Fantasy Fading Flame (In Character)

[CrowOuttaHell]

Gaheris Agramar

It took a long, arduous battle, and one more command to the struggling armoured giant to hold the beast in place- that he couldn't act on as quickly as he wanted to, Gaheris had to remind himself sourly- , but at last, it fell. As it did, Gaheris ran towards the corpse- though this time the beast was not on his mind.

"Agramar!"

Despite the battle, and seemingly miraculously, his companions were still alive. Both guardsmen were injured to certain extent, though they had only bruises and a few cuts that needed treating- especially Lyle. Karl's armour had saved him from many a blow.
The blonde guardsman was looking towards Gaheris. The armoured giant had taken his own fair share- both friendly fire due to how awkwardly tall he was, and damage from the Devourer, though he wasn't looking as worse for wear as the others.

Lyle, on the other hand, was still staring back at the Serpent as his voice came to him.
"It's dead."

Stronger now, he declared the obvious again, if only to provide a little comfort to the other soldiers that had survived the fight. "The beast is dead! The beast is dead!"

All around him, Gaheris could hear the cries and shouts of wounded, possibly traumatized men delivering their thanks to the skies, to the Guardians, or just thanks for managing to survive another encounter. The adrenaline began to fade from his system as his senses were riddled with the sounds of victory.

It was also riddled with the untimely growl of his stomach. He couldn't help it- though the charred bodies of wolfhorses all around him and what seemed to be unfortunate insects that had either exploded or were crushed in the battle were anything but appetizing, it still brought to mind the memory of the roast meat back at that inn.

Just in time too. Other soldiers had found their strength again and were all but rushing to either what remained of the supplies or the beast's body. Gaheris trudged tiredly with Lyle and Karl as they approached the giant corpse, inspecting a claw.

"Look at these things," Lyle breathed. "You could make weapons that'll last us longer if we carved them out of those claws. Halberds, spears..."

"I imagine soon, we'll be carving up this thing like a pig on festival night," Karl chuckled, attempting to bring a bit of light into the conversation. "Don't pass out just yet Agramar. Our situations may be grim but it's victories like this that make it all a little more worth it."

Though it was invisible under the darkness of his cowl, the giant smiled.

 

[Trappy]

Hearthfall Season - Nightfall
Maria
The Clearing, Darkwoods​

• Reality Sequence
• Interacted / Mentioned

• 
  
  Finally, the serpent was meeting its end. It gave off the final struggles, seemingly knowing its demise had approached, as some other Guardians and the half-giant started moving in on it, finishing Margot's work. As Maria looked on, she sighed with relief, relaxing her muscles. Her entire body was numb. Though it was not the largest thing she'd used her 'gift' on. the beast was far too large to exercise her powers upon so suddenly without preparations.
  
  Still, things were not over however. As she gazed upon the serpent's final moments, she noticed that the mage had fallen from the tree. Was she wounded? Unconscious? Questions flashed through her mind at the sudden realisation without answers, someone had to break her fall. Maria quickly posed to channel her power, and with the release of her hands, and a sudden force interrupted the mage's fall, as her fast, and certainly fatal descent was visibly and sufficiently slowed, to the point where lady Lagarde seemingly resembled a falling leaf, gently and slowly departing a branch. Her beauty, as magnificent as it was with spells and enchantments, was greatly amplified by the colours of the starry night.
  
  During the mage's slow descent, Maria was making her way towards her. Although it was surely an effective move that contributed greatly to their victory today, Maria was familiar with the risks of employing bold spell-casting far from the Network, and further more, they were in the middle of Dark territory. If the mage had suffered any damage, it'd be better to have them taken care of sooner than later. On her way, she'd noticed the guardsmen. Some were on their knees, or sitting around the field near the serpent, seemingly traumatised by the experience tonight, and the loss of perhaps someone close. If she was not mistaken, they had lost a few unfortunate men in the chaos at led to the fight. The serpent itself had faced the finishing blow and had exhausted its last strengths, eventually collapsing and laying still like an enormous sculpture reflecting the luminescent moonlight from above, dead. The guardian's sapphire blue eyes brightened with relieve and a slight smile unknowingly drew itself on her lips as she noticed Cornelius within the group of survivors. The guardsman's face was slightly charred from the recent combat and his hair was a crow's nest, as he allowed himself no rest, and joined others to assess the remaining wagons as well as salvaging supplies from the ruined ones.
  
  As she closed in, Maria spotted no visible injuries on Margot, and so the preferred scenario was that the mage was simply exhausted. The girl reached up, catching the mage from her slow descent after planting her bardiche into the ground beside her. As she helped the lady stabilising herself on the grass, Maria spoke up with compliment.
  
  "T'was a splendid battle tonight. Are you well, mage?" Maria's words came out clumsily, but it was the best she could manage after using her powers so extensively.
  
  
• 
  Interacted: Vyseryx
  Mentioned: N/A
  

 

[QizPizza]

Audun the Fallen

Location: The Dark Forest
Status: Slightly Guilty
Disposition: Slightly Good
Interacting With: Pilgrim59
Mentioned: Midrick

By the time the battle with the serpent had started, Audun was half out of his armor and in the little bivouac Taryn constructed. It wasn't particularity impressive. His lance was used to prop up his canvas rucksack over the little tent, while his cloak was used to cushion the gravelly ground. Not caring about any threat, Audun had already undressed while Taryn nicked a blanket from some poor soldiers so they could keep themselves hidden.

When the first shouts of battle started, Audun already was on top of Taryn. He made a move to grab his sword, but Taryn placed her hand on top of the handle.

"Leaving so soon? We didn't even start yet. You already took off your armor and you can't go around showing your Corruption, can you?"

"Fine, better make it quick." Audun relented. He knew that he would lose all that he gained in the last decade or so. The Church would most likely execute him once he goes back if his fellow Guardians didn't do the deed themselves. The Seraph wanted to prove his worth in combat, but the risk he ran would not be worth it. It did not sit well with Audun that he was spending the duration of the battle getting laid with a Succubus, but he had his urges and it wasn't like he had any better options.

_______________________________________________________​

Once the battle was finished, Audun and Taryn were also finished and dress again. Audun opted to only wear a portion of his armor, leaving off the any armor from the lower half of his body. Taryn allowed her armor to take on the appearance of a revealing black dress. Her wings were exposed for the world to see, but she wrapped them around her shoulders like a sort of poncho. The two walked over to the corpse of the dragon, where several people had already started to scavenge the body.

Taryn walked over to the tail end of the dragon eyeing the remains.

"You know, I've heard that dragon scales and dragon bones make excellent armor. Mind if you get me some scales for a new dress? Thanks!"

"Fair enough." Audun set to work, yanking scales off the the serpent's hide. He eventually reached the tail, where he reached the tail, he found it damaged and on to verge of falling off. Audun only assisted the process by using his sword. When the tail was torn off, it revealed a section of bone. Curious, Audun slung his sword over his back and began to pull at it. The chunk of bone tore out of the serpent's flesh to reveal a shape ideal for a shield. The chunk of bone Audun wanted was attached to a larger chunk of bone, but Audun only hacked it off with his sword. His prize was a slightly rounded bone plate as tall as a normal man covered in blood and feces. Audun himself was also coated in blood, something he would have to take care of when they reached the river.

Audun handed the plate off the Taryn and prepared to continue his search. "Hold this, will you?"

"Ugh. I'm not holding that. You do know that is the pelvic bone of the dragon right?"

"So? You like things around that area quite a bit. Want me to get you a necklace of its cock?"

"Tempting, but no. You decided to stick you sword all around that area, and you should know where the anus of the dragon is."

