Lotusy
Pink Enthusiast
Arnold
Arnold watched coolly as Su'tal began to break down with panic, with screams about never being pitiful and the like. The older man ddin't back down, though, continuing to thicken the ice on the door as the goblin boy scrambled to find some solution to his new escape problem. There was going to be no leeway offered, no other path of escape for Su'tal except by showing mettle of some kind - and that was the plan he was going to stick to. Making sure to meet Su'tal's attempt at a smile with a cold glare, Arnold folded his arms, standing resolutely as the panic continued. It was only once the goblin had run out of the main hall, yelling something about slow torture, that he could finally relax.
Well then. Tugging at the collar of his heavy snow coat, Arnold felt a wave of warm air rush up. Temperature control was a great tool to mask his emotions, but he felt a certain anger boiling up inside of him, causing the iced door to hiss and melt before Arnold gave it another hard dose of freezing. I got too worked up back there, he thought, reflecting on both the surprisingly warm and searchingly angry responses that had just come in the past minutes. You're uncharacteristically warm today, Arnold. He grit his teeth, adding layers upon layers of ice to the door. Just chill out a bit, won't you?
Once the door was turned into the likes of the next big Arctic glacier, Arnold stopped, exhausted and still angry. What exactly was getting him this worked up? He wouldn't say it was something cheesy like "seeing potential in him" - the goblin was very intent on marketing himself as useless, after all. No, maybe it was because he saw something else in him - an image of a runt of a boy, shivering in the cold, afraid to take a brave step and follow the brothers that were leaving him in the dust for their own adventures. It would be a waste to spend any more energy encouraging this boy, he mused, thoughts turning back to Su'tal himself, but at the same time, it would be a waste to leave him unaided as his family lies in danger. Love in danger is a dreadfully powerful motivator. It's better to seek an alternative.
After a couple more minutes of waiting, a small surge of disappointment pricked at Arnold. Maybe he had misjudged the boy. Was he too afraid to act, even to save himself? Maybe he was escaping through another exit, or hiding away in hopes Arnold would leave. Utterly dismayed with the results of this little encounter, Arnold moved to unfreeze the door-
"aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
"What in the blazes, boy?!" Anrold whirled around, only to let a smile spread across his face as a trembling and sweaty goblin boy came running down the hallway, expression ablaze with some sort of mad determination. Perfect. Though he didn't quite understand Su'tal's comment about goblin meat, Arnold found himself entertained enough that the boy took action. Sidestepping the goblin's first shot with a smile, he raised a hand to freeze him, only to find a fiery bottle whirling dangerously close to his face. Not so perfect.
Protecting himself from the resulting explosion with only a hastily-made ice sheet, Arnold still found himself flying backwards, attempting to make a cushion of snow for his fall - though he realized he was out of cold air to use. Crashing against the wall with a bitter curse, the old man opened his ice box, summoning and aiming a gigantic array of icicles at the small goblin. Anger, again, was about to force a deadly ice storm to descend upon Su'tal, but as Arnold caught a glimpse of his face and the small amount of determination and bravery he'd forced out to get this far, he decided against it. With a deep breath, the icicles fell harmlessly against the ground, and the ice around the door melted into a pile of unassuming slush. "That is some resolve, son," he wheezed, coughing up a bit of blood. "A fiery drive enough to clear even the coldest blizzard. Now, do you have the resolve to take your freedom?"
Loony_Bin
Gurak
"Nothing but help, eh?" Gurak couldn't help but let doubt enter his voice as he stared down at Zane. True, the orc had been responsible for the burnt meat to cause the man's earlier outburst, but it would take a while for the two to see eye to eye. He did feel a bit of pride swell in his chest once Zane scarfed down the meal just like Isla had, eventually turning away before the situation became awkward. "Well, glad you've finally seen the light, then," he said, turning back to the kitchen cabinet to see if eh could find more seasoning for the next batch of meat. As Gurak opened the cabinet, he could have sworn he'd seen a retreating green form, and something seemed missing, but it didn't really bother him. Must be the rats. Stay away from the meat, and we're good, though. You hear, rodents?
After shrugging off the strange sight, Gurak turned back to address the little teasing he'd given Alister. "No no, Alister! It was just a joke, my man!" A short but hearty laugh escaped the orc's mouth, and he clapped the countertop with a meaty green hand. "You heard Zane - the new meat was nice enough to get me some wood anyways. Thank him for getting you off the hook, eh?" Giving the newbie a tough pat on the shoulder, Gurak drew his arms back with a huff. "Well then! I'd suppose we should be getting to business? The hungry miss and my favorite swordsman have an infirmary to attend to, after all. Zane, would you be willing to help me with these dishes? Fresh meat always has that residual grease that's not too kind to my plates..."
The Elder
HTCOR
Rui
Pandora
Pandora fiddled nervously with - well, just about everything. The lid of her lighter swung about, almost unhinged, and her dynamite package had been unwrapped and meticulously folded back so many times that crease lines began forming at the edges. It was probably for the best, then, that Abigail and Charlotte had shown up at the end of the hallway, as Pandora was toying with the dangerous thought of lighting and extinguishing a fuse for one of the sticks of dynamite. "There you are!" She threw her hands up, a bit too happy to see the two. "You guys take forever to pack. Was it rations that took so long? I would've thought Porcupine here would have just had to pack anger and childrens' tears to live off of." Thrown shade aside, Pandora unfurled the small quest flyer once more. "Anyways, I think we're supposed to head here, if this is right... though are you sure it's a good trade-off to risk our lives for a couple of coupons?"
metalcity
Magical Squid Senpai
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