Fantasy Setting Summer Dawn

[Goonfire]

Crow blinked in surprise as the shadows came to life. He glanced at Feyre, who was straining to keep up the spells. That was impressive, in his opinion.

The man Crow confronted had lunged, only to be parried by Pyrrhus. Crow followed up with a swift riposte: a lunging, fatal stab with medical precision. A similar process was done to the last horseman of the three, who had been previously stunned. When all adversaries were finished, the mutt planted the bloodied weapon head in the soil and considered what just happened. “The magic and tactics... This must have been an Evereach platoon.” Something was horribly wrong with this picture. “But... we stopped in Eskaro... and left through the transport tunnels. How did they know we would be here?” His eyes widened and he gasped as a realization hit him. “There must be a mole in the monastery...”

Wasting no time, Crow straightened himself and coldly issued a command. “Get the rope. Round up the unconscious, remove their armor, and tie them together. We’ll know what they know... soon enough.” It was clear this wouldn’t be pleasant.

SilverFlight Zazz LazyDaze Flutterby Ms. Sparrow Phayne Baconhands

 

[Ms. Sparrow]

​

Feyre Yinnelis

“Noooo,” Feyre groaned weakly as Azaria started calling for Iolas, “not him,” she mumbled. Anything but him. God she’d rather die then have that pompous ass see her in this state. Feyre strained her eyes in concentration on the shadows she was pulling, ignoring the throbbing pain that was springing to life in her head. She peered through half lidded eyes at the battle surrounding her, she felt the whish of air behind her, beholding a sword coming down upon her, too fast, to quick, and her heart quickly plummeted as she thought she was about to meet her end, her eyes widening. This? THIS was how she was gonna die? She always pictured herself dying old and alone with lots of booze surrounding her. The good life.

But metal clashed against metal as Iolas suddenly appeared in front of her, shielding her along with Azaria as he fended off her attackers. Feyre looked like hell, sweat drenching her, and she wobbled where she stood, her breath coming out heavily. Iolas shot her a dazzling grin and told her to stay still.

“My hero,” she muttered dryly, swaying on her feet. She felt warmth trickle down from her nose and wiped it away from her sleeve, knowing enough to know that her nose was bleeding. Iolas continued to square off on the battle field, and eventually her eyes closed, the sound of battle feeling distant as she forced the last remaining bits of her strength on her magic. The sound of arrows fired and swords clashing faded away, slower, slower...

The feel of contact upon her startled her, making her wince as her eyes flew open as much as they could, to half lidded slits. Azaria was holding her, agitating the deepest part of Feyre, but she hadn’t really the strength or the energy to shove her away. Plus, she was positive she’d be taking a nap on the ground if Azaria let go. Feyre peered around tiredly, her features worn as she took in all the unmoving bodies of their enemies. “Serves them right,” she mumbled with as much contempt as she could, her lips weakly quirking up in a wry smile, “spilling the damn porridge like that.” she joked with a quiet forced laugh before peering down at the extended handful of cranberries from Azaria. Feyre grinned a little and waved her gloved hand dismissively, “I’m fine, I’m fine,” she insisted half consciously, “don’t coddle me I’ve been through worse,” she tried to admonish stubbornly but failed at the overpowering weariness in her voice instead. Warily, Feyre slowly took the cranberries and popped them into her mouth, offering Azaria a weak grateful smile as she swallowed.

A whistle caught her attention, and she slowly turned her head, her vision a bit strained as she peered at a faraway figure. Watching. Watching them. Then he turned and sped off, the last Everreach look soldier retreating. Feyre was too exhausted to hide her dismay,”now Lassard will know,” she mumbled in quiet dismay outloud, watching the rider ride off into the distance. She didn’t want piss-ass Lassard to know she was alive—or that she possessed magic at all. But she was far too exotic to resemble anyone else. She hoped the rider managed to break his neck on his journey back—or that Lassard didn’t remember her at all.

Feyre looked about ready to collapse when Phyrrus approached them, and told them he’d fix her right up. Feyre peered up at him though half lidded eyes, drenched in sweat, dried blood caked above her lips. “I’m fine!” She mumbled insistently, stubborn as ever. She just need a moment to catch her breath was all.

SilverFlight mothspit Zazz LazyDaze Flutterby Phayne Baconhands Goonfire

 

[Zazz]

The assassin's eyebrow arched over a green eye when Feyre mentioned Lassard. She was not herself, like this. Azaria set the other halfling's arm around her shoulders and held her around her torso, letting Feyre lean her weight on her. Pyrrhus trotted over just as Azaria wiped away a trickle of blood from Feyre's nostril with her thumb. "Shut up and eat," she ordered, but her voice betrayed her concern. Feyre had essentially saved their lives.

Azaria took a smooth, purple stone from one of her pockets and handed it to Pyrrhus. It was much like the one she had given to Crow on the ship. "Help her," she pleaded of him softly.