"You're usually not one to complain. If the dragon's crap is really bothering you so much, go wash it off."

Taryn gave him a roll of her eye before walking off to find a source of water to clean the crap covered bone plate. After she went off, Audun went back and began skining a part of the dragon. He noticed the druid tending to the menacing knight with the axe, and recalled that a druid might be able to help him in enchanting the shield into something more durable than simple dragon bone. He went over to the white haired lady with a chunk of skin in his hands. "Druid, do you require any assistance? I require your services in creating a shield from this...chunk...plate...of bone." Audun did a small face palm, leaving a bloody hand print on his helmet. "Actually, I'll get back to you on the shield once Taryn comes back."

 

[Vyseryx]

Margot

With her mind hazed by a sudden influx of exhaustion Margot felt her fall being slowed, before she briefly lost consciousness. The sorceress was waken up by the Guardian’s question:

“T'was a splendid battle tonight. Are you well, mage?”

Margot flexed her hands and back and managed to sit, with her head spinning a little bit, before she answered:

“I’ve been worse.”

The Sorceress rubbed her face and looked at Maria. “You caught me, right? I swear, all I did those past two day was collecting debts.” The last sentence she said in rather jokingly manner, as Margot was raising on her still shaking legs. She stumbled a little, but leant against one of carts and managed to prevent a fall. “Uh… I expected spellcasting to be more… straining here, but this was surprising. But at least is seems like the Serpent is dead. And converted to trophies as I can see. Are the snake shoes still in fashion?”

Margot couldn’t really pinpoint which part of their situation made her crack a courtly joke, but she was still slightly too dizzy to care about sounding silly. And also, she probably wanted those boots. The sorceress made her way to the Serpent and looked at her staff poking out of its back. It was at least a two feet deep and there was no way for her to take it out without magic, but the thought of spellcasting right now made Margot instantly feel sick. So she looked around and spotted a giant close to her.

“Oi, thou,” the sorceress yelled to Gaheris pointing at the wooden rod. “Could you please, possibly, put that giant hands of yours to work, and extract my staff from this monster’s body?”

Trappy CrowOuttaHell

 

[Pilgrim59]

Hearthfall Season - Nightfall
Sashi
Forest Clearing, Darkwood​

• 1. Reality Sequence
• 2. Scouts Sequence
• Interacted / Mentioned

• 
  "Druid, do you require any assistance? I require your services in creating a shield from this...chunk...plate...of bone."
  
  The winged paladin's voice broke the truce of silence, as the druid met the man's approach with a certain sense of caution. Although his presence was more than warranted such a friendly concern, as he extended his words with care - to which the lady in white would accept with grace.
  
  "Negatory. But your generosity is well-received, O' chivalrous angel. Would you be a lovely dear and retrieve a few shards of the serpent's bones and a handful of its resilient hides, while you're at it? I shall assist you in your endeavors of crafting a shield, when the proper materials are gathered."
  
  "Actually, I'll get back to you on the shield once Taryn comes back."
  
  "Understood, I patiently await your procedure to follow suit."
  
  The two exchanged words, while the rest of the scouts team began salvaging what they could from the field in the distance. Sashi would signal Reverend over to her position, as he acknowledges her orders, and sprinted towards the treeline where the wounded Pat had been lullabied by the whispers of the midnight winds. Reverend examined the man's immaculately sealed wounds before looking up at his superior's peculiar aura, despite her simplicity in apparel.
  
  "Hammer, a hand with my stretcher if you would, please? Didn't take you for a field surgeon, miss Druid. "
  
  "Your humble druid make do with what she's got. Any clean bandages to spare for our knight here?"
  
  "Plenty in the wagons, perhaps some extra salista and motrino* would do him good. But his pulse seems to be stable." the Reverend said as he lifted his scrutinizing hand from the man's neck.
  
  "Very well, do what you can. I leave him in your care, Rev." the druid noted as she handed the Reverend some extra pouches of salista.
  
  "Appreciate it, miss Druid. We'll try to help you stock up later. Come on, Hammer, nice and steady. One, two... Up he goes."
  
  The druid's subordinate would migrate along with their patient away towards the convoy, where they would be greeted and escorted by some Imperial guards and field medic.
  
  
  
  Translation Notes
  1. Motrino: A sort of painkiller to accompany certain treatment of wounds. Generally used in the World of Light and consumed orally as grounded powder with water. The same composition as the Salista powder, but acts upon the central nervous system to ease/numb the pain, while does not act as an antiseptic substance (does not clean wounds). Its distinct odor and bitter taste is similar to consuming medicine in the modern world.
  
  OOC:
  N/A
  
• 
  The remaining scoutsmen kept their vigilant watch on the perimeter, as they gathered what is left of their expendable gears. They spoke among themselves, at the expense of the fading night.
  
  "All explosives and wires accounted for, Boar." Hiker stated.
  
  "The druid does good work, huh?" Boar rhetorically asked his two companions, followed by a brief silence in their gaze towards the lady in white.
  
  "Pfft. Just trynna win our hearts over. She ain't gonna woo me over with some hands-me-down medical procedure like that."
  
  Boar would grab Hiker by his neck, before patting his shoulder, along with Rook, whose bewilderment of the druid's acts caught him in a trance.
  
  "In time, corporal. She's a girl of heart. Anyways, y'all did good, come on, let's head back to the mistress as soon as we get our shit squared away."
  
  "Aye, aye, Boar."
  
  "Aye. On your six, boss." Rook sounded off, as he fastened his backpack.
  
  
• 
  
  Interacted: QizPizza
  
  Mentioned: N/A
  
  

 

[Kabboom]

Jericho

Standing around, Jericho noticed a weary frown revealing itself on Tharek's face as he looked up. The metal mending and the combat have taken their toll on the Giant, and despite their vast stamina and resilience, the straining of the mind can defeat even the biggest of creatures. As a leader, no, as a human being to another, slightly bigger human being, Jericho removed his left gauntlet and tapped the man on his undamaged arm, the warm humane touch of a hand grabbing Tharek's attention quickly.

"You can rest now, Giant. Your wounds will need treatment, but you need not worry. We'll take care of it." Jericho spoke in a normalized voice, his vocal chords still holding themselves together adequately despite all the enthusiastic screeching he was doing a moment ago. The gauntlet came back on, and the helmet went off, and Jericho himself suddenly felt something warm trickling down his neck. The impact was a bit rougher than previously thought, it seems, as a feeling akin to rubbing salt into a wound emerged with this discovery. Jericho's teeth involuntarily clenched together as he embraced the sudden sting. He must get this bandaged up post-haste; the Darkwoods is no place to be bleeding.

"Okay. I will. Thank you, Jericho." The Giant replied stoutly, giving his Claymore another hoist to keep it firmly within his injured grasp, and begun walking back to the wagon site, which is thankfully not too far from here. A few guardsmen soon came to his aid, quickly grabbing bandages accompanied with a surplus of Salista. As the Giant lumbered away, Jericho's ears begun receiving things other than a lumbering Claymore-wielding warrior. The endless coughing of a few guardsmen, whose close shave with a fiery death gave them a smokey lung instead. The shivering and whimpering of a few others, who were seemingly overcome with fear from that near-death experience. A familiar voice echoes within his head.

"Oi! Hands off the loot! We did all the killing, who gave you the right to take our shit?" Kwelek boomed, facing off against a succubus holding a peculiar bone plate. After poking in his mind a while, the name Taryn appeared, and Jericho begun approaching them. The succubus was... well, succubus-like; enticing and alluring in nature, ever so mysterious and seductive, with shadowy wings enclosing a lewd dress that doesn't seem to cover much, really. These things have been the scourge of many Imperial villages and households for as long as they've existed, what with the killing-men-after-they-fuck thing that the demons have going on, and Jericho himself has slain a sizeable number of succubi, both in defense of his childhood village and in the name of the Empire. So understandably, he was also rather worried when this one was added to their group, but he will stay his hand for now.

