The Gang of Five
Role Play => Random Role Play => Unfinished RP's => Topic started by: Noname on April 21, 2009, 12:59:59 AM
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Adykon walked down the dirt streets of the city, passing by merchants, peddlers, vendors, beggars, whatever. The marketplace of Minbenthac was a crowded place, especially for a Dracon of his size. His goal, however, was not in any one of a thousand shops or stalls, but at an inn several blocks down the road.
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just then Jake, Rex and Sasha came running down the street.
Jake: "Hi Adykon"
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Sasha: all that running has made me thirsty (panting)
Rex: <i am thirsty as well>
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Adykon looked and recognized the human youth; he had met him about a year ago, having saved him from a bunch of bullies. Humans were a rare sight in Dracon lands, and it was even rarer for one to live there.
"Hi, Jake." Adykon said.
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Kavik went the part of the temple where he could read about the dragon gods, dragon magic, the magic of the dragon gods and similar things.
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Jake: How have you been lateley???
Sasha: (panting) hello*
Rex:.....
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Adykon greeted the youths. "Hello, younglings. I trust that those bullies have been keeping their distance lately?"
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Jake and Sasha: Yes they have Adykon
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Rex: <i don't think the bullies will come near us after what you did to them.....(a slight chuckle)>
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(Flashback) Adykon heard the soft thud of a fist hitting flesh. Then another and another. He ran over to see a group of four Dracons beating a human youth. Jake was trying to shield his face from the blows with his arms, but to little avail.
Adykon stepped up and demanded that the bullies stop. When one of them pulled a knife out of his pocket, Adykon blasted it with his acid breath, leaving the badly-made copper knife to corrode before the eyes of the thugs. They ran home pretty quickly after that. (End Flashback.)
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"that was not a very good day when the bullies beat me up" replied Jake feeling a cold chill run down his spine remembering the dull blade
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Sasha: just remember Jake that day is over, lucky for you that Adykon was there at the time
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Rhiga rose from her bed at the inn. This was her fourth bed in just as many days, and like the other three, this one was hard and uncomfortable. She did her stretches, then put on her loincloth and top, then left the room to get some food. She cut an attractive figure for a female Dracon, standing at 5'6, with brownish-red skin, a pale yellow belly, underside, soles and palms, and icy blue eyes.
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Jake: i know that silly but........they destroyed my auto-mail arm! my arm cost me 78 pieces of gold to get it!!!
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Rex:<i am going to do some training with Father, bye>
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Jake: see ya!
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Adykon left the youths, heading for the inn. He had business to attend to, and if the line of work was as profitable as he had heard it was, he would never have to fight for money ever again.
Meanwhile, Rhiga rose from the common room of the inn, and, having eaten, moved to meet with the one who she heard had a job for a group of willing adventurers.
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Adykon entered the inn. As usual, it was very crowded at this time of day, and the air was heavy with smoke and the sound of music and dancing. Normally, Adykon would go to the inn for a drink or some entertainment, but today, he had a meeting with with someone interested in his services.
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Sivar was in the ritual room using her fans that had the shiny almost mirror like finish to them to do one of the dances she did daily for the dragon gods as part of the rituals and duties she did daily. She has brown scales & red eyes. She is 5'7" 143lbs. She is wearing the typical wear for a dracon priestess who is inside the temple.
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Jake and Sasha went down to an alley to practise some Alchemy. Today Jake was going to teach Sasha how to create her own food and water, because in the desert you need those things to survive.
To perform a successful Alchemic transmutation you need to draw up the tranmutation circle or if you have the skill that Jake has you don't need the circle and you must perform an equivalent trade; you need to offer something of equal value for the thing you desire.
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Sasha: I can't wait till i can use alchemy without drawing the circle
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Jake showed Sasha the basics in Alchemy and he created a glass filled with water by only clapping his hands together and concentrating.
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Kavik made not of what planes certain of the dragon gods dwelt on as well as other interesting facts of the various areas of his interest, as well as his basic knowledge and study.
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Sivar continues her dance, finishing one and going to another as well as performing her various duties.
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Meanwhile Rex and his Dad were Training in the art of combat. Rex took a small blow to the head but quickly recovered and hit his Dad in the Chest.
Rex's Dad: <good shot son>
Rex: <thanks, your not to bad yourself>
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Adykon saw his contact, an older Dracon wearing dirty brown robes. He moved forward, eager to see what kind of job this elder had to offer him.
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Rex: <i'm puffed after all that training>
Rex's Dad: <i'll see you later son, go and talk with your friends now>
Rex: <ok>
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Kavik went on to other scrolls, books and other such things, taking note of various things that caught his interest in various areas of interest.
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Rhiga saw her contact, the old Dracon with the brown robes. She needed the money if she ever wanted to settle down from her life on the move.
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Kavik continued his studies & research as he did every day, when he wasn't doing his other duties in the temple.
Sivar put her fans away and went to the next ritual she did daily.
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Rex went looking for his two friends, Rex saw Jake and Sasha and ran up to them.
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Sasha: hi Rex
Jake: did Dad teach you anything useful?
Rex: <all we did was train>
Jake: oh ok then
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Sasha: i'll show you what Jake taught me
Rex: <ok let's see>
Sasha drew up a tarnsmutation circle and put some sand on it and she pressed her hands on the circle and an apple appeared.
Rex: <wow!!!>
Jake: Sasha will learn more in time
sasha: i can't wait!
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Jake, Rex and Sasha all walk off to Sasha's house for some lunch
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Jake, Rex and Sasha arrived at Sasha's house and they all sat down and ate a meal that Jake had prepared earlier.
Rex: <this is nice>
Sasha: this tastes good
Jake: why thank you, its spagetti bolonaise (don't know how to spell it)
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Outside the city, a lone figure walked across the sands. Akito, a wandering swordsman, approached the town, hoping to find work. As he neared the town, a group of bandits seemed to appear from the sands, surrounding him.
"Heh. Look here, boys. We got ourselves a traveler. You there, in the coat! Hand over all you got, and maybe we won't kill you!"
The man who was the apparent leader of the bandits yelled at Akito. Akito stood silent, showing no response to the man's statement.
"Hey! You hear me, you bastard?"
The leader yelled again. Akito looked up at last, then stared the man down.
"I hear you. I just feel no need to talk to vermin."
He said, subtly tightening his grip on his sword scabbard. The man spluttered for a moment, then roared.
"You makin fun of me?! You're dead!"
He yelled as he hand his men lunged forward, weapons ready. Akito barely flinched, and in a moment, he reacted. His scabbard turned the first few strikes, kncking his opponents aside, then he finally drew the blade. The finely-crafted katana gleamed in the desert sun, as Akito lunged and leapt between foes, cleanly slicing through them in a flash. He landed on the far side, near the entrance to the town, and flicked the blood clear of the Yamato, sheathing it as the raiders fell cloven behind him...
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Adykon approached his employer, and saw that he was not the only one hired by this old Dracon. Walking towards him was a young adult female who he had never seen before, and yet, was all too familiar. She reminded him of another whom he had previously mated with.
Vaeri... that the name of the dancer he had known; a poor female Dracon who had curved her wild habits for the sake of their relationship... and he had left her when she announced her pregnancy his with child. He had lied to her; tricked her into thinking that he would return after six months away at war, to earn enough for the family. Before that time, Vaeri had spoken of a 23 year old daughter who had run away for fear of being caught for a theft.
Clearly, this lithe, graceful female before him was that daughter; her looks, her clothing, her scent, even the way she moved was all reminiscent of her mother. He felt ambivalent about working with her on this mission; while she was clearly beautiful and agile, it gave him a certain unease about adventuring with the one who would have been his stepdaughter had he kept his promise to her mother... to say nothing of the fact that he had fathered one of her half-siblings.
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Sivar finished her shift. She left the ritual area and went to the hot tub area to relax. She would then decide where to go next.
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Rhiga looked at the male she was working with on this quest... he was certainly taller and stronger than the other males she had worked with before. He would make an excellent melee combatant. She thought of what she and he might do together once the adventure was over, but she pushed those thoughts aside, as she had a job to do, and didn't want to get distracted by any... bodily thoughts.
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Sivar the priestess was soaking, getting relaxed laying down in the hot water with her head on the edge.
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Kavik got up to stretch a bit before he went back to reading, using a cantrip to make light to ready by.
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The Dracon adventurers sat down, and faced their employer. He was an older Dracon, but certainly had an air of power about him. Wearing heavy robes, neither Rhiga nor Adykon could make out too many details about him, although it was clear that this Dracon was a mage, and a powerful one at that.
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Sivar was relaxed from her bath, but still had some tension in her muscles. To loosen up, she went for a massage in the inner part of the temple.
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The old Dracon turned to the adventurers and spoke. "So, you have come, in spite of the many risks you will face. Good. My name is Arcandas. I am looking for a special artifact, one which will be of great use for me, and for all Dracons. You will be paid for your work when I am able to unlock the power of the artifact, and will be able to keep any treasures you find on your journey."
Arcandas continued "Specifically, I am looking for the statue of Kothar, a magic item which has the ability to remove all enchantments from whoever or whatever it touches. Bring me the statue, and I shall be able to unleash its power, and we will all benefit from it."
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kavik used a cantrip and his ring to put the smell of some incense into the air around where his head was before he want back to reading.
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"Where is this statue?" Adykon asked, suspecting that the answer wasn't going to be what he would like to hear.
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The priestess go to the massage area and lay down on one of the massage tables there.
Kavik put aside some scrolls and books he had finished with, using a cantrip to float them back to where they belonged before he went back to his reading of some others he had before him.
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After dinner Jake walked Sasha home and Rex went up-stairs to his room.
Sasha: It's been a very long day today, and thanks for walking me home
Jake: no problem
Sasha leaned over and gave Jake a kiss on the cheek and went inside. Jake went red all over.
Jake walked home and Jumped into bed as Rex was already asleep
Jake: (yawn)
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"The statue is located in the lost city of the southern desert" replied the mage. About 5000 years ago, a great Djinn created the city, and, along with his allies, tried to bring the whole world to its knees, and make all worship him. The city, which was intended to be his capital, was then filled with treasures looted from a thousand lands, taken by his many servants."
The story was of dubious truth, but it served to motivate the adventurers. The real story behind the city was very different.
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The next morning Jake woke up and got dressed, after that he started tuning up his auto-mail arm.
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The next morning Jake woke up and got dressed, after that he started tuning up his auto-mail arm.
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The next morning Jake woke up and got dressed, after that he started tuning up his auto-mail arm.
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"How much treasure is in the city?" Rhiga asked. "Enough to fill the hordes of a hundred great Dragons, but most of it is cursed", came the reply from Arcantas. Take only what you deem to be safe, and don't get greedy."
Adykon spoke, saying, "Where is this lost city? I've heard the legends, but do not know where it is. It isn't on any map I've ever seen."
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Jake walked outside and took a breath of the hot air and started sprinting around the city for his warmup before training with his mum in an agility contest.
Jake: I'll beat mum today
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kavik finished with what he was looking over and put the stuff away he was looking over, researching and reading. He then went to an area where he usually did his exercises and started to perform his daily exercises, starting with basic warming up ones and some stretching that helped to loosen up his muscles a bit then going on to his exercises.
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"To get the treasure of the lost city, you will have to find it first. It's location is impossible to scry on." Replied the mage.
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Jake went back home after sprinting around the city for an hour, when he got home his Dracon mum asked him if he was ready for the agility contest.
Jake: sure let's go
Dracon mum: <prepare yourself>
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As Rhiga, Adykon, and Arcandas were speaking, Akito had walked up near enough that he heard part of the conversation.
"Excuse me. Are you talking about the Lost City? If that is the case, allow me to accompany you. My name's Akito Kiryusen. I'm a wandering swordsman."
He said, approaching the group...
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Arcandas looked up and said "You may join the group, certainly. Just know that I will not be joining you, or any of the party for that matter. I am an important mage, and I have no time to go off looking for the statue in the lost city myself. That is why I am hiring these adventurers to do the job."
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Kavik started doing some various exercises to maintain his muscle strength & endurance including handstand pushups & various exercises of other types.
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"So, how much money are we talking about here?" Rhiga asked. "Depends." Said the mage. "The statue is worth a lot, and you might be able to pull in a great amount from your quest. I'd say that we're talking about many thousands of gold pieces."
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Kavik then moved to the weights and started on his weight lifting exercises using the weights and going to the proper area to use them.
Sivar was still being massaged, but drawing near the end of her massaging time and thinking over what she could do next.
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"We need more help if we are going to the lost city" Adykon said. There are just two or us, and neither of us have any magic skill.
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Akito cleared his throat.
"Make that three. But you are right. We will need magic users of some sort."
He said calmly...
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Kavik continued with his weight exercises, working through his usual routine & finishing before he went to the next one.
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Sivar motioned to a spot or 2 on her back so the massage person would give her a through scratching of her back. She shivered in pleasure as the person started to scratch areas of her back gently.
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"How about we try recruiting in the great temple?" Adykon said. "They have a lot of priests and priestesses there, along with a population of mages. I'm sure that they can spare one or two for a quest."
"I agree." Said Rhiga. "But, what are we going to do with the swordsman here? Is he coming? I thought that this was Dracon only."
"He is just as good to me as you are" Arcandas said, "As long as he can keep up with you two."
"You are letting him join us, mage? ... very well. I don't often work with outsiders, but, in this case, I will make an exception... but only because you say so, Arcandas."
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Kavik was winding up his exercises and was slowing down and doing his cool down exercises before he would rest.
Sivar was finished getting her self lightly scratched then she'd rest for a while on the massage table.
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Adykon got up. "Alright. Let's go to the Great temple. Follow me."
"Good luck." The mage said. "I'll meet up with you once more, when the party has been gathered together. Meet me at the inn later this week."
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Akito nodded.
"Alright. I'll follow. And no need to worry. I can pull my own weight on this band, so I won't be a liability. Even if I'm not a Dracon."
He said, with a slightly sarcastic nod to Rhiga...
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Kavik finished doing his cool down exercises and got some water in a plain cup. He sipped it then without thinking did a cantrip to lower the water down to where it was between cold and cool, magic being natural & second nature to him being a sorcerer, unlike learned like wizards needed to do to do magic. Though he did get practice & training in sorcery to learn to focus his gift & refine it, & learn how better to do certain spell instead of having to experiment & teach himself as untrained sorcerers did.
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"Regardless, we ought to head to the great temple", Adykon said. "We should be able to find some more help there."
Adykon thought of the temples. In the Dracon lands, the temples were more than just places of prayer and worship; they were also places of magic and crafts. Every major Dracon city had a great temple, and each great temple had a company of mages, in addition to a library, craft shops, a rich treasury, and many other facilities. The temples also had incubators for eggs which were laid by some of the females in the temple, as well as eggs would otherwise be abandoned by their mothers.
Regardless of what else was there, the temple would be a good place to find a cleric and a mage, to provide more power to the adventuring party.
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Kavik sat down to relax as he drank the water in the cup.
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Adykon and Rhiga got up, thanked the mage, and got ready to head to the temple.
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Kavik continued to sit as he rested from his work out and sipped his cold water, thinking about what he had read earlier & how his workout went.
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As they walked through the rough streets of the city, Adykon and Rhiga talked to each other.
"I can't wait to get to the temple, Adykon", said Rhiga. "The attendants there are said to be very good at soothing pain, and I've got these knots in my back which..."
As Rhiga complained about her tension, Adykon was lost in thought. This was, clearly, the child of the female he had known and left. Was it right to approach her romantically? Was it indecent? What would she say if she knew that he had left her mother? Or that he had even been with her mother to begin with?
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Siva was resting from her massage and back scratching. Laying on the massage table and thinking what else she could do with the rest of the day and not having any duties to do anytime soon.
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The two Dracons walked along. They weren't sure if they saw Akito with them or not. They assumed that he was keeping up with them.
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Kivak drank some more water, going over to pour a bit more since his work out had gotten him a bit dehydraded and his reading and also done a bit towards that also. He used a cantrip to keep the water between cold and cool, thus refreshing to drink and helping to cool him down from his work out faster.
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The adventuring party approached the temple, and entered through the opened doors.
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Kavik closed his eyes as he sipped the water, going over mentally without visual distractions what he had read in his research today and the past few days & before that so he could be sure he remembered it all as best as he could.
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The party stepped into the temple. Even though the Dracons in the party has been there before, they were still awed by what they saw. The Great temple was a compound of many buildings, linked by causeways, halls, bridges, and tunnels. Housing many thousands in dorms and common halls, it was a neighborhood unto itself in a city which numbered about a million. Everywhere they looked, the party saw worshipers, attendants, priests and priestesses, mages, scribes, artisans, teachers, musicians, dancers, and children of the temple.
It took them a little while to determine where each of them wanted to go.
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Kavik continued to sip the water while he next thought over what he wanted to do next with his time.
Sivar continued to rest where she was. Since the room had plenty of massage tables so she could rest where she was for a while and remain relaxed before getting up to go.
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"Okay. I'm going to go find a mage to aid us on our quest. Rhiga, you go find a priest or priestess" Adykon said.
"Who put you in charge?" Replied Rhiga. "I'll find someone on my own terms... after I get myself a good rubdown. I've got a lot of tension..."
"Females... they can never pass down a chance for pleasure, can they?" Thought Adykon. "Oh well, I'll let her have her fun... I don't need her to find more help... as far as I am concerned, she is an unproven adventurer... if she pulls her weight on a quest, fine... but I don't expect that she will" He thought to himself.
Each Dracon went his or her own way in the temple.
(100 posts! :) )
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Kavik got up and stretched a little, putting the cup away once he finished sipping the water from it.
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Rhiga went deeper into the temple, and, after paying a nominal fee, went to go get herself a massage. After removing her vestments, she lay down on the table, as the attendant got to work...
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Sivar mmmed a bit, enjoying feeling so relaxed after the hot tub, massage, scratching, and other work she had done recently.
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Rhiga gasped and moaned under the feelings of relaxation and pleasure from the massage. After an hour of being kneaded, rubbed, and caressed, she was relaxed. The attendant left Rhiga alone for a while to rest.
"The was great" she thought "I needed that; I haven't had a good massage in weeks."
Rhiga rested for a short while, and when she woke, she saw a priestess who was lying on a table next to her, also on her stomach. Rhiga has been so preoccupied with the sensations she had felt that she hadn't noticed the nearby priestess.
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Sivar smiled to Rhiga, "They are very good aren't they. Very relaxing." She said, very relaxed herself and having enjoyed pleasurable massage hot tub, ect.
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"Indeed" Said Rhiga... "I assume that you are a priestess, due to the religious icon I see in your clothes that you put on the ground?"
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"Yes, "Sivar said in a relaxed tone of voice, "I'm a priestess here. Do you require help?" She asked looking at her.
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"I'm looking for a cleric for an adventuring party that I am a part of. My companion, Adykon, if looking for a mage." Said Rhiga. "If you would like to join, you are most welcome to."
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Sivar thought for a moment, "It could be interesting. It may be nice to get out of here for a while. What is the plan you have?" She asked.
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"My companion and I are planning on going to the lost city to find an artifact. It could be very lucrative" Rhiga said.
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"Hmm, It does sound interesting. Could be lots of things in there." Sivak said, interested. "How large is your group so far?" She asked.
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"So far, just you, me, and my companion. He is trying to recruit a mage, too." Said Rhiga. "Oh, there is also a swordsman, but he's a non-dracon. I don't know if he is still with us."
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"Sounds interesting." Savik said. "A non dracon? They are not very common around here." She said. "As for a mage, there are quite a few here, wizards, sorcerers. " She said.
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Jake and his Dracon mother got ready and they both started running through the city jumping over obsticals in their path and dodging other Dracons that were in conversation. they ran past a great big temple along the way
Jake thought to himself: i wonder if i can get some alchemy training there?
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Adykon searched for a willing mage with no success. Wizards and sorcerers alike turned down his offer. When he was about to give up, he saw a sorcerer in a training room. Deciding to give it one last shot, he tried to convince the sorcerer to join his quest.
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Kavik cast clean spell on himself & the cup he had been using. He put the cup away & started to head out of the training room when he saw someone else there or in the hallway or doorway.
"Hello there." He said to Adykon assuming he was there for one of the temple services.
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After the sprint around the city Jake started to get worn out after 3 hours, the sprinting had started to take its toll on Jake. Jake started to get tired and he slowed down to a stop and watched his mum speed off.
Jake knew he was going to lose so he started walking back in the direction that he came from....he saw the temple and he then remembered that he wanted to get some more alchemy training. Jake walked to the temple and he went inside
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"Hello" Said Adykon. "I am recruiting for an adventuring party for a quest to the lost city. If you have any magical powers, you are free to come along; my party needs a mage."
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Kavik nodded, "It does sound interesting. No telling what you may find in there. I am interested and I am a sorcerer." Kavik said smiling. "Usually one can't find or discover interesting things without taking some risk."
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"Can I see one of your spells before you join?" Queried Adykon.
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Kavik nods, "Sounds fair. How about a cantrip?" he said thinking which one may be best. He extended his left hand, so he was sure not to accidentally touch anything and made a loose fist with just his index finger extended, so he would not accidently touch his other fingers to his index finger and did a fire finger cantrip so his finger was covered in flames.
"Is this enough? Or should I do another? I don't want to do one that is wasteful, damaging to the temple or others here." He said.
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"No, that's good" replied Adykon. "You're in. I'm going to meet the rest of the party at the temple gates, just come with me and introduce yourself to the others."
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Kavik nods, "ok, shall we be off, unless you have some other business to conduct or see to here. Or some fun." He says smiling a bit again.
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"I've heard that the females here are really good... but, I'll pass for now... maybe when I get back." Adykon said.
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Kavik nods, "They are, in more then one area of skill." Kavik said nodding.
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Adykon wondered if the females in the party would be as skilled, particularly Rhiga had managed to recruit a priestess...
Shoving aside those thoughts for the moment, he focused his mind on the mission ahead...
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"Do you have many in the party so far?" Kavik asked out of curiosity.
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"So far, we have four party members... five, if Rhiga is successful in recruiting a cleric" Adykon replied.
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"There are many clerics here male and female so she'd have plenty of chance." Kavik said as he walked along with Adykon.
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"Heh. I'm sure there are, but my companion... she is rather... easily distracted. Or so it seems. I wouldn't be surprised if she was enjoying herself right now." Adykon said. "I may have to go find a cleric myself."
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Kavik nods, "You may need to," he said, smiling a bit at how dracon females were and guessing what she may be up to. Relaxing in the hot baths area, getting a massage or some other such place, "but maybe she found a cleric herself."
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Adykon looked ahead and saw Rhiga and a priestess. "Seems like she was able to focus on the task after all" he said.
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Jake found a teacher that knows alchemy but the teacher was not even close to Jakes skill. Jake got bored of re-learning what he had already learned, Jake walked out and he saw Adykon talking to himself and Jake ran over to greet him
"hi Adykon"
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"Jake!" Adykon said. "What are you doing here?"
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"i was trying to get some alchemy training but the only teacher here only knows how to write the symbols......he doesn't even know how to transmute something" replied Jake with a bored expression
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"Oh. Well, I am going on a quest to the lost city with this adventuring party", replied Adykon. "We intend to find a great artifact and retrieve it for a powerful mage."
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Kavik nods to the others, "Hello", he says pleasantly and friendly.
Savik waves, "Hello, nice to meet you folks." She says.
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"How many of us are present?" Adykon said. "Where's that swordsman, and (sniff), did one of you two females have some sort of scented oil rubbed into your skin?"
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Sivak waved raising her arm, "I did, I'm not sure if she did or not."She said. "It does help one's skin to feel better." She said.
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Whether or not the priestess was correct, Adykon did have to admit, it smelled good...
"Okay... are we all gathered here? Where is the swordsman?"
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Akito stepped forward from where he had been leaning against a pillar.
"I'm here. Are we finally ready to set out, I gather?"
He said, looking at each member of the party...
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"Are we ready or do you want to get some adventuring supplies?" Kavik asked.
"Or more party members or other sorts of supplies and stuff." Sivak said.
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"We should go over our supplies and inventory first. We need to make sure that we have brought enough food, water, and other supplies." Adykon said.
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"I can condense water given time. & make cottages for us to sleep in. It should last for," kavik said thinking for a bit as he closed his eyes for a moment & bent his head down to think for a moment as he rubbed his jaw near his chin, "I'd say around 12 hours."
Savik smiled at the mention of a cottage, "Much more comfortable then sleeping on the ground or sand with at most a blanket." Sivak said.
"& safer from wild animals too." Kavik said.
"I can make food and water, or party food and party drinks." Sivak said.
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Akito smirked, pulling out a coin and flipping it into the air.
"I can...find ways to get water, and food from the desert itself, if the need arises, as well."
He said, catching the coin deftly...
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"Okay. So we have food, water, and shelter covered" said Adykon.
"Does anyone here have healing powers?" asked Rhiga. "We shall doubtlessly need them."
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Sivak nodded, "I can do healing spells, and some other useful ones also." She said.
Kavik rubbed his chin for a moment, "maybe some healing scrolls, salves or something could be handy, incase you are rendered unconscious we could use those to get you conscious. Also I think curing poison is a mid or high level spell." He said.
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"Do we have any potions, or should we stop in at a marketplace and get some?" Rhiga asked.
-
"I have some I've made and put aside for handy purposes." Sivak said.
Kravik nods, "I've made some as well." He said. "Not sure if they are enough for an adventuring though." He said.
-
"How many do you have, and what kinds of potions are they?" queried Adykon.
-
"I have some healing, & curing ones, some for removing poisons from one's body & salves for sore & wounded areas & body parts & some to regain one's mana." Sivak said.
"I just have some restore mana potions, and some salves for sore & pulled muscles that I traded a priest for." Kavik said.
-
"That's good." Adykon said. "What weapons do we have? I have a greatsword."
-
"I have 2 katars, a sling, a hand crossbow and quiver of hand crossbow quarrels." Kavikk said.
"I have 2 daggers, though I use them with a certain defensive spell usually, a sling, 2 war fans, & shurikens." Sivak said.
-
"I have two daggers" Rhiga said, "And I am skilled at throwing knives."
-
"Useful." Kavik said nodding.
-
"It might be better, though, if I had something else, though... something to enhance my combat prowess... I know what to get!" said Rhiga. "I also know where to get it."
-
"A dagger or armor that assists you in combat?" Kavik asks.
"Like a dancing dagger or sword I heard about." Sivak said.
"There are a few different arcane spells that could do that." Kavik said.
-
"Well, it is something that we can only get at the Gixjesk bazaar in this city" Rhiga replied.
Adykon knew about the bazaar, and of the horrible neighborhood it was in.
-
Kavik rubbed the back of his head. "I've not heard of that place." He said, not going to that part of town. He looked at the Sivak. "Have you?" he asked her.
Sivak shook her head, "No, I've not heard of that place either." She said. "maybe it is far away from here."
-
Akito nodded his head.
"Well, wherever it is, I'll be glad to accompany you. But I doubt I'll need more than Yamato."
He said calmly, walking over to Sivak...
-
"Is that your sword's name?" Sivak asked looking at Akito.
(ooc: I remember a reference to his having a sword, though I may be wrong.)
-
"Alright. Before we set out on an adventure, I'd like to get something from that bazaar to help me in combat. I'm not exactly built as a fighter, you know" Rhiga said.
-
i'll gladly join you on your quest Adykon but....can Sasha and Rex come?
-
"Jake... you can come with us to the bazaar at least, and you can bring your friends." Adykon said. "Do your parents know that you are here?"
-
"Is it far from here?" Kavik asked.
-
"uuummmmm.....yes" Jake lied
-
"The bazaar is deep in the heart of the city. Shall we be off?" said Rhiga.
-
"i'll go get Rex and Sasha" said Jake as he ran off
-
"While he is getting them, we have a little while to talk" Said Adkyon to Rhiga "What is it that you do, Rhiga?"
"I'm a dancer. Surely you might have guessed, given the way I move and my... exotic figure" Rhiga replied.
Adykon knew that Rhiga was probably some kind of thief, or else, why would this "dancer" be so skilled with knives. Still, she might be useful for the adventuring party, and that was what mattered in Adykon's eyes.
-
Jake got to Sasha's house and asked her if she would like to join the quest, Sasha agreed and they both got Rex and then they all ran back to the temple, it took 1hour to get Sasha and Rex and run to the temple.
-
Sivak nodded, "Dancer? That explains why you move so gracefully." She said.
-
"Okay. Are we finally all present and accounted for?" Adkyon asked
"I'm here" said Rhiga.
-
"I'm back with Rex and Sasha" said Jake while he was panting
-
"so what are we questing for?" asked Rex
-
"We are questing for an artifact in the lost city. It might be a walk through some empty ruins, or it might be terribly dangerous" Adykon replied.
-
"alright"replied Rex
-
"Why are you two humans dressed like Dracons?" Rhiga asked "I've never heard of that."
-
"Sasha and I were raised this way" replied Jake
-
"I'm here & have my gear with me. " Kavik said.
"I am also and I am sure I have all my gear with me also." Savik said.
-
"Okay. Let's be off!" Adykon said. Rhiga and I know where to go.
The party left the temple, and headed into the slums of the city.
-
"why is everyone staring at us?" said Sasha confused
-
"maybe because you wear footwear" said Rex in a joking tone
as soon as Rex said that Jake gave him a small punch in the arm
"ouch! what was that for?" said Rex rubbing his arm
"because it is not right to tease girls....even if it's a joke" replied Jake
"sorry Sasha" said Rex
Sasha replied "oh its ok"
-
"Many Dracons have never seen a human before, particularly the ones who live in the isolated slums. "Adkyon said.
"I used to live in a place like this..." Rhiga said.
The streets were filled with trash, vagrants, beggars, and large crowds of poor Dracons. The stench was overpowering in places where waste water and other "products" had been dumped. Children who were well past the age where they ought to have received more clothing were going around wearing nothing but loinclothes, as their parents couldn't afford anything better, and not far away, shifts of younglings could be seen going to and from sweatshops.
It was a place in need of serious urban renewal.
-
Jake saw these poor people and he felt sorry for them
-
"We still have a way to go before we get to the bazaar" Adykon said. He had a feeling that they were being watched...
-
Jake looked around and saw some beggers that were extremely scrawny because they Probably hadn't eaten in a very long time
-
Adykon turned to face the beggars. "What is it? You want some food?"
"We're sorry. Really, we are. They just said that they would feed us if we distracted you" said on of the beggars.
"They?" said Rhiga.
All of a sudden, a dozen rogues, all male Dracons, burst out off the slums and surrounded the party.
-
Kavik got ready to do a spell as did Sivak jerked in startlement and tried to get closer to the center of the group.
-
"what the hell?!" said Jake, Rex and Sasha in unision
Jake put up his fists in a fighting stance and Rex did the same. Sasha went to the back of the group so she could cast some spells
-
A rogue approached Adykon and did something very foolish; he charged the Warlord head on, and in one quick swipe of the warlord's sword, sudden found his head off.
"First blood to us" Adykon thought.
-
Jake charged in and used alchemy to transform his arm into a sword and he cut off both of the enemy Dracons legs in one swift movement
the Dracon screamed but Rex jumped on his head and snapped his neck
-
"thanks for the help Rex" said Jake
"no problem, but.......we still need to kill 10 more...." replied rex
-
Kavik did a spell so his body was unwrapped in flames. It would damage any foes who attacked him in melee & protect him from fire or cold damage, and he had chosen protection from heat damage.
Sivak did a defending hands spells as she drew her daggers to hand to the 2 phantom spectral hands that appeared to help parry attacks.
-
Rhiga fought one of the rogues using both her daggers. She was fighting hard, but he was stronger than she was. Using her superior agility, she kept dodging until Adykon could finish her attacker off.
-
Sasha was about to cast a spell when all of a sudden an enemy Dracon jumped on her and tried to snap her neck, Jake saw this and the Dracon turned around and he just knocked Sasha out with his fist.
Jake yelled "YOU MISERABLE BASTERD!!!"
-
Adykon opened his mouth, and blasted the rogue who had knocked Sasha out with his acid breath. Being such a strong Dracon, his acid was more potent than a typical male's, and hurt a lot more, even though Dracons were , to a degree, resistant to acid attacks.
-
Kavik drew his twin Katars and met the attack of one of the rogues.
Sivak drew her twin war fans, using one to try to swipe the face of one of the rogues who attacked her, one of the defending hands parrying his blade.
-
"thanks Adykon, i must go and see if Sasha is alright" said Jake
Jake ran over to Sasha and he tried to wake her up
-
At this point in the fight, only half of the enemy rogues were still up and fighting; the other half had either been killed or had been injured and forced to retreat. The remaining six were still fighting on.
-
Jake used alchemy again to turn his arm back into an arm and pulled out a water bottle and poured some of it on Sashas head. She then woke up
"......uuhhh....my head hurts...." said Sasha still dizzy from being hit by an adult dracon male.
"don't worry its ok, i'm here for you" replied Jake
-
Kavik got cut by one of the rogues, who got burned himself by the attack and Kavik's right katar going into his side.
-
Adykon finished off another rogue, chopping off a limb, then stabbing him through the torso. That's seven down so far.
-
Sivak stepped back, the defending hands keeping the rogue off of her and prayed a moment to do a summon spell, summoning some celestial dogs.
The silvery colored regal looking dogs appeared a bit infront of Sivak where she aimed the spell to have them appear.
"Upon these evil doers." Sivak said to the dogs who launched into an attack on the rogues who were still attacking them.
-
Another two rogues fell to the party. The remaining rogues still fought on.
-
Kavik parried the rogue's next attack and with the opening he provided and was able to do a partial slash stab into the rogue's belly. The fire shield also burning the foe as he gets close to do his attempted attack. One of the celestial dogs attacked the rogue from behind as well.
-
Rhiga and Adykon worked together to take down the next rogue. First, Rhiga dodged the rogue's attack and got behind him, where she crouched down. Adykon then pushed the rogue backwards, tripping him over her. Once he was on the ground, Adykon was able to finish him off in one blow from his sword.
-
Sivak went back to fighting & trying to keep the defending hands between her and the attacking rogue or rogues. One of the celestial dogs attacked the rogue from the back as well as she was able to slash the rogue's face.
-
There were now just three enemy rogues left. One of them made a run for it; the other two kept fighting on in vain.
-
Rex jumped onto one of the rogues and sank his teeth into the rogues flesh
-
Adykon and Rhiga cut down yet another rogue. Now, the only one remaining was the one Rex was fighting.
-
As Rex faced the last rouge, Akito lunged forward, his blade swiftly extinguishing the foe's life.
"I...apologize for being late, but I had some other vermin to take care of."
He said, flicking the blood away and sheathing his sword...
-
"Is that everyone?" Kavik looking around to see if any other foes were present.
-
"That's it" Adykon said. "We did it."
Rhiga checked to see if the corpses had anything worth taking on them; they didn't.
-
Sivak Cast a Healing Rays spell. Not as powerful as her healing spells that healed just 1 person, but this would, though healing each person less, would heal everyone in the group near her a little.
"Tamara's healing grace." Sivak said as the spell took effect and she glowed for a moment, the healing rays healing a little those in the party.
-
"Ahh. That's better" Rhiga said. "That rogue hit my arm pretty badly. Thanks for the healing."
-
Akito smiled at Sivak.
"Thank you, m'lady."
He said, bowing slightly...
-
The party continued on to the bazaar. They knew they were there when they saw stalls filled with goods and poorer merchants sitting down on carpets and selling their wares.
-
Sivak nodded back to Akito's bow, "I'm glad I could help."
Sivak & Kavik went along with the others. Kavik did his best to keep watch and alert. Savik attempted to see if the others in the party were wounded or ok as they traveled along to the bazaar.
-
Rhiga went into the deepest part of the Bazaar. The rest of the party did not see where she went, but when she returned to them, they noticed her carrying a small vial of liquid.
-
"You finished?" Kivak asked.
"Anyone else want anything here?" Sivar asked.
-
"I don't want anything" said Adykon. "This place is truly foul. Most of these "goods" are so shoddy, calling them "junk" is too good."
-
"what is this place?" said Jake having a disgusted look on his face from the foul smells
-
Kavik looks around, "Maybe the secondary market where things that are not sold at the primary market are sold, for a variety of reasons." Kavik said.
-
Rhiga spoke up " This is the Gixjesk bazaar, where you can find things which are difficult to acquire using... normal means of commerce."
"A black market" thought Adykon.
-
"cool....but this place stinks" replied Sasha to Rhiga
-
"Perhaps if we are done here we can go somewhere more pleasant." Sivar said while looking around the place & not liking the looks or the smell, or the general feel of the place.
-
"Are we all finished with our business here?" Adykon asked. "The sooner we leave, the better. If we plan on making our way to the lost city, we need to head out of this urban area, and to the south, to the settlement which is closest to the lost city. It is three days to get to the first town along the long road to the south, once we have left the immediate area surrounding this city."
-
"alright let's go" said Jake
-
"I'm finished since I have no business here." Kravik said.
Silvar looks around the area not liking where she is, "I certainly have no business here." She said.
-
"Okay, lets go" said Adykon.
The party left the slum and approached the city gates.
"Jake, Sasha, Rex? Are you CERTAIN that your parents all gave you permission to go with us? Beyond the city walls, I cannot guarantee your safety."
"And what are we doing about shelter?" Asked Rhiga "Did you mention something about cottages earlier? Are they comfortable?"
-
Kravik thinks for a moment before responding, "Not sure what you'd consider comfortable. Each one is a 1 room cottage at the moment with a bed in each, or more then 1 bed that is large enough for 2 persons to sleep on comfortably." He says as he looks at the non adults in the group, "with a table and chairs. Nothing fancy, but I find it far better then the alternative of sleeping on a blanket or something. Also the cottages are as strong as stone regardless of what they are made out of." Kravik said. "Each also has a candle with hour marks on the sides. The length of the candle can tell you how long you have left for the spell to last and provides some lighting also on it's own."
-
"Sounds okay." said Rhiga. She had really wanted a room with a bed and bath, but having a warm place to sleep was good enough for her.
-
"It does sound ok, better then sleeping on a blanket on sand." Sivar said.
Kravik noticed the ashes from his combat spell and he did a clean cantrip to clean himself of the ashes, though it also cleaned him off as well.
-
"Joshua, I am still waiting for a clear answer" Adykon said.
"How many huts will you make?" Rhiga asked Kravik.
-
Kravik thought a moment. "It may be best to do 1 for each pair of adult Dracons, 1 for the non adults, 3 beds can comfortably fit in 1 cottage I think with room still for moving around and a table with 3 chairs, with maybe another 1 for Akito I think."
-
Rhiga was happy to hear that she would have the chance to sleep with one of the males... they both looked good; a mighty warlord and a charismatic sorcerer... as long as they treated her well, she would be happy to share a bed with one.
"We should decide which adult Dracons sleep in the same cottage" she said.
-
Sivar nods, "That is a good idea." She said, liking the way the males looked herself & glad there were not to many or to few.
"Maybe a bunkbed or 2 for the cottage Rex, Jake and Sasha will be in." Kravik said as he thought how to decorate the cottages.
-
Adykon stopped trying to get information from Jake and turned to the conversation about the cottages. He knew that Rhiga was the daughter of Vaeri, the female whom he said he would marry, but abandoned her instead. He saw no harm in sleeping with Rhiga, but he preferred to share a bed with Sivar instead.
-
Akito looked at the group, one ear bending slightly.
"Somehow...I get the feeling I'm not entirely welcome in this group, am I?"
He said, sounding mildly upset...
-
Adykon spoke to Akito "You are welcome, although I must admit that it is odd to see one of your kind here. You may stay with us as long as you can hold your own in a fight, and since you did a good job fighting off those rogues, I can see that you are a decent fighter. I'll make sure that no one treats you badly."
-
Kravik looked at Akito, I don't mind your being here. What made you think some of us may not?" He said.
Sivar nodded, "I don't mind either. Did someone say something and I missed it?" She asked.
-
"It can be hard for an outsider to fit into our culture" Adykon said.
-
"Yes, some folks are so close minded for one thing." Sivar said.
"And some cultures are very different. Not to mention that there are many cultures around, and we are in a desert and some find it hard to live in deserts." Kravik said.
-
"I've never understood why some races wear so much in warm environments" said Rhiga "we Dracons don't use veils or turbans..."
-
"Perhaps it is to protect their soft skins from the sun." Kravik said.
-
"My skin is soft too, especially my belly." said Rhiga, while rubbing her soft belly scales for emphasis. "I've never understood why you males are content with such leathery hides as you have, or why you cover so much of it with clothing."
-
Kravik shrugs, "As for why I wear this," He said as he waved his hand over his clothes, "it is cause if I were to try to put pockets in my skin it would likely hurt, or I'd have to remember to renew the spell or enchant myself and I'd rather not have flesh pockets, even via an enchantment. As for why I'm content to have hard skin it is handy if one gets into a fight. If you don't like males with hard skin you can go to those who made our species and ask them to make some males with soft skins. I'm sure some of the original creators are alive or those who know how are. At worst you can go to one of the planes and ask the dragon gods. If you want to do that I suggest you only go to the neutral and good dragon gods home planes." Kravik said in a matter of fact voice, not to unlike the tv Spock.
-
"I'm just glad that they made us males with so much strength, and size." Adykon said. "I don't know how I'd manage in such a small, female body. I'm glad to be male."
-
Kravik nods, "I'd forgotten about strength. It does come in handy."
"I don't think I'd want a hard skin or large muscles. I think those fit better on males & the roles they were created for." Sivar said nodding to what she said.
-
"Well, at least I can balance better than you males" said Rhiga, while standing on her toes to emphasize this "and we females are a lot more flexible."
-
"& better at climbing." Sivar said.
Kravik nodded, "Each gender has their own advantages." He said.
-
"Heh. We're still on top, though" Said Adykon. "Females of our kind aren't even allowed to own land, much less run a kingdom."
-
Akito raised an eyebrow.
"Honestly, I don't see the need for such strength. To us Fauxen, the more important trait is speed. And to that point, quite a few females in our society hold quite a bit of power. And you must forgive me for my...pessimistic viewpoint, but...that happens when one wanders alone for so long."
He then looked over at Sivar.
"You're probably right. Most Fauxen don't hold outsiders in high esteem, either."
Then, he turned to Adykon.
"Thank you for that, Adykon. I'm grateful"
He said, nodding his head...
-
"Think nothing of it" said Adkyon to Akito. "You will be getting your own cottage because you might not feel comfortable around Dracons sharing the same hut. We come from different cultures with different norms."
-
"Yes, I assumed you may prefer that for that reason." Kravik said.
-
Akito smiled.
"It's fine. I don't want to be a burden to you all. I don't have any objections to sharing a hut with anyone. Really."
He said, casting a shy glance over at Sivar...
-
"Do you know what Dracons of the opposite sex have a very strong tendency to do while sharing a living space?" Rhiga asked Akito. "I don't think I need to elaborate more."
-
Akito held up both hands, smirking.
"Oh, I'm quite aware of that fact. I've been around Dracons for a fair amount of time now, and as I said, I have no objection. I'd recommend placing the resources needed for an extra cottage for me into something that the entire group will benefit from."
He said, a faint light in his eyes...
-
"Perhaps we can make you an extra bed in the cottage with Jake, Sasha, and Rex?" Adykon suggested.
-
Akito shrugged.
"I don't know. Personally, that seems it would be slightly too cramped for my taste. And besides...I have my reasons for wanting to share a cabin with...a certain someone..."
He said, blushingly...
-
"It is rare that someone not of out race should have an eye for one of us" Rhiga said. "I think you will find that Dracons are not so... prudish as most other sentient races."
-
Sivar smiled a bit to Akito, "Maybe something can be arranged that everyone will be happy or satisfied with." She said.
"I'm sure with all of use being civilized beings we can some to some sort of agreement." Kravik said nodding ot what Sivar said.
-
"None of us are married" said Adykon. "This means, that until two of us decide that they are going to be a pair, we can be... flexible."
"What does your race in this regard, Akito?"
-
Akito grinned.
"Well, then that's good. So, now that that's more or less settled, should we begin traveling?"
He asked, smiling at Sivar...
"Oh, and my race? Trust me, this wouldn't be abnormal, save for the fact that you are not of the same race."
He added...
-
"We should be off soon." Adykon said. "But what do the Fauxen do in this regard? Our race practices both polygamy and monogamy."
-
Akito shrugged one shoulder noncommittally.
"Really, the Fauxen hardly have things like marriage. Usually, they just breed, raise the pups, then move on to another mate. Some stay together, but there's no official thing like marriage."
He said calmly...
-
"Sounds a lot like what poorer Dracons do... except we don't really know who the father is. I never knew who mind was... neither did my mother; she didn't know either" Rhiga said.
-
Kravik shrugs, "I've no idea who my mother is. I'd guess one of the hierodules, or maybe a priestess, sorceress or servant." he said. "No idea who my father is either."
"Same with me." Sivar said. "Though for the temple that is normal."
-
"My parents raised me together. We were all goat-herders. It was good when I left to go to the military; our lands were too poor to support all of my many siblings and I" Adykon said.
-
Akito nodded.
"I haven't a clue as to who my father was. He died when I was still very young. All I know is that he was a swordsman. This sword, the Yamato, was his"
He said, twirling the sheath delicately...
-
"Oh. That's bad. Dracons who grow up without a father or other male figure are usually condemned to poverty" Adykon said.
-
Akito gave a halfhearted smile.
"Yeah, the same happens with my race. My mother kicked me out of the den when my father died, actually. That's how poor we were. At least she had the kindness left to give me my father's sword."
He said, looking at the ground...
-
Sivar shook her head sadly, "Sounds like you had a bad childhood." She said.
"Far to many do." Kravik said, knowing such things happen, but that he can't do anything about it.
-
Adykon looked around at the party. He saw Rhiga, Sivar, Kravik, Akito, Jake, Rex, and Sasha. Including himself, that made eight. "Are we ready to go at last?" He asked. "We can continue this conversation on the way there."
-
Akito nodded.
"He's right. We can keep... Getting to know each other on the road."
He said, winking playfully at Sivar...
-
"Rex Sasha and I are ready" said Jake
-
Kravik nods, "I am sure I'm ready and have what I need with me." He said.
Sivar smiled at Akito then nodded said, "I'm sure we'll all get to know each other better along the road." She said smiling at the other adult males.
-
"Then, let's be off!" Adykon said.
The party left the city and traveled for several hours. They headed past farms and villages, keeping to the main road. As they got farther away from the urban area, the road quality decreased, going from a paved road to one made of cobblestone, then one of dirt.
"We're making good time" said Adykon.
-
"That is good." Kravik said, "I do hope this keeps up."
"How far is the place we are going to or till we make camp?" Silvar asked, not having walked quite this long before at any 1 time, but keeping her voice calm since she didn't want to complain and assumed there would be considerable walking around & she assumed she'd be use to it before to long.
-
Akito smiled at Sivar as he walked beside her.
"We're still a good ways off from our next true destination, but I'd say we should probably start setting up camp soon. The sun is setting, and while it gets cooler then, that's when all number of unpleasant things are out. What do you say, Adykon?"
He asked, looking towards the horizon...
-
Jake Rex and Sasha all looked very tired
-
"It may be, since some of the party can't see very well at night." Kravik said having read about humans somewhat in the scrolls & books he had read & heard some things about them.
"Or at least rest a little while before we continue." Sivar said.
-
Adykon looked out at the sun "It IS getting late, and we have yet to set up our routines for the night... very well. We shall set up the shelters and food now."
-
Kravik looked around, "Is this a good place to camp for the night?" He asked.
Sivar used the opportunity to massage her legs a bit, not use to walking that much.
-
"It's good" Adykon said. "There's plenty of room for the cottages, and it isn't too far off of the main road."
"Good." Said Rhiga "I'm tired, and my feet hurt."
-
"I'll help set up some huts (yawn)" said Jake tired from the long day
-
Jake walked over to a big stack of rocks and clapped his hands together and pressed them to the rocks. After he did that there was a big flash of light and there was a small tent big enough for two
"ok this isn't much but that's the best i could do; so.....who wants this tent?" said Jake
-
Kravik looked around the area, getting a good idea where to make the cottages. He then want to a few spots then cast the spells 1 after the other to create 3 cottages close enough but also not touching and far enough to give the inhabitants some privacy, though the firm stone and such walls would do that as well.
3 cottages appeared where Kravik cast them. With the doors facing the same direction.
-
"I think the sorcerer can conjure actual huts together" Adykon said. "Isn't that right, Kravik? These huts are real, right, not just some facsimile?"
-
Jake kicked a stone and a small scorpion ran out from underneath and it ran off.
-
Jake wandered off from the group for a little while because something was bothering him. Jake was out of sight and he sat down on a boulder.
He looked up into the sky and tried to remember what was bothering him
-
Rhiga felt the wall of one of the cottages "Feels solid enough to me." Let's take a look inside."
-
Jake laid down on his back and closed his eyes listening to the sounds of the desert, Jake fell asleep and started dreaming about his parents......his real parents. in his dream he had seen his parents but he was being dragged away by some unknown force and his parents didn't even realize that he was there.
He was shouting "MUM! DAD! COME BACK!!!"
and then he woke up startled and he realized that it was just a dream.
He walked back to the camp and he climbed a small tree.
-
Kravik nodded, "The exteriors are as tough as stone and the insides do have some basic furnature. Nothing fancy but it should be functional." He said.
Sivar looked at the cottages, "Better then sleeping outside." She said. "And much more comfortable as well." She said.
-
"So, how are we going to divide our quarters for tonight?" Adykon said.
-
"where were you Jake?" said Sasha
"I just went for a...um..walk" replied Jake
-
"Your girl friend was worried that you were lost" said Rex
"Sasha is not my girlfriend!!! and i was not lost!" replied Jake
-
Kravik looked at the 3 cottages and thought over some things. "I can sleep in the cottage where the kids could sleep for tonight. Maybe we can take turns as to how to divide up the sleeping areas." He said.
-
"I'm no kid!!!" yelled Jake angrily at Kravik
-
"Sounds good." Replied Adykon.
"Which one of you males wants to help me relax?" Asked Rhiga "It has been a long day of walking and my muscles are so sore."
-
Kravik shrugged, "No need to shout and I didn't mean any insult. Maybe best I make my own cottage." he said then went off a bit away from the others and cast the spell again to make his own cottage.
Sivar sat down to start to massage one of her legs first for a bit, then another.
-
Adykon approached Sivar "Are you alright? Your legs and feet seem sore."
-
"sorry for yelling its just........well...i hate being called a kid" said Jake
-
"Don't worry about it, Jake" said Rhiga.
-
"ok...." replied Jake
-
"You're alright by me, Jake." Rhiga said "I'm sure that no matter your age, you will be a good part of our party. I'm sure that you are stronger than I am. I couldn't think that you were ever unable to do well with us."
-
"thanks" said Jake happily
-
Sivar looked up at the person talking to her, "Just my legs and feet are a bit sore. I'm not sure to walking quite as much as we did today." Sivar said.
-
"Would you like me to rub them for you?" Adykon asked.
-
Sasha walked over to Jake and gave him a hug.
Jake blushed and said "can you please stop hugging me.....its embarrassing"
"no its not" replied Sasha.
Jake tried to push Sasha away but she only giggled and hugged him more.
Jake thought to himself "<why does she always have to hug or kiss me in public....>"
(http://content.ytmnd.com/content/4/5/5/4552cc82daecc3d77ff9ba492e7d7505.jpg)
-
Sivar nodded, "It would be more effective if you did then if I did I think." She said, thinking it would also be more fun also and easier for her to relax.
-
"Okay. I'll start." Adykon said, taking her right foot in his hands. He began by stroking her foot, warming it up, then, after a minute, began kneading the sole of her foot with his thumb, applying more pressure to the ball of the foot and the heel. Then, he squeezed the ball of her foot between his thumb and other fingers, and rotated her foot clockwise and counterclockwise. He then began scratching her foot.
-
Jake eventually got Sasha off of him but Sasha was disappointed that she didn't get to hug him any longer.
-
Adykon made a fist with one hand, and held Sivar's right foot in the other. He Pressed the fist into the arch of her foot, held it for a few seconds, and released.
-
Sivar leaned back a bit relaxing & enjoying what massaging she was receiving. The massage felt great to her and was helping her to relax and her legs & feet to feel better. She mmmed as the massage continued, the feel of his hands and fingers and the actions relaxing her muscles and helping her feet and legs to feel better.
-
Adykon liked the sounds that Sivar was making; it let him know that he was giving a good massage. He continued on with her right foot, gently but firmly pulling on each of her toes, then her spur. Then he made a fist with his hand and used his knuckles to rub deeply on the sole of her foot between the ball and heel. Then, using a wringing motion, he used both hands to wring her foot by grasping around the ball of her foot, and moving his hands in opposite directions, starting at the toes, moving up the arch to the heel, then wringing back down to her toes. She seemed to really like it.
-
Jake went inside to where his bed was and he just lay there quietly
(http://www.quizilla.com/user_images/T/TE/TEA/tearinyourhand/1132783160_ctures2273.jpg)
-
Sivar leaned back, and relaxed more fully. The massage working to get the kinks and sore spots out of her muscles. She sighed & mmmed at the feel, the skilled hands working on one of her feet.
-
Adykon worked on her other foot in a similar manner. He then rubbed her legs, one at a time.
"Your legs and feet seemed like they were near the point of exhaustion, as if you couldn't keep walking much longer. "
-
After a while Jake got out of bed and had a stretch
-
"How are you feeling now Sivar?" Adykon asked. "Do you have any more stress that needs to be worked out?"
-
Sivar nodded, "I was very tired and my legs were sore, but I didn't want to complain." She said. "My legs & feet feel better, but my back is a bit sore." She said.
-
Jake went outside and Rex walked up to him
"do you want to train?" said Rex
"sure" replied Jake
Jake and Rex got a small area prepared to train in.
Jake and Rex started doing the training routine that their father had devised for them.
after the training exersise Jake and Rex started sparring with each other Rex swung a fist at Jake but Jake used alchemy and created a brick wall and Rex's fist hit it
"OUCH!!!" yelled Rex
Jake started laughing but he knew that rex was hurt so he went and got a bandage for rex's hand.
-
"You don't need to hide your pain and exhaustion" said Adykon "If you are sore and tired, just tell me and we can do something to help. That being said, would you like a back massage?"
-
Sivar nodded, "That would be nice. I'm sure I'll soon get use to all the walking and such." Sivar said looking at Adykon.
-
"Do you want me to carry you to a bed? It would be more comfortable there for you" said Adykon.
-
"sorry Rex..." said Jake
"it's ok" replied Rex
-
Rex walked off and Jake just stood there looking at his brother walk off
-
Rhiga saw the massages that Sivar got, and wanted one of her own. She turned to Kravik, and said "Is it true that sorcerers raised in a temple are skilled in the... relaxing arts?"
-
Kravik nodded and smiled as he turned to face Rhiga, "It is. It is part of our training we get before we start our magic training and during our magic training also." He said.
Sivar nodded, "If I would not be to heavy." She said.
-
"Well, in that case" Rhiga said "Would you mind helping me get rid of this tension in my back and neck?"
"I can lift you easily" Said Adykon, as he picked Sivar up and carried her in his arms, with little effort. He then went into one of the cottages laid her down on the bed. "Just lie down and relax... although you need to take off anything which covers your back."
-
Kravik nodded, "I'd be glad to help you relax and get rid of your tension. Would you prefer that here or in one of the beds in one of the cottages?" He asked Rhiga.
Sivar relaxed as she was picked up and put one of her arms around his neck.
-
"On a bed" said Rhiga. "Let's go! It's been too long since my last massage."
-
Sasha saw the other females getting footrubs and Sasha was jeolous .
"Jake........." said Sasha
"yes" replied Jake
"ummm.......can you give me a small foot rub please...?" said Sasha nicely
"umm........ok but just this once..." replied Jake
Jake and Sasha went into their hut and Sasha sat down on a comfy chair that Jake had created with alchemy and he started to rub Sashas feet
-
Kravik nods, "Shall we be off then?" He said waving with his arm.
-
"Let's go!" Rhiga said, as she led Kravik to the cottage.
-
Sasha was enjoying the foot rub, Jake was not enjoying it so much....but he still did the task that Sasha asked him to do.
"this is the best foot rub ever!" said Sasha
"this job is for servants....not a fighter like me!" replied Jake
"but you are very good at foot massaging" said Sasha
-
Kravik nodded and went the way with Rhiga to the cottage she was walking towards.
-
Rhiga took off her top and loincloth, and lay down on her stomach on the bed. "Before the massage, could you scratch my back? I'll tell you where to scratch it."
-
jake mumbled under his breath *this is lame...*
-
Jake finished Sashas foot rub
"don't expect it again" said Jake
(http://www.tecurious.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/snapshot20090405165756.jpg)
-
Kravik nodded, "I can do that, just tell me where." He said as he got close to Rhiga and placed a hand on her back ready to scratch where she said.
Sivar lay on her stomach, removing her top and putting it to one side as she relaxed and got ready for the massage to continue.
-
"Just start scratching, I'll tell you where to move" Rhiga said.
Adykon started to massage, digging in his strong thumbs into her shoulders and massaging in a circular motion.
-
Kravik nods as he starts to scratch her upper back. He starts using just one hand then moves his other one so he could use both hands to scratch her back, moving around slowly.
Sivar "mmm"ed at the actions of Adykon, his strong thumbs & what they were doing. She could feel herself relax more and the soreness in her back being worked out and her back muscles relaxing.
-
"Scratch lower, and to the left. mmm." Rhiga said.
Adykon could feel Sivar's muscles loosen and the knots get worked out under his touch.
-
Jake walked out side and had a stretch and he had to tune up his arm so it wouldn't lock up and rust.
Jake got some greasing oil out of his pack and pulled a screw driver out of his pocket and he started pulling his arm apart and he oiled the parts separately.
-
Kravik moved his hands to start to scratch Rhiga's lower left side of her back as directed. Moving at a slow steady pace so he doesn't to go fast and can more easily be directed.
Savik relaxed more, her head to the side as she lay on the bed and relaxed even more under Adykon's touch and massages. She could feel her muscles relaxing and the knots relaxing and being worked out. She "mmm"ed again and also sighed a bit.
-
Akito opened the door to the cabin where Adykon and Sivar were.
"Oh. Sorry if i'm interrupting anything..."
He said, bowing his head slightly.
-
"It's okay" Adykon said while continuing his task "You didn't know that we'd be in here."
-
Sivar looked up briefly to see who had come in. She was still enjoying the masage and the soreness & knots being worked out of her muscles and areas on her back. "It's ok, as he said." She said to Akito.
-
"Mmm... lower" Said Rhiga. The scratching, while it felt good, was missing a spot on her back which would feel really good if touched just the right way.
-
Adykon continued on with the massage; he could speak to Akito later perhaps, although he was not at all offended that Akito had just walked in here; nothing "interesting" was going on between himself and Sivar.
-
Kravik continued to scratch Rhiga's back and moved lower as instructed by her, moving at the same slow steady pace as before to be sure he got her back and could be easily directed which would be harder to do if he rushed.
Sivar put her head back down and sighed in pleasure, enjoying the massaging and getting more relaxed. The massaging getting her more relaxed as before, and her back feeling better and more relaxed also.
-
"Ohh! That's it! Right there! Ahh..." Rhiga sighed as her back scratch continued. After a few more minutes she was ready for the massage itself. "Okay, Kravik, time to rub my back now. Please start at my shoulders and work your way down."
Meanwhile, Adykon continued to massage Sivar. He noticed that she had tattoos on her back, with symbols placed on various points. He had heard that some females got tattoos on their "sweet spots" where they like to be massaged, so he asked her if those tattoos were there to mark them.
-
"Are these tattoos used to mark sweet spots on your back?" Adykon asked Sivar.
-
Kravik stopped the scratching and moved his hands to start massaging at Rhiga's shoulders to start massaging there for a short while before moving down her back.
Sivar nodded when her tattoos were mentioned. "That is the reason I had the tattoos placed where they are." She said, "Getting tattoos is an option at a temple for most." She said.
-
"Could you rub a little lower, please?" Rhiga asked, "and rub a bit gentler too."
"I'll move on to the areas marked by your tattoos, then" Adykon said, as he did this, Sivar closed her eyes, let out soft growling sounds, curled her toes, and was clearly feeling a great amount of pleasure from massaging those spots.
-
After Jake had finished the task of cleaning and tuning his arm he went for a short sprint before it was time for sleep.
-
Adykon continued his task, and after another 30 minutes since he had started on the bed, he was done. "How was that?" he asked Sivar. She appeared to be rather... eager for something...
-
Jake sprinted for a long time and he remembered the sprint through the city with his foster mum...
Jake screeched to a halt and realized that his parents would be worried and so would Sasha's parents.
Jake started off with a slow jog back to the camp site.
-
Kravik massaged more gently as he moved from Rhiga's shoulders & moved downward, continuing to move at his even slow pace and focused on trying to feel where the knots and such were and to try to relax her muscles & the knots.
----
"Fantastic." Sivar said. "You are very skilled at that." She said to him, ready for something else.
-
Rhiga felt herself relaxing, and with her muscles loosening, her tension left her. But, just as importantly, all of the negative emotions she had bottled up started to come out. In the past two weeks, she had felt a lot of anger, fear, pain, anxiety. Now, all that was coming loose. Tears welled up in her eyes as she felt it leaving her.
-
Back at the camp Sasha was fast asleep on one of the beds and Rex was wide awake sitting on a chair.
-
"when i get back i should make a shower and clean myself off so i don't stink........after that i'll see if anyone else would like to use it" thought Jake while jogging
-
When Jake got back he started working gathering lots of rocks and sand and sticks, he put them in a big pile and used alchemy and he constructed a basic outdoor shower........
"damn no walls...." said Jake, oh well i need a shower......
Jake took off his clothes but he still left his undergarment on in case one of the party members came around the corner while he was having a shower.
-
Rhiga was in a world of her own; eyes closed, feeling good, moans and tears flowing freely, with a smile on her face, and finally getting some relief from her stress, tension, and anxiety. She was unaware of the world around her.
-
Kravik continued to massage Rhiga, working as best as he could at working out the knots & tensions he felt in her muscles, helping her to relax as best as he could. He closed his eyes so he could focus on the way her muscles felt and let that guide her, as well a the way she sounded and was reacting.
-
Jake had finished his shower and he put his clothes on and jumped onto his bed and rex was sitting on a chair now asleep.
Jake sat on the bed for a while and he slowly fell asleep.
-
Rhiga sighed in relief. Then, just as she was really enjoying herself, Kravik, who wasn't looking at what he was doing, rubbed her the wrong way, causing a shot of pain, and instantly cutting her out of her "dream world."
Reflexively, she kicked him in the arm, stopping him from rubbing her. It didn't hurt him, but it shoved his arm back.
"Ah! Rhiga said. That hurt! What are you doing?!"
-
Rex woke up in the middle of the night and got up off of the chair and he walked over to his bed and he hopped onto it and lay down and fell asleep.
-
Kravik stepped back looking down a bit, "Sorry, it's the first time I've done something wrong like that. Maybe I should just go." He said and went out before she got violent.
-
Adykon knew what kind of activity Sivar was ready for. He prepared to go on... and was grateful that once the doors of the cottages were shut, they were soundproof.
-
"No, wait!" Rhiga said. "It's okay. Please, come back. I didn't mean it! You might be able to... make it up to me."
-
Jake was dreaming about what might happen on the quest.....he saw two beings but when he tried to focus on them he woke up.
-
"i wonder who those beings were?" thought Jake as he sat up in bed
-
Jake got up off his bed and walked outside to clear his head.
"where is every body?, they must be sleeping."
-
Adykon and Sivar finished their "actions" for the night, and fell asleep in each other's arms. They would have to pick up their scattered garments in the morning, but they didn't care about that now.
-
Kravik returned to the where Rhiga & looked curiously. "Make it up to you in what way?" He asked.
---
Sivak rolled onto her back and got ready herself for what would be coming next.
-
Jake walked over to a small boulder and he sat on it, he stared out at the stars wondering what the next day would be like.
-
"You know..." said Rhiga, as she told him to close the door behind him. Rhiga would indeed be very relaxed that night, just as Adykon and Sivar were.
-
The next morning arrived, and with it, a beautiful sunrise.
-
"rise and shine everybody!!!" yelled Jake so that he would wake everybody up
-
Adykon got his clothes on, and his sword. He saw that Sivar was still resting. After giving her a brief caress, he exited the cottage.
Rhiga, by contrast, was totally out of it. She wouldn't wake up for hours.
-
"good morning Adykon" said Jake
-
"Hello Jake. I trust that you had a good night" Adykon said.
-
"yeh i had an alright sleep.....how bout you???" replied Jake to Adykon
-
"It was... good. Did you... create a shower?" Adykon asked.
-
"yep, its over there" replied Jake as he pointed in an easterly direction
-
"Good. I'll see if either Kravik or Sivar can use magic to create some sort of barrier or wall around it." Adykon said. He hoped to get the scent of Sivar off of him.
-
Jake wondered why Adykon paused in between when he said *It was.....good*
-
Jake just shrugged his shoulders and walked off to find something that he could eat.
-
Kravik awoke. He quietly put his clothes on and cast a clean cantrip on himself, then as a second thought cast them on the clothes Rhiga had been wearing, guessing she'd not notice, then he quietly exited the cottage and closed the door behind him. He pulled out a small wooden cup from his backpack and did a condense water and chill cantrip so he could have some water to sip.
Savir stretched and yawned a bit, getting ready to get up.
-
Just as Jake started to head off Adykon yelled out "Jake, wait!"
"yes" replied Jake
"could you make a wall for the shower please?"
"sure, i just need some sticks and stones"
Jake gathered up some sticks while Adykon got some rocks, the sticks and rocks were evenly placed around the shower.
Jake used some alchemy and 3 walls appeared and 1 entrance
"thankyou Jake"
"no problem"
-
Adykon washed quickly, then went to gather the rest of the party. He found Akito, Jake, Kravik were all up. Rex, Sasha, Rhiga, and Sivar were either still asleep or doing something else.
-
Rex woke up and yawned, he walked outside and saw Jake sitting on a rock.
"good morning Jake"
"oh hello Rex"
-
Adykon went to find Sivar so she could get their food ready.
-
"hey Rex, is Sasha awake yet?" asked Jake
"no not yet" replied Rex
-
Sivar finished stretching and got up, putting on her clothes before she went outside.
-
"There you are, Sivar." Adykon said. "Are you ready to make the food?"
-
Jake got up from where he was sitting and walked into the cottage where Sasha was sleeping.
Jake walked over to Sashas bed.
"Sasha, its time to wake up now" said Jake
Sasha didn't respond for a few seconds
".........what do you want....." said Sasha sleepily
"its time for you to get up" replied Jake
-
Sivar nodded, "Would you prefer nutritious but somewhat bland tasting food and pure water, or party food and drinks, or a mix of the 2? She asked him.
-
"A mix" Adykon said.
-
Sasha yawned and hopped out of bed and followed Jake outside
-
Sivak nods then gets ready to cast the spell. She then casts the spell that mixes the two making very nutritious but somewhat bland tasting food, also with some party food as well, separated. Also some party drinks appeared, adult and non adult types, as well as some pure water, in separated containers. Each was separated so each can choose their own choice of food and drink.
"There, was that ok?" She asked.
-
"Perfect. Thanks Sivar." Adykon said. "Alright everyone, let's eat."
-
Jake saw some liquor and he snuck over and tried to get a bottle to drink
-
"What do you think you are doing, Jake?" Adykon asked. While the Dracons had few laws regarding alcohol, he knew that it was not good for someone of Jake's age to drink.
-
"ummmm....er.....nothing" replied Jake a little embarrassed at being caught
-
Some time passed. Most of the others finished their breakfast, but Rhiga was no where to be found. It was a couple of hours before she left her cottage, minutes before the spell was set to expire. She was totally relaxed, with a smile on her face, kind of dull eyes, and she was walking kind of oddly.
-
Kravik ate mainly the nutritious food, with bits of the party food and drank mainly pure water, with a little of the liqueur and juice mixed in.
Sivak did likewise.
-
Rhiga approached the table, where she took some of the food and water. She would have taken some of the alcohol, but Adykon could see that she was in no condition to touch it. She put up no effort to get the drink and was content to just eat and relax.
Akito was also seen eating some of the food and drink, but not the alcoholic kind.
-
After they had finished eating, Adykon called the party together, asking everyone if they were all ready to go on. It would take from morning till dusk to make it to the nearest inn, and from there, a whole week to make it to the next town.
-
"I'm ready." Kravik said, sitting and resting after he had finished eating.
"I'm also." Savik said, also resting after she had finished eating, with her eyes closed, she opened her eyes as she started to speak. "Time to head out already?" She asked.
-
The other party members also said they were ready. "Okay" said Adykon "Let's move on out."
-
"alright let's go" said Jake
-
The party set off for the inn, headed in the direction of the lost city, and were making good time.
-
"hey Adykon" said Jake
-
"Yes, Jake?" Adykon said.
-
"do you have any ideas for what i could do during fights???" said Jake
-
"There is a tournament arena outside of the inn which we are going to" Adykon said.
-
"cool.....but can humans enter?" replied Jake
-
"Humans can, but you might be disqualified due to your metal arm. I'm not sure if they've changed the rules to allow it or not. Maybe Rex is interested too?" Adykon replied.
-
"i'll go and ask him" said Jake
-
"hey Rex!" yelled Jake
"yes"
"there is a competition at the inn that we are going to, would you like to enter?" said Jake
"sure" replied Rex
-
"It's a martial arts competition, so you cannot use weapons" Adykon said. "Fists, kicks, tails, claws, fangs, and any other sort of physical attack is allowed. The goal is either to knock your opponent down for 10 seconds, or to knock them out of the ring. The staff at the arena know more about it."
-
Kravik looked at Adykon, "Are you going to be competing in the arena?" He asked.
-
"I'm not sure if I will, Jake." He said. "My skills are with a sword, and although I can fight well enough unarmed, I was never too interested in martial arts."
-
"okay" said Rex
-
"Why worry about some silly tournament, boys?" Rhiga said. "You two need to take it easy..." Rhiga said, still relaxed.
"(Sigh) She'll be like this all day..." Adykon thought to himself.
-
"tournaments are awsome!!!" said Jake annoyed at how Rhiga didn't realize that they are great because you can win money and prizes
-
"She'll be like this for a while Jake; it will wear off either tomorrow or when she is either annoyed or she feels pain. That's what female Dracons are like when they are relaxed..." Adykon told Jake.
-
"okay" replied Jake
-
The path the party was walking on was mostly soft dirt. The previous day's travels had been over cobblestone roads. While it made for slower traveling, it was easier to walk on.
-
Jake was chatting to Rex about some strategies they could uses in the tournament to win
-
"Hey boys" Rhiga said. "You still talking about that tournament? You gotta learn to take it easy..."
-
Jake looked extremely annoyed at Rhiga, Rex thought he was going to yell at Rhiga to be quiet but he knew that Jake was better than that and he would keep his mouth shut
-
At about 2:00 pm, the party rested for an hour to eat lunch. Rhiga was sunning herself on a rock, when she asked Jake if he could use alchemy to get her some water.
-
"okay" said Jake also thinking about what to do
Jake got out some rubber balloons from his pocket and he used alchemy on a rock to create a bucket of water.
He filled up the balloons and he walked up to rhiga and said "here is your water"
And Jake started throwing some water balloons at Rhiga
Jake turned around and legged it because he knew what rhiga would do if she caught him
-
Rhiga's scream could be heard for a mile away. It was clear to all that Rhiga was no longer so relaxed...
"#%& Jake! How dare you! The one time I get to relax in SO long, and you mess it up! You don't know anything about how I feel, or what pain I've had! Or what it feels like when..." Rhiga got up and chased after Jake, but didn't put on her loincloth very securely, so when she ran after him, it fell down, tangled her legs, and caused her to trip, and fall into the dirt.
Jake got away.
-
Jake turned his head and laughed and he ran into a tree
-
"ouch" said Jake as he fell down
Jake thought that he saw stars flying around his head
-
"So Rhiga, how are you feeling?" Asked Adykon.
"grumble... $#@& Jake... mumble" Was Rhiga's reply.
"Good" Thought Adykon. Some people were just annoying sometimes.
-
Sivar went over closer to where Rhiga was, "Are you ok? Did you hurt yourself?" She asked.
Kravik was sipping the water he had condensed into his cup as they stopped for lunch & to rest and shook his head. We would have gone over to help Rhiga & started to, but if she were hurt Sivar was far more able to heal her then he was since he could not do any divine magic.
-
Jake stood up and tried to walk but he fell down again
-
"Jake! Are you okay" Adykon asked.
-
"i'll go and use some magic to help heal Jake" said Sasha
".......uhh......you don't know me...." said Jake still confused after running into a tree
-
"I think he's okay, just dazed." Adykon said. "Do you have any magic which could help him?"
-
"yes i do, i'll use it now" replied Sasha
Sasha started chanting a spell and Jake was fine after the spell was cast
"my head hurts' said Jake while rubbing his head
-
"oh %$#@!!! Rhiga must be mad!!!" yelled Jake as he started running off again
-
Rhiga got up, and pulled her loincloth on, and made sure that it would not fall again. She asked Akito where Jake was. After being pointed in the right direction, she took off in his direction.
-
Jake looked back to see if Rhiga was chasing him; he saw her coming his way
"%$#@ ^%$# *&^% $#@# %$#@!!!" yelled Jake
-
A pissed off Dracon can run faster than one would think. Jake found this out the hard way. She was gaining on him, and seemed to be even more annoyed that he had made her run across the rocky desert terrain, which wasn't nice for her to walk on.
-
"%$#@ %$#@ %$#@ %$#@ %$#@ %$#@ $#@% %$#@ %$#@ %$#@ %$#@ %$#@ %$#@ %$#@!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" yelled Jake as he saw Rhiga 3 metres away from him
-
Rhiga was getting closer. She wanted to vent all of her frustrations on him; he had taken away her good feelings, stole her relaxation... and for that, she wanted to make him pay.
-
"Sweet Mother of---!!!" yelled Jake as Rhiga grabbed him
-
"Jake? Where are you" Adykon said. He saw Rhiga's footprints and went after them.
Rhiga, having caught Jake, tried to exact her revenge.
-
"what are you going to do to me?....." stammered Jake as he was scared of rhiga
-
"You made me feel bad, now I'm going to do the same to you." Rhiga said. "Humans have it in a little bag, don't they?"
-
"oh %$#@ not there!!!" yelled Jake horrified
Jake struggled free and he knows not to hurt girls but.....this was different
He got out of her grasp and kicked her in the shins and started running yelling
"HELP! HELP! SHE'S GONNA HURT ME SEVERELY!!!"
-
"HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" yelled Jake frantically
-
Adykon arrived on the scene, approaching Rhiga from behind. He dropped her in one kick between her legs, leaving her on the ground. It was kind of like what she had wanted to do to Jake, only, it hurt her more.
-
"th--th--thank---you--" said Jake a little shaken
-
Rhiga just lay there. She would have gotten up, but she didn't want to risk any more pain. She did NOT see who had kicked her, so she wouldn't get mad at anyone later.
-
"now she won't kick me in the %$#@, but she'll probobly hurt me two times worse!!!" said Jake
-
"I'll keep her at bay, Jake. While I cannot approve of these childish antics, you did not deserve to be attacked by her. Just stay clear of her until things settle down" Adykon said.
-
Kravik & Sivar decided to sit down and wait, instead of running around all over a hot desert.
"Want a little water?" Kravik asked. Sivar took out her cup and he condensed some water into both of their cups using a cantrip and used another to lower the temperature of the water to where it was between cool and cold as they continued to sit down & wait.
-
"okay" replied Jake
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"She will probably try it again in the next week or so; I know how some females are... you can't reason with them when they are like this. But, time heals all wounds... just keep away from her until then, okay?" Adykon said.
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"I hope she doesn't try it again....but as you said she will try again" said Jake
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Jake and Adykon left the scene and rejoined the rest of the party. Rhiga joined them all a few minutes later, and while she did not do anything to Jake, she shot him a mean glance... this wasn't over yet.
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The party moved on the road, and as dusk fell, they approached the inn.
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Jake felt a shiver crawl all over his skin
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The party entered the common room of the huge inn. Dancers and other performers were present in another room.
"We need rooms for the party." Adykon told the innkeeper.
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"psssst" whispered Jake
"yes" replied Rex
"Rhiga tried to kick me in the nuts because i threw water balloons at her" whispered Jake again
"what?" said Rex
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"Okay, you paid for your food and rooms. Please, have a seat" Said the innkeeper to Adykon.
"I hope this quest will pay off" Adykon thought, being mindful of the expenses.
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"which room's were available?" asked Sasha
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"There are eight members of out party, so we get four rooms. That makes it two to a room." Adykon said.
"Sasha, I don't think that we have really talked much" Said Rhiga. "Did you know that Jake splashed me with water while I was relaxing?"
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"who do i have a room with?" asked Rex
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"You get to choose" Adykon said. "You work it out yourself with the others. All I did was reserve the rooms."
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"okay" replied Rex
Rex went about seeing who was bunking with whom
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"hey rhiga" said Sasha
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Sivak went to see what sort of services the inn offered while Kravik looked the place over and some of the available rooms.
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"Jake just splashed for with water for no reason! Do all human males act like this?" Rhiga asked Sasha.
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"only jake as far as i know" replied sasha
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"Well, I suppose it is good to know that. Young Dracon males wouldn't have done that... still. Thanks for telling me, Sasha. You also have a better sense in clothing than all other human females I've ever seen." Rhiga replied.
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"thank you" replied Sasha
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"So Sasha, do Human females also feel tension and stress like Dracon females? I was stress-free for the first time in weeks when Jake splashed me." Rhiga said.
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"yes sometimes i feel stressed when its been a long day" replied Sasha
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"Adykon said that this inn provides a free rubdown with the food and rooms. Want to go get one? I know I need one after today..." Rhiga said.
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"me too" said Sasha
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"good thing i don't have to massage your feet" said Jake grinning
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Rhiga and Sasha left to get a massage. Adykon could see that Jake was happy not to have to rub Sasha's feet again.
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Jake walked off to go and check out his room
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Rhiga and Sasha entered a room where there were a lot of other Dracons, almost all female, being rubbed by the attendants. Rhiga removed her top and loincloth, and lay down on the table, on her stomach.
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Sasha asked the attendant to rub her feet as she wasn't comfortable taking off her top and loincloth in public
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The attendant, who was a female Dracon, told Sasha to lie down on the table. If she wanted, she could cover her with a pair of towels.
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The only Dracon male in the room left. It seems like he had only entered because of back problems. Now there were only females in the room.
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Sasha lied down while the attendant rubbed her feet
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sasha saw the male leave the room and she wasn't intimidated anymore
She removed her top and loincloth and layed down
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"Doesn't that feel better, Sasha?" Rhiga said. "I know taking those off always makes me more relaxed."
(500 posts! :D )
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"this feels good...." said Sasha while the attendant was rubbing her feet
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"You should... mmm... ask for a massage wherever you want." Rhiga said as she was being massaged herself. "These attendants are here for that."
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Sivar entered the room to get herself a massage and took off her top & loincloth as the other dracon females had done.
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Adykon could see that the females were off having their good time, so Adykon decided to sit in the common room and watch the dances. Even after seeing dancers a thousand times before, he couldn't help but to be impressed with their grace, skill, and beauty.
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Kravik had looked over the rooms and decided to go and watch the dancers in the common room. He choose an out of the way seat and sat down to watch them. He wondered how long the females would be in the massage room area, guessing they'd be in there for a while.
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Adykon considered what he might do that night... he wanted to sleep, but having some quick fun with one of the females was not... entirely out of the question.
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Kravik watched the dancers, thinking he'd see if Sivar was finished after a while.
Sivar was enjoying herself getting a massage and relaxing.
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Adykon sat back and enjoyed the show. He saw one dancer whose figure caught his eye. He didn't know where Jake was, but was glad that the young human was not there.
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Kravik watched the dancers & wondered how long till Jake would get himself into trouble again. He guessed all the females were together in the 1 room.
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Adykon saw the dancer he had his eye on finish her shift. He got up and approached her. He introduced himself to her.
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With the dance over Kravik decided to go and see how Sivar was doing. He got up to head towards where she was getting a massage.
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Adykon went to the room that the dancer was sleeping in. She was waiting for him there. He was very glad that Jake could not see what he was doing.
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Kravik went to the massage room, talked to Sivar, offered to get a massage with her in a private room they had paid for. She thought it over briefly and nodded liking the idea.
"But only if you carry me." She said smiling at the weak joke. Kravik nodded, collected her clothes and gently picked her up & headed back to their room with 2 attendants going with them.
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The dancer fell asleep. Adykon would like to have stayed longer, but he knew that he would have to get back to his party. He was glad that she had wanted it too, and that he could bring some comfort to the life of a female in an act done only out of mutual desire.
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Kravik carried Sivar to the room & laid her down on one of the beds with him laying down on the other once he had put their clothes neatly aside. They both relaxed and their massages began.
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Adykon could see that the party was getting itself relaxed... he knew he was... He would probably share a room with Rhiga, although they would have different beds. If she wanted some intimate time, she would have to wait for the next night at least; Adykon had already finished for the night with that dancer.
Rhiga continued to get her rubdown in the massage room. Sasha was with her on another table.
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Rhiga asked the masseuse to give her a back scratching. Sasha saw that it was making Rhiga shiver with pleasure, and requested one as well. It felt really good for her.
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Meanwhile, in another room, a young Dracon acrobat was preparing for her performance. She was also a martial artist, and had an unusual talent for balancing. She was very agile, even by the standards of Dracon females.
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Sitting in a corner of the common room a solitary figure is watching, paying special attention to a group of newcomers. - "None of them is the one I am looking for, but it is strange to see humans here." - the Black Panther thinks as he grabbed his glass and drank it's content. Keeping a serious look on his face.
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It was only about 10:30. The dancers still had at least 90 minutes to go, and some might volunteer to go on till later.
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Kravik and Sivar grew even more relaxed during their private massage and once it was over they lay there relaxed for a while till Kravik got up to lay with Sivar and continue their fun & enjoyment till they both fell asleep together.
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The night was rather enjoyable for the party. When the next day began, they all received word that the tournament would start at 2:00 in the afternoon.
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Jake had really wanted to enter the tournament because he wanted the prize money.
Rex was aloud to enter
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The party decided to spend another day at the inn, so that they could enter at least on of their members into the tournament.
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"i hope i win" said Rex
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The rules were discussed. Anyone of any race or sex could enter, but they would have to abide by the dress code; each combatant would be limited to either a loincloth only if they were female, or if they were male, they could wear a loincloth and/or pants. It was intentionally set up that way so that races other than Dracons would be discouraged from entering.
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Rex walked up to the counter outside and signed up for the tournament
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Others signed up as well, including a a young Dracon female about Rex's age.
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Jake was reading the rules and he saw that he was aloud to enter as well
"hey Rex, guess what" said Jake enthusiastically
"what?" replied Rex
"i'm aloud to enter the tournament too!!!" said Jake
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"Okay, but are you sure you don't mind the dress code?" they asked Jake
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Jake signed up as well
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The tournament would soon begin, but first, there was a bit of acrobatics and entertainment in the ring, featuring a tightrope walker who had also signed up for the fight. She was very agile, and was even able to do somersaults on the tightrope, and hop on one foot on it.
Rhiga also signed in to the tournament.
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"oh %$#@!, Rhiga signed up too! she probobly wants revenge" said Jake
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The rest of the party filed into the seating of the circular arena. The young female practiced her martial arts skills on a wooden dummy, removing its head in one kick. This got Rex's attention.
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The announcer told the combatants to change into their combat clothing.
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Korik & Sivar went out to see who had signed up.
"Quite a few." Korik said.
"I hope no one's hurt to badly." Sivar said, in a very relaxed voice and smiling a bit. "You going to enter?" She asked.
"Nah, I don't think so." He said shaking his head.
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"hey Jake did you see that female contestant kick that dummys head off?" asked Rex
"no i didn't, i was too proccupied thinking about what tricks rhiga will use to beat me" said Jake
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Rhiga removed her top and stretched. She didn't know who she would be sent to fight, but she hoped that it would be Jake. Other combatants changed clothes as well.
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"oh god......i hope i don't have to fight rhiga" thought jake
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The combatants were lined up and checked. Jake was told to remove anything which was contrary to the dress code.
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"hey Jake, you look very nice without your shirt on..." said Sasha while she winked at him
"uhhh.....thanks...." replied Jake unsure of what else to say
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Now it was time to match the combatants together. Luckily, there were an even number of them. Rex was matched up against the female, who happened to be named Selturma. Jake was matched up against Rhiga, much to his chagrin.
"I knew it! All of the other fighters besides Jake, Rex, and that young female are fully grown Dracon males, which the judges would never match me up against." Rhiga thought.
"Jake, you are in BIG trouble now!" Rhiga said.
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"%$#@ %$#@ %$#@ %$#@ %$#@!!!!" yelled Jake even though he knew swearing at his age was bad
(http://content.ytmnd.com/content/4/5/5/4552cc82daecc3d77ff9ba492e7d7505.jpg)
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Jake and Rhiga happened to be assigned to fight first. Rhiga and Jake entered the ring, and on the blow of a horn, they started to fight.
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Jake dove through rhigas legs and he kicked her in the butt
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"$#!@ Jake!" Rhiga said. "You have no respect for how I feel!" She kicked and clawed at him.
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"i know" replied jake with a smirk
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Rhiga screamed and dove for Jake, missing him, and falling chest first on the ground.
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Jake laughed
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Rhiga was hurt by that; she swore she felt some leakage. But still, she fought on, and used her tail to try and trip Jake.
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Jake fell over when rhigas tail got him in the stomache
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*smack*
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Jake was gasping for air, Jake got back up and kicked her shin two times in the same spot
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Rhiga leapt at Jake, but tripped on her tail and fell out of the ring, thus losing round 1. She was normally more agile than this, but had allowed herself to be blinded by anger, and pain. She would be more careful next time.
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"ha ha i win round one!!!" yelled Jake triumphantly
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The second round began. Both Jake and Rhiga were placed in the center of the ring again.
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"are you okay" teased Jake to annoy rhiga
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Rhiga looked at her leaking mammary. "I'm okay, but you won't be!" She charged at him.
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"%$#@!" said Jake
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Kravik & Sivar attempted to get a seat near where Adykon was so the part of the group not in the fight could stay at least partially together.
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Rhiga clawed Jake, but he blocked her attack with his metal arm.
"Fight fair, you ^$#*!" She said, clearly still pissed from the events of yesterday.
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Rhiga and Jake continued to exchange blows. This was bad for Rhiga. She wasn't built for taking damage, and already her body getting sore.
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"give up yet" said Jake mockingly
Jake had lots of scratches on his face, his chest and arm
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Rhiga was covered in bruises. She made another charge at Jake.
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Jake responded quickly and he used alchemy to make a wall.
Rhiga smashed into it
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Rhiga fell to the ground, defeated. She was unable to rise for the next round, and so, she was declared to have lost. She was okay, though. Sivar was able to tend to her injuries.
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Jake laughed in victory and he made a water ballon and threw it at rhiga
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Rhiga was too stunned to respond to the water balloon.
After some other combatants had fought, it was Rex's turn to fight the young female named Selturma.
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"my turn" thought Rex
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Dracons develop faster than humans in many ways. Although she was only 14, Selturma had developed certain body parts as if she were 2 or even 3 years older in human terms. As the fight began, Rex took notice.
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Rex stared at Selturma not realizing that he was in a fight
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"Rex!!! the fight!!!" yelled Jake
Rex couldn't hear Jake, he was too preoccupied staring at selturma
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Selturna quickly kicked him in the shin, then in the head, forcing Rex towards the edge of the ring. Her front was facing him the whole time, and as she moved, certain parts moved up and down on her chest as well.
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Rex looked happy but in pain at the same time still staring at selturma
"Rex you %$#@ing %$#@head!!!!" yelled Jake
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Selturma fought hard and fast, Rex seemed to be fixated on her sizable mounds.
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Rex was knocked out of the ring
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The next round began shortly.
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"why the %$#@ did you not fight?!!!" yelled Jake angrily at Rex
"I saw boobies........." said Rex filled with pleasure
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Selturma was lucky to be able to find a male who was so weak-minded.
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The next round began. Selturma looked for a quick victory. Her "tiotegleslas" were useful for distracting Rex. They were very well-developed for her age, being large and round. To get Rex's attention on them again, she rubbed them in a circle, making sure that he could see them bouncing up and down.
Adykon noted that the Dracons were considered adults at Selturma's age, though just barely.
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Eriol was sitting between the public, not cheering anyone like the other people there was doing. He then saw Adykon, Kravik and Sivar and wondered if they would enter the tournament, he will not enter as he is just watching at the surrounding people.
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Adykon saw that Rex needed to do better this round. If he lost three more rounds, he would lost the tournament.
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"It seems he let a certain part of the anatomy distract him. I hope he does better next time." Sivar said, "Can either of you talk to him and help him do better?" She asked still very relaxed.
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"I'll go talk to him after this round is over. " Adykon said. It was too late to help Rex in this round, as the fighting had resumed.
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Rex concentrated on the fight this time and he managed to make selturma fall over
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Selturma sprang up, and dodged Rex's attacks.
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"you are very fast" commented Rex
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Selturma could see that her "tiotegleslas" weren't distracting him as much, so she decided to fight up closer to Rex. "Wanna take another look?" She said. The smell of her pheromones up close was a lot stronger than it had been before.
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Rex was then again distracted
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"Heh. He really likes my mounds, doesn't he?" Selturma thought. Rex kept giving up ground in the fight. Even if he weren't distracted, she might have beat him anyway, as she was really fast and agile.
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Rex was knocked out of the ring
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Adykon saw that Rex was is trouble. He had lost another round. If Rex lost two more rounds, he would be finished.
"Rex!" Adykon said. "I need to talk to you before you begin the next round."
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"yes" said Rex as he walked over to the side of the ring
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"Rex." Said Adykon "I need to explain to you how things work between males and females in our society. You are young, but you probably know how males and females treat each other, right? It is the male who is in command."
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"Maybe he's more suited to being a Wizard, or a priest." Kravik said, not in anger but in a neutral sort of voice.
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"right" answered Rex
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"Real males don't lose to a female, Rex. By out nature, we are supposed to be dominant. Now, her "tiotegleslas" are distracting you, right?"
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"ummmmmm..........maybe...." said Rex embarrassed
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Kravik felt like it was a private conversation and left the area to return to the hotel with his companion.
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"Well, Rex" Adykon said "A good male knows how to control himself. We males are rational, the females are emotional. While I will not deny that her anatomy is attractive to you, I will point out that you ought to be able to control your responses to it."
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"i'll try" replied Rex
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"No. You will not try. You will SUCCEED. I know you can do it. You are stronger than she is. If you cannot resist her lure, use the attraction to make yourself fight harder. If she thinks that you are fighting her harder because you want to touch her "tiotegleslas", she will realize that her plan has backfired" Adykon said. "Also, don't be afraid to hit her in all parts of her body; she will not hesitate to do the same to you."
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Kravik & Sivar meditated for a while, then started talking over arcane and religious stuff & matters.
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"okay i WILL succeed, and i will kick her stomache to knock her down" said Rex
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"Good, Rex." Adykon replied. "Now, what sort of feeling does Selturma give you? She makes you... excited? Like you want to reach out to her?"
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"sort of......" replied Rex
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"Well, instead of wanting to touch her, hit her instead. Can you do that?" Adykon said.
Meanwhile, Selturma was trying to catch her breathe. She was getting worn out from the fighting.
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"yes i can" said Rex
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"Now go, Rex. The next round is about the begin. Also, females like winners. If you can prove that you are stronger than she is, she might respect you for that." Adykon said.
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"ok" said Rex as he walked back to the center of the ring
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The next round began. Selturma fought Rex as best she could, but she was tiring rapidly.
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Rex kicked Selturma in the shins
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Selturma screamed in pain, and retreated towards the edge of the ring.
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Rex used his tail and made Selturma fall out of the ring
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The next round began. Selturma was tired and in pain, but she did not give up.
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"you are very brave to fight on" said Rex
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Round four did not go well for Selturma either. She lost, and the score was now tied, 2-2.
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The clouds began to darken, and it looked like it would rain soon.
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"rain?" said Rex
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The next round started, but the rain did not fall yet. Selturma put up a very good fight, but she was narrowly beaten by Rex.
Just then, it began to rain. The fight was postponed until the rain cleared up. Selturma had time to rest and recover, making her a tougher opponent to fight.
-
After a few hours the rain had cleared, but it was enough for Selturma. She was now rested enough to fight again, and she would fight harder than she had ever fought before.
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"are you ready?' asked Rex
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"Let's go!" Selturma said. "Don't expect me to fall so easily this time!"
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Rex got into a fighting stance
"prepare yourself" said Rex
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Selturma used every trick she knew. The round went on for over an hour straight before she managed get Rex to charge her, upon which she used his momentum to throw him out of the ring.
The score was now tied 3-3. Whoever won the next round was the winner.
-
Rex got up
-
The final round began. Tired once again from the long round, Selturma was desperate for a win. She tried biting, clawing, and kicking. None of it seemed to work. She aimed at every weak point she was taught a Dracon had, but Rex's strength and durability were too much for her.
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"Are you alright?" said Rex calmly
-
"I'm fine, but YOU won't be!" Selturma said, her voice marked by anger, frustration, and exhaustion. She tried to kick Rex, but he caught her leg. He was angry that she would even try to kick him there.
Selturma's anger turned to fear as Rex had her where he wanted her.
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Rex threw Selturma out of the ring
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Selturma was beaten at last. Exhausted, bruised, and sore. She stumbled, and fell to the ground, tired, but not badly hurt.
-
Rex walked over to Selturma and lifted her up
Rex said to her "are you okay?"
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"I'm... okay." Selturma replied. "Why are you being kind to me? We were fighting each other just a minute ago."
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"it is the kind thing to do" replied Rex
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"You're the first person who has even beaten me to not leave me in the dirt" She said. "I... don't know what to say... only that... I need to get some rest" said Selturma as her eyes slowly started to close.
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Rex walked her to the room that he was in and he put her into a bed
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As Rex turned to leave, Selturma spoke to him, her eyes mostly closed, "No wait... stay for a while... almost no one has been so nice to me as you have been."
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"are you sure?" said Rex
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Kravik and Sivar walked to the tournament to see if any of the fight was still going on. Sivar was still very relaxed but not as much as she was when she first woke up.
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"Yes... Rex." She said. "I heard your friends shout your name at the arena. I know that you were... interested in me there and (yawn)... truth be told, I was impressed by your strength and now (yawn), your kindness."
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"i am not mean, i help those i can and...............yes i am interested in you" said Rex while he blushed a little
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"Well, Rex, I am also sort of... interested in you... but I could not show it at the fight. I was fighting for money, and I don't know what I'll do now for it... Still, I thank you for helping me up. Truth is, I think I saw some wood of yours down there in the fight... unless that was money in your pocket. (yawn) I didn't say anything, but... I would have been interested if it wasn't a fight."
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"ummmmm..........i don't carry money....." said Rex when he blushed as he was very embarrassed
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"Don't be embarrassed... I liked what I saw." She said with a smile as she lay back in bed. "You must really think I am attractive, I saw it in every round."
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Rex blushed even more
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It went on like that for a while. Eventually, Selturma fell asleep, dreaming about Rex. She had originally planned to try and join him in order to gain money from the adventure, but now, she was more interested in him.
Meanwhile, Rhiga was relaxing in the steam room, recovering from the events of the lost tournament.
-
Jake was running through some of the corridors looking for a toilet.
He was busting to go
He ran into a room filled with steam and he saw Rhiga.
Jake said "whoops wrong room" and he started backing away slowly
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Rhiga could not believe it. First, he had interrupted her relaxation for no good reason, then he had beaten her painfully in a tournament in front of everyone, and now, he interrupted her relaxation when she needed it the most! Avoiding the mistake of the first time, Rhiga cast off the towel she was wearing so she would not fall on it, and charged at Jake, running naked down the room.
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Sivar decided to have some time in the steam room. She made sure Kravik would be wllling to look after her things before she headed to the steam room to relax there.
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Jake started running away and he could here Rhiga yelling furiously at him
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Rhiga ran at Jake, who had turned to flee. They ran down the hall leading to the steam room.
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"aaaaaahhhh!!!" screamed Jake as he ran away from rhiga
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"aaaaaahhhh!!!" screamed Jake as he ran away from rhiga
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Their chase took them down the hallway. Rhiga was totally nude of course; many Dracons assumed that she was a dancer who had been robbed by a member of the audience...
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Jake was running as fast as he could
-
Jake was fast, but Rhiga was more agile. She was able to jump over, avoid, or get around obstacles which had slowed Jake by a lot, but hardly delayed her.
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Sivar heard the running and pressed herself close to the wall so she'd not be involved in whoever was chasing the other which could lead to more trouble.
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Jake was running so fast that he didn't realize a chair was in front of him until too late.
Jake had tripped over it and was laying on the ground
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Rhiga leapt at Jake, and the two of them started fighting.
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"what is wrong with you!?" yelled Jake in alarm
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Rhiga said "You... made... me... feel... bad! You... hurt... me... gave me pain!" Clearly, she was not in a good mood, nor was she particularly stable at the moment.
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Jake's eyes opened wide as Rhiga jumped onto him and started biting his left arm
"yaaaahhhhhh!!!" wailed Jake in pain
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Sivar watched the 2 folks run past as she was pressed against the wall, pressing moreso as she heard the runners get close. She noted they looked familiar but didn't pay to much attention and continued on her way to the steam room.
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Rhiga was acting more like an animal, and less like a sentient creature. She wanted to take revenge, and satisfy her frenzied emotions.
It was not a good scenario.
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Kravik was resting and meditating in his room for a while. He would decide what to do later afterwards.
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Eriol was outside all the time, letting himself to get wet by the rain, as a relief from the desert as it is not his usual environment. As he got inside the inn again after the fight, he saw Rhiga knocking down Jake. - "That human is in problems. Maybe I should try to get her off him without killing her. But humans often bring problems and I don't need more problems." - He thought.
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The rain in the desert was a most unusual event; in this area it only rained once every three years at best. It was possible that someone had sent the storm using powerful magics... but if so, who sent the rain and why. These and other thoughts raced through Adykon's mind as thought about what action to take next.
-
Jake was bleeding everywhere
-
"help me!!!" yelled Jake
-
Adykon heard the screaming and ran to see what was going on.
-
Eriol saw that nobody was really trying to stop that enfuriated female Dracon - "Darn!, hang on kid!" - the Panther jumped and placed himself behind Rhiga, as he used his hands to try and open Rhiga's hands and stop her from making more harm to Jake.
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Rhiga was grabbed, and wasn't strong enough to break free from Eriol's grasp. She cursed and hissed, but couldn't get loose.
-
Eriol was stronger, but he saw that Rhiga was making quite a fight to release herself. He made an effort and managed to grab both of the Dracon's hands with one of his hands and placed his free arm around her neck. - "Please, try to control yourself. You are a Dracon, you are not a beast, you are way better." - Eriol said to her trying to make her regain her senses and stop.
-
Adykon arrived at the scene, and found Eriol restraining a naked Rhiga, near a wounded Jake. He would have assumed the worst about Eriol if he hadn't found that Jake was wounded, as he found blood on Rhiga's mouth and assumed that she had bitten him.
"What is going on here?!" He said.
-
Eriol looked at the Dracon that just arrived and recognized him from the night before - "She wants to... kill that human, so if you know this female... then help me make her calm down." - Rhiga was still fighting very much, making things difficult for Eriol, who is doing his best to keep her restrained without hurting her.
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Adykon whispered something in Rhiga's ear. Neither Jake nor Eriol knew what is was, but it instantly calmed Rhiga down.
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Jake was clutching his arm in pain and he started to feel dizzy and he fainted
-
Jake's blood was oozing everywhere
-
Sasha came onto the scene
"aaaahhhh!!!!" yelled Sasha at the sight of Jake's blood
-
"Sasha! Use one of your healing spells now, if you have one!" Adykon said.
-
"i'll try..." replied Sasha sobbing from seeing Jake hurt
Sasha started Chanting a spell and Jake's wounds started to heal but Jake was still unconcious and blood was still everywhere
-
"You're doing it. I can see the wounds closing" Said Adykon to Sasha.
Rhiga calmly left the room, expecting to meet Adykon later. He had something to tell her.
The Dracons have some basic rules against assault, but these were rarely enforced. If Jake had been killed, there would have been repercussions for Rhiga. The inn was in a no-man's land out in the desert either way, so Rhiga had little to fear from punishment by the law.
Adykon would let this slide just one more time. Another major injury would not be tolerated, though she could still fight Jake in a less violent way and not be kicked out of the party.
Jake was stronger than Rhiga, and beat her in the arena, but she had the element of surprise here and had gotten in a lucky bite. In any case, such behavior was not right. Rhiga was still angry at Jake, but now she had gotten some revenge, and until he did something else to her, she would not attack him again.
-
"he should be okay.........i hope...." said Sasha wiping away her tears
-
Sivar slipped into the warm steam room, enjoying the steamy warmth. She could feel the relaxing warmth slip into her body and relax her muscles. She leaned back, relaxing even more, closing her eyes as she sighed.
-
"Is he going to be okay, Sasha? His arm is healed, but he is still unconscious." Adykon asked her.
-
"he should be fine....he just needs some rest.........we should also put his proper pants on.........instead of his boxer shorts" replied Sasha
-
"Okay. That's good." Adykon said, turning to Eriol. "You have my thanks, stranger. You may have saved Jake's life or health, sir...?"
-
Sasha walked away to go and get Rex
-
As Rhiga left the place, the Panther gave some steps back, keeping some distance and waiting to see if Jake would recover, he then listened to what Adykon said - "My name is Eriol, and it was good that you could stop that female in time." - He said keeping an unemotional look on his face.
-
"My party and I are going to the lost city, to the south. We were resting here at this inn for a couple of days, when this mess happened. I thank you again." Adykon said.
-
Sasha returned with Rex 10 minutes later
"what a mess" said Rex when he saw all the blood
-
Adykon proceeded to tell Eriol about their quest. He also wondered where Akito was.
Rhiga had put on her loincloth, but kept her top off. Her "tiotleglas" still hurt from earlier that day...
Selturma was sleeping in bed.
-
What Adykon said caught Eriol's attention - "You don't have to thank me. But I want to know: Did you say the Lost City?..." - He was waiting for an answer when he saw Sasha returning with a young Dracon - "Don't worry, your freind should recover, I tell you because I have seen far worse."
-
Rex walked over to Jake's limp body and picked him up and carried him to the room that Sasha and Jake sleep in and put him in the bed next to Sashas
-
"Yes. My party and I are on the way to the Lost City to retrieve an artifact in exchange for a large cash payment. You are free to join us if you wish to." Adykon said.
Rhiga went to her room and rested. She was waiting to speak with Adykon.
-
Jake was tossing and turning in his bed, he seemed so restless that he was starting to sweat.
-
Selturma slept on. In spite of having painfully lost the tournament earlier that day, she felt good about herself for having found someone who was kind to her. She didn't want to leave him now that she had found him, and would ask to join Rex and the party later.
But for now, she slept.
-
Eriol thought for a moment - "I may join your party... I have reasons to go there too, but I needed someone who knows that city's real location."
-
"uuuhhh............huh.....noo!!!" said Jake as he woke up panting
"oh, it was just a dream....." said Jake still shocked
-
"I don't know the exact location of the lost city, but I am going to the city nearest to it. From there, we can go to an Oracle who will tell us the exact location." Adykon said.
-
Jake got out of bed and went to go look for everyone when all of a sudden Sasha came around the corner
"Jake wait!!!' said Sasha
"why?' replied Jake
"you have some scratches from the tournament on your chest and arms.......may i attend to them?....." asked Sasha carefully hoping to get a chance to rub down Jake
"okay, whatever" said Jake as he and Sasha walked to their room
-
"Do you need me to tell you more, Eriol?" Adykon asked.
-
"No, it's fine... much better than any other information I've got." - Eriol said. - "Just let me know when you are all departing. And maybe you should talk to that female Dracon, Rhiga." - He added, and began walking near the exit of the inn, leaning his back on the wall next to the door and watching to the landscape.
-
"I was going to her as soon as I was done talking to you. Thank you Eriol. We are leaving the day after tomorrow at dawn." Adykon said.
-
Eriol turned his head to face Adykon and nodded, he then returned his sight to the desert. His mind flying back home and his son.
-
Kravik was finished with his meditating and left the room to walk around the inn for a bit deciding what to do next.
Sivar continued to relax in the steam room. She decided she would go a bit longer before going back to the room were her stuff was.
-
Adykon went to meet Rhiga. He opened the door and found her lying on the bed, topless.
"Rhiga. I will tell you about your mother in a moment. First, I need you to promise me that you will not injure Jake, or anyone in the party, that badly again. If you do, I cannot guarantee that you will remain with us." Adykon told her.
"Okay, fine." Said Rhiga. "There are less violent ways of getting revenge." She said, lying back.
"You need to control yourself better." Adykon told her.
"Who cares about control?" She said while laughing. "I've got my freedom, and will do what my heart wants to. I only want to stay in the party more, so I won't hurt Jake again like that, unless he tries to do the same to me. If I was allowed to, I would attack him, or anyone who pissed me off until I felt better."
"... that is not a good way to live, Rhiga." He said.
"You were going to tell me about my mother?" She replied, changing the subject.
"Yes, I saw her in Hekaga a little over a year ago." She was doing well, and told me that she had a daughter named Rhiga who looked a lot like her."
"Was she pregnant again?" Rhiga asked.
"Yes, she was." Adykon answered.
"Typical. Mom never knows who me or my half-siblings' fathers are. I imagine she doesn't know who the father is this time either." She replied.
-
Sivar had fun relaxing in the steam room, but did realize she could not stay there all day and she got out to head to the room where her stuff was.
Kravik went to his room to practice some cantrips, partially for entertainment value.
-
"So, how did you meet my mother." Rhiga asked Adykon.
"I was in the city of Hekaga, working as a mercenary for the army there. Your mother was a skilled dancer. I very much enjoyed watching her. I spoke with her several times. She told me about a daughter who had run away from the city due to a theft from the prince." He said.
"Me. That's right. I stole from the prince of my city, and was caught in the act. I escaped after wards, but I can't return to my city. Now... I have to ask... did you...caitu wux lapiet mrith nebeur vur tepoha somati?" She said [part is in Draconic]
"She was pregnant when I met her. She was... not attractive to me then, but until she became too bloated to dance, she continued to do so." Adykon replied, carefully not mentioning the child he had with her. "I left before she could have what she wanted from me." He said.
"Oh. Well, she would have enjoyed you, I am sure. Mom can't have every male she wants... although... I just might succeed where she didn't." Rhiga said.
-
Sivar got to the room where stuff was. She nodded to Kravik as she got her stuff and then went to where she changed to some regular clothes she would be wearing.
-
"What do you mean by that, Rhiga?" Adykon said, probably guessing it.
-
"i think you look very attractive with out your shirt on...." said Sasha in a different tone of voice that Jake hasn't heared Sasha use
"ummmm.........." was all Jake could say
-
"I was bad earlier, and I want to make it up somehow..." Rhiga said as she took off her loincloth, being totally dishonest.
Adykon got up, angry. "NO! I know what you want Rhiga. And I can say that you are not going to be able to do it with me. Keep your clothes on."
-
"Feeling better?" Kravik asked Savir.
She nodded, "Oh yes. The steam room was very relaxing, you should try it." She said smiling.
-
Rhiga was a bit surprised. "But... I... oh. Well, I guess I can't seduce you any more than mom could. Well, if you ever change your mind, I'm here. Could you rub my back and "tiotelglas" at least?" Rhiga said.
"Alright. If it will make you feel better." Adykon replied. He set about his task.
-
Sasha went and got a cloth and wet it with some water.
Sasha came back to Jake and started to clean the scratches on his chest
"when this is done, i've got to go and find Rhiga......" said Jake
-
"Ahh... that felt good" Rhiga said as her back rub ended. She lay down on her back so he could continue rubbing her front. "You know, I fell on my "tiotleglas" front-first" while fighting Jake today."
He gave her the rubbing, and she even managed to get a foot massage out of it too. Adykon then left her asleep and relaxed. He went to go get some food for himself.
-
Kravik and Sivar headed to the dining room to see if there was any food there. They went somewhat separately since they had the idea separately.
-
Selturma rose from her bed, still tired, but wanting to find Rex. She also needed to find her top, which was left on the tournament grounds, last she remembered. Selturma opened the door where Jake and Sasha were, thinking that Rex was there.
"Rex, are you in here?" she said.
-
"waa" yelped Sasha in surprise
"no Rex is not in here" said Jake
-
Sasha had yelped in surprise because she was in the middle of seducing Jake
-
"Oh. Sorry! I didn't know you were..." Selturma said. "Aren't humans of your age too young to..."
-
"what???" asked Jake a little confused
-
"Have either of you two seen my top?" Selturma asked. "I'm not sure if I left it in the tournament grounds or not..."
-
"please explain" said Jake
-
"no we haven't" said Sasha annoyed at Selturma for disrupting them
-
"Ok. Sorry. I'll go." Selturma said. "And Jake, what I meant was... I didn't know hold old humans are when they start mating, so I thought you and Sasha might be doing that. Neither of you is wearing a lot of clothing, so I assumed that... well, I have to go now."
-
Jake sat there quietly until Selturma walked out
"So that's why you were speaking in that strange voice........." said Jake slowly
-
Jake stood up and left the room, leaving sasha sitting on the bed
-
Selturma looked outside for her top.
-
Rex was not far from Selturma
He was doing push-ups to make his arms stronger
-
Selturma greeted Rex. He noticed that she was still topless.
-
"you do realize that you are...........topless right" said Rex trying not to look at Selturmas "tiotleglas."
-
"No need to hide your attraction, Rex. I would like to sit and talk with you for a few minutes." Selturma said.
-
"okay" replied Rex
-
"I would like to join your adventuring party, Rex. The reason I had entered the tournament was to earn some money, but now that I have lost, I need to earn it another way. I also want to stay with you." Selturma said, while leaning against Rex's side.
-
"you may join our party.......and we should go and find your top" said Rex
-
Selturma found her top, and put it on. It was still rather revealing, but covered the minimum needed.
-
Rhiga woke and put her clothes on. She decided to take a walk.
-
Jake walked outside and he saw Rhiga
Jake thought to himself "there she is!!!"
Jake ran up in front of Rhiga, he still had the blood on his left arm because he hadn't cleaned it off yet
"you pain in the @$$!!!" yelled Jake at Rhiga
-
"I could say the same of you, you pile of vobit." She replied.
-
Jake clearly was not very happy
-
"What do you want now, Jake?" Rhiga asked. "I would like to keep fighting you, but I will get in trouble with Adykon if I do, and I'm too damn tired to fight you right now."
-
Adykon started to get his things together. The party would leave in a day or two; which was when he thought everyone would be ready to go. It would be two weeks in the desert before reaching the next city...
-
Eriol entered the inn again and looked for something to eat, after a while, he sat on a table near the corner and began to slowly eat his food, thinking - "Is really a good idea to do this?... as long as they don't mind having someone like me between them. But this is a good chance for me."
-
Kravik and Sivar got some food and sat at a table in the dining room to eat their food & drink the drink. They indulged in idle conversation during their meal.
-
Adykon knew that the next leg of the journey would be tough... he knew of the dangers that were out there...
-
"why did you bite me?" said Jake as calmly as possible
-
"You walked in on me when I was in the steam room, and I was still mad at you from earlier." Rhiga said.
-
"hey, me walking in on you was an accident.....and the water balloon was a practical joke!!!' said Jake
-
"You don't know how bad it felt for me to be angered by that water splash" Rhiga said. "For the first time in a long while, I felt good... Males never understand."
-
"well i am sorry........but you don't need to go as far as wanting to kick me in the %$#@.....and biting me" said Jake
-
"You made me mad." Rhiga said. "And then, you beat me in the arena. I know of your appeals to what you humans call "logic", but I do what my emotions tell me to, and if you piss me off, I will do what I feel like."
Rhiga was clearly not a good person.
-
"you are very strange" said JAke as he walked off
-
"You just don't understand the mysteries of my heart!" Rhiga yelled to Jake. She then turned and walked away.
-
Jake thought to himself "what did she mean by *the mysteries of my heart*"
-
Rhiga went away, still annoyed at how males did not understand her emotions.
-
Kravik and Sivar continued to eat and indulge in idle conversation, looking around them at times.
"How long till we go on?" Sivar asked curiously pausing in her eating..
"I'd guess not to long." Kravik said between eating. "The desert won't be an easy region to travel in." He said.
"True, but with certain spells it can be much easier." Sivar said smiling.
-
Rhiga went to her room and rested.
-
Jake walked to his room and retrieved a cloth to clean up the blood
-
Selturma and Rex were walking back to the room she had been resting in; she was still tired, but did not want to rest until she was a member of the party.
"So, I can travel with you and the others?" She asked Rex.
-
"yes, you may" replied Rex
-
Selturma hugged Rex, pressing close against him "Oh THANK you!" She said.
-
"no problem" replied Rex as he hugged her back
-
After another day, the party had prepared itself to set out for a two week journey across the desert.
The party consisted of Adykon, Rhiga, Kravik, Sivar, Akito, Eriol, Jake, Rex, Sasha, and Selturma.
-
Jake walked outside and he had Sasha close by his side, they were both happy to be in each others company.
-
"There are ten of us, so will will have to decide who gets what cottage, with an average of two per hut." Adykon said. "We can discuss this later."
With that, the party set out on the trip.
-
On the trip every once in a while Sasha would give Jake a hug and a kiss
-
The first day passed without incident. One down, thirteen to go. The cottages were set up, and one of them housed Jake, Rex, Sasha, and Selturma.
"Rex? Could you give me a foot rub?" asked Selturma. "It was a long trip and I need to relax."
-
Sasha asked Jake to do the same
he did the job without hesitation
-
Selturma wanted to let Rex see her "tiotleglas", but hesitated, knowing that the humans there might not approve of it.
-
"i absolutly love footrubs........" said Sasha enjoying her pleasure
-
"I don't know how you humans live without claws or fangs" Selturma said. "If you were attacked, how could those 5 tiny digits on your foot be of any use to you for defense?" She asked Sasha.
-
Kravik and Sivar used a spell so they would not feel the desert heat or extremes of temperatures so they could more easily travel the desert.
Kravik nodded, "Yes, who wants which huts, besides the 1 that'll houseJ ake, Rex, Sasha, and Selturma?" He asked.
-
"hey, at least we don't walk around half naked...." said Jake not realizing what he had just said
-
"It is hot in this desert" said Selturma. "I know that our adult males dress like humans, minus the footwear, but other than that, you can see why we clothe ourselves as we do. Sasha has the right idea."
-
"it is comfortable" said Sasha supporting Selturma
-
"I wonder why you and Jake wear more in private than most other Dracons, Rex." Selturma said. "Isn't it more comfortable to wear just a loincloth?"
-
"ummm........you must find it comfortable" said Rex
-
"You must see your parents and siblings do it" Selturma said.
-
"no i do not see my parents at all..........oh you mean my adoptive parents, well my mum does walk around the house without her top on" said Jake
-
"And even your dad goes around with only a loincloth when it is just him and the family, I'd imagine" said Selturma. "I'll bet he and your mom like to see each other like that."
-
"probobly" replied Jake
-
"Well, I'm sure you know what that roaring coming from their bedroom means" Selturma added with a wink. "All Dracon families are like that, if both parents are present."
-
"okay.........you didn't need to remind me" said Jake
-
It went on like that for some time.
The next morning, the party was ready to move out.
-
"Seems we are making good progress so far." Sivar said.
-
"We are" said Adykon. "We might even make it there a little earlier."
-
Just then, a trap was set off! A jaw-like trap nearly bit Rhiga on the leg. She dodged it, but over 2 dozen Kobolds rushed the party, having emerged from hiding places.
-
---
-
"attack!!!" yelled Jake as he Charged at the enemy
-
A kobold attacked Adkyon, and was cut in two before the smile on its face was gone.
-
Kravik reached into his dragon heritage and using that did what he had practiced. He hurled his breath weapon out as a distance weapon at the kobolds with it doing also a small burst. He did his best to be sure his targets were far enough away that none of the party would be hit by the burst.
Sivar did her usual of casting the defending hands spell & handing them her daggers so she'd have the 2 hands able to parry attacks so hopefully less of them would get through to where she was.
-
Jake ran up to one of the kobalds and put his hands around the kobalds jaw and with one swift movement Jake broke his Jaw
-
"how do you like that!!!" yelled Jake
-
Rhiga stabbed one kobold with her daggers, then parried a blow using her other one.
-
Eriol didn't loose the serious, yet quiet look on his face. He used his right hand to reach one the attacker's jaws and shut it close as he grabbed one of his small-sized swords with his left hand to slice another Kobold's head off, he then used the Kobold on his right hand as kind of whip to strike down yet another attacker before finish him off with his sword, by cutting his throat.
-
Rex ran at one of the other kobalds and he bit deep into his neck
blood went everywhere
-
Selturma dodged the attacks of one of the kobolds. She counterattacked, kicking it in the snout, but did not stop it.
-
Kravik did a magic missile spell and shot them off at a kobold, switching targets when the first one went down.
Sivar did a spell she had done before to summon some celestial dogs to battle the Kobolds with the party.
"Hounds of Tamara, attack those who would do us harm." Sivar said in draconic, thinking it may be good to be a bit over dramatic in her voice and body langauge.
-
Selturma realized that she was not strong enough to kill the kobolds on her own, so she kicked one kobold into another one's spear, killing it. She then retreated when several of them attacked her.
-
"what should i do?...." thought Sasha
just then, a thought popped into her head
Sasha started Chanting a spell and everything was slow motion except for the party
"what the?" was all Jake could say
-
"What's going on?!" Adykon said.
-
"Can't be a time stop spell, that is a very high level spell." Kravik said.
-
"Is it slowing time?" Adykon said. "Can Sasha withstand the strain of such a powerful spell? She's only a girl!"
-
"Then we must make sure her effort is not in vain!" - Eriol said raising his voice, as he used his small swords and began cutting many Kobold enemies.
-
Adykon did the same, killing a couple more kobolds. The enemies ranks were getting thinner; over half had fallen so far.
-
Kravik stood back with Sivar and decided to use missile spells this time. He had used his magic missles & had done a lighting bolt at one kobold but seeing the large numbers and guessing some reinforcements may appear decided to summon some of his own.
He cast a summon spell, reaching into the elemental plane of fire to bring forth some more reinforcements of his own. "Go forth and burn these Kobolds before their evil plans can come to fruition." He said to the small 4 foot tall fire elementals, guessing in this case that numbers may be better for their side then summoning a single large fire elemental.
--
Sivar did a prayer to bring some luck to their side and some unluckiness to their foes.
The previously summoned celestial dogs continued to attack kobolds, working in pairs at least since they were used to working in groups or packs.
-
"i can't hold this much longer!!!" yelled Sasha
"you can do it!!! just a little longer" encouraged Jake
-
Eriol didn't loose the little time they had left and kept making his attacks, slicing through many of the attacking forces.
-
At last, the attacking kobolds either all fell or retreated.
-
"you did it!" said Jake
"I....I..can't stay awake" said Sasha
Sasha stopped and she fell to the ground and had fainted
"Sasha!!!" yelled Jake
-
Just then, a new line of kobolds formed. This group had a couple of mages and shamans, and the kobolds wore leather and a bit of metal armor, rather than the previously unarmored group.
There were a few more Kobolds in this wave than in the previous one. The Kobolds charged.
-
Savir lets loose with a spell that shoots off and flashes brightly in front of the charging Kobolds to try to stun some of them.
Kravik throw an acidball at them that exploded like a fireball would do, but did acid instead of fire damage to try to damage some of them as best as he could, and their armor and weapons as well if possible.
-
"i gotta get Sasha outa here..." thought Jake
Jake started dragging Sasha away to a safer area
when he was done he ran back into the battle
"CHARGE!!!" yelled Jake
-
The kobolds attacked from all sides. Harming them was much harder this time. Adykon could handle himself, but Rhiga was cut badly several times. Selturma managed to keep fighting, but it was all she could do to keep herself from being killed.
-
The black Phanter prepared himself, giving a deep breathe before charging too, he succesfully sliced one Kobold's head off, the he throw the sword on his right hand to another attacker's throat and using his now free hand to grab one of them by the neck using his elbow and began using the attacker as a living shield for incoming attacks.
-
"are you okay Rhiga?" asked Jake
-
Rhiga eventually managed to kill a kobold, but she was wounded and retreated. Adykon covered her escape, beheading a kobold shaman who had tried to hex her.
-
Eriol saw that the living shield wouldn't last longer, so he threw the kobold towards incoming attackers, that slowed them down and gave him time to recover his other sword. He then stretched his arms and began making quick spinning moves, cutting everything at range, but still making sure he wouldn't hurt other members of the party.
-
"god damn Kobalds!" yelled Jake in frustration as he be-headed one of them
-
A kobold mage cast a fireball at Selturma; she barely dodged it. Adykon cut the mage down, but only after getting a small burn.
-
Jake was so annoyed at the kobalds that he went into an enraged state and sprinted through all of them he could see and he used alchemy on the ground and some metal spikes came out of the ground and impaled 3 of them
-
Then, while the others were fighting, some of the surviving kobolds from the first wave of attackers sneaked behind the lines, and captured the unconscious Sasha.
-
"when will they stop coming!" yelled Jake
-
Just then, they DID stop coming. After about half of them had fallen, the suddenly turned and ran. Odd.
-
Kravik did a dragon magic spell spell to toughen his scales, then one to cause himself to burst into flames as he drew his Katar.
"Blade of Tamara." Savir said then a large sword appeared glowing bright, looking as if it were made of the sun itself. It glowed very brightly with some near blinding rays, making it harder for her apponants near her to hit her as she weilded the blade.
-
"come back here you cowards!" yelled Jake
-
The kobolds ran very quickly, and jumped down into holes which were too small for the party to follow them through. Adykon managed to kill one of them, though.
-
"i'll go and get Sasha" said Jake as he turned to get Sasha
"what?! where is she?!" yelled Jake in panic
-
"She was here a moment ago" said Selturma.
-
"did anyone see where they went?" said Jake with a panicked look on his face
-
"Jake" Rhiga said. "I may have been... a bit hasty in judging you earlier. You fought well, and saved me from more serious injury from the kobolds."
-
Eriol saw that Jake was panicking, as he realized what happened, he said - "The only answer I can think of is that the Kobolts may have taken her. There is nobody else in here, so it must have been them." - He began sniffing the air, trying to get the attacker's scents, he then went near Adykon - "I don't know the desert as I want, do you have any ideas?"
-
"Rex, can you track Sasha's scent?" Adykon said. "We don't have much time before the trail runs cold."
-
"I'm sure there is a way in that we can use. We just need to find it." Kravik said.
-
"yes......i can try" replied Rex
-
"Do it. Every minute counts" said Adykon. "The kobolds who live here worship a pair of dormant dragons, and they believed that sacrificing the blood of mages can wake them up."
-
Jake went all white
-
"We will be just next to you Rex, so don't worry" - Eriol tried to re-assure the younger Dracon, since Rex is right now Sasha's only hope.
-
"Don't just stand there, let's go!" Adykon said. "Rex, lead the way! You know her scent!"
-
Rex took a sniff of the air and he started running
the party followed
Jake was running a lot faster than Rex
"no.....they can't kill Sasha......" thought Jake
-
The party ran to a small hole in the ground, barely big enough for the party to go down one at a time. That was where they had taken her.
-
"We had best be getting inside then." Kravik said.
"before anything worst can happen." Sivar said.
-
"i can fit" said Jake
Jake walked closer to the hole and started lowering himself in
-
The party went down the hole, one at a time. They went through a tunnel. Rhiga snuck up on the sentry who was stationed at the entrance of the tunnel, and stabbed him through the throat.
The adventurers then went into the main hall, where the tribe of kobolds were gathered. There were hundreds of them.
-
"look how many there are" whispered Jake
-
"A Distraction may be needed." Kravik whispered, thinking of what sorts of creatures he could summonthat would be a distraction.
"I could do a spell to increase someoen's strength." Sivar whispered as an idea she had.
-
"can i have the strength anhancement?" asked Rex
-
Sasha was tied to the altar, with her garments removed. The kobolds priest was preparing an incantation, and a servant was seen sharpening a dagger.
-
Sivar nodded and cast the bull's strength on Rex to increase his strength. She figured the 6 minute duration of the spell should be enough, she hoped.
-
"We need a distraction." Adykon said. "I, Rex, and Jake will sneak over to the left of the kobolds. The rest of you, cause a distraction on the right. When the kobolds move to get you, the three of us will move in and rescue Sasha."
In the background, a male and female Red Dragon pair slumbered.
-
"....." thought Jake
-
Kravik cast the highest level summon monster spell he knew, not liking to show off he usually used weaker ones. He aimed the spell so it would appear away from where the party was, just within the limits of the range he could cast it, about 30 feet away, summoning an 8 foot tall fire elemental.
-
"let's go and save Sasha" said Jake
-
The elemental distracted the kobolds, who were in a panic to stop it, or run from it. Some of them thought that it was created because of what they were doing to Sasha, and the assistants fled from the altar. This gave Jake, Adykon, and Rex the chance to fight. Adykon attacked the head kobold shaman, while Rex and tried to hold off any kobolds who might attack. Meanwhile, Jake went to rescue Sasha.
-
Sivar getting the idea from Kravik summoning the medium fire element Summoned some celestial giant fire beetles off to one side, to try to add to the distraction.
-
Adykon drew his sword and attacked the shaman, who, seeing the summoned creatures, got the idea to summon a couple of fire sprites himself.
-
Kravik cast an overland flight spell on himself so if he need he could add flight to gain air advantage in the battle.
Sivar cast a searing light into a mass of Kobolds hoping the bright light would temporaly blind and or stun some of them to add to the confusion.
-
Rhiga attacked several of the kobolds while they were still blinded, and killed a couple of them before they could reach. Selturma fought a pair of kobolds, intending to distract them rather than beat them; her hands and feet, though clawed, were not enough to kill her enemies, but she could hold them off, and buy some time.
-
Kravik cast and throw a fireball into an area none of the party members were so it's explosion wouldn't catch any of them or any of their summoned allies.
Sivar tried to do searing stunnig light again to try the same tactic a second time, on another group of enemies.
-
The party fought well, but the kobolds were numerous. Jake, Rex, and Adykon had to work fast.
-
Jake got to Sasha and untied her
"j.....j....Jake....y....you came to...save me..." said Sasha extremely scared
"come on we gotta get out of here............here take my shirt" said Jake
-
Adykon killed the shaman, but he was somewhat wounded in the process. The kobolds were recovering from the shock of the surprise attack, and their warriors were starting to get organized. "Jake! Move it or lose it!" Adykon shouted.
-
"okay i'll run then!" yelled Jake
Jake told Sasha tro jump onto his back
Sasha did as instructed
Jake started running towards the party
"come on let's go!!!" yelled Jake
-
Kravik did a dragon magic spell to toughen his scales then he began to cast a combat spell as he lifted himself into the air with his previous spell to get height advantage and so he could see over a larger area.
Sivar did a searing bolt spell, a beam of sunlight blasting out from the palm of her hand to strike a Kobold who was close to one of the party members.
-
The party ran through the tunnels where the kobolds lived, until they came to a cave entrance. The party ran out into the daylight.
-
Once the others were far enough away Kravik took to the air again and threw a fireball at the cave entrance to collapse it with the heat making the rocks also partially flow together he hoped to make it much harder for the Kobolds to dig or mine out the entrance.
-
The party escaped and made camp later that night.
-
"i'm so tired....(yawn)" said Jake
-
"ummm Jake.......i need some clothing..." said Sasha
"erm...right..." replied Jake
Jake knelt down on the ground
and he pressed his hands together and placed them on the ground
(ok this has nothing to do with being on the ground...)
(http://www.animecutie.com/pictures/full-metal-alchemist-wallpaper-02.jpg)
-
The rest of the party went to rest in their cottages.
-
Sasha grabbed the top, loincloth and sandals and ran into one of the huts and got changed.
Sasha came out 2 minutes later
"here is your jacket back" said Sasha
"thanks" replied Jake
-
Selturma joined Rex in one of the cottages.
-
"let's go into the cottage" suggested Rex
-
"Are we alone?" Selturma asked Rex.
-
"yes we are" said Rex
-
"Good." Selturma said, taking off her top and throwing it down. She then walked over to Rex. "Come on, let's sit down and relax."
-
"alright" replied Rex
-
The party spent the next day recovering. After that, they continued on their journey through the desert, with the immediate goal of reaching the nearest city.
-
The settlement they sought to reach was named Iniktaoul, a city of moderate size. It's name literally meant "sand city", due to the proximity of a sandier party of the desert leading south from it. It was in this sandy region that the lost city lay, as opposed to the rocky desert the party was traveling through now.
-
"Does anyone know anything about this city?" Sivar asked while looking around her.
-
"Yes" Adykon said "The city is smaller than the one that most of us had left earlier... and it is a more than a bit rougher too. Nevertheless the city plays host to a number of cults, some of which may have useful knowledge. Also, there is an oracle either in or near the city, and we can ask him where we can find the lost city."
-
"What will it cost to visit this oracle?" Kravik asked.
-
"Kravik is right, I think we must try to know that before we actually meet that Oracle." - Eriol said, nodding to what the Dracon said and to avoid nasty surprises.
-
"I don't know what the price is" Adykon said. "It may be that in order to cover the cost, we may have to perform a job or two while in the city."
-
Kravik nods, "Let's just hope the price isn't to high." He said.
"Indeed." Sivar said agreeing.
-
Adykon thought to himself about recent events. First, it rained at a very coincidental moment during the tournament, then, a tribe of kobolds attacked them in the desert in a coordinated attack... a little too coordinated... as if they had expected the party to be there at a certain time. Was it all coincidence? Or, was someone watching the party and using magic to send these things at them? If so, who was doing it, and why?
-
Eriol came closer to Adykon - "You seem troubled. Maybe you should clear your head a bit as we need to know where could be that Oracle you have mentioned."
-
"Oh, I know where the oracle is located... it's just... isn't it a bit coincidental that we were attacked by kobolds who knew exactly where we were, and were prepared to fight us? And that rain earlier during the tournament? What were the odds of that? Normally, it only rains once for 15 minutes every few years... and the storm lasted for hours..."
-
"Maybe we can ask this oracle about who is sending those forces against us & why." Kravik said thinking over what Adykon had said.
"& also perhaps why." Sivar said finding the idea of having some unseen enemy annoying.
-
"If there is someone not wanting us from reaching the Lost City, then we really need to know who might be... and I also think to have an invisible for is annoying." - Eriol added to what has been commented.
-
"Perhaps someone doesn't want us to accomplish our mission... but who could possibly know about it?" Adykon said. "We were never told that the artifact had any special value... but maybe we were lied to..."
-
"Who hired all of you for this quest?" - Eriol asked Adykon - "... maybe our invisible enemy is really behind the artifact and behind the one that hired you all."
-
"Hmm." Kravik said thinking. "It may be that. What do the rest of you think?" He asked the others.
-
"I don't think so. Arcandas hired us to find the artifact, so he would gain nothing by trying to kill us in the course of finding it. I believe that someone who also wants the artifact is trying to stop us." Adykon said. "That, or someone who wants to stop anyone from touching the artifact."
"I am also not sure what the rain was supposed to do... it may have been a botched attempt at summoning a storm with great power." He added.
-
"or some sort of storm or water elemental. & it could be one of the rivals of the person who hired you to hire us." Kravik said.
-
"Does anyone here have any magical enemies?" Adykon asked.
-
"Not me." Sivar said shaking her head.
"No, I've none that I know about." Kravik said, also shaking his head.
-
"I have none" Rhiga said "And I doubt that my enemies would go to the trouble of hiring a mage of such power just to attack me."
-
"nope i got none" said Jake
"nor do i" said Rex
"i don't have any enemies" said Sasha
-
"It seems our unseen foe, if we have any, might be from Akito and Eriol." Adykon said, looking at them.
-
"good point......" agreed Jake
-
Eriol looked at the rest of the party. - "I have many enemies but, like Rhiga, I don't think they'll manage to get the help of a mage this strong either. Our unseen enemy may be someone else."
-
"Okay." Adykon said. "I'm not sure if everyone is telling the truth, but I'm going to go with what you all say. The oracle might clear things up later. If we are being watched now, we might be attacked more the closer we get to our goal. I want everyone to be on guard."
"I hope no one was watching us when we were in our huts" Rhiga said with a slight smile.
-
"Well, this artifact may be indeed powerful... maybe someone may tell me what it is meant to do." - Eriol asked, as his objectives are different to the other members of the party.
-
"It is a statue, so I don't think it DOES anything" Adykon said. "It has immense historic value, to be sure, and might be worth a lot of money to collectors."
-
"Well, it is a relief then that we are not going to look for some cataclismic-event object." - Eriol said jokingly. - "But then, if it is not what we are looking for, then maybe someone would be wanting to stop us from something else we could possible found there." - That last part, the Panther said it very seriously, because he agrees with Adykon about more danger will try to stop them.
-
"Maybe it is enchanted, or needed for part of a ritual." Kravik said.
"Or an artifact. It could have been left by some diety for some reason." Sivar said.
-
"I did not ask our employer about those specifics" Adykon said "I'm not paid to go into the details, just to get the job done; that's what being a mercenary is about."
-
Sivar shook her head, "I hope it's not one of Tiamat's underlings or one of their rivals." Sivar said.
-
"We should continue on, regardless. So far, we have been able to take everything that has been thrown at us, and we still are in good shape."
-
"Adykon is right..." - Eriol said - "... we get nothing by staying here doing nothing, so I say we should go see that Oracle."
-
The party continued on, but was more vigilant... just in case.
-
Kravik & Sivar continued with the party, attempting to be more alert then they have been before.
"We'll find out sooner or later." Kravik said.
-
A day passed without incident. So far, so good. Then, another day. Nothing, a third day passed. Still nothing. The party refreshed their stores of food and water at a village at an oasis, then continued on. They were still a number of days away from the next city.
-
"when will this trip end...." said Jake groaning
-
"When we get to the goal, or something tries to stop us." Kravik said.
-
At that moment, something went wrong. For some reason, Adykon felt as if he was afflicted by... something. It wasn't a disease; it was more like his mind had been reversed somehow, or at least, a part of it... when he tried to move left, he went right, and when he tried to go right, he went left. He felt confused and disoriented...
This was clearly the work of evil magics sent from afar.
-
Rhiga noticed Adykon's trouble "What's wrong? I didn't think you drank too much." she said.
-
Sivar went over closer to Adykon. "What is wrong?" She asked looking at him closely.
Kravik looked Adykon over from where he was attempting to see if he could tell what was wrong.
-
"what's wrong with Adykon?" asked Sasha
-
"Adykon, what's wrong with you?" - Eriol asked, he then looked at Sasha - "He began acting like that from one moment to the other."
-
Adykon said "Sivar! Can you help me with this? Some dark magic is afflicting me!"
-
Sivar nodded and went over closer to Adykon to try to cast a Remove Curse on him to try to remove whatever the dark magic was doing and effecting him. Once close she cast the spell onto him.
-
The spell took effect immediately. Adykon got better, with no trace of there ever having been a problem to begin with.
"Thanks Sivar. I owe you one." Adykon said.
-
Sivar smiles, "Glad I could be of help & could remove it." She said.
"I wonder if the person may try that again, or on someone else in the group, or if they know the others in the group." Kravik said, partially thinking and partially saying his thoughts.
-
"We need to be extra vigilant" said Adykon. "Does anyone have a spell which can provide resistance to mental attacks?"
-
Kravik speaks up, "I do have scry guard and mind shield spells. The scry guard spell makes the person undectable or much harder to be scryed on, and the mind shield spell adds a shield against mind attacks." Kravik says.
-
"Please cast one or both of those as soon as you can, Kravik" Adykon said. "Make sure that we are ALL protected from hostile magics."
-
"I can cast those anytime anyone wishes & it won't be any difficulty to protect the whole group." Kravik says.
"That is certainly handy." Sivar said.
-
"Can you cast those now?" Rhiga said. "I don't want to think about what will happen if a spell that we cannot get rid of attacks us."
"I agree" Selturma added.
-
Kravik nodded, "I can do that now. Unlike wizards we sorcerers don't have to prepare our spells." He said.
-
"Good to hear" Adykon said.
-
"let's keep moving" said Jake
-
"That is quite an advantage Kravik. And let's hope that will be enough to protect us all from more nasty attacks." - Eriol said, making a smile.
-
The party continued on for a over a week without incident, although the terrain was rough, and trip was tiring. Finally, they reached a place where they could see the city from a distance. Compared to the shining marble and gold domes and towers of the previous city, this one looked drag and dark, although some shiny buildings could be seen from time to time, squeezed between the darker sections.
-
Jake was thinking about back home, when suddenly Jake's mind went all black and he shuddered.
"uhhh....." yelped Jake
"what's wrong?" asked Sasha
"nothing.....let's just keep going" replied Jake
-
"Looks like we are getting close." Sivar said, looking at the city in the distance, "Though it doesn't look like a pleasant place." She said.
-
"It will do." Adykon said. "Let's mind an inn and settle down; it is getting late. Tomorrow, we can find the oracle."
"Rest sounds good" Rhiga said. "We've been walking through the rocky desert for days."
-
"I am interested about that Oracle... if everything goes right, it will be authentic and get some real clues about our real destination" - Eriol replied, as he was looking at the different places in the city they arrived.
-
"I'm not sure if the oracle will give us the information we need" Adykon said. "Oracles are notorious for speaking in allegories, metaphors, and analogies... they don't always give a straight answer."
-
"If that's the case, then it is good we are many in this party... the more heads, the faste we may be able to reach the solutions to the riddles." - Eriol nodded, knowing that Adykon was right about oracles.
-
The party entered the city, and found slums everywhere they looked.
-
Sivar looked at Adykon, "Any idea where to look for an inn sort of place?" She asked.
-
The party looked around, and sure enough, they found an inn. It was noisy, but the food was surprisingly good there.
-
"Not bad, considering the area it's in." Sivar said.
-
Adykon went to reserve rooms for the party.
-
"Considering how things look maybe we should stay closer together." Kravik said looking around the place and thinking how the town looked on the way there.
-
Selturma went to her room and lay down. It had been a long journey indeed.
-
"I'll remain with all of you until we make sure we are 'safe' here, and I may go to sleep for a while later." - Eriol said, as he is now looking at everybody and nobody in special in that place they are all now.
-
Rhiga saw that the city was full of poverty, overcrowding, and was probably filled with crime.
As far as she was concerned, this was a good thing, as it meant that there plenty of "business opportunities" for her.
-
"Let's get some rest while we can." Sivar said, "No telling what the future may bring or how soon." She said.
-
The rooms that the party rested in were loud. The walls were thin, and the inn was overcrowded. Still, the beds were surprisingly soft, and the prices were low.
-
Kravic and Sivar slept a best as they could, circumstances considering.
-
The party members slept alright. The next morning, it was still noisy.
-
"It seems that people here never sleeps." - Eriol thought, he was now out of the room he was sleeping in, as he was now waiting for other members of the group to appear.
-
Sivar awoke, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "I wonder if folks here ever sleep." She said, not yet fully awake.
-
"They sleep alright" said Adykon, as he passed over a drunken Dracon who was passed out on the floor.
-
Sivar finished getting up and after doing some stretching she went out of her room to see how the others of the group were doing.
-
Selturma woke up and stretched. She was still sore from the trip.
-
Adykon told the party to wait for an hour or two; he wanted to think of a plan, should the news the oracle told them be bad.
Selturma and Rhiga used this opportunity to relax.
-
Kravik & Sivar decided to use the opportunity to relax also since they were not sure when they would get the opportunity again. Though they kept alert, considering what the city looked like.
-
"excuse me rhiga and selturma.......is it okay if i join you?" asked Sasha
-
Rhiga and Selturma were relaxing in a hot pool of water in the inn when Sasha asked if she could join them.
"Sure you can join" said Rhiga.
"No problem" said Selturma.
-
Sivar was exploring the place when she discovered the hot pool of water. "I didn't know they had this here." She said standing to one side of the entrance to the area so she'd not block the way of anyone who wanted to walk into or out of the area.
-
Adykon was thinking of what questions to ask the oracle. He knew that he would have to ask about the statue, and where the city was, but was not sure how to phrase his words.
-
"this is great" said Sasha
-
"I'd pay for your thoughts." - Eriol said as he saw Adykon, as he was eating a snack.
-
The city's oracle lived in a gold-domed building in the center of the metropolis. Being one of the largest reasons people came to the city, the people there had every reason to keep the structure safe. They said that the oracle would provide the most ambiguous answer possible to a question unless it was worded in such a way as to make ambiguity impossible; usually, this consisted of a "yes" or "no" kind of question.
-
Jake walked around the inside of the inn
Jake thought to himself "this is so boring......there is nothing to do...."
-
Adykon knew what he wanted to ask... but it all depended on the rules that the oracle had.
-
Adykon went to tell the party that they would be going to the oracle soon. The other females in the tub stayed in for a bit longer, but Selturma went to go get Rex and tell him that they were going soon.
-
Rex walked with Selturma to where Adykon was. Jake was glad to be going now
-
"Okay, is everyone ready?" Adykon asked.
-
"I am." - Eriol said, as he finished placing his short-sized swords and backpack.
-
"Sasha and I are ready" said Jake
-
The rest of the party said that it was ready too.
"Okay, we're off." Adykon said.
After about a half-hour of walking through the city, the party arrived at the oracle's sanctum; a huge domes structure with a cool interior, blue-green floors, a pool of glowing greenish liquid in the middle, and was generally made from fancy materials, such as marble and gold.
The oracle himself was evidently a mage of some sort, as he was floating in the air, cross-legged. This Dracon was wearing long robes, had red skin, and was seemingly unaware of the party entering the room.
-
"this room is very cold..." said Sasha rubbing her arms
"here, take my jacket" said Jake as he handed it to Sasha
"thank you" said Sasha
-
Adykon wondered why the room was kept so cold.
An official who was working with the oracle approached the party. After greeting Adykon, he explained how the oracle worked. First, each member of the party had to pay a certain amount of money to ask a question. The question asked could be in any form, but "yes or no" questions yielded the most certain results.
Additionally, for much more money, the oracle could give detailed explanations about a certain topic that he was asked about.
-
Ooc: Never mind.
-
"I don't mind the cooler air in here, in fact it is better than out there in the desert." - Eriol said. - "Have you decided your questions Adykon?."
-
"Each of us can ask a question, or questions, provided that they have enough money. I will ask about the lost city, then ask a more detailed question about whoever or whatever is sending spells to attack us."
-
"Oracle" Adykon said. "Can you hear me?"
"I can" was the reply, the oracle said, eyes still shut.
"I have paid for my question and explanation. I will ask you my question first."
"Proceed." said the oracle.
"How far away is the lost city from here, and in what direction is it from where I am standing right now?"
"If you start walking South, you will learn the truth in the next month or two, depending on your actions. The truth lies in the lost city, and in the lost city, lies the truth."
-
Adykon asked his second inquiry. "Tell me, oracle, about who or what is sending the magical attacks against my party."
The oracle's eyes opened, and the room grew warmer. Suddenly, the light green glow that had been emanating from the pool of water changed to a reddish hue, and there was a sense of power building in the water.
-
"what the hell?!" said Jake as he jumped in surprise at the sudden temperature change
-
"Something is not right here." - Eril said and looked at the Oracle, baring his teeth.
-
An image of the lost city appeared above the pool of water, showing the statue that Adykon was tasked to find. He estimated that it was no more than the height of two of his hands were long.
"Behold, the statue of Kothar" the oracle said. "It contains a great power."
The scene shifted to two Dracons, one male, one female, each of which was a mage, judging from the power which emanated from them.
"The image which you see shows the guardians of the statue. It is their job to prevent anyone from removing it."
"They are the ones who have been sending the magical afflictions at your party."
Oracle Theme (http://66.49.226.244/digital/qfg2cd/Track15.ogg)
-
The scene changed again to show a great mass of ruins. This was clearly the lost city.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/PalmyraPanoramaZoom.jpg)
"The mages you saw are protecting the artifact from those who would take it, and will use every means they know to stop you."
"How can we overcome them?" Adykon said.
"It will all become clear in time" The oracle replied. "Just remember, all is not as it seems." The pool of water turned back to its normal state.
-
Jake was watching Adykon talking with the oracle.......something was lurking in the back of his mind.
Jake started feeling ill.
"uhhh......something........is wrong....uhhhh...." muttered Jake
Jake yelped in pain as his mind was taken over "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!"
-
"What the?! Jake!!" Adykon said.
-
"It is happening again." - Eriol said, he turned around to face in the direction Jake is, keeping a hand ready to take one of his swords, just in case.
-
Jake used alchemy on his arm and it turned into a sword. Jake charged at the party
(http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/4439/338858-171082-edward-elric_super.jpg)
-
Adykon barely had any time to react as he drew his sword. He barely stopped Jake from attacking him, and was having a surprisingly hard time keeping Jake at bay.
"Snap out of it Jake! You are being possessed! The mages must be watching us now, and saw that were had learned about them!"
-
"die!!!" yelled the possessed form of jake
-
(ooc: never mind. [cencored all this])
-
"you will never reach the artifact!!!" yelled Jake's possessed form
-
Rhiga saw her opportunity to help the party and get revenge on Jake. She put her best foot forward, and kicked where she had been kicked by Adykon earlier.
-
Jake fell down
"my %$#@!!!!!" yelled Jake in pain on the ground
(wimpering)
-
Adykon put his sword away, but was ready to draw it again should the mages attack a second time.
(1000th post! :D )
-
(wimpering)
-
"That was close" Adykon said. "At least the mages aren't trying to possess Jake at the moment." "I never thought I'd say this, Rhiga, but... good work."
-
"he should be okay.......but i wouldn't recommend being near him when he recovers.." said Sasha
-
"That was... a most interesting event" Adykon said. "What we need to do now is to think about this, and plan our next move. "
-
"Proving the mages are evil. If they were good they'd send some sort of message somehow explaining why they didn't want folks finding the statue once they knew they knew some were looking for it." Kravik said.
Sivar nodded, "The good dragon gods like Bahamut & Tamara would not things like this and their agents and such would not either. Tiamat's spawn would. Some of the neutral ones may, maybe."
-
The party left the oracle's sanctum and returned to the inn to plan their next move.
-
"At least now we know the faces of the attackers. We should find a way to prevent more attacks, because we are asking too much from Kravik and Sivar." - Eriol said when they get back into the Inn. - "not to mention that next time it could have worse consequences."
-
Back at the inn Jake was sitting in his room on a chair
"uhhh.......my balls hurt so much...." thought Jake quietly
-
Adykon thought over the oracle's words... go South... and "find the truth." It would be hard to know who to trust... could anyone could be possessed by the mages even if they didn't show signs of it?
-
Meanwhile, Rhiga was happier now than she had been in weeks. She had been useful to the party, but in doing so, had also gotten a measure of revenge against Jake.
-
"At least we know where to head next." Kravik said.
-
Selturma rested on her bed at the inn. She didn't know how this adventure would turn out, nor did she know if she would get any money out of it... and right now, that didn't matter to her. At the very least, she was happy to be with a group who befriended her, and that was enough.
-
Sivar rested on her bed, not sure how long they'd be remaining but thinking they would be going at any time then she may as well get a much rest as she could now.
-
Meanwhile, many miles away, in a great tower, two mages were planning another attack.
-
Kravik went over how to enchant and some of what he and Sivar had talked about, trying to figure out how to cast a remove curse spell, since he saw it may be handy in the future. He was resting in his room as he did this. Planning on doing it only for a short while before he went to eat or see what the inn had to offer, figuring it would take him a while to get it down.
-
"They are still trying to get the statue" said one mage.
"We will have to resort to... firmer means" said the other.
"They suspect us now. We shall have to be more careful" said the first mage.
-
(groaning)
"why?.........this is the worst pain ever......." groaned Jake
-
Adykon called the party together to discuss their plans.
"Alright people, we need to talk about our next step. The situation has become more complex than I originally thought it would be. We know where to look for the lost city, but we don't know what the capabilities of these mages are, nor do we know what to expect when we reach our destination."
-
"Maybe best to assume they have access to the highest level of spells and are as evil as Tiamat and her Spawn." Kravik said.
"Though Tiamat prefers the far more subtle & long term to the direct evil." Sivar said.
-
"Maybe, but we don't really know for sure about what attacks they will use against us. So, it is best that we try to protect ourselves from as many spells, curses, and enchantments as we can." Adykon said.
-
"But it is best to assume the worse, and to prepare accordingly." - Eriol said. He has no magical power of his own, so he just has to rely in his physical and mental skills. - "Is there a way we can get more magical protecction, like amulets?."
-
"We might check out the market" Adykon said. "We might be able to purchase an item or two which could help."
-
"It sounds like plan, we should go as soon as possible." - Eriol nodded.
-
"How much money do we have?" Adykon said. "We need to plan ahead before deciding to buy something."
-
"maybe those would help. You'd have to be sure they are real and not fakes." Kravik said.
-
"Do you think a ring or magic amulet might have the capacity to resist a spell? Maybe a ring of protection." Adykon asked.
-
Kravik nods, "There are protective spells of those types that can be put onto a ring, amulet, armor, or many other things."
Sivar nods, "The temple sells some of those." Sivar said.
-
"We should visit this city's temple, then." Adykon said.
-
"Sounds like an idea. Does everyone else want to also? Getting some items sounds like a good idea." Kravik said.
-
"First, we need to consider the cost" Adykon said.
"That's right" Rhiga added.
-
"Then maybe we should all go, and pool all of our money if needed." - Eriol said. - "It isn't the best idea to spend all we have, but these latest attacks are far too dangerous to let that happen again."
-
"We will probably not spend all that we have, but it will likely cost us a lot. We might need to spend some time looking for an assignment we can do here in this city to earn some extra gold." Adykon said.
"I hate side-quests" Rhiga thought.
-
"i have 50 pieces of gold, i could go and buy a book on alchemy spells" said Jake
-
"Pooling the gold we are willing to put towards this is a good idea." Kravik said.
-
"okay" said Jake as he handed over his pieces of gold
-
"Here I have 40 pieces of gold." - Eriol said as he handed a bag with gold from his backpack. - "With some luck we won't have to do extra jobs."
-
Kravik and Sivar handed over much of theier gold also.
"As as been suggested, we each should keep some of our gold in case we need some later on." Kravik said.
-
"Okay. No need to give up all of what we have." Adykon said. "Usually the price of a wand of magic detection is 750 gold pieces. Magic rings can easily cost in the thousands. We might want to try for less expensive ways to get items which can help us avoid being hit by hostile magics rather than items which can protect us against magics that have already hit us."
-
"I can create walls with alchemy to protect us against fire spells..." offered Jake
-
"That's good, Jake, but we need protection against magics which attack us directly as well." Adykon said. "A fireball is an indirect attack, in the strictest sense, in that it creates something which isn't magical, such as fire, and sends it at us. We also need defense against something which is purely magical, such as a spell which can possess us, or a spell which can affect our minds."
-
"okay....." was Jake's reply
Jake snarled at Rhiga
he remembered his mind go black and the next second seeing rhiga kick him in a place that he did not want to be kicked....
-
"I have over 1000 gold pieces" Adykon said. "They are stored in my bag of holding."
"They pay you well for your mercenary services, I see." Rhiga said to him.
-
"that is a lot of gold" said Sasha
-
"It is indeed" said Rhiga. "My family almost never got its hands on gold coins."
-
"that's not nice" said Sasha
"oh boo hoo!" said Jake
"don't be rude!" yelled Sasha
-
"Back to the point" Adykon said "I don't think that we have enough money to buy more than one or two items, so we will have to choose carefully."
-
"i have some gold coins that i have been saving........for 5 years, i have about 678 gold coins" said Rex
-
"Which one of you has a strong will?" Adykon said. "The weaker willed among us need more protection from mind-affecting magics."
-
"jake is weak minded" laughed Sasha
"shut up" said Jake
-
"first thing i buy is a crotch guard..." mumbled Jake
-
"To be fair, I might need one too" Rhiga said, looking at Adykon.
"You were attacking Jake, and I thought you might kill him." Adykon replied, realizing that she had heard him that time.
-
"how did Rhiga hear me?...." thought Jake
-
"Anyway, we should be going to the temple now, if you are all ready" Adykon said.
-
"i'm all set and ready to go" answered Jake
-
"I am ready, too" Rhiga said.
"So am I" said Selturma.
-
"As for detect magic I and I believe Sivar can detect and read magic. It was one of the first thing I learned." Kravik said, leaving out the spell or 2 he had spontaneously somehow cast himself.
Sivar nodded, "Yes, it was one of the first that I learned also." She said.
-
"That's good, but are you two ready to go?" Adykon said.
-
Kravik nodded his head, "I am." He said.
"I am also." Sivar said also nodding.
-
The rest of the party chimed in as well. They were all ready to go. "Okay, let's be off." Adykon said.
It took the party over an hour to get to the temple, partially because they had taken several wrong turns in the twisted streets of the city.
-
"So, this is the temple?" - Eriol began looking at the city's temple - "temples always have a different air on them, it will be good for a change."
-
Like all Dracon temples, this one was crowded. It was the main temple of the city, and as such, priests, hierodules, priestesses, attendants, mages, artisans, scribes, and many others could be seen moving around.
"Okay. We are here to buy magical items. We have no time to fool around, as it is possible that we are being tracked by powerful mages. We need to just get in, buy the items, and get out. No delays." Adykon said.
-
"Then I am all ears, I am not very fond to all that magical stuff. So I'll trust you'll know exactly where to start looking for." - Eriol said, always keeping a serious tone of voice and a rather un-emotional look on his face.
-
The party moved as a group, heading for the magical artisans of the temple.
-
"The inside of the temples are specially shielded and sanctified." Sivar said as they walked along.
Kravik nodded, "You can't even teleport into a temple, or around inside a temple, even if you have lived there your entire life." he said.
-
"Well, it is still a good idea to move quickly" Adykon said. "The faster we get things done, the less time we will be under the threat of wizard attack."
-
"i'm going to see if they have any books on alchemy, see ya" said Jake as he walked off
-
The party spent the next few hours searching for magic items to buy. Eventually, Adykon bought a ring of protection.
-
"do you think that ring will actually help?" asked Sasha
-
"It should help a bit, but it is all they have that we can afford." Adykon replied. "Once Jake is ready, we should leave the city and head south."
-
Jake came back holding a book
"i got this book for a very cheap price, it only cost me 3 pieces of gold to get it!!! how cheap" said Jake
-
"Sounds like too good a bargain to be true" Selturma said.
"Alright" Adykon added. "Are we all ready to go?"
-
"Have you looked in the book to see what it is like?" Kravik asked jake. "I do hope it will help you." he said.
"Maybe they had extras." Sivar said.
"Or few could use the information in the book so the demand is low." Kravik said.
-
"I hope it has some alchemy recipes for creating some shades. This upcoming desert will be hot." Rhiga said.
-
"it seems like a good book, and besides i already know how to create shades......but not for you (laughing)"
-
"Are we all ready to go now?" Adykon asked everyone else.
-
"sasha rex and i are ready" said jake
-
The rest of the party signaled its readiness to go.
"Alright then, we are off!" said Adykon, and the party left the city and began to go south.
-
"If the heat is bothering you I can cast an endure elements on you, it lasts about a day. I have it peramantly enchanted onto something I wear." Kravik said.
"I cast that spell first think in the morning." Sivar said. "Sometimes twice a day so I have some time left in the morning."
-
"I have a bracelet with a spell to help me withstand the heat of the desert..." - Eriol said to Sivar and Kravik as he rolled-up his right sleeve - "... so you can use your energies to help protect the others, since it seems the desert will only get worse."
-
"Alright, that all sounds very good" Adykon said. We will be going south for a number of days, so we will need to use magic to provide food and water for us in the sandy desert. We could be traveling for weeks."
-
Kravik nods, "A good thing to have in the desert and I"m sure between the 3 of us," Kravik says, looking at Sivar and Jake, "We can provide shelter, food and other things while we travel in the desert." He says.
Sivar nods, "I'm sure we can, so there should be no problems there." She says in agreement.
-
"If anyone gets thirsty i can use the sand to perform an alchemic trade to make water for us to drink" said Jake
-
Kravik nods, "That is good. Likely faster then me condensing water from what tiny bits of water is in the desert air, and saves the Sivar from making all the water, good idea." Kravik said.
-
"The more people with that knowledge the better, that can save all of us, specially if something happens and we get separated." - Eriol said. taking his look to the south. He doesn't like to be here, the desert is not the environment he has lived his entire life and that is why he made no comments about it, to avoid upsetting the other members of the party.
-
The party walked south for well over an hour. So far, nothing bad had happened yet, although Adykon couldn't help but wonder if they were being watched.
-
"my feet are getting sore" complained Sasha
-
"We can take a break, but not for too long." Adykon said. "Jake, is there anything you can do to get that human girl up on her feet faster?"
-
"Can you rub my feet Jake?" asked Sasha
"sure, but i'm only doing it so we can keep going" replied Jake
-
"How long is this going to take?" Adykon asked Jake and Sasha.
-
"about half an hour......thirty minutes in other words" said Jake
"this is so cool, thirty minute foot rub.." thought Sasha
-
Selturma saw Sasha getting a foot rub and wanted one of her own. "Rex, this has been a tough trip so far, do you... tuor ekess majak ve vi urac ylligul?"
-
"sure, why not" said Rex
-
Selturma lay down and put one of her clawed feet in Rex's hands. "Thanks, Rex."
-
"anything for you Selturma" said Rex
-
As the young females were enjoying themselves, a dragon who had been watching their party emerged. The large red Dragon swooped down and attacked, stunning the party. He made a beeline for Sasha.
-
"what the %$#@!?" yelled jake in surprise
-
Adykon raced to attack the Dragon, wounding it with his sword. For such a large beast, this was only a cut, but it gave Sasha and Jake the time they needed to dodge the attack.
-
"Sasha! use the time slowing spell! NOW!" yelled Jake
"okay!!!" yelled Sasha back
Sasha started chanting a spell, everything slowed down
-
The dragon itself took note, and spoke "A time slowing spell? How advanced for such a weak human. Still, it won't work on me. ANTI-MAGIC FIELD!" The effect undid all magics within in, including Sasha's spell.
-
Sasha was frozen because her spell was interupted
-
Kravik launched his acid breath at the dragon, using more dragon like skill & such to use it as a distance weapon, nothing magic about that. He did it to give him time to think of what else to do.
-
Realizing that prolonged battle with the party could be dangerous, the Dragon seized an alternate target. He grabbed Selturma, and before the party could stop him, he flew off... but not before Rhiga threw a dagger into the dragon's leg, which bled a little trickle of blood.
-
"nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!" yelled Rex
-
Just as before when Sasha had been taken, Adykon boldly leaped into action. "We need to find Selturma immediately" He said. "The dragon has flown off to the southwest. We need to follow. Kravik, Sivar, or whoever can track the dragon, do so now."
-
"I can track an object, the dagger that hit him or one of Selturma's possessions. For some reason the gods all forbid any sort of find person spell. I've no idea why. I heard druids are allowed a spell to find a specific animal though." Sivar said.
"That is pretty stupid." Kravik said.
"You'll have to take that up with the gods then." Sivar said in exasperation.
"Oh, I intend to. Maybe even become a god myself to undo some of this stupidity of what spells are allowed for priests and priestesses and which ones are not." Kravik said with all seriousness.
-
"Well, track it then!" "Rex, are you familiar with Selturma's scent?" Adykon said.
-
"come on then, let's go" said Jake
-
"yes i am" said Rex
-
"Ok. We need to use as many means of tracking her as we can. Let's use the spell and follow the scent." Adykon directed.
-
"what are we waiting for then, let's go!" commanded Jake
-
The party followed the trail, but after a point, the path led by the scent and the path led by the dagger split.
-
"why does the scent split?" asked Rex
-
"The dagger must have been removed." Adykon said. "Still, I see a small trail of the Dragon's blood leading the the southeast. We should continue on in that direction."
-
"Let's go" said Rex
-
The party continued on for a half hour. They came to a cave which they suspected to be the Dragon's lair.
-
"this is one big creepy cave" said Sasha as she walked closer to Jake and held his arm
-
The party came to a central chamber, where they saw the Dragon, and several cages. Two of those cages had a living creature in them... Dracons.
-
"This is similar to what we found when Sasha was abducted... this is all to make sacrifices?" - Eriol asked, angered, but still keeping a unemotional face.
-
"likely to some evil god or somesuch." Sivar said.
-
"I'm not sure what the Dragon wants" Adykon said.
-
"Maybe we should sacrifice that evil dragon to Bahamut." Kravik said.
-
"We need to free those prisoners." Adykon said
-
"I agree." - Eriol commented - "any ideas? one wrong move and it would be the end."
-
"Sounds like a specialty for a rogue or scout, moving quietly, picking locks, while the others provide a distraction and hopefuly kill an evil dragon." Kravik said.
"I've have more usefull combat spells if I were in invoker or one of those types." Sivar said.
-
"I didn't came here to be a hero, but I can help here... I can open locks" - Eriol suggested to the others.
-
"I'll do it" Rhiga said. "I'm very stealthy."
-
"i can distarct the dragon, while you all free Selturma and the other prisoners" said Jake
-
"Ok Jake. You do that. " Rhiga said.
-
"I've idea how to pick a lock. My acid ball or acid breath wil make a lot of noise and likely hurt the prisoners too." Kravik said.
"I can try praying for a neutral or good dragon god to come here to unlock the cells they are in but it's likely not to work unless Tiamat is on a rampage in this cave which I doubt." Sivar said.
-
"ok rhiga, let's go!" said Jake
-
"Ok. If you also want to come with me, you can, Sivar." Rhiga said.
"I need your power with me, Kravik." Adykon said. "We will need to assist Jake."
-
"let's get this rescue on a roll" said Jake
-
"If you have enough people opening the locks and rescue the prisoners, then let me go with you as a distraction." - The Panther said, his weapons ready.
-
"Ok. You do that Eriol" Adykon said. "Let's go."
Rhiga began sneaking towards the cages.
-
Kravik shrugs, "Sure, don't see why."
-
"let's go!" said Jake as he charged off
(alchemy turning his arm into a sword)
-
"Just give the word Adykon." - Eriol said, as an almost evil smiled appeared on his face.
-
As Rhiga sneaked towards the cages, she saw Selturma, and another female in a cage next to her. Her scent confirmed her identity before her sight did.
"Mother?!" Rhiga said.
-
"hey ugly! over here!" yelled Jake
-
Rhiga picked the locks, releasing Selturma and her mother, Vaeri. What the dancer was doing here was a matter to be answered later. Neither of the females had any garments, as the Dragon had removed them, but now was not the time to worry about that.
-
Sivar went with the rogue, not seeing how she'd be of any use in either location.
Kravik cast an elemental shift spell so his resistance shifted from acid to fire, and giving 1 adjacent ally the same slight resistance he had to fire.
-
"hey! pee brain!" yelled Jake
-
"Rhiga!" Vaeri said. "I don't know how you found me, but-"
"No time, mother!" Rhiga said. "We've got to get out of here."
"The dragon is angry now!" Said Selturma. "Look!"
-
"oh shit!!!" yelled Jake as he dodged one of the dragons fireballs
-
One of the fireballs hit the ramp which led to the cages, cutting off the escape route which Rhiga, Vaeri, and Selturma would take.
-
Kravik cast the fireshield spell, the variety to so he'd take less damage from fire based attacks.
-
"what the-" was all that Jake had managed to say before he was in the dragons mouth
-
Adykon cut the dragon on the snout, freeing Jake.
-
Kravik sent a lightning bolt at the dragon.
-
"im alive!!!, thank you adykon" said Jake
-
"Don't mention it, kid" Adykon said.
-
Sasha casted a protective spell on the party
-
"Can you create a rope?" Rhiga said to Jake and Sasha.
-
"yep, ill make one now" said Jake
Jake slammed his hands against the rocky wall and some steaks of lightning came out of the wall and a rope appeared.
(http://i7.tinypic.com/212amqg.jpg)
-
"Someone throw the rope to us, and tie one end to your side!" Rhiga said.
-
Kravik looked at Adykon, "you're the strongest one here likely, I doubt I could throw ti very far since I'm just a sorcerer and not a fighter type." He said.
-
"I'll throw it!" Adykon threw the rope to the females.
-
"the rope should help" yelled Jake
(lol)
-
"i think they knew that...." said Sasha
"i know, im trying to annoy rhiga" replied Jake
-
"Let's go! Selturma, can you cross a ro-" Rhiga said.
Selturma ran across the rope as if it were a wide path.
-
"Funny enough Jake." - Eriol said as he kept on throwing arrows to the dragon using his crossbow, as he aims for his adversary's head and did his best to dodge any incoming attacks. - "Selturna will cross fast, we gained time there... and we need the extra time!."
-
"Can you walk over the rope mom? I didn't think to ask if you-" Rhiga said.
"I've been balancing on ropes like these 20 years before you were hatched. It was I who taught you how to do it. I can still manage, Rhiga." Vaeri replied.
-
Sivar got down since she'd have to cross the rope hanging up side down. She moved using her hands, keeping 1 ankle on the rope to help support her weight, switching ankles when one started to get to warm from the friction on the rope and she crossed as fast as she safely could.
-
"eat some of your own medicine!" yelled Jake as he snapped his fingers
A fireball came from his hand and it hit the dragons eye
-
Kravik cast a dragon spell of sharpclaws to make his claws slightly longer and sharper, doubting his small spells or weapons would do much against a true dragon.
Sivar made it across and got up, deciding she's wait to do anything about the minor rope burns on her ankles till later on.
-
"there's no stopping this thing!" yelled Jake
-
"Can you do a bulls strength?" Kravik asked Sivar who nodded and cast that spell on him, incfreasing his strength while he cast another dragon spell, sharpfangs on himself. He was ready to now do what he could next.
-
The dragon staggered back. "Argh!" He yelled.
-
Kravik did a dimension door to try to short range teleport onto the dragon's back then try to use his magically enhanced claws and fangs to claw and bite at it's neck. Not thinking his low level spells and puny weapons would do it any harm.
-
The Dragon was caught off-guard, and Kravik did some damage to the Dragon, which took to the air, and tried to throw Kravik off, with no success.
-
Sivar cast a searing light, a beam of damaging sunlight blasting from her open palm at the dragon to try to do some damage to it. "Tamara's rage." She said
-
Rhiga and Vaeri ran across the rope, leaving it behind as they ran for their lives.
-
"im so glad your safe" said Rex to Selturma
-
Selturma said "I'm glad that your are safe too, but we really have to go now."
-
"let's go!" said Rex
-
Adykon stabbed the dragon repeatedly with his sword. When the dragon saw that the party would escape, he flew up, and out of a large hole in the ceiling of his cave.
"This isn't over yet" Adykon thought.
-
Kravik continued to try to bite and claw the dragon to give the others a chance to get away. Sivar sent another damaging searing light at the dragon to try to damage it also.
-
Eventually, the Dragon escaped, but Kravik and Sivar had hurt it badly.
-
"let's get a move on everybody" said Jake
-
"are you two okay?" asked Sasha
-
--
-
"Good idea. I see we have rescued another captive of the dragon. What is your... holy-! Vaeri?!" Adykon said.
"(gasp) How is it that you know my mother?" Rhiga said.
"You know my daughter? Who are y-? Adykon!" Vaeri said.
-
Kravik used an overland travel spell while falling stop his fall then a phantom steed spell, calling up what looked like a spectral horse (but those who knew of such knew it wasn't really a ghost horse, just a magical spectral construct that looks like it's made of smoke & makes no sound ), so he could quickly get back to where the others were since it could travel far far faster then his very slow overland flight spell.
-
"you two know each other?" asked Jake
-
Vaeri let out a squeal which sounded like a mix between delight and excitement.
"You're alive!" she said. "You survived the war!"
Adykon approached her, and gave her a hug.
-
Sivar shrugged and went over to where Kravik was arriving. "How are you?" She asked.
"I'd have been goo if not for that spell, though it's the same speed as a jog it is handy and lasts." Kravik said.
"Then you did this one?" Sivar said indicating the horse made of smoke, she had seen some wizards and sorcerers at the temple use the spell before. "I guess since it is much faster." Sivar said to which Kravik nodded, "it sure is." He said.
-
"now i'm really confused" said Jake
-
"Jake, this is Vaeri. She's an... old friend." Adykon said.
"You can tell the human, Adykon. It's okay" Vaeri said with a smile.
-
"okay then" said Jake
-
"I was away at war for a while, and before I left, I knew Vaeri here as a... girlfriend."
"Oh, we were a lot more than that" Vaeri said, with a laugh.
"I left with a mercenary group to go fight for a while to earn some money." Adykon continued. "I had only intended to be gone for six months."
"That's what you told me" Vaeri said.
"But, my unit was taken several times farther away than I thought it would be, and when the war was over, I was trying to get back, but I got... delayed."
"You took on other work?" Vaeri asked.
"Yes. That, and it was difficult for me to make my trip back, given the distance. I would travel from one city to another, getting closer each time."
"Where were you sent to? Originally?" Vaeri asked.
"The far northern coast" Was Adykon's reply.
"Oh. That's on the other side of our lands." Vaeri said. "It would take a long time to return from there."
-
"that is not very good for you, having to get moved further away each time" said Sasha
-
"The fighting was hard" Adykon said. That part was true.
"It was also much longer than I thought it would be." That part was not true. In fact, the struggle took only a short while.
Rhiga interrupted. "Mother, how do you know Adykon?"
"A few years after you left Hekaga, I met Adykon at an inn" Vaeri said.
"You meet a lot of males at an inn, mother" Rhiga said.
"Yes, but this time was... different." Vaeri responded.
"She saw me more than just one night only." Adykon said.
Vaeri found that humeorus, and her large tiotleglas bounced up and down as she laughed.
-
Sivar & Kravik got back to where the rest of the group was. "So how is everyone, anyone need healing?" Sivar asked.
"Looks like we have another group member." Kravik said.
-
"Hello. I don't believe that we have been introduced. My name is Selturma" she said to Vaeri.
"Pleased to meet you." was Vaeri's reply.
"We're on an adventure to find a statue from the lost city." Selturma said.
"Heheh. I've already been on an adventure, or at least, I was captured by that dragon when he launched a raid into Hekaga. Days later, he dropped me here." Vaeri replied.
-
"Did he say why?" Kravik asked.
-
"He kept calling me a 'morsel'" Vaeri said. "As it is, he was going to eat me. At least my children back home know what to do if I am missing; to go to various neighbors and relatives. It's a good thing I've set that up in case of an emergency."
-
"that is a good idea" said Sasha
-
"But now, fate has brought us together again, Adykon" Vaeri said. "It will all be fine now."
"Wait... you mean to tell me that you have been able to settle down with a single male since I left?" Rhiga said.
"Well... At first, yes. Then, after he left for his mission... I thought he was dead, so I-"
"You are forgiven!" Adykon said, as he wasn't faithful either, but she didn't know that.
"...let's just say this is a new beginning for us, my love." Vaeri said to Adykon. "Do you notice anything different about me now?" She said to him, showing off her lithe body.
"You still look as good as ever." Adykon said with a smile, noticing that the Dragon had taken her clothes from her.
-
"Maybe we can get a message to your oldest male child or friendly male neighbor who can tell the others you are ok." Kravik said, not being chauvinist, but knowing how dracon society was any of her male children would have more freedom then females would.
-
"Yes, that would be good. Please, if it is possible, tell them that I am alive, but I don't know when I will return." Vaeri said.
It suddenly dawned on Adykon what was different about Vaeri since the last time he had seen her.
"You laid the egg." He said.
-
"how about i make you some clothes Vaeri" said Jake
-
"You can make that, human?" Vaeri said. "What is your name?"
Adykon realized that it was his child's egg that was laid, but didn't know if he wanted to know about if it had hatched... 25% of eggs didn't.
-
"my name is Jake, i am an alchemist" replied Jake
(http://jamesesz.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/ed.jpg)
-
"Well Jake, I don't want to trouble you..." Vaeri said. "To tell you the truth, I kind of like walking around like this... although when we get to a settlement, it would be good to put on some clothes."
-
"okay" said Jake "i'll make you some clothes now"
-
"You can borrow mine." Sivar said looking at Vaeri
-
"It's okay." Vaeri said. "Just make me a small loincloth, Jake."
-
"okay....." said Jake
-
Jake made the loincloth appear:
(http://www.testriffic.com/resultfiles/935thong2.jpg)
It looked very good for Vaeri's tastes... although such a norm was not exactly all that palatable for humans.
"Thanks Jake." She said, while putting it on.
-
"erm.....your welcome...." was all Jake said
-
Adykon knew that he had to ask her...
"Vaeri. The egg you layed..." he said.
"It is a son. Your son." Vaeri said. "The priests at the temple confirmed it."
-
"Very handy spell." Sivar said.
-
"How long ago did he hatch?" Adykon asked.
"Over a year ago." said Vaeri. "He has your skin color, and my eyes."
-
"I bet he's really cute looking." Sivar said imagine what the hatchling or child would look like.
-
"i like babies, they are so cute" said Sasha
-
"He is indeed cute" Vaeri said. "He's never seen his father, though."
-
"I'm sure he will." Sivar said.
-
"He is in the care of some relatives now." Vaeri said. "At least, he should be, if my other children listened to me and did what I told them to do if I went missing. He's the first child of mine whose father is known to me."
-
"A special child then." Sivar said.
-
"I haven't named him yet... but for now, I call him 'kosjurac.' Vaeri said. "I was waiting for you to return and name him, Adykon."
-
"are we going to get a move on, before we get attacked again?" asked Jake
-
"Good idea" Adykon said "We need to keep heading south to get to the lost city."
-
"alright then, let's go" said jake
-
"Lets see hwo far we can go the rest of the day." Kravik said, still atop his phantom steed. The spell would last quite a while so he figured why waist it. He'd let another ride it but the nature of the spell was such only 1 could ride it, the one the spell was cast for.
-
The party traveled all day, and when the sun was starting to do down, the party decided to make camp and set up the cottages.
-
"it's been a very long day today" Said Jake
-
"Kravik, Sivar" Adykon said "See if you can set up some cottages and some food and water please."
-
Kravik nodded, counted the folks present and guessed how many cottages they'd need and cast spells maing them, keeping them close together, but not to close.
Sivar cast the food & water creation spell, again a mix of highly nutritious but more bland tasting food and party food along with pure water and some various party drinks. Kravik used cantrips to adjust the temperature of the drinks down so they were cool, thinking that may be more pleasant to drink in a desert.
-
"who would like to me to make a shower and a bath?" asked Jake
-
"I would!" said Selturma.
-
"okay" replied Jake
Alchemy was doing its work and a shower and a bath appeared
-
"Wow! It looks so good. I haven't had a good bath in too long" said Selturma.
-
Kravik cast a clean cantrip on himself to clean himself off, leaving himself clean, and any metal looking as if it had been polished.
-
Eriol was silent the whole way, he began looking at Adykon and Vaeri. - "I hope your kids are fine Vaeri, and I guess Adykon's child must be fine too..." - He said. - "...someday I'll complete my mission and return home with my own son." - The Panther is not really into talking much about himself, but he was thinking about his son Isaac since he knew about Adykon and Vaeri's kid.
-
Vaeri was thrilled to see that her hut contained a bed. She entered the hut and jumped into it.
"Oh, this feels so good. I haven't felt a bed this comfortable in all my life."
"The beds we slept on at the inn were always kind of... worn." Adykon said to her as he entered the room.
"Oh Adykon, this is a great day! I'm free, we're back together again, and we get to sleep in our own private cottage. There's one more thing which would make this day perfect..." Vaeri said.
-
Kravik went to start on the food and water, eating slowly and a little for now.
-
Rhiga went to her room and relaxed. She wondered what she would do now; she was "interested in" Adykon, but her mother had him first...
-
Seeing the others were busy Sivar went over and started serving herself some of the food and drink also.
-
Selturma asked Rex if he wanted to join her in the tub. Such actions might have been a violation of privacy for humans, but Dracons were okay with it.
-
Kravik finished his snack and rested a bit.
-
Rhiga thought about the past day's events. She was happy to see her mother safe and alive, but at the same time, resented the "competition" for Adykon's attentions, especially with the news that Adykon had fathered one of her half-siblings.
-
Sivar finished eating for now. She went into a cottage to sit own on a bed and rest for a bit.
-
Adykon and Vaeri shut the door of their cottage. They had a lot of "catching up" to do.
-
Eriol asked to have his own cottage, after he ate something, he went inside, and spent most of the night meditating, about what has happened and about what happened to him before he met the party.
-
Rhiga decided to get some sleep.
-
Kravik ate some then went ot sleep in a cottage alone. Sivar ate & drank a bit more then went to sleep in a cottage by herself.
-
Adykon and Vaeri enjoyed their first night back together again... but there would be hard times ahead.
-
Kravik meditated a bit before going to sleep in his cottage.
Sivar did some rituals before going to sleep in her cottage.
-
The next day, the party woke up bright and early.
-
Kravik and Sivar awoke separately and exited from their cottages.
"Does everyone have enough food still?" Sivar asked.
-
"I have enough." Adykon said, "Vaeri will be joining us later... she is... relaxed at the moment."
-
"Sure, there is plenty." Sivar said as she started on piking out food to eat for breakfast with a partial mix of a bit less then 30 percent weak alchohol and 70 percent water..
-
The party sat down to eat. After a while, Vaeri emerged, looking as relaxed as Rhiga did a while ago.
-
Sivar waved her over, "Come on, there's plenty of food and a variety of drinks." She said.
"Yes, quite a variety." Kravik said, picking out some for himself before he started to eat his breakfast.
-
"Indeed there is" Vaeri said. "It's been a while since I've seen so much food in one place, and that I am allowed to eat some of it" she said with a smile.
-
"Go ahead." Sivar said.
-
"The food is good, much better than other places I've been before." - Eriol said, as he grabbed a glass and drank a bit of it's content.
-
Rhiga took some of the food. It really was good.
-
Sivar and Kravik continued to eat & drink their breakfast at a leisurely pace till satisfied,though not totally full, since they'd likely want to go to sleep afterwards.
-
The party finished breakfast. "Are we all ready to go?" Adykon asked.
-
"I am." Kravik said, after having cast a clean cantrip on himself and his stuff to insure he was clean.
Sivar finished doing her cleaning after breakfast. "I am as well." She said, making sure she was fully ready after finishing up her cleaning after her breakfast was finished.
-
"Me too" said Rhiga.
"I'm ready" said Selturma.
-
"we are ready as well" answered jake
-
"Let's be off, then" Adykon said.
The party continued south.
-
Kravik took his usual position, not out in front since he likely did better doing distance attacks.
Sivar did her best to try to stay around the middle of the group, incase they were attacked form the front, either side or back she'd have some protection and those better at attacking then her would have a more clear shot at anyone attacking.
-
The party traveled for several hours. Nothing had happened, but they did not let their guard down for a second.
-
"So far so good." Kravik said, trying to find a positive angle.
-
At one point, a sandstorm hit the party, but no one was lost or injured in any way.
-
"How annoying." Sivar said, dusting sand from her body and clothes.
-
"It is annoying, it will take a while to take all the sand off my fur. But I guess this is a prize to pay to be in the desert." - Eriol said visible annoyed for the situation.
-
Kravik cast a clean cantrip and was all clean again. He looked at Eriol, "I can do a clean cantrip if you want that should get the sand out quickly." He said.
-
Eriol looked at Kravik - "If that's not asking too much, then ok, that would come in handy."
-
Kravik nodded and cast a clean cantrip to clean all of Eriol's body and his belongings as well, leaving him and his stuff clean and any metal looking polished, if that would be it's new appearance.
-
"Wow, my stuff look better than before I arrived to this desert." - Eriol said as he looked at his weapons and the rest of his belonging, he then gave a small smile as he said. - "Nice job Kravik."
-
After a few more hours, the party noticed something.
"Did you feel that?" Selturma said.
"Feel what?" Adykon asked.
"The ground, it is harder" was Selturma's reply.
The other female Dracons in the party chimed in.
"I feel it too." Said Rhiga
"It feels like stone instead of sand" Vaeri added.
Adykon brushed away some of the sand on the ground to reveal a long-hidden road. They weren't at the lost city yet, but they were getting close.
Following the road, they came to the ruins of a town. This was too small to be the lost city, but it was probably an outlying town which had traded with the city in the distant past.
(http://farm1.static.flickr.com/143/323697122_43d6110fce.jpg)
-
"Surely this place may have been very active in ancient times." - Eriol said as he began looking at the ruins.
-
"It must be thousands of years old" Adykon said.
-
"I'm glad the cantrip helped he said to Eriol." Kravik said.
Noticing the comments about the stone Kravik nodded, "I read some countries & empires have actual roads, developed first to speed the moving and deployment of troops. Merchants make their own roads to do much the same for their goods."
"Better then walking on then sand,though there are worst things to walk on then sand." Sivar said.
-
"It will make our trip faster" Rhiga said "If walking on stone roads doesn't hurt."
-
"Kingdoms that have manage to prosper began building more roads. But their function began basically the same, for better transport of troops and goods, as Kravik said." - Eriol began walking in the road, as it is easier for him to move now than in the sand.
-
"I don't see why such things have to be built" Selturma said. "Isn't what nature gives us enough?"
-
"Personally, I prefer to walk on the grass, but since there is a total lack of it here then these roads are the most similar to what I have back in my homeland." - Eriol commented and added. - "but you have enough options to use the roads if you like or not."
-
"Grass? That's like a luxury around here" Rhiga said. "Rich Dracons keep large gardens which are full of grass. It feels really good to walk on."
"For females anyway." Selturma added.
"I don't see why you like a silly little plant so much; you can't eat it, and few things can be made out of it."
"(sigh) Males..." Vaeri said
-
"From where I come from, grass can be as abundant as the sand here." - Eriol said - "And it is indeed nice to walk on it. Some grass can be tall... tall enough that could reach your waist." - The was a nostalgic sounding in the Panther's voice.
-
"I also don't see why some other races wear... what do you call them?" Rhiga said.
"Sandals and shoes" Vaeri said. "I think the general term for those things is 'footwear'. Seem like a waste of time."
-
"They are a waste of time, humans are the ones that love using lots of footwear. I have to use sandals because I am not used to walk in the sand yet, and we Panthers have different footprints than any of you. I don't want the guy I am pursuing to know where I am exactly." - Eriol tried to answer, but only under his own personal opinion about it.
-
"Maybe we will come to some grass later; who knows what this lost city looks like" Rhiga said.
-
"Grass, I heard that it is pleasant to walk on." Sivar said.
"And I read some use some longer grass to make baskets and some other things like rope using some weaving techniques." Kravik said.
-
"Well, there is none of it here" Adykon said "So it is best to stop worrying about it."
-
"At least this may be a sign we are getting close, but who knows what may be lurking in these ruins." Kravik said.
-
"Stay alert everyone" Adykon said. "These ruins are excellent cover for anyone who could be planning to attack us."
-
"yes, and if they do we'll make them pay." Kravik said looking around to keep alert and trying to keep up everyone's spirits.
-
"We also need to watch for traps" Selturma said.
-
"I like that attitude." - Eriol said as he shows a sly grin.
-
The party walked through the town, Adykon got the feeling that they were being watched... again.
-
"I can do a spell to look for traps, but it wont last very long." Sivar said.
-
"That's okay" Adykon said. "I think that we are surrounded by traps, and so, your spell should detect them all."
-
"If you find any traps, i will disarm them if you like" said Rex
-
"The won't be necessary" said a voice.
Adykon turned around to see a group of 5 dracons in behind the party, and another 8 in front of them.
-
"who are you?" asked Jake
-
"Who we are matter less than what you are doing" said one of the dracons who now surrounded the party.
"The statue you are seeking... it is a trap" said another one of them.
"It has a curse" said a third dracon.
-
"what?........" replied Jake
-
"How do you know our quest?!" Adykon said.
"I don't trust them. They just want to scare us off so they can take the treasure for themselves!" Rhiga exclaimed.
-
"should i attack?" jake asked Adykon
-
"Hold on, Jake! We should listen to them, see if we can't avoid a conflict."
"We have been sent by the mages who guard the statue" said a Dracon who was evidently the leader of this group. "All we ask is that you turn back now, and no harm shall come to you. If you do not turn back, then you shall die."
-
"that sounds like a threat" said Jake and Rex
-
"I should be the one warning you!" Adykon said to the other dracons. "Get out of our way, or we shall cut our way through you!"
-
"please get out of the way....i don't like violence" said Sasha
-
"This is your last warning!" said the leader of the Dracons who were in the way.
"Are you so blinded by greed as not to heed our warning?!" said another Dracon. "You don't know what you are doing!"
-
"can i have the first go?" Jake asked Adykon
-
"Very well, Jake." Adykon said. "Attack!"
-
(http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/4439/338858-171082-edward-elric_super.jpg)
-
"They're using magic! You know what to do!" said one of the dracons.
"Let's hope that this works..." another dracon replied, as he pulled out a crystal, and dropped it on the ground. A sphere of dull light emanated from the crystal.
-
"More evil ones." Sivar said, picking out who seemed to be the leader. She lifted her palm at him casting a damaging searing light, "Spear of Tamara."
"So many servants of Tiamat here & wherever we seem to go. To bad I didn't study to be Paladin instead." Kravik said.
-
At that moment, something odd happened; all of the magic on the battlefield was negated, on all sides; the crystal was emanating an anti-magic field.
-
"at least i'm not effected" thought Jake
-
Kravik used his acid as a distance weapon again, aiming at the leader, as he pulled out his twin Katars.
Sivar pulled out her warfans. "Ah, servants of Tiamat indeed they are revealed to be." She said.
-
"I don't know what you did, but it didn't work!" Adykon said as he drew his sword.
"Only a few of them use magic!" said the leader of the opposing dracons. Pulling out a pair of curved sword, he said "Very well, let's settle this the old-fashioned way"
-
"Kill the evil doers for Bahamut and Tamara." Kravik and Sivar said together.
-
Adykon and Rhiga found themselves fighting for their lives. Selturma was outmatched and in trouble; all she could do was dodge and maybe get in a hit or two, but she couldn't beat her opposition.
-
Eriol took both of his swords and moved closer to Selturna - "Selturna, try to get closer to Rex and Jake!" - After that, he began fighting of some of the attacking Dracons, using his left arm to block incoming attacks, while delivering attacks on his own using his right hand.
-
Kravik did his best, though he had not the training of a fighter type like Adykon.
Sivar kept close to Kravik or one of the other more trained in physical combat.
-
Adykon attacked the leader and found himself evenly matched. Rhiga was falling back, as was Selturma.
-
Kravik continued to fight, as well as did Sivar, but neither of them were trained with a lot of weapon fighting, instead trained to rely on their magic, and were maybe outmatched if their opponants were trained to use their weapons more then any magic they may have.
-
Adykon knew he had to do something quickly. He gave Rhiga a hand motion, indicating that she would get behind the enemy leader and crouch down into a ball. She did so, and Adykon pushed the leader, tripping him over Rhiga. He then stabbed downward, into the his face, killing him.
-
"Adykon! most of our party relies on magic, we must find a way to take out that rock they have!" - Eriol shouted, as he blocked an incoming attack from a nearby enemy with his left arm. He then used his right arm's sword to attack and cut his adversary's arm off, using the time given to him by the Dracon as he screamed in pain, Eriol used a combined attack of both his swords to finish off the attacker by cutting off his head.
-
Adykon was confronted by another opponent, but Rhiga attacked him too, giving Adykon the time he needed to shatter the anti-magic game in just one hit. The anti-magic field faded immediately.
-
Seeing they were outnumbered Sivar stepped back and summoned some additional help, a few chaotic good celestial eagles to help them.
Kravik seeing the larger numbers decided to go with 1 instead of several and jumped back & summoned a lawful good Archon hound, a canine headed humanoid figure.
-
The appearance of new opponents and the death of their leader, along with the loss of the anti-magic gem were enough to make the remaining enemy dracons give up and run for it.
-
Eriol saw how Kravik and Sivar's magic was returning, he smiled at that, seeing he has less to worry about. He gave a sly grin and began fighting against another Dracon, killing him before he could escape with the others.
-
"Let them go, Eriol" Adykon said. "We need time to regroup and recover."
-
Eriol began running in pursuit of the other Dracons when Adykon shouted, the Panther stopped and looked back at him - "And who are you to tell me what to do!?" - Eriol is looking at Adykon with an evil smile, as Dracon blood is filling his swords and a bit on his face.
-
"What?" "Eriol! There's no need to do this!" Adykon said.
-
"Looks like he has bloodlust or has gone berserk." Kravik said.
-
"Will you try to stop me if I refuse?" - The Panther got closer to the Adykon, his eyes are those of a bloodthirsty assassin. He stopped just a meter in front of the party's leader.
-
"Stand down, Eriol!" Adykon ordered. "You need to get a hold of yourself."
-
Eriol began laughing. - "To hold of myself? what for? this is just too fun to make it stop!"
-
"Please stop this, Eriol" Adykon said. "You're acting even worse than a Dracon does!"
"Did... you just insult your our race?" Rhiga said.
"Well, I will admit that an angry Dracon male acts in a similar way, and some females do too... but that's not the point. What we all need to do is to calm down and plan our next move."
"Calm is nice." Vaeri said.
-
Sivar looked at some of the others, "Is anyone in need of healing?" She asked then set about healing those who needed healing. Kravik took the chance to rest and wait for the healing as he kept watch.
-
"Can you heal Eriol, Sivar?" Adykon said. "I don't know if your powers extend to calming angry warriors..."
-
"I guess not you or me have a way to know..." - Eriol said making a swift move on both his swords to expel the excess of blood on them and then storing them back to their sheaths. - "I'll keep following your lead Adykon, just don't get close to me for a while." - he said as he began walking closer to the ruins.
-
"That's good enough" Adykon said. "Let's just keep going."
-
Eriol was a bit away of the rest of the party, he was thinking - "What was about to do? I wanted to kill him... I wanted to kill them all!." - he closed his eyes very hard, baring his teeth. - "I need you Arianne!....". - He kept silent the whole time, and after some moments, he opened his eyes again, and they were not the eyes of an assassin... he is Eriol again now.
-
The party walked through the ruins, and came to a very straight stretch of road. "This must lead to the lost city" Adykon said.
The part walked onwards, and came to a narrow valley between two mountains. The road stretched on, but there was a gate with walls which was blocking the road.
"Which of you females is best at climbing?" Adykon asked, knowing how good Dracon females were at climbing.
"I think I am" Rhiga said, knowing her past experiences.
"Okay, Rhiga. I need you to climb over the wall and open the gate. Is there any male here who is good at climbing? I can climb myself, but I need to stay here to watch this side of the gate."
-
Eriol came closer to the group - "I can do it, Rhiga may need the assiatance if there is something in the other side." - The Panther took a moment to take off his sandals and store them in a pocket of his backpack, he then crouched, calculating the distance between nearby rocks and details of the gates he could grab on and gave a big jump, grabbing himself and starting to climb.
-
Rhiga climbed up the wall as well. Within under a minute, they were both on the other side of the wall.
"You're a pretty good climber" Rhiga said, "You're almost as fast as I am."
-
Eriol looked at her. - "Thanks. You are very agile too." - Eriol got closer to the gate and began turning the winch.
-
The gate began to rise, and soon, it was risen and the gate was open.
-
Eriol gave some steps back, leaning against a wall as he waited for the rest of the party to cross the gates.
-
"Thanks, Eriol." Adykon said.
-
"This is a great spot for an ambush." Kravik said looking around and trying to keep alert.
Sivar did likewise.
-
Fortunately, no ambush came. The party moved on, going south down the road.
-
"It seems to easy." Kravik said.
"They may be waiting till we are in a certain spot before the trap is sprung." Sivar said.
-
The party was still within sight of the gate. Nothing had happened, but that could change at any second...
-
Kravik and Sivar kept as alert as they could, expecting an attack from anywhere at any second.
-
The party looked around, alert and ready to defend itself... but no attack came.
"Perhaps we are being a bit paranoid" Adykon said.
-
"I doubt it." Kravik said still looking around alert.
"They've been pretty evil so far and determined." Sivar said.
-
"Okay. Let's check for traps. Rhiga--" Adykon said.
"I'm on it" She replied.
-
"Maybe best we wait here." Kravik said.
"Be careful & good luck." Sivar said.
-
Rhiga checked for traps and found none. She did, however, catch the scent of a dragon... one she had smelled before. It was the scent of the dragon who had captured Selturma and Vaeri earlier.
-
"Everything has been... too quiet. I wish I am wrong, but this looks like 'the calm before the storm'." - Eriol said, still keeping some distance from the main group.
-
The party continued to move down the road, slowly.
-
"I agree, it is to quiet, and to easy. Just be ready for whatever will happen." Kravik said.
Sivar kept as alert as she could as they traveled.
-
"this place gives me the creeps..." said Jake
-
"Indeed." Sivar said.
Kravik cast an overland flight spell. He could not fly fast, but it did last a very long time and would give the group, & himself an extra option.
-
The party walked down the road until it turned into a dirt path; the pavement just stopped, but the dirt path continued south, even though there was sand all around it.
Suddenly, several stirges attacked the party, coming seemingly out of nowhere.
(http://thelosthope.com/images/stirge.jpg)
-
"What are these creatures!" - Eriol asked, trying to get his sight in more than one at once, he grabbed his crossbow and began aiming at them.
-
Kravik flew up into the air shooting a magic missile at a few, to judge their power level.
"stirges." Kravik said, having read about them and seen illustrations & some simple illusions done by some bards while telling their stories, but never having seen on in rl.
-
"Well, this is your chance." - Eriol said as he began shooting at the stirges, taking down two of them.
-
Several of the stirges fell to the magic and crossbow attacks.
-
To save her magic & shuriken ammo Sivar used her sling to try to hit one of the Stirges also with a distance weapon.
-
Two of the stirges attacked Rhiga. She fought one with her daggers, and was winning, but the second one attacked her from behind and cut her with its stinger.
-
Eriol aimed his crossbow and fired at the atirge attacking Rhiga, but at that time, another stirge attacked Eriol, making him to fall down.
-
Rhiga, who was saved from the stirge by Eriol, threw a dagger at the new stirge attacking him, killing it.
-
Sivar threw a shuriken at the one attacking Eriol while Kravik used a magic missile at another 1 or 2. Glad he was able to do more then 1 magic missle, though it was a very low power spell it did have it's uses.
-
Eriol saw the stirge been killed by a dagger and a shuriken, he was able ti stand up again - "Nice shot ladies!" - he said as he grabbed his crossbow again and return to the fight.
-
Rhiga went to check on Eriol. "Are you alright?" she said to him.
-
Eriol saw that the stirge managed to sting him in his left shoulder - "It managed to sting me, but ignore it, I'm fine." - He said and then shooted at another stirge that was getting closer to Sivar.
-
The stirges lost so many of their number that they had to retreat.
"That was odd." Adykon said. "Stirges don't normally appear in the desert. They must have been summoned by those mages..."
"Eriol, your shoulder was stung!" Rhiga said.
"As was your right leg" Selturma said to Rhiga.
-
"Who's injured?" Sivar asked as Kravik stayed in the air to keep watch from a higher advantage.
Sivar went over to Eriol and the other wounded folks and used her healing magic to heal the ones who looked injured.
-
"Thanks, Sivar. That's better, but my leg is still sore." Rhiga said. "How are you feeling, Eriol?"
-
"Thank you Sivar." - Eriol said and bowed his head to Sivar in a way to say thanks respectfully. He then looked at Rhiga. - "It seems the shoulder will hurt for a bit, but I suppose a sting in a leg should hurt more."
-
"It does hurt." Rhiga said. "Do you want to rub it for me?"
-
Eriol looked at Rhiga with much surprise - "Why do you ask me that?" - He didn't want to sound unrespectful. - "Maybe Adykon can help you better with this. Sorry." - The Panther grabbed his injured left shoulder with his right hand and walked where the dead stirges are, so he can recover his arrows.
-
"I'll help you with your leg, Rhiga" Adykon said.
"Would you? Thanks!" She said.
"Be gentle on her, Adykon, she is one of my daughters." Vaeri said.
"Don't worry, mother, he is good." Rhiga said.
Adykon proceeded to rub Rhiga's leg, then the party moved on.
-
Sivar used the opportunity to recover her Shuriken and if possible sling stone. If one can recover a used weapon why not do so, she thought. She and Kravik went along with the others when they started to move on.
"It seems they are indeed proving their evil." Kravis said.
-
A few days passed without incident, then, in the distance, they finally saw it... the lost city:
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/PalmyraPanoramaZoom.jpg)
-
"I really hate running into things, i hope that something worse doesn't come" mumbled Jake
-
"wow its so big" said Sasha
-
The party approached the city, and found that the wall was breached in many places, enabling them to enter easily.
-
"& messy." Sivar said.
"I wonder what fell unholy gods they worshiped here, or demons masquarading as gods." Kravis said.
"And the lost knowledge also." Sivar said.
"Maybe a lot of that indeed." Kravik said, interesting himself. "Though I'm sure someone or something has laid a trap or ambush or both."
-
"I see many buildings which could have been temples" Adykon said. "I can't tell who they were dedicated to, though."
-
"Any clue where would be that statue you are looking for?" - Eriol asked as he is looking at the different ruins of temples and ruins of other structures in that desolated place.
-
"I have no idea" Adykon said. "But we know what the name of the statue is, and we have seen what it looks like, so we should be able to locate it in time."
-
"That's good. Then by you all knowing that, we must just worry to not get fried by those mages." - The Panther said, getting his hand close to his swords, just in case.
-
"Likely whereever those evil mages of Tiamat are hiding, I'd guess." Kravik said.
-
"come on, let's go" said Jake
-
The party came to the ruins of a long abandoned temple.
(http://www.homsonline.com/images/DuraEuropos/DuraEuropos_RuinsCityWall2.jpg)
"This temple is surrounded by a wall, but the entrance is sealed off." Adykon said. "Who here wants to climb over and take a look at what is inside? I'll stay and guard this side of the wall."
-
"i'll go" said Sasha
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"I'll join you" Rhiga said to Sasha.
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"okay let's go" said Sasha
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"You think you can climb up a straight wall, Sasha?" Rhiga asked her.
-
"yep, i'll replicate my dagger that way i have two and i can use them to climb up" said Sasha
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"Can you climb the wall with those things on your feet? What do you call them?" Rhiga asked Sasha.
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"toes" replied Sasha
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"I have those too. Rhiga said, flexing her clawed toes. "Heh. I meant, those things on your feet that you can put on and take off."
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"oh, my sandals...i'll have to take them off" replied Sasha
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"Ok. You do that" Rhiga said.
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Sasha removed her sandals
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"Let's go Sasha!" Rhiga said "I'm sure those little toes of your are good for something! heh!"
-
"okay, race you to the top!" said Sasha
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The two females started to climb the wall, Rhiga with her finger and toe claws, Sasha with her knives and feet.
-
"we're almost there" said sasha
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Rhiga managed to reach the top first, but only by two seconds.
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"darn, you beat me" said Sasha "congratulations"
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Rhiga helped Sasha up, and they both walked into the abandoned temple.
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"I do hope things are ok for them." Sivar said watching them as long as she could.
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Rhiga looked around. This temple was in ruins, alright.
-
"Let's hope things will go good for them too and they can open the gates." - Eriol said, feeling a bit of uneasy.
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"Indeed." Kravik said, looking where they went, but also around to keep alert in case they were attacked or a trap sprung.
-
Rhiga advanced down the hall of the temple, her feet treading over rubble; Sasha followed behind her. Time and neglect had worn this temple out...
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"I wonder which of the evil gods it is dedicated to." Sivar said thinking aloud.
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Rhiga saw the statue of a dragon in the temple. This structure might have been dedicated to a dragon-god... or it might have just been decoration.
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"this is one very big temple" said Sasha
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Suddenly, a group of kobolds attacked Rhiga and Sasha. There were six of them, against a female Dracon and a human girl.
-
"i'll use my time spell" said Sasha as she started casting it
-
"Okay, Sasha. You do that!" Rhiga said.
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Sasha kept up her time spell
-
Rhiga killed two of the Kobolds with her daggers. "How are you holding up, Sasha?" she asked.
-
"i'm doing fine, though i can't hold it much longer" said Sasha "you need to hurry up"
-
Rhiga defeated four of the six Kobolds, but then, another three attacked. It had been six minutes since Sasha had cast her spell.
-
"quickly!" yelled Sasha
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Rhiga kept fighting, but there were still two kobolds left. Luckily, they were only armed with flint daggers. It has been nine minutes since she began fighting.
-
Sasha started to feel like her entire body was engulfed in flames
-
Rhiga had just two enemies left to beat.
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"This is really starting to hurt rhiga!!!!" yelled Sasha "please hurry!!!!"
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Rhiga defeated one of the remaning Kobolds, but the last one was tricky, even when slowed.
-
Sasha fell to the floor
-
The spell wore off, but Rhiga was able to defeat the last Kobold. "Sasha!" Rhiga yelled as she ran to the girl's side.
-
Sasha was unconcious
-
Rhiga needed to get Sasha up, so she poured some water from her bottle on her head.
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"what? what happned?" said Sasha confused
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"Can you walk, Sasha?" Rhiga asked. "I can rub your legs and feet if you think that will help get you up."
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"thank you rhiga, it might help" replied sasha
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Rhiga gave a good but quick rub to Sasha's legs and feet. "How does that feel? Can you stand?"
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"that felt good" said Sasha "thanks"
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"Do you need healing?" Rhiga asked.
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"yes, that would be nice" said Sasha "i can still feel the pain"
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"Can you climb, Sasha?" Rhiga asked.
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"i don't think so" said Sasha as she tried to stand but failed to do so
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"Stay here. I will go get help." Rhiga told her. "I am too weak to carry you over the wall, but I can get a healing potion and maybe some reinforcements."
Rhiga climbed over the wall.
"Adykon! Jake! Sasha is hurt! She overexerted herself when casting a spell! We need a healing potion!" Rhiga said.
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"I'll make one now" said Jake as he hurried with alchemy to make a potion
"there!"
Jake started running and got a grappling hook and hooked it to the top. he started climbing
-
Rhiga and Selturma joined Jake in climbing up the wall.
-
Rex joined in aswell
"wait up"
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The group quickly bounded over the wall. Selturma gave Sasha the healing potion that she had received from Jake.
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Sasha drank it
"thank you" said Sasha as she stood up
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"Adykon and the others are stationed at the front of the temple to prevent an attack from the outside" Rhiga said. "Let's continue our search in here."
"And be careful of the debris" Selturma said. "I stepped on a piece of rubble earlier and got a splinter in my toe."
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"does it hurt?" asked Rex
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"Yes, Rex" Selturma said. "I'm sure I will have many more in my feet by the time we are done here, but it would be best to pick them out later, so it can be done all at once."
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"okay then" said Rex
-
The party continued on, and eventually came to a great hall with a magical orb. When the party tried to take the orb, it released magical energy which made everyone feel hot and tired. The skeletons littering the ground surrounding the orb led them to believe that this was a kind of trap.
-
"i think we shouldn't touch it" suggested rex
-
It was too late. Rhiga had touched the orb, and the effects of the field hit the party.
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"rhiga, don't touch it!" said Jake
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"It's getting (yawn) hot in here." Rhiga said.
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"yes it is" said Jake as he started sweating
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Selturma fell down, feeling very tired and hot.
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"selturma, are you okay?" asked Rex
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"I... need to cool off." Selturma said, taking off her top. It wasn't enough.
-
Jake and Sasha were starting to really feel the heat now
"i.....can't stay awake" said Sasha
"just.......stay..awake a little....longer" encouraged Jake
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Selturma got close to Rex. "Rex, if we don't make it, I... just want to say that-"
But she fainted before she could finish her sentence, just as Adykon burst in with his sword, and shattered the orb in one blow. The temperature returned to normal and the exhaustion effect wore off.
"Thank the gods Kravik detected a bust of magic from in here!" Adykon said. "Are you alright?"
-
"i'll be fine" said Rex
"i think i will too, but i don't know about sasha" said Jake
Sasha was all red and sweaty
-
Selturma was still close to Rex; she had fallen on him when she was hot and exhausted... and knew that the thing she had felt wasn't his tail.
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"this is getting awkward" said Rex
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"Awkward?" Selturma said with a smile. "Don't you like what you see?" she said, rubbing her hands over her round tiotleglas on her chest. "As it is, it is more comfortable for me to go like this. I didn't realize how uncomfortable that top was until it was all hot. I'll just use my loincloth. I'll keep the top for when we travel in a city, but for nothing else."
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"okay" said Rex
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The party got its stuff together. They found no other artifacts of significance in this temple, certainly not the statue they were looking for.
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"wasn't the statue meant to be here?" asked Jake
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"We don't know exactly where the statue was supposed to be, Jake." Adykon said.
The party moved out of the temple, and rested for a while in the ruins of another building.
"Rex?" Selturma said. "Could you come over here? I think we can help each other. I have splinters in my feet, and you have some 'wood'... and to tell you the truth, I have some 'water' as well" she said, gesturing at her loincloth.
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Rex walked over
"erm......okay..., i can help...." said Rex
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Selturma put one of her feet into Rex's hands. "Could you get the splinters out of my feet?"
-
Kravik and Sivar stayed with the group, but did try to see if they could get any information about the temple from any images or things they could see on the walls, floor or ceiling as the group traveled.
-
Rex started plucking out the splinters from selturmas foot
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Selturma gave her other foot to be treated by Rex when the first one was done. When he was done with that one too, she asked him about how they felt about comforting each other. She wanted to see him in his loincloth.
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"yes" said Rex
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Selturma told Rex to take off his pants and to lie down.
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"okay, no problem" said Rex
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Selturma saw the large bulge underneath the loincloth. "Would you like me to 'treat your wood' ?" she asked him.
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"okay" said Rex
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Selturma rubbed it through the loincloth. This made Rex emit a light growl. He seemed to like it.
-
Rex really seemed to like this
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Selturma kneaded it with both hands. She did this for a few minutes, and it became very firm. Selturma liked the feeling of it.
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"i should go now, before i........you know..." said Rex
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"Okay, Rex." Selturma said. "Now do me."
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"um okay.." replied Rex
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Rex proceeded to rub Selturma through her loincloth
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"Just put your hand on my loincloth and rub up and down" Selturma said.
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"okay" said Rex
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It felt really good for Selturma. She sighed in pleasure.
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Kravik and Sivar used the opportunity to examine the walls to see if they had any markings or such, without touching anything. Kravik used a light cantrip if needed to light dark areas.
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"That's good, Rex." Selturma said. "I'm getting close..."
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"im going to have to stop" said Rex
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"Well, it felt good while it lasted." Selturma said. "I'm going to 'finish' myself in another room. Thanks for that, though."
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"and thank you too" said Rex
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"Are you going to finish off that wood" Selturma asked?
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"probobly" said Rex
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"Okay." Selturma said. "I'll probably find out later when I hear the roar. You'll hear me too." She said with a wink.
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Rex walked off and he started to rub himself gently to stop his downstairs from being so excited
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Selturma finished herself, and let out a roar of relief.
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Rex let out a big roar of pleasure and relief
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Selturma got her loincloth on and went to see Rex. "How are you feeling now?" She asked him.
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"i feel great" said Rex
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Rex put his pants on
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"So do I" Selturma said. "I usually find it makes me feel better. I do it whenever I am stressed."
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"you have done this before?" said Rex "......me too"
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"I can 'finish' multiple times, being female" Selturma said. "This was actually a short session for me."
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"okay" said Rex "we should go and see what the others are up to"
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"Good idea" Selturma said. The two Dracons rejoined the main group.
-
---
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"where have you two been" asked Sasha
"we went for a stroll" said Rex
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"It was a very good stroll" Selturma said.
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"yes it was" said Rex
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Rhiga smelled what had happened, but she did not say anything. She just smiled.
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"come on, let's set up the huts" said Jake "i can make some but it will only be two per hut"
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"Okay." said Adykon.
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Jake started creating some huts with alchemy
"okay we need to decide who is bunking with who" said Jake
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The bunks were decided and Rex and Selturma got different huts.
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Selturma sat in her hut, thinking about Rex the whole time.
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Rex was in his hut thinking about selturma
"what's on your mind rex?" asked Jake
"well......have you ever liked someone more than a friend?" replied Rex
"i sort of feel that way about Sasha" said Jake
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Selturma sat her her hut with Sasha, but could only think of how good Rex had made her feel.
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"well, today selturma and i..........made each other feel better" said Rex a little embarrassed
"what....." said Jake
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"Sasha, did you ever... make Jake feel good?" Selturma asked. "I made Rex feel good, and he did the same to me."
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" i do not think i understand" said Sasha
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"You know about the 'male bit'... well, I rubbed Rex's." Selturma said "And he rubbed by 'female part.' It felt nice."
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"i have never gotten a chance to" said Sasha "but i would like to"
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"I want to do it again... so badly." Selturma said.
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"i can imagine so" said Sasha
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Back at Jake and rex's hut they were talking
"well today Selturma massaged me and i did the same thing back to her" said Rex
"i may not be a dracon but, that is probobly acceptable for your kind" replied Jake
-
Dracon males who were attracted by a female at a certain time produced more testosterone; leading to more aggression, especially in a fight. Rex was about to experience this part of being a Dracon for the first time.
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It was late at night, Jake was extremely tired and he looked like he would fall asleep at any second.
Rex couldn't sleep on the other hand, he was still thinking about selturma. He couldn't take it any longer so he got up and went to Sasha and selturma's hut
(knock knock knock)
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Selturma got up. Sasha was already asleep. Selturma smelled his scent before opening the door.
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"are you awake?" whispered Rex
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"I'm up." Selturma said. "I couldn't stop thinking of you."
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"nor could i" replied Rex
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Selturma was so happy to hear it, she was bouncing up and down. "So, do you want to go somewhere... away to... talk?"
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"sure" said Rex
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The two of them walked out into the still-dark ruins of the lost city, to an isolated spot.
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_DG7wOScC0iw/RjQpnaM822I/AAAAAAAAAJM/MNHLiGM0m2E/s400/palmyra+dawn.jpg)
"How are you feeling, Rex?" Selturma asked
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"awake" said Rex
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"So am I" she said. "I mean, how do you feel about me?"
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"well, i like you more than a friend" said Rex
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"Me too" Selturma said, feeling very happy. "When we're older, we can do... more. But for now, we can limit it to what we did, my big, strong hero."
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Rex blushed at being called a big strong hero "thanks"
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"I like how you look" she said. "You've got big muscles, large horns for your age, a long tail..." she looked down between his legs "and another big part too."
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"i like your large "tiotleglas" said Rex
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She looked down at her mounds they were large, exposed, and rising and falling with every breath. "Heheh. My tits ARE large."
-
Back at Sasha's cabin Sasha had woken up to find that Selturma wasn't there.
"she must have gone to Jake and Rex's Cabin" thought Sasha "i'll go and see"
Sasha walked to the other cabin
(knock knock knock)
Jake woke up and got out of bed
"who's (yawn)there?" said jake sleepily
"it's me Sasha"
-
"it's two in the morning (yawn)" said Jake as he opened the door
"is Selturma here?" asked Sasha
"no, neither is Rex" replied Jake
"where do you think they are?" asked Sasha
"i don't know" replied Jake
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Meanwhile, Selturma and Rex were discussing their future plans.
"How often do you want to 'meet'?" she asked him.
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"when ever neither of us can sleep" said Rex
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This was what Selturma had wanted to be told, and a gleam could be seen in her eyes. "Good to hear." She said, with a grin on her face.
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"not a problem" said Rex also grinning
-
Jake and Sasha went outside
(http://www.freewebs.com/tfjsmn/Fullmetal%20Alchemist/ed%20under%20moon.jpg)
"where should we look for Rex and selturma?" asked Sasha
"let's just look around" replied Jake sitting on a rock
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Selturma looked down and said "You are firm again."
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"well yes" said Rex "i am remembering yesterday"
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"You want me to treat it?" she said to him, expecting that he would treat her "morning water" as well.
-
"would you like me to treat you first?" asked Rex
-
"Well, yes." she said. "That would be very nice, thank you." Selturma lay down and spread her legs, but kept her loincloth on.
-
Rex started massaging in between selturmas legs.
"are you enjoying this?" asked Rex
-
"ohhh.... yesss..." Selturma said, as she arched her back in pleasure and sighed.
-
Rex was in the middle of massaging selturma when all of a sudden Jake and Sasha came running
"what is going on here?......." asked Sasha(http://th03.deviantart.com/fs28/300W/f/2008/049/8/f/MEGUMIIIIIIIIIIII_NOOOOOOOOOOO_by_Edward_Elric_ADD.png)
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"(*GASP*) It isn't what is looks like!" Selturma shouted
-
"......................" was all Jake was thinking
"well..........what is it then?......" asked Sasha
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"We were... Rex was... checking me for injuries!" Selturma said.
-
"o....kay....." said Jake "i'm officially scarred for life..."
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"No, it's true!" Selturma said. "I... tripped down on some of the rubble and fell in an awkward position, and Rex here was kind enough to... help me."
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"right....." said Sasha "don't worry your secret is safe with us....right Jake?....."
"umm.........sure...." replied Jake
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"rex, what have you got to say for yourself?" said Jake still creeped out
"i have no defence..." said Rex
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"What's there to defend?" Selturma said nervously.
-
Suddenly, the whole awkward conversation was cut short when a dozen kobolds attacked!
-
"what the hell?!" yelled Rex in surprise
-
The kobolds attacked, even as most of the adventurers present were unarmed. The kobolds were each armed with flint knives, which seemed to be quite common for them in this area.
Selturma kicked one back, but she couldn't stop it for long.
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Rex went into a crazed frenzy from his testosterone levels. He attacked and killed any kobalds that got near Selturma. Blood went everywhere
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Selturma fought hard as well, using her claws, tail and teeth. Far from being shocked at Rex's behavior, she was impressed by his "masculinity" and his willingness to keep her safe.
-
Rex grabbed one of the kobalds and ripped his arms and legs off and left him to die slowly.
-
The remaining kobolds fled as fast as they could.
-
Rex roared in triumph
after that Rex calmed himself down
"wow rex, i didn't know that you had it in you" said Sasha amazed at rex's strength
-
"I told you that you were my big, strong hero." Selturma said to Rex with a wink.
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"yes i am" replied Rex as he winked back
-
"Shall we head back to the camp?" she asked Rex. "Everyone will want to hear about what happened."
-
"okay" said Rex "but we shouldn't tell everything"
-
The party walked back to the camp. Despite his show of power, Rex was still too young to really sustain such strength, and that, combined with his lack of sleep, made him tired.
-
"i feel extremely tired" said Rex " i should go and get some sleep"
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"Are you okay, Rex?" Selturma asked. "You seem tired... and tense."
-
"yes i am, if it isn't too much too ask but...could you give me a shoulder rub?" asked Rex
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"Gladly." Selturma said. She massaged his shoulders, feeling the powerful muscles relax. As he grew less tense, Rex seemed to be falling asleep.
-
After a few more minutes of the shoulder rub, rex had fallen asleep and he was starting to snore.
-
Selturma was glad that she could be of help to Rex, as he had saved her from the kobolds. Even as he was asleep, she admired his build and form, which was above-average for a Dracon of his age.
-
"(yawn) it's getting late Sasha, we should go to bed" said Jake
"your righ, let's go (yawn)" replied Sasha
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Selturma had been waiting for this for a long time. As soon as Jake and Sasha had left, she took off her loincloth and curled up next to Rex.
-
It was now morning rex woke up first and saw Selturma next to him
"good morning" said Rex gently to Selturma
-
Dawn rose over the lost city
(http://www.traveladventures.org/continents/asia/images/palmyracity12.jpg)
-
Selturma slowly opened her eyes, yawned and stretched. "Good morning, Rex" she said.
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Rex saw selturmas loincloth on the ground
"would you like to wear your loincloth?" asked Rex as he pointed at the ground
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"Not quite yet, Rex" she said. "I need to do my stretches first." She then proceeded to sit down and stretch out her legs and arms, all without her garments.
-
Rex watched selturma do her stretches
-
Selturma then stretched her shoulders, neck, and back muscles.
-
"selturma.......you are making me......stiff in one place.." said Rex as he grinned
-
"You aren't the only one who is feeling like that" Selturma said as she lay down to stretch, she spread her legs, and Rex could see see her wetness.
-
Rex was starting to get more stiff by the second
-
"Do you need to step out and 'fix' it, Rex?" Selturma asked him.
-
"yes" said Rex as he walked out to go and fix 'it'
-
Selturma closed the door of the cottage, and proceeded with her task. Rex evidently was finished first because she could hear the roaring all the way from her hut. She roared herself less than a minute later.
-
Jake got up and out of bed and went for a morning sprint
-
Adykon was meeting with Kravik, Sivar, and Eriol. All of them heard the roaring. Eriol looked surprised, but the Dracons knew what it was about...
-
Jake returned an hour later
he got out an apple from his pocket and he started eating it
-
Selturma lay on the ground, feeling very relaxed. After about 10 minutes, she got up, put on her loincloth, and went to find Rex.
Meanwhile, Adykon began planning the party's next move.
-
Rex was lifting some heavy stones with his arms.
-
"Trying to impress me with your strength I see." Selturma said as she found Rex.
-
"huh?" said Rex
Rex lost his balance and he dropped both of the rocks and he fell over.
"you made me jump" said Rex
-
"Hahaha!" Selturma said "The mighty warrior loses his concentration when a female comes within 10 feet of him."
-
"i lost balance when you snuck up on me" said Rex trying to make an excuse
-
"You were just happy to see me" Selturma said.
-
"well yes" said Rex "of coarse i was happy to see you"
-
"I think you were happy to see a certain part of me, in particular, haha" Selturma said as she noticed his eyes weren't quite meeting hers, as he was looking a little too far down.
-
"maybe..." said Rex a blushing a little
-
"It's okay." She said. Truth be told, her eyes were looking farther down, to between his legs, but it wasn't up at the moment.
-
"see we understand each other" said Rex joking around
-
"Okay. We'll call it even." Selturma said.
-
"okay" replied Rex
-
Selturma decided to race Rex to the camp. "Wanna race me to the others?" She said.
-
"your on" said Rex
-
The two Dracons got down into a starting position, counted to three, and ran. Selturma took an early lead, and was jumping over obstacles in the ruins of the lost city much faster than Rex could.
-
Rex was starting to catch up
-
Selturma was agile, but had far less endurance than Rex. She began to get tired and slowed down. He overtook her.
-
Rex looked back and saw Selturma extremely puffed out. He slowed down and turned back
-
Selturma called off the race; she was too tired to continue.
-
"would you like me to carry you to camp?" asked Rex
-
"That would be great" Selturma said.
-
"okay" said Rex
Rex picked up selturma and he resumed running back to camp
-
Selturma enjoyed every second of her ride with Rex; he was strong and fast.
-
"hey Adykon" said Jake "when should we resume looking for the statue?"
-
"Are we all here?" Adykon asked. The whole party chimed in. "Great. Now, Kravik and Sivar believe that the statue is hidden in one of the largest structures in the city, so we factor out many of these smaller ruins. That's the good news."
"What's the bad news then?" Rhiga asked.
"The bad news is that there are literally dozens of large structures in the city, and the statue could be in any one of them.
-
"well that's just perfect" said Jake
-
"Splitting up is an unwise thing to do" Adykon said. "I know that separating into smaller groups might help us to cover more ground, but the last time we did that, half of the party almost got cooked alive."
-
"okay let's go look for the statue" said Sasha
-
The party came to a long-lost temple.
(http://www.homsonline.com/images/Palmyra/Palmyra_TempleOfBaalShamin2.jpg)
Nothing.
-
"let's keep going" said Jake
-
The party kept searching all day long with no success yet. It was hot and the party was tired, and the females were sore from walking on so much rubble. Even Sasha's sandals didn't do much to keep her from feeling worn out.
-
"my feet are getting so sore" complained Sasha
-
"Mine are sore too." Selturma said. "I need to lie down."
"Okay. Everyone take a break" Adykon said.
-
Sasha sat next to Selturma
-
"can you rub my feet please Jake?" asked Sasha
"sure" replied Jake
-
"Nice of you to join me, Sasha." Selturma said. "I could use a foot rub of my own. Rex, could you come here please?"
-
Jake proceeded with the foot rub
Rex came over "sure i can rub your feet"
Rex knelt down and proceeded to rub Selturmas feet
-
"Of course." Selturma replied as she extended a foot of hers'.
-
Selturma finished her foot rub and asked for her back to be massaged.
-
Rex got up and started massaging selturmas back.
he was kneading his palms deep into her stressed areas on her back
-
Selturma moaned and sighed as she felt her tense muscles loosen. The combination of her ever-present pheromones, his pheromones, and her vocalizations were attractive to Rex.
-
Rex noticed that he was getting stiff again
-
Selturma noticed Rex harden, but it was larger than she had ever seen before.
-
Rex was starting to get emabarrassed now. his pants were starting to point out like a massive sword
-
Rex had never felt this much of a mating urge before, and he was totally unprepared for it. While he stayed in control of his actions, his hormones had different plans in mind. It was really uncomfortable for such a "sword" to be against his pants. For the first time, he felt uncomfortably full in a very private part of his body.
-
"i should get this over with quickly and then relieve myself" thought Rex
-
Rex should have tied his pants on tighter that morning, for as he was moving to complete his task and go, his "sword" undid the rope which kept his pants up, exposing his loincloth.
-
"woah, that's big" said Sasha
-
Selturma saw what had happened and was simultaneously disappointed that Rex had been embarrassed and was happy to see him "looking so good."
-
Rex pulled his pants up and ran outside to tighten them
-
Selturma knew that Rex would have to do more than just tighten the pants; he would have to decrease the load in them, so to speak.
-
Jake had started laughing at the incident
(http://jamesesz.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/ed.jpg)
-
"Don't laugh at Rex, Jake" Selturma said. "I'll bet his 'sword' is much longer than yours."
-
"what?!......." said Jake
-
"i doubt it" said Jake trying to defend himself
-
"You humans are a lot smaller than dracons in many ways; you have no tails, no horns, and useless little toes." Selturma said.
-
"that still doesn't prove a point at all" said Sasha trying to defend Jake
-
"I don't see your pants falling off when you are near Sasha, Jake" Selturma said.
-
"that's because i don't do what dracons do at a young age!" Jake shot back
-
"Ah yes. Humans are so uptight about these things." Selturma said. "Really, most of you are ashamed of your own bodies, so you put clothes on everywhere, even your feet!"
-
"we do not do certain things like your species do because you mature faster than us, that is why!!!" yelled Jake now clearly pissed off "and we wear clothes to keep warm and to have some privacy!"
-
"We are very warm here in this desert, Jake" Selturma said. "And we DO wear a little more clothes when guests are over, just not when we are in the company of none but our close family. We feel that we have nothing to hide from our kin."
-
"i don't have a problem with that........wait why are we fighting about cultural differences???" said Jake "that's right, you think rex has a bigger one than i"
-
"That's right." Selturma said. "He has hardly been able to keep it down since meeting me."
-
"that is creepy....." said Jake "my own brother can't control himself"
-
"Dracons generally don't do so well in that respect, Jake" Selturma said. "How do your adopted parents act when they think their children cannot see or hear them?"
-
"i knwo, i have lived around dracons for over 5 years now" said Jake " i think i know what to expect"
-
"There is a reason for it, Jake." Selturma said. "We need to keep our numbers up. How often is your adoptive mom pregnant?"
-
"every few years practically" said Jake
-
"Exactly." Selturma said. "Our 'life-drives' are very powerful."
-
"i do not care" said Jake now seeming very annoyed
-
"There is also a reason the Dracon male's 'sword' is so big." Selturma said. "It is a good plough for the extremely rich soil that is the female. We were designed to breed quickly."
-
"what ever i don't need a lecture on dracon biology and breeding" said Jake
-
"Well, it explains why Rex does what he does. And why his-" Selturma said.
Just then, a roar could be heard in the distance. Rex's roar.
"I'll bet he will be ready to release himself again in a few hours." Selturma said.
-
"creepy....." thought Jake
"well why don't you and Rex have a fight to see who is better?' suggested Sasha
"sure, no problem" replied Jake
-
Rex came back to Jake, Sasha, and Selturma.
-
"you and me are going to fight at dawn tomorrow" said Jake
-
Rex normally would have questioned this, but he was still very aggressive from his testosterone rush. "Okay. You got it."
-
Jake and Rex walked off in separate directions
-
That evening, Selturma approached Rex. "Rex, we should prepare for the fight tomorrow."
-
"okay" said Rex
-
"I've seen how arena fighters prepare, and one of the best ways to increase aggression is to increase testosterone. To do this-" Selturma said, dropping her loincloth "I am going to perform a ritual dance for you."
-
"okay, this will be good" said Rex grinning
Rex walked over to a chair while selturma started dancing
-
Selturma started dancing, moving with incredible, sinuous motion. Her own beautiful voice provided a form of music all its own as she sang and danced, clothed only in the light of the setting sun. Every part of her body seemed to move as if it was blowing in the wind, and Rex had not see such an arousing sight ever before.
-
Rex was getting so stiff, that it was the most stiff he had ever been before in his life.
-
Selturma danced for almost a half-hour, until she had completed her song and dance, and she was too tired to continue anyway. She saw that Rex was indeed aroused, and that, by the next morning, his testosterone level would be higher than it had ever been in his entire life by far.
-
rex went to another room to relieve himself
and he did an extremely loud roar when he was finished
-
Selturman knew that he could not relieve himself of this for long; it would take 10 or 20 releases to get it back down to its normal levels. That night, Selturma slept with Rex, to give him maximum exposure to her pheromones.
The next morning, Rex was very aggressive, and feeling very full, as if he had to release himself by a means other than squirting his seed; he was so full of it that if he didn't release it soon, some of it would come out by itself.
He could not even get his pants to fit on, so he had to go clad only in his loincloth.
-
Jake woke up and went outside.
Jake saw Rex, he didn't look to happy
"let's head over to the makeshift arena" said Jake
Rex followed
Jake and Rex got into the arena.
"three.....two.....one....go!" said Sasha
Jake and rex engaged in battle
-
"go Jake!!!" yelled Sasha
-
Rex attacked with a fury he had never show before, roaring and clawing and biting. No blow of Jake's seemed to even slow him down.
-
"what the" thought Jake as he dodged one of rex's swipes then was hit by a blow to the gut from rex's foot
-
Rex continued his attacks, clawing and roaring.
-
Jake retaliated by punching rex in the jaw with his metal arm
-
The blow knocked Rex back, but he was seemingly immune to pain while in this state.
-
"i better take him down fast" thought Jake as he received a punch to the head
-
Rex hit Jake with his tail, but it only impacted into his metal arm.
-
"ha! have to do better than that!" mocked Jake as he kicked rex in between his eyes
-
Rex staggered back from the blow, but did not fall. Rex leaped upwards, and intended to hit Jake with a downward punch.
-
Jake doged
Rex roared and charged at Jake knocking him over
"uhh!" yelled Jake
Jake got up and noticed some blood trickle down his nose
-
Rex charged Jake, and Jake threw a punch.
-
The punch hit rex in the chest leaving rex temporarily winded
-
Rex staggered back as before, but would charge again in a moment.
-
Jake swung a punch at rex's chest again but hit rex in the groin when rex tried to jump to dodge the punch
-
Rex fell to the floor, roaring in pain at last. His balls were so swollen with seed that the pressure of the blow caused a lot of it to be released into his loincloth.
-
"aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!!!!!" yelled Rex as seed went everywhere
"oh shit! sorry Rex, you jumped" said Jake
-
It was the combined shock of the blow plus the disgust over what was happening in his loincloth which finally pushed Rex over the edge.
-
Rex jumped up and grabbed Jake and started repeatedly punching jake in the face and stomach.
Jake started coughing up blood and his entire face was covered in blood.
rex had jakes blood on his fist
-
Selturma saw that the fight had gotten out of hand. She ran forward, jumped in front of Rex, and showed him her tiotleglas
-
Rex was still trying to kill jake
-
he was too focused on jake
-
Selturma ran right up to Rex, and took off her loincloth, and shoved it into his snout.
-
Rex stopped
-
jake was on the ground trying to crawl away to save himself
-
Selturma told Rex that she would give him relief and that she would keep him calm.
-
Rex was still angry nonetheless although he had stopped trying to kill jake
-
Selturma coaxed Rex to an isolated part of the city. There, she finally got Rex to show her his uncovered stick, which she proceeded to knead with her hands.
-
Rex was in pleasure overload
-
It was messy, and took her a long time to empty Rex. He had to be released over and over again for hours. His roaring sounded for much of the day, on and off.
-
Jake was still crawling away from the arena
he was dripping blood everywhere.
he started to feel dizzy and lightheaded
he fainted
-
Sasha rushed over to Jake with rhiga and adykon by her side
-
Adykon applied a tourniquet to Jake.
-
Jake lay there unconcious still bleeding
-
Rex also lost consciousness; he fell asleep, feeling totally satisfied and released. Selturma stayed at his side.
-
Sasha bandaged jake up and adykon carried jake to a bed and he lay him on it.
Sasha opened he half empty healing potion bottle and she slipped the contents into jakes mouth to heal his internal injuries
-
Selturma lay down next to Rex, feeling guilty for what happened to Jake; it was her dance which got Rex so fired up...
-
Selturma decided to get some sleep as well; she had spent hours pleasuring Rex and needed some rest herself.
-
Jake woke up a few hours later.
he cleaned himself up
he walked outside
"your okay!" said Sasha as she jumped onto jake and hugged him
"yeah" replied Jake
"do you think that rex will try to kill you again?" asked Sasha
"I hope he doesn't" said Jake
-
"That makes two Dracons who have tried to hurt or kill you" Adykon says.
-
Rex woke up not too long after Jake
"what?" said Rex "why am i naked???"
-
"yep" replied Jake "i hope there isn't a third"
-
Selturma woke up too. "Uh... Rex? Do you remember anything of the dance? The fight? The... releasings I gave you?" she said. "Which is why your stick is still out and wet, not retracted in."
-
"i don't remember much" said Rex confused "i remember slight fragments"
-
"Do you remember this?" Selturma said, as she made a kneading motion with her hands.
-
"i think i do" said Rex
-
"Well, do you feel any calmer? More relaxed?" Selturma said.
-
"well....yes" said Rex still confused
-
"You attacked Jake when you were given a testosterone rush." She said. "You became extremely aggressive. I convinced you to come with me and here I relaxed you."
-
"i remember a littlebit..." said Rex "oh god i didn't kill jake!.....did i?"
-
"NO!" Selturma said. "I stopped you!"
-
"thank you, i would never forgive myself if i killed him" said Rex shocked
-
"It took me hours just to calm you down and relax you." Selturma said. "It was messy work. Heh."
-
"it must have been......" said Rex
-
"Let's get out clothes and go-" Selturma said. "Wait... where are our clothes?"
-
"you don't know where they are?" said Rex
-
"You left your pants back at camp." Selturma said, "I left my top at camp because I don't use it... I took off my loincloth to make you smell it and lure you away from the fight with Jake... And I took off your loincloth when I was... I left them right next to me, but they aren't here!"
-
"what!?" yelled Rex
-
"I'm so sorry!" Selturma said. "I guess we shall just have to go back to camp and see if someone can conjure more clothes for us... which one was it that made clothes for Vaeri?"
-
"jake......." replied Rex
-
"Oh...uoinota!" Selturma said. "Mosesi!"
-
"i doubt that i will get help from jake, though he might help you" said Rex
-
"I shall go to him" Selturma said.
-
"okay" replied Rex
-
Selturma returned to camp to find Jake. She kept her tail wrapped in front of her "niguntik."
-
Jake was in the middle of a conversation with adykon when selturma showed up
-
"Jake... how are you?" Selturma said.
-
"well, i'm not dead" said Jake "but i came pretty close..........wait why arn't you wearing any clothes?"
-
"It's a long story" Selturma said. "The least you need to know is that the reason I am naked is the same reason that I was able to save you from Rex."
-
"okay, would you like me to make you some clothes then?' asked Jake
-
"Yes please. I need a new loincloth. Rex needs one too." Selturma replied.
-
"i'll make one for you but...not rex" said Jake
-
"He wasn't in his right mind when he attacked you Jake." Selturma said. "Remember the time you attacked Adykon in the oracle's lair?"
-
"i was possessed, he was just insane" argued Jake
-
"He wasn't insane!" Selturma said. "He was just... excited."
-
"because of you" said Jake "and because of you i almost died"
-
"I got him away from you, though" Selturma said. "I never thought he'd be THAT worked up. Besides, he only REALLY lost it when you hit him down there."
-
"that was an accident" said Jake "i tried to punch his chest again to make him fall but he jumped"
-
"He didn't know that, though" Selturma said. "And even if you told him, he probably wouldn't have listened. You have lived with us Dracons for years, you should know how we are like."
-
"well yes but, rex is usually good natured" said Jake
-
"How does your adopted dad act when your mom is near?" Selturma asked. "Does he behave differently if you catch him without him knowing that you are looking?"
-
"well my dad seems to not care about much else when she is near" said Jake "and excited"
-
"And why do you think that is?" Selturma asked.
-
"look i understand that dracons behave differently around their loved ones, but that is still no reason for rex to try and kill me" said Jake
-
"His instincts made him think you were a threat to his female." Selturma said. "I know that you are no threat, and if he had been thinking straight, he would have known it too. But, our instincts were made and evolved in a time and place where such a reaction would be useful for keeping one's mate from being taken by a hostile force."
-
"okay" said Jake
-
"I know that you don't share our instincts, Jake, but try to understand." Selturma said. "Was there ever any time that your adopted mom was under threat by someone else, and you adopted dad did anything to defend her?"
-
"my mum was never under threat at any given time" said Jake
-
"Oh. Well, your mom is very lucky" Selturma said. "Still, if you thought that Sasha was under attack, what would you do?"
-
"cut the enemys limbs off and leave them to die" said Jake "but i would only do that if they actually hurt Sasha"
-
"See? You would do that if you thought they had hurt her, or were about to hurt her, right?"
-
"well...yes" said Jake
-
"Rex's hormones overrode his conscious mind; he honestly believed that you were a threat." Selturma said.
-
"me?.....a threat?" said Jake
-
"Well, you challenged him to a fight" Selturma said.
-
"i know that but, why would he see me as a threat to you" asked jake
-
"You were a challenge to his... masculinity" Selturma said. "You were fighting him because we had argued over the size of... you know. In the distant past, the winner of such a fight would have mated with more females than the loser."
-
"okay...." said Jake "but i don't understand why, i am a human"
-
"He saw you as a rival male, Jake, not a human." Selturma said.
-
"rex must really like you if he thought that..." said Jake
-
"He does, Jake. He really does." Selturma said. "If he and I were a few years older, we would be... well, you know."
-
"i already know about what your kind does when your older" said Jake
-
"Yes. Well, I don't need to explain that." Selturma said. "Does this clear things up?"
-
Guys Mind If I Join In?)
Do you really?' Said a voice behing him. It Was a female of Seltuma's species save older...
-
"yes it does" said Jake "now do you want me to make you some clothes?"
-
"Yes, you can make me a loincloth" Selturma said "And, if you want to, please make one for Rex."
OOC: Yes you can join.
-
"Who is this?" Adykon said to the new female.
-
Jake used alchemy on a rock and he got the loin cloth and handed it to selturma
"how come there is only one?" asked Selturma
"because i don't forgive rex" replied Jake
-
'Forgive my intrusion" the older female said, coming into view. "My name iis Isla" She said giving jake a loooking. "If I may be so bold, why do you allow this human to accompany you?" She asked turning her gaze to Selturma...
-
"You would let your own adopted brother go naked?" Selturma said.
-
"Jake is a friend" Adykon said "He has lived with us Dracons for years."
-
"yes i would, especially if he tried to kill me" said Jake
Jake felt uneasy around the new dracon
-
Interesting' Isla replied.. "Most racons I know dpon't care much for humans, they consider them a lower life form... scum.. if you will.. This one...' She stopped, sniffing Jake, and accustoming herself to his scent.. "has much to learn..."
-
"What is your business here?" Adykon said to Isla. "How did you get to this distant lost city?"
-
"why you-" was all Jake had said Before Sasha stopped him
-
My business is my own 'Isla replied.. I came from the Darsuk region...following the ancient roads.. many of which have been forgotten today by all but a few.."
-
"Jake... I will go to Rex and tell him what you told me." Selturma said. "Thanks for the loincloth" she said while putting it on.
-
"Have you been following us?" Adykon said.
-
"no problem" replied Jake to Selturma
-
Try it" Isla showed him a claw.. "and it will probably be the very last thing you do.. use your head, human.. Do you really think, that you can beat someone like me, who has you covered in both size and strength and experience?
-
Selturma went to Rex, who was still totally naked. "Rex? I got a loincloth from Jake, but he doesn't want to give you one."
-
No, it is mee happenstance that I was the same area and overheard your conversation "Isla replied... "Where ae you headed, if I may ask?"
-
"i could beat you easy!" mocked Jake
-
"We are looking for an artifact" Adykon said to Ilsa. "It is somewhere in this city."
-
UiNteresting... and watch your tongue.. mocking someone may earn its removal frfrom your head" She said sharply in reply..
-
"bring it!' mocked jake again
-
"that's okay, i can just wear my pants" said Rex
-
Adykon intervened. "Stop! We need no more fighting now, especially against a female. You would hurt her very badly, Jake."
-
Isla turned an loked at Jake. 'Tell your friend to watch what he says.. Unless he wants a severe beating... "
-
"Okay" Selturma said. "Let's go to the camp and get them. Just tie them tighter; if they fall, you won't have anything to cover your 'stick'."
-
I wouldn't hurt her........much!" said Jake
-
"Alright!" Adykon said. "What do you want Isla? Why come to this city and this party? Do you wish to join us, or pick a fight?"
-
"okay" said Rex as he made his pants extremely tight
-
"i doubt you would harm me much" said Jake with an unsatisfied look
-
It was not I who came here wanting to pick a fight... But I have seen my share.. With That said, I would join your little quest, but on a few conditions.." Isla replied..First..' She poointed at Jake.. 'the human shows me a touxh more respect than he has shown up to now..'
-
"Uh... not too tight, Rex." Selturma said. "I don't want you to be uncomfortable."
-
"I recall that it was you who showed up with an attitude" Adykon said "It is rare that I find a female with that sort of behavior. Still, Jake should respect you a bit more... this isn't the first problem we have had with him."
-
" if it appears as if I have a chip on my shoulder, I do, but if for personal reasons which you will probably not care to learn about, sufffice to say I grew up in a large family.. and we fought a lot as kids..." Isla replied..
-
"Heh. Large family." Adykon said. "We all come from large families by Jake's standards..."
-
" How large was your family?' Isla asked ,., as she feel in behind them. " i was 45th of 52 kids... 35 boys, 27 girls, i was the second youngest of the girls, and we fought.. oh we fought! Over everything! From where we sat at the table.. to how lolong we could play outside.."
-
"Oh!" Adykon said. "Now THAT is big!"
-
"well for that i am sorry but........why do you despise humans Isla?" asked Jake
-
Selturma went back to see the newcomer.
-
I just don't have very high opinion of them" Isla replied. 'The humans I've met and cheats and cutthroats.. they'll smile, while sticking a knife in you.."
-
Selturma arrived to see Jake and Isla still arguing.
-
"i'm not horrible like that at all" said jake "the worst things iv'e done is to my enemies"
-
"Isla, humans have different traditions than we do." Selturma said. "We should understand that."
-
Isla grunted.. " If itd s respecting thier traditions, then at least have themrespect ours.. as well..'
She then turned to Jake "enemies? iN life, you should strive to have as few enemiues as possivble.. the more you have, the morely likelt one of them is going to kill you.. you're young yet, from the smell of you.. you'll learn.."
-
"I don't think that Jake has broken any of our traditions" Adykon said.
-
Isla frowned. "whsat artifact, exactly, are you looking for?' She asked..
-
"We are looking for... a statue." Adykon said. "I don't know how safe it is to tell you about that now."
-
Hmm" Isla replied, She was a gfairly large dracon female, with developed mamaries covered by a yellow, top, her remaining dress consisted of a blue loincloth, and gold circlets around both of her arms. her face was pretty, but her tongue was sharp..
-
"We have been offered good pay to find the statue" Adykon said to Isla. "I myself am a mercenary. What is your occupation?"
-
My family is rich, my title is Lady Isla " Isla said, her green eyes twinkling and red mouth parting in a grin to show, blindingly white teeth. "So I have no need for money..so if you need to borrow.. all you have to do is ask.."
-
"No, that is okay." Adykon said. "What is a noble like you doing here?" Most noble females of marriageable age were married off to a male very quickly in order to build alliances among the rich males, and they rarely left their rich estates and palaces.
-
With a large family, most of the older siblings were married off to strengthn our families standing.. sincce the family has no need of my marriage as of yet, I've remained unmarried..' Isla replied.."For the present.." She grinned. "Id either of you gentlemen wantbto become a noble, I'm available' She laughed , a clear laugh filled with mirth..
-
"I prefer to work for my money, thanks." Adykon said. "I can't stand the restrictiveness of the upper classes; they spend all their time in towers and behind walls and gates, with guards and fortifications to keep the rest of the world out of their little pocket of luxury... seems more like a prison than a palace."
-
You speak as one who has never seem the inside of one..' Isla replied, as they made their way to the outskirts of the city.."Yes, the guards can be a pain, but they are doing thier jobs.."
-
"We should join the others at the camp in the middle of the city" Adykon said. "Do you possess any magic or combat skills, Isla?"
-
Yes I know magic" Isla said, gesturing, and pulling a staff out of the air. "I'm nothing like the great wizards of story and legend, but I'm pretty good.." Her staff had two crystals set into its top. the two glowed at alternate times..
-
"Who trained you?" Adykon said. "Our mage was trained at the great temple of his city."
-
My father trained me, and hired traveling mages in fill in the gaps.." Isla replied.. "It wasn't cheap, but he paid them, and it paid off in my increasing skills.. I can heal wounds, as long as they are not lethal..."
-
"Can you use offensive magic as well?" Adykon asked.
-
Yes I can..I have killed using magic " Isla's voice grew somber.. An unwanted suitor of a girlfriend of mine.. challenged me to a Tra Kam sum" translated it means Wizards Duel, or Death_Duel, only one comes out alive from it.."
-
"It is rare that a female has the power to kill a male." Adykon said. "But, you were very well-trained..."
-
Yes I was.. " Isla nodded. "My fathger has said, on more than one occasion, that I was the most skilled of his daughters at magic, and only my eldest brother Nigrot was better at the magical arts, given his great skilll, that is high praise coming from my father.."
-
"you must be good to have killed a male" said Sasha "and to be praised by your father"
-
"Yes" Isla replied. "I fought him, for her sake... he was not worthy of her.. and she thanked me... profusely.. for saving her from him.."
-
"You are welcome to join us, Isla" Adykon said. "We are going to need all of the help we can get in order to fight the mages who are trying to stop us from getting the statue."
-
Why is the statue so important?' Isla asked.. 'Does it grant power to its owner?" She narrowed her eyes..
-
"It has certain magical qualities" Adykon said. "I'm not 100% sure what it is supposed to do. I only know that it is very valuable."
-
"see ya later guys and girls, i'm going to get something to eat" said Jake as he walked off
-
Rhiga approached the scene. "Who is this?" She said, inquiring about the newcomer.
-
"Valuable enough to hire you to find it.. before others do.." Isla replied.. "I'm in.. How old are you Sasha?' If I may ask?"
-
"This is Isla" said Sasha
-
"i'm 14" said Sasha answering Islas question
OOC: is isla referring to jake and sasha about age?
-
"I see" Rhiga said. "I have no problem with her joining us."
-
And how old is Selturma?" Isla asked.
-
--
-
"I am also 14" Selturma said.
-
So then you are quite a bit younger than me.." Isla replied. "Who eklse is in your group..?"
-
Rex approached the group
he had only pants on
"hello, what is your name newcomer?" asked Rex
"her name is Isla" said Sasha
-
"I am, Vaeri said" She had followed Rhiga to see what was going on. "I am Rhiga's mother."
-
I'm Isla, and who might you be" Isla noticed REx was giving her odd looks..
-
Isla nodded at Valeri.."Nice to meet you" She nodded. "What is your occupation?"
-
"I am a dancer" Vaeri said. Dancing was a very common profession among the dracons.
-
"i am Rex"
-
A Dancer? How long have you danced?' She asked. "Rex, is it? Where are your clothes?" She asked looking at Rex's bare chest with an air of indifference..
-
"i lost......them..." said Rex
-
"I've been a dancer since before my daughter Rhiga was hatched." Vaeri said.
-
( A little more detailin your posts meta.. I'm not a fan of one-liner posts)
Lost Them? How can you lose clothes? Unless.. someone stole them from you and ripped them..
_ Were you with a dance company? We had traveling dsance compabies pass by the palace every summer growing up..' Isla said..
-
"I am an inn dancer" Vaeri said.
-
"no, i don't think so" said Rex "i think that they were left near the arena when jake and i were fighting"
-
And you forgot them.." Isla sighed. "Tell you what.. I'll buy you a new set of clothes.. pick out whatever clothes you like, and I'll buy them for you..
_
Which inn did you dance for? I imght have seen you dance at some point.."
-
"i do not need new clothes......" said Rex
"i just need to find my loincloth" mumble rex
-
"There's nowhere to buy anything here" Adykon said. "Not for over 100 kilometers! We are in the middle of nowhere."
"I would go from inn to inn... but most of my audience was in the poorest sections of my city." Vaeri said.
-
"Well, once we get to a city then I'll buy some clothes for Rex.. And I will not take no for an answer!' Isla said firmly..
-
"We might not get out of here alive." Adykon said. "We can worry about clothing later. If Rex is happy as he is, let him be. Although he could use a new loincloth, as he said."
-
Isla sighed. "very well... we need to get to a city for safety anyway.. first things first.."
-
"We are not leaving until we get the statue, or meet with failure." Adykon said. "You are free to leave at any time, but I know what I am going to do."
-
Since I am part of your group now, I am not leaving.." Isla replied firmly..
-
"We need to find the statue" Adykon said. "Let's join the rest of the party and continue to search.
-
The party assembled back in their camp, and all of them headed out together to search for the statue, moving as a single group.
-
"i hope this statue is worth all this trouble" said Jake
-
"So is the statueblocated in some kind of cave or tunnel?' Isla asked..."It has to be somewhere out of the range of these sandblows..'
-
"I'm not sure where it is" Adykon said, "Only that it is somewhere in this city."
-
If we are in a city, then surely they have a place to buy clothes..
(is the city deserted , abandoned or something?)
-
"i can't wait till we stop the search and go to camp and rest" said Sasha
-
"This is the lost city, Isla." Adykon said. "Look around! There are no markets!"
(http://www.traveladventures.org/continents/asia/images/palmyracity12.jpg)
-
(is the city deserted , abandoned or something?)
its an abandoned city
-
The sun was setting. Yet another day passed without success, but that would soon change.
-
Back at camp Rex and selturma were talking with each other
-
"Rex, could you scratch my back?" Selturma asked, learning over with her back curved.
-
"sure no problem" said Rex
Rex proceeded to scratch selturmas back
-
Selturma sighed in pleasure. Rex was good with his claws.
-
"are you enjoying this?" asked Rex
-
"Oh yes." Selturma said. "I wish there was something I could do for you."
-
"like what?" asked Rex
-
"Is there any part of you that has stress or tension?" Selturma asked.
-
"my shoulders are fairly stressed and tense" said Rex "could you rub them for me when i have finished your back rub?"
-
"Sure!" Selturma said. After her scratch was finished, she moved on to Rex and massaged his shoulders.
-
As long as you two don't start doing "it" I "ll be content yo watch" Isla replied..
-
"We are too young to do that" Selturma said.
-
It didn't stop my siblings" Isla grinned.. "They were groomed to have children at a very young age.."
-
"what?, we wouldn't do that" said Rex "we are underaged"
-
Dracon nobles started mating at around age 16, which was the equivalent of about 20 in human developmental terms.
-
Nevermind.." Isla replied turning away.."forget I said anything.."
-
Jake was walking around the premesis and he decided to go for a sprint around the lost city
-
Selturma finished massaging Rex "How do you feel now, Rex?"
-
"i feel great" said Rex
-
"What do you want to do now, Rex?" Selturma asked him.
-
"do you want to go for a quick sprint around the city?" replied Rex
-
"Okay. let me do my stretches first." Selturma said, removing her garments to stretch.
-
"i should look away so my sword doesn't pop up" said Rex
-
"You can look if you want, or turn your head." Selturma said.
-
"i just won't look" said Rex as he turned his back to selturma
-
Selturma quickly finished her stretches, and put her loincloth back on.
"Ready to race?" She said.
-
"let's go" said Rex
-
The two Dracons took off, running neck and neck.
-
Rex just managed to jump over a pile of rubble
-
Selturma kept up with Rex for a while, but eventually she began to fall behind.
-
Rex saw that selturma was slowing down. so he too slowed down
-
Selturma then put on a burst of speed. She had tricked Rex!
-
"what the?" said Rex in surprise as he saw selturma bolt off
"i doubt it" thought rex as he sped up to maximum speed
-
Selturma was fast, but Rex soon caught up to her.
-
"i don't think so" said Rex grinning "you tricked me that time but it won't happen again"
-
Eriol is between the ruins of the city, exploring. - "If the one I am looking for is here or he was here... I am feeling I am just loosing my time!." - the Panther is thinking, so he decided to climb to the top of a near tall structure to have a better look of the entire city.
-
Selturma couldn't overtake Rex, and she was losing the race. "No... fair! I'm... just... a ... girl!" She said between gasps.
-
"right, okay i'll slow down but only a little" said Rex as he grinned
up ahead Rex could see jake sprinting
-
Selturma kept racing, but had fallen behind and she could not keep up.
-
Jake was still sprinting. he looked behind him to see if anyone was following him.
he saw rex and selturma
"what the?" thought jake "why are they here?"
-
Rex slowed down a little more
-
Eventually, all three of them; Jake, Rex, and Selturma caught up and met.
-
"what are you two doing here?" asked Jake
"we are going for a sprint" said Rex
"well see ya!" said Jake as he sped off still angry at rex
-
Selturma and Rex eventually stopped running.
-
"that was a good race" said Rex
-
"Good for you" Selturma said. "Look at me. I'm all winded."
-
"that you are" said Rex
-
"It isn't fair!" Selturma said. "You get to be stronger at puberty; I get to be moody."
-
Rex chuckled
"oh well" said Rex
-
Selturma did not appreciate Rex's insensitivity. "Ohh! Just remember that you can get emotional too! Remember what you did to Jake?!"
-
Isla came up to them. "rule of thumb: Always be graciouss, in victory, and defeat.. REx , you weren't being very gracious..' She shook her head.
-
Selturma took it well enough, though; she wasn't about to let a little race cause come between her and Rex.
-
Meanwhile, Adykon and the rest of the party planned to search the largest temple in the city.
-
Jake thought to himself "i don't think rex will be able to control himself in another fight......i hope he learns how..."
-
Selturma waked with Rex back to the camp. She looked at him and thought that while he was strong, that he would have to control his drives much better.
-
Ilsa Continued walkibng with the group towards the center of the city. Sand blew out everywhere, obscuring the ruins in front of them, and making it hard to see much in front of them..
-
"it's been a great day so far" said Rex
-
"We should catch up with the rest of the group" Selturma said
-
"okay" replied Rex
-
Meanwhile Jake was walking around the camp by himself
-
Selturma and Rex found Jake.
-
Jake still wasn't looking too happy
"hi" said Jake
"hello Jake" replied Rex
-
(Guys can we put in a little more detail than just a couple words, also the others need to catchup.. they're twenty pages behind at this point..)
" Come on, you guys hurry, up! We can't afford for you to fall behind in this Weather" Isla called out..
-
(I've asked Chiletrek and others to post soon, as they have caught up)
Rex, Sasha, and Jake rejoined the rest of the party.
-
"hello Isla" said Jake, Jake still hadn't warmed up to Isla yet
-
Hello Human" Isla replied " still think you beat me in a fight?' Her eyes twinkled and her staff glowed.. "I Warn you.. I am quite sjkkilled in the masgic arts.."
-
"i'm not here to fight, but i think i could still beat you.." said Jake clearly bragging "besides you don't look scary or tough"
-
"Please, let there be no more fighting here" Adykon said. "Jake has already gotten into fights with two other Dracons in this party."
-
"that is correct, and i'm still alive" said Jake "i can take alot of pain.....and i can dish it out just as easy"
-
He's not worth my time..' Isla replied, slowly walking aheas. the blown sand making it difficult to move at anythuiing but a slow pace..
-
"That's not the point, Jake" Adykon said. "The point is that you should NOT have fought them in the first place."
-
"hey i only threw one water balloon at rhiga, and second i only fought rex because selturma thought that he had a bigger.....you know..." said Jake clearly annoyed
-
I really don't care how big your "instrument is "Isla replied.. "Getting in fights all the time is not a good thing, young one.. and you need to move faster, this storm is picking up.."
-
"That's no excuse." Adykon said. "We are supposed to fight together, not apart. We will be stronger if we stay as one unit."
-
"okay then....." said Jake
-
"Alright then. Lets move on." Adykon replied.
The party came to a vast temple, with large columns and a large hallway.
-
"yes" said Jake clearly irritated by Isla
Jake thought to himself "Isla is the next target for a water balloon heh"
-
Come on, lets get inside quickly" Isla said. gripping her staff . it glowed illuminating the hallway in front of them. cracked stones lined the floor in front of them, and the walls held the smell of the ages..
-
The party walked down the hallway, and into a large chamber with dozens of statues.
"Are any of these the one we are looking for?" Rhiga asked
"I'm not sure" Adykon said.
-
"this place smells extremely stale" said Sasha
-
The party searched for the statue that they had seen in the oracle's sanctum... but none of the matched.
-
"are you sure that we'll even find the statue?" asked Rex
-
"We need to keep looking" Adykon said.
"That's right, we cannot give up. Not now. We have come too far to turn back empty-handed." Rhiga said.
(2000th post! :D :D )
-
Jake walked off from the group to search the rest of the temple alone
-
Selturma looked around the room of many statues, and she noticed a button behind a statue on the wall.
-
"what did you find?" asked Rex
-
"A button of some sort" Selturma said. "Adykon, should I-"
"Press it" he said.
Selturma did so.
-
Suddenly, the statues came to life, and began to attack the party! They were about six feet tall and made of wood, but some of them had weapons.
-
"what the uoinota?!" yelled rex in confusion from seeing statues come to life
-
Adykon drew his greatsword and attacked the nearest statue. He chopped it in half easily, but he knew that there were dozens of others.
-
Rex started to claw and kick at any statue that came near him
-
Selturma attacked the nearest statue, and managed to kick its head off, but it kept attacking her. Clearly, these statues were animated by powerful magic.
-
Rex saw selturma in trouble, he went into an enraged state and started destroying anything in his path
-
"We should think twice next time we see a button!" - Eriol exclaimed as he ran and stepped between two statues he dodged the attack of one of them and used this chance to jump to that statue, luring the other attacking statue to attack and destroy the one Eriol was standing on. The Panther was able to jump out of danger... for now.
-
More Details please.. describe the statues, what they look like.. how the feel to the touch.. fighting them can't be easy, you have to make them at least somewhat difficullt to figt.)
Isla cast a spell Blocking a Statue's attack.. " Block thier attacks.."
-
Adykon wrecked another statue, Rhiga dodged the attack of another one, and Vaeri, being a noncombatant, ran for safety.
-
(they are shaped like dracons, and armed with wooden weapons, made out of wood. Honestly, there are few details in some posts on the cafe RPs so, I don't know why you would hold me to a standard which you yourself don't enforce there.)
Selturma was surrounded, and was getting beaten.
-
Jake was still walking around the temple by himself, he turned a corner and he saw a group of kobalds. there were three of them.
"oh %$#@!!!" yelled Jake
the three kobalds charged at jake
-
The party fought on, but was outnumbered badly. Adykon took several painful blows, and was knocked down.
-
Rex ran up to the other statues surrounding selturma and he broke them into splinters of wood
-
Selturma thanked Rex and got up. She was brusied, but not beaten.
-
Jake was trying hard to defend himself against the kobalds. He had injured one with a kick to its head.
"why do you ugly creatures have to keep popping up!!!" yelled Jake in frustration
-
One of the kobolds fell back. The other two advanced on him.
Meanwhile, Rhiga had finally knocked a statue out of commission, but several others were still moving towards her.
-
One of the kobalds got jake across the face with a flint knife.
"aaaahhh!!!" Yelled Jake
Jake retaliated with a massive punch to the head of the kobald
there was a loud crack
-
The kobold fell down, the last one of them ran away as fast as he could.
-
"yeh, run home you little coward!!!" yelled Jake as he wiped away the blood from the massive scratch that starts at his cheek and stops at his chin
"wait, where is jake?!" said Sasha in alarm
-
"Sasha!" Adykon said. "Can you use a spell to set these things on fire?"
"I'm in trouble here!" Rhiga said.
-
Infkolintus' Isla commanded and two beams of light came out of her staff. they converged on the nearby statue and set it aflame. "Get away from there" She caled out..
-
Rhiga fell to the floor, but somersaulted backwards to escape the flaming wooden statue.
"Thanks Ilsa!" She said.
-
No problem, and next time.. don't press any button, that appeard in a long forgotten temple.. its almost always a trap of some kind.. Now stick close to me. you run off in here.. chances are we never see you again.."
-
The statues continued to fight, but the tide had turned against them.
"Where's Jake" Adykon said after he cut down another statue.
-
Jake decided to walk back to the others.
when he got back statues were alive and the party members were fighting them
"guys! what happened?!" asked Jake as he ran and jumped over some rubble
-
"The statues were animated by an evil magic when I pushed a button, Jake." Selturma said. "Stay away from Rex! He's gone beserk again."
-
"no problem" said Jake
Jake charged into yet another fight and he turned his arm into a sword and he cut a head off one of the statues
-
Control your emotions, young Dracon" Isla said. She was used to Dracons in rage, she after all had had 32 brothers.. She blasted another statue. "Jake you stay close to me.. no wandering off. you stay by me.."
-
The statue that Jake decapitated kept fighting. These statues clearly did not rely on a brain or other organs to function.
-
"okay" said Jake as he took down the statue he decapitated. Jake ran to where Isla was and he started fighting
-
The statues dwindled in number down to just three left. Adykon wrecked one, while Kravik and Sivar finished off the last two.
-
" Isla winced as she saw the gash on Jake's face. "You need to get that tended too, thats a very bad cut.. " She mixed in some lightning spells with her fire ball. the room was lit again and again with her spells..
-
"finally, none left" said Jake. Jake had to wipe away the blood on the side of his face again, it was still bleeding
-
"i don't need it checked out, its just a scratch" replied Jake to isla
-
The battle ended. Selturma saw Rex. "Rex! Are you okay?" She said.
-
(oOc another thing I've noticed is pacxing. Fights should take up pages and pages and be very deescriptive, not rushed through..)
Sit down on that rock, and let me tend to you.. you;re dripping blood, and thats never a good sign" Isla said to Jake..
-
"i'm fine, don't worry" said Rex reassuringly to selturma
-
"i don't need medical attention" argued Jake
-
(do they ever happen the way that they are "supposed to"?)
Adykon looked around, surveying the battlefield. They had done a lot of damage, and splinters now littered the floor.
-
9(Yes they often do, usually battles result in juries, especially if you deal with powerful foes Just something I've noticed I've roleplayed for years...)
You are getting tended to, and that is that.. even if I have to cast a spell on you" Isla replied, reaching into a small pouch in her loincloth and pulling out some bandages..
-
"Uh... you DO know where those bandages have been, right?" Adykon said to Jake.
-
"stay away! i don't need medical attention!, not after where those bandages have been!" yelled Jake as he ran off
-
Isla got up and Grabbed Jake, and lifting him bodily off the ground, carried him to a stone chair. She forcibly set him down, and in a quick movement began banading his cuts. " Hold Still, or I'm tying you to this chair" she growled..
-
"What were you thinking?" Adykon said to Isla. "Stop that!"
"You are rather new at this adventuring business, aren't you?" Rhiga added.
-
Jake pushed Isla away and he ripped off the bandages and started running again
"stay away from me!" yelled Jake
(http://chameleonsden.com/p/collectable_pins/i/collectable_pin_fullmetal_alchemist_edward_elric.jpg)
-
I am bandaging his wounds" Isla said, her eyes alight "Or would you rather your friends here develop a bad scar...? No, I am tending to his injury, it is a bad one.. and these banages are clean.. I wash them often.."
-
"Sivar can heal him!" Adykon said. "You can't force him to wear bandages which were sitting on your 'niguntik'!"
-
they were not.. they are in a pouch. "Isla replied. "And in any event, as I said.. I wash them frequently.." She huffed. " But let him act as a human babe, and run away when I am trying to help him.."
-
Jake had stopped running away, he returned to camp
"keep those bandages away from me, i don't need any medical attention at all" said Jake while he scowled at Isla
-
"We have magic that can fix that" Adykon said. "No need to hold down an unwilling party member! You rich Dracons think that you always know what's best!"
-
"i don't want any medical treatment at all" said Jake calmly "can you understand that Isla?"
(http://www.freewebs.com/syjx/1133033117.jpg)
-
You have a very bad cut on your face.." Isla replied. " For once I am trying to help you Jake, and you are refusing my help! If you can heal hiim Adkyon, then do so, I have tried to help., and he needs care, it is not optional, Jake. Supposed you broke your leg, and couldn't walk?"
-
"i would rather be in pain than let those bandages touch me" said Jake
-
"Sivar! Get over here and help Jake... please." Adykon said.
"Sivar is a healer and a priestess." Rhiga said "She can heal with her magic him and help him a lot faster than you could."
-
I understand that.." Isla said sigheing. "Jake, these banages have not touched my privates.. you can rest assured on that.. but I will let Sivar tend to you.. You need to learn to trust people, when they are trying to help you, you let them.."
-
"With all due respect" Adykon said "You are a noble with no real training in the healing arts, while Sivar was taught how to heal using magic and non-magical means."
-
"i don't trust many people i have known for only a day or two" said Jake "it's how i am"
-
"I was trained in ALL fields Adykor, not just fighting magic " Isla replied.. "But since he is more comfortable with Sivar, then Sivar will be his tender.." Her face showed her displeasure.. "Does anyone else have injuries that need tending?'
-
"No, Ilsa" Adykon said.
"I'm fine" said Rhiga.
"No, i'm okay" said Selturma, who was slightly creeped out.
-
"i'm fine" said Rex as he backed away
-
"I appreciate that you care, at least" Adykon said.
-
For the last time, these have not touched my private, they are in a pouch near my louincloth.. There are not many others places for me to carry it..not with the clothes I wear.." Isla sighed..
-
Jake's cut was still bleeding, Jake wiped the blood away again
-
"You could have told us about the pouch first" Adykon said. "When most people pull something out of a loincloth, it is only reasonable to suspect that it was touching... you know."
-
Eriol looked at the scene and sighed, he then began walking away of the group again, his fur makes him easy to blend with the shadows of the temple.
-
Adykon walked over to inspect the walls of the room, to see if there was any hidden passage... or other buttons.
-
Well that was my mistake " Isla replied. " And he's still bleeding.. that needs to nbe stopped first, before you can bandage it.."
-
Sivar used her magic to heal Jake in one touch.
"There. Was that so hard?" she said.
-
(http://www.armadaanime.com/patch-ed-chibi.jpg)
"i'm fine now" said Jake "it was just a cut"
jake wiped off the blood that was left over
-
Had yuou done that at the outset, it would have saved me a lot of grief.." Isla said getting up from where she was sitting.. " are you 14 Jake?' She asked, looking at him. Sivars spell, had its work well, the only trace of a cut was the dried blood with ran from his chin to his cheek..
-
"yes, i'm 14" replied Jake to Isla's question "and it's my birthday in 3 days"
-
"As am I" Selturma said. "Rex is 14 as well."
-
Then act like it.. When people are trying to help you.. you let them.. you trust them " Isla replied. "I am 25, I'm a full 11 years older than you.. I've gone through what you are going through, and I have had 32 siblings experience the same awkward smells, and feelings that you are having..'
-
"You had it easy" Adykon said. "You have servants to take care of your every little need. I had to milk goats when I was growing up!"
-
"okay.......i might trust you next time" said Jake "and by the way i don't have any awkward smells or feelings"
-
"Humans have a much weaker sense of smell" Adykon said to Ilsa "And far weaker hormones."
-
I had to take care of myself.." islla replied. "Yes I had servants.. but I learned to dress myself, put on makeup.. clean myself, all things you had to learn.. well, minus the milking gosts part, I had to learn to..
-
"You have luxuries beyond my wildest dreams" Rhiga said. "My mom had to take care of over a dozen children all by herself."
-
"well, i'm going to make up some huts" said Jake "i'll also make a shower, i need your help to do this Kravik"
-
i was part of a family of 52.. ' Isla replied. "Being among the youngest in family that large means you have to scrap and claw to noticed, still more if you're a girl.. you know how our society is.."
-
Kravik prepared his spells and created the huts. They were all soundproofed and well-built. They fit easily in the vastness of the temple.
-
"thanks for the help" said Jake
Jake and Kravic had managed to make two big huts
-
(Aren't we inside a tEmple?
Thanks , but I'll stay outside and stand watch "Isla said..
-
"your choice" said Jake
-
(yes, but it is safer to have party-built shelters)
"Let's divide up the sleeping quarters" Adykon said.
"How much room is there per hut" Rhiga asked.
"Room enough for two" was his reply.
-
Adykon didn't notice that there was only two huts behind him
"i'm sorry Adykon but Kravic and i could only make two huts, it can fit 5 per hut" said Jake "we couldn't make more like last time.....sorry"
-
"We will have to just divide the party into two parts, and share the huts" Adykon said.
"I'm alright with that" Rhiga said.
-
"okay" said Jake
After a while the party got the plans set up
All the teens would sleep in one hut with isla and the other adults were in a hut also
Isla couldn't sleep in the hut with the other adults because there was not enough room
-
"i'll quickly make a shower" said Jake as he walked off to collect anything that he could transmute
-
"Rex, are you feeling okay?" Selturma asked "You were rather aggressive earlier." Selturma turned to face Rex, and put her hand on his shoulder. It was a comforting gesture.
-
"yes i'm fine, i was just protecting you" replied Rex
-
Selturma ran her hands over Rex's chest, feeling his strong muscles. "You were very brave today, even more so than usual, my hero." She moved her hands away from him and rested her head on his shoulder. "You are alright, and that is all that matters to me right now" she said softly.
-
Rex gave Selturma a reassuring hug
-
(OOc is Jake supposed to be like Al from Fulllmetal Alchemist?0
So you can transmute thing, eh Jake? Transmuting is not easy, it was among the jarder skills for mevto master Elsa said..
-
Selturma moved slowly away from Rex. "We should meet later tonight to... talk. Oh, and watch your 'sword' she said, looking down at his pants." Selturma was happy that he liked her so much, but she did not want him to embarrass himself in front of everybody.
-
(ed)
"yes i can use alchemy, but i have practised...it is very dangerous to use if you don't know how to use it" said Jake to Isla
-
"okay" said Rex to selturma as they walked back to camp
-
And I have practiced. Prove your skills to me.. turned this rock..' Isla picked up a large rock. " and turn it into a canteen filled with cola' She grinned. She set it on the ground in front of him..
-
Eriol came closer to the group, and he went closer to the newcomer - "If there is not enough room, you can use my space, I am not sleeping here tonight." - the Panther began walking again, frowning, thinking in the things he must do before leaving the city, after all, he has his own agenda.
-
"how simple, i learnt this when i was 6 years old" said Jake "this will be a piece of cake"
Jake pressed his hands to the rock and a can of cola appeared
"done" said Jake smirking
-
"But I wanted pepsi, Not Sprite" Isla replied after taking a sip.. "Try again.. She put the canteen down on the floor again..
-
"you said cola!" said Jake in annoyance "it is cola!"
-
change it.. alchemist are known for flourishes and unpredictable moods" Isla replied..
-
(What is this? This is a fantasy setting. Cola doesn't really fit here, but it can slip a time or two.)
The party was divided up into two huts. The Dracons would have to abstain from their nightly escapades. Adykon thought that this was for the best, as doing it too often robbed it of all meaning.
-
"grrr" was jake's reply
-
Its tramutating.. I was simply asking him to tramute a stone into a drink)
-
"i did what you asked, you wanted cola" said Jake as camly as possible even though he was ready to explode
(http://www.quizilla.com/user_images/M/MY/MYS/Mysteriousmoondweller/1181885697_resEd-0007.jpg)
-
Isla sighed and changed the drink's flavor with a gesture. "Drink up' She said handing it to Jake..
-
"no thanks, i'm fine" said Jake in annoyance
-
At this point the party had come within sight of its goal. They were now in the temple which had the statue that they were looking for.
Meanwhile...
"Do you see them? In the crystal ball? They are so near" Said a Dracon mage observing the party from afar.
"Yes. They have proven to be... most resourceful." A second mage said. "They have survived despite the odds, and are close to their objective. We cannot let the statue fall into their hands. If it does, you know as well as I do what will happen."
The first mage grew uneasy, and curled her toes. "What do we do now? Our magics have proven to be insufficient."
"We have to hit them with all our power when they least expect it. The temple has obstacles of its own, which will wear them down. Then, we strike."
"I'm scared." Said the female mage. "If even one of them survives to break the enchantment on the statue, it could easily-" she shuddered at the thought of it.
-
Suit yourself.. are you absolutely sure.." Isla asked holding out the canteen.. "You did a good job, you chsanged it very quickly, and showed good form, it just wasn't the flavor I wanted."
-
"i'm sure" said Jake more irritated than before
-
Time passed. The party fell asleep. It was late, and evil creatures emerged from their hiding places. Fortunately, few of them had any interest in the huts, and none dared to attack when they smelled the Dracons on the inside of the huts.
-
Jake was having a nightmare
he was dreaming that the next day when they got closer to the statue that he was killed by the mages(http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/6782/20cf8.jpg)
Jake woke up and his heart was pounding and he was sweating
"oh thank god.......it was just a dream" was all jake had said
Jake got out of bed, he walked outside to the soundproof shower room. he got unchanged and he hopped in the shower, he needed the shower to wash off all of his sweat
-
Selturma stirred in her bed. She woke up and saw Rex asleep. Dracons could see well in the dark, so seeing his sleeping form was no problem for her. He took up most of his bed, being a lot larger than she was. Selturma had strong feelings for Rex, but was not yet old enough to act on them. She returned to bed shortly thereafter, dreaming about him.
-
10 mins later Jake got out of the shower. he put on his Boxer shorts
"that was refreshing" said Jake as he walked back to the huts
-
Rex had woken up
-
Selturma woke and stretched. She had yet to put on her loincloth, but she never did her stretches while wearing it anyway. She was in the hut with the others, who were mostly still asleep, except for... Rex!
-
"why are you up and stretching so early?" asked Rex
-
Jake was still on his way back from the shower
-
"Oh! Rex!" Selturma said. "I was having trouble sleeping. I usually stretch when I wake anyway; it is good for my muscles." Indeed, Selturma had a good physique for a Dracon of her age, with a while stomach, large and firm tiotleglas on her chest, and other features.
-
Isla heard the comotion and poked her head into the hut. "klets head out smhall we? She said, not noticing Selturma 's current state..
-
Jake returned to the hut. he was only wearing boxer shorts
-
"Oh! Isla!" Selturma scrambled to get her loincloth on. "I was just doing my stretches, nothing serious. I just finished. How are you today?"
-
Good, and I need to talk with you, girl to girl" Isla replied. "You must work out a lot, you have a nice form.."
-
Jake walked into the room. Jake was embarrassed, he was only wearing boxer shorts. and everyone could see him
(http://content.ytmnd.com/content/4/5/5/4552cc82daecc3d77ff9ba492e7d7505.jpg)
-
"I do" Selturma said. "My training emphasizes agility over strength, but doing stretching is not the only thing; I imagine that I am stronger than most females my age, but still nowhere near as strong as a male" she said while stretching her arms up in the air, showing off her soft white belly.
-
I would agree, and I'd bet you could hold your own with males.. Particularly if you hit them in a certain region" Isla grinned. " Come on. " She grabed Seltuma by the left arm.. "We have much to discuss.."
-
Sasha woke up from all the noise
"woah, why are you not in bed.........hey your not wearing a shirt" smiled Sasha
".............." was all jake was thinking
-
"What do you want to do?" Selturma said. "Our 'region' is even more sensitive than theirs is, but I see your point" she said, somewhat cautiously.
-
"I simply want to talk about things with you.. compare notes if you will..I can see why he's attracted to you.. and you know who I mean.."
-
Rex decided to go back to sleep, he was dreaming about selturma
Jake and Sasha were still awake
Jake and Sasha were sitting across from each other, Sasha giggled
"what's so funny?" asked Jake
"i can see a certain part of you in your pants..." said Sasha grinning
-
"What do you want to compare?" Selturma said. "I'm sure that you have the same things I do" then she look at her chest "although, your tiotleglas are a bit larger than mine, I think."
-
Well, They are more developed than yours are..but yours are rounding nicely into form.." Isla smiled.. patting SElturma on the shoulder.
-
Jake blushed
"don't feel embarrassed" said Sasha
"i can't help it.....you have seen my.....you know...." said Jake "it's embarrassing to me for a girl to see"
-
"it was big from my perspective" said Sasha
"let's just.......go to bed...." said Jake
-
"Where are you going with this, Isla?" Selturma said. "Are you trying to prove something? That you are more beautiful than I am?"
-
No, You will be more beautiful than I am.. Isla said smiling....
-
Meanwhile, in the other hut...
-
(knock knock knock)
"adykon, are you awake?" said Jake outside
-
"I'm up, Jake" Adykon said. "What do you want, young human?"
-
"do you wanna play a game of poker?"asked Jake "i can't sleep, i have cards"
-
"Okay, Jake. Why not. I know how to play well, I warn you." Adykon told the young human.
-
The game had started, it had gone on for about 10 minutes now
(http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y132/pinkietheflea/full%20metal%20alchemist/th_ed_pokerface.jpg)
jake was struggling
-
"I warned you that I was good, Jake." Adykon had played against some of the very best in his time in the mercenaries. He knew what he was doing.
-
"damn it, i'm losing" thought Jake
-
"your good" commented Jake
-
Rhiga woke up. She saw Adykon and Jake playing a game of poker. Moving quickly, she put on her top and loincloth, and moved to join them. She was surprisingly good at that game, for a female Dracon.
-
(http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y132/pinkietheflea/full%20metal%20alchemist/th_ed_pokerface.jpg)
Jake was starting to do better
-
Rhiga sat down next to Jake and Adykon. "Can I join your game?" she said."We ARE playing the regular game and not strip poker, right?"
"That is correct, Rhiga" Adykon said.
-
"this is getting harder..."thought Jake as he looked at his cards
(http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y132/pinkietheflea/full%20metal%20alchemist/th_ed_pokerface.jpg)
-
Adykon drew a good hand, but kept an expressionless face. Rhiga did the same, although it was not as easy for her.
-
Jake sat there quietly with an unemotional face
(http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y132/pinkietheflea/full%20metal%20alchemist/th_ed_pokerface.jpg)
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Adykon put his cards down on the table. It was a good hand indeed.
-
(http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y132/pinkietheflea/full%20metal%20alchemist/th_ed_pokerface.jpg)
Jake was trying his best, but he kept on getting mostly the cards he didn't want
-
Adykon was beating Rhiga in poker as well, but, like all games, this one came to an end. Adykon did not have the time to keep playing it forever. He still needed to make plans to find that statue.
-
"good night (yawn) i'm going to bed" said Jake as he walked out and went to his own hut
-
(let's just continue the rp)
-
"How do you feel about rEx Selturma>; Is;a asked gazing at the young Dracom intently.
-
"i like rex alot" replied Selturma looking at Rex
-
You are both 14 right?' Isla asked. "That is too young for the "rite of passage, you need to be 16 for that..
-
"okay" said Selturma to Isla
-
Does he feel the same way about you?" isla asked..
-
"yes he does" replied Selturma
-
(gotta go to bed, see ya's)
-
(see you later meta nice rping with you)
-
Adykon met with the adults of the party to discuss plans to find the statue.
"Alright, people. We've been searching for this artifacts in the lost city for many days, and we have still come up empty handed. What do you propose we do about it?" he said.
"We know that this artifact is magical" Rhiga said "So it makes sense that we should only search in areas that Kravik and Sivar can detect magic in."
"Good idea." was Adykon's reply. "That should decrease our search time dramatically."
-
"I am also empty handed, no clues to find the one I've been hunting down..." - Eriol said to the members of the party that were gathered there - "... I'll keep looking, but I'll remain with you all, so we could kill two birds with just one stone."
-
Adykon finalized the plans.
"Alright everybody, listen up! Kravik and Sivar here are going to try and detect any powerful magics coming from this temple. If they find anything, which they almost certainly will, we will check out those parts. This temple complex is gigantic and dangerous, so don't wander too far from the camp that we have made here, okay?"
"Alright" Vaeri said "We should find something to occupy ourselves in the meantime..."
-
I have also been trained in the detecting arts " isla chimed in..
-
"Do you know how to detect a magical field from a great distance, Isla?" Adykon said. "We need to find a source of magic which, for all we know, might be buried under tons of rubble, or be sealed in a metal chamber. If your magic is strong enough to get through obstacles like that, then by all means come and join us in our attempts to finally find this thing."
-
Isla closed her eyes and focused. "Powerful magic hides the artifact.." She said opening her eyes after a few minutes. "I saw a row of lights, but only one will lead to the artifact.. our journey is far from over..
-
"Did you see where these lights were?" Adykon said. "Can you tell me about their color? Their brightness? What did the lanterns or torches or whatever the lights were being held in look like?"
-
They were in a narrow hall. there were several of the m, coloredred, blue green, and other colors besides.. they culminated what appeared to be cups od some sort..onlt one will lead to the true artifact.. if we choose the wrong one. it will be fatal to all of us.. and it will be swift.' Isla replied..
-
"And you say you don't know which ones are the correct lights?" Adykon asked, feeling apprehensive about the possibility of death for himself and the party. "Well, Kravik can summon creatures, to my knowledge, and so can Sivar. If we had to send them down all of the paths and see what happens to each of them, so be it. If there is another way, a better way, please tell me as soon as you think of it."
Adykon had no desire to send any living being to certain doom, but if he had too, he would no hesitate to send summon creatures down those paths.
-
The magic xcan only be activatyed by magoic> summoned creatures will not work.. they will simply vanish.." isla replied. she noticed an opening in the wall. " Selturma, come with me.. Lets see where this leads.."
-
"I am 14 years old and unarmed" Selturma said. "I will go with you... but only if Rhiga or Adykon come with me as well. This place is dangerous."
Selturma had been trained in the use of martial arts, and she was quite good at them, given her height and build. Still, her skin and bones were a lot softer than those of the Dracon males, and while she could punch and kick well, her clawed limbs were no replacement for a good sword or axe; and she lacked the training to use such weapons.
-
Very ell. Adykon, come with me and Selturma.."" Isla replied..
-
"Alright" Adykon said. "Where are we going? Follow behind me, Selturma."
"I hope we aren't gone too long" Selturma said. "Rex is still-"
"Rex will probably do better if he spends some time away from you and your pheremones" Adykon replied. "We are here to find the statue, not to make out."
-
Yes you do need to get away from your friend, otherwise at the rate you two are going, you'll end up doing it, within a matter of months.. the rules say 16.. and I know a friend who mated before then. both she and her mate were sevwerely punished.." Isla shudderded. ' So to lessen that risk.. you need to spend some time away from Rex and his charms..
-
"If anything, he needs to spend time away from me" Selturma said. "He is unused to being so near to a female that he is attracted to, and he seems to harden down there every time I am next to him for more than five minutes. Of course-" Seluturma said, looking down at her bare chest "I am partly to blame for that" she added with a smile.
-
Yes.. You might want to cover up.. seklturma.. you are a very atttractive young female, and your breasts are developing nicely, but you shouldn't tempt him like this, especially if he gets hard everytime you are near him" Isla said, looking at Selturma with a raised eyebrow "it doesn't take m,uch at his age to set him off. I should know I've had Several brothers go through that with thier girlfriends.."
-
"I am more comfortable this way" Selturma said. "If he can't control himself, that is his problem... besides, he won't get used to it until he sees it enough. After some time, he will learn how to control it" she said. "I also think it is a good thing for him, in a way; he seemed a lot happier when I decided to take off my top."
-
" As you wish. Isla said< thrusting her staff forward and ducking into the passageway. " Do you go, just topless or complete au natural?
-
"I keep my loincloth on" Selturma said. "I will also cover my top if we reach a city or town. How do you dress at home? I know that most of us Dracons only wear a loincloth when we are at home by ourselves and our families, but some of us like to do things differently."
-
It depends Isla said.. "on my mood.. I'vre always been a bit of a fire cracker.. I sometimes go au natural.. and that "tomboy spirit goes to my relationships as well..
-
"What will you do when your father decides to marry you off?" Adykon said. "That sort of fiery attitude won't help you much then."
"Indeed" Selturma added "You will be expected to produce as many offspring as possible with your husband, along with his other wives. I hope when it does happen that you can still enjoy yourself."
-
Well, I don't see that day coming for awhile yet. My husband will have to put up with me, as will his other wives.." Isla grinned.. "My father hashis status well grounded, he has basically let me and the younger children live freely as we please.. but when that comes, I will bear children to my mate, because I want them, and am ready to have a family for family's sake. Since I am one of 52, it doesn't matter as much to the family if I have kids, than say my elder vbrothers don't have kids.. and they will.. Father will have hundreds if not thousands of grandchildren..
-
"Do you think your father will allow you to marry a husband of your choice?" Adykon queried. "I know that the rich marry for political reasons as much as anything else..."
"I would hate for that to happen to me" Selturma thought.
-
Well, be grateful at least that you don't have to worry about it, unless you are asked by a noble to marry him" Isla replied. "As for my father, he really doesn't care, After the first twenty alliances, there is little to gain, by marrying off Daughter 37 to son 42 of the neighboring lord.. "
-
"What if a lord he wishes to ally himself with wants to marry you?" Adykon asked. "I am sure that he would do it; he has so many children already..."
"I hope it goes well for you, and that your husband treats you with respect and love." Selturma said.
-
There is one other way of alliance making although it is often not spoken off publicly, because it is frowned upon in society.." isla replied. 'And if a lord wished to marry me to allign himself with my father, he would see to it that I would known promptly.."
-
"What might that way be?" Adykon asked.
"Does it involve dark magics?" Selturma added.
-
No, it involves" Isla's voice dropped to a whisper. "female-female pairings. So lets say If I displeased my father, he might order me into a relation ship with a daughter of a neighboring lord. in that instance, both of us would be forced to live together, with all that implies, until a male came along to claim us, and he would claim both of us.. we would no say in the matter." Isla said..
-
Adykon's voice turned grim "That is illegal, you know. No king of ANY Dracon city would allow that sort of unnatural behavior to continue for long, if he knew of it. If word of this gets out, your father will either have to successfully cover it up, or your entire family name is going to be tarnished, and you may lose everything."
-
Isla looked at Adykor. you obviouslly have never been to the court of Lord Istarix.. gossip sauys is that is his punishment for disobedient daughters.. there have been allrgatrion against his family about such matters for years, but there never has been any proof found..My father doesn't care much for him, as you might imagine.." Isla replied.
-
"The people under him would rise up and revolt if they heard of that" Adykon said. "He must keep it a secret very well, because no Dracon with the slightest sense of decency would let it continue. Surely he would be deposed by one of his subordinates."
