13org

The Five Senses

Karina Frost

Despite the bad sensation Karina was feeling, she simply stood by protecting Týfurkh together with DB as the giant got ready to use his ability. Much like Týfurkh himself had said, Karina wasn't able to hear anything as he shouted, even though it was apparent that it was quite tiring and exhausting for him, seeing how his reaction was at the end. Pale, sweating and obviously exhausted, he asked for a few seconds to recover his breath as he stumbled backwards, almost hitting the bell.

For a second, Karina dashed towards the bell, afraid that it would make any noise, but the noise she would hear didn't have anything to do with Týfurkh's movement neither the bell...

Deep down inside, when she was still climbing the tower, Karina could feel that there was something wrong. It was too silent, too quiet, no patrols, everything was going exactly as they had planned, it was indeed foolish of her to not trust her intuition. Sadly, it was too late to do anything when they suddenly heard the door being kicked open. It was safe to assume they were surrounded by now...

Both DB and Karina immediately grabbed their weapons, ready to protect themselves the second they heard the noise. Before Karina could say anything to DB though, he told her to protect Týfurkh, immediately diving down the stairs to fight. Silently cursing his eagerness to fight, Karina was doing her best to quickly calculate an escape route for them, taking in consideration the assumption they were surrounded.

"Can you run yet? How much will you need to recover yourself?" Karina asked, as a cold aura began forming around her the second she made the same ice blades she had used earlier.

By the sounds coming from downstairs, DB was already fighting against multiple opponents. They had to do something now.

"Týfurkh, please be ready, we won't have time to rest. We are surrou-" Karina began as she rushed towards the hole that lead to the stairs in order to assess the situation but got interrupted by a handful of coins that were thrown by the attackers. Missing Karina by just a few centimeters, making her jump to the ground in order to avoid to be struck by the deadly coin shower.

"Shit!" Karina cursed.

"They are already here, Týfurkh!" she shouted, trying to alert the tired giant still on the ground after dodging the coins. They were outnumbered, so it would be better for them to position themselves so that their enemies had to pass through a funnel in order to reach to them, and right now, the hole on the floor from where the coins came up was the best they had.

"Týfurkh, the stairs!" she said, in quick, direct commands as she tried to get up, regain her balance and assume a fighting stance before the enemies arrived. An ice aura becan to surround her as she tried to summon her ice blades. She was caught completely by surprise and those coins made things even worse. Despite her having dodged them, she was completely vulnerable now.

Karina was indeed worried about DB, since so many enemies passed by him. Was he still fighting or he was taken out in such a short moment by someone or something, like that monster, Syella, they fought earlier... Still, rushing towards DB and ignoring both Týfurkh and the enemies coming up the stairs was an incredibly dumb move. The best Karina could do right now was to trust on her companions and hold her ground until she found an escape route... Preferably taking everyone with her.

@Fetzen@Jerkchicken@Pezz570

Blood's Jewels (High Casual Fantasy Revolution)

Ashkevron Residence in Aren, Askavi

^{@LadyRunic @Zoey White}

"Not very often, no." Mikhail replied to Denvar's statement. It wasn't a secret that the Dea Al Mon did have a tendency to... isolate themselves from the rest of the world. Seeing one of them outside their territory was already difficult, seeing one in Terreill was something unheard of, which explained the curiosity and bewilderment that both brothers had when Mikhail revealed his race. Still, Mikhail didn't exactly wanted to keep going on that matter as despite being a Dea Al Mon, his past was something he wanted to keep hidden and forgotten.

Luckily, Dareen interjected, saying that she preferred to judge others by their actions instead of their race or stereotypes, something Mikhail himself agreed upon, despite Dareen's sour mood and the unmistakable trace of irony in her voice.

"Agreed. It is never wise to impart one's preconceptions or stereotypes upon others solely based on their races, origins or social position." Mikhail replied with a small nod towards the woman.

"But I do understand your bewilderment upon seeing a Dea Al Mon in Terreille." Mikhail completed, indicating that he was aware of how uncommon it was for a Dea Al Mon to be seen in Terreille.

When Denvar asked Mikhail how well he fought right now, it made him confused regarding his motives though. Mikhail was uncertain if it was mere curiosity that drove him to ask said question or maybe suspicion regarding who Mikhail truly was.

