THE SLORG!
Markonville, the lair entrance
"Berryleaf" Ailuin repeated with a nod, then introduced himself, "well then, I am Ailuin."
"Just call me Dhremir" Dhremir muttered.
"And I'm Trikiz" Trikiz added in. "By the way, I got a quest from the guild" the half oni then mentioned, and explained, "you remember those whipping plants in the second floor? Someone wants one of them brought up, alive."
"What? You want us to bring up one of those damned things intact?" Dhremir asked in a somewhat incredulous tone.
"It was the best request I saw for the second floor" Trikiz said, giving a shrug. "Plus, since we have a healer now, it shouldn't be so bad, right?" the half oni pointed out.
"Speaking of, perhaps we should all explain what our expertise is" Ailuin suggested. "I'm a spell caster; I specialize in placing magical traps and hindering foes in the battlefield" the elf explained.
"Oh, yes" Trikiz agreed. "I don't really have magic like pure oni, but I still have the strength, and I'm quick too, so I brawl" the half oni went on, grabbing her two gloves and slipping them on, then flipping the metal strips into place where she could punch with them.
Trikiz and Ailuin then both looked at Dhremir. The dwarf stayed silent for a few moments, then let out a little huff. "... I think it's rather obvious what I do" Dhremir said.
You are reading this.
For the Horde!
Berryleaf smiled at the gathered group, giving a token nod to the half-oni and letting her smile fade briefly before returning her composure.
"Well met, Reynial, Alluin, Dhremir, Tri— T-Trikiz," she addressed the group in order. "I can try and help get that plant up intact. If it's at all possible I'd like to try and gather some seeds from some of the flowers as well. And some nectar. They make good healing potions."
Willowbark took the coins and placed them into a lockbox underneath the counter, then began to rummage through his book again.
"Let's see... where did I put that old thing? Ah yes, wait right here and I'll go get it for you," he told the skeleton man, walking slowly into the back room with his cane and starting to rifle through some of the disorganized shelves.
"A-ha! Here we are," Willowbark stated, pulling a dusty-looking bottle from the back of a disused shelf.
"Not much call for this kind of magical assistance around these parts," he said. "I was lucky to have one of these in stock. Here you are, best of luck to you," he told the skeletal adventurer.
Edited by AllHailThrall on Aug 2nd 2020 at 1:42:42 PM
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
THE SLORG!
Markonville, the lair entrance
Dhremir let out a slight grunt. "Seeds and nectar from the things down there? Good potions? I thought it was all terribly poisonous" Dhremir said in a somewhat incredulous tone.
"Now now, sometimes the difference between a poison and a medicine is just how you use it, and how much of it you use" Ailuin pointed out.
"Really? Could you give an example?" Dhremir asked, still sounding doubtful.
"I could, in fact" Ailuin answered immediately, with a confident nod. "My great grandfather once put on a glove that he didn't know was cursed; it took control of his arm and tried to choke him to death. So, one of his accomplices sliced him in the arm with a dagger coated in a poison of paralysis; it made the muscles in his arm go limp and useless, so the cursed glove couldn't do anything. So it gave them time to find an expert on curse dispelling, and saved his life" the elf explained, clearly reciting the tale from being told it himself.
"Plus, that expert who dispelled the curse was my great grandmother, and that's how the two met" Ailuin added, pointing to the ground at his feet, "so if it wasn't for that paralysis poison, I wouldn't even be here."
"... Oh. Well alright then" Dhremir muttered in a tone of reluctantly admitted defeat, and glanced back at Berryleaf.
You are reading this.
As Willowbark gave Yarris the elixir, the skeleton man then replied: “If it’s alright with you, I think I’ll try the elixir right here in the shop. Now I’m not doubtin’ the elixir won’t work but I am veerin’ on caution here. Listen if it works out for me then I’ll be forever in ya debt, if it doesn’t then I honestly can’t blame you at all for tryin’ cuz again I’m very thankful that your the very first person that’s tryin’ to help me out. So without further delay, here goes nothin’.” Yarris then took the elixir to his face and downed a little bit of it. Now the outcome of the elixir, the atmosphere inside the shop was probably electric.
Not knowing what to do, Yarris then closed his eyes waiting for a transformation or something to happen. All he could now was wait, there was a moment’s pause, Yarris opened his eyes again and then looked carefully at himself to see if there had been any changes to him but to his dismay there wasn’t any changes. But before he could do anything else, his body start rattling and shaking almost like it was a cork from a bottle, his skull like face started changing from blue to green to red and purple in quick succession and because he was shaking so much, steam started bellowing out of his mouth and then very quickly a small jet of fire came out of him. When the latter happened, Yarris made sure not to spew the uncontrollable jet of fire at Willowbark at a bit of the celling.