 

[Flutterby]

Ora lowered her bow slowly, watching the rider flee with a dark look. When it was out of sight, she moved to stand over one of the fallen soldiers. Even now, the armor was uncomfortable to look at. The dwarf was scowling lightly, maybe lost in thought, maybe not.
"To keep us from reaching Dwerstand," Ora said aloud to answer Crispin. Pyrrhus was right. This had been a kill squad. She sighed softly, and returned the arrow to her quiver before looking for the next one. Crispin approached as she picked up the one that had missed its mark, and she patiently indulged his concern.
"I'm alright. Glad I had my bow though, I would've been useless hand-to-hand." Ora's eyes slid to Feyre. "Looks like Gideon knew exactly what he was doing." Her face showed a cautious, quiet respect, but she tried not to let Feyre catch her watching. With Azaria and Pyrrhus watching over Feyre, Ora turned to look at Crow.
"No." She said firmly. "We aren't torturing dying men, who won't tell you anything true. It's likely they don't know anything true." Ora motioned to the horizon where the last rider had disappeared, "And we aren't waiting around here for them to return with reinforcements."
Her voice was steady, not angry, but she didn't hide the coldness in her tone or on her face. She kept her eyes on Crow as she said, "We need to gather our things and ready the horses. Dwerstand is not far."
Goonfire
SilverFlight mothspit Zazz LazyDaze Phayne Baconhands

 

[Goonfire]

Crow’s plotting was interrupted by Ora, her voice bringing the furious man back to reality. He let a defeated sigh escape his mouth. His eyes flickered between his friends and these dying swine. Surely, that runaway was coming back with a larger contingent of soldiers, and they would be much more dangerous because Feyre was already exhausted. “Alright, I... suppose we should finish this heist before Evereach finds more leverage,” he finally muttered before casting aside his spear to don his armor. However, he froze upon noticing another mounted figure in the distance. “Wait... who’s that?” Crow asked no one in particular, pointing at the rider they had previously come to know as ‘Sir Paddy Paws’.

SilverFlight Flutterby Ms. Sparrow Phayne

 

[Baconhands]

When the danger subsided, for the most part, Meera returned to the earth, once more a human. She looked over everyone; first to the porridge. The gallant sacrifice it had made to distract one of the riders from hurting Desrick surely had to be commemorated.
The shapeshifter knew she was thinking hysterically - this was the first time another humanoid had tried to kill her or somebody she was travelling with and honestly she was a little shaken by it. It had all started and ended very quickly, and the enemy had been within striking range within moments of them being spotted. And she'd pulled herself from danger. How could she have done that to her companions? Leaving them to face danger while she observed from the relative safety of the sky. Guilt settled in her gut.
As her eyes scanned the field of the skirmish, they settled on a body - the armour on them unfamiliar to her and thus she concluded that the body was that of one of the assailants. It was still bleeding, though she knew they were far beyond saving. They had probably been dead for maybe a minute when Meera crept cautiously closer to inspect it. An odd feeling overcame her, and the shapeshifter withdrew, putting a fair distance between her and the corpses. Her breathing became laboured and her eyes went wide. She sat herself down, tried to calm herself, but no respite came to her. She hadn't even taken part in the combat - how could she expect to survive a deadlier encounter if she felt this way simply looking at a body?

Goonfire SilverFlight mothspit Zazz LazyDaze Phayne Flutterby

 

[Zazz]

Lohrithe agreed with Ora. "We shall not succumb to their ways. Else, what are we fighting for?" He shook his head, his brow stern. Torture was not the way. At least, not now. They needed to get to Dwerstand, or at least the mountains. Though, he knew they were all likely as hungry as he was, and walking did not seem like a wonderful prospect.

It was then that he saw Meera, backing away from a corpse looking horrified. The rather large drow sheathed his great blade and carefully approached the young shapeshifter. "Meera," he said gently, crouching and extending one hand to her. "Come, you can ride with me. You did well." His smile was kind, his eyes a reminder of the night sky.

 

[LazyDaze]

Once it was all over Iolas let out a sigh. It would seem they had let one get away. Iolas stood over the defeated soldier who didn't appear to have anything worth analyzing. He then looked around at everyone else who appeared to escape unscathed, for the most part. He overheard conversations and allowed everyone to chime in as he thought about the situation. He smirked when he thought about torturing the soldiers who could probably live. That wasn't something Iolas was fond of himself, not anymore. At the very least he was happy that those who had a second chance had the potential to change.

Iolas pulled his sword out of the unconscious soldiers arm and flicked the blood off before sheathing them. "I agree with Ora," Iolas said trying not to go into unnecessary details as he started to prepare to leave right away. Everreach was thorough, and they appeared to have connections everywhere. "The fact that they're trying to kill us means we are getting closer to foiling their plans. Consider it a compliment," Iolas said calmly to no one in particular. He then made his way towards Crow and looked at the rider in the distance. It was poor timing really, but he believed he could make that person out.

"Ostrich..is that what I think it is?"