His Clarity can at least prevent the men from being swayed, and so his head wound ever so slightly worsened as he strained to use the ability. He arrived at the spot, eyes averting from Taryn as Kwelek seemingly swallows a lump in his throat at the sight of the leader. "What seems to be the problem here?" Jericho spoke with the calmest voice he could muster.

QizPizza

 

[CrowOuttaHell]

Gaheris Agramar

Despite the guardsmen's enthusiasm with tearing apart the Serpent's body for weapons, Gaheris remained heavily unaffected by their almost childlike excitement. Almost as if he was disrespecting Karl's earlier advice to not pass out, he leaned heavily on his sword and prepared to do just that...at least until a voice called out to him.

"Oi, thou!"

Usually he'd be at attention almost immediately, but all he could manage was to open his drooping eyelids a tad bit further and slowly turn his head towards the voice. All he could tell from his bleary eyesight was that it was a woman, at least, pointing at something.

The idea of having to look again annoyed Gaheris a little more than it usually would- perhaps Lyle's demeanor was starting to get to him. Nevertheless, he looked towards the item that woman was trying to get him to retrieve- a wooden staff, stabbed into the Serpent's back.

...How a wooden staff even got there in the first place was something Gaheris didn't feel like pondering over, but the question nagged at him in the very back of his head.

Then again, he was a Giant, and a slave no less. He wasn't supposed to question these things.

Pushing his thoughts back, he willed enough strength back into his limbs and scaled the beast's body with ease. The staff was embedded in its back rather deeply, but it was no problem for a man of his size and strength. All he had to focus on was not accidentally breaking it while pulling it out.

Carefully bracing his good arm, he began to pull out the staff, making sure it didn't accidentally splinter or break as he did. Giants were strong...perhaps a little too strong if they were unrestrained. And he was tired of being yelled at for accidentally breaking plates just by holding them tightly enough, back at the manor.

As soon as the staff was out- bits of bone and viscera clinging to the bloodstained wood- he jumped back down, presenting it to the woman with a stifled yawn.

Vyseryx

 

[Sybil]

Spessartite Phos​

The living rock formation moved out of the rampaging monsters way, half her face gone. Her vision was fractured, the view done in by the shattering of the gemstones set in her eye sockets. She growled and cursed, but it only came out garbled she noticed as her lower jaw had been torn off her head as well with a crystal and gemstone tongue hanging out of her rock trachea hole. The whole appearance of the elemental would be a bit jarring in total with the missing jaw, broken eyes and missing arms, but she soon calmed down as her refracted vision caught shots of the monster finally dying down from a magical blast and other sources of beatings. As she eased out of her aggravated and possibly more feral state, she stood up and looked around her to see many reflections of the small elf girl she was caring for. She tried to wave lazily but seeing as she lacked the limbs her torso simply turned slightly in the action. Another action that did no go as planned was her calling out.

Hey, you should have stayed away! That was dangerous!
"Glah, ouuh gylah lahh hy uhh! Gah rah aneou!"

-robert-

 

[-robert-]

Leafa

Before she could take action, the battle was suddently over, no more big and scary serpent things. However, something even more terrifying awaited her, the lady who took care of her all this time was badly injured, her eyes were shattered, she was missing her arms and jaw, her rock-made body was cracking. Some words came out of her mouth, but they were incomprehensible. The young elf was immediately worried, her mother always told her "Hurts heal with time.", but she knew time couldn't heal such injuries.

"R-Rock Lady! W-What happened to you?! P-Please dont' leave me... I-I'll go get help... p-please lay down."

Leafa looked around camp, nearly everyone was in shock due the fight, so they wouldn't be much of help. Some however did not seem as shaken as the others, so the elf decided that the best idea was to call out for their help. She was unable to scream extremely loudly as before, due to the shock of seeing her friend near death's door.

"Someone please help me! Rock Lady is injured! Please!"

Sybil @ Anyone around

 

[Sybil]

Spessartite Phos​

The living statue should have expected such a response, but due to feeling no pain anywhere she would frequently forget how bad of a situation it looked like she was in. It had been over 70 years since she had woken up in that dazzling cave, shut in no longer with her ability to move rock, but isolated and alone with no idea of time passage. The only sign of reference was the remains of her nomadic mining village, which was found in pieces with bones scattered as to indicate they had been long dead. A shock had kept the elemental there for longer than a year, sitting among the dead of her friends, still as the bones surrounding her. She found a resolve after that year, a resolve that bore a deep hatred towards the dark and specifically the types which she knew likely caused this massacre. Corrupted Guardians.

The elemental snapped out of their flashback daydream, shaking their head as they scanned their surroundings, finding a nearby boulder and heading towards it. Once there, walking with a slight limp, she would raise her head. After a slight lean back and head tilted up, she would slam her remaking upper jaw into the rock face, breaking it and catching some of the debris in their neck hole. They continued to bash their face and jaw into the rock and consume more, not wanting to bother anyone and more importantly not wanting to scare the small child anymore. She needed to consume to regenerate, and that would calm the elf. Once again she likely did not realize how it looked, for an armless person to slam their head into rocks it likely looked very crazy and bad.

-robert-

 

[QizPizza]

Audun the Fallen

Location: The Dark Forest
Status: Slightly Guilty
Disposition: Generally Good
Interacting With: Pilgrim59 Kabboom
Mentioned:

"Negatory. But your generosity is well-received, O' chivalrous angel. Would you be a lovely dear and retrieve a few shards of the serpent's bones and a handful of its resilient hides, while you're at it? I shall assist you in your endeavors of crafting a shield, when the proper materials are gathered."

"Of course, Druid" Audun nodded and set the materials he had already collected already. He returned to the corpse and dug deeper into the carcass with his sword. He carved the flesh carefully, anticipating the possibility that it could be used for food. He reached the bone of the dragon and began to hack at it with his sword. He came out of the corpse with shards of bone in hand and returned to the druid.

"Oi! Hands off the loot! We did all the killing, who gave you the right to take our shit?"

Taryn looked over at the protesting soldier. She was prepared to ignore him and maybe take care of him on a later date, but the man in charge, Jericho was it? She turned towards the man. He was short, even for most human men. He barely was at her chest's level.

"What seems to be the problem here?"

Taryn almost laughed at the man. He was trying so hard not to look at her and keeping his soldiers from being affected by her presence. She wanted to see how far she could push Jericho before he started to have nosebleeds and tried to pounce on her. However, the Succubus knew that if she did, the whole group would turn against her. That would make finding the artifact much harder than it had to be. Taryn set the bloody and dirty bone plate on the ground and spoke to Jericho with a hint of amusement. "Can't even bring yourself to look at me? That's no way to treat a woman. It makes them feel insecure when men won't look them. But there is no issue here."

Taryn glanced back at the soldier who stopped her and gave him a coy smile. She hoped that it would convince the man to ease up, but without her full effort, it wasn't a guarantee. She needed to maintain cooperation. "I was only going to clean this plate when he came and started accusing me."

"There you go. I'll see about the shield as you take care of you business. If you require my assistance, do not hesitate to ask." Audun wrapped the dragons bone shards in a medium sized patch of hide. He left the package in the hands of Sashi and then went to find Taryn. He went off in the direction he saw Taryn walk off with the dragon bone plate. It didn't even take him ten minutes to find Taryn being confronted by Jericho. "Taryn, what did you do?"

"I'm just trying to clean your bone plate, honey, but this man started to harass me."

