Mokley

Lantern

For posterity's sake, the first NPC emerges:

Yurei

Name: Yurei
Age: old
Appearance:


Occupation: Creepy lady in the woods. Is also blind as a bat.

Personality: Likes to see young people struggling. It builds character.

History: Something to do with a Lord Argen, who failed to show up for a date, apparently.

More will be added as more is learned.

Lantern

Change is good for you! It can be exchanged for cheeseburgers. You want cheeseburgers don't you?

As far as the other teams go . . . well, we'll see. I suspect almost no one will be in the same team for much longer. ;)

Lantern

Arin

Arin said And so, Arin took off to the left, holding the reddened lantern up high as he cautiously made his way up the hill.

The reddish light cast upon rocks and leaves. It glimmered in the owl's eyes; it continued to watch him with an intrigued stare, but did not move to hinder him.

The fireflies stopped at the edge of the trees at the clearing. The lantern light shone upon a hand-width line of inlaid stone at Arin's feet; it was engraved with more runes and geometry, though these seemed fresher and better maintained than those at the lantern-tree. It extended to either side beyond the reach of the light, but it curved gently -- it was a part of a circle of engraved stone that encompassed the source of the candlelight and the clearing around it. The owl and the fireflies would not cross the line of stone.

A little waterfall splashed in the darkness on the other side of a knoll. A path took shape under Arin's feet. The lantern light paled to a gentle purple that gave the dark leaves and moss an unearthly glow -- and by the time the light shone upon the door of a little house, the lantern was once again as blue as it had been while it had hung from the tree.

Behind him, the owl hooted quietly.

A single candle flickered in the only window of a curious wooden hut that looked as if it had been molded out of a living tree. In fact, there was a sprawly looking little sapling growing out of its thatched roof.

More runes lined the door frame. A geometric array had been burned into the door itself. The only window was just beside the only door, and inside there was only a faint outline of a cluttered little room illuminated by candlelight -- but there was no one inside. At least, nothing appeared to be moving.

There were glass jars, wooden boxes, clay jars, cups full of pens and brushes, rolls of bark with runes scrawled on them, figurines and mossy little statues, cages with little furry things sleeping in them, watery tanks with little fishy things swimming in them, herbs and roots hanging from the low ceiling, drawings hanging on the walls, books stored tenderly between painted stones, and -- on a cluttered table that took up half the room -- a pair of familiar-looking scissors.

The waterfall gurgled on, and the owl hooted again. Something splashed in the water, and a toad creaked. The blue light of the lantern fell softly on little flowers and grass that had been freshly cut. The door was unlocked.

Lantern

So I guess . . . am I posting for blue team? I'm not sure you're going to be blue team for long -- Arin stole your lantern.

Posting for Arin soon.

Is ANYONE else here from red team? Tatsua? Jedly? Bueller?

(great post, Zealous -- I laughed XD)

I'mma try something a teeny bit different for the next couple mod posts, I think.

A Cold Wind Blows...

Sorry Lil, though I had assumed actually that Antonina crawled into Oksana's lap while Chiudka was absent - that she left Oksana alone with Oskar and returned to find Antonina. The last bit about addressing Antonina I admit assumes Oksana's reaction to the girl, and I can definitely edit it out (or it can be ignored).

Edit: I hope it's ok that I took out the last paragraph. :) So sorry about that! Upon rereading, my posts tend not to be as clear as I would like, and I'll make an effort to avoid making assumptions. That, and my characters tend to be control freaks. Chiudka needs a good kick in the shins sometimes, I'm fully aware. She isn't as great as she thinks, and some of these patients may end up with infections.

Also, AmongHeroes, I hope Pavel won't think ill of Chiudka, I meant to write that she started talking to him then was interrupted by Vasily. ;)

A Cold Wind Blows...

The tea splashed on Chiudka's dress as it was shoved back at her -- so like Oksana to sabotage her own well-being rather than appear less than invincible -- but Chiudka only sat back on her heels and bowed her head in respect for the girl's loss.

