenerative properties, and they never rot." he explained, sounding a little nervous.
"..." He was on board with the deal, but now it was ringing somewhat suspicious to him. Food that had regenerative properties and would never rot? He might be new to this world, but that sounded too good to be true. Amun spun back around to face Mirble with one of his wide, noble smiles. "Oh, that does sound like a much lovelier deal, good sir! Truly, it's very kind of you, but I must ask; how exactly did you come upon such a bounty of magical foods? Surely it's not as if there's many farms of these rare items! The demand for supply must be high, I'd imagine?"
He nodded his head slowly "They are somewhat difficult to grow, the healing property is too weak to outweigh the danger in obtaining them, and nobody is foolish enough to travel between cities on foot to deliver them..." he said sadly. He then picked one up and examined it "They're also too small to be considered a meal, so most cities would rather grow something else... " he set it back down on the counter.
... Wait, that sounded kind of logical, actually. He was hoping to see something faulty in the man's words to spot what he thought would be a swindler, but it... well, it checked out. "Oh. Well, that... is truly a shame." Amun felt a little awkward for doubting the man's integrity so quickly. Maybe he's just being too paranoid about the world. "I'll... I'll take 6." He handed Mirble two [C].
Mirble nodded and pulled a sixth Alqarf out from under the desk and set it beside the other five, then accepted the two [C] from Amun "Thank you for your patronage, please visit us again." he said, bowing to the three of them. Lyanna nodded, then grabbed Lucia by the hand in preparation to leave the store.
With the transaction made, Amun took the purchased goods and left in tow with his companions. "Next, next... perhaps we should find some place to reconvene, discuss and plan further. We got less out of this trip than I hoped." The only place he felt even slightly comfortable and secure in would be their temporary abode, and that place was falling apart. Still, Amun made his way back to the rusty abandoned shack they'd been given, and once they'd done what they could to get comfortable, he began.
"So, we were able to acquire food for cheap, but not weapons nor armor. We're a slight bit lower on funds than I'd like, but that's less important than our... or, I suppose moreso my lack of weaponry. I don't believe this place has anything of more importance that we can use, unfortunately, so perhaps it'd be time to move on to the next town?" He looked to Lyanna. "Assuming we could make the trip, where's the closest town you think would have something useful for us? Either a way to make more [C], or obtain new equipment..?"
Spoiler (click to show/hide):
Lyanna thinks for a moment, then speaks quickly "Well, the only location within reasonable distance of Ferraille would be Azraq, and considering they have their own guilds, we should be able to find work pretty easily.", meanwhile Lucia just stood nearby, staring at her feet, though Lyanna looked at her for input anyway, only to be met with the silence one would expect, before turning back to Amun "Probably better that we move out immediately, otherwise we risk night approaching before we arrive at our destination." she concluded, standing up and strapping on her armor and weapon, then grabbing Lucia's hand. "I do want to warn you, though, Guild work is mostly monster slaying." she said.
Lyanna thinks for a moment, then speaks quickly "Well, the only location within reasonable distance of Ferraille would be Azraq, and considering they have their own guilds, we should be able to find work pretty easily.", meanwhile Lucia just stood nearby, staring at her feet, though Lyanna looked at her for input anyway, only to be met with the silence one would expect, before turning back to Amun "Probably better that we move out immediately, otherwise we risk night approaching before we arrive at our destination." she concluded, standing up and strapping on her armor and weapon, then grabbing Lucia's hand. "I do want to warn you, though, Guild work is mostly monster slaying." she said.
