Fantasy A Fresh Start (Closed)

[matzi8qr]

Snippet

Snippet, with her shirt above her nose blocking out the overpowering scent, worked the leaves until they formed a tough enough rope. She got up and headed South, bordering the lake and headed to the forest surrounding the hill she woke up on. She searched the forest floor for a long, straight branch. After a few minutes or so of looking, she found one, but it was still attached low to the tree. She jumped up and grabbed the branch, hoping that her weight would break the stick free. Seeing that this wasn't enough, she let go of one hand, unsheathed a dagger and sawed at the base of the branch until it was cut free and she and the branch fell to the ground. "Finally..." she said. Snippet twirled the branch around in triumph and began tying one of her daggers to the branch, creating a makeshift and shoddy spear. "Time to go fishing!" she said, making her way back to the lake.

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

Lothar

Lothar looked at the deers with curiosity. They seemed a bit too competitive about eating the berries. Were they hungry? Did something prevent them from eating the berries? Or were the deers naturally like that due to a hostile environment? There were a lot of questions that came to his mind, but no answers that he could discern at the moment. Thus, with his bucket of water and berries, Lothar set off to go back to the Estate. He wondered if the Guardian ate or drank anything. Regardless, he had some work to do to make the place a bit more habitable.

 

[June Verles]

Erik's eyebrow rose in surprise at the reaction of the raven to the death of the turkey only to quickly rush and feast on the carcass. He shrugged not really caring and as he continued to drag the corpse by the neck to the Mutt's Vigil. "I named it because it will allow for quicker communication once the other humans find me, I don't entertain the thought but it will inevitably happen and if I am not with them I am against them. Don't ask why I am not a fan of my kin, I can't remember anything about me other than my name. Anyways, I didn't expect you to give me a lesson about greed when you eagerly feast on my fight to the mutts" Erik chuckled, seems like his encounter with the golden raven gave him a better mood.

Luckily for him by then he would have come close to his destination if he saw any of the mutts near the gate he would lob the carcass towards them and sit down to await their reaction.

 

[Ubertide]

It would seem that, perhaps, the woman was in too much shock to respond to Giovanni's greeting and so he would be left with a choice, either continue on to the fortress or investigate those humanoid figures on the other side of the river, roaming the rocky foot hills aimlessly.
L llamatime

By now it would be high noon and the sun would be bearing down on the dome, making the desert unbearably hot to the point that the air itself seemed to be dancing like water. It would still be nice and relatively cool near the lake though and the fish certainly hadn't run off anywhere! It was just her, the lake, the Terrorguard Chapel, and an odd clicking noise coming from...underneath the sand behind her?
matzi8qr

Guardian would be exactly right where Lothar left it when he returned, just standing there inanimately. It would move slightly to turn its head to look at him, "I...see you...were...successful."
Heyitsjiwon

The raven took a moment to preen itself, wiping its beak off onto its wings before it followed after Erik with a slow, methodical gait. "I suppose that makes sense, but I doubt you'll find much in means of cooperation if the others are anything like little Snippet. Doesn't seem to trust anything, that girl." The bird cackled, hopping a bit as they neared the ruined fortress. "Look my friend, even us birds know we are delicious. I am surprised your fool friend didn't spend its last moments trying to eat itself, you wouldn't believe how many times I've seen it happen." Once they were just outside the fortress the bird would pause and just watch, tilting its head side to side as the dogs took notice and started growling at them, only to instantly pounce upon the carcass as it was thrown in their direction. Many would still be somewhat apprehensive about them, but their attention would be more on the bird than on Erik at this point. As if they were afraid of it. "So...Are you going to try and go in?"
June Verles

 

[llamatime]

Giovanni
It looks like he had no choice. After getting back on track he took a glance to the foothills and noticed the shadowy figures. Something in the back of Giovanni's mind was telling him to check it out, but he knew better. Just like all the other creatures he encountered today he didn't know what they were capable of, but he made sure to remember this when he had some back up. So after ignoring the figures for the time being he continued his way to the fortress hoping to learn something about this place, and hopefully find more people to "help" him. He made sure to remember that woman just in case they meet up again, she could still be useful after all.