But the healer's daughter didn't have time to comfort Oksana or to force her to take off her dress -- and there was no room in her closed-off heart to mourn with her. She took out a roll of makeshift bandages and a small jar of salve and placed them with the teacup on the bench beside Oksana. She left the bucket of water and another washcloth at the girl's feet. Oksana's wounds were many, but shallow -- if she wanted to be stubborn, she could stop the bleeding herself before she passed out and made more work for everyone else.

Silently, Chiudka stood, and she paused to lay a hand on Oskar's shoulder; maybe he could convince her to help herself -- or at the very least, he could watch over her while Chiudka helped those who wanted it. My, but her heart was cold.

Pavel's hand on her shoulder nearly made her jump out of her thoughts, but the look she gave him was grateful. If she were honest with herself, she might admit she was only playing it by ear: she didn't truly know what she was doing, by no means as well as her father had, but she was confident in how much of the basic principles had sunk in after watching her father all her life. Flesh wounds were not so hard as sickness: there was no guesswork when someone was dying from blood loss. The floor was slick with blood.

She touched Pavel's hand. "Thank you. Right now, Grigory..." She hadn't heard a peep from Grigory, had she?

Viktor dashed out, and the tone in Anton's voice shortly after didn't bode well. Adrian had fallen silent. Had Oksana's pride and Oskar's ill-timed words delayed her too long? The anger flared again in the back of Chiudka's mind -- but her terrible train of thought was stopped once again by Vasily, who offered not only to assist but to take at least some control -- to take a bit of weight from her shoulders. She offered Pavel and Vasily both another flash of an encouraging smile, then hurried off with the satchel over her shoulder to retrieve another bucket and water.

"Adrian, buck up, come on then." Chiudka knelt by Grigory with a new steaming cup of dense tea, and she set the bucket down. Even as she spoke, she was unraveling the work that Bogdan had done on Grigory's leg. It wasn't as terrible work as she'd thought. Grigory's old bandages slopped onto the floor, and she wringed out a cloth in the bucket to wash the wound, after handing a cloth to Vasily for Adrian. A splash of alcohol, and Pavel got the bottle afterward. Careful, now, she thought to herself. In her hurry she was bound to make mistakes, her hands would get sloppy. It was one thing to watch it being done and to understand it -- it was quite another to teach her hands to do what she needed them to. But she dressed the wound and bound it tightly, and left salve and bandages and a cup of tea for Adrian.

Nadejda's touch and voice were perhaps the most welcome of all. She had been so certain that the elders had all gone that she hadn't dared to hope. Chiudka touched her hand warmly. "All of it, dear Nadejda -- especially alcohol. We're in a tavern and we're still running out, thanks to Adrian." She shot the injured man a small grin that she wasn't sure he was in a state to see, but he would be all right. All that he'd drunk that night would only help him now.

She went on to those most injured, washing and dressing their wounds, fetching more water, tearing new bandages out of old cloth. When the worst of the bleeding had stopped, she returned to check on Adrian, Grigory, and then Oksana to see if the girl had decided to do something about her wounds -- but when she found Antonina curled up in Oksana's lap, Chiudka very nearly lost it.

She spent a moment steeling herself, her eyes squeezed shut. She had known by Vasily's expression that the girl had survived, but to see her here -- still so innocent and loving as ever, untouched by the darkness that had destroyed them all -- threatened to smash through the wall she had built around her heart.

Lantern

Yes! That is true! I wanted to see whether maybe, possibly Tatsua would post, though. I don't want to move too far on -- but a bit later I may have a post for you.

Lantern

I'm trying very hard not to post, but my fingers are itchy.

A Cold Wind Blows...

Igraine, if you're in the middle of writing I'll hold off until you're done -- otherwise I'll jump in for Adrian. :)

Aww noo, Numerica has been lost! I was hoping to have some interaction besides Chiudka giving her orders -- which I hope wasn't what drove her away. I worry about these things. But! The story will go on!

Lantern

drewccapp said
Having a bit of trouble figuring out what to post next :/

Is that an invitation? ;)