[IC] The Great Dragon War

[lostandfoundme]

Therezias breath hitches at Fenrirs words. Yell out? Therezia hasn't yelled in... ever. She was just getting comfortable talking, and now she should yell? Her lips turn into a thin line as she glances at the ground, but the yellow glow in her hands gives her reassurance.

Then she shakes her head. "What if they cannot understand? Wouldn't yelling make us seem like more of a threat?" She asks her companions, sounding more unsure again.

She remembered back in her childhood days, how she was forced to learn latin by the nuns in the cloister. They always had sounded angry to her while speaking in it, the foreign language sounding harsh in her ears. "If they cannot understand then it's important that the way we're making ourselves known doesn't sound hostile, right?"

She looks around a bit more, shivering a bit as her gaze falls on the stalactites hanging from the ceiling. With the moist walls and the sharp rock formations, it made her feel like they were standing inside a dragons mouth, just waiting to be devoured. She forces herself to look away, but the thought stays in the back of her mind.

[Blue Wolf]

.

[TruckKun]

The Great Dragon War

@AftonsBlessing
Both Gerard and Halbrant speak almost in unison with variations of 'now that is the best idea you have had, though that doesn't take much'

@Blue Wolf

As you focus your senses you hear definite voices and you notice that the 'Wind' carries more humidity than the surrounding air, and it has a similar smell to the substance, the 'breath condensate' you found outside.
@lostandfoundme
Your guards remain in position, and one answers you honestly "While that is a possibility, imagine what you would do if some one started shouting, ad you thought they were angry, and you knew not why. You would check it out. And if you found the source, and they seemed peaceful what would you do. Think if hearing Latin, thinking that its angry and you find a nice peaceful nun"

[AftonsBlessing]

With a sharp exhale, Fenrir straightens his back so as to look non-threatening, his own mind still not made up on what he should do, whether to yell and risk the entire plan being ruined, or not and get killed for the rudeness and in the end, decides

I think I may address the dragon now, but upon Lord Therezias request, I will only speak so as to have my presence known, but I will not shout and possibly frighten whatever is down here.

He gives a small smile of encouragement as he turns back to the darker side of the cave, and speaks plainly, not loud, as the echo barely reverberates as he speaks, but the low rumble of his voice carrying the words farther than they probably could normally

ahem... Hello! I am terribly sorry to intrude, we mean no threat or ill intent! We are a party of lords and their guards, only a few. If possible we would like to commune with you, and tell our story if at all possible..

His voice stops, listening to the cave and watching for any signs of life

[Blue Wolf]

Aria slowly closes her eyes, shutting out the dim cavern around her as she focuses solely on her other senses. The cave settles into silence after Lord Fenrir's greeting, yet something feels... different.A faint murmur.

Voices. Too distant to distinguish, little more than broken fragments carried upon the moving air.Her brow furrows.Then she notices it. The next current that washes over them is unmistakably warmer than the cave itself. Not by much, but enough to feel against her skin. A few moments later, another follows.

Warm. Moist. Rhythmic.

Not a draft. A breath.

Her gaze slowly lifts toward the darkness ahead.

The cave remains cold...

Only the wind changes.

No...

Not the wind.

She inhales carefully, comparing the scent carried by the warm air to the greasy residue she had examined moments earlier. The same faint odor lingered within it.

The same scent...

The walls...

The air...

They're connected.

If breathing alone could produce a current that reached them from this distance... then whatever lay ahead was far larger than she had first imagined. Yet it had not attacked. Instead, the warmth seemed to grow only after Fenrir had spoken, as though the creature had stirred, becoming aware of those standing within its domain.

"It senses us," Aria says quietly, careful not to raise her voice. "I... believe what we've mistaken for the cave's wind is actually its breathing." Her eyes remain fixed upon the darkness ahead. "The warm currents carry the same scent as the residue coating the walls. Whatever I examined before...the breath condensate... it came from the same creature."

A brief pause follows before she adds, her tone thoughtful rather than fearful. "If that truly is its breath reaching us from here..." she murmurs, "...then the creature before us is absolutely enormous."

[lostandfoundme]

Therezias lips form into a thin line as she tries not to squeal, the breeze making her bristle with discomfort. The thought of it coming from just one creatures breath was enough to make her shiver.

She doesn't speak, reverting back to her quieter self as she starts mentally praying yet again. Her guards comment about finding a nice peaceful nun felt almost ironic to her. Too many times had she been beaten for messing up praying the rosary as a child. But she doesn't speak up, instead just hoping that their group wouldn't make the beast in front of them feel threatened.

A laugh almost escapes her lips at the thought- as if a small group like them could frighten a beast as big as the one hiding in the shadows. She glances at her guards and notices their tense postures, hands on the hilts of their swords.

Another thought crosses her mind. If the dragons were unable to understand us, then they'd go off of first impressions. And right now, most of the group looked either ready to pounce or run. She turns to her guards to speak.

"Relax and keep your hands away from your swords.", she whispers to them. "We must keep calm, show no signs of possible aggression or fear. If we say we come in peace our appearance should reflect that." She says, speaking up a bit more now as she addresses the rest of the group.

