Grassy Knoll
— Saren stared off into space as the red-haired human approached him, seemingly oblivious to the world. Then the ape began speaking, only half of the words registering. He rather wished that she would just go away; she did not have the posture and build of a soldier, nor the eyes. She was not worth his time or attention. Suddenly her hand was upon him, and every greasy laceration in his scaly plating, every suppurating surgical scar, and every bruised organ rapidly healed over. He lurched upright, breath wheezing in and out in short, sharp gasps. It had been years since he had felt this whole, this healthy. He stared down at his body and flexed his talons, marvelling at the lack of pain. He felt like he could take on an army, all by himself.
It was then that the red-haired girl's words rushed back to his conscious perception and thought processes, with their mocking tone. Doesn't seem all that bad to me. Then again, you're not the very cheerful type, are you? He froze, one unnaturally blue eye staring past his left claw at the chattering ape.
Not for free... Eternal gratitude...
Behind the steel helm, Saren's mandibles flared open to bare dozens of needle-sharp teeth.
Can't afford all this charity...
His breath came past his teeth with a soft hiss. The blonde woman, Samus, was saying something to him. He shrugged himself free of her grasp, blood pounding in his ears.
" I feeeel fine, human... I now need to thank our new...medic."
—Saren's voice was oddly throaty as he strode towards the teenager with an almost feline grace. His gaze flicked up and down her body, determining her weaknesses' placement according to her size. —
" I must thank you for your... assistance, human... Unfortunately for you, your pay-menT will not be as you think. In fact..."
—He drew his left gauntlet back an increment, talons clenched into a fist, then drove it into her kidney with lightning speed. Before she could recover or even react, his right arm snaked out and rammed against her windpipe, drawing her in to slam against his torso plating. There the arm stayed pressed, allowing just enough air that some oxygen would reach her brain, but not enough to speak with. Saren snarled into her ear, his quickly spoken words dripping with malice and burning with fury. —
"You will leave here only with your life, and few choice words. I was not hounded across the multiverse, lost as much as I have, -killed- as many enemies as I have, all to be mocked by some teenage -ape- and her guttersnipe's mouth. You obviously don't understand how matters work around here. You don't get a fee for playing medic around here. You don't get the applause for a terrible bedside manner. And you don't get to mouth off to Saren Arterius without severe consequences. You get to help, with a word in thanks, or if you're lucky, a pat on your soft simian back. I hope that you understand this, girl, because the next time you make your remarks within earshot, I will break that guttersnipe's jaw."
— Saren released his hold on Kyouko's windpipe, and shoved her forward. His next words came with complete and deadly calm. —
" In case you have it in your head that your miserable juvenile stage justifies your impudence, or is any worse than what those around you have experienced in their lives... you are sorely mistaken. And if you attempt to prevail upon me that it is so difficult being you... I will shoot you in the back of the neck. Good day..."
— The Turian whirled around, sketching an airy salute at Link, the Doctor, and Samus as he began loping towards those further away from the hill. It took little time at all for his avian legs to cross the distance, and soon he was caught up with the cart. On catching sight of one Samurai's face amidst the medieval plating, he laughed out loud and extended a claw, clapping the man on the back. —
" Well well, Samurai Jack, what a pleasure to see you alive and well! How do you fare these days?"
— Saren's voice was unnaturally pleased, even ebullient. —
edited 8th Jul '13 4:21:33 PM by Colonial1.1
"He could not know it. For it was not all a joke.""I'll have you a-know," Luigi said, smiling. "We have saved many kingdoms many other times! The Mushroom Kingdom, the... uhm... I forget what was that second kingdom... the Mushroom Kingdom again... and again... and again. Boy, I just a-realized how many times the Mushroom Kingdom had to be saved!"
Pride walked alongside the cart, preferring to stay in the back, just to make sure nobody sneaked up on him or anything funny like that. When a new figure approached the cart- an atrocious being that made some of the worst-looking chimeras look like the paragons of beauty- Pride did the only logical thing: acted like a little kid. A surprised "woah" later, he walked towards Saren, looking up at the alien. "... excuse me, mister, but what are you? You don't seem like anything I've ever seen before!"