Then as if by magic, Yarris’ head then popped off his body, flew right into the air making Yarris fall down onto the ground and then the head landed into his arms with a thump. Yarris coughed uncontrollably once it was all over, he wasn’t damaged in any way but he unfortunately couldn’t get up because his head was dislodged from his neck. “I think…we can both definitely say that it didn’t work…” Yarris managed to muster in-between his coughing bouts and having to lift his head with his arms just so Willowbark could see him talking. “A little help please.” He then added awkwardly indicating his body laying on the ground.
Bona-Fide Mastah
Lair Entrance
Reynial gives a haughty "Hmph." At the question of abilities, then says simply, "Were my title and accouterments not enough of an indication, I am a Magus, student of Master Arkevin the Ancient, and master over the smoldering element of fire!"
HE raises his hand to his face, half covering it. "Be it overgrown plant life or a towering inferno. The ocean's endless expanse or the depths of a volcano, none shall be a match for my raging flames!"
Markonville Adventurer's Guild
"A mage, hmmm..." The Cloudscale rubbed his chin with his single gloved hand while his gaze turned toward the ceiling while he considered his current wares. "Well, I've got a variety of robes, hats, staves and such on hand at the moment that might be useful for magic, though I expect I'll be getting most of my weapons and armor from adventurers who don't want them any more now that I've moved in."
Haze rubbed the back of his neck and gave an awkward smile as he realized depending on the adventurers to sell their gear to him probably sounded pretty risky. "But I've got a source for other adventuring gear that might be handy, like compasses you can orient to always point to the exit, or enchanted ropes that can pull you out of pits, or quills that map the dungeon for you while you walk around... And if curses are something he's worried about I've got powder that glows when sprinkled on enchanted items. More expensive and less accurate than letting me identify them" he chuckles and pulls a pair of folded glasses out of his vest pocket "But at least you know if it's not enchanted then there's no risk of it being cursed!"
Edited by BlitzTrain on Aug 3rd 2020 at 6:23:17 AM
THE SLORG!
Markonville, the lair entrance
"Oh, a flashy blasty boy are you? That will be great to have down there" Dhremir said to Reynial. "Just try not to burn us alive along with the monsters; and you're still only getting an equal cut" the dwarf added, stepping over closer to the staircase down into the lair.
"Alright then, are you all ready to go?" Dhremir asked, sounding only mildly excited, and a little impatient.
Ailuin looked at Reynial. "Master Arkevin the Ancient, really? I've heard of him; a most impressive tutor" Ailuin commented.
Edited by FirockFinion on Aug 3rd 2020 at 9:35:23 AM
You are reading this.
Bona-Fide Mastah
Markonville Adventurers’ Guild
Maria giggle, resting her elbows on her desk and nestling her chin into her hands, “Impressive~! You’ve been doing this for a while then?”
Long as Reyn doesn’t just bring a basket of “cursed” stones in...he should be fine...I think.
Lair Entrance
While he doesn’t respond to the dwarf, he mentally blows a raspberry at him. Like I’d be that careless!
He turns to the elf, “Tis not surprising to have heard of Master Arkevin’s exploits, for he is among the magical elite, a renowned magus who knows no equal!”
He folds his arms, “Truly a fitting teacher to hone my skills!”
He begins to follow the dwarf toward the entrance as he speaks.
THE SLORG!
Markonville, the lair entrance
Ailuin had a little scoff. "No equal? Come now; Arkevin is good no doubt, but there are others at or beyond his level of mastery, both now and in the past" Ailuin retorted. "Though I will say one thing in his favor: I would most certainly want to see how he would fare in a duel against the Demon Queen" the elf added.
"Yeah, but only from really really far away" Dhremir said flatly.
"Hey, didn't you say he's over two hundred years old?" Trikiz asked Reynial, cutting into the conversation; she also had perhaps slightly misremembered what exactly Reynial had said. "So was he around when the Demon Queen was? Do you think maybe he did fight her once?" the half oni questioned further.
"I highly doubt he fought her" Dhremir argued.
"Why's that?" Trikiz wondered, sounding skeptical of Dhremir just dismissing it outright.
"Simple: He's still alive" Dhremir pointed out, glancing back over his shoulder to Trikiz.
Edited by FirockFinion on Aug 7th 2020 at 7:43:36 AM
You are reading this.
For the Horde!
Berryleaf crossed her arms and smiled, nodding.