Zazz SilverFlight Ms. Sparrow Goonfire Flutterby Baconhands

 

[Phayne]

Flutterby mothspit Goonfire SilverFlight LazyDaze Zazz Baconhands Ms. Sparrow

Nearing the group, it was clear that Azael had arrived at the end of the skirmish, the group he had earlier been accompanying the clear victors as several deceased assailants lay spread across the ground; some carrying wounds that were visually scarring to the faint hearted. Azael however was himself a predator that preyed among other living creatures, the sight of blood and gore did little to faze him; even if they did belong to former humans. Scanning the vicinity around, Azael could see that the only corpses here had belonged to the assailants; novices by the looks of it considering that they had failed to even slay one of their intended targets. Although it was also possible that Gideon's friends were far stronger than they had initially appeared to be; a worrying possibility for one who presently sought to steal from under their noses.

Sauntering up to the group as they gathered their belongings, Azael took careful precaution towards his next actions, intending not to reveal any information that a stranger would not know about the groups activities. Whilst guised as a human, Azael no longer held the familiarity his other form would have held among them thus he couldn't simply just 'make himself at home' upon his return. Likewise, even he lacked the capability to convince them otherwise that a mere cat had managed to catch up with them along the dirt road. Coughing once to clear his throat, Azael made his way towards the group appearing as no more than a weary young traveller.

"Friends" spoke Azael, his human voice hinting towards someone in his mid-teens. "I had heard the sound of fighting from further down the road" stated Azael, scanning the faces of everyone. "I had overheard some men talk about bandits back in Eskaro preying upon the unsuspecting... but I didn't believe it for myself..." lied Azael, "Is.. is everything alright?"

 

[SilverFlight]

Pyrrhus knelt beside the injured Feyre and took the stone from his friend's hand.
"You don't need to ask." He told Azaria as he placed his gentle hands on her shoulders and focused his magic.
Feyre protested sternly, but Pyrrhus tutted her. "I'll hear none of that. Your magic saved us from those men, you can at the very least let me do my job."
His voice was short, but not unkind. He was still thinking of her outburst back in Eskaro, but that would never have stopped him from healing her.
The familiar sensation of fatigue came over him as he repaired the damage, lessened greatly by the magical gift from the halfling. When it was done he stood, just in time to hear Crow's grim instructions to tie the survivors up.
"What are you going to do?" He asked, worry lining the tone of his voice.
He started when Ora mentioned torture, looking back at Crow as if expecting him to deny that that was what he'd meant.

The others began to converse slowly.
Crispin agreed with Iolas. "That's a good point, I'll bet after what we pulled in Brynson I'll bet we're worthy enough to be considered a right pain in the ass."

The strange rider caught them all off guard, Desrick hefted his axe warily, but when the stranger came up to them unarmed be put it away again.
Pyrrhus stepped closer to the young man, who was now talking of bandits. He leaned a little closer. "You seem...familiar." He said carefully, "We haven't met have we?"
"I've never seen him before." Crispin threw in his two lunares.
"They certainly weren't dressed like bandits." Pyrrhus glanced at the immaculate magical armour. "But we are mostly unscathed, thank you for your concern. My name is Pyrrhus...you ah, don't seem too upset by...some of the faces in our company?"
Desrick, in the commotion of the fight had let his hood fall, and only when Pyrrhus brought it up did he realize he should still have been hiding from the people on the road. Well, it was too late now. He resigned himself to picking up the cooking pot and repacking their supplies.
"We should move." He told them after he had re-saddled his great grey stallion. "At least until we get to the mountain pass. We'll have better vantage on the slopes."
He turned to Azael, "you can travel with us if you like, but I advise against it. There might be more 'bandits' before we reach the gates of Dwerstand."
Pyrrhus, once things had been packed away properly went to Feyre.
"Are you feeling well enough to ride?" He asked her gently.

Goonfire Flutterby Zazz Phayne Ms. Sparrow LazyDaze Baconhands

 

[Goonfire]

Continuing to buckle the various straps of his armor, Crow glanced at Pyrrhus and then looked away. It was the instant he detected the centaur’s worry that he knew resorting to torture at such a time—or maybe any time—would hurt these good people more than it would hurt Evereach. An ashamed look was etched upon Crow’s face. He couldn’t deny what he had intended to do when he made that spur-of-the-moment demand. “I think... the better question now is ‘what did you and Ora just prevent’,” he sorrowfully told Pyrrhus. “It’s... not an easy thing to answer, but... I think—no, I know—I would’ve regretted doing it.”

The fear of backlash made the inquisitor want to cower away from his teammates, but he hesitantly stepped towards his companions. “Pyrrhus, Ora... have you ever felt as though you might... go against your own moral compass in the hopes of winning a conflict? As though your hand is being forced, whether or not it really is? It’s... what I felt just then. We need to defeat Evereach before they get the war they want, before more harm comes to our allies and innocents... or before we become our own worst enemies.”