-
Dracon Lords hold immense poower over thier subject. Any revolt would be supressed by his forces. However, their opinion of thier lord is not high, and I thionk they know of the "pairings" they just keep quiett as so not to be hushed up and locked away in his dungeons.. " Isla replied..
-
"Impossible." Adykon said. "He would have to be using some sort of mind control spells or something, because, as a soldier and a mercenary, I know that the Dracons who make up an army would rather commit murder than to tolerate such an act of unnatural-!"
"Can we change the subject?" Selturma said. "We ARE supposed to be going somewhere, right?"
-
Yes, we do have a youth among us.." Oisla replied.. they had been walking during thier talk.. as the steps continued to climb down.. finally leveling off. in front of a door, which was closed shut..
-
"Do you know what is behind this door?" Adykon asked Isla. "It seems like it isn't too sturdy... I might be able to smash it open..."
"No!" Selturma exclaimed "It might be trapped. You males always think with your muscles..."
-
There is writing on it" She lidfted her staff to it, and read " This door will opwn in 7 ways, but must be closed in eight., Listen to it once..open the hle.."
Open in 7 ways, but closed in 8, its a riddle.." She said. " We have to solve the riddle to open this door..
-
"Are there seven parts to the door?" Adykon said.
"Do you think we need seven keys?" Selturma added.
-
Keys.. keys.. well there is no keyhole that I can see 'isla said. "but something about keys rings true..
-
"Maybe it will take seven of us to open the door?" Adykon suggested.
"Do you even know the answer to this?" Selturma asked Ilsa.
-
I thinking.. IT'll cometo me.. Listen.. listen. i'm an Idiot1 Its music!' Isla exclaimed. In Music there are 7 major keys, and there are 8 notes in iin a octave, which you close by repeating the noted do. "
-
"I don't know if any of us have a musical instrument" Adykon said.
"I can dance and sing" Selturma said "But I cannot play music."
-
Sing in easch of the 7 keys A B C D E F G, and I think The door wil open" Isla said.
-
Selturma did so, and her sweet voice echoed around the walls of the temple.
"That was very good, Selturma" Adykon said "But, did it work?"
"I wonder what will happen if Rex heard that" Selturma thought.
-
the door began to shake and it swing open. " Excellent!' Isla Said, Giving Seltuma a hug.. " You are a wonderful singer... Do yiou take lessons..?"
-
"I was trained by my adopted mother" Selturma said "She also taught me how to dance. My adopted father trained me in the ways of martial arts, in case you want to know."
"She trained you well indeed" Adykon said. "We should go back and get the others. If this truly is the way to the statue, then we will need all of the help we can get."
-
As they started back through there was a loud rumble as debris began falling in front of them in a loud earsplitting roar! " Can't go bacL! We need to move! " Isla said.
-
Selturma charged forward, just as a major pile of debris fell behind her.
"Selturma! Watch out!" Adykon said as the debris fell with a loud crash!
But it worked. Although she was cut off from Adykon and Isla, Selturma was now on the path back to the camp. "I'll be back for you! Don't worry!" she said to them, hoping that they could hear her through the rubble.
"Can't you use your magic to blast a hole in this rubble?" Adykon asked Isla.
-
Not through this amount of debris. " WE can't wait for her.. we must press on.."
-
"The two of us don't have enough power to press on" Adykon said. "We don't even have enough power by ourselves to take down those statues we faced earlier. We will have to find another way back, or wait here until the others blast their way through."
-
Isla remained quiet s she pondered his remark. "Its going to taken a while to blast through here. " Do you have anything that could keep us eabtertained?' She asked.
-
"Entertained?" Adykon said. "Well, not really. I have some stories I can tell from the war, as well as some old tales my father told me."
-
Jake decided to go exploring
-
Selturma came rushing back into camp, running as fast as she could.
"Rex! Rex! We need help!" She screamed, hoping to get him and the others to come to her aid.
-
"what?" said Rex in surprise
-
Selturma ran right into Rex's arms and hugged him tightly.
After a minute, she calmed down and told him what had happened.
"Adykon and Isla are trapped behind a huge pile of debris. We need to go help them."
-
'okay, lead the way" said Rex
-
Jake found an old coin lying on the ground. Jake went to pick it up, but when he touched it the coin turned to dust
"man, that coin must be really old...." thought Jake to himself "i wonder if i could find anymore"
-
Rhiga heard that there was trouble, so she pulled on her loincloth, got up, and went to go see what was going on.
Selturma explained to her what had happened. "That isn't good" Rhiga said. "I am not strong enough to dig through the rubble, but I will see what I can do to help."
-
"come on, let's go and save them" said Rex to Selturma and Rhiga
-
"I can get to them." Kravik said, moving over to around to be near the debris and did a dimention door to where they were. Once there he looked to see how they were. "How are both of you?" He asked.
-
"I am fine, Kravik. It is good to see you back in action!" Adykon said. "Isla is fine as well." We need to go forward through that door, but we need to get back around this rubble first, then clear the rubble entirely so that the whole party can pass through. We will need all of the help we can get."
-
Jake was still exploring around the temple, he came across a few piles of rubble.
"this place is really old........speaking of old i'm gonna be 15 tomorrow!" thought Jake "i can't wait!"
-
"Kravik isn't back yet" Selturma said to Rex "I hate to admit, Rex, but... I'm scared." She hugged him tightly.
-
Kravik nodds, "I can carry both of you back with a dimension door if you wish and some priests & priestesses do have a shape stone spell I think." Kravik said.
-
"Please do that" Adykon said. "Get us back to the other side of this debris, and quickly! I need to tell the rest of the party about the room which Isla and I believe has the statue that we have been searching for all this time."
-
Rex reassured Selturma "don't be scared, evrything will be okay"
Rex hugged Selturma back
-
Selturma felt Rex's strong muscles and felt reassured.
"Oh Rex, you make me feel so safe." she said as one of her hands scratched his back.
-
"maybe we shouldn't be so close to each other" said Rex "i should learn how to control myself around you"
-
"To tell you the truth Rex, it is I who is losing control" Selturma said, gesturing down to her loincloth, which was wet from her excitement. "It is only natural for a female to seek protection from a strong male when she is frightened."
-
"i did not know that you thought that you were the one losing control" said Rex confused
-
"We should both lose control every now and then" Selturma said "It feels good to let our 'inner dragons' out. I cannot deny my feelings for you." She said as she caressed him. "You shouldn't deny it either" she said "control is good, but not at this moment... I need to feel right now, not to think."
-
"okay, if you say so Selturma" said Rex affectionately as he gave her a small hug
-
Jake walked around the temple looking at all the carvings and symbols
"i wonder what all these symbols mean?" thought Jake out aloud
-
"Let's go back into an alcove here, where no one can see us" Selturma said, grabbing his hand and running with him just out of sight of the rest of the party. The tension in the air was thick between these two Dracons. Selturma was so hormonal, she was almost giddy.
"I don't care about the statue, money, or any sort of plan anymore, Rex. I want you" She said, her eyes staring into his with an expression of longing.
-
Kravik nodded & dimension doored himself, Adykon and Isla back to the other side of the debris from where he had first dimension doored from initially. He looked around to make sure both had come back with him since he had intended for them to do so when he cast the spell to return here.
-
Rex Sat in front of Selturma. His eyes met hers. he smiled and he gave her a hug
-
Selturma pulled herself close to Rex and kissed him passionately and wrapped her arms around him again. She closed her eyes... then broke the kiss.
"How are you feeling Rex?" she asked "I'm so horny I can hardly contain myself." She said.
-
"i feel...good" replied Rex grinning
-
Selturma looked down "I can see that you are" noting his bulge. "Don't be ashamed of your 'wood'; it is a sign of your 'life-drive', and that you want to unite with me one day, just as I want to do with you." she said. "Be proud of it; it really is large for your age; a real dominant piece of 'wood' in the forest."
-
Rex blushed at selturmas comment
"thanks..." he said
-
"Are you feeling uncomfortably hard?" She asked. "I know I am feeling hot and uncomfortable down here, and it is hard to think of anything else except my desire."
-
"well sort of..." replied Rex "i am very hard.......extremely"
-
"What do your dragon instincts tell you to do, Rex?" she said. "I know what mine are telling me to do..."
-
"well my instincts are telling me that i need to relieve myself...." said Rex trying not to show that he really needed to
-
"How would you feel if you were no longer ashamed to hide how you feel?" she asked him "Wouldn't it feel... liberating?"
-
"well...yes it would feel good not having to hide how i feel" said Rex to selturma "i really hate having to hide my true feelings"
-
"When this is over, we should never hide how we feel again!" Selturma said." "We should be honest with how we feel, both emotionally... and physcially."
-
'how do you suppose we express ourselves?...." asked Rex
-
"We are too young, yet, to fully do it." Selturma said. "Come here" she said. "Let me rub your back for a minute."
-
rex walked over to selturma
-
She proceeded to rub his back. She seemed to really like it, and let out a small growl of pleasure.
"You feel that, Rex?" Selturma said to him. "My desire for you feels sort of like that, but it needs no massaging to keep it feeling good."
-
Rex like selturma rubbing his back
"when you are finished, would you like me to rub your back" asked Rex innocently
-
"Yes, Rex, sure. But, do you understand what I am trying to tell you about desire and love?" She moved over and he started to rub her back, working out knots and kinks, and making her growl in pleasure this time.
-
"i understand" said Rex "you really are liking this back rub"
Rex continued on for another 10 minutes
-
Selturma lay down on her stomach, and Rex continued to rub her. She thought of something rather naughty, but didn't let it get to her now; she knew that the time was not yet right... and he knew it too.
-
Jake decided to walk back to camp. he had been exploring for a long time now and he was getting tired
-
Selturma finished being rubbed by Rex. "I know that males of your age like to dress in shirts and other clothing, but you are not like this, Rex. Why is that?" She asked.
-
"shirts are very annoying" said Rex "they restrict movement in fights, they are also very uncomfortable"
-
"I think that it is hot that you don't wear one." Selturma said. "Clothing is often restrictive... and it often feels unnatural on my skin. If we live together, we should see as much of each other as possible."
-
Rex grinned
"you think i'm hot without a shirt?" said Rex "then when you are around i won't wear one"
-
"How do you dress at home, Rex?" Selturma asked him. "If I should ever live with you, it is best to know these things. I go topless with just my loincloth... and sometimes without even that, if we have some privacy."
-
"at home i only wear a loincloth, but that is when i'm around family" said Rex "when it's just you i won't wear anything"
-
"Good!" Selturma said to Rex "That is what I wanted to hear. It must feel good for you to get out of those pants" she said while laughing.
-
Rex started laughing too
-
"Do you live with Jake?" Selturma said, curious. "How does a human fit in with a family of Dracons? It must be odd."
-
"yes jake lives with us" said Rex "he was adopted by my family when Jake was nine, i think his family had died, he had been wandering the desert for over 3 days, and to answer your question about how he fits in is that instead of wearing a loin cloth he wears what humans call 'boxer shorts"
-
"It must be odd to see a pale-skinned human sitting with your family in private." she said. "I am unfamiliar with human anatomy; do both sexes have those five little useless toes on their feet?"
-
"yes they do" replied Rex "i do not understand why they keep their claws short"
-
"I would not know either." Selturma replied. "I've seen Jake and Sasha walking around in those 'shoes' and 'sandals'. What kind of a race has to wear something over its feet in order to walk well?"
-
'i think they wear them for protection against the hot desert sand" said Rex "sasha has fair skin, meaning that she can get burnt easily"
-
"My skin is pretty pale too, in places, especially my feet" Selturma said, stretching out her right foot to Rex its soft white sole. "I don't let it get to me. Do you think these humans enjoy wearing these garments on their feet? Does Jake like to remove them when he gets home with you?"
-
"he loves to take them off when he get's back from school and when we return from special occasions" said Rex "at home he wears 'socks' at home"
-
"More foot coverings?" Selturma said. "What are these 'socks' like, and does wearing them ever get him in trouble for dressing too much? I know that my foster mother did not want me to wear my top in the house, and she got mad when I did."
-
"the socks are a soft thing made of wool and no, he doesn't get into trouble" said Rex "i think he just forgets to take them off"
-
"What are they, exactly?" Selturma asked. "Some sort of sandal? I thought that footwear was intended to protect their feet from hard, hot or sharp surfaces, but a home should be safe enough to walk in without these, even for a human."
-
"jake just wears them to remind him of what it was like when he lived with his parents..." said Rex "i think..."
-
"But, what ARE they?" Selturma queried... "Although I can understand why he might want to wear them... I hope he gets to feel the floor sometimes... it must be odd not to."
-
"jake still get's to feel the floor, he just forget's to take them off" said Rex "socks are these things that you put on your foot, you can't see your toes at all and it makes your feet look soft"
-
"Weird" Selturma said. "Well, if he likes to wear them sometimes, I suppose that is his choice. At least he has some sense of feeling down there, as he doesn't wear those shoes of his at home. I don't know if Sasha uses these 'socks' or not... would you know?"
-
"i havn't seen sasha with socks on at her house, she seems to dress like a dracon female all the time....apart from the sandals at daytime" said Rex
-
"It's good to see that some humans have sense... at least some of the time. Do you have public gardens in the city in which you live?"
-
"no, not at all" said Rex "i wish to see what green grass looks like sometime soon"
-
"I have seen grass before; they have public gardens where I come from. It feels really good to walk on it. Do humans have grass where they come from? Did Jake ever tell you about it?" Selturma said to Rex.
-
"jake did tell me one time about grass" said Rex "he said that it was extremely soft to the touch and it was soft to lay on, i hope i get a chance to feel it"
-
Meanwhile...
"We have observed this party for some time now." The female mage said. "What can we possibly hope to learn now?"
"Even that collapse we triggered wasn't enough to stop them" The male mage said. "We shall have to trap them instead of crushing them...but how?""
The female mage replied;... "I... think I know..."
-
"come on selturma, we should get back to the party" said Rex "we should also see if isla and adykon are free"
-
Selturma and Rex returned to the party, and were happy to see that the party had been reunited.
"Good to see that we are all in one place" Adykon told them. "Now, we need to get through the rubble here, and into the next chamber, where we will have to proceed from in order to find the statue."
-
"to cover more ground" said Jake "should we split up?"
-
"NO!" Adykon said. "That almost got Isla and me killed a short time ago. We should stay together and find a way to clear this rubble."
-
Kravik talked with Sivar for a bit. They compared what spells they had that may work on clearing the rubble and came up with an idea.
Kravik first cast his make whole on the rubble to form it into 1 whole wall like shape. Then Sivar went to touch it and shaped it with her spell, since it was now 1 object into some supports to help support the ceiling, but also making an easy to walk through doorway so passage was easy for folks to walk through.
-
"okay...." said Jake, Jake had clearly still wanted to be away from Rex
-
"How convenient" Adykon said. "Thank you very much, Kravik and Sivar. Now that we are free to pass, we can pass through this way, and then through a door that Selturma managed to open earlier."
-
Isla moitioned to Selturma. "Thank you SElturma for getting us help.. you save our lives.." She smiled at her young friend.. now ;lets see where this passage leads..
-
The party walked through the passage. Their path took them to a patch of green grass with other plants mixed in with it; this must be the temple's garden, which would have been maintained to provide the priests and mages of the ancient temple with vegetation needed to make certain potions and medicines. Surrounding the garden were several hallways, each one lit up by a different series of lights, as Isla's vision had said there would be.
"Look, Rex!" Selturma said excitedly. "Those green plants! That's grass!"
-
"Be careful' Isla said. "who knows what enchantments remain onnthis place? Be careful you two' She said as they began to explore the garden..
-
The grass here was very inviting; soft, green, and somehow, looked like it had been planted rather recently... which was odd, because the temple and the city had been abandoned thousands of years ago... something was not right.
-
This.. is not right.. after thousands of years,.. this place should be barren... I think magic is involved in this..." Isla said, eyeing the grass..
-
"Maybe the garden was enchanted" Rhiga said. "The priests and mages who lived here must not have had time to keep a garden maintained using the normal means, so they could have cast a spell on it in order to keep in fresh and well-maintained."
-
That is possible.. but magic loses its potency after a long time.. unless it is maintained..' Isla replied.. "Either it has been maintained.. or this is an illusion..' Isla said.. looking at Selturma she noticed sweat running down her chest and over her belly. " What were .. you two doing?" She asked her eyes narrowed/...
-
"What? You mean Rex and me?" Selturma said. "We were just... talking."
"Yes, that's all we really did." Rex added. "We just talked about our future."
"I will admit that it got a little... personal" Selturma said to Isla.
(Metadude gave me permission to use Rex while he was away)
-
(thats fine..)
I know you two are young.. and obviously taken with each other.. but you must MUST compose yourselves.. and that is hard when your hoormones are in overdrive' Isla said.. "if you don't, there will be no future for your rellationship.. the penalty for inimate relations before the age of 16, is the forced and permenant seperation of the couple.."
-
"That is only true in the case of the rich" Adykon said, interrupting Isla. "The poor and the middle class are not bound as tightly by rules. For the rich, knowing who the heir is can be very important due to the amount of property that is invovled, but for the 'lower classes', it is not as taboo. Still, Isla is correct. There will be plenty of time to make love to each other later."
-
Isla nodded at Adykon.. " Now lets look for any writings.. there wil likly be another riddle to answer in this chamber.."
-
Selturma, Rhiga, and Vaeri looked at the grass with a very happy expression in their faces. "Do you think the grass will still be soft?" Vaeri asked.
"It looks soft, and must feel good to walk on." Rhiga said to her mother.
"There's only one way to find out. Come on, Rex. You wanted to know what grass feels like, now's your chance to find out." Selturma said.
"I'll be right there!" Rex told his lover.
-
Isla continued to look at the walls. She blew in her claws, and reached inside her pouch.. and blew the dust into the air. the dust settled in the runes. "Here in the grassy pplace, a forbidden risk must be taken, the choice must be made quick, ere the bounds of love be broken. choose or be restrained forevermore, trappped in this grasy place.."
Isla's eyes grew " Don't step on the grass!" She called out but it was too late..
-
The other females and Rex stood on the grass! Nothing happened... or so it seemed.
"What did you say, Isla?" Rhiga said to her.
"It has been too long since I felt this..." Selturma said.
"It feels bouncy and odd... but it is good." Rex said to Selturma.
-
the grass changed.. they were now in a field of want looked to a type of flower. the flowers began growing rapidly.. wrapping themselves around rEx, Selturma, and Rhiga.. "No' Isla moaned as the the vines began to move up thier sides.. "The choice .. Something forbidden.. What is forbbiden?'
-
Rex tried to break free, but the vegetation was very strong.
Adykon cut some of the plants with his greatsword, but they grew back almost instantly.
"This is dark magic!" Adykon said. "The mages must have enchanted this place! It was a trap all along, and the grass was a lure!"
-
"The only way to break the curse.. is to do something that is forbidden" Isla said.. the wines were now up to thier waists.. "What should I do.. ?'
-
"What sort of actions are forbidden in a temple?" Adykon asked. "Blasphemy? desecration of holy images? Cursing? Some sort of evil magics?" He said, his mind racing.
-
What is forbidden in general.. " Isla said..This is evil magic, so its not that. I'll try swearing.. " isla began using blue language.. and vines only began to grow faster.. they were now up to thier chests.."No.. swearing doesn't work.."
-
Adykon looked around, and saw a small stone statuette of a dragon. Thinking it was a holy item, he chopped it in half with his sword in one swipe. "There! That must be forbidden! Destroying a holy item in a temple would get me in serious trouble if this were a working temple."
-
The vines continued to grow.. "No, descretrating an object isn't it.." isla shook her head, the vines were now approaching thier shoulders.. Isla paused. 'i have it. I have to kiss them.. "
-
"Kiss the vines?" Adykon said, incredulously. "How is that forbidden? I don't know what crazy codes of honor the rich have sometimes..."
-
No, I have to kiss them" Isla pointed aat Selturma, aNd Rhiga. "it is forbidden for girls to kiss in any way other than as a friendly greeting.. "the vines had now reached thier necks.. "And we are running out of time.."
-
"Do it! And quickly!" said Adykon, turning his eyes away. "That is forbidden as well, but even I did not contemplate it!"
-
Kravik and Sivar waited to see if Isla's plan would work. While waiting they both cast a detect magic spell thinking it may be handy in the future perhaps. If the grass were enchanted maybe other things could be also.
-
Well, I had to think of Something" Isla said. Forgive me, Selturn,ma. " She said as she approached her. " Isla wrapped her arms around her neck, which was now covered inn cvines, and kissed her on the lips. Red lips met red lips and Ilsa placed her tongue in Selturma's mouth, moving it around her mouth, feeling the sides of the mouth, the and the back of her throat. Isla felt Sellturma's tongue enter her mouth.Isla pulled her tongue out, and pulled away. Alomst immediately, the vines began to shrink and retract. Isla moved over to Rhiga, and kissed her in the same way, and the vines shrank away from her. She then Moved over to rEx and kissed him in the same manner,. in a manner of seconds the vines fell away, and the vines vanished to reveal a bare floor. the lights dimmed, and only one remained lkit. "That must be it. Isla said, stepping away from Rex.
-
"That was... something I wouldn't repeat again" Vaeri said.
"No, but we really must thank you for saving us" Rhiga added.
"Yes. Sick as it was, you have our gratitude" Rex said.
"Same here" Selturma added "Although there must have been another way"
"There was no time for anything else" Adykon said. "She did what was necessary... this one time."
-
There was no other way.. and I would not do it again" Isla said firmly. besides.. it opened the door" She pointed to the one lit chamber.. "It had to be something extreme..."
-
"There may well be more traps inside." Kravik said indicating the door. Both Kravik and Sivar decided to keep their detect magic spells up in case.
"It may be the first of many." Sivar said.
-
Yes, we best be prepared for anything" Isla replied. and Rex.." She smiled. "You're a good kisser. You're going to make selturma VERY happy, when the time coms.."
-
Rex blushed, and not for the first time today. "Thanks, Isla. I think that she and I are already happy, though. I know I am. I'm a very lucky Dracon."
-
Yes you are" Isla replied, patting him affectionately on the head. Selturma.' Her voice dropped to a whisper as she leaned close to SElturma's ear. "when i kissed you, your tongue went in my mouth. It wasn''t intentional I'm sure, it just happened.."
-
"That was a mistake" Seturma said "And it was never my intention. Come to think of it, I could use a good rinsing right now. Ugh. It was okay that you kissed Rex this once, but don't do it again. He's with me, after all."
-
I'm sure" Isla replied. "You're a good kisser Selturma' She smiled.. "You and Rex will make a fine couple.. and will have a large family together..'
-
"I hope so." Selturma said. "I wish to have as many offspring as possible... but I am a bit nervous of what happens when the egg has to be laid. Would you know anything about that?"
-
Well, the egg is carried in the body for several weeks before it is laid" Isla replied, as they paused on a steo leading downward. "you must make a nest for them, before you lay them.. the egglaying itself is painful unfortunately, oftentimes the female has be given a poition to block out the pain. it depends on how many egs see lays.."
-
"I hear that is still a lot quicker and less painful than for what human females go though." Selturma added. "Still, it does seem like a lot of pain, and I have heard that when the egg is very big in my belly, it might hurt my back."
-
Isla replied. "Yes, they have to carry thier children for almost a year.. "its not fun delivering live young. at least with eggs you have time to prepare for thier birth... and yes, during your bearing, you should take care not to injure yourself..."
-
"My adopted mother was pregnant every year that I knew her." Selturma said. "I wish for that to happen to me too, but I need to know; will my being pregnant make intimacy between Rex and me harder? And, if I look all fat and bloated, will I not be as attractive to Rex?"
-
"Really? That can't be right; my adopted mother and father had relations again the very night after my adopted mom laid an egg. Maybe that was not the best thing for her to do... but, if her roaring and screaming was any indication, she certainly enjoyed it... And they thought I couldn't hear them..."
(I already covered this sort of thing in the source material that I linked to in the discussion page. The female Dracons can get pregnant again before the egg they laid even hatches.)
-
"Well, each couple makes thier own decisons aabout thier relations.." Isla replied. "But it prefred that the couple wait a bit, your parents disregarded this. I'm guessing Rex will too, judging by his feelings for you.."
-
"What if he wants to have relations with me, and want to too, but it might not be best for me to do so... Must we deny our feelings for each other? I don't think I could ever do that, especially if I have gone a while without doing it with him." Selturma said to Isla.
-
You have to act in the best for yourself, healthwise..' Isla replied. "if that requires denying yourself to him, you must do that.. no matter how much he nbegs.." Isla gave her a look.. "and no matter how much you'd like to..
-
"I think I would be the one unable to cope" Selturma said. "While Rex has gotten firm on a number of occasions, he has never asked me to mate with him even once. While I... very nearly did ask him to do so a number of times. We Dracons are prolific breeders, I won't deny that, and it feels so... odd to think of not acting on that impulse. How often are your father's wives pregnant?"
-
Well since they had 52 kids, they were pregnany frequently.." Isla replied. "You will have to restrain yourself, by whatever means possible, even having spells cast on you.. whatever it takes to get through the process "
-
"What is that?" Selturma said. "Is it a spell cast on you by a mage? Did you cast it yourself? I don't know what it is, but I don't think I would be comfortable with constraining myself using magic. "
-
"Let me check with Kravik and Sivar, then. They can determine that in under a minute."
Selturma ran over to check with them, fearful of having any magic passed onto her. Fortunately, they said that she didn't.
"Good. It didn't pass." Selturma said. "What was that magic?" she asked Isla.
-
"You don't know what you are talking about." Selturma said. "I don't feel anything, and neither Kravik nor Sivar could detect it. I think that you are acting on your own impulses, Isla, and from what I can tell, those aren't normal. Rex! I need some help!"
"What is it? Is Isla bothering you?" Rex said.
-
Eriol came closer to Kravik and Sivar and asked them with a kind of friendly voice, different from his common un-emotional tone of his voice. - "The Dracons there seem quite busy, do you need anything I may be able to offer?."
-
"If it is magical abilities you have you need training to get them under control and not use them accidentally." Kravik said.
-
"Yes and Kravik and I can help you. Having magical abilities is nothing to be ashamed of" Isla replied.."Indeed, in may family, magic is highly honored..
-
"With training you'll be able to use all of your abilities without endanger others.." - Eriol said. - ".. I have no magical powers, but I do know a bit about them."
-
"I have no magic!" Selturma said. "It would have been detected earlier by you, or by the spells of magical detection cast earlier to find the statue. I'm just a girl, not a mage; I have no skill in magic, and I really don't want to learn any!"
"Let me see her!" Adykon said, seeming angrier than usual. He pulled something out of his pocket "I have a gem here which lights up when magic is near... magic of ANY sort. It isn't very useful under most circumstances, but it will settle this matter now."
He brought the gem over to Selturma. It did not light up at all.
"You are wrong, Isla. Just... wrong." He said.
Selturma was very happy to hear it.
-
"But you are a special girl , all the same" Isla got up, and starting walking towards the light. " Now to find the next Riddkle.. " she pausing to allow her focus to return.
-
Selturma wondered if someone up there was laughing at her, or that someone was trying to make a decision for her that she would never make for herself. Regardless, they pressed on. She had to wonder though; was Isla in league with those mages? Was it coincidence that a kiss was the only thing which could free them from those vines? Or maybe... Isla was one of those mages in disguise, and was only toying with them before killing them in a gruesome manner... but no, Selturma did not know these things, and was not going to assume them about Isla; she HAD saved their lives back there, after all.
-
Isla moved on ahead.. "Be careful, the passage up ahead in very narrow " she said, as the steeps gave way to a very narrow bridg..
-
The party advanced in single file, being very cautious. After a short time, they got to the other side.
"Who builds temples with all of these traps and obstacles?!" Rhiga said. "There's no point to having all of these in our way!"
"It is probable that the temple was used as a safe storage by outside forces long after it was abandoned" Adykon said "It is a common practice for beings of great power who have to store something, like a treasure horde, or in our case, a magical statue."
"Do you think that the statue was originally in the temple, back when it operated normally?" Selturma asked Adykon.
"Yes, but other forces have since moved into this temple, such as those kobolds that kept attacking us. Stupid little creatures; too dumb to build any large structures of their own..."
-
In the stories I read, " Isla began, great kings would build enormous tombs for themselves and bury all of thier posessions in them. They would protect the treasures by all means of trap doors, booby traps and the like.."
-
"If that is true, then traps and obstacles make lots of sense. So there would be no need for mages to be here. There must be something any of you were not told about the statue when you were hired to get it." - Eriol commented, specially to the original members of the party.
-
"All I was told is that the statue is worth a lot of money... and that really counts in our society, Eriol." Adykon said. "I know that the mage who commissioned us to get the statue might not have been entirely honest with us, but that is a risk one takes in my field..."
-
"Money is a concern for me" Isla said.. "Even if you don't find the statue, I will be glad to pay you for your efforts.." This was a generous offer, Isla didn't have to do this..
-
"You mean your father would be paying, in the long run" Adykon said. "Females aren't even allowed to own land, much less earn enough money to replace the bounty for the statue. Does your father give you a generous stipend, then?"
-
"I know how important money is Adykon. I just hope the risk will not be higher than already is... I may not have any magic, but I still have instincts." - Eriol said frowning.
-
You forget I'm a noble.. "Isla replied. What you are describing is true for the lower and middle class female, but not for me. My family is very wealthy, and I am as well.. I can easily pay whatever fee the mage charged .." She added.
-
"It is best to be careful and alert, we may not have come across the last trap here." Kravik said.
"I bet we have not." Sivar said.
-
"I don't need your money" Adykon said. "I get my money the old-fashioned way; I earn it."
"You mean, by killing people in wars for profit?" Rhiga asked.
"Yes" Adykon said.
"Okay. That's a decent way to make a living" She replied.
The Dracons had few taboos against killing on a battlefield for money, although murder was by no means tolerated.
-
You would have earned it through your efforts..' Oh well. Suit yourself.. the offer remains on the table..' Isla said, turning and moving away..
-
"What interest do you have in rewarding us?" Adykon asked. "Are you working for you father, or has he sent you here for his own purposes?"
"Come to think of it, who IS your father?" Rhiga asked.
-
My Father is Lord Dunma.." Isla said. "He really doesn;t care what I do.. and my reasons for rewarding are simple. I reward honest effort, even if it is ultimately unsucessful.. you have currently warranted a reward to daye Adykon.. perhap you are not used to genrous nobility.. ?" Isla, gave him a small smile..
-
Rhiga felt uneasy; she had stolen from Lord Draha's estate before, although she got away with it. Isla must not have been present when it happened.
"So, does Lord Draha have any need of a mercenary?" Adykon said. "I prefer to work for kings , but I will take work from a noble as well."
-
He alwayd does" Isla nodded. "and he pays very well.." she noticed the uneasy look on Rhiga's face but said nothing..
-
"Maybe you can find some work with lord Draha, Rhiga." Adykon said. "I'm sure your knives would be of great-"
"NO!" she exclaimed. "I mean... I work on my own. No one commands me... I am a sort of... freelancer."
"That's my girl" Vaeri said. "She has her mother's free spirit."
"And if she keeps it up, she will have her mother's starving family." Adykon said.
-
Is there something that my father did to offend you.. Rhiga/" isla asked.. "My father is always looking for help..."
-
"Oh no. It is just that I don't like being told what to do" Rhiga said "Especially by a rich male... the wealthy keep females around as if they were only there to mate with, and only on his terms... I don't like that; I think I should be able to go where I want, eat what I want, and mate with what male I want, as long as he wants me too."
"A lot of males want you, indeed" Vaeri said. Rhiga also had her mother's body.
-
See, i hold the same idea" Isla nodded. "Females face such a double standard .. once we mate, we're expected to be baby machines..we really should have kids on our own terms.."
-
"The problem with that is you don't know who the father is most of the time" Adykon said. "Vaeri here can tell you more about that."
"Oh yes. That is why I am so thrilled to have Adykon here as a future husband." Vaeri said.
-
That is true.. but I'd raise them regardless. I'd just have to my mate, to accept them all" Isla grinned. "I'm probably looking at 30 or so children by the time I'm done having kids..
-
"You don't know much about the world outside your palace walls, do you?" Adykon said. "Most males won't touch a female who is living with children from other males, although they will accept a female whose children are grown and not living with her and therefore would not be a burden on his household."
"You also need to consider that only a certain percentage of eggs hatch, and of those, a certain percentage of children will die before they are six years old." Vaeri added. "Trust me, you need to have a lot of children in order for most to survive."
-
True.. I forget.. its different among nobles than among the other classes.. I keep forgetting that.." Isla ran her claws over her face..
-
"At least, as a noble, any children you bear will be well-cared for" Adykon said. "I'm sure you know that you will have to split your time between your husband and the other wives, and that your breeding will be as much for political reasons as anything else."
-
Oh i Know.." Isla nodded. "i betting on being married to a lowlevel offspring of a lord, son #30, or so... females are usually paired up with mates wo are around the same birth order.."
-
"Even a minor lord still brings advantages." Rhiga said. "Still, I could not imagine giving up my freedom."
"I could" Selturma said. "I know that pursuing a monogamous relationship with Rex makes me less 'free', but I love him so much..."
"You know, if he ever becomes rich and successful, he will almost certainly take a second wife." Rhiga told Selturma.
"I know... but, I am sure I will always be his favorite. If nothing else, a second wife would keep him occupied if he wanted to mate and I didn't want to do it... not that I see that happening." Selturma replied.
-
Second,? Try ten or more.. as many as he can get into his bed.." Isla said.. "In that case Selturma your relationship will suffer. You can't have the same close ties when wive #7 is sleeping with him, and she hates your guts.."
-
"Rex is the son of a middle-class soldier" Selturma said. "I actually don't see him becoming all that successful... which is, in a way, strangely good for me, as long as he can keep a roof over our heads and the household fed."
"You can take a job too, you know" Vaeri said.
"I fully intend to" Selturma replied.
-
Kravik and Sivar decided to stay out of the conversation going on and used light cantrips to add some light and see if they could see any inscriptions, or grafitti, on the walls or other places, without getting near or touching anything.
-
Yes, you should take a job.. My father always needs soldiers. i could put in a good word for you, and you and REx could come live with me at my castle..Isla smiled..
-
"Thank you, but Rex and I want to have some privacy." Selturma said. "I think I can manage to be an okay dancer..."
"The wages are terrible" Vaeri said. "There is a huge oversupply of dancers these days; it seems like it is all that males ever want us to do is dance, dance, dance. They never let us go into most crafts, and the ones which are open for us, weaving and the like, pay literal starvation wages."
-
My castle is very big. I would see to it that you would get a nice section to yourselves, with a good view, and if you want to be a dancer, my castle hosts a traveling dance brigade. they tell stories from thier travels and dance.. and they say my castle is one of the safest places they stay at.. Not sure about hoew good the pay is, I could check into that for you.." Isla said..
-
"Dancing isn't the best profession to be in unless you really love it" Vaeri said. "I love it, and so, I do it. It really take a toll on your feet and legs, and you will often end the day sore and tired."
"I know" Selturma said. "I don't think I am so devoted to that as much as I like acrobatics. I admit that I have a niche to it..."
"A niche?" Rhiga asked. "What sort of niche could you have in acrobatics."
"Well, I am not doing it yet... but I wish to become one of those... nude acrobats..." Selturma said.
-
Nude acrobativcs> " Isla frowned. That would do wonders for you relationship with Rex. Go out, and do backflips with your breasts hanging out and the guys in the seats cheering and whooping and dreaming og being with you and placing thier organ inside you.. look, if you want to do it Selturma, Thats fine..its your life after all.."
-
"It's just that... those acrobatics companies have very high standards." Selturma said. "I don't know if I can match them."
"I'm fairly certain you can, girl" Vaeri said. "You just need practice and patience."
"I know that the pay for such acrobatics is... okay. better than the regular acrobats, that's for sure." Rhiga added.
-
Well.. Frankly Selturma, I think I could find a better paying job for you..You need to keep your dignity.. "Isla said..."Is there are anything else you are good at, besides acrobatics? We'll mark down nude acrobatics..is there anything else you'd like to do? you need to keep your options open.."
-
"I like martial arts" Selturma said "But females are not allowed to be instructors, only learners, and even then, the males get first place in the classes. I also find nothing undignified about a crowd cheering me as I perform tricks, even in the nude."
"I dance nude most of the time, as do many dancers." Vaeri said.
-
Once again showuiing my ignorance of the outside wortld.. Isla said"once again Selturma in my world, I can get you into a lot of [places you couldn't get otherwise. You want to teach martial arts/ Fine i'll start up a school for you, and you can teach.. howevber you want.. we'd have to negotiate pay though. how much money would you want to make in a year teaching?' Isla asked, she had pulled a pad of paper from the air was writing on it.. "Teach martial arts" She wrote..
-
"How about painting." Kravik said manly staying out of the conversation but suggesting an idea.
"Or being a healer." Sivar said also suggesting an idea, though not in the main conversation.
-
"I'm afraid it isn't as simple as that" Adykon said. "The rich are acutely aware of the social order, and they will do little to change it. It is such an order which keeps them rich. If the way things were was to be overturned, they would have the most to lose."
"I don't want to be a teacher, really." Selturma said. "I don't think that male students would accept a female as an instructor."
"You got that right" said Rex, who had just shown up.
-
Painting and healing are good suggestions, although she doesn't know magic.." Isla wroite down those suggestions..
-
I have the freedom to do things my older siblings do not.. and even if the male students don't like it.. they can go elsewhere.. you'd probably end up teaching all girls.." Isla replied.. "Reach for the moon selturma, you're young. there is plenty of time to be worn down by life unfairness.. you should take chances now.. while thiee is an opening.."
-
"Painting... no." Selturma said. "Healing... I can see myself doing. I am already good enough with anatomy; I know which body parts are more and less sensitive, as well as where the pressure points are in a Dracon's body. I would have to be a natural healer, though, as I have no inherent magical skill, and I don't really wish to be taught magic... Besides, I don't need spells to work 'magic' on Rex's body..."
Rex blushed a bit.
-
Naughty naughty" Isla grinned. "Healing.. How are healers paid in the outside world " Isla meant in lower and middle cass life....
-
"natural non magic healing, herbalist, alchemist the type who makes potions, elixers & such, masseur, are more possibilities." Kravik suggested.
Sivar shrugged, "I'm not sure how they are paid, is anyone else?" She asked looking around.
-
"That depends. Magic healers are often employed by the temples, and their wages are mimimal, but the ones who work as private agents can make a decent living, for a female. Male healers usually earn more due to better training in medicine; we females are taught how to comfort, nurse, and caress." Vaeri said.
"Vaeri, where did you learn so much about healers?" Adykon asked.
"One of my sons is a healer, of the magical sort" she replied. "Natural healers work using non-magical means, and their pay is a lot less, but their skill with things like surgery or medicinal herbs is great. Of course, females don't perform surgery; they are like glorified medical masseuses. Still, they are very good at treating smaller injuries, and at relieving pain."
-
Ok" Isla said writing down the pay.." So lets say I have a big knot in my lower back.. you can relax that away, or do You only massage males?"
-
"That is a where females have an advantage" Vaeri said. "Males will never allow other males to rub them, but females have no problem with being rubbed by either sex. As a result, most Dracons who give massages are female."
"The one exception are the naughty parts" Rhiga said "Only members of the opposite sex are allowed to touch those."
-
Jake walked over to a rock
"i wonder what i could turn this into?....."thought Jake
-
So no touching of the breasts or privates ok..." Isla said writing that down.. "Good thing I decided to tag along with you folks, I'm learning a lot from you..
-
"That you are" Adykon said. "Being trapped in that palace all day is no good for your knowledge of how people really live in the outside world."
"It must be nice, though" Selturma said. "You can get whatever you want; food, drinks, massages, fancy clothes, soft beds... and if something is wrong, you can go to your father for help."
"I never knew my father..." Rhiga said.
"I wish I knew who he was" Vaeri added.
-
Jake turned his arm into an extremely sharp sword. He sliced the rock in two.
"man, i never realized my arm was that strong......being 15 is sweat!!!" thought Jake "i wonder if the others know if it's my birthday today......i'll have to wait and find out"
-
Which is why I want you to come live with me.. " isla said. "You'll be able to see how I live, in safety and comfort.. the cities aren't very safe.. there's crime , poverty, and all sorts of unpleasant things.."
-
"I value my freedom above those things" Rhiga said. "I don't want to be dependent on the patronage of some lord. We should all live free, like our ancestors once did."
"Our ancestors also lived in trees and on plains, often in mud huts" Adykon reminded her. "And they were no less patriarchal than we are."
-
patronage is unfortunately the way iof the world we live in " Most nobles I've meet despise the poor and middle class, so you're lucky to be dealing with one who gives a hoot.." isla said..
-
"The nobles who do care about the poor only do so because they want a mob at their disposal" Adykon said. "That's how bread and circuses works. People who don't want to think for themselves end up as being a mob who is only good for destroying things, and working for some low wage building project."
-
That is true.. those who are "enlightened.." are few"Isla nodded.." But it does cut both ways...
-
"Do you think that your father treats his wives well?" Adykon said. "I've heard stories of abuse... even going so far as to induce some wives of the rich to commit suicide!"
Rhiga understood what he meant; he wasn't kidding. There were many stories of a female mysteriously dying in her bedroom, or suffocating in a steam bath... some of them were suicides... others were...not.
-
Not having much to do Kravik and Sivar continued to do as before, looking at the walls and such as they did small talk about religious, arcane and magic subjects.
-
I've heard those stories too " My father treats his wives wel, he has five, not as many as others but easy to keep track of " i was born to his primary wive' Isla replied..
-
Jake walked over to the group
"hey guys, does anyone know what day it is today?" asked Jake innocently
-
Wednesday I think" Isla said. "How have you been jake?" She asked, giving sa rare smile to the human..
-
"Just five?" Adykon said. "I must congratulate him on his temperance. Many males of noble rank have twice as many. He clearly must spend a good deal of time with each of them, from what it sounds like. I only hope he can keep them satisfied; I could not handle any more than three myself..."
"And I have you all to myself!" Vaeri said to Adykon.
"Oh! Jake! Where are my manners? How are you?" Adykon said to the human youth.
-
"oh i was just wondering" replied Jake to Isla "i have been good, and you?"
Jake was clearly hiding something
-
They are well sastified, he had almost ten children apiece with them, and I believe wife #4 is pregnant, yes I'm going to be a big suister again. "I hope its a girl.." isla smiled.
-
"I can see why having that many wives would be... advantageous" Adykon said. "Still, staying with one is enough for me; I don't want to be concerned with a new child several times a year..."
"Ugh... tell me about it" Vaeri said "There were some years when I got pregnant again before the first egg that I laid had hatched that year... and I had no male around to help."
-
Yep, Isn't that like a guy. they beg to get "some" , mate, and then once you get pregnant, whoosh, they suddenly remember family they have to visit in Shira" isla replied. "Er.. SElturma. i have big knot in the middle of my back.. could you get it for me.. I will gladly pay you for it.. " Isla said.. her back was seizing up..
-
"Well, to be fair, Vaeri said "I am not so innocent myself.... in fact... I've never heard of a male who enjoys it as often as I do..."
"It is not fair to character males like that..." Adykon said.
"What was that? You want a massage?" Selturma said. "Where does it hurt?"
-
Lower back. right in the middle. Now how do you want me to lie down? Should i take off my top?' Isla asked..
-
Jake decided to walk away, he didn't want to see a topless dracon.
"erm......i'll see you all later..."
-
"Jake, I'll go with you if you want." Adykon said.
"No need to pay me, Isla" Selturma said. "I would give such a massage to my friends sometimes, when they were sore. And you don't need to take off your top unless you want to."
-
"you can come if you want, i was just gonna go for a sprint or do some weight lifting" said Jake as he turned around to talk to adykon
-
thank you" Selturma" Isla Said, taking off her top and lying down on the floor. "Whenever you're ready. you can start..' she said.
-
"I think it is the day when one does a special dance for Bahamut, if one is living at the temple and not away from it." Sivar said.
-
Selturma began, working her thumbs into Isla's lower back. Moving her clawed fingers in circles, she felt the knots.
"Wow. You are carrying a lot of tension." Selturma said. "Is using magic the cause of your stress? I have heard rumors about that..."
-
Maybe, I wouldn't know.. Oh.. Selturma your hands are so soft.. oh.. thats feels gound.. move your claws a little up.. if you could get my sides too, that would ge great, up and down.. all over.. a little higher.. and to the left.. that spot.. thats a tight one.. ' Isla said racting as Selturma's hands moved up on down her back. "You can do my legs as well..'
-
Jake and Adykon walked over to a section of them temple with the least rubble.
"i'll create some training equipment" said Jake
Jake used some alchemy on the walls to create weights
"there we go" said Jake
Jake picked up a weight and he started lifting it up and down
-
"I can do legs too" Selturma said. "How long have you had these knots? It seems like it has been quite some time since your last massage."
-
I actually can't remember the last time I had a massage..' Isla replied.. "The last person I hadn't wasn't as good as you.. I thik I might just hire you can my personal massager..
-
"I am no one's personal masseuse" Selturma said "The closest one who will ever receive such will be Rex, and only if we both feel like it. "
-
Fair enough, I was only kidding" Isla replied.. Now a little high and too the right.. After this do you mind if I try and give you a massage Selturma? If you're feeling ok, I'll just leave it be.."
-
"I would prefer Rex to do that." Selturma said as she moved her hands up and to the right. "How does this feel?"
-
Thats fine.. I was only asking.. Since you were doing such a good job.. I thought I might try my hand at it..see how well I could do it..and that feels greats. Your claws are soft, but firm, and my muscles are already starting to loosen up..
-
"Do the masseuses at your father's palace work on you a lot?" Selturma asked, knowing that every Dracon estate would have workers of that sort.
-
Not in a awhile, although they did when I was younger.." isla said.. How many siblings do you have Selturma? I've talked quite a bit about my family, but you haven't talked about yours.. at least in my presence.."
-
Selturma grew uncomfortable. "I was raised for years by adopted parents... my real mother... well, I hardly remember her, and my real father... I don't know who he is at all. I had quite a few adopted siblings though."
-
I'm sorry" Isla said simply. " i went where I shouldn't have.. Please forgive me Selturma..tell you what.. When We get done I'll try and help you find your biological father, if he's still alive that is. it would be nice to know he has such a great Dracon as his daughter.. or would that be too painful..? I imagine you're close to your adopted parents..'
-
"Not really" Selturma said. "My adopted father was happy to take me in at first, but as more of his own kids kept coming in, he began to see me as a burden more than anything else. My adopted mom was kinder... but as time went on, it became clear that my place was not with them. I told them that one day I would leave the inn that they had, and would set off on my own. They must have figured that I have gone by now. I hope to see them again someday, but I don't really want to go back to that inn... I want to stay with Rex."
-
Neither of you are old enough yet, under the laws to take care of yourselves.."isla sighed. "You've had to go through a lot in your live, Selturma.. hearing your story makes me realize how fortunate I've been.."
-
"At least I had a father figure... which is more than what most poor Dracons can say... the lucky fatherless males end up in the military or apprenticed to an artisan... and us females? No one really cares if we have a father or not." Selturma said, continuing the massage.
-
As long as they can mate and bear children.. " Isla nodded, as Selturma moved her claws up her back.. 'I Do what I can for the poor that are near me, buts its a drop in the bucket, the others nobles are firmly againsts any handouts. so the cycle goes on...
-
"At least we Dracons can breed for almost all of our adult lives" Selturma said "I know that my body is physically capable of bearing an egg, but it is not really good for me to do it while I am still growing, as you said." She continued the massage. "How does this feel? Do you need me to rub harder?"
-
A little harder, but you're doing a great job.." Isla nodded. "breeding so much can be both a bleessing and a curse.. Some males only see you for your body. once you start laying eggs they're out the door and down the road..leaving you by yourself and wiuth a family to raise..othrers try to constantly keep you pregnant, they're even worse, they don't allow you any down time, its mate mate mate 24/7.."
-
"To tell you the truth" Vaeri said "I am guilty of that impulse... if I cannot satisfy myself with just one male per day, I find another and mate some more... Your father mates a lot, as Dracon nobles all do, in order to provide the maximum number of heirs to carry on his family's estates. Poorer Dracon males don't mate as much if they are married, because they can't afford to raise so many children... the males who mate and leave are ones who are never married to the female to begin with... heck, I don't even ask them what their name is, much less ask them to live with me and raise my children..."
-
You don't ask for names, or anything beyond placing himself inside you..Sastifying your sexual desire is all that is required" Isla nodded, as Selturma moved up her back..
-
"Those actions of mine have given me a large family" Vaeri said "But they have also left me without a mate; neither husband nor boyfriend would ever want to take care of such a large family when few if any of the children are his. In order to support the family, I have to work long hours, and the children have to be sent to work as soon as they are old enough. My sons all run off as soon as they are 14, and they often enter the army, and are never seen again... well, I did see a couple of my sons again; one returned briefly to teach Rhiga some skills, and I saw another one going to a room with another dancer, like me, when I was working at another inn."
"I could tell by the look in that dancer's eyes that she wanted the same things I did; to mate with as many males as she could, just to satisfy herself. Anyway, my daughters stay with me a lot longer, even into their 20s, as they cannot afford to move away. The big problem is after they turn 16... more than a daughter of mine has gone out with a male who they thought would marry them. If he does marry her, I usually never see that daughter again... but if she does come back, she is usually full of tears and a swollen belly."
"It is true that some males... don't really care too much for raising children. Especially soldiers, mercenaries, and adventurers. Those kinds are always on the move" Rhiga said. "Like them, I can imagine not wanting to be tied down to one place. I admit that I have laid eggs before, but I had to give them up to a temple for adoption..."
-
I have never mated with anyone..." isla ad mitted. "Hard as that may be to believe,.. it is true..
-
"For a rich female, it is not at all hard to believe" Rhiga said. "Your offspring have a claim to the riches of your family, and your father would not want you to be having grandchildren without his consent to your wedding. He would also want the father to be of his choosing, or at the very least, his approval. At least, this is how I know it works."
-
Meanwhile, Jake and Adykon were walking through the temple by themselves, seeing the sights. They would rejoin the party later.
-
"this is one really old temple" said Jake as he looked at a big hole in the ceiling "i hope the roof doesn't collapse, heh"
-
"We had one close call with a collapse once" Adykon told Jake. "I was nearly crushed. So, when this adventure is over, I hear that Rex and Selturma may be living together. What do you think of that?"
-
"they can live together if they want" said Jake "when this adventure is over, i'm going to move out of the house"
-
"Where are you planning on going, Jake?" Adykon asked.
-
"i'm just gonna go and see the world" said Jake
-
"Ah yes. I was like that too when I was 14." Adykon said. "It landed me in the military, and when they laid me off, I became a mercenary. Are you interested in Sasha, though? If you want to keep seeing her, it may not be wise to just leave and travel the world, although if she wishes to join you, it might all work out for the best."
-
"i'm not 14 anymore, i'm 15" said Jake "oh that's right, no one knows it's my birthday today, and yes i do like Sasha........alot, and i want to join the military to get some money before i travel"
-
"I'm not sure if you will be allowed to join the regular army of a Dracon city, Jake" Adykon said "But they might let you in as part of an auxiliary unit, that is, a unit which fights with the regular army but is not directly a part of it. Will you want Sasha to go with you?"
-
"i'm not joining the dracon military, i'm joining the human military" said Jake "i don't want Sasha to come, because i'll become attached to her"
-
"Oh. In that case, I wish you good luck, Jake." Adykon said. "I don't know if our paths will ever cross again if that is the case, but I know that you must follow your own way; no one can make that decision for you. I've never thought to ask you before, but... what exactly do you think of us Dracons and our ways?"
-
"you dracons have some strange ways but.....i still liked having lot's of brothers and sisters" said Jake
-
"Good to hear" Adykon said. "If you are going to leave, though, you will want to make amends with your brother, Rex."
-
"well.....yes, but i won't be leaving for a while" replied Jake
-
"That's good to hear, Jake." Adykon replied. "Even if it takes you time to forgive Rex, you should do so before you go. You do forgive him, right?"
-
"well, sort of...." said Jake "but not fully"
-
"Rex was not in his right mind when he attacked you." Adykon said. "You know that Dracons have certain instincts which, once unlocked, are rather hard to... control. Rex was acting under these instincts, and he did not consciously wish you harm."
-
"well, if you say so....." said Jake "i forgive him....but not completely okay"
-
"He was acting under the influence of his hormones" Adykon said. "While human hormones aren't nearly as powerful, I'm sure that there were times that you have felt like he did, to some extent. Why did you fight Rex in the first place?"
-
"erm.............selturma stated that rex was better in an area....." said Jake "i felt insulted so i fought rex, it was a stupid idea..."
-
Adykon smiled. "I'm sure I can guess what that 'area' is" He said to Jake. "The fact that you got upset about it means that you are not too unlike Rex in that way; it is just that he took it a lot farther than you did. Now Jake, you know how Rex is when he is near Selturma, right?"
-
"yes.........." said Jake awkwardly
-
"That is only natural for a Dracon" Adykon said. "Females are even more like that. How did your adopted mom act when her husband got home?"
-
"she would be very excited....." said Jake "after 2 mins of being in their bedroom there would be lot's of roaring......and yes i know they were roaring...."
-
"Yes. If a Dracon male and female pair who feels that way about each doesn't... express it... they grow very tense and excited. How does your mom feel after the roaring is done, when she emerges from the bedroom?"
-
"relaxed........like rhiga was that time before i bombed her with a water bomb" said Jake "heh, good times"
-
"Well, I imagine that she would be like that after a particularly good time." Adykon said with a smile. "Now, about your dad. How does he get when your mom doesn't show up until later, and he was expecting her? Or your mom, when she was expecting your dad?"
-
"they would get jumpy...." said Jake "like they needed something urgent....."
Jake shivered at what he said
-
"Right. That is their instinct" Adykon said. "This happens when a Dracon has been exposed to the hormones of the opposite sex for a long time; their... copulatory organs are more active, which in turn makes them want to use them more. If they don't use them, their bodies tell them to, and this makes them...'jumpy.'"
-
'okay......." said Jake "i don't need a lecture on how dracons 'work'......"
-
"It is not too dissimilar from humans, except that your kind does not lay eggs" Adykon told Jake. "Regardless, we should head back to the party now. And no, I don't need to tell you exactly how we do 'it', only that we enjoy doing it very much."
-
'i didn't want to ask anyway...." said Jake
-
Jake and Adykon returned to the Party. Once they reunited with them, they found Rex and Selturma walking with Vaeri, Rhiga, and Isla.
-
"what are you all doing?" asked Jake
-
"Oh Jake!" Selturma said. "We were just talking about... how the rich live."
"And how good they have it!" Vaeri said.
"I couldn't live with their lack of freedom..." Rhiga added.
-
'well, it must seem very confined to be rich" said Jake
-
"The wives a rich Dracon male just lie around all day, and mate with him when he wants them to." Selturma said.
"That might be an unfair characterization on your part" Rhiga said. "Isla told me that the rich females can do other things as well, even if lying around is a large part of it."
"The rich male has to make sure that he has plenty of heirs, and that his children can intermarry with the children of other rich males; that way they can form and solidify alliances." Vaeri added.
-
Sasha was in her section of the hut. she just lay there quietly
"i wonder why Jake has been so.......mysterious..i wonder why that is?' thought Sasha as she sat up on her bed
-
Vaeri decided to go check in on Sasha.
"Hello. Is anyone in here?" Vaeri said as she entered Sasha's hut.
-
"oh, hello Vaeri" said Sasha "do you know why Jake is acting mysterious today?"
-
"oh, hello Vaeri" said Sasha "do you know why Jake is acting mysterious today?"
-
"Mysterious?" Vaeri asked, then she had a smile on her face. "Oh... is Jake acting towards you like Rex acts towards Selturma?"
-
"no, today when he walked up to you guys he said 'do you guys know what day it is today' in a mysterious voice.......like he was hiding something.." said Sasha
-
"Do you humans celebrate birthdays?" Vaeri said. "I'll bet that's what he's hiding."
-
"that probobly is what he's hiding" said Sasha excitedly "good thinking Vaeri"
-
"Why don't you go find him and surprise him?" Vaeri suggested to Sasha. "Wish him a good day or whatever it is that you humans do."
-
"okay" said Sasha as she rushed out to find Jake
-
Selturma took a break from her conversation with Isla to be with Rex for a moment. She could tell that with every day they grew, their desire to... be together... was growing stronger. As it was, they would have to resist temptation, so they sought other outlets. "How are you feeling, Rex?" Selturma asked, not for the first time.
-
"i'm feeling fine" said Rex "i feel better than i do when i'm sick, heh"
-
Selturma saw that Rex was, in fact, okay. She did not notice a bulge down there, and although she and him spent much time together, he must have been getting used to it.
"Are you getting... well... you seem to be able to control your excitement, at least, for the time being" Selturma said to him.
-
"since i have been around you alot, i can control myself" said Rex " i don't even get extremely stiff when i'm talking to you, or being near you"
-
Selturma knew that prolonged exposure could lead to one partner developing a 'tolerance' to such pheromones, but that over time, even this would inevitably break down... and Selturma's problem was that she was aroused by him now...
"Could you give me a foot rub, Rex?" She said, hoping that this would calm her down...
-
"sure, i'll give you a foot rub" said Rex
-
Selturma had another reason she wanted a foot massage; her feet were full of splinters from walking around on all this rubble. Rex looked surprised when he saw the condition of her feet.
-
"your feet are in bad shape" said Rex as he started to pluck out the splinters "i hope this helps"
Rex started to rub selturmas feet
-
The massage helped, but she needed him to pick the splinters out. "Rex, I know it will take a while, but... could you please get these splinters out of my feet? I know it will take a while and is tedious, but... this really hurts."
-
"sure, i'll pull the rest out" said Rex "i'll start right away"
Rex began to pull splinters out of Selturmas foot
-
"Thanks, Rex" Selturma said. "You know, if you have any pain anywhere, I'll help you with it, once you are finished with me first, of course. Do you need anything?"
-
"nope, i don't have any pain anywhere" replied Rex "i'm completely fine"
-
Selturma was happy for Rex and jealous at the same time. "Lucky" She said "There hasn't been a day of my life that I haven't had some stress, tension, or pain somewhere. You males don't know what stress we females go though... and I hope you never have to..."
-
Sasha saw Jake walking around, Sasha snuck up on him
"happy birthday!" yelled Sasha
"what the!" yelped Jake in surprise "how did you know it was my birthday today?"
"vaeri told me that if you were acting strange that it might be your birthday......so Happy 15th birthday!" said Sasha
-
"well, that i am glad for........for me that is" said Rex "but i feel sorry that you females have stress"
-
Meanwhile, back with Selturma and Rex, things were doing well.
"... and there's one last splinter on my middle toe.... you got it!" Selturma said as she wiggled her clawed toes "What a relief. Do you have any splinters in your feet, Rex? Maybe you don't feel them?"
-
Rex checked his feet, there were lots of splinters
"i have a few, but they don't hurt" said Rex
-
"Do you want me to get them out for you and rub your feet?" Selturma said "Your skin and muscles are tough enough not to really feel them, but it is the least I can do for you."
-
"if i can't feel the splinters, then i don't need them tended to" said Rex "i can't feel a thing"
-
"You are lucky again" Selturma said "But, there must be some way I can return the favor for you treating me so nicely" she said with a look in her eyes. In truth, she had wanted to give him a rub more than he wanted to receive one.
-
"look, selturma i don't need you to repay me" said Rex "i'm fine"
-
Selturma saw that she was not going to win this one. Slightly disappointed she got up and spoke; "Very well, Rex. If anything is the matter, just tell me and I will see what I can do... or if you are just in the mood for some good feelings" she said with a wink.
-
"look, i don't need anything" said Rex "honestly"
-
"Let's go back to the others then" Selturma said. She had to admire Rex; many other Dracons would have simply given in to the lure of pleasure, but not him, at least, not now. Later maybe...
-
"okay let's go" said Rex
the two walked back to the group
-
Kravik was meditating separately off by himself in one of the huts. While Sivar in another hut had finished doing some morning stretching and warm up stuff and some other stuff she did mornings at the temple she then started to spend some time meditating also.
-
Isla smiled as she noticed Selturma and Rex etyurning. 'And here comes the young Couple" she smiled. "Selturma has yold me about some o the things she wants to do when she grows up Rex, What do you want to do. I've already assured Selturma that I will work to get you the best jobI can, Being a rich noble, I can pull a lot of strings for my freinds.." Isla said.
-
"We aren't married yet" Selturma said, "But as soon as we can be, I'm sure that we will be. I don't need any strings pulled on my behalf, and I wish to have as few connections to the rich as I can; while I enjoy the idea of a rich patron, or patroness in your case, I don't want to be a part of the inevitable power struggles which will surely take place in the future."
"That's right" Rhiga said. "Rival nobles often pull nasty tricks against each other; sometimes they don't wish to assassinate each other, fearing that that would set off a cycle of revenge, so the sometimes just send men to kill all of the wives of their rival. It sets him back in the production of heirs, and is a great personal loss to him."
-
you'd better majkke sure of that.. " isla said. If a noble sees you and develops a fancy for you, there will be little rex will be ablle to dio to stop him, absent, physically fighting him off> Nobles don't take "no' for an answer, if they see a girl they like, they'll try and claim her... the connections you have with me, may prove at be useful at some point...I understand you're wanting to be as free of obligations as possible, but in this world.. we all have obligations to someone.." isla said.. "She looked at Rhiga' So what are your plans after this adventure is over Rhiga../"
-
Sasha ran back to the group with jake
"guess what everyone! it's Jake's birthday!"
-
Well, Happy Birthday Jake" Isla said... "What would you like as a gifft on your buiirthday?
-
"i don't want anything" said Jake "i'm happy to be 15, and being allowed to join the military when this is over"
-
Nonsense Everyone deserves something on thier birthday.. lets see.. Isla pulled out a handful of coins from her pouch.. "Here take them.. You can buy something for yourself when we reach the next inhabited city..'
-
"i'm sorry Isla, but i'm not accepting anything for my birthday" said Jake stubbornly
-
Then I will give them to Rex, to hold onto for you' Isla said firmly. "You're only 15 once.. you should treasure it in some way.."
-
"i'll just tell rex to give them to me and i'll give them back to you" said Jake
-
"Now what is this all about?" Adykon said. "Jake, if there is one thing in life that you want to hold onto, it is legitimate currency, as long as there are no strings attached to it."
-
I take it you've never been given money as a gift before " Isla said...
-
"i have gotton currency before as a gift" said Jake "but, i just don't need it"
-
" Yes you need it.. when you want to buy new clothes, for example.. what do you use? Money.."Isla said. " I think you're just being stubborn..
-
"trust me" said Jake "i really don't want anything for my 15th birthday"
-
"You're getting something " isla said. She was losing her patience.. "Honestly, child, you are one odd creature.. most Dracons I know would be grateful to recieve a gift..obnn thier hatchday.."
-
"look, you may think it's odd" said Jake "but i'm earning my money once i join the military"
-
" And thats a year off Jake, you need money to live on until you sign up' Isla said, trying patiently to explain. "You can't live off of nothing.. "
-
gtg
-
Kravik and Sivar each in a different hut finished up on their meditating and went over mentally what they had learned of the area they were in so far, seeing if they had missed anything so far and what information they could guess at from what they did know and what bits were still unknown.
-
"Jake doesn't want to feel dependant, I guess" Adykon said. "He wants to make his own way in the world. While I don't agree with how he goes about it, I can understand his impulse..."
-
I won't fight over this " Isla said firmly.. " Have it your way.." She said turning and moving away from the rest of the group..
-
Vaeri went over to Isla. "If you aren't going to be using those coins, would you be interested in donating them to a mother with over a dozen children?"
-
"Sure, you can have them.. "Isla said. "I try and do something nice for the child, and he rejects it! I don't have to do that for him.."
-
Vaeri looked at the money. And thought to herself. "Hmm... I need the money for my children... but Jake needs it too... I know! I'll keep most of it, but Jake may find a few extra coins in his pocket later..."
-
Isla handed her the money.."Put it to good use.." She said with a smile "With so many kids, money is spent very fast.."
-
"Thank you very much, Isla" Vaeri said. "I should invest this in something that my family can use to make money... I know! We will buy a loom and use it to make and sell our own cloth... it won't bring in a lot more money, but it will make things easier, and we will be able to cut down on our own clothing costs... not that any of my family wears much as it is; even my sons can only wear loincloths, and my daughters go topless long after their breasts have developed." She looked down at her own exposed mammaries "Even my own top is something that was passed down to me from my mother; I didn't buy it."
-
"I'd try and save some of the money too.. I can give you more if you need it, and in return , alkl I ask is you send me a new top and loincloth every so often" Isla said..
-
"I can do that" Vaeri said. "A couple of my daughters work making tops and loincloths, so they can send them to you... the materials we use are rather... subpar though... at least, by your standards. What are your clothes made out of?"
-
You mean Vaeri, right, Selturma is 14)
Well My clothes are made frrom Indus fiber threaded through wool.. "Its pretty good stuff.. and I'll have some sent to you, so the quality of your clothes can improve..
-
(thanks, I have three female characters at the moment; it can be hard to keep track)
"My family's clothes are made of coarse burlap. It covers us up, but can be uncomfortable to wear."
-
Yeah you need to fix the post at the top of the page it still saysl Selturma when mentioning sons and daughters)
_
Isla stratched her chin.. "Burlap is really itchy and can get dirty easily.,. " It must be very uncomfortable to wear.. Have you tried using other materials?'
-
"I can't afford other materials" Vaeri said. "I can't even afford enough of the burlap clothing as it is. When any one of my children needs me to buy one in a larger size, we often have to miss meals for a day or two in order to make up for the expense. My sons hate it the most; they all want to wear pants but I tell them that we cannot afford it."
-
Well, If you and your family come live at my castle. I will see to it that you get better materials than burlap sack.. " isla replied. " Of course if you prefer to stay where you are I'll understand...
-
"Isla, I may be poor, but at least I am in charge of my own household. Sure, I live in a slum and it is often hard to pay the rent, but while I am there, I am in charge. My sons don't listen to me half of the time after age 10, but my daughters all do. I don't want to live as a dependent recipient of patronage... although I will accept help from time to time."
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So be it.. I like to help out my friends whenever possible, its a trait my mother instilled in me.." Isla replied. "I will try and be sure to voisit you Vaeri.. I'll send you money periodically, a few times a year.. is that fair..Enough to pay rent, and buy a few other things.."
-
"You will want to be very careful if you visit" Vaeri said. "A Dracon dressed in fine clothing is a target for thieves in my neighborhood... and the thugs who live there would not hesitate to strip you bare if it meant that they could earn a few coins. But I thank you very much for the offer. There IS something that my family could do with your estate, however, if you are interested in what I have to offer..."
-
I'm listening " Isla said.. "I'mm willing to hear any proposal.."
-
"My sons are... unhappy. Vaeri said. "They don't listen to me, they go around without the clothing they want, and they leave me as soon as they can. While it may break my heart to send them off, I have no choice as they would just run off anyway. My problem is that I don't always know where they run off to. Two of them went off to learn a craft, but the others just leave and don't return; I imagine that they end up in the street or worse... So, if I can send some of them to act as servants or guards at your father's estate, I would be very grateful... your father does treat his servants well, right?"
-
" yes, as long as they don't try and steal from him.. We've had issues with that in the past, and as long as they are honest with him, he in turn will treat and pay them well. " Isla said. ' How many of your sons would you like to send? "
-
"As many as I can" Vaeri said "I have four sons who are approaching the age when they can be sent out to work in a serious job. I can send one per year, assuming they wish to go, although I am almost certain they will want to. They don't like living with me and their sisters."
-
Sivar came out of the hut she had been in first. Kravik stayed in the area he had been in, going over magic in his mind attempting to figure out how to do some new spells, do the ones he knew better then he had done before or more efficiently, and other things.
-
"Would that be asking too much, Isla?" Vaeri said. "I don't want to impose on you and your father..."
-
No, in fact, send all four.. "My father will take good care of them.." isla said. "They will be paid well... be allowed to travel around the castle, sleep in safe quarters.. while it is hard work, it does have its benefits..
-
"Thank you very much Isla." Vaeri said. "While it is sad to think that I may never see them again, at least I know that they will be living in a safe and comfortable place. I wonder, although my daughters may not all want to go, if some of them did want to live there too, would that also be okay?"
-
My father is always in need of help.. and you will be welcome to come and visit.." isla said kindly.. " you have faced chalenges i never hve. I've never had to worry about feeeding myself, or wonderoing how I'm going to pay the rent.. My problens have been those of abundance.. "
-
"What sort of problems could abundance bring?" Vaeri said. "Abundance would be the solution to my problems."
-
Abundance has its own problems. I have more clothes than I know what to do with.. i've got more money than I could spend in five lifetimes, and i am cut off from the struggles of the middle class and poor.." Isla replied. "Being a noble has its own challenges..
-
"maybe there is things that they can do at the castle or learn to do." Sivar said, hearing the latter part of the conversation.
-
"Have you ever dedicated yourself to an art or an intellectual pursuit?" Vaeri said. "The rich have time and money to devote themselves to these things precisely because they don't have to worry about where their next meal is coming from."
-
I have been trained in the magic arts.. and I dabble in painting as well. I'm okay.. " Isla shrugged.. "I'm usually learning spells.. when I'm not drawing.."
-
"What do you like to draw?" Vaeri said. "Do you like nature scenes? Great temples? Magnificent Dragons?" she asked, naming some of the most common subjects in Draconic art.
-
I prefer drawing Temples actually. My favorite is the Ten-Towered Temple at Iggamar, its ancient and beautiful to look at. they don't allow anyone inside, saves for the monks who live there, and noble who are drawing the features of the temple.." Isla replied..
-
"Sounds like quite a subject to draw" Vaeri said "And so unusual for a temple; most of them let worshipers go and enter at will. I suppose that some are more restrictive."
-
Yes they can be..I also draw living subjects. . I could draw an image of you, or Rhiga or Selturma.. I'm not sure about Jake.. Humans are not really covered in out laws.."Isla said.
-
"Well, that sounds interesting" Vaeri said. "I don't know much about art. I only hope that when you are married off, that you husband will give you the time and space needed to keep doing it."
-
I sure hope so, I like doing it.. It all depends on the husband.. and how open he is to things like that.." Isla nodded.. "I'd have to get lucky..."
-
"It sounds like he would be lucky to get you!" Vaeri said. "Although I don't imagine that rich males marry for appearances alone. He will probably be more interested in your dowry, and the alliance he would enter into with your father..."
-
I other words he's just doing himself a favor.. and I'll be expected to produce children quickly..' Isla sighed.. "Some males are only married foir the intercourse.. they really don't care about thier wives..outside of the bedchambers..
-
"Some females marry for that as well" Vaeri said to Isla. "I am... one of them. There are many like me... I spend a lot of time in the bedchambers as it is; it would be good to spend them with just one male..."
-
"I can't look down on you for that.. you are only doing what comes naturally.." Isla said as they approached the chamber..
-
"If that is the case, aren't those males also doing what comes naturally, so you couldn't blame them either?" Vaeri said. "I don't blame them... as long as they treat me with respect."
-
Well, the scales are tipped in thier favor.. so I have less sympathy for them " Isla said "Respect.. I wish they treated us with more of it. My father is a great Draconn, but he's virtually alone among his peers.."
-
"Not all males are 'mate, mate, mate'; in fact, most are probably more interested in money than in mating... I wish that more males were the 'mate, mate, mate' sort; at least those males spend more time with you..."
-
"How mamny children have you had in all Vaeri" Isla asked. "Forgive me for prying, But I'm just curious.."
-
"Twenty-Seven children, or at least, I've laid 27 eggs." Vaeri said. "The last child born was a son; Adykon's son. Out of all my babies, he is the only one whose father is known to me. My mother was like that as well. Before she died of a sickness, she had many children. She never told me how many she had, only that some of them had already grown up and left her long before I was hatched. Given my age, I will likely have many more. I have been pregnant once a year for almost every year since I was 16."
-
"At Least i know my mother, and how children she has had with my father- 12.. which is the most out of the 5 wives> Wives number 4 is expecting her tenth..
-
"Do any of your father's wives mate the same day that they lay their eggs?" Vaeri asked. "I usually do that after laying an egg."
-
I couldn't tell you.. to be honest.. If I had to guess.. I'd say My father waits a few days before resuming matinng with them.."Isla said..
-
"I can't wait to start mating again after laying an egg" Vaeri said. "It is stressful to carry and egg, and mating relieves that stress. Plus, while I am with egg, fewer males want to touch me, as I am bloated with the shell in my belly... so it has been a while between matings... as soon as it is out of me and securely laid, I go to 'lay' myself." she said with a dirty smile. "I don't always find a male that very day, though."
-
I'm nrever had that experience. although I hope to, someday.." ilsa said.
-
"You will" Vaeri said "A female as attractive as you is sure to be the prime wife of any male... he will probably mate with you for his best children. Maybe you will get lucky and be the first wife he ever takes! The first ones are always remembered the most, from what I know of it."
-
That would be nice" Isla nodded.. "Do you remember your first husband Vaeri?'
-
"Husband? I don't think you know how it works with poor females" Vaeri said. "I was never married. Adykon will be my first husband. I only met him after countless other males had mated with me across many years."
-
"it is harder for the poor by far then the middle class, from what I've heard or seem of those who come to the temple." Sivar said.
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"Sivar speaks the truth" Vaeri said "Things are indeed hard for us. Poverty is hard to escape from for males, but almost impossible to escape from for a female unless she marries a middle class or rich male."
-
"Hopefully the things we may get from this adventure may go a long way towards helping you and your children." Sivar said.
Kravik stretched a bit & did some quick warm up exercises to ensure his muscles were properly warmed up and exited to join the rest of the group.
-
"I hope so too" Vaeri said. "Isla already gave me some money; I will make sure that it is invested in a loom to make cloth with, and sell it at the market. That way, the family has an extra source of income."
-
Sasha went to look for jake again
-
Vaeri thought about this adventure, and the benefits she might reap from it. Surely she would not mind taking some extra risks, but as she was a noncombatant, she would have no way of defending herself... well, that was not quite true; all Dracons have fangs and claws, but she had little skill in using them...
-
Sivar nodded, "And maybe you and your daughters can take turns on using it so none of you is to overworked." She said.
-
"Oh, I don't know how to use a loom" Vaeri said "My daughters have been taught at their job, where they spin cloth. Much cloth is sold to merchants who hail from distant lands, so there is demand for more weavers all the time. Of course the wages are very low, but at least my daughters know how to spin cloth."
-
"That is better then nothing." Sivar said.
-
"It is, but it is also hard, long work with little pay." Vaeri said. "Still, it is all my family and I can hope for, so it will have to do."
-
Sasha had found Jake, he was laying on his bed
"Jake, how could you be so rude to Isla back there?!" yelled Sasha at Jake
"i wasn't being rude, i didn't want any money" replied Jake "i'm earning my money when i join the military"
"but it seemed so rude to deny Isla.......she was offering you money" said Sasha angrily at Jake
-
Selturma walked into Jake's room and found him and Sasha.
"Hi Jake! Hi Sasha! What's going on in here?"
-
"i'm just telling Jake how rude he was to Isla earlier" said Sasha to Selturma
"i wasn't rude!" argued Jake
-
"How was Jake rude?" Selturma wondered. "Did it have to do with Isla's money?"
-
"jake refused to accept money from Isla as a birthday gift" said Sasha
"because i want to earn money myself" replied Jake
-
"Well, that is okay, Jake..." Selturma said "But there are good ways and bad ways of saying 'no, thank you.' "
-
"i said no kindly" said Jake
-
"Well, I wasn't there, so I cannot really judge the situation" Selturma said. "If there are problems between you and Sasha, even over the issue of Isla's money, you should talk them out right now, before they get worse. Maybe you should do something nice for her, just to defuse the tension between the two of you."
-
"i don't see any problems between us" said Sasha "jake is just impolite"
"hey! i only told Isla that i didn't want money" Said Jake now clearly starting to get annoyed
-
"You two should just drop it" Selturma said. "Jake didn't want the money. Did Isla keep insisting that you take it? If she did, she was being kind of impolite, especially if you made it clear that you didn't want to take it."
-
"Isla was sort of persistant i must admit...." said Sasha
"now you see it my way" said Jake
-
"I understand" Selturma said "It was simple miscommunication. I guess that there isn't any problems between you and Sasha then, or at least, nothing worse than this little incident?"
-
"not at all" said Sasha "of coarse there are no problems....."
Sasha turned to look at Jake, she really liked him.....more than a friend. Sasha smiled
-
"Good to hear" Selturma said. "I'll be off, then. I don't want to interrupt two young lovers, anymore than I would want to be interrupted when I'm making out with Rex! Gotta go!"
-
Selturma left
"Jake........i like you.....more than a friend..." said Sasha slowly
"well...i like you too--" jake was cut off
Sasha kissed Jake.....on the lips!
-
Selturma turned around for a quick look. "Heheh. I knew it" She thought. "All it takes is a little encouragement sometimes..."
-
Jake and Sasha continued kissing
-
Selturma was still listening, but Jake and Sasha could not see her, as she was outside of the hut. She would leave soon enough, but she wanted to see where this was going...
-
Sasha wanted to remove her top, she began to undo it
Jake noticed this
"i don't think this is such a great idea.." said Jake as he redid sashas top
-
Selturma was surprised at Jake's actions, which she could hear. "How could he not want to see her topless?" She thought. "Rex couldn't wait to see me go without my top! Humans can be weird sometimes."
-
"Sasha, i don't think you should take your top off...." said Jake "what if someone walked in?"
"i wouldn't care" said Sasha "i really like you, nothing else matters"
Sasha started undoing her top again
"Sasha, you really shouldn't do this..." said Jake
-
"Sasha is starting to sound like me" Selturma thought "At least one human around here has some sense. She knows not to fight her feelings..."
-
Sasha had fully taken her top off, Sasha walked closer to Jake, she kissed him again on the lips
"Sasha, i mean it" said Jake "we really shouldn't do this"
Jake pushed Sasha away again
-
Jake walked away from Sasha and he walked outside, Sasha put her top on and walked outside too
"what the?" said Jake in surprise "were you listening in on us Selturma?"
-
Isla contonied talking qwith Vaeri.. "So what skills can you do, Vaeri?" she asked kindly..
-
"I can dance" Vaeri said "It's what I am best at, and the only thing which I can really use to make money I have no skill in combat, if that is what you were hinting at. I am also good at giving massages, but am not as good as one who is fully trained; usually I just rub myself or my daughters, and will occasionally give one to a male who I am mating with..."
-
"Maybe you can get further training and do that job instead of just dancing." Sivar suggested. "I don't know if it pays better or is any harder then dancing." She said.
-
"It pays about the same" Vaeri said "But it doesn't give me the chance to attract males to mate with nearly as much. I admit that that is as important to me as the money... if not more so" She said with a dirty smile. "It is no harder than dancing, at least, not for me... besides, I love dancing, even if it can be hard on my legs and feet."
-
Sivar nodded understanding, "If the 2 of you get married you shouldn't have that problem any more." She said smiling a bit.
-
"I will keep my job at dancing, even when I AM married" Vaeri said "Only, with Adykon's job, we should be able to live much better. Besides, I'm sure that Adykon would appreciate an occasional 'private show' for him at home..." she said with a smile and a wink.
-
Of course , there should be "benefits' to marriage.. you should keep your relationship as passionate as possible,m evenb afterhaving kids.." Isla said...
-
Kravik nods, "I'm sure he would enjoy a private show at home quite a bit. Good luck." He said.
-
Lets move on then, shall we? Isla said getting from where she was sitting..
-
"Yes, let's go" Vaeri said. "We DO have things to attend to in this temple, we aren't just sitting around to talk in the middle of an enemy-infested ruined city."
-
Although it is good to take a breather.. " Isla saids, walking up the steps towards the cup.. 'We've been very busy today..
-
"Moving on seems best, once we're sure it is safe." Kravik said. "Though resting is needed also from time to time."
-
Do you see any magic ahead of us Kivar" isla asked "I'm not sensing any perhaps we're too far away to detect it.."
-
"What do you sense, Isla?" Adykon asked her. "It is the statue, or is it yet another obstacle in our path to it?"
-
I'm not sure.. we're too far away to say for sure.." Isla replied. "which is why I was asking if they sensed anything"
-
"Maybe we should wait here for a little while, so that Kravik and Sivar can tell us if they sense anything; we don't want to go ahead in this direction if hostile magics are waiting for us." Adykon said. "Besides, some of the other females seem a little tired. Are you feeling tired too, Isla?"
-
A little, but i can't let that stop me" isla replied. "Once they say what they sense, I'm moving forwrard.. I'm trained in the magic arts after all, I can fight whatever these mages have in store for me.."
-
"No offense, Isla, but those mages have been able to cast very powerful spells across a distance of hundreds, if not thousands of kilometers. Surely they have decades of experience. You are a 25 year old female with little knowledge of how things work outside of your father's palace." Adykon said. "I think we should practice prudence... or, at the very least, let the big, tough, armored male go in front of you" Adykon said, tapping his claws on his steel plate mail.
-
Don't patronize me Adykon, I am your social better" Isla said her eyes flashing. "I have been trained by very gifted mages, remember, and my own skills are quite considerable.. " She started moving up the stairs. "I may not be as strong as these mages, true, but the only way to know for sure, is to have my powers tested.."
-
"Jumping headfirst into the unknown is not a good way of staying alive in here!" Adykon said. "We have already nearly been killed several times because we leaped before we looked" Adykon told Isla as he moved after her. "And don't start with that 'social better' stuff here, because on an adventure, that stuff isn't as important as actual skill and power; your titles will not save you from death, nor will they get you that statue. I appreciate that you are eager to accomplish this quest, and to prove yourself. I know that as female and a young mage you feel that you have something to prove, but getting yourself killed is not the way to do it."
-
You are not that much older than me Adykon, a mere five yrears, so do not speak to me as you would a child.." Isla retorted. "While your help will be appreciated of coourse.. lighten up with with the patronizing.."
-
"There is some magic over there." Kravik said.
"yes, diffidently." Sivar said looking in the same direction.
-
Is it good or evil/' Isla asked.. "Probably evil, given the magic we've encountered so far.."
-
"It is certainly evil" Adykon said "This whole place has been a deathtrap for us ever since we set foot in it. Which is why we should be careful..."
-
Isla pproached the final step. in front of the cup lay a stone tablet.. "On it read "to lift this cup you must pass this test. "What is written on at night but is bare during the day. What digs without seeing the sun? and can destroy by mountain and king? put those three annswers together and speak.."
-
"Let me think..." Adykon said. "Well, animals like moles dig without seeing the sun... but if this is supposed to also be something one writes on, that cannot be correct. Are there supposed to be three different answers, or one thing which is described by these three clues?"
-
They are three different answers.. mole is one.. now for the third, something that can destroy both mountain and king.."
-
"An earthquake can topple a mountain" Adykon said "And there are many things which can destroy kings, an earthquake can literally bring down his palace around his ears... or onto his head!"
-
Earthquake doesn't sound right though.." Isla said..'remember its a riddle
-
"A shift?" Adykon said "A shift in the ground underneath can bring down a mountain, just as a shift in political power can overthrow a king."
-
What about.. time.. ? Kings grow old and die, and mountains get worn away over time.."Isla said.
-
"That works too" Adykon said "Although time can wear down most things, not just those two... a shift can change or even destroy (or at least marginalize) ideas, but good ideas are unaffected by time. Still, we have 'mole', and either 'time', or 'shift.' What about the third one?"
-
what is written on at night, but is bare during the day?" Isla repeated..
-
"The sky?" Adykon said. "At night, the sky is full of stars, plus the moon, but during the day, it is blank... save for clouds which cover it, and the sun..."
-
that could work..what about a chalkboard? it is written on, but is erased after it is used. so it could be bare during thge day and writtemn on at night..
-
"But most classes take place during the day." Adykon said. "A chalkboard is blank during the night, in most cases."
-
not if ypoou are taking classes at night.. as I did when I was studying with the mages.. still these three put together don't make sense. moles, time and chalkboards?"
-
"What are the odds that this puzzle was tailored just for you?" Adykon said. "When I was taught to read, they taught me on a chalkboard in the daytime... Still, mole, shift, and night don't sound correct either."
-
Nightshift mole.. mole works the nightshift" Isla grinned.
-
"That is too short to be the answer" Adykon said. "We need to use the answers to all three riddles."
-
Mole sky and time.. don't work well either..
-
"Mole, sky, and shift... That works better." Adykon said "You mentioned something about a night shift mole, and the sky has 'writing' on it at night..."
-
Mole, sky and time.. " Isl;a mused.. We have to combine the 3 answers though..
-
"Maybe some of these words have double meanings?" Adykon suggested. "A mole can also mean a spy."
-
Sky- spy shift.. Sky- spy time..time spy sky spy time sky/. Maybe there is more writing on the stone.."
-
"Let me look" Adykon said. "I cannot see it, but maybe it is simply worn down with time. Isla, your female hands are more sensitive than mine; see if you can feel any more words in the indentations on the stone."
-
Isla felt the stone. "threres more.. 'what do these three have in common?"
-
"A mole digging through the ground would get to see the sky in time, if he kept digging upwards, that is." Adykon said.
-
I think thats it.. speak it out loud.."Isla said..
-
Adykon spoke it out loud..."A mole digging will see the sky in time!"
-
The light faded, and a trap door sprung open. "Pass! a booming voice echoed through the room.. the opening revealed steps going down..
-
"I'll go down first" Adykon said "If there is anything dangerous, it will hurt me before it hurts you." He told Isla.
"It looks like we can only fit single file" Rhiga said.
-
"You lead the way Adykon.." Isla said, I'll be right behind you.."
-
The party descended into the darkness, which was only barely illuminated by the light ahead. It was a tight fit through the tunnels. Upon emerging from the tunnels, the party came to a large room with a door which was closed and had no apparent knob or holding. On the floor there was a symbol of the moon, and a hole in the ceiling which exposed the sky.
"I suppose that moonlight has to touch that symbol" Rhiga said.
"Good thing that tonight is a full moon" Adykon said. "We are lucky"
"But it also means that we will have to wait until tonight to get through the door" Vaeri said.
-
Well we might as well get something to eat, while we wait.." Isla said..
-
"Good thing we brought plenty of food" Adykon said "Kravik and Sivar can make more, if need be. I suppose that this room has the statue in it; rooms of great religious significance in the temples are often open only on the night of the full moon. I think this has to do with our Dragon ancestor's instincts... and our instincts, by descent."
-
Pass some out then please. Everyone can have some.." Isla said..
-
"Of course" Adykon said as her passed some food and water around. "Sit down, relax, let's eat. I know these dried meat rations aren't great. What kinds of things do you usually dine on at your father's palace?"
-
Actually I have my own palace,, now that I am of age.. my fathers palace is close by though" Isla said taking a canteen of water and some food. 'We just had the spring Feast a couple of weeks ago.. it was quite a sight.. more food than you'd know what to do with..
-
"Your father may have granted you a palace, but you don't own it" Adykon said "We both know that females cannot own land. Still, it is an unusual favor for a noble to give a palace to a child of his... especially a daughter! I guess he must really like you, or at the very least, he is very benevolent."
-
Oh I know I don't own it.. I simply live in it.. and my father does think very highly of me" Isla smiled..
-
"I would imagine that he must be very rich to afford it, even for a noble" Adykon said. "What assets does he have which make him so rich? Mines, plantations, properties in the cities? Maybe control of a trading company on top of those?"
-
Meanwhile...
"I didn't spy on you Jake..." Selturma said "I... saw nothing!"
Back at the main party, they did not notice that Jake, Selturma, and Sasha were still behind. Luckily, the three of them were not far behind.
-
"okay..." said Jake "let's catch up with the others"
-
The party was reunited without them noticing that Jake, Sasha, and Selturma were ever gone.
They joined the party just as Adykon asked Isla what the sources of her father's wealth were.
-
Kravik and Sivar sat down to rest and wait till the time. "I assume it means the natural moonlight also and not some created by a spell, or reflected on that spot with a mirror." Kravik said.
-
"I'm guessing it means natural moonlight" Adykon said "It makes sense; the moon's phases seem to have great significance in magic and nature."
-
"are we gonna keep moving to find the statue or what" said Jake "the quicker we find it the quicker you get your paycheck Adykon and Rhiga"
-
"We have to wait until the moon is out" said Rhiga "That is when that door will open."
-
'okay" said Jake
-
"How are you feeling, Sasha?" Vaeri said to the human girl. "I notice that you aren't wearing your... what do you call them... sandals? Anyway, now that your feet are free of those, do you feel better? I'll bet it feels good to get those off."
-
"it feels good to touch the floor" said Sasha "but i might get splinters in my feet and my feet will get very sore"
-
"I am good at getting those out" Vaeri said "My daughters come to me with that problem all the time. I don't know if a human foot is any different... your feet are the first human ones I have ever seen."
"Jake keeps his covered all the time" Selturma said "Except for that fight at the arena where he showed some sense in dressing."
-
"my feet are the same as your species, except i have five toes" said Sasha
-
"Your feet have very small toes, no spur on each heel, no real claws, the toes are very close together, and they are a lot smaller than our feet" Vaeri said, looking at Sasha's feet. "Still, Sasha here seems to like going without her 'sandals', but you don't. Why is that?"
-
"because i am starting to dress like a human" said Jake "if i want to be accepted into the military, i have to wear human clothes. Besides i hate dressing like your kind sometimes"
-
"While humans in the military are part of an auxiliary force, and can therefore wear shoes, Dracon soldiers themselves do not" Adykon said, gesturing at this own bare feet.
"You don't actually have to be dressed like a human to get into our military, but your kind's armies... I can see why you would have to."Adykon added.
"What is wrong with our clothing?" Vaeri asked Jake.
-
"the clothing that you females wear.....it exposes alot of a female...." said Jake awkwardly
-
"Well, Jake, last I checked, you were not female" Rhiga told him, smiling.
"Besides, I thought you human males liked to see the bodies of their females" Vaeri said with a wink.
-
"I think human cultures are more touchy about uncovered skin." Kravik said.
-
"True" Selturma said, "But that doesn't mean you can't learn to enjoy it here, after all, culture and biology are two different things" she said, smiling.
-
"i know that i'm male!' yelled Jake at Rhiga "and when i'm older i won't mind to see.......erm.....Sasha without her top....."
-
"Sasha seems eager for... well... she is too young too." Selturma said. "You shouldn't let her attraction go without some sort of response."
-
"i know......." said Jake as he looked at Sasha "i'm not going to satisfy her attraction if she is wanting.....well that"
Sasha smiled
-
"Well... you should at least make her feel good" Selturma said "Maybe let her see a bit more of you... or give her a massage."
-
"i'll give her a back massage" said Jake "but i'm not letting Sasha see any part of me except my face"
-
"Okay." Selturma said "I wonder why not. You had no problem going in nothing but your pants during that tournament."
-
"i know...." said Jake "but matters are different now"
-
"You see that Sasha is attracted to you." Vaeri said. "If anything, that should make you want to show off more of yourself to her on occassion." She said, with a knowing smile.
-
"she is 14! i am 15!" argued Jake "plus, i don't think that is a good way to celebrate the day after my birthday..."
-
"I didn't mean to do that, Jake" Selturma said. "Perhaps you could at least give her an outlet by letting her dance for you. I know that it makes me feel better."
-
"i'll gladly dance" said Sasha "come on Jake!"
Sasha grabbed Jake's arm and took him to their hut
Jake knew that now......he had no choice but to watch Sasha dance
-
Selturma look in at them in the hut "I wonder if Jake will react the same way that Rex did when I danced for him?" she thought.
-
Jake sat down on the bed
"please don't be a dracon style dance...." thought Jake
Sasha removed her top and loincloth
"......i guess that life likes to punish me..." thought Jake
Sasha started dancing, moving with incredible, sinuous motion. Her own beautiful voice provided a form of music all its own as she sang and danced, clothed only in the light of the setting sun. Every part of her body seemed to move as if it was blowing in the wind, Jake was starting to notice that he was having feelings for Sasha.....he began to get stiff
"damn it!' thought Jake "if Sasha sees me like this she will become even more encouraged to dance longer......i have to get out of here"
-
Selturma could see that it was working on Jake. "Yes! He is starting to give in. Now it is only a matter of time..."
-
Sasha noticed Jake becoming.........stiff....
Sasha smiled and kept on dancing
"i really have to get out of here......" thought Jake "wait...but Sasha has the key to the door........i'm doomed to watch the dance...."
-
Selturma could see Jake's "bulge" was quite large, for a human of his age. Sasha was working her 'magic' on him in spite of her not using any spells.
-
"Jake's emotions are 'enjoying' this" thought Sasha as she smiled and continued to work her 'magic' on Jake
-
Selturma saw that Jake would crack soon; he had a stronger will than Rex, but some things were getting though anyway.
-
Jake couldn't resist much longer
"i need to find a way out!" thought Jake "and fast!"
-
Selturma saw that Jake wanted out, but it was probably too late, and even if he did get out, he might want to "release himself"; if he picked that behavior up from the Dracons, that is.
-
Sasha saw that Jake was struggling to keep himself in the room
Sasha smiled at this, she started to dance CLOSER to Jake
"........no!" thought Jake "i really want out of this room!"
-
Selturma saw that Jake was in "trouble"; it looked like Sasha was trying to take off Jake's shirt.
-
"Jake, do you want to.....take your shirt off?" asked Sasha smiling
Jake didn't respond
-
Selturma saw Sasha slowly sliding his shirt off.
-
Jake didn't even bother to resist, he knew Sasha would just figure out a way to make him take it off anyway
-
Selturma saw Jake was slowly "losing" to Sasha, who was working on Jake's footwear next, as he had lost his shirt.
-
Jake was starting to worry
"i hope she doesn't keep on removing my clothes...." though Jake "if she tries to remove my pants, i'll resist.....my shirt and shoes are as far as she can go"
-
Selturma saw Sasha slide off the shoes and socks from Jake.
-
Jake started to look extremely nervous
-
Seltura saw Sasha sensed Jake's nervousness, and in spite of her seductiveness, she did not stretch her luck any further. Jake was already down to just his pants anyway.
-
Jake looked really nervous, Sasha looked at Jake's pants and saw a big bulge. She smiled
-
Selturma couldn't wait to see what Sasha was going to do to Jake next.
-
Sasha stood in front of Jake.....she still had no clothes on......Jake's bulge got bigger, Sasha sat on his lap
"oh no...." thought Jake "this is really awkward...."
-
Selturma looked at Sasha. "You know, I need to do that with Rex" she thought.
-
Sasha leaned over and gave Jake a kiss
Jake pushed Sasha away
"no!" said Jake "i'm not going to let you seduce me any longer!"
-
"Why is he fighting it?" Selturma thought. "Doesn't he have mating instincts?"
-
"why don't you want to kiss me back?" asked Sasha
"because i know what your thinking...." said Jake "i'm not going to ruin my life"
-
Selturma saw that Jake and Sasha were not getting along well in there.
-
"i wonder if i could reach the key to the door" thought Jake as he looked at Sasha's loincloth
"don't even bother" said Sasha "i'm closer to the key, you are not"
-
Selturma saw the Sasha had the upper hand in this.
-
"well, i'm not going to bother to escape" said a defeated Jake
Sasha smiled in victory
-
Jake gave in. Selturma was excited to see what would happen next. She saw Jake was lying down on the bed.
-
"can i remove your pants" asked Sasha smiling
"i may have given in Sasha but that is pushing it" said Jake "wouldn't you think?"
-
Selturma saw that Jake was resistant, but that Sasha could break his defenses.
-
"well can i at least give you a back rub?" asked Sasha
"if you want" replied Jake
Sasha crawled over to Jake......she still had no clothes on...she began to massage Jake's back
"this feels good" said Jake
"good" said Sasha
"if i give him a really good back rub, i'll ask him to do me a favour...." thought Sasha
-
Many father 's wealth/ where it comes from, I'm afraid that information is unknown to me. for the most part. He does own a large gold mine north of his castle which has p[roduced much gold.. and he has his guests pay a fee to attend his bnanquets, nothing the nobles can't handles, 50 gold coins.." isla said.
-
(noname isn't here at the moment, sorry nick)
-
(then may I borrow Sasha so we can continue this scene?)
-
(sasha is with jake at the moment)
-
( Thats what I meant-- the scene with Jake)
-
(yes you can use sasha)
-
Thanks)
Sasaha climbed on the bed, and approached Jake. Her form was enticing him, and she knew. Her developing breasts hung out from her chest. "Now lie on your back , and I'll rub it.." She said simply.. "Don't be so defensive.. the Dracons aren't like this.."
-
(Sasha is already massaging Jake's back, read my post that is above your first post on pg 138)
-
Sasha ran her hands slowly up ands down Jake's back. There was a lot oftensions building up in his muscles.. probably from -dowen there- "your back is really stiff Jake, you have lots of knots in your lower back.. relax.."
-
"i am realaxing...." said Jake, Jake clearly was starting to worry about what Sasha had planned....
-
" don't be so paranoid Jake" sashe said kissing his left shoulder. she then moved her hands in curcular motions, schrunching up his skins at points, and working the muscles.."I'd never hurt you Jake.. I care.. very deeply for you.."
-
"i need to find a way to get out of this..." thought Jake "i can't get the key to the door.....Sasha will just jump off the bed and grab it....i have no choice but to stay in here..."
-
"Don't you care for me Jake" Sasha asked..as she continued rubbing him..
-
"i do like you Sasha....." said Jake "but....i don't think that what you want to do is something we should do........especially at this age"
-
Nonsense.. we all have to learn this at some point.." Sasha smiled. "Your parents never gave you the talk about the "birds and the bees" ?.my Mom did, two years ago.."
-
"i know we'll have to learn this......eventuallly..." said Jake "but you and i are too young.......besides i've recently turned 15.....your still 14 for another 6months....."
-
" Jake, you can't keep yourself repressed much longer' Sasha said firmly. "Your body wants to release whats inside it.. besides my family has a trasdition of starting young.,. yes officially we have to wait to 16, but that doesn't mean we're inexperienced by that age..' Sasha gave him a wink.."This doesn't leave this tent..' She kissed him on his right shoulder..
-
Jake knew that resistance was futile........
-
"Now just turn over.. and let me climb onto you" Sasha said..
-
Jake rolled over onto his back.....unsure of what was going to happen
-
Saha Climbed onto Him, Wrapped her arms around him, and began to kiss him. She pressed her chest against his, feeling his body tense against hers. "When I tell you.. relkease it" She whispered as she she paused betwen kisses.
-
"what?" asked an extremely confused Jake "what are you doing Sasha?!"
-
'what do you think I doing?" Sasha replied.. rubbing her hands over his chest as she kissed him again, this time on the cheek..
-
"i'm so confused?" said Jake
"what are we doing?!" said an alarmed and confused Jake
-
i am simply acting onn a natural urge" sasha explained. "You have it too, and it is building inside of you right now, uncontrolably, You are going to have to act on it Jake.. Either with Me.. or alone..'
-
"Sasha we honestly can't do this.....what if Selturma is watching us again?" said Jake "if she sees us she'll tell Rex and the others....."
-
I'll swear her to secrecy.." Sasha said firmly.. "I don't think she's watching.. that would be very rude.."
-
Jake gave up.....he knew that trying to argue with Sasha was pointless
-
'sasha smiled " Now.. Touch me" She whispered and sjhe leaned in for a long kiss..
-
Jake leaned in and kissed Sasha on the lips. he knew someone was watching but he also knew that sasha wouldn't listen to him
-
As they kissed, Sasha moved and put her arms around him.. She felt the tension building inside jake.. he could not hold off "releasing much longer, couple minutes more at the most...
-
While Jake was kissing Sasha he was devising a plan to get out of the room
-
Sasha rubbed herself against Jake.. She pulled the cover over them.. "Don't try to escape" Please.." She whispered.. "I want to be with you Jake..
-
"oh god....." thought Jake "i have no means of escape!"
-
A Coiuple more minutes, once you release.. then I'll let you go.." Sasha Said, kissing him on the lips again. " I promise.."
-
"but i---" was all Jake managed to say before Sasha started kissing him
-
Sasha kissed him more firnly, this time she usesed her tongue. as well.. "I love you Jake.." She said, after she pulled away for a breather.. it was now only a matter of a minute or so.."
-
"i have to get out of here!" thought Jake "i really need to escape, if Sasha and I get caught we could be severely punished..."
-
Sasha continued to kiss him, the tensions building inside Jake was now completely unbearable..
-
Jake tried to jump out of the bed but Sasha pulled him back down
-
As sasha helsd him down, she felt a wabve of emotions.. love, foremost..
-
(gtg)
-
Sasha finally got up off of Jake, and pulled the covers away, she dressed herself and moved away rtowards the door..
-
Neanwhile, Isla was taklking with Adykon and Sierra and Kivar..
-
"I wonder how far we'll need to go to get to where the statue is." Sivar said.
"& what we'll have to deal with once we are there." Kravik said.
-
"It should be right through this door" Adykon said "But it won't be open until the moon is out tonight, which is still several hours away."
-
Jake was sitting on the bed, he felt like he was taken prisoner against his own will by his friend
-
Selturma was rather surprised; she had not expected Sasha to be so aggressive. That was odd; Selturma did not want to see things get taken too far; she was hoping for too much.
-
"Likely another trap, perhaps with attackers." Kravik said.
"We can only wait for now." Sivar said.
-
Sasha put her top and loincloth on and walked outside. She ran into Selturma
-
"Oh Sasha!" Selturma said "What a surprise it is to meet you so suddenly!"
-
Where are Sasha, Jake and SElturma' Isla asked suddenly..
-
"They are probably fooling around" Adykon said. "We should let them be; I don't think that they are in too much trouble, Isla. Anyway, if I may so bold as to ask, how large are you and your father's palaces? I've never been a fan of the rich, but I do have to admit that their buildings are impressive."
-
pretty large, actually" Isla replied.. 'you'd have to see them yourself to grasp how big they are.. My father spares no expense or extravegence when it comes to his castles.."
-
"were you watching us again?" asked Sasha
-
"Well... yes. You seemed to be going farther than Jake wanted you to." Selturma said to Sasha.
Meanwhile, back with Adykon and Isla
"What sort of rooms does your palace have?" Adykon asked Isla.
-
'i guess.....i...didn't realize" said Sasha "he was cute, i liked the kissing also"
-
"Well, even I thought it was a bit... much. I don't think that even Rex would like to be forced into it... Although I should really try that lap-sitting part" Selturma said with a wink and a smile.
-
"i did that, because i wanted him to kiss me" said Sasha
Sasha looked through the window to see what Jake was doing
"he's just sitting there?" said Sasha "like he's just seen a ghost"
-
All sorts of rooms, armories, dining halls, bedchambers- lots of those-libraries, and of course servant quarters and guest rooms.." isla reoplied..
-
"i knew it was a bad idea to let Sasha take me into the room......" thought Jake
-
' I wager he's embarassed by what i did' Sasha said soioftly. The full impact of what they had nearly, very nearly did was beginning to sink in..
-
"Heh. Lots of bedchambers" Adykon said. "Do you live with any relatives in your palace?"
-
No, but I often have them ovrr on visits.." Isla said.
-
(okay nick, you don't need to use Sasha anymore)
"oh man......" thought Jake "i have Sashas smell all over me......and she has my smell all over her.......i hope the others don't find out..."
-
"Are you yourself looking to hire anyone for a mission in the future?" Adykon asked Isla. "I don't like handouts, but I am always looking for new work."
-
Of course, i am always looking for help. How much is your usual fee?' Isla asked. "Rest assured, its not a handout, if you're willing to do the job I'll hire you and pay whatever you want.."
-
Jake got his socks, shoes and shirt on. He walked outside he saw Selturma and Sasha talking
"gotta hide" thought Jake "i'll hide in the pile of rubble"
Jake commando rolled behind a large pile of rubble, he peeked out to see what was happening
-
"I am usually paid according to the value of the job" Adykon said "I have no usual rate." He told Isla.
-
how much did you earn for you last job before this one?' Isla asked.
-
"I earned about 400 gold." Adykon said "But after expenses, I kept only about half of that."
-
"so Selturma, you think i pushed Jake a little too far?" asked Sasha "like dancing in the nude, sitting on his lap.....kissing him and making him go under the covers with me?..."
-
"You went a little far" Selturma said "But it was really the parts where you made him stay with you that were the problem; I think it is a problem if you did not get naked in front of him. heheh. I danced nude in front of Rex as well; he seemed to like it too. I see that your dance skills have developed nicely."
-
"thank you Selturma" said Sasha "but i don't see how Jake could hat being in a room with me when he can see me nude"
-
"People don't like to be forced to do things" Selturma said. "If I had tried to compel Rex to do anything, he would probably use physical force on me to get me to stop."
-
"i guess so..." said Sasha "but when he was getting stiff, i sat on his lap....i liked it"
-
Selturma smiled "I need to do that with Rex... I should enjoy it as much as you do... probably even more so, because Rex has a larger... well, you know..."
-
Alright. "What is the most gold you have ever been paid for a job..?' Isla asked..
-
"I was once paid over 1000 gold" Adykon said "I had to request that much to cover my expenses, and the high tax rate at the time..."
-
"i doubt it" said Sasha "Jake's you know was very large from my perspective"
-
"From your perspective" Selturma said "I managed to see Rex's 'stick' when it was totally uncovered. I can tell you that it was as I say it was."
-
How about I pay you.. 2000 gold upfront, plus whatever expenses you ring up I'll cover.. See My father has had a rash of thefts lately in his northern castle. If you can catch the person, or idetify him or her.. you get paid.. " Isla said..
-
Rhiga got very nervous when she heard of these thefts, but said nothing.
"When this quest is over, I shall get right on it. Am I not a detective, but I can certainly help solve a crime, especially if I need to fight whoever is responsible." Adykon told Isla.
-
"so, i'll get to see Jake's 'stic' sooner or later and i'll bet it's bigger than Rex's" Said Sasha "i don't think Rex has one as big as Jake"
-
"Did Jake's stick ever make his pants fall down?" Selturma said, eager to win the these comparisons.
-
Isla did not notice Rhiga's nervousness..
-
"no" said Sasha "he has a belt on therefor meaning they can't fall down"
-
"Well, the average Dracon is larger than the average human" said Selturma "and the same goes for their 'stick' I am sure."
-
"i wouldn't think so" said Sasha
-
"Well, there is only one way to be totally sure" Selturma said, "But that would be sort of... well... we shall have to just ask them and see for ourselves. There are other things, though. Does Jake give you good massages? Rex makes me feel sooo good!"
-
"those two are extremely annoying...." thought Jake
-
"yes, Jake gives me a good massage" said Sasha "and i don't think Jake and Rex would agree to show both of us their 'sticks' in public...."
-
Do you know what my dad will do to the thief once he/ she is caught. Lock them away in his dungeon!" Isla said. "he's tired of the thefts, and he feels ghhe needs to make a statement.."
-
"Of course, Rex has claws, so he can scratch by back better." Selturma said "And Rex... if he is full of testosterone, I am sure I can get him to show it in public, but not while he is in his right mind... that said, if he ever gave me a 'pleasure flight', I would be willing to go nude as well. I think Rhiga was on a 'pleasure flight' earlier, but Jake interrupted her and splashed her with water, from what I've heard?"
-
"yes, Jake and Rex were chatting about the tournament that they would enter...and Rhiga kept saying that the tournament was silly" said Sasha "Jake was getting annoyed with Rhiga, so when she asked him to get her some water he made a water balloon; when Rhiga caught him she wanted to kick his.......you know...."
-
"I would want to do the same if Rex did that to me while I was feeling so good" Selturma said "Of course, Rex would just beat me down if I tried to do that to him. I don't think you realize how important feeling good is to us Dracon females, Sasha."
-
"i do" said Sasha "that's why i want Jake to make me feel good, that way i will be relaxed for ages"
-
"It doesn't work that way with humans, as far as I know" Selturma said "Even if you were to be pleasured in bed to the point that you were screaming, the pleasure would wear off the next day. With Dracon females, we feel good for a whole day afterwards, unless we experience stress or pain."
-
"it must be nice to be happy for an entire day" said Sasha "........i wonder where Jake is?..."
Jake moved a little
"what's that noise?" said Sasha as she looked at the rubble "it must be the wind....nevermind"
-
"It is not just happy, it is like the feeling you get when you are being massaged really well, only it is all over your body, and it continues for the whole day, and you have no tension or stress at all." Vaeri said, approaching the girls.
-
"hello Vaeri" said Sasha
-
"If any of you have questions about pleasure, I am the one to ask" She told the girls.
-
Jake sat there behind the rubble watching the three females talk
-
Vaeri smelled Jake in the bushes; her sense of smell was keener than Sasha, and better-trained than Selturma's. She knew that Jake had Sasha's scent all over him, but she said nothing.
"Selturma, I hope that you know what will happen when you start to mate with Rex." Vaeri said to her.
-
"i wonder what they're saying?" thought Jake "...sooner or later i'll have to make a run for it"
-
"You know that you will lay an egg in much less time than it takes for a human to be born" Vaeri said to Selturma "And that once the egg is laid, you can get pregnant with another one before the first one hatches if you mate a lot and luck is on your side."
-
Sasha sat there quietly while Vaeri was chatting to Selturma
-
"And you, Sasha, what is pregnancy like for human females?" Vaeri said "I've heard that it takes a day for the birth and that the child comes out screaming. I hope that isn't true; I know that Dracon hatchlings make noise when they break out of their shells, but I've never laid anything that screams."
-
"they cry" said Sasha "they have blood on them, when they get cleaned off they go to sleep, they are really cute"
-
"That's nice" Vaeri said. "How many children do human women bear on average?"
-
"from my knowledge" said Sasha "i think that we can bear between two to three childeren on average"
-
"Two or three? That's it" Vaeri said "I have laid over a score eggs, and although some don't hatch, most do... How can your race survive with only two or three per female?"
"I think that humans keep more of their children alive" Selturma said "And that some humans have more children than others."
-
"we only lose our childeren if we miscarriage between pregnancy" said Sasha
-
"That happened to me once" Vaeri said, sadly. "I went to bed feeling ill one night, and was unable to sleep. A few hours later I woke up in pain, and blood was coming out of my niguntik. My daughters rushed to get a healer, but it was too late; I lost the egg."
-
"So what do yoiu do for a living Rhiga..?' isla asked. "you haven't said muvch.."
-
"that's sad to hear" said Sasha
-
Rhiga responded to Isla "I am a traveler and an adventurer, much like Adykon is."
-
Must be an interesting life... do you collect fees for jobs like Adykon does..?' Isla asked..
-
"I collect money, as he does" Rhiga said. "Why do you ask, Isla?"
-
"I hope Vaeri hasn't smelled me....." thought Jake
-
Vaeri signaled to Jake to get gone, as he seemed to be in a bad position, but the other two females did not notice her hand gesture.
-
I'm curious that all. You've not said much about what you do..' isla replied.. "you've had kids , right?
-
"I've laid eggs, but given them to the temples for adopted" Rhiga replied to Isla.
-
Jake commando rolled out from the bush, he rolled behind the hut
"that was a close one" thought Jake
Jake slid down the wall of the hut. he rested his back on the wall and he had his legs stretched out.......Jake began to fall asleep
-
Soo you couldn't afford to raisse theM?' A lok of pity showed on Isla's face.. She was at heart a kind soul, dedicated to helping out her friends whenever possible..
-
"Not only can I not afford to raise them, I cannot possibly take them on the move with me." Rhiga said.
-
So you don't stay in one place very long.. How many children have you had? And Havve you seen any of them aftfter they were adopted?' Isla asked.
-
"I've never seen any of my children, and I don't know how many of my eggs have hatched." Rhiga said "But I have laid several eggs."
-
Have youi at least stayed in touch with those who fathered those kids.. If your mother is any indication.. I'm guessing no.. Do you have anyone special you are seeing right now...?"Isla continued her line of questions..
-
Rhiga looked uneasy "I rarely mate with the same male twice, and, often, I don't know his name." She told Isla. "I have no clue who the father of any of my eggs are. At all. I was planning on seeing Adykon, but... my mother returned to see him."
-
Rex walked over to the females
"hello ladies" said Rex as he grinned at Selturma
-
"Rex!" Selturma said as she ran up to him and hugged him. "How are you?"
-
"such is the nature of the poor.. they mate with anyone willing to sleep with them...I'm at the opposite end, I've never mated, because my father wanted me pure for my husband..."
-
"So far, it has worked out for me" Rhiga said. "Unlike my mother, I have not been trapped down in a tenement, nor have I been forced to beg on the streets for money. Well, okay, mom never begged..."
-
"i am good" said Rex "how are you?"
-
Selturma touched her horns and smiled. "How do you think I feel?" she said, rubbing the length of her horn.
-
"i see" said Rex smiling
-
"Sasha said that Jake's 'stick' was larger than yours, but we both know that isn't true..." Seltura whispered in Rex's ear.
-
"that's right" rex whispered back
-
"How is your 'stick' doing today?" Selturma said half-jokingly.
-
"it's fine" Rex replied back
-
"Good" Selturma said "I don't want anything happening to what will one day give me some 'hatchling water'." She added with a smile.
-
"Well, Just say the word, and I can help ypou find a safe steady income..It wouldn't be patronage, it would just be a little help finding you a job.."
-
Rex smiled Back.
meanwhile Jake had fallen asleep, he was so tired from the past few days that he fell asleep at the back of the hut, leaning against the wall
-
"No, thanks" Rhiga said. "I like my life as it is. I get to go where I want, mostly, I get to associate with who I choose to, and I get to... sleep with who I want."
-
Ilsa Shrugged " So be it. Its your life aftert all.."
-
"Although if I may visit you sometimes, I would appreciate it" Rhiga said, seeing a chance to enjoy a visit with a friend... and a chance for some stealing.
-
Of course.. " isla nodded.. "You're a friend Rhiga.. you're welcome anytime.."
-
"Thanks!" Rhiga replied. She knew that she could not afford to miss a chance like this.
-
:there is one thing I must state Rhiga.. I know that some poor people resort to stealing to put food on the table.. I do hope you haven't resorted to stealing... Because if I caught you stealing from me... " a dar cloud passed over Isla's face.. "well..it would not be good.."
-
"I wonder how long till this is over." Sivar said.
-
"I am a dancer and an adventurer" Rhiga said. "Those things should be enough to make me money." Yes, they should have been enough, but with most of the money in adventuring going to the males and with dancing paying very little, it was not enough.
-
Isla moved close to Rhiga and looked at her very intently.." i'm trusting you Rhiga' " She said finally. " i don't want to becdisappointed.
-
"hey, Selturma. do you want to go for a walk around the camp?" asked Sasha
-
"Sure, Sasha. Can Rex come with us?" Selturma responded.
-
"sure" replied Sasha
-
"Don't worry, Isla, I won't disappoint you." Rhiga said "Have I ever given you reason to doubt me?"
-
My father has been stolen from.. so I have to take preacautions that I don't get robbed too.. If you need money.. all you have to do is ask, and as long as it is reasonable, I'll give it to you.. stealing from me will not only cost you my trust but sympathy as well..'
-
"Why do you think I am a thief?" Rhiga said. "Is my being poor reason alone to give you suspicion?"
-
"come on then" said Sasha
Sasha, Selturma and Rex started walking. Rex tripped when he stepped on a small desert mouse.
-
"Are you okay Rex?" Selturma asked him. "Did you hurt your foot when you fell?"
-
No, i just have to be sure thats all. 'isla replied "i trust you.."
-
"i'm fine" said Rex "but i think the mouse was annoyed before it ran off, heh"
-
"That's good to hear" Rhiga told Isla. She then got an interesting thought in her head, which gave her a smile. "Do you have good masseuses at your palace?"
-
"come on let's keep walking" said Sasha
Selturma and Rex followed her
-
Selturma kept up with the others. "Rex, did you know what Sasha did with Jake earlier?"
-
"no" said Rex "why?"
Rex was now wondering what happened, he was eager to hear what Selturma had to say
-
"She danced naked for him, and when he got real stiff, she sat on his lap!" She squealed to Rex.
-
Rex's jaw dropped
"how did Jake respond?' asked Rex even more eager to listen than before
-
"He didn't like it" Selturma said. "That was odd, I know. You would go wild if I did that for you... I know that from experience." Selturma said, winking.
-
"heh, Jake is a human" said Rex "from what i know about Jake, he is against 'it' until he is at least 16"
-
"Well, we should be careful too" Selturma said... "I don't want to lay an egg until I am ready, and you don't want to be a father so soon, I'd imagine."
-
"that is correct" said Rex "we would be punished if we did that"
-
"I'll bet your dad would not want you to bring home a grandchild to his house at our age..." Selturma said.
-
"i think he would disown me.." said Rex "if i came home with a child"
-
"I've heard of that happening" Selturma said "In those cases, the male involved often goes into the military to find a living, but if it is a female, she either becomes a burden, or is cast out entirely."
-
"i'm going to end up joining the military like my father" said Rex "but it would be awful to see you cast out of society"
-
"If you join the army, I can follow along" Selturma said "The armies of the Dracon cities allow soldiers to take wives along. I might makes some of the other soldiers jealous of you, though."
-
"in that case" said Rex "you can definitely come"
Rex smiled
-
"Thanks!" Selturma said as she hugged Rex. "You might enjoy some... female company after a hard day in the army..."
-
"heh" said Rex "that would be nice"
-
"And our children, would you have your sons be soldiers as well?" Selturma asked him.
-
"they can decide" said Rex "they can be what ever they want, when they grow up"
-
"That's nice" Selturma said. "And if we should bring forth daughters as well, what would you want for them?"
-
Sivar and Kravik waited with some of the others as before.
"Does everyone have enough food & water?" Sivar asked looking around at the others.
-
"Yes, we have enough, thanks" Adykon said "You two have been a great help to us so far. I believe that we will need your magical skills again in the no-so-distant future. It is already well past noon. The door will open in a few hours."
-
"It is good that you have plans for the future: Selturna and Rex, but you must be cautious." - Eriol said, he is leaning on a nearby wall. - "Take good care of yourselves and be cautious, you will not want to end up like me. With a dead wife and a child too small to even know who his father is."
-
"Your wife died?" Selturma said, surprised. "I am very sorry to hear it."
-
"It is a long story, but that is the reason why I am here. She was killed and I am hunting down the one responsible for that." - Eriol said, it was clear that there was anger in his voice.
-
Well, yes, we do.." Isla replied. "why do you ask?'
-
Jake was still sleeping at the wall behind his hut.
Jake woke up
"what the?!" jake was confused "i slept here all day?"
Jake got up and went to find the others
-
"I've heard that the quality of that service is a good indicator of wealth; the richest Dracons can afford the best for their females..." Rhiga responded.
-
Jake found the others
"where were you all day?" asked Sasha
"erm.......sleeping" replied Jake
-
Well, Yes that is true.. My father even allosws his servants to get massages, and he picks up the tab, if they choose to have one..'Isla said...
-
"He sounds very generous" Rhiga said. Almost... too generous. Still, a rich generous noble would have lots of loot. She had danced at one of his estates before, but had not been able to return since that time. If she could only get access to his estates again...
Meanwhile, Selturma continued talking to Eriol.
"You wish to avenge your mate? I cannot really fault you for that." Selturma said.
-
Rex walked over to Jake and Sasha
"where were you today after the dance?" asked Rex
"......sleeping..." said Jake, Jake was telling the truth about that but he didn't say what happened before he went to sleep and after the dance...
"where were you before you went to sleep?" asked Sasha
"in the room with you" said Jake
"after that..." replied Sasha
"no where" said Jake
-
Isla, unaware of Rhiga's plan, moved over to the stone walll into which the moon figures were carved.
-
"Maybe it was my fault, but I cannot deny who I am. Still, I did want to restart my life when I met my wife: Arianne. Happiness didn't last long though." - Eriol commented to Selturna. - "An old enemy came back, he tried to kill me and my son, but he killed her. After that he ran away. I've been chasing him for a while already."
-
"So, Isla, what kinds of jobs would you have for a female like myself?" Rhiga asked, in case something which caught her interest came up.
"That is so sad" Selturma said to Eriol. "I hope you find and finish off that killer."
-
Well, we always need female servants.. cooks, guards, librarians , that sort of thing..' Isla considered. "Thinking of appplying for one of those positions?"
-
"I don't imagine female guards would do much except watch over other females... usually the wives... and few females are literate." Rhiga said "Maybe you are looking for a dancer? Males who visit are sure to enjoy that entertainment."
-
We have plenty of those.." Isla said.. "and female guards are paid pretty close to what males get.. I think the difference is 5%.."
-
"That is a very generous system your father has set up" Rhiga said. "I don't think I'd be much of a guard... I'm better at attacking and running than staying in one place, or patrolling a certain area."
-
I'll see what I can do regarding dancing.. Do you draw.. ?' Isla asked..
-
"No. Rhiga said. "The only art I have ever done was a brief stint in... lithography. I don't know what I was thinking." She had financed lessons in that with money she had stolen.
-
So you tried your hand at printing? Well aat least you gave it a shot.." Isla replied.. "I'll see what I can get you.. "
-
"Well, that's the plan Selturna: to make him pay for what he did and then to return to my homeland for my son." - Eriol said, showing a kind of somber smile.
-
"I don't like it at all." Rhiga said. "Still, it was worth a shot... Anyway, I think it stinks that there are so few trades available for females, and that there are fewer female artisans every year."
-
"blame the male-dominated system, and the restrictions it places on us.. Try and fight it, and they'll crush you.."Isla replied..
-
"But, there are ways to work around the system... but they are few and far between" Rhiga said. "It seems like there is some sort of concerted effort to put us into the home, the temple, and the dance floor... and the weavers guild. I blame these wars for making it worse; there are so many of them these days... and they give the males excuses to put more restrictions on everything except trade, which they need to keep running in order to get the tax money needed for wars flowing in."
-
Yes, and I don't like it. Sure I want kids, but they ar e pushing us , almost from Day !, into having loads of kids.. Selturma, bless her, is Exhibit A of this, she thinks nothing of having a little time for herself when she turns 16.. no she wants to mate right off the bat.."
-
"Well... I can see why" Rhiga said. "The urge is strong, and it is written that Dracons who have many children are many times blessed. My mother is an even better example of it. Besides, you have all the resources provided for you to raise 100 children if you should ever have that many. Just keep in mind that if you don't respond to your husband's call to mate, he will likely pay less attention to you, and he will inevitably find another one who will. I've also never heard of a female who doesn't want to mate on a regular basis, assuming that the male is at least decent-looking and isn't abusive or cruel."
-
(nevermind)
-
"things are sure different here." - Eriol commented - "When my wife was still alive, we commented that we would be happy with just having 2 kids. There are problems, many problems in my homeland, but things are different as females are treated in a far better way."
-
That is true..'Isla acknowledged' "But my future husband will not cheat.. I will not stand for it.."
-
"You do realize that you will have to share him with several other females, since that is what nobles do" Rhiga reminded Isla. "Like your father, he will take other wives."
-
Isla turned as he heard REx Growl.. "I was not making any comment on you Rex.." Her staff glowed.. Isla jknew that physically, Rex was stronger than her, but her magical training would probably more thabn make up that difference, should it ever come to a fight.. which she hoped would never have to..
-
That is what gets me.. The men are allowed to take other wives.. even though we are supposed to stay loyal to them!"
-
"so how long was i asleep.....or how long was i gone for?" asked Jake
"you were gone for while" replied Sasha
"today i just felt so tired" said Jake "i felt like i needed a good sleep"
-
"Only the rich males do this" Rhiga said to Isla "And they do it to ensure the survival of their noble house... you should see how the kings live! I've performed at their palaces on rare occasion, and I thought that those 30 females were part of the audience... but they were the kings wives, and only about half of them, from what I heard. I don't know how he keeps it up..."
-
He had 60 wives, so each one he visits 6 days in a year with, give or take a bit.." Isla said..
-
Jake thought to himself "i hope Sashas smell has worn off on me..."
-
"I'm sure he enjoys more than one of them at once" Rhiga said with a wink. "Kings have extra large beds, from what I have heard..."
-
But if he has more than one in his bed at once .. and in the course of loving, wouldn't some...nevermind.. he's the king, and the rules we have to follow don't necessarily apply.."" Isla said shaking her head..
-
"If anything, he would apply them" Adykon said "Kings are definite law and order types... especially because it suits them, as they are on the top of the hierarchy."
-
Jake was starting to look nervous, he thought that Sashas scent would still be on him. he stayed as far away as possible from the adults.
-
Adykon could see that the party had moved to one place. This was a good thing.
He continued his conversation with Isla. "Paternity is very important, you know; we cannot build a society if we don't know who the fathers are... if that happens, we will all end up like Vaeri; living in the slums because no male will raise a child that isn't his. And he shouldn't have to; if the female won't stay loyal to him, she doesn't deserve to live with him..."
-
It is a shared responsibility. The mothrer must provide for her children, the father must provide for all. thry really should not mate if neither is willing to make that commitment.." Isla replied. " As for kings, I've read of too many who flout the laws they set on thier subjects.."
-
"Some kings flaunt their own laws, this is true, but most do not" Adykon said. "At least we have magics which can tell if the male in the family is the father... it has proven to be a real deterrent to cheating, because the female will be found out..."
-
Yes, that has a great aid..still it doesn't adress the poverty I see when i pass through the city.."
-
"Many societies are male dominated, either obviously or subtly." Kravik said.
"Maybe you can be a healer or masseuse instead of a dancer at the palace if you want to live there." Sivar said.
-
"I enjoy dancing, though" Rhiga said. "I have no skill in healing, and massaging... I am not a professional at it."
-
As long as you are good at it, you can find people who willl train you, and you will get customers.."Isla replied..
-
"Dancing pays very little" Vaeri said "My children have to work as soon as they are able to in order to make ends meet. I would be poor without any mouths to feed, and with children... it is obvious why they have to be sent to work. Still, I suppose they have their purposes... there is always a demand for young weavers, and artisans need apprentices."
-
i was refering to back-rubbing.. Still Vaeri, if you can improbve the quality of goods your fortunes will imprrove.. I blame the wars partly.." Isla replied. " Quantities of goods are scarce..
-
"Well, in cities affected by war, they would be scarce... but other cities are undergoing a trade boom, which I suspect is actually being fueled by the wars, due to the need for extra tax revenue, and the movement of mercenaries, weapons sales, new trade deals and alliances which would not be made if not for the wars..." Adykon said
"I've never heard of a traveling masseuse" Rhiga said "I am a traveling dancer, and I know of many of those, but I don't want to have a job which would tie me down to a certain place."
-
Well, you may find that is impossible, ands masuesses travel all the time, depending on where their services are needed, and who pays best" Isla said..
-
"I've heard of that, but only the best of the best do that" Adykon added "Of course, since you are rich, I am sure that you have experienced the best of the best, whose services are hard to replace..."
-
They are hard to replace, but we do replace them.." Isla replied. " and you have to start somewhere.."
-
"I prefer to dance, thanks. I was taught to be a dancer by my mother, as was her mother before her." Rhiga said.
-
"Fine, I'll see if i can firt yoiu in as a dancer.." Isla sighed.. "Next week. I think we are having a party for my older brother britus, who is 13th in our family.. he paarticularly likes the fresh ones, he often takes them with to his chambers and has them "perform" for hiim.."
-
"Ooh! I've never mated with a noble before" Rhiga said... "I wonder if that experience will be any better?"
-
"It may be. Still sounds like quite an experience." Sivar said.
-
Jake spoke up and asked "are we going to begin looking for the statue?"
-
"I agree. We should look for that statue and avoid more delays" - Eriol said, nodding to what Jake said.
-
"The statue is behind this door, if I'm not mistaken. We still have a couple of hours to go before the moonlight hits the door, which should open it." Adykon said.
-
"oh man..." thought Jake "this is gonna take a long time....."
Jake was thinking of what he could do to entertain himself, he thought about making one of Rhigas daggers a snake but he decided against it
-
Adykon looked at the door, and looked at the hole in the sky. It would be no more than four hours until the moon was out, and the door was open.
-
Jake looked around the room for something he could play with for a while.....the only things around were rubble.
Jake came up with an idea, he snapped his fingers and a small flame came from the inside of his hand. it was very bright. one wrong move and he could burn himself
"i'll play with fire" said Jake happily
-
Rhiga looked at Jake warily... he might be up to some of his old tricks again...
-
Jake played with the fire like it was a brand new toy
-
"Only three hours to go, everyone" Adykon said. "It is getting late."
-
Jake sat on a small rock, he was still playing with the fire. one time he wanted to see how big he could make it and the flame went up his whole arm!!! luckily it was his metal arm
-
"Jake, we might have to fight something inside this room, and we need all of the power on our side that we can get, so we really don't need you to burn yourself." Adykon told Jake.
-
"it was only my metal arm" said Jake "erm.....make sure no one touches my arm.........it's glowing bright orange...."
-
"Will it be workable in three hours?" Adykon asked Jake.
-
"my arm should cool down after 20minutes or so" replied Jake
-
"Oh, that's good" Adykon said.
-
Jake continued to pla with the fire, he made it as hot as possible...it turned an electric green.
"this looks so cool" said Jake in amazement
-
"Can you turn it blue?" Selturma said to Jake. "Blue is my favorite color."
"Stop encouraging him, Selturma!" Adykon shouted.
-
"sure i can make it blue" said Jake
-
"ooh! Do it!" Selturma said, hopping up and down.
-
"okay" said Jake, Jake began influencing the fire with alchemy, it wavered and it slowly turned into an electric blue color
-
"It's so pretty..." Selturma said, as her eyes was focused on the flame.
-
Sasha walked over
"ooo" said Sasha "how did you make that?"
"a little help from alchemy" said Jake smiling
-
"Are you using up power, Jake?" Adykon asked. "You will need to save your strength! I don't know what it is that we will be facing next!"
-
"chill, Adykon" said Jake "it doesn't use power, it requires alot of thought and will power, instead of actual energy"
-
"Nothing comes from nothing, Jake" Adykon said. "You are using some power from somewhere."
-
"i am using my surroundings" said Jake "transmutation....you offer something of equal value to get what you want in return.......sadly this doesn't work for all things..." gestured Jake at his right arm
-
"Well, you should not play with fire anyway" Adykon said. "I don't know what is flammable here and what isn't; you could burn the whole room down with us in it."
-
"this is a temple" said Jake "it's made of clay and rock"
-
"There might be wood in it somewhere" Adykon said "Those statues that attacked us earlier were animated by magic, but they were made out of wood."
-
"good point..." said Jake "but i doubt that the walls are made of wood"
-
"Some other things may be" Adykon said "We don't know this place all that well, so why take that chance?"
-
Jake didn't dare argue with Adykon any longer, he knew that if he did, he would get into trouble
-
"There are just two more hours left to go" Adykon said. "The door will open then."
-
Jake thought about turning one of Rhigas daggers into a snake again, he thought about how much she would scream. he smiled
"heh heh heh" thought Jake "that would be funny............while were waiting i'll go for a walk around the camp"
Jake left, 10 minutes later Sasha realized Jake was gone. she went looking for him
-
"i wonder where Jake got off to now?" thought Sasha, Sasha looked left and right to see if she could spot him. "no luck"
-
"Not long now. Hopefully it'll be easy but I assume it will be very difficult." Kravik said.
"I just wish I knew why the person wants it and what is really going on." Sivar said, still resting.
"I assume well get the facts, likely bit by bit instead of finding out them mainly at once." Kravik said.
-
Sasha found Jake sitting on a rock
"hello Jake" said Sasha
"wha!!!" yelled Jake as he jumped in surprise "you scared me...."
"sorry" replied Sasha
-
Yes, at least with nobles they pay you well for your services. If he really likes you, he may even start a relationship with you ' Isla said. " That would certainly help your mother Vaeri.. we do have obligations to our parents after all.."
-
"Even nobles don't pay dancers well" Rhiga said. "I would know that, because I've danced at their estates before."
-
" well, you have never danced for my brother "isla grinned..
-
"Is your whole family generous now?" Rhiga asked. "Most nobles just barely pay us enough money so that we can keep dancing... the rich like to see poor people dance for them; it makes them feel even more superior to us..."
-
Well, most of my family tend to be generous... Of course they are siome who are not, my brother trukus is a terrible miser..never spends anything.." Isla said. " As I said, If he likes you, you could make a lot of money, you could even become family.."
-
"I've never even met him" Rhiga said "And even if I were to marry him, I don't want to be just one of many wives; it would madden me to no end that he would be spending time in the bedchambers with other females, while I was stuck with just one male."
-
It is how the nobles keep thier positions, although since he is the 13th male in the familt,y the expectations are not as great as the first second or third sons.. He has never had a mate, altrthough he has "known" several women.."
-
"Even if I were to be his first wife, I would certainly not be his only wife... at least, not for long" Rhiga said. "I know that males would have a reason to do that, though; they can have many females pregnant with their children at the same time, all without having to carry a single egg themselves... while we can only have one egg in us at a time, normally. It kind of makes me jealous."
-
"He is very loyal.." Isla said. "Father thinks at most he will have 2-3 wives, and given that the status of the family is secure, You might actually have a chance of being his only wife.. " She smiled..
-
"Ha ha ha!" Rhiga said "I've never heard of a noble who takes just one wife. That's a joke! Adykon, what do you think of this?"
"Heh!" Adykon said. "Maybe if this were a human realm, but not here! That's a good one, Isla!"
-
Did I look like I was joking?' Isla retorted. " My father approves all his son's marriages, and he has tolold me at most that he will have 2-3 wives, and it is not out of the question that he will only have one.. Havoing one son having only one wife is not a big deal when you have thrity others sons producing grandcchildren at a very rapid pace.. No, he can afford to have a couple children limit themselves.."
-
"He won't keep himself at one, not if he wants to keep his house going strong" Adykon said. "He will need sons to carry on his name and inherit his estate, and he will need daughters to marry off to form alliances... he is going to want as many heirs as he can get, and since he can get more than one female pregnant at once..."
"It sounds like he would treat his wives well though... but seriously, if he kept but one wife... he would be the first noble who ever did."
-
Not the first ever" Isla said.. " A few of my great- grandparents had only one mate, but they were in enormous families.. around 200 kids, 120 boys 80 girls..
-
"They must have been dispossessed or something" Adykon said. "Anyway, let's focus on the present... how would you adjust if you were married off to a male who had several wives already?"
-
I would have to adjust..but I would.. there would no shortages of infighting between me and other wives.. though" Isla said.." And my brother has never had a mate, by his own choice.."
-
"I am sure he will, someday" Adykon said. "Are there any males that you are interested in mating, Isla? If your father is as kind as he sounds, he might be able to make an arrangement to marry you to the one you want..."
-
Well, the there is 7th son of Lord drerras, he was fellow puppil of mage Artus, he knows how to use a staff. He's 12 days older than me, but due to deaths of most of his older siblings in the war, He is second in line to inherit from his father..His name is Margan. He's a very kind lord" Iskla said blushing..
-
"Sound very good!" Rhiga said. "Do you know if he is looking for another wife? I'm sure you would fit the bill, being a mage yourself..."
"And very attractive" Adykon added.
-
Now you are just sucking up" Isla said, through the smile she was wearing was very lasrge.. "I haven't seen him since we completed our trauining, he probably forgot me..' she shrugged..
-
"Oh come on!" Adykon said. "That is not sucking up... I'll get those tiotleglas were enhanced by magic anyway..." he said with a smile, gesturing towards her chest.
-
They Were NOT! They are completely natural.. my family is er.. noted for thier large mamaries.. " Isla replied.
-
"Well, that makes sense" Adykon said "Rich males often choose their wives for appearances more than anything else save for politics... I would imagine that you father's other wives are much the same as your mother and you..."
-
Actually secveral of them are small-breasted, but but then my father looks for more than physical attractiveness. he doesn't want a wive who nags him, or complains a lot..
-
"Oh. He wants ones who will submit to his advances without complaint? I can see that too... not that too many females would complain, but I can see why." Rhiga said.
-
No, his wives complain, although its usually about the 'schedule' You slept with Marie three straight days" That sort of thing.. My father has learned to ignore it..for the most part.."
-
"I guess he must have married the small-breasted ones for their love, or for political purposes..." Rhiga said.
"Still, it sounds like this 'Marie' is more attractive than the rest" Adykon said with a smile "And she has a human name, too... how exotic."
-
Thats my mother" Isla said with a hint of pride.."I think to think she and father retain a special relationship.."
-
"Well, if your father is sleeping with Marie for three nights in a row, to the exclusion of the other wives, she must be kind of special" Rhiga said.
"I'll bet you get your tiotleglas from her, then." Adykon said with a smile.
-
I do" Isla nodded. "Although I have my fathers eyes.. my family isn;t perfect, no family is.. but I wouldn't trade my family for the world..'
-
"Do your father's other wives treat you well?" Rhiga asked.
"I hope they don't take out the jealously that they seem to have for your mother out on her children..." Adykon added.
-
For the most part yes, whatever their greivances, they take it up with mother.. Mother is the primary wife and has head the most children. She will probably have more kids in the near future, Whebn all is said and down I'll be the middle in regards to the kids, right now I'm near the very bottom..'
-
"Do the females in your palace have their own rooms, or a large chamber with a bed for each wife, but they share the room?" Rhiga asked. "I've been in palaces with each setup; some of them even have both."
"That must be a sight" Vaeri added as she walked over"What male wouldn't be happy to see a bunch of naked females lying on a bunch of beds... and they're all his!"
-
My father has both in his casstle. Which one he uses depends on his mood. Sometimes he mates with all of them at once.. he's usually tired after sessions of that" Isla smiled.
-
"I'll bet he would be" Rhiga said. "Still, the smell of so many female pheromones does tend to increase a male's seed production over time... with enough usage of his... parts, his potency would be rather high..."
"I've heard that human biology works very differently in some ways" Adykon said "But yes, for us Dracons, that is true; keeping him aroused would lead to increased production of his seed, which would give him the ability to mate more often and produce more children."
-
Its true of any species I think, Increased mating leads to more offspring.." Isla nodded ' He's not one you want to piss off though.."
-
"Why? Has he done anything bad to his females?" Rhiga said, apprehensively.
-
No, A servant was caught stealing food, and he locjked him away in the dungeon after a very stern confrontation.. that servant is still in prison.." Isla replied
-
"Oh. Your father doesn't like thieves..." Rhiga said, slightly nervous.
"Serves him right for taking advantage of his employer." Adykon added.
-
my father is a very generous employer. He trusts his servants, and pays them well. but whe they break the rules, the punishments are quite harsh.." Isla said griimly..
-
"We've been asking all of the questions" Rhiga said. "It seems unfair to you. Is there anything that you would like to ask us?"
-
rhiga, when was the last time, you had "reklatuions" with a male?" Isla asked..
-
"I mated with Kravik not too long ago while on this quest." Rhiga said. "It was very good. He game me a 'pleasure flight'... but then Jake interrupted me while I was sunning myself on a rock."
-
Interesting"' Isla said.. "Thats good for release of tension.."
-
"I have also used my own claws to... release tension down there." Rhiga said.
"At least we Dracons have no problems with that, unlike some humans" Adykon said.
-
Yes, we are a passionate and direct race, for some reason, human tend to keep thier expressions private..
-
"And giving ourselves this... pleasure keeps the muscles down there strong and tight" Rhiga said.
"And well-exercised..." Vaeri added.
-
I Haven't had that pleasure myself, but you ladies seem to be experts' Isla said..
-
"Well... much as I don't like to brag..." Vaeri said "I must admit that I have quite a lot of experience in that field. "
-
So tis there a way to 'teach this.. or can it only be learned through direct experience.."Isla asked..
-
"If you want to, you can use your own claws down there, and see what feels good." Vaeri said.
-
Alright. is that all? Isla replied. "I.. stimulate myself..down there.."
-
"You insert at least one claw, usually more, and you thrust it in and out." Vaeri said.
"Given enough time, you will find what feels good for you." Rhiga said.
"It is more complicated than the male version of that action, that's for sure" Adykon added.
"But it feels a whole lot better!" Vaeri exclaimed.
-
Could one of you.. er help me.. I've never done this before" Isla said.. Rhiga or vaeri.. er.. ' Isla said..
-
"Okay, I will do it" Vaeri said. "Come with me, Isla; some privacy is good... just don't get any ideas. My loincloth stays on."
They went a short distance away from the group, behind a wall near some rubble.
"If you want to do this, you will have to remove your loincloth, or else all of your clothes" Vaeri said "Probably best to remove your top too; one hand can stimulate your mammaries while the other is busy down there."
-
Isla Obliged, removing her top and loincloth, and setting them n the floor.Her nude form now stood before Vaeri ' AlriGht I'm ready.." She said. "Do I start with the breats, then work my way down?"
-
"You will want to lie down first, and make yourself comfortable. Then, you should start by stroking your body where it makes you feel good. When you are ready, move down to your... femalehood." Vaeri said.
-
Alruight.." isla lay on her back, and began feeling her breasts, she went over them, in circular motions.. " While I'm doing this, walk me along, you've been doing this probably longer than I've been alive..' Isla said.
-
"That may be true." Vaeri said. "You seem to be doing a good job so far... how does it feel, Isla?"
-
it feels good.. i can feeel tension start to build down there.. " Isla said starting to run herself harder..
-
"When it builds up enough, start rubbing it down there" Vaeri said. "When you feel ready to insert your claws, insert the two middle fingers and curl them in a 'come here' gesture, and then thrust in and up until you are... released."
-
Is there a release of - fluuid when that haoppens. blood secreations, stuff like that/' Isla said..
-
"Some females are known to squirt a bit... or a lot... but mostly, it is fairly dry... this isn't like a male, after all." Vaeri said. "You will, however get wet and feel slippery, although it won't necessarily be released as you say. There won't be any blood, however; this isn't a period."
-
Isla finished massaging her breasts and moved to her privates, and began rubbing the area..
-
"Is it feeling good yet?" Vaeri said "You will know when your conscious mind gets clouded out by the good feelings..."
-
Its getting there.. but I feel awkward.. I should be having this done to me.. But I'll keep going" Isla began rubbing harder, feeling her body tense as she continued rubbing..
-
"I'll bet you would think that, as you would have masseurs go this for you at your palace" Vaeri said. "Still, you are doing well. If you need to release the tension, you should insert those fingers as I explained to you."
-
Masseuers do the back, not the FRont.." Isla replied. "Once it starts becoming stronger i'll put it in.."
-
"Okay" Vaeri said "You might want to have them do the front in the future, at least, if you wish for that."
-
Isla nodded, as she felt the tension nmn grow stronger, she placed her claws inside her, and rubbed until she released. the release was mixture of bllood andother fluids. which pooled in front of her. when she removed her claws they wre bloodstained.
-
"Isla! Did you break your..." Vaeri said. "I'm didn't know that it wasn't already..."
-
I'm a virgin" Isla said. "It'll heal.. you didn't know.."
-
"Well... do you feel... good?" Vaeri said, while quietly grateful that her sons wouldn't bleed during these events.
-
Yes, but I didn't picture.. myself with a male.. yet the tension was there.."Isla said..
-
"That's okay" Vaeri said, not quite getting it, but not wishing to push the subject farther.
"Are you free from tension now? If you need a foot massage or back rub to get all of it out, I can do that for you..." she said "...if only as a way for apologizing for the fact that I guided you to break your 'seal of freshness.' "
-
Sure, you can do the back.." Isla said rolling over. "You remind me of my mother Vaeri.."
-
"Your mother would give you back rubs?" Vaeri asked as she began to massage her. "I thought that the rich had their masseuses do that for them."
-
No, my mother was trained herself in giving back rubds. Shewould raub powder into our backs, to help release tension.. She is actually very good.." Isla said, feeling Vaeri's mible claws move up her back.
-
"Powder?" Vaeri asked "Oh yes! I remember now! Richer Dracons can have oils, powders, and other such things rubbed into their skins... as can the middle class. I could never afford any of that stuff" She said, continuing the rub. "You've got a big knot right here, on your lower-right back... have you been under a lot of stress these past few weeks?"
-
Yes I have had been under a lot of stress.. I've had fights with other mages, those who are hired by lords to pilfer from thier neighbors.."Isla said. ' Your claws are soft Vaeri.. Must be all those years of practuice..
-
"Thanks" Vaeri said "I give back rubs to my daughters almost every day; I scratch their backs as well."
-
my mother always made us give her a peck on cheek after she was done.. thast was our 'bill' Isla smiled , reliving childhood memories " that's not required anymore, of coursebut I still do it on occassion..out of sentiment.."
-
"Don't get any ideas" Vaeri said. "I give my daughters a kiss and a hug, but that is reserved for my younglings only. Still, I suppose my maternal instinct to comfort has its uses... just not in "that way."
-
Of course, you're not my mother.. ' Isla smiled.. "That is reserved for family only.. I guess I've got a lot of pent-up energy.."
-
"It sounds like you need a mate" Vaeri said, rubbing Isla's back in a circular motion. "You will get much more release that way. He might also be able to help with your knotted muscles" She added while applying percussive force to get out some of Isla's knots and kinks.
-
I Do need one.. But my father must okay it.." Isla agreed. "that can be a problem, I can't sleep with him before my father okays the pairing..'
-
"Have you ever gone to your father and asked for him to set up a marriage for you?" Vaeri asked.
-
No, I have not" Isla said.. "He usually sets them up.."
-
"Well, you should go ask him, if you feel ready" Vaeri said. "I'm sure he will help you in some way. Do you need me to rub harder? I'm feeling a tight patch of muscle here." She said as she rubbed Isla's back.
-
Yes If You could.. please" Isla agreed.. "That part has been sore for weeks.."
-
"I'll rub it harder" Vaeri responded "Why didn't you get it massaged earlier by your masseuses?"
-
I was fighting the other mages, they were trying to raid one of fathers castles.. I finally drove them back..then headed down here, where I ran into you folks..' Isla said
-
"Oh. So you had no way to get it taken care of." Vaeri said. "I'm sorry to hear it. Has it been giving you pain all this time?"
-
Yes. I've taken poitions and tried spells, it hasn't helped' Isla confided.. "You're doing a good job..'
-
"You might want to get these massages daily" Vaeri said. "I know some of my daughters want it daily; otherwise tension builds up really quickly in their backs, even if they miss a single day of back rubs. You also might consider foot massages too; how are your feet feeling?"
-
A little rough" Isla said lifting her feet up so Vaeri could see them. "You can rub them.."
-
"I give my daughters foot massages as well, sometimes daily. It is a cruel trick of nature to give us females softer feet than the males; we both need to walk, but the males get to do so with much less pain." Vaeri said as she started to massage Isla's right foot.
-
Yeah, I have a cut.. ruiight there.. " Isla winced. 'Pampered nibility have even softer feet .. and I'm paying fr that right now.."
-
"Yes, but soft-footed females are considered even more attractive" Vaeri said "I guess it is a sign of having not walked a lot, and that implies less physical activity, and thus, a higher social standing, if one is female, as the rich don't need to exert themselves as much as the poor."
-
Yes, You've walked more than me, much more..' Islla said,, as she felt vaeri work inbetween her claws.'Do you remember who was the first male you ever slept with?"
-
"He never told me his name" Vaeri said. "I know that he was large, green-skinned, and was a soldier, but that is it. I remember that it felt really good, though."
-
How old were you at the time? i feel so sheltered.. Here i am at 25, and I'm still a virgin.."
-
"I was barely sixteen" Vaeri said. "Still, that is common for the poor. I was a young dancer, and he was a young soldier, maybe two years older than me at most. I remember that he made me feel really good, but after we had finished and had fallen asleep, he had left."
-
and he was the first in a long line..'Isla said.. "I feel sorry, that you had to go through that.."
-
"Don't feel so bad" Vaeri said. "It would have been nice to get to know him, but before that day was up, I had found another male... who also never told me his name, and he also left before I woke up after I had fallen asleep. Eventually, I found some males who told me their names and stayed with me until I woke... sometimes I would wake up before they would... but in no case did any of them stay for long... until I met Adykon."
-
At least You've finally found someone.. How do your kids regard him?" Isla asked.
-
"They seemed to all like him; I think they all want a father figure more than anything. Adykon did not seem thrilled to take care of all those children, but I assured him that all of my children would keep their jobs so he wouldn't have to pay a lot to support children were not his, and that all future children of mine would be his, and that he could get them tested to prove it. I don't think Adykon could ever love all of my children in the way I love them, but at least he will love his son."
-
"So you're loooking for arability, and thast all future children you have will be his" Isla said.
-
"As long as we are together, I will mate with no other male but Adykon." Vaeri said.
-
That is good.. loyalty is essential.." isla nodded..
-
"Funny you should say that" Vaeri said, continuing the massage "Only the middle class is truly monogamous among us Dracons; I was promiscuous until I met Adykon, and the rich are polygamous. While you are going to be expected to mate with no one but your husband, he will be able to mate with other females."
-
Yes, I will have to deal with as best I can.. Particularly If he is the next in line" Isla said..
-
"I hope he tries to make you feel good, and not just use your body as a means of... relieving himself." Vaeri said. "Luckily, that is rare; most males I have mated with have at least tried to make me feel good as well, and that is what counts. I know that some human females are in the more... active position... but very few Dracon males would have this..."
-
If they want what I have, they'll have to oput up with me in the "active position"" Isla smiled. "My mother prefers to active position, and my faather allows it from time to time.. but its ionly because she's the primary.."
-
"Adykon would never allow that" Vaeri said "Like most males, being in control is very important for him. I could count the number of times I have been on top on one hand... and that is with all of the males I have been with."
-
Every male is different of course most want the dominant position.. and will not akllow the female that position.." Isla nodded.
-
"If your husband doesn't want to be on the bottom, there will be nothing you can do to make him change his mind" Vaeri said. "That is just how it works... but there are many other positions you can suggest to him that you both can enjoy."
Vaeri continued rubbing Isla's feet, and noticed her claws looked well-cut.
"Do you get your claws cut regularly, Isla?"
-
I get them cut, and cyut them myself, regullarly, this keeps them from growing inward.." Isla nodded.
-
"My claws, and those of my family get worn down from all the walking we do. I can see why yours don't get worn out... how often are you sitting, resting, or lying down?" Vaeri asked Isla as she pulled on the rich females toes as part of the massage.
-
I usually sir around 2-3 hours not including sleeping of course. I imagine with the poor you have no time to lie and sirt around.."
-
"Well, I spend a lot of time dancing" Vaeri said. "I also spend much time mating... and when I get home I mostly lie around, feed and comfort my children, and sleep. Of course, I am on my feet dancing or walking most of the day, so, my feet tend to get sore... and unlike the males, my feet don't callous much, so the skin stays soft, although not as soft as yours. How often do you get a foot massage when you are in your palace, Isla?"
-
it depends.. pretty frequently though. I enjoy the feeling of getting my feet rubbed. You're aamong the better foot rubbers I've had work on me.. i'll pay for this. just name your price..'
-
"No need" Vaeri said "You have already agreed to help my family, so that is payment enough. Do you need a massage anywhere else?"
-
My neck" Isla said. my muscles are tight..'
-
"Ah yes" Vaeri said "I carry a lot of my stress there as well... I'll rub your neck and shoulders." Afte turning Isla over, she started to massage her there. "Am I doing it too hard?"
-
No, in fact you're helping me release.. " Isla said as her body expelled more fluid. " Move a little up and to the left.."
-
Vaeri did so. "It must be nice, to have the chance to feel like this everyday, and to have servants help you out for your every need."
-
It is nice, on the whole. It does carry its own challenmges..No social class is worry-free, not with these wars.."
-
"What is it that you want, then, Isla?" Vaeri asked. "If there was one thing that you could have in the whole wide world, what would it be?"
-
That men and women could be equal. Failing that, that polygamy be permitted to women as well. It is not fair to us to be loyal to our msates, when he can mate with any girl he picks off off the street. We should be able to have more than one husband.."
-
"If you have more than one husband... it would be a counterproductive practice. The males would never stand for it, and you can only get pregnant with one egg at a time, whereas the males can make many females pregnant at a time. Still, more equality is desirable. I love mating, and I love to do feel good... but, I believe that males and females alike should see each other as more than just their certain body parts... I'll admit that I am not innocent of this either..."
-
Its not as if I am pushing for male-male or female-female partnerings, goodness no, those are banned for good reason, and there are severe penalties for those who engage in what is forbidden. no, I simply want more equality. The male is not going to give us this willing, we will have to force him to do so" Is;a said. " We might have to set up our own cities and socities to do so.."
-
"That will never work" Vaeri said. "We need the males to protect us, and we also need them to multiply with. If they are unwilling to change, we cannot make it happen. If anything, they have every institution on their side; the temples, the armies, the law, the magic, even the libraries are all male-dominated."
-
We would have to start from stratch yes. We would recruit from those who are tired of thier lot of life. those who are forced to beg in the streets, those who lie with a male and never even get his name.. those simply want things to be different..'
-
"Most of us are resigned to our lot in lie" Vaeri said. "You would not find enough people who would be willing to do it, especially because you are female, like I am. No one follows females... even my own sons won't listen to me."
-
We would have to start small, true. Not many would join us..at first.. but after experiencing what a more equal socirty has to offer, they would not be satisfied with a retyurn to thier old lives.."
-
"so why did you follow me Sasha?" asked Jake
"i was wondering where you were" replied Sasha "one second you were there, the next second you were gone"
-
"I wish that were so" Vaeri said "I think the males would get tired of being so nice to us females and would start the same things all over again; even my sons think less of me because I am female, and I am older than they are."
-
The difference is we wouldn't put up with it, like we do now. respdctr is essential, a healthy socirty does not elevate one section over others and leaves the other section completely at the mercy of that one section.
-
"HA! Now you are sounding like those humans!" Vaeri said. "Where did you read these ideas from?"
-
Various literature I'bve picked up on my travels. ' I realize all this is a hopeless ideal, the males would crush any such place we set up with force.."
-
"They would likely crush such a settlement, and sell all of the survivors into slavery" Vaeri said.
-
or simply imprison or execute them.." Isla nodded.
-
Jake sat there chatting with Sasha for a while
"so why did you want to have me in a room so badly?...." asked Jake
"i REALLY like you.." replied Sasha
-
"Are you relaxed now, Isla?" Vaeri asked. "Do you need anything else? Maybe I can help you stretch?"
-
Stretch would be nice, thanks.." Isla replied. " I feel much much better.."
-
"I can help you stretch by extending your limbs and digits, then releasing them once they have gone as far as they will comfortably go." Vaeri said. "Where do you want me to help you with first?"
-
My right arm" Isla said.. Getting up and turning her back towards vaeri..
-
Vaeri took Isla's right arm in her hands, sat down, and placed her feet against Isla's back. "Tell me if I'm pulling too hard." She said, as she pulled with her arms and pushed against Isla's back with her feet and legs.
-
that feelsa good.. keep going" Isla saids feeling the tension as her ar,m was stretched.
-
Vaeri stretched out Isla's arms, then worked her way to her hands, fingers, legs, feet, toes, and tail.
"How does that feel now?" Vaeri asked. "It is rare that I spend so much time giving a massage and a stretching; even my daughters don't always get this much time."
-
it feels great.. you can take a breather" Isla said.. "You did an oustannding job vaeri.."
-
"Okay. Good to hear. Are you feeling better now?" Vaeri said. "No stress to interfere with your spell-casting?"
-
No, i haven't felt this good in years Thank you" Isla said, giving Vaeri a hug and sitting down to dress, wrapping her louicloth around her and putting on her top..
-
"We should get back to the other; the door to the statue is going to open soon. I guess we have no more than an hour." Vaeri said.
-
Thats my gysess as well...' isla said picking up her staff and walking out behind the rubble....
-
There was only about a half-hour to go now. The sky was getting dark...
Vaeri and Adykon stood next to each other; she put her hand on his shoulder. He responded to this by gently rubbing and scratching her back with one hand as they looked at the door.
-
Isla sat down next the door. she had experienced a number of emotions with VAeri's help, and she owed the ols DRacon a debt og gratitude..
-
Vaeri looked at Isla, who was sitting on the ground. "How are you feeling, Isla? I know that you are feeling physically fine, but you seem... off. How are you feeling, emotionally?"
-
well, the 'opening' will take a bit to recover from.." Isla nodded.. "it would be the same if I had mated for the first time with a male..
-
Jake and Sasha were still talking
"Sasha, do you think we should get back to the group?" asked Jake
"yes we should" replied Sasha "come on; let's go"
Jake and Sasha walked back to the group. the walk took them 10 minutes
-
"Are you feeling emotionally stable enough to cast spells?" Vaeri asked Isla. "The door will open in about 10 minutes, so we all need to be ready for anything."
-
Yes, I'll be able to cast spells should it be necessary..
-
"Good" Vaeri said. "I am not a combatant, so I will try and be useful as an extra set of eyes... and a nose, should we need to catch anything's scent."
There were now just five minutes left.
-
The moon light shone down through the hole. It hit down on the far end of the room, and began moving across slowly..
-
The door slid open gradually to reveal a long room with gray stone walls and several magically lit torches. At the end of the hallway was what they had been awaiting at last, at long last; the statue of Kothar.
The party approached the statue eagerly, and to their relief, there were no traps, no enemies, no illusions in their way. The statue itself was small; small enough to classify it as a statuette, being no more than twice the length of one of Adykon's hands.
Adykon moved to grab it, and found that it would not budge. Using his gem, he detected a magic spell on it, which was linked to another, larger spell. He knew that a simple dispel would be all that was needed to make the statue move, so he asked Kravik to cast the spell... which he did.
No sooner than the spell was cast did the statue move freely; Adykon took it in his hands... but he felt that something had happened... as if some magical field had fallen...
-
Whats happening?' Isla asked, as a rumbling sound reverberated through the room..
-
"whats happening?" asked Jake
-
Suddenly, Adykon found himself unable to move. A mage teleported into the room, and the statue teleported out of Adykon's hands into the hands of the mage. The party looked to see who it was. Rhiga gasped with recognition... it was Arcantas, the mage who had assigned them to get the statue in the first place!
-
Arcandas" Isla said. her staff glowed, but she knew thety were in trouble. Arcandas was a very powerful mage..
-
"i'm confused?...." said Jake
-
"This city was protected by a magic field which prevented just about any mage from just teleporting in; the spell was only cast to protect the statue. The idea was that the mages who would protect the statue would need to teleport it out if they were to move it, so it was designed to fall if the enchantment which kept the statue in place was dispelled." His voice was a sardonic laugh, a noise which sounded not quite of this world.
Arcantas now wore black robes made of an unknown material, displaying much more wealth than he had back in the inn, where he had dressed in dirty brown robes made of out of burlap.
"This statue is very valuable; far too much so for the likes of you! None of you can teleport, so there is no way you can catch up with me. By the time you return to civilization, I will be the first emperor of all Dracons!"
And with that, Arcantas teleported out, taking the statue with him.
-
Isla looked at Adykon, and the others.. "We need to stop him.."
-
"did you see him teleport?" said Jake "i don't think we would be able to catch him...."
-
"We cannot catch him" Adykon said. "What we need know is information. Isla, what do you know about Arcantas? You recognized him, so you must know something about him!"
-
"Hes a Dark Mage and very powerful one at that. I've fought some of his magesbefore, and they're very tough.." Isla said, sitting down.. 'We're lucky he didn't try to kill us.."
-
"Are these the risks you once mentioned Adykon?" - Eriol said, with a faked smile.
-
"We don't have those kinds of spells, and we need information before we can proceed!" Adykon said. "If you know anything about Arcantas, now is the time to tell us, Isla!"
-
Hes a very powerful Dark Mage.. who fancies himself king odf all DRacons.. He's dabbled to reviving the dead, and stealing souls, that sort of terrrible magic. hes a terrrible foe..
-
At that point, two more mages teleported in; a male and a female.
"My love! We are too late! The statue is gone!" The female said.
"Idiots! Do you have any idea what you have done?!" The male mage said.
-
"And do you have any idea to what place he may be going now, Isla?" - The Panther asked. - "And maybe for next time, it would be nice to get to know better who hired you." - He then looked at the newcomers, saying no words but he began looking at them as he frowned.
-
The dark mage tricked these traveled into getting the spell around the statue remobved..
-
"We know what he is about" The male mage said, "And we will tell you everything that you need to know."
-
I Believe he is going back to his mountaon fortress.. to prepare his plans for invasion.." Isla said darkly.
-
"He would not go there, not now." The male mage said. "Arcantas is too much of an egomaniac to savor his victory in such a remote location; he is going to a major city to show off his new-found power... which was hidden in the statue the whole time."
-
What are your names " Isla said to the mages..'And if you can teleport us to my castle I'd be mucgh obliged.."
-
"Our names are not important to you, Isla!" The female mage said.
"Yes, we know you, and your father. We also know what he has been doing, but that isn't important now." We need to teleport you all to the city of Minthebac... and yes, we know that the youth in your party live there. Arcantas has a palace in that city, and he is bound to want to take it over first." The male mage said.
-
Very well.. lead the way.." Isla said..
-
"he's going to take over the place where we live?!" said a worried Sasha
-
"Wait! How do we know this isn't a trap! How can we just trust them?!" Adykon said.
"Adykon, we are the guardians of the statue. For decades, we have watched over it, just as my father and his wife had done so in the past. Inside the statue is the spirit of Tiamat's son, Ea. By himself he is so powerful that he could grant Arcantas the ability to conquer any number of cities in the Dracon lands, if he tries to get them one at a time." Said the male mage.
"Ea is more powerful than his mother ever was, but he was beaten many years ago by Bahamut and his children. Since that time, neither of those gods interferes with mortal affairs in these lands, for fear of starting a cataclysmic war!" The female mage added.
"It was we who tried to stop you earlier; for fear of what might happen if anyone should try to unleash that sort of power!" The male mage said.
"The best case scenario is that Arcantas will become emperor of all the Dracon kingdoms. The worst case scenario is that Ea's spirit will run rampant!" The female mage said "So please TRUST ME! We have no time to waste!"
-
At least tell me your names, and Then I will trust you.. The other questions I have can wait.."Isla said..
-
"We cannot say our names, for fear that they will be used against us" The male mage said.
"You must come with us if we are to have any hope of winning; remember, if Arcantas wins, you and your whole noble house may be forfeit!" the female mage added.
-
Very well.." Isla said. "Teleport us now.. I have a friend in Minbethac..Her nAme is Minna.."
-
"There are no signs of the one I've been hunting down in this place, so I have no issues in been teleported." - Eriol said as he nodded, he then gave a step closer to the group so the mages will know better his position before the spell is done.
-
The party gathered into a circle, and the two archmages teleported them to Minbenthec, where the whole adventure had begun.
When they got there, there was panic in the streets. Unnatural darkness was in the sky, lightning arced through the air despite the lack of rain, and there was a glowing figure in one of the city's tallest towers.
"See that glow? That's Arcantas!" The male mage said.
"He is casting the ritual which will release and then bing Ea's spirit!" the female mage said. "We cannot teleport any closer because of his magical field which surrounds his castle."
"What about Minthebec's army?" Adykon said.
"It is mostly away at the moment, fighting a war, remember?" Rhiga said. "That clever bastard picked the perfect city to attack at just the right time..."
-
"So, how can we take him down?" - Eriol asked the mages.
-
"That is the problem" The female mage told Eriol "... we don't know. Given enough time, we could penetrate his defenses..."
"But by then, the ritual will be complete. Our plans were much more focused on preventing this from happening rather than dealing with it..." the male mage added.
-
"i wonder how mom and dad are doing" said Rex to Jake
"i hope they're alright..." replied Jake
-
Isla!" A voice called out behind her! And Isa jumped .. She turned around in a fury, she beheld a young female DRacon in noble dress. her green top was adorned with emeralds, and she wore a big smile on her face. "Minna Ennaz?!?' Isla asked stunned. "Yes' She nodded at the two mages. "Bring them quickly we don't have much time.. " Minna turned and disappeared in the crowd.
-
"Who was that?!" Adykon said to Isla.
"I think we know..." the male mage said...
"... but we should not say..." the female mage added.
"Enough double-talk!" Adykon shouted.
"We should let Isla tell you; Dracon mages like us can be very secretive" the male mage said; his wife nodded along.
-
Shes a noble of this city. Her name is Minna of the Ennaz family here. she's a few years younger than me but we were trained by the same mage in STealth.."Isla said.
-
"Can she get us in that castle?" Adykon said.
"If she gets them in, my love, do you think we should..." the female mage said to her husband.
"...yes. We will." Responded the male to his wife.
-
Yes she can.." Isla said firmly. "Minna is very getting into places..'
-
"Should we follow her then?" Adykon said. "Speak quickly; I don't like the looks of those clouds!"
-
Yes, we need to follow her.. Come on" She took off. running through the crowd..
-
The party took off, following the female mages. The mated archmages stated behind; all involved were Dracons except for Eriol, Jake, and Sasha. The party approached the castle, where a regiment of soldiers was unsuccessfully trying to smash down the magically-sealed gates.
-
Minna motioned them to a small door made into the side of the castle. it was covered with fines and only if you knew it was there could you find it.. Minna opened the door with a gesture " I'm Minna. Isla and I go back quite a bit, our fathers are good friends. I would ask your names but time is short, so that will have to wait."
-
The party entered the castle. The married archmages mages did not say much except to guide the party through the many twisted halls and corridors to avoid guards. Then, the party came to a trap which the mages had feared, but were marginally prepared for; a wall of sheer force, generated by magical equipment on the other side. Normally, it would take hours to breach this wall, but the party had mere minutes. The archmages joined hands and a beam of golden light emanated from their clasped claws...
The beam hit the blue wall of force, creating a small breach... but they could only sustain it long enough for one party member to get through...
"You... must... go... Adykon" the male mage said. "My wife cannot... help me keep this breach open... much longer!"
-
Hurry Adykon " Minna said . "You must go through.."
-
We'll join you once the field falls" Isla said, In the meantime we'll fight off any guard that waylays us.. " Her staff glowed. Minna had pulledc out her staff hers was blue and green stones in it..
-
Adykon rushed through the hole, and found Arcantas. The statue was in the middle of six candles; three of them were lit. As he chanted more words, another candle lit up. Adykon knew that he had to stop the candles from being it, she he ran over and kicked one down.
Arcantas stopped chanting.
"Arcantas!" Adykon shouted "It is time we had a little talk about this... 'job'..."
The magical field behind Adykon was still present; if he failed here, no one would arrive in time to stop the archmage.
"So, Adykon. You have at best moderately inconvenienced me. It will take me all of five minutes to relight the candle you knocked over, and another three minutes to complete the ritual. Unfortunately, you have zero minutes to live!" He shouted, while launching a fireball at Adykon.
-
Minna and isla focused their magic on creating a shield around. It won't block more than one of his fireballs, but it would buy them a few precious seconds..
-
The shield reflected a fireball off of Adykon's armor; it bounced harmlessly aside. The wall of force did not prevent certain spells from being cast through it, although it would prevent any spell which could hurt him directly from getting through.
"So, the 'hero' has a spell of deflection... well... there's more than one way around that!
Arcantas said.
Meanwhile, the female archmage had fainted, her body being unable to withstand any more magical exertion.
-
"Tend to her" Minna said, as Isla cast another defensive spell.. refreshing the shie;ld around Adykon.
-
Unfortunately for Isla, she didn't realize that the next spell cast would be an indirect attack, which could hurt or even kill Adykon regardless of the protective spell...
Unfortunately for Arcantas, he was standing very close to his tower's edge.
-
ther spell knocked adykon back.. and it did the same to Arcantas..
-
The spells he had cast was the conjuration of a dragon's head, which breathed fire at Adykon, burning him, but causing his protective spell to explode, pushing them both back.
Arcantas did not fall off of the edge; he had a safety rail installed there just in case.
"You didn't think you could beat me that easily, did you?" Arcantas said as he cast a circle of flame around himself to keep Adykon back.
-
Isla focusedcand created another.. Vaeri's stretching and allowed her acess to enegy she hadn't had in years, and it was paying off now..
-
Despite his new shield, Adykon was burned even worse the second time around, as the spell was much more powerful. Adykon choked on the smell of his own scales and horns burning, but he got up anyway.
Arcantas was still safe behind his shield, though... or so he thought.
-
Shield Horns" Minna commanded " and the shield appearing over Adykkon was spiked, and there were balls of energy inside" 'Throws those bals oat him " Minna said.
-
Adykon launched some of the energy balls, but he realized that it was a mistake to try and fight an archmage with magic! Arcantas laughed, and deflected the energy balls back at Adykon, blowing up on impact, and causing serious damage to his armor.
Spikes and blood littered the floor; Adykon could not take much more of this.
"I think you are hurting him more than you are helping!" Rhiga told Isla.
-
"ok Forget the balls' Isla growled.. try and destroy the forcefield so we can help!"
-
There was no time for that, though.
Adykon was beaten, battered, and burned. His armor was in tatters, and Arcantas was still standing there, grinning like a devil...
Nothing had worked; magic had proven ineffective, the rest of the party could not help, and physcial force...
...was the answer.
Arcantas had been beating the party because they were playing on his terms the whole time... they had been so wrapped up in magic and in mystery that they forgot that sometimes, the simplest solution is the best one.
Although he was injured, Adykon could still make one final rush. No tricks, no magic, just a single attack.
He charged at Arcantas, who launched a fireball at him. The mercenary ducked it. He was now 20 paces away from the archmage... 18 paces... 16 paces... 14 paces... another fireball! A hit! No stopping now! 12 paces... the ring of fire was just ahead! 10 paces... into the ring! Searing pain! 8 paces... 6 paces... 4 paces... 2 paces... another fireball! Point blank range! Adykon was staggering forward, and with the last of his strength, he pushed Arcantas OVER the rail!
Battle Music (http://66.49.226.244/digital/qfg2cd/Track26.ogg)
-
As Arcantas fell to his death the field vanished.. Isla rushed forward to help the badly injured Adkyon. Minna I'm going to need some bandages here" She said, blood dripped from some of the burns on his arm..
-
As Arcantas fell, the party could hear him scream; "AHH! Master, help me!!" Despite his plea, it was obvious that no help was forthcoming. Although they didn't see Arcantas fall, they sure heard it. Ouch.
-
Theres going to be no helkp for that guy.. that is easiily a 200 foot fall.." minna said glamcing over at the window. "Adkyon, Isla and I will help carry you, you're badly burned.."
-
The male archmage teleported the statuette into his hands.
"I thank you all; Adykon, Eriol, Rhiga, Jake, Sasha, Rex, Kravik, Sivar, Selturma, Vaeri, Isla, and Minna. We could not have done it without you."
-
Now That you have the statue back.. could you teleport us out of hee before we havce to explain ourselves to the palace guards?' Isla said
-
"I think my wife and I owe you that much." the male archmage said as his wife woke up, still weak, but able to walk.
"I'll take care of this one, dear." he told her quietly.
He teleported the party back to the city's main square, which was abandoned due the panic from the citizens, who had all either fled the city or were cowering at home or in temples. The fountain was still operating, though.
-
Thank you, and how do you know my father? And what exactly is he doing?" Isla asked..
-
"I have foreseen that we will meet again, Isla... and that you have some pleasant news awaiting you back at your father's place." The male archmage said.
"Dear, I am feeling...weak..." the female moaned.
"Now, if you will excuse us, I need to get my wife to our bed; that spell too a lot out of her. I also need to get the statue back the the lost city, and reset the spell. I have foreseen that if I can get it back there before the next full moon, it will be safe for the next 1000 years and 1 night."
-
Thjank you.. I think.. good luck to you" Ilsa said..
-
The archmage teleported away, with his statue in his hands and his wife holding onto him by his shoulders.
Sivar healed Adykon's most serious injuries using her magic.
"And now Jake... I have lost my armor expensive steel armor to an archmage's fire, damaged my sword, and received no reward at all except for serious burns... but I don't think I've ever been happier in my life." Adykon looked at Sasha, Rex, and Jake... "You three on the other hand, will be a lot less happy." He said with a smile. "There is no way your parents will be happy to hear that you had been gone."
The dark clouds over the city began to fade; they would be gone by morning. The lightning had long stopped, and the city's soldiers had stormed the palace.
-
As a thank you, all of you are welcome to my fathers castle. Adykom can rest up.. I will ask my servants to tend to your every whim.." Minna said.. " Follow me.."
-
"I think, we shall join you later, if possible" Vaeri said. "Adykon and I have some catching up to do... in private."
"I'll come with you!" Rhiga said, eager to relax in a palace after such a long adventure.
-
"oh %$#@ i forgot about that......" thought Jake, Jake looked at Rex. Rex was thinking the same thing
-
You can relax in yoiour chambers at the castle I will instruct my servants noit to disturb you.."Minna said with a smile. "Please.. "
-
"Thanks, but no thanks" Vaeri said with a dirty smile. "I would like to take Adykon to a setting that we are both more... familiar with. But if it is okay for us to return tomorrow..."
"Let's do that." Adykon said. "We can visit you early tomorrow..."
"But not too early, my hero." Vaeri whispered to Adykon.
-
"come on Rex, let's go home and tell mom and dad we're alright" said Jake
"okay" replied Rex
Jake and Rex rushed down the street.
-
Very well" Come on Ilsa and Rhiga.." Minna said.. "we'll see you guys tommorow then.." She said to Vaeri and Adkon..
-
And what about you Selturma?" Isla asked.. " do you want to come with us , or go home?
-
"Let's go!" Rhiga said. Her aching muscles and tense nerves were eager for some relaxation.
-
When Jake and Rex got home, their Mom; Vaesa ran to them and gave them a big hug
"hi mom" said Jake and Rex
"i missed you two so much!" said Vaesa as she hugged them tightly
"we missed you too" said Rex "wait....wheres Dad?"
"he had to go and fight in the war.." said Vaesa
-
Come on Rhiga " Isla will join us when she can.. "Minna said.. and she startee walking down the street..
-
"Oh Rex... did you miss me?" Selturma said, approaching the family.
Meanwhile,
Rhiga could not believe her luck... she had been taken across a desert, sent to an oracle, annoyed by a human, beaten by that same human, taken to a slum-filled city, taken across another desert, spend days on end going through ruins, was duped by an archmage... and was invited to a palace for some relaxation...
Nice.
-
Vaesa stopped hugging Jake and Rex
"Jake, you've gotten taller" said Vaesa
"yes i have" replied Jake "guess what?...."
"what?" asked Vaesa
"Rex has a girlfriend" said Jake "her name is Selturma"
-
"That's me!" Selturma said proudly. Yes, she had forgotten her top back in the lost city, but now that she was in a home, it mattered little, especially if she was going to become part of the family.
-
"hello Selturma" said Rex "this is my mom, Vaesa, mom meet Selturma"
"hello Selturma, i see that Rex is ver fond of you" said Vaesa with a wink
-
The three girls headed into Minna expansive and gorgeous palace.. "Whoa Minna Haven' you been expanding it., isla asked It was bigfger than she remembered.
-
"Pleased to meet you!" Selturma said, smiling. "Your son was very kind to me, and now we are very close!"
-
Rhiga looked at the palace. "Wow... your father must be quite rich, too. Imagine that, two females, each with a palace given to them by their fathers."
Selturma looked around the house. It was much nicer than any place she had ever lived before.
-
"that is good to hear" said Vaesa
-
"mom, can Selturma live with us?" whispered Rex into Vaesa's ear "she has nowhere to live..."
Vaesa walked over to Selturma
"Selturma" said Vaesa "how would you like to live with us?"
-
Well, I'm his favorite daughter " Minna smirked.. "Anything I want I get.. within reason.."
-
"I would love to live here!" Selturma said "Thank you very, very much!"
Meanwhile...
"Well, Minna, I must hand it to you; you have better taste than I have ever seen in a palace before."
-
My mother has good taste in stone.. and men.. " Minna said climbing up the stairs, a pair of guards saluted her as she passed ' As you were boys "She said in grreeting..
-
"I assume your mother is the prime wife of her husband" Rhiga asked. "I'm sure the other females in his household are all jealous of her."
-
Rex smiled
"thanks mom" said Rex
Jake turned to speak with his mom Vaesa
"mom, i won't be here much longer" said Jake "i'm going to move out and join the military......the human military"
"but your only 14!" said Vaesa
"no i'm not" said Jake smiling "on the adventure i turned 15......i never told anyone my real birthday"
-
They can be, but my fathers gives all of them a fir chunk of his time.. my father isn't as powerful or important as Isla's is... yet" She winked at Isla. "But we're a solid family. 33 kids 21 boys 12 girls. I'm the 7th of 12.."
-
Meanwhile...
The male archmage teleported his wife back home, set the statue down, and put her to bed.
"I'll join you in a minute, my sunshine." He told her, not knowing it would be the last time he would ever speak to her in this life.
He teleported back to the lost city and set the statue back into its pedestal.
"Now, all I have to do is to reset the spell, and we're good for another thousand years and a- what the?!" He thought
Another presence had teleported in. Arcantas?! No, not Arcantas...far, far worse...
"You?! How could it be you?! You're dead!!" The archmage yelled.
"So I am... and you are about to join me!" The presence said in a hollow voice as it powered up a spell of mass destruction...
"Wait, you can't-! Who are you to-?! This isn't right! This is NOT how it is supposed to happen!! You have no right to-!"
BOOM!!!
-
The explosion, caused the temple to collaspse in on itself, and sink beneath the sands..
-
No one heard the explosion... and save for a distraught wife, no one knew of the archmage's passing for a while, and by that time, it was too late. The statue was gone, but none of the party knew who had taken it, or that it was missing in the first place. As far as they knew, everything was just fine.
-
Minna's table was spread with fruits anbd dishes of every variety. " Hellp yourselves! Eat and drink as you please ' Minna beamed "Isla We have a lot to catch up on..
-
Rhiga saw that there were couches lined up her the guests to sit on, on their stomachs. She eagerly lay down on one, and helped herself to some food.
(http://farm1.static.flickr.com/1/1228684_40e55c83f6.jpg)
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Eriol decided to go a separate path, he went inside an inn, going to the center table he asked for something to drink. After a while, he decided to ask the barman about his wife's assassin, with no avail. He finished his drink and went out, to find a good place to rent a room.
-
Isla laid down on one and helped herself to some food "So how have you been" Minna asked muching on a bunch of grapes. "I don't see ypou for two fulls then you pop out of thin air after a crazed marchmage..So hows his Lordship/' Minna asked eating a grape..
-
Rhiga listened closely to the conversation; any bit of knowledge was good knowledge, especially when it came to the dealings of the rich and powerful. She might be able to profit off of what she heard here tonight...
-
Father's doing quite well, in fact he and his 4th are expecting another baby, so I move up a notch on the pecking order' Isla smiled. "I've been thinking about finding a mate...
-
Really, Is it who I think it is. Son #7?" isla smiled "The guy that is 12 minutes older than you? He's a dreamboat I agree.."
Margan Drraras" Isla said. "I've heard He's been begging his father to give him permission to ask your father for your hand.."
-
Rhiga decided to join in the conversation.
"Do any of these rich, good-looking males spend time with poorer females?" Rhiga asked, hopeful.
-
yEs they do.. My mothers family was poor until my mother married my father.." Minna said. "they aren't poor anymore, as you might gueess.. it was a big adjustment for many of them. They now had money and didn't know what do with it...So rather than blowing it, we invested thier money in various things like silver mines and coopper minmes, and inn education..'
-
Rhiga's eyes lit up. This could be good... she thought.
Meanwhile...
Selturma was settling into her new home. She was already given a new top by Rex's mom, but did not wear it in the house... unfortunately, there was someone violating the dress code...
-
Jake was walking around the house, he still had full amounts of clothing on
-
Are you picky? We also have "special servants' whose job is to provide "pleasure' to our guests.. 'How about Rigius.. "He's 17, but strong as an ox..or so I've been told "Minna clarified.
-
By contrast, Jake's family, plus Selturma, were all in their indoor clothes; nothing but a loincloth. Selturma sat down, cross-legged, and met her new "siblings."
-
Jake sat down on a nearby couch
"man, searching for that statue was a long journey" said Jake
-
"You should take those things off, Jake" Selturma said. "You've been on a hard journey, now it is time to relax... Rex here has the right idea."
-
"So how about you MInna?' Isla . " any Dream boys?' Isla said taking a drumstick..
_
Not really Father is waiting for your father to give him the ok, to have me look at one of your other brothers. #12, #13 or #15..."
-
Rex was standing next to Selturma, he was only wearing a loincloth
"look, i'm human" said Jake "if i have to wear only my boxer shorts then i have to go and get changed"
"then why don't you go and get changed" said Rex
"what ever" said Jake
Jake walked off
-
"At least he can change" Selturma said, not getting the double meaning of the word in this context...
Meanwhile...
"I'm sorry to break up this pleasant conversation, but... my back hurts" Rhiga said. "Can we get some servants in her to take care of that?"
-
Of course" Minna said pulling out a bell and gong. She rang a bell.. and threee servannts appears. " Gentlemen three back rubs please, one for me, and my friends.
_ Of course my lady the first one said crackling his knuckled. he went over to Rhiga " What is ytour preference.. just the back, or do you want her feet rubbed as well..?"
-
"Back, feet, legs, neck, shoulders, and my tail, if you please" Rhiga said.
-
Very Well.. I'll start at the back. My name is Marcus, madam..what is your name?"Marcus said, beginning to rub..
-
"My name is Rhiga... and I love your exotic, human name."
-
lady Rhiga.. where are you from, my lady" Marcus said formally.. as he pushhed and massaged her back..
-
Eriol left his things in the room he rented, and decided to began walking in the city. An advantage to not been known there is that he could walk down the streets in a more relaxed way. He stopped for a moment to see some kids playing, his mind returned to his homeland, still hoping to see his son playing like that... with no worries and no past burdens.
After a minute, he began walking again, going nowhere in particular.
-
"I am from the city of...ooh... Hekaga. I was a dancer there- uhh... it is hard to walk while you are massaging me... could I just lie down and enjoy it, without the talking?" Rhiga responded.
-
Jake returned back to the lounge room.
"i'm back" said Jake, Jake was now only wearing his Boxer shorts
-
Very well..' Marcus said, moving up abd her back, without another word...
-
"There, now doesn't that feel better?" Selturma asked Jake.
-
"meh" said Jake "i don't really care.....although it does feel nice to relax"
Jake jumped back onto the couch he was on before
-
Selturma thought "Humans... they dress like they are going to war in their living rooms..."
Selturma sat down on a couch, and put her feet over the side and stretched out her feet and toes. "That feels good" she thought.
-
Sasha was walking down the street, she passed by Jake's house.
"should I go inside?" thought Sasha "i wonder if Jake's in trouble?"
Sasha walked up to the door, she knocked 3 times
"come in" yelled Vaesa
-
Selturma saw Sasha step swifty in the door. "Hi Sasha!" Selturma said.
-
"hello Selturma" said Sasha "is Jake in trouble?"
"oh crap Sasha's here" thought Jake, Jake jumped over the couch and he hid behind it
-
Selturma saw Sasha swiftly stash her sandals in the south side of the house. "Jake is in here; I think he fell off of the couch, though. He has got to work on his balance; he must wear those 'shoes' so often they hurt his balance when he is barefoot!"
-
"i did not lose balance!" said Jake in frustration at Selturma "i was hid--"
Jake cut himself off
-
"There he is!" Selturma said to Sasha. "Why don't you be a good girlfriend and help him up... and he is dressed just for the occassion to meet his girlfriend, too!"
-
"oh shut up" said Jake
-
Marcus continued working on Rhiga . noow he moved to her neck annd shoulders..
-
"Why are you so grouchy today?" Selturma asked Jake "Are you feeling sore? stressed? tense? Sasha, maybe you could help him with that..."
At that moment...
"uhhhhh...." Rhiga moaned. She hadn't felt this good since Kravik worked his 'magic' on her... she said nothing, but her smile and slack muscles gave Marcus the indication that he was going a good job.
-
Sasha walked over to where Jake was standing
"erm...i'm fine" said Jake, Jake started to back away slowly
-
"Oh come on, Jake. You know I'm just playing with you... Sasha, let's just sit and talk... Jake, you don't need to be rubbed, caressed, massaged, kneaded, or fondled by Sasha if you don't want to be. It would be good for us to talk... all four of us, including Rex."
-
"erm....okay.." said Jake, Jake jumped back on the couch again
-
Now for the legs' Marcus said softly, noticing her soft yet broad legs, before rubbing them. He reached inside his shirt pulled out a jar of powder and rubbed some powder into her calves..
-
"Is this for real?" Rhiga thought happily "He's rubbing me with... powder... I almost never had a massage like this before, and never one with such expensive materials used..."
Meanwhile...
Selturma, Jake, Rex, and Sasha sat down at a table.
"Jake, I want you and Rex to make up for what happened in the lost city" Selturma stated bluntly. "We all have some blame for what happened, but we cannot change the past; we need to go onto the future."
-
"okay" said Jake, Jake and Rex apologized to each other "Selturma, now you have to tell Rex why the fight Started"
-
Marcus used more powder on her neck and shoulders that rubbed some into the smalls of her back.. he slathered sopome on her tail and worked it in.. 'Tell me if I'm going too hard.."he said.
-
"It's very, very, good...uhhhh...." Rhiga managed to moan underneath the waves of pleasure which were coursing through her body.
Meanwhile...
"The fight started because Jake and Rex wanted to compare themselves in a rather... nasty way, and it was suggested that there be a fight to settle the matter."
-
"no the other reason" said Sasha "the reason you and i were fighting......"
-
(Mind If I play thier father?)
_
Marcus smiled as he finished with her tail. He scooped more powder out and rubbed her right leg..
-
(Rex's father is away at war, if that is what you mean)
"Which fight are we talking about, Jake?" Selturma said "We were in a LOT of fights on that adventure..."
Meanwhile...
Rhiga was feeling magnificent... but she wondered... "What's that powder?" she said in a very relaxed tone.
-
It cleans out the body and is a relaxant. It helps the muscles release tension and replaces it with energy" Marcuss said, moving below her knees..
-
Rhiga really liked that... it made her relaxed, but not tired... it was perfect for preparing her body for... mating, as she would need the energy, but it would work best if she was relaxed too...
-
"He means the one before Rex almost killed him" said Sasha
Rex looked ashamed
"it's okay rex" said Jake
-
Not much longer, I'm almost to your feet.."
_
Thats marcus He- ahh- really really good at massages" Minna said from her coach.
-
"I know that things were bad then, but at least... you two should be brothers again..." Selturma said. "I know that you are from two different species, but... you still share family ties... and brothers should not fight."
-
"i know" said Jake "but that still doesn't answer my question"
-
"... You mean the 'stick' argument?" Selturma said. "It had to do with Rex's pants, remember?"
Rex blushed a bit at this comment.
-
"well, you and Sasha began the fight..." said Jake "i know i'm at fault here....then i challenged Rex to a fight...
-
"... and he won" Selturma said, leaning on Rex and rubbing his arm for a moment.
-
"only because he went crazy and almost killed Jake" said Sasha defending Jake
-
"Well, he WAS in a fight... and I made him rather... excited the night before..." Selturma said.
-
".........................." thought Jake
-
"Come on Jake" Selturma said "You know how Dracons are, don't act so surprised."
Meanwhile...
"oohhh!" Rhiga moaned "This is SO good... but I'm in the mood for something more after it is done... I wonder if he would like to see me dance... and then we can... 'relax' together..."
-
"...........i could have died........" said Jake slowly
-
"I know, Jake" Selturma said "That's the risk we all take living here, in these lands. I''m sorry it was Rex who almost ended up... Rex, why don't you say something?"
-
"I'd be honored madam" Marcus said. "Now like you could raise your feet so I can work on them.."
-
Rex sat up
"Selturma just wanted me to win Jake, she thought that....well...i had a bigger 'stick'" said Rex "she meant no harm"
"i know what the fight was about..." said Jake "so, are we going to change the subject?"
-
Rhiga raised her feet, but was embarrassed... "Did I say think that last part, or say it?! I must have been thinking aloud!" She thought. Soon, her worries were drowned out by the pleasure she felt...
-
You have a lot of dead scales on your feet Marcus said as he reached for the filer too file the dead skin away.. "You must be on them a lot..'
-
"I am dancer" Rhiga said "Being on my feet is my job" She said.
Meanwhile...
Jake did not need to change the subject, as he heard the call of dinner!
-
"great, dinner time" thought Jake "the best meal of the day.....i wonder what mom is cooking?"
-
Well, lets get them off then.. make your feet more supple, and nimble.." Marcus said..
-
Jake, Sasha, Rex and Selturma sat at the table with all of the other childeren
Vaesa brought out hot steaming plates of spaghetti bolognaise
"yum!" said Jake
-
"Yes, you do that" Rhiga said, still feeling very relaxed.
Meanwhile...
"Wow, this is some of the best food ever! Thanks Vaesa!" Selturma said.
Also meanwhile...
Adykon and Vaeri made their way to an inn. Although he still had burns on him, he was still in good condition overall...
-
Marcus began filing off the dead skins, he peeled their layers of hard toughened dead skin, and it take him about ten minutes each to dpo each foot, then he worked on her toes
-
Her skin, while soft, was still harder than usual down there... not anymore, thanks to Marcus. "How are you doing, girls?" Rhiga said with a smile. If they were feeling half as good as she was, it would be paradise for them...
-
I feel great.. Isla smiled. "These boys sure what they are doing' Isla was having her tail cleaned of dead scales..
_
"Yeah, this is my favorite part of the masage..' minna smiled.
-
By this time, a large number of dead scales had been collected from the three females... this was a good sign... they had all been allowed to accumulate too many of those... which was not fitting for a noble, but was inconvenient for a commoner as well...
By the end of it, all of the females had very smooth, soft bodies, and all of them felt really, really good...
-
All finished madam.." Marcus said putting the file and supplies away. "
_
You deserve a raise' Isla gushed "All 3 of you.."
_
I'll ask Father" Minna.said, getting up from the coach.
-
Rhiga got up, and gently took Marcus by the arm. "You made me feel really good, Marcus, and I don't forget things like that. I was wondering... if you would like to see me dance later? You've relaxed me, so it is the least I can do to repay you..."
-
Certainly " Marcus nodded. minna nodded. 'Go enjoy yourself, marcus, you've more than earned it'
_
Thank you milady. Lead the way lady Rhiga' Marcus said , with a smile..
-
Rhiga and Marcus went to a luxurious room in the palace. Rhiga's eyes widened at all of the ostentatious display was beyond anything she had seen in a room at any inn she ever stayed at...
Regardless, she took off her garments and started to dance. Before she had danced for a minute, it was clear that she and Marcus were going to have some "fun in bed."
-
you have some very nice features' marcus commented.. your chest is well-developed...and you have been dancing foor quite a while.."
-
"Then what do you say we get off the dancing floor and into..." Rhiga said some very juicy comments to Marcus...
-
"I like THat Idea.. Come here.." Marcus Wrapping hIs arms around her and kissing her firmly on the lips..
-
The two Dracons fell onto the bed, still kissing and hugging. Rhiga began to undo Marcus's garments...
-
Minna dismissed the other massuers.. "Come with mE ILsa.. I'm going to my chambers..'
_
You'ree going to bed already..?' Ilsa asked..
-
The roaring coming from Rhiga's guest quarters was all the other residents had to hear to know what had happened. For a female, she was a really loud roarer, but even more of a screamer.
-
Marcus permitted her to undress him, as he ran his claws over her breasts.. "I'm going to REALLY enjoy this.."
_
Minna lead Ilsa to her chamber.. 'Now Ilsa, do you mind if i give you rub.."
-
we just got onr from the massuers. ""you've never gotten one from me.. "Minna said. "Alright. Just undress and get on the bed, and I'll join.."
_
Where are you going with..' Ilsa stopped.
-
Marcus, now fully undressd, threw himself upon her. Within minutes Marcus placedhimself inside Rhiga, and the lovemaking began in earnest..
-
The roaring and screaming continued from Rhiga's room; she was enjoying this so much, she forgot about her ideas to steal from the palace. While she never knew the fathers of her eggs, she really hope that her next egg would be Marcus's.
-
marcus released inside of her.. outside he he kissed and explored her breasts first the left, then the right. her mouth was next, marcus placed his tongue inside her mouth, and allowed her to put her tongue into his.. the mating continued at fulll force..
-
It went on like that for hours, until both Rhiga and Marcus were too tired to continue...
-
marcus Finally pulled himselff out of her , held Rhiga to him, and fell back against the plillow.
_ Meanwhile Minna was giving Isla a backrub as her claws moved up Islas sides, they slipped and Minna touched Ilsa's breasts.. "i'm sorry>.' She said softly. 'they're soft.. very soft. she leaned close. "Ilsa.. um. do.. you. um"she whispered in Ilsa's ear.
_
What ? Ilsa paused 'mind if I kiss you?'Minna asked.
_ Kiss me?' the question took Isla a second to answer. "Um Minna, we're both girls.."
_
I don't care.. I'm really attracted to you Ilsa" Minna said. Please ...let me kiss you.."
-
Isla thought about it. then she got up off her bad and sat up, nude next to minna. "Alright..but I start.." Ilsa leaned forward and thier lips met. Minna placed her claws near Ilsa throat and put her tongue in her mouth.. Ilsa alollowed Minna to probe her mouth for a bit then pulled away.. thier tongues being the last to part.
_
Have you had.. relations.. with other girls.. before?' Ilsa asked.Minna smiled and leaned close to her..
-
Jake and the others had all finished their dinner, they all went into the loungeroom
Jake jumped onto the couch again
"that was good" said Jake licking his lips
-
"I agree with you Jake, for once" Selturma said, as she lay down. She noticed that Jake and Rex must have eaten a lot, as their stomachs were clearly full. "That was a good meal; and she made enough for so many siblings, too."
-
"you're mom is such a good cook!" said Sasha also licking her lips
-
Selturma was feeling tired. Since she was living with Rex, she wanted to be shown where she would be sleeping. "Rex, could you show me where my bed is? I'm tired" she said to him.
-
'yes, I have, and I want to do it with you too. "Minna said, as she did, she kissed Ilsa again, this time rubbing her claws over her breasts.. Ilsa, resigned to the fact that Minna wanted to mate, undressed her, first the top, then the loincloth. she looked at Minna's bare form. Minna had smaller breasts than she did, and Minna wore a longing look on her face as she looked over at Ilsa, who moved closer to her.Ilsa reached forward and touched Minna's breasts briefly.. Minna smiled, showing her fangs.. Then she threw herself upon her, and the bed rocked as they mated. Isla explored Minna's mouth with her tongue, as she did,Minna ran her claws over Ilsa's breasts again, and rubbed herself against her. their breasts bounced off each other as their bodies moved in unison;their arms wrapped around each other, their mouths locked together in a passionate kiss, they rolled over the bed and each other, first Minna was on top, then Ilsa, then Minna again.the mating culminated in Minna rubbing her intimates areas against Isla's, and they shared a very long and deep kiss with Ilsa on top of Minna, with minna resting back against the pillow, enjoying the moment as they made love . this lasted for an hour, as they explored every inch of each other. Finally,Ilsa pulled her tongue out of Minna's mouth and pulled away. she settled on the far side of the bed to recuperate from the mating..
-
(erm nick....you do know that female on female relationships in the dracon lands are forbidden right???)
"sure" said Rex"i'll prepare a bed for you, i'll come and get you when i'm done"
Rex walked off
-
Yes I do.. This will be only time)
The morning came and the inhanbitants of Minna's castle woke to the new morning.
-
Selturma was besides herself with glee; her own bed in a house with the male she loved!
-
(morning isn't meant to come for a while nick...)
-
(Alright..)
Ilsa sEttled into sleep, on the far side of the bed. "Her father would probably kill her for what she had done, and that was not hyperbole..the rules in dRacon were extremely strict on this..
-
"so what should we all do together tomorrow?" asked Sasha
-
Adykon and Vaeri, meanwhile, had just settled into their room and the inn, and were getting ready to relax. Already, they had removed their garments, leading Vaeri to be surprised at the extent of Adykon's burns.
Back at Rex's house:
"Rex? Is my bed ready yet?" Selturma asked. She really was tired.
-
Rex returned
"yes it is" said Rex smiling "your bed is in my room"
-
Selturma was so happy she briefly forgot about how tired she was, and ran off to see the bed. It was just the right size for her. "Thank you, Rex!" She said while giving him a hug.
-
Don't worry this is out secret" Minna whispered. "You know we're going to both face execution for this? Isla said sadly.. "Once we get married to our jhusbands and start having bushels of kids, no one is really going to care.."
_
Being married is no protection. " Isal said getting out and ddressing.. there is no protection for this.. I'm going to my room..'
_
-
"no problem" said Rex as he returned her hug
-
Selturma jumped into her bed. It felt really soft and cozy; just the way she liked it. After undressing, she curled up into a ball and pulled the blanket over herself. She was asleep in minutes.
-
I'll see you in the morning then Good night Ilsa' Minna said 'Good night Minna ' Ilsa said yawning " and heading over to the door, opened it walked through closed it, and her footstep[ps could be heard walking down the corridor.
-
"jake..." said Sasha "can i stay the night? my parents arn't home..."
"sure" replied Jake "but......you'll have to sleep in my room...."
"oh, i don't mind" said Sasha trying to hide a grin
-
Adykon and Vaeri went "at it" as well as they ever did, although his burns made parts of it a bit uncomfortable for Adykon, he didn't want to pass up this opportunity to be close to Vaeri; he still had no intention of marrying her... or did he?
-
Jake and Sasha walked down the corridor to Jake's room
"i have no more beds except this matress" said Jake "you can sleep in my bed, i'll sleep on the floor"
"thank you Jake" said Sasha
-
Minna lay back against the pillows.. her mind racing . was it true what Isla had said, a shot of fear raced down her spine. and she suddered although the room itself was comfy..
-
Vaeri fell asleep first, having obviously enjoyed that night. Adykon questioned whether or not he should just take off now... it would be easy... he could leave, use some of his money to repair his armor, and take on a new job... the last quest, glorious though it was, was a financial mess; he had spent over a third of the money he had on him, and had gotten little to nothing in return. Still, he was by no means broke; he could still go, find a better line of work, leave the dancer behind... and yet... he just could not do it.
-
Ilsa found her bed and snuggled in against the covers. She would not mention a word about this to anyone, it would become thier secret to keep until they both had died, for the penealty for what they had done was severe and unforgiving.. not only would they be executed but thier names would be stripped from the family record, and forgotten by everyone. they would become 'unmentionable' in coveersation..
-
Rhiga woke the next morning to find that Marcus had already left. It was nearly noon of that day when she woke! How she had overslept! Still, that was some night... and Marcus had duties of his own...
-
Jake woke up to find that his sheets were pulled halfway down.....and his belt buckle was loose...........and his zip was...
"oh my god!!!" yelled Jake
-
Good Morning' Marcus said poking his head into the room from the doorway.. "Noon,. to be precise. I had to get up at 7 to perform my morning duties.. I tried to wake you to bid my adieu, but you kept right on sleeping.I thought it would be best to let you sleep. last night was incredible.. Did you feel a special connection? Because I felt it too.." Marcus admitted.
-
Rhiga admitted that she had felt something. "I... don't know what to say Marcus... I just... feel for you...we are both unmarried, right? "
-
Yes, I am unmarried." Marcus said. Do you Want to marry/ Because I would be honored to have you as my wife.."
-
Jake quickly did up his belt, and his zip
Sasha poked her head through the door, she smiled
"oh ha ha.." said Jake "very funny"
-
Rhiga did not want to make a commitment, but also did not want to lose him. "Marcus... I... if we mate again, you will be the very first male I have ever mated with more than once... and I have mated more times than I can count... would you really want a female like myself?"
-
Yes' Marcus said without hesistation.. 'Last night you showed me that you are an incredible woman.. a woman I could spend my life with.. raise my children with, grow old with.. and have by my bedside when I pass from this world..
-
Jake walked outside, Sasha was sitting on the couch chatting with Rex and Selturma
-
"You only know me in bed" Rhiga said to Marcus. "You need to know me outside of the sheets as well... Can you keep a secret?"
-
absolutely.. I keep many secrets.." Marcus nodded. "its part of working at a castle, you learn things people outside would love to hear, but you keep it quiet.."
-
"I am a thief" Rhiga whispered to Marcus. "I am a promiscuous thief who has been so far unable to stay with a single male because I cannot have enough in bed. I stole from the prince of my city of Hekaga, went on the run, stole from people, slept around, and would never stay in one place for long. I have laid several eggs, but have had to put them up for adoption at a temple..." Her eyes started to fill with tears "And... I want to stay loyal to one male, but I can't! Not even you! I would be tempted to bed another male even you were gone for just one day!" She wasn't whispering anymore.
-
Jake sat down on the same couch he always sits at
Jake thought to himself "if Sasha looked at my 'stick' she must have liked what she saw...."
-
Marcus went into the room and shut the door behind. "so you have stolen from the rich, and slept around, you've laid eggs and had to give them up.." He sighed. "I will keep your secrets Rhiga.. and I WILL be faithful to you..Iassure you, the next egg you lay will be mine.. I will raise the child with you..if you wish to mate every night I will do so.."
-
"That sounds too good to be true" Rhiga said, tears in her eyes. "I want to believe it but...how could it be? I have misspent my life, always stealing and sleeping around... I... I don't deserve this... still, I am willing to take a chance... I don't want to get married until I am sure it will work... we should... mate again tonight... and some more times... we need to make sure we absolutely trust each other first... then we shall marry..."
-
It is a deal " Marcus said taking Rhiga in his arms and kissing her on the lips. he pulled away after a few momments.." I have a few duties to attend to, hthen we can spend a few hours together. "
-
"I will be waiting downstairs, Marcus." Rhiga responded. "I will get something to eat, then wait for you. And thank you for giving me this chance."
-
Sasha walked over to the couch Jake was sitting on, she sat next to him. she rested her head on his shoulder
"erm....Sasha...why did you......want to see my 'stick' while i was sleeping?" whipered Jake into Sasha's ear
-
Everyone deserves a chance" Marcus replied. "I shall call you "my love" From now on..and tonight.. the room will shake with our passion.."
-
"i wanted to see if i was right...." whispered Sasha back "i think i'm right, you had a very large 'stick'"
Sasha smiled
"................." thought Jake, but replied "erm......thanks.......i think...."
-
Marcus turned and left thev room. he felt like he was floating. He was in LOVE! His father had been pressing him to settle down and find a girl, but He had prefered to work at the castle and give massages..ubtil now, that is. his experience with Rhiga had been amazing. the softness of her lips the firmness of her chest,, the feeling of bliss when had"Done it, it had been paradise.. Marcus wanted that feeling again.. He whustled to himself and he walked down the stairs..
-
"see ya's!" said Jake "i'm going for a sprint"
Jake was just about to walk out the door when.....
"Jake wait!" said Sasha "can i come?"
"sure..." replied Jake
the two walked out of the house and started warming up for the sprint around the city.
-
"Why do you keep running off Jake? Sasha asked.. as she stretched..
-
"i only hide, because i know what you want to do......" said Jake as he stretched his arms "we are too young for that....."
-
"If I wanted to do it.. Jake, there would have been lkittle you could do' sasha said firmly.."You and I are meant to be together jake, in every sense of the word.. I'm sorry I went that far.. but I was.. caught up in the moment.."
-
"okay...." said Jake finishing off his arm stretches
-
I"m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable.." Sasha said. stretching her other leg..
-
"it's okay" said Jake "you've just lived with Dracons longer than i have and you've taken on their personalities"
-
(gtg)
-
Meanwhile...
Rhiga was sitting in the central room of Minna's palace. She had asked if she could stay for a while, at least until she and Marcus could resolve whether or not they were to be married. Minna had said that Rhiga could stay for a while.
There were so many questions to ask... where were they going to live? What would she do? Would she have to part with her freedom to live with Marcus? Would she be able to keep dancing? And what would it be like to actually raise a child rather than just to lay and egg and leave it up for adoption?
Rhiga had no problem with Marcus being the head of the family; she wondered, however, what kind of a father he would be. She liked to think that he would be a very good one, and saw no sign that he would be abusive, neglectful, or seriously deficient in any way, but she did not know for sure... And as for herself? Would SHE be a good mother, or a bad one...
Halfway across the city...
Adykon returned to bed, where Vaeri was still sleeping. He had decided to stay with her for a while longer at least... until he could figure out what to do. He knew that she would want to return to the city of Hekaga, where her children were; they were still living with family friends and relatives, but she really needed to get back to them as quickly as she could. Adykon knew this... he still had no intention of marrying... or did he? Again, this question plagued his psyche... he enjoyed sleeping with Vaeri, and wanted her love... and wanted to love her back, but not to the point of becoming a father to fatherless children... Then there was the matter of his son... he wanted to see the child, if only to confirm that it really was his. If not, it would be very easy to leave Vaeri... but if the child really was his son... he would take the child and go. That's it... a child that he had never seen before... this wasn't going to work...
-
Isla came into the room, carrying two plates of food " here, I bet you're hungry" She said, handing Rhiga a plate. "So is what Minna told me true? Marcus wants to marry you?"
-
"That is correct" Rhiga answered. "I want to marry him, and he wants to marry me. I need to talk to him about how and where we would live; I don't want to live in a palace, though, even if you were to offer me a place here. Does Marcus live here, or in a house of his own?"
-
"I'm not sure, Minna would know bettter than I . Servants usually have thier own houses.. but spend most of thier time at the castle.. so you would spend most of your time here too, I think " Isla replied. "If I were you, I'd marry him without a second thought. Sparks must have flown last night.. was he THAT good...'
-
"He was better than good, he was... magnificient..." Rhiga replied. "I don't think I could turn him down; I might never get a chance like this again..." Rhiga was now fairly confident that she wanted to marry Marcus... she would need to see where he lived and what arrangements could be made... but she was sure that it would work out.
Her thoughts changed to those of the humans, interestingly enough. She knew that humans spent many months or even years courting each other for marriage... she didn't know why. Once a couple of single Dracons of the opposite sex loved each other and could make suitable living and other necessary arrangements, they got married quickly, if they intended to marry at all... this was usually reserved for the middle and upper classes, as well as farmers who owned land or else lived on an estate as tenants; the urban poor, serfs, slaves, and the other poor frequently did not marry, but multiplied anyway...
-
" Traditionally, servabts live close to the castle, in the good areas of town, so you should live iuin a nice house.."
-
"That's good" Rhiga said "Luxury is nice, but... privacy is important. I don't know how the rich do it sometimes... with so many wives... Still, I should go talk to Marcus about these things."
-
well, you;ll be middle class so, unles you want to bcecome rich you don't have to worry about other wives. " Isla repplied.
-
"Marcus will earn the vast majority of our income" Rhiga said. "I'm okay with that... but I hope it will be enough... it probably will be... even if our family is large..."
-
' You'll earn some money I'm sure. " Isla replied. " You can learn a trade and earn money thats. "You won't have to worry about living hand to mouth.. you'll have stability.. I'm sure Minna will be willing to make accomodation for you.. you could teach dancing here.. and earn money that way.."
-
"I am not yet good enough at it to teach it, unless you want me to teach girls barely out of hatchling-hood." Rhiga said. "Teaching is harder than it looks; mom always had to tell me to get my hand out of my loincloth when I was learning how to dance.." She paused, embarrassed, realizing that she had said too much."What can I say?; it felt good to rub myself there..." Rhiga added.
-
You have to start somewhere.." Isla said. "Is there anything else you are good at?'
-
Rhiga knew that she was good with knives, picking locks, sneaking, and thieving in general... but she could not say that in front of Isla... "I'm... good at balancing. I'll show you." Rhiga walked over to a clear space and stood on her hands, using her tail as a balancing aid. It wasn't anything too special; most Dracon females could do it with a bit of training, but the speed with which she did it and the flip she did afterward to stand right back up were impressive.
-
Thats very good" Isla said, , claspping in appreciation.. "You've been trained in that.. I see..
-
"Well, many dancers are also well-balanced... so it isn't anything too special. I've also been taught to read and write, which only about a fifth of females can do, and most of can read and write aren't even that good at it. My mother didn't teach me this one, though; one of my half-brothers did."
-
I see, so you are lierate.. That will help a lot. there will be some forms and paperwork you will have to sign, its customary with marriages..'
-
"For the male to sign, you mean." Rhiga said. "That, or a priest or something who is literate signs it on his behalf. Females don't get to sign these things... ever. I learned that from a priest I knew... and I mean knew" she said with a dirty smile.
-
Isla rolled her eyes. "Each place is different. In here i know the female has to sign some things, attesting her character, that she is everything she claims to be, usual stuff.. It 's called the "Honor' vow, its just to make sure, you're not on the run from anything.."
-
"Only the rich and middle-class females would be able to sign such a document!" Rhiga said. "Few others can write their own name! It must be a document designed for those classes, then. I've been to dozens of towns and almost every major city in the Dracon lands, and that is the first I've heard of something like this!"
-
Well, you will be becoming a member of the middle class by marrying marcus " Isla reminded her "You're moving up girl..and I'm extremely happy for you.."
-
"Thank you... I guess." Rhiga said.
Even as she contemplated her marriage, she would have no way of imagining what would happen to her within a short time... no way at all. In a more just world, what was going to happen to her could not happen, be never allowed to happen... but... it would come anyway.
-
Usually in these cases of the female being unable to read and write, the preist signs for her..sometimes for both if neither can read or write..
-
"I will sign whatever I have to" Rhiga said. "Don't worry about that. Do you know when Marcus will get here?"
-
He should be done in about an hour.. Are you getting married today?" Isla asked..
-
"What?! Oh no! Not quite so soon! Maybe in a week! He and I need to make housing arrangements, talk about our future, settle in... not to mention prepare for the wedding itself! But very soon, we will be husband and wife!"
-
Don't worry Rhiga" Minna said, walking in. " I will make the arrangement for you.. it will be a wonderful wedding.. a day you will long remember.."
-
Isla was correct. It would be a day long remembered... for the worse...
Little did they know that they were being watched by a dark presence. They had no clue at what was in store for them. As it turned out, the spirit of Ea could only have been released under the stars on a specific night which only happened every 1000 years and a night... events had been manipulated by Arcantas to slow the party down or speed it up in order to make them fit the time-table... and he had played his hand masterfully.
What Arcantas did not count on was Adykon's pushing him off of a tower... but Arcantas had a way to get out of that...
-
Marcus finished his chores and meet Rhiga, Isla and Minna in the dinning room. "I got off as quickly as I could..'
-
Rhiga laughed "Let's hope that you take your time in 'getting off' when we are in bed" Rhiga told him. "Still, there's more to love than that."
-
Rhiga! " Marcus laughed as he took her in his arms.. "Milady.."
_
Go to your chambers.. you don't need permission from me" Minna laughed..
-
Eriol has been walking the streets of the city for hours trying to get some info about his wife's assassin... but all efforts has been useless. He had no choice but to return to the inn where he rented a room, he needs some time to think.
-
"are you finished stretching?" asked Jake
"yep" said Sasha as she finished stretching her other leg
"okay then" said Jake "let's go!"
Jake and Sasha began to jog at a slow pace and began to speed up
-
Meanwhile... Selturma was still at Rex's house.
She went to go find Rex... he had missed a lot of school when he was away on the adventure, and was having to try very hard to catch up.
-
Meanwhile...
"grrr" thought Rex "i hate literacy.....it's very hard...how do humans write like this?"
-
Selturma wondered if she would have to enroll in school too... she had never been in a classroom before...
-
Marcus lead Rhiga to his chambers ' Are you ready for round 2" he grinned devilishly as he closed the door behind him
-
Vaesa was cleaning around the house, she had to pick up some of her Children’s toys because they were left on the ground.
-
Eriol walked inside the inn, and went to the center table again, asking for a drink... the same one as he did before. He took the glass and in just one sip he finished the drink, he then asked for another one.
-
Vaesa stopped cleaning for a moment, she walked up to Selturma in the living room.
"Selturma, did your parents inroll you in school?" asked Vaesa nicley
-
"No. My foster parents didn't bother to educate the girls... it was too expensive for them." Selturma replied.
-
"would you like to go to a school?" asked Vaesa
-
"I would!" Selturma said, as she wanted to learn how to read and write better, and she wanted to be near Rex for much more of the day. "Can you send me to the same school that Rex is going to?"
-
"yes i can" said Vaesa "i will also see if i can get you into Rex's class"
-
"That would be great!" Selturma said, bouncing up and down.
-
'i'll send a message to the school right away" said Vaesa "i'll fill out the enrolling form and i'll take it to the school tomorrow, you can come if you want"
-
"I'd like that!" Selturma added. "I also didn't know that you were literate! Wow! Few females are!"
-
" i was taught when i went to school" said Vaesa "i was taught by a boy in my class"
-
"Was this boy... very special to you?" Selturma asked "It is rare that a male would teach a female something; most of them don't care much about us unless... did this boy grow up to be your husband?"
-
"yes Selturma" said Vaesa "the boy that taught me how to read is now my husband, his name is Kaedril, he was very kind to me, when we were young"
-
"He sounds like he must be kind... to you at least." Selturma added. "He is in the army, you say?"
-
"yes he is" replied Vaesa "at the moment he is out fighting in the war..........i do hope he is okay...."
-
"Me too." Selturma said "I can't wait to meet him. He must earn a fair deal to keep such a nice house over your heads, and to keep such a large family fed and comfortable... you really do keep a good house, Vaesa."
-
"Thank you Selturma, Kaedril is possibly going to be bumped up a rank to Captain!" said Vaesa with glee on her face "if he get's that promotion i will be able to send my younger children to school also"
-
The war between Minthebec and the tribes of the southern desert was a recent one; it had started over a year ago, but increased in intensity a few weeks after Jake, Rex, and the rest of the party had left for the lost city. The day they left, the southern dracon tribes had inflicted a defeat on Minthebec, wrecking a fortress, and threatening control of a valuable trade route.
In response, the city had mobilized its main army, calling in reservists to fight; Rex's father was one of the officers called to duty. The remainder of the war had gone well; the tribes were unable to stop the army of Minthebec, and several villages of their had been razed, many migratory tribes had been routed, and much more loot was taken by the forces of Minthebec than had been lost.
The war was going well, but the enemy army was not stopped yet; it was only a matter of time before the situation was resolved... but that could be in a few weeks...
-
Marcus took off his shirt in front of Rhiga.. "I want to mate with you again ' He said softly..
-
Rhiga responded in kind by removing her top, then said; "How about some foreplay first?" with a wink. She wanted to mate too, but wouldn't pass up a chance for another one of his massages if she could get one...
-
:et me.. massage your chest.. I have done your back.. now let me do your front.." Marcus smiled impishly..
-
Rhiga looked down at her chest, seeing her tiotleglas rise and fall with each breathe. "Okay... I suppose they could use a good massage... it helps keep them healthy, after all." She lay down on her back. "Whenever you are ready, my love."
-
Marcus climbed onto the bed and placed hus claws on her breasts.. first he moved them around, feeling them, arching his claws and moving them in circles, feeling the supple flesh beneath him, and the female who he was performing on..
-
Rhiga's breasts felt warm and tingly... this sort of pleasure wasn't like normal muscle being rubbed; these organs were central to her femininity, and needed to be given regular maintainance. Although she enjoyed this very much, she wondered what it would feel like to have a hatchling suckle on her...
-
Marcus continued to massage her chest.. first the left, then the right, then the upper half then the lower half. "Your breasts are beautiful, large, firm, perfect for a youngling to suckle.." Marcus said.
-
"Marcus, do you know a good deal about anatomy?" Rhiga asked, wondering about a question she had always wanted to ask...
-
A fair bit.. Why.. granted i learned it in trying to hit an enemy in battle.. but I do know a fair bit.."
-
"Do you know anything about keeping my tiotleglas healthy?" she asked him " I know that you are no healer, but you clearly know more about the body than I do."
-
Well. It helps if you keep them covered in bras that allow air to flow through them. they need to 'breathe'. Other means of keep them healthy, are regular washings, and rehaular checking of them, by touching or feeling them' Marcus said.
-
"I generally do all that" Rhiga said "I've also heard that it is best not to wear a top when possible..." she added, knowing that Marcus would appreciate seeing that as much as her tiotleglas would benefit from that... if she was correct, that is.
-
WEll, that helps too' marcus nodded. "Now do you want me to rub aby other part of you.. he kissed her on the mouth... "Before we begin in earnest.
-
"No, let's begin now!" Rhiga said, throwing off her loincloth and spreading her legs.
-
"Very well. " Marcus said, He leaned in, and covered her mouth with his, then placed himself inside her. he felt the tension of his partner, and the feeling of abject joy.. this was the Dracon for him, whatever her past flaws, whatever her past transgressions, those could be forgiven.. He pulled the covers over them. and continued mating, kissing her lips and feelings her chest repeatedly..
-
Meanwhile..
"Jake, how can you (fast paced breathing) sprint this (fast paced breathing) far everday (fast paced breathing)" said Sasha in between breathing
"i practiced" said jake "you can't sprint 10kilometres without training you know"
Jake wasn't even breaking a sweat
-
That night was a very good one. After a long mating session, the lovers collapsed to the bed, tired but satisfied.
Rhiga was unaware of the change that had taken place in her... it was not the first time that this had happened to her, and while it normally would have been cause for celebration, it would create problems for her down the road... and save her at the same time.
At least the Dracons had few taboos about conceiving children out of wedlock.
-
Marcus Held Rhiga close to him.. 'That was amazing' He whispered as he lay back against the pillow..
-
"Indeed, it was" Rhiga said to him, as she was falling asleep. "We have to go that more often..."
-
"Indeed.. this is our second time.. you've had the same male mate with you more than once correct?' He asked.
-
"Never, unless I happened to run into him twice without knowing his name or recognizing him at all" She said.
-
' Then I'm one lucky Dracon' He smiled, kissing her again.. "I've never felt like this about anyone.."
-
"Nor have I felt quite like this before" Rhiga said. She had felt the heady rush of lust countless times... but real love was something quite different... she could get used to this...
-
"can we take a rest?...." said Sasha trying to breath
"sure we can" said Jake "but 5 minutes maximum, i'll have to be back at home soon"
-
Rhiga turned over in bed, unaware that she was now carrying a new life with her... she would not know for some time... but she would be married by then...
-
Marcus settled in next to her, beholding her form, it excited and amazed him. this beatiful Dracon .. was now going to be his Wife!
-
Rhiga fell asleep; she was quite a sight to behold! Her whole body seemed to be the idea shape, her belly was colored an attractive pale yellow, and her curves were as if she had been carved that way by a divine sculptor! Her whole body was very soft... and her best parts of course were now reserved for Marcus alone...
-
Marcus took the sleeping Rhiga in his arms.. and let her head rest against his chest.. "Sleep well.. my love' giving hr one more kiss and after pulling away.. sleep took him...
-
Rhiga turned in her sleep, totally unaware that her hand was unintentionally grabbing Marcus's tail. Her grip was far too weak to be painful, though.
-
Jake and Sasha had arrived at Jake's house
they both saw Jake's mom Vaesa giving Selturma some tips for school.
"are you paying for Selturma to go to school?" asked Jake and Sasha
"yes i am" replied Vaesa "a girl needs an education"
-
"Isn't it great?" Selturma said, hopping up and down. She was certainly a bouncy girl, that was for sure... "I will be able to go to school, and I'll get to be near Rex a lot more!"
-
"i'm happy for you Selturma" said Sasha smiling
-
"Tell me, what is school like for you!" Selturma said. She was so enthusiastic, her tiotleglas were bouncing up and down with her! Fortunately, she had a new top to wear outside...
-
"school is alright..." said Sasha "but........i don't like the bullies.."
"they won't dare pick on Sasha when i'm around" said Jake
-
"Bullies? Why would bullies pick on you?" Selturma asked.
-
"because they think humans are strange..." said Sasha "because we have footwear...."
-
"It is strange" Selturma said "But, they shouldn't bully you for it."
-
Ilsa had retired to her room. After her experience with Minna last night she did not want a repeat , lest someomne walk in on them..
-
"i know it's strange" said Sasha "i only have footwear to stop my feet from getting burnt"
-
"Oh, That's it?" Selturma said "I know what can help! My adopted mother would get burned feet when walking through the sands near the inn sometimes, so she went out and got the recipe for a potion which had to be applied to her feet only once a month to make them resistant to burns!"
-
"great!" said Sasha with excitement "where can i get the potion?"
-
"If you have time, I can make you some right now, and show you how to make more in the future!" Selturma responded. "It isn't that hard to make, really. Does your mother have a medicine cabinet, or some other place where she stores potion components?"
-
"yes, my mom has some potions" said Jake "come with me"
Jake led Sasha and Selturma to a large cabinet on the far side of the loungeroom, it had all kinds of potions for healing inside it. more than 67 percent of the potions Jake didn't even know what they did
-
"Let's see... Yes! all of the ingredients needed to make the potion are here!" Selturma said. After mixing the ingredients in a small bowl and stirring it, she let the mixture sit for half an hour, which left a clear but viscous liquid.
"Rub this on your feet and you will be protected from most burns for a whole month. It also works on the rest of your body, but we would have to make a LOT of this potion to cover all of you. Also note that it won't protect against fire or extreme heat, but it is totally effective against hot rock and sand. You won't need to wear those 'sandals' anymore with this stuff on you. Just remember to apply it once a month." Selturma explained.
-
"yes!!!" yelled Sasha with joy, jumping up and down
-
"I can offer you the same, Jake" Seturma said. "If being burned by hot sands makes you wear 'shoes', this potion will fix that problem too."
-
"i don't wear shoes because of the burn" said Jake "i wear them because i want to dress human, not dracon"
-
"Well, that's your choice" Selturma said. "Sasha, if you keep applying this potion monthly, you won't need to wear your sandals ever again! I'll show you how to make it, and you can rub it on your feet at any time! What do you think of that?"
-
"i think it's great!" said Sasha "i won't get bullied anymore!"
-
"Well, just apply the potion over your feet, Sasha. It should feel slightly cold, but it feels good once you rub it in." Selturma told the human girl.
-
Meanwhile minna slept on in her bed.. There was much to do.. the planning for Rhiga's wedding... the daily shopping.. entertaining guests..
-
Meanwhile...
Adykon and Vaeri got up from their room at the inn, dressed, paid for their stay, and went out.
"So, Vaeri. What do you want to do now?" Adykon asked the beautiful dancer.
"I need to get home to my children, but I'm not sure how to do it." Was her reply.
"Usually, the best and safest way to travel between cities is by joining a caravan" Adykon told her. "We should see if there are any caravans departing for the city of Hekaga, and see if we can join one."
-
Minna rose from her bed, dressed and got ready for the day..
_ Isla was already up, sitting at the breakfast table, and snacking on some food..
-
Rhiga and Marcus were at Marcus's house. They were dressed in their home clothing (just a loincloth) and were sitting down to eat as well.
-
How do you like my house.. ?' marcus smiled. He had taken Rhiga here as soon as they had both woken up.. there was small bowl og grapes in front of them..
-
"I love it!" Rhiga said. "It is a great place to live... and, when the time comes, to raise some hatchlings as well." Rhiga did not know that one of those was on the way right now...
-
" Aye, but hopefully that won't be awhile' Marcus nodded.."I have told my mother, my father is currently away on business.."
-
"How old are you, Marcus? I am 23." Rhiga asked... not that she would care all THAT much; he clearly didn't look very old...
-
I just turned 19.. so you're a bit older than me" Marcus replied..
-
"You are unusually talented with your hands for so young an age!" Rhiga said. "You are very fortunate indeed! Did you learn this from your parents?"
-
Yeah, My mother taught me how to 'soft touch' she told me that women love the feeling of soft hands releasing their muscles , She's been training me rigorous ever since the army discharged me.. she was estatic to find out about us, and she wants to meet you as soon as possible..'
-
"That's great!" Rhiga said. "What do your parents do? Is your mother a masseuse?"
-
Eriol decided to finish his drinks and after paying for them, he went for the room he rented, to have some sleep. It was still dark. He thought about sneaking around the town, but he decided against that, after been drinking that much. After getting ready, he went to bed ad began sleeping. His mind is uneasy, he has been so focused hunting down Arianne's killer, that he forgot about his son, about his home.... about too many things.
-
Yes, but shje's not a fulltime one.. She is also is servant to Minna's father, one of his trusted chambermaid. They clean the bed, make the bath, bringing our books for him to read, stuff like that..
-
Earlier, the night before...
A gray, humanoid being teleported into the room Eriol was sleeping in. Moving quickly and silently, if put its clay hand on the panther's head. A green glow emanated from the hand which touched Eriol... after about 1 minute, its task was done, and it gave the signal to be teleported away...
-
That morning...
A graceful female panther wearing a light blue dress entered the inn where Eriol had been sleeping. She was dressed humbly but more fully than a female dracon; her feet were bare, but her dress covered her entire torso and the upper parts of her legs.
She asked the innkeeper if a large, male panther had entered the inn the night before.
"What, are you his wife or something?" the bartender asked...
-
It was morning now. Eriol woke up... with a slight headache - "How can I be able to kill people so easily and still don't have a better withstanding to alcohol?" - The Panther got up and prepared himself for a new day, hoping this time we would have a lucky strike.
---
The Lady Panther replied to the bartender - "Yes, I am his wife... but don't worry, he is already here."
At that moment, Eriol was arriving to the center area of the Inn, fixing his sword in position as he was walking, but something came into his attention... a ghost from his past, his more impossible dreams coming true as his sight found the one has been his true love. - "A-Arianne?" - the Panther walked faster and gave a bear hug to his wife. Both Panthers embraced in the emotion of the re-encounter.
-
Rhiga finished her breakfast and went to go do some stretches; she had stretched a bit earlier that morning, but she wanted to improve her flexibility, so she would go and do it again...
-
Marcus was getting to go to work.. "I've got to fix milady's morning bath.. I'll be back in a few hours..'
-
"Okay, Marcus, I'll see you then!" Rhiga said to him. She would actually enjoy having a few hours to herself...
-
Marcus gave her a goodbye kiss and headd off.. Having her at hiome, was something he could really get used to...
-
Rhiga lay down in front of a mirror, and removed her loincloth. She saw her "femalehood" in the mirror, and decided to do some exercises with it, expanding and contracting it to increase its strength...
-
Minna sat down next to Isla " Isla I've been meaning to apologize to you.. but what.. you know.."
Isla looked at her friend.. "I accept your apology.. but you could have warned me that you were .. She struggled for words "like that.."
-
Rhiga finished her exercises... she knew that being tight down there was a very good thing... especially since she would have to keep the attention of a only one male from now on...
-
Well, I didn't really know until after i met you..' Minna said. "I've tried.. males.. but they.. don't interest me.. like thy should.. so I .."
_ 'Great.. and you've never told anyone..like your dad?
_
Yeah that would go over really well, about as well as blowing up this castle woould . I know the rules, no female-female or male-male pairings.. but males.. just don;t interest me.."
-
This was true; if found out, Minna would be tortured, killed in a gruesome way, and her body sent to rot in the desert... in pieces. Then, all of her children would lose any inheritance rights, her possessions would be sold off at auction, and her memory would be damned; that is, her name would be erased from all records, and no one could speak of her name again under threat of severe punishment.
-
'You Andf I both know what they will do to you, and me, if we go through with anything other than friendship.. Not only will we die horribly, after being tortured and mistreated, yes that is sanctioned for such extreme breaches of the law, our very memories will be erased.. Our nobility will not protect us.. Minna.." Ilsa said.
-
At Rex's house...
Selturma was getting supplies ready for when she would go to school. Her new adopted mother had promised to get her new clothes just for the occassion.
-
Ilsa frowned and got up. ' You are going to have to keep your impluses firmly under control.. neither of us can afford any mistakes.. do you care about me?'
Yes.. Minna said. "Then we must promise to keep our relations strictly as friends.. in public private, everywhere..Every female you ever.. "knew" will be executed, otherwise, not just you or me, but everyone you ever had intimacy with.. at least as many as they cand find.
-
Isla's words were true... and it was worse than that. If Minna ran away after they could prove that she had done these 'things', her name would be proscribed; that is, written down on a piece of parchment and a bounty set out for her. All of what she had could be auctioned off, and if anyone turned her in, they would get a reward for it in addition to a fraction of what she owned.
-
"The bounty they would set on you would make anyon rich, not only would take strip of all your propertym they'd give a good chunk of it to anyone who turned you in.." Isla said. "You'd be hunted everywhere, no place would be safe.. save for mountain hideaways or far away lands...."
-
At that very moment, in another plane of existence... in a dark room.
Two figures watched the world through a crystal ball, floating in the darkness. The only light came from the soft glow of the crystal orb...
"All goes according to plan" a male voice said. "The statue is yours..."
"Now, it is time for you to go to the material plane... back to the Dracon realms..." a hollow voice responded... "You will be commanded by... the first vampire of these realms..."
"What?! But... you would have me be commanded by a-" the male voice said.
"Yes. As punishment." The hollow voice said.
"... so be it, master." the male voice responded.
-
I'll try. but I 'm not sure how long I can repress it..' Minna said in a small voice..
-
Back in the other dimension...
The figure with the hollow voice left the room... leaving the male voice alone. His glowing golden eyes lit up the darkness as he looked through the crystal ball...
"You are going to have to keep your impluses firmly under control.. neither of us can afford any mistakes.. do you care about me?" the voices said as he looked through the crystal ball...
"Hmm... the master has plans to capture another female... but I think I have time to hurt these two as well..." the male said "Especially that one with the lack of self-control!"
-
Unaware they were being watched, Minna promised Isla that she would try to find a male to mate with.
-
"I'll get them later..." the male voice said. To an outside observer, it would appear like he was no more than a pair of glowing golden eyes floating in the darkness... "I have a wedding to attend and I need to prepare for that..."
-
Marcus worked at filling the bath for mInna. He made sure the water was kept warm, not too hot or cold.. if she wanted to raise or lower the temperature he would add cold or hot water..
-
Selturma too, was cleaning herself. Specifically, she was applying some polish on her claws in preparation of her first day at school; she wanted to make a good first impression.
-
Isla walked from room. She was quite upset with her friend.. "If my father finds or her father, we're both dead and worse, we'll be forgotten by everyone.." she thought to herself.
-
"Don't worry, you perverted female... I'LL remember you!" The male voice said, his golden eyes glowing...
-
marcus finished filling the tuib, and rang a bell, this was the signal to Minna that her bath was ready...
-
Meanwhile...
Selturma finished polishing her claws, and started to apply some polish to her horns; she wanted to give her best appearance on her first day at school.
-
Minna climbed into the tub and washed. " Could you add some more hot water please/ " Of course milady' Marcus said, obliging her..
-
At that very moment, in the central market...
"Does anyone know if a caravan is leaving for Hekaga?" Adykon asked "Anyone?"
Eventually, Adykon and Vaeri came to a wholesaler who knew about these matters.
"Yes, there is a caravan expected to leave for Hekaga; it'll be selling silk, bronze, glass, carpet-"
"I need to know, when is it leaving?" Vaeri said, impatient to see her children again.
"In sixteen days. It takes time to get the goods together, to get pack animals, food, water, guards, and other such preparations..."
It was much longer than Adykon or Vaeri had been expecting to wait.
-
Isla looked out of the windows at the horizon.. She longed for home, which was hundreds of miles away..
-
Meanwhile...
Wedding preparations for Rhiga were well underway. Arrangements had been made for a wedding at the largest temple in the city of Minthebec, and rings from the best jeweler in the city were ordered... well... the best jeweler who was available anyway; the super-rich often had their own jeweler who was contractually obligated to serve no one but the household of a noble family... which was usually all of the business that the jeweler needed, given how much the females of the household usually consumed.
-
marcus stood in the groom's room, trying on his suit.,' He looked very ncomfortable "Relax my young friend.. you will be married by the end of the week.." said his tailor " I'm just nervous..
-
Rhiga had been given some makeup and new clothing by Minna and Isla, as well as some jewelry to wear. She tried it on... and looked very good. She had never worn much jewelry before, usually just what she stole... and she had to pawn that in before long...
-
How do you feel " Isla asked holding a mirror up to her face..
-
"I feel great!" Rhiga said. This would not last, but for now, she had a short time to enjoy a future which might now be... which would never be if certain parties had their way...
-
I'm very happy for you Rhiga marcus will make a wonderful husband.." Minna said..
-
"We need to send the invitations out... but I don't know where our friends from the party were... we will need to use a spell to contact them" Rhiga said.
Rhiga knew of a spell called "sending"; a spell which could send a 25 word message to a subject or subjects by means of an image of the sender appearing in the air in front of the subjects with the information. She herself could not cast the spell, but could ask Minna or another mage to do so.
-
i can cast a sending spell. Just tell me thier names and I'll get on it.. "isla said..
-
In the Inn, Eriol and Arianne were talking:
"I still cannot believe it, how did you make it? how did you get here?" - Eriol asked her, and still he had another thousand questions, he also wanted to give her a thousand kisses. Arianne stopped him, placing her hand in front of Eriol's mouth.
"There will be time for questions later, we should just try to enjoy the moment. I found you, that is all that matters." - After that, they both gave a passionate kiss.
Both Panthers then leave the inn, their arms are around each other's waist.
"We should go buy you some new clothes dear, there are some nice stores." - Eriol said, his happiness going beyond the believable.
"And maybe we should try and get some things for Isaac too, dont you think?" - Arianne replied, smiling widely yet so elegantly. Both Panthers kept on walking, time having no meaning for them.
-
"Yes, please send the spell to... Eriol, Jake, Sasha, Selturma, Kravik, Sivar, Adykon, Vaeri, Rex, and Isla." Rhiga told Minna.
-
" Sure thing" Minna nodded " each will be thier own seperate spell though.."
-
"That is okay, although if one spell contacts two or more of them in the same location, you should only cast one; I don't want to tire you." Rhiga replied.
-
" You're worth it Rhiga, its not every day you get married " Minna replied..
-
"Well, Marcus and I won't be getting married for a few days, although it is good to get these things done ahead of time." Rhiga said.
-
" I'll head off to send them.. ' Minna said walking out of the room..
Isla remained behind " Do you want anything else Rhiga?"she asked.
-
After walking for a while, the Panthers found no store that could really sell some clothing Arianne would like, and she made him know that - "I am still waiting to see the nice stores you mentioned... you are still as clueless as ever." - she turned her sight to another side, but she wasn't really angry, she just wanted to freak Eriol out.
"Oh please, I tried... and I think I saw one store somewhere." - Eriol tried to organize his own ideas, but before he would go crazy, his wife returned to his arms.
"It is ok for now, we may be able to find something somewhere, I wish I haven't lost my pack in route here." - She said, and continued with a nasty view on her face - "Don't make yourself any illusions of me wearing those Loincloths" - that made Eriol to blush like a teenager.
-
"No, it is good, Isla. Thank you!" Rhiga said.
-
Anything else you think off.. just let me know..." Isla smiled..
-
"Hmm... well... I would like to pick out some perfume for the wedding" Rhiga said "And maybe some scented oil too... do you have any perfumes made out rose extract... or Remorhaz glands? Or.." not daring to hope for this extremely rare, expensive one... "Dragon pheromones?"
-
' Isla produced a bottle of dragon pheromones.. "Just a few squirts is all you need, its very potent stuff" She smiled "Its extremely rare, and hard to get.."
-
Rhiga was surprised at this. The only way to get these pheromones was to kill a dragon and cut out the glands. Then, they had to be mixed, processed, and stored correctly. The absolute highest-quality stuff was to do it while the dragon was in heat, or else had smelled a female who was in heat. Even if it was low-quality, it far outranked all other perfumes as far as Dracons were concerned; the smell was not so great for humans, but it was a powerful lure for her own race.
The absolute highest-quality stuff was so expensive it had to be sold at an auction... and only kings and the richest nobles could afford to spend that much on such a vain item...
Rhiga's life had taken a turn for the better... or so she thought. To almost any outside observer, she was very, very lucky... for the time being.
-
"Don't ask how I got it or how much I had to spend.. " Suffice to say It was a lot.." Isla said..
-
"You are generous indeed!" Rhiga said "Thank you!"
Meanwhile... far away...
The female archmage who had hindered than helped the party along with her husband was in panic mode. The last she saw of her husband was when he put her down to sleep... that was days ago. She had teleported to the lost city, knowing that she could do that if the statue wasn't replaced.
She had found that the city's great temple had collapsed, its supports blasted away by a massive explosion of some kind, caused by a spell, no doubt.
The female mage named Rhandra knew that a day like this might come... she teleported home, and then activated the wards and seals around her home... hoping that they would keep out whatever it was that had killed her husband...
-
Isla gave her a friendly hug.. "Marcus will be picking his jaw off the floor when he sees you.." Isla said laughing..
-
"Heh! I'll bet he will!" Rhiga said, laughing. "I wonder what he will look like, though..." Rhiga look in the mirror, then are her horns. "The wedding isn't for a few days now, but I think my horns could use a good polishing."
-
I'll have the servants olish it for you.. how do you want uiit polished?' Rhiga said.
-
"I want my horns to be clean, smooth, and shiny" Rhiga said. "I would also like to have the same done to my claws, but that can wait until the day before the wedding."
-
Anything you want.. " ilsa nodded. " There are sseveral horn powders wwe have on hand, we'll have to choose which ones you want to use.."
-
It went on like that for some time... Rhiga was given all of the choices she could ever imagine... and many that she couldn't imagine!
The rich indeed knew how to live, she thought... although she knew that this came at the expense of the poor... how many people were employed on the estates of the rich, but could never afford the products that they produced? And what of the slaves employed in the mines, working their lives away so that the middle class could have copper items, and iron utensils?
The rich had many gaudy items, but it came at the expense of many...
-
Ilsa was more in tune with her on this than most of her fellow nobles, most just took it as thier birthright, and didn't care about the costs to others involved..
-
Meanwhile...
Far away from Minthebec, over a thousand kilometers from the nearest village, in a great tower in the desert, plans were made.
A dark presence walked up the sandstone stairwell as many chattering kobolds in loincloths scurried about...
He walked down a long passageway, beyond several locked doors in a dark room... until he came to a reddish door with a skull of a Dracon affixed to it... "Another mate finished off, I see..." the presence thought. He inhabitant of the room was expecting him...
Using a spell to open the magical lock, the dark presence entered the room, and closed the door behind him, all without setting a finger on the door itself. The room was clouded in darkness... But there was a figure waiting inside...
"My lord, How may I be of service?" The figure whispered to the new entrant.
"Arcantas has failed. He fell from his tower, beaten by some... mercenary. I shall show you" The presence said, producing a crystal ball from his cloak. The orb shimmered, then displayed the battle in which Eriol had defeated Arcantas...
"Master, help me!" Arcantas yelled...
"Pathetic, isn't it?" The presence said.
"Quite" replied the figure, still whispering. "What would you have me do? You wish me to... rectify this?"
"You are one of my many lieutenants, and an old member of our order" came the response. "I entrust to you what I would not to another... we have two issues, in truth. First, we need to deal with that mercenary... he does not realize his potential, but... he could destroy us if he goes unchecked..."
"He is but a common thug, my lord... surely, no threat to one such as you." The figure replied...
"He has the potential that... the one who made me what I am did." The presence said.
"But, my lord, you killed that paladin in revenge for it... you are far more powerful now than you were when you did that, surely, you could finish this mercenary right now if you wanted to..." the figure responded.
"I could do that... but that doing so would reveal myself to the other mages... no, we cannot risk it. Our order was nearly exposed when that fool Arcantas was stopped; I had to pull some serious strings in order to keep us a secret... it was the closest we have ever come to being revealed..."
"And the closest we ever came to succeeding!" The figure said. "Surely, there are dozens of Omega-level threats out there; we just need to harness the power of one for our plans to proceed, you have said so yourself."
"I know that, my servant..." The presence said, looking at Adykon... "Hmm... Adykon is a setback indeed, but he could become the answer to all of our problems... I think he can be turned..."
"He will... join us?" The figure replied.
"That, or he shall die; we cannot have it any other way." The presence responded. "Do you think you are up to it, my servant?"
"Yes... I think I can... he is a mercenary; his kind are notorious lovers of gain..." was the reply.
"Good. That is what I ought to hear... but, we have a second problem... as I said..."
"You mean Arcantas, master? What of him... he is dead..."
"That he is, but his use to us is not... completely ended..."
"You mean-?"
"Yes... and YOU shall be the one to be in charge."
"...I am deeply honored, master." The figure replied.
"Yes, yes, deeply honored indeed... there is one other matter to deal with... the panther." Said the presence
"He is a wild card, my lord."
"I know... and he cannot be allowed to stay in the equation... for that, I have sent... some gray matter at him."
"Gray matter?" Queried the figure.
"The kind that is powered by a scroll." the presence said.
"Oh. I see. I pity him." was the reply.
"I am preparing to send more of it at him... along with some kobolds..." the presence added.
"Subjugating those kobold tribes to us was a brilliant move, my lord. Giving a small army of them to each of your lieutenants was very generous..."
"Enough compliments; if you want to please me, do as I say. First, we need to lure Adykon out of hiding... I think taking his new-found allies will do the trick... then we need to attack him directly... you will need to take some time to prepare the spells..."
"Your will be done, my lord."
"But before any of that, I have some news; one of our pawns, the prince of Hekaga has a favor to ask of us... one which fits our plans perfectly..."
"Oh? What does that braggart want now?" said the figure
"In exchange for his years of service, he has asked that we bring a thief in to him, and let... 'justice' be done... he wants revenge on the only one ever to steal from him and live to tell the tale..."
"How does that fit in with our..." a smile came over the figure's face, even as it was covered in darkness "Oh yesss... I see it now... ha ha!"
"Just be ready to cast the spells that I order when I give the signal; I cannot be seen in public... not yet... you know what to do." Said the presence.
"And it shall be done, my lord." Replied the figure.
-
Unaware of the threat now facing, the wedding plans progressed. Marcus and Rhiga made love for the third time in a row that night..
-
"I must return to my dimension now" the presence said. "If you have any questions, you know how to contact me." The presence cast a spell, ripping open the fabric of reality, releasing a mist of... palpable darkness... and stepped towards the portal he had opened.
"Remember this, succeed, and you will be rewarded in ways you can scarcely imagine. Fail... and you will beg to suffer Arcantas's fate."
"I know the risks involved in my project, my lord... it is still a better idea than Arcantas's plan, for sure... it took him seventy years just to prepare for it, and it fell apart in a day..." the figure said.
"See that the same does not happen to you." The presence replied, then passed through the portal, which sealed up as if nothing had ever happened.
-
Rhiga woke up in the middle of the night. Marcus was still fast asleep next to her, but something was... wrong. Maybe it was the food she had been eating; it was a lot richer than what she was used to... she felt nauseous... after about 20 minutes of this, the feeling passed, and Rhiga was able to go back to sleep.
-
Marcus never stirred, he would not learn of the even until the next morning..
-
The next morning...
This time, Rhiga slumbered on, even through the light of the rising sun. She had slept in incredibly uncomfortable beds in the past, so she greatly appreciated the comfort of this good mattress... well, when she was awake to appreciate it. The fact that she slept so well in it was a form of appreciation all its own.
-
Marcus arose from his bed , and headed off to his klabors. He took care not to disturb Rhiga, who was stilll fast asleep..
-
After two hours, Rhiga awoke and found that Marcus had gone to work. This was perfectly okay with her... she had sworn that she heard him say 'love you' as he left...
She got up and did her stretches, then gave her tiotleglas a massage. One this was done, she put on her loincloth and top, then went out of the bedroom to eat some breakfast.
Meanwhile, beneath the Earth's surface...
Hundreds of Kobolds labored in tunnels, working furiously to extract metals for the coming conflict... they knew that even the best of them would be nothing more than fodder for what was going to happen next. They also knew that their masters had creatures far more powerful than they at their disposal. Still, a world ruled by...him had some advantages. Kobolds had long lived as scavengers as well as miners and warriors; this often meant serving a stronger being, and living off it its generosity, or at least, its leftovers.
The news of Arcantas' defeat had spread even to their lowly levels. The fool had tried to declare himself 'emperor' of the Dracons... a title reserved for the one whom they all owed loyalty to! It was suspected that Arcantas had wanted to usurp his master for some time... and the master knew of it, but did nothing... if only because he thought Arcantas didn't have the backbone to go forward with it...
Now, that fool had suffered the same fate that all who crossed the dark master had faced... except that in his case, death was not the end of his suffering...
-
Isla greeted Rhiga as she entered the dining hall. ' So what are your plan s for today, Rhiga?' Isla asked as she muched on some food.. " More shopping?
-
"Yes. I need to get new clothing for the wedding." Rhiga said.
Dracon marriages were somewhat like human ones, in that a priest presided over the ceremony and that vows were exchanged... however, in some cases, the female's vow was not needed, if she was part of a noble house. Rhiga, however, was not part of any such a house, and she hoped that she never was. Rings were sometimes exchanged, although unlike humans, and piece of jewelry, if any was used, would do.
"Perhaps I should get some scented oils, too." Rhiga added.
-
"Of course' Isla nodded. she had been at Rhiga;s call ever since the wedding had been announced..
-
"We also need to get food, drinks, music, flowers, and lots of other things for the wedding." Rhiga said. She didn't want this to be an ostentatious, over-the-top ceremony... even if the costs were covered by her rich friends, she did not want the pomp and pageantry to outshine the love between herself and Marcus...
Of course, she didn't know it, but that would be the least of her worries...
-
Don't worry, all those things will be taken care, Do you like Thigorian folk singers?' Isla asked.. "They're usually a big hit at weddings.."
-
"Sounds good." Rhiga said. That migratory tribe of Dracons was well-known for its singing prowess. Most Dracons lived in cities, towns, farms, or villages but about 8 to 10 percent of the population lived as their ancestors had done, in migratory tribes or primitive tribal settlements. Their numbers were in decline, and within a few more generations, they could be reduced to less than half their numbers.
Some of the recent wars breaking out were between these tribes and the more developed areas... although the tribes were more organized and aggressive now than they usually were...
-
Then I'll hire them to perform..' Isla said.. "any preference as to drinks or food?"
-
"Lots of meat, fruit, and wine. I like pork the most, with lots of salt and spices." Rhiga said. A common answer; pork, salt, and spices were considered luxuries among the Dracons. Although they lived in a desert, there were rich areas of farmland along river valleys and oases. This, combined with their herds and a rather ingenious system of irrigation meant that their agricultural output was on par with lands that were far wetter and greener... even though the rich were the ones who enjoyed the best foods, while the poor hardly had anything.
-
Certainly.. and how many do you want to invite/ Do you want this an open or closed ceremony..?'
Open ceremonies meant anyone could attend, regardless of status, and partake of the food, drink and entertainment.. closed meant the wedding was reserved to those you invited. the rich usually had closed ceremonies, the poor had open ceremonies, and the middle class , well it depended on the family..
-
"A closed ceremony; I want to invite some friends and family, but that is about it..." Rhiga said. "I think my mom will be there, plus Adykon, Jake, Rex, Sasha, Eriol, Selturma, maybe Kravik and Sivar. Plus you and Minna. As for that fox guy... he wandered away from the party in the desert and we never saw him again... oh. You weren't there for that. Never mind" Rhiga answered.
-
"Ilsa nodded. "Closed it is.. then.. We'll see how many marcus wants to invite..
-
"I'll ask him when I see him next" Rhiga said. "Do you know if he has family in this city?" Rhiga asked Isla. "I've only known him for a few days..."
-
Minna would know better than I' Ilsa said.. "I think so, but that is just a guess.."
-
Meanwhile...
A dark figure went down the long spiral staircase in the vast tower, each floor getting darker and darker. The master had been generous to grant his second largest tower on this plane to a vampire, especially one such as this one... it was a good reward for bringing in so many followers from the upper classes... thanks to this vampire, the master now had at least one noble in every major city on his side... although the vast majority of nobles had no idea of the master's existence...
At the bottom of the staircase was a room which produced an eerie, atonal sound... almost like warped music... this was the sound of energy being transferred from one source to another... by unnatural means...
-
Rhiga sat down on a couch in Marcus's house... soon it would be her place too... that is... in spirit... female Dracons could not own property... she hated that fact...
-
Jake, Sasha, Reax and Selturma all prepared for school.
"looking forward to school?" asked Rex
-
"Yes I am!" Selturma said, bouncing up and down. "She had been sure to get some new clothes and new items for school... and she looked great in her new blue loincloth and matching top. At least she didn't have any missed schoolwork to make up for, unlike Jake, Sasha, and Rex...
-
"come on" said Jake "we need to get to school on time if we don't want detention..."
-
(in the future, we should make our posts longer; really, we should cut down on the one-liners.)
"So Rex, are the classes at our school going to be hard?" Selturma asked.
What none of them knew was that, for them, this school year was going to end prematurely due to circumstances that they could never have guessed...
-
"literature is very hard...." said Rex "but it is very beneficial"
-
(That last post is a one-liner; we are working to avoid those. I have been advised to increase the quality of posts in the RP, not just the sheer number. Thanks, metadude)
Selturma walked with Jake and Rex down the crowded streets to the school. This took them into a middle-class neighborhood, filled with crowded shops and stone roads, as well as a near-absence of beggars, vagrants, and the poor. "Maybe I'll get another loincloth after class" Selturma thought, as her current one, while good-looking, was a bit tight on her.
-
Minna prepared for her day.. which would include shopping for the wedding, overseeing a new servant, and other tasks...
-
Eriol and Arianne visited a big market. Still looking for clothing and other things to buy. To help Arianne withstand the heat of the desert, Eriol gave her a spare magical bracelet he was carrying.
"What we need to find is a place to buy some sandals..." - Eriol commented. - "... and I thought shoemaking wasn't the most popular job in our homeland."
"I would be happier if I manage to get some spare clothing. We may get lucky." - Arianne replied, looking at the stores and many of the things been sold.
"Maybe soon you will get to meet some people I travelled with. They are nice people." - The male Panther said, Arianne looked at him with a smile, it is not common to hear him talking about people in that friendly way.
-
Selturma was walking down the street, having just gotten out of school for the day along with Jake, Sasha, and Rex. The three of them went on to their homes, but Selturma would join Rex later; she wanted to buy herself a new loincloth, so she headed into the market.
There, she met Eriol... and a female panther!
-
Eriol was looking at some stands in the market when he saw Selturma. - "Oh, it is you Selturma." - He went closer to the Dracon, been followed by the female Panther. - "I don't know if you believe in miracles, but I want you to meet my wife. Selturma, meet Arianne. Arianne, my love, meet Selturma".
"Good day Selturma." - Arianne offered her hand as a greeting to the young Dracon - "I guess you are one of the friends Eriol was talking about?"
-
"I am indeed!" Selturma said, bouncing up and down just a little bit, them shook Arianne's hand. "Pleased to meet you, Arianne!" She looked at the female panther's light blue dress, then to her bare, black paws... "I see that you have more sense than your husband does, when it comes to wearing 'footwear', and since you are here in the clothing section of the market, I would guess that you are looking for something to replace that heavy dress with something a bit more... sensible in these parts. I am also looking for some new clothes; maybe we could help each other out."
-
"Well... ehh, I was hoping to find something nice to wear, in the style of this dress. All my things were stolen just before I came to this city." - Arianne commented to Selturma, he then looked at Eriol, who was becoming angry. - "It must have been a burglar, that took my things when I was distracted, so it is my fault."
Eriol sighed - "Well, but you are now here and safe, that is the most important." - He remembered what Selturma said. - "Selturma, do you know where we can get some sandals for my wife?, I gave her my spare magical bracelet, but those cannot fully protect us."
-
"Sandals?" Selturma said "I've never heard of a store that sells those. If you look around, you will notice that no Dracon, male or female, ever uses 'footwear.' If your feet need protection from the hot ground, I can make you a potion which will keep your feet safe from being burned on the hot sand. I made a batch of this for Sasha, and there is still a lot left of it at Rex's house, which is where I made it. Sasha took some, but there should be enough left for you too, Arianne. It will be my gift to you."
"As for your dress" Selturma continued "We really don't have anything in our markets that would look like that, although I'm sure you will look good wearing a top and a loincloth."
-
"I admit it is tempting to see you using less clothing Arianne. But I know you do not agree so I think we may be able to find a solution for that." - Eriol commented.
Arianne giggled as the things that have been said, she looked at Selturma and said. - "I appreciatte your gift young lady. We are not the most fond to use 'footwear' either, but we are not used to live in places this hot, that's why we need the sandals. But if the potion works, then that could make me feel more like in home."
-
"I can take you to the potion right now, if you want" Selturma said. "My new loincloth can wait for another day. I can show you to Jake and Rex, if they are home. If not... well... at least I can get you something to make you feet feel better, Arianne. It is a clear potion in a bowl which has to be applied by hand. I'll show you, if you'd like."
-
"Don't worry my dear, take your time and get your new loincloth. I have been walking in the sand for a while already, a bit more of time will not cause any harm." - Arianne replied to Selturma. Eriol looked at his wife with a gentle smile, still cannot fully believe she is alive and well, and that his dream of raising his family is real again.
-
"Alright. You two wait right there. I'll be back in a moment." Selturma said.
A few minutes later the young Dracon female returned, wearing a loincloth almost the same as the one she had worn a moment ago, but it was slightly looser and more comfortable for her to wear.
"Okay! Are you ready to go get that potion, Arianne?" Selturma asked the panther.
-
Arianne nodded at her and said - "That would be good, please take us to where the potion is."
As they began walking, Eriol came closer to his wife and said. - "I can carry you." - Arianne smiled. - "I am fine" - after her reply she placed his left arm around his husband's waist and leaned her head on his shoulder.
-
The three of them came to Rex's house... but neither Rex nor Jake were at home... they must have been out... possibly doing exercises.
Selturma got the bowl of the potion; it was a clear, thick liquid which was cool to the touch.
"Okay Arianne. Here is the potion" Selturma told the panther. "Just apply it to your feet, and rub it in well. It will take effect when it no longer feels wet; that means that it has been absorbed into your skin and, in your case, fur. You will need to apply it again about once a month for it to keep having effect, but while it is working, the sands should feel just as cool as the carpet does now."
-
"Ok, it seems very simple." - Eriol took the bowl and waited for Arianne to sit down, as she did so, he knelt in front of his wife and took one of her feet and began to gently rubbing the potion on her foot, specially on her pads, as they are not protected by the fur. Since Panthers walk in a digitigrade form, the zone to be protected by the potion is rather small. After Eriol finished with one of his wife's foot, he continued with the other foot. The gentle massages were a relief and a great sensation for Arianne, as some minor purring could be heard.
-
"Now, how does that feel?" Selturma asked Arianne. "If it feels cool, it is sinking in, and if it doesn't feel wet anymore, it means that the potion has been absorbed. If you need some more, you are free to take the whole bowl. I can show you how to make more, if you need me too. You could use it too, Eriol, if you'd like."
-
"It still feels cool. But our pads are thicker than all the rest of our skin, so we should wait for a bit longer." - Arianne said to Selturma.
Eriol heard Selturma's offering - "It is ok, thanks, maybe we should keep stored what you have for an emergency." - the Panther stood up and then he sat next to his wife.
"Selturma, do you have some water for me and Eriol, please?" - She asked.
-
"I can get you some water, sure!" Selturma said. A moment later, she had returned with a brass pitcher of water and three cups on a tray. "I'm also thirsty" she told the panthers. Sitting the items down, she poured water into the three cups, and handed one to each of the panthers.
"I can make more of the potion, Eriol, it is no trouble. And the supply you and Arianne have should last for about six months; three months if you two decide to share it." She said.
-
"Hmm... I'll think about it Selturma, thanks for the potion." - Eriol said, placing the bown near the water brass pitcher Selturma brought, he then grabbed the cup and drank some water.
"This place looks nice. Do you think we may get to know the other members of the party Eriol has mentioned?" - Arianne asked Selturma, she then took another sip of water.
-
"Well, Jake and Rex should be home sometimes... you can never tell with those boys..." Selturma answered "As for Rhiga, Isla, and Minna... They are in Minna's palace at the moment... I'm sure we can find it, and if we tell the guards that Eriol and I are there, Minna will be sure to let us in."
-
"Well, I have no idea if there is a gathering coming since the quest we had ended... of an unexpected way." - Eriol said
"But if Selturma's friends are coming, I would like to meet them, it is not everyday I got to see you Eriol having people you don't want to... ehh... 'mistreat'." - Arianne replied.
Eriol gave s mirk at that comment, he then turned his face to Selturma - "I hope there would be no problems if we can wait for the others here."
-
"That's okay. We can wait for the others. I'm sure that my adopted mother won't mind you waiting here. As for Rex and Jake... they will show up... sometime. I'll go see Minna, Isla and Rhiga." Selturma replied.
-
"That is nice, thanks Selturma." - Eriol said. Both Panthers are most happy to be together again.
-
Meanwhile...
Rhiga got up off the couch she had been sitting on. She decided to do some stretches. The living room was spacious... and no one was looking...
She took off her clothes and began to do a long, elaborate series of stretches, designed to loosen every joint and muscle in her body, from her neck, to her tail, all the way down to her toes.
-
It was just then, unfortunately that Minna came into the room.. "rhiga1 Oh.. err.. doing streches I see" She said, a little embarassed..
-
"Oh! Minna!" Rhiga rushed to put on her loincloth, but she still didn't have her top on. "I was just doing my daily stretches..." Rhiga was somewhat disappointed; she hadn't got to do exercises on her 'womanhood muscles'... which was, in her opinion, the best part.
-
Meanwhile...
The kobold workers approached the cave. There, they joined hundreds of their kind; at the rate that new workers were being sent over, there would be over a thousand diggers by the end of the week. The master had wanted this cave cleared, and he wanted it cleared soon; that much was clear. Why he wanted to clear an ancient cave so badly... that was another story...
-
"If you wantbto do that.. do it in your own room, theres no privacy here, anyone can walk in on you.. like I just did " Minna said.."Although you have been keeping in shape"
-
Rhiga looked down at her body. She wasn't that strong, but she was well-toned, and she kept a surprisingly good figure for someone who came from such dire poverty. "Thanks, Minna" Rhiga replied. "I should do that in my room, although the living room is more spacious."
-
'well, you will be a middle class female starting ina few days.."Minna smiled.. "I can have some of my servants help establish a stertching regimen for you, work on your muscles etc..
-
"That would be great!" Rhiga said. "I hope that it isn't too much of a burden on you and your staff, though. As for my muscles... well, I would like to maintain my tone, although strength matter less to me than agility does... I would really like to stay agile... and work on my climbing skills." Climbing and dodging were things that thieves like Rhiga were very good at...
-
Oh Its nothing... You need to stay in shape, they need tasks to do.." Minna smiled.."You can go back to youir stretches..
-
Rhiga rose, turned around, and went to her room to stretch. She made sure to close the door first...
Meanwhile...
Adykon and Vaeri approached Minna's palace.
"Do you think that she will let us stay there, Adykon?" the lithe dancer asked the strong male.
"I hope so... We need to save money; those inn stays can get expensive, especially since that caravan won't be heading for Hekaga for a week or so..." Adykon responded.
The two Dracons approached the guards of the palace, who sent a message inside to let whoever was present know that Adykon and Vaeri were at the from gates.
-
"Mi Lady, two Dracons named Adykon and Vaeri are at the gates.. they are claiming to be friends of Ilsa.." the servant said Minna paused for a moment.. "Sure.. let them in.." She said finally. ' Set them up with a room and something to eat. " Yes Milady.." the servant replied bowing and retreating..
-
Adykon and Vaeri were let into the palace. It was the most beautiful place Vaeri had ever seen, and waiting for them was a bowl of fruit, some bread, a pitcher of wine, some cups, and various meats.
The room they entered was covered in marble, which felt cool to Vaeri's feet, but just a step or two into the room, she felt a magnificently decorated rub covered in red dragons in various positions. This was the living room.
Entering into the chamber, the two Dracons saw the food laid out on a table surrounded by couches. On the wall there was a painting of a male Dracon in armor; possibly Minna's father. Looking around the room, Adykon noticed many fine details; the full bookcases, a statuette of a dragon made of gold, potted plants, and a board game of some sort...
-
'welcome " Minna said, enteruing the room. "Help yourself to some food and drink, and have a seat if you like.. Adykon I'm met , albeit it briefly, and vAeri.. right?' She asked.
-
"That's me" Vaeri said. "Pleased to see you once again, Minna."
"Thank you very much for having us over." Adykon said.
"Yes, if it is alright with you, we need a place to stay for a few days, until a caravan to Hekaga is ready to take me home." Vaei added.
The two Dracons sat down. Vaeri put her clawed feet up on a footrest in front of her at stretched out her toes. Adykon took a cup of wine.
-
How long do you need?' Minna asked, looking at them over a cup of wine.. 'if you need to stay a couple weeks I won't mind. A Friend of Isla's is a friend of mine.."
-
"We only need to stay for a week or so" Adykon said.
"I would stay longer if I could... but I need to get back to my children in the city of Hekaga." Vaeri added.
-
How far is Hekaga from here, if I may ask?' Minnaasked. " I don'tbthink I've ever been there..."
-
"Hekaga is about a week's journey from here by caravan... it is not too far, but it is beyond easy walking distance..." Adykon responded.
Vaeri shifted in her seat uneasily, as if something was causing her pain.
-
" How long have you lived in Hekaga' Minna asked. 'If you need to get up and move around, that is fine.."
-
"I've lived in Hekaga my whole life" Vaeri replied. "And yes, I think I should get up and move, take a walk around... and maybe get someone to take care of my aching back, while I am at it."
-
This coach here' Minna pointed to it, is operfect for massafges. 'why don't you lie down Vaeri, anf I'll get a servant to massage your back.."
-
Jake and Rex had gotten home after a long day of school. Jake took his shirt off and he jumped onto the couch.
"man" said Jake "it's been a long day........school is tiring.."
"indeed" said Rex sitting on a chair on the other side of the room "i really don't like literature..."
"literature is easy" said Jake "you dracons find it hard to write because of your claws"
"you say it is easy because you have no claws" said Rex "i don't see why you humans constantly cut off your claws.......i don't get it?"
"We keep our nails short so we don't scratch each other" replied Jake "and besides, it's not manly to have long nails"
-
Selturma walked over the Rex and Jake. After giving Rex a hug, she spoke to him.
"Guess who's in the next room?" Selturma asked, referencing the panthers Eriol and his wife Arianne.
-
"is Eriol and his wife Arianne staying with us?" asked Rex
"that's good news" said Jake "it's good to meet new people"
-
"Oh, no, Jake" Selturma replied. "Eriol and Arianne are just staying here until you two showed up. They wanted to all go together to Minna's palace, where Rhiga is staying, Eriol seems to want to introduce Arianne to all of us. It really is a miracle that she is alive, somehow."
-
"yes, it is a miracle" said Rex "all this time Eriol was searching for an assassin and his wife was alive the whole time"
"i can't imagine how happy he is" said Jake "he must have jumped up and down for joy when he found his wife"
-
"I know. They are in the next room. I gave Arianne some of that potion that Sasha had for her feet, so walking on the hot sands won't be a problem for her." Selturma added. "Do you boys want to go meet Rhiga in Minna's palace? Eriol told me that's where he and his wife are headed next."
-
"sure" said Jake "i wonder how big the castle is?"
"okay Selturma" said Rex "lead the way"
Selturma, Rex and Jake walked out of the house, the had to walk a few streets before they arrived at the Extremely massive castle
"................................." thought Jake, but said "oh...my...god...that is one....big..castle.."
-
"It really is a big palace" Selturma said... although as far as the palaces of the rich went, this was medium-sized, at best... and small next to her father's palace... and as for the palace of the king of Minthebec... his palace was like a small city it was so big!
-
Jake and Rex followed Selturma inside
"woah, this place is even bigger from the inside!!!" said Jake in an amazed state.
-
Not only was the palace huge, ornate, and luxurious, but Adykon and Vaeri were there, along with Rhiga and Minna! Now, most of the old party was together again; Kravik and Sivar had gone of to... well... only they really knew where it was, probably their temple, also in Minthebec.
Selturma's feet felt a fancy carpet; one covered in designs depicting red dragons in various positions. Surrounding her were various fancy articles, bookshelves, and a painting of a male Dracon in a suit of armor... this was probably Minna's father.
-
"do you think Minna will mind if i went exploring for a while?" asked Jake "i've never been in a castle before so i wanted to take a look around"
-
"I don't think she will mind" Selturma said. "Just be on your best manners and observe all etiquette" she said, looking at Jake.
Adykon and Vaeri noticed that they had guests "Jake, Selturma! What a pleasant surprise to see you here!" Vaeri said.
"And Rex" Adykon added.
"Right. And you too Rex!" Vaeri said.
"And Eriol, you have... who is this that is with you?" Adykon asked, noticing the female panther.
-
Eriol greeted at the Dracons - "Hello Adykon, hello Vaeri. Do you believe in miracles? I wish you to meet my wife: Arianne." - he presented his wife, the female Panther saluted very courteously.
"It is an honour to meet you. All of you, this looks like you are all good-hearted people." - She said to all members of the party.
-
"Indeed. Greeting, Arianne!" Adykon said.
"It is a pleasure to meet you." Vaeri added.
Selturma was bouncing up and down. "Isn't it great?"
Rhiga entered the room and saw what was happening.
"Am I to understand that this is your wife, Eriol?" Rhiga said with a smile on her face. "It seems that I am not the only one to find love lately."
-
"To find love? did I miss something?" - Eriol asked with curiosity.
Arianne began looking at the castle - "This is the place with more ammenities I have seen since I got here. Maybe i'll be able to meet the owner of this palace later too?"
-
"hello" said Jake and Rex to the female panther
-
"Yes, I have found a wonderful male to marry" Rhiga beamed. "His name is Marcus, and he works in this palace as a masseur, but he lives in a nice house not too far away from here. I will be married to him before the end of the week!"
Rhiga looked at the female panther. "You must be Arianne. Eriol mentioned you on our adventure. I guess you weren't dead after all, just lost. I'm so pleased to meet you!"
-
Arianne looked at Jake and Rex - "Hello, my name is Arianne, it is a pleasure to meet you."
"Are you getting married?. That sure is a nice surprise." - Eriol told Rhiga.
"Oh dear, it is very good that you found a nice Dracon for you to get married." - Arianne said. - "And the pleasure is all mine, Rhiga."
"I hope you can invite us to the ceremony Rhiga, we will be honoured to be there to see you give your first steps into your future." - the female Panther said, with a very soft and pleasant voice.
-
"You are definitely invited." Rhiga told the panthers. "All of you are invited, in fact." Rhiga added.
"That's wonderful!" Seluturma added, bouncing up and down.
"That is one perky girl." Rhiga thought to herself.
-
"Thanks for the invitation Rhiga, we will be there. And it would be nice to see all members of the party there." - Eriol said, Arianne nodded in approval.
"And I think it can be the best way to say good bye to these lands and returning home with Isaac: a wedding" - Arianne said, very happily.
-
"Minna isn't here right now, but she said that I could show any guests of ours to their rooms, if they wanted to stay over for a while" Rhiga said to Eriol and Arianne. "Would you like that?"
-
"I hope that would not be a problem, if there is no problem then it would be nice." - Arianne said.
"If we are allowed to stay, then I may need to go for a while, to get my things from the Inn I was renting a room." - Eriol said. As he said so, Arianne placed her arms around her husband, in a lovely embrace. He returned the embrace by placing one of his arms around his wife and giving her a kiss.
-
"Well, which ever one of you is willing to stay to be shown your room, or both of you, I can take you to it right now. If you don't like it, we can always find you another room; this palace has over a hundreds of them, just for sleeping in." Rhiga said.
-
"Well, maybe you should go Arianne, to choose a room... palaces are always too big for my total liking." - Eriol said while making a smirk. - "Well, if you all excuse me, I think I should go pick my things from the Inn."
"Eriol, you are always finding things to complain about. Well, I'll try and get a nice room for us." - Arianne began walking and stood next to Rhiga, she then turned around and waved goodbye to Eriol. To that, he just smiled and began walking towards the exit.
-
"Follow me, Arianne. I'll lead you to a very nice room." Rhiga told the female panther.
The two females walked up the stairs, going up three tall floors, up to the second highest level in the palace and over to a large room with a wooden door. Opening the door, Rhiga showed Arianne what the room looked like, as she had been given permission to by Minna.
The room's floor was covered series of rugs, many of which had images of stars on them, some had images of dragons; a common motif among the Dracons. The room was dominated by a large bed, easily enough to fit Eriol and Arianne, which was off the the sides, but still quite large.
There was also running water for the guests, for Rhiga pointed out a small room which joined the main room, and in it was a bathtub whose faucet was carved in the shape of a dragon.
Eriol and Arianne's room also contained a number of furnishings, some paintings of temples and nature scenes, as well as some potted plants, and a table. To top it all off, the room had a great view of the city of Minthebec; the room's height, coupled with the fact that the palace was already on one of the tallest hills in the city, combined to make it an excellent view.
Altogether, it was a very good room to stay in.
-
"see ya" said Jake "i'm going exploring" Jake walked off, he headed down the eastern corridor and he came out of an opening that led to a well kept garden outside.
-
Rhiga left the room which Arianne was staying in and went to join the others. Vaeri decided to leave the group and visit the garden; she wanted to relax and walk on the grass... she almost never got a chance to do that, but it felt so good...
-
Jake saw Vaeri walking through the garden, Jake ran up to her "hello Vaeri" said Jake kindly
-
"Hi, Jake" Vaeri said as she stepped onto the grass, still wearing her loincloth and top. "Isn't it a lovely day to be in the garden? This grass feels so good to walk on... don't you agree?"
-
"well, i still have my shoes on" said Jake "i know how grass feels. you must really like the grass because it is very soft and nicer to walk on than sand or dirt"
-
"It is indeed nicer, Jake. You don't know what it is like to spend your entire life walking on hot sands, hard stones, and filthy dirt." Vaeri responded. "I suppose that you don't get as much sensation from your feet as a female Dracon would... or even a female human would."
-
Jake shrugged his shoulders "well you female Dracons do have very sensitive feet i suppose" said Jake "but human females would still feel the great sensation of soft grass"
-
"Even Dracon males don't use 'footwear'; I wonder why you do..." Vaeri added. "Still, that is your choice... although it might not be good of you to wear it if you are invited to dinner here... the rich are very formal about dress..." That statement was kind of ironic from a human point of view...
-
"don't worry Vaeri" said Jake "when it comes to special dinners i dress like a Dracon"
-
"I overheard Rhiga talking about having a big dinner in celebration of Rhiga's upcoming marriage... and Eriol's reunification with his long-lost wife, Arianne." Vaeri said. "Then, there will be desert followed by entertainment and relaxation."
-
"i guess i have to dress like a dracon then" said Jake "but i don't mind, since it's a special occasion. if it was a normal dinner then i wouldn't even bother to dress like a dracon"
-
"You should keep your shirt on, though" Vaeri said "When guests are over, I'll bet you do that at home. You would want to ditch the 'shoes', but keep on all your other clothes." Vaeri added. "So, how is Sasha doing? I heard from Selturma that she no longer uses 'sandals' because of a potion..."
-
"if i have to keep my shirt off then so be it" said Jake "and yes Sasha is doing fine now, Selturma made a potion that allows Sasha to walk around the desert without sandals. She is very happy"
-
"Would you like Selturma to make you some of that potion?" Vaeri asked, while walking on the grass and stretching out. "I'm sure that you will like it to, if a fellow human finds it so enjoyable."
-
"erm...no thanks" said Jake "i like to be as human as possible..."
-
"I can understand that Jake." Vaeri responded. "After dinner, I'm going to get a massage; something that a lot of noble Dracons do. It is rare that I get one after a good meal... of course, it is rare that I even get a good meal..." she added. "If Sasha shows up, do you think she would like one? Or maybe you would like to join me? I don't think Adykon wants one, though; he says that getting rubbed down is for the soft and weak..."
-
"It would be nice to get a back rub once" said Jake "but...i don't think i should get one though.....Sasha would be glad to join you though, is that okay?"
-
"Perfect" Vaeri said "I didn't honestly think that you would want one... how about Rex? Do you think he might like one? I know Selturma wants one, and he loves to spend time with her..."
-
"he might go with her" said Jake "but i doubt he will like a massage..."
-
"I guess he prefers Selturma to do it then" Vaeri said with a smile. "Regardless, we should all enjoy this nice day." Vaeri lay down on the grass, stretched out and sighed.
The city of Minthebec was visible from the walled-off garden. From up in the palace, it looked like a shining jewel... but as Vaeri, Jake, and the others knew, looks were deceiving... for some, it was a jewel indeed... but for most, it was a land of slums and overcrowding; even the middle class had to admit that it was crowded... and the poor... what they considered luxuries were things which were taken for granted by the rich.
-
Jake lay down beside Vaeri. "so, what do you think will happen at the special dinner tonight?" asked Jake politely
-
"Rhiga will introduce her fiance... and Eriol will introduce us to his long-lost wife." Vaeri told Jake. "Then, I am sure that we will all be formally invited to Rhiga's wedding. I will be sure to attend. Will you, Jake?"
-
"yes" said Jake "i'm going to attend because i know it's not everyday that someone is going to get married or someone finds the one they love, even though they thought that they were dead..."
-
"It is a rare event indeed... who would have thought that Arianne would have found her husband all the way out here?" Vaeri sat up, thinking about it "The odds must have been... unbelievable." Vaeri lay down again "But no, these things have a way of working themselves out... perhaps it was simply the will of the gods, or just 'meant to be'... " Still, what were the odds, she thought. This gave Vaeri a bit of unease, but soon, the combination of the soft grass, the cool breeze, and the sweet smells of the garden put that thought to rest, as she continued to relax in the garden...
Meanwhile...
In another dimension, a golden-eyed figure in a dark room watched the world through a crystal ball...
"Yes, yes... the pieces are falling into position, and soon, they will be in place... it will be time to act in less than a week..." The figure said...
-
Jake stood up "i'm going to go exploring again" said Jake "you can come if you want"
-
"I'll stay here and relax" Vaeri said, taking off her top now that Jake was going to leave. "Maybe you'll run into Selturma or someone else..." the dancer added. The palace was indeed big and there were no shortages of places for Jake to explore...
-
"bye" said Jake as he walked off to explore the vast palace
-
Selturma saw Jake exploring the palace. "Hi Jake!" She said. Rex was with her. "Do you mind if we join your exploration of the palace. Can we join you? Pleease?" said the Dracon girl as she was bouncing up and down... she did that a lot.
-
"sure" said Jake "but....can you stop with the bouncing?"
-
Selturma stopped bouncing. "Sorry Jake. I do that a lot..." The young female looked around the palace. "So, lets go adventuring in the palace! I'm going to go adventuring..." she stopped herself before singing that song.
-
Jake stared at Selturma "..............................."
-
The three youngsters Jake, Rex, and Selturma, began to explore the palace. It was quite large and ornate; being made of stone and filled with all sorts of luxuries; just a single statue in the palace alone was probably worth more than the net value of a typical slum-dwelling family...
-
"this place is fantasic!" said Jake "this place must be worth a fortune!"
-
"Many fortunes, I'll bet" Selturma said. "Minna's father must be very rich to give one of his children a palace like this... and since Minna is just a female, his other palaces are probably a lot larger than this one..."
-
"this must be very small compared to the estates he must have given to his sons" said Rex "this is huge to us.....but to rich dracons, this must seem like a basement..."
-
"Well, maybe that is an exaggeration, but you are correct; his sons might have larger palaces... well, some of them. Minna doesn't even own this palace; Dracon females can't own land, remember?" Selturma said.
Truth be told, Minna's father owned five palaces, and this was the smallest. His personal palace was largest, along with a palace for his eldest son, this palace, which was the smallest, a vacation palace, and a fortified castle which was less palatial but more fortified... kept hidden up in the mountains in case of an emergency. Most rich nobles kept a fortification in the mountains for that reason.
-
"i know that silly" said Rex "should we continue exploring?"
The group started walking again, they travelled down the north corridor. it came to a set of kitchens and dining halls
-
The dining hall was large enough for 500 guests... although this would only ever be used if Minna's father and his allies were over... his own dining hall was twice as large, but that was almost never used up to full capacity... except when he married his first wife and opened the dining hall open to his servants and workers...
Beyond the dining hall was the kitchen, which was constantly busy...
-
"do you think Minna would mind if we got a bite to eat?" asked Jake as he heared his stomach gurgle "i'm so hungry...i didn't eat much today"
-
"We can sneak a bite in, sure" Selturma said. "Rex? Could you get me something from the kitchen please?" she asked him. She could have done it herself, but she was playing the "helpless female" with Rex...
-
"sure" said Rex "come on Jake" Jake and Rex walked into the kitchen
"hey! who are you! get out!" yelled an angry chef
"were guests here" said Jake "we only want to get a snack"
The chef looked at Jake and Rex with a stern look
"i'll go and get you kids some buscuits" said the chef
The chef walked off and returned 20 seconds later, he handed Jake and Rex a packet of buscuits
"thanks" said Jake and Rex
Jake and Rex walked out to give some to Selturma
-
"Thanks Rex!" Selturma said, bouncing up and down again... but she stopped herself this time, noticing that she was bouncing every time anything even slightly good happened...
After that, the three youths went on... they found a room behind wooden doors which had an altar, candles, incense, and a bronze statue of a dragon, as well as many stone statuettes of various deities... this must be the palace's chapel.
-
"hmm, a chapel" said Jake as he walked up to a statue of a dragon
-
The altar in front of the youths was nothing more than a slab of rock; no magic, no exotic materials, no sacrifices. If it really was so important, it probably would have been guarded better. Still, the chapel had a nice statue.
-
"where should we head next?" asked Rex "should we check out the south corridor?"
-
"Good idea, Rex!" Selturma said.
The three younglings went down the southern corridor, and found a room with steam coming out of the doors. Opening the doors led to a steam bath, which was filled with female Dracons, probably some of Minna's younger sisters who also lived in the palace with her, as well as female servants taking a break.
-
"............................." thought Jake, but he said "maybe we should check another corridor...."
"what do you think Selturma?" what should we do? should we leave and go somewhere else or would you like to stay here?"
-
Selturma wanted to stay, but could see that the boys did not want to... she would have time to relax later...
"Let's go somewhere else" Selturma said. "There will be a lot of relaxing after dinner, so... let's keep exploring for now."
-
Jake smiled "alright let's go!........can i lead?"
-
"Of course, Jake" Selturma said. "I was never really the leader to begin with..." Female Dracons were not encouraged to lead by their culture... they were expected to defer to a male...
-
"okay" said Jake "let's head out to the garden, it's really nice in the garden......the grass is really soft!"
Rex straightened up "did you say 'grass'?"
"yes?" replied Jake
"okay, let's go!" said Rex
Jake led Rex and Selturma out into the garden and they saw Vaeri lying on the grass. they walked up to her
"hello Vaeri" said Jake
-
Selturma was eager to walk on the grass; it had felt good for her on the adventure, even though it was part of a trap... This time, she could enjoy the feeling of grass beneath her feet in peace.
-
rex ran onto the grass and he lay down on it. he thought it was the softest thing he had ever lay on.
"ah, this is nice" said Rex
-
"Isn't it great?" Selturma said, bouncing her feet up and down on the grass. It felt good for her... and for Rex as well, so it seemed. Vaeri continued to lie down in the grass, still topless and feeling good, but aware of the presence of company.
-
"the grass is good isn't it?" said Rex "this is sooo soft!"
"it is soft" said Jake "Minnas servants are doing a good job of keeping it soft and green"
-
Selturma saw that Vaeri was topless, and decided that, if she was going to relax, that she ought to do the same. She took off her top, and showed her tiotleglas to Rex... then she lay down on the grass...
-
Rex lay down beside Selturma, Jake decided to lay down on the grass too but he went to a different location in the garden.
"ah, this is nice" thought Jake as he stared up at the sky "(yawn) it's been a long day........maybe i could rest my eyes for a bit....(yawn)"
Jake began to slowly fall asleep.....
(omg, he's fallen asleep out in the open for the second time in the rp)
-
Vaeri and Selturma were enjoying this... but Selturma could see that Rex was getting a bit bored. Selturma asked him: "Rex, are you enjoying yourself? I know that relaxing on the grass isn't exactly the most exciting thing in the world..."
-
"the grass is nice" said Rex "but laying here still is a bit boring..."
-
"Look, Rex. Jake has fallen asleep." Vaeri said.
Selturma saw that Jake was sleeping... she also saw that he was still wearing his shoes. She wondered, how fast could a human run without footwear...
Without anyone noticing, Selturma sneaked over to Jake, and quickly but quietly took his shoes and socks, stuffing the latter in the former.
She then prepared to run...
-
Jake was still sleeping, he woke up 5 minutes after Selturma had ran off with his shoes.
'what the?" said Jake in surprise "where are my shoes?.........Selturma...."
Jake saw Selturma running off....she was holding his shoes!!! Jake got up and started to chase after her
"hey!" yelled Jake "give me back my shoes!"
-
Selturma ran from Jake, heading into the garden, and then, into the palace itself. She was very fast and agile. Luckily, most of the palace was fairly empty at the moment, as the servants were mostly concentrated down in the kitchen and dining areas, preparing for the great feast that night.
-
Without his shoes Jake could run alot faster than usual
"give me my shoes Selturma!!!" yelled an angry jake
-
Selturma had thought that Jake would have been slower without shoes, but he was actually faster. While Selturma was faster still, she was more easily tired than Jake, who was gaining on her...
-
Eriol returned to the city and to the inn where he was renting the room. He got inside and collected his stuff. Since he got there, he has seen small claw markings in the ceiling of the room, above the bed; after taking one last look at them, he realized that they came from different people... those were marks left by previous people that rented that room - "This is weird indeed." - Nevertheless he got up and used one of his claws to leave his mark there. Smiling, he left the room and closed the door.
As he got out of his room he went to the center table and asked for a last drink.
---
Back in the palace, Arianne spend her time mostly in the bed. After a while, she got up and took a look out of her window, the breeze blowed gently on her face, making her long hair to flow freely.
- "I think I should go downstairs, I'd like to be there when Eriol gets back." - She thought and then she left the room.
-
Jake thought to himself "as soon as i get my shoes she is toast!"
Jake was within 6 meters of selturma now
-
Selturma was getting tired. She decided to drop the shoes and climb the wall which separated the garden from another room. She was still a very good climber, even when tired.
-
Jake collected his shoes
"your lucky.....this time" said an annoyed jake "don't try that again"
-
Selturma was not so lucky, though. She was too tired to finish climbing, her hand slipped, she lost her footing, and fell off of the wall... onto Jake.
-
(thud!) Jake felt really dizzy
".......i...can't think straight......" Jake tried to move but he then realized Selturma was on him "can you please get off?"
-
Selturma had fallen on Jake front-first... her large tiotleglas were pressing against him... and her tail was stuck under one of Jake' legs. It was an awkward situation to be sure...
-
"erm.....this is really awkward..." said Jake "can you please get off of me?....."
-
Selturma crawled off of Jake, tired and somewhat hurt. Still, Jake had broken her fall...
"So, Jake" she gasped "You seem faster without those 'shoes'..."
-
"well yes" said Jake "i do run faster without shoes.......that reason and because i was angry...."
-
"I guess your feet with those useless toes are good for something, then" Selturma said, getting up. "I need to go lie down. I won't try that again, Jake. You win. Seems a shame that you intentionally make yourself go slower though..."
Selturma did not understand human culture very well...
-
Jake stood up and walked back into the garden...he was still sleepy
"maybe i should go and lay on the ground for a while..." said Jake "(yawn) i'm still tired...."
Jake walked over to the same patch of grass he was laying on before and he sat down on it. He lay down and he closed his eyes.....in no time at all he was asleep....
(for the 3rd time!)
-
Now Selturma and Jake were both asleep. Ironically, she had gotten what she had wanted; Jake was still barefoot, but this time, both she and Jake were too tired to care about it...
-
Sasha was walking down the streets of Minthebec by herself
"i wonder where the others are?" thought Sasha to herself "i might use my location spell"
A location spell is something that can detect personalities within a 3km radius. Sasha cast the spell, she was searching through all of the different personalities that were around her......she picked up Jake's personality
"i found him" thought Sasha "he's at Minnas palace"
Sasha ran off down the road to Minnas palace
-
Vaeri woke up to see that Jake, Rex, and Selturma were all sleeping on the grass. "How nice..." she thought to herself, as she grabbed her top, put it on, and headed into the palace to meet Adykon.
Adykon was telling Minna and Isla of some war stories, as well as how they had gotten into the mess that was their adventure...