"Exactly. Besides, even plants that are deadly poisonous on their own can have medicinal properties when distilled down to their base components," she said, thinking for a moment. "At least, that's what Father told me. I never really understood much of that myself. I just get the ingredients..."
She looked slightly sheepish for a moment, wincing when Reynial said that 'overgrown plant life wouldn't be a match for raging flames' and looking nervously at the mountain elf.
Willowbark gasped as Yarris had a very bizarre reaction to the potion. Then when the skeletal warrior fell apart in front of him, he stood, moving to help Yarris up.
"Well, that's never happened before," Willowbark murmured, pulling Yarris to his feet. "This is more serious than I thought. We're going to need to brew something more custom for your ailment," he said. "My daughter just went to gather ingredients from the dungeon. Hopefully with something down there I can help this... whatever sort of curse you've been afflicted with. I'm truly sorry that my potion didn't work..."
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
Yarris was pulled up onto his feet and once he did that, he then put his head back onto his neck, it was back to front at first but once Yarris spun his skull like head back into place he was facing Willowbark properly. Once he had time to get his breath back, he stood there in silence for a moment just looking rather solemnly because he already knew that the potion had failed for a few seconds and when he heard Willowbark apologising to him, Yarris then smiled at him and put both of his boney hands on Willowbark's shoulders. "Willowbark, mate, come on, ya don't need to apologise for anythin'. You honestly aren't to blame for everythin' that's happened to me so far, I'm just happy that someone's helpin' me out for a change." He then retracted his hands off the old faery's shoulders slowly as he turned to the side and crossed his arms pondering what his next course of action was gonna be.
"Now I came here because I heard 'bout this dungeon. I believe ya might be right about there being stuff that might help me. I guess my next course of action is to head toward the dungeon then." He concluded and started strolling towards the door of the shop. Yarris didn't exit the shop just yet but turned around to face Willowbark again. "I have a feeling that you and ya shop are gonna be around in the long run for me." Yarris said still smiling. "At the very least I've got somewhere I can turn to about me and my current appearance that is. If I ever need ya, I'll know where to find ya."
Then a thought came to Yarris just before he was about to open the door but then he quickly turned around. "Ya have a daughter? Goin' there? Tell me what's her name? And what does she look like so I can look for her?"
Edited by TheStarscream759 on Aug 7th 2020 at 2:16:43 PM
Markonville Adventurer's Guild
"Well, you could say enchantments and curses are my life. It's not always easy to find someone who knows the difference between removing a curse and destroying an enchanted object" Haze put the enchanted identification glasses on, but at present the silver rimmed lenses merely served as a personal reminder that he still had business to do. "Anyway how much do I owe you for the advertising space, Miss...?"
Edited by BlitzTrain on Aug 7th 2020 at 9:47:33 AM
Bona-Fide Mastah
Lair Entrance
"I..." Reyn thinks for a moment, "I believe...he has just passed his two hundred and twenty-ninth nameday...or so Master says."
He taps his chin, staff resting on his shoulder. "As for his involvement in the war...that, I know not. I've yet to learn all there is to know of Master Arkevin."
Markonville Adventurers' Guild
Maria straightens her posture, one hand placed daintily over her chest in though. "Hm...for this time..."
She closes her eyes, tolts her head to the side, and smiles, "It's on the house!"
She extends her hand in greeting, "And...it's Fortensia. Mariayn Vin Fortensia." She giggles, "Buuuuuut, that's a mouthful, so you can call me Maria, if it suits you~"
THE SLORG!
Markonville, into the lair
"Then he would've been a boy of only fourteen or fifteen in the war. All the more certain then that he didn't have a run in with the Queen" Dhremir commented as he led the way into the lair, the top of the stairwell being slightly obscured with a shimmering magic as the strong enchantments of the dungeon took hold.
"But he may have still been here, in Aldan. Unlike you Dhremir" Ailuin pointed out. "I'm surprised he wouldn't tell you of his experiences during the war" the elf added toward Reynial.
"There's probably nothing he wants to remember" Dhremir guessed, lighting up a torch and holding it overhead. "I was a conscript in the Mountain Army at the time, positioned at one of the border towns" the dwarf explained as he kept his eyes to the floor, referring to a dwarven kingdom on the West side of Aldan. Every boy that comes of age there is required to spend at least one year of service in the military, though with family traditions that one year usually turns into at least a decade; so long as they are still at that minimum mandatory rank though, they are referred to as conscripts.
"Yes, I never saw the fighting, but we had groups of refugees fleeing into the mountains from Aldan. Some of the stories they told... Still gives me shivers some nights" Dhremir continued, then stopped his walking, and held his free arm out. "Trap here; stay on the right" the dwarf informed the others, stepping around the subtly marked pressure plate.
