Mokley

Chroniker

"If the stone doesn't work here with the Chroniker, does that mean we can retrieve it?" Morrian looks around at the other capable souls. Then he decides. "Yeah. I'm staying here. I'd help you out but this weather is killing me."

Morrian

“As I’ve said before I’m Celadon.” He began as nobody else seemed all too enthusiastic just at the moment. “I’m an Ethereal Tiger Fox from Keingry where I’m a guardian and child minder when the parents are busy with the harvest.”

Celadon

"Excuse me, miss," Ellis said, addressing the Elurra. "Could you give me an idea of what else there is around here besides that white slush on the ground?"

Ellis

Elurra nodded to Morrian with a dip of her head. "You are correct. The stone outside may be touched, handled and kept, and it will have no effect on you at all, if only on its own."

Her eyes turned to Celadon, and she smiled warmly. "This child shall be safe in your care, I am sure," she said, referring to Mayonaka. "And, perhaps, the children you have not yet met."

Ellis' question drew the horned woman's attention, and she watched him curiously for a moment before she replied, "There is only snow, ice and rock outside that door, as far as I am aware. I have not left this room in centuries, and I have had no visitors before you. I promised Rook I would look after the stone, and await the travelers' arrival. That is you."

Lantern

Go for it. The surrounding shadows are turning gray in her presence now. The Lord of Shadows might be embodied in the spirit of the pirate Anise killed, who has the most reason to stand against her. Tyaelaem believes in Anise fully, and so is full of what we'll call the first glimpse of the power of light. :) As of now it's all still the Lantern that makes things happen according to Anise's will.

Lantern

"I don't know where the red lantern is but it is possible that it's being kept by a woman I met upon arriving here. If she has it our chances of finding her are slim to none", there was a sullen tone in Talan's voice as this meant there was little to no way to return home. "I don't suppose your people have ways of finding these lanterns?"

"Rhea, before we go we should burn the Kith. It feels wrong to leave it here". Talan glanced back at the body of Tyaelaem to find Simon who, from a guess, appeared to be attempting to start a fire. "Simon, what are you doing?"

Talan

"Since you're allowing it, I'd be grateful to follow along," he turned his attention again to the tattooed woman, "You're kind to help a fool with self-inflicted damage." The lumbering man grunted and groaned some more as he heaved himself to stand upon the lead heavy weights he called legs. The whole of his being felt like one solid foreign mass under the changes of the lantern.

Fyair

Rhea had only opened her mouth to respond to Talan when the sword in her hand began to spark and sizzle with electricity. She scowled at it and shook it, but at least it wasn't harming her just yet. "The spirits of the dead are active," she informed Talan and Fyair, and she nodded toward Simon. "Don't touch him; he's a soothsayer. He'll possess you and haunt you for the rest of your life. The dead or the forest will kill him eventually -- people like him never last long.

"Fyair, was it? We'll get you functioning again, then we'll see if we can find those lanterns. Talan, we'll need you for that. Both of you hang onto me, quickly. We're going for a ride."

As soon as Talan and Fyair each had a hold on Rhea's arms, she closed her eyes and recited a spell.

"Okilee duma, losurna del anni. Tintar." A glowing rune appeared on her forehead, and the three of them were lurched into darkness. Talan would be familiar with the sensation of being flung and of falling: he had experienced it before, when Rhea had teleported him from the quicksand to the bridge over the rapids.

The three of them slammed into a stone floor, where the world spun back into focus. Torches burned brightly all around them -- and above was a clear and unobstructed view of a colossal starry sky. At their feet was a weathered sigil burned into the rock; it looked much like the metal platform that Talan had first arrived on.

Rreeeekkkk! purred a beast that was curled up within the torchlight. It flexed its paws and ruffled its brown feathers, staring at them curiously over its sharp curving beak. Behind the gryphon was a small village of makeshift huts, tents and lean-tos, all illuminated brightly with torches and lamps. People were milling about, sharpening weapons and cooking food. Somewhere a flute was playing, and men were laughing. There were no trees in sight: they were on the flat surface at the top of a mountain.

"I need help here!" Rhea called out, holding the lantern above her head. "Mak, get your ass over here!"

The result was a sudden flurry of action. A man in a robe took hold of the green lantern with one hand and laid the other palm over Fyair's fist. Fyair would feel a surge of warmth before his stony grip finally relaxed. The man withdrew the lantern and handed it off to a woman behind him. "This is extraordinary," the man breathed, turning Fyair's hand to see the scales rippling under the skin. The tattoo of an eye on the man's palm -- the same palm he had laid on Fyair's fist to relax it -- was glowing.

Meanwhile, other villagers took the sword and the violet lantern from Rhea, who was only too glad to be rid of them. She sighed and sat down on the ground; her hands were burned and twitching.

The gryphon began staring intently at Talan -- and eventually it got up, towering high as the biggest of horses, and pushed its beak at him. It wanted the monkeybat bones that hung around his neck.

