Fantasy The Deadlands

[Cartoonicat]

"Not smart taking on an army, either," he murmured as Dynis came close enough to tighten the ropes.

Both Zee and Wendel picked a spot together to stay on Bear Watch. While it didn't seem like they'd heard what the man said to Dynis, neither one seemed trusting of him. Daria set to work, as she'd said, resetting all of the traps. She called over to Wendel and Zee, a sudden look of excitement across her features. "Ya know, not that I hope there's a second wave or anything but... I kinda hope there's a second wave. I didn't get to use my surprise!"

"That explosion wasn't it?" Zee asked.

She pointed to Colter. "Nah, that was his."

Colter remained laying on his good side, back facing the others, but his eyes were open. He didn't seem in the mood to talk but he never really did seem the conversational type.

- Talk to Colter
- Leave him be
- Read a book
- Inspect the scroll and unmarked potion

 

[ArcticFox]

Deciding to ignore for the moment the bear-man's taunting and Daria's eagerness to fight (perhaps she was hit on the head harder than she thought), Dynis sat next to Colter. It was her bedding after all and if he chose to ignore her, she would ignore him as well, but couldn't stop her from sitting where she wanted to. She brought her pack with her as well and set to rummaging through it, taking out the scroll and the potion to check out. She let out a pondering "hmm" and gave only the briefest of looks aside to Colter to see if he had any reaction.

 

[Cartoonicat]

The sound of curiosity had him shifting a bit to glance over his shoulder, just barely. He didn't look impressed until his eyes landed on the scroll, parchment shining gold. Brows lifting, he stared at the item.

"Where did you find that?" As always, his voice was soft, quiet.

- Tell him about the mines
- Make up a story
- Don't tell him
- Ask him what it is

 

[ArcticFox]

"You see... there was this huge mountain... I scaled its dangerous cliffs and climbed relentlessly only to find an enormous firebreathing dragon on top of it! It sat on a pile of treasure and I stumbled to get some kind of a reward for my efforts, so I grabbed this!" She held up the scroll in the air dramatically. After a moment she turned to Colter with a chuckle. "We found it in a mine not that far from here. Why, do you know what it is?"

 

[Cartoonicat]

Colter actually looked quite captured by the story. Until about halfway through, at which point he snorted in disbelief, though he did chuckle at the end. Murmured something about sticky kobold fingers before propping up on his elbows.

"It looks like a time stopping scroll," he said. "They are exceedingly rare."

- Ask about the scrolls
- Question his knowledge
- Change the subject

 

[ArcticFox]

Dynis raised an eyebrow, watching him with curiosity. "How do you know that? And how exactly does this work?"

 

[Cartoonicat]

"I like to read," he said simply. Colter did not elaborate more than that, though perhaps he could be persuaded to. At least he was talking now. "You read the inscription here," he pointed to the scrawl of letters, none of which Dynis could read, "and time stops for what would have been one minute." Peering closer at the text, Colter's brows knitted in concentration. "I cannot tell if the charge has been used. I read about magic, but do not practice it. Typically you can only use these things once."

- Read the inscription
- Get to know Colter
- Something else

 

[ArcticFox]

"Oh, then, well, better to fold it and leave it alone." Dynis said, listening to the odd man. She was frankly surprised that he took interest in anything, he certainly didn't seem the type. "But, what kind of a language is this? Do you know it?"

 

[Cartoonicat]

"It's the language of mages," he shook his head, "though most mages cannot read it. It's ancient." His eyes roamed from Dynis' face to the ruins behind her that held Cecily. "That door is imbued with the same kind of magic. A curse, maybe, but one from a scroll." Well, that answered part of the question as to what he was doing during the fight: Sneaking around the ruins.

- Ask about the explosion
- Ask about the ancient language of mages
- Ask about his interest in reading
- Ask why he is helping
- Ask about the bear
- Something else

 

[ArcticFox]

"So, why are you sticking around? Why did you help us defeat the slavers? And why did you help me back in Junip?" She asked, folding the scroll and putting it in her pack.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Colter narrowed his eyebrows more at each new question she asked, but eventually seemed to resign himself to answering them. "I'm still here because I'm wounded and my cover is blown," he said. "Even if Kota - erm, the bear - doesn't get the chance to tell my superiors you healed me, I cannot go back. They will be too suspicious." He laid back down carefully, eyes trained on the stars above. The night was cool, as always, but he didn't seem to mind it.