"I see... Well, I wasn't born yet during the war" Ailuin mentioned as he moved around the plate. "I'm guessing, if you are a student of Master Arkevin, you weren't either" the elf went on, again referring to Reynial.
"What about you, Berryleaf?" Ailuin then asked, looking back at the healer.
Edited by FirockFinion on Aug 10th 2020 at 5:41:59 AM
You are reading this.
Bona-Fide Mastah
Lair 1st floor
Reynial carefully steps around the trap, then taps the butt of his staff on his boot, muttering a short incantation. Upon doing so, the ruby set in the tip begins to glow a soft red light.
"I was indeed not of this world at the time. I only reached my 60th nameday this past month. And it was not until my fourty-fifth that I began my tutalige."
For the Horde!
Berryleaf tilted her head and sighed when the topic of the war was brought up.
"When the war was going on I was still living in Linatharan. I was hearing about all those people dying in the fight and I wanted to go and help, to heal people. But Father said it was too dangerous. I was a little girl then, I had no idea of the atrocities the oni were committing at the time," she admitted. "Most of the Children of Tarna were too focused on protecting themselves to even think about helping the poor humans. But there were others like me who wanted to aid in things."
Berryleaf followed the group, entering the dungeon after them and lifting into the air shortly after she entered.
"There are more of those where that came from!" she exclaimed. "Let me scout ahead. I can fly over the ground without triggering the traps."
Willowbark smiled and nodded at Yarris as he poured his heart to the old faerie.
"Of course. I will always help those in need of magical aid," he assured Yarris. "Rest assured I will find a way to cure you."
His smile faded slightly when Yarris inquired about his daughter.
"Her name is Berryleaf," he tersely stated. "Yay high, brown and green hair, green eyes, green tunic and wings. She's a healer and she is spoken for, thank you very much."
Edited by AllHailThrall on Aug 12th 2020 at 9:33:31 AM
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
And then a realisation came to him as soon as he said this: "Ohhh no...ohhh no...she doesn't know who I am, I'm a walkin' talkin' skeleton, and if I so much as go near her, she's bound to freak out at my appearance..." It had never occurred to Yarris until now that Berryleaf was more likely to have the same reaction as most people would have when encountering him, either look upon him with disgust and call him a monster or like he had just said flee.
The only thing Yarris could do now was face-palm his forehead and just groan from this fact. "What do I do? I can't just hide from her, I've got to go to the dungeon anyway..."
THE SLORG!
Ysersya's lair, fast forwarding a bit...
There wasn't room enough for Berryleaf to get clearance over other people's heads, but when all she needed was to keep her feet off the floor, her wings were working nicely. "Alright, but stay within sight; it's not just traps up here" Dhremir commented as they moved along.
"I think what he means is that we don't want to risk losing our healer" Ailuin added.
Still, with Berryleaf's assistance and the others already having been through the floor at least once, the passage through the first floor went without much incident. There was an encounter with a rabid giant rat, but Dhremir and Trikiz together made short work of it without even getting scratched.
Finally they found a staircase leading down, and Dhremir smothered his torch out as they entered the more well-lit second floor. "Alright, now the games are over. Everybody stay close" Dhremir said, getting his axe and shield ready and taking the lead. "I'm taking front; watch my back. That includes the ceiling this time" the dwarf instructed as he stepped over vines and roots lining the floor. The silence of the first floor was replaced by a constant humming and chirping of bugs elsewhere on the second floor, making a constant background ambience. Trikiz and Ailuin made themselves ready for combat, and were constantly looking around the sides of the group.
Edited by FirockFinion on Aug 14th 2020 at 3:10:39 AM
You are reading this.
Markonville Adventurer's Guild
Haze and Maria would find that they were not the only ones in the Adventurer's Guild building. A four-foot tall chinchilla, dressed in various rags and leather with a quiver of arrows at his back and a walking stick in hand entered the building.
His name was Thord and he was in a most unpleasant mood. He had just finished an adventurer where he'd rescued a Ranger from a lair of giant spiders nearby. Having just finished drinking and gambling away all of his earnings from such a quest, he normally would have been in a good mood.
But two bandits had set upon him earlier that day on his way to Markonville. Normally, that would have been cause for celebration - Thord loved killing bandits. He would have especially loved killing these two bandits since they kept laughing at the fact that Thord was a chinchilla. For some reason, humans really seemed to get a kick out of that fact. Thord had stuck one of them in the arm with an arrow but then they'd fled and he hadn't even gotten the satisfaction of killing either of them and making them pay for their boldness and insults.