 

[matzi8qr]

Snippet

"C'mere little guy... and... now!" she said, thrusting the makeshift spear through a fish. It was small and she probably just ruined the best part of the fish, but should be enough to silence her stomach for now. Snippet took the spear out of the water and smiled to herself, impressed at how quickly she actually got something. She wiped her brow with the back of her left wrist while holding the spear in her right. "Now I just need to clean you up and get a fire going. Granted, I can probably just hold you up and cook you in the sun," Snippet said. She took her next meal off of the spear by its tail and turned to make her way back to the chapel when -- click... click...

Snippet froze where she stood, head turned to her left where the noise came from. Click... click... Her knuckles turned white on her spear. Click... click... The noise was getting louder and closer. Snippet swiftly threw the fish into the sand near the flowers. Her left hand went to her hip for her dagger, which was still impaling the flowers. "Fu--" Click. She mentally facepalmed at how she stupidly left both daggers unusable in the way she wanted, so brandished her spear towards the sound of the clicking.

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

Lothar nodded towards the Guardian, and set his bucket down. "Help yourself. Found some berries and got some water." He then turned to the barn to retrieve the various tools. He planned to do some work to make this place a bit more habitable. He would clean up the place and hopefully make some needed repairs. Perhaps, he could retrieve the mattress from the collapsed bed? Regardless, this would be base camp for him and the Guardian would ultimately help keep him safe especially at night. With that, Lothar set to do some much needed maintenance work on the estate.

 

[June Verles]

Erik ignored whatever the bird was telling on the way there, even with the small amount of time they've spent together Erik has already figured that it would be better to ignore it 60% of the time if he didn't want to get irritated. As he threw the carcass he expected the dogs to be fully focused on the food but they were still cautious. The interesting thing was that they seemed to be cautious about Erik's companion rather than himself. That paired with the bird's question, it only made Erik more curious. The tall man sheathed his spade at his side and answered the bird's inquiry;

"Well, I already planned to give the inside of the Mutt's Vigil a look, for who knows what. But now that you seem so interested it piqued my own interest even further and it would be rude for me not to enter after offering the hosts a gift right?".

With that, Erik calmly with calculated almost mechanical steps as to not pose a threat to the mutts, made his way inside the fort.

 

[ShakinMcBacon]

All was darkness, then a cascade of light as Thalen opened his eyes. He lay on his stomach in the soft grass which swayed gently in the breeze. Rising slowly, he took in his surroundings; atop a grassy hill surrounded by thick woods, with mountains looming like watchful giants in the eastern horizon. Clambering to his feet, he brushed himself off, and noticed the leather glove on his right hand. It was a soft, supple leather, well worn but devoid of marks of use. It wasn't familiar to him, yet he still felt there was nothing odd in its presence, as if he had always worn it, and always will. A long sword sat in it's scabbard on his right hip, and he drew it with a silent hiss. Again, he felt no memory of it, yet it was perfectly balanced in his grasp and felt as if he had wielded it for many years. Now it occurred to him that he had no memories, save for his name and a void that whispered prophetic words in the quiet hours of night. The son shone brilliantly, and nothing seemed amiss, but something about the ares seemed off.

Who was Thalen Frostvein? Why is he here? What is here? The questions swirled like rising sparks in his mind. Perhaps by looking around he could answer some of his thoughts, and he spotted what seemed to be the roof of a crumbling manour to the south. Civilization perhaps? Answers? With naught better to do, he set off in its direction with the warm noon son bearing down on his neck, and the thick leather glove a calming weight on his right hand.