Outside the City Walls, South Gate
Stalgrim scowled down at Fluttershy once more, then let out a weary sigh and covered his face with one gauntleted hand. “Blessed Lady, give me strength,” he muttered under his breath. “I do not have time for this…”
Lowering his hand, the Captain of the City Watch turned to face Cloud. “The only dragons here, young man, are in this horse’s mind. Unless you count the statue of Nalmenox in his cult’s temple, there hasn’t been a dragon around these parts for eighty years.”
“Now then,” he went on sternly, addressing the whole group. “You want to respect the laws of Riverrock? It’s simple. Don’t steal; don’t harass the populace; don’t commit arson; don’t commit assault or murder; don’t disparage another’s faith, and do not, under any circumstances, commit acts of iconoclasm. Things are bad enough as they are without throwing religion into the mix. And of course, treat people as your peers regardless of their race. Follow these rules, and your stay in Riverrock will be a pleasant one.”
Dirt Path, approaching South Gate
“Fasscinating,” the driver said to Grey, his tone sincere. “To think that I would be having the chansse to see one ssuch ass you…truly, thesse are being sstrange timess we are living in.” The lizardman turned away, his next words soft-spoken and almost introspective. “Perhapss there is sstill being hope, yiss…”
Soon afterward the cart arrived before the city’s south gate; Sazh saw that those who had gone ahead were clustered in front of the massive gatehouse and its thirty-foot doors, being grilled by a big, tough-looking man in a suit of armour. The guy almost looked like a knight from a kid’s fairy-tale…which wasn’t all that surprising, considering that everyone else looked like they’ just walked out of a storybook too. Samurai Jack, for his part, would be able to see that the symbol emblazoned on the half-orc’s tabard—a sun with a violet eye in its center—was the exact same as the one on his own vestments.
Stalgrim looked up as they approached, taking them all in with a raised eyebrow. “The rest of Mister Elric’s party, I presume,” he said curtly. “You certainly have the look of adventurers about yourselves; a more hodgepodge group I have never seen.” The half-orc’s gaze turned to the driver of the cart. “And you, lizardman? Are you with these travellers?”
“No, noble paladin,” the driver answered with a respectful bow. “I am not being part of their company. I am being from the Sscaled Nationss; I come bearing water for your ssity and its thirssty denizenss.”
“I see. Hold there.” The Captain of the City Watch clapped his hands together sharply, and no sooner had he done this than one of the small doors built into the gate swung open and half a dozen men and women dressed in the armour of the City Watch
◊ filed out. “Check his wagon,” Stalgrim instructed them curtly. “Let’s not have a repeat of what happened earlier in the week.”
“Yes, Captain!” the guards shouted, saluting in unison. And without another word they moved around to the back of the lizardman’s wagon and began poking around in the back, checking the earthenware jars there to make sure they really contained water.
As they did this, Stalgrim turned to face Samurai Jack and inclined his head respectfully, rapping a fist against his chest. “Well met, brother paladin,” he said. “The Ivory Queen's blessings be upon you. I am Stalgrim, Captain of the Riverrock City Watch; what name may I call you?”
edited 8th Jul '13 4:00:44 PM by SullenFrog
The Danse Macabre CodexLyn listened to the Captain's advice, and nodded. So much was only to be expected, especially if the city was in such a bad state. They were soon joined by another part of the larger group. While the guards searched the wagon, Lyn decided to walk over to the man with the strange poofy hair, now clad in what she herself would consider appropriate attire for a trustworthy fighter. He seemed calmer and more in control of the situation than some of the others, so Lyn expected he might tell her more about the situation they were in.
"Excuse me, sir? Have you been part of these...challenges before?"
Join us in our quest to play all RPG video games! Moving on to disc 2 of Grandia!Cloud shrugged. "A few. Not very many AIs, though. Too expensive..."
Cloud jumped a bit, not expecting to be overheard. He nervously cleared his throat. "Do you know that, though, sir? Just because you've taken out the bull doesn't mean there aren't a few nesting females hiding somewhere..." Maybe that was where the disease was coming from. Dragons weren't exactly clean, and Cloud highly doubted these people had access to things like vaccines, if they had even invented them yet.