SilverFlight Flutterby

 

[Zazz]

Azaria left Feyre to Pyrrhus, but not before running her fingers through the other halfling's blue hair. The assassin felt just a little bit guilty, having been the one to have basically ordered Feyre to use her magic to that extent. Though, she reasoned, they needed her, or the enemy's advantage might have been fatal. Lohrithe had been blind, and had only struck one down out of sheer luck; what if that had been one of their own, instead? She eyed the fallen soldier with his helmet inside his head and almost pitied him.

Almost.

"That's a boy full of lies," she stated, regarding Azael even as she stabbed an unconscious man in the throat, straight faced. Sure, Crow had a conscience. But that wasn't going to stop her from saving their rear ends. She would leave no man alive; one getting away was enough. "Those were no bandits. No rumour could have mistaken those shiny corpses for bandits. He is lying."

 

[Flutterby]

Ora watched Crow deflate, and found herself feeling very fortunate that not only he seemed to agree with her, but so did the more hardened members of the party. She gave Iolas a small, humorless chuckle. He wasn't wrong, and somehow it did comfort her. Someone was worried enough about what they were doing to risk an attack on the open plains, one that took a fair bit of planning with the shiny armor and illusion magic. She gave a fallen soldier an annoyed glare, and then turned away to take a look at their next threat.

Threat is a strong word, don't you think? It was little more than a child. Ora looked at him closely, wondering what in skies' name a kid was doing on this road, on this day, at this time. With everything going on, she didn't believe in coincidences anymore. The half-dwarf glanced at Pyrrhus, who made the brilliant point that he wasn't disturbed by the sight of Desrick or the others. Ora narrowed her eyes. She couldn't help but agree with Azaria.
"I don't think you're wrong.." Ora glanced at the assassin, blinking when she found her.. tying up loose ends. Ora had to hope that the man was on the road to death, but knew that likely wasn't the case. "Azaria..." Her tone was exasperated, but she knew saying more, even saying just that much, would have no effect.
She turned back to the stranger. "Passage with us will not be safe. And you can see what will happen if you get in our way," Ora said calmly. With that, she turned to ready her pony and check the pack horses.
Zazz Phayne
As she did, she thought about how to answer Crow's question. Hesitantly, she spoke.
"Crow, when I started this, I thought it went against my moral compass to say a word against my people, my country. I thought being a traitor was the worst thing I could become." There was a pause as she scowled a bit at herself.
"We.. we have to at least try, to do this the right way. I understand the idea of doing what is necessary to win, but if we stoop too low, any victory we have will be tainted, lessened. If people could say that we are tyrants just like the rest, would winning even matter?"
Ora glanced over at Azaria, and then across the rest of the group.
"Compromising ourselves, especially with violence, doesn't help us. It makes us easier to slander, it makes us larger targets, and it very rarely gets us what we want. And if you tell me that violence has no effect on your own soul, I say you are either a liar, or an idiot."
Her expression softened significantly, and it was clear she wanted to comfort him somehow.
"It's okay to feel angry. It's okay to want answers that badly. It's okay to.. struggle with this. But we need to keep each other on track, and we have to be better than them, or it may be for nothing."
Goonfire SilverFlight
Ms. Sparrow LazyDaze Baconhands

 

[LazyDaze]

"He certainly is a pain in ours," Iolas said with a smile agreeing with Crispin. (Is he really related to Desrick?) Iolas shook his head as once again compared the two. He just couldn't help it. Someday he would have to sit down at a table and discuss it further.

"Friends," Iolas repeated quizzically after hearing the young boys greeting. He merely chuckled as he thought he should try that greeting sometime...perhaps on the doorsteps of Everreach. He held in a chuckle as Pyrrhus unintentionally grilled the newcomer. He had little reaction to the Cyndarans, and he didn't seem to dislike the elves either. Pyrrhus' innocence was amusing to say the least, especially when you were as imposing a figure as any. "Perhaps they were bandits of noble birth," Iolas said sarcastically as he shrugged his shoulders with a smile. Whatever the case, he was certain that the boy wasn't with the riders from earlier, but he couldn't help but feel as if they had met before. Some of the others seemed to hint at their dangerous journey, but Iolas took it a step further as he turned to the boy with a smile. "I suppose there is no need to restock the Dragon bait now," he said with a hum before walking off to get his horse.
Phayne

As he prepared his horse he overheard Ora's and Crow's conversation. He seemed to be taking his crumbling morality pretty hard. Iolas could hardly relate since he had his first kill at a young age and had performed torturous acts that would haunt even the most hardened criminals. Although he had since turned from that way of thinking, more or less, he didn't feel as if he could offer much advice since he wouldn't lose sleep over it either way. Ora, however, seemed to be struck with conviction. Although some of the words seemed to have arrows marked with his name, they were comforting to hear and he couldn't help but silently smile. She would have these moments where she would break out of her timid shell and utter something extremely bold and profound. Hopefully it would be that Ora who shows up in Dwerstand. Iolas then made his final round to Pyrrhus, Azaria, and Feyre. She did fight valiantly and was a big part in keeping them alive. "...You're stronger than you think," Iolas said to himself silently. Hopefully she would began to truly believe that as well.