It took him a while to speak again. "I hate the Bleeding Suns, but I am from Elpice City and had no choice but to fight for them," he said.

- Ask about Kota
- Ask about Elpice City
- Ask something else
- End the conversation

 

[ArcticFox]

"There is always a choice." Dynis said with a slight frown. But soon her expression lightened and she smiled. "You can stay with us. To be honest you are the most sane person I've talked to since I entered the deadlands, despite not liking you at first. And, um, our group would use someone sane." She looked over at her three companions gathered around the prisoner and sighed.

 

[Cartoonicat]

He glanced at her but said nothing until she spoke again, this time with a lighter look about her. Colter smiled a bit at her words - a curl of lips so small they were hardly there at all - and looked back to the stars. "Thank you." After a handful of heartbeats, he clarified: "For saving my life and allowing me to stay," he said. "And the compliment."

Colter fell quiet again and it did not look like he was eager to continue chatting, but he did look interested in the stars overhead. If Dynis wanted, she could stargaze with him. That or find something else to do. It was getting late, but it wasn't like they had any pressing concerns for the next day. They were stuck until Helen returned some time the next night.

- Stargaze with Colter
- Talk to someone else
- Read a book
- Go to sleep
- Something else

 

[ArcticFox]

It was best not to press on the matter any further. Surprisingly they had a nice chat and that was more than you could expect from any man. His calm demeanor was certainly refreshing.

"Well, time to go back to bothering the prisoner." Dyni said to herself as she walked over to the tied man. "Hello again Kota." She smiled triumphantly. "Are you comfortable? Are the bindings too tight?" Her smilw was icy.

 

[Cartoonicat]

To say Kota looked startled at hearing his name would be an understatement. He sent Dynis - and then Colter, who was too busy looking at the sky to notice it - a glare so fowl they were lucky looks couldn't kill. "I'm not telling you anything," he said. Despite his words, Kota's composure had cracked rather quickly. A little push in the direction might have him blabbing what secrets he knew about the Bleeding Suns.

- Threaten him
- Try bargaining with him
- Pretend you know everything
- Something else

 

[ArcticFox]

"Please, I already know quite enough." She smiled. "There's only one thing that baffles me. How was someone so powerful like you, a shapeshifter no less, so easily overpowered by one priestess." She gestured toward's Cecily's little cage. "She had you dancing to her own tune, it's funny really. You Bleeding Suns are not a serious bunch as you'd like us all to believe."

 

[Cartoonicat]

Again, he glared daggers at Colter - a futile effort, really. "At least we're not bred like cattle for the slaughter," Kota said. "'You Bleeding Suns', pfft. Its you Napari women who are liars... Though I suppose you're not entirely at fault. You're too stupid to discern fiction from reality, following the fables of an old storybook like they were law. " He laughed bitterly. Darkly. "We don't have to be serious when you practically do our job for us."

- Slap him
- Ask about the Napari Holy Book
- Ask about the Bleeding Suns
- Ask about cattle for slaughter
- Leave him
- Something else

 

[ArcticFox]

Dynis would have been livid with anger, if she wasn't so curious as to what he was talking about. "Bread like cattle? Liars? Just what do you have against us? We are simply trying to fulfill our rite of passage so we can go home. You are the ones hunting us for no reason, slaver."

 

[Cartoonicat]

"You were never meant to go home," Kota said. "Ever wondered why you were never allowed to use magic before now, or why your people continue to praise a mortal woman as if she were a god? Why there are so many Napari women compared to men?" His detailed knowledge of Napari customs and life were beyond expected of an outsider. "From the moment you were born, you were raised to be sustenance for Her Majesty while men act as quiet, consistent backbones for your false utopia. Your mana kept contained, like a pressured jar waiting to burst." He huffed through his nose. "She craves the powerful and returns the weak to send more pitiful lambs her way. Your precious, caring High Mother is an illusion."

The ruins statues. The cultists' intent to capture, not kill. The mass death of Sisters and small percent of Mothers. The High Mother's tales of immortality without explanation as to how.

Assuming Kota spoke the truth, Dynis hadn't left home to become a Mother. She'd left home to add to the High Mother's never-ending lifespan.

- Attack him
- Accuse him of lying
- Freak out
- Be calm
- Talk to Cecily
- Something else

 

[ArcticFox]

He was lying, wasn't he? He had to be, he was doing it just out of spite. And yet all the memories flooded her mind... the marked doors in Junip, the slavers' camp, the missing Sisters, Cecily and the dream she had in Magdarene, the trap. And the doubts that dogged her throught the journey. Perhaps if this was his first day into the pilgrimage, she would have snorted and turned her back on him. But now...

"I'm going to kill that woman." She hissed through gritted teeth, before walking toward Cecily's cell. Her head hurt, her cheeks were flushed and her fingers tightened on the staff. "Cecily, what do you know? Why were you brought here exactly?" She asked, barely containing herself.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Stepping towards the ruins, Dynis would find the inside still filled with rubble, blocking most of her view of Cecily. All she could see was a hand reaching up through a gap in broken rocks to tap against the blue barrier. Unlike the one in Magdarene, it did not shock her. "Brought here? You mean the Deadlands?" She asked. Dynis could hear her mostly in her mind but also in reality, though her voice there was muffled. "Same as you, for my pilgrimage. I thought it was stupid and didn't think the High Mother even existed until I met the bear," she did not use Kota's name. "He came to me and like an idiot I followed him because of the story. You know, the one where the Sister is lost in the forest?"

The hand fell away from the barrier. "When I figured out something was wrong and he turned on me, I ran. Tried hiding in here but ended up getting locked inside. There's a bunch of scrolls and old artifact looking things in here. I-... I shouldn't have touched anything but, I mean... I might be dead otherwise, so maybe it was a blessing in disguise."

Colter had mentioned the curse came from the ancient language of mages - a scroll. If the decrepit ruins weren't a trap meant for Sisters then perhaps it was a storage unit of sorts. Perhaps, among the treasures inside, there was a way to get out. Unfortunately Dynis had no profound knowledge of ancient items and would need someone more familiar with them, such as Kailu.

"Dynis...?" Cecily said quietly. Meek, a stark contrast to the bravado she sported back in Napari. "...I heard what he said, through our connection. Do you believe him?"

- Yes
- No
- Don't answer

 

[ArcticFox]

"I don't know." Dynis calmed down as Cecily spoke, shoulders now slumped in defeat. "He is a slaver and a man that tried to kill us both. He has no reason to be honest. Yet... it makes too much sense to be a lie. It fills all the gaps, you know?" She paused. "And even if it isn't true, could you return to Napari with this shred of a doubt?" With a sigh, she placed a hand on the rubble. "I need to get you out of there and then we need to figure this out together."

 

[Cartoonicat]

"I..." Cecily's words trailed off and she did not finish her thought. Instead, her hand reappeared through the rubble and she placed her palm flat against the barrier. Small ripples circled outward at her touch, like a drop falling into water. "Together."

- Place your hand on Cecily's
- Return to camp and inform the others
- Go to sleep
- Something else

 

[ArcticFox]

Dynis gave a small strained smile and placed her hand on the her side of the barrier. She realised she couldn't remember with precision what Cecily looked like. Well, hopefully she would find out soon.

After a moment she returned to others. "Let's hope Helen will be here soon. Once we get Cecily out... well, I'm not yet sure what I'm gonna do." She shrugged. "All I know is that right now I'm going to sleep." She had no sleep at all since they left Magdarene and was starting to feel exhausted. "Can someone keep an eye on the prisoner, please?" She asked with a yawn.

 

[Cartoonicat]

"I got him," Zee said. All three of her teammates wore looks of concern and curiosity, but if they overheard Kota's words, none of them said anything. Except Zee, who offered Dynis her bedroll so she would not have to sleep on the sand. Colter had fallen asleep - indicated by the slow, steady breaths - on her own bedroll.

It did not take long for Dynis to fall asleep.
--
She woke the next morning with the sun blaring down on her, scorching hot. It had risen high in the sky; instead of morning, Dynis had slept past noon. Nothing of interest seemed to be happening, though, except that everyone was awake.

Awake and practicing.

Daria and Zee were in the middle of a spar - the latter using his bare fists instead of the mace - while Wendel seemed to have set up training dummies out of sand that he could shoot arrows into. Kota, still tied up, sat with his chin in the palm of his hand and a tired scowl on his face. He did not look approachable.

"Afternoon," Colter said. He sat in her bedroll not far away, fanning himself with a slim, worn journal.

- Ask to train with Daria
- Ask to train with Zee
- Ask to train with Wendel
- Talk to Colter
- Read a book
- Practice on your own
- Do something else