"It is true that the Dea Al Mon are known for being excellent warriors and having excellent physical capabilities. That being said, what is considered to be merely 'self defense' for the Dea Al Mon is undeniably above the expectations other, non warrior races, have for just 'self defense'." He replied, raising an eyebrow to Denvar's question. Despite his detailed explanation, it was noticeable that he didn't actually answered his question though.

A Guild Adventure: An RP with Monster Girls! (ENDED)

Freyr

^{@Restalaan@AzureKnight}

Freyr was surprised to see that despite the big wound on his side, Ditzy seemed to be fine. He had already heard about how tough Hobgoblins were, but he had a small suspicion that Ditzy was way above average. Nonetheless, he was glad he was fine. After all, they were still helping him on something that was his personal problem, so at least for Freyr, everything that happened to them until now was, in part, his fault too.

When he asked about Nera, Freyr gave a distant smile and was in silence for a bit almost as if he was considering his options.

"The Viera may begin as part of the Wood, but the Wood is not the only end that we may choose..." Freyr said, looking to Ditzy and Nagare.

"Now Jote and the Viera as a race may finally understand this. After everything that happened."

"Nera has to make this choice herself. It would be wrong for me to try and persuade her." Freyr completed.

Some time later, at the Guild...

^{@Restalaan@AzureKnight@Stern Algorithm @PaulHaynek @Lmpkio}

Back on the guild, the group was immediately welcomed by Haley, with the same cheerful and happy behavior that were already characteristic of her, despite the apparent... tension in the air between Titanica and Vară. Surprisingly enough, Haley seemed to know a bit about the Viera and how they treated exiles and outsiders.

Almost as if reading his mind, Nagare replied Haley, almost immediately answering one of the doubts Freyr himself had. Apparently, despite everything, she seemed to be happy that she had the opportunity to meet the Viera race and their town.

"Well... We did run into trouble. But I'm glad that everything turned out to be ok. Regarding how Viera treat Exiles, things may begin to slowly change from now on... I'm not sure if how they treat outsiders will change though..." Freyr replied after Nagare with a chuckle.

In fact, there was the probability that if the Viera abolished the tradition about exiles, they may begin to treat the woods with more zeal than before, as a safe haven, a sanctuary for only the Vieras, making it even harder for humans or other races to enter the forest despite the Viera themselves being allowed to leave.

"It might not have been exactly a... pleasant vacation... But I'm glad that both Ditzy and Nagare were able to see the town I was born into." He finished, with a calm smile.

Almost immediately after Freyr finished, Nagare went to where Titanica and Vară were, probably to try and defuse any possible conflict that might arise between both. Freyr was relieved that she was the one who went instead of him, as he had no idea about what was happening nor the reason for the conflict.

Looking to Ditzy, he finally noticed that despite his impressive stamina and resistance, the wound on his side, the pain and the blood loss were starting to take their toll on the poor hobgoblin boy's body. Luckily enough, he was already asking for Sylvia's help. It was only then that Freyr realized how bad Ditzy's state was.

As Sylvia cried, obviously alarmed by Ditzy's state, Freyr couldn't help but feel guilty. Since Ditzy said he was fine earlier, Freyr underestimated how big the wounds on his side were, leading to the situation right now.

"I-I'm... extremely sorry... I underestimated the size of Ditzy's wounds..." He said, bowing in a formal apology to both Ditzy, Sylvia and Morgan.

"I should have realized that despite how tough Ditzy is, even for a Hobgoblin, he still has his limits, like everyone else. I'm sorry." He said, apologizing again.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" he asked, looking to Sylvia, Morgan and Ditzy.

"I can see if there's some meat in the kitchen for you, you mentioned you were hungry, didn't you?" he asked, looking to Ditzy.

A Guild Adventure: An RP with Monster Girls! (ENDED)

Will have my post done tomorrow! :-)

The Vanishing Kingdom

^@Jollan

The surprise was clear on Maeve's eyes when the armored woman said that for them the temperature was cool. Despite being wearing light clothes, Maeve was already feeling the heat but even though she was wearing armor, she seemed to be fine and even considering to be a cool day. Still, she was a local and Maeve was an Isoli. Not only she was already accustomed with the temperature but Isoli weren't really made to deal with high temperatures that well...

"Cool? Really?" Maeve asked, surprised.

"To be fair we Isoli weren't really made to withstand higher temperatures." she said, with a gentle smile.