Flutterby Goonfire

"I never knew Feyre all that well, but I never minded her boasting, pride, or that evil glare that sent shivers down my spine. She fought valiantly and has passed on to a better place along with the virtuous porridge where they can live out eternity in harmony. Ride on Feyre....ride on....ride on..." Iolas said as he imitated a funeral procession knowing she wasn't dead and perhaps this wasn't the time, but he never had great timing. In a weird way this was his way of saying thanks as well as getting her back on her two feet.

Ms. Sparrow Zazz SilverFlight

 

[Baconhands]

For a while, the drow's words did not register with the shapeshifter; her thoughts were very much focused on not wanting to vomit. She could feel a lump in her throat, and she was absolutely terrified that any break in concentration would lead to... nope - even the mere thought of it brought Meera closer to her current worst fear than she was comfortable with. When her brain began to finally process his words, Meera glanced up at him, her expression betraying how very uncomfortable she was.
"I... I don't think... I don't think..." Meera stuttered. She rested her head in her hands, shaking it slightly, "I didn't... do any fighting. It was all over so quickly that my potions weren't needed." After a moment, she looked up at him with a forced half-smile on her face, which faded swiftly as she continued, "No... I really don't think that I've done any sort of well. You all did well. I simply observed. Because that's all I can do... observe. That's the Troupe in a nutshell." She paused for a second, "I wonder what my siblings would think if they saw my reaction to... to..."
The shapeshifter felt a wrenching feeling in her stomach, doubling over as her current worst fear was realised.
Zazz

The shapeshifter took a couple of moments to recover. There was a tingling feeling in her fingers, which was basically all she could focus on for what felt like an age. As a newcomer approached the party, Meera glanced upwards; he looked young. Younger than Meera. Maybe even younger than her brother, Vulpes. What he was doing here was beyond her. When she eventually stood up, on shaky knees, and stumbled her way over, a profound sense of familiarity struck the young woman. An idea popped to mind when she was within a couple of metres of him, as her fellow party members started accusing him of lying, and she decided to venture a question to confirm her suspicions, gauging his reaction. Her lack of energy manifested itself in a woozy one at best. "Do your paws pad on the floor when you wear socks?"
Phayne Flutterby Goonfire Ms. Sparrow Zazz SilverFlight LazyDaze

 

[SilverFlight]

When Pyrrhus looked at Crow there wasn't a hint of anger, or shock. Pyrrhus had guess what he was going to do. As Crow explained the centaur stepped closer to him, and knelt so he would be level with him. His eyes softened and he went to fold Crow into a gentle hug.
"I have felt it." He admitted, "and it's kept me up at night, I can't lie...if there has been one thing this journey has taught me, it's that sometimes, there is no right choice...there if only the best one...I've often thought, that I was not going to be strong enough to make those choices...but now I have you."
He put Crow at arm's length to regard him with that tender fondness in his ocean-blue eyes.
"In this case, I think Ora and the others are right...Evereach would expect us to act as they would. We should surprise them. And I truly believe the answers we need are waiting for us in Dwerstand."
Goonfire Flutterby

Making sure Feyre was all right, and seeing their things packed Desrick went to his horse.
"Come, it's not a day more to the gates. If we ride now we might be able to get dinner in the city."

The mountain road was rocky and hard, and several times they had to dismount and walk their horses. The dwarven mountain ponies had no trouble with this sort of terrain, but the horses Gideon had given them were built for long distances on a flat plain. They stumbled often and even Pyrrhus slipped, sure-footed and careful as he was. Crispin kept a rear watch, but nothing more came after them.
"If Evereach has got your people over a barrel," Crispin questioned Ora one mark, "Do you think we'll be let in at all? Would that Lizard have warned them all about us? Maybe we need some sort of cover."

"We could act a troupe of players." Pyrrhus offered helpfully. "We could say Desrick is wearing a glamour as part of our costume set."

In only a mark more they were there. The gates loomed above them, blotting out the light from the sun, casting the entire pass in shadow. The squared, angular relief on the doors depicted dwarven warriors, clad in traditional armour, axes raised high. An accurate copy of the mountains was set behind the iron-made figures in burnished copper and the massive bolts that held the door were plated in gold.
A gate tower sat high atop one of the walls and a surly voice called down from it:
"Who goes there? State your business in the Dwarven fortress city!"

Goonfire Flutterby Zazz Phayne Ms. Sparrow LazyDaze Baconhands

 

[Zazz]

Azaria was oblivious to Ora's words with Crow. Her brow was set as she stole the lives of the few who were left of the raiding party. She looted what she could, though it appeared the soldiers had traveled light. Literally, she scoffed. "Ora, do you think you could use this material in your forge? Perhaps we could utilize its advantages." As she said this, she tugged at a small, hidden pouch in one of the dead men's boots with a small knife. A bit of clear, gooey liquid spilled from a hole she made with the prickly part of her trick ring and she licked a droplet off of the thin point. After a moment, she declared, "Poison," like it was nothing. "Meera, have you a vial or two?"