Audun was about to tell her not to address him like her husband, but soon recalled that she had to set their relationship up as husband and wife. The Seraph sighed and brushed Taryn behind him. "I apologize if she has done anything to offend anyone, but what she says is correct. The plate is mine."

Taryn pressed up against Audun and whispered into his ear. "By the way, he says people who don't fight don't deserve to scavenge."

Audun took this in mind and spoke, "It is fine, I assisted the druid, Sashi, scavenge parts and she has allowed me to retain a portion of the salvage. We do not have to create a conflict over this minor issue."

 

[Trappy]

Hearthfall Season - Nightfall
Maria
The Clearing, Darkwoods​

• Reality Sequence
• Interacted / Mentioned

• 
  
  The Mage spoke of the serpent being split amongst the group as trophies and war spoils, and even going so far as to make a joke about Serpent-skin shoes. Maria paid little attention to the mage's jests, but she was reminded of her experience earlier, when her bardiche bounced right off the Serpent's thick hide when she attacked. This was but the first foe they've thus encountered when they set off into the Darkwoods, so the guardian deemed this concern urgent and felt the need to remedy this as soon as possible. The carapace that enveloped the creature they just fought deflected her blows, even when they were imbued by her powers. Seems like the best choice I've got here - the girl figured, but just how was she supposed to carve a few scraps out for the weapon was just a problem.
  
  She scoured her mind for someone who could help her with just that. The mage was right there with her, but Maria was not sure if Lady Lagarde was up for the task. Either way, the girl did not want to bother the mage with some more spellcasting, seeing her state after the fight against the serpent. One came to her quite abruptly, one who wielded a halberd fashioned from one particular alloy: Magisteel. And so, when the mage went off to ask a giant to gather her staff from the beast's carcass, Maria set off to look for Jericho Audaton. On her way, the guardian took notice of the druid and a few scouts nearby, who were helping and lifting the wounded back to the convoy site, when the matter of supplies arose in her mind. We'll have to go through the surviving wagons, and perhaps we could salvage some of the slain serpent to make up for the losses. We could butcher the beast and cure the meat for storage. Perhaps the druid could help us with that, she seems resourceful.
  
  Maria soon found Jericho standing beside a guardsman, confronting a succubus. Maria had not seen it help, or being anywhere near when the Serpent attacked the encampment, and now here it was, stealing the loot from under their nose. Once, she had been a soldier of the Regalian, and the Imperial Army, so naturally, the guardian had great resentment for these creatures famed for their ill intents and crooked, taboo practices. Their very existence were deemed vile by the girl, who had dealt with a number of these kinds which harassed her Legions during the campaigns. A thought crossed her mind that made the guardian question whether it was coincidence that the succubus and the seraph vanished just when the group came under attack, though she did not allow mere suspicions to take hold. On another note, no one robs a Regalian of his bounty, and Maria needed some of those scraps for her weapon.
  
  The girl moved in closer to the group and listened to what the sides had to say. Standing by her commander, Maria spoke up in a more serious tone, allowing traits of her previous occupation to take influence. Her words directed at the Seraph who just voiced his part.
  "Undoubtedly, conflicts should be avoided, for they will only fracture our company. However, I understand the guardsman's frustration and am inclined to press the issue on his behalf. The two of you did not participate in the fight, so stay off the looting. If you helped Miss Sashi, you may ask her for a portion of her share. But the rest of the Serpent is ours."
  
  
• 
  Interacted: QizPizza
  Mentioned: Pilgrim59 Vyseryx Kabboom
  

 

[Vyseryx]

Margot

“Thank you very much,” Margot took her staff from giants hands and frowned upon its state. It was bloodied and covered with a variety tissue scraps; when their scent reached sorceress’s nose, she bend to her side and almost threw up. Trying to breathe as little as physically possible, sorceress cleaned the wood, first with big leaves she found, then with sand and finally with a piece of cloth. It wasn’t in perfect state, but it had to suffice for now.

As she finished a weird sound reached Margot’s ears. A noise made by stones smashing against each other and crumbling. She looked around her and spotted what looked like Phos, eating away a rock in a manner that was honestly disturbing.

The sorceress quickly walked to the elemental and started drawing a circle around her in the earth.

“Asking for help doesn’t hurt, dear,” sorceress said with irritated voice. “You may be dead, reborn, made of stone and not the brightest one in the bunch, but I will not let you crawl in the sand, for magic’s sake.”

Margot quickly formed three runes on ground meaning respectively ‘earth’, ‘sand’ and ‘diamond’, and spoke quickly in language of spell.

“From ground to me, from me to the World. Mother Earth, allow me to borrow your strength.”

The circle flashed with a green-brownish light and released a cloud of earthen mana into the air around the elemental.

“Drink… or… whatever does your body do,” Margot said, as she thrusted her staff into the sand next to Phos, so it could also recharge a little from the circle. Today’s battle proved to sorceress, that mana battery would be crucial during this adventure.

Sybil

 

[Kabboom]

Jericho

As the succubus further tempted him with playful evocative words, Jericho's cheek slightly shifted, as an attempt to sneak a scoff of contempt and slight hatred. In that moment, the man was suddenly reminded of his seething anger at these monstrosities, these horrors of nature; the way they so nonchalantly continue on their charade of lustful murder. Jericho himself was not a particularly religious man, and so did not believe much into the Church of Light and its teachings, and part of the reason were these succubi: if the Lord of Light truly loved mankind, why did he create these damn semen-demons?

Turning to a more serious manner, Audaton quickly dismissed Kwelek with a hand gesture. The man quickly nodded, as if he were waiting for this all along, and quickly retreated back to the bulk of the men. The Guardian then faced the seraph and the hellion, hands grasping his halberd grip in an annoyed fashion, fingers constantly wrapping around the grip, as if he were a pianist playing upwards in a crescendo melody. One thing that puzzled him was the back-and-forth conversation between the duo, with the succubus being overly intimate, of course. The angelic paladin seemed to be the more sensible one out of the two, but that isn't saying much. After his last encounters, he has had enough of paladin folks.

A familiar voice perked up to his left, in the form of an orderly Maria. "Undoubtedly, conflicts should be avoided, for they will only fracture our company. However, I understand the guardsman's frustration and am inclined to press the issue on his behalf. The two of you did not participate in the fight, so stay off the looting. If you helped Miss Sashi, you may ask her for a portion of her share. But the rest of the Serpent is ours." She spoke clearly, evoking memories of a general barking orders. Her flow was smooth and almost perfect, making the man snap out of his trance-like state at the end of her 'speech'.

"Uh...yes, that. What she said." was all the Guardian could muster. "In our next battles, you will get a chance to loot if you partake in the fighting, but not this one." He then extended the hand towards the succubus who was now behind the seraph. "Now, hand over the plate, if you would."

​

"Awfully convenient for them to just show up after we've done the fighting." A slightly annoyed Maria exclaimed softly, once the duo were out of earshot. After the whole butt-plate ordeal was done, they've both decided to take a breather and go for a small, peaceful walk. Although, perhaps not quite small, nor peaceful, for they were both still in their full combat wear, clinking and occasionally scraping uncomfortably, and fatigued from the grueling duel with the now-dead super-size sock puppet with arms and fire breath.

"Mm, quite." was all the man mumbled in response.

"What do you mean, 'mm, quite'? They can't just walk in and take our loot. After all, it's rightfully ours, it's-" Maria begun explaining, perhaps overcome with confusion and slight anger. Jericho turned to her, stopping her words with his own.

"It is not rightfully ours." The air became a bit more silent.

"What... what do you mean?" a confused Maria asked again.