MY SOUL IS DARK BUT MY HAIR IS COLORFUL — Brahian Pokémon AlchemistOutside the City Walls, South Gate
Proto Man nodded at Cloud, thinking his world might not be too far off from having an AI renaissance of its own. "It gets less expensive as time goes on."
Listening to the big gruff guy say his spiel, he nodded in agreement even though he didn't have the faintest clue what 'iconoclasm' was. The rest of it sounded reasonable, though, and he hoped everyone else in the group would try to follow what he said. He stepped back some as the City Watch filed out of the door to check the reptillian fellow's cart, resolving not to bother asking about the incident that the gruff guy mentioned. He hung back and quietly watched them work, overhearing Cloud and quietly wondering what it must be like to live in a modern society, yet also have dragons around.
edited 8th Jul '13 6:52:32 PM by GlobsterAGoGo
and then they fricked in the bootyThe City Gates-South, being checked by the guards.
Sayaka turned around just in time to see Kyoko get the stuffing beaten out her by a new arrival- the arrival was elegant and in another place Sayaka would have shown more unrestrained curiosity.However, she felt a shiver run down her spine as the turian calmly put Kyoko back into her place. There was an overall detatched-ness to all of the things words that suggested a less than friendly personality.
Sayaka turned on the urge to go an pick Kyoko up and ask "Are you alright?". On second thought.....
Sayaka turned and ran to join the others who were busy being checked at the city gates along with the lizard driver- she had to pick up her new found skirts to run- now at least she knew why she had stuck to pants and short jeans for casual wear.
She stopped at the back of all the challengers crowded around the city entrance and went up on tiptoes to see what was happening- there seemed to be a big guy with about a dozen armed soldiers and they were talking to the guys in the front.
"Whats going on?"
The question was to no one in particular.
edited 8th Jul '13 6:30:06 PM by biomechtraveler
The Doctor watches Saren zoom off and attack Kyoko with a look of pure horror on his face. Should have known. You can't mouth off to him but...that violent?! At least Saren's okay. Now to help the girl.
The Doctor suddenly notices Link and gets a huge grin on his face. "Link! Great to see you! Mind if we talk while I help out the girl Saren attacked?" Good to see some of us are still safe. Good to see the Nomads haven't tortured us yet.
The Doctor suddenly turns to Samus. "You too! Me and Link here can explain everything we know about the challenges. He's been here since the beginning of this set, actually. So, mind asking again what you would like to know?"
The Doctor starts to slowly walk over to Kyoko and sticks out his hand as an offer of assistance. "Hello, miss, I'm the Doctor. I'm deeply sorry about my friend there. He's got an uncontrollable temper and seems you set him off. Anything I can do to help?"
Fluttershy looked up at Edward. "He's not?" the pony said, looking at him like he just said something incredibly unbelievable. She nervously got up. "I-I-If you say so," she said in a hushed tone. Slowly the pony walked away from Stalim but sticking close to Edward and stay as far away from Guilmon as possible. She kept turning her gaze at the Digimon with frightened caution, like he was a rabid dog bound only by a rusty chain that was on the verge of breaking.
DAMMIT MARK, STOP HITTING HELPY!!Jack swung himself up into the saddle and fell into an easy pace alongside the wagon, getting used to the horse's quirks and vagaries. It had been quite a while since he had ridden anything and he knew full well he would be quite sore the following day. But still, it felt good, for it was familiar. This he knew.
As they came up to the gate, he was quite surprised to see Saren once again. Not only that, but seeming much friendlier than the samurai had previously known him. Jack returned the other man's smile - not having seen his behavior a moment before - and greeted him.
"It is good to see you again as well, though of course I am sorry that you have again been conscripted into such service as we now perform. I hope that you have fared well since we last met. At least we can be assured of doing better now that you are here. Your skill and experience have been sorely missed."
He would have spoken further, but then they were at the gate. Each city had a different character to it, or so Jack thought, and he looked forward to learning this place's nature. So far, it seemed a mighty stronghold, at least, and well guarded, which could be a good or bad thing. Then the tusked guard spoke to him as a brother and he was cast into a moment's doubt. A lie of omission was still a lie and by rights he should identify himself as not of whatever brotherhood this warrior belonged to. Yet to have appeared as such a thing was not of his doing. Perhaps it was the role he was meant to play here? He made his decision.