So as it was, he entered Markonville's Adventurers' Guild in a sour mood, having asked around the locals to find where the best spot to receive quests was.
"Lady, are you in charge of this place? I need something to kill please!" Thord boomed at Maria, giving a small nod to Haze as he walked in.
Markonville Adventurer's Guild
"That is a rather fancy name, Maria. I'm just Haze the cursebreaker" Haze says with a slightly embarrassed smile as he shakes her hand "I guess I should come by for a drink sometime then"
The scaled young man didn't get a chance to say any more as a rather loud and fluffy individual came in. Haze blinked in surprise and stepped a little to the side to stay out of his way since it sounded like he might be an adventurer seeking the guild's services.
Edited by BlitzTrain on Aug 15th 2020 at 8:06:37 AM
For the Horde!
Berryleaf landed slightly behind the group, looking down the passageway as they passed down to the second floor. She kept her ears open and her eyes alert. In addition, she was looking all around for any potential ingredients, specifically searching for any odd-looking mushrooms or flowers.
Willowbark sighed, looking a bit ashamed of himself.
"Right. I'm sorry," he muttered. "Berryleaf is just my... my little emerald princess and I don't think I'd know what I'd do if anything happened to her. That's why I didn't want her to go in there. But... she can't be sheltered all her life," he sighed.
"Knowing her, she's probably already went in. Don't worry about finding her, you won't. The dungeon is odd like that, it exists on multiple layers of reality at once," he explained.
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
Bona-Fide Mastah
Lair, level 2
With a flick, Reyn extinguishes the light on his staff.
Never gets any easier, with all these plants...feels like something’s about to come hunt me down...stay strong, Reynial...stay strong.
He keeps his senses alert, snapping his gaze from side to side.
Markonville Adventurers’ Guild
Maria smiles again, “Well we’d be glad to have you h-EEEE-!”
She squeaks as there is suddenly a talking rodent loudly proclaiming his presence.
“I, I mean-“
Calm yourself, girl! It’s just a rat...man...beast man? Man rat? Rat rat? ??!?
Shaking herself back into composure, she addresses the chinchilla, “L-Looking for a job? Are you l-looking for jobs in the Lair or outside of the Lair, uh...sir...?”
Adventurers' Guild
"I came here for the Lair. It seemed worthy of an adventurer of my caliber. But I'll settle for something outside of the Lair if it promises me a good fight. It's been too long since I've had a proper scrap!" Thord proclaimed.
"You know what I'm saying, I'm sure! I don't need to tell a lady that surrounds herself with adventurers about the joy of a good fight, do I? Ho ho!" the bloodthirsty chinchilla chuckled loudly, not really caring if anyone laughed along with him.
THE SLORG!
Ysersya's lair, floor two
There weren't any mushrooms or flowers to see yet, just lots of leaves and vines and the occasional waiting maw of a trapper plant, nearly hidden among other plants. The open path ahead of them, such as it was, went forward a bit then took a turn to the right, but Dhremir paused at the turn. "Look here, just like we saw before. There's no actual wall behind these plants; they're just too thick to get through easily" Dhremir commented, pointing the plants in front of them at the turn. "At least, they were before. Mister flames, care to make a path?" the dwarf suggested, taking a step aside and glancing back at Reynial.
"I wonder if the flames will scare off the bugs or just draw them in" Trikiz thought out loud.
"Probably depends on the bug" Ailuin guessed.
You are reading this.
Lair Entrance
Reyn tilts his gaze up at the guard's stares. Tch...humans don't change, do they.
As he enters valley, he takes it all in. All the adventurers preparing themselves, some much more experienced than he. He felt his chest tighten, his break quicken.
Calm yourself, Reynial! This is no time for nerves, no time for being overzealous. Remember Master's teachings...
Breath deeply, Little Flame. Let your mind clear. A clear mind is a mind concentrated. Concentration leads to clarity. Clarity leads to mastery.
The words of another elf snaps him back to reality. He takes another moment, takes a deep breath, and flashes a, somewhat forced, grin. "Kahah-! I've dealt with worse in a miner's tavern! His nature bothers me not a whit."
And then a Faery appears, causing faint prickles to rattle down his spine, but he shakes them off. "Well met, Lady of the Wood! You may address me as Reynial, the Rising Flame!"
Markonville Adventurers' Guild
Mariayn taps her chin, "Yes, I do indeed!"
She crosses her arms, fingers drumming on her forearm. "He's a Mage, so...it probably depends on what you have in stock...or if he thinks something's cursed or not."