"It is not rightfully ours, that Serpent. That thing had its own life. Its own things to do. Its own worries. We, or rather, the bandits, have just pissed it off, is all. Didn't end well for him though," Jericho gestured to the now dead Serpent, its corpse beginning to reek. "And now that he's dead, what's his is now ours. That includes them too, you know." The duo resumed walking again, with Maria looking down towards her feet as she walked. "And besides, I don't think pissing off an angelic paladin and a succubus is a particularly good plan right now."

"I..." the woman tried to muster, but seemingly dismissed it. "Yes. You're right. Conflicts should be avoided after all. I will hold my suspicions at bay. Try to, at least." After a bit more of walking - the Serpent crashed ridiculously deep into the forest, and they were quite a ways from the wagons - Maria changed the subject. "Say, I've been thinking... perhaps you can assist me in a task?"

"Sure, what is it?" came the response.

"After the battle, I now realize that my steel alone is rather inadequate," Maria spoke as her eyes traced the outline of her bardiche's blade, almost reminiscing about her shortcomings in the battle. "And I would want to change that, starting with that Serpent's scales. I saw how your blade cut through the thing, perhaps you can cut off some of them for me?"

​

'This is surprisingly hard,' thought Audaton, as he struggled to find a good posture with which to hack the Serpent's scales off. His aching muscles were prohibiting his movements, making him huff and puff pathetically with just the mere movement of putting one leg in front of the other and lightly raising his halberd. The smell wasn't helping either, as a horrible concoction of dead fish, freshly exploded Wart-frogs* and rotting flesh assaulted his senses, going through the cloth that Maria passed to him when the stench became too much for both to bear. The woman wasn't doing too well either, with the occasional muffled gag pulling at Jericho's own sanity and eardrums.

"Say, Maria... what do you have in mind?" spoke a tired and muffled Jericho, as he begun chipping away at the scales half-heartedly, mustering the bare minimum of strength needed to lift his halberd, and then letting gravity do the cutting, bringing out nice chunks of slightly bloodied chitinous scales, with an outrageous amount of flakes falling off and collecting on the ground, consolidating in the deceased Serpent's blood puddles.

"Hmmm..." Maria pondered. "I was thinking of applying them to my blades, augmenting them. Especially the cutting edge. Oh, and maybe a spear tip on the top too. Oh, oh, and perhaps a bit of touching up the bottom edge as well, and maybe a spiked hand guard..." The girl soon went off the rails with increasingly ludicrous suggestions.

"H...Hold on will ya? I'm really tired." A truly tired Jericho mustered, interrupting Maria's ravings. "It'll take time and effort, so we'll focus on the cutting edge bit first, since that's probably highest on your priority list."

"The Giant, what was his name? Tharek? He seems to have metal-forging abilities. He can augment the blade for me." The Maria pondered, suppressing another gag.

"No can do, I'm afraid. The man is down and out for the time being. The abilities are very... taxing. Perhaps one of the mages? Sashi, or Margot?" Jericho responded.

"Aye. I'll have to ask them then, see if they are up for the task." Maria nodded to herself, before beginning to walk off.

"Hey, hey, before you ask them..." Jericho hollered at her, before bending down to grab the scales, brushing bits of dust and blood off of them. "Can you hold these? I'm tired."

"Must I?" She responded in a playful nagging way.

"Yes, you must.... Princess." Jericho responded, smirking at that last jab. Despite all the horrendous smells and the aching in his arms that seemingly burned to the bone, he was still capable of humor, it seemed.

Maria scoffed, averting her eyes for a second, before biting back with a smile, barely visible through the thick cloth she held to her mouth. "Fuck you." The scales were funnily balanced on one hand as she firmly pressed the cloth up against her nose with the other. Jericho thought it was a pretty funny sight, on the walk back.

*Wart-frogs: Small frogs, with natural wart-like growths on their backs as an evolutionary development, to store their extra organs in order to adapt to their completely vegetarian diet. This gives them the unfortunate quirk of combusting whenever the growths are punctured, or when the creature dies, leaving an unpleasant smell.

Trappy QizPizza
Mentioned: Pilgrim59 Vyseryx

 

[Pilgrim59]

Hearthfall Season - Night
Sashi
Forest Clearing, Darkwood​

• 1. Reality Sequence
• 2. Scouts Sequence
• Interacted / Mentioned

• 
  "There you go. I'll see about the shield as you take care of you business. If you require my assistance, do not hesitate to ask." Audun left his words with the druid's nod.
  
  Sashi began cleaning the adamant shards of its crimson stain with the brush that she had kept from her earlier works with the scouts. All was in Femosis's hands, as she saw, while she diligently tends to her work, with much experience from cleaning the metal scraps. Before long, she had finished her work, with handful of bone shards immaculately cleansed of the obnoxious fume and gory texture. Sashi followed through with the hides, accompanied by a few flasks and vials of water and Karaso* compounds, as it slowly mends the organic carapace without the needs of molten fires and hard steel. Fascinated and intrigued with her work, the druid concentration peaked with her hands stitching the hides and bone shards in a peculiar pattern. Before long, its composition and schematics had been laid out in shape, attended to by her magical spells and alchemy concoctions, of which had unleashed a few smokes and distinct aroma.
  
  "Mistress, must I, the executive adviser of your humble echelon, remind you that smoking lamps are still in effect?" a voice came up from behind her, as the druid turned around with her face all dirty from the alchemical aftermath.
  
  Hiker appeared before her with his hand casting aside his salvaged gears. The young lad sigh openly, before withdrawing a handkerchief from his padded tunic's pocket. His linen hand reached out to the dazed druid, whose unkempt visage would be wiped clean. She smiled, as he recovered his handkerchief with a reluctant, but earnest voice.
  
  "I'm sorry. Ya know what I think? You're a good person druid. That's what I think. Maybe some, if not all of us ain't... But I think you are. Heh... St. March, what the hell am I sayin'..."
  
  The druid wove her delicate hand through his padded tunic, before settling upon his beating heart. Pressing lightly upon the rhythm of the pathfinder's prancing heart, Sashi's soft words put Hiker in a trance of his own words.
  
  "Everything will be alright. I can see it in your eyes the moment I met you. You're trying to do good by your comrades, there was no wrong in it. I, like many other Guardians, cherish your sacrifices and efforts in this mighty struggle. Do not stray from your path, corporal, for I do not like to be treated softly."
  
  "Heh... By the divines, you are starting to sound a lot like ... " Hiker lowered his head, with the druid's hand within the confines of his.
  
  The druid extended her other arm and brought the weeping man within the rich textures of her own robes. Its fresh aroma of grass and lavenders instilled a sense of ease to the man's heavy heart. The smoking solutions of the bones and hide would cease to escape from its unattended idleness, while the minuscule critters of the forest would drown out the sorrows of the druid and the associate that was tucked in close against her soft bosoms. Her hands wiped away the man's tears, as she pressed her forehead against his.
  
  "It's alright, Hiker. Our seemingly fragile hearts are what makes us human and alive. Hold firmly onto this sentiment and never give your soul up for this."
  
  "I will, miss Druid. I promise." he held her tightly, like a brother to his endearing sister.
  
  "Also... Oh... Uh... Um... could you let me finish my little project, Hiker?"
  
  "Oh right.. sorry, miss druid!" Hiker quickly release his hands and let go of Sashi.
  
  The two chuckled as the druid continued her sowing and mending of the shards and hides. Before long, a few flashing light followed her muttered words, as the ancient speech would enchant the identical pair of gauntlets, of which would be reinforced by the approaching Rook, whose equipment was quickly cast into the work. Although the prodigal specialist had little words to follow, Sashi could see it in his shy gray eyes, whose apologetic and supporting course of actions was more than enough for her.
  