 

[Ubertide]

As Snippet turned to inspect the clicking noise, she would notice a couple of shuffling lumps under the sand near where she had pinned the flowers down before. The clicks would become more pronounced as the sand slowly shifted away to reveal the bright red shells of two house-cat sized beetles. They would bear some resemblance to Atlas beetles, having shovel-shaped horns on the front and big sturdy shells. They wouldn't really seem all that immediately interested in the girl as they shuffled instead to where she had pinned the flowers.
matzi8qr

The golemn slowly lowered it's head to stare at the offering for a moment before it intoned flatly, "I do...not need...human...nourishment. But...thank you." It then slowly lumbered over to inspect what Lothar was doing next. "Will...you...need...assistance...felling...trees?" It lifted its giant cleaver arm in demonstration as it spoke. "Perhaps...I can...help you...rebuild...fortifications. I am...sure the....Master...will...be...most grateful."
Heyitsjiwon

The raven wouldn't make any moves to go in with him, "By all means, go introduce yourself but I doubt you will be getting through to whatever dwells in there. No telling if it even resembles what it once was anymore." It let out a short, almost mournful cackle as it hopped up onto a crumbling wall. "I can certainly keep these mutts from following you though; dog happens to be rather delicious as well, you see!" It threw its head back with a delightful laugh as it spread its wings out, its shining feathers likely being easily seen by the slowly approaching Giovanni off in the distance.
June Verles L llamatime

From up on the hill it would seem much had not changed from how it was earlier in the morning, but he would most certainly be able to see what appeared to be a figure of some kind near the estate! And as he got closer and closer, surely he'd hear that strange, rumbling voice of the stone Guardian as well.
ShakinMcBacon

 

[llamatime]

Giovanni
He kept walking towards the fortress keeping his focus on the structure. That is until he noticed a blinding light where his destination was. He was sure that someone was there, and picked up the pace as he dashed over the river. When he was close enough he decided to make contact. "Hello? Is someone there? Where are you?" He asked in a hopeful tone. He took of his glasses and reflected light back towards the source.
June Verles

 

[matzi8qr]

Snippet

Snippet watched as the sand displaced itself and revealed the bright red beetles that seemed to want the flowers she gathered. "What was I expecting, some sort of sandwurm or something? Massive beetles are better, I suppose," she said, sighing in relief. Snippet held the spear in her left hand and approached the pinned flowers, making sure the beetles didn't make any move toward her or her fish. She picked back up the fish with her right hand and watched the beetles come closer to her tumbleblooms. "Guess they like the smell," she said, still eyeing the beetles as she pulled the dagger out of the petals with three fingers of her right hand.

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

Lothar nodded at the Guardian and replied "Sure, we can start rebuilding some of the fortifications. I don't know how much help I will be with these old tools, but they should hopefully get the job done." With that, he set off to some of the near by trees with the tools that he found in the barn, and began to start chopping them down so that he could start rebuilding the estate a bit.

 

[June Verles]

Erik was about to enter even considering the raven's threat. However he was stopped by the sound of someone screaming, the bird's wingspan attracted another human. Erik looked inside the fort one last time before sighing and turning back, he walked behind of the Raven to see a short man with broken glasses. He sighed again at the look of the lad and then went up to him in a nonchalant way. Once close enough he extended his arm to greet him with a handshake;

"My name is Erik, how about you?".

 

[ShakinMcBacon]

As the building grew nearer, Thalen could make out a few more details; a low stone wall, a squat tower, what seemed to be a stable, and the manour itself, all in varying states of disrepair. The crumbling estate had at first seemed unoccupied, but Thalen could now make out the figure of a man and a larger humanoid. Coming yet closer, Thalen slowed, crouching quickly behind a mossy boulder to observe the two figures, the larger of which now seen to have long arms and made of a crimson stone or metal. The man was broad-shouldered and athletic, clothed in a verdant cloak and now cutting down some of the smaller trees near the estate. Thalen noted the scabbard at his side, as well as the athletic build of the man. If a fight were to happen, he wagered it would be even, as for the thing, it seemed passive enough. It also looked like they were alone, so Thalen decided it was safe enough to approach, how else would he receive any answers to his questions?

Stepping from his cover, Thalen approached with his right hand gripping the hilt of his sword casually, but ready to angle it so he could draw it quickly with his left, if need be. He stopped ten metres from the man, keeping well away from the red creature.

"Hail sir, are you able to inform me of what kingdom this is?" Thalen called to the cloaked man, his tone neither friendly nor hostile.

Heyitsjiwon

 

[Ubertide]

Noticing the arrival of another human figure, the Golden Raven let out a short laugh as it clambered along the walls of the fortress to get a view of Giovanni. "My my my, you come in all shapes and sizes don't you! And what is that lovely little thing in your hands there?" It asked as it hopped down from the wall and scuttled over to inspect the man's glasses with an envious eye. "That little prize would look right at home in my nest." The dogs would keep an eye on the raven, having pulled the turkey into a corner to safely eat while these strange things invaded their home.
June Verles L llamatime

The beetles would not seem interested in the fish as instead they swarmed the flowers, fighting over them as they started biting at the center from which the sap was bleeding out. They would only acknowledge her presence when she removed the dagger and jostled the flowers, causing for the pair to threaten her with clattering mandibles.
matzi8qr

Nodding lightly, Guardian would move to a nearby tree and swing its massive cleaver at it with surprising fluidity, nearly felling the thing in one fell swoop. With little effort, it would remove its arm and swing again, this time bringing it down quite easily. There would be no denying just how useful and powerful this being could be! It would be about to move on to another tree when Thalen emerged, prompting it to stand still and stare down at him. "These....lands...belong to...the Master. Are you...a....friend of....Lothar, or...foe?"
Heyitsjiwon ShakinMcBacon

 

[llamatime]

Giovanni
when he arrived at the fortress he was about to great this new human, but was sidetracked by the large golden raven who seemed to want his glasses. He pulled them back to his face and replied with caution. "I'm sorry but I really need these to see. Not all humans are perfect." He glanced at Erik's missing arm. "Your friend can probably testify to that." He grabbed Erik's hand with a firm but gentle grip and shook it. "I'm Giovanni. I hope we manage to get acquainted on our stay here. Although I'm not sure if I want to stay here." He turned his attention to the fortress after he was done greeting him. "Have you managed to find anything here? Anything on this place or anything that might improve survival?"
June Verles

 

[matzi8qr]

Snippet

Snippet backed away from the flowers with her dagger. "All yours, little guys," she said. She sat down at the edge of the lake, watching the beetles fight over the flowers as she cleaned her dagger and nimbly prepared the fish to be edible. She didn't know how she knew how to skin, gut, de-bone, and clean the fish with such efficiency, but she did, and she buried the inedible parts under the sand. Remembering that she needed a fire, she walked all the way back to the forest, gathered some dry wood, walked all the way back to the desert, built a fire on the lake bed, angled the spear with the fish for it to cook over the fire.

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

Lothar looked over to the new arrival and said to the Guardian "Looks like we have another visitor... I'm afraid I don't know this person either... although I suspect he also just recently woke from the top of the hill." He then loudly said back to the man "Nay that I am not. I suspect we both find ourselves in similar positions." He then looked at the Guardian who clearly was cautious about the new person. Similar, but not quite the same positions...

 

[June Verles]

Erik wasn't beginning to like that bird any time soon, he showcased all the traits of humans that he didn't enjoy but at least it had some informational value so he would leave it alone for now. The biggest attention taker, however, was the new person he just met, the first person he met since he's been here but unlike he expected he seems to be decent. Erik sighs and then responds to the barrage of inquiries; " Nice to meet you, Giovanni, my name is Erik. I was planning to head in but you caught me before, I would invite you to come in with me but I should let you know that the bird has advised me against going in."
L llamatime Ubertide

 

[ShakinMcBacon]

Thalen eyes narrowed suspiciously after the guardian spoke, glancing at it before returning his gaze to Lothar.