Flutterby Baconhands

 

[Flutterby]

Ora gave Pyrrhus a grateful glance, and then left him to tend to Crow's feelings. She had said her piece, and the moment was feeling more private by the second. She did another check of the pack horses, straps and buckles and cinches all looked good. She was returning to her pony when Azaria called her name.
The half-dwarf walked over with a guarded expression, trying not to show her disapproval of her actions. Or that she was somewhat impressed that Azaria thought to ask about the metal. They didn't have a lot of extra room to carry it, but it could be interesting. If she could figure out what made it different, they could use it too, or defeat it.
Squinting her eyes, Ora crouched next to the body. She drew out her own knife, and used it to scratch at the armor. Her eyes narrowed a little more, and she carved a bigger scratch, then used the tip to gauge a small hole and pick at the edge. Cautiously, she reached out and touched the metal with her bare hand, running a hand across its surface. Her face was thoughtful, then she frowned.
"It's not special metal. It's just magic." She pointed to the nick she had carved in the surface. "Below the surface isn't shiny like that." Ora rapped the surface softly with one knuckle. "Just average steel underneath that enchantment."
The dwarf stood, glanced uneasily at Azaria again, and then excused herself to go mount her pony.
Zazz

The rest of the ride was mostly uneventful, even though it was hard. Ora found herself missing Luta more and more everytime on of their horses slipped or balked or stumbled. Luta never stumbled on these paths, even if she did complain the whole time.
"I don't know," Ora admitted to Crispin, "I suppose it depends on how much we've annoyed him.. or how certain he is that we wouldn't reach Dwerstand."
She sighed softly, then added, "I wouldn't be surprised if they were watching for me to come back through, even if Lassard hadn't warned them. They keep tabs, even now. Although, I think, technically, they have to actually charge me with treason before they can deny me entry to the city, I do live there."
She noted Pyrrhus's suggested, but frowned a bit. If orcs were in Dwerstand, saying Desrick was a costume might not work.

Ora had a strange feeling as they pulled to a halt at the gates. Was she glad, or horrified? She couldn't tell. Maybe it was both, or neither.
She only hesitated a moment before calling back, "I have guided these people here to complete some such business, above my pay grade to know what."
She hoped, since she was painfully obviously a dwarf of some sort, that this would be enough. Usually, shouting something back about 'trading' or even 'returning from vacation' was enough if you were a dwarf. But they were not- this was war time, and they didn't have a solid story.
Goonfire SilverFlight Zazz Phayne Ms. Sparrow LazyDaze Baconhands

 

[Baconhands]

Meera traveled quietly with the party as they headed to their next destination. The shapeshifter had complied with Azaria's request for a vial, but other than that did not really interact with the others as they traveled. The image of the dead soldier seemed to resurface whenever Meera closed her eyes and always brought a lurching feeling back to her stomach. Much to her dismay, what songs were sung were few and far between and there were less than a handful of distractions to occupy her thoughts as they continued on to Dwerstand. The mountainous landscape was one of them - despite the difficulties posed while navigating them, Meera found herself in some sort of awe of them, taking in every view that she possibly could and barely restraining herself from commenting on their beauty.

When they eventually reached Dwerstand, the shapeshifter had taken to her raven form. As the walls loomed closer she had swooped down, taking to Orelia's shoulder, trying to pass herself off as some form of loyal animal companion. Whether that was to be a benefit or a detriment, Meera wasn't certain. She had quite liked Pyrrhus's suggestion of posing as a travelling Troupe (in fact her voicing her support of such a plan was one of only a couple of occasions where Meera's cheerful demeanor had returned) but the idea had been shot down in favour of one that was much more likely to work.
Goonfire SilverFlight Zazz Ms. Sparrow LazyDaze Flutterby

 

[Goonfire]

Crow was quick to close the gap and wrap his arms around Pyrrhus’ waist, having realized most of the party had experienced the feeling at least once. He felt a lot less isolated now, and it empowered him. “And now I have you, and we have our friends and allies to give us strength and courage. So let’s... defy all expectations and do this our way, not Evereach’s or Cautura’s way.” With that, he rose again, ready to carry out the mission at hand.

The entrance to Dwerstand was heavily guarded; that much was to be expected. Crow feared what would happen if he was recognized, given he and Lassard came face-to-face on two separate occasions. So the inquisitor did the unthinkable...

Five minutes later...

“I feel ridiculous again,” Crow sighed, stepping out in the old disguise. He looked nothing like himself, the makeup reminiscent of some high-class dancer. There he was again, dressed in the elven maiden disguise, made possible with the fake elf ears made at the Saint Solveig monastery. The white robes and blonde wig made hid his distinctive markings quite well, though he had to stow his weapons and armor on one of the packhorses and ride side-saddle, one of the most uncomfortable things he had ever done. On the bright side, he made a fairly convincing girl, with his small stature.