---

She mustered all of her focus as she threw her will into the spirits around her. She welcomed them to join her. To become friends with her. To help her. She wanted to be a light for the lost souls that had been stuck here so long. She wanted them to feel her determination and be inspired by it. "Shadow, I am not afraid of you. I will become a light in this world. One that you will not put out." Her voice was filled with determination and force. "Come spirits!" She called out. "Help me. I will free you from this prison. This is no place for you to remain forever."

Anise

Simon placed the twigs in a steeple above the fire and placed the bark around the inside of the twigs, it took a few minutes of gently blowing on the fire to get it going but now it was done. Wasn't nearly as simple as the last time but he would take the small victory. Simon knew it was the moment of truth so he picked the flower back up with both hands gently and placed it as close to on top of the steeple as possible.

Simon

The shadow of Tyaelaem lifted his head to look out toward the trees where Anise had gone. The darkness was gathering there. "Hurry," he whispered to Simon -- and the very fact that he now had a voice was evidence that the burning of the Spirit Flower was working.

---

In the woods, where the darkness surrounded Anise and threatened the light, a single shadow stepped forward. Its form was clearer and its darkness deeper than the rest. It stared at Anise with white shining eyes, staring at her out of the black. It was shaped like a tall old man with rickety armor. His sword was missing from his hip.

While the masses of shadows around him began to lighten and quiver, this one remained black as coal and would not be swayed by her words.

---

Tendrils of smoke wrapped around Tyaelaem's shadow. Now he stood as a mist of a boy's maskless form, glimmering in the smoke of Simon's fire. "Thank you, Lord of Fire," he whispered again. "Soothsayer," he addressed Simon, "focus on me, only me, don't give form to anyone else, it's very important, don't let go. The princess is in danger, I'll save her, I'll rescue her."

Immediately, Tyaelaem's smoky form dashed away into the darkest woods, toward the place where Anise was. Leaves and brush shuddered in his wake.

In Simon's head, the Lady of the Pond laughed quietly. "Haven't you decided to stop the princess?" she asked him. "Why would you help save her?"

---

Before Anise, the shadow of the old pirate she had slaughtered continued to advance, one step at a time. He did not believe her -- he would not follow her, she whom he had been trying to protect when she had smashed his skull. No, he would not be swayed by her words.

Reus snarled and bolted forward. His great jaws snapped upon the advancing shadow, but the spirit of the dead man simply walked through the wolf, continuing toward Anise. The other shadows did nothing: they stood bleakly, gray and undecided, affected by Anise's offer but bound by the old pirate's distrust. Reus snapped at the dark shadow again, to no effect.

The pirate's dark shadow reached toward Anise's head, to touch her mind and turn her to the will of the Lord of Shadows.

The moment Tyaelaem reached the edge of the blue lantern's light -- the glow of the Lantern of Spirit and of Anise's will -- his own body began to take on a light and substance of its own. He charged easily through the gray flickering shadows, and moment by moment his face, his clothes, his fingers and hair, and finally his bright blue eyes became clear, given power by his own trust in Anise.

He made a quick running leap, and slammed a foot into the dark pirate's head. The pirate's shadow dissipated immediately, but it was not gone for good. "Princess!" he called with a voice just as clear as it ever was. Perhaps she might not recognize his boyish face, staring up at her with admiration and urgency. Smoke swirled inside his bright translucent form. He grabbed for her hand, but his own hand passed through hers. So instead he ran past her, spun around and continued running backwards so he faced her. The gray shadows stepped aside to let Anise pass. "This way, this way, quickly, run! Ride the doggy! Doggy here boy! C'mon doggy, good boy, good horsie! Run from the scary shadow man!"

As he waved his arms, the pirate's shadow was forming again. Reus abandoned it and rushed to Anise's side, though he growled at Tyaelaem at the very idea that he would be frightened of something as silly as a shadow.

[edited for minor continuity errors]

Lantern

YUS! Plottime! >:3

Edit: I took some liberties -- especially with Talan and Fyair -- because we're running so slow and the plot needs to move a bit. ;)

STONES

Deus Ex Machina time! Grom to the rescue! Lila should be herself again, at least for the moment -- but sorry, I guess this means that Grom has the ability to command Lila to attack, at least until she can get rid of that gem. On the bright side, the gem gives you other perks and abilities, when it's not driving you mad. :)

But really, since we've lost so many people that I had been kind of depending on for plot purposes, I think we need to regroup a bit.

What do you think would be awesome to do in this RP? How do you want to see your character develop? Any particular abilities, etc. you want to obtain along the way? What's working for you so far? What's been not so great? Let me know where you wanna go, and we'll steer things that way.

STONES

The full force of his weight was thrown forward, causing him to roll forward rapidly and hopefully out of the way of the creature. As he rolled, many of the bones that weren't tucked into the tighter parts of his furry clothing began to fling themselves off of his person and backwards into the maw of the beast with a few flying askew and stabbing into the ground.

Clavic

Exactly what everyone was doing was not important. Immobilizing them all with a bite wouldn't be possible, but several were already crippled in one way or another. The motion of Clavic caught her attention and Lila dropped down from the treetops to cut off his escape.

Lila

He reached down to pick up a gun. For a moment, he stared at the weapon until the noise grew even louder than before. He grabbed onto the fur that Clavic wore and pulled the being up; the gun he held shook unsteadily as his aim kept switching between Lila and the stone beast.