-
Sasha had been running for 10 minutes now, she was starting to get tired
"*i need* (breathing) *a rest* (breathing)" said Sasha "*i think i can run* (breathing) *another kilometer..........i hope...*"
Sasha started off at a slow pace, after a minute she started running at full speed to Minnas palace again
-
The guards at the front gate of Minna's palace saw a human girl approach their gates, dressed in only a loincloth and a top. She was quite tired... but might be another friend of Minna's... That female had an odd taste in friends and acquaintances, but at least this female had the good sense to dress properly.
-
"(breathing) *i'm a friend* (breathing)" said Sasha between breaths "*may i come in?* (breathing)"
-
After a little chat with the Bartender, Eriol finished his drink and payed the bills. He then began walking back to Minna's palace.
Arianne was walking in the palace's hallas and corridors, looking at every detail as she is going back to the first floor. She then heard voices and went closer, she saw Adykon talking with Minna and Isla.
-
The guards went to check if this was true, and went to get Minna. After Minna had told them that Sasha was indeed a fellow adventurer, a friend, and an ally, they let her into the palace.
-
"where is Jake?" asked Sasha "i havn't heard from him all day"
-
Rhiga approached Sasha "Sasha! How are you? Jake is out in the back, in the garden" Rhiga said as she gestured in the direction of the garden, where Jake, Rex, and Selturma were resting.
-
Eriol saw Sasha in the distance running towards the palace... even if running he would not be able to reach her - "Poor guards, today it may have been weird for them with all of our visits." - he smiled as he kept on walking.
-
"okay" said Sasha "thanks!"
Sasha ran out into the garden, she thought that it looked so beautiful
"this grass looks like it has been very well kept" thought Sasha
Sasha saw Selturma and Rex
"hello" said Sasha "have any of you seen Jake?"
-
Selturma woke and greeted Sasha, but was too tired to bounce up and down as she usually did. "Hi, Sasha! Jake is resting on the grass next to me and Rex. I'm glad that you have come here... and I am glad to see you dressed so well!"
-
'thanks" said Sasha "although.....i always dress like this?...."
Sasha walked over to where Jake was and she lay down beside him
-
"I know; it is just that you are the first human to show up here to dress properly" Selturma said to Sasha. "How is that potion working for you, by the way? No problems?"
-
"nope" said Sasha "no problems at all, i really appreciate the potion you made for me"
-
Vaeri and Adykon continued their conversation, now that Adykon was done telling war stories to Minna and Isla.
"So, my love, are you excited about our impending trip to Hekaga?" Vaeri asked the mercenary.
"I am looking forward to it more than any trip I have ever made" Adykon replied.
-
Arianne waited for Sasha to leave, as they were too many stranger in the same room, and then she entered. - "Ehh. greeting, I hope I am not interrupted anything." - she asked the Dracons that were present there.
-
"Oh no, you weren't interrupting anything" Adykon said to Arianne. All he and Vaeri were doing was talking, nothing more... they would save that stuff for later...
-
--
-
"ohh, I am happy I did not interrupt anything, but I didn't have the chance to greet that young human, she left this room very fast." - Arianne said, her hands crossed as her arms are relaxed in front of her.
Eriol got closer to the palace door's and asked the guards if they would let him come in again.
-
The guards let Eriol in... that was yet another mammal to pass through their gates... a rare occurrence, and yet, it had happened several times in just one day! This one also dressed funny...
-
"this is nice" said Sasha "what do you think Selturma?"
Sasha was looking up at the sky and staring at the big fluffy looking clouds. Jake was still sleeping
"(snoring)"
-
Adykon and Vaeri went to their room. They went to wash up for the dinner which was going to be held later that night. Vaeri had found some scented oils in their room, and she got Adykon to rub some of it into her skin...
-
(snoring)
"Jake is very noisy when he sleeps" said Sasha "(laughing)"
-
Vaeri took a nap before dinner. Adykon would have joined her, but he went downstairs instead to see how everyone else was doing...
-
Jake woke up and he stretched his arms "that was a good nap" said Jake "(yawn) still trying to fully wake up though, heh"
-
Vaeri woke up and moved down to the living room, where most of the guests were. Currently, the room had Adykon, Rhiga, Vaeri, Isla, Minna, Eriol, and Arianne. Jake, Rex, Selturma, and Sasha were outside in the garden.
-
"It may be better to ask this to our human friends, but I guess I can ask yto any of you. Do any of you know where I can get some extra clothing for my wife? I ask because we prefer clothing more of the human style." - Eriol asked to the people present there.
"Maybe it is just too strange for all Dracons the way we dress, using more clothing than you, even though we have fur..." - Arianne added with s gentle smile. - "Maybe it is the way we mammals like to dress."
-
"You can go to the trading post on the far east side of the city" Adykon said. "Human traders go there all the time.They won't have any footwear for you, but you might find a dress or something..."
-
Eriol and Arianned looked at each other, and then they returned their faces to see Adykon and the others - "That should do it, even if we cannot find sandals, the potion should be a good replacement. The important is to find more clothing." - Eriol said, already making the plans to go buy his wife what she needs.
-
"If you need to purchase sandals, you are out of luck." Adykon said. "There are also some merchants who sell cloth, if you want to make some clothes, if you have the skills to do so, that is..."
-
"I just think that I'll try to get some new clothing for Arianne, I will not push my luck then, either with sandals or by making clothing myself." - Eriol said, trying to emulate a smile.
-
"Good idea" Adykon replied. "I know that you mammals don't seem to like our clothing for the females... except for Sasha..." Vaeri turned to Arianne "If you ever feel like our lands are too hot, you might want to purchase some of our female clothing, just in case."
-
Arianne looked at Vaeri with a bit of a shy smile - "I think I will do fine, see this bracelet? this is a spare magical bracelet Eriol gave me, to protect me from the hot, so I should be fine. Thank you very much anyway Vaeri."
Eriol stood up and said - "Well, I think we should go buy those extra clothing." - he lend his hand to his wife, and she took the hand to stand up. - "We will go buy that new clothing, and we will be back when we finish." - Eriol said to Adykon and the others, then the both Panthers vowed in sign of respect and began walking towards the exit.
-
As they were walking along the road, Eriol and Arianne heard a noise, kind of like "pwoosh-pwiffng!" Then they saw a gray humanoid with green eyes and seven kobolds, each kobold had a loincloth and a flint dagger... the same kind of equipment that the kobolds had on the adventure in the lost city!
The newly-teleported group charged the panthers...
-
"Ohh, for Gaea!" - Arianne said, Eriol move a step in front of his wife.
"Stay back Arianne!" - The male Panther commanded as he grabbed his swords and said to the attackers. - "Do you want a piece of us freaks?... well, you'll die trying." - Eriol gave a wicked smile and prepared himself for the battle.
-
The gray humanoid charged Eriol, along with four of the kobolds. The other three attacked Arianne, seeing her as the lesser of the two threats. This attack force had just teleported in for no seeming reason... but there was a cause and a plan behind it...
-
Eriol managed to block the attacks of two of the Koblods by using his swords, he then managed to use a third kobold as support to jump to one side, and gain some distance.
Arianne is a medium-level wind mage, as the three kobolds attacked her, she was able to chant a wind spell, a defensive tornado emerged from nowhere, keeping the Panther in the center, successfully blocking the attacks, but the spell is of short duration only.
-
One kobold leaped towards Arianne and tried to stab her in the leg, but he missed; the panther was too agile for him. Her claws kicked him in the face, cutting him badly.
-
Eriol succeded in what he wanted, his jump made the kobolds to attack him in a row, that way is much more easier to fight a group. He charged back at them, using his sword to easily give a quick and fatal injury to the Kobold's neck.
Arianne was unarmed, and even though she has great agility, she has not the strenght to properly deal with the attackers. One of those Kobolds managed to place himself behind Arianne without her noticing as he blasted another attacker with a wind attack. But before the remaining Kobold attacked Arianne, he received the successful direct attack from Eriol, who threw one of his swords, saving his wife.
-
The kobolds retreated towards the gray figure, who attacked Eriol with its hard clay fists. This artificial being was humanoid, but possessed great strength... it seemed to have a hard time moving, though... as if its power wasn't fully charged...
-
"I don't know what are you, but I will not let you to stop us!." - Eriol attacked the grey figure, it was strong indeed but slow, that gives Eriol an edge, who was able to wound the entity.
Arianne was looking at the fight, not knowing if it would be wise to attack as well, since Eriol is on the way.
-
The gray humanoid staggered back from the blow and fell, not so much because of the attack, but due to a lack of power. Neither of the panthers noticed this, however. The kobolds all broke and ran.
Before anyone could examine the body of the gray humanoid, it burst into intense flames, which died down only seconds after it started burning, leaving nothing but fine ashes behind. Whoever or whatever had sent that... thing had intended for it to disintegrate upon failure of its mission, it seemed.
-
"so guys, when do you think we should start getting ready for the dinner?" asked Jake "it's good to be prepared you know"
-
"We should start getting ready now" Rhiga told Jake, who had just arrived. "The dinner won't be ready for a while, but they will start offering refreshments soon. Minna is still getting ready."
-
"okay, although i do have one question" said Jake "how should i dress? should i dress human or dracon for the occasion?"
Jake had never been to a special dinner like this before so he needed advice to get ready.
-
"You should keep your shirt on, but don't use footwear." Rhiga said, while stretching her arms over her head. "If you wish to dress lighter, you can join me, Minna, Isla, and some others for a massage after dinner" the female added. "But during the dinner, keep your shirt on, please. I will be wearing my top and loincloth during dinner... I would advise Sasha to do the same. This isn't like a family dinner, where everyone dresses only in loincloths..."
-
"I'm definitely keeping my shirt on" said Jake "i'll keep my shoes off too, i'm going to a room to go and get ready for the dinner. see you later"
Jake walked through the garden and down the corridor until he came to a set of rooms that had numbers on the doors, Jake looked at three different doors
"123....125....127" thought Jake to himself "129, theres my room"
Jake unlocked the door and walked inside.......
"man" said Jake out aloud "palace vacation rooms are like a house!"
-
Vaeri went to check on the guests to see how ready they were.
"Jake? Are you ready? Dinner isn't done yet, but I've been told by the staff that appetizers will be served soon!"
-
"great!" said Jake "i'm still a little hungry, i'm looking forward to seeing what kinds of appetizers the rich eat, but first i have to shower and get changed.........."
-
"Go ahead, Jake" Vaeri told him.
Meanwhile, Adykon was telling Rex and Sasha about one of his old war stories.
-
"that is an interesting war storie you have there Adykon" commented Rex
-
After Adykon had told the stories, he looked around the room. He saw Vaeri, Isla, Minna, Rex, Sasha, Selturma, and some others. Eriol and Arianne were still out buying clothes but might make it back in time for dinner. This meant that the one who was missing was-
"Jake!" Adykon shouted in the direction of Jake's room. "Are you ready yet?"
-
"almost!" yelled Jake back, Jake was still combing his hair so he looked neat......instead of looking messy like every other day...
-
"Do you need some horn polish?" Selturma asked Jake through the door.
"Uh... Selturma? It doesn't work like that for humans..." Vaeri told the young female.
-
"........" thought Jake, Jake continued combing his hair; when he finished he walked outside to where the others were. "are we all ready?" asked Jake
-
"Dinner isn't ready, but some appetizers are there" Adykon said. "Let's go. Jake! I'm sure you look good enough!"
"They're serving meat dishes and some salad!" Vaeri added.
-
"yum!" said Jake "i love meat!.........is it raw?.......if it is...i don't want it...."
-
"It is rare, but cooked" Adykon said. "Are you ready now?"
"Remember Jake, no footwear! I know that you like it, but this is a formal party at a Dracon noble's palace!" Vaeri added.
-
"i left my shoes inside" said Jake "i doubt i will get glass in my feet, heh"
-
"And don't try to cheat and wear those... Adykon, what are those cloth things called?" Vaeri said.
"Socks." Adykon told the dancer.
"Thanks. Don't use those either, Jake!" Vaeri added.
-
"i won't i won't" said Jake "are we going to go now? i'm hungry"
-
"Come down here and eat the appetizers, Jake. They are already set up for us!" Adykon said.
"We will sit at the table soon" Vaeri added. "For now, we can stand and eat."
-
Jake ran over to the appetizers, he picked up one that looked like it was well cooked, he ate it
(trying to hold in vomit) "that didn't taste too good...." said Jake "i might wait until dinner.....that way i know what it is.."
-
"That was cooked saurus meat." Adykon told Jake.
The sauruses were a species of dinosaur like pack animals which could carry a human on their backs with ease... or a Dracon. Essentially, they were like smaller version of hadrosaurs. When they were not needed for ploughing or transport, they could be slaughtered for food!
-
(trying to hold in vomit again......lol) "i think i'm gonna be sick......" said Jake
-
"Well, Jake... Saurus meat is an acquired taste." Adykon said. "I guess that your mother never cooked it much. It is perfectly edible for humans, though."
-
"it tastes gross!" said Jake "are there any drinks here?"
-
"We have some over here" Adykon said, gesturing towards a group of drinks which were sitting on a table.
-
"great!" said Jake "i need a drink to get rid of that awful taste" Jake picked up a drink of water, he drank it "ah that was good" he thought to himself
-
Just then, Vaeri accidentally knocked over a small glass of water, but she caught it with her toes. She was very quick indeed...
"See Jake? If you had been wearing footwear, you could not have done that" she told the human.
-
"i can't even do that without footwear..." said Jake amazed at how Vaeri caught a drink with her toes
-
"Are you sure? Let me see your foot, Jake. Are human toes really as short and weak as I have heard?" Vaeri asked him. She wondered how a race could develop without useful digits on all four limbs.
-
"my toes are short" said Jake "i have never needed to use them to catch a glass, heh"
-
"Oh. You have five of them... and they are short and weak. No wonder you want to hide them under clothing... you don't even have claws on your feet!" Vaeri added, clearly not getting that humans and Dracons were not alike in this way.
-
"human biology is alot more different than a dracons" said Jake "we were not created by magic"
-
"Yes, but even creatures which were not created by magic in our lands have claws... besides, those 5 little stubs on your foot aren't really useful for anything..." Vaeri said.
"Now, now Vaeri" Adykon said. "I'm sure that human toes have some purposes... Sasha seems to like rubbing them... maybe they are there to serve the purpose of stimulation?"
-
"erm......that is incorrect Adykon" said Jake "Sasha likes to get her feet rubbed after walking alot.......they are not used for any kind of stimulation"
-
"Well... maybe they are used for balance, then?" Adykon suggested.
-
"yes they are" said Jake "arn't your toes used for balance?......oh wait you use your tail and toes"
-
"Our toes and tail are used for that" Vaeri replied, "And our claws help us to climb, and give us traction, as well as a means of defense... however slight. Some of us can even fire a bow with our feet!"
-
".........................." thought Jake, but he replied "you dracons sure are strange sometimes..."
-
"It is how we were created, and how we developed. Most things in our society developed in response to our biology, our environment, or by necessity." Adykon said. "Some things were adopted from outside sources as well."
-
"heh, just goes to show that beings created by magic can do some strange things" said Jake
-
"Strange... that depends on one's point of view. We Dracons find it strange that you dress your females in so much clothing, Jake. Why do they do it? Do the males of your race force the females to wear excessive clothes?" Vaeri asked Jake.
-
"we don't force them to do anything" said Jake "we also treat females as equals"
-
"Well... I'm sure that that is the ideal among some of your kind, Jake, but I know that human females are also treated unequally, although, not like we treat our females." Vaeri said.
-
"depends on where people have grown up" said Jake "if people have had a bad life, they mistreat others..."
-
"Even the rich mistreat others, Jake. Even when they have been given a very good life by most standards" Adykon added. "It is sad, but true."
-
"that is not good" said Jake "it's bad to mistreat others..........anyway, i'm going to go outside for a bit; i need some fresh air"
-
Meanwhile Ilsa walked around the palace, she wouldvperiodically look ay a list she had made for herself..
-
Jake left the others and he walked outside, there was a slight breeze
"the wind feels nice" thought Jake to himself "it's been a while since i have felt cool refreshing wind"
-
"Hold up Jake' Sasha said, I'll come with you.."
-
"okay" said Jake "you can come if you want; i was just coming outside for some fresh air"
The two humans walked outside into the garden
-
" so how did your classes go today?' Sasha asked, taking Jake's hand in hers. "Mrs Tannus is even stricter than I remember, she smacked my wrists with a ruler when I was late answering a question.."
-
"ouch" said Jake " i knew she was strict but....i never thought she was that strict"
-
"Maybe I was just slow today, and she was having a bad day.." Sasha shrugged. " Are you slowly getting caught up?'
-
"i've caught up in alot of my school work today" replied Jake "i work really fast, the quicker i work the quicker i get to relax"
-
But are your answers RIGHT?' Saha looked at her friend. "you may be smart Jake, but you're not THAT smart.. You're the type that gets Bs and Cs on tests.."
-
"i know i know" said Jake "i know that at least 70 percent of my answers are right........i think...."
-
That still leaves about a third of them wrong. " Sasha was a very bright girl.. she usually goy As on her tests.. although if she got an A- here and there, she wasn't disa[pointed in that.. " You need to bring that percentage down to about 5%..
-
"heh, you think?" asked Jake "i don't think so?"
-
Yeahm you need 92% for an A Jake.. Do you know whow you are doing in your classes?" Sasha asked. "I've got a lolot of ground to make up but I should be able to get As in most of my classes by the time the schoolyear ends..'
-
"i think at the moment i'm sitting on a B for this term in maths" said Jake "but i should be doing better in other subjects, i hope...."
"that is good Jake" said Sasha "starting off with a B is good, especially after being gone for around two months on an adventure"
-
A servant then arrived in the garden to announce that dinner was served! The main dining hall was now open for the guests, including the adventurers who had been in the lost city, as well as Arianne, Eriol's wife.
-
"yay!" said Jake "come on Sasha, let's go!"
Jake and Sasha ran through the garden, ran through some of the corridors and then they arrived at the dining hall.
"this food looks delicious!" said Sasha, A servant walked over and he took Jake and Sasha to a table. Rex and Selturma were already seated there.
"hi guys" said Rex. "hey Rex" replied Jake
Jake and Sasha were then seated
-
Minna guided the procession into the room, which was filled with delicious food and drink, from the four cornersa of the Empire. Marcus and Rhiga had places prepared from them, as well as Adkyon and Vaeri..
-
Strictly speaking, there was no Dracon "Empire" as such, but it was fashionable for some of the rich the refer to all lands in which the Dracons were a majority to be part of an "empire", as the dream of many nobles and all Dracon kings was to rule over all of the Dracon lands as a great world power...
The guests started to sit down at the table, but they weren't all gathered there yet.
-
"i wonder when everyone else will get here?" thought Sasha
-
Isla took her seat near the head of the table.. She nodded friendly at Minna, and in turn acknowledged her friends..
-
Eriol and Arianne were in route back to the castle, they were quite silent at all. They did found the things they needed for her, but the combat was unexpected and too strange. He had time to tell Arianne more about the adventure they had when going to the Lost City, and the enemies along the way.
They finally got into the castle, and the guards let them enter again. They went to the main hall, waiting to see any familiar face.
-
"Come on in! Dinner is being served, you should take a seat before they are all gone " a servant said " Follow me please.."
-
"Eriol! Arianne!" Rhiga said. "You both look so... silent. Are you okay?"
Meanwhile...
Adykon took his seat at the dining table. Vaeri sat next to him. "You think my horn are polished enough, my love?"
"For the sixth time, yes. You look great." Adykon replied.
-
Isla meanwhile helped herself to some of thev food, each guest would take thier portion of each of the foods, if they didn't want any of that particular food they would simply pass it down to the person sitting next to them..,
-
"so what are you ordering for dinner tonight Selturma?" asked Sasha "i'm going to order some meat with wheat" (OMG it rhymes!)
"i think i'll order that too" said Jake "i think that it tastes great"
-
"We've got all the food to satisfy your needs, even if you are a picky eater.. " Minna said.. "The kids are too young for wine.. would you like somethjing else?'
-
"We aren't ordering food, Jake... this is a formal dinner, not an inn" Adykon told the human youth. "Nevertheless, you may take what you wish, and as much as you wish."
Adykon found it best not to mention that although the meat contained beef, pork, mutton, veal, and some of that saurus meat... some of it also included horse meat, which the Dracons had no problem with...
-
"later on, i'll sneak over to the wine and alcohol, heh heh heh" thought Jake to himself, he said "umm, i'll just have water"
Jake knew that when he was going to get some of the acohol, he had to make sure that no one could see him. he would wait until all of the adults were.......wasted (drunk)
-
"Water it is, then. Saelturma, REx, what would you like?
-
"i'll take water as well" said Rex "i need to keep hydrated
"i'll also have water please" said Sasha kindly
-
Rhiga led the two panthers to the dining hall. Clearly, something had happened to them when Eriol went to get some more clothing for Arianne...
Vaeri passed some of the wine to Adykon at the table. The main course was still yet to be served, though.
-
"i'm going to go up and get a small piece of meat" said Jake "does anyone want me to get them something while i'm up?"
-
Minna passed down a jug of water. "Pour yoursellves some water, and pass it downm others may want some too...
_
"Hace you tried some of the appetizers..?' Isla said to sasha
-
Theres plenty of meat on the table, said a guest next to him. "Look at the boar right in front of you! Or can you not see!"
-
There was a lot of meat at the table... several varieties in fact, as well as wine that was sweetened by honey.
Most of the guests sat in chairs like humans typically did in this day and age... but Isla, Minna, Rhiga, and some other guests had couches set up that they could lie on. They would be able to lie on their stomachs and reach out to take the food.
-
"i can see just fine!" said Jake back to the guest
"umm i havn't tried any of the appetizers yet......Jake told me that he ate something that made him almost vomit..." said Sasha
-
"You should take some of the salad if you are afraid of exotic meats" Adykon told Sasha. "It is essentially made out of the same kind of food that humans eat." Adykon was telling the truth, although some of those plants looked a bit odd... it was still totally edible in any case.
-
"okay, i'll take some of the salad" said Sasha, she reached over with a bowl and she put some of the salad into it. she leaned back and she placed the bowl of salad in front of herself. "this looks good"
-
The Dracons covered much of their food in an odd fish sauce that had a lot of salt in it... humans didn't seem to like it very much, and it was only something that the rich could afford in these parts... maybe the middle class could afford it for special occasions. There was also a lot of honey used to sweeten the wine...
-
"These foods are completely safe to eat, they have all; beeb specially prepared' Minna said. " There is more than enough for everyone..
-
Sasha got some of the salad onto her fork, and she put it into her mouth
" :x " thought Sasha, but she continued eating it. she thought that it was rude to take food and not eat it, she continued to eat....at a very slow pace
-
"Here, take some bread" Adykon told Sasha, seeing that there wasn't too much in the salad that she liked. "It is the same as humans eat. It is made of barley, not wheat, though. I know that some humans eat barley-loaves..."
-
"thanks" said Sasha, Sasha broke up the bread and she put it into the salad. she mixed it in and she ate the salad "putting bread in salad may be strange but, it makes this salad taste better"
-
"If you don't like the salad, try some of the dumplings" Said a female Dracon sitting next to Sasha.
-
Rhiga lay down on her couch and reached out to grab some fruits. She had led the panthers to the dining room, and was now ready to eat and relax... Marcus was still not here at this time, but he had told her that he would be busy... He would probably show up soon enough.
-
"Thank you Rhiga for leading us here." - Arianne said. As both Panthers arrived to the table, they were shown their seats.
"We are sorry we are late, but we had problems." - Eriol said to the rest of the people there. The Panther is waiting for the moment to talk, he didn't want to just possible ruin the whole dinner.
-
No need to apologize.. please sit and help yourselves " Isla said. "Mmm. this phesant is deelicious.. try some.."
-
"It's no problem" Adykon said. "If something happened to you, you should tell us. I was expecting there to be some repercussions from our actions during our recent adventure..."
-
Eriol and Arianne looked at each other for a second, then Eriol said - "When we were going to the trading post, we were attacked by a group of Kobolds, just like those that were in the Lost City, they just suddenly appeared out of nowhere."
"But that is not all..." - Arianne added. - "there was also a very strange grey humanoid creature with glowing green eyes. I have never seen anything like that before."
Eriol nodded to what his wife said - "It seemed that those kobolds that attacked us had that entity as leader. Why they did attack us? I don't know, but there may be more."
-
"I'm not sure, either" Adykon said. "Perhaps that gray creature was a servant of Arcantas, and before he died, he gave it orders to avenge his death. Those were his kobolds, I am sure..."
-
how big was the creature? and what did it use to attack you?' Isla asked..
-
"The creature was about your height Isla, but it mainly used the Kobolds to attack us. At one time, he used it's claws to fight for itself, but the attacks weren't too fast." - Eriol replied, trying to recall details of what he saw.
-
Jake returned to the table, he was holding a small plate with beef and pork on it. he put a piece of pork into his mouth "this pork is delicious!!!" said Jake "does anybody else want some?"
-
"Oh, pass me some!" Selturma said. She liked pork.
"Me too, please" Adykon said. He then turned to the panthers. "It sounds like the two of you were fortunate to have been able to beat an opponent so easily."
-
Jake handed Selturma and Adykon some pork. "would you like some Sasha and Rex?" asked Jake. "sure" said Sasha and Rex. Jake handed the two some of the pork, there were only two pieces of pork left now....
-
"I am glad too, Adykon. They may have been just desperate last group of that crazed magician Arcantas." - Eriol said, as he also grabbed a piece of Pork brought by Jake.
"Selturma, can you lend me that salad please?" - Arianne said, her face is a very relaxed one. - "Still, Eriol and I have faced worse things together." - She smiled at her husband, Eriol smiled back at her, while still eating that piece of pork.
-
Jake was now left with one piece of pork.........
-
If Arcantus is concerned, nothing is ever easy" Isla said, giving them a look. ' You two were lucky to defeat that thing,still, who knows what damage it could have caused?"
-
"i hope dinner is ready soon......." thought Jake "i'm starting to get really bored.........maybe if i say i need to go to the bathroom i could take my time that way when i come back dinner will be closer to being ready!"
everyone at the table were still in conversation, Jake stood up and he started to walk away. "Jake! where are you going?" asked Sasha. "i need to go to the bathroom" lied Jake. "oh okay" said Sasha. Sasha turned her head and she continued chatting with Rex and Selturma
-
It was then that Marcus came in Followed a line of cooks carrying the main course.. "Here it is everyone! Dig in!@
Marcus said, setting down a huge turkey..
-
Jake stopped walking, he turned around "dinner! at last!" thought Jake as he rushed back to the table. "i thought you said that you needed to use the bathroom?" said Sasha confused. "erm..not anymore.." said Jake as he sat down.
-
Rhiga and Marcus were now sitting next to one another. Rhiga gave Marcus a loving look. She knew that it was time to make the formal announcement.
"Everyone. I have something to say." Rhiga announced. "Marcus and I are getting married! Everyone here is invited to the wedding at the end of the week!"
-
There was a great outpouring of applause.. "Congratulations! Cheers to the bride and groom! and the like were heard..
-
Everyone in the room clapped their hands in approval for Marcus and Rhiga. "congratulations Rhiga" said Sasha while clapping her hands still. "yes, congratulations Rhiga" said Jake and Rex
-
After the announcement, the people at the feat continued eating their meal. Then, when they had finished with the main course, they brought out dessert. Some servants also began setting up tables in the next room...
-
"these desserts look fabulous!!!" said Sasha while eying all of the different desserts. "they look so good! i could eat them all!"
"i doubt you could do that Sasha" said Jake "some of them are not intended for humans to eat at all.......trust me on this..."
-
The party began to eat the desserts. Some dishes included honey cakes, sweetened wine, milk with sugar and cream mixed in, and fruit, among other dishes. Some dishes were better to eat than others... at least for humans!
Many of the females were also getting ready for a massage after dinner, which would be held in a common room. They would be seated on tables right next to each other, and could spend the time talking and relaxing. Anyone at the party was welcome, but mostly it would be female.
-
in the middle of the table was an enotrmous mutlitiered cake, which covered half the table...
-
"mmmm......these honey cakes are delicious!" said Jake "i've already finished two!!!..........i want more!!!" Jake got up and he went to get another honey cake to eat.
-
You don't neeed to ask" Isla said from her position at the table.. This was probably the richest and most food her friends have ever eaten.. well most of them anyway..
-
The cake was indeed large... and sweet! There would be more than a few upset stomachs that night... some of the guests were overindulging in their feast!
Some servants were also preparing a warm bath in a large pool in another room...
-
"All of this food is just amazing. Thank you for everything." - Arianne said, as she hadn't even finish one of those little cakes but Jake has eaten a lot of them.
Eriol went closer to the window and began looking at the exterior. Looking at nowhere in particular.
-
It had been 10 minutes since Jake had gotten up to get another honey cake.........Sasha looked to see where Jake was and she noticed that he was getting lots and lots of the Big cake. Jake came back to the table.
"you sure that you can eat all of that?" asked Sasha "i know that i couldn't.........". "yep" said Jake "i can finish this"
10 minutes later....
"no more......" said Jake pushing away the cake "i can't take another.....(trying to hold in vomit)..bite....i'm starting to feel really sick......"
-
Rhiga rose and asked "Is it time to relax yet? I've just eaten a big meal and would like to take a 'rest.' Marcus will give me a rubdown while the rest of you are relaxing with your own attendants. "
-
"If you wish to retire to your chambers, please feel free" Minna nodfded. "You've worked long hours today Marcus.. as a gift I'll give you the day off tommorow.. perhaps you can serve as a guide in your free time..'
-
"Thanks Minna, but I would like to relax in the common room while all of you are being massaged. This won't be a private thing... plenty of time for that later!" Rhiga said, looking at the room with the massage tables being set up.
-
"i might go for a massage" said Sasha "it would be nice to get a really good back rub........Jake can you come too, i would really like you to give my feet a rub....if that is okay by you..."
" :blink: " thought Jake, but he replied "erm........you do know that there are going to be topless Dracons in there..........."
"i don't mind" said Sasha "they are all girls like me". "i didn't mean that...." said Jake "i don't think i would feel comfortable being surrounded by dracons..."
-
"Oh come on, Jake!" Selturma said. "The females in your adopted family all go topless when they are at home with you, and you don't mind that, right?" They had talked about this earlier, in the lost city.
-
"fine......i'll go....." said Jake, Jake knew that he could not win this argument......so he went with Sasha and the other females to the room with the massage tables.
-
"Family members are one thing, other people, it may make things different." - Eriol said - "Not that I am helping Jake to go in there."
"Well, maybe I would like a massage too." - Arianne said as she got nearer the other females.
-
"Are you coming, Arianne?" Rhiga asked. "You might be tense after that fight... it could be good for you to relax... Don't worry, you can dress however you want... and if you want towels to wrap yourself in, that can be done as well..."
"She's coming" Selturma told Rhiga. "Didn't you hear?"
-
"Alright then. a massafe en masse it is. Marcus here has womderful hands" MInna smiled..
_
I have a feeling I'm going to be exhausted after this " marcus said, winking at Rhiga with a grin..
-
Jake followed the females into the massage room......
-
"Well, you are all right, I think I need to relax for a bit." - Arianne said.
Eriol looked at his wife - "Have a nice time dear, I'll be around, just in case."
the female panther smiled - "I think the towels sounds like a nice idea for the massage, then I can try some of the new clothing Eriol bought."
-
"There will be one masseuse or masseur per person, Marcus." Rhiga told him. "You will only have to pleasure me..." She said with a wink.
Meanwhile, the servants were also preparing a bath in a large pool in another room...
-
Sasha lay down on one of the tables and she asked Jake to massage her feet. Jake started to massage her feet. "this foot rub feels great!" said Sasha " <_< meh......." replied Jake "the sooner i finish your feet the sooner i can get out...."
-
Rhiga and Selturma each lay down on a table. Next to them were various oils and powders which could be rubbed into their skin.
They would hopefully enjoy this night... as it would be among the last relaxation they would get before something terrible happened...
-
a servant began rubbing oils into SElturma's back. " How does that feel miss?' He asked gently. "Do you want me to go higher or lower?
-
Sasha looked like she was really enjoying the foot rub "ah, this feels really good!". "i'm almost finished" said Jake. "can you keep going for a bit longer?". "only a little bit longer......." replied Jake
-
"A bit lower, please" Selturma said.
Rhiga too was enjoying her rubdown... this could be inferred from her loud moaning...
-
"you are really loud" said Jake to Rhiga, Jake continued rubbing Sashas feet.
-
"Sorry. I can't help it, it feels soo good..." Rhiga moaned.
Selturma was much quieter, by contrast, but the look on her face revealed that she was enjoying it a lot.
-
"okay......" said Jake, Jake returned to rubbing Sashas feet. Jake had been massaging Sashas feet for at least 10 straight minutes now.....
-
Vaeri was also getting a massage. She was enjoying it so much there were even tears of joy and relief in her eyes. The past weeks had been highly emotional and stressful for her...
-
The servant- whose name was Nimbar, moved his claws lower.. moving them in slow circular motions._
Not so loud" Marcus whispered to Rhiga aa he moved up her sdhoulders " you are sounding like you did last night when I was inside you.."
-
"It feels very good" Rhiga said "I can't help myself. I need to relax, not to reign myself in..."
Still, her moaning was loud, but no one seemed to be disturbed by it...
-
"can i finish up yet?...." complained Jake. "not yet......can you massage my feet for just a little longer?" asked Sasha, "no" was Jake's answer. "pl--ease...." asked Sasha like a little child. "only for a little while longer.......being in here with so many dracons is disturbing...."
-
Marcus continued his work.. ignoring to moans which signified the release of tensions..
isla tensed as the servant worked on her legs.. "A little lower please..
-
Rhiga's muscles slowly relaxed... as did Vaeri's and Selturma's. At this point, those females were getting massaged just because it felt good, not because they 'needed' any stress relief.
-
Marcus moved down to Rhiga's legs, while Nimber massaged Selturma's shoulders..
-
Selturma turned her head in Arianne's direction. "How are you enjoying this, Arianne? I know that Dracon females are very sensual, but I know nothing about panthers..."
-
isla was now getting her feet rubbed/. " Now imagine, girls that you get this treatment regularly.. my .. my it is BLISS>."
-
"This is so relaxing, I haven't been able to enjoy a massage for ages." - Arianne said. - "And you know as much about Panthers as I know about Dracons. But at least we seems we share the good taste for relaxing."
Eriol left the hall where they were eating and went to another smaller hall next to it. He found a couch and sat down. - "Just one more week and we are returning home." - He began thinking, not in the mood for more combats.
-
"That would be a dream..." Vaeri said. "This feels so good." Her eyes were shedding tears as she spoke, and her eyes seemed to have a glazed look to them... she was really enjoying it...
-
"Do you want me to rub your feet miss? Nimbar asked SElturma as he rubbed powder into her lower legs..
-
"I should have convinced Eriol to have a massage too. Sometimes his nerves seems to turn into solid rock." - Arianne giggled as she said that. - "And I am afraid my son Isaac will have the same things about nerves when he grows up... he is so small but you can see he is too much like his father."
Eriol was still in the couch. - "*ATCHO!*, Hmmm.... I have the feeling someone is talking about me." - his face is still unemotional.
-
"Well, a massage can relax you quite a bit" Selutrma said, enjoying her rubdown. "Just look at Vaeri and Rhiga."
Rhiga was still moaning as her lower extremities were being massaged, and Vaeri was still shedding tears of joy with a huge expression of pleasure on her face.
"And yes, rub my feet please" Selturma told Nimbar.
-
"i can really feel a cold coming on......" thought Jake "maybe i should finish up and get some rest so i'm not as sick in the morning...."
Jake still continued to massage Sashas feet, he was starting to go slower now because he started to feel worse every minute. "Jake are you okay?" asked Sasha gently. "yes i am..." lied Jake
-
As you wish madam " Nimbar said, now rubbing her ankles , and scrubbing at her feet with a file... Marcus and Isla's servant were doing to the same...
-
"If you are feeling sick, Jake, you can go get a curing potion" Adykon said, arriving at the scene. "The palace's infirmary is well-stocked." It really was; it even had items which could regrow lost limbs!
-
"i'm not sick...." lied Jake, Jake could feel his temperature rise, the sickness might turn out bad if he didn't get a good night sleep
-
"I think you're feet have been rubbed enough, Sasha" Adykon said. "Let one of the servants keep massaging you... Jake seems like he is tired of doing it. We have a servant right here who is very good with feet..."
-
"Misro, take Jake to a tending room, and have him lie down.. " Minna said.. Sasha, don't worry.. I'll have another fill in for Jake while he is lying down.."
-
"okay" said Sasha "Jake, you can leave now if you want". Jake gladly left the room, he knew that he had to get some rest. Jake walked down a corridor that led to the sleeping chambers "193......195.....197.." thought Jake as he walked passed "199! my room" Jake unlocked the door and he walked inside, he took his shirt off and he lay down on his bed. He was so tired and his temperature was starting to rise at a rapid rate and to make matters worse.........he was starting to get a sore throat.......
-
A female servant approached Jake's room and gave him some medicine, as he was clearly not well.
"How are you feeling, young human?" The female servant asked Jake.
-
"not too good......" replied Jake "i'm starting to feel really sick....." Jake started to feel lightheaded.
-
"The medicine I gave you should have you back up on you feet again in a day. "The Dracon servant said. "Are you feeling sore?" She added.
-
He is obviously not well.." said Misro coming in, carrying a plate of bread and a cup of water. "I've brought you something toeat, after you nap for a bit. There is a bellcord by your bed pull on it, if you need anything else. "He said setting down the food by Jake's bedside..
-
"i have a very sore shoulder" replied Jake "it is extremely sore......"
-
"Do you want me to massage it?" the female servant said to Jake, hoping to relax him enough to get him to rest. "I can rub in some soothing salve into that shoulder, and undo any tension there..."
-
"erm.....no thanks" replied Jake "my shoulder should be fine tomorrow........." jake had just lied, his shoulder had been sore ever since he had fought Rex in the arena
-
"Let me examine it, at least" The servant said. "If you have been injured, you should get it taken care of, even if you don't want a massage. My name is Gelca, by the way; I serve as a healer and masseuse."
-
"Let Gelca tend to it.. theres no need to be stubborn.." Misro said...."If that shoulders injured and it isn't taken care off, the injury could get much worse..
-
"Gelca, that's a nice name" said Jake "erm.....it would be kind of awkward for me getting massaged by a female dracon and when i'm not wearing a shirt......"
-
"I don't need to massage it to treat it, not necessarily." Gelca said. "As it is, how do you expect me to treat your shoulder if you are wearing a shirt? If nothing else, I need to be able to reach your back in order to treat it."
-
Take off your shirt Jake.. Gelca is not going to harm you.." He grinned slightly.. "Besides you need to get it treated..
-
(nick, it says in one of my posts that jake took his shirt off when he walked inside...)
'i don't need treatment..." said Jake "i just need rest...". Jake knew that if he didn't get it treated soon, his shoulder would get badly hurt in the next battle he was in....
-
"His shirt IS off, Misro" Gelca said. "That metal part is an arm. So, Jake, do you want me to leave you some salve so you can at least rub it in by yourself? Or maybe when she is ready, we can ask Sasha to rub it in for you?"
-
"erm no thanks......" said Jake "i should really get some rest now so i'm not extremely sick in the morning..."
-
"Just treat him, knowing his type.. he won't do it himself" Misro said looking over Jake with a mixture of pity and curiousity..
-
"Alright. I will leave the salve here, Jake" Gelca told him. "If you change your mind, you can find me in the infirmary downstairs."
Meanwhile...
"So, she is getting married by the end of the week? I need to move fast" Said a figure in the dark dimension...
-
"look, i should really get some rest..." said Jake still arguing with Gelca and Misro
-
"We'll compromise. I'll put the ointment on, but you have to rub it in.. Fair?' misro said.
-
"Okay, Jake. I'm going now" Gelca said. "You know where to find me if you feel worse. I might check in on you in the morning. Hopefully you will feel better then."
-
"there is no way i'm letting another guy put anything on me!' said Jake
-
Gelca was just about the leave; she was standing in the doorway. "You don't need someone else to put it on you, Jake. I'll just leave the salve here, for you. For free. Apply it on yourself if you want to."
-
"maybe later.....' said Jake. Once Gelca and Misro left Jake hopped into bed. he removed his pants.....now he was only wearing boxers...
-
Meanwhile, marcus finished rubbing Rhiga.. and Isla climbed off her coach..
-
Gelca closed the door, and walked downstairs.
Meanwhile...
"Sasha, how are you enjoying this massage?" Selturma asked.
-
"this feels gooooood" said Sasha "ooooo that's the spot!"
-
"Do you have any tension down in your lower back, Sasha?" The masseur who was working on her asked. Previously, she had told him to concentrate on her upper back, neck, and shoulders, as well as her feet.
-
"well i do have some tension around the middle of my back" replied Sasha "you are doing a really great job!"
-
The masseur rubbed lower, to the middle of her back. He could tell by her vocalizations that she really liked it. He could feel the knots disappearing, and her body relaxing. "So Sasha, how often do you get a massage? You seem kind of tense."
-
"Anything else? Nimbarl asked of Selturma...
-
"i only ever get foot massages from Jake, he was the boy that was in here before massaging my feet...." said Sasha "he does do a good job though"
-
"It seems that human females value their feet as a source of pleasure as much as Dracon females do" the masseur said. He was not quite correct in saying this, but then again, Sasha was the only human girl he had ever seen before...
-
"i like to get my feet rubbed to relieve tension" replied Sasha
-
"But tension mostly gathers in the back, neck, and shoulders, not you feet." The masseur said to Sasha. "Still, looking at your feet, I can see why you would need them rubbed often; you don't seem like you were a race that was designed to walk in the desert..."
-
"not at all" replied Sasha
-
"Well, at least you are in 'good hands' now, Sasha" the masseur added. "You should ask him for back rubs as well; the rest of your body needs to be de-stressed too. This rubdown will loosen you up for now, though."
-
Nimbar finished with Selturma.. and allowe her to get up...
-
"that is good" said Sasha "back rubs feel grea-----t!"
-
"So Sasha, you are a sorceress, right? Your power is inborn, not learned?" The masseur asked the young woman. He knew that sorceresses had to keep themselves relaxed in order to cast spells efficiently, so they had gathered a reputation as sensualists.
-
Meanwhile......
Jake's sickness was starting to get worse.....his temperature was rising even quicker than before!!! and his throat was burning like hot lava!!! Jake woke up
"my throat..........." thought Jake, Jake tried to get out of bed but he was moving very slowly
-
"i'm barely a sorceress" said Sasha "i only know a few helpful spells...."
-
Gelca heard that something was wrong; she had been secretly listening just outside of Jake's room. Running into the room, she quickly took out healing potion from a pouch she had; it was NOT pulled out of her loincloth.
-
"hello....*cough*....*cough*" said Jake "i really am...*cough*...*cough*...sick...."
-
Gelca put her clawed hand on Jake's forehead. "You have a fever, Jake. I can help. See this potion? It is a potion of restoration. It can heal or cure all but the most lethal of wounds or illnesses. Do you want me to give it to you?"
-
"yes.....*cough*...*cough*...please...." said Jake "but i doubt........that i could....*cough*....swallow it..."
-
Gelca took the potion, and mixed it with some water in a cup. This wouldn't dilute it, given its magical nature. "Do you think that you can drink the potion now, Jake?" she asked. "It doesn't taste bad at all."
-
"it's not that" replied Jake "i have a very sore throat......"
-
Gelca approached Jake. She didn't try to make him swallow the potion... not yet. "So Jake, you seem like you are almost dressed like a Dracon while you are lying down here, but in the day, you dress much more heavily..."
-
"it must be a coincidence i dress similar to a dracon at night" said Jake "i always dress like this at night....."
-
Gelca held the potion in her hand, it was opened, and the potion bottle was getting closer to Jake's mouth, but the conversation was distracting him.
"Was it hot where you came from, Jake? Dracons dress the way they do because of the hot desert climate. "
-
"a little bit" replied Jake "when i was nine my parents were killed............i wandered the desert......for 3 days....i was found by Rex' family, ever since that day i have lived with them..."
-
The potion was getting closer to Jake's mouth, but he still didn't notice it.
"And at home, how did you dress? I'm curious, Jake; I've never seen how humans act and live at home..." This whole conversation was meant to distract Jake, not to speak of cultural differences...
-
"i dress how your species would" said Jake "but i wear boxers instead of a loincloth...."
the potion was really close to jake' mouth now
-
"You would do this in your human family as well?" She asked him, moving the potion a bit closer to his mouth
-
"no not really" replied Jake
-
"And that 'footwear'... do you humans wear that at your human homes as well?" Gelca said, inching the potion closer.
-
"yes we do.....sometimes..." said Jake
-
Now she would distract him. With one hand, she reached toward his foot, with the other hand, she moved the potion bottle towards his mouth.
"I see. Are human feet ticklish?" Gelca asked. She stroked the sole of his foot with her claws, but was very gentle.
-
"i'm not ticklish at all" said Jake, the potion bottle was now directly next to his mouth!!!
-
Gelca poured the potion down into Jake's mouth! She backed up away from the bed.
-
Jake was laying on the bed, it took at least 20 seconds for the potion to relieve Jake' sickness.
"i feel much better, thankyou!" said Jake "if there is anything i can do to repay you, just ask"
-
"The only thing that I ask is that I can examine you for injuries in your shoulder. I don't know if this potion could have fix that or not." Gelca responded, acting as a concerned healer would.
-
"okay....." said Jake, Gelca walked back over to the bed and she hopped onto it.
-
She felt his back, and detected an injured shoulder. The potion had healed it a bit, but it was still sore.
"How did you hurt your shoulder, Jake?" she asked him.
-
"umm.......misunderstanding" said Jake, he was telling the truth although he didn't say the whole story
-
"Well, in any case, just don't exert your shoulder for a day or two. That potion seems to have sped the healing up quite a bit." She told Jake.
-
"that's good" replied Jake "if you are done.....i would like to get changed....."
-
"Indeed. You should put on your shirt and pants. The party downstairs is formal, so keep your footwear off." Gelca said. "Besides... you humans actually have well-shaped feet, in spite of what some Dracons may say."
-
"okay........" said Jake "erm........can you please get out?"
-
"Okay, Jake. I am sorry for any unpleasantness. I have never worked on a human before..." Gelca said. "If you ever feel sick again, you know where to look."
-
"erm....yeh.." said Jake "now can you please get out?......."
-
Gelca left the room, quickly. She guessed that Jake wanted some privacy when he was putting on some clothes.
-
Jake walked over to his long pants, he picked them up and he put them on. He got his belt and he put that on aswell. last but not least he put his shirt on and he walked outside, he locked the door and he went down the the party.
-
Back at the party, the females were still relaxing.
Selturma finished getting her massage and was taking a nap.
Vaeri was also napping, but only because she was in too much pleasure to move.
-
Sasha was just sitting on the massage table, she told her masseur that he could take a break. Jake got downstairs, some of the Adults were wasted(drunk).
"heh, now's my chance to get some alcohol" thought Jake. Jake started heading over to where all the drinks were, there was water and lot's of alcohol...
-
Adykon approached Jake. "What do you think you are doing, young man?" He told the human youth, who was clearly trying to drink before he was old enough to.
-
"erm....getting some water....." lied Jake
-
"Yes, maybe some water with fermented grapes in it." Adykon said. "Now listen, Jake, getting drunk around Dracons is NOT a good idea... especially female ones... well... in your case, at least. You see... Dracon females are very well-known for their... urges... and few of them would pass up a chance to mate... especially if the male is drunk and not realizing what he is doing..."
-
"oh.......my....god....." said Jake "but wouldn't they realize i'm only 15?"
-
"No, Jake. They wouldn't. They would look for any male who they think can satisfy them, which is pretty much all of them, when they aren't thinking straight. You need to be careful around here..." Adykon told Jake.
-
".......................................you can't scare me!" said Jake "i'll just stay away from the females or anyone else that is drunk"
-
"That will be hard to do, Jake..." Adykon said. Just then, a drunken female approached Jake with two of her friends, wrapped a pink feather boa around his neck, and and said
"I want to $%#^ you tonight!" She was very drunk indeed.
-
"help.....me......." said Jake extremely freaked out
-
Adykon forced the three females away. They were drunk and uncoordinated, and he was stronger than all three of them combined.
"Our females are soft, weak, and hedonistic, but they can be very emotional and passionate. And when they are drunk, they will lose what few inhibitions they have. You see Jake, female Dracons have strong mating instincts because we Dracons need to multiply quickly in order to replace our losses. Often, this leads the females to mate with multiple males over a very short period of time. Their bodies cannot tell the difference between a human and a Dracon, as long as it has a... male part. Most females would be satisfied with mating other species just for pleasure, but none of them speak of it while sober. Although we cannot breed with humans..."
-
"i'm still going to drink" said Jake "but.....i'm not going to get drunk...."
-
"You should avoid the alcohol altogether, Jake." Adykon said. "We Dracons have a very good sense of smell, and even a minor amount of alcohol on you can set a horny female off on you, as she will think that you are drunk and free from inhibitions. So unless you want to be fending them off all night, you should stay away from them."
-
"You are too young to drink anyway" Minna said " And if I catch you drinking Jake, You'll be thrown into the castle dungeons.. to sleep it off, and for your own protection.."
-
Meanwhile...
"The attack was a success, my lord." A kobold said. This particular one was wearing only a loincloth, and had a flint dagger in his hands.
"Good." Said the figure with the glowing golden eyes. "We shall follow up on that front later. First, we need to strike at Adykon. Eriol is an unknown factor, so we need to neutralize him too. We cannot have any uncontrolled variables in our plans... the slightest mistake could ruin our plans..."
"Yes, my lord." The kobold said.
-
"fine, i'll just grab a drink and run off" said Jake as he grabbed a bottle of alcohol, he was really fast without his shoes. he ran down the corridor that led to the sleeping chambers. he found his room and unlocked the door, he went inside and he locked the door.
"cool, i got alcohol!" said Jake in triumph, Jake opened the bottle and he took a sip, "ah, this tastes good! and Adykon cannot stop me from drinking!, heh!". Jake continued to drink the whole bottle. he eventually got drunk and he was lying on his bed.
-
Suddenly the door to Jakes room was kicked open. Minna stood there accompanied by guards. "Take him to the dungeons she said angrily... "I warned you Jake, Now you're going to spend the next few days in prison, and I'll be writing to your parents as well. I doubt they'll approve of underage drinking..." tWo guards grabbed jake by the arms " Come on you" They barked. "Move it.."
-
The Guards dragged Jake downstairs down several flights of stairs , opened a door and flung himi nside.. shut the door and locked it. this room was small, the floor was cold and damp, and the only window was a tiny hole fifteen feet above jake's head. the bed was a small pile of hay tucked away in the corner.. the door was made of solid oak , hard and thick. "You'll be soending the next three days in here, until your parents can pick you up.. I think you'll prefer being in here after they're done with you.." The guard said..
-
A messenger was sent from Minna's castle to find Jake's parents, or adoptive parents, as the case was. Jake's adoptive father was away at war, so the one getting the news would be his adoptive mother... she wouldn't be too happy to hear it, but it is a lot better than if Jake's adoptive father had heard it... that was for sure.
-
'Make sure he gets food and water.. " Minna said to the guards. "Yes Milady. We sent a messenger to his parents.. His father may be away.. '
_
Make sure his father gets the news as well, wherever he may be.." Minna said firmly..
-
"you can't hold me here!" yelled Jake even though he had drank alcohol, he could still manage to think clearly. "if i use alchey on the doors i could get out..........but what should i do about the guards?......." Jake thought about this for a few minutes....... "i know! i'll just knock them out!" Jake walked over to the bars of his quarters in the dungeon and he placed his hands over them...."heh, freedom here i come!" the bars turned into a pile of dust. Jake ran out of the dungeon....he came across two guards.
"hey you! halt!' yelled one of the guards as he charged at Jake, Jake jumped over his head and kicked him in the back....the guard fell. "wanna piece of me?!" taunted Jake, the other guard backed away. Jake ran through the dungeon and up the stairs, he ran through the corridors of the castle and out into the party.
-
Jake was free from the prison, but not from the consequences. While the guards might just let this incident slide... his parents would not. Adykon saw Jake in the party. The mercenary had heard about what had happened. Adykon approached Jake...
"Jake, you had best go home now. I'll come and meet you later. I don't think that it is wise for you to stay here..." Adykon told Jake. "I'll bring you your stuff if you leave anything behind."
-
'no thanks" said Jake "i'm staying here! no one throws me in a dungeon and get's away with it!" Jake was showing extreme anger and frustration..........he must not like being in dungeons (lol)
-
"Jake, if you cause a fight, you will be thrown in a dungeon for a lot longer than three days." Adykon said. "You can always work this out with Minna when you see her at Rhiga's wedding... using words Jake... not violence... or dirty tricks."
-
Minna saw him, Gestured at Jake, and magical chains appaeared on his hands and feet. "My powers are stronger than yours jake" She said firmly as Guards ran up and seized him. "I'm now going to add to your punishment for trying to escape. I will not allow underage drinking, and you must accept your punishment.. indeed what your parents will do to you is probably worse.." She turned to the guards. take him back to the dungeons, I authorize you to use force if he tries to beak away again..do not kill him, but subdue him..."
_
The guards dragged Jsake back down stairs and put him in another cell. this time they put magical collars on his neck, hands and feet, and chained him to his bed with strong magical chains.. transmutation wouldn't work on pure magic..
-
(isn't that a kind of bondage???)
"let me outa here! NOW!" yelled Jake "when i get out of here minna will pay!!! and dearly!!!" Jake was now extremely frustrated, luckily for him he had a........mechanical arm.....
Jake yanked on the chains with his arm, he managed to break it. he continued to break all of the other chains with alachemy. Jake was now enraged! he was ready to kill anybody that made him tick. Jake ran out of the dungeon and up the stairs back into the party. he still wasn't fully sober yet......
-
Before Jake could do anything stupid, Adykon knocked him out with a blow from the flat end of his sword.
"Take him home... and fast!" Adykon said to Gelca. "Hopefully, he won't remember any of this in the morning... you know how to get to the house, right?"
"Yes, Adykon. You gave me good directions." Gekca replied. "I'll take him home... poor guy."
-
Minna sighed.. "Get him out of here" She ordered.. "Jake is barred from ever setting foot in my castle again.."
-
(Those chains are supposed to prevent you from escaping.. you can't just get up and walk out of prison meta.. its supposed to be a punishment)
-
Gelca took the still-unconscious Jake out of the castle grounds... Adykon would return Jake's shoes and socks the next morning...
Meanwhile...
"Look how they fight amongst each other! They are so poorly disciplined, most of them! All they think about are their cravings and their inflated egos! There is no way they can stop us. I'm amazed that they can even function, master!" A deep voice said in the dark dimension...
"Yes, but if they ever pull themselves together... they could be a danger... look what they did to Arcantas..." The mysterious presence replied.
-
Minna, still angry at what had transpired, sat down in a chair..
_
Better lie low for a bit" Isla said to Sasha and SElturma " she's not in a good mood..
-
"Minna? Are you feeling okay?" Selturma asked the pissed-off noble. "What happened? Is there anything that we can do to help?"
-
" I caught Jake drinking alcohol, and sentenced him to a few days in a dungeon as punishment.. he escaped. I had the guards put him in another cell, and put restraints on him so he couldn't escape again.. well he managed to get them off and get out again. Adykon here knocked him out, and I threw Jake out of the castle. He will never set foot in this castle again...' Minna sighed. "Is he always this spoiled Selturma/ Do his parents never discipline him at home?"
-
"I just moved in with his family, Minna. I wouldn't know. Jake seems to care a lot about getting his way... then again, so do some Dracons..." Selturma replied.
-
Bad actions have consequences' minna said. "He broke the rules, he must accept the punishment..since he is now out of my hands I will tell his parents what happened and they can can deal with him..
-
"Good idea" Selturma said. "There really isn't much more for you to do, then..."
"He is still invited to my wedding though" Rhiga said. "I haven't led a good life myself, so it would be kinda hypocritical of me to bar him from attending... Good thing that it is being held in a temple, and not this palace."
-
You are of course allowed to invite whomever you wish. Rhiga.. however I will still require an apology from him.. he deeply offended me with his behavior.." Minna said..
-
"Jake has caused me trouble once before. I was totally relaxed after a night of intense lovemaking with Kravik, and he knocked me out of my bliss the next day when I was sunbathing. He splashed me with water..." Rhiga told Minna.
-
'He needs to curb that inconsiderateness of his.. one day it is going to get him into really big trouble.." Isla said. "not spending a few days in prison, much worse than that.."
-
"That boy is trouble" Vaeri said, joining the other females, sitting down.
"He needs to learn impulse control." Adykon added, sitting down behind Vaeri, using one hand to gently scratch her back in a circular motion.
-
If he tried to do that in battle, he'd get his head chopped off" Isla said darkly.. "and if he wants to join the army, well I'm not sure his maturity right now will allow him to live very long in battle, and being disagreeable is not the way to win friends and loyalty.."
-
"I think this goes several steps beyond disagreeable" Adykon said. "More like... insolent and self-centered."
"He needs to relax more" Selturma said.
"You say that about every male..." Rhiga replied...
"And it's true!" Selturma responded.
-
Well said" Minna replied. "Disobiendence in the army gets you hanged.. at least that is how my father's forces operate. Insolence is not tolerated at all, backtalking gets you severe punishment..I'm not sure the humans like it either.."
-
"Why do you think he acts like that?" Vaeri asked Adykon.
"It could be that he doesn't respect his foster parents." Adykon replied.
-
Jake was dropped off at his house, his mom ran to the door to see what was going on. "Jake?!" said Vaesa with shock "why is he unconcious?". "he was drinking underage and he was causing problems" said one of the guards. "i'm sure that Jake wouldn't purposfully cause problems" replied Vaesa "he never get's a chance to relax and enjoy himself...............". "that is too bad, underaged drinking is illegal" replied the other guard. Before Vaesa got to say anymore the guards left. Vaesa dragged Jake to his room, and she put his matress and blankets on the floor. Vaesa picked Jake up slightly and she placed him onto the matress
-
The females moved from the room with the masseurs to a room with the pool of warm water. Adykon stayed in the same room, but did not join them in the pool. He was content to watch them relax...
-
"Or they let him get away wirth stuff like this.. in which case they are doing him a disservice.. do you think the army is going to put up with this kind of behavior? No, they won't.. this kind of behavior gets soldiers killed.."Isla replied as she climbed into tgthe pool..
-
Sasha had heard all of the comotion outside.....
"poor Jake......." thought Sasha to herself "when he finally get's a chance to relax he blows it....." Sasha climbed into the pool too, Rex had already left to go and get himself a drink and some food. "ah, this pool is relaxing....." she thought to herself
-
Arianne was not seen in the pool, but then again, she was a panther... those creatures did not necessarily like water... of course, she might have still been getting a massage, so it was possible that she would simply join the rest of them later...
-
Meanwhile...
Jake was tossing and turning on his matress, the effects of alcohol were taking it's toll on Jake. Jake was starting to get restless, he eventually woke up. "ah, my head hurts........" thought Jake "what the?! how did i end up here? i remember running into my room at the palace and drinking some alcohol..........." the realization struck him, "i.....barely even remember what happened........i remember breaking out of the dungeon.......i think i did that? or was it a dream?.........................."
-
Adykon decided to join Vaeri after all. He entered the pool and relaxed with her, although she was clearly enjoying it way more than he did... way more than he ever could, in fact!
-
Jake managed to get out of bed, "i need to go back to the palace to get my shoes and socks.........(yawn)". Jake walked outside into the hallway to see his mom standing there. "you have been disruptive at the castle it seems..." said Vaesa. "how have i been disruptive? all i did was grab a bottle of alcohol and go to my room?". "i'm afraid it's worse than that...." replied Vaesa "you escaped Minnas dungeon twice! you knocked out one of the guards and you destroyed one of the holding chambers!". It all came back to him now, he remembered being chained to a table....chains were on his arms and legs...."but they strapped me to a Table!" said Jake in frustration "they used chains!". Vaesa didn't get a chance to say another word, Jake stormed off outside into the streets.
-
"Oh, crap!" Adykon exclaimed, getting out of the pool.
"What's wrong, my love?" Vaeri asked him.
"I need to go return Jake's clothes. He might be sober by now and he is sure to come looking for his shoes and socks here!" Adykon said.
-
he is not to enter the palace" mInna said scowling, and getting out of the water.. "Go get his things Adykon .. "
-
Adykon ran to get Jake's shoes and socks. He then ran downstairs holding them, past Selturma, who had left the pool of water to get a back-scratcher for herself before returning to the water.
"Ugh! Those clothes smell terrible!" Selturma said.
-
Jake arrived at the castle, he saw all of the guards...."they probobly won't let me in........" thought Jake. Jake sprinted over to one of the castle walls. "a little bit of alchemy will do the trick" thought Jake, Jake got some sticks and some of the rocks that were lying on the ground. Jake pressed his hands to them, he had made a grappling hook! Jake looked at all of windows and he found the window that was to his room........well the room that used to be his....he released the grappling hook. "perfect shot!" thought Jake, Jake started climbing up the grappling hooks rope. within 10 minutes he was inside the castle. "where are my shoes and socks?......."
-
Get out' Isla said seeing Jake. " If Minna sees you, Jake, You'll be spending Years in a personally made cell. not days, not weeks, not months, YEARS.. She's already pissed off at you..
-
"what?!" said Jake "i only drank a bit of alcohol and i get punished!" Jake was not seeming very happy
-
You're not old enough to drink alcohol Jake, you have to be 18 to drink it.. and you escaped from your cell twice. that lengthens your penalty" Isla explained. "Minna ghas barred you from ever coming here again..
-
Adykon ran out of Minna's palace with Jake's shoes and socks, taking them to Jake's house. He left them by the front door, knocked on the door, and quickly left; hoping to get back to Vaeri and the rest as son as possible.
-
"okay......." said Jake "but she owes me an apology! i was drunk i didn't even know what was happening!"
-
Adykon ran back to Minna's palace, glad to be rid of that footwear... he had never noticed how much those articles of human clothing could stink... especially to a creature with a strong sense of smell... like a Dracon.
-
You are the one who owes her an apology.. Its illegal to drink underage, she told you not to do it, and you did it anyway.. She has every right to punish you.. You want to join the army right.. well your actions tonught are not going to sit well with them, and if you behave like this as a solider, your time as one will be very short. Goofing off gets people killed Jake.. and they will hold you responsible if that happens.."
-
Jake wasn't even paying attention "anyway.....gotta go!" Jake jumped back out the window and he sailed all the way down using the rope from the grappling hook. he did this because Minna and Minnas guards came into the room
-
Just as Jake climbed out of the window, Adykon saw him drop down, losing his grip on the rope! He tried to catch him, but he was only partially successful; Jake fell on Adykon's arm, but luckily neither of them were injured.
-
'ignorant little fool.. he's going to get himself killed with an attitude like that" Isla said, as the guards rushed out of the rooom after him..
_
I am placing him under house arrest' Minna said angrily.. " he may not leave his house1 I banned him from entering here, and he sneaks back anyway.. Adykon has his shoes.."
-
"let me go!" said Jake, Jake jumped out of Adykons hands and he ran off
-
Minna may have been a noble, but she had no power over Jake; he was not on her father's estate, and even if he was, SHE would have no ability to put ANYONE under any sort of arrest, because females had no right to wield that kind of power... they couldn't even own land...
In other words, her bluff was toothless.
-
"Milady, you don't have that authority" The guard reminded her. "No, but my father does..' Minna said.. "After all this IS his property. and Jake did trepass on it..I may not be able to put Jake under house areest by myself.. but my father certainly does, and I'm fairly sure he will agree with me on that action.." She said entering the palace again..
-
The best her father could do was to press charges against Jake at the King's court. If successful, there could be action against Jake... but, given Jake's status as a youth... there was less that they could do... and Jake was not under the direct jurisdiction of Minna's father, so he had no direct authority over Jake... but he could still take some action...
-
Jake was running down the dark streets of minthebec feeling angry....frustrated....annoyed....and upset because he was chained to a table earlier on. "grrrr! this sucks!" yelled Jake as he sat down on a nearby bench "i'm not aloud to go anywhere!......almost...." Jake picked up a rock and he threw it up and down catching it with his hand
-
No actions had been taken against Jake at this time, and were unlikely to materialize, as long as he stayed away from Minna's Palace in the future. Jake was not under house arrest...
-
Within hours a " ceases" order was nailed to the door of Jake's house, listing, as per custom, the charges against- underage drinking, illegal escape, and illegal entry.. 'While the child is a youth and not directly under my control.. I wil takes steps to ensure he does not set foot in my house again" the note read. "any future greivances he causes against, me will be met with severe punishment, as the KIng's law provides..
-
At Minna's palace, a second party was scheduled for the next night... and Jake was NOT invited. This would be a much smaller affair, limited to relaxing in a pool of water while being offered refreshments... not nearly the same feast as there just was... this was held to make up for the disruptions caused by Jake's actions...
-
'Enjoy yourselves everyone" Minna smiled. "Eat drink, and above all else..RELAX.."
-
It was now the day of the second party. All of the Dracons who had been at the party the night before, plus Sasha and the panthers, were there.
-
It had been half an hour now, Jake had calmed down.......only a little bit though, and he was still sitting on the bench. "this is so stupid........" thought Jake "the one time i actually let myself relax....i get punished.......from now on i'm not going to relax....ever!" Jake was becoming angrier every second he thought about the events of the night. "yaaaaaaaaa!!!" yelled Jake as he started punching the bench, two dracons were walking by and they hurried along because they thought he was crazy...
-
marcus walked around, passing snacks to female dracons. ' Would you like something miss?' He asked vaeri..
-
"Oh, yes please. I'd like a honey cake, if you have one." Vaeri responded.
"I'll have one too." Adykon said.
-
"Of course" Marcus smiled.. handing them out.. "Fruit cakes anyone. Miss Selturma? Mister Rex?' he laughed..
-
"Okay, I'll have one" Selturma said, bouncing up and down in the pool.
That girl was very enthusiastic...
-
"i'll take a honey cake too" said Rex
-
Its good to see so much energy' Marcus said, patting her on the head as he gave her a cake.. then he handed one to rex as well.. "Drinks anyone?" he continued walking around the pool..
-
"I'll have a drink, my love!" Rhiga said, bouncing like Selturma was... great... now that habit was contagious... still, Rhiga's nude body cut a beautiful figure in the water... very nice to look at...
-
Compose yourself my dear" Marcus smiled handing Rhiga a drink.. they were working on a string of mating sessions that had reached fiour the night before.. Rhiga had been wonderful as usual..
-
Rhiga did not want those sessions to end... she still did not know that she was with child... she was still a week or two away from even beginning to feel anything, or to show any signs...
-
Marcus playfully rubbed her back, while holding a drink in his other hand.. "in a few days my dear, you will be my wife" He said softly..
-
"I know, and I LOVE IT!" Rhiga said, with a huge smile on her face. "I love you, Marcus, she said as she turned in the pool to give him a hug, her naked flesh pressing against him.
-
"Just climb in Marcus.. I'll take over serving drinks' said mIsro to him. Marcus Gave Rhiga a tender kiss.
-
"Adykon, come in." Vaeri said, playfully. "This water is fine..."
"Be there in just a moment" Adykon said...
Meanwhile... in a dark dimension...
"We have only days left. Are you ready?" A deep voice said.
"Yes. Tell out master that the spells will be prepared in time, and that if everyone does what they are supposed to, nothing should go wrong." Responded the being with the golden eyes.
-
Marcus Undressed and climbed in the pool. "Only rule here is.. no mating in public " Minna said, grinning.."Selturma and Rex are still underage and don't need to see that..
-
"But there's no rule against foot massages, is there?" Rhiga said, smiling and lifting her right foot out of the warm water, playfully wiggling her toes in Marcus's direction. She had a big smile on her face.
-
You'll hsve to wait in line" Marcus cracked, as Isla laughed in response. "You have a sense of humor Marcus.." she grinned..
-
Rhiga found that funny as well, and she kicked her feet in the water as she laughed. She was having a very good time at the party.
-
"Misro passed out more food and drinks.. "If anyone would like some hot food, I'll go grab some..
-
"I'd like some" Vaeri said.
"Yes, I would also enjoy a bite or two" Selturma said, too relaxed to bounce up and down for once.
-
It'll be a few minutes, but the portions are big.. " Misro said.. "I'll be right back.."
-
At that time, Eriol and Arianne entered the room where the pool is.
"Greetings everyone. Look who I managed to get here." - Arianne said cheerely as Eriol walked in the room too.
"Hello, we thought that we cannot miss the party... so we came here." - Eriol said too, as both Panthers went to get some chairs.
-
Misro handed them cakes a drinks.. "Here you go.. I'll be right back with the hot food..
-
Jake was still punching the chair, after 10 minutes of that he stopped. "my knuckles hurt..." said Jake as he examined his bleeding knuckles on his left hand...."i damaged my metal knuckles as well....." Jake decided to sit down on the bench "why does life have to be so hard!!!" said Jake in frustration
-
"Are you two going to relax in the pool with us?" Selturma asked, still to relaxed to bounce as she normally did...
"Do you panthers even like water?" Rhiga asked, curious.
-
By all means, join us' Isla smiled. "The water is warm, and very relaxing.."
-
"i'm going to get something small to eat" thought Sasha as she climbed off of the massage table. she walked outside of the poolroom and she walked over to the foodtrays........there was only a few items left now, there were; some cookies left and some of the cake.....but it had vomit on it.....
-
Rhiga saw that there were some massages being offered as well as the pool. She got up out of the water to get a back rub, as well as some work done on her feet and tail... she wanted to get rid of any stress she had before her marriage to Marcus...
-
We'll get that cleaned up " A servant said to Sasha, handing her a handfulof warm cookies, fresh from the kitchen.." He smiled, as the servants whelled away the cart threw away the ruoined cake ans cleaned the cart..
-
Sasha ate one of the cookies, she thought that it tasted so good!. Sasha walked back into the pool room, "Rex! Selturma! would you like a cookie?" asked Sasha "i went to go and get some cake but.....it had vomit on it so a kind servant gave me these cookies"
-
tHe servant came back with a handfu; of cookies,. 'Take one and pass them down please' hE said..
-
Meanwhile...
Jake got up and he decided to go home, when he arrived his shoes and socks were there. "at least i have my shoes and socks now..." thought Jake. Jake picked up his shoes and socks and he walked inside. It was getting late....he decided to go to bed, he took his shirt and long pants off. He picked up his blankets and matress and he put them back onto his bed. "(yawn) i woonder what's going to happen tomorrow....." thought Jake "i probably don't have friends anymore....." Jake hopped onto his bed, within 10 minutes he was asleep.....
Back at the castle...
"it's getting late, i should probobly go to bed" said Sasha
-
Good night everyone Minna said.. getting out the pool, and getting dressed " i'll see all of you in the morning.."
_
rEady to go, my dear " Marcus said to Rhiga..
-
Sasha decided it was best to go to bed "good night everybody.....(yawn)" said Sasha. Sasha walked away from the pool room and past all of the drunks at the big party.
-
"Good night." - was the reply both Panthers said to the unison.. After that, Arianne came closer to the pool and sat down in the border, wetting her feet. Eriol came back with two drinks, one for her and one for him. He sat down next to his wife.
"My wife and I were talking about our plans." - Eriol said, as he drank a sip of his drink.
"That is correct..." - Arianne added. - "we will return home after Rhiga's wedding."
"We need to return. I know our son is in good hands, but we still need to come back for him as soon as we can." - the male Panther finished the idea.
-
"Well, feel free to hang out in the pool, until you head in" Isla said, as she got out of pool..
-
Sasha arrived at her room, she unlocked the door and went inside. "better lock the door so drunks don't randomly come in" thought Sasha as she locked the door. Sasha removed her top and loincloth and she hopped into her bed.
meanwhile in the pool room...
"this is beginning to become boring....." thought Rex
-
"But we still have our little issue with this killer I've been pursuing." - Eriol said - "He thinks he killed Arianne, even though he wanted to kill me and my son... so I guess he'll return to our homeland too... to finish the job."
"At least I am alive, we will find a way to get ready to face him next time he appears." - Arianne replied.
"I don't want that to happen, I want to take him down before we get home." - Eriol said, finishing the whole of his drink in just one sip.
-
Rex got up and he stretched. "i'm going to leave now..." said Rex
-
"Good night Rex." - said Arianne with a gentle smile. Eriol nodded and said good bye as well to the young Dracon.
-
The party continued on for some time. Eventually, it was time to go. Marcus and Rhiga has plans to make, as did the panthers, as well as Adykon and Vaeri... although the plans of each of the last couple did not coincide... Adykon planned to leave Vaeri, while the dancer intended for Adykon to raise his son and be a father to all of her children, those born and those yet to be hatched...
-
Marcus retired to his chambers, where he waited for Rhiga to join him there.."
-
Rhiga indeed joined him in his chambers. Once she was sure they were alone, she threw off her loincloth and top, and leaped into bed, giving Marcus a loving look.
-
'Round 5 then? Marcus smiled, as he joined her in bed, and running his paws over her breasts,, kissed her on the lips.
-
Rhiga lay back, and put her toned legs around Marcus's sides, and put her clawed hands on his back, scratching it gently. She would enjoy this...
-
Marcus moved his body in tune with hers.. " a few days more, my love.. its is close now..." Marcus was completely unaware that Rhiga was pregnant with his child.. and he would not discover it, for some time to come..
-
After what seemed to be an eternity of intense lovemaking, the two Dracons fell asleep, totally satisfied for yet another night... Rhiga slept very deeply. When the morning came, she would be relaxed for the whole day, unless something got in her way... she had really enjoyed this night...
-
Marcus stayed awake for a little bit. Having mated with Rhiga now five times, he had a better grasp of her. Rhiga was a passionate lover, and it wasn't her soft kissable red lips, or her large, soft, touchable breasts which he found the most atractive about her. no, his favorite moment was the very act of lovemaking, when he placed his intimate area inside her, and feeling a feeling of utter bliss, THAT was what he enjoyed the most..
-
Rhiga was totally insensate. Her eyes were still glazed over and filled with tears of joy, her mouth shaped into a wide grin with drool trickling out of her mouth, and her muscles slack with pleasure from the recent lovemaking session. Her breathing was soft, but her breasts could still be seen rising and falling in a gentle, rhythmic motion as she lay there utterly satisfied.
-
"Should I tell her she drools on herself after we mate?' marcus thought to himself. "No, I won't do that.." He leaned in, and gave Rhiga a short kiss, and then rested his head against the pillow facing her..
-
Rhiga only showed such signs of relaxation after the very best mating sessions... when her desire was at its peak as her love was there for her when she wanted him! As it was, it was not uncommon for some females to do this... her hormones and emotions were more complex than Marcus's after all...
-
marcus soon fell asleep wit Rhiga in his arms. The feeling od peace her felt with her next to him,was nearly indescribable, it was a clear and strong feeing'this is the one", and each mating session had only solidified ythat feeling inside him..
-
Rhiga was unable to respond in any way, but she felt safe, warm, and protected in the arms of her lover... this was a wonderful situation for her to be in. Other times, mating would be initiated at an inn. Frequently, her lust was built up, so all it took to get her to mate was a male who put his hand on her leg and stroked her the right way... sometimes, a hand on her buttocks would do the same!
But this behavior was considered promiscuous and excessive by the standards of many races... this time, she was in a situation that most races could identify with...
-
Isla climbed into her bed, and relaxed in there for awhile.. before nodding off to sleep. the last few days had been fun, and tommorow promised more of the same..
-
Selturma went home with Rex... it had been a good party indeed, but she needed to get some sleep that night... tomorrow was a school day for her!
-
Minna was in bed shortly after reaching her room. She had a lot of planning for the wedding left to complete..getting the priest, for one..
-
Rhiga's toes twitched in her sleep. This was a reflexive sign that she was still getting through the aftershocks of so many contractions... she had really felt good from all that... and her muscles were still needing to cool down... when she awoke, she would feel better than she ever had before.
-
"let's go Selturma" said Rex "we have school in the morning"
-
Selturma and Rex went home, where they met Jake. Selturma quickly wished the boys goodnight and went to sleep.
Meanwhile...
"Is everything ready?" The presence asked.
"Almost, my lord" The figure with the glowing golden eyes responded...
-
Vaeri and Adykon went back to their room. Adykon went to get some food, but Vaeri went to go take a look at herself in a mirror, as she had no such glass at home and wouldn't get the chance to look at herself again in such a way.
Once she was certain that she was alone, she undid her loincloth, took off her top, and let her nude figure bathe in the moonlight. Looking in the mirror, she observed her pale white belly, her brownsh-red skin, and her small yet shiny horns. She bent over to touch her clawed toes; an easy feat for one has flexible as herself. She hadn't seen her reflection so clearly in a very long time...
Vaeri then turned her tail towards the mirror, inspecting it for any dead scales or blemishes, relieved to find none. She then turned around to see her back, which was colored the same as most of her skin, reddish-brown; she also saw her posterior, which was colored pale white as well. Sitting down on the bed in her room, she lifted up her right foot, looking at the pale white sole to check for any splinters or sores, and found none. She did the same with her left foot and also found nothing. She did, however, remove a tiny pebble which had gotten stuck to her middle toe on her right foot.
She knew that she was still in good breeding years. Getting up again, she checked her large, round, white tiotleglas, and felt that nothing was amiss. She had heard stories of females who had died from cancer which originated there... she was grateful that this was not happening to her. Last, but not least, she lay down in front of the mirror to check her... femalehood... and was happy that she couldn't find anything was visibly wrong with it.
Loathe to put on her itchy burlap garmets, Vaeri lay down on the bed and stretched out, letting out a long sigh of relief as she did so.
-
A servant knocked on Vaeri's door. "miss Vaeri, Her Ladyship has tasked me with finding you a new set of clothes..I've got several different sets here. May I come in? She directed me to give you your prefered clothes.."
-
Sasha woke up and realized that she had slept for too long at Minnas castle. "oh no! i better get home quick!" thought Sasha as she got out of her bed and put her top and loincloth on. Sasha unlocked the door and she walked out, she turned around and locked the door before she began walking down the hallway to the front gates. "excuse me....can you please unlock the gates for me so i can go home?" asked Sasha. "no problem miss" replied the gate guard, he opened up the gates "thank you!" replied Sasha as she bolted off towards her home.
-
Vaeri put her garmets on and opened the door. "Oh hello!" she said. "You are here to give me some clothes? What kinds do you have available?"
Meanwhile...
Selturma couldn't sleep that night. She was tired, but it wasn't quite her normal time for bed. She got up, stretched, put on her loincloth, and went to the living room. She lay down on a couch, lying on her stomach, her knees bent behind her, her feet moving back and forth, slowly.
-
Sasha arrived home....it was now 1:30 in the morning
(knock knock knock)
"(snoring....).......huh?..wha?...." said Sasha's dad confused, he got up to answer the door. he opened the door to see Sasha "you're home late" said Sasha's Dad, "i know...." replied Sasha. Sasha's dad told Sasha to go to bed so that she wasn't tired in the morning to go to school.
-
(soz, post repeated)
-
Selturma saw Rex in he room, and walked over to him. He was sitting down, barely awake. She sat next to him, gave him a small hug, and lightly ran her claws over his back using her left hand, giving him a back scratch. The two of them were dressed in their home clothes... and were all alone in the living room; everyone else had gone to sleep.
-
"oh hello Selturma......(yawn)" said Rex "aren't you tired?........(yawn)"
-
"I am tired" Selturma said, "But I also feel strangely restless at the same time. Could you rub my back, Rex? It always helps me to fall asleep. Maybe you could use some oil or powder while you do it..."
-
I've got a lot' The servant said coming in and setting diown five different sers of clothes. These were all made of high qualitym they put Vaeri's clothes to shame..
-
"i'll go get some oil then" said Rex "i think there may be some in the bathroom" Rex got up and he went to go and find some oil that he could use to massage into Selturmas back. Rex was still sleepy he was searching through some of the cupboard........he found some!. Rex grabbed it and he closed the cupboards. Rex returned to Selturma "i found some" said Rex
-
"Great!" She said, bouncing up and down, but only for a moment. Selturma took off her loincloth, stretched, and lay down on her stomach. "I'm ready, Rex. Just rub it in me... if you could rub your hands in a circle, that would feel really good on my back right about now..."
Meanwhile...
"I'll take these blue ones. What are they made out of?" Vaeri asked.
-
Silk" The servants said. " Handmade by artisans in Wicchia, top quality clothes. You'll be dressed like a noble beast in this.. My mistress spares noi expense for her guests.."
-
Vaeri was amazed. Wicchia was a smaller Dracon city... more like a large town really. It lay on a trade route between the cities of Naushindcalgoa and Taoulmuansi, and was known for taking raw silk produced in lands controlled by the former, processing the silk into cloth, and selling it to the latter.
"Thank you very, very much!" Vaeri said to the servant."
-
tHe servants noidded placing the other four sets on her bed. " There are hangers in the wadrobe over so you can put the other clothes in there.. he motioned to the four silk dresses. "put the blue dress on, and I'll go get rid of these burlap clothes " He said.
-
Vaeri closed the door for just a second while she changed. After a short time, she gave the burlap clothes to the servant. "Please, give them to a temple, or to someone who may want them. I find that wasting any resource, even clothing, is bad."
The light blue silk clothes fit her well, and felt much more comfortable, in addition, they were a bit tighter, but not at all uncomfortable.
-
'Will do" The servant nodded and taking the loincloth and bra with him. "Good night madam.." he nodded and walked away..
-
Vaeri walked back to her mirror. She looked at herself. Her skin was soft... heck, her whole body was very soft... but she knew that it could easily harbor tension. She called for another servant. She wanted to have some of that powder rubbed into her... she had heard from Rhiga that it got rid of tension and refreshed the limbs of the one who had it massaged into them.
-
After the party, Eriol and Arianne went back to their bedroom and in the large bed it was given to them. They spent the night talking, making plans, having some romance too. They love each other, they missed each other, they craved for each other. But Eriol is still feeling uneasy.
"He is still out there, he may come back again, that's why I want to take him out now." - He said.
"I know Eriol, but that family war has lasted for too long already and we have no clue where he can be, but we are safe here, we should enjoy the second chance that have been granted for us. We should enjoy this time." - Arianne replied as she leaned her head in Eriol's chest.
"A second chance... I like how that sounds." - the male Panther smiled as he placed his left arm around his wife and kissed her.
-
Vaeri lay back on her bed, as she waited for the servant to bring her some powder to have rubbed into her...
Just then, Adykon entered the room. He saw that Vaeri had a new loincloth and top.
"Did you get those from Minna?" he asked.
"Yes, indeed, my love." she replied.
-
"no problem" said Rex "just tell me how you would like to be massaged"
-
"Start in my upper back and rub in a circle, please." Selturma responded, positioning her back in a way where Rex could easily reach it. She grabbed the couch with her claws, eagerly awaiting the good feelings.
-
Rex put some of the oil onto his hands and he started massaging it into Selturmas back, he could tell that she was enjoying this from the noises she made. Rex then began to massage in a circular like motion. "how does this feel?" asked Rex "you must really like the feeling?"
-
Selturma had no words... just a long, loud sigh of relief... she slowly closed her eyes, stretched out her limbs, and put her head down on the pillow. After a minute of massaging she managed to say a faint "thank you" and then fell asleep on the couch, feeling very good.
-
Rex got up from where he was sitting and he returned to his room and he lay on his bed. After a few minutes Rex slowly......fell asleep.
-
Meanwhile...
The presence was walking through the palace... he saw his trusted servant relaxing herself... when she should have been carrying out his plans... again. She was lying on a table, naked, with two kobolds walking on her back, two more rubbing her feet, and another one massaging her scalp.
He would let it slide for now... she had been a good servant for him... especially in light of the Arcantas situation.
-
Jake was struggling to sleep, he kept thinking about the events that had occurred at the party. he wished that he had taken Adykons advice.....
-
Meanwhile...
The priest had received word that a wedding was to take place at his temple. He ordered the necessary preparations to be made and for a new set of robes to be ordered before the ceremony was to begin... unfortunately, he would never get the chance to perform it... even as it would take place.
-
Jake woke up. "damn....." thought Jake "if only i took Adykons advice.......". Jake got up and out of his bed. he wanted to get a drink of water, he walked outside and through the living room. he walked past a naked sleeping Selturma....."dracons are strange...." thought Jake. Jake arrived at the kitchen, he got a bucket of water and he cupped his hands together and he placed them under the water; when he brought them back up he drank the water. Jake walked back through the living room "better get her a blanket...." thought Jake, Jake walked over to a cupboard and he got out a blanket, he placed it over Selturma. Once he had done that he walked back to his room and hopped on his bed......he fell asleep after 10 minutes of laying on his bed.
-
Selturma woke the next morning feeling relaxed... and wondering where the blanket had come from. Stretching, she went to put on her loincloth. She wondered what was for breakfast around here... she could see that Vaesa was already up and preparing food for her many children.
-
"good morning Selturma" said Vaesa "looking forward to breakfast? this morning we are having pork" The pork that Vaesa was cooking looked absolutely exquisite
-
Selturma took a seat at the table, sitting cross legged. The table was round, smooth, blackish-blue, made of stone, and low enough to the ground to sit on large cushions, as there were no chairs set up.
-
Jake woke up to the morning....."ahh the light it burns!" thought Jake, Jake got up and he closed the curtins. Jake was still wearing his boxers
-
Selturma looked around the dining room, taking in the details. There were several other cushions, each of which were colored in the same shade as the table. The pot Vaesa was cooking the pork in was black and smelled of salt and spices. Bread was also readily available.
-
After quite a pleasent night, Arianne woke up, but she found herself alone in the bed, after watching at the rest of the bedroom, she saw Eriol exercising his body. She got up and went where his husband is - "Good morning my love." - Eriol stopped his exercises and greeted his wife with a kiss. - "Good morning, did you have a good sleep?."
"Yes, it was just marvelous." - he said with a gentle smile as she remembers last night, she then stopped for second her daydreaming. - "So, are you going to try and have some breakfast?"
"Just give me a little bit and I'll go with you." - Eriol finished his exercises and then he went to wash. The bedroom did have a place for visitor to wash themselves in privacy. After a little while, both Panthers got fully dressed and went to the kitchen to see if they can have something to eat.
-
Soon, all of the children were gathered there... including Rex, Jake, and Selturma, plus all of Vaesa's children... of all those there, only Jake and Selturma were not her children, but she treated them with the same love and affection. Selturma was not an adopted child the way Jake was, but she was well-loved just the same by the family... especially Rex...
-
Misro soom, knocked on her door. " You wanted a rub miss?' he asked.
-
"With the powder, yes, please." Vaeri responded.
Adykon and Vaeri smelled the powder before they saw it...
"If you are going to be relaxing in here, I will go do a chore, Vaeri." Adykon needed to get his armor repaired... luckily, this was also offered by Minna. The blacksmith in her palace could not only repair it, but it could also make the armor even stronger than it had ever been in the past.
-
Akright, just lie downm and I'll start rubbing your back...' Misro said, tking lots of powder out..
-
Vaeri removed her new clothes and lay down on her pale white belly. "Make sure to knead my entire body... I want to be as relaxed as possible before I have to return home..." She knew that she might not get this chance again...
Dracons were much like Dragons in their sensuality. Dragons, for all their power and intelligence, were still guided by instinct more than by their mindset and willpower, and were prone to hedonism, greed, pride, and territoriality. Dracons were much the same way. Specific mating practices such as roaring when in the act and biting the female on the neck were sometimes practiced by the Dracons; the former was nearly universal, the latter, not at all uncommon.
-
"So it is pleasure you seek" Misro replied, beginning to rub her back..." We are creatures of pleasure" he smiled, as he rubbed powder into Vaeri's back..
-
Misro was correct, at least, as far as the females were concerned... they were a lot more carnal than the males... this often worked to their disadvantage...
For males, desire was something that could be turned on and off, almost like a switch. When a male was at work, he generally was in control of himself, and at home, he could cut loose with his female(s)...
But for the females themselves, desire was always on, constantly... the only difference was to what degree it was operating. It was not like a female Dracon could not resist the advance of a male; they often did. It was just that in doing so, they would have to either fight against their desires, or that the male was somehow undesirable to them in the first place.
As she lay there, enjoying yet another massage, Vaeri thought of all the hard times which had resulted from her promiscuity. It was very easy for Dracons to mate... especially at an inn or a temple. After her dances, she would take a seat at a table at the inn she was dancing at... usually the the bar of the inn, and she would be topless, or, more rarely, nude. While the more considerate males would approach her and speak to her, many of the would simply sit next to her, and stroke her leg... or her rump.
Sometimes, this would lead to her slapping the male's arm away... but more often than not, she would move her arm to caress him in return. Then, without saying a word, the two of them would run off to a room in the inn which had been payed for, or rather, would be payed for when they were finished with it, and they would mate, and rest afterwards... often, when she woke, the male would be gone.
This caused her hardship in that she never knew who the fathers of her children were. She could not insist that the father be responsible, for she had no idea of who to look for... until Adykon came along, that is. Vaeri knew that she was to blame for these things.
Dracon culture encouraged this sort of behavior. Females had few other jobs available except for weaving, dancing, massaging, a few others skills, and working as a subordinate to their husband in a few select crafts, such as pottery, or basket-making. As a result, there was a tremendous oversupply of dancers, maids, and waitresses. This, in turn, drove wages down for these jobs, as there was always replacements available for them.
Life on the farm was scarcely better than in the cities. Farming was supposed to be, in the Dracon's minds, a life in which the forces of nature were to be turned to their race's advantage. Males were expected to plough the fields in the day, and their wives at night, so to speak. In order to provide labor and to maintain the house, the female was expected to bear children as quickly as possible. This was not the problem, in Vaeri's mind... not at all. The problem was that there was no money in any of it for the farmer's wife... not so much as a copper piece. The females had no claim to the land they lived on, and as such, were not entitled to any of the money which could come from the harvest.
Still, it was a much cleaner life than an inner-city slum... and Adykon had wanted to own a farm. Vaeri could still dance, and still mate after a desirable male expressed interest in her... only, she would be married to him, and they could live their own lives, away from all these wars, and these adventures, and all this misery of the slums...
-
Her Ladyship has told me to tell you that you are free to stay here as long as long as you please, and if you should come through town again, don't be afraid to stop by.." Misro said as he rubnbbed a blue powder into Vaeri's skin..
-
Jake, Rex and Selturma had all finished their breakfast. "come on guys, we gotta get ready for school" said Jake as he rushed off to go get his long pants and shirt on.
-
"Ohh... what is that blue powder, Misro?" Vaeri asked. "Is this the same kind of powder that you gave to Rhiga? It feels very ni..uhh..." Vaeri was too relaxed to continue talking, but she let out several more moans and groans, signifying the release of stress and tension from her body.
-
Eriol and Arianne got breakfast in the palace. After that, they decided to take a closer look at the different places of the palace.
"I'd like to go see the Armory." - Said Eriol.
"What for? you have enough weapons and spare arrows. Maybe we should go see the Chapel." - Arianne replied... and insisted. Eriol just sighed and they both went to visit the Palace's Chapel.
-
The chapel of the palace was not big by the standards of Dracon temples. Regardless, it had the standard altar, statue, candles, statuettes, and incense burner that were standard in Dracon religious places.
Minna's father grew incense on some of his plantations, and was one of his more valuable products. The copper which went into the bronze statue in the chapel also came from his properties.
-
Jake returned five minutes later, he was hopping on one foot trying to get his other shoe on. "we're gonna be late!" said Jake
-
"Well, maybe if you didn't put so much clothing on, you wouldn't take so long getting dressed!" Selturma said to Jake. She really didn't get it.
The young female grabbed her supplies for school, put them in a bag, and left, wearing her new top and loincloth. Rex followed behind, as did Jake, who was still trying to get that shoe on...
-
indeed it is, it is a very soothing anbd elaxing powder.." misro nodded.. "it takes away stress almost immediately
-
Vaeri could only give a low, long moan of approval as she continued to relax. Having been massaged so often in the past few days, her body had very few knots and kinks to work out.
Meanwhile...
Selturma, Jake, and Rex headed to school.
-
Sasha finished geting ready for school, she farewelled her mom and dad and she rushed off to school, she met Jake, Rex and Selturma along the way. "hey guys!" said Sasha
-
The four youths went through the city, passing by neighborhoods filled with merchants, dancers, workers, beggars, and a surprising amount of young children; the result of many soldiers returning from a war several years ago and spending some time with their females for the first time in years...
Eventually, the reached their school, which was a large boxlike building made out of red sandstone. Shaped like a square, the structure had glass windows at regular intervals, and was three stories tall. The stone was smooth and cool, yet it was not at all slippery; perfect for Dracons to walk on.
-
(good post)
A group of Dracon teens, older than Jake, Rex, Selturma and Sasha approched the youths.
"heh, you got rid of those embarrassing 'sandals'" said one of the Dracons clearly mocking Sasha. "%$#@ off!" said jake "leave her alone!"
-
"If her sandals were the problem, why are you making fun of her?" Selturma said to the teenager. "Sasha doesn't have them anymore! I gave her a potion to keep her feet cool. What is wrong with you?"
The youths were still in front of the school; they were still several meters from the wooden doors leading to the interior.
-
(i'll brb in 30 mins to an hour)
-
(Okay, that's cool)
Dracon schools were reserved for the rich and the middle-class; the poor and the working class could not afford to pay for the education, since there was no public education in their lands. Children raised in temples received an education in the temples themselves, and many rich families hired private teachers.
The curriculum for the Dracons was similar to that of humans; reading, writing, math, history, and physical education. Dracon schools separated boys from girls in the gym class; the boys focused on strength-building and speed, while the girls were taught gymnastics and dancing. Music was also taught to both boys and girls, but those classes cost extra...
There were only a limited number of teachers and classrooms; each class had in excess of 50 students, seated in a large room, often sitting on cushions in front of a small desk. Many of the teachers were female, except for math and the physical education for the boys.
Each day lasted roughly six hours, with an hour for lunch. Food could either be brought in, or was sold to the students for a low price. The food at this school was average in quality, and largely consisted of dried meats, chickpeas, bread, and dried fruits, usually dates. Dracon girls often took a short nap during lunch as well; sleeping mats were provided for that purpose.
And, much to Jake's relief, the children were expected to wear a full set of clothing for most classes, although girls who were in gym class or taking a nap could wear little or nothing.
-
"i find humans disturbing" said the dracon "they wear so much excess clothing......even in the desert!". "as it turns out, i find dracons disturbing" replied Jake "your kind wear barely anything at all!.....no offence"
-
The males at the school generally wore shirts, pants, and undergarments, but no footwear; these were 14 years and older. Females only wore a loincloth and a top... it was kind of unfair that Jake said they wore almost nothing, at least, when it came to the males. For the females, he was absolutely correct.
-
"that is only the females you stupid human!" replied the dracon. 'i'm not stupid you dumb ass!" said Jake in frustration. "heh, you're human" said the dracon "we are superior to your kind!"
-
Dracons could often be condescending, especially when it came to comparing themselves to other races... they believed that their draconic ancestry made them "natural superiors" to other races...
-
"erm.....your species was made with magic...." said Jake "you have human and dragon DNA....". The dracon was starting to get irritated "Dragons are alot more superior than humans, heh that means we still are superior! because we have dragon DNA!"
-
Jake learned the acronym "DNA" from a mage who visited his school and explained how the Dracons were made.
"You must be one fragile human, Jake" The Dracon said. "You need all that clothing to keep you safe from... whatever it is you humans are afraid of. Sasha has the right idea, for once." He said, shifting his weight from one clawed foot to another. "I can't believe a female isn't afraid to walk on the ground, while you are still covering yourself in those... things on your feet."
-
Jake was ready to punch this dracons lights out.....but he restrained himself...."i wear shoes because wearing less clothing is not human like.....besides Sasha wears dracon style clothing because she has lived in dracon lands since she was 4 years old!"
-
"That means you haven't gotten as strong as we are you weak hu-" suddenly, the bell rang. It was time for class.
"Crap. We'll finish this later, Jake." The Dracon said.
At least Jake could keep his shoes on in most classes...
-
"come on guys, let's head off to class" said Jake, Jake knew what the dracon was about to say......except he let it go, but if the dracon said that he was weak later on.......i would hate to be that dracon...
-
The students filed into the classroom. Selturma sat on a cushion in front of her desk and made herself comfortable. The floor of the classroom was made of sandstone, and was very flat and even. The first class of the day was history...
-
Jake moaned "i hate history....". "don't think like that Jake" said Sasha "you learn about lot's of interesting facts". "i don't care.." said Jake "history feels like it takes years to finish...."
-
The teacher filed into the room as the class quietly settled down. He was a slightly older Dracon, but this could not be told by looks alone. The red-skinned teacher was dressed in a white shirt with a red lining, and matching pants too.
"Can we all settle down, please? Thank you. Jake, what did I tell you about tracking dirt in the classroom? You can wear those shoes, but make sure they are clean first! Otherwise, don't bother wearing them here!"
The teacher set his books down and prepared his lesson.
-
"sorry" replied Jake looking embarrassed, Jake got up and he removed his shoes. he walked outside and he cleaned off all of the dirt with his hands, once he had done that he put his shoes back on and he returned inside. "all clean" replied Jake as he sat back down.
-
"Today class, we will learn about the history of magic, and the many varieties in which magic comes." The teacher said. "Can anyone tell me what is the difference between a wizard and a sorcerer?"
-
Sasha put her hand up to answer the question, isn't a sorcerer one that can cast spells, and a wizard uses potions?". Sasha didn't know the difference, she was guessing
-
"I'm sorry Sasha, but that is incorrect. Wizards treat magic like a science. Anyone with enough skill, intelligence, and willpower can become a wizard, no matter who they are. Sorcerers, on the other hand, almost always have to be born with these powers, which usually manifest around puberty. Sorcerers treat magic like an art, and it is instinctual for them. Sorcerers view Wizards as cold and overly uptight, while Wizards view Sorcerers as dangerous undisciplined and unemotional."
"Now, can anyone tell me the difference between an enchanter a magician?" The teacher said, continuing. "I'll give you a hint; a magician is also called an artificer in some places."
-
Rex put his hand up to answer this question "an enchanter can make almost any item or thing have the effect of life, and a magician performs illusions"
-
"You are partially correct, but that is only a limited amount of what they can do." The teacher said. "An enchanter places spells on other objects, living or inert. The enchantment causes something to change in the creature, whether it is size, shape, color, texture, or even change what the creature is. A magician, also called an artificer, has no magical powers in himself, but is skilled at using magical artifacts to make spells."
"Now, before my lecture, I will ask one more question... what is a lich?" The teacher asked.
-
jake put his hand up "an undead wizard?"
-
"Correct, or at least, an undead mage of some sort." The teacher said "A lich is created when a spellcaster has himself killed and his soul hidden in a magical vessel called a phylactery, which may be just about anything. It is usually well-hidden and protected by spells, as it gives the lich the ability to reconstitute his body if it is destroyed. A lich can be destroyed, but only if the phylactery is destroyed first, or at least, before the Lich has a chance to regenerate his undead form."
-
"oh, okay then" replied Jake, Jake leaned over to Sasha and he whispered in her ear "this lesson is going to take for ever....."
-
The lesson was long... the names of various famous mages were recited, the major accomplishments of this order of wizards and that sorcerer... etc.
Finally, history class was out and it was time for gym! Jake and Rex went down one hallway, Sasha and Selturma went down another one.
-
"good....finally history class is over!" said Jake with relief "now it's GYM class". "that's correct Jake" replied Rex "i'll race ya!", "your on!" replied Jake, the two bolted down the hallway
-
The two boys ran down the hall, with Rex coming in first. They knew that they had to change for gym. Today would be a very good day indeed; they were sent to run in a track around their schoolyard, and the girls were be in the schoolyard practicing gymnastics... a very nice sight to behold, indeed.
-
Jake and Rex finally arrived at the locker room, Rex won the race. "you win this time" said Jake, "heh, and i'll win again!" replied Rex with a smirk on his face. Jake removed his long pants and he put on his shorts. Rex had already done this.
-
"You think Sasha will like to see you running wearing just those shorts, Jake?" A Dracon asked him. This was not the mean one that he had encountered outside. "The girls have practiced long and hard for their gymnastics, and it will be lookin' great!"
Of course, this might prove to be a distraction to the boys who were running around the field...
-
'erm....probobly" replied Jake, he knew that Sasha loved to see him without a shirt on.......she would love it even more if he wasn't wearing anything at all! "i just hope she doesn't get distracted and hurt herself...."
-
The schoolyard was shaped like a square, and was enclosed by a reddish sandstone wall. It was attached to the school itself, and contained a sandy yard surrounded by a long, oval-shaped track.
-
"i'm all ready" said Jake. "same" replied Rex "come on, let's go outside and warm up"
-
The two boys went outside to do their warm-up stretches... only to find that they girls were doing the same right next to them!
"Hi, Jake!" Selturma said, stretching her legs, and looking at Jake, noticing that he was only in his shorts. "It must feel good to get out of those shoes, I'll bet!"
-
"erm....i guess so" replied Jake as he continued to do his stretches, Sasha noticed that Jake was near her, she moved from her position to be right next to Jake "hello Jake, lookin' good" said Sasha "thanks.....i guess" was Jake's reply
-
The kids finished stretching and went to their respective areas. That jerk who was bothering Jake came back again...
"Hey Jake, your skin is as pale as a female's underbelly! I'll bet you run like a girl, too!" The blowhard said.
-
Jake was really mad now, he turned around and punched the dracon right in the jaw! "heh, your weak, you fell like a GIRL! no offence girls...."
-
The angry Dracon got up and attacked Jake, diving at him, fangs bared. "Let's see how you fight, human!" He didn't notice that Jake had a steel arm in his rage...
-
Jake laughed at the dracon and he punched him with his metal arm!!!
-
The Dracon fell down, hard. No one else gave Jake any trouble. The instructor would have intervened, but he had seen that it was over too quickly, and that Jake had been provoked. The injured student was removed, but since he was not badly hurt and since Jake was defending himself in that moment, he was allowed to continue the class...
-
"stupid moron" thought Jake, Jake and the others proceeded to the starting point of the run.
-
The boys began to run as the girls began to practice their gymnastics... it was a bit of an odd sight, as each sex kept looking at the other one as they were doing their tasks. So far, no one had been so distracted that they were hurt... until...
-
....Sasha lost her balance in midair as she did a backflip, she fell and broke her arm "aaaaaaaaaahhh!" screamed Sasha in pain
-
Selturma saw Sasha fall... "Sasha! Oh my gods! Are you okay?" Several of the boys stopped to watch, making them run into one another. The instructor lifted Sasha up off the ground, and had her taken to the school's infirmary. After a quick review of what had happened, they decided to schedule gymnastics and track for different times in the future.
-
"i hope Sasha is okay..." thought Jake "i hope her arm isn't broken....". After what had happened the boys resumed running.
-
After the running was over, the boys were headed back to change... but Jake noticed Sasha's parent going through the halls, they had been called in to see how she was doing...
A healer had been called from a nearby temple, and she had used a healing spell to fix the bone... but it would be at least a whole day before Sasha was back up to full strength.
-
Jake ran over to Sasha' parents, "is Sasha okay?" asked Jake "i hope she hasn't broken her arm or something". Sashas dad replied "don't worry Jake, Sasha is fine. Her arm will be good after one day.". "okay then" said Jake "see ya, i've gotta get changed" Jake ran off towards the locker room
-
Jake showed up at the locker room to find that it was closed. His clothes were still inside. He would have to get the custodian to open the door... but his next class was starting, and the custodian was not available until the next class was over...
-
"%$#@!!!" yelled Jake in annoyance "gotta wait..........damn it!". Jake walked back to class, some of the students laughed at Jake, including some of the girls.
-
"Well, someone look like he wants to make himself comfortable." Said the writing teacher, looking at Jake. This kind of clothing was unusual for a male, but was acceptable if it was very hot... at least the cushions were soft...
-
"the locker room was locked.......i couldn't get in!" said Jake
-
"It is okay, Jake. Just take your seat... all you are really missing is a shirt, after all." the teacher said.
Many of the girls in the class, Dracon females though they were, began to comment on the human...
"He has such an odd arm" said a green-skinned female with a white underbelly and short horns.
"He has such strange feet" added a female with a red skin, including her underbelly, and polished toe-claws.
"I'll bet he has a nice @$$" said a third female, which got the others to give her strange looks... "Sorry!"
-
Jake seated himself, he felt uneasy when he was only wearing shorts in class......especially when he could here girls chatting about him, he heard one of the girls talk about his arm.
-
None of the Dracon females were interested in finding a mate outside of their species... but that wouldn't stop their comments...
"I wonder what it is like to have five toes and no claws?"
"Do humans eat the same things as normal people do?"
"His flesh looks like the skin on the soles of my feet."
"I still say he has a nice @$$. What are you staring at me for?"
-
Jake was really starting to feel uneasy, he could still hear the girls talking about him. "can you all stop talking about me?!" said Jake "i know my arm is strange but you don't need to talk about it...."
-
The girls all quieted down... one of them sitting next to him was still curious... but she knew better than to make another odd comment or ask an uncomfortable question... the poor human was probably already feeling alienated in a crowd that found him very odd... still, who had ever heard of five fingers and toes, she thought? Ew.
-
The lesson continued as it normally would....apart from Jake having no shirt on. during the lesson some of the girls would stare at him oddly, and the girl next to him would constantly look at him...."awkward....." thought Jake to himself
-
The lesson ended and Jake could finally get his clothes... no matter how "comfortable" it was to dress lightly, he preferred to dress like a human... with some sense of modesty! He didn't notice that three girls, all Dracon females who an objective observer would not hesitate to call "hormonal" from class were following him...
-
Jake didn't even notice the girls, the locker room doors were unlocked, he walked inside and he gathered up his clothing.
-
The girls saw him put on his clothes by looking at a crack in the all, and they left, tails drooping down in disappointment...
"He really did have a nice-" one of the girls said
"DON'T say it!" the other two exclaimed.
-
Jake walked out of the locker room with his shirt and shoes on, he was now happy. He was wearing his full suit of clothing. "that's better" thought Jake "i feel more comfortable"
-
Jake, Selturma, and Rex left the school and went home... it was getting late... although the three of them got home before it was dark. Good thing too. Dracon cities at night were dangerous places to be in many neighborhoods...
-
"i wonder what mom is cooking tonight?' said Jake "what ever it is, it must be good.....because i can smell it!"
-
The whole family gathered around to see what it was... predictably, it was more meat, but there was something special about this dish... it smelled of spices and... was that garlic?
-
after seeing what dinner was Jake went into his room to get changed, he walked into the living room while he was waiting for dinner. "dinner smell good!" said one of Jakes younger siblings. "yes it does smell good doesn't it" replied Jake
-
"Jake was dressed like that in school today!" Selturma said. "Also, Sasha broke her arm, and Rex ran laps around the schoolyard!" Selturma had a habit of blurting things out without thinking of who she was saying them about...
-
"is Sasha okay?" asked Vaesa "i hope the school got a healer to heal her arm.......oh and was Jake embarrassed?". Jake blushed
-
"Sasha got a healer, and Jake is fine... can I get a back rub after dinner, pleeease?" Selturma said. She would have asked Rex for it, but she saw that he was tired of it, and he had given her a good one just last night.
-
"no problem" replied Vaesa "would you like a back rub after dinner?"
-
"Very much so!" Selturma said, bouncing in her seat, eyes wide open. The day had been stressful on her, and relaxing after dinner would be nice... "Rex, Jake, do you also want to get a back rub?" Selturma asked.
-
"i'm good....." replied Jake, "same" said Rex "it's odd for boys to get massaged you know................"
-
"I know Jake, but we've all had a tough day..." Selturma said, getting close to Jake. She said to him "Those girls from class really gave you a hard time, didn't they? I won't tell the others..."
-
Jake was confused, "they were only talking about my metal arm you know" said Jake as he tapped it.
-
"One of them said that you had a nice @$$... I'm sorry if that sounds creepy and weird... it kinda was." Selturma told Jake. "I thought you deserved to know what they were saying about you..."
-
"o.O" thought Jake but replied "creepy..............." Jake shivered
-
"Yes. I only suggested getting a back rub to take your mind off of it... of course, you didn't know about it until I told you, so it is kind of my fault if it creeps you out... sorry, Jake." Selturma told him...
-
"it's okay......." said Jake "i wonder why she even thought that.............creepy........"
-
"They were following you to the changing room, you know" Selturma told Jake. "They must have wanted to see what a human looked like... I mean REALLY looked like..." That sounded creepier than it actually was... :blink:
-
"................that is supremely creepy......" said Jake "now i'm going to have nightmares............"
-
"Maybe you should get some relaxation... to take your mind off of it..." Selturma said. "I'll let you use my back scratcher, if it pleases you..."
-
Jake shivered "that is gross" said Jake "i need to relax and you offer me your back scratcher!?"
-
Although she had owned it for only a couple of days, her back scratcher already has some of Selturma's scales dangling off of it. Selturma clearly needed to learn more about manners, even from the Dracon point of view.
"Maybe you should just leave it to your adopted mom, then. I'm sure that whenever she did comfort you, it felt good." Selturma said.
-
"ewwww........." thought Jake as he saw the dead scales, he replied "i might just go to my room and bang my head on the wall so i get amnesia...."
-
"Jake, after I'm done with Selturma, I'd like to give you some comfort too... if only to take your mind off of this creepy business." Vaesa said. She rarely ever got to comfort her sons, and Jake was even less likely to want a rub or a scratching.
-
"erm no thanks..." said Jake "i'll stick with banging my head on a wall"
-
"I'll be there for you if you change your mind, then, Jake." Vaesa said, going back to the food. This had been one odd day...
-
Jake ran upstairs, he really WASN'T going to bang his head on a wall, he just needed some alone time to get rid of the past events of today. Jake jumped onto his bed, "man has this been a strange day........" thought Jake
-
Strange indeed, full of odd, painful, and undesirable events. The next few days would be worse, but not in an odd way... days like this were most unusual, and yet, Jake, Selturma, Rex, and the rest would be wishing for days like these to return...
-
Jake was still in his room, he has been up there for at least an hour now...."hmmmm......" thought Jake "this is starting to get boring......i might go downstairs and see what's going on...". Jake got up off his bed and he walked downstairs to see what was happening. Everything was fine as it usually was.
-
You coming out Jake? Hurry up.. there are things to do!" Sasha called out..
-
(sasha is at her house with an arm injury)
Jake arrived at the bottom of the stairs
-
Selturma greeted Jake. She was eager to drop the weird events of the past day. "So, Jake, are you feeling better now? I'm sorry that our ways are so... unusual to you... maybe we can do something that we all agree on... like play a game or something."
-
"maybe.." said Jake "what game should we all play?"
-
(i might be on soon okay)
-
"Let's play Nibeltrilvol, if you like." Selturma said.
Nibeltrilvol was a board game that included colored pieces which required a player to place his or her color on either end of the colored pieces of his rival. If a player did this, the pieces between his would magically change to the color of his side. When the board was filled, whoever had the most pieces belonging to their color, red or blue, would win. Either color could go first.
-
Meanwhile, in Minna's Palace...
Vaeri was sunning herself. After so much time spent getting exotic treatments, she felt it would be best just to enjoy simple pleasures for a change.
Adykon, by contrast, was getting his armor repaired by the blacksmith... not only repaired, but upgraded! His armor was made of steel, but it could be infused with a material to make it more resistant to magical attacks in the future, should he ever encounter someone like Arcantas again in the future.
-
"sure" replied Jake "can i be Red? it's my favorite colour"
-
"Sure Jake. Just remember, it is a two-player game only. If anyone else wants to join, they will have to do so next round." Selturma said. "I'll be blue. We just place one piece of ours at a time, making sure to surround the other player's pieces."
-
'cool" said Jake 'let's start" Jake and Selturma put their pices on the board
-
The board was a square with small holes for the colored pegs. The holes were collectively shaped like a triangle, and there was enough space for roughly 50 pegs. Selturma went first, turning one of Jake's two pegs from red to blue. He could easily place a blue peg on the other side of her pegs, turning some of them from blue to red.
-
Eriol and Arianne spent some time in the chapel. Dracons don't worship the same gods as the Panthers or other Gaeans, but it is still a sacred place. They knelt in front of the altar and prayed in silence for their friends, their fallen relatives, for themselves too.
After a while, they stood up again and went out of the Chapel. They bgean walking the hallways of the palace, watching the different places, also how different the sunlight illuminates certain corridors. They don't have much to do, they are just waiting for Rhiga's wedding to happen. To celebrate and then, to say farewell to the desert area of the Dracons.
-
Meanwhile...
Rhiga's wedding was only days away. The priest at the temple had the supplies he had ordered, and was setting up the facilities. Suddenly, someone teleported in, teleporting THROUGH the anti-teleportation wards of the temple. That alone meant that whoever had been able to do it was a mage of great power, and therefore, a threat; if he was going to teleport in like that... it could only mean... a surprise attack!
And it was. all the priest saw was a golden-eyed figure launch a spell of green light, and then... darkness...
"Don't kill him" the figure said as the priest drifted in an out of consciousness. "We need only to impersonate him; if he goes missing permanently, they will try to figure out what happened. Chain him up."
-
Eriol and Arianne kept on walking, but she could see her husband getting a boredom attitude. - "Are you feeling fine, dear?" - She asked, trying to get an answer.
"It is nothing... well, I am getting bored of been here and doing nothing." - Eriol replied as he leaned in a nearby wall.
But Arianne saw something that could prove interesting. - "I may have a solution for your problem." - She said as she pointed to a location in the palace. - "It looks like it is a 'Training Ground'. We may go take a look at it."
The male Panther looked at his wife and nodded. - "We have nothing to lose, so why not?" - And they both went to that place in the palace.
-
The panthers came to a large room behind wooden doors, which was well-lit. It had brown stone walls and floors, as well as training circles for martial arts, mats for exercising on, and... a coach.
The coach came to greet the panthers. "Well, Eriol, the guards and I were wondering when you'd show up. We had a feeling that at least one warrior from the adventuring party would show his face around here. And your wife... Arianne is it? Well, you two will find all that you need to train with right here. We have weights, exercise mats, martial arts arenas... and training clothes in case you need them."
-
Eriol saw the trainer with a strange look on his face. Then Arianne replied - "Well, what kind of training clothes do you have?"
The male Panther looked at his wife - "What is wrong about our current clothing?"
"One: I cannot train with this dress, and two: we don't have enough spare clothing, not telling that they don't sell clothing of our liking around here." - She said as she went closer to the trainer and to take a closer look to the place.
-
"For you, Eriol, there is a choice. You can either dress in these white robes here" the trainer said, reaching over to pick them up "or you can dress in a loincloth. We should have both in your size."
"As for you, Arianne." He continued "We have our finest training outfit for females right here" he said, as he pulled out a top and a loincloth which were made out of very flexible material. "Though, the top is strictly optional, and few females around here ever use it. I'll leave you two in peace if you wish..."
-
Eriol looked at the choices for him and the choice made for Arianne. - "Maybe my wife can get some of those robs, if you don't mind." - he said, and Arianne giggled as she she said - "I would look funny with one of those. But maybe my husband will not like me to be around with such few clothing. But still....." - she gave a defiantly look at his husband. - "I'll take the loincloth and the top."
Eriol just sighed - "I'll use the robs then." - He said.
As the trainer walked away, they both changed their clothing, and prepared to do some training.
-
The trainer saw that being around an angry panther might not be the best thing. He left, and was surprised that the female wanted the top... at least their regular clothes were safe. The last thing the trainer saw before he left was Arianne doing some stretches.
-
Arianne began making some stretches before going into the training area. Eriol began doing the same thing, and it is surprising to see the male Panther to be almost as flexible as the female Panther.
"You look nice, dressed like that." - Eriol said.
"If you don't really have a problem with me dressing like this, then why have you tried to not let me to?" - Arianne asked, and the reply was a bit of surprising for her.
"Because I have seen how many of the Dracons behave, and how they can mistreat their females... they can also be too much guided by hormones and insticts, far more than we do. And I don't want any of them to be too near from you." - He said as he was still making stretches.
"I think I can take care of myself Eriol, and I think they are enough centered to not really deal with females of other species." - she stopped stretching and gave his husband a quick hug - "stop worrying this much, everything will be fine." - she then began walking to the training area, followed by a smiling Eriol.
-
The trainer closed the doors and walked on, away from the room. He had to go get some supplies for the training grounds anyway... he would be back later... for now, the two panthers could exercise in peace...
-
"Well, that is a face I can punch." - Eriol began walking towards a humanoid shaped wooden and stuffed mannequin. He began punching it, hard, he then began kicking it. After a little bit, he began launching more attacks... not like he wanted to do that, but it was natural as all strikes were directed to where all major organs are: swift strikes to the ribs area, claw attacks to the neck and eyes, kicks to the stomachal section.
Arianne looked at him and thought - "I am glad nobody can see that, he is giving away too easily what he really is." - she then walked to some rotating wood pilars with horizontally attached smaller sticks, as she walks, she has to dodge the incoming sticks from the rotating pilars, going deeper makes it more challenging. She was able to dodge the incoming attacks, by moving swiftly and gracefully.
-
The trainer returned, briefly. He set down some water in case the panthers got thirsty, and left them a fan in case one of them overexerted themselves and needed to cool down. He gave them panthers a brief wave, then shut the door, leaving them once again in peace.
-
Eriol was still striking the mannequin, but he noticed the Trainer going in and out. He stopped for a while - "If he is the Trainer here, he must be good at fighting, but it seems he will be more time outside for now." - he then decided to check on Arianne. He entered the place where the rotating pillars are, and he began avoiding the horizontal sticks, in an attempt to reach Arianne.
-
The last thing the trainer did was to leave some salve to soothe sore muscles. He then left and did not return that day. He had other things to do... he wanted to see how Adykon was doing with that new armor...
-
Eriol managed to get closer to Arianne, but still at some distance as he began having problems dodging the sticks. He was amazed to see her at the middle of everything, her eyes focused everywhere, avoiding everything.
"I think the Trainer may not come back for today." - Eriol said to his wife.
She didn't even look at him, but she knew where he was, by noticing from where the sound of his voice comes from - "he must be busy, too many things and preparations are happening in here."
"Yes, that may explain why nobody else is in here. And that's a shame, he looked like we may have done some sparring." - He replied. Eriol left the rotating pillars sections and headed to another section of the place, to keep practicing some other moves.
-
Adykon approached the training grounds. He had been told that Eriol and Arianne were there. Wanted to see if Eriol was up for some sparring and other combat practice, Adykon changed into some robes and went into the training grounds... he kept a loincloth on underneath in the event Vaeri ever showed up; he wanted her to see more of him if this was the case...
-
"this game is confusing..." said Jake, at the moment selturma was beating Jake. she had lot's of jake's pieces turned to blue.
-
Meanwhile...
Selturma had played the game many times before... that was why she was winning... but she had not won yet, but Jake was running out of options.
-
"grr....." thought Jake "i'm gonna lose......to a GIRL!"
-
Jake, however was lucky enough to place one of his pieces in such a position that it turned many of her pieces red... by trapping almost a whole line of blue between two reds... the game was a draw.
-
"heh" said Jake "it's a draw......." Jake helped Selturma pack up the game, they put it in the cupboard "it's getting late" said Jake "we should get some sleep, it's a school night"
-
"Oh boy! Sleep!" Selturma said... was this girl excited over everything? She bounced all the way to bed, and, after undressing, fell asleep quickly.
-
the next morning came bright and clear. " Marcus stirred from his bed , careful not to wake Rhiga, who was sleeping peacefully.. He nuxxled her goodbye, and went out to do his chores..
-
This was the same day as the panthers were exercising, and the day after Jake and Selturma had finished playing their game.
(the time order is a bit out place. Sorry. It will "reset" on the next day in the RP)
-
Jake walked upstairs to his bedroom, he took off his socks, and shirt and he hopped into bed..."....i wonder what school is going to be like?" thought Jake to himself....little did he know, something unfortunate was going to happen........to him
-
The sun rose high in the sky, beaming its golden luminescence down on the city of Minthebec. Jake, Selturma, and the other youths rose early to get to school on time. Selturma was skipping down the hallway to breakfast.
-
Joke got out of bed, he put on his shoes and socks....he had also put on his shirt. he ran down the stairs to breakfast, this morning Jake and Rex' mom Vaesa had cooked small bite size pieces of beef. "mmmmmm, looks delicious!" commented Jake "smells great too!"
-
Vaesa brought the food over. She had some announcements to make...
"Children, I have some things to say to you, so sit down, all of you. Are you all comfortable? Good. First... Jake! Take off those shoes at the table! Because you have to go soon... I'll let you keep the shirt on, but I'm only going to let it slide because you are going to school so soon. Anyway, I just received a letter from the military. Your father is coming home!"
-
"alright" said Jake, Jake leaned down and he removed his shoes; he placed them on the ground at the doorway. Jake returned to the table, Jake sat down. Jake picked up a piece of the beef. "mmmmmmmmm! this is delicious!" said Jake
-
The other children were a lot happier to hear the news, as he was their actual father, unlike Jake, who was adopted. The message didn't specify WHEN their father would return, only that his unit had won the war and that they would return, in glory, to Minthebec.
-
"that's good news" said Jake, "that's GREAT news!" said Rex "dad is coming home!" Rex would have jumped for joy although that was a childish thing to do....
-
The children hurried up, finished breakfast, got dressed, and went to school. Vaesa got her top on and went to work. Rex, Jake, and Selturma were now out of the house and into the streets of Minthebec.
-
"it's GREAT that Dad is coming back!" said Rex excitedly, "it's good" said Jake "i'd like to see Dad too.....although Dad will give both of us a talking to because we left to go on an adventure without his and moms permission.....", "i suppose........" replied Rex, the youths continued to walk down the street, they arrived at school in no time at all.
-
School began swiftly with... math. Boring... and the next class... history. They learned the names and deeds of various kings of the city... Selturma fell asleep after Abdashur the ninth, who built the city's current walls... the average student made it to Sevanus the Great, who won several wars and with them, control of several trade routes...
But then, it was time for gym!
-
"Gym class!" said Jake "my favorite class of the day!", "just make sure you don't get locked out like yesturday....." said Rex, "i won't" replied Jake, The two raced down the hallway to the locker room, it was a tie
-
The two boys quickly changed into their gym clothes and went to class. This time, they were learning some basic self-defense... which Jake and Rex were already very good at.
-
While Jake and Rex were gone, the three females from yesturday walked into the changing rooms, "we should take Jake's clothes to see what his reaction is" said one of the females", "gladly" said the female that thought Jake had a nice @$$. the three females gathered Jake's clothes and ran off.
-
Gym class ended. The boys headed back to the changing rooms. Jake was happy to not get locked out... but he would face a larger problem!
-
"what the?!" said Jake in surprise "where the $#@%? are my clothes!?" Jake searched everywhere, but.....he could not find them, "this is proving to be funny" said one of the females, "indeed" said another one of the females.
-
Just then, it was time for the next class... and, once again, Jake was left wearing only his shorts... awkward...
-
The females in the class were giggling, "this is embarrassing........" thought Jake "for the second time i have no clothes..............i hate this......"
-
The teacher saw Jake enter the classroom dressed only in his shorts... "I guess you've grown to like our ways... Jake, although a shirt is advisable in school... perhaps you've simply overcompensated, then..."
-
"this time" said Jake "my clothes are missing! i hate dressing like a dracon! it's uncomfortable......"
-
The class was very boring. Five minutes into class the three annoying girls decided to have some fun with Jake, which would only increase his misery...
First, one of the Dracon girls played "footsie" with him, which was more painful for Jake because she kept jabbing the sole of his foot with her claws, although she did not draw blood. Jake insisted that she stop, and she did.
Second, one of the Dracon girls wanted to see what his skin felt like. Fifteen minutes into class, she felt his back with her claws, and when he turned to stop her, the first girl tried to feel his stomach. When he turned to stop this girl, the second one started annoying him again.
But far worse was dirty girl number three, she was nuts, even by Dracon standards. She wanted to see his "nice @$$", but when she tried to get the other girls to do something dirty, even they refused.
-
Jake was starting to feel really creeped out now......
-
At the last half of class, the crazy girls were at it again. One of them gently scratched his back, and Jake felt creeped out by it, although even he would admit that it didn't feel bad at all... it was still creepy that a member of another species would do this to him... it would be weird even if another human did it.. even if it was a girl!
-
Jake was trying to keep himself calm so he didn't have a freak out in class.......to make matters worse one of the girls started to stroke their hand on the upper part of his leg near his.......you can figure it out.....Jake was so creeped out by this that he just froze
-
The first two Dracon girls realized that they were going too far and backed off... but the third one... she just didn't know when to quit! The went on, and neither the teacher nor the other students saw what she was doing!
-
Jake just sat there frozen, he had been pushed to his mental limit.......he would just sit there.......(poor Jake)
-
She wanted to feel more than just his back... the third girl had a habit of touching these places long before it was appropriate for her to even think about doing it under the proper circumstances... if any existed for what she was going to do...
-
Jake was so freaked out that he couldn't move.....his whole body just froze............he could not escape until class ended in 15 minutes...
-
15 minutes later...
"Halya! Alina!" The girl said, naming the first two girls. "I felt it! It's just like our kind's part! Halya? Alina? Where'd you go?"
Those two girls weren't going to want to have anything to do with her for a long time... if at all.
-
Jake walked out of class......slowly......he was shocked at the events that took place inside the classroom. Rex and Selturma came to greet Jake
-
"Jake! Why do you look so sad! You look great today!" Selturma said. "Finally lost those unneeded clothes... but you might want a shirt... although Rex doesn't like wearing them either, so I guess you two are like brothers after all!"
The poor girl just didn't get it.
-
"a girl.........." said Jake slowly...."......felt me up in class.........."
-
"Oh..." Selturma said. "That is not good behavior... even by our standards... I think we need to find your clothes..."
-
"okay........" said Jake still shocked......the three youths had been searching all lunch break......they eventually found his clothes....although they had been torn up.....possibly by the girls...
-
"Well, Jake, you DO have replacement pants and another shirt at home, right?" Selturma asked him...
-
Footwear was very hard to come by in the Dracon lands, but some could be found at a human trading post... on occassion...
-
"yes, i have a shirt and pants at home" replied Jake "although.....i don't have replacement shoes...i will have to buy some..." just then, the bell to go to class rang....
-
The last class came and went... the three children went home after that... the trip was a lot harder for Jake, now that he had no footwear at all.
-
"that girl in class is odd...." said Jake "i mean seriously! what is wrong with her?! touching my parts and smiling while she is doing that!? honestly i'm not even her species!"
-
"Some girls have a very hard time controlling their hormones Jake..." Selturma admitted. "And yet, even that is rare... she must have some sort of dysfunction..."
Just then, Vaesa entered the room...
-
"that is out of control!" said Jake "i'm not her species!"
-
"There was something wrong with her" Selturma said. "Isn't that right, Vaesa? do you know more about this?"
-
"i havn't heard about much so far..." said Vaesa, Jake, Rex and Selturma told Vaesa what had happened "that is unusual...........maybe she is attracted to you.........." said Vaesa. "that can't be true!' said Jake "that is too creepy...."
-
Vaesa was not happy to hear that Jake had been treated so badly by those females, but was happy to see that Jake didn't have those pieces of footwear anymore... at least some good came out of it, she thought.
-
"i'm going to try and avoid the seating plan tomorrow...." thought Jake "unless the teacher realizes i've moved......"
-
Selturma took off her top and lay down, stretching out. "Rex, come relax with me. This couch is very comfortable..."
-
"sure' said Rex, Jake decided to walk away. he walked upstairs and he put his shirt and long pants on, he collected the pieces of gold he had saved up and he walked back downstairs and out the door into the streets....he wanted some new shoes
-
Jake's search was not easy. The only place to get human footwear in the entire city was at the human trading post... which only had slippers and a pair of plate mail boots which were designed for a giant... there was no set time that some suitable footwear would be available, as the trading post got goods on an irregular basis, and they didn't even know what goods those would be. Still, they were expecting a shipment in a day or two... maybe it would have shoes in it... maybe not. The previous shipment of goods had consisted of nothing but olives and fish sauce...
-
Jake was disappointed, although on the way home he saw the girl that had felt him up, he jumped behind a bunch of crates. the girl though it was probably the wind. she headed towards it anyway. "oh %$#@!!!" thought Jake "there's no where else to hide! %$#@!!!
-
Luckily, the girl was going past him... evidently, she was only at the trading post to buy some fish sauce... although Jake could hear what she thought it was used for... disgusting... :blink:
-
"creepy...." thought Jake, Jake decided that he should just go home and check the trading post in a few days. Jake began on his way home. Jake thought to himself..."maybe tomorrow at school i should wear shorts insead of long pants since i don't have shoes.......it may not be as human as i would like but....it shall have to do..."
-
Luckily, Jake had all of the clothing he needed for that purpose at home. A new shipment of shoes would come in... or at least, a shipment WITH shoes would be arriving by camel and saurus-driven caravans. Jake would be able to find what he was looking for in two days. Good thing, too, because Rhiga's wedding was in three days!
-
Jake arrived home with no shoes, "no luck?" asked Vaesa smiling, "no...." replied Jake (be back soon)
-
Dracons didn't have footwear... Vaesa was happy to see that her son was dressing "like a normal person" in that regard... to Dracons, footwear was to them what wearing boots on one's hands would be for a human!
-
Jake was very disappointed that he couldn't get any shoes from the trading post....he hoped that the next shipment would have some new shoes for him. later that night everybody ate dinner, after that everone was sent to bed early that night because it was going to be an extra long school day...
the next morning arrived with a great yellow glow. "morning..." thought Jake, Jake got up out of bed and he put his shirt and pants on. Jake rushed downstairs. "good morning everyone, it's gonna be a long school day today...good thing we all went to bed early", "yes it is good we went to bed early" said Rex as he finished eating his breakfast that consisted of pork AND beef
-
The children of Vaesa's household went to school, as usual... their mother seemed happier than usual... it showed in her step, which was bouncier than usual, and her tiotleglas were somehow perkier, it seemed. She was happy that her husband was coming home... even if she had no idea when it would be...
-
Jake, Rex and Selturma continued down the street to school. the first class of the day was literacy, Jake liked literacy because he was the best writer in the whole class. Dracons found it hard to write because of their claws, "heh" said Jake "i like literacy because i can write heaps better than you two! heh"
-
"Our alphabet was designed for our claws, and yet humans are just better at writing it..." Selturma said "Your fingers are a lot more useful than your toes are, Jake" Selturma told the human.
-
"that they are" replied Jake smiling "i would rather have useful hands than have useful feet....." the youths eventually arrived at school, they were late. "oh no!' said Rex "we're late!"
-
The class had already started... it consisted of copying lines from a long, 3,000 year-old epic written by a golden dragon. The whole epic poem was over 10,000 lines, and chronicled the story of that dragon's ancestors and their fight against the wicked dragon goddess Tiamat and her spawn... but they only had to copy about 50 lines in this class... unfortunately, each line was very long...
-
"this stinks...' mumbled Jake under his breath "writing out 50 long, long lines...."
-
Jake was still able to finish the lines before the rest of the class, though... some of the students were reading them aloud...
"wer aurix darastrix chiilia silahii wer irlym, svern vi owier...
-
'heh, all done" said Jake, Jake had been working so hard he didn't notice the girl that had been sitting next to him yesturday. he also didn't notice that she was staring at him. Jake pulled out a book and he began reading it. she seemed to be a very strange girl.....she was staring at him...
-
The crazy Dracon girl didn't mess with Jake today. Her friends had been avoiding her due to her creepy ways... her own parents wouldn't have approved of it either... especially her father, who was an important officer.
-
the lesson continued as it normally would, at the end of the lesson Jake was dismissed first because he had finished his work first. "awsome!" said Jake "first out of class, heh heh"
-
the next class was history... this time, about the many wars Minthebec had fought... and how it had won most of them... some of that class was propaganda, to be sure, but it did explain some important facts.
-
"history is good" said Sasha, "i find it boring.....' replied Jake 'although..i suppose learning about wars isn't too bad"
-
The propaganda is this class was particularly heavy... whenever Minthebec or its forces were mentioned, they were always "great and glorious", and the opposing side was always "unjust, cruel and foolish." Still, war was a subject that boys often loved
(like me, when I was in middle school.)
-
(heh, same here)
-
"this time, history isn't bad" said Jake "i actually like this lesson", "that's good Jake" said Sasha "see, history isn't all boring". "i guess your right Sasha" commented Jake, the class went by very quick, even though it was still the normal time. it just seemed fast because it was very interesting.
-
the next class was math... a more boring subject... and all of the number were written in Draconic... luckily, Jake had picked it up quickly...
-
"heh, how easy" thought Jake, he turned to look at how the rest of the class was going. some were struggling and some were almost done "at least i know i'll beat them all, heh heh"
-
Jake did well in math... now it was time for gym... this time, he hoped that he would not have his clothes stolen... or get locked out... or both...
-
"i better not get locked out or get my clothes stolen this time..." thought Jake "...i hope...". Jake and Rex rushed down to the changing rooms, Jake took off his shirt and he left it on the bench. he and rex went outside with the rest of the class for some defensive training.
-
After gym, nothing had locked Jake out, and no one had stolen his clothes. He did, however, see that crazy girl get taken to the provost's office... where a VERY angry male, who he could only conclude was her dad, was yelling at the top of his lungs.
-
"i wonder why she's in trouble?" thought Jake, Jake walked over to the door quietly and he listened in on the conversation...
-
"... UNNATURAL! It would have been bad enough if you had done this to a young Dracon boy, but oh no! You DARE bring shame on our family by touching a HUMAN?!" Her father screamed...
-
'oh, that's why" thought Jake "she deserves it......although her dad doesn't need to yell at the top of his damn lungs!"
-
Her father was a military man... and his daughter's behavior had been worse than shameful. He closed the door, and there was some more screaming, followed by a soft thud... then some crying.
-
"ooo...that's gotta hurt....." thought Jake "i feel sorry for her....." Jake began to walk away when she came out of the room, she was crying and her face looked very, very sore...Jake walked over to her "are you okay?" asked Jake
-
The girl had a swollen left eye, and tears coming out of both. "Jake... I'm sorrryyy!" she bawled, running from him. Her father was still talking to the provost, after threatening to disown her if she ever did that again.
-
Jake felt really sorry for her, being hit across the face wasn't very nice....it would hurt alot, although she touched him down below.....he still felt sorry for her. "poor girl....' thought Jake "that would have hurt...."
-
The girl stumbled out of the hallway and into her next class, still quietly sobbing. The threat of being disowned was very serious; disowned children were often sold into slavery, especially girls, who were made to weave cloth... and no male would want to marry a disowned female.
-
Jake, Rex and Selturma also went to class, Jake had to sit next to the creepy girl....he was a little uneasy, he didn't want a repeat of yesterday....
-
The creepy girl didn't even look at Jake. She kept her hands visible at all times... she remembered some of what her father had said...
"... and if you do it again, you're gone! Hear me?! GONE! If I hear just ONE more report of you doing this again, EVER, you aren't my daughter ANYMORE! Don't bother coming home if you do it again, because you won't HAVE a home! Do you hear me? Look at me... LOOK AT ME! YOU UNGRATEFUL-! (Thud)!"
-
Jake couldn't help but notice that the girl' eye was bruised...."are you okay?" whispered Jake to the girl "that must have really hurt..."
-
"Don't come near me!" She whispered. "I can't see you! Father will... kill me..." Being disowned for a female was sometimes a death sentence, and can ruin a life for sure.
-
"no problem" whispered Jake as he returned to his work
-
The girl never did bother Jake again... she quietly resumed her work... when she got home later that day, she found that her semester was no longer paid for, and that, as punishment, she would have to pay for it herself by spinning cloth with her other sisters...
-
the girl refused to do that though, and ran out into the streets..
-
After school Jake tried to get some shoes again at the trading post...no luck "god damn it! when the %$#@!!! are they going to have shoes!!! or at least boots!?" yelled Jake in frustration
-
Just then, a human vendor down on his luck approached Jake. "You need footwear! Thank God! I haven't been able to sell anything at all! Take your pick sir!" He had made a foolish choice trying to sell shoes in the Dracon lands.
-
The girl, whose name was Celina, wandered the streets for hours aimlessly. Given her youth, she was not trained in anything but the most basic crafts, and being a females her lifetime earnings were going to be close to nil..
-
'there's no shoes?" said Jake confused, but he liked the boots that the man was selling, Jake picked up a pair of black boots "i'll take these" said Jake "how much are they?". "i'll make them cheap for you since you are my only customer, how about......10 gold pieces" said the vendor "sure" replied Jake "here you go" Jake handed over the gold pieces. Jake began walking home with the boots, he didn't put them on because it would be odd to wear boots with shorts and a shirt?...
Jake was on his way home and he saw the girl from school wandering around the streets, "why are you on the streets?" asked Jake "you only come on the streets with your other two friends?"
-
My father kicked me out and disinherited me.. Jake I'm sorry. What I did to you was stupid, and Immature.. Can you forgive me?"
Just then Misro walked out of a store holding a large batch of meat.. pork to be exact.
-
'it's okay....." replied Jake "although.....that was very strange and awkward...i mean....even Sasha hasn't touched me there....."
-
The vendor thanked Jake and was on his way to another land... something about "Freedonia" and some guys who were called "Marks"
-
My Name's Selina' Selina said.. " Now I suppose I'll have to find some way to support mysellf.. "
-
"i don't think you'll get much money" replied Jake "i don't mean any disrespect but....females don't get paid as much as what males do........i doubt you could afford to go to school."
-
Jake was right. Her best option would be to go to a temple and see if they could train her as a priestess or a hierodule... but that would mean the end of her freedom for many years... and she could never let a male know that she was disowned, lest he leave her.
-
'I know.. " Celina sighed.. "I don't have much money on , 42 coins,thats it..thats all I have.. Maybe I can become some rich Dracon's servant" She said glumly..
-
"you can become a servant if you would like to" said Jake "but i don't think they'll let you be a servant because your only 14"
-
What other choice do I have? Its not like your familty woukld take me in, not what what I did to you..' SElina cried..
-
Young servants were rarely treated well, as it was... Celina was in trouble... maybe if she returned home on her knees and begged for forgiveness...
-
But cElina was not going to endure the foierce beatimngs her father would bestow on her, no, she'd rather take her chances with servitude.. she really didn't have much choice, as she saw it..'
-
There was an oversupply of servants at the moment... the population of the poor was so large, and the palaces so overstaffed. Still, it might be worth a shot for her...
-
"my mom, Rex and Selturma don't know it was you" said Jake "you can come live with my family.....only temporarily though"
-
AS it was, luck was with her. Misro was making his way through the marketplace with his meat when he saw Jake and SElina talking. ' Well, Hello Jake.. I remember you from the .. party the other night' Misro said. " Who's your friend?"
-
You'd really do that? Oh, Jake! I could kiss you!" Selina snmiled. " I won't though, unless you let me.. of course.."
-
"this is Celina..." said Jake "err......she's from my class, she's going to live with me and my family for a while..."
-
Celina had learned her lesson about touching in bad places... although she still had all sorts of urges. She needed a doctor and some medicine, not a beating...
-
"erm...no thanks..." said Jake as he gently pushed Celina away
-
Celina said "Jake, if I'm going to live with you, I will only stay for as long as it takes me to get into a temple, or to live somewhere else..."
-
'I figured as much..' Celina smiled.
"Would you like a job?I need an attendant to accompany me to the markets.. someone to keep me on track.. oay is 200 coins a month..half of whiich comes from me.. What do you say? Misro asked..
_
Can I stay with Jake and his family.. ?' "Sure.. and I'm sure you'll want to continue your studies.. "Come with me you two, and fill mee in on the way to the castle."
-
Misro and his lord were unusually generous... still, they could afford to be kind to the poor... although this was uncommon, and much of his strategy revolved around getting to poor on his side during a power struggle.
-
Jake and Celina walked with Misro to the castle..."erm....Misro i'm not aloud into the castle or anywhere near it..."
-
Jake was still a persona non grata at the palace thanks to his actions earlier at the party...
-
"I'll gladly take it.." SElina said.. "thank you so much.. mister. " Misro, I serve Lady Minna, and now, you do too.. jUst don't take too much advatage her and his lordship's kindness.. they can't afford to care for all the poor people in this city, after all..." Misro replied..
-
"That is true, SElina come with me.. I'll introduce you to Lady mInna. mister Jake, you'd best head home... We'll send Seloina home in a couple hours.." Misro said..
-
Celina was now another number that Minna's dad could count on being on his side in case there was a power struggle. At least, she wouldn't starve on the streets of Minthebec.
-
" So, my dear, why were you on the sreets?' MIsro asked as they entered the castle... "My father disowned me.." Misro sighed, the male in any Dracon family could disinherit for any reason, if he felt like it, there was nothing they could do about it, although in practice,, disinheritance, meant some serious infraction had taken place..
"What did you do. "I put my claws down Jake's pants and touched his.. 'intimate area? Selina nbodded. "Common sense my dear..you seem to have little off it.."
-
Jake ran home, he showed his mom the boots....she was not impressed...he also told her a girl from his class was coming to live with them temporarily. "that's wonderful" said Vaesa with a smile on her face "i don't mind taking care of her if she has nowhere else to go". "that's great mom' replied Jake as he ran upstairs.
-
Vaesa thought... "at least we have the same number of bare feet running around here as we did in the morning..."
-
Jake took off his shirt and pants, now he was wearing boxers. he walked downstairs and he sat on the couch, it was very comfy.
-
Minna sat in her regal chair as Selina was brought in. " Welcome SElina..' Minna said after Misro had whispered briefly in her ear. "I don't condone what you did to jake, you don't things like that, its a big no-no.. But you don't deserve to starve on the streets either. So heres what I'm going to do. You'll start on the job tommorow afternoon, you'll work for around four hours and head home for supper and bed. the better job you do, the more you get paid.."
-
Celina was happy to hear it "Great! What are my duties, mistress?"
-
For now, you will accompany Misro on errands that he runs. he will show you around the castle, show where things are, food, supplies, you name it, over time, you'll learn where everything is..' Minna said. "Help ytourself to food annd drink, I bet you're famished.."
-
Celina was indeed hungry. She ate some of the food, happy to have such a generous patroness. She thought that this was too good to be true...
-
Jake was starting to wonder when Celina was going to get back, he hoped that Minna hadn't told Celina what had happened at the party when he drank alcohol...
-
' take as much food and drink as you want, you're part of the family here now. " MInna smiled. "My lady, Do you mind If I go visit my er fostr home/ I don't want to abuse your kindness.." Minna nodded. " Yes thats fine.. Go, get settled in with Jake and his family, and come back here.. "
_
I'll be waiting to give you the tour when you get back "Misro said. Selina took a large helping of food and clutched a bttle of a sweet drink to her and shge walked out of the castle, where she found jake waiting..
-
"come on Celina" said Jake "let's go home". Jake and Celina walked back to jake' house.
-
The two of them went home... Celina would go to work after all... no time for school... :(
-
'If she had not been in such a hurry to leave i would have told that I intended to have her continue her studies..." Minna said to mIsro.. 'It will be a few days before i Can get the funds to cover the cost of her schooling, I di have Rhiga''s wedding to consider she smiles. ' She seems like a nice girl.."
-
The wedding preparations were well underway... Rhiga had selected new, fancy clothes for the occasion, and a wedding band was readied.
-
Marcus was given leave from his chores for the next couple days to prepare for the wedding. his family arrived later that day as selina returned to the Palace. "Welcome back" Misro nodded. "Lets get going shall we? oh, and you will be resuming your schooling in a week or so. Mistress believes very much in education, she'll pay for your schooling, you can simply repay her out ofwhat you earn.." "You mean I'm going back to school? Selina began to cry. "Yes, this job will simply be part time while you are still in school. It will be more fulltime as you get out of school.. It will allow you to have some money to spoend " Misro said.. " Thank you SO much" Selina said, tears running down her face.
-
As all this was happening, Adykon arrived at the training grounds to practice with Eriol and Arianne...
(to be continued later, that part)
Meanwhile...
Selturma and Rex lay down on the couch, tired.
-
Jake decided to go for a walk out in the streets for a bit, it was boring for him at home, he walked upstairs and he put his shirt, longpants and boots on. "good fit?" thought Jake "these boots fit great!". Jake ran downstairs, they made a big loud boom with every step he took down the stairs. his mom got angry at him. he apologized, he walked out the door and onto the streets. he wanted to go wait for Celina, she wasn't used to going to a new home...she hadn't memorized where his house was.
-
Isla helped Rhiga with her preparions as Rhiga was trying on a wedding dress. "You look very nice rhiga..." She smiled as she looked on..
-
"been a long day hasn't it?" asked Rex as he exhaled
-
"Thanks, Isla" Rhiga said "I hope it isn't too concealing." There was no danger of that... it only barely covered her tiotleglas and her 'femalehood'.
-
It had been a while before Celina had finished her duties at the palace, Jake had been sitting there for at least 4 hours now...he was starting to get impatient. "when is she going to finish!" thought Jake "i'm getting bored! i'm only waiting here because she doesn't know the way home!.....why do i bother....."
-
Celina emerged from the palace, ready to go back to Jake's house... Just then, her father came looking for her! He had seen his daughter enter the palace earlier, and was waiting for her to leave too!
-
Jake walked up to Celina's father "hi, you Celina's father?"
-
"You must be the body she molested. I apologize for my daughter's behavior. She won't ever do that again... I've just contracted with her to sell her services to the weaver's guild. She will work there for the next five years, then be given the option to leave... not that she will..." Celina's father said. He didn't know about the recent job Celina had been given.
-
"er,....i have forgiven Celina" said Jake "and she has already been given a job here at the palace, and her schooling is also being paid for.........she is also living with me and my family...."
-
"What?! I took out a contract for her work already! As her father, it is my right to do that!" He was right, but this was a case where the laws of Minthebec were ambiguous; there were no laws about what happened when two contracts contradicted each other... and Celina had been under contracted when Misro agreed to be her guardian. Celina wasn't legally disowned; that would come after her service to the weaver's guild expired... but because she was not legally disowned, her father had the right to sell her services... he had limited power to do this with sons, who could always join the army to get out of it... but daughters had no such recourse.
-
"she already has work" said Jake "you disowned her so Misro took her to the castle and Minna gave her a job."
-
"I never legally disowned her as such" Her father replied. "I effectively did that, but did not cross her name off of the family register at the courthouse, as is my right as her father. As it is, I HAVE put her name on the workers of the weaver's guild. I was already paid some money as an advance on her services, and will get wages from her, instead of a dowry from a husband... not that she will ever get one."
-
"you are not a very good father..." said Jake "all you care about is money money money!!!"
-
"I care about my family name!" Celina's father replied. "My daughter disobeyed me and committed horrible actions against you! YOU of all people should not complain! As it is, I cannot let her continue this... she disobeyed me when she ran away, which pushed her actions over the edge! So, now that she cannot bring my family a dowry, I have to send her to work! Otherwise, she is useless!"
-
"you beat her!" said Jake "that is not right! you of all people should know that! your a god damn officer! for crying out loud!"
-
"On the contrary, the provost of your school himself suggested that I hit her, for 'corrective measures'... I was hesitant at first, but she made me so mad... as it is, soldiers who did that to another soldier in the army would be flogged and dismissed, IF they were lucky." Celina's father said.
-
"i doubt other soldiers.....MEN would touch each other like that..." said Jake "Celina didn't need to be hit, she just needed to see a doctor......i thought it was extremely creepy although she didn't deserve to be hit!"
-
"In any case, her actions were doubly bad, as she did it... to a HUMAN! That is not only filthy... it is UNNATURAL! Do you have ANY idea what kind of a stigma this casts on my family, IF word of it were to get out?! I need to chop off a finger to save the hand!" Celina's father said.
-
"some of you dracons ARE insane...." mumbled Jake
-
"Any self-respecting male would do the same..." Celina's father said. Truth be told, this was NOT the case. Unknown to anyone else, Celina's father had been guilty of selling organs from his dead soldiers, with the help of evil mages. He even ordered the mages to kill some of his own men if casualties weren't high enough. These organs were mainly sold on the black market, as potion ingredients... An investigation into his household could turn up the heat on him and reveal his activities... and there was already some suspicion of his deeds, but no proof. Any more questionable deeds from his household would crack the thin ice he was already standing on.
-
"i doubt that a self-respecting male would send a female to a very low paying job even though she has been offered a high paying job..." said Jake "you honestly are insane....you want money but....you want your daughter to suffer?.....you are strange..."
-
"It is a necessary sacrifice" Celina's father said. "My daughter did what she did of her own will, and has to pay the price for it. She hurt the family, and I, and head of the family, will respond in kind."
-
'look.....i have forgiven her.......why can't you?...this is coming from me..the one whom was touched down below, and i have forgiven her........i don't see why you can't?"
-
"This will linger on me... taking away my family's good name... I have to think about what this will do to my sons!" Celina's father said, sounding worried.
-
"you never give up do you?" said Jake "you probobly don't even care about your daughter?......."
-
"I care enough to send her to a place where she will be with other females like herself... it could have been worse... I could have sold her to slave traders!" Celina's father said.
-
"you are very cruel!" said Jake "she has a well paying job here at Minnas palace! and she also get's funding so she can continue school!"
-
"She is in trouble at school as well, but they are willing to let her stay there provided she never does anything bad again..." Celina's father said to Jake. "As it is, her job here won't help my family, but her wages doing real work... that will help..."
-
"she get's at least a few hundred coins a month, i know this because all of the other servants are paid a considerable amount...and they are cared for." said Jake "minna even let's them get massages and days off, the only thing they have to miss out on is a lower pay check next time........if celina does a good job she get's paid more."
-
"But her wages won't go to my family... no. Even if it is good for her, I have to think of the family first. My wife and I spent much money feeding, housing, and clothing that girl... we want something in return for it... besides shame brought upon us!" Her father told Jake.
-
"oh who cares" said Jake "how the hell do you think i feel! i was touched by your daughter and i've forgiven her, why the %$#@!!! can't you do the same?!". "look, i need to support my family" said Celinas dad "she has brought shame to my family name so she will pay, she will work at a low paying job whether she likes it or not!"
"man, if i were celina..." said Jake "...i would hate your guts!". Celina had finished her duties, she walked outside to see her father and Jake arguing, she could hear that her father wanted to put her into weaving......she wouldn't get much money if she did that job....and she could also hear Jake saying that she already had a job at Minnas castle. Celina thought that Jake was brave to stand up to her father like that.
-
"I'll return for my daughter later, then" Celina's father said. "And when I do return, it will be with an order from the court to retrieve her..." He then turned and left. He would go home for now, but he intended to return in a couple of days...
-
"You are not taking her away , sir" Misro said, coming out upon hearing the arguing, he had caught about half the recebnt coversation.. "We'll have her pay you a certaiin amount out of her earnings, in reinbursement for the expenses you and your wife have incurred in caring for her.. as for her schooling, my mistress will cover that, you don't have to spend another cent.
_
I'll have to see that in writing " Celina's father said. "Good day sir" he turned and headed home..
_
Thank you Jake" Celina said as her father left.. " And you mIsro.. but my father had contracted me to a weaver, it's much lower pay, and i have to do it for five years.. "
'You are under contract to us..the law is murky on matters like this.. " One option for settling the dispute was for the weaver and mInna to come to an arrangement where Minna would split time between weaving and serving in the castle, when she was not in school.. another was "buying out" the contract with the weaver, which meant they would pay the weaver a sum roughly equal to the income he would expect to earn from Celina, along with a contract cancelation penalty. Celina's father could not afford such a sum, but Minna could..
-
(Nick, are you even reading the previous posts?!)
Celina's father had NOT legally disowned her, and he was still taking action to get her sent to the weaver's guild. Misro's plea had fallen on deaf ears...
-
( I changed my prior post)
"I don't think he heard me.." Misro shrugged. " you two better head home.."
_ Thank you anyway.." celina said. ' You tried. Come on Jake.."
-
Celina's father headed home, where his wife and other five children awaited him. All of them knew he had shady dealings with some mages, and yes, none of them knew exactly what the deals were.
"Carohar, what was that about?" his wife asked him, addressing him by his name.
"Nothing, Galisa." He said, while removing his shirt and trousers, so that he was wearing his indoor clothes. "I still have to deal with that blasted girl... she'll never show her face around here again."
"What has happened to Celina? Is she-" Galisa asked.
"Do not speak her name any more, wife." Carohar replied.
"But... about the girl... our girl-" Galisa said
"She isn't ours anymore. You should put her out of your mind. I haven't legally disowned that female you laid, but she won't be bothering us again... I'll disown her when she is due to leave the weaver's guild..." Carohar replied to his wife in a strict tone. "Now, if you want to be more useful to this family than that girl, go into the kitchen and get this family some food."
Galisa went, not wanting to be hit again.
Carohar was a vicious, evil individual, even by Dracon standards.
-
Misro turned and went inside to talk to his mistress.. he found Minna and explained the situation
_
You are very cold father! She is our sister!" One of Celina's brothers spoke up angrily.. "If you throw her out, well, you'll lose one of your sons as well... ME Are you willing to do that?" this son was twoi years older than CElina. "If anyone has done dishonor to this family, well it is you, with your shady dealings! Celina made a bad decison fueled by the pasions of the females of our kind! You're a member of the army, trusted to protect this city and its people...you haven't done a good job in your duties for a long time, even since you first got in with the mages...it is the height of hypocrisy for you to throw her out, when you have done far worse!"
-
Carohar knew that his children's bluffs were toothless. The worst one of his sons had even done before was to run away for a few days, then return when he got too hungry.
"Enough. I am the father here. That is enough justification for any action of mine concerning this household." The tyrannical officer said. He treated his family as if they were to be ordered around as pawns under his command...
-
Not anymore, not when it harms the overall health of this family" Anglos, the son said. "Iknow enough about what you have done to get you investigated, the penalty for dealings with dark mages is death.. you will never see me again after tonight.. I once looked up to you as a child. now I know what you really are.. Good bye mother..' He said to his mother, and walked out of the house..
-
"He'll be back..." Carohar said. This was not the first time it had happened... it would not be the last... every time, they returned... "So, Galisa... what's for dinner?" Truth be told, dark magics were discouraged, but the ban on them was only selectively applied. If the king of Minthebec wanted to use dark magics in his army, nothing would stop him, but as of this moment, the use of such evil arts were banned... especially if it led to soldiers being used as organ sacks whose remains were to be sold in illegal markets... and not so illegal ones... some other Dracon cities weren't so strict about these sort of things...
-
But Anglos had no intention of ever returning..until his father was dead. He knew what he had to do, go to the police and report his suspicions, after that, find somewhere to begin work..Anglos was a good athlete, and had a good diposition.. those would serve him in good stead.
-
There were no police as such, and even if Anglos went to the local magistrate, he had no evidence to convict his father with. As it was, Jake had a plan to save Celina from her father, and maybe even get him in trouble in the process...
(metadude and I worked out a plan to bring Carohar down... it is a subplot put in to fill some of the time between now and the next part of the story arc.)
-
( Sounds good)
"I'm sorry son, but what you have provided insn't enough to order an investigation. There have been rumors about your father in this vein, for years, and rest asured if there was enough evidence, i would order his arrest and he would face the stiffest penalty, execution, the pronblem is that we don't have any evidence. Suspicions, in the law, aren't enough.." The magisrate said, sighing as he looked at the ytoung DRacon seated in front of him. "you took a good deal of risk coming here i'm sure.."
_
I'm not going back home until my father is out of the picture, one way or another' Anglos said firmly.. there was sincerity in his voice. The magisrate sighed. "then you won't be going home for a long time..there is no place like home.."
_
I have no home now, I've got 317 coins in my pocket, a good head on my shoulders, and a strong right arm" Anglos replied.
_
Perhaps you could be guard at the palace, they can never have enough.." the magisrate replied..
-
The palace in question was the palace of the King of Minthebec. His palace was much, much larger than that of Minna, or even her father's. The king was somewhat paranoid, and loved nothing more than to surround himself with an unnecessarily large number of guards, servants, wives, and others who would all regularly declare and re-declare their undying love, support, and loyalty to him.
-
I'll do, if he'll have me.. "Anglos nodded. " The pay is good, from what I hear, the only problem is his Majesty's. er eccentricty, can you handle royal requests at every hour of the night?'
_
Yes sir, I'll do anything to get away from my father.." Anglos replied. 'Then go there, and when asked say I sent you there with a recommendation.." the magisrate smiled. " Good luck son.."
_
Thank you sir" Anglos bowed in respect and left..
-
Meanwhile...
Rhiga was trying on that jewelry she had been given for the wedding. It fit her well. She wore a green emerald ring on her right hand, had several gold bracelets, a pair of golden anklets, a blue sapphire ring on her left hand, and ruby toe rings on the middle toes of each of her feet.
-
You look great.. " Isla smiled.." Marcus is lucky to have you.. " This ws truly a living dream for Rhiga. she was being showerd with incredible lavishness, the worth of the jewlery she was wearing would be enough to for her entire family to be financially set for generations tocome. the dress she was wearing was made of the finest silk, and she had been given a facial makeover by the palace dreser.
-
All of it would be lost, however... but she had no way of knowing that at the time... all of that generosity born out of friendship... lost. Hard times would be ahead, and worth would be measured in deeds, not gold.
-
The times to come would affect all those present at this wedding, in different ways, but it would leave none untouched. much would be lost, only to be regained by great struggle and sacrifice..
-
"These jewels are amazing!" Rhiga thought, looking at herself in the mirror. "They limit my mobility, though... I cannot really jump or climb while wearing these." Rhiga walked around the jewels... "These toe rings kinda hurt after walking in them for too long... not that I will be doing much walking that day" she thought.
-
Selina reached jake's house and sat down on the sofa.. She cradled her head in her claws, and began to cry..
-
The situation was not good for Celina... unless her father could be somehow stopped, she would be in serious jeopardy. Of course, if he were to be stopped before the terms of the contract could be fulfilled, the deal would be off, and the weaver's guild would have one less child to exploit.
-
"don't cry" said Jake "your father is cruel..........." Jake was trying to make Celina feel better, it was working......only a little bit....she stopped crying although she still had tears streaking down the sides of her face.
-
Celina told Jake, tears streaming down her face "My self-control issues made this happen to me... I don't know why I couldn't help it... " She could have helped it, but it would have been very hard for her... "The other girls didn't do that to you... why did I?"
-
"donno.........." said Jake "i do admit......that was very strange and uncomfortable for me........" Jake got goosebumps when he remembered Celina putting her clawed hand down his pants and touching his 'intimate area'
-
"I am very, very sorry, Jake!" Celina said. She tried to keep her tiotleglas hidden from Jake, even though she was wearing nothing but her loincloth in the house... she wasn't a normal resident there, but she was more than a guest, and so she was told that she could take that liberty.
-
"erm..........this is becoming awkward......" said Jake "maybe i should let you calm down for a bit, just chill....you know?"
-
"Good idea, Jake." Celina said. "Is there a place for me to rest? I need to lie down... Maybe a nap will make me feel better... or maybe... does your mom give rubdowns to her daughters?"
-
"yes, she does give massages to my sisters" replied Jake "all you have to do is ask my mom and she will say yes"
-
"Thanks, Jake. I could use a good massage. Is your mom good at that?" Celina queried.
-
"from what i hear from my sisters" said Jake "my mom must be very good at shoulder rubs"
-
"Have you ever gotten a rubdown from her?" Celina asked. "You make it sound as if you don't know what it feels like..."
-
"i don't get a rubdown from my mom" replied Jake "i can't turn soft, although my mom has offered me a massage a few times.......but i don't need a massage"
-
"Well, I'll go get one... I AM soft, after all, heh heh!" Celina said, showing a good mood for the first time in a long while. "Where is she, anyway, Jake? Is your mother busy at this time?"
-
" i think she may be upstairs" replied Jake "i don't think she is busy at the moment.......after all dad isn't home....."
-
"I'll go upstairs, then" Celina quickly bounded up the steps. Jake was relieved not to have her still in the same room with him... if it was pleasure she was looking form, she would find it in the form of a rubdown upstairs.
-
Celina found Vaesa, "hello Celina, how are you doing today?"
-
"I'm feeling tense... and sad. Jake said that you were good at making your daughters feel better... so..." Celina said, scratching a clawed foot in the rug. She indeed nervous, tense, and stressed. "... could you give me a rubdown?"
-
"yes, i can make my daughters feel better" said Vaesa "i can give you a rubdown if you would like, just tell me where you are sore and i will massage there for you"
-
"Heh. I hurt all over... but my back, neck, and shoulders need it the most... my feet could use some attention as well." Celina lifted up a foot for emphasis and wigged her three front clawed toes.
-
"sure, no problem, just sit on a table and i can give your feet and upper back area a massage." said Vaesa, Vaesa was a professional masseur, she was trained in the healing arts.....this training also involved learning how to do different types of massages for different patients
-
Celina took off her loincloth, moved to a table and lay down on her stomach. She would have asked for some massage oil, but knew better than to take advantage of Vaesa's hospitality. "I'm ready for my rubdown." She told Jake's mom.
-
"okay, i'll start with your shoulder blades" said Vaesa, Vaesa moved her hands over to Celina' shoulders..she began to massage "oh my, you have lot's of knots in your shoulders.......have you been under alot of stress lately?"
-
"Tons of it" Celina said "My father is trying to sell me into servitude at the weaver's guild... where they make adult females and girls work long hours for little money... and in my case, what little I would make will be sent to my father, if he gets his way..."
-
"that's horrible!" said Vaesa "it's a good thing Jake brought you here, you would have starved on the streets after you finished in the weavers guild.......", Vaesa resumed massaging and soothing the knots in Celina' back
-
"Thanks... ohh... that a sweet spot...ahh" Celina sighed as Vaesa did her work on the child. "Do you often massage your children? You are very very good at it..." Celina asked.
-
"yes i massage my daughters and some of my youngest sons when they need one" replied Vaesa "i see you are enjoying this? when ever i'm not around you could always ask Jake for a foot rub, Sasha said that he always gave her one during the adventure...."
-
"Uhh... Jake doesn't really feel comfortable around me... so I don't think I will be asking him for a foot massa-ugh..." Celina said, but was cut off by a new wave of pleasure coarsing through her young body. "That feels so nice..." she moaned.
-
"you are really enjoying this, that is good you need all of your stress gone" said Vaesa "but i'm sure Jake wouldn't mind giving you a foot rub if you asked for one, especially since he gives Sasha foot rubs?"
-
"I don't really want one from him, thanks... I think it is best if we don't spent much time together..." Celina told Vaesa.
-
"okay, although i have heard from Sasha that he does give very good foot rubs" said Vaesa, apparantly Vaesa had no clue that this was the girl that had touched Jake' 'intimate area'
-
Celina did not want to tell Vaesa that she was the girl who had touched Jake in an inappropriate area... "I'm fine, thank you. I won't be here forever, and I don't want to impose on you and Jake..." Celina told the motherly healer.
-
'if you say so" said Vaesa, Vaesa was extremely persistant sometimes.....although this time she didn't bother to keep on trying to make Celina get a foot massage from Jake
-
"You can give me a foot massage, though" Celina said. "If you don't mind, that is..."
-
"sure, i don't mind" said Vaesa, Vaesa finished massaging Celinas upper back and she started to massage Celinas feet "does this feel good?"
-
"ohh...." was the only reply Celina gave, but it was clear that it was a resounding "yes!" She had never had such a good massage before.
-
Vaesa continued to massage Celinas feet for another five minutes, then she finished up "how do you feel now? better?" asked Vaesa
-
Celina was so relaxed, she had fallen asleep! This was a sign that Vaesa had done her job well... a bit TOO well, by some standards.
-
Vaesa called Jake up, Jake came upstairs "excuse me Jake, can you please take Celina to a bed? she has fallen asllep....". "okay........" said Jake 'but first do you think you could wrap her in a towel or something?..........i'm not carrying her if she is nude". that is no problem" replied Vaesa, Vaesa put a towel over Celinas naked form, "now can you take her to a bed?". "okay......." replied Jake, "but i'm taking her to a bed quickly......."
Jake picked up Celina with ease, he went looking through the rooms in the house to find an empty bed for her. he hadn't found a room at all..........he kept on looking..."the only beds in the house that arn't being used are Rex, Selturmas and my bed......although i think they might get mad......." thought Jake "i'll have to put her in my bed.....only until i find a spare mattress or something...."
-
Vaesa pulled out a spare mattress for Celina. "Here's something for the poor girl" she said to Jake. "Please set her up this mattress in the living room. I'll get her a pillow and a blanket."
-
'no problem" said Jake thankfully, Jake brought Celina into the living room, he went to set her down when suddenly she woke up, "what the!?' said Jake in surprise "now your awake, now i don't have to carry you"
-
"Oh. Jake. Set me down please." Celina said, and Jake did so. "Thank you very much, Jake... you are most kind to me... you have shown me much more kindness than I deserve..."
-
"no problem" said Jake "at least i don't have to carry you anymore..."
-
"Thanks for carrying me, Jake... I should go lie down now..." Celina said. "Thanks again..." The Dracon girl lay down stretched out, made a loud yawn as she did so, and was fast asleep...
-
Jake walked away, it was starting to get late...."(yawn) maybe i should go to bed......" thought Jake, Jake continued to the stairs...he walked up the stairs to his bed....he took off his boots, he removed his shirt and long pants....then he hopped into bed...within no time at all Jake was asleep.
-
Meanwhile... (keep in mind that not all events are synchronized; it will all become even again in the next day, or, at the very latest, the day of the wedding.)
Selturma knocked on Rex's door...
-
Rex walked over to the door, he unlocked it "hello Selturma, how come your not in bed?"
-
"I wasn't able to sleep... no, I don't want a massage, or anything like that... I WILL hug you though!" Selturma gave Rex a hug. "I actually want to talk about... each other..."
-
"okay, come in" said Rex as he motioned for Selturma to come in. Selturma and Rex walked over to a bed, they both sat down "what's on your mind?"
-
"We should get to know each other better... not in a bed kind of way... just... we should talk about what we like and dislike..." Selturma said.
-
"that's not a problem" said Rex "what are the things you like and dislike?'
-
"Well, I like dancing, massages, sunbathing, playing games, and walking on the grass..." Selturma said. "I dislike anything that is painful, even if they tell me it is good for me... I also don't like veal. Heh."
-
"i don't like veal either, i also like walking on grass" said Rex "heh, we have something in common"
-
"I've been told that our mindsets are different, yet complementary." Selturma told Rex. "Females are sensual, weak, dependent, and connected... while males are rational, strong, independent, and autno, auto...er... can stand on their own two feet better."
-
'autonomous?" said Rex "is that the word you were trying to say?'
-
"Yes, that's it. It means that males can do things on their own..." Selturma said to Rex.
-
'okay' said Rex "so what else did you want to talk about?"
meanwhile...
Jake was trying to sleep in his bed, although he was restless....he couldn't sleep...he was wondering why Celinas dad was so cruel... Jake sat up in his bed, he was thinking over the whole conversation in his head....."somethins up...." thought Jake "why would he be so worried about his family name? i forgave Celina.....i wonder why he can't?......who knows..." Jake lay back down and he fell asleep
-
Rex and Selturma continued talking for an hour, before each of them got too tired and fell asleep... It was a nice chat.
-
The next morning came.....
Jake arose from his bed, he had forgotten about Celina living with his family, he walked downstairs....he was only wearing boxers. then he saw Celina sitting on the couch. "i don't think she's seen me yet...." thought Jake "maybe if i sneak upstairs i could put my shirt and shorts on...although mom will get angry....oh who cares..i'll just wear this to breakfast..."
-
This day was a weekend, part of a rare four day weekend! There was no school due to a holiday! All of the children gathered around the table for breakfast. Vaesa served them the food, as usual...
-
Jake sat down at the table, Rex, Selturma and Celina were called to the table...... Jake was seated next to Rex and Celina was seated on the other side of Jake, and Selturma....as she usually does, sat on the other side of Rex (sorry if this is confusing....i know i'm confused, lol)
-
The food was eaten fairly quickly... and, because they had more time today, Vaesa went with her daughters to tend to their aches and knots in the other room. Most of the other boys left, leaving Jake and Rex alone in the room.
-
"so, what to do now..." said Jake "what should we all do today?......wait i just thought about something from yesterday...'. "what?" asked Rex, "i was going to ask Minna about Celina' Dads past and any criminal records.....he seems cruel....". "can i come with you?" asked Rex, "just wait here, if i need to break the law to find out you should stay out of it..."
Rex nodded, Jake went upstairs to get changed...this time when he came down the stairs he carried his boots, he then put his boots on and he proceded to Minnas castle, he arrived at the castle walls....he wasn't aloud in.....he had to wait for Minna to approve of him to come in
-
Minna's guards didn't let him in until he shouted out the name of Celina. If it concerned her welfare, it was worth discussing, even with Jake.
-
Minna told her guards to let Jake in, Jake walked through the palace gates. he was escorted to Minna, "hasn't changed much" said Jake 'still looks the same since the party....apart from the fact it isn't full of drunks..."
meanwhile...
Rex decided to just lay on his bed for a bit, he walked upstairs and he jumped onto his bed...he just lay there.
-
Jake's story resonated with Minna, who told him that Celina's father was suspected of selling organs from the bodies of the dead. If Jake could go and get evidence of this, he might be able to bring Celina's father down.
-
'okay, thanks for the info Minna" said Jake, Jake rushed off down the corridors and out through the palace gates onto the streets. he ran down the road. it took him at least 20 minutes of running to get to Celinas house, he knocked on the door....no body was home, Jake looked around to make sure nobody could see him and he ripped off the door knob!!! OMG!!! he walked inside the house to try and find evidence...
-
Jake entered the house. All of the children had left for the day. Carohar had sent them away so he could have some "intimate time" with his wife... as was evidenced by the loud noises coming from upstairs. At least, they were distracted.
-
"creepy......" thought Jake, Jake continued to search through the house.....so far he had found nothing, there was one place in the house that he couldn't get into, it was the basement...it was heavily locked, it had chains on it and lots of pad locks.....what ever was in there was the thing jake needed to get as evidence....Jake crumpled some of the locks with his metal hand although....this made his job harder.....
-
Jake got through the locked door and into the room... he saw jars filled with... he knew what they were by the labels, and he knew that there were rows and rows of them. He grabbed one and ran out of the room...only to run into Carohar!
-
"%$#@!!!' said Jake, i ran out at the wrong moment....."
-
Carohar was dressed only in a loincloth, but he was carrying a sword, and he was MAD.
"What's going on?" A groggy female voice said from the bedroom...
"Just stay there! We'll finish after I've finished off this human!" Carohar yelled.
-
"crap!" yelled Jake, Jake made a mad dash to the door
-
Carohar ran to block Jake, and tripped the human with his tail!
-
"umph!" said Jake as he hit the ground, "nice move" commented Jake
-
Carohar lifted his sword to stab Jake, who was still holding that jar with the stolen organ in it...
-
Jake dodged, "woah!", Jake decided to try and run for the door again
-
Carohar blocked Jake from getting out of the door... now it was down to a fight... of course, Carohar didn't have his armor on... or much on at all... Jake stood a good chance of knocking him out cold and escaping.
-
Carohar lunged at Jake with his sword he got jake in the arm, "heh heh heh" laughed Jake "wrong arm, heh" Jake revealed his metal arm and he punched carohar in the face
-
Carohar fell down, hard. He would not be out for long, but Jake decided to take the evidence and run while he still had the chance.
-
"run run run run run!" was what Jake had on his mind at the moment, he was running as fast as his legs could take him, he ran down the street all the way to Minnas castle gates. he was let in "here is evidence!" said Jake in triumph
-
Minna's guard examined the evidence, and took it to the local magistrate. Carohar was in big, big trouble... there was suspicion of him for quite some time... and this was the proof!
-
Jake returned home he had a big grin on his face, he saw Celina sitting on a couch. "hey Celina...do you like your Dad?" asked Jake "just asking because he is probably going to jail..."
-
Celina got up and was relieved to hear it. "Father never understood me, and whatever happens, he brought it on himself... thank you Jake."
-
"he was selling organs from his dead soldiers...." said Jake "he even asked dark mages to kill some of his troops so he had more organs to sell on the black market....at least you won't get hit anymore right?..."
-
"I hope not, Jake." Celina said. "I can only hope that I will have a better life from this point onward... and that I don't end up marrying someone like my father..."
-
"that's good news" said Jake "so where are you going to live now? your mom will have to re-marry"
-
"Not sure, Jake..." she replied. "I want to just put it all behind me..."
-
'okay" said Jake "but where are you going to live....i doubt your mom will find someone within an hour..."
-
"Mom will remarry, I am sure. She wanted to leave for a while, but now, she can. Father will probably end up working in the mines if he is convicted of such a heinous crime." Celina said.
-
Eriol and Arianne were still in the training grounds. He was using a hanging horizontal bar to exercise his arms when he saw Adykon enetering the training grounds. He got down from the bar - "Hello, long time no see." - He said, with a small smile, curious because he almost didn't make any smile before during the journey.
-
Adykon entered the training grounds wearing a white robe, much like Eriol's, and a loincloth underneath. Adykon spoke to Eriol "Are you interested in some combat practice?"
-
"That sounds good. I was looking forward for some sparring." - He said as he prepared himself.
At that time, Arianne came out of the rotating pillars section of the training grounds. - "Hello Adykon, it has been some time since we last met." - she said as she went to where the Trainer left the water, so she could drink some of it.
-
"Greetings, Arianne." Adykon said. "I trust that you two are enjoying yourselves here..."
The Dracon positioned himself in front of Eriol and entered a combat stance. "Ready when you are, panther."
-
Within hpours, the magisrate sentenced Celina's father to death for the trafficking in organs, jillimng of his soldiers, and consorting with Dark mages. His execution was set for 5 pm the next day, and the method of excution would be mozzolato , where his head would be bashed in and his throat slit. the execution was to be public, as a warning to anyone who might try such a thing in the future.
Minna sent a servant to Jakes house to retrieve Celina..
-
"It is always a good idea to keep a healthy body." - She said to Adykon, and then she added. - "Then I think I'll leave you guys to have your fun." - She remained where the water was and sat down next to it. Smiling as she began watching what would be good sparring match.
Eriol smiled to his wife and then he looked at Adykon, making a combat stance on his own. - "Bring it on Dracon!."
-
Adykon clawed and kicked using his claws, and used his tail to try and sweep Eriol's legs out from under the panther! So far, neither side was able to land any major blows on the other one...
-
The king sent Anglos back home, after ordering his father execution. Anglos would decide the next day, whether to attend the execution... with the execution, the contract with the weaver was voided, and the contract with Minna took effect..
-
Adykon continued to attack, as did Eriol, but neither side gained much ground... this was a battle of stamina, and there was no clear victor in sight...
-
Adykon's tail attack was successful but the Panther was able to stand up inmediately and he began attcking now, mostly using his fists as first tactic (not wanting to use claws just yet), but Adykon has managed to block the attacks. - "Wow, you are good at this." - Eriol said showing a sly grin.
-
"You can use claws" Adykon said, clearly using some of his own "Just don't fight to kill" The Dracon launched a roundhouse kick!
-
The kick was successful and launched Eriol a fair distance away!. "Ohh, I didn't expect that!." - he said, still grinning he stood up and relaunched his attack, this time using his claws too, he gave a jump to quickly reach Adykon, but he landed and crouched and used his momentum to make a spin with his left leg, and he used the right leg to attack the back side of one of Adykon's knees, trying to make him fall.
-
Adykon was staggered, then he fell to his knee, only to spring forward, trying to slam into Eriol! To his credit, the Dracon was careful to turn his horns away from Eriol...
-
Jake went back to his house to relax, he walked down the street and he walked into his house, he sat down on the couch.
-
A short time time Misro appearee on the doorstep. " goos day Jake. Is Celine there? " He asked.
-
Eriol was able to hold the Dracon from slamming him, he indeed noticed that Adykon was not using his horns. It was something honourable, but this was still a match, so he fully stood up and began pushing the Dracon backwards. This is clearly a test of strenght and resitance.
-
Adykon applied his strength against Eriol. Each of them seemed evenly matched... both of them dug their claws into the mat to give themselves traction. Both of the gritted their fangs, and it seemed that this would just go on and on until...
"SURPRISE!" Vaeri said, bursting onto the scene, wearing nothing but a loincloth.
"AAHHH!" Said the two combatants as they fell, each one losing his concentration, falling in a tangle of horns, tails, fur, claws, fangs, and scales.
-
"This was totally unexpected." - Eriol said as he tried to stand up again.
"I have always heard that it is more important 'how' you arrive than 'when' you arrive." - Arianne said, giggling as how the fighters look like now.
-
Adykon saw Vaeri was only wearing her loincloth. The mercenary undid his robes to reveal the same... now the two Dracons in the room were only clad in their indoor clothes... the kind they would wear at home, in private. Adykon had wanted to show himself off to Vaeri, and she to him...
-
"I guess you are both more comfortable this way." - Eriol said as he went next to his wife, so he could drink some water.
Arianne then said to her husband. -"I don't think it is nothing wrong, if they accept each other for what they are. We had to do the same, remember?"
-
Vaeri began doing stretches as Adykon did some exercises in front of her... partially with the aim of getting her to notice him... it worked. Neither of the Dracons came into direct contact with each other at the time, but they definitely impressed each other; Vaeri impressing Adykon with her gracefulness and agility, Adykon impressing Vaeri with his strength and toughness.
-
Arianne and Eriol looked at each other, then the male Panther said - "Well, we have been here for a while already, so we'll get into the showers and do some other things. Like going to take a look at the Armery." - Arianne smiled at that and she stood up with the help of Eriol who lended her a hand.
They arrived to the showers and they decided to share the same shower. They got inside and embraced. - "Just two more days." - Was all that he said as they both remained silent, letting he water to clean them from all the dirt. After a while, they broke the embrace and looked at each other, their love has not diminished absolutely, it is still there: unchanged, we can say that it is even renewed. They smiled at each other as they finished the shower. The dried themselves and got their normal clothes on.
They needed to return from the extra room to the main training area before reaching the exit. The Panther couple looked at the Dracon couple. - "See you around Adykon and Vaeri." -Eriol waved goodbye, Arianne waved too, and they crossed the door. They were feeling just great.
-
After some time, Adykon and Vaeri decided to hit the showers. It went well, but they could not help but notice buts and pieces of cat fur in the drain... oh well. The Dracons decided to dry off and dress, then go out and take a look around the palace... in just two days, Rhiga and Marcus would marry, and before a week had passed, they would join a caravan to the city of Hekaga.
-
Eriol and Arianne headed for the palace's Armery. and they (specially he) began looking at the different styles of weapons and armors been produced and fixed there.
-
Adykon and Vaeri went out to the garden. Vaeri simply sunbathed, while Adykon took a look at the plants themselves, for the first time in his life, he saw flora from distant lands and climates, even those far removed from the desert...
-
"yes, Celina is home....i think" replied Jake as he got up off of the couch "i'll go and look for her Misro, i'll be right back". Jake then walked off to go looking for Celina, at this moment in time Celina and her family were living at Jake's house because they had nowhere to go, now that they had no money they couldn't afford to buy anything
-
Jake eventually found Celina, she was upstairs getting a massage from his mother Vaesa, "er......Celina...Misro is looking for you" said Jake, he thought it was awkward being around a nude female dracon.....
-
Adykon went to polish his sword and to clean his armor. Vaeri was still asleep. He still didn't intend to stay with her in the long run, but there was no need to tell her that... he would leave, but the time was not yet right...
-
"I'll be right down.." Celina replied. "I hope this means Minna will give me a job, I'll ask about the rest of my family too.."
-
"alright. but....it probably isn't a great idea to keep Misro waiting......especially since he works for Minna...." said Jake "just hurry up and get your....er...massage...." Jake left the room to tell Misro that Celina will be right down.
-
"I'll wait for a few minutes then.." Misro nodded. " I'm sorry to hear about her family..that creul tyrant owned everything of value, and his possesions have been taken by the king... I'll see what I can do for them.."
-
"okay Misro" replied Jake "the sooner Celina doesn't have to live here anymore the better"
-
The next morning...
Adykon and Vaeri woke. It was now the day before Rhiga's wedding. Rhiga herself was preparing for the wedding at a frantic pace, as was Marcus. Selturma, Jake, Rex, Sasha, and many others would attend, including the panthers.
-
Misro came in, followed by Celina. "Tend to anything Rhiga wants, thats an order. "
_
Alright" She smiled nervously. ' Um.. congratulations on the wedding" Celina said. "I'm new here so go easy on me.."
-
"i wonder if i'm aloud to go into the castle since i caught a bad guy........" thought Jake to himself, he sat up on the couch, "maybe......."
-
The wedding would be held in a temple, and the invitations were all sent out. Minna would not be able to ban Jake from attending... although the reception would be held at the castle... of course, they would never get that far...
-
Misro went out to perform his duties, meanwhile Marcus performed massages for the last time as an unmarried Dracon, or so he thought..
-
Jake decided he may as well go by the castle to see how things were going, he got up off the chair and he put his boots back on. he walked out the door and he continued down the street. "hope Minna isn't still mad at me for drinking alcohol...." Jake arrived at the palace gates, "am i aloud in?" asked Jake
-
The guards didn't answer, they sat at their posts, Jake waited for five minutes....Minna came down "hey Minna, am i aloud in?" asked Jake "or......are you still mad?..................."
-
You did help out Celina and her family, Jake, so I will let you in .. "You are not, however, permitted to drink alcohol, under any circumstances! You have to be 18 to drink alcohol, Jake, and you're only 15.. You can have "honey-drink" or water.."
-
"don't worry" said Jake "i've learned my lesson.....just don't tell anyone else i drank alcohol.....please..."
-
Well, pretty everyone who was at the party knows.. and my father nailed a "complaint " to your door' Minna said. "Go in the pool, and enjoy yourselves, there is a buffet there, you can eat, while you swim.."
-
"i might just relax on a sofa" replied Jake "i know that everyone at the party knows.......i just don't want people who weren't there.......to know..."
-
Preparations for tomorrow's wedding reception were well under way at Minna's palace... but those were not the only preparations being made...
"Are all the pieces in place?" the dark presence asked.
"Yes my lord" a voice replied, in the dark room. "And thank you, for giving me command of him. It is a rare honor for one of my kind to command one of his."
-
Minna led Jake inside, "wow, it's changed since i was last here asking about Celinas father" said Jake "it looks great!"
-
It was a shame, really. None of these great foods would be eaten on the day they were intended to be... and the decorations hang in vain...
Meanwhile...
"Even if they COULD teleport, they cannot get past our wards..." The presence reassured his minion. "We can teleport through their defenses, they cannot get through ours. Oh, and take something more powerful than kobolds this time."
"Yes my lord." The voice replied.
-
"Yes, we;;, this is how wedding is supposed to look " Minna smiled. "Go relax on a sofa then.."
-
Jake walked inside, he sat down on a sofa. sasha was here. she walked over to Jake "hello Jake" said Sasha, "hey" replied Jake "what's up?", "the ceiling" replied Sasha, "heh, you understand my trick question." said Jake, "do you wanna come in the pool?" asked Sasha "the water is really nice". Jake responded "no thankyou, i like to be dry and wearing all my clothes"
-
Selturma was there too! She and Rex had come over for the party.
-
marcus came in. " Ok, who wants the next massage? Come on folks, by this time tommorow, I'll be a married dRacon! Better get me while you can!" He smiled, in a true salesman form..
-
"Do me! Do me!" Selturma said, bouncing up and down like never seen before. "I could use one... I could always use one, come to think of it... but I would really, really like one now, please!" She squealed to Marcus.
-
Come on, my dear" Marcus said, petting Selturma on the head fondly, and he lead her to the massaging room.."where do you want me to start?"
-
"My shoulders!" Selturma said. "I woke up feeling a bit stiff this morning..." she said.
-
Very well" Marcus said, placing his claws on her shoulders, and began rubbing in circular motions...
-
As Selturma relaxed and moaned in pleasure, preparations at the temple were underway as well... they had found a new priest for the wedding... and the incident had been investigated... the mages concluded that it was a summoning gone wrong, and that the priest nearby had been killed by it. The creature was of magical nature, and was simply dispelled rather than slain.
That was the official report of the events. The wedding would continue. Little did the authorities of the temple know just how very, very wrong they were...
-
The preist would initiate the proceedings, and turn was to be one of the happiest days of Rhiga's and Marcus's lives into one of thier worst..
-
As the sun rised again, Arianne woke up, only to find herself alone in the bed. - "Eriol? where are you?" - but there was no answer, she decided to get up and to look for her husband when someone opened the door. It was Eriol, carrying a large silver tray with food.
"I see you are awake my dear, I brought breakfast." - the male Panther said as he invited his wife back to the bed.
"How did you get all of this?" - She asked.
"I managed to convince the chef, and he was happy to help me getting you this surprise." - Eriol said, a soft smile crossing his face. Something that is not common to see, but he was in a private room with his wife.
They spend some time in the bed as they began eating their breakfast. After that, they washed and Eriol waited for Arianne to dress before leaving the room, they both went to the kitchen, to take the tray back where it belongs.
-
Little did they know what would happen... everyone would be caught off-guard. Revenge from magical powers was not known to be anything less than brutal.
-
Rex walked over to Jake and Sasha, "why don't you go in the pool and relax with sasha" said Rex "Sasha looked like she was having fun, so why don't you go and join her?". "because i like to be dry" said Jake "and i prefer to have all of my clothes..."
-
Selturma finished her massage and thanked Marcus. She then went to rest one a table set up by the pool. The young female would go swimming later... she was quite good at it. When Rex first met her, she had a rough exterior, but she was like a nut... tough on the outside, sweet on the inside.
-
"i wonder if Celina likes her new job here at the palace" thought Jake "she get's paid very well, and she get's more pay if she does a very good job", Jake got up off of the sofa, he wanted to go and check out the garden again....he thought the garden looked really good
-
Selina had had a good first day on the job... the staff had a been friendly and understanding... She now walked into the room, carrying towels. "Anyone need a towel..?" She asked.
-
"I could use one" Selturma said. "I will need to dry off after I go in the pool..."
-
Sasha climbed out of the pool, "i'll take a towel too please" said Sasha
-
Selina handed a towel to Sasha, then to sElturma. "Selturma right? I think you were in my arts class.." Selina said. "Middle row, third seat?'
-
"thank you" said Sasha as she used the towel to dry off, She wrapped the towel around her and she walked over to a seat and sat down. "ah, that dip in the pool felt great!" thought Sasha to herself.
Meanwhile...
Jake had found a nice patch of grass to lay down on, "this looks like a good spot" said Jake "i'll lay here, i just hope they arn't going to use magic to water the garden today, heh"
-
The Panthers began walking the hallways of the palace.
"The wedding is tomorrow, and we need to get ready for that." - Arianne said.
"I am open to suggestions." - Eriol replied.
"We should look for Minna, she must know what we need to be properly dressed and prepared for the ceremony." - Arianne was right, Eriol nodded to her idea and they began walking the hallways, looking for Minna, since she is a noble, she is sure to know all that is need to know.
-
A servant who was preparing the party ran into the panthers. They asked him about how to dress for the party. He told them to dress in their usual style of clothing, but to groom themselves thoroughly the night before. No need to wear just a top and loincloth... although Arianne was free to wear that if she wanted to, or underneath her normal clothing. Eriol was advised to bring his sword and use it to salute the new couple.
-
Jake lay there on the grass by himself, he was starting to wonder what the wedding would be like the next day. "maybe i should return to the party and get somethin' to eat" thought Jake, Jake stood up and he returned to the party.
-
The Panthers thanked the servant for his advices and they kept walking to...
"Where do we go now?" - Eriol asked - "All hallways are like the same."
"Maybe we can visit this garden I see from here" - Arianne replied as she got closer to a door leading to the palace's large garden.
"Wow, it is amazing to see green things here in the desert." - He said as he reached his wife in the door and then both Gaeans entered the garden.
-
The garden was kept watered by the aqueduct system which supplied the city of Minthebec; the palace itself had a line from the city's reservoir. The grass was soft to feel, and plants from many exotic locales were brought in.
-
Jake walked up to the food platters, he took a few pieces of pork and he returned to the garden, Eriol and Arianne were there also "hello" said Jake "do you two find the garden great too?"
-
The Panthers looked back at Jake - "Yes, this garden is beautiful here." - Arianne replied.
"Hello, Jake, and I agree, this place is great. I am amazed to see suck green in the desert, it must be an advantage to be able to live in a palace, to enjoy this." - Eriol replied to the young Human.
-
Selturma also entered the garden. "Hello, Jake! Hi Arianne and Eriol! It is such a nice day for a walk on the grass, don't you think? I'm loving it!"
-
"i like coming into the garden because it's so lush with vegetation" replied Jake to the panthers, "oh, hello Selturma...yes the garden is great, i'm probably going to go back inside, see ya!" Jake walked off, he went back inside the palace and he went into the pool room, he saw Sasha sitting on a chair, "hi" said Jake, "hello" replied Sasha, Jake sat down on a chair next to Sasha
-
"Good bye Jake." - Arianne waved good-bye. Eriol said good bye as well.
"And hello Selturma. Long time no see." - He said, greeting the Dracon.
"It must feel amazing to be able to walk in the grass, so different to the sand and rocks. This feels similar to what you can feel where Eriol and I live." - Arianne commented to Selturma.
-
"You mean you get to walk on grass ALL the time where you live?" Selturma asked, incredulous. "You are SO lucky!"
-
"If you could see where we live, it can easily make you think that there are as much grass as sand in all this desert." - Arianne said, happy to see the young Dracon interested in other places of the world.
"There are also woods of giant trees..." - Eriol replied, and she thought for a bit that Selturma may not make herself the idea. - "You may know for books what tress and woods are. We live in woods, with trees that are easily much taller than this palace."
-
"I know what trees are" Selturma said. "Palms grow along the coast at at oases, and many Dracons raise fruit and olive trees on huge estates at an oasis, by a river, or in irrigated land. But giant trees... wow."
-
Rex was enjoying himself eating some of the snacks that were on offer at the party.
-
"Well, I must have been missing too many things, but I didn't came here as a vistant, so please accept my apologies." - Eriol said to Selturma - "But I am glad I got to learn something new."
-
'It's okay, Eriol. Come, relax! You were awfully wound up on our adventure in the lost city... you seem a lot calmer now..." Selturma said to the panther.
-
"It seems it is notorious how my mood has changed. Lots of things have happened and you are right Selturma, it is good to have the time to relax specially because tomorrow is a very important day." - Eriol said and he followed Selturma's advice so he layed back in the grass, keeping his eyes closed, he began enjoying the Sun.
Arianne sat down in the grass. - "Will you join us here? or will you go with Jake?. At least, I'm glad he is allowed into the castle again."
-
Jake moved from the chair he was sitting on and he hopped onto the sofa
-
"I'll go with Jake, but I'm glad the two of you are relaxing. You look like you two could us some time alone..." Selturma said.
-
"ah, it feels good to sit on a comfy sofa..." said Jake "i might rest my eyes for a bit.....wake me when somethin' interesting happens please", Jake closed his eyes "sure, not a problem Jake" said Sasha
-
"Good bye Selturma." - Arianne said to the Dracon.
Eriol sat down - "Bye Selturma!." - as she left the garden, Arianne placed a hand in one of his husband's shoulder - "What is it, dear?" - He asked with a smile.
"Spring is here." - She said, with a bit of mistery in her voice. But he could understand what is happening.
"I see, the mating season should start soon." - He said placing a hand over her hand.
"I know we agreed we should wait for yet another year. But... I never expected to have this feeling this soon."
"Maybe is the desert, it may have taken an effect in your body." - Eriol nodded. - "We will go through this, but since we have thought about having a second child..."
"I just... don't know, is too soon" - She spoke fast, preventing Eriol from finishing his sentence.
Eriol stood up again and knelt in fron of his wife, and they both embraced. "We can handle this, my love."
-
Meanwhile...
"Isn't that nice! The panther and his "mate" are talking about mating!" A voice said.
"There will not be any consequences, even if he mates every day this season" The presence responded. "All we need to know is that he is under watch by us..."
-
Just then, the trainer entered the garden, carrying some robes, a loincloth, and a top. "Hello, panthers? I was sent by Minna to give you these training clothes as going-away gifts and... I see you are busy. I will just drop these here and leave you now..." He deposited the clothing on a stone in the garden, then quickly left.
-
Jake was starting to get bored sitting on the sofa, he opened his eyes...he saw sasha swimming and having fun in the pool. he sat up and he stretched "(yawn) this is starting to get boring...." said Jake, Jake looked in Rex's direction and Rex was eating lot's of beef and pork....."heh, at least he's enjoying himself" thought Jake
-
Both Panthers were still embracing when the Trainer entered the garden. They broke their embrace as they heard what he said about Minna's gift for them.
"Thank you for the gift." - She said, with a bit of a shy voice, different from how she was acting yesterday in the Training Grounds.
Eriol saw how the Trainer left the garden, as quickly as he arrived. - "We.. almost didn't have the chance to at least 'thanks'." - He then looked at Arianne, he was feeling a bit of uneasy, in the last mating season they were able to have their first child, Isaac. Would they be able to have another child? Maybe it is indeed to soon for her, as all members of the Eriol's family: the Dha'ar, carries a curse.
-
Jake got up off of the sofa, he told Sasha whom was still in the pool that he was going to look around, he hadn't seen the whole castle yet. Saha waved goodbye to him as he walked off.
-
The next morning... the day of Rhiga's wedding to Marcus.
It was early. So early, the sun had yet to rise in the sky...
The priest had all his materials ready for the wedding... at least he said he was a priest... he had glowing golden eyes...
-
Jake, Rex and Selturma were still sleeping...it had been a long day yesterday and they had to be well rested for today........this would not be an average wedding.....
-
Marcus awoke from his bed. Rhiga slept on beside him. last night they had made love for the sixth straight night. Their string was going to be broken tonight hopwever ...
-
The bride and groom got up, dressed, and got some food. Rhiga did some stretches... the last she thought she would ever do before marriage. She then went out to put on her jewelery and put on some perfume.
-
Eriol and Arianne woke up early in the morning. After doing some stretches and exercises, the cleaned themselves, got dressed and went into the kitchen and have some breakfast.
Breakfast was nice, the chef is a nice person, when you get know him. After eating, they began planning their final preparations for the long-waited wedding.
-
Jake awoke and he yawned, he got up and he got dressed....how ever he was wearing only shorts and a shirt, it looked more formal by dracon standards, jake would not be wearing shoes today....well boots...
-
Selturma woke and dressed. On her bed, she found a new top and loincloth, specifically given to her by Vaesa. The new clothes were made out of fine cotton and linen, and were very elaborate. Vaesa had left a note detailing all of this, and even announced that her husband had sent them some money, and that a fraction of that was spent on this... he would not mind, of course, as she was courting one of his sons...
Rex's father also said that he had been given a rather healthy cut of the spoils of the war, and that they would be able to buy lots of new things, as well as have a lot left to save.
-
jake walked downstairs, "hey guys" said Jake "you think Minna would mind if we all went to the palace before Rhigas wedding?"
-
"There's no time, Jake!" Selturma said. "We have to get to the temple!"
-
"okay, no problem" said Jake "you guys go, i'll catch up i gotta get Sasha"
-
In time, the humans, Rex, and Selturma all reached the temple, which was as crowded as ever. They briefly saw Kravik and Sivar while they were waiting in the main hallway. Rhiga and Marcus had arrived earlier... as had Minna and Isla. Now, all that remained to arrive were the panthers...
-
"very crouded isn't it?" mentioned Jake "i'd hate it if it was this crowded all the time..."
-
There was much talking... the ceremony was still some time off... the priest who would perform the ceremony was not present yet, but he was only expected to show himself when the vows were to be exchanged.
-
Jake felt his stomach gurgle...."missing breakfast wasn't the smartest idea i've ever had..." joked Jake "i hope there is food at the end....."
-
Some food was available in the mean time, although Minna's palace was where they planned to hold the reception...
Meanwhile
"This is my final report master" Said a figure with golden eyes. He spoke into a pocket-sized crystal ball. "I am in place. Is the spell ready?"
"Yes, and so are the troops." The dark presence replied from the other end. "You know what to do. Don't hesitate. Show no mercy."
"I never do, master."
-
"heh heh heh! lovely food!" said Jake as he jumped for joy, Jake rushed over to the table with food, he got a big bowl of pork and beef, he immediately started eating. he walked back to Rex, Selturma and Sasha and he offered some of the meat, "anybody want some?" asked Jake
-
"I'll take some!" Selturma said. Bouncing up and down... again.
-
Marcus awaited at the altar dressed in his finest.. He beemed as Rhiga walked down the aisle..
-
This was just a practice run... the ceremony would not start for over two hours... still, they got it right the first time... :)
The priest was still not ready...
-
"here you go" said Jake as he passed the bowl over to Selturma
-
It was now 90 minutes before the ceremony. Jake and the others had eaten their fill. Not a one suspected what would happen...
-
At that time, Eriol and Arianne finnaly arrived at the Temple. Once inside, they found the other members of the party, and they approached Selturma, Rex, Jake and Sasha.
"Hello kids, I'm glad we were able to arrive in time." - Eriol said as he grabbed a piece of meat from the bowl Jake has in his hand.
"Good day." - Arianne saluted while slightly bowing her head.
-
After another hour or so, it was time. The guests all filed into the main chamber of the temple. On this day, most of the priests and mages were out of the temple, as it was the first day of spring, and they were expected to go conduct spells out in nature, and to perform public celebrations.
Still, this holiday had an extra special meaning for Marcus and Rhiga. The priest finally exited the preparation room, holding his holy book in front of his face. For a moment, there was nothing but silence, as all prepared to hear what the priest had to say.
He slowly lowered his holy book... Rhiga looked at the priest in the eye... and began to panic! That face... his eyes were golden and glowing... but there was no mistaking who that was, even if she was not sure WHAT he was... it was Arcantas!!
-
"Something is not right here." - Eriol said, trying to figure out why the sudden change of Rhiga's attitude.
Arianne was looking at Eriol, trying to understand what is going on.
-
"wait.....didn't Adykon kill that guy?" asked Jake now very confused
-
'you" Marcus swore as the ghost of Arcantas smiled a wicked grin "What did you do with the priest?"
-
Adykon looked at the priest, and his eyes widened with recognition! "It's Arcantas!!" the mercenary exclaimed.
"In the flesh!" Arcantas shouted, as he dropped the book "Hello again Adykon, Rhiga. Did you miss me? You were the worst employees I ever hired... It is now time that I show you the price you pay for interfering in the affairs of your rightful suprerior!"
With that, a major spell was cast, opening cut a circular portal, out of which came tentacles of palpable darkness. This was not Arcantas's doing, but was a spell sent from his master. The tentacles headed straight for Rhiga!
"As for the priest... he should be hanging around here somewhere. HAHA!" Arcantas laughed.
-
"This can't be possible!. Arianne, take cover!" - Eriol jumped towards the altar, in an attempt to do something as he grabbed his sword and prepared for an attack (he was allowed to have weapons to salute the married couple after the ceremony).
-
Isla gestured from her seat. and deflected some of the tentacles. "We killed you! Someone must have brought you back! Well this time. We'll destroy you for good" She snarled..
The aenbergy flung marcus back with little effort he crashed into the first row of guuests..
-
Arcantas laughed and cast a spell. Soon, several circular portals appeared with a green glow. Out of each stepped a Dracon. Each Dracon was male, large, wore a suit of chain mail armor, and was armed with a sword. A spell similar to the one Arcantas used to seal off his ceremony room was cast, and the wedding was cut off from the rest of the temple... and the world. The mages and priests who could break it were out of the temple for the day, and they would not get back for a half hour even if they rushed.
Arcantas cast a concussive spell which easily threw Eriol back in the direction of Arianne, knocking him down, but not badly hurting the panther.
-
Minna grew herself up to her full height " Numius" he cried a blasted a nearny Dracon backwards.. There were ten of them in all..
-
"ERIOL!" - Arianne screamed as she reached her husband.
"I'm fine, Arianne... but I think we are all in trouble." - the male Panther said as he stood up again. - "we will need your help." - He said to Arianne, her response was she closing her eyes for a moment, as wind began blowing around her. He saw that his wife were getting ready, and he gave a more wicked smile. - "This will be fun."
-
(what do you mean "grew herself up to full height?")
More Dracons exited the green portals; these were far more dangerous than the badly-equipped little kobolds that they had faced before... these warriors were killing the unarmed party guests at will! Vaeri ran behind a pillar and hid, but nothing would save her if these enemies weren't stopped!
The large portal with the palpable darkness released too many tentacles to deflect or stop, and Adykon's sword could not cut them all... their ability to hold weight was limited; Adykon was too heavy, especially in his armor, but the tentacles seized Rhiga!
-
(I Mean stood up.. "Drew herself to her full height)
Both minna and Isla were now blasting away.. While they were both quite skilled in magic, they were still not the league og mage Arcanntas had been, even if he was now dead and not the mage he had been in life, he was still stronger than they were. "
-
Marcus grabbed a sword and battled against a Dracon. "he slicee at the dracon knees instanding to incapacitate them by taking out thier knees..
-
Arcantas seemed to be MORE than the mage he was before. Somehow, his death had INCREASED his power... he had been brought back... to an extent. The priest in the back room was still alive, but could not sense any true life force within Arcantas... at least, not the life energy of one who was living in the sense that most common people know it...
-
Jake jumped into the fight "my turn!" yelled Jake as he transformed his metal arm into a sword using alchemy, Jake was then attacked by one of the dracons that was holding a sword, Jake blocked it just in time "woah!" exclaimed Jake
-
"We have to take out that portal!" Minna exclaimed as she used her skills on an advancing Dracon. Her spell caught him in the neck, killing him. "One down, twennty to go
-
It was too late, Rhiga yelled for Marcus to help.
"Save me, my love! AHHH!" As she was pulled into the portal, which closed behind them without a trace.
-
RHIGA!' Marcus yelled, and set upon the Dracons with a fury borne of pain and anger. He bowled over one with a charge..
-
(OOC: WHAT is Marcus armed with?! These enemies are trained soldiers clad in chainmail! We really need to work on our power-levels... We don't want this to be the victory of who gets the most mad... or who is the most popular.)
Adykon managed to kill one of the enemies, but was cut in the face in the process... not badly, though.
-
One of the soldoers sent Marcus reeling backwards with a blow.. minna and Isla were pouring out magic, trying to keep the DRacons back.. the ceremony was over.. the mood switched from joy and happiness ..to sadness and anger..
-
Adykon managed to kill another attacker, but he was wounded in the leg. He could still fight, though.
-
If Jake thought he was having trouble with one dracon.....he was about to need to fight two......."what the?!" yelled Jake "no fair!" Jake tried to defend himself although one of the dracons knocked Jake out with a punch to his head, (thud!). Jake fell to the ground unconcious
-
Marcus rushed the soldiers again and again, punching kicking clawing and stratching. his fury was no match for thier training aand armor , and each time he was flumg back into the chairs..
-
Adykon bounded over to the unconscious human, and fended off sword blows from three different warriors... he was holding his own, but barely...
-
The Panthers used the little time they had to prepare themselves, specially Arianne.
Eriol barely had the time to remove his sandals when an enemy Dracon appeared, the Panther was barely able to block his attack, and then he jumped to successfully tackle the enemy and give his wife more time. As the both fell down, the Gaean was able to quicly stand up and grab his sword with both of his hands burying it in the enemy's neck. But there is no time, because more enemies began appearing.
-
marcus kept trying, and getting the same result. . Isla used her magic to throw a enemy DRacon into a a couple nearby Dracons.
-
Sasha thought that now was a good time to cast her slow down time spell, she began chanting the spell...it was starting to work, Arcantas had seen this spell before from a distance he countered the spell
-
Arcantas looked around. Not caring about the outcome of the fight, he spoke "All of you will pay, no matter how this combat turns out. Adykon! The master has his eye on you..."
With that, the Archmage stepped through a portal he had opened, and vanished, but before he did, he cast a field which negated time/space affecting spells, so they could not open up new portals to follow him, or use any spell which affects time.
-
"The coward is escaping!" - Eriol said veryangered, but that made him to not notice another incoming enemy, but gladly the evil Dracon was thrown away several meters by Arianne's wind magic. That magic did not fully stop the enemy, but it gave Eriol enough time to begin a counterattack.
Arianne saw how another enemy Dracon went to attack some unarmed guests of the wedding. She saw her husband and she said almost to herself - "Be careful." - She then went neared those guests as she began gathering here energies to attack the enemy.
-
With Arcabtas DEparture, THe defenders started gaining the upper hand..
_
-
(Cut that part out now, please! Rhiga is my character, she was captured by another character under my control, not yours, and I am NOT putting her in a desert.)
The remaining warriors backed off, and pressed a gem which was located in each of their armors. They then teleported away... but it wasn't over yet.
-
(cut out and I'll leave the area for you to describe)
-
Marcus collaspsed to his knees as the Dracons left, and began to weep bitterly. His sobs rang through the temple. He has several cuts from being thrown into the front row so many times but right now he didn't care about his injuries..
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A large portal began to slowly open. Whoever sent it was more powerful than Arcantas... MUCH more, judging from the size of the portal, and the fact that the spell which created it could pierce through both the anti-time/space distortion field that Arcantas just cast, and the temple's defenses. The party had maybe three minutes to prepare itself to face whatever came out...
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'Get ready guys! I think we've got more company cmoming " Minna said.. "Great.. Just when Things couldn;'t get any worse" Ilsa snapped.
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Jake was still unconcious, Sasha and Rex rushed over to him. "come on Rex help me drag Jake over here so he doesn't get killed by whatever comes out of that portal...", "not a problem Sasha" replied Rex, Rex and Sasha dragged Jake's unconcious form over to wall and they leaned him on it.
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"At least we have some time to prepare." - Eriol said as he went to check on his wife.
"I'm fine." - She replied. And she then used the time to prepare herself. She began using her claws to quicly rip the excess of her dress on her legs and in the waist, and she used a belt she found to keep the lower part of her dress in place. Eriol was looking at her with surprise - "Well, I don't have the training clothing here, so at least now i'll be able to move." - She said, her husband replying with a smile on his face.
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The creature emerged from the portal... It was a Chimera!
(http://images.elfwood.com/art/p/o/ponzetti/chimera3sm.jpg)
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Oh my (censored) gawd" Isla swore as she saw thew huge two-headed beast. ' I think I'm going to prefer the multitude of or large Dracons!
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Adykon charged the Chimera, and found himself bitten and clawed at. "I need support!" He managed to yell, taking blow after blow, unable to hold it for more than a minute without some help.
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"that is ug--ly!" said Rex, Rex pulled out a sword and he charged at the chimara so that he could give adykon some time to get a good strike at the creature, "hey ugly! over here!", Rex tried to attack the creature but it knocked him back with its snake like tail, (thud)
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Minna Cast a spell at the lion's head. It didn't do much. 'oK, magi doesn't do much to it..." She said. " Except maybe tick it off!"
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Vaeri was still cowering in the corner, curled up into a ball and shivering. She was no good to them there, but at least she was out of their way...
"Your magic is too weak to affect it! Try spells which deal indirect dama- OWW!" Adykon said as the Chimera clawed him, wounding him in the arm. He had give the beast a couple of light wounds, but no serious injury.
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Marcus slowly climbed to his feet, his eyes were red from crying.. HIs beloved Rhiga had been takwen from him by an undead warlock with an army at his command! "Don't do anything sttupid Marcus, Chimeras are powerful magical creatures" Ilsa said..
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Adykon retreated from the Chimera, having been badly wounded. He was still able to stand, but was not in good shape. The Chimera had some small injuries, but was more annoyed than really hurt...
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Hey, I happen to be pretty good at magic" Minna replied tersely..
_
Argue later MInna, we need to kill this thing" Isla replied. "Try and turn the ground beneath it into quicksand"
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"That will slow it, and give us time to think- argh!" Adykon said as he was still bleeding from his wounds.
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Rex was gasping for air on the ground, the chimera had winded him, (gasping), "i (gasping) can't....breath (gasping), Sasha rushed over to rex and she punched him hard enough in the chest so he could breath, he must have inhaled some dust when he hit the ground.
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Adykon retrieved his sword, and prepared to fight again, despite his injuries. If he was wounded again as badly as he was the last time, he might not be able to stand again...
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"The crossbow may have been effective now." - Eriol muttered to himself as he reached the creature and charged. But the Chimera was also very quick, and with a claw attack it was able to throw Eriol away.
"Let me try to help." - Arianne said as she casted a whirlwind spell, it wasn't powerful enough to actually damage the Chimera, but at least she is trying to confuse the creature and gain some time for the others.
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Adykon took advantage of the opening Arianne had created, and slashed the Chimera in its belly, doing it some serious damage for the first time, although not nearly enough to stop it.
"RWARR!!" It bellowed in pain and anger.
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Ground soften beneath him" Isla said, gesturing at the ground under the cHimera. the area bebeath the Chimera hind legs began to give way and the hind end of the beast began to sink..
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Rex got up off of the ground, he looked around frantically for his sword.....it was very close to the chimera..."damn it!" yelled Rex in frustration, Rex looked for something else he could use...he walked over to the food table and he got the plates and he flung them at the chimera like a throwing disc
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The Chimera was barely affected by the dishes, but Rex managed to make it mad... it headed for him!
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"time to go" said Rex as he started running away from the large beast, rex was running as fast as he could....it was beginning to gain on him he still held a plate in his hands, he threw it at the Chimera as a desperate attempt to confuse it
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'Rex, You do kNow I'm going to have to pay for those?' Minna said. "Worry about thatlater.." Isla said running foward abd casting a spell the spell hit the Chimera underneath and threw it back, just enough to give the others some time to get away from it..
-
The Chimera still charged at Rex, angry at being pelted by dishes...
Adykon charged the beast again to save Rex... but he needed support! "Eriol! Isla! Someone help me!"
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"Great move!" - Eriol said to Arianne and then to Adykon, as the male Panther stood up, and it used the Chimera's charge on Rex as a chance to attack. He jumped and managed to slash the Chimera's loin.
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Isla cast a spell, she was a more powerful magician than Minna, and her spells had more effect on the Chimera... "Here you go" She said, blasting away at its underbelly.. blood trickled onto the floor from the wounds adykon had given it..
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The Chimera was finally hurt, and badly. It still had fight left in it, but the tide had turned...
Adykon stabbed it again... the snake tail bit him! But it hit his armor so it didn't poison him...
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Rex was still running, he didn't intend to be eaten or killed by an ugly creature..."can someone give me a hand!" yelled Rex while he was running "i can't keep this up forever!"
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The Chimera was staggering... it no longer tried to chase Rex, who was now running unnecessarily.
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Eriol went nearer the creature and used both hands to give a strong attack with his sword, cutting the snake head. - "This creature is tough."
OOC: Sorry for too many edits.
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We're helping!Just keep it up a little lomnger" Ilsa said,. continuing to blast away. and the Chimewra was now bleeding heavily...
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The Chimera charged at Adykon, who stabbed it in its goat head, killing that part of it... now, it was left with only a lion head.
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Rex began to slow down and he eventually came to a halt, he turned around to see why the chimera was no longer chasing him and he saw it bleeding heavily....he noticed that its goat head was dead and so was its snake head, Rex walked back to the group from a distance
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The Chimera fell. It tried to get up, but was slipping on its own blood. Adykon, though wounded, managed to deliver the killing blow with his sword, cutting the lion's head in half through the face.
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Nice work. Adykon' Ilsa said, Taking a breather, in a nearby seat.. "We need to get these people back to my castle.. and then we need to find out, somehow where Arcantus has Taken Rhiga.. "
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"Nice attack, Adykon." - Eriol said as he gave a smile. Arianne came closer to where Eriol is.
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"good job at killing it" said Rex as he got back to the group "good thing you killed it before it killed me, heh"
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Just then, the magic barrier blocking the door disappeared, and a large, spectral face appeared, surrounded by a blue glow... it was the face of Arcantas! His golden, glowing eyes were highly visible... they had no pupils...
"So, you finished off my little pet? I thought you would. It was the runt of the litter. Anyway, if you ever want to see your precious Rhiga again, go to the place of the skull..." The face disappeared, and the scene of a mountaintop only about 2 kilometers from the city of Minthebec appeared. This was on the least hospitable side leading away from the city...
Rhiga appeared to have been nailed to an X, and was guarded by some sort of large, black dragon... a bloodstained altar was on top of the mountain...
"We have to save her!" Vaeri screeched. She had come out of the corner she was hiding in. "We have to rescue my daughter!!"
The image faded away. They knew where to look.
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Jake still lay in the corner unconscious, Sasha spoke up "so, how do we wake up Jake?", "donno" replied Rex "he could be like that for hours....who knows...", Sasha had an idea, she got the lids of two pots and she keeled infront of Jake and she smashed the lids together...it made a very loud noise, "WHAT THE %$#@!!!" yelled Jake in alarm as he jumped up
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Marcus recoiled at the sight of Rhiga, nailed to the X and gagged. Tears welled in his eyes, as the image vanished. 'We have to find her" He said in a weak voice.."
_
You need to rest" isla said. 'We know where to look now, but I'll wager rcantas won't make it easy for us.."
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Adykon stood up shakily on his feet. He was hurt, but he could still coordinate the team efforts. "Alright. Here's the plan. We need to regroup, recover, and rearm. Then, we can save Rhiga. I need to be healed by a spell before going into combat, Eriol needs to get his crossbow, Arianne should change into some proper battle clothing, Minna and Isla should get magical items that can protect us from a black Dragon's acid breathe, and from fire should this creature have been modified..."He said.
"And will someone wake up Jake?" Adykon added
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"That is indeed a huge-scale trap!. But we have no choice." - Eriol said, he then looked at Arianne. - "You don't have to come with us, it far too dangerous."
The female Panther replied with an agry face - "I cannot stay here and do nothing, I can be of help for you. I will go and help rescue Rhiga." - She said with much determination.
Eriol looked and agreed. - "Ok, maybe with more people we'll have a better chance."
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Adykon handled the many questions from the priests and mages who arrived at the temple. When they asked him about Arcantas, he answered, and asked if they would help him. They used their magic to heal his wounds, but were unwilling to get involved further until they found out more information.
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We're gpong to need all the help we can get so save the patronizing Eriol" ilsa said. "Dragons breath fire, acid.. and can live vitrtually forever.. it takes tremendous magical power to control them..' she frowned. "Minna and I can get the items, the rest of you, eat, relax an d recharge.. we are going to get her back Marcus, I promise.." " I'll have Misro tend to you.. until we get back, Celina too.." Minna said.
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Jake stood up straight, "so....what did i miss?" asked Jake as he rubbed his head....."and how the hell did i get over here?"
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Selturma emerged from hiding... she was hidden behind a bench the whole time. She regained her composure. "Jake, the fight is over. We beat a chimera. You can get up now..." She sounded cold and shaken... sounding more like the cold, aggressive female she was when she first met Rex... she did not bounce up and down this time...
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We killed a large 3 headed best, oh and Arcanntas has Rhiga prisoner in the mountains outside of the city.. its going to be loads of fun trying to grt her back" Minna sad.
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"I think we should get going, we have no time to lose." - Eriol said, and both Panthers began running at top-speed towards Minna's palace. So they can prepare themselves for the upcoming battle.
The guards of the palace allowed the Panthers to get inside, they quickly get into their bedroom, Eriol grabbed his crossbow and all of his arrows.
Arianne used the training clothing as an addition to the customization she made of her dress. - "I may need a better weapon" - She said, as she only has a dagger that was supposed to be used only as an ornament in the ceremony.
Eriol agreed with that and as they finished collecting things, they went to the Palace's armory, they found the Trainer of the Training Grounds, who help them get some more daggers for Arianne. The daggers were special, because they have a chain attached, so it can turn into an effective long and mid-range weapon and the chain can be used as a weapon itself and as a way to recover the daggers.
Both Panthers were grateful and then they returned to the Temple.
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Rex pointed in the direction of the dead chimera, "woah!" said Jake "wish i was awake so i could help fight...", "at least your awake now" said Sasha "that was very funny when i scared you with the loud noise from the metal pot lids...", "it must have" admitted Jake "i know that it scared the crap out of me..."
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the guests were slowly walking out of the temple.. the real preist had appeared, and was shocked to learn of all that had occured.. "He apologized profuselt yo marcus and Minna.
_
Ilsa walked out of the Temple. ' i need to get back to castle, to freshen up and get supplies.."
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After some time, Adykon called the party together. "Are we all ready to go and save Rhiga?"
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"Not yet" Ilsa sAid. "Minna isn't here yet" Isla had changed into a new outfitm , and her her staff in her left claw..
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"We have no time for that!" Adykon said. "Rhiga is bleeding to death! We have to go now! Minna will have to catch up! Every moment counts!"
Vaeri nodded. She would accompany them... "Isla detected an anti-magic field around the rock... we cannot just teleport there, even if we knew how. We need to walk there."
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"Well, teleportation sounded like too easy..." - Eriol said as both Panthers began walking towards the place Rhiga as been held, the the male Panther looked back at the others. - "So no choice, but to do this the old-fashioned way."
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The party ran out for the mountain, and within a short time, they came before the Dragon... it was a big on alright. Minna had caught up, but they did not think they could defeat it... Adykon charged the dragon... and ran right through it!
The Dragon was an illusion!
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'what the?" said Jake in confusion "what's the point of having an illusion?......", "i'm happy it's only an illusion" said Sasha "if it were real....we'd probably be dead..."
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The party continued on, marching up the mountain to save Rhiga... it was a rocky climb, but the mountain was not too hard... perhaps the illusory dragon was only put there to discourage the party from attacking so that Rhiga would bleed to death... she was nailed to an X, after all.
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"my metal arm is really starting to bug me..." thought Jake "every time i grab a damn rock my metal hand slides! this is so damn annoying!". Jake continued climbing anyway....Jake spoke, "i hope this arcandas guy isn't too hard to fight.....the only thing i'll be able to do is punch and kick...my alchemy won't work...."
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The party reached the top of the mountain. No arcandas. Rhiga was there, nailed to an X, nude. Adykon ran over to her and started to pull the nails out of her wrists... there was also a gray stone altar there which was glowing...
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Jake was the last one to finish climbing up the mountain, he got up to the top...he examined his metal hand.."damn it! my hand is all scratched up.....i'll have to polish it when i get back..." he thought to himself
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Rhiga was let off of the X. "Thank you." She gasped. She hugged Adykon, then hugged her mother. "Does anyone have some spare clothes?" Rhiga asked, noticing her nudity.
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Arianne looked at the altar Rhiga was been held too. - "Adykon, look at the altar I don't like how is it glowing, we should be careful." - The female Panther said, hoping that glowing was not a bad sign.
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" I have a spare top and lioncloth.." Ildsa said pulling them out and giving the to Rhiga. Ilsa noticed the marked around her mouth where the gag had been, and the hole s in her wrists where she had been nailed to the X.."
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Rhiga took the clothes, and put them on... but from behind her, a gray patch could be seen on her back... something was wrong... wanting to cover it up, she said. "This top doesn't fit, but the loincloth is okay. Does anyone have a larger top?" She needed something concealing... she look at Arianne's ripped dress top...
Something was very, very wrong. The altar started to glow faster...
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"Can her injuried be treated here?... if not, we must hurry and take her back to the city." - Eriol said to the others.
Arianne was still looking at the altar... she was just thinking, but she said nothing, and she turned around to join Eriol and the others.
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Somethings wrong.. What did they do to you Rhiga?' Ilsa asked.. "We need to get her out of here and quickly" She said to the others..
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The gray was starting to spread down her back from her front. Rhiga began to grow nervous... "Arianne? Could I use that dress part on your top? I will give it back to you when I get a top which fits me."
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"He put a curse on you, didn't he?' Minna said sharply.. "Give her a bigger top.. Here' She pulled out a spare top from her belongings. 'its from my mother"
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Arianne looked at Rhiga, since the female Panther is also wearing the traning clothing she had no problem - "Here Rhiga, you can use it with no problem." - Arianne placed the top of her dress on Rhiga's back.
"Now we should get moving." - Eriol said, waiting for the others to start returning to the city.
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Lets move " Ilsa said. " Rhiga if you need help, just lean against one of us, and we'll help you get down.."
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"Thank you, Arianne." Rhiga said, as she put the dress top on, and then kicked the female panther between her legs. The altar, which was glowing, now began to shake and steam was rising from it! "You fools! Now you will suffer the fate which you all richly deserve!" shouted Rhiga.
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"You're not Rhiga!" Minna exclaimed. ' The Rhiga I know would never do that!"
_
Ilsa looked at the glowing altar..' It was a trap, and now its about to be sprung.."
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Arianne fell down from the kick.
Eriol reached his wife by giving a jump in her direction - "HOW DARE YOU!? AND WHO ARE YOU?" - He yelled at what is would supposedly be Rhiga.
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Rhiga gave no answer, but leapt onto the altar, which was not glowing red. "HAHAHA!!" The altar exploded!!
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"what the?!" exclaimed Jake "what's wrong with rhiga!?"
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Rhiga is either possed or that is not Rhiga at all... I'm leaning towards the later Ilsa said.." And I wonder what Arcabntas has been doing while He's llead us out here.."
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(Does NO ONE see the deadly explosion?! Someone should cast a magical shield or something...)
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the explosion threw the group backawards against the rocks..
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(So, she had enough time to say something, and then, after the explosion, she cast a shield... right... :rolleyes: )
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(I'll edit that)
Ilsa slowly rose to her feet.." Ow" She murmurered.. smoke rose from where the altar had been, the smoke was so thick, she couldn't see where Rhiga_ was that Rhiga?_ had gone..
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"Rhiga" was destroyed. Bits and pieces of clay as well as flesh lay scattered around. "It was a mimic" Adykon said. "A flawless imitation in almost every way. It was a trap. The real Rhiga is... I don't know where..." At least the trap had failed... but if not for the shield, they could have not only been injured by the blast; they would have fallen off of the mountain, and they would not have gotten up...
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' Goodness only knows where he tookj Rhiga.. I'm going to dread telling Marcus the truth: We have no idea where Rhiga really is" Minna said sadly.."What state she's in, or what they are doing to her right now.. "
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"Then this means that all that Arcantas wanted from us was to get here... and even if the trap failed, he did gain time to fulfill his plans!" - Eriol was angered as he gave a hard blow to the soil with his fist.
Arianne managed to stand up and she then knelt next to her husband and placed a hand around his shoulder.
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" Which is probably.. to take over the various Dracon cities and declare himself emporaor.." Minna frowned. 'Yes, he's a pompous git. but very poweful one..' iLsa said.. "We need to get back to the castle..
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The group shuffled back to the castle, to rest and recover... Adykon needed time to plan their next move... how to get Rhiga back...
Meanwhile...
Rhiga awoke in a world of darkness... she wasn't aware of much, only that her feet weren't touching the ground and that she wasn't wearing anything.
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Jake sat down on a sofa, everyone was sitting down also..." so what's our next move Adykon?" asked Jake "if that Rhiga was a decoy...what's going to stop arcantas from producing another decoy?...."
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Where IS SHE?' Marcus demaded as they came into the dining room. "We don't know, Marcus, that image we saw, it was a trick, the rhiga we found was a fake, she detonated a trap that nearly killed us all' Ilsa said "So that wasn't Rhiga " Marcus said , in despair..
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"Good thing too" Selturma said. "That thing kicked Arianne in her... well... private area..."
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"i'm sorry" celina said, handing some food out tio each of them. "I was looking forward to the reception.. So you haven't any idea where she is?'
_
No.. ' ilsa said, with a heavy sigh.. "
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Jake just lay down on the sofa until Adykon came up with an idea....he closed his eyes while he was waiting...he thought to himself "i wonder what traps Arcantas has up his sleeves......."
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Adykon returned to the party with some bad news.
"I had just visited the mages, and they say that Arcantas's location is protected by very powerful wards, so much so, they cannot tell us where he is right now, and we still have no way of knowing where they took Rhiga. I've been told that the mages of that temple are working on a solution, but we will not know it for a day or so. We should just rest for now."
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while Jake was lying down he said "well, at least we'll all be well rested...", "indeed.." said Rex whom was sitting on a chair next to Selturma
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"That doesn't help us much" Ilsa said.. as Misro came it. " I take it, uyou didn't find her.." He said simply. " I brought drinks.." Marcus cupped his head in his claws, and shook his head back and forth. " Its my fault " He saoid sadly..
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Selturma fell asleep on her chair... it was a long day, to say the least... horrible, too.
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" Misro picked Selturma up and carried her toa guest room, where he set her down on the bed.
I think it time for REx and Jake to get to bed. There are guest rooms here, just pick out whichever one finds your fancy " Minna said.
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Eriol, who was leaning on a wall, said nothing in particular, he just began walking, he just wanted to take some fresh air.
Arianne was sitting in a couch, her mind is as troubled as everyone else's - "I don't like the idea of having to wait. I just hope she'll be ok... if that is possible." - She also stood up. - "I am going to the bedroom, see you soon everybody." - She began walking back to the bedroom.
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"okay, i'll take the room i was last in then" said Jake "if it hasn't already been taken that is...", "i'll take what ever room is availble" said Rex "i don't mind where i sleep....as long as it isn't a dungeon or in the middle of a fight" rex was trying to make a joke, "just shut up....." replied Jake as he gave rex a light punch in the arm
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Adykon and Vaeri went to sleep themselves... their plans for returning to Hekaga were all in ruins now... this mage business had to be settled now, once and for all, or they might never here the end of it!
-
Ilsa stayed with Marcus to comfort him, while Minna went off to bed. "CElina, If you want to go home you can.." she said.
_
I'll stay here.. its safer in case of an attack" Celina replied..
-
Jake decided to go to his room that he was last in....he began walking slowly to the room, he walked through the corridors, he checked all of the hallway numbers, he found the room he had at the party. he walked inside and he took his shoes and shirt off, he also removed his pants...now he was in his boxers and he just lay there on his bed with his eyes closed.
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Arianne arrived to her bedroom, she is worried, for Rhiga, for Eriol, for her son back at home. she went and washed herself, hoping to wash her problems, but it wasn't successful. After that, she went to the bed... she couldn't sleep at all.
Eriol left the Palace for a while, he began walking and arrived to the Temple. Some people was still working there, trying to clean all the mess. He was lucky to be able to find his sandals. He grabbed them but didn't put them on. He then began walking again... he will return to the Palace soon.
-
Meanwhile...
Rhiga felt herself suspended in the air... as if held there by strings... like a life-sized marionette... she saw a great light in the distance, followed by the creaking of a metal door...
-
Heavy footsteps came down from the light. there was muttering as a glass of water was set down on a stool. "Master still has need of you" hissed a voice.. "Which is why you're not dead right now.. although when he's done with you, you'll wish he HAd ikilled you" the voice stopped and walked away..
-
The figure left the room. The glass of water was beyond her reach... it was placed there to tempt her... that was strangely okay... because... Rhiga could feel food and water in her somehow... she couldn't see what was keeping her up in the air... but it felt attatched to her somehow... as if painlessly put into her skin... some stuff was going in, like food and all that, but something else was going out... energy.
Then it hit her. She almost fainted, but it hit her. Rhiga was being used as a living battery, to convert useless energy trapped up in food and water, and convert it to a form which could be stolen from her.
-
Marcus stayed into the late hours, before Ilsa finally orfrdered him to bed. " Marcus went into the room, he had shaed with Rhiga for the past week. Marcus had become so used to her company that he couls see images of her before him. the warmth of softness of her kiss, the supple and touch of her breasts, the feeling of bliss when he was inside of her.. it was all too much for him. 'RHIGA! he cried pitifully.
-
Jake was still lying on his bed, then he heard marcus, Jake jumped. he was startled by marcus
-
Adykon woke up in the middle of the night... he could not sleep... he had not planned on things to happen this way...
-
after a couple of hours, Eriol decided to go back to the palace, he did so. The guards allowed him inside and then he went back to the bedroom. He entered the room, Arianne was sleeping. He went and cleaned himself, and finally, he got inside the bed, and tried to sleep.
-
The next morning...
Adykon woke up... he saw that Vaeri was still asleep, so he left the bed quietly, not wanting to wake her...
-
As the Sun raised again, Arianne woke up, she was glad to find that Eriol was in the bed next to her, but she realized that he was awake... maybe he slept a couple of hours, or maybe he did not sleep at all.
He noticed his wife been awake now - "Hey, it is still very early, maybe you should try to sleep some more." - he said, almost whispering.
"I cannot sleep any more. There are too many things happening right now." - She replied, and she does have a point, because they have much things on their minds... they have a lot to think about: the murderer, Rhiga, Arcantas, the Dha'ar curse, Isaac and the fact that she is going into heat, due to the mating season been started.
"Somehow, things will be sorted out, a solution will be found." - Eriol said, in an attempt to reassure Arianne. It worked... partially.
They remained in bed for some little more time before they got up.
-
All was quiet in the palace for now... the events of the previous day had badly shaken all of the party members, and yet, they had survived to make it to another day, and under the circumstances, that was a victory in itself.
-
The Panthers began walking the hallways of the palace. Since yesterday's events, Arianne is now dressed with the training clothes that were given to her plus the lower part of her old dress.
She was carrying all the jewelry Minna lent her for the wedding.
"I just hope it is not too early, Minna may still be sleeping." - Eriol commented.
"She may be awake, it is my guess that none of us could sleep... if I am worried, I can onlt try to imagine how the others may be feeling right now." - Arianne replied. After that, silence... silence all the way until they reached Minna's room. - "Good morning, I would like to speak with Minna, and to return the jewels she lent me yesterday." - She said to the guards standing in front of the door.
-
"Minna is still asleep, but you can leave the jewelry here with me. I'll keep it safe and give it to her when she wakes." The guard replied. He noticed her top, which was no longer covered by her old dress. "You dress well, for a mammal" He added.
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Arianne gave a smile - "I think is good if I can dress like Dracons do, it can be a sign of respect from my part for your culture." - She then gave the jewels to the guard. - "Please give Miss Minna our greetings and thanks." - After that, she turned around and reached Eriol, who was standing some meters behind her.
As they were now away from Minna's room, he said. - "If you have really considered adopting some of their 'dress code', then why haven't you do that before?"
Arianne looked back and up to his husband. - "Because I am not really fond to that... but I made the Guard happy."
-
Adykon went to the temple, where he sought the advice of its mages and priests; the latter where performing rituals of purification the day after the battle, and the former were strengthening the wards which kept hostile spells away from the temple.
-
The Panthers kept on walking the hallways, they were still quite empty because it is still very early in the morning, except for the people working on the temple.
"Speaking of making people happy... Arianne, have you considered if we will give Isaac a sibling?" - Eriol asked, a bit of shyly.
Arianne just looked at him, not angry or serious, but a bit of saddened - "After what happened yesterday, the mating season is not the most important, right now."
They kept on walking.
"I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought this topic." - Eriol tried to excuse himself. Even if Gaeans have great self-control, the males can still feel the pheromones produced by the females. This time of the year is very important for them, because it is their chance to procreate.
Arianne placed a hand on her husband's shoulder and then she hugged him. - "Please don't be. I love you. But let's just try to focus in our relation of romance and into help the others get Rhiga back... and then we may think about having a second child, even knowing the risk of having a second child from your family line. What do you think?"
Eriol gave her a soft smile. - "Whatever you say, it will be fine for me."
-
Adykon spoke to the mages. He learned a few things; first, they announced that the spells used to attack them could only have been cast by an archmage, as they cut through the wards of the temple like a knife through butter... that was very unusual. Second, when told them the name "Arcantas", they told him that the archmage was indeed dead, but had been reanimated as a sort of undead. Exactly what sort was still unknown, but if he could speak, he was more than just a zombie...
Third and finally, they told him that they could provide him with an artifact that disrupts the undead... it was a token of thanks for defeating the attack on the temple... they escorted him to the temple vaults to give it to him.
-
After walking some more, the Panthers found themselves in the relaxation section of the Palace.
"Look at this Arianne, we get to find where the first party was held, when we got here to the palace." - Eriol looked at the room, very clean and empty.
Arianne looked at her husband. - "It gives me an idea. You are sure too tense due to all the ast events, I know you are a good fighter, but if you are relaxed, then you can think more clearly."
"What do you have in mind?" - He asked with curiosity... the answer came with her getting Eriol into the room where some tables are placed one next to the other
"I will give you some massages" - She said, getting closer to Eriol, her eyes filled with sensuality. That made the male Panther to sit in that table as he gave a step back.
"How can I refuse to that?" - he said as he let Arianne to remove his shirt. the male Panther has a well-build muscular body, but it also has many scars from many combats. He layed down on his stomach, and then Arianne began massaging her husband's shoulders.
-
Arianne looked down on her husband. His back was full of knots and tension... she could tell that these last few days were hard for him as well as her... and it was obvious that her pheromones made him burn with desire for her...
"Turn over please, Eriol." She said. He did so. Arianne was now facing him, and as she did so, she removed her top to let him see her well-developed mammaries, which were even larger than normal due to her slowly entering a state of heat. She also removed the lower part of her dress, but kept her loincloth on. She then removed her husband's pants so that he and she were both only wearing a single undergarment over their loins.
She began rubbing him on the chest and would turn him over to continue his back massage soon... a perfect copy of previous time spent together...
"How does that feel, my love?" she asked.
-
"I feel.... like I am in heaven." - Eriol said, his eyes closed themselves, and he let go into the skilled hands of Arianne.
She kept massaging Eriol's shoulders, firmly, but not making much pressure. At this time, they both know each other enough, so they know how to enjoy simple pleasures of life... like a good massaging.
After massaging her husband's shoulders, Arianne lowered to the male's back and in the ribs' section. She gave a smile as she could hear a very faint purring coming from her now half-sleeping husband.
She then massaged his muscular arms, and then, his legs. She was also enjoying this very much.
-
Arianne continued the massage... working her way down to Eriol's feet, taking the time to rub each pad on his foot, and to work thoroughly on each toe; Eriol had not worn his sandals today, so it saved her the time of removing them. She then worked her way back up to his legs, and tail.
She proceeded to scratch his back gently, which let made him growl a bit... which was a stronger sign of pleasure than purring was... she was doing her task well... after spending time rubbing the nape of his neck, Arianne moved on to his back again... feeling around for a sweet spot on him which she knew would get him to relax if she rubbed him there.
"Where is it?" she thought. Arianne hadn't done this in a while... "to the left, maybe? To the right, where is- there it is..." "Just relax, Eriol." Soft growling could be coming from her husband, who was more relaxed than he had ever been in the Dracon lands. He let out a soft yawn and put his head down on the pillow which was on the table, and slowly fell asleep, feeling relaxed and content.
Eriol was much stronger than Arianne, but she could still exert some control over him in matters of pleasure, especially when he was aroused, and she was still clear-minded... Arianne stood over her sleeping husband, continuing to caress his slumbering form, keeping watch over him...
...then Vaeri walked into the room.
-
Arianne was still massaging Eriol when she suddenly saw Vaeri entering the room.
"Good morning Vaeri." - Arianne said to the Dracon, as she kept on doing some massages, trying to finish "fixing-up" some remaining "knots".
-
Vaeri looked at the panthers and smiled. They were dressed in a manner she could identify with, in only a loincloth, as she was at the moment. Although she had come into the room looking for a massage, she would spend some time talking.
"Good morning Arianne. I see Eriol is in... good hands." Vaeri replied, noticing the sleeping panther. She sat down in a tall chair on one side of the table Eriol was lying on. "I still can't believe that Eriol is so... relaxed. Did you work any of your magic on him?" Vaeri said.
-
Arianne smiled back and winked an eye. - "Well, sometimes a good massage is better than any magic." - she made sure that Eriol was sleeping, and then she decided to join Vaeri. She sat down. - "I know the last days has been very tough. I'd like to know if I can do something for you."
-
"Oh no, I'm fine, thanks" Vaeri said, preferring to fulfill whatever she needed by getting it from a Dracon. "I understand that we have come from very different lives, and different places. Maybe we could just... talk."
Eriol, still deep asleep, let out purring sounds...
-
"Talking sounds good to me, I am glad you came here." - Arianne sat down in a chair next to the table her husband is resting on. - "Eriol and I came from a very far away land indeed, some things can be very different... but I guess others are just like the same."
-
"Do you have a lot of dancers in your land?" Vaeri asked. "I am a dancer, and our lands are full of them. My mother before me was a dancer, and as far as I can tell, so was her mother, too..."
-
Arianne thought about asking if Vaeri was a Classical dancer... but somehow she could guess that wasn't exactly what she was referring about. - "Well, I don't know too much about it. But I have been told that more... exotic dancer can appear when the mating season starts"
Vaeri thought about that. "Does your race only mate during one specific season? It seems that way from how you describe it... I don't want to imagine what that is like... it would be so... unusual" she replied.
"Well, that is the way we are... I can take it than you can mate all year, like Humans can." - Arianne was indeed surprised, she may have thought Dracons could have a mating season too. - "But the mating season is already starting. But the effects of that will not be seen until in some more days or in a week."
"It is hard to think of there being no... mating... for most of the year for a race" Vaeri admitted. "Well... maybe we are more alike in different ways, then. What do you panthers do for a living?"
"It may sound strange, but we Panthers can eat meat and vegetables too. We have farming, mining, and many forms of commerce and exchange with other races, Humans included." - she stopped for a second. - "All of us Gaeans are recovering from a great war. Our remaining kingdoms are recovering from all the damage. But we have been working hard to get our economies back on their feet."
l
"War? There was a war? What happened?" Vaeri asked, curious. Wars were always a part of the lives of Dracons, and they had grown used to them... and regarded it as a natural thing...
"Some people began conspiring in the shadows, and managed to gather large armies, with the promess od immense power and domination... they attacked from everywhere. My father and my older brother died. But my mother, my sister and I managed to survive." - It was an uneasy topic for Arianne... in fact, it is uneasy for all Gaeans. - "Thousand of lives were lost, entire races were wiped out......"
"... and we are still trying to rebuild ourselves from the ashes."
"Wow. I never knew... were you a fighter in this war?" Vaeri asked. "You seem to be able to handle yourself well in combat, as we saw with that recent attack on the temple..."
"That is nice from you but the truth is that I am no warrior. The most I have done was to help soldiers to defend our city, by using what I know of wind magic." - Arianne said to Vaeri. - "I believe that you could defeat me in a hand-to-hand combat."
"Oh. I am just a dancer. I know very little of hand-to-hand combat, except for what Adykon has taught me in the last few weeks, while were were on that quest in the lost city. Still, if you ever want to spar, we can try it in the training grounds, if you like." Vaeri responded, thinking of that possibility for later on.
Arianne looked at Vaeri and smiled - "Maybe in some other time." - She doesn't really like the idea of a sparring, but she didn't mention that to not make Vaeri to feel bad. - "I am curious, can I ask how did you meet Adykon? he is your couple... or maybe your husband, right?"
"I met Adykon in an inn, as many Dracons do. He is not my husband yet, but he will be when we return to the city of Hekaga, where I am from." Vaeri said. "She noticed that Arianne was only wearing a loincloth. "So, you've decided to dress as us Dracons do? Good for you!"
Arianne became a little shy at this, placing a hand on the side of her head, like she would fixing her hair. - "Well, I do like to wear some more... I made this to convince Eriol to take a massage. We females sometimes need to be persuasives." - At that time they could hear Eriol giving a small laugh, but they noticed that he was still fast-sleeping
"That is SO true" Vaeri said, laughing. She heard Eriol snore a bit, but he was silent again soon. "Among us Dracons, it is the female who has greater urges to mate. I don't know how it is with you panthers..." Eriol's left foot twitched a few times, as if he were remembering something in his sleep...
Chiletrek says:
Arianne took a look at her husband, and then she returned her sight to Vaeri - "When the mating season starts, it is we females who began emiting pheromones, that can really 'activate' the males. I should have observed more, but I may say that they got more urges as they respond to our hormones."
"But when you are in heat, fully in heat, is it you females who would have more desire to mate?" Vaeri asked.
"If we can find the right male, yes. It can turn into a desire from both parts... a great desire. That is what I feel when I am with Eriol, and I know he feels the same way." - Arianne stopped for a second. - "I am starting to think about what Eriol asked me... about having a second child. But I am still unsure."
"I have had many children" Vaeri said. "I have been able to take care of them, and all without a father present. This will change when Aykon comes in, of course... I've never heard of a race in which the males have more urges than the females, at least, not a race that lives around here... if anything, I am the one pressuring Adykon to mate, rather than the other way around."
"Dracons are different than Panthers. I really admire how you can take care of all your kids, it sure sounds very difficult. I hope you'll be very happy with Adykon, and I know you'll be more happy when we rescue Rhiga, we are all here for you and we will save her together." - Arianne's eyes were more sharper now, showing much determination.
"Yes. My daughter is still missing... I don't know what has happened to her, but Adykon seems determined to get her back... I know we will get her back... somehow." Eriol made a growling sound in his sleep. "Tell me, has Eriol been good to you? He doesn't pressure you for anything? You seemed very eager to please him, and you did a good job at that, it seems."
"Eriol is a good warrior (she pauses for a second, not wanting to tell Vaeri the truth about Eriol), he is also a very loyal couple and he is very loving, I know he will be a good father for Isaac, and for all the kids we can have in the future."
"He sounds just like Adykon" Vaeri said. "Good for you, Arianne!" Vaeri looked around at Eriol and Arianne, noticing Eriol's paws. "Hmm... you panthers have a very different body structure from us Dracons... I have never seen feet like that... even more unusual-looking that human feet... and you are covered in fur... much more so that Jake is..."
"The climate in my homeland is not near as hot as here, and winters can be cold, specially in the mountain areas. So the fur can protect us. This may sound strange, but we can grow more fur for winter and then we can let go that fur for summer." - Arianne giggled at how that sounds..........
- "As for our paws, they are designed differently as we need to move fast, the 'pads' we have helps for traction and shock absorption. And we felines have retractable claws." - Arianne shows Vaeri how she can deploy and retract large claws from her hands, and that she also has pads in the hand's fingertips - "We can also run using our four limbs."
"You can run on all fours? Wow. Dragons can do that, but Dracons cannot. I guess you are good at balancing and climbing trees? Dracon females are very, very good at doing those things... our hands and feet also have claws" Vaeri said, showing off the claws on her feet, holding her left foot in her hands and flexing her toes.
"Your claws are bigger, and I have seen enough to see that you Dracons can really be good at climbing." - She waits for a bit, like she is remembering something - "You are very like a Gaean race called 'Draconians', they were just like you, but they also had wings, they were good at flying."
"A two-legged Dragon-race with wings? That is unusual." Vaeri said. "Except for some half-Dragon Dracons, none of us ever have wings..."
"Maybe they may have done allies with your people... but they were all killed in the great war."
"Oh. That's sad. Another race lost to the dust of history" Vaeri said. "I know that you used to have a dress, but it was lost... do most of your fellow panther females dress that way?"
"Generally yes, we wear more clothing, but not as much as Humans do. They really can overdo themselves with clothing." - She smiled at that, as she has met many Humans
"I saw that you didn't have any footwear, but that Eriol did." Not knowing if this was due to the way males and females dressed among the panthers, Vaeri asked "Is it common for males to have footwear among your kind, but for females not to wear any of it?"
"We don't use footwear at all, unless we need to go to a formal meeting or other events of that kind. We are not used to the heat of the desert, that's why we needed the footwear." - Arianne said, and then she added. -
"All of my things were stolen while I was sleeping in my way here. That is how I lost most of my things except for my dress. I'm glad the convoy stopped in this city, so I didn't have a bad time at all."
"Well, I am sorry that everything was stolen from you..." Vaeri said. "And at least you have common sense when it comes to your feet... most of the time" Vaeri said, in reference to the sandals. Vaeri looked at Eriol. "Does your kind dress like that at home? I know we Dracons do..." she told the female panther.
-
Jake eventually woke up....he yawned and he got out of bed, he put his shirt and long pants on and he left the room to go and get something to eat. he could smell something very good that was wafting away from the kitchen. "ah.......that smells...go-ood...." he thought to himself
-
Jake continued towards the kitchen...
-
"We keep most of our clothing on. Maybe is something we share with the Humans." - Arianne replied. - "And about my common sense with my feet... I can try and convince Eriol to use that special potion made by Selturma."
"Oh, I've used potions like that before... when I can afford it, which is quite rare. It keeps the heat from burning my soles. It doesn't protect against rocks or debris, though." Vaeri said. And your children, do they have restrictions for their clothes like we Dracons do?"
"Clothing restriction?, no. I have seen children playing shirtless but I thought it was for the heat here in the desert." - Arianne was indeed cruious about that, Gaeans children do not have clothing restrictions as Dracons children have.
"Young Dracons who cannot walk yet don't get clothing, but this usually only lasts for about six months, at most. From that point to six years old, young males and females are only given loincloths. At age six, the boys get pants, and the girls get a top when their mammaries, or tiotleglas, begin to develop. Boys can wear more clothing at age 14... pretty much like humans except for the footwear."
Vaeri said.
"Wow, I had no idea." - Arianne said, still very curious. - "Maybe those restrictions were done so their bodies can adapt better to the desert as they grow." - She commented. - "But you can still get to wear more if you want to?"
"We females and children cannot really wear more... clothing is regulated by age and sex." Vaeri responded. "However, a male of a certain age can choose to wear less, and females often wear less than the maximum, such as myself" Vaeri said, gesturing to her breasts.
"I see. I do wonder who was the genius behind that idea." - Arianne was not fond at all with the clothing rules Dracons have, she thought it was very unffair... still, she has to be cautious, so she said no more.
"As you said, it probably evolved out of a need to dress lightly in the desert." Vaeri said. "Females and children are not as well adapted to the heat as adult males are... it is uncomfortable to wear my top on some days, it is so hot..."
"I had the feeling you would say something like that." - Arianne said, trying to make a smile. - "If it weren't for the spare magical bracelet Eriol gave, I would have get an even worse time as I have black fur."
"I suppose you would... still some cats live here in the desert... but they live in caves during the day, and generally stay underground... not at all like you..." Vaeri said.
"We can be active in the day and in the night if the need arises. Since weather is more benign in my homeland, we've learned to be more active in the day so we can make commerce and other activities with more diurn races." - Arianne explained.
"We Dracons are generally active in the day... but we often stay up late... and have many festivals... that usually makes us tired the next day, though..." Vaeri said. "You say you have a son named... what was it again? Did I mishear you?"
"Isaac, his name is Isaac Dha'ar" - Arianne replied, happiness could be heard in her voice.
"Sounds like a good name" Vaeri said. "I have many children, and you've already met one of my daughters... is Isaac as good as his dad?" Eriol was still sleeping... for the Dracons, this would have been seen as a sign of weakeness; sleeping in front of females in public... and being vulnerable...
"Isaac is still a baby, but he is a very healthy one. I am sure he may be a good Panther, like his father or even better." - Arianne replied - "So you can see why we cannot bring him here, but he is in good hands, back in our homeland."
"That is nice but... ugh!" Vaeri said. "I just remembered! Do you mammals give birth to... live young?!"
"Yes, our kids are born alive. We don't lay eggs." - Arianne said to Vaeri.
"You mean... little Isaac came out of you kicking and screaming?! We Dracons just lay eggs which slide right out.." Vaeri said, disgusted at the thought of a live birth.
"Is not as bad as it sounds." - Arianne tried to reassure Vaeri, but she doesn't think she is having much success. - "And Isaac began kicking and screaming after he was born... he kicked one of the medics." - She laughed after saying that. It was a good memory.
"You need medics to give birth?" Vaeri asked. "Most females just lay their egg at home, sometimes all alone. They are ready to go again in a few hours, sometimes far less..." Vaeri was still a bit creeped out at the thought of laying something which could kick and scream...
"Medics can be of great help, but I bet there must be many females prefering to lay eggs." - She said with a calm look on her face. - "How long does it take for an egg to hatch?"
-
on the way to the kitchen Jake could see Celina working, he walked over to her "hello Celina" said Jake "you like your job here at the castle?"
-
Yes, Very much " Celina nodded. : I've made nearly 200 coins already in just under a couple days on the job, Misro is my boss and he seems to be happy with my job performaance.."
-
It takes a few months" Vaeri said. "We can sometimes get pregnant again with a second egg before the first one even hatches... How many children can you panthers have each year? It seems like it is too few..."
"We have one or two kids per time. I know other females having more, a friend of mine once got five." - She replied, saying that like if it was a great event... not really knowing how many kids a Dracon can have.
"You kind has only one season in which it can mate, right?" Vaeri said. "You don't have any urges the rest of the year? Don't you ever miss how it feels? Does Eriol ever miss it?"
"I cannot really reply for him, even though he only really opens his heart with me. But I don't get urges at all outside the mating season..." - she takes a look at Vaeri - "... that sure must sound strange."
"If it is your pheremones which set him off, and you only emit those during mating season, then he probably wouldn't want to mate outside of the season either... you must find other ways of getting pleasure, then." Vaeri said to Arianne.
"That is... true." - Arianne said. - "We do have other ways to pleasure ourselves." - she then stood up and grabbed the top she has been using, and she placed it on herself before sitting again.
Vaeri realized that this subject must be more taboo in their lands... "I didn't mean anything bad by it, Arianne... are you sure you want to keep that top on? Your tiotleglas seemed to have a calming effect on Eriol... seeing you bare when he wakes up might keep him calm."
"Don't worry, we will be fine." - She tried to smile. - "This topic is sure talked when in a trusted ambient... you are a good girl, but I am just a foreigner here."
"Does Eriol ever give you the same... treatment... which you just gave him? I get males to do that all the time... and Adykon is very good with his hands..." Vaeri said to the female panther.
"Yes, he is good at massaging. He does know where it hurts me and how to solve it, it is just great." - She said, feeling more alleviated from the previous topic
"How long have you known him?" Vaeri asked. "I'm not sure how long you panthers live, so a year for you could be like 5 for us..."
"I don't know how much you live either, so it can turn into a game of guessings." - Arianne giggled. - "We live for a bit more than 70 or 80 years. And I first met Eriol 5 years ago."
"Dracons can live for 115-120 years, sometimes even as long as 150." Vaeri said. She looked at Eriol again... "How long do you think he will be asleep for? He looks very relaxed..."
"He sure looks relaxed. But he may have been here for quite some time chasing the Panther that almost killed me. He may have got the stress from months!" - she replied. - "But he may wake up soon enough."
There was little indicaton of Eriol waking anytime soon... "It is probably best to let him sleep. I know I get cranky when I am woken up before I am fully rested..." Eriol's left foot gave a few quick kicks, and his tail moved back and forth quickly... "He seems like he is enjoying whatever it is he is dreaming about." "Does he often fall asleep after a massage?" Vaeri added.
"Not really, this time must have been because of too much stress over many months." - Arianne replied - "At least Ihope he'll get enough relax."
"He looks comfortable enough, lying there on his stomach... that is how I often sleep..." Vaeri said.
"It is nice to see him that way, because it is not common." - She added to what Vaeri said.
"Why is he so tense, then?" Vaeri asked "Why is it so rare to see him relaxed?"
"He has many things on his mind. I bet that all the time he has been here chasing my murderer, all on his mind was to return home with Isaac." - Arianne was making up an answer - "There are many thing happening in my Homeland, so to have safety in the family is a priority."
"I see. He must be very devoted to his task. I know Adykon is devoted to his duties... it is a common trait among males..." Vaeri said to Arianne. "Do you and he ever spar, or practice fight?"
"I have some separate practices from him, since I am more into magic combat. I don't know half of what he knows about hand-to-hand combat." - she gave an answer to Vaeri.
"Oh. I understand. What kinds of magic do your people like to use? You have told me that you like air magic..." Vaeri asked.
"Wind magic... but is basically the same." - Arianne said - "Most of the magic is based on elements of the nature: thunder, water, fire, earth, wind. people must born with the ability so they can expand it."
"You are a sorceress, then?" Vaeri asked, knowing that mages who had innate magic were classified as having sorcerous powers, rather than wizards, who had to learn it all, as they had no inherent powers from birth.
"There are wizards too. And also those who combines the knowledge of both magical sources." - Arianne said - "I have seen many things been possible using both types of magic. Specially those made by the Great Masters, which are very powerful Magic wielders."
"Were you taught magic in a school? Were you apprenticed to a master? Or were you educated by your family?" Vaeri asked, going over the possibilities of how to learn magic. Even innate magic users had to be taught how to correctly wield their powers.
"I was taught, first by my family, and then with a specialized master." - That was her reply, but she added - "Not all members of my faily did born with magic, I was one of the few, and I don't know if Isaac will inherit magic or not."
"Wow. Your family must have been rich to have been able to afford that, probably" Vaeri said to Arianne. "Mages do not always take students for free..."
"Generally they are not, but some are known to give free classes if they can reunite enough people. Some governments do that when they find they have many magic wielders between their people."
Vaeri got up and stretched. "Well, it was nice talking to you, but I think I'll go get that massage now. I hope you and Eriol have a great day!"
"Thank you for the nice talk." - Arianne stood up as well and bowed her head in sign of respect. - "We may be able to do that again someday." - she smiled and she walked back to his husband, who was soon to wake up.
Vaeri walked to a massage table and lay down on it. In a moment, an attendant was right with her...
After some more minutes, Eriol yawned and stretched, he turned on his back and sat down. he said to Arianne - "Hello dear, did I sleep for too long?" - he asked as he got down from the table.
"Not really." - She replied with a smile. - "We may try and get something to eat."
"Sounds like a good idea." - He then dressed, Arianne put on her dress bottom, and they began walking to the door, but he noticed that Vaeri was there
- "Hello vaeri, sorry I didn't see you before." - after the greetings, both Panthers walked into the kitchen.
Waiting for the panthers in the kitchen was Adykon... he had a sad look on his face... as if he had been told some bad news... "Hello Eriol, Arianne. I wish I had some good news for you..."
"What happened?" - asked Eriol with a serious face. Arianne was back, visible worried.
"The mages at the temple told me more about who they think is behind this... it is worse than Arcantas, much worse, if they are correct..." Adykon said.
"So this means that Arcantas is just a lackey." - Eriol said. - "do the mages have any idea of who is behind all of this?"
"They know that we are facing a lich... a very old one at that. After existing for literally thousands of years, these undead mages can acumulate a tremendous amount of knowledge and power... they don't know which one is responsible, but they are working on narrowing it down for us..." Adykon said.
-
"that's good" replied Jake "you must be very happy"
-
A Lich, huh? " minnaaid entring the room, and she shook her head. ' if that is true we're in serious trouble. Liches are extremely powerfuland since they are already dead, kiling them is extremely difficult.. they can control all soprts od undead creatures, ghosts, vampires, zombies, and all sorts of nnasty creatures.
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"yes, i am happy here" replied Celina "Minna is really nice to us", "that's good to hear" said Jake "it's a good thing Minna let you work here"
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"And she is goibng to help my mother and siblings too' Celina. " My brother is a guard for the king, and he says we're going to get atr least some of our posessions, the only question is how much, and when..
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"at least you get your stuff back" replied Jake, "anyway....i'm probably gonna go and see what the other are up to, i'll see ya round....or do you wann come? i'm sure minna wouldn't mind"
-
Selturma joined Jake... "mind if I come along with you too?" She wasn't bouncing up and down anymore... the whole Rhiga situation was too depressing...
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"sure you can come" replied Jake
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She you around, here" She handed him a cake with fristing> " something for the road..
-
(who is giving the cake to whom?)
Oh thank you" said Jake, Jake, Celina and Selturma all headed down the corridors to look for the others, Jake and Selturma hoped that some good news had come....Celina probably hoped as well...
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(Celina is giving it to Jake)
"Celina?' It was Misro. " Wherre are you going? the weaver downstairs, needs your help.."
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"why don't you just ask for the day off?" suggested Jake "Minna lets her other servants take days off"
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I Have to work a certain amount of days before I get days off, four weeks I thhink.. ' celina said, looking at Jake with a smile..
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"oh well" said Jake "i'll leave you to your duties then"
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Celina reached our her claw, and began rubbing Jake's leg softly. "Thanks for everything you've done for me Jake- you're a true friend" she smiled..Can I ask a favor/'
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"erm...sure....i guess..." replied Jake
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" thanks" Celina smiled, and wrapping her arms around Jake neck's kissed him firmmly on the lips. celina smiled inwardly, as she felt jake react to the kiss. the kiss didn't last long, as Celina quickly drew away. "That was a thank you Jake, for all your help' she smiled. "You're not a bad kisser either' she smiled..
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"strange......" thought Jake
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Celina smiled at Jake's reactionm. "Oh come out with it. you liked that..' She grinned still more broadly. "What, hasn't Sasha kissed you before?'
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"not like that" said Jake, "although it was strange to be kissed by another species....i do admit...i did like it..."
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"Thank you Jake.. I learned my lesson last time, by not asking your permission before doing something.."Celina replied. "If you want to do it again.. go ahead.. if not I understand.."
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"i'm fine" said Jake "i don't think it's a good idea to kiss anyone out of my species......anyway...i kinda got turned on...not because your a dracon, hell no....because your a girl i guess?", Jake gestured down to his crotch where a bulge had formed in his pants!
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a girls a girl' celina nodded. ' and you're not half bad looking yourself jake, just a bit awkward in social situations..
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Thank you...i guess" replied Jake "your not too bad yourself, i suppose...."
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'Minna beamned, "thanks, my mom thinks I'm a bit homely.. I won't repeat what my faher -excuse me my LATe father- called me-- Could you help me with the weaver Jake, I think he needs to untie some knots or something.."
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"yeah sure" said Jake "i can help you with the weaver"
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Celina guided Jake downstairs, the lower levels were smaller and older than the upper levels.. " this way" Celina said.. turning and headi nng left down a passageway..
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"heh, sure is old down here" said Jake
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'yeah, this has here long before the upper levels were added, this castle has been in Minnas family for 600-700 years'celina said, contiuning to walk down the hallway, on the right was a small door " i think this is it.." Celina said..
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"okay" replied Jake "looks like a very small place to put a weaver"
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Well_" Celina began, as she closed the door behind them after they had both entered. there was a small spindle in the corner used for turning cotton into thread.. a small bed and not much else. We can sit on the bed while we wait for the weaver..
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"okay" said Jake, as he and Celina both walked over to the bed and sat down
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As he did, celina undid her top and threw it on the ground. she moved her claws down his sides, feeling the cotton in jake's shirt..
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Clenia reached over and moved Jake's hands to her breasts, as she did she kissed again, she was not thinking of him right as a human, he was a male..
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'Undress Jake.. go on' Celina said, Jake was not the only one becoming more and more turned on.."Go on.." she whispered...
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"The sooner the better." - he said. "I just hope things will turn out for the best." - Arianne added.
"I don't think either of you understand the gravity of the situation." Adykon told them, taking out a golden pendant. "See this? It is a powerful artifact which can harm the undead, and yet, if the lich is as powerful as they say it is, even this won't be nearly enough to stop him. They have told us that we have a less than 10% chance of rescuing Rhiga without taking a death of our own..."
"But we must still try, if we have the 10%, Isay we take it." - Eriol said. - "I may die in this mission, but I will never able to live knowing that I didn't tried."
"Our odds improve to about 1 in 5 if we take a loss... that is what one of the temple's seers told me... Are you sure you want to take this mission, both of you? You have a son, don't you? This could be very dangerous... it may be a one-way trip for us all..." Adykon added.
"I will go, believe me that this is not the first time I face certain death." - Eriol said.
"You should remain here, Arianne; Adykon is right, is too much of a risk, and you can take care of Isaac." - Eriol said to his wife, but he received a negative. "I will go too, I feel this is something I have to do, I'll do it for Vaeri." - she said
That surprised Adykon. "You will do it for her? I commend you for that." Adykon still planned to leave Vaeri, but no one else knew it yet... "Anyway, we have to get going on this mission in no more than two days. If we leave any later than that, the mages estimate that Rhiga will be beyond saving... if either of you wish to do anything in this city, now is the time..."
"We will do that, and we will be here ahead of time for the mission." - Eriol said, Arianne nodding.
Adykon looked at Eriol... "Something's different, Eriol... you sound less... aggressive."
Eriol looked at Adykon as he grabbed one his wife's hand. - "Maybe because I feel complete again." - the reasons go far beyond that, but he feels that could suffice for now.
"His wife gave him a massage and he slept like a kitten!" Vaeri said, fresh from her own massage, as she entered the room...
"hahaha, I didn't expect to have slept that well." - Eriol said with much amusement.
Vaeri approached Adykon and said to him, whispering so that no one else could hear "Eriol was asleep between myself and Arianne in public... and he was in his loincloth." In Adykon's mind, this was a sign of weakness... sleeping in public... for the whole world to see... when one could just be killed without a fight... few Dracon males would be caught doing that...
Eriol was having a nice conversation with Arianne, as they both got some food to eat.
Vaeri took some food and shared it with Adykon... she clearly loved him... she also said to the panthers "If you two need to relax some more, you can always try the steam room."
Arianne and Eriol looked at each other, and Arianne replied. - "No thanks, we are fine." - they both smiled and kept on eating their food
Adykon finished eating and got up. "Alright. I need to make plans, and quickly. I've been told by the mages of the temple that the spells which gave us so much trouble originated in the southwest, so that is where we will go..."
"Then at least we have a direction to follow. That is something good." - Eriol said as he looked at Adykon.
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Would you like me or Ilsa to accompany you? We know maggic ourselves, granted not as ,uch a lich or Arcantas but it is better than nothing.." Minna said.
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" And I am too Jake.. " Celina said. "The only one that comes down here consistently is the eaver, he demands quiet and solitude while he works..the only other people who come down here are those assigned to help him.. She moved her body underneath him, so that she was in the right "position.. "Please Jake please.. We won't get caught.. I swear.."
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" we have to learn sometime... and if anyone asks, we deny it.. " Celina replied.. "BuT I'm not goinmg to fight you.. " She laid her head on the right pillow. "Kiss me Jake..and explore me.. just not all of me.."
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Celina leaned forward and kissed him, in what was to prove the longest and most passionate kiss yet..Cellina ran her claws over Jake's shoulders, she kept her lower body away from him, and inwardly she relaxed..
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the kiss lasted for a while, they only stopped kissing for breaths in between
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celina continued kissing jake, periodically exploring his mouth with her tongue, and letting him explore her chest with his hands..
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Jake knew that Celina wanted to try something new.......and when she wanted to.....he wouldn't resist...he had given up resisting against females
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"deal" replied Jake..."but first.....we should clean up the blood....."
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Aright.. there should be a bucket of water over herer.. here it is.. the spinning wheel gets very hot after weaving for a while so he throws some water on it to cool it off. " Selina said taking the bucket and dippng her claws in a the water began cleaning off the blood arounf her ;areas.. she handed the bucket to jake. ' theres only a few spots .. right there.. "
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Jake received the bucket and he dipped his hands into it and he began to clean up the blood on the sheets..."after this we should have a shower to get each others scent off of us...."
(gtg, we can finish this tomorrow)
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(alright)
" Alright.. but it won't be easy.. especially when dealing with female Dracon secretions- those tend to be quite powerful, I could always tell when my parents had "done it" because my mothers smell hung on my fathers for days afterward.. Mine aren't as strong yet, because I haven't hit maturity, but it may take some washing.."
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"well, if it will take ages for me to get rid of the smell....." said Jake "then i better hit the shower, and fast!"
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There should be a shower soimewhere nearby, for the weaver. we can clean up after we nap" Celina replied..
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"okay" replied Jake, "but first i wanna put my boxers on..."
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Jake picked up his boxers from the floor and he put them on...
"hope we don't get caught..." said Jake
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Had Jake and Celina been caught, they would have been in very, very serious trouble. More of the blame would have been on Celina, as she was the one who insisted that Jake do what he did, and she had the idea for it in the first place. He would have suffered, but she would have been taken into slavery for what she had done...
Underage was not the issue here; it was the species difference. Color was of no concern to the Dracons, but the species totally was.
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But, fortunately for the two of them, they would not be caught..Selina put her loincloth back on, and snuggled into bed, waiting For Jake to join her..
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Dracon females usually slept nude... but Celina was young and might not have known that... she was dysfunctional to begin with... and Jake... poor Jake was not at all thinking clearly. Maybe it was the stress of the adventures, or maybe the effects of Celina's pheremones combining with his alchemy abilities to make them attractive to humans...
Whatever the case... Jake had messed up, big time.
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The pair slept together for an hour, before Celina awoke, and dressed.. a few minutes later the weaver entered the room. "Excellent- the help is already her' The weaver wheezed. " Forgive my tardiness, but I had business to attend to in the marketplace.. the cord I got today was of a poor quality..
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Meanwhile, Adykon had finalized his plans, and called Eriol to discuss them; as the two warriors of the party, they would have the most to do...
"Eriol?" Adykon called when he saw the two panthers. "I think we need to talk about the upcoming mission to save Rhiga. Arianne can listen too."
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"Sure, Adykon." - Eriol stood up and let Arianne to sit on his chair, since it is closer to Adykon. The male Panther remained standing. - "I am all ears."
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"We have some help in our quest for rescuing Rhiga. I did not want to attempt this mission without the help of a mage or a priest, as Kravik and Sivar have left us and don't seem willing to return. However, the priest that Arcantas "replaced" for the wedding is still alive... and eager to help us. I will meet with him later today..." Adykon said...
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I'm coming too guys'; Islka said coming into the room.. she sat down on a sofa oposite Adykon.
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"At this point we will need all the help we can get, Imay like to go with you to meet the Preist, if you don't mind." - Eriol said, he then saw the newcomer. - "Hello Isla."
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The preist can help us, plus I owe him for the ceremony. granted he didn't actually perform it, buT i still have to pay" Minna said from the other side of the room..
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"You may all go to meet him if you want, sure." Adykon said. "I haven't met him myself... anyway. I think that I should tell you all that we all need to be cautious, but still aggressive... the forces we face are much tougher than what we faced in the lost city..."
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Jake ran out of the small room and up to his room...he really didn't want the others to find out what he and celina did....Jake got inside...he sat down on the bed, "what have i done?.........." thought Jake "i know it's wrong to do 'it' underage but.....it felt good"
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Iknow Adykon, its going to be far tougher.. we're dealing with immensely powerful, evil , ruthless creatures here" Isla replied..
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Celina helped the weaver with weaving a short, and took the finished shirt upstairs. the weaver gave her a shiny gold piece as payment..
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Jake got up off of his bed and he proceeded to the shower, he took his clothes off and he got in....eager to get Celinas scent off him..."i hope the shower get's the smell off" mumbled Jake to himself...
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the shower had several soaps stacked yop for use. these would clean off the grime, and also mask the smell of Celina's scent..
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Jake picked up a bar of soap and he cleaned himself off with it, he couldn't tell if celinas scent was gone yet because he didn't have a good sense of smell like dracons. "this better work..." he thought to himself, he also started thinking about if the smell didn't go away...he started to worry
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Jake showered for at least ten minutes, he got out and he got dressed and he walked down stairs to see what was happening, "hi guys" said Jake, Jake was trying to keep his distance from everybody else
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Hello Jake"Misro said, seeing him and coming over.."what have you been up to today? Did you help Celina with the weaver?"
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"erm.....yes..." replied Jake "she told me that she needed help......"
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Thats good.." Misro replied. " Are you wearing cologne, by any chance.. You smell a bit funny.."
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"errr......no" replied Jake, Jake was becoming nervous now
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"Whatever it, you need to clean it off.. here" Misro opulled out a bar of soap.. "this stuff gets off just about anything, including female Dracon smell.. go clean yourself off.."
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"okay........" said Jake, Jake thought to himself "why did he say'including female dracon smell'? i hope he doesn't know....."
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Misro smiled, and walked away to do his chores..
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"i wonder why he smiled?......" thought Jake "hmph, who knows?" Jake went and had ANOTHER shower using this soap...hoping that it would get rid of Celinas odor
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the soap did wonders, it left a scent of flowers and removed all traces of Celina's scent..
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Misro knew the soap worked from experience; he would use it after fooling around with some of the female servants...
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So far, none of his "exploits, had left any of the servants 'in the family way", but mInna had told him to watch his behavior, if he wanted a girlfriend among the servants he had to pick one, and that would be the one he could "play" with, if she agreed..
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Jake finished up in the shower and he got out and he got dressed, "hope the smell is gone...." thought Jake, Jake walked out of the room and he went downstairs "hey guys, what's up?"
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Jake walked over to the group and he sat down on a chair
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Adykon was explaining to the panthers about the situation... they had a new ally, but also had greater challenges...
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Jake had a seat next to Sasha, "did i miss much?" asked Jake, "not really" replied Sasha "where were you?", "i was err...helping Celina with her weaving" said Jake, this was only partially true
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Adykon continued his plans; "We have to head far to the southwest, farther than most Dracons have ever gone. I don't know what we will find out there; the region is very poorly documented... but we know that there is powerful magic down there... the mages of the major cities can detect it all the way over here."
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"so, how are we going to get there if it's so far away?" asked Jake "i doubt many of us could travel that far....especially in the desert heat..."
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Adykon and the others continued their discussion, Jake was becoming bored...he wanted to go back to his room and lay on his bed, it would be a very boring day...
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Jake got up off of his chair, "see ya" said Jake, Jake walked off...he was also starting to feel tired, helping with the 'weaving' took its toll on him. Jake arrived at his room he walked over to his bed and he lay down, "man.....i feel tired after what celina and i did......"
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Minna produced a map, in the southwest there was little marked, a few small towns, and that was it.. "This is going to be a long journey " She said..
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"I've seen that map" Adykon said. "I'm told that we have to go beyond the areas that are even on it... but we will have some additional help. While none of the mages of the temple feel sufficiently moved to help us for a rescue mission, they are grateful enough to give us all some magical equipment, plus some spells to help get us started, or at least, to give us a writ for some spells..."
The mages had no interest in rescuing a poor female; her kind were a copper coin a dozen, so they said... the Dracon cities had no shortage of dancers, or attractive females... it would not be worth their resources to mount a rescue mission for her, but they knew that someone needed to take action against the one who had attacked their temple, so the party would be able to kill two birds with one stone by their actions, so the speak... if they succeeded.
Adykon pulled out a piece of parchment with some letter written in red and green ink and stamped with the seal of the temple; a red dragon's head. "Once we get to that town, here..." he said, pointing at Minna's map "... we are to give this writ to the archmage who lives on a nearby estate... he will be able to teleport us past much of the desert to the southwest... getting back will be harder, but they have given us a way." The parchment also had more writing on it, indicating that it would be able to give instructions for more spells, but this writing was hidden, as the spells used were only to be known by a select number of archmages affiliated with the temple, including the one they were supposed to meet...
Adykon showed his right hand, which has a silver ring with a light-blue stone set into its center. "This is a ring of returning. It will enable use to teleport back to the temple, but has been set so that it will only work for me. Each of you will receive a magical artifact; as leader of this adventuring party, they have given me two such items... the ring and the anti- undead amulet. When we go to the temple to meet the priest, you will all receive magical artifacts, suitable for your strengths, while covering your weaknesses. My strength is close combat, for instance, but my weakness is my lack of magic... hence, they gave me an artifact which increases the damage done to undead in combat, and gives me access to a small, but useful amount of magic."
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So my strength is casting spells but my weakness is sheer strength, I wouldn't hold up long in habd to hand combat Ilsa said. so I gather I would be given something to helps me in those areas.. interesting.. Once we're done with this adventure.. we'll have to update the maps..'
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"Yes. You and Isla will probably be given something to help you stay safe if attacked... to a degree. I've been shown some items which could help there, but exactly what they will give us is unknown... and I do mean give, not loan... they consider this to be a sort of compensation for being attacked in the temple while we were supposed to be attending a safe wedding... they are also grateful for the fact that we were still able to beat off the attackers, so they didn't have to..." Adykon told Minna...
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Jake just lay there silently on his bed, he knew that it was school tomorrow....he hoped he wasn't locked out again or have his clothes stolen..."i just hope that tomorrow is a normal day..." thought Jake to himself
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CElinia paused as she continued working.. She would be able to return to school in about a week, once Minmna got the funds together
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" Thats quite generous of them.. " Isla replied. "So what time are we heading out? How many should be in the group? I imagine it would be small.."
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"We head out in two days" Adykon said. "Any later, and odds are we won't make it in time..."
Meanwhile...
Rhiga was still hanging from the ceiling, suspended by the dark tendrils... then, a door opened, and a light shone in... revealing a familiar face, a dracon who walked into the room... which scared her even more than anything else she had seen this night...
It was Astohar, the prince of Hekaga... the one whose palace she had robbed!
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"so, at last I find the thief who stole my jeweled amulet, the prince said coldly, walking in,looking up at Rhiga. "you are going to pay for that, many many times over, until you beg for the release of death, and still it will not be granted! That amulet was a present from my grandfather, and you, little heathen, stol;e it from me! where is it?' he demanded.
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Rhiga knew that he was more upset for another reason... Astohar and she had mated that night... and before he woke, she had stolen the amulet... which was magical, but she had sold it to a merchant days after stealing it...
The amulet was not really his grandfather's; it was given to him by his master as a way of communicating with him at will... all Astohar had to do was to put the amulet on and he would be in contact with a servant in the master's dimension... using it to trace the signal to the dark dimension would be a very good way of finding the dark leader...
Astohar was nearly thrown out of his master's employ for losing the amulet... he wanted revenge, but could not really say why, so he made up the story of it belonging to his grandfather...
Rhiga knew about the mating, of course, but not about the magic... the last time she saw the merchant to whom she had sold the amulet, he had been traveling to the southwestern sections of the Dracon lands...
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Where is it? the prince repeated, his anger growing.. "I will force you to tell me.. if you will not do so willingly, I will tear it out of your hide.."
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"Like Adykon, I have no magic, so that is my weak point for this mission." - Eriol said, he then continued - "But with my wife is different, as she can summon strong wind elemental magic, but she does not excel in hand-to-hand combat." - Arianne nodded to what her husband said, with that said, that can help to prepare strategies.
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"Alright, I guessed just as much... I will do what I can to help... I know that they will have something at the temple to help us... and it is free, so don't worry about having to pay anything... we already paid for it with out blood earlier on... and possibly Rhiga's life..." Adykon replied.
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"I agree we paid a high prize to defeat the enemies back in the temple, but we cannot give up on Rhiga's life yet." - Eriol said to Adykon, but deep within he knew that is wasn't really wise to hold on too many hopes.
"Maybe, if we can depart before the final date it could give us a little advantage. We should use this day to prepare everything we can." - Arianne added.
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"We cannot delay for long, as that could prove fatal to Rhiga... however, leaving before we are prepared could also prove to be fatal to US... so, we need to take the two days to get ready, I think." Adykon said to Arianne.
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"Adykon has a point, dear...." - Eriol said to Arianne. - "... we must make sure each and every one of us that will go rescue Rhiga is ready."
"Then we should finish our meals and go look for things that can help us, and also then, to meet the Priest Adykon mentioned." * the female Panther added.
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Jake decided to get up off of his bed and he went downstairs, he also found out that he, Sasha, Rex and Selturma didn't have to go to school the next day, Jake was happy.
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"We should go to the temple now. First, we shall be given our choice of items, if we didn't already choose them" Adykon said. "We meet the priest tomorrow, and go to save Rhiga on the day after that."
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"It sounds like a plan." - Eriol said as he finished eating what he had on his plate. Arianne asked for less food than her husband's plate, so she finished before. - "We are ready to go." - He said.
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We have to be ready togo as soom as possible, get everything ready for a lomng trip. " Minna said. " Misro, you're in charge of the servants while I am gone.. and If I hear you screwed around while I was away, you'll be in VERY deep trouble" Misro gulped and nodded. "I'd like to help " Celina said. "We're going up against extremely powerful DArk mages CElina, its not the place for a young Dracon.. besides, you have school to attend.."Minna replied.
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The party member which were sitting at the table got their things together and went to the temple. One there, the mages of the temple showed them the items...
(http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/jewelryw8/necklace.gif) (http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/jewelryw8/ankh.gif) (http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/jewelryw8/bracers.gif) (http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/jewelryw8/ring-diamond.gif) (http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/jewelryw8/ring.gif) (http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/jewelryw8/amulet.gif) (http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/unusedw8/pearlnecklace.gif) (http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/unusedw8/rapaxring1.gif) (http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/unusedw8/rapaxring2.gif) (http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/unusedw8/templarnecklace.gif)
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Minna and Ilsa looked at the object in front of them with interest.
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Ilsa took the Skull ring, and Minna took the dragon's head pendant..
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"so, what should i do to help?" asked Jake "my alchemy skills won't be very effective against this person..er...thing..whatever it is"
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The mages informed Minna and Isla that the artifacts they had taken, the skull ring and the dragon pendant, were not suitable for their needs; the skull pendant could be used to control the lesser undead (those without their own magical powers or consciousness), but it did not compensate for her weak body... same thing with Minna, whose Dragon head could emit flames... but it did nothing to protect her soft flesh... they could keep them if they wanted to, but a magic ring might prove more suitable...
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Both minna and Ilsa decided to return the ring and Pendant " Perhaps you should give us an item based on our needs and your expertise..
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"Jake, you should take something which can improve your powers, and reduce your weaknesses."
Jake's powers were limited, as they were...
(they BETTER be limited... I hate to be the "power nazi" around here, but anime-style powers are very, very inappropriate for this RP... we cannot have people powerful enough to do anything the plot demands... or the power to get out of trouble at will. Heck, I cannot even allow Jake to turn anything into just anything else; what's to stop him from turning himself into a nearly indestructible metal then? His metal arm is allowed, but... we should continue this on MSN, a PM, or the discussion page...)
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(a little discussion before proceeding I think)
Ilsa took a few minutes o look around the room, which was adorned with candles and what looked like writing of some sort..
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The mages offered Minna and Isla the white and blue rings, respectively. "Each of these rings offers a small protective spell, as well as enhancements for magical attacks. While you wear these rings, some of the force of physical attacks will be absorbed, and you will have an easier time getting past some of the enemies' magical resistance. Beware, though; the rings are not indestructible, and high-powered enemies will not really be affected by these rings power much at all, and it won't be enough to keep out all of their attacks... the rings provide resistance to attacks, not immunity."
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Understood.. especially since thier powers will still outstrip ours' Minna replied taking the white ring, and Ilsa took the blue ring..
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"If anyone cannot find a suitable item today, I will arrange for the temple treasury to bring some more out tomorrow." The mage in charge of distributing the items said. "Tell us what your strengths and weaknesses are, and I will help you choose the best item for your purposes."
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Eriol and Arianne told the mage a basic idea of their strenghts and weaknesses.
Arianne took the bracelet, which will help her enhance her magic, while Eriol took the cross-shaped pendant called an ankh, which would give him certain protection against spells.
Both Panthers said thanks to the magician.
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The mages sent a messenger to get Jake, Rex, and Sasha... if they wanted to go on this quest, they would have to report to the temple to select their items first...
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(i know that, you had a chat to me about this a week or two back and i said that i'll give him limits)
THE PAST:
"okay, but......what should i bring to help me?" asked Jake "alchemy is good although....i don't think turning my arm into a sword will help much against a dead guy..."
PRESENT:
Sasha didn't want to go, although Jake and Rex did, they reported to Adykon and he informed the temple that the two youths were coming. Jake selected a magic ring that could protect against some mind control spells, and rex selected a strength ring to enhance his strength by at least seven percent!
(is that okay?)
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(it works, just make sure that you cannot just automatically get Jake out of ANY given situation with a single spell or use of alchemy... otherwise, it is fine)
"So, Jake... Sasha's not going with us on this adventure?" Adykon asked the human youth. "And... why not?"
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"If she is not coming, I can understand because this quest is too much of a risk. But her time-slowing spells can be very useful." - Eriol commented.
Arianne then replied. - "Well, if she decides to come, and can try and use my magic to help protect her, I know that time spells can be dangerous and can leave the user still exposed to attacks."
-
(I will be making many of the enemies immune to the time spell, which is really, really unfitting for a girl of 14, because the amount of power it takes to affect TIME... I will have to work in a crazy explanation for Sasha's powers as it is...)
"It is most unusual for a girl of her age to have that sort of power" Adykon said. "I wonder if there is something about her past that we don't know about..."
-
"Sasha isn't coming because she is tired and she doesn't want to risk slowing down the rest of us"
-
"We aren't leaving for two days, Jake." Adykon said. "Sasha probably won't be tired by then, I am sure... make sure to tell her that."
-
"alright, i'll go and tell her now" replied Jake "i'll see you all soon". Jake left the room so he could go and look for Sasha, it took Jake a while to find Sasha, apparently she had gone back to her home for a while...
-
Selturma also wanted to go on the adventure... the rest of the party agreed to let her go, as long as she would stay out of most direct combat... they could use her as a scout or a light combatant.
-
Jake knocked on Sashas home door, Sasha answered the door and let Jake inside, they both sat down on the couch in the living room. "Hey guess what Sasha?" said Jake, Sasha replied "what?", "the party won't be leaving for another two days! you'll have plenty of time to rest up"
-
If she went on the quest, Sasha would be given an artifact which would enhance her strengths and compensate for some of her weaknesses... like the rest of the party had been offered.
-
"okay" replied Sasha "i may think about coming on the adventure..." Sasha yawned..."but first...i need to sleep", "okay, not a problem" said Jake "i'll see you in the morning then, good bye" Jake got up off of the couch and he walked to the door and he went back to Minnas castle
-
The party heard what Jake had to say about Sasha... "Good to hear that she may be going with us after all" Adykon replied to Jake.
-
"she might be coming" said Jake "but i think she may need protection of some sort"
-
"One of the magical items might help" Adykon said. "Like I said, Sasha will get to choose one should she go on this quest with the rest of us..."
-
"alright" replied Jake to Adykon "she might come..."
-
"That's good, Jake" Adykon said. "We need all the help we can get, and Sasha has already proven that she can survive an adventure."
-
Adykon was right, Sasha had pulled her weight on the adventure and she had been a great help on several occasions when she used her time slowing spell, so far nobody knew how Sasha had that kind of power...some think she learned it....others think she was born with it....
-
If Sasha had been born with that ability, she would be a sorceress...
Sorcerous power was rare and much valued... no one was 100% certain of what causes that sort of magic to spontaneously manifest... at least, no mortal was 100% certain of it... some say that all sorcerers are descended from dragons... other say they are descended from gods... still other believe that it is caused by exposure to magical energies while one is still in the womb... but most can agree on one thing... it is probably just luck.
-
"oh and Adykon, will we have to go to school tomorrow?......" asked Jake, Jake really didn't like school except for gym class.....the only thing he hated about gym class was getting locked out or getting his clothes stolen.
-
"Yes, Jake, you should go to school tomorrow..." Adykon replied. "I'll arrange for the temple to ask the school to offer you a leave of absence should you go on the quest... the same applies to Selturma, Rex, and Sasha, should she also choose to go..."
-
"okay" replied Jake, "i don't mind going to school i suppose"
-
"Make sure to study hard, Jake... or you'll end up like Selturma or Rhiga!" Adykon said. He knew that one of the major differences between the rich and the poor was education level...
-
"of course i'll study" lied Jake "what do you take me for?"
-
"Your behavior has not reflected well upon you..." Adykon said... "First, splashing Rhiga with water, then, the drinking at the palace..."
-
"i suppose..." said Jake, "although i will still study"......Jake had just lied again, once the school weekend had come he wanted to relax and have fun with the others, he didn't want to study
-
"You should at least cut back on the mischief" Adykon said. "You don't want to have a bad reputation, especially because you are a minority, being human and all... some Dracons don't trust humans, so it would be very unwise to give them cause not to trust you..."
-
"err......i guess so......" admitted Jake, "i will try to cut back on the mischief, heh", Jake thought it was sort of cool to be a trouble maker, although he didn't want to gain distrust from those around him.
-
"It is also wise to obey the laws... especially in areas where they might not be so... lenient." Although it was harsh by human standards, the city of Minthebec actually had light punishments by Dracon standards... unjustly strict laws were not called "Draconic" for nothing.