Other than that, there was another detail mentioned by the woman which caught Maeve's attention. As she mentioned she also worked as the temple guard, she also said something about an incident including the temple and a woman, whom Maeve assumed it was a noble or someone with prestige, assuming how the armored woman called her, Madame Valia. Despite Maeve's curiosity, she was an outsider, a newcomer in town and she didn't really wanted to make things complicated for her. That included having to answer questions and being suspected of having done something.

"I wonder what could have happened to cause such a commotion in front of the temple. People seemed to be quite... alarmed too." she said.

"Despite being an Isoli Noble, I am but an outsider, so It would be wiser for me not to interfere more than the necessary." Maeve said with a calm expression. It was clear by her words, especially how she referred herself as an Isoli Noble, that she believed in the 'noblesse oblige' and that being noble didn't mean just having money and rights, but acting as such, including being an example for others.

It was then that the large man arrived with something for her to drink and eat with a large, gentle smile on his face. Despite being simple for her standards, Maeve was eager to try the seasoning and the overall cullinary from Kalla, which was extremely different from Tundral, in a lot of ways.

"Again, thank you for your hospitality and worrying about me!" Maeve said, with a polite bow to the man as advised her to not overexert herself.

"Despite being my first time outside Tundral, it is clear that the difference in temperature is not something to be underestimated." She said with a giggle. It was incredibly clear that she had already experienced some of that difference.

"I am grateful for your generosity, but I insist on paying. It is only fair after being received with such hospitality, despite the unfortunate meeting with that rude person, of course." Maeve said as she reached to the a small money bag under her sash, taking out a single coin from Isoli currency. It didn't take much to realise that despite the different currency, it was a coin with a considerably large value, something that most common people would not see that often.

"Do you mind me paying with Isoli currency?" Maeve asking, seemingly not even giving a second thought to the value of the coin.

Blood's Jewels (High Casual Fantasy Revolution)

Ashkevron Residence in Aren, Askavi

^{@LadyRunic @Zoey White}

Mikhail silently listened as the Eyrien replied to Dareen's words. Despite the harsh words, he was speaking the truth. There was no such thing as the 'law' told in stories in their society. Whatever the queen spoke was the law. Be it good or bad. It was a simple matter of hierarchy. Whoever was on top had the right to call the shots and that was final. In that case, Faeril was indeed the 'law' inside that house. Judging by Dareen's reactions to his words, resting her head in her palms, she knew very well that fact. Unfortunately for her, Mikhail not only had no reason to, but wasn't in any position to try and defend her. Ultimately, her fate rested on Faeril's hands.

Other than the talk about law and hierarchy, Mikhail was surprised when he heard that Faeril wasn't exactly on good terms with the queen, despite her position.

It was then that a familiar face appeared in the room. As Denvar greeted the Eyrien, who was called Bellinar, it became clear that they were in fact brothers, if it wasn't clear enough due to the striking similarity.

"I will try to keep that in mind." Mikhail said with a chuckle as he heard Bellinar's warning about Faeril.

From what he had seen about Faeril so far, she seemed to be a strong woman with strong oppinions, but she was no fool either. He respected her professionalism and despite not knowing her that well, it was clear that she was an intelligent woman. Intelligent enough for Mikhail to not drop his guard too much around her...

"I take it it's your first time seeing a Dea Al Mon then?" Mikhail asked, looking to Bellinar as he asked about his pointy ears.

"I don't blame you, I am indeed very, very far away from 'home'." Mikhail said, with a chuckle and a calm expression, although it was clear that there was something different as he mentioned the word 'home'. Almost as if he didn't believe on it's meaning or something.

The Five Senses

Karina Frost

Not only Karina was surprised that Týfurkh was interested on Der Freischutz but also there was no hiding the fact that Karina was very surprised and didn't knew how to reply to Týfurkh's proposal to accompany him to watch an opera in the nation of hearing. In fact, she couldn't even remember the last time she got out just to relax...

When they finally arrived on the top of the tower, Týfurkh's voice soon interrupted her thoughts, reminding her that she couldn't think about relaxing yet. Týfurkh was already preparing himself, going as far as to untie the uppermost part of his armor as he concentrated himself.

"I-I'm sorry. Directions, yes." Karina said, shaking her head as she quickly looked around, orientating herself.

"The forward base is currently located a few kilometers to the north of Focalia, west of the 'old' border between the nation of Touch and the nation of Sight." Karina said, as she pointed towards a few key locations before giving a precise direction where he should shout, unaware that she was basically considering the territory the Nation of Touch took from the Nation of Sight in the war already a part of the former.