“Creature of bones, there’s a staircase along with a girl hidden behind those bushes. Take her and go down!” Without waiting for the poor creature to recover, the young man pushed it toward the shrubs, ignoring whatever bones that may fall out of it. He turned his gaze over to Leon. “Young hunter, come!”

Aloe

Bones flung into the stone beast's face and mouth; it skidded in the dirt and shook its head vigorously, snarling, giving Clavic and Aloe a precious few seconds. The glowing ruby flashed on its stony tongue.

But those seconds were short-lived, for Lila was even faster than the beast. Perhaps she would think twice when faced with the barrel of Aloe's stolen pistol. But the voice hissed steadily in her head, and Aloe surged red in her eyes: Kill.

"RrrrrRRRWWWWAAAAAAA!"

The terrible bellow did not come from the stone beast, but sounded like the roar of a dragon.

Grom galloped to Aloe's aid, the saddle bags shifting and bouncing on his back. The cameldragon stumbled to a halt, curled his tail around Aloe protectively and stood his ground, baring sharp teeth he'd never revealed before, like a dog defending its owner.

The red in Lila's eyes dimmed, and so did the voice. Bloodlust faded. Similarly, the stone beast opposite her stood wavering, still hateful but no longer inclined to attack. The red of both rubies faded, and they no longer glowed.

The facts were these: Grom and Kettle both had sigil tattoos on their backs. These tattoos ensured the stone guardians would not attack them -- and also gave them the ability to command the stone guardians to attack or to stand down. Kettle's desire to kill Leon had caused the awakened beast to attack, but now she was unconscious, her head bleeding from an unintentional flick of the stone beast's tail.

Grom himself was confused and wary of the situation, not quite intelligent enough to understand. He remained by Aloe's side, glancing between the stone beast and Lila, growling deep in his throat.

Fire and Sails

I don't play much anymore. It's hard because I live in an apartment and I don't want to bother the neighbors with my catlike screeching and endless scales. At this point I've let it go for so long that I'll have to relearn where the notes are, and it actually hurts to play -- I never appreciated how much exercise it is. It's why professional violinists have crazy strong arms and good posture. I assume it's probably the same for dancing -- it's all in repetition and muscle memory.

Criminal psychology sounds soooo interesting! What do you plan to do with it? Gonna be an FBI agent? :D

Fire and Sails

Yuri found it a challenge to balance his ravenous hunger with his desire to impress David with his superior self-discipline. He could have cleaned the entire pot by himself, if he were left alone with it -- but he calmly and slowly ate, and he maintained an appropriate level of eye contact with David, nodding and giving short affirmative responses.

Jason's ever-souring expression was consistent in the corner of his eye, but Yuri did not react. He didn't care what the strained relationship was between father and son, but he did care that he would now have to keep an eye on Jason. People that weak and insecure had a tendency toward sabotage when threatened. Yuri shook David's hand when it was offered, and he very nearly twitched at being called son. It was as if David were inviting Jason to make Yuri's life hell for the next few weeks.

He smiled calmly, and he nodded with a grateful squeeze of David's hand. "I am happy and honored for your generosity. You will not be disappointed."

Damn this place.

---

Yuri looked up at the barn with a ghost of a smile, as if it were a five-star hotel. "It is more than enough. Thank you. I will meet you as the sun rises."

He waited by the door of the barn, and watched David go back into the house. As soon as the house door was shut, Yuri's prim posture collapsed into a slouch and he dragged a hand through his hair. "Fucking hell, thank god." He grabbed his bag, tossed it over his shoulder with a rattle and a clang, and shuffled into the slotted dark of the barn.

The smell of hay and wood was thick and fresh, and the noises of the animals were quiet and predictable -- far better than anything he could have expected to find in the house. He clambered his way up the ladder.

A few moments later, a dim blue glow illuminated the loft. Yuri set the lighted jar on a box, snapped the blanket a few times, checked the mattress for rats before he sat down. His weathered boots clunked to the floor and he rubbed the angry blisters on his feet. He hadn't been prepared for a ten-mile run from a hungry set of jagged teeth, and now the soles of his boots were nearly worn through.

He turned out the light and flopped wearily back on the mattress. Out of habit he pulled a small flat compass out of his shirt, forever around his neck by a leather string. He stared at it by a crack of moonlight. The needle did not point North, nor did it waver.

He had a feeling he was being watched. Usually if he ignored it, whoever it was would go away.

Fire and Sails

That sounds like a nightmare. x.x I spent 2 weeks without internet once. It was horrifying. I feel for you! XD

That sounds awesome actually. If it's something you love and you work hard at it, you're a master in my book. :) It reminds me of my days playing in string orchestras in school (I play violin) -- we had the elite group that basically slept and breathed music. They loved it, they worked at it, and they were rightfully awesome for it. Major respect.

You might make a great health inspector! :D

Lantern

@TheDarkTemplar I'm sure we all would prefer you remain alive! ;D But your determination is admirable, and your success impressive!

Good luck with everything going on -- you can do it!