-
"i'll obey the laws.....i just think that some of the laws are a bit unfair" said Jake "oh yeah, i just remembered somethin.....after tomorrow it will be spring break! oh right!"
-
"Very convenient for us..." Adykon said. "Jake, just make sure that you, Rex, and Selturma all get permission from your mother... well, maybe not Selturma... but it is good to let her know what you are going to do..."
-
"okay, i will" lied Jake, Jake walked off to go and find something to do
-
Adykon resumed making plans for the upcoming mission, and turned to the rest of the party and spoke... "We might need some more magical artifacts, if these are not enough for our party to choose from... Also, I should ask Marcus if he is coming with us to save Rhiga. Surely, since he was engaged to be married to her, he ought to be the first to want to help save her..."
-
While Jake was walking around the castle, he ran into rex, "hey Rex, what are you doin'?" asked Jake, "not much" replied Rex..."oh yeah, that's right" Jake remembered his conversation with Adykon "we need to ask mom's permission to go and help save Rhiga"
-
Adykon told a servant in Minna's palace to go look for Marcus and tell him about the offer to join their adventuring party... the more that went, the greater the chance they would rescue Rhiga...
-
"okay" replied Rex "come on, let's go and tell mom", "later" replied Jake "i'll tell her later when we get home...", Rex was about to disagree but he didn't bother, Jake did say that he would tell their mom when they got back later today....so he had nothing to worry about
-
Adykon was told by an apprentice mage at the temple that they would make more artifacts available to choose from, but that the party would still be limited to just on per member... plus a second one for Adykon, being the leader.
-
It was beginning to get late now, it was late in the afternoon. all of the youths decided to stay at the castle so if anything came up they would be ready. they all went to their own separate rooms
-
Marcus was told of the adventure that the party would undertake to save his wife-to-be... he was eager to see her safe and sound...
-
Eriol and Arianne were also making preparations, by going into the Palace's armery, Eriol requested spare arrows, and Arianne began taking a look at the weapons at thir diposal: daggers, swords, shields, armors, crossbows, axes, mallets, warfans and katars. This last weapon called her attention because that is a weapon of choice for Gaean Wolves. But she decided to go for the daggers and a shield.
-
Jake walked into his room and he removed his boots, "ah...that feels good to get those boots off" thought Jake, Jake walked over to his bed and he lay down on it "feels good to just lay down..."
-
Adykon's sword had been improved since the adventure began; the original blade of the weapon was made out of plain steel... it was reforged to include a steel-mithril alloy which was more durable and could stay sharper much longer... plus, it would never rust...
( Due to a massive, unexpected computer problem, my postings on the GoF and on MSN will be slow for the next few days, in all likliehood... maybe even for a week, if I have to get MSN addresses again, I will send you each a PM saying so, if I cannot find them myself... thanks.)
-
Rhiga hung from the ceiling of the dark room. The prince of Hekaga approached her, angry... she had no way to get out, and no way to defend herself. She tried to kick him, but her legs felt like lead... probably due to the draining effect that the tendrils had on her...
-
the prince grabbed her by the throat and held her face close to his" To think, that I wever saw value in u! You're the worst kind of harlot! You will never scape me Rhiga, never!
-
Meanwhile, back at Minna's palace...
The party was still preparing to go... there were still roughly one and a half days before they had to go...
-
isla had packed supplies, and clean changes of clothes..food was essential, and she brought a good number of sandwiches and drinks, prepared for her by the kitchen.
-
"We will need the help of a priest's magic in order to conjure up the needed food and water for the trip" Adykon said "But, I like sandwiches anyway... heh heh."
-
"The sandwiches will be nice, and a way for the priest to save energy as food will not required for a while." - Arianne said as she came closer to the group, carrying now a shield on her back and some daggers. Behind her, Eriol appeared, with his backpack and his weapons. he got the backpack on the floor and began re-checking and organizing his things, specially the spare arrows he got.
-
Adykon also got himself a curved dagger as a secondary weapon... he was prepared, just in case he lost his sword.., the dagger was made of mithril and was brand new, having been made only two days ago by the palace's smith...
-
meanwhile...
Rex was walking through the corridors looking for Jake, it was time for them to go back home and tell their mom where they were going. "jake" shouted Rex as he continued walking down the corridor, Rex then remembered that jake's room was only a few doors away
-
Adykon also brought his magical detection gem... he felt that it was going to be needed... as it could detect any and all enchantments, or at least, the presence of such enchantments, as it could not tell what they were or what they did, only that they existed...
-
Rex arrived at Jake's door and he knocked, Jake got up off of his bed and he answered the door "hi Rex" said Jake "what's up?", rex replied "we have to go home now and tell mom that we are going to help save Rhiga"
-
Vaesa was lying on her bed when Jake and Rex knocked on the door. She had been fantasizing about her husband and what they would do in the room on the night he returned... she took her hand out of her femalehood and quickky put on her loincloth...
-
(lolz)
Jake was thinking to himself "creepy...", rex spoke up "er....mom, is it okay if we go and help our friends go and rescue Rhiga?", Vaesa replied "sure that is not a problem....and can both of you get out?" the two youths hurried out of the room and they ran back to the castle
-
Vaesa resumed her 'fun'...
Back at Minna's palace, Jake and Rex joined Adykon and the rest...
-
meanwhile...
Sasha had decided to come, she ran down the street to minnas palce and the guards let her in. Jake saw her and he ran over and he said "are you coming now?" sasha replied "yes, but....i may not be much help...."
-
"Glad to see that you could make it, Sasha." Adykon said to the human girl. "We won't leave for two days, but it would be wisest to use this time to get ready now..."
-
"okay" replied Sasha "but....i don't have any protection?"
-
"I'm not sure if that is a statement or a question..." Adykon said. "In any case, we have a magical item for you... I'm sure that you can choose one which will offer you some form of protection from harm..."
-
"okay, that's good" said Sasha "where do i go to get an item?"
-
"You have to go to the priest and msges of the temple, Sasha. They have taken the items out of the temple treasury to give one item to each of us.... well, two for me..." Adykon replied.
-
And once you get your item, I rhink we should head off "minna said. " the sooner we leave the better chance we can save Rhiga.."
-
"We shouldn't head off too soon" Adykon said. "We still need to prepare for the trip."
-
"okay" said Sasha "Jake, do you mind coming with me to the mages and priests?", jake replied with a nod "yeah, i'll come", "great!" responded Sasha. Jake and Sasha headed off to go and get sasha an item for the trip.
-
The human youths went down a polished marble hallway, which felt cold under Sasha's bare feet. Eventually, they met some dracons who were wearing robes and standing around a polished bronze table which had variou magical items on top of it.
-
Sasha examined the table and she noticed a ring, she walked over to it and picked it up "oooooo pretty" she thought out aloud, "it is" replied Jake "but maybe we should ask what it does"
-
"That ring grants its wearer protection from the elements... it is not infallible, but it should seriously reduce damage taken from fire, air, earth, and water attacks..." A mage told Sasha.
-
"okay then" replied Sasha to the mage "i'll take this ring please"
-
"The ring can be made to fit on either your finger or your toe... it expands to fit the size of the wearer, within certain limits..." the mage said to Sasha.
-
"i'll keep it on my finger" said Sasha "it would look rather stylish from my perspective"
-
"Good choice" the mage said, looking down at Sasha's toes. "Those feet of yours aren't really good for much of anything, as it is..." This mage was somewhat arrogant...
-
(heh)
Sasha lifted the ring and put it on her finger....it was too big, then all of a sudden it began to shrink. It was then sitting on Sashas finger comfortably "it fits perfectly" said Sasha as she grinned
-
(soz, post repeated)
-
"The mages and priests looked over Sasha... for most of them she was the first human girl they had ever seen... and the first human whose anatomy was mostly visible to them...
"So plain... no claws... hornless... five fingers? Ew"; the mages and priests were not exactly polite about it... they seemed most wierded out by her five toes and lack of claws...
-
Jake and Sasha then walked out to go and look for the others, Sasha had a magical item so she was now ready to go on the adventure
-
Adykon rejoined the human youths.. they still needed to get more supplies, he thought, but at least on the magic items front... they were covered...
-
"well, we should be fine" said Sasha "this ring will protect me a bit" Sasha lifted up the ring and she studied it closely
-
"Is there anything else you need, Sasha?" Adykon asked her...
-
"no, i think this ring shall be enough" replied Sasha "the magic in this ring seems protective enough.....the magic in this ring also makes it look very pretty and shiny"
-
"Alright then... you seem to be as prepared as any female of our race would be" Adykon told Sasha. "Do you need a new dosevof that potion you have rubbed into your feet?"
-
"i still have some of that potion that Selturma made me" said Sasha, Sasha put her hand into a small pouch that was attached to her loin cloth and she pulled out a small bottle that contained a potion within "see?, it is right here"
-
"please.. bring Rhiga back to me.." Msarcus said slowly, looking at all of them from the doorway.. "You are her last hope.. and mine as well.."
-
"Aren't you joining us, Marcus?" Adykon asked. "You DO have skills in combat, right?"
-
"hey marcus" said Jake " i thought you were coming? Rhiga is going to be your wife right?"
-
"Yes come with us" Minna said to Marcus, who sighed. " I have my job.."
_ It will be there when we get back.." Ilsa said. Msarcus nodded, " Alright I'm coming..."
-
"What skills do you have, Marcus?" Vaeri asked.
-
I'm pretty good with a weapon, although I'm sure where my real strengths lie. I'm good at massages.." Marcus was cut ioff..
_
Can you fight?' Ilsa saids, a little impatiently..
-
"marcus, are you coming or not?!" said Jake "it's just a plain and simple question that has a plain and simple answer" (i'm confused)
-
(He's coming)]
Yes I can fight" Marcus replied. " I know a little msagic, but nothing like you lady Minna or Lady Ilsa..
-
"If you can fight, you can come along" Adykon said. "And I'm sure that the females will enjoy a good massage from time to time..."
-
"I will do what I can.. this will probably be the most dangerous undertaking I will ever undertake, it may well cost me my life, but Rhiga, she's worth it" Marcus replied.
-
The party spent the next two days preparing... when it was time to set out, they all gathered at Minna's palace for a final check of their supplies...
-
"We should go over what magical items we have..." Adykon told the group. "Tell me which item you took... and we can make plans accordingly."
-
Sasha came over to Adykon and she told him about the magical ring that could temporarily protect her from certain forms of attacks.
-
Vaeri had a ring around her toe which gave her partial protection from physical attacks.
(If I contradict myself, I will fix it when I have a proper working computer.)
-
Jake and Rex didn't have any magical items because they did not want any. Jake didn't want one because he thought the magical items looked girlish, Rex thought the same thing
-
Adykon kept a pair of magical items for Jake and Rex in case they changed their minds... he didn't tell them, though.
-
Ilsa and Minna showed Adykon thier rings.. "Are you bringing anything Marcus?' Ilsa asked..
-
Adykon also looked at Marcus. He should have been offered a magical item by the mages and priests of the temple... whether he accepted it was his own business...
-
Marcus pulled out a pendant. " The preists gave me this.." He said showing it to Adykon.. " Hopefully it will prove useful..
-
"so when do we set off?" asked Jake
-
"We set off when the priest who said he would join us gets here... and Marcus, did they tell you what that amulet does?" Adykon said.
-
Not really, all they said was that will be usefful in the tests ahead.. " Marcus shrugged..
-
Then, Eriol and Arianne appeared. - "Sorry we were late..." - the female Panther said - "... we were just getting ready." - She said as Eriol nodded.
"But we are now ready to help save Rhiga." - Eriol said with a serious, yet with trust in his voice.
-
while the party was discussing what their rings or bracelets could do, Rex decided to go and visit a store that sold all sorts of weapons from around the world. Rex had left Minnas palace and he was accompanied by Jake whom was going to check out the swords the store had to offer. they arrived at the store and they walked inside, Jake rushed over to the longswords and broadswords section of the store.
-
The smith offered a wide variety of blades and other weapons...made from a wide variety of materials... but the two youths could only afford used iron weapons...
-
Minna and Ilsa walked out of the castle after giving Misro strict instructions.. "I'm trusting you Misro while I'm gone.." Minna said.. "I don't know when I'll be back it could be weeks.."
-
The priest who was going to join the party finally showed up. He was dressed in red robes, but also had a silver breastplate with the image of a dragon's face on its front. He had reddish skin, golden-colored eyes, and stood about the height of Adykon. "Greetings. My name is Vespion. I am trained in both divine and arcane spells, but I am best with the former..." he said.
-
Welcome" Ilsa nodded in a show of respect to the mage.. 'We are probably going to rely on your services a great deal in the coming days and weeks.."
-
"I'm more of a priest than a mage" was the reply. "My strongest suit is fighting the undead... they shrink back at the sight of my magic... especially THIS!" he said as he pulled out a holy scroll, which was his artifact that the other priests gave him. The scroll was magical itself, and hd very small handwriting on it. It was really just a small piece of high-quality parchment which was rolled up and held in a tiny bronze box which was connected to a chain which the priest wore around his neck.
-
At the store Jake had purchased a second hand iron longsword that had a slight smear of dry blood near the tip of the blade. Rex had purchase a longsword also, except this one had a small hint of rust near the handle. Jake and Rex had also purchased two scabbards to hold their swords in. Jake put his blade into his scabbard and he slung it over his shoulder and he fastened the belt on the scabbard so that it didn't fall off his back while he was running. Rex did the same. Once that was done they both ran back to Minnas castle
(http://www.tritonworks.com/content/images/angel_longsword.jpg)
-
"Where did Jake and Rex go?" Vaeri asked... "I'm sure that they are just getting some last-minute supplies" Adykon replied.
-
Jake and Rex then arrived at Minnas palace. the guards let them in and they both rejoined the group. "did we miss much?" asked Jake
-
Not really" Ilsa replied " Lets head out, then..' Minna said.. "I hope everyone brought along changes of clothes..'
_
"I wonder what horrors Rhiga is being forced to endure" Marcus thought to himself..
-
"when do we leave to rescue Rhiga?" asked Rex
-
"We can leave right now" Adykon said. "Vespion here is able to provide us with food and shelter with his magic, much like Kravik and Sivar did. Now that we have all our supplies, we are ready to go."
The party left the city of Minthebec and headed to the southwest... into the harsh desert...
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Atacama1.jpg)
-
"This is it, my dear." - Arianne said to her husband.
"That's right, we will save Rhiga, and then we can go home and raise our family." - Eriol answered as both Panthers began walking with the party. They also have enough of the potion made by Selturma for their feet and even for their hands, if the need arises, as they can run faster in all four limbs.
-
The party walked on until it came to a small oasis. The water there was warm but refreshing. They were given an hour to rest before heading out... they wouldn't reach a village or an inn for three days, Adykon had told them...
-
The Panthers were using this time to have a rest, then Arianne went closer to Adykon. - "Do you have any idea of how long will this trip last before we reach where Rhiga is?"
Eriol was standing, but leaning on one of the trees in the oasis, while looking at the horizon.
OOC: Noname, that is a nice pic of the desert :DD .
-
"They told us that it would take only about 5-6 weeks to get there, and once we get her out, I can teleport us all back instantly with this artifact they gave me... but it can only take us back to a room in the great temple in Minthebec..." Adykon replied.
-
It could be weeks" Marcus said gloomily, by that time who knows what tortures she'll have endured?" Or if she'll even be alive" he thought, but dared not say it..
-
"I don't think they wanted Rhiga dead" Adykon told Marcus. "If they had wanted to kill her, they could have done so when they attacked us in the temple... as it is, we only know where the spells that took her originated from; the priests and mages could trace them back a good distance... farther than they are willing to follow... farther than any Dracon king or chief would be willing to send his forces, unless there was a lot of gain in it for them... Rhiga could have been moved by now, for all we know."
-
It was starting to get really hot, Jake decided it was best to remove his jacket. "ah, that's better" Jake said
-
That is true, whioch Is why We must not stop going after them. This will be the last break we take for least a day, so enjoy it..' Marcus said aloud..
-
Jake, Rex and Sasha all sat down on a large rock, "man....this is gonna take a while..." said Jake to Rex and Sasha, "indeed....." replied Rex
-
The break ended... the party continued on the journey... two days later, they were still in the middle of the desert... and it was getting rockier... they were still a day away from the nearest village... although they did see a small stream from which to draw water...
A few hours later, the party entered a very rocky section of desert, the path to the village led them past a cliff... and then, to a field of boulders between two tall, reddish cliffs... smaller rocks were scattered all over the ground...
-
Minna wiped the swaeat off her brow a small hill overlooking the desert. the sands were hot against her feet. " Once we reach the town, we need to find a place to crash for the night Ilsa said..
-
"I agree" Adykon said. "Look, we are about to enter a field of boulders and rocks..."
-
--
-
(the village you were talking about in your previous post)
Minna stumbled over a large boulder.. "these rocks are huge " She muttered..
-
(Disregard the idea that they are in a town, and be prepared to edit posts... they are not there yet... something was supposed to happen in those boulders...)
-
"very rocky terrain isn't it?" said Sasha
-
(got it.. previous post edited)
" How much longer before we get to the nearesy town? Ilsa asked, as she traversed a patch of large rocks..
-
"At least six hours... probably closer to 12 or 13 hours." Adykon said to the female.
-
"Great" the noble rolled her eyes. "I'm going to need to change my clothes after we get there.. I smell pretty bad.." Ilsa was used to regular bathing, as a noble she could afford to spend time cleaning herself..
-
"At least you HAVE spare clothing, Isla..." Adykon said. "While I am washing these clothes, I only have a spare loincloth to cover myself with..."
-
Forgive me for saying so milady, but spare clothes are luxuries for most of us..' Marcus replied. ' We have more important things to worry about anyway.."
-
"heh, at least we'll all sleep well for tomorrow" said Jake as he continued walking
-
The field of stone was very long and wide... after an hour of walking, they STILL weren't past it... not quite halfway through it... but at least the sun was starting to go down... which meant that it wouldn't be as hot... but it would be very... very dark.
-
the setting sun cast red light over the field, wwhich made for a very picturesque scene, unfortunately none of them were much in the mood to stop abnd reflect on the sublime beauty of the place..
-
Not only were they all still stepping over sharp rocks and avoiding boulders... they would soon have to do it in the dark... and there was no moon out tonight...
-
"I had no idea this desert could turn this unfriendly all of a sudden." - Arianne said as she prepared to begin walking between the stone.
"Arianne, wait for a sec." - Eriol said to his wife as he crouched and removed his sandals - "They will be of more use for you." - He handed the sandals to her. Arianne nodded and putted the light footwear on.
"Will you be ok?" - She asked.
"Don't worry about me, I've been in worse places and you know it (he smiled). Now we can go." - he said as they hurried to reach the others.
-
The party traveled through the rocks.... and emerged from the field sometimes in the middle of the night. After another hour or so, they faintly saw a single fire burning in a tiny village...
-
Theres a villasge.. looks like place where we cabn rest ; Marcus said..
9I thought something is going to happen in the field Noname?)
-
(It happened already; I had talked about it with Chiletrek)
The village was so small and rudimentary that there was no inn; the party had to sleep in a barn after paying the farmer a few copper pieces... as there were a few barns in and around the village, which happened to be at an oasis.
-
"this place really smells..." said Sasha as she clamped her fingers on her nose to reduce the smell
-
Ilsa piled up a mound of straw which would serve as her bed for the night.. " Marcus, could you kindly give me a rub?' She asked turning on her back.. "
) Sure, milady. anyone else like a rub..>' marcus asked getting up from his bed..
-
It went on like that for some time during the night... it was so dark...
The next morning...
The party was awakened at first light by the farmer... they continued on their quest... heading for the next town... which was a full 8 days away...
-
Jake walked over to Adykon "so Adykon, what are we using for shelter when night falls?"
-
"I will be able to create shelters" Vespion said, answering for Adykon. "I know Kravik and Sivar, and I know what they have told me of this party... I will be able to make whatever food that they could make... and the same drinks as well."
-
"that's great" said Jake
-
"That is an asset indeed." - Eriol said. - "I hope they didn't told you how much of a weird people we are."
Arianne suddenly stepped in - "Please excuse my husband." - she grabbed him from an arm and took him some meters away. - "You should not say this party is a full of weird people, you can speak just for yourself about it." - She was kinda upset.
"Hehe, I am a weirdo, but the others are too, there is nothing wrong about it... much better than just plain and generic people you know." - he replied with a smile, trying to make her feel less upset... he succeded.
"Maybe, I should give you your sandals back... thanks for handing them to me." - Arianne said, with a lower voice now. But he refused.
"It is fine, the terrain can get worse and I am more used to walk around unfriendly terrain than you." - He gave her a quick hug, and then they returned to the group.
-
The party continued on its way... when Vespion warned them...!
"We've got a spell incoming! Everyone, brace yourselves!"
Not a moment later, a blue beam of light dropped down out of the sky and hit the ground near Eriol, who fell down into a hole!
He was able to use his claws to catch the side of the wall of the hole, however...
-
"UNGHH!!.." - Eriol was able to use his claws to hang on the side of the hole, he then used his feet and both hands to come out from the hole, his claws making things a bit easier. - "That was not fun!" - He said as soon as he came out.
"Eriol!, are you ok?" - Arianne ran to his side.
"I am fine, but this spell means they are watching us." - He said, and he was right, they must have extrem caution from now on.
-
"that was strange....." said Jake "how come our enemies usually know where we are? it is becoming annoying..."
-
"They must have the ability to scry on us..." Vespion looked at Marcus's item... it was a silver ring set with a light blue ovular stone...
"Marcus! That ring can block scrying! I have seen it before! Why didn't you use it?" Vespion exclaimed.
-
Jake walked off
-
Adykon didn't notice that Jake had left... but Vaeri did! "Jake, where are you going?! We aren't stopping now! If you leave us without us noticing, you may be lost from us!"
-
"i'm only walking up ahead" replied Jake "don't worry i won't go far"
-
"Stay in sight then, Jake" Vespion said... "Do you really think it is wise to let a youth go out ahead of us, Adykon?"
"Don't worry, Vespion" Adykon replied. "I'm sure that Jake will be fine, if we can still see him... he's gotten into and out of far worse than this before..."
"Well, that spell wasn't SO bad... at least Eriol could climb out of that hole..." Vespion said.
-
"don't worry, i'll stay in sight" said Jake as he continued walking
-
Put your ring on Marcus..." Ilsa said. Marcus quickly replied with her request, the ring began to glow brightly..
-
Jake didn't realize the others were losing sight of him, he continued walking
-
"i can't wait till we get to rest" Jake thought to himself as he continued walking "rest sounds good....."
-
Although Jake couldn't be seen by the rest of the party, Adykon and Rex could smell his scent...
...Unfortunately, so could the dragons who lived in the vicinity...
Luckil, these were all hatchlings... the bad news was, there were about 50 of them, all having escaped from a carvan that was transporting exotic creatures...
-
Jake continued walking, he tripped over a rock that lay on the ground. Jake got back up and he continued walking, it was getting darker and was becoming harder for Jake to see.
-
(i hope someone posts soon.......)
-
Jake! Jake1 Get back here! Jake!;' Marcus called out. It was getting dark, and finding Jake in total darklness would be very hard..
-
(finally, yay ^^)
"huh?" said Jake as he turned around to see whom was calling out to him, it was Marcus "yeah? what do ya want?"
-
Get back here with the group! We can't afford to have you get lost.. out here, the odds of us finding you alive are very slim.. there is wild country Jake.. you need to keep your wits about you" Marcus said.
-
"i'm not stupid" replied Jake "i can look after myself"
-
'You still need people to watch over you.. theres not much food to eat or water to drink out here' Ilsa said, coming up to them. "
-
"grrrr......" thought Jake, Jake returned to the group
(i'll brb in 5-10 mins)
-
"so, when do we set up camp?" asked Jake, Jake was asking Isla
-
Verry shortly, the preist will create a safe place place us to rest.."
-
"okay, cool" replied Jake "it's getting dark..."
-
Which is why we need a safe place for the night.." Minna replied..
-
"well" said Jake "where would be a good place to set up camp for tonight?"
-
Vespion set up the huts and prepared the food ad drink for the party... just like Kravik and Sivar had done.
-
"Alright everyone, time to divide up the huts" Adykon said. "Vaeri and I will share a hut, as will Eriol and Arianne. The rest of you have three huts to divide between yourselves..."
-
"That is nice, thanks Vespion." - Arianne said as she entered the hut. - "Come on Eriol, this little room is very nice." - the female Panther called for her husband.
"I'll take a look at the hut, and then we'll come out to eat." - Eriol said and entered the hut too. He closed the door after entering.
-
The party members settled in for the night. Jake shared a hut with Sasha, Selturma and Rex. Adykon and Vaeri slept together, as did Eriol and Arianne. Minna and Isla slept in the next hut, with Vespion.
-
"it's great to finally rest after a long day of walking" said Jake
-
The night saw a crescent moon in the clear, starry sky... its peacefulness hid the dangers which lurked in the desert, which abounded in the sands... but for now, all was quiet...
-
"Very quiet tonight..." thought Rex as he lay on his bed
-
Each hut was made of wood, and was soundproof... but by no means indestructible...
-
Eriol and Arianne entered their hut. She took of the sandals and went to the bed.
"Today's attack gave me a big fright. Do you think things will get much worse in the next days?" - She asked, it was obvious she was beginning to feel unsure about this new travel.
"Things will get much worse, but we are alive and well. We are together." - Eriol said, trying to reassure his wife, as he knelt in the bed while taking his wife's hands with both of his hands.
She embraced him, and they remained like that for a moment. After breaking the embrace, they looked at each other. She took off Eriol's shirt, and then they kissed very passionately. He took off Arianne's top while still kissing. They had a night of romance, but no mating was done, just a night to contemplate each other and making mental plans for the next few days.
After some more time, they went to sleep, with Arianne's head leaning on Eriol's chest.
-
The next morning came quite suddenly... Adykon got up and got dressed quickly, then went out of the hut... he saw that no one else was up yet. All was clear and quiet... and the bright terrain of the desert could be seen for miles around...
-
Ilsda was the first of the other members to come out of thier huts, she and Minna hasdn't said much to each other, both were focused on what lay ahead of them..
"Morning Adykon, today's going to be another long day of walking.."she said to him..
-
"It will be long, and hard... we have yet to make it to the settlement where we can be teleported by that archmage... I still have the documentation that we need for it..." Adykon replied.
Vaeri got up at this time, stretched, and put on her loincloth and top... she left the hut to get some food... breakfast would be summoned by Vespion...
-
Thats a couple days away.. probably.. " Ilsa sighed, as minna came out of her hut. ' Morning " She said in greeting to both of them.. Ilsa nodded in resoponse. ' So whats our goal for today? walk fifty miles?"Minna asked..
-
"I'm not totally sure of the distance" Adykon said. "We will have to walk until sunset all day, taking only short breaks. I hope you can handle all that walking, girls."
Vaeri sat on a rock, looking bored. She couldn't wait until Vespion got their food ready for them...
-
Another hut opened, it was Eriol coming out as he stretched. - "That was a good night." - he said as began walking where the group was begining to gather.
A minute later, Arianne came out too. - "To make huts like this one is fantastic." - she said, going closer to where Vaeri is. - "Good morning." - she said.
-
"Good morning, Arianne" Vaeri replied. The dancer could smell that the pheromones that Arianne was releasing were getting very strong... she could not tell if the panthers had mated yet... most Dracons don't know a whole lot about the Gaean panthers...
-
I can handle it, i might get some blisters though.." Minna said. is there any notable features coming up, or is it all desert/"
-
"There will be a road along the way..." Adykon said, and by "road", he meant "dirt path"... "There will also be the ruins of at least one village... several villages in this area perished when their watering holes dried up..."
-
"It seems we will have another long day, I hope there will be no attacks this time." - Arianne replied to Vaeri, she then stopped for a second before asking - "Is everything ok?, I had a sensation you looked at me like if there was something strange about me." - she said with a smile.
Eriol went closer to where Adykon and the others were discussing the next steps to follow. - "Abandoned villages can make a good place to hide, for us, or for anybody who would like ambushing us, we must be careful."
-
Vaeri smiled at Arianne, then said to her, out of earshot of the others "I know that you are burning with desire for a male ... I can smell it... soon, I'm sure you will want to... act on those desires... I know what it feels like... it happens to me many times a week..."
-
Arianne gave a quick look at everywhere before sitting next to Vaeri - "Several times a week? you mean... you want to mate all year round?" - Arianne asked with curiosity.
-
Morning" Marcus said, exiting his tebt.. "Ready for another long day?'
_
Are you?' Ilsa smiled at Marcus. ' She had grown fond of Marcus, and she was commited to rescuing Rhiga..
-
Vaeri responded to Arianne.
"Yes. I used to mate at least three nights a week on average, with three different males... until I met Adykon" Vaeri said. "And that did not include mating in the daytime, or days where I would mate more than once..." Vaeri added. "It depends on my hormones and my mood, not the time of year..."
-
Arianne kept looking at Vaeri - "But you can still mate most of the year, that is very much like Humans can. We Gaeans have a mating season, in the beginning of the spring and lasting for a bit more than a month. Our hormones 'wake up' and we can prepare to have children." - she took a moment before speaking. - "Eriol knows that I am entering the mating season... and we are considering having a second child." - she could not avoid smiling and even blushing a bit after saying what she just said.
-
thats great news" Minna said, overhearing. "Forgive me for overhearing" She apologized...
-
"Well, imagine how you feel right now, then imagine feeling that way for your whole life." Vaeri said. "That is how Dracon females feel when they are NOT aroused... and when we ARE feeling aroused... it is even stronger..."
-
Arianne understood what Vaeri said, she then looked at Minna - "It's ok, the thought of Eriol and I mating again really makes me happy.... even though I was hoping that my first child Isaac could grow a bit before giving him a sibling, but so many things happened, to me and to Eriol." - and then she said to both Vaeri and Minna. - "And please, forgive us in advance if our behavior gets altered over the next few days."
-
"I don't mind if there are some... changes" Vaeri said. "I think you and your husband could stand to loosen up a bit... especially him." She added.
-
You're in "heat" of course your behavior is going to change.. how old is your son?" Minna asked.. " If you have told me his age before, forgive me, i'm nor very good at remembering things like that..."
-
Arianne replied to Minna - "I am not sure if I told you, but Isaac is only 1 year and 4 months old, but he is good care back at home." - she pauses for a bit. - "After loosing track of Eriol, since he is looking for the assassin who almost killed me, I had to use all my contacts to get to know he was in this region. It was a dream to find him again after that long time."
-
"Good to hear that your son is safe" Vaeri added. "My children are all staying with friends and relatives in my absence..."
-
Neither minna nor I have kids' Ilsa said, "Although I hope to have them one day" Minna said.
-
"I hope your friends and relatives are people to be trusted, because I can imagine how you fell right now." - Arianne said to Vaeri, as both of them are in a similar situation of having their children at the care of someone else.
She then looked at Minna and Isla - "To have a child is such a wonderful experience."
-
"I would like to see my children again soon... very soon. But one of my daughters is in trouble... so I HAVE to go help her... I might even see her get married." Vaeri replied to Arianne.
-
"And you will see her getting married and having kids, we must have faith in Gaea and in your gods too, faith that we will rescue her in time." - Arianne said, trying to put a confidently voice to help reassure Vaeri.
-
But we havce to hurry if we want to get her back safely' Minna reminded them.. "I think we should get Jake and his friends up.."
-
"I should trust that things will turn out alright" Vaeri said. "I was already rescued from one bad situation before..."
-
"Then you know that things can be solved. And Minna is right, we should get ready to go, the sooner the better." - Arianne stood up and got back to the hut, so she could put on the sandals Eriol gave her. Her husband prepared himself already by putting the potion made by Selturma on his feet before exiting the hub earlier.
-
Vaeri noticed that Arianne had the sandals, and the Eriol was the barefoot one now. "Why the switch?" she asked Arianne.
-
Marcyus nodded. " i have hope That I will hold Rhiga in my arms again. " He had a vision of him and Rhiga together, making lobvve in bed. His mouth on hers, his claws gently riding over her chest in soft caressing motions...
-
Arianne looked at Vaeri before replying. - "Because I am not used to walk in the sand at all, and he told me it will be better that way, besides, he can use his claws on feet and hands to climb and fight, better than me."
-
"Well, whatever works for you, then" Vaeri replied. "Still, I couldn't stand to have a part as important as my feet confined into some piece of... 'footwear'... no matter how hot the sand is." Vaeri replied to Arianne.
-
"I would normally agree with you, but one can get used to them, specially diplomats like me, but sandals are not near as 'confining' as most of humans' footwear." - Arianne said while gaving a slight smile. - "Besides, Eriol's feet are larger than mine so I have some spare room."
-
well, lets just hope his feet don't get birned too badly by the hot sand.." Ilsa said, looking out over the horizon..
-
"I hope that they don't fall off of you, then" Vaeri added, secretly wishing that they would fall off.
-
"Eriol and I have a potion made by Selturma, that will help us with the sand. specially Eriol." - Arianne said. - "I should remind him he may need the potion for his hands too, as we can run in all four limbs if the need arises, we are faster running that way." - she then replied to Vaeri, not knowing what Vaeri was really thinking. - "I do hope the sandlas will remain in place too."
-
"Maybe you need to take them off while running on all fours?" Adykon suggested, as he walked over to the area that Arianne and Vaeri were conversing.
-
"Yes, I guess you are correct, Adykon." - Arianne replied.
"That is because the pads in our feet and hands are good to keep traction on the terrain and for shock absorption. Footwear can be a real nuisance in those cases." - Eriol replied as well. - "I think Arianne should use the sandals until she can get used to the sand of this desert." - He then went to the hut and took his backpack, and the potion, and he began rubbing some on his hands.
-
"I've never used footwear, so I wouldn't know how that works" Adykon replied. "Still, you two need to do what is best for the both of you. I've seen that potion before... it gives some protection against the heat of the desert floor... but it won't protect against rocks or sharp objects... it might protect against a small amount of flame, even, but it won't keep a thorn out of your foot. Potions can be odd that way..."
-
Jake woke up and he yawned....loudly..."huh?......morning already?", Jake got up out of bed and he put his shirt and boots on. he walked over to Sasha and he woke her up. Sasha got up out of bed and put her top and loincloth on and she followed Jake outside to where the others were.
-
Well, here come the late risers' Minna smirked as she looked at Jake and SAsha.
-
"ha ha...not funny" was Jake's reply
-
well you did take your time sleeping.." Isla replied. 'They do need thier rest.." Marcus countered "Besides, they're up now, so we can head out..."
-
"so when do we leave?" asked Sasha
-
We're leaving NoW!" Ilsa replied, taking off, into the west towareds the horizon.. " keep up Sasha.. We don't have time to waste.."
-
(shouldn't Noname decide when the chars leave?)
-
(True, I'll edit it.. id Noname wants..)
-
(okay, no problem ^^)
"i'll race ya" said Sasha to Jake "your on!" replied Jake, the two youths bolted after the rest of the group
-
The party gathered its supplies after eating a quick breakfast, then left, heading for the place where an archmage would teleport them... they could not actually be teleported into the place where Rhiga was being held, but they would be teleported within an "acceptable distance", as the mages said.
-
What an "acceptance distance" meant was unclear, it could be as far as a hundred miles away... but in all likelihood would be closer than that..
-
The party marched all day and as the sun went down again, it seemed like they had gone no farther than at the start of the day... the desert all kinda looked the same...
-
Arianne was still walking, waiting for Adykon to give the signal to stop for the night. - "The desert is beautiful, but to walk like this is almost depressing." - the female Panther thought.
"This is harder than it looks, specially because I find it difficult to find ways to get good references." - Eriol commented as he kept on walking, always keeping an eye on all the surroundings, just in case.
-
Eventually, the party stopped, and Vespion summoned food and water for them... he then set up the huts...
The party had no idea that there were dozens of hungry Dragon hatchlings not far from where they were camped...
-
Ilsa went into her hut and took off her clothes to lie down.. Her feet ached from walking for the last couple weeks.. "Getting ready for bed alreasdy? Minna asked giving her friend a casual glance. "Yes, I'm exhausted.."Ilsa replied.. "This desert is huge.."
-
Adykon and Vaeri also undressed and went to bed. They were too tired to do much of anything that night...
-
The Gaean Panthers were in their hut. Eriol was re-arranging some of the things he thinks will be useful in the next few days. Arianne went to the bed and layed down, closing her eyes. Eriol looked with surprise to his wife been sleeping that quickly - "she must be really tired." - he thought, so he decided to sleep too, he took off his shirt and went to the bed. But as the moment he placed his head on the pillow, Arianne "woke up" and placed herself over him.
"Surprise." - she said with a mean face. - "if you want to sleep, you'll have to earn it."
"To earn the chance to sleep?, you know that there are things I am very slow at." - he gave a sly grin and raised his head to kiss her. They were still tired from all that walking, but they still had their romance.
-
The next day came all too soon for the party, and before they were awake, the sun was high in the sky...
-
Minna was the first of her hut to arise.. she dressed and climbed out of the hut.. Hopefully, today they would reach the teleportation point..
-
The party gathered at the center of the huts... Vespion made them some food, as usual, and summoned them something to drink...
-
"how much further? do you think we've been going in circles?" asked Jake "the desert all looks the same...."
-
Adykon spoke to Jake. "I don't think that we are going in circles, Jake. Every night, the scorpion constellation is to the- " Adykon the brimstone just before he saw the fireball!
"Jake! Get down!" The Dracon shouted, as a fireball hit Adykon squarely in the chest!
...luckily, it was a fireball the size of a plum, and did little damage.
From out of the blue, a large number of dragon hatchlings began attacking the party!
-
"What the hell?" said Jake as he stared at the tiny dragon hatchlings
-
The hatchlings were of several colors... red, green, blue, and black. They could breathe fire, poison, electricity, and acid respectively, corresponding to each color...
-
"Dragon hatchlings!?" - Eriol said surprised.
"They are so small, but still deadly, we must be careful." - Arianne added as she grabbed the shield she has been carried on her back and placed it on her left forearm.
-
The largest of the hatchlings launched a fireball at Arianne, burning her wooden shield up! Fortunately, she was protected from harm; the shield was not so lucky...
-
"they look cute" said Sasha, "heh, and deadly" added Jake as he was missed by some acid spit
-
"Fight back!" Selturma said. "They are cute, but they are attacking us!"
-
"Arianne!" - Eriol jumped nexy to his wife - "are you ok?"
"Yes, I'm fine." - she said, and she then closed her eyes and concentrated, making a wind to blow where the hacthlings are and then to raise the sands and try to block the sight for those dragons hartchlings and to buy time for the party to counterattack.
-
The Dragon hatchlings were easily blown around in the strong winds... they were scattered for long enough for the party to regroup... but more hatchlings were on the way!
-
great.. wonder if thier parents are close by?' Marcus grimaced as he avoided an acid attack..
_ if they are.. we're in big trouble, dragons are very powerful creature" Minna said, blasting aay with her staff..
-
Meanwhile... in a distant tower...
"Launch the elementals!" a whispering voice said... "And send Arcantas to me... the master has told me to keep an eye on him..."
-
"We must be prepared, just in case there are adult Dragons nearby." - Eriol said as he began firing arrows to the hatchlings using his crossbow, successfully shooting down a green one.
-
At that moment... a giant spark came out of semingly nowhere, a funnel cloud blew up when the air pressure suddenly fell, a deep rumbling noise was heard, and water began seeping up from deep beneath the ground...
-
"What now!." - Eriol stopped his attack on the dragon hatchlings because of the unexpected arrive of... whatever thing that arrived, but he couldn't get away the feeling that it was nothing good.
Arianne was getting nervous at the new arrival. - "What is that?" - she wondered, not sure if she wants to know the answer.
-
The spark burst into flame, forming the approximate size of a human, but not the same shape. The funnel cloud began moving of its own free will just as the earth began to form into a vaguely humanoid shape.
As for the water, it rose up out of the ground and began to take humanoid form.
-
"now i'm confused..." thought Jake (it's amazing how he always get's confused...lol)
-
The four elementals were all lined up; fire, air, earth, and water.
-
"why did different elements pop up out of the ground and form into a humanoid posture?" questioned Sasha
(brb)
-
"I don't know, but I don't think it will be for anything good." - Eriol tried to answer Sasha's question and prepared himself for whatever thing may happen.
-
Each elemental was now in a vaguely human shape... but noone of the could speak... these creations were made by powerful magic, and could only obey their master. They charged at the party...
-
"your right Eriol......it isn't something good..." said Sasha
-
The earth elemental attacked Adykon and Sasha, the water elemental attacked Jake and Rex, the Air elemental attacked Selturma and Vespion, and the fire elemental attacked Eriol and Arianne.
Vaeri, being a noncombatant, ran from the battlefield, but could still see the fight from the rock she had jumped behind.
-
"how are we meant to hurt water?" thought Jake
-
The elementals each had different weaknessess... fire could be doused with water, earth could be burned by fire, air could be weighed down by earth, and water could be blown away by air...
-
Minna worked o n the fire element.. and Ilsa faced off against the earth creature. "We must be getting close" she said, dodging its attacks..
-
Jake dodged a mass of water that was hurled at him. "woah! that was close!"
-
Marcus dodged an attack from the fire element.. "Almost got burned there' He muttered tumbling into a crouch..
-
"we need to figure out a way to fight these things!" said Sasha as she rolled out of the way by an attack from the earth element
-
"We need to hit them with magic!" Vespion said "These kinds of elementals require exposure to the element which weakens them in order to beat them! Either that, or magic of very high power, which none of us have!"
-
"well wind beats water, doesn't it?" said Sasha
-
So fight fire.. with .. water!" Minna said. "TRy and find a stream to draw water from!" She said, dodging another attack..
-
"what if Arianne used a wind spell on the water element to douse the fire element?" suggested Jake
-
"What stream? We're in the middle of a desert!" Selturma said, dodging an attack. The dragon hatchlings were being attacked by the elementals as well, and few of their attacks were having much effect on the four elementals...
-
"Arianne cast a wind spell at the water element!" said Sasha as she evaded a ball of water
-
"Don't let the water elemental touch you! It can absorb water directly from your body into itself!" Vespion shouted, and as he said that, the water elemental grabbed a hatchling from mid-air, and drained it dry of all water in less than 10 seconds, killing it. Several other hatchlings saw this and fled.
-
Ilsa cast a fire spell at the water elemental.. which sizzlee as it hit the elemental.." rihght' She shook her head. Water douses fire, but not the other way around.,."
-
"gross!" said Jake "i'm not going anywhere near that thing"
-
The fire elemental approached the two panthers, and prepared the blast them... it was a good thing the panthers were very agile... but they still had little way to actually harm the elemental...
-
"I need to find a way to help." - Arianne said.
"I can try and cover you, your power can weaken the water elemental." - Eriol said. Arianne nodded and gathered her energy to form a strong wind current, launching it against the water elemental. Eriol tried some arrows against the fire elemental, but those arrows were incinerated easily before doing any harm.
-
The other elementals took note of the wind which was blowing the water elemental away... they moved to stop Arianne... or at least, one of them moved to stop her...
Just then, the fire elemental launched a sheet of flame on the ground, hoping to burn the panthers! The flames missed Eriol, but Arianne was hit! Luckily, her sandals took most of the damage, and while they were burned to cinders, her feet were mostly unharmed, thanks to the effects of the potion and the now-gone footwear.
The elemental then charged at her...
-
Arianne fell heavily to the ground due to the attack and had no way to dodge the fire elemental from attacking her again, but then Eriol was able to take her out of the way by running as fast as he could and by grabbing her with his arms.
"We need a plan." - Eriol said to her.
"These elementals are wicked monsters. Maybe we can try making them attack each other." - Arianne replied. - "Fire can burn the lands."
Eriol nodded then he went closer to the earth elemental, while still been pursued by the fire elemental.
-
The fire elemental launched a bolt of flame at the panthers, who dodged it, so that it hit the earth elemental, damaging it, but not too badly. Seeing this, Vespion managed to launch a much larger fireball at the earth elemental, doing it serious damage.
-
ilsa and Minna started firing fireballs at the earth elemental, one after the other, each new hir doing it further damage..
-
The female's fireballs were weak and small next to the massive bolt Vespion had launched... but they got the job done... while it was on its last legs, the elemental was then struck down by Vespion's next fire bolt! It crumbled to the ground, its brown form covering the sands like dirt.
-
One down, three more to go' Ilsa nodded with satisfaction..
-
"Arianne! Use a wind spell to blow the water elemental into the fire elemental!" Vespion shouted.
-
Arianne nodded to Vespion, but her feet are injured so she cannot stand right now, even less to run; but before she could even think on something, Eriol crouched some more - "Hold on my back, Arianne" - He said, and she placed both of her arms around her husband's neck. Eriol would make all the running. He did so he reached the proper place for Arianne's attack.
She attacked, sending a strong wind attack and successfully pushing the enemy water elemental.
-
The water elemental flew into the fire elemental, extinguishing all but a small bit of it. The water elemental was weakened by the fire it had put out, and much of it was reduced to steam.
-
"Great! it worked." - Eriol said, but he still hasn't lose concentration, because the battle is not over yet.
-
The air elemental attacked, throwing Adykon back, but before it could do anything else, Vespion threw some of the elemental earth into it, weighing it down. Then, using a magical ring of his, he drew the air elemental in, capturing it. The water elemental was then blown away by the power of the air elemental into a waterskin that Vespion had set up, capturing it, too.
The priest went over to Arianne "Are you hurt? Did that elemental burn your feet badly?"
-
"I hope not too badly." - Eriol said with notorious concern as crouched while on his four limbs so Arianne could go down easily.
She touched the sand with some bit of pain, so she decided to sit down instead.
"Do you have healing abilities, Vespion?" - He asked the Priest.
-
"I do. Arianne, give me your foot. It will only take me a few seconds to cast a spell on each of your feet to heal that damage... you don't look very badly burned from here..." Vespion replied.
-
"That is a relief." - She said alleviatted as she extended one of her legs so it will be easy for the Priest to work on his spell.
"Magical Healers are somewhat hard to find where we come from. You having that knowledge is an asset." - Eriol commented as he stood up again, watching at the others and watching how Vespion does his work.
-
Vespion completed his spells. "The damage from the burns is gone, Arianne. You should be able to walk without pain now... at least, far less pain... that pad on your foot is quite soft... not the best for walking in a rocky desert."
-
"Well..." - Arianne said. - "...I-I am not really used to walk in a terrain like this one." - She stood up and bowed to Vespion as a sign of gratefulness. - "Thank you for healing me."
Eriol smiled at her and nodded. - "Well, after the fire and the healing, it will be best for you to put a little more of the potion Selturma made, that will help you." - He recovered his backpack that was away from the combat zone and returned with it and the bottle with the potion in one hand. Arianne sat down as she let her husband to apply the potion on her feet again.
As Eriol did that, Arianne told Vespion. - "Maybe you should go check on the others. They may need you too."
-
"I'll do just that." He replied to the female panther. "And one more thing... I smell that you are releasing a lot of pheremones, Arianne... but that is something your husband can take care of, isn't it?" Vespion moved to tend to the rest of the party, and to contain the rest of the elementals...
-
Arianne just looked at Vespion as he made his comment and after he left. - "Well, Dracons do have a far better sense of smell than we first thought." - she commented with a giggle.
Eriol kept a serious look on his face. - "If we ever come back here, it will be after a mating season." - he said as he finished putting potion on his wife's feet.
"Please, don't feel that way. I looked at his face and I can say that my pheromones are not attractive for them at all." - she kept a light smile. She stood up and gave a couple of steps - "It is nice to be able to walk again."
"It is." - He said. - "I am glad you are feeling good again."
They both smiled.
-
Adykon gathered the party together. He had helped Vespion gather the elementals into suitable containers, including a lamp for the remaining piece of the fire elemental; Vespion had brought such a lamp...
The water elemental was in a waterskin, the earth elemental was in a bag, and the air elemental was in Vespion's ring...
The party was shaken by the attack, but was able to continue on... they traveled all day until they finally reached a small, run-down, backwater town near an oasis, whose main source of income was growing dates and figs, and providing water to the rare merchants who were out this far...
The archmage lived here... he would be able to teleport them closer to their goal.
-
From behind the ruined buildings, Akito stepped out, clutching his arm faintly.
"Allow me to accompany you. I apologize for my earlier... Disappearance, but I ran into a certain old ghost of my past. I don't want to see her hurt, though. I am with you."
He said.
-
I'd suggest we get her to safety. We can tend to her wounds later' Ilsa said..
-
The ruins in question were a small village near the town... certainly NOT the lost city.
"Akito!" Adykon exclaimed, very surprised. "Where have you been all this time?! You just... vanished during our quest in the lost city! Now, Rhiga has been kidnapped and we are trying to save her... How did you find us HERE?!"
-
'Well, He must have his reasons "Ilsa replied. " I'm lady Ilsa, and this is Lady Minna' Minna nodded at Akito in greeting..
-
"Careful... it could be a trap" Adykon told the group "How do we know that he is real? Remember the fake Rhiga and the exploding altar?" Adykon smelled the air around Akito... "He smells like he did before... same scent... did the fake Rhiga have the same scent?"
The mimic did have the same scent as the original, but none of the others remembered that detail...
"I don't think so, Adykon..." Vaeri said. "I should know these things, being Rhiga's mother and all..."
-
One should be cautious, but paranid' Minna said, moving ahead to sa small buildng, which looked to be more or less intact..
-
"We don't need to search some abandoned peasant huts..." Adykon said. "We shall go to the town... Akito, you can come with us... we are going to be teleported closer to our destination by an archmage who lives in the town... hopefully, we will find Rhiga soon..."
-
"so, how far is the town?" asked Rex
-
"Only about 15-20 minutes away by walking" Adykon said. "We can see the lights from here... we should be there well before nightfall... I hope that the archmage will see us soon... the temple informed him of our arrival..."
-
"God We're close' Marcus said, taking in a deep breath as they continued on thier journey. Minna followed him.. "So how close will the archmage teleport us? I understand if he can't telport us right there, but I'd like to know how close we'll be.."
-
The party entered the town. After some looking around and questioning the locals, they learned that the archmage lived in a large sandstone building that had a red roof. The party soon learned from one of his guards that the archmage was very busy, and that they should return at noon tomorrow...
-
"Great" Ilsa huffed. ' We come all this way, and now we have to wait some more!"
_
Oh well" Minna said. ' Best head back to the nearest village.."
-
OOC: Welcome back StarfallRaptor! :DD .
IC: Eriol and Arianne followed the group, she remained closer to the center of the group while Eriol remained in the aft of the group as he was looking at the different houses and ruins of the village.
-
Akito followed the group, looking at each of the new faces in turn...
-
I'm Marcus" Marcus nodded at Akito. "I'm Rhiga's fiance..'
-
Akito nodded.
"A pleasure. I do hope we'll be able to bring her back safely. To that end, I will fight with all my strength."
He said, extending a paw...
-
"I am Arianne, I am Eriol's wife." - Arianne greeted Akito.
"I had no idea where you have been or why you left, but you came back in the best moment." - Eriol said to Akito.
-
Akito smiled slightly.
"It's good to hear that my arrival was appreciated, m'lady."
He said, nodding to her...
-
marcus shook his paw readily , then parted. "Well, ant help you can provide will be greatly appreciated.."
-
Adykon looked around the ruins... "It isn't the lost city, is it? Heh. We'd best head into the town and look for an inn... there's nothing of interest here..." he said to the group. "Unless you WANT to sleep in and around ruined huts..."
-
He does have a point' MInna said... "Lets hope this town HAS an Inn.." She added beginning to walk towards the town..
-
Sure enough, the town had an inn. It had dirt roads, no running water, and only a shrine... but it was decent enough. The food at the inn was kind of bland... consisting of as much fruit as meat... and the only meat available was goat meat... which brought back memories for Adykon, as he had been a goatherd in his youth... the date toppings were a nice touch...
The beds at the inn were comfortable though... and the price for a room was rather low... not to many guests were there...
-
Ilsa settled down on the bed. " The group had been given rooms on the second floor, and the bed felt very sioft beneath her. "This is the first real bed I;'ve slept in for two weeks, not including Vespoin's hut, she said aloud. Minna, in the meantime was bathing.. while they had no running ewater. she had managed to get enough water from a wewll behind the inn.. to take a bath. The water was cold, but that couldn't be helped..
-
Akito shook his head, undoing his ponytail as he did so.
"It's been a long time since I had a proper bed. Feels good to be able to actually relax, too."
He said, grinning a little...
-
Eriol and Arianne went to a room, they were looking forward to have some good rest after a long time.
"Only one more night and we will able to reach and save Rhiga." - Eriol commented as he was re-arrenging some stuff from his backpack.
"Yes, the time is near." - Arianne replied with a smile as she went and sat in the bed, looking to the window.
-
Vaeri lay down on the bed, and stretched out. It felt good for her to rest, especially after all that walking... Adykon came to the same conclusion, as he lay down on the bed as well...
Meanwhile, Selturma and Rex were sharing a room...
-
Marcus meanwhile, had undressed and thrown himself into bed, exhauted from the day's journey. Again, he fantasized about Rhiga, his intention to safe, mwrging with the passionate love he held for her..
-
Adykon didn't know what to do next, besides visiting the archmage. He needed more information than he had in order to plan on rescuing Rhiga... things were only going to get harder, not easier...
-
Jake and Sasha had to share a room, there was only one bed and a small couch. Jake chose the couch and Sasha had the bed. Jake lay down on the couch and sasha lay down on the bed "ah.....a real bed!" said Sasha
-
" Better save spome of that water for me minna' Ildsa called out from her bed.. "I need to take a bath too."
_
Its cold, just so you are aware... brrr1" came minna's reply.. "If this place had hot water..'
-
I don't care if it is cold or not. I've gone nearly a week without bathing, and I smell something fierce.." Ilksa replied a little irked..
-
Akito flopped down on his bed after taking his swords and setting them aside. Looking over at them, he picked up the black-wrapped blade, and drew it, looking at the ebony surface with a mixture of regret and pride...
"Master..."
He said quietly...
-
The inn was decent, but somewhat sparse; there were few decorations, and even fewer amenities... still, it was all they really had in this town...
-
Minna finished , and came out wrapped in a towel, shivering.. "Al-alright' shge said, with teeth chattering from the cold. ' Your-your turn Ilsa.." she said heading to the seconf bed.. Ilsa got up and headed into the rest room. " You forgot your dress in here Minna" She said. " Just come and pick it up after I'm dne bathing.."
-
Well, her top and loincloth, at least... those clothes, while practical in the desert for the Dracons, were not so good for warming up after being covered in cold water! At least the beds were warm...
-
Minna shivered under the covers, her body was cocvered in goosepimpled from her bath in the cold water. still, the bed was warm, and the blanket covering her were sift, still it would take awhile for her to warm up..
-
Adykon hoped that Jake and Sasha were doing alright in their room... he wondered if it was right for youths to come along on such a dangerous mission... then again, they had done well in the lost city... so they should be fine here...
-
Ilsa finished her basth in about ten minutes.. she both out both her own cliothes and Minna's setting Minna's down on her bed. "thanks' Minna shivered beneath her covers..
-
Adykon got up to clean his armor. Vaeri had already fallen asleep. Her loincloth and top were thrown around the room... she had been especially eager to get them off... she had told him that the trip was the longest she had ever gone without being nude... and for a female who was accustomed wearing nothing at home or during her dancing, that was a very long time for her...
-
Ilsa, got into her bed, and snuggled underneath the covers. " Good night Minna" Ilsa said. "Going to sleep already?' Minna asked. "We 're facing a long battle ahead of us, best get sleep while we can.."
-
The Gaean Panthers, after finding fresh water to clean themselves, decided to get the better use of it and went to wash together; they spent most of that time kissing and caressing each other. After some minutes, they went to bed.
"Are you ready?" - Arianne asked her husband.
"For as long as you are." - That was Eriol's answer.
Adult Gaeans wait for this moment to start for a full year, this period of time is their chance to have kids and secure the survival of their species. This is the night the two lovers have been waiting, after they decided to have a second child. This was their night.
-
Adykon's armor and sword had been cleaned... he hated not knowing what the next step would be... he liked making plans, not having to improvise as things went on... at least, not when it involved life-or-death situations... as long as the enemy knew what to do next and he didn't, they had the advantage...
-
Meanwhile...
Apparently Jake had already fallen asleep on the couch, and Sasha was wide awake wanting to have a nice hot shower...
-
Unfortunately, there was no running water in the town... at all. The only water supply came from a well, and that was usually cold or lukewarm at best. A shower was out of the question unless magic was somehow involved.
-
OOC: I edited my previous post, sorry about that (the shower stuff since there is no running water in that town).
IC: Arianne is fast sleeping leaning on Eriol's chest. But he was not sleeping, something was bothering him. He thought it should be because of not knowing what will happen in the next few days, specially, what will happen after the teleportation. - "We will get through this, somehow." - He thought, and then he decided to try and get some sleep.
-
The next morning, the party woke up, and assemble in the main hall of the inn... some of the party members were faster to wake up and meet than others... for various reasons...
-
Minna woke dressed and went downstairs, still rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "Morning everyone.." She said..
-
"Good morning." - replied Arianne. She and Eriol arrived together, and it was clearly visible that both of them were in a very good mood this morning. It was a great night for them, and they went to the center of the inn after waking up and after having a good washing.
"Good morning." - Eriol then saluted the party members that were already gathered there.
-
Vaeri greeted the panthers. She had noticed that they had washed their fur... She also noticed that Arianne was trying to show off more of her uncovered body to her husband... yup, she was in full-blown heat alright... "Had a nice bath?" Vaeri asked, assuming that they had cleaned themselves that way.
-
"It was good, yes." - Arianne replied to Vaeri.
Eriol then went closer to Adykon. - "I see you having problems. I guess you'd like to have something prepared to avoid surprises after the teleporting." - The male Panther said.
-
"The enemy has an advantage over us... they know what we have to do to free Rhiga... we don't know what we have to do, what we have to fight, and we don't even know WHERE we are going!" Adykon said. "This whole thing could be a giant trap..."
-
"But we have no other choice. Our only option may have been to ask the archmage where we are heading before teleporting, so at least you'll get to know better where will be our arrival point, and start a quick plan from there." - Eriol said, but he knew Adykon was correct, it all sounds like a trap. - "Our only choice is to act quickly and avoid second guesses."
-
The party gathered its things together and went to see the archmage... who lived in a large compound made of stucco and wood. At the front of this manor were some guards, who let the party in, as they were expecting them...
The architecture was old, but elaborate...
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Architecture121.JPG)
-
"Lets hope that Rhiga hasn't suffered too much while we've been traveling here..' Ilsa sais as they wa;lked up some stairs..
-
Suddenly, the torches in the manor all lit up, and a robed figure walked down the stairs on the second floor...
He was an older Dracon... about 90 years... with red skin, blue eyes, and a black robe with a red lining...
"Welcome... I was told of your coming here by the priests in Minthebec. Come, sit down, and let's talk." The old mage summoned some couches from a lower chamber to the room they were in so the party could sit down. "My wives will get you something to drink, if you need anything."
-
I'm a bit thirsty, thank you.. " Ilsa nodded to the ARchmage.. 'these couches are pretty comfortable.."
_
So how far do we have to go after you teleport us?' MInna asked..
-
"The distance is... long" The archmage replied. "Since I have been informed that you can return at any time using an artifact that Adykon has, how far it is is less important. But where are my manners? My name is Grigoirus... you can call me Grigori for short."
Grigori gestured to a nude female behind him, who the party correctly surmised to be one of his wives "Gerana? Could you get a drink for this female here?" She went out of the room to get the drink... and brought enough back for each member of the party to have one.
-
Time is not our ally Grigori" Marcus replied. "The longer we have to travel, the greater chance harm will come to Rhiga.."
-
"Calm yourself, young man" Grigori said to Marcus "The teleportation spell is instantaneous... I have some information about who you are fighting... I used to work for him..."
-
"Good day, Grigori." - Arianne replied with a gentle smile. - "Can you tell us where is the arrival point for the teleportation?."
-
"I can send you to within 90% of the distance you need to travel... the destination itself is blocked by powerful wards... even more powerful than the temples of the Dracon cities!" Grigori responded as another nude female came into the room, carrying some towels. "No, my dear, not now. I'll join you later tonight" he quickly told her.
"Fine..." was her exasperated response.
-
" So we're dealing with very powerful magic then?" Marcus replied.
_ Yes, but that's to be expected.. Minna repolied , sipping from her drink..
_
You used to WORK for him?' Ilsa said, slightly taken aback..
-
"Yes. When I was an apprentice, no older than 25, I worked for him... for four years... the worst years of my life, in retrospect. I was... tempted by the lure of gold... and power. I never did see the master, though... the master was not to be seen by anyone unless he willed it..." Grigori's voice lowered... "I never knew his name... he let no one know who he really was... except for those closest to him... his organization is VERY tight. It is divided up into minions, officers, sub-lords, lords, overlords, and the master himself... Arcantas was an overlord, and as such, he would know who the master is... I don't know what has become of him now..."
-
We killed Arcantas, or.. more accurately Adykon killed him" Minna replied..
-
"Then the odds against us are higher and harder than I first expected." - Eriol commented. - "But your knowledge, mr. Grigori, is proving to be essential to rescue our friend."
"Can you tell us in what region will be where we arrive after teleportation?" - Ariannes asked the arch-mage.
-
"I have heard that he is back somehow... as an undead" Grigori said... "The master always did love using the undead... I regret ever joining him... I left when I realized that instead of making the Dracons great, as he said he would, he was leading us to destruction..."
"And as for the region you will go to... I do not know much about it... only that it is rich in magic..." Grigori added.
-
Isn't there a great price paid for bringing back the dead?' Ilsa asked. " I ws always told by my mentor that meddling with the dead carries with it a heavy price.."
-
"Necromancers are not looked up kindly by the divine forces in the world" Grigori said.
"That's for sure" Vespion said. "It is too bad that many other Dracons temples don't realize this..."
-
Bad things often come of good intentions" Ilsa replied.. "We're facing a power greater than all of us put together.. We are cheating death itself in doing this.."
-
"I didn't rise enough in the ranks to merit much knowledge" Grigori said. "I know that the master wanted to conquer all of the Dracon lands and rule them all as one empire, with him at its helm... he claimed that this was his right..."
-
that is a fantasy that has eluded many great Dracon kings.." Minna scoffed. "If he were to suceed, his rule would be terrible, and incredibly repressive.. WE can't allow that.."
-
"The master was evil indeed... he didn't see himself as that, though... he didn't see the world in terms of right and wrong... he only saw it in terms of power..." Grigori replied.
-
"I have seen that: the strong prevails while the weak dies or gets subdued." - Eriol commented about that.
"I hope there will be a way to stop that madness." - Arianne added, visible worried.
-
"The master seeks great sources of power... he is a great power in his own right, but he is not a god..." Grigori replied. "My dark lord commands legions of corrupt nobles, chiefs, generals... even kings... and many of them don't know it... they think they are serving other organizations... which are really just a front for his larger group... most of his men don't know who they are fighting for... some of them don't know WHAT they are fighting for."
-
the gods are not blind" Marcus said, remembering a popular saying at temple.. "They act, through us.."
-
"The gods aren't all-powerful" Grigori said. "Over time, I became convinced of this... after a massacre in which thousands of pilgrims were slaughtered by forces loyal to the master" Grigori closed his eyes, as the thought was painful for him to remember... I lost three wives in that... and two of my children... the gods didn't protect them... he could have had me killed, but he let me go... he wanted to show me the price I would pay for crossing him... so I moved out here with my other wives and have been living quietly ever since."
One of his wives came over to him, nude like all the others, and whispered into his ear... "Well... not ALL quietly..." he said with a laugh, trying to get over the sad story he brought up.
-
ther gods choose whether or not to act.. in that case, coldhearted as it was, they chose not to act.." Marcus replied. "I can't imagine the loss you suffered, I'm sorry.."
-
"You will be able to imagine it, I am sure... if the one you are trying to save isn't rescued in time..." Grigori said, getting up. "I am ready to teleport you now."
The wives who were in the room left, heading back to their rooms...
"Yes, Alina, I will lie with YOU tonight... as promised..." Grigori told the wife with green skin, a pale yellow underbelly, and large tiotleglas on her chest. The other wives with smaller tiotleglas started arguing with her...
-
Akito bowed his head.
"Grigori. Thank you for you help. I pray for your safety."
He said, eyes resolute...
-
Very true" marcus said somberly. Ilklsa patted him on thec shoulder ' We'll get her back for uyou, marcus,, I promise.." she said softly..as Marcus, Minna and her surrounded Grigori, waiting for him to teleport them..
-
"I will always remember this act you are making. Thanks." - Eriol stood up and helped Arianne stood up again, and then both Panthers bowed as a sign of thanks to the Arch-mage.
-
The party went down to a room with a brown marble platform... Grigori told them to stand on it... and as they all stood there, a glowing blue circle surrounded them on the marble...
"Good luck..." Grigori said as they disappeared in a flash of white light.
..."and may the heavens forgive me..." Grigori said as another figure teleported into the room and approached.
"Arcantas... your timing is excellent. They suspect nothing..." the old mage said to the figure with the glowing eyes...
Meanwhile...
The party was teleported into a desert... with no roads, and no idea of where they were...
-
Now where the heck are we/" Marcus said, stratching his head. this desert was barren as far as the eye could see..
-
"I don't know where we are... Vespion, do you?" Adykon said,
"No idea" the priest replied. "We are lost in a land of dead rocks and sand..."
-
Akito looked around.
"Damn! I think we've been had!"
He said, furious...
-
"Well, but we cannot stay here, we must find a way to get a reference somehow." - Eriol said, baring his teeth in anger.
Arianne did not know what to say or to do.
-
The party looked around for some point of reference... they found some mountains... that night, Adykon saw the north star... and saw that the mountains were almost opposite to it... the mountains were to the south... the southwest, to be specific...
"We should head towards the mountains..." Adykon said. "It seems to be our only path..."
-
So the bastard lied to us!' Ilsa fumed. " He didn't leave the master.. he's still working for him!" She gave Adkypon a glance. "Now we're the gods only know how many miles away from Rhiga.. in the middle of nowhere!"
-
"At least that is something. But if Akito is correct, then the Archmage will not get to see a new year of life." - Eriol was visible angered, but still tried to keep himself calmed.
"Please try to remain calm Eriol." - Arianne said - "... we will need our strenght to get back in the correct road."
-
"Let's just go through the mountains..." Adykon said, sighing.
And so they did... it took them seven hours to reach and pass through the mountains... to reveal...
(http://www.channel4.com/4homes/images/mb/Channel4/4homes/buying-and-selling/buying-and-selling-abroad/country-guides/buying-in-brazil/brazil-valley-rainforest-lg.jpg)
A rainforest?!
-
Well, we can't exactly teleport back there..' Minna said. "Teleporting is beyong our magical abilities.."
-
"We cannot go back... oh my!" Vaeri said, seeing to rainforest as she emerged from the mountains... there was a whole jungle hidden in this valley!
-
"Well, I have not seen a forest for many months." - Eriol said as he began looking at the surroundings.
"But this forest is still new to us..." - Arianne added. - "we have never been here or near here before."
-
"this might be some sort of enchantment" Marcus said warily.. as they approached the forest..
-
The party entered the rain forest... the trees were well-rooted and quite aged... if this was an enchantment it would have to be a very long-lasting one... this jungle was probably natural, not magical... although magic might have preserved it...
-
"This place is beautiful." Minna said as they went along. " This place must have been here a very long time.."
-
Akito knelt, feeling the ground.
"Incredible...How can something like this exist in the middle of a desert?"
He wondered aloud...
-
The valley was surprising... and vast! Several rivers snaked through it, including the widest that Adykon had ever seen! At either end, the river went underground when it hit the mountains... so that it did not extend into the desert... and, there were Dracons living there, as was evident by footprints found in the soil...
(http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/bigphotos/images/070619-amazon-river_big.jpg)
-
We might find a place to rest for the night, hopefully the inhabitants here asre friendly Ilsa said hopefully..
-
The inhabitants they found were simple tribes living in straw huts... Dracons who were the remnant of some previous era... when approached, they avoided the party like it was the plague... the same thing happened at every tribe that the party approached...
-
Marcus grumbled after the fifth or sixth village rejected them.. "e need to find a safe place to rest for the night soon..' He said, as they moved down a path..
-
Akito nodded.
"You're right..."
He paused, sniffing at the air intently.
"That scent...It's a fauxen village! And it's close! C'mon, we should go check it out."
He said, crouching low to track the scent...
-
Lead the wayAiko " Ilsa said picking up the pace "Hopefully we can find a place to sleep for the night.."
-
The scent led the party to a large group of soldiers... the same kinds that had attacked the wedding earlier! One of them had a jar containing some liquid... the which was probably the source of the scent...
"You really are easy to fool, aren't you?" One of them said. Then, the soldiers charged.
-
Akito stared the soldiers down, and as they rushed, he reached back and drew his two swords. In a flash, he was upon one, slashing him cleanly in half as he parried another attack...
-
The soldiers and the party fought, but Adykon and Eriol were too much for even the best of them... before taking too many losses, the enemies retreated... this wasn't a full scale assault... merely a test...
-
Akito stood there, blood dripping from his blades.
"Damn them! They got away!"
He hissed, fur bristling...
-
Adykon saw that Akito was getting upset "Great, not another crazy mammal!" He thought to himself. He saw that Jake, Rex, Sasha, Vaeri, Marcus, Eriol, Arianne, Selturma, Vespion, and himself were alright... something was up with Akito.
"Calm down, warrior. You did well in that fight." Adykon said.
-
Akito hissed quietly, sheathing his swords after clearing the blood off of them.
"Those...Those bastards! That blood was definitely my family's! I...am going...to kill them..."
He panted, tail flicking...
-
The party continued on, following the footprints of the retreating soldiers, until they came to a fortified town... which was much too strong to be assaulted directly by the party... it was clear that this settlement was acting as a sort of base for those soldiers... and the scent trails led them there... sadly, neither Marcus nor Vaeri could smell any sign of Rhiga here...
-
"So this is the place those cowards make their attacks from?. Any ideas how to make them pay?" - Eriol asked, with a serious tone of voice.
-
"Who here is good at sneaking into places?" Adykon said. "We might be able to send in some of you if you can sneak in and out, when, once you have freed the captives, send a signal from the inside and we will launch a diversionary attack so that you can escape."
-
Eriol didn't think twice - "I'll go."
"Are you sure about that?" - Arianne asked her husband with concern.
"Yes I am. They made a horrible thing, and I think it is time for some payback." - Eriol gave an evil grin. - "Don't worry, I and whoever join me will be fine."
-
Vaeri was good at sneaking, but since she is a noncombatant, Selturma went in her place.
-
"so, what's the plan once Selturma frees the captives?" asked Jake
-
"Selturma can't do it alone, Jake" Adykon said. "We need to send in at least three of us, and they all need to be good at sneaking..."
-
Akito nodded.
"I'll go, too. I have a score to settle, plus... There are my kind in there."
He said, looking at the compound....
-
So, it was Eriol, Selturma, and Akito who were set to sneak into the fort to rescue the captives... others who were good at sneaking could join them, but now, they had enough to go in, if they were careful...
-
good luck you three " ilsa said.. 'Be careful and don't atract too much attention..'
-
The party was very large indeed... Adykon, Isla, Jake, Sasha, Rex, Minna, Akito, Eriol, Arianne, Selturma, Marcus, Vaeri, Vespion, and though missing in action... Rhiga. The party had once had Kravik and Sivar, but the mage and priestess had left at the end of the quest in the lost city...
Eriol, Akito, and Selturma would go into the fortress to free the captives while the rest of the party would wait outside for a signal... which would be their cue to launch a diversionary attack on the gates... exactly what that sign would be... was a matter of improvisation when it happened...
-
So, once they get in, we distract them by any means necessary?' Ilsa asked. " alright' She cracked her knuckles. " I can do that.. one strategically placed explosion coming up.."
-
"Save the spells for when they give us the signal that they are ready to escape." Adykon said.
"We won't attack before then... but when we do..." Vespion said, letting a bit of magical energy run down his arm... it looked like a blue bolt of electricity...
-
"Don't worry We'll wait until they're clear away from the fort, before letting the magic fly..' minna replied..
-
Akito chuckled a bit at Vespion.
"Oh, I don't know how many you'll get to play with, my friend..."
He said, drawing his swords...
-
The three infiltrators approached the wooden wall of the fortified town. "All three of us can climb that wall, right?" Selturma asked.
-
Akito nodded.
"It'll be easy. Should I go first?"
He said coldly, eyes focused on the wall...
-
"If you want to go first, do it" Selturma said to Akito. The young female Dracon was not in charge of this mission anyway...
-
Akito nodded, then ran at the wall, running up it a ways before grabbing an outcropping...
-
No one noticed that Akito, Selturma, and Eriol were sneaking into the fortification...
Meanwhile...
Rhiga still hung from the wall... the prince of Hekaga had seen her. He had wanted to kill her, but was restrained from doing so at the last minute by the guards. The last she had seen of him, he was leaving the room... that was before she passed out.
Now, she had regained consciousness... but was not happy to see who had joined her...
A red dragon was placed next to her... it was unconscious... having been battered into submission... like her, there were tendrils placed into it... it's energy was also being stolen from it...
-
Ilsa Marcus, and Minna waited for them for give the signal..
-
Selturma turned a corner and saw some guards on a patrol. When they passed, she gestured for Akito and Eriol to move into the hut where the captives were being held... Selturma quickly joined them once they were all inside. It only took them a moment to quietly knock out the jailer.
-
From inside the cell, a group of six Fauxen looked up. One of them, with fiery red fur and hair, spoke.
"You...have you come to save us?"
He asked, looking at each in turn...
The other members of the group were a male with distinct black markings resembling glasses, a female with golden-orange fur and hair, a male with dark red fur the color of blood, a female with pale pink hair, and a young male of around Akito's age, with pale sand fur. The last of the group stared at Akito, a small blush on his face...
-
Selturma found the keys to the cell and opened it, letting the captives out...
-
As the door opened, the six Fauxen stepped out of the cell.
"Thanks. My name's Touga. Touga Hayabusa."
The Red-furred male said, extending a paw.
"I'm Miki Kaoru. Thank you all for saving us."
The male with the glasses-like marks said, bowing his head.
"Juri Asurigawa. I owe you one, I suppose."
The golden-orange furred female said bluntly.
I'm Kyuichi Saionji. And, no, we didn't need your help"
The Blood-furred male said disdainfully...
"Utena. Utena Tenjou. It really is noble of you, risking your lives to come save us like this."
The pink-haired female said kindly.
"Uhm...H-Hi there.. I'm Ruka..."
The sandy-furred boy said, eyes still focused on Akito...
-
"All of you, come this way, and quietly" Selturma said. The nine of them left the hut, and avoided the patrols... when the time was right, Selturma snatched a torch from a sconce, and threw it up in the air, signaling for the rest of the party to launch a diversionary attack.
-
"Well, we cannot celebrate yet, we must first get out of this place in one piece." - Eriol said while keeping a look for enemy soldiers that may appear.
-
Adykon saw the torch. "That must be the signal. All of you, attack now!"
Vaeri backed off, as she was a noncombatant.
-
" Ilsa started ccasting large fireball into the fort. Minna did the same, focusing on different parts of the fort..
-
The nine inside the fort ran out of the fort, going the way they came; the guards were too busy defending the front gate to notice them.
"All of you can climb, right? If you have anything that makes it hard for you to climb, get rid of it now!" Selturma shouted over the din of combat.
-
Touga and Akito stood at the back of the group, each fighting off encroaching guards. Touga had grabbed a guard's sword, and along with Akito, had managed to keep what guards had not been either slain or distracted off of the group.
"Go! Go! We'll be right behind you guys!"
Akito yelled, slashing a guard down...
As the others climbed, Ruka looked back, then stopped.
"C'mon! Get out of there! We're all safe!"
He yelled, then dropped over the wall...
-
As the escapees got off the wall, Marcus ran forward to guide them over to the rest of rest of the group. Minna and Ila provided cover by contuing to blast firebvalls into the fort.. now they picked up in intensity and size .."Once we have all you guys out of there.. we need to be on the move..
-
The large group ran for the cover of the woods. After some time, all of them escaped, and the guards were loathe to chase them, due to their weapons, spells, and sheer numbers.
The party now consisted of Adykon, Jake, Eriol, Minna, Isla, Vaeri, Arianne, Marcus, Selturma, Rex, Sasha, Vespion, Akito, Touga, Miki, Juri, Kyuichi, Utena, and Ruka. Rhiga was still missing...
-
(You forgor Minna and Ilsa)
Lets keep going shall we' Ilsa said as the moved deep into the forest.. " I'm Lady mInna of Mithelbec.. its a pleasure to meet you all..'
-
(Edited, and it is spelled "Minthebec")
The party made camp is a clearing in the woods... poor Vespion had to struggle to provide enough food and water for all of them!
-
Minna collspsed in tthe tent she now had to share with Ilsa. "She yawned heavily.. she was tired from the long journey.. and wanted to rest..
-
As the group sat, Touga looked around.
"Again, I must thank all of you for what you did. I...We owe you our lives. We were to be executed at daybreak, had you not done as you did. For that, perhaps we can aid you in your quest, if you have one?"
He said, bowing his head...
Ruka had settled sitting next to Akito, resting his head on the other Fauxen's shoulder.
Juri and Utena were seated next to Minna, and were smiling happily.
Kyuichi was off a ways from the group, casting envious looks at them...
Miki sat next to Vespion, looking at him with awe...
-
All Vespion could conjure were tents, using a lower-powered spell... making that many huts would be too difficult for so many...
-
Introduce yourselves please' I'm mArcus" Marcus said.
_ I'm Lady Ilsa" Ilsa said..
-
Adykon spoke: "You are all welcome to join the party. We are trying to rescue our friend Rhiga... she is being held... somewhere, maybe in this valley. I don't know much about it, only that rescuing her is going to be a lot harder than rescuing you."
-
"Tell me, how did you end up in that prison' Minna asked, looking over at them.. "We were lucky we came along when we did.."
-
Meanwhile...
"Do you think they will come?" said a voice in a pitch black room?
"I am positive" replied Arcantas. "They support her, and have befriended her... it is only normal for people as foolish as them, who could love a piece of street trash like her... they will come for her... and when they do..."
-
Touga looked at the group.
"Well, I suppose I should do the..."
"No. Let me tell them, Touga."
Utena said, cutting him off.
"Recently, a group of Dracons has been raiding Fauxen villages. They come for slaves, and the ones who aren't taken are killed. We escaped the destruction of our village, and we...we tried to fight back. The key word being tried. They hunted us down, and...well, the rest is history."
She said, looking over at Akito with a large smile...
-
"Those raiders must have traveled a very long way to capture the members of your race" Adykon said to Akito. "I wonder if there is something more to it than that... I would imagine that the distances involved would make the costs... what is the phrase?"
"Prohibitively expensive" Vespion said.
"Thank you. The distance the slavers would have to travel to capture some of your kind would be too expensive for them to make a profit in most cases... is there something special about your race which makes them sell at a higher price? Or, do you think that the motive for capturing them is for something other than profit?" Adykon said to Akito.
-
They didn't do it for money, but rather to send a message.. " Ilsa replied.. " What are the slaves being used for.."
-
Akito shook his head.
"Off the top of my head, I can't think of anything of real worth among the Fauxen...except for our fur..."
He trailed off...
Touga looked at Akito.
"It wasn't about us. They were looking for both our lands, and for you..."
He said, somewhat icily...
-
"Where are your lands? To the north? The south? The east or west?" Adykon asked, hoping to gain more information. "It could be that they are fighting over trade routes, and would be capturing some your kind as part of war spoils... I guess the costs of bringing them back as slaves wouldn't be much more if they were already taking back boatloads of spoils anyway... although... you weren't being sold as slaves, were you? You said that you would be executed the next day..."
-
"T-The fur?... that's... unbelievable, how could that be possible?" - Arianne replied to Akito's comment, visible shocked.
"It doesn't matter if it is for the fur, for slave trading, or any other thing; it is wrong. So the more information we can get, the best chances you Fauxen people will have to prevent those things from happening again." - Eriol added.
-
Jake and Sasha went inside their tent to let the adults talk
-
How much do these slavers charge for your fur? I assume they kill you, and skin the body of its fur..' Ilsa replied. "
-
"They wouldn't be selling any furs down here!" Vaeri replied. "It is MUCH too hot in our lands to wear fur... and some of us don't wear much clothing at all..."
"Yes, those of the... fairer sex..." Adykon added. "But we are getting off-track here... we don't care why they would NOT want to capture Akito's people; we want to know why they DID do so..."
-
(i won't be on much anymore.....i might be on once every 3-4 days......-_-..)
-
(School or work cutting into free time?)
-
(I think is due connection problems Metadude once mentioned, but I don't remember all details)
"Why they did, so we can know what to do and help Akito's people to avoid more of this nightmare." - Eriol added.
-
"Wait! Before we get involved in some side task, we need to do something to free my daughter! Rhiga is still in the hands of... of... whoever took her!" Vaeri said.
"We can save both, I am sure... something tells me that whoever or whatever captured Rhiga is in league with whoever is responsible for hurting Akito's kind..."
-
(my mum canceled our net....-_-...)
-
' save one, and we'll sve the other.." Minna replied..
(i'm sorry to hear that)
-
(that's bad Metadude, sorry... maybe soon you may get a solution, somehow)
"If it is all connected, then it can make sense... Akito was part of the original party that were in route to the Lost City." - Eriol said.
-
"I'm not sure how they found out about him, though... he left suddenly" Adykon added.
"Akito, what were you doing between this time and the Lost City?" Adykon asked.
-
Jake lay down on his sleeping bag and said to sasha "it's been a long journey, heh", "it has..." replied Sasha as she too lay down on her sleeping bag
-
Vaeri also left to go lie down... she wasn't going to accomplish anything more by waiting around and hoping that her daughter would be found all of a sudden...
Meanwhile...
The dragon next to Rhiga woke up... slowly lifting its head... it looked around. Not sure where it was, it began to panic, thrashing around, trying desperately to rip off the tendrils which were in it.
"She's awake" a voice yelled "Restrain her! Don't let her get out!" Within a moment of hearing that, several guards ran into the room, dressed in more armor than she had seen on any soldier ever before...
The dragoness thrashed, clawed, bit, breathed fire, cried, and screamed... all to no avail. The soldiers succeeded in driving a metal rod with sharpened ends through her front legs, going horizontally from one limb to the other... and they put a sedative down her throat...
The dragoness fell to the floor. The tendrils extended to stay in her, before a counterforce pulled her back up into the air, where she was suspended...
-
You try and escape. we'll do the dsame to you" one of the guards hissed at Rhiga. Blood was dripping down from the rod, onto the floor, the dragoness would have to get the rod removed before being able to move..
-
The guards shut the door, and with it, the light went out of the room... after about 30 minutes in the pitch black darkness, the dragoness used her flame to make a bit of light, then, using a spell, she was able to trap the flame in a small bubble...
"They took you too, I see" the dragoness said to Rhiga.
Rhiga knew that dragons could speak; it was well known in the Dracon lands. "Yes, they did. I crossed one of the members of their... cult... or whatever it is..." she responded.
"They were hunting me for over 10 years" the dragoness said. She knew exactly why they would want her, but she wasn't willing to tell anyone who didn't need to know...
-
Back at the party...
The many adventurers had fallen asleep. The questions asked to the freed captives had largely gone unanswered. These were issues to be dealt with in the morning... but not everyone slept well that night...
-
minna tossed and turned in her tent.. the blanket she was sleeping under was uncomfortable..
-
Vespion's magic was unable to support many sleeping accommodations for so many... the magic behind the spell did not create the tents out of thin air, it merely summoned them from a location were they were already placed... the exact process of this was long and complex... but it was something made by a very powerful mage, who had once created his own dimension, and filled it with the building blocks of useful solid matter... mostly carbon... from there, mages could summon it, and using the spell, shape it into whatever form they needed, as long as it was predominately made from matter which could be summoned from that dimension. Of course, when the spell expired, the summoned items reverted back to their basic form as they returned to their dimension...
-
Ilsa faced the opposite side of the tent while she listened to her friend toss and turn.. "Go to sleep mInna.. otherwise you'll be cranky in the morning.."
-
Be quietIlsa" You try and sleep under this blanket" Minna grumbled "Still the spoliled babe eh? Ilsa grinned.She enjouyed jibing her friend every now and then. "Well, I'm getting up" Minna said rising from her bed, Ilsa could see her bare form in the darkness "Would you like to join me. we can make a fire and just.. talk..
_ Ilsa considered it.. " alright. She said.. "Make sure you put your clothes on.. Minna shot her a look.. "What ? You alreay know what risks we are facing, because of what we did back in the palace.. I don't want youto be temptedin any way..'
Get your mind out of the gutter Ilsa" Minna said, putting on her top and lioncloth..
-
No one noticed the two females in the middle of the night... no one else was awake at the moment...
Even Rhiga was asleep... wherever she was. Her conversation with the dragon was cut short by the dragon's passing out...
(you ignored part of this post, didn't you?)
-
Outside, Touga, Juri, and Akito sat quietly on a log, looking at the night sky...
-
Minna and ilsa sat down on in front of thier tent. Minna gestured and sent forth a fireball inti the ground. soon they had a magical fire blazing merrily. lIlsa surrounded it with rocks she found lying on the ground. "So.. lets chat.." Ilsa said. "How is your family doing?'
-
Meanwhile... on the other side of the valley...
Arcantas watched Minna and Isla through a crystal ball, hoping to glean some useful information from them...
-
The chat began in earnest.." So minna, do any of your older brothers own anything?" "WEll, My brother owns a rich mine someehere in this rehion. He keeps its location a secret, because of its isolation, it could easily be captured and he would not learn of its for a long time afterwards. Its a either a copper or silver mine, I'm not sure which " Minna said gazing into the flames..
-
Akito, Juri, and Touga's ears all twitched as they heard Minna and Ilsa.
"<Sigh> Well, I suppose we all should get some rest, too, guys. I'll see you in the morning."
Akito said, returning to his tent, where Ruka lay, sleeping. He lay down on his side of the tent, but a moment later, Ruka had found him and snuggled against him. He sighed quietly, then shut his eyes and fell asleep...
-
Marcus slept in his tent/ omce again he dreamed of Rhiga, as he had every night of this long quest. Oh! how he longed to hold her in her armsm, to sleep with her in his bed..
-
The region they were in was far beyond the maps of the civilized areas... any mines that would have been owned by any Dracon from any of the cities would be at least 1000 kilometers away. Still, there were a number of mines in the area that was southwest of the southernmost Dracon city... and there were some mines that were not owned by the civilized Dracons at all...
-
Jake and Sasha tossed and turned on their sleeping bags, Sasha sat up "psst......you awake?", "what do you think?" replied Jake as he too sat up "these sleeping bags are extremely uncomfortable......" said Sasha, "they are...." replied Jake
-
"so what should we do to pass the time so we feel tired enough to sleep on these sleeping bags?" asked Jake
-
Meanwhile...
Rhiga had woken up, and saw that the dragon was awake...
"Hey! Dragon! You think you can get us down from here?"
The only reply was a low, mournful roar... the answer was no...
-
Minna awoke from her bed.. She had slept better after talking with Ilsa.. Minna dessed and waklked outside..
-
The next morning...
The party awoke from their modest quarters... the party was very large... and the ones who had kidnapped Rhiga knew it. Anything they had which could interfere with scrying was too weak to stop their adversaries from looking in on them anyway... especially in this valley...
The valley was covered by a magical field which emanated from a tower located on its far end... this was where Rhiga was being held...
-
Touga looked around at the group.
"You said you were looking for someone, right? If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say we head for the tower keep. I remember some of the prison camp guards saying something about a few valuable prisoners being kept there."
He said, pointing to a structure several miles off...
Akito looked at it.
"Well, it's a start. It'll probably be pretty well-guarded, though."
He stated, eyes looking at the tower...
-
So we're finally getting close then" Marcus said as they moved slowly towards the tower which lay off on the distance.. " we're coming , my love" He whispered to himself..
-
Touga's ears twitched.
"Ah, so you two are in love?"
He asked, smiling a little...
"Oh, that is so romantic!"
Utena squealed, tail waving in delight.
"A brave knight, risking it all for his true love...<Sigh>"
Juri sighed and rolled her eyes...
-
The tower in question was a lookout tower made of wood... this was NOT where Rhiga was being held... they were still many kilometers away from that... they wouldn't even be able to see it until they were halfway through the valley... and the lookout tower wasn't even a tenth of the way through it!
-
"marcus and Rhiga are getting married" said Jake
-
We were about to be marrried when she was captured" Marcus explained.. "If we rescue her you are all invited to the wedding..
-
"well let's keep goin' " said Jake
-
The party traveled north, heading in the direction of the wooden tower... which was not were Rhiga was kept... they were heading in the correct direction, but to the wrong location... still, it was a start.
-
Ilsa, walked up a path cut into the riocks, the slopes were getting pretty steep.. "Lets just hope Rhiga is okay" She said. "I'd hate to think shes been harmed
-
"I would hate to think that as well Ilsa...." - Eriol replied to her. - "... but even if they didn't, we will still make them feel sorry, for everything they have done to our friend."
The new environment has been far more friendly for the Panthers than the desert... it is now somewhat closer to what it can be seen in their homeland.
-
Elsewhere...
Arcantas was communicating with his master on a clear crystal ball...
"Did the mage do as he said he would?" a voice said, emanating from the crystal.
"It is as you said it would be, master..." Arcantas replied. "They are on their way to me now..."
"You mean, they are on the way to your overseer. I didn't appoint you to this task... you are there to help, not to lead" said the voice in the ball. "You must do as you are told."
"But... you appointed a... a-" Arcantas said, angry.
"I know. It is meant to teach you a lesson, no matter how degrading this is to you. I wouldn't have considered this if you hadn't failed so badly..." The voice spoke...
-
"What, are you...upset that master appointed one besides one of your..."superior" dracon race?"
Akio, a fauxen male with long, purple hair, and dark black fur said, stepping out of the shadows in the room.
"Perhaps, if you had been more useful to our lord...You wouldn't have found yourself in this situation."
He smirked evilly...
-
(The character who commands Arcantas is NOT a race you made! I'm going to ignore that post of yours... I already introduced the character who IS placed in charge of Arcantas... and it is NOT a character of yours, Starfall!)
-
"so which tower do you think Rhiga is in Adykon?" asked Jake
-
"There's only one tower in sight, Jake..." the mercenary replied. "We should check in that wooden tower..."
Adykon was wrong, of course; Rhiga was not really there...
-
(Oh, Akio's not in charge of Arcantas. Just another one who serves Arcantas's master. And who torments him on a regular basis.)
-
(I'll let that be, but Arcantas won't tolerate that for long...)
-
(Duly noted)
-
Meanwhile...
"Get out of here!" Arcantas said to Akio. "I may no longer be an overboss, but even as an underboss, I still outrank any mere officer! I may hate it, but that doesn't mean I cannot take my anger out on you!"
-
(didn't you just say akito isn't meant to be there???)
-
(Akio and Akito are two different characters, metadude.)
-
(soz, i thought it was a typo)
-
The party approached the wooden tower... it was about 5 stories tall, and seemed to rise out of nowhere in the jungle... there were guards in front of it, and in it... could this be where Rhiga was held?
The answer was no... but the adventurers had no way of knowing that.
-
Akio chuckled.
"Correction, Arcantas. You can attempt to. Remember, while I am a mere officer, I am stronger than many can even comprehend..."
He said dangerously, eyes narrowed...
_________________________________________________________________________
Touga looked at the guards around the tower.
"Alright. We have two options. Either we sneak around the guards, and we silence them stealthily, or we charge them, and do things that way. What do you say?"
He asked the group, looking back at them...
Akito shook his head.
"A charge would be too risky. If they're alerted, we don't know how many are inside that tower, or if Rhiga's in there. We should tread lightly..."
He said calmly, eyes shut.
Utena looked at him.
"Sneaking is so cowardly. It would be far more gallant to just bring the fight to them."
She protested, a small pout on her face...
Juri placed a hand on Utena's shoulder.
"No, being gallant isn't the way here. It'll only get us or innocents hurt"
She countered.
Kyuichi glared at them.
"I can't believe what you're saying. Since when do innocents matter? We should simply take them out."
He snorted.
"What do you all say?"
Miki and Ruka both asked the others...
-
(Akio is with Arcantas, NOT Adykon... two different characters completely. Adykon is the main good guy, Arcantas is evil.)
-
(My bad. Typo. Fixed now!)
-
(Cool)
Adykon and the party decided to charge in. There were few innocents around, and the sheer numbers of the party members were enough to easily turn the tide of battle in their favor, especially considering all the magic the party had, and the element of surprise... which can sometimes be the best magic of all!
-
Vespion attacked with a fireball which was intended to hit one of the guards... it missed... and it it the wooden tower. It didn't take long to realize what a wooden tower combined with a magical fireball would create... a towering inferno.
The good news was that Rhiga was not in the tower... the bad news was, the party had no way of knowing that...
-
"Vespion! you must be careful, what if Rhiga is up there!" - Eriol said angered as he fired some of his arrows, hitting a guard directly in the chest, but missing another guard.
"Maybe I can help a bit." - Arianne said and as she moved backwards from the group, she began casting a spell, getting the air from that tower and, that way, to exhaust the air supply and extinguish the fire. She was only partially succeded as the fire began expanding too quickly for her to keep up.
-
Adykon took matters into his own hands, and ran into the tower during Arianne's spell... the flames had died down a bit, which made it easier for him to run up the stairs of the tower. After searching all of the rooms, he found no sign of Rhiga. On his way down, the fire started up again, trapping Adykon on the third floor of a five story tower...
-
Touga and Akito saw Adykon trapped, and the pair of them leapt into a window after running up the wall of the tower.
"Adykon! This way! C'mon!"
Touga yelled, gesturing at the window.
"Unless you want to die, that is!"
Akito added cheerlessly...
Utena spun, her naginata cutting through another guard.
"There are a lot of these guys! Everybody! Are you all okay?"
She asked.
"Fine, Utena!"
Juri replied, pulling her rapier out of a foe's chest.
"I'm okay!"
Miki answered, saber and dagger busy fending off two foes at once.
"Tch. Just mind your own business!"
Kyuichi retorted, spearing another foe...
Ruka stood from a distance and watched, white magic at the ready...
-
Adykon ran out of the tower and out of the window, knowing that he could grab onto the wooden walls... but as he was about halfway down, the tower began to collapse... pieces of fiery wood fell all around him!
-
Ilsa gestured and cause the debris to stop in mdair. ' you only have a few seconds Adykon! i won't be able to keep this debris off of you for long " She called out..
-
Adykon decided that the best way to get down quickly was to drop down. He released his grip on the wood and fell... he was injured, but not critically, and he knew that Vespion could easily heal him with his magic.
-
Ilsa relaxed and let the wooden debris fall harmlessly. ' well, she's not here, it seems.. i wonder if we are even going in the right direction.." She grumbled..
-
Touga crashed out of an upstairs window of the tower, holding a parchment in one hand, and his sword in the other as he dropped onto a guard below him, rolling when he hit the ground.
"<Pant> We are...Look"
He said, holding up the parchment, breathing hard.
Akito spun, cutting the last of the guards down.
"What does it say, Touga?"
Touga pointed at it, grinning.
"It's an order to move a prisoner, a female Dracon, to the 'master's' tower. Which is this way, I'm getting."
He said slightly boastfully...
-
Adykon had fallen to the ground, but he was not badly hurt... the party could see this. So it came as a great surprise to all of them when he suddenly passed out!
"What the-? Adykon!" Vespion said, casting a healing spell. The bruises and burns disappeared, but Adykon was still unconscious.
----
Adykon found himself in a dream, falling down and landing in a dark room with a flat, dry stone floor. The air smelled fresh, almost like the air in a forested mountain... the the sun lit up. There was no explosion, no burst of heat, no change of color in the blue sky, it just lit up like a candle...
"Warrior, hear my words and heed them" a female voice called... it sounded familiar...
"Who are you?" Adykon said. "What have you done to me? Where am I?"
"Peace, Adykon" the disembodied voice spoke. "I am a Dracon, like yourself, and I will tell you what I must. You need to know more of whom you are fighting."
"You know who is behind all of this?" Adykon replied.
"His name is not known to me... but the legend of the master is one that archmages in our lands all know... and fear" the voice added. "I will contact you again tonight to tell you more. Look around the environment in this unreal place..."
"It feels real enough" Adykon said, walking out of the room and onto a stony path. He looked down at his clothing to see that he was only wearing a loincloth. "What?! Where's my armor?! Where did you put-!"
"I don't recall what the rest of your clothing looked like, so I gave you some minimal coverings for the purposes of this vision... no one can really see you here, not even I. I need to show you a key to your quest."
Adykon suddenly found himself moving very quickly along the path, as if the ground itself was moving past him. When he tried to walk, his feet didn't move him anywhere, although he could feel the ground. Then, the ground stopped moving and he saw some ruins bearing Dracon architecture, not at all unlike the one he had been adventuring in before, except these ruins were dominated by a vast white light with light blue around its rims... it looked like the fabric of space-time had been torn...
"This rip leads to the positive energy plane, a realm of such intense power that almost any unprotected being would overload with energy and explode in under a minute. Long ago, the master sought to harness the power of this rip." The female voice began to quiver, as if weakening, and the world itself faded a bit, as if a fire was flickering. In a moment, she regained her composure and the world brightened again.
"A great hero stopped the master thousands of years ago. Since then, he has been trying to harness another power source to take over our lands. So far, he has not succeeded. He has come perilously close to success several times before, but someone, usually an archmage and some adventurers, has managed to foil his plans." The scene flickered again, and a cry of strain could be heard from the tired female voice.
"Unn! I cannot keep this up much longer. This spell was designed for my husband, not a female's weak body. I need to rest soon, and you need to wake up, Adykon. I will contact you again later." The scene faded to black and the next thing Adykon knew was that the tower had burned down and there was bits and pieces of wood all over the place.
-
"Let's get him away from here" Minna said. 'Marcus, he;lp ilsa carry him. You're a strong guy.."
_
I'm going to need help, his armor weighs a lot" marcus said..
-
"Here, let me help you." - Eriol said as he got closer and helped Marcus to carry Adykon away from the ruins of that tower.
Arianne also went closer, but she remained a few steps back. - "I do wonder what did happen to him, I hope he'll be fine soon."
-
Adykon regained his senses and spoke to the party "I was contacted in a vision by a mage... a Dracon female..."
"Did she say anything about Rhiga?" Vaeri asked.
"No... this was about the villian we face..." Adykon proceeded to tell them about his vision and what he had been told...
-
"so the master hs trised to take over before,but failed?"Minna said. "Great, he's trying again, and rhiga is bait..'
-
"the bad thing of someone like the Master been able to survive, is that he is able to learn from past mistakes, so every time it becomes harder for whatever good guys are to defeat him." - Eriol commented after hearing Adykon's vision.
"But he is still not perfect, we must trust that there is a way to defeat him and rescue Rhiga." - Arianne said, a bit of shyly. Her husband went closer and sat next to her.
-
The party left the ruins of the tower and went into the woods, where they made camp... it was a quiet night, and no enemies disturbed the party...
But Adykon was contacted again that night...
-
As the group sat in the camp, Akito shut his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them, found himself standing in a strange place. A blending of his home, and some foreign shore surrounded him. From the oceanic mists, a figure stepped forward, clad in leather armor, with a sword slung across his back.
"Akito...Kiryusen."
The figure voiced, staring at him intently. Immediately, Akito drew both his and his master's swords, readying himself if he needed to fight.
"Who are you? What do you want?"
He asked the figure warily, ears back...
-
As before, Adykon was contacted by the female mage... this time, a shimmering form appeared before him in the strange world... its outline was clearly that of a nude female, but it glowed white and had no visible features...
"Come, Adykon. It is time to show you a story. How you react to it is your own choice..." the female said, before starting her tale...
"Long ago, our race was created by a council of dragons, archmages, and some entities who were both. We all know that the Dracons, who we are, is due to magic. We did not, and probably could not evolve naturally. Our society, our language, even our very bodies are derived from norms found in the dragons. Among these are base desires... food, water, mating, sleep, comfort, and safety. But in our hearts also lies something else... greed and lust for power."
The female guided Adykon through this strange, unreal world, walking through the ruins, moving past rubble as they spoke. She stopped walking when they reached the rip in space-time. She spoke: "This anomaly you see before you is called the Great Rift... also known to some as the Great Tear. It is so-called because it is a rip or tear in reality as you would tear a piece of parchment."
The female rose into the air and Adykon rose with her, much against his will. She controlled this dream, not him. From above the rip, the ruins seemed rather small... but then, before Adykon's eyes, a great city appeared, far larger than any he had ever seen, heard of, or though possible.
"My gods... is this... was this city there in the past? Are we looking at what the ruins once were?" Adykon asked the female.
"No. We are seeing the future. If the master succeeds, this place will become his capital." The city was vast, its many mostly brown-colored buildings were often 10 or 15 stories in height, long roads stretched out beyond Adykon's vision, and the walls of the city could only be barely glimpsed in the horizon.
But most shocking of all was the tower built over the Rip... the structure was well over a kilometer tall and was wider than the largest Dracon palace. "The rift emits unimaginable power... too much for almost anyone to control... but the master... he knows how to harness it... and use it! If he can use it, not only will his power powers increase to that of god-like levels... he will be able to single-handedly unleash and harness all of the threats he has tried to harness over the years... our cities and our tribes won't stand a chance..." the female said to Adykon.
The effort of maintaining such an elaborate illusion was taking a strain on her, however slight... this spell was changed a bit to accommodate her weaker female body. The vision of the city faded, and was soon replaced with a long stream of Dracons, all of whom were hungry and tired. There were over 100,000 of them, and all of them were shacked. "This is what we are in for" the female continued "We are going to be forced to pay crushing tribute to the master each year, for he will be our emperor. Ruling from his capital, he will unite our lands, stop the wars between our cities and tribes, and create a huge army." The scene shifted to an troop review, where there were easily half a million soldiers, all heavily armored, well-trained, and all standing geometric formations. Accompanying the army were hundreds of dragons of all colors, and easily a couple thousand clerics and mages. And the speech given by a general stated that this massive force was only a small fraction of the army they had available.
"My gods..." Adykon said for a second time, shocked. "It gets worse" the female said to him... "The scene shifted to the city of Minthebec, where this whole adventure had begun. The city looked like a giant prison, with drab, dull walls, quiet citizens, no music, and few crowds in the streets. The city's once constant traffic was now limited to maybe a quarter of its previous amount, and none of the people in the streets were female. "Why are the female's not-?" Adykon asked before being cut off "Behold..." the female said, sadly.
The scene shifted to a room with 50 different females. They were totally naked, like hierodules, but these females were unhappy. Placed in a room with heavy enchantments on themselves and in the room itself, they were enchanted so they couldn't speak, couldn't leave, and couldn't think about anything else except for mating... and that was their whole life, once they reached a certain age... it was the same for all females, save for a few magically-talented ones... this was far beyond the norm, even for Dracons... many, many times beyond what was allowed!
"Marriages will be made illegal by the emperor" the female said as the scene shifted to a temple. The place of worship had fewer than half of its statues, indicating that only some deities were worshipped... "and the temples will be unable to worship most gods... even the statues which you see weren't originally there in most temples... these are statues to evil gods..."
Adykon had a hard time taking this all in... "But... how? How can we stop him? Why didn't any other mage try to use this... tear thing?" he asked.
"Several have tried to use it... all were atomized." The female said, a strain showing in her voice. "The powers of the rift are so great that if even the slightest percent of its energy is in a position to harm you, it can reduce you to ashes... if you are lucky!"
"But... the master can avoid being destroyed by this, somehow?" Adykon asked.
"Yes... I am not sure how he does it..." the female replied.
"Who are you, female?" Adykon asked. "I would like to know who it is I am talking to..."
"Ha! That's a first! Adykon, I cannot read your mind using this spell under most circumstances, but if you are thinking of something very strongly, I can sense what it is... Don't say you actually CARE about the females you meet... you didn't even care about your mother and sisters..."
"What?! How can you say that?! You know nothing about-!"
"You thought betray you. You were raised to think of females as little more than a means of incubating eggs and preparing food, as well as a way to have some.... fun." the female said. "You don't need to know my name any more than the females you mated with... you rarely knew their names..." as she said that, dozens of nude Dracons females appeared out of portals, approaching Adykon none of them said anything; they just walked around Adykon and sat down, looking at him with expressions of longing.
Adykon was getting nervous at this point. "But... what about Vaeri? I know who she is, and I know that I-"
"Love her? Don't kid yourself. You not only abandoned her to raise your child in Hekaga all by herself, but you are also planning to leave her now... really Adykon... this will have to change."
"Change? Change what? Who are you to tell me what to do! You're a-!" He stopped himself before saying what would prove her point...
"I'm what? A female? Go on... you can say it...." she told him.
"Fine. A female. You are a female. Males should never ever have to listen to a female tell them what to do." Adykon said, finishing his thought. "It still doesn't mean that I want to enslave all of the females in our lands!"
"No, but it does mean that, on a certain level, you and the master both value half of our race for purely physical qualities... and what's worse, you also don't care about... the children."
With that, seven children appeared before Adykon. Four of them looked as if they were zombies, the other three were perfectly normal... and an eighth child appeared in the arms of the female.
"Before you tell me that these are MY children, you should know that there is NO way you could know what they look like or be able to find them! This is a trick, a dream, a phantasmal apparition or whatever you mages call it! I know that I have at least one child, and probably several other ones, all of whom are illegitimate! But...."
Adykon stopped, unable to justify his actions...
"If you are going to be our savior, you will have to love the land you wish to save, and you must love its people too... as of now, you think the perfect life is one spent fighting to make a living, and to kill your enemies to serve your wealth and your ego" the female said, getting more tired "Almost as bad is your idea of how to spend your money... when it isn't going towards weapons and armor, much of it is spent getting drunk... and getting females drunk to make mating easier for both of you... and wasting time watching blood sports and nude dancers..."
"But... this is how our people live! This is what we DO!" Adykon said, exasperated. "What do you want? For me to walk through fields of flowers writing sentimental love poetry?! What kind of a warrior does that?!"
"...Let me tell you another story, Adykon... a long time ago, there was a rich and powerful Dracon who, much like yourself, fought for money, and spent his free time and money indulging his every whim and urge." the female said.
"It sounds like you've just described every Dracon noble who ever lived..." Adykon replied, unimpressed.
"This Dracon was a mage... a very powerful one... and he lived in an age where our people were even more divided than they are now... every little tribe, town and village fighting each other for every last little scrap of land... anyway, he lived in a time of great war, but also great ambition... in time, he put himself more and more in the center of his own little universe... using his powers to live for countless years and gaining more and more knowledge and might... until he tried to take over... and failed... and... and... ugh..." the female said, her power being rapidly spent.
"This... this was the dark master we are talking about, right?" Adykon said.
"Yes... ugh... now... I will contact you again tomorrow... I... cannot stay... awake." The female figure said, falling down to the floor and fainting. As she passed out, the world Adykon was in faded to black, and he awoke with a start.
-
In the shadowed realm within Akito's...was it a dream? Or a vision? Regardless, the fog had stirred, and shifted, revealing the face of the enigmatic figure. It was Akito himself, although with darker fur, and strange markings, as well as a massive blade.
"I must admit...I am surprised that these...Dracons let you travel with them."
The dream Akito taunted, sneering at the true Akito coldly...
"What do you mean by that?"
Akito responded, eyes narrowing and fur bristling. The dream version of himself chuckled, looking at him with distaste.
"So...You really don't remember anything, do you? Well, no matter...Let me show you what you were before...and what you will inevitably become again."
As he said this, the shore faded out, disappearing into whiteness. Slowly, a new scene took form.
"See now...what a monster you were..."
The dream Akito jeered, as a field of Dracon and Fauxen corpses took shape around them. In the center of the field, a figure clad in bone-white armor stood, a great blade cleaving through a Dracon's chest, blood splattering the ground around the duo. As the Dracon fell, the armored figure turned, heading towards the two Akitos, when a Dracon moaned softly nearby. Without hesitation, the white-clad figure turned, and in a clean stroke, sliced off the Dracon's head. And again, the scene faded to white...
Now, they were in a city of Dracon origin as it burned. Panicked civilians ran through the streets, but as Akito watched, the same white-armored figure from before stood near the sole remaining exit, cutting down any who came near him. Suddenly, a female, carrying a screaming infant, and leading another terrified child behind her, passed through him. He saw that they were rushing towards death, and cried out to them, but to no avail. The white figure looked up from his last victim, and in a flash, the female's head rolled across the floor. For a moment, both the child and the infant froze, too young to comprehend what had just happened, and in that moment, the armored man stepped forward, roughly grabbing the child and hoisting her by the throat, then impaled her upon his blade. Then he turned his eyes to the infant, and in a moment, the youngling's life was extinguished, their blood mingling with that of countless others as their body was pierced by the cruel, unmerciful blade. At last, the city still as a sepulcher, the white-clad figure turned, as if looking at the two Akitos, and lifted it's helmet. Underneath the cruel mask-like face...
Was Akito himself. One final time, the scene faded to white, and the two Akitos that had witnessed the atrocities stood, face to face.
"Now do you see what you are? You are nothing but a killer, Akito Kiryusen. And in time, you will discard this...facade of kindness, and you will kill the Dracons as you did back then, in the Great War we fought against them. Mark my words...You are a demon, and always will be..."
The Dream Akito laughed, a horrible, grating laugh, and then turned as the world faded, and Akito himself woke with a start...
-
Slightly unnerved at the recent dream, Adykon nevertheless called the party together the next morning to decide on their next course of action. Although there was disagreement as to how to go about it, everyone could agree that Rhiga needed to be rescued.
Some hours later, the party was walking through the jungle when they saw a village of thatched-roof huts... even before they looked at who lived there, it was obvious that it was a settlement of Dracons... a primitive tribe of them.
-
ilsa noticed Adkyon's uneasiness. as a noble, she was well aware of the atitude many males held towards females.. males usually were not nuturing in thier relationships, there had simple desires; mate as frequently as possible, have thier food ready, and have as many offspring as possible..this varied little from clas to class.
-
Females also wanted to mate "early and often", but they were the ones who had the burden of taking care of the children... Adykon knew this... he even saw several children being taken care of by a female in the village right now... never before had he seen such a primitive state for the Dracons to live in... stone tools, straw huts, and not a metal item to be found anywhere...
-
Minna walked behind Adykon, saying little as she watched the Village Dracons. These Dracons must have lived this way for thousands of years.."She thought". "Put this place on the map.." She whispered to marcus. " Go ask the villagers what they call this place..
_
Excuse me" Marcus said approaching a female. ' What do you call this place? We are simply travelers.. we mean you no harm.."
-
Akito had stopped by the entrance to the village, unable to shake his memory of last evening.
Gods...What if one of these Dracons lost a loved one to...me? Or worse..what if I attack one of them? I...I can't go in there...
He thought, leaning against a wall and shaking his head...
-
The wall Akito was leaning against pushed back... it was a straw hut, after all, and the resident inside was standing on the other side of the wall when Akito had leaned into it. Leaving the hut, the tribal male dracon approached Akito, not sure what to make of the situation, having never seen one of Akito's kind before.
-
minna looked over the village, which was really only a collection of small huts.. It was simple, but beautiful in its own way. it was as if they had stepped through a time warp..
-
"This is indeed something unique, I have never seen a village like this one before." - Arianne commented, not loudly, but enough so the others can listen.
"We shouldn't be here for too long, every place we go the enemy attacks, and this people has been living in peace for maybe hundreds of years." - Eriol added.
-
"If they live in peace, why do they have so many stone weapons?" Vespion asked rhetorically... "No, they seem to be ready for war... we Dracons always are... and always have been..."
-
"And you'll probable always be..." - Eriol replied. - "Or maybe they have those weapons for hunting and to protect themselves from other tribes or from invaders like us."
"Ehh, guys? Akito just had a little accident there" - Arianne pointed where Akito was leaning and when the wall of the hut went down.
-
Within a moment, several Dracon warriors approached the party, spears ready...
"Somehow, I don't think that those spears are only used for hunting..." Adykon said.
-
" Guys.. we mean you no harm" mInna said' Holding up her paws in a defensive gesture.." the Dracons looked like they meant business
-
(Dracons have actual hands, not paws... their hand looks like a four-fingered human hand with claws in place of fingernails, and with different skin.)
The chief of the tribe, a seven-foot tall male, approached the party. He ordered his warriors to stand down... he spoke to them in a language Vespion knew to be Ignan... a language spoken by fire creatures. Vespion knew how to speak it as well...
(By the way, all characters, including humans like Jake, are assumed to be speaking Draconic, not "common" human language... we have "translated" it for the purposes of the RP.)
-
(Understood)
" What are they saying? minna asked. minna was unfamilar with IGnan.. although her father had dealing with fire creatures.. she herself did not know the language..
-
"They are saying that they don't recognize us by appearances or by scent, but that they don't think we come from someone called 'the overlord'... probably the one who is in charge of Arcantas..." Vespion replied.
-
"Well, at least that means we won't get to be killed... not yet anyways." - Eriol said making a sarcastic smile.
Arianne just looked at him and then she went closer to Akito - "Are you ok?"
-
'tell them that we mean them no harm, and that we would like to know what they call this place.. and themselves' Ilsa said..
-
One of the dracons from the tribe approached the party. This warrior was colored red, with long horns, red eyes, and was wearing an actual shirt and pants, rather than the simple tribal garments seen on most of the other members of the tribe. Speaking in Draconic so that the adventurers could understand; "What is your business here? Why have you entered this valley?" he said, spitting a bit of acid into the ground in front of the party.
-
Akito stepped back, hands raised.
"A thousand apologies for having intruded into your homes. We were looking for a friend of ours who was taken."
He said calmly, trying not to panic..
The other Fauxen each displayed their apologies as well. Touga bowed his head, offering his throat, Juri knelt, Miki unbelted his weapons and placed them on the ground, Kyuichi bowing for a moment, Ruka by placing his hands together in front of his face and lowering his head, and Utena by kneeling next to Juri...
-
The tribal Dracon warriors looked at each other for a moment. Then, their chief approached the adventurers and spoke; "Your friend was likely taken by the master, or at least, one of his underlings. My tribe is a vassal to one of the master's servants... we are forced to pay tribute to him. He drafts some of our warriors into his armies... and takes some of our unhatched eggs for horrible...exp... experi... experimen... he changes them in ways we cannot understand. Your friend is in serious danger. The dark master treats living flesh and blood as if it were wood to fuel a fire, and as if it were stone to be carved into whatever shape suits him."
-
we know she is in serious danger" Minna said. " Do you know where she is now?"
_ Marcus looked at them, silently hoping that the tribe could tell them where Rhiga was..
_
Which is why we need to get to her quickly. Any help you give us will be greatly appreciated..' Ilsa said.. " We could try and break the hpold the master has on you..'
-
Arianne went next to her husband - "I hope you'll be able to help us, that way the nightmare could finally end."
Eriol nodded, but he is also waiting for the reply.
-
The Dracon chief looked very sad when he had heard this "We would love nothing more than to be freed from this... hell we are in... but there is no way to do it.... even if all you you joined us, you cannot fight a whole army. We have revolted several times by joining with other tribes in this area... every time, we failed, and the tribute that we had to pay only increased..."
-
"That horros must be stopped somehow." - Arianne said scared of just trying to think about the ordeal must people have been forced to endure for who knows how much time.
"I don't think we can confront an army and win easily, so my guess would be to try and make an infiltration job where Rhiga is... and where this 'Master' lives, if we keep up in our little crusade." - Eriol said, not very animically, but possibilities must be taken into account if they are to rescue Rhiga.
-
If we can free Rihiga and stop the master , you will be fred from his domination.." Ilsa said. "Rjiga isn't the only one counting on us:" she said turning to the others..
-
"Stop the... I don't think we can even survive fighting him, much less stop him" Vespion said. "We really need to get Rhiga and get out of here... Adykon still has that artifact which can teleport us back home... as soon as we get Rhiga, we should go..."
Adykon couldn't help but to agree... this "dark master" business was in over his head.
-
"Yeah Ilsa. None of us are even remotely close to being in the same class of power as the master" Minna said. ' while I share your sentiment, we must be pratical.. We are here to rescue Rhiga, not to engage in an unwinnable fight with the master.. eyes on the prize, my friend.."
-
The party members left the village, heading north as the chief advised them to do. After climbing a hill, they were able to see a great vista of the valley...
(http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/31/96631-004-ED0EA6D0.jpg)
-
Meanwhile down in the valley, a small campfire had been start. The occupant was a young boy name Aaron. His aspiration in life was to become the greatest fighter and swordmaster in the world. It would require alot of hard work in order to do so, as he had trained ever since he was a kid.
Brushing his dark jet hair aside, he peered his emerlad eyes as he spotted a pretty decent rock. Heading over, he removed his black cape, armor and leather vambrace.
"Alright, time for some one armed push ups" he smirked as he started to work out. He journyed usualy from one place to another, although this was the first time he had ever been in this place.
-
The party continued march through the jungle, heading north... they passed several more villages and even a couple of waterfalls... so far, their luck had held out... they didn't run into patrols of enemy soldiers...
-
Akito stopped for a moment, then shook his head.
"We can't just let this place be drained by the Master of our foes. It just...it just isn't right. I say that there must be some way to stop him."
He said after a moment's hesitation...
-
Arianne looked at the Fauxen and replied - "I have to agree, after all what will stop the Master from kidnapping Rhiga again or any other of us if he is left alive to keep with his plans?"
Eriol nodded. - "I agree, but we must take into account that the odds are already very high with just rescuing Rhiga. We must be cautious... we must find a way so we could do both things: Rescue Rhiga and clean the floor with that Master."
-
"I wouldn't worry about the master, if I were you. You all should worry about ME instead!" a voice said.
Adykon turned around, and he saw the mysterious voice... Arcantas! And no other enemies were to be seen...
-
(i havn't missed much have i?)
Jake continued walking with the others "so what should we do now?" he asked (i have no clue as to what is going on...)
-
Minna jerked her headaround at the voice.. " where's Rhiga? what have you done with her?' She demanded..
-
(Can we get slightly longer lines here, please?)
"Really, that isn't an important question for you, female! The question you should be asking is-"
"Arcantas! What in the nine hells are you doing?!" said a female voice... a dark female voice... not the calm, mellifluous one Adykon had heard in his visions...
-
" How we get out of here alive" minna thought to herself as she saw the archmage. She knew that they wee getting close, if Arcantas was here, that meant they were going in the right direction.. It also meant they were in deep trouble, given that arcantas' power far outstripeed thier combined strength, onlyy Vespoin was at a similar rank in magic, and Arcantas powers dwarfed his. She did not hear the dark female's command.. nor the reaction it brought out of Arcantas...
-
Suddenly, a female stepped out of the jungle... a female Dracon with golden eyes... and... long fangs... she was dressed in a red silk top and loincloth... something was very odd about her... her pale white belly and reddish skin looked normal, but there was an aura of evil magic in her very being...
-
Akito wheeled about, swords drawn, as he stared down Arcantas.
"What are you doing here, you scum?"
He asked, eyes narrowed and ears slicked back. At the arrival of the female, his eyes shifted further, and his fur began to stand on end...
Touga, Kyuichi, Miki, Juri, and Utena had drawn their weapons as well.
"You...You're the one who imprisoned us!"
Touga growled, sword at the ready...
"You...are going to die for what you've done..."
Kyuichi hissed evilly...
Juri swung her rapier in the shape of an X, fur standing on end.
"You won't be able to escape."
She taunted...
Miki gripped his sword and dagger warily.
"The odds are strongly not in your favor, so I'd strongly advise against attacking us."
He said matter-of-factly...
Utena swung her naginata, eyes resolute.
"Stand aside! Or be cut down, your choice!"
She yelled defiantly...
-
At that point, an arrow was fired at Juri, seemingly out of thin air. Arcantas had not shown up alone at all; he had simply cast a spell of invisibility on a squadron of soldiers that he had brought with him.
Arcantas did NOT plan on that female being there, however...
-
It may have been just the luck of the moment, but when the strange female appeared, Arianne began charging her magic, for precaution. That allowed here to instinctively raise a wind spell that made the arrow to fly away from Juri.
"Where did that arrow came from?" - Eriol asked as he got his crossbow in one hand and a sword in the other.
"This has to be another of Arcnatas tricks." - Arianne replied, ready to raise more defensive winds.
-
The female approached Arcantas and dismissed his spell of invisibility with a wave of her hands, revealing several heavily-armed soldiers.
"I was hoping that we could trap this party closer to the tower... but this will have to do" she said, her eyes a glowing gold... the same color as those of Arcantas's eyes...
-
Minna and Ilsa both pulled out thier staffs, and started casting spells, while ilsa was a talented mage, she was not at the level of archmage yet, her teacher had told her it would take her several years of traning before reaching that point. And here she was dealing with two very powerful archmages....
-
Several decades was more like it... becoming an archmage was very hard indeed...
Without using anything to focus his magic, Arcantas was able to pull the staffs from the hands of Minna and Isla... then, they flew out of his hands into the clawed fingers of the female, who used her magic without wand or staff...
-
"This is bad." - Arianne said, she then looked briefly to her husband and then she took a couple of seconds to concentrate and then to send a strong wind spell towards the evil female Dracon, followed instantly by arrows launched by Eriol in hopes for a direct strike.
-
The evil female easily conjured a shield of flames in almost no time, burning the arrows up... then the flame shield disappeared... all in under two seconds. The flames just... rose and fell in time to burn up the arrows completely, and as soon as it had appeared... it was gone...
Something was seriously odd...
-
Akito had had his eyes shut the entire time, but now opened them. In a deeper, darker voice, he finally spoke.
"Die...You Dracon Scum!"
He yelled, a jet of pure mana bursting from his back, shooting him towards the two enemies...
-
"Oh please, don't give me those little sparkles, you damned furry." Arcantas said, as he easily deflected the mana towards the female... "Asthia, you can have it", he said, talking to the female, who easily absorbed the mana as if she had soaked it up like she was a sponge.
-
Minna and Ilsa had retreated back, after thier stafs were taken from them. Most of thier power resided in those staffs, and Arcantus and Asthia had taken them away as if it was nothing.. which, Minna reflected it probably was.. While they did have some magical training in hand gestures and incantations.. it wouldn't do them any good, not against such strong magicians..
-
Asthia, on the other hand, casted all of her magic using hand gestures... and she gestured in the direction of Adykon! He was knocked back by a bolt of glowing blue magic, which failed to hurt him, but it DID succeed in knocking his sword from his hands.
-
(not too sure on what i should post...)
-
(What are Jake, Rex, and Sasha doing?)
-
(originally, they were following everyone else)
-
(We will cut back to the action after this post. Right now, the party is being attacked by Arcantas and a female Dracon vampire name Asthia, along with some of their soldiers. And this takes place in a jungle valley in the middle of nowhere.)
-
(okay)
Jake and Rex pulled out their swords and they both ran at arcantas
"yaaaaah!" screamed Jake as he swung his longsword
-
Arcantas easily conjured a ring of fire to stop the two youths in their tracks. Neither of them were burned by the flames, but it was close. Then Asthia cast a spell which opened up a portal to a flaming dimension... and something resembling a large, black bird came out of it!
-
"holy crap!" yelled Jake as he fell backwards, Rex decided that trying to attack the mages again could prove fatal so he began to attack the soldiers.
-
The soldiers charged the party, closing in on either side. The numbers of the party were actually somewhat greater than those of the soldiers, but many members of the party were unable to match one of those Dracons in one-on-one combat.
-
Jake got up off the ground and he too began attacking the soldiers
-
While the fighting was in full swing, Asthia attacked Adykon with a spell, using an attack designed to heat the metal of his armor... within a moment, his armor was hot enough to fry an egg on... then, hot enough to cook flesh... and it hurt VERY much...
-
Akito stumbled back as a soldier's blade cut into his arm, forcing him to drop his sword. For a moment, he froze, then started to chuckle.
"Heheh...Dracon scum...I'll...I'll slaughter every last one of you!"
He chuckled darkly, and when he looked up, his eyes had darkened to a bloody red color, as he held his remaining katana loosely at his side. In a flash, he swung it, decapitating one of the soldiers. He looked at his second sword, calling it to his hand, and then set it to the back of his first sword. In a strange glow, the two swords merged, creating a great katana, with a gleaming black blade. In moments, he had decimated many of the remaining soldiers, and then turned his eyes to Arcantas and Asthia.
(Trust me, this is going to be important.)
-
Asthia and Arcantas saw what Akito was doing, and Asthia lost her concentration on the heat spell... Adykon lived, but fell to the ground, the smell of burning flesh still hanging in the air...
-
Akito laughed coldly, then turned and raced at Arcantas, blade held high, aiming for a fatal stroke...
-
Arcantas laughed "You fool! You cannot kill me now! It would take a stake through the heart or more magic than you will ever have to stop me!" And with that, Arcantas easily conjured up a magic shield to block the attack.
-
Akito's blade cleaved through the shield with almost no trouble at all, though it missed Arcantas.
"It is...you that is the fool! This sword...was designed...to kill mages like you..."
He laughed...
-
"I'm not just a mage... I'm a vampire!" Arcantas yelled, showing his fangs. Yes, he had been turned into a vampire by Asthia on the orders of the dark master... when he fell off of that tower, he had simply died, but was brought back as a Nosferatu.
-
Akito smirked.
"Well then, vampire...This shall be a fascinating challenge."
He hissed malevolently...
-
Arcantas's power exceeded that of Akito's... and he was able to use his power to conjure up chains to hold Akito in place... so that he would have time for another spell...
As this was happening, the demonic bird that Asthia had conjured entered the world...
-
Akito struggled against the chains, his eyes furious and his fangs bared in a feral snarl...
-
Arcantas began to chant...
"By the Powers of all Darkness, by the Power of My Name! Shall your soul be mirrored outward, shall your body be the same!" A blue bolt came out of Arcantas's hands, but it accidentally hit one of his soldiers, who promptly turned into a snake, as that was the creature which most closely resembled his soul...
-
Akito took advantage of the missed spell to unleash a massive spiritual wave, shattering the chains that Arcantas had summoned...
-
Just then, the giant demonic bird Asthia had summoned attacked Akito, clawing and biting at him with her beak and talons!
-
Touga and Utena leapt at the bird, driving it away long enough for Akito to lunge Asthia...
-
Asthia caught Akito by the arm, and immediately he felt cold... the energy in his arm was being drained out of it... his sword arm went limp...
Asthia looked at Akito with her glowing golden eyes. Although softer and weaker than him physically, Asthia had a power that one would not expect a female Dracon to have.
"Did you think I needed to bite you on the neck to drain power from you?" she said while laughing.
Although beautiful by the standards of her race, Asthia was still a terrible sight to behold... her lithe body, dressed in only a red silk top and matching covering on her bottom, was animated by unholy powers...
-
Akito growled, then forced his hand to move, driving his sword into Asthia with a triumphant roar...
-
Asthia was cut by the blade, but being as agile as she was, it only gave her a light wound on her side... and ichor, not blood dripped out of it... she seemed to be unhurt, but she was pissed... :anger
-
Akito froze for a moment, feeling the stirrings of fear in his heart...
-
Asthia looked at Adykon, still on the ground... she looked at Akito.
"You and Adykon are strong. You two will do just fine tonight." Asthia's tone changed. She used a spell to suspend Akito in the air, and did the same with Adykon, who was still burned badly...
-
Touga turned, and when he saw Akito trapped in the air, he lunged at Asthia, hoping to rescue the other fauxen as well as Adykon.
"Don't you dare touch him!"
He yelled, swinging his sword in a brilliant slash combination...
-
Asthia turned with unnatural speed and kicked Touga with her clawed left foot in midair. Dracon females were agile, but THAT level of agility was all but unheard of... and the fact that she could kick so accurately was... unsettling.
-
Touga flipped over in midair, and lunged at her again, but this time, Utena joined him, striking from the side...
-
This time, Arcantas intervened, firing a bolt of energy at Touga, while Asthia easily doged Utena... then kicked Utena between the legs with amazing speed.
-
Touga dodged the energy bolt, and threw a set of knives at Arcantas in response.
Utena took the kick with a small oof, but used the momentum to propel herself into the air, swinging her naginata at the two vampires...
And as Akito floated in the air, a strange white armor began to form...
-
Arcantas managed to deflect the knives with the force of his acid breathe... even as a vampire, he still had that. As the slightly corroded knives fell the the floor, he fired a paralyzing bolt at Utena, freezing her voluntary muscles in mid-air.
Asthia used a spell to open a portal. She seemed like she was giving up the fight for some reason, even though her soldiers were losing the battle to the party. Her power could have turned the fight around, but she seemed more interested in doing something else...
-
Jake ran at a soldier and took a swing at his head but he missed and the dracon punched Jake in the gut. "oomph! good shot..." he said as he gasped for air
-
Asthia's portal spell made her lose her concentration on Adykon, who dropped to the ground. He crawled on the ground to get his sword, only to find that it was still red-hot. After burning his fingers, he let out a yelp of pain, which alerted Asthia to his presence on the ground...
"You're not going anywhere" she told him "Not unless I take you there..."
-
"That will not be that easy, witch!" - Eriol jumped in front of Adykon just a second after slicing the head off of one of the attacking soldiers and fired some arrows, two towards her and one to the ground jsut in front of Asthia, to difficult her movement towards them.
Arianne saw Jake in problems and managed to get closer to him, using a wind spell to throw the soldier away from the teenager human. - "Are you ok, Jake?" - she asked as she was preparing herself for more incoming attackers.
-
Asthia managed to use a spell which generated a quick flash of blue-green light which stopped the attack on her. It was close, however, and ever her reflexes were stretched to their limit...
-
"Darn, I almost got her." - Eriol thought as he reloaded his crossbow yet again. As he finished doing that, he quickly grabbed one of his swords and he lend it to Adykon as he looked back at him - "It is not much Adykon, but at least it may help until your sword gets cold enough."
-
Adykon attacked Asthia saying "You can't beat me, female! You may have magic, but at the end of the day, you're nothing but a-" Arcantas blasted Adykon in the back with an energy blast, knocking him out for Asthia.
-
To avoid Asthia from just attacking Adykon, Eriol fired two more arrows as he jumped back to the Dracon Mercenary - "You know, if you were going to say what I think, in my homeland then you deserve what you got." - He made a devious smile - "Now stand up Adykon! those two cannot fight forever, magic consumes more energy than just making normal attacks like we do!" - after that, Eriol charged towards Asthia, with his crossbow in one hand and his other sword in the other hand.
OOC: I was tempted to make Eriol go to where Adykon fell and tell him "Adykon, you were Rick-rolled." :smile
-
Using more effort, Asthia managed to block the arrows with her magic... she seemed a bit winded, although much of this was due to the effort of making the portal, rather than blocking attacks.
"Fool! I can get more power by draining it!" And with that, Asthia conjured a bright green tendril out of magical energy which wrapped itself around Adykon's arm. When it hit the Dracon, it changed color to glow a golden color... and after a moment, Adykon no longer had the strength to stand up. He was alive, but unconscious.
-
"That witch..." - Eriol commented for himself. - "What the hell do you want from him!? don't you just get enough with Rhiga!?" - The Panther was getting mad at the situation, and ran to attack the tendril, but he was unsuccessful, so he quickly crouched and grabbed his other sword from Adykon's hand and ran towards Asthia. - "If I cannot cut the tendril, then I may cut YOU instead!" - and he made his attack.
-
"Oh, I'll be getting something alright, but I need a male to do that!" Asthia said, laughing. A second tendril came out of her left arm and acted as a whip, knocking the sword out of Eriol's hands. With the tendril still wrapped around him, Adykon was thrown into the portal...
-
Eriol fell down to the soil on all four limbs. He was unarmed now, but he still kept attacking her, this time he ran very quickly as he kept his position using his four limbs and jumped using what he had left, his own claws.
-
Asthia turned and kicked him with one of her clawed feet, kicking him in the stomach. She was very fast indeed. She hadn't noticed that she had dropped Akito in all of the commotion, but she had enough. Asthia jumped into her portal, which promptly shut behind her.
-
Eriol fell to the floor again, and again on all his four limbs. An advantage of his species is that curious ability of easily falling on their feet and hands, which can prevent damage from falling in a wrong way and for faster recovery. But this time to no avail: Asthia is gone... with Adykon!. - "That witch!..." - he said while baring his teeth in anger, he then turned back, grabbing his swords back and using them to cut off the head of an unsuspecting attacking soldier.
-
With Asthia gone, Arcantas was left by himself. He ordered all soldiers to retreat, while he could get his revenge on the party for his death...
The giant demon bird that Asthia had summoned landed next to Arcantas, who cast a spell on it, making it even larger...
-
Just as the bird reached its full size, there was a flash, and it fell, cut in half. As the halves fell aside, a white-clad demonic figure stood there. It was none other than Akito, the power of the ancient weapon within him unleashed. He chuckled, then aimed his sword at Arcantas...
-
(Adykon isn't there, remember? He was taken through the portal by Asthia.)
-
(Oh. Right. My bad. )
-
Jake got up "i'm fine.." said Jake as he gasped for more air.
-
(You should fix your earlier post, Starfall)
Arcantas backed off, knowing that he had no orders to continue the fight... he and his soldiers left... technically, they weren't supposed to be fighting to begin with...
Asthia, meanwhile, had captured Adykon and taken him to her tower. She took him to a room... a very special room...
-
Jake now stood upright
"where is adykon?" asked Jake "he was here a second ago?"
(i thought akito was taken too? soz. edited)
-
"Akito is still here, Jake" Vespion said. "Adykon is missing... and only the gods know what tortures he is going through..."
Vaeri was understandably upset when the news was broken to her. :cry
-
Akito laughed darkly.
"Are you...worried about that...dracon who was taken?"
He turned, then leveled his blade at them.
"Because you shouldn't be. Since...you are all going to die...here and now!"
He said, eyes glinting evilly beneath the white helmet...
-
Jake faced Akito. "what.....the....fuck......what the hell is wrong with you? are you in the least bit sane?"
-
"Stay back! It seems like he is possessed!" Vespion shouted. "Akito isn't well. We need to undo whatever made him like this!"
-
"possessed? by what?" asked Rex as he faced Vespion "what could possess him? is it arcantas?"
-
"I don't know, Rex" Vespion said. "Honestly, I am as confused as you are..."
-
(rex asked the question)
"well should we try and stop him?" asked Rex "he wants to kill us!!!"
-
(edited, sorry. wasn't looking)
"I think we need to get whatever is in him out" Vespion told Rex. "I know some exorcism spells, but... I'm not sure that they will work... I'm not even sure he is possessed..."
-
"well he must be possessed.......or he snapped..." said Rex
-
"Look out!" Selturma yelled as she saw Akito turn towards them... would these threats never end?
-
Akito!' mInna said, trying to reason with him. "Don't do this! We're your friends.. we're not your enemy..Akito please' She was in a vulnerable position. Withouit her staff, her powers were greatly reduced..
-
"Minna! Isla!" Vespion said. "It may take all three of our powers to stop him. I don't know what happened to him, but it doesn't look good. How long can you maintain a high-powered spell before tiring?" Vespion asked, knowing that females would tire quickly, but hoping that they could keep it up for just long enough...
-
"he's out of his mind?" said Jake
-
We don't know, because most of our powers are in our staffs, but we'll give it a shot" Ilsa said. " Shen dur Implice1' She cried and a blue barrier surrounded the entire group.. "Vespion! I'll need your help with keeping this barrier up!"
-
"Drop the barrier! I need you to channel your strength to me for a massive dispelling blast. Whatever is causing Akito to be possessed or whatever it is should be disrupted by a dispel incantation!" Vespion shouted.
-
"Rex and i will try to hold him off while you cast the spell" said Jake, Rex nodded and they raised their swords and charged at Akito
-
" alright!' Ilsa said dropping the barrier and gesturing in Vespion's direction. Minna did likewise.
-
"Give me you hands, girls. I will need to pool our power directly" Vespion said. As a priest, there were few better, but his skills as a mage were not nearly as impressive, although he was still above Minna and Isla. "Can you take it? This will be quite a strain, and your female bodies will get tired quite quickly."
-
Akito saw Rex and Jake running at him, and in a flash, kicked them aside, looking at Minna, Ilsa, and Vespion.
"Ha...You Dracon are a blight on this world...I will be doing a favor by killing you all..."
He sneered...
-
Jake got back up off of the ground and charged at Akito, Jake took a swing at akito with his metal arm
-
Vespion and the girls cast a massive dispel, causing whatever was affecting Akito to fade... although Vespion knew that it was only pushed back, not totally gone...
-
We've been trained for endurance' Minna replied, joining her hands withhis.
-
Akito had raised his sword, aiming to decapitate all three Dracons, but before he could, he clutched his head in pain, giving the mages time to cast their spell. As it hit him, the armor around him faded, and Akito stood there, looking horrified...
-
Vespion knew that "endurance training" for females meant that they could exert themselves for 17 seconds instead of 15 in this case. :rolleyes
But, the help was appreciated.
-
Jake slowed his attack to a halt, akito looked extremely confused and dumbfounded
-
Selturma, Vaeri, and the rest of the party were stunned at this recent turn of events... Adykon captured, Akito gone wild... and most of the party injured to some extent by the recent battle, none lethally.
-
We can last for more than 17 seconds.. ' Ilsa said gruffly.. "we're not complete weaklings.."
-
"Your body speaks louder than your words." Vespion said. "Look at you. I can see you are nearing complete exhaustion. Your soft muscles and bones weren't meant for that kind of strain, poor girl. I can treat you for possible overheating; you might need some time to rest..."
-
Akito shook his head.
"What...What happened here? "
He asked, looking at the bodies...
-
"you went crazy" said Rex as he came over to where jake was standing, "rex is telling the truth..." said Jake backing up Rex
-
I'm fine ILsa replied. "you men and your presumptions! i was trained by a skilled mage vespion.. I'm no weakling..
-
"You are clearly trembling from the effort" Vespion said. "Still, that was an impressive amount of energy you were able to lend... thanks. Now, in all seriousness, do you want me to examine you two for heat stroke or other fatigue-related ailments?"
-
No, I'll be fine" Ilsa said, breaking away from Vespion. Just giive me a few minutes alone and I;ll be fine.." she loked over at marcus who held his arm like he had an injury. " although Marcus may need tending
-
Vespion went over to Marcus. Sure enough, he had been wounded by one of the soliders... a quick healing spell fixed the injury... it was little more than a flesh wound, but still painful.
-
Thank you" Marcus said relieved at having his injury healed. " we need to press on..We have to save Rhiga, at any cost.."
-
"And Adykon!" Vaeri added. "The two people most important to me are missing! Of course we need to find them, and soon! Gods only know what that... that witch is doing to him!"
Vaeri had meant to say a similar word to describe Asthia... it wasn't "witch", but it rhymed...
-
"That is true" Minna nodded... " We need to get moving if we're going to save both of them.." she looked at the ruined tower. " i think we're headed in the right direction, although I have no idea how close we are.."
-
Meanwhile... at Asthia's tower...
Adykon awoke in a bed... a very large, soft bed with red pillows and sheets. He got out of bed and noticed that his burns were all healed... but that he wasn't wearing anything! Was this another vision? Was this real? And... was that incense burning? Were those scented candles? Both? Wasn't he just knocked out on the battlefield? Was this real?
-
"well, let's go find them instead of standing around..." said Jake "it's a bit hard to save people if your gonna stand there..."
-
"Agreed" Vespion said. He had assumed the role of leader in Adykon's absence. "We should press onward. We have no choice really. Adykon has the talisman which can get us all home. Without it, we might be stuck out here permanently."
-
(sasha hasn't said much in a long long time)
"well i don't want to be stuck out here" said Sasha "i'd rather be at home where it's nice and cozy"
-
Well, its a little late for that" Minna said. lILsa and I will climb to the stop and scope out the area from there.."
-
"anything i can do to help?" asked sasha
-
"I would like that as well, Sasha" Selturma said. "I'm sure that Rhiga would enjoy it too, wherever she is..."
At that moment...
Rhiga was still suspended from the ceiling by the tendrils. She had tried several times to climb them, hoping to get to the top and somehow pull them down, but her claws couldn't get a grip on the black material they were made out of... much too slippery.
"... and Adykon... I hope he can withstand whatever insidious tortures they much be inflicting on him right now..." Vaeri added.
Meanwhile...
Adykon moved to the door of the room, only to discover that it was locked . He could see no keyhole or other mechanism, so he assumed that this was done by magic. Adykon opened the curtains in the room, which were covering a window... to reveal an awe-inspiring view...
(http://images.encarta.msn.com/xrefmedia/sharemed/targets/images/pho/00189/00189f9e.jpg)
-
Akito stood back from the group, looking at his clenched fist as his nails dug into his palm, drawing blood.
"You guys...go on without me. I'm too dangerous to...to come with you. I'm so...so sorry..."
He said to them, turning to go...
-
"What? No! Akito, you can come with us!" Selturma pleaded. "Whatever that was, it wasn't your fault!"
-
Akito looked back.
"So what if it wasn't? I still went mad, and almost killed you guys!"
He said, tears welling in his eyes...
-
it wasn't your fault! Someone else forced you into using your instincts.. you're a powerful foe Akito"Marcus said...
-
"Whatever that was, it is past now." Vespion told Akito. "Even if it is not fully gone, we have managed to stop it for the time being... As it is, we can work on fixing it later."
-
Akito shook his head again.
"I don't want to put you guys at risk. If I stay, what's to stop me from attacking you again?"
He said, punching the ground...
-
your self-control" Minna replied. "We don't want you to leave... we need your help, we're all counting on each other.."
-
"How strong is your willpower?" Vespion asked Akito. "You seemed to have good control over yourself before. Maybe this was just a temporary lapse in judgment or will."
-
"Vespion may be right. But what it is also important Akito, is that you must regain the trust in yourself... trust me, I know what I am saying." - Eriol said to Akito after Vespion's question, he then continued - "... Or maybe something happened to you in this forest, but if you get to know you better, it should be easier to handle your situation as you know better what are you dealing with".
Arianne then said - "We have trusted you this far, we will not change now. Don't worry, you'll be able to handle whatever problem you'll be facing."
"We should get moving, now we have two comrades to rescue." - The male Panther said as he began recounting his arrows and getting them ready.
-
The group continued to the north, where they made camp for the night. Little did they know that someone was watching them...
-
Jake and Sasha slept in a tent together.
"....it's been a rough day today, heh...." said Jake
"....it has...." responded Sasha
-
Akito sat outside under the sky, looking at his hand, as though he was no longer sure he existed.
"What...am I? Am I some sort of demon?"
He asked no one, looking up to the heavens for answers...
-
Minna And Ilsa went to bed without much talking btween them.. both of them had to get thier staffs back, ot if that failed go make new ones
_
Marcus went to seem and pictured himself with Rhiga. Not for the first time!
-
It was a shame that the party was missing Rhiga and Adykon, for they had been the party's best trackers. The place where the party camped that night had Dracon footprints all over it, but they weren't noticed in the falling light of dusk...
And the Dracons who made those footprints were watching theme even now...
-
Jake and Sasha talked for a few minutes and they both eventually fell asleep....
-
Eriol was sitting at the foot of the bed, cleaning one of his swords, he then stopped as he turned back his head to look at his wife, who was sitting quietly near the pillow - "You are, very quite Arianne, what is going on?" - he asked as he left the sword down and walked next to her.
"This whole situation is getting out of control. First Rhiga and now Adykon... if this keeps happens, what if they come for either of us?" - she said, her eyes looking at nowhere in particular.
Eriol, gave a gentle smile, placed an arm around her shoulders and his head over hers, he trying to comfort her - "We will find a way to solve all of this mess. All of use will come back from this alive, and then, we will return home and look for our son. And then, we will make preparations to make the family bigger, what do you think?" - He broke the hug as both Panthers looked at each other.
"Yes, you are right... we will get through this." - Arianne replied, placing now her head on her husband's chest. They remained there for some more moments before they decided to get some sleep. Tomorrow would be yet another long day for everybody.
-
Adykon continued to pace around the room. This was getting him nowhere... the doors were locked, the windows wouldn't open, and smashing the glass would only lead him to a long drop down... the tower was too smooth to climb at this point...
Just then, a zapping sound could be heard, and Asthia entered the room... minus her loincloth and top... no sooner than she had walked into the room did the door shut behind her, moving as if with a will of its own... magic, of course. A clicking sound could be heard as the door locked behind her...
So... was this the end? Asthia was surely going to drain his blood, like all vampires do... but... what was that look on her face? She was... happy... not mad... and certainly not hungry... not for blood anyway...
-
(scary)
-
"Asthia! Come to finish... me... off?" Adykon said, surprised. "What are you?..." He saw the look on her face... and her nudity.
"Adykon, there's no need for you to be so frightened. I'm not like the Asthia you have seen in combat... Really, we don't need to be enemies in here..." she said to him. Each leg of her's gracefully moved past the other as she approached the male... even as a vampiress, she was still very attractive...
Lithe but strong, one leg moving past the other, the soft pads of the balls of her feet coming down lightly and cushioning her step... her status as a vampire did nothing to degrade her beauty...
-
Meanwhile Jake was tossing and turning in his sleep...he was having a nightmare about something that had happened in his past when he had his right arm severed off by a fallen crate that fell from the top of a stockpile when he was 8 years old.
Jake was sweating...and he then woke up. Sasha was sleeping peacefully.
-
Adykon was confused by this turn of events. While he could not deny her beauteous appearance, he had serious doubts about her motives. "This is just a trick, isn't it? You're... just going to bite me on the neck and drain my blood, aren't you?!"
"Now now, no need to shout" Asthia told the male, as she put her hands on his chest. Adykon cringed a little, expecting a vampire to be cold to the touch... but she was... well, warm... and if he didn't know any better, he could very well have been with just any female right about now...
Giving in to her a bit, Adykon returned the embrace, feeling her lithe but surprisingly well-muscled body... surprising for a female, even a vampiric one, to have such muscle tone...
-
Adrian sat outside, practicing his sword forms. Each move flowed gracefully into the next, but there was an uneasiness about the movements. He had been trying to clear his mind, but as of yet, it had been to no avail...
-
Selturma approached Adrian and sat down. "Hello. What brings you out here?" There was a small watering hole in the camp... and Selturma had sat down, soaking her feet in the water.
-
Adrian shook his head.
"It's just that...I'm scared. Of what happened today. I knew what I was doing, but it was like...like something else had taken control of me. I had to watch as I almost killed my friends. I..."
He trailed off, sitting down next to her.
"I guess what it comes down to is that I'm afraid I really feel like that inside of me..."
-
Selturma put her arm around him, trying to reassure Adrian. "What happened today was the fault of Arcantas and... that... witch." Selturma said, meaning to use a stronger word that rhymed. "It wasn't your fault... or any of our faults."
-
Adrian looked over at Selturma, gently placing a paw on her hand.
"Thanks...just knowing that you're willing to give me a chance...that makes me more willing than ever to win against them, and get our friends back."
He said, smiling gently...
-
Selturma stood up and stretched "Well, I'm going to bed now. We'll get back to finding Adykon and Rhiga first thing in the morning... they'll be fine... you'll see... everyone will be fine."
-
Jake calmed himself down and he layed back down. after a few minutes his eyes began to feel heavy and he fell asleep...
-
The party was surrounded by members of the primitive Dracon tribes who were native to this valley... a whole band of them, fifty strong, had the area under their watch... their intent was not harmful however... it was to approach the adventurers for help.
Yes, they had seen the recent battle between the party and Asthia... they had doubts at first, but now that they saw Asthia and Adykon battled to a standstill, they dared to hope that the party could do something to help them...
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3177/2806124197_9cac150b7e.jpg)
-
Meanwhile...
The sound of laughter could be heard from Asthia's spacious quarters. Apparently, she thought that the idea she was posing a threat to Adykon to be... humorous.
"But... you tried to kill me out there" Adykon told her. "You tried to kill... all of us."
"I had to make it look like I was trying to kill you." Asthia said, bouncing on the balls of her feet, her large , round tiotleglas on her chest bouncing with her. "Yes, the master wants you dead, that much is true. But, if he doesn't know you're not dead, all is well... after all, what he doesn't know can't hurt him" She said with a smile.
Was this for real? Was it a trick? But... if it was a trick, why go to the trouble of doing all this? Was Asthia trying to get information from him? If that was the case, why didn't she ask any questions? Was she trying to get his guard down first? Irrelevant. She could have had him killed at any time... so... was she really attracted to him? And if so, what kind of attraction could vampires feel for the living? Was she really the same as a living female? Touching her soft skin, Adykon could not tell that she was out of the ordinary at all. Everything was there... flesh, teeth, eyes, nose, tongue, tail, horns, and even her... other parts.
But... did she make HIM into a vampire? Maybe she already did and he was dead, and didn't know it! But... Adykon couldn't see or feel any bitemarks on his neck, or anywhere else on his body... And the sun didn't affect him at all... to be fair, Asthia also appeared unaffected by the sun... her flesh was actually a shade darker than his... he had expected vampires to be pale and pallid...
"So... let me get this straight. You're telling me that you never intended to harm me?" he asked her.
"Yes. That's correct." Asthia replied. "I don't want to fight you... I want to... well, you can take a guess..." she said with a wink.
-
So whats the plan? Ilsa asked Minna as they continued , unaware of being watched, "Should we try to get out staffs back?"
-
"Well, first things first" Vespion said. "We can get you new staffs as soon as we... Do you smell that? I caught the scent of another Dracon... an unfamiliar one! Any of you recognize who that is?"
Vespion had smelled the tribal dracons when the wind suddenly changed direction...
-
Back in the tent, Arianne was finally sleeping, she never liked what was happening and now the things were getting worse, but she managed and fell asleep, so she could regain her strenght.
Eriol is a light sleeper. he opened his eyes as he could hear a faint sound of footsteps not far from the tent. - "Someone is here, maybe more than one." - he thought and got up slowly, to avoid waking up his wife. He then grabbed his swords and get closer to the tent's exit, closing his eyes so he could better hear and smell any scent.
-
The Dracons who surrounded the camp advanced, but they did not attack. Vespion, in a critical moment, ordered the party not to attack them... and within a moment, fear turned to relief, as these were clearly the tribal dracons whom they spoken with earlier!
-
Jake, Rex and Sasha were still fast asleep in their tents--
(can't think of much to add....)
-
"Jake, Sasha, Rex! Get up!" Vespion shouted, hoping to get them up. Vespion knew that something important was going to happen...
-
Jake instantly sat up straight.
"huh? what" said Jake confused and still tired.
Rex and Sasha woke up fine and exited the tent
-
So, you guys want something Minna said, as marcus climbed out of his tent, he had been awoken by vespion's shout. "Thanks Vespion, I was trying to sleep!" He grumbled then noticed the primitive tribe they had met earlier
-
The primitive tribe had assembled many of its warriors, and its chief, who stepped forward, wearing a blue feather headdress. He spoke to them:
"Greetings, Vespion. And to all of you, peace. I bring word from my tribe that... well... enough with the formalities. We need your help."
-
(brb)
-
how can we help you?' Ilsa asked crossing her arms.."You want us, I take it to help you break free from the master? you do realize hes just a TAD more powerful than all of us put together.."
-
"Oh, we know of his power, but Asthia isn't nearly his equal..." the chief said. "That devil of a witch stole our most important treasure from us... and we need to get it back..." the chief said.
-
thats diffeent then, she has our friend adykon captive' Ilsa replied. " So we both have a reason for going after her. getting your treasure back, and getting our friend back.. we'll help you.. won't we guys? She loked over at the others.
-
The whole party chimed in. Of course they would help...
"What kind of a treasure is it?" Selturma asked. "Gold? Jewels? A sacred relic?"
"Well, actually... it is more valuable than that..." the chief said...
-
is it a person, perhaps?' mInna guessed, as Mrcus loked around at the other members of the tribe..
-
"Yes..." the chief said. "My daughter was taken... my only surviving daughter. She was taken by Asthia... I don't know what has happened to her..."
-
"Then it will be for the best to get the Chief's daughter back before Asthia has any time to do something." - Eriol said.
"And when we get there, we will also rescue Adykon and maybe even Rhiga." - Arianne added.
Both Panthers looked at each other and then they looked at Vespion as Eriol said. - "Well Vespion, since it seems you are the acting leader, we will wait for your guidance... but we are indeed running out of time so the sooner we all depart, the better."
-
"How long has your daughter been gone for?" Vespion asked the chief...
"She has been gone for... over two years. Asthia took her from us... and we thought her to be..." the chief sighed before continuing "We have heard that she was not killed by Asthia, so we still hope for her rescue."
-
Who knows what Astria has done to her" Ilsa said. She mightbe.. like her now.. Hopefully not.."
-
"Do you know where her tower is? How far is it from here?" Vepsion asked the chief.
"It is three days north of here... but first, we need to gather our forces if we are to have any hope of getting our prisoners out. If you wish to help us, please accompany us to our village." the chief responded.
-
Akito spoke up.
"I hate to interrupt, but...I don't think Asthia is a vampire. She's something else entirely. Just a wager, based on nothing but instinct, but still..."
He trailed off...
-
"She is definitely a vampire" Vespion said. "We all know it."
"Yes, we have known it for years" the chief said. "There was never any ambiguity. Once, she drained the blood out of one of our people while visiting our village when she was hungry... it was a horrible sight to behold."
-
And she has likely made your daughter into one as well.. if she has not already killed her..'Ilsa said and turned to the chieftain. "Minna and I are looking for a special wood with which to make new staffs as asthia took our old ones? Can you help us find some?'
-
"You would have to go to our village and ask our shaman about that" the chief said.
"We should go the your tribe, I think... what do the rest of you say?" Vespion asked the party, to which he received unanimous support.
"Very well, then, let's go." The priest said.
After about a day of travel, the party and the tribal Dracons made it to the village, which was now full of other Dracon tribal warriors from other villages... allies preparing for a war effort, no doubt. Each of the tribes had different tattoos and other markings, in many different shapes and colors.
"The shaman's hut is the northernmost one in our village. He will be able to help you." The chief told the females.
-
Minna and Ilsa followed a path that lead north as they passed huts they saw a single hut with a thatched roof. ' i'm guessing that must be it minna said as they moved up to the hut on knocked on the door.
-
"Just a moment" the shaman said. Some shifting of items could be heard, along with the sound of an item falling and the sound of the shaman saying some words in an odd dialect of Draconic... when he opened the door, he initially failed to acknowledge Minna and Isla, and instead held out a stone idol in front of them, as if waving a magic wand which could detect metal...
(http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/questw8/stoneidol.gif)
Then he pulled out an actual wand which could detect metal...
(http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/weaponsw8/wand2.gif)
Satisfied that the females were not an immediate threat, he let them respond.
-
er.. sir could you help us. we're looking for a magical wood to make staffs from. our old ones were taken in battle " ilsa explained. 'so we need to find some wood to make new ones can you help us..'
-
"You are a pair of noble girls, aren't you? The kind who come from families with one father who has many wives." The shaman said. His blue-green feather headdress shook with his speech, and his eyes were unfocused...
-
Yes, we are..hthats very prerceptive.." Minna replied. "so can you help us 'Ilsa said..
-
"What do you need help with?" the shaman said. "Getting a set of niguntiks?" He said with a laugh... that word was Draconic for a body part females didn't have but males did... "You want some power, right?"
-
Ilsa responded a bit put out. " No, we have no need of those...." But the shaman wasn't done, he was just getting warmed up with the insults
-
The shaman was testing their patience... if they still persisted despite his insults, he would help them. He wasn't going to tell them that, however...
"What do you need, then? A "magic wand"? The only magic wand around here is between my legs!" the shaman said. "I suppose I have something all females like..."
He pulled out a wand which vibrated. "You know where to put this..." he said.
-
"oh, come on! Minna snapped. "you're not my type.. especially with an atitude like this. we need your help.. ' still the onsaluaght continued ..
-
The wand in question was an actual wooden wand, not a body part. :lol
"I already have three wives" the shaman said. "Anyway, I will help you if you can correctly answer my riddle... a father and mother had seven daughters. Each of those daughters had one brother. How large was the family?"
-
ythere were ten. two parents 7 daughters 1 son. they all had the same brother" Minna replied
-
The shaman was a bit surprised to hear that they had answered correctly. "You have earned my help. You are a lot smarter than the average female, I can tell. What is it that you need, exactly?"
-
we need to find a magiical wood we can turn into staffs . our previous staffs were taken by Asthia and most likely were destroyed. so we need new ones. hopefully ones with greater power.." Ilsa said.
-
"There is some wood that can be taken from the so called 'heart of the world...' it is the name of a tree which, while not literally being the heart of the planet, is a very old tree... it is gigantic, having been enhanced by magic that it absorbed over the course of milennia. To make the best staffs possible, get me some wood from the heart of the heart of the world... you will need to climb up to its center, and see if you can tear some wood out of it. I'm sure you can climb it... females are good at climbing among out kind." the shaman told Minna and Isla.
"It will take about a day to get there and a day back. To find the tree, keep heading in the direction of blue flowers. These grow on the tree. I will show you one. With that, he entered his hut and a moment later, returned with a blue flower.
(http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/questw8/blueflower.gif)
"These flowers will be more noticeable the closer you are to the tree. When you are close enough, it should be unmistakable. Bring me the heartwood, and I can make a staff for you."
Meanwhile...
Asthia got a container of some liquid and poured it into two cups for herself and Adykon.
(http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/questw8/darknectar.gif)
"This is nectar from the heart of the world... let's drink to our desire!" she said.
Adykon was a bit uneasy about it, but the drink smelled good, and he really didn't want to anger her now... he was trapped in her tower and at her mercy...
-
thank you..' The girls said together.. " We'll get right on it.." Ilsa said thanks.. she said as she and minna turned towards the door. ' mi nd if I take the flower so we can recognize it..?'
-
"Take the flower, then. " The shaman said. "Just be sure to bring it or another one back to me as well, which should be no problem where you two are going...'
Meanwhile...
The nectar had an almost instantaneous effect on Adykon and Asthia. It was as if his iron will had suddenly been exposed to a white-hot furnace. The world itself seemed... different... thoughts of his duties and the adventure evaporated... and his senses were heightened to notice a female in the room with him... and she was emitting pheromones. That was enough for him...
And Asthia... lost all control of herself. Being a vampire didn't make her any more or less immune to these sort of things. Her instincts, already awake, were launched into a wild overdrive... her female body seeking a male complement... every nerve of hers was primed in anticipation of what was to come... it was not a good idea right now to come between her and her desire...
-
we sure will" Ilsa said taking it in her claws and holding tight." Come on Minna' She said bowing to the shghanan, and departing from the hut. minna did the same and followed her out. the girls soon left the village to headed into the forest/ beautiful flowers bloomed all around them, but they were interested in only one flower, the blue one with ilsa had in her possession. so far they had not s[potted any..
-
The woods were full of all sorts of flowers, including many different blue ones... but as time went on, the kind of flower they were looking for became more and more common...
Back at the village, Selturma had wondered where Minna and Isla had gone off to, and she contacted Vespion about this. After an hour or so of looking, Vespion learned from the shaman that the girls were away in the forest...
"They will be back in two days, then?" the priest asked the shaman.
"Yes, they should be... if they come back alive..." came the response.
"The woods arent dangerous, are they?" Vespion queried, concerned.
"No... but Asthia is... if she is looking for them, they could be in danger..."
Fortunately, looking for anything was the last thing on Asthia mind at the moment, insofar as she was capable of thinking in her current frenzied state.
-
minna and ilsa had noticed the flowers, which were slowly becooming more and more common.. there was a sort of sickly sweet smell in the air.. night was begining to fall. ' where are we going to campo for the night ilsa, we have to stick together.. '; don't get any ideas minna..: Ilsa warned her in a low tone. " Relax Ilsa, i know there are lines we can't cross..' minna said giving her friend a sideways glance.. " I was just asking when we camp. " Once we get too tired to go any further minna ; ilsa replied ' lets just keep moving..
-
Night was indeed falling quickly, but the stars were bright, and the moon was out...
(http://www.mccullagh.org/db9/1ds-7/night-sky-in-cape-breton.jpg)
-
the two bnobles continued by moonlight heading deep into the forest, minbna was quickly getting tired and started to nag ilsa to stop and rest..
-
Meanwhile...
Asthia and Adykon were all over each other on the bed... lost to the world around them... completely oblivious... they had been like that for hours, and although they were getting tired, they still didn't stop. Adykon would have known that he cannot hope for his seed to bear fruit in Asthia's infertile soil, but his mind wasn't operating as it normally was... neither was her's, for that matter... the nectar gave them the ability to go at it for much longer than they had dare imagine...
-
Akito stood outside, sparks flying as he clashed against Touga's longsword.
"Tch. You'll have to do better than that to hit me, Touga. Now, come. Let's dance!"
He yelled, attacking the other Fauxen without hesitation...
_________________________________________________________________________
Akio sat silently, contemplating recent events. Asthia's infatuation with Adykon...Arcantas's recent defeat at the hands of the adventurers...and his own personal ploy taking form.
"Akio...What are you thinking?"
A lithe, feminine voice drawled, as a young man stepped out of the shadows to stand beside Akio's spot.
"Kuja...What would you say would be the chances of...perhaps convincing Lady Asthia to...betray our master? To betray the darkness?"
He mused to his retainer and friend, staring into the black mirror in front of him.
"Ah, that...will depend on Adykon. He is the hinge. Either he will side with our...master, or he will return to his party. Either way, he will likely have a strong influence on Lady Asthia's choice..."
Kuja drawled, his lithe fauxen form hovering just off the ground...
"Good. Then in that case..."
Akio moved a pawn on the chessboard in front of himself.
"The game is begun..."
-
Selturma approached the Fauxen. "What are you guys doing?" she said, bouncing up and down as she usually did. "I thought I heard someone talking about Asthia..."
Meanwhile...
Asthia and Adykon collapsed on top of each other, utterly exhausted, but satisfied. In their minds the struggle between each side could wait... nothing else mattered while they were feeling so good...
-
Akito looked over at Selturma.
"We...Didn't mention anything about her. You sure you heard us say her name?"
He asked worriedly...
_________________________________________________________________________
(OOC: Akio is nowhere near the group. But perhaps Selturma can hear fragments of his thoughts and conversations. That'd be a twist)
Akio saw the two lovers laying there.
"Funny how I never thought I'd say this, but...I do hope they end up happy."
He said softly, eliciting a small chuckle from Kuja.
"Really, now? That is a change, Akio. Maybe, just maybe...you'll actually be able to change the world. As you hoped."
The other Fauxen murred, eyes strangely eager...
-
Jake was sitting on a fallen log thinking about all of the past events that had taken place ever since he, rex and Sasha joined the adults on adventures. He remembered the time when he bombed rhiga with balloons...Jake chuckled at the memory
-
(OOC: Selturma approached the characters closest to the group, not necessarily Akito. I'll leave it to you to decide who she heard.)
It had been a while... those were carefree days... now Rhiga was held captive in the tower of a vampiress, and the stakes had risen dramatically...
Meanwhile...
Asthia and Adykon had been in bed for hours and hours... she was still in his arms. Although the effects of the Nectar had worn off, they still caressed each other... nothing could interrupt this moment... nothing... until...
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
"Go away" Asthia managed to moan...
"Mistress! I would no disturb your pleasure if not for an urgent matter..." a Dracon servant said.
"It isn't important." Asthia said. "Shoo..."
"But mistress... it's about your daughter!" came the reply.
-
Jake continued thinking about that when he had an idea when rex walked past. "hey Rex, want to battle?" asked Jake
"sure" said Rex as he grinned.
Jake got up and they both went over to an open place. They both drew their swords and ran at each other. Both swords locked and some sparks went flying.
-
It had been a while since those two had last fought... it was not so friendly last time... Jake was nearly killed by a frenzied Rex in the lost city... and there were many lessons learned from the whole debacle.
-
Akito sat back on the ground, chucking at Touga.
"Well, I must admit, you aren't bad..."
He teased...
_________________________________________________________________________
Akio started as he heard the messenger say Asthia's daughter.
"A daughter, hm? This could be a pivotal point to my hopes..."
He said worriedly...
-
(OOC: Asthia is far away from the party, and so is the messenger. You may need to edit those posts, Starfall, for the sake of continuity.)
"What?!" Asthia said, getting out of bed. She didn't want to pull herself out of it, but for this, she had to go...
Throwing on her loincloth, she reluctantly rose and went downstairs, telling Adykon to wait for her in bed...
-
(OOC: Akio is my dark character. He's...sort of on the same side as Asthia and Arcantas, but he has his own designs. He's currently spying on Asthia, hoping to win her to his cause against their master...)
-
(OOC: Okay. Once again, let's please try to keep these in the discussion page. Thanks for clarifying, though.)
Asthia went downstairs to see a small female Dracon and a red dragon hatchling... the female was wearing only a loincloth as well... and she was whining about something...
"Gerasia, what is the problem?" Asthis said to the girl...
"Toby was mean to me, mommy" she said, indicating the young dragon, who could speak.
"He knocked over my blocks, and it too me forever to make them into a tower." she continued.
The young dragon male spoke "It was an accident. My tail-!"
"Toby. Say sorry to Gerasia. Now... mommy is very busy, so, be an good girl, alright?"
"Yes, Asthia." Gerasia said. She knew that the vampiress wasn't her real mother...
-
Mweanwhile, Ilsa and Minna had stopped for the right. they were cllose to the tree.but Minna's whining had finallt pushed Ilsa past her limites. " Fine we'll stop! she said fiercely.. "We'll getting close anyway, it should only be a short journey to the tree tommorow.. now help me create a tent for the night. vesopion isn't here to make one, and without our staffs it will require our combined strength to create one..'
-
Meanwhile...
Asthia returned to her room, and locked the door behind her, as before. Adykon was still lying on the bed, waiting for her...
The two of them had mated enough. Now they just lay in each others arms, cuddled in bed... it was easy to forget that Asthia was not exactly among the living...
-
Sparks continued to fly as both swords were still locked.
"heh, evenly matched" Joked Jake
"not for long" mocked Rex as he tried to knock Jake over by pushing on his own sword.
"woah!?" said Jake in surprise as he fell backwards.
-
Asthia was a vampiress, but even she needed to sleep sometimes. As soon as she was finished "playing" with Adykon, she fell into a long rest... After about two hours, Adykon, who was watching her in the bed, moved over to her to see if she was truly sleeping, just pretending to be dormant.
After running his hands over her skin, and giving her a little back scratch, he was confident that she was asleep. While he had enjoyed his romp with her, it was now time to escape...
He went through her drawers and closets, hoping to find a way to unlock the door... and his clothes...
Shifting through her drawers, he found some perfume...
(http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/questw8/rapaxperfume.gif)
He found some jewelry too...
(http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/unusedw8/rapaxring1.gif)(http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/unusedw8/rapaxring2.gif)(http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/unusedw8/pearlnecklace.gif)
And in her closets... he found some interesting items...
(http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/armorw8/bra.gif)(http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/weaponsw8/whip-bull.gif)(http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/weaponsw8/whip-cato9tails.gif)
:blink:
Looking on, Adykon found a note from one of her subordinates...
(http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/questw8/fancywriting.gif)
-
The note read:
Mistress,
Our plans for awakening the Doom Horror are going according to plan. The Dark Master will greatly appreciate having such a powerful being on his side. We still need a few more months to gather the requisite energy to release the creature, and the ceremonies still need to be completed after that, but all goes according to plan.
-- Arcantas
This letter must have been written recently...
Searching through the rest of her closet, he found what must have been a powerful magic item, but he didn't know what it was or how to use it:
(http://www.quangtruong.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/diamond-skull-1.jpg)
-
Ilsa and Minna joined claws and focused. after awhile a small hut appeare in front of them. ilsa broke away froom minna and entered the hut. two small beds lay inside, one to the right, the other t the left. 'i'll take the left bed' Ilsa said as mInna entered. 'good night minna' Ilsa said giving her a hug. Minna smiled. 'good night Ilsa, sleep well' She said, hugging her friend back. ilsa broke away, and moved over to the left bed. both of them were small, but comfortable.. they had tried for something to remind them of home..
-
Meanwhile...
Disgusted by the skull, Adykon put it back... only to discover several more of them...
(http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/customw8/skull.gif)(http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/customw8/skull.gif)(http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/customw8/skull.gif)(http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/customw8/skull.gif)(http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/customw8/skull.gif)
What was going on here? These were human skulls... upon looking deeper into her closet, these were the skulls of adventurers who had tried to stop Asthia, and failed. Despite her "playful nature" with him, Adykon realized what kind of a threat Asthia really was...
-
Suddenly, a portal appeared behind Adykon, and Akio stepped out of it.
"She's not evil, you know. She didn't have a choice but to do that to them. They attacked her first, not the other way around. Perhaps, she could even be brought over to your side. She has very strong feelings for you. Maybe that way, you can get her to help you, instead of...him. Our master."
He said, calmly staring at Adykon...
_________________________________________________________________________
Meanwhile, Kuja walked into the room where Asthia's "children" were playing. He walked over to Gerasia, and smiled at her. He was a familiar face to the two, having served the Master as long as he had. And despite his supposed evil, he always managed to find time to come play with the two.
"Hello, Lady Gerasia."
He said, gently kissing her hand in the fashion of a knight from the old stories...
-
(OOC: Asthia is indeed evil... recall how she got that "daughter"... it is easy to figure out... she was also never attacked, so I'll have to say that Akio is lying.)
Adykon looked behind him, but Akio was gone! Was he even there to begin with? Was it an illusion, or did he just go back into the portal? How could he have gotten into Asthia's tower?
In either case, Adykon did not forget Akio's words...
Downstairs, Gerasia, the "child" Asthia, spoke to Kuja.
"Hello there. I don't suppose you would like to join Toby and me?" the two of them were playing with a little ball, rolling it back and forth.
"Toby" was the name of the young red dragon who was Gerasia's playmate. "Toby" was not a "child" of Asthia's, but was taken when Toby's mother was captured by Asthia's forces. Wanting to find a permanent playmate for Gerasia, Asthia "gave" Toby to her... initially as a pet, but the two of them were almost like brother and sister... or just very good friends... they knew who their real parents were... or at least Gerasia did. Toby's father was a red dragon, and that breed of dragon often doesn't stay mated for any longer than necessary to impregnate the female, as was the case for Toby's mother...
Gerasia was a vampiress, having been bitten by Asthia as "a mother's first kiss" but Toby was still alive and well. Asthia and the servants treated the young dragon like he was a dog, and would have been considered negligent even for that. Asthia's desire for a child was common among females... and since vampires cannot multiply, Asthia had to procure a child by other means... and in her mind, the ends justify the means... <_<
-
Jake fell to the floor. Jake had lost the fight
"heh, you win i guess" said Jake. Rex offered his hand to Jake and he lifted him off of the ground.
"good battle" said Rex.
-
Vespion asked the chief about his missing child. "Gerasia was a good girl... my only daughter. Her mother and I had several sons, so having a young female was a new experience indeed. We had her... but Asthia wanted her. So, the vampiress took Gerasia, plain and simple" The chief's hand tightened around his spear as he said this.
"We will get her back..."
-
Once Jake was up and standing he and Rex decided to go exploring around the tribal settlement. Most of the Dracons would stare at Jake as if he were an alien. But when they did Jake glared at them as if trying to say leave me alone or else...
-
Adykon continued to sift through Asthia's possessions, and eventually found a key... it looked as if it was magical...
(http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/unusedw8/krashkey.gif)
He tried to use it on the door, only to discover that there was no real lock... he had examined it once before, hoping to find a way to open it, but neither time produced so much as a place to put the key.
Adykon did, however, find an indentation in the door... maybe something from the room fit in it...
-
minna and ilsa woke early in the morning and soon resumed the qyureest. as they approached a sweet smell began to reach them. minna moaned, she was getting hhungry. ' whats that smell is, i'm geting whatever its coming gfrom and eating it"Minna said hungrily and began running in front, heading towards a gigantic old tree..this had blue flowers all around it.. and large mounds of a yellow substance, which minna was gorging on. 'minna! you have no idea what that is!"
-
Oh, ilsa.. this stuff is great.. and i'm starving.. you should try this.. ' come on' minna waved a pawful of the stuff at ilsa..
-
Adykon's search yielded him little fruit... although he managed to find all sorts of other items...
(http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/unusedw8/deadfrog.gif)
:blink:
(http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/unusedw8/heartofaholyman.gif)
:x
-
(a frog? A heart?)
Jake and Rex continued walking around the tribe camp and it was actually quiet large for primitive dracons...
-
The tribe was filled with straw huts and crude stick-and-mud structures. At the center, there was a circle outlined by scratchings in the dirt... this was the village arena. There were also several totems in the village, clearly dedicated to whatever spirits these primitive Dracons worshiped.
.
(http://imagecache5.art.com/p/LRG/27/2707/HF3ND00Z/bill-curtsinger-a-large-totem-pole-stands-amid-tall-trees-in-a-mossy-forest.jpg)
This one was the largest of them by far. None of the others were even a fifth as tall...
-
I';m not that hungry"Ilsa said waving her claws in a "no" manner. : Come on.. we ned to start climbing. Minna continued eating the nectar , then she stopped. She had eaten half of the nectar, unbeknoiwnst to her, that amount produced a great lowering of inhibitions
-
Kuja smiled.
"I wouldn't mind playing for a while, Lady Gerasia, Lord Toby"
He said brightly, sitting down with the two, a smile on his face...
-
Gerasia was sitting on the ground, cross-legged. She passed the ball to Kuja.
"Mommy says that something really scary is going to happen soon, but she can't tell me what it is. She says that if I see any Dracon that I've never seen before, I should scream as loud as I can and run to a safe place, and she'll come and make things all better... But you'd never let anything bad happen, would you, Kuja?"
-
Jake and Rex decided to go back to the main camp where Sasha was. It took Jake and Rex 15 minutes to get there. "hi Jake" said Sasha "where have you been?".
"around" responded Jake "this camp is really big!"
-
The village had the warriors of several tribes camped out there... it was more than just a camp... it was a whole settlement... and it was full of Dracons who were ready to fight!
Or were they? The most advanced weapons there were no more than spears and stone knives, and flint-tipped arrows... hardly a force capable of beating an army of metal-equipped soldiers...
-
Ilsa started cLimbing, and mInna soon followed. The Nectar she had eaten was not as potent as the elixir asthia and adykon had drank, but the sheer amount she had eaten was starting to have an effect, as they climbed "Are my breasts too small? Minna suddenly said. Ilsa started and nearly fell. " Minna! Nows not the time for that! we're nearly 200 feet off the ground! I can't be distracted!" But they are! Minna complained LooK at them!"
_ mInna, nows not the time forthis. If i fall, I'm dead..and THen my sprit is going to haunt you for the rest of your life, because you started complaining abouut your breasts when I was trying to Climb!" Ilsa fairly yelled. "Come ON! Ilsa.." Her eyes held a strange glow, something was wrong wit h her.. 'i never relized how attractive you are. ilsa began grinding her teeth. ' you are not helping minna!" Minna began Climbing faster until she climbed even with Ilsa, and gave her a look, with was a mxture of vaccuum and intense longing.. "Stop being such a sourpuss.. remember that night when I gave you that backrub?"
_ Ilsa shot her a look that would curdle milk. "You need to stop this or I'll put ob a spell on your mouth. "theres another way you can do ..'Minna began before Ilsa slapped her. " Don't EVEN go there.. That stuff you ate is messing with your mind! I would be surprised if its poisonous.. you stay there.. i'll come to the top and clmbinside to the heartwood."
-
The "heart of the world" was hundreds of feet tall. Had Minna and Isla been human, climbing it would have been very, very hard. Fortunately, the bark was soft enough for their claws to get a hold of it... and the lowest branches were only about 150 feet up...
-
Kuja smiled warmly at Gerasia.
"As long as I draw breath, I promise nothing bad will ever happen to you. To either of you."
He said warmly, tossing the ball to Toby...
-
"I don't like Asthia... she took me from my mother, she trapped me here, and she treats her servants badly... but if anyone tries to hurt Gerasia, I'll burn them to death I will!" Toby said, snorting some flame from his mouth...
Meanwhile...
Rhiga noticed that the female red dragon was waking up...
"Dragon. Dragon! Can you hear me?" Rhiga said...
-
(yay! rhiga script!)
Jake decided to sit next to Sasha on the log while Rex continued exploring the settlement. "been a long adventure, heh" said Jake to Sasha.
"it has......it has....*sigh*" responded Sasha
-
Vespion spoke to the group. "Alright everyone, listen up! As soon as Minna and Isla are back and get their new staffs, we are going to attack Asthia's tower and get Adykon and Rhiga back. The shaman has informed me that there is a massive upsurge of power collecting at her tower..."
This was no coincidence. The party's arrival here was planned, not a lucky scenario. There was a major evil power under Asthia's tower, and its release would bring nothing but death and darkness to the land... Adykon knew this from what he had found out in Asthia's room... and it already well-known that the dark master had plans to bring as many evil entities under his power as he could..
For indeed, even now, the master watched the events here. If he had to intervene, he would, but he also knew that it was not the time to reveal himself... so any appearance he might make would be an avatar; a being controlled by him which could be sent out as a part, a fraction, of his essence... not nearly his full power, but a manifestation of him...
-
(oooh sounds cool ^^)
Jake got up off of the log and so did Sasha, They both began walking around the camp....Sasha still hadn't explored it yet. "so how big is this camp?" asked Sasha...Jake paused for a moment and looked at Sasha "very....". sasha sighed and they continued to walk around the dracon encampment.
-
Kuja smiled, the light of a plan forming in his eyes.
"Well, Toby. You've certainly become a fine young lad since I was here last. Maybe there's a chance you two can get away from here. There are a group of Tribal Dracons outside the tower, led by none other than your parents, Lady Gerasia. Maybe, during the chaos, you two can get out, and go to them."
He said softly...
-
(OOC: This is a surprise attack! I'm going to have to disregard certain parts of that last post unless you edit it. Really, Starfall, if Asthia's subordinate knew about it, he would have told her, and if Kuja were NOT a subordinate, Asthia would probably kill him for trespassing in the tower!)
Asthia lay on her bed, oblivious to the world around her. Adykon tried to escape, but found that the door's indentation accepted a key or an item that the room either did not have, or he couldn't figure out what it was. Asthia herself had probably cast a spell on that door, and the only way for it to drop was for Asthia to dispel it herself, or to destroy her and hope that her death would cause the enchantment to fall...
-
Minna continued climbing after Ilsa, her mouth stung from wwhere Ilsa had slapped her. "You can deny it all you want ilsa.. but theres an attraction between us.." One, that will get us both killed and our memories dishonored, We've been over this!Ilsa said as she reached the first branches, up at the top was a large hole which lkead inside the tree. "Minna, that stuff you ate is reallty starting to affect you, and you're starting to tick me off.. Minna had a smile on her face as she reached the limb, a look of mischeviousness. "Come on Ilsa you need to lighten up.." I wil if you stop acting.. so so weird.. Ilsa said as she contuninued climbing up to the next branch. But the argument continued as both girls reached the hole in the tree which led to the heartwood inside. Ilsa climbed in first, then helped Minna up. as she did. Minna wrapped her arms around and forcibly french kissed her. the kiss took Ilsa by surprise amd minna Pinned her against the insides of the tree. this lasted for a few seconds, then ilsa broke the kiss and threw minna to the grounds, just inside the tree hole. " Thats IT! Ilsa yelled and blasted Minna with magic. throwing her back into the tree. "You've gone too farMinna!" Minna got up with a n angry look on her face. "Oh I've only just began she said, firing magic back at Minna. 'It was just a kiss! What harm can that do?' Ilsa ducked the magic blast. "PLenty! you know our laws mInna.."
_ Yes they repress us females and forbid fully expressing ourselves..' minna said, passion now fueling her fight. "Girls can't kiss or love each other! Ilsa saidfiring magic back." Its wrong!" "Oh, you say that now..' Minna began before Ilsa zapped her with a direct blow of magic, cutting off the rest of her speech. Ilsa rann up and tAckled her, and two girls fekll headlong deep side the tree, they hit a thick wooden floor, with ilsa on top of minna, the impact tthrew ilsa off and away from minna, who lay there stunned for a monent.. ilsa slowly got to her feet and looked around, they were in a deep holow inside the tree, there was a strong feeling of magic here, powerful magic.. 'I.. think We've found it.." Ilsa said as Minna got up, still angry..
-
Adykon looked through Asthia's room some more, and found a rather large dagger, a Sai, in fact.
(http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/weaponsw8/sai.gif)
He took the blade, but immediately thought twice about it. He had to escape, and Asthia was clearly evil... she worked for the dark master, she was a wicked vampire, she had captured him in combat, she ruled over this valley as a despot, and she had tried to kill the rest of his party...
And yet... he could not bear to kill her... the problem was, he still held the blade in his hand, and was looking right over her... and her eyes began to open...
-
Ilsa gestured and pinneed the charging Minna against the wall. "I'm not going to let you go, until you aagree to calm down' Ilsa said, with a note of impatiebnnce. "so you don't care about me then? Minna said in a small voice. 'i kissed you because i wanted to show my affection for you.' the effects on the potion were starting to wear off . "pLease let me go.." Ilsa considered then released her. "Lets just get this wood back to the shaman so he can make our staffs.."
-
I'm sorry about what I did.."Minna apologized. "I just want to show you how i felt, by opening your mind.. and your mouth."she wet her lips..
_
I care about you Minna, i truly do, but our society has rules on conduct like that. Its forbidden period, and if saanyone ever found out, we'd be executed in short order. Our families would be dishonored, publicly, both our fathers would lose face prestige and standing..as would our husbands, should we be married when we were discovered. " Ilsa continued. "Our memories would be destroyed. And for what? a few nights of illicit lovemaking.. for nothing, really..
_
Ilsa, I'm willing to risk everything for you..." Minna said softly.. She looked at her friend. "If you truly love me, you will stop this infatuation with me.."Ilsa said moving past her ans starting carving out a big strip of wood with a spell. she tore off the piece, and handed it to her.. 'Don't do this to me Ilsa.."
Ilsa ignored her and tore off a piece fior herself. ' we can't.. if we get caught we're dead. lets head out..
-
Back at the village...
The shaman was waiting at his hut... about a day or so had passed when the girls returned. He led them inside his hut, and, to their surprise, he removed some straw from the floor to reveal a trapdoor, which he opened, and led them all down a wooden ladder...
...To a stone room! Clearly, this place was more elaborate and developed than he had let on. In the middle of the room there was a pentagram. He told each female to place her piece of wood in the center of it, and to each stand on the opposite sides of the shape.
Each piece of wood was rather bland, and hardly fit to be a tool for a mage...
(http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/alternatesw8/spiritstaff.gif)(http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/alternatesw8/spiritstaff.gif)
... but that was about to change.
The shaman cast a spell on the pieces of wood, shaping them into staffs, and unlocking their magic within, as well as placing further enchantments on them.
"Now girls, you can further enhance these staffs by casting spells on them. You will be able to cast that spell again using the staff with much less magic..."
Each staff looked lightly different, due to the different pieces of wood which each girl took.
Isla' staff looked only slightly different, but still glowed with the power of magic.
(http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/customw8/staff-ebon.gif)
Minna's staff was more showy, and would be more easily identified as an enchanted item, but her staff was still somewhat inferior to Isla's, although both staffs were better than the ones they originally had.
(http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/weaponsw8/wand1.gif)
-
ilsa went over to pick up her staff. 'thanks' and minna who looked tired, grabbed her staff..
-
The shaman could smell the girls... each one had the scent of the other one her... as if they had been in close proximity to each other... as if the were fighting... or something else...
Well, he had no reason to believe anything bad about the girls, but... no. It couldn't be... then again... his wives never smelled of each other, and they all lived in the same hut...
Hmm...
No... it was nothing.
-
Ilsa and Minna returned to the othes. " We got new staffs" Ilsa said, with a smile..showing her new staff..with a florish.. Minna alsso showed hers, but with less enthusiasm. she and Ilsa had not spoken much since leaving the tree.
-
The party was now ready to attack Asthia's tower... the warriors of the various tribes had assembled, and were all ready to go...
However, all was not well at the tower...
Asthia opened her eyes and found a rather naked Adykon clutching a rather sharp knife...
"You! How dare you! I let you into my bed, and into myself, and you think to stab me in my sleep?!" she raged.
"No! It wasn't that! I was just trying to pick the lock on the door with the tip of the blade! I was trying to escape!" Adykon responded.
"And you couldn't help but take one last look at my large tiotleglas, is that it?!" Asthia shouted. "Fine, you want to get out of my room, so your wish will be granted." And with that, Adykon was teleported to another room by one of Asthia's spells...
He was chained to a post... but not in the same room with Rhiga...within a few minutes, Asthia was down there, dressed in her top and loincloth... with not one, but both of her... supplies...
(http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/weaponsw8/whip-bull.gif)
(http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/weaponsw8/whip-cato9tails.gif)
:blink:
She truly was a sick, twisted Vampire...
"Now Adykon, we can either answer questions the easy way, or the hard way..." she whispered to him...
-
Marcus spoke uP as the group moved onward. "We are going to get Rhiga back... I need to have her with me agaiin. " The months that had been spent going after her had taken thier toll on him, he was much introspective and quiet noww, rarely saying much.. He constanbntly recalled those nights of passion wiuth Rhiga.. they felt as if they had been another life.. "
-
Back at Asthia's tower...
The vampiress held her "discipline tools" in her hands... threatening to use them on Adykon... this was a bad situation, alright.
"How dare you? I show you my love, and you try to kill me?! I should leave you here to rot! Give me one good reason, one good excuse as to why I should not just leave you here to die!" she shouted.
"I... have to stop the dark master" Adykon said. "You took me from my mission... I need to get back to it..."
-
sasha looked over at jake as the party moved. 'they hadn't talked much since the party had started moving.. sasha had started to think about jake more often, she was attracted to him, but yet had never truly expressed how she had felt..
-
Asthia looked at Adykon... she spoke; "I am under orders by the Dark Master to kill you... but I believe that can wait for now... I need the help of someone strong and capable... I need help completing several dangerous rituals in order to awaken the Horror underneath my tower... so instead of killing you, I will geas you... cast a spell on you which will force you to obey me in several specific orders..."
And with that, she cast a spell on him... firing a blue beam of light into his head, the beam emanating from her hand... within a minute, it was done, and Adykon was teleported into another room... where his clothes, armor, and sword were! Hastily donning his vestments, Adykon felt a presence in his head... Asthia. She was still in there, and would continue to be there until the Geas was broken, the tasks were completed or either he or she were dead.
-
minna and ilsa continued walking in silenvce, it would be several hours before they reached the tower.. ilsa lkooked straight forward, it was nly now that minna had fully recovered from the effects of the nectar..
-
The attack would take at least another 8 hours to arrive at the tower... even longer if they found it took a while to get into position...
Vespion knew the odds of a successful attack were low... but he had to get Adykon and Rhiga out of there...
-
Jake, Rex and Sasha followed the group but they were at the back. "heh, these evil guys won't know what hit em'!" said Jake with a grin
-
just be careful jake, this isn't a sunday stroll or anything.. these guys play for keeps' Sasha said in reply..
-
"heh, i'll just punch em' in the face with my metal arm!" said jake still grinning.
"sasha has a point Jake....if you die.....you don't come back" said Rex
-
And this was true... the tower was defended by over a thousand heavily armed guards... equipped with steel blades and plate armor. In addition, there were many magical beasts in the tower, as well as over 3000 kobolds who lived in and amount it in villages, supply the massive complex with a labor force.
And none of these defenses included Asthia and Arcantas.
-
Arianne and Eriol were following the group, she was looking at everywhere, visible worried - "I have this feeling when things are not going to end-up well."
Her husband looked at her, and replied with a calm voice. - "I am familiarized with the sensation you have: the mix of anxiety and fear before some big event, in this case, a loosing battle. But don't worry dear, loosing battles are turning to be one of this party's specialities." - Eriol kept on smiling, but that smile changed from a calm one into a sly one.
-
The army and the party approached the tower at last... it was... massive... over a thousand meters tall... it was obviously built by magic, in part, and probably by many mages at that... guarded by thousands, the force approaching it numbered barely over 1000, plus the party...
This was going to be a hard fight indeed.
-
the sight of the giant tower, made marcus stand in awe. 'we need to get in there' ilsa said, brandishing her staff, her eyes narrowed. 'once we get in there.. we'll look for rhiga.. and avoid asthia as much as possible.."
_
Lets Go!' Minna called out, stirring from her reverie.
-
The guards didn't notice the army yet... if they got any closer, they would.
"We cannot hope to breach that tower with this army... this is madness!" Vespion said.
"We're attacking... I'm getting my daughter OUT of there!" The chief said.
"We are mostly armed with sticks and stones, fighting against an army with steel weapons. Also, the warriors we have are wearing no armor... just loincloths!" Vespion responded. "That's like an UNDERGARMENT where I come from!"
"So... an outnumbered group of warriors armed with stone weapons is about to attack a tower that has more troops protecting it than many towns do, dressed only in their underpants?!" Vaeri said, surprised. "Why did you let us go along with this, Vespion?!"
"I thought the tower would be one-tenth this size, and only have a few dozen guards... maybe 150 at most..." Vespion said...
Suddenly, a sentry saw the approaching force, and sounded an alarm!
-
" This is incredible folly! you guys should fall back!' Minna said tio the chief. " We can sneak in as a small group.. none of your warrior have armor or anything.. they'll be cut doewnn easily..
-
"Too late! We have been seen! Charge!" a warrior yelled. The rest of the force followed behind him...
Vespion quickly addressed the party.
"Listen! We still have to rescue Adykon and Rhiga. The army will distract Asthia's forces, no doubt, so we can sneak in while they are occupied defending the tower!"
This was easier said than done...
-
Asthia heard the alarm. "Who dares?! Who could be attacking my tower?!" She teleported to a balcony, hundreds of feet above the ground... and saw... "A pathetic rabble... outnumbered, outclassed... and outmaneuvered."
She cast a spell which teleported in some more of her troops behind the attacking army. Each of them was a Dracon soldier, and each one wore a suit of steel armor with a piece of glass attached to it; this glass piece was enchanted so that Asthia could move the wearer across a moderate distance along the ground... perfect for catching enemies off-guard.
-
Run!' Nmarcus said, starting towards the tower, soon followed by minna and ilsa.
-
The party ran to the side of the tower, the army ran right in front of it, hoping to get inside... only to find themselves caught in a classic pincers movement! One group of soldiers closed in from the front, another body of troops closed in from the rear...
The shamans in the army cast spells at their adversaries, but these were blocked, nullified, or, at the very least avenged by the more numerous, far better trained mages and clerics accompanying Asthia's army...
Meanwhile...
The din of battle could be heard even beneath the tower. Screams of war and of agony, the sound of combat, and the din of violence all combined to produce a cacaphony which alerted Rhiga.
-
A Few Straglers followed Ilsa and minna and they busted open a small side gate which lead inside.. ilsa lit her staff revealing a dark smelly and damp, hallway in front of them. outside the tribes forces were getting manhandled by the larger and better trained oposing army. minna 's heart when out to these poor souls.. but now was not the time for sentiment.. they had to get rhiga..
-
Vespion had cast the spell to break the gate, but the girls had forced it open. Rex, Jake, and Sasha helped them get past some of the guards, who were all running to fight the army, not bother with the party...
-
Marcus flinched as he saw the troops rush past. outside the fight was now a rout, with some now fleeing the battlefield back to the villages, their numbers now greatly reduced.
Ilsa and Minna Pressed on , just agead of vespion.
-
Vespion looked at the party. Vaeri and Selturma were with him, but Eriol and Arianne were with the army! He had no time to get them and could only hope for the best...
The tribal army was about 80% intact, but in under 20 minutes they had taken 20% causalities!
-
"This is no good, we are taking heavy casualties too quickly" - Eriol thought as he uses the sword on his left arm backhanded to deflect incoming attacks, while using the sword on his right hand to make quick attacks, like if it were a rapier, just above the end of an enemy's armor, making fatal cuts on their throats.
As Eriol was in the front lines of the attack, Arianne was nearer the center of the ally army, casting a spell to make the wind blow violently against the incoming enemies, making their movements slower and their vision blurry.
-
It was not enough to stop the enemies, but the panther's efforts were slowing them... buying time for the rest of the party.
Vespion led the party through winding corridors... not quite certain what to look for. Every now and then they would encounter a guard or two, but most of Asthia's forces were outside, fighting the rebelling tribal army. They didn't know where Rhiga was... but they knew that someone had to know...
And eventually, after interrogating several loincloth-clad kobolds, they found one, slightly better dressed and thus of higher status among his kind, who was willing to talk... after some persuasion...
(http://dicemonkey.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/kobold.jpg)
"She's downstairs! In the lowest level! The Prince of Hekaga wanted to do something to her... I don't know what he wants, but he was very mad... and had this huge knife with him... I don't know anymore. Please don't hurt me!" the kobold shrieked.
Vespion, who had the kobold pinned to the wall, dropped him.
-
lead us there' Marcus cried,. " You do and we'll spare you! vespoin, bring him along!' the knowledge that they were close to Rhiga had set a fire underneath him..
-
Vespion grabbed the kobold by his tail "Noooo..." it shouted.
Within a few minutes, the party came to a winding staircase leading down... and very far down...
(http://www.quaalude.net/albums/album57/blarney_castle_winding_stairs.sized.jpg)
Although it was light at first, it kept getting darker the further down they went... but there was still some light from the torches...
Interestingly enough, Asthia had some metal rail installed to help one get down or up. Useful.
-
The enemy army was beginning to break through the tribal dracons' lines, making the battle more desperate. It is true that the tribal allies are in a huge disadvantage, but they have the heart and the courage. Some enemy Dracons came closer to Arianne, who began launching a special spell she has that takes air and compacts them in a small area, then launching them like if they were daggers. She managed to stop two enemies, but more were coming.
Eriol was still fighting in the front line, killing as many soldiers as he could while trying to keep himself unharmed, not totally effective though as a soldier managed to stab him on his left arm. The male Panther did not scream due to the sudden pain, but he used the anger to stab the soldier in the throat, and then to use him as a support to jump and kick yet another enemy, hard in the head.
-
The party reached the bottom of the stairs, at last, and found a huge steel door. It took Vespion's full strength to open it... and the party saw a dark room filled with the horrifying sight of creature suspended from the ceiling by black tendrils... stunned by this, the party didn't notice Rhiga, until she called out Marcus's name...
-
RHIGA!' Marcus roared and ran over to his beloveds side.. "We Need to free her.. and As many of the others as possible" He cried, tears streaming as his face. Rhiga was hung by the tebdrils , and was nude, but right now, neither Marcus, orvIlsa or minna cared about that fact. "Can you climb up those tebndrils" Marcus pointed to the tendrils connecting Rhiga to the celing..
-
Vespion cast a spell, summoning a glowing mass of bright green light, which he hastily reshaped into a sword. "Someone, take this blade and climb up there! Cut her down!"
"Yes, and hurry" Rhiga gasped. She was not in a good condition...
-
Ilsa Grabbed the sword and quickly scurried up the tendril, showing very good mobility and agility. She reached a point about halfway up and began slicing through the tendcdrils. a few seconds and the first tendril was cut, she jumped in the air and managed to grab onto the second tendril. She slowly climbed down, and once she was closer to the ground, she sliced through the second tendril, freeinf rhiga. m who fell into Marcus's arms. Ilsa landed nimbly on the floor. the only sound was of marcus' soft sobbing as he held Rhiga tightly to him.
-
Rhiga was hardly capable of speaking, but words were unnecessary as she hugged Marcus... pressing her soft flesh against him, and softly crying. A moment later, she managed to speak. "Free the dragoness too, please, my love." Rhiga was on the verge of fainting by this point... she could only speak that one sentence...
Vaeri also ran up to Rhiga, wanting to embrace her daughter... but she let Marcus hug Rhiga first.
-
Ilsa needed no second Urging as She went over, climbed ionto the dragon and began climbing up the tendrils. this time she didnt go up as high, and quickly slashed through the first and then the Second TEndril. " Minna crpouched doen by the dragon, noticed the blood soaked spike that pined the dragons legs together "I'll try and REmove this spike" She said.
-
Marcus held her for awhile, then let her go, so she could hug her mother.." Does anyone have a spare bra and loincloth for her?' He asked..wiping away tears from his eyes..
-
Vaeri hugged her daughter, holding on with a tenacity that she didn't think was possible...
And the dragonness was freed as well. She tried to move, but fell to the ground.
Just then, a knife flew out of nowhere, missing Rhiga by a hair!
-
Minna slowly pulled the spike fre of one leg then the other, the blood pured out of both legs, the spike had held much of the blood back. "I'll try and Heal the wound as nest I can" Minna said. " Vespoin I may need your help here with healing her" She said.
_
We need to get out of here!' Marcus said.. flinching as he saw how close that knife had come to hitting Rhiga..
-
In the distance, the prince of Hekaga could be seen running from the room. "I'll see you all dead later!" and the coward ran...
Vespion quickly healed the dragoness of her injuries... at least, enough to prevent her from dying of blood loss.
"She'll be fine. Now, we've got to rescue Adykon!" Vespion said.
-
Marcus Turned to vaeri" We need to get out of here.. Thank you Ilsa for freeing her' He said Suddenly hugging Ilsa. Ilsa froze, slighly embarassed by this affectionate display. She patted marcus on the head. " Marcus let her go, and Ilsa smiled at him. " Come on, lets get Rhiga out of here, I'm sure you have much catching up to do".. this was a double entendre from her..
-
"Marcus, grab Rhiga and get out of here! The rest of us will search for Adykon! I don't think the tribal army can last much longer!" Vespion shouted.
And he was right. The tribal army was over half dead, and half of the remainder was injured in some way...
-
Marcus nodded, and Picked up Rhiga in his arms, and began carrying het towards the stairs. "I'm going to need to help" he said. " Can one of you come with me..?'
-
"I'll go with you!" Selturma said, bouncing up and down. She gave Rex a quick hug, then ran to join Marcus and Rhiga.
"Right. The rest of us will run up the stairs with you, then part ways when we get to ground level." Vespion said to the group.
-
The battle was indeed going badly for the tribal Dracons. Eriol is also injured but he is still fighting, and making each of his enemies to fall, he then saw some enemy soldiers getting too close to Arianne, so he jumped back where she is, just in time to prevent a soldier from striking her down. The enemy had his neck cutted in two by Eriol's sword. Arianne was able to stand up again and moved backwards on the lines of the allied army, so she could take a breathe... it was far too close for her.
Eriol smiled at her as he kept on fighting, getting some more injuries in the process as he made a space between the enemy lines so the tribe could press on and have a better chance.
-
Marcus was grateful for Selturma's company, the group raced toward the stairs. te dragon flew just ahead of them, as much as she was able given the state of her condition. it would be awhile before she could fly as before..
-
Marcus and Rhiga left the tower, with Selturma helping to keep her on Marcus's back. The rest of the party went to find Adykon
Adykon watched as Asthia and Arcantas worked their magic, casting spell after spell on the tribal army, killing a great many of them from a distance. Being geased, he was unable to lift his sword against them.
Disgusted by this, Adykon ran downstairs... he knew that he could not leave Asthia as long as he was geased, but he could help the party... Adykon was sure that they were either in the tower, or trying to get inside.
Running through the hallways, Vespion and Adykon ran into each other.
"Adykon! Thanks the gods we found you! We have to leave! Now!" the cleric shouted.
"Wait! There's someone you ought to rescue first! Someone else! A young female!" Adykon told Vespion, having seen Gerasia while walking through the halls.
"A young Dracon? She must be the daughter of the chief! She's the reason the army is attacking! Let's go! Show me the way!" Vespion replied.
-
Ilsa and minna follwed vespion and Adykon closely. " what did she do to you Adykon?' minna asked as they ran through the passageways.."Its good that you are unharmed..
-
"I cannot leave here as long as Asthia's geas is on me..." Adykon told Vespion.
"I don't have the power to remove the geas..." Vespion sadly replied.
"Well, it doesn't matter now. Come on!" came the warrior's reply.
-
So she put a spell on you? Great.. The only way to remove a geas is to do what the spellcaster wants, unless you are sufficiently powerful enough to remove it, which none of us are..' Ilsa said , frowning..
-
Arianne went back in the lines of the tribal army, but as more enemies began approaching, she took a deep breathe and began concentrating: by making a small chant she was able to create tornados between the enemy soldiers, blowing them off the battlefield and helping reduce their numbers a bit.
Eriol was again closer to the front lines, shouting advices for his allies, telling them to target their attacks in the zones the armor does not protect their enemies, like the neck and armpits, but he was getting worried, the number of allies falling was greater than the number of Asthia's soldiers falling. - "Where is Vespion and the others, we don't have all day!" - He thought as he kept on attacking.
-
Vespion, Jake, Sasha, Rex, Isla, Minna, and Adykon searched the tower for Gerasia. Adykon had known of her...
(Flashback)
Adykon paced back and forth in the corridors of the tower. Asthia had geased him hours ago. He had no ability to attack her directly... but he could still... get very mad.
"DAMN IT!!" the mercenary shouted as he kicked a bronze pot into the wall. "How did this happen?!" He thought. "This can't... this can't be happening! No... calm down Adykon... calm... down." Even as he thought this, he could feel Asthia's geas in his mind... it was almost too much to bear... he hated her for this... hated her... but at the same time, he felt a weird, warped sense of her longing for him in his head... a twisted desire...
Stumbling into a room with a bed, no knowing or caring whose it was, Adykon collapsed on the cushion. Asthia had made it so that he couldn't attack her or anyone who was part of her household... servants, guards, and guests were among those immune to him...
About an hour later, Adykon woke when he felt the rather annoying sensation of a kobold servant poking him with its claw. "Get up, you! You're sleeping in Gerasia's bed, and it's almost time for her nap!" Being annoyed by the kobold but unable to retaliate, Adykon got up from the bed and left the room. The kobold walked away.
Wanting to know who this "Gerasia" was, Adykon waited near the room, and saw the most shocking thing he had ever seen in the whole tower as of yet... Asthia was carrying a Dracon girl in her arms, a girl who clung to the mage as if she were her mother... and even more surprising was that Asthia, who paid no attention to Adykon, set the girl down in the bed, put her under the covers, and gave her a kiss... only then did she care about the stunned warrior who was watching the whole spectacle.
"Gerasia is my child, Adykon... why do you look so surprised?" the vampiress asked.
"You... you can't produce children! You're not even living" Adykon responded.
"And neither is she... the child was from a tribe... but she's mine now... passed from the land of the living... I took her from them myself... and I'm not giving her back..."
"I... can't take her from you..." Adykon said.
"You really cant't. The Geas prevents that." Asthia said to him. "I know what you warriors are like... you all have illegitimate children in some slum somewhere... even if one in a hundred mating made a child, you'd have at least a couple by your mid-thirties... but now, Adykon... you are going to be Gerasia's FATHER!"
Adykon was stunned, his jaw literally dropped open. "You... CAN'T! I'm not her father! I'm NOT your husband! Hell, you're NOT even her mother! You can't DO this! This is ALL WRONG! You can't-!"
"I already have, my love, and there's nothing you can do about it... it's gonna happen... whether you like it or not!" Asthia remarked.
(End Flashback)
"So, you understand what we have to do, Vespion?" Adykon queried.
"Yes... get her out of here!" The cleric replied.
-
" Yes we need to take her home to her father. but if she is a vampire now, she needs to be cured of it' Minna said. " Is there anyway to cure it?' she asked vespion.
-
"I've heard of ways, but all of them require far more power and equipment than I have with me..." Vespion said. "We need to get her out first, in any case... we can cure her later."
-
"Right.. We'll have to take her with us, " Ilsa nodded. 'plus anyone else who wants out of here..' she said. ' although we have to account for asthia possible brainwashing her.."
-
The party looked around for Gerasia, mostly without success... until they heard the laughter of a child... a girl. Opening the doors to the room, they found a Dracon girl and a red dragon hatchling... in a bathtub. The kobolds who were watching them were terrified of the party, and what they might do...
-
"Come on kids, we're taking you out of this place' Ilsa said in a coaxing voice.. she noticed the dragon was the same color as the dragon she and minna had freed, this was almost certainly her offspring..
_ "Yes this place isn't safe for you..'minna said, looking at them..
-
"Who are you?! What are doing?!" Gerasia shouted, clearly afraid.
Toby realized who they were; they were sent from the army outside... which was coming to free them. "It's okay, Gerasia. They're coming to take you back to your parents... I know it. Just trust me on this, okay?"
-
We've freed your mother, young dRagon 'ilsa said to Toby. "We'll take you to her, but you must hurry. '
-
Gerasia and Toby left the tub, and the girl were carried out by Adykon, as she was too slow to run very far. They had just about reached the gate when Asthia teleported in front of them! And she was mad!
"Going somewhere? NO! DROP MY CHILD!!" she screamed... but she wasn't the only angry mother...
The sound of roaring could be heard... the red female Dragon... and to say that she was mad was an understatement...
(http://images.elfwood.com/art/c/a/caisse/red_dragon_copy.jpg)
Bursting into the chambers, she lunged towards Asthia, giving the party a chance to flee!
-
Seizing the Chance Ilsa grabbed toby, and they fled through the smashed gate " Come on!" She cried, suddenly realizing that adkyon couldn't lkeave, he was still under asthia spell. " Minna Take the child from Adykon, hes still under her spoell!"
-
Adykon passed Gerasia to Minna, then proceeded to jump on Asthia, not trying to hurt her, as he couldn't do that... but he knew that she still wanted to be intimate with him, so he assumed that he could still hug her... and he was right! The red Dragoness let out a burst of flame which was directed towards Asthia (and thus, Adykon, unintentionally), but the vampiress teleported the two of them away... down to the dungeon. She then teleported herself back to the Dragoness, leaving Adykon behind... only to find that the party had escaped with Gerasia and Toby (who could fly) in tow... and that the Dragoness was still ready to fight....
-
The Group fled with Gerasia down the hill which was littered with the bodies of the tribal dracons. 'they foiught to try and free you..' Minna Whispered, noticing the shiock on Gerasia's face..
_
-
The battle was all but over... the tribal army was down to under 10% of its manpower... and the chief was wounded and had to be carried off of the battle field. Vespion and the party ran onto what was left of the slaughter... Asthia's troops had taken few casualties... and the panthers were among the few forces still fighting on the side of the tribesmen... they were quickly joined by Vepsion and the rest. It was a short run from there to the forest.
-
We need to REtreat" Minna said. "We have Rhiga and gerasia.." She started sending blasts of magic against the forces of asthia. "Now we need to get the survivors back home.. where we can tend our wounds and reunite father and daughter.."
_ meanwhile marcus raced towards the forest with rhiga in his arms, selturma a step behind..
-
"The mission was completed! Retreat now!" - Eriol shouted to the tribal forces that were farther from where the party came back, he then looked at Arianne and the both ran to encounter Vespion, Ilsa and the others.
"I'm so glad you all made it, but where is Adykon?" - Arianne asked Vespion as she now was running with Eriol and the rest of the party and the surviving tribal warriors.
-
Asthia put him under a spell which prevents him from leaving the castle" Minna said sadly.. "We don't have the power to undo the spell so hwe had to leave him.."
-
Running for the woods, Vespion told Arianne; "He couldn't make it... there's a spell on him. Asthia geased Adykon so he couldn't escape... he is bound to her... and cannot attack her... he's in big trouble, but we cannot hope to save him now..."
Meanwhile...
The corpse of the red dragon lay sprawled out on the ground, with her blood staining the floor. Asthia herself was exhausted and burned... her clothes were reduced to cinders, but she had replacements. Fainting from exhaustion into a pool of the dragon's blood, Asthia was unconscious.
Arcantas, who had seen the battle but done nothing to help, approached the gory scene... he had hoped that the Dragon would manage to kill Asthia... sadly, she didn't.
-
the combined group fled back towards the forest, they were a greatly reducednumber from before, most of thier companion lay dead on the hillside..
-
After hours, the party had managed to evade the pursuing soldiers. What was left of the army gathered in the village... where they were met by a large group of grieving relatives, mostly female.
But if there was to be grieving, it ought to have been done for Adykon... Asthia had recovered... and gave him the unenviable task of finally awakening the horror beneath her tower...
And Gerasia. The village's joy at finding their lost daughter quickly turned to grief as they saw that she was a vampiress...
-
Marcus collected himself on the ground, he wa exhausted from his long long dash. he had put rhiga to bed in a spare hut, so she could recover. marcus wept, a micxture of joy that they had rescued his love, and sadness at the great losses they had sustained..
-
After some time, Rhiga stirred. She was still tired, but was recovering. Still nude, she got up, uneasy, her feet having not touched the ground in so long after being suspended in the air by those tendrils.
After some steps, feeling the dirt floor of the hut beneath her pale, tender soles, she looked for Marcus. Her usual grace and agility soon returned to her, as she got a feel for the area. Taking a moment, she felt her body, to make sure that every thing was okay. After being unable to sense anything wrong, she moved on, satisfied.
Sticking her head out of the hut, she smelled the air, quickly finding Marcus's scent. She moved in his direction...
-
Marcus felt an arm on his shoulder, he loked up, and saw Rhiga. "Rhiga.. you're not dressed...Lets..go inside.. and ...and.. CATCH UP..' he whispered, with a smile playing on his llips.. "If you are too tired , my love, I understand..
-
"I've waited so long for this" Rhiga said to her lover. Really, she had waited a long time... she had wanted to marry him when she was taken... heck, she was at the very wedding when they caught her!
They retired to a hut... and it was a wonder they didn't wake up the whole village with what went on in there!
-
The moment they were inside, marcus threw her onto the bed, and threw himself upon her. he kissed her passionately on the lips, and began fondling her, running his claws over her breasts, with soft caressing strokes. marcus quickly placed himself inside her, and instantly felt the joy that came with thier lovemaking, a joy enhanced by thier long forced seperation. marcus pulled himself out of her and held her to him.. 'I love you.. so much Rhiga he began his voice beginning to crack wit emotion..
-
Rhiga kissed her mate-to-be, and after more gasping, moaning and roaring, the both of them fell asleep.
Vaeri had heard what was happening... and was happy that her daughter was enjoying herself again. She would speak to Rhiga in the morning. Her thoughts grew darker as she thought of Adykon, and how to save him.
-
Minna and Ilsa retired to thier hut, which hgeld two small beds. 'We managed to save Rhiga;' Minna said, sitting on her bed. and gazing over at Ilsa. "At a heavy cost to be sure, I didn't see the mother dragon come out, so she is likely dead.."Ilsa replied " Asthia is extremely powerful, to kill a dragon" Minna said ."Yes but such a battle takes a tremendous toll. it would be fatal to you or I, or likely Vespion.' Ilsa replied. "But she isn't alive, after all, shes a vampiress, so she can endure things we can't.."
-
Night fell over the village. The sound of sobbing could be heard from many huts. So many male warriors had died that there weren't enough left for the females to all remarry... they would have to intermarry with other tribes in order to survive... tribes which had no intention of continuing the fight against Asthia... as they were too cowardly... or was it simply that they were too prudent?
In any case, it was a matter of simple survival... almost like a math equation. The tribe was left without its strongest members...
-
Both minna and Ilsa soon feel asleep. marcus slept comfortably.. his lover in his arms at last.. he was unaware of the life that was slowly growing inside of her..
-
Dawn broke on the village... and on Asthia's tower. For Adykon, the task he had been given was bad, but, all things considered... it might have been tolerable... if his quarters were a bit better...
(http://www.alphamom.com/smackdown/dungeon.jpg)
-
Marcus stirred next to his mate-to be be, who was still asleep. <Marcus leaned in and kissed her, gently, as to not wake her. "I wil never let you be taken again" He whispered..
-
Rhiga woke up, kissed her lover, and stretched. Something felt a bit... different. Like there was some pressure in her stomach... speaking of stomach, she was hungry... "What do you say we get something to eat, Marcus?"
-
As they returned to the village, Vespion help curing Eriol's injuries, they were nit serious. Arianne was unhurt, that made Eriol happy. When the night came, they went to a hut that was given to them for the night and they began talking about what happened, about what they may probably have to do soon.... then it turned in how they fought, the happy they were of came out of it alive... and then it how much they love each other. Eriol embraced Arianne, she returned the embrace, they kissed once, then twice; then they went to the bed and showed their true love for each other... the night of talk became a night of passion enveloped in the feelings of love and trust, and hope for everything turning for the best at the end.
At dawn, both Panthers were sleeping, but he woke up, he looked at his wife: the love of his life and main supporter. He gave her a soft kiss, and then he got up and got dressed before going out of the hut. he wanted to know how were things now in the village.
-
Certainly.. what do you you say we have the village Shaman, marry us.. it won't be official back home, but at least we'll be married in a sense, what do you say Rhiga.." Marcus asked..
-
The village was very sad and quiet. The population was mostly female, and the few remaining male warriors were patrolling the villages perimeter. It was... very sad... a serious defeat, to be sure.
-
Minna stirred showly, from her bed. she dressed quicjkly and went over to the bed and began, shaking bher ' wake up Ilsa" She said, almost playfully.. either you wakre u or I..' You try and kiss me and I'll turn you into a blacked rimmed slug" Ilsa said grouchily as she awoke from her sleep..
-
Vespion called the party together. There was food and drink for all.
"Listen everyone... we had a partial win, but Adykon is still in their hands, and there is nothing we can do about it. Worse, Adykon had the item that can get us out of here and back to civilization. Without it, we are going to have to take a LONG trip back, IF we can get back at all. We need to discuss our options..."
-
' Well' marcus said, fingering his drink.. 'can't you teleport us somehere close vespion?"
_
I don't think hes strong enough to do that Marcus " Ilsa said..
-
"I can't really do teleportations" Vespion said "We have to consider what else can be done... I'm sorry."
-
It was Worth a shot" Marcus shrugged " what is the closest city to here?"
-
"Marcus... I honestly have no idea. Really. We are so far beyond the charted regions of the world, I couldn't begin to tell you." Vespion sadly replied.
-
marcus, we're in the middle of nowhere.. its going to be a long journey' ilsa said..
-
"There won't BE any trip home if we don't stop Asthia. We're not leaving until Adykon is rescued, one way or another." Vespion said.
-
'vespion, the only way to lift the geas is for adykon to do what she wants, we don't have the power to remove it.. we barely escaped from the tower alive.. it decimated this village too." Ilsa said.
-
"The other way to remove a geas is to kill the one who put it on the victim" Vespion said. "I've spoken with the shaman, and neither he nor I have the knowledge or the power to undo her spell."
Meanwhile...
Rhiga and Marcus retired to their hut. His mate and wife-to-be had asked him to massage her, over her whole body, front and back. She was feeling unusually tense...
-
Marcus started with the back and began rubbing her in circles ' Tell me where it is the most tense and i'll go over that area.. ' he said slowly moving down her back..
-
Rhiga, who was totally unclothes for weeks now, signaled for Marcus to go lower. Her skin, her back and shoulders were tense... but soft. Her whole body was very soft, and her belly was the softest part. Lying down on it, she signed in relief and Marcus proceeded to work on her malleable flesh...
-
marcus moved lower, over her back, tail and rear. He could feel the biult up tension in her body.. being suspended from the ceiling for weeks wil build tension. he worked on her ;llegs , and culminated with her feet, he pulled away dead skin and filed away overlong claws.. 'alright.. now turn over ' he said ' and i'll start working on your front.."
-
Rhiga turned over, exposing her soft white underside... she smiled in a mixture of love and pleasure as Marcus continued to work on her... she also wrapped her tail around his, giving it a soft but firm squeeze.
-
marcus worked on her shoulder then began massaging her breasts , which appeared to be.. larger. " Your chest is.. larger then I remember it" He said, fondling her slightly, as he moved right to left.. Hmm..' he finished with the breasts and began moving lower. her skin was soft to the touch, soft than he remembered it..
-
Rhiga nodded, being happy to be under his touch again... she said nothing, but simply closed her eyes and did her very best to lose herself in the sensations he was giving her... the fact that her love was so close made it all the better...
-
marcusmoved down over her belly, and was started by a.. bulge in the middle "Thats funny I don't remember this.. bulge being here before my love.. is it your stomach? I'm guessing they didn't feeed you all that well.." He said before moving down until he reached her privates. marcus began rubbing there, gently at first from side to side..
-
Rhiga felt this way before... she had felt this way three times before, in fact. "Marcus... I... think I'm pregnant." She looked down at her beautiful body... then up at her mate and lover.
-
You.. You're .. pregnant..by the gods... is it mine? don't tell me she had you violated while a prisoner!' marcus started blubbering..
-
"It's yours. She left me hanging all those months... I was never violated... well, not in that way..." She recalled the weeks she had spent hanging from the ceiling, suspended by the tendrils...
"My love, you will need to watch over me... and... since you've never fathered a child before... you will need to take good care of my body as well... having been pregnant three times before, I can tell you, it isn't easy for me to carry an egg..."
This was true. A pregnant female was more vulnerable than otherwise... she would require a mate in order to fulfill her increased bodily needs while her own capacity was decreased... females without a spouse were known to suffer greatly during this time.
-
"oh.." RElief spread across Marcus' face ' he pulled rhiga to him in an embrace.. ' i promise to protect you, andf our child.. Now.. lets make love again..' he kissed her on the lips and held her body tightly against his own..
-
They did indeed... Rhiga let out tears of joy and pleasure as they made love... and Marcus enjoyed it too... it was loud affair, but they didn't hold back. Rhiga was left in a stare of ecstatic pleasure... satisfied and relaxed... she wasn't going to move for hours... and when she woke up, she would be feeling really good.
-
marcus pulled himse;lf out of Rhigas and lay back against the pillow. "I'm.. going to be a father.." he thought to himself, as he relaxed. "Wow, whatr my parents wil say.."
-
Arianne slept for some more, after waking up, she decided to get up and see where is Eriol and the others. She got dressed and got out of the hut. It was very nice for her to step on the greass, way different than the city they departed from.
After a while, she found Vespion. - "Good morning Vespion, I wanted to thank you for healing my husband yesterday... and I also wanted to ask you if there is some way Ican help solve the problem of getting Adykon out of trouble." - she looked at the Dracon with much attention, waiting for a reply.
In the mean time, Eriol was in another side of the village, walking seriously as he saw the widows. - "The price was way too high. So many dead and there was no way to get all of our friends from that witch's castle." - he thought as he kept on walking.
-
"You are very welcome. Arianne." Vespion responded.
Meanwhile...
Gerasia sat in the straw hut which belonged to her father. He had been badly hurt in the fight, and was confined to his bed for now. Gerasia's mother was taking care of her for now. Toby sat on the roof of the hut, keeping a lookout... so far, no one had tried to attack the village.
-
so how are you Toby?' mInna asked coming up near the hut and looking at him.." Are you okay?"
-
Toby was lying on his stomach. His little silvery back claws were dug into the roof, with his front claws supporting his chin...
"I'm fine, Minna... I'm kinda sad about Gerasia... she's still a vampire, and no one except her mom and I are there for her..." The little red dragon responded.
-
Well, you won't be alone for long" Minna said kindly.. 'We'll be able to find a cure for it.. it won't be easy, but we'll cure her.. shes your friend isn't she?' Minna asked.
-
"She's like a sister to me..." Toby replied. "I don't think I could live without her... she and I were the only ones we trusted in that tower... except for Asthia... and I never liked her. Gerasia liked her more..."
-
You had good sense in that. Asthia turned gerasia into this.." Minna explained " Shes a vamipress, and she bit gerasia and turned her into one as well.. well once we cure her I'm sure her father wil let you stay witth them in this village.."
-
"Her father has no problems with me... no one really does..." Toby said. "Toby isn't my real name, though... Asthia gave it to me..."
-
your mother never gave you one?' Minna asked sadly..
-
"If she did, I would have been too young to remember it" Toby replied. "Asthia treated me as a pet, and then as a playmate for Toby."
-
your mother sacrificed herself to free you.. i believe asthia killed her' minna said sadly..
-
Toby took this with some pain... but kept it together. "I haven't seen her in so long... she was kept in the dungeons... I heard she was in great pain... if she is dead, she is no longer in any pain..." he responded.
-
(not sure what to post but..)
Jake, Rex and Sasha walked around the camp, as they did they could hear the mones of all the females that had lost their mates in the battle.
-
Meanwhile...
Asthia's tower was a real mess. Corpses of dead Dracons lay everywhere around the tower, and a dead dragoness still lay where she fell on the inside. Asthia had gotten up, and was recovering in her room, attended to by her kobold servants, who were rapidly applying healing salve to her many wounds, and doing their best to keep her relaxed and comfortable.
Adykon was busy going over the notes he had been given by Asthia's servants, detailing the tasks he'd have to do in order to awaken this horror that lay dormant under the tower. He longed to rip up the notes, to forget the tasks before him... but his geas would not allow that...
The biggest winner in all this was Arcantas. His hated mistress was injured, and the one who had killed him was her slave... he could kill Adykon if wanted to, but the time was not right for that... not yet.
-
Eriol kept on walking around the village, still immersed on his own thoughts. - "I'm no longer sure if Arianne and me should still be here, we-I have an assassin to hunt down, to kill him so I can put an end to the blood war between his family and mine..." - The Panther decided to go back to the hut, so he can check on Arianne, he did so while still thinking.. and still looking at the remaining Dracons there - "...still, it is good that we could lend a hand in the battle, maybe without us, the casualties could have been much higher... we just need to get Adykon out of that castle, so we can get out of here... but I am not strong enough, I am not the fabled 'Angel of Death' people thought I would become... Maybe the new generation, my son Isaac could be the one?... Well, I would need him to be some years older in order to get his help on this." - But his eyes opened widely after thinking that - "what the hell I am thinking!?, not even Arianne know that the legend can be true and not some freak story about my family.".
After that, he shook his head and went back to the Hut.
-
Asthia's injuries were bad, but they would only last until one of her clerics were able to come forward with a healing spell designed for the undead... he was called, and within a few hours, he healed her of her injuries.
Adykon went over the notes... these were rituals... the bone ritual, the blood ritual, the mind ritual, the senses ritual, the breath ritual, and the core ritual. All of these were collected by Asthia... using any of them was dangerous and difficult. Many have tried to use them... none succeeded. Adykon was the best candidate so far... and Asthia knew that Adykon would either succeed... or die trying. Either way, she and the dark master would win.
-
Eriol returned to the hut, but it was empty, he then began walking the surrounding areas, and then he saw her, sitting near Vespion and other members of the party. He came closer to her back and then he placed his arms around her in a gentle hug.
"Oh, morning dear." - Arianne said in slight surprise to her husband.
"Morning." - he replied as he broke the hug and then face her with a kiss.
"I had no idea where you could be, so I came here... maybe we can get a plan working." - she said as she saw Eriol sitting next to her.
"Well, that can come in handy, we need to be prepared... we cannot just wait for Adykon to do whatever task he is forced to do.... hopefully not make anything that can release something evil." - Eriol said that, not even imaginating he is close to the truth.
-
Adykon's first task was to go down into the tunnels beneath where Rhiga had been held. Although the tendrils extended from the ceiling, the bulk of the horror was located underneath the tower's lowest rooms...
Opening a wooden door that led to a ladder, Adykon climbed down... and down... into the darkness, which was only broken by some scattered torches which were kept lit by some kobold servants who were unfortunate enough to have such an unenviable task. Each ritual was difficult, and time consuming. He would not be able to complete them all in a day...
-
"At this point, there isn't much we can do..." - Arianne commented with a sigh. - "... I don't really know too many spells that can be used as an offensive maneuver, I only know some defensive and preventing spells." - Preventing spells are those used to avoid an enemy from attacking, it can be very effective but it doesn't make the damage an offensive spell can make.
Eriol looked at his wife and placed a hand over hers. - "Your spells are very useful, they sure have helped us all a lot, since the battle in the Temple. I don't think I would want it any other way". - Eriol's words made Arianne to smile.
-
Adykon approached the bottom of the pit. Here was where he had to recite the bone ritual. After saying some words in an archiac language, the room started to change. The rocks of the cave began to twist, contorting into the shape of bones... but only in a certain room.
-
Marcus laid back against the pilow " Have I ever told you Rhiga about my parents? I don't think I have..."
-
The hut they were in had rudimentary bedding, but there were pillows made of straw and bound in the same material that made the tribe's clothing.
"No, Marcus, I don't believe you have" Rhiga said, as she held her tail, which was wrapped around her legs, rubbing it.
-
well, my parents are middle class. my father is namedf rukkor and my mother is Kurzok.. since they are middle class my mother is my fathers only wife.. i am the oldest of 3, by brother rindor is 14, my little sister agnes is 10. they will of course be invited..." Marcus grinned.
-
"Wow. It must be nice to know your father." Rhiga replied, stretching her left foot. "I had more siblings than you, but no dad."
-
Jake, Rex and Sasha began to head back where most of the party was.
(soz it's not much...)
-
Yeah.. my mother is the only maete my father has ever had.. I have 3 siblings, who are young than me' Marcus said..
-
"I almost never saw any of the males that my mom mated with" Rhiga said. "I knew they were getting her pregnant, but there were... well, mom said she almost never saw the same male twice... and they only told her their name a part of the time. It was also hard to keep track as, like many of us females, she usually mated with several males in one night. She usually spent more time mating than taking care of us, but she usually got home in time to feed us. My older siblings could get us food if mother wasn't around. It wasn't that she was neglectful... but she just couldn't overcome her urges to be... satisfied. Few females can..." Rhiga said, explaining her situation.
"Sometimes, mom would return all relaxed, and it would be hard to get her to do much of anything for us. My siblings and I didn't want to stress her and ruin her good mood, as this would make her punish us for it..." she continued.
-
Arianne and Eriol looked at each other, she then leaned on her husband's chest while closing her eyes. He embraced her.
"We wouldn't have get this far without you, Arianne." - Eriol whispered to her. He leaned his head over her's, softly. But there was something different: In the last few weeks, the mating season made her emit pheromones to attract males of her specific race, but now, he couldn't sense as much as before. - "Could this mean?" - Eriol thought, but he doesn't want to jump to conclusions.
She stayed right there, feeling happy now, relaxed. A moment like this have no happened often since some time, and maybe more dangerous time will come.
-
Adykon continued on in the tunnels beneath Asthia's tower. He was up to the breath ritual... the second one on his list. It seemed as if he was in the "body" of the horror... but this was a series of caves, not a creature... the floors were clearly stone, there were clearly stalagmites and stalactites, and if it had been living, there would have been blood coming out of the excavated sections when it had been cut into...
-
How many siblings do you have?" Marcus asked "Or do you not know that?"
-
"When I left, there were over a dozen half-siblings" Rhiga replied. "While I haven't asked her, I know that mom would definitely have made more." As she spoke, Rhiga stretched her lithe body and sighed.
She thought back to earlier days...
(flashback)
Rhiga ran down the streets of Hekaga, across the hard pavement, and through the bustling crowds of the bazaar. As a poor youth, there was much temptation for her to steal from them... her family could never afford even the most basic items at the stands, but her mother had told her not to steal from them, as the city guards would not think twice about taking her away, regardless of whether or not she was a child.
She passed by stands filled with clay pots, some with scenes of ancient myths painted on them, she passed merchants hawking bronze plates and cups, and vendors selling beads and glass. Various goods, silver, gold, rugs, ivory, and dozens of other articles, common and gaudy... she took none of them... but the greatest temptation lay ahead of her...
Food. Her mother had once told Rhiga that everything was food for something... but that most of it was not for her. Walking by stands selling fragrant bread, smoked meats, succulent melons, and fresh fish... it was too much for her to take anymore. She hadn't eaten anything but one meal a day for three days, and even then, it was nothing more than some stale bread her mother could get. When Rhiga protested, Vaeri said it was all she could afford to get. When Rhiga had complained that her mother was eating a whole meal while her children ate so little, she was scolded and told that a dancer needed energy to bring in money, and that her youngest children would starve to death if her body was unable to produce milk for them, which took much energy.
A six year old girl needed more to eat than old bread. Vaeri had been teaching the girl how to dance, but Rhiga was still far too young to make money that way, so she was hired out with hundreds and hundreds of other girls to a variety of different tasks, most of which involved textiles, including many of the rugs sold at the markets. Even with a trickle of extra money, there was still not much left; Vaeri needed that money to cover the extra costs of the new children...
Eventually, Rhiga could bear it no longer. Surely, one melon missing meant nothing... no one would notice... no one would care. Was there not a god of thieves in some pantheons? Surely the gods would not hold it against her if she took just one melon from the stands. Hiding behind a large pile of fruits, the Dracon girl grabbed one...
(http://happinesshandbook.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/ttar_cantaloupe_01_h_launch.jpg)
No one had noticed her, no one had cared. She ran to a back alley and quickly ate the fruit. Tearing it open with her claws and fangs, she ate all of the sweet orange flesh of the melon. Within three minutes, her snout and teeth were covered in the fruits' sweet juices. Licking it up, Rhiga wondered if she would be doing the wrong thing if she got some for some other hungry children. After all, her family was quite large... and underfed. Maybe an easier to move fruit this time... aha! She found a stand of pomegranates!
(http://z.hubpages.com/u/604708_f520.jpg)
Just a few of them... she would not take many... just to feed her family. After taking a couple she ran, but failed to take into account three things. First, the vendor that was busy serving another customer could still see his stand, second, that running carrying so many fruits would not be easy, and third, that an adult dracon was faster than she could ever hope to run...
After her capture, Rhiga was sent into a sweatshop belonging to the king of Hekaga... to make textiles for the palace... there, she would work off her debt. Her mother was told nothing; they didn't ask her for her name or anything... and they didn't feed her anything but a thin cereal of millet the whole time. After three days of almost nonstop work, they sent her home, with a warning that had she been older, the punishment would have been worse; they would have given her the mark of the thief; a tattoo placed on her arm which every Dracon is Hekaga who would ever employ her would think to check for.
Vaeri was relieved to see Rhiga alive, but angry that she had missed three days of work. Instead of getting rest, the poor girl was sent back out to labor... resulting in her becoming so ill, she had to be rushed to a temple and be healed in a charity ward. The girl Rhiga would not steal again, but when she grew up and gained the ability to bear children, the female could no longer be called a "girl" anymore... at least, not in the strictest sense. She would steal again...
(end flashback)
-
Meanwhile...
Adykon staggered out of the caves, exhausted. He would continue his rituals tomorrow, no doubt... he had no other choice, in the long run... his geas compelled him to act.
-
You've had a very tough life.. being a thief.. just to put food in your mouth.. Marcus said quietly and he tenderly ran his claw over Rhigas figure, stopping briefly over her brests.. before moving to caress her face.. "I had started to fear i'd never see you again.' he whispered..'But now.. holding you, feeling you, knowing my seed is growng inside you, makes it all worth it.."
-
Rhiga hugged him tightly. All her life, she had been independent... she had to be, because no one else was going to take care of all her needs... her mother could barely keep the family alive, and in some cases, she failed to do even that. The most vulnerable age for her siblings was the point in time when they were too old to suckle her breast, but too young to eat hard foods... being unable to afford much more than stale bread and some occasional healthy food, at least two half-siblings of Rhiga's had dies to illnesses brought on by malnutrition.
As for the seed... Dracons had enough medical knowledge to tell that it was only "half" a seed; and that the female contributed an egg as well. Regardless, females were conceived of as the soil, and males as the farmers... and this was true to a large extent. She also knew what the "plow" was that put the seed in her...
Meanwhile...
Adykon rested on the bed that Asthia had prepared for him. He wasn't in her room anymore, but she didn't force him to sleep on the floor either; he had his own bed... even if he had to share a room with several kobold servants... and share a single chamber pot. :confused
Despite the indignity of his situation, he thought back on the days of his life... how he had left his herding life to become a solider, then a mercenary...
(flashback)
Goats... goats... and MORE goats... that's all his life seemed to be... Adykon the goat-herder, son of a goat-herder, and for his inheritance, he would get... goats!
(http://www.routestravel.com/uploads/images/Negev%20Goat.jpg)
Working all day with hooved animals was NOT his idea of a future... especially on such marginal land... hardly a tuft of grass left... and yet it was all his family had. Still, they ate well enough... these animals could survive on almost anything... even scrub... which is most of what his family's land had left. The problem was... well... they were poor. That was it. They had few possessions; Adykon had a dagger, his shirt, some short pants, and a big stick with which to herd his trip of goats.
It wasn't that they went hungry... they had goat meat, milk, and on occasion, some cheese... but that was pretty much all they ate. Their land was drying up too. In another decade, it might be all sand. The river had been diverted to the nearest city and the groundwater was wearing out. The cities... where the dispossessed and desperate farmers went in hopes of finding work... few ever found it...
Adykon and his brothers were all old enough to leave home... and a couple already had done so. Before he could go of his own volition, Adykon found himself conscripted into the army of the lord of the region... while his mother and sisters wept, Adykon was glad to go, and his remaining brothers were all happy for him. His father was sad to lose some help on the homestead, but acknowledged that it was better for his son to go and have a future... if he survived the battlefield, that is.
And survive he did. After many a battle, Adykon found himself let go when the war ended, and, along with some comrades-in-arms, became mercenaries. Eventually, he parted ways with them, but gained valuable skills, powerful weapons, and well-made armor, and from then on, was a trained adventurer, ready and willing to join questing parties in hopes of gaining wealth, glory, or just the experience of the adventure itself.
From there, the rest was history. One adventure saw him hired by Arcantas, and after a trip to the lost city, he found himself back in the place where he had started the adventure from... only to end up... here.
(end flashback)
Yes, Adykon led an interesting life, that was for sure. He had never gone back to his homestead again. Some days, he wondered what had happened to his family. Had they all moved to a city? Did they go on to greener pastures in another plot of land? Or were they still there? Adykon had no time to worry about that now...
-
Marcus held Rhiga tightly to him, reflecting on his youth
he had been raised as middle class, but he had not been able toi find much work.. He had been taught archery by his father. who had been a forester and archer in his younger days before settling down. Finally he had applied to work at mInna's palace.. there he had been taught the arts of the massuese, and had found he was very good at it..
-
Rhiga gently ran her claws down Marcus's back. She had felt this way before when pregnant... an increased connection to males. Biologically, this was a case of pragmatism as much as it was for love; her body and the body of her child would need more nutrition and protection, and her ability to procure both was diminished. Therefore, she needed a male to protect and provide, as well as to give her emotional support, and help in raising the hatchling.
For his part, Marcus had an interest in seeing his mate and child live, but he too would want Rhiga's love to provide a safe harbor from the cruelties of the world, just as she sought his...
-
Minna relaxed in her tent.. "ah.. well we managed to get Rhiga back" Sjhe said to Ilsa who was sitting near the hut enterence.. "But we still have to find a way to save Adykon..' Ilsa replied looking at mInna. they had spoken much since thier quest. for good reason.. it was a a touchy subject.. the nature of thier rekationship..
-
Rhiga got up. "Shall we get some food, my love? I'm actually getting kinda hungry."
Meanwhile...
Far away in the tower, Arcantas looked down into a crystal ball... the horror was partially summoned... but not fully. It had been locked up here many years ago... centuries, but it was not sealed in quite properly. He looked over its notes regarding the nature of the creature... interesting... it was attracted to certain kinds of energies... and he had spells which used over half of those powers... that information could come in handy. A smile came over his face; the first smile since his transformation into a vampire...
-
Certainly..' Marcus said, dressing and taking her by the claw.."do you need some clothes?"
-
"I'll just wear this loincloth" Rhiga replied. "Give me a moment, I need to stretch first" she said, letting go of him.
Stretching her body with a loud sigh, she then proceeded to dust herself off a bit. Then she put on her loincloth. "Hold on... I've got a cramp in my tail" she added, taking her tail in her hands and rubbing the tip until the muscles loosened.
"I'm ready to go when you are, Marcus. Lead the way." she said, taking his claw.
-
jake, rex and Sasha had finished walking and they arrived back at the main part of the camp.
(not sure what they were doing...bad memory :()
-
Marcus took her by the claw and led her outside.. "Lets try abd find the others...they should have food with them..
-
The whole party was gathered around the center of the village, where there was some food gathered... mostly game from the surrounding forests.
Sitting cross-legged, Rhiga took a piece of the meat.
Meanwhile, Selturma sat next to Rex, leaning against his shoulder. "So Rex, when we get back to Minbenthac, do you wanna see a show? I've never been to the races, and I can't think of anyone who I'd rather see them with than you" she said to him.
-
Rex turned to Selturma "it sounds good" he said "it sounds quiet interesting actually, i've never been to one either."
-
Selturma put her left foot on Rex's lap. "Rub, please..." she whispered. Her feet were quite sore from all that walking...
As she did this, she moved her hand around to Rex's back and began to gently scratch it...
-
Rex placed both his hands over selturmas foot and he began to massage the soles of her feet.
--
"so how do we plan on getting back into the castle to rescue Adykon?" asked Jake "it's not like we can just knock on the door..."
-
Vespion answered Jake "We will have to sneak in somehow. Using force is NOT the answer to this problem. To be honest, I don't know what to do... I need to think of something..."
"In the meantime, you should relax, Jake, Vaeri said. Rex and Selturma seem to have the right idea..."
-
Jake looked over at Rex and Selturma. "and...what am i meant to do?" responded Jake in a smart-a$$ tone
-
"Find Sasha, spend some time with her... let her know that you appreciate her, Jake. We have been given a respite from our quest, we should make the best of it... if only Adykon were here, I would be enjoying myself so much" Vaeri said with a dirty smile.
-
Jake got up and walked away to find something to do. He eventually found Sasha.
"hi Jake" said Sasha.
"hi Sasha" replied Jake "what do you wanna do?"
"i don't really know..." replied Sasha "we'll go back to camp and get some suggestions"
Jake and Sasha made their way back to the main part of the camp.
-
Back at camp, Rex and Selturma were really getting into things... perhaps a little too far...
Specifically, Selturma was lying on her belly on a rock, with her loincloth and top placed to the side, while Rex massaged her back, rubbing and caressing it again and again. Her face was a mosiac of relaxation, and her soft moans filled the air.
Unbelievably, this was considered decent by the Dracons, as long as they didn't actually go any farther than this at their age...
-
Jake and Sasha arrived back at camp. and they both began asking for suggestions on what they could do since they were bored
-
"Maybe the two of you could play a game?" Vaeri suggested. "Or help each other relax a bit and enjoy some intimate time..."
Meanwhile...
The next ritual was on Adykon's plate... the senses. He had to find his way through a dark room to do... something... wait. It wasn't just dark; when he entered it, he had no senses... at ALL! Some magic prevented him from seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, or smelling... ANYTHING!
-
"what game could we play?" asked Jake
-
(OOC: Ever played twister? This has different shapes instead of colors :D )
"I've got one you two can do." Vaeri said. "My family never had much money, so we'd have to make our own games to keep entertained." She drew some shapes in the ground with her claws... triangles, circles, squares, and some parallel lines. "When told to do so, you would put your hand or foot on the correct color. The floor in my tenement has these same shapes in a room, cut there using a knife."
-
"okay" said Sasha "it sound great".
"i'm not to fussed over it..." said Jake "i'm not an acrobatic...or flexible.."
-
"Well, my boys had the same complaint... the girls loved it... I see Sasha is just as flexible as a female Dracon..." Vaeri said to Jake.
Meanwhile...
One by one, his senses returned to him. First smell came back, although Adykon wished it hadn't... the room smelled like something had just died in it... then, his hearing returned... there was a low, ominous humming. Then, his taste returned to no real effect... and Adykon's sense of feeling came back... and he felt the moist, soft ground under his feet... but when his vision returned, he nearly panicked. The "ground" was tissue... soft living tissue... soaked with some sort of clear liquid! He ran over to the center of the area, quickly read the ritual, and ran out as fast as he could.
The room was not a living place... but it was covered in living parts. The caverns were stone... this was NOT the inside of a creature's body... but there were parts attached to it, somehow. The horror was somehow in these caves, but not a part of them... :blink:
-
WE'll play TWister for a bit" SAsha said with a grin on her face.. "how do you select what positions to use?'
-
"I'll tell you two what positions to take" Vaeri told the humans. "First, you need to remove any clothes which would make you less flexible."
-
I'm good" Sasha said, doing some twisting motions
-
"Give me a moment" Jake said, as he removed his shoes and Jacket. This caught Sasha's eye...
Meanwhile...
Adykon moved on to the next ritual... the blood ritual. It was every bit as bad as it sounded. After going into the room where the ritual was to be performed, he discovered that the only way to get to the center of it was to... swim down into a pool of red blood and through a tunnel, then resurface on the other side.
-
Nice figure" Jake' SAsha giggled, as hshe saw Jake's bare back..
-
Jake was down to his pants and undergarments. Sasha, for her part, was only clad in a loincloth... it wasn't like Jake hadn't seen tiotleglas on a female's chest before... he had seen them SO often, they no longer seemed to be such a big deal anymore... although he had to admit... Sasha had a GREAT pair for someone her age... and it was the only human pair he had seen in a long time...
-
Sasha's chest moved back and forth s she moved.. she was developing nicely.. and she pretended to not notice the stares Jake was giving her..
-
"Left foot, triangle" Vaeri told them. After some position changing, they went on to right hand square... then right foot lines, then left land circle.
-
Come on jake.. strech" Sasha taunted himm slightly.."she was having no problems reaching the positions..
-
Jake had trouble reaching the positions, especially with his metal arm... "No fair, Sasha!" he told her "You don't have a metal arm... and girls are more flexible anyway!"
Meanwhile...
After finishing the disgusting blood ritual, Adykon went to clean off. He had spent only a few minutes in the shower before the Geas compelled him to return to the rituals... Asthia wanted the horror woken up, and SOON! Next up was the breath ritual... he had been distracted before... he hadn't done it... now it was time to do it...
-
Well, you at least have an arm..' Sasha replied " Now stretch it.." she moved to the next position..
-
After some time, the humans got tired of stretching out. "Looks like you two have done enough for today" Vaeri said. "I'll let you two go... I think Sasha wants something..." Vaeri could smell something coming from Sasha; something which human noses couldn't detect, but nevertheless existed...
Sasha was feeling... excited.
-
Come on Jake, Lets go.." Sasha said.."Thanks vaeri for letting us play...' She missed the point of vaeri's last comment, she could smell the scent of heat coming from the young girl..
-
Jake took Sasha's hand, only to feel her pulling him towards the woods... where no one could see them... By now, Jake could guess what she wanted to do...
-
Sashapinned him against a tree and began to kiss him.,, gently at first.. "Undress me" She whispered..her chest bouncing slighly against his.
-
She only had a loincloth, so taking it off was easy. Within a moment, she was seen in her "primal form"... and within a moment, she had pulled his pants down, leaving Jake in his undergarment...
-
Sasha quickly, kissed him again this time with her tongue. she placed her hands on Jakes chest and began moving them slowly down his chest.. she broke the kiss briefly and loked at him..
-
Jake kissed her lips, while rubbing his hands over her soft back. Having had an experience with Celina before, he was not as cautious as he should have been. Removing his last garment, he hugged onto Sasha tighter, and she returned the gesture.
-
Sasha kissed him in return, as they kissed they got closer and closer to intimacy, Sasha felt Jake reach for her chest..and she permitted him.. "yOu're good Jake.. REAL good..'She panted..
-
Jake spent some time caressing the young sorceresses soft flesh... even as his own became hard and stiff in a certain area. Soon, her desire grew greater than it had been the last time...
-
Put yourself inside me' Sasha whispered as she kissed Jake again, this timecovering his mouth with hers, and kissing him passionately. the embrace between them grew tighter and tighter..
-
Jake complied. He did so. It wasn't the smartest thing to do, but he did it. Given how things were going, he might not get another chance to do it with her...
(OOC: Will edit this out if needed!)
-
Jake thrust into her again and again. He could fell her contractions against him... and her moaning and screaming was so... uninhibited. She had picked up a lot from the Dracons in her time spent among them. Still, it brought her much pleasure, as the look on her face revealed.
-
Jake was still in her, and things were not quite done yet. He continued his "work" in her, to which she loudly moaned... he could feel her magic in her; it was reacting to this as much as the rest of her body was... it was good for her...
-
This was the second time he did it with a girl who was too young... heck, he was too young... but there was no time to complain about that now. He hugged the girl, kissed her, and rubbed his normal arm down her stomach and tiotleglas.
-
SAsha kissed him and felt his tongue enter her mout. she relaxed as he explored her chest with his hands "I think I'm in love with him..' She thought to herself..
-
Jake continued making out with her for some time. He could feel her attraction to him... not just in her love and affection, but her powers as well... she was a sorceress, and as such, he could feel her power. Since she was a female, her powers were tied to her emotions... the more emotion, the more power was used. And right now, her powers had him drawn in, for they enhanced her appeal... a certain kind of appeal...
-
Once they had finally stoped making out, sAsa Guided Jake back to a nearby unoccupied hiut, "Here, she would sleep with him, and cement the bound forged in the woods..
-
It was still light, but resting after their little romp wouldn't hurt. Jake had gathered his clothes, but was only wearing his undergarment, which could come off again when in private with Sasha... she had him under her spell, both figuratively and literally.
-
Sasha guided Jake into the hut, as soon as the door was closed behind them she dove into bed.. "Come on Jake' She smiled.. a broad grin on her face..
-
Within a few seconds, they were both in bed... it was made of straw, but was very soft... and very private... located at the edge of the village...
-
Sasha pressed her chest into jake's face. "Go on.. kiss it.. you know you want to' She said looking down at him.. "You're something special Jake, I know it..' Sasha was still in a state of bliss after thier "encounter" in the woods..
-
Jake began lightly kissing and caressing her chest... feeling her soft flesh and enjoying every moment of it... he wondered if her magic heightened her emotions... or her arousal... or whether it was the opposite way around... maybe a mix of both.
-
sasha relaxed back against the straw as he worked her over..
-
Jake took his time... kneading her soft flesh, massaging her muscles, and relieving pain, stress, and tension in general. Sasha's fragile body was constantly exposed to the elements. Even with the potion Selturma had applied to her feet, Sasha was still very much exposed to the world around her. With so few clothes to keep out heat, sand, the sun, and to cover her from stepping on stones, it was no wonder she craved the comfort that a rub-down could give.
-
(good posting, i'm also not going camping anymore.....we were only camping in the backyard to make my 8 year old brother happy...)
"would you like a rubdown?" asked Jake
-
Meanwhile...
Adykon was continuing to perform the rituals when... something was not right... he became lightheaded.. and had to lie down for a moment. His vision faded to black, and he had a sensation of falling... falling... and then, in the middle of the darkness, his fall stopped. He could sense that his body was still lying down on the cold stone floor, but his mind was... somewhere else...
The female archmage. She was at it again. A pale feminine figure appeared out of the darkness... with a staff in her hands. This time, the figure was totally white, as white as the clouds... with the body of a female dracon but no discernible features. The white light emanated from her as she was a star, but somehow, Adykon was neither blinded nor stunned by the light. He could feel it washing onto himself... it felt... warm, but not just in the sense of heat; he could feel warmth down in his soul, as if he was in the presence of true love and compassion, although he knew this was just a vision.
"Take this" she urged, as she handed him a wooden staff that she had conjured up. Adykon took the staff, and no sooner than he had done so, the figure began to glow less brightly.
"Are you okay?" he queried. "Should I give the staff back? You seem to be weaker without it!"
"No... you need it more than I do... it cost me... much pain to contact you here... even more pain to give you my staff... it will return to me when your use for it is done... just know that you will only be able to use it once... I could not give it any more magic than that, not in this place. Now go, use it when the time is right..." the female replied.
"But how will I know when to use it?" the warrior asked.
"It will be made clear to you. This gift of mine is not guaranteed to work, nor is it enough to stop Asthia by itself... but... it is all I can give you... now go!" And with that, the mental realm Adykon had been spirited to faded to black, and he could feel the sensation of himself rising... rising... rising... and then, he woke up! As his eyes snapped open, he felt something in his hands... the staff! Was it real? Was he still dreaming? No... it was real alright... but what if Asthia saw it? How would he hide it? More importantly, what could he do with it? The second question was swiftly answered, for as soon as Adykon had wished the staff to be hidden, it rapidly changed shape to form a wooden greave, which fit perfectly onto Adykon's right leg.
Not quite sure what to make of this, Adykon hid the wooden staff-turned-greave under his pant leg, and proceeded on to the next ritual...
-
Definitely" Sasha said, turning and baring her back to Jake.."TRy and be gentle please" she said
-
(OOC: I'll control Jake until Metadude gets back)
Jake gently rubbed her back, using his human hand for most of the massaging... Sasha had a lot of tension built up, and he could feel knot after knot loosening under his touch... this was beneficial to her too, as her magic would now flow more efficiently through a looser, more relaxed body.
-
Adykon completed the rituals, save for the very last one. The horror beneath the tower was all but awake... even now, power could be felt coursing through the very stones of the cave... a dark, draining, consuming, engulfing energy that would easily absorb the very life force from this valley as a sponge absorbs water.
And now, it had come to this... the heart ritual. The very last one. Adykon went over to the central cave of the caverns... and awaiting him were Asthia and Arcantas...
"Let us begin Adykon. First, you must climb up to the stone platform in the center of the room. I will stand on the right one, Arcantas on the left."
"Let's just get this over with!" Arcantas shouted.
"I do believe you are jealous. Is it that I, a female, triumph, where you, a male, had failed? Or is it a more personal failure... that you failed to unleash a similar being so long ago... but you were stopped... killed at the hands of Adykon?"
"I wish to see nothing more than your triumph, Asthia. A victory for you is a victory for the dark master..." the vampiric male told the female.
The stone platforms were raised out of the side of the wall, requiring that Adykon climb up; Asthia and Arcantas used levitation spells to rise up on two other stone platforms. By the time they were all up there, the three of them were over 20 meters in the air... quite a drop.
"Now Adykon, recite the final ritual!" Asthia commanded him, a gleam in her eyes...
Adykon took out the parchment on which the ritual was written and began to chant:
"Oh great horror, We summon thee!"
"Oh, Shadows of Darkness, enter the land of the living!"
"Oh, Master of the eternal night, return to your own body, and live again!"
And, with great pain, completing the terms of his geas, Adykon recited the final line...
"Oh great horror We summon thee!"
And with that, the whole cave complex began to shake, and the parchment flew into Asthia's hands. Her energy continued to flow into the horror, enabling the spell to continue. Arcantas's power was also being used for this purpose; the spell was complete, but it was taking time for the effect to manifest...
"Yes, ah ha ha ha! Yes! The spell is completed, and the horror awakens!" Asthia shouted, triumpantly.
Just then, Arcantas launched a fireball at Adykon, knocking him down, making him dangle off of the side of the platform!
"No!! How dare you ?!" Asthia yelled at Arcantas, launching a bolt of magic from her hands at him. The bolt hit him, but as it did, it also shattered the bonds of her control over him!
"Ah, you have just shattered the bonds which bound me! Now we shall see who is the true archmage!" Arcantas shouted back.
A brief duel commenced. While each side was powerful indeed, Asthia's magic was beating that of Arcantas's; her vampiric form was more refined than his, and she had more experience casting spells in an undead body.
"I am still a far greater Master of Magic than you. I am a far more powerful Vampire than you. Do you really think your spells can harm me? Ha ha ha ha ha! Guess again..." Asthia boasted.
"But my dear Asthia, I do not need to cast spells at you to destroy you. I intend only to destroy my enemy, the one you seem so fond of. Care to watch him die?"
"No! I will not let him die!" Asthia screamed. Panicked, she teleported between Arcantas and Adykon, as the former cast as spell which conjured a Dragon's head. The spell alone was countered by Asthia easily enough, but, as his research had shown, Arcantas's spell attracted the horror. From out of the cave, several black tendrils emerged, and wrapped around Asthia! Now that the horror was being released, they were far more powerful than the ones which had drained Rhiga; they were able to absorb Asthia's ENTIRE life force, magical energy, and her physical body... which they did.
Asthia had been destroyed.
"The fool! I knew that the horror would be attracted by that spell. Now Asthia will have all the Darkness she so desired, and much, much more." Arcantas said, now free from her control forever. The first part of my vengeance is complete. Now I can enjoy watching you die slowly... and painfully.
"Damn you, Arcantas! I swear, I killed you once, now I'm gonna ki-" but before Adykon could complete that thought, Arcantas blasted the stone Adykon was standing on. Adykon had gotten up during the magical duel, and was no longer dangling off of the side, but the stone upon which he stood was being blasted away...
"There's no place you can run, and no place for you to hide. Soon there won't even be a place to stand upon. Getting worried, Adykon?"
"Not a bit !" Adykon pulled out the greave from his leg, and it quickly reshaped itself into a staff... the staff the archmage had given him!
"Ha ha hah! This is rich! A warrior with a magical staff that has almost no charge in it. Go ahead, take your one shot, which I will easily deflect, and then, I will send YOU falling to your death!"
Adykon aimed the staff at Arcantas, and focused on making it fire an energy bolt at him, but instead, he felt a compulsion to throw the staff instead, which he did. As it raced through the air, and in a split second, the staff reshaped itself into a spear which went right through Arcantas's heart, destroying HIM as well!
The staff rose under its own power from the corpse of the vampire, and deposited itself back in Adykon's hands. A voice emanated from the brown wooden item, that of the archmage.
"You have done well, Adykon. This day, you have freed the valley from unspeakable evil. Without the power of either Asthia or Arcantas to complete the spell, the horror will remain trapped in its own dimension. To prevent it from being released, burn the parchment with the rituals so that no one may even use them again. Without Asthia, the soldiers here will automatically revert to the direct command of the dark master... they will leave before long, and then, there will be nothing to stop the shamans of this valley from coming together and casting the purification ritual needed to remove the horror from this land for good!"
Adykon paused for a moment...not quite sure what to say. Then, he spoke.
"I could never have done it without your help... but... that seemed too easy. Two archmages dead, a horror stopped, and the valley saved in all of five minutes... it
can't be that simple..."
"And it isn't." The female voice told Adykon, continuing. "Evil has a way of sowing the seeds of its destruction. Asthia and Arcantas were fighting on the same side, for the same thing, under the command of the same master... and yet, they could only destroy each other. That is the way of evil; each one under its influence thinks only of himself, even when doing things for others. Arcantas was driven by his hatred of you to the detriment of his mission, and his hatred of Asthia was a liability that the dark master should never have overlooked."
"It is perhaps ironic that it was not Asthia's hatred that brought about her death... it was not true love that caused her to come between Arcantas and you, but it was her female instincts. She felt close to you in body, but not in soul; even her being a vampire could not prevent her from feeling attraction, but in the end, she was unable to realize that true love needs free will; compulsion is contrary to love, it must be arrived at by choice and one's own heart. By putting you in a clearly dangerous situation and yet still retaining her... attraction... Asthia set herself up for trouble. I wouldn't be surprised if she half-expected you to be in mortal danger... she must have thought that her magical powers would be enough to fix ANY problem... her mistake."
"Even though they could capture you, those archmages couldn't overcome their own evil, and in the end, it destroyed them." the voice finished.
-
meanwhile, Minna and ilsa were planning to sneak into the castle to rescue andykon, unaware that that was no longer needed..
-
Adykon took the staff with him and ran from the tower. All of the guards were in a panic. They had felt Asthia die, for they too had geases placed in them... spells which dated from their youth! Now that they no longer had to obey Asthia or the dark master, they made no effort to stop the fleeing mercenary. The kobold servants fled the tower as well; with no vampiress or guards, there would be no one left to protect them from the angry dracon tribes.
Making sure he still had the amulet with him, Adykon ran back through the woods. After a few hours, he was within sight of the tribal village he had once been to with the party. He was surprised that they were still there; he had caught Vaeri's scent.
Meanwhile...
Dememoras the Great, also known as the Dark Master, viewed the loss of his subordinates with rage. While he had legions to spare, and many more like Asthia and Arcantas, their loss prompted him to take matters into his own hands. He would not risk an appearance in person in the prime material plane... not in the open anyway... his dimension served as a means of hiding himself. If he was discovered, all of the Dracon magical and religious institutions would oppose him, save for a few groups on his side. He did not want that. Not yet.
Instead, Dememoras cast a spell, creating an Avatar of himself; a creature with an appearance akin to his own, but not identical. Imbued with a fraction of his power, the avatar was still more than twice as powerful as Asthia and Arcantas combined. It's mission was simple; break Adykon's spirit. He did NOT want the mercenary to die... not yet. There was still a chance to convert him... just as his plan to win over Eriol was underway...
The avatar stood at over 2.5 meters tall. Like it's master, it was not fully Dracon, but had the appearance of one in many ways. Black scales, long black horns, red eyes, white fangs, and a long tail. It stood and walked like a Dracon, and had a deep, impossibly rough voice which sounded like rocks banging together. This was a derivation of Dememoras's appearance; it was not what he actually looked like.
Casting another awesome spell, Dememoras ripped open a hole in the fabric of reality, and sent the avatar out through it. It emerged in the village, right in front of Adykon and the party!
-
What in blazes is that? Marcus asked, startled by the avatar's appearance..
-
The party was stunned. All of them were there. Adykon, Jake, Rex, Sasha, Eriol, Minna, Isla, Marcus, Arianne, the Fauxen, Vaeri, Vespion, and Rhiga.
"Dememoras sends you his regards, Adykon. You know him as the Dark master. He sent me here to greet you personally. That was quite a feat you pulled off in that tower. You are strong, strong indeed." The avatar spoke. "Unfortunately, your strength is misplaced. You see, it is nature's will that the powerful should crush the weak, and that the adaptable defeat the stagnant. You are strong, but it remains to be seen how adaptable you are. Since you have chosen to play the role of hero, you will learn what price heroes PAY!!"
And with that, the Avatar, unleash a stream of pure arcane power, arcing wildly through the air! It's trajectory seemed like it had no aim, but within a split second, it had hit it's mark! Vaeri!
The dancer had no time to dodge, move, or even think. The bolt hit her with enough magical energy to fry a horse. She fell over, dead. No last words. And with that, the Avatar of Dememoras disappeared in a puff of black smoke without a trace.
There was a stunned silence for a whole minute afterwards. No one could believe what had happened. Vaeri's corpse lay where it had fallen. This was real. This was permanent. Vespion's magic could not revive the dead, and even if they could get her to be revived, they would have to have it done at a temple, and the amulet Adykon had could not bring back a dead body to Minbenthac. Vaeri would have to be laid to rest here.
The first one to react was Rhiga, who ran over to her dead mother...
-
marcus was next to react and he knelled next to rhiha.. he was slowly grasping what had happened.. and he was filled with immense sorrow. ' i'm so sorry. my love' he whispered, holding rhiga..who was beside herself with grief..
-
Rhiga was racked with grief. Tears flowed out of her eyes like a salty river. Adykon, for his part, staggered over to Vaeri's corpse and was only able to kneel down, and stoke it gently, as if she were only sleeping.
Within a few minutes, his sadness turned to RAGE! Now, stopping Dememorus wasn't just an issue of saving the world, or even of justice. For Adykon, it was personal.
-
Arianne couldn't believe what happened, just for the shock of what happened she knelt in the floor in total disbelief. - "No, she w-was my friend... w-hy this happened?." - Tears began flowing on the female Panther's eyes.
Eriol's face didn't show much emotion since he has seen death far too often. He just knelt next to his wife, near Vaeri and made a prayer. After that, he said. - "No doubts the Dark Master has plans for you Adykon, so he must be stopped before he tries something else." - he then tried to comfort Arianne.
-
About an hour later, the party had prepared a grave for Vaeri. They removed her meager clothing and lay her corpse on the side of the grave. Each member of the party came to pay his or her last respects. Selturma was almost as affected by this as was Rhiga. The poor girl had come to regard Vaeri as a godmother of sorts. Now, she would never talk to her, dancer with her, smile with her, laugh with her, and learn anything from her again.
-
'now we lay to rest Vaeri, a mother, mate to be, and dear friend.. we will never forget her..; Ilsa said, and she choked back tears.. minna steppe forward.. 'we will not let her death go unpunished.. she was about to see her daughter married.. to a good dRacon.. and all the good things she had the right to expect from the future.. have been taken away from her.. now she goes to the gods.. may they protect her always.. rhiga' she paused and looked at the crestfallen dracon, who had just lost her mother.. ' whatever you need, i will get it for you.."
-
Rhiga sobbed. "I never got a chance to tell her that I'm pregnant... And my siblings! What will become of them?! They'll never see mother again! My sisters... they can't make it without mother, they CAN'T! And my brothers... they probably don't care..." Rhiga was getting mad... "They are probably happy that mom is gone, and by the time they find out she's dead, they'll be off getting other females pregnant and going drinking until the sun rises!"
Rhiga's brothers were mostly adults. The few younger males were all apprenticed to artisans. Vaeri's death cut off the most vulnerable members of her family...
-
We'll take care of them my love.."Marcus said foirmly.. 'as many as want to come with us and live with us.."
-"If you need money Rhiga, name the amount, and its yours' Minna said.."within reason" she clarified..
-
Adykon was hurt by Vaeri's death in more than one way. He had not intended to marry her, but now... he wishes that he did. He was not just angry at Dememorus, he was angry at himself. Would this have happened if he had married her like he said he would? Would ANY of this have happened? Was it supposed to? No... but... it happened. How they dealt with it was what mattered now.
A bit of water was sprinkled onto Vaeri's body, still looking fresh and decomposed. Her beauty would never again grace a stage... not that any Dracons really cared... her best features were present in countless other females, and her pattern of living had been unremarkable. Still, she had shown true love to at least one male, and was able to curve her ways for him. That alone was more than could be said of most poor females...
Vaeri's body was placed in the grave, and a stone was placed at it's head, awaiting the application of magic to quickly make it into a proper burial place.
-
isla cried silently, she like the others had grown fond of vaeri..who hhad taught her many things about being a female.. 'you were like a godmother to me vaeri' ilsa said through her tears.. 'niow rest.. you've earned it.. with a gesture she closed the ground above vaeri's grave..with another gesture a gravestone appeared at the head of the grave on it was vaeri's name and the words, mother, lover, friend.. you will be missed..' the dates of her birth and death would be added later..but for now the simple gravestone would suffice..
-
Adykon took out the staff, and, hoping against hope, tried to make it do something to bring Vaeri back. No luck. It's magic was no good now. Adykon placed the staff into the ground in front of the grave. If nothing else, Vaeri would finally have a valuable item to her name...
Now it was time for the party to depart. The chief had assured Adykon that his people would take over the tower and use it as a fortress to protect the valley, and that in a week, there would be shamans from other tribes gathering to seal off the darkness forever...
-
Minna bid goodbye to Toby, who was sitting on the top of the Chieftain's hut.. " Goodbye Toby.. protect this village..' she said to him.. 'don't forget your mother.."
-
Akito sat, stunned, on a roof of one of the huts, holding his swords.
"Am I...so powerless that I can't even save one life?"
He said, crying, even though no tears fell...
The other Fauxen were all reacting similarly, although Touga had taken it the worst. He had locked himself into a hut with magic, refusing all but drink as he sat there.
As Minna spoke to Toby, a quiet voice spoke up.
"Indeed. Grow strong Toby. Grow up so that this doesn't have to happen again."
Kuja stepped out from a shadow portal, tears apparent on his face. Akio stepped out and stood next to him, looking ashamedly at the ground...
-
the magic was stronger than anything i've ever seen" ilsa said 'Our magic would helped nothing even had we sent to spell to protect her.. there was nothing we could have done against a more powerful foe..'
-
"Somehow..." - Eriol said - "... we all need to grow stronger from this, the Dark Master is an enemy with powers far too great, so we need to find a way to be great too."
Arianne was silent, she still in a big pain even though she knew Vaeri for only a very short ammount of time, but they did become friends. But she no longer shed tears, because she knows she must be strong too.
-
Akito stared into the dark black surface of his master's sword. A surface blackened, some said, by the fires of hell itself.
"I swear...Vaeri...I won't let your death be in vain..."
As he said this, he drew the blade across his palm, cutting a deep gash.
"I swear by this wound...I will never hesitate, never falter again! I will not ever run again! And I swear to your memories, that I will not fail ever again!"
He said defiantly, standing up and raising the bloodied sword to the sky...
-
The party slowly gathered. The valley was saved, but not all was well. Vaeri was dead. Gerasia was still a vampire. Toby's mother was also killed. Many warriors of the tribes had fallen. Even though the horror would be sent away for good, the damage had been done. It would take many years of peace and growth for the lands to restore themselves to their previous state, and even longer before Asthia's tyranny was nothing more than a dark legend of the past, and the heroes who came to stop her and save the valley became the stuff of myth...
-
' we will repay those will took Vaeri from us' Ilsa said. In her sadness, the revelation that Rhiga was pregnant had barely registered..
-
"Wait... Rhiga, are you pregnant?!" Adykon asked, more than slightly surprised. It was yet another surprise in a day full of shocks and surprises... what else would happen?
Now that Adykon had said it, the whole party wanted to hear...
"Yes, it is true. Marcus got me pregnant. I'll lay the egg and raise the child. We'll be married long before our child hatches."
-
"Congratulations!' Minna glowed.. "do you know whether ots a boy or girl..?'
_
When we get back to Mithelbec, Rhiga, I'm going to take you shpping for your house, and your little one.. its the kleast I can do for you after all you've been through..' isla said..
_ Marcus grinned broadly.. " Yes this is my first child.. and I'm tickled pink about it" He said.. 'the gods have sent me a wonderful mate.. who will be a great mother.."
-
After some more congratulating, it was finally time to leave. The party gathered in a circle, as Adykon readied his amulet.
"Alright everyone. The amulet has enough energy to teleport us all one time. It is preset to take us back to Minbenthac. Are we all ready?"
Once everyone gave their assent, Adykon activated the amulet. The party was engulfed in blue light, and then... they vanished in a bust of white light...
Arriving in a big city, the party appeared in a flash of white light... but, something was... different. The buildings were gray and many were empty. The streets were cold and dark, and everyone around them looked very, very poor... to top it off, there was a statue in the center of an inoperative fountain... a statue of the prince of Hekaga...
"I don't think we're in Minbenthac anymore" Rhiga said.
-
no, this is dedefinitely not mithelbec.. you must have done something wrong Adkyon' Ilsa said , a big frown on her face " This looks like Hekaga.." She said, and mInna shivered " the reputation of Hekaga king was poor, to say the least.. Hekaga was not a place that welcomed travelers..
-
Hekaga was a city which exported textiles, food, and magical and religious items. It welcomed merchants to buy and sell, but only in limited areas of the city. On the whole, it was an oppressive, dreary place. The rich lived in incredible luxury, and had more servants than any other nobility in the Dracon lands... but they also had more poverty.
The poor, for their part, had to do all they could not to starve. When they had spare money and time, they would spend it trying to distract themselves from their miserable existence.
-
So where do we go? Marcus asked Rhiga , wwho looked pale.. " have any of you been in Hekaga before/ "Only a couple of times minna said "it was.. a decidedly unpleasant experience.. hekaga is not my favorite place to be.."
-
"I grew up here" Rhiga said, clearly afraid. "I-I'm not supposed to be here... the prince of Hekaga has it out for me... the last time I saw him, it was under Asthia's tower... he works for her. If he knows I'm here... I'm dead."
-
then we need to get you out of here.." Marcus said.. looking around, at the far end of the street there was a small inn.. 'we'll rent rooms there and think of sa way to get out of here.."
_
"Yes that is best for all of us..we don't want any others getting hurt.."ilsa said.. are there wanted posters with your name and face on them Rhiga?"
-
"There are no such posters" Rhiga said. That practice was rare among the Dracons... "We should get indoors, though. Much safer that way, especially at night."
The party went to the inn, and opened the door, only to discover that the inn structure on the surface had a large underground component to it as well... a tunnel that led to a much larger structure... a HUGE inn!
-
marcus ilsa and minna walked along the tunnel until they reaced the front desk. the room wa very crowded and had the smell of seediness. 'excuse me?' Miinna said to the dracon standing on the front counter. ' my partty would like to check in..
-
"How many do you have?" The large, green bartender asked. He looked over at the party and saw a large number of Dracons, Fauxen, and a couple of humans and bipedal panthers.
Adykon spoke, pointing to each party member "There's myself, Rhiga, Marcus, Isla, Minna, Jake, Rex, Sasha, Selturma, Vespion, Eriol, Arianne, those Fauxen, and Vaer... sigh... just us." He said, sadly.
-
' Minna pulled out her purse and put down several large coins.. "These should cover the rooms.." She said with a smile to the bartender
-
"Rooms? Silly girl? We're all booked. We always are by noon. All we have left is the common room." the bartender said.
"Where is that?" Rhiga asked.
"You're standing in it." came the reply.
-
oh wow..' marcus said as he looked over at the surrounding room, which was filled with Dracons although in a naerby corner threre was a small pile of grasc which served as a bed..
-
"There are cushions and beds which are brought out at night" the bartender said, counting the money and giving the change to Minna. "It is crowded, but cozy..."
Already there were dracons lying down and getting ready for bed... or what passed for bed. The inn's wooden floors were covered in an odd assortment of proper beds, straw beds, cots, pillows, cushions, blankets, and far too many Dracons for the limited space. To make matters more awkward, female Dracons slept without anything on... :blink:
-
Well THis is going to be an awkward night' Marcus said.. "We'll try and stick as close together as we can..' in a cornber there were an assortment of unused beds,.. But the group would be spread out.. Minna went over and loked at the bed.. it was small, but loking around at nearby beds, there were 3-4 dracons in each of them, male and female alike.. overcrowding had forced many into the same bed, otherwise there was not enough room. mnna saw several females sharing one bed.. this gave her an uneasy feeling.. "We're going to have to sghare the same bed, iT appears Ilsa said to her.. "just stay on your side.." Minna nodded..
-
It took a while, but the party eventually found some places to sleep.
Rhiga climbed into a bed with Marcus. They were able to share it, just the two of them. They were lucky to have found such a bed. Rhiga took off her loincloth, the only thing she wore, and put it under the pillow. She was afraid it would get stolen. Lying down on the bed, she spoke to Marcus...
"I had never hoped to return here... to this dreadful city. Marcus, do you know why this inn is so crowded? It is the only one allowed in this neighborhood. Years ago, there were major riots here, and the organizers would use the inns to coordinate their activities. After putting the rioters down, the other inns were razed, and this one was allowed to stay open, under closer supervision..."
Rhiga yawned. She needed to rest.
-
minna noticed the bevy of nude females.. and she gazed at them with a strange ook on her face.. "Minna!" Ilsa whispered . ' knock it off! Its creepy.."
_ I.. I can't help it.." minna replied "I'm sorry Ilsa.. "This city is the most strict of all the major dracon cities.. females are restricted in everything they do.. even more so than in other cities.. my father told me all about it.." ilsa said.. "The sooner we get out of here the better.. you're not well minna..'
_ Ilsa paused..
Marcus frowned.. " So thats why there are so many in here, its the only place they can stay..' he moved closer to rhiga, gazing at her form, which was now so familiar to him, her scent, her soft belly, whic now contained a developing child, her brests which hung from her body and which he had caressed so often in the past few days..marcus leaned in and kissed her on the lips. 'we've been trough a lot, the oth of us.. but we need to get out of this city as soon as possible..
-
"I know..." Rhiga said. "We are all at risk here... you, me, the baby... I love you so much..."
Selturma was fast asleep on a cushion next to Rex. He had given her the soft items to rest on, while he took the floor and a blanket.
Vespion rested on a bed with two females in it. They had fallen asleep before he got there, and frankly, given the overcrowded circumstances, they didn't really care...
-
Marcus Took Rhiga in his arms and held her close to him, and settled back against the pillow.. "We'll be married as soon as we get back to mithelbec.."
_ Ilsa settlee in the bed, minna next to her. ' we need some way to fix what is wrong with you Minna.. you're starting to really worry me.. i can pass what happened on our journey to get the heartwood off as you eating all that nectar..it did soomething to you..' minna nodded silently.. 'good night ilsa' She said. Good night..' Ilsa said, as she did mInna leaned in and the two gitrls gently nuzled each other . Minna quicjkly moved away the temptation to kiss ilsa was strong, but she managed to resist.. ilsa gave her look that told her ' this is as close as i'm willing to go'. minna settled into bed and soon fell asleep. ilsa soon followed..
-
Hours later, the sun began to rise over Hekaga... slowly and reluctantly, the Dracons began to rise. It seemed that the dragon's desire for extended periods of sleep had some impact on the dracons as well, especially the females, who loved to rest...
Regardless, the crowds began to wake and get up. Many of the females did their stretches, some took a minute or two to rub a sore limb, and most still looked tired. Some early guests began entering the inn... including a few females whose feathers and colorful paint on their skin clearly marked them as dancers.
By the time Rhiga rose, Adykon and Vespion were already up. Selturma woke a bit later, put on her clothes, and did some stretches, closing her eyes as she extended each sore limb. That was the worst night's sleep she probably ever had...
-
Marcus woke son after Rhiga, Ilsa woke up a few minurtes later. each of her limbs felt like they had been slept on. Minna woke on the edge of the bed.. her sleep had been just as bad, in fact she had had a nightmare..in which she and ilsa had been found making love and had been sentenced to death..as the executors axe swung down on her head minna awoke in a cold sweat.. and fell off the bed.. onto the cold floor. she shook her body and reached under her pilow for her belongings.she dressed in a hurry.. "That dream can;t have been natural.." she thought, remembering back in when she was training, when she ws learning about curses, that dreams can often reveal the true state of the body..
-
The females in the inn got up, but to Vespion's surprise... most of them still had no clothing. At all. Even for the Dracons, this was simply not typical... something was wrong here...
"Adykon, do you see-?"
"Yes, Vespion, I see it too. How... odd."
After Adykon asked the bartender why this was so, he replied that many of the females here were dancers, servants... and slaves for the rich. It was common for one rich male to have dozens of females on his staff, and for him to... take liberties with them that ought not be taken in public... but he assured Adykon that it was not forcible.
"But... aren't they supposed to WEAR something?!" Adykon said, surprised. "What about modesty?"
"That is considered an impediment to their jobs" the bartender said, matter-of-fact. It was as if nothing was wrong. "They are valued for their appearances and their duties, not who they are. If they ever complain or get hurt, they can be replaced, same way you would replace a broken tool."
"Aren't they tired of being treated like objects?" Adykon queried, not quite believing what he was hearing. "They... have rights too!"
"Not since the king's great-grandfather was in charge" the bartender said.
Vespion was stunned as well. The social structure of the city had been warped to the specifications of some... sick fantasy on the part of the elites. By all means, it should not be like this...
-
at least he doesn't force the girls into.. inaropriate situations.."mArcus said.. Truth be told that was about the only thing the elite didn't do.."
-
Adykon realized that Hekaga was seriously unjust. The mercenary admitted to liking dancers and drunken females a bit too much... but even he wouldn't contemplate this socials setup. He had to admit though, if he were an elite in this society, he's probably enjoy it very much... dark thoughts indeed... and he knew it.
Something was wrong with Dracon society, and not just Hekaga. For the first time, the archmage's words began to really sink in. The way they set things up was not good... the desires and whims of a few were being allowed to oppress the many. Some of them went along with it because they liked it... more went along with it because they hoped to be an elite themselves one day... but most went along with it because they had no other choice, forced into it by social mores, economic forces, and sheer strength of arms.
-
Its horrible' Ilsa said to him.. "But theres nothing Minna or i can do, we're noble females, so while we ae rich, we have no real power to change it.. We've thought avbout trying it, but soon realized it was hopeless.. we'd fail miserably, and loese everything..
-
Adykon turned to Minna and Isla. He spoke to them:
"Girls, I know what it is like to not have any real position in society. I may be male, but I grew up poor... very poor. I had enough to eat, but that was about it. I was a goat-herder who worked on marginal land. I was drafted into the military, and after leaving it, became a mercenary. I still remember my childhood days... when I was prohibited from wearing anything more than a loincloth, and then some pants when I got a little older. I know what it is like to have been exposed like that."
"Now, I'll admit that males are more visual than females on certain issues, but that is just biology; the signs of a fertile females are more visible than those of a potent male. No one objectified me for what I looked like... no... I take that back" he said with a smile... "some females did, but none of them were in a position to do anything to me... and none of them could actually treat me like I was nothing more than an object for seeing and for... reproduction."
"I remember wanting to grow up every day of my youth... when I got my first pair of pants, it was a very happy day. I knew I was moving up in the world. And when I could wear a full suit of clothing, I was even happier. Same thing when I learned how to wield a sword and wear armor. Now that I have these things, I cannot imagine losing them... I cannot imagine going back to a weaker position... it would be as if I was emasculated... to think of anyone in that position in society... I could not wish it on anyone, and yet... I cannot wish it away from the females; I don't know why. Part of me sees females as nothing more than a body... perhaps that was ingrained in me... recent events have caused me to... question this view. For the first time in my life... I wish that the females had more clothes on, not less."
-
so you've come to see how we see it. we have wealth, but little power. we can but whatever we wish, we have servants, a fine place to live, but at the same time we are prisoners.. we have no ability to own property or land, we are expected to bear several children to our husbands and tolerate other wives as well.. and our mates are not expected to care much for us.. we are thier prperty' Minna said bitterly..
-
Adykon looked around. For the first time in his life, he felt some pity for the females. He finally put himself in their situation. How would he like it? Looking around the room, he saw various females get pushed around by males when lining up for food at the inn's tables, and he even saw one get slapped because of something she said.
And it was more than that... while the female's had a stronger set of... urges... they still didn't appreciate being touched in certain places, least of all by a stranger. They were expected to tolerate being grabbed in certain areas... although it was also acceptable for them to get mad if the male was too aggressive... Adykon was not innocent of this himself, but now that he saw various... touchings and the effect they had, he would not do that again...
It was a start.
-
Arianne slowly woke up, even though the Panthers were able to get some cushions and blankets to sleep, it was the over crowding and the limited space what made her to not sleep very well. She sat up and saw her husband next to her - "Eriol dear, how did you sleep?" - she asked while stretching.
"I did not sleep. I used the time to think." - Eriol replied with a smile, even though he did not sleep, he doesn't look tired, and there is something else on his mind besides of all the latest events: He is sensing less and less pheromones coming from Arianne.
Arianne looked at him - "You should at least tried to get some sleep." - She said but she also knows about Eriol's life before they met and married, so one sleepless night for him is not much of a deal. She used the blanket to entirely cover herself and then she emerged again, she changed her sleeping clothing for her "normal" clothing she has been using since she got to Dracon Lands. Eriol looked at her and both Gaean Panthers got up and began looking for the others.
-
Akito looked around at the crowded room, and shook his head.
"This is such an unjust way of living..."
He said almost silently.
Touga and Miki both looked around, unsure of how to act. Not being familiar with Dracon society, they both were acutely nervous...
Juri and Utena were having their own problems, repeatedly being groped by the various males, but unable to do anything about it without causing a scene. Utena looked ashamed, while Juri seemed to be restraining a deep anger.
Ruka had grabbed Akito's arm shyly, trying to avoid making eye contact with anyone.
"A-Akito...I don't like it here..."
He whimpered, afraid...
Kyuichi, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying the spectacle. He would make passes at the women, and was behaving quite like the typical Dracon male.
Akio, quite used to this, but still extremely against it, wove through the crowd, occasionally stopping a male who was behaving worse than the others. Kuja was close behind, occasionally stopping to share a kind word to a female, or a sharp rebuke to a particularly lecherous male...
-
As more Dracons began waking up and to move around the place, Arianne placed herself behind Eriol firmly grabbing from his right arm. - "Eriol, this place is even more creepier now that it was last night." - she has indeed getting a mixture of sadness and even some fright.
"This place, I have seen similar before, but in the 'Dark World' of our lands." - The "Dark World" is a way Gaeans name to black market and other similar situations and places, where overcrowding with the worst way of living is more common than most people would want to believe.
Getting nearer the central table, Eriol was watchful of everybody's movements, but avoiding to look menacing. But at that time, a male Dracon was walking near Arianne and pushed her as he just saw her as another female. Eriol's response was not delayed as he grabbed one of his swords with his free left hand and with a swing aimed at the Dracon's throat, stopping just a centimeter away from it thanks to Arianne's yelling. - "Stop!."
The sight of having a blade so near his neck and by watching Eriol's glare of deep yellow eyes made the Dracon give a couple of steps back and to quickly vanish between the crowd.
"He will not bother you again." - Eriol said to Arianne as he stored his sword back to it's sheath. After some more seconds, they reched the central table and they found the others.
-
Jake was still sleeping, for the night he had removed his jacket, shirt and boots so he could sleep a bit better and so he didn't sweat while he was sleeping.
-
This place was truly among the worst the Dracon lands had to offer... even the tribal areas were more civilized than this hole. How could any ruler let his own people sink to this level was... disturbing.
-
"Lets get out of here' Marcus said to the others.. 'hey! Thats my mate!' he called out loudly to ward off a make dracon who was giving Rhiga a leecherous stare..
_
Now you are starting to understand where we are coming from" Ilsa said to him.." Walk in the others clothes' as the old female saying goes.."
-
To be fair, the females were being just as lecherous as the males... if not more so... but then again, the males were being pushy and forceful too. The fact that many of the females were enslaved didn't help much either. Because they were EXPECTED to be treated like objects, that's how they were treated...
-
'lets get out of here ' Sasha said I'm not comfortable here.. " She wasn't the only one either..
-
The party quickly gathered its possessions and left the inn... and not a moment too soon; they needed to find a way out of the city and get back to Minbenthac. Marcus and Rhiga still had to marry, Jake and the older younglings had to get home, and Adykon needed a place to plan how to stop Dememoras.
-
Akito walked over to Adykon.
"You're planning to go after the Dark One, right?"
He asked calmly...
Akio and Kuja walked beside the others, quietly thinking of their next move...
-
"I have to, Akito. Dememoras killed Vaeri... and he threatens everything I know. If he manages to become emperor, nowhere will be safe from him. I don't know what he is planning to do, or what powers he seeks to unleash... but we've stopped his plans twice before... we will have to stop him for good" replied the mercenary.
This was starting to get difficult... first, it was an evil mage... then a kidnapping... then a vampire... now, they were in a distant, hostile city. When would things get better? At least Adykon had the name "Dememoras." When he retured to Minbenthac, he would mention the name to the priests, the mages, the government, anyone and everyone who could be told... hopefully they'd be able to do something with that knowledge.
-
Akito nodded.
"I thought as much. I will fight alongside you, then."
He said bravely...
Kuja and Akio stepped up to the two.
"We're afraid we can't let you do that..."
Kuja said calmly...
-
"What?! What are you talking about?" Adykon asked the two Fauxen. The Dracon thought: "Please don't tell me you are possessed by magic like Jake was, or are planning on turning on us like that snake Arcantas did!"
Vespion prepared a spell to detect hostile magics in the Fauxen, as Selturma backed off from Kuja and Akio, and towards Akito.
-
The duo laughed a little.
"Hardly. What Kuja meant to say is that we're not going to let you go alone. He's powerful, and you're going to need all the help you can get."
Akio said quickly...
-
"Oh. That's quite an improvement, then!" Adykon said with a smile and a laugh, :lol
"Thank you for the help. You are right, of course... it will be a dangerous undertaking. Do you and the Fauxen think you have all of the weapons, armor, and clothing you need?"
-
Eriol and Arianne also approached to where Adykon is, and after both Panthers nodded to each other, then he said. - "Adykon, I must admit that our plans were to help rescue Rhiga before returning home. But now, after what happened, we want to stay here and help you defeat Dememoras. So, you can count with us!." - Eriol and Arianne's look showed much decision.
"We do want to see how all of this will end. We'll do it to prevent Dememoras from causing even more harm." - Arianne added.
-
"I thank all of you." Adykon gratefully told the rest of the party. "None of you are under any compulsion to be here, so from here on in, we are in this as comrades and brothers-in-arms, not just as a group of self-interested adventurers. I'll admit that times haven't been easy on us... they still aren't. No matter what we do, the situation keeps getting more and more out of control. So... thank you for all being here with me. I know what course I have to take, even if... even if it means that I too must die."
Adykon's words reflected a grim resolve. He knew what was at stake. It was much larger then himself... or any of them.
-
"So what's the plan now?" asked Jake as he continued walking with the others
-
First, we find as many of Rhiga's siblings, and bring them with us.." Marcus said.. 'they'll starve otherwise..'
-
You're not going after the Dark Master alone'Ilsa said to Adykon. " I'll coming with you.
-
As am I" minna chimed in..
-
(OOC: Edit that post, metadude. It is out of order. I'm ignoring it until it is changed.)
Hekaga was an unjust city by any standards, even Dracon ones. Pleas for morality, equality, liberty, justice, and mercy all fell on deaf ears in this place. Power was what mattered and little else.
The name "Hekaga" was Draconic for "temple place"; Known for its many temples, its great tower, and its great mausoleum, and its legendary founding. Hekaga was founded by a tremendously powerful red dragon, who ruled over the region in which the present city is in and extorted a great amount of cash from its inhabitants. After his death, his many children began fighting each other over control of the city. Each of the potential successors worshiped a different deity, and each one who managed to gain control of the city used his wealth to build an appropriate temple (in hopes of gaining favor with the deity.) Eventually, Only one of the heirs survived the fight, and ruled over the city. After over-taxing the population, he was overthrown and killed in an uprising. The great Dracon hero who led the revolt died, but the Dragon's confiscated wealth was used to construct a grand mausoleum for him. In later years, a tower made of red sandstone was built by the most powerful archmage in the city, who still inhabits his tower today. A neighboring city, Charirinik (Draconic for "red sand") occupies the same general area (the two cities are contingeous except for the fact that Charirinik is outside of the Hekaga city walls and has no walls of its own), and is extremely poor. Major products include textiles, magical and religious items, and various foodstuffs farmed from the surrounding oasis.
The city's gates were all guarded by heavily armed soldiers on either end of the doors, and all papers had to be processed before heading in or out of the city. There were secret, illegal ways in and out of the city, but use of them was often quite expensive; in order to escape the first time, Rhiga had to spend the jewelry she had stolen from a palace, and that was just to crawl through a narrow tunnel. In many ways, Hekaga was more of a prison and less of a city...
...Except for the rich. If it was a cage for them, it was beyond a gilded one; more like a diamond-encrusted cage made of mithral that was the size of a city. The opulence was so great as to be over-the-top by human standards. Chryselephantine statues, marble palaces, lavish parties, exotic spices, valuable salt, and, truth be told... narcotics all played a part in the lifestyles of the rich. That last one caused many nobles to behave erratically. It was guessed that one in every three nobles had some serious addiction. All this added to the city's already great woes...
-
"this is so big!" said Jake "but yet...so small?"
-
"Agreed. We must help them out." Adykon said, backing away from the party for a moment, looking down at the cold stone streets. He thought to himself: "I... loved that female. Vaeri... I cannot let your children starve." Had he married her, they would have been his stepchildren... HIS responsibility. Even though she was dead... Adykon still felt an obligation to her.
-
"And I have an obligation to my mate to be that her family is provided for, at least the females.. the males can more or less care for themselves" Marcus said..
-
"so where are we heading now?" asked Jake "are we going over to rhigas house or somethin?"
-
her siblings.. wherever they may live' Marcus said as they continued walking through the narrow and dreary streets.. signs of impoverishment and neglkect were everywhere, this was clearly a poor section of town..
-
Rhiga looked around her city... to think she had grown up here... her flight from the city had set her free... she was reluctant to go at first, but after seeing how Dracons lived in other cities, she wondered why she didn't leave earlier.
Passing some Dracons on the streets, Vespion could smell a distinct, sweet oder... sklarshanin. It was a barbiturate with a name that meant "drug grass." Highly addictive and unhealthy. Many Dracons in good cities had drug problems; few dracon cities made these sort of things illegal, but their use was discouraged by the culture in the more functional cities. It was rumored that the drugs were sold by the city's government itself, a step that no other major Dracon urban area's administration would even consider.
Selturma looked at the rugs for sale in a marketplace the party was passing through. Although the quality of the goods was shoddy at best, the prices were extremely low, made with slave labor, obviously.
On the other side of the city, a red-skinned female with a white belly lay on a cushion in a garden. The grass were green, there was running water, and this female was very, very relaxed. Smoking her sklarshanain, she had a smile on her face which was wide enough to be a sort of a grimace, and although she was clearly enjoying herself physically, she was falling deeper into addiction mentally. If this was bad for her, she wasn't feeling it at the moment, as she curled her clawed toes in pleasure and had a glazed look on her eyes after taking another breathe of it.
Her brother was due back in the city at any time. He had gone away to some distant valley for who-knows-what... males and their quests... how silly of them. All she needed was right here. Of course, she had her husband, her slaves, her other staff, and her friends... they were just like her in her excesses... many noble females were.
"Mlasia! Are you in he-... never mind. I'll find another one of my wives." It was her husband, Sorian. Sometimes, he went to do things with his wives, besides enjoy them at home. For a noble in this depraved place, that was rare. He actually enjoyed their company, not just their bodies. Mlasia enjoyed her body too... to the point that she neglected all other things. Her search for sensual pleasure extended so far that it actually was harmful to the same body she sought to satisfy.
And it was like that with the city, too. It had fallen into this sad state when too much power had been vested in the nobles, and they were allowed to run ramapant. With no checks and balances, a call for a strong king emerged... and soon enough, one did... but he was even worse than the nobles had been, and instead of curbing the power of the rich, it was simply co-opted to fit the king's demands. The search for order had produced chaos among the poor and tyranny for all.
-
"this place doesn't seem like a good place to live.." he said as he raised his jacket sleeve over his mouth and nose because of the stench. Sasha couldn't stand the smell she looked like she was going to vomit. Jake took off his jacket and handed it to sasha, "this should help with the smell" he said as he place his hand over his mouth and nose.
-
:that smell is almost as bad as skooma.." Ilsa said.. " this town is filled with residents addicted to narcotics..
sasha wrinkled her nose at the smell. " Lets get out of here' she said through her nose
-
"drugs..." said Jake "i don't understand that even though they fry your brain people still use em..."
-
"I really wish I was back in the jungle right now..." Adykon thought. "The air was clean, they didn't have drugs or garbage, and there were no overcrowded inns..."
Meanwhile...
"Mlasia, are you just going to lie there all day?" queried Sorian. She had done that before, frequently with female friends of hers...
"You should jooooinnn me, Sor. It's funnnn. It feels goooood." Came the reply.
"Right. I'm going to inseminate all of my other wives now. Feel free to join me." This was just a ploy on his part. It sometimes worked when he needed to move Mlasia from her spot...
Standing up, she was half-mad and jealous, but was too drugged out to focus much... "SOR! That's soo... messed up! Really I..." her legs were wobbling under her and her whole body trembled. She was quite attractive, especially in her current 'natural' state. Still, after going that way most of the time, those around her became desensitized to it... especially Sorian.
"You... I... wanna come with yooooouu." She was not doing so well. Sorian helped his wife back to a bed and got her some legitimate medicine to help her sleep; it would not react badly with the drug. He kissed her in the forehead and left the room.
-
'this place is.. depressing really" Minna said. These were the worst slums she had ever seen..apart from the crumbling buildings, drugs and filth , was the look of hopelessness on the faces of the dracons she passed.
-
The Dracons around here, especially the females, practiced such hedonism because they had no hope. Since they could not look to better things, they saw no harm in enjoying themselves now... even if it was not healthy for them...
There seemed to be no other businesses in this part of the city except for inns and alcohol... and some loud musicians.
-
Jake looked around at all of the Dracons that looked extremely stoned or were drunk and unhappy. He felt sorry for them...
-
Vespion saw a female dracon rubbing her tail, trying to make herself feel good. If nothing else, it served as a distraction. Something about this sort of behavior, about seeking pleasure instead of progress... it reminded him of people trying to bail out water from a ship sailing on a river; if the ship was still letting in water, treating the symptoms of it would not be enough... one would have to fix the source of it.
-
so rhiga, are there any relatives of yours around here?' Ilsa asked her..as they continued moving along, the smell giot worse.. it was soon overpowering, the sickly smell of drugs and the females, who relaxed in more and more lurid positions as they went along. minna recoiled from these females, who were so drugged up they had exposed thier intimates to all who walked past.. ' come here beautiful.. i need company ' one of them called to ilsa..
-
At this point, the party was going through a neighborhood for "used up" slaves who were set free to die... after being injured or sickened with no hope of recovery, Dracon slaves were often let go... only to die. Here, several tenements was filled past the limit with the "refuse" of society.
-
As they entered the slums, a badly hurt and ill Dracon female crawled to Kuja, pleading for water. Kuja gazed at her for a moment, then placed a hand to her head, casting a white magic spell.
"Stand, dear woman. Go, and find your life again."
He said softly, and then set about trying to help others, with Akio and Ruka at his side...
Akito shook his head.
"Such cruelty...'tis almost as bad as the cruelty that was practiced to Fauxen..."
He said sadly...
Kyuichi, on the other hand, scoffed.
"Trash like this. What good is there in leaving them their lives? Just kill them and be done with them, I believe..."
He sneered...
-
"Now now... be nice" Selturma said to Kyuichi, her normal enthusiasm gone. Normally, she would have been happier, but between Vaeri's death, the unexpected teleportation to Hekaga, the horrible inn, the lack of sleep, and the depressing sights, sounds, and smells of the streets, she wasn't feeling too happy.
To make matters worse, she was tired and hungry. It also didn't help that her back hurt; it was full of stress-induced knots and was sore due to her uncomfortable sleep the night before. Her feet were killing her as well; these streets were unpaved and very rough.
-
"We can be good and give this people some relief, but that will change nothing, because after we get out of this city, the situation will keep as if we were never came here... there will be no difference." - Arianne said sadly.... her mind was still troubled by the loss of Vaeri, and her body was also hurting, due to the bad night and the awful smells and sights of this city.
Eriol placed an arm around his wife's shoulders, trying to cheer her up some bit. he then commented. - "Many years ago, I was in danger of becoming a slave... I am grateful that never happened. But I still know some of the pain this people here has to suffer. But Arianne is right, we cannot make a difference by ourselves, more has to be done in order to turn "this" into a real society." - he sighs - "... but we do have our own problems too... if that demon triumphs, there will be no society to try to change. There will be nothing... and if he triumphs, then what could stop him from trying to conquer our homeland too?."
-
The party eventually came to a fetid, stinking tenement. It was getting warmer in the day, and the sun was beating down on them. One of Rhiga's half-sisters lived in this sad place. "Hold on. I'll go in and get her out." Rhiga said.
She had to tell her younger sister that their mother was dead. There was nothing for her now. No hope in Hekaga.
"Plythia! Are you in here?" Rhiga asked. The smell was bad, but Rhiga has experienced worse. Walking up the splintered wooden stairs, Rhiga felt the soft skin of her toes get cut just a bit... that hurt. She used to have to live with splinters all the time... she was used to it.
-
marcus went in after Rhiga.., the boards cracked as he walked up, this place was filthy, and looked like it would easily collapse in a storm.. 'wait up rhiga.' he called out..
Minna and Ilsa went about, trying to help the dyingas best they could.. many were in thier last throes..
-
Plythia was a teenage Dracon girl who had a pale white belly, red skin, and unusually good balance for her age. Her mother had wanted to train her as a dancer when she returned... but now, she would never get that chance.
It was Marcus who found her first. She looked like a younger version of her mother, but with slightly different horns and a slightly different shade of skin.
-
Plythia? marcus asked kindly.. " my name is marcus, i'm the fiance of rhiga, your sister,, we've come to take you with us.: he said looking at her,
-
(OOC: Please fix the spelling on that, Nick. Thanks)
"Fiance? You mean, Rhiga wants to marry you?" Plythia asked incredulously. "I don't believe you. Rhiga would never tie herself down to one male. Mom didn't either."
-
(Fixed) "well its true, marcus said. ' i wouldn;t have said it, if it wasn't true.. I'm going to marry your sister, but i'm afraid we have some very bad news for you.."
-
Kuja and Akio joined Minna and Ilsa, tending to the ill and dying, as did Ruka.
Akito, Touga, Miki, Juri and Utena all stood in the house, each tending to others as best as they could...
-
Plythia laughed. It sounded like Vaeri... it was an uncanny resemblance. "Rhiga once told me that she would never marry. Why should I believe you? Is this some sort of a trick?"
"No, sister, it is true" Rhiga said as she entered the room.
Plythia's eyes widened as it dawned on her. For the first time in memory, someone in her family was marrying, a female no less. "Sister!" the young female ran over to hug Rhiga. After a long embrace, the two of them separated and began to talk about what had happened.
"You see, Plythia... I went to the city of Minbenthac. There, I met a group of adventurers who went on a journey with me to a lost city. After we returned, I met Marcus here and we decided to marry... but on the day of the wedding, I was taken by an evil overlord who threatens us all... he threatens everything. Once I was freed by my fellow adventurers, we had intended to return to Minbenthac, but something went from with the magic which was to take us there... so we ended up here."
Hardly believing what she was hearing, the teenage half-sister could only sit there, wide-eyed.
Continuing, Rhiga had to go to the most unpalatable part of her story...
"We met mother on the journey to the lost city. She had been taken prisoner, so we freed her... but..." Rhiga's mouth trembled and tears welled up in her eye "... she was killed by the evil lord that we are fighting. That's it. She's dead... gone... buried."
"What?! Mother...! No!" Plythia cried, hugging her half-sister once again. After many long minutes of sobbing, Rhiga was able to continue, speaking through the tears... "Since mother is no longer with us, you have nothing here now. I'm here to take you away from Hekaga, away from this... pit of a city."
-
We will take care of you" Marcus said. " A very kind noble named Minna has offered to help us care for you and your siblings..come with us to Minbenthac.. it will be much safer for you thee than it is here, this place loks like it could collaspse with the slightest wind.."
-
"Alright. I'll go. As long as I can see Rhiga." Plythia told Marcus. "I've been living with aunt Trina for all this time... but she's hardly ever here. She just returns to leave food and sleep. She's out most of the day, trying to make eggs. Mom and I know she can't, not after that accident with the really big egg she laid once. She nearly bled to death, and when they managed to use magic to heal her, she nearly died from the infection afterwards. They said that without even more expensive magic, she'd never lay an egg again."
"And she sought to prove them wrong?" Rhiga queried. She didn't know much about this aunt, as she had only heard her mother mention Trina a few times.
"Yes. She's even wilder than mother ever was... but not a single egg. I think something else broke in her when she was hurt real bad..."
-
Marcus heard this with a mixturev of pity and sadness. Trina was barren, yet she persisted in trying to have children..
-
The three Dracons left the tenement. Trina would not care that she had gone, Plythia assured Rhiga. Really, it was tragic, but true...
Walking back out into the streets, Rhiga look one look at an approaching group of dracons who were dressed in iron armor and wielding short swords. The guards! She leapt back into the tenement. They didn't see her...
"Is it safe to pass?" She asked Marcus, her voice a whisper.
-
minna and Ilsa in the meantime had gone ahead to do some shopping.. they had reached a wealthier part of the city..thier long journey had done a number on thier clothes, luckily.. hekaga offerered good clothes, at high prices.. true, but both of them could afford to pay.. minna smiled as she bought a beautfiul clothing set. the bra was a skyblue color and made of fine fabrics. some guards passing by gave them searching glances, but the weight and color of the coins revealed that they were wealthy, so they let them pass. ilsa loaded up on fresh clothes as well, and cleaning supplies.. ilsa also bought a fresh suit of clothes for rhiga and plythia.
- Marcus screened Rhiga away from the guards, and waited until they passed.. "They're gone..' he said finally..
-
Rhiga emerged from hiding. "Thank the gods. If they catch me... I'm dead." She had been held captive once before not long ago... the thought of being taken again was too much for her to bear. In any case, she was to be executed if captured for stealing from the prince...
-
let me guess, you stole something from some noble dracon.. given the conditions around here, i doin't blame you..' Marcus replied.. ' but execution? thats really harsh.."
-
Kuja drifted into view, Akio and Ruka with him, as Akito and the others wove into view.
"Damn...I must say that this is...my fault. I was sent many years ago to place a seed of Darkness into the king of the region...It has subsequently turned to others. I apologize..."
Kuja said remorsefully...
-
well, then you'll have to fix it ' sasha dsaid, wiping away swet on her brow.. 'if you can..that is.. it may be too late..
-
Kuja shook his head
"With the Dark One awakened, that can't be done...the only options are to kill the king or to kill the Dark One..."
He sighed...
-
Then we'll take the easier route.. kill the king.. since killing the Dark one is beyond the power of any of us..' sasha said.. 'granted, easier is a relative term..'
-
"What's this about a dark seed?" Vespion queried. "When were you planning on telling us this, Kuja?"
"Don't be so hard on him" Rhiga said to Vespion. "It must have been hard enough for him as it was."
"Well... could you tell us more about it?" Adykon asked Kuja.
-
Minna and Ilsa finished their shopping, which included buying food for thier group, which included bread, fresh fruit, and meats.. with this accomplished, they made their way back to the rest of the group..
-
Upon seeing the food, the party was happy. Selturma was ecstatic. She bounced up and down for the first time since Vaeri had died.
"Yay! Real food! I can smell that it is fresh all the way from here!" she shouted.
"Thank you, girls!" Adykon exclaimed. "Where did you get this?"
-
We went up to a market in another part of town.. We also got fresh clothes for you..' Minna said indicating a bag filled with clothes.. "When was the last time you got new clothes Plythia?" She asked, pulling out a blood red top and loincloth abd handing to her. this loincloth and top were made of silk, which was expensive and soft..
-
Plythia thanked the nobles girls profusely and tried on the new clothes.
"Wow, these fit wonderfully! How did you know my size?" Plythia asked.
"Probably a lucky guess" Rhiga replied. "Thank you VERY much, Minna, Isla. Now, let's go before we have another close encounter with the guards..."
"There was a patrol here not too long ago" Adykon quickly told the noble females.
-
Oh..' Minna said, handing Rhiga a bag of groceries, "use this to cover your face should a patrol pass by again..." "we need to get moving" she said to the others.. Are there any other siblings of yours nearby? She asked Plythia
-
"Groceries won't save me..." Rhiga said. "But thank you for the food. If the guards come, finding cover is the best option. I know from experience. Now, another relative of mine is not too far from here, if memory serves. Another half-sister... an older one this time. "
-
Ilsa looked at the groceries. the groceries would hide her face for maybe a few seconds tops.. This was not one of your better ideas" she said to Minna. " We need to keep her out of sight.. Lts find a place to lay low.."
-
"I'll be fine as long as we avoid the guards. Now let's just go. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we shall leave." Rhiga told the group.
And they were off, walking through the streets again... heading ever deeper into the worst parts of the city. Ironically, a good part was just past a wall not too far away, but where Minna and Isla had trod, the rest of the party could not follow... only the rich were allowed in the wealthier sections of Hekaga.
-
So What are the names of your other siblings?" Marcus asked Rhiga as they continued walking down narrow, winding, streets choked with debris and slum housing.. Minna and Ilsa kept walking, looking straight forward, and trying to not to notice the utter squalor that was around them..
-
"I have many siblings, but after Plythia, I think we can only get out three more... all girls. There's Uraca, Charisa ,and Lutgicia... we call her "Luty" for short." Rhiga replied. "We should be reaching Uraca first, given where we are right now."
-
Sasha tried to keep herself in good spirits which was not easy to do given her surroundings.. "How much further?" She asked in a half-whine..
-
"We'll be there soon." Rhiga assured the human girl.
All this walking must have been hard for Sasha. Her body was soft and almost naked. Dracon females were soft, but had thicker skin than human girls did... and Sasha was not in the best of physical shape, being a teenage girl whose training emphasized magic and agility over strength and durability.
Sasha's bare feet were sore from walking on the cobblestone streets. Unlike many Dracon cities, the streets here were more stone than sand. Normally this would be considered a plus, but to a race with no footwear, it could be a burden. To a human, it could be even worse.
After some time, the adventurers came to a drag gray building with square holes for windows, little light, and the buzzing sound of looms. "This is where Uraca works. She makes cloth for export..."
It was a sweatshop... very common in Dracon cities. The conditions were never good, but here...
"It will be their one 15 minute break in their ten-hour day." Rhiga told the others. "When Uraca hears that mother is gone, she will come with us I am sure."
-
minna and ilsa walked into the sweatshop, and looked around, there were around a hundred poor dracons sitting around, on cracked chairs or on the floor. many of the females had badly torn tops, which barely covered thier breasts, nearly all of them were dirty, and all of them had a look of Dracons who expected to die doing this. The looms were large, but old, ilsa could see cracks running through several of them.. they groups ranged from dracons in their teens to older dracons in their 40s and 50s. the place was hot, muggy, dark and absolutely filthy.. the floor was stained with what looked like blood.. and probably was..the smell, above all else was overpowering.. a smell of sweat and other bodily fluids..
-
Blood from cut fingers was indeed on the dirty stone floor... not much, just little bits here and there. The smell was overpowering. Few of these females had any chance to clean, and dirt could be seen on their unwashed hands and feet.
Uraca was found sitting on the floor, as were most of the workers here. Chairs were only given to the most productive. This young female had an expression of intense concentration on her face. Her dark reddish skin was covered in sweat, and her yellow belly was already wet as well. She had taken off her top before working, as it was tight on her and made working in an already hot room even more difficult.
She was sore, bored and exhausted, having little time to sleep and even less to enjoy herself. The claws on her hands were cracked and worn from all the work, and the claws on her feet were in a similar state, due to all the walking she had to do to get to work. Uraca lived with one of Vaeri's cousins, where she was expected to not only earn her keep, but to turn a profit. Since she was paid by the piece, Uraca had to work for an extra two or three hours in order to do this.
The material she worked with was linen, a cloth which fetched a high price at the marketplaces, and was a prime export. The flax for the cloth was grown along oases and rivers, then brought in by horse and camels when it could not be floated up the river on a boat or barge. Most of this cloth would eventually end up in a tailor's shop in another city or another land, and few, if any of the buyers would ever know that it took nightmarish labor just to spin the cloth...
Rhiga approached her half-sister. Uraca looked up, eyes wide. She knew that Rhiga was not supposed to be here. The young female's short tail perked up at the sight of a friendly face.
"Sister! What are you doing here?" Uraca asked.
"I've gone to take you away from here. Mother's passed on. I've come to take you out of Hekaga. I know it is not your break yet, but-"
With that, Uraca immediately got up and stopped her work.
"If that's so, I don't want to be here another minute. I quit. When they don't see me at work, they will fire me anyway. Let's go." Uraca told Rhiga, pulling on her top.
Surprised by her lack of concern about mother's passing, Rhiga realized that life in the sweatshop had made Uraca colder than she was before... this happened a lot. Rhiga also knew that it was common for them to loosen up again after they stop work and they are no longer abused. Uraca walked out of the sweatshop and as she did so, Rhiga could see whip marks in her half-sister's back...
-
The others looked at Uraca and shrugged.. there would be another to replace her, there always was.. "Good luck" One of the females whispered to her"You at least have a chance now.. us.. we're going to die here.."
- Minna shuddered, she would be glad to get out of this terrible place.. her hearted ached for these females, but there was nothing she could do..
-
The party quickly gathered outside. Uraca was grateful for the fresh air, and to see the sun. She typically got to work before dawn, and often had to work until after dusk.
Rhiga walked over to Marcus, with Uraca following close behind. "Sister, this is Marcus. He and I and engaged." Uraca's eyes widened at the thought. "Wow... I just... congratulations!" She never would have believed it if she didn't see Marcus in front of her...
-
marcus smile at Uruca.. "We're going to take care of you and your other siblings.. We already retrieved Plythia.. and there are a few more we're trying to get...'
_
Ilsa frowned as she noticed the whip marks on Uruca's back. ' Did they beat you?' She asked. "I'm Lady Ilsa by the way.."
-
Uraca turned to Isla and greeted her, then explained her predicament. "They whipped me, slapped me, and once... they beat me. When I was late they once broke a toe of mine when the overseer stomped on my foot." She lifted her right foot to indicate that her left center toe hadn't quite healed properly. "I was left with a limp for week on end. I eventually managed to find a cleric who would heal it for free, but she was only testing her skills... and she wasn't very good at it. You look rich... what are you doing here in this dump?"
-
I'm a sorceress..I can fix your toe' Ilsa said calmly " As for why I am here.. I'm here to help your sister Rhiga get as many of her family out of here as possible. she is going to be living in Minbenthac, while that place has its problems too, it is a paradise compared to this place. You will be able to live with her and marcus..Lady minna here ' she motioned to minna "will help you get settled..Would you like some new clothes? She asked, gazing at the ragged clothed Uruca now wore..
-
"I've never heard of a sorceress who could heal" Uraca told Isla. "You must know a lot of spells. And thank you for the offer of the clothes... something lighter would be appreciated."
-
"Sure.. any color preference?' Ilsa replied. "First things first, let me examine your toe more closely.. she said " Sit down on those stairs over there.. and raise your foot.."
-
Uraca sat down on some stairs; she was now sitting on the steps to a small temple. Lifting her foot and showing her toe, she said: "It doesn't hurt really bad unless someone touches it or I try to bend it too much."
-
"Grit your teeth then, this will likely hurt" Ilsa said, bending down and yanking the toe towards the normal position. "Restorum!' She intoned, and the toe readjusted into the normal position... the whole spell took only a few seconds.. 'really, you should not have had to limp for weeks on end.. if that cleric had been even close to decent at spellcasting, your toe would have been fixed awhile ago. now wiggle your toe around.. it may take time to get used to it moving around.. since its been crooked for some time now..' Ilsa said..
-
"Ahh!" Uraca exclaimed as the bone and muscle shifted and reset. It took a moment, but the pain subsided. While it was still sore, her toe was more flexible, and pain died down. "Oh... thank you! ow. heh."
Plythia was busy at the moment, trying to get a copper coin that was stuck between two cobblestone in the street, but when she heard her half-sister's exclamation, she moved over to investigate. "Uraca! They got you out!" Running over, she gave her a hug, nearly knocking the former sweatshop worker over.
"Easy sister! I just got away from my abusers, I don't need to be more hurt" she said with a laugh. :lol
-
What were you doing?" Marcus asked Plythia, who had tried to get a coin out of the street but with no luck..
-
"Trying to get a coin out of the street. No luck." She replied.
-
let me help you get it out" Minna said "I'm Lady Minna of Minbenthac.. show me where it is, and i'll help you get it out.." She saiud as she walked after Plythia
_ You do do that Minna, and I'll go get Uruca a new dress. What color do you want and what type of fabric..?" Ilsa said looking at Uruca..
-
"Wow... this is all so wonderful, and happening so... fast..." Uraca thought to herself.
"The coin is in between these two cobblestones. It's not worth much to you... just a copper... and anything that is small and light. It's hot as hell in this city..." Uraca told the nobles. Blue or pink would be nice.
-
Minna looked down at the small coin, then reached in her pouch, and pulled out a small metal clip, which she usually used on her feet during rubdowns. she pinched the edge of the coin and twisted, finally retrieving the coin from between the stones, it was just a small copper coin, worth 1/100th of the value of a gold coin..Minna took the copper coin and gave it to Plythia , then reached inside her pouch and handed her a few other coins, a mixture of gold and silver coins. 'Here take these coins.. you need them more than i do' Minna said kindly.
_
I'll see if I can find those colors for you" Ilsa said, and she walked off into the wealthy section of town.. returning a half hour later carrying two beautiful dresses, one a pale pink, the other was a clear blue.. "Here you go.. I couldn't decide which you'd like better.. so I got you both of them.." Ilsa said "Now which one would you like to try on first?' She asked the stunned Uruca..
-
"Wow, thanks. You're so generous." Uraca said, giving Minna and Ilsa hug.
"What was that thing you used?" Vepsion asked Minna, indicating her clip.
-
You're welcome' Ilsa said in reply "Now which dress would you like to wear first? Blue or pink?
_
Its a clip I use to hold my feet down during massages.. i get excited when the massause relives a lot of tension, and my feet thrash about... the clips hold them down..."Minna said..
_
Marcus got up from where he had been sitting.. " So lets go get another of your siblings..Rhiga..'
_ How many siblings do you have Rhiga" Sasha asked.. she was sweating from the heat, and the sweat dripped down her belly..
-
"The pink one! I liked it as soon as I saw it" Uraca said, exited...
Speaking of excited females...
"That's... odd. I've seen countless females in my temple, and none of them get like that... not during a massage, not even during mating." Vespion told Minna.
Rhiga responded to the questions. "I have over a dozen. Mother may have had another when I was gone. We can only get one or two more out of the city..."
Jake moved over to Sasha, seeing that she was very hot. "Can we get to some shade? Sasha isn't built for the heat like you Dracons are. Even Rex is getting a little overheated..."
-
Ilsa handed the pale pink dress to Uraca.. "Now lets find a place where she can change ' she said
_
I'm unique I guess" Minna replied. "Its a very odd reaction, i'm the only one in the family who does it.."
After some more walking. Marcus noticed an house that looked like it would serve as a place to rest. This place was a bit better than those around it. Walking inside, he relaxed as cooler air hit him.. ' In here" he called out to the others..
-
"This looks like a nicer place, of all those around here." - Eriol replied after what Marcus said.
Arianne was with Ilsa and Minna, and with Rhiga's sisters - "All those nice dresses are great, you all look lovely." - she said to Rhiga's sisters while they were trying their new outfits. After that, she also got to buy some new clothing for her, using some of the spare money Eriol has.
There aren't many places to buy clothing that are not of the Dracon style, but Hekaga did have more variety than other cities, so it was relatively easy for Arianne to find clothing for the style of foreign races, so she did buy a couple of new dresses, like the one she had when she arrived to the Dracon lands: a large one-piece dress, those cover the shoulders and go down to the Panther's knees, one dress is color blue and another pink.
-
(OOC: Please try to make your plot points make more sense. People can't just walk into random houses! I had to come up with some far-fetched justification for it this time...)
Hekaga was a horrible place to visit, and an even worse place to live. Still, it had it's advantages. The house the party was in belonged to a dissident who dared to challenge the government. After he was taken and executed, his house was sacked by looters. The door was left ajar, and everything of value had been stripped from the domicile.
Still, it was an okay place to stay, especially if one needed to get out of the sun's heat. Furthermore, Hekaga's status as a major cloth production center made it easy to find new clothes, as long as one didn't mind the fact that the cloth used to make the textiles came from sweatshop labor. Arianne could find new clothing easily if she so desired.
-
Kuja sat on the cool floor, brushing a stray hair out of his face.
"I guess that in some sense...I'm to blame for all this. If I hadn't done as he had asked..."
"You would have been dead, and no use to anyone, Kuja."
Akio cut him off, standing beside him calmly.
"Besides. This is perhaps a way that we can...gather information on what the Dark one is planning."
He added, as Kuja looked up at the others.
"I suppose I should tell you what the Dark Seeds are, shouldn't I?"
He asked Adykon and Marcus, as well as the others...
-
"Yes, please. Explain to us what you mean. Tell us about these 'dark seeds' and what they have to do with us..." Adykon asked.
"And don't use such ambiguous language" Vespion added. "Please state who 'he' is and why you are doing what you do."
-
Marcus sat back as Kuja began esxplaiining himself. They would not stay in here long, just long enoug to cool down. once everyone had cooled off then they would move on..
-
"Any information you can give us is sure to be useful. It could even serve to make a plan against the Dark Master." - Eriol said as he was near enough from the others, while Arianne was with Ilsa, Minna, Rhiga and her sisters.
-
"Yes, do tell" Vespion added, knowing that all knowledge had a use in some way. Even a minor detail could save their lives one day...
-
Kuja nodded.
"He is my former master. Demorus. Through him, Akio, myself, and others gained the power of darkness. The Dark seeds were his way of...expanding his power, even while sealed. They were magically placed in those he wanted to control, and over time, would gradually drain their soul and replace it with his will. That is why the current state of so many cities is how it is. The only way to stop them is to either kill the hosts, or to kill him..."
He said, looking at each part of the group..
-
so that is why Hekaga is such a hell-hole' Minna said..' Because this Demorus has turned the rulers into his puppets..' She glared at Kuja.. "But how were you able to undo his control over you?"
-
In truth, the prince was a pawn of Dememoras; Hekaga's king was NOT under the control of the dark master... but the previous king, and the one before that all had a similar affliction. They helped reduce the city to this, although it was well on its way to this sorry state...
The other settlements that were as dark as this one were all small and petty. Hekaga was by FAR the largest one to be degraded like this one.
-
so these Dark seeds are one of the causes of Hekaga being in such a mess " Ilsa pursed her lips together.. "Others include the leaders allowing them to decay to such a state.. "screw the poor I've got mine" type of thinking' Ilsa continued.. Granted many other nobles thought that way in other cities, but in Hekaga it wasn't covered by a veneer, it was unabashed and brazen. this had been an eyeopening experience for both noble Dracons.. this experience would haunt them for a long time..
-
"We should go now" Adykon said. "I don't think we should BE in this house, even if it was nice to cool off... I don't want to attract unwanted attention from the guards, especially since Rhiga is with us."
-
Good idea" Sasha said, she had cooled off by this point ' Lets head out..'
- You can tell us as we go along.." Minna said to Kuja.. ilsa got up and headed out the door. " Are any other of your siblings close Rhiga?' She asked as she made her way outside..
-
"Well, seeing as how I was forced to leave this city... I have not seen them in a long time... but they still love me as much as if I had seen them yesterday..." Rhiga told the group. "We have a long way to go. My oldest half-sister works in a small temple. I'm not sure we can convince her to leave."
-
well, we have to give it a try' Marcus said 'Hekaga is not a safe place for any of your family to live.. just my opinion, of course.." he added, looking at his fiance..
-
"I agree" Rhiga said. "It isn't safe. I get sad every time I think of it..."
As the party walked down the streets, Rhiga decided to perk up the situation. With a dirty smile on her face, she moved her tail to Marcus's hands, moved her mouth to his ears, and whispered "You know that thing you do to my tail?... I'd like some of it."
-
Not in public dear" Marcus said although the broad grin on his face indicated he'd really like to do it..'I don't want to get us in trouble.."
-
"Oh come on... you know you wanna do it" Rhiga said with a wink and a smile. "It would help take our minds off of the slums..." Seeing that she needed to do something more to convince him, Rhiga, who was already topless, went over to her fiance and whispered in his ear "rub, please..."
-
marcus slowly began to rub his mate's tail, first gently, and firmly. then he began to run harder and harder. ' How is that.. my dear" Marcus whispered in Rhiga's ear..
-
Kuja walked alongside Minna, looking at her as he talked.
"The reason Akio and I could break his thrall is simple. We were never given the seeds. We simply followed his command, led on by false promises. Foolish, but perhaps a better fate."
He said calmly...
-
"Ohhh... that's good" Rhiga sighed, her eyes closed in pleasure, her face changing to a smile.
"How did you come to be under Dememoras's control in the first place?" Adykon asked the Fauxen.
-
Sasha and Jake stayed in close range of each other. while the others talked. Rex was over with Selturma.
-
"So, Rex... what do you think of Hekaga? I hate it. It stinks, everything is a slum, and the roads are too hard." Selturma said to Rex.
-
"this place is a hellhole" said Rex
"i agree" said Jake "this place is not where i would like to live if i had too"
-
"Yes... it's hot... the ground is cold in the shade, hot in the sun, my back hurts, there's trash everywhere, I STILL think it smells bad, my feet are killing me, my tail is..." Selturma went on and on like that for some time...
-
"i'm gonna go exploring for a bit, anyone wanna come?" asked Jake
-
"Jake, there are times to explore, and times to stay put. We haven't even reached our destination, and we know by now that this city is dangerous to be in." Adykon told the human youth. Interestingly enough, they had not been attacked yet, although this had more to do with the size of the group. Lone members could be attacked with far more impunity.
-
"i doubt i'll be attacked if they can see my metal arm and if i keep my sword with me" said Jake trying to impress Sasha
-
"Alright Jake... you can go. Just be back before sunset. We'll meet you at the horrible inn we stayed at last time by sunset... we don't have anywhere better to spend the night. If anyone wants to go with him, you may do so... AGAINST my better judgment." Adykon added.
-
"yes!" yelled Jake "i mean cool...". Jake loved exploring on his own especially when danger was involved that way he can prove to everyone else that even though he is short he can defend himself... "so who wants to come?" asked Jake
"i wanna come" said Sasha "it's better than doing nothing."
"i'll come too" said Rex
-
"I'll come, if Rex does!" Selturma said, bouncing up and down... again.
And if Rex went with Selturma, Sasha would probably want to go with Jake...
-
"lets go then" said Jake as they all headed out the door. "which part of town should we explore first?"
-
The four youngsters Jake, Rex, Selturma, and Sasha went on out to explore...
They ended up choosing an area just south of where they were... unfortunately, none of them realized that this was a very violent slum...
-
"this part of town doesn't look too friendly.." said Sasha as she held on to Jake's arm very tightly....
"can you loosen your grip a bit Sasha, i think if you squeeze any tighter i'm gonna lose my left arm..."
-
Just then, nine dracon thugs burst out of the slums, ready to attack the party! Each of them had a club or a long knife, and all of them were adult males...
-
"what the hell!?" yelled Jake "Sasha Selturma get behind me and rex!". Jake and Rex both drew their swords "get back, i know how to use this". Jake was trying to scare off the Dracons even though he knew that adult dracon males would not be scared of two little kids that had swords...
-
And they were not scared. Not at all. The Dracons ganged up on Jake and Rex. Selturma was unable to do much to hold them back; it was all she could to do avoid their blows and blades.
-
Jake held his sword in his left hand and he used his right metal hand to punch one of the dracons in the chest. It knocked the dracon off balance and Jake then kicked the dracon and then it fell over backwards
-
One down, eight to go. Their luck would not hold out at this rate... Sasha still had her magic, but that was about it for them.
-
"Sasha! use i spell to blind them for a few seconds so we can escape!" yelled Jake.
"if i use the spell i'll be weak and i won't be able to escape!" yelled Sasha back
-
"Use it, please!" Selturma said. "Jake or Rex can carry you out if you are too tired to run after using the spell! We have no other choice!"
-
Sasha paused for a second "well...okay...." said Sasha, Sasha began chanting some words klaatu berata nikto (just had to put that in from evil dead, lol :D). There was a bright flash and the dracons were now blinded. Sasha fell to the ground and was extremely weak from the spell cast. Jake ran over to Sasha and he lifted her onto his back.
-
(OOC: It's NOT originally from Evil Dead; the line originally came from The Day the Earth Stood still. :lol Still funny.)
The youths managed to run into a new neighborhood. They needed a place for Sasha to rest and recover her magic. A teenage girl's body was too weak and soft to cast magic spells of high power level... and that flash was so bright that had it been any brighter, the Dracons attacking her would have been permanently blinded.
The good news was, a temple was found nearby. Surely, it would be a place for Sasha to rest in.
-
"come on! let's go!" said Jake as he, Rex and Selturma ran over to the temple.
-
The doors of the temple were open for all. They let Jake and the other youths in. The temple building was made of dark gray stone, with the image of a long-tailed Dragon carved over the wooden doors of the entrance. Inside the temple, it became apparent that there were no windows; all of the light was generated by glowing red orbs, making the rest of the room look like it was drenched in bloody light... the effect was somewhat disorienting.
Looking around the temple, Selturma noticed that it was unusually small, but very ornate. Golden statues of Dragons lined the halls, intricate stone carvings of various religious scenes adorned the walls, and there were gems encrusted into the seat of the temple's high priest.
But this was not an ordinary temple; it belonged to a minor yet potent deity worshiped by the Dracons... a god of power... and blood.
-
Eriol said to Vespion and Adykon - "I don't know if this city made me paranoid or something, but I was wondering if the kids are ok."
Arianne looked at Ilsa. - "Lady Ilsa, I wanted to ask you a favor... of a personal nature." - she said kind of uneasy due to all the things she has seen in this city. - "You may know that we Gaeans cannot procreate all year-round like you Dracons and Humans can, we have a 'Mating Season' that is our chance to get kids. I-I wanted to ask, since you have good spells: can you help me... check if I am waiting for my second child?" - After saying that, a bright smile appeared in the female Panther's face.
-
"The kids? I don't know much about this area... but whatever is in Hekaga, we have handled worse, I am sure." Vespion replied. "After that run-in with Asthia, I highly doubt that Hekaga's streets can match anything we have ever faced."
-
Eriol heard the replied and gave a small laugh - "I guess you are right, I am just worrying too much." - Eriol indeed found that amusing, he is not the kind of guy that worries too much about people.
-
Certainly" Ilsa replied. "We can do this in private or I can do it now.. your choice of course" She smiled..trying to put the Panther at ease.." Are you worried about what your husband will say..?'
-
Arianne looked at Ilsa - "I am not worried about Eriol, because he would never do anything against me... I may even say that he would get more worried of what I could say." - She said with a smile, she is feeling a bit more relaxed now. - "I don't know what would be best for you, but what I'd really like is to keep this as a secret, for now, until I can be sure to know if I am really pregnant or not."
-
Very well, I will do the spell, and if you are pregnant you can tell him at your leisure.. Now lets see.. ' Ilsa reached out and put her claw on Arianne's belly, and then focused. her claw glowed, and she moived it around. Ilsa to sense what was inside Arriane. She sensed the life growing inside of her and stopped, pulling her claw away. She paused for a moment and collected herself.. "You ARE with child " Ilsa said finally in a low voice.. : I could sense it..'
-
There was no doubt in that moment; Ilsa had detected a second energy signature within Arianne. This indicated the presence of another living creature, and since it was inside of a female, it was no leap of logic to conclude that it was a child... this would be the second pregnant female in the party...
-
After hearing the news, Arianne got the confirmation she needed. She said no words, she just placed her hands together near her face as she closed her eyes, tears coming out of her eyes, after some moments, she opened her eyes and then she was able to say. - "I-I'm going to have a second child." - Her tears were tears of pure joy. Then suddenly, she gave a little jump and gave Ilsa a big hug, forgetting her manners and her diplomatic education and experience, this was a moment of unique joy for a Gaean: the coming of a new child.
-
Ilsa was taken aback a little by the hug, but she could forgive her, she was just overjoyed at having confirmation of her suspected pregnancy. " Ilsa returned the hug, then brojke away " So are you looking for a boy or girl?' She asked quietly.. "Or do you have no preference?
-
Arianne also broke the hug. - "I'm sorry about that, I don't know what happened to me." - she then heard the question Ilsa made. - "Well, I do not have any preference at all, but since I already have a boy, then maybe the new child could be a girl." - she said that with a smile, still not fully believing the news.
-
"What's all the commotion about?" Adykon asked, approaching the females. He took one look at them and correctly guessed what it was... "You are with child, Arianne?"
-
Its alright, you were excited" Ilsa replied. "I'm very happy for you, and I'm sure your husband will be once you tell him.."
-
Arianne smiled at Ilsa and then she looked at Adykon with a smile. - "You are correct Adykon, I am waiting for my second child."
-
(OOC: Let's make these posts longer... mine included.)
Adykon told Arianne "You ought to tell your husband of this immediately. As for the rest of the party... that is your choice. I won't say anything if you don't want me too. I will try to keep you out of combat whenever I can, though. I don't want to put an unborn child at risk..."
-
When she tells Eriol is up to her" Ilsa said as they continued moving down the alleyway.. the sun was approaching the noontime, the temperature began to rise.. and it was already hot..
_ So where is you next sibling Rhiga" Minna asked her as they continued walking.. the cobblestones were hard against her feet, and she resisted the urged to bend over and fiddle with her feet..
-
Meanwhile...
"I wonder where Jake and the others went?" Rhiga asked Vespion. Marcus didn't know...
"The kids are scheduled to meet us at the inn when the sun goes down... that's not for hours and hours..." the cleric replied.
"That's good to hear. We should get to out destination soon... my feet are killing me! Who's idea was it to make the streets of cobblestone? This hurts!" the Dracon girl complained. It was not unreasonable for her to complain about it; it was hard to walk on...
(http://www.walkingboston.com/images/Cobblestone3.jpg)
Some streets in Minbenthac were made the same way, but most there were made of sand, or were reasonably flat and smooth... these were rough, hard, and uneven.
-
We could stop somewhere and get a bite oto eat, or We can just get some out of the bags of food I bought earlier "Minna said.. "I got bread, fruit, and lot of other things, enough for everyone.."
_
Well we do need to keep out of sight remember Rhiga isn't exactly welcome here' Marcus replied..
-
"Agreed. We need to move fast. If we have food, we need to eat it on the way, not stop to eat it..." Adykon told the group. He had hoped that the kids were not in trouble... they probably were... he would have to save them too, he thought. <_<
-
"These streets are very unfriendly... they are only useful for carts." - Arianne said as she did her best to walk on those streets.
Eriol nodded and replied - "Well, this city favors commerce too much, much more than even it's people, that could explain wht all streets are that way here in Hekaga." - he then paused for a moment and went closer to Arianne. - "I saw you going to talk quite privately to Ilsa, were you commenting funny things about me?." - he said with an amused tone of voice.
"It is not that Eriol, it is that Ilsa helped me to confirm that we..." - Arianne blushed and gave him a lovely look. - "... we are going to have a second baby."
For the second time on this journey life made sense for Eriol. The news made him speechless and after just a second, he moved and embraced her. - "You just made me the happiest Gaean on this entire world." - Arianne embraced him back, and both Panthers remained there for some moments, before realizing that the entire party was looking at them.
"We are going to have a second child." - Eriol told the party, with much pride on his voice.
-
Congratulations poured in from the rest of the party. Everyone was happy to hear it... again. This was the second pregnancy in the party so far. :D "This is your... second child? It's great news in any case!" Adykon told Eriol, shaking the panthers hand.
"We should tell Jake" Vespion said... "Where IS he?"
-
Minna grinned as Arriane revealed her pregnancy ' "Congratulations you two! So this is your second?"
_ Marcus warmly clapped at the announcement " So Rhiga isn;t the only one expecting... Do you know its gender yet?
_ It's too early " Ilsa explained.
-
"I don't know how it works with mammals" Vespion told the group. "I know you give... live birth" he shuddered a bit at that thought.
"It comes out of them kicking and screaming... not nice to think about" Rhiga said to Marcus. "I can't imagine laying an egg like that..."
-
Eggs are different than live birth, with live birth theres no shell, and it often takes longer to give birth depending on the species' Ilsa said.. 'well i'm glad Dracons don't have live birth... sounds very painful' Marcus said
-
"The egg just slides right out" Rhiga said, having laid three eggs in the past. "It hurts, but it isn't THAT bad... and it is pretty quick... a few hours at most, and it only really hurts just before it comes out. Now, protecting the egg... that's another thing."
-
Yes, there are many poorer females who have tried to steal eggs in the past" Minna said. " So desperate to have a child, they take them from the rightful mothers...' Ilsa shuddered it was a terrible thing to think about..
-
"The main problem are slavers" Adykon told Minna. "They try to steal eggs, hatch them, and sell the child into slavery. They sometimes sell the unhatched egg so that the child will be enslaved once he or she is born. Very sad. That is illegal in most cases, except for debt slavery and eggs captured in war."
-
Both Nobles shuddered.These adventures had been more eyeopening than they had ever expected them to be.."Thats really terrible.. the suffering those children go through.."
-
It was a harsh land. The Dracons lived in a realm of relativism and polytheism. Slavery and other crimes flourished because there was no one standard of justice, or even a closely-related set of standards. It was awful. Force, not the rule of law, was the order of the day... and their religions gave them contradictory rules on how to live.
-
While minna and Ilsa enjoyed a very affulent life, they were unable to make any serious impact of the classes beneath them. too many of thier fellow nobles cared little about the poor.
-
The party eventually came to another inn. This was where Rhiga's half-sister worked. She would have been off-duty at this hour; it was now well past noon. A good a time as any to check up on her...
-
Arianne saddened because of those comments. - "I can only say that I am more related to Ilsa and Minna, with a life that has been relatively easy... except for the last few years after the end of the Great War."
Eriol placed an arm around Arianne, he then commented. - "I have seen similar events back in our homeland, because slavery is gaining force, escaping the control of the governments. Kidnapping for slavery is rare, but it happens so families are forced to be more and more cautious, and we are no exception: with Isaac back at a friend's home and now this second child that will come... the last thing I want is something as stupid as slavery to threaten them."
"We should try to not talk too much about this sad topic..." - Arianne said - "... we have more pressing matters for us to take care right now, and that includes to make sure the kids reunite with us."
-
The party entered the inn; it was far more elaborate than the last one, and a lot smaller. It was still a large structure, though. And it was in decent condition. The brown wooden floors were smooth and clean, the gray stone of the walls and ceiling were free of stains, the lamps were all well lit, and the glasses were clean... that last one was very important. :blink:
Rhiga took a quick look around, then sniffed the air. She could not see her half-sibling, but she could smell her... she had been on stage recently. Asking the bartender, Rhiga learned that the one she was looking for was upstairs in a room, sleeping.
"Yeah, she danced up quite a storm, she did. She was already tired when she went upstairs with that first male... three guys later and she finally nodded off, I suppose. She hasn't left that room for three hours, so she's probably still asleep. You're free to check up on her if you want. She on the second floor, second door on the right down the third hallway. Just look for the door with the lion's head over it and you'll find her alright."
"Thank you. I'll go look" Rhiga replied. She went upstairs, alone. Let's see... Dragon's head... jackal's head... serpent's head... eagle's head... human's head? :blink:... aha, Lion's head!" Rhiga thought, grateful that the heads above each door were nothing more than wooden carvings.
-
Minna Ilsa and marcus followed Rhiga up the stairs, stopping as she opened a door " Have you found her, dear?' Marcus called out after her, as he stopped outside the door and Rhiga went inside.. " I'd guess she has,.." Ilsa replied. " so that will make 3 siblings we've found..
-
Lutgicia lay on the bed, utterly exhausted. Her half-sister was quiet; Rhiga was always very good at sneaking around. It wasn't just her tiredness that made her sleep so soundly... Lutgicia had been drinking... too much.
Her skin was a rare color... pink. That's right, a pink female Dracon. With pale white skin on her belly and underside and very large, round tiotleglas on her chest, Lutgicia was very attractive. Wise... she was not.
-
Marcus stepped inside the doorway a crack, a loosefloorboard creaked slughly,, luckily its sleeping occupant was so 'out of it' she didn't stir.. "Rouse her, and lets get out of her" Marcus said in a whisper..
-
Rhiga tried to wake her up... to no avail. She tried speaking to her, shaking her, rubbing her, gently scratching her, and giving her some water. They even ordered some fragrant pork for her, but even the smell of that was not enough to wake her up.
"We'll just have to wait until she wakes" Rhiga said, sadly. That would take a few hours...
-
Lutgicia lay on the bed. No one was going to carry her out against her will; that would be abduction. Her pink top, which, like her matching loincloth was colored a slightly darker shade than her fiery pink skin. Her garments were discarded in a corner, as she slept unclothed, like all female Dracons do.
They would have to leave her there for a while...
Meanwhile...
Dememoras's fortress lay in a sea of palpable blackness. The few creatures able to transverse the strange dark dimension could feel it tugging at them, as if passing through a slightly adhesive cloud. The master had called some of his allies to aid him. Three wicked dragons of different colors flew through the pitch black dimension, heading towards the palace...
"Of course he's going to save her! I'm sure of it. The master has never been wrong."
"I don't know. Did he predict that Arcantas would be pushed off that tower? Or that Adykon would get as far as he did!"
"Hold your tongue! It's not our place to question him! We have been assigned to meet the master himself! He will tell us what to do..."
-
Mafrrcus turned to rhiga "It will be awhile before she wakes.. is there another sibling of yours nearby that we can pick up.?' He asked.. " then we can come nback and pick her up.."
-
"No. She's the last that I can get out of here. Let's just relax until she gets up..." Rhiga replied. "We can head back downstairs and see what's happening. It sounds like some very good music."
It was very good indeed. A band of flute players had set up shop downstairs, giving the dancers a rare but much needed break. The waitresses were still as busy as ever, as was the bartender, who was fighting with a disgruntled customer...
"Hey barkeep! This ale tastes like month old troll piss!" shouted an inebriated Dracon male.
"You wanted the cheapest stuff on the house, and that's what you got!"
"I can find better crap poured out into the street! I want a refund!"
"It's the same stuff as you always drink! Speaking of which, your tab's getting awfully high. You'd best pay it off before complaining about the quality of my ale!"
Meanwhile, in the corner, several Dracons were seen smoking in the corner. There were no laws against it in the Dracon lands... but excessive smoking was looked down upon in most cities. Not in Hekaga. Adykon didn't smoke, but normally he didn't mind the fumes... he didn't know what they were smoking, so he avoided it... :blink:
Meanwhile, but in the distant valley...
Toby rested in his cozy straw nest; he and Gerasia had built one over the night. The little red dragon slept well, curled up and warm in his nest in the hut. Gerasia slept nearby. She was still afflicted with vampirism, but her mother and father did not hold it against her. The rest of the tribe did. She was held to be unclean... since she was still undead, they weren't fully wrong.
Vaeri's grave was just as cold as it always was. The staff placed into the ground in front of her grave was still in its place. It was raining that day, in the valley, and many of the straw huts were already leaking. No one noticed that the brown wooden staff began to glow with a golden light. Vaeri was still dead, and nothing the staff could do would ever change that, but it was clear that something was happening...
-
Akito sat at a nearby table, along with Touga, Juri, Ruka, Miki, and Utena. They were seated close to each other, seemingly discussing something. They spoke in low tones, and in the Fauxen tongue, which made their conversation all but unintelligible. Kyuichi, however, was attempting to get a female Dracon to mate with him, grinning lecherously.
Akio stood next to Adykon, looking at him.
"Again, I must apologize for this city's deplorable state..."
He said quietly...
________________________________________________________________________
In the Valley, Kuja stepped gingerly out of the portal he had created, looking at Toby and Gerasia with a smile. Even if he had at first been kind to them as a way of getting to their "mother," he had come to care genuinely for them.
"Rest well, younglings."
He whispered softly, then looked at Gerasia.
"I will find a way to break the curse upon you, child. I promise..."
-
Minna ordere a drink from the bartender..she didn't care much for beer, but she didn't mind wine.. "Anyone else care for a glass od wine?' She asked the others at her table.. "I'll buy the first round.."
-
Adykon and Vespion gave their assent to drink some wine. And Kyuichi's attempts to mate the female Dracon, a dancer, worked very well... so well that it caught him off guard. What was up with these Dracons? Most of them didn't normally jump at the idea of cross-species relations...
Offering Akio some wine, Adykon spoke to him;
"It is not your fault. Dracon cities would all be like this if they were run badly, curse or no curse. The Dark Master didn't make us bad; Dememoras simply brought out bad tendencies which were already in us." Adykon replied.
Meanwhile...
Kuja found himself surrounded by three tribal dracon warriors and the chief. "Hey! Who are you? How did you get here, and... wait... were you with a group of adventurers earlier?" a warrior asked.
"How did you get back here?" The chief asked, unsure if this really was one of the Fauxen who had been there before. He didn't recognize him...
-
Ilsa and marcus signaled that they wanted some wine as well.. "So how ling do you think we'll have to wait?' Ilsa said to Rhiga.. We need to get out of here as soon as possible...
-
"Knowing how long we Dracons can sleep, and since it looked like she was already asleep for a while. I'd say another 3 hours." They had already waited for three hours downstairs. The festivities showed no sign of slowing down... on the contrary, they were getting more crowded, and the patrons were more drunk. :blink:
-
Akio took a small sip of his wine, smiling at Adykon.
"Your forgiveness is quite a surprise. But...I do thank you. And I intend to repay your kindness."
He said softly, so that others around couldn't hear him speaking.
Kyuichi smirked after his initial shock, then led the Dracon female upstairs...
_________________________________________________________________________
Kuja raised his hands, lowering his head.
"I was not. I was with Lady Asthia...your enemy. But I came not to attack you. I came only to see that these two younglings were well. As for how I got here, I have the power to open rifts into the void, and through them, travel to places I am familiar with."
He said quietly...
-
Eriol and Arianne were in the Inn as well, near the entrance. She asked for a glass of water, maybe not the best of drink for a normal occasion, but maybe one of the very few (or the only one) she could get to drink due to her pregnancy. Eriol decided to drink water as well.
As the activity began to increase more, Eriol went to the center table and payed for the drinks they had, he then went where Adykon and the other were. - "Arianne and I will get a little walk, but we will not go far, so we'll know when Rhiga is able to wake up and bring her last sister."
-
Back at the valley...
The rain had tapered off. It was still sprinkling, as it often did in the jungle, but it was no longer
"How can we trust you? For all we know, you are still working for the Dark Master. You've come to get Gerasia, haven't you?!" A Dracon warrior accused Kuja.
"His cronies stole her once, but you'll have to kill me before you-"
"Kuja!" Gerasia exclaimed as she ran out of the hut, sounding very happy. She ran over to the Fauxen and gave him a hug as if he was an older brother to her, leaving the other Dracons flabbergasted. :blink:
Meanwhile, In Hekaga...
Lutgicia finally began to wake up. Her yellow eyes were bloodshot, and she was still feeling the effects of too much alcohol and dancing. Stepping out of bed, the tender white soles of her feet felt the cold floor. Applying more weight on her right foot, she felt a twinge of pain. She had danced for far too long. Taking her foot in her hands, she massaged it for a good five minutes, flexed her clawed toes, and proceeded to rub her other foot.
When she was comfortable enough to walk, the pink-skinned female stretched, put on her loincloth and top, and walked downstairs. Busy day... and she still had to get home... Kosjurec was waiting for her the whole time... she had left him with a friend who had crashed there for the night. Lutgicia was about to leave the inn when she smelled someone familiar... no, three familiar scents... and one of them was Rhiga!
Rhiga had smelled her newly-awakened half-sister too... "Luty!" she exclaimed, as the rogue went over to meet her half-sibling and gave her a hug. Explaining the situation as she had done with the last two half-sisters, Rhiga welcomed her into the adventuring party... but, there was something different this time...
"Adykon? The leader of your party is Adykon?" Luty asked.
"Yes... but Luty... why is that important?" Rhiga replied, using her half-sister's pet name.
"Let me take a look at him" Luty asked. As she did so, a look of recognition spread across her face, and her eyes widened.
"Rhiga... this male is the father of our half-brother!"
-
Kuja grinned, picking Gerasia up happily.
"Hello, Lady Gerasia! How are you, fair princess?"
He said merrily, smiling at her and her father.
-
"How... how do you know my daughter?!" The chief exclaimed. "Gerasia, what's going on?! Did that furred thing hurt you. Get away from him!" And with that, the warriors separated Gerasia from Kuja, but they didn't hurt him...
"Father, please, don't hurt Kuja!" the little Dracon exclaimed.
-
Eriol and Arianne were walking the alleys of Hekaga, still keeping close enough of the Inn the rest of the party is.
"There is still much time for the young ones to appear, but I would like to have a sign of them." - Eriol commented as he is taking a look at the streets, specially keeping an eye to some Guards, but they were far enough from the Inn so they represented no threat.
Arianne looked at her husband with a smirk - "If you are that worried about Selturma, Sasha, Jake and Rex, I cannot imagine how you would be with Isaac and our new child that will come." - she then stopped for a second. - "Eriol, you do still have that potion Selturma gave you?"
Eriol looked at her and nodded, then both Panthers found a small aquare and sat down, He is always carrying his backpack, so he took it off and began searching between his stuff, until he found the potion. After Arianne sat down, he then proceeded to apply the potion to his wife's feet.
As he was doing that, Arianne's curiosity lead her to inspect her husband's backback, finding: spare arrows, the spare clothing, some other stuff and... - "What is this?" - she asked as she found a book, hidden between Eriol's things.
He looked at her and replied, with a calm voice - "That is my journal, I began writing it shortly after I began hunting your killer.... but since you made it back to me, I totaly forgot about this book." - he smiled as he saw her putting the book back in the nackpack and then as she began looking at how Eriol was finishing applying the potion. After a while, they both were sitting, one next to the other, as they were talking... killing the time until something new can happen.
-
So you're the father of her halfbrother " marcus said turning to Adykon. Then you should take responsibility for him!" Adkyon was older than Marcus at least twice his age in fact..
-
Adykon was stunned. His eyes widened, and a worried look came over his face. Vaeri had mentioned a child on the way over... name Kosjurec...
"What's this child's name?" he asked Luty.
"Kosjurec." she replied "At least, until his father names him with a permanent name..."
Could be coincidence... it wasn't an uncommon name.
"How long ago was he born?" He continued
"About two years ago." Lutgicia answered.
Okay... so it fit the timeframe. He had seen Vaeri pregnant at about that time, and she said it was his. Still, her promiscuity was great, like most unmarried Dracon females... she could have been lying...
Still, there was a way around that.
"I'm not going to ask what he looks like." Adykon said. "Take me to him. I shall see for myself. I'll take him to a temple and we can test him there. If he is indeed my own, I shall take care of him. It's the least I can do to honor your mother's memory..." he added.
-
Akio walked alongside Adykon, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Your son, hm? That was..unexpected."
He said, somewhat trying to joke...
_________________________________________________________________________
Kuja looked at the guards.
"I didn't mean any harm. Lady Gerasia and I became friends while Asthia had her."
He said somewhat lamely...
-
so where is this "kos" kid now?' Ilsa asked. " Where in the city? If he is truly Adykon's son_ and I suspect he is- then we should bring him with us.."
-
(OOC: I've said it before, and I'll say it again... let's try to make these posts longer, please. We've got 1 or 2 more new posters on the way, and giving them opportunities to respond and fleshing out the setting and characters is important; so let's try to improve our post length.)
"How do we know that Gerasia still isn't under one of your dark spells?!" one of the warriors shouted at Kuja, waving around a stone knife.
"Maybe she's under a geas from Asthia... or the Dark Master!" Another one added.
"We should kill him where he stands! It's bad enough that these furry invaders come into our lands!" A third warrior added, clutching his spear.
"Yes... I hear do all sorts of atrocious things, especially when it comes to matter of repro-" the first warrior exclaimed, only to be cut off...
"Enough!" The chief shouted. "We shall take my daughter and this... 'Kuja' to our shaman. He will determine who's under what spell, if any." Turning to Kuja, the chief told the Fauxen; "If you are telling the truth and have no hostile magics, you can say your piece. If you ARE guilty of using dark magics on my daughter, you're dead."
Back in Hekaga...
"Yes... Vaeri told me I had a son. I believed her, but... I never thought I'd actually meet the boy..."
Adykon realized that he might have said too much; it only took Rhiga a moment to put two and two together.
"Excuse me? Never thought you would see him? You told us you were going back with my mother to raise him! What are you up to?" Rhiga replied, suspicious.
"What I mean is... I had doubts that we would survive our journeys. You know as well as I do how many times we could have been killed! You know how often we fell under the influence of hostile magics, or were kidnapped, or were injured. Heck, you were taken from your wedding and trapped under a tower for over a month! YES, I had reason to doubt that things would turn out okay..." Adykon replied.
Thinking it over, Rhiga realized that he had a point. "Alright Adykon, I see what you're saying... that's right. There were times when I never thought I would ever see Marcus again..." as she spoke, she leaned in close to her fiance, who put his arm around her; "I can see why you'd feel like you would never see your son..."
Although what she said was true to an extent, it was not the reason why Adykon never thought he would ever see his son. Truthfully, he had planned on leaving Vaeri behind and never seeing her or their child... ever. Being a mercenary, Adykon was used to a life filled with adventure, excitement, and exotic locales. While he also admitted to enjoying exotic females as well, he quickly got bored of them and the locale he was in, especially if work opportunities dried up. As it was, the thought of staying put and committing to a cause other than himself and his personal ideas was repugnant to him just a few months ago...
There had been a change in Adykon, however. Recent events forced him to rethink his course in life. Given the suffering he saw and the personal losses he had experienced... such a life might not be what was best for him, or best for anyone.
-
You were going to leave Vaeri, weren't you' Minnna said looking at Adkyon coldly.. 'Admit it! You were, weren't you? I've seen your type, you never adress your responsibilities.. no no.. its always off on the next adventure.. and in doing so you leave the females and , in some cases, your children to fend for themselves! How is that honorable Adykon? I know you have started to change your ways, and that is admirable, if only in that it is the right and responsible thing to do.. however..you were perfectly prepared to leave this child to his own devices. no father to look up to, no one to emulate, no one to provide a home for him and his mother.." Minna shook her head.
-
"Yes. That is correct, Minna. 100% correct. I cannot say my father left me, nor can I say that this is some sort of 'revenge' on society... but your criticism comes too late. The fact is, while I probably have several children with several females whom I will never see, I am going to see this one. If it turns out not to be my child, I won't see him again... ever. If he is mine, I will take him with us. "
Pausing to take a breath, the mercenary continued.
"I cannot fault anyone for wanting a life of adventure, though. You and Ilsa want to very same thing I did, don't you? You don't want a life spent hanging around a palace and constantly laying eggs, is that right? Likewise, I didn't want a life spent tied down to a pathetic little plot of land raising some underfed goats. No... I wanted to see the world! I still do! Instead of missing my home, I was grateful to be gone! My time spent in the army freed me, and the thought of being tied down again... it will not do. No. Can't happen. No way. I'll raise my son, but on my own terms... IF the boy is mine!"
-
"However, we would never turn our back on family!' Ilsa replied. "Yes we enjoy adventure, as much as you do, if not more..however, if we have lain eggs, we do not abandon them, we raise them as best we can..if push comes to shove we can afford to raise them by ourselves, we're wealthy. However, given our noble status it is unlikely we would be just cast off..my father is a very rich and important noble..as is Minna's..." this was true.. in many regards the girls were in little danger of wanting for anything.. Adykon had been poor, and had tried to improve his lot in life.. so that had meant he had to sacrifice much to get where he was including family
_
The child is likely yours" Minna said crossing her arms " as for being tied down, we don't want to, but we have no choice.. at some point Ilsa and I will be married to lords, in a similar fashion you WILL be responsible for raising this child.. as best you can..i'm sure Rhiga and Marcus will help as best they can.."
-
"Don't presume to tell me what I can and cannot do, female." Adykon said, playing the gender card. "First of all, IF the child is mine... and ONLY IF the child is mine... I WILL raise him as my own. Second, you are rich. Adventuring for you is a luxury, it is MY LIVING."
Adykon was getting mad, but he realized he was making a scene, so he calmed down...
"The rich cannot tell me what to do, or how to live... I don't have a place to call my own, in truth... I go from inn to inn, from barracks to barracks, from hostel to hostel. On night, I might be sleeping with a noble's daughter in a warm bed, the next, I might be roughing it in the sand. I like it. For all the privations, hardships, and close calls... it is enjoyable. It is... well... fun is not the word for it... exhilarating... yes, that's it, it is exhilarating."
"What you have told me comes from the point of view of one who has the luxury of being able to settle down. I don't have that. You will never want for anything. You can have... no... you are expected to have many children... no... you are obligated to have as many offspring as your loins can produce, given your noble rank and station. And you have all the food, space, and assistance taking care of the children. Maids, cooks, healers, midwives, even wet-nurses... you have it all, and more! You can afford to be tied down. Me? I have no bed for a child... I don't even have a permanent bed for myself... heck, I don't even have tiotleglas on my chest to feed the child, let alone a place to tuck him in at night..."
Taking in another breath, he continued...
"But you would provide for us I'm sure, if only for the sake of the son... isn't that right Ilsa? Or maybe Minna? Or both? It does not matter... the same lack of me having a permanent place to sleep in also allows me to live the life I want... and I cannot give it up. End of story."
With Vaeri dead, there was no serious incentive for him to settle down; even his son didn't constitute enough motivation by himself.
-
Know your place" Ilsa said coldly.. "We will help you Adykon, with whatever money you may need to feed the boy and raise it..but,for the space of a few years, the boy needs to have you near him, so he can learn from you, and build an attachment to you. You will be able to stay at Minna's castle if you so wish, or if you do not wish it,then we can find a place more to your liking. You are right to say we have responsibilities, but you do as well! You've acquitted yourself well in battle, now, I think you have earned a break from that.. Once the boy is older and able to fend for himself, then you may do whatever you please... but until then, you have an obligation to him that you must meet. willing or no.. You have earned my esteem by your valor, don't throw it away by an act of supreme selfishness.."
-
"Since when does your esteem mean much to me?" Adykon asked rhetorically. "I am on a quest to save the WORLD from an evil overlord who is threatening to conquer and destroy everything we know and love. I couldn't stop my quest if I wanted to. Sure, I could take the boy to your palace, work as a guard or something, spend some time with him... but in the meantime, the world is doomed. Do you really want that? I sure don't! I also have to aven... I cannot let him go unpunished for what he did to Vaeri..."
"Now... I don't know how long it is going to take to stop him. Given how powerful he is, it could take me YEARS... I just don't know. It would be more irresponsible of me to stop adventuring now and let the world fall than it would be for me to leave my son. And all this is based on the idea that he IS mine!"
-
Ilsa gave him a look. "You're not alone in this fight Adykon, not by a long shot! You're not the only one wanting vengence, everyone in this group wants it for Vaeri! And having the respect of your social betters is always something that looks good on your resume, Adykon..Don't think for a moment we haven't forgotten about Dememorus, but we need to gather our strength and that takes time..we also need to make sure our loved ones are as protected as possible.. You can do both you know, raise the child, while fighting the Dark Lord.. at the same time.."
-
"I can... but I can't be tied down. It is... tricky. I'll take my son with me on this adventure. He'll be safe with us. If someone attack us we can... what I mean to say is that I-I... I... cannot risk that. No. I will find my son, name him, and take him to Minbenthac with me. Then, I will make sure he has a place to stay, food to eat, and make sure that he is cared for. At that point, I will resume adventuring, and visit when I can. That is how it will work." Adykon replied.
-
Your visits must be of some length then.. lets say.. 2 weeks..? Minna said giving him a short smile "that is a fair time to spend with him.. start thinking of names as he head out to look for the boy..
_
Which temple are these parent issues usually resolved at?' Marcus said cutting into the conversation. "I may have my paternity of my child tested even though I know its mine.. so you won;t be the only one Adykon doing this.."
-
"Whatever temple I can find..." Adykon replied to Marcus.
Turning his attention to Minna and Ilsa, he spoke to them;
"I'll visit as my work permits" Adykon replied. "Don't count on it for being that long, don't count on it being all that often. As it is, you won't be in a position to do much once they marry the two of you off... you'll have enough children to worry about in your futures, that's for sure. Now... where are the panthers? They stepped outside to do something last I saw them... "
-
As soon as Adykon made his question, he recieved an answer - "Here we are." - It was Eriol, who was a couple of meters behind him. - "Do you have any plans? Because the sooner we leave Hekaga, the better."
Arianne was standing just outside the entrance of the Inn, just to keep her away from the most ammount of smoke as possible. She waved to the party members that saw her.
-
"Well... we should go... we should get moving now if we want to meet Jake and the other kids at the inn on time." Adykon told the group.
"Lead the way, Luty" Rhiga told her sister. "Where are we going, exactly?"
"To a tenement... Kos will be there." Lutgicia replied.
-
Akio walked beside Adykon, placing a paw on his shoulder.
"Adykon...perhaps you should give your...son a chance. Who knows what will be? Maybe he will grow to be a great hero, like you."
He said, never looking at Adykon...
Akito nodded from the other side.
"I agree, honestly. Maybe this possible son of yours, he'll want to be just like his dad. If he does, don't rob him of that chance."
He stated, looking at his friend...
-
Adykon spoke to both Fauxen... "Thank you both for your kindness... but first... oh... I know I've said this at least three times now, but I need to tell IF he is my son first... I am mostly sure he is... and if that is so, I won't run from him. No. If he is not my son, then I'm leaving him in the hands of whoever wants him... Minna, Ilsa, Luty, whoever. Vaeri said he was mine, but it would be naive of me to trust a dancer like her... we all know how promiscuous they are... and none of them are shy to admit that. If it is not my son, the child will be no worse off than before..."
-
Eriol and Arianne looked at each other while walking with the group, then she said - "I think that we have missed something. But if that young Dracon is or not your son, well, we'll know soon enough."
Eriol then replied. - "And if it is your son, well' I can say that sometimes, it is better that kids will only try to learn the good things about their parents, and not everything." - He was specially somber as he said that last part, and that made Arianne to take a glance at him.
-
The party went out of the inn and into the streets. Back into the cobblestones...
"Ohh... and my feet just stopped hurting too..." Rhiga whined, complaining about the sharp rocks that the road was comprised of.
They didn't have too far to walk, luckily. Still, 30 minutes was still 30 minutes longer than Rhiga wanted to be out in the open in a city that she had to flee from...
-
"Well, I know how you feel Rhiga. So we should try to be careful where we step on" - Arianne commented with an uneasy voice, but still able to do a smile.
Eriol looked to Arianne and then to Rhiga - "I guess that we need a way to finish everything we came to do here as soon as possible. The cobblestones don't bother me, but the smells and the things we have seen is what really bothers me." - He stopped speaking for a second. - "It would be great that the situation could change somehow." - He then made an evil grin - "A good first stwep would be to get rid of Dememoras."
-
After a little while (and more complaining from the females), the party came to a rundown tenement which looked like it was literally falling apart.
"A crappy, unpainted wooden building was is no place for a son of mine" Adykon said. "Let's go. Lutgicia, show me the way..."
The two of them walked inside, with Rhiga coming along as well. Walking up six stories, they knocked on the door that Luty had led them to, only to discover that it wasn't quite set on the hinges properly. A moment later, an exhausted-looking female greeted them...
-
marcus came up the stairs after them, taking care to not damage the stairs..which looked like they were one hard step away from collapsing.. "Is Kosjerac there" He asked kindly.. "We've brought his father with us.. "Marcus was tired his clothes were worn from days of wearing them. his quiver hung from a ratty strap aropund his back.. he turnned to Rhiga, and lifted his left claw to pull a splinter out..
-
Adykon was normally the one to speak for the party... but right now, he was so apprehensive about the situation, he hardly had any words...
"Hello... I... oh... how do I say this? My name is Adykon, and I believe I am the father of Kosjurec. I knew Vaeri and-"
"You look like him. I'll get him now." The female said in a raspy voice. Her eyes were bloodshot, her breath stank of alcohol, and she was smoking at least two different things in the last few hours... she stank.
Entering the tenement, Adykon saw a small male child. He was only about two years old... that was easy to see. He had brownish skin, red eyes, and two small, but sharp horns. He had the biggest eyes. Wearing a black loincloth, he was just starting to speak...
Looking up at Adykon, the mercenary could see... the largest set of eyes on a child he had ever seen. It just occured to him that the Dracon boy had seen very few adult males in his life... and probably never saw one in this tenement.
(I'll add more to this post in a few minutes, and delete this line too)
-
While the youths were at the temple. Jake had to carry Sasha on his back while they looked for a healer that could replenish Sasha' energy from the casting the spell during the previous fight. "wheres a healer?!" thought Jake in his head "one has to be here someplace?"
-
A dracon male in dark robes approached Jake and the others. His features were obscured underneath his clothes, but it was clear that he was emanating some sort of power... and not a benevolent one. He spoke in a raspy voice;
"What have you come here for, human child? You seek healing for your female don't you? All who come here seeking help will find it, if they are willing to provide something in return. First, set her down on that stone slab. I can tell she is tired, but will recover. I can make her strength return much faster if you need it to..."
-
"what do you want in return?" asked Jake
-
"I wish to perform an experimental spell. It's effects are temporary, but great. If you will volunteer for this, the girl will get some help recovering. I can restore her to full power in just three hours instead of the full day it would otherwise take her to do so." the robed Dracon replied.
Meanwhile...
Adykon knelt down next to Kos and spoke to him. "I might be your father. My name is Adykon. I... I'm not quite sure how to handle this" Adykon said to the group.
-
Bring him with, and we can do our best to explain things to him.."Marcus said.. "He'll have to family to take care of him in any rate, ifyou are busy Adykon, which I'm sure you will be, I'll help Rhigaa raise him, he'll be like a son to me"
_ with that, marcus starte d down the stairs, which creaked under his weight.. "this place looks like it is not going to last much longer..' he said
-
Adykon took Kos in his arms; the child offered no resistance. He was unusually light for two years old... his caretaker, a friend of Lutgicia's, didn't seem to notice or care. She had fallen down on her bed again and was sleeping off the effects of drinking and smoking... no child should live here.
Adykon, Rhiga, Kos, and the rest went downstairs. Kos was able to speak, but only spoke in single words or short sentences. He could walk, but Adykon didn't want him traversing the sharp streets. Holding onto Adykon with his little arms, he uttered "Bye" to Lutgicia's friend. Neglectful though she was in many ways, she had nevertheless helped Luty to keep him alive; specifically, the inebriated female had served as a wet-nurse when Vaeri had left, and she also watched him when Lutgicia was absent.
The three of them left the tenement and walked out into the streets made for carts instead of people... their next stop: a temple where they could get a paternity test done for Kos...
-
As they moved along the road the sharp stones cut into Minna's feet she seethed as she walked along.. ' Goodness these stones are course and sharp" she said, revealing a bleeding foot. "Not much we can do about that, Minna something tells me that these stones have not been paved, well, ever.. this is a poor section of the city..and it is evident.." Ilsa had cut feet as well, but she was trying to think of their next stop rather than worrying about her niccks and cuts. Minna did not share her restraint howeverm, this was proven when a rock was shoved into one of the cuts in bher feet. minna let out a loud yell of pain..
-
Vespion saw their plight and acted swiftly. "I can heal this with my magic, you know. Minna, Ilsa, if you could hold out your injured feet, I can use a simple spell to fix it. I can't prevent future injuries, but when they do occur, I can heal those too."
-
The Group paused briefly, and the two nobles sat down on a flight of steps running upward.Minna gratefully held out her feet to vespion. "Thank you for doing this.. My feet are kiling me..' She said, and Ilsa waited her turned to have her feet healed..
-
Vespion knelt down and cast his magic on the girls. Holding each foot in his hands, he cast a spell. The sensation for each female was like warm sand on a beach, accompanied by some warm white light. When he let each foot go, all injuries were gone.
"I'll have to cast that spell over and over. As long as we are in Hekaga, that is... I healed your sores, but that spell won't keep new ones from coming on." Vespion told them.
-
Yes, Which is unfortunate.. I'd rather wear some of those strange things the humans wear" Minna replied. Lets hope we can find some smoother roads to travel on soon.."
_
that unfortunately was not to be the case, as these roads went on for some distance, and were not meant for travel on foot anyway..
-
Rhiga gave Minna a strange look, as did the other Dracons. Even though the road was sharp... dressing like a human in that regard was seen as odd to the Dracons, as if a human were to walk around with a parasol attached to their back just because it was sunny out.
-
That was a pretty odd thing to say Minna' Ilsa said. "I was just refering to thier shoes' Minna replied. "Thats still being odd, my friend'Ilsa said.. "Just.. don't say anything for awhile ok..?' Ilsa shook her head.. if it was not one tihing witth minna it was another..
-
"Let's just go" Adykon told the rest of them "We've seen enough odd things as it is on this trip. Rhiga, do you know of any temples that might be able to help us test Kos?"
"All of them" she said with a laugh. "It is a very common thing to do... in fact, it in uncommon for it not to be done among families who actually stay together. There's a temple 10 blocks north of here..."
-
The group started headed towards the Temple, where both marcus and adykon would have thier paternity tested.. Marcus' was pretty straightforward, with Adykon's there was a measure of doubt. vaeri had been with countless males in her life, there could have been several different males who could be Kos' father. well that was about to be cleared up..
-
Eternion sighed, and lent back on the column behind him. He let the old broom in his hand settle beside him as he wiped his other hand upon his dusty crest.
'What a mess,' the old Dracon grumbled, his own personal catchphrase. If there was one thing he hated about this temple, it was the fact that it was always getting dirty and dust-ridden. An impressive feat, indeed.
How could they manage such a thing? He wondered if they all did it just to annoy the old Dracon. He had heard some of the priests and patrons whisper things about him, thinking the old Dracon hard of hearing... the lonely old Dracon that sweeps the stone and grumbles all the time.
Hah... I'm old, but I've still got it where it counts, he thought with a grin. Then he remembered he was a temple caretaker... and groaned.
He watched as a pair of the odd priests walked by, and then out of sight. His good right eye looked up to the roof, as if looking for something not there.
'Look at me now, Almia. This is what I've become.'
He took the broom in his hand, and began sweeping once more.
(OOC: Hello everyone! Hope I fit in well... first time Forum RP'er, so please tell me if I do okay :lol).
-
Akio walked along side Minna and Ilsa.
"If you'd like, I can cast a simple barrier around your feet. It should prevent you from further pain. And, slightly riskier, I can contain a healing spell in it, as well..."
He said to them, a gentle smile on his face...
Akito chuckled a little.
"Ah, well. At least he'll get to know his parents, eh, Ruka?"
To Fauxen, parentage was exceedingly unimportant, and most children never knew their birth parents.
"I-it is nice. I wonder what mine would have been like..."
The younger Fauxen mused...
"Indeed. It's a pity we will likely never know."
Touga agreed, walking beside the duo with Juri alongside him
"Imagine, if one of our parents was some noble from a distant land!"
Utena declared, doing a small pirouette...
"Utena, life isn't like the old stories."
Juri chided, though she seemed rather wistful at the thought of knowing her family.
"I think it for the best, actually. If someone was, say born to a notable criminal, or a rich parent, then there would be so little equity..."
Miki stated, touching the eyeglasses-shaped mark on his face with one paw...
-
(OOC: It is VERY good, JitteryDragon, just the kind of thing needed to get the RP going again; it had slowed down after the last story arc had ended. Normally, I wouldn't "break character" for this long, but welcoming a new player merits it. Just post a profile for your character(s) here: http://z7.invisionfree.com/thegangoffive/i...pic=5533.720 (http://www.gangoffive.net/index.php?topic=5304.720). Also, feel free to contact me or leave a post in the discussion page so we can coordinate putting your character(s) into a situation to mesh with the pre-existing ones. As it is, I'll have my characters head towards that temple. Thanks for participating! :D )
Adykon and the party entered the temple elaborate limestone temple. One of the priests looked at the party and, assuming they were a family, extended a hand to congratulate Adykon on becoming a father.
"My best wishes to you sir. I see you and your rather large family are coming here for some business. Please, feel free to look around and avail yourself of our services. We offer reasonable rates for healing, exorcisms, curse removal, cures, potions, you name it."
Looking at Kos, the priest had an idea of what Adykon wanted...
"Are you looking to test this child. We get a some families in here every week asking for that very same thing."
"Yes, I figured you do... and yes, you are right. I am here to get this boy tested to make sure he is mine." the mercenary replied.
"You've come to the right place. Now, if you will just take your child and come with me, it will take a small amount of magic and an even smaller amount of gold to..." and with that, the priest, the warrior and the toddler were out of earshot.
Vespion, being a cleric in his own temple back in Minbenthac, took a look around at some of the architecture...
"Hmm... this temple belongs to an old order... those symbols on the walls, the ones which look like an eight-pointed star... those are not made anymore..." the cleric told the group.
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_xdN0QQwsP1A/STYb9s3BIyI/AAAAAAAAASc/uhD2rIhLEs4/s400/65.+Eight+Pointed+Star.jpg)
"What should that matter?" Rhiga asked. "What do those stars have to do with anything?"
"Well... that was the symbol of an ancient dragon... the one that founded Hekaga. It was said that the dragon worshiped a pantheon of eight deities, and that when the Dragon died, his eight male children each followed one of those eight and fought each other over control of the city, and each one built a temple to his god during his reign over Heakaga, each one overthrowing the other in short order until the last surviving one took over for good... well, until he overtaxed and tyrannized the population, and was killed himself in a great rebellion. This temple would have predated all of those, if the history is correct."
"Wow... that's old." Rhiga replied. She had lived in this city for most of her life, and yet she had never learned that... it was more of an indictment of her city's failed education system than anything else...
-
Eternion eyed the strange gathering with interest. It had been a while since he had seen such a group... a weak smile gleaned across his face, he could spot adventurers from miles away with that eye of his.
But what immediately got his attention was the mess they left behind. 'But of course,' he grumbled to himself. He thought of approaching and giving them a piece of his mind, but he decided against it... the last time he had done such had ending rather poorly, and nearly cost him his job.
Some job, he thought.
So instead, he merely walked over and began sweeping away the dirt with every bit of mumbling and grumbling he could muster.
Hmm, Fauxen... haven't seen one of those in ages, he thought to himself while gazing (rather rudely, he would later consider) at the odd furred creature amongst the party. Quite the gathering, indeed. It made him wonder what they were doing here, but that was their business.
His was cleaning up after them. He grumbled once more.
-
(OOC: Sounds like a solid character. Also note that you can play more than one character if you wish, and if someone is not available to control a character, you can ask him if he wants you to control his character until he gets back. )
Rhiga noticed an old dracon cleaning up after the party... she then became conscious of the dirt and filth caked onto her from the previous day... and the adventure in the valley. They hadn't cleaned since... :blink:
"I'm sorry to be tracking so much dirt." Rhiga told Eternion.
-
The old Dracon faced Rhiga with his good right eye.
'Must have been some journey,' he said in his low, tired voice. 'You're almost carrying a whole landscape under there.'
With a flick of the wrist, he sent some dirt skimming across the tiled floor, into a corner. He could almost laugh at his theatrics, and he wondered if he should have taken up the broomstick as a weapon. Almia would have surely had a thing or two to say about that.
His weary face sank into a frown. He hated it whenever he started to think about her... especially when trying to talk to someone, something he had few opportunities to do these days. His eye fell upon the Dracon once more, and he hid the emotion under a weak smile.
'But... I'm merely doing my job,' he said as he adjusted his worn leather belt. He made a mental note to buy a new one, and soon.
Eternion looked over Rhiga's shoulder. 'Some gathering you have here, haven't seen such a company for a good few decades-'
He fell silent. Oh great, he thought... now he was going to end up telling her his life story... such a cliche thing for an old timer like him to do.
-
"Well, we're an adventuring party." Rhiga replied. Looking at the sheer number of them, it looked more like a regiment than a typical adventuring group. How many were there in a usual group? Four? Six? Even with Vaeri dead and the four kids temporarily separated, there was still Adykon, Vespion, Minna, Ilsa, Marcus, herself, the six Fauxen, the temporary addition of four of her half-siblings, including Kos, plus the two panthers Eriol and Arianne.
She noticed that those last two had paws, which left a different pattern than the usual footprints... they also tracked more dirt. "Sorry that we aren't exactly a clean group here, but our work is very important." Rhiga noticed that the old Dracon, while clearly past his prime, was still pretty strong.
"Were you ever in an army? Or maybe an adventurer yourself?" She queried.
-
(OOC: First of all, welcome to the rpg JitteryDragon!. I figured I would miss lots of posts, but there are always when I am offline... or fixing my pc like today <_< .)
Eriol and Arianne arrived to the Temple with the party. It is indeed a large and strange group of adventurers, but maybe that is what makes everything more interesting. - "Good luck Adykon, I hope things will turn out for the best." - Arianne said to Adykon, as both Panthers preferred to not enter anymore. - "And I am sorry if we are getting the temple dirty, but streets are made much differently in our homeland than here."
"Just say the truth Arianne: this city is dirt, the streets and the quality of life of it's people. I have managed to get more footprints here than after walking in a normal forest." - Eriol replied with a bit of an annoyed voice. His wife just glared at him. Eriol looked to another side, contemplating the decorations of the temple.
-
Adykon and Kos followed the priest into an inner room with two wooden chairs and a roll of parchment and a stamp. Each chair was surrounded by red symbols on the ground.
"The procedure is very simple. Other temples do it different ways, but we get so many people coming in for this sort of test, we have found a way to speed things up." the priest told Adykon.
"That's good" the mercenary replied. "What do I do?"
"You sit down in one of the chairs, either one will do. Those red glyphs are enchanted. When two people sit in them, the magic activates and if the two who are seated are related, the parchment will say so in writing. It will also show how they are related."
"Okay... how much will this cost?" Adykon asked.
"Ten gold pieces, please" the priest said. Adykon paid him the money, put Kos in one of the seats and then sat down in the other one. Immediately, there was a brief sensation of heat from the chair. Judging from Kos's expression, the boy felt it too. After about 30 seconds, the heat died down and letter appeared on the parchment.
"Alright, let's take a look... yes, you are indeed the father." the priest said, taking his stamp and sealing the paper. "This seal confirms it. It also provides for a free testing at another temple, in case you feel that this test was somehow flawed."
This was true; Adykon had heard that the major temples of the Dracon lands had an agreement to honor these tests, as paternity was very important to the Dracons; it could literally mean life or death for the child, and knowing who one's father was gave one a sense of their status. Therefore, even temples who disagreed with each other in most ways would honor that agreement.
Whatever the case, it was official; Adykon was the father. He'd get another test back in Minbenthac, but unless he heard otherwise, he was now convinced that Kosjurec really was his son. Now he would need to think of a new name for the boy...
-
Eternion was hesitant- to say the least- of talking about his past. Well, at least what he actually remembered of it. Still, here in front of him stood the biggest party of adventurers he had ever seen.
True adventurers... it was as if his past had walked through the doorway in force, like an army besieging his past.
'Once,' the old Dracon said with a sigh. He lent on the old broomstick and faced the other way, his blind eye staring into the distance. 'I was an adventurer. A warrior, hero, and thrill seeker.' He almost chuckled at that last one... all those close calls had definitely worked him over.
'That... was many years ago, though.' That was an understatement, he had lost count of how many years it had been. Had it really been a decade? Or more?
He shook his head. 'To be honest, I've lost count of the years. My memory isn't as good as it used to be, to be honest.'
Swept away like the dirt on the floor, he thought.
Still, he was curious. She had said their work was important, and he wasn't about to disbelieve that... considering the size of the group.
He faced her, mind still churning over whether or not he should ask. He wondered why he even worried. All those years of adventuring were over, after all.
'I must ask, for I'm a little curious. If you would indulge an old coot like me, what brings such a party to these parts?'
-
"In this case, sheer accident" Rhiga told Eternion. "We were heading back from a distant jungle, and the teleportation artifact that was supposed to take us to another city... well... it misfired for some reason, and it teleported us here."
Sighing, the female Dracon recalled all the hard times spent in the lost city, and then the sheer horror spent under Asthia's tower.
"I had originally joined up with a mercenary named Adykon, who is the leader of my adventuring group. We met some others and together, we went to a lost city. In the ruins of a once-great metropolis, we found an item that we were supposed to retrieve. Turns out, it was not what we thought it was... and from there... things went downhill..."
Rhiga went on to explain the party's confrontation with Arcantas, her engagement to Marcus, her capture and imprisonment, her liberation, and the dangers they now faced in Hekaga. She omitted the fact that she had stolen from the prince of Hekaga and was not welcome here...
"So that's pretty much it." Rhiga said. "Long story, I know."
-
ilsa spoke to Eternion " how long have iou been cleaning up this temple' She gave the old Dracon a look-over and smiled. she then frowned as she saw the dirt she had tracked in with the others. " My apologies for the mess.. I am not usually this dirty, but after being on a long adventure without much chance to clean up, well, I leave a mess,. I'm Lady Ilsa.. these are all friends of mine" She motioned to the others.
_
I'm Lady mInna of Minbenthac" Minna said to Eternion. 'Allow me to add my apologies for the mess you have to clean up.."
-
Though the story was long, Eternion listened with interest all the way. He was surprised by this, given his age. Perhaps it was that old adventurers way, he himself could tell a story or two... though he wondered if anyone would listen to an old Dracon ramble on about the good old days.
However, as the story went on... things changed. What had seemed as yet another adventure became more sinister. The battle against Arcantas, Rhiga's capture... and now, a new threat.
Eternion was stunned. Here before him stood heroes... much like the books he had read and cherished as a child. In all his life he could never imagine the idea of facing the true heart of evil, something that could threaten the world. Sure, he had seen and faced many trials, but this was something else.
And here he was, sweeping a floor.
He barely heard Ilsa speak. He shook his head, ousting his moment of inattention. 'I have been working here... well...' He started counting with his fingers. Was it six? Seven? No...
'Eight years, I believe. Yes, it has truly been that long.' He sighed, so many years wasted.
Ilsa and Minna introduced themselves to him, and he thought it only fair to complete the acquaintance.
'Eternion of Graylane at your service,' he said with a slight bow. He was glad his back was still in good shape, that would have made for an excellent first impression if it weren't. 'I thank you for your courtesy, though. But... it is my job.'
He was beginning to grow frustrated with his thoughts. Sweeping floors... The true, final destiny of a hero.
No, he wasn't a hero. Just another vagabond of the way of life, and inevitability just another civilian in the sands.
Something stirred inside him. An urge he hadn't felt in ages.
Then he heard her voice, like a whisper in the back of his mind. Old memories returning.
- - -
'So what do you think?' Almia said to him, extending her hand through the open window. 'Shall we run away together?'
He frowned nervously. 'If my mother catches me she'll-'
'But you promised!'
'Shh!' He uttered. 'She'll hear you and then we'll be in real trouble.'
She crossed her arms. 'Hmph... Eternion, you're such a baby.'
'Hey!' He cried. 'I'm no baby, I'm twelve years old.'
'And can't even write a word to save his life,' she muttered to herself, thinking Eternion couldn't hear her.
It wasn't his fault he couldn't afford a good education. He felt a little insulted. Odd, considering how kindly Almia usually was to his circumstances... considering her own.
She looked into his eyes with her own. They shined blue under the moonlight, and that feeling of nervousness within Eternion seemed to wither away.
'It's about time you acted your age. Now come on, let's go have an adventure!'
She held out her hand once more.
'Please?'
With a sigh, he took her hand. He thought one night wouldn't hurt... what was the worst that could happen? It wasn't as if he was going to end up doing this for the rest of his life.
- - -
Eternion chuckled to himself. He felt different, as if the old Dracon shell had begun to fall away.
He turned to Rhiga. 'You face so many dangers, and still you press onwards... not knowing what the future may bring. Truly, I am amazed.'
'I must ask you this. Is it true, that the very world is in danger?'
-
Noticing the change coming over Etenion Ilsa smiled inwardly. "Come with us! Your heart aches for adventure I can tell by your expression.. You are not a stranger to adventure yourself, but it has been quite some time since you last went out into the world..If you still have any weapons and armor left from your younger days go get them.." Ilsa said to Eternion. "Your days of sweeping the floors are over. Help us, and you'll never sweep floors again.."
_
-
"Yes. That is undeniable. The world is in danger." Rhiga replied. She moved in closer to Eternion. "I don't want people to hear the Dark Master's real name. He told us what it was, and Adykon says he only told us the name because he wants us to tell others. But instead of just saying it in the open, we are only going to tell trusted authorities. I'll take a risk and trust you too, as long as you promise not to tell anyone else the name. Maybe you'll recognize it, even though almost no one knows it." Rhiga told the old Dracon.
Meanwhile, Adykon returned, carrying Kos in his arms.
The rest of the party gathered around him to hear the news.'
"Well, it's official. The test says that this is my son after all." Adykon told them. "I'll need a name for him, though. I'll think of one later."
Turning around, he saw Eternion talking to Rhiga. He looked like he wanted to join the party, given the bits and pieces of conversation Adykon overheard.
"Hello there. Are you... interested in joining us?" He asked, a bit surprised. He didn't have anything against the elderly, although someone wanting to join a dangerous mission at that apparent age was not typical. Still, if the old one wanted to join, Adykon would not refuse the help.
As for his age... there were ways of getting around that, especially if he had the full support of the temples back in Minbenthac. He had heard they could do something about aging, although they did their best to keep it a secret. It wasn't common knowledge that they had a way of undoing the aging process, but word had leaked out... hopefully it was not a rumor.
He wouldn't tell Eternion until he was sure they existed. He didn't want to get the old Dracon's hopes up. Still, if they existed, Adykon would want to see them, if nothing else, it would be good to have the party at maximum strength, even if this meant having to take unusual means to make them that way.
But that was all getting ahead of himself. Looking around, Adykon considered his next move. He had the people he needed to take of Hekaga, a new adventurer was joining, and now, after his business at the temple was complete, he had to meet Jake and the other kids back at that inn... and spend another nightmarish night there... <_<
On the next day, they would have to find a way to quickly get out of the city and get to Minbenthac. They would have to find a mage to help repair or recharge the teleporter Adykon had, and reset it to take them to the right city, as well as find out exactly why it had teleported them to Hekaga in the first place, when it was supposed to have teleported the the Minbenthac.
-
Congratulations!' Marcus cheered. " Anything you need Adykon just ask. Rhiga and I will be happy to take care of him for you when you are away.. We can even help give him a name if you wish.."
_
Yes, Congratulations are defenitely in order" Minna smiled upon hearing the news. "So now its official, we need to get him and all of Rhiga's siblings out of here.."
-
Akio smiled.
"Well, that's quite the good news. I'm sure that you'll both be quite happy."
He said kindly, as he turned to Eternion.
"And I have something here that you may like."
He reached into a rift, pulling out a simple, well-worn sword, the edges still gleaming, and offered it to Eternion.
"Here. Maybe, just maybe, you can help to save the world again, old one."
He said, eyes bright...
Akito and Ruka smiled as well.
"You know, sir...I can see such a spark in you, I think that somehow, you may have some more adventures in you yet."
Ruka said, shyly as Akito nodded to him.
"You seem like you could do with getting away from such a menial task. Come, friend. Let's travel together!"
He said, offering a paw...
-
"IF he is interested in joining us" Adykon said to the Fauxen.
Turning to Eternion, he spoke:
"My party seems to be rather... enthusiastic about this, old one. As we have made abundantly clear, you are free to join. If you do come with us, we can help you with weapons, armor, healing, whatever you need..."
-
'This sword... I, well... to be honest. I'm not sure I could handle my old axe anymore.'
He held the sword in his hand, broomstick in the other. He gave it a bit of a wave this way and that.
'Yes, this will do nicely. I thank you,' he said with a bow.
As for getting out of the city...
'If you would hear me out,' Eternion said, sidling up to the group. 'I may know a way out of this city, if your intentions are to leave quickly... and without drawing attention.'
He faced Adykon. 'There is a network of tunnels beneath the temples, old crypts... many used as make-shift graveyards. Needless to say, I've heard that they made adjustments to the original design... adjustments that went beyond the city confides.'
He sighed. 'It is merely rumor, though. I have had the occasional opportunity to venture down there... old adventurer spirit. If anything, if the rumors are true... we could find ourselves beyond the city. Where exactly, I'm not sure.'
We? He wondered to himself. Yes, this was the opportunity... ever since Almia had passed away, he had been torn between the old times and reality. He was old, past his prime... but if the world was truly in danger...
Well, I certainly wouldn't mind "saving the world" on my list of things I've done in my life. Almia always wanted us to be the heroes of our own tales... might as well fulfill that desire for the both of us
He turned away from the others, clutching the broom in his hand. He looked up to the roof. 'What should I do, Almia? What should I-'
Just then, one of the priests approached Eternion. 'Hate to be a bother, old Dracon, but you're supposed to be cleaning... and you're doing a rather poor job at the moment.'
Eternion faced the priest, eye glaring. 'It is not my job anymore,' he said darkly.
The priest looked at him with confusion. 'Pardon me?'
'I quit,' he said, shoving the old dirty broom into the priests hands... leaving hm dumbfounded.
He turned to the group. 'Now, if you are willing to accept an old, forgetful, half blind Dracon into your party... I would be honored.'
When Akito offered a hand, he took it. It was just like the time Almia had extended her hand for the first time through his window all those years ago.
He paused, and thought for a moment. 'I will just need some time to gather my things from my home... and-'
He paused, wondering if he should ask. All those decades ago, it had been Almia who would assist him when he put on his armor. Full plate was not something you would expect an old Dracon to put on alone... let alone any warrior.
It's been so many years since I stepped into that suit
The problem for him was that it was all he had. He had sold everything else from his adventuring days... apart from his armor, old axe, and Almia's sword.
'Well,' he finally said, somewhat embarrassed. 'I do believe I might need a hand.'
-
"You got it" Adykon told Eternion. "We have some money on us... Minna and Ilsa are nobles, and they would be happy to help. If you have any equipment of your own, not that I know you do, but, we can stop off at your place briefly and pick it up. If we need to buy some more items... we should do that first thing tomorrow. We are supposed to meet four more members of our party at an inn tonight."
-
'Very well,' Eternion said with a slight nod. 'We may head to my house and collect the equipment I have on hand. I also have some coinage, not much I must admit... but it should cover my own requirements for a while at least.'
'Then we can head for this inn to meet with the others.'
Eternion was somewhat intrigued by the notion of there being even more members in this group. A small army to say the least... and all his life it had usually been just him and Almia, save for the occasional other who happened to get caught up in their adventures.
It made him wonder- just a little- of their fates... but now was not the time.
-
"Don't worry about finances. Minna and Ilsa can cover everything for now. You know, the funny thing was, I had originally started this whole adventure because I wanted some money... I got a lot more than I bargained for, that's for sure!" Adykon said to Eternion.
And with that, they left the temple, and headed for Eternion's house, the old Dracon leading the way.
-
It wasn't far away. An old Dracon certainly didn't want to travel far from his home day in, day out.
It was a ramshackle place... which was no surprise given most of the city. Dust had settled upon the floor (odd, considering his previous occupation), and the whole house was sparse... with only a few pieces of furniture and a couple of pictures upon the walls. The others wouldn't have been surprised to find an old Dracon, who lived alone, was more than a little negligent of his property.
'It looked a lot better when I first bought it. Heh, the fact that I even own it whole is satisfaction enough for me.'
He rubbed his hands together. 'Right, let's get this over and done with.'
With the assistance of the others, Eternion was quickly packed. He carried a small backpack with typical adventurers supplies (rations, a bedroll, water...), a pouch filled with some coin, two swords (Akio's gift- which he decided was a fitting name for it- as well as Almia's sword "The Guiding Light", which he would never leave without), and the robe on his back. He decided he would bring his axe "Decider" as well, but the last thing he wanted to do was swing that thing around... and do his back in.
(http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/2990/decided.jpg)
(Decider)
(http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/1732/scimitar.jpg)
(The Guiding Light)
It was then, that he turned and looked into a darkened corner near the house entrance.
He held Almia's sword in front of him, and it began to shine a humble white light. Standing in front of Eternion was a complete set of full plate armor.
(http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/80/fullplate.jpg)
It was colored a dark gray, with a lighter red running along in a pattern. Spikes ran along the back, shoulder plates, arms and legs. It also had room on the back for his tail, as well as a plate of metal to protect the top of it. All in all, it was a little rusty, dented and scratched... and the leather could use a little work... but he wondered...
'This is the only armor I have, and if we are to fight what you say we are to... then I would prefer I did it in this.'
-
Fair enough" Minna said. " We can have it polished and cleaned once we get to Minbenthac and my castle.. I'm glad you decided to join us,Eternion, it will prove to be a wise and lucrative decision,m should we suceed..
-
The party gathered its supplies together. The armor Eternion wore was equal to Adykon's in about every way, although the former would have required a Dracon to remove the footpieces in order to fit into it; the latter armor had no such parts to it.
"It's getting late, so we ought to head for the inn. Jake isn't there yet, but he should be there soon, along with the other kids." Adykon said. He continued, taking a breath,
"I know that the accommodations at the inn aren't... ideal, but then again, nothing in this city is... unless you are rich. "
With that, they went back to the overcrowded inn...
-
The Party made their way towards the inn, as the sun began to set. Minna looked forward to a good night sleep, hopefully with a softer bed, the one she had shared with Minna had been like sleeping on a rock..
_
Where did Jake and Sasha go? marcus asked..
-
"It is getting dark" Vespion told Adykon. "They should be here soon..."
"The streets are very dangerous at night" Rhiga added, looking around. She sniffed the air. "This place still stinks as always... and the vagrants are more active at night than in the day... I hate that."
"Well, if they are not here soon, we should go find them... I'll go." Adykon added, still holding Kos in his arms. "Someone will have to watch Kos if that happens, Isla, will you watch him for a little while if it comes to that?"
-
Give him to me, and I'll hang on to him..Minna could you give him something to eat, we looks hungry" Ilsa said. 'Minna produced a bunch of grapes and gave them to Kos.. " Here you go , little one" Minna smiled. " I bet he hasn't eaten much today..
-
Kos was old enough to eat food like grapes. He ate them up ravenously. The poor child hadn't been fed well in a while, Adykon saw.
"I'll have to go get him more food" Adykon told the girls. "I'll be back soon. Hopefully they have something edible here..."
-
Eternion looked out of the inn window, into the near darkness. He always hated that about this city... so poorly lit. He could remember Graylane being a well lit place, one could even say it was a city of the night. Everywhere you went, lamp posts lit the way. He wondered just for a moment if the old city still stood... he hadn't seen it since... well, since the night he ran away.
He looked down at Almia's sword as it glowed lightly... it had an odd habit of doing that.
'Don't remind me, dear,' He said to the sword with a chuckle. He looked around nervously, hoping the others hadn't just seen him talk to his sword.
As the night went on, he turned to the group with a worried expression. 'I feel those others we wait for might be in trouble. The night is a dangerous one here. There are few safe places to take sanctuary around these parts... especially if they are young as you say they are.'
'If we are to go find them, we should do it soon. And yes, I am going... I know this place well, and have walked through the night many times over.'
-
Akio nodded.
"Agreed. We probably should go find them..."
As he spoke a darkly shining rift opened in front of them, and Kuja stepped out.
"Evening, all."
He said calmly, cavalierly...
Akito smiled at Eternion.
"You talk to your blade, hm? Not something I've seen many but myself do..."
He said gently...
-
Adykon found some mashed grains mixed in water. It wasn't much, but after giving it a little taste, he found it to be edible for a child like his son...
Returning to the rest of his group, he gave the food to Kos, who sniffed it, not knowing what it was...
"It's good, my boy... go on, eat it" Adykon said, giving Kos a spoon. The child looked up at him, which a quizzical look on his little face. Adykon didn't even know a child that young could have such a look on his face...
"Uh... I guess you don't know how to use a spoon yet." He said to the child.
"No." Kos replied.
"Do you know what a spoon is?" Adykon asked.
"No." Came the answer.
"You don't say much yet, do you?"
"No."
This was going to be hard... "Does anyone have experience feeding small children with a spoon?" Adykon asked the party.
At about that time, Vespion saw that Adykon was busy feeding his son...
"I guess it will be up to the rest of us to find Jake..." Vespion said. "I'll make sure to tell Adykon before we go. Who's with me?"
-
Akio stepped forward.
"I am, Vespion. A fauxen's nose could be rather useful for this task..."
He said, as the others looked at each other.
"Juri, Miki, and I will go as well."
Touga said, stepping forward aside Akio.
Kuja, meanwhile had walked over to Adykon.
"I do, if you'll allow me to."
He said kindly, smiling at Kos...
-
Adykon was so wrapped up in his task, he didn't notice that the Fauxen next to him was Kuja... he was used to all the other Fauxen except for Akito to be... pretty much all the same in his mind.
"Alright. Thanks. Could you please show me how it is done? I'll be raising this child so feeding him will have to be one of my main responsibilities..."
Vespion spoke in Adykon's direction, seeing a Fauxen nearby but not which one it was. "Adykon, some of the group and I are going to look for Jake. We know which direction he walked off in. We should be able to find him soon."
"Alright, Vespion. That's fine. I'll stay after all." came the reply.
"I'll go too." Rhiga told Adykon. She knew the streets. She was somewhat... under-dressed, with only a bottom section on her... no top... but it would do.
-
Arianne went closer to Adykon, then she knelt some steps behind him and told him with a soft voice. - "I hope it will not bother you if I observe too, because Eriol and I need to learn too." - She is indeed interested to learn too, with a baby waiting for her back in her homeland and a new baby on the way, she sure will need all the help and knowledge she can get.
Eriol went closer too, remaining just behind his wife, not saying a word, but thinking - "Who would have thought that Adykon can have a soft side."
-
Kos was eating the food with his little hands, shoveling it in his mouth and licking it off the side of his snout. Adykon didn't approve of it, but didn't want to stop the boy from eating... he was a very hungry little Dracon.
"Can someone tell me what to do here? I... really have no clue. This is all so...new to me." the mercenary said.
-
'I'll be coming along, too,' Eternion said to Vespion. 'As I said before, I know what these darkened streets can be like... and... might as well make myself useful.'
He looked over to the small Dracon child with his good eye, and couldn't help but laugh.
'My dear boy, you're doing it all wrong. Here, somebody pass me a spoon.'
With a spoon in hand, Eternion took a spoonfull of the (rather admittedly) awful looking mashed grain. He shoved into his mouth, chewed for a bit (Damn these old teeth of mine) and swallowed... rubbing his armored belly in pretend satisfaction.
Good grief, that's disgusting, Eternion thought as he faked a smile. 'Mmm, delicious,' he said forcefully.
'Now, you try,' he said to the child, offering a small spoon. He felt rather silly, that was for sure...
'Might want to help me out here,' he whispered to Kuja at his side, seeing that he was the one who had offered to help first.
-
Kuja smiled, picking up the spoon and scooping up some of the food.
"Here, little one. Eat some of this. It'll help you get strong, just like your father."
He said with a gentle smile, offering some to Kos...
-
Kos bit down on the spoon, not sure if it too was edible or not. Adykon gently but firmly pulled the spoon from the child's mouth... he had a strong bite for his age. The child swallowed the grain and then reached for more. Adykon put some more of the grain on the spoon and put in it Kos's mouth, than pulled it out. He repeated this a number of times, until the bowl was about 2/3 empty.
Vespion looked at Adykon...
"You seem to have the situation well in hand. Now, all those who are willing, let's find Jake..." the cleric told the group.
-
I've got more food here" Minna said rummaging inside the bag of food she had bought earlier.. ' she brought out some more grapes, and a small bread loaf. " Here Adykon, break this bread into small pieces' Minna said kindly..'And here are some more grapes.. the poor fellow clearly hasn't been eating well.. thats going to change..
-
Minna and I will help you feed the child" Ilsa said to Adykon..
-
Adykon passed the food to his child, who immediately ate the grapes. He was slower to eat the bread, but after Adykon tore up the bread into very smaller pieces, he was able to chew it down. Something told Adykon that this was quite possibly the best meal the toddler had ever eaten.
"Food good" Kos said, clearly still hungry, but not as much as he was a moment ago.
-
Both nobles smiled as they saw the youth devour his food.. " Heres some more bread.. and lets see if he likes some nuts.. broken up of course.." Ilsa said reaching in and pulling out a small bag of mixed nuts.. "Just crush them with you fist, then give some to him.. ' she added, giving the youngster a warm smile..
-
Kuja smiled, reaching into a small knapsack on his back.
"Poor little one. You haven't had a proper meal in days, have you? Here, eat these!"
He said, offering a few sweets as well as several bunches of grapes he had kept with him...
-
Kos rapidly ate all the food given to him, at least, until this third handful of nuts... after that, he was pretty much full, and his little stomach was clearly visible. After giving off a little burp, he asked for something else...
"You have water?"
To which Adykon gave the boy a drink from his canteen, which Kosjurec drank, but the water quickly poured down the sides of his mouth, too. After drinking and eating his fill, Kos sat down... not sure of what to do.
Meanwhile...
Vespion and the others marched out into the streets. It was getting dark. Jake should have been at the inn by now. Something was amiss...
-
Kuja smiled at him.
"Well, Adykon, I must say that he certainly is a sweet young thing. I'm glad we'll be able to get him away from this horrible place. 'Tis no place to raise a youngster like him."
He grinned, then smiled at Kos.
"I don't think I've said hello yet, have I? My name is Kuja. It's nice to meet you."
He said, in a gentle, sing-song voice...
-
Kos smiled at the mammal.
"Hi!" he said in his little voice, looking up with his big eyes at Kuja.
Adykon then looked at Kuja... he didn't quite recognize this Fauxen... but he had seen him somewhere before... but where?
-
Out in the streets, Eternion sniffed the air. Indeed, something was amiss... and to him it wasn't just an adventurers instinct.
Something didn't feel right about this night.
'The question is,' he said, turning to the others, 'where would a group of children go if they were unable to get to the inn?'
He paused as he turned a corner... the street was empty and near black. They certainly would be inside somewhere. Another inn? Chances were any typical keeper would turn away a bunch of kids... given the kind of riff-raff that turned up at that time.
Perhaps one of the temples. From what he had experienced, most temples would happily accept some children off the street... most of them.
'You mentioned one of them was capable of practicing magic?' He asked Vespion.
-
"Yes. Sasha has magical powers. I believe she is a sorceress, meaning her powers are inborn, not learned. I've seen her use some spells before; she's fairly powerful in a way, but she can only cast one or two spells before she gets too exhausted to continue." Vespion replied.
"Hmm... if she is out this long in these streets, there is a good chance she used a spell... which means she needs to find a place to rest... yes, there is a temple around this area which specializes in recharging magic quickly... but it is known for unusual practices..." Rhiga added.
"Such as?" the cleric queried.
"Blood sacrifices, energy channeling, demon worship..." the rogue elaborated...
"Oh. Right. That kind of unusual... we have to find those kids soon..." Vespion said with a sense of greater urgency.
-
'Soon is a bit of an understatement... I doubt they even know what they've gotten themselves into if they are where you think they are.'
He had once paid a visit to the temple in question. Just one visit, and it was enough for him. It wasn't the first time he'd seen a sacrifice, but it was certainly the last time he wanted to see one.
'A child is the perfect thing for...' he was hesitant to say it, 'experimentation.'
He picked up his pace. 'This way, stick together now,' he said to the others. If anything, going there would be a start. This was the bad side of town though... so they had to be extra careful.
-
"We ARE heading for that temple, right?" Rhiga asked. "We need to make sure that Jake and the other kids are NOT there... I'd hate to think of what could be happening to them if they are at that place..."
Rhiga was right to worry. Temples like this did all sorts of dangerous things, like expose their subjects to unstable magic, bind malignant spirits to foolish customers, or even summon a demon which would plants it's eggs in the flesh of the living...
She had already been through the experience under Asthia's tower... she knew the indignity of being a living battery. Picking up the pace, she moved on, regardless of the cold stone in the streets or of the darkness that surrounded her. The rest of the party followed.
-
Arianne remained with Adykon, Ilsa, Minna and Kos, while Eriol joined Vespion, Eternion, Rhiga and some of the Fauxen to look for the younger ones.
"I can understand you Adykon in how new this can be..." - Arianne said - "My first son Isaac is a younger than Kos, so you can guess I will use everything I can learn from other parents, and that includes you." - She paused for a second. - "I don't know if Eriol will manage to do it better than you, but I know him and I am getting to know you. You'll be a great father." - After that, she remained silent as she continued watching with attention as Kos was still eating his food with much joy.
Eriol walked alongside the group - "Eternion is correct, we stay together and we'll get the best chances to find the younger ones quickier." - Even though he looked serious, with no stress, his eyes were careful enough to look at all fronts and were the best suited to look things in the night too and his arms and hands were ready to unsheathe at the second notice.
-
Kos finished the food and the water. Looking around, he didn't know what to do next; he just smiled and looked up at Adykon, his little tail wagging from side to side...
Adykon was very glad to be taking him out of here... even a goat farm was better than this place...it was sad that so many children grew up on these streets...
Reaching out with a hand, the mercenary picked some grain off of Kos's horns and brushed a bit off of his mouth. Table manners would come later... getting enough to eat was a must for the meantime.
-
Jake thought over whether he should take the little "experiment" or if he should just say no....Jake thought over it and he made his decision. "i'll take it...." said Jake "only if you heal sasha".
-
"She doesn't need healing, boy, she needs rest, and in this case, a quick recharge... unless you want her to lie there for a whole day... In any case, make sure she lies on that stone slab over there, and you sit in this chair over here. Remove that stuff she has on, and let her lie on the rock. You keep your armor and other items on, and just have a seat." the cleric responded.
-
"not a problem..." said Jake. Jake and Sasha did as they were instructed and Jake waited in the Chair while Sasha lay down on the slab.
-
As soon as Sasha lay down on the slab, it began to glow red. Her expression changed from exhaustion to contentment, and all there could see her body visibly getting energized. Her skin took on a reddish tone, the lines of her face curved upwards, and her breathing became stronger. Whatever the slab was doing to Sasha, her body was enjoying it.
"Give her three hours and she will wake completely energized and refreshed... and better than she was before" the cleric said with a devious tone. "Now, have a seat, young man, and your part in this will begin."
-
"okay...." said Jake completely unsure of what the spell would do. "will it hurt?....." Jake walked over to a chair and he sat down on it. Jake was very caustious of the dracon...since Jake didn't know him of course...
-
"Just sit there." As the cleric spoke, black energies enveloped Jake, causing alarm but not panic among Rex and Selturma, although Jake was in no physical pain, something was changing in him...
"The spell is experimental, but should last for the next... 3-4 days, give or take a few hours." The priest said, looking satisfied with the way his spells was going.
Sasha sighed contentedly. She was still resting, but she was getting better fast. A new kind of energy was in her as well, and she was undergoing a change too. Her very skin was filling with energy as well, and making her hands and feet swell... same thing with her mammaries...
-
Jake noticed that he was beginning to feel different but....he felt normal like he was always this way. Something had happend to Jake and everyone would not like the outcome. Sasha was feeling so good from the recharge. Jake's eye twitched a little. not noticeable though. Jake stood up from the chair.
-
Jake sat there for a while, the effects of the magic sinking in. Meanwhile, Sasha continued to feel better and better, and a smile on her face turned to a grin. After three hours, her skin was so red it was as if she was sunburned all over her body, but she was in no pain.
Opening her eyes, she got up off the slab, her hands, feet and breasts swollen larger than they ever were. Suddenly, there was a great release of energy from her, and two great lightning bolts streamed out of her hands! Luckily, it was attracted by a giant mauve crystal in the back of the room, which had been set up for this purpose.
"Looks like we gave her too much charge. Well, she's back to normal now, and perfectly refreshed." the cleric told the party. It was true. Her skin and limbs were back to normal, and although her mammary size was closer to normal than it had been, it was still a bit larger than it was before she had rested on the slab... well... more than a bit larger... :lol
-
"i feel.....so good!" said Sasha excitedly "come on let's go to the inn now that i'm better....." Sasha noticed Jake was looking a little pale...."Jake?....you feeling okay?....". Jake didn't seem to hear Sasha and he kept staring into nothingness...then he faced Sasha, he smiled and he kicked her over. "ha ha ha ha haa!" he laughed. Jake ran towards the temple door
-
"That was... weird" Selturma said. "Rex, did Jake ever do anything like that before? You've known him longer than I have."
Sasha was more surprised than hurt by that. She would find Jake later. For now, she put on her loincloth, but could not get her top to comfortably fit her now enlarged top section... this was odd too.
"Cleric, what did you do to me?" Sasha asked, sounding as indignant as she was surprised.
"I have enhanced your powers, girl. You now have the ability to absorb energy through your skin. In fact, given the way your powers have been reconfigured, you have to absorb extra power through your skin, or else your powers will feed off of your normal life force and consume you from within. You still need to eat in order to maintain the normal chemical reactions which keep your physical body alive, and you will still need to sleep... but your powers should be greater now, provided that you have time to absorb the extra energy. A word of caution, though; absorbing too much energy at once can be harmful to your health, as can casting too many spells; you still get tired as you did before, although if you are highly charged, you cast probably cast 3-4 spells before passing out, instead of just 1 or 2. Your soft body was not the best candidate for becoming a battery..."
The cleric regretted saying that last part; he had given away part of his intentions.
-
"a battery?" questioned Sasha "you turned me into a walking battery?! and also, what did you do to my boyfriend Jake! i mean friend..."
-
"Him? Well, I cast a spell that suppressed the parts of his mind which deal with certain forms of reasoning. Specifically, those involving, pertaining to, or concerned with the principles or rules of right conduct. In other words, ethics and morals are suppressed for the next 3 to 4 days. in him" the cleric replied.
-
"say what?" said Sasha. Sasha turned to Selturma and Rex "we've got to go tell the others what has happened, If they help us catch Jake we can find out what's going on."
-
The remaining three youths ran into the dark streets. Sasha could immediately feel the emptiness as her body detected less energy than it did in the temple... she could feel energy the same way a dog could smell food... well, almost. It wasn't a smell as much as it was a sensation, like heat. Her body needed that now in the same way she needed food...
...she would have to deal with it later. Right now, the three kids saw Vespion, Eriol, Selturma, and some of the Fauxen approaching, along with some old Dracon.
"Sasha! Rex! Selturma! Thank goodness you are safe! Where were you? You were supposed to meet us at the inn!" Vespion told them.
-
"somethings wrong with Jake!" said Sasha
"and Sasha is a walking battery.." added Rex
-
"What?! How did this happen? Sasha, what happened to you?" Rhiga asked, alarmed. She had been a living battery too back under Asthia's tower... but of a different kind...
-
"We were attacked by thugs and i used i blinding spell...i was extremely weak and the others brought me to a temple to be rested...but the priest made me a battery... jake also agreed to an experimental spell....If Jake didn't accept the spell i would have to get my energy retored naturally..." said Sasha
-
"So... what happened to Jake? Where is he?" Vespion asked.
"And... what does this mean for you?" Rhiga added, concern evident in her voice.
-
"it means that i need to get energy like i need food. i'll have to be more exposed so i can absorb energy from sources...i can take energy from the sun, ground and other beings that i touch...i'm not sure if i can only absorb if i want to or not.." said Sasha
-
"Let me see" Rhiga said, taking Sasha by the hand. The Dracon female felt no weaker. "It must be voluntary; you aren't draining me of energy."
"It seems that you DO involuntarily absorb some energies, like sunlight, but you have voluntary control over whether or not you take it from things you touch with your hands..." Vespion observed.
-
"can i see if that theory works?" asked Sasha "i'll need a volenteer..."
-
"I'll do it" Selturma said. "Just don't take too much from me..." the female added. "I trust you... touch me on my shoulder, if you want to do this...."
The adults there were surprised by Selturma's willingness to do it, but they shouldn't have been; she realized that they were combatants who needed all their energy, while she was just a girl with no special powers...
-
"here goes..." said Sasha as she gently placed her hand on Selturmas shoulder. Sasha began concentrating on absorbing some energy. Sasha began to glow a little bit. Sasha let go "did it work?" she asked "do you feel a little less energetic?"
-
"A little" Selturma said, not feeling like bouncing up and down. "It wasn't much, but then again, you weren't trying to hurt me."
Sasha felt a bit more powerful, but no more or less hungry. This was a whole new physical need for her entirely, one more thing she had to worry about... <_<
Anyway, her hand was slightly red from absorbing that energy, but the redness disappeared in a few seconds. If it had been more energy, her whole body would have been changing color as if she had been sunburned. Sasha also gained the ability to sense energy signatures, as she now "ate" energy. Mages frequently had some sense of this, and Sasha had been no exception, but now her sense for energy had increased many times over. She was now able to track others by their unique energy readings...
-
"this is really cool" said Sasha "what should we do now? should we rest for the night?"
-
"We need to find Jake!" Rhiga said, her past disagreements with him totally forgiven and forgotten. Saving him was as high a priority for her as saving one of her relatives; there was no question in her mind that she had to locate him and fix whatever was wrong with him.
-
"it's gonna be really dark soon..." said Sasha "we should look for him tomorrow..."
-
"The sooner we get after him, the better" Rhiga said. "This city is very dangerous. Every second we waste is time that might make it too late for us to ever save Jake... We have to look now."
-
"okay" said Sasha "where should we look first Rhiga?"
-
"You need to tell us which direction he took off in. We should follow him from there. We should be able to get his scent or find some other way to follow him..." Vespion replied. This was not going to be an easy search.
-
"he bolted out the front door of the temple..." said Sasha "but i didn't see which direction he went.....".
"he went right, down through the street where we were attacked" said Rex
-
"Which street was that?" Rhiga asked Rex. "I know these streets well... and this neighborhood... I used to get my fruit here."
"By stealing it." Rhiga added mentally.
"If you tell me the general street, I think I can follow Jake." she added.
-
Eternion looked up at the temple entrance, shivering slightly. He then looked down at Rhiga, concern upon his old face.
'We best find him soon. I get the feeling someone is going to be in danger, and whether it is the child... or someone else...'
This is turning out to be more interesting than my typical night, Eternion thought.
-
The group looking for Jake now consisted of Vespion, Rhiga, Rex, Sasha, Eternion, Eriol, Selturma, and several of the Fauxen. They headed down the street as Rex had indicated, and ended up at an intersection...
Looking down at the intersection, Vespion saw something very rare in the streets of Hekaga; a thing of beauty. It was a tile mosaic that showed clear human influences, but had a Draconic style all its own...
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/Cobblestone_mosaic_lancaster_rose.jpg)
It was a sign that the city had not always been poor and repressed. It was sad that such a beautiful piece of art was allowed to decay like this...
Focusing on the present, the cleric got back to the task at hand; Rex had caught Jake's scent and the pursuit could continue.
-
Eriol was with the group as they were trying to find Jake. - "I really hope that kid did not make himself into too much trouble, the less thing we want is something that can make the Guards to be alerted and the prince to know of our presence here."
Arianne was still sitting next to Adykon. - "I wonder if those kids are fine, I am getting worried." - but she then shook her head, trying to avoid thinking in bad things, she then smiled peacefully and that made Kos to smile too. That made her feel better.
-
'A group like ours would draw the attention of the city watch pretty quickly,' Eternion said to Eriol. 'We should be glad we're in the unsavory section of town... the guards are reluctant to make a pass around these parts.'
He then paused for a second, looking somewhat confused. 'So uh... why do we not want the prince or guards to know of our presence?'
-
Moving in close to Eternion, Rhiga sighed and began her story.
"Years ago, I was caught stealing some jewelry from the prince of Hekaga... the crown prince no less... the heir to the throne of the city. I managed to escape, but if I ever returned... well, you know what will happen if the guards find me. The prince never forgives anything..."
She kept her story quiet... the fewer people who knew about this, the better... she was already taking a risk by telling Eternion, although she figured that if he was going to risk his life for the sake of the adventuring party... she should be honest with him.
-
'I see,' he said with a nod. In all honesty, he cared little for the prince of Hekaga. The apple never falls far from the tree, as he liked to say.
He didn't wish to probe any further. All he needed was some clarification, and he was happy with that. What she had done in the past was her own business, and it was obvious from the very beginning that she didn't want to be here.
Heck, if Rhiga knew some of the things Almia and himself had done in the past...
'We should be fine,' he said, as he peeked around a corner. 'Hmm, any further this way and we'll be heading right into more noble grounds.'
If that's even saying anything about this place, he thought. Still, where the riches are hither... the watch will linger, as Almia once said.
He looked nervously at Rex. 'Please don't tell me the child headed this way.'
-
(OOC: Rex is normally metadude's to control, but he and I agree that when he is not here, I control Rex. Metadude isn't on very often, due to his lack of regular internet access.)
Taking a moment to sniff around, Rex delivered the news...
"Jake took off in that direction. I don't think he could get into the walled-off noble section... but he is close to it... and even from here, I can see guards patrolling all over the place... they don't want the poor to even get close to them..."
-
'That's how nobility works,' Eternion said. 'But you're right, the child would not have much of a chance getting into the nobility section... though given what the priests may have done to him...'
He paused and listened to the quiet breeze for a moment, no commotion that he could hear. He wondered if the child was in any state for sneaking around.
'Alright, lead on. Let's see if we can get around without drawing any attention.'
-
Continuing on, the searchers found some bootprints on the ground... these must have been Jake's... Dracons didn't even have boots... the prints continued on into another neighborhood... following them for nearly an hour brought the party close to the western gates of the city.
"He can't have gotten out of the city using the gate; you need passes for that" Rhiga said. "He might be hiding in one of the abandoned buildings around here... this area is known to have many of them."
-
'Well, it's a start,' Eternion replied. 'Rex can hopefully lead us to the right one... or we might split our group and search a few of the buildings? Otherwise we could be here all night.'
Although as an adventurer, Eternion was not particularly fond of splitting up. He had lost count of how many times doing such had ended badly... he remembered that one of his old companions would nearly faint at the sheer mention of splitting up...
He hoped this group was a little more... sane.
-
Akio nodded.
"He's right. Touga, Utena, you two come with me. Juri, take care of the others."
He said, leading his triad off to search the nearest building...
-
Jake could see the party not too far away from his current position. Jake walked back into the shadows and he watched as the party had a discussion. "hmmm......" thought 'Evil' Jake "they must be insane if they are looking for me......if they even come close to me i'll severe their head from their shoulders....".
Jake looked at the party again and he felt a rock under his boot...Jake had an idea. Jake picked up the rock and he threw it outside the building and it landed at another building and it made a noise. The party turned to see what it was.
-
Eternion was a little hard of hearing these days... but the sound of something striking stone caught his attention pretty well.
'I don't think that was supposed to happen,' he said, glancing at the others still with him.
'If that was the child, he certainly ain't good at stealth...'
Eternion thought for a moment, he hated surprises... really, really hated them. 'Right, I'll check that building out... anyone else want to come along?'
-
"heh, they fell for it" thought Jake "this will be easier than i thought!". Jake carefully got up and silently walked over to the back of the building where a ladder was that led to the roof. The top of the roof was right next to a giant wall that surrounded the city. Jake climbed up the ladder and over to the edge of the roof. "hmmm.....i better get a run up..". Jake took a few steps back and he ran as fast as he could and he jumped. Jake missed the wall but luckily his hands gripped the wall. "oh shit!" yelled Jake. ".....so much for stealth...." he thought to himself...
-
Vespion heard the noise of something falling... with a thud. Jake had fallen down off the wall, but since he fell into something soft, he wasn't badly hurt. Of course, it must have hurt his pride very much to have fallen into a pile of refuse... that's right, trash... trash... and waste water. :slap
-
Meanwhile Minna sat at a table keeping an eye on the young Kos. " Someday I will have a child of my own.." She thought to herself. " Minna has always had a good heart, but to a large degree she had been sheletered from the cruelities of dracon life, the obscene wealth of her father disguised many flaws that the lower classes were only too familiar with..."So how are you girls holding together ?' She asked Rhiga's sisters.
-
Having heard the noise, Eternion and the others gathered around the pile of refuse.
'Is that the child?' He asked Rex. Looking up, he could see the wall of the city towering over them. 'That's quite the jump he tried to make. Certainly made quite a bit of noise just then, though.'
He looked around nervously. 'I really hope we were the only ones who heard that.'
-
Unfortunately, they were not the only ones who heard that. The city guards had ears too. A half dozen of them were coming to investigate the noise. Seeing them, Rhiga jumped inside an abandoned building, kept clear of the windows, and hoped she remained unseen.
-
"I wouldn't count on that." - Eriol told Eternion as he also saw some Guards coming in their direction. - "We should try to get those Guards away from Rhiga, but we cannot leave Jake... darn, I hate this kind of situations." - the Panther muttered those last words.
Arianne was also close to little Kos. - "I am so looking forward to return home, so I can take care of little Isaac. This journey has really help me to fully open my eyes, and I am happy that there is still hope to get things better here." - she smiled as she sat down some meters behind Adykon, so him and the kid would not feel overwhelmed with tooi many people around.
-
I hope Rhiga and the others find Jake and saha quickly" Marcus said looking at Adykon. " Something bothering you Adykon? you know you can tell us.."
_
Jake is going to get an earful from me" Ilsa said. " This city is not safe to be out alone at night.. there are thieves and poachers all over the place.."
-
Kuja was seated next to Kos, playing with the little child quite happily. Akito sat there, looking at Adykon.
"Marcus is right. Something's troubling you, isn't it?"
He asked, quietly...
_________________________________________________________________________
Akio hissed a Fauxen curse under his breath, hiding in the shadows and throwing a set of stones away from the group to draw the guards away...
-
(OOC: The links lead to music for each scene, click on them, and since this is the first one for this RP, please tell me what you think of it.)
"Hmm... oh. Well... being a father is new to me. I'm better at killing things than raising them... except for goats, that is... and raising a child is much harder than raising a kid." Adykon laughed at his pun.
Meanwhile...
The stones did little to distract the guards... in fact, they had quite the opposite effect. Several guards came running over to the party... and one of them saw the shadow of a female Dracon...
Rhiga saw the guards moving in her direction. She turned her back to them, and ran as fast as she could in the opposite direction. Running past the party, the guards gave chase too, thinking she had something to do with the noise they had heard.
The Chase (http://66.49.226.244/digital/qfg3cd/Track24.ogg)
-
right, a kisd is a name for a goat.. got it" Marcus replied. "Its getting late. I think we should turn in for the night.. I'm getting kinda tired myself..
_
I'll stay up and wait for the others Ilsa said.. "I'll save a spot for you ILsa " Minna said standing up and heading over to an open bed in a corner..
-
Adykon looked around. While he was not tired, he could see that Kos was. "I'll be right back. I need to put Kos to sleep... how do I do that again? Is there a bed small enough for a toddler? A cradle? A crib? A... basket? Ilsa... Minna... someone help."
-
He can stay with us' Minna said. "As I don't think they have a crib or bed here small enough for him..once we get to Minbenthac I'll have a crib made for him..
-
"I'm... not sure that... no. I want to keep an eye on him... at least for now. Show me what to do, if you know how, girls... please... this is important. I need to learn how to do it. I cannot just keep putting the child in someone else's care forever. " Adykon replied.
-
Well, this is more like it, Eternion thought to himself. Trouble was... now that the guards were alerted, it was only a matter of time before the alarm was spread... especially if they knew who they were chasing.
Like a small seemingly harmless fire... this whole situation had just gone out of control.
'Right, someone better take care of that child,' Eternion said, referring to Jake. 'Rhiga is going to need a hand, but now the priority is getting back to the inn and warning the others. There could be a city wide search... and we don't want to be waiting around.'
He looked at the others grimly. 'Split up and loose them. I can keep this lot here occupied for a while.' At that, a wry grin came across his face.
He turned and stood in front of the group. Naturally, several guards had confronted them while others had given chase to Rhiga. He knew the city watch wasn't particularly well known for their lawfulness... and probably were looking for an excuse to cause some trouble.
He kept a strong stance, Almia's sword just a scant few inches from his right hand... things could get ugly... and fast.
-
(OOC: Because metadude isn't here at the moment, I'll add a few lines to Jake. He had given me permission for things like this when he wasn't around.)
Rhiga shouldn't have panicked like that... now, if they didn't know who she was before, they would figure it out now...
"Terrific... what do I do now?!" She thought, running down the streets. She saw that the rest of the party was far away from her, and that some of the guards were with them, some were chasing her...
"They must have thought that I had made that noise..."
Suddenly, Jake approached the guards that were confronting the party. He had an evil smile on his face...
"Jake! Thank goodness you've come to your senses!" Vespion told the boy. "Guards, it was Jake who made that noise, not that female. Jake, tell him that you made the-"
"They're with me, guards." Jake replied.
"Yes, that's right" Vespion added. "He is with us."
"Then, you are part of some adventuring party?" one of the guards asked.
"Oh yes. Jake, the human youth you see before you, had run away for... well... I'm not sure why, and he must have fallen, so that was the cause of all the noise." Vespion replied.
"Then why is that female running away?" queried the guard.
"Her? Oh... she is rather... high-strung. She was running from the noise when your guards decided to give chase."
"My... well... heheh, I may look it, but I'm not the leader of those patrollers" replied the guard, somewhat pridefully "Our commander is with the group chasing your female. She's with your party too?"
"Yes. Along with this human here. Forgive us for any inconveniences... we are an adventuring party, not a band of thieves. We have honor and this incident is rather embarrassing, isn't that right, Jake?"
"Yeah, it kinda is..." the boy replied. "Say, since we are an honorable party, I guess this means the actions of one of us reflect all of us... so what I did was not just making me look bad, it made all of us look bad... because we all speak for the party... so to speak."
"Now you're catching on!" Vespion replied. "See, guard, he gets it now. Jake had some problems earlier, but now everything is cleared up and all going back to normal. Sorry for the inconvi-"
"Just a second" Jake replied. "The actions of one of us reflect all of us... so, speaking for the party, I have something to give you guards, as a token of our appreciation for all your hard work."
"Really? What do you have in mind?" Asked the guard.
"THIS!" And with that, Jake punched the guard in the face with his metal arm as hard as he could. He then drew his sword and began to attack the other guards.
"KILL THEM ALL!" Shouted the other guards present, several more having come over to investigate. "Get that female too!"
Start Battle Music (http://66.49.226.244/digital/hqcd/HQTrack09.ogg)
-
Eternion stood there, dumbstruck. The guards had them surrounded... and the child had just... well...
'Uh... Vespion, did I miss something... or did he just punch a guard in the face?'
Last time he had checked, that wasn't how normal people acted.
'Someone might want to do something about the child... things have taken a rather unpleasant- Hey! Watch where you swing that... you undersized oaf!'
A guard had come at him, sword raised. He swung with the precision of a man who had probably just received the sword yesterday... well, at least that's how Eternion saw it.
He grabbed the guards arm, and hauled him over his shoulder. With a grunt, he threw the Dracon back over his shoulder, and into the ground face first with a massive thud.
As he turned, he felt a blow across his blind side. 'Oh... that was uncalled for.' He staggered backwards, feeling a little dizzy. With his good eye on the guard, he could focus a little better... and hopefully his hearing could do a little better next time.
Within a second, he had drawn Almia's sword. It began to glow.
'Watch out!' Cried one of the guards. 'The armored Dracon is carrying an enchanted sword!' Many of the guards turned to face him.
'Ah... crap,' Eternion uttered.
-
"ha your guards are stupider than one might think!" yelled Jake "this'll be a breeze!". Jake fly kicked one of the guards in the jaw and their was a loud cracking noise. The guard staggered back and their was a gurgled cry of pain coming from the guard. Jake pulled out his sword and he charged at the dracon with the broken jaw.
"heh, this is too easy!" yelled Jake "give me a challenge!"
-
Several more guards heard the commotion and approached the party. They were armed with swords and clad in steel armor. This was not good...
"Damn. Does anyone have a spell or an item that can get us out of here?! Something to distract the guards... or... something?!" Vespion shouted. A guard moved to attack him, but was knocked back by an "inflict light wounds" spell. Vespion had no desire to kill these Dracons...
-
Eriol jumped from the shadows and tackled one of the guards down. He then took one of his swords using his left hand to deflect the incoming attack from a second guard and then he used his right fist to give a hard blow to the Dracon's jaw and then he grabbed his right arm and twisted it, successfully dislocating it. the first guard stood up again and charged Eriol, the Panther gave a wicked smile and made a big jump, and used both of his feet to push the guard towards the others that were meant to attack Vespion. The Panther landed on his feet just a meter ehind Vespion - "I am doing what you want, I am not killing them."
-
Akio spun away from one of the guards, casting a bind spell on him, freezing him in place as he used his swords to deflect other blows.
"I can't use teleportation magic, I'm afraid!"
He yelled, disarming the guards he was facing and pinning them to the ground with summoned swords...
Touga parried a blow, knocking the guard out with the pommel of his sword.
"This is not looking godd..."
He said, facing off against more as Juri and Utena backed with him...
-
Jake found himself pinned by several guards.
"Hold him down! I'll deliver the killing blow! This one is vicious!" shouted a guard, who promptly drew his sword and aimed for the throat.
Meanwhille...
Rhiga found herself running down a long street. She was fast, but the guards had more stamina. She found herself tiring before too long. With few other options, she climbed the ladder to a roof of an abandoned four-story house, only to have the guard follow her. They pursued her to the edge of the roof. There was no other way out, unless...
"You have me. I can't run anymore. I give up." Rhiga said, her feet edging perilously close to the edge. Her heel spur knocked over a pebble off the edge, and less than a second later, she heard it hit a surface... that was much sooner than she thought it would make a noise... one chance left..."
As the guards approached her, she knew that they would not imprison her... they had far more in store for her. Prison was too good for those who stole from the upper classes of this city, especially thieves who targeted royalty.
"I'll never be taken alive. I'd rather jump than go caught!" And with that, Rhiga jumped off the side of the roof, facing the guards. She had gambled that there was something sticking out of a window one or two stories down...
... and she was correct. Rhiga caught a wooden board that was sticking out of the window of the second story, and before the guards could see her scramble into the open window of the abandoned house, she was inside.
-
Jake squirmed under the guards grasp. "let go of me or i'll-" Jake ws cut off when a guard covered his mouth with his hand. Jake tried movin his right arm, He lifted it with all his strength but the guards just put an extar dracon on him to hold his metal arm. Jake was now trying to get free but he was failing...
-
Indeed, thing weren't looking good... the guards were much more numerous, and well armed. Several of the group had been divided into their own struggles... and Eternion knew it was a matter of time before his stamina gave in. His breath was heavy with exhaustion, so much for that warriors spirit...
He too was reluctant to inflict any harm upon the guards, he'd rather not become an adventurer and a murderer in the same day.
Just then, as another guard was knocked over, his eye caught Jake in struggle with the gaurds. They had him pinned, and were about to deliver a killing blow... a coup de grace, to a child.
Something inside his body flared. Something was wrong with the child, but he did not deserve death.
An old flame within him re-ignited, and he let out a roar loud enough to nearly pierce the heavens.
'Hands off the child, scum!' He shouted in a voice that was darker than his own. He charged them with teeth glaring and eyes seemingly glowing.
For the first time in nearly a decade, Eternion had succumbed to his berserker rage.
-
The guards knew what had happened, and knew that it would take more effort to handle Eternion. "Leave the child for now, we'll finish him later." Just getting mad wasn't enough to win the fight; it would be too stereotyped to hope for that. It was enough, however, to distract some of the guards. Vespion had managed to overcome the guard he was fighting, and managed to cast a forcebolt spell on Jake, knocking the human youth out. He wasn't badly hurt. Grabbing Jake, Vespion pulled out a bag of flash powder he had stored. He didn't want to use it because he had only one dose, but it would temporarily blind whoever looked at the blast. He knew that the party could easily be caught in the blast too, but it was a risk worth taking, especially because he could lead the blinded members party away.
-
"uhh....." was all Jake could manage before he went into a fully unconcious state...Rex and Sasha were trying to help as much as they could. Rex had drew his sword and was locked in battle with one of the guards. Sasha drained energy from guards that came to close to her. she didn't hurt them she just made them faint because they didn't have enough energy to stay awake. Sashas' arms and hands were glowing brightly like a sunburn.
(ooc: that better?)
-
(OOC: Please add more than one line at a time, Jake. If you cannot think of more than one line's worth of text to post, please wait until you can think of some before posting. Thank you. EDIT: Better. Let's just say she fought only two guards, both of whom underestimated her. )
Rhiga waited in the house until the guards were gone. When she couldn't see them or hear them (neither she nor they could smell past the walls of the house), the thief gingerly crept outside, looking to the right... nothing. To the left... nothing. The streets were unusually quiet... which is why she could her the faint sounds of battle, unobscured by the usual din of the city.
-
They came at him in number, swords drawn and ready. It didn't bother him one bit, Eternion's mind was in another place, a place he hadn't seen since...
since...
- - -
'Almia,' Eternion whispered wearily. 'Wh... where am I?'
She placed a finger upon his lips. 'Shh, don't talk. You just regained consciousness... the last thing I need is for you to go out again. You're one hell of a corpse to carry, you know.'
He looked around the dimly lit room, candles flickering as a breeze passed through a window to his right. He lay upon a bed hardly fit for a poor man, and all around him was old refuse and broken furniture.
'Is this a dream?'
'No. Though I wish it were.'
He looked up at Almia as she stood by the bedside. 'The beserkers rage,' she said bluntly.
He froze, a shiver coming down his spine. 'What have I done?'
She stood there silent for a moment, then she turned for the window. She rested her arms upon it, taking in the breeze. She had taken off her armor, and from what he could see... there were several scars upon he back. 'What do you remember?' She asked, seeming to dodge his own question with hesitation.
'I... I don't know.' He tried to think, his mind awash like a whirlpool of thoughts.
'Great,' Almia groaned. 'Try a little harder.'
He could remember that there was a fight. Orcs had taken Almia prisoner as they attempted to drive off their encampment in an old pass. He, and a few others... yes, he could remember there were others... they sneaked around to where they were supposed to be holding her. But it was to late...
They had tied her to a large iron cross in the center of the encampment. The orc shaman stood behind her, holding a large iron rod, its tip red with heat. Then he had witnessed the shaman bring the rod upon Almia's back without mercy.
She had screamed in agony... and the last thing he remember is his own roar as he charged into the gathered crowd.
'And here we are,' she said. 'I had to carry you to this abandoned cabin... and heal you, and myself.' she looked around at her own back.
She walked up to Eternion as he tried to rise from the bed. 'Some adventure this turned out to be.'
He rubbed his eyes. 'Wait, where are the others?'
'Dead,' she said bluntly.
Eternion went cold, his heart felt like it had just dropped out his chest. 'Crimson? Keldia? Ophillias?'
'Dead!' She shouted. 'Everyone's dead! Because of you!'
She quickly backed away, turning as tears filled her eyes. 'I'm... I'm sorry,' she said.
Eternion didn't know what to say, he didn't want to say anything... how could he?
'Your "gift" has cost us, Eternion... now here we are.' She raised her hands into the air. 'What do we do now?'
He lay back down, breathing slowly. 'It's over.'
She merely looked at him, staring.
'It's time to call it quits. Our days of glory are over.' He stood up, shaky on his feet, but able to stand at the very least. 'Let us pay our respects... for the sake of the others.'
Then he took a deep breath, and put a hand upon Almias shoulder. 'Then, it's over.'
- - -
Eternion began to calm down and make sense of the situation. He was amongst several guards... even in a rage, he wouldn't have stood a chance, but he could see that the child had been taken by Vespion. If anything, he had drawn them away... which was good enough. Then he noticed that Vespion had something else. A bag of flash powder.
He quickly turned his good eye away.
-
Eriol was fighting off some guards to give Vespion some time to do whatever trick he was planning to do. He then saw what it was about and gave a strong swing of his sword, driving some guards away from him and giving himself enough time to cover his eyes.
Arianne was looking at Adykon, who was trying to get Kos to sleep. - "While taking a child in your arms, try to make one of your arms a support for the child's back and neck and the other for the legs, you may still use that second arm to do other things as it may not wake up Kos... if you are gentle enough." - Her voice was a very soft one, very maternal sounding, afterall she has her own child too, with a second one in the way.
-
Vespion threw the bag of flash powder. Within a second, it hit the ground, and released a huge flash of light, but no fire or smoke. There was a blast and a slight impact, but no one was hurt. The guards, who were unprepared for it, found themselves temporarily blinded. Their vision would be back in about a minute, so the party used that time to grab Jake and run... all of them ran...
Eventually, they all made it back to the inn. Rhiga had made it back about two minutes before the rest of them. She was still gasping for breathe, but after they all had a chance to calm down and, in some cases, be healed by Vespion's clerical magic, they were fine.
"Why didn't you tell us you had that powder?" Rhiga asked, once she had been told of what had happened.
"I only had enough for one use. If I had told the rest of you... well... okay, I admit I kinda messed up. I thought that you would have wanted me to use it sooner than I thought it would have to be used." Vespion replied.
Regardless, the party was now back at the inn, and together again, in full. There were still many problems. They had to get out of the city somehow and Jake was still... "sick."
-
When Eriol arrived with the rest of the party to the Inn, Arianne stood up and gave him a hug, he returned the hug. After some moments, Eriol replied to Vespion - "Well, it may have used that powder sooner, but I'm glad it wasn't later, it was just in time as you had no problems taking Jake away fron those Guards." - He then gave a few steps closer to the human boy. - "Is there a way you can dis-spell him?."
"Did someone put a spell on Jake?" - Arianne asked with a worried voice. Eriol nodded and explained to her what he knew about what happened.
OOC: Is it fine to say "dis-spell"?, if it is said differently, please let me know so I can edit the post.
-
Marcus guided Rhiga to a open bed. "So you found him, I see, where was he?' He asked, softly stroking Rhiga's snout.. "I swear, that human gets into more trouble than anyone I know.."
-
Rhiga removed her garments and lay down on the bed, clearly tired. "We found him running through the streets. I don't know what happened to him, not exactly, but somehow he got a spell on him that makes him act like a violent maniac..."
Rhiga gestured for Marcus to lie down next to her. The common room had beds, pillows, cushions, and other things to sleep on, all spread out in a haphazard fashion. This bed was just big enough for the two of them, but no blanket.
Meanwhile, Vespion responded to Eriol with a sigh:
"I cannot get rid of the spell myself, but this kind of spell wears out in a couple of days if it isn't recharged. While I don't know exactly what sort of dirty magic they used on Jake, he should be fine soon enough. It's going to be a tricky few days. We will need to restrain him until he gets better."
-
Marcus obliged, and wrapped his arms around her. " He must have gone someplace he shouldn't have.. now we're going to wauit for the spell to wear off..
_
Minna and Ilsa found a bed to share, it was barely big enough for both of them. "So wharts the plan for tommorow? Minna murmured. ""get out of hee.." Ilsa said settling in on the left side of the bed. Both girls had decided to keep their clothes on since there was no blanket to cover them..
-
"To restrain him sounds like an option, or maybe you can try a potion that could numb him until the spell is done." - Eriol suggested as he took a look at Jake. He then said. - "And what about Sasha? will she be alright?"
In the mean time, Arianne was still near Adykon, as Kos was having problems trying to get asleep, she came closer and with a very soft voice, she began singing:
Have you been lost
Seeking shelter
From those who hurt you
Wounds at their hands
Scars that won't heal
There is a place
Warm in snowfall
Flowers that grow at your feet
A warmth in your heart
I am there with you
Just be at peace
Don't be afraid
Nothing will harm you in here
I'm by your side
I'll protect you now
A tree in the snow
You can sleep here in my arms
If you wander far
I'll wait right here for you
I'll stand by your side
Keep you warm when you're alone
There's food on my boughs
Here at your home
Long have you searched
For sanctuary
An end to the nightmares and pain
The doubt never ends
Memories so cruel
Scars still remain
There's no healing
There's no one that you truly trust
You feel alone
Afraid, you cannot rest
Long lonely nights
When you called, but no one was there
Be not afraid
Here, I am with you
Forever your place
No matter what happened to you
Here you are safe
Now and forever
Have you been lost
Seeking shelter
Nothing will harm you in here
I'm by your side
I'll protect you now
-
(OOC: Lyrics of the above song are from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSOwacHP-XM&feature=related) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSOwacHP-XM&feature=related))
Adykon was amazed with Arianne's skill at singing a lullaby. He was almost mesmerized by it, as was Kos, who fell asleep listening to it, very calm and still.
Music For the Song (http://66.49.226.244/digital/Collection/TheMagicMeadow.mp3)
Meanwhile...
"Sasha will be fine" Vespion told them. "She may take time getting used to her new powers, but she should be able to adjust..."
-
You sure can sing " Ilsa said to Arienne. "You half put me to sleep.. and I'm not a babe.." She chuckled.. "Good night everyone.. tommorow we start to look for ways out of here.."
-
The night was hard as it was before... the inn was crowded, smelly, and needed a good cleaning... a really good cleaning in some parts. :blink:
The next day came all too slowly, but it came alright. Adykon picked up Kos from the bed they had put him down on, and went to get the child some food. Rhiga awoke slowly, her back aching from the rough bed.
-
Marcus stirred shortly after his fiance.. "This bed is like a rock" He complained getting up and trying to loosen his muscles
_ Ilsa and Minna awoke shortly after Marcus. mInna climbed over ilsa to get off the bed. "Why did you do that? Ilsa complained as Minna accidently stepped on her. " Sorry" minna appologized as she climbed off the bed.. "Im sure you are " Ilsa groaned as she got up and stretched.
-
"Ugh. I need a massage." Rhiga said. "I thought rest was supposed to make you more relaxed, not less. My back is so sore..." Rhiga was still not wearing her clothes... or rather, her loincloth, as she had no top since ever her rescue from Asthia's tower...
Meanwhile...
Adykon found more of that grain Kos liked so much. He even ordered a larger bowl for himself. Having not eaten much since his arrival in Hekaga, he found himself eating it rather quickly and messily... which led Kos to stare at him with a blank expression on his little face. This caused Adykon to be rather... embarrassed. His toddler son was less messy at eating than he was at that moment...
-
Alright I'll give you a massage Marcus said.. crackling his claws. Just lay down, and I'll work on your back.."
_ Minna rummaged through the bag of food she had bought " Heres some fruit for you guys to share, and Adykon, you need to work on your manners.. you're slovbering all over the place! set a beter example for your son.." She said handing a clawful of fruit to Adykon.
-
Adykon took some of the fruit, but gave the remaining third to his son.
"Fruit good" Kos murmured as he ate the dried fruit and nuts.
"Thanks Minna. You're a lifesaver there. Next time I'll eat neater, and set a better exam-"
"Ugh!" Rhiga grunted and moaned during the massage.
"As I was saying, I'll act in a manner that I want Kos to-"
"Aough! Ahh! Hnnn! Ohh!" Rhiga's vocalizations indicated pleasure accompanied by the release of tension and relief from stress. "Ah... that's it... now go lower..."
"Could you keep it down there?" Adykon asked the female.
"No, I can't! It feels so... ahhh!" She replied, moaning in pleasure.
-
I'll have what shes having" Minna cracked, as Marcus continued moving his paws down Rhiga's back, slowly lossening the knots in her back.. her moans told him, it was working, VERY well..
_
Ilsa helped herself to some bread that Minna had bought.. the bread was crunchy, yet was quite tasty..
-
Kos was too busy eating the fruit to notice Rhiga's moans and gasps. He had heard a lot of noise for one so young, anyway... what was a little more to him? He didn't care...
After a whole hour, Rhiga's massage was finally done. It took her another half hour before Adykon and the rest could convince her to get up; she really didn't want to leave the bed and the nice, warm, pleasurable situation she was in. Had she been alone, she would have tried to convince Marcus for some "intimate" time... Marcus could hardly blame a female for wanting emotional and physical intimacy; it was what they all craved... but now was hardly the time or place to be considering that...
-
Now, not the time for that" marcus said calmly' now get dressed.. we're leaving.. the sooner we get out of here, the more "fun" time we'll have.. as it is we have a wedding waiting for us in Minbenthac.. we are going to have a wedding/ Marcus asked Minna who nodded. "Yes, we'll have wedding a day or so after we get back, we need time to set things up again.."
-
Rhiga put on her loincloth silently and reluctantly. She had no weaponry on her at this time... but she could get new weapons in Minbenthac. The sooner they were out of there, the better. Her pregnancy was only barely beginning to show, and her loincloth didn't really cover much... just the bare minimum of brown cloth on either end, with a narrow cord running along the sides.
"Let's go then. To leave the city, I took a tunnel... an illegal tunnel... that led under the walls. We will have to pay... quite a lot for it, but I think they'll let Kos go for free..."
"Pay? Pay nothing. I'm sure that whatever group controls this tunnel is no match for us" Adykon said.
"True... I'll have to sit this fight out though" Rhiga added. "Are we ready?"
The party members all said they were.
"Then let's go. I'll show you the way" She told them.
After a while, the party approached a broken down building. Entering it, they saw a number of locked wooden doors. Rhiga knocked seven times on one of them and stomped her foot twice. This was the signal to open the door...
-
Minna and ilsa held their staffs ready , in case they encountered hostiles.. "We're not paying one bronze coin to get out of here' Minna said formly. " Its bad enough we had to sleep in the crowded smelly room.."
-
Uraca, Charisa, and Lutgicia were nervous. They didn't expect anything to go well... and the door...
... didn't open. Rhiga knocked again as before, and then a third time. Eventually, Adykon just hacked the door down, eager to get out of the city. The room inside was the site of massacre. Rhiga gasped as she saw dead bodies, clearly weeks old, thoroughly decayed just strewn about all over the place, sometimes chopped in pieces. The tunnel itself was destroyed, and the markings on the wall clearly showed the sign of the insignia of the city... the authorities had beaten them to it...
The smell of dead Dracon was overpowering... the party quickly left the room, disgusted by what they saw.
-
'Well, this is just grand,' Eternion groaned, putting his sword back into his hilt. 'Out of the frying pan, and into the fire.'
'They can be damn efficient... when they want to be...'
Eternion paused for a moment. 'Now, I might have mentioned before about an old series of crypts underneath the city... well, mostly under the temple I was working at...'
He took a breath. 'I haven't been under there for years... but there we're rumors that there was a way out of the city through newly developed tunnels.'
'Newly developed if you disregard the fact they stopped working several years ago,' he said with a slight grin.
-
well we can't go that way obviously"Minna said jerking her claw back at the ruined room.. "We should try those tunnels Eternion mentioned.."
-
"Yes. Let's try it. I see no other options..." Adykon replied.
The party headed for the temple, having to take the long route through Hekaga's hard stone streets in order to avoid crowded intersections where guards were often found. Eventually they reached the temple Eternion had once worked at.
There was a series of tunnels underneath the temple alright, including some new crypts that were being added. WHY they stopped work was another issue. The king of the city had ordered them to stop work, but never gave a good reason. This was because the new tunnels were getting close to the royal escape tunnel whose very existence was kept a state secret.
In the event of a revolution or a major riot, the royals had the option of heading from the city to their fortress in the nearby mountains. The fortress itself was huge, well-built, and on high ground. The only way up to it overland was up a narrow, twisting path that had to be crossed in a single file. It was difficult to approach if one was wanted there, and nearly impregnable if the defenders of the castle didn't want one to approach. While attacks by air, using magic, or an attack that could bore through the mountains or somehow get a large force up there could knock the fortress out of commission, this was a daunting prospect. Without a siege to starve the defenders out, it was very hard to take it.
But it was also very hard to supply a fortress located on a mountain, far from food and water; in order to get the latter, the architects had to construct an aqueduct by tunneling under the mountains to an aquifer, then move the water to the palace itself. Bringing in food was even harder; it largely had to be moved by tunnel. Located about 15 kilometers from the city itself, the tunnel has to be just as long. At the end of the tunnel that was under the fortress, the supplies were taken up by a lift that was operated by a chain and pulley. In order to keep it well-supplied, it took three caravans a week worth of goods, sometimes more. The other end of the tunnel which received the supplies was underneath the city's great temple, where it was assumed the supplies were going, as that structure itself required many supplies of its own.
The particular temple which Eternion had once worked at was not far from the much larger great temple, so the tunnel ran close to its underground section. No one in the party or the temple they were went to actually knew any of this, but they would find out soon enough...
-
So which door leads to the tunnels? Minna asked as they reached the temple.. " The sooner we get out of here, the better so it is best if we get in there wthout being seen.." Minnas feet were hurting from the sharp stones.. but she ignored the aches for now.. getting out was more important than her discomfort..
-
Arianne was very quiet all the way they have been walking. The sight of those dead Dracons and then some catacombs is not a very cheerful way to spend the day. But still, Eriols words came in good time - "We must see the birght side of all of this. With each step, we are getting closer to Minbenthac by getting out of here." - Eriol had a very serene but serious stance. It may not mean much for the Dracons, but for Arianne it was the stance that made her fall in love with him.
-
While the party was travelling Jake began to wake up. Rex had been carrying him since they left the inn. "uhh....huh...what..what's happening?....." was all that Jake managed to say before he realized he was being carried. Jake swung his right fist around and hit rex in the head. Rex fell to the ground unconcious. Jake got up off the ground "ha you think knocking me out unconcious will stop me!?, well think again!" Jake turned and he began running back towards the center of the city.
-
"Oh great!" - Eriol managed to say as he saw Jake running, and he began running towards him, trying to catch him up.
Arianne knelt besides Rex, checking his head for injuries. She then asked - "There should be a way to return Jake to normal... I am just getting to worried about what could happen to him."
-
Let him go" Ilsa said anger on her face. " If he wants to be left alone here, its his own fault! We've had enough problems trying to find him, and we need to get out of here! Bring Rex and Selturma along..
_
Sasha shook her head " Jakes not himself.." She shook her head. "Well, theres nothing we can do for him, its harsh, buts it is what it is minna said. "We're going.. and if hes not with us.. than so be it.."
-
(OOC: Metadude, I will not spend any more time following Jake around in circles. You've done it enough. We've spent over a MONTH in REAL-TIME just hunting him down on his various escapades. Make him join the party yourself because, no one else is going to follow him. We're moving on now, and you're welcome to join us. In other words, stop trying to slow down the plot. It isn't fun for anyone.)
The party came down the the lower levels of the temple, following Eternion's lead... it was dark and dry... not dank, dirty, or undead-infested... that last one was especially important. :lol
Into the Tunnels (http://66.49.226.244/digital/hqcd/HQTrack04.ogg)
-
Kuja hovered off the ground, inspecting the tunnels.
"So, this will lead us out of this dismal place, will it?"
He said cheerily as Akio stood besided him.
"That's the hope at least, my friend. Well, I see no point in standing here any longer. Shall we be off, Eternion?"
He asked the old dracon...
Akito and Ruka looked around the catacombs.
"This place...it seems rather odd..."
Akito noted, sniffing the air a little as Ruka clung to his arm.
"A-Akito? I don't like it down here..."
The younger Fauxen whispered...
Touga, Juri, Utena, and Miki all walked down into the catacombs nervously...
-
Eriol sighed after hearing what Ilsa said. - "It just doesn't feel right." - He said and he turned again to meet the rest of the party. As they continuing advancing, the Panthers saw that it was getting indeed dark, but that was not issue for them, as felines, they can still see well with minimal light.
"This place is creepy, but I am eager to pass this so we can finally go to Minbenthac." - Arianne said as she used her arms to grab on Eriol's right arm, she was indeed nervous. He smiled as both of them followed the party through the catacombs.
-
ilsa let her staff glow, casting some light in front of them. the tunnel was dusty and rough, as she walked the cuts in her feet began to bleed, leaving blood droplets on the ground.. " ow.. lets.. keep going" She winced.
_
How far do these tunnels go, Eternion?' Marcus asked as he walked alonside Rhiga, and looked ahead as the tunnel wound onward..
-
(once the spell wears off Jake will go looking for the party, you don't have to have anyone look for him at all. I have a plan for him)
Jake continued running down the dark streets. Once Jake was sure that no one was following him he stopped and he saw a house. Jake walked up to the house. He turned the door nob but it was locked...Jake walked over to a window, no one was inside so he smashed open one of the windows with his metal arm. Jake climbed inside and he sat down in a small chair.
-----
"These tunnels arn't very nice to be walking in....." moaned Sasha "but nothing we can do....".
After a while Rex regained conciousness. "what happened..uhh...." managed Rex "last thing i remember was Jake waking up....wait..did he punch me in the head or something?"
"yes he did....." replied Sasha "he ran off after that...."
-
The party advanced through the tunnels, heading down the stairs lit only by a few dim torches... it was very creepy for some... even Adykon would swear that the undead were about to jump out at him, although none were going to...
Kos was having a great time, by contrast. The toddler loved all of the new sights and smells...
Into the Darkness (http://www.queststudios.com/quest/kq2rts/kq2music/kq2music.html)
-
Marcus looked over at Kos " he sure seems to be enjoying himself" He said as he looked at the smile on the youngster's face, " Unfortunately no one else is " Minna said switching her staff into her left claw. ' this place is really creepy and dark. the sooner we get out of here.. the better.."
-
After a while, the party came to a section that was caved in. It was as if work had just stopped in that section after the party had come to it. They had stopped tunneling all of a sudden, but there was light coming from the other end.
Adykon put Kos down and looked through the cracks in the fallen rubble. There was another tunnel on the other side... a well-lit tunnel at that.
"Everyone, I think we have our way out!" Adykon exclaimed. "Help me break down this wall! Vespion-"
"I'm on it. Everyone, get back! I'm going to use a fireball!" the cleric-mage replied.
-
We're helping' Ilsa said firmly.." We can cast fireballs as well.. whenever you're ready Vespion, we'll help you blast down the wall" "Minna nodded and held her staff in front of her , ready to cast a spell..
-
"Ready! Focus your magic and fire on 1! 3... 2... 1!" And the mages all fired at the rubble, blowing it to pieces. When the dust settled, there was a tunnel exposed... a well-lit corridor with a smooth stone floor, light blue walls, and little white squres painted into the walls in a pattern. There was no indication of where the tunnel led, but the party was happy to be in the tunnel and out of the catacombs...
-
Minna and Ilsa blated at the rubble and after the dust had settled stepped through the hole,. 'This.. looks like someone wealthy built this passage.. either a noble , possibly royal person, or a priest.. " Ilsa said upon examoing the ground. "Its smooth, unlike the ground we just walked through, this will be great for my feet..which are all cut up.. lets hope this tunnel leads out of the city.."
-
-
Adykon and the rest began to walk down the tunnel... it was long... they were walking for a half hour, and it still went on... still the same monotonous pattern... still the same torch lights, still no end in sight.
The party sat down to rest for a few minutes. They had been walking all day.
-
minna sat dowb in a opening in the wall. "Lets get some food in us while we wait.. here's some bread, pass it around, everyone gets a piece.. She aid habding a couple loaves to Ilsa and vespion..
-
As the party was eating... they heard hoofbeats... that's right... distant hoofbeats...
"Adykon, are you hearing hoof-?" Rhiga said, rudely interrupted by Vespion.
"-I hear them too. There are... horses down here... someone or some group is guiding horses... in a tunnel." Vespion added.
And then, slowly, a heavily guarded caravan filled with supplies came down the tunnel, using horse-drawn carts... where were they taking these supplies to? WHAT was the purpose of this tunnel?
-
Hide! Quickly" Marcus hissed. "How? theres no place to hide, theres no opening large enouugh to fit all of us" Minna replied.. the hoofbeats were getting louder and louder, whoever it was, they were getting closer..
-
Jake got up from the chair. And he paced back and fourth across the room wondering what he should do now...."hmmm......i've always wanted to be a knight..." thought Jake "maybe i could offer my allegence to the prince...". Jake unlocked the door and he walked outside and down the street to the right towards a giant castle ruled by the prince.
----
Sasha and Rex finished their bread. "not the best bread to eat but at least we're not hungry anymore...." said Rex
-
(meta the prince is a brutal tyrant. You can't just have Jake walk up to the castle and ask.. thats not how things work there ..He rules the city with an iron fist, if someone goes where they are not supposed to, they can be killed for it..and being a foreigner and a kid won't protect jake one whit if they catch him just walking up to the castle, which by the way isn't even in the city but several miles outside, up in the mountains, for security reasons..)
-
Jake eventually arrived at the castle. Jake thought of some ideas that he could use to get inside and become a knight. Jake pondered this for a while "hmmm....i can't just walk right in there....i need to communicate....but how?...."
-
(becoming bad is a very gradual process, you don't just decide one day to become evil. in Star Wars Anakin didn't become Darth Vader overnight, it took years of anger building up, and Palpatine slowly corrupting him..one spell. no matter how powerful, isn't going to be enough to turn him bad, the prince is going to demand proof of his wickedness and test him. jake might have to kill in cold blood for example..)
-
(OOC: Please save this for PMs... I didn't say that Jake should just walk right up and demand a job with the evil side. It doesn't work like that... it doesn't even work like that with a REAL job. Jake needs to gradually make contact with the evil forces... slowly, and he isn't going to be trusted by them all at once, of course.)
-
BIC: " Where do we go now? that hoof sound is getting closer and closer"Minna said, looking furtively down the passageway..
-
Kuja smiled and looked at the walls.
"Against the wall, everybody. It's time for me to take center stage."
He said calmly, and Akio nodded...
-
Eriol heard what Kuja said and he gave a smirk - "Well, I hope you know what you are doing." - he said and made him and Arianne to put their backs in the wall. Still, he kept his right hand ready to draw one of his swords, and kept the left hand in front of Arianne, in a defensive way.
Ariane closed her eyes for a second before opening them again. She is preparing herself to use her wind-based magic, as a plan-B.
-
Sasha and Rex also backed up to the wall so that they couldn't be seen like everyone else.
---
While Jake was walking down the decaying streets of Hekaga he stumbled upon a piece of paper that lay on the ground--(havn't finished this yet got to edit it when i go to library so don't say anything about this post)
-
Akito, Touga, Miki, Utena, and Juri all were pressed up against the wall as Kuja began singing a soft spell-song, making the adventurers appear to disappear into the wall...
-
Adykon and Vespion saw what he was doing... it was an invisibility spell... the kind that only worked if everyone stood still. Quickly setting Kos down, Adykon pressed himself against the wall, and stood very still. When the caravan approached, no one saw the party. The guards were fooled, as were the drivers... the horses were fooled as well!
The caravan was carrying food and other goods down the tunnel. Where they supplies were supposed to go was unknown to the party, but it looked like quite a haul. The carts traveled very slowly, as they were laden down with food to the brim... and in one case, beyond the brim! One of the carts was carrying a load of hazelnuts, and a few nuts fell over the side...
Kos, without knowing any better, went to go grab some nuts. He moved before anyone could stop him, and the toddler was exposed outside of the magic field. Adykon reached over to grab him, but he was seen as well...
-
Great! Impendium" Ilsa said and the coachdragon was frozen in place as he tried to sound the alarm ""Everyone! Quickly. climb onboard the last cart" Ilsa said jumping up and tunnelings beneath the bags of food." minna looked at the others. come on everyone.." She said.
-
Akito leapt under the cart, clinging to the underside as Ruka and Touga jumped up into it, pulling Miki, Juri, and Utena aboard.
-
It was too late. The party was noticed. Several guards drew their swords.
"Damn it!" Adykon shouted, drawing his own sword. Looking at the guards, he saw that they had far more detailed armor than any he had fought before; they bore a design on them of a dragon holding an eight-sided star in its mouth... the insignia of the royal family of Hekaga!
The plan to get on the cart was abandoned... there was no way that they could fit all of them on it... no way at all, and even if they could fit them, they had been spotted, so combat really was the only remaining option.
-
So" Much For that" Minna said, Shooting a fireball at a nearby guard. the fireball hit him in his armor and threw him backwards against the wall with a loud clang. Ilsa then turned her attention another gusaard and threw a fireball at him, but missed..
Ilsa climbed back off the cart and jumped into the fray.
-
Arianne came from where she was standing and launched a strong wind spell towards some of the Guards that were getting to close to them, blowing them away.
Eriol prepared himself for the battle too, drawing both of his swords and smiling evilish as he said. - "So, they sure are Guards with shiny armors, they may be Guards from the Prince's own castle." - He smailed as he was able to deflect the incoming attacks, using both swords and his agility to block all attacks so far.
-
(OOC: apologies for not posting much lately. I've lost my primary internet connection, so I don't know about being able to post often. In any case, feel free to play the grumbly old Dracon if you want :lol )
'Oh, this is just fantastic,' Eternion moaned. 'Can't go one damn minute without running into trouble.'
It was just like old times, and it was making him awefully giddy.
'Righto,' he said as he pulled his battleaxe from his back. 'Who wants a piece of me?'
One of the royal guards obliged, and came at Eternion with sword whirling.
Eternion gave the guard a swift kick to the knee, managing to knock over the guard... and nearly break his own foor in the process.
'That smarted,' the old Dracon growled. 'Should have just used my axe.'
He turned to the others. 'Do we have a plan?' He said as he dodged an incoming sword, which just glanced off his armor. 'I for one don't like the idea of fighting the royal family guards.'
-
well that's our only option at this point" minna replied, throwing another spell at a charging guard.. "we don't know where the tunnel leas, but since theres a royal caravan here, I'd have to assume its headed for the royal palace.."
-
'When the prince hears about this,' Eternion said, hitting another guard across the head with the handle of his axe, 'he's going to want all of our heads...'
'...And he'll probably have them all nicely arranged, too. Probably in a nice little row at the front of the palace, with little jewels dangling off our noses. And- HEY! Watch where you're swinging that thing!'
Eternion put his axe through a guards shield, sending the young looking Dracon backwards. 'What happened to the good old days when you could talk in the middle of a fight and NOT be rudely interupted?' Eternion hissed.
-
That was a long time ago" Ilsa said knocking another guard back with a spell. "Nowadays people don't talk much in battle,, I usually don't.."
Marcus Pulled an arrow from his quiver,set it in the bow, and fired. The arrow struck a guard and stuck there, quivering inbetween the pieces of his armor..
-
(OOC: What are the odds that BOTH Australian players would have internet connection problems? :lol Still, as long as you can post a couple of times a week, it is fine.)
Adykon realized that this was a fight the party could win, as long as any survivors were chased away from where they could get reinforcements. He wasn't sure where the caravan was headed, but if it contained food, it was likely a granary. Since the guards had such elaborate armor, it probably had something to do with the food supply for a palace or castle. It reasoned that wherever the caravan was going, there would be even more guards... they had to get in front of the caravan, then force the guards to run in the opposite direction.
"Get in front of the caravan!" Adykon shouted to the rest of the party.
-
The Caravan had at least two dozen carts in it.. so getting in front of it was easier said than done, but luckily, the caravan had stopped as the fight had broken out.
_ matcus nmotioned to Rhiga and her sisters. ' grab kos, and head down to the front of the caravan...We'll join you after we handle these guards..
-
Ilsa and Minna continued peppering the guards with spells.. and they were starting to become more and more effective..
-
After some time, it was clear that the guards of the caravan were NOT going to win the fight. Several of them had fallen, and none of the party had. Their leader signaled a retreat, and, as Adykon had hoped, they ran in the direction opposite from the one the caravan had been originally moving.
Seeing his opportunity, Adykon gave the signal to run in the opposite direction, going further down the tunnel.
"Once we reach the end of the tunnel, we have to find a way out of the city, and then, to a place where we can get the amulet fixed or recharged or... just get OUT of here!" Adykon shouted.
-
Ilsa Turned and grabbed a bag of food from off one of the carts and tossed it to Marcus " Heres some food we can add to the stores, the royal family's not going to notice one missing bag' The sheer size of the food stores dwarfed the supplies i her castle..
Marcus caught it anbd began to run down the hall, passing cart after cart. 'How long IS this caravan" He muttered as he kept on running down the pasageway, which snaked onward before him with no end in sight..
-
Adykon led the party down the tunnel... which kept going... and going... and going... after stopping to rest two more times, they finally saw a light at the end of it... and no guards, no monsters, nothing but some light. It was not sunlight, of course; simply a greater concentration of torchlight than they had in the tunnel.
-
minna and Ilsa were the first to reach to end of the tunnel. in the distance , there were some steps . 'I think we have reached the end of the tunnel.. lets see where these steps take us' Ilsa said, turning and waiting for the rest of the group to join them..
_
A place to sleep for the night would be grand' Marcus said, setting the bag of food down. he had been carrying it ever since Ilsa tossed it to him..
-
Advancing carefully, the party game to a loading gate and an elevator which had to be operated by a larger crew than the party. Fortunately, there was a spiral staircase as well... a very long spiral staircase...
Eventually, the adventurers reached the top, and found themselves in a rather large granary... filled with all sorts of food... sheaves of wheat, bushels of corn, bales of hay, wheels of cheese, sides of beef, sacks of flour, and a copious amount of animals hanging upside-down, salted and ready for cooking. The stone walls and high ceiling told Adykon that they were in either a palace or a fort of some kind... or maybe both. That would make this place a castle. Hmm. Where to go now?
-
Well, there's enough in here to feed a large city comfortably for months' Marcus said walking around a looking at the huge stores of food.. "Seeing all this food is making me VERY hungry.."
-
Akio nodded.
"What say you that we...help ourselves a little bit, hm?"
He said with a devilish smirk...
Kuja floated out of the tunnel behind the others.
"Impressive. This much of a food supply...must belong to someone very important."
He stated, clearly awed...
-
"I agree with Kuja..." - Eriol said as he was also taking a close look at the place the party is in now. - "... and the only person in Hekaga that could afford to have this is the Prince."
Arianne shrugged - "If that is true, then I vote to leave this place as soon as we can, we haven't manage to get this far only to get this close to the only one we didn't want to get close to."
-
"Guys... it isn't the prince's palace." Rhiga told the rest. "His palace is in the city itself... I should know; I stole from it before. This is even worse. If we are caught in here, we won't answer to the prince... we'll have to answer to the king!"
And truth be told, there wasn't THAT much food here; not enough to feed Hekaga for long at all, and given how often caravans had to replenish the food supply, not enough for the palace for all that long either. The granary was only about a third full; they only filled it up to capacity in anticipation of a siege on the palace.
-
Eriol frowned as he replied. - "Well, I don't care who this place we are in belongs to, the thing is that we need to get out of here. I say it specially for you Rhiga."
Arianne went closer to Eriol. - "Please, try to relax Eriol. Even if you have a point and we are in danger, we need a plan to escape without drawing any more attention." - She was hoping a plan could come as fast as possible, the odds of them been captured or injured... or worse, grow bigger with each moment.
-
The party walked through the granary. It was eerily empty and quiet... devoid of life. Inside the castle, they could hear the sounds of a party... and a loud one at that. Hmm... they could escape the castle while the inhabitants were distracted! But how to get out... :blink:
-
'Well, great...' Eternion gasped between breaths, the stairs having given him a good workout. 'And to think... I was just... beginning... to enjoy... the idea... of having my head... put on a spear...'
He rested for a moment, mouth watering slightly at the abundance of food. Considering his usual meal consisted of your typical "old Dracon" savouries, it was as if he had walked into the lair of a enriched dragon. 'Eh, disgusting,' he grumbled, hiding his sudden growling hunger.
'As for a plan, well... I'd like to know where we are exactly. Any chances we could get out of this cellar? I'm starting to get hungry.'
-
(OOC: Ha, excellent timing there NoName, and I had just checked to see if you had posted :DD )
'Sounds like quite the gathering... I wonder if they're all drunk and stupid at the moment,' Eternion said. Typical guard behaviour, though he wondered what the occasion was.
He looked about the castle interior, the sounds echoing further up ahead. 'We might have to move one at a time, one of us up ahead to make sure we don't draw any attention. The last thing we need is a whole damn party on our tails.'
With all the noise, they probably wouldn't have to worry so much of making a sound as being seen.
-
"I'm sure we can help ourselves to this 'surplus' in front of us" Rhiga told Eternion.
Meanwhile, at the party...
A red skinned noble female Dracon stumbled out of the room, clearly drunk. Her pale white belly and large tiotleglas were stained with red wine...
"Mlasia! What are you doing?" Sorian asked one of his wives. "What are you- get your hand out of there, please!" he asked her, calmly taking her hand out from in between her legs... it was already wet with her liquids...
"Aww... I was having fun! It felt so good! Why did you make me stoppp..." Mlasia said, falling down the the floor, drunk.
-
We're just going to have to try various passages and hope we don't walk into the party.." Minna said looking around. ' Who wants to take the lead.. Marcus? Ilsa?
_
Minna I have no idea where we are.. and the last thing we need is to be caught wandering around..." Ilsa replied.."Someone has to guide us though that I will agree.."
-
The party DID stumble into someone, though...
"Sorian, why am I seeing foxes? And a human? They're with some Dracons, including a topless female, a toddler, and a guy with a BIIGG sword!"
"Mlasia, what are you talking ab- hey... there IS a toddler!"
-
Ilsa stopped as she gazed into the drunken face of Milasia "Forgive us.. these are my entourage.. it has been awhile since I was here last..so I 've been wandering around for the last hour or so trying to find the party. I'm Lady Ilsa of Minbenthac" Ilsa bowed respectfully..
-
Sorian looked at them with suspicion. "I know who you are... and what you have done." Turning to Rhiga, he said "I've seen you before... you were at the party with the prince... and you were the one who stole from him, didn't you?"
Rhiga looked shocked. "How did you- you remember me?"
"Yes, I never quite forget the body of a female of your... 'stature.' Anyway, I don't hold it against you... and I've heard of a group of adventurers and malcontents wandering around through the city like a flock of headless chickens running awry... you need to get out of here." Sorian told them.
"I WANNA go to the PArty" Mlasia shouted, sounding like a drunk, spoiled child. Honestly, a fully grown female acting like that...
-
" whatt's the quickest way out of here.. hey"Minna started as the drunken Dracon leaned on her shoulder. "I think .. this ones had a bit too much to drink"ilsa said delicately there was also the fact that she smelled terrible.. and it wasn;'t just alcohol..
-
"There is a secret passage out of here" Sorian told the party. "You have to go down into the dungeons, and find a large stone with four interlocking circles. Push in on that stone, and it will lead you to a way out of the castle, into a tunnel. From there, head down the road. If you need help from a wizard, as I suspect you do, given that you need to get out of here as fast as you can, simply approach the first oasis you come across down the road, wait until either dawn, noon, or dusk, and one of you needs to hold up a hand one with three fingers raised, then two fingers raised, then five raised, and three again. That's 3-2-5-3. Make sure your hand blocks the sun from your view. You will see what will happen, I don't have time to explain it now, and you need to go NOW in order to get out... the dungeons are down the stairs over here, he said, indicating a stairwell. Just go ALL the way down... "
-
Thank you" Marcus said Quickly.. and they began turning down towards the stairs. the steps were llong and dimly lit, save from torches positioned high in thre waklls. " Ok,4 interlocking circles " Minna repeated " I do hope we're not headed into a trap.."
_ Do we have much of a choice" Ilsa replied as they continued down the steps.
-
When the party arrived in the dungeons, they found... horrible sights. It was almost as bad as underneath Asthia's tower. Prisoners in cages were confined by black adamantine bars, some of them were suspended from the ceiling by chains, others from a cage, and still others were literally hooked there! In the distance, the party found a wall with what looked like four interlocking circles on it...the problem was... a large group of Dracons was already there... over 20 of them... 19 standing... and one on the ground...
"... AND WHEN I SAY SOMETHING, YOU WILL OBEY! DO YOU UNDERSTAND, YOU PIECE OF MEAT?! THAT'S ALL YOU EVER WERE FROM THE DAY YOU WERE BORN! YOU ARE NOTHING TO ME, YA HEAR! NOTHING! YOU JUST EXIST TO MAKE EGGS, NOT TO THINK! YOU CAN'T CONTRADICT ME ANYMORE THAN A DOG CONTRADICTS IT'S MASTER, YOU BIT-"
"STOP THAT!" Vespion shouted, seeing one of the Dracons hitting a female with a flagrum...
(http://www.indyprops.com/pp-flagrum4.jpg)
-
As Arianne looked at the scene, she went totally shocked, but Eriol didn't think twice, he grabbed his swords and ran at full speed to attack the torturer.
-
Upon noticing the party, the Dracon wielding the flagrum looked up, leaving the broken and bloody female at his feet... turning to the party, his identity was soon revealed... it was the Prince of Hekaga!
-
Marcus turned to Ilsa. "We need to get out of here"
_
Well to do that we need to get through these DRacons. " Ilsa replied
Even from a distance Minna could see the blood trickling fronm the lashee in the dracons back "What has she done to deserve such brutal treatment?" she demanded giving the Dracon with the Falgrum a glance that would have curdled milk.. as sthey DRacon turned. Minna was horrified to see she recognized him..
-
As he was running, Eriol gave a wicked smile - "Well, maybe I'll get to finish all of this once and for all." - He kept his sword in his left hand in his usual backhanded defensive position as he used his sword in his right hand to attempt a direct attack in the prince's neck.
-
Marcus was stunnee at see the prince before him. ' You!" He hissed, animosity in his voice.. During their lovemaking Rhiga had started to reveal her past in detail, including her daliance with the Prince. to see the Dracon his lover had described with such fear abd dread standing before him , was a blow, but one which he soon recovered from..
-
Rhiga was terrified. She ran behind Marcus, not saying a word, but whimpering out her fear. Adykon drew his sword and charged. The other Dracons surrounding the prince did the same... it looked like there would be a large fight... when suddenly.
"STOP!" the prince shouted. and his guards stopped moving, obeying his order. The battle ceased before it really started. "I don't know if we can win this fight, but in any case, I have insurance. I anticipated that you might be coming down here... it is the only way out of the city without taking the gates. I was told that you left the valley by the Dark Master, and he told me to finish you off here... and I shall, but in a manner of my own choosing. Really, all of you are dead in the long run when I am through with my plan... but for now, let's make a deal..."
-
Eriol decided to stop his attack, and as he heard what the Prince said he bared his teeth in anger, but he calmed down himself. - "Well, I am not the leader of this Party, so I'll let the leader speak." - he then began walking back to where his wife is, not caring if he was givng his back to the Prince.
-
And why should we parley with you, you miserable cretin" marcus sneered. "Since you fully intend to kill us, there is nothing we could profit from this deal. Rhiga told me all about you.. your cruelty your malice, your sadism..
_
thatrs enough Marcus "ilsa said. "none of us like dealing with him, but we also need to stop the Dark Master.. what do you want.. your highness" she said turning to the prince, her salutation to him full of undisguised contempt.
-
"I have a proposition to make. I'll let you go on one condition." The prince told the party, pulling out an large golden bracelet with a blue crystal set in it. "This bracelet will bind itself to anyone for the rest of their life. This is not a problem, for their life will be very short thereafter... as it will explode in 48 hours after someone puts it on. Cutting off the limb it is attached too will trigger instant detonation. Now, I am only interested in Rhiga's life, not yours, Adykon."
The mercenary bared his teeth at the memory of this...
"Yes, you remember your old employer don't you? When you first came to this city seeking work, you entered one of my father's barracks, and presented yourself for service. The pay was good, wasn't it? You even saw me give a speech to the troops. I distinctly remember you in the front row, clapping."
This was true. Adykon had come to Hekaga seeking work. That's where he met Vaeri, after all. He had arrived in the city not long after Rhiga had left it in exile...
"So, since you will all probably be dead soon enough, I just want to be sure that I killed at least one of you... give Rhiga the bracelet and I'll let you go. If you stay and fight, you MIGHT win... but if you lose, there will be no one left to oppose the Dark Master... what's it going to be?"
-
No way.. give it to me' Marcus said, holding out his left arm.." I mean it" He said fiercely as minna looked at him. "Are you mad Marcus? Ilsa interjected.."Putting that ion is certain death.. "
-
"I agree with Ilsa, I say we stay and fight." - Eriol said firmly as he turned his eyes to where the Prince is. His face still shows some wickedness.
"That bracelet is far too dangerous." - Arianne said, but she felt bad as she couldn't do much about what was happening right now.
-
"No, it can only be Rhiga. I want her life for what she did to me. Stealing from my palace... the laws of Hekaga state that-" the prince started.
"Fine." Rhiga said, stepping forward towards the prince, extending an arm. "Put it on me. This is... larger than me now. Larger than my family, and... even larger than my child."
The prince moved forward and put the band on her, and whispered in her ear. "You are one dead bitch, you hear? Dead. You are worth nothing more than occupying space, and soon, you won't even do that."
As he pulled away from her, he slapped her in the rear end, as he had done the last time they were that close...
"You can go now. I'd advise being far away from Rhiga in about... 47 hours. It will be quite a blast." the prince told them.
-
marcus came up and took Rhiga in his arms. " The next time we meet, your highness I'm putting an arrow through your cold black heart, you can rest assured of that' Marcus eyes were alight with anger, as the passage was opened before them.. Ilsa and Minna started down the passageway , not even looking back..
-
Arianne couldn't believe what just happened, but she did have no other choice but to follow Rhiga and walk through the passageway.
Eriol made a quick smile of sarcasm, and then he walked away, with a serious face now. - "Marcus will have his vengeance, I'0ll make sure of that." - he thought as he didn't even bother to store his swords back into their sheaths.
-
The party went through the passage, and into the wilderness. They headed away from Hekaga, heading south down a long winding dirt road. They hoped to reach the oasis soon, as they needed a master mage's help now more than ever...
Meanwhile...
The Prince addressed his men...
"Get a healer for that bitch. We're starting our "fun" tomorrow... then again and again until I grow tired of her... then... we don't call a healer and we let nature take its course on her." the price said.
"As for the OTHER bitch... I will know when her bracelet detonates. This bracelet I've got monitors her own... we've got... 47 hours left, roughly."
-
as they went along " Marcus shot glances at rhiga ' why did you agree to wear the bracelet rhiga? Why/ WHY? You heard what that monster said! it will detonate in 2 days.."
-
"We need to warn the world of the Dark Master. I... couldn't let this stop us... somehow, we'll get this off... I'm sure of it..." Rhiga told Marcus, while giving him a hug.
After 12 hours, the party made it to the oasis. It was about a hour before dusk...
-
So, what do we do now? minna asked a note of desperation in her voice they only had 35 hours left before the bracelet would blow up taking Rhiga with it..
_
We have to hold onto hope "ilsa said..
-
Eriol looked at Ilsa and Minna and replied. - "Hope is good, but we need a plan-B. Maybe the mage we need to visit can lend us a hand about this new situation we are facing."
"I hope that will work, I don't want to lose anybody else." - Arianne said, still visible affected for what happened 12 hours ago. But then she was comforted by her husband.
-
It was at this moment Annette stepped out of the shadows surrounding the group and smiled. "I believe I have an idea or two that might just be able to help your current situation." She then smiled deviously and placed her hands on her hips as she waited for an answer.
(Hope I did this right...:lol)
-
Akito turned, drawing his twin Katana, and faced Annette.
"Who are you, and what do you want with us?"
He growled, fangs bared.
Kuja sprung into the air and hovered there, forming a magic bolt in his hand, then stopped.
"Annette? Is that you?"
He asked, one ear twitching...
-
(OOC: Glad to see that you are onboard, GVG!)
"What?! Somone ELSE just showed up... dear gods... what now?!" Adykon thought to himself.
Looking at the newcomer, he saw no reason to think that she was dangerous...
But this was distracting him. The mercenary performed the hand motions as he had been told to at the time he had been told to... and he could see a tall stone tower appear from what seemed to be thin air! This must have been the tower of the wizard that had been mentioned earlier... was that girl from that tower?
-
Annette grinned as she looked up. "Kuja....how long has it been my old friend? I do hope you've been staying out of trouble while I've been away." She then looked around the others in the room and her eyes settled on Adykon. "I'm going to take a wild guess and say you are the leader here right?"
-
Kuja smirked a little.
"Me, stay out of trouble, Annette?"
He said with a soft laugh...
-
(OOC: Wasn't Kuja on ASTHIA'S side? She was firmly with the villains... is Kuja good, or bad? As it is, I have something planned for the invisible tower... and the bracelet that Rhiga has on...)
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Adykon, the leader of this adventuring party. There's... an awful lot to fill you in on... an awful lot... but for now, we need to find out how to get this bracelet off of Rhiga here!" Adykon told Annette, showing Rhiga to her.
-
Annette grinned at Kuja and replied, "I suppose danger should be your middle name." She then nodded her head at Adykon and replied, "I could certainly try to remove that ring...but I can tell you now that it won't be easy."
-
"Don't try to remove it!" Vesion said to Annette "That might set if off! We need to get rid of it another way... remove it instantly and yet... get it so far from Rhiga that it cannot harm her... I know! We need to find a way to teleport it off of her!"
-
"I agree with Vespion, to remove the ring would make it explode, and that will kill Rhiga for sure." - Arianne said, with a worried voice. - "Miss Annette, are your plans to remove it be halted because of that?."
Then Eriol commented - "This is no better than control collars some slaves are forced to wear in our homelands: you try to remove them and the collar will certainly kill the slave. Sadly, I have no idea how to remove them, so I am willing to help in any plans any of you can have to save Rhiga. Who knows? that may even help me free some people I know when Arianne and I get back home."
-
Annette sighed.
"I could try to teleport it off of Rhiga and somewhere else, but...I've just never tried my teleportation spell on something so small."
-
"Wait a minute... you aren't from that tower, are you, Annette?" Adykon asked her, pointing to the tower... "Wait... does anyone else see it? I made the gestures as instructed, but..."
"I can sense the presence of magic... but I cannot see a tower." Vespion replied. "Do you still have that gem, Adykon? The one you told me you used to determine that Selturma was NOT magically bonded to Ilsa?"
"Yes!" Adykon exclaimed, taking the gem out. It glowed brightly, indicating that powerful magic was indeed near. "Do the gestures, Vespion. Does it work."
"It works" the cleric replied, after repeating the hand gestures. "Well... I see a tower... and a wooden door... hold on." Moving over to what Rhiga thought was thin air, Vespion knocked on the door three times. For a minute, there was no answer, but the sound of something skittering across the floor to open the door was heard after a few seconds.
The one to open to door was a kobold.
(http://www.freewebs.com/miirik/Kobold_Guide_by_D_MAC.jpg)
"Greetings. If you were told how to find this door, my master will want to see you." the little thing told Vespion. Looking behind the cleric, the kobold saw just how BIG the party was. "Uh... there's so many of you... :blink:..."
Turning to the party, the little kobold introduced himself. "I am Torgo. I take care of the place while the Master is away. There is no way out of here. It'll be dark soon. There is no way out of here..."
"Is there something wrong with that Kobold?" Seturma whispered to Rex.
-
(OOC: Nice Manos reference there :lol )
Eternion shuddered, he hated kobolds. They were ugly, annoying, smelly things... and he recalled having spent a great deal of time having dealt with the little vermin.
Of course, he wouldn't let his past prejudice get in the way. He simply smiled and bowed... then turned to the others.
'We're not going in there, are we? I don't like the look of this. It's almost as if it was coming from a bad story plot or something...'
He shook his head. 'Oh, what the heck... things can't get any worse.'
He just had to say that...
-
"I hope you are not a bad-luck carrier Eternion. Bad stuff is the least we want and need right now." - Eriol said as he went closer to the door.
Arianne smiled to the Kobold and bowed her head as a sign of respect, her greeting was more authentic than that of the Dracon, since she has not been battling much with them at all.
-
"i don't know..." said Rex to Selturma "he looks okay but....why did he repeat his first sentence?"
-
Giving the kobold with a quizzical look, Adykon, holding Kos in his arms, decided to leave the talking to Vespion.
"You master is a wizard, isn't that correct?" the cleric asked Torgo.
"Yes... the master knows all that goes on in this area. I keep the place while the master is away. The master knows all that goes on in this-"
He went on like that for some time, leading most of the party, even Kos, to roll their eyes at this.
"Is your master here right now? We need the help of an experienced mage. It's urgent!" Rhiga interjected, gesturing towards her bracelet.
"Very well. The Master will be greatly disturbed. I'll take you inside, but be warned, the Master will be greatly disturbed." Torgo replied. The kobold turned around, walking in an unsteady gait...
The party entered the tower, walking into a gray stone chamber with stairs leading up. There was the strangest music coming from another room...
Torgo's Theme (http://www.i-mockery.com/minimocks/manos/torgo.mp3)
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that guy sure likes to repeat himself' ilsa said as the door closed behind them the music was offputting to say the least.. "i just hope this msage can get the btrracelet off of Rhiga.
- Marcus looked sullenly ahead.. "And what if he can't?' he asked darkly..
-
Kuja sighed.
"Should he fail...I may have a plan that can save Rhiga..."
He said, though he seemed unsure...
-
Torgo led the party up the stairs into a room with many seats, couches, and cushions. Rhiga looked nervous. Although she had over a day left, every second lost was one she missed dearly.
"Could we see your master... like NOW please" the female said, eyes wide.
"The master... will not be happy. He... is busy. The master... will not be-"
"Shut up!" Vespion shouted at Torgo.
-
we don't have any time to waste. We don't really care if your master is pleased or not, we just want this accursed bracelet off!' Minna shouted, pointing her staff at the kobloid. " now go get him ... NOW!
-
"I'll... get the master. He will be mad. I'll get the master." Torgo said, hobbling off into the next room. As soon as he was out of sight, he straightened up and walked like a normal kobold. Passing several rooms, he knocked on the door with a gibbous moon symbol painted on it.
"Master, there's some guests to see you. It's the one's you predicted that would show up!" the kobold said.
"Who did you pose as this time?" the 'master' replied.
"Torgo."
"Oh... not again. Now they all think I'm some eccentric master who lives in the middle of nowhere..."
"Well, you sorta fit the profile. You have several wives, a servant, you make me call you 'master', and you used to worship-"
Opening the door, a Dracon dressed in black robes with two red hand symbols underneath the arms emerged. "I'll see them in five minutes... after I've changed OUT of these... 'Manos robes' and not a second earlier!" he shouted, slamming the door behind him.
-
'Ah, most excellent... we've walked into a madhouse,' Eternion said with a groan.
It wasn't the first time he had been in a place that could be considered... far from normal, and considering how unpleasant that last experience had been... he certainly didn't like being here. It showed in his scales, seemingly dulling in colour as the old Dracon showed a hint of nervousness.
'I hate madhouses,' he said bluntly.
'And Kobolds,' he said a few seconds later.
-
Marcus sat on a cushion next to Rhiga "We'll get that blasted bracelet off, we'll head back to Minbenthac, and then we'll be married a get ready for the birth of our child" he said trying to put as much hope and warmth into his voice as he ciould..
-
'The master' entered the room, dressed like he was an average, functioning Dracon... mostly. If not for the necklace of kobold claws he wore around his neck, one would say he was almost normal.
"So, you have come to my tower seeking aid. First tell me who sent you and what it is you need. My name is Glauron, master of the-"
"That's not your real name!" shouted 'Torgo.'
"-shut up. As I said, I am master of the tower, and an expert in teleportation spells. Now, what is it that you seek?"
-
We want you to remove this bracelet off of Rhoigas wrist. it will kill her if it is not removed and time is of the essence' Minna explained " Can you remove it?" she asked giving the dracon a curious glance..
_
The Prince of Hekaga forced her to wear that bracelet and we want it off.."Ilsa said from where she was sitting, and a soft lounge sofa..
-
"The Prince of Per-, I mean Hekaga?! I loathe that upstart! That bracelet is as good as gone!" 'Glauron' told the party. "Give me a moment to think on exactly how to go about this... it will be off within the next 5 minutes."
-
" goood. the sooner we get home the better. We have a wedding to prepare" Minna replied, relief spreading on her face.. "Just take your time. if something goes wring it could kill her" Ilsa cautioned.
-
if you can really do that we will owe you a tremendous debt of gratitude" Marcus said.
-
"I know what I'll do! Rhiga, hold your arm out." the 'master' told her
As she did that, the mage concentrated on the bracelet. For his eccentric nature, he ha d a clear grasp of magic, and he knew what he was doing. Moving his hands in closer to the bracelet he mouthed a few magic words, opened his eyes wide, and giving the bracelet just a touch, it made it disappear in a flash of blue light.
-
the minute the bracelet disappered marcus hugged his mate with an outburst of joy. " Tears streamed down his face. " Now, sir, can you teleport us to minbenthac? we need tio get home" Marcus said, his eyes shiny with tears of joy.
_ Ilsa bowed in acknowledgment of the mage's skill "thank you,Glauron, you have done us a huge favor.."
-
"Me? Teleport ALL of you to Minbenthac?! I can't do that. It would take me way too much power..." Glauron replied...
"Then, could you take a look at this amulet?" Adykon asked. "It was supposed to teleport us all back to Minbenthac, but we were diverted to Hekaga instead...
"Let me take a look at that... where did you get this?"
"The great temple in Minbenthac." Vespion replied. "It was approved by the high priests and mages. It was with Adykon the whole time, you see, it all started with..." and after some explanation of what had happened with Rhiga's capture, Asthia, and Hekaga, Adykon gave the amulet to Glauron to look at.
Taking five minutes to examine it, the mage replied; "The energies it was exposed to in Asthia's tower altered the magics the amulet was able to lock onto when returning. Since it was unable to lock onto the relatively clean magic of Minbenthac, it locked onto the nearest source of darker, more corrupted magic, that of Hekaga. It will take me an hour or so the cleanse the dark magic from your artifact, then I will recharge it and send you on your way. Normally, I'd ask for compensation, but if even half of what you said is true... the whole world needs you to succeed on your mission."
-
Kuja bowed, awed.
"That was a mighty spell, Glauron. I may not have the same bond as many of these adventurers do with Rhiga, but I thank you."
He said, looking at the Dracon with reverance.
Akio nodded.
"Most impressive, sir. You have my thanks."
He stated...
Touga smiled.
"You've saved our friend. Our gratitude is the least we can give you."
He said, offering a paw...
Akito saluted him with the swords he carried, a high display of respect from a Fauxen.
"Thank you, sir. Your kindness will not be forgotten."
He declared, bowing his head...
-
" Thank you"Ilsa said. turning to the others " Are any of you hungry ? We have that bag of food we grabbed from the caravan..."
' which I have been lugging about" Marcus complained. " quit complaining marcus, the bracelet is off and within an hour, we'll be back at my palace. I do hope my servant hasn't been fooling around too much " Minna replied, as Ilsa opened the bag to reveal a large selection of bread rolls. "Adykon, see if Koos is hungry" Ilsa said offering Adykopon a roll of bread.
-
Rhiga gave Marcus a hug as Adykon fed Kos.
"Ow! Kos! Daddy's finger isn't food..."
After some time, the eccentric mage returned.
"Alright now. The amulet has one charge, and it should take you back to Minbenthac."
"Thank you VERY much." Adykon told the mage. "Is there anything we can do to repay you?"
"Oh no. You've already repaid me. Now, I'm going to see what the explosion did in my crystal ball; the bracelet should have exploded by now, as it is enchanted to do that when removed from the one it was shackled to. Just hold the amulet in your hands and will yourself back to Minbenthac. Remember to keep all of the party within a few square meters of your position, or you will leave someone behind.
Meanwhile...
"That bitch is as good as dead, soon the necklace will explo- OH MY GODS! They teleported it back here! RUN for-!"
BOOM!!
The prince lived, but his pride was wounded, as were his legs. Fortunately for him, he had the best healing mages in the city restore him the health...
Adykon gathered the party together, including Annette and Kuja, along with Vespion, Marcus, Rex, Sasha, Selturma, Rhiga, Minna, Ilsa, Eriol, Arianne, the other Fauxen, Kos, and all the rest. They teleported into the great temple of Minbenthac, much to the surprise of... well, everyone.
-
Akio landed gracefully, alongside Touga, Juri, and Akito. Kuja hovered easily above the ground next to Annette, and Miki and Utena ended up on their tails...
-
Marcus blinked as the temple solidified around them "WE MADE IT!" He exclaimed in a joyous outburst. He would have kissed the ground, but better judgement prevailed. "Lets get back to the castle. " Minna said "Rhiga,we can begin wedding preparations in the morning, for now, lets just get home and get some sleep.."
-
After answering several dozen questions from the temple staff, Adykon was finally allowed to take the party and leave. Because he had mentioned the name "Dememoras", he was told to return as a matter of... great security.
"What kind of security?" he had asked, suspicious. "Temple security?"
"No."
"Civic security?"
"No. Greater."
"Regional security?"
"No. Greater than that."
"Racial security? Ethnic security?"
"No and no."
"Continent-wide security?"
"No. Even greater."
"Global security?!"
"Greater still."
"...Exactly WHAT are you talking about here?!" Adykon asked again, a little annoyed.
"We are talking about security from a threat which is a danger to ALL planes of existence short of heaven and hell!"
"Oh."
-
marcus, didn't care much about demorous at this pint. he just wanted toio reach the safety of minna's castle, anf retire to bed with rhiga..
_ as they approached the Castle minna noticed there was a large dracon stannding the doorway waiting for them.. "father?' she cried out, suprised..
-
Minna's father, Thallon, had come to greet her. He was tall, even for a fully-grown Dracon male. Wearing a ceremonial robe over his shirt, his clothes were made of fine silk with golden woven into the threads. His black-and-golden garments were decorated with dragons of the latter hue, and he wore a golden belt around his waist, with a golden sword in a scabbard.
"Welcome home, my daughter!" Tallon said, approaching Minna and giving her a hug. "I was starting to grow concerned about you. Your room has been empty for so long, and the staff at the palace I let you have have been asking me where you have been... and... might I ask who these new travelers are?"
-
This is Lady Ilsa, you know her father.. this is Marcus whi work as a Massuer.. this is Rhiga, they are going to be married shortly.. .. This as Adykon, the little ione is his son Kos, these 3 are Rhiga's sisters.. and well I'll let them introduce themselves to you.. sorry for the lengthy absence, but i had to get rhiga back from a very evil mage" minna said."whats the big occassion father? you never visit unless it is something important.."
-
"Well... this isn't the best time to mention it, but... I have arranged for your marriage, my daughter. You will be married to the tenth son of the Mulros family. Your dowry includes some vineyards to the north, 100 heads of cattle, two chests of gold coins, and a winery along with those vineyards. His family is... nowhere near as rich as ours, but it is well worth it because uniting our two families will create a single piece of land under family ownership, stretching from the northern mountains to the sea. I'll finally be able to build a toll road linking our mines to the northeastern ports, and be able to build it through their lands. I don't mean to pressure you, Minna, but... there's a lot riding on this marriage. If it works out, our family's wealth will rise to heights even your grandfather never dreamed of..." Tallon responded.
-
marraige? " minna blushed crimson. ' i do hope you don't force us into marraige right away father. i need some time to get to know him first.."
-
don't be shy' Ilsa said, grinning broadly. we'll have not 1, but 2 weddings to look forward to...'
-
"Well... you don't need to marry him TODAY" Tallon told his daughter. "He lives in an estate on his family's land, on an irrigated region of land not far from the city. His family expected you to be married to him by now, but since you were on a journey when they came to Minbenthac, I'll have to tell them to spend some time getting to know you better... however, you will have to marry him soon enough."
-
"Well, it seems that the news were a pleasant surprise for you lady Minna." - Eriol said by making a smile. - "it would be nice that all things begin coming the right way for a change."
Arianne gave some steps and standed next to Minna and then she made a smile on her own, telling very courteously to Minna - "I really hope everything will go for the best for you."
-
Minna nodded mechanically "thank you...She said to Arianee "Father I will accept it, but I will need at least a couple months before the wedding takes place, Preparations for the wedding, inviting all my friends, all those details.. but on the whole I'm excited father, I really am.. this was a wonderful surprise... is he here?"
She askee, looking intently at her father.
-
Tallon responded to his daughter, with a slight note of concern in his voice.
"He is inside. He's the tall Dracon with red skin, long black horns, gold ceremonial armor with blue gems set into it, and a ceremonial sword with a ruby in its pommel. He's the only one who looks anything like that. There is one... details, however. Instead of months... his family insists that you should have been married to him by now. Therefore... I can give you a week at most. He wanted more time too, but... well... you will be his first wife, and until he gets more, his only wife. You really should enjoy him while you can. I vetted him thoroughly. He's really quite a good young male for you."
-
Minna frowned "Father I have been away for three months trying to rescue my friend Surely they can understand.
_ Unfortunately said a voice behind Tallon. "my family is not known for their patience. I have tried to get them to give us time to know each other Minna, but Unfortunately. " Lucien stepped out in front of her wearing his beautifully polished armor. 'They will wait no longer. 'either you marry her in a week, or we find you a new wife' those were the terms.and to be honest..i would be unlikely to have another wife as pretty as you..
_
Lucien?Ilsa started " you were a classmate of ours. "Yes, as was margas. We were just catching up on old times.. Its good to see you again Ilsa" Luvien bowed in her direction, then turned to the others 'Lucien at your service.. please come in and rest i'm sure you have lots of stories to tell."
-
"Yes... we went to the same academy together... that's right." Lucien thought to himself. At 25 years old, he was eager to be married. At 21, he had gone off to fight in distant lands, hoping to earn fame and treasure. He won the latter, but not the former. He returned to his family and to a manor house that his father had built him, parceling out a share of prime family land. Minna's dowry would almost double his land holdings, and do much to increase his wealth, giving him the capital needed to expand his property further...
Lucien led Minna and Ilsa into a living room with many soft chairs and tables. They all had a seat...
-
As Ilsa sat down, another guest stood up 'Minna isn't the only one getting married ilsa' the guest said, turning towards the gathered group. Lord Margas , for it was he, was the eldest living son in his family, his elder brothers had all been killed in battles, so his familiy's hopes had been laid on his shoulders. Margas was tall with a plesant face. He wore a sea green suit of armor with his family crest inlaiden with gold on the brest plate.He happened to be a very skilled mage, which had served him well in battle. He was slightly older than Ilsa, who had secretly had a major crush on him. Margas held a letter in his claws, which he now gave to Ilsa to read ' Lucien and I were just catching up on old times. i sent a letter to your father and.." Margas began but was cut off..
_
You.. asked.. to.. marry me' didn't you?' Ilsa turned a crimson shade, as she began reading the letter, which indeed was a response to Margas' request for marriage. Her fathers response was clear and uneqivocal: he approved of the marriage.
"so... in say a month, you and i will be married. I'll be moving in here to live with you, as this castle will then become mine.." Margas said with a smile.
-
Marriages among the rich Dracons were as much about property and money as they were about love and attraction, if not more so. There was also a distinction between those merely rich, like Lucien, and super-rich, like Tallon. Lucien owned an estate from which to draw an income. He had over a thousand workers on his lands and could live a very good life. Tallon, by contrast, had tens of thousands of workers in dozens of different properties. He held mines, quarries, ranches, toll roads, ships, mills, and plantations, wineries, breweries, and even collected rent on apartments and inns he owned. In addition, he also had his own smiths, carpenters, coopers, weavers, and other artisans in order to make his vast operations truly self-sufficient. It was no surprise that Lucien wanted to be in a beneficial association with him and his family, and by marrying Minna, become part of that family.
-
margas sat down next to Ilsa, who finished reading the letter and slowly handed it back to him. This marriage would be very beneficial to both involved, Ilsa would get the prestige of being married to an eldest son, which was very rare for a daughter of her birth rank, and would get the full income of the inlaws. Margas would be marrying into one of the dracon world's richest families, and gain a share of the prestige and rank of his father in law. While the marriage was in part a union of political needs, Margas and Ilsa had respect for each other dating back from thier studies, this marriage would be an affectinate one, and the two wre well-matched.
-
Lucien looked around, noticing the sheer opulence of his surroundings. Then he looked at Minna with a smile. "My dear, we are to be married soon. While you are a joy to behold I... I know so little about you. I want to share your life, your love, your... your... how was your day?"
"And I'm going to cut the romantic speech crap" he added mentally. "It sounds so odd. I like her a lot, but... I'm no good at speeches" he thought.
-
Let me fill you in, breifly, on what happened over the last 3 months.." minna took a deep breath.. "Rhiga here was kidnapped by a great evil named Asthia. We set out to find and rescue her, which took us several weeks. Finally, we managed to free her, but at great loss to the local tribes who had agreed to help us free her.. then we tried to teleport ourselves back here, but ended up in Hekaga instead.. which , by the way is an appalling hellhole.. and the prince there is evil incarnate.. anyway after trying to get out, we were stopped by the prince, who put a magical bracelet on rhiga, which was designed in kill her in two days if it was not removed. well we managed to find a mage willing to remove it and send us back here. and i'm really tired.. so please don't ask too many questions " Minna replied.
-
"Oh. That's a lot more interesting than my day. I just woke up, went over here, asked your father where you were, and when it was announced that you were at the gates, I came to meet you... and here I am now." Lucien replied.
-
'so what have you been doing the last few months Lucien? Ilsa asked him. "As I recall, you fought in the wars a few years ago, which is why you left our class early.. minna was heartbroken when you left..' Ilsa said with a mischevious grin.
_
"Ilsa, you are contemptable' Minna grumbled as Marcus and margas laughed.
- Unbeknowst to minna and Ilsa there were being watched. a viewing orb showed the two girls sitting next to each other. 'you are beginning to weaken minna, i can sense it' a female Dracon said from her throne near the scrying orb. "My curse on you is reaching its final stages.. i saw that little tryst in the woods.. " malcia smiled wickedly. she had been a former classmate of minna and ilsa's and had been a skilled mage, in fact, only margas and lucien among the boys and ilsa among the girls, were more skilled than her. But their teacher had favored minna over her, and malcia had blamed it on minna's connections rather than her skills. this had lead to a blowup betweeen the two, which had culiminated in a nasty physical confrontation , in which she had overpowered minna with her superior magical powers, but had been stopped from doing minna any further harm by Ilsa. malcia had been thrown out of school for that, but before she was thrown out she had cursed minna.
-
i know how fond you are of each other! It will be the undoing of both of you! I will see to that!' She had screeched as she had been dragged from the school. ever since then she had bottled herself up scheming ways to get even with Minna. The curse of lesbos, which she had finally settled upon, was strictly forbidden, and the penalty for cursing someone with it was extremely severe. but malcia didn't care. as long as she kept her clawprints clean, there was little risk of being caught.
-
Sasha and Rex also backed up to the wall so that they couldn't be seen like everyone else.
---
While Jake was walking down the decaying streets of Hekaga he stumbled upon a piece of paper that lay on the ground, Jake read the letter and found out that it was a bounty. The bounty was for 2 wanted dracon criminals that had killed a noble that was on their way to Hekaga.
"this could be my ticket" thought jake to himself "if i can find them..."
--
(i've finally posted after all this time yay!)
-
From the shadows around Malcia's throne, Kyuichi stepped out, clad in the armor she had given him.
"My lady, I stand ready. What are my orders?"
He asked, eyes glinting in the low light, both from his people's naturally reflective eyes and his own greed and ambition...
-
Meanwhile...
Adykon had brought Kos inside the palace with Minna, Ilsa, and the rest of the party. Most of them were just... hanging out. Waiting. They were only allowed in because they were with the rich girls... just the "hangers on" so to speak. Yes... as soon as they were done with whatever it was they were doing with their marital arrangements, Adykon would arrange for them to watch Kos for the time being. He simply couldn't take such a young child with him on these adventures; it was WAY too dangerous.
-
"go and keep an eye On Minna and Ilsa. Observe, and then report back to me" Malcia said.
_
Minna sat thoughtfully on a cushion.. she was glad to be home, just to time to get married.. the thought of that was still sinking in, the permanence of it, the added responsibilities and duties..
-
Meanwhile, at the Great Temple of Minbenthac...
A circle of priests, mages, scholars, and other figures sat a large square table. All of the Dracons there, all male, had worried looks on their faces. Adykon had told them of what had happened... but all of it was overlooked or dismissed as a common adventure, until the name "Dememoras" was dropped. Immediately, the asked the mercenary about everything he knew about the Dark Master, only to learn that he had known very little.
"He wants us to know he is up to something." A mage said. "Otherwise, he wouldn't have given out his name. Blast it, he is up to something. After all this time, he is finally going to strike!"
"We don't know that." A priest replied. "It could be that he's just trying to get us all riled up, or that he accidentally let his name be heard."
"This was no accident" The high priest said, speaking to the whole congregation. Standing up, he was quite tall, even for a male Dracon, with black robes, a cape, and a Mitre on his head. "The stirrings we have heard, the rumors we have picked up, and the scrying we have done... it all paints a picture of something bad happening, and now this. It is too much to be a coincidence..."
-
After presenting themselves, Eriol and Arianne, who is a member of the Gaean Panther Diplomatic Team, began walking the halls of the palace. Once they gained enough distance and get inside a room they were granted to use, Arianne stretched her arms. - "I am so waiting to get into a shower."
Eriol smiled. - "Well, since this is a desert, we must make sure that water can be preserved, so we may... use the shower together, and that way to save some water."
Thanks to the privacy that room gives them, Arianne agreed. Both lovers went into the shower and got clean themselves in a romantic moment they were very eagerly wanting to share. After the shower, they put some clean clothing they were saving from amore peacfull moment between adventures (she wearing now a long nice dress made of silk she bought on Hekaga) and then they decided to get some food.
-
Marcus retired to his bed, exhausted from his long jounreney, first to find and rescue Rhiga, then to get back home.. "Wake me after awhile ., my dear, and we'll mate" he yawned..the bed was soft and cool and a weariness such as he had never felt before fell upon him.. relief, at coming home, aline, and with rhiga.. swept over him as he threw his hea d back against the pillow.
-
Rhiga quickly undid her loincloth and hopped into bed, also tired. Exhausted and pregnant, she soon fell asleep under the covers.
Meanwhile...
An emissary from Minbenthac's great temple made his way to the palace of the king, located not far away. He was let in immediately, with urgent news. The temple's highest priests and mages had come to the inescapable conclusion that Dememoras was back, still active, and ready to make his move.
-
Kuja sat quietly in the room he had been given.
"It's odd...To be accepted. To actually...feel safe, and to not have to look over my shoulder and fear that someone will be trying to stab me in the back..."
He said quietly, for fear of disturbing the others...
"It is, isn't it?" Akito asked him, having walked up behind him unnoticed.
"I was the mercenary ranked Double S, and that only led to would-be bigshots trying to kill me." He sighed softly...
________________________________________________________________________
Kyuichi bowed.
"As you wish, my lady..."
And then vanished...
-
The King of Minbenthac was sitting in his throne room when he heard the news. The palace was easily the most opulent in the city, beyond even Tallon's vast holdings. His throne was made of gold and nevryl, a magical metal with the properties of gold and mithril. Looking up, the ceiling had a gigantic painting of the history of the city, with room for more to be added. The hall in which his throne sat was larger than most of the open bazaars in the city, and surrounding the king were hundreds of servants, guards, wives, and court officials.
One of his 57 wives was the one to tell the king that a messenger had arrived from the great temple. She didn't know what he was talking about, only that it was urgent. As soon as the messenger was let in, he began going on and on about some "mysterious threat" and how "he's returned at last."
The king himself was initially bored by this seeming rant, and his gigantic golden crown weighed heavily on his head. His matching gold-and-silk robes were far lighter, though. He was about to send the messenger off to tell his tale to some minor court official when the name "Dememoras" was dropped. Immediately upon hearing it, the court mage ran over to the king and took him aside.
Dressed in black robes, the court mage was the king's personal go-to man for anything magic. In addition to being an archmage, the position also called for unqualified loyalty to the monarchy as well as a stable personality; there were to be no mad archmages advising the king to summon a gigantic demon or some such thing. The current court mage was Kluchuduun, or "Kluchu" for short. His name meant "color", and it was not the name he was born with. Kluchu's name comes from the face that, as a young apprentice, he was in a freak alchemical accident. He lived, but his skin was changed in such a way that its color would change from time to time.
Upon hearing the word "Dememoras", his color changed from green (the color he was born with) to red, then to a brownish-red, which it stayed at for an hour or so. The whole color-changing process too a few seconds, and was quite the thing to see at court. Sometimes he would even be asked to change color by some of the servants, a feat which he could willingly control, but hated doing.
"Your majesty, a word if you please." Kluthu told the king, taking him aside.
"What's this about, Kluthu? You know what this fool is ranting on about?" the king responded.
"I do, sire. It is very serious. Dememoras is a serious threat. His true nature is... well, that would take a while to discuss, but the bottom line is, he and his forces are capable of destroying this city, and quite possibly all others in the Dracon lands."
Now, the "Dracon Lands" were really called "Daractrix Thaczil" in their own language, but this was how it translated. More to the point, the king, upon hearing of a universal threat to all these lands, decided to take swift action.
"What do we do about this problem? Is there anything you can do about it?" the king asked.
"Not by myself, sire. It is too great a problem. Even if Dememoras were in front of us right now, I doubt that all the guards and mages of the palace could stop him, even when I am included among them." Kluthu replied.
"Well, in that case, I need you to tell me everything you know about this threat, Kluthu. I need you to tell me all of it right now. Scribes! Bring the messenger over here! I need two scribes to record everything that Kluthu and the messenger are about to tell me!" And with that, the two of them told the king all they knew about Dememoras. The whole explanation took over three hours, as the king asked to know about every painstaking detail and scrap of information he could find. Most interesting was that there was already a party of adventurers fighting Dememoras...
"So, someone's already opposing him?" the king asked.
"A group is, yes. An unnamed party of adventurers seeking to stop him." the messenger replied.
"Hmm. One moment please. Emissaries!" The king called, asking for a messenger of his own to come forward, which several did upon hearing his call. "I need you to go to find this adventuring party, and bring them here. Messenger, what was the name of the leader of this party?"
"His name is Adykon" the messenger from the temple replied. "He is a mercenary and a former goat-herder, he served in the army of-"
"Thank you. Kluthu, get a scrying spell ready. We're going to find out where this guy is." A few minutes later, Kluthu returned with a scrying mirror; a very powerful artifact that would show the user anyone he wished, as long as there was no magic blocking it.
"I'll start the spell now, my lord" the mage told the king, and with that, the screen clouded up and the hum of magic emanated from the glass... but no image came up. "Oh. He's in a place protected from scrying. I'm going to increase the power of my spell. I should be able to get through the obstacle. Hopefully it isn't too powerful a ward..."
After a minute and increased spell power, the ward against scrying was broken, and Adykon's image appeared on the screen. He was feeding Kos some more grapes...
"... THAT is Adykon?" The kind asked, surprised. "What kind of warrior spends time feeding a child fruit?"
"There's more to it than you see, sire." Kluthu responded.
"What? Don't tell me that Adykon is that toddler!" the king replied, jokingly. "Seriously, what is this 'more' which you speak of."
"THIS!" Kluthu replied, pointing to the background of the image.
"What is 'this'? A marble wall? That statue on the wall? I don't see what... wait a minute... that's Tallon's palace! Those adventurers are connected with him!" the king replied, referencing his richest noble.
"Yes sire." Kluthu replied. "They seem to have the support of his house. We now know where they are..."
"Hmm. I know what needs to be done. First, bring in Adykon and his adventuring party. Then, call in the mages, priests, nobles, and any other important Dracons in this city. We need to inform everyone about this. Send messages by letter and by magical contact to the other cities, too." The king ordered. He knew that a united response would not be forthcoming, but the more people who knew about this threat, the better. Even IF the messenger told the king that Dememoras wants to be found out at this point... not that anyone was sure why. He had kept a veil of extreme secrecy for untold milennia. Why should he drop it now? Had something changed?
"Tell them to come personally or send representatives from their houses" he added, knowing the risks of having all the nobility in one place at one time. All it would take was one big attack to kill them all...
"And messenger, do you know WHY Dememoras has chosen to reveal himself now? Would he want to do it when all the cities were weakened by a war or a famine?" The king queried.
"No one at the temple knows why he is returning now. I-I am just a messenger my lord. Not even an apprentice. I know little in the ways of magic... I don't know how a being like Dememoras would think. But... I was told one thing, sire. An old mage in the temple spoke about a warrior who had defeated the Dark Lord a long time ago. It is said that a legendary warrior is the only thing which CAN defeat Dememoras, and that only one such warrior will come in a given age. If this warrior is killed, nothing would be able to stop the Dark Master... but if the warrior is turned to darkness, he could be even more useful. That's the gist of it... you'd have to ask someone more learned than myself for more."
Immediately, the king turned to Kluthu, who explained in greater detail.
"Well, sire, what the messenger said is rather... complicated. It goes like this. Milennia ago, Dememoras was stopped by a warrior whose name is lost to history, although some names have been given to him by the bards and writers. A new warrior will emerge at the time of the Dark Master's return. Now, centuries ago, an oracle prophesied that if this warrior fights against Dememoras, the Dark Master will lose, but if the warrior fights for Dememoras, the Dark Master will win. If the warrior fails to show up or is killed by someone else... well, the Dark Master may still win. The prophecy was unclear whether the warrior fighting Dememoras was a necessary cause or a sufficient cause for victory against him, or if there was any other way to beat him. Still, without the warrior on his side, there is no guarantee Dememoras will win. So... if Adykon IS the warrior, we are very lucky to have him on our side."
"Does the prophecy state anything about the warrior? What he looks like, what he will do? When he will appear?" the king asked.
"Outside of very clearly naming the warrior as a HE... no. It says nothing else." Kluthu replied. "No name, no appearance, no deeds he will do... nothing."
"Well... in addition to calling in all those nobles and priests and such... I need you to explicitly send an order for the cities seers to arrive... and I need the advice of an oracle. I need all the information we can find, and I want to hear the same story you just told me from different source. I want to be certain that this IS how it will go. In fact... send me the priest great temple... and before that SEND ME THE HIGH PRIEST IN THE PALACE TEMPLE!" the king shouted that last part to his court.
When the green-robed priest arrived from the palace's personal temple, he basically told the same information that Kluthu did, adding his surprise that the king should ask about something that no one expected to happen. He also knew the specific title of this warrior.
"The prophecy explicitly calls him the "Warrior of Destiny." Although... prophecies like this one are known to be metaphoric. "Warrior" could refer to a number of things... not necessarily a soldier, or even a fighter. It could also mean "one who opposes" something.
"So... it seems that this IS the situation" the king replied. "I need to meet this Adykon. I don't know if he is the warrior of destiny or not, but if he is... we have GOT to help him."
-
From outside the palace, Kyuichi watched Minna and Ilsa closely, following his new mistresses orders...
-
within the hour there was aknock on the palace doors. ' an emissary from the king appeared and was let into the greaat hall. ' I wish to find the group who has been fighting against Dememoras" The emissary said.."the King requests your appearance in his throne room. these are matters of grave importance
-
Adykon put Kos down. One of the female servants of the palace had been instructed to watch the child for a while, as Adykon couldn't just take him around the city all day. Kos kept on eating the fruit, hardly noticing that his father was gone. Adykon would return later, of course.
"What's this? A summons?" he wondered. Speaking aloud, he added: "Well, guys... we should go... I've never been summoned to the king of a city before... I don't know if any of you ever have been... but this is important."
-
" Tend to his every whim " Minna said to the servant, who nodded. "We shiould be back within a few hours. "
_ Marcus came up from his room, looking quite tired, a servabt had awoken both him and Rhiga from their sleep. "There had better be a good reason for disturbing my rest Minna."
_ The king wished to see us" ilsa replied. " its about the Dark Master.."
-
Another servant of the castle was walking the corridors, the servant was looking for Eriol and Arianne. The Gaean Panthers were in one of the kitchens in the palace, they were having some food.
"So, are you going to tell me what that book is all about, Eriol?" - Arianne asked as her husband has a book on the table, next to the plate.
Eriol looked back at her, swallowing a piece of meat before replying. - "This book is my journal, I first started it before we met, then I forgot about it and restarted it sometime when we got married, then I forgot it again and re-started it yet again while hunting down your... ehh... assassin." - He was feeling very uneasy when he said that last part, but he relaxed. - "Someone is coming." - He said as the servant appeared, both Panthers looked at each other as they heard what it was all about. Her facial expression was of concern, while his expression was of an unemotional seriousness. They asked the servant to take them where the rest of the party is now.
-
The party gathered into the hall of Tallon's palace. Kos was left behind, still happily eating his food. On a more serious note, the party was informed that many nobles, mages, and clerics had been summoned.
"When is this meeting commencing?" asked Adykon.
"In a few hours." Came the reply. "You have a little while to get ready."
-
"I am happy that at the first mention of the Dark Master, the king began mobilizing the assets. That should make things better for all of us, and specially for all the Dracons." - Arianne replied, with a small, gentle smile.
"I truly hope that would help." - Eriol finally said. - "Maybe I should try to use the time to get some protections, if our group is going to participate in more battles, they will sure be far more dangerous."
Arianne noted that Eriol talked in singular, she frowned as she said. - "I am going to participate too, I didn't come from so far only to lose you again, and nothing that you'd say will change my mind." - Arianne's voice was very firm, she sure made up her mind.
To that, Eriol just smiled and sighed. - "Well, then I guess I'll get protections for you too... I can't say no to the only person I trust with my life."
-
"The king will outfit you with whatever you need" the emissary replied. "That is, IF you truly are ready, willing, and able to defeat the dark master."
Adykon thought about what he needed. 'Well, some new armor would help, especially if it covers my snout and face. My head is exposed as it is..."
-
Are you saying that we are going to be confronting the Dark Master? Do you realize that is virtually a hopeless cause?' Minna replied "_
We've come this far" ilsa reminded her. "and we're still alive..
_
We're going to help. ' Margas said, coming up to them.. "We don't know all the details, now's no the tiome to panic minna.."
-
"He's NOT that powerful, girls." Vespion interjected. "He is indeed beyond the power of any single archmage in the Dracon lands, but he is not so far beyond the mightiest two or three of them. The top ten archmages could stop him in a straight-up match with little problem. Of course, he commands forces other than his own magic... and if he gets his way, he will be able to command forces almost as powerful as himself, plus his armies... the strength of which is unknown. The real danger is what he plans to do, not what he IS. And we...don't know what he plans to do, really... that's what makes him so dangerous."
-
Edited)
Yes, what makes him so dangerous is his unpredictability, rather than his powers' margas concured. "it will be dangerous, no question, but considering all you have gone though recently, is it THAT much worse?"
-
Kuja and Akio both nodded.
"We have seen his power firsthand. He is indeed a powerful foe, but he is but a man." Akio said, looking at them.
"And any man can fall." Kuja concluded, seeming to stir with some pride
-
Eriol smiled kind of wickedly at the comments been made. - "The greater the man is, the greater is the sound that will make when he falls."
Arianne looked at him and sighed, she then looked at the others. - "We may make use of all the time we have to get extra things we may need... specially now that we are more sure that our enemy is not invincible."
Eriol took a look at his journal - "All these things are sure to be written here, I wonder the face our kids will have when they read about this, Arianne." - To that, he recieved the gentle smile of his wife.
-
(OOC: You must all be using "man" in pretty loose terms here. This is more than a man they face... more than human too. :DD )
And with that, the party followed the emissary out of the palace of Tallon into a far greater one. The largest palace in all of Minbenthac, and the third largest one in the Dracon lands... the palace of the king. The palace stood on a hill near the center of Minbenthac, and was visible for a long way around.
Entering past the portcullis of the outer gates, the party saw a massive rectangular structure that gleamed in the sun... it was covered in gold, and was surrounded by an arboretum of trees, and a series of gardens beyond that. The palace itself was surrounded by a massive stone wall and four main gates. Each gate had two sets of doors and two portcullises, as well as powerful enchantments on both the gates and the walls. After passing through the gate, the party could see that they were walking on a very smooth white road, which led to the palace from inside of the walls. After 10 minutes of walking, the party reached the doors to the palace itself, on the south entrance.
The doors were made of a metal which Vespion later identified as Nevryl, which was a kind of magical gold that was as strong as steel, and could be easily enchanted to make it stronger still. The door had a huge dragon design on it, as did each of the other three doors to the palace. Stepping inside, the party found the interior to be made of marble and gold, and the sound of running water was heard. Walking a bit further in, it was soon evident that there was a marble fountain in the middle of the palace, under the roof, in the center of the structure. From there, Adykon could see eight paths to take from the core of the palace, each one leading to one of eight wings identified by their direction: North, Northeast, East, Southeast, South, Southwest, West, and Northwest.
"We go to the north wing" the emissary told the party, and off they went. Heading down the halls, Rhiga looked around and noticed a rather large number of extremely-well dressed Dracons... and she still only had her bottom on... no top. These were the nobles and high clerics and mages of the city. It was not that she minded performing in front of them dressed as she was, but going before all of them as part of a group that they pinned all of their hopes on... and the fact that she was pregnant...
"I think I'll sit this one out if we are sent to do anything" Rhiga told Marcus. She had suffered quite a bit in their last adventure...
The meeting hall was huge... massive. Even larger than the throne room; it alone took up half of the North wing! Inside, there were fifty doorways, each one with a pair of statues, one on either side of the door. Looking up, there were paintings of Dragons in the ceiling, and a soft carpet beneath their feet. The room itself was circular, with over a thousand soft seats surrounding a circular platform. More chairs were being brought in by the servants even as the crowd grew larger and larger...
This would be one heck of a meeting.
-
OCC: Maybe that is a way we can refer to males of any race too... anyways, I don't think any harm is been done :smile .
IC:
"I have been in enormous palaces before, but it will be impossible to make comparisons." - Arianne said in awe, but still disguising it in the diplomatic stare in her eyes, remembering her works as part of the diplomatic team in efforts to bring a more permanent peace in the homeland she and Eriol come from.
Eriol was looking at the vastly decorated halls and hallways of the palace, it is not common for someone like him to be in places like this one, at last, when they arrived to the meeting place, all what he said was - "Nice."
-
Adykon had been in palaces before... but nothing like this. It was quite overwhelming for a farm boy... from goats to gold... he sure lived a full life. And all these nobles... some of these females looked like they were wearing a whole jewelry store! And the noble males... that was another story. They looked grim on the whole. Many of them had come with elaborate weapons and gilded armor... and not all of it was just for show either. They had something to lose... they had a stake in the city and its government... the threat of losing their lands, their mansions, their vast rural plantations and mineral holdings... their private roads and extensive rent-bearing real estate... their lending operations and their shares in the bank of Minbenthac... and still more... they could lose it all if the Dark Master was not stopped.
On one hand, Adykon thought that this would be their comeuppance; they would finally know what insecurity really felt like, along with the rest of the population. The other though which entered Adykon's mind was that rich, desperate people are known to spend an awful lot of money on what they think will save them... and if he could be the one to do it...
-
Arianne was taking a close look to the people nearby, all nobles, from powerful families. She bows showing respect to some of the Dracons that saw her and decided to give their greeting. Her family was not near as powerful or rich that this king, but she has been on palaces of people similar wealth than this King, so she got familiarized sooner than maybe many members of the party.
Eriol, on the other hand, if he has been in palaces like this one, the circumstances of his life previous meeting his wife, wouldn't allow him to take a close look to how the richest members of a society live. Even after meeting Arianne, and after been hired by her family as a protector (far before they got married), this is the first time he really stopped for a second to take a close look at people that live in higher social status of this magnitude.
-
By this time, the room was getting quite full, and the servants had stopped bringing in new seats. Adykon could see a clear rank emerging in the crowds; the closer the nobles were to the platform, the more ostentatious that appearance became. Same thing with the priests and mages...
"They sure love to flaunt their gold..." Selturma whispered to Rex.
Speaking of which, Rhiga would have certainly considered... helping herself... to some of their jewelry if she hadn't been on the adventure, and if she hadn't met Marcus. Now, that would all have to stop... and Rhiga was happy it did. A rogue's life was not an easy one...
Still, her life had its perks...
"Hey...this carpet is REALLY soft!" Rhiga thought, feeling it with her sensitive feet.
-
Marcus paid his obligations to the high rannking nobles gathered in the room. ilsa nodded to the other nobles, many of whom looked tense and uneasy.. 'Minna said nothing, but glanced arund the king's chambers. it was rare that the king summoned all his nobles, if he did that meant the situation was dire..
-
Margas sat comfortably in a seat in the third row of chairs, marking his current status. in a few weeks , as the husband of Ilsa, he would occupy a spot among the ranks of the super rich. For now, those thoughts would have to wait..
-
The party took its seats close to the front; they were guided there by the guards. Normally, someone like Rhiga wouldn't even DREAM of being able to get this close in... but the party was given this special honor...
"Is that the group that's supposed to save us?" a noble mumbled...
"Afraid so" came the reply. "That warrior guy looks good, though..." said another...
In the background, there was much chatter...
"...don't know what those black-cat things are..."
"... see that cleric?"
"... Nice tiotleglas on that female there..."
"... think they can really save..."
"... stop him? How can they..."
-
marcus took a seat next to Rhiga , feeling out of place is the sea of wealth and social status. marcus could see that both he and rhiga stood out, as members of the "lower" classes. "excuse me, Ilsa" He whispered as Ilsa came back. "Rhiga is in no condition to fight, given her pregnancy..
-
I know.. thee will have to be accomodations made for her..and her siblings' Ilsa replied..
-
The halls were loud; filled with the voices of nervous nobles, pensive priests, and milling mages. When it was announced that the king was about the enter the room, the whole hall fell silent. Totally silent. You could hear a pin being dropped it was so quiet.
The king entered the room dressed in gilded armor. He skipped the customary robes in favor of defensive measures. For all he knew, the Dark Master could be breaking through their anti-scrying wards and watching them now. Fortunately, this was not the case.
-
At the kIngs enterance the nobles began to stand in acknowledgement. Ilsa bowed and marcus quickly did the same. Minna bowed and remasained quiet she was in a reflective mood "Your majesty! What can we do to confront the Drak Master?' Called a noble who was sitting behind marcus.
-
"Silence!" shouted an official. "You will not speak until the king grants you leave to speak!"
The king of Minbenthac climbed onto the platform and looked out a the crowd. They were attending his every syllable.
"Citizens of Minbenthac, we are faced with a dire peril. Dememoras, the so-called 'Dark Master', has returned."
There was no small amount of noise generated from this announcement, as the crowd, once silent as the grave, began to make a great deal of chatter.
"Silence again!" the official shouted, this time, to no effect. "Be quiet! You will listen to his majesty! You will attend..."
This was going to be a long speech...
"LISTEN TO HIM!!" Adykon shouted, shocking the audience into silence. "Your highness, please continue."
Not quite sure what to make of the situation, the king continued...
"Thank you. The rumors of his return are totally justified. This is dark news indeed. What matters now is not so much what had happened as what we can do to fix the situation. We do not know the Dark Master's plans, nor do we know when he intends to strike. I have been informed by the high priest and mages that since he has announced his return, he wants us to know that he is back. I have also been told that we require a great warrior to stop him... the mythic 'Warrior of Destiny.' I believe that Adykon is warrior in question. Adykon, will you stand up, please?"
Adykon did so, and all eyes in the crowd were on him. Every noble was desperate to get a look at the one who was appointed savior; the one who would protect their lands from evil... or else inflict it. The legend of the Warrior of Destiny was well-known among the elites... he would be able to choose the path of their race...
-
Annette looked over at Adykon in awe for a moment as she said quietly.
"So he is the one of legend. The savior unlike any before, said to bring peace both to his land and his unseen followers."
Despite her reservations about interfering in such a troubling time she had to admit, the longer she was around her group of friends, her live had become far more interesting.
-
The king was caught off-guard by the comment of the human girl.
"The legends actually DO speak of another who was like Adykon... the one who stopped the Dark Master once before. But that warrior is long-dead... he died stopping Dememoras, or so I have been told. In any event, that was thousands of years ago..."
-
Margas gave Adykon a looking over. 'then you hold the fate of our world in your claws. The Dark Master will try to turn you to his side.. or kill you. Are you ready to face him, knowing all that is at stake? my lord' He turned to the king. "i think I speak for mamy here, when I ask for proof that Adykon is the warrior of legend.."
_
"We have no proof, save that Adykon has proven his leadership throughout our adventures' Ilsa replied., she was irked by Margas' tone "He fought Arcantas not once, but at least twice, and survived. if that is not the mark of a hero, what is?"
-
"I... well... I have faced down two of his cohorts. The Archmages Arcantas and Asthia. I have also seen Dememoras himself in what I am told is an avatar. I never actually saw him face to face for real. Still, I have faced down his forces before. I have felt the power he commands... and he took from me... someone I can never replace." Adykon told the audience.
-
Annette then looked over at Adykon as she replied, "Then I will be honored to fight by your side when the time comes, legend or not, you are a brave and honorable warrior and that is all I need to see."
-
you do not know him Margas, as we do' Minna said, breaking her silence. 'if you would join us us, you will see for yourself what we alreay know. I do not know if Adykon is the hero of legend, but he has been a good leader. perhaps that is enough to ask of the gods at this time..'
-
The king had given the party leave to speak, but the rest of the hall was silent. When the adventurers had spoken their piece, the king resumed his speech:
"The royal court of Minbenthac supports you in this, Adykon. You and your associates have but to tell me what you need to fight Dememoras, and whatever it is, it shall be yours. Anything within reason, of course. We are prepared to give you the best weapons and armor in the city, full access to the palace's library, and the court mages will teach you all they know about magic. Anything else you need, just ask for it."
-
Eternion sat there in silence, as he was always prone to. This was all quite the change of pace, given that not long ago he was sweeping floors. Now he was to face an evil beyond anything he had ever faced in his entire life.
Finally he spoke to himself. 'So this is it, never in my life could I imagine finding myself in such a position like this. From all I have seen so far... from all that I shall see with this tired old eye of mine, this is the moment.'
When the king had made speech, Eternion faced Adykon. 'I have had little chance to speak to you, given what you have gone through since we first met. But I want you to know, I am ready for this, and whether you feel yourself ready to face the task that lay before you... I want you to know that I am ready to fight by your side, whether you are in-fact some "Warrior of Legend" or not.'
He grinned slightly. 'I am a man of little words, as you may have figured... but with the support of the court of Minbethac, I may just be able to get myself in better order, both equipment and figure wise, it's not everyday you get an old Dracon fighting the forces of evil.'
-
The Gaean Panthers went closer to Adykon as well. - "Adykon, it is not everyday I find someone like you, someone that makes me proud to fight side by side with. And I agree with Eternion, it is also not everyday we must fight an evil of this magnitude, you have been and you'll keep having my support on this." - Eriol told the Dracon with a proud voice.
Arianne also had something to say - "I know I am not a warrior, and I am waiting now for my second child, but I will never forgive myself if I stay a side on this. I will help too, for as long as I can, and with all of my strenght."
-
"It is good to see such loyalty from someone so new to the party" Adykon replied. "A veteran like yourself has much to teach us, I believe. I don't know if I am this "Destiny" figure, but rest assured...
As he said this, Adykon turned to face the rest of the audience.
"...We fight as a group. I cannot take on the perils to come alone. My entire party must go with me."
"Such was my intent, warrior" The king replied. "I am also consulting with my generals, to determine the best course of action overall. The army of Minbenthac stands with you, even with the present war against the tribes winding down..."
That's right... Adykon remembered that... Jake had told him that his adopted father was in the military, but was on his way home now that the fighting was largely over...
-
We will gladly take you up on the masgical supplies " Ilsa said to the king. The King had sealed off a great deal of magical spells, many rare and powerful.. and it was rare that anyone outside the royal mages was allowed acess.
-
The nobles in the audience began to stir. At first, there were just a few lone voices, then some more, and whole rows began to mill about, and withing a few minutes, the whole hall was in a commotion. Some nobles were planning on throwing their support behind king and city, and would support the party no matter what.
Other nobles were making plans to evacuate the city and hide in their ever-so-popular mountain strongholds. Still others were thinking how they could profit off of this.
The king sighed. He knew this was going to happen. Slumping into a fine chair, he looked around at the nobles and their shifting alliances, fears for their profits, frequent side-changing, and shameless political opportunism. It happened every time there was a crisis; nobles were known to look out for their houses first, and the city next. Doubtlessly there would be several nobles who would betray the city... the king even had an idea of which ones might do it. He also knew that there would be some who would stay loyal to him. Those who did would be rewarded richly with the lands of the traitors...
This time, the sheer magnitude of the crisis was going to cause the king a real headache; even after the Dark Master was beaten, there would be upheaval for months as the noble houses were brought back into line, and a new order would be created among them. The power play was complex in the best of times... now... it would be a real mess...
But now was not the time to thin of the Byzantine politics of Minbenthac... in order to suffer such a mess, there would have to BE a Minbenthac in the near future... and this was by no means guaranteed...
-
as the room began to empty, marcus guided Rhiga towareds the exit.' How are you feeling my dear?' He asked gently.
_ Margas looked around at the rapidly emptying room. He walked up to the King. " My lord, I pledge my full allegiasnce. I will give whatever aid the party requires. "
-
Akio walked over to Adykon.
"Though I began this war as your enemy, I will stand by your side as an ally, until we defeat Demoras."
He said, bowing, then drawing his double swords and saluting. Kuja hovered beside him.
"I, too, offer you my aid, in this moment. And in our unity, we shall be victorious."
He said bravely, eyes gleaming with magic energy. Akio nodded and stood.
"I'm with you, Adykon. Heh. Who'dve thought that we'd end up here when I met you, eh?" He joked.
Touga smiled.
"We all stand with you. And in this unity, let the darkness tremble in fear. For even the greatest of darkness can be dispelled by the light of many hearts working in tandem."
He said, as Utena, Juri, Ruka, and Miki all nodded.
-
"Hold! The king didn't grant you all permission to leave!" An official shouted. The crowds began turning around.
The king stood up, and wearily addressed the crowds:
"Nobles, you will all have your chance to run away when my speech is done. Some of you will go to your estates and continue on as normal, most of you will either stay in the city resolutely, but I suspect many of you will flee for your keeps at the first chance you get. Priest and mages, I want you to stay. Same thing with you, adventurers. We have much to discuss from a tactical standpoint that the nobles are clearly not interested in hearing. If any of you nobles WANT to stay and listen, you are free to... but I suspect only a handful will even care..."
-
thats par for the course" Minna said dismissively. " Few are willing to put any "skin" into this battle, well then so be it. Reward those who try, and scorn those who stood by and refused to help!
_
Hold your tongue! replied a noble coming up to her. 'I am Lord Sturna, and my loyalty to the king should never be questioned! who are you to say such things?
-
She was speaking generally" Ilsa replied. " and what she said is true Sturna, you know it.. We have risked much and braved many dangers, and will brave still more in the time to come..now is the time to cast your lot, as there will be only two choices, either support us, and by extension the king, or don't.
-
"Those who want to leave the hall can go, even if you are planning on staying loyal to king and cit-"
No sooner than he had said this did the nobles begin filing out to head back to their manors and estates. Within minutes, a chamber that had taken hours to fill now had a handful of mages and priests left in it, along with the adventurers, the king, some guards, a handful of officials, and a few nobles, including one who was sleeping in his seat...
-
Eternion could only laugh at what was left in the hall. 'Heh, you would be hard pressed to convince yourself this room was just moments ago discussing the very fate of the world.'
He looked over to the sleeping noble. 'It's even sadder when the old Dracon can stay awake longer than some stinking rich grubber,' but he simply rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders.
'Speaking of which, I think I need to take a break, long speeches do make me weary.' He rubbed his eyes and yawned slightly, more an excuse to get some rest than anything else. He loved being old, sometimes.
-
The generals were in attendance as well. They had never left the room to begin with. One of them, the quartermaster, approached Adykon. He waved his arms, casting a cone of silence spell around them, to deaden all sound. This was a private conversation indeed.
"Whatever you need will be granted to you. We have all sorts of armor, weapons, provisions, potions, and other items you might require."
Pausing for a moment, the quartermaster looked around the hall, where he saw Rhiga and Eternion...
"We can give that female some potions to help her lay the egg with less pain and difficultly, and if he wants, that elder there can be give some... hmm... I would not tell you about this if you weren't given the highest clearance..."
-
Thank you" Marcus said, grateful for any aid that they were able to obtain to make Rhiga's egg-laying easier. ilsa for her part was glad that the hall was emptying.. she needed to get herself ready for the challenge ahead..
-
Outside the palace, it was as if a town had been let out... a very rich town of nobles. The audience quickly dispersed, mostly by traveling with an armed entourage or in a litter. They had been given the information, now they would act on it. Some would flee, others would stay. Most of them headed home, but some of them went to Minbenthac's bank to withdraw their money from it. It would do them no good sitting around in the vaults of a city that was going to be destroyed...
Although that was not quite how a bank worked. Instead of being a huge treasure chest, a bank was a place where money was stored and lent out to... for a price. Interest was charged on loans, which in turn made the bank more money than it had lent out. In the Dracon cities, banking was only available to the upper-middle and upper classes, and was almost exclusively used for providing projects the capital they needed to get started, and almost only a project that was expected to make more than enough money to pay off the loan, including the interest.
During times of war or when a large construction project was to be done, existing taxation was frequently insufficient to meet the financial demands, so a combination of new taxes and borrowing from the bank was used instead. Frequently, the latter was employed as a way to avoid raising taxes, as a too-high tax rate could damage the economy and make people very upset in the process.
In Minbenthac, the bank was not owned by the king; it was run by a group of noble shareholders and the king himself. His stake in the bank was 33.3%, or 1/3 and by law, he had the final word on all decisions made, such as the interest rates set, or the authorization of major loans. The next largest shareholder in the bank of Minbenthac was Minna's father, Tallon, he owned 20%, or 1/5 of it. All of the shareholders in the bank were entitled to a share of the profits, with the profits not going to the shareholders to be reinvested into the bank itself or else placed in the bank's own reserves.
Every major crisis made some nobles pull their money out of the bank. Since there was no deposit insurance, this could be quite damaging. Only a small percentage of the bank's assets were on hand at any one given time; the rest were all trapped up in loans and other less liquid investments. Tallon had floated the idea of deposit insurance, but it failed to take root. If there was fear that the city would be destroyed, the loans made by the would almost certainly be non-performing, and any collateral promised would be lost. This would lead to the bank becoming insolvent, and all of the depositors would lose their money, since there was no deposit insurance. To one who had money in the bank and honestly believed that the city would be destroyed, taking one's money out was the logical thing to do.
To prevent a run on the bank, the king had a few options. He could, by law, invoke emergency power over the bank and restrict the number of withdrawals per day, or the total amount that could be taken out overall. More drastically, he could order the bank to go on a "holiday" until the crisis had abated. For now, he would limit the amount of money that could be taken out... and would have a list compiled of all the nobles who tried to take their money out. He would keep an eye on them...
-
Annette looked around with an amused sigh.
"Leave it to the rich to run when their support could mean the most to us." She then stepped towards Marcus as she spoke up again. "I can also lend a spell or two to help with the egg laying. It is something I specialized in during my travels."
She then gave a short wave to Akio.
-
Rhiga approached Annette.
"Thank you for that. I suppose I am more of a hindrance than a help. Look at me; I'm already showing signs, and my back is already starting to hurt from carrying this egg. I'm afraid I won't be of much use to you for now... not for a long time, probably."
The visual contrast between Rhiga and Adykon could not have been greater. The former was soft, weak, and had nothing on but her loincloth; her mammaries were clearly visible and swollen even larger than they normally were, and the agility so vital for her survival in combat was severely reduced. Were her features slightly more exaggerated in the shape of pregnancy, Rhiga could have been mistaken for a statue of a fertility goddess. :lol
Adykon, by contrast, was heavily armored, strong, and fit. His path was decidedly away from the warmth of house and home, while it was Rhiga's path, at least for the time being. Adykon was now one of the greater movers and shakers in this realm, while Rhiga was ever more dependent on outside events and forces acting on her, not the least of which was Marcus's seed acting on her egg. For the mercenary's part, his life had led him to not only be independent, but his actions would shape the lives of others in ways he could only begin to imagine. He was more than independent, others were dependent on him, and not just Kos, whose immediate future lay in the hands of some caretakers in Minna's palace. His entire species would be forever changed by his actions, hopefully for the better.
Both adventurers had started out on a more even keel. It seemed so long ago that Adykon and Rhiga marched into that meeting with Arcantas to be assigned a quest to find some artifact in a lost city. Both of them were armed combatants, both of them could hold their own in battle, both were tough. Now Rhiga had grown soft and emotional, and not just because of the hormonal changes in her pregnancy. She had found a husband in Marcus... whereas Adykon had lost the love of his life in Vaeri when Dememoras slew her.
Rhiga's role in this adventure was by no means over, but for now, she had to turn her attention towards matters of an internal nature, specifically, she had yet to marry Marcus... and she had yet to squeeze an egg the size of a watermelon out between her legs through a hole the size of a lemon. This would be her fourth time doing that... her loins were up to the task, but it was a good thing she had enough on to cover THAT part of her.
She would miss the harrowing adventure and the independence... but then, she realized that Marcus was not some abusive male, nor someone who would smother her freedom. Her living with him could finally give her security in life and a chance to actually raise a child, and finally stop being on the run. She was tired of running... so very tired...
For Adykon, there would be no rest anytime soon, save that of the grave in the event he perish in the challenges to come. If he failed, many would join him...
-
Akio smiled back at Annete, as did Kuja, as the latter floated over to her side.
"Perhaps I can assist with Rhiga's laying, as well..."
He said quietly, smiling at her.
-
Rhiga smiled at all the support she was getting.
"Calm down guys. I'm still a while away from laying, and it isn't like I haven't done it three times before. It only takes a few minutes; the eggs slides right out. If you wanna help, you can help Adykon. I'll be fine... though I AM feeling kinda hormonal and broody."
-
Arianne went closer to Rhiga - "This may not be your first child, Rhiga, but I am sure will be the first to be born in a stable family, with you as part of it. To help Adykon is a must, because we are all part of this, but you are important for us too." - The female Panther said with her knwon gentle voice.
Eriol then said - "It is good that you are finally able to make your family, and I have learned in the last few years about families when I met Arianne. But I must admit that we will miss your abilities in our future combats." - he said with a grin.
-
"Right now, I don't really HAVE any ability in combat" Rhiga admitted. "I'm not really agile, I don't think I can run for very long, and my back is starting to hurt under the weight of the egg and my swollen tiotleglas. Marcus? Do you think you can come over here for a moment?"
-
Certainly' Marcus replied, heading over in her direction" what do you weant, my dear?" marcus was aware of the limitations pregnancy had placed on Rhigam, and the demands on fatherhood that would soon be placed on his shoulders. Marcus was confident that minna would help provide them with financial support, though with her own coming marraiage he would have to build a relationship with Lucien, Minna's intended.
-
"Marcus, when this meeting is over, we still have to get married. Our last ceremony was... not very successful."
She could say that again. It had ended with her being captured by forces loyal to the Dark Master, and had her imprisoned under Asthia's tower for a long, long time.
-
Annette smiled at Rhiga and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"You are not a hinderance, you are simply preparing for something that comes natural. And if you need any more help I can send a message to my family, despite my lost ties with them, I'm sure they would at least try to aid you if they knew your position."
She then gently punched Kuja in the arm and said with a sly tone, "I don't know...have you even even witnessed an egg laying session before? It can be traumatic."
-
"Well, traumatic is not the word I would use to describe it; unless something goes wrong. THEN it is traumatic. The last three times were over in a few minutes each time, although laying the egg is the EASY part... getting it to hatch... that's uncharted territory for me." Rhiga replied.
-
Meanwhile...
Adykon turned around to find Eriol and Arianne.
"Excuse me. I know that we are going to be quite busy soon... what with this upcoming battle against the Dark Master... but I think we need to clear up some loose ends here" he told the panthers.
-
Eriol and Arianne were talking when Adykon arrived to where they are. - "Sure, Adykon, what do you need?" - Eriol said as he crossed his arms, he was quite serene, even though all this matter about Dememoras that frightened the very most of the people that were in the Hall just some moments ago. Maybe it is a way he has to show he has a respect and trust for the Dracon.
Arianne looked at Adykon too, but she said nothing, she was just waiting.
-
"What exactly are you two here for? I know you have talked to me and the others in the past, but there haven't been fully straight answers. At first, it was just you, Eriol, and then, your wife. Something happened to make you two come here. I think we ought to know what it was. I don't want any unexpected liabilities getting in our way." Adykon told them.
-
Eriol sighed and said. - "To make things short, Adykon: Back in our homelands, my family, the Dha'ar has been in a constant fight with another Panther family: the Moddan. the last member of that family: Sael Moddan planned and tried to kill me and my son, so my blood line would be terminated. I saw Arianne making the ultimate sacrifice to save my son as I was fighting all of Sael's friends in this... assault. I grabbed Isaac and took him to a family of friends, who accepted to take care of him until I dispose of the assassin. Then, after a while, I got to know he came here... to Dracon lands, that is the reason I was here to start with."
Arianne gave a step forward and said. - "But I didn't die there, a Healer that survived the attack, managed to save me... and he kept me hidden until I recovered. After checking on Isaac, Iwent to find Eriol, and I came here, but all of my things were stolen just before arriving here to Minbenthac."
"And then she joined us..." - Eriol added. - "... maybe we don't have a true reason to be here, but we became involved in this battle, and we want to see how all of this will end." - Arianne nodded after hearing this.
-
"Well, that explains a lot." Adykon replied.
"Is there any chance that this will interfere with our mission? Do you think the assassin is in these lands? Also, why was he trying to kill the house of Dha'ar to begin with?"
-
Eriol frowned after hearing the question. - "I don't know if he is still in the Dracon Lands, but if he is, I don't think he'll be stupid enough to just appear. But since Arianne is alive and well, then Sael is now a secondary concern, as there are now bigger concerns with far greater risks. So I'll be waiting for him, to end all of this after Dememoras' fall."
Arianne then noticed that Eriol didn't reply Adykon's question. - "There has been a war between the Dha'ar and Moddan familes since too many generations. The reasons are now so far in the past that I am sure only Eriol and Sael know why. But I am sure this matter will not affect Eriol and I in our intentions to help you."
-
Adykon got the feeling that they weren't being totally honest... reasons for violent conflicts were well-remembered... conflicts of that kind tended to end once the reason was forgotten.
"How about you tell me the REAL reason why your two families are fighting?" Adykon replied. "It is VERY important that we know; I am going to take all our information to the priests and mages when this is all over, and see if they know anything about it. Every scrap of valid knowledge helps us, and we need every advantage we can get."
-
"Nobody ever said that the reasons were forgotten, Adykon." - he looked at Arianne, and then he looked back at Adykon. - "If you really want to know, the reason why Sael wanted to kill me is because I am an Assassin, just like him... or worse. My ancestors tried told me that my family has a gift, to enhance physical and mental strenght during combat, but that is in fact more like a curse. My family and I live for just one purpose: to kill. So, that is what I am: a soul-less and mercyless killer, just like everybody else in my family."
Arianne wanted to stop that, so she intervened. - "That is not true!, you are not soul-less!. You gave up your life of killing others to make a life with me!."
"There are only two ways to stop a Dha'ar like me: by killing me before I kill you, or by what happened when I met Arianne. She gave me true love, and that stopped this 'curse' on me." - He sighed. - "The Moddan were a fearless family of warriors that sworn to stop the first members of my family... but with time, they grew on hate as they killed us, and it became worse as my family retaliate with force. So it all became a senseless slaughter after another. Maybe they were just obsessed, feeding their children with stories of the carnages a Dha'ar can make.... and at the end, they just made them to become assassins.... pity, they are strong but they caused their own destructions, since my family was doomed from the start."
-
"So... the one you thought had killed your wife may have come here? That's quite a tale. I believe you. We'll keep a look out for anything, should it come to that."
Adykon had suspected that Eriol was some sort of assassin, or a mercenary like himself...
"You wouldn't be an assassin if you weren't under that curse, right?"
-
After hearing that last question, Eriol replied. - "I should have been more specific: the 'curse' is always there. It is just some circumstances that can make it... overwhelming. But you don't have to worry about that, I know myself enough to not succumb to that, I always know who is friend and who is foe. Maybe that is what made me an 'unwanted' child, as I never liked the carnage my brothers love to make when they were still alive, and I hope Isaac will be as able to control the curse as I am."
Arianne was kind of speechless. - "So it was because of me that you totally stopped killing others?"
Eriol responded affirmatively. - "Yes, and that's why I became so lost when you were... gone. The fact that you are here has been the best that could ever happen to me." - Arianne gave a more serene smile after hearing that.
-
"We should keep this knowledge to ourselves." Adykon replied. "We should tell the priests and mages the other information... but... the fewer people who know about how the curse works, the better. Dememoras won't hesitate to kill Arianne if he knows it will hurt you like that, Eriol, and believe me, I know from experience that he WILL do that."
Vaeri's death had affected him deeply, and he had no curse. Imagine what would happen to Eriol...
-
"I know what you mean Adykon, and I agree... that's a very strong reason for us to help you take down that Dark master." - Eriol said, as he indeed noticed that Adykon was remembering Vaeri.
Arianne nodded, and then she added. - "Thanks for keeping the information about Eriol's family from the priests and mages. I know you are strong and centered, but we may not be sure about the other people here that are no part of our group."
-
"Your are most welcome, both of you. We should head back to the others now..." Adykon replied.
He could see the party was gathered around, most of them talking to each other about what had just happened... except for Marcus and Rhiga; the female Dracon was leaning against a chair, her eyes closed in pleasure, while Marcus was massaging her back. Her back was probably aching from carrying the egg...
-
Arianne looked at Marcus and Rhiga. - "Well, soon enough we will be doing that Eriol." - she said to her husband with a grin.
Eriol looked at her - "Yes, I totally forgot about that... well, it is good that we have much time before that." - He said while making a kind of nervous smile as he just spoiled Arianne's plans. But she was not angry at all, she sighed and then both Panthers went closer to the group, following Adykon.
-
A aide to the king approached Adykon and told him that his majesty wanted a private meeting with him... just him and Adykon... plus some trusted guards.
"I'll be right back, everyone. The king wants to meet me for issues of... security."
Vespion was also led away, by an aide to the high priest of Minbenthac...
-
Annette looked on as Adykon was lead away for a moment to speak with the king. She sighed aloud and began thinking about her family. She hadn't seen them in several long years and she wasn't even sure if they were alive, but she did know that they cared. She then turned to Eriol and Arianne and asked, "If you two had a chance to change a choice you made in the past, what would you do? Change it for the better or let it happen again, knowing what it could cost?"
-
Eriol looked back at Annette. - "That is quite the question Annette... the truth is that I'd like to change many things from my past. But not everything was bad, at the end, my choices let me met the love of my life."
"Things happen for a reason, even if to change the past sounds very tempting it is not possible so, all what we have... our real option, is to pick all the things we have learned and grow stronger from that, and that way, to prevent more bad things from happening." - Arianne gave her sincere opinion Annette.
"We are all bound to make mistakes, some can have fatal consequences, I know about that... but we must have the strenght to see that life will never go wrong forever... I am a living proof of that." - Eriol said as he gently placed his left arm around his wife's waist.
-
Kuja noded, placing a hand on Annette's shoulder.
"I agree. I believe that...everything happens for a reason. Even if at times, that reason is hidden from us."
He said gently, smiling at her. Akito nodded.
"He's right. Every so-called mistake we make, somehow....will make us stronger. Even if it's only a small thing." He said, and the others agreed with him.
-
Annette smiled at the reassuring thoughts of her companions and replied, "Thanks everyone. But still I wonder if I should try to find my parents, and apologize to them for not being there when and if they needed me." She then giggled as she added, "But my choice made me who I am, a noble, and a very wise mage, so all in all I'm happy with what I've done."
-
Adykon was taken down past several halls in the palace, then was approached to be given a blindfold.
"We do not want anyone seeing this part of the palace without authorization. I hope you understand" a guard told Adykon.
He was reluctant to do it, but gave in. They would not harm the one who was, gods willing, the one who would save them. After being blindfolded and walked around in circles a few times to disorient him, Adykon was led through the throne room, behind a massive statue of a dragon, and, after a guard pressed a hidden latch on it, down a staircase. After passing through another hallway underneath the throne room, they walked into a magical portal, which looked like a large mirror with golden rims, but instead of glass, there was the shimmering image of a distant location.
After going through the portal, Adykon could smell fresh air, newly cut grass, and... he could hear birds singing. Was he in a garden? Behind him and the guards, there was a portal leading back to the palace, back to the portal he had just taken. As before, it looked like a mirror with a magical image in the center. He wasn't sure where he was going, but underfoot, he could feel the surface change from the smooth marble floors of the palace change to rougher brick... then to grass... then dirt, and briefly to water when they passed through a small stream. By the time he felt himself on brick again, Adykon's blindfold was removed, and he was saw a large
country estate... more like a country palace. Surrounding it were fields of grain, orchards of fruit trees, pasture for animals, and many, many trees. To the distance, Adykon could see Dracons working in the fields. He wasn't totally sure of where this was, but he had a good idea.
He was led a bit farther, to some cushioned seats set up near a large pool of water. It looked artificial... the king himself could be seen in the distance, surrounded by an armed retinue. This estate was not in the desert... but it was part of the Dracon lands. The rumors were true... the king of Minbenthac did have an estate out here, managed by his eldest son. Adykon had been taken to Acutha Valley. Derived from "achuak thaczil", which is Draconic for "green land", Acutha Valley was a place that had been made by one of the Dragons who had been responsible for creating the Dracons. This particular dragon took a tribe of Dracons, placed them in this valley, using magic and a naturally rich aquifer he knew was here, created a fertile paradise in the valley.
As time went on, even this isolated place came into contact with the other Dracon cities. Roads were built through the mountain passes, huge gates were constructed to secure the valley, and in time, the coastal Dracon cities came to depend on the food from Acutha Valley to support their populations. Minbenthac was not a coastal city, despite its riverine links to the sea. The coastal plains could only provide so much food for the quarter or so of all Dracons who lived within 100 kilometers of the coastline. Acutha's food exports were essential to them. Despite having enough food to support a large city, the King of Acutha never built a city much larger than what was needed to act as support for his palace and as a place to make weapons for his men. He knew of the ills that large cities were prone to. This policy had continued on across generations and dynasties...
Which left Adykon with one burning question; why had the king taken him to Acutha to talk? He would not have to wait long to find out.
"Welcome, brave warrior. There's no need to be so formal here. I hope you don't mind a change of venue" the king told him. "Every king of a major of our lands has at least some property here, mine is simply one of the largest. Have a seat. Would you like a drink?"
"Oh, no thanks. I'll have that seat, though." Adykon replid, sitting down on the cushioned chair. "What was it you wanted to talk to me about."
"Always down to business, I see. Very well. I want to know everything you know about the Dark Master, and how this whole thing began. How did you get involved in it?"
Taking a deep breath and trying not to forget the fact that he was the only one capable of telling the king the whole story, Adykon related the tale of how he had been recruited by Arcantas, how he had gone on the adventure in the Lost City, and a second adventure in a distant jungle, and how he had taken an unexpected detour into Hekaga. Dememoras came up about 3/4 of the way through the story. When it was all finished, the king did not quite know what to say...
"Hmm... I see... it seems you didn't know what you were getting into... but you have adapted well to the circumstances. I would have invited to rest of the party here too, but I do not wish to risk too many people knowing of this place... it is a vacation home, really, I enjoy it more than the crowded, filthy streets of Minbenthac. Rest assured that this valley is no secret to the Dark Master... nothing is. At least, not in the lands inhabited by our kind. I would reward you well for saving our lands, warrior. I'm not sure I can say I would give you ANYthing... but if you want wealth, property, fame, one of my daughters hands in marriage, or all of those things, I would be willing to grant it to you."
A reward was the last thing on Adykon's mind at the moment. He thought of righting the wrongs that the Dark Master had wrought... stopping Dememoras was a reward in itself... although...This place was very nice... so much better than the desert. Adykon wondered...
"When this is all over, do you think you can arrange for my party to enjoy a similar set-up?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, you have a nice country estate here. I don't want something as large as this place, and I don't think any of my party does either. However, we cannot keep adventuring forever. Some of us might want to settle down and raise a family. I can't do that without something to raise a family on. The life of a mercenary is... less than ideal for that."
"So... you would like some land in Acutha valley?"
"Yes, and a nice house with animals, fertile land, and lots of space to raise a large family." Had Vaeri been alive, he would have brought all her children with him. As it was, he still had Kos. Adykon needed to find a new female, but until then...
"Would the rest of the party want some land as a compensation?"
"I do not know. Minna and Ilsa are already rich. Their father, Tallon, probably has a place here..."
"Yes. I know for a fact he does. Sales of food from it are shipped straight to the coastal cities... and when I say 'he has a place here', I don't mean that he has a country house like I do... Tallon is the second largest land owner in the entire valley, second only the Acutha's king, and far larger than my estate here, even though... my manor here is larger than his, it is only my fields that are smaller."
Adykon smiled. Even when talking about matters of dire importance, the rich loved to compare each other's status. Even a king was not immune to it.
"So, a large family farm. That's what you would like?" the king asked.
"Yes. A large farm with a large house, many animals, fertile land... maybe some pear trees... and goats." Adykon said with a smile.
"Okay..." The king replied, not quite getting the part about the goats. "That will be easily granted.
Although finding a wife would take some time, Adykon could see himself doing quite well when all this was over. He would set up his house, build a barn, raise some animals, maybe sell a few at market, plow some fields, plant some trees, pick the fruit with his own two hands, maybe make some homemade jam, and be the happy head of a very fertile farm, with many children, many crops, and, in time, maybe he would raise a prize-winning goat. Yes, it seemed silly now, but he had always wanted to do that since his childhood back on the goat farm...
"One thing more, your highness. I would like to have a portal installed in my homestead once this business is all over. I would like myself and my family to live in the country, but also be able to enjoy the city. Is there any place you could link a portal to safely?"
"Yes, we can install it so that it links to the portal in our main marketplace."
This was another aspect of Minbenthac, and all of major Dracon cities except for Hekaga. The central marketplace of their cities had a large series of portals that users could link to from a distance. It brought in commerce from distant lands, even from other dimensions. Of course, the portals had wards installed on them to prevent abuse... they didn't always work...
"Thank you. Thank you VERY much, your majesty."
After some formalities and a quick goodbye, Adykon was once again blindfolded and walked back through the portal. He rejoined the party, but noticed that Vespion was missing... he had gone with the high priest of the great temple... he would be back later.
-
meanwhile...
Rex and Sasha were walking around. "hey Rex, do you think we should go see our parents so they aren't worried?"
"sure!" replied Rex as he smiled, Rex's smile then dropped.."but...how am i meant to tell mum and dad that Jake has gone...well...insane?"
-
Adykon had returned and had overheard their problems. "Rex, Sasha... you go tell your parents what had happened. I'll tell the rest of the party where you will be. I'll pick you up in three days. If you have school... well... I'll tell the king about that and they will excuse you for however long is needed. How does that sound?"
-
"sounds great!" said Rex and Sasha in unision. "come on Sasha let's go, we'll tell my family what happened to Jake then we'll go see your family"
-
Adykon saw as the two kids ran off. He hoped they could find Jake again... but that would have to wait. They had far more pressing issues to consider. Matter of life or death, freedom or slavery... for a whole species...
-
Rex and Sasha were out of the castle in no time and they were running down the street. once they reached Rex's house they went inside. REx's mum ran from the kitchen and gave rex a big hug. "it's been so long since i've seen y---wheres Jake?"
-
Rex scratched a claw into the rug, nervous.
"Jake... he... well... we were in Hekaga-"
"Hekaga! I wouldn't have let you go if I'd known you were going to that... pit. What happened to your brother?!"
Rex took a deep breath and tried to explain...
"Well, he fell under the influence of a spell, went insane, and attacked me and the others. After that, he ran off into the city. We don't know what happened to him next."
"... Dear gods." By this point, Rex's mother was hugging her child, pressing him close to her.
"Mom, your pressing me against your... it's kinda embarrassing!"
"Rex, your father is home. Go talk to him about this... and change into your indoor clothes." she replied.
-
Rex nodded and he removed his shirt and he went upstairs and he removed his pants and came back downstairs wearing nothing but a loincloth
-
Selturma arrived at the door of the house. After explaining what had happened on the adventures to Rex's mother, she went inside as well. She quickly changed and greeted Rex with a hug... she just leaped into his arms, glad to finally be home.
-
"hello selturma" said Rex as he hugged her back.
-
They held that hug for several seconds, then let go. "So Rex... are you as glad to be back as I am" Selturma said, bouncing up and down. She was happy again for the first time since... well... pretty much since Vaeri had died. At last, she could be with family and friends again, live in a considerably less tyrannical city, and finally get to sleep on a comfortable bed!
Rex's siblings heard the commotion and came out to greet him.
-
"i'm very happy but....i'm not as happy as i would be since Jake isn't here...." replied Rex as his smile faded
-
After greeting all of the siblings who came out to meet them, a large male Dracon emerged. Easily the strongest one in the house, he was Rex's father. Freshly back from service in the Tribal Wars, he greeted his son.
"Hello Rex. I've been away for quite some time. I'm glad to see you back, my boy."
-
"glad to see you too dad" said REx as he and his dad shook hands.
-
While Adykon had been meeting with the king, Minna and Ilsa had been gathering potions and spells from the vast library of the king's mages. any of these spells were powerful enough that they could only be cast once or twice in a year. they had also grabbed a bnumber of amulets including a few that could detect curses placed on them.
-
"So, how is my little warrior doing?" Rex's father asked him. "You look good, my boy."
Rex's mother entered the room, and gave her husband a hug from behind, smiling the whole time. "I'll be with you later tonight, my love" he whispered to her before turning back to their kids.
-
"i'm doing great but Jake is gone...he went completely coo koo" said Rex
-
"Jake? Oh... that poor, crazy boy. Well, at least you're here. And you look like you've grown, Rex. Getting pretty solid there. Nice to see that they fed you well... in... where did you say Jake was lost in?"
-
"hekaga" said Sasha "We were all exploring the city when some thugs attacked us...i used a blinding spell and i was really weakened. Rex, selturma and Jake took me to a nearby temple to be re-energized but that would only happen if Jake agreed to be a test subject for a new spell...."
-
After hearing this, Rex's parents were horrified.
"Dear gods. I don't... know what to say. Jake's... another casualty of war." Rex's father told his family.
-
Annette sighed.
"But even as sad as it may be even a casualty of war can be redeemed."
-
Annette had followed Rex and Selturma home! She must have been concerned about them... it was kinda odd for a human to see Dracons at home, but Jake and Sasha had lived among them for years...
"Hi! Everyone, this is Annette! She just joined the adventuring party after we left Hekaga!" Selturma told the others.
The rest of the party was not there. Adykon, Rhiga, the Fauxen, Vespion, Minna, Ilsa, Marcus, and the rest were all at the palace of the king... except for Jake. He was... well... gods knew where he was...
-
".....it's been a while since i got to lay down...i might gop upstairs and do that now" said Rex
-
"Alright. I'll see you when your back, Rex!" Selturma said to him, waving.
Turning to Annette, Selturma told her about Jake.
"Jake was with the party since the start, pretty much. He was there even before I was. I'm sure we will see him again... oh... that's right. You never saw him to begin with, did you, Annette?"
-
Rex arrived at his room and he lay down on his bed and he closed his eyes. He thought about how he was going to get his brother back..."theres gotta be somewqy to get him back?" thought Rex to himself
-
Selturma knocked on Rex's door. She wanted to see him... and the young female was certain that he would want to see her... the issues of war and the Dark Master and... Jake... were all so far away...
-
Rex got up off his bed and he opened the door and he let selturma in and they both sat down on the bed.
-
They just lay there. So much had happened. Rhiga was back, but... Vaeri was dead, Jake was gone, and everything could be lost and destroyed if Adykon did not stop Dememoras. Times would not be easy. All of these events were not exactly conducive to relaxing. The threat of destruction was nerve-wracking, to say the least. Selturma was more tense now than she had been in a long time...
Selturma decided to break the monotony. "Rex, your mom is good at relieving tension, right? She knows how to make her kids feel better?"
-
"yes i suppose so" said Rex "why do you ask? would you like a back rub or something?"
-
"Well, yes, but... I don't want to trouble you if you are tired." Selturma replied. "Do you think she'll do it?" Selturma kinda knew that she would... but wanted to double-check first.
-
"yes my mum will give you a back rub, i'll give you one if you really want one" said REx
-
"Is she better?" Selturma said with a smile and a wink, not wanting to tire Rex more than he already was. "I'll take whichever one is best at giving one" she added, stretching her lithe body.
-
"my mum is probably better at it than i am because im a little tired.." said Rex as he gave a slight yawn. "my mum gives really good foot massages and back rubs, ask Sasha if she'll come with you"
-
"Sure. I'll tell Sasha too. See you later Rex!" And with that, she left the room and headed down the stairs. After telling Sasha, both girls went to find Rex's mother... they asked her for a back rub each... but at Sasha's insistence, they were to get a foot rub too.
"I'll go first" Selturma insisted. She was the more tense of the two, in any case.
-
"yep no problem" said Vaessa, Vaessa began pushing the palms of her hands into selturmas back in a circular motion. she them grabbed the top of her shoulders and begang squeezing the lightly to ease up the muscles.
-
It went on like that for some time on the massage table. First her back and shoulders, then her neck, her thighs, her feet, and finally, her toes. It took Rex's mother a while to get out all the tension. Finally, it was Sasha's turn. Selturma, for her part, was so relaxed she fell asleep on the couch nearby.
-
Sasha lay down and let Vaessa work on her tense muscles. The massage process didn't take as long as Selturmas but it still took a long time since she was tense and stressed since Jake was gone. But she was managing and soon after the massage Sasha too fell asleep
-
Both girls rested in the living room on two of the couches there. By this point, it was getting late. Rex's mother went to prepare dinner for her family. The girls could eat later if they wished.
Back at the palace, Vespion had been summoned to meet the high priest of Minbenthac...
-
Sasha was the first to wake up and she realized that she had to get back to her family to reassure them that she was okay. She got up off of the couch and said goodbye to everyone and that she'd see them all tomorrow.
-
Selturma eventually awoke to the smell of meat cooking a cauldron, along with vegetables and beans. Reluctant to move from her relaxed position, her stomach eventually decided matters for her when the savory aroma of spices added to the pot hit her nostrils. Getting up and stretching as she did before, she walked towards the kitchen to see what was cooking... only to have been beaten there by everyone else. Luckily, there was more than enough to feed them all. ;)
-
Annette began to think for a moment, which turned into a few hours and suddenly she snapped her fingers as she turned to Selturma. "No I haven't met Jake personally, but I can try to at least find him. If I had something of his to track his life force with."
-
"Maybe that will work, but, you'd have to speak with a mage about that... like Minna or Ilsa." Selturma replied. The meal was almost finished after the roughly two hours spent feeding the large family. All of the Dracons present, male or female, were in their indoor clothes, but they let Annette stay dressed in human garments. Normally, they would have added a top for the females, and pants and a shirt for the males, but given the fact that Annette was so well-trusted, they didn't bother to make a distinction for her.
Their indoor clothing was a hold-over from tribal times, after all. None of the Dracons were bothered by it. Selturma had offered Annette some of the food, which was shredded beef seasons with salt and spices, and mixed in with vegetables and tomatoes. There was bread for all who wanted it, as well.
-
Annette smiled and thanked Selturma for the food. As she sat down and began to eat she had to extend her congratulations to the chief. "This is fantastic! I haven't eaten food this well prepared since I was a child!"
Annette then commented, "I suppose seeing a mage at the palace would be the best idea. Would you like to accompany me Selturma?" she asked kindly.
-
"Maybe tomorrow. It's already dark out... but at first light, we can go!" Selturma replied, stretching once again. The Dracon girl was sitting cross-legged at the round family table, sitting on a soft cushion. She was tired, comfortable, and full... not exactly inclined to go out at this time of night.
-
Annette nodded her head in acceptance.
"Alright." she said as she too stretched her muscles "Besides, I suppose some sleep would do us all some good." she said with another nod of her head and a yawn.
-
Rex's family began to file upstairs as his parents were busy cleaning the table. Rex was helping to put away the dishes while his mother cleaned them. Rex's dad collected bits and pieces of discarded food to thrown out...
Selturma led Annette to a guest room. Being a higher-ranking officer in Minbenthac's military, Rex's father could afford to maintain a large house, with 8 rooms for the couple, their children and guests. Most of these rooms were shared. There was also a nursury for the eggs and very youngest children, currently, there was an egg in that chamber.
-
--
meanwhile...
At Sashas house sasha had explained all of the events to her parents and they felt sypathy for her since they knew that she really liked Jake.
"anyway Sasha, it's time for bed" said her mother.
"yes mum" replied Sasha, Sasha began heading over to the stairs and she walked up them to her room where she lay down on her bed.
-
The next morning...
The sun rose into the sky like a merciless orb of fire. Minbenthac was in a desert, after all. The dry heat of the morning slowly overcame the last vestiges of night, and before long, the streets were crowded with merchants, travelers, workers, and all sorts of other people who were going about their business.
Selturma rose to take Annette to see the mages at the palace, while Adykon had returned to Tallon's palace for the night. Vespion STILL wasn't back from his meeting with the high priest... but before it was even close to noon, the cleric returned, looking more than somewhat annoyed. Most of the party had agreed to meet in the courtyard of the king's palace, except for Jake, Rex, Selturma, Annette, and Kos... IF the latter counted as a "party member." Rhiga's sisters were also staying at Tallon's palace for the time being, unsure of what their futures held. Rhiga joined the other adventurers, but like Selturma, she was unable to continue to fight; the former because her martial arts skills could no longer inflict significant damage to ever more dangerous opponents, and the latter because... she was pregnant! And soon, Rhiga would have to take care of the egg... and the child who would hatch from it.
Adykon, for his part, approached Vespion.
"What did the priests ask you about?"
"They... well... it is a long story."
-
Sasha awoke and she put her top on and proceeded downstairs where breakfast was being served. She sat down on a comfortable cushion next to one of her elder sister Alima. Alima is at least 15 and half years of age and has green skin and a pale white underbelly, Alima works at the local inn as a maid to clean the rooms that guests stay in. Sasha and Alima where probably not the most compatable sisters in the world but Alima is willing to lend a hand to Sasha when she needs it.
-
Meanwhile...
Vespion paced back and forth as he related the story of what had happened.
"Last night, I was taken to the great temple of Minbenthac. The priests there asked me everything I knew about Dememoras. It went on for hours. After that, they had me sit out in the hallway and wait for three hours. They called me in a couple of times more all throughout the night. I don't know what they said, but evidently, it was important. After it was all over, they escorted me from the temple, and when I asked them what was going on, they didn't give me an answer."
-
Once breakfast was finished Sasha helped clean up all the plates with her elder sisters and brothers. Once that was done Sasha was about to leave when Alima came over to her "where are you going?" asked Alima
"over to Rex's house..why?" replied Sasha
"is it okay if i come to?"
"yes sure"
The two girls set out the front door and down the street.
-
Eventually, all of the party was together again, except for Jake, Selturma, Rex, and Sasha of course.
Vespion was still mad at his temple for keeping him in the dark...'
"Why don't you ask them what they know, Vespion?" Rhiga queried.
"If they wanted me to know, they would have told me." Vespion replied, flatly.
-
The two girls arrived at Rex's house and they both walked inside. Rex was sitting over on the couch. Sasha walked over to Rex. "anything new?" asked Sasha
"nope..." replied Rex "should we go see Adykon and the others and see if there is any news?"
"sure let's go" said Sasha "are you going to come Alima?"
"yes i am"
"wait i gotta wait for Selturma" said Rex " she may want to come too"
-
"I'll go!" Selturma yelled as she jumped at Rex. He caught her in his arms, then let her down.
"What, won't you carry me there?" she said with a wink, then proceeded out the door on foot... on her own two feet. :lol
-
Kuja sighed irately.
"Just like the temple. They don't ever seem to be forward with what they think or plan." He said coldly, shaking his head. Akito tossed his hair with a hand, then casually kicked the ground.
"How do they expect us to fight Dememoras without telling us the whole story?"
He said, then swore quietly.
Miki looked up from a large book.
"Perhaps I can shed some light on things..."
He said quietly, smiling at the others.
-
"What are-? What is? What do you mean?" Vespion asked the fauxen.
Suddenly, all eyes were on Miki. These Fauxen were a strange sort... and so little was known of them...
"Go on" Adykon prompted Miki, not quite believing what he just heard "We'll listen."
-
"okay everyone let's go!" said Rex as all of the youths ran out the door and down the street to the kings castle. It took them a long time to reach the castle but once they got there they had to tell the guards that they were apart of the party...the guards didn't believe them but after a while they let the youths into the castel.
-
The guards had been told how to recognize the rest of the party; they had seen Rex, Selturma, and Sasha before. As for Alina... well... they didn't know her, but they assumed she was with the adventuring party.
Adykon quickly greeted the kids as Miki had told the party that he could "shed some light on things."
-
"have we missed much?" asked Rex and Sasha
-
Miki smiled a little and nodded, then held up his book.
"This is a history of the Dracon lands. I thought it'd be good to know more, so I started looking this over, and..."
He skimmed through the pages a little.
"It mentions the name Dememoras several times. And all of them in different eras. One of the things I've started thinking is, what if Dememoras isn't just a Dracon? What if he is actually something else that takes control of a host Dracon, and then simply...vanishes somehow when they die?"
He said, looking at the assembled party...
-
Vespion interjected.
"Dememoras is a creature who is not natural... we don't know that he is truly among the living. He was reported to have been killed long, long ago, but came back somehow. Do you mind if I see that book?"
After being given the book, the cleric looked it over.
"It's unlike any historical tome I have ever read... and the language it is written in... it is Draconic, but no one writes like this anymore... with all the 'thees' and 'thous.' I don't know how old it is... but it is clear that whoever wrote it was closer in time to Dememoras's first attack than any other history writer I have read. We know that he does NOT possess a host, however. Had Dememoras done that, we would have been able to tell long ago."
"Who is this... 'we' you speak of?" Adykon asked.
"The priests at the Great Temple. Even if he possesses another creature, there is no way for him to totally hide his energy signature."
-
Annette smiled rather brightly at that news as she stepped forward.
"Well that's good news for me. As I specialize in tracking energy both life and magical." She then turned to Vespion and asked, "Even if he doesn't possess a host body now, do you priests happen to know where he died the first time?"
-
"That's the problem. Dememoras CANNOT possess host bodies at all, PERIOD." Vespion clarified. "We know that he was killed, but he was not resurrected. There are several possibilities as to what might have happened, none of which can be ruled out, save for the chance he took over another living creature's body. And no, we don't know where he died... it was thousands of years ago, and the historic record is very poor from that time."
-
Miki looked at him.
Perhaps it's not a possession, per se. Perhaps it's something else entirely. Perhaps he is simply a name?"
He pondered...
-
"Simply a name? What do you mean?" Adykon queried.
"You mean there are others who pose as Dememoras?" Vespion suggested.
"Or that it was a rumor that the Dark Master can possess others?" Rhiga added.
-
Miki thought for a moment.
"What I was thinking is...perhaps Dememoras is simply a name that a person takes on every few eons, as a way of inspiring fear and such..."
He said quietly.
-
"We know that there is one Dememoras... one Dark Master. We know of his organization... although not nearly enough to tell who is in it, or where the Dark Master himself is hiding. We DO know that he commands powerful forces, and that he is returning... thanks the gods there is only ONE of him!" Vespion replied.
-
"Well, that is a relief, just one Dark Master makes things less complicated." - Eriol said.
"I have heard stories about people taking a legendary name, to allow the continuation of whatever legacy the original left. But maybe that is not the case here, and Dememoras did find a way to not fully die when he was defeated, and now he gained the strenght to fight back." - Arianne commented with a serious look on her face.
-
"That's exactly the problem" Vespion continued.
"Of all the buried threats, hidden secrets, and ancient dangers our land has to offer, his is the worst. He died, but is back... and his power and knowledge have had milennia to grow..."
In regions of the world whose civilization was thousands of years old, ancient powers did not necessarily die when the regime collapsed. Empires fell, kingdoms crumbled, and old secrets were lost. Sometimes, knowledge in a certain field was rediscovered and lost several times. An individual who lived through the entirety of civilization in a region would thus be possessed of a VERY large amount of knowledge... in the hands of an evil mage, this could be horrific.
-
Miki nodded grimly.
"But what about in the hands of a good mage?" Utena interjected, looking at the group...
-
"Good mages who live that long are just as rare as evil ones" Vespion replied. "At that level of power, a good mage usually doesn't interfere much with the world, as he has usually ascended to some higher level of existence, or just doesn't care for the world and all its mortal trivia. Some good mages stay active in the world, but they limit what they can do, as they know that well-intentioned plans which require a massive amount of magical energy have the tendency to backfire."
Adykon had heard of this, and added to Vespion's tale.
"There was once a wizard who was so powerful, he could make the rain fall to save a land from a drought."
"But... a lot of mages can make it rain." Rhiga told Adykon.
"I know, but this one was powerful enough to alter the rain patterns permanently. He was centuries old, but was not as wise as he thought he was. A few years later, he returned to discover that the land he had given the rain to was suffering from catastrophic flooding, and that several other lands were experiencing drought. He failed to realize that changing the patterns of nature too much can have unintended consequences... or changing ANY system too much can cause disaster."
"That isn't as big an issue for Dememoras... he WANTS there to be chaos and destruction." Vespion added.
-
"Does it say in that book, where Dememorus attacked first?' Margas said fingering a silver necklace that hung from his neck "or can you not tell?" Listening to the conversation had piqued his interest.. " if you want my opinion, i doubt thast Dememorus is simply a title, the Dememorus we are facing now is likely the same as the one the ancients fought. But he is not immortal, he died once, by the hand, supposedly, of a great warrior, and , in thoery, could die again. Am I far off?"
-
"Well, we don't know." Vespion replied. "We just don't know. Some beings that are immortal can come back to life after their physical body is destroyed, other beings that ARE mortal can be brought back to life. There are some theories to Dememoras's true nature... that he is a lich, maybe, or that he was resurrected by his followers all that time ago... or maybe he really IS immortal somehow. Again, we don't know for sure, and I hate that."
"Considering that he appeared before history was well-recorded and has stayed hidden for so long... it would be hard to know much about him... and of what is said of him... it is difficult to separate what is fact from fiction. Rumors and false knowledge tends to pile up over the course of thousands of years." Adykon said, but as he spoke, the exact words were repeated in his head by a female voice... the archmage... again.
"You! What are you doing in my head... again?" Adykon thought, his lips not moving.
"I was contacted by the archmage of the palace. He told me to contact you as soon as possible. I cannot stay for long... my home is still under siege; it has been ever since my husband got blown up by Dememoras."
"Blown up?! Wait... you and your husband... were the ones who helped us with Arcantas... that's right... it has been a while..."
"And I helped you again with him and Asthia under her tower... yes, we get along well, don't we? I'll contact you again tonight... it is easier to do so when the recipient of the spell is sleeping..."
"Alright then... but can you tell me one thing? Do you know what Dememoras is?"
"I know as little as you do on what he is... I can tell you what he intends to do... but I already did that. I have forseen that we will meet in person, and that you will lead the forces that will lift the siege on my palace..."
"Alright!"
"... or die trying."
"... oh. I'm not so fond of that option."
"And yet, I sense you will be there. You and I share much in common, Adykon. We have both lost the one we loved to Dememoras, and fate has more plans for us still..."
"Yes... he just teleported in and... hey! How'd you know about that? Have you been scrying on me?"
"That is correct. You should be grateful; if I didn't know what you were doing, I couldn't have been there to help you. I only take a look once or twice a day at most; I don't have the energy to check much more than that..."
"Right. Well, I guess I'll 'see' you tonight."
"It'll be the stuff dreams are made of... see you then."
And with that, the voice in Adykon's head disappeared.
"She has a lot of explaining to do... I don't think she's told me everything... and what was her name... dang it... I think she told me but I forgot... and I'm going to ask Vespion to use a spell to detect scrying from now on..."
-
"Is everything fine, Adykon? you suddenly went quiet for a while." - Arianne asked the leader of the Party as she noticed him getting quite for some moments.
Eriol leaned his back on a nearby wall, frowning as he was thinking about the situation. - "This whole situation about Dememoras is not only bad, but also far too mysterious, that makes it all worse. But the sooner we manage to get to know what he really is, then the sooner we can make a plan to defeat him for good." - He then sighed. - "I have met people with enormous ammounts of power, too bad they cannot be of help since they are... dead. But with all the things I have seen, I am certain that with Dememoras will not be different and that he will fall too." - He said to try to give some confidence to the Party members... just a bit, so they can have something to hold on to and make things a little bit easier to start making plans.
-
Adykon, immortals cannot be killed, to be immortal means you cannot die, under any circumstances. Since Dememorus was killed we can assume he is not immortal. however he has managed to revive himself and stay hidden over all this time.' Margas replied.' and his powers are immense, so it makes him very difficult to kill. you mght have to be the one to kill him, if what the others have been saying about you is true. I don't envy you, not one bit, the odds are against you.. but then that is the nature of heroes, to suceed against long odds.."
-
"Well, thanks for saying all that..." Adykon said, unsure of his ability to take on such an... immense power.
"And you are correct, Margas. An immortal, by definition, cannot be dead... however, the term also includes those creatures who die, but can come back to life, such as the immoral phoenix, a species of bird which dies every 500 years in a burst of flame, only to have a new chick arise from the ashes." Vespion added.
-
well said ' Margas replied. ' of course, i've never seen a phoenix, it is on my to-do list' he grinned slightly. ' right after building my own palace..' he paused as he looked at his chain..' tellme rhiga.. he said turning to her. 'where are you from? i think we might have met before.. ' Rhiga in her many thefts had once strolen from margas' father, it had been a very near escape for her, and she had been spotted by servants trying to sneak out
-
"Well... I was born in the city of Hekaga to my mother, Vaeri... and... well... she didn't know who my father was. During my life there, I performed in many places... mostly inns or taverns, but on occasion, a servant from a palace would be to an inn to recruit dancers for a party in a mansion or palace. That gave me the chance to perform in far nicer places... and for me to raise my profile." Rhiga replied.
-
I see.. did you ever perform for my father?' Margas replied." He likes to be entertained.. trouble is, we have had a few performers steal friom him.. nothing too valuable . luckily , but it is irritating. we open our doors to these performers and they abuse our hospitality.. We are not as indifferent to the suffering around us as others may be, it was not so long ago that we were poor ourselves, my great grandfather is to thank for our current position, he achieved great distinction oveer the course of his life."
-
Rhiga realized that she had in fact, probably stolen from the palace in question.
"I only performed in Hekaga until I was forced to flee a few years back. If your father had property in that city, including any lavish estates, it is entirely possible that I performed for him." she replied.
-
"so what should we do now?" asked Rex
-
"We need to plan our next move... or at least, learn what we can about Dememoras" Adykon replied. "We need to know what assets we have on our side, what we need to get, and on whose support we can count."
"We have the king and temples of Minbenthac at our side, along with its mighty armies." Vespion added, happily.
"We also have access to whatever supplies and equipment we need" Adykon said, continuing. "At least, the king is willing to grant us anything he has, he can purchase, or he can have made."
"Knowing my city, that will be... QUITE a selection." Vespion added, proudly.
-
"okay it sounds good" said Rex
"so are we aloud to get weapons and stuff?" asked Sasha "you know, for protection?"
Meanwhile...
"castle is just up ahead.." thought Jake to himself " if i can just convince the guards..."
jake continued running even though he knew that one wrong move at the palace would get himself killed. jake also knew that the prince needed help. Jake had valuable information that would be very useful to the prince.
-
"We are indeed allowed to be given weapons, but it is how we use them that matters more." Adykon replied, turning to the young Dracon. "Rex, you are but a youth, and yet you have proven yourself in combat. I cannot demand that you come along in what is certainly going to be the most dangerous battles we have yet faced, but if you want to join us in it... I would not tell you not to go."
-
Arianne looked at Rex and Sasha, she is visible worried - "Are you really sure you want to do this? You are still very young with all your lives to live."
Eriol didn't want to interrupt, but he still said. - "They are young, yes, but they seem to be willing to do this and I know you are too, even though you are at the first stages pregnancy. As we make startegies, they may not be front-line combatants, they can be on the side-lines, using their abilities to keep us all alive while the strongest ones make the most of combat... but don't you think you'll get no action, it is most probable that you'll have far more enemies to fight that you'll ever wish you'll have."
-
Yes we do, outside the western part of Hekaga, that area is one of the richer sections" Margas replied. 'why were you forced to flee from Hekaga? ' Margas knew the reputation of the Hekagan royal family, they ruled the city with an iron claw.
-
"Well, I had to flee the city because of... political pressures." Rhiga replied, lying.
"The prince had a personal vendetta against me. He wanted me make he one of his wives, I refused, and so I had to flee the city to escape his wrath. I know how he treats females. It's horrible."
-
'yes , well i've heard the same thing about him, his reputation isn't good at all, but short of overthrowing him and his family by force there's nothing we can do about that.. "Margas replied. 'he and his father have that city firmly under thier control, a shame really, Hekaga used to be an incredible city to visit, now, eighty percent of the city is virtually off-limits.."
-
Margas was correct in a sense; 80% of the city WAS off-limits to traveling merchants, even if, in practice, the city guard could do little about it. If a peddler wanted to take his goods into one of the poorer parts of Hekaga, he probably could do so with impunity, even though he would face threats other than the city guard... the slums were rife with gangs there...
-
"i'd like to go with you guys" said Rex
"so would I" added Sasha
--
"almost there..." thought Jake mentally, Jake began to sprint towards the castle, it was just down the street from his current position. Jake then arrived at least a safe distanc so he could see how many guards there were. Jake then decided to walk over to one of the guards at the gate casually. Jake stopped at the guard
-
"Alright then" Adykon replied. "We shall take you with us. Just... be careful."
Adykon didn't want anyone else to die... especially not the children.
-
Annette looked confused as she said, "Wait a minute...Hekaga....the CITY of Hekaga is off limits...that can't be right. I was there over a month ago, and I was allowed to travel where ever I pleased...could something be wrong?"
-
"It isn't the whole city that is off-limits to outsiders" Rhiga replied to Annette. Having grown up there, she would know...
"About 20% of the city of Hekaga is legally open to visitors, although in practice, only some of the richer areas are truly blocked off. The poorer areas... well, although some guards might punish a traveler that they do not like, most of them will not care if some foreigner were to do something to the poor... or do something WITH them. As long as the rich were secure, that's all that mattered to them. In other words, you were not 'supposed' to go wherever you wanted, but in practice, you can, so long as you avoid certain areas that the rich live in."
-
Jake spoke to the guard "I have a proposition for the prince" (is a proposistion like a deal?)
-
Annette sighed.
"Well it would seem then that the guards must've confused me with the poorer ranks of the city, as they did seem rather reluctant to let me near any of the richer settlements in Hekaga." she said while thinking aloud.
-
Rhiga looked at Annette.
"You don't look poor...but then again, the guards of Hekaga ARE rather discriminatory against those who are not like them. Since you are human... they would assume all sorts of bad things about you."
-
Annette narrowed her eyes for a moment as Rhiga's words sank in.
"That makes a lot of sense. Which seems unfair now that I think about it...and one of them did happen to make a joke about me, while I was in earshot..." she said with rather venomous tone in her voice.
-
"Was it about how you dress or how you have hair on your skin?" Rhiga asked, knowing that Dracons thought that most humans "overdressed" and that they had hair, which the Dracons thought was the strangest thing.
Dracon females only wore what was needed to cover up certain parts, and even then, as Rhiga was dressed like now, the top part was occasionally discarded. It was no wonder they thought Annette was wearing too much, but Rhiga was too polite to mention it.
-
The guard faced Jake and his arm flew at him very fast and the guard gripped Jake by the throat.."uhk...erk...i....have a..urk...proposition...for the...urk...prince.ahk...i said" said Jake after each gasp. The guard released his grip on Jake and dropped him on the ground "oh really?..." said the guard not beleiving the youth in front of him.
"yes" replied Jake rubbing his throat "i know who the princes enemies are....and i know WHERE they are."
"hmm....." the guard thought for a moment "okay, you can come speak with the prince, but one wrong move and your dead...I don't even know why i'm even talking to you you piece of scum."
-
Meanwhile...
A messenger had delivered a notice to Fort Aurix. Standing near a gold mine, this fort housed no fewer than 6,000 soldiers, plus a few hundred support staff. Being the largest fortress under the control of the king of Minbenthac, it was also one of the largest fortresses in the whole of the Dracon lands.
The message to the general whose garrison was stationed there was to move the mobile contingent of his men to the Inik plain, just outside of Minbenthac. These 5,000 men made up one eighth of the standing army of Minbenthac, there were 40,000 field soldiers in all. Thousands more were stationed on the city walls and as garrisons in forts. In times of siege, elements of the field army could be transferred to the city walls.
Most of the garrisons outside of the central city were militia who were given extra training and equipment; effectively, they were lighter infantry, with lower pay and standards of military efficiency. Still, in the absence of a standing force, they were still sufficient to maintain the garrison, even if only 1,000 of them were left to watch over the gold mine.
The 5,000 troops in question were going to assemble on the Inik plain in order to rally the spirits of the city, among other things. They were more than a show of power, though. This force was among the best Minbenthac had, behing only the king's own guards and the very best of the city garrison. If the Dark Master was going to make his move, Minbenthac would be ready.
-
Annette huffed as she replied, "He mentioned something about my hair catching fire...and then consuming my mortal soul. I try not to think about it...but now that I am I'm rather peeved." She then began to tap her foot on the ground in irritation.
-
"I'm sorry to have brought it up again" Rhiga said. "My kind is not always as civilized as some of them claim to be..."
This was true. Many bad aspects of Dracon society still reared their ugly head from time to time.
-
Annette sighed and let the anger drop from her voice before she spoke again.
"It is alright. You were just curious and I can't fault you for that." She then smiled as she continued, "Besides, most Dracons are very kind and upstanding. That day was just another life lesson for me after all."
-
Annette didn't know Dracons all that well. By human standards, their behavior was unusual, even shocking. Gladiator fights, sexism, constant wars, animal sacrifice, and autocracy were rampant. Still, it was possible for individual Dracons to be nice, and the Dracons themselves would liked to have thought of themselves as reasonable, civilized, and much "better" than they used to be. Sacrifice of sentient beings, though still in practice among some of the more evil Dracon temples, was looked down upon, and it was noted that Dracons, although sexist, still provided some basic protections for females and families.
"I suppose that is true" Rhiga replied.
-
Eriol looked at the human girl and commented - "Don't worry Annette, these kind of situations can happen a lot, I have seen all kinds of Dracons too, and I am sure that Gaeans like me or Arianne may have our own quirks too.... specially the ones like me." - he said while smirking.
"No society is perfect, but I have seen that we are all seeking the same goal to better ourselves, and I am sure Dracons do not think differently." - Arianne added, she has not been as much time in the Dracon lands as Eriol, but she is convinced of that, specially after thinking about all the ideas that have been commented since she joined the Party.
-
"I need to go lie down for a while" Rhiga told Annette, excusing herself. "Marcus, could you take me to our room? I know it is a bit of a walk..." The female rogue had felt this way three times before. She was not ready to lay the egg for quite some time, but it was reaching a stage of development which made it hard for her to do much...
Her instincts were kicking in. While sentient, Dracons still had powerful instincts, especially female Dracons. Although they were an artificial race that was created by magic, the material that went into them was still derived from naturally-evolving creatures. Being female, Rhiga was the one of the couple who's body was the most invested in reproduction. She would need 10,000 mouthfuls of food to recover the energy expended in creating a child; Marcus needed one mouthful at most.
It also held true that the bond between mother and child was very strong indeed. This was, if anything, a method that evolved in order to ensure that her offspring would survive. Her hormones were acting in such a manner as to Rhiga feel more attached to her mate and child, especially the latter. This was neither a clean nor easy process, and she could feel irritable, crave odd foods, and in some cases, just not feel like doing much.
-
Marcus took her by the claw and helped her walk to thier room. "Rest, and regain your strength. We'll be married in the next couple days, then I'll have to worry about picking out a nice house for us... Whatever you need, no matter how odd, I'll get it for you" Marcus said. Rhiga's belly had continued to expand, her pregnancy was now pretty evident, it would still be a couple months before the egg would be laid, and anoother few weeks before thier child would hatch, until then, he'll be responsible for providing security for her anmd their growing family..
-
They were still months away from the egg hatching... even when it was laid, Rhiga would still be attached to it... at least at first. If she absolutely had to leave it, she would... she still had to eat, after all.
Once she got to her room, Rhiga took off her loincloth, lay down on her bed, and was soon asleep. The egg developed rapidly, and it took a toll on the Dracon female's body. Unlike mammals of the same size, it would be out before too much longer, so she wouldn't have to bear the burden for as much time.
As Rhiga was lying on her back, Macus could clearly see her belly rise and fall with each breath. Even with an egg growing in her, she still had a good figure; her curves were still the envy of many other females, and her underbelly was still an attractive shade of pale yellow, although her skin turned a bit browner due to the hormonal changes in her pregnant body, and her feet were somewhat swollen for the same reason. Her tail moved back and forth in a slow, almost hypnotic pattern. She was dreaming about something that she enjoyed...
-
Not but a few rooms down, lay Eternion, the venerable Dracon, upon his own bed. His thoughts were awash with the occurrences of late. It was quite the toll that being thrust back into the adventurers way so quickly had taken upon him. One minute he was perfectly fine doing his humble duty at the temple, and now he had pledged his support to this so called "Warrior of Legend" that he hardly knew, not something he was prone to doing in his day.
Still, as he had quickly realized, this was no ordinary adventure. This was not some simple escort, dungeon crawl, dragon slaying, or rescuing a princess from a castle (he quickly threw that from his mind, he had hated that particular quest... especially when he was told that the princess was actually in another castle... he had never seen Almia so mad before). This was the potential end of the world as he knew it, and he knew it well... okay, not that well anymore... curse his feeble old mind!
This Dememoras... he knew nothing at all about him. It made him wonder why he had gotten involved in the first place, he could just as well be cozy in his own home at the moment.
He was nervous and worried for himself, as well as these others. The challenges that would arise next would surely test them all... especially Eternion, the oldest of the group in terms of bodily age. Was he truly prepared to fight an evil forced supposedly so strong and dangerous? Age was not a kind mistress, and neither were the scars of his past, both physical and emotional.
So there he lay, a terrified old Dracon. 'Almia, I need your guidance more than ever, now,' the old Dracon whispered to himself. He looked over to his sword as it lay upright in the far corner of the room. He could almost see the reflection of his good eye gazing back at him, and that alone made him smile just that little bit.
She was watching, she had to be... she wouldn't have let a little thing like death stop her from missing the adventure of a lifetime.
He sat up from his bed, and made a promise to himself. 'I need to get back in shape, back into fighting condition. I can't let myself fail again, not this time.'
Eternion would not let his rage consume him, he would bring back his fighting spirit, the same one that had brought him through so many encounters intact... well, partly intact. He rubbed his blind eye wearily... some wounds magic couldn't heal. He needed some sleep, and lay back down, closing his eyes softly and taking a deep breath.
-
Annette nodded to Rhiga and followed the couple back to their home. Although feeling rather welcomed she decided to sit outside for a while and watch the sky as she had done so many times before watching the colors change in the sky, and listening to the sounds around her. As she listened to the harmony of nature her staff gently began to give off a radiant, rainbow like glow that seemed to wrap itself around her arms as she smiled at the thought of peace being brought to the land.
-
Arianne gave a deep breathe before saying - "Well, I am kind of tired too, so I guess I'll go try to get some sleep." - This has been a day with too many things happening, and her early stages of pregnancy are beginning to show, not much for now, but her body is beginning to show the effects of the hormonal changes due to her new condition. - "Good night everybody, we'll see you all in the morning." - she said as she bowed as a show of respect, and then she turned around and began walking
Eriol waved goodbye as he turned to walk too. - "Well then, maybe something fun can happen in the way to the bedroom that has been given to us. I am kind of bored right now, political talking has that effect on me." - Eriol commented as he began walking next to his wife. She just sighed but kept on walking.
The room that was given to the Panthers was very ample, more than enough for the two Gaeans. After cleaning themselves in the shower, they went to bed. She fall asleep quite quickly, but he couldn't, placing his arms behind his head, he began thinking: thinking about home and his son there, thinking about the new mission they offered to help with and how some things about the Dracon society has made him think about his own past: a past filled with blood.
-
The party had split up for the night. They would reconvene at noon tomorrow in the King's palace. Adykon had seen to his son in Tallon's home, and Rhiga still slept soundly.
At that moment...
The army from Fort Aurix was on the March. Being some distance away from Minbenthac, it would take them a couple of days to arrive. Still, the terrain was flat and open, and the army was used to marching quickly, even when clad in its heavy armor.
At the palace of the king, there was no rest for many. The lights were not dimmed, nor was the pace of life slowed. The bureaucracy kept humming day and night, although this night was particularly busy. Finances had to be reviewed, an army was on the move, supplies had to be procured, and there was a very real threat by a very great power looking over the city...
...right now!
Dememoras himself looked out at the city of Minbenthac from his own dark dimension. He had kept the three great Dragons waiting outside of his citadel for three days... and they would wait another three days before he was ready to let them in... it was how he worked. All the time in the world was his... all the time in several worlds, really... and if he needed more time, there were places he could go for that. In his observation tower in the citadel, time passed at a different pace; one day in the prime material plane that the common mortal called home passed in a month to him. Dememoras was able to observe in great detail, and could take hours and hours to do so...
... although the wards around the palace held firm against even his form of scrying. Clutching the crystal ball in his claws, the Dark Master moved over to a stand that he could place the glowing sphere on. Immediately, it began to project an image onto a wall of diamond, upon which the dark being could see details more clearly, reverse the image to an earlier time, or even zoom in on a detail he deemed important.
At this time, he could learn nothing of import. Sighing, the giant being that Dememoras was sat down into thin air, as if he expected a seat to just appear... which it did. A throne of palpable darkness materialized just in time to catch Dememoras; it was the same color as his scales and horns... it was hard to tell where the Dark Master began, and the room ended...
-
The guard walked back to his post and two more guards exited the castle. "come with us human" said the first guard. Jake nodded his head and he followed the guards inside the castle. Jake looked up at the ceiling and all of the surrounding scenery inside. It was very glamorous.
-
Outside the manor where the party was housed, Akio stood in the moonlight, drawing his swords and beginning a graceful form, seemingly dancing under the moon, swords flashing as he whirled about like a steel storm...
Akito sat on the roof, looking at the sky, focusing on the battle to come. He let his mind still, focused on one thought.
"I won't lose. I can't"
_________________________________________________________________________
Outside the walls, Kyuichi stood alongside Dememoras's forces.
"Now, Touga, let's see who is the stronger..."
He chuckled darkly to himself...
-
Dememoras had sent a small scouting force near the city of Minbenthac. Each of the beings he had sent were made out of shadow... the same kind as in his own dimension. Numbering only 21, the force had no way of attacking such a large city, although their ethereal forms rendered them hard to hit... and even harder to detect, especially at night.
Each creature was humanoid in shape, with glowing red eyes and a black sword capable of cutting through almost any non-magical armor. These beings were related to the shinobi of the east... a kind of shadow-being... this particular species was known as an Umbral... a kind of being Dememoras knew much about, having spent so much time in the dark dimensions...
-
unaware of the threat outside, minna and ilsa had retired to thier rooms, ilsa was examining a couple scrolls which held the ability to detect curses.. she had gradually become convinced that Minna's behavior towards her was due to a curse.. now two questions remained, what type of curse, anmd who put it on her..
-
There were no orders given to attack, but the Umbrals kept a close watch on the city. Each of them had vision that surpassed the keenest eyes of a bird of prey, and at night, their vision was even better. Lacking the ability to see normal light, the Umbrals saw infrared light; they could use this to detect body heat; even a cold-blooded creature could not blend in fully with the exact temperature of the environment...
This was a recon mission for a larger task before them...
Far away, Arianne rose from her bed. Her husband was asleep next to her. After making sure that she would not be seen, the female panther got up and walked to the window. The palace was high up, and beyond the lights of the city, she could see the dark sands, rocks, and mountains which surrounded the city. Far off in the distance, there was a tiny set of red lights... which were barely visible.
Being a panther, her vision at night was far superior to human eyesight. The two red dots were hard to detect for a Dracon, and almost impossible for a human, but not too hard for her. These were the eyes of an Umbral. Looking in the direction of the glowing red eyes, her own eyes made contact with them.
The night was warm, and the soft wind that blew did not affect her, even in her lace pajamas. Her bare feet were not at all bothered by the slightly cold floor, although the sand that blew onto the balcony of the room on the third story of the palace called for her to wash her feet in the morning. Taking another good look at the red dots, she turned back to her room. Despite her condition, she didn't feel tired. Maybe it was hormones playing around with her... maybe it was something else.
In any case, although she lay down, she couldn't sleep. Getting up again, she walked to the balcony for a second time. The red dots were there again... several of them... each set of two belonging to another Umbral. Walking around, she stepped on a stone.
"Meaow!" She exclaimed as a sudden pain shot into her left foot. A stone! Where had that come from? Slightly larger than a pebble, the stone was smooth and round. Had it dropped in from somewhere? Touching it, Arianne felt some heat on it. Odd. Picking up the stone, she moved into her room, and set the stone on the table next to the bed. Eriol was still asleep.
Trying to rub away the pain from her foot, she soon felt better. Arianne was good at giving a massage, especially to herself... it came with the lack of footwear amongst her people. While she was at it, she rubbed the other foot... might as well, she thought No sooner than she had taken care of her feet, that the rock cracked from the heat. Not wanting to wake Eriol, Arianne approached the cracked rock to see a small slip of paper with... some sort of message on it. It was written in some language that Arianne had not seen before... after a moment of looking at it, the scroll disappeared and the rock it had come in quickly turned to dust and blew away in the warm desert wind.
Arianne then lay down in the bed again, and this time, fell asleep easily. She wouldn't remember any of what had happened in the morning, and Eriol would not know either.
-
(OOC: This is Chiletrek and myself.)
The next morning... The umbrals had left with the rising of the sun. Back in the room in the palace, Arianne had woken up first. When her mate arose, he saw her soaking her feet in a bucket full of sandy water.
"Good morning, I guess you went for a midnight snack?" - He said as he approached to his wife. In other circumstances it would be a strange event, but he already knows how she can get during a pregnancy.
"Something like that. I must have been sleepwalking... because when I woke up, my feet felt a bit sore and I had sand all over my pads." She replied, lifting her left foot out of the water, and playfully wiggling her toes at Eriol.There was a small mark visible where she stepped on the rock, but it was not serious.
"Maybe all this talking about Dememoras made you walk like that. You sure have more in yourself than anyone can see, maybe that's why I married you." - he said with a smile as he knelt in front of her. - "You have something in your foot, it doesn't look like an injury, but we should take a look at it." - He said as he grabed her foot and made it get into the water once more.
"It's fine, really. It happens all the time." After a few more minutes of soaking her foot, she got up. "We'd better get dressed and eat; we still have to regroup with the rest of the party, and we are still in out night clothes." Arianne told Eriol, taking a towel to dry her feet off in. "Hmm... my feet are a bit swollen... it must be from the pregnancy..."
"Indeed, that's why I like to be a male." - Eriol winked an eye to Arianne. - "I'll go wash myself so we can get something to eat. Don't worry, it will not take me long" - Eriol entered the washroom to clean himself up. After some minutes, he came out and got dressed. Arianne was already waiting for him, sitting in the bed with her tail wagging. Arianne was wearing her dress, although the bottom part was rolled up a bit to make it easier for her to walk. The panthers went downstairs to eat. After that, Eriol went to train, and his wife was not far behind. He was surprised when she wore the same clothes as she had the last time they were training. Her pregnancy was visible, but not too much to impede her.
After reaching the training grounds of the palace, Eriol couldn't avoid but to ask his wife - "So, will you get some training? you should not overdo yourself in your current condition, I don't want you to hurt yourself and our daughter." - Eriol said as he grabbed two training swords and prepared to smack a dracon-shaped wooden dummy.
"Daughter?" she said, laughing. "What makes you think it is a girl?" Arianne spoke while she leaped up to grab two wooden rings which were hanging from the ceiling by a rope. Being more agile than a human, she was able to spin around while still holding onto the rings once before landing on her feet on the mat. Wearing only a loincloth and a top, there was little to impede Arianne's freedom of motion. She was very agile, even in her gravid state.
"Well, we already have a son..." - He said as he gave many direct impacts to the dummy's vital sections -"... so why we can't have a daughter now?" - He said with a sly grin as he turned to give a strong kick to the Dummy's face, making it give off a strange sound.
"Well... that's not up to me" Arianne said, stretching out. Her left leg was stretched around her shoulder... as flexible as a cat! "The seed of the male determines that!"
Eriol looked at her and sighed - "If that is the case, then I am hoping not to dissapoint myself." - He then gave a small laugh and stretched his arms, he then went into a corner of the training area, he then removed his shirt and grabbed the swords again, the right hand normally and the left hand back-handed, and ran to the dummy, delivering over a dozen quick strikes that sure would have dismembered a careless victim. - "Well, that's enough of that, I guess I should now try something else. Maybe some light combat dance?" - he asked Arianne, if she agreed, they would practice something similar to the Cappoeira. A martial art where speed and agility are a must.
"Sure thing." she said, noting that he was only wearing a short pair of pants now that his shirt was off. Had it been mating season... but no. They had their fun this time around. This training actually had a purpose. Still, she might have some fun... "You don't need a shirt for this one, my mate?"
"You should know me better than that Arianne, to know me and what was my past about." - he said as he gave a sideways stand, his left leg in front, his right leg somewhat behind his body, his left arm rised and his right arm near the waist. He smiled at her, waiting for her move.
The panthers got down to the combat dance. Eriol was ahead, though. His wife was not as skilled as he was, although she was a bit more agile. "Oof! How about going easier on a pregnant female?" She wasn't hurt, really. Arianne lay down on her stomach. Eriol had tripped her in the combat dance. He helped her up. "Let's try that again" she replied.
"Ok, you are up." - He said to her as he is now in his normal stand again. This time, she took the advantage by sending a high round kick using her left leg, Eriol dodged it with no problems, but he didn't see Arianne's arms taking his left leg, and by using her momentum (as her own leg went down) she got enough strenght to make him fall down to the floor this time.
"Looks like you went easy on me this time!" she said with a smile. "Shall we try that a third time?"
"Three times the fun, why not?" - He said and stood up, but this time he went in a different stand, facing her directly, with both of his legs flexed and the palms of his hands ready to defend from any attack. - "Don't you think this is just a normal defense stand." - He said with a sly grin. - "Come get me if you can."
"Don't think this is a normal attack, either!" Arianne replied, taking off her top. She still had her loincloth on. It actually felt better for her this way; her breasts had swollen with her pregnancy, and that top was rather tight on her. She flexed her legs and moved to attack.
Arianne went over him and made a quick move of flexing her legs and using the right leg to give a very low kick as her other feet served her as a support. That made Eriol to trip, but he did not fell, he managed to remain standing, so the round was not over yet - "Hey! that was sneaky move... and I liked it." - He said as he gave a devilish look with his eyes.
"You need to keep your eyes on my limbs, not my tits!" Arianne told her husband, who was already becoming densensitized to her toplessness. It wasn't like he didn't know what they looked like. She moved to attack, but he dodged her kick...
She moved to kick again, but Eriol attacked faster than she could react
Arianne tried just a minute ago, but she jumped to avoid it, he didn't even finished the kick as he was able to stand up and give a high kick, not a strong one, since his goal was to make sure she still has her speed. And she still has it, by managing to block the high kick gave by Eriol. - "Not bad my dear." - He said as he is not showing his normal stance again.
Arianne moved to kick again, getting frustrated with her lack of ability to land a solid blow...
Eriol was faster that she could remember, since there was quite the time since the last time they trained together. He then noticed her getting frustrated. - "Come on, don't lose your concentration, if you do then you'll be an easy target."
Not wanting to cheat by using her magic, Arianne tried to gain what she incorrectly thought would be a quick victory by aiming for between her mate's legs... only to be tripped up by Eriol and floored again. "Ow... that'll teach me to get all worked up" Arianne said, lying facedown on the floor.
"Well, then this means that I won the match." - Eriol said as he knelt in front of Arianne and helped her to stand up. - "Maybe we should get a rest now. Specially you, I don't want you to get hurt or too tired."
"Yeah. We have an hour or two before we have to meet. I could use a quick soak in a warm bath. My muscles are sore. And... sorry about that last kick. You've given my two children with that part now." she replied.
Eriol couldn't help it and laughed after hearing that. - "Yes, I guess you are right. So next time you should reserve that kick for other males." - He sure enjoyed the fight and he sure could use a warm bath too. - "let's go then Arianne, we don't want to be late for the gathering."
Arianne got up and collected her clothes, then went to get a quick soak with her husband. Eriol got his shirt and stored the training swords back from where he got them, and then he reached Arianne. now they can have their bath and to get ready for the gathering.
The Dracon palace had a very large tub for this purpose... several, in fact. This one was reserved for the panthers. After setting their clothes aside, they got in and enjoyed it, each panther going to the other side of the tub. Arianne's foot briefly touched her mate's, as a playful gesture. Her looked at him with a loving smile, and laughed as she lifted her feet out of the water and splashed her mate, playfully.
Eriol smiled at her, he is still feeling as happy as the very moment she returned to his life. He grinned and followed her joke, he would not let anything to disturb this moment.
-
Akito stepped back into the palace, holding some small plates of armor he had purchased. Made of solid steel reinforced with magical energy, they were still light enough to prevent him from losing any of his mobility. He slipped them on, marveling at the feeling.
Kuja stood in a courtyard, surrounded by a number of training dummies. He focused, forming several hovering spheres of mana, then struck, dashing between targets, frequently leaping high into the air to cast one of his myriad spells. In moments, the 15 training dummies were in various states of burning, freezing, or simply being shattered, as he flicked his wrist and bowed theatrically.
Miki sat in the palace library, researching countless books on the many famous swordsmen and spellswords of Dracon history. He had cleared a large space around him, and as he read about a technique that interested him, he would pick up his epee and attempt the move several times until he had learned it well enough to use it in battle.
Juri was outside, dueling with a palace guard as an attempt to keep her sword skills sharp. She dodged around his strike, lashing out with a low kick to knock him off balance, then lunged, placing her sword to his throat with a grin.
"Dead."
She said simply, then sheathed her sword with a droll smirk.
Utena was out in the flower garden, trying to calm herself down.
"Calm down, Utena. You can do this. Don't panic, just remember your training..."
She thought to herself, then drew her naginata, spinning and twirling about with it in a graceful form, the wind from the strikes making the flowers around her dance in a rhythm all their own. At the end of her kata, she leapt high into the air, spinning over and over, fur gleaming in the sunlight before she landed gracefully where she had begun.
Touga was in the main hall of the palace, talking to several guards, rallying their spirits and preparing them for the worst case of Dememoras attacking the city. He told them everything he could about the things he had seen, and also told each guard that he would do whatever he could to make sure that the attack he was planning for would not succeed...
-
The Dark Master had plans to attack, but they weren't necessarily what the city's defenders had expected. The party began to gather in the halls of the palace, as Adykon had told them to. So far, it was just him and Vespion. The others would show up in time.
Meanwhile...
Pomona walked through the streets of Minbenthac. The orange-skinned female Dracon with a pale white belly was the wife of a metalworker, and as such, she was no stranger to going through the market to purchase things for the shop. Her husband had sent her to get some new tools, and normally, this was not so bad. Today, however, the markets were packed the the limit with Dracons who were desperately trying to buy supplies while they lasted.
Word was released about an impending attack by the Dark Master. While no specific threat was known at the moment, the government of Minbenthac wanted to be prepared. This was not necessarily the wisest move.
Rumors leaked out as fast as the official news; Dememoras was coming. Dememoras was not coming. There was an attack coming from Hekaga. The king's forces had beaten Hekaga and Dememoras. The tribal warriors were on the attack again. The king had been attacked, but was alive. He was dead. He was in critical condition. A Dragon sat on his palace. Dememoras was that Dragon. It was all a conspiracy by the rich to profit from the panic buying economic turmoil. There were traitors in the government. They had caught those traitors and would hang them in the market for all to see. This last rumor was especially pervasive, and the stewards of the marketplace hastily built some gallows for the occasion.
It didn't take much to send the city into a panic. This was a source of embarrassment abroad.
-
Ilsa in the meantime was studying a book on curses, fliping through the pages until she came to "forbidden curses'. 'these curses are punishable by death, since they force the victim to commit abominations againsts themselves, others, and the gods" she read.. "hmm.. these curses can drastically change the victims behavior, attitude, and can , in certain instances, be used to contriol the victim.. Ilsa flipped thrpugh the pages before finally stopping on the curse of Lesbos. " The Curse of Lesbos is among the most powerful of the forbidden curses, and among the most difficult to remove. the curse forces two(or more) females into carnal relations, the first victim will have the curse placed on her by incantation, and then will pass the curse onto the second victim by kissing her, the closer the kiss to the mouth, the more potent the curse. as the curse progresses, the victims will desire more and more to.."
Ilsa pauised then flipped though the symptoms of the curse.. growing more and more horrified as she read. . those symptoms described Minna's recent actions to the letter. " Shes been cursed.. but whoever cursed her is taking a terrible risk' Ilsa thought as she reflected on what she had learned. Female-female relations were strictly forbidden, any females caught in the act, would suffer quick execution and be condemned to Damnatio Memoriae, in other words, their very memories would be wiped away, permanently. their names would be forgotten by all, to even mention them carried a penalty.
To curse someone with it carried the same punishment, the only hope was to either find the one who had placed the curse and force her to remove it, or create a potion, which could take weeks, since the potion contained a number of rare ingredients , several of which were found only in far-off locations.
Judging from what Ilsa had read, Minna was approaching the final stages of the curse, where she would be completely at the mercy of the sorceress who cursed her.
-
Rhiga was too tired to join the rest of the party. Her pregnancy made her not want to get up, and she was feeling nauseous.
Adykon had heard of the panic buying and the rumors... as well as a run on the bank... luckily, the king had declared a "holiday" for the banks, which prevented them from opening for the duration of that time... which would be as long as the king said it had to be.
"Hey Adykon, I heard that a Dragon sat on the palace!" Rex told the warrior. He and Sasha had come to meet the party.
"Rex, we are in the palace right now. Did you see a dragon on the way over here?" Adykon replied.
"Well... no. I heard it from like fifty people! I assumed they knew what they were talking about! And the King is dead!"
"I hear he's in critical condition!" Sasha added.
"You told me you told me that he had been assassinated by Arianne!" Rex replied
"Well... maybe he got better..." she told Rex, realizing her faulty reasoning.
"Stop listening to rumors! Arianne didn't kill anyone, I'm sure! Did they even know her name?" Vespion replied.
"Well... they told me that a female Gaean killed someone..." Rex said.
"With all due respect, Rex... your grasp of matters like truth and reason are less than what is expected at your age. You don't even know what you're wearing, are you?" Vespion replied.
"What's that got to do with anything? My shirt and long pants look just like any other!"
"Well, Rex... you either have a stain on your shirt, or are in for a big surprise. Take a look down."
"What are you talking abo... AHH!" Rex had learned that in his rush to leave the house in time, he had only thrown on a pair of shorts. No shirt, no weapons, no other possessions... nothing else on at all. Sasha had her loincloth and top, but that was expected of her...
"Enough of this! We need to consider our next course of action..." Adykon told the group.
-
Marcus covered Rhiga in a warm blanket, and watched as the blanket heaved up and down with her breathing. rhiga was still very beautiful despite her pregnancy, this was to be Marcus' first child, and his parents would, by tradition meet him and rhiga after the wedding.. marcus' mother especially would be interested in meeting her.. they had never actually met her
-
Rhiga took Marcus by the hand, and looked him in the eyes. She said nothing, but the look on her face told him how grateful she was that he was supporting her through this time in her life. With that, she fell asleep, covered only by the blankets. She was also grateful for the bucket he had left her in case she felt nauseous again.
Rex, for his part, was feeling quite embarrassed. Selturma had shown up later, having stopped off to buy some fruit, and she was all over the young male. Her admiration for his physique only did so much to compensate for his lack of clothing, though... especially since it was in front of so many others. They only tolerated this in the palace because of the importance of the party to saving the city. At least Rex was quiet. Selturma was bouncing up and down... again.
-
ilsa carried the book with her as she went over to minna's room. it was nearly noon, and lunchtime.. but that would have to wait. minna looked up of her couch as ilsa entered the room. The look minna gave her was offputting, it was a mixture of attracton and interest, a sign that things were getting worse for her. 'I think I have found a reason fr why you have been acting so strangeMinna' Ilsa said. "Abd?' came the reply. o"i believe that you have been cursed..somone cutrsed you with the curse of lesbos.." Ilsa said handing her the book and having her read the contents. After minna had finished she was quiet. "This is a very difficult curse to lift" Ilsa said. Minna remained zsilent for a few minutes ' i passed the curse onto you then Ilsa.. "
_ What? No, you didn't otherwise we'd be all over each other...' Ilsa protested. "I didn't kiss you on the lips, only a peck on the cheek. ' the curse is passed on by the victim to others by kissing. a kiss on the lips brings the full potency of the curse, the further away from the mouth the less potent.' Minna replied. "this curse has been on me..
_ For awhile.. clearly" Ilsa nodded. "and its getting worse.. "i'm sorry' Minna said, tears springing to her eyes " For everything.." "We need to find out who put this on us.. its clearly a female, since a male wouldn't do this.. and it had to be someone with a serious personal animus against us.. because obviously cursing someone like this is forbidden.. Ilsa paused. ' we need to find this Dracon and soon.. the looks you were giving me.. indicates it won;t be long before your self control will be gone completely.
-
I know" Minna said. " I shudder tothink what will happen then.."
-
(OOC: Sorry to use this character, Starfall. I'm only using this Fauxen because of a discussion with Nick22. If you want me to change this post or remove it, I shall.)
Kyuichi was caught up in the crowded marketplace. Being a Fauxen was not always a good thing... he was smaller than the Dracons, but not small enough to squeeze under them, and he was not large enough to push through them. Dressed in his civilian clothes, the Fauxen didn't arouse suspicions, although he occasionally got an odd look from some of the Dracons in the crowd.
Fortunately, his small size enabled him to do what few Dracons could. He was able to climb up on top of a crowded stall's awning and run across the top of it, then jump from one stall to another. Luckily, he was light enough to not break the awnings of the stalls, and his lack of footwear helped him not to break the thin cloth.
Landing on his padded feet, Kyuichi was now on the other side of the crowd. Now to follow Malcia's orders...
-
(OOC: Not a problem. Right now, he is Malcia's thrall, in a sense, so it would make sense when you know what her plan is.)
Akito walked into the hall, bowing slightly to Adykon.
"Seems the city is in a panic, Adykon. There must have been thousands of rumors flying."
He said with mild irritation and worry.
-
"I've heard. Apparently, a Dragon is sitting on the palace. <_< " Adykon replied to Akito.
"Where are the girls?" Vespion asked. "Rhiga is a no-show, and Minna and Ilsa aren't to be found..."
"You still have me!" Selturma shouted, bouncing up and down, her hands on Rex's shoulders, jumping so that her head was above his at the top of her jump. Rex, for his part, looked annoyed.
"Great... we have ornamentation." Vespion thought of Selturma. Seriously, outside of Minna and Ilsa, there wasn't much power in the females in this adventuring party. And Rex didn't have much to offer either if he didn't have a weapon. At least Selturma was wearing her top this time. She knew that putting on a bit more was customary for the Palace.
-
Adykon and the others were talking when Eriol and Arianne appeared in the hall. - "Please forgive our delay, I hope we haven't miss much." - Arianne said courteously.
"It is nice to see almost everybody here, I haven't forget about Jake but we came here to help with the plans, if we are not too late." - Eriol said to the people there, as both gaeans came closer to Adykon, Vespion and the others.
-
While Jake was waiting, A servant wearing clothing that looked a little better than a civilian approched him. "the Master will see you now. follow me". Jake followed the servant up some stairs that were covered in red silk with two statues of dragons once he reached the top. The servant led Jake to the right down another corridor to a large room. Lots of guards were guaring the door. "this is where the master is" said the servant. Jake nodded his head, the servant walked over to one of the guards and whispered something into his ear. The guards opened the door and jake could see a vast giant room that was filled with riches. Jake followed the servant inside.
(sorry i havn't posted in a while guys...but i hope this post is okay vincent)
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(OOC: It's fine, Jake.)
Vespion saw the panthers and thought to himself... "No... make that three useful females; Arianne has been a great help with her magic."
"Hi, Eriol! Did you have a good morning? Can you believe some of these rumors?" Adykon asked the panther.
After smelling the air, Selturma turned her head to Arianne, her arms still around Rex. "Hi Arianne! Is that... *sniff sniff* the smell of lavender or something?" The young female could smell the soap used by the panthers earlier that morning.
-
Jake looked to the far side of the room where he saw a Dracon sitting on a large throne. This Dracon was presumeably the prince. The servant led jake over to the Dracon, the servant said "wait here human". Jake nodded and the servant walked up to the prince, "this is the human that says that he knows who your enemies are and that he can eliminate them with ease"
-
Eriol looked at Adykon - "Yes, we've heard them, since some of the people in the palace did look at us in a strange way." - he stopped for a second, as he saw his wife going were Selturma and Rex are, and then he turned his head again - "Arianne was with me all night, and we did spend the whole day in the training areas. I have no idea where the rumors are coming from, including the one with the dragon, I haven't seen any at all."
Arianne went closer to were Selturma and Rex are - "You are right Selturma, we've found lavender soap in our room, and I just could not let pass the chance." - she said with a giggle.
-
"We should wait here a bit longer for Minna and Ilsa" Adykon told the group. "If they don't show up soon, we shall go on without them today. I'll make sure they know to meet here again tomorrow... I'll get a messenger to tell them what needs to be told."
"Now then, does anyone have any issues that need to be addressed? We need to tie up as many loose ends as we can before preparing to take on The Dark Master..." He continued.
Meanwhile...
"So... you bring me a human with a metal arm?" The Prince of Hekaga asked the guards. "Speak human. If I like what you have to say, you'll have the privilege of not being thrown out of here on your face."
-
Jake stepped forward "i hear that you have a problem with some previous friends of mine" said Jake "if you want them gone....i can arrange it, i know where they live and i know there weaknesses.". jake gave an evil looking grin
-
Eriol said to Adykon. - "I think Arianne and I need some equipment, like armor parts, but we must take a close look since we don't want them to impair our speed and agility, specially for my wife. (he sighs) I know should not let her fight, but she is very... 'diplomatically stubborn', so she does want to lend us her help for as much as time she'll be able to."
Since Adykon talked to the whole group, Arianne heard and smiled to her husband's comment. - "Don't worry Adykon, I am sure we will all be ready very soon, we may just need some little more things and we should be ready." - she said with her well known soft voice.
-
After a little while, the party decided to go on without Minna and Ilsa. They would meet those girls later, probably tomorrow.
"Alright, lets go to the marketplace" Adykon told them. "The king of Minbenthac has told us that he will reimburse us for our costs."
Meanwhile...
"How do I know I can trust you?" The Prince asked Jake. "If you are really sincere, you will agree to a spell which compels you to tell the truth." As soon as he had said that, a mage and some attendants came forward.
-
"you can cast the spell on me if you want" said Jake "but just so you know i'm telling the truth anyway"
-
"Oh, there's more to the spell than that..." the prince said, evilly, rising from his throne.
"Come forth with the brand!" he shouted, and some servants brought a brand with the symbol of a dragon's head on it.
"If you truly want to serve me, you will have my brand and a suit of armor." the prince told Jake. "What do you say?"
-
Jake took a look at the brand. Jake thought this over in his head, Jake looked up to the prince "i'll take the brand" said Jake "i can stand pain"
-
"Very well then" The prince said. He ordered his men;
"Remove his armor. We shall give him our new set in its place. Prepare the spell and the brand!" And no sooner than that, they had Jake's armor and equipment removed (although they kept most of his clothing on, save the shirt that they had to remove in order to brand him), while he was held down and branded on his chest. With the mark in place, a spell was cast onto him to ensure his loyalty. Jake was then marched downstairs to get the new, black armor.
-
(great post!)
Once Jake had received his armour he had put it on "this armour is great" said Jake
-
The new armor was colored black, and had been designed for a Dracon. Made out of enchanted steel, it could resist all but the strongest blows from and ordinary blade, and was even tough to hurt with mildly enchanted weapons. The one thing lacking from the suit was armor for the feet, as it had been designed for a Dracon, and few armors that they made covered that part.
Still, Jake was now a member of the Prince of Hekaga's retinue. He was given his own room and a small group of servants. Because a second enchantment was placed on him, Jake's curse was prolonged to the point that he would continue to act evilly until someone dispelled it; this curse would not wear off in time.
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margas got up and ent over to minna's room, which he found empty.. he spent a few minutes looking around, and turned to leave when he was satisfied ilsa was not there
_ Meanwhile Ilsa and Minna were talking and making preparations to leave. we need to find this sorceress" ilsa said as she began staffing some clothes into a knapsack. "Yes, and I think I might have a good idea about who's responsible.. Minna said darkly. "Remember back in our magic studies there was a girl named Malcia?"
_ Oh yes, I remember... she and you did not get on..at all..She believed that you were the "teacher's pet'because of your father.." Ilsa said. " still, we can't just accuse her of doing it.. without proof."
) I have no doubt that she hates me enough to do something like this.. Minna said sharply..
-
Lucien approached the girls. He noticed that there was something wrong with them.
"Hello. How is my betrothed doing today?" He asked Minna, knowing that she was worried about something. "Have you heard the rumors about the Dark Master? They say he made a dragon land on the roof of the king's palace or some other nonsense..."
-
we have a .. problem lucien. Do you remember a girl who studied with us named Malcia?" Ilsa asked..
_
Malcia>' Margas asked "yes I remember her. Arrogant pain in the tail, thought i was a showoff, and hated Minna with a passion.. why do you ..
_
I believed that she cursed me.." minna said..
-
Lucien took Minna's clawed hand into his own.
"What curse? What do you think she did to you?" He asked, sounding quite concerned. He wasn't a mage... he couldn't counter a curse or remove one, even to the ones he loved.
-
we.. believe.. it is the curse of Lesbos' Ilsa said quietly, at the name Margas flinched "she wouldn't dare do that.. the penalty is too severe"
_
She has, clearly" Ilsa replied. "I don't know exactly when Minna was cursed, but the curse has been on her for awhile.. she's been acting.. odd, and the curse becomes more potent as time goes on.. there are only two ways to remove it, force the magician who put the curse on to lift it, or create an antidote, which requires several rare ingredients and could take months to find all of them and make the antidote. I don't think we have that type of time before the ciurse reaches the final stage, and Minna becomes completely at Malcia's mercy. We need to find her, and make her remove it." Ilsa said. Margas frowned.
-
"Where is she?!" Lucien asked. "I'll stop her myself! Just tell me where to go! I'll find her."
What he was thinking was even stronger than what he was saying.
"There's no way I'm letting some arrogant bitch mage stop me from marrying her. I've got a lot riding on this marriage... I'll never get to finish my plans without allying with Tallon's house... and Minna is the key to that! No one takes what is mine from me. No one... not even a mage, a king, or a god!"
-
you're going to need help lucien "margas said. "Malcia was no slouch at magic, even if she was an annoyance as a classmate, theres no denying her skills. in fact, there were only a few among us that were better than her. I trust Ilsa" He said turning to her. "we need to find malcia, and quickly, and make her remove it. In return , her life will be spared, and we will speak no more of it. But if she refuses, then the full weight of Damnatio memorae will fall on her!' Margas said his face filled with anger.
-
"Where is she, Minna? Tell me where to go, and We'll finish this... and we'll leave immediately!" Lucien told his bride-to-be. He couldn't stand the thought of her being made to sin... and to be brought before a court... and killed... and then, he could literally never speak her name again...
-
Annette had stood quietly on the side watching and listening to what the curse was and the only two ways to remove it and for a while she was rather stunned at this revelation and sighed aloud as she stepped forward with a concerned look in her eyes as she put forth her suggestion. "Could there be a way to transfer the curse to someone else? That way the original person who was placed under it would be free from harm?" Her eyes then took on a bold and selfless look as she continued. "Because if we can transfer the curse to someone else I want it to be me! I'm sure we have enough mages within our group that once we find Malcia."
-
Lucien was quite surprised to see a human girl here. "Minna, Ilsa, do you know this girl?"
Turning to Annette, the noble Dracon male spoke to her "Greetings. My name is Lucien. I'm engaged to Minna. I do not want to see you with such a horrible curse, though, no matter what your species. Let me just ask though... is it normal for human females to wear as much as you do?"
Lucien was not used to the idea of other races being different from his own... he was not exactly... wise in the way. Tolerance and understanding were weak points for him.
-
No, Annette I would not want you to suffer in my stead' Minna replied. " I don't know where Malcia is exactly.."
_
I can help locate her' Margas said.. "I can sense where she is.. as for placing the curse on someone else..
Ilsa said. " the curse is easy to spead, at least in the first few days after the incantation. then it becomes more and more difficult to pass on. your offer is noble annette, but we couldn;'t bear the guilt if you were executed- and the penalty for this is execution- in our stead. we need everyone you can get.
-
"If you can find her, then by all means do so, and quickly... please!" Lucien asked Margas. Lucien had very little knowledge of the workings of magic... although he was an excellent warrior.
-
Grab some weapons, food, and clothes, we're headed out. Minna Ilsa, you're coming along of course.. Margas said, taking charge.. as he walked out of the room, he took out a small scrying crystal. I'll scry for her loction while you guys get ready
-
The five of them, 2 male Dracons, 2 female Dracons, and the human girl all gathered supplies needed for their trip. Within under an hour, they were ready to go. They went down to the river and got into a boat; it was the fastest way to get to Malcia's tower.
"So, Annette... do you have any magical powers?" Lucien queried. "Are your clothes or armor enchanted?" The Dracon noble was a bit ignorant... he didn't understand why a female would be dressed like that...
Then again... she did have hair on her body... and five toes with no real claws... and her skin was a tan color which no Dracon had... and she had no horns... no claws... no tail... and had no spur coming out of her heel... yeah, she was an unusual creature alright... he'd want to hide his unclawed digits, should he ever lose some of his claws... and if had hair, he'd shave it all off... who ever heard of a Dracon without horns? Maybe Annette had the right idea, given her appearance, he thought.
-
Malcia's palace is more than 200 miles away" Margas said. That could take a couple days to get there..."
-
We're going to get there, and when we do I'm going to wring Malcia's neck" Ilsa said , angrily. 'What she's done is unforgivable.."
-
"A couple of DAYS?! We don't have that time! Is there any enchantment that you can place on the boat?" Lucien asked Minna and Ilsa, afraid of what might happen. There was the issue of the curse advancing too far in that time, and the possibility to the Dark Master launching an attack soon. A detour of a few days could be fatal.
-
Jake was lying down in his room sleeping, his armour was sitting in a corner. Jake was very tired so he had recently removed all of his clothes apart from his boxer shorts. After a while Jake got up off of his bed and he put his clothes and armour back on. And he looked outside his room and he spoke to a servant "Can you get me some food?" asked Jake "i'm starved"
-
Annette smiled at Lucien and gave a swift smile.
"Do not worry, I am a mage of considerable power, and a noble by birth, but I will need help. Of that I have no doubt." She then cleared her throat as she continued by saying, "And my armor and clothing are indeed enchanted, however I suppose a stronger spell might be need once we reach our destination.
-
Arianne and Eriol were walking alongside Adykon, Vespion, Selturma and the Fauxen. - "I think what we really need are armor parts, for protection, since the attacks will do nothing but to get more dangerous." - Arianne commented as she was looking at the different stores.
"Yes, but heavy armors will just impair our mobility, specially yours my dear..." - Eriol replied. - "I think what we need is leather armor, that will be the lesser protection, but you need your agility far more than even me. We can have leather parts as our main defense and metal parts for arms and legs, that should do it."
Arianne nodded, agreeing with the idea. Feline Gaean soldiers can use heavier armors than leather, but even though, they are not as heavy as other races, like Wolves, may use. but Arianne and Eriol are very flexible (he can be even more than the average feline) so they favor more their speed and agility than a total frontal assault on many enemies at one time.
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(OOC: This is my 10,000th post! To celebrate, I will be responding to EACH of the three previous posts in one big post! Drumroll please... :D )
In the palace of the prince of Hekaga...
The servant in question was a female Dracon with an exotic look, even for her kind. Her skin was a very rare shade of golden yellow with a pale white underbelly. Was it possible that she had dyed it somehow, or that it had been modified by magic? Who knows... mages, lords, and the rich liked to keep unique oddities around their palaces... like baubles... the same way a vain noblewoman collects jewelry. This girl could not have been older than 21... yet she had an air of having served in the palace for many years. Her clothing was very light, yet made out of the fanciest silks available.
"Your wish is my command, human" She said, leaving quickly. Not even ten minutes later, the female had returned with some food in a large porcelain plate; on it was a side of beef, exotic fruits, some bread with butter and olive oil, a side of asparagus, and two containers of some kind of spice in each.
As Jake sat down to eat, the female left suddenly, and returned with a tray... but it wasn't a second course... it wasn't even dessert. She had brought oils... but to what end? This is where Jake would learn the depths of the Prince's brutality and tyranny. The female was trained to treat every one she was sent to serve as if he was the prince himself. The Dracons were not exactly known for goodness, fairness, or equality, but this was far worse than the norm. While Jake was still eating the food, the female took off her top and loincloth, and, in the manner the sick prince would have wanted her to, began applying to oils to herself. And this was treated in her mind as being totally normal... without being prompted by Jake, or the prince, or anyone else, she began to oil herself down... much to the human's disgust.
The spell had made Jake evil, but not twisted... at least, not in this way. He told her to stop and put her clothes back on, to which she expressed surprise and stopped putting oil on herself, but she neither left nor dressed.
"Is something wrong?" she asked. "Maybe you want me to do you first?" she asked, reaching over to touch Jake. Her skin was soft... VERY soft... even by the standards of a Dracon female. This was... odd. Upon feeling her, Jake realized that something had been done to her to make her this way... like her very biology had been twisted for the sick pleasure of the prince. Jake told her to leave, and after she had tried three times to get his shirt off, he finally got her to exit the room. They must have conditioned her to act in a certain way...
It was sad to see the powers of magic and life be captured and twisted to the whims of an evildoer... yet, that is what many mages, or those who employed the services of mages wanted... power. Power is defined as the ability to shape reality to one's will. There was a limit to how much power could be used and in what way before it transgressed a moral line. It was not only the case that with great power comes great responsibility, but that with too much power, the chance to abuse it grows. With great power must also come great wisdom to use that power... or else things that ought not be will come.
At the docks of Minbenthac...
Annette, Margas, Minna, Lucien, and Ilsa all gathered their supplies and put them into the boat. They set sail up the river, traveling at a very rapid pace, thanks to a spell cast on the boat by a mage that Tallon supplied. "So Annette, I've been meaning to ask you... what are human lands like? Do you all wear those odd garments on your feet where you come from, or is it a special piece of clothing that mages use" Lucien asked out of sheer ignorance.
The river was long and winding, and the water was not at all calm. Still, their progress was very fast, and that is what counted. They could go to find Malcia, defeat her, and return to Minbenthac by nightfall if they kept up this pace.
The Marketplace of Minbenthac...
The panic-buying continued throughout the day, the crowds were massive, and the prices were being raised to... "meet the demand." Still, it was not at all hard to find a store which sold armor and weapons. It was a magical store, but they covered supplies like leather armor and other protection as well... albeit of the enchanted kind.
"This is said to be an excellent store for our purposes" Adykon told the group. Entering the store, a female Dracon greeted them. The store belonged to a male Dracon wizard named Ophion, yet he was not around at the moment. In fact, it had been a while since anyone saw him in Minbenthac. His wife, Aurescia, filled in for him. She had a sad, bored look on her face, as she missed her husband... and there was a lot of stuff that happened to her kids... so many things in these last few years...
She welcomed the party as they set foot in the store...
"Welcome to Ophion's. You are free to take a look around, and-... You're the adventurers who have come to stop Dememoras, aren't you?" Aurescia's mood immediately brightened, excited at the prospect of finally being able to do something interesting for once.
"Yes. Yes we are. Word gets around quickly, doesn't it?" Adykon replied, doing the speaking for the group at the moment.
"It does indeed. Same thing with that rumor about the dragon on the palace... although I did detect a dragon's energy signature yesterday during a ritual spell of mine... but you're not interested in some little tale, are you? You're here for the equipment!"
"We sure are! The king of Minbenthac will reimburse for anything we buy here, so whatever you have too sell, we'll take it! :lol. No... seriously, we need some armor for the panthers here" Adykon told Aurescia, indicating Eriol and Arianne. "My weapons and armor will be made by the smiths of the king himself, but heavy armor isn't what we need for the gaeans here."
"Gaeans? Oh, those humanoid panthers are Gaeans. Fascinating." Aurescia thought to herself. "Hello panthers! I must admit, I've never seen your kind before, although I've heard of creatures like yourselves." Sizing the panthers up, she came to a quick conclusion, one born of a good eye and years of experience.
"I guess the male needs some heavier armor. Hmm. We've got some of that. I would not recommend giving the female anything, though... not even leather." she told Adykon. "In fact, she's probably wearing too much for a race which I've heard relies on dexterity, and since she is a mage, anything much more than cloth can interfere with her spell-casting."
"How did you know I was-?" Arianne asked.
"I can sense your magical powers. You are an air mage of some power. I'm detecting that your power was born in you... so that makes you a sorceress. I would not advise wearing any serious armor. Being a sorceress myself, I can tell you that. I do have some magical jewelry for your arms, legs, hands, and feet, though. It is enchanted to give you more power, greater agility, and to provide magical protection as if you were wearing more armor, all without the added weight."
"10,000! 10,000!" A crowd screamed outside of the shop.
"What is that?" Selturma asked, as she was investigating an odd, bubbling brown potion labeled "aloc-acoc."
"Oh, that." Vespion shouted. "The banks are closed, but some money is allowed to be withdrawn on a limited basis during this panic. They are only letting a few thousand depositors with good credit take out even a bit of cash. If your name is posted on a list, you can take out some money. This has clearly angered the crowd, as there are roughly 10,000 depositors who wish to take their cash out immediately. Hence, they are demanding 10,000 posts."
The Magic Shop (http://66.49.226.244/digital/hqcd/HQTrack04.ogg)
-
Arianne gave a gentle smile to Aurescia. - "It really looks like you have far more experience that I may ever have. I'd like to see the things you have to offer."
Eriol remained closer to his wife. - "I don't know much about magic, but I still think that my wife Arianne should have some of the classic style protections, because we cannot be sure about all the kinds of enemies we will get to find." - He then began looking at some more things there in the store, the armor parts looked very nice.
-
"I've got some light armor, if you want..." Aurescia told Arianne, going into a back room. A minute later, she returned with two items...
"Here is some armor for your arms" the female Dracon told Arianne. "These are enchanted bracers; light but durable, and made many times stronger than a normal pair."
(http://www.leathermystics.com/bracers/images/plain_bracers_lg.jpg)
"For your legs, I have some kneeguards for you..." Aurescia continued, setting them out.
(http://www.tasco-safety.com/ergonomics/pix/6991.jpg)
"As for the magic jewelry... well, first, you ought to try the bracers and kneeguards on. I think they should fit... they are enchanted to expand or contract slightly based on your size. I also have some cloth armor for your torso... but we'll get to that a bit later."
-
minna focused on the river ahead, as they sped through the water, occasionally water would would splqsash over the sides of the the boat and give them a soaking. the water was cool, and the splashing happened enough to soak everyone aboard..
-
Eventually, the boat reached a clear white tower. Standing at over 50 meters, it was the tallest structure around. Lucien had heard of it...
"So... it is true... it does exist. They had told me that humans use its name as a term of derision for overeducated, stuck-up, arrogant elitists... or at least, where they gather. So... we've finally found... the Ivory Tower. Malcia is here, isn't she?"
Lucien had heard that sorceresses were known for eccentric tastes, but that it was part of their psychology. Female Dracons, and probably females in general (or so he had heard) who had magic inherently in their blood were never really in full control of their power... it took emotions to unlock their energy, and those, by nature, are irrational... even if they are indispensable for a sorceress. There was even a place called the Twice-walled tower... so named because it took two heavily-enchanted walls to keep in the hysterical sorceresses suffering from trauma, emotional distress, or some other form of inability to control her power. Some were even insane, he'd heard... one kept launching a fireball everytime she sneezed, or tried to launch one if she had the magic in her body to do so. About 1 in 3 sorceresses spent some time in that tower... often just to calm down...
But this tower was quite different. Malcia lived in it, but could not own it, being a Dracon female... it must have belonged to her family.
-
malcia paused from reflecting, as she gazed into the scrying pool. "So.. they found me! the angey cry reverberated through the room.. "Still.. the curse has reached a late enough stage where I can influence Minna;s mind..Door! Close!" She commanded, and the doors which led inside locked. Malcia knew those spells could be broken, but that would take time, and time was an ally of hers in this case, every day the curse drained Minna;'s willpower further.. very soon, she would be able to force Minna to do whatever she wanted. "I think a little makeout session .. in front of the boys.. as a warning.. will suffice..Ilsa has proven to be quite resistant to the curse.." She muttered darkly..
-
The boat eventually reached shore, and the four Dracons and human disembarked. Lucien saw the tower in the distance... not more than a few minutes away. Still... it wasn't going to be this easy. Malcia was a joke next to Arcantas or Asthia, and next to the Dark Master, she was nothing... but she was still a threat to the group rapidly approaching her gates...
-
Arianne thanked Aurescia and then she tried the armor parts, they fit perfectly. - "I think they better than I expected them to be. What do you think Eriol?" - she asked her husband, the look he gave her was more than enough, so Arianne looked back at Aurescia - "I'll take them, and that armor for the torso, that sounds very useful, I'd like to try it too if possible."
Eriol was busy selecting between the types of armor and the different parts, as a feline, he relies in his speed and agility, but not as much as females as he is also quite strong, so he can handle heavy armors. He then told Aurescia - "Excuse me, but I think I want to try some parts myself, some heavy protections for the arms, for the torso and shin pads."
-
' keep your self-control' Ilsa said to Minna firmly.. "She'll exploit any weakness you show.. thats hiow she was in studies..
_
"She was always looking to provoke me.. and I doubt her feelings towards me have warmed any" Minna replied. "Inside, she was nervous They knew what afflicted her now, but trying to force Malcia to remove it would not be an easy task, and failing to remove it would spell dire consequences for her and Ilsa..
-
"I've got some leather armor for you." Aurescia said with a smile. "All with enchantments to make it more resilient to damage." Aurescia brought out some armor for Eriol, and a cloth torso plate for Arianne. "All of these items have an enchantment on them... even the cloth. I also have some jewelry for the female... 'Arianne' is it? I'd heard some crazy rumor that you killed the king or some such thing... but I know it isn't so... " she added with a smile.
-
Arianne grabbed the torso piece of armor, but then she looked at Aurescia with a very surprised look - "Oh no, I would never dare to do such a thing."
Eriol then replied. - "I don't know where that rumor started, but it may be just something to raise suspicions to travellers like us." - He said and then he grabbed and tested the armor pieces. - "They feel like they are stronger than they appear. Do you have a full body part for me, please?"
-
"I've got a chestplate for you" Aurescia told him, bringing out another piece of enchanted armor. She then turned around and returned a moment later with a black box. Opening it with a small golden key that was shaped like a dragon's head on both sides with ruby eyes on one side, emerald eyes on the other, she showed that the contents of the box were some enchanted jewelry for Arianne.
(http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/jewelryw8/bracers.gif)(http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/unusedw8/rapaxring2.gif)(http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/unusedw8/rapaxring1.gif)(http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/unusedw8/templarnecklace.gif)
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"Ohh, they look beautiful!." - Arianne said as her eyes began contemplating the jewels brought by Aurescia.
Eriol grabbed the chestplate and then he looked at the jewels. - "And they look useful for a change, not just stuff to make someone to look better." - He smiled as he said that.
Arianne looked back at him with a quick glance, she then looked back at Aurescia. - "They all look beautiful, but I know they cannot carry many enchantments, so I can guess I can choose better if I can get a description on each of these jewel's magical attributes, please?" - Arianne likes all of these jewels, and she'd love to have them all, but a brief description will prove useful nevertheless.
-
"Well... since the king's covering all of the costs, you can have them all." Aurescia told Arianne. "But... it would be helpful for you to know what each of them does. The armband gives you greater protection from physical attacks, although it only counts as if you are wearing a suit of leather armor over your body. The spell will keep attacks out, but will not affect anything too light to be harmful, like a handshake. The pearl ring protects against magic... but only to a moderate extent. The necklace stores energy from the sun and other ambient sources, and can be used to boost your own magical powers, at least by... 25%, although continuous use of it will use up the charge in a few minutes. It takes about a day to charge. The other ring will increase your agility by a good deal, help you keep balance, and aid you in performing acrobatics or gymnastics."
-
Jake had began eating the food that was brought to him earlier. It tasted delicious "uhh....this is good..." said Jake as he continued to eat the food "this food is the best that i've tasted"
-
Arianne looked yet again at the jewels after hearing Aurescia's explanations about them. - "All of these jewels are so pretty, I certainly cannot believe how useful they are. Thank you very much." - She bowed to the Dracon in sign of gratefulness.
"I am glad you like them Arianne..." - Eriol said - "But I bet those jewels will look better after you put them on." - The male Panther is still testing the armor parts, so he looked at Aurescia. - "I think that all of thse parts are more than enough."
-
"Excellent. You don't have to pay me now... or at all, really. I'll send the king a bill for the equipment. He has made it well-known that he is reimbursing any merchant, shopkeeper or peddler who gives you goods, and that if you buy anything, you will be reimbursed yourselves." The sorceress told the party. "Is there anything else you need?"
-
Eternion nearly gagged on some rations he was eating when he heard what Aurescia said. 'I say, he's footing the bill on everything we buy?'
Suddenly he felt like a child in a candy store, except the candy was an assortment of magical items. 'What do you have for an old fellow like myself?' He asked.
The king would probably regret his offer once Eternion was through.
-
Aurescia's eyes lit up at the prospect of a major sale. "We have a wide variety of items for people, young and old. If you wanted some potions to reverse or halt the aging process, or some potions to deal with any health problems you may have. We also have books of spells on sale. I'd offer you a good deal, but since it is being paid for by the king..."
A smile flashed across her fanged snout.
"...I'll let his majesty pay full price."
-
Eternion rubbed his hands together. 'Excellent, excellent.' He quite liked the idea of royalty paying the price for once. All his days of adventuring, and he barely had anything to show for it. With a chance like this, he might as well make the most of it.
'Potions that affect the aging process, I've never heard of such a thing. To be honest it sound rather... unethical.' Though he had to admit, these were the ethics that Almia had rubbed off on him... Eternion would probably loved to be young again, but to see the look on his companions face if she saw him trying to cheat death.
Though at the same time, he was involved in a task beyond anything he had ever done before. If he was to be at his best, like he once was, he would surely have to make some changes to his ideas of what was ethical.
After some time to think about it, he decided to go for it. Almia was no longer with him, and as much as he would have liked the idea, she wasn't present in any way or form to argue. Common sense overruled ethics, and common sense was telling him that he should be better prepared for saving the world. Almia would just have to wait for him a little longer.
'Alright,' he finally said. 'I'll take a look at these... potions of yours. Though, I would like to know what makes them... do what they do.'
'Also,' he continued, 'there is the issue with my sight. I'm blind in my left eye, you see... though I believe it is age related.' At the moment, Eternion was not wearing his crimson full plate. 'I also have some heavy armor that is a little encumbering on my old body. If you have anything that would make bearing such a load a little easier, it would be much appreciated.'
As for spell books, well... he certainly was no mage of any kind. Still, if the king was footing the bill...
Besides that, he had a funny feeling inside of him that he might need it at some point in the future. He hated those kinds of feelings.
'I'll take some spell books, too. I've seen first hand the power of magic, both good and bad. Might as well have a little more on our side.'
-
Arianne looked at Eternion with a gentle smile, and she giggled after seen him so happily choosing so many things from the store.
Eriol was busy trying the armor parts, they fit perfectly. - "It will take me a bit to get use to armor, it has many months since the last time I used one." - Eriol remembered the days he worked as Arianne's main Guard, some months before they married. He then saw her grabbing her new armor and putting them on now, but she had some troubles with that, so the husband went closer and helped her.
-
Aurescia looked at Eternion and told him that she would be right back. A few minutes later, she came out of the back room she had entered and brought a box with her, and a crystal key. Opening the box, she pulled out several vials, each one no larger than a shot glass.
"These are the potions in question. All of them will help to fight aging, but be warned, none of them will make you immortal, bring the dead back to life, or, in spite of your name, make you life eternal." Aurescia told him, with a smile. There was a green potion, a blue one, a gold one, and a red one.
"Most magics which affect age change things in one of two ways; by either changing the tissue of the body, or by bending time. The latter is... difficult... and risky... but is the more powerful way of going about it. Most anti-aging techniques simply reverse the cells to where they were in one's mid-20's, at least, for a Dracon. There ARE potions which can prevent aging altogether, but I don't have any of that mixed at the moment."
Aurescia took a deep breath before continuing.
"There ARE a few questions that all of this raises. Few creatures are meant to live forever... even fewer of those are truly immortal. As it is, I am neither able to grant immortality or eternity, and what happens after you die is beyond my control... but I CAN manipulate life in this manner. I will only go ahead with this if you tell me you wish to do so a second time, after I tell you what each of these four potions do."
She took the green vial in her hands, holding it carefully.
"This vial is the least powerful. It simply undoes any damage done by aging, such as loss of eyesight, or loss of bone density. There should be no matter with this one."
Aurescia set the green vial down, and picked up the blue one.
"This potion changes external appearances, but does not undo actual aging in most ways, an ancient who drinks this will look young, but will still suffer all of the problems they had before, from the inside."
Once again, she set the potion down, and picked up the golden vial.
"This potion halts the aging process entirely for a number of years. Different species react to it in different ways, but for Dracons, it prevents further aging for about 30 years."
Finally, she put down that vial and picked up the red potion.
"THIS one reverses aging entirely, save for the superficial aspects of it. NO ONE under the age of 50 should drink this, as it would make them too young to really do anything. At your age, it should be fine, however. All four potions must be consumed in order to have effect. If you agree to it, the potions are as good as yours... and the king will have a rather... large bill to pay. Roughly as much as buying a large house with furniture, silverware, and fancy rugs."
Meanwhile, at the palace...
"Have they purchased any towns yet?" the king asked his court mage, who was employing a scrying spell.
"No, but one of them is making a purchase as if it were buying a large house with furnishings..." the mage replied, adjusting his skin color from red to brown.
"That's fine... if its for a good cause..." the king said, weary. Lucky for him, he was one of the ten richest Dracons in existence... that, and he had the best sense of sarcasm of any of the ten.
Back at the store...
"There's also something else about these vials that you might want to see..." Aurescia told Eternion, letting the red vial drop to the floor. Instead of shattering, it bounced as if it had been made of rubber! Clearly, there was an enchantment on these vials, to prevent something as valuable as these potions from being lost in an accident. After bouncing it a few times, including once off of her tail, Aurescia caught the potion and put it back in the box, along with the other potions. She then locked the box and told Eternion to wait another minute.
After doing into the back room, the sound of books being moved was heard, including the sound of a big one falling and Aurescia roaring in pain and surprise.She then returned with six spellbooks on a cart, another potion placed on the cart, and a big bruise on her left center toe.
"Sorry for the wait... ow. Here are some books for you. They aren't the most powerful spells, and require some skill in magic to use. Still, even a low-level mage should be able to use these. If you cannot use magic at all, I would advise finding someone willing to teach you the basics first, and then use these spells. These books are known as the learner's codicies, and each books is called a codex. There are six subjects here, one per book. They are Pyromancy, Hydromancy, Geomancy, Aeromancy, Nature Magic, and Astral magic. Since you are not really skilled with magic to begin with, I would suggest starting with the four elements first, then the next two. Oh, and this is a simple strength potion" she told him, indicating the books and the brown liquid.
Mages of a certain power and intelligence often thought of themselves as gods, or at the very least, as powers in their own right who were accountable to no one but themselves. They often made deals with extraplanar beings and demons, and sometimes followed strange occult paths. Generally, the more powerful a mage, the more likely he would do something unethical or immoral at some point, even though the best mages often got over that phase.
Those mages who did not get over that would be left with an inflated ego and a desire to escape accountability for their actions. Eternal life was never enough for those mages... in spite of living for centuries or milennia, some wanted even more... which meant high-end magical research being used for selfish ends... treating living creatures as if they were raw materials for experiments or as resources to be fed into some depraved spell to break down their tissue and remake it in a manner that the mage wanted...
Aurescia had even heard of a creature that was half-man, half-bear, and half-pig... although three halves was 150% of a creature...:blink:
Ophion and Aurescia practiced magic responsibly because they knew of the consequences of practicing such enchantments irresponsibly. Of the two of them, Ophion acted out of principle, Aurescia acted out of the results... the ends were the same, the means were different. For her part, Aurescia used magic to enhance her appearance and health, and both she and her husband already drank much of that potion that halted aging... although they had to be VERY careful to keep it out of the hands of children, lest they end up with a 30 year old in a six-year old's body...
-
Once Jake had finished his meal he went to the door "can you please take this back to the kitchen? the meal was delicious"
-
The female quickly took the plate and left without a word. As she walked down the hall, Jake could see her golden skin stand out from the gray stones of the hallway, and could hear her claws clacking against the polished floor. One had the sense that she was sad to do what she did, but that she had no other choice. Jake had seen many Dracon females, all of whom wore very little, but this was the first who seemed truly exposed and vulnerable.
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Jake closed the door to the room and he sat down on a chair in his room. "hmmmm.....I wonder when the prince will send me to go and eliminate the targets?" thought Jake to himself
-
The problem is, neither Jake nor the prince knew exactly where the targets were... the closest thing Jake had to knowing was that they were probably in Minbenthac by now... and that was it.
Meanwhile...
Dememoras finally ventured outside of his palace. By now, the three Dragons waiting outside had fallen asleep. All of them were larger than the Dark Master... even the female Dragon, smallest and weakest of them, was still many times his size, large though Dememoras was.
All this time, he had muffled his true voice. Even to his minions, he did not want to sound too intimidating... too threatening. It would not be productive. Dememoras had many different guises and forms... a shapeshifter, as it were. His true form... well... that was something he rarely took on...
Arise, Dragons. It is time for you to act!
His speech was terrible to hear, and it woke up the three dragons instantly. The sound was as if an erupting volcano were shouting.
-
After being shown the goods, and paying a good deal of attention, Eternion needed a moment to think about things.
'If you would give me but a moment,' he said. He took to a small corner of the shop, a nice quiet spot where he could still see the others, but secluded enough for him to think things over.
His name did add a bit of odd coincidence to the whole idea of reversing age. Truth be told, he wasn't looking to become young again. He had experienced that once already, and once was enough. Of course, the matter at hand was not him, but the very fate of the world... and as he had thought over so many times before, he would have to be ready.
There was hardly time to retrain. To become the same warrior he once was would take months, though the experiences adventuring had given him was not entirely lost.
Of course, this was still a once in a lifetime chance, quite literally in a sort of delicious irony. He licked his lips, the king was not going to like this... one bit.
He approached Aurescia at the cart. He gave a small nod. 'I'll take it all,' he said. 'Aging potions, spellbooks, strength potions... the lot. Oh, and throw in that cart of yours, too. That stuff looks a little heavy,' he continued with a grin.
'One question, though. You said I must consume all four potions... or may I consume only some of them if I so wished?'
-
" In the original way the potions were made, you COULD consume only one... but I would not have recommended it." Aurescia told him. "If you missed consuming one of them, the missing effects would have make it... odd for you. For example, if you consumed the potion which makes you look young, but doesn't actually make you that way on the inside, you would have seemed to be an unusually unhealthy young man... or if a child consumed one of the potions by accident... the effects would be horrible to imagine... it was safer to modify each potion so that all four need to be consumed. I cannot in good conscience put someone at risk with the goods I sell. "
Taking a breath again, she continued.
"If you need a container for all these... well... you can have the potions now, and I can get you a backpack for the books. I don't know how useful a cart will be on an adventure. If you MUST have the cart... his majesty will have to pay 15 gold pieces. A backpack will only cost 2 golds. I'll get it for you."
The Dracon sorceress walked to a table where she had a backpack for sale stored underneath it. She leaned over, lifting her tail up in the air as she did so, and picked it up, before she realized that Selturma, Eternion, and the panthers were also in the room... and she had inadvertently showed off more than just her tail.
"I really should have knelt down to pick it up." She thought. "I guess our dress code has some disadvantages after all." Fortunately, everyone there was mature enough not to make comments about her physique. She was a married female, after all.
Back in the palace...
"Did you see that your highness? I wonder what spells she uses to make it look like THAT!"
"She's hotter than most of my wives! And she's only wearing a piece of rope with two cloths on either end! Are you saving that on your crystal ball?"
"Already done, sire! I can even zoom in if you want. Scrying sure has its advantages!"
"I wonder if she ever gets comments about how large her posterior is..."
Back in the shop...
"This is hardly a unique offer, Eternion" Aurescia added. "There are many such stores in our city that offer this... although few people know of these potions, and the prices... are even higher there than here."
-
'I hardly worry of the price, considering who is paying,' he said with a chuckle. 'Never-the-less, I will take heed of your advice, and consume all four. You are after all, probably a little more experienced in such matters than I am.'
He wiped a brow, looking nervously at the potions as they were loaded into the backpack. 'Heh, I never thought I'd see the day when I would go and try cheating death. My wife would have killed me if she found at about this.'
Shortly after, there was a slight gust of wind that blew through the shop. Some odd assortments shook slightly, giving off a creepy melody of clatters and clinks. Eternion gazed around much more nervous than before. 'Could you pack that a little faster, please?'
If there was an afterlife, he was going to get a stern talking to when he finally got there.
-
"I'll put the potions in the case, and the case in the backpack, along with the strength potions and the books. You can drink the potions at any time. Just drink all four withing a few minutes of each other. You can drink them now, later, or whenever, it makes little difference. Now, is there anything else you would like? I'll be bust later" Aurescia told Eternion. "I have a feeling that the scrying wards on the shop were not powerful enough to keep out everyone who was watching... this happens sometimes...I'll need to upgrade the defenses... "
It wasn't the potions themselves that were bad, but there was potential for abuse involved. It was a good thing this sort of magic was not particularly widespread...
-
'Nay, this will do me well, for now. I thank you for this,' he said as he hoisted the pack strap around his shoulder.
He would find some time later to drink the potions, though in his mind he knew he was just trying to put off the idea of consuming them as long as he could. He still was quite nervous of what would happen to him once he did, but he had made his choice... and he was a Dracon that stood by his choices.
Much like how he was determined to stick with these others he had only just met, even if he knew so little about them. Such was the adventuring way, though... he would learn more about them soon enough, and them of him.
-
Selturma approached Eternion. The girl had seen a bit of what had been going on, but she didn't hear all of it. "So, Eterny, what did you get the king to buy you?" she asked, bouncing a couple of times. "I'm getting a little crystal ball which will show me where Rex is, so if we are separated, I'll know where he is!"
"If you need anything, just call me!" Aurescia told them "I'll be in the back!"
"Now let's see if I have any of that potion that fixes bruises..." she thought, still limping a bit on her sore foot...
"I also found this book!" Selturma said. It was a book on medicine... an odd topic for her to like... then again, Selturma favored books for their pictures more than the text... she was not exactly a heavy reader...
-
'Well... I... er... let's just say the king has just paid for a few little bodily alterations,' Eternion replied to Selturma with another chuckle. When the king saw the bill of the soon to be young Dracon... if he didn't know already, that is.
'Oh, and some spell books,' he continued, pulling one of the books from the backpack slung around his shoulder. 'Pyromancy... yeesh, that sounds particularly, uh, devious.'
At least he knew Pyromancy had to do with fire... a great start, he thought with sarcasm.
He shook his head, and put the book aside for the moment. He peered over the small crystal ball that Selturma presented to him. 'Heh, interesting little thing. Funny that, I was in possession of one of these quite a few decades ago. I dropped it down a flight of stairs, it didn't work quite as well after that.'
He sighed after a brief moment of laughter. The orbs were quite useful, while the one they located was still alive... then they were just an object of ones grief.
Still, he smiled. 'Take good care of that thing, it will prove quite useful... I am sure.'
-
"Yeah, it's really cool! Selturma told Eternion. "It's so round and shiny..."
Just then, Adykon approached the shop's counter. He had thought to buy something, but, realized that this store didn't have the heavy armor was looking for. He found Eternion, though.
"Hi! It looks like you've got something..." Adykon told the older warrior.
Meanwhile...
Agh! Master! Forgive us!
We were just resting!
I told them not to doze off, but would they lis-
Spare me your words! I'm not here to yell at you over that! I'll save that for your next failures. Now, the three of you know why you are in my employ, correct?
Because we three Dragons were outcast from Dragon society at large...
And you were the only one who would support us for our experiments... you were the only one who saw that were were brilliant. The rest called our work mad...
And if you know what is good for you, you will NEVER forget it! Now listen carefully. I want you to assemble some of the foul spawn... about 5000 of them. I'll take care of the transportation. We're going to catch them off guard in Minbenthac...
That's about a quarter of all we have bred so far...
And throw in a few Ettins! We need to send a powerful message to them...
-
Jake got up and he paced back and forth(is that how you spell forth?) in his room wondering why he hasn't been givin a task by the prince. "hmm...he's probably counting how much money hes got heh heh"
-
'Something is a bit of an understatement,' Eternion replied. He looked about the shop, before letting his backpack slip from his shoulder and into his waiting hands. 'I've decided to make a few alterations to myself... my body, that is.'
He took a deep breath. 'I realize now that if I am to aid you as best I could, I will need to be in a better condition then I am now.'
Then, he withdrew the potions from the pack, opening the case they hid within. 'So, I have bought these. Supposedly, they will bring me back a few years, so to speak. The whole idea is quite...strange to me... but I don't expect myself to perform as best as I can in my current venerable state.'
He laughed heartily. 'If I had known at the start of all this, that I would be given such an opportunity as to become young again... then I think I might have decided to stay at home. Most old folk would probably kill for something like this.'
-
"Some people WOULD kill for it!" Adykon thought, overhearing the comments made by Eternion...
Selturma also reacted to the announcement. "Well, if you want to do that, go ahead! I think its a good idea! How much is the king paying for it?"
-
'I get the feeling I might as well have just bought an entire house for what I just brought, and not one of those cheap ones, either. I do hope the king keeps his head from boiling over when he hears about this, verbatim shopping sprees do have a way of causing such things.'
Eternion started to pack all his purchases back into the pack which he had also brought. This was now officially the most money he had ever spent in his life in just one day... and it wasn't even his money.
He hauled the pack back onto his shoulder, the old Dracon was going to keep his good eye on it at all times until he got around to drinking the substances. He was carrying quite the expense in that pack, and he knew how to take care of something valuable... much like his weapons and armor, even though the later had worn a fair amount over the decades.
-
"Alright. Sounds good. Does anyone else need anything from this store?" Adykon queried, to which everyone told him that they didn't.
"Okay then, we're off."
As they left the shop, Adykon could swear that he heard the sound of a carpet flying through the air and someone saying "squadala!" He knew what a flying carpet was... everyone knew that. But... what was "squadala?" Such silly thoughts.
Adykon didn't need anything from the shop. His sword was enough. There was no time, anyway. He needed to get to the palace, to be outfitted with new equipment.
Meanwhile, at the palace...
"Ahh haa haa haa haa!" The king was drinking some wine, and one of his daughters were near him as well. They were laughing about some feast which was being prepared. Of course, being the king, every meal was a feast.... complete with music, armed guards, over a dozen courses, and all the wine, wives and watermelon he could handle... yes... the king liked watermelon. He had it served with every dinner.
A servant picked up the broken glass of a mirror his daughter had dropped earlier. Easily replaceable, but they had to make sure they wouldn't step on glass shards...
"I wonder if his majesty will still be laughing when the bill comes in..." the court archmage thought to himself.
The king was inviting the party to a feast that night. He would let them know when they showed up at the palace. Of course, a normal meal for the King of Minbenthac was a feast by anyone else's standards... a feast by the king's standards was... something else... it would have to be seen to be believed.
-
While Jake was sitting in his room he heard some footsteps comiing up the corridoor. "it's probably the maid" thought Jake to himself, Jake got up and he walked over to the door and he opened it. It was the maid "thanks for getting me the food and taking the bowl back for me" said jake trying to be nice
-
"You're welcome, human" she replied in a soft voice. "I'm not a maid, though. I am... whatever the Prince tells me to be, if it is meant for a female to do, I do it." There was no trace of happiness, enthusiasm, or anything other than sadness in her voice. "You are one of a very few who have ever thanked me for my tasks..." She then departed, continuing her cleaning work.
Several other females just like her lived in the palace... doing whatever it was the Prince bade them to do... as if they were puppets. It was sickening to see...
-
Jake then returned into his room and he waited for his task. "hmm...what if I just left the castle, killed my targets and returned back to the castle...." thought Jake "hmmm....i know how strong my targets are so it might not be such a good idea to go alone....i'll go and ask the prince if i should begin my task". Jake then opened the door and he began walking down the corridor wearing his armour.
-
When Jake arrived in the Prince's throne room, he was immediately greeted by him.
"I see you are eager to begin. We do not know exactly where your targets are, and we cannot teleport you directly in Minbenthac. However, I have received word that my master... our master now... wishes for there to be some kind of assault on Minbenthac... but it is not to be for a while yet. In the meantime, feel free to make use of the training facilities here... visit the alchemist, ask for help from the mages, the weaponsmith... whatever you need to get ready."
-
Jake nodded his head "okay, i'll start by visiting the alchemist...i hope he actually knows more than i do so i can learn...". Once jake arrived at the alchemist trainer he was greeted. "hello. the prince said that i could get some alchemy training here"
-
The alchemist was an older Dracon. His red skin was obscured under his heavy work robes, as he was busy mixing some kind of potion... but when Jake entered the room, he approached the human youth and greeted him. Upon closer inspection, one could see that his skin was stained with the results of countless alchemical experiments... and accidents.
"Hello, human. You must be the new agent sent by the prince. Welcome. You're probably here to get some potions... or to learn how to make something, eh? I see you are an alchemist too... and your arm is made fully out of metal. A 'full metal' Alchemist." he said with a smile.
-
(lol nice reference to Full metal alchemist)
"yes i am an alchemist" replied Jake "Alchemy is something i began learning when i was at least 10 years of age.....so...do you think you would be able to teach me some alchemy?"
(Temporary thingy will delete:Jake doesn't know how to create fireballs without lighting himself on fire, just a suggestion for you next post)
-
"Yes. I can teach you how to convert one element into another. This usually means that the air around you is turned into another substance." The alchemist stated. "If you want, I will also teach you how to change skin pigmentation."
The Dracon alchemist moved away from his worktable, over to a shelf with a large number of bottled potions and ingredients. He picked up a small vial filled with some sort of foul-smelling golden liquid.
"This here is Ixen's famous... oh... where are my manners? My name is Ixen." He told Jake. Unsteadily walking back to his workshop, he set down the vial. "Yes sir, this tincture is used to change the skin tone of some of the Prince's closest female servants into one he really likes... you have seen the golden consorts by now?"
-
"yes i have" replied Jake "they don't look very happy that's for sure". Jake picked up and examined the vial. the liquid substance inside did indeed smell foul "uhh...smells gross!" Jake put the vial down on the bench
-
"Yes. It is a rather long, harsh process, and unless it is removed by a rather... extensive procedure, the pigmentation change is quite permanent. My specialty is alchemy which changes living creatures. How I change them is no matter... as long as the pay is good..." Ixen replied.
-
"so you don't really care what happens to the subjects that have used your 'alchemic potions'?......" asked Jake "if something bad happened like if they died?"
-
Minna went up to the door and pounded on it with her claws " Malcia! open this door!' she cried out in anger. there was no reply from within, and as Minna looked around at the others a wave of embarassment overtook her. " sorry..' She said quietly.. " I just can't contain my anger very well.."
_ thats not a good sign" Ilsa said looking over at Margas. " You're losing the will to resist, the will to control your emotions.. " She looked at the door. " its undoubtedly sealed with magic' Margas spoke up.. coming forward.. " We need to get inside and confront her..Lucien, any ideas? he asked his fellow noble.
-
Lucien looked around...
"Magic is not my strong point... but I have heard of mages using spells to unlock doors. Maybe you could try that. I don't know any magic myself..."
He took a moment to reflect on the situation. This was a farce next to the real challenges facing his city. In his experience, female mages weren't much of a threat... and these curses... were they serious?
-
Ilsa slapped her forehead "of course" she pointed her staff at the door. "Immedici! she said , and a blue beam smashed to the door, sending cracks running up the door " Open! Marcus commanded, and the door shook, and cracked still further. 'Immedici' Minna repeated, hitting the door with her staff. The door exploded into pieces, most fell among the small group, some fell inward. A flight of steps wound up towards the upper reaches of the tower. " Come on" Margas said stepping forward.
_ Malcia was watching the scene from the scrying orb.. " " You are growing weaker Minna i can feel it.. that little tirade revealed much.. had I known it would be this easy I would have cursed you much sooner.. as for your friends..I will prove to them that I am the greater mage.. "
-
The party made its way up the winding staircase. Why hadn't they run into more resistance? Clearly, Malcia wanted to face them herself. What was she thinking? Was she that powerful, or that stupid? Maybe she had an overblown image of herself in her mind...
Lucien thought about the curse again. It made the females perform behaviors which were... abhorrent. It tampered with their free will. Worst of all, it could result in their DEATHS. It was serious.
-
As they reached a landing, a door opened and they could see a group of drakes, which were dragon-like in appearance but whose powers were far weaker. Still, in groups they could pose a formidable threat. "well, there had to be at some defenders.. Malcia wouldn't go to all this if we could just walk into her castle and confront her" Ilsa said.. Margas took aim, and focused " the red burst of lightning raced across the room and struck a nearby drake. The blast didn't kill it, their skin was too thick for that, but it alerted the rest of them.
_
Ilsa swore " Drakes! She had to have drakes!" She said as some of them began to rush at the party.. Margas hunched his shoulders, preparing to engage the foe.
-
The Drake was injured badly by the attack, but not dead. Several more Drakes of the weaker variety moved to attack. Lucien and Margas attacked the frontline, while Minna and Ilsa stayed in the rear.
Malcia had enough force on her side to hold off the Dracons, but Ilsa and Minna were backed up by a third mage... Annette. The human girl was not as powerful as Malcia, but she still enough to make a difference. She saw that these Drakes were attuned to the element of fire. Knowing that water and ice magic counters that, she cast some freezing spells, which caused great harm to the Drakes, and made it quite easy for the Dracons to finish them off. Annette was somewhat winded from the effort, but by no means down. She had much more endurance than Sasha, that was for sure...
"Is everyone alright?" Annette asked, concerned.
-
Margas noticed the spells Annette was using and copied them. He was a strong mage, he had been among the strongest in the class when he had studied with the Archmage Tecganos, who had noted his abilities with ice. now he was putting those skills to good use. Several Drake fell, frozen by his powerful spells. Ilsa and Minna teamed up to kill off the remaining Drakes. After the last one fell, Minna stood hunched over, panting. 'I hope.. there aren't many more of them' She wheezed..
-
"so is there anything that you can teach me that will be useful for when i go after my targets?" asked Jake "any "body" alteration alchemy?"
-
Meanwhile, in Hekaga...
"Well... there is some magic... I might be able to enchance your powers further. I will need to examine you first..." Ixen told Jake.
Back at Malcia's tower...
The four Dracons and the human advanced up the winding staircase. It was a taller structure than it looked... there was enough room on the next floor for an ambush... and another floor after that... then Malcia's room.
-
Eriol and Arianne thanked Aurescia for all the things they bought from her and walked out of the shop. - "I am really feeling strange using an armor." - She said as she was still looking at the protections she is now wearing over her normal clothings.
"Don't worry, you'll get used to them." - Eriol said with a confident smile. - "... and it is my guess that thse protections will be of most use for us in the coming days... and I am sure they will also come in handy when I find Sael again."
Arianne looked at him with a worried face. - "Do you still think about fighting him?"
Eriol then said, his face showed an un-emotional look that is frightening - "After what he almost did to you and to our son Isaac. I will not rest until I am done with him." - he then took a deep breathe, his face returning to a more trustworthy one. - "but we have more pressing things to worry about right now, am I right dear Arianne?"
The female Panther smiled. - "Oh yes, we have."
Both Gaeans kept on walking now, towards the Palace.
-
Adykon and the bulk of the party showed up later at the palace. The dinner that might was not yet prepared. A courtier had led the party into a room filled with cushioned chairs and paintings... a waiting room.
And they sat there for some time. After about 15 minutes, Selturma was getting tired of running her feet over the soft carpet. After doing it for so long, it didn't feel as good anymore.
"Rex. I'm booorredd" She said, holding her feet in her hands as she sat on a cushion. "When's the king gonna see us?"
"You should be honored to even see the king." Vespion told her, gravely. Standing up, he spoke directly to her.
"The odds that a commoner gets to see the inside of this palace is low; very low if you aren't a servant here. And for someone who is essentially a hanger-on to an adventuring party which wouldn't be let anywhere near the king under normal circumstances... well... I don't know if someone like you has ever been allowed to get this close to his position. It's rather unusual..."
"So... what are you saying?" Selturma asked.
"I'm saying you should be lucky to be here at all. Just look around this room!"
Vespion had a point. The room they were in was filled almost to the ceiling with finery, ornately carved doors made of mahogany wood, fine paintings depicting heroes, kings, queens, and nobles, expensive furniture, a fine carpet, and the ceiling was a beautiful stained glass mosiac.
(http://www.portsmouth.lib.oh.us/system/files/images/small_stained_glass_ceiling.preview.jpg)
"Like I said. Boorinnggg." Selturma repeated, lying on her stomach, her legs and tail danging off the end of the couch.
-
"what sort of magic could enhance my powers?" asked Jake "and when will i need to be examined?"
----
"yeah..it is kinda boring here.." said Rex "this place is so shiny that it gets boring..."
-
"You can be examined any time you wish, human. I admit, I don't have very good charts on human anatomy... I don't see very many of you." Ixen replied. And he was correct. Most Dracons rarely if ever saw humans.
Meanwhile, in Minbenthac...
"You will now be taken to the royal dre-" a servant told the party. This particular one was an ostentatiously-dressed servant... a black robe... polished horns... golden band around his tail... way too fancy to be a servant in fact...
He had paused upon seeing Adykon. A look of recognition widened across his face...
"Wait a minute..." Adykon thought as he rose to his feet.
"Prince Melchized?"
"Yes. How did you... Adykon? Oh my gods, it IS you! I thought the high noble Tallon would have been waiting here!" Suddenly, the prince, who had served with Adykon putting down a tribal insurrection, became far more animated, and much less formal. Third-eldest son of the king, he was a strategic genius on the battlefield, although one could not tell from his formal dress. It didn't fit him well; he preferred to be on the battlefield with his men... or with his wives and children in the halls of the palace... but in either case, he was not at all comfortable dressed for a formal occassion. Adykon still had a suit of armor on.
"So Adykon, not content to kill goblins anymore, are you? Now you're going on to slay myths and legends!" the prince laughed, taking a seat, biding Adykon to do the same.
"Well... not so much a myth... more like a nightmare" the mercenary replied in reference to Dememoras.
"I'll admit, I've heard of him... I'll gladly join you in putting the bastard down."
"I'm sure you would... if you could spend more time away from home."
Adykon had a point. Unlike many warriors, Melchized, or "Melchi", liked to spent time with his family... and, unlike many Dracon fathers, rich or poor, he actually spent a good deal of time with his children, and when he was away in battle, and unlike some males in the military, did not start thinking of which females he would cheat on his wife with first.
"Yeah... I'll admit... I feel out of place wearing these robes... but I don't want to spend too much time away from my family... 3 of my wives are pregnant... and I've been careful to check if the eggs truly are mine... good thing that really isn't a major problem around here..."
"So, the king's going to send you into battle?"
"If it comes down to it, of course."
"I thought so. You seem like you've come a long way from leading campaigns against insurgents yourself."
"I have. I'm in charge of a whole legion... 5000 in all."
"Nice. Does it come with benefits?"
"A palace of my own, a share in any spoils from battle that my unit is in, and a parcel of land if my unit takes part in the conquest of any region."
"Wow. Living the big live, eh?"
"I guess so." the prince added with a smile. Standing up, he returned to the business orginally at hand. "Come on, we've got to get you ready for the feast tonight. The royal dressers will lend those of you who need clothes some good ones..."
They were still some time away from the dinner that night.
-
"i'd like to be examined as soon as possible so that i'm ready for my task" said Jake
-
"Alright then, human. Remove the armor and clothing... but keep your pants on, please. I don't need to examine all of you..." Ixen was used to examining creatures to determine what could be done to change their anatomy for his purposes... in this case, it meant adding more strength and durability to Jake. Ixen considered adding some horns too... but that would be too weird, even by his standards... and he had some pretty odd standards for sure... :blink:
-
"okay" said Jake as he removed his chestplate and he placed it gently on the ground "do i need to remove my boots?"
-
"You decide, human. I don't know what your claws look like, but I assume you have three in the front, one in the back. I don't understand how you fit them on you..." Ixen replied, totally clueless as to what humans looked like. He honestly didn't know about humans any more than a human would know about a Dracon if he had never seen on in his life before.
-
"i have five toes at the front and no toe at the back..." said Jake "I must seem extremely strange to you eh?"
-
Ixen was surprised. "That IS odd. Keep the boots on, if you want. I don't need to see that. Ew. No wonder you wear stuff over your feet..." :blink:
"Anyway, I'll get the potions ready for the examination process... I hope you don't mind drinking one of them... it's non-toxic, I assure you."
-
"yeah i don't mind drinking the potions" said Jake. Jake leaned against the bench while he waited for Ixen to return with the potions.
-
Ixen brought out a glowing blue potion in a cylindrical glass container. In it was a sweet-smelling liquid which gave off steam... or was that smoke? In either case, the fumes were harmless. Taking the potion, Jake would discover that the container was cold to the touch... what was this stuff?
-
Jake gave the potion a light sniff "what is this stuff?" he asked ixen "i've never seen a potion that has looked like this before..."
-
"It will make the examination easier. Just drink it, human. It won't hurt you. If it did, I couldn't examine you very well, now could I?" Ixen said.
"Although I've never dissected a human before..." He added mentally.
The potion really was harmless, though.
-
"okay..." said Jake, Jake took a look at the potion and then he began to drink it. It had no flavour to it at all. Once Jake was finished he handed the empty potion vial to Ixen
-
"Good. Now we wait... three... two... one... and... now!" Ixen said, as the potion inside of Jake's stomach made him start glowing with a bluish light!
"Now I'll be able to detect how your body works. Just make sure to keep your shirt off... I need to tell which organs do what..." he added.
-
Jake looked down at his glowing body "creepy..." thought Jake mentally, Jake looked back up so that he didn't have to endure the thought that his insides were glowing.
-
"I cannot see what is inside clearly, but I can make out areas that are glowing more and less, indicating where more blood is flowing" Ixen told the human, his intellectual side on display for all to see. "I can also make out the approximate shape of your organs... and where the blood goes... quite interesting."
-
marcus stiirred from his bed, rhigas lay beside him, covered by only a thin shawl, the top half of her body was visible for him to see. he was by now familiar with Rhiga's body, in both the shape and feel of her breasts. inside her , his child was growing, Marcus could tell by Rhiga's expanding frame. "How are you feeling, my dear" He asked softly.
-
It was not quite evening... but the pair slept anyway. Marriage arrangements would be made tomorrow.
"I'm feeling... okay, my love" Rhiga cooed. She was feeling a bit odd, but that was expected in her state...
Her clawed foot lightly brushed against his own. She wasn't feeling up to doing a whole lot else. Her toes, like any Dracon's, were long enough to grasp items; she took Marcus's foot in her own, smaller one. Lying on her side, she gave him a warm smile...
-
"this is the first time i've seen my insides.." said Jake uneasily "it kinda creeps me out..." Jake looked around the room
"so how much longer do you need to examine me?" asked Jake
-
"You cannot SEE your insides, human... they merely glow..." Ixen replied. "At any rate, it won't take me long to finish my exam. A minute or two more... so stay still, please..."
The old Dracon alchemist would be interested to learn that Jake's arm wasn't just covered in metal; it WAS metal...
-
"the only thing that isn't glowing is my right arm.." said Jake "it's probably because it isn't organic.."
-
"Correct you are human, correct you are. The glowing should cease in five... four... three... two... one" Ixen told Jake...
And just like that, it was over. As suddenly as it had begun.
"Just one more thing to keep in mind. As soon as the potion stops making you glow, you should feel a strong desire to..."
*tinkle tinkle tinkle*
"Never mind. I'll have someone mop the floor..."
-
(did Jake just piss himself or can i have him run to the bathroom before he does piss everywhere? --will add in a post)
-
(OOC: Just do what you want him to do.)
Ixen wrote down the results of his examination...
"Let's see... four chambered heart... nerves where I thought they would be... use of aerobic respiration... very similar to a Dracon. Same reactions to other potions is anticipated."
-
Meanwhile the small group continue to climb Malcia's tower, but not without heavy resistance, from Drakes, Malcia had apparently gathered a large army of them, and they had shown to be a tough enemy, and had slowed thier pace considerably.
-
By "large army", this meant about 50 of them... they were rare creatures that eccentric mages liked to collect. Well... the weaker varieties anyway. The stronger Drakes were out of the question...
These creatures were strong, but not very brave; they turned tail and fled at the first sign of serious pain or injury... they came in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, but none were as large as a fully-grown Dracon.
-
Marcus held Rhiga close to him. ' do you want me to get you anything.. just say the word.. and its yours.." he was looking forward to the festivities tomorrow..right now though, he was enjoying having his love near him..
- Margas, Ilsa and Minna sent volley after volley into the Drake ranks, and gradually managed to drive them back, their cries of pain were loud and filled the room, reverberating off the ranks and throughout the tower.. Minna was starting to tire though' How many of these.. things does she have?' She grumbled as she cast another spell.
_ Meanwhile in her chamber, Malcia was pouring over a spellbook.. 'they will be here soon, I'd best be ready.. force the girls to make a choice..but how to do it..? that is the question.."
-
Finally, the party made it to the top of the tower. Malcia herself was close at hand. Lucien charged her door several times, none of his herculean effort having any effect. It was clear that magic locked this door, and tightly.
-
ilsa and Margas blasted the door with magic, with no effect, this was powerful magic ' Sealing magic..,' Margas huffed.. "Only way to break it is to cast a spell of command.. fulsio!' He roared "DFulsio Ememi!' still the door did not move..
_
magnico!" Ilsa cried the door shook slightly but did not open.
-
Lucien grabbed the door by its iron handle and pulled. Straining, he was unable to get it open. "Damn...door. Why won't you op-ahhhh!"
The door opened, but it was from the inside. Malcia had come out to face them, and she was mad.
-
Well..well well.." Malcia said as she came, holding her staff in front of her.. " I see you've found me..
_ Remove the curse on her!' Ilsa shouted.. "You mean the curse on you as well, I presume" Malcia smiled briefly. "I don't think so..
_
Then we'll kill you" Margas snarled. "Lord Margas, I am the only one who can remove it in time to spare them Damnatio Memorae, if you kill me, it won't be long, before Minna's will breaks completely, and she reveals her abominable preferences in public, and then, there would be no saving her, or Ilsa..I'm in no mood to be deal-making, either, since the five of you, killed all my drakes, which I was saving for a nice junket...' Her eyes flashed.
_
what do you want?" Ilsa asked. "Besides you out of the way..? hmm..well, acknowldgement that i am the better mage, and always have been.. from Minna.'
_
You arrogant bi' Minna's curse was choked off as Malcia's squeezed her claw into a fist.. Minna felt pain race through her body and she sank to a knee. " if any of you, try to harm me in anyway, physically, or magically, i will break her, and fling her upon Ilsa" At this Margas roared. ' you wouldn't dare harm my betrothed!"
-
Malcia laughed " Oh.. this is rich.. so you're engaged to Minna, Margas.. hmm, i thought you had eyes for Ilsa..
_
Lucien is marrying minna.. Ilsa said.."Oh yes, the only one of the five of you, who has no magic.. Malcia turned and pointed her staff at Lucien 'you are strong, but that will not save you against my magic.. i can easily kill you where you stand.. i gather your opinion of female mages is low.. well apart from you being a misogynist bastard , and what male noble these days isn't?,.. you've never met a female mage worth a darn... until now' she grinned.
-
"We challenge you..' Ilsa said" to a game of Kanu Dri' Margas said. " oh. the disappearing portal game' Malcia's eyes glimmered " very well.. If you should manage to find me.. within an hour... and defeat me in magical combat.. then I will give the girls the antidote which will take effect the morning after being digested.. if you fail.. the girls are mine..well Minna will be.." Minna snarled. Malcia gestured and several portals appeared, before entering one of them.. Malcia paused. " Since Lucien knows no magic, he will remain here, Kanu Dri requires considerable magical skill to play well..Farewell, enter the portal that will remain after i leave.. they will take you to different parts of the tower.. let the game begin.
-
"What am I supposed to do?! I CAN'T just stay here and do nothing! Malcia, show yourself you bi-oww!"
A drake had bitten Lucien on the ankle, trying to tear off the spur on the back of his foot. Another drake had bitten onto his tail, as he flailed wildly to get them off. These were younger drakes than he had faced earlier. Probably the offspring of the ones he had killed earlier.
"Ahh! Get off! Get off! Off me, you stupid pieces of-!" he shouted, only to trip over a third one who had charged he leg. With all his might, he kicked the one that was biting his foot into the other two, lucky to keep all his toes intact.
-
Margas grabbed Lucien and jumped through a portal which closed off a ffew seconds later. they fell together into a pile of straw.. they were in a small room, sealed oin by a solid iron door 'darn it.. we're in a dungeon cell, probably as far away from Malcia as possible.. sorry lucien for dragging you along, but it was the only way to get you away from those drakes' Margas said walking over and giving the door a closer examination.. "Come give me a claw with this door.
-
Lucien applied force to the door, which gradually swung open with a loud CREEEAAAAKK! They were still far away from Malcia and the girls. It would be up to Minna and Ilsa to stop the evil sorceress and break the curse, it seemed.
-
I fear you're right" margas said as he exited the cell into a narrow passageway.. "Minna's in no condition to fight Malcia, she's just use the curse on her to make Minna do her biding.."
_ Minna and Ilsa had jumped into a portal which lead them into a room full of sand. "Great, not a good place to start..oh well" Ilsa said. Minna frowned. " we have an hour to find her.."
-
Lucien wondered where he was. He certainly didn't think the tower was this big. Then, it hit him; the tower had portals which led to pocket dimensions, each of which could be fit inside of a small room in the tower, probably locked away. Malcia wasn't powerful enough to do this, but Dememoras was. He, or one of his agents in all likelihood, had created these dimensions for her.
Each dimension could be as large as a planet... perhaps bigger! Or... it could be as small as a room. Whatever the case, it certainly gave Malcia more room...
(OOC: Here is the first picture of Rhiga, in a VERY early version. This one has all of her parts covered; nothing bad is showing.)(http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2009/358/1/b/Rhiga__Early_Draft_Covered_by_Noguy.jpg)
-
'Lets just keep going.. there's a portal around here somewhere.. which will bring us closer to Malcia.." Margas said.. "Under the rules.. there must be a portal placed in the area.. you cannot just send him off somewhere without giving them a way of getting back.. We just need to find it.."
-
Lucien looked around for a portal. He felt a sensation of electricity on his horns and claws when he walked over a warm patch of the floor. Feeling some heat beneath his feet, he called to Margas;
"Come quick! Something us beneath us! I think it's the portal!"
-
Minna and Ilsa found themselves in a dank barren room, the only light came from small torches in the wall. "Oh, she's not here' Ilsa said letting her staff glow and moving it around in a circle. " Minna frowned. 'What happens if we don't get to her Ilsa.. in time.."
_ you know the answer Minna it won't be pleasant..' Ilsa sighed.. "You need to exercise self control..once we get the cure from her, you'll be fine.. this will have been a bad experience but it will be over..
_
Will we.. can we.. still be friends.. once I marry Lucien? minna asked as they headed forward.. "Of course... any attraction between us will be gone so we won't have to worry about that ever happening again" ilsa said.
-
"Portals are rarely located beneath your feet.. but we'll check all the same' Margas replied gesturing with his staff. the ground began to quake, and part, sure enough a white portal glowed beneath them. "Nice work Lucien.. onward!" Margas said jumping into the portal. which opened into a room filled with flowers. the weet smell of honey was in the air.. before them stood a small pedistal with writing on it "It read "Only some flowers in here are true., find them ere the small fades and the opening be lost.."
-
"Opening be lost?! She CAN'T just trap us in here! What does that crap even mean?!" Lucien shouted.
Meanwhile...
Rhiga was feeling restless. She got up from her bed and went down the stairs. She wasn't feeling quite right. Her skin felt all tingly, her hormones were raging, and her stomach was feeling like she had drank bad milk. Had her time spend under Asthia's tower affected her in some way? Stumbling onto a couch, still naked, her breathing increased. Feeling like something was squeezing her from the inside-out, Rhiga realized that she was about to lay her egg months too early, at the very threshold of survival for the unborn child.
"Marcus!! I'm about to lay the ehhhh-aahhh!!"
-
By the gods" Marcus swore as he rushed into the room. Rhiga was convulsed in pain, her face was drawn and she was laying on her back with her legs apart. The egg wasn't visible, but judging from her groans it wouldn't be long.. "Just.. Breathe.. and.. and. push.. yeah, push.. Rhiga! push it out.."
-
Adykon turned to Tallon. "So, what is it that you do? You are a very rich Dracon. Your wealth has to come from somewhere..."
"Yes, it does. I am mainly a... manager. I own huge estates, mines, ships, caravans, and roads, among other things. My wealth comes from control over every step in the production and sale of goods. I own tool-makers and smiths who make the shovels and picks that mine the gold out of my mines, for example. I own two smelters which work with the metal that I produce, and it is shipped by my fleet and by my merchants along my roads and shipping lanes that, while I do not control them explicitely, I am the dominant force. I also lend out some of my wealth and charge interest on it. Then, there is insurance, my stake in Minbenthac's bank, my farms, my herds, the appreciation of my antiques, my..."
The list went on.
Meanwhile...
Rhiga was bleeding and screaming in pain. The egg was quite small and the shell was thin, but something was wrong in her. It was causing her extreme agony. She dug her claws into the couch, tears streamed down her eyes. The egg began to exit her body...
-
Marcus grasped the egg gently and began to pcradle it helping it slide out. " one more push.. and there' the Marcus held the egg, which contained his child, in his claws. blood dripped on the floor from where the egg had exited Rhiga's body. "Where should I put the egg?' Marcus cried. " We need to get you to a healer!"
_
Its a riddle' Margas replied. " we need to find the right flowers, by picking them.."
-
Rhiga was on the couch, gasping and moaning. She was in state to go anywhere. A healer would have to be found, and soon!
Meanwhile...
"We need to find the flowers with a certain smell... but which ones?!" Lucien shouted, exasperated. Kicking up the ground with his clawed feet in anger, his noticed a flower with a different scent than the others.
-
Try smelling them, and start picking those that smell different..' Margas said, moving forward. there were hundreds of flowers in this room. "pick enough of them and the portal should form."
_
Marcus dashed into the next room and grabbed a small towel He wrapped the egg gently in towel and set it on the table as gently as he could. Then he went into the next room.."I'm going to get a healer.. just.. try to stay calm.." Margas turned and ran out of the room and out of the house. Minna's castle had a healer on site like most noble houses, it paid well to have a healer around in case of trouble. he healer who served Tallon's and his family was named Thacklos.. he lived on the seconf floor of the castle, above where the main rooms lay..
-
Thacklos was a young healer who lived on Tallon's estate. Being a talented healer, he was quickly hired by Tallon in case of emergencies. Rhiga's situation totally qualified. The twenty-five year old Dracon had skills beyond those of anyone else his age in the whole city, and had manifested magical abilities at a young age. It was said that his mother was a Dragon who had polymorphed into a Dracon form when she met his father. She had left not long after his hatching and was never heard from again, so it was likely that his lineage was not fully Dracon.
He had just finished meditating, and had put his loincloth back on when he heard the news about Marcus. Despite his odd styles of dress and his murky lineage, the gray-skinned, green-eyed Dracon was not about to fail anyone who needed urgent help. He want down the stairs to Marcus.
"What's going on? Is someone's wife in trouble?" he asked.
-
Shes not my wife yet, but we are going to be married very shortly.. she just.. laid an egg" Marcus said as calmly as he could. 'She's in a lot of pain, and she was bleeding when I left her.. Please, you must come quickly.. I don't think she was supposed to lay the egg at this point..I'm kinda new to the parenting business so I don't really know what's normal' Marcus said motioning to the castle enterance. "We're not far from here, luckily.."
-
The two dracons wasted no time in getting to Rhiga. By now, she was turning pale and her expression was contorted into a mask of horrible agony. Thacklos ran over to her hand put his hands on her head. A light blue glow emanated from his hands, and withing a moment, the bleeding had stopped.
"There. I stabilized her. She's still weak, though."
-
Whats wrong with her? is this some sort of complication of egg-laying?" Marcus asked. Rhiga looked very pale and drawn, they apparently had gotten to her just in time.."The egg is in the next room.. " He added.
-
"Let me see the egg" the healer asked. As he examined the egg, he placed his hands on it as well, making the egg briefly light up with a light blue glow, from which the unborn child could be seen stirring around.
"Mother and child will live. It seems that she was exposed to magical energy for a long time. Was she ever trapped in a place of dark magics?" he asked Marcus.
-
Yes she was. A vampiress named Asthia, who was very powerful" Marcus said, running his claw over his forehead. "She was there for awhile, at least a few weeks..they hooked her up to the ceiling with some sort of tendril.. " Marcus paused remembering the scene...which he had hoped to leave behind him..
-
Thacklos had heard of Asthia. "She was linked up to that... horror?! By the gods. She was lucky to have lived."
Rhiga began to stir.
"Marcus? What happened? Who's that? And... am I naked in front of a guest?"
-
This is Thacklos, the healer"Marcus said soothingly. " He managed to heal you.. both you and the egg will be fine.. as for your being naked. He rushed into a nearby room and came back with a blanket and cover his mate to be with it..
-
Rhiga quickly took the blanket and curled up in it, and was asleep in a few minutes.
Thacklos looked around. "She should become lithe again pretty soon. Now that she is no longer carrying an egg. Still, she will be out of it for some time. I wouldn't recommend anything strenuous for her for at least two weeks, maybe longer."
-
How about mating? when can we resume that?' Marcus asked "If You Think I should wait a bit I will.. but she may not be so understanding..How long would you say before the egg hatches?"
-
"The egg has several months to go because it is premature. As for mating... you should wait a week or two. She should feel better sooner than you think. I healed the injuries. Now it is up to her body to resume its normal functions." Thacklos replied.
-
Fair enough.. now how much do I owe you? Marcus said heading towards the kitchen he kept an assort of coins, "seed money" as he called it. "I owe you a great deal, if not for you, Rhiga might be..' he trailed off
-
"Keep your money. I am paid plenty by Tallon, and this was an emergency" the healer replied. Thacklos lived simply, as evidenced by his very light style of dress and his ascetic practices. He still had several children with as many different females, though. His religious views were such that "spreading his seed" was good, but 'artificial' luxuries, like alcohol and golden articles, were bad. Helping others was a must, though.
-
Fair enough" Marcus said moving his claws from the money jar.."Thank you all the same"
_
At this time Minna and Ilsa had found a portal and entered into another room. this one was filled with bones and it reeked of dead flesh. ' this is what you will be, when I am done with you" Malcia's voice echoed through the chamber "Come out!" Minna shouted before Ilsa grabbed her arm "Shes not in here.. but is sending her voice in though magical means.. We're getting closer though..
-
(OOC: GVG gave me the ability to control is character while he was away.)
Lucien eventually found the flowers needed. "Great! I think that's it! Do you see a portal, Margas?"
Meanwhile...
Annette was still with Minna and Ilsa. She could not see where Malcia was communicating from, but she could sense her energy.
"She's above us, somewhere. I don't know how to get to her, though!"
-
Wait a minute" Magrgas paused, then finally saw the portal appear in front of them " There! Hurry on! These portals don't last long!' He rushed forward towards the portal.
_
You have to go through portals to get to her that's the nature of the game"Ilsa said " you can't get through any other way.." Sh added as they moved along
-
"I don't know where that portal is!" Annette clarified.
Just then, Lucien and Margas came crashing through, their portal having opened up above the girls. When the two of them dashed through, it led them to this room. It snapped shut behind them, leaving all of them seemingly trapped in the same room together.
The fact that the Dracon males fell on top of Minna and Ilsa did little to help the situation. They were not hurt badly, though, just sore. Annette was lucky enough to have been standing farther away from the tangled mess.
-
IlSa swore as she pushed Lucien off of her.. " Fancy that! You boys dropping in! Literally she grumbled. margas Extracted himself from the tangle with Minna, and brushed himself off before rising to his feet. "We've been through two rooms so far, hopefully we're getting closer to that blasted fiend' Margas spat on the ground, there was some blood on his mouth from landing hard on top of Minna. "You need to lose some weight' Minna cracked as she slowly got to her feet.
-
Lucien helped the girls to their feet and dusted himself off. "Now that we have 'caught up', we need to plan out next move. Girls, do you know how we can get out of here? Malcia is still waiting for us at the end of this stupid, stupid game!" he shouted, losing his temper and stamping the floor hard enough to bruise the sole of his scaled foot. This took some of the winds out of his sails for a moment.
-
the game is not stupid lucien, it is a well tested form of magical battle.. " Margas replied as they moved on. "Malcia will get what is coming to her...I promise you that..
_ the smell in the room got worse as they moved forward.. it was the smell of decaying flesh mixed with the foul smell of the water through which they were moving..
-
"Where'd this water come from? What's going on here? It makes no sen-" Then Lucien saw a portal leading to a place which was nothing more than water. It was a controlled portal to the elemental plane of water, an infinite expanse of H2O. This game was getting stranger and stranger all the time.
-
at least we'll be clean' Margas cracked at they headed towards the portal "Very funny. Just watch you're step.." Ilsa said as they entered.
-
Lucien stepped through. There was air! This couldn't be the elemental plane of water... there was no air in that, save for a few magically-altered settlements. No, this was another plane entirely, gods knew who made it or why.
"We seem to be stuck on a tiny piece of land" he thought to himself, and indeed they were. The girls had to be on tiptoes just to prevent themselves from getting their feet wet. The light in this place was coming from a luminous orb several miles up in the sky; a replicate of a star, only in miniature. Weird. This was getting very weird. "At least we won't be thirsty..."
Unfortunately, it was all salt water. :lol
-
So this place is one giant ocean, judging by the smell' Minna said as a small strip pf land appeared before her as she moved around. "There's a portal around here somewhere.." She said' Just keep moving and we'll find it.. clock's ticking though.. Minna and ilsa moved from strip to strip.. watching thier step.
-
Each piece of land was just large enough for the Dracon to stand on. As they left a previous piece of land, it descended into the water behind them, only for a new piece to emerge just as fast as the previous on had gone down. This was starting to get to Lucien, who could not believe the strangeness of this place.
"What sort of STUPID person designs a place like this?! What's the point?!"
-
Thacklos left Rhiga and Marcus to have some privacy on their own. He returned to Tallon's palace, and resumed his meditations as if nothing had happened. It was all par for the course for a healer such as himself. There were other things par for the course for him as well. In this case, it took the form of a female with green skin, blue eyes, and a top and bottom that matched her ochre-colored belly.
"Had to run out to take care of another case, love?"
"Yes, Mazun" he replied to the green-skinned female.
"Couldn't it have waited? You left me lying here, again. You told me you would make time for me tonight."
"We have time now, Maz. Come on, it's alright" He told her, taking her in his arms.
"No, not now."
"You said you wanted to-"
"Later. You spoiled the moment."
"It was an urgent case. If I hadn't have gone-"
"Every case is urgent these days. I'm not buying it."
"If I hadn't have been there-"
"You need to be there for me more!"
"Ahh... listen! You know that you are only one of my four-"
"Yes, I know. I KNOW!"
"I have to make time for all of you. If I took more time away from-"
"That makes them time you have with me worth more!"
"Stop cutting me off! Look, Mazun, you know I love you."
"You sure don't act like it."
"The other three don't complain!"
"Yeah, cause they have no spine! You told me that you loved my attitude, my will, the fact that I don't act like a little love puppet! You told me you liked that in a female."
"I do. I always have, and I always will. There are other things I like in a female too."
"Do you ever stop talking about yourself? 'I, I, I' You've been talking in those terms since we started this conversation. What about ME? Don't I have any rights? Don't I deserve your attention?!"
"You do. You most certainly do. I-...eh... things must be balanced, though. It would do no good if the time spent healing others was reduced just to help you. People live and die by my actions. Failure to act on my part could result in disaster. What I do is very important. I'm a major asset to Tallon." Thacklos responded.
"Hmmph. That's cause you were born with the fancy magic, and the talent and the healing hands... and the right body parts between the legs! What do I do? Hang around the palace all day, sleep in, and I'm expected to be all over you when you want me to be, and disappear when you don't want me."
"Now that isn't really fair, Maz."
"Isn't it? Don't all females in this palace come as ornaments, like fancy pieces of furniture? Really, look at me! What do I do? My whole purpose here is to be a wife to you! I'm worth much more than that! You told me that yourself! You said you thought males and female were worth the same!"
"They ARE worth the same. There's only so much I can do to make things better for you, however. I can't change the culture or the laws, nor can I make you into something you are not."
"What's THAT supposed to mean?"
"It means that even my magic cannot heal our society. I know it isn't right. You know it too. There are some things, which, if we tried to fight them, would crush us both. I really don't think you want that to happen, Maz."
"Well... that's true" Mazun replied, resigned. "I still love you, Thacklos. I always will. It's just so hard that we don't get to see each other enough."
"I know. It's hard on me too" he replied, hugging her, pressing her soft flesh against his own. He broke the embrace after a few seconds. "I cannot make any promises, but I will make time for you in two days, alright?"
Getting up, Mazun left to get something to eat. "I suppose I'll get back to my 'female duties.' Eating, sleeping, bathing, looking pretty, and being invisible when I'm not wanted."
"Maz, I-... we can do something now if you want. I can always put off the-"
She practically jumped into his arms.
"Really?!" Now her mood was very different. Unusually happy. She had the biggest eyes when she was like this.
"Sure. It isn't too late to catch a show, is it?" Thacklos didn't go out to these sort of things very much.
"My love, it's never too late in Minbenthac." She was right; shows of all sorts played almost all day in night.
"Well, let me get my shirt and some real pants, and we can go out, then" He told her; it was that he wore than just that single piece of cloth around himself, but he would make an exception for the only female that truly interested him, even if he didn't show it enough. The other wives? They were good for a fun time, but not good for having a relationship with someone whom he knew to be his equal, and unlike the others, she acted like it.
-
Marcus paused as he held Rhiga is his arms. " I should have my parents come over anbd help us with caring for the egg. You're in no condition to do so my love..' Marcus said to her. " is there anything you want.."
-
Rhiga looked up at him and spoke softly. "The only thing I want is for our child to live. Nothing else matters to me right now. Tell me the egg will live. I need to hear these words." She really was upset.
-
Thacklos said it will be fine" Marcus reassured her. 'its quite premature, but the child will live..those were his words. now, i have no idea how to care for an egg, as this is my first. just give me instructions on what to dom and i'll follow them to the letter."
-
"Honestly, I don't know how to care for an egg, either." Rhiga replied. "My other three eggs were given up to the care of a temple the day I laid them, and honestly, I'm not sure what the father is supposed to do. I've never known the father of any of my eggs before. You are the first."
-
marcus ran his claw over his forehead. ' well i'd best go get my parents." Marcus said. " since neither of us have any experience with raising an egg.."
_
Meanwhile
Margas, Ilsa , Minna and others continued on through the water world, as slowly, a portal became visible on the horizon.
-
"Alright. Another portal. Is this one gonna lead us into another element?" Lucien asked. They always came in four. Why four? Water was a chemical, not an element. Air could signify a lot of elements, especially oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen. "Earth" was any number of elements and compounds, and fire was a reaction, not an element!
-
Probably' Margas said.. as the portal got closer with each step. "As for which element, lets just hope its not fire.. the heat would burn off our clothes.. "
_
Way to have your mind in the gutter my Lord" Ilsa snapped. "We need to pick up the pace,Malcia only gave us an hour.."
-
The Dracons went through the portal, and found themselves facing the exact same element! Only this water was...
"Freezing! We've stumbled into a realm of ice!" Lucien exclaimed, not at all used to the horrid cold.
-
this is no ordinary ice" Margas said his breath clearly visible. " the ice they were stepping on, was impossibly blue, and so cold to the touch that it burned their claws. minna winced as she took a step, looking behind she saw she was leaving bloody clawprints in the snow. ' we need.. argh.. to get.. ah.. out of here..
Ilsa said through gritted teeth..
-
It was painful indeed; "Oh! Gods! What IS this stuff? This isn't frozen water is it! Argh! You pieces of-"
It went on like that for some time. Cursing at the ice wasn't going to make crossing it less painful, nor was it going to get them across faster.
Meanwhile, back in Tallon's palace...
"So Eriol, Arianne. Do you think you are ready to face Dememoras's forces? This is a Dracon fight, and I cannot expect another race to be drafted into this war. I don't want to send you off, maybe to die, without your approval. If you don't want to be here, I don't have the power to force you. You HAVE come a long way, though." Adykon needed all the help he could get for the battles to come.
-
Arianne looked at Adykon and gave him a gentle smile. - "I know Eriol will not approve me to go and participate, due to my pregnancy, but it is still in a very early stage and I am sure I'll be useful somehow." - she waited for a moment as she looked at her husband, then returning her look to the leader of the party.
Eriol smiled at he saw that trying to convince her would be futile, but what he said was coming more from his own feelings than anything else. - "The price for us could be a big one, but what about the price if you fail?. I will not run away, I will never be able to forgive myself if we return home knowing that I could have been of help here. What is at stake here and now is bigger than all of us." - he then gave a confident smile. - "and it will not be my first time to see true darkness."
-
"Glad to hear that you are all still onboard. We need all the help we can get, and anyone who has had experience fighting this evil is even more appreciated. You've both done well so far. I'm sure you'll be of great help in the end." Extending his clawed hand out to shake Eriol's, Adykon continued "Thank you both very, very much. We're all in this together. We shall all stay in this together."
-
As Eriol and Adykon were shaking hands, Arianne placed her own hand over theirs. - "We will all get out of this mess alive."
"We will all make sure of that." - Eriol added, still having that confident smile. Maybe not fully what he may feel, but at least is re-assuring for Arianne and Adykon.
-
the group continued its slow progress. the ice was so cold that the blood dripping from their claws froze just seconds after falling from their feet. minna felt her feet starting to numb from the bitter cold.. "Just.. hang.. in there girls,.. there should.. be a portal somewhere nearby..' Margas said through clenched teeth.
-
And sure enough, it was there. Lucien shoved past the others just to get through sooner. He regretted that his race didn't wear more, especially footwear. It made a lot of sense right about now, though. He was now in the elemental realm of fire! Annette, who was wearing a lot more than the others, was able to adapt better. Her clothing was resistant to the elements, as mage's garments often were, due to the nature of their jobs.
Meanwhile...
"I wish I could guarantee success and survival. Still, we made it this far. Soon, the others will return and we can make our move. Also, I don't know what happened to Jake. He's in the god's hands. In time, we will be reunited with him, I am sure of that. Somehow, someday, somewhere. And hopefully, sometimes soon." All this talk about togetherness made him think about the lost one back in Hekaga.
-
"You'll see we'll manage to survive." - Eriol said.
"That's right, we must think possitively, but not forgetting about the facts." - Arianne added. - "We just need to finish making the plans as we all know our strenghts and weaknesses. We can make it so we can compliment each other, specially at the moment of the truth."
Eriol nodded at that comment. They will survive as long as everybody cooperates as a team. There is no other way.
-
Tallon's palace was a boring place that day. Minna and Ilsa were still away, and the party was stalled. Regardless, Adykon, Rex, Sasha, Selturma, Eriol, Arianne, the Fauxen, Eternion, and all others who had joined up were still happy to be there, despite the gathering danger.
-
Ilsa gestured and created a fresh top and loincloth for her as her old garments burned away. this place the polar opposite of the ice realm. the hot ground was hard on their cut-up claws and feet. in front of them was a large chasm, filled with molten lava. Spanning the chasm was a thin spit of rock, which ran from one end to the other. Minna looked back at her old clothes, which were turning to ash on the ground. While Dracons wee used to hot desert temperatures, these temps were the hottest they had yet experienced.
-
The males and Anette fared better, but the clothes of the former were burned, although they were not burned off entirely. Anette's garments withstood the flames with ease, having been enchanted to withstand temperatures such as this.
"There's the exit up ahead. Oh gods! Let's just get to that portal before we burn up in here!" The heat from the convection was making the air too hot to breathe for long.
-
the group reached the portal just in time, as the bridge fell into the lava behind them. they stepped through the portal, and noticed they were very high above the ground. " We're in an air realm" Margas said. " the ground we are standing on are clouds. Be very careful. they can disspiate very quickly, and from this height, a fall would be fatal..
-
"How is it possible that we stand upon thin air and cloud?!" Lucien demanded to know. He felt the clouds beneath him. It was like stepping on wet cotton, but the longer his foot was in place, the more it sank into the cloud. If he stood in one place for too long, his feet would tear a hole and he would fall.
Magic was annoying to Lucien. So very, very annoying.
-
Magic is capable of many things, things that seem impossible to one without magic.. "Margas replired. " now we must get moving.. these clouds won't last long.,. and we're really high up.." He was moving from cloud to cloud dragging the clppuds close to him with his staff before leaping on them.. Ilsa jumped ionto a cloud annd was soon joined by Minna.
-
The clouds became thinner and thinner as they moved on. At one point, it seemed like they were literally walking on the thin air. Somehow, the magical clouds supported their weight. Looking around, Lucien could see that this realm was nothing but blue sky, a rocky ground, and a light which looked like a sun, but not nearly bright enough to cause any damage to their eyes by looking at it. In fact, as the jumped from cloud to cloud, they could actually touch it.
That's right; they could touch the light source. Annette had heard of them before. She reached out her hand, and, touched it.
"It's okay, you guys! Really! It's not hot at all! This is a coldlight orb! It takes a lot of energy to create, but once made it generates a ton of light, and can last for thousands of years before burning out!"
The girl was brave, Lucien had to give her that. Smart, too. Maybe he ought to rethink his assessment of the human race.
-
Well spotted" Margas said appreciating Annette's knowledge. " I can see the portal above us.. but its going to take us even higher off the ground, and these clouder are getting thinner and thinner. mInna looked down and wished she hadn't. The height they were at was dizzying. a wave of nausea overwhelmed her and she sank to a knee and clung onto the edge of the cloud. " we must keep movingMinna! These clouds won't last very long.' Ilsa said sternly.
-
The clouds changed to a thin mist as they walked up a nearly invisible ramp to the portal. Each meter of cloud would only last for a second at most, so quick motion was necessary, but not so fast as to slam the cloud with a claw, or kick it, for that would also cause it to break and drop the one who did it to their doom.
-
margas was the first to reach the portal as he entered he fell hard into the ground. as he got to his feet. he was knocked the ground again as Ilsa fell on top of him.. " they slowly gort thier feet. "What they saw amazed them, Stairs running in all directions. Minna fell down next to them. " Where are we?' She mumbled then her eyes widened. "We're in the Stairwald" Margas said..
-
"What? Where are we? We seem to be in a realm of earth. In tunnels." Stamping his foot, Lucien felt the hard ground push back. "On FLAT land! Now this is good! Just what IS the "Stairwald" anyway? I imagine we shall have to climb a lot of stairs, but, what else is there?"
-
this a realm of strairs which lead off in many directions. there aerre many doors in here but only one leads to a portal..
_ well done, you've reached the stair world. " Malcia's cackle echoed around the stairwell. 'Problem is, you only have twenty minutes to reach me, and defeat me in combat, otherwise.. I win.. and the five of you will be trapped forever.." the voice faded the full expanse of the world was revealed. Steps lead uyp and down far into the distance..
-
"Does EVERY place has to have some sort of illogical trap?! Come on, let's go!" Lucien shouted, charging off blindly in the direction of the nearest stairwell, only to reappaear a few seconds later running up another stairwell. Taking a third stairwell, he ended up running down the first stairwell he had taken, somehow. He tried again with a fifth, sixth, and seventh one before finally getting too tired from all that running to keep going.
Gasping for breath, he turned to the others. "A little help, guys?"
-
Theres a logic to this place, but we don't have much time.." Margas said. " Everyone, split up! There are 5 of us we can cover five times the ground.. Hurry!' He dashed up a staircase and opened the door. this one lead " sideways " Great" Margas muttered as he becgan to climb
Minna openee a door and found herself looking at ilsa, but ilsa was upside down! "Hoow did you do that?' She called out. " mark the places you hgave beenb so we know not to g that way..' Ilsa called out to her before turned and heading up another flight.
-
After a lot of senseless running, they were down to five minutes of time. Eventually, they devised a plan;
"All of us need to run off in the last five staircases we haven't tried. One of them has to be the correct one" Annette told them. "Ready? Go!"
Eventually, it was Lucien who found the portal, and he called to the rest of them as there was a minute left to make it in. Annette and Lucien were the first to make it through, but the other three lagged behind. There was not just half a minute left for them.
-
Margas Minna and Ila reached the portal and entered with seconds to spare. "Pity" Malcia grinned, appearing before them. "You lost.. you had to find me AND defeat me in battle within the hour, otherwise I win.. and you failed to do so in the time remaining..
_
Just give me the potion, I'll drink it and this never leaves the six of us' MInna said, her eyes flled with desperation. " Malcia shook her head. "No, Minna.. you lost. so I don't have to do anything..
-
Double or nothing' Ilsa said finally "If you win, again, Minna and I will turn ourselves in..
_ Absolutely not! That would ruin not only you but us" Margas said. Malcia paused her eyes gleaming"hmm..i am heading for Minbenthac in the morning.. if you can catch me and defeat me in battle before i reach Minbenthac, i will give you the potion. if not, you must confessto practicing abominations, and will receive the proscribed sentence. Damnato Memorae" Malcia said a broad smile on her face. "Only two of you, may face me. the rest, may go on their way.. Choose amongst you who will be chasing me..
-
Lucien had had enough of this crap from her.
"No way! We didn't come all that way for nothing, you-"
What came out next would have sounded like a garbled roar to a humans's ear.
"Stay HERE and fight, or I'll just kill you myself! You have NO POWER to give ME conditions, female!"
-
Ilsa and I will hunt you down.. after all you're the one who cursed us" Minna said, hate in her eyes
- Very well it will be your funeral.." Malcia smorked. She gestured and the five of them vanished. Margas blinked they were standing outside of the castle. " Hurry! He said rushing to the boat which was still anchored in the river. We must head to Minbenthac and prevent Malcia from reaching there.
- minna and Ilsa found themselves in a locked room a small comfy bed sat in the corner and minna clambered into it. ' could you do my back Ilsa?' Minna asked. her feet were caked with blood from traveling in the ice and fire realms, the air realms and climbing all those stairs had done nothing to help with the healing.. Ilsa reached inside her lioncloth and oulled out a small bag of lotion
" Be careful, this will sting" Ilsa said rubbing the lotion on to both of Minnas's feet Minna cried in pain as the cuts fizzled and stung " stop being such a baby" ilsa rebuked her as she applied more of the lotion. Minna grit her teeth, but soon the pain slowly began to subside. ;thanks Minna whispered and turned on her back, which was red from being burned from the heat of the fire realm.
Ilsa Got onto the bed and slowly began rubbing her back in circular motions Minna arched her back slightly " why did you do that Ilsa? Challenge her to a rematch?
_ It was the only thing I could think of.. and it appealed to her vanity..
_ But if we fail, we had to to admit that we had relations! Damnatio Memorae! The shame! the disgrace of our fathers and family!
- Now you see why that night at your palace I told you we couldn't do that sort of thing. Its all or nothing Minna. We must catch her tommorow, we cannot fail again." iLsa said , moving up to her shoulder, "Look, if we fail, we're going to die anyway..
_ Don't even go there Minna.. " Ilsa said as she moved to MInna's tail on lower body
-
Lucien waited outside of the tower. He didn't want to go back to the boat. Not just yet. He had a score to settle with that female. No on put him through that. NO ONE. He had come far too far to not avenge himself now.
-
Be carful Lucien. if she knows you're waiting for her" Margas said as footsteps echoed down the stairs " Malcia was coming out of the tower.. "well.. well" She said cynically.."reeady to say goobye to your lovers" she cackled " that set Margas off " munistre! He roared and blasted her against the wall. As Malcia tried to get to her feet to saw Lucien standing over her his sword " No! Wai!" but she never finished the sentence..
-
With one swift motion, he ran her through with his sword, twisted it to one side, and pulled it out of HER side. The result was a horrible mess, a dead female, and a lot of blood on the desert floor.
"FINALLY! She's gone! She's gone! HAHA! I'm so happy, I might just think this trip was all worth it!"
"Really?" Annette asked, curious. She had caught up with him.
"Haha... oh, no. It was still a waste."
-
Remind me never to piss you off" Marghas said darkly, as he began searching though Malcia's remains.. 'TYou did the girls a great service, they will bioth be greatly relieved when they hear the news.. as he searched he finally pulled out a small blue vial.. on it were small writing "Elixir of fresor" His eyes widened Fresor was the only known cure for several Dark curses including Lesbos His eyes began to fill with tears. " They will be fine" He muttered , and taking the vial, he rushed back into the tower.
-
Lucien and Anette took Malcia's body and, using a fireball that Annette conjured, burned it, but not before Lucien cut off her horns. He knew that the horns of a magical creature were worth a lot of money at a magical marketplace. He'd sell one, and keep the other as a memento.
"Well, that's one more thing to add to my collection" Lucien thought to himself.
-
margas searched the cadtyle before finally finding ilsa and Minna. Minna was giving Ilsa a rub.." We got her: Margas said entering the room. " She had the antidote on her..
_ wait" Minna paused from rubbing Ilsa's legs. "what do you mean..?
_ You killed her? Ilsa asked " No, Lucien did.." Margas was cut off as minna flew over to him and kissed him. "thank you" She sobbed as margas broke away from her. "She.. had it coming. If we hadn't done it in battle Minbenthac would have executed her for cursing us." Ilksa said getting off the bed. Margas came up to her and Ilsa hugged him, let herself lean against him, feeling his well-developed body and his strong arms..
-
Lucien ran over to find Minna. Was she better? Was there another step to removing the curse? When would they finally be able to go back to Minbenthac? Soon. All it took was a bit of time. That, and the antidote.
"Minna? Where are you? That crone is gone at last!" Well, she was a very attractive female, but Malcia was still a crone to Lucien. No one put him through that. No one.
Annette was much more calm, by contrast. She surveyed the area, pondering what significance the recent events had on her, only to conclude that they had very little meaning for her.
-
(since Noname invited me in here, I'm taking him up on his offer ^^)
Rushing through the streets, running on all fours ran a werewolf girl. Her fur was brown and all she wore was a shirt and shorts, nothing else. Her name was Violet and she was searching for someone, well, more like some place actually, somewhere that delt in magic.
She stopped to catch her breath, she wasn't the most athletic werewolf from her tribe, and to make matters worse, she had only been running for 5 minutes at least as she stood back on two feet again, breathing heavily before looking around "Huh, I remember that shop....this place is so confusing...." she complained to herself.
Violet continued to walk along the streets until she had come across a palace, just looking at it in awe and started to walk towards the doors, only to be stopped by the guards "Um, I just want to see the one who knows magic around here" she told the guards.
"No one is allowed in without Adykon's permission" the guard told her.
"Oh, but um, Adykon, he uh....is....expecting me?" Violet asked back in an attempt to lie her way inside.
The guard looked at her for a long hard second to which Violet seemed to smile innocently back at the guard "Very well then, follow me" he told her as he took Violet inside the palace and approached Adykon "This one, she said that you were expecting her"
-
Adykon wasn't expecting anyone, but his name had been made public knowledge. Anyone who needed help might very well be coming to him, if he was indeed this savior-figure of prophecy that he was being made out to be. This one did not fit the expected profile, though.
"Guard, leave her be. She doesn't look like a threat."
As the guard left, Adykon introduced himself to her.
"Hello there. Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm Adykon, the warrior you are so desperate to meet. What is your name?"
The mercenary must have seemed frightening to her. He was over two meters tall, decked out in armor, and, in addition to his huge, double-handed sword, had a full set of claws, fangs, and horns.
-
"Yeah, go on" Violet told the guard as she seemed to poke her tounge out at him as well before turning to Adykon.
"Well, um, I wasn't really wanting to meet you, I just wanted to have a look inside and kinda lied to the guards....I'm trying to find someone whose good with magic, cause I need their help with something, and I thought there could be someone in here, cause the city is confusing...." Violet told him as she still looked at him in awe "Oh yeah, I'm Violet, a werewolf"
-
Adykon knew of the curse of lycanthropy. Was she seeking a cure?
"Are you seeking to be cured of your... your... 'werewolfism'? I can direct you to someone who can help. I don't have any curing abilities, though. I'm just a warrior."
Adykon didn't quite understand the situation. He certainly had no healing powers of his own.
-
"Um, no, not that, I like being a werewolf, it was actually, something else, er....it's um, darkness, you know, dark magic.....I can use dark magic....which I don't want to, and it's, well, it feels like it's trying to take over my whole body, and I want to find a cure for it" Violet told him with a frown on her face.
-
"Oh. Well, in that case, you'll want to speak with Vespion. He's that Dracon priest over there" Adykon replied, gesturing to the right. "He also has experience with magic and curse removal. He should be able to help you control or dispel dark magics."
Was this new girl going to join them? They needed all the help they could get.
-
Violet only seemed to stand there for a second or so and gave a smile at Adykon before looking over at Vespion "So, um, can you help me at all? Cause I don't know if I actually want this curse or not, I mean, the magic is useful, but I don't want to become evil and mean and all that you know"
-
Vespion looked at her. "What's your name? I saw you talking to Adykon just now. I overheard something about dark magic. I can sense some in you. I also see that you are female by your appearance and voice. How did you gain this curse to begin with?"
-
"I'm Violet, and yeah, I'm a female" she told Vespion with a smile before he asked her how she got the curse "Oh, well, I was born with it as far as I know anyway, I man, nothing really happened when I was younger, well, a few things did, but nothing really significant, it was just like small dark spells here and there...."
-
"Alright. I can give you an enchantment that will inhibit the dark powers, but if you are under extreme stress, anger, or pain, they will probably break. If you need me to remove the inhibitors so you can use more power, just ask me. This will have the effect of curbing your powers to a degree, but I can sense that it won't be an issue for most spells you could safely cast." Vespion replied. "I will need to take your hand in mine for it to work, and I require your permission before casting it."
-
Violet just looked at him with a confused look on her face as he gave her the enchantment "Er, um....thanks?" she paused for a second before speaking again "Um, I'm going to have to think about that one, cause I just don't know at the moment"
Violet then looked back at Adykon again as she scratched herself for a second "Um, are you some kind of hero by any chance? Cause you kinda look like one"
-
"I am a warrior raised on a goat farm. I don't think I'm a hero, but many think the party is some sorta saving force in the world. I believe that this is all playing out like some divine game. I don't know if I am heroic or not, but it is nice that someone believes in me." Adykon replied.
-
"A goat farm?" Violet asked him with a quick lick of her lips "Did you kill anyone? Or do anything heroic like? You know, save a cat from a tree, help an old lady cross the street sort of thing?"
-
"I get paid money to kill people. Helping old people is not high on my priority list." Adykon replied flatly. He looked over the girl. She looked attractive enough by the standards of whatever kind she was.
"Are you interested in joining the party? Is there anything you can do well? Magic? Fighting? Maybe you are a martial artist?" A dancer?"
-
"Fighting stuff and all that?" Violet thought for a second "Well, I could join, cause I don't think they want me back at my village and all" she gave off a slight sigh "But I can fight, well, sort of, not really, I mean, I haven't fought anyone before, but I did fight a bear once.....oh, and I can dance too! I usually dance in the festive things back at our village" she told him.
The truth was, she hadn't fully thought everything through, especially not what would happen after she had found a magic person, but so far, to her, joining this group seemed like the best bet at least.
-
"You... say you never fought anyone, but then you fought a bear?" Adykon was rather confused. "And why don't they want you back at your village? Did you commit a crime? Steal something? Hurt someone? Was it because of the dark magic or a curse, or whatever it is that afflicts you?"
-
"Yeah, the bear stole my dinner, it took me ages to catch that fish...." Violet frowned "And, well, they don't want me back, cause I think it's cause of the curse....I don't think they trust me, in case I do something wrong, so please, can I come with you? Otherwise, I'll be lonely...."
-
"Yes, you can come with us. Sure. Do you have any powerful spells? If you were in a fight, how would you react? And how did you earn money to get here? I don't imagine you got here with nothing to trade." Adykon replied.
-
"The village elder gave me some money to help me out to get here" Violet told him before answering his other question "Well, I suppose I would try and attack them, especially if they were like that bear that stole my fish, but spells, well, I don't really know, cause it seems to just happen randomly, have not learned how to control it at the moment"
-
"I understand. You would be considered a sorceress then, if you were born with those powers. I've seen it before, a female being unable to control her powers. Sorceresses use magic based on their emotions, and are never really in control of their magic. They need to use emotions to power their spells, and not thought or will. I understand your problem." Adykon replied. "If you need to earn a bit more, there are places which pay dancers. Still, the king of Minbenthac is covering the expenses of this adventuring party. I'm sure he'll cover your costs too."
-
Violet got a bit curious when he mentioned the dancers "Really? What kind of dancers are there?" she did want to know about that at least, almost completely forgetting what Adykon had told her about the sorceresses.
-
"Dracon inns and taverns are known for having dancers as entertainment, usually the topless or unclothed kind. I don't know how well you would think of that." Adykon started to explain. "Two members of the party, Rhiga and her late mother Vaeri were both dancers." He cringed at the mention of his lost beloved. Vaeri...
"Anyway, there's no need for you to do that if you are with us. The king of Minbenthac is covering all of our expenses. You, me, Vespion, Eternion, Eriol, Arianne, the Fauxen, Rex, Sasha, Selturma, Marcus, Annette, Rhiga, Minna, and Ilsa are all covered for whatever it is we need to buy." Adykon hoped that he hadn't forgotten anyone. Jake was not included in his account because the boy was still... wherever he was.
-
"Oh, well, I haven't done that before" Violet told Adykon "Well, dancing topless anyway, well, not in front of anyone anyway" she added on with a little blush as well. However, once he mentioned the party members to her, she just looked at him, a confused look upon her face "Um, wait....what?"
If she was given the chance to dance topless in front of people at an inn, she might take that chance up herself, well, to at least try it out, cause to her, it was sounding rather intruiging, but then of course, you would have all the bar partons howling and whistling and what not at her assets, which is what would be putting her off from it as well.
-
"There's no need to do that. Everything you need is provided for you if you are with us." Adykon replied. He thought that she and the party were somehow meant to be as one, that it was somehow ordained. Nothing was a coincidence to him anymore; too much had happened for that. "Are you feeling okay, though, Violet. You aren't feeling sick or sore? I need to make sure that you are alright before putting you through the sheer... experience that this party will have to undertake."
-
"Yeah, I'm fine, I'm not sick or sore, well, I don't think I am anyway, I mean, when I got here, I was fine, so I guess I am fine" Violet smiled back to Adykon "Um, why do you ask anyway?"
-
"I could not for the life of me send someone who in anything but the best physical shape out to do what we are doing next. This is war. I don't know if you've heard or not, but the Dark Master Dememoras has returned. I don't know all there is to know about him, only that he is very powerful, he runs an invisible empire of deadly agents, and his mages have caused extreme problems for us and our race as a whole."
Adykon kept from her the full explanation of Dememoras. He was a serious threat from the past, and much more had been explained earlier. It would take a long time to explain it all over again. :blink:
-
"Oh, so he's like some sort of evil king of some sort?" Violet thought for a second before speaking again "He could be a threat to my people too, so, well, that would be more of a reason for me to stop him too, even if my people don't really trust me"
"So, when do we go anyway?" she decided to ask him instead, now rather curious on when they're to leave.
-
"He isn't exactly a king... he wants to be an emperor, from what we gather, to be the ruler of ALL the Dracon lands, not just any one of them. And we don't really leave until we settle some business here. First, two of our party members need to return, and then, there will be a wedding. After that, we need to move against Dememoras in conjunction with the forces of Minbenthac. The other cities have been alerted to the perilous situation, but so far, we aren't seeing any cooperation from them." Adykon replied.
-
"Ah okay" Violet said, even though she didn't understand the last thing of what he told her, she just seemed to smile at him anyway "But a wedding? Wow" her face did seem to light up at hearing that a wedding was to happen "Um, who's invited to the wedding anyway?" she was again, getting curious about something else.
-
"Everyone in the party is invited, along with the bride and groom's family. There will also be a lot of on-lookers, I imagine" Adykon shuddered at the thought of a huge crowd packing the temple. "After that, we shall have to go on the warpath immediately, possibly even the very next day. I would not condemn you to this against your will. Are you certain you want to expose yourself to those kinds of risks? And where are you from, anyway? How did you get here?"
-
"Yeah, I mean, if I want to save my village and all, I'll have to be, and besides, I don't think it will be that tough" she told Adykon before going on about her village "Oh, that, well, I'm from the Lycan village of Garson, but how I got here, I paid someone who was heading here to give me a ride in their cart, it was an elf who was happy to help me out"
"So, where is the wedding going to be held? And um, if the whole party is invited.....can I come too?" Violet asked him as she was unsure if that also meant if any late party members were allowed in.
-
"It will probably be held in the Great Temple of Minbenthac, as was the last wedding before it was crashed by an old foe of ours. And yes, you are invited." Adykon replied. "Was this village some sort of colony for people infected with lycanthropy? Were you born like this?"
-
"Yeah, we were, I mean, I was born like this" Violet told him with a smile "I guess our village is a bit different than other villages, you know, not being able to change back as far as we know anyway, but yet, it doesn't seem to bother anyone either, especially not me, I like it like this"
-
"Well, I won't judge you based on appearances" Adykon replied. "If I did that, the party would be only half of what it is, at most! In any case, you can stay with us. Do you want to have a room arranged for you as we stay here?"
-
"You can do that?" Violet asked him about the room "Cause I would like a room to have while I'm staying here, cause I don't want to have to sleep on the floor or anything like that, like at my village, we have beds and all" she said with a smile again.
-
"Of course. This palace has many, many rooms. I am sure that if we can all be given a place to sleep, there must be at least one more for you." Adykon told her. "At least you didn't have to walk all the way here, the sand and rocks must be painful after enough time, and your kind doesn't seem to be adapted for the desert."
-
"Nah, we're not, out village has grass, a river, houses and all that sort of stuff, so no, we don't know about the desert as much, but still having a room would be real nice, so can you find e one? That would be really appreciated" Violet told Adykon with a wag of her tail.
-
"I'll help you find a room. Give me a moment." Adykon told her before addressing the rest of the party; "Everyone. Could I have a moment of your time? Thank you. This is Violet. She has agreed to join us. Right now, she has asked for a room to stay in. I'm going to take her to find one in the palace with the approval of the staff here. I shall be back soon."
-
Violet gave a wave at everyone else "Um, hi everyone" was all she had said with a smile still on her face before she turned back to Adykon "Um, lead the way then, cause I'll get lost if you told me where to go"
-
"I'll lead you, don't worry. Once you are settled in, feel free to rejoin the party." And in a short time, they went through the palace, eventually coming upon one of the managers, who led them to a spacious room once Adykon had explained the situation to him.
Violet's room was predominantly colored green. The carpet which covered the whole floor was colored in a bright green hue, the bed was colored as if it was an emerald, and there was a pool of fish in the room swimming as if it were in green water, but this was just the reflection of the green in the room.
"The room changes color, I've been told" Adykon explained to her. "You can cycle through the colors by clapping twice." CLAP CLAP! As he did that, the room changed to brown, then after another two claps, it changed to blue, then red, then yellow, white, pink, violet, light blue, and then green again.
-
"Wow" was all that Violet could say as she looked around the room in awe before finally managing to say something else "I never had anything like this back in my village" she told Adykon as she walked over to the bed and sat down onto it, bouncing up and down a bit "Hehe, it's so soft" she added on as she lay down on it, looking over to Adykon "Um, thanks, this room is nice, I like it"
-
"You are very welcome. We also have some night clothes in here for you." He pulled out a loincloth from a drawer that seemed to fit her. Looking at her, he realized that it might not be the best match for her species. "Well, if you want it, its there. I'll be with the rest of the party. Come join us once you are settled in here. If you want to rest, feel free to do so. I'll come to get you if I don't see you with the rest of us in a few hours."
-
"Hehe yeah, thanks again" Violet said smiling at Adykon as she headed over to the little fish pond and more or less looked in, watching the fish swimming around.
The moment that Adykon had turned his back, she reached in to grab one of the fish, she had not eaten in quite some time and just seeing the fish made her hungry.
It took her a few tries, but she managed to grab one of the fish and begun to eat it as she sat back down on her bed again, just nawing away at her dinner.
-
Adykon returned to the rest of the party, who were sitting around, quite bored.
"So, warrior, what did you learn of the girl? Is she to be trusted?" Vespion asked.
"Yes. I hate to let her join us, but we need all the help we can get. If she can bring Sasha with us, we can bring this one too. I only wish this whole mess would end."
"This isn't the sort of thing which CAN blow over. We stand at a crossroads, and which path our race will take depends on us. Failure isn't an option." Vespion replied.
-
It wasn't long till she had finished the fish and threw what was left of it onto the floor and curled up on top of the bed with a yawn before glancing over at the night stuff Adykon had pulled out.
Before long though, she was fast asleep underneath the bed covers, her clothers on the floor, the trip itself had made her rather tired and she just wanted to sleep for the time being.
-
After a couple of hours, it was getting late. Minna, Ilsa, Marcus, and Rhiga were all expected sometime in the morning of the next day, the early afternoon at the latest.
Adykon went over to Violet's door and knocked on it. "Are you okay in there? You sleeping?"
-
Violet let off a groan as she yawned before sitting up and rubbing her eyes "Uh, yeah, sort of....I was sleeping" she was looking a little tired, then again, she had just woken up as she just sat there still. She herself, wasn't wearing anything at all and she waited for Adykon to say something else as well.
-
"Are you dressed? Well, actually... the party is going to its own rooms for the night. We'll eat breakfast in the morning. If you were sleeping, sleep on! I'll see you in the morning, then." Adykon told her from behind the door.
-
Violet got out of the bed and headed to the door, opening it slightly to speaking to Adykon a bit more properly "Um, I need a question, what do I do about um, sore paws? Cause walking on the hot sand in the desert....it's sore now"
-
"We can get you a potion to protect against the heat of the ground. We also have a lot of attendants who can treat sore limbs with medicines, massages, ointments, even an enchantment if you wanted!" He replied.
-
"Really? Wow, um okay...." Violet thought for a second as she leaned against the door some more "I just want something to stop the soreness is all, but I don't know what could work best...."
-
"Try the massage, then." Adykon told her, aware that that had been used over and over and over again during the course of this adventure, as if it was a stand-in for something that was inappropriate. "The palace should have no shortage of staff skilled in giving you one."
-
"Okay, a massage might work out, yeah, that does sound nice" Violet told Adykon with a smile before looking at her paws. She had completely forgoten that she hadn't gotten dressed yet, but then again, it wasn't bothering her at the moment, but weather or not it was bothering Adykon would be a different story, however, she just wanted to get it sorted out, one way or another.
-
Adykon was on the other side of the door. "I'll leave you to sort it out yourself, I have to go now. Feel free to ask around; the servants are very helpful around here." And with that, he departed for his own room for the night.
-
Violet grabbed her clothes and headed out of her room, putting on her shorts first as she headed down the hallway, holding her shirt in her hands "Where are they?" she asked herself as she looked around, putting her shirt on as well.
-
Even late at night, the palace was still a center of activity. There were still those who were willing and able to help Violet out, if she asked around for them. The Dracons knew many ways to soothe sore limbs, to rub away pain, and to relax tense muscles, as well as to simply produce pleasurable sensations.
-
Violet soon enough, found where everyone was, so to speak and asked one of them "Um, I'm uh, new here and that hero guy of yours said that I can get some help from your about massages for sore limbs, cause my paws are sore from walking in the desert" she said with a pout.
-
Misro came up to the young Lycan" ah a Lycan, haven't had one of your kind here since my family's been here.. your kind usually keep to yourselves. What is you name" The servant asked.. " Just climb onto this sofa and lie down on your back.. and i will be giving you a massage He sniffed and caught a whiff of the werewolf's smell, suffice to say, it was not pleasant " a bath, as well I think, would be advisable.." Misro said and he began pulling out his massaging kit.
-
Violet jumped onto the sofa and layed down onto her back "I'm Violet" she told Misro. When he mentioned her having a bath, she looked at him for a moment before speaking "But I just had a bath yesterday" she told him "But I suppose I should have one, I did walk through the desert and had a run around as well...."
-
"Violet is it? Well Violet, you emit a powerful order. You may not realize it, and I don't mean to be offensive" Misro clarified as he began rubbing the werewolf's back
_
"Lets head back " Ilsa said taking the potion from margas with a tremendous sigh of relief. "This potion will take effect 6 hours after being drunk.." She said "So If I take it now , I'll be cured once I wake up from sleep" Minna asked " you should.." Margas replied. "Now lets go home.. we have a wedding to attend..' He grinned as the three of them exited the tower and headed down to the boat.
_ The journey back was uneventful , save for minna warily looking at the vial in her claws. She had decided to wait a little bit before drinking it.. she would drink it once she got home..
-
" Ilsa grew impatient with her friend. " just drink it! We came through all of this for that thing, and now you're getting cold feet .. Here" Ilsa took the vial and let about half the potion fall into her mouth. she swallowed it and capped it. The potion had a slightly bitter taste like a diluted lemonade. "There" she said, handing the now half-full vial back to Minna. "Drink it..If you have .. any "ideas" I suggest you put them out of your mind.. We boyth have mates, either intended or actual, now.. we can't afford any shenanigans.." Ilsa said in a low voice and went over to the far side of the boat and sat down. the city of minbenthac was drawing closer every second, and her heart filled with joy at their successful homecoming. " I can't wait for marcus and Rhiga' s wedding" She said changing the topic..
-
Violet gave a nod back to Misro as she wagged her tail happily at recieving the massage "Yeah, I think I will have a bath afterwards" she told him as she continued to enjoy the massage.
-
It was still night at this time. Violet was still enjoying herself as Minna, Ilsa, Annette, Lucien, and Margas arrived in Minbenthac. The moon was full and bright, and there was little cloud cover. Truly, a good night indeed. At least one of the girls was now free from the curse, and the party was about to be reunited. Marcus and Rhiga slept soundly, and Rhiga was starting to recover from her premature laying.
-
' I need a bath too' Misro grinned as he began to lather the werewolf's legs with lotion " How far away is your village from here?' He asked as he moved down to the girl's tail...
-
"Oh, it's quite a while away actually, it took me forever to get here" she told him, of course, she was more or less exaggerating on the forever part, she just had no idea how long it took her to get here, but for her, it felt like forever.
-
AS Ilsa entered Minbenthac she heard a sobbing behind her Tears were straeaming out of mInna's face " We actually did it!" she cried.
_ Finally sinking in.?' margas said. "You're free, of everything Malcia put on you. What happened under the spell, that's between you two, and the gods. I won't ask, and you do not need to say anything. However, I do not want anything more than friendship between you.. anything more .. is extremely dangerous.. and I will not put up with it.." His voice turned cold. " understand?
_
Yes' Minna said, the change in Margas' tone unnerved her. Margas had a powerful voice, even when spoken in a low tone, every word of his met their mark. Minna remained silent until they reached the Palace. As soon as she set foot inside, she gulped down the potion, drinking every last drop. Once she had finished , she put the empty vial away in her loincloth.
-
So you have no idea then" Misro stopped as he saw Minna enter the Room. " Lady Minna! Praise thevgods! You've returned!
_ I trust you have been on your best behavior" Minna said her voice recocvering a liittle of its former tome, she was now in aa superior position, at least in this exchange. " and who is this?' She asked noticed Violet.
_ This is Lady Minna, my mistress' Misro said.
-
Violet looked at Lady Minna "Are you some sort of Queen?" was all that had come to her mind at that point as she stretched "I'm Violet"
-
' Queen? No, I'm just a female noble, a queen is far above me in rank and power" Minna replied "What exactly are you, Violet? I've not seen your type before... I was away.. on personal.. business. and I just returned.. Please, feel free to wander around the castle.. you are my guest" Minna said kindly.
-
"I'm a werewolf" Violet replied "I just got here from my village" she told Lady Minna before she looked to Misro "Oh, um, thanks for that massage too, I liked it"
-
You're welcome" Misro nodded, before turning walking off, it was late and he was ready for bed..
"A werewolf.. oh .. I see" Minna replied sitting down. " and how big is your village Vioket? Forgive me for being so personal.." Minna clarified as Ilsa sat down on a sofa opposite her " Oh, Violet" minna said noticing Ilsa " This is Lady Ilsa, a good friend of mine. Ilsa this is Violet
Ilsa nodded " Nice to meet she said, givng the werewolf a looking-over " Are you a Lycan, by any chance? i heard there aren't that many of them left.."
-
"Yeah, I'm a lycan, a werewolf" Violet said with a smile "My village is kinda big, it has, I think 50 or so of us in it, well, that's what I kept on hearing anyway" she added on as she sat up and scratched herself "But we don't have any of that technology stuff in it, it's kinda....what's the word, um, non-technology?"
Violet just seemed to smile yet again "But I don't know if we're the only ones left or if there are more of our kind elsewhere"
-
"Magical?' Ilsa smiled. ' that is the term for it. although technology and magic need not be mutually exclusive, in other words, they can coexist together" She explained. " I take it you are somewhat of an outcast.."
-
"Um, yeah, I think that's the word" replied Violet, a small confused look on her face "But yeah, I guess you could say I am, it's kinda a long story" she said with a sigh "Cause you see, no one really uses magic in our village, but I was born with dark magic within me, and I came here trying to find a cure for it or something along those lines"
-
"You'ere not the only one unfortunately"minna said kindly "thats how life is. we seee only too often here as well."
-
"You mean, you're the same as well?" Violet decided to ask her rather curiously, her tail still wagging as well.
-
no, i don't have dark magic in me ' Minna clarified "I mean I know what it is like to be an outcast.. because of who I am.. now.. it is getting quite late..and we both need our sleep.,, so come with me and i'll show you to your room.." mInna said getting up and walking towards the guest rooms.
-
"Thanks, I'm always getting lost in the place, it's just so big, and besides, I can have a bath as well when I get into my room, I need one anyway" Violet replied with a smile as she followed Minna.
-
Of course, you may, just don't stay up too late"Minna said " i have a lot of business to attend to in the morning, and I must be off to bed.. This is your room" She said pausing before a door before opening it and letting Violet enter, there is a tub on your left, its small, but you should be able to fit into it..
-
"Hehe, thanks, um....goodnight" Violet told Minna with a smile as she headed inside and shut the door. She took her clothes off and ran some water to get a bath ready for herself before getting into it and started to wash herself off.
-
Goodnight" minna said and headed off to bed with Ilsa following her. The Two girls said good night to each other and Ilsa allowed Minna to give her a quick nuzzle on the cheek before turning and walking away to her room for the night. Minna went inside and soon fell asleep
-
It wasn't long until she got out of the tub and dried herself off before getting into the bed covers, wearing nothing at all as she gave off a yawn, laying on her back as she looked at the ceiling, still remaining rather awake at the moment.
However, that didn't seem to last long as she had soon enough, fallen asleep.
-
Marcus stirred from his bed and moved softly as to not wake his partner Rhiga. He walked into the kitchen to check on the egg which they had wrapped carefully in a soft bllanket to keep it warm. Today He would invite his mother Carnia and his father Dusten to come over and visit..
_ Minna awoke from her sleep and looked around the sun was just up, the sky was pink. minna got out of bed and dressed. She felt little different only a sense of relief that the curse on her had been lifted.
-
As the sun rose up and glared into Violet's room, the young werewolf gave off a groan as she opened her eyes slightly at the sun glaring her right in the face. She had managed to sleep all through the night on top of the covers, until the sun had woken her up.
Violet just grabbed her pillow and threw it over her face again as to block out the glaring sun as best as she could, not wanting to get up at the moment.
-
Adykon was up before the sun had even risen. Vespion was up early too. This bothered neither of them, as they were quite used to such a schedule by now, given their adventuring over the past weeks and months.
Rhiga arose with the sun. She was recovering well from her ordeal with the egg.
"Good morning, Marcus. Are we finally moving ahead with our plans to marry?" She asked him, giving him a huge. Knowing the answer, it was more of an effort to get him to say what she wanted him to. She wanted to just tie the knot and get this over with. The first wedding had ended in utter catastrophe; this one would not, she hoped.
-
Violet's little sleep in didn't last that long as the sun just would not go away, even as she groaned some more before throwing her pillow down onto the ground and just lay there for a few more seconds before rolling onto her back, stretching and giving off a yawn.
She then sat up and stretched a second time. Violet had actually enjoyed her little sleep she had, the bed was rather comfortable indeed. She sat there for a few more moments before jumping off the bed and deciding to have a look outside, out of her window of course, looking at the fairly busy market place, her tail wagging in the process.
-
Adykon knocked on the door. "Violet! Are you up? Tallon has invited us for breakfast! Get dressed and come out!" He had guessed that she was undressed; his own kind would have done the same.
Marcus and Rhiga had arrived at the palace at about the same time.
-
Violet's ear perked up at the sound of Adykon's voice as she gave off a quick sigh "Yeah, okay, I'll be there" she called back as she grabbed her shorts and slipped into them before grabbing her shirt and opening up the door before putting it on.
She looked to Adykon with a quick lick of her lips "Breakfast? Ooo, it already sound nice, and yet, I don't even know what we're having to eat"
-
"I don't know either, but it smells like bread and meat! And maybe a bit of fruit." The warrior replied. He was wearing a blue shirt, long matching pants, and had neither his armor nor his sword. Still, he was ready in case of a fight. Together, they went down to meet the rest of the party, which was already gathering in the dining room.
-
Violet sniffed as well, giving her lips a bit of a lick once more "Well, whatever it, is smells delicious" was all she said as she followed Adykon into the dinning room.
-
Seated around a huge, round table was the whole party. They had gathered there to eat. Adykon, Vespion, Eriol, Arianne, Rex, Sasha, Eternion, the Fauxen, and now Violet had been joined by Minna, Ilsa, Marcus, Annette and Rhiga. Jake was still in Hekaga doing who-knew what. Kravik and Sivar were a distant memory. Vaeri was... still dead. Selturma had joined the party to eat, but she couldn't continue the adventuring; it was too dangerous for her. She would wait at Rex's house, with his family.
Tallon was present at the table, along with Lucien and Margas. The two males had come to join with the adventuring party, figuring that from this point on, anyone who could help had to.
-
Violet begun to groom herself whilst she sat at the table, looking at everyone who had joined for breakfast as well "So, what is for breakfast?" she decided to ask just anyone more or less, wanting an answer of some sort at least.
-
'Something big and meaty, I hope,' the one eyed charcoal black dracon said, whom sat at the other side of the table. 'I'm hoping for something better than what I used to eat,' he continued with a hearty laugh.
Eternion looked around the table, and rubbed his weary eye. 'Well... I go and have a rest, and lo and behold I return for the morning to find even more have joined us. We'll have outdone the population of many a small village in no time.'
The old dracon wore a black linen robe, similar to what he would have worn back in his time with the temple. He always had a thing for clothing, as much as others might find the habit weird for a dracon... though so many decades in other races land had forced many a unique custom upon him.
He leaned back in his chair and yawned, his eye fixed on Violet. 'I haven't seen a werewolf in quite a few years, and yet I find myself hardly surprised to see one here... given the present company,' Eternion said, gesturing around the table. Of course, he decided not to mention that the last werewolf he'd met had tried to kill him... though he wasn't going to hold any grudges. After all, nearly every race in this world had at one point tried to kill him.
Not long after, he lifted his head and sniffed the air. 'Ah, something good is coming our way.'
-
Indeed, something good was coming; the meal included soft bread by the loaf, strips of beef and pork, bowls of fruit, eggs, a porridge of oats that humans particularly liked, and juices squeezed out of various fruits.
It was more than what most Dracons could ever hope to afford, especially considering how much of it there was; enough to feed a village, it seemed.
-
...and Eternion knew this... and dove right in, quickly piling up various pieces upon his plate, scooping up everything he could with a fork turned weapon of mass food gathering destruction. It was as if he had never seen food before... but he certainly wasn't going to let up an opportunity to absolutely stuff himself full.
Eternion's table manners could be best described as simply not existing at all. The old dracon fed himself well, throwing one piece after another into his mouth and chewing like some sort of rabid animal.
'Mmm, vmry gmd,' he said, mouth full, to one of the servants who stood aside Eternion, trying to keep himself from staring too much. Breakfast was indeed very good, a meal fit for a king, unsurprisingly... and Eternion was taking advantage of that as much as he did at the shop.
-
Violet grabbed a few peices of meat herself and begun to eat them bit by bit, licking her lips now and then as well. She hadn't eaten for a few hours, and she was indeed hungry as she continued to more or less scoff down the meat.
-
The rest of the party was somewhat surprised by Eternion's manners, or lack thereof. It was true that Dracons didn't have the best reputation for conduct at the table, but this was taking it to a whole new level! Tallon dispatched a couple of servants to attend to the mess, trying his best to overlook the mess that was created, while turning to Adykon to discuss the upcoming events.
"So, what's next on the agenda?"
"Marcus and Rhiga intend to marry soon, as you know."
"Ah, yes. I heard about the disaster the first time around. That mage... what was his name?"
"Arcantas. I had killed him, but he was brought back as a vampire. To put it bluntly, he crashed the party."
"And kidnapped Rhiga, where she was placed under a tower for months on end, I've heard. Vespion told me about it."
"Yeah... amazing what sorta things can happen in this world."
"After the wedding, what next?"
"We will meet with the king again. I was informed recently that he's dispatched an army of several thousand to combat any immediate threats that Dememoras will launch. The problem is, we don't know the extent of his capabilities. He has the loyalty of Hekaga's heir, the crown prince, and we know that he has many other powerful nobles as well as mages under his command."
"Didn't you once tell me that his forces included kobolds?"
"Yes, badly armed ones at that. We have also seen well-armed Dracon soldiers, as well as some sort of clay creatures."
"Clay creatures?
"Some sort of humanoid-shaped beings. I believe the term is... construct. Clay constructs. We fought one that was able to mimic Rhiga not long after she was captured."
"A mimic? I've heard of those." Tallon replied. "I know that certain mages can take a portion of magically-treated clay, place an enchanted scroll inside of it, and command it. Since the clay is magical and mutable, it can take on the shape of whatever the mage needs it to, within a certain size difference from its original form."
Tallon was wearing silken robes with gold woven into them. Even at breakfast, he was quite a sight to behold. Taking out a piece of parchment the noble wrote down some quick notes about what the party was going to do next.
"I understand that you may be encountering some dangerous magics, Adykon. Tell me, please, about what you have encountered so far."
"Well, I don't remember everything, but starting with my first meeting with Arcantas, I faced kobolds, a chimera, wooden constructs, two vampires, some dragons, I've been told that Minna and Ilsa have faced some drakes and a sorceress, we all know about the archmage Arcantas, and of course, those Dracon soldiers. I wish I knew where they came from, and why they serve Dememoras."
"I've heard something about them being geased to serve him." Tallon replied. By now, both of them knew that a geas was a spell used to compel another to obey orders. "That still doesn't explain where they come from, or why they decided to serve him to begin with. I've never heard of any mass kidnappings. No, it seems like these troops are being given to the Dark Master by the normal authorities; chiefs, nobles, and kings."
"Why would they do that?" Adykon asked.
"To increase their own power. As a very rich Dracon, I know how that works."
"Well, tell me, how does it work, Tallon?"
Tallon paused for a moment to think about his words. How to say it...
"Wealth is both a means and an ends. Money has no intrinsic value, yet we would kill for it. You can't eat gold, but people gladly give you food for it, and coinage is essentially a medium by which a deal works; we all agree that coins can buy things, otherwise, the system would break down. What does this mean? It means that as long as we keep agreeing to it, money means power. The second society no longer sees it like that, money is worth very little indeed."
Taking a breath, Tallon continued.
"Increasing one's power does not mean being given more gold. I don't get my wealth from sitting on a pile of coins all day, I control the means by which wealth is produced. That's why I run mines, farms, vineyard, roads, ships, housing, the works. I control more than money; I control the means of producing it."
"So, how does that fit into the Dark Master's scheme? I'm not getting it. I also don't get why nobles would side with someone who would take all the power for himself." Adykon asked, crossing his legs.
"Dememoras will have control of all if he is in charge, this is true. However, even if all property and wealth theoretically belonged to him, in practice, there would be a group of nobles who controlled a great deal of assets. The ones who side with the Dark Lord clearly seek to get their piece of the pie. Fools. They don't create wealth by doing that, they just want to profit at the expense of the rest of us."
"Isn't that what you do, Tallon? No offense meant."
"Well... yes and no. Yes, I don't doubt that my operations have taken advantage of land and labor alike, not to mention that every acre of land that I own is one less acre for everyone else, but my assets are geared to produce value, not merely to turn on a tap and collect rent. That sort of behavior is exactly what those who side with the dark master want."
"What behavior?"
"Rent-seeking behavior, the bane of our society. It generally means making a profit for oneself by extracting value through taking something from others without adding to productivity. In other words, the kind of behavior you see from those who collect rent from tenements without ever reinvesting money into improvements in them."
"And that's bad?"
"Very. That's one of the reasons so many Dracons are poor; instead of investing in productivity, the ones in charge of the economy invest in their own fortunes. I produce wealth by running operation that add value to the goods I produce, and reinvest a large portion of my profits into improving the efficiency of my operations. This makes the profits larger and gives me the ability to expand. I don't just turn on the tap and lie on a couch, I have to take an active role in my operations."
"How does this have to do with the Dark Master?"
"He seeks to simply place himself on the top, and have all others bow to him. He would run everything just to hear others praise him night and day, or so I've heard. Those nobles who send their soldiers to him are making a mistake."
"Speaking of warriors, how many do you have?"
"Me?" Tallon replied. "I have about 2500 armed guards plus I pay a retainer for another 1000 mercenaries to serve my interests." Tallon was not a perfectly good Dracon, he still owned slaves and payed many of his workers quite little, and yet, he treated them fairly well, all things considered. No one ever felt a whip under his service, and chains were not used. His methods of cutting costs rarely impacted his worker's safety, although their wages were still not the best. He also sometimes fought with other nobles using actual warriors, but he rarely let much blood be spilled.
"That's quite an impressive number."
"I also have mages, alchemists, and others work for me. My sons would gladly fight for my house as well."
"Do you fight, too?"
"Pardon?"
"If you had to fight to defend yourself, could you do it?"
"I could. I have skill with a sword and some basic spells."
"Did your father teach you?"
"No. He hired those who could. My father was a noble, like myself, but was not as careful with money as he should have been. I took his struggling plantation and turned it into the 'empire' you see before you."
"How did you do it?"
"Partly through luck. My family also owned land that had rich gold reserves that had never been exploited. Mostly, though, it was through finding a need and fulfilling it in the world of business. Once I had capital from taking care of that, I was able to use it to invest in other ventures. Once I had seen my opportunities in shipping, wineries, tenements, and other businesses, all I had to do was to take them."
"What need did you fulfill?"
"Insurance. I am the first Dracon to offer insurance on a large scale apart from the coast. I first became aware of this need when on a trip to the city of Naushindcalgoa, which as you probably know, is the largest city in our lands. Anyway, when there, I was amazed at the huge fleets of ships and the rich cargo they held; spices, silks, gold, silver, gems, pearls, you name it. Now, any number of bad things can happen to a ship, I should know. Piracy, storms, delayed trips, disease, mutiny, and many other things can all cut into profits, but nowhere was this a problem. I had learned that in spite of a spate of lost vessels that profits were still quite high, and for some Dracons, they kept climbing. Naushindcalgoa's merchants had an ace in the hole, so to speak. Their cargoes, crews, and the ships themselves were all insured."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that, in exchange for paying the insurer a certain amount of money each month, that if something happened to the item being insured, the insurer would cover the costs of it. I possess a near-monopoly on insurance in huge parts of our lands, and a total monopoly on insurance for everything save the royal assets in Minbenthac."
"It sounds like you have a lot to lose if the Dark Master takes over, but tell me, is it more than just principle which keeps you from joining him? Are you afraid that he will take what you have? Or divide up your assets among his followers?"
"Yes, yes, and yes. He wouldn't just take what I have, he would eliminate it. I know this for a fact. Even if kept the assets intact, he would run them like a cow to be milked, instead of a machine that needs repair and enhancement from time to time. Even if he does take control of our lands, I don't expect that any empire he build will outlast him, or even if he doesn't die, it will still crumble beneath him."
"Why's that?"
"An empire is a juggling game; without a team of people to run it, a single individual would have to put on a tremendous performance to keep it up. The larger the empire, the more balls are being juggled. Attempts to over-centralize an organization, be it a business or a state, can only lead to collapse if all power is vested in one individual. Even with brilliant leaders, time will take its toll; eventually, a less-than-stellar leader will be at the helm. When this happens, fragmentation begins, and if there are too many ineffective leaders for too long, the divisions can be too hard to fully heal, even if a great ruler does come forth. That's why my businesses will be run by a council when I am gone; no one heir could hold my operations together, I only do so by virtue of being the founder and the respect I command, as well as my... unusual acumen."
"So what you are telling me is-?"
"Stop Dememoras, or we'll all be bankrupt." Tallon told Adykon.
-
"Wait, is that all he's after, money?" Violet asked, only having listened to sections of the conversation, not really paying much attention to it "Cause, can't we give him a few gold coins or whatever and tell him to leave us alone?" she added in as she continued to eat some more.
-
"He wants power, not money" Tallon told Violet, taking a bite of the meat. "He wants to be the one to raise his hand and order construction of a pyramid built for his glory. He would enslave all to get his way, and destroy all we have in the process. Seriously, if he does that, a few thousand years from now we will all be poor or dead, with only a few cracked monuments to shows for it. He comes from a time and a society in which this was considered acceptable, but it isn't anymore."
-
"Oooh" replied Violet, taking another bite out of the meat "Well, if he does that, then I don't know what will happen to my race...." she said with a sigh "Sounds like we wont live through it all at this rate anyway"
-
"No, I don't imagine you would" Tallon told her, taking a sip of juice. "Dememoras would probably kill all who got in the way, or those who he didn't think fit in, or those who were no good as slave labor. Tell me, Violet, do your people have a reputation for working hard or being highly skilled?"
-
"Well, they do work quite a bit, you know, chopping wood, farming, hunting and what have you, so I suppose they do, same with their skills....um, why's that?" Violet decided to ask back, leaving the remainder of her food on the table.
-
Anyone that has skills he will likely enslave., those without skill, he will almost certainly extrerminate' Minna said, trying to ignore Eternion's bad table manners " if we fail, there will be no hope for any Dracon city in his sights..which is why we must not fail.."
-
"Then, they'll be in danger" Violet said with a sigh "And well, I do now want to help out, I want to be able to save my race from being enslaved or being killed"
-
"Good to hear!" Tallon told Violet, while cleaning off a piece of meat that had fallen from his mouth. "I don't know what level of resistance Dememoras expects, but I am sure he will test the defenses of our city first. That's how it is with archmages, at least."
"How would you know so much about archmages?" Adykon asked, curious, but realizing the answer just before Tallon said it.
"I employ one. Do you think it would be wise for me to live in a world so full of magic without the proper advice on handling it? No. All prudent nobles need to know about magic, lest they be blindsided by it. Same thing applies to kings, princes, emperors, and just about anyone who has power. Magic is too unpredictable to be left unchecked. That's what makes it dangerous. Having someone who knows about the dangers and opportunities of magic is therefore invaluable."
-
Violet just gave off a little smile back as she looked to the food. She had lost her appetite as she gave off, yet, another sigh "I'm not hungry anymore" she told Adykon at least as she got up from her seat "I think I'll go for a walk or something"
Something was on her mind, but she just didn't really want to say anything as she walked off out of the dinning hall, walking down one of the hallways first, as for now, she was making her way back to her room.
-
Vespion saw that something was wrong and excused himself from the table. After a minute, he found Violet walking the halls of the palace.
"Excuse me. We haven't spoken since we first met, but I can see that something is bothering you." Vespion told the female.
Meanwhile, at the table...
The meal was winding down. Servants scurried to clean up the mess Eternion had made, while clearing the table for all the other guests. Breakfast wasn't usually this epic.
"Alright everyone. Tallon, Lucien, and Margas will meet up with us later. Right now, we need to discuss our plans. Minna and Ilsa, I don't know if you two are going with Tallon or not, but there's this issue about marriage arrangements to Lucien and Margas. It might be a triple wedding, with Rhiga, Marcus, Minna, Ilsa, Lucien, and Margas marrying into three couples at once. Good thing too. We really don't have the time to delay. Dememoras isn't going to wait for us to settle our affairs before attacking." Adykon told the rest of the group.
-
Violet slowed down before stopping as Vespion spoke to her "Well, it's just this whole fighting thing, and it's just that I'm well, afraid of my race is all, I mean, everyone kept on saying that they could either be enslaved or killed, and I don't want either of that to happen....that's what's on my mind at the moment, and I just can't help but think of it now" she told him.
"I don't know what to do really, well, except for helping out is all" she added in as well "What do you do when your own race is in danger?"
-
"My race has only been in danger a few times before, and not during my lifetime. I'll admit, this is new to me too. I for one am not going to turn tail and flee; I shall stay to the end and resist this menace on my city. Surrender is not an option." Vespion told Violet, defiant.
-
There was silence at first from Violet, before she finally spoke "I suppose it's best to not turn tail and run....running never gets anyone anywhere" she paused again "Well, I suppose you can still count me in" she added in with a bit of a smile.
"I'm sorry for dewelling on it, it's just that nothing like that has ever happened before, and I guess I just didn't know how to really handle it"
-
"I'm not surprised. You left a life in a cozy village behind for the wider world. That alone would discomfort many. The fact that you leave it to go into the face of deadly danger is even more laudable. I am glad to have you with us Violet. Already you have shown great courage." Vespion told her, smiling.
-
"I have?" Violet asked looking a little confused before shaking her head "Um, thanks" she decided to added in with a proper smile this time.
"So um, what's going to be happening now? Cause I remember a wedding was suppose to happen, well, that's what Adykon told me at least"
-
"We need to hear the plans from Marcus and Rhiga. They are finally going to marry, along with Minna, Lucien, Ilsa, and Margas." Vespion told them. "I might be the one to perform the ceremony, being a priest and all."
-
"Then, what do you think I'll be doing?" Violet asked rather curiously "I mean, do you think I'll be doing something in the wedding?"
-
"You can throw out the flowers. We could use a flower-girl for this sort of thing." Vespion replied, trying to find something she was good at. "A dancer might be nice, too."
-
"A flower girl? Yeah, that sounds like fun" Violet had said, althought not actually knowing what a flower girl was "A dancer? You want me to dance at the wedding?"
-
"A flower girl just tosses out flowers in front of the couple about to be wed. There will be a basket filled with the favorite flowers of the bride, or brides as the case may be in a wedding with three couples, and all you'd have to do it to throw them in front of the couples as they proceed down the aisle. As for dancing, that is usually done after the vows are taken." Vespion told the girl.
-
Violet thought for a second as she trying to decide on it, before she gave off a nod "Yeah, a flower girl, I would like to try it actually, it does sound like fun" she told Vespion as she wagged her tail as well.
-
"Good to hear. I don't know when the wedding will be, though, or how many guests will be there. We might even have more than one flower girl." Vepsion looked around and, with a laugh, added "You might have some competition from Selturma!"
-
"Who's that?" Violet asked rather curiously "Although, I don't think that being a flower girl will be all that difficult, it sounds rather easy, but um, do I have to wear anything....er.....special? Cause I don't have any other clothes to wear to the wedding"
-
"We can get you extra clothes if you need them, although I'd imagine they will be quite a bit lighter than what you have on right now." Vespion told her. "If you want to wear your current clothes, I'm sure that can be arranged too."
-
"Well, I wouldn't mind seeing what there is to wear at the wedding anyway" Violet told Vespion "Cause I doubt that wearing these clothes would be the best thing, they don't look very....um....wedding...ey....?" she added on, unsure on the last word herself.
-
"No, they don't. Dracons consider a wedding to be the day from which a male and female will start bearing legitimate offspring. To this end, the female attempts to make a show of her fertility, and the male, of his virility. Think of it as soil showing off to a seed, and vice-versa." Vespion replied.
-
"Er...um....okay" Violet said with a nod and a smile to Vespion yet again "So uh, what now? I mean, should we head back to where everyone else is?"
-
"Yes, we should do that. They will wonder where we went." Vespion added with a small laugh. "Also, Violet, do you know any spells which might be useful in combat?" Vepsion asked her as he turned on his heel, making a scraping sound as he spun around, heading with Violet back to the others.
-
"Well, nothing that I have really named, I mean, I know spells and all, but it's just that I can't really cast them, or it'll happen when they want to be cast" Violet replied as she followed Vespion back to the others "I mean, one spell I have cast before was summoning forth some sort of black-dark spider-like creature...."
-
Marcus heard a knock on the door and headed over to open it "Mother!' came the exclamation as he beheld his mother and father. " its good to see both of you.. "Wheres the egg?' his mother demanded.. "You did say your mate laid it prematurely..
-
Adykon couldn't find Marcus and Rhiga at the breakfast table; they must have left early, during that long conversation Adykon had had with Tallon. They would meet up again soon. Tallon had told the warrior that the wedding was indeed going to be a case of three marriages occurring at the same time; three couples married one after the other at a rather quick pace, as Dememoras would wait for no one.
-
"So, I'm allowed be a flower girl?" Violet asked Vespion "Or, do I have to ask Adykon?" she asked rather curiously, not too sure herself, as she did want to try out being a flower girl.
-
You actually have to ask the brides getting married " Minna said " of which I'm going to be one" She added with a sly grin.. "If you want to be a flower girl.. that's fine with me..
-
"Well, Vespion said I could be a flower girl, and I do want to try it out, it sounds like fun" Violet told Minna.
-
well a flower girl is simply a girl who traditionally throws flowers that the bride walks on.. or so I've read " Minna added. 'being a noble, that bride is usually dressed in fine clothing and jewelry.. at least in novble or royal weddings..
-
Vespion left the palace to go to the Great Temple of Minbenthac. He was a priest there, and had been raised there, in fact, the son of a hierodule and an unknown father. The weddin would be held for the three couples there at great expense, but it would be very much worth it for all parties involved. Since they fixed the security breach that made Rhiga's wedding so... ruined, it was one of the very safest places to be married in the entire city. Even so, there would be armed guards, just in case.
-
Having long finished demolishing breakfast, and scaring many a servant in the process... Eternion bid himself pardon from the group, and made his way to the temple. He hadn't focussed much on this whole wedding event that much, though it did indeed mean a lot to him.
Three couples getting married at the same time, he would never thought of such a thing, especially in a time like this. Like the other's had said, however, it was to be a quick event, given what lied ahead of them all.
Shorty after he had arrived, his eye surveyed the Great Temple, a much bigger sight than any temple he had ever seen... much bigger than the one he had worked at... that was for sure. Surrounding the area we're quite a few guards, though Eternion was sure they were just the typical temple guard... and not the increased security as was intended. At least, he hoped so.
He found himself inside, the guards recognizing him as one of Adykon's companions easily... and regarding him with a simple nod. Within the great hall, he was quickly in awe, and wondered what he would have done to have been married in such a place.
'Lucky bastards,' Eternion muttered jokingly to himself. Being married on the top of a rock certainly paled in comparison... just a little.
-
"So, um, who was getting married again? Cause I wanna ask them if I can be a flower girl or not" Violet spoke again as she was now determined to become one.
-
The wedding was to be held in the same chamber as Rhiga's last attempt at marrying; it was a long, wide hall with seating for over 1,000, a gilded ceiling, arches on either end of the seats, and a rather large altar.
"There won't BE any security breaches this time!"
"How can you be so sure?" Vespion questioned the high priest.
"We've reinforced the wards around the temple, and we've added a disruptive barrier deflect any spell. Even if someone did manage to smash through the wards, their spell of teleportation would be disrupted. Only authorized energy signatures will be allowed through."
"And if someone manages to disguise their signature as an authorized one? It can happen."
"That is considered an acceptable risk, due to the fact that only a dozen or so signatures from the authorized list will be allowed in during the wedding ceremony itself."
"And who knows what they are?"
"Only myself and you, once I tell them to you."
"The last time, a vampire managed to get inside of the temple, and impersonate a real priest. Have you done anything to counter that?"
"Yes. Every visitor will be subject to a 'true seeing' spell, as well as a search of their belongings for concealed weapons. I suppose a mimic who actually changes INTO another being would get through, by even if they manage that, our security should neutralize the being, whatever shape it takes."
"I also hear that there is a copper dragon who will be attending." Vespion added. "I heard about it from Tallon. One of his highly-paid allies who lets him mine copper from his land in exchange for tribute." Yes, a copper dragon with copper on his land. Tallon paid the dragon for the rights to mine it.
"Correct. I've heard he is very trustworthy... and very funny. He puts a new spin on old stories, mixing them up in crazy ways." Copper Dragons were known for their mirth.
-
Outside, there was some commotion as one of the guards spoke to what was a minotaur "The palace is off limits to anyone who doesn't have authority from Adykon"
The minotaur snorted back "I do not have time for your petty threats Dracon" he spoke as he poked the guard in the chest "I have come from my town to speak to Adykon personally, and I will speak to him"
"We have rules we must uphold, and whther or not you wish to speak with him, if he is not expecting you, you are not allowed to enter the palace grounds" replied the guard.
However, moments later, the same guard was thrown through the palace doors as the minotaur glared to the othet guard before walking inside, stepping over the now unconcious guard and walked down the hallways in search for Adykon.
He weilded an axe, a double headed on, and all he wore was a pair of shorts and a nose ring in his snout.
-
The minotaur was promptly tackled by a dozen guards, who succeeded in disarming him and restraining him. Before anything truly bad could happen, however, Adykon himself showed up.
"What's going on here?!"
"Sir, this minotaur rampaged in here trying to find you!" one of the guards replied.
"Let him go. I'll speak to him."
"But, sir-!"
"I'll handle this! He probably wants to join the group, as Violet did. I had a suspicion that others would want to join us to face down the impending danger, and my suspicions were correct, it seems. Now come on, let him go. If he tries to attack me, I can handle myself. Give him back his weapon, too."
The guards slowly but surely obeyed, letting the massive creature up and backing off.
-
When the day started, Eriol and Arianne got a nice shower, they got dressed and got out of their given bedroom to take some food. As the day passed, they decided to their own separate ways, just to see what they can do around the castle.
Arianne went near the hall where the wedding ceremony will be held. - "Gorgeous, this hall never ceases to amaze me." - She said as she saw Vespion, she decided to get closer, but she saw him busy. - "I'd like to help a bit with all of this, but I have no idea of how many decoration plans are already in the process." - she thought as she giggled.
In the mean time, Eriol began walking the different halls and corridors of the palace. - "This getting a routine for me." - He thought as his face was visible annoyed. - "...I almost wish something would happen." - He then heard some commontion, the male Gaean Panther smiled as he went closer, he saw the Minotaur and then he saw Adykon, he leaned in a wall close to where the others are and crossed his arms, listening to what is going on.
-
The minotaur gave off a snort once again at the guards before turning to his attention to Adykon "I was told to come and find you, that you had an idea of what this world is facing, and that you may have an idea on how to stop it"
The minotaur gave off a glare at the guards again before speaking some more "If this is true, then I shall want to join, find a way to put an end to all of this" he added on, having not revealed his name just yet to Adykon.
-
"First, tell me who you are and how you knew of this. I've seen minotaurs before. I've fought minotaurs before. I've rarely ever encountered a minotaur who hasn't tried to kill me. Still, I'm willing to let you join us, as you clearly know how to fight." Adykon told the hooved creature in front of him.
Meanwhile...
"Hello Arianne. Good to see you. The decorations are being put up at a rather rapid pace. If you want to make some suggestions, you ate free to do so, but we will be done decorating when the sun falls; we simply don't have the time to do much else." Vespion told her.
-
"Ku'ux is my name, and how I know of this was our local mage, he had some sort of vision and sent me here to see if it were true or not" replied the minotaur as he gave off a nod to Adykon in regards to knowing how to fight.
-
"Hmm. Where did you come from? Minotaurs are not native to our lands, and yet I have seen your kind here before. In the past, it was usually on some sort of trade mission or as part of a wizard's retinue." Adykon asked Ku'ux.
-
Ku'ux looked at Adykon for a long second at least before answering his question "Our town is outside of your lands, which would be why you do not know where I come from, we do not fall underneath your jurisdiction" he told Adykon.
-
"I figured that much. Okay. Your shaman or mage or whatever it is your village has warned you of something. What exactly did he tell you?" Adykon asked the minotaur, not knowing if this was legitimate or a trick.
-
"All he told me that there was danger approaching and that I should go and seek you out to find out if it is true or not, usually, he is not wrong, however, he had doubts himself and wished for some answers on the matter" Ku'ux told Adykon with a snort again.
-
"Then if I told you that Dememoras threatens these lands again for the first time in millennia, would that mean anything to you?" Adykon asked, seeing whether or not his people had heard of the threat. Odds are, they did not, unless the mage involved was truly wise and powerful.
-
"He was unsure on what the name of the threat was, he had not known much of the coming threat, only knowing that there was a threat approaching, that, and that I would have to find you to help out with this coming threat" Ku'ux told Adykon as he crossed his arms at that point.
-
"Well, you may help if you wish. This is a Dracon's fight, as it involves a nasty piece of our history coming back to haunt us. At this point, though, I cannot refuse any help. Every little but of support for us is a help." The mercenary replied. He was correct, every little bit of help was needed, especially considering the sheer power he faced. Dememoras and his forces were a terrible foe.
-
Ku'ux gave a nod back to Adykon "I shall accept that, it seems that what out mage had spoke of seemed to be somewhat true, that there was an impending danger approaching.....just come and find me once you are ready to leave, I shall be around in the town" he snorted as he turned and started to head off, glaring at the guards in the process.
Violet on the other hand, approached Adykon and saw the minotaur heading out of the palace "Who was that?" she asked Adykon rather curiously.
-
"A minotaur." Adykon quickly told the female as he ran to get Ku'ux. "Wait! If you are going to join the adventuring party, you should come inside! Don't go out there now! I need to introduce you to the rest of the group!"
-
Violet too followed Adykon over to Ku'ux "Yeah, come on, join us"
Ku'ux stopped where he was before turning back to the two of them "Very well then, if you must insist, I suppose, I can not reject an offer like that"
"Oh, I'm Violet, what's your name?" Violet asked the minotaur
"If you must know, my name is Ku'ux, and I needn't ask of what species you are....lycan...." replied Ku'ux.
-
"We let in all species to our cause, as long as they don't give us any trouble" Adykon told Ku'ux, half-welcoming him, half-warning him. "Now come on. We're late as it is. I'll introduce you quickly to the rest of them. See that panther right there? That black-colored, bipedal cat? That's Eriol. He's on the team too, and is one of our very best fighters."
-
"Late? What for?" Ku'ux decided to ask.
"Oh, for the wedding, right Adykon?" Violet asked Adykon just to be sure.
"Very well then, let's get this over and done with...." replied Ku'ux as he let the two of them lead the way.
-
OOC: Sorry for my absence in the rpg. I am not sure if I'll say my characters already know Violet, as she was introudced earlier on?
IC: Eriol looked as Adykon, Violet and the newcomer passed near him, he gave a quick smile at the Minotaur and then said to Adykon. - "Adykon, my wife decided to go to the place of the ceremony earlier today, and see what she can help with. I don't like that stuff so I came here." - he then looked at the Minotaur - "I heard the conversation you had with Adykon, welcome to the team." - There was just a serious face as he said that, but that is common in Eriol... still a Minotaur is a rare sighting for him.
-
"The wedding ceremony is being held tomorrow, as quick as it can be held. There is so much to do, and so little time. So much may be lost, and yet, some good may come of it." Adykon told the Eriol, Violet, and Ku'ux. "I half-expect an attack at any time, even though there is no way to tell. Will we fight tomorrow? The day after? A year from now? In 10 years? In 10 minutes? Anything's possible!"
The priests and mages knew that by exposing his name, Dememoras was signaling that he would attack soon; there would be no point in risking exposure by naming himself otherwise.
-
"We know an attack is inevitable, but since we don't know when, well... that works as an advantage for him, why? becuase it turns us impatient and anxious, capable into jumping into action randomly... that sure can make us do a mistake that can be a fatal one." - Eriol commented as he walked with the others.
Arianne heard what Vespion said, she smiled and him as she agreed with what he said and then she offered to lend a hand with the decorations. And she did so, she was particularly happy since they all needed a happy time, after that much has happened to all of the members of the party already.
-
margas sat down in one of the guest chambers Today he was wearing his best robes.. While most Dracon males made show of their virility, Margas would not. showing off was not his style. "Father told me that the only one who needs proof of your ability to sow your seed is your mate, the world will see that soon enough, in the children you rear."Margas sighed ' he and Ilsa wee being rushed into this marriage , but given the threat facing them, they could not afford the normal period of courtship..
-
"I do have to agree on that matter, jumping blindly into battle offers no advantage, doing such a thing guarantees that you will get killed" Ku'ux added in as he looked to Eriol and gave off a quick snort.
"Well, I don't know much about battles or anything, but I do have to say that does sound about right, I mean, one has to know what they're doing in battle I guess" Violet added in with a light shrug as well.
-
Ilsa came in and sat down next to margas " You look very attractive" She said Ilsa was wearing a sea green bra and loincloth set with small diamonds and tiny rubies " Father says we had to get married now, with Dememorus around they might not be another opportunity later. " You look stunning " margas said simply "Its a pity we didn't get in touch sooner..
-
(OOC: Forgive me if I compress things a bit, everyone. My power over the storyline is less-than-absolute, but there are times when I need to provide guidance and direction for the plot.)
The day turned to night and the preparations for the wedding were all but complete. The entire party, newcomers included gathered in Tallon's palace, save for Jake, who was still unaccounted for. The interior of the great hall of the great temple was stunning, having been decorated in finery in what must have been record time. It seemed as if they had been preparing for it for months. Partly, it was the fact that the temple staff were very good at decorating for weddings, having done so countless times in the past, and part of it was the urgency and the common sense of having to get this deed done quickly, before a disaster struck, but much of the speed of the preparations could be accounted for in the form of money paid to hire three times as many workers as normal by Tallon, along with his regular generous donations to the temple each month.
-
Minna and Ilsa were given beautiful dresses to wear for the wedding Ilsa was light coral Minna's was brilliant green. they have also managed to replace the dress and furnishings Rhiga had worn on her first , illfated attempt at a wedding. The added security was there to ensure this attempt would be sucessful. the feeling between the 3 ciouples was a sense of nervousness. margas paced to and fro in his room.. ' I wonder if I'll get much of a honeymoon" He thought..
-
(OOC: Ah, it's all good ^^)
Ku'ux arrived a bit later as he more or less purposly bumped into a guard as well, giving him a glare as well as he entered the temple and had a glance around "Hmm, not a bad look for a wedding...."
Violet on the other hand, was wearing something different than her regular clothes, she was wearing a dress, yet, gave off a scratch as well as she looked at herself in the mirror, giving off a giggle as well "Well, it doesn't look to be too bad...."
-
Misro helped oversee the attire for the grooms, once he was satisfied he clapped his claws and sent the other servants away..
-
Lucien went into his room, preparing for the marriage that lay ahead. He had ordered that his armor be polished the day before, and it now sat in front of him. He slept in the inner clothes he would wear the next day; the armor itself practically required another layer underneath of it.
The suit of plate mail was gilded and extravagant, and it gleamed in the sun. Shaped in a manner to cover all of his body save his feet, it afforded good protection; he even had some extra plates that could cover the top of each foot if he felt the need for it, but he would not wear those to the wedding. His sword was placed in a sheath on the back of the armor, it too was gilded, although the gold only covered the hilt of the blade.
One could not be too careful these days.
-
Ilsa relaxed on her sofa , she was recieving a message, in all likelihood the last premarriage massage she would ever have She had noticed Minna's change in behavior and that was good.. She considered a Minna a dear friend.. hopefully in time she would grow as close to Lucien as shge was to Minna. Her father and mother were going to be present for the wedding as were Margas' parents, and number of her sibling..
-
Ku'ux folded his arms and gave off a snort again as he looked over to Violet who came out to show off her dress she was going to wear for the wedding "Well, what do you guys think?" she asked.
-
You look Nice Misro said as he entered " Do you have the basket of fower petal ready? Your job is spread it i front of the brides sas they walk down the aisle..' Misro looked at a checklist he was holding. " I have many things check off before we get those mega-wedding on the road.. well in a manner of speaking..
-
"Oh, I knew I was forgetting something" Violet replied as she took off. Ku'ux walked over to Misro "Just so you know, I'm only in the audience, nothing more, nothing less"
Violet returned with the basket of petals and grabbed one of the petals, sniffing it before throwing it into her mouth and begun to eat it.
-
you're not supposed to EAT them, just throw them" Misro said exasperatedly.. " sir there will be a chair with your name marked on it.. also there will be a large Dinner, provided by Lord Tallon, you have a seat reserved there as well.."
-
Adykon went to check up on Kos, and Rhiga went to see her half-sisters. All of them were well. They briefly ran into each other in Minna's palace;
"Oh! Adykon."
"Hi, Rhiga."
"It's been so long since we started this whole thing."
"Yes... yet it seems like just yesterday that Arcantas had given us our quest. He turned out to be a bastard... and a vampire after that. Well, a vampire-bastard. He's gone, but things are worse. Things just keep escalating, no matter what we do."
"It will have to come to a head sometimes, Adykon. Things cannot keep spiraling like this forever. "
"I've seen some very bad times before, Rhiga. I've been to a lot of places, and seen a lot of good Dracons lose their lives for no good reason... or sometimes, no real reason at all! We must be careful... and, Rhiga?"
"Yes?"
"I want you to enjoy this upcoming day with Marcus. You more than anyone, deserve it, no matter what you may have done in Hekaga. You've suffered enough for our cause. If you don't want to keep fighting, I'll understand."
Rhiga paused for a moment, then replied.
"I'll stay with the party. It won't be easy, now that I've got a child on the way, but that shouldn't stop me."
"I don't want to tear a mother from her hatchling. Don't feel obligated to me to do anything. You could serve us better by taking care of the next generation. In fact, after the wedding, I could arrange for you and Marcus to run to-"
"Please, Adykon. I'll take care of my child. For now, that also means I have to oppose this threat. If I don't fight, nowhere will be safe for my offspring, no matter where I run. And besides..."
Rhiga stretched her legs one at a time, leaning down on each one, right then left
"... I'm recovering from my pregnancy. I'm not fully up to speed yet, but I should be able to fight with a dagger."
"You're a brave female, Rhiga. Very brave. Let's hope that doesn't get you killed."
"You still remember my mother, don't you?"
"Yes."
"He took her from both of us. We loved her, each in a different way."
Adykon sighed as he replied again "Yes. He took a mother from you... and a bride from me."
"She wanted to marry you. This wedding would be a quadruple ceremony instead of a triple one is mother were still alive. That would have made you my...stepfather."
"I know. It would have been twisted."
"There was no one else I'd rather have in that place."
"What?"
"Of every male mother ever knew, you were the only one to show her kindness. The others all wanted her beauty and her... body. In the short time I saw you and mother together, you treated her with more respect and love in a few months than I have seen all the males give her in over 17 years!"
"..."
"What? Is something wrong?"
"That's quite a thing, isn't it?"
"What? That you loved her, it is!"
Adykon had left Vaeri once, having lied about a job in a distant land so that he could escape marrying her after fathering Kos on her. He had lied to her again about why he did not return, and Adykon was not sure if Vaeri had told Rhiga about his leaving her. He thought Vaeri had told Rhiga, indeed, he seemed to recall this after saving Vaeri from that dragon. Now... it was time to tell the truth.
"Rhiga, do you remember what your mother told you about me?"
"That you had met her in Hekaga and you had a child by her. Yes. We've seen Kosjurec. He's definitely his father's son!"
"Yes, yes. We all know that. You also remember that I had left Hekaga to fight a war to earn some money for the family."
"That's right, and you were delayed in your return, but it would have all turned out alright if not for Dememoras!"
"I'd like to think that, Rhiga. I really do."
"What do you mean?" Rhiga asked, confused.
"The truth is... I had no intention of ever marrying Vaeri until I met her again in that cave with the Dragon. No, it's worse than that; I had never intended to SEE her again after I left Hekaga. I couldn't let some pretty female take me away from my job, my adventures, my life! I already got her pregnant, and there was little more I could accomplish in Hekaga. I was tired of that city, and didn't want to bring a female and child along, and had no interest in the kids she had with other males, so I left."
"You left to fight a war... but never wanted to return."
"That's correct. I abandoned your mother after getting her pregnant. I left Hekaga. And I never looked back. The love I had for your mother was only present after I met her again in what must have been a stroke of fate or extreme luck. As soon as I had left the walls of Hekaga, I might as well have been a million miles away. Had I ever returned to Hekaga, I would have avoided your mother. If she had found me again, I wouldn't likely have cared for her. No, that last part isn't true. I DID care for her, but I didn't realize it until I saw her again, and as soon as I cared, she was taken from me."
Rhiga was not quite sure what to say. Adykon loved Vaeri, yet abandoned her? It made no sense. No... it made perfect sense. He loved her, but he loved his adventures more. He moved being able to go from city to city, and not be nailed down to any one place; to be able to live where he wanted, where he wanted, and to have a girl in every town. Was that it?
"You... you told her you would marry her when you got back?"
"That's correct. I lied. If I had stayed in Hekaga with your mother, I would still be there, with her and Kos. Might she have still been kidnapped by that Dragon? Maybe. I doubt I could have fought it off. Would I have been able to distract it? Probably. I could have held it off until the city guards drove it off or took it out, I suppose. In any case, when your mother died, I loved her. I thought that all the bad I had done was being canceled out, and that my... desire to explore would not get in the way. Instead, your mother got caught up in an adventure we chose to begin, and she died. We've both lost someone important to us. You committed a crime and left her, I told a lie and left her. We met her again, in spite of the odds, and she was taken from us by a cruel twist of fate."
"Adykon, I... I should be angry with you." Rhiga's voice was calm, almost emotionless.
"Yes"
"I should be infuriated. You lied to my mother, get her pregnant, and left her."
"Yes."
"And yet... look at me. I was a thief. I stole from the crown prince of my city, and I also left her. You cut her off from your support and left her in even greater poverty, and I did the same when I ran off." Rhiga's thefts had supported her family at times. Her mother didn't approve of stealing, but could not refused money to feed the kids.
"Yes. We have each done something to hurt the one we loved."
"Let's just... forget about it. We can still be friends. We must stay together as a party."
"Yes, we shall."
"I won't hold this against you. We've come too far to let something like this tear us apart, especially on the eve of a fight we might not..."
"...might not survive" Adykon finished her sentence.
"This is all too much for me. I-I'm going to go lie down for now. I have to rest before the wedding tomorrow. And Adykon... thanks."
"Thanks? For what? I did a very bad-"
"It took courage to say it. Even more courage to admit that you were wrong and apologize for it. So I thank you. You're a brave male, Adykon, very brave."
And with that, Rhiga took off to get some sleep. Adykon, for his part, sighed with relief. That was over. He had dreaded that moment for all these months, and what was supposed to be a thunderclap was hardly a tremble. This was not the only event that would happen to him tonight, as he felt a rather odd sense of lethargy. He had felt this before, when... oh no. It was that female archmage again. She contacted him in his mind with her magic, and began to speak...
-
"Well, they taste nice" Violet spoke with a giggle as she licked her lips before giving off a soft burp.
Ku'ux just nodded to Misro "Thanks I guess" he said with another snort again.
-
Marcus awaited Rhiga as he lay in their bed. " A big day tommorow my love. We will finally be husband and wife and I promise I will treat you with the respect you deerve, but so often have been denied " marcus stopped as he saw the look on Rhiga's face " whats wrong my love?" having been apart for soon long, then enduring her mothers death at Dememorus cruel hands.. marcus wasn't completely sure what the future would bring..but he was going to be a father in a few months. and that child would be legitimate.. his parents would see to that..
-
Violet decided to eat, yet, another petal "So, how long until the wedding starts anyway?" she asked as she continued to eat the same petal.
"Seems like this wedding will be in the morning sometime, seems to be too late to have one" Ku'ux replied to Violet.
-
It will be in the morning likely before noon.. the ceremony could take an hour or two.. it deoends .." Misro said " please stop eating the petals please.. we have plenty of food for you..
-
Ku'ux turned walked off at that point, not really saying where he was going to head off to.
Violet just gave off a pout and gave Misro the flower basket "Here, before I have some more of them" she told him "Um, I think I'll go and get my sleep now, I uh, I don't want to look tired for the wedding" she added in with a smile before turning and heading off to her room.
-
Adykon felt the familiar presence of the archmage in his head.
"What now?" He thought. "I've gone through enough for tonight. Please, just let me be."
He blinked his eyes, and when he opened them again, he had seen that the world around him had changed to a room complete with a bed, rose petals on said bed, incense, scented candles, and a beautiful female all "dressed" for the occasion. Another vision of her's. Another illusion magically projected into his head. Normally, he would have been overjoyed. Tales of sorceresses coming into males in dreams were legendary. Adykon had heard stories of this before, which usually ended with the protagonist discovering that the girl of his dreams was real after all, and in the end, the act would be repeated, only in real life. This time, however;
"Do we have to do this? I have a lot on my mind. We only met once before." the warrior sighed, looking down. Since she was in control of the illusion, she had imagined him in "skyclad" gear as well. He had experienced this in real life as well, when Asthia used him for her own... designs.
"I know Adykon, I know."
"Isn't the mysterious voice in my head supposed to be a bit more... objective? That's how it works, doesn't it? An objective, omniscient presence that acts as a conscience tell the hero how to act and what to do. Here, you do that one minute, and the next, you are trying to get me into a fantasy bed."
"Dememoras killed my husband, remember? Actually, I don't recall if I told you that or not."
"His forces are besieging your home, ladt I heard, but your defenses were keeping them out. How are they holding up?"
"Better than I had expected. It's as if they've stopped trying to attack."
"That's good to hear."
"No, it's bad. It means they are pulling back to regroup and think of something else. What that 'something else' is, I don't know, and what they know and I don't is dangerous."
"Right. I wish I could help with that. So, what does this have to do with the attempt to bed me?"
"I'm a female locked in a tower with no male around. I've been cooped up for who knows how long. I'm bored, stressed, and frankly, I like you. Why do you think I'm interested in doing this consequence-free action? You can't get me pregnant, and neither of us can catch anything from this."
"Right, right." Adykon knew that neither of those things stopped Dracons from doing it in reality, especially with the widespread availability of cures for the latter.
"So, tell me, are you going to do this, or not?" She said, as she lay down on her back and spread her legs wide. It was quite a thing to see, even if Adykon knew it was just an illusion, a dream, an astral projection, a thing with all of the sensations and sights that would accompany such an act, but none of it was real.
"We can do it soon. I need to ask you a few things. Did you see all of that conversation?"
"I managed to worm my way past the anti-scrying wards in this palace. Had it been in Tallon or the King's residences, I couldn't contact you in this manner."
"I see. So, you think I did well?"
"Yes, very well. But that's not why I'm here?"
"You're not here to congratulate me on my coming clean with the lies of my past?"
"Well... you did do well, but I'm not here for that."
"You aren't here to warn me of some impending danger, too?"
"No. I already told you why I am here" she replied, pointing at her reddish femalehood.
"Let me ask, will this cause a real-life, physical reaction in you?"
"Come to think of it, it will, although I rarely consider that."
"It won't affect me?"
"Not this spell. I'm the one who is casting it, so the effects mostly filter back to my brain, nerves, and... you know..." she said, pointing at that area again.
"Right. Can you make things appear in this virtual setting? I know you made a citadel appear and made the landscape change."
"Yes, I can make things appear."
"Can you make some lotion appe-" a bottle of it appear in his hands. Well, his 'virtual' hands. "I suppose I should virtually rub it into you. As he did so, he realized that he was playing into her fantasy... literally. The archmage was no goddess, nor oracle, nor philosopher. "Gods, this feels so real, and yet... so wrong. How is this different from Asthia?"
"What?" She said, opening her real-life eyes, yet maintaining the illusion.
"Asthia kidnapped me and brought me to her tower, where she would have 'fun' with me on her own terms. Aren't you doing the same to me?"
The illusion of the archmage got up off the bed and replaced it with a pool of warm water large enough for both of them in the blink of an eye, as if it had been 'programmed' away.
"What she did was real. This is fake, and harmless. Your body is asleep in a chair. You are perfectly safe. I wouldn't attempt this on you in the middle of a fight, you know. Besides, I am perfectly willing to accommodate your wishes. You don't want do 'it'? Fine. But maybe you'll change your mind after I show you how harmless this is."
Was it harmless? Did this constitute something? Did distance between their two bodies count, or were words enough to make it so. Climbing into the 'water', Adykon told her his decision;
"I'll accommodate you this once, but don't ask me to do it again. I know how most of those stories end; the male and female share a fake hook-up in a vision, maybe even enjoy it. But even if the male was the mage, or both of them were mages, it very rarely turns into something real. I'll have to meet you in person for it to work. Arranging a real-life meeting by a virtual medium is one thing, but a virtual relationship... I cannot do it. There was a time when I would have been naive enough to swallow such stories, but no longer. If you want to meet me, I'll go to you in person and free you from your tower! Or house. Or palace, compound, domicile, lair, or whatever it is you are trapped in."
She thought about it.
"Alright Adykon. You win. I'll contact you in a few days to tell you where I am. I know that you are fighting Dememoras, as I am. We are allies, after all. We fought together against Arcantas, and we will win against his master, too! And you are right... I'm no conscience. I am a long-winded rich girl with magic powers and no husband who wants to steer you in what I think is the right direction. Now, let's save that for later, shall we?"
She got her way with him. It only lasted five minutes in the real world, but it went on for hours in their minds. When all was said and done, she felt much better, but Adykon was left with a sense of unease. So much controversy in one night, then a wedding, then a war. It was discomforting to say the least. Getting up from the chair, Adykon went to get some sleep for real. It would be a big day tomorrow.
-
The moment Violet had into her room, she got out of the dress she was wearing and more or less just collapsed onto her bed.
Ku'ux on the other hand, headed into the market place to get a few things done, one thing in particular was getting his axe sharpend. He wasn't going to get some sleep just yet.
Sure, Ku'ux could've taken a room in the palace, but he decided against it and instead, took a room at the local inn instead.
-
As the night came, Arianne and Eriol met in the kitchen, which it was huge, they stopped by and had something to eat before going to sleep. They prefered to eat this way, less celebrated one, but also a more quiet one... or a less loudly as some of the people there were preparing everything for tomorrow: the big day.
After a bit, the Gaeans returned to their bedroom. She went to bed and amazingly, she got asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow. Eriol looked at her, and he gently kissed her forehead. He then went where his things are and took the journal from his backpack. He went into a desk positioned at one corner of the big bedroom and used the candles there to give him some light, enough for him to see while low enough to not bother his wife. He began writing about the things happening there, the interesting new members the party has, about their still missing member and about the big day that will be celebrated tomorrow... "a triple wedding, that is something you don't see every day." - he wrote before taking a look at Arianne again. - "I wonder what will Isaac and his soon-to-come sibling think about that, of their parents in this strange lands, under these circunstances... I would only have to wait and see I guess." - he thought with a smile, he wrote for some more time before going to bed too, a long day awaits.
-
The night wore on. It was now about three hours until dawn. Already, last-minute preparations were underway for the wedding ceremony. The vows were schedualed to be taken at noon, possibly sooner, if time allowed for it. Already the temple guards were preparing security procedures, and the servants already began lining up the food and drinks for the festive occasion.
-
Violet had been asleep for quite some time, only to suddenly jolt awake, yet, why she had done just that, she wasn't too sure as she sat up on her bed. The sun had not risen just yet as she glanced around only to grab her head, as if she had a headache.
She got off her bed and headed over to the mirror and looked into it. Her eyes widdened a little more as she saw some streaks in her headfur were black instead of brown.
Violet touched them, thinking it was an allusion, yet, it was all too real "What the? But, it was brown when I went to bed....I'm sure of it...."
She glanced down at her little mark she had on her stomach as it was glowing red at the moment, to which she gave off a gulp, not too sure on what it really meant. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them, it was no longer glowing, yet, her headfur still had the black streaks in it.
Violet walked back over to her bed and lay back down, remaining awake for the time being "What's....happening with me?" she asked herself as she just lay there, yet, in a way, she was doing what she could to just more or less shrug it off.
-
Adykon heard something coming from Violet's quarters. He didn't need another crisis now. The ceremony would begin soon, and he didn't even eat breakfast yet.
"Violet, are you alright in there?" He asked her through the door.
-
Violet had remained awake till dawn, not being able to get to sleep. Upon hearing Adykon's voice, she wasn't sure if she should say something to him. There was rather long pause after Adykon had spoken till Violet had answered "Um....I guess, I uh don't know really" she gave off a sigh as she stroked her own headfur as she continued to lay there still.
She glanced down at the symbol on her stomach as it wasn't glowing at the moment before she looked to her door again.
-
Adykon continued to talk to her from the other side of the door. "If you don't feel well, Vespion can take a look at you. I don't want you to be sick. Anyway, I've got to go. The high priest has requested a meeting with me, personally. He says we have to be prepared for anything. An attack could come at any time, you know."
-
Violet paused for a second before she got up, grabbed her clothes and put them on before rushing out of her room to catch up with Adykon "Um, wait, I need to, well, show you something" she spoke as she pulled her shirt up to show him, her stomach "It's this symbol of mine....it was glowing before for some reason....and I was wondering if you knew anything about it is all"
However, she never mentioned about her headfur being a few streaks black and some still brown, believing that wasn't anything to get all worked up about, although, she did give them a quick stroke as well.
-
Adykon was a bit perplexed by that symbol "I think you should have Vespion look at that. I'm no expert with magical marks or curses. Is it painful? Are you feeling ill because of it? When did it appear?"
-
"No, I'm not feeling ill, nor does it hurt, it's just that it never did glow before is all, but as for when it appeared, all I know is that it's been on my body all my life..." Violet put her shirt back down "But I think I will go and find Vespion....wherever he is....he sounds like he'll know what it is"
Violet looked to Adykon "Um, where is he at the moment anyway?"
-
"He's at the great temple as well. Come, I'll take you to him." And the two were off. The sun was rising as they got to the temple. Yes, they had gotten up early, too early, it seemed, and yet, preparations were still going on. Once inside the temple, Vespion was quickly located. Adykon took off to find the high priest, who was meditating on a large red pillow.
-
Violet walked over to Vespion and spoke straight away "Um, Adykon said you might know of a symbol, it's this one here" she told him, lifting up her shirt to show him the symbol on her stomach "The only reason I asked is that it was glowing before for some reason, but now it's not....I mean, it doesn't hurt or anything like that, but it's just weird that it had is all"
-
Vespion looked at that symbol for a moment. "I think I've seen it before. It is the sign of a curse. A powerful one. I don't know what this means, specifically, but it isn't good. Okay, that doesn't tell you much, I know. When is a curse ever good? Still, I do not sense that you are in any imminent danger. Hmm. I'll look at it after the wedding. If it bothers you or something happens, tell me or any priest in the temple immediately. Do you understand, Violet? I'm not going to let this go untreated, it's just that there really isn't much time right now."
-
Eternion couldn't sleep that night. He questioned himself in his mind as he lay there with his eye staring at the roof. Why was he so nervous? This wasn't even his own wedding... and yet the way it stirred old memories...
'It's the bride and groom who shall be fussing about,' he said to himself as he stand in the kitchen, alone and in the dark, a mug of water in his hand. 'Bloody hell, if I don't hold myself together, I'm going to be crying like a baby.' Appropriate for some, given how much of an occasion it was, but a little odd for an old adventurer like himself.
'Oh, Almia. For what I would give for you to be here right now. To witness this,' he said to his sword, which lay across the kitchen table, glowing just a little...though he paid no attention to this.
And then he chuckled just a little. All this preparation, all the precautions (though somewhat justified, given what he had been told about what had occurred the last time someone was married), all the expenses... just to declare love to each other.
Love is such a silly thing... What was love to them? What was love to him? It had taken him to places he thought he would never go, to the very edges of the world. It had made him into the dracon that stood here this night, awaiting the fate of the world to unfold.
Almia and Eternion of Graylane. Married upon a rock as orcs climbed all around them, the two dracon's last stand.
- - -
'Do you love me?' Almia cried, throwing another orc down the side of the hill, her blade sliding out of the greenskin's stomach with ease.
'Of course I do,' Eternion replied, his axe keeping two of the ferocious creatures at bay, for the time being. 'I never thought I would see this day, however.'
'Perhaps it is time, then.'
Eternion faced her for just a moment. "What? What do you mean?'
With no enemy to occupy her for the time being, she pointed to the priest huddled by a large rock in the far corner of the hill the stood upon. 'Well, we just saved his butt from being eaten by orcs. I say he owes us a favor.'
Eternion took a moment to figure it out. 'Wait... you don't mean-'
'Orc!' She screamed, and threw her sword at Eternion. He ducked, and swiveled around to see an orc with axe raised just a few inches from him... and now with a sword dug into his chest.
'We can't get married here! I promised you a large hall and-'
'For gods sake, Eternion, look around us! We're going to die up here. They just keep coming and there's only two of us. It's now or never...'
'This is quite possibly the most stupid... oh to hell with it, you there,' Eternion said, pointing over to the priest, who looked up at him nervously. 'Do you know how to marry?'
'I... well, I do know how to handle... wait, what?'
'Get over here now. Oh, just forget your stupid book and get over here now before an arrow strikes you down.'
Preparing for a marriage as orcs desperately tried to kill you was... to say the least, difficult. It took minutes, marred constantly as orc after orc would interupt... only to be pushed back or striken down. Their numbers were growing fast as word spread to the rest of the clan that two dracons and a human had intruden upon their lands.
Finally, after what seemed an eternity, Almia and Eternion stood with their hands held together, and a human priest... clothes tattered and dirty... before them upon the large rock he had hid behind just minutes ago.
'Do you, Almia Jadeblade, take this dracon... of great strength and courage, to be lawfully wedded to you on this day?'
'Yes,' she whispered with a smile.
'And do you, Eternion Darkscale of Greylane, take this dracon... of beauty and great bravery, to be lawfully-'
'Yes, yes... can we hurry this up please?' Eternion peered behind him, and saw another wave of orcs climbing thick and fast.
'Then as the gods as our witness, I declare you husband and wife.'
Eternion closed his eyes, and Almia lent forward. As they closed to embrace and seal with a kiss, Almia knocked Eternion over with a massive push. Eternion opened his eyes just in time to see the arrow fly by... where his head had been only a second ago.
And as they lie upon the grass, they kissed... and as the orcs came and circled them, demanding they surrender... they merely drew their weapons, and fought back to back... until death do them part.
... it never came. The sun set that night upon a field of one hundred dead orcs, and two dracons and a priest who has slaughtered almost an entire tribe. A day that no one save those three who were there would ever know of.
- - -
It was supposed to be a kiss that sealed their fate, but instead it drove them to victory... and survival, to see another day. That was what love could do...
And yet she was long gone...
Eternion cried himself to sleep that night.
-
Ilsa rose from her bed, a nervous energy coursing though her. Today, she was to be married, to a Dracon she had long fancied but in reality had never expected to marry. She was in the middle of the ranks in her family in terms of her birth, she already had watched twenty of her older siblings marry and head off to their new husband's homes, yet the full impact of that was only now sinking in. margas was the eldest male left in his family, upon their wedding, his father had decreed that Margas would inherit his lands and property, her father would grant him a large sum of money, and shares in several of his holdings, from gold, silver and platinum mines, to far-flung land holdings.. Margas would instantly become one of the Dracon world's wealthiest nobles. as For ilsa, the father would give Margas a number of lands to hold in escrow for her, as females could not legitimately own property. Her castle, which Ilsa had lived in most of her life, would become thier new home. As for children, well that was something that would have to wait until the grave threat passed. Ilsa needed all her strength to aid Adykon and the others against Dememorus, she could not afford a pregnancy. Margas understood that, and had said so the night before to her. due to the shortened time frame of their courtship, the first few months of marriage would be spent getting to know each other more intimately.
-
"Yeah, okay, if something else does happen, I'll be sure to tell you, or another one of the priests around here" Violet told Vespion, more or less reiliterating what he had just told her "But, I think I should go and get ready for the wedding, thanks anyway" she told him with a smile and headed off back to her room.
-
Arianne woke up the next morning, but she found herself alone in the bed. She sat and began looking at the surroundings, Eriol was not there. She got up and went to a desk in the bedroom, she began looking at the journal. The first page showed a drawing he made of a sacred symbol for Gaeans, an eight-pointed star. - "Why he has this symbol?" - she asked for herself as she sat down in the chair and began looking in the next pages... drawings, some maps, and then the story of what happened to him since.... - "He was only 12?, then this was at the end of the last Great War." - she noticed as she looked at the date of the earliest entries... she then began looking some more pages ahead when the door opened and she quickly stood up, forgetting to close the book.
It was Eriol who entered the room. It was obvious that he has been awake since a while as he was carrying clothings and some other things. He got closer to the desk. - "Hello dear." - he greeted Arianne with a kiss, not bothered that she was looking at the journal, after all, he has nothing to hide from her.
"We should get ready for the ceremony. The big day is finally here." - she said with a playful look on her eyes and with a sly smile. - "I'll go take my bath now."
He nodded as he grinned. Then, as she went to the bathroom that is passing a door in the bedroom itself, he looked at the opened book, and a part of the text written there by Eriol himself.
... I only hope we'll meet again in our next life.
Too many memories came to him now, but he just smiled as he closed the book. - "I should start getting ready..." - he said to himself as he began looking at the clothing he got.
-
In her room, Violet picked up the dress from the ground and looked at it "It was white last night.....now....black?" she asked herself as she looked at it. She had chosen white, because to her, it was a rather nice colour, but a black dress was another story altogether.
She seemed to hessitate for a few moments before just shaking her head, deciding to just wear it anyway and changed into her dress "Well, it's not that bad I suppose" she shrugged as she looked at herself in the mirror before heading out to meet up with everyone else for the wedding.
***
Within the market place, Ku'ux was now making his way to the temple, he had indeed, decided to go and watch the wedding take place, snorting at the guards along the way inside, as at the moment, he just seemed to despise each and every guard in the Dracon city.
-
The sun finally rose on this day. The last day before the war began, although none of them knew it yet. As wedding preparations were finishing up, Dememoras's own preparations were beginning. After much talk with the three dragons in his own dimension, Dememoras, the one who was, in many ways, the very first Dracon, decided to finally show them his true form. It was known by those who were closest to him that Dememoras's for was mutable. He could assume different shapes, although most of them were of a black-scaled creature with long horns whose body emitted palpable darkness as if it was a black gas. He was an undead being in that he no longer lived the life he had before. His body was not animated by a natural force, nor was he dependent on a heart, lungs, or blood. It would not do to call him a lich, either, at least, not the kind of lich that most mages knew of, the undead spellcaster who hid his soul outside of his body.
No, this evil was beyond life and death. Dememoras, the creation chosen by a rogue faction of creators to become a ruler of his people, the one who styled himself a king, then a god, now sought to be an emperor, a ruler of kings, a king of kings, and to have all bow before him. He had waited a long time, now he would act.
"The time is upon us! We shall depart this dimension to gather the armies."
The three dragons were mighty beasts, and yet, they could do nothing as Dememoras waved his arm and in a flash of red, teleported them all into another dimension of his devising; a great hall made of a black rock, large enough to hold over 100,000 dracons. The Dark Master appeared on a throne at end of the hall, sitting on a seat of iron. Looking around, none of the dragons could see any windows or any light source. Soon, it dawned on them that the hall WAS the dimension, and the
arches on either side of the hall were gateways from other planes. This was the Obsidian Hall, a sight no one not destined for the inferno has ever seen.
Dememoras himself began to transform... and GROW! His 2.5 meter frame swelled until it had reached a full 15 meters tall. The throne grew in proportion with him. His horns extended in length, curling around several times. Several more of the black horns appeared until seven had grown out of his head. Spikes emerged from his body as he changed shape, his tail grew a stinger at the end which was made out of the same black material as his horns and spikes, while at the same time, his claws and limbs, which looked like those of a normal dracon at first, darkened and sharpened until they bore more resemblance to a dragon's limbs, although he still had opposable thumbs. The Dark Master's eyes turned red and began to glow as his face changed shape. His mouth grew more and larger fangs, his tongue grew longer, and when he opened his mouth, one could see flame on the inside. Finally, two huge, dragon-like wings extended from his back, the same color as his body.
This was not the creature the warrior had slain millenia ago. No. Dememoras was incomparably different now. His power had grown to unimaginable heights after thousands of years of magical study and growth. Exposure to the magic of dark dimensions changed him; absorbing the power of the arcane had given him ability far beyond any Dracon archmage, and his power was truly like unto a deity. He was not invincible, however, and so, he called in his armies. The dragons in the hall could only watch in awe as the four corners of the hall filled with representatives of four different groups.
The first was the Spellforged army. Stepping out of the many arches in the northwest corner of the room, the dragons could see Dracons with swords, shields, and armor. To a common observer, these would look like typical warriors, but the dragons knew better; being creatures of magic themselves, they could sense that every one of these dracons was enchanted by powerful magics. Each of them was faster, stronger, and more powerful than a normal Dracon by a factor of three. Their leader, a huge beast of 2.5 meters in height, wielded a gigantic sword, enough to slice a human in half in but one swing. This was Frivinus, whose named was derived from the Draconic "frivin" or "conquer." The brown-skinned tyrant was one of four generals who led Dememoras's main armies, not including thousands of additional agents and creatures the so-called "god" had at his disposal. He was merciless, deadly, and a strategic genius.
A second group walked through the arches to the northwest. This was the Runemarked army, another group of dracons, each one dressed in tribal gear, but with strange patterns etched into their skin. Upon examination, each mark was a tattoo that had been placed into these warriors. It was not an uncommon practice for dracon elites to enhance their strength further by using enchanted ink to capture magic, and then insert that magic into their flesh by tattooing it in a magically-significant pattern. None of the dragons recognized the markings in their flesh, though; Dememoras's knowledge was truly great to do this. The symbols called forth different powers, and each of the Runemarked warriors had different abilities derived from their markings, in a variety of different degrees. This army was led by a powerful mage, more dangerous than almost any magic user in Minbenthac, a Dracon of normal height, but abnormal powers. His green-skinned body was covered in runes
of every color from head to toe, and these patterns kept changing colors every few seconds. This was Nugri, whose name translated as "hunger" or, more appropriately, "famine." A methodical killer, he had once been known as "the poisoner", and frequently toxified water supplies in poor regions of the world just to see what the effects would be on his unwilling test subjects.
Worse still, another group came forward. Were those dracons?! Emerging from the southeast were a collection of massive creatures, each as tall as Dememoras himself had been in his earlier form, each one 2.5 meters tall. These creatures were Dracon in form if not in size, and yet, had wings, metal armor, and could fly. Normally, one would think such could not be, and yet, it was. Dememoras had made this army in the image what he wished to be for his race, a draconic race which could fly... and breathe fire. Led by Aryte, whose name meant "war", the massive, red-skinned dracon exhaled smoke as he rallied his forces.
So far, each of the armies numbered 25,000. These were the elites of each army, and many of the officers. Each force was roughly 200,000 strong. Multiplied by four armies, and adding another 200,000 or so special agents and other forces at his disposal, Dememoras had over a million men at his call, and another half a million would support him in a war, assuming that the corrupted cities and nobles made good on their pledges to send him troops.
Each army was fed by recruits from a different source; corrupted warriors from civilized armies and soldiers sent from turncoat nobles and kings supplied numbers for the spellforged army, while corrupted tribal dracons supplied warriors for the runemarked forces. Colonies of dracons living under the rule of the dark master and his mages, such as Asthia's forces had been, supplied the material for the Dragonblooded army... but the worst was yet to come.
From out of the southwest corner marched a horde of dracons with glowing eyes and long, curled horns. Possessed of unnatural strength and extra-sharp fangs, these were not the largest of the armies in terms of physical size, nor the most powerful in terms of magical enhancement, yet they were the most dangerous. Armed with moderately heavy weapons and armor, they were not the best equipped, yet hardly the worst. Each of them could drain life with but a touch, and when each of them had the chance to devour the living, they would grow in might and power, changing in size and strength, and gaining any sort of a wide variety of powers, based on their heritage, which would manifest when blood had been spilled by them, and the lifeforce stolen. This was the Demonbred army, the result of an unnatural breeding program undertaken by Dememoras himself. He had personally seen to the creation of these creatures, using his own magic and, with some other powerful demons, his own genetic material to create these forces. Conjured in pools of magical fluids, none of them had true parents. Nature itself was defiled, twisted, and yoked to the will of the Dark Master to create these horrors. At their head was a creature, far worse than the other generals. The closest thing Dememoras had to a son, in ways, he WAS Dememoras's son, as he had been conjured out of half of his genes. This was Lowan, a hideous Dracon with glowing green eyes, gray skin, and horns that curved like Dememoras's. Like his "father", he also had wings, spikes, and a stinger at the end of his tail.
Altogether, there were 100,000 dracons in the Obsidian Hall, plus the three Dragons. The Dark Master himself spoke in a voice which was like a volcano erupting.
"I am a god. The God of the universe. Anyone who goes against my divine goals is to be destroyed."
The armies in the room let out a collective cheer, a loud roar that shook the mighty walls of the hall.
"I am perfect. My will is absolute. All who even think to oppose me shall die. Runemarked army! Your warriors have done a good job in the past, and have even been privileged to don the equipment reserved for the other forces. You have won favor in my sight. We shall move against Minbenthac with the force of a thousand hammers. Tomorrow, I shall send out an initial force to test their defenses. You three Dragons will play a major role in this."
The red, green and blue dragons had been helpless spectators to the event thus far. Now it was their turn to act.
"Speak not! I shall give the orders here, and you shall obey them. None will address me directly until I grant them leave. The coming war will purify our race. We shall kill off all those unfit to live, and leave only the strong. The branches of the Dracon tree have gone unpruned for too long. Like always, only the strong will survive in this world. We don't need the tears of the weak. The whole world will become my empire for the strong, and will give birth to the invincible."
This brought about another cheer from the 100,000 forces gathered before him. Then, rising from his throne, Dememoras spoke again.
"Behold!"
With that, a beam of light emerged from his right hand and moved to the center of the hall. The soldiers in the way were quickly pushed aside, unharmed. The light reshaped itself into the form of a giant screen, upon which the figure of Adykon appeared.
"This warrior is the only one who can either make or break my plans. If he joins us, we will rule forever. If he opposes us, we can still win, although there it is not assured. He must join us of his own free will if he is to come to our side. For this, we must break his spirit. Take from him everything he cherishes, destroy his faith, leave him bereft of all he has. Then, when he is at his weakest, we shall claim him as our own. I have already taken his lover from him, and shall take those he has befriended as well. I will leave him with no city, no refuge, no resource. Even if he flees Minbenthac, there will be nowhere for him to hide. He shall fall into my hands, and I will mold him like clay."
Sitting down on his throne, Dememoras continued as the image changed from one warrior to another, this time, the screen showed the form of Eriol.
"There is another who opposes us. There is no reason to believe that HE is the warrior of destiny, yet I sense that he will be a danger if he is not stopped. He has already lost his love, only to find her again. How soon will he learn that I can take whatever he has with but a thought. I won't have to take her away as I have done to Adykon, this one doesn't even really HAVE her! How soon will he learn the truth, and when he does, it will shatter him like glass!"
The screen faded as Dememoras addressed the three dragons.
"Each of you will command a force in the initial attack! The generals of the four armies will stay with me." Without even bothering to address them by name, the Dark Master ordered each dragon to command a force.
"Red Dragon, you shall command 5,000 soldiers of the Dragonblooded army. Blue Dragon, you shall command 5,000 warriors of the Runemarked army. Green Dragon, you shall command 5,000 troops of the Spellmarked army. The Demonbred army already has a commander in Minbenthac, waiting to command them, someone very close to Adykon and the rest. 5,000 members of that army will attack as well. I do not intend for this force to succeed, nor do I expect Adykon to give into me in the next few days; this is a test of our might and theirs. When I can see exactly what to do, I shall unleash the FULL FURY of our forces, and we shall assuredly triumph! "
A loud cheer arose from the halls, as Dememoras smiled. It was the first smile on his face in a millennium...
Meanwhile, in the palace of the King of Minbenthac, Kluthu, the king's archmage felt a sudden sick feeling in his stomach. Far away, in Ophion's shop, Aurescia felt it too. Something was horribly wrong. Mages of sufficient power could feel it all over, and those of lesser power could feel something as well. Vespion felt a slight sense of unease. The high priest of the temple felt like he had had too much to drink, despite not having touched any alcohol, and then, Kravik, who was in the middle of "seeing" one of the temple's Hierodules, felt too ill to continue, and stopped, much to her surprise. Getting up, the mage who had once been with Adykon and Rhiga now wondered in fear about the future. Silverfang, a mage in the Order of the Silver Claw, went to go check on the pool of foresight, hoping to gain more information about the impending danger.
Minbenthac had stood as a proud city for many centuries. No one had even doubted that it would continue to stand. For the first time in countless years, its very existence was in danger.
-
Ku'ux entered the temple, seeming to glare at those who were watching him as he sat down in his reserved seat.
Violet, on the other hand, rushed over to where everyone else was and showed off her new black dress "Do you like it? Cause I think it's not too bad, I mean sure, it was white before, but then again, black is nice colour too, well, I don't mind it" she spoke up.
-
the energy and power that Dememorus gave off reached Minna Ilsa and Margas. Margas stooped over , his magical senses feeling the sheer evil in Dememorus. a brief fleeting image of the army appeared before him, then, as quickly it was gone. But it was enough to fill his soul with dread.. " He will attack soom, and with great force and power" He said to Adkyon, who was nearby. "He has beings at his command whose powers far outstrip any of us.. yet, he is not invincible.. how I have come to know this I truly do not know.." He said to him..
-
Violet touched her head slightly, as if she heard a voice in her head 'The dark one rises once more' and then, it was gone. She glanced around wondering what it was, noticing that no one else had heard it, as if it were all in her head.
However, she thought it was best to keep something like that to herself instead of telling anyone as she now remained quiet, something that was not like her as she waited for the wedding to commence.
-
The festivities proceeded with a new urgency. Now there was no doubt that something was going to happen very soon. The three couples quickly made their way to the temple, having been told that things would have to start two hours ahead of schedule.
Mages throughout the city took precautionary measures against an attack. Doors were magically locked, wards were put up, various orders called their members together for common defense, Kluthu the court archmage advised the king of Minbenthac to take cover in a heavily-warded "safe room" underneath the castle, and valuable magical texts were locked down, or in some cases, burnt in order to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands.
The Great Temple of Minbenthac was a very odd place; it was preparing for a major attack at the same time it was getting ready to host a wedding. Armed guards stood next to musicians and cup bearers, as priests prepared spells to turn demons and heal the injured at the same time they rehearsed blessings for a newly-married couple.
Tallon's palace was also undergoing various steps of fortification; wards were strengthened, more guards were posted to the walls, and, in a gesture of charity, he opened up his gardens for use as a refugee camp, should any large number of houses be destroyed in the fighting. Meanwhile, the city's guards recalled all reserves and prepared fire-fighting crews armed with buckets and spells to extinguish flames. A call to allies was sent out, as was a call to all available soldiers in Minbenthac's armies. Alas, only the 5000 troops which were already recalled could reinforce the city's defenses in time. Still, the walls were quite formidable, and the archers, crossbows, ballistae, catapults, vats of burning oil, and other pieces of equipment which adorned the walls were no small matter to overcome.
A couple dozen dragons were allied to Minbenthac as well, although most of these were simply paid to assist in a war, should it come to that. Only one adult dragon was in the city at this hour, a copper dragon. He had come to witness the wedding, not to fight a war. He would have to do both. There was a second dragon in the city as well; he had been waiting there for a couple of days, on top of the palace. The wards had detected him, and he was chased from the top of it. A red dragon hatchling! Surely, he was no threat, but what was he doing here? The hatchling flew towards the Great Temple of Minbenthac, and literally ran into Adykon, who recognized the little one.
"Toby?! What are you doing here?!"
"Adykon! I came to warn you! There's a big, BIG army on the way here! Thousands, tens of... I don't know how many!"
"How did you get here from the valley?"
"I few through a portal they used! It's horrible! Not long after you left, they came and killed everyone! They took Gerasia, and even took that staff in Vaeri's grave!"
This was bad news. Not only did the enemy kill their old allies, they also had the means to-
"Portal? You mean, Dememoras can transport large armies over great distances in an instant?!"
"Yes. It took only a few minutes for them to get through the big, blue circle that he made. I heard his voice, but I didn't see him. It was like he could see us, but we couldn't see him."
This was getting worse and worse. What have they gotten into.
"Toby, what did they do to Gerasia?"
"They grabbed her after killing her parents. I don't know why they didn't kill her too."
She was still a vampiress. Not living in the truest sense. This was getting worse and worse. At least they couldn't teleport into Minbenthac; the wards extended over, under, in, and around the city, even though a skilled mage could come up with enough power to cut a hole in them to fit one or a couple of people, it would take an unimaginable amount of power to force an army through. Surely, Dememoras didn't have THAT kind of might. Or did he?
"Young Dragon, we are about to be hit, and hard. Your warning came a bit late, but I thank you for it. You've given us vital information. The enemy is likely to teleport just outside of the wards which surround the city. This means they will be about 5 kilometers away from the city walls when they first appear, probably."
20,000 troops would attack a city with a similar-sized force guarding it. 3 dragons, deadly magics, and a hidden agent already in the city would soon strike... no, not just in the city, it was worse than that. The party itself had been infiltrated. One of Adykon's companions was really in the service of Dememoras, and had been for months.
-
Violet grabbed her basket of flowers as she now just stood by and waited, although, she was feeling rather impatient as well, wanting the wedding to start already as she grabbed a flower and munched on it while she waited.
On the other hand, Ku'ux glanced around at the guards, he knew something was up, but yet, wasn't sure what it was either as he just eyed each and everyone of the guards "I just hope they can fight as well as standing there and looking tough"
-
Kuja pushed his way through the crowds, stopping next to Adykon and Toby.
"Wha-They took Lady Gerasia? That...I must go rescue her!"
He said, flicking his hand and forming a dark portal as his magic orbs started hovering around him again...
-
Adykon, in an unusual act, grabbed the fauxen, and slammed him to the ground before he could open the portal fully.
"What in the world?! Are you in league with Dememoras?! That was no clean magic! That was dark magic! I've seen that sort of black energy before, in Asthia's tower!"
Toby flew at Kuja, angry, but did not attack. "I've seen you many times, Kuja. I never knew quite what to think of you. I've seen your spells, and I know you were close to Asthia and Gerasia. I don't think you would hurt her, but I don't know what's going on. I can tell you, though, that if you try to attack those guys, you are going to die. The forces that took Gerasia were beyond anything we've ever seen before. I don't know whose side you're on, but I don't want to see you end up like the tribe; killed and dismembered."
-
Kuja chuckled a little.
"Adykon...what you have to understand is...I've spent so long in the Darkness that my magic can never be what it once was...This is all the magic I have left, darkness is..."
He said remorsefully, looking up at the Dracon with sad eyes, then looked to Toby.
"Toby...my life has little meaning. All I care about is seeing Lady Gerasia safe...If I die, so be it."
-
"You won't make her any safer by getting yourself killed. In fact, all you will accomplish by doing that is to put her in greater danger than before. Now come on. We've got to attend this marriage ceremony. You can join us if you like, or you can go off to certain doom. In any case, I don't want you to open a portal to them that they can follow you; if they get inside the city walls... I don't want to think about that. I'm trusting you not to open anything up that would let them in." Adykon told Kuja.
With that, he turned around and headed into the great temple. Toby stayed behind for a minute, looking at Kuja, but saying nothing.
Meanwhile, Rhiga and Marcus were the first to arrive. Dressed for the weddiing, they were holding hands, still waiting for the ceremony to begin. The other two couples hadn't arrived yet.
-
Violet saw the first couple to arrive and seemed to smile at them "Wow, you look so cute" she said with her mouth full as she had eaten a few of the flowers from the basket, more or less, having done whatever she could to pass away the time.
Ku'ux approached the temple and glanced at the wedding couple, yet, he didn't say a word to them, nor to Violet, he just remained quiet at the moment.
-
ilsa and Margas arrived a few minuted later, both were dressed in very fine garments, befiotting thier noblre stature " ilsa waved at her friends, but paused when she saw Toby standing there ' When did HE get here?' She asked pointing at the young dragon..-
-
"Toby came in through a portal" Adykon quickly told her. "The details aren't important; getting this done quickly is." Everyone filed into the central hall of the temple, where it had been decided that Vespion would lead the service. Everyone was nervous, but happy it was finally happening. The decorations, food, music, and festivities had all been prepared. Over 200 armed guards protected the aisles, the doors, and a perimeter around the ceremony, plus many more were present in the temple. Everyone was on edge, but at least, the first and lesser of the their two worries would soon be over; that of planning a wedding for three couples.
-
There were very few flowers left in the basket by the time the wedding had started as she headed out into the isle, throwing a few flowers out, doing what she could to make these flowers last down the isle.
She then went and sat down in the front row, not wanting to really stand the whole time throughout the ceromony.
Ku'ux on the other hand, remained in the back, sitting down as he quietly watched the wedding unfold.
-
Outside, Eternion watched over the horizon, from the balcony of a tall building not far from the temple. He had no interest in the wedding, he decided. What he had thought of as he tried to sleep, and as the sky seemed to darken... was not of festivities, or celebration.
...He thought of war, and darkness. He couldn't bare to watch the wedding knowing of what was to come, and how it could affect them all.
He just took a deep breath, and continued to focus upon the distance... his axe resting in his hands. No one would notice that he wasn't there, anyway.
-
Marcus squeezed Rhiga's claw as they exchange vows. This was supposed to be a happy day, but marcus could not help but feel nervous. all the preparations for war could clearly be seen, as guards patroled outside the chapel. He wanted the ceremony to be over already, he paused, he was standing next to Margas who gave him a small smile. there was a clear difference in the status of the two males. Marcus ' best hope was to become a middle-class Dracon, Margas was going to be one of the most elite nobles in all the Dracon lands. Ilsa stood next to him, holding a small boquet(they had barred Violet from handing the bonquets, seeing as she had eaten most of flower petals).
" don't worry Marcus' Ilsa whispered " Once this is over you can take Rhiga home.."
-
(OOC: Sorry if this seems to contradict you, Nick, but the one who is ministering the wedding was NOT in place as of the last post!)
The official vows had not yet been taken, even if private ones were. Vespion was now ready at the head of the aisle, holy book in hand. Everything was ready. Marcus and Rhiga proceeded down the aisle first, with the other two couples behind them, still waiting at the other side of the room. Besides the ones about to marry and the priest, Adykon was there, as was Rex, Selturma, the fauxen, the Gaeans, and the rest of the party save for Eternion, who was nowhere to be found, and Sasha, who took off to go find the older Dracon. Toby was present as well, with some of the guests thinking this was the copper dragon who was to show up, although the more educated guests knew the difference between an adult copper dragon, and a very young red dragon; Toby was the latter. The copper dragon had arrived in the city, but he was not found at the wedding either.
-
Violet sat there quietly as she watched the wedding proceed ahead, looking at her paws as one seemed to change colour right in front of her eyes, to which her eyes widened a bit more. She glanced back at the couples before looking at her paws again as the other then changed colour.
As much as she wanted to stay, she decided to quietly make her way outside to find out what was really going on with her, examining her fur some more "It doesn't make sense, werewolves aren't suppose to change fur colour like this...." she muttered as she glanced around, only hearing another voice in her head 'Don't fight it, give into the darkness', which in turn, only caused Violet to clutch her head again as if she were in pain.
-
"Wedding are always so exciting and so full of emotion" - Arianne said happily as she and her husband were being witness of this magnificent event, and as she was retouching some details in the dress she got from the castle, made of silk with adornments and jewels, she almost looked like a princess.
"The only wedding I have felt 'emotion' was in our wedding." - Eriol replied. - "This event is great, but the emotion is more felt in those couples in the altar." - Eriol was very elegantly dresses as well, something very unusual for him as the clothing with most decoration he often wears were the uniform when he was a Lead Guard in Arianne's parents palace before he got married with Arianne some years ago.
Arianne sighed. - "Well... we should just keep on looking at the weddings." - her face could not hide the smile of watching such a ceremony. Gaeans do have weddings and some are as much prepared as this one, but still, to be here now is such a great feeling for her and Eriol understands how she feels.
-
Vespion opened his holy book and began to read from the texts. Dracon marriage ceremonies were largely adapted from human traditions, as dragons mostly lacked formal conceptions of marriage, preferring to mate up unofficially. The crowds fell silent as the priest began to speak.
"We are gathered here today to witness three unions joined together under the sight of the gods. As long as they love each other, their bond shall never fall. First, we have Marcus and Rhiga."
Turning to the couple, Vespion asked Marcus the standard speech.
"Marcus, do you take Rhiga to be your lawfully wedded wife? To hold her and cherish her in sickness and in health, for better or for worse, and, forsaking all others, remain true to her as long as you both shall live?"
Meanwhile, Sasha was still looking for Eternion.
-
The whole of Violet's headfur, well, the front part of it was now black, along with her paws and underneath her eyes. She had gone to her room for a few moments just to look in the mirror for some sort of clue, mainly to get a proper look at her symbol on her stomach, which wasn't glowing at the moment, it had died down for the time being.
Violet let off a quick sigh, taking one last look at her look she had at the moment before deciding to head back to the wedding, however, sitting down near the back, more or less where Ku'ux was sitting.
Ku'ux glanced over at her "Your fur, it's black" he said rather quietly to her.
"I know, it's nothing" Violet told him back rather quietly, trying not to raise any concerns.
Ku'ux continued to look at her for a few more seconds before looking back at the wedding again.
Violet just sat there rather quietly as she thought it was best to just keep this to herself for now, not to tell Vespion or any of the other mages about what's happened, she just didn't want to have to worry them.
-
I Do, to my dying breath, will cherish, honor and protect her, all the days of my life, in sickness or health, in wealth or poverty, in good times or bad.."Marcus said, his eyes not leaving Rhiga's for a second..
-
"Rhiga, do you take Marcus to be your lawfully wedded husband? To hold him and cherish him in sickness and in health, for better or for worse, and, forsaking all others, remain true to him as long as you both shall live?" Vespion asked. This would be the first time anyone in her family had been married, at least, the first female.
"I do. I do with all my heart!" She replied.
"If anyone has any reason why these two should not be joined together, speak now, or forever hold your peace."
The crowd was silent, as expected.
"Then, by the power vested in me by the gods, I now declare you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride. Congratulations."
-
marcus gave Rhiga and brief but passionate kiss, and turning lead her back to a seat in the front row, they would wait for the others to be married before leaving the temple together
_ margas and Ilsa now stepped forward it was thier turn..
-
Vespion repeated the oaths to Ilsa and Margas. As before, there was an acceptance; the "I do's" were exchanged, vows taken, and another couple was pronounced. The same thing happened with Lucien and Minna. Now, there were three more couples. A general cheer erupted from the audience. It was done at last. Now, the last celebration could begin before... well, they didn't know what would happen. An uncertain future was on the horizon for all of them.
-
Margas Ilsa and minna sat down next to Rhiga and marcus " Congratulations 'Ilsa said giving Rhiga and then marcus a hug. "Same to you" Marcus replied , it was beginning to sink in, that they were finally husband a wife and a thrill ran up and down his spine..
-
Ku'ux just clapped silently as everyone else cheered. Violet was indeed, one of the ones that was cheering along with everyone else "Hehe, isn't this awesome? The three of them getting married" she said with a smile to Ku'ux.
"Yeah, I suppose it is, how you would put it 'awesome' that they have been married" replied Ku'ux to Violet.
-
Tallon approached the new couples, paying extra special attention to his new son-in-law.
"Lucien, I greet you as a son of mine. You now have possession of the palace I let Minna use, and as soon as the paperwork is filed, you will have outright ownership of it. Furthermore, as a wedding present, I present to you..." he pulled out a piece of parchement. "... a large parcel of land, tools, cash, and when the time comes right for it, I will hire out some laborers, provide the seeds, and anything else that you need to start a plantation. I'll let you do the actual building, though, as I know how important it is to begin your own legacy. Consider this Minna's Dowry. Also, since the future is unknown to us, I shall present you with the gifts whenever this is over. If you need anything, you shall always have a place at my side. Same thing goes for you, Minna. I may no longer be the most important male in your life, but I am still your father. I will not let you be harmed. Lucien, treat her well. She's yours now. Always cherish her, produce fine children with her, and never let her or your offspring come to harm. I know that you shall acquire other wives in time, but given her associations with me, I shall ask that you keep Minna in the highest regard among them."
"I shall do all that and more. Thank you, Tallon." Lucien replied.
-
Minna emaraced her father tightly " i love you daddy" She said, as her voice caught in her throat as she began to feel the ful weight of being married.
-
Violet was still wondering if she should actually tell Vespion about what had happened just before, however, she didn't want to have to ruin anyone's mood, however, she did get up with a stretch, only glancing at her paws to make sure they weren't going to change some more.
Ku'ux on the other hand, leaned forward where he was and glanced up at Violet "So, are you sure you're fine?" he decided to ask her.
"Yeah, I'm fine, nothing's wrong with me" Violet replied back with a bit of a smile as well.
"As you wish then" replied Ku'ux as he stood up "However, I do suggest that you see one of the mages if anything is wrong with you, they seem to be capable of handling a few things"
"I said I was fine...." Violet muttered back a little bit.
-
The reception after the wedding was filled with food and laughter. And alcohol, lots of it. Wine, beer, ale, what have you. The tastes of upper and lower class were catered to in a rare inter-class party that all Dracons could enjoy, not just those with Tallon's tastes.
Sasha finally found Eternion, some distance away from the party. Hopping gingerly from each bare foot, the human girl asked him;
"Why aren't you at the wedding? Don't you want to see it? Are you okay?"
-
Violet grabbed something to eat herself, yet, seemed to keep more to herself at the moment, not really wanting to go near any mage incase they mention something about her change in fur colour, that is, until she had bumped into one of them by accident and only seemed to give off a smile of some sort, but that was it as she took a bite out of the piece of meat she had grabbed.
Ku'ux on the other hand, was having a drink of beer himself as he watched everyone else mingle.
-
Vespion went over to Violet and asked her about her condition. He wasn't fooled;
"Violet, I know that this is not really the best of times or places to ask, but I fear that I may not have another chance to ask you. What is going on with you, if you can tell me? I'd like to have it examined in the temple; we are only a few rooms away from those who can help you with your problem, whatever it is."
-
"But I'm fine, really!" Violet replied, doing what she could not to worry Vespion some more "It's nothing to worry about, I'm sure it'll go away by tomorrow, you know, like something bad or something like that" she couldn't think of a proper excuse as she gave him a rather quick little smile too.
-
"Curses rarely just 'go away', and certainly, you will not be free from whatever afflicts you by tomorrow." Vespion told the wolf-girl. "I cannot force you to comply with an examination, much as part of me would like to do. I respect your decision. However, I must warn you that if untreated, a curse can become more and more dangerous with time."
-
Violet hessiated, part of her wanted to believe him, but yet, another part of her didn't want to. She seemed to be hessitating quite a bit before the voice in her head was heard again 'Lies! They are all lies!'
That's when she grabbed her head again 'Don't fight it.....give in....'
"No! I wont give in!" Violet seemed to more or less yell back, looking at Vespion once more before she took off out of the temple before she fell to her hands and knees outside, breathing a bit heavily as her tail seemed to change black and grow a bit longer as well, along with a bit more fluffier, so to speak.
-
Vespion knew that something was wrong. He passed that information on to Adykon;
"So, the girl's got something wrong with her?"
"Yes, I don't know what it is."
"Great. Now we have yet another things to worry about" Adykon sighed. He knew that Dememoras would be acting soon. It was going to happen. There was no question that he would attack. None of them knew what they would face.
-
Ku'ux approached both Adykon and Vespion with a glass of bear in his hands "Is she alright? I mean, I asked her if she was alright before, she told me she was, but I can tell, there's something wrong with her....." he asked them in regards to Violet.
He wasn't drunk yet, it would take quite a few glasses to get him drunk and he could handle the glasses as well. One could tell he was still sober at the moment.
-
"Yeah, something's wrong with her. I don't think we can do anything about it right now" Vespion told Ku'ux. "She isn't cooperating with us." Vespion had no desire to see her suffer. Still, forcing her was the other option. What was he to do?
-
Ku'ux thought for a second "I would imagine that the best thing to do is to try and talk to her some more, get her to cooperate, if something is wrong with her, it's best not stay on the sidelines and watch it play out, best to strike when one can"
***
Violet on the other hand, yelled once more as she stood up, grabbing her tail to see what she could of it "No....not my tail...." she glanced back at the temple before she headed off down the hallway to her room.
Once in her room, she got out of her dress, noticing the blackness on her had changed her fur colour on her body now, the symbol still glowing as she grabbed her regular clothes and put them on, only to have them change colour as well, becoming black as well, not as black as her fur, but still black regardless
She looked into the mirror once more to see that her looks were now indeed, rather different than before, she was almost completely black "No....no....no....this....this isn't fair...."
-
Minna sippeed from a glass of wine enjoying the moment while she could. Ilsa sat cross from her absently starring into her glass. ' the joy before sorrow, the laughter before tears, that is what are experiencing.. " ilsa said solemly.. "This is a day i should be joyful, that was a day, frankly I should have experience already given that my sisters often married at 21 or so.."
-
Rhiga and Marcus danced on the floor of the temple, happy as they have never been before. This would quite possibly be their last chance to enjoy themselves before whatever was about to happen, so they took it.
Lucien, for his part, was less concerned. Sure, Dememoras was a great threat, but he could not see his city fall to some milennia-old threat from gods-knew where.
-
Violet grabbed a chair and tossed it angrily at the mirror, cracking it before she headed out of her room, her look was now changed completely, her fur was completely black and a tad longer, but her tail was longer than anythign else, almost reaching the ground as she walked the hallways, not too sure where she was going to go at the moment, as she didn't want to have to head back to wedding reception because of what had happened to her.
-
Meanwhile, underground...
Dememoras's armies were comprised mostly of Dracons. He changed them, but they were still the same beings at their cores. What many did not know was that much of the day-to-day labor of the armies was taken care of by colonies of kobolds. Numbering over a million, these little creatures were impressed into service for Dememoras, largely by fear and by a desire to "be on the right side." Kobolds were a numerous race, known for their mining skills and fast breeding. Shaped like small bipedal lizards, adventurers and soldiers alike considered them to as much an annoyance as anything else.
(http://www.goblindefensefund.org/gobbies/manual_kobold.gif)
Standing only at about half the height of a human or dracon, they were little threat, except in overwhelming numbers, and even then, they required good weapons, leadership, and frequently, some form of magical enhancement to be a serious danger. The kobolds in the Dracon lands numbered about 3 million, which was still less than 10% of the population of the Dracons themselves. About 1 in 3 kobolds served the evil forces loyal to Dememoras, although they didn't know his name. References to "the unknown master" or "the dark master" abounded, but these were dismissed as references to a deity of theirs by adventurers who fought these little pests, not as a piece in the puzzle of a conspiracy by an ancient evil who styled himself as a god.
Serving as manual laborers, construction crews, miners, cooks, maids, chattel servants, carpenters, waiters, farmers, masseuses, coopers, weavers, and whatever other menial tasks the armies of Dememoras could think of, they provided many services and goods, thus freeing up more dracons to fight. The fact that Dememoras could create such a larger series of armies in secret was amazing, but it could not have been done without the aid of countless little kobolds providing the daily work needed to supply such a force. He and his forces mistreated these little humanoids, regularly abusing them, underfeeding them, keeping them as slaves, and refusing to allow them anything more than a loincloth to wear and a straw mat to sleep on. This was to be the fate of the "weak", if there was submission from them, they could live, but it would be a horribly degraded existence.
-
Ku'ux decided to step out for some fresh air when he saw Violet walking towards him, to which he spoke up to her "Violet, you seem different now.....what did you do to your fur?" he decided to ask her.
Violet however, just gave off a glare to him "Back off bull...." she seemed to growl slightly as she walked on past him. She was indeed, in a rather foul mood at the moment.
Ku'ux just snorted back "Look, just because you look different, does not mean you have to act different"
"Oh, and this is coming from someone who's usually in a rather foul mood no matter what?" Violet asked back as she stopped where she was and turned to face Ku'ux.
"You should watch what you say" replied Ku'ux with a glare.
"Or what? What are you going to do about it hmm?" Violet asked, only to have silence from Ku'ux "That's what I thought, you just don't have the guts to do a thing" she added on, poking his hest as well.
Ku'ux just seemed to snort back once again "Aww, what's the matter? Did I hurt the poor minotaur's feelings?" Violet teased. She wasn't herself by the looks of things, something was very different about her.
"Back off Violet, something is wrong with you, you are not yourself" Ku'ux told her.
"Oh? And how would you know? You don't know me, how do you know that this isn't what I really am hmm?" replied Violet as she walked around him.
"You need to seek one of these mages, they can heal you"
"Blah, blah, blah, talk, talk, talk, that's all I'm getting from you, just complete nonsense, mages healing me? Pfft, I'm having far too much fun now, so I'm just going to have to decline that request" replied Violet as she walked past him and entered the temple "Evening all" she addressed practically everyone in the temple.
-
The party in the temple was too loud for her to be heard over all of them, but Violet managed to get the attention of Adykon, who was very concerned;
"Violet, you really need some help. Please, if you won't see a cleric who can exorcise curses, then at least go see a doctor, a nurse, an apothecary, anything! At least, let them take a look at you. That does NOT look good."
-
"You know, I could say the exact same thing about you....oh no, wait, my mistake, that how you always look" Violet joked back to him before putting an arm around here "Oh lighten up already, between you and me, I'm rather fine actualy"
She then stepped back slightly and showed herself off before grabbing a glass of wine from another person's plate and gave it a sip "Hey! That's mine!" was all she heard.
"If it was yours, it would be in your hands right now, but its in my hands, so I guess it must be mine" Violet replied as she drunk the rest of the wine before tossing the glass over her shoulder as she turned to Adykon again, giving off a bit of a smirk as well "One thing I must compliment on is the wine, not that bad really, not that bad at all"
-
Vespion decided to take matters into his own hands. Seeing that Violet was acting badly, and knowing that Jake had already been lost to a curse which modified one's behavior, the cleric approached her and cast a sleeping spell on her. It made her fall, but he caught her.
"I'll take her deeper into the temple for examination." Vespion told Adykon.
"Good. Just take care of her." the warrior replied, knowing that Vespion did that to prevent her from ruining the wedding as much as anything else.
-
Violet looked over to Vespion and was about to say something else when he cast the sleep spell onto her, which had enough power to knock her out.
Ku'ux walked over and saw that Violet had been sedated "About time she was taken care of, she hasn't been herself by the looks of things, I trust that you will be able to find out what is wrong with her?" he asked Vespion.
-
"I should" Vespion replied. He saw that the wedding reception was going well, and would continue for several hours more. Taking Violet into a room of the temple, he laid her down on a bed normally reserved for a Hierodule; this chamber was empty of the females at the moment. Before Violet could wake up again, Vespion returned with a female dracon, a healer. He quickly explained to her what was going on.
-
Ku'ux turned to Adykon at that point "What if you can't find a cure for her? What then?" he decided to ask him as he looked around at everyone else still having fun and what have you "However, I do have to say that doing that was best, we wouldn't want her ruining everything"
Violet on the other hand, was still out cold, just twitching now and then, unaware of what was going around her at the moment, nor having any idea on where she was either.
-
"I don't know, Ku'ux. I just... don't know." This was getting to Adykon. So many crises piling on top of one another. Jake was missing, an enemy army was approaching, that archmage was still under siege, Gerasia had been kidnapped, his whole race was threatened with tyranny and enslavement, and now, something was wrong with Violet.
Vespion and the healer removed her garments to examine the effects of the curse. The healer did most of the examination. Her body was standard for a female humanoid. She had well-developed tiotleglas on her chest, and a lithe body with soft fur. Her body was covered in curse-markings which shone through her furred skin. Neither Dracon knew how to get rid of them. Vespion attempted a standard "remove curse" spell, but to no avail. This kind of curse needed a specific counterspell to get rid of it.
-
And that's when Violet's eyes shot open as she glanced over to Vespion with a light little chuckle of some sort "My, you just could not wait could you?" she asked him rather teasingly in reagrdes to her clothes being removed off her body.
She sat up as she glanced at the female healer "Such a shame is it not? Not being able to get rid of this....curse of mine? Although, I wouldn't call if a curse myself, it's more of a gift, wouldn't you agree?" she asked both of them at the same time.
She made no hurry to even grab her clothes at the moment as she just smirked still as she sat there, almost as if she was amused about what Vespion had attempted to do in regards to getting rid of the curse upon her.
-
"Violet, just lie still, or I'll have to cast an even stronger sleep spell on you. This is for your own good. Now, lie back down and I'll see what can be done. You need help, and that's exactly what you'll get, girl." Vespion told her.
-
"Oh, you mean like this?" Violet asked back as she lay on her stomach "Or, were you after this?" she then lay on her back again with another chuckle as she glanced over to Vespion "I'm ready for my check-up Mr. Mage"
She placed a finger of hers onto her lips as she did indeed, lay still for the time being, yet, let off a yawn to signal that she was just bored "You know, you're just wasting your time, well, both yours, and my time as well, but hey, you can just keep on trying, nothing you have is going to work"
-
They had her lie down on her stomach. After examining her and trying several spells, nothing worked. They had her lie on her back again. Still, nothing worked. Vespion knew that the curse was pushing back against the energy he had conjured to remove it. He also sensed that the high priest could get rid of it, but he was busy meeting with the king and Kluthu, the king's court archmage. They were busy preparing a defense for the city, a task fare more important than freeing a wolf-girl from a curse.
-
Violet looked over at Vespion "Are we quite done here? Because I do wish to go back to the wedding reception for some more food" she added in with another smirk as she sat up again, folding her legs as well as as she just sat there on the bed "Because like I keep on telling you, but you keep on drowing out my voice, your just wasting time, wastime time that could be used for more practical means, like food and wine, speaking of which, have you tried the wine? It's actually not bad at all"
She kept her hands on her knees as well as she glanced back at the female healer "By the way, I would advice something better than what you're wearing, it's not very "traditional" one could say, looks rather dull actually" she added in with a bit of a laugh as well.
-
The female healer was wearing a loincloth and top, as most females of the land did. Not knowing what to say to that, the female dracon kept her silence.
"I'll let you go for now, Violet. If I catch you doing anything bad, I'll have to restrain you in ways that go far beyond a mere sleep spell." Vespion told her.
-
"Oh don't worry, you can trust me" Violet told Vespion as she got off the bed and walked over to her clothes, putting her shorts on before walking off with her shirt in her hand, for the time being, just tieing it around her waist.
Moments later, she was back within the hallways of the palace, having a simple waltz around as it were, just seeming to hum to herself as well "Wow, what a dull place" she ended up muttering to herself with a sigh, looking around rather dully as she approached a guard, an arm around him as well "So, do tell me, do you like your job here?"
The guard glanced at Violet, yet, remained silent still as she spoke again "Wow, even you lot are boring"
"I would advise you put on you shirt" one guard told her.
"Yeah, but that is only a suggestion" replied Violet as she left the guards alone and headed off outside into the market place for the time being before she finally decided to put her shirt on.
-
Eternion felt ill. Not so much in respect to his actual health as to what he was feeling deep inside emotionally. The uncomfortable reality had dawned on him, and all he could think about was what awaited him.
He now stood upon the roof of the old building, having climbed to the top in small leaps and bounds. All would have been too busy at the wedding to notice the dracon at the top of a tower... looking out over the city with nothing but a statue and his axe to keep him company.
He looked up into the air, tasting it with his tongue. He swore he could see rainclouds gathering in the distance, but it was difficult to see that far with only one eye. He would have to drink that potion soon... even though he knew deep inside he was trying to put it off as long as possible.
The idea of becoming young again disturbed him as much as the coming darkness did. For a moment, he could almost believe he was going mad... what other dracon would forgo such an occasion as a wedding to watch the world descend into chaos upon the highest spire he could climb?
Eternion had a good view of the market place from where he was. Though his eye troubled him, he glanced... Violet? No, the creature was too dark for it to be her. Of course, there wasn't any other werewolves about that he knew of... was there?
Yes, he was certainly going mad. He decided to get a closer look, leaping across the tower and onto the roof of a nearby building... he rolled to cushion his impact, and bounded to the other side, which faced the market place.
-
Sasha followed Eternion. He hadn't even acknowledged her! Either he was very deep in thought, or something was wrong with him... or both! Being a teenage girl, she wasn't strong or durable, but she was agile. The wooden roofs of the old buildings weren't the softest things to walk on, but they sure beat the hard stone streets. Of course, most roads were made of sand and earth in these lands, but not in the good sections of town, oh no.
"Eternion what're you-?!" Sasha approached him, and quickly saw that his gaze was directed towards a figure in the street. Peering in the same direction, the girl saw a figure that resembled the newcomer to the party, Violet. Her fur was different. Darker. Was this some sort of trick? Everything was so out of control these days...
She would worry about it later; a change of color was hardly cause for such concern. Turning to Eternion, Sasha asked him;
"Is something wrong? Is this about Violet?"
-
Violet continued walk through the streets of market, glancing at each of the shops before stopping in front of one.
She looked at the shop rather dully "Is this it?" she glanced around at everything else before her eyes were set upon Eternion and Sasha and just smirked to herself before started to climb up the side of the shop and onto the roof, yet, kept her sight on the two of them still.
She walked along the rooftops, jumping from one to another before she stopped a roof away from there "My, having fun are we? You know, climbing on rooftops, enjoying the sights, stalking" she said with a smirk still.
-
'I am going crazy,' Eternion muttered to himself, quite unnerved by the sight of Violet.
'Quite a nice day to be hopping along rooftops, is it not?' He yelled across from where he stood, over to where Violet was. 'Why don't you join us up here? That is, if you can.' He smirked slightly, seemingly daring her.
Eternion turned to face Sasha. 'I'm surprised you're up here. I would have thought everyone was too busy with their festivities and what-not. Have you come to watch the world fall into darkness with me?'
He supposed that she was merely looking for him, though he wondered why Sasha of all people had decided to find Eternion.
-
"Is something wrong, Violet?" Now Sasha was the one to ask. She had noticed the change in fur color of the wolf-girl. Was she cursed as Jake was? It was hard to believe, but her magical senses detected a field of energy, hard to describe, but it was a feeling, a sense, almost like an itch. When Jake had fallen under the curse, she felt something similar to it. Now, here it was again, but... not quite. Violet's magic was different, as if it was affecting a different breed of creature, or else, was a different "breed" of magic. Something was wrong with Violet.
-
Violet just smirked at Eternion's little challenge, yet, didn't say a word as she jumped over to the building they were standing on and climbed up to the top of it.
She walked over to the two of them and placed her arms around them "Is something wrong with me?" Violet asked Sasha back "You would probabally think that, seeing someone as different as me hanging around here" of course, she didn't answer any sort of question proerly as she then looked to Eternion.
"I think your girlfriend there is loosing her mind, I mean, she's saying that there's somethign wrong with me, crazy isn't it?" she chuckled.
-
"Jake is my boyfriend, and he's not a Dracon." Sasha replied, clarifying the matter. Violet's curse gave her a very bad sense of humor, it seemed. Sasha sat on the side of the building with the rest of them, her feet dangling off of the sides. After a moment, she moved onto the roof itself and sat down, cross-legged, not wanting to risk that a cursed Violet would push her off. After trying for 15 minutes to reason with the wolf-girl, Sasha gave up. She no longer cared that Violet was cursed, as all it did was make her sarcastic, change her fur color, and make her a pain in the rear. Lying down, the human girl stared up at the clear, blue sky. How did she get into these things? She was supposed to be with Jake and Rex, and she was supposed to be finishing school and spending more time in her nice, safe home. Now, she was on a roof with an old Dracon and a cursed wolf-girl. Heck, she was sorta cursed as well. Ever since she had been "healed" in that temple in Hekaga, she was a human battery of sorts, able to absorb energy just by touching it. Heck, not even touching it, just being close enough to a luminous energy source was enough for her to absorb power.
-
"Uh huh...." Violet spoke up as Sasha was attempting to reason with her as she gave off a rather bored yawn, looking at her with a dull look in her eyes.
She then glanced over at Eternion, still with a rather uninterested look in her eyes "You weren't at the wedding thing, what's the matter hmm? What was so important that you had to skip out on it? Did someone die?" she then seemed to gasp for a second and just smirked "Oh, now that woiuld be something to see" she added in with a little bit of a chuckle as well.
-
(finally i'm able to post!!! w00t!.............but i probably won't be able to post for a while after this...grrr....)
Meanwhile...
Back at the castle Jake had heard a knock at the door, Jake walked over and he opened it up and was met by one of the princes messaging servants. The servant told Jake that he had intel on his targets. "so where are the targets at the moment?" asked Jake
"they're at the Kings palace having some sort of special ceremony or a party of sorts" replied the servant with a raspy worn out voice.
"...hmmm.........is it well guarded?" asked Jake
"you wouldn't even be able to gain entry...unless..." responded the servant "...you pretend to be your old self...that could buy you some time to get in and kill off each target while they where sleeping..."
"sounds like a plan but i'll have to get approval from the prince to go and do that"
The servant nodded his head and turned to go deliver more messages to the other residents in the palace.
Once Jake had thought over if it was a worthwhile idea to even bother telling the prince about he put on his clothes from before he was cursed at the temple and he made his way to the princes throne room. Jake had arrived at the room in a time span of at least 7 minutes from his room the the throne room. Jake approched the prince
(is that okay?)
-
(aww, well, it's still good to see you post in here regardless ^^)
There was a pause before Violet smirked some more and stepped backwards to the edge of the roof. However, before anyone could stop her, she jumped off the edge off the roof and fell to the ground.
Before she hit the ground however, something had happened, she had sprouted wings of pure darkness, the tips of them reaching to a few feet from the ground, which allowed her to survive the entire fall, landing softly on her feet, looking back up to Eternion and Sasha as the wings retracted back as to be not so spread out.
-
'Well, that's new,' Eternion said to Sasha. In order to get down, he had to grab a hold of one of the drain pipes, and slide down slowly. He let go at the last second, and landed pretty hard on his feet. Eternion gave a grunt as he rose back to his feet.
'Quite a nice pair of wings you have there,' he said to Violet. 'If I wasn't half blind, I would have sworn they were a pure black. That kind of tells me something about what's inside you.'
'An unpleasant thing, that curse. At first it seems so great, such power... such strength. But soon enough, it consumes you. Your mind becomes nothing more than a slave, your whole body a blackened shell of its former self.'
'It must be a rush for you, Violet. All that power makes you feel light headed, and almighty. Of course, I'm still not impressed. Just because you have a pair of wings, doesn't make you better. I'd like to see you prove yourself... some other way.'
Eternion let his axe slide into his hand. 'What say you?'
-
Sasha soon followed and jumped down to the ground and landed next to Eternion. "Don't fight, you both could get injured and i'm not strong enough to drag either of you to the temple to get medical treatment"
-
Violet glanced over at Eternion "And since when I did I say I was better than everyone else? I never had said that, did I say that? No, I didn't think so" she told him with a rather bored yawn again "Besides, your little toy there, it doesn't scare me"
She then looked over to Sasha "Uh huh, and you're telling me all this....why now?"
-
'Ah, if it doesn't frighten you, then perhaps you would like test your mettle at the edge of it.' Eternion held the axe in an odd way, tilted horizontally... one hand in the middle of the long handle, and the other running its claws along the outside edge.
'Do not be frightened, you know you can feel the urge inside you. You yearn for excitement... so here is your oppurtunity.'
Of course, Eternion wasn't planning on killing her. If things went as far as an actual fight, he would just use his hands... that's how he had dealt with the last cursed creature that had attacked him. That, however, was quite a few decades ago.
-
"Yearn for excitement? Yeah, that's true, but unlike other cursed ones you have come across, fighting you would just be a waste of my time really" Violet told Eternion as she stepped closer, standing just inches away from the tip of the axe.
"Besides, why would I want to waste my power on someone such as you? Surely you're far too powerful for me to kill" she added in rather jokingly.
She then started to step forward, staying on one side of the axe's side as she spoke again "Perhaps some other time" she smirked as she ended up walking past him and was now heading back towards the palace.
-
Sasha was rather confused by that. Violet only appeared to be witty; a discerning mind could easily see her insolence. Why, Sasha had half a mind to hit that wolf-girl with a fireball right then and there... but she decided against that. Sasha was many things, but she was not randomly violent.
-
"Now where duid Eternion heasd off too?'minna asked as she sipped from her wine.. 'Where did that old Dracon go?
_ for that matter, where is violet?' Ilsa commented..
-
Adykon overheard Minna and Ilsa. Eternion, Violet, and Sasha had left the party for some reason. Looking around the room, Adykon thought that everyone else was still at the wedding feast. Good thing too. Tomorrow, they would have to face whatever it was Dememoras was going to throw at them. As the leader, Adykon would have to gather them all in one place to make sure they were all ready. That could wait a little while, though.
-
Soon enough, Violet had returned to the wedding feast giving off a stretch as well as she glanced around before walking casually over to the food table, grabbing a piece of meat and taking a bite out of it before putting it back.
She walked down the table and grabbed something else and took a bit out of it before putting it back before stealing someone else's wine and pretty much drinking all of what was in there before giving them the glass back.
-
Once Jake had arrived in the princes view he was told to kneel. "stand and speak" said the prince
Jake lifted his head and he got up from his kneeling position "i have an idea on how i can kill off the targets."
The prince leaned forward "do tell"
"what if i went back to Minthebec and pretended that my curse has now faded away and i'm normal again so that i can kill each target one by one? only problem is that i would need a spell strong enough to cover up the curse that i have at the moment..."
-
Violet!' minna exclaimed " If you're going to take food, at least finish it! where are your manners? What has come over you.." she stopped as she saw the very different shade of fur on Violet " bY the gods, you have a curse on you , don't you?"
-
Violet glanced over at Minna before walking over to her, put an arm around her "A curse? I suppose if one wishes to call it that, although I prefeer the term, a gift" she told her with a bit of a smirk across her face as well.
-
Curses are never gifts' Minna said, a bit frostily. " trust me, I've had them on me. They are Not fun.. now tell me, where have you been..? oNce the festivities are over, its going to be full-scale war preparations, around the clock..
-
"My, worried about me aren't you?" Violet chuckled softly, keeping her arm around Minna "Although, I suppose if you really want to know, I've been doing various things, keeping myself occupied at the very least, although, it is rather dull around here...."
-
You can turn off the fake charm, its annoying" minna replied. " you've changed drastically from when I saw you last.. what is it? She looked atViolet intently, trying to figure out what the she-wolf had planned. "This curse of yours is getting worse isn't? "You need to get it lifted before it completely takes over..
-
Violet just smirked back "Oh, but I don't want it to go away, this is what I am.....you're just jealous is all, jealous that you don't have a power sleeping within you, ready to wake up, ready to help you understand your true potential"
-
Jealous?' Ilsa cut in. " Why would she be jealous? She's stronger than you are violet in terms of magic, so there's no need for her to be jealous of you. We're going to take you to Vespion and have him remove this curse from you, even if we have to drag you kicking and screaming and waste our wedding night with our new husbands in the process."..
-
"Vespion? Oh yeah, I remember him, he attempted just what you said and failed miserably at it" Violet chuckled "Such a shame too, and here I thought that he was suppose to be one of these great mages" she added in with a rather bored sounding yawn.
-
Your arrogance is really starting to get on my nerves"Ilsa said tersely. " you were such a sweet girl too, now look at you!. You're becoming evil violet! and there's only one way to deal with evil werewolves- kill them.. I don't want to kill you Violet, but if you give into this curse.. well.. my options will be limited.."
-
That's when Ku'ux walked over and looked to Ilsa "Not true, there is always a cure for every curse, just this one will be much tougher to free her from it"
Violet glanced over at them, a rather bored look in her eyes "Kill me? Uh huh....yeah....good luck with that" she giggled a rather evil sounding giggle as she turned and walked off.
Ku'ux put a hand on Ilsa's shoulder "We should leave her be for now, we have bigger things to deal with than Violet and her curse at the moment" he reminded her in regards to the dark lord himself.
(yes, I hate spelling the bad guy's name :p)
-
Good Point:" ilsa said taking one final look at the rebellious werewolf before turning and heading out of the room. Margas had witnessed the entire scene, and now got up to follow his wife " You could have handled that better" Margas said upon catching up to her. " your threats were completely empty, f Vespoin could not lift the curse on her what chance do you have? Vespoin is much stronger magically than you are, hes been studying the magical arts for a lifetime. what Violet has, it is a powerful curse and it will not be broken easily..." Ilsa frowned as she loked the window out over the city. preparations for the coming war were in full swing, with soldiers running about..
-
Eternion watched from just outside. He shook his head as the whole altercation was dealt with. 'Dememoras approaches, and now this. Some odd coincidence, I would say,' he muttered to himself.
He was reluctant to enter the temple, but he wanted to keep his ever watchful eye on Violet. He had other things to attend to before his date with destiny, but he decided they could wait just a little bit longer.
-
Violet walked down the hallway, running a finger along the wall as well for no real reason at all as she was slowly making her way back to her room.
Once inside, she looked around at the colour of it "My, what a boring colour" she uttered as she crouched down and placed her palm on the floor. Seconds later, darkness begun to take over the room and turned it black, along with the room emitting a sense of darkness from it as she sighed rather happily as it were.
"Oh, now this is much better" She said to herself as she looked around again, smirking to herself.
-
Rhiga retired to her new home. She might not be able to own an inch of real estate, but now that she was married to Marcus, she had status in a legitimate family. When her egg hatched, it would be to a married couple, for the first time in her family's history. If only Vaeri could be there to see it...
-
Eternion watched from across the hallway as Violet changed the room to better... fit her. He pursed his lips slightly as he watched the whole room turn a shade of pure black.
He kept an ear out, but decided to close no further. He was already taking a risk following her around, but he certainly wanted to find out what was going on.
-
Violet glanced over at the cracked mirror and just smirked before she walked over to her door, and noticed Eternion watching her.
She only smirked some more as she walked out of her room and over to him "So, do entertain me as to why you're watching me, just can't keep your eyes off me hmm?" she chuckled "Has your old age forgotten what it was like to watch younger females?"
She then seemed to step back "Oh, and can't you feel that? It feels much like home.....wouldn't you agree?" she asked in regards to feeling the darkness from her room.
-
The old dracon took in a deep breath, he could feel the odd sensation of the darkness all around him. 'Just like old times for me,' Eternion replied.
'I must apologize, though. You're not my type... and besides, I was already married once.'
He tilted his head slightly. 'I'm not leaving until I find out what is wrong with you. You might as well sit down and talk. Heck, why don't we chat in this pretty room of yours? Or are you still oh so terribly bored?'
-
Violet looked at him, a dull look on her face "You're not exactly my type either, but you're probabally not going to shut up about it, so....let's just get this over and done with" she told Eternion as she turned and walked off into her room and sat down on the bed, her legs folded as well as she looked to Eternion "So, ask away...."
-
Eternion walked into the room, not at all unsettled by how it had changed. 'I'd like to know a bit more about your past interactions, Violet... if I am even speaking to you, and not some other personality.'
'Which begs the question, how can I even tell I am talking to Violet?' He circled the room, inspecting the tainted walls with his eye.
-
"Violet? But I am Violet" she seemed to smirk back at Eternion. Whether or not she actually was Violet now was rather unsure, she just spoke as if she was still Violet.
"What do you think of the room? You like what I did with it? I gave it a much better look than all the other pathetic colours that were within this room" she then reached out her hand to the side as a small table appeared, which held some fruit on it. She grabbed and apple and offered it to him "Apple? No? Oh well" she chuckled as the apple turned back to darkness along with the table.
-
At this hour, the defenses of Minbenthac were being prepared. Arrows were being made and stored in towers, vats of boiling oil and pitch were readied, and fragile possessions were secured, particularly those belonging to the city's government.
-
Eternion continued to examine his surroundings, but he occasionally put his eye back on Violet. 'Odd how this all happened at the same time we we're preparing for an assault by Dememoras. Odder still how you showed up just before that. What was it you were doing before you ended up here, anyway?'
He ahd to admit to himself, the darkness was starting to get to him just a little bit.
-
"Indeed it would seem odd to you" Violet smirked "And yes, it was true I was here to originally get rid of this curse that you like to call it, but I'm just having far too much fun to get of it now"
Her wings extended out for a stretch before retracting back again "However, do answer me this question, is the darkness getting to you?" she asked as she crawled forward on her bed, still smirking to him "You should give in, you don't know what you're missing out on, it's such fun"
-
Eternion smiled wryly. 'Of course it's getting to me. A mortal being shouldn't be exposed to this sort of stuff, and certainly not a fragile old coot like myself.'
He turned his back to her, the hallway seemed so inviting with its color. 'I've been exposed to negative energies before. I know what they can do to the body, and how they can effect the mind. I could easily give into it if I so desired, but that would just be silly, now would it?'
'Of course, there's always the other problem.' He faced Violet, his eye gazing into hers coldly. 'The problem with the shadows is that the light will always chase it away, until it huddles in the tiniest corners, forgotten. I warn you now, Violet... that will be you. You'll soon be gone, and with it... everything you could ever love.'
'Do you even feel love anymore? Is it all gone? Every emotion stained by the blackness within?'
-
"Feeling emotion?" Violet asked Eternion with a little evil sounding giggle again as she lay down onto her stomach, her clothes also vanishing off her back as well.
She gave him a grin as well, her legs waving back and fourth before she rolled over onto her back, still keeping her gaze on him "The whole emotion ordeal....it's, how you could say, overrated"
-
(3 days before wedding)Once Jake had arrived in the princes view he was told to kneel. "stand and speak" said the prince
Jake lifted his head and he got up from his kneeling position "i have an idea on how i can kill off the targets."
The prince leaned forward "do tell"
"what if i went back to Minthebec and pretended that my curse has now faded away and i'm normal again so that i can kill each target one by one? only problem is that i would need a spell strong enough to cover up the curse that i have at the moment..."
The prince thought about it for a moment "sounds good to me" he said "but once you go there they will be extremely suspicious about you returning..."
"i know that, that's why i need a spell to cover up my other one so that they believe my story" said jake
"very well, you may go to minthebec with the strongest cover-up spell, but be warned it lasts at least 1 week maximum" said the prince
Jake nodded, then the prince made a hand gesture to Jake that meant jake could leave when ever he was ready. Jake turned and he proceeded towards the magical part of the castle (couldn't think of any other way to describe...). Once Jake had arrived he went inside a large room and was met by a green coloured male dracon, the dracon was around the age of 40 and was wearing dark green robes that matched his skin coulour, his name was Ethilion. "hello human, i've recieved word that you are allowed to take one of my best cover-up spells"
"yep, i need it so i can infiltrate minthebec and kill my targets" replied Jake
Ethilion turned and he went over to some shelves and he searched through all the potions until he came across one that was a glowing blueish green color. He grabbed it and handed it to Jake.
"thanks for the potion" said Jake "i'll drink the potion when i'm at minthebec"
"good idea" replied Ethilion
Jake nodded and he walked all the way to the front gate and he was given a horse to ride that had been enhanced to run at nearly twice the speed of a normal horse. If Jake left now he should be at Minthenbac in 4 days
(present time after wedding)
Minthenbac was in view and was growing larger every second. Jake decided that once he had actually reached minthenbac he would drink the potion and return to his old house and see what he had missed out on lately.
(that okay?)
-
(OOC: Assume that that happened before the wedding. Just type in something like "three days before the wedding..." and the next post with Jake "at present time" or "in the present." Also, it would probably be best to get something faster than a cart; these cities are separated by over a thousand mile! Try a flying carpet or something. XD)
Marcus heard a knock on his door. Moving to open it, he was happy to find his parents! Now, they were about to have a grandchild in the form for the new life in the egg Rhiga had laid.
-
Mother! Father! How good to see you! Please come in! i presume you saw my wedding' Marcus said cheerfully.. " the honeymoon will have to wait unfortunately.. So how have you been mother?' he asked.
-
Jake had arrived at the city, Jake had pulled the small potion from his pocket, he removed the cork and he drank the contents. Jake threw the bottle onto the ground and he dismounted from the horse and he sent it back to the princes castle (the horse was trained). Once the horse was out of sight he began making his way back to the house he used to live in.
-
The human arrived in the city not more than an hour before the gates were closed and locked. Each of the four gates of the city had two sets of gigantic doors separated by two gigantic portcullises. All of the doors and portcullises were made of black adamantine, a metal stronger than mithril and harder than diamond. To top it off, the metal in the defenses was enchanted to resist attempts by enemy magic to destroy them. Adykon thanked the gods that the walls of Minbenthac, though damaged on rare occasion, have never fallen since they were built.
-
'I would expect you to say that,' Eternion replied to Violet. 'Considering you have been completely drained of such, I would expect you to be a little biased. Unfortunately for you, the only thing that makes us who we are... are those very emotions.'
He gave a sigh, and turned for a door. 'I don't know why I even bother. You may as well be who you wish to be, since you seem so intent on ignoring the feelings inside that plea for you to stop embracing your darker self.'
He placed a hand on the side of the door, and faced Violet one last time. 'I only followed you because I was actually worried for you. You're not the first of your kind I have met. Your kind are rare, and each life lost is a heavy price.'
'But I digress, I am too old to care about this anymore. It is your life, not mine... though I tire of watching those I care about slowly die in front of my eyes, so to speak.'
He gave a small grunt as he stepped back outside into the "real world", 'it was nice knowing you, Violet,' he said.
-
Violet only seemed to snicker back at what Eternion told her "Then, it looks like following me in here was just a waste of time then, so ta ta, be gone" she told him, waving him off as she lay on her back with a bit of a laugh as well.
Ku'ux on the other hand, was seen walking down the hallways as he passed Eternion, stopping in his tracks "I take it you've given up on Violet?" he asked him with a slight snort as well.
-
Violet still lived. Her real persona was submerged, but she was still there. Still there. Not beyond saving. Adykon knew this, as did Vespion. It was hard to see another one of their party affected by a curse, and so soon... but now was not the time to worry about such things. None of them might be alive soon. The wedding was over by now. It was done. Life would go on... and get worse.
Far away, 20,000 dracons, three dragons, and inside Minbenthac, a traitor all prepared to strike at dawn.
-
'I gave up decades ago,' Eternion replied to Ku'ux. 'Seems I was right to do so. Oh well, nevermind it... there are other matters at hand.'
He had no intent on sleeping through this night. Instead, he would watch the world change as the sun rose to a new, different, darker day. There was to be no rest for the weary, for the nightmares would haunt him so, and everything would seem like it was in the final days of his adventuring career, when death itself would to sneer at him, wanting to embrace him... and to drag Eternion to the bottom of the burning hells, where he belonged.
'I wouldn't worry about her. I've seen this kind of thing before... it can be cured.'
His hands shivered slightly as he patted the minotaur on the shoulder. 'She still lives, and life is all that matters these days.'
He neglected to mention that the last cursed creature he had encountered he had "cured", by killing her.
And her eyes, as they returned to normal, and gazed up into his... so frightened... they still burned in the back of his mind, just like all the other souls.
-
Ku'ux gave a nod back to him "Indeed, I'm afraid that she will have to wait for the time being, I just have a feeling that something's going to happen, something big, but what that is....it's hard to say"
He glanced towards Violet's room "She's done something to the room, I can feel the darkness.....it's not natural...."
-
Finally... the dawn came. Marcus's parents had spent the night over with their son and new daughter-in-law, as did Minna and Ilsa with their new husbands. Adykon and the rest slept in their own rooms.
At first, all was silent. Minbenthac could feel that something was coming, although none but the most skilled mages and clerics could understand it. It was hard to fathom. The whole city felt that it was experiencing a hinge upon which history would turn, a very special moment which was never guaranteed to come in any lifetime, and yet, here it was. A collective sense of unease permeated the great city. In the distance, four portals opened up, miles from the city walls. To the north, south, east, and west, four armies emerged. A dragon emerged out of the northern, eastern, and western tunnels.
As of that moment, no one in Minbenthac saw the armies. Each direction had 5,000 soldiers from Dememoras's army for a total of 20,000 plus three dragons.
-
At that time, one would be hard pressed to find Eternion. He was once again atop a building, overlooking the city. He sat there with his legs crossed and his axe by his side as he watch the sun begin to rise.
'Savor this, old friend, for it shall be my last,' he muttered to himself. He then proceeded to lay the four aging potions before him, lining them up with no real reasoning or order.
'Behold the coming of a new age, in this season of chaos... and in this season, we were chosen. In the time when the shadows would fight back, we would promise ourselves to fight to the end, until all order was restored.'
He thought about Almia and himself, together. They had said many things in their time as adventurers... and in that time, they had made many promises.
'We promised ourselves we would not falter, or run in fear... we are beyond our fears. What reasoning is there to fear death itself? We were born to die, and now in this time between the spark of light and the last breath, we stand as one, ready to protect what we love dearest.'
He picked up the green vial, and opened it. 'Such an odd feeling it is, this blackness I can feel. It goes beyond nerves, for I no longer fear death. I would stare at the reaper and shout that I am not afraid to die. And yet, the cold hand of evil reaches out and tries to sow fear and discord, but I no longer fear evil.'
Eternion drank the first potion, and threw it aside. Next, he picked up the blue vial. 'I have seen too much in my lifetime to let the hands of evil seduce me, or bring me doubt. I have been of the verge of the shadow of death so many times that I no longer care to fear. Dememoras can try, but I am his enemy... and shall always be, and I will not fear him, because even death itself can not frighten me.'
He drank the second vial, and tossed it aside. The taste was unpleasant, but it bothered him little. Next was the golden vial. 'No turning back now, what more is there to say? I shall fight as another soldier in this battle against the forces of evil.'
Eternion drank down the golden vial. Finally, he came to the red one. 'Heck, what am I saying? When I see that bastards face, whether it be in my final death throes or as I watch him fall... I shall scream my name... and I will savor every single second.'
He swallowed every last drop, and then stood up. 'Eternion of Graylane.' He picked up his axe by his side. 'Just like old times, except with more killing, just how I like it. When death finally comes, I'll be ready for him. He'll have to drag me kicking and screaming to the depths of hell.'
And then Eternion felt a strange sensation inside him. He clutched at his chest as the feeling swelled into something else entirely. It was painful, as if his body was try to tear itself apart. He let out a roar, and fell back to the floor. The pain grew until it was at a point where he truly felt he was going to die. His old body couldn't handle it, and he passed out... the blackness embracing him.
-
The four armies lined up in order. They did not attack yet. The portals which each army passed through stayed open. The reason was soon evident; siege equipment. Each of the four armies received 10 catapults, 5 of which were standard onagers, 5 of which were more advanced trebuchets. Additionally, each army had three siege towers, over two dozen mobile wooden shields, and half a dozen wooden battering rams with a metal point at the end.
The runemarked army was in the east, spellforged was in the south, dragonblooded was in the north, and demonbred was positioned in the north.
Kluthu, the color-changing court archmage in the court of the king, felt very odd, as if he had drank spoiled milk. The feeling passed quickly. Of all the mages to detect the immediate presence of the enemy army, he had been the first. Rushing over to the king, who was already wearing his armor, the mage spoken frantically.
"Sire! They're here!"
"What? At our gates? Dememoras's army is upon us?!"
"They've teleported in a few miles away. No... it was by means of a portal opened up, like walking through a tunnel. We are surrounded on all four sides, and I have detected dragons with them!"
None of the scouts had reported this. For some reason Kluthu could feel and see what they could not. Other mages of sufficient power had felt the armies arrive as well, but only Kluthu knew that they were surrounded.
"How do you know this?"
"I sensed the presence of magic, sire. I suppose it is my accident that makes me more sensitive to these sort of things." Kluthu's skin color was the result of an accident when he was younger. As he spoke, it changed from green to red and back again, only to change to brown.
Truth was, something was keeping the armies from being seen. Something else had gone through each of the portals with them; a sheet of paper-thin material known as a "mitne pok", which was Draconic for "lightstopper." Each sheet was able to float on the air, and be guided by one of the many mages each army brought along with it. Each lightstopper prevented the army from being seen from a distance. This would give each of the four armies the ability to get close to the walls without being seen, unless their cover was blow. The lightstopper sheets were also invisible, and anything marching behind them, be it as small as an ant or as large as a colossus, would be unseen.
By the time the armies could be heard, they would be all over Minbenthac unless someone did something soon.
-
Violet had been awake the whole night and as morning was upon them, she was on top of the Palace roofs giving off a chuckle to herself, as she was just watching the event unfold in front of her "Perhaps, if they need some sort of help in stop their enemies, then perhaps I might help them out.....it might prove to be rather entertaining at the very least"
Ku'ux had awoken that day as well, he had again, slept in the local inn instead of staying at the palace. To him, it made no difference where he was to sleep, he just needed to get some sleep to be prepared for each day, in case his fighting was needed.
-
Eriol awoke after sleeping the whole night - "This is funny, I sleep all night so seldom!" - He thought as he woke up and prepared himself. After taking a shower, he saw that Arianne was awoke too, but she was sitting in the bed. - "Is everything ok Arianne?"
She looked at him - "I have such a strange feeling, presences...I am not sure." - Since she is a sorceress she could feel the evil presences that were coming near, or at least, that is what she thinks could be.
Eriol looked at her and said. - "Then we need to prepare, just in case." - he said as he prepared the equipment they have bought, the armor, the weapons, everything. - "If Dememoras is making his move now, I want to be ready." - He said, and Arianne nodded, she then got up the bed and washed herself, then both Gaeans prepared themselves.
-
Margas arose from his slumber, his new wife Ilsa by his side. They had to aware of the coming events to be intimate with each other last night, that moment would come later.. Margas' strong powers detected the coming armies, and he quickly awoke, and threw on his armor. " ilsa! they have come to lay siege to Minbenthac!:
_ the Dark Master?' Ilsa shot up from the bed and hurriedly began putting on h a suit of armor,. this set was made for a female mage, it had belonged to her grandmother and it had been among the many wedding presents she had received. It took the couple about twenty minutes or so to be ready then they headed out together towards the center of the city towards Minna's palace..
-
All over the city, soldiers and warriors, mercenaries and militia, and any male fit to fight was scrambling in one direction or another. The enemy was as of yet unseen, but by now, mages and clerics had sounded the alarms, being able to detect the presence of... something that was out there. The defense thus far was uncoordinated, unfocused. No one really knew what was happening out there.
-
Ku'ux approached Adykon, his axe at his side "I take it something is about to happen? Do you have any idea on who the enemy is at the moment?" he asked him as he glanced around "And one other thing, has Violet been seen today by any chance?"
-
Adykon, like Ku'ux, was running over to the walls to man the defenses, speaking as he ran, the mercenary responded to the minotaur's query.
"Something's about to happen, I haven't seen Violet, and no, I'm not sure who the enemy is."
About two minutes later, the warriors made it to the walls, and quickly ascended the stairs to get to the top. There were hundreds of Dracon archers on either side of them, wearing steel armor and helmets which protected the top of their heads, either side of their eyes, and even had a small covering for a part of their snouts. Adykon was dressed in standard steel armor; the fancier equipment that he had ordered from the king was not all ready in time.
Looking out at the lone and level sands and rocks which surrounded the great city, one could not tell that 5,000 warriors from the Dragonblooded army were about to attack, even as the soldiers on the walls could feel the air being broken from the flapping of their wings.
-
Ku'ux had worn his usual atire, he was one to not worry about armour as he felt he didn't need it himself as he gave a nod back to Adykon "Well, whoever this army is that's wanting to attack the city....we should be prepared, your guards and fighters, they seem to be capable enough to hold their own.....let's just hope it's true"
-
"Well, we must make sure that the defenses will hold, or we can say goodbye." - Eriol said as he and Arianne appeared from behind Adykon and Ku'ux. Both of them were ready for the combat that was about to start.
"Do you and the superior Officers have an strategy planned, Adykon?" - Arianne asked. - "Maybe I could remain near the rest of the Party or to remain closer to the archers?. My wind magic may help their arrows to be faster or to help making enemy arrows to miss targets." - She sure sounded confident, but she was nervous inside, this battle will be the biggest she has ever been or witnessed.
"I am more of a loner warrior, but this is bigger than every one of us, and you are the leader, Adykon, so we'll keep following your lead." - Eriol added. - "Just tell us what to do and we'll make sure the city will keep standing."
-
"The generals have a plan. The 5,000-strong force that was recalled is now inside of the city. Only about half of that force are currently deployed along the walls; the other 2,500 are in the center of the city, and have been told to react to any breaches in the walls or any major attacks that the defenders are having trouble repelling."
Pausing to breath, Adykon continued.
"We have about 20,000 troops inside the city at this time. Normally, there would have been even more, but we were caught off-guard, even with the extra 5,000 recalled to help us. Additionally, the mages of the city will summon everything they can to hel-Argh!"
An arrow had come out of nowhere and hit Adykon! He was okay, but an arrow hit his helmet, bouncing off, but causing him a bit of pain. Still reeling from the surprise, Adykon ducked down as more arrows came from behind... a sheet. A sheet of the sky. That's how he described it. Arrows were poking holes in the sky in front of him, and through each tiny hole, a sea of skin tones and armor was visible. When more and more arrows came through, the "sky" in front of them grew full of more holes. The enemy was dropping its disguise in this side!
-
On top of the palace, Violet watched the events unfold as she gave off a grin to herself "Well now, it looks like the enemy has decided to attack.....about time too, I was getting rather bored....perhaps they can give me an actual challenge....." she leapt off the palace at that point and spread her wings out as she flew over to where Ku'ux, Adykon and the others were.
Ku'ux glanced behind them as he saw Violet approaching "Well, at least that answers the whereabouts of Violet"
-
Seeing that Violet had gone bad, Toby, also perched on the palace, flew at her from out of nowhere. He recognized the evil magics which held her in thrall. The young red dragon had seen them before, in Asthia's palace. He was not about to let Violet betray them from within the city walls.
Screeaaaahhh!!
Without saying a word, he attacked her in mid-air, breathing a stream of fire in her direction.
Unfortunately, Violet was not the traitor in question. The real traitor was in the adventuring party like Violet, but unlike Violet, who had been cursed, this one was sent by Dememoras directly; he had no association with the lycan girl at all.
-
She glanced back at him in midflight and smirked "Well now, the little dragon wants to play hero does he?" she chuckled to herself as she stopped with a smirk upon her face before she darted forwards at Toby, putting up a sheild of darkness to at least minimize the fire damage from him.
-
The flames were mostly stopped by the shield, but some got through, singing Violet. What's more, even though both combatants were in mid-air, Toby was able to get around her shield and breathe a fireball at her. "Take this, b!$%h!"
-
Violet just smirked back as she dropped down to allow the fireball to pass over her, although, only barely as she launched a ball of darkness in Toby's direction.
Ku'ux looked over at the fight between Violet and Toby going on "Huh....now there's something you don't see every day" he told Adykon, motioning to the two that were fighting.
-
Toby easily dodged the ball of darkness. As a dragon, he was a creature who had instinctive knowledge of how to fly. Therefore, he had every advantage over the cursed, unnatural, and sarcastic female whom he flew again. She was fast in the air for a Lycan with wings, but she was not nearly as maneuverable. Next to him, she was quite slow, and her aim was not remotely as good as his. Furthermore, Toby knew that inside, Violet was scared of him.
That's how it worked with those infected by dark magic; they were afraid of something. Afraid of losing their power, afraid of being beaten, afraid of falling behind the other practitioners of the dark arts in the extent of their skill and power. Most of all, they were afraid of being held accountable to a higher power. It was not so much death that frightened them, but of the possibility that someone VERY powerful would judge them...
Asthia had been afraid of death. It was a contributing factor in her decision to become a vampire. Toby knew this, and even at his young age, he found it ironic that in an attempt to avoid her demise, Asthia brought it about, then kept on going. The main reason she had made herself a vampire was to gain power, though. Was it the same with Violet? Did she gain her dark powers on purpose? Toby didn't know and didn't care.
"You think that you're so tough, Lycan? You don't know what fear is until you've faced a dragon!"
-
"Uh huh, and do I look scared? No? I thought not" Violet replied back to the dragon as she folded her arms, letting off a little yawn as she landed on a nearby rooftop "Yeah, I never said anything about fear, but if you wish to talk tough, very well then....how about we play a little game hmm? A simple game of follow the leader, but with a little twist....let's see how much damage we can cause in this city" she chuckled.
And that's when she jumped down into the streets bellow and into a nearby building.
-
Determined not to let her take it to a street level, Toby flew at her, rammed her before she could even take 5 steps, and flew into the air WITH her in front of his face. Despite his small size, he was still quite powerful, as a red dragon would be. He wouldn't let her harm the city. Then again, it was made of brick and stone for the most part, not the flimsy wooden buildings she was used to in her village.
"Oh? You seem a lot more scared now!" He told her as he threw her off of himself, knowing that she could fly before she hit the ground, although he preferred that last option. Asthia had done her best to hide it too, but Toby wasn't fooled. Violet was afraid of him.
"If you're so brave, why did you run into the streets? Afraid to face a hatchling dragon?!"
-
Violet only smirked back at the young dragon "Oh no, it was all part of our little game, but I guess you were too afraid to play the game, afraid to do anything to this poor Dracon city" she told him.
"Let's see if we can't kick things up a notch or two" she added on as she held out her hand to one side, darkness begining to form around her hand before it formed a sword. The sword in question had a black blade which pulsed with dark energy.
She swung it as three balls of darkness flew off it and rushed towards Toby before aiming the point of the blade in Toby's direction "Do answer me one question.....what is your purpose here? If you're not here to fight this army that's approaching, then what is your purpose here?"
-
Toby spoke as he easily dodged the bolts of darkness that Violet sent towards him.
"You want me to fight the dark forces, eh? I intend to. That is my purpose here. In fact, I'm starting my fight against them by getting rid of you! Dememoras will be quite upset when he learns that his spy planted within our ranks is delivered to his throne... in pieces!!"
Toby still thought that Violet was a spy for the dark master. Staying out of range of her sword, he breathed four fireballs. Three of them went directly towards her shield, one went over her head, missing her entirely.
-
Violet swung her sword again, sending the three dark balls to collide with the fireballs before she let off another chuckle "My, so you believe that I am in league with Dememoras? Please, I have no intention on being part of his army, it just seems far to dull for my liking, no, I am here to face them, hoping that they can give me a good fight at the very least, besides, I can't let everyone else have all the fun, now can I?"
She just looked at him, her sword down at her side "So, believe what you will, but my mind is set on what I wish to do" her sword then vanished at that point as did her shield. She looked at him once more before speaking again "Now, if you'll excuse me, these fools will require some battle assistance" she told him as she turned and flew off towards Adykon and the others.
-
"I can't let you do that, Violet." Toby said simply. He believed that she was going to attack the defenders in Minbenthac from behind. Violet gave him absolutely no good reason to believe her. The fourth fireball, the one that had flown over her head, followed her. He wasn't going to let her get anywhere near the battle itself. Within five seconds, the fireball was almost upon her.
Toby, for his part, flew above her.
-
"Do as you wish, however, as much as I despise it, we are apparantly fighting the same enemy, so, it would be wise not to make enemies with those who are on the same side as you, besides, if I wanted to kill say, that minotar there" Violet said pointing to Ku'ux "I would've already done it by now"
Violet bought up another sheild of darkness in an attempt to stop the fireball, only getting knocked back by the blast as she looked up at Toby.
-
"You're NOT on the same side as me! No one who deals in dark magic is on my side!" Toby attacked her with a fury he had reserved for Asthia, but had never been given the opportunity to use. Opening his mouth, a long stream of flame emerged, longer than his whole body was. Although he was young, his late mother had taught him how to manipulate and shape his flame. It shaped into a fiery eagle, which flew at Violet.
-
Violet gave off a sigh "I don't have time for this....I have other things I wish to do" the darkness spread all over her as she let off a smirk "Ta ta for now, we shall meet again"
She was struck by the firey eagle which exploded on contact with her, smoke filling the air. Once the smoke did clear, Violet was nowhere to be seen, she had used the power of the darkness to vanish out of the city, but to where, no one would actually know....
-
Both minna and Ilsa created magical shield to protect themselves from the incoming arrows " The 'skin" that protected the armies was very advanced magic, and while they had heard of such things in their studies , learning about them, and having it weilded against you was something different..
-
Violet had teleported to the catacombs underneath the city as the darkness spoke to her 'It seems that we will be unable to escape as we are now....'
And that's when Violet's look had reverted back to normal, to what she was before she was infected. Violet however, she was remaining quiet now as the darkness had indeed, taken full control over her, yet, kept her original look for the time being.
She then glanced around at her surroundings as she smirked some more before she walked off in order to navigate the catacombs, granted, it was a maze down there, so finding the exit wasn't going to be an easy task.
-
Toby looked around, but could not find Violet.
"She's won't escape that easily. My firebird was designed to home in on her within 5 kilometers. Ah! It's going after her now" He thought. It'll lead me right to her.
The firebird began to fly down into the streets of the city as the battle on the walls was starting to take form. Toby flew after the bird, dodging through alleys and into a dark section of the city, where a temple connected to the catacombs was. Toby would find her, but it would take a while.
-
Violet continued to navagate the catacombs still, having taken a few minutes before she had finally found the exit "It's about time...." she muttered to herself, only to find that it just led to another section of the catacombs instead. She seemed to growl to herself, getting rather annoyed that she couldn't find the exit at the moment as she just kept on looking still.
-
On the walls, the dragonblooded army finally dropped the cover, revealing a force of 5,000 dracons of great size, wearing heavy steel armor, and all of them had wings. Some of them were already flying, most were still on the ground. For a moment, the defenders were too stunned to attack.
Then, one of the archers stationed on the walls fired a shot, striking one of the dragonblooded dracons who were flying right in front of the walls in the eye! He didn't scream, he didn't shout. He hardly reacted. After a moment, the flying dracon calmly reached into his eye, pulled the arrow out, loaded it into a bow that he had, and sent it flying into the eye of the dracon who had shot him in the first place, killing him.
"Good Gods! Did you see-?!" a soldier shouted.
"Get down!" Adykon shouted as a wave of arrows impacted the wall.
-
Margas Ilsa and Minna had to slide on thier stomachs to avoid getting hit by a volley of arrows. Margas had been in war before, but never against these types of numbers " and this is likely only a fraction of the Dark Lords armies" He muttered as he slowly got to his feet. the scene where the eneny Dracong pulledout the arrow out of his eye stunned and repulsed him' Those beings must be inceredibly powers, to have some a strike not faze them " he said softly
-
Arianne closed here eyes and began concentrating, she then made a tornado like wind above the sector been attacked, successfully blocking most of the arrows.
"They are demonic indeed, but I don't think they are immortal." - Eriol said with a glare as he charged his crossobow, taking advantage of Arianne's spell, he began firing as soon as the wind spell dissipated itself enough.
-
The bolts from his crossbow were able to knock a Dragonblooded warrior out of the air and send him hurtling down to his demise. The arrows fired by the city guards were not strong enough to take out the other attackers. In a moment, fully half of the 5000 Dragonblooded Dracons took to the sky, flying up to the walls. The other half flew OVER the walls, and some of them began to land in the city itself, while others flew over the city looking for targets. Fortunately, 5,000 in a city of about a million was not enough to bring it down.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, the runemarked army dropped its disguise, and was the first of the four armies to employ their catapults! Flaming projectiles and solid boulders alike fell into the city walls!
...with remarkably little effect. The stone of the walls had been treated to make them resistant to the elements, including flame. The boulders had some impact, but as of yet, it was not much. The trebuchets and rams had yet to come into play, however.
-
"This is getting way to fun." - Eriol said as he grinned evilly, his aiming capabilities been greater than those expected for someone of his race, he aimed at vulnerable places of all the enemy soldiers he could get in sight, as their armors are heavy, but not perfect.
Arianne gave some steps behind, near some walls that could offer her protection, she did this to be able to better concentrate in her spells, the wing beats of the enemy Dragonbloods did indeed offer her information of their relative position and speed. That was indeed useful for her as she now knows where are they focusing more in their attacks, and then to make her speels to help protect those areas.
-
A dragonblooded soldier landed and drew his greatsword, the standard weapon for each of them. Every soldier had a bow and a dagger as well, although it was so long, it was practically a sword.
Adykon's own greatsword had been drawn and the battle was joined between him and the dragonblood!
(Their daggers):
(http://www.harrisoncustomknives.com/collectorknives/9%20bowie%202.jpg)
-
margas climbed down the wal and began blasting away as nearby dragonblooded soldiers. While Margas was a powerful mage, his spell wouldn't have much effect thanks too the armor these soldiers wore which was designed to limit magical damage,...
-
"They have a mage!" One of the dragonblooded officers shouted, distinguished by blue plumage on his helmet. "Pyromancers, to the front!"
No sooner than he had said that did a pair of flying dragonblooded dracons (dragonbloods for short) fly into range. Margas, Minna, and Ilsa were quickly picked out as mages and all of them had to contend with a volley of fireballs.
Meanwhile, Adykon engaged the Dragonblood warrior, who started the fight with a swing of his sword, arcing the blade through the air in a swift motion. Adykon parried this by moving his sword horizontally to meet the incoming blade, which cased the Dragonblood to pull his own blade back in preparation for another swing at Adykon. But, the mercenary wasn't about to let his foe do that, as he countered with an swift thrust of his sword in the direction of the enemy, stabbing him, but doing little damage.
-
the three Dracons were forced to rapidly parry the incoming fireballs, deflecting, redirecting or simply dodging. the scene would have been funny if the situation hadn't been so serious.. A Fireball hit Minna on the shoulder but bounced off the armor she was wearing, as it was it stunned her for a moment..
-
Her armor was evidently the kind that was magically-treated... even if it meant a magically treated top! Most other dracons were not so lucky. Still, only about 50 of the wall guards have been killed or significantly wounded in the entire battle thus far, and a smaller number of attackers were similarly killed or wounded.
Meanwhile, the battle between Adykon and the Dragonblood continued, neither opponent saying a word as he attacked, parried, and riposted with his blade. This was not good for the defenders. Adykon was among the very best sword fighters in the city. If he could be fought to a standstill by a single soldier, what did this portend for the rest of the army?
-
One arrow had flown and struck Ku'ux right in the shoulder, to which he pulled it out and tossed the arrow aside with a snort. Blood may have been drawn, however, the minotaur just seemed to ignore it as he watched the others charge into battle.
He looked over at the flying Dragonbloods and pulled out his axe, stepping back slightly before he rushed forwards, going after the ones fliging over the city, jumping off the city wall and onto a nearby rooftop, damaging said roof in the process, however, it was not enough to slow him down of course as he rushed forwards, jumping off the edge of the rooftop and onto a Dragonblood in order to slam it down into another rooftop.
-
The Dragonblood was hurt, but not stopped by Ku'ux. Instead, it only served to anger the creature, who was half a meter taller than the minotaur, and larger, continued to fight him. It was evident that Ku'ux wouldn't be able to beat this one!
Fortunately, he didn't have to beat him. An silver colored dracon archmage from a guild stepped onto the roof, and blasted the Dragonblood with an icy blast, freezing him solid! He appeared to have an unnatural silvery tone to his skin, with long black robes and a voice which sounded as if he was speaking in an echo-filled cave. This was Silverfang, of the Order of the Silver Claw.
-
Ku'ux jumped off and back onto another rooftop as he gave a nod to the Dracon that had helped out.
He looked at the other Dragonbloods circling around the city "What do you propse we do about them?" he asked the Dracon in regards to the circling creatures.
-
Silverclaw jumped down with Ku'ux, landing on his feet. He was very agile for someone so old...
"My order is holed up inside its silver dome, but I cannot sit idly by and watch the city burn." Silverfang told Ku'ux in his echoing voice. A couple of pyromancers locked onto Silverfang, as they had been given orders to attack the nearest mage, and with the ability to sense magical power, Silverfang's energy signature stood out in the open like a flame in the darkness.
A pair of explosive fireballs were launched at the mage, each powerful enough to blow a dracon clean in half when they hit. Fortunately, Silverfang manged to construct an ice shield in enough time to stop them from hitting himself or Ku'ux.
-
Meanwhile, within the catacombs, Violet was still attempting to find the exit "This is getting annoying....a good battle up there and here I am down here...." she seemed to mutter to herself as she continued to walk through them aimlessly more or less, well, that's all she could at the moment.
She was unaware that Toby had locked onto her location, however, she at least had time before he was to arrive at her location, yet, she was hoping that reverting back to her old look would be enough to at least, convince the young dragon not to attack her and at least reason with him.
-
Toby flew through the catacombs, finally spotting Violet. guided by the light of his firebird, he found her looking quite different. Her fur was lighter, as was her clothing, and Toby could not detect a curse on her. He slowed down and did not attack, although he was ready for a surprise attack at any moment.
"Violet! Halt! You aren't going anywhere until you answer some questions. And no backtalk!" He shouted.
-
"Questions? What do you mean?" Violet asked him rather sweetly "I had awoken and found myself down here....and I'm kinda lost too, I don't know where the exit it"
She looked down at her feet and gave off a sigh "But I know why you're angry, it's probabally because of what the curse had done, but I didn't mean for any of this to happen, I really didn't, you just have to believe me" she added on, trying to convince him that she was indeed good again.
-
The young dragon paced around on his four feet for a moment, considering what to do. After 15 seconds, he spoke to her
"I don't sense any evil magics on you." Toby told her, relaxing a bit. "BUT, this does not mean you are free from that curse. Your recent battle with me probably exhausted most of your magical powers, so it could be that you are too tired for any powers to manifest."
Suddenly, the ground shook. Several rocks landed above the catacombs, having been launched by the trebuchets. The enemy armies were attacking the city itself by launching boulders OVER the walls!
Toby realized that if Violet's powers were suppressed, she'd have to make it to a safe place. He couldn't just leave her here.
"I know a safe place for you to hide, Violet. I'm trusting you this once. Cross me again, and I WILL tear your throat out, even if you don't have any dark magic on you! Now come on, we've got to move! I can question you later, when this battle is over!"
-
Violet just nodded back quietly to him, not wanting to say anything that might provoke him to actually rip her throat out.
She decided to follow him anyway to the safe place he had for her 'Oh, don't worry young one, I don't plan to cross you, nor do I plan on staying here' Violet thought to herself as she just followed him out of the catacombs.
-
Toby was guided out of the catacombs by the firebird, which was able to retrace its flight path into the catacombs to begin with. From there, Toby quickly flew over to Rex's house, where his family and Selturma were hiding.
"I have to go join the others. Just stay in here. Knock on the door and tell them that Toby sent you and that you know Rex, alright?" Toby stood back, but did not want to leave until Violet was safe.
-
Violet looked back to Toby and then knocked on the door, waiting patiently for an answers.
Meanwhile, Ku'ux nodded to Silverclaw "Shall we then?" he asked the Dracon mage before he rushed forward, leaping across the rooftops.
-
In an alleyway somewhere within the city, a charcoal gray dracon wandered aimlessly, clutching his head with one hand, and dragging his axe along the ground with the other.
The world was a blur, everying around him uttering confusion in his aching head. He could hear the telltale sounds of battle... but to him, that was the least of his concerns.
It was as if he had woken from a long, terrible dream. A dream that had seemed to go for an eternity... and from this dream, all he remember of it was screaming, and pain... and crying... and suffering.
Eternion of Greylane had no idea what was going on around him. He had awoken upon the roof of a building to the sounds of battle... and all he could think about, was... well... that was the problem, he couldn't think straight!
Something was wrong, horribly wrong. Yesterday, he had been traveling with Almia along the Harbored Coast, and had settled for the night to rest... and now he was in the midst of a siege with no idea how he had gotten there.
'Almia?' He cried out, his voice echoing into the streets. Something was wrong with his voice... it felt odd. It was his voice, but it felt like it should be deeper. It was the same all over, he felt like his body shouldn't be so... so young.
What the hell had happened to him?
The potions had worked... a little too well. The gray dracon that wandered the street was now thirty nine years younger, not only in body... but in mind. Thirty nine years of his life had been erased, as if he had stepped back in time mentally.
He rested himself against a wall, looking up towards the sky. He could see a wall of this city, and upon it was all sorts of chaos. Perhaps Almia was up there, fighting? They had fought off over a hundred orcs a mere few months ago, it would be no surprise to him if she had taken to the walls.
'Oh sod it all to hell,' he grumbled, hauling his axe into his waiting arms. It felt unbelievably light, his strength returning... though his head was still cloudy. 'I must be here for a reason, so what the hell.'
Then he saw a Dragonblood, and his very instincts seemed to cry "enemy!".
Eternion lunged forward, axe raised, his eyes glowing red.
-
Adykon continued to fight his dragonblooded foe, hacking and slashing with his blade, only to find that the enemy was matching him blow for blow. What was going on here? None of the soldiers that they had faced before were this tough. Truth be told, Adykon's foe was unusually tough even for a Dragonblood, and his level of skill was a match for his brawn.
The dragonblood and the alleged hero of destiny were matched evenly in physical combat, but the dragonblood had an advantage; Adykon could only breathe acid that was strong enough to burn skin. It hurt, but was not enough to kill. The dragonblooded soldier could breathe fire hot enough to melt iron.
Opening his mouth, the enemy soldier breathe a stream of the hottest flame he had onto Adykon, with the predictable results of pain and burns. His armor spared him the worst of it, but it still hurt him.
"AHHGH! You son of-" Adykon raged, swinging his blade at the enemy's head. A miss! Now, it was the enemy's turn. Brandishing his greatsword, the dragonblood landed a might blow on Adykon's head, knocking him off of his feet. Momentarily stunned, the mercenary was unable to get up. It was here that the Dragonblood made the error of roaring in triumph over the fallen warrior. It was a premature boast. Wasting precious seconds was not wise in a close combat.
"It isn't over yet!" Adykon thought to himself as he rolled backwards to avoid the blade of the enemy. Springing to his feet, the mercenary pulled out his gem of magical detection, the same he had used to determine that Ilsa curse had not spread to any other dracon.
"How about a little fire in return?" he shouted, throwing the gem towards the dragonblood, who didn't know that it was utterly harmless. Leaping into the air to avoid what he though would be a burst of fire or an explosion, the dragonblood was quite surprised to find that Adykon charged right over where a blast radius would be for his gem, and, leaping into the air himself, brought his greatsword down over the left wing of the dragonblood, cutting half of it off, and sending a spray of red blood over the vicinity. If it caused the dragonblood any pain, he didn't show it. It did, however, force him to land and continue the fight.
By this time, Adykon was wondering if anything could stop his foe. What was this guy made out of? Why didn't losing half a wing hurt him? Could he even feel pain? That was it! He couldn't. Dememoras must have modified these particular warriors so they didn't feel any pain at all. Was he even aware that he was missing a wing? Adykon hoped not. Running from the enemy, Adykon was pursued on foot without a word as the battle raged around him. Leaping off of the wall to a nearby roof but didn't quite make it! Adykon now hung onto the edge of the roof for dear life; it was a six story fall. He hoped that his opponent, who was used to flying, could not make the jump to the roof.
The dragonblood was unable to fly, but he could still run on the ground. He knew that his wing was gone, and that a jump would have to be made. Adykon could only hope that his plan would work as he held onto the edge of the roof as the dragonblood jumped from the wall...
-
As the battle continued, more Dragonblood soldiers began landing into the city, one of them landed just in front of Arianne!, as soon he did that, the enemy soldier drawed his sword and was ready to take her down when he was tackled by Eriol. - "Not so fast kid, if you want to hurt her, you'll have to pass through me first!." - As the Dragonblood raised again, his eyes full of rage was easily seen. That made Eriol to smirk as he charged, drawing his twin swords.
Both warriors began a very frenetic battle, as both were very dexterous at sword fighting and none of them were able to find a weak point in the adversary's movements to make a direct hit. But the Dragonblood forgot about Arianne. As both of them were fighting, the female Panther suddenly shouted - "Eriol!" - an the male panther quickly ducked, barely avoiding a strong whirlwind-like strike coming from the sorcerer. The attack been strong enough to launch the enemy towards the wall. He never had the time to stand up again: the last thing he saw was Eriol jumping towards him, burying one of his swords on the Dragonblood's neck.
"One less, a lot more to take care about now." - Eriol said as he took his sword back from the corpse's neck and then looking at his wife. They smiled at each other as they continued the fight.
-
The door quickly sprang open. Rex's mother quickly glanced at Violet. Thinking her to be nothing more than a refugee, the kindhearted dracon female nevertheless allowed her sanctuary inside of her house.
"Come on in, whoever you are! It's dangerous out there!"
-
Violet gave a nod back to Rex's mother "Thank you, but I don't really want to be a bother, but I guess if you are offering...." she glanced back to Toby before she shook her head lightly and walked into the house.
-
Toby flew off, reasonably confident that Violet would be fine. He had worried about the possibility that Violet's curse could reactivate as soon as he was gone, but right now, it was an acceptable risk. He knew that she wouldn't risk his wrath a second time.
Rex's mother led Violet into the house, and quickly closed the door, locking it tight. "Children! We have a guest with us! Selturma! Maybe you can see what this is abo-"
"Violet!" Selturma said as she ran down into the hall. The young dracon was not one of her children, but she was Rex's girlfriend, which made her close to family in her mother's mind.
"You know this Lycan?" she asked Selturma, puzzled.
"Yes! She joined the party. I saw her once, I think. Rex mentioned her, briefly." Turning to Violet, the Dracon girl bounced up and down on her clawed feet as she greeted the wolf-girl.
"Hi! My name is Selturma. Rex told me alllllll about you! That's some battle going on outside! Wow! It's really big! You were lucky to get out of it! We're holed up in here until the fighting is over. Have you seen Rex? Is he okay? What about Jake? Is he-..."
Selturma was very vocal when she was happy. :lol:
-
Violet just looked at Selturma rather confusingly "Uh, yeah, I think they're all fine out there, I mean, I'm pretty sure they can fight and all, but yeah, I guess you're right, I was kinda lucky to get out of there in one piece" she told her with a nervous little laugh, giving off a bit of a smile as well.
-
"Come in, have a seat!" Selturma told the Lycan girl, gesturing to several gray colored cushions in the middle of the living room. The young dracon hopped onto a large cushion and made herself comfortable.
-
Eternion and his Dragonblood foe fought across the alleyway. The Dragonblood has overwhelming him, his sword much faster than Eternion's axe. Every attack was merely parried or blocked by the creatures plate armor.
'Damn, you're a tough fella, aren't ya?' Eternion said playfully. He was trying to toy with his opponent, it was how he liked to fight... wear him down, take small chips at him every now and then.
There was just one problem... two, actually. This Dragonblood didn't seem to be getting tired at all, nor was it even hampered a little by any wounds Eternion managed to inflict.
'What the hell have I got myself into?' He asked himself as he backed away. The Dragonblood charged forward, and Eternion dodged sideways. Not quick enough, his left shoulder was struck hard, and he spun in the air... and finally smashed into the ground face first.
It didn't help that Eternion wasn't wearing any armor. His axe had slipped from his fingers and was a few feet in front of him. he looked up with both eyes to see the Dragonblood on top of him, preparing to finish Eternion by plunging his sword right into him.
'Not this day, you son of a bitch.' Eternion kicked sideways, rolling out of the way of the sword, which hit the ground so hard it stuck into the rock itself. Eternion made for his axe and held it in his right hand, his left shoulder hurt like hell.
The sword issue hardly seemed to bother the Dragonblood, and he let it go... reaching for a knife. He then charged forward.
Eternion whirled his axe, and brought it upwards vertically. The Dragonblood wore a great deal of armor, everywhere except where the axe had just buried itself.
The gray then pulled his axe out, and looked away as... well... the insides of the Dragonblood spilled out of the vertical carving and onto the ground.
The creature took one step, slipped, and fell to the ground with a metallic thud.
'One down, I'll have to make a note of that,' Eternion said wryfully to himself.
-
Violet just smiled back as she just thought to herself 'I suppose at the moment, I have no choice but to play along....' she gave them a smile as she sat down on one of the cushions "So, are you guys al hiding out in here as well? Cause it sounds dangerous out there"
-
"Yeah. Rex's mom told us not to go out. I used to be with Adykon, Rhiga and the others. Now, it is too dangerous for me to go with them" Selturma told Violet. "I'm good with martial arts, but not much else. Well, I can dance and do headstands. Wanna see?"
Selturma was only wearing a loincloth which could be more accurately described as a piece of rope with a larger piece of cloth at either end, including a hold for her tail to fit through. Regardless, it would stay on her even when she was upside-down.
-
"Well, alright, yeah, that would actually be good to see, I mean, I like to dance myself, but I don't really dance, just in case someone would think that I can't dance you know" Violet replied back with a little pout as well.
-
"I'll just do a handstand. We were told not to make too much noise, anyway; it might attract some of the enemies." Selturma said, moving over to the center of the room. Bending over on the soft carpet, she quickly performed a headstand, being careful not to apply too much pressure on her horns.
-
"Huh, wow, you're better than me at one, then again, I haven't actually tried to do one, but it looks tough" Violet to her as she just watched her do the handstand.
-
"I've had a lot of practice" Selturma told Violet, climbing back on her feet. "You look pretty agile. Wanna give it a shot?"
-
Violet thought for a second "I'm not sure, cause well, I haven't actually tried to do one of those headstands is all, although, is it pretty much the same as how you did it?" she asked with a bit of a scratch of her head as well.
-
"Pretty much. To do a headstand, start on your hands and knees, then put your head on the ground. Put your right knee on your right arm, near your elbow. If you're left-handed, put your left knee on your left arm instead. Push off your toe and straighten your left leg to move your weight forward, then put it in the same position on your left arm as your right is on your right arm. Balance yourself, and straighten your legs when you feel balanced, but do this slowly if you haven't done it before" Selturma told Violet.
-
Eternion found himself at one of the city walls... which one? He had no idea, he didn't even know where he was. He began to ascend the stairway in one of the towers. A dracon rolled down from above, a dagger in his chest. Above Eternion stood another Dragonblood.
'Oh no, not again,' he grumbled, and withdrew his axe. Suddenly, the creature turned around, an arrow now buried in his back, and just up the stairs a dracon holding a bow. The Dragonblood looked pissed, and made his way back up to the stairs towards the nervous dracon.
Eternion saw his opportunity, and made haste up the flight of stairs. He brought his axe across, and sliced off one of the creatures legs. Then, as it began to stumble, he whirled his axe around and brought it down on an arm, severing it and send a stream of blood across the gray dracons face.
And finally as the Dragonblood brought his sword up to attack, Eternion pulled his axe sideways, and took of the bastards head... sending it rolling down the stairs. He gave a little push the the body, and it too began its descent.
He turned around and faced the soldier. 'Hi there, maybe you could tell me what the hell is going on here?'
The soldier just stared, silent and dumbfounded.
'...or, perhaps you could take me to someone who can, hm?'
-
Violet looked at Selturma with a confused look upon her face "Uh, wait....what?" she asked with a scratch of her head before just shaking her head afterwards and attempted to follow the instructions to she was given to do a headstand.
Soon enough, she was standing on her head, actually holding up for a few minutes at the very least anyway.
-
The soldier was shaken, but was able to respond to Eternion.
"Adykon is the one you are looking for. He should be over... there! He's... oh my gods!"
The soldier pointed in the direction of Adykon, who was still dangling off of the side of the roof. The one-winged Dragonblood jumped after him...
...only to fall short and plummet six stories to his death. Adykon, for his part, got up on top of the roof of the tenement he was on and jumped back to the city walls, landing with a loud thud. He recognized Eternion, even though the old warrior was not wearing his armor and... was not so old anymore. Was it really him?
Adykon ran over to the axe-wielding warrior. He must have taken those potions.
"Eternion! Good to see you! You look a lot better than-" He stopped suddenly. The look in his eyes. It was wild, frantic, even desperate. That was not right, even in a battle like this. Taking several steps back, Adykon realized that either the enemy had done something to him, the potions had a bad effect, or something else had gone on.
"Alright. Is he okay? What's going on here? The city's under attack, and we don't have time to deal with this sorta thing." Adykon thought to himself, not liking the way events were spiraling out of control. No, they had already done that since he had met Arcantas. This was beyond out of control, this was insane.
Meanwhile, Vespion manned the walls with Adykon, fighting on the same side of the city. He was a combination of a healer and an attack mage, although he found himself acting as more of the former lately, due to the many, many wound sustained by the defenders.
"Vespion! Report!" The captain of the guards of the quadrant shouted. He himself was wounded a few times, but it wasn't serious. His steel armor was battered, and his sword had been partially melted by a dragonblooded's flame.
"So far, we have taken 10% casualties on this defensive line. The enemy shows no sign of slowing their assault, and our ability to harm them is far lower than anyone had anticipated. I am tending to the men as best as I can, but even with the other healers, there is no way we can get enough of them back into action to stem the enemy tide. Without reinforcements, we shall certainly fall."
"The enemy are using flying soldiers. Have you seen anything like these before? Do you know their strengths and weaknesses?"
"No. I don't know what these are. The dark master must have used his dark magic to modify these dracons in unspeakable ways."
"What do you suggest we do, Vespion? You know the ways of magic better than I do."
"Send for help. That's all I can say. At this point, it really is a numbers game; one of their troops can take several of our own, so in order to stop them we need more men and hope that can make a difference."
"Thank you for the report, cleric. Now, is there any way you can summon some reinforcemaaagh!"
A explosive fireball had just blown the head off of the captain, his severed horns falling at the feet of Vesion, who barely ducked underneath a second fireball.
"Damn it! Why won't you stop?!" He shouted.
-
Eternion stuck out his right hand, his left shoulder still hurt quite a bit. 'Eternion of Graylane, and you must be Adykon, right? A pleasure... though an odd encounter, considering just yesterday I was on a coastline, and now I'm stuck in the middle of a seige.'
He hoisted his axe upon his shoulder, both of his eyes glancing about. 'Maybe you could fill me in on what the hell is going on here, though I won't be surprised if you couldn't explain how I got here.'
Eternion looked up, and saw yet another Dragonblood flying over the wall. 'What the hell are those things anyway? This goes beyond what I usually see.'
Before Adykon could answer anything, Eternion turned and faced the soldier. 'Hey, I noticed you're carrying a hand axe.'
The soldier glanced down at his own belt, and shrugged his shoulders. 'It was given to me by my father, for good luck.'
'That's nice, can I borrow it?'
'What?'
'Thanks,' Eternion said as he swiped the axe from the soldier. The Dragonblood had turned in midair, having seen a tempting target the three dracons made... and it dived for them.
Eternion threw the axe, and it spun in the air. It struck the very joint of the wing, and sent it spiraling off in one direction while the rest of the creature barreled towards them.
The gray then looked down, and kicked a twisted spear into his hands. He let it stand out like a floor spike, and let the Dragonblood impale itself in the spear with enough force to shatter the shaft.
Eternion wiped his hand on the worn cloth he was wearing. 'They're awefully annoying.' He faced Adykon, 'care to talk while we take some of these bastards on?'
He twisted his head around to the soldier behind him. 'Oh, and sorry about your axe. I was aiming for the chest, but I'm certain your father would have been proud either way.'
-
The impaled Dragonblood was not dead. In fact, though wounded, he was still fighting. He pulled the spear OUT of himself and threw it at Eternion! It missed, but went into not one, but TWO nearby soldiers! Fortunately, even though it could not feel pain, it was weakened enough for Adykon to finish it off with a swing of his greatsword, cleaving its head from its shoulders.
Then, the leader of the party turned to Eternion, who was apparently very, very confused.
"Don't you remember? We found you working in a temple in Hekaga. You were cleaning the floors when you quit. You join me and Rhiga, two panthers, the fauxen, Minna, Ilsa, Rex, Sasha and-"
Suddenly, a cleric tumbled over to where Adykon and Eternion were talking. He was cut in many places and his robes were burned.
"-Vespion! My gods! Are you okay?!"
Slowly rising, the cleric responded.
"Ahh... yeah, I'm good. I took out a pyromancer, but not before he..."
(Five minutes ago)
"You just don't know when to stop, do you?! Come on! You think you're so tough! You cowards hit an officer when his back is turned! Are you working your way UP to hitting females and children! Screw that! Hit ME instead! Come on! Show me some of that magic! Hit me! HIT ME!"
(present time)
"So what happened?" Adykon asked.
"He hit me."
"Oh. I see."
"I hit him back with a fireball he won't be getting up."
"Are you sure of that?"
"Yes. Getting one's head blown off by a fireball down the throat will tend to incapacitate the subject." Vespion added with a smile.
"Ok. Can you walk? We need you to help with-"
"I'll be fine. I can't take another blow like that, but if I stay in the rear I should be okay."
"Can you look at Vespion? He seems to have amnesia."
"He drank those youth potions out of order or something? Was there even an order to them to begin with?! Blast it! Why does no one read the directions to anything anymore?!" Vespion thought to himself, annoyed.
"Another party member with some mental issues?! Fine. I'll take a look, but Adykon? This has to stop. Everything is just..."
"Spiraling out of control" Adykon said with him in unison.
-
Just before Eriol could really get a breathe, another Dragonblood landed just in front of him. - "This will be a long day." - he said sarcastically as he saw his new opponent drawing his sword, and the combat started.
Arianne was able to take a breathe as the use of magic began tire her. But then she saw a new cloud of arrows going to the nearby tower. She formed a vortex-looking air spell and throw it to the space between the going arrows and the tower, succesfully turning most of the arrows to go into another direction, away from the city. - "I am getting tired too fast." - she said as she leaned on a wall.
Both warriors began a fearsome battle, swords clashing non-stop, but there was a difference this time, Eriol did not have time to recover from the previous combat and this new Dragonblood was in a fresh state. The enemy began gaining the combat as he was able to hit Eriol, but they were barely over a scratch thanks to the Gaean's agility.
The battle continued and it was obvious that the Dragonblood was going to win, he made a strong strike that knocked down Eriol and then he prepared to give the final strike, by grabbing the sword with both hands, ready to give a mortal stab in the chest or neck.
Eriol was there, waiting for what seemed the inevitable, and then he saw a memory:
He saw himself back at home, he saw Arianne, she was sitting happily as she was holding their son Isaac.
"My family, mostly my sister have been claiming that to have a child with a Dha'ar is far too risky." - Arianne said as she grabbed a baby bottle, filled with milk and she gave it to the baby.
"And what do you think?" - Eriol came closer to her.
"That the only risk I would have taken is to live in loneliness if I haven't accepted you as my husband and as my child's father." - she said, been totally honest as she has always been. - "But I accept that Isaac will really need your help, and you are the only one that could help him supress your family curse."
Eriol listened to her and gave a small smile. - "The curse can never be supressed, in fact, it is not a real curse because it cannot be cured." - he said as he sat down in a chair next to his wife. - "He may need me to avoid the curse getting the best of him, but he'll need you and your values, to help him understand what is good and what is bad, and to use his abilities to help others... and to prevent him to make the errors I have made."
Arianne gave a very gentle smile. - "Well, it really seems he'll need both of us, but that is our job and our joy. I am sure we will make the right choices, we made the biggest one already, by having him, and I know it was the best one."
Eriol smiled and then he stood up and walked in front of Arianne. - "I am not the best role-model for him because my hands are full of blood, but I'll do all I can to help you and to help him be a better man that I will ever be."
"I know you'll do." - she replied. - "as long as we are together, we can do it."
"as long as we are together..."
"... together..."
Eriol's mind snapped awake again, just in time to evade the Dragonblood's sword. he then raised his right leg and gave a quick, but strong kick to his adversary's knee, forcing him to lose his balance. That gave Eriol the time he needed to quickly stand up again. - "You may kill me one day, but not in this life." - he said as he kicked the sword away from the enemy and as he crossed his arms, burying both of his swords at both sides of the Dragonblood's neck, then, making a quick move, he separated the head from the rest of the body.
"One other less to worry about." - he said with a devious smile. He then began walking towards another Dragonblood, who was attacking some Dracon soldiers near one of the towers.
-
Sweeping floors in a temple? Drinking potions? This made little sense to Eternion, or at leat... it didn't flick any switches in his head. However, considering that what was happening now was making as little sense as possible, Eternion merely nodded.
'Okay, I have no idea what you're talking about. However, the whole "spiraling out of control" business does make sense. I'll help you out however I can, it's not like I have much choice. But on one condition... I need to find my companion. Her name is Almia, and though I have no idea what the hell is going on... I'm certain she'll be able to shed some light on why we are here.'
He stopped to think for a moment, rubbing his chin. 'If she's even here. Gods help me if she's been teleported to somewhere else. Uh, what do you call this city anyway? Er... what's left of it, that is.'
He gripped his axe tightly in his hands. 'Okay, so who are we killing next?'
-
"This is Minbenthac, and the city is still intact for now... mostly" he knew what would happen if the defenders fell, and as long as he was alive, that was simply not going to happen. No way. "I didn't see any female with you earlier. Vespion, did you hear of an "Almia" by any chance?"
"No, Not once. I never heard him mention a female by that name. I suppose it is possible that someone named Almia is here. It is not an uncommon name, really."
"Alright, thanks." Turning to Eternion, Adykon told him; "If there is an Almia here, we should find her, but we can't really do that until the battle is done and everything else has been sorted out."
Just then, all three of them heard the roar of a panther. Eriol. He must have snapped again, just as he did during the adventure to the lost city.
"Oh gods, why now? Is everyone cursed but me?!" Adykon thought to himself, feeling more and more like the last sane dracon in a world of increasing insanity. He remembered an excerpt from old poem which seemed all too fitting right now:
"Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity."
-
Eternion raised his head, listening. 'Alright, things are just getting weirder and weirder for me,' he said worriedly. 'Was that a panther? Because the last thing we need is a panther trying to kill us, unless he's on our side... that is the case, right?'
He drew his axe, and swung it around a little. 'Right, let's defend this city, kill some evil bastards, and find my wife... er... companion, I meant to say.' He glanced about at the others with a sly grin.
Meanwhile, high above the sky, an eagle soared... large sprawling wings nearly reaching into the clouds around her. She flew elegantly amongst the dark clouds and seemed to watch the chaos below with a measure of interest.
The eagle soon headed away, ignored in the general chaos, just another mortal creature of this world, regarding what happened around her as insignificant.
At least, that is what most people would think. The eagle landed upon an outstretched hand, a thick leather glove that looked to have seen a thousand talons. A green haired female who looked in her early twenties stroked the brown eagles head with her other, soft skinned, hand... though her expression was one of concern.
'So, we are too late. It seems we'll now be hard pressed in walking through the front gate.' She reached into her pocket, and fed the eagle a small ration. 'Thank you, sky queen, for helping me.'
The eagle gently reached for the food, gave a pleased squawk, and took off into the sky once more. The girl turned, satisfied, back to her cart, which was pulled by a single mule that grazed upon the last few remaining patches of grass upon this barren soil.
Upon the top of the cart and its contents sat a kobold, who regarded the girl with an odd curiosity. His eyes were wild, and seemingly empty, and yet he still watched the girl... waiting.
'Change of plans,' the girl said. 'We will need to make a detour if we are to gain access to the city.'
The kobold nodded, his eyes rolling back somewhat in their sockets. 'I can see the dragons again, mother. No rest for the weary... no rest for the weary... he he.'
The dragons... things did not bode well for this fair city. She merely sighed, however. 'Might as well get going, Klebol,' the girl replied to the kobold.
'Wake the sleeping small horse, yes... no rest for the weary... no rest for the weary. The dragons wait for no man... or goat. Kleeee!' With that, the kobold gave a tug of the mules reigns.
-
A Dragonblood was fighting some soldiers of Minbenthac, but is was a loosing battle for the nervous Dracons, who were barely standing against an opponent who could not feel any pain. The enemy pinned one of the soldiers and throw him away, the Dracon tried to get up, only to see the Dragonblood having a good time attacking his partners, he then heard someone talking to him, it was Eriol. - "GET UP!, why are you here resting when the enemy is hurting your friends!?. If you ever let fear and fatigue to win, then the enemy will kill you, and it will kill your friends and family... everybody. SO GET UP NOW, FOR ALL OF THEM!" - The soldier was not able to say anything, he just was there, watching that the Panther began walking again towards the Dragonblood, so he decided to stand up.
"Hey, Dragonblood!." - Eriol said as he began smiling deviously again, successfully calling his attention. - "Why don't you leave those kids alone and fight me?" - he said taunting that soldier of Dememoras. More taunting was not necessary as the Dragonblood jumped to slice Eriol by half. He failed. Eriol easily dodged the attack, and then, he began dodging all of his attacks, he gave a wider smile as he could see all of his adversary's movements. - "You sure was the slowest of your class, kid." - The enemy began getting very irritated, so much as he began breathing fire, trying to burn the Panther, he partially succedded as he was able to burn part of Eriol's left arm - "Damn, I never thought they could breathe fire like real Dragons." - He thought, but then he came up with a solution.
"Is that all you have, kid?" - Eriol taunted the Dragonblood again. - "I thought Dememoras' soldiers were worthy enemies, but you are nothing, so maybe your dear Dark Master is nothing either." - He knew that would make the Dragonblood to go mad, it was a very risky thing for Eriol to do, but he did nevertheless. The enemy charged against the Gaean, Eriol did his best to block the incoming sword attacks, but then, the Dragonblood made a movement like he was taking a deep breathe - "Is now or never." - He thought and waited for the last second. The Enemy soldier breathed fire again and Eriol allowed himself to get burned, but he buried his sword deep in his adversary's throat, deep enough to get into the other side. Eriol then made a strong and swift movement to the right, getting his sword back from the now dead Dragonblood. But the attack had it's prize, Eriol got his right arm burned, not very badly thanks to the protections he got.
"Now, it looks like the others may be in that tower." - Eriol looked upwards, still grinning. He began walking towards the tower. The Dracon soldiers looked at him with amazement.
-
Minna Ilsa and Margas were busy deflecting firebal;s cast by the many mages in Dememorus' army. these were powerful mages, each one having, it seemed a great eal of magic, as the fireballs kept coming. after about fifteen minutes of moving around and deflecting fireball, Margas called the two girls to him " we must fall back into the inner part of the city! we can't keep this up indefinitely!
-
Adykon, Vespion, and Eternion fought their way over to Eriol, where Adykon's worst suspicions were confirmed. He had indeed snapped and reverted back to that aggressive, wild, bloodthirsty creature that had threatened the party back in the lost city.
"Damn it" the warrior whispered to himself. "Alright, Vespion. Do you have anything that can cure-"
"No."
"What? Are you positive?"
"Adykon, magic, even divine magic, has its limits. While the most powerful clerics can raise the dead, there are some things that cannot be transgressed."
"Transgressed? What in blazes are you talking about?! You have wizardry and divinity on your side! How hard could it be to remove a curse from a panther?"
"It doesn't work like that! Magic isn't a sword you can swing, nor it is a universal key for unlocking all of life's problems. There are rules, weaknesses, limitations. You also need to understand that-"
"To hell with limitations!" Adykon shouted, clearly angry. Nothing was working. Everyone around him was either injured or dying, save for two of them not in their right mind. It could have all ended there; the prophecy never stated that Adykon WOULD succeed, or that he was even likely to. His final chapter could be in the writing as he spoke, as the world span around him, and as the defenders of the wall fell back.
Vespion put a clawed hand on Adykon's right shoulder, snapping him out of his rut.
"My friend, I know how you feel. I never intended for this to happen either. How I wish I was back in the temple, practicing the divine arts, healing the sick, studying the mysteries of magic. I never asked to be dragged into a war. But you need to understand that I'm not a miracle worker. Right now, there is only one way out of this mess, and that is to fight our way out!"
Adykon could relate to that. "Alright. We're gonna charge them. On three. One. TWO...!" FWOOSH!! "What in the nine infernal realms?!"
Toby had entered the fray, breathing a stream of fire in a line between the retreating wall guards and the advancing Dragonbloods. Although it stopped the tide of a moment, it did not real damage, save for a few burned toes; Toby was simply too young to turn the tide by himself. Taking to the sky, a squad of four dragonbloods pursued the young dragon, who quickly turned to fly away as fast as he could, hoping to draw them away from the wall defenders. A second group of four dragonbloods took off, hoping to catch the elusive little dragon.
Within a moment, each group of four was closing in on Toby, one group from behind, one group from his front. Thinking quickly, the young dragon climbed in altitude just in time to evade the eight dragonbloods, who crashed into each other. Weighed by by their heavy, only half of them were able to generate enough lift to keep flying after such a collision; the other half fell to their deaths. Toby made his way back to the lines, landing in front of Adykon and Vespion.
"Well Toby, you sure took your sweet time!" The cleric chided, however jokingly.
"I'm glad to see you too! I saw the situation from up there, and decided that I had to help. I would have been here sooner if not for Violet."
Vespion thought it best not to ask about that one right now. "I hate to tell you this, but we are going to have to fall back. The enemy still has over 4000 soldiers, and we are down to less than half that."
"No need to worry about that!" Toby replied while blowing a ring of smoke out of his mouth.
"No need to worry?! We are being overwhelmed by them. I was about to lead a charge into-" THUNK!! For the second time in five minutes, Adykon was cut off in mid-sentence as a crossbow bolt landed into the Dragonblood in front of him, piercing the armor. Where had it come from? All of the wall guards on this side had bows, not crossbows.
Turning his head for just a second, Adykon beheld a glorius sight; the 2500 soldiers left behind in the center of the city had come to reinforce the wall. A dangerous proposition to be sure, as it left the city with no reserves, but at this point, it was absolutely necessary. These were among the king's finest men, clad in heavy armor and wielding heavy swords and crossbows, evidently with more than enough power to pierce the enemy's defenses.
Now, they had a chance against these foes. The only flying force of the four armies could be pushed back.
-
Margas Minna and Ilsa ran up to Adykon and the others. Margas' armor was dented as were the girls. " i see you guys haven't had any better luck " ilsa said. " we're losiing folks left and right! we had to fall back from the wall, after deflecting fireballs as best we could. Wheres Lucien?' she asked refering to Minna's husband.
-
Eriol did hear all of the things Adykon and Vespion were talking about him, after the events concerning Toby, Eriol said. - "My family curse is treated like that because it can give us better ways to deal against other people, but our judgement can be clouded." - He then laughed. - "but right now, you should be happy I am like this!, because what I want is what you want, and that is to see those Dragonblood dead!" - Even if Eriol has no intentions to attack Adykon, Vespion and the others, there may be no real way for them to be completely sure, and Arianne was, at that time, to far away, almost in the next tower!.
-
Lucien was in the same tower as Arianne, having fought his way there. The Dracon was cut off from the rest of the forces on the wall, even though the 2500 reinforcements were starting to turn the tide of battle on this side of the city. Still, fighting was hard against such a strong opponent who felt no pain, could fly at will, and breathe flame.
Adykon, although more than slightly injured, kept up the struggle. Between him, Vespion, Eternion, Toby, the reinforcements, and the renewed spirits of the original defenders, the tide was slowly but surely turning in this area.
-
Margas Ilsa and Minna lent their strength to the defense slowly helping to drive the enemy forces back. Margas had stronger magical reserves then the girls, but the severity of the situation was such that they kept firing spells at the enemy despite their increasing tiredness.. an enemy soldier fell to one of Minna's spells.. "ok, one down, about 10 thousand to go..' she gasped. " it was actually more than that.. but she cared not for specifics..
-
At that time, Arianne was doing her best to help the Defenders of that tower to protect that sector of the city. Launching her spells the most effective way she could figure out to avoid getting too tired while still been effectivve. That kind of knowledge was more achieved for mages with far more experience than her... but she is a fast learner. She then the reinforcements goignt to the nbext tower. - "It looks like we are going to wind this battle." - she made a smile, but she was worried about Eriol.
-
Meanwhile Marcus was guarding his house, standing outside. He had launched a few volleys of arrows after the enemies overheard, and barely missed getting hit in response. the sense of dread was growing in, him, and he was going to do what little he could to help protect this city..
-
Finally, the Dragonblooded army pulled back, save for a few stragglers who made managed to make it into the city itself. It was quite uncanny to see. A horn was blown by an officer of theirs who had taken to the air, and all at once, the army fly off of the walls and back to a position about a kilometer from the city's walls. Had they won? It was too easy. Yes, easy. The Dragonblooded dracons were nowhere near tired, their numbers were still over 3000, and none of their siege equipment had been lost. Adykon pondered the situation... oh gods no! That was it! They were falling back to employ their catapults!
Meanwhile, Rhiga had made it back to her home. She drew her daggers and would gladly stab anyone who threatened her or her husband. Her husband... yes. Her husband and unborn child. It was a new experience for her, to be fighting for the sake of the one loved as well as oneself.
-
The respite allowed the three mages to regain some magical energy. and Minna Hugged both Margas and Ilsa "If I die, I has been an honor being your friend Ilsa, and Margas, you're a hell of a fighter'
_ Don't talk like we're finished just yet " Margas replied courageously.. " we're not overrun yet..
-
i care about you as well minna, but Margas is right, we cannot give in, the stakes are too high..
-
Marcus ducked inside to check on Rhiga, and his parents " Everyone alright?' He asked quickly.. His quiver was nearly empty, he had just five arrows left, and it would take time to grab more..
-
As the enemy forces were retreating for now, Arianne was finally able to get a breathe. - "T least it is over, for now." - She said wearily. - "Where would Eriol be?" - She said as she began walking to the other tower.
Eriol leaned his back into the wall of the Tower, still his tail was wagging from one side to the other, like if he was waiting for something. yet, he still has that devious smile as he was looking at Adykon, Vespion and the others as they were trying to get a breathe.
-
Even though he was tired like all the rest of them, Adykon had to run for cover when the first of the catapult stone landed. Luckily, their aim was off for now, but it would not be long before they found their mark and recalibrated the machines to hit the targets. Adykon used this time to make it to the tower where Arianne and Lucien had last been seen.
-
Margas, Minna And Ilsa ran after Adkyon and reached the tower shortly after him. the tower woouls provide protection from the stones flung from the catapaults , at least for a time " so whats the next course of action? minna asked " adkyon, I'm all ears.." over their time together she had come to trust his leadership..
-
"First step? Get out of the tower! We're sitting ducks in here! Move! MOVE!" Adykon was right to be so adamant that they get out of there, for the enemy had picked that specific point in the wall to concentrate their firepower on. All of the catapults and trebuchets, most of the pyromancers, and even some Dragonbloods with incendiaries in the hands to drop on the tower were moving into position even as Adykon spoke.
-
great.." Ilsa swore as she turned and began running out of the tower, what had seemed like a good place to rest and recover was in fact an intended tarrget.. There would be no rest for any of the, for awhile.. and Ilsa understood this, despite the fact she was starting to tire, she knew she had to keep going...
-
So far, the city was holding up. Civilian casualties were at a minimum, the palace guard still kept security for the king, and one attack had been repulsed, albeit with great loss of life for the wall guards of that quadrant of the city. Neither the city of Minbenthac nor the enemy had played their full hand yet; far, far worse was in store for the inhabitants of the great city.
-
Ku'ux jumped onto another Dragonblood, this time, striking it in the back with his axe before twisting it a bit then pulling it out.
The Dragonblood gave off a roar of some sort as Ku'ux struck it with his axe again, this time, pulling it up the body a bit more before pulling it out again.
Meanwhile, Violet was now sitting back down again after having down the headstand, only giving off a smile was all, not even sure if she had done it properly, but in her mind, she just didn't care, as long as Selturma was impressed at the very least.
-
Selturma was impressed. "Very good, Violet! You're a natural! I knew you had it in you!" she added while bouncing up and down. She kept her cool despite the battle. At least, on the outside. Inside, she was very much afraid for Rex, and for the city itself. Selturma tried not to show this, however.
-
"Hehe, um, thanks" Violet smiled back as she was now just hugging the pillow between her chest and her knees.
Ku'ux on the other hand, continued to strike down on the Dragonblood as it seemed to still be going strong, that is, until he hacked off both of its wings, causing the Dragonblood to crash down to the ground.
The minotaur hopped off it and held his axe with two hands "Come on then, let's see what you've got" he spoke, standing his ground and waited for the Dragonblood to attack him.
-
The Dragonblood charged at Ku'ux, but at the last moment, he opened his mouth and let out a stream of fire instead of fighting Ku'ux in close combat!
Meanwhile...
Selturma and the other young dracons all gathered around the living room, with Violet.
-
Ku'ux's eyes widened as he jumped aside, crashing through a nearby shop via the door, to get out of the Dragonblood's fire range.
Violet looked at Selturma and the other young Dracons "So, um, what else is there to do for fun while we wait for all of this to pass by?" she asked everyone rather curiously.
-
"We play games. Wanna give one of them a try?" Selturma told Violet as she, like the rest of them, sat cross-legged around a game board. Rex's mother had brought in some juice for them to drink as well.
-
Violet shrugged back "Yeah, sure, I'll give it a go as well" she said with a smile, still holding the pillow between her legs and her chest.
Ku'ux waited for the Dragonblood to walk past, looking for the minotaur. He took this chance to rush out and leap back onto the Dragonblood again, bringing his axe down right onto it's neck this time before pulling it out and swinging it back down once again.
-
The Dragonblood fell down, head. Without reinforcements, the few stragglers inside the city either flew off or were cut down.
Meanwhile...
Selturma explained the game of Draconset to the Lycan girl. Each player was given 5 warrior pieces, 2 mage pieces, 2 cletic pieces, 2 champion pieces, and a king piece. The moves were about to be explained when Selturma had to leave for a moment to use the... chamber pot.
-
Maarcus sat down oat the table with Rhiga and his parents. he was now completely out of arrows. he had used the last one on a dragonblood, but it had pulled out the arrow with little effort and tossed it back at him.. and had barely missed hitting him in the head with his own arrow.. "So now ewwhat should we do while we wait? He asked them..
-
Fortunately for Marcus, Rhiga, and anyone else who happened to be there, the Dragonblood heard the call to pull back. The horn was blown a second time to alert stragglers and those too courageous, foolhardy, or stubborn enough to remain in the city while the order to retreat was given. It wasn't a defeat though, as the Dragonblooded army prepared it siege equipment to soften up the city before making a second assault. None of the defenders on the other walls were available to help as the other three armies sent by Dememoras were pounding their positions as well.
-
Arianne was walking towards the tower she thinks Eriol and the others could be, she then saw Lucien. - "Lucien, thanks Gaea you are fine..." - she said with relief in her voice. - "... I saw the Dragonblood army retreating, sis we win? and... do you know where are the others?."
Eriol saw Adykon and the others leaving the tower. - "It seems that Dememoras' forces are getting ready for 'round 2'." - he said with now an un-amussed face - "How much time the city could resist the attack of catapults? if the walls fall, we could be easily overrun."
-
the house Marcus and his family was in was well constructed and had magic inside its walls. It would not last long against a fullfledged assault but there were worse places to be at the moment, like standing on the top of the walls..
-
Suddenly, horns rang out from inside of the city.
"What's that?" Selturma asked Rex's mother. "I don't know, but it sounds like one of ours. I've heard a sound like that before when Rex's father would go on military parades."
Adykon knew what it meant...
"That signal means we gotta get of of the wall on the side! We're in for a pounding!"
-
the sound was familiar to margas as well. he grabbed both Minna and ilsa and literally carried them as he ran down the steps " Ok, wheres the safest spot to catch our breath?' He asked, as both Minna and Ilsa struggled in his strong grip..
-
"That's a bad thing isn't it?" Violet asked in regards to the horn that was sounded.
Ku'ux on the other hand, decided to take the chance to go and find Adykon, to see if he knows anything about what was going on, rushing back over to where he believed Adykon would be.
-
Adykon saw Ku'ux heading towards him, and tried to wave the minotaur back for fear that he too would be put in danger by the catapults. It had no effect, and the minotaur continued forward.
"I don't know, Violet" Rex's mother told the Lycan girl. She sounded brave, but deep down, the mother of the household was scared.
-
Could you put us own "Minna complained, and you do realize you're quite close to touching..
_ So what?' Ilsa said iritatedly " We needed to move.. although I do agree about the not fondling our chests.. piut us down Margas..
_ Margas set them down finally.. and the two girls stood there for a moment catching thier breath..
-
Ku'ux approached Adykon and looked to him "That horn of yours, what does it entitle? Is the enemy preparing, yet, another attack?" he asked him.
"Oh, it sounds bad though" Violet replied back as she kept on hugging the pillow.
-
We need some time to get the girls strength back, you know how they ran low fster than males " Margas said "I guess we should savor any break we can..' hedded giving it further thought
-
"We are being called to retreat. To fall back from the wall, as the dragonbloods may strike that side with their siege equipment." Adykon replied. Unfortunately, the other sides of Minbenthac were also under attack. The city was shaped like a square, and the dragonbloods only had enough forces to assault one side. The other three armies were holding back, to see if the city would fall to the only army that could fly and get over the walls instead of having to go through them.
Now, the Runeforged army moved to attack...
-
Lead the way then" Minna said, starting to move behind the others as they moved away from the walll.. "Why do I get the feelings are only going to get worse?"
-
"They probably will get worse" Adykon thought to himself. 5000 enemies had brought the defenses to their knees. 15,000 were left outside, roaring like furies. There was no prophecy saying that the city would burn, but none saying that it would be saved. What happened next was totally up to history and valor.
-
As Violet was sitting down, she heard a knock on the door as she looked to Rex's mother "There's um, someone at the door"
Outside, a girl stood waiting for the door to be answered. What she wore was a a pair of shorts and a shirt, as well as a pair of, what seemed to be jandals on her feet as well. She cast no shadow in the sunlight at all. She was a human, but of a vampire kind, yet, she was able to retain the ability to walk in the sun.
She had long black hair as well, standing at an average heigh. She looked to be around 18 or so years of age, but her true age wasn't known at the moment.
Her name was Kayla and at the moment, she was just seeking refuge from the fight. She was the only one of her kind by the looks of things, that lived with the Dracons.
Sure, she lived on her own, but that's all she could do, she had to, to be able to escape from her father, but yet, she wasn't sure on how long it would actually last for.
-
Rex's mother quickly opened the door and recognized the girl as Kayla.
"Quick, get in, GET IN! The city's under attack!" She yelled as she all but grabbed the girl and pulled her in, then quickly locked the door behind her.
Kayla beheld Selturma, Violet, and Rex's siblings, young males and females alike. All of them were resting or playing a game in the living room. All of them were dressed in loincloths, and the ones the females wore were little more than pieces of rope with a cloth on either end. This was the kind of thing that they wore in the privacy of their homes.
Selturma, having never seen Kayla before, went to go greet her, more excited than usual at the prospect of meeting another friend:
himynameisSelturmaimhappytomeetyouwereyououtsideinthewarmygodsitsterribleimsogladtomeetyounewfriend!
-
Violet looked over and saw the young vampire human.
"Um...Selturma right?" Kayla asked, trying to understand what Selturma had just said to her "The war? Well, I was out there before, but I had to escape from it, I can't fight those things, I mean, I know some moves.....but nothing that can fight those...." she then shook her head "I'm Kayla by the way, I've actualy been here for a while now....only place I can really call home, away from my father"
Violet decided to then speak up "Um, how come you don't cast a shadow?"
"Oh, that, well, it's rather simple, I'm a vampire actually" Kayla explained to Violet "And you, you're a Lycan aren't you?"
"Yeah, I'm a Lycan" Violet giggled back.
"I've never met a Lycan before, I've heard about your kind, but never met any before" Kayla told Violet with a smile before she looked to Selturma again.
-
Rex's mother relaxed, confident that there were no other dangers to herself, her home, and her family. At least, none at the moment. Surely, more perils were yet to come, so for now, it was time to unwind.
"Have a seat, Kayla. Take off your human clothes, or... whatever it is you call those things on your feet." While she was too polite to mention it, Rex's mother also thought that wearing a shirt made Kayla look a bit like a male.
-
Kayla decided to slip off her sandals as she looked to the pillows before sitting down with everyone else in an empty spot on the floor and looked to the game in the middle "What kind of game are you playing?" she decided to ask.
"I'm not sure myself, Selturma was still sort of explaining it to me at least" Violet replied back.
Kayla just gave a little nod back in return as she looked to Rex's mum "By the way, thank you for letting me stay in here for the time being"
-
"You are most welcome" Rex's mother told Kayla as she too lay down on her stomach on a couch. "Selturma, why don't you show Violet and Kayla how to play Draconset?"
"Sure thing!" Selutrma replied, bouncing up and down, her tiotleglas bouncing with her on her chest.
Moving over to the round game board, Selturma explained how it worked.
"The goal of Draconset is to eliminate the enemy army. Each side gets several pieces, and each piece can move one square in any direction, but only one piece can move per turn. Also, some pieces are more powerful than others, so be careful when matching one against another. Three people can play at once, and the last one standing wins. Any questions?"
-
"No, I have no questions" Kayla spoke "I'll learn some more by playing it"
"Um, I have a question....can I play first to try it?" Violet decided to ask as well.
Both Kayla and Violet set up their piece on the board as Kayla gave a stretch as well, deciding to take her top off, mainly from feeling hot as she wasn't really used to the heat in the Dracon city still, and especially since pretty much everyone else was doing the same, save for Violet.
-
"Go ahead, try it!" Selturma replied with a smile.
Several of the other dracons in the room looked over at Kayla, seeing her lithe body, her black hair, her white skin, her uncovered top, and her...
"Ew! Five toes. Who ever heard of that?" One of Rex's brothers said, quite impolitely.
-
Kayla just ignored the comment made in regards to her toes as she made the first move on the board before Violet made her move.
At first, it seemed to be going well in the game before Kayla took the lead, having eliminated two of Violet's pieces by now.
Meanwhile, back outside, Ku'ux moved away from the wall after nodding to Adykon as he waited with the others, ready for the next attack by the Dragonblood army.
-
To Adykon's surprise. The Dragonblooded army stopped. Just... stopped. No more charges, no volleys of catapulted rocks, no pyromancers or incendiaries. What was going on here?
"There's an attack on the other side of the city!" A messenger shouted, desperately attempting to move the reinforcements from one side of the wall to another in time to fight off the Spellforged army that was rapidly approaching the walls using siege towers and mages!
Oh. So that's why they stopped.
-
Violet and Kayla's game went on for a few more moments before a victor was found, it was Kayla who had won against Violet.
"Wow, hehe, you're good at it" Violet told her.
"Um thanks, but it's my first time playing it, I mean, I have never played it before" Kayla replied back.
Meanwhile, Ku'ux overheard the messanger yell out as he gave a nod to Adykon and took off like a bull, heading towards the otherside of the city, running as fast as he could in order to help fight off whatever forces were on the other side of the city.
-
Adykon, Lucien, Vespion, Toby, and the others took off in the direction of the Spellforged army. Their leader didn't think to look if Minna, Ilsa, Eternion, or any of the others were there. The Fauxen were a complete unknown, having disappeared before the battle, it seemed, even though all of the were present for the wedding.
Rex's mother gently scratched the back of one of her daughters. The child lay on her mother's lap, lying on her stomach while her mother worked on making her child feel good. She did this a lot, as was able to scratch with one hand while holding her daughter in place with the other one.
-
Kayla stretched again as she moved and leaned back against the couch, whilst remaining on the ground, her feet stretched out as she wriggled her toes some more, glancing over to Violet "So, what brings you here?"
"Me? Oh, well, you know, just the usual stuff, I mean, I was coming here, well, to explore I guess you could say.....my parents thought it would be good for me to do so" Violet replied back, not even mentioning the whole curse part to Kayla, especially because she didn't want to get rid of it, well, the darkness didn't want her to do so.
-
Selturma lay down on the couch and spread herself out. It was amazing how relaxed she seemed despite the deadly dangers. Regardless, it was all a veneer, a surface. She was really trying to distract herself from the very real posibilities of losing Rex, being forced to leave the city, losing her friends, dying, starving, being made into a refugee and possibly a slave, or else rotting in a dungeon or a work camp for the rest of her life.
All this and more could easily happen if the battle outside went bad for the defenders.
-
As Kayla remained where she was, she licked her lips a bit....she was needing to drink some blood now, it had been quite some time she had drunk last.
Problem was, she didn't want to mention anything to everyone else, yet, got up anyway, standing up and quietly, decided to make her way towards the kitchen.
Violet looked over to Kayla and spoke up to her "Um, are you okay Kayla?" she asked her.
Kayla looked over to Violet "Uh, yeah....uh....I'm fine...." she smiled lightly to the lycan girl as she then walked into the kitchen "Blood...." was all she muttered to herself.
-
(OOC: Bonus! Here's a rough picture of what a Dragonblooded Dracon, or Dragonblood, looks like. These are some of Dememoras's shock troops.)
(http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/028/6/2/Dragonblooded_Warrior_by_Noguy.jpg)
-
Margas Minna and Ilsa hurried after Adykon and the oithers "I do hope we don't have to keep going to each side of the city to repluse a new attack" minna said as they ran towards the south end of minbenthac.
-
Kayla rummaged through the kitchen some more before she found some meat and begun to just suck on it, getting what blood she could from it.
Violet got up and decided to go and check on Kayla anyway "Are you sure you're okay?" she asked her.
"Yes, I'm fine" Kayla replied back as she sucked the meat dry, her thoughts were trailing however.
"You don't look okay, is something on your mind?" Violet asked back.
Kayla just went quiet at that point, not even sure if she should tell Violet or not on what's happened to her, although, she just let off a sigh and decided to "It's my father, he did this to me for his own sick and twisted games, but why, why he would actualy do this, I still don't know....it's just that, he deals in the dark arts as far as I know.....which is why I had to get away from him, I just can't see how he can deal in such things....it's just wrong...."
-
Arianne was able to hear the messenger claiming for the latest bad news. - "It really seems this may not be over soon." - she said as she began running, using a bit of her air magic to keep her better oxygenated and give her more endurance.
Eriol began running after Adykon and the others. - "I wonder if my wife would make it to the other side of the city, we sure may going to need her abilities." - he sounded more calmed now, but it was still 'snapped' as Adykon would say.
-
The Spellforged army was the most "normal" of the four armies. This group dressed in heavy armor and used standard weapons, such as longswords, pikes, and crossbows. At first glance, they appeared to be nothing at all special. The defenders on the walls knew better when they saw just how fast this army was approaching. Despite wearing heavy armor and carrying many kilograms of equipment, the Spellforged warriors were running as fast as a sprinter and not getting tired, if anything, they were getting fast as they approached the walls.
Every one of the four armies had a secret. The Dragonblooded army was unusual in that it could feel no pain, not to mention the sheer size of the combatants and the obvious wings and fire-breathing capabilities. This second army was enchanted by spells from their birth; the magic was embedded in the very marrow of their bones, thus making them faster, stronger, tougher, and more resistant to magic than other dracons by a factor of three. The ease with which they rolled a their siege towers over was a testament to this. On the wall, every archer was stunned as he found that there was little the to fire arrows at the mass of foes that was rapidly approaching.
-
Meanwhile, within another area of the world, someone was contacting Dememoras, someone that Dememoras would be familiar with "Sir, it seems as though my daughter has escaped my grasp before I was able to turn her over to you, which I must also be regretable to say that I have lost track of her"
He was someone who delt with the dark arts and considered Dememoras his lord and master. What he wore was a voodoo man's suit. Including a cane which had a jewel of some sort on the tip of the cane. He had black hair as well, much like his daughter, it wasn't as long as his daughter's hair, however, it was still a bit longer than a normal human's hair length. He stood there and awaited for Dememoras' reply back.
He was within, what seemed to be an underground chamber, some green liquid on the sides, which filled the air with a light green-like look as well. What he did in the underground chamber, no one seemed to question him in regards to it, as he seemed to have the whole village of his within the palm of his hands as well. His name was Velrius.
***
Violet looked to Kayla again "What's your father's name anyway?" she asked her.
Kayla let off a sigh "Velrius.....that's his name, and he's not like me, he is actually human, just, well, like I said, dealing in the dark arts"
-
Meanwhile Jake was running through the city trying to make it to the house that he used to call home. Jake had been running for a while by the time he had reached his house. Jake banged on the door "let me in it's me Jake!!!"
-
the battle against this second wave continued, with Margas Minna and Ilsa throwing just about everything they had at them, with little evident success. The most effective tactic was hurling two of them against each other, but that was a skill only Margas had sufficient power to do, and while it was effective, it was like putting a fire out with a tear dropper..
-
The Spellforged army had a contingent of mages along with the standard force. Instead of pyromancers, these were sorcerors! And they could fly using a silvery metal disk which was larger enough to fit a dracon. Rising into the air by means of an unknown power, a quartet of enemy mages began to strafe the walls with a sheet of ice, even as the enemy army unleashed a hail of arrows and bolts upon the defenders.
-
The blasts of ice just missed Ilsa and they felt extremely cold, one hit from them could freeze whatever it hit solid.. be it an arm, a leg, or even an entire Dracon, if hit in the right spot.. " Darn it!' She swore as she was forced to dive to avoid another volley of ice..."These guys mean business..
-
Adykon found himself forced to duck beneath the icy blasts. He rose as soon as they were gone, only to have to take cover again when a volley of arrows were launched by the enemy!
Vespion was not so lucky, though. While he was hit by an arrow, it did not kill him, but he was forced to his knees. Toby was hit by an icy blast, but managed to stay in the air, fortunate that his wings didn't freeze up.
-
Margas slammed two more of the enemy together, this time hitting them together with such force that they impaled each other on their horns, a truly gruesome sight.. but it was a small victory, the enemy was relentlessly advancing..
-
This did not kill them, however. Dracon horns curved backwards, and although they were sharp, they were not very hard. Still, there was a lot of blood. Lucien, who had arrived on the scene, was quite shocked to see that Margas was even capable of doing that.
"Ugh! I haven't seen anything as disgusting as that since-AHH!" He too was hit by an arrow, in the leg.
The Spellforged army continued its advanced, bringing forth siege towers. They also brought scaling ladders tall enough to climb the walls.
-
Minna rushed forward and, seizing on the shaft of the arrow, pulled it free of Lucien's leg " you need to be more careful.. dear" She said with a smirk " Otherwise we won't have any honeymoon... and I'll be a widow after only a couple days of marriage.. and I don't want that..' Under Dracon rules widows were not much better off than unmarried single females..
-
"That's nice of you dear, but you really don't have to- GET DOWN!"
CRASH!
A boulder from a catapult landed not more than a meter away from the new couple. Minna and Lucien were lucky not to have been crushed.
-
Minna got slowly to her feet. the boulder was almost as big as she was, she shuddered to see how close it had come, any closer.. and that would have been the end of both of them.. " thanks.. She said , nuzzling Lucien " Now we need to keep going, I'm guessing the third wave will come from the eastern side and the last from the west.
-
Ku'ux came to the wall, just as the ice attack happened, moving to duck for cover to avoid being stuck by the icey blasts.
He glanced up again, only to see the volley of arrows coming down, doing what he could to avoid them, remaining in cover only for two arrows to strike him the shoulder.
They remained within him as he stood up again, being rather durable as it were, reaching to pull the arrows, dropping down to the ground with a snort as he knocked a ladder down off the wall as the siege towers were advancing towards the wall.
He looked to Adykon "How long can this city hold out for? It looks like the assulting party isn't going to let up anytime soon"
-
Eternion too had just had the misfortune of being the target of quite a large boulder... that happened to be on fire. He looked up to see the firey ball hurtling towards him like a metorite, and his eyes widened.
He took a few steps to the right, and watched the boulder smash into the ground, sending up embers and broken rock in all directions, some of which bounced off his scales.
'Was beginning to wonder when they would start using fire,' he said, shaking his head. A bit of rock had struck him across the snout, which certainly didn't help things at the moment for the gray dracon. Eternion was, however, partially glad that it was his nose that had been struck, and not some other place... since he was wearing no armor what-so-ever.
However, his eyes continued to stare up into the skies... not truly out of fear for another boulder to come his way, however likely that was... but because of what he saw flying in the skies.
It stood out amongst the dark clouds, a seemingly glowing figure of green, long and striking... and odd bird, unlike anything Eternion had ever seen. He shook his head, surely he was jsut imagining things? He looked up again, and the bird was gone.
He decided not to mention it to the others, considering that they already thought him a little bit strange.
-
Ilsa continued flinging spells at the mage, who seemed to not be bothered by anything she was doing " They're toying with me.." She thought This was a fine way to spend the first day of being married.. but there would be time for regret later.. if she survived..
-
"Argh! Blast this! Where are our mages!" Adykon was NOT happy right now. This was the second time the enemies had been able to use some kind of mage against them, and they were unwilling or unable to respond in kind, save for what the party itself had. This was madness!
Deep in his palace, the king of Minbenthac was busy working on the city's defenses with Kluthu, his archmage. Generals and senior officer staff were rushing about with updates on the situation.
"Sire, we are surrounded on all four sides, the main roads leading to the city are occupied, and we estimate that they have dozens of siege weapons to be used against us."
"Tell me something I don't know, Kluthu." The king replied, slumping into his golden throne.
"Well, sire, there's the matter of the three dragons. I have detected a red, a blue, and a green in command of three of the four enemy armies. Each one is a mature adult and is quite dangerous in magic and in their breath powers."
"Ah yes, dragons. I've seen lots of- DRAGONS?!"
Taken aback by the king's reaction, Kluthu's mutable skin color rapidly changed from red to green. "Yes, sire. Dragons. I detected them a couple of hours ago. The enemy hasn't used them yet."
"By the gods! We've got to DO something about this! Where are the royal dragonslayers?" Minbenthac's royal dragonslayers were a powerful team of three brothers, each of whom had a similar name. There was Picus, the swordsman, Procas, the axeman, and Protagoras, the Spearman. Each of their weapons were enchanted to do extra damage to dragons, and their armors were enchanted to be resistant to the elemental attacks which dragons were known to unleash.
"Not to worry sire, They took off for the dragons not long after I first detected them. I imagine Procas must be finishing one of them off by now."
At that very moment, a few kilometers from the city walls, A sword, and axe, and a spear lay littered among charred dracon bones, each broken skeleton dressed in the tattered remains of what once had been proud armor. The shadow of three dragons passed over the remains of Picus, Procas, and Protagoras, one of whom was busy cleaning the last of the meat from the bones of the latter's ribcage. It was clear that the plans of the royal mage were defunct, to put it mildly.
-
i'm guessing they are quite busy' Margas replied, before ducking another ice blast.. ' it would help a lot to have their skills handy, but all we can do rihght now is hold on as best we can.."
_
still adykon's right. we cant be expected to hold them off by ourselves "minna said..
-
Arianne arrived where the attack was now happening, Near Margas and Ilsa. - "I hope they manage to do their job, or we all be in problems." - She said as she was able to dodge an incoming ice attack.
Eriol was in another side of the main wall, not knowing Arianne was nearby. - "As long as I evade those magical twerps, I should be fine." - he muttered as he successfully aimed and fired with his crossbow at the closest enemy soldiers coming from the incoming assault towers. - "I need a way to stop or delay those towers... that way we can gain some time."
-
Far away from the battlefield, the archmage who had taken a liking to Adykon was deep in meditation. The magic surrounding her domicile was still holding, despite the siege force that Dememoras had sent. Her white palace was sheathed in a wavy field of blue light, which, despite its transparency, was strong enough to keep out boulders, fireballs, battering rams, and the repeated blows of swords, daggers, axes, hammers, spears, pikes, lances, maces, clubs, and whatever other weapons Dememoras's forces could think to muster.
He had killed her husband. After the debacle with the Lost city, Dememoras personally blew him up. It wasn't fair. That statue was the cause of so much pain, and now, it was the personal prize of the Dark Master, wherever he was.
The archmage was sitting in her room with her eyes closed and her legs crossed. She was known by many titles, both real and assumed, but whose real name was Aerta, derived from the draconic word meaning "celestial." The mage was doing more than meditating, she was exploring. Yes, exploring. Her body was in one place, but her soul was elsewhere, exploring the astral plane, listening to the music of the spheres, and dancing in the wilderness of magic.
There was a purpose to this. While Aerta loved to frolic in the magical realms, she also knew that there were serious reasons to be there. On the astral plane, one could see all the energy of the universe, including magical energy, such as the kind that tended to be thrown around a major battle. Observing the battle of Minbenthac from her place of safety, Aerta was a witness to history in the making.
-
High in the dark clouds that hung over the city like a prophecy of things to come, there was another witness to history. A green phoenix, feathers that glowed a vibrant and earthly green from head to tail. Large wings spread either side of her catching the flowing breeze as she soared through the clouds with such ease, her piercing gaze watching the events unfold below.
However, she was not merely here to watch... She had come from afar, with a cart that carried something that could aid the city in this... this darkest hour.
But she was too late, and now the city lay under siege from the forces of Dememoras. The cart, pulled by a single mule, was now stopped in its tracks... with nothing but a kobold to defend it.
She had ordered him to stay hidden until she returned... but she knew Klebol well, and if there was one thing he wasn't good at... it was keeping still.
She had to find a way through, quickly.
-
Aerta could see all things in the battle, in as far as the astral plane gave her "eyes" to do so. Only the most skilled of archmages could detect her presence, although she could see all, including...
"Dragons! Oh gods, they're holding them in reserve. Minbenthac could crack like a nut if they attack. I've got to warn Adykon!" thought the sorceress. By thinking in such explicit terms, Aerta made a terrible mistake, for the Astral Plane was not a private network. Her spirit appeared as a white form on a white background, punctuated only by the faint dots of magical energy visible on the material plane, where the battle was taking place.
Another was on the plane as well, watching the battle with great interest, but his spirit was not so clean. Normally, he remained hidden while in this realm of existence, but for now, he decided to drop the disguise. Out of nowhere, unseen even by the archmage Aerta came a black ooze, pouring out of a "hole" in the plane. With no sound, odor, or any other physical signs, she didn't see it. By the time it had shaped itself into something else and solidified, it was too late.
Sensing another presence with her, Aerta spun around to find
"Dememoras!"
"Hello, my dear. I trust you are enjoying the show?" This form of his was not much larger than a big Dracon male, but it was a good deal larger than her. The pitch-black, seven horned creature with a long spiked tail had manifested in a "scaled down" form his appearance here, in as far as anyone could travel to this non-physical plane. This was his Avatar here, his unreal appearance on a network that spanned all the planes and realities. Aerta's blank white form was her's, although one could tell she was female due to the general shape of the body it took on.
Dememoras sounded softer, calmer, almost seductive. A far cry from the roaring volcano that his voice resembled in his own plane or the material one.
"Have you come to mock me, Demon?" Aerta spat.
"Oh no, I'm here for the same reason as you are, to witness the first day of my glorious empire. Look well, female, for it is history in the making. A grandeur beyond your meager comprehension, the most important day in the history of-"
"Shut up! Just shut it! I can't let you distract me!" Aerta moved away, flying through the plane, heading towards the energy signature she knew was Adykon's. As with many females of her kind, the archmage was graceful, and cut through the plane's fabric like a skilled diver would pass through the water. Unfortunately, she failed to realize the true nature of her foe.
"Going somewhere?!"
"How did? I just- just left you behind me!"
"So you did. And I followed."
"How'd you get in front of-"
"In front of you? Silly female, there are some things about me you will never understand, such as how I can move along all the lines of this plane like moving from a vanishing point to anywhere else in the plane at will."
"What are you? Vanishing? What are you talking ab-"
"Enough chat. Time to get down to business." With that, several tentacles emerged from his chest, each with a sharpened tip. "You know that I can absorb energy, Aerta."
"No..."
"And that the purer the energy, the more of it I can use."
"No!"
"And there is no energy in the whole cosmos as pure, or as sweet as that of a SOUL!"
"NOO!!!"
"Your soul is sweet, very sweet. It brims with the force of magic, the power of the arcane, the very essence of life itself! Come to me!!!."
"NOOOOO!!!!!!!"
Scrambling to literally save her soul, Aerta cut the connection to the Astral plane, and suddenly awoke in her room, gasping and sweating. Lying on her back on the heavily carpeted floor, she was hardly able to keep calm. Her part of her body was twitching, from her head to tail to toes. Still shaking, the archmage calmly stood up, only to feel a queasy feeling. Falling down again, she could no longer suppress the urge to vomit.
"Huuuurrgggh!"
It was a physical reaction to her mental state. Dememoras nearly absorbed her soul into his being. Aerta was within a hairsbreadth of being lost in his darkness. Way too distraught to continue working her magic at the moment, she could only lie down on the rug, curled up into a ball, shivering in the darkness as the enemy outside continued to pound on her palace's defenses.
-
the surge continued as the defenders including Margas Ilsa and Minna fought viliantly to hold the swollen masses in check ' It was clearly.. a losing battle, as Margas senses both girls were reacghing the limits of their strength.. "I can't keep this up much longer "Minnacgasped, after throwing anoyther spell at an archmage, who responded with another ice blast..
-
'Damn it, damn it all,' Eternion shouted, ducking blasts coming from what seemed all directions. 'Bloody hell, this is cowardice at its best. Nothing but cheats, and now there's a shard of ice in my arm.' He plucked it out and threw it to the ground. It gave a slight hiss, and then was gone.
He looked up, watching the skies for more attacks, and he saw it again...
The bird. No, it was something more... his eyes widened, his mind afire. Blood and blazes, it couldn't be!
The green phoenix dove like a glowing green meteorite, and drove its long talons deep into one of the enemy mages... and as quickly as she had appeared, she was gone, leaving nothing more than a single feather and the mages staff behind as a sign of her appearance.
She carried the burden high into the sky as if it were nothing, and her eyes stared coldly. 'You will do nicely,' she spoke in a dark feminine voice that seemed to echo slightly.
And then the phoenix let go.
-
Adykon looked up and saw the great bird. "What in blue blazes?! Vespion, do you know what that thing was?"
"No, I don't. I just hope its on our side. Toby, can you fly up there and-'
"Already on it!" The young dragon replied, climbing higher and higher into the air. He had never seen a creature like this one either. "Who are you?" He demanded of the great bird, not knowing whether this was a friend or foe.
-
'Well, aren't you a cute little thing,' the green phoenix replied as she hovered in the air, her massive wings circling to keep her in place... but her black beady eyes always on Toby. 'My name is Tahlia Irrelianova, princess of the earth and daughter of Orphia Irrelianova. Do not worry yourself, for I am a friend.' She tilted her head at the dragon curiously. 'Though, who might you be, young sky king?'
Down below, Eternion continued to gape up at the pair. 'My gods... I thought I'd never see the day. A living, breathing, earth phoenix...'
This day had just gotten that much weirder for the gray dracon.
-
"My name is Toby. Just Toby" The little red dragon replied as he hovered in midair. "Are you fighting to defend this city, or destroy it?" Toby doubted that he could take on the Earth Phoenix, at least, at his young age. Fire could do serious damage to earth, he knew, but he was simply too young to beat her.
Vespion could take her on, if he was at full power... which he most certainly was not after taking all those injuries from earlier. If she attacked, it would be quite hard for the party to stop her.
Adykon looked up, and really, really hoped that this bird was on his side. Yes, it had come to this. In a final absurdity, he was pinning his hopes on birds.
-
margas helped Minna find a small shelter beantah the ranmparts ' Catch your breath, get some energy bacck, and get back out here.. they'ere not stopping at all.. "margas said..
-
'I have never been much for fighting,' Tahlia replied, looking back down at the city below her, still hovering. 'But, to answer your question directly, I would be considered an ally of your cause, and not an enemy of it.'
She glanced back up at Toby, and her eyes seemed to glow a rich white. 'Perhaps you can help me. I have come at the behest of an old ally who I believe now rules this city. I was to deliver something that could aid the cause, and yet I was too late... as fate would have it so. I am hardly surprised, but now I am left without a way to bring a cart into the city, and it is most crucial I do so... and soon, it would seem.'
-
"A cart? A CART?!" Toby replied, incredulous. "Sure, I can move a cart. Just tell me where it is and I can pull it in. What could possibly be so important in cart that could change the fate of this city?"
Aerta lay on the carpet, wearing only her loincloth, and even this was more than usual for her while she was in this room, alone. Her resolve was badly shaken by the events of the last ten minutes. The once-confident sorceress and archmage was now reduced to a shivering mess. She had to warn them. She had to... but how? If she tried that again, Dememoras might claim her. Aerta had been lucky once, but a second time?
-
'The fate of the world can be found in the most unusual of places sometimes,' Tahlia replied with a slight chuckle. 'Come, follow... we have hidden the cart quite far from this siege as to keep it safe. The device is quite heavy, but I am certain it will be worth the trouble,' she continued as she swooped down beneath the clouds once more.
In the distance, Klebol could see the distinct green ember of the earth phoenix Tahlia. 'Mother!' He cried, dancing atop a small hill in excitement. 'Mother returns! Mother returns! The world is saved! Kleeeee!'
-
Toby followed the earth phoenix to where she had hidden the cart, or at least, to where a cart was hidden. The young dragon wasn't sure of anything... but Dememoras was! He knew what Tahlia was planning to do, and he knew that it wouldn't be enough.
Yes, the dark master was still watching over the battlefield. Watching and waiting from the astral plane...
-
meanwhile MMarcus and his family remained huddled inside thier house, hearing the raging battle outside made him cling to his wife ever more tightly ' well we won't be heading out for awhile" He said to them..
-
Tahlia landed upon the ground, folding her large wings and letting out a small cry.
'What do, mother?' Klebol said, approaching her.
'Klebol, get the ropes off the mule and tie them to the other end. We have something better to pull the cart for us.'
The kobold looked up to see Toby approaching. 'Little red dragon! We have baby dragon to play?'
Tahlia shook her head with a sigh. 'Just get the ropes ready, please.'
'Yes, captain!' Klebol replied with a salute. 'Batten down the hatches! Secure the sails! Feed the parrot! Kleeee!'
As her companion did as she had asked, she looked upon the cart... and the contents hidden within.
'It is too late,' she said with sadness in her once beautiful voice. Indeed, she knew it was too late, and there was no doubt in her mind that the enemy would know this too. 'I have failed you, Poet. Still, we might as well finish what we have started.'
She would deliver the astral beacon, as she had promised.
-
marcus had a thought ' he would go and help the defenders ' stay here rhiga, i'm going to get more arrows..' He said rushing out the door he ran down to the nearest blacksmith.. who was currently busy making arrows for the cities defenders..
-
Within the streets of the Dracon city, a phantom was looming around in search of someone in particular, blowing open each door it came across, but yet, founding nothing. It floated just above the ground as it was slowly approaching Rex's house "Come out, come out, wherever you are" it spoke in a rather ghastly sounding voice.
Violet's ears twitched as she heard the blast of the doors in the distance "What the? What is that?" she asked everyone else.
Kayla sounded rather quiet as she muttered something underneath her breath "I just hope that it's not my father...." she said with a slight sigh.
The phantom approached the house and looked within a window as it saw who it was after "I found you...."
Kayla glanced to the window and saw the phantom, letting off a bit of a scream as she watched the phantom move away from the window, towards where the door was.
The phantom in question wore a cloak much like the grim reaper out, it's face covered, all of its face that could be seen would be darkness, as well as glowing red eyes.
-
Rex's mother looked out of the window. In addition to hearing the din of battle, she saw...
"A phantom! Kids, get away from the windows! Stay down!" she yelled, while leaping to take cover herself. It was almost a comical sight in that a large number of badly dressed dracons, a human and a lycan who looked like they were going swimming all dove for cover.
Selturma thought about the situation ever so briefly.
"Oh gods, I could die. I could die real soon. Oh gods. Oh no. If I die, I'll be almost naked when I'm dead. OhgodsIhopeRexisokay. And I landed on my chest when I jumped. Ow."
The dracons had their claws and fangs, as well as some weak acid breath. The sons inside the house were getting strong, but unarmed and unarmored, and still too young to really put up a good fight, even they would fall. The daughters and mother were in even more dire peril.
-
The phantom let off a rather ghastly chuckle as it approached the door and before they knew it, the door shook once, then a second time, and then a third time before it was blown off its hinges.
Kayla looked to everyone else, then over at the phantom with a small gulp as she wanted to say something to the creature, but could not get up the courage to say so.
The phantom slowly approached the group "Now, where might I find the daughter of Velrius?"
Kayla looked down before taking a deep breath as she got up "That....would be me.....please, don't hurt them"
Violet looked to Kayla and shook her head "No! You can't give in like this!" she more or less yelled at Kayla as she got up as well.
The phantom chuckled another ghastly chuckle again as it bought up a hand, it seemed to be a skeleton-like hand as it approached both Violet and Kayla.
Violet stepped forward "Leave her alone" she spoke, doing what she could to sound confident.
"I'm afraid I can not do that, Velrius wishes for her, and he shall get his wish" the phantom replied back as it placed a boney finger underneath Violet's chin before it pushed her aside more or less as it approached Kayla, who in turn, was slowly stepping backwards.
Violet fell to the ground after the push of the phantom as she turned to Selturma and the others "It wants her....what....can we do about it?" she decided to ask her.
-
Selturma got up her courage... and her mouth.
Leaping to the top of a couch wearing nothing but a small piece of rope with two pieces of cloth on either end, she screamed at the phantom as she dug her claws into the nice fabric. It was an odd situation.
"LeaveKaylaalonesheneverdidanythingtoyouIhateyousomuchgetoutofherenow!"
With that, Selturma used her martial arts prowess to leap into the air, spinning as she jumped, and executed a blow to the phantom's head using her tail and a second blow using her right foot on its upper chest. She landed on her feet and did a backflip to get out of the range of possible retaliation, not sure if she had affected it or not.
-
The phantom was struck by by Selturma's attacks as it was knocked back a bit in the process.
Violet noticed that the attacks seemed to have some sort of affect on the phantom as she let off a light growl as she charged forward on all fours, leaping at the phantom herself and slammed her hind legs into the chest of the phantom.
The phantom stagged back slightly from the attack from Violet as well as it looked at Selturma and Violet with it's cold, errie eyes before looking back to Kayla "Velrius will have you"
"No! I will not go back to my father!" Kayla more or less yelled back as she charged forwards at the phantom and actually tackled it outside before leaping off it and onto the ground "I may not have my weapons, but I'm not going with you that easily"
The phantom moved its hand to its side as a scythe appeared in its skeleton hand before aiming its scythe at her.
Kayla could only gulp at that point "Okay....um...." was all she could say in a nervous little laugh, giving off a rather light little smile too.
The phantom started to approach Kayla once again "Enough games, you shall come with me, dead, or alive" however, it stopped slightly as a voice rang in its head.
"No! I require her alive!" the voice rang.
"Very well then, alive it shall be...." the phantom spoke as it swung the scythe at her, sending a wave of darkness at Kayla, knocking her backwards into the house once more.
Kayla looked to the others again "I don't think it's going to stop until I go with it" was all she said, as if she was actually considering going with the phantom.
"Wait.....what do you mean? No! You can't go!" Violet told Kayla back.
-
Rex's mother decided to intervene. She was no combatant, but she knew a thing or two about war from her husband, including military ranks, how to apply a tourniquet, and... how to mix nitric acid and glycerin to form a powerful explosive, some of which she kept prepared in case of an emergency like this.
She ran up to her room, reached under the bed as her husband had told her to do in case of an emergency, took out the potion, ran down the stairs, and...
"Hey you! Phantom! Get OUT of this house!!" and with that, she threw the bottle at the phantom, causing an explosion which knocked it down and made it release its hold on Kayla, but by no means killed it, if such a being was living to begin with.
-
The phantom had managed to grab Kayla and was starting to leave with her, only to be struck by an explosion, which in turn, caused it to let go of her as it was blasted backwards some more.
Kayla fell to the ground before she got back up and dusted herself off "Um, thanks" she told Rex's mother as Violet ran over to her.
"Are you okay?" Violet asked her.
Kayla nodded "Yeah, I'm fine" she told the lycan back as she saw the phantom slowly rising back up again, turning to face Kayla again, pointing a finger at Kayla.
Violet looked to Kayla again "Um, anyone else have a better plan?" she asked anyone in particular.
The phantom slowly started to approach them again as Violet looked between the phantom and Kayla before she charged forwards "Leave us alone!" she growled as she tackled the phantom into another house, only to be thrown off.
The phantom, again, was about to head off after Kayla again, only for Violet to yell at it "Hey! Ugly! Over here!" she called out as the phantom stopped and turned to face the lycan, it was now focused on her as Violet was now just growling at it by that point.
"Violet...." Kayla muttered to herself as she looked over to the phantom and Violet now at a stand-off.
-
Adykon and the wall guards fought a desperate defense against the second enemy army. So far, they had kept the foes back, and had even been able to wreck one of the siege towers. But now, with several more siege towers and scaling ladders incoming, they were hard-pressed to hold them off.
"Where's Toby?" Adykon thought to himself, wondering what was so important about that bird that the little dragon would just abandon the fight for it.
Toby, for his part, did has Tahlia instructed, and soon the cart was moving. From this point, it would be up to the earth phoenix to get anything done.
Rhiga and Marcus were still in their house, trying to stay alive on the first day after they were married, while Vespion was wounded but hanging in there. Lucien and Margas were in the middle of the fight. They fought hard, but it was becoming harder and harder to keep so much as one step ahead of the enemy in combat.
"Blast it! Why do these things have to be so TOUGH?!" Lucien cursed mentally. His shiny armor was battered and dented, and blood belonging to himself and the enemy stained both his helmet and his gauntlets. Even with the fanciest armor and best equipment available, the young noble was in trouble.
Another noble was also in trouble... financial trouble. Yes, even during the battle, Tallon worried about his costs and income. He was still fantastically rich, even with the loss of some income from disrupted commerce and damage to his businesses in the city. For now, he brooded on these thoughts while hiding underneath his palace in a magically-shielded safe room.
As for those with real causes to worry about...
"Ahhgh! Vespion!" I need some healing here!
"Bzzzzumm" The sound of a spell of 'cure wounds' went off, healing the nasty gash on Adykon's arm.
"*Gasp* There you go, Adykon, but you've gotta make it last. That was the very last bit of healing magic I've got."
"Can you still fight?"
"Yeah, but I'm running out of combat magic too. I've used up the last of the mana potions we had on this side of the wall, and I don't think there are any more coming soon."
If something was going to change the tide for them on this wall, it had better happen soon.
-
Well, they're starting to gain the edge by sherr arrition.. the girls od rapidly rubning out of magic.. minna is just about done, Ilsa isn't too far behind' Margas grumbled a casting another spell at a nearby enemy He had started to use lightning as an attack, through it cost him a bit more inn energy it was a more potent spell. But no matter what he tried, the enemy hordes kept coming.. "This keeps up we won't have any strength left to resist the final surge he muttered. two were two armies just watch the fight on the east and west sides of the city..
-
Ku'ux seemed to snort a little bit "This is not going so well, the enemy isn't going to stop anytime soon by the looks of things" he told Adykon as he watched on still, kicking off another ladder that was pressed upon the wall.
However, that's when he heard a rather faint scream, glancing around and saw in the middle of the city more or less, a phantom, and what seemed to be Violet at a stand-off "That can't be good either" he uttered with a shake of his head, turning his attention back to the field of battle again.
-
Eternion spat blood on the ground. 'I swear, the longer this goes on, the grittier things get. A few minutes ago, I was fine... and now I seem to be bleeding in odd spots, my clothing is torn, and by gods... my axe is covered in the blood of my enemies. It's... just like that time Almia and myself held off an entire tribe of orcs upon a hill.'
He looked over to Adykon, pretty much the only dracon he seemed to be able to identify with on this field of battle. 'We got married up there, you know. We had a priest with us, he was half bard on his mothers side... wanted to get out of the house more,' he said with a chuckle, as well as dodging another arrow. 'Got more than he bargained for, and not to mentionhe married off a pair of insane dracons, go figure. Still remember the poor guys name, too. Poet Silvar... sounds more elvish than human, to be honest, but who am I to be going around saying what's right and wrong with a name?'
He sometimes did indeed wonder why his parents had given him such an odd name. Had they foreseen his future or something?
Tahlia was by no means a pack mule, but she could not resist the urge to help their new found friend in carrying the burden of the cart. 'I'll take this one,' she said as she wrapped a talon around a bound rope. 'With a little bit of effort, we can get the beacon over the wall and somewhere safe. I was to bring it to the king, I believe... though I forget his name. What was it again, Klebol?'
Klebol sat upon the cart, wearing a battered helmet upon his head. 'I am the queen of cartland!'
Tahlia grumbled. 'Nevermind.'
-
"Take this to the king?!" Toby shouted at Tahlia. "Do you really think they'll let a dracon, a kobold and an earth bird inside the gates of the palace during a siege?!"
Meanwhile, at the walls...
Adykon dismissed the ramblings of Eternion. "We'll deal with it later, okay? I don't know what you're going on about, but you're a good fighter. Let's just hold the chat until we ca-"
ROOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAARRR!!!
"What in the name of the black pit was that?!"
The army on the wall pulled back as soon as the roars reached their ears. For the second time, Minbenthac had held firm in the face of danger. The defenders of the wall were bloodied and beaten, and the dead lay beneath the wounded.
"Hah! That's it! RUN! Go back to your dark master! Tell Dememoras that we're coming for him, and that we're gonna-"
"Give it a break, Lucien" Vespion told the hotheaded noble. "They intended to retreat. It explains the ease of our defense."
"Easy? EASY?! You call that easy?!" Lucien gestured to the dead and wounded, who were strewn about the ramparts. "That was anything but easy, cleric. It was our might, not their plans which gave us victory this day."
"Just keep telling yourself that, Lucien." Vespion replied, lying down. His robes were in tatters, but they were useful as a makeshift pillow when he rolled them up. At least he had on garments underneath them.
"Do you think we would have fallen?" Adykon asked Vespion, whose eyes were now closed, although he was not asleep.
"Yes. I was totally out of magic. I don't think I can continue this fight. One more assault from them and this front would have collapsed."
"I...cannot fault your reasoning on that." Adykon looked around to see the casualties. He had no exact numbers, but it was clear that over half of the troops stationed on the wall were dead or injured... more like 2/3 were no longer fit to fight.
In the distance, three large dragons, a red, green, and blue, all prepared to attack the city. Three of the armies were led by the dragons. A fourth one had the leadership of an agent already inside the city.
-
'To be honest, I would not be surprised if they had sealed the entire palace with every piece of furniture they could find,' Tahlia replied, grunting a little as she shared the burden of the cart.
'Batter down the doors!' Klebol shouted, rising to his feet... even though he was standing on a cart suspended in the air. 'Use the tables, use the chairs, break the windows, climb the stairs!'
'Please be quiet, dear,' Tahlia said, her head looking down at the kobold.
'Smash the bricks, tear the carpet, break the cupboards, those stupid...'
'Shut up,' Tahlia said firmly. It was enough to silence the wild eyed kobold.
For about five seconds...
Tahlia looked over to Toby, hopeful. 'Perhaps they might recognize you as we get closer, sky king?'
Eternion tasted the air, and listened. He ignored the arguing as if it weren't even happening... such things he did not care for. 'I don't like this one bit, Adykon,' he began, more interested in the matters at hand. 'I haven't seen many sieges in my life, but I know that this sort of thing doesn't just happen. Something big is coming.'
He looked up in the sky, seemingly searching for something that wasn't there. 'We shouldn't be up here, we need to fall back. What ever is coming, it won't bode well for us.'
-
The phantom approached the young lycan as it wrapped it's skeletal hand around her throat, lifting her up into the air.
"Violet!" Kayla called out as Violet was seen, struggling in the grip of the phantom.
"You wish to die? Then so be it" the phantom told Violet as its grip tightned around the throat Violet still.
"Leave her alone!" Kayla called out as she stepped forward, her fists gripped "If you want me, then take me, but leave everyone else alone!"
The phantom seemed to just toss Violet aside as it turned to face Kayla instead "That is indeed, a wise choice" it spoke as it begun to approach her once more.
Violet was on the ground as she looked over, shaking her head as well "No....don't do it Kayla...." was all she could utter a bit as she got up again.
Meanwhile, Ku'ux glanced back over to the phantom before looking to Adykon Will you be able to hold out? We have a phantom problem" he spoke in regards to the phantom "And it seems to be after that girl as well" he added on, not actually knowing who Kayla was.
-
All four armies were now lined up to attack the city. The Dragonbloods, the Spellforged, the Runemarked, and the Demonbred were in position. One dragon was in front of each of the first three armies, and the fourth one was to all appearances, the weakest of the four. Looks could be deceiving...
"They're just standing there! I don't GET it!" Lucien was very unhappy with the recent turn of events. "WHY don't they just attack us?"
"The enemies are waiting for a signal" Vespion replied. "It's a common tactic used by mages to tell when to attack. We don't know what the signal is, but they do. Dememoras is a being of great magical powers, so he probably came to the same conclusion in what tactics to use." The cleric was on his feet again, but was uneasy. His magic was spent. He was battered, exhausted, and wounded in several places.
"Are you sure you are okay, Vespion? You look rather..."
"Beat? I am, Adykon, believe me. I've never been in such dire straits before. I imagine it must be disconcerting to see me without my robes on." He wasn't kidding. Beneath his robes, Vespion had concealed a series of blue tattoos on his chest, each comprised of spirals and curved lines. "I'll spare you the questions and just cut to the quick; I got these when I was an initiate in the temple, and got more of these as time went on. As I grew and rank and power, they gave me another one of these. Eventually... well, you see what they did."
"Indeed. If you can't fight on, I'll let you leave. You've already done far more than I could have expected of you, my friend."
"I'll leave to get a mana potion, a healing elixir, or whatever it is they have left in the city. I'll be back, friends. This isn't the last you'll see of me!" With that, the cleric ran down the stairs on the walls and into the city itself.
-
Ku'ux shook his head slightly as he took off away from where he was in order to aid Kayla and the others from the phantom.
The phantom continued to approach Kayla until it was struck by an axe before being knocked aside, grabbing his axe back and snorting at the phantom "Foul creature"
The phantom was knocked back as it turned to face the minotaur "Stand aside beast, this is not your battle" it told Ku'ux.
"It just has become my fight, leave them alone" Ku'ux snorted again as he aimed his axe at it.
The phantom looked at the minotaur with a rather cold and erie look "Very well then, if it must be done..." was all it spoke as it begun to approach Ku'ux before it swung it's scythe at him, to which Ku'ux managed to just block the attack in time.
-
By this time, the phantom was out in the open, having left Rex's house. Rex's mother and siblings were all inside, but Selturma was not. Having quickly grabbed her top and put it on, she ran outside into the streets and found Ku'ux locked in a battle with the phantom.
"Hey you! Ghost! Leave us alone!"
There was no response
"I mean it! Let Kayla go!"
Again, there was nothing. If the phantom had heard her, it gave no indication whatsoever. As is Selturma were not even there. She ran off, looking for someone, ANYONE could help.
Vespion, however, was not far off. He had found a potion in the ruins of a stand wrecked by a stone hurled from an enemy's trebuchet, and drank it to restore his mana. With his magic replenished, the cleric was able to invoke a spell to heal his wounds, and then rush back onto the wall with the others. Unfortunately, fate intervened.
"Vespion?! Is that you."
"Who is- Selturma!"
"I'm glad you remembered me. I barely recognized you without your robes."
"Ehh... enough of that. I have to get to the wall. Adykon will need my magic, and I have to-"
"Kaylasunderattackyougottahelpher!"
"Wha? Okay... slow down. Let's try that again. First, who's Kayla?" he asked.
"She's a new human friend. Sasha and Violet know her too. This phantom came and took her. Ku'ux is fighting them now."
"Great... alright. Just show me where to go, and I'll help him beat this thing!"
Running as fast as her clawed feet could go, Selturma took off in the direction of the phantom, with Vespion close behind. "Hurry! We've gotta get there in time, we just GOTTA!"
-
Violet got to her feet and rushed out into the open, only to have Ku'ux call out to her "Get back!" he ordered her as he knocked the phantom backwards.
The phantom swung its scythe again, sending a shockwave of darkness at Ku'ux, who in turn, slid back from the shockwave before it spoke "Relenquish the female"
"Never" Ku'ux snorted back as he started to rush again, right for the phantom, the two of them, locking blades once again.
Violet rushed over to Kayla "Are you okay?" she asked her.
Kayla just gave a nod back "I'm fine, but I just can't help but this is all my fault, all it wants is me, and will kill anyone just to get to me" she spoke with a sigh.
"Don't worry, Ku'ux will be able to handle himself, I mean, look at him, he's holding it off" Violet replied back.
The phantom swung its scythe at Ku'ux again, this time, actually cutting him across the chest before using its free hand to blast him backwards with the power of darkness "Enough games creature....." it spoke as it blast Ku'ux once again, causing the minotaur to stumble back some more.
The phantom then dashed forwards with some speed and swung its scythe again, sending another shockwave at Ku'ux, actually knocking him off his feet before it turned its attention back to Kayla once more.
-
Margas, Minna and Ilsa stumbled down from the ledges, among the 3, only Margas had any real reserves of magic left, and even those were low. ' they needed to find a mana poition, and quickly. Both Minna and Ilsa clutched to him, their strength utterly exhausted. 'we must find some magic potions, even if we have to break into houses' Margas hufted, his new wife ilsa by his side.. 'forgive me Ilsa, this has not been the wedding night, you probably were expecting..' he said " If we survive Margas, we'll make time for a special night..
-
Ku'ux got up again and snorted some more "Stay away foul beast!" he called out as he chared forwards at the phantom, who in turn, swung his scythe, which cause Ku'ux to bring up his axe to stop the wave of darkness as best as he could.
"You have no authority over me" the phantom told Ku'ux as Violet rushed over, standing right next to Ku'ux now.
"No Violet, this is to dangerous" Ku'ux told her.
Violet shook her head back "No! Kayla is a good person and I want to help out by stopping this phantom from taking her away"
"It matters not, you shall both die regardless, Velrius requires her, and you will relenquish her to me, one way or another" the phantom told the two of them as Kayla watched on, running nack into the house to grab her shirt, putting it back on, rushing into the kitchen to grab a knife before running back outside, standing with Violet and Ku'ux, as if she was also ready to help fight off the phantom as well.
"No, stay back, if it wants you, then you must hide" Ku'ux told Kayla.
Kayla shook her head "No, I'm not going to hide, if it wants me, then it can come get me" she spoke back as she stood her ground, holding the knife in her hand.
-
Vespion and Selturma arrived at the scene of the battle. It was obvious who the phantom was. Ku'ux was putting up a good fight, yet it was a losing one.
The young female dracon shouted at Vespion to do something as she ran, her bare feet still slapping against the street.
"There it is! Vespion, you gotta stop it!!" Selturma was nearly hysterical. No, not nearly. She just passed the line into it a moment ago. The poor girl was breaking down in front of the cleric's eyes.
"Don't worry! I'll stop this thing!" Brave words, and Vespion was hard-pressed to back them up. Still, his magic had been restored, so a spell of 'dispel undead' was called for. Summoning up powerful divine energy, Vespion fired a beam of white light at the phantom, a beam that was harmless to the living, yet terribly damaging to the undead. He could only keep this up for a minute before his strength began to give out. Even with the mana potion's restoring of his magic, Vespion was still physically tired from the battle on the walls.
"Ku'ux! I weakened it! Strike now!"
-
The phantom was blasted backwards by the white magic as Ku'ux nodded to Vespion and rushed forward, swinging his axe right at the phantom, to which Kayla also dashed forward, running up Ku'ux's back within two steps and leaping at the phantom, sticking the knife right into, what seemed to be its neck.
The phantom seemed to stumble back some more as Kayla remained on it, one hand holding it by its shoulder as she pulled the knife out, only to stab the phantom a second time before removing it and jumping off and landing on her feet.
The phantom's eyes were upon Vespion mainly, some darkness starting to escape from underneath its hood, as if it was desolving. However, it seemed to glare towards Kayla "You shall return to Velrius, one way or another" it spoke to her.
Kayla seemed to let off a glare towards it "No, tell me father this, if he wants me, he can come and get me himself" and that's when she threw the knife right at the phantom.
The knife struck the phantom right in the face as it seemed to give off a cold looking glare to Kayla still, the glare felt worse than what it was before as the knife fell to the ground "Very well then, we shall meet again daughter of Velrius" and that's when the phantom made its escape, taking off rather quickly actually into the sky to go and return back to Velrius.
-
The Three mages wandered through the st streets of the city, surveying the damage that has been sustained, many buildings have damage to them, so so severe that you could see inside them.. ' we need to find some mana quick..' Ilsa said "I.. think Lord Tallon has a few stored away in his castle for emergencies..
-
(OOC: Sorry if my participation is limited for now, guys! I really have a lot to do and I cannot take the time to be here as much. My normal level of activity should be back within a week. I have some issues involving school, law school applications, and possibly longer job hours to attend to.)
Tallon was indeed hunkered down in his palace. Awaiting the next attack, the rich noble took a moment to reflect on what his wealth was worth in this situation, but not in terms of gold and silver. Deep in his thoughts, Tallon sat in a soft chair, providing only a small measure of comfort when faced with the grim reality outside.
"All this lucre... land, assets, precious metals, coinage, jewels, mines, ships, and gods know what else! None of it will do me any good if our forces fall in the battle today. What was it all for? Was it worth it? What good is it to have treasure if it can just be taken away?" His thoughts turned to matters a noble such as himself rarely considered.
-
Violet was indeed, rather impressed what Kayla had done, using only the knife and ran over to her "You're good, I mean, really good"
"Thanks, although, it's nothing really, nothing that great" Kayla replied as she looked to Vespion and Ku'ux "Also, thanks for your help, it was much appreciated"
Ku'ux snorted a little bit "Just who is this Velrius that creature spoke of?"
"My father, he....deals in the dark arts, dark magic and all that sort of stuff" Kayla answered back with a small sigh.
-
(OOC: Yeah, I'm posting even on the Super Bowl. Not much, though.)
"I hate to break up this reunion, but we've got a much larger problem on our hands. We're surrounded by enemy armies, and they could charge at any moment!" Vespion told the group. "I cannot ask you to risk yourselves on the walls, but if you truly believe that you can hold your own, I will not prevent you from trying to defend the city."
-
After nearly a half hour of searching, Margas finally located some mana potions in an upstairs room in the castle" You'll have to send my apologies to your father" He said to Minna , after handing her a vial. "But we needed these badly.. I'll pay him for any damage we've caused.. Ilsa gulped down the mana and soon felt her energy returning.. She grabbed a few more vials "I have a feeling things are only going to get worse.. we'll need as much mana as possible..' she said. Minna gulped down the mana and headed for the stairs "We've a city to protect" she said "We need to get moving.." Margas stuck the extra vials in a pouch her carried at his side, then followed Ilsa and Minna down the stairs and out of the castle .. "Misro" Minna said catching the servant as he ran by " Don't let anyone in the castle..except us..'
-
Back on the walls, Adykon heard the distant sound of drums. It sounded like drums, at least.
BUM-BUM. BUM-BUM. BUM-BUM.
"Can you see where that noise is coming from?" Vespion had made it to the walls again and was standing next to Adykon and a group of soldiers. Everyone was looking for the source of that sound.
Adykon looked up, down, and all around him. He tried to feel for vibrations and see if anything which could make that sound was in sight. Nothing. "I don't think it is coming from the enemy armies. It seems to be coming from everywhere. How is that possible?"
Suddenly, the skies began to darken. Thick clouds appeared out of nowhere. One second, it was bright, but in the time it took to blink, the sky had changed to overcast and tumultuous as if someone had flipped a switch.
"What the-?! Where did that come from?!"
Far away, Rhiga saw the dark clouds and instinctively ducked, covering her head with her claws. Ever since her time spent underneath Asthia's tower, she dreaded any unnatural darkness. Shivering, she wished more than ever that this had all never happened. Why did it have to be this way?
Before long, the drumbeats became loud and more ominous. A light began to build up in the darkest of the clouds. Adykon's eyes widened as he saw what visage emerged from them...
-
'This can't be good,' Eternion muttered, a little obviously. This day was just getting weirder and weirder.
Just above the city, Toby and Tahlia struggled with their cargo... slowly bringing it down towards the palace, right over the top of any and all defences. 'Looks like they did shut down the place pretty tightly,' the green phoenix said as several arrows flew upwards to meet them. Most of them simply missed, others struck the underside of the cart with slight THUNK.
Tahlia let out a frustrated squawk. 'Oh for the sake of all the gods, we are not your enemy!' She shouted.
Of course, they didn't listen. More arrows came up towards them as the continued to decend.
'Oooh, it's raining upside down!' Klebol shouted from his spot on the cart. And then he did a handstand. 'Ooooh, now it's raining normal rain.'
Tahlia grumbled and fluffed her feathers. 'Klebol, I ask of you a favour.'
'Rain, rain, in the air... there's a squirrel over there!'
'KLEBOL!'
The kobold sat upright. 'Mother?'
'Please stop the rain.'
Klebol danced excitedly, and pulled out a short wild looking staff from his cloth belt. 'Klee can send the rain away... to come again another day!'
His eyes went a bright yellow, and his whole body seemed to glow slightly.
Another wave of arrows, and even some spells! However, as they reached the cart, they seemed to strike some sort of invisible wall, which shuddered as objects struck it.
'Well, that makes life just a little easier...' Tahlia said with a sigh. 'As long as it holds out. Given Klebol's sanity, we may have just a few more seconds.'
They began to lower the cart onto the pavement, the great phoenix waving her wings as they landed. 'Lower your weapons, we mean no harm. I come with a gift from Poet Silvar, though I fear we may be too late.'
-
Meanwhile...
Jake's family opened the door. From the outside, all that could be seen was the clawed hand of a dracon as he was swiftly pulled inside by Rex's mother. The door slammed shut behind him. He was not more than a step into the house when Selturma rushed to hug him, leaping into his arms.
"Jakeyourbackohmygodsitsgoodtoseeyou!"
Despite the gathering danger, things were starting to get to normal. At least, what passed for normal around here.
Back at the King's Palace...
Toby was fed up with it all. The war, the invasion, Violet, Tahlia, and now his own side was trying to kill him. Stupid guards.
"Stop! Hold your fire! I know it seems weird, and maybe it is, but we're trying to help the city here! For the love of the gods, stop firing at us!"
"Listen to him. Stop attacking them. NOW" A voice just came out of nowhere... no, wait. Not nowhere. Out from behind the line of guards came a familiar sight around the palace. A revered figure in the ways of magic, despite his polychromatic skin disorder. It was Kluthu, the royal archmage!
"I have sensed the presence of Tahlia and have been scrying on her and Toby for the past half hour. They mean us no harm. Well, maybe that kobold does, but he is more of a nuisance than a threat. "
"But sir, they've got some sort of device that we don't know what it can-"
"Just let them go, guard. They are going to help us. It cannot possibly be enough to change the battle, but it will help. If that kobold acts up, hit him. Don't harm the little guy, I think Tahlia would get upset."
"Who? Is that one of your wives?"
"No, stupid. The bird. Tahlia is the bird. The Earth Phoenix."
"I thought the Phoenix was a firebird."
"Normally it is, but some sort of magical phenomenon made some into water, air, and earth phoenixes. I don't have time to explain it all right now. You'll just have to trust me on this one. You can mark it down as mage stuff in your semi-literate minds when this is all over."
They didn't like it, but the guards obeyed, and lowered their bows. The apprentice mages who had rushed out to join them held their spells back. Only apprentices were there with Kluthu as the mages with considerable skills were either in their towers, on the walls, or were busy guarding some other important structure. The fully-trained palace mages were concentrated on the inside of the massive structure.
Kluthu turned to the Kobold, young dragon, and Earth Phoenix. "Carry on, you three. I believe I know what it is you have in there. I shall lend you a hand."
-
"umm..yeah" replied Jake while he tried to gently shove off Selturma "just thought i'd pop in since the spell has worn off ya know..."
(soz it's not a big post...)
-
(OOC: At this point, it would be best to make all posts at least two paragraphs. Not two sentences. I'll let this one slide. XD.)
Selturma was jumping for joy. "Wegetjakebackwegetjakebackohmygodsimsoexcited!"
"Calm down, my dear. We are all happy to see him again. Come here, my boy. Give your mother a hug!" Rex's mother had quite a strong grip for a female.
"I wish could tell you that Rex was here. Sasha is resting in the upstairs bedroom, where your bed was. I didn't expect you so soon, but I never gave up hope of seeing my human son again."
Outside, things were still grim. The clouds broke, a crepuscular ray of golden light shown out from them... and the fear of the soldiers on the wall turned to panic as they behold the visage of Dememoras! He had appeared as a projection in the sky! Not really there, but frightening all the same. He appeared as large as a mountain, as big as a cloud, and as dangerous as a flight of Dragons! No, worse! The illusion reached out its black, clawed hand, a hand the size of a hill, and swept it over the walls of the city, sending almost everyone fleeing for cover, and leading a few to even jump off of the walls to avoid being touched!
Only, there was no real hand. The soldiers who were "touched" by the illusion of the dark master found that it had no substance whatsoever. The whole "god Dememoras" act was all an elaborate show, albeit a terrifying one. Without spending a single life, Dememoras's illusion had shaken the morale of the enemy, and even got a few of them to leap to their doom from the ramparts.
"Damn you, Dememoras! Come down here and fight me like a male! DON'T HIDE BEHIND CHEAP TRICKS! GET DOWN HERE! YOU-YOU... ROAAAR!"
"Adykon! Adykon, stop! Listen to me! Listen to me gods damn it! You need to get ahold of yourself!" Vespion found that he had to literally grab the warrior's head in order to get him to listen, only to find-
SHHWING! He leveled his greatsword at the priest.
"Back off, cleric! I've had it! Enough is enough! I'm sick of being a pawn! I've been tested by the gods, and I've- I've had enough! STOP TESTING ADYKON! Vespion, tell the gods to stop testing me! And you, Dememoras, I WILL KILL YOU PERSONALLY FOR-"
BOOSH! Vespion had responded with a low-power energy bolt; a spell he could cast since he was teenager. A blue orb of light hit Adykon in the head, knocking him on his back. The effect was to stun him, not to injure him in any serious way.
"Are you alright, my friend?" Vespion had kneeled over to where Adykon was lying.
"Ugh... I'm alright. Thanks. I needed that. Cursing at him won't do any good. It's just an illusion."
"Just an illusion, am I?!"
"Oh dear gods..." Adykon's rage had turned to fear, and that newfound dread threatened to turn to panic.
"Fools! Did you really think you stood a chance? You don't know the extent of my power, but you will!"
Vespion attempted to maintain order in the ranks. He wasn't doing a very good job of it. "Stay calm everyone! He's just toying with our heads. That isn't really Dememoras up there; its just a projection of him. If we give into fear now, we will be playing into his hands!"
Seeing that it wasn't working, Vespion ran up to the nearest tower on the wall, looked the visage of Dememoras in the eye, spread his arms, and shouted:
"If you really ARE a god, you will strike me down where I stand! Go on! Kill me! Take my life! Blast me into oblivion if you are a god! I mean it!"
Being nothing more than a fancy giant illusion which had visual and sound input for Dememoras back in his dark dimension and a voice projector for him to speak through, the visage was unable to do anything to actually harm Vespion. It just remained silent. Then, hoping to get him to flee for his life, the illusion swiped at the cleric again and again, its illusory arms passing right through the tower, and Vespion, who continued to stand there, eyes closed, with an odd sort of smile on his face. It was the face of one who knew he was right, and that for once, just once in his life, right would triumph over a tyrant, and reason could prevail over power, even when the tyrannical power was a 'god.'
-
Ku'ux looked to Violet and Kayla, to which Kayla seemed to nod back, as she did want to help out.
Violet on the other hand, spoke up "Sorry, but I'm not really the best fighter for this kind of thing" she replied back with a bit of a smile too.
"Very well then, stay here with the others, Kayla and I will meet with Adykon and the others" Ku'ux told Violet before he turned and took off.
"It was very nice meeting you Violet" Kayla told her as she shook Violet's hand before she turned and followed Ku'ux.
"Uh yeah, same....to you too...." Violet replied back as she watched Ku'ux and Kayla head off to help out.
She turned and walked back into the house for the time being, something was on her mind, but she wasn't going to share it with anyone else, but instead, kept it to herself. She wanted to leave the city indeed, but with this war going on, she thought it was best to at least, wait it out.
-
you are not a god.. ' Margas cried at the llision " you are not all-powerful, and you will pay for all the lives you have destroyed. come out here, and face us yourself!' Margas had fought hard in the battle, drawing upon his magical training and skills to turn back the forces of the Dark Master , and now.. he wanted blood, vegence..
-
The visage of Dememoras said nothing more. He stopped swiping at the walls and towers of Minbenthac. The courage of a single cleric had stood up to him, and won this round. Already the guards were starting to regain their courage. All that was left to do was to send the signal for the four-pronged attack, which was nothing more than a wave of his clawed right hand. That was it. No explosions, lights, music, or anything. Just a wave. It was enough. Four armies led by three dragons began to assault the city, including two armies that had not touched the walls yet.
-
So It has begun' Margas said ' Dememorus had ignored him completely, and he began to feel foolish for his outburst.. but now was no time to chide himself, with 4 wanes of enemy forces crashing in from all sides.. he rejoined the battle and began blasting away at the enemy with ice and fire blasts..
iksa shook her head it was not wise to provoke someone like Dememorus, who had with apparently little effort on his own part, had pushed Minbenthac's forces to the limit using only two waves. now they were coming back for a second attack, this time with two fresh regiments, three of the four were led by huge dragons, Ilsa could feel the raw magic eminating from them.. " gods, protect us" she silently said to herself as she clutched her fists and created a ball of magic. " Well, " Minna said to Lucien the fun is just getting started..
Meanwhile Marcus had run out to buy a fresh supply of arrows. and after a good time searching he had finally found a smith to prepare some for him. they wee not of the best quality, given the hurriedness in which they were made, but given the circumstances, he was simply glad to have weapon to protect his wife, unhatched child, and parents...
-
(OOC: Sorry for making this one so comparatively short. So little time.)
The two forces that had not yet attacked the walls were the Runemarked and the Demonbred armies.
The former were covered in magical runes dyed into their skin, covered in them from top to bottom in a mosaic of flesh and magic. Each of these runes carried magical powers, which in turn gave extra speed, strength, and endurance to this army, much like the Spellforged force.
Powerful as this force was, an even worse one was on the horizon. Born of Dememoras's magic and the blood of demons, the aptly-named Demonbred army had no dragon accompanying it and at first glance, appeared to be an unremarkable force of average-looking Dracon soldiers. This was, however, the most dangerous of the four forces by far; the reason for this would become all too apparent very soon.
-
Ku'ux approached the wall and looked over as Kayla approached as well, running to the spot to where Ku'ux was, only to have him run along the wall as Kayla followed suit.
"What are you doing?" Kayla asked him.
Ku'ux came to a halt to see one army hadn't attacked yet "Something's not right, they're not attacking" he spoke as he shook his head "We must find Adykon, he will know what's going on now"
"Adykon?" Kayla asked. She had no idea on who Adykon was as she hadn't met him yet, but followed Ku'ux once he had run off once more.
-
Jake took a look around the room "nothings changed apart from the fact that a war is outside...." said Jake, jake turned and faced the stairs and proceeded up them to go and see if his old room was still as it used to be before he turned.
-
Marcus climbed onto the roof of his house and sat down. Up here, there was a better view of the battle. his house was not high enough to look out over the wall, that distinction was limited to the Lord Tallon's castle and a few noble homes. But Marcus could see the defending on the parapets rushing to and fro..
Minna ducked an ice blast from an enemy mage and returned fire, hitting the mage in the chest, and knocking him out of the air.. Minna grinned briefly then continued moving around, returning fire, and mixing up her spells.
_ Ilsa saw a defender go down with an arrow in his shoulder, and she grabbed him just before he fell off the parapet " Stay still" She said, lying him down below the face of the wall" This will hurt.. just grit your teeth" she said, and grabbing on the shaft of the arrow, tugged on it and began to pull. The soldier screamed, and little by little the arrow began to lift out of the shoulder. Finally she managed to get the arrow out, the tip was soaked in blood. She tossed the arrow aside, and started guiding the soldier down the stairs. " We're going to get you help.." she said to the soldier who was reaching for his injured shoulder.
-
Meanwhile...
Aerta had to try again. Dememoras was out there, but Adykon needed her. Minbenthac needed her. By extension, the whole of her race needed to stop this evil. Summoning her magic again, Aerta sat down crossing her legs once more. Calling upon all of her powers of concentration, the archmage tried something different. Instead of sending out her spirit to view the battlefield, she would take the images of the battle home to her.
Using a form of "astral echolocation", Aerta fired out far-reaching beams of magic, heading for Minbenthac. Traveling at the speed of light, they bounced back harmlessly and invisibly, giving her a picture of the combat. She also sensed something else; an item whose composition was not fully in the material plane. A large magical device nearby a young dragon, a large bird, and a kobold. An astral beacon!
-
Jake walked up the stairs and went into his old room, he looked around the room and sighed. He then noticed that Sasha was lying on his old bed. Jake walked over and gently nudged her. Sashas eyes began to slowly open. Jake leaned in close to her face "guess who". And Sashas eyes opened wide and she was fully awake.
"Jake Jake Jake Jake Jake!" yelled Sasha "your back!" Sasha hugged Jake extremely tightly and Jake gasped for air, Sasha let go and Jake took a few gulps of air. Once jake had regained his breath he spoke to sasha "Sasha, can you still use magic? if you can we have to get out there and help defend the city"
"i think i can.." replied Sasha, as soon as she had finished the sentence jake grabbed her arm and they both ran down the stairs to try and help the army defend against demoras' army
-
(OOC: In this and in at least one other RP, I shall go back and add more to it. I made this on the run, pretty much.)
From all four sides of the city, the enemy charged. They didn't merely advance, they ran at the walls, pushing their siege equipment, scaling ladders and heavy weapons with them. Three of the four armies were led by a red, green, and blue dragon, respectively. It would only be a few seconds more before the enemy were within firing range of the archers on the walls.
Adykon stood firm, resolute, even. "Alright everyone. We've seen what they can do, and THEY'VE seen that we can take everything they've got. We're not gonna die today! Minbenthac shall not fall as long as one of us stands to fight!" Brave words, but would they be enough?
-
Meanwhile Adykon was at the walls while the armies advanced on his position. Jake and Sasha had been running through the city at speed to reach Adykon before the armies had broken through. "Adykon!" yelled Jake "where here to help you fight these guys". "yeah" replied Sasha "with my magic i can blind some of the soldiers for a few seconds while you and Jake kill most of them". "sounds good doesn't it?" said Jake
-
Margas turnd at the two human's reached them. ' You know these two Adykon? he asked, having never met Sasha or Jake before , he wasn't sure whether he could trust them
Minna recognized Jake at onceJake! How in blazes did you get here? We tried searching for you in Hekaga, but We couldn't find you.. Are you alright? I do hope you didn't run into the prince.. hes evil.. to be blunt' Minna of course didn't realize Jake's true mission, his helping them was just a ruse..
Ilsa guided the injured soldier back to Tallon's castle where there had been atreatment wing set up, and from the looks of things, they already were hard at work treating the injured. from what Ilsa could see, there were at least thurty patients already, possibly more..
-
"umm..yeah i didn't run into the prince" lied Jake "i was just confused when the spell wore off and i came back to minthenbac as fast as my legs could take me...." Just then a couple of soldiers had breached the wall. Sasha began chanting a spell and a small blinding light was at the breach for a mere 3 seconds....enough for Jake to jump down and begin to attack the attackers. (that okay?)
-
" Thats good, as ong as you didn't run inti him" Minna didn't say any more as Jake jumped down to join the battle " Seems to be the same as he usually is, impulsive, willing to scrap.. but has undeniable courage" she thought to herself as she rejoined the battle
_ Ilsa led the Soldier to a nearby bed " He was shot in the shoulder with an arrow "
Hes one of the lucky ones, of the thirty we're treating, we might be able to save twenty' the servant replied " Just get him onto the bed .. I'll be with him shortly.. tell him to stay still.
_ thank you miladay" the soldier replied as he climbed into the bed " If not for your help, the fall would have killed me I'm Corrus"
- Lady Ilsa of Dercos, at your service Corus. I only did what anyone else would have done "Ilsa replied 'my husband is still fighting out there I might return to him.
-
So far, the lines were holding, in spite of all four sides of the city being attacked. Dememoras's forces were holding back. Why? The three dragons had flown over the walls and were taking shots at the city with fire, acid, and electricity, yet even these were not doing anywhere near the damage they could be doing if they truly wanted to.
It soon dawned on Vespion that this attack, fierce as it was, was nothing more than a test run. The Dark Master was testing them. "Damn this. Even if we win today, there's no way Minbenthac can stand by itself." A sense of anger welled up in the cleric, but he fought on. The Demonbred Dracons stood at the base of the wall, taking shots at the wall guards with their bows and crossbows, but not really attacking. They could have used their catapults, scaling ladders, and siege towers, but they didn't. It was as if they wanted something to happen first, like they were waiting for something. Unknowingly, Adykon would give it to them.
The mercenary lined up some archers to take out the first line of Demonbred soldiers. They weren't attacking yet, so he figured he might as well score some easy kills. "Ready, men! Aim! Fire!" A volley of arrows erupted from the walls of Minbenthac, striking the Demonbred soldiers. The arrows sank deep into the flesh of the first line of the soldiers, but they did not falls. In fact, the injuries only made the Demonbred angrier, fiercer, even excited, as if eager for more blood, more violence, more battle. The sight of blood, even their own blood, awakened the demons within them. The Demonbred began to transform, their eyes glowing red, muscles bulging, fangs growing in their mouths as they let out savage roars. As they transformed, they grew in size, and claws the length of swords emerged from their hands, horns as long as a Dracon's arm erupted from their heads, and their tails grew a poisonous stinger at the end.
This was the goal of Dememoras's attack; to unleash the full potential of his forces.
-
Annette had known the attack would be massive, but this...this was too much, as she stepped up toards the front lines near the wall where the Demonbred Dracons were attaking and she raised her staff into the air and cast a fire spell trying her best to disperse the Demonic Dracons from the wall.
-
Arianne leaned on a nearby wall. - "This is far too much, we need something like a miracle." - She was indeed tired, but she made use of this little time to get some energies back. After all, the real battle has just started.
Eriol was preparing himself for the new hordes of enemies to come. - "A miracle would be welcomed indeed, but they are not just granted, so we must make them possible... fighting to the very end!." - He was looking at his wife, then he turned back to where the city walls are, smilling evilly. - "We will make through this day Arianne, you'll see." - The male Gaean Panther grabbed firmly both of his blades, which he once said were forged from Dragon scales and steel, making them capable to cut through many things with ease.
He then looked back at Arianne again, for a moment. - "This will be quite the tale to tell Isaac and our future kid."
Arianne smiled and that and began walking until she got next to her husband. - "Yes, that will be our greatest tale to tell."
-
That wasn't a wise move " Margas muttered as he saw the Demonbred soldiers transform. the arrows had caused them to nearly double in size, and the sting, almost like a scorpion, looked very lethal. If they stung any of them the chances of surviving them were low without very quick attention from a skilled healer..
_
Ilsa waited until a nurse attended to Corrus, then rushed as fast of she could out of the palace " the roars from the demonbred sents down her spine and into her soul.. " by the gods, what terrible beasts has Dememorus unleashed now?' she thought as she headed toowards the nearest ladder which led to the top of the wall.
-
The Demonbred represented the worst, lowest, and basest desires in the psyche. Rage, sloth, anger, fear, lust, greed, gluttony, envy, violence, and pride. There was no turning back now that their demonic blood had been awakened. The transformation was complete and very hard to reverse. No one was in control of these creatures now. They would move into the city and kill, rape, loot, pillage, and burn until they were too exhausted to keep killing. The more they were hurt, the more powerful their attacks would become, and if given flesh or blood to consume, they could easily heal even the gravest of their wounds, converting newly-consumed matter to fill any holes in their own, at the cost of some energy.
They were Dememoras's children, demons in a pattern not too unlike his own. Existing only to destroy and consume, it was a case of life gone wild. All the normal functions of a living creature were present, and all of them were magnified, twisted, and set against the chosen foe. Minbenthac was in dire straits as the Demonbred began to climb up the sheer walls of the city, claws biting into the magically-hardened stone, moving up the walls as if running along a flat surface!
This was not a good day for Adykon.
-
Annette noticed that Margas was right. These demented soldiers were becoming far more deadly than anticipated. She looked around the battlefield that would eventually be the entire city and she sighed. With a trace of fear in her voice, Annette turned to her fellow combatants and asked, "What do we do?! These things can't be stopped!"
-
Jake was trying his best to fight off a demonbred soldier but it blocked all of his attacks and it lunged at him and it bit him on the shoulder "AAaaaAAHHHHH!!!" yelled Jake, Jake tried his best to consentrate and summon some flames to his right arm so he could at least get it to let go.
-
"We Fight!' Margas said. "Drive them back.. whatever the cost!" He said. Reaching deep within himself, he let forth a flurry of bright and powerful magic. He sent it down amongst the advancing Demonbred. it knocked a few off, but there was still more advancing. Try as Margas might, for every one he knocked down, three more started climbing. several were already halfway up the wall, and showed no signs of stopping..
- Ilsa climbed up the ladder as the cries and shrieks of the Demonbred grew louder and louder. It was then Ilsa caught her first glimpse of them She shuddered openly. 'We must stop them.. she thought, or no one in this city will be spared..."
_ Minna Started throwing debris at the advancing Demonbred, but it produced little positive effect. their skin was quite thick, and any injuries the shrapnel inflicted was quickly healed bu their magic, indeed, one could say they ENJOYED the pain, as being hit by the rocks spurred the climbing monsters still more..
-
Jake successfully hurt the demonbred soldier but that just made it more bloodthirsty and it tried to rip his metal arm off. "hey! let go!" yelled Jake. The demonbred noticed that not much was happening to the arm so the demonbred decided that if it wouldn't come off he would use Jake as a weapon to swing at the defending minthenbac soldiers. (that would suck so bad...)
-
The other three armies pressed forward, as no one could stem the tide which swept over Minbenthac. The wall guards fell back on two of the four sides; the ones being pressed by the Demonbred and the Dragonbloods. Flying high above the streets, three dragons kept taking shots at various buildings, even though it was only a few pinpricks for a city of this magnitude.
Adykon slashed at the throat of a particularly large Demonbred, his blade biting into the scaled flesh of the enemy. A blow which would have decapitated almost any Dracon only succeeded in sending this one stepping back a few paces. A wound that ought to have seen blood flowing out of the jugular saw only a few drops as the wound began to dry up after a few seconds. Now it was the Demonbred's turn...
-
Annette had backed away from the wall, for the first time in a very long time she was terrified of this seemingly unstoppable enemy. She continued to fire more and more of her magic at the beasts as they continued to advance, and nothing even seemed to slow them down. In a desperate attempt to both kill the enemy, and dispel her own fears Annette charged up a massive amount of mana and fired it towards the oncoming DemonDracons. She smirked as she felt that was certain to finish them off.
But her eyes widened as she looked on in horror as they just continued to advance as if her attack hadn't even happened. She stepped back and couldn't will herself to fight anymore...but she also knew for a fact that death wasn't on her to do list anytime soon.
-
The Demonbred reached the top of the wall, and Margas was forced into hand to hand combat with the monsters. The Demonbred towered over him, and it was all Margas could do to parry and block its attacks. Margas warily kept one eye on its stinger.. magic.. he was certain.. would not do much damage to it.. after all, he had been using magic this whole time, with little effect. the Demonbred continued to swarm over the wall, and began surging over the defenses of the exhausted defenders..
Minna Ducked away as a Demonbred swung its stinger at her.. lIke margas, she had been forced to abandon her magical attacks, and rely on her fighting abilities.. Ilsa called to her from trying to stop further Demonbred from reaching the top of the wall " Minna! Climb down the wall.. We're going to regroup...inside the city..
-
The lines of defenders fell back to the city. Adykon, Vespion, and Lucien did their best to hold off the Demonbred, even succeeded in killing one, although it took all three of them to do it. While their leader and cleric fell back, Lucien decided to take on another Demonbred, one that was badly injured already.
"Come here ya piece of demon-crap! I'll show you what happens when someone messes with MY city!" The ensuing battle did little to weaken the demonbred. In fact, if anything, fighting against it seemed to make it fight harder. Not only did it fight harder, it became stronger, and its wounds began to heal. Lucien quickly realized that, despite his fne sword and armor, this was a losing fight. As he turned to flee, the Demonbred's tail whipped around, and the sharp stinger stabbed him in the leg, injecting him with poison!
Advancing on the injured warrior, the Demonbred moved in for the kill, when suddenly, a red mass of wings and claw fell out of the sky, and onto the Demonbred. It was Toby!
-
Still in the upper wall, and even though the blades of Eriol's swords could be between the sharpest in the whole city (if not more) he is only doing little damage to the enemies he is now facing. - "They are sure beyond anything I have seen, these guys are truly demons." - the male Gaean Panther said wearily when a strong wind appeared from his left and making it's way in front of him. - "Whoa!, this is...." - he turned to his wife, who was sending a powerful spell.
"Eriol, come down here, we need to regroup." - Arianne called for her husband. - "Hurry up because my spell will not last long!." - and that was true, the Demonbreds began breaking the wall made by Arianne and Eriol had no choice but to go down.
Eriol was very annoyed because he had to retreat, but it was a losing battle, still, even if he is "snapped up" as Adykon would say, he is always attentive to Arianne and once both Panthers were reunited, Eriol asked her. - "What now?" - as he asked, both of them saw Adykon, Vespion, Lucien... and Toby!.
"We should go help them." - Arianne exclaimed and Eriol nodded, both Gaeans ran to meet with them, arriving in no time.
-
The young red dragon forced the Demonbred off of Lucien, but could do little to really injure it with his claws and fangs. Switching tactics, Toby used a bit of fire magic, forcing his foe back. These Demons weren't invincible; a couple dozen had been killed already, at the cost of hundreds of lives on the opposing side. Something had to be done to stop them, and soon.
Lucien realized what might do it; how to stop the Demonbred. Despite the pain of the wound in his leg and the seeping poison, he managed to shout out "Don't fight them! That's what they want! Defend yourselves, block the blows, and avoid their attacks but don't strike back!"
-
Annette heard Lucien speak and for a moment actually considered the option as she raised her staff and blocked the next attack coming at her. She then realized with a rather slack look that, in blocking the attack, her overbearing fear was lessened to the point where she could indeed see that Lucien was telling the truth! She then began to dodge, block and counter every blow that the Demon Dracons sent her way.
-
Before long, the Demonbred that was attacking Annette lessened the pace of its blows. He looked at her, red reptilian eyes staring into her own, then turned away in search of another battle. It didn't take long for Adykon and the others to catch on and form up behind a line of Dracon soldiers armed with shields and swords, but they didn't attack. Within half an hour, the Demonbred had slowed their attacks, and within another 15 minutes, they stopped attacking altogether. The battle continued on the other three sides of the city, but for now, it was halted.
Lucien managed to limp towards the dracon lines. His leg was swollen and the poison had taken a severe toll on him. His reddish scales were pale, his breathing shallow, and his eyes were starting to take on a glazed appearance. It was all he could do to get back to Vespion before collapsing. After a hastily cast spell of "cure wounds", Lucien was sent to a healer to get treatment for the poison.
-
"This is crazy, I can't believe it worked." - Eriol said, not smiling at all and as he only had to block some few more attacks before the Demonbred stopped. - "If omly the solution would have appeared before, then more lives would have been saved."
Arianne stood in front of Eriol and then she embraced him, that seemed to calm down the male Panther, she then let go as Eriol tried to regain his strenghts to go see what happened to Lucien, who was with Vepion at that moment, she then asked the mage as Lucien was taken away. - "Will Lucien be ok?, he sure had a bad face."
Eriol looked back and said before Vespion could reply. - "He did get the solution to this mess with the Demonbred and saved as all... for now, but it would be a shame if he cannot be saved." - Arianne looked at Eriol with a serious (but not angry) face before turning to hear Vespion again.
-
After seeing the fighting come to a stop for the moment Annette slid to her knees and shuddered. "I...I can't believe we stopped them...by not fighting. They were almost unstoppable." She then looked up and asked, "We've caught a breather for a few minutes, we....we should gather up the wounded and get them healed."
-
The demonbred that was using Jake as a weapon let go of jake and threw him into a nearby building. "uhhh......" moaned Jake, Jake got up and struggled to limp away from the demonbred and get back to the house for some healing. Sasha followed Jake and helped him get back to the house. Once at the house they both walked inside, Jake limped over to the couch and he lay down. His shirt was ripped, but not enough to reveal the mark of the prince. Sasha went and got vaessa. Once Sasha had returned with vaessa, vaessa pulled out a healing potion to heal jake bruises and injuries.
meanwhile Rex was in the kitchen organizing some food for everyone with the help of some of his other siblings. They were cooking up a lot of pork just incase any wounded soldiers from outside needed some help. The food smelled delicious!!!. One of Rex's younger brothers were preparing some water that had some minor chemicals in it that would make everyone feel a littlebetter and not feel so down about the situation outside. Once the pork and water were completed Rex and his siblings brought them out and placed them on the table.
Once Jake was healed he got up from the couch and walked over to the table and he sat at one of the cushions next to Sasha. Rex had also sat down at the table but he was sitting next to selturma. "So Selturma.." said Rex "what do think about the war outside???"
-
"I hate it. I wish this would be over soon. This really stinks, you know. I feel so helpless." Selturma shifted her weight from foot to foot, uneasy about the way things were going. Rex's mother tried to keep everyone calm, and to aid in the recovery efforts after the battle was over.
Minbenthac had stood for centuries, proud and strong. Its citizens were not prepared to throw away their independence after all this time. Very few in the city had any love for Dememoras, and the ones who did were little more than traitors.
-
"yeah....." replied Rex "this war sucks because we're probably gonna die.....if not...then well i want to start learning some things like advanced training so i can help fight in any wars after this if we're still alive...". Rex then picked up a piece of pork and he began chewing on it and then he swallowed it. "tasty". Jake had almost finished his bowl of pork, Jake loved the pork that his mom made. Once Jake had finished his bowl he got a second bowl and began eating.
-
Marcus paused, as the cries of the Demonbred stopped outside.. He went over and sank into a chair.. I do hope the worst is over.." He said weakly.. he looked at his mother and father and then over at Rhiga.. "How are you feelingRhiga?' His eyes fell on the egg on the middle of the table, the egg which contained his (as yet) unborn child, and he tensed.. He would give anything, even his life to protect her and thier child..
_ margas sank to a knee.. it had a tremendous effort on hs part to follow Lucien's instructions, but to his amazement, it had actually worked. When he had stopped actively fighting, the Demonbred attacks had slackened then finallt stopped. Marcus looked over at Ilsa and Minna, all three of them were exhausted.. their armor was dented and weighed heavily on their shoulders..
" Lets get back to the others' Minna said wearily..
-
Annette was busily casting minor healing spells towards the soldiers that were more heavily wounded than others. She was also helping a few of them walk back away from the wall. She stopped for a moment as she saw Ilsa and Minna and stepped over to them. "Are you two alright?" she asked with concern
-
"if you could help us back to my castle "Minna said tiredly.. " I'd be much obliged.. I need to rest.. and recuperate.. Have you seen Lucien? She asked.
-Thanks for the concern Annette, but I'll be fine" Ilsa said 'once i get this armor off and wash up I'll be good to go.. we've survived.. barely.. now the concern is tending the injured and honoring the dead.. we lost a large number of Dracons, their losses were quite small in comparison.."
_ i could use a tall stiff drink "Margas cracked.. "in all seriousness I need my left shoulder looked at, and I have a fair number of bruises on my side.. as for my armor, it will need to be burnished and repaired..
-
All of the armies attacking Minbenthac halted. With the Demonbred apparently disabled, the other three forces hesitated to attack. Dememoras saw this from a distance, and he knew that the final phase of the attack must be started. The three dragons, red green and blue, flew towards the center of the city. The fourth leader of the armies, the one who guided the Demonbred, looked up at them, they looked back down, awaiting her signal...
"Vespion, what's happening now?!" Adykon was fed up. This day had seen more wonders and horrors than he had ever imagined seeing in a year. This chaos HAD to end sooner or later...
"Adykon, you're guess is as good as mine. I think we are about to be attacked again, and soon!"
Selturma listened to the fighting at the windows of the house. Something bad was about to happen. She could feel it. "Rex, if enemy soldiers got into here, what could we really do?" They stood little chance if it came to that.
-
Rex looked to Selturma "don't worry, if they came in i'd protect you" said Rex boldly "i'd never let any of them hurt you, not while i'm still breathing". Once Jake had finished his second bowl...he was finally full. "uhh...don't...think...i can....fit any...more in..." moaned Jake "but....it...tastes...so good!...". "Jake your such a pig...." said Sasha as she started giggling " Sasha had a large smile on her face and she whispered somthing into Jake's ear. Jakes eyes went wide open and he too smiled. (you'll never guess what she said, mua ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha haa!!!)
-
Selturma looked over at Jake and Sasha. "What's so funny, you two? There's a war going on outside, people are dying in the hundreds or thousands, and there is a good chance we might not live to see tomorrow!" It was an unusually blunt and realistic assessment of the situation coming from a girl who was known for being very happy and bouncy.
Then again, the happiness was sometimes masked by a tough exterior; this was the case when Selturma had first met the party, and it was like that again now. At least, in this moment, the dracon girl was serious.
-
Annette smiled gently as she handed her staff towards Minna. "Here, you can use my staff as a crutch. And chances are it might heal any lesser wounds you may have." she said as she placed her arm around Margus and helped him towards the center of town.
-
Eriol was walking between the destruction caused by the Demonbred army, thinking along the way. - "I haven't seen anything like this in many years." - He then heard a group of Dracon soldiers of Minbenthac so he decided to go check it out. The soldiers were organizing themselves, gathering their injured and transporting the most critical ones first t owhere healers are. At that time, Arianne appeared.
"This is awful, Eriol." - It was the only thing she was able to say as she is also looking at the destruction caused in the once pride and untouchable city.
"I'd like to say it is over, but we both know that is not true." - Eriol replied to his wife as was helping get a soldier from below some debris.
"But we can try to use all the available time before the next attack." - she said with a serious tone of voice, using a bit of her magic to help push some debris away from the injured soldiers.
Eriol looked back at Arianne as soon as the trapped soldier was back to his partners. - "To stay some time here to help the soldiers was good, but we should find the others, they may have a plan, or an idea of what may happen next." - Arianne nodded and after saying good bye to the soldiers, they went find Adykon and the others.
-
(OOC: Chiletrek is letting me use Arianne for what will happen next.)
Arianne led Eriol through the twisting streets of the city, not really heading in the direction of Adykon and the rest. The battle was largely paused, like the calm before a storm. Minbenthac had withstood much, and now, the hammer was going to drop as soon as a signal was given.
The female panther's pace suddenly slowed down, as if tired. The strain of battle seemed to be too great a burden on her body, especially since she was with child... apparently.
"Eriol, can we stop for a moment. I need to have a rest. The baby is kicking and I feel kinda queasy. ugh..." Arianne sounded tired and rather nauseous, and she was sore from casting so much magic in such a short time.
-
Eriol looked at his wife. - "Ok... ok, let me find a place..." - He looked at a big house, but it looked empty due to the damage received during the battle. - "We should enter here, there are too many soldiers and people walking around, I don't want anyone to disturb you." - As both Gaean Panthers entered, Eriol saw some big couches not far away. - "This place may have been the house of a rich Dracon, or maybe a place for massages, you may sit here Arianne." - he said as he gently helped Arianne to sit down.
-
Arianne found a bed in the house, with no sign of the inhabitants. "Oh gods, I'm so tired." The gaean took off her armor and lay down, trying to recover some of her magical power before the battle resumed. "Eriol, could you come here? You know what its like for me when I cast so many spells so quickly?"
The panther had never cast so many in one day as she had done in the battle so far. It was a testament to her magic that she could do that much, as well as her intelligence. Not everyone could be a skilled mage and a diplomat. Of course, few had the same amount of time to study as Arianne did, as she was a noble, and had few worries about work or money to interrupt her studies.
-
Eriol sat down next to Arianne. - "I am not a mage Arianne, but I have seen and met many and I know how tired they can get..." - he took a closer look at her again now that she removed her armor plates. - "Wow, you look beautiful even when tired." - that was a kind of funny comment on his part, and he doesn't make too many of them. - "I am here for you my love. Just tell me what you want and I'll comply."
-
(OOC: Please keep the posts to two paragraphs. Thanks.)
"Well, first, I want you to take a look at the child, Eriol" As she said this, the gaean pulled up her skirt enough to expose her belly, which was distended and "fat." No, not fat. Heavy. She appeared to be heavy with child, as she had been before with Issac, just as Rhiga had been gravid with an egg until quite recently. For a panther to fight in this condition was unusual, but circumstances forced it.
"Aren't we blessed to have this? Even in the middle of all this fighting, we can still make new life. And I have you to thank for... giving me this child." She said that last part with a knowing smile on her face.
-
Eriol gently placed a hand on Arianne's belly. - "The baby... is kicking." - he said with an unusual gentle smile on his face. After some more moments, he took off his hand. - "I don't have words to express what I really feel... but I can say that I am so sorry you have to be facing these many unfortunate events." - he stood up. - "I lost you once, I will NOT lose you again, so this will be the last battle you'll be participating."
Eriol walked some meters away from Arianne, looking at nowhere in particualr, then, he sighed. - "I was amazed to see that your powers are greater than they were before, and you saved countless lives..." - he turned around to face her again. - "... to be with you, and to be the father of your children has been the greatest blessing I have ever received, even though I don't deserve it." - he came closer to Arianne again and knelt before her. - "Even in these times, new life comes, and I want both out babies to grow up in freedom... but I cannot risk you anymore. Maybe you can go where Selturma is, what do you think?."
-
Minna took the Staff and used it like a crutch as she slowly made her way towards the center of the city, trying to keep pace with Margas who was being supported on one side By Annette "Thank you annette for helping me..' he said with gratitude ' we need to get as many people to treatment before this lull ends..
-
Ilsa walked close behind her husband.. she was tired and the armor weighed on her but the sooner they got somewhere safe the sooner she could relax, if only for awhile.. The tension in the city had only lessened a little, the danger from the armies outside was still very real..
-
Arianne looked up and laughed. "Oh, no, I'll be fine. I'll be able to fight once I've had some rest and a chance to relax. Too much is at stake for me not to fight. The world as we know it hangs in the balance. Well, at least the Dracons' world. If Dememoras conquers the Dracon lands, he will not stop there, I am sure."
Shifting around on the bed, the panther female lifted up her right foot and looked at the padding. Her normally black pads were reddish, sore, and slightly swollen. The battle had taken a toll on her indeed. "Eriol, could you do me a big favor? Take a look at this, please..."
-
Eriol stood up again and sat down in the bed, he then grabbed Arianne's feet, and he said as he began giving a quick massage. - "Well, this happens when you run too much and have the extra weight of a baby... hehehe, don't worry, you just need some little rest."
The male Panther massaged her foot for a while before changing to massage his wife's left foot. - "I think you are right, we do need all the warriors we can get, but it is still far too risky to have you in the front-lines, maybe you should take on a more defensive position, away from the enemies' hordes but still close enough to battle." - he saw her face that was about to reply, but he managed to say. - "Try to accept that Arianne, I am still letting you fight, and the side-lines don't mean you'll do less... believe me, I have been in many combats." - he massaged Arianne's feet for some more moments, and Eriol was kind of happy that the rest made his wife to relax... after all, a relaxed mage is far more effective for long-term combat.
-
"Mmm... that's good. You really are good with your hands, did I ever tell you that? It makes me wish this were 'the season' for that sorta thing." Panthers didn't mate unless it was a certain part of the year, and for this couple, that time had already passed. Gaeans were not at all like humans or dracons in this regard.
Still, they could enjoy romance, no matter what time of the year it was, even if it was limited to touching and kissing. This was a rare opportunity for the two of them. "I'll fight where I am needed, but I'll take it easier for now, my love."
-
"As long as you are safe, then nothing else matters for me." - He said and kissed her. He also wished they were able to have their mating season again... but that doesn't really matter because they are together, and they are fine. He began taking of the armor plates covering his torso as he were still kissing Arianne.
"As soon all of this ends, we will get back home and we will make it better than it was before Sael's ambush on us, you just wait and see." - Eriol is truly determined to survive this war with his wife, and even now he cannot forget the name of Sael Moddan, the one that attacked them and almost killed Arianne, the one that made Eriol to begin his quest. After a couple of seconds he shook his head, and looked at her, forgetting the past and focussing in the present... and the future.
-
Arianne could see where this was going. Some intimate time with her mate before a big battle. No one else was looking, and this could very well be their last time. No wonder they both wished it was mating season. Oh well. Arianne took off her dress and in a moment, was in her undergarments; her clothing could be mistaken for that of a female Dracon's!
Lying on her back, she asked Eriol for one more favor. "My mate, could you do me one more thing? Remember how much back pain I had when I was carrying Isaac? Well, its here again. Could you help me take care of it?" she asked, turning over on her stomach.
-
"This is one reason I was always grateful I am a male." - he said as a joke, and happily that was not enough to spoil the moment. He accomodated himself and positioned over her, with a hand on each of her shoulders, he began massaging, first the shoulders, then he began moving down into her back, slowly. - "I must admit you are really stressed, and that is not good for the baby." - he said as he was moving his hands making circular patterns, and he was thinking that to get her nerves to their normal position could be harder than even to kill some of Dememoras' soldiers.
But he'd rather not make more cooments, he just let him go in the moment. he was still massaging as he got his head lower and kissed Arianne again. - "Let's make these moments to be long-lasting. Because this moment is... perfect." - and Arianne could agree, as it was noticeable how the pain on her back began to dissapear.
-
Arianne let out a long sigh of pleasure, one characteristic of her race.
"Meeeeooooowwwwrrrrooohhhh. That felt good. I really needed that, my love. Come, lie down with me. I want you to relax too." The female gaean put her arms around her love and began tugging at his garments. She was eager to see her mate in a more "wild" state, although even she kept certain parts covered.
The calm outside was eerie. All of the enemies had stopped attacking, as if someone had commanded them to pause, like it was a spectator sport, or some kind of well-regimented game. Truly bizarre. Normal battles didn't happen like that.
-
Eriol still on top of Arianne as she took of his shirt, showing his well-build body. He then let his wife to gently push him and swich positions... literally, as now she began massaging the once assassin's shoulders and back. - "I was indeed missing this. You have no idea how much." - Eriol has met with other women before he even met Arianne, but he never felt as comfortable and relaxed as he feels when Arianne is nearby, even if it is in a normal lunch moment or in a more intimate moment like this one... what he really loves in this world and what he really needs, is to be with her.
The moments passed and Eriol turned around, both panthers were face to face. - "I love you." - that small phrase that came from Eriol showed an unmatched sincerity.
-
"I love you too, my mate" Arianne told Eriol as she continued massaging him. She had been tense, but he was almost as bad. These last few months were not easy on them, especially her. The female panther gestured for her mate to turn over, where she continued to rub his chest.
She removed the last thing she would take off; her top. Her pregnancy had swollen what lay underneath. Milk for the child. It was still a nice thing for Eriol to look at regardless. Of course, even as she say that her mate was as comfortable as she was right now, Arianne had a question that all females ask at some point.
"Eriol, do you think my figure is still good? I know I am heavy with child, but even so... now that you can see almost all of me..." She sounded unsure of herself.
-
Eriol did not fall in what most males fall, into getting nervous or to just say a quick answer. Eriol looked at her eyes and said. - "You body may have changed and it may look differently, but it never lost any of it's beauty. In fact it has a new beauty, because your body shows what is the result of true love." - he said as he placed his right hand on her belly. - "... and I would never ask for anything else. Because it is you, and you are always perfect."
He was curious that she made that question, Arianne is always so sure about herself, he didn't even remember she asked that during her first pregnancy. But he did not care, maybe women do get concern on their looks, specially if they have a second or more pregnancies. - "But if you are truly concerned, well, after our second child borns, you'll get your old shape back, you'll see, I can help you." - he may have made his best effort to be 100% romantic.... but nobody is perfect.
-
Arianne could tell that Eriol was getting very relaxed, like he had been before, back in the palace. He had fallen asleep that time, as she remembered it. Of course, Vaeri was alive and well in those days. So much had changed. So much. "Eriol, I'm almost done, but would you like me to rub your hands and feet before I'm done?"
Eriol had done a lot of fighting and running around. His padded paws were tougher than those of his mate, partly because he was male, but also because, as a warrior, he was more used to being out of doors and walking over hard surfaces. Still, it was a nice way to return the favors she had received from him.
-
Eriol didn't have to answer at all, even though he is not very fond to this, but he is far too relaxed enjoying the company of Arianne so he did not mind... in fact, he enjoyed it. - "Did I ever tell you that you have the hands of a goddess?"
If there is one thing he is sure right now, is that he is so well rested that he is feeling like he could even take on Dememoras and win... maybe it is just the excitment of the moment.
-
Arianne finished the massage, and held her mate in her arms, eyes closed. After a few minutes of kissing and caressing without a word spoken, the two panthers reluctantly pulled their bodies apart from each other.
Arianne looked over her mate. He was strong, tough, and, as she could plainly see, relaxed. "It's good to see that you are in such good shape, my love. Do you feel better now? I do. I would like to rest a bit more. We should talk about important things to us."
-
Eriol looked back at her with a smile. - "I do feel better too, thanks to you. In fact, I guess I may have scared some people of Minbenthac as my so called 'curse' was taken the best of me."
He saw her sitting with her hands crossed as they are over the bed, he placed a hand over hers. - "Is there anything you want to talk about, this seems to be a good moment, as the city appears to be quiet now." - And that was true, the warriors and people of the great city of Minbenthac was using this time to try to gather the maximum of their strenght back, with hopes that would be enough.
-
"Eriol, we should discuss something. I know you love me, Isaac, and..." She gestured to her belly, indicating the one unborn. "Am I the most important thing to you on this quest? If you had to give everything up right now and run away with me, would you? Some days, I-I want to do that. To just run off with my love and go to some safe place and never leave your side."
Arianne took a breath before continuing. "Do you think we should- Eriol? My love, my eyes are up here. No need to look for them on my chest." She wasn't mad, though. Not at all. She found the thought of him still staring at those parts to be amusing, despite seeing them many times before. Of course, her pregnancy made them so much bigger...
-
That last part made Eriol to feel like he was a teenager again. But what she was talking about is a serious matter indeed. - "Arianne... not once but twice, I have lost everything, the second time was when I saw you dying in your palace. When that happened, I began this quest and decided to continue it as I didn't have any other choice... but when you came back, it was like life returned to me and... I'll be honest, I've been thinking in going back home for every single day."
He remained silent for a moment before continuing. - "But I have met people here, they are good people... it must be fun to hear that from me, I know." - he looked at her again. - "... and it will be wrong to just leave them. You have told me that I must follow what my heart says, and I think we should remain here, to see how this ends." - he then gets out of the bed, standing up near Arianne. - "if Dememoras is defeated, then we will return home with no regrets, but if Dememoras wins... then it will be up to us to go home with the warning of this menace."
-
Arianne stood up, and, gently touching her mate's shoulder's, guided him to the bed to sit down. "How can you be so sure we WILL win, my mate?" Arianne was holding her left foot in her hands and was continuing to massage the foot, but otherwise was paying attention to Eriol. "Is it worth risking the child in me? We are going up against a creature whose power is beyond ANYTHING our people know. Wouldn't it be better to live than to die?"
At this point, something began to change. Arianne's scent was different. She seemed thinner and "less pregnant", although that might have been the light playing tricks on Eriol. She began to look more attractive then before, even for her. And that scent was... impossible. It couldn't have been her pheromones. Not now. That time of the year was over. Was this a trick by Dememoras?
-
"I am not sure about Dememoras' power, not until I see him first hand... and that's why I said you should take positions to the sidelines. It will be safer." - Eriol was commenting when he felt something strange, something that indeed should not have happening. He felt attracted, much more than he usually feels for Arianne.... but that cannot be.
Suddenly, Eriol's mind snapped. - "wait a second! something is NOT right here." - he said alarmed as he stood up again, not removing his eyesight from Arianne... he just couldn't look at any other place.
-
"Everything will be fine, my love. Just fine. What's wrong? Are the enemies attacking again? I don't hear anything. Anyway, you shouldn't worry about it. Relax, please. I want you to. That's why I'm showing you myself like that. I know you are interested in how I... look. And I feel the same way for you. I don't want anything to come between us. Not this war, not Dememoras, not even Adykon and the party."
"And Eriol" She added "You can look down at my chest if it makes you happy. I really don't mind. We ARE mates, after all, you and I. I don't feel uncomfortable with you seeing them." She continued to release pheromones, though, getting stronger. Out of season ones too. That was NOT supposed to happen.
-
Eriol's mind was getting confussed, he knows something is wrong, but his body is telling him otherwise. - "What are you trying to do?... weren't you the one that made me think what is right and what is wrong years ago?."
He gave some steps back, still cannot let his eyes to look to another place than to Arianne's eyes, he then thought that it may be something wrong with her... maybe. - "Arianne, we all saw Dememoras' illusion, during the battle... maybe you were cursed with something... we must." - even during a mating season Eriol would have been able to control himself far better, because he knows when it happens and for how long. But this is NOT the mating season.
-
"Nothing is wrong, my love. I feel great, and so do you! I know you love me, and that you... want me. Do you see something wrong? Smell something? I can see you are tense again. Tell me, what is bothering you? Is your mind telling you to do one thing, but your body telling you to do another?" Arianne's tone was sweet and sensual, even more so than usual. Her every word dripped with sensuality, though, which was not normal for her.
Something was really, really weird here. Was this a curse? A blessing? Both? How did this happen?
-
Meanwhile, Margas managed to reach the safety of Minna's palace where he was rushed to a waiting bed. Ilsa, took a seat next to him, her eyes not leaving his. underneath his armor , she could see a number of deep purple bruises the results have having the armor driven into his skin.. "those look like they hurt..' she said sadly " It could be worse.. I've sustained worse..' Margas replied, showing a small smile..
Minna set the staff aside-it had indeed healed some of her lesser injuries- and rested against a pillow..the battle had left her drained.. she would be in shape to fight again for at least a couple hours.
-
This are getting grim for Eriol, as he cannot get to think clearly. - "S-Something is wrong with you... mating season is over you cannot be... smelling like this... you cannot." - he grabbed his head with both hands as he closed his eyes and attempted to walk backwards, but a wall prevented that.
"This must be something Dememoras did!" - Eriol opened his eyes again, he began thinking about taking her to see a healer, or a mage, or both... but he cannot get to be able to even walk without thinking in the form of her body, her scent, her eyes. But he was not able to resist. - "I KNOW THIS IS YOUR FAULT DEMEMORAS!. STOP MESSING WITH ME AND MY WIFE!" - he yelled in a vain attempt to do something to clear his mind.
-
"Calm down, Eriol. You need to relax. Really. How can you be so upset near me? Don't I calm you down? I know that seeing me like this can make you... excited, but if you would just come over here, we can spend some time together." The ruse wasn't working.
Arianne decided to try something different. "It's the pheromones, isn't it? Why do you keep trying to fight it? I know what you want. Everything is fine. You are with your mate, my love. Do you know how many panthers would love to be in this situation, with an attractive mate who loves them?"
-
Eriol looked at Arianne, but with every word coming from her mouth, the less she sounded like herself. - "You've got to be kidding me. We... You are out of the mating season for this year, this is unnatural." - Eriol's mind was right, it is unnatural for Arianne to be emitting the pheromones, specially since she is pregnant!. But his instincts tell him otherwise, after all, the mating season is the only chance for most Gaean species to have children.
The male Gaean panther saw how Arianne began walking towards him, still looking like if she were "less pregnant", but the only light inside the room is the sun light that manage to get through holes and damages sections of the roof. He then suddenly extended his right arm as a sign of warning - "Please, don't come any closer... something is happening here, something that we may need help to figure out and solve because I am not a Mage or a Healer."
-
Arianne could see that she was not getting though to him. Standing up, she looked very annoyed. "Eriol, I'm under no curse, there is nothing wrong and- oh, why do I bother? Don't you think it was odd that your beloved wife should come back from the dead miraculously and on such short notice, be able to find you here, in a place hardly known of back where we come from? Didn't you find that in the least bit suspicious?"
Taking a breath, Arianne continued. "In any case, it was Dememoras who sent me to you. He gave me life, and put me on the path toward finding you. In exchange, I have to get you to join his cause. He also 'fixed' me so that we can have a family whenever we want. He can do so much for you, my love. Do you want to be free from the curse? He can make that happen. Do you want to see our son again? He can make that happen too. All you need to do is to stop fighting him and join us."
-
Eriol looked at his wife, if she really is his wife. - "What made you do this? the Arianne I met and fell in love with was not like this." - he sighed as he leaned against the wall. - "It looks like you made a deal with that demon Dememoras, but the Arianne I knew would not do that because she was better than that... she was stronger than me or anybody else."
Then, the Gaean Panther sighed. - "I cannot believe this. It is all so.... unreal." - he paused for a moment. - "I am no hero, in fact, I am a bad guy because I have done things that could horrify most members of the party we belong to. But still... what makes you think I could join Dememoras?. He is worse than the guy that caused the slaughter at the end of the last Great War 18 years ago." - Eriol remembered the final day of the last Great War because he was a witness there, even if he was still 11, and he still feels that half his soul died that day... as two great friends died that day too.
-
"I am Arianne, my love. How can you deny that? My scent, my looks, my voice, and the fact that I know you should be proof enough of who I am. I know the secrets of your heart, Eriol, and you know mine. How can you say I'm not real?" Unfortunately for the one claiming to be Arianne, her belly continued to shrink, as if there was no child in her at all.
There was a ruse at work, and it was starting to fail. Eriol was no fool. "We can go away, you know. There's no need to argue. Most panthers would love to live a life of ease with their mates and families, apart from all the bloodshed and strife... and after such a hard life, you deserve it, my mate."
-
Eriol looked at Arianne, his eyes getting sharper. - "You are right... most Panthers would like that, but I am not one of them, not if my mate is becomming in some sort of a fake... not even a shadow of what the real Arianne is and that I loved for above everything!."
At this time, Eriol was a mess of mixed emotions, he doesn't know what to believe but his mind is beginning to gain the control of his actions, above of what his heart may want to say. - "We will handle this mess, I will go get a Healer. So you will stay here until I get back." - he said with a very serious tone of voice, like he was ordering Arianne to stay where she is as he began walking, cautiously, to where his things are.
-
Arianne stood up and cast a spell, generating a large gust of wind, which knocked Eriol down the ground, lying on his back. She looked at him, now appearing to no longer have a child in her at all. "I can't let you get a weapon, my love, and you can forget about your armor, too. If you don't trust me, I see no reason why I should either. Do you think a healer can just snap his fingers and "undo" this? Nothing can, dear. There's nothing to heal."
Moving around to Eriol, she put her right foot on his chest. "Don't try to resist, dear. I'll have us in Dememoras' court in no time. But first, I need to figure out how to keep you... comfortable for the trip." Arianne was about average in terms of strength for a female of her kind. Eriol was much stronger than she was. If this truly was Arianne, the female looking down on the black-furred warrior must have known that she could not hold him down by her strength alone; she counted on Eriol's unwillingness to hurt his mate to prevent him from doing anything against her.
-
Eriol shook his head as he got an uneasy landing due to Arianne's gust spell, and as she put a foot on his chest he said. - "Well, dear, I truly suggest you get that foot away." - his tone of voice was not less serious, nor his eyes less sharper.
As this was happening, the male Gaean was thinking in what could be his move. - "I-I cannot just try an attack, what if she is really her." - he raised a bit, leaning on both his forearms. - "but if she is a fake, I must still be careful, she is still a powerful mage." - He then decided to speak. - "Will you get that foot away now? because I want to save your time on trying to find a way to get me to see Dememoras under your terms."
-
Arianne looked down at her mate, wondering if this was true, or just a ruse. "Do you really want to join Dememoras now, my love, or are you just telling me what you think I want to hear?" The female panther extended the claws on her foot, biting into Eriol's skin, although there was no intention to cause harm, yet.
"I think I know what to do. Regardless of whether you are telling me the truth or lying, I still have to bring you back to the master, alive or otherwise. It makes no difference if you are telling the truth or lying to me. His armies will take us to him when we go there. I suppose it would be easier if you came along willingly, but I don't see that happening." Extending her claws on his chest so that the began to actually cut him, she continued "I'd like to believe you, my love, but it would be safer if I just subdued you now and dragged you unconscious before the dark master.
With that, Arianne swiped her foot back, cutting Eriol's chest with her claws, leaving four bloody lines on his chest all the way down to his stomach.
-
Eriol yelled in a combination of pain and anger as he quickly moved his left hand and grabbed Arianne's ankle before it can do more damage - "GET OFF ME TRAITOR!!". - he moved his hand away making her to fall in the process.
He got up, making a defensive stance, but keeping his left hand pressing on his chest. The damage was not big, but it is painful, so he is making his stand just using his right hand. - "That was a treacherous move, dear, but it will not be that easy to take me see your 'Dark Master'." - he made sure to pronounce the word 'dear' very sarcastically. He is getting convinced that she is anything but the real Arianne, but he is not fully convinced yet, however, he will make his best to prevent more damage made to himself from whatever he is now facing to.
-
"Arianne" had fallen to the ground. Whoever, whatever she was, she was angry now. This wasn't supposed to be a difficult mission. Looking up, she could see Eriol above her, also angry, and violent. She knew of his curse, that of the Dha'ar. It made his family violent to the point of being murderous.
Luckily, she had one advantage. Since this was not really his mate, the being was not bound by the same rules as her kind. Panther gaeans were not "in season" for mating at this time, but this creature could emit pheromones even now, hoping to take Eriol's mind off of violence. "Would you really harm a female who smells like this?" She asked him, blasting out pheromones artificially. "Admit it, our kind lives for times like this, when we can breed. Everything else is but a means to that end. You can still join me with Dememoras if you just give up the fight now. Otherwise, this will be nasty."
-
Eriol began feeling the pheromones, that and his doubts to attack her begin affecting him, but he is not like all Panthers... or like any other Gaean - "Don't dare to understimate me." - he was angry, really angry, he even began ignoring the pain caused by the attack on his chest and stomach and he began walking towards her, his eyes were fixed on hers.
But the worst part came now, as he noticed that "she" no longer shows any signs of pregnancy. - "I will make you pay, witch." - That term was been used very offensively since she was (or pretended to be) a mage. The curse she was referring to began to take over him, more than the pheromones she is emitting.
-
"Arianne" realized that his killer instinct was stronger than his mating instinct. There was only one way to do this; by force. Even the sight and smell of his mate would not calm him down, especially because he realized, this was not really his female. "Alright, Eriol, you want to do this the hard way? We shall!" The female panther flipped backwards and sprang to her feet.
Summoning her magic, she blew the pheromones into his face, hoping that it would distract him. It had a physical reaction, as she could see, but Eriol was not deterred mentally, so he kept advancing on her.
-
"So, this is all you got, fake?" - Eriol said as he began grinning evilly. - "For someone who said knew all my secrets you are truly disappointing me." - he didn't even bothered to get a weapon or his armor, for the look on his face, he is wanting to fight with his bare hands.
He walked and stopped right in front of her. - "If you truly know me, then why I am still alive or, at least, conscious?" - surprisingly, he waited for her reaction, even though he could just attack her, but he is still keeping in mind about "her" wind powers.
-
"I would knock you unconscious, if I could figure out how!" The being posing as Arianne sent a gust of wind from behind the male panther, sending him forward, as the female kicked him in the head! Eriol wasn't knocked out, but it slowed him somewhat. Now it was time for him to act, and for "Arianne" to avoid the attack.
Outside, things were still calm. No one noticed a pair of nearly clothesless panthers fighting it out in an abandoned house.
-
Eriol shook his head. - "Ok, that was a good move, my dear." - He is again been sarcastically as he said that. he stood up again. As he did that he grabbed two rubbles from the debris of the destroyed house he and his opponent are; He then sprinted, throwing one of the rubbles, but she easily dodged it. But just as "Arianne" started a new spell, Eriol threw the second piece of rubble, making her to fail the attack.
When that happened, Eriol stopped only after his right fist reached "her" face. He saw her fall to his left after a very painful strike. - "Do you have any idea of the pain I am feeling right now?. The pain you have from my punch is just like tickles compared to what you have been doing all these months." - he didn't move from his position this time, but he never took his sight away from "her".
-
"Arianne" looked up at Eriol. She lay on her back, with the angry male still standing near her. "You want pain, Eriol? I'll give you some!" With that, she bounded up off of the ground and kicked Eriol between his legs before he could react. Then "Arianne" summoned a wind to lift up some rubble, before directing it at the male panther.
Eriol had only a moment to react before he would be hit by the debris...
-
Eriol was fast, but not fast enough due to the sneak attack he just sufered. Still, he was able to dodge many of the incoming debris, but not all of them. The debirs plus the gust made him fall some meters behind of his previous position, making him fall heavily.
He was able to stand up, using his left hand to help him as he used his right hand to clean some blood coming from his mouth. - "I am impressed, for a fake you are strong." - he said trying to taunt her so she can lose some control diue to the anger "she" is already feeling. But Eriol is injured, as there is blood coming from his arms, legs and torso due to the impacts he suffered. - "if you want me, como and get me, Copy." - he said with a grin. ignoring the pain he began running in circles around "her", the circle is as big as the distance from her, to the point she made him fall, some 5 meters radius. That way it is difficult for "Arianne" to make a successful attack. He finally took enough speed to make a big jump towards her, joining both hands he punched her, hard. As she fell down a couple of meters away, he is hoping that would be enough to stop "her".
-
"Arianne" used her wind magic to summon a concentrated gale of wind, pushing Eriol back. By now, neither panther was badly hurt, although both of them were sore and tired. "Eriol, what are you trying to accomplish? You trying to kill me? Knock me out? Make me pay for offering you a life of ease with me in Dememoras's court?!"
Eriol did not see that behind him, the being posing as Arianne was raising one of his swords using a column of air. Her power over the winds was great, and she could even use them to hold items aloft.
-
Eriol lowered his guard for a moment. - "I refuse the offer because I understood everything now... I fell in this trap like if I was a kid or something, and that is because of my curse... Dememoras got to know about it and sent you to take advantage of it... because he knew how I would fell so fond about you that you could easily numb my killing instincts. Like if you were the real Arianne." - he paused for a second. - "You look like her, you have her scent... but you are not her."
"I cannot kill you, please, don't make me kill you." - he looked directly at her eyes again. - "You can leave now and I'll invent a story to the others, I could tell them you had a glorious death, so they will not hate you... like I am hating you know."
-
"You poor kitty. Not only I am not Arianne, I'm not even a Gaean. I don't know what you know about mimics, but that is what I am; an asexual clay construct with power to replicate anyone's appearance and abilities within a certain range. I was sent to read your memories as you slept, and created a perfect replica of your mate. Oh, and that child you thought you begat on me? Never real? Our love? Fake. All those times I was nice to you? Trickery. Dememoras has many more like me, so even if I perish, I can be replaced."
It was all clear now, plain as day. Her words sank into the warrior. Tricked. Fooled. Lied to.
-
Arianne... no, a mimic, a copy has spoken. All the moments they've spent together were nothing but a lie, everything was turn into nothing. For that fraction of a second, Eriol life became a void as he felt so used. After that fraction of a second, the male Panther closed his fists together and he bared his teeth... what was shock, it became anger, no... it was more than that, he was mad, beyond all rage.
"You are... nothing, you were always nothing and I'll make sure you'll return to be what you really are... NOTHING!." - Eriol then roared, the strongest roar he has ever made, he then looked at the mimic, his eyes were filled with rage as he began running towards her, baring his hand claws and aiming for it's neck. - "DIE!!!!"
-
"You first, Eriol!" With that, the sword behind the panther hurtled towards him, powered by the wind spell cast by the mimic. The deadly blade drew closer and closer to the warrior, and it seemed for an instant that time was slowing down. The sound of the wind breaking against the blade could be heard by Eriol's sensitive ears...
... and far away, a female archmage was watching the battle with close attention. Every fraction of a second was critical...
-
Eriol was running to what appeared was blind rage but, at one second, his mind snapped clear and heard a strong wind coming from behind, it was not air from inside the house because it's walls were still stable enough, so it must have been....
He was less than two meters away from the Mimic but Eriol, instead of using his right foot to impulse himself and keep running, he used it to quickly move to his right. It was then when he saw his blade and realized that he was barely able to evade it.
-
The sword headed swiftly for "Arianne." The mimic was still on the ground, but could see the blade, it was all she could to to spring up to "her" feet before it hit her, impaling her through the chest!
The false panther gaean writhed in pain, then fell to the ground, still thrashing about for a couple of minutes before finally stiffening. Then, in a matter of seconds, the beautiful, graceful form of Arianne melted away, to reveal a clay humanoid with no hair, no skin, and no face save for a pair of glowing green eyes, which soon ceased glowing and the mimic finally expired. There were no last words.
-
Eriol stood up after jumping to evade the blade and slowly went to the place the Mimic expired. He was there in silence for some moments before getting his blade, that was on the ground.
He began walking to where his armor and the rest of his clothing were, but he then turned his face again to the place that thing died, he sighed before returning his head back to where he is going. After some moments, he was ready to leave that house. - "This would surely affect the honor of a warrior, to feel as used as I am feeling right now. But I am an assassin, I have no honor." - That was only half true, as he remembered that he left his life of assassin when he met Arianne, the real Arianne and that he had a child with her: Isaac. But until he manages to get back to his son again, he may be forced to be an assassin again... until this war against the demon Dememoras is over.
But he just sighed just before he left the house and as he looked up to where the Sun is. - "Dememoras lost a weapon, so I guess he'll strike in earniest now, we are all so screwed." - He thought as he made a sarcastic smile, and he began walking the streets of Minbenthac, he may get to find the others.
-
ilsa sat down on a bench in Minna's palace. she munched from a basket of grapes that sat on the table beside her.. her husband Margas was elsewhere, probably having his armor cleaned and polished.. she figured..
_
Quite a battle eh?' Minna said looking at her as she entered the room. "we barely survived..
_ Its not over though' Ilsa said heavily " there are still thousands of enemies outside those walls..if anything this is like the calm in the middle of the storm.. How is lucien holding up..
_
Alright.. I just saw him walking around a little bit ago.. strange how this is now my castle.. technically Lucien's since females can't own property" Minna replied, she looked tired.. "we're heading back out in a few minutes, rest up while you can' she said, patting her friend on the shoulder then turning and leaving the room.
-
Lucien entered the room, still wearing his armor. He had seen a healer for the injuries he had sustain in battle, but still had a bit of a limp. Regardless, he would go back into battle as soon as the violence began again. He was quite surprised to see the females taking a most unusual break in the middle of a conflict which could decide the fate of his city, so he had to be firm with them.
"Girls! What are you doing?! This fight isn't over yet! We have no time to relax in here! Minna, I know you are my one and only wife for the time being, so it is as your husband that I tell you to come with me to get back out there! Come on!"
-
we were just recuperating' Minna replied as she walked past him and headed towards the palace enterence 'But you do have a point Lucien.. lead the way.." she added as Margas entered the room his armor was cleaner, but still bore some scratches and dents ' Girls! now's not the time to rest! The final assault could be coming at any time! we must get back to the walls" He looked at Lucien and shook his head as he caught up to him "Females he muttered "Love em.. but they are strange creatures.."
-
marcus looked over at Rhiga from the doorway. he had been watching the door for the past half hour.. a tension gripped his movements
_ come on in Marcus1 starring at the door like that makes both your father and I nervous" his mother said from the table, where she and Marcus' father and taken to munching on some small snacks that were in a small jar on the counter near the table. periodically his mother would carefully stroke the egg on the table, which contained her unborn grandchild.
-
Rhiga looked out of the house. It was still quiet. Too quiet.
"Marcus, my love. What do you think is going on? Why would they just stop?" Truth was, events were no longer in Rhiga's hands. Nothing she could do would make things go any quicker.
The matter was brought to a head, though. The one who had acted as a beacon for the demonbred army was knocked out of commission. The mimic who had pretended to be "Arianne" was gone, and with it, so was the general for that army. Its thoughts no longer gave orders to the horde, so the demonbred no longer advanced. Without any provocations, they simply would not attack in their current, calm state.
-
I have no idea, save that things could get messy again at any time" marcus said from the doorway, where he had not moved..he looked over Rhiga 'How are you feeling my love?"
_
these little bread rolls are good" His father said munching on one..
'yes the castle baker sends me some every now and then as a thank you for the massage i give his wife..he says she is.. more perky.. after my massages..' Marcus allowed a brief smile..
-
"I'm fine, my husband." The rogue thought about it for a moment, and then; "Well, I've got some tension in my neck, but all things considered, that isn't so bad."
Adykon and Vespion stayed on the walls, anticipating an imminent attack. The cleric noticed that the demonbred were just standing there, looking calm, disoriented, and not very dangerous. Weird. They had been violent and raging just a short while ago. Something fishy was going on.
-
Eriol arrived to the city walls, he saw soldiers preparing in the best way they could. He then decided to climb the walls using a nearby stair and then he began looking at what is outside. - "The Demonbred." - he muttered to himself.
That army was quiet, almost like if they have no idea what to do so they are just calm there. - "They look like they have no leader. I thought that Dememoras was that, but if he cannot be here, then they need a field commander. I would not be amazed if 'she' had something to do about this." - At this point, there could not be many things that could really be a surprise the Gaean Panther. He then saw to his right and found Adykon and Vespion at a distance, but he is not in the mood to give any explanations just yet, they will know soon enough, though.
-
Suddenly, a yellow flare went up into the sky, sent by Dememoras himself. No one had seen where it was from, but he probably teleported it in. Regardless, the effect was instant and immediate. All of the enemies save for the demonbred charged, and the three dragons attacked the party!
The red dragon was the first to charge, aiming himself at Adykon, folding his wings, and swooping down on the warrior!
-
Minna Ilsa and Margas rushed to the Wall just as the offensive reached the wall of the city 'Here we go again girls! Be ready! " Marcgas yelled as he raced up to the city rampants, his wife and her friend close behind.. Above them the three huge dragons soured down through the defenders picking some off the walls and carrying them up in the air, and either tearing them apart, or simply dropping them and letting the fall in their death. the screams made Ilsa shudder, it was never easy seeing someone die..
_
Would you like me to rub your back, dear?' Marcus said with a smile temporarily forgetting the carnage that was going on outside.
-
Instants before Adykon could react, he was saved. It was not by his team mates, and it wasn't by the army of Minbenthac. It wasn't even due to the enemy's incompetence. Appearing between the Dracon warrior and the Dragon was a visage of Dememoras himself!
The red dragon screeched to a halt and landed on a building near the walls, looking pointedly at the apparition of his master. This image of Dememoras was only about as large as a Dracon, and its voice was muted to the point that it did not sound the tenth part as powerful as the one behind it. Regardless, it still spoke in a menacing tone that all around could hear, even though it was just a projection. The wards around Minbenthac were powerful, and normally prevented outside spells from coming in, be they teleportation, abjuration, conjuration, or something as simple as a magical means of projecting one's image and voice into the city. Crystal balls and means of direct magical communication could still be used, but an outright image appearing in the city streets was another story.
It was a sign of Dememoras's power that he could breach the wards of Minbenthac without any outside aids or assistance. He was here to address the three surviving commanders of the armies he had sent. The red dragon looked at the image in the eye, but held his tongue. Anything the master said was to be obeyed without question or hesitation.
"My minions! We have tested the defenses of Minbenthac, and they are weaker than we had expected. Nevertheless, I can sense that one of our armies is not performing as well as planned. Therefore, I order you all to pull back and teleport to base. Victory is impossible without the Demonbred joining in the attack. Dragons! You will lead the Demonbred back to the teleportation sites with the rest of the armies, and depart. It was not the enemy's strength, but the incompetence of one who is beneath me who is responsible for this. To those who dare oppose us, know but this: the attack you have seen today was but a test run. You have been given a rare opportunity in this world. I grant you a second chance. If your city submits to be peacefully, it shall be spared. Resist a second time, and you shall all be ground to dust. Using the least of my armies, I have brought one of the most power Dracon cities to its knees. You know as well as I do that I wish to see no one who can serve me be killed, so long as they pledge their undying loyalty to me, the undying God! As for you, Adykon... you still have a part to play in this drama. Your survival only continues because I will it; because I can still see a purpose for you, the same way I can see a purpose for a tool or a weapon. The moment you are no longer potentially useful to me is the moment you shall die. I have spoken!"
The apparition faded away. Vespion, who was standing next to Adykon and the image of Dememoras, could feel that a similar vision appeared in the rest of the city, having been projected in over 500 locations at the same time! Hearing the words of their master, the entire dark army simply turned around and began to leave. There were no stragglers, no pockets of resistance, and if they were demoralized or disappointed by their 'defeat', they didn't show it.
-
Meanwhile...
Back at Rex's house Sasha interrupted before Jake could say something. Sasha leaned over and whispered something into Selturmas ear. "should we go up stairs and talk? you know girl time?". Jake felt annoyed that he didn't get to speak so he stole a piece of pork from Sashas plate while she spoke to Selturma.
-
Selturma listened the the events outside. While the sound was muted due to the thick walls of the house, it sounded like the battle was ending, and since vicious dracon warriors weren't pouring into the house to slaughter all of them, it must have ended reasonably well for Minbenthac's forces. At the very least, the city would survive another day. There was time to relax. So far, the war hadn't forced her to grow up too quickly.
"Alright. We can do that. Sure. Let's go upstairs." Selturma went upstairs, practically bouncing up ever step, but beneath the external happiness, she felt uncertainty; where was Adykon? What would happen to her city? Was the battle really won?
-
Once Selturma and Sasha were upstairs they walked over to a brown coloured bed with dark red sheets. Sasha jumped onto the bed and she lay down on her stomache. Sasha felt completely relaxed after eating dinner. She felt happy that the battle had ended as well. while she lay, she fidgeted a little to make herself a little more comfortable on the bed. Sasha then moved her right hand through her hair so that it wasn't over her face. Sasha stretched her legs and then she crossed them over each other. She was finally comfortable. "so Selturma, now that the battle is over..what do you want to talk about..boys?!?" sasha said enthusiastically "ways to annoy jake and rex?!?" Sasha began to feel really excited "theres so many options!!!" Sasha smiled
-
Selturma lay down on her stomach as well, making sure that her loincloth was still on straight. "I'd like to talk about the boys, but I don't want to talk about annoying them. Really, Sasha, I'm concerned. What's gonna happen if this war doesn't end well? Will Rex and Jake have to go off and fight one day and we never see them again?"
Shifting her weight, Selturma made herself more comfortable. She moved her right hand to her left horn, and removed a piece of dust that had somehow gotten stuck on it. There was a brief scraping sound as her claw scratched against the horn.
-
"that would be horrible..."replied sasha as she bowed her head down a little. She then looked back up and said "well at least they're still here...hmmm....maybe we should spend more time with them so that we can relax and forget about the whole situation..maybe we can invite Jake and Rex up for truth or dare? i reckon it'd be fun" Sasha smiled and she got up off the bed carefully trying not to slip onto the smooth wooden floor. Sasha turned around once she was standing up and waited for a response from Selturma.
-
"Alright. I know Rex is here, at least. We should spend some time with the boys. I know that war and crisis can draw people closer together, but... I don't want to just do stuff with them because we are in trouble; I want to spend time with them because we... we... well, we like them."
Selturma looked a bit embarrassed as she continued.
"I mean, like them like them. Not just... oh. I don't know how you feel about Jake, but Rex... I really, really like him. He knows it, but it is hard for me to say it."
-
" i feel the same way about Jake too, Jake knows that but i don't think he realizes just how much i actually do like him. We've both been together for a long time but i think that he is beginning to understand just how much. Anyway, let's go get the boys and play truth or dare" Said Sasha, Sasha smiled and she began walking to the door, she opened it and walked down the stairs and into the living room. There Rex and jake were sitting down on a couch just relaxing. Jake noticed Sasha had arrived downstairs. "hey Sasha, what's up?". "selturma and i were both wondering if you two boys would like to come upstairs to play truth or dare with us?" replied Sasha. "sure why not" replied Rex. Rex and Jake both got up off the chair and followed Sasha upstairs into the bedroom.
-
The four of them were now upstairs in the bedroom. Rex, Sasha, Jake, and Selturma were sitting on two beds, two per side. The humans were on one side, and the Dracons were on the other. Each pair was facing the other. Selturma was the first one to start the game.
"Jake, how did you get your metal arm?" She asked the human.
-
"well when i was seven my family took me to a fair a couple of miles away from our farm. Once we had arrived their was a magic show, it was so cool....until something went wrong....One of the magicians screwed up and one of the potions had exploded at the front stage. Anyone near it died instantly....but me...i was just far enough away where it only took my arm..." Jake looked at his arm then he looked back up "luckily, the other magicians were wealthy enough to help my parents buy me a new arm....well i guess it's my turn now to ask you a question, if you could do anything in the world and not have any consequences, what would it be???"
-
"Dragons appearing... and going away as fast as they came, Dememoras appearing. What else could happen?" - Eriol was thinking as he began to climb down the stairs he used to get to the top of the city walls some moments ago, when suddenly he began feeling some pain, the pain caused by his recent fight with his "wife", but only now he is feeling the toll of that combat as the family "curse" on him has diminished enough as the immediate danger passed. - "I think that Mimic is still causing trouble." - he thought as walked, ignoring the pain.
After some moments, he saw Vespion in the distance, with Adykon. Eriol knows that Vespion is mage and a healer, so he reached them in the tower. - "It looks like Dememoras wants to get things into the next level. So his next attack will be indeed bigger." - he said as he got closer to the Dracons. - "Vespion, can you lend me a hand with some injuries I got?" - The Dracons could notice that he was no longer "snapped up", but there was still something strange on him, something happened to him.
-
Without a word, Vespion ran over to Eriol, placed his hands on the panther's chest, and after muttering a few words, a light blue glow emanated from the cleric's hands. Within a moment, the wounds were healed, and the cleric was free to ask what was happening.
"Eriol, I could sense that something had happened between you and Arianne. I dread to ask, but... she died, didn't she? She tried to betray you and there was a fight, wasn't there? I am sorry for your loss, my friend." Vespion hadn't seen it, but as a mage, he could feel it when someone with magic died. The whole truth of the story was even worse than Vespion could anticipate.
Meanwhile...
Selturma thought about Jake's words. "I would like... hmm. I'd like a large family. With lots of boys. There would have to be girls too, but the oldest would have to be a boy. Yeah... a brave young man, who would make me proud. And since you told me it could be mine with no consequences, there wouldn't be any problem feeding them. That would be nice. Who wants to go next?" This topic was clearly a sensitive one, but the thought of it was intriguing to the girl, to say the least. Rex noticed that her tail wagged back and worth as she spoke of the family she wanted.
-
Eriol felt much better after Vespion cured his wounds, but after hearing his question, he knew he has to tell what happened. - "The sooner the better." - he said as he sighed. - "My wife is dead, she was killed many months ago back in the lands I come from." - He frowned as he kept looking at both Vespion and Adykon. - "The woman you met was not my wife, she was a Mimic sent by our good friend Dememoras."
The Panther was angered. - "After the battle, she took me into a house, to have some intimate time, that is when she revealed herself as she tried to lure me to join Dememoras... But the frightening part was that if that thing wouldn't have changed it's behavior, I may have joined." - he sighed again. - "... that darned Dememoras, wanting me to join him by making promises of get my revenge and to rejoin my son." - He took a look at Vespion. - "The death you felt, was me killing that Mimic."
-
Minna , Margas And Ilsa headed back to Minna's palace.. as Margas headed in, he felt Ilsa squeeze his claw "Are you ready for some private time? She whispered in his ear "If you catch my drift" "My dear, it is not even nightfall yet.. patience.. haven't you done this before? Margas asked
_ No i haven't" Ilsa admitted and Margas turned and looked at her.. "wow.. i had thought that, being an attractive female, you would.. have had experience.." Ilsa shook her head..'Your father sheltered you..more than most..but I promise.. tonight will be an experience you won't forget Ilsa.." Margas nuzzled her as they headed into the guest room to relax..
_ Marcus opened the door and headed out into the street, which was choked with debris from the battle. His own house needed repairs: there were sections of the roof that had pieces knocked off "You can come out my darling, its over" He called into to Rhiga..
-
Rhiga looked at the mess just outside of her door. The rubble in the streets was pretty bad, not nice to walk through, especially for a race without footwear. Still, it could be cleared soon enough.
"Ugh. I can't believe they did that. Still, Minbenthac hasn't fallen, and we still have a roof over our heads. I'd say we are fairly well-off, given what could have happened." Rhiga stepped gingerly into the streets, wearing her loincloth and top. Touching the ground with her foot, she couldn't feel any small pieces of broken glass or fine debris. Most of the wreckage was large and easy to transport. It was good news.
"I don't think clearing this will be too hard, my love. I am certain that cleanup crews will be around at some point." Rhiga imagined that the king or the nobles would organize workers to clear out the debris, and that it would become politicized and there would be fighting over jobs by the poor, and the payments made to the cleaners would become a means of buying their loyalty in the inevitable struggle for influence and power. Politics as usual.
-
The politics never ends' Marcus shook his head as he came over to her, as his parents slowly joined them outside."But we've survived, for now, we can thank the gods for that" Marcus added.."Cleanup will be messy.. but since when is it not?"
_ Celinia came in to the room where Minna was.. she had now been a servant for a couple months and she was getting used to the job.. she now had a new master, Lucien. "Lady Minna, can i get you anything.." She asked pleasantly. " ah Celinia! you look very nice today! um.. could you get me and my husband a pair of drinks" Celinia bowed " any preference? Er, wine for me and mead for Lucien." Minna said from the sofa she was resting on.."Yes Milady.. dinner will be ready in couple hours.."Celinia said nodded at her mistress and heading out of the room.
-
"Ah, I see that you already know my favorite drink, my love." Lucien had entered the room, still wearing his armor. He had cleaned it up a bit, but it still smelled of blood. "I was injured in the fight, my dear, but don't worry too much; the healer's magic was enough to reduce what could have been serious to nothing more than a big bruise."
Meanwhile...
Vespion stood quiet for a long moment. Arianne was gone. No, she had been gone for a long time now; it was her mimic that had died. The cleric knew that such things were possible, and in some cases, even probable. One did not expect this to happen to the ones closest to oneself, and Vespion had been lucky that he was never tricked in this way. Eriol had not been so lucky.
"I am sorry, my friend. Don't let it get you down, though. Instead, this should remind you of what we are fighting against."
-
Lucky guess really" Minna turned to look at him, his armored was still stained with blood in places, but nothing that some more cleaning would not get rid of ' are you going to be bringing in any of your personal servants Lucien, according to my father it is custom for the male to add some of his personal servants to the household..'Minna said ' I'm happy we survived but this was just a test run for Dememoras.. we need to find some way to stop him.." Minna sighed, and laid herself out on the couch, the effects of the mana potion beginning to wear off.. "ugh.. the fight ended just in time.. I'm starting to get quite tired.. so, my dear.. what are your plans for when this whole mess is over?"
-
"I'll add my own servants in time, dear. This place is very nice. I'm glad your father gave it to me. Oh, I know you used to 'own' it, but you know as well as I do about our laws; females cannot own land after all. Still, if this will be our primary residence, I'll have to run things here. If we live in another place, I'll let you keep running things the way they were."
Minna's palace was quite large, but was a bit smaller than Lucien's parent's estate. Of course, this 'golden house' was nowhere near as large as Tallon's palace, let alone that of the king's. Lucien was not a cruel male, but as a husband, he was still untested. Would he be permissive? No. The Dracon noble would keep his wife close, and in time, would add another one. There was an agreement not to take a new one for a while, but this had no legal weight to it, and he could always renegotiate.
-
Rules are rules, however much I dislike them, I have no power to change them.." Minna replied. She had a rebel streak in her, one that had strained relations between herself and some of her fathers wives for a period of time. Minna knew that streak of hers would lead to clashes with Lucien, clashes she was almost certainly going to lose, almost all the time.. she was legally his property now.. unless for some reason she was sent away, which was extremely unlikely.. and besides she didn't want to do anything that reflected poorly on her father, having your daughter sent away to another noble household, would do just that.. apart from the legal ramifications, the damage to her reputation would be quite considerable..
-
(OOC: Female Dracons are NOT the property of their husbands. You said you would revise that, Nick.)
"Don't worry about it, my dear. I am no tyrant, and I'll make sure you are always kept in comfort." Lucien put a hand on his wife's arm, feeling her soft skin. "I must say, you've kept up appearances very well during this war. I'm very impressed, Minna. He looked over her beautiful form, her graceful curves, and her soft, pale belly. "Could you sit up for a moment? I want to see something. You don't have any tattoos or other markings, do you?"
Lucien considered getting Minna something, but he wanted her input first, and he wanted to see if it would look good on her.
-
"hmmm...how about we ask some 'dare' questions instead of 'truth' questions?" asked Sasha politely. "yeah sure, why not?" replied Jake "i guess Sasha get's to ask the dare to whomever she chooses." said Rex. "correct Rex, hmmmm...who shall i pick...i pick...Jake!". Jake looked at Sasha "do your worst" he said in a mocking tone that was playful. "hmm, i dare you to....do a handstand while making cliucking noises like a chicken for at least 10 seconds". "sounds hard..." said Jake. Jake still got up and did what he was asked, It took Jake two attempts to actually achieve a handstand...but once he started making the chicken noises he fell over.
-
Selturma found that funny to no end. "Haha. Alright. I think we should invite Violet and Kayla to come upstairs. I think she'd like it." Getting up, Selturma went downstairs to find the Lycan girl, but she was nowhere to be found. Kayla, on the other hand, was still there, relaxing on the couch, stretched out and looking very comfortable.
"Hi, Kayla!" Selturma got the human's attention as she bounced up and down, her pale belly and chest moving with the rest of her body as she jumped. "Do you wanna come upstairs to play truth or dare?"
-
Kayla looked over to Selturma rather lazily as she stretched, sitting up in the process "Truth or dare?" she asked, thinking for a moment "Well, to tell you the truth, I haven't played the game before, although, I am game for it, always up to try out something new" she added on as she got off the couch and walked over to Selturma.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in city, Ku'ux walked around, his axe still clutched in his hand as he headed for the inn to put it away for the time being, seeing that there was no need for a weapon at the moment, considering the battle was over, heading to the same room he had paid for with what money he had available.
-
Selturma led Kayla into the room with Rex, Sasha, and Jake before flopping onto the bed, lying on her stomach. "Have a seat, Kayla! You can lie down if you want, next to me or to Jake; we've got plenty of room!" The Dracon girl stretched out her legs and arms as she unwound, taking a moment to relax before continue the game.
"Nnnnn...aaahhh! *sigh* Alright, let's continue the game." Rex and Sasha didn't seem to mind Selturma's loud stretching, even though Rex's family downstairs could hear it. Selturma bent her legs at an angle, so that her three-toed feet were pointed towards the ceiling as her legs moved back and forth. Her clawed hands grasped the front of the bed, but she was careful not to tear the fabric of the sheets. Her eyes were focused on Rex, who sat on a bed on the other side of the room. Her thoughts were turned to what might become of her and the young male, of the things they could do together, and of the family they might raise.
-
Kayla entered the room, looking over to Selturma for a moment as she layed down on the bed, deciding to follow suit herself, laying down upon the bed herself with a bit of a stretch herself "Wow, this is actually, heh....nice bed covers you have" she spoke as she rested her chin on her hands.
She watched as the game was put into action in her presense, seeing one being asked truth or dare and replying with a truth, then followed by a question, to which the other answered said question. Same went with the dare half of the game, one being dared to do something and said person carries out the dare.
-
Selturma turned to Kayla, her eyes half-closed. "Do you wanna go next? You can ask any of us to tell the truth about anything, or dare us to do something. After you go, I'll ask you to truth or dare!"
Downstairs, Rex's mom was busy looking after the kids, and making sure that her youngest offspring were asleep; it was not yet that late, but her kids needed the rest, especially after so many stressful events. She hoped that her husband would return, and soon! Managing a house full of children was not an easy task for anyone to do alone.
-
"Okay, I guess I can give it a shot, truth or dare..." Kayla begun as she looked at everyone else "You, Jake was it?" she asked him, just to make sure as to not get confused on names or anything like that.
Granted, after that, she would have to think of the proper thing to either dare him or ask him, which she hadn't really thought about at the moment, still getting used to the game as well.
-
"hmm, i pick dare!" said Jake "what is the dare?". Jake thought over in his head about some questions and dares that he could ask the others when it came to his turn again.
-
"Dare? Okay...hmm..." Kayla started to now think on what he could dare Jake to do before snapping her fingers "I know, you could kiss her" she spoke as she pointed to Sasha.
However, what was going through her mind as well was on what she would pick when someone asked her truth or dare as well, since she did seem to like both choices.
-
"okay, sure no problem" replied Jake "that is the easiest thing i have ever been dared to do so far.". Anyway, jake leaned over and he gave sasha a kiss on the lips. "see, too easy" he said as he pulled away from sasha and sat comfortably next to her. "well i guess it's your turn to ask someone to pick 'truth' or 'dare' ...you can ask them to do anything if it's a dare Selturma" said Sasha
-
Selturma looked at Kayla and gave some thought as to what truth or dare she might ask of the human girl.
"Kayla, if you choose dare, I dare you to join me in a game of 'twisting.' I'll explain the rules. We stand on a mat with colored spots, and when someone tells us to place a hand or foot on a certain spot, we do so, until one of us falls. It's a great way to test one's agility. I don't know what truth to ask of you."
-
Kayla seemed to think for a moment about it, she did not want any truths to come out of her at the moment, and the dare did sound rather fun as well.
"Okay then, I think I'll go with the dare, the game sounds rather fun actually, so yes, dare it is for me, let's do this game" Kayla told Selturma with a bit of a stretch as well.
-
"Alright! This is gonna be so much fun!" Selturma got up from the bed and stretched, then pulled out a mat with colored dots, each one large enough to place a hand or foot. Laying the mat out on the floor, Selturma explained the rules of the game to Kayla.
"First, we need at least two people to play this game. We also need someone who can tell us which hand or foot goes on what dot. To start, the two of us stand on the mat, and someone else, Jake or Rex, tells us what to do. Also..."
Selturma looked at Kayla's shirt and pants. This was a test of flexibility. Had this been a human game, Kayla would have been well-dressed for it, but by Dracon standards, she was wearing more than was expected for such a game.
"You might want to take off anything that gets in the way of bending and stretching, as long as you have something that covers your... you know what I mean." Selturma added.
-
Kayla first looked to the coloured dotted mat before looking to Selturma when she mentioned about taking her clothes and let off a small sigh as well "Yeah, I suppose you're right about that"
She soon, slipped out of her clothes, leaving only a pair of underpants on, since she would usually not wear anything on underneath her shirt as she looked back to Selturma once again "Well, I'm ready" was all she said.
-
As before, Selturma looked at Kayla. The human girl was probably attractive for her kind, with black hair and light tan skin. In a moment of competitiveness, the dracon female noted that Kayla's tiotleglas were a bit smaller than her own.
"Alright, Kayla. Are you comfortable? I don't know if you dress like this much. I know Sasha does, but I also know that humans are a bit weird when it comes to wearing clothing so much indoors." What Selturma said was true from her race's perspective; Dracons wore much less indoors, although it was more fair to say indoors and in private.
-
Kayla sat back down on the edge of the bed for the time being, resting on her hands as she leaned back slightly and shrugged a bit.
"Ah, don't worry about it Selturma, I'm actually rather comfortable like this as well, I guess in a way, you could say that I'm not too use to being like this in front of others, but now that I'm doing this....it's not all that bad" Kayla replied back to her.
-
"You look a lot like a Dracon. I see that you have smooth skin, tiotleglas, and you look like you are in pretty good shape. I don't know how you keep all that hair on your head, though, and your lack of horns is... odd. And your feet are... does wearing shoes do that to you?" Selturma had seen it before on Sasha and Jake, but it never failed to intrigue her.
Dracons had three large, clawed toes and a spur, so it was not at all odd that they would find the five small toes of a human to be odd.
-
Kayla looked to her feet, then to Selturma's feet before looking at her "No, wearing shoes doesn't do that to one's own feet"
She then ran her fingers through her hair "Yeah, and my hair, well, I like my hair myself, so really, I'm rather happy with how I am" she looked at Selturma once again, giving off a bit of a smile as well "Sorry, I don't mean to offend you or anything like that"
-
"It's okay. I don't understand how you humans get around without claws. It seems like your kind is crippled without wearing shoes. I'd hate to have to put anything on my feet just to go anywhere. It seems so odd to me."
Selturma, like other Dracons, used no footwear, although they often paid the price for it in the form of much pain. That said, their thicker skin made it easier to travel without shoes than humans could.
-
"Heh heh, yeah, I suppose you could say that" Kayla replied back with a little laugh "Besides, I don't mean to gloat or anything like that, but I would say that my agility would be rather good actually"
She then folded her arms for a moment "I'm not slow like how some other humans can be, I am rather fast and what have you, I guess you could say I have trained myself to be like that.....or something along those lines anyway" she spoke with a small shrug again as she lay down on her back for the time being.
-
"I was trained as well" Selturma replied, stretching out. "I also have a tail to help me keep my balance" she added, waving her tail back and forth. "Still, I can't imagine you can balance with something on your feet. How would you be able to keep your footing if you need to press something else on the ground just to stand up?"
Selturma might have had an advantage; her tail acted as a counterbalance, although it was by no means a perfect setup.
-
"Yeah, that's true too, although, half the time, I don't actually wear shoes if I'm going to fight, only if I need to sort of thing, depends really on what sort of weather and how hot or cold the ground is" Kayla replied back.
She then looked to Selturma's feet again "So really, my feet aren't all that perfect like Dracon feet, but hey, I'm not worried or anything like that" she added on as she gave off a bit of a stretch herself.
-
"You humans are strange creatures. I don't understand how you have been able to build so many kingdoms and empires. Oh well. What kind of things can you do in a fight? I know some martial arts and I can use my claws and fangs... and my acid breath, although it is kinda weak."
Dracons had an acidic breath, but it rarely used, as only strong adult males could really do any damage with it.
-
"In a fight? Well, I usually like to fight with a knife, combined with my agility and all that you know....and believe it or not, so far, it has worked wonders for me....although, lately, I doubt it would work against something like a dragon for example" Kayla replied back.
Granted, Kayla, lately, hadn't kept a knife on her, since she had lost her last knife as it were, so she needed to go and get a new one, but she wasn't sure on where she would get another knife from really.
-
"What about an unarmed fight? Can you fight if you had no weapons? I can. In fact, that's pretty much all I know how to do in a fight, although... I am not of much use now. The enemies we are fighting against are way too powerful. In any case, do you know any martial arts? How do you humans fight without weapons?"
Fangs and claws were natural for Dracons, but humans did not have such natural tools. On the other hand, humans were not helpless; it was humanity that invented a wide range of weapons and armor which more than made up the difference.
-
Kayla arched an eyebrow slightly "To tell you the truth, I haven't really fought anyone with no weapons, well, not often anyway, I mean, I'm sure I would be able to handle myself with normal enemies you know"
But it was true, she would usually fight with a knife instead of fighting with no weapons at all, but granted, she would still fight without weapons if it also came to that.
-
"What do you mean by 'normal' enemies. We have all sorts of foes. Dememoras usually sends foes with weapons and armor. How would you fight that without weapons or armor of your own?" Selturma was skeptical, but maybe Kayla had abilities that no one had anticipated.
Was Kayla a mage? Did she had the ability to control the elements or read minds? These things weren't so odd in a world so full of magic.
-
"By normal, I was meaning other, say, human beings, or something along those lines, like Lycans or whatever" Kayla replied back "But I know that I'm not perfect in that sense"
That was true too, she wasn't perfect, she had not thought of what it would be like, actually fighting unarmed as she was more or less just taking wild guesses for the time being.
-
"So, Kayla, what sort of things do you do, or would like to do? Like a job or something? I wanna be a dancer. Then again, there are a lot of dancers in these lands, all female. We Dracons love to see dances, same thing with..."
Selturma went on for five whole minutes about how much she enjoyed dancing, and how if that didn't work out, she wanted to be an acrobat. The game had not yet started, but both girls seemed to be enjoying themselves very much by just talking to each other.
"... and if nothing else works, I'm sure Rex will take good care of me. So, Kayla, what sorta things do you like to do?"
-
"Well, since I don't even have a job at the moment, I've got to do whatever I can to pass away the time, you know, meditate, a bit of yoga....stretching that is and dancing now and then too" Kayla replied back to Selturma as she then moved and layed down onto her stomach, well, holding herself up with her arms.
She did indeed, want a job of some sort, but was never too sure on what she would actually be good at doing half the time, so really, she would instead, for the time being, dance, mediate and do yoga at the very least.
-
"So, if you just lie around all day, someone else must be taking care of you. Does you father or whoever you live with take care of you? Is your mother still alive? I know that human females are allowed to do more things in their lands than many Dracon females do." Selturma was interested in what a human female would do all day.
"Are you some sort of noble?" She added, interested in learning how important this girl was.
-
"My father?" Kayla asked before giving off a bit of a scoff "I'd rather not talk about him, we don't see eye to eye as one could say, but as for my mother.....I really don't know what's happened to her as of late"
Kayla paused for a second before speaking once more "A noble? Nah, I'm no noble....at least, I don't think I am" she laughed a little bit as well "But in all seriousness, I'm not a noble you know, why do you ask?" she asked rather curiously now.
-
"are you going to start?" asked Sasha "As soon as we finish up with this we can continue daring each other to do stuff, if you want i'll be the one to tell you what colours you should put your hands and feet on.
-
"Alright, I get the idea. We should start the game." Selturma went over to the mat, and stretched out. "Alright Jake, I'm ready. Kayla, you should come over to the mat. Jake, just make sure to tell us things like 'right foot, blue circle' or "left hand, green circle.' We should be able to figure things out from there."
The mat had several rows of circles, colored red, green, yellow, and blue. There was enough room for up to six people, so holding only two was no problem.
-
"Yeah, alright" Kayla more or less climbed off the bed as she stood back up and walked over to the mat, taking another look at it as well.
Kayla still wasn't too sure on how the game was actually played, but yet, it still seemed to be rather straight forward too, yet, she was going to try it out regardless, as to her, it looked rather fun.
-
"right hand on blue circle" said Jake "that's to start off easy". Sasha walked over to where Jake was sitting and she sat down next to him carefully and began to watch the twister match. "so simple Jake" said Sasha "you could have at least made it more challenging at the start..". "oh well, i thought i'd benice and make it harder as we go" replied Jake "anyway, it's gonna get really hard really soon"
-
Selturma moved her right hand to the nearest blue circle. It was easy, as Jake had said. Looking over, the Dracon girl had seen Kayla do the same. So far, it was simple. Well, it was simple for herself, she thought. How Did Kayla keep a grip on the mat without claws was beyond her.
"Humans must have a good sense of balance" Selturma thought to herself "Without my claws and tail, I would have tipped over already, I think."
-
Kayla had done so as well, moving her hand to a free blue circle on the mat and waited for the next instructions from Jake.
So far, it had seemed to be rather simple, granted, she had only done one thing at the moment and she had a feeling that it was going to get much tougher than this as the game would progress further on.
-
From that point on, the game slowly but surely progressed. Right foot, red circle. Left leg, green circle, Left foot, yellow circle... it went on like that for some time, and neither girl had missed a beat. Bending at the strangest angles, Selturma and Kayla managed to hit every circle, although after "left foot, blue circle", something happened.
Selturma's tail accidentally hit Kayla behind her left knee!
-
Kayla had indeed, done rather well so far in the game, keeping up with Selturma and what she was doing.....that is, until she felt the back of her knee being hit.
She did what she could to try not to fall from the hit, as after Selturma's tail had hit her, there was only a few seconds pause before he knee fell, landing on the mat....she had indeed, lost the game at that point, yet, she didn't know about that herself.
-
"Ohmygods! I'm sorry!" Selturma was surprised that her tail had knocked Kayla down. "Pleasepleasepleasedontbemadatme!" After taking a moment to regain her composure, Selturma helped Kayla to her feet. She looked rather embarrassed. "Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"
As the Dracon girl thought, she realized that there was something she could do. "I know! Kayla, do you like wearing those 'sandals', or do you only do it because your human feet are easily burned by the hot sands?"
-
"Ah, don't worry about it" Kayla spoke as she got to her feet with the help of Selturma "I'm not mad, it was a rather fun game actually....can't actually believe I lasted that long in it too"
She then thought for a moment "As for my sandals, well, at the moment, that would be true, my feet can't handle the hot sands around here and I need to wear something otherwise my feet would get burned rather badly"
-
"How would you like to be able to walk around without fear of burning your feet? Sasha and Arianne have the same potion rubbed into their skin, and so far, it has worked very well! I can give you some right now if you want. We just have to go downstairs and take out the bowl that I mixed it in. We should have enough left for a few more people."
What Selturma said was true; she had mixed the potion a while back, and there was more than enough for Kayla. The potion would have to be reapplied every couple of months, but that was hardly a problem.
-
"A potion? Yeah, alright, a potion for my feet sounds good actually, even though I don't know how it actually works, I wouldn't mind trying it, especially if it helps in that sense, you know, keeping my feet from getting burned around here" Kayla replied back.
She then thought for a moment, looking over to Selturma "But yeah, I wouldn't mind having some of the potion, but, are you sure you've got enough for me? I mean, I don't want to have to ask for something you wont have enough of"
-
"I should have plenty! Come on!" With that, Selturma ran downstairs, and after a minute, she bounced back up the stairs, carrying a bowl in her clawed hands. Showing the potion to Kayla, it was a clear substance which flowed like syrup or honey, despite looking like water.
"Now, all you need to do is to take the potion and rub it into the soles of your feet. Go on. Just put your hands into the bowl and take out as much as you think you will need, then rub it in. Make sure to cover your entire foot with it. After you put the potion on, you should be protected from the hot sands for a couple of months."
-
Kayla looked at the potion rather closely, looking at how it flowed before listning in on Selturma's instructions on what to do with the potion before doing so, before putting her hands in and started to rub it over her feet.
After a few moments, she had finished doing so "So, this will be for a few months? Huh, it feels nice, as if, nothing's actually covering my feet" she then looked over to Selturma "Thanks, I guess we're even now" she spoke with a bit of a laugh as well.
-
"Cool! I'm glad you like it. It feels good, doesn't it?" Selturma was happy to see that Kayla could now walk on the sands without needing to cover her feet. "You made sure to cover all of your foot, right? You made sure to rub each toe? How about between the toes? I sometimes forget to do that when I use that potion. It's very annoying when that happens, as some of my foot feels hot while the rest of it feels nice and cool."
The Dracons placed a high value on comfort in their culture, if not outright hedonism.
-
"Yeah, I made sure to do all that, between my toes and all that sort of stuff" Kayla replied back as she looked to her feet "I'm rather grateful for what you have done for me, and yet, we barely even know each other too, so again, thank you for what you have done for me"
Kayla continued to look at her feet still, in her mind, all that was going on too, was about what her father was like as she gave off a sigh, giving off a smile too, to make sure to not actually let anyone worry about her so much.
-
Celinia soon returned with a cup of wine for Minna and a glass of mead for Lucien.. " excellent timing' Minna beamed.." dinner will be ready shortly milady.. do you like mutton, Sire? Celinia asked Lucien, "Or would you prefer another dish?" she looked at the armor Lucien was still wearing, he was an imposing figure in that armor..
_
Ilsa and Margas headed up to the guest room.. "come on Margas.. I know you are tired but.. well" Ilsa had never felt like this before. The desire to mate was starting to overwhelm her, she wanted to throw off her clothes, press herself against him, and mate with him. Margas saw through all this however and sighed. "I'm just.. not ready yet Ilsa..i need a liittle more time.. a couple hours at least..'
_ Then at least, let me kiss you" Ilsa said warmly to him.. Margas smiled and nodded. Ilsa leaned over wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him firmly on the lips. the kiss lasted for about ten seconds then Margas broke away.. he smiled broadly at his wife.. " alright, just give me an hour.. then I'll make love to you..
-
"So, Kalya, do you think you can do a handstand? I know I can!" Selturma was still in a competitive mood, although, as before, the Dracon girl had an advantage when it came to balancing, thanks to her tail and claws. At least, the claws would help her get a firm grip into most surfaces.
Meanwhile, the king of Minbenthac wasted no time assessing the damage and rebuilding and reorganizing his forces. Most of his city's troops were away from the metropolis itself, having been stationed at Minbenthac's many fortresses on the borders and near strategic locations and resources. Now it was time to call them out to the field, to recruit new troops to replace their posts, and to build up the army in general. As a measure for quickly recruiting more soldiers, the king sent out a decree calling for mercenaries and sell-swords; a call to arms for adventurers of every stripe.
-
"A handstand?" Kayla asked back before giving off a nod "Yes, I can do a handstand myself" she spoke and without another word, she did a handstand herself, staying upside down for the time being, for as long as she could.
Kayla continued to hold out for as long as she could before she had finally given up, having lasted longer than five mintes at the very least "Blood rushing to my head, never a good thing...."
-
Selturma stood back on her feet, but saw that Rex and Jake had funny expressions on their faces. It took Selturma a moment to realize why they looked so weirded out. Gravity. The loincloth worn by the Dracon girl was nothing more than two light pieces of cloth attached to a rope that went around her waist. When she stood on her head, it stayed on her, but the cloths fell...
So, with embarrassment, Selturma let out a laugh, and was soon joined by the others.
-
Rex was slightly aroused at the sight of Selturmas 'femalehood' but he soon forgot about it once the whole group had began laughing together. "so whos up next for a dare?" asked Rex "i'll go next if i'm chosen, i reckon it'd be fun". "heh heh, better you than me" joked Jake
-
Kayla too, just could not help but let off a laugh as well, joining in the others basically before she had stopped laughing "I guess we could say that we're even on that?"
Meanwhile, outside, one had answered the decree and decided to go and respond to said decree. He was an elven archer/hunter, a bow in his hand with arrows in his arrow compartment on his back.
He entered the city and straight away and made his way towards the palace, looking at passing Dracons, whom did give him some odd looks with the clothes he was wearing, but he thought nothing of it as he approached one of the guards "I'm here to see the King of your city, it's about that decree that was sent out and would like to join up....if you do not mind that is"
-
Evidently, the decree had gone out quickly. The first messengers bearing the written words of the proclamation had only been dispatched minutes ago, on the same day the battle had ended. It was getting late, but the sun's rays had not yet set. It was sheer luck that there was a responder already. One of the guards of the palace looked at the archer. An elf.
"We don't let just anyone into the palace. If you want to serve as a mercenary, you will have to report to the barracks, about 15 blocks in... that direction" the guard told the elf, pointing towards the east. "Just look for a large stone structure with a statue of a two-headed dragon on top of it, and you will be there. It's hard to miss."
-
The elf looked over to the east, then back to the Dracon guard once again "The barracks?" he then gave the guard a nod "Thank you" and with that, the elven archer was off.
He walked over to where the guard had shown him to "A large two headed dragon statue...." he uttered to himself as he kept an eye out for said statue. It didn't take him too long till he had found the statue, looking at it "Huh, how interesting indeed" he gave himself a little nod as well as he approached the barracks.
-
"So, Kayla, I was wondering, do you know why humans dress in so much? Aren't you comfortable as you are? I can understand if it is really cold or something, but if you are in the privacy of your home..."
Selturma just didn't get humans. Having seen fewer than 20 of them up close in her life was probably the cause of that. Of course, the question could have been applied to male dracons over the age of fourteen, who dressed more or less like humans did.
-
Kayla just gave off a shrug "It's just the way I am really, I do feel rather comfortable how I dress, and yeah, I know it must seem odd to your kind, cause really, to me, it does seem rather odd with how you dress, no shoes on your feet, a loincloth and what have you, but yeah, it's all good, I still think it is also rather interesting as well"
She then looked over to Jake next "Oh yeah, the game, who would be next anyway? I mean, I am still getting used to turns and what have you in regards to this truth or dare game"
-
"well i havn't been asked any questions or dares yet" said Rex "so i guess someone has to ask me 'truth' or 'dare', i'll more than likely pick dare". "hmm, well i've asked questions already.." said Jake "Maybe Selturma or Kayla can ask your question or dare?"
-
Eriol looked at Vespion. - "I don't know what made him do that to me, I am not such a great menace to him or his plans. My combat skills could be near those of Adykon, but I don't know too much about magic, that is why I always thought that someone like you Vespion, could get a clue on how to permanently kill that demon. Making magic-user people a greather threat to him." - Some things were not entirely true, as Eriol has been in contact with magic-user people since a very young age, some of them did have the power to cause Dememoras some serious trouble, but they were gone since many years.
The Gaean Panther sighed before asking Vespion and Adykon. - "So, what should we do now?. Both of you have many things to do, but I no longer have much to do here. Arianne has been gone since the start and I could never find a clue about her killer, so he may have left this lands long ago. And I still have my son to worry about." - he waited for an answer as a soft breeze began blowing.
-
"You should keep up the good fight, my friend" Vespion reassured Eriol. "If you were not a threat to him, Dememoras would not have sent a mimic to try and fool you. You are a greater danger to his plans than you realize, with or without magic. There's an old phrase that the humans like to say. I think it may be of some use to you."
Vespion took a deep breathe as he recited the old poem.
"For want of a nail, a horseshoe was lost. For want of a shoe, a horse was lost. For want of a horse, a knight was lost. For want of a knight, a battle was lost, for want of a battle, a war was lost, and for want of a war, a kingdom was lost. And so it was a kingdom was lost, all because of a nail. You and I? We are nails. All of us are; Adykon, Rhiga, you, me, even Jake. All of us are a part of something greater than ourselves, and if even one nail falls out, the whole shoe could be lost. We are only strong if we stand together. In trying to take you out, Eriol, Dememoras was striking at all of us. He knows that if we fail, there will be nothing to stop him from conquering all of the Dracon lands, and from there, who knows where he will strike. Don't think that you aren't important, my friend. Dememoras knows you are, and so do I."
-
Marcus helped clear some of the debris that cluttered the street and piled it up on the corner, making it easier for residents to walk around, and for cleanup to dispose of the rubble.. "after a n hour or so of this they took a break to get something to eat inside.. it wasn't much, sandwiches consisting of bread and some meat Marcus had in a jar.. but given how hungry the four odf them were it was better than nothing..
_
Margas rested on the bed for an hour, feeling the tension slowly subside. It took him awhile to release the tension of battle particularly if it was a long and drawn-out fight.. " are you ready? Ilsa asjked with a mischevious look in her eyes Margas smiled and let her climb next to him.. " i'm ready.. let us become mates, in word.. and act..' and with that Margas kissed Ilsa on the lips. Ilsa wrapped her arms around his neck, the kiss lasted a few seconds, but it was just to be the first of many they would share during this lovemaking. Ilsa broke away, then pressed her lips against margas', and slowly worked her tongue into his mouth, while Margas rubbed his claws against her sides. they broke the kiss, and Ilsa slowly worked her top off, revealing her chest to Margas, who moved his claws slowly over it, gently caressing her breasts in an exploratory manner. "You.. have a very nice form..." Margas said with a smile " Your father said you were perhaps the most beautiful of his daughters, and easily the most headstrong.. on top of that, you have never known the feeling of having a male inside you, which is almost unheard of for a Dracon female noble.."
_ It just never.. well appealed to me.. I know that sounds odd.." Ilsa said looking at Margas' bare form, which was very well developed. It was clear that he had been in the armed forces, she knew from listening to her father, that the soldiers in there went through very rigorous physical training, with weapons and magic, if applicable... "You've clearly been in the trenches" Ilsa said, rubbing her claws over his chest.
_
Margas nodded, then, climbing on to Ilsa, kissed her on the lips with a passion he had not shown previously. The sight of Ilsa's bare chest had excited him considerably. Margas undid Ilsa's loincloth with a free claw , and the two lovers began to wrestle on the bed, with Ilsa slowly relaxing, and rubbing herself against him. Finally, the mating Culminated with Margas placing himself inside Ilsa, and she responded with a spasm of activity, squeezing his shoulders and moving her tongue around in his mouth. Margas hreld himself in that position for a few minutes then finally pulled away... breaking the kiss and falling backwards away from Ilsa. Ilsa panted as blood trickled down her leg.. she was feeling a fervor known to Dracon females for thousands of years, the feeling of sheer pleasure after sex. "just... give me a minute to clean up' Margas said.. the lovemaking had lasted close to two hours.. and it would not be the last time they made love that night..
-
The elf entered the barracks and had a look around as the guard captain approached him "State your business elf"
"I'm here because of that decree that was sent out from your King, something about rebuilding his army, or mercanry work....or something along those lines anyway" the elf replied back.
The guard captain looked at him for a moment, examining his equipment before speaking "Very well, wait with the others, Adykon should be by shortly"
The elf gave a nod back "Oh, and you may call me Farstriker" he told the guard captain as he walked over and sat down, now just waiting for the time being, as that is all he could do, counting how many arrows he had left, which weren't that many, so he would have to buy some more soon enough, before heading off that is.
-
"Good idea!" Selturma wanted to see what Kayla could come up with. "Why don't you go next, Kayla? I would be quite interested to see what you'd make us say or do."
Meanwhile...
Lucien finished his drink. Setting the cup down, he turned to his newly-wed wife, who was in the room with him. Minna had fought bravely in the battle alongside him. While she looked good, he wanted to get to know this beautiful female a lot better, and not just in the bedroom, but to know about her as an individual; she was a mage, after all. How many Dracons were friends with mages, let alone married to one? Minna had been a rare find, indeed.
-
minna looked at him with curiousity. 'What is it Lucien?' the look he was giving her was recognizable immediately to an older female, but given Minna's very limited- in fact nonexistent- intimate history with males she missed the signals. 'um.. why don't I talk about myself? Well, Tallon is my father as you know, I'm a child of his primary wife.. though obviously not the first, heh. I was trained in magic, at great expense, I'm pretty good at it, though Ilsa is better.. I'm quite opinionated, my father even called me a radical a few times, but my opinions don't count for much, since I'm a female... I detest dark magic, and those who practice it.. as for our future living arrangements do you expect to have other wives besides me? she turned and looked at Lucien..
-
Lucien turned to his wife, then considered her question. He knew the answer, but phrasing it was the hard part. "You know as well as I do that the male nobility take on multiple wives. Now, I've agreed not to take a second spouse for a number of years, but eventually, I shall." The male dracon looked at Minna's well-developed form, and thought of his chances of finding another female with a body like that. Few could match her, that was for sure.
The newly-wed couple were sitting down on a sofa, with Minna resting her feet on a footrest a bit in front of the couch, and Lucien sitting down on it in a normal position. He moved his tail over to touch her's, which was quite easy to do, as both of their tails were hanging off of the side of the couch. He extended his right leg, so that his clawed foot was resting next to Minna's. His claws were so much larger than her's, yet she was clearly not helpless. Comparisons between himself and her briefly raced through his head, as he considered how much more physical might he possessed. Lucien also considered another kind of power, that of magic. The female next to him had more arcane power in her middle toe than he did in his entire body, or, at least that was what Lucien thought. Truly, anyone could learn magic, although Minna's was the rare and very special kind of natural magic that one had to be born with.
Extending a claw to touch his wife, Lucien gently put his hand on her shoulder, rubbing it back and forth a bit. She seemed to like his touch. "Shall we talk about... us, my love. Now that there is an "us", we should make plans. This was an arranged marriage, to be sure, but now that we are together, we can make our own arrangements. What do you want out of this marriage, dear?"
-
"Well, I could, but at the moment, I'm actually fresh out of idea on what I can ask or dare someone" Kayla replied back to Selturma.
Farstriker looked at the rest of those whom had answered the decree, running his fingers through his hair as well, his hair that went down to just past his ears, however, his elven ears were still visible through his hair.
He was indeed, waiting rather patiently for this Adykon person to show up as well, running a finger through the quiver part of his arrow, doing what he could to pass away the time before pulling out an arrow, loading it into his bow, pulling back on the string, aiming at his target, an apple that one Dracon was eating before firing said arrow, striking the apple, to which the Dracon in question let off a small snarl at the elf.
"Bullseye" Farstriker muttered a bit to himself, ignoring the Dracon's snarls directed at him.
-
The Dracon whose apple had been shot got up angrily and prepared to draw his long knife. Before he could do this, another Dracon, one clad in heavy plate armor and wielding a greatsword, gave the disgruntled warrior a copper piece and told him to buy another apple, and not to make a fuss. Turning to Farstriker, the warrior introduced himself.
"My name is Adykon. I've been told to come around the the barracks to increase the size of my team. I've had many changes to the roster over time. There was even this old Dracon who turned young again, but he's wandered off to who-knows-where, and some fox-people who show up from time to time... I would appreciate someone who could join my party for the long haul. Do you know what we do and why we do it? Do you know who we fight? Do you know what the stakes are? I will not make anyone join if they don't want to. This mission is of critical importance, and only those who are very capable and willing need apply."
-
"Who you fight? Well, I have been hearing things of some evil dark lord and his armies from other Dracon cities" Farstrike spoke up, looking over to Adykon "But as for what you do, I am not entirely sure on what it is you actually do, all I got from the decree was that they needed either warriors for an army or mercenaries"
He paused for a moment before getting up "But I'm sure whatever it is you do, I'll be bale to handle rather easily, I have been winning the last few archery tournaments, well, either first or second place, usually first place though" he added on, extending his hand to shake "Farstriker if you please"
-
There are very few un-arranged marriages in the nobility' Minna replied "i want to have as close to the same level of freedom as i had prior to marriage as possible.. but. i think that is something that will not happen.. I want to know...why did you ask my father for my claw in marriage Lucien? I'm only of middle rank in my family based on birth order, which is extremely important in arranging these kinds of unions..' she gazed at Lucien, examining him with a n interest before continuing.. I take it you wish to mate with me tonight.. If you are to take more than three wives, make sure you don't forget about me.. There's nothing worse than feeling neglected..at least I think so"
-
Lucien looked at Minna, surprised. "I was set into this arranged marriage by my family as well, although they gave me the option to refuse it. Truly, I wanted to marry a daughter of Tallon for the connections and influence it would bring me, but I also envisioned a marriage which would bring me a family, and the beauty of a female in my household. I didn't imagine you would have magic, though. I'm glad that you do, make no mistake, although that isn't the greatest asset you have in my eyes."
Lucien looked at Minna, and decided to be careful. "I could not neglect such a beautiful female as yourself, my love, no matter how many other wives I take. I promise you that you will be the first in my heart, my mind, my house, my bed, and our sons will be my highest heirs. Looking at you, I can see that we will make some beautiful daughters as well, all of which shall live in the highest comfort. I will see to it personally that you and all other females of the household are kept comfortable, safe, and healthy. It will be a safe, private world, a good place in which to raise children, a safe harbor from the harshness of the world, and you will be in charge of this private sphere, being held above all other females in the palace. While I will not neglect the needs of my other wives when I get them, I will make sure that you are my top priority. How does that sound, my love?"
Freedom was much harder to come by for Minna. If she accepted position as the top wife, she would be in charge of all the females and children in the palace, but this would also entail her staying around more often. Would a female mage want to spend much of her days lying around on beds and couches? Did her taste for luxury and pleasure exceed that for her love of adventure? And what about the kids? When she started laying eggs and hatching offspring, would this make her more sedentary? Could a compromise be reached?
Most female dracons would jump for joy at such an offer. A typical female of Minna's kind would gladly and literally hop into bed with her noble husband and produce as many children as she could in her long life, and would revel in being the head female of the clan. Some noble females were the subject of myth and legends, tales which spoke of exotic mistresses dressed in elaborate jewels and silks, while keeping their forms visible to all. Minna had doubtlessly heard of these myths, although her opinion on them was unknown to Lucien. Would she want to become a mistress of jewels, or was that just another name for an ornamented, objectified female whose reward for obedience was to look pretty for her husband?
Then, there was the biological factor. Dracon females were famous for their strong urges to mate and bear young. Being the head wife was a very good way to insure that she could be physically... satisfied. There were also the results of such unions to consider; the hatchlings. Vaeri had been a prolific mother, despite almost never knowing who the father was. Surely, much of Minna's life would be defined as a mother, in addition to her role as consort to Lucien. What kind of a life would her sons and daughters have? The latter was easy to see, but the former was unclear. Of course, there was only one way to find out; she could not see her children grow up until she had some, and now, she would finally get that chance.
-
Minna sighed " i know many Dracon females would leap for that offer, But a middle daughter has its perks, you get to hear the cautionary tales from your older siblings.. I sense you are a good Dracon Lucien, you're not a cruel lout who is seeking to satisfy his own ends at my expense..however, i've had too many adventures to settle into a sedentary lifestyle overnight. those promises you have made are nice, comforting, reassuring, still i've heard too many horror stories from my older siblings complaining to my mother and father about their mates, to take those promises at face value. anyone can make a promise, its how well you keep them that matters.' She gave her husband a glance."I trust you'll keep those promises, if you don't then our relationship will not be as strong as it otherwise would. you must grant me a certain freedom in these first couple years to have adventures, in return i'll will give you as many children as you desire..be it five, ten twenty, or even more, in the years to come..
-
"Love is more than a contract, Minna. I am willing to compromise, but I have to think about my estate, too. Here's my plan. First, we adventure together as husband and wife, for as long as it takes to stop Dememoras, even if it takes years. Then, when the situation settles down, we settle down and start a family. I know that you will give me plenty of children, one way or the other. Neither of us are very old, and since our kind can breed for the great majority of our over-a-century-long lives, the kids will come."
Pausing for a moment, Lucien continued "So, that is my plan. Adventure now, settle into the domestic life later. Frankly, I would like to fight the Dark Master myself, and I would also like to see you in action, fighting with your magic by my side. What do you think of that?"
-
Farstriker stood there for a few moments befoe taking his hand back "Don't shake hands eh? Ah, it's understandable, different cultures and all....anyway, to business, I take it that you are looking for some more travelers to join you in taking care of this....evil that's plaguing these lands?"
He folded his arms at the point "Because I would be happy to accept your offer, if you are offering that is, however, I must warn you, I will need to get myself some more arrows, never had a chance to do so before, other things came up"
-
you also have to keep in my fathers good graces' Minna smiled broad;y "Politics play a large part in these marriages..and are a constant factor to be weighed.. but i like your proposal..it is agreed. " she seized Luciens claw with hers and shook it "I trust you to keep these promises Lucien.. don't disappoint me.. now I'm not the most attractive Dracon noble alive- frankly I'd say Ilsa is much prettier- but a girl loves to be flattered.."
-
Adykon extended his hand "Sorry. I was a bit distracted. You are free to join us, Farkstriker." What had happened a moment ago was more than just a distraction, however. Once again, Adykon had been contacted, but not by a female archmage. This time, it was Kluthu, the archmage of the court of Minbenthac's king. Inside his head, Kluthu spoke to the warrior.
"Blast it, mage! Do you have to be contacting me now? I don't need all these voices in my head!"
"Sorry, Adykon, but the king wants you to join him as soon as possible. It took me a while to find you. Astral magic is not my specialty, and you were nowhere to be found near the palace, so-"
"Never mind, I'll be right there!"
Now that the conversation in his head had ended, Kluthu's thoughts were no longer in Adykon's mind. Turning to Farstriker, he continued his conversation. "We can get you some arrows from the palace armory, the best you've ever seen. Are you ready to go?"
Meanwhile...
"Agreed. You can adventure with me and everyone else. I'd welcome it. I'll also keep you in comfort and pleasure, and hold you above every other wife. Now, as far as keeping the second part of my promise... I think we should get to know each other a bit... more intimately. Shall we retire to the master bedroom and take a look, my love?"
-
Farstriker had shook Adykon's hand back before allowing him to talk to himself as it were, before he had spoken up once Adkyon had spoken to him yet again "The best you say? Sounds rather intruiging if I do say so myself"
The elf paused for a moment, taking a quick look around before speaking "Alright, yes, I am ready to go, can't really stand this part of the city, no offence intended there, it's just the way some can act after a simple joke of an arrow through an apple" of course, he was refeering to what he had done before, getting on a Dracon's nerves.
-
Turning to the door, Adykon said just what Farstriker had wanted to hear. "Then, let us not waste a moment more in the barracks. We should both head to the castle. I'll direct you to the armory, and I'll head to meet with the king. I imagine that you shall like what you see, and I shall not like what I find."
The two of them left the barracks and soon, found themselves at the palace. Upon seeing Adykon, the guards let the two of them pass through the gates, and into the hallway. Adykon had hoped that the news was good; Minbenthac's armies would be mobilized as they had never been in decades, and hastily-levied troops and mercenaries would be called in to fill the gaps left by the movement of soldiers from fortress to battlefield.
-
Farstriker looked back to Adykon once they were in the palace as he spoke up "Well, if you do not mind, I shall go and check out your palace armory and leave you to discuss whatever it you need to, with your King" he gave off, what seemed like a small bow as he turned and walked down one of the hallways.
Moments later, after getting directions to the armory, Farstriker had a look around inside, looking mostly at the arrows they had, giving off a rather impressed whistle "Nice, very nice indeed" he took out one of his own arrows for comparison against the arrows in the armory. His were rather nice, but of course, to him, these ones were much moe nicer "I do wonder how strong they are....hopefully to be able to kill something with ease"
He knew that looks could be decieving with anything as she grabbed one of the arrows from the armory to examine it even more closely, touching the tip of it "Nice and sharp....good" was all he had said, yet, wasn't entirely sure if he should actually take them or not, since of course, they did not belong to him.
-
very well' Minna replied I'll be interest to see your form as well, Considering that I'll be bearing your weight while we mate.. " she grinned as she strode upstairs towards the master bedroom. "I've actually never used this room' She said looking around at the plush surrounding 'It was always left vacant save for when my father visited, it was his castle so no one save him could use the master chamber..' she added as Lucien closed the door behind them.. "I suppose you would like to see my 'intimate' areas" She said climbing onto the bed and reaching for her top to take it off...
-
"Yes. All of you. Front, rear, bent over, legs spread, standing, sitting, from all sides. I shall give you the same chance to look as well. I should have changed into my indoors clothing anyway." Lucien took off the clothes and other gear he wore over the upper half of his body, then looked around the room a bit. He saw that some clothing had been left for him by Tallon in the dressers and drawers. Very good of his father-in-law to do that.
But what he was most interested in was his wife, which he would be spending much time with during this adventure. It was nice to think that neither he or she would ever be lonely on a long trip into the unknown.
Meanwhile... the head armorer noticed an elf entering his stores. The older gray-skinned dracon ran over to Farstriker. "Hey! Elf! What're ya doin with those arrows?!"
-
Minna top off her top and loincloth revealing her bare body to Lucien. Minna;s breasts were very large, and on the whole she was quite lovely, she went over and sat down ion a stool, and moved it to a position where Lucien would have space to look at her features, including her tail, back, buttocks, and especially her breasts and thighs.. ' Gawk away, my dear' she said to Lucien..
-
As Farstriker was examing the arrows some more, he turned to whom had ran over "The one called Adykon told me I could find some arrows within the armory here, but he never did specify if I could take any arrows or not, which is why I do not wish to....in case I am not allowed to"
He returned the arrow back to the other arrows once again as he spoke once more "So, I take it you're the armorer dracon for the palace here?" he decided to ask said dracon, just to make sure more or less.
-
Lucien kept his mouth shut, but his eyes gave away all the details. She was certainly prime female material, a real cut above all the dalliances and heirodules he had yet known. Excellent egg-bearing hips, and she would have no trouble feeding their kids. The signs of a fertile female were highly visible, and this was one of the finest around. She had kept her body up very well, and, in exchange for doing what he was going to do anyway, she would be not only married to him, but happy as well. As for the other wives... he had said 15 years, but he knew that was negotiable. He would speak to Tallon more later on this point.
After a few moments, he had seen and confirmed that Minna was indeed all he had hoped she was, and so much more. He would have a hard time finding another wife who was anywhere near as attractive. Now, he spoke;
"Alright. Now, my dear, do you wish me to return the favor? I want you to be happy as well." He didn't want to make this a one-sided deal. Lucien knew that Minna must have long-standing desires which were unfulfilled.
-
Certainly.. and once I have satisfied my curiousity looking at you.. we can mate' Minna said vacating the stool and bidding Lucien sit down " whatever pose you feel comfortable with" she said, looking around at Luciens Back. Lucien was nearly a foot tall than she was, not including his horns, his back showcased his muscles which were fully developed. ' i can see you were in the armed forces... How long have you been on active duty? She asked as she brushed his tail with a free claw.. she liked what she was seeing so far.. Lucien was in peak, or near peak physical condition .. as she turned to gaze at his front. his claws were large, as was the upper half of his body. physically he was a prime specimen of masculinity.. and Minna for her part, put her claw on his chest to feel the muscles underneath ' You'll do.. yes You'll do nicely" She nodded, a smile of satisfaction on her lips.. she could have done much worse than this one..
-
Quickly undressing, Lucien showed his whole physique to Minna, and it was clear that she liked what she saw. "I've been in the military, but not on active duty as such. The king demands service from nobles, but it is rare that he makes it mandatory. Drafts only occurs during times of war; we are just launching one now. At any rate, I have been in a few short-term wars, but have only had about 3 years of cumulative experience in the field, along with training and this recent adventure."
Pulling Minna close to him, Lucien gave her a hug, and gently ran his claws down her back. "You like that, my love? Should I scratch any higher? lower?"
-
a little lower please' Minna said Putting her claws on his chest as he moved up and down her back.. Tensing and relaxing as he worked on her Minna broke the Emabrace and climbed onto the bed, showing her back to her husband ' my legs have been a little stiff lately, if you could loosen them up, that would be great' She said..
-
"I'll get right on them" He replied, quickly moving down to her back and legs. "How's that feel, right there?"
Meanwhile...
Adykon approached the king in the throne room. Surrounding the monarch of Minbenthac were a dozen generals, plus Kluthu and some nobles. Tallon was noticeably absent.
"You called for me, your majesty? What is it that you wish of me?" Adykon seemed almost out of place here; these were some of the finest generals around, while all he commanded was a company of adventurers whose ranks were notoriously unstable, due to all the changes.
-
'Ow-- Yeah right there.. it feels like a knot, one of the drawbacks to adventuring, bruises and strains in your back.. ok, a little lower.. to the left.. there, oh.. that stings.." Minna grimaced as Lucien slowly worked on the muscled her legs and back..
_
At this time, Margas and Ilsa were well into their second round of lovemaking. Margas stopped abruptly, and climbed out of the bed ' sorry my love, but i need to get some mead..' Margas apologized.. Ilsa lay back on thier bed' alright, if you could bring me some wine..i think we needed a break anyway.. "
-
After a little while, Minna looked more relaxed, and Lucien couldn't feel any more knots in her back. "Are you ready, my love. I can see that you are trembling with anticipation." In truth, she was excited, although whether or not she was ready was up to her.
Meanwhile...
The king of Minbenthac explained the situation.
"I am calling out all of Minbenthac's regular soldiers to serve in the field army. Replacements for the fortresses will be assigned from the ranks of the newly-drafted, and the armies will be supplemented by mercenaries, adventurers, allies, and volunteers."
-
I'm Ready" Minna said, wrapping her arms around Lucien and pressing her lips to His, and in the resulting kiss fell backwards on the bed with Lucien on top of her.. but such was Minna's excitement.. that she did not care . She moved her tongue in his mouth, and felt him begin to fondle her.. the excitement within her rose, as she broke the kiss she let out of a cry filled with raw emotion.. a cry of a need being filled for the first time.."Take me Lucien" she panted "
-
He did so, with but a few words "Let's begin, my wife", and with that, he was inside of her, ready for her to feel a bit of pain on this first time for her, but then expecting to give her more pleasure than she had ever felt.
And it happened. After a quick cry from Minna, she soon gave out more pleasurable sounds as he "worked" to please her. Her excitement was starting to peak, and she was getting closer to what all dracon females wanted more in their day than anything else.
-
Farstriker thought for a second, the dracon in charge of the armory seemed to tilt his eyebrow slightly at the mention of Adykon's name "Ah, so you do know the dracon after all, I do take it he's rather well-known around here?"
Of course, at the moment, Farstriker had no idea on how well-known Adykon really was, but he was getting a bit curious on that part on how well-known Adykon really was.
-
The head of the armory gave Farstriker a look, evaluating the elf, and not quite understanding what the difference was between the elves and the humans. Regardless, he explained what he knew of Adykon.
"I don't know all that much about him myself. He's a mercenary, and he has a group of adventurers with him. I've seen his kind before. What makes this one different is that we've placed an awful lot of trust in him, and in some legend about him; apparently, the guy is this warrior of some hocus-pocus legend involving faith, magic, and the redemption or damnation of the dracons and all that stuff. Me? I don't put my trust in legends and myths. Crazy stories and dusty tales are no match for sharpened steel, ya know. I grew out of those fairy tales and got down to work, and made something of myself. Still, Adykon is good with a sword, and he has fought for us. He's a strong one, I'll give him that. You could do worse than to fight with him, even if he isn't some divine being sent to save us from gods-know-what."
-
"Sounds like my kind of fun then, would be better than having to hunt down animals all the time....you know, kick my game up a bit....as one could call it that anyway" Farstriker joked back.
The elf was still eyeing the arrows as he spoke again "Adykon had said that I would be able to find arrows in the armory here, which would be better than my arrows, and he's right, from what I've examined from your arrows in here, they are much sharper than my ones that I have on me at the moment"
-
"Oh, you don't want these old things." The armory master told the elf "These are standard-issue. Someone adventuring with Adykon will need the BEST. Stay here, I'll go get you some."
Within a moment, he left, and within a minute, had returned with a bundle of enchanted mithril arrows, each of which was barbed and sharpened. "Now THESE are quality. Sleek, fast, aerodynamic, and sharp enough to pierce even the best steel armor."
-
Farstriker gave off another rather impressed whistle "Mirthril arrows" he said as he grabbed one and examined it rather closely before loading it into his bow and aiming outwards then lowering it, taking the arrow off "So far, I am impressed"
He thought for a moment before speaking once again "If I am allowed to take these arrows, where would I be able to practice with them? You know, to get used to firing arrows like this at the very least"
-
"You can try the palace archery range. It's in the back, not far from the main guard quarters. Come with me and I'll show you." The armory master led Farstriker to a back room filled with dummies, bulls-eyes, and quivers full of various kinds of arrows, none as fine as the mithril ones Farstriker now wielded.
"When you have fired all of your arrows, make sure to collect them. The metal of the arrowheads will not go dull for a very long time, and the shafts will not break easily. When you are finished in here, make sure to take everything that is yours with you. Do not share any of the arrows. I shall bring you to Adykon later when you are needed. Is everything understood?"
-
"Oh, I know how to use arrows, I do collect my own once fired" Farstriker told the armory master, giving him a nod "And I do thank you for these fine arrows as well"
Once the armory master had left, the elf got to work, practicing with his new arrows, shooting bullseye after bullseye after bullseye, already starting to get use to their speed and power before collecting which ones he had fired berfore firing again.
-
Marcus finished piling debris and sat down on the curb near his house "Rhiga.. my dear' he called out to his wife " Should we go stock up on food and supplies? My cupboard is unfortunately very low on food, and we have to ensure we have enough to eat.. although I don't fancy paying a kings ransom for a loaf of bread..' He muttered as he got up..gouging was an unfortunate part of rebuilding, it was rare that thhose victims of gouging were comopensated very much.. it was the 'price of business during the emergency' or whatever veneer the sellers cared to use..
-
"Alright. We could use more food. How much money do you have? I imagine we will have to deal with desperate crowds and high prices. Just what every wife and mother wants to see." Rhiga's words rang true, yet to her, they sounded so strange coming from her mouth. Wife. Mother.
How long ago was it that she was a dancer and migrant who cared little for fidelity, and even less for motherhood? How long ago was it that she had no safe harbor in life? Now, she had Marcus, a family, and an egg with her child in it, and unlike the other three eggs, she knew who the father was, and she was his wife. How good it was, and yet so strange for her.
-
Farstriker was indeed, rather pleased with these arrows that he was now using as he replaced his old ones with the mithril arrows instead, keeping his bow at his side.
The elf took another glance around as he then sat down on a neaby seat as he more or less, now, just waited for Adykon to come back, humming a little to himself in the process, a tune he more or less was making it up as he went along.
-
"HELP" yelled Exodar from just outside the city streets, as he yelled a small quiver shot past his head just enought to get his attention, as he turned around a small foot came flying at his head, the only thing Exodar could do was try to dodge the foot, as he tried this the other foot from the mysterious person came flying at his head again only to knock Exodar to the ground, as this happened the bag of loot he had in his hand went flying onto the ground about a metre away from exodar, as the bag fell exodar dropped to the ground with a thud that startled the towns folk around him
-
"what the hell was that" yelled Jake "sounds like someones in trouble, come on guys...let's go see who or what it is. ". Jake, rex and sasha were the first ones down the stairs and out onto the dirt city streets where they were met by the sight of a newcomer that looked like had been in a really bad fight while running for his life. Jake ran over to help the newcomer. Jake lent down and helped him off the ground "you okay?" he asked
-
Exodar whispered a single word "evil" to jake, then he dropped to the ground once again this time letting out a yell that could be heard by all the towns people just before Exodar went into a deep sleep state
-
Selturma had joined Rex, Sasha, and Jake. It was quite a surprising thing to see. Something had attacked this human. On a minor note, Selturma was not sure if Kayla had caught up with them, or if she had even taken off to help at all. Either way, something had to be done.
"Is he- is he okay?" Selturma was not sure what evil had happened here, or if whatever had hurt this human would be back. "We should get him inside, back at Rex's house. We can take care of him there." He didn't look like he needed to get help from a magical healer or a hospital.
-
"rex help me lift him up so we can get him into the house" Yelled Jake as he tried to lift up exodar, "sure thing jake" replied Rex as he rushed over to lend a hand to jake to help carry exodar into the house. "selturma, you know where the medicine is right? go get some for exodar. i think he'll need it.". Rex and jake lifted exodar and dragged him into the house while sasha gathered what she could of exodars treasure and she brought it inside.
-
Eventually, the kids brought Exodar into the house. Rex, Jake, Sasha, Selturma, and Kayla were all sitting in living room of the house, with Exodar placed on a couch not too far away from them. He was stunned, but otherwise alright.
"So, should we go back upstairs? Rex, you should tell your mom that we brought some injured person in here. What do the rest of you want to do?" Selturma asked the group.
-
"hmmm, well first i think we should get him patched up and then we should talk to hum to find out his name and why he is like this" suggested Jake. "yeah, while we wait i'll go get mom." said Rex as he turned and began looking for his mom. "mom, We found this poor guys outside and he is sort of well...just come and see". "i'll be right down" yelled Vaessa from her room, she washed her hands and put her loincloth back on and she proceeded downstairs.
-
Selturma saw Vaessa, Rex's mom, walk down the stairs. "We found this human in the middle of the sandy road. He looks like some kinda warrior, but we don't know whose side he is on."
Thinking to herself, the dracon girl realized that this newcomer probably wasn't working for Dememoras, but until he could be questioned, there was no way to known for certain. He was welcome to stay there for the time being.
-
As Eriol saw Vespion going away to help injured soldiers, the male Gaean Panther decided to walk away as well. He does know how to treat injuries, but nothing like heavy injuries, those are better handled by Healers, and Vespion is one of them.
Eriol got down from the tower and began walking to nowhere in particular. - "I still need to tell the other what happened." - he thought as he released a sigh. he leaned against a wall and began looking at the people around, he is still not fully used to see the Dracons, their culture is different to Gaean society in many aspects, but he realizes that there are many similarities, as Gaeans are also far from been perfect: They are far less sexist than Dracons because Gaean females can own property and have better opportunities to make a life. But their society is still rebuilding (or trying to) after a great war that ended 18 years ago, and one of the things that is getting out of control is slavery: with governments trying to solve too many problems at a time, there are some that took advantage and gained power by marketing people. That is a reason for Eriol to return to his homeland as soon as this crisis is over, even though he is sure his son is safe where he is right now.
The male Panther started to get bored so he started walking again, and he made his way back to the city's palace.
-
Marcus counted up the money he had in his pockets ' we have some nmoney, but given how much they wil likely charge, it won't buy us that much..' He frowned
_ I have some money Marcus " He father said handing him a few large coins.. 'we need to fill your pantries.. we can't have you , your wife and unborn child live on nothing..
_
Margas lay in bed curled next to his wife Ilsa. They had finished making love again, and were exhausted.. ' you're something special.. i've known that you were a beautiful dragoness for a long time, but you're quite the lover as well..'
_
Ilsa opened her eyes "I've never felt like this.. its like bliss, almost, an overwhelming sense of happiness, that is completely new to me..
-
Adykon saw Eriol enter the throne room. He was still speaking with the king and the generals when he saw the panther. "Excuse me, your highness. I need to speak with one of my team mates for a moment."
The king of Minbenthac looked over and saw Eriol. "Ah, it's that panther who fought so bravely. Bring him over here. We can trust him. I'm certain his words will be of good counsel to us. We need all of the help we can get. Does he know any Gaeans who can offer support?"
"I've spoken with him earlier, and his people are too far away to offer us any significant help. I really should go to him for a moment. Pardon me" Adykon replied.
-
Eriol entered the Throne room, he saw many Dracons there, all of them were of high ranks. The Gaean Panther decided to sit down in a free chair he found, still keeping some distance from the Dracons, he looked at them all with an un-emotional face and crossed arms.
He then saw Adykon approaching and stood up again.- "Adykon, how are plans to defend this city progressing?. many of our teammates live here and it will not be nice if they lose everything, not to mention that Dememoras will be a big step closer to his goal." - For some reason, it may be a bit of strange for someone like Eriol to act so concerned about the other members of the Party.
-
It was still fairly late at night, but the business of war was too important to put off. A better term might have been early in the morning, as the sun was not yet up, even though the preparations for a lengthy struggle were still going on.
"So far, the king has called his armies out of their fortresses into the field. A contingent of about 10,000 reinforcements is being pulled out from that force to further protect the city's walls, and recruitment has begun to find quick replacements for the soldiers who have left their fortresses. Minbenthac has over 100,000 field troops available to it, but this includes over 10,000 mercenaries and vassals. By the end of the buildup, there should be 50,000 soldiers protecting the city, most of whom will be regular soldiers, plus about 120,000 or so in the field, which will be a mix of regular soldiers, vassals, allies, and mercenaries. Additionally, 20-25 thousand will be in fortresses, mostly new conscripts sent to replace the regular soldiers, and we might count of a few thousand more from adventurers, unexpected allies, and a handful of friendly creatures, such as dragons or griffins." Adykon's assessment was little more than what the king had told him. "Altogether, we are looking at a maximum force of... about 150,000, though hardly all of them are going to be front-line soldiers. The king and the nobility will also have their guards to protect them, but we are only talking about maybe a few thousand more in total, and few of them are expected to go to the front lines, if the nobility can be counted on to support anything."
Adykon's words were partly true on this point; many nobles were reluctant to aid the king in a time of great hardship, even though, unlike feudal kingdoms, the Dracon states did not depend on a noble class to support the king. State-building was an art the Dracons had picked up from the knowledge of ancient Dragons, who in turn learned it from ancient human states. Most armed force lay with the king in a city-state, although in less-developed areas, nobles often had substantial forces which they could bring to bear. Adykon himself was once part of an army under the command of a noble, not a king, although his homeland lacked a king as such. The designation of king meant an individual with power over all nobles in a certain area, whereas a noble controlled his own land, as well as that of maybe a few vassals. At least, that was the Dracon understanding of it.
One area Minbenthac lacked almost entirely was a navy. Being an inland city-state, the closest river was about a day away. There were a few boats under the king's personal command, totaling about 500 men and a dozen ships, with no flagship to speak of. All of the craft were riverine vessels, none of which could hope to last long on the high seas. To top it off, these ships operated as the part of the government which was responsible for collecting taxes and tolls, not the military, and was the only armed branch of the revenue service of Minbenthac.
Another feature lacking in their society was that of a formal police force. The city garrison made a distinction between wall guards and street patrol, and the latter was the closest thing to police. Dracon courts had a few guards assigned to them by the city garrison, which also maintained a few prisons, with about 1,000 guards, none of which had been called to defend the city during the recent attack on the walls. Apparently, defending the prison was a higher priority. Of course, given that many of the inmates included blood mages, necromancers, and others, this was hardly a surprise. While the death penalty was well in effect in Minbenthac, and use of prison camps and enslaved labor in mines common, there was still a prison population in the city itself, mostly used as cheap labor for construction, street-cleaning, or for the lowest-level tasks in industry.
"In any event, Minbenthac is safe for now, Eriol. What we need to do now is to find a way to stop Dememoras. I've been talking about this topic for hours, and sadly, none of us seem to know what to do. We've talked about the possibility of alliances, but..."
-
Eriol looked at Adykon - "Well, it is good to know that the city can hold on by itself... at least for now. But it would be useful to know the full extent of Dememoras' powers and armies, that way we would not play our cards and to trust in luck." - As he was talking, it was clear that something was off, lacking the animosity he was having until some hours ago. but he did looked back at the Leader of the group when he said about... - "Alliances?... why are you having doubts about it?" - he said by crossing his arms and frowning a bit.
-
"About that, the thing is... oh, this is gonna be hard to explain to an outsider. Alright. As you probably know by now, there are eight major Dracon cities. Each of these cities controls its own territory, including smaller vassal cities, villages, farmland, mines, ports, and other assets. In addition to that, there are some independent areas, but for our purposes, only the eight big city-states are important at the moment."
Adykon briefly thought of the best way to put it, even if it was rather... blunt.
"To make a long story short, the eight cities have never gotten along all that well. Alliances are made and broken fairly quickly, and although a state of outright war between two or more of the cities is usually resolved in a couple of years, there is not exactly a state of lasting peace. To put it another way, it is rare that none of the eight cities aren't in some state of war against at least one of the others; when this whole thing started, there was already a three-way trade dispute between Hekaga and at least two others, and several battles had been fought... hmm. You get the idea, though? The idea of making an alliance with all eight cities is almost impossible. I should say seven, because Hekaga might as well be lost already, so that means our task is even harder. The problem is, each king wants to rule it all. Its always been like that. No king really trusts the others, although Minbenthac is on relatively friendly terms with most others at the moment. Trade is allowed to continue, regardless, but only because it is perceived to be mutually beneficial to all cities involved. Now, there are some cities who normally get along, and some who have long-standing ties, but none of them are nearly enough to warrent one of them going to war for the sake of another."
Again, Adykon thought of the situation. Something was different this time.
"Although... this is the first time our cities have been facing a threat common to all of them. Yes, a threat which could destroy and enslave us regardless of our loyalties. If the cities will not act out of care for allies, perhaps they can be persuaded to do so out of fear, or out of a desire to gain what they can out of this mess, or at least to come out with the fewest losses."
-
Eriol was very curious about all of that. - "I have been here for a relatively short time, but I can see the story of your people has been in a more constant state of violence than us Gaeans." - he thought for a second before continuing. - "... Even if our last great war ended 18 years ago, relations between the different factions have already beginning to heal and I can see that they would make an alliance much faster than the Dracons if faced with a menace of the level Dememoras is." - He doesn't want to say something improper, but he still wants to say what he thinks. - "To make an alliance is a job for nobles and diplomats, but I am sure that if such alliances are formed, the interest to save the world will not really be the first priority, but what can the others gain from all of this. It should be a way to reunite all cities, but id minbenthac can, at least, join other of the main cities, the combined armies should hold Dememoras' armies enough to help make see the other main cities of what this crisis is really about and what is at stake... somehow." - He knows that those are just words, because noble people can be very close-minded.
-
"REunite?" Adykon couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, no. Our lands were never united to begin with! The sad thing is, few of our people speak of forming a united Dracon state, and even fewer kings have tried to make it a reality. It is sad, but, you know... there was only one Dracon ruler who ever seriously tried to unite our lands, and only one who is still trying now. You know who I'm talking about, right?"
Adykon's words rang true. Because of this ruler, the other Dracons had developed a distaste for a single, united country.
-
"Well, one can learn something new every day." - Eriol said as he had no idea how divided Dracons really are as a whole, and he does know who is Adykjon talking about.
Eriol sighed. - "So Hekaga is very much lost, so that is one less of the main cities. If our old friend Dememoras is getting people into the higher ranks in the other cities too, then we can think that his tactic is the one known as 'divide and conquer'. He knows how Dracons behave politically, and he will take advantage of that... he is doing it now. So unless we can defeat him fast, he will get control of all other cities, luring their kings with dreams of power and money, and leaving us with no way to resist and get killed one by one." - he sits down again. - "If you are correct, Adykon, and I'm sure you are because you ARE a Dracon, then we are almost facing a no-win scenario, if no king can trust another king, then efforts will never be combined against the Dememoras, and it will be easier for him to feed the ideas of distrust against Dracon cities."
-
"We need to know how a king would act in a given situation. But where would we...?" Adykon looked over and saw the King of Minbenthac himself, sitting on his throne, looking quite bored and annoyed with all of his rather panicky generals. Normally, one would expect a ruler of a major city to maintain an air of decorum, but this one was sitting slumped sideways on his golden chair, leaning on his right shoulder on the right side of the thone, with his legs dangling out over the left side. Maybe he could use a break from all of this.
Adykon walked over to the king, whose eyes lit up as he noticed the warrior's approach, eager to talk to someone else, anyone else. His generals despaired at the situation in front of them; all of the upper echelons of Minbenthac's military could only see a war in which their city took on Dememoras alone; an impossible task for one city to do, however great it was.
"Your highness. May I have a moment of your-"
"Granted, Adykon. Please, no need to bow. I've had enough people kissing my tail for one day. You may speak freely."
"Yes sir. In any event, I have concluded that there is no way Minbenthac can take on the threat of Dememoras alone, so we shall-"
"We AREN'T taking him on alone, sell-sword scum!" One of the generals shouted at Adykon, angry to have the king listen to a low-born fighter over a noble of high birth such as himself. "Our city has vassals, allies, mercenaries, and the might of its own people to form an army capable of defeating ANY foe. We neither need nor desire the 'help' of outsiders for this."
"Isn't it true that our city has fought beside other cities before? Alliances have been known to exist from time to time, when it was in the interest of both cities to fight for a common cause." Adykon retorted angrily.
"I have discussed the matter of calling for allies with the other cities before, and have defused that idea on the ground that no other city will risk the wrath of the Dark Master, and even if they were brave enough or foolish enough to do so, they would take as much from us as possible in the ensuing confusion. Even if Dememoras is gone, we will still suffer when they force us to make concessions in exchange for their help. They will take our most valuable mines, seize vital trade routes, force us to into unfavorable commercial agreements, force us to cede critical farmland, and even sleep with our wives and dau-"
"That's ENOUGH!" The king was in no mood to hear it from his stuck-up general. "I have listened to your banter all day. Now let the hero speak. He IS the warrior of prophecy, remember? He's our great fighter, our ally, our friend, or... how did you describe him? Our "asset"? Or was it "our bargaining chip"?! He shall have the right to talk. Any more out of you, and I'll send you to the dungeons to cool off for a week. Now, Adykon, please continue."
"Thank you, sire. Anyway, this is the first threat that every city in the Dracon lands has faced at the same time. As such, it falls to reason that all of the other kings will want allies, but will be too proud, blind, or dare I say afraid, to call on the others. Dememoras knows that if we stand together, we will be able to beat him. His armies and powers are vast, and our city is only one link in the chain needed to stop him. Like it or not, we need the help of other cities... and they need us."
"Hmm. What you say is true. It is how I would have acted, that part about blindness.
Of course, part of that blindness comes from the 'advice' I have been receiving from my general staff. There is one question, though. I am sure that the mages of the other city-states have been detecting Dememoras's return as much as ours have. Surely, they know of him. Now, besides Minbenthac and Hekaga, there are six city-states. I would imagine that one of the would have sent out diplomats asking for an alliance by now."
Adykon saw what the problem was. None of the cities wanted to take the first step towards cooperation. Each one was content to let the others do it. The problem with that scenario was, if everyone expects someone else to do something, who is actually going to do anything?
"My king, the odds were already far against me being able to suggest an alliance with the other cities. As it is, the events which led me here were a long-shot, and I'M supposed to be this destiny-prophecy warrior of fate or whatever it is they call me. The odds that another city-state will send us a diplomat first are very slim indeed. My advice to you would be to take the first step. Send an envoy out to whatever cities you wish to, and see how it works. If we can unite even a couple of cities to a common cause, we stand a much better chance of beating Dememoras."
The king looked at Adykon, and a sparkle could be seen in his eyes. Surely, he would listen, but then...
"What about the ramifications? Surely, we risk other cities wanting our resources. It is what I would try to do if someone sent an envoy to me, asking for my help. In exchange, I would want something of theirs, like a vassal city, a rich mine, cash, control of a trade route, a strategic fortress, land, or maybe even the contract for a mercenary company, or... a quarry at the very, very least. What will this cost my city. What will it cost ME?"
"I don't know, sire, but I do know this. If we cannot stand with the others, you will certainly lose EVERYTHING. Surely, your kingdom and all that is in it is worth a mine or two? And what you lose, if anything, can always be redeemed later."
The king thought for a moment, his mind caught on a razor's edge between his general and Adykon. For a moment, he was stuck in a sort of mental limbo. Then...
"Alright. I will do it. In a few days, I shall dispatch envoys to several cities. I will also look into the possibility of sending magical messages as well, even though Kluthu has told me that such communications can be tapped by an outsider, as Dememoras will surely try to do. Thank you for your input. This concludes our discussion, gentlemen. I'm off to my chambers now. Do not disturb me. Do make sure to send some of my wives to the master bedroom. I'll sort things out when I'm there."
"Is there any specific females you want me to-" a servant spoke, before being cut off.
"Just send whichever ones you can find, alright. Except for Malinda. She's been rather... touchy.
Adykon turned back to Eriol, his task complete for now.
-
Eriol stood up again and gave a sly smile. - "That was very impressive, Adykon. Now with some luck other cities will respond to the call." - but then he got more serious. - "I just wish the Dracon Kings were not as concerned in their lands and wealth because it looks like that is all that they are concerned about. It is not half this hard in the Gaean lands... but what do I know, after all I am not a diplomat."
The male Panther waited for what to do now. - "Any luck with recruiting more people to help us in the fight?." - he asked with a kind of bored yet an almost sarcastic look on his face.
-
Adykon gave out a little laugh, then replied. "Oh, not yet. The king has retired for the night and will not likely send anyone out for a few days. Of course, that will be dealt with in due time, I am sure. I only hope his wives are still awake. I would hate for them to awakened just because he asked for them."
"He didn't ask for me, did he?" A soft voice could be heard as a green female dracon with a pale white belly stepped into view. She was very attractive for her kind, and her scant clothing, light even by her kind's low standards, gave off the indication that she was one of the many wives under the king's household.
"Oh... you must be Malinda. I think I've heard of you. First wife of the king? Displaced from his favor by other females?" Adykon withheld the phrase 'more attractive', as this would get him nowhere with her.
Malinda took a seat near Eriol and Adykon, looking bored and annoyed. Not with them, but with the way things were going with her husband.
-
Eriol looked at the bored Dracon female. - "I don't want to sound rude, but what kind of issues do you have with your husband?" - He sat down too, in a chair that is a couple of meters from her. - "Please don't feel offended, but I am far to be an expert on Dracon Society, and my only guess would be that the King has new wives... for me, that is not nice because there is no polygamy where I come from." - The male Panther looked at her with his normal serious face, not menacing in any way, and having his left elbow leaning on his left leg and his left hand been used to support his head as he looked in her direction.
-
Malinda turned to Eriol and told him what the issue was "Well... I used to be his ONLY wife, and I bore him his eldest son, eldest daughter, and his favorite daughter, in that order. I used to be very popular in Minbenthac. The other nobles were so jealous of me. They all wanted what I had. I used to be his highest wife, held above all the others, even after he married four other females. Then, he started looking for females with even larger... well, more attractive ones. Even more so than I."
The female dracon had a thought, but it was not a bad one. She would not dare cheat on her husband, but it was nice to talk to a male who would listen to her for once. "Do you two want to go to a more comfortable room? These wooden chairs aren't exactly comfortable."
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Eriol kept looking at her. - "Well, I wouldn't mind, not sure about you Adykon." - he turned to see the Adventuring Party's Leader. - "... after all, I have nothing better to do, and I may get to learn something more about the place I have been walking around during the last few months." - Even if it looks like Eriol was not thinking about anything in special, he does know that he must eventually tell Adykon, and then the rest of the group, about the fake copy of Arianne and it's fate.
-
"Excellent! Follow me!" Malinda led the two of them to a private room on the second floor of the palace, up one flight of marble stairs. One there, she invited them to have a seat on a large, soft sofa that was covered in green pillows and cushions. Adykon took a seat, only to find that he sank deeply into the sofa!
"Oof! Well, this is cushy!" He told her, a bit surprised by it. He had taken off his armor, placing it on a nearby table but still wore a shirt and pants. He would be sleeping in this day, that was for sure, but for now, he decided to make the best of his time in the room. It wasn't every day he could speak with a noble. Perhaps he might learn something useful.
Malinda moved over to her couch, which was far more impressive than the one Adykon was sitting on. Hers was also green, but the sides were plated with gold and encrusted with gems. This one piece of furniture alone was enough to buy a sizable farm. :blink:
Leaning over, Malinda looked over to the door of the room and made sure it was closed, then proceeded to light some incense which was in a burner on a small wooden table near to the couch. She then got up and moved behind a wooden frame, which, while obscuring her appearance, was still transparent enough to make out a silhouette of her as she changed her clothes. Coming out, she was dressed in a larger loincloth than before, but nothing else. Adykon could not believe that the king had chosen other females over Malinda based on appearance alone. He didn't like to compare, but even Vaeri didn't have such... large...
No, it was irrelevant. He didn't come to the palace to gawk at one of the king's wives. That was not right. Would he get mad to find out that she had invited them to talk? What did this look like? It didn't appear to be a simple chat, did it? Malinda could see that Adykon was concerned with her behavior, so she moved to dispel his fears.
"Don't worry about it, warrior. I have conversations with generals and nobles all the time, sometimes in lighter garments. My husband knows about it, and he also knows that I have stayed true to him every day for 27 years. I just want to talk. So much is going on outside, and they tell me so very little of it. The servants keep telling me not to think about it. Hmph. They don't think its a female's place to be involved in politics, or military matters, as if I would be unaffected by what happens if we lose to Dememoras in this war. I'm no fool. I know what will happen. The palace walls will come crashing down, and with them, my entire world wall fall. Don't I deserve a say in that? Don't I-... oh, goodness. I'm rambling. Come, lets have a talk about this. Gaean, do you have anything to add?"
-
Eriol loked at Malinda - "I must admit that I may never get used to see female Dracons wearing that less most of the time, but I guess it is right since this is your room, your Highness." - But he was not feeling uneasy, and his face showed that. - "But you do have a point, if Dememoras wins then Minbenthac will be the first city to fall, because this has been the city that fought back against him. If that happens, it will fall in battle because all of you did open your eyes enough to see what is really at stake here, and it will not fall catching their people 'sleeping' or just worrying about their wealth... that will happen to all other cities."
As he was talking, he was feeling how nice the couch were. - "But I have met powerful entities before, and there is always a way to defeat them, I believe that Dememoras is no different... and our good legendary warrior here will find the answer." - he said as he looked at Adykon, and he then said something that was very off-topic. - "For Gaea, I haven't sit in anything this comfortable in ages."
-
Malinda looked at Eriol, interested. She wanted to know something. "You are not a dracon, yet you fight for the defense of our kind. Why? Why are you fighting for us? Is it that you fear Dememoras's forces attacking your people? If so, you are probably correct to fear that. He is indeed ambitious, from what I've heard, and he will not stop at our lands if he ever conquers us and uses our race to form an army."
The female stood up for a moment and stretched, then sat back down, awaiting a reply from Eriol.
-
Eriol looked back at Malinda and sighed before replying. - "The truth is that I came looking for my wife's assassin, some clues led me here. Then I met Adykon and the others, and I decided to join them as a way to meet more people and to look for more clues." - he paused for a moment. - "As we continued in our travel, we got to know about Dememoras, and even though I haven't find more clues to find the one I am looking for, I still felt that I may do something of value here." - he then fully leaned on the back of the couch. - "And what you say is true, if Dememoras wins, he may eventually arrive to my homeland, and right now we are not prepared to face a crisis of that level."
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"It is good to have so many fighting for us from so far away. I only wish that more Dracons would fight in defense of other lands. We sometimes send out armies to conquer some neighboring countries." Adykon looked a bit puzzled, so Malinda clarified herself. "Oh, not Minbenthac, but some of the coastal cities have sent out forces to conquer small human and elven nations. None of these 'empires' last a long time, and their serious control over foreign lands is usually limited to trading cities and commercial routes. My city is too far from the coast to conquer foreign lands, though."
Malinda thought about the situation for a moment, then decided that there was little she could do, one way or another. The usual advice given to her when she thought about a serious issue was to 'just relax', as she had been for the past 10 years. Maybe it was time to take things more seriously, before the situation got even more out of hand... but alas, even as a wife of the king, she had no real power.
"Well, warriors, is there anything you have to ask me. I think you two should be getting to bed if you don't.
"I have nothing to add, your highness, although we need to call the party together first, then we can have a rest. The roster has been changing, after all" Adykon told her.
-
"We all have a role in this. I know Dracon females cannot take direct action in situations due to the 'superiority' males claim to have, but you may still have your role in all of this, your Highness, even if it is to help giving advice to your husband and to show always a strong will, because that helps keep the morale believe it or not." - Eriol said as he stood up. - "I think Adykon is correct and we should get going, thanks for your hospitality, your highness." - Eriol bowed a little as he said that last part and as he waited for Adykon before leaving the room.
-
"Have a goodnight, warriors. Don't mind me. I'll just rest here, on the couch, with my incense, and maybe a blanket or two." Malinda was tired, but more bored than anything else. Of course, she could sleep in; her husband would barely notice that she wasn't saying or doing anything.
She had, in fact, once gone three weeks in the palace without even speaking to him, although even he eventually sought her out, asking what was wrong. His compassion for her lack of attention lasted all of one night. Clearly, he was not a great husband, but he could have been worse, at least by the standards of his species.
Adykon walked downstairs with Eriol, heading towards the throne room, where the party was to gather. The mercenary would fetch Farstriker himself, then get Jake, Rex, Vespion, Rhiga, Marcus, and anyone else willing to adventure on... but there was one issue that needed to be resolved first.
"Eriol, I notice that you are here alone, without your wife. You haven't even mentioned her. Is something wrong?"
-
Eriol heard what Adykon said and he stopped walking, he feels that he has no need to hide or delay what happened. - "She was anything but my wife... it was a 'gift' sent by our good-old friend Dememoras." - Even if there was a bit of sarcasm in Eriol's statement, his voice said differently, he said it with anger, so where his eyes, that were suddenly sharper. He then used his right hand to give a hard punch to the nearby wall, making a heavy 'thud' sound. - "After the battle, 'she' lured me into an abandoned house, there she wanted me to join Dememoras... and when I refused, 'she' revelaed herself as a sort of Mimic. And I had no more choice than to kill it."
The Gaean closed his eyes for a moment before giving some steps closer to Adykon. - "When you face Dememoras, give him a nice and deadly attack on my part, will you?"
-
It would be an understatement to say that Adykon was surprised by this. He was shocked. The Dark Master had infiltrated the adventuring party, and had come close to wiping out one of its most valuable members. Adykon's mind raced as the thought of it, but then he thought to himself "Why am I only seeing this in terms of strategy and power?! I ought to be sad about this! Eriol just suffered a blow from Dememoras as bad as the one I took when he killed Vaeri!"
Not quite sure how to say it, Adykon responded to the panther. "My gods, that must be... terrible. I know how it feels to lose a loved one. It hurts, and that kind of hurt never fully heals. Now we've both lost someone at the hands of Dememoras." It was true that the Dark Master had not killed Arianne, but to replace her with a copy and force her husband to kill her... it was like having his wife die twice.
-
Eriol listened to what Adykon said, but he didn't turned to face him. - "I have seen death, in many of it's forms, but the most painful one was to see my wife's death... and yes, I had to see that again, even if this time it was nothing but a cheap copy, it still felt... like her."
The Gaean gave a few more steps. - "Now I must also tell the others about what happened... I am just hoping that will not make them to act paranoid due to how the Mimics can disguise themselves so... perfectly." - He said that as he bared his teeth, still in anger, but then he gave a deep breathe. - "Well, we should go to the meeting place, Adykon."
-
"Well, we are here, more or less. I planned to hold a meeting in the throne room, and we just got here. I suppose I should go find that elf, Farstriker. Then, I ought to get Vespion, Lucien, Marcus Rhiga, Minna, Ilsa, maybe Margas, find out what happened to Toby, and see what's up with Violet, Ku'ux, and then see if Jake, Sasha, Rex, and Selturma are going with us."
Adykon did not yet know about Kayla or Exodar, nor did he know what had happened to Eternion. As for the fauxen... they had just disappeared in the battle, and Kravik and Sivar? They had since returned to their temple.
-
Marcus had jostled with the crowds of residents vying for food in the streets. The prices were unnecessarily high, but that was to be expected, they went up in a calamity, until the law stepped in to bring them under control, which hadn't happened yet
_ Marcus grew frustrated with the long lines " Lets head over to Minna's palace, hopefully she and Lucien won;t mind us borrowing some food, as we don't have all day to haggle over bread and fruit..' he said heading off in the direction of Minna;s palace. The Guards allowed them to pass before Misro cane up to them, in his claw he held a summons' Adykon wishes to see you two at once..I have a similar one for the lord and lady but they are.. occupied at the moment, and it will likely be morning before they answer the summons."
-
Farstriker, for the time being, was still within the palace grounds, having gotten bored at the moment, asked for one of the servants hanging around, to go and fetch him some wine to drink, to which they agreed to do so, especially after hearing that he was with Adykon. They had returned with some wine for him, handing him a glass of it, to which he just sat there, his feet upon the table as he sipped the wine, unaware that all were to meet in the throne room.
Ku'ux on the other hand, was within the market place, his axe having being sharpened from the blacksmith, to which he had gone to retrieve it, keeping it in top condition as well as he held it in his grasp, walking down the market streets, snorting at some of the guards that walked past him.
-
Adykon entered the firing range and found Farstriker. The elf was drinking some wine, looking bored. The Dracon warrior had come to change all that.
"So, elf, are you ready to join the adventuring party? You know the risks and the reason why we fight, I trust. Are you absolutely sure you wish to embark on such a quest?"
-
Farstriker sipped the wine some more as he looked over to Adykon and waited for what he had to say before answering "But of course, this is why I had come in the first place anyway"
He paused for a moment, sniffing the wine a bit as well "By the way, I must compliment your servants on having such great taste in wine as well"
-
"Thanks, but... they're not my servants. You should thank the king, when you see him. I'm not the lord of this palace, nor I am even a lord. I'm a mercenary, you know. I'm not serving for money this time... at least, not much. There are bigger things at stake now. Come, we should go to the throne room. The king is asleep for now, but we still have much to do. I'm gathering the party to discuss our next move."
Truthfully, Adykon had been promised an estate in a bucolic valley if he defeated Dememoras, although he would have fought the Dark Master either way.
-
"Very well then, I'll be sure to do that" Farstriker told Adykon back as he finished off the wine and handed it to a nearby servant "So, shall we?" he asked as he then followed Adykon off to the throne room.
Meanwhile, one of the guards approached Ku'ux "You've been summoned to the throne room"
Ku'ux looked to the guard, but said nothing, since he, of course, still didn't really like the guards around as he just walked off towards the palace, walking past the guards that were guarding the palace as he entered the throne room, looking at who were already there.
-
Now Adykon, Eriol, Farstriker and Ku'ux were all gathered in the throne room. "Good. Some of us are here. We still don't have enough to set off to where I planned for us to go. Hmm. We will need Vespion, Rhiga, Minna, Ilsa, Marcus, and Lucien to join us, at the very least."
Adykon's plan was to find an ally, and a powerful one at that, one who had helped him before during the battle against Arcantas.
-
"So, what did you want me for?" Ku'ux asked Adykon in particular as he looked to Farstriker "And who's the elf?" he snorted some.
"Farstriker, at your service if you please" the elf answered back with a little bow, extending his hand to shake Ku'ux's.
Ku'ux looked at Farstriker for a moment before shaking his hand back, to which Farstriker spoke once again "I have not seen another minotaur around before, such an honour to see such an elegant and unique creature of your....stature"
Ku'ux snorted some more "Don't try and flatter me with any of your kind words, it wont work elf" he replied back.
"Okay...." Farstriker answered back, a little confused on Ku'ux's attitude at the moment, perhaps the minotaur did not trust him as much, or perhaps it was something else, he wasn't sure himself, yet, for the time being at least, just shrugged it off, brushing it aside as one would say.
-
"Good to see you both. Come, have a seat, all of you. If we are going to stop Dememoras, we shall need more information. We also need to gather allies. Let there be no illusions; the odds against us surviving are low. The odds of us defeating Dememoras are even lower."
Adykon took a deep breath before continuing. "For those of you who don't know, Dememoras has powers beyond anything we can match. The entire party combined could not beat him. I have my doubts that even the whole of the palace guard could hold their own in a fight with him, much less defeat that monster."
-
"Then how do you propose we stop him?" Farstriker asked as a servant handed him some more wine in a grail, to which he sipped it some.
Ku'ux snorted slightly "I take it you have some sort of plan on what to do about Dememoras?" he decided to ask next.
"Good point, because if you say he has powers that outmatch us all combined, then there has to be another way around stopping the threat of Dememoras, but the question remains on what that plan is and what it entitles" Farstriker spoke again, sipping some more of the wine, enjoying the taste of the wine as well, but of course, not getting drunk off it.
-
"To tell you the truth... I don't know how to stop him. That's why we need to learn more about him. I do know someone who might know more, and I know that no matter what we do to him, we also need to fight his army."
This was true. Even if Dememoras were to disappear tomorrow, he still had over a million soldiers, and powerful allies.
-
"And who is this person you speak of? Is he a friend of yours by any chance? Will he actually help out willingly?" Farstriker asked Adykon as he sipped more of his wine.
"And if he doesn't help out willingly?" Ku'ux decided to add in, to get the other side of the story as one could say.
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"I speak of Aerta. She's an archmage who helped me to defeat Arcantas, an archmage who served Dememoras... and the one who started me on this adventure, coincidentally. Her husband was also an archmage, and another one of Dememoras's many victims. She has contacted me in my mind, in my thoughts, in my dreams. I know she will aid us, if we help her. You see, Aerta's palace, or rather, the palace of her late husband, is under siege by Dememoras's forces, and has been for quite some time. I don't know exactly where she is, but I intend to find out. If we can save her, I know she will be a powerful ally."
She was more than an ally. Aerta and Adykon had known each other in a dream, and shared each their souls. Surely, she was more than a party member to Adykon, and more than a friend, even if they had only met once in person.
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"Ah, so this Aetra girl is in trouble, yet, you do not know where she is....but I take it that you have a plan of some sort on how to find her?" Farstriker asked as he had soon finished his cup of wine and recieved a refil of the wine.
"Sounds like a bit of a far stretch, doesn't it?" Ku'ux asked as well, sounding a bit skeptic about it as well.
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Adykon was incensed at that remark. "I will find her! Either we can scry for her, or she will tell me where to find her when she contacts me next. I believe that her palace is warded against scrying and other means of directly finding her, but there's always a way around that. It isn't that hard; we just need to get from point A to point B, and return with someone. That isn't so terrible. She's helped me before, and she has no love of Dememoras. We have both lost someone at his hands."
This was true; Aerta lost her husband when Dememoras blew him up, whereas Adykon lost Vaeri when the Dark Master blasted her right in front of him, depriving Rhiga and Kos of a mother.
-
"And don't you worry Adykon, even though we have only just meet, I will help you find her, one way or another, as if she can help us stop Dememoras, then finding her is essential, Dememoras has to be stopped somehow" Farstriker spoke back, sipping more of the wine again.
"I have to agree with the elf, we must find this girl you are speaking of, but the question still remains how we are to find her" Ku'ux added on, folding his arms by that point.
-
"She's a bit older than a girl. In fact, I don't know how old she is, although Aerta looked fairly young when I saw her last. I would say she's no older than 30. In any case, my kind lives for a very long time, and stays young in appearance for most of our lives. You can call her a 'girl' if you wish, but I don't think she would like that." Adykon replied.
Meanwhile...
Rhiga was still with Marcus at the marketplace, while Selturma was still with Rex, Jake, Sasha, and Kayla. Exodar was in Rex's house, still lying stunned on the couch. Vespion had been treating the wounded in a hospital when a messenger was sent for him. He was to report to the palace and meet Adykon. After stopping off at his temple to get a new set of black robes, the cleric was on his way to meet the rest of the adventuring party. As for Violet and Toby, no one seemed to know where they were.
-
Marcus held the summons from Adykon in his claw. they had barely reached Minna's palace before Misro had sent them back with Adykon's summon. He had promised he would send some of the servants over with food.." Come on Rhiga, we must reach the royal palace' He said to his wife.. who was just behind him, as they jostled through the crowds, heading towards the enormous palace which served as the royal headquarters.
Margas and Ilsa were also making their way to the palace.. they had woken after a long night of intense lovemaking. they had sat down to breakfast when they had received the summons from Misro. 'I think that is Marcus ahead of us"Ilsa said, running a little to keep pace with her husband.."It is possible.." came the reply, although in this crowd it can be hard to tell one face from out of the thousands milling about..
-
Eriol was quietly looking at the conversation between the members of the party that are there at this time, he was paying close attention about the Archmage, after a while he said. - "An attempt to rescue Aerta will be very dangerous if her place is under a siege, so we need a good plan, but I am also thinking about what can happen later." - he paused for a bit as he stopped been leaned against the wall and walked near the people there. - "She is sure to become a very powerful ally, but she may also know of methods, artifacts and maybe other people that could join and help us defeat Dememoras."
-
"anyway...while Exodar sits here, we'll go back upstairs" said Sasha "he hasn't said anything, because he might be a little confused about the whole situation". Sasha got up off of the couch she was on and she moved over to the stairwell. Sasha turned around and asked "anyone else coming?". "yeah i'm coming" said Jake. "me too" added Rex "you coming Selturma?"
-
Adykon thought about Eriol's words. "Hmm. It is funny to think that the 'Damsel in Distress' might be the one to save us in the long run, even as she requires saving herself. I only hope she still has the same power as we saw she had last time. I could never have stopped Arcantas without her. She helped me beat him... twice! I would likely be dead if not for her. It is only right that I return the favor and help her out when she needs it."
It was true that the party had required outside aid to survive through two of its adventures, although the largest instance of help was only partial each time; in the end, Adykon himself had to deal the finishing blow to the enemy.
-
A summons was sent to Minna and Lucien as well, but it was not until after they had finished their lovemaking, that Minna got around to reading it..' Adykon wants to see us..' She murmured to her husband after reading it and tossing it over to him.. she got out of bed slowly and got dressed.. 'Best to go see what he wants.."
As Marcus reached the enterence to the palace , he heard his name being called
' He turned to see Margas and Ilsa coming up to him.." i see you got the summons as well' Marcus said , looking at them with a smile on his face..
-
"Hold on, Minna! It takes me longer to get dressed! I gotta get my shirt on!" Lucien would also put a holster for his sword, and put on some armor later, after Adykon and the others decided exactly what they were going to do. "You females have it easy! All you need to do it put on something to cover two pieces, and you're good to go!"
It took Lucien a few minutes to get all of his clothes and equipment, but then they were ready to go. A little while later, Minna and Lucien joined Marcus, Rhiga, Ilsa, Margas, Eriol, Farstriker and Adykon in the main hall. Now all that remained was Vespion. Rex, Jake, Sasha, and the other kids were not there at the time, but in Adykon's view, that was okay. As for Violet, Toby, and Ku'ux... they would show up whenever they could.
-
before long, though Minna and Lucien were headed out toward the royal castle where Adykon sand the others would be waiting for them. Minna was dressed today in a light red top and loincloth, in her left claw was the magical staff the village shaman had created for her,
-
Margas entered the palace and was directed to the throne room, which was easily the most extravagant room he had ever seen.. Margas and Ilsa entered shortly afterwards... " we're here Adykon.. so whats the plan?' Ilsa asked.
-
Vespion had heard the summons and hastened to the palace, dressed in newly-cleaned robes and carrying a new magic staff granted to him by the temple; an ornate stave made from dragon teeth. Giving the appearance of fine ivory, this new staff would be useful in boosting his power.
Entering the throne room, he saw Adykon, Rhiga, Marcus, Lucien, Ku'ux, Margas, Minna, some unknown elven archer, Eriol, and Ilsa. The kids were not around now, but it was time to convene. "Hi! Er... I imagine I missed quite a bit. Who's the new guy?" That could have come out better, the cleric thought.
-
(OOC: Um, Ku'ux is already in the throne room, check the previous page)
Farstriker looked over to Vespion, raising up his grail some "This new guy happens to be Farstriker, an archer if you will" he told the cleric, taking another sip of the wine again.
Ku'ux just snorted slightly, his arms folded as he leaned against the wall as he watched everyone else now talk amongst themselves, deciding to keep his thought to himself for the time being.
-
(OOC: Thanks! Edited)
"So, what are we to do now?" Rhiga asked as she sat down on a chair, and pulled over another one, using the second one as a footrest. It was a good thing this was an informal meeting, as this was very poor etiquette on her part.
"We need to rescue Aerta. If you don't remember who she is, just know that she is that archmage female who helped us out with Arcantas that time."
"Ah, gotcha!" Rhiga replied while stretching her arms and legs.
"So, I think you told me she was in trouble, and that she is in her palace, a far way away from here, and that her husband is dead. How do you propose we get to her?" Vespion's question was a good one. While Aerta had contacted Adykon on occassion, there was no guarantee that she would do so. While she scryed on the party using her powerful spells from time to time, her vision was not so all-seeing that she was aware of their actions at any given moment.
In fact, at the time, she was sleeping. Aerta lay in her bed, curled up under the white sheets, still safe behind her palace walls. The estate built by her husband for the two of them was strong, and the magical shields which surrounded the structure stood firm, but how long could the sheath of semi-transparent magic last?
Vespion turned to Farstriker. "You are a ranger, yes? Do you know anything of our kind? I don't suppose the name 'Aerta' means anything to you, elf?"
-
" Aerta? Who is she? Minna asked. " a little background Adykon , if you please.. Lucien and I just got here, so we likely missed a great deal..."
_
Some more detail would be appreciated... Have you met her before? Can she really help against Dememorus? etc, etc.." Margas said."What is your interest in helping this archmage Adykon?' Ilsa asked "I trust you, of course, but a little background here would not hurt.."
-
"Ah, well, I do know a few things, I mean, I do take part in your archery contests that happen, well, anywhere they are held, I will most likely be there, so yes, I do have a rather good idea on your customs and what you usually do" Farstriker answered back to Vespion.
He glanced over to the others with a sip of the wine again, looking over to Isla in particular "This Aetra girl, Adykon here says she should be able to help out in one way or another against this Dememoras threat that has emerged, but of course, there is the matter on where to find her is all, and how we will rescue her if she does need rescuing in the end"
-
"I think I need to explain a bit more about her. Alright. Those of us who were there need no explanation..." Adykon nodded at Rhiga, who nodded back "... but our numbers are constantly in flux, so I should tell you all about her. Aerta is a female Dracon and an archmage. I don't know her age, but she was married. I say was married because she lost her husband, also an archmage, to Dememoras. Last time I saw her in person was back during our fight against Arcantas, which many of you were not there to see... although I know that Minna, Marcus, Ilsa, Rhiga, and myself were all there, along with several others... including some fox guy... anyway, long story short, without Aerta, we might not have been able to stop Arcantas, and after her husband died, she has been aiding me from her palace remotely, by casting spells and providing information during her many contacts with me, in my head."
Adykon thought about it, and while all of what he said was true, he might have been able to phrase it a bit better "Oh... I didn't make her up. She's been in contact with me by means of magic, although she isn't talking to me now. Don't take my word for it, Marcus, Rhiga, Minna, and Ilsa saw her too. Anyway, we've got to save her. She told me she was being besieged by Dememoras' forces. I don't know where her palace is, however. So, even if we could get there, we don't know where to go. That will have to be resolved."
-
Ilsa paused after hearing Adykon's explanation " so Aerta was that female archmage we met in the ruined temple when you were searching for that artifact.. 'interesting..has she shown.. how can i put this delicately?... interest... in you Adykon? You know how our laws treat the widowed...
-Ilsa! I doubt Adkyon has any interest in Aerta other than helping her against Dememoras, even if he does.. well that's his business"Margas rebuked. " I've never known you to be a gossip.. don't start now.."
-
"No, its okay. I admit that Aerta and I have shared much in our dreams. It is not easy for me to explain. Hmph. I guess this sort of thing just isn't easy to put into words. I-I don't wish to say more about that. Not now."
Adykon wasn't sure about the situation himself. How could he explain it to others?
-
"So, all we need to do is find out where Aerta actually is, and then we will have a point" Farstriker soon spoke up "But there is still the question on how we are going to find out where she is" he placed the grail down onto the table as he leaned forward a little on his seat.
Ku'ux gave off a small snort as he looked to Farstriker "We will find her, one way or another, but I hate to say it, but I agree with the elf, we still must find out where she is, otherwise, we will be wandering around aimlessly while Dememoras gets stronger by the day"
-
"An alternative may be that you Adykon should ask her next time she contacts you. But unless that happens tonight or very soon, we should start thinking in a plan-B to find her by asking for help of other mages." - Eriol spoke as he walked and leaned against the wall the again and as he crossed his arms. - "But we should also consider making another strategy to keep the battle against Dememoras until Aerta decides to appear again or until we have a clue on how to find her."
-
"Aerta is under siege and there is no time to lose. She's been under siege for a long time. As you are all aware, recent events have made it difficult or impossible for us to mount a rescue attempt, but now, we really ought to do so. We cannot wait around for her to contact me again."
Adykon sat down in one of the chairs in the throne room and began to think. There must be some way to contact Aerta using magic. Could Vespion do it? If not, could Minna? Ilsa? Could anyone?
-
Farstriker was also thinking on the matter at hand "Yes, it is indeed, a bit of a prediciment that we're in, so what do you suggest that we do first?" he decided to ask as he was, for the time being, out of ideas himself, so he had nothing to really share with everyone.
Ku'ux on the other hand, just snorted a little bit at what Farstriker had said "Isn't it obvious? We need to at least start to gather information on finding this Aerta person, so far, it seems like she is a much more of a higher priority than anything else"
"But that still leaves the question on how we are going to start finding out information on where we are going to start to find Aerta, where would we begin on that half? As we have already established that none of us know where her city is" Farstriker replied back to Ku'ux.
-
Vespion cleared his throat and announced a plan to his to the group "I don't know where she is, and I don't know anyone who does, but I do know of some people who can find out for us."
"Would this be a certain group of mages? Clerics? I'm sure that if we have a scrying spell that is strong enough-" Adykon began to outline an idea for a high-powered scrying spell which could reveal a location by showing the spellcaster a vision of the person, place, or thing in question, but Vespion cut him off.
"No. Not a scrying spell. It is a standard precaution for a mage to cast anti-scrying wards on his domicile. Even if we do have enough power to get through Aerta's wards, we still might not be able to pinpoint an exact location, although we will get to see inside her palace. We just wouldn't know where it is. To that end, I suggest we enlist the services of some psionics."
"A psionic? Wait, are you talking about those mentalists? I don't trust them." Rhiga knew that the psionics were a group of mages with the ability to read minds, as well as lift things with sheer mental magic. Being a thief back in Hekaga, Rhiga had long dreaded being captured and having her mind read, which would reveal all of her crimes.
"Many Dracons don't trust them either, because they can not only read minds, they have the power to manipulate minds as well. Furthermore, no one who is a psionic is born with that power, at least, no dracon is. Every last one of them learns it by their own efforts. In any case, their guild is encased in solid black granite, which keeps them from reading minds that are outside their guild walls. We should be cautious when we go there, and spend as little time in the company of the psionics as we can. We only need them to scan the astral plane and detect Aerta's mind, make contact with her, and get her to tell us where to go to find her." Vespion's plan was sound, but Adykon wanted to know something...
"How do we know she will even be projecting her soul onto the astral plane? She can't be doing it all of the time."
"That is correct. Mages such as her, however, like to scan the planes at least once a day. All we need is for her to scan them once for a second, and we should be able to make contact."
"How do you know what she is like?" Adykon knew that Vespion never saw Aerta, and that the cleric was making a generalization about her.
"I don't know what she is like, Adykon. At best, my analysis is an educated guess. If you have a better idea, I'll listen."
"I... do not. Alright. Let's try the psionic thing. I know where that guild is. Are we all ready?"
-
"Psionics?" Farstriker asked "I do not think that trust one who can read and manipulate one's mind is such a good thing, as they can not be trusted with what they can do, but if we must find one of these Psionic users in order to find Aerta, then it must be done"
Ku'ux snorted once again "As much as I do not like the idea of mind readers and the sort, I must agree with the elf on the matter, we must find one of these mind readers if we are to find this female of yours" he told Adykon.
As Adykon had asked if all were ready, a voice called out "Wait!" it was Kayla who had ran from in town all the way to the palace after she had heard they were going to be heading off on an adventure and wanted to use this oppertunity to go with them, especially if they were to head past her own village she had come from.
-
"Ah yes... you... aren't Sasha." Rhiga got up and looked at Kayla. Another human girl.
"I get the feeling that you were sent here from the others who know us. Who are you, who sent you here, and what do you know of our quest?" Adykon guessed that this human had met either Jake, Sasha, Rex, or Violet, as these were to most likely candidates for sending her over to them. Toby, Eternion, and even Kravik and Sivar could have told her the same about Adykon, to a degree.
-
"Sorry" Kayla spoke, having just caught her breath again "I'm Kayla, I'm a friend of Selturma's" she begun before hearing him ask about how she knew about the quest "And, as for that last thing, I don't really know much, I just know you're heading out on a quest of some sort and would like to come along..."
That's when Farstriker decided to interupt as he looked over to the human "Isn't that just a little bit....bland? Wanting to go on a question without knowing what it contains or the dangers of it?"
Kayla wanted to say sonmething back, but she knew that Farstriker was right as well, starting to now think that she was starting look like a complete idiot in front of everyone else with what she had been saying "Well....yeah....but it's just that I don't want to have to head out on my own"
"Just where is it that you wish to head off to?" Farstriker asked back, starting to get curious on where Kayla was going with what she was saying.
"Back to my village, I want to settle some business there with...well...my father, but I don't want to have to do it alone either" Kayla replied back, shaking her head some as well.
Farstriker looked to Kayla for a moment, then over to Adykon, then back to the human once more "What can you do?"
"Not much you know, I can fight with a knife, well, a knife as well as hand to hand combat too, and I do have some pretty good balance as well...." Kayla begun to answer as Ku'ux interupted with a snort.
"I don't think that would be good enough with some creatures one can come across, especially if said creatures would be made of something such as stone" the minotaur told the human.
Kayla looked down a little bit by that point, realizing that Ku'ux was also right before hearing the minotaur speak again.
"However, that does not mean that one can not protect you from such creatures either" Ku'ux told her.
"I don't need protection...." Kayla replied back a bit more quietly, even though, again, she knew that Ku'ux was right that in that sense, someone would need to protect her more as a knife or hand to hand combat would not be useful against those sort of enemies.
-
"Unless your father is located on the way to our goal, we cannot yet take the time out to deal with him. However, if you join us, I will help you settle any problems you have" Adykon told Kayla, adding...
"We are on a quest to stop Dememoras, whom you might know as the Dark Master. To make a very long story short, he is an evil being with god-like powers that seeks to take over all of the Dracon lands, and this party intends to prevent that. To that end, we are seeking the aid of an archmage named Aerta, and to find her, we have to contact some psionics, and have them help us find her. Now, in the odd chance that your village is on the way to or from our goals, we can help you out a lot sooner than later."
-
"Oh" Kayla begun before hearing what Adykon had explained to her "I have a question, what are psionics?" she asked, not actually knowing herself.
"Mind readers, well, they can read minds and manipulate minds" Farstriker explained to Kayla in a nutshell.
"Ah, right, but the Dark Master you say?" Kayla remembered her father saying stuff about Dememaros, but nothing bad about him as she had then gone quiet for some time.
"Uh, Kayla?" Farstriker asked, curious on her silence "All is well with you?"
Kayla looked over to the elf "Sorry, I was just....remembering stuff is all" she paused for a moment as she didn't actually know, until now, that this party was also trying to stop Dememoras.
"So, what do you say, do you wish to join us on our little adventure?" Farstriker then asked Kayla next.
Kayla looked to Adykon "Well....only if he allows it, cause, well, I would like to help out in anyway I can, and the Dark Master.....I already hate him as it is and if you want to stop him, I would like to help out as well, if it's alright that is"
-
"Well, maybe if we get to raise our numbers a bit it could work in our favor." - Eriol said as he was leaning on a nearby wall. - "Kayla, I just hope your father will not give us problems like Arcantas did." - The least the party needs right now is to face someone powerful again as they all already have enough problems dealing with Dememoras.
But Eriol has not yet give an opinion about psionics, after all, he has too many things from his past that he'd like to keep for himself and that the party does not need to know.
-
"Well, if we are to come across him, I have a feeling that he will give us problems" Kayla replied back to Eriol.
"Like he said, that is still, something we do not need right now" Ku'ux snorted some as well as he folded his arms.
"Might I ask Kayla, what kind of problems would your father give us anyway? And why would he give us problems in the first place?" Farstriker then decided to ask the human girl.
"Okay, here's the thing, my father....he likes to deal in the dark arts, you know, dark magic and what have you, something I just can't stand myself....which is why I had to get away from him....he has the whole village under his control more or less" Kayla replied back with a small sigh as well "I know it's not your problem, and I don't want to have to make it your problem either, I just would like to deal with it myself at the very least...."
"I do not mean to interject, but if he deals in the dark arts, and has your village under his control, then something is indeed, very wrong there and something must be done about it.....but I'm afraid Kayla, that it must be done at a later date as this psionic, mind reader person must be found, it is top priority right now" Farstriker told Kayla back.
Kayla gave a nod back to the elf "Yes, I understand that, and I would still like to also help you guys out with your quest as well"
-
"Our main goal is to stop Dememoras, but before we do that, we have to save Aerta. I suppose you could say that our goal is to find a psionic in order to achieve that other goal, which... oh, never mind. I know where this guild is, so let us be off without any further delays. Jake and the others can meet up with us later, when we are done with this part."
A few minutes later, the party had left the palace was walking through the streets on Minbenthac, heading towards a wide boulevard, down a smooth, white stone street which had many important-looking buildings on either side of it. Some of these buildings were even 3 or 4 stories tall. Adykon had been here before, so he decided to give a little explanation to those who didn't know.
"This is the guild district, everyone. Some of you are familiar with mages and mercenaries, whose bases of operations are scattered all over the city. Well, not every worker's group is so divided; in fact, the major craft guilds and certain specialist mages have their headquarters her. See those taller buildings? That's where the guilds are headquartered, and in some cases, where they produce goods. Most of the structures here are shops, though, even if the workers in those shops are guild members or sell goods made by the guilds. See the end of the road? That black building is the psionics guild. That's where we need to go."
-
I'm not fond of psoinics, too often have they manipulated others for their own gain.. " ilsa said as they continued walking past the guilds " It is risky " Margas agreed, but what other option do we have?
- None that's what Minna replied " i have little patience for psonics myself, those i have meet have been largely full of themselves and hold their power over you, in a 'i can read your mind and thees nothing you can do about it' manner..
Most psionics are decent sorts, like other mages excluding those in the dark arts of course" margas said 'My father long claimed that we had psionics in the family, apparently my great-grandmother practiced it, but that may be just family legend..'
-
Farstriker looked over at where Adykon had motioned to as he ran his fingers through his hair "So, you have a psionic guild here?"
"It seems like it" Ku'ux snorted again as he stepped forward some towards the building.
"Whoa, hold up there big guy" Farstriker spoke up again as he looked to Adykon again, however, he also noticed that Kayla was still follwing them "I take it that you still want to come with us?"
Kayla nodded back "Yeah, I've already made up my mind on the matter" she told the elf "I just need a weapon is all, preferably a knife, or a short sword of some sort, you know, one that's not really long or anything like that"
-
"We just need to get them to tell us what we need to know about where Aerta is. No one is talking about having our minds read." Vespion didn't like psionics much either, but he had to admit they had their uses. The ability to reach out to a mind on the astral plane and make contact with it made for unparalleled communication.
For this form of communicating, distance mattered very little, even across dimensional boundaries. If Aerta were scanning the Astral Plane, they would find her and be able to talk to her.
-
"Psoinics charge fees for doing that sort of thing, their services will not come cheap " Margas said , looking around at the surrounding shops.. he would have to remind himself to buy some gods from these stores later, a freshly polished breastplate of armor caught its eye it was inladen with pearl and mithril, and looked very expensive. Of course, given Margas' newfound wealth, price was not an issue..
_ So once we find out where Aerta is, we'll head there.. and um who's paying for it? Minna asked. " We'll send the king the bill, hes got enough wealth to absorb all our expenses and then some.." ilsa smirked as they approached the enterance to the psionics guild. As they walked up a large dracon wearing a blood-red robe came up toi them " What is your business here?' he asked. it was not a harsh tone, but neither was it friendly..
-
Farstriker gave a nod to Kayla "Very well then" he then looked over to Adykon "So, you still have no clue on who this psionic is that is able to help us find Aerta?"
Ku'ux took a few steps towards the place before stopping, looking back to the others who were still conversing on the matter "Does it matter elf? We should just go in there and ask around instead of just standing around and talking about it" he told Farstriker in particular before he walked off ahead again, heading towards the guild still.
-
"If you are truly a psionic, you will know what our business here is." Vespion replied with a smirk. "You can tell why we have come, right?"
Reading minds against one's will was generally frowned upon amongst the Dracons, but the laws of Minbenthac stated that inside a psionic's guild, the mages who wielded the mental magic were allowed to practice it in any way they wished, so long as it did no one any harm.
-
"I take it that you already have forgotten than these psionics can read minds" Farstriker told Ku'ux as he caught up to him "So really, we need not ask around, the psionic would simply have to read our minds and approach us on the matter"
"True, however, what if said psionic decides not to approach us about it?" Ku'ux decided to ask back.
Farstriker was about to say something, but then went into a thinking kind of mode, his hand on his chin and after a few seconds, he spoke "Yes, that is also true, so really, I guess we'll just have to wait and see on that matter, it does seem a little confusing, since we have no clue if the psionic will actually approach us or not, we just have to play it by ear"
-
So you are looking for the archmage Aerta?' the psonic replied.. ' You are asking much, the Dark One can easily enter a mind trying to communicate on the astral plain.. yet I sense she is approaching her limits.. she has been under siege by him for sometime... come with me.. i will take you to the head of the order and see what he can do for you.." he motioned them to follow him inside the building which had a faintly forboding air about it..
-
The psionic guild was a strange sight indeed. The halls were made out of the same black stone that covered the exterior, though the floor was comprised of mundane gray stone, albeit stone that felt unusually warm underfoot. The air was heavy with incense, although it took Adykon a few minutes to realize that it was quiet. Very quiet. Despite seeing dozens of mages, none of the party heard any of them speak.
Vespion was surprised by this eerie silence, but then he remembered what he had been told about the psionics in the great temple; that when one can communicate by sending thoughts to another's head, and even project images, music, and elaborate thoughts, speech loses its value. Save for what had been spoken to the party, there was not so much as a syllable uttered.
-
"Wow, it's about as dead as a graveyard in here" Farstriker commented once he was inside, shuddering a little bit at the quietness around them.
"It's got an errie feeling about it....kinda like what my father did to my village...." Kayla spoke up next as Farstriker looked to her.
"Sorry to hear that Kayla" the elf told her with a warming smile to her.
"Ah, don't worry about it so much, it's nothing to be concerned about" Kayla answered back.
Ku'ux entered the building as well, taking a look around himself, snorting again, already realizing why they were all so quiet "Mind readers...." was all he had said.
-
When you can speak with your mind, speaking normally, well isn't as important' Margas whispered very softly to Ilsa and Minna.. 'Do you have any experience with psonics Margas? Minna asked. " Well, as I said before,, my great grandmother supposedly was a psonic, she barely talked at all during the last thirty, forty years of her life, st .least that is what my grandfather said.. I'm not sure how much I believe it.."
-
The party was led down the hallway to a door large, black door. The psionic that had been guiding them stopped. Without making a sound, he telepathically commanded the door to open, using the password to unlock the spell that kept it shut. A minute later, the adventurers had passed through the door, and found themselves inside a larger chamber, filled with three meditating dracon psionics on either side of the rectangular room, males to the left, females to the right.
Adykon realized that this room was somewhat warmer than the hallway; he could feel the heat from the warm stones which covered the entirety of the floor. Sitting on a black throne was the head of the order. Covered in dusty red robes, this tired-looking Dracon nevertheless projected an air of power about him. He didn't even bother to speak, but let his mind do the talking.
<I know who you are and why you have come, Adykon. I also know that any services we provide are covered by the king. I regret to inform you that at this time, using our powers to find Aerta will be impossible.>
-
"I guess he's the leader of the guild" Kayla spoke up first as she looked at the Dracon on the throne.
"Uh, excuse me, we're trying to find one called Aerta, do you know where we might find her?" Farstriker decided to ask the Dracon, using speach of course.
Ku'ux folded his arms as he looked at the Dracon as well, however, he was only thinking to himself "This better not be a waste of time...this Dracon better help us find the girl...."
-
<I know of who you seek, but even I do not know exactly where she is. We cannot find her because she is not on the Astral Plane right now. The best we can do is to leave her a message there and hope that she finds it. Unless she expects to find a message, the odds of her actually receiving it are quite low.>
"Can't you just wait around on the astral plane, or get someone else to do it? I'm sure she projects her spirit there quite often." Vespion thought he knew about the planes, but, to his chagrin, the answer he received showed how very little he knew about psionic magic and astral projection.
<I have no doubt that she does, but you need to realize that the Astral plane is infinite in size, and the odds of anyone finding her without knowing where she is on the material plane are very, very low. Like trying to find a needle in an infinite haystack. We could have a million psionics search for her, and not find anything. I can send a message which can be found by anyone who is looking for it. I know the topic is hard to grasp, but... well... the astral plane is a dminesion that exists between all other realms of existence. Whenever someone teleports, they physically pass through the Astral plane for a tiny fraction of a second. From any point in the plane, one can easily reach another point, and every point in the plane corresponds to a point in the material plane, or what you would call our world. The astral plane is highly mutable, given sufficient power. The lack of opposing forces makes it easy to embed one's will into the plane, enabling a mage to alter parts of it, or to embed a thought into the fabric of the dimension. Unfortunately, this change requires the recipient to be willing to receive it, as it will also be Aerta's will which alters the plane, or, rather, her will that enables the plane to alter for her. If she is expecting you to contact her using the aid of psionics, she should be willing to receive a message. I can tell that neither you nor I know what she would do. It is worth a shot, but you shouldn't get your hopes up.>
The grand psionic's "voice" reached everyone in the room, even though his projected thoughts made no sound.
-
"So, let me get this straight, we're pretty much searching for a needle in the haystack as one would say? Like taking a gamble on if she shall get the message or not....as it does seem like high stakes we're playing with right now" Farstriker spoke up after waiting for the grand psionic to finish.
Kayla looked over to Farstriker, so far, impressed with what he was saying as she then looked to Ku'ux who was just silent, well, all except for his breathing through his cow-like nostrils, which was a bit louder than a normal human being's breathing through their own nose, however, she wasn't sure on what to say herself, and for now, just kept to herself like Ku'ux did.
-
<I shall send a message anyway. Keep in mind that this is akin to putting a note in a bottle and throwing it out to sea, with the hopes that one particular person will find it. Making direct contact with her would only be possible if we knew where to look, and since not only do you not know where she is, but, from what I read from your mind, Adykon, she is in a palace with wards that would protect against any attempt to look in on her. Our odds only improve if she is looking for a message.>
"Alright. Fine. Send her this message. "Dear Aerta. This is Adykon. Please contact me as soon as you can. I am going to find you. Love, Adykon. Ulp! I mean... send it. Just send it." That last part was unintended. It just came out. Still, Aerta wouldn't mind hearing it, although the others might have heard it... yeah. They heard it alright.
<That was not the most... eloquent message ever written, but it serves its purpose.>
"Well, that's the message to send. How long will this take?"
<It's done. I sent the very words through the astral plane as you spoke. If Aerta finds it, she will hear everything.>
"... even that last part?"
<Yes. The spell works by sending a thought as one remembers it. Unless I could forget what you had said in an instant, there is no other way for me to->
"Fine. Just... let it go."
<I could not remove or call back the message if I had tried to. Such a spell is rarely used without knowing the recipient is expecting it.>
-
"So, I guess, for the time being anyway, we just wait? Or, do you have another plan in mind while we wait for a reply back?" Farstriker asked Adykon himself.
Ku'ux looked to Kayla, seeing that she too was quiet and not really talking as he spoke up to her "There is still time to turn back you know, as we haven't left the city as of yet"
Kayla looked up at Ku'ux, then back down to the ground "I know, but like I keep on saying, my mind's already made up" she told him before she then looked over to the grand psionic, still talking with Ku'ux "Besides, you guys really need whatever help you can get with fighting against the Dark Master"
Ku'ux thought for a moment before speaking "Yes, that is true, any help in fighting against Dememoras would be of use, just....try not to get yourself killed" he told her.
"Did my ears just decieve me, was that you showing some signs of caring?" Kayla joked to Ku'ux.
However, Ku'ux said nothing back on the matter as he heard Kayla sigh a little bit.
"It was just a little joke was all" Kayla told the minotaur with a smile upon her face as well.
-
The question of waiting was soon answered. It had not been a full two minutes before Adykon was contacted by Aerta. She had been waiting for him to go to the psionics' guild and send a message. Within a moment, she managed to send a message through the black stone of the guild, although even for an archmage of her power, it was a hard task, so her contact with Adykon was limited to a few snippets.
"A-kon. Go ou-si. Can cont- you... be...er." The words registered as sound to Adykon, but he knew that he hadn't actually heard anyone nearby him.
"Everyone, she's just contacted me. We should go outside the guild for a moment and she should be able to make clearer communication with me."
-
Farstiker nodded back to Adykon as she headed outside first.
Ku'ux looked to Kayla some more and motioned for her to follow him, for now, just talking to each other still "Heh, you humans have a strange way of joking about things"
"Yeah, well, I suppose that could be said about your kind, having different tastes in different jokes" Kayla replied back to Ku'ux as she walked with him as the two of them were heading outside as well.
-
"That was... very impressive... Not the message so much, but the fact we got very lucky in contacting her' Margas said. The knowledge that psonics was a lot more complicated than he had guessed... he had gained a new measure of respect for those who practiced it.
-
"so what is her message Adykon ' Minna said a little impatiently."Minna! she is taking a risk by contacting us... because Dememoras will likely be trying to catch her outside her palace.' Ilsa replied." Patience, please. Adykon will tell us when she has contacted him."
-
-
The adventuring party stepped outside of the psionic's guild and waited for Adykon to tell them what Aerta would tell him. Instead, they were amazed to find a shimmering, transparant image of a white-clad dracon female materialize in front of them!
"Love, Adykon, is it? I'm glad you care" Aerta told the rather surprised crowd. While she was not physically present, the image of the female archmage seemed to be standing next to them, representing her full height and appearance. Obviously, she was fake, given that her image was transparent, scentless, and intangible.
"Well, now, you have come to rescue me, I'd imagine? You probably want to know where I am, and you probably have some questions for me. Yes, this is me, Aerta. Adykon's mystery girl. I see that the roster is very different this time around. Kravik and Sivar are gone, and there are several newcomers."
-
Farstriker approached the image and waved a hand through it "Amazing, able to project an image like this....truth be told, I have not seen such a thing being used before"
Ku'ux folded his arms as he looked at the image "And here I thought that find your or contacting you would be more difficult than this....I had underestimated the abilities of a psionic"
Kayla was rather impressed herself, but yet, she decided to not say anything, incase she were to insult Adykon or Aerta by mistake in the process, something she didn't want to do.
-
"Aerta, so that;s your name? I remember you from the temple." Ilsa said, coming forward toward Aerta's image " You didn't give us your name at the time. I'm Ilsa,we're here to help you in any way we can; from what I hear, you lost your mate to Dememoras. That monster has tried to take Minbenthac by force, and well, nearly succeeded.I speak only for myself, but any help you can provide us would be greatly appreciated."
_ Marcus stepped forward. and bowed respectively to the image of Aerta. 'It is an honor to meet you. Are you of the nobility?' He asked.
-
"Not formally. My husband had managed to amass quite a bit of wealth from his services rendered to various kings, and I was relatively well-off for a female mage, hailing from a middle class household. Neither of us could be called nobles. Neither he nor I ever held any great assets or wealth outside of his palace. We have no vast fields, no mines, no slaves, no vast amount of money. The palace itself is only about average in size by the nobility's standards, and there isn't nearly as much decoration as there are magical items."
Aerta's description was not totally accurate. In truth, she did have a lot of golden jewelry, and her husband was as rich as many of the lower-ranking nobles. Now he was dead.
-
"I'm very sorry to hear that" Margas said. " I'm Margas, Ilsa's new husband. Its a pleasure to meet you. If I may ask a personal question, how did your husband die?" he paused looking closely at the image. Aerta was quite beautiful in appearance. Margas judged her to be roughly ten years older than he was, which would put her in her mid-30s, through that was still young by Dracon's reckoning. "Forgive me Aerta, if that was too personal. I understand completely if it was."
-
"Well... remember that debacle with Arcantas and that statue? My husband took it back to the lost city, but Dememoras blew him up. I believe Adykon already knows this, but you all deserve to know. I don't know what became of that stupid statue. My husband and I took it upon ourselves to watch that stupid thing, among our other self-appointed tasks. We wanted to make the Dracon lands a safer places; to keep hostile, foreign, ancient, and dangerous magics at bay, so that others wouldn't have to and so nobody would suffer."
Vespion was the one to speak this time, and he approached the image, careful not to accidentally step into it. "You haven't failed, Aerta. You can still join us, and we... oh. Well, once we free you, you can join us."
-
"Speaking of which, I do wonder what it is that you do need help with my dear" Farstriker spoke to Aerta next "As Adykon said that you were indeed, under seige from the enemy, I take it that things are bad?"
"It still doesn't help out much if we still do not know of the exact location of your city" Ku'ux added on as well in reply to Farstriker mainly.
-
"City? Oh, I'm not in a city. The palace is far, far away, in the countryside. I can tell you where I am, however. The palace is about 750 kilometers to the north of Minbenthac. The easiest way to get there is the head to the town of Vidri, which should be on most maps. From Vidri, head due east for another 15 kilometers, and you should see both the palace and the army of over 2,000 of Dememoras's troops blocking all access by land. I shall tell you more about entering the palace when you draw close. I wish you all good luck."
Aerta turned and was about to break the connection, but then she thought better of it. Turning back to the party, she asked "Does anyone else have any questions?"
-
"No, I myself have no other questions about it, more may come when the time draws closer, but for now, like I had just said, I have no other questions for you" Farstriker replied back.
"It seems like we have a long journey ahead of us then" Ku'ux spoke as he looked to Aerta, but yet, said nothing else.
Kayla did want to ask something, but she wasn't sure on what to actually ask her and decided to stay quiet still for the time being as she stayed beside Ku'ux still.
-
"Alright. I'll stay in touch. For now, I shall be in the palace. In fact, given that the defenses that keep the enemy out also serve to keep me in, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. Adykon, I can't wait to see you again, just... ah... hurry. I've got plenty of food and water, but sooner or later, the energies protecting the palace walls shall fail, and when that happens, I shall also... fall."
"Can't you just teleport out, Aerta?"
"I could, Adykon, but it would do me no good. The enemy also has teleportation-capable mages, and they can follow me anywhere I go. So, the sooner you can come to my aid, the better."
And with that, the shimmering image of Aerta vanished.
-
Eriol crossed his arms and made a small smile. - "Heh, every time we think we do have a path to follow to end this, a new road appears to make the whole thing more complicated. But I hope this time we'll get an answer so we can go find Aerta."
Eriol was calmed, but his mind still cannot remove the thoughts of the Mimic sent by Dememoras and how with every day that pass, the less chances he may get to find his wife's assassin, and to check on his son, who is waiting far away back in the gaean lands.
-
"Alright. We have to head north. It will be a long journey, but I'm sure we can make it. Next to the lost city, this isn't that far. Is everyone ready to go? If we leave now, we can make it there in a week, and back in just as much time. Vespion, can you make food and water for us?"
"Yes, Adykon, I can. It is not so hard a spell, and as long as we don't add too many more people to our group, we should have no difficulty with supplies. "
-
Eriol looked at the Dracons, he then said to Adykon. - "Well, Vespion's ability to create food is most useful, but if you have a couple of hours to spare, we may get some spare parts for weapons and maybe rations of our own."
He then stopped leaning against the wall, as he oftens do. - "I don't know a great deal of what is needed to know about magic, but I do know that every spell consumes energy, and since the group is big, we may do that to help Vespion a bit." - he then looked at the mage Dracon. - "But it is fine if you can handle that task with ease."
-
"Yeah, I'm pretty much realy to go" Kayla spoke up, granted, she didn't have much, but she was ready regardless in her mind anyway.
Farstriker glanced over to Kayla for a second before looking back to Adykon and gave him a nod "Yes, I too am ready, ready whenever you lot are ready to head off"
Ku'ux nodded as well to say that he was ready as well without actually saying a word, clutching onto his axe again, well, that is, until he spoke up "When do you plan on actually leaving the city? As if there is time before we go, perhaps we could meet at the entrance to the city, in case others wish to also do something else before then"
-
"Well, there's no exact timetable. I figure we have about 4-5 hours before we should be leaving. I'll be getting some new equipment from the castle armorer, and exchanging my old armor in for even better gear. I was advised that my armor didn't offer me the necessary level of protection for fighting Dememoras's elite legions, although, frankly, it is hard to see how any armor will ever provide total protection from those monsters, let alone the Dark Master himself."
Adykon's armor was very good by most standards, but he needed the best in order to take on the foes he would face.
-
"So, I take it that we'll meet back up by the gates or something like that?" Kayla asked with a little shrug.
"Seems like that's what's going to be happening, especially if we have that much time before we are to be leaving" Ku'ux added on, looking to Kayla.
"Well, I already have what I need, thanks to Adykon" Farstriker spoke as he was on about the arrows he was allowed to take from palace armoury "So, whenever you wish to head off, I shall meet you all by the gates"
Kayla thought for a moment "Um, Adykon, I need a small favour....I just need a weapon is all, most likely, a knife, or a small sword....nothing that big"
-
"Come with me, then, Kayla." And with that, the party split up for a few hours to find any last equipment, weapons, armor, or other supplies needed for the journey they were about the embark on. Vespion was walking with Adykon and Kayla as they headed back to the palace armory. Adykon would receive his armor there.
Vespion, by contrast, had everything he needed. The cleric sensed something about Kayla, a kind of magic about her that he could not quite place his finger on. He decided to ask her himself.
"Kayla? Excuse me. If you don't mind my asking, are you a mage? Are you related to one? I know you told us about your father..."
-
Kayla shook her head back "No, I'm not a mage or anything like that, my father is....well..." she paused for a moment as she looked to Vespion, not sure on if she should actually tell him what her father was actually like.
She looked on ahead at what was around them as she had more or less lingered away from what she was talking about, for the time being, wanting to stay quiet about it, unless of course, Vespion were to ask more about her father.
-
"He's a mage, isn't he? He wanted to do something to you, or maybe he already succeeded. Is that it?" Vespion's questioning was harsh, but in his view, necessary. After Violet and the fake "Arianne", there were too many possibilities for the party to be affected with infiltrators, curses, and traitors. The Dracon cleric had to make sure that another tragedy was not in the making.
Meanwhile, Rhiga went with Marcus to look for anything they might need for their journey. Selturma was still with Rex and his parents, along with Jake and Sasha.
-
Kayla was still quiet after Vespion spoke as she didn't really like talking much about her father, well, that was until she looked at him. He looked to be a bit stern as well, as if he wanted an answer, one way or another as she sighed "Okay, here's the thing, my father likes to deal in dark magic and he used some of his dark magic on me....changed me when I didn't want anything to happen to me, he said something about it to do with the Dark Master"
She looked to her feet by that point, her mood wasn't all that happy now either "I just want to do something about this....I don't even know what to call it....but the reason I want to go back to my father is to actually confront him, you know, get him to remove this....thing from me....unless...." she looked to Vespion once again "Do you think you could help me out with it?"
-
"I honestly don't know if I can" Vespion replied. "I would need to know more about the curse, spell, enchantment, or whatever it is that afflicts you." The cleric looked ahead, towards Adykon. The warrior had not heard Kayla's conversation, or if he did, the gave no sign of hearing them. Perhaps he had grown used to this sort of thing, or maybe he truly didn't hear them.
"Of course, I would love to remove a curse from you; as a cleric, that is one of my many tasks. I can see that you are uncomfortable with the subject, but I must know this; what has the curse done to you? I cannot remove a curse without knowing what it does any more than I can offer a medicine without knowing what the disease is. We can worry about confronting your father later."
-
Kayla knew what people did to what kind she was, looking to Vespion as she did seem to trust him as well "Well, if you want to know...." she begun as she opened her mouth some and tapped on, what seemed to be fangs "I know people like to kill what I am...and I didn't even ask of it either...."
She gave off another little sigh as she was also, doing what she could to hold back the taste or even need, of blood at the moment, which did take some sort of affect on her "And, I do need a small favour too, which is....well, I don't want to have to actually ask you for it, but I do need it...it's well....blood..." she spoke, a little more quietly in case Adykon were to hear, as she wasn't sure on what he would do to her and for now, wanted to keep it between her and Vespion "I only ask for blood is because....it's part of my....I suppose you can call it a curse, cause I don't know what to call it myself...."
-
Vespion was shocked to hear it. Blood. She needed blood. That could mean several things, but odds are it only meant one thing...
"Vampire!"
Adykon had heard that alright, and he spun around to confront what he thought would be a dracon, much like Asthia was, and what Arcantas became. Having already faced two vampires before, the warrior was keen to look out for another He looked around only to find Vespion and Kayla.
"Vespion, where is it? You did say you saw a-"
"It's Kayla. Her father cursed her, but she doesn't seem to be manifesting any of the truly malignant qualities yet. Don't attack her, please."
Turning to the human girl, Vespion spoke kindly to her, not judging her for what her father had done to her... if that was indeed the case.
"Kayla, you need to listen to me. I have to know if your father did this to you against your will, or if you wanted this to happen. If your father did this to you without your true, total, and complete consent, you may yet be redeemed and cured. But if you wanted to become a vampire, then may the gods have mercy on your soul for rejecting the true life they gave you."
-
"What? No...I never wanted any of this! If I did want this, then I would not want to confront my father to get rid of this curse in the first place!" Kayla soon, stopped yelling, taking a few deep breaths as well as she looked to her hands.
"I never did want this in the first place, my father...he...he did this because he thought, from what I could tell at least, it would make me follow in his footsteps or something like that....I don't want that, I didn't ask him to do this to me....and I do want this gone from me....." Kayla's hands were shaking by that point as well as she looked to the ground and went quiet again, well, almost quiet anyway.
"I...I just want to be normal again...."
-
"So, your father is a vampire?" Adykon was surprised by this sudden revelation, but then, he thought that he shouldn't be. He had already gone to a lost series of ruins in the middle of nowhere, confronted at least two archmages, traveled to a valley at the end of the world, got dumped into a horrible city after a teleportation spell messed up, and fought off the first attack of an evil army which could end Dracon civilization as he knew it.
"Adykon! That isn't the issue right now" Vespion cared greatly that Kayla was cursed, and he would endeavor to cure her as soon as Aerta was saved. "Kayla, I'm going to get you some blood from the kitchen of the palace. As soon as we are there, you come with me. Adykon can get his new armor and weapons while we discuss this matter further. Do you understand?"
-
"Well, not exactly, I actually don't know if he is actually a vampire himself or not, all I know is it's the dark arts he likes" Kayla however, was a bit more quieter than usual as she eyed Adykon some, not quiet trusting him as she stayed with Vespion for the time being.
She looked at her hands, which were still shaking, she did indeed, need blood, but she did her best to keep the need under control, unless she actually needed it, but of course, she wasn't about to attack anyone for the blood, she would rather get it from some meet that were clooking, something that had already died.
Kayla however, just gave a nod to Vespion with what he had offered her "Sorry about this....I didn't mean to, well, worry anyone....it's just that I know what people do to vampires and I didn't want to die before I got rid of this curse of mine....but he ruined my life....he just ruined it....without a care at all....but yeah, I understand with what you're talking about....we can discuss it some more, I don't want to keep you in the dark about it at least anyway"
-
The three of them were silent for the next fifteen minutes as they approached the palace gates. Once inside, Adykon left Vespion and Kayla to go to the armory; the cleric and vampire girl headed down to the mess hall, where they could probably find some blood.
"Kayla, what kind of blood do you need to eat, if any? I'm sure we can get cow's blood, but if you need some from a... sentient... we are totally out of luck. I cannot and will not harm a dracon or a human, even for the sake of feeding you."
-
"That's actually the kind of blood I've had, animal blood, like cows blood....that will do" Kayla of course, was still acting a bit quieter than usual now, not really liking having to ask someone to get her blood as she continued to look to the floor some more.
She waited for Vespion to go and get the cows blood for her as she just stood there. For her, it was rather hard to get a proper plan together on how to deal with her father, as inside her, she was still scared of her father, as if he could do this to her, she hated to think what else he could do to her, but she did want something to do be done about the curse, to get rid of it, somehow.
Speaking with Vespion wasn't really her actual plan, then again, she never really had a proper plan to begin with on how to get rid of the curse, but she was rather glad she spoke to Vespion first instead of Adykon, she just hoped that he would be able to get rid of it for her.
-
Adykon proceeded down the long hall to the armory. He had been there so often, he was like a tenant there. How many times had he come to get new armor and weapons? In any event, the only Dracon currently in the vast room was one that he never recognized, a green male who was busy moving a stack of swords.
"Ah, you must be Adykon. I'm Ivan, the ah... replacement. The usual armorer isn't here today, but he left instructions for me to give a suit of armor to one Adykon."
"How do you know it is really me? Are you sure you aren't giving away an expensive piece of equipment to an imposter?"
"I..uh... er... this is so embarassing." With that, "Ivan" disappeared in a flash of white light, and was replaced by the form of Kluthu, the archmage of the palace, and the magical advisor to Minbenthac's king.
"Alright, the king told me to meet you here and to give you the new suit of armor. It's magical, you know. Made from the hardest adamantine the city has to offer, and forged by the finest smiths. Since it is a magical suit of armor, there are some features that I ought to tell you about. This is why they sent me to do it. I only wish that I didn't have to. It is unbecoming of a mage of my power to be seen hanging around an armory, hence the disguise."
Meanwhile...
"Alright, Kayla. I went into the kitchen and retrieved this for you." Producing a large tin cup full of cow's blood, the cleric was uneasy at what he was offering the girl. Still not quite believing what he was doing, he held out the vessel, hoping she would drink from it quickly.
-
Kayla looked at the cup for a second and took it, her hands were still shaking as at first, she slowly started to drink from it before sculling it down and placing the now empty cup, onto a table as she wiped some blood from her mouth "Thanks" she spoke, giving off a small smile, her hands, no longer shaking either.
She was rather happy that it was cows blood too, especially since she had never had human blood before, and just the thought of drinking the blood of a human, or dracon or anything like that would be just wrong in her view as well. To her, drinking the blood of a cow was the better option, since they did get cooked up for food in the end "Sorry I had to ask that too...."
-
"Never mind that. Now, Kayla, are there any other 'surprising' things you want to tell me about yourself? It is best to deal with these unpleasant revelations now, in a controlled environment, then to suddenly be told about them in the middle of a battle." Vespion was right to be careful.
Meanwhile...
"So, what does this armor do that's so 'magic'?" Adykon was about to find out. He looked on the table where it was placed...
(OOC: I might try to draw this armor, actually.)
-
"Well...." Kayla begun as she sat down on a nearby seat "Not really, I mean, you know that I need blood from time to time, which I would rather it be from an animal like a cow, or a rabbit or something like that, I wouldn't be able to come to grips with drinking the blood of something like a human, or a dracon...but other than that, nothing else really, you can see that I can walk in the sunlight, which is odd, from what i've ready, well, heard about anyway that vampires can't walk in sunlight"
She paused for a moment or so with a small sigh as well "Other than that, nothing that comes to my mind anyway....unless you have any other questions, I mean, I can answer what questions you actually need answering to the best of my ability...."
-
Minna and Ilsa returned to the castle to get supplies, while Margas headed to the armory to repair his armor.
- I assume you're going with the party?' Marcus said to his wife.
-we'll take care of the egg' His father said to them, as he looked fondly at the egg which was carefully nestled in the middle of the table . "How long do you expect it to take?"
-
"I don't know how long it will take, but I assure you, I WILL be back to see my egg hatch" Rhiga was insistent on seeing this egg, the fourth she ever laid, hatch a new child into the world. The other three she laid were all given up to temples, as she was in no position to raise a child while on the run.
Now that the rogue had settled down with Marcus, this was no longer a problem. Rhiga only wished that Vaeri could be there to see the egg.
Meanwhile...
"Well, there is the matter of normal food, Kayla. Do you need normal food in addition to blood, or do you not need to eat normal food at all? I can make regular food on the journey, but making blood... is much harder."
-
"Normal food would be nice" Kayla begun, but paused when she heard Vespion talk about making blood as she shook her head "You don't have to do that, especially if you don't want to, I don't want you to actually do anything you don't want to do"
Personally, she just wanted to find her father and along the way, kill any sort of animal she could find if she were to need blood instead of someone having to make it, especially if they didn't want to in the end. However, she did ask Vespion about one thing "Adykon....hates me because of what I am....doesn't he? I can't blame him really...vampires have made a bad name for themselves killing anyone and anything for blood....being so....uncultured about it...."
-
"Alright. I'll make you normal food along with everyone else. If you need more blood, I'll see what I can do when that time comes. How often do you need to drink blood, anyway?"
Vespion thought to himself. Kayla, Like Asthia and Arcantas, was a kind of vampire that could go out in the daylight with impunity. She didn't appear to be the "classic" kind of undead vampire, nor did she seem to have the ability to turn into a bat, or be repelled by garlic. As the cleric understood it, it was more accurate to called her a human afflicted with the curse of vampirism rather than a 'true' vampire.
-
"It's not too often, but I wont let that get in the way of anything" Kayla replied back to Vespion with a little bit of a smile.
She however, was still upset inside as well, yet, doing what she could to keep a rather happy face about it all "I guess that if the time comes, just find a cow or some sort of animal and kill it....you know, cook it up and maybe save the blood for me" she suggested with a little shrug as well.
-
Minna paused in collecting supplies when she saw Lucien pass by the enterence to the dining room ' How long do you think our journey will take? that's a few hundred miles. so on foot it will take weeks to cover that distance.. but i suppose it is for the best.. if we can help Aerta hold off Dememoras' forces..'
- Marcus stuffed a few supplies into a knapsack, he would get more more at Minna's palace before they would head off..
-
Vespion looked at Kayla, thinking of the best way to put his words. "I will do my best to accommodate you. Just don't let the others see you drinking blood, alright? They've been through much, and seeing another vampire, particularly a vampire among them, might not be very helpful."
Meanwhile...
"I don't know, Minna. We've both traveled great distances before, and this promises to be no different." Lucien didn't relish the thought of such a long walk in such heavy armor. "At least you don't have to walk in heavy clothing, as I do."
-
"Yeah, I know" Kayla replied back with a little bit of a sigh as well "I'd rather not let them see me drinking blood anyway, more from what you were saying than anything else"
She looked at her feet for a moment before looking to her hands with a small sigh again, yet, she gave Vespion a little bit of a smile as well "By the way, um....thanks...for not killing me or anything like that"
-
"Well I don't relish going out in the desert, the amount of clothing I wear has its drawbacks as well. You wear heavy armor that really is too much clothing where we are headed, I'm the opposite, of course. We need to bring enough food and drink to last until we get there.. Do you need help with your armor?" Minna asked " I could tighten it for you if you wish."
-
"I won't kill you. If anything, you have little to fear from that. Being a vampire means that you would probably just rise up as a full vampire, undead and awful. If you were to be destroyed then, you might not return, but as you are, you can be saved, Kayla." Vespion would try his best to cure her in the Great Temple, but he would have to do so quietly; it was not good to keep secrets from the rest of the party, but it had to be done if order was to be maintained.
Meanwhile...
"Sunburn is the least of our problems, my love. You know that it takes a ton of sunlight for a dracon's skin to burn. Vespion can make food and water for us, but it won't hurt to get more, just in case. And my armor is fine, thanks." Lucien had been told that early on, spells had been cast to create housing and all sorts of bizaare food for the party. Such spells were usually a waste of magic, and in any case, none of them would be used now.
-
"Yeah, I know what you mean....well, kinda anyway" Kayla spoke up again, taking a quick look around "But I want to ask one thing, are you going to at least try and cure me before we leave? I mean, that would be much appreciated"
Of course, Kayla didn't know if Vespion could actually cure her, or if it had something to do with her father, but for her, it was all through trial and error at the very least anyway and getting cured by Vespion first was the best desicion and then of course, things would have to go from there, play it piece by piece.
-
" Just making sure is all. Do you have any preference as to what food we bring along or does it not matter? ' Minna frowned as she held up two different kinds of fruit, one in each claw. She lifted one closer to her than the other, weighing whether to take one or the other, Finally, she decided to bring both along..
-
"I don't know. Making food really is a female sort of thing. I'm sure you'll pick what's best. You're good with that, at least." Lucien didn't expect his wife to do cooking for him in the palace, but still thought of her as being expected to do that in camp on an adventure.
Meanwhile...
"Curing you would take more magic that I currently have, Kayla. It requires supplies, assistance, and a ritual I am only partially familiar with. I know that the temple can cure you, though. We don't have time for it now, I'm afraid." Vespion would oversee her curing when they returned.
-
You expect me to cook, because you don't know how to, is that right, my dear?' Minna's casual air hid her distaste at her husbands remarks. she hoped this was going to be something she would have to become familiar with, while sexism was very much part of the Dracon culture, in Minna's experience it had been more subtle than overt.
-
"Oh okay" Kayla of course, didn't quiet expect that as an answer herself, but yet, just shrugged in the end "Well, I suppose it doesn't matter, I'll just have to be more careful is all"
Granted, now, she wasn't sure on what to do, especially since the whole curing ordeal would happen when they were to return, but yet, she didn't mind either, as long as it was going to happen in the end.
-
"Well, yes. That is true, Minna. I hardly know how to cook. I imagine that you do." That was all Lucien had to say in reply, as he had accepted that females were the ones who cooked the food as the norm.
Meanwhile...
"Is there anything else you need to do, Kayla? This is the last chance to get things from Minbenthac until we return from our journey, so if you need to buy anything, now is the time." Vespion thought about the situation, and added "Remember, the king is covering our expenses, so if there's anything you need to buy but couldn't afford..."
-
"Well, I suppose if we are going to be fighting and what have you, I would need a weapon, a knife or something would do for me" Kayla replied back to Vespion "You have any idea on where I could buy one of those?"
Kayla hadn't had training with a sword, but she could fight using a knife, or something small like that, even if it were a short sword or a dagger, granted, she hadn't fought anything too powerful, like a dragon or anything, but then again, the thought hadn't crossed her mind as of yet.
-
"We can get one in the armory, easily. Adykon's there right now. I wonder if he likes his new armor." Vespion had understated it. Adykon didn't just like the armor; he loved it. The warrior's eyes looked on the table to find a shit of polished armor, glowing golden in the light. The massive metallic suit had the image of a red dragon head on its front and back, a helmet which fit snugly over his head, leg pieces which also covered the top of his feet, and gauntlets which were a perfect match for his clawed hands.
"I-I... gods. I never saw anything quite like it. And you say it is enchanted too?"
Kluthu laughed at that. "Is it enchanted? Does our land have hot summer days? Yes, by the gods, it is enchanted! I'll tell you about some of the special features this masterpiece has..."
-
"Okay, can you um, take me there? Cause I don't really know where it is, and if Adykon's there....well...." Kayla then went quiet a little bit as well, already thinking on what could happen, but unlikely right now.
She wasn't too sure on if she actually wanted a short sword or just a knife or a dagger, she just wanted to at least, have a look at the very least to see what they had available.
-
Eriol went to the Palace's Armory, he got quite some spare arrows of great quality thanks to the talents of the Minbenthac's best blacksmith. He was also able to get from him a big sized shield, but it was surprisingly light. - "I am sure doing my best to keep this shield and get it back to my lands." - Eriol said with a sly smile as he tested some movements, since the shield is big enough to use it not only for protection but even also as a short-range weapon to attack or distract enemies.
After a little while, he finished testing some new armor pieces, he is not used to heavy metal armors, but the enemies that will come made him think otherwise. He is strong enough to carry a heavy metal armor, but he still got the pieces to mainly protect the vital areas of his body, also for his forearms and for his legs some shin pads-like metal armor that covers from his knees to his ankles. The Panther was happy to see that his mobility is not impaired and he is willing to do all he can to help make Dememoras to pay for all what he has done.
-
"Your new armor is highly resistant to magical attacks. Spells launched directly against it have a high chance of being absorbed or reflected, provided that there isn't too much power behind the attack. Indirect attacks, such as using am exploding fireball that lands right next to you, however, will not be deflected. Fortunately, the armor is quite durable, so even if an attack does hit you, you ought to be protected to a good extent. You also have the ability to activate a transparent blue force field around yourself once every hour, even though this will force you to stay in place, as the field takes the shape of a dome. It should be large enough to cover you and anyone immediately surrounding you, but not everyone you are traveling with. Finally, the armor is designed so that it can easily accept enchantments placed in it, more so than a suit of armor that size and shape would suggest. If you wanted additional spells cast on it, that can easily be done." Kluthu had managed that whole speech without pausing once to take a breath; he was a dracon of unusual talents and abilities, notwithstanding his magic and color-changing!
Meanwhile...
"Yes, we should go to the armory anyway. Kayla, follow me. We can get you a weapon there."
-
Kayla gave a nod back to Vespion and started to follow him to the armory, wiping some of the blood that was still left on her mouth, yet, she just stayed quiet for the time being as they continued to walk onwards still.
She glanced at the servants around, yet, she said nothing at all as she then looked to Vespion again. She was indeed, still wondering what kind of weapon she was going to get from the armory, although, she did have a rough idea of what she was after anyway.
-
Vespion asked and received permission for Kayla to take a weapon.
"Alright, Kayla. Take a look at the weapons. Tell me which one you like. You wanted daggers, so here's a collection for you to choose from."
The collection: (http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/weaponsw8/canezou-dagger.gif)(http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/weaponsw8/ninjato.gif)(http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/weaponsw8/sai.gif)(http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/imagesw8/itemsw8/unusedw8/throwing_dagger.gif)
-
Kayla looked at the weapons that were shown to her, she was more looking at the ones at the end, the last two as she grabbed both of them, one in each hand and swung them around in her hands some.
She then made some stabbing-like motions with them before looking at the once again "They're.....quiet nice actually....they work out rather well, nice and light, but yet, oh so dangerous too....do you think I could perhaps have both of them? Or say, one kind, but two versions of it you know? One for each hand sort of thing"
(OOC: I actually forget the name of the last two daggers, I know the one with three points has a name, I just forget it is all)
-
"You can take both the sai and the katara, if you like. I'm sure that the armorers won't mind. And if they do, we can always buy you some blades that are just like those." Vespion was never told that Kayla could only take ONE blade. "Come to think of it... I could use one too. That first one, that dagger... I'll take that one."
-
"Yeah, that's true" Kayla replied back as she grabbed a belt as well, wrapping it around her waist before attaching the two weapons to the belt as well before she looked to Vespion again.
She decided not to say anything else to him at the moment, keeping quiet for now as she stood there, pretty much pleased with what she had gotten from the armory, which wasn't really much, but it was enough for her anyway, she at least now, had a weapon or two to defend herself with.
-
Eriol was ready talking with the blacksmith and other people there, he kept his new armor as the party was ready to leave in a new journey soon.
After a minute, he saw that Vespion and Kayla where there too and thought. - "Maybe I should go talk to them... why do I bother?" - he walked a couple more of steps. - "ohhh, ok." - he thought again as he turned around and went closer to Vespion and Kayla. - "Hello Vespion and... Kayla, right? are you all making a last minute shopping?" - he said trying to make a somewhat friendly smile.
-
"Well, we are being given these weapons by the king. This is his armory, you know. Even if we were buying armaments, he is paying for out expenses, at least, for the duration of the dangers. Until Dememoras is stopped." Vespion was still with Kayla, and Adykon was in a back room, putting on the new armor.
-
Kayla gave a nod to Eriol "Yeah, we're pretty much getting last minute stuff, I got these two daggers here for myself" she told him, motioning down to the dagger on the belt she was wearing.
"But other than that, nothing else I was really after, I just needed something to be able to defend myself with, and well, I am rather efficiant with daggers myself, only really weapon I know how to use, but hey, I'm happy with them myself" she added on with a bit of a smile as well.
-
Adykon stepped into view, covered in his golden armor. The plate mail suit covered almost his whole body, save for the end of his tail and the bottom of his feet; even his hands were covered on top by the golden metal. On his face, there was a helmet, covering his snout and the top of his head, with room for the horns, which were uncovered. As for his torso, legs, arms, and any other part, the armoring was almost indistinguishable from that of heavy human armor. Apart from being the heaviest armor he ever worse, Adykon had no problems with it.
"Well, how does it look? Shiny? I'll bet it is..."
-
Eriol looked at Kayla. - "Well, maybe you'll get to learn to use more weapons in our way to rescue Aerta. To use daggers can be dangerous if the enemy can avoid them, so it is always wise to have a plan-B." - He said with a serious tone, but not menacing in any way, it is like he is interested, maybe he saw Kayla's potential or maybe he is not interested to see any other member of the party to die or suffer.
As Adykon appeared, Eriol turned around to face him. - "Yes, the shinier armor I have ever seen." - He said while making a wide smile. - "You sure look like you are ready to take on anybody, I hope it will help you, but we are all still here as backup too."
-
"Plan B? I don't really have a Plan B myself" Kayla replied back to Eriol "My plan is just hit it, stab it and what have you until it's dead....I'm not slow in battle either" which was true too, she had speed, perhaps speed a human being shouldn't really have because of her being part vampire too, but something she wasn't going to tell anyone else apart from Vespion.
She then looked over to Adykon, her eyes widening a little bit "Whoa....that's....that looks really cool Adykon" she walked over to him and tapped his armour a little bit, seeing that it was rather sturdy, which seemed like it would be able to take on anything and still survive "Sorry, I just wanted to....yeah..." she gave off a small nervous laugh and stepped back over to Vespion again.
-
"Thanks for the compliment, Kayla. I'd appreciate the armor more if it wasn't so heavy. It's like wearing barding armor for a horse or camel. In any event, we all should go out in front of the palace, where we should meet up with the others. Once all of us are gathered in one place, we can head out."
Turning his head, Adykon saw Eriol as well. "You too, Gaean. We all should get going, if there's nothing else to do here."
-
Eriol gave a small laugh - "Nope, there is nothing else to do here, so you get the right idea, we should get going." - He turned to the exit and began walking, as soon as he did that, the smile dissapeared from his face as he completed his phrase only on his mind. - "... the sooner we finish this whole thing about Dememoras, the sooner I'll be able to get out of these lands."
The Gaean kept on walking, towards the main entrance.
-
Now, Adykon, Vespion, Eriol, and Kayla were waiting outside the palace gates. Still missing were Rhiga, Marcus, Minna, Ilsa, Lucien, Margas, Ku'ux, and Farstriker. They would all have to show up eventually, though. As soon as they did, the adventurers would depart, heading to find and rescue Aerta.
Until then, there wasn't much for Adykon and the others to do.
Meanwhile...
"Minna. My dear, are you ready yet? The others are waiting for us. We're probably the last two who didn't arrive." Lucien was impatient, but he need not have been.
-
"Yeah, I guess you're right, we should really get going....the Dark Master wont wait for us...." Kayla spoke as she started to walk off as she followed Eriol towards the main entrance.
Walking towards the main entrance were Ku'ux and Farstriker, talking with each other as well.
"Looks like Adykon got some new armour" Ku'ux spoke with a slight snort as well as he noticed in the distance, the the Human, the two Dracons and the Gaean walking towards them.
"Rather interesting, it looks good, and hopefully that it's also sturdy enough to take on attacks, then again, with what the Dracons have proven with armour and weapons, I wouldn't be suprised if that's what it is, able to take on great amount of damage with ease" Farstriker replied back to Ku'ux.
-
Adykon looked at Ku'ux and Farstriker. The latter one was well-equipped, but the former...
"Ku'ux, are you sure you have enough armor? Er... you don't seem to have much besides..." It wasn't much more than shorts, really. "You don't need to dress that lightly in our lands, you know. Even female Dracons can wear something over their top..."
-
"I do thank you for your concern Adykon, but I am rather fine the way I am, I have fought like this many times" Ku'ux replied back to Adykon once the two of them had arrived.
Farstriker folded his arms by that point, glancing at Ku'ux for a moment before looking over to Kayla, whom he saw wasn't as happy as she was before "Are you quiet alright Kayla?" he decided to ask her.
"Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine, I've just got a bit of a preocupied mind is all, just thinking of something, that's all" Kayla replied back, giving Farstriker a smile back.
"Well, if you say so....but if you need anything, to talk or anything like that, you can come to me if you wish" Farstriker reassured her.
"Y-yeah...." Kayla answered back, going a bit quiet again as she wasn't sure if that was the best thing to do, to talk to Farstriker about her problems as at the moment, she did only seem to trust Vespion, whom had been rather understanding of her so far.
-
"So Farstriker, do you know Ku'ux or Kayla? The three of you are all new arrivals to our lands, it seems. What are your lands like, Ku'ux? Are they-" Vespion was curious to know, but he was cut off by Adykon.
"I've fought their kind before, Vespion. While Ku'ux is far better than most, Minotaurs as a whole are little more than animals that stand upright and can talk. I don't know if that's a fault of their culture or their creation, but in any case, they are little better than hired muscle, bought by the pound by whatever warlord wishes to have some unthinking killers at his beck and call."
Vespion was quite surprised to hear Adykon say such things.
"I think we ought to let Ku'ux speak for his own people. Just... let him talk, warrior."
-
"Watch your tounge Dracon" Ku'ux snorted quiet a bit as he walked over to Adykon "Just because you have fought our kind before, does not mean a thing, that does not mean what we are like" he spoke with another snort again.
"This is not going to go so well..." Farstriker spoke as he watched the small argument between Adykon and Ku'ux and decided to interupt "Might I interject here for a moment, Adykon, I have to agree with Ku'ux on the matter that just because you have fought Minotaurs before, does not mean all Minotaurs are the same, perhaps a village that he comes from is much different than where you have been and fought them before"
He paused for a moment before speaking again "We do not need to make enemies amongst ourselves, we all have a common enemy we are to be taking down, the Dark Master, or what he is also known as, Dememoras, fighting amongst ourselves is not going to help the cause at all"
-
"As I said, you are better than most minotaurs, Ku'ux. That doesn't change anything." Adykon was firm in his views, but didn't press it further. Luckily, Vespion was around to change the subject before matters deteriorated further.
"What IS it like where you come from, Ku'ux? Maybe you can tell Adykon what it is like, so he no longer misjudges the situation." Vespion hoped really hard that the minotaur did not, in fact, come from a primitive community such as the kind Adykon described. While Vespion didn't hope for advanced cities, though.
-
Ku'ux looked over to Vespion for a moment "Very well then, if you do wish to know where I come from, it's a village, nothing like a city like this, but neither is it like huts and the likes of that, we do have moral standards we like to upkeep, such as keeping order, so that no fights break out over simple things like who is to have the last bread from the stall or anything small and insignifigant like that"
He looked over to Adykon again "So, believe what you want Dracon, that does not change the fact that where I come is where you have been to in your travels, not all of our kind are the same, I have seen, at times, these other minotaurs you speak of....they are rather uncivillized if you ask me" he spoke with another snort.
Kayla just shook her head a little bit, but did not want to say anything herself and instead, just kept quiet, allowing them to talk amongst themselves for the time being.
-
"Hmph. Well, as long as you don't come from a barn, eat out of a trough, and chew cud, that's fine with me." Adykon wasn't going to argue this point any longer. It was enough that Ku'ux was on his side. It would do no one any good for the minotaur to be antagonized any farther.
"And you, Farstriker, where do you come from? I never knew very much about the elves, really." This time, Adykon's question was not aimed at a race he considered to be mostly made up of thugs and animals.
-
"Me? Well, if you are rather interested in where I do come from, then I guess there is no harm in telling you, it's an Elven city actually, although, I for one, do travel, take part in archery tournaments, and also do hunting as well" Farstriker replied back to the Dracon.
Kayla was still quiet for the time being, glancing at Ku'ux, but said nothing as she then looked over to Adykon, shaking her head just slightly in the process. The reason she did not want to say anything was in case it was something that would get on everyone nerves, in case it was wrong for her to say so.
-
"Alright, that works and-hey!" Adykon saw Lucien approach, dressed in shiny but otherwise normal armor. Minna was not with him at the moment.
"In case anyone is wondering, my wife will be along shortly. She seems to have the idea that making herself look pretty is a prerequisite for an adventure. I kept telling her that the enemy won't care how shiny her skin looks, but she insisted on having herself all 'fixed up' before we go. Sorry if this slows you all down."
"It's quite alright, Lucien. I hope that she looks as fine as you expect her to. I'm sure you two will have fine kids in time." Vespion, being a dracon priest, would know a lot about that; he and the priestesses at the temple were expected to breed as many children for the temple as they could; even if he was unmarried, the dracon cleric had many, many children, and he took part in raising none of them directly, although he and the rest of the staff cared for all children of the temple communally.
(OOC: 400 pages! :D )
-
Minna came up shortly afterwards, her skin had been powdered so that it reflected the light from the sun.. ' its not just to look pretty, actually' She smiled at Vespion. ' it has some benefits, such as keeping in moisture in the desert, and while I apologize for my delay, i see ui'm not the only one who is tardy.."
- It was then that margas and ilsa came up to them. Margas had his armor on, and held a sword in his left claw, and a shield in his right, "Ready for battle, Adykon. Please excuse our tardiness, I had a devil of a time trying to finding a shield in the palace armory, this was the best I could find.."
_
" Why are wearing all that powder Minna?' Ilsa frowned. She was wearing no powder herself " thats not going to help much in the battle.
-
"I must agree on everyone else, the enemy will not care if you look your best in batle, it is more about strength and everything else, looks do not affect battle one bit" Farstriker told Minna.
Kayla brushed some of her hair out of her face, yet, just kept quiet still as she glanced down at the daggers she had on her newly aquired belt. Although she soon spoke up with a single question "So, who else are we waiting for to arrive? I mean, shouldn't we get going by now?"
-
"We are waiting for Rhiga and Marcus." Adykon replied. "They are the last two. I wonder what is taking them so long..."
Meanwhile...
Rhiga and Marcus was walking through the streets approaching the front of the palace. Rhiga's egg had been left in the safe care of Marcus's parents, and the newly married couple was ready to join the rest.
-
(OOC: Here is a preliminary picture of a Dracon male! I'll add the tail later.)
(http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac297/Aristoclestalos/draconmale3.jpg)
-
Marcus soon appeared " Forgive us for being late, but we had to get supplies, some weapons, and arrange for the care of our child.' he said looking at them " If we are the last to arrive, I'd suggest we get on the move... the sooner we reach the archmage's palace the better."
- Her name's Aerta, Marcus' Ilsa said in reply. ' 'Right, sorry, I'm not too good with names.. " Marcus said, a little chastened.
_ Lets head out then' Margas said, glancing at Marcus and Rhiga, then turning his focus to Adykon.
-
"Let us go then. Does anyone have to go to the latrine?"
Adykon's question received no reply.
"I'll ask again. Anyone need to use it? This is the last time we will be seeing plumbing for weeks at least."
Again, there was no reply.
"Alright, then. Let's go!"
Within a few hours, the party was on the road north, heading in the direction Aerta told them to go. Minbenthac was already out of sight. Luckily, the road happened to pass next to a river for about half of the journey, so there was no shortage of water, and there were plenty of villages to stop in, should the party need food, shelter, or other supplies.
-
Marcus paused as they stopped in a small village, by a turn in the river. "Mind if we stop for a short rest, to get some water Adykon? I could sure use a drink right now, and I'm sure I'm not alone there."
_ " These villages usually draw from the river" Ilsa said as she glanced around the village 'So water is usually not an issue. But I agree, we need to stock up on water, while we have the opportunity.'
Minna's makeup had started to drip off, due to the heat and sand. "And I need to clean my face off, I look like a mess..' she complained. "Well that's what you get Minna, for dressing up for a battle' Margas scoffed dismissively."Next time, hopefully, you won't waste time on makeup, and other things, that are unnecessary. The sooner we reach Aerta, the better, for all of us."
-
"That's fine. We should go over to one of those villages and get some more water, clean up, and take an hour or two to get our bearings." In about 15 minutes, the party had entered a village on the east side of the river, and took the time to make use of the water.
Rhiga walked over to the river, eager to clean off.
"Marcus, could you do me a little favor?" She asked her husband.
-
What do you want my dear?' Marcus asked looking over Rhiga's shoulder to the wide expanse of the river before them. " You can have anything you want, and I suspect I know what it is you want. Do you want me to rub your back, or even.. ' He grinned as he whispered into his wife's ear.He grinned even more broadly as she turned to look at him.
-
"I'd like that later tonight, actually. But for now...." Rhiga said as she undressed "... I'd like to wash off this sand. If you could help me clean it off, that would be great. Oh, and yeah, you can give me a back rub. Come to think of it, I'd like that. I'd also like it if you could scratch my back as well."
Rhiga saw her husband was in a generous mood, and she was determined to take advantage of it.
-
just relax' Marcus said scooping his claws into the water, and waited for his mate to get into the water up to a certain depth. Once she was in up to her stomach, he began letting water drip over her back. The water was clear and cold, and Marcus began rubbing the water into her shoulders and back, letting the sands on her back clump together and come off on his claws, which he quickly wiped away in the water. " Tell me where to begin.. you've got a lot of sand on your back here, nothing a good bath won't take care of."
-
"You can start by rubbing my shoulders, then work your way down." Rhiga sighed as her husband began to work on her tender flesh.
Meanwhile, Adykon investigated the village. It was a small, unremarkable settlement, where the farmers grew wheat and barley on the side of the riverbank. This region was a floodplain, and much fertile soil could be found when the river's waters receded.
-
OOC: Noname, I hope you don't mind that I present now my two new characters, before the journey advance more.
Eriol began looking at the surrounding areas, he saw the other members of the party getiing comfortable as they got water and relaxed. But he is not in the mood for that, instead, he decided to walk away from the village a little.
After just some more steps, he looked at two Dracons that were followed them. He frowned a bit and waited for them to reach the vecinity of the village, when that happened, the male Dracon said. - "Good afternoon, my name is Heril, a psyonic of the Guild from Minbenthac and with me is Kelassa, an exceptional Healer. We got permission from the Guild to came here to offer our assitance in your journey. But you departed faster than I anticipated."
Eriol looked at both of them and replied in a un-excited way. - "My name is Eriol Dha'ar, I am part of the party but I think you should talk to Adykon, after all, he is the leader of our group. If you follow me you'll find him." - Eriol turned around in a good manner and led the two newcomers to the village.
"Wow, I didn't expect the Gaean to welcome us so easily." - Kelassa said very amazed. To that, the male Psyonic replied. - "You don't need to look into his mind to know that he doesn't see us as threats, if we were threats, he may have killed us already." - Even though Heril did not see much of the battle, Kelassa was closer to the combat as her healing powers were used to help the injured soldiers, and she was able to see most of the members of the Party in battle.
As they entered the village, Eriol turned around to see them. - "You see the Dracon with the fancy armor? that is our Leader, I'll lead you to see him now." - Eriol kept on walking after showing the Dracons where Adykon was, but he then stopped right next to Heril. - "Let me give you one word of advice, don't try to enter my mind, because it is NOT a pretty place to see." - After that he walked again not before taking a quick glance at Kelassa and the way she looks at Heril. The male Panther gave a quick smile. - "Here we are." - the three were now close to Adykon. the Pdyonic went loser to salute the Hero.
"Good afternoon, my name is Heril, a psyonic of the Guild from Minbenthac and with me is Kelassa, an exceptional Healer. We got permission from the Guild to came here to offer our assitance in your journey. But you departed faster than I anticipated." - Heril said making a small reverence to salute Adykon. Kelassa made the same but she almost giggled when she realized Heril making the exact same greeting dialogue he had with Eriol. And now both Dracons waited for Adykon's reply.
-
Adykon was initially suspicious, but after a moment, he warmed up to them.
"If you have truly been sent from the psionic's guild, then we welcome you. If this is a trick, you shall fall like all the rest who have attempted to deceive us. I know that this is an odd way to welcome new members to the adventuring party, but... welcome aboard."
Under normal circumstances, Adykon's suspicions would not have allowed him to let some sudden newcomers on, especially at such a coincidental moment; these newcomers, Heril and Kelassa, just happened to show up in the first village the party entered. Regardless, Adykon needed all the help he and the rest of the party could get, so he welcomed them.
-
Heril looked at Adykon with a smile - "You don't have nothing to worry about, we are here to lend a helping hand: I know that Psionics like me are not trusted people, but my leader thought that it is nicessary for us to help and not to stay with our arms crossed and watching how the world ends." - The male psionic Dracon is 37 years old, dark brown scales. He is dressing a long white robe, but he has metal armor parts covering all of his torso with shoulders and then armor parts to cover his forearms and lower legs with a sword stored in a sheath hanging from the left side of his belt.
Kelassa then spoke - "I know there is already a healer in your group, a powerful mage called Vespion, I have heard of him and his presence could make my own coming to be rather less useful..." - she then looked at Adykon with a more determined look. - "I still think I can help you, even if it is just as a support, but I don't want to see our world to end." - Kelassa is a 29 years old Dracon, light green coloured, her clothing is in the style expected for all female Dracons, but still a bit larger and white coloured, with leather armor parts covering her chest, forearms and lower legs, a shield in her left arm and a mid-sized thin sword for quick strikes.
-
"Alright. I'm glad to have both of you on board. I'll tell the others that we have two more party members." Adykon hadn't even taken ten steps when Vespion walked over, having heard the whole thing.
"I'm glad to see the two of you here. I admit that I am no psionic, and I have only known a handful that work in the Great Temple, but I am nevertheless glad to see you both here." The cleric didn't know either of them, but any help against Dememoras was a good thing for sure.
-
Heril looked at Vespion. - "Dememoras is far too great of a risk, someone who should have never existed, but he is here so it means that this generation must deal with him so the newer generation will have a chance to live in peace." - he then closed his eyes for a moment as he smiled. - "Funny how destiny can plot all of this and play with our lives: Dememoras returns but so does the one who can stop him. Maybe this time there will be a permanent winner."
Kelassa went a few steps closer to Vespion. - "We are happy we can be of any help, I know you are a good Healer, but this is a big group, so I may be able to assist you when a battle comes."
Eriol was looking at the group, he is leaning in a house that is nearby. - "They are far too eager to join us, don't they know they are most certain going to die in this whole Dememoras' business?" - the male Panther thought as he kept staring at the moment.
-
"We all might die, Eriol. If we don't succeed, everyone we know might die as well. This is the chance we all must take. Running from Dememoras is useless, after all; there will be nowhere left to run. Instead, it is best that we die fighting. If this psionic and that healer wish to join us in this endeavor, I say we let them" Adykon knew that even with a dozen psionics and healers, this was still a long-shot.
Meanwhile...
Aerta rested on a soft red rug. Deep in meditation, the archmage had no spells to cast, nor plans to make. Her defenses were weakening. The shields which surrounded the palace were starting to give way under the daily bombardment by the forces outside. She lacked the strength to keep them up for more than perhaps a fortnight more, possibly three weeks. If no reinforcements came in that time, she would be in dire straits indeed.
Adykon's force was not enough to defeat the army surrounding her palace, nor would it be enough when combined with Aerta's magic. All they would have to do is to reach her, and then fight their way out. When Aerta and the others were far away enough from the palace, they would be out of range of the anti-teleportation field that Dememoras' forces had set up, and they would be able to escape.
-
Marcus began to move his claws down Rhiga's back, rubbing and massaging it, letting his claws move in circles, as he did, he felt the knots in her back start too release. " You have a lot of stress built up..' He said.
_
Minna grabbed a bucket and went over to to the edge of the village, towards the river bank. She saw Marcus and Rhiga in the water, thinking it was best not to disturb them, she moved a distance away. Throwing off her top and loincloth , she waded into the water, and felt the makeup, which she had spent close to an hour putting on, wash off. She shivered. " Geez this water is cold, but it feels good to clean up nonetheless' She said to herself, dumping bucketfuls of water on her head. After about fidteen minutes. he finished, scooped up a fresh bucket of water, and waded to the shore, where she quickly redressed and headed into the village to find the others. She met Ilsa and Margas first, who were haggling with a village female over the price of food, in particular, grapes. ' Here's some water in case you need to clean up" Minna said, setting the bucket down. ' Margas turned to her,m nodded then turned back to the villager. " Fine, we'll pay your price!' He said reaching into a pouch at his waist and pulling out a number of coins, and tossing them to her.
-
As the three Dracons turned, several figures dressed in traveling cloaks walked up to them.
"Been a long time, Minna.". The lead figure said, lifting his hood...
-
Adykon turned to see the figures that were approaching Minna. Drawing his sword and running over to them, the warrior put himself in between the sorceress and traveling figures. Something about them was strangely familiar...
-
Akito pulled his hood back, smiling a little.
"Well, well. If it isn't Adykon. Been a long time, hasn't it?'
-
The mercenary was at once happy and angry. He was glad to see his old allies again, but...
"Akito, where were you?! And the rest of you, didn't you see that battle we were in? Minbenthac nearly fell, and we were only saved by a few oversights on the part of the enemy! Oh... I shouldn't be mad. You came back, after all. If you could tell me where you have been, that would be enough."
Vespion saw Akito and the others as well, and he ran over to greet them, happy to see more allies.
-
So where have you been Akito? We sure could have udsed you while defending minbenthac' Ilsa said looking at Akito and then the others.. " At any rate it is good to have you back.."
" I'm Margas, Ilsa's husband' " Margas said looking at to the Fauxen.
-
Lucien came over to the growing crowd that surrounding Akito and his brethren.
"And just who are you, little foxes? I've heard that there were some of your kind helping Adykon out a while back, but I didn't believe it. I guess anything's possible in this world, isn't it? I am Lucien, pleased to meet you." The noble could hardly believe that meeting them here was a coincidence, yet he was not alarmed at this development. Any help against Dememoras was good help, in his view.
-
Eriol looked at them. - "It is good to see that you are still around Foxes, you sure are all making yourself a reputation of coming and going at the moment notice." - he gave some steps closer to them.
At that same moment, the new members of the party got closer too, the male Dracon made his greeting speech. - "Good day, my name is Heril, I am a member of Minbenthac's Psyonic Guild and with me is Kelassa: a very talented Healer, with both magic and by using herbs." - To that, Kelassa bowed a little in sign of respect to the Foxes.
-
"We are looking for Aerta, who I think you have seen before, Akito. She's a dracon like myself, and an archmage. Her husband was killed by Dememoras, who also killed... Vaeri. You come and go so often, it is hard to tell what you have and haven't seen. You remember Vaeri, right? The dancer who was set to marry me? Rhiga's mom? Anyway, we are going to find Aerta, who is under siege by Dememoras' forces." Adykon hoped that brought Akito and the others up to speed about what had happened. There was SO much to say...
-
Akito nodded. "Forgive our...sudden disappearance, Adykon. We were going to help you in battle, but...something, or someone, dragged us off into the middle of the desert before we could. We've been tracking you ever since." He nodded to the Heril, Kelassa, Margas, and Lucien.
"My name is Akito, and these are my friends. Touga, Kuja, Juri, Utena, Miki, Ruka, and Saiyonji. It's a pleasure to meet you all."
-
"Something dragged you off?" Lucien was a bit suspicious that they didn't tell him what this 'something' was. "What could possibly have diverted your attention to the desert? Whatever it is, you obviously survived it, otherwise, you wouldn't be here to tell us."
-
"Yes, it is very curious, but still very good that you were able to pass whatever test you had to take." - Heril said as he approached. - "And by looking at your faces, I can guess that no one of your group is missing, that is something good."
Kelassa looked at the Foxes. - "If any of you have any kind of injuries, I can treat them with no problems."
But Eriol remained silent, this group of Foxes has been very strange, some used Dark powers, that kind of power is known to him, but he doesn't like how this group come and go. - "Maybe you should try and join us to rescue Aerta, she is a key in the war against Dememoras so we'd really use your help." - he said while frowning a bit as he looked at each and every member of the returning group.
-
Akito nodded.
"Of course. We'll do what we can. It's good to see you all again, friends."
He said with a bow.
-
"We can talk about specifics later. I'll be very interested to find out exactly what distracted all of you in the desert during that battle, but that can be taken care of another time." Adykon was willing to wait a while to determine why many of his allies had just left, only to suddenly and mysteriously return later.
-
Akito smirked.
"It wasn't a distraction...it was some sort of teleportation spell. We were in the city, then, the next thing we knew, we were in the desert."
He said, looking at Adykon.
-
"Teleportation?, then you say that you were taken out of the city in purpose?" - Eriol was surprised to hear that.
To that, Heril replied. - "Mass teleportation can be difficult, unless you have the enough power and experience. So we must be careful as we don't want that to happen again, it is far too risky." - the psyonic Dracon looked at Akito, but he didn't try to get into his mind, he was curious, but he made a promise, specially to Kelassa, to only scan the minds of enemies.
-
"Hmm. The city of Minbenthac, like all our cities, is shielded against teleportation and many other long-range magical effects. Whoever teleported all of you out of the city must have been doing so from within the city walls. As to who it is... I have no idea." Vespion thought of some mages that he knew that had the ability to do such a thing, only to conclude that none of them were particularly suspicious.
Adykon wasn't sure what to believe, but he accepted the story on face value. If it was false, he would probably find out later. "It's okay, Akito. Are any of you Fauxen in need of rest or supplies? We can get some here."
-
Akito nodded.
"If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say it was Akio, one of Dememoras's servants. He seems like the only one who'd try that."
He said
-
"Well, that is... disturbing news" Vespion considered the possibilities of Akio working against them. "When we return to Minbenthac, we should let the king know of this possibility."
Rhiga and Marcus were out of the water by now, and the party was ready to proceed, assuming the Fauxen didn't need any rest or supplies.
-
"And I thought you Akito knew that guy Akio, to have enemies between the ones you have close is a dangerous thing, but if you know it's real colors, then you can use that at your advantage." - Eriol said as he crossed his arms and frowned.
Kelassa got near the Fauxen. - "Anything you need, we can help you, and we must take advantage that we are still in the town. So feel free to to ask." - she said with a bow, her voice is very soft and calm.
Heril sighed, everytime he thought he could have an idea of the powers the enemies, something new happens, making everything more difficult. He just sighed.
-
"Akio? Wasn't he the one who was with Asthia?" Adykon thought back to the short but memorable time he was in the tower, with the wicked Dracon vampiress Asthia and Gerasia, a dracon child that the evil mage had captured and made into a vampire. As he recalled, that was how they met Toby, the young red dragon.
"I seem to remember that Akio cared for Gerasia. While it is true I saw all this under the influence of the geas that Asthia used to control me, I recall that Akio was not nearly as bad as Arcantas, Asthia, or any of the generals that Dememoras has."
-
Marcus frowned as he listened to the conversation " I think we can ponder the specifics of the story after we free Aerta.. that is priority one, after all.' He said, but stopped shortly as Margas replied. "It is never easy to tell who is an enemy or friend in wartime, especially when Dememoras is concerned..and we have to deal with a number of tricks on his part already, the false Rhiga, for example."
_ "I for one am ready to resume our journey..' Minna chimed in. "After all, time is not our ally here, so for now I suggest we take the Fauxen at their word , and head out."
-
Eriol looked back at Minna and nodded. - "I agree, the sooner we can depart, the better. Maybe we can even avoid stoppping in every town so we can gain more time and arrive before to where Aerta is." - The male Gaean Panther never even took his backpack off while he was there in the town, so he sure has been ready to depart again as soon as he got there.
Herril also nodded. - "It seems that we all agree, we should continue with this travel. The fate of everybody rest in the success of this mission." - He said as he walked and got besides Kelassa. - "Are you also ready to go?" - As a Psyonic, he could have easily read her mind, in fact, he could read everybody's minds if he wanted to; But he knows that they are all fighting for one goal, so he accepts their mental privacy. He waited for his companion's reply.
"I'll be ready to go if the Fauxen here are ready, that is why I am waiting for their reply if they need something from me, be it some healing spells or something else I could offer that they could need for their health." - She replied calmly as she kept her hands in the bands of her small backpack. Her backpack having most of the healing herbs and books for all healing processes that could be needed, plus some little bit of extra clothing. While Herril's backpack contains clothing and other things that could come in handy later in the travel.
-
Meanwhile...
Minbenthac's palace was known for many things. High level decisions, court intrigue, over-the-top decorations, elaborate feasts, exotic ceremonies, and an insular culture inside the walls which only existed inside other palaces in the city and in other such urban areas, totally detached from the realities of the other 95% of the population.
Most Dracons had to work to earn their keep. This meant, for most, waking up early and getting to the field, shop, or workbench that they spent their day. For the king, however, his schedule was not nearly so strict...
"Your majesty! I'm sorry to have to wake you, but its well past midday!"
Kluthu, the court archmage, was the only one with enough courage to attempt to wake the king. Normally, no one would have bothered the monarch of a Dracon city, but these were not normal times.
"RRrrrr... go away." The king's voice was barely audible through the thick Mahogany door to his room, but it was clear that he was in no mood to talk. Listening in carefully, Kluthu could hear the very faint sounds of breathing from several other individuals. His majesty was not alone in there.
"Sire, of all people in the world, I am the last to want to be a bother, but there has been some news from the west that you really must know! It involves the... the war."
After a few moments of silence. The king could be heard getting out of bed and stretching with a small roar. A few female voices could be heard as he pulled himself from the nice, warm world that was his room.
"-going so soon?"
"-want you to stay-"
"-do you have to-?"
In a minute, the king opened the door, dressed in a red silk robe. It was obvious that he was still tired, having had little rest that night.
"This better be important, mage, or I'll-" The king was interrupted by a sudden tug on his robes by one of his wives, who was completely oblivious to the troubles that were going on in the outside world.
"My liege... come baaacccckk. We were having a good time..." This had no effect on the monarch of Minbenthac, who pulled his robe out of her hand, ignoring her. He continued his conversation with Kluthu, despite the female cuddling against him from behind.
"What is the news, Kluthu?"
"Well, my lord, there was a battle at Warrior's Gate..."
Back at the village...
Adykon and the others had set off on the road again, leaving the village behind. Their numbers were not enhanced by the Fauxen, so that there were well over a dozen adventurers; Adykon, Rhiga, Vespion, Minna, Ilsa, Margas, Lucien, Marcus, Eriol, Kelassa, Herril, Akito, Touga, Kuja, Juri, Utena, Miki, Ruka, and Saiyonji.
-
Akito nodded.
"I'm ready. Everyone else good?"
Touga nodded.
"That I am, Akito."
Saiyonji snorted derisively.
"What, do you think I'm weak enough to be anything but?"
Miki smiled and undid his hood.
"Of course I am, Akito!"
Utena nodded, then grinned a little.
"Yep! I sure am!"
Juri grinned and tossed her cloak aside.
"Let's go. The sooner we're out of here, the sooner we can help, right?"
Ruka smiled meekly and nodded.
"I-if everyone else is ready, then I guess I am, too."
Kuja grinned, twirling his fur lightly.
"Then let us proceed!"
Akito smiled.
"Looks like we can head out!"
He said cheerfully...
-
It had been a few hours since the party had left the village. The river grew deeper, and the road became more of a dirt path, soft to walk on, but less maintained. They were indeed farther from civilization. As the villages they passed became smaller and smaller, there was a real sense that the adventuring party was in the countryside.
Eventually, they came to a fork in the road. One fork continued to hug the river, the other fork led away, but Adykon knew that it was the path leading to Vidri, thanks to a sign in the road.
After a few days of travel, they came to some ruins, right where the town of Vidri was supposed to be!
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/78/Volubilis%2CMorocco.jpg/800px-Volubilis%2CMorocco.jpg)
Why the bird's nest was there was anyone's guess.
-
Akito stopped and looked around.
"Well. This is certainly a lovely, lovely town."
He said, putting a sarcastic emphasis on the second "lovely"
Ruka looked around.
"Wh-what happened to all the people? And the town?"
He asked, sounding nervous...
-
Adykon couldn't believe what had happened. He was lucky that he was wearing a helmet over his snout, because he slapped his face with one of his armored, clawed hands. :slap
"Oh no, do NOT tell me that the town was destroyed. Gods..." It was obvious that someone, or something had wrecked the settlement of Vidri, and yet there were no signs of death. Not a single corpse could be found, and the scent of rotted bodies was, mercifully, nowhere to be smelled.
Rhiga searched the town with the rest, but of all of them, it was she who saw the first clue to what had happened. There were Dracon tracks leading out of the city, in huge numbers, as if a great number of them had been moving all at once, either to flee from something, or because they had been rounded up and marched.
"Vespion, come over here for a moment." Rhiga called to the cleric, while squatting down, inspecting the ground. "Do you have any spells that can track a large group?"
"No, I'm afraid I don't. What have you found here?"
"There's this group of Dracons, leaving the town, at least, that's what the footprints makes it look like. These are recent tracks, too. Had we arrived yesterday maybe, or a few days earlier, we would have seen whatever made this many people move."
By now, Vespion had also knelt over, and was looking at the ground. While there were a few traces of blood, that was not too rare among large crowds of Dracons, given that cuts and scrapes were a common occurrence. It did not look like there had been a massacre or violent struggle, or if there had been, the evidence had been thoroughly eliminated.
Just then, a sound could be heard from the village. A brown-skinned dracon came stumbling through the town, clad in only a loincloth, and fell into the sandy streets. Adykon rushed over to the fallen one. He was no older than 30, still a young adult by Dracon standards. Before Adykon could even open his mouth to speak, the warrior let out a horrified gasp. The fallen dracon's eyes had been stabbed out of their sockets.
-
Seemingly from the air around Adykon, a cold, high-pitched chuckle was heard.
"Oh, my...that one certainly lasted a long time... And oh, look! He even managed to last until new toys got here!"
Another, more sadistic laugh echoed out.
"Oh, such fun we will have...!"
Then silence, as the wind swept the area
-
Eriol first looked at th Dracon. - "For Gaea..." - that was all that could say. The male Panther has seen many things in his life, maybe too many, but something like this was between the rarest and worst ones. He then heard the voices. - "I can guess the responsible ones for this just came back?"
Kelassa just could not believe it, she just knelt where she was. - "Why would someone do that to him?... I just hope there are no more victims." - It was hard for her to move at all, made it worse by the evil voices that now could be heard in the wind. She then saw how Herril went closer to the Dracon.
Herril just closest his eyes for a moment. ignoring the evil voices that could be heard, he approched the Dracon and talked directly into his mind. - "Please try to stay calm, I am not here to harm you." - he put his right hand in the Dracon's forehead. - "Let me try something, I'll connect our minds together so you can see through my eyes." - Herril focused and his aura became visible. He kept doing that for some more seconds before he said. - "It is ready, the link was successful. Now try to stay close to me, because you are watching from my eyes."
-
Ilsa rushed to Adykon's side and turned pale when she saw that this Dracon has had his eyes ripped out.. "We cannot restore his eyes, but perhaps We can still save him" She said turning to Vespion " Do you have anything on you Vespion. that can help?'
_
""I don't think this one will be able to tell us much of anything" Margas said sadly " Whatever he saw, only the gods know now..I suspect the villagers were massacred.."
_
Minna took a seat next to a standing pillar, one of the few remaining structures that indicated a village had once been located here.
-
Adykon did not like where this was going. The town had been wiped out, and now, they were unsure of where to go if they were going to reach Aerta.
"Who are you, and what happened?" The mercenary helped the eyeless dracon to his feet and spoke to him, very much sickened by this recent turn of events.
"My name is Othar. They-they came out of nowhere and... we had no time to react. Before Vidri's people could do anything, they marched us out to join the others."
"Who's 'they'? And what others?"
"You haven't heard? Dememoras has an army, and he sent it to attack Minbenthac. He also attacked towns and villages for miles around that city, and Vidri was one of them. There was a battle not too far from here, at a mountain pass called Warrior's Gate..."
-
" We know that... we were in Minbenthac when he attacked the city' Margas said to the sightless Dracon. " We barely managed to hold his forces off, and we took heavy losses in the process.. Ilsa, see if we have any grapes in my knapsack, and give them to this fellow, he looks like he hasn't eaten in days..."
-
A set of elaborate throwing knives landed at Margas's and Adykon's feet.
"Don't even think about it. We have orders to make sure this entire town is dead, and we intend to keep to that!"
From the shadow of the pillar, a black-scaled female Dracon, wearing a black hood and purple top and pants stepped into view, grinning and twirling a pair of the knives.
"She's right. We'll kill you, too, since you're aware of what happened."
Another Dracon, male, and clad in red armor, the color of blood, stood on top of one of the pillars, grinning down at the adventurers...
-
" Well, well its seems as if we've found those responsible for destroyying this village' Minna said, stepping forward , her staff glowing. " Did you do this on your own or did Dememorus give you the order? Come on down here, and fight.., you're going to pay for what you did to Vidri.."
-
"I don't think they destroyed the village." Adykon replied. "The destruction is too complete and too clean and... is that female dressed like a human on her legs?"
Other "looked" at Adykon, and quickly told his tale "Dememoras' forces wiped out the defenders of this region at a battle at the mountain pass known as Warrior's Gate. There were over 1,400 survivors of the battle. His forces rounded up the prisoners, divided them into about 14 groups of 100 survivors, and blinded 99 out of every 100, leaving a single survivor left to lead the other 99 away. His forces then did the same to the villages and towns near the battle site. As for these dracons who are attacking us, I believe they are mercenary thugs hired to aid Dememoras in his conquest of the region."
-
Meanwhile Back at Rex's House...
Jake, Rex, Sasha and Selturma were all sitting in Rex's room on the floor when suddenly Jake got a small jolt in his brain. It took Jake 1 second to realize that one of The Princes mages had sent him a message saying that his number one target (Adykon) had left minbenthac and was on the move. 'dammit!' thought Jake in his mind. Jake carefully got up and he said 'i got to go, i have something i need to go "take care of".'
-
After hearing the story, Kelassa was horrified, she even fell to her knees. - "That is... monstrous... how that happened?" - Herril stood next to her. - "They are not lying, I can sense nothing but evil on them, they must be stopped, the combined magic of Healers could solve the problem of most of those Dracons, but we must get rid of these bad guys now."
Eriol was visible angered. - "I totally agree with you Psyonic. Thy must be stopped here and now, and then, Dememoras himself." - The male Gaean Panther drawed his swords and readied himself.
-
Akito stepped forward, drawing his swords, rolling and popping his neck menacingly.
"So you two serve Dememoras? Then...you're my enemies. And you're gonna die."
He snarled, as the others drew their weapons as well. The female Dracon laughed.
"You fools! Lord Dememoras is simply trying to cleanse this world, and remake it as he sees fit! No different than what scum like you do!"
She sneered, drawing several knives as her partner unslung a greatsword and chuckled.
"I wonder how long you can last...weaklings."
He taunted, twirling his sword menacingly. Akito growled, then lunged at the male, as Juri and Utena lunged the female. Behind Akito, Kuja and Miki leapt forward, as Touga and Saiyonji moved to defend the others. Ruka stepped back from the battle, staff held nervously...
-
Adykon drew his sword. He would deal with this rabble first, and ask questions later.
"I don't know who you are, or who you think you are, but there is no way you are going to stop us!"
The party still had to rescue Aerta. This was at best a distraction, but maybe one Herill could read the minds of one of these foes, possibly providing valuable information, and turning this hindrance into a help.
-
The male dracon parried Akito's sword strike, then countered with a vicious kick, launching Akito backwards into the air, sending him into Kuja and Miki, knocking the three of them sprawling. Next to him, the female dodged past Utena and Juri, catching them and throwing them into two of the pillars.
"You rabble think you can stop us?"
They taunted...
-
Marcus fired a arrow at her but it was incinerated before it even touched her. " Great.. So these arrows don't really work" He thought.
_ Minna ran forward heading towards the male Dracon, her staff glowing. ' Try this! " She snarled, sending a blast of magical energy at him. It struck him in the chestand threw him back briefly for a time.. Minna frowned, the Dracon was stronger than he looked " We don't have time to waste scum like you, we have more important business to attend to!"
-
Herril was looking at the enemies as they are battling against the party members, unable to fight as he is keeping himself close to the blinded survivor.
He then thought and noticed something strange in them, so he closed his eyes for a moment. - "I see..." - He then sent a message, mentally to all of the party members. - "Those Dracons are psyonic too, they are more effective as they can share the information they have from all of us, like where we are and how we are moving. I'll try to jam their thoughts for a moment." - the message was transmitted to all members of the party as thei are hearing Herril's voice in their minds.
"This is freking insane." - Eriol said as he heard Herril's voice in his mind, as Adykon and all the others Dracons and the Fauxen are also hearing him. Nevertheless, he charged against the male Dracon, using his left hand to fire an arrow from his crossbow and immediatley lanching a strike with one of his swords using his right hand. Hoping to do some damage to the enemy.
-
The jamming attempt worked. Herill had cut off the party's minds from the enemy and thus, the evil dracons didn't know what move Adykon and the rest were about to make next. The foes had grown dependent on knowing what the enemy was going to do, and now that they no longer knew, their true battle prowess was laid bare for all to see.
Adykon took a swing at the red-armored male, sinking his blade into the chestpiece of the enemy's armor, the pulling to one side, ripping it off.
"It seems that Dememoras' men doesn't make armor very well, do they?!" It was a boast, but one with a basis in fact. Adykon followed up on his assault with a blow to the enemy's head, knocking him clean off his clawed feet. Now for the black-skinned female...
-
Akito grinned and twirled his swords.
"Now, then. To wrap this up!"
He said, flickering out of view before several slashes ripped the air around the two enemies, both of them being physically slashed to ribbons, blood splattering the ground around where they had stood.
-
Adykon was rather surprised by Akito's actions; not that he had wanted to killed the enemies, but that he was ABLE to do it. The Fauxen were often not taken seriously in the party, mainly due to their stature, their odd equipment, and the fact that they seemed to appear and disappear without warning.
Now, Adykon would have to think twice.
"Akito... what is... how did you?..." The mercenary was simply at a loss for words.
-
Akito smirked.
"It's a trick called lightning step. It's one of the highest-tier samurai techniques. I have to admit, my control over it is less than perfect, but..."
He looks back.
"I'd say it works fairly well."
He said, remorse coloring his voice...
-
Eriol came closer to Akito and with a sly smile he said - "Akito, after what they have done to innocent people, the last thing you should feel is remorse." - He couldn't avoid to feel a bit cynical after saying that because he was a full-time assassin, but he didn't show that, he is just happy those two enemies were now sent inot oblivion.
Kelassa was amazed. - "That was amazing Akito. Who knows how many lives you saved by doing what you just did." - but there is also no way to know in how many other people Akito's technique has been used with in the past. She just stood there. - "I'll check the party members to see if any of them need healing, Vespion, I may use your help if you want."
Herril, on the other hand, closed his eyes and gave a deep breathe. - "That was... wow, I was still connected to their minds when Akito attacked... then, nothing, their minds were like erased when their bodies were destroyed. They sure had a very quick death." - he then helped the Dracon survivor from that town to get up.
-
"We can find out what they were doing later. Right now, we need to find Aerta. I don't like the looks of this." For the first time since the siege of Minbenthac, the warrior was worried. Very worried. Were they in the path of an enemy army, or its wake?
"I can sense powerful magic to the north. I'm willing to bet that it's Aerta's palace." Vespion's magical sense had not failed him yet, and hopefully, they would not fail now.
What none of them realized is that someone was watching them, from a distance. Someone who could cloak his magical signature and stay hidden even from Vespion's senses.
-
Margas gave Akito an appreciative nod " Very Nice work, Akito. You just saved us a great deal of effort, now, onto Aerta's palace. Marcus I'm going to need you to help me...'
_ With what? My arrows weren't very effective in battle.. " marcus interjected. " We need to scout the area ahead of us..' Margas Explained. he turned to Adykon " Marcus and I are going on a little bit ahead of you , to scout the area. We'll be back in a hour or so.."
-
"We can't wait that long. Those two were certainly not the only ones around here. We all have to keep moving, but if you want to go ahead of us, we can catch up. I won't sit around here and let us be hit by more of those... well, whatever those two guys were."
Adykon was glad that Akito had killed them, but at the same time, he had wanted to question those two. Oh well.
-
Akito sighed, looking down at his sword.
"I...I took a life... I did something I can't take back... Have I become a monster...?"
He said quietly to no one in particular...
-
"I'm you're a monster, I must be Dememoras himself" Adykon whispered, having heard Akito. "Don't feel bad about self-defense, or fighting in the name of what is right. At least, that's what I tell myself. I have fought for money for many years, but I have tried to only fight for good causes. At least, I hope they are. We are alike in many ways, Akito."
Rhiga was nervous, but said nothing. Why was it that every time they left the city, something bad happened? How did all these monsters, soldiers, brigands, and thugs know where they were?
-
meanwhile back at rex's house...
Jake slipped away from the room, he walked down the stairs and when he reached the lounge room he saw exodar sitting upwright examining the room. Jake walked over to him. "looks like you had a good nap" said Jake. "um...yeah...where the F*** am i???" asked exodar as calmly as possible.
"well, your in my house, in the center of minbenthac." replied Jake to exodars question. "oh..um..okay.." said Exodar as he got up and walked over to Jake. Exodar offered his hand to Jake "i'm exodar, and who might you be?". Jake shook exodars hand "i'm Jake".
"Well, now that we know each other, where are you headed?" asked exodar. "i've got some business to take care of" replied Jake. "okay, maybe i can help you with it?" said Exodar. Jake thought about this but before he could answer he was interrupted by selturma.
-
"Jake, are you going someplace?" Selturma had followed him and had found Exodar and Jake , and was surprised to see the latter going out of the house. "Are you trying to sneak off to find Adykon and the others? Don't lie to me, Jake. Heheh!" And as before, Selturma bounced up and down a few times, eager to see what Jake was up to.
"You're trying to find Adykon and Rhiga. Admit it!" She added with a smile and a laugh.
-
Jake and exodar both looked at selturma. Exodar was surprised at the fact that a creature he had not seen before was talking and bouncing up and down. "umm.....what the hell are you?" asked Exodar. "she's a Dracon, and to answer you question selturma...yes i am looking for Adykon if you must know...do you know where he and the rest headed off to? i need to find them immediately." said Jake
-
"You've never seen Dracons before?" Selturma was puzzled. "Well, it just happens that you're in a land where almost everyone IS a dracon!" And once again she laughed and bounced up and down, oblivious to the fact that it made her look very silly. "How did you get here, Exodar? How was it that you had no idea that you were in a Dracon city in a Dracon country?"
-
"i was running away from someone...an old ally....." replied Exodar "i used to work for evil but i saw the light and i changed my path. I got as much loot i could find, put it in a sac and escaped my land. i jumped onto a ship and sailed over here. once i got off i was ambushed by my partner....i had to run for my life...i ended up running so fast and far that i got exhausted...then i collapsed and woke up here.." said exodar (please don't ask anymore questions about exodars past..at least not yet).
-
"Well, we're glad to have you, no matter how you got here. It doesn't matter to me, as long as you don't support Dememoras. You know who he is, right?" Selturma took a seat on a couch , folding her legs close to her as she spoke.
-
"i've heard of that being before....but only in ancient texts...is it true that he is invincible?!?" asked Exodar. Jake was becoming impatiant and he turned and he left the house and walked onto the street.
-
"I certainly hope not. We have seen him before, but not often. He is... strong. Very strong, but invincible? No... he can't be. I hope." The very thought made Selturma a bit on edge as she wrapped her tail around her legs.
-
Exodar noticed selturma wrap her tail around her legs. "what the F***? how do you use a tail?" exodar took a step back and realized that Jake was standing at the front of the house. "anyway, do you know where to find this 'Adykon'?" asked exodar since Jake was outside. Jake looked back into the house and he made a hand signal guesturing to hurry it up.
-
"I don't know how he plans to find Adykon, but if he's going, I'm going. I told Rex's mom that I could be leaving at any time to catch up with Adykon and the others anyway, and at this point, she really has given up trying to control us, given how many times we keep running off on who-knows-what adventure" Selturma loosened up a bit, and had moved her tail to behind her back, swishing it through the air as she held her feet in her hands, while rocking back and forth a bit.
-
"okay then let's go" said Exodar "Adventures are a new thing to me.". Exodar went outside and met up with Jake. "are we going yet?" asked Jake. When Jake noticed thatt selturma was coming he thought to himself, another hole in my mission..." Jake rolled his eyes. "alright then let's go. Jake checked that he had his sword and that he would still be able to recieve his armour and Blade. (that good???)
-
(OOC: Yes, it is good.)
"I'll be along with you too. I just need to get someone, okay?" Selturma went deeper into the house to get-
"-REX! Jake's going to find Adykon! I'm going with him! You coming too?" She suspected that he would be happy to join, just like all of the other adventures they had been on, going as far back the lost city all that time ago...
-
While selturma was calling out to rex, jake had a very angry look on his face...he looked like he was gonna kill someone there and then..but he didn't. Rex and sasha both heard selturma calling out to rex and they both came downstairs. "yes?" asked Rex. Jake turned away and thought "this is beginning to get on my nerves....but i suppose that it's okay for them to come...someone to talk to i guess...". Jake turned to the group again..."okay, let's go"
-
"So, its just the four of us? You, me, Rex, and Exodar?" Selturma asked Jake, hoping that the four of them could somehow find Adykon and the rest. They were far behind, and had a long way to go, but maybe they could catch up at one point.
-
"i would've liked to come with you guys but i think it's best if i stayed here" said Sasha. Jake nodded head in agreement "that's one less person i have to deal with...". "okay, let's go" said Jake as he began walking down the street. Exodar, Selturma and Rex followed. Rex thought "i love to go adventuring.. adventuring...wait why am i singing???"
-
"That's okay, Sasha. I honestly think we'll be fine." Selturma noted that Sasha's absence might make a difference, but Selturma figured that if they faced something that four of them could not handle, having five of the would not make that big a difference. Besides, the goal was to find Adykon, not to cause more trouble.
-
As the group walked down the streets they could see cleanup workers picking up the small fragments and large chunks of building left by the previous battle. "Once i reach my destination...i'll kill each of my targets one by one while they sleep" thought Jake as he gave off a slightly noticeable grin of satisfaction. Jake looked to Selturma "so Selturma, do you know where Adykon and the rest went?".
-
"I don't know, Jake. I think we should go to the palace to find out." Selturma spoke while the shadow of a red dragon loomed overhead. Coming in for a dive, the dragon spoke to them.
"Why bother going all the way to the palace to ask?"
-
Exodar looked up to see the figure. "woah?!? what the F*** is that?!?". "Hey it's toby" said Rex "relax, he's friendly..if your in his good books" laughed Rex. Exodar took a few steps back and watched as the red dragon landed close to the group. Rex and Jake both walked over to assure exodar that it was safe to come over.
-
Toby was hardly a frightening figure. In fact, being roughly the size of a medium-sized dog, it was fair to say that Toby was nothing more than a hatching. Once he was fully-grown he would be larger than many Dracon's houses, but for now, he was decidedly smaller.
It wasn't that the little dragon was not threat; on the contrary, he has forced Violet to flee from the battle during the siege. His powers were not inconsequential. Even so, Toby was not there to fight.
"Hi! are you looking for Adykon, Sasha?"
"Yeah! How did you guess?"
"He seems to be the center of attention right now. Everyone wants a piece of him. Even Dememoras. Anyway, I heard that he left the city. He's heading north past a place called "Vidri" to go find some sorceress or archmage or sorceress archmage or something like that."
"Vidri... hmm. I think I know where that is. I'm sure I can find it."
"Right. Just head north, stay near the river, and follow the signs. You'll get there soon enoug-whoa! Who is this?!" Toby had just noticed Exodar.
-
"this is exodar, he's new" said Rex. After Jake, Rex and selturma explained who exodar was and how he came to be with the group Jake thanked Toby for the information "well anyway, thanks for the info" said Jake "look's like we're heading to Vidri". Jake began walking north, he turned around and waved goodbye to toby. Rex and exodar were just about to follow jake when rex thought about asking toby if he wanted to come "hey toby, you wanna come?". Jake heard this and thought "OMFG why the F*** can't i get my mission done at ease!!!"
-
"I'll be coming along too. I think Adykon expected me to be in the city when he returned, but... whatever. I see that you're missing Sasha, so I'd better come along, you know. Act as a replacement, and a superior one at that. Even at his young age, his Draconic pride was starting to show.
-
Akito sighed, looking down at his sword.
"I...I took a life... I did something I can't take back... Have I become a monster...?"
He said quietly to no one in particular...
Eriol also heard what Akito said. - "We all decide what to do with our lives, you may have destroyed a life, but you did it to save others. Those two enemy Dracons took many lives for pleasure and caused so much pain. They are the real monsters, not you and they are the ones that must regret for their actions." - He then make a sly smile, after hearing Adykon. - "And if Adykon is Dememoras, well, I may be Dememoras' twin brother." - He crossed his arms, waiting for the group's next move.
Kelassa was there, helping the other Fauxen for any injuries they may have got during the fight. - "All of these events are sure the sign of a big war, and with every war there is death. I hope it will stop soon."
Herril nodded as he grabbed his backpack. - "We might be getting closer to where Aerta is, as I can feel the presence of many hostiles as we approach to our destination. This sure will be a difficult task, but with each small step we give, the closer we'll be to reach the bigger goal."
-
"Okay...now....let's go" said Jake with an irritated tone. "alright" responded exodar as he caught up to Jake. Once the group was out of the city they were on they're way to Vidri. They came to a small dirt intersection that had a small road that led to Vidri. Some footprints were still left in the dirt. Jake examined the prints "i'd say these were Adykon and the rest" he said "what do you guys think?". "I thought the same" replied Rex. "well, if they belong to who your looking for then let's follow the tracks" said Exodar. Jake nodded his head in agreement and the group followed the prints that led down the road.
-
(OOC: How did they get there so FAST? That should be edited. Make them go on the road to Vidri instead.)
-
Marcus and Margas Headed out in front of the others, where the path sloped upwards gradually As they walked along, Marcus broke the silence " I needed some time by myself, having to care for Rhiga so much was taking its toll.. we have an egg.."
_ already?' Margas turned and glanced at him with surprise " You sure aren't wasting any time, Marcus.. you can't be any older than twenty..'
"Nineteen actually , Rhiga is a few years older' Marcus admitted " Its my first child, but shes had a few previous kids..." "I see, well I think you're a bit young to be married Marcus , if I do say so. " Margas replied " well, I'm not a noble like you, I'll probably only have one mate over the course of my life'' Marcus said as they traversed a rocky patch in the path, which narrowed as they climbed higher. ' I will have others yes, but my future wives will not hold a candle t Ilsa in terms of beauty or connections.. I was quite lucky when the marriage was arranged..."
-
Adykon and the rest were behind the two scouts. He hoped for a quick and safe return for them, as the warrior had second thoughts about letting them get so far ahead of the rest. What if they ran into an enemy army? What if they got lost? What if Dememoras showed up? :blink:
He shoved those thoughts aside, but they quickly resurfaced as he saw Rhiga's expression of worry. She normally didn't take things like this, but now that she had a husband and a child to worry about, she was no longer in direct control of everything that mattered to her.
-
As the group was walking along the road to vidri. The group could hear a noise..it was like the wind...but no wind could be felt...the air had a slight stench to it. "stop, somethings wrong....very wrong" said Jake as he moved his hand in front of the group like a barrier. Just then, out of no where a small group of demoras soldiers jumped down from the side of the road into the groups path. "what the hell?!" yelled Jake as he and rex got into a combat stance and drew their swords. "looks like we got us some easy kills." said one of the soldiers. "Bring it ugly" said Rex. "why you little!" said the same soldier as he and the other two ran at the group. Jake managed to block one of the blows from a soldier but got hit with the tail in the face.
-
(OOC: Were you trying to say something, Metadude?)
-
As the party keep going, Herril had his eyes closed, he was concentrating but still managing to walk with no problems. - "There are some small enemy groups, maybe backup groups or groups that are resting from their assault on Aerta's tower, but they are closer to us than they are from the tower itself." - He then kept silence again as he was trying to figure out more things, like their numbers and what are they are really up to. Kelassa just looked at him, she was walking alongside the Psyonic, very amazed that he could walk normally while keepinh his eyes closed.
Eriol, in the mean time, was walking silently, his arms crossed in front of him. Even though he has wary eyes on his surroundings, part of his mind is in his homeland. He is thinking about his son and that he'll like to return as soon as possible, but the menace of Dememoras is just too big and it seems that it will have no end. The Gaean panther just sighed as he looked forward and asked Adykon - "Adykon, any word from our scouts?"
-
"I'm afraid not. They haven't returned yet. Herril, can you contact them mentally? Can you ask them to report what they have found? Or, better yet, can you see what they are seeing and share it with me?" Adykon was quick to adapt to having a psionic in the party.
Marcus and Margas were still ahead of the others, but they would meet up soon.
-
Herril looked at Adykon and replied. - "To see what somebody else is seeing means that I must enter the other's mind more deeply than what is needed to communicate something, so I will first ask them what are they seeing and ask for permission." - It was obvious that Herril was very polite in saying that, because they are all part of a team in a quest to defeat a great evil. But he is indeed able to see what other people see.
The male Dracon concentrated a bit more and reached the scouts, speaking to them mentally. - "Marcus, Margas... Adykon is asking about what you have seen so far. And maybe if you can allow me to see what you are seeing and share it with the group's leader... if that is fine with you."
-
there are a large contingent of troops a couple miles ahead of us, heading north' came Margas' reply " We will be rejoining you shortly. We had to avoid being spotted, which would have proved considerably.. problematic for us, and the rest of you. How many there are exactly, I do not know, but it is safe to say, the number is well into the thousands." Within the next fifteen minutes, both Dracon males appeared, coming over a ridge in the road, and walked down to meet them. "We're on the right track , I think" Marcus said , upon seeing Adykon. "Sorry, for the delay Adykon, but we had to lay low to avoid them spotting, which would have likely resulting in both our deaths." he said, flinching slightly.
-
(OOC: Please correct some of the spelling errors. It is a good post, but you ought to make it clear that it is in "the next fifteen minutes" not "he next fifteen." :DD )
Adykon saw the two males return to the group. Wasting no time, he quickly asked them the question he dreaded to ask. "Is there any way post those soldiers? We cannot fight thousands of them. There's just no way for us to beat that many of them."
-
Eriol also went closer to Marcus and Margas, but he remained a couple of steps behind Adykon. - "We knew from the start that we could encounter a situation like this one. But nobody here is capable of battling all of them so we do need a plan." - He is now waiting if the two scouts have the good news he and the rest od the party are waiting to hear.
"If they are as many as I was able to see... darn, not even me I would be able ti successfully trick all of them. But maybe, we could still try and deceive their leaders into leading the soldiers into a different path than ours." - Herril was unsure though. He saw the recent battle in Minbenthac, but that now it is different, now he and Kelassa are in the frontline.
In the mean time, Kelassa was with the other members of the party, feeling bad since she feels she cannot do much, or anything at all, right now. But she is doing her best to remain strong.
-
Jake responded to the tail in the face non too kindly...once he recovered he got his sword and he severed the tail in half. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" screamed the dracon in agony. The dracon took a few steps back and he threw his sword to the side and he gasped in horror at the blood gushing from the stump that used to be his tail. Blood spattered everywhere and some splashed onto jake and the rest. The other two dracons watched the horror before them. "get that one!" they yelled in unison. "ah?!?" thought Jake "double teamed!". The first dracon swung his sword for jake's head but missed...the other dracon soon followed and he got jake along the chest..blood could be seen seeping from the wound at a slightly fast rate. Rex jumped in front of jake and began to try and defend him while jake crawled away clutching his chest as the blood continued to flow.
-
Toby flew in front of Jake, trying to shield the human while unleashing a gout of flame from his mouth.
FWOOOSSHH!!
The young dragon was still learning how to manipulate his fire, but ever since his fight with Violet over Minbenthac, he had proven quite skilled already.
"Jake, I've got these guys, focus on the others!" Toby shouted as he prepared to unleash a second burst of fire.
-
Jake coughed up some blood and he spat it out. He got up off the ground...gripped his sword with both hands and he charged at the enemy so that he could help rex and toby. Jake lunged forward with the sword and he got the first dracon in the left arm
"AHHH!" yelled the dracon soldier as he clutched his arm in pain "you little brat!"
The soldier leaped at jake with his sword and he swung his sword from side to side trying to catch jake and slice him...
-
Toby drove off three soldiers with his flaming breath, burning one severely, and chasing the other two off. The attack was starting to die down; none of the soldiers had been told about a Dragon, or that a human youth would be so hard to defeat.
"YEAH! Take that! Get out of here, you sorry excuses for Dragons! You may have some of our blood, but you have NONE of our power!" Toby was having the time of his life shouting at them.
-
Since the fight was less extreme Jake looked around for something that he could transmute (change into something else). Jake spotted a large rock and immediately walked over to it. e placed both his hands on the rock and a small amount of energy was used and some miniature lightning streaks could be seen coming out of the rock...the rock then turned into a bandage that jake could use to protect the wound on his chest. Jake quickly removed his shirt and wrapped the bandage around his chest and back covering the mark and the wound he had just received. Jake left his shirt where it was and he returned to the fight, he finished off the severely burnt soldier. Rex, Toby and Jake were also fighting the last two of the still fighting soldiers
-
"That's the last of them. The rest have all run away" Toby gasped as his flame started to die down. As a red dragon, he would one day have great mastery over flame, mastery which extended as far as a raging wildfire, but in his youth, the juvenile dragon had reached his limits, and smoke, not fire, poured out of his mouth.
-
"you look like you had fun" said Rex as he examined the smoke from toby's mouth. Exodar stepped forward since the fight was over.
"dude, that was hardcore" he said smiling "oh, by the way. are you guys okay?"
"i'm good" said Jake as he walked over and picked his shirt up off the ground and put it on.
"yeah, i'm good too" said Rex "i guess we're back to searching for Adykon and the rest?"
Jake nodded his head.
-
"We should. Alright, let's keep on going, and hope that there are no more nasty surpises waiting for us." Toby bounded into the air with one swoop of his wings, and flew on above the rest.
Meanwhile...
Hekaga was never the best place to live. In fact, for most of its residents, it was a downright awful place to be. For the rich, it was a a good place, if one didn't mind all the poverty, treachery, and downright poisonous political culture. The old king had been ruling for a long, long time; far too long for many, and for a particular son, the old Dracon was long past his time on the throne...
Gathered around the Prince of Hekaga were a number of heavily armed Dracons, bearing his father's symbol on their steel armor. These soldiers had been hand-picked to serve the king, even to their dying breath; in another era, even talking about what the prince had called them in to do would be a death sentence! But these were not the old times. Now it was "business as usual."
-
There is another route, unfortunately it leads much farther to the north, than the one the army is using. " Margas replied "It connects with the other road a little ways in front of the castle- We were able to overhear some of the soldiers talking, and apart from the usual complaints about soldier life, they did mention the other route- but it is a slower route, it will likely take a few days, and I don't think we have that kind of time to spare if we are going to reach the castle in time" Margas finished.
_ Marcus frowned. ' We don't have a choice my lord, we have to take that route, perhaps we can create a shortcut that will make the path quicker."
_ Ilsa spoke up " If we want to save Aerta , we cannot afford to waste any time arguing. Herrill, can you make contact with her? Find out if she can hold out for a few more days. If not, then naturally we'll need to redouble our efforts."
-
Herril looked at Ilsa. - "If the place where she is in under a siege, it may be difficult, but I can try... I'll let her know about our situation." - Herril closed his eyes once more as he took a deep breathe, his face aiming upwards while his hands are at each side of his body. His body was static, but his mind, that is another story: His mind flew in the direction Aerta's tower is and he said mentally, as he tried to reach her. - "Aerta, my name is Herril, a Psyonic from Minbenthac and I am with Adykon, if you can hear my thoughts please answer." - the male Dracon was hoping there will be an answer to his request, he needed to be sure Aerta was there before delivering any message.
Eriol was looking with some curiosity how this Dracon with high mental powers was doing his job, he kept his arms crossed and then he looked in the direction where their destination is.
-
The group continued down the road but to pass some time Exodar decided to speak. "so guys....since this is beginning to get kinda boring just staring at the road..who wants to play a game?"
"what sort of game?" asked Rex
"it's a game that some human children and some adults play" responded Exodar "the game is called 'I spy', the basic rules of the game are that one person has to find an object and say the first letter of that object. The other people have to guess what it is. If they guess correctly it is their turn to find an object"
"sounds simple enough" replied Rex "so, who go's first?"
-
"I'll go!" Toby shouted as he swooped down from the sky, flying around the little group while listening in. He took a look around the party, seeing the earth and the air. Then, he found something.
"I spy something that starts with... 'D'!"
-
"hmmmmm" said rex to himself "something starting with the letter 'D' in the area"
"ummm....dragon?" asked Exodar
-
"Nope. Not a dragon, dracon, or anything of the sort" Toby replied. "Think about something less powerful. Much less powerful."
-
(OOC: Not really a new post, but I finally have made a picture of what Adykon looks like, dressed in an older suit of armor.)
(http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/196/a/f/Adykon_by_Noguy.jpg)
-
While they waited for Herrill to recieve any contact from Aerta the group moved onwards. as they did a loud rumbling sounds became louder and louder, and as they climbed over a large hill they could see the cause of the noise, an expansive army, , marching in file, spreading out over a huge distance. this was clearly the army that Margas and Marcus had talked about. The soldiers closest to them were wearing thick dark armor, splashed with an infernal red. This army was easily in the tens of thousands
_ By the gods" Minna hissed softly as she saw them. ' and how exactly are we going to get past them? I mean , we could knock a few out and take their armor?"
_ And alert them all, and be killed within quick succession? Think Minna, think!: Margas said looking at her with an expression of disbelief " That is simply asking to be discovered and killed.."
-
(OOC: It has been a while since I posted anything serious here. I shall remedy this now. For the time being, communication over a non-spoken channel will be bracketed "<text>")
Aerta "heard" Herril's attempts to contact her. Knowing that what happened next would require very careful planning, she reached out with her mind across the astral plane and contacted him directly.
<Psionic? Can you read my thoughts? Am I coming through clearly? I am under siege, and as you know, I cannot hold out for much longer. There is a way to get me out, but it is difficult. I cannot teleport out because to do so would require me to lower my shield first, and that takes time, during which time the enemies would be able to rush in through the weakened shield and attack me before I could escape. Can you reply?>
-
Herril made a small smile while still concentrating, he smiled because his message was heard. - <I am glad you are able to 'hear' me, the other members of the party are taking a close look at the situation but it looks bad... I have not taken a look at the enemies yet, but I can feel their thoughts and their numbers. I need you to keep a contact so we can coordinate a plan so you can escape from there.>
Eriol walked up the hill too, crouching before reaching the top so the enemies will not see him and he told the Dracons there. - "Can you feel it? the emotion that comes with the fear of facing a foe that is too much for any of us, but yet you know there is a solution?" - There was a sly smile in the Gaean Panther's face as he saw the fear in the Dracon females. - "We must not fall into discouragement, or the enemy will kill us in a second. So let's hope our newcomer psyonic can help us get into a solution, if he manages to talk with Aerta. I think that can be a first step into a proper plan." - He told the Dracons as he kept looking at the enemy forces and all the equipment they have, they sure are trying to kill Aerta at all costs.
-
<What you need to do is to rather risky. First, you need to get at least one person over to the palace, and then, you need to create a distraction to help clear a path to escape. There is a way to open the force-field a little bit, opening a hole for me to get out, but you need to get someone over to the palace first.>
Adykon saw that Herril was communicating with someone. He could tell because the psionic looked as if he was listening intently to someone speaking in front of him. "What? What is she saying?"
-
Both Minna and Ilsa tensed. Throughout all their adventures so far, this was easily the most danger they had ever been in.. Ilsa bit her lip, but her face flinched as she saw the enemy forces coming up ahead of them.
Has she answered? ' marcus whispered..
m possibly, judging by the psionic's reaction, I'd guessing she is in contact with him, although it is just a guess" Margas replied.
-
Herril raised an eyebrow (or the closest a Dracon has to an eyebrow) as he heard Aerta and then as he heard Adykon's question. The Psyonic opened his eyes for a moment. - "Aerta has a plan, but there is a problem, because we need to find a way to get one of us inside her tower, and to create a way to escape... she can make a temporary opening in her field for one of us to enter." - Herril closed his eyes again to contact Aerta. - <Aerta, I have told Adykon, can you mantain your protection field until we decide who will enter and how?, I can help you mantain this link so it will be a strain less from you.>
-
<I can maintain this field for a day or two more without too much difficultly. Even so, the sooner you send someone, the better. There are some doors inside the palace that are integrated with the force-field. These can be opened by someone entering the right solution to a code. There are three doors to... uhh!>
As Aerta groaned in pain, an explosion went off, hitting the force-field at the same time. It was clear that not only was her time running out, but that she was connected with the field. When it was hit hard, she felt it.
-
As the explosion was felt, every member of the party could feel the magnitude of it. - "Dememoras' soldiers are intensifying their attacks, if we will act, then we must soon." - Eriol said as he saw what happened.
Aerta's pain passed to Herril due to the mental link, and the link was weakened because of it. - "This is bad, Adykon, since Aerta created that force field using all of her power, then she can feel the damage the soldiers are causing... if the field fails, she will not be able to recover and attempt an escape."
Kelassa knelt besides Herril. - "There must be a way to get that person inside her tower and quickly."
To that, Herril replied. - "There are some doors in her tower that are directly connected to the field, and one can enter if knowing the solution to her codes... but the explosion interrupted the link, I will attempt to recover it." - Then Herril closed his eyes again and tried to find Aerta again.
-
Aerta managed to contact Herril again, but the signal was much weaker.
<C...n y... h...r me? Ple... send some... soon.> Her "voice" cut out after that, and nothing more could be "heard."
So far, the party had gone unnoticed by the army, but sooner or later, this would come to an end. If they were going to save the female archmage, now was the time.
-
Herril opened his eyes again. - "I'm sorry Adykon, but I lost her, I-I cannot reach her... that explosion was too much for her." - the psyonic said as he was visible affected because of the explosion and how it foced the link to break so violently.
At the same time, Eriol was looking at the situation from the hill, he then turned to the Dracons there. - "Something happened, it looks like that explosion caused more damaged than we thought. We really need that plan now."
-
"What did she say? What am I supposed to do? I'm supposed to go in there, right? Where is the entrance? Did she... oh... just tell me what you know, please." Adykon was worried, as was Vespion.
The cleric sensed something odd. Being both a mage and a cleric gave him an insight not many shared. As a mage, he could detect magic, including magic in living beings, but he could also detect auras of light and darkness, corresponding to what would be considered good and evil, as many clerics were trained to. What he felt was a being that had dark magic, yet no darkness within it.
This wouldn't have surprised Vespion as much if not for the fact that this powerful being was not inside the palace, nor a part of the besieging army. It wasn't even in the party.
-
Herril looked at Adykon. - "All I know is that there are three doors that allows people to go in and out of her tower, but those are directly connected to her force field, so we need a code to enter. Sadly, I got cut off before she could tell me... we might still be able to reach her, but that will have to be in route to there."
Eriol became bored of looking at the enemy forces because they all move following the same patterns, and that he thinks they are all wasting time. He went to where Adykon, Vespion and Herril are.
As the Psyonic was talking to the Party's leader he could suddenly feel a presence, and without thinking, he looked in the direction the presence is. - "Somebody else is apporaching, it has powerful dark magic... but it is not offensive."
"That would not be my first time to feel something like that." - Eriol said with a smile, but then he added before anybody could talk. - "please, ignore what I've just said, I am not in the mood to talk about my past and we have no time either." - But Eriol had to admit that he was curious about the newcomer... as the rest of the party members are.
-
"ummm...this is harder than we thought" said Rex
"yeah, it kinda is...hmmmm..." said Exodar as he examined his surroundings "hmmm
As the group continued walking they were beginning to get closer to the party but still had a bit to go, so as everyone was thinking of what the object could be rex spoke up
"can't think of anything...this is hard, Selturma, can you guess???"
-
Selturma looked around, seeing sand, clouds, dracons, the river, and the sky. Then she looked down at the ground, seeing a dirt path, the one that they were walking on. Wait a minute. That was it!
"Dirt? Is it dirt?" she asked, to which Toby replied;
"Yes. You got it!"
That was a rather obvious thing to guess...
-
Rex and Exodar both looked at each other and they both thought " :blink: :slap "
"oh my gods that was so obvious!" said Rex "so simple it's hard to guess"
"that was a challenge i guess" said Exodar "I guess it's your turn to pick an object selturma"
Jake turned around to face the group as they walked "we should be there soon, who wants to run for a bit? walking is beginning to get boring."
-
"I don't think we'll arrive there for quite some time. In any case, I spy something that starts with... "H!" Selturma was correct in her assessment, although they had covered quite a bit of ground in an unusually short period of time.
-
"hmmmm..." thought Rex "is it something easy like...Humans???"
"that's probably not the answer because that would be simple..." replied Exodar "hmmm..."
Exodar examined his surroundings and figured that it mightn't be humans but it could possibly be...
"is it horns?" asked Exodar
-
"Correct!" Selturma exclaimed while bouncing up and down, taking but a moment to touch one of her clawed fingers to her left horn.
"Your turn, Exodar!" she replied, still smiling.
-
"hmmmm.what would be hard to guess" thought exodar as he looked around, he got his idea and said "it's something beginning with the letter 'S'".
Rex looked around and couldn't spot anything starting with the letter 'S'. Rex then looked up "is it sky?".
"nope" replied Exodar
-
"Is it... sword? To say 'sky' would be just too obvious" Selturma replied, a bit bored at the game, but still perfectly willing to play it.
-
"yep, that's it!" said Exodar "your turn again i guess"
"this game is starting to get a bit boring, who wants to go for a run like jake suggested? we'll get to where we need to be quicker and we won't get bored very easily. It can be like a race? what do you think?" asked rex
"that sounds great" said Exodar
Jake turned around "the sooner we get there, the better" he said
-
Selturma slowed down as she walked. The sand was hot, and they had been traveling for hours.
"Does anyone want to take a break? I do. We've been walking for so long and my feet hurt. Isn't anyone else tired?" she told the rest.
-
"i'm not tired but rest would be good" said Exodar as he stopped and faced Selturma
"okay, we'll rest, but for only half an hour to an hour max" replied Jake
"at least it's better than nothing" said Rex to Selturma
-
"Good." Selturma said, sitting down, crossing her legs. She undid the top she wore and set it aside.
"Rex, could you come here for a moment?" the young female asked in a sing-song tone. She wanted something from him...
-
"sure" said Rex as he walked over to Selturma and sat down beside her "what is it?"
Exodar wasn't used to the fact that dracon females usually took their top off so he turned the other way facing out into the desert and he sat down.
Jake too sat down and he looked out at where the group was headed and to where he would find Adykon and the others
-
Selturma extended her right foot over to Rex, placing it against his stomach, pressing gently against his shirt.
"Could you rub my feet for me? We've been walking for so long..."
Toby landed behind them and decided to have a rest, curling up on the soft ground and tucking his head under his wing. He was still awake, however.
-
"sure" replied Rex as he got both his right and left hand to massage Selturmas foot. With his right hand he gently squeezed her toes and with his left hand he gently stroked her heel and soles of her foot. "how does that feel?" he asked
-
"ohhh... I like that..." Selturma said, lying down, her eyes already glazed over with pleasure. The lack of focus in her eyes was a good sign, as she bade him to move on to the other foot.
-
As rex finished up on the first foot, he moved on to her next foot and he used both hands again repeating the same process. He repeated these processes on both feet 2 times each. After that was done he put her feet down gently and moved backwards a tiny bit and asked "how was that?"
-
"Very nice... could you do the same to my back? I'll give you a back rub too if you do mine first..." Selturma wanted to offer him something as well, being kind and generous as she was.
-
"no problem" said Rex as he smiled and moved over behind Selturma. Rex got his right hand and he massaged her right shoulder blade while he got his left and and used his claws and ran them down her back. Once he did that for two minutes he switched hands to do the other ones job. Rex had finished two minutes later and said "......my turn now" as he smiled
-
"Sure thing, Rex. Just take off your shirt and I'll get right on it. Where do you want me to rub first?" asked Selturma.
-
Rex removed his shirt and placed it on the ground "just rub the shoulders please" was Rex's Reply.
Jake decided to get up and walk away for a bit so that he could examine the cut he got across his chest just to make sure that it wouldn't get infected. Once Jake was sure he was far enough away he removed his shirt and unwrapped the bandages. The wound was seeping blood but not enough that could cause serious harm. Jake re-applied the bandages and he placed his shirt back on and he returned to the group.
-
Selturma used the claws on her thumbs to gently but firmly rub Rex's shoulders, feeling his muscles, which were far stronger than her's. "You've gotten stronger since the last time we did this..." she told him, continuing to give him a massage.
-
"why thank you" said Rex as he grinned "I guess all this fighting has helped me get stronger.....and oh that feels good"
"alright guys, hurry it up" said Jake "time to go"
Exodar turned around and sighed to himself "yeah, okay". Exodar got up and he walked over to where Jake was.
-
"Alright" Selturma got up, reluctantly but surely, and grabbed her top. She didn't put it on yet, but was ready to any moment. "That was nice."
Toby uncurled and stretched, breathing a bit of flame before flying into the air.
-
"everyone set to go?" asked Jake
"yeah..." said Rex
"same for me too..." said Exodar
"what about you Selturma, you ready to go once you put your top on?" asked Jake
-
Selturma quickly put it on. "Done. Ready? For real this time?"
"I am!" Toby told the rest, flying high above them, keeping a lookout for the party.
-
Rex picked his shirt up and put it on "ready"
"alright then..." said Jake "let's go!"
Jake and the rest of the group continued walking down the road. they had been walking for half an hour now since they left where they were resting. They still had a while to go but were still making excellent progress.
"anyway, we should be there soon..........i hope" said Rex
"well, at least we all know that we'll all sleep good tonight, heh heh" said Exodar with a smile
-
Meanwhile...
Adykon looked around, more than slightly nervous about the situation. "Alright. Herril, do you know exactly what Aerta told us to do? We have to get in somehow, and only she knows the answers we need."
-
As the group travelled they could hear a very distant attack going on. It was still a long way away but it was still bearly withing earshot for a dracon. "can you guys hear that?" asked Rex
"hear what?" asked both Exodar and Jake
"it sounds sort of like a fight?" replied Rex
"well, we can't he it so we'll have to take your word for it" said Jake "we must be getting close..."
Jake looked up at where Toby was flying
"Hey Toby, you see anything up ahead?!?" he asked
-
Toby could hear it better than the others could.
"We are still quite far away. I don't know what that noise was, but it sounded like an explosion. I wish I knew more!" The young dragon had to shout down from the sky to the others, but he could be heard well enough.
-
"well let's hurry so we don't miss any of the action!" said Exodar
"yeah, come on!" said Rex
Jake could see that the others were excited to see the fight so he said "well, let's run there then!".
Rex and Exodar began running towards where the noise was coming from.
"you coming Selturma and Toby?" asked Jake
-
Toby was already out in front, knowing the odds that they would actually arrive there in time were slim. Selturma, for her part, was struggling to keep up with the rest of them.
(OOC: Here is a pic of a Dracon female, for those who wonder what they look like)
(http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/196/c/e/Dracon_Princess_by_Noguy.jpg)
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As the group was running they could hear some people talking up ahead "who's that?" asked Exodar "is that the people you wanted to get to?"
"no..they're Demoras soldiers!" Said Rex as he drew his sword.
Jake did the same "just wait, we'll stay here..but if they spot us and attack we'll strike back"
The soldiers continued talking until they spotted something in the air "what's that?" asked the Dark green soldier.
"they spotted toby" said Exodar
"it's moving?" said the same green soldier "i don't think it's one of ours"
"yeah, and there's others with it" said the red dracon "attack!"
-
"If its a fight they want, they won't be disappointed!" Toby's eyes lit up as he spoke, diving from the sky, the pupils of his little eyes changing from black to red as he prepared to unleash a burst of flame.
-
Meanwhile...
Adykon looked around, more than slightly nervous about the situation. "Alright. Herril, do you know exactly what Aerta told us to do? We have to get in somehow, and only she knows the answers we need."
Herril looked back at Adykon. - "Please, we need to try and remain calm. I will tell you what she told me, she said that we need to get at least one person over to the palace, and then the rest of us, to create a distraction to help clear a path to escape." - The Psyonic took a breathe before continuing as he remembered the other part of Aerta's message. - "She also said that there are some doors inside the palace that are integrated with the force-field. Those can be opened by someone entering the right solution to a code. But she was unable to tell me what is the code, because of the big attack we felt some moments ago."
"So there is no way to get to know the code?. Now that is a reason to begin getting nervous." - Eriol commented as he crodssed his arms.
Kelassa looked at the other people. - "Maybe you can try and contact Aerta again? Maybe at the moment the plan is complete so she can have some moments to recover from the previous attack." - She said that as she placed her right arm in Herril's left shoulder, but she removed it with a shy attitude when the Psyonic looked at her.
-
Adykon had already lost one female he had loved to Dememoras. Vaeri had died suddenly and unexpectedly, just as Aerta's husband had. He didn't want Aerta to die too. Given what had happened to those who had opposed Dememoras before, there was an excellent chance of this happening.
"The path is clear, then. I have to go over to the palace, and try to get the doors open. As for the rest of you... well, we will need to make a distraction." Adykon knew what had to be done, but how to do it was another matter altogether. Despite what he said, the path was far from clear.
-
We'll have to draw the army's attention for at least a couple hours " Margas said ' Give their sheer numbers, unless we keep running, we won't even buy you a few seconds in face to face combat."
" with all due respect, Husband, tell us something we don't already know " Ilsa said , turning away and looking out over the surrounding.. it was quite scenic, if you discounted the fact there was a army of a couple of thousands soldiers ahead of them..
_ Is there any way Herril you can mentally keep her shield up and allow her a short time to rest?' Minna asked. " Not being a psionic, of course, so my question maybe very stupid..."
-
Herril looked back at Margas. - "Your question is not stupid, I can make the enemy forces think the shield is still up.. but their numbers are too great, I have never attempted to influence that many minds." - The psyonic said as he crossed his arms and closed his eyes... without the other knowing, he is trying to reach Aerta again, with no success so far.
Kelassa gave a sigh, and she then reacted with some animosity. - "Maybe if Herril can influece their Leader's minds? maybe that can buy us some time by creating confussion in their lines?"
Eriol was looking at Adykon, as he can understand what the Party's Leader feels: Losing someone you love is always hard... sometimes it is just too hard.
-
"It doesn't really matter how they are distracted, just make sure it works, and... wait. You can keep in touch with me mentally, can't you?" Adykon asked Herril a question he probably already knew the answer to, but he had to make sure.
"If you can, you can tell me how well the distraction is working, and how much time I have to get Aerta out of there." As a mercenary warrior, Adykon honestly didn't know how such magic worked, so it was all an educated guess on his part.
-
Herril looked at Adykon and nodded. - "Yes, Ican mantain a mental link with you, I can even allow you to see through my eyes as I can see through yours... but requieres more energy and concentration, so a lesser link will work fine. I can let you know what is going on while you rescue the Lady."
Eriol gave a small smile - "Well, then it seems we have one step of the plan done, we have most of Aerta's instructions and Adykon will be able to know how the rest of us will do with the distraction."
Kelassa showeda worried look on her face. - "I am not a warrior and I havbe little experience fighting, but I would still have a close participation on this... I think I can even help heal you in the battlefield itself... that should prove useful, I think."
To that, Herril looked at her and smiled. - "Don't feel bad Kelassa, because your abilities can make the difference between life and death to anyone of us..." - and after he looked at Vespion. - "... and the most people with healing abilities the better for all of us." - Those words make Kelassa give a more confident smile.
The Gaean Panther said nothing, but he looked at those two Dracons and smiled again. - "So, any of you have any idea about the newcomer yet? or we will deal him or her after this crazy plan we are formulating?"
-
"I don't really think we have time to-" Adykon said, but he was cut off by the sudden approach of a large, winged dracon, who suddenly landed right next to the party!
It was not quite fair to say that he had come out of nowhere; indeed, Vespion had sensed a creature with a mixed nature. A being of light and darkness. What was unexpected was how suddenly this being emerged and how powerful this being appeared to be. His head was covered in seven horns, far more than the two that a normal dracon has, and his tail was clearly like that of a scorpion's!
It took a moment to register, but Adykon was the first to notice it. This creature, whoever he was, whatever he was, had the same basic appearance as Dememoras! No, this was not quite so. This being had red scales and claws on his hands and feet that were normal, and while it was clearly not normal, his wings looked somehow less threatening than those of Dememoras, or even than those of the Dragonblooded soldiers. His wings were less angular, more natural, and were somewhat smaller in relation to the rest of him.
"Who-who are you?!" Vespion was the first one to ask.
"My real name is of no concern right now, but you may call me Typhon. You have no idea how long I have waited to meet you, Adykon, and you, Vespion. It is rather fitting that you should be the first one to address me, cleric."
This "Typhon", if that even was his real name, made no attempt to attack or threaten the party. His appearance was no coincidence; he had been waiting for this moment for reasons all his own.
-
Kelassa looked at the newcomer, a winged Dracon with a deep voice and imposing presence, she felt overwhelmed by this and she gave some steps back, trying to get some cover from Herril.
The male Dracon was very surprised - "Your presence is enormous, Typhon, and something tells me that I could not scan deep in your mind, so I will not bother you." - Herril still kept his vow of not intruding in anyone's minds without consent, even though there can be exceptions, like the minds of the enemy soldiers attacking Aerta's tower. Still, he is somewhat curious, but far more nervous of this winged Dracon.
Eriol looked at the imposing Dracon. - "Wow, I dont think that the Draconians that live in the lands I come from could be as imposing as you are, are you here as an ally, Typhon? We could use a hand." - Eriol has no way to know the intentions Typhon has, but if he was to attack the party, he would have done that already. And the sight of a winged Dracon did not surprise Eriol as much as it is surprising the others, specially since in his lands, there are a race of Gaeans physically similar to the Dracons, but they are all winged and flying-capable.
-
Margas meanwhile looked intently as thjiis newcomer, He could sense that Typhon's powers were immense, but whether his intentions or pure of malicious, he could not tell. Perhaps, that is how Typhon wanted it.
_ Why are you here? Ilsa asked, frowning. this Dracon was an imposing figure, she thought, but right now we do not have much time to waste in idle chat...
-
He looked to Ilsa first.
"It is enough that you know that I have been watching you for some time, since you left the city of Minbenthac. Do I startle you? I thought so. You recognize the horns and tail, don't you? I suppose there is no point in hiding the truth or trying to dance around it. I am the last surviving son of Dememoras, although his descendants are countless. One of them stands before me."
Typhon gestured towards Vespion as he spoke, as the cleric's eyes widened.
"What are you talking about?! I'm not a-! "I'm no son of his!"
"True. You are not. His blood and yours are distant. I know that you are descended on both sides of your family from him, as are countless thousands upon thousands of other Dracons. I can sense it; his descendants have often had an aptitude for magic, in a most unusual, even unnatural way. Even after hundreds of generations, you still shine like a beacon."
Vespion thought back on Typhon's words. They struck a chord in him. Was he not an unusual cleric? A holy man who had an unusual aptitude for arcane magic as well as the divine? Normally, those two skills were very hard to learn, but both came easily to him! He had long known that something was odd about him, but not in a bad way. Such talent was thought to be a gift, a blessing, a trait that gave him not only the ability to help himself, but the obligation to help others as well. Was it all due to his descent? His bloodline? The fact that he was the offspring of the offspring of... a monster?!
"N-no... that cannot be! This-this is a trick!"
-
"And what if it isn't?" - Eriol asked Vespion. - "... will you allow that to change your beliefs?" - The Gaean Panther speaks with some experience, remembering the day he discovered he really has the Dha'ar blood running on his veins. - "I once let the truth to change me, and that made me do some things that cannot be forgiven."
"If this is correct, then th-that is hard to believe, I cannot understand how Dememoras had that much reach into our race." - Kelassa commented still freightened by this presence in front of them.
Herril is tempted to try his powers on Typhon, but even withouth trying he realized something. - "I cannot get the truth from you Typhon, your mind is well trained, I congratulate you. So I think we all would be happy to learn more about you and your reasons to be here, and why you reveal this information to Vespion now."
-
"No need. Allow me to show you."
And with that, Typhon projected his memories of relevant events of his past to the party. He had psionic powers, and knew how to use them, just as his father did. At first, Adykon and Vespion considered the possibility that these were false memories, illusions, tricks; just as Dememoras had cast a gigantic illusion of himself on the battlefield not so long ago.
But then, Vespion sensed no malice, no dark energy, and no evidence of deception. The cleric had been able to sense an illusion from Dememoras earlier, and he was far, far more powerful than the creature in front of them now. If Typhon was deceiving them in these memories, he would have to be even more powerful than his father, and that was close to impossible.
In the span of ten seconds, the party saw a huge variety of scenes, and yet, by magic, they comprehended them all. They saw Typhon in his father's palace. They saw his siblings, and they saw... the lost city?! It was not ruined, but it was clearly the place they had been to much earlier on, when the adventure was just starting! The only difference was that it wasn't lost. It was filled with people, at least as many as any major city at present, although not as many as the largest Dracon cities were. Still fewer than Minbenthac.
Then, the course of years passed, and the city decayed. Dememoras was slain, risen, and then he left the world through a portal into a realm of darkness. Not long thereafter, his city fell, but Typhon fled with his brethren. Dispersed throughout the world, the party quickly learned how he had lived among dozens of Dracon tribes and cities, and in time, grew in power and skill. His own offspring never outlived him, and he himself fathered a line second only to that of his own sire.
By the time the party had fully digested all of that information, mere moments had elapsed, and the adventuring party knew that Typhon grew to hate his father and all he stood for, but was waiting until just the right moment to act. That time was now.
-
"So, you're here to help us?" Minna said uneasily " well, your help will be greatly appreciated."
_
"You have lived for thousands of years Typhon. Is it your bloodline that is responsible for that?" Margas said. Being virtually immortal had its benefits, if you ignored the fact that you outlived your own children and grandchildren.
- "This may be another stupid question " Ilsa said "But why have you not fought Dememoras yourself? You're his son, you should be almost as powerful as he is."
-
Typhon let out a laugh that could have easily been mistaken for that of a fully-grown dragon.
"Almost as powerful? Of course not. My father had grown in might for centuries before I was hatched, and he has only gained more power when he left this world for millennia. I don't know exactly what he did to gain such power, even beyond death, although I have my suspicions. As to my lifespan, that is due to my father's side of the family, of course. I had no idea he would ever return for the longest time, and when he did return, there was no way for me to face him alone, and as you can probably guess, most Dracons wouldn't be inclined to trust one with my... "powerful" appearance."
That "powerful" appearance was that of a red-skinned Dracon; much larger than the average Dracon and possessed of wings and a scorpion-like stinger, Typhon was much like his father, although far smaller and dressed in a suit of black adamantine armor, nearly the equal in quality to Adykon's suit. The fact that he was alive also distinguished them. Dememoras was no longer strictly of the living; he hadn't registered a pulse in his veins since long before the royal lines of the eight great cities of the Dracons had been founded. How the tyrant was risen and continued to exist was a mystery, even to Typhon.
"What I want to know is, what does this mean for me?" Vespion asked, interjecting. He had just learned that he was *supposedly* a descendant of the greatest evil his land ever knew.
"Vespion, it isn't like you are unique in your heritage. While most of my siblings died by the time our city fell, they had already had children of their own, as did I. At least a few hundred of my nieces, nephews, and their descendants lived on in other Dracon cities, often taken there as slaves."
"Slaves?! Dememoras's line has slaves among it?" Now it was Adykon's turn to be surprised.
"I suppose I shouldn't have expected you to understand. When one has lived as long as I have, one has a different perspective on life. In this case, you two ought to know that my father was the God-king of his great city, now known only as the lost city. As you might know, history has recorded that Dememoras raised armies and attempted to conquer all of the Dracon lands, uniting them under his sole rule. If not for a hero of the past, a warrior by... it's been so long... the name of Saydan if I'm not mistaken. Well, if not for him, my father would have conquered all of the Dracon lands. By the time he had been risen, three years later, his armies were defeated and the opposing armies had not only driven our armies back, but they were closing in on our city."
"I still don't see what this has to do with slavery"
"Well, I think you do, Adykon. As you are well aware, when a city falls in these lands, more than just gold and silver is plundered. Dememoras had come so close to conquering it all. So close. It was decided that his kingdom could never again be allowed to be a threat. Never again. Everyone who was not killed in the attack on my city was taken as a slave, and that included many of my, and by extension, your relatives, Vespion. That's right. HIS relatives."
"Surely, not everyone of Dememoras' family was enslaved... or killed."
"Very true, Adykon. Some of his line escaped the city during the attack or else fled just before it fell. Others, such as myself, left the city willingly when Dememoras left this world. It was with the less developed tribes that I found solace for many years, and with them, many children. I have gone on to other things as well, but now is not the time to discuss such matters. We do have an archmage to rescue."
"How did you know about Aer-?!"Adykon was cut off before he could finish his sentence.
"I became aware of your party and the two mages when someone was tampering with the Lost city. One of them, a male, died when my father took back his statue, the one with an ancient god stuck in it. And in case you want to know, it was not he who put that son of Tiamat in that piece of stone, it was an entity even more ancient than the ones who created my father. Besides, Dememoras was not nearly powerful enough to trap a god in a statue, although he probably is now. Regardless, we need to form a plan to get that female out of there."
Dememoras had waited thousands of years to unlock the powers within that statue, and yet he did not dare to expose himself to the wider world at the time. He had sent Arcantas to perform the task for him, as the statue had to be opened under the influence of the right stars, which were only in a correct alignment every 1000 years, roughly. The fact that Arcantas failed horribly only served to delay the tyrant, given that he had seen many thousands of years, alive and dead.
-
Eriol looked at the newcomer. - "Who would say that the Dracon society and the Gaean one have similar attitudes in war?. Because after our last great war ended 18 years ago, I have seen how almost complete races fell into slavery."
After hearing Typhon's story, Kelassa sighed in relief. - "This is indeed quite the revelation, I still cannot believe the huge ammount of time you have been alive. But I am happy that you are here to help."
Herril placed a hand in Kelassa's shoulder, and then he replied to Typhon. - "Even if your coming will not turn the balance in our favor, it is indeed of help to defeat Dememoras, but I am worried about Dememoras wanting to release one of Tiamat's sons. I know some of the ritual that is needed to release that demon, but the stars are not in the correct position right now... but Dememoras is full of resources so we need to rescue Aerta now, time is against us." - Herril was correct, time is against the party, because with each minute that passes, then the closer Dememoras could be of reaching his ultimate goal.
OOC: Edited post.
-
(OOC: It was not Tiamat, but the spirit of one of her sons in that stone statue. Check the first 100 or so pages of the RP for more details.)
"We have no more time to talk about this, so here is what I intend to do. First, the rest of you shall provide a distraction, while I go into the palace and get Aerta out of there." Adykon turned to Herril. "Can you provide me with a link to your mind so you can tell me what the situation is outside?"
-
OOC: Oh yeah, I'll go to re-read the first 100 pages, just joking I edited my previous post :smile .
IC:
Eriol looked at Adykon. - "Well, the let's get this crazy plan in action... even though there is no plan so I wish Gaea could help us with the improvised distraction will make for you." - The gaean panther gave a sly smile as he turned to find the others and get ready.
Herril nodded to Adykon's request. - "Considered done Adykon, you'll be able to see what I see as well as you'll see with your own your eyes, and don't be worried, your brain will be able to handle the extra information and i'll be there to help too. So go rescue Aerta." - The Psyonoc Dracon looked at Kelassa. - "Please, try to be extra careful, the last thing I want is you getting hurt or worse... specially snce your powers could save any of our lives." - And then, the male Dracon gave her quite a fiendly smile that made her feel reassured. Now Herril and Kelassa were ready too.
-
"Alright. There's no more time to waste. Vespion? Is there anything you can do to cause a lot of noise? Or, make some kind of distraction? Anything to divert the attention of a couple thousand dracon soldiers?"
Vespion thought for a moment, then he gave a small smile.
"I think so. I'll need Minna and Ilsa to help, but I can do it."
-
Whats the plan?' mInna asked looking at Vespion " And it had better not be anything degrading, remember.."
_
Marcus cut in " Look girls, you do whatever it takes to distract them.. well almosast everything.. "
_
Nothing taboo, naturally' Margas said, giving his wife a glance "Just hear him out, we need you two to distract the enemy long enough for Adykon to get inside and get Aerta out"
-
"I need you two girls to create fires. Nothing big, but you will need to keep making fire after fire for a few minutes. I will use the fires as fuel for a pyrotechnics spell to distract the enemy, keeping the spells up for as long as it takes to get their attention. When we DO have their attention, Adykon will rush through to the palace, and try to get Aerta out. Until then, we shall have to hold the enemies off until he returns with her. Is that understood? Do you all approve of the plan?"
-
Oh thats different" Ilsa said " I thought you wanted us to go in as " eye candy" for lack of a better term, but this works out great. Pyrotechnics, we can do. now, how long do you think we'll need to keep building the fires?'" Ilsa asked " as long as it takes to keep there attention.. "Minna said, bringing out her staff "When you are ready, Vespion, We'll start making the fires..."
-
"I just need each of you to generate some flame on the ground, about as much as you would find in a sizable campfire. Don't try to make a bonfire or anything big, but I need something to work with. Each casting of the pyrotechnics spell uses up an entire fire, so I'll also need you to keep making fires to replace the one that is used up. Having two of you here makes it easier, as you can just alternate between lighting a new fire to replace the old one when it is exhausted."
Vespion's plan was to use a spell that had two versions. The first was that of a fireworks display, but the other one allowed for the use of a smokescreen, which he would use when the enemies attacked. But first, he would have to get their attention.
-
Alright" Minna said, pointing her staff at the ground 'Compendum flaminare! she said , her staff glowed and slowly flames began to spread on the ground " It was a fire spell, but one with slowly grew in intensity, the longer the flames remained.
Ilsa gestured and create another small fire ' we'll take turns every fifteen minutes or so " Minna said to Ilsa "Is this enough fire, or do we need more? she asked, turning to Vespion.
-
"The spell only lasts for a moment per casting. This is why both of you are needed; you will have to recreate the flames every 15 or 20 seconds in order to keep the distraction going. If it is too much to take for long, we will have to only start with the pyrotechnics spell, and then try something else to get the enemy's attention."
Vespion was a bit worried about the whole matter, but it was not as if he had no other options.
-
Hmm, so this is going to be more difficlt.. instead of minutes the spells only last a few seconds.." Minna grumbled..' Well, we have no choice.. lets keep casting these spells..' Ilsa said, recreating a new fire as she said this. True to vespion's word, this fire lasted only fifteen seconds, before Ilsa created a new one..
-
"Alright. Each of you will have to keep it burning for a few moments, but make sure to keep casting and to alternate between each of you. I can only cast the spell on one fire at a time. Just tell me when you are ready and I shall cast it. Adykon, you'd better be ready to start running towards the palace as soon as the enemy are distracted. Wait... how would we know that they are-"
"I can tell you. All it takes is for me to fly up in the sky, and look down. When a large body of soldiers move your way, you will know for sure that it means they will be diverted."
-
Having him fly up into the air would definitely draw their attention" Margas said, as he watched the girls continually create new fires ' i can help, if they grow too tired" he said to Vespion.
_ Marcus watched as the fires quickly waxed and waned. He was sitting on a large rock, silently watching the two mages cast their spells.
-
Kelassa looked how Minna and Ilsa began cating the fire spells. - "I am also a Healer, and I can help replenish your energy resevres for you to keep casting your spells, so you just let me know and I'll help you keep up with your task." - the female Dracon healer stepped a bit closer to the mage, waiting for any signal.
In the mean time, Herril tried to contact Aerta again, it might not be possible to mantain a full contact with her if she still needs more time to recover, but at least he is trying to make contact so he can let her know when the attack will be ready. - "Adykon, I am trying to contact Aerta, so even if I cannot maintain a link with her, at least i'll try to let her know that we are ready."
Eriol was also looking at the mages, but he also looked at Adykon, who is surely ready to go get Aerta out of that tower. - "The sooner, the better." - The male Gaean said as he grabbed his crossbow with his right hand.
-
"Alright. We all know what we need to do. Most of us will have to fight, and I will have to run in to get Aerta out." Adykon looked in the direction of the white stone palace in which Aerta lived.
"Alright. As soon as we have their attention, you have to run in, Adykon." Vespion steadied himself, looking down at the fires. He prepared his magic, aiming at Minna's fire first. Suddenly, beams of light emerged from his hands and came into contact with the flames, creating a loud, colorful display of fireworks! Moments later, he turned to Ilsa's fire, and did the same, before turning back to Minna, as soon as he noticed that her flame had also been replenished.
Typhon looked at the enemy armies, and in less than a minute, he saw a large number of soldiers heading for the party!
Adykon took off as fast as he could, hoping to escape the notice of Dememoras' warriors as he ran for the gates of the palace.
-
As the army of soldiers approached the party, all of it's members readied. Herril steped in front of Kelassa. - "Kelassa, I need you to stay near Minna and Ilsa, they may need some time to recharge their magic so you must help them." - To that, the female Dracon Healer nodded as she saw the incoming soldiers, doing her best to control herself. This is Kelassa's first real battle.
Eriol, on the contrary grinned as he saw the incoming enemies. - "It's about time." - He said as he aimed his crossobow as the nearest enemy Dracon. He knows this is a losing battle, but he also knows all that they need to do, it is withstand enough time for Adykon to get Aerta out of that tower.
Herril drawed his sword and frowned, not only he needs to fight, but he also needs to mantain his mental link with Adykon as he is also trying to reach Aerta. Too many things, but they have to be done.
-
Adykon scrambled to reach the palace, his clawed feet leaving marks all over the sandy ground. Within less than a minute, he had reached the gate. Still gasping from his sprint, he looked around for a way into the palace. The gate was obviously shut. Pushing against it did no good, so Adykon decided to see if Aerta was still in contact with the party, or if Herril could help.
<Herril? Can you hear my thoughts? You are linked with me, right? Can you put me through to Aerta?>
-
Herril, like the rest of the party, was waiting for the incoming battle when he heard Adykon. - "<Yes, Adykon, I can hear you, and I can see where you are. Give me a second as I am trying to reach her>" - In that moment, the Psyonic gave a breather as he closed his eyes. - "<Aerta, can you hear me? Adykon is in your castle, can you respond?>" - The Dracon was hoping Aerta would be able to respond, the fate of everybody depends on that.
-
<I can feel him... but h-he isn't actually inside yet. I have to open the gates for him. Hold on.>
Inside the palace, the female archmage struggled to relax the spell that held the gates firmly shut. Adykon, who had been pushing against the gates the whole time, was surprised to find that they suddenly gave way for a moment, allowing him to come inside, then slamming shut behind him as if moving of their own will, and locking again.
The effort clearly weakened Aerta. She had been using her magic to hold the enemy off for weeks.
<That is all I can directly help you with. Keep going inside. Yes, Adykon can detect my thoughts too, given how I'm broadcasting them. I'm no psionic, but being a mage of my level of astral skill has given me such power. I'll explain later. Adykon, you need to go past three more doors before you can reach the interior. I'll know when you have opened them and I'll come to meet you there, but you need to hurry!>
-
Marcus reasdied his Bow and arrows " we just need to hold them off long enough for Adykon to get Aerta out.."
- Easier said than done "Ilsa replied as she created another fire.. " We can keep this up for awhile.."
-
Eriol aimed at the closest enemy soldier between the many hundreds that are approaching the party. "If we can manage to make them attack us in fewer or more narrow groups we will have a chance, as I don't think they'll harm their own in order to kill us." - About having such a great army of soldiers going into an attack is that sometimes it gets hard to make the bulk of it to attack without putting in danger fellow warriors. If that happens here, then the party can stand a better chance and to buy Adykon a couple of extra minutes.
Herril smiled after hearing that Aerta can talk with Adykon as well. - "<Adykon, Aerta is right, you need to hurry. The battle has started and we also won't have much time.>" - the Psyonic readied his sword and took a battle stance. Kelassa remained near Ilsa and Minna, as she tried to get ready for anything.
-
"I'm sorry to tell you this, but what makes you think that my father's soldiers would NOT harm their own in trying to kill us? Dememoras is like a god to them! His orders carry divine weight in their minds, more than any king or general. When he wants something dead, the cost of carrying out that order could very well include the lives of the ones who carry it out!"
Meanwhile...
Adykon ran through the courtyard of the white palace, quickly finding a large white door underneath a covered pathway. Oddly enough, he could feel a sort of vibration under his feet. The pathway, which appeared to be made out of the same kind of stone as the palace, was permeated with magical energy. Perhaps it was the magic that sustained the force field that made it like that? But there would be time enough to answer that later.
Approaching the next door, Adykon looked for a way to open it. There was no handle and no keyhole, nor was the door giving way to his pushes. The warrior did see, however, that there were several circles in the stone wall to the left of the door, arranged in a 3 by 3 set of rows. Each stone had a number written in Draconic, plus there was an unmarked rectangular button. He pressed a few of them, but nothing happened, although he quickly figured out that the bottom button reset the others once pressed. Was this a code of some sort? If so, how many buttons needed to be pushed, which ones, and in what order? How many combinations were there in nine numbers? Far too many to go through them all, that was for sure, especially now!
<Herril? Can you sense my thoughts? Is Aerta still there? I'm stuck outside of the first door!>
-
Eriol didn't look back to the winged Dracon as he is busy looking at the incoming attackers, but he still laughed a bit before replying. - "A god? That guy Dememoras never ceases to amaze me." - After that sarcastic comment, Eriol can make a better idea of Dememoras' full influence over his soldiers... and that they will not hesitate to die in oder to please the demon.
Herril "heared" Adykon. - "<Yes, I can hear you Adykon, but contact with Aerta is getting more difficult... I'll contact her again.>" - One thing of having big experience is that Herril can still have isolated thoughts that others cannot hear. He is thinking that the mission could be a failure, but he has some hope that Adykon will be able to get Aerta in time so she would recover from using magic from such a ong time. - "<Aerta, can you hear me? it is me, Herril and Adykon needs your help. Can you reply my thoughts? Adykon will hear you too.>"
-
<788. The code is 788. Don't ask me again until you are at the next door. I-I cannot maintain contact very lon->
Aerta told Adykon what buttons he had to press, which is quickly did. The door unlocked with an audible humming noise, indicating the powering down of whatever magic had held it in place. He then ran into the first door, which promptly slammed shut behind him and relocked itself with a humming sound, moving as if it had a will of its own. This was due to the spell, no doubt.
-
Herril was also listening and seeing Adykon's situation, and he can hear Aerta. - "<I can mantain the contact for you Aerta, I can do that, you just focus on the shield and leave the mental links to me, that will free you from some of the strain your magic is causing you.>" - The Psyonic said mentally, but it is also not too easy to try to get pass the barrier made by a powerful Archmage as Aerta, specially since Adykon is getting deeper.
Eriol gave some steps back and stand near the Psyonic. - "It looks like our mental mage will be unable to give a proper fight until Adykon rescue the Damsel, so I will make my stand here." - As the Enemy soldiers were just in front of the group and began charging, the male Gaean Panther aimed his crossbow at the closest enemy, getting a direct impact between an enemy soldier's eyes. - "One less, a couple thousands to go." - he said with a smile.
-
Adykon came to a long hallway. Either side of the white-walled room had brown wooden doors on either side. After trying several of them, he found nothing but locked doors and the hum of the force-field. The room smelled oddly like fresh-cut grass. Perhaps it was a smell Aerta liked and had it magically present in the room. Whatever the reason, the warrior soon found the right direction; straight forward towards a bronze door.
It was not the door that led to Aerta, but the penultimate one. This one, however, had no visible handle, knob, or key. Nor was there a series of numbers to press.
<Does anyone know HOW to get this thing open?! Is it too much to ask for normal doors?!> Adykon's frustration was understandable.
-
Herril managed to dodge the attack of one of the incoming enemie soldiers by crouching just in time and to use the opportunity to make an attack himself, successfully burying his sword in between the pieces of armor of his enemy and causing him a lethal injury. - "<I know how you feel Adykon, but things are getting difficult here. Aerta, are you there? Adykon reached the penultimate door and he needs the clue to get inside.>" - The Psyonic is doing his best to mantain a stable menthal link while he tries to fight the enemy soldiers.
Eriol kept on fighting, doing his best to prevent the enmy soldiers from reaching Minna, Ilsa and Kelassa. - "It will be for the best if Adykon stops messing around and gets Aerta out of there!" - he exclaimed as he is no longer using his crossobow but only his two swords. The one on his left hand mainly as a defense and the one in his right hand to make quick counterattacks into the enemy soldier's weak areas. That way, he is trying to not use too much of his energy and to stay far longer in the battle without getting tired.
-
Mina and Ilsa continued creating fires, interspacing them with offensive spells to try and keep the enemy horde at bay. " Hurry up Adykon' Ilsa muttered, as Margas cas a large fireball ata soldier that tried to get too close to the girls.
-
Looking at the door again, Adykon noticed that there was no handle because it was a sliding door. He noticed that there was a small track on the floor which the door could be pushed by. Reaching to the left side of the door with his clawed hands, the warrior pushed the door to the right, and it started to move at first, but an unseen force pushed back against his every effort. Frustrated, Adykon moved to the left of the doorframe, and with a roar, pushed against the door with all his might, actually breaking whatever energy that was holding it in place!
Before he could savor his victory, Aerta contacted him again.
<That... wasn't supposed to happen. There was a password I was supposed to tell you, but you managed to break the force field around the door. That can only mean that the field is weakening in places!>
Sure enough, some soldiers of the besieging army were smashing their way through the field. At the moment, only one or two could get through at a time before the field sealed itself up again, although that was not going to last very long!
Adykon ran through the door and came to an opulent room. At this point, it was clear that he was inside the living quarters of the palace. His eyes beheld works of art and fancy vases, his feet trod on a long red rug, and his nose could detect the lingering scent of perfume.
"Aerta! Can you hear me?!" There was no reply.
Knowing that it was only a matter of time before the palace would be totally overwhelmed, Adykon had no other choice but to keep searching room after room, calling out the name of the one he was to save. Even at this desperate moment, he could not help but to admire the fine living quarters. Of course, it was bound to be looted and burned by the invading armies, a thought Adykon didn't relish one bit.
-
Eriol was fighting enemy soldiers, but there are too many of them and even the experienced fighter is beginning to get problems to hold them off. - "Come on Adykon..." - he muttered and then he shouted to Herril. - "What's taking so long!!!"
Herril stepped back as he did his best to fight off the incoming enemies. He did not reply to Eriol, but he was able to stabilize a bit his mental link with Adykon and Aerta. - "<Adykon, time is running out, both here and there as I sense the force field is losing strenght... please try to hurry>" - However, the Psyonic is having troubles trying to reach Aerta.
-
Adykon eventually came to a locked door made of mahogany wood. Thinking nothing of it, the warrior ran past the seemingly normal door when he heard Aerta's voice, not in his head, but with his own ears!
"Adykon! I've sealed this door from my side! Can you hear me?!"
"I'm here! I'm right on the other side of the wood door!" He knocked on the door several times, hoping to get a response from within. After a knock back, he knew that at long last, he was but a few inches away from his goal.
"Aerta! Can you get this door open? I'm here! Don't worry about-"
"Stand back!" No sooner than she had said this, the door began to grow very hot, and several magical runes, all of which had been invisible just moments ago, showed up on the door, glowing red. Adykon jumped back from the door, which exploded in a burst of flame and smoke. Aerta had placed protective runes on the door in case the enemies tried to storm the palace.
Stepping outside, Aerta ran over to Adykon, and gave him a quick hug. Neither of them had time for introductions.
"Alright, Aerta. Do you know the fastest way out of here? We can always go back the way came if-"
"Just follow me! No time!" She took off, down the halls, running faster than Adykon had expected her to. Then again, she was only wearing the standard females clothing the dracons wore, while he had a whole suit of heavy metal armor. It was easy enough for him to catch up, though.
Suddenly, Aerta began to slow down, and stumble. It wasn't a long run, but then again, she wasn't just trying to escape on foot; the archmage was also maintaining the force-field as she was fleeing the palace. Without a word, Adykon ran over to her, and offered to help her up. Surprisingly, she reached over to him, putting her right arm around his left, and put her left leg over his right arm. Within a moment, he was carrying her.
"I think this is best. I can keep the field up longer if I'm not using energy trying to run."
"Well, which way should I go?" This was not exactly what Adykon had envisioned when he had imagined meeting her again. Even as distracted as he was by all the violence and fighting, he still was able to appreciate her beauty.
"Start running down this hallway. Keep going straight and do not stop until you see a statue made of emerald. Oh, and the wall on the far side of the hall is an illusion, only maintained by a force field which emulates the solidity of the wall. I'll lower the field when you get near it." Adykon took off, running down the hall, his claws tearing the carpet in his mad dash. Even with Aerta in his arms, he was still quite fast.
Closing his eyes as he ran through the illusionary wall, the mercenary saw the emerald statute not more than 20 paces from the illusion.
"Alright, put me down here. The statue has a reserve of magic in it for me to use. If we're going to teleport out of here, we need this power." Adykon set Aerta down on her feet, somewhat unsteadily. She moved over to the green statue of a dragon and put her hands to it, absorbing more magic.
"How long will this take?"
"About a min-"
BOOM!!
The wall to the left of them exploded as three dracons from the enemy army appeared. Two of them were warriors, one was a mage.
-
The explosion was strong enough to be heard by the party. - "What the hell!" - Eriol shouted as he looked at the tower. But to look at it did not
made him to lose his track of the battle as he was able to block the atack of two enemy soldiers.
"I can feel three hostile Dracon minds inside Aerta's tower. The force field has weakened enough for some enemies to enter." - Herril said as he pulled back a bit from the battle, this time, he remained along side Minna, Ilsa and Kelassa so he can help them in the battle. - "<Aerta, Adykon, you need to get out of there now, the force field is collapsing and more enemies will get inside at any time.>" - The Psyonic warned them as he is now waiting for the best.
-
"Alright, which one of you wants to die first?!"
Adykon had already drawn his sword before either of the two warriors approached him, and soon, the battle was joined. Each of his opponents used an arming sword with a slight curve in the blade, and both wore a suit of steel plate armor, nowhere near as good as his. It became apparent that while Adykon was holding off the enemies, their goal was only to divert his attention and hold him off while the enemy mage prepared a spell.
The mage summoned an orb of bright blue light in his hands and aimed it at Adykon. What it was supposed to accomplish, Adykon would never know, as Typhon flew into the hallway and grabbed the mage, then took off right through the roof! After a tense moment in which neither of the enemies, nor Adykon, nor Aerta moved, the mage fell through the hole in the ceiling, and made a horrible mess as he splattered on the otherwise clean floor. The two enemy soldiers took off down the hall after that, afraid for their lives.
-
If he's found her.. tell her to teleport us out of here!' Margas said parrying a thrust by an enemy soldier. "We cannot hold these guys off for very much longer.." Nearby Minna and Ilsa were locked in a desperate struggle flinging magical spells against the horde.. While this was effective in the short term, the sheer numbers of the enemy would quickly crush them, if they did not get help from Aerta, and very soon...
-
"Typhon! Where did you come from?!" Adykon stunned by the sudden appearance of the son of Dememoras, but he was even more stunned to hear that Aerta knew who and what the winged Dracon was.
"Adykon, you KNOW this creature?! I sensed him lurking around, but, I didn't think he would show himself. You DO know who he is, right? The offspring of Dememoras?"
"Who I am is of less consequence than what is going to happen really soon! My father knows that you are here, Aerta, and he knows that I am here as well! He didn't want to get involved, but by choosing to reveal myself, it seems I forced his hand. I sensed an avatar of him approaching us! He'll be here in about-"
"RIGHT NOW!"
There was no mistaking the voice. While Typhon had a loud voice which could be mistaken for that of an adult dragon, Dememoras sounded like a volcano. This was a powerful avatar of him, though, not the actual being. As he had done before when he slew Vaeri, the dark master had sent a fraction of his essence, his very being, into the form of a creature known as an avatar. This being was as much a part of him as his hand or tail, despite it being physically detached from his body.
While it was nowhere near as dangerous as Dememoras was in person, it was a far more dangerous avatar than the one that killed Vaeri, at least 50% more powerful. Dememoras hadn't considered having to fight three opponents at once, however. Fortunately for him, he didn't have to.
"Adykon! Take Aerta and RUN!! This opponent is far beyond you!"
"You shall go nowhere!" As with Vaeri, a bolt of energy like a black streak of lightning, arced through the air, heading straight for Aerta. While she was not a helpless dancer as Vaeri had been, the archmage female would have found that there was more than enough power to kill her in that blast...
... if it had hit her.
Adykon, not wanting to repeat the tragedy of the not-too-distant past, shoved Aerta to the ground, placed himself over her body, and took the brunt of the blast! Had Adykon been wearing anything less than the finest armor the city of Minbenthac had to offer, he wouldn't have been able to stand after such a blow, let alone run. The armor he had worn at the start of the whole adventure wouldn't have even saved his life!
Dememoras's avatar didn't get to take another shot, as Typhon lunged at the beast, roaring loud enough to shake the energy crystal that Vaeri had been drawing power from. The two started to fight, each being roughly the same size and power level, much to the surprise of Dememoras.
Adykon pulled himself off of Aerta and lifted her up before he could even apologize to her for pushing her down, she jumped up and gave him a small kiss.
"That's for the save just now." Then, leaping into his arms again, she gave him a hug. "That's for coming to get me. Now, lets be off." Adykon had been hit by a bolt of magic, but Aerta knew he could still run. Adykon knew it to as he took off.
After leaving the walls of the palace, Aerta said a quick thanks to the gods that they had not yet run into any more soldiers. Adykon saw a large body of soldiers ahead, surrounding the party! He put Aerta down as soon as it was clear that she could fight, and the two of them prepared to engage the enemy.
-
Jake, Rex and Exodar charge at the opposing dracons. One of the Dracons Swung at Rex and nearly decapitated him. But with that miss, it provided an opportunity for rex to gut the dracon with his sword...he did so and blood gushed everywhere as the dracon howled in pain and at the sight of his insides spilling onto the dirt. Jake on the otherhand was having some difficulty sparring with one of the dracons because of the wound he had received during the last fight.
-
As even more and more enemies approached, Eriol lowered his swords, like resting his arms as gave a deep breathe, closing his eyes - "Well, here I go" - he said, and a second later, he opened his eyes again, this time they looked much sharper and penetrating, he took a battle stance again and engaged the closest enemy soldier by easily blocking a sword slash and delivering one on his own, his blades been more than sharp enough to slice through the tough skin of the Dracon's neck. - "One less, more to come, this is fun!." - he said as he began smiling wider now and jumped to attack another enemy soldier.
Kelassa was able to defend herself as much as she could, by using her daggers in quick circular movements. - "I wonder what is going on inside that Tower" - she asked as she has no real idea of what as going on in there.
"This is just madness" - Herril said as he was able to see inside the tower, through Adykon's eyes. - "Typhon went to the tower and helped Adykon and Aerta, but an unbelievable strong presence appeared..." - he realized who was it. - "Dememoras.... the demon made an avatar of himself to come here!" - The Psyonic could understand what was going on because he knew all what Adykon saw and also because of his knowledge about magic arts.
-
"Adykon, go help the others! I've got a little surprise that can get us out of here!"
"You're gonna teleport us out?"
"Not yet. We need to get farther away from the palace first." Aerta was correct; like many, Dracon cities and fortresses, the palace that she called home was surrounded by an anti-teleportation field. The party needed to reach a minimum distance away from the structure before they could escape.
"So, what are you planning to do?"
"You'll see! Now, the others need your help, Adykon. Just go, please!"
Adykon turned and ran to help the others. Aerta was still about 100 meters from the nearest enemies, and while a few noticed her, none of them could reach her in time as she lifted off of the ground. A flight spell. She knew it could consume much of her energy, as would the second spell she was about to cast. With the sun to her back, Aerta stretched out her right arm and began to focus the sunlight.
Meanwhile...
Typhon and Dememoras' avatar continued to fight, neither side gaining much ground. Each side matched the other blow for blow, spell for spell, even bite for bite!
-
(OOC: Noname said i can use toby for this part)
Toby saw that Jake was in trouble, so he swooped down from the sky and attacked the dracon. The dracon was surprised long enough for Jake to lunge and stab his sword through the stomach of the surprised dracon. The dracon staggered a few steps backwards and he toppled over onto the floor. Jake retrieved his sword and he, Rex and Exodar finished off the last remaining soldier. "good thing that's over" said Jake "we better hurry..there may be more..."
"yeah, there will be.." said Rex "we should run"
And with that, that small group went as fast as they could down the road to meet up with the others...
-
Margas decapitated an enemy soldier with a quick slice then was forced to parry from more soldiers who replaced the others..
ilsa and minna were busy throwing magic at the enemy, but they were using a lot of power to hold them off
-
The attacks from Minna and Ilsa gave Kelassa enough time to make an attack on a distracted enemy soldier, defeating him by buring her daggers in his neck. But there was no time for even realized that she took a life, she barely had the time to recover her daggers and go between Minna and Ilsa. - "I-I think I can help you, ladies." - the Female Dracon said as she did her best effor to concentrate and use one of her recovery spells to help the mages to recover energies so they can continue the fight.
Herril was doing his best blocking the attacks from the enemies, even if he can read the enemies' minds, he is not yet experienced enough to properly attacks all the incoming enemies, but still, he has been able to kill a modest ammount, feeling lucky that he is unharm.
But Eriol was another story, he was enjoying the thrill of this fight very much. After jumping over the shoulders of an enemy soldier, Eriol used his feet to push himself towards another enemy, using his swords to decapitate him. He then landed and remained crouched, only to make quick circular movements while keeping his arms extended to cut through the legs of at least two enemies. Finally, he standed up again, dodging an incoming attack and placing himself behind the attacker, managing to push him around hard enough so the Panther could use him as a shield against two more enemy soldiers.
-
The group were nearing where they needed to go but still had a little while to go...
"We should get there soon if we keep running guys" Said Jake as he continued running down the dirt road with the group.
"I hope so" said Exodar...I don't think the others can keep running like this all the way...they'll get way too tired..."
"nah, i won't get tired!" said Rex
"yeah, right..." said Exodar "we'll see"
-
Aerta's efforts paid off. The spells she had intended to cast powered up. It was a directed sunlight blast, which magnified the light several times over on the eyes of the enemies, but not to any of her allies. The effect was instantaneous, as dozens of dracons dropped their weapons, while clutching their faces in pain. The blinding effect was temporary, though.
-
The flash of light sent by Aerta was overwhelming, but for the members of the party, it caused no harm, all the contrary: it was a powerful but gentle light. But Herril lost no time. - "Everybody, this is the signal we were waiting for! we must go reach Adykon and Aerta, now!" - Kelassa looked at the Psyonic and nodded as she began to run to where Aerta is.
The light surely caught Eriol's attention. - "This is amazing, magical powers will never cease to amaze me." - he said with a grin as he saw that the enemies were trying to protect themselves from the blinding light. The Panther heared Herril and he nodded and began running as well.
-
(OOC: Metadude, if your chars are not here in time, assume that they happened to be close enough to the teleportation point and are with the party. The story HAS to proceed.)
Aerta quickly descended. "There's no time. Everyone, head south, and stay within 10 paces of me. Keep running and do not stop unless I do. GO!!"
The group took off to the south, running from the temporarily blinded enemies. It wasn't long before the enemies realized what was happening, though.
Meanwhile...
Typhon kept fighting with his father's Avatar, getting nowhere.
"You've put up a good fight, boy, but you cannot win. You shall tire while I am as strong as ever! Why not surrender now? I promise to make your death a swift, merciful one!"
"Mercy?! The same kind of mercy you showed my grandmother?! You wouldn't know the meaning of the word! "
-
Minna, Ilsa marcus and margas dashed as fast as they could to keep within distance of Aerta ' So you managed to get her out! Well done Adykon! Margas said as they ran. ' " Nows not the time for celebrating.. we can do that once we are safely away from this enemy horde!' iLsa said a few steps behind her husband. she was tired from all her spellcasting, but she would recover. once they were free she ould ask Aerta a few questions.. She had met Aerta once before in the forbidden city..
-
Jake, Rex, Selturma, Toby and Exodar were still running down the road when they saw a blinding light...
"what was that?!?" yelled Exodar in confusion "that was bright as?!?"
"yeah, that was quiet bright?" replied Rex "But my eyes arn't sore? what the hell?!?"
"come on, something big must have just happened...hurry it up!"
The group picked up it's pace and could see some figures off in the distance
"could that be them?" asked Exodar
-
Adykon saw Jake and the rest approaching him, not sure how they got there.
"Jake! There's no time to explain! Stay close to us at all times!"
Typhon, for his part, was still fighting his father's avatar, and was unable to rejoin the others. He was injured, as he had been many times before. Each time he wounded his father's form, the injures sealed up within a minute, while his did not.
-
Marcus tried to keep pace with the others as best he could , he know that once that spell wore off they'd have an army chasing after them Marcus turned briefly and noticed that rhiga was just a step behind him, a look of relief spread to his face, they were all accounted for, now the only question was whether they could get away...
-
The small group that consisted of Jake, Selturma, Rex, Toby and Exodar had heard Adykon and began to sprint as fast as they could to get to the others. They knew that whatever Adykon said to do...it's best that they listen and do as directed...
"just..a...little..further!" yelled Jake as they were all running "we're..almost..there!"
-
"Aerta, where are going?!" Adykon asked her, keeping a pace or two ahead of her.
"Almost... there. Just a few more meters..."
"What are we going to s-"
"NOW!"
There was a sudden, bright flash of light, accompanied by a "pseoo-shing!" noise, and the party was nowhere to be found. Every one in the adventuring party save Typhon was teleported away from the battlefield.
"-ee. Wait, what?"
Adykon looked around to see, among others, Jake, Toby, Eriol, Herril, Vespion, Rhiga, and all of the rest, as well as an exhausted Aerta. In the distance, the city of Minbenthac was clearly visible. She had gotten them out; they were as close to the city as she could bring them.
-
Burdock had just sat at the counter of, what he thought he identified as a bar, and thought silently.
That party should be in town soon... But what if their females are as damn hot as all the others? No other rabbit-folk around. I can't work this way.
-
A female dracon waitress went over to Burdock, and asked him, "Can I take your order?"
(Pic of waitress asking him, in her own alphabet)
(http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/260/f/8/dracon_waitress_by_noguy-d2u8idw.jpg)
-
Burdock had been studying the wood grain on the counter when he heard the waitress, and knew it was best to respond.
"I'll, uh..."
When Burdock went to turn his head to look at the women, his brain almost jerked out of his head from the sight. Unexpectedly, burdock fell down from the stool, staggered up to the ground backwardly, and smacked his back into the wall behind him. He was just left there to stare at her speechlessly, with an obviously surprised look on his face.
-
"Don't tell me that you've never seen a female of my kind before?" The waitress helped him back up, and set Burdock back in his seat, dusting him off. "Now, what would you like?"
-
Burdock's eyes were about ready to pop out of his head.
"I... I would like a nice piece of... Cherry pie. Wait, nevermind. I don't have money."
-
The female Dracon laughed at that remark, her tiotleglas rose and fell as she did so. :lol
"You're funny. I like that." She moved over to Burdock and, acting on whim, gently stroked his ears. "How did your ears get so big?"
-
Burdock could not believe he was being touched by this nice women.
"Well, I guess they just grew out of my head. Everyone I knew had these ears."
-
"And those odd hands and feet." The female had never seen a lapine before, like Burdock. "Why do you have five fingers and toes? And that short tail? And all that fur?" She asked out of curiosity, not out of ill-manners.
-
"They just grew, hun." Burdock look down at his feet. He guessed they impressed her. "But that doesn't make me different enough to be unlikable. I'm still a nice gentleman, just as much as you're a nice gentlewomen."
-
She moved over to him, laughing while gently moving her claws over his fur. "Well, you seem like a strong male. You've got such sharp claws, and... how did you get this scar on your chest?"
-
Burdock looked at the scar she had pointed at. He remembered a narcotics arrest and a violent fight with the suspect. I can't tell her that.
"I was once assaulted by three men, took down all of them but was scrapped by a sharp object. Nothing major."
-
"Ooh. How tough." The waitress didn't really believe that story, but at the point, she didn't care.
"Tell me, you are a lapine, right? I've heard of your kind, but I've never seen one of you. You must have come a long way to be here. What brings you to our lands?"
-
"I am. I was forced to leave where I lived because of unemployment issues. Right now I signed up to join a group of mercenaries, or something like that. I'm waiting for them to return." Burdock replied.
-
"How about we continue this in a more private place? It sounds like you have a lot to tell, and I'd like to hear it. I'll make it worth you time, don't worry." The female added a wink to that last part.
-
Good. Burdock thought
"As you wish." Burdock stood up and was prepared to follow the women where she wanted.
-
The female quickly guided him up to a room with a bed and a table. She gestured for him to lie on the table, though, not the bed.
"Just lie down however you feel most comfortable for telling your story, and we can take things from there. My name is Aurora, by the way. "
-
Burdock looked at the bed, then looked at the table. "Hmm, ok then, Aurora..."
Burdock laid down on the table, facing upward.
"What else would you like to know?"
-
"Well, I would be interested to know, are your people as fond of comfort as my kind are? Among us dracons, the females are the ones who enjoy... sensation the most, but it is different in other races, sometimes even reversed."
-
"Why yes, we do enjoy comfort a lot. Both genders do. That must explain why many of us males are sometimes lazy." Burdock said with a smile, looking up at the ceiling.
-
Aurora giggled at that "And the females, are they lazy too?" As she spoke, her hands moved over Burdock's chest, rubbing his strong muscles. She also stopped for a moment to get a pillow, which she inserted behind Budock's head.
-
"Thank you," He said. "From some I have known, yes, and some even like to party. I'm glad you're impressed with my personal image. I'm flattered."
-
"Well, you may not be a dracon, but you are not weak, either. I see you have muscles like our kind, even under that fur, and you don't use those odd things I see humans put on their feet."
Aurora was referring to shoes, although she didn't know that lapines also used them.
-
"Oh, but I do." Burdock responded "They're very handy. I'm just not wearing them right now."
-
"Oh. Well, I can't blame you for not using them right now. Those things are really odd. Only seen them a few times myself. You have good claws, why hide them?"
-
"Uhh, don't want to damage them, of course. Would hurt, you know?" Burdock replied.
-
"Not really. My claws don't hurt unless I run around all day. It would be just... odd." Aurora moved over to the base of the table and took Burdock's left foot in her hands, examining the claws and muscles. "Hmm. Pretty strong, and you've got more claws than a dracon does" she added, starting to massage the foot.
-
The ladies touch felt very nice.
"Wow, that feels nice. Thank you."
-
"No problem." Aurora added, rubbing his toes and using her knuckles to press in on the sole of the foot. "Do you like this sort of thing?"
It was clear to her that Burdock had spent much time working to increase his strength, and it had paid off. For her part, Aurora kept on her clothes, insofar as she was wearing anything. This wasn't "that kind" of a meeting, even though she admired his strength, they were of different species. Still, the Dracon female was curious to learn more about him, and giving him a reason to stay and talk was a good way to get him to explain more about himself and his kind.
-
"Well I can tell you that it feels very nice. I remember hearing about this foot rub thing before, and I think it involved other body parts as well" Burdock said. He was not sounding suggestive in that statement, however.
-
"Well, I'll just have to give that a shot, then. Let's see what you like." Aurora let go of Burdock's foot, and gestured for him to lie on his stomach, as she stretched her hands out, in preparation for what would happen next.
-
"Sure." Burdock rolled over unto his chest. What will she do next? Burdock thought.
"Do you do this thing as a hobby or something?" Burdock asked as he waited for her action.
-
"Well, if you don't know, you haven't been around us Dracons for all that long, now let's see- my gods! Your tail! It's so... short and puffy!" :lol
Even as she put her hands on his back, she continued to laugh for the greater part of a minute.
-
"Yes," Burdock mused "I kinda like it that way."
-
"Alright. That's fine. It's just... funny. :lol: Now, let's see what we can do here."
She ran her hands over his back, feeling the strong muscles.
"Is there anywhere you want me to rub?"
-
"It's your choice, Aurora. Again, I've never had this kind of thing done to me before. But you're doing a good job." Burdock said.
-
"How interesting. You've never been to a temple in your land? Don't they do this sort of thing? Don't the priestesses where you come from... never mind." Aurora began kneading his back with her thumbs, being careful not to cut him with her claws.
-
"Mmm.. Yes, that feels nice." Burdock thought about what she said. "I never went into a temple. I'm not a fan of religion."
-
"Well, didn't you go there for the priestesses? Does you land even have priestesses? Do they... well, not all lands are the same." Aurora dug in with her claws, and although she thought it was too hard, Burdock didn't seem to really mind. "Am I scratching too hard? I think this is too hard for a human..."
-
"You are not." Burdock answered. "What are you talking about when you mention the priestess?"
-
While continuing to rub and scratch his back, Aurora replied. "Well, I don't know how to tell an outsider this. I've never had to before. Alright. You don't know a whole lot about our religion, but we Dracons put a very high value on propagation. You know, spreading our blood down through the generations. The priests and priestesses at our temple are supposed to make as many eggs as possible, and this means that they... get the visitors involved as well, if they can have kids with them."
-
Burdock started laughing at what she said.
"They are SO lucky. Our kind don't really lay eggs. Ha ha" Burdock laughed.
-
"What are your females like? Do they lay eggs at all? You said they don't really lay eggs..." Aurora thought for a moment of a baby coming out of her, covered in blood, kicking and screaming. The thought that any creature had to give birth to a live child made the egg-laying Dracon more than a bit sick.
-
Burdock felt very relaxed by this dracon.
"Yep, that's right. The baby comes out of the female. Lets not get too descriptive on that, shall we?"
-
"Agreed. It makes me sick to think about it. " Aurora changed the subject. "So, I see you are in a pair of shorts, like a young male would be in our lands. Is that how your kind usually dresses?"
-
"Not really. We don't have to worry about wearing as less as you folks. It's not as hot over there as it is here." Burdock explained
-
"So, why are you dressed in just a pair of shorts if you normally wear more? I can see why you'd want to go barefoot, but why dress in even less than an adult male of our lands?" Aurora thought it had something to do with the fact that Burdock had fur, which would not be comfortable in this hot land.
-
"Well, because of the heat. Also, well-" Burdock stuttered, and couldn't come up with a good response "Well, I just like it this way."
-
"I understand. I mean, look at me! I only have a bit on my top and another bit covering my feminine parts. I can understand that it is very hot in this land, and I can understand the desire for comfort. I almost never meet a male who does..." Aurora finished rubbing his back and moved up a bit higher, to his shoulders.
-
"If I may say this," Burdock felt it was finally time to say something "You're a very attractive individual. If you remember I fell down when I first saw you. There was also uh..." Burdock did not know how to say it, so he stopped.
-
"What? My tiotleglas? I know, they are big, but that is common for my kind, judging by the non-dracon females that we get around here. "
-
Burdock didn't know the term she had used, but understood what she meant.
"Well it's just, uh... You're just cursed to look so beautiful. No one would pay attention to the urm... Real you, you know?" Burdock said, very nervously
-
"Oh, don't worry, I wear the real "me" on the outside. Frankly, I find it hard to get a male some days. There are so many females at these taverns, and only so many males show up who are interested in "looking" for a female on any given night. And, since so many other females have looks like mine, it can be hard to get attention."
-
"Well um, you know..." Burdock gulped, then continued. "I am kind of interested in you... and you're kind of interested in me. We've both got each other's attention. I guess that would be special, wouldn't it?" Burdock said, having no idea what to expect next
-
Aurora looked at him and sighed. "You are so much like the other males. Strong, tall, and interested in me. But, we are not of the same kind. It's a common misconception, believe me, but we Dracons cannot go around mating anyone that comes in here. That would be like... copulating with a horse. Still, if you want me to make you feel good, I can do that, just not quite in that way."
-
"I - I never... I was not implying that. I assure you." Burdock said with a sigh. He was getting tense "Maybe I should go... I've got to wait for a party."
-
"You still sound tense. I can help you with that, if you want. I'm sure they can wait for another few minutes and not miss you; it isn't like this city runs on a tight schedule, you know. " Aurora didn't want to see anyone leave her unhappy.
-
Burdock thought for a second. She's right. It's just my job.
Burdock eased himself. "Ok then. Continue if you want."
-
"Good. Now, where do you have the most tension? Just tell me and I'll take care of it for you." Aurora began feeling around for any tight spots in his back, and she found many.
-
"Anywhere you please.... OK, maybe maybe up a little." Burdock was not used to this kind of thing.
-
"How about the shoulders and neck? How does this feel?" Aurora knew that was where she usually carried her tension.
-
Burdock replied "That would be fantastic. You know your stuff."
-
"I thought you would like it. Hmm. I notice you have sharp claws and teeth that are also sharper than those of a real rabbit. Is your kind... predatory?" Dracons were omnivorous, but they prefered meat over plant matter most of the time.
-
Minna saw the outlines of Minbenthac and let out a happy cry " We Made it! She exclaimed ' Thanks Aerta!" She grinned, but her grin faded as she saw how exhausted Aerta was.
_ I could use a good soak, a rub and a nice meal' Ilsa said ' I'm just glad we got out of there safely..."
Yes, we all need to rest and relax after our ordeal' Margas said " But only for a short time, before we must move on to addressing how, if possible to stop Dememoras sand his armies.."
_
-
"ummm......that was fast?" commented Exodar "it was instant? straight from there to here?.....in an instant, cool!"
"yeah, teleportation spells tend to do just that" said Jake to Exodar
"so, what now?" asked Rex "go home and rest maybe?"
-
"Aerta! You did it! But now, we must return to the palace. Are you alright? That teleportation took a lot out of you."
"I am... fine for now, Adykon. Let's just go."
After a while, the party moved through the gates of the massive city, and then,into the palace. For once, their trip passed without incident, and in about an hour, they were standing inside of the palace courtyard.
-
For a moment, Burdock remembered what he had to do.
"Ok, I'm very thankful for your service, but I must leave." Burdock stated, as he got up and off the table.
-
"Alright. Feel free to stop by anytime, handsome." Aurora told him, adding a wink. "I hope you liked that."
-
"Thank you. I won't forget you, m'am. I'll be around again." Burdock said.
With that, burdock walked out of the room, and made his way out of the bar. He stood outside pulled a piece of paper out of the pocket of his shorts and looked at it. Good thing this bar is near by. He walked to his destination, and saw two guards standing outside.
"I am here for Adykon's party."
Upon hearing that the guards let him though, and he carried he backback of equipment with him.
-
One of the guards looked a bit quizzically at the lapine. "You know, the king is only letting people in so freely because we need anyone we can find to assist Adykon. This isn't a 'fun' party, but a mission which could very well end up killing you in a fight against Dememoras."
"I don't think he heard you."
"Ah, forget it. Adykon can deal with him."
Adykon and the others had arrived at the palace, only to find several individuals offering to join in the "suicidal" endeavor. Adykon had to gently dismiss most of the crowd, due to obvious lack of ability or competence. He looked up to see a shirtless rabbit-man approaching him.
"Aerta? Do you recognize this newcomer?" Adykon asked the archmage.
"He's a lapine. I've heard that they are good fighters, despite being related to harmless rabbits."
-
well we do need all the help we can get " Margas said, eating a bunch of grapes he had plucked from the royal tables " Have you foought in battle before, Lapine/' he asked giving Burdock a searching glance..
_ Are we going back into battle so soon Adykon?" Ilsa asked from a chair ' we do need to rest and regroup, at least."
-
Burdock just stood where he was. It looked like this team was already skeptical.
"I used to be a town guard. But I guess that's babysitting compared to this job." He responded to the member.
-
"That's good. You look strong enough to make it. Are you sure you want to come along? You can join, but I have to ask: you DO know what we are up against, right? The risks are great." Adykon was willing to let Burdock in, as were the others.
-
"I would slam my head on a wall if you paid me," Burdock joked "But please, refresh my mind of our typical assailants."
-
"Formal, aren't we?" Aerta replied. "We're going up against Dememoras and his forces. If you don't already know, he is the so-called emperor and "god" of all Dracons. We stopped him millennia ago, but he is back."
"We've had to fight dracons, kobolds, golems, and even dragons... and so much else! Still, You are probably strong enough to survive." Adykon continued.
"All costs are paid for by the king of Minbenthac, as is food, water, and shelter." Rhiga added.
"I welcome you, but... be careful. This adventure is not for the weak-minded, or weak-willed. Anything can happen." Vespion told Burdock this as his thoughts reflected back to Typhon and the revelation that Dememoras was a distant ancestor of both of them.
-
"That sounds typical of an average deity." Burdock replied. "Our kind don't have to worry about any of that, fortunately. I've never fought a giant hostile creature before, but if it's living then we can kill it."
-
"Well, Dememoras is actually... er... undead." It was Rhiga who said it. No one else wanted to reveal that unfortunate truth.
"It doesn't matter. We can still stop him. Are you with us?" Adykon wasn't dissuaded, and neither were the others.
-
"Yes." Burdock replied without a change in his voice. "Anymore questions? Burdock asked
-
"Yes. Do you have any armor? You will need good protection and armament if you are going to make it. If you don't have any, we can get you some at the palace armorer." Adykon replied.
-
"Well," Burdock said as lifted his backpack down and into his hand "I have leather armor here in my backpack, and as you can see--"
Burdock unstrapped the sheathed sword and shield from his backpack
"I have my offensive weapons here."
-
"Very good. Just, ah... you might want to put a shirt on when we go into the throne room. Your kind uses those, right? We might see the king later today, and update him on recent events" Vespion told Burdock.
-
Burdock looked down at himself
"Oh! I almost forgot I didn't have one on."
Burdock went to open up his backpack to find his shirt, then put it on.
-
"Very good. You should wear it when we might run into someone important around here, but otherwise, you can decide what you want to wear. It doesn't matter to us. Now, I think we have a new recruit!" Adykon told the rest, smiling.
-
What is your name "iLsa asked him I'm Ilsa and this is my husband Margas..' Margas was the one who had looked quizzically at Burdock. " He'll do, i think' the mage said finally..
Minna meanwhile was helping herself to some food, and while she was eating it fairly quickly, she was still minding her manners, once a noble, always a noble...
-
Kelassa remained somewhat closer to Ilsa, as she is also curious to see the Lapine, not a race you see very often in the Dracon Lands. - "Good day sir, my name is Kelassa, is it true that you are joining us in the fight against Dememoras?"
Herril looked from some distance, he then saw that Eriol stood besides him. - "That Lapine, Burdock, he must be a more familiar face to you Eriol." - the Psyonic gave a quick look at the Panther before turning his eyes again on the newcomer and Kelassa.
"And you sure are paying more attention to Kelassa than to pay attention to the newcomer." - Eriol replied as he noticed Herril's glance on his female partner.
Herril looked back at Eriol. - "I wasn't looking at..." - but there is no use to hide it. - "I just don't want her to be in this party."
"Then why don't you tell her that?. Is it because she will refuse?" - the male Gaean Panther crossed his arms together as he leaned on the wall.
Herril gave a laugh. - "Are you sure you are not a Psyonic, or maybe you have any other kind of magic without knowing?" - the male Psyonic couldn't hide his smile.
"Sorry, no magic for me..." - Eriol said as he laughed a bit. - "... and you don't need magic to know when a man wants to love a woman."
Herril's eyes opened wide. - "Just wait a sec...." - But the Panther began walking closer to Adykon, so he will be there to know first hand, the next course of action. Herril just sighed and looked at Kelassa again.
-
"Yes, It is. For anyone who does not know, my name is Burdock, and I'm happy to be welcomed to the group." Burdock said with a grizzled smile.
-
"So, Burdock, are you fully aware of the situation? Do you need me to explain anything to you?" Adykon asked the lapine, making sure that he knew what he was getting himself into.
-
"No, it's ok..." Burdock looked around "Are there any places of interest in this palace? Like a bar or something..."
-
"There's one. It's all the way in the left wing, far from us. We're at roughly the center of the palace, so you will need to head all the way down this western hallway" Adykon told Burdock, pointing in the right direction.
-
So, Burdock walked down the long hallway, of the attractive looking palace, and made it to the bar. He didn't know how things worked in these lands and their pubs, so he just stood and waited for a waitress to come to his service.
-
What can I get for you sir " said a young Draconess who evidently was the bartender. " Some wine perhaps, the king likes wine for the most part, we keep a separate cellar for him.. She glanced at Burdock " are you a member of the adventuring party? she asked.
-
"I believe he is." A female voice came from behind both of them. This was Delphine, another Lapine.
"I think I can handle this one. He's one of my kind, you know."
Delphine:
(http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/232/2/4/Delphine_by_Noguy.jpg)
-
very well, whatever he wants its on the house, since he's a member of the party.."The Draconess said to her. " If he wants anything come and get me.. " She added walking out of the room..
-
Burdock just stood where he was, aghast at the sight of a female Lapine in front of him. This had been the second time today.
-
"What? The first male I come across and he looks like he's seen a ghost." :lol:
Delphine moved next to Burdock, still smiling.
"What can I get for you?"
-
Burdock ignored everything she just said and asked her a question.
"Ha- have you always been here? That is, this dried up desert with these lizard people? I don't know what to think. I need a seat." Burdock thought he was going to lose his mind.
-
Margas and Ilsa took some time to relax and recover from their long ordeal ' Hey Aerta?' Ilsa asked " do you mind if I ask you a few questions? Such as, how long were you trapped in your castle?
_
Dear, when shes ready, she'll answer, shes been through a tremendous ordeal..."Margas said gently..
-
"It wasn't MY palace, you know..." Aerta had a point, as Dracon females couldn't own land.
"...but, I was trapped there for several months. Dememoras's forces launched a siege not too long after he killed my husband, and you all showed up to save me just in time."
-
Technically, you're right since it was your husband who really owned it, but since he was killed, then the castle has no owner under our laws..
Which is compl- Ilsa began before Margas quieted her with a motion from his arm "how long were you married to the archmage?" Margas asked >'I'm margas, Ilsa's new husband. You met her previously I understand..."
-
"Yes, I met Margas before. I had been married for many years, decades, even. It is hard to think about that now, if you don't mind. As for the palace, whatever will be left of it, it will either go to my sons, or Adykon, in the event that I marry him. Really, it is whoever asserts the claim on the property first and whose claim is the strongest. If no male related to or married to me gets it, some king or noble will likely claim it as his property."
Aerta was right not to want to think about it; even after Dememoras was stopped, it was likely to be a legal nightmare in determining who gets the property. Adykon's claim to it would be much strengthened should he prove to be the hero the people hope he will be, and the world needs him to be, if only because they will be too grateful to deny a claim of his if it is even half legitimate by a possible marriage to the wife of the original owner.
-
So you are interested in Adykon/ Ilsa smiled slightly. " Hes a strong warrior, and a good leader, and under our customs, a widow should get remarried as soon as possible, for the sake of stability. hes a good match, if not really much in the magic department. but ultimately it is up to you..." Ilsa finished " Now, is there any question you wish to ask me?"
-
Eriol stretched his arms. - "Well, since there isn't many fun things to do here, I'll also go to the bar and have a drink." - He said that and began walking towards the bar.
Kelassa was listening to the conversation been held by Ilsa and Aerta. - "That would be so splendid: to get married and have a home with a nice and big family." - the female Dracon Healer joined her hands as she closed here eyes trying to imagine how would it be.
Herril was looking at Kelassa. - "That would indeed be good." - That was the Psyonic's thoughts as he contemplated his female partner. He then looked at Aerta, she has always been a beautiful Dracon... beautiful and very powerful, but she got married with an archmage, so Herril had to give up on her. But now that she is a widow, what will Herril do? he is not a big challenge to the hero Adykon, and now there is not the time for that as Dememoras could strike again at any time.
Kelassa looked as Herril left the hall. - "Where is he going?" - she asked, not knowing if someone else listened to her question.
-
"Well, Ilsa, I understand that you come from a rich and powerful family. How's that been for you?" Aerta replied.
Meanwhile...
"Have a seat, then. It's been so long since I've seen a male Lapine, and I'm sure we both have a lot to say" Delphine replied.
-
Well, it has its advantages and disadvantages. Some of the advantages are the wealth, and status the family provides, as well as the husband, should the marriage work out that way. In my case it did, since Margas here is the oldest surviving son in his family..'
"I had 7 older brother but they were all killed during the last war, before Dememoras came back on the scene' Margas said. " So I was the next in line and when her father offered me her claw in marraige I leaped at the chance.. We had studied magic under the same mage years ago.. and I was fond of her, although I did npt expect to marry her or to woo her really. Funny, how fate works out that way..."
-
"Things do have a way of working out. You know, the way things have been going, well... it gives me hope. Adykon has been able to overcome the odds several times so far" Aerta replied.
-
" Do you care about him Aerta? Or is this simply a marriage of choice?" Ilsa asked. "Ilsa, please! She is fond of him, or at least is grateful for the rescue" Margas said.
"Are you alright Rhiga?" Marcus asked talking a few minutes to look around at the expensive and lavish surroundings... "that adventure was very harrowing, for me at least", he added.
-
"I care about him as much as anyone would care about..." Aerta stopped, not wanting to go into it at the moment.
"I think I understand" Rhiga replied. "And yes, Marcus, I am well, thanks. I think spending some time in this place will do us well" she added, stretching out with a loud sigh.
-
"so, what do we do now?" asked Exodar "not much to really do here except walk around the courtyard or go home?"
"i suppose your right..." replied Rex as he scratched behind his head.
"well, no use just waiting around" said Jake "i guess we'll just see what happens..."
(didn't know what to post...)
-
"Well, what was the last one you saw? Since when? Where?" Burdock was asking a borage of questions as he took a seat.
-
"How long? I'd sat it's been about... 3 years. 3 years since I've even seen, heard, or smelled another one of our kind" Delphine replied to Burdock. "I saw him briefly pass through the streets of the city, and that was about it."
-
Eriol made his way to the Palace's bar, he looked at the people there and smirked when he saw the two Lapines talking. He then made his way to the big central table and sat there.
"Anything to drink?" - the Bartender told the Panther.
"Whisky" - Eriol said without any emotion in his voice, the Bartender just nodded and gave Eriol his drink.
In the mean time, Kelassa remained in the Hall, not sure what to do, until she then asked a nearby Guard where is the nearest medical store. Been a Healer, she uses both magical and non-magical methods for curing people's wounds and diseases. After a while she began walking away from the Hall.
At that moment, Herril returned to the Hall, he went close to Adykon. - "Perhaps this could not be the moment, but I've been trying to figure out if Typhon survived his encounter with Dememoras' avatar, but it is hard for me to get any mental reading due to all the liberation of magical energies in the place... and even if he survived, his mind is very well trained for most Psyonics to just go there and do anything. So, I suggest that we should not include him in future plans... just in case he did not survive, I think the last thing we want is to make any false hopes of reinforcements." - But Herril does hope that Typhon survived his encounter, his powers could be vital for the success of all this campaign against Dememoras.
-
(OOC: Sorry for the limited time I've had here! This next post is more of an explanatory one than anything else.)
Kluthu, the color-changing archmage of the court of Minbenthac, had a lot to do. The war against Dememoras, a run on the city's bank, and general panic and unease among much of the populace left him and the rest of the palace staff with a heavy load of tasks. Meeting with the city's other archmages, researching spells to use in case Dememoras himself attacked, running inventories of magical supplies, securing priceless tomes from the cities' libraries... and making lists of what spellbooks had to be burned in case Dememoras' forces breached the city walls.
It was with much relief that Kluthu was finally able to get a new hours to himself. Knowing that duty could call at any time, and would certainly call before long, he went back to his quarters in the palace. Being a highly powerful mage and a very important figure in the king's court had several advantages, not the least of which was a high salary, a private laboratory, a personal library, and being of noble rank himself, the ability to wed more than one female.
Returning to his room, the archmage's skin glowed a bright yellow. It would be more accurate to call his living quarters an apartment than a room, for it came with private spaces for up to six wives, plus a common room for his children, a living room, and two latrines, in addition to his own room, study, and laboratory, the latter two being connected with his own room.
Retiring to his quarters, the archmage's skin was still a yellow color, but it began to fade and turn darker, back to its original shade of dark orange that he had been born with. By the time he had changed from his robe into the typical home clothes of his kind, his skin was, for the moment, back to normal. Making sure that the cloth around his waist was still secure, the mage went out into the living room, where two of his wives slumbered on the couches, having no doubt fallen asleep waiting for him to return from his duties. Not wanting to wake them, Kluthu sat down on one of the couches with a book he had obtained from his room: The Practical Guide to Almost Everything.
One section was particularly interesting:
"Footwear, humanoids and.
Of the behaviors of various species of the world, few are more curious than the bizarre and unhealthy fixation various humanoid races have with the odd clothing known as "shoes", a functional clothing item used to protect the feet from contact with objects on the ground. While the writers of this almanac acknowledge the utility of the items, the utilization of them outside of strictly necessary circumstances has continued to puzzle our scholars, particularly the behaviors exhibited by the females among humanoid species, who tend to possess most of the shoes, yet wear them the least. Common excuses given by their females tend to revolve around how uncomfortable their shoes are, and yet they spend inordinate amounts of money to purchase them when they have the resources to..."
Another section focused on comparative religion, something that always interested Kluthu:
"Religion, Comparative.
Belief systems in the world as we know it are truly innumerable, and attempts to classify them into neat categories often fall far short of their goals. For the purposes of this text, religions are classified into three main groups; monotheistic, polytheistic, and non-theistic. The first believes in one god, the second in many, and the latter in no deity, but rather, a path, a way, or a world of spirits and ancestors, lacking a pantheon as such. Of note are many forms of heresies, offshoots, cults, and splinter groups. Many of these "unprotected sects" are the result of a powerful entity, be it a demon, a dragon, or even an archmage, using his power to convince others of a false form of divinity..."
Kluthu felt uneasy with that concept, and his skin turned red to reflect his embarrassment. Given his status as an archmage, it was not entirely unreasonable for his powers to be mistaken as the energies of the divine. He also wondered if the writers intended for the phrase describing cults to be a near double entendre.
Flipping to another chapter in the book, the mage happened across an interesting passage:
"Stars, Alignment of.
The common peoples of the world foolishly believe the stars to be nothing more than fires burning in the atmosphere, or else, the spirits of dead ancestors, fallen dragons, or even fireflies trapped in a firmament. Some have even gone as far as to speak of a conspiracy involving the mages of the world creating the stars for their own amusement. The truth of the matter is simple; a star is a burning sphere of gas, burning an unimaginable distance away, created by gravity, heat, friction, and mind-staggering amounts of time. While the stars themselves do not exert any direct control over the planet, the most ancient of mages believed this to be so, and as such, many crafted their spells to reflect the workings and motions of the stars. To this day, many great mages, by force of tradition and superstition, continue to work their spells around the motions of the stars.
Perhaps the most intriguing of these spells are those which cause a condition or an effect that somehow has a relation to the stars. Normally, such a spell cannot be undone unless a greater amount of energy is used to break the spell than was used to create it. Often, these spells have a large amount of energy behind them, or require application of a counterspell that would require so much energy that it would risk damaging or destroying whatever the object affected by the spells was. To that end, a way out that involves the stars is often added, usually occurring only when the stars are in an unusual alignment.
Much research has been done on these spells, and it has been determined that in most cases, and in every case older than 500 years, that the actual alignment of the stars themselves has little to do with the spell, only the appearance of the stars in the sky. Hypothetically, an illusionist with great knowledge of the night sky could break powerful enchantments which use star alignment as their "seal", if only he knew what stars to show..."
-
"Well, I wouldn't know how long it's been since I've seen a fellow rabbit. But its felt like a long time." He responded.
-
"Well, funny you should mention that." Delphine replied. "It has been so long since I have seen, smelled, or felt another Lapine... if you get my drift" she added with a wink.
-
Burdock blushed all over and shifted a little in his seat.
"Well - hhaha. Well you know... I guess I do. It's been a while for me to."
-
"Well, I've been in this blazing hot land for some time now, and by the looks of it, you have been too... why don't we go back to my room here and have a little... "talk." The kind that should only be heard by other lapines?" Delphine replied.
-
I must be on a role or something today Burdock thought.
He got up to follow the female lapine
-
Delphine led Burdock to a room in the palace, where she was living for the time being. It was a servants quarters, meaning that the room contained little more than a bed and some basic furniture. The room was close to a window overlooking the palace gardens, and was high up enough so that most outside could not see into the room, but there was still plenty of light.
"So, here we are. Tell me, Burdock, how have you enjoyed these lands so far?"
-
"Hot as well, and nobody really likes me." He said as he looked around the room.
-
"I agree. Well, it isn't so bad in the heat. At least... not if you dress properly for the weather." Delphine looked at Burdock's shirt. "You must be so hot in that thing." Without saying another word, she moved her hands to his shirt and began to tug at it, an expression of longing in her eyes.
-
"I--yes. I"
Her expression was getting to him.
"I am."
-
Without a word, Delphine pulled off his shirt and threw it to the side. She let out an audible squeal of delight when she saw his muscled chest and battle scars. This was a strong, tough male. Whatever went into him was surely something a female might want to pass down to her offspring.
"So, Burdock. Have you been in a lot of fights?"
-
Burdock looked down at himself. They love these things.
"Plenty." He said with one word.
-
Delphine moved her hands to the top she was wearing, undid the light piece of clothing, and threw it off, giving a loud sigh of relief as she did so.
"That's better, don't you think?"
-
He just sat there and looked at her.... "Front loaded anvils"
"Indeed." he said. "You look beautiful."
-
Delphine put her hands on Burdock, feeling his muscles and tough skin. She liked what she felt. He was tougher by far than most lapines, and had survived many a battle. Delphine had known many males, but this one was the strongest she had seen.
"Shall we get on with things? I know how much you males enjoy... sensations."
-
Burdock moved away and went to sit on the bed. He didn't want to rush anything for himself, unless she wanted to.
"What would you suggest?" He asked as he sat there.
-
Delphine wanted to see just how tough this male was. She had a way of doing that...
"Would you like me to scratch your back, for starters?"
-
"Ok."
He laid down on the bed, with his back up. They really love this touching thing. He thought.
-
I really love this thing! Delphine thought to herself as she began to scratch Burdock's back. She pressed down hard with her claws, but no matter how hard she pressed into his skin, it didn't cause him any signs of pain or discomfort. In fact, he seemed to really like it.
-
Feelings of comfort shot through him. "Ohhhh, you're really good at this. Oh man." Burdock had a smile on his face the entire time.
-
"Well, I was... experienced." Delphine was one of those females that liked to pick up males by hanging around at taverns at night. She was a bit like the Dracons in the slums, by that measure.
-
(OOC: Sorry for the delay. I've been given another assignment from my contracts class, in law school.)
-
(its alright. I've been busy too myself..)
Ilsa headed off to rest in one of the palace's guest rooms. Margas was already there, changing out of his armor. his body had a number of scratches and bruises on it, likely from the armor digging into his skin. " want me to take a look at those?" She asked her husband " Margas made a dismissive gesture. " No need, I've had worse, they'll heal in due time... For now, we need to rest after our long journey."
-
"I am afraid rest is something few of us will have." Vespion's voice could be heard as he entered the room with Ilsa and Margas. "We have a short time for now, and Adykon's told me that that new guy, that lapine-creature, will have to be ready to go tomorrow. We've got a meeting with the king and his generals first thing at dawn."
-
Eriol remained in the bar, he saw that the Lapines went away a while ago, but he just stood there, sitting in that chair while drinking some more. His eyes were similar to the ones people have when they are not really looking forward anything. He saw his wife die twice, even though the second time it was not really her, it still felt far too real... and now, embarked in a fight with so few possibilities of survival, all that he has left is his son, would he ever see him again? There is no way for the Gaean Panther to know that. He finished his drink and asked for another one.
After getting the supplies she needed, Kelassa went into a guest room and she sat in the bed, she placed an extra sheet over the bed in front of her and then she placed the herbs and potions she got, ordering them in preparation for the next travel.
Herril was walking the corridors of the Palace, without really wanting, he received the thoughts of many people that are in his surroundings: Most thoughts were about the common things they have to do, but there are also lots of thoughts about incoming battles, the return of Dememoras and many other things related to the events that have happened and that could happen. The psyonic sighed as he began watching to one of the palace's gardens.
-
"Obviously," Burdock said. "What's next on your mind? Backrubs are good, but what else are you interested in for our meet?" He asked her.
-
Delphine moved over Burdock, her chest plainly in his sight. She looked down at him, and in a silky tone, simply said
"Why wait until next time?"
-
He looked into her eyes and asked in a amused tone
"Beg your pardon?"
-
Delphine looked at Budock, then looked at his pants, and laughed.
"Part of you gets it, but your mind has to catch up." :lol:
-
Burdock laughed. "Do what you will, babe. I'm all yours, as a guest." Burdock waited for her actions.
-
Delphine looked to the door to make sure it was tightly shut. It was. They had their privacy. She undid what little she had left on, and threw it off, then did likewise to the male lapine.
"Now, you know what our kind does best, right? What kind of 'math' we are so good at?"
It was a lame joke, but it helped to take her mind off of the fact that this might be the last time she would see a male in many months.
-
Burdock laughed. "Well, let's start with multiplication."
-
Delphine leaned over Burdock and looked at him. There was a gleam in her eyes.
"Let's just do this." She said, her breath ragged with anticipation. She spread herself wide and came down on the male...
-
Burdock was ready for some action, and began immediately
ooc: omg lol
-
Delphine was enjoying herself, given the noises she was making. It was surprising a rabbit could even make such sounds, although her bouncing around was by no means a surprise. ;)
-
As it got more intense and loud, burdock was prepared for the finish
-
When it came, Delphine felt it very... strongly. It had been so long since she had been anywhere near a male of her own kind. A time like this was a rare treat for her.
-
Burdock panted a little, and just laid in bed. He was very tired.
-
"Worn out already? I can't blame you. That was rather... fun." Delphine told Burdock as she wiped off some of the sweat from herself.
-
"It was" He said. He was out of breath, and rested his head down on the pillow and drifted off slightly.
-
Delphine went over to Burdock to make sure he was asleep. When she was sure that he was, she went over to his discarded clothes to see what he had. She found some coins, a sword, and some other possessions.
The female lapine was, like many of her kind, a thief who took advantage of males they lay with. She hadn't taken anything in a long time, as no dracon male would even approach her, and even if they did, she doubted she'd have been able to get away with it.
-
Burdock snorted a little, moved his head, but was still sleeping.
-
Delphine was glad that her kind was adapted to collect seed from many males at once. It helped to fertilize her many egg cells, although it had been a long time since she had had a child, and none in the Dracon lands. At least, she had the endurance to stay awake while Burdock slept on.
-
Already Burdock was starting to dream of dancing rainbows and other unusual things. Nothing could wake him now.
ooc: lol I don't know I guess noname will do something
-
Delphine looked around and sighed. She had heard that Burdock was one of Adykon's troops. She hadn't been able to get to the others, but this one had fallen into her paws, literally. Given her order from... him... she decided to get what information she could from the lapine. But not yet. She would let him rest a bit more first.
-
At this point in his dream, he had beaten the rainbow to death with a blunt object, and mounted a horse to ride across the field.
-
Normally, Delphine would simply seduce the information out of Burdock, but she knew that he would have to get going soon enough. There wasn't enough time to do this the easy way, so she would have to do it the hard way. Good thing she had some rope and posts on the bed. Reaching out for his limbs, Delphine took the rope...
(OOC: What happens next was Campion's idea, not mine!)
-
Burdock almost found himself being taken out of the dream, but continued as he jumped off the edge of the world with the horse
ooc: well not exactly, but it will be fun
-
Delphine tried to wake Burdock, who was now thoroughly tied to the bed and totally restrained. After shaking him and yelling in his ears didn't work, she pressed a foot on his stomach and pressed down for moment.
-
Burdock awoke from his slumber when he felt pressure pressing down on his chest, and tried to move. It didn't take him longer than 2 seconds to find that he was restrained to the bed. It was obvious Delphine did it, as she was on top of him. He had no idea what to say, but he didn't feel threatened.
-
"So sorry it had to come to this, Burdock, but a girl's got to make a living. If it makes you feel better, I'm doing this because my boss, part of the... protectors... of the building I live in, they work for a noble who in turn has sided with the Big D, if you know what I mean. Now, if you will be so kind as to answer a few questions, this can be easy. If not... this will hurt you a LOT more than it will hurt me." Delphine said this with a sense of regret in her voice, but did not hesitate.
-
He commented "Uh, ok. Go on."
Given his disregard for his current environment, he would just have to make personal choice as to what he would answer.
-
"First, what do you know about Adykon? I want to hear everything." It was a simple question, at first.
-
"He is part of a group of mercenaries. I admit I don't know as much about the members myself." Burdock plainly answered. "But from what I gathered, they've probably destroyed some massive foes."
-
Delphine sighed. "That's not enough information." She moved her foot over to his legs, in between them. "Now, let's try again. What do you know about Adykon?"
-
Burdock watched her movement, but was not afraid.
"I just told you. You found the wrong person of interest." Burdock was getting very businesslike now. He knew how organized interrogation worked, and some interrogators would expect unrealistic results.
-
Delphine sighed again. "Well, I'll go easy on you, at first. I like you, you know. Still, I don't think you are taking this seriously enough, so..." the female lapine pulled back her clawed foot, and kicked in between Burdock's legs.
-
The impact made burdock jump on the bed, and he writhed against his restraints when the pain continued to set in after the initial attack.
-
"I'm surprised. That... should have made you say "ow" at least." Delphine then recalled how tough his skin had felt earlier. Burdock was one tough bunny.
-
Burdock breathed in and out and looked up at her. He had sometimes been able to handle pain without making noise about it. He made no comment, hopefully suggesting to her that he did not have any answer she was looking for.
-
"Well, we can try something else." Delphine leaned over Burdock, placing her legs on either side of his neck. "Now will you give me and answer? Tell me about Adykon. I need to know his plans."
-
Burdock had no idea what she was planning next, so he decided to be more direct.
"I know nothing of interest about him for you." Burdock spat with a grunt from the looming pain. "Move on to your next question."
-
Delphine squeezed her legs, making it harder for Burdock to get air. He could still breathe, though. "Alright. Let's try another one. Vespion. The cleric. What can you tell me about him? How about Rhiga? Or Ilsa? Or the others? I've seen them all from time to time, even though they never paid much attention to one of the serving girls. Tell me about any of them!"
-
Burdock was getting fed up with delphine's stubborn attitude. She was looking for answers he did not posses.
Burdock slipped his head back over the edge of the bed, and pulled his head foreword to deliver a powerful slam against her stomach.
-
The force of the blow knocked her back, loosening her grip. Angrily, she moved to the edge of the bed, and, without a word, kicked him repeatedly between his legs, trying to dig her claws in as she did so.
-
Delphine's relentless assault of kicks almost made burdock pass out from the pain, as his body bounced all over from the reaction.
-
Delphine saw that the "pain" option wasn't working. Maybe another one might work.
"Well, I'm sorry for hitting you so much. Let's try something else." Without another word, she moved over to caress the areas she had kicked with her hands, trying to soothe his pain.
-
Her massaging was not stopping the pain. Burdock was breathing very hard now, and was a bit angry.
"You... are going.. to regret that... when this is over." Burdock was threatening her now. He knew she was not going to kill him. "Unless... you stop, right... now."
-
She stopped. "Alright, let's try something else." Delphine moved over to his sword and took it. "Maybe you will not mind missing a few parts?" Delphine's hands trembled as she held the blade in her hands.
-
I understand Adykon, which is why we need to make the most of the time we have.." Ilsa said shooting looks over at margas. margas lay back with a sigh.. so we bring in the lapoine tomorrow.. where arre we going next?' Margas asked ignoring ilsa signals for now..
-
Burdock looked at her hold the sword. He was getting more calm now, although the pain was still there. It looked to him like she was afraid of even holding it. He uttered a one word sentence.
"Try."
-
Delphine raised the blade, unsteadily, aimed it at Burdock's malehood, but then, dropped the blade. The female lapine dropped to her knees, disgusted at what she had contemplated doing. "No... this is wrong. All of it. Wrong!"
-
"You're not even near rookie status and you're trying to use a blade." Burdock said calmly. He guessed she didn't have the guts to maim people.
-
"I've never held one. I always fought with my claws." Delphine wasn't used to this. Normally, she would have had her information by now, or else, she would have gotten her way. "Could you please just tell me everything you know about Adykon? If I don't get something soon, they'll take me instead." Delphine was visibly shaken.
-
"I know absolutely nothing about him. Period." Burdock answered as honestly as he could.
"You're working for the wrong people, and you don't even have expertise in your field. I'm not going to hurt you, but if you want help than I am available."
Burdock almost forgot he was tied to the bed, and fully exposed to just about anything.
-
"If I untie you, will you agree not to hurt me, and then help me get rid of those guys? And then we forget this ever happened?" Delphine was worried, shaking even.
-
"Yes." Burdock responded. "but this pain..."
Burdock stopped complaining, and looked at his bonds. "We should do this again sometime.. Minus the conflict. Feels very weird." Burdock was slightly amused as the situation, with a griddled smile on his face.
-
"I can help you with that." First, Delphine unties the ropes that restrained Burdock, then she sat down in the bed next to him. "I can make it feel better, if you want."
-
Burdock was able to relax himself once again. He didn't move at all from the exhausting experience, not even to comfort himself.
"Please, do!" Burdock exclaimed
-
Without a word, Delphine reached over to Burdock's shoulders and rubbed them, even as she knew it would not make all the pain go away. Still, the more relaxed he was, the more likely he would listen to her. "How's this?"
-
"Oh, I don't care anymore" Burdock expressed "Tell me about your employers."
-
"Well, when I first arrived in these lands, I was part of a merchant group led by some humans. They had arrived in our homeland and needed people to help transport goods from this country back to their own. I needed the money and wanted to see the world, so I figured I'd take a trip, you know, see the world for a year or so, get some money in my pocket, what's the harm?"
Delphine sighed before continuing.
"Then, we arrived in these lands, and were attacked by some bandits. They killed many of us, but some, myself included, managed to escape. I made my way to Minbenthac, and having no money or other possessions, soon found myself looking for a place to stay, a job, or just... well, anything. A gang found me and told me that I could help. The king of Minbenthac was looking for foreigners to serve in his palace. Something about showing off how many subjects he has or how great his power is or something like that. I figure the king must have thought having non-dracons serve in his palace was like a status symbol. Whatever. Anyway, they found me a cheap place to stay, and a job. In return, I had to give them most of my wages, and whatever information they wanted. After enough time, I guess they trusted me enough to tell me that they were being paid by a noble, some guy who has close connections to the king. I think it's one of the king's younger brothers or something."
Delphine stretched a bit and continued.
"When Dememoras returned, the noble threw his support to him. I don't know which noble this is; all I know is that the gang that threatens me is on his payroll. They told me that if I didn't get them information, their boss would get in trouble with Dememoras, and would have to send troops instead of information. Well... troops... or sacrifices. The gang isn't going to fight, but they can send me instead!"
-
Burdock looked down at himself, and thought for a second. Then commented
"So, you want me to destroy them. OK... Well, what will their boss do if they don't get anything?"
-
"Well, I don't know. Their boss knows who they are, but he doesn't know me. If they were to just disappear, that noble, whoever he is, would just have to look elsewhere." Delphine was unsure of it, but that was the best answer she had to give.
-
"Alright," Burdock concluded "We'll take care of business soon. I just need to.... Recover... After your little job there." Burdock didn't want to sound like he was holding a grudge, but it was necessary to mention.
-
"Anything I can do to help? I'm really good with my hands, as you know from experience..." Delpine was calming down, and some of her old spirit had returned. She was still interested in the strong male lapine, and she had to admit he was very good to her up until the point she had turned on him.
-
"Yes, yes you are." Burdock complemented humbly "and it's your choice what you do with them."
-
"Alright. I'll just work on your lower back then, if you would lean over." Delphine reached over and kneaded the muscles of his lower back, working out tension. When that was done she asked him "Are you ready now? The sooner we deal with those guys, the better? Are you sure you can handle them?"
Meanwhile...
Adykon replied to the question
"I am not sure yet, but we will learn tomorrow."
-
" Understood. As much as I'd like to rest and recover from our latest adventures, reality dictates we keep moving' Margas nodded. ' what about that female lapine? That could give our new friend some "incentive" if you catch my meaning. well, as long as there's nothing bad in her history.."
-
Burdock slumped off the bed to his feet and stumbled around for a bit. He stretched.
"Ok, so. I don't know this town, so you'll have to take me to them."
Burdock reached for his bag and found that it had already been opened. He was willing to forgive delphine for this as well, and reached in for a new pair of underwear and and pants.
-
"Ready to go? Do you have any more armor? I saw a few things in your possessions." Delphine noticed that Burdock only had on some pants. Delphine had put on her top and loincloth in the meanwhile.
-
"Yes, I do" Burdock pulled out a leather cuirass after putting his other clothes, and put it on himself. He equipped his sword on his belt, which was sheathed, and walked to Delphine and said
"I am ready to go. Lead."
-
"Alright. I'll show you where they are. In about an hour, I know they like to hang out in an old tenement. If we move now, we can catch them as they are drinking, and they might be stone-cold drunk." Dracons could drink a lot before being affected by alcohol, but they were by no means immune.
A few minutes later, Burdock and Delphine had left the palace, and were walking on the cold streets of the city. "Cold" being a relative term, because even at night, it was still a desert.
-
Burdock walked with delphine "I'm going to attack whoever is in charge first, if I can. Unless they attack on sight." He said.
-
"Go for the one with the blue tattoos on his arms. He's the leader." Delphine led Burdock to the worst parts of the city, then pointed towards a filthy wooden slum. From the tenement, loud, raucous laughter of male dracons could be heard.
-
From experiance, burdock felt comfortable with this environment. He looked at her before progressing. "Are you coming?" He asked
-
"I can't let them see me. Just go in there and get them to stop threatening me, or just... find some way to deal with it. I'll be out here. I won't be far from you!" Delphine ducked into the doorway of another tenement, trying not to be seen.
-
Damn it. Burdock thought. He walked up the stairs and knocked on the door of the tenement. he tensed himself for combat. He was not in the mood for pointless negotiation.
-
A drunken dracon opened the door. "Hey, its the guy and... this is the guy." He fainted, leaving Burdock with an easy path inside. All of the dracons were unarmored and their weapons were lying on a rack on the other side of the room. The leader was the only sober one, a large male with blue snake tattoos on his arms.
-
"Greetings." Burdock shouted across the room. "I have come with a message from the king. It is very important, and for your ears only." He gestured towards the dracon who was said to be the leader.
-
"You know what? I think you're full of $#!+. You've come to remove us, right? Did Delphine send you? You wouldn't be the first, although I do applaud her for sending you to us when she knew we'd be drinking. Tell you what, you beat me, and the best of us will leave her alone. The rest of these drunks aren't good for much without someone to lead them." The leader was no fool.
-
"Ok." Burdock responded, and unsheathed his sword. He didn't trust the mans words. "You're going to die. Give up."
-
The Dracon drew his own sword. "We shall see. The other are probably writing this off as a drunken hallucination. When they find you dead on the floor, they will know this is no dream."
-
Burdock walked on in and courted close to the dracon. ala His style, he would usually wait for an attack to counter.
-
The Dracon waited for an opening. When he thought he had found one, the warrior attacked, stabbing at the lapine with his straight-edged blade.
-
Burdock jumped back from the foreword stab and swinged his sword side-word with some effort to hit the other as to throw the dracon off balance.
-
The dracon lurched forward, swinging his blade to catch Burdock's sword, then he stabbed in the direction of the lapine again, trying to pierce his throat, but missing.
-
In the brief time that the dracon had his arm stretched out to attack his throat, Burdock took the chance as fast as he could and swung his sword at the Dracon's vulnerable limb...
-
The blade struck the rogue leader in his arm, cutting neatly along one of his snake tattoos, his red blood mixing with the blue ink.
-
Burdock stepped off a little with the sword still drawn. He could see the dracon was losing blood. Burdock made a comment
"Next I'll be aiming for your neck. Stand down."
-
The Dracon looked at Burdock in the eye. He made no attempt to grab his fallen sword, nor did he lunge at the lapine with his teeth and claw. He simply got close to Burdock, opened his mouth, and a fine spray of acidic mist came out.
-
Burdock immediately covered his mouth and nose with with a rag he had in his pocket, and readied his sword for the final strike.
-
The acid clung to the rather conveniently-placed rag, changing its color and burning small holes into it. The Dracon, having used up his acid for the next few hours, made a grab for his sword with his good arm.
-
Wrong move. Burdock thought. Burdock threw the rag to the ground and held his breath, then batted his sword with strength at the dracon's neck, this time with the intention of killing.
-
The blade struck the dracon leader in the throat, and he managed to speak one last time, although it was less of a speech and more like the sound of a little hatchling. Given that his throat was sliced open, it was all he could do before collapsing.
-
Noticing that he dispatched his target, Burdock looked around at the surrounding witnesses, and decided to breath when he saw that he wasn't as close the cloud of haze. As per his habit, Burdock checked the body and only found a few coins in it's pocket. After this Burdock made his way out of the building and walked to where he last seen Delphine hide, chancing that she knew he was coming back from the incident solved.
-
The leader of the Dracon gang was not dead; he was badly hurt and lay in a pool of his own blood, but it took more than that to kill a Dracon, albeit not a whole lot more. This had been his plan all along; to either kill an interloper, or better yet, to lie there and have his own panicked, drunken cowards who called themselves a gang to leave when they had sobered up enough. His employer would think he was dead, and all that would remain would be to get out of town before anyone thought otherwise.
-
"Hey Delphine, come out." Burdock shouted. "I think your problem is solved."
-
Delphine came out of the doorway, looking at Burdock. She could smell blood on him. Given that he had returned alive, the female came to the conclusion that
"You won. Is he gone?"
-
"More than that." Burdock acknowledged. He was still holding his sword, and shook the blood off it a little.
-
"Alright. Good. Let's go back to the palace. You should get cleaned up for tomorrow. I don't think we need to mention this to the others. And thank you." Delphine moved over to Burdock and gave him a quick hug.
-
Burdock shrugged the hug off. "Yeah yeah..." he said in a low voice. He was trying to hide that he was flattered.
"Ok, let's go." Burdock said, and started walking back to the palace after he sheathed his sword.
-
Delphine managed to get them into the palace, despite the mess. Luckily, Burdock was not too much of a mess, and the guards were not willing to interfere with someone in league with Adykon. Normally, this wouldn't have happened, but the king was depending on Adykon to be the hero the legend had said he would be, although it could have been that history hadn't chosen him so much as it was sheer circumstance. Regardless, association with the warrior had positive consequences for Burdock, and by extension, Delphine, even if this benefit was the ability to go to the common areas of the palace, and from there, to Delphine's room again.
-
Burdock was noticing no one questioned his appearance as they walked to Delphine's room. He walked in her room and asked "How am I going to get clean?"
-
"There are rooms with running water, but mine doesn't have any. Only the privileged people get that, like the king, or his wives, or..." Delphine thought for a moment before coming to the best solution she could think of.
A few minutes later, the two lapines were standing outside of Adykon's room.
-
Burdock knocked on the door, unsure of what he was doing was right or not.
-
"I'm sure he will let you just wash off really quickly. Splash some water on and-"
"If you're looking for Adykon, he isn't here!" A female dracon's voice rang out from the room. It was Aerta. "You can come in, whoever you are!"
-
Burdock opened the door and walked in a little.
"Hey, hi. May we use your shower?" Burdock asked, not even looking at the person, as to not intrude on their privacy
-
Aerta the archmage lay on the bed, covered with a blanket iup to her chest. Nothing could be seen that would offend anyone.
"Adykon went to check on his son. I'm just trying to rest and recover my power. I know who you are, don't worry. You can use the shower."
-
burdock walked in and removed his armor and shirt. He got an interesting idea, and looked at Delphine.
"You wanna join in the wash?" Burdock joked with an enthusiastic voice.
-
"I was about to ask!" By the time Burdock and Delphine were in the bathroom, she had already loosened what little clothing she had on. No sooner than he had asked her had she removed it, then turned on some hot water.
Meanwhile...
Burdock was not the only one who had walked the streets of Minbenthac that night. Adykon had a meeting to keep. He had to see his son before risking death yet again. The boy was probably asleep by now...
-
Burdock removed the rest of his clothing and jumped in the shower with Delphine. He touched her hips with his hands
"Want to wash each other? This is so silly. Ha ha." Burdock was still laughing at the idea. It was obvious more of him was enjoying it.
-
"Sure thing! Where's the soap. Ah... here. Why does Dracon soap smell like pomegranate? I hate that. Oh well. Let's begin" Delphine grabbed the bar of soap and got to it.
-
"Wash me all over. I'm pretty dirty." Burdock begged.
-
"It's the least I can do" Delphine replied as she washed his fur. "You really helped me out back there."
-
Burdock felt her up a little.
"Well, hey. I'm starting to really like you. Did I ever tell you I used to work as a guard?" Burdock said.
-
"With those muscles, I wouldn't be surprised if you were the captain of the guards!" Delphine was not so much in love with Burdock as she was in lust with him. Still, they would grow in love, given time. They had only just met, after all.
-
Burdock looked back a little as she washed him.
"Oh, I'm not that strong." Burdock said.
-
"You beat a dracon. That's pretty good in my book." Delphine replied as she scrubbed his back using a sponge.
-
Burdock just stood and let her wash him. He was starting to feel very weak and tired after all that was going on on the night, and felt himself slumping a little on Delphine
-
Delphine finished washing him, turned off the water, and after drying off and putting on their clothes, thanked Aerta for the use of the bathroom, then left for Delphine's room. She led Burdock to the bed, where he could lie down.
-
Burdock immediately laid down on the bed and went to sleep.
-
Delphine lay down next to Burdock, but stayed awake. She admired how strong he was, for like the 10th time this night. He had proven himself able to defeat the thugs who threatened her, and for that, she was triply grateful.
-
Ilsa and Margas were asleep in bed together. While Ilsa had wanted to mate, after such a long and dangerous journey, Margas had refused, saying that there was no time for that, they had important business with the king in the morning. However he had kissed his wife and touched her chest, which seemed to be enough of a show of intimacy for now.. Ilsa had fallen asleep shortly after that, Margas had lain awake for a few more minutes before falling asleep.
- Minna waited for her husband to join her in bed, "What is he doing still up at this late hour?" she thought to herself as she waited for him. she kept her eyes on the door to her room..
Marcus settled into the room he shared with Rhiga. It was in the common quarters so there was no running water, thus both of them were covered in dirt, and other things, smelled terrible and looked worse, The bed wasn't very comfortable in their current state, however it would have been quite comfortable under normal circumstances.
-
After organizing all of her things, and after going into a mess hall to have some food, Kelassa decided to go back into the room given to her. After washing herself, she went to sleep. Unsuccessful at first, after all, the next morning she will be in a meeting with the king of Minbenthac himself, and that is a much honor for her.
Maybe half an hour later, she was able to win the battle against the anxiety and she finally got asleep.
Herril was outside her door, he wanted to knock it, but he decided against it. - "Maybe another time." - He whispered to himself and went to his own room in another hallway. After some minor routine, the male psyonic went to sleep as well. He enjoys the night as he can feel the minds of people going into a different level of activity, most the time it is a far more calm time. He closed his eyes and slept.
Eriol didn't drink much alcohol at all, at least, not in his own standards, but when he finally left the bar he began to randomly walk the halls of corridors of the Palace, not feeling sleepy at all.
The Gaean made his way outside the building and went to the rooftop, he sat in the wall and enjoyed the view of the Moon illuminating one of the Palace's huge garden. Not many trees or as lush, but at least it is the closest scenery in these lands that reminds the once full-time Assassin about his homelands.
-
Meanwhile Jake, Rex and Exodar had walked home to rest for the night...
"uuhhh....." moaned rex as he slouched down onto the chair "that was a long walk..."
Exodar slowly moved towards one of the couches opposite rex and he sat down slowly "are you sure you don't mind me staying the night?" asked Exodar
Vaessa walked in with some hot food...the smell of the fresh food wafted through the entire building, it was heavenly "oooooh, what's that?" asked Rex "sure does smell good!"
"it's some chicken and pork pieces with some herbs and spices sprinkled over" replied Vaessa
"may i have some?" asked Exodar
Vaessa hadn't noticed Exodar and she walked over slowly and elegantly and placed the bowl of hot meat down on the table in the middle of the room. "enjoy boys!" said Vaessa
"jeez, your mom is nice to let me eat and stay the night" said Exodar
"yes, my mom is good like that, she likes to meet new people" replied Rex
meanwhile jake had been looking out the window of the house thinking about the mission he had been tasked with, it would not be an easy one....nor a pleasant one...
(EDIT: finally posted! ooh-rah!)
-
(OOC: Metadude is letting me control Sasha for now)
Sasha approached Jake, not having seen him in a while.
"Wow, I must say, you have been getting strong lately. You're real arm is almost as strong as the metal one now." The human girl added a small laugh and a wink after that.
-
Jake turned around "uh, thanks i guess..." he replied "you're not so bad yourself" he commented with a slight grin. Jake and Sasha both proceeded to one of the nearby couches and they both sat down. Jake stretched out while Sasha sat on the armwrest of the chair
-
Sasha put her foot over Jake's and laughed.
"Jake, would you mind giving me a foot rub? And could you please not use your metal hand for it?" she asked.
-
Jake thought of how degrading it was for him to rub her feet when he had an important mission to complete...but he needed to fit in so that he was trusted "umm....sure..." replied Jake, jake got sashas left foot and he began to massage the lower part of sashas foot and work his way up to her her toes, once he was finished he started on the right foot repeating the same process. "happy?" asked Jake
-
Sasha replied "Very much so, Jake, thanks." She looked at him for a moment, something was different. Like the Dracons, Jake and Sasha were expected to conform to certain clothing standards in this land, unusual by human standards. While Sasha had taken her top off and was only wearing her loincloth, Jake still had a shirt. He had never forgotten before...
"Jake, you must be so hot. Want me to get that for you?" Sasha said with a laugh, tugging at the shirt that covered his mark, unknown to her.
-
Jake pulled away in annoyance "uh, no thanks, i'm fine" Jake knew that sasha would probably think somethings up but he hoped that she wouldn't and he would not get caught out. If sasha did notice a difference he would try his best to lie and sound convincing
-
Vaessa returned to see how the kids were doing on the food. Unsurprisingly, most of it was already gone. She noticed that most of the kids were dressed properly for the house, but not Jake. This was somewhat surprising for her, although he was a human.
"Jake, are you forgetting something?" she asked him.
-
"um....i know you prefer me to dress like everyone else but i'd just like to wear all my clothes" replied Jake, he tried to be as casual as possible although he let a slight bit of anger seep into his voice when he spoke, it wasn't much but still noticeable. Jake leaned over across the table and picked up a piece of pork and ate it "the pork is good..."
-
Veassa looked at him, at her adopted human son. She was not going to be so easily fooled.
"You're hiding something, Jake. Is it a tattoo? Did Adykon take you someplace no child should ever go? Because if he did-"
-
"no, Adykon wouldn't do that" said Rex "Adykon doesn't have time for stupid things like that".
"yeah, Adykon didn't take me anyplace he shouldn't have, and no...i don't have a tattoo" Jake was telling the truth, since the mark is a burn...not ink. "besides, if i got a tattoo Adykon would force me to get it removed...i think"
-
"Why not? Is it a dirty tattoo? Is it a picture of... Rhiga or something?" Sasha asked, curious.
-
Jake stared at sasha for 30 seconds before he spoke "...you can't be serious right?...."
Exodar and Rex both burst out into laughter and fell onto the floor clutching at their ribs due to the pain they were causing themselves by how much they were laughing. The entire neighborhood could here them.
-
Sasha took advantage of the laughter to reach behind Jake and, in one swift motion, grabbed his shirt and pulled it off, revealing his mark from the curse!
-
Jake jumped in surprise and began grabbing for his shirt to try and put it back on to hide the mark. Jake failed to grab the shirt and the laughter soon began to stop once everyone in that room saw the mark on jake's chest.
-
Vaessa took one look at the mark on Jake's chest. She didn't know what it was, but it did not look good.
"Jake?! What in the of- what happened?! Explain yourself to me, young man!"
-
Jake grabbed the shirt from sashas grip and placed it back on "for me to know, and for none of you to find out" said Jake with an evil glare "my business, and my business only..."
-
Vaessa was rather surprised at this. She had had a look a the mark; it was unfamiliar to her, but she remembered it well. Not wanting to jump to conclusions, she left the room and pulled out a book which contained an index of magical markings. Vaessa hastened to determine which mark Jake was afflicted with.
-
Jake cautiosly sat down while eyeing everyone judging whether he was going to get attacked or if they were going to tell everyone else..one thing was for sure...he wasn't going to let anyone just...walk out. "hmm....you guys don't say much..." said Jake with a smirk on his face "you guys look like you've seen a ghost"
-
The others were too stunned to react at the moment. Even Sasha was rather surprised at this turn of events, and this was a girl who had nearly been sacrificed to dragons after being captured by kobolds.
-
"not much to say really is there?" said Jake "it's just a mark, nothing much"
Exodar then decided to speak "yeah..but what does the mark mean?"
-
Meanwhile...
Adykon walked through the streets of the city, to the palace in which the party had put his toddler son, Kos. Although the boy was almost certainly asleep at this hour, Adykon just had to see him, if only because there was a chance that he might never see the child again.
Entering into the compound, the guards let the mercenary pass; they had orders to let him in. After what seemed like far too long a time, the Dracon father finally got to see Kos, asleep in a wooden cradle, curled up in a little white blanket.
"Hey, son." Adykon moved a hand over Kos' back, seeing if the child was truly asleep. He did not wake, but it seemed as if he was annoyed that someone was touching him, as the child just shrugged in his sleep and wrapped himself tighter in the blanket.
"Yeah, I get that a lot. Well, Kos, I've got to get going now. I don't know if I'll be back. If you don't see me again, try to forget me, live out your life here, and do what makes you happy. I figure someone deserves an easy life in our family. It might as well be you, my boy."
Looking around the room, Adykon kept talking, and although he was pretty much asleep, the young dracon was visibly disturbed by the speech coming from this large male whom he had only seen once or twice before. His little ears caught some of the speech "This room is so peaceful... -what all true warriors strive for..."
Eventually, Adykon finished his speech and left, and Kos muttered a single word that his father did not hear. "Night."
-
(OOC: This is just a narrative thead involving the time)
Eventually, day broke over Minbenthac. The rays of the sun crept over the city walls, and into the houses of all the city's dwellers. Despite having survived one assault on the city, the future was not at all clear for them. Regardless, all those who lived in Minbenthac were glad to see another day.
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Minna stirred from her bed as the morning sun drifted in though the opeinings in the wall.. She was still tired, but she knew she had to put it behind her, they had a meeting with the king shortly, and she had to be ready.
Ilsa and Margas had gotten up a little earlier and were already dressed. they were sitting on the front of the bed for a buit before heading out..
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Kelassa was still sleeping when the sun came out and glowed between the curtains of the window, still sleepy, she found the dun rays to be a nuisance so she used a pillow to cover her face as she accomodated herself so she will not face the sun. But when she was finally feeling comfortable again, someone knocked the door.
"Kelassa! it is time to get up, the meeting with the King will bgin soon." - It was Herril who is knocking at Kelassa's door. The male Psyonic was already dressed in very clean red tunics. After some minutes, he was listening at some of Kelassa's grumbles, he smiled as he waited for her to get ready.
For a female, Kelassa is quite efficient with her time to get ready. Even though female Dracons wear so little, she is still faster and more organizedthan the average female, so HErril didn't have to wait for too long.
In the mean time, Eriol returned to the room that was given to him. After spending all night in one of the Palace's gardens, he needed to shower and change to clean clothing. When he departed in his quest to hunt-down his wife's killer, he never really got any formal clothing, like the ones Gaeans would use in a meeting with a King... but he has met the King of Minbenthac before, so he knew that the best clothes he has should suffice.
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(OOC: This RP has moved to my site. I don't know if it will be brought back to the GoF or not.)
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its up to you Noname. I can move it back into the rp section if you want...
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(OOC: If you have anything more to say about it on the GoF, let it be in the discussion thread for the RP. You can find me at my site on the continuation thread for this RP. Eventually, the entirety of the RP here will be re-posted there.)
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sure thing. conversation over.)
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( One final post from me for this rp, in memory of all the good times before the rp turned into a pile of crap years later XD )
Jake's eyes began to dart from each of the people before him, from the Stranger Exodar, to his Mother Vaesa. All eyes were on him, and all eyes seemed to crave answers. Just what had truly happened to him in Hekaga? Taking note that their concern for his safety was transitioning into concern for what he was, Jake took a cautious step back. "Come now, it's only me" reasoned Jake, offering a slight shrug of his shoulders
"Yes, but what parts of you?" questioned Rex, having seen Jake driven to a violent reaction he didn't believe a word coming from his Brothers mouth. The words felt wrong, almost like they were poisoned.
"Sasha, you know it's me... right? I mean, I know I was off after saving your life with the trade... but seriously, i'm back now" he assured her, trying to get at least someone on his side. Clearly, it wasn't working. The stranger, Exodar, had already attempted to move up behind Jake, intending to subdue the Traitorous teenager.
Unfortunately, Jake had planned for such an event. "So be it." he stated with narrowed eyes, Jake showing his true colours he dashed to the side, avoiding Exodar's grapple.
"Jake please, stop this" his mother called to him, almost in tears as she realized what might have happened to her Son. The mention of Hekaga had put the fear of the Gods wrath into Vaesa, and knowing her Son had been missing there only made the pain worse.
Although Rex had helped Exodar to his feet, the two males didn't have much room to attack Jake, especially with younger Dracons about. Rex knew that if he wanted, Jake could use his alchemy to set alight one of them, using their clothes as a base material.
"J-just go." stuttered Sasha, wide eyed as she looked at the boy she'd fallen in love with. She couldn't believe this is what Jake had become... all because of her. If she was just a little more careful, she could be here with him, Jake laughing or making a sarcastic comment to someone... not this.
Scoffing at the response, Jake figured he'd done enough. He'd rattled his family, and potentially caused a divide. Not wanting to have trouble with the guards, Jake fled the scene, exiting the house and moving back the way he'd came, pushing through the poorer districts and soon into the sewers. He'd not killed anyone, but he at least knew where some of the group were. And where they were, chances are, the rest would be around soon to see what had happened.
Grinning to himself, the teen found somewhere secluded, intending to make contact with one of the Mages that the Prince of Hekaga kept in his employ.
( There we go, just felt I should leave something somewhat substantial for all the absolute crap I used to post here ha ha )