"Everything has gone well so far, but we should not drop our guard. I trust you, Týfurkh." Karina said, as she nodded to him with a serious expression.

Despite the words she had just said, something deep down inside her was telling there was something wrong. It was too quiet. Nobody apparently came after them, no one noticed them climbing the tower, despite the fact that the Cult was supposedly watching every movement they gave.

@Fetzen@Jerkchicken

The Vanishing Kingdom

^@Jollan

Maeve was left confused and without words after the beastman's extremely rude display of hostility. She couldn't help but to wonder that his attitude only served to further reaffirm the stereotypes some people had regarding beastmen. She had already seen many beastmen in Tundral that despite their position as slaves, were more educated and polite than many 'nobles' out there. That one though, was merely an uneducated, rude beast. Not only that, but the way he simply assumed that her words were due to any prejudice towards him was simply... just as he said... 'pathetic'.

"I see that education is not something that you're familiar with. I was expecting more..." Maeve said, with a scornful look as the beastman passed by her, getting out of the inn.

"The stereotypes fit you oh so well though..." Maeve said, in a lower voice as he left.

After such a strange and gratuitous display of hostility, the ones who in fact were working at the inn greeted her, a large (in every aspect, both regarding his weigth and muscles), amicable looking man and his daughter, whom by some reason was wearing a complete set of armor in that heat. Just looking at her made Maeve feel the heat.

"I'm terribly sorry for the comotion." Maeve said, with a graceful, but discreet bow towards the man and his daughter, even though she wasn't the responsible for what had just happened.

"Don't worry too much about it. Although I must say I'm not used in seeing people displaying such uncouth and shameful behavior in public though..." Maeve said to the armored woman, rolling her eyes.

"Regarding the temperature, indeed, the heat is too much for me. We Isoli weren't really made to withstand these elevated temperatures. I must say that it's much better here than outside though." Maeve said, with a smile towards the large man.

"In fact, I just got here from Tundral, so I do apoligize by not being familiar with the local customs or something." she said, which made obvious the reason why she assumed that the beastman was working there instead of going directly towards the large man.

"I would be grateful if I could rent a room and get something to eat and drink. Preferrably something fresh, to help with the heat." she said, to the fully armored woman, with a smile.

"Wouldn't you like to take off your armor first though?" she asked, obviously incredulous that someone could withstand that heat while wearing armor.

Blood's Jewels (High Casual Fantasy Revolution)

Ashkevron Residence in Aren, Askavi

^{@LadyRunic @Zoey White}

The gardens were indeed quite something, as it was expected of a healer. There were many medicinal herbs, all organized and separated by type. Their fragrance and their freshness was a clear indication that it was a well kept garden and not merely just for looks.
It took a while until more people came to the garden. The sounds of wings beating alerted Mikhail to Xandar's presence, whom despite his wound was already flying around without any difficulty at all. Even though he was some distance away from Faeril when Xandar came to him, he couldn't help but to overhear their conversation, including Faeril threatening to take another look at Xandar's wound if he didn't take it easy.

After a small conversation, Faeril herself said she would accompany Xandar to a store after the Winged Boar inn on his search for cigars. Faeril herself seemed to have business in the town. As she opened her wings to go with him, she nodded towards him, which Mikhail replied with a simple nod back as he took a small branch of a particularly fragrant medicinal herb, rubbing it into his hands and appreciating both the smell and how fresh it was.

When Faeril got back, he certainly would ask her if she could use one branch or two of a few of those herbs. It would be good to have a few of them with him in case anything wrong happened.

After a while, Mikhail head back inside to where Dareen was. There, he met another Eyrien, who was casually unloading a few books from a chest. Due to his striking similarity to Denvar, he assumed the man was one of the Eyrien brothers.
Arriving just in time to hear Dareen's words, Mikhail nodded towards the Eyrien man in a discreet, polite greeting.

"There is no use worrying yourself over matters that are beyond your control." Mikhail said to Dareen as she passed by her, taking a seat on the chair nearby the couch. As he passed by them, the fragrance of herbs on his hands filled the air for a second, before Mikhail resumed his normal, quiet behavior.

A Guild Adventure: An RP with Monster Girls! (ENDED)

The Vieran Woods

---

^{@Restalaan@AzureKnight}

Freyr didn't knew for how much longer he could hold the frenzied Nera down, but luckily, Ditzy was quick to act following his tackle, immediately grabbing his sandbag and in a single, fluid motion, built moment before striking Nera in the head with a mighty blow.

As Freyr felt Nera's strength waning as she stopped struggling and her body fell unconscious on top of him, he let out a relieved sigh. Much like Ditzy, who almost immediately came to confirm her pulse, he also felt the signs she was still alive, thanks for her body being basically on top of him. Despite the terrible headache, he was glad that she was still alive.

"Quick thinking, Ditzy." he said, praising Ditzy as he gently laid Nera's unconscious body on the ground before standing up.

"We were lucky... If she wasn't tired already, it would be much harder to fight against her... How are your wounds?" Freyr asked, looking to Ditzy.

The moment he stood up though, he noticed the forest's voice and it's energy, flooding the place where the barrier once was. Nagare, who was still in her dragon form, was successful in opening a crack in the barrier, an entire section had collapsed thanks to her power. It also seemed like she was starting to understand a little better the special connection the Viera had with the forest, as Freyr could feel that the forest was starting to accept her.

Gently getting Nera's unconscious body into his arms, they exitted the barrier. Once outside, Freyr turned to both Ditzy and Nagare.

"Thanks, both of you. Nera is still alive and the Vieran Spellweavers will be able to revert her current state. It will take a while to completely undo the runes carved into her body and return her to normal, but she will be fine." Freyr said, looking to Nera with a worried expression.

"Now that the barrier is partially gone, the Wood Warders should be arriving shortly together with Jote. You can feel it too, can't you Nagare?" Freyr asked, looking to her with a curious expression.

On that exact moment, they heard a hushed sound coming from the trees together with a breeze, followed by five figures dropping down from the branches. It was Jote and another four Wood Warders, who had just arrived.

As she approached them, the mixed emotions on her expression were clear. Curiosity, sadness, regret, anger...

"Nera..." she said, looking to her unconscious body, covered with runes, carved into her very flesh.

"I assume this is the work of those 'Varjans' you spoke of." Jote said, looking to the group. It was clear to them that she was doing everything she could to keep her composure.

"I... We might be wrong... About everything... First it was you, Freyr, you who left the forest but despite that, the Forest still considers you as one of it's children and now a complete outsider... It's not merely a coincidence. It's the first time that a complete outside was granted the favor of the woods." Jote said as two of the wood warders gently came to get Nera from Freyr's arms.

"Take her to the Spellweavers, now. They need to start their work while she is still unconscious. Don't take your eyes away from her, not even a second in case she wakes up." Jote said as she dismissed the two Wood Warders who were carrying Nera with a wave of her hand.

"We, the Viera need to rethink our ways and plan our actions. The Woods know and now, we do too. If we don't change our ways now, when we decide to do so later, it might be too late. These Varjans... They are a threat to the woods and to the Viera alike." Jote said. Despite her apparent calm, her eyes were burning with anger.

"For saving Nera and for opening our eyes, you three have my eternal gratitude." Jote said, thanking them.

"The Village and the Woods will always welcome you with open arms. If you ever need our aid, you have but to ask." Jote said as she turned away from them, disappearing inside the forest.

After a moment, Freyr looked back both to Ditzy and Nagare with a conflicted expression.

"For better or for worse, for the first time in a long while, the Viera are going to act, instead of simply observe." Freyr said. Despite his sad expression, he knew very well that the Viera being dragged into that conflict against the Varjans was unavoidable, especially when they starting taking interest in using the Vieras as weapons.

"Maybe I shouldn't be the one to say this, as the one who encouraged the Viera to prepare for a War but... Thank you, Ditzy, Nagare. Thank you for helping me show the Viera that there is no other choice but to fight in order to protect what they hold dear." Freyr said. It was clear that he had mixed feelings about the outcome of all that, despite knowing that it was simply unvoidable. Either the Viera would fall due to their own negligence or they would go to war to protect the woods and their way of life.

"Regarding this..." Freyr said, getting the crystal shard that Nagare had pointed a moment earlier.

"It might still have it's uses. Maybe it would be better to leave it with someone who understands better about these type of things back in the guild." Freyr completed.

With the quest over, they were free to go back to the guild. Despite coming back empty handed, they gained something much more valuable than money, they had earned the Viera's trust and gained a powerful ally against the Varjans. Whether Bartholomew would be happy or not to hear about that, it was still to be seen.