"Friend, if he deems it be, now who is this 'master'?" Thalen asked, using the time to study the guardian closer. Now he could see it was formed of stone, and had a wickedly long blade as one arm. He dismissed his previous notion of it being passive, and decided upon a more amiable approach. He turned his attention to the man.

"Who are you? Can you explain anything to me? I'm a traveler from a town not far off, and have lost my way," Thalen lied, but figured it would be enough to gather enough information. For all he knew, this man could simply be a bandit or poacher.

Heyitsjiwon

 

[Ubertide]

"Hmph! Very well." The Raven scoffed with a light toss of its head before watching the pair converse. It wouldn't say anything until it was brought up again, "Well it's certainly safer in there than it is in most places...But some things are best left to sleep where they lie. And who knows, the two of you may come to a disagreement in there, as all humans are won't to do!" It cackled at that cryptic warning before hopping down onto the ground. "If you go in, I can make sure the dogs do not follow. In fact, I can do one better and offer you each a feather; perhaps that will make them think twice before attacking you... I am sure you both could return the favor once you're more secure and well rested." It tilted its head to the side rather smugly as it spoke, clearly scheming something.
L llamatime June Verles

With Snippet backing away to leave them to their own devices, the beetles would swiftly return their focus to gutting and drinking the moisture from the flowers rather desperately. At the very least, it seemed that she wouldn't have any further interruptions as as soon as they were finished, they would scuttle off back under the sand and disappear.
matzi8qr

"The Master... is the... king ....of these ...lands... although he... has ...been away... to... the... fortress ....to fight... the ...war for...some...time...now." The Guardian answered slowly before it allowed Thalen to speak his case. There would be a long, long pause before guardian spoke rather bluntly, "There...have not...been any...travelers...from any...towns...for...a...very...long....time. Lothar...is...the...only other...I've seen...for...centuries."
Heyitsjiwon ShakinMcBacon

 

[llamatime]

Giovanni
He sneered at the raven before turning back to Erik. "Well I was actually passing by." Giovanni gestured to the wooden structure in the distance. "You see I'm on my way over there. Seems like the best place for me to stay at the moment. But I could accompany you if that's alright with you." He focused on the dogs, and then focused on the cave itself. "Just how tough are these mutts anyway? I mean they don't seem as bad compared to what I've encountered."
June Verles

 

[matzi8qr]

Snippet

Snippet turned her spear, roasting the other side of the fish. A drop of fish fat fell into the fire and sizzled for a second. "Lady in blue, huh," she said, looking into the expanse of desert before her. "Shouldn't be too hard to find in a featurless plane such as this." Her eyes went down to the flowers, which looked shirveled and drained of water. A gust of wind came and blew the tumbleblooms away from their death spot. "Water and food might be an issue. Maybe I can learn from these beetles here," Snippet said, taking the fish from off the fire. She took her other dagger, cleaned off, and cut into the fish, checking the doneness. Satisfied, she took a bite. "For now, I'll stay where I know is food and water."

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

"A town you say? So there is civilization around! Although... I do not remember seeing any signs of life around the area on top of the hill. I am Lothar, though I remember not much beyond that other than these lands are foreign to me and that I awoke on that of the great hill to the north with others. So traveler, do you know about the region? What town is nearby? Perhaps... I need a healer as I seem to not remember much about myself at all. I fear I may have injured my head or something." Lothar asked. The stranger's story didn't add up, which made him concerned and led him to asking his prodding questions. His hand started to slowly and casually rest on the pommel of his falchion. The Guardian has not seen a person in centuries, which indicated that there was no nearby village or anything of that sort.

ShakinMcBacon