[TruckKun]

The Great Dragon War

@AftonsBlessing@Blue Wolf@lostandfoundme

All the Demi-humans in the party, their ears flatten back, as they flinch

Aria faintly hears the following in a deep bass voice 'My apologies, I would speak louder but some of the cadences in this old voice of mine are... Unpleasant to demi-humans, you may approach, but no magic, or raised weapons with the exception of that little light Mage, she has potential"

The rest of you just feel the rhythm of the breathing change, and there was even a part where it sounded like a chuckle at the end

After a bit of a pause, and the Demi-humans in the party glancing at each other, Halbrandt steps forward. "T-there wa a voice. H-he apologized that he didn't speak up but some of his cadences hurts our ears. H-he also said we can approach, but all weapons away and only the 'little light Mage' is allowed to use magic. H-he thinks she has potential"

[AftonsBlessing]

Fenrir nods respectfully at Halbrandts words, and slowly moves to one wall of the cave. His hands remove his cloak, the dark fabric folded nearly on the ground next to the cave wall. And slowly, making sure to use no sudden movements, unclasps the buckle holding Drako, his greensteel Greatsword, to his back. He Pulls the sword, still sheathed, in front of himself, and carefully, almost lovingly places it upon the cloak, ensuring that the sheath stay clean. He then pulls out a small knife that lay in his boot, and lays it next to the sword, perfectly spaced.

Fenrir than stands again, moving back to the group and nodding, signifying that he is ready to continue

I am honored that you allow us an audience, with how our people has treated your kind in the past, si.... ma'am? Sir? I am sorry I mean no offence, I am simply having trouble with a title? I am the Lord Fenrir, at your service. I am rambling aren't I? I tend to overthink when nervous, apologies...

Fenrir looks at the others, waiting for one of them to speak, almost as a "save me from making a fool of myself" way as he rubs his wrists nervously

[Blue Wolf]

Aria's ears twitched toward Fenrir's quiet mumble just as another sound reached them. A deep, resonant bass voice.

"My apologies, I would speak louder but some of the cadences in this old voice of mine are... Unpleasant to demi-humans, you may approach, but no magic, or raised weapons with the exception of that little light Mage, she has potential".

Without hesitation, Aria slowly unstrung her longbow before placing it, along with her quiver, carefully against the cave wall. At least one problem had been solved—it spoke the common tongue. Whatever else awaited them, there would be no language barrier.

Straightening to her full height, she addressed the others.

"The dragon spoke."

Her gaze swept across the group before continuing.

"It says its companions are... less than welcoming toward us, but it is willing to let us approach. On one condition—we leave our weapons behind, refrain from using magic, and keep no weapons raised." She paused briefly before glancing toward Therezia. "The sole exception is Lady Therezia. It specifically permits her Light Magic, claiming that she 'has potential.'"

[lostandfoundme]

Therezia looks confused and almost offended as she looks at the others. "Light magic?", she murmurs, looking down at her glowing rosary. This was no magic, this was the work of God- calling it anything but felt like denying his precious gift to her completely. "This isn't....", she begins to protest quietly, but cuts herself off when she sees everyone else putting their weapons aside.

She follows suit, reaching under her long dress skirt and grabs a small silver dagger that has been hidden in her garter. Carefully she puts it to the side where her guards were already piling their weapons.

She glances at the others and walks closer to Aria. "What did they mean with 'Light Magic'? I possess no such thing.", she asks quietly, her voice unsteady as if afraid she'd offend her by speaking to her without being spoken to first.

It was an old habit and rule that had been instilled in her at a very young age, and it made her sudden new position as her people's Lord all the more challenging to fulfill.

[TruckKun]

[quote=@TruckKun]

The Great Dragon War

@AftonsBlessing@Blue Wolf@lostandfoundme
There comes a chuckle from further in the cave, and you hear a deep bass voice, but in your minds not ears

"This, this skill should make it easier. Just think about sending your thoughts and i will hearthem. Anyway, I see that the life god's church is spinning tales again. Or perhaps it is your belief, either way, you are using light magic with your faith in the divinity, as your concentrating agent. You have much untapped potential. You had better luck in this cave than out because due to my presence it has a higher Mana density. But where are my manners? I am The Shadow Weaver Ferandil. Once long ago i was the high priest of Zelanthrop's church"

(Zelanthrop is the god of darkness, night,sleep,death, moon and stars, and is the partron god of the ,ost and abandoned)

[Blue Wolf]

The bass of the voice. It left tingling sensations down her spine. The voice carried authority and power and something ancient. Perhaps it's an old dragon, or maybe that is the way the dragons talk. Do they have accent ?

A thousand thoughts and questions bloom in her mind, but then she calms down and looks over to Therezia. What did the dragon mean by light magic. She has heard the term before, but Aria doesn't know much about. She moves closer to where Therezia is standing with her guards.

"Therezia perhaps you can be our source of communicating with the dragon. I do not go to the church that often but isn't high priest one of the churches ... learders in a way? Do you perhaps know what the dragon is talking about"

[lostandfoundme]

Therezia looks both frightened and disturbed, shaking her head with disbelief in her eyes. "No... no it cannot be.", she mutters to herself before registering Aria's question.

"The church of Zelanthrop... yes I've heard of it. But it's nothing but a false god, it's a sin to worship him.", she exclaims, hands shaking. She could vividly remember the lectures the nuns had given her about the different world religions, all false of course except for their own. She had seen the harsh punishment outsiders would face had they practised their own heathen beliefs in our city walls.

She shakes her head again, hands coming up to shakily cover her ears. "It's telling lies.... speaking of false gods and claiming the lords power to be nothing but hocus pocus and magic. The nuns warned me about this...", she mutters again, taking a step back as if to hide behind her guards.