"And to you," he replied, making as much of a bow as he could in the saddle. "They call me Jack. I and my comrades have travelled far and your land is new to us, but we hope our time here will be to the good. I have heard something of your troubles. Where might we go to offer our aid? Our talents are many and varied and I have no doubt there are many services we could perform to help you."
A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving. -Lao TzuOutside the City Walls, South Gate
“Hmm?” Sazh turned, surprised to find himself being addressed by that green-haired woman he’d seen talking with the red lizard thing before they’d all been sucked through the portal. He couldn’t help noticing that her clothes looked the same as they’d been before, unlike just about everyone else…but then, her getup had already been a perfect fit for this strange place.
He listened to what she had to say, and he found himself scratching awkwardly at the back of his head…or at least he’d meant to, before the cool texture of leather reminded him that he was wearing a helmet now. “No, ma’am,” he said at length. “This’d be my first, though I did go through somethin’ a little like this about a year ago. I guess we’re supposed to be helpin’ these people cure this plague, but unless there’s some kinda monster to shoot I ain’t gonna be much help there…”
He paused. “Sorry, I should probably introduce myself. My name’s Sazh, Sazh Katzroy. You?”
Nearby the wagon, one of the guards overheard Cloud’s question and let out a snort. “Please. It’s been eight decades since the black dragon Praxidiometes disappeared; if that monster had any mates or offspring, they’d have reared their ugly heads by now.”
“Pipe down and get back to work,” another guard admonished the first.
Stalgrim, for his part, blew out a breath. “Where to even begin… you have come to us at a most inauspicious time, Brother Jack. The plague and the tainted waters it springs from are only one of three problems facing Riverrock.” He pointed off towards the horizon, in the direction the Champions had come from. “Relations with the Scaled Nations, our lizardfolk neighbours to the south, have become increasingly strained of late; the city council fears that at least some of their tribes may be pushing for war, and with the sickness ravaging our streets and our people that isn’t a war we can hope to win.
“Worse,” he continued, “several nomad tribes have come down from the Gogol Plains to the north, seeking refuge within our walls. They say that they were driven south by a vicious nocturnal enemy, a pitiless force that vanishes with the dawn and rises with dusk, their numbers always greater than the night before.” Stalgrim’s expression was grim. “The curse of undeath has taken root in the Gogol Plains, and the dead now march.”
The Danse Macabre CodexOutside the City Walls, South Gate
"Huh?" Guilmon turns his gaze down on Edward, he looks confused, he stood up, towering over Edward. "Why is she scared of me, mister Edward?"
"Come on its fine. I'm not going to eat you." Suddenly, a loud roaring rumble came from Guilmon's stomach, and he puts one hand on his stomach and the other one on his head out of embarrassment.
"Hehehe; Oh eh, I'm sorry."
Hearing Stalgrim talk to Jack, Guilmon went into thoughts. All these problems… I don't know how to help in every single one of them. Guilmon put his hand on his head; he had a distressed expression on his face. How am I supposed to help them do this? Wait, no. I just need to focus on getting back to the challenge, let these other guys do the thinking, yeah, they should be able to do it, I just need to follow them and I'll be getting back home soon. I can't wait to see Takato again, with Calumon saved, and everyone else again. He thought.
Outside the City Walls, South Gate
Ranmaru looked at Stalgrim with a blank face. Inside he was doubtful. The dead, walking? Even Orochi could not do that. True, there were folk tales about giant skeletons and ghosts, and Daqiao once told a story about the hopping, stiff bodies called Kyounshi, but they were just that — stories. The lizard-men pushing for war and the plague he found more believable. However, the overall path of action stayed the same for the page; he would help the township to the best of his ability, as his master would have no doubt wanted.
“My liege Stalgrim,” he said, “I would be honoured to offer my help to your town.”
Riku supposed that those were the challenges that they would have to face. Stop the plague, negotiate a peace, and stop the strange night beasts. Looking around, Riku noted that there would be enough of them to tackle all three problems at once.