  "Hold the hide firm, druid." Rook spoke, as he applied a few more layers of leather and rivets to Sashi's crafts, giving it a smooth surface to slide her hands in.
  
  The trio stood up, after the druid performed her last lines of enchantment. Wiping the dirt from his face, Rook pulled up his scarf and tucked his chin beneath its warm cover.
  
  "Well done, miss druid. You seem capable for a forest dweller."
  
  "As do you, Rook, for a pathfinder."
  
  The druid's gloved fist would meet Rook's, as she gave her new pair of dragon-hide gloves a few swing. Its bony exoskeleton covered her fingers with a firm reinforcement, while the leathery interior kept her hands cool and conditioned. A few crunches followed, as she extended her fingers. The serpent's segmented hide proved to be an improvement over the regular pair of leather gloves. The druid launched her fist at a nearby tree, denting it enough to splatter a few splinters, while the fresh pair of dragon bone knuckles remained intact. She relaxed her palm, as the glove's exoskeleton crunches the splinters completely, shaking it clean of any debris. Rook and Hiker emerged from cover to see the druid's gaze towards them with a pleased smile.
  
  "This... this will do. Hiker, would you be a dear and tell Boar we move out within the hour? We'll need to find a higher ground since our rally point was torched by the serpent. Rook, I'll be borrowing some of your leather strips and rivets."
  
  "Right... Come on Rook, let us away."
  
  "Aye, make sure to restock it once you're done, druid." Rook said as he handed the lady in white a satchel full of leather and metal pins.
  
  
  Translation Notes
  1.Karaso compound: A liquid solution that is usually used to mend things on the go without decent forges and fire. Usually used to accompany the cauterization of wounds, but with enough input of magical channeling, it can be used to mend organic matters together. With skillful application, it causes little damage to the subject's organic skin/carapce as compared to heated steel.
  
  OOC:
  N/A
  
• 
  Hiker and Rook made their way towards the other side of the convoy, only to be met by Boar, whose presence put up a reprimanding, but smiling expression upon Hiker.
  
  "I saw that. That was pretty cute." Boar said.
  
  "Agreed." Rook nodded.
  
  "No way, y'all saw that? Shoot. If Reverend hears about this, he's gonna laugh. So no words will come out of both of ya." Hiker responded with concern.
  
  "I won't say anything either. Don't worry, Hiker." Reverend tapped Hiker on the shoulder.
  
  "Saint March, how long were you standing there, Rev?!"
  
  "Been watching since the 'You are a good person, druid. Maybe we ain't, but you a-' " Reverend mockingly pondered before rephrasing Hiker's words.
  
  "Enough enough, Rev. Y'all be on this for the rest of the week now. Goddamn it."
  
  "You bet your cute little ass we are. Hahahaha. Too late to redact those words now, corporal. All in all, the druid's our little buzzer now. Treat her like family, like she did us back there."
  
  "Hmph." Hammer emerged from the shadows of the nearby tree.
  
  "Oh lord, Hammer, you too? Since when did y'all started walking silently like that? Wait, we're pathfinders, that's what we do... But that's not the point! Don't grunt at that line, Hammer. You're not helping!"
  
  "I think... she's... a good.... lady. Too." Hammer spoke,
  
  "Saint March, Hammer spoke! This is like the day of revelations, gents. Why didn't you say anything after all these years, brother?"
  
  "Pathfinder... job... dangerous. But... miss Sashi... give... good feeling... so I spoke..."
  
  Hiker would sigh slightly, as the pathfinders made way towards their rally point with a few laughter to follow.
  
  
• 
  
  Interacted:
  
  Mentioned: N/A
  
  

 

[-robert-]

Leafa

THUNK

A loud sound echoed in her big ears, it was coming from behind her. Turning around out of curiosity, the young elf spotted a truly terrifying thing, the rock-made lady was smashing her head against a stone boulder continuously. Her heart started beating faster, why would she do that? Was she out of her mind? She was about to run to her side, but the sorceress lady, who had scolded her previously, stepped in. She did some kind of magic, and a green circle with shades of brown appeared around Rock Lady, it seemed to be healing her. Both curious and worried, Leafa went to meet the sorceress.

"H-Hey... M-Magic Lady... i-is she going to be okay? ... I don't want to lose her..."

Almost out of instinct, the young elf grabbed the sorceress's arm and attached herself to it, not even realizing what she had done, Leafa turned her attention to the Rock Lady, and watched carefully as the odd magic healed her body.

Vyseryx Sybil

 

[Soviet Panda]

Buras howled in victory as the tree impaled the wurm. Though in all honesty it was a bit early. However, that was soon rectified by a blast from a hand cannon. Once the beast fell, he made his way towards the head. He ignored those that hacked at it's body, looking for useful parts or collecting trophies as proof of the battle. He cared for neither. Not right now. This beast needed it's spirit freed. It was not it's fault for being awakened, and it was not it's fault that they had decided to sleep in front of it's cave. It's soul did not deserve to be trapped in a rotting carcass. And so, he reached the head. It's lifeless black eyes staring into the starry night. Raising an axe into the air, he slams it down with ferocious strength. The skull was thick, and so was the outer layer of cartilage that had protected the soft, if useless, eyes. But after a few more hammering blows, Buras could see the grey matter that was the creatures brain. Deed done, he slips his axes into loops at his side, and walks off to find some water to wash the blood off.

 

[Kabboom]

Jericho

As the Inuin, Buras, relished in some personal ritual of his own atop the Serpent's carcass, Jericho and Maria made their way back to the wagon site. Well, what's left of it, anyways. Some of their armor have been removed as to navigate around easier, with Jericho's gauntlets slinking around on his belt, his helm tucked away on his back, along with his Halberd. He'd also offered to carry some of Maria's discarded armor plates, but the noble-born girl naturally refused. For a while, at least. As he walked behind Maria, her helm in one hand and her bardiche in another, he couldn't help but turn his ears to the forest. The view was still terrifying as ever, but he'd been in Dark territory enough times to not freak out about it, but the sounds... even in the depths of hell, there are still songs, it would seem. The chirping of a few nightly birds, insects appeasing the mind with their calls, and a nearby flow of water, dripping away at the mind.

Audaton quickly snapped himself out of this, however. In such a place, time appears to be meaningless. An eternity of emptiness and ambience, able to make even the most strong-willed of men drop their guard if they dare appease it. And, as one of his mentors once taught him, that was the true danger of the Darkwoods. 'It is the silence, not the noise, that drives the man mad,' the saying goes. Jericho wouldn't have survived this far if he hadn't taken this lesson to heart. Maria, however, seems to be unnerved by the forest's visage still. She has probably been into Dark territory a fair amount, but it seems she'll need many more visits before she gets used to it.

Activating Clarity, to his mind's dismay, the girl seemingly eased up slowly, her breaths and frantic eyeing around calming down, her posture straightening up, as if she were just on a stroll in any other forest. Maria seemingly realised something had happened, and turned to face him. "Did you...?"

A simple nod sufficed to answer her question, and she in turn, nodded back with a smile. "My thanks, Audaton. You are too kind."

"No worries, Lady Theodosiel." Jericho paused for a while. "Say, what do you think about us? About the whole group?"

"I... pardon me?" The girl asked in confusion.

"Sashi, Margot. The Giants, Gaheris and Tharek. That fella back there, Buras. Phos, Leafa. And then those two, Audun and Taryn. Y'know, them."

She pondered upon this for a long while, with only the crunching of darkened leaves beneath their boots filling the air. And then, she spoke.

"The druid is... resourceful, but strange, to say the least. There's just something about her, that I can't seem to pinpoint yet. The mage, Margot impresses me, although based on the last fight, I am rather worried about her status, especially the effects of her spellcasting. And as for the Giants,... they're Giants. You must excuse me on the matter. And while I haven't spent much time around the rock girl and the Elfling, I must protest the latter's presence in our group. These woods are no place for a child, even if it is an Elfling."

"One hell of a group, huh?" Came a weary Audaton.

"Aye. My condolences that you have to lead this group. But..." Maria paused, apparently for dramatic effect. "...if you ever need help, I'm here with you."

As the girl continued walking, Jericho stood firm, fingers gripping tightly around her bardiche. The words echoed in his mind, with Maria's voice coalescing with another in his memories. "Still here with me, huh?" Jericho smiled to himself.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Let's move on."

​

"...Holy. Shit." The duo uttered at almost the same time, as they witnessed what had happened at the wagon site. The initial wagon that got hit by the fireball was burnt to a crisp, along with the horse that was tied to it. Apparently, in its death throes, the stallion thrashed around and lit two other wagons on fire, despite our men's best efforts to quench the flames. One guy even tried peeing on the burning wagons, but apparently some hot shrapnel shot up along with the evaporating piss and scorched his lower half. In total, about 5 additional wagons were damaged, with two of them having exploded into scrap, along with most of their emergency food rations and spare weapons. At least the guardsmen managed to salvage most of the goods before the flames consumed them.

The wounded were thankfully being treated by the girl, Lunala, along with the headless dullahan, the two doing their best to tend to the burns and scratches sustained during both combat with the Serpent and the wagon catastrophe. The girl is proving her worth after all. A tired Clanus came around, giving Jericho a salute before reporting. "Sir, we're down 250 units of food, and 10 Light Handcannons went up along with the wagons. We have roughly 20 wounded and 6 dead. 13 of the wounded have sustained cuts, bruises and other heavy injuries, while the rest suffer from heavy burn wounds. According to what the girl in the dress over there says, 5 of them won't make it past this night. We've managed to reestablish the rock perimeter before more Darkborne came 'round, but we're going to need more dead things around us if we want to be safe. Some of the men have tried to venture into the caves, but we've stopped them for now. I reckon the last thing we need is another one of them beasts to come out at us. That's all, sir."

"...Good work, Clanus. You did well. Take a breather, we'll take things over from here." Jericho patted on the scoutsman's back, as the weary soldier relaxed his posture. "Alright, first things first... Let's get your bardiche upgraded." Audaton spoke up to the girl, as he eyed a particular mage next to the rather injured rock girl. An Elf child seems to be clinging onto her arm.

"Good Mage, we have a favor. Using your magic, can you upgrade this here weapon?" Jericho spoke in a slightly forced voice, mimicking an intellectual as he held out the bardiche. "We have the materiel for it, and you seem to be the best person around for the job. What say ye, Mage?" In truth, she was probably not the best choice. The Mage was indeed tired, with her spellcasting and all, and Sashi seemed to be more inventive. However, seeing as Audun and Taryn would probably be nagging the poor druid for scraps at the moment, showing up would not bode well.

Trappy Vyseryx

 

[Vyseryx]

Margot

"H-Hey... M-Magic Lady... I-is she going to be okay? ... I don't want to lose her..."

A sudden tug jerked sorceress’s arm as a tiny elf grabbed onto it. Margot looked at her scared face, realising, that this small creature apparently got some liking for the elemental.

“Yes, she will be fine,” Margot answered assuredly, slightly startled by elf’s emotional reaction. “She is just tired, although being tired is slightly more… visual… for elementals like her.”

The sorceress looked around the place, searching for a reason to elegantly get out of child’s range, as Leafa’s sudden touch made Margot remember she wasn’t a big fan of anything sentient below the age of twenty. Fortunately it was the time when she was approached by the Guardians – Jericho and Maria.

"Good Mage, we have a favour. Using your magic, can you upgrade this here weapon?” the man asked. “We have the materiel for it, and you seem to be the best person around for the job. What say ye, Mage?"

Margot’s eyes quickly dashed between Maria’s weaponry and scales, as sorceress asked the other woman:

“What exactly would you like me to do with it?”

As she listened to Guardian explaining a desire to enhance blade with sharp scraps from monster, Margot tried to recall all of her magical crafting knowledge. She was not an expert in that field, but since she was directly approached by the two, she was not going to share that information with them.

“I will see what I can do,” the sorceress said, pointing at the relatively clear fragment of ground. “Put your bardiche and scales here. I will need some time to finish this off, come back in an hour or so.”

Margot looked at the scales closely. They needed to be reformed to fit the weapon’s blade. In theory, the mage had the abilities of transmutation mastered during her schooling in Ratthe. In practice, she hadn’t used them in six decades. With a small sigh, Margot reached to her bag, and took out one of the few books she held in there. She quickly flicked through it and found the chapter about alchemy, and with a stick she found lying next to her, she started drawing a transmutation circle in the ground, filling it with as much helpful runes she could think of.

When she was done, the sorceress started chanting quietly, allowing mana into the spell. She sat down next to the circle and took bardiche’s blade on her laps, reaching for a first scale and putting it to the metal. With a fizz, the piece of organic armour morphed… and then cracked shooting sparks in every direction.

‘Fuck,’ Margot cursed internally, waving her fingers, that the miss-casted spell had burnt. She sucked her index finger for a few moments and grabbed another scale, which ended up the same as the first one. And then the same happened to third.

Irritated, the mage started changing the circle, acutely aware that the problem was lying in her lack of experience and not in the spell.

‘Focus, Lagarde,’ Margot reprimanded herself. ‘This is second-grade alchemy, for fuck’s sake.’

Forcing her mind to calm down, the woman reached for the fourth scale. This time, it bent into a weird shape, but didn’t implode. And finally, on the fifth attempt, Margot had finally managed to attach a scale properly to the blade . Excited with her success way more than she probably should have been, the sorceress repeated the process few times, damaging at least two more scales in the process, but after around forty minutes, the blade was fully covered. It wasn’t very elegant, but Margot was unwilling to try to soothe it out with magic, risking the entire construction to explode under her touch.

She was ready to present the blade to Maria, as soon as the Guardian would show up again.

-robert- Trappy Kabboom

 

[QizPizza]

Audun the Fallen

Location: The Dark Forest
Status: Annoyed
Disposition: Generally Good
Interacting With: Pilgrim59 Kabboom Trappy
Mentioned:

"In our next battles, you will get a chance to loot if you partake in the fighting, but not this one. Now, hand over the plate, if you would."

Taryn was not eager to give Jericho the plate, but Audun wanted otherwise. "Give him the plate. There are plenty of opportunities to salvage another one from other animals. We don't need to provoke them anymore than you already have."

Taryn pouted at the Angel before reluctantly handing the enormous plate off to Jericho. "It's not like I wanted to keep on holding that shit covered plate." Once the commander took the plate, Taryn wiped her hands on Audun's armor. She strutted off back to her tent without giving Jericho and Maria a second glance.

"I apologize for lack of cooperation. She does not like authority very much. She will only listen to me." With that, Audun followed Taryn. He wasn't one to reprimand another, and it's not like the Succubus had done anything particularly wrong. However, the Seraph was still slightly annoyed. Maybe it was not being able to share in the spoils, but he did not participate in the battle, so it was only fair. It was child-like, in a sense, the way he felt. "You're exactly like a child, Taryn."

His partner gave him an unamused look. "Are you calling me inmature?"

"Of course. You're still young for a Succubus. You are hardly an adult."

"You're not exactly mature either, eating, drinking, and screwing without any thought of the consequences."