SilverFlight Zazz LazyDaze Flutterby Ms. Sparrow Baconhands

 

[Zazz]

On his horse, Lohrithe kept his hood up and his gaze low as they approached the grand gates of Dwerstand. He was excited to see the underground city, but nervous that the dwarves would not take kindly to his visage. Sumenna was strange. He followed Ora's lead, riding close to Desrick. Between Ora and Iolas, they should be able to talk their way in, he figured. He hoped. The sun was unforgiving, even with a tan.

___

Azaria nodded at Ora's observations and decided the weight of the armor was not worth the trouble. She finished up by collecting whatever small weapons she could - daggers, arrows, mage stones - then mounted her horse, patting Crow's shoulder as she passed. She didn't feel bad about taking these lives. There was no guilt, for she was, after all, a product of Everreach's cruelty.

Seeing Crow in his disguise brought both amusement and a silent tip of the hat forth in the assassin. He did look quite the part. Though, he was missing something. "Crow," she beckoned as she approached with a small, slim dagger she had pilfered. Without waiting for permission, Azaria crouched before the inquisitor and lifted the bottom of the white fabric. "Hold this." She fashioned a strip of cloth into a sheath and tied it around his thigh, then slipped the knife through. With a slight adjustment so he wouldn't cut himself, she stood. "There. Now you're a proper lady."

At the gate, Azaria squinted up at the dwarf on guard. Ora called up to him, stating her purpose. She remained quiet in her saddle, preferring to leave the talking to the others while she scoured the area for weaknesses.

 

[LazyDaze]

Iolas sauntered quite merrily the rest of the way to Dwerstand as he occasionally hummed a tune here or there. They weren't overly on edge, or at least that's what he assumed. Rather, he would describe the party as alert. He took notice to Meera's uneasiness. Iolas half expected that reaction since she wasn't really here for some revolution, or something along those lines. Even if it's the enemy, seeing someone die right before your eyes in the most ungraceful way would cause anyone to be shaken....well before you get used to it. Nevertheless, Iolas kept to himself.
--------
When they arrived to Dwerstand they were once again impeded by guards who didn't know the importance of time. He tried his best to hold in a laugh at Crow's costume. It was only made more difficult by Azaria's antics to make him a proper lady. Iolas held his annoyed, but regal expression as he rode up to Ora. "...Dwarf woman....you said it would be quicker if you went ahead. Am I to escort my own entrance? My anger grows with each passing breath outside these gates." Iolas said with all the disdain and arrogance he could muster, making sure he was just loud enough to be heard. He was actually having fun being an Everreach soldier again as he thought about their escapades on the slave ships.

SilverFlight Zazz Flutterby Goonfire

sorry for the short post. Had some IRL things going on.

 

[Ms. Sparrow]

​

Feyre Yinnelis

It was through Pyrrhus’s healing, and through Iolas’s easily triggering speeches that had gotten Feyre to stand up again...and throw a stone in Iolas’s direction. He was a pest, but at least he had his uses...she supposed. Though she was still exhausted, her body didn’t ache, and she no longer had the urge to collapse right then and there. As she’d, slowly, mounted her horse later on that day, she made sure to shot Pyrrhus an appreciative nod, which was all her pride could really afford her.

Appreciation melded off into worry however as the journey to Dwerstand neared. The closer they got, the more visions of the Everreach rider, galloping off into the distance plagued her. She’d seen him. He’d seen her. But maybe her wouldn’t report her abilities. Or her appearance. Maybe he’d disregard what she had done completely...maybe she was just trying to comfort herself with lies. Maybe it didn’t mean anything. There were plenty of people with shadow magic, right? Surely Lassard wouldn’t consider her a threat...maybe he wouldn’t even know it was her. He’d never seen her with magic anyway. But he did know her, knew what she looked like.

It was these worrying thoughts that had kept her face permanently furrowed in thought for hours until they neared the gate to Dwerstand. Feyre kept her cyan blue hair coiled tightly into a bun at back of her head, her black, leather hood flipped over her head, shadowing her features as they came to a stop outside the gate, with Ora responding to the demanding guard at the gates, her mind clouded with worrying thoughts. What would she do if she came face to face with Lassard? The knot in her stomach told her she’d be terrified, but another part of her was filled with cruel delight and rage, eager to wrap her hands around his throat. Eager to hurt him as close to the ways he’d hurt her so many years ago.

Movement caught the corner of her eye and Feyre glanced over out of the corner of her eye, witnessing Azaria kneel before...before...what the hell. She felt laughter well up inside her, and Feyre coughed into her hand to hide her overwhelming urge to laugh, bringing her fisted hand to her lips to cover up her bemused smirk, her face unable to suppress her amusement, hardly able to keep from bursting out laughing as it was.