The thinkers could be put on Plague duty, The more eloquent of the group could travel to thee Scaled Nations and negotiate. All the while those who were more combat oriented made could investigate and hopefully defeat the Gogol's assailants.
It was only a matter of Organizing this group which might pose a challenge in and of itself.
PM box is Closed, Indefinitely Friend Code: 3368-4181-6850The fuzzles merely glowered at Stranger. As much as the steef had a point, his treatment of them was still fairly unforgivable. A smaller pile of steaks appeared, which the little furballs started to eat, if only to get their minds off the previous conversation.
"You didn't have to use our kind, though," one fuzzle said before joining the other three, most definitely ending the conversation.
"U-U-U-Undead?" Fluttershy squeeked after Stalim explained the full range of problems the city was facing. She particularly did not want to deal with the hordes of zombies, as the only zombie movie she ever saw was that one story based on an old Everfree Forest Legend, and she was freaking out so bad during it*.
Then Guilmon's stomach growled.
She screamed and flew right upon Ranmaru's head, clamping down on it like a frightened cat.
DAMMIT MARK, STOP HITTING HELPY!!"...you've got to be fucking kidding me" Johnny muttered. More out loud, he responded: "So, angry tribal lizardmen to the south, vampires to the north and a plague in between. Anything to the east and west we should know about?"
Lyndis nodded. An experienced fighter, but he was new to this situation as well. Still, he seemed like a man she could trust. She smiled at him.
"I am Lady Lyndis of Caelin. Nice to make your acquaintance, master Katzroy."
As the paladin spoke about the problems the region was facing, she listened attentively to the news of the plains people. While this was far from Sacae, she felt like wanting to help the nomads...
Join us in our quest to play all RPG video games! Moving on to disc 2 of Grandia!South Gate, outside the city walls- Becoming a hero
Well....aren't these guys screwed. The city seemed to be beset with danger and threat of annihilation- disease within, lizard folk like the one in the cart pushing for war and what was that? Dead people marching in the 'gogol' plains wherever that was. Did they seriously expect her to be able to help in all this?
I sure hope I don't Catch the disease..
As Sayaka looked around she realised something: these guys were actually serious about helping. But....it was impossible right? if problems in such a grand city could be fixed surely someone would have already stepped up and done the job right? Sayaka did not like the situation at all- what if she died or something? and all this so far from home- she wasn't even sure if she could get back home...and with only the foul mouthed and nasty Kyoko to keep her company. Suddenly the crystal city didn't seem to be so daunting- perhaps even that place was better than where she was now....the kind old man called Yee was there at least and she had no fear for her life. Now...it was not so.
A quiet voice spoke in the back of her mind, a little piece of consciousness and reason amid the fear and doubt: 'But Sayaka....you became a Puella Magi so that you could help people right?'
'You wanted to be that knight in shining armour, the one who fought for love and justice- well, isn't the situation right now exactly the kind of thing you wanted combat?'
For a moment Sayaka stopped breathing- that's right: Sacrifice without reward....what it meant to be a magical girl.
Heh, what have I been thinking?
At that moment, a girl's voice piped up:"I can Help"- a blue haired girl in a maid costume custom to these places squeezed her way to the front line to stand side by side with Jack the paladin, Sazh and Edward.
"I-I..I can heal people an-and I can help wherever you need me to".
edited 9th Jul '13 8:05:12 PM by biomechtraveler
Outside the City Walls, South Gate
“Err…ya don’t have to call me ‘master,’ ma’am,” Sazh said, feeling more than a touch self-conscious. “Sazh is fine, really.”
He listened attentively as that Stalgrim guy laid out the situation, his expression turning grim at what he heard. Damn, but these people had it even rougher than he’d thought. Monsters, sickness, the threat of war…any one of these things would have been bad enough, but all at once? The thought of it brought to mind the pandemonium of the l’Cie’s return to Cocoon, when Dysley had unleashed all those Pulsian monsters from the Fifth Ark on Eden to butcher the populace. If this turned out to be anything like that, Riverrock would need all the help it could get.
A second after Ranmaru and Sayaka said their pieces, he took a step forward. “I can help too,” he said. “I may not be able to cure people, but I can use magic—and I’ve learned a thing or two ‘bout killin’ monsters.”
On his shoulder, the Chocobo chick let out an agreeing tweet as it puffed itself up and struck a heroic pose.
Stalgrim said nothing for a long moment, his thoughts unreadable as he scrutinized the assembled Champions. “If you are serious about trying to help, if you truly intend to try and resolve these three crises, then you will need to make preparations. I can use my influence to make sure you acquire whatever supplies you’ll need, and to ensure you receive proper lodgings.”
By the wagon, one of the guards called out. “They’re clean, Captain; nothing but water in these jugs.”
“Excellent.” Stalgrim turned his gaze on the wagon’s driver and inclined his head respectfully. “The city of Riverrock thanks you for your charity in these trying times, good man.”
“It wass being nothing,” the lizardman said, somewhat bashfully. “I could not be sstanding by and doing nothing while your ssity sufferss, yiss.”
“Nevertheless, you have our thanks.” Turning, the Captain of the City Watch glanced up towards the top of the gatehouse. “Open the gate!” he barked. “And help this man bring his wares in!”
No sooner had these words left Stalgrim’s lips than the sound of grinding gears and straining winches filled the air as that great iron portcullis rose all the way up until only the teeth of its bars could be seen. Then there came a series of heavy thumps and clacks, like a series of massive deadbolt locks and door bars being disengaged; and once these had stopped, the massive thirty-foot doors of the gate itself slowly began to swing inward with a deafening groan.
A hooded figure dressed in a simple robe stepped through the opening gates, their head bowed and their hands carrying a wide box not unlike the kind meant for storing silverware. The figure strode up to Stalgrim and opened the box, revealing its contents. “The visitors’ masks, Captain Stalgrim,” it stated.
“Excellent. Step forward, travellers!” Stalgrim reached into the box and held up a wooden mask; it was carved in the shape of the lower half of a smiling face and had a long, curving nose. “Those infected with the plague can spread it by coughing or sneezing,” the Captain explained. “Fortunately for you, these masks have been specially prepared and enchanted to protect their wearers from disease. So long as you wear them, you won’t have to worry about accidentally catching the plague. And don’t worry about size; the magic in them shapes the mask to fit its wearer’s face.”
The Danse Macabre Codex"I have no idea." Edward replied, idly scratching his hair. "But if I'd have to guess, it's the result of some bad experiences with dragons—" The grumble in Guilmon's stomach sent Fluttershy flying away, and Edward rolled his eyes once more. "Listen, Flutter, if he was a dragon, don't you think he'd have, you know, eaten us or burned us to a crisp by now?"
He muttered something under his breath, before walking over to Stalgrim and grabbing a mask. "Right. We should divide and conquer. Establish what kind of people will be necessary to take care of each trouble, and then divide the group based on that." He then looked back at Sazh, raising an eyebrow. "Where's Selim? He should stick close to one of us. Still wondering why in the world did the old man bring him here- kid's got no abilities, as far as I know."
Near the gate — don't startle the guy with the sword!
When Fluttershy launched herself toward Ranmaru's head, the samurai acted purely on instinct: he unsheathed his gigantic sword as much as it was possible and interposed it between his head and the pony. Unfortunately for Fluttershy, that meant that she was headed straight toward a blade designed to cut through armoured cavalry and their horses with one strike, and while it wasn't positioned correctly to cut her in twain, it was sharp enough to inflict some serious wounds…
edited 10th Jul '13 7:39:43 AM by desdendelle
On empty crossroads, seek the eclipse -- for when Sol and Lua align, the lost shall find their way home.As Shotaro put on the mask, he noticed Ranmaru preparing his sword to cleave... Fluttershy!? Though from his perspective, Fluttershy was going into the direction of Ranmaru's blade. "H-hey!!!" Shotaro shouted. He wanted to go and push Ranmaru out of the way, but the guards might be able to stop him.

"... one moment." Edward said, walking over to Fluttershy, getting on one knee to get a good look at her. "Flutter," He said, preferring to use just the first part of her name, as he tried to move her hooves away from her face. "Come on. You don't have to be afraid, he's friendly. And not a dragon. Now, will you stop hiding there so we can get back to our mission?"