The Succubus hit a touchy subject with the Seraph. The Paladin bit back his anger and stopped himself from hitting his partner. Instead, he placed his hand on her shoulder and turned her around. "Please do not bring that up again. You know I do not like it when you bring up my...weaknesses" The last word was strained through his teeth.

On the way back to their tent, they passed by the corpse again. He was once again reminded of how his plate was taken from him. He realized that it wasn't the fact that he wasn't able to receive a shield, but the fact that the whole exchange was embarrassing. Some human commander had taken away what Audun had claimed and it hurt his pride. There were few people to challenge him in the past, and when ever they did, Audun simply challenged them to a fight. Most either caved in or immediately lost, but this was the first time he backed off of his own accord. His reasoning told him that beating the group's leader to a pulp would not serve to earn him anything more than overall disdain. In everyone else's eyes, Audun would appear to be a savage that could not control his greed or his anger. In the end, a bit of lost pride would not compare to being seen as unworthy, as much as it hurt him emotionally.

The Seraph practically dragged Taryn away from the dragon despite her complaints. Right now, his mind was a mess, and a good night's rest was what he needed, preferably without the assistance of alcohol.

"Aren't we going to ask the druid for some of the salvage? I might not get a dress, but a necklace would be nice."

"You are free to ask yourself. I need to rest. I trust that you can take care of this simple task." Audun let Taryn go and left her behind as he returned to where they would spend the night.

The Succubus sighed. Audun was just as childish as she was, and neither of them could help it. They were both young for their respective species and bring around a member of their rival species, much less opposite gender, brought out the worst in them. Or was it the best? Taryn did not like how Audun kept her from doing as she pleased, but it kept her from making extremely poor decisions in the past. On the end other hand, she had helped the Seraph relieve some of his guilt when she became his lover. He had someone to be loyal to, and that may have been all that kept him from breaking down. And for her, the forbidden relationship with Audun granted her a feeling she couldn't explain. Loyalty? Or was it love?

Taryn brushed the thoughts aside, reasoning that a monster that feeds by having sex with people and killing them in the act could not afford to form attachments like this. She went to Sashi the druid, putting on her "nice act" and a bit of seduction behind her words. "Sashi, might I ask that you spare some bone shards for me and my partner? I would appreciate it very much...and, I'm willing to pay you back in any way you wish."

 

[Midrick]

There was blackness all around, nothing... no sound, no light, no struggle. Pat was out from the drugs the woman who saved him gave to him after his misadventure with a tree. It was deep blackness no coherent thought crossed his mind. Little did he know it but he was being moved by guardsmen and scouts who took over after Sashi had finished with him. He started in his sleep, a twitch no one thought anything of it at first just a bodily reaction. He was starting to remember now, the drugs were starting to ware off. He stared to remember the feeling of what be was doing, what he had become when his thirst for vengeance had been sated those yeas ago. He remembered the feeling of the axe head tearing through muscle and bone like it was wet paper. The blood flowing freely around him. The arterial sprays of the dying against his face. The taste of death and all it entailed. It had unlocked something inside of him, something dark... not like the dark borne or the foul spawn, something in his mind and body that allowed him to do incredible but extremely brutal things effortlessly. Although magic never ran strong in his family he believed it wasn't impossible for him to be born with some anomalies that lay dormant until given the opportunity to make themselves apparent. He was coming out of it now, his senses were still dulled everything was hazy. He saw people moving towards him they were yelling, he didn't know why they were yelling and it threatend him. The first scout came at him trying to restrain him, although Pat's reflexes were off he was still quick enough to throw the man into a wall. More tried to restrain him and eventually the scuffle spilled out onto the grounds outside of the medical tent. It was obvious that he was having trouble coming out of the drug induced sleep. Although the guards held him down in his weakened state they wouldn't be able to do it for long.

(Anyone who wants to inetract)

 

[Pilgrim59]

Sashi

Hearthfall Season - Nightfall
Sashi
Forest Clearing, Darkwood​

• Reality Sequence
• Interacted/Mentioned

• 
  
  Looking up at the charming temptress, Sashi quickly got up to be asked for her share of the serpent's ligament, of which was now seen as trophies among the Guardians. Her eyes locked onto that of Taryn, and from what she have seen, were all but void of life in the crimson glow of the devilish enchantress. Her dark hair flowed forth like tendrils of the ancient exiles that lurked beneath the texts of the unspoken grimoire. The druid sliced through the succubus's facade with her still, yet vigilant amber eyes. Of the enticing aura that emitted from the bodacious lady in black, only the haughty and cruel persona dictated the druid's judgment of the woman.
  
  The druid yet blinked and briefly scanned the horizon, where she partly comprehend the situation with little words to speak. Perhaps it was her wisdom from the years spent in tranquility that heightened her sense or perhaps the hands of Femosis had instilled a certain knowledge of the ancient texts. Dwelling little under the moonlit shades, Sashi sighed slightly, as she cracked an ambrosial smile at the temptress before her.
  
  "Of course... and your company, is more than warranted for our august body of heroes. While it troubles me that you both have failed in your endeavor to retrieve your share of the prize. Please, await my return, perhaps my words will beg for the better, and if all is well, you might get your shield."
  
  Sashi handed Taryn her satchel full of the leftover materials that she had yet to used - all in pristine condition, having been brushed clean by her hands. The druid took off, waving the succubus away, as she heads towards Maria and Jericho. There, with all her might, her soft voice uttered before them.
  
  "Good work, you two! Say, how about a drink? And possibly talk about the very thing that troubles my mind, perhaps not spawned from my self-interests, but perhaps out of sympathy... Which in turn would go against my very nature... Ah! I will just be out with it. Will you, with your hearts and love for the world of Light, kindly permit me, your humble servant of Femosis, to take into possession - the serpent's plate? T'is not for my well-being of course, but out of my.... colleague's need, how bleak it may seem that he had bypassed his voice for it. Like all men, he has his pride, especially that of the winged knights. I believe, with all my heart, that... perhaps it may not be just for his sake, but for us to all recognize in ourselves, that benevolence are taught and learned from each other, and not just passed down by words. That is all I have to say about that. Will you now, share that light in you and plant the seeds of benevolence in the angel's heart?"
  
  
  Translation notes:
  N/A
  
• 
  Interacted: Kabboom Trappy
  
  Mentioned: QizPizza
  
  
  

 

[Sybil]

Spessartite Phos​

The elemental had made decent advances at devouring bits of rock before being discovered by the sorceress, but her healing process was slow when outside of any dire situations as it risked too much to use normally. Spess did not notice Margot until the magical circle activated, to which their body began to shiver and tremble as it soaked up the mist-like magic. Soon their endoskeleton of precious gems began to grow in all colors, the arms coming back before the jaw. After the ‘bone’ grew where they had lost limbs, slowly rock began to fly up and cling to their body, forming new ‘skin’ for the girl. Soon enough the elemental stood up straight, letting out a long sigh and stretching their arms before turning back to the quickly disengaging sorceress.

“Ey.... yah ‘eal me 'n barely say ello.....” A corner of their lips lift in displeasure, but she soon sees the small elf and dons a smile for her. “Youngyin! Sorry bout that, had some hardship! You aight?”

Vyseryx -robert-

 

[The Outcast]

(Hi, I couldn't help but notice the name of the rp? Is this inspired by dark souls? Or no?)

 

[Trappy]

(Hi, I couldn't help but notice the name of the rp? Is this inspired by dark souls? Or no?)

Welcome! It is indeed inspired by Dark souls, now would you mind bringing our exchange to the interest check, (Fading Flame Interest Check (ALWAYS OPEN))
Or PM? This is the IC thread, you see. x)