“You look beautiful,” Feyre whispered dryly to Crow, her face turned away from the gate to reveal the smug-looking half Dark Fae-half Drow smirking evilly at Crow, her blue orbs glowing with humored smugness before she looked away, more out of necessity to keep from laughing than anything else, her smirk fading as Iolas spoke up, the high-elf’s voice filled with arrogance and disrespect. She couldn’t help but feel more disdainful towards him, despite knowing it was an act. She couldn’t help but think how well it suited someone like him. Still, she knew now was far not the time to say anything, and she decided to keep her head down and her mouth shut.



SilverFlight mothspit Zazz LazyDaze Flutterby Phayne Baconhands Goonfire

 

[SilverFlight]

Pyrrhus was intrigued by Crow's choice to don the costume, and when he appeared in the dress and all it's trapping Pyrrhus was very enthusiastic.
"Why ever would you feel ridiculous? You are positively radiant! And quite convincing if I might add."
Pyrrhus stayed beside Crow's horse diligently, and shot annoyed looks at any who'd mocked him.

The dwarf at the gate listened as Ora spoke. He seemed to believe her, but still he shook his head with a hint of regret. "Sorry m'lady, afraid I've been instructed to collect the business of everyone who enters this gate."
When Iolas spoke, his arrogant tone cutting through the air between them the guard seemed to jump like a frightened rabbit.
"Oh! M'lord, pardon...I...er must follow my orders, they come from the Evereach nobility visiting our city...please, state your business."
Desrick had been listening quietly. The guard was good at his job. He urged his horse forward yo beside Ora and pulled back his hood.
"Ours isn't the type of business to go shouting about the rooftops." He snapped gruffly. When the guard saw Desrick he looked like he might have wet himself.
"Oh-OH! That business. Well...let me get the gate open right away!"

Crispin gave his brother an odd look. "Well, that worked better than I thought it might."
Desrick turned back, puzzled too. "I wonder what they're planning with my people..."

It did not take long, there was a massive set of gears on either side of each door and they clunks and whirred as the gates were slowly pulled apart. They stopped with just enough room to let them filter in single file and afterwards the gates shut just as slowly as they had been opened.
Beyond the gates were the first structures, small houses and farmsteads, the poorer families who could not afford to live under the roof of the great cavern that served as central Dwerstand. The entrance to that was just above them, at the end of a cobbled central path lined with blocky stone statues of famous dwarves. The entrance was open, and guarded by two ornate copper plated dragons, twice as tall as the two-story dwellings that were scattered at their feet. Their heads were pointed down and they breathes copper flame down beside them. Between them the massive maw of darkness loomed. The entrance to the inner city.

"Where should we go first?" Desrick asked Ora. "This is your city. We should agree on somewhere to stay before we begin looking for information." He turned back to the others. "What do you think?"
"Is it safe where you used to live?" Crispin asked Ora, in hopes they might stay there. "An inn might be risky, unless they're used to high elves slumming it with orcs and common folk."
"We should find out where they're housing the orcs. If we can get to them I am sure there is at least one or two who know they're being used by the high elves."
Pyrrhus stepped up too. "We should send someone to keep an eye on the Evereach forces here too. See if we can't learn how much they know about us, and if we can dig up a bit more about this plan of theirs to attack Cyndara."
Goonfire Flutterby Zazz Ms. Sparrow LazyDaze Baconhands

 

[Flutterby]

Ora listened to the guard call back, ignoring the small commotion behind her over Crow's outfit. His response caused her chin to rise, and a look of realization to pass over her face, followed but uncertainty. She glanced backward, and Iolas stepped up to help right on cue.
This might have been the first time she wasn't surprised at how well he filled the role of arrogant Evereach soldier. She had seen it enough times by then, and was growing more appreciative every time.
But it was Desrick that brought the situation to a close. She could only give him a small nod, and hope that word of their arrival wouldn't be passed along.

Finally, the gate opened. Ora lead the way through it with barely a glance. On the other side, her resolve seemed to falter. Her pony felt it, and began to slow, as she stared at the great mouth of the mountain. The orcs had to be in the Citadel, as well as the elves. Her eyes drifted to its left, where a barely-visible trail lead up the side of the mountain. That was the way to her current home, the small cabin and forge on the side of the mountain.

Ora didn't seem to realize she was being spoken to until it was Crispin's voice. She was silent for a few moments, having to replay the last few moments that her brain had passively listened to.
"The orcs and elves are most likely to be in the Citadel. The elves always stay in the Citadel, and I doubt they'd let the orcs wander around by themselves. We can't go to an inn, too many people could see us and start rumors."
She hesitated, her eyes drifting back up to that tiny trail.
"We could go to my cabin. It's up there," She nodded up the side of the mountain, "Just inside the treeline. Its safer, since its outside the city, but too cramped for all of us, and its too far away to be of any use to see whats happening in the city."
Her face grew still, lips tight.
"Or.. we could use the old family estate. It won't be glamorous like Gideon's- it's maintained, nothing more. But more space, and near the action. We.. maybe could get there without drawing too much attention."
Ora glanced around the group, looking for a consensus before she urged her pony onward.
SilverFlight Goonfire Zazz Ms. Sparrow LazyDaze Baconhands