Rune_Alchemist

Tales of Arcadia - Fantasy, Magic, Monsters, Adventure

Oh hey, I remember this. I'll throw my hat in the ring to give it a go if you still have room.

Fire Emblem: A Blinding Light

Isolde

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---

She felt...nervous? Sick? Tired? Some odd combination of all three?

An odd feeling. Normally even if she was feeling under the weather, she could still manage a smile, friendly demeanor and go about her day as usual. These past few days had been much the same - she had tried to improve everyone's moods the best she had been able, even at her own expense with her clumsiness. She couldn't stand the palpable gloom that hung in the air. The tension that made it seem like there wasn't going to be any good outcome of this no matter what happened. She hated the feeling but there was little she could do to make it go away - only do what she did best and try to lighten everyone's moods if she could. Even Kergin and his normal ill tempered self seemed to put some effort into not causing trouble.

The Wyvern in question nudged her shoulder from where he was standing impatiently behind her. Isolde turned, placing a hand on his nose and giving him a reassuring grin, petting him lightly. He could probably sense how nervous she was even if it didn't entirely show on her face. Unlike some others, she hadn't spent the past few days practicing or trying to drill herself to death. Sure, she practiced with a little more serious oomph behind her swings, but tiring herself out wouldn't help anyone. Her father may have been a strict man, but rest was just as important as practice.

"Hey," She whispered quietly as Rioga offered the Sacred Stone to Reina. "I already fed you this morning! If you want more wait until we get out of the castle, okay? We'll find a nice juicy sheep for you." Kergin narrowed his eyes, growling lowly as Isolde made her best attempt at normalcy, some might say making light of the situation. The Wyvern merely gave her another sharp nudge, nearly sending her stumbling forward. "I'm fine, Kergin. Really." She smiled, reaching up and petting him right behind his ears, seeming to placate the beast a little. Though he kept irritably turning his head towards the doors to the throne room, likely ready to pounce on anyone that so dared to intrude.

Isolde's attention turned back to Rioga and the others gathered, keeping a hand placed gently on Kergin's snout as she tried to get a better look at the stone in Reina's hands, unable to hide a bit of childlike wonder on her face. She heard the stories, every kid had. Her mom and dad both used to tell her stories of the heroes of old. She was a little embarrassed to admit it, but those stories played a major part in why she was here now. Fighting in glorious battles, heroically saving the day...her father made sure to bash any romanticist notion she had, but she couldn't help it, really.

As her name was called by Rioga, pulling her out of her own thoughts she stood straight, giving the King of Grado a rather hasty and awkward salute.

"E-er, of course!" She replied in a cheery voice. "Kergin and I'll keep Reina safe, promise!" Kergin yawned, not seeming too interested in the prospect himself as Rioga went on to address the others. Reina. She had been friends for most of their lives, and often times had been sparring partners. It was easy to tell the other girl was distressed, and Isolde wanted to say something to her but didn't want to interrupt them when they were so short on time already. So she opted for a friendly, reassuring wave if Reina's gaze happened to drift in her direction - which subsequently lead to one of her famous bouts of clumsiness as she wasn't entirely paying attention.

"Wah!" Aldo tossed the Tactician's Stone at her, Isolde only noticing at the last second. As she made a move to catch it, it slipped right through her hand and smacked her square in the forehead. Kergin rolled his eyes with a mildly irritable huff as she juggled it for a few seconds before finally managing to secure it in both hands, barely catching the end of the explanation - and was immediately enthralled by the item.

"Oooh..." Isolde's eyes lit up, staring wide eyed at it as the vision of the battlefield filled her mind. Even with the number of enemy troops surrounding the castle, this was a neat little trinket and Isolde couldn't help but to be mildly intrigued by it. It was a short lived intrigue however, as the gravity of the situation pressed down on her once again with Rioga's final sentence. Quickly, Isolde put the stone in her pockets, scrambling to climb into Kergin's saddle - nearly getting her leg caught in it from the hurry, as Reina made her final farewells.

"Hey hey, Lord Rioga tell Tilda when we get back that I wanna see which of us is the better Wyvern rider, alright?" She ended the request with a wave and grin. The cheery words tasted bitter on her tongue. That was a message likely never going to be delivered, but if even if her words could help a bit, then that was fine. Whatever the case, she urged Kergin to follow Aldo and Reina, the beast seemingly eager to get moving himself before things got worse.

St. Sappho Academy, Medieval Magic Academy (Invite Only)

Sorcha & Black fox

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"Aha, is that a threat?" The black fox mused towards Katherine. "Watch me all you want. If you know someone's watching, it makes it all the easier to evade them." That almost sounded like a challenge - or perhaps her nonchalant tone meant she really didn't care one way or another.

"So you see, Arthur may be a legendary King, but even he wouldn't have won without the help of yours truly. My help was so much so appreciated that I was even offered a spot on the round table, and Arthur personally trained me in the ways of chivalry, knighthood, and to wield almost every weapon man had." It was clear the dragon was letting this go to her head a bit from her smug and proud seeming demeanor.

"If you were so important, then why has no one ever heard of you in the legends?" Sorcha turned to face the student who posed the question, a smile that seemed perhaps just a bit too friendly forming on her lips.

"Because," She smiled pleasantly. "I killed all of them, so they couldn't record my presence." Static electricity sparked between her horns as an oppressive feeling fell over the classroom, silencing that line of questioning from the students.

Cocoa

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"Oookay!~" Cocoa replied cheerily. "But why can't you just do it by hand? Your hands were always so gentle and soft." She giggled, hands quickly braiding Otille's hair. "I'd brag to the other cows about how soft your hands were, hehe! So kind, loving, and gentle." Whatever Otille's reaction were to her words, Cocoa didn't seem to pay much attention as she quickly finished braiding her hair.

"Anyyyyways, done done!"

Lyssa & Ritsa

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Ritsa heard Fia's call for help, immediately doing a 180 and pulling off an almost impossibly good feat of acrobatics, leaping over the air and landing right next to the cat with a heavy thud, suggesting weight more than her small frame would suggest. The Hydra grinned, sharp teeth reminiscent of an angler fish filling her mouth.

"Hey hey!" She pointed at the cat. "Leave pretty red alone. She's mine."

Miren & Khira

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The meal passed in relative peace and levity as the three ate. Miren always enjoyed her own cooking, and it was nice to see others like it as well. Traveling as much as she had, it was nice to have it be so appreciated. Maybe she'd make something from the orient, or from across the ocean next time. Khira was used to simple dishes, roasting them over the fire with perhaps the occasional spice harvested from the forest. It was a nice change of pace for one as old as she was.

"Phew, ehe, how was it girls?" Miren asked.

"Delicious as always, rabbit." Khira replied. "In find it amusing a rabbit would likely be able to prepare themselves so well for a predator."

"K-khira please stop making jokes at my expense."

Cynthia

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Cynthia narrowed her eyes at the elf.

"Time for pleasantries will be later. I am working and doing something far more important than babysitting an elf." Cynthia harrumphed, sharply turning away from Astrid and ignoring the comment about her love's chest. Well, it certainly was one type of a distraction, but not a distraction she entirely minded. Really though, this elf...was almost as bad as Livia was. Cynthia sighed, walking down the hallway as she continued. "Mugi, if you would be so kind as to escort Miss Astrid to her quarters. I believe there is a vacant room across from You Miss Fia's. I will inform the rest of the staff promptly."

Livia

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Livia walked into her room, tired after a rather easy day all things considered. Urgh, she was getting old. No doubt about it, and magic had prolonged her life for about as much as she was able too. She took a seat on her bed, laying back on it and taking a moment to relax, only to be interrupted by one of Katherine's dolls as it wrote something on a loose sheet of paper.

"Hm, soon as classes are over so within the next Hour." She replied to the doll. "And please, Katherine. If you have any doubts about you being my favorite student...well, maybe It's about time I took you on a study date again, hmm?"

Botanist And Bards

~Isabella~

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"...Tripp!" Isabella's eyes widened at the sight of the stone eagle sinking it's claws into Tripp's back. She could heal minor cuts and breaks, but that...no, there was nothing she could do for that.

"What manner of foul beast-!" Valora's hands were already at her blade. There was little to be done for Tripp. The stone sentinel had already ensured he'd have a swift death. "Prescott, get that door open!" She shouted, making a move to step between Isabella and the other knight - only to be stopped by an arm from Isabella. "Princess?!"

"Get it open. I'll be fine." Valora's eyes nearly bulged out of her head, but there wasn't any time for her to argue. The beast had already finished with Tripp, the grisly sight and blood causing Isabella to internally grimace. Valora had given her a few quick lessons in how she could wield a sword, but she was far from extremely skilled - but these people where her responsibility. A sword from the standard infantry could do little to a stone monster such as this. Granted, Valora might have been able to with her years of experience, but she wouldn't take that chance. Was she being overconfident? Perhaps.

Isabella drew Valiant, Valora frowning but doing as she was ordered, helping Prescott in getting the door open. Her heart thumped hard in her chest. Scared? Was that what this was? She couldn't say, she had never really felt fear before, living a cushy life in a castle. Even when she was exiled, she didn't quite feel what she thought was fear.

...well, no matter.

She held Valiant in front of her, staring down the stone beast in front of her with her usual emotionless expression.

I, the Demon King, Will Summon My Own Damned Heroes!

Near the Bonfire

@Zeroth@Old Amsterdam@Tatsu@CriticalHit@ReusableSword

---

Well...this Pixie was odd to say the least. If only for that last sentence of his. Gordon Ramsey? Wasn't he some big time chef or something back on earth? She hadn't a clue - she wasn't very up on the current events of earth at the time of her death. She hardly watched TV or did anything aside from eat, sleep, or work...sometimes her co-worked referred to her as a robot, hah. Well, no matter. She wasn't going to bring it up - that wasn't an issue at the moment. She wanted this Pixie to trust them, or at least her.

"Aha, I can't blame you for thinking something is a trap," Ash shouted back up at the Pixie. She'd have given him her best friendly smile, had her lizard mouth been capable of it. "But I am simply a humble Alchemist...and us Lizards would perhaps like to have your assistance with a little...endeavor of ours in taking out a few of the goblins. You will get a cut of the rewards, should you help." Speaking of that plan, something extremely interesting had just happened.

The crystal that the Pixie had dropped into the pool of venom made a noise like water being sucked down a drain, the venom seeming to seep into the once radiant blue crystal as it chimed eerily. The color changed to one of deep purple as Ash walked over to it, resting a claw on top of it gently. She'd be grinning like a mad woman had her lips been capable of it. "As a show of good faith," She cast one more glance up to the Pixie, voice as honest and trustworthy as she could make it sound. She wouldn't spare much time trying to convince him - this was the best she had, and if she didn't reel him in now she doubted she'd get him at all. "I shall introduce myself, Pixie. I am Ash...now won't you help a poor lizard make her way in this world?" Her voice had a mildly pleading undertone to it, but not a comically overbearing or showy one. Just the subtle tone of her voice. She turned her attention back to Ryuu and Rain.

"Well, my friends," She hissed in pleasure. "I have some enlightening information for our little lizard committee here...and I think I have a solid idea of how we can kill that idiotic goblin. As evident by this hole here - when Lizards combine their venom it becomes far more volatile and toxic for a short time." She lightly tapped the poison crystal with her claws. "And when this mana crystal reacts with toxic levels of fanged lizard venom...it acts as a poison that can reduce one's total mana. See where I'm going with this?"

I, the Demon King, Will Summon My Own Damned Heroes!

Near the Bonfire

@Zeroth@Old Amsterdam@Tatsu@CriticalHit@ReusableSword

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Turning her attention back to the acid, it was evident that while it was corrosive, it wasn't very long lasting. The liquids bubbling and hissing quickly grew quieter until it was rendered mostly inert. Whatever chemicals causing it to become caustic upon oxidation quickly running out. Unfortunate. She'd need a lot more, then - it seemed to barely make a dent in the floor. Before she could do it again though - Rain added her own venom to the pool creating quite a little surprise. A screen popped up - giving her all the information on the poisonous liquid. Liquid. Exothermic. Poisonous. Acidic. As well...adding it with her own seemed to make it stronger? The liquid sizzled and bubbled more vigorously it seemed, melting a deeper hole into the floor however small.

"Curious." She mused quietly to herself. So their venom could be fired together and made stronger...which offered some opportunities if she could get them all to help her and work together. "Doesn't everyone have their plans? Well regardless, thank you Rain, that certainly expedited the process a bit..." She glanced over to Ryuu. "You, my dear scaly friends may call me Ash." Ryuu then went on to make a rather interesting suggestion. Goblin hunting? Now she didn't consider herself a fighter, but with how things were, the goblins likely were going to be a nuisance if they didn't get rid of them.

"You want to attack the goblins...hmm..." She glanced over to the bubbling pool of venom. "Now there's an idea I can get behind. But attacking them now while they are so riled up would be suicide-Gah!" Ash shouted in surprise as the small crystal came tumbling down from above, crashing into the pool of hopefully inert venom. While she was curious to see how these crystals and lizard venom worked, this was interrupting something else.

Hmm, perhaps having a Pixie help them could be useful.

"...You there, Pixie." She hissed up at the small creature. "No need to be shy, I won't bite...come here. I have a...proposition of sorts for you."

Botanist And Bards

~Isabella~

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Turnip trotted quietly down the road, Isabella taking him out for a bit of a stroll while there was time when the storms weren't raging. She patted the side of his neck gently, the warhorse whinnying pleasantly as he walked. She was sort of nervous without Gracie here. Valora, Prescott, and Tripp were the only ones she decided to take with her, leaving Kinsey behind with the others. Nothing was likely going to happen, but she couldn't help but to feel anxious as always.

She glanced over to Valora who was walking some distance in front of her. Tripp and Prescott were walking alongside her, chatting back and forth occasionally. After traveling for a few hours, the small group was eager for a small break and it finally came in the way of them reaching their destination. The large hill in the distance had a large, old gate set into it. The gate was flanked by two large statues of eagles, one of which had collapsed with age. As Izzy dismounted Turnip, she frowned lightly, a small chill of excitement running up her spine.

"Princess," Valora said. "Don't get distracted now." Isabella nodded quietly, taking her eyes of the old statues. The king hadn't really given them a solid objective aside from simply scouring the ruins to find some instrument that may or may not be there. Not something that would easily be done. Isabella walked over to the large stone gate, Valora staring up at them and contemplating.

"Looks like nothing we've seen inside the Monarchy." Prescott said curiously. "How old you think it is?"

"Does it matter? Lets just get it over with. Old places like these are probably crawling with foul spirits."

"Yes yes, but think about what adventures and things could be had-"

"Alright, that's enough you two, help me see if we can get this gate open." Valora interrupted their little conversation as the trio walked over to the gate and attempted to open it.

I, the Demon King, Will Summon My Own Damned Heroes!

Near the Bonfire

@Zeroth@Old Amsterdam@Tatsu@CriticalHit

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Before she could check the results of her work, a rather irritating thing happened. The lizard that had caused a disturbance over at the bonfire made her presence known. Her first response was to leap back, bare fangs and hiss in mild displeasure, but something rather odd happened before she could. The lizard spoke. Engilsh. Or at least, it was a language she could understand. Her green eyes widened in response, immediately loosing all hostility that she might have had.

"Oh well," She mused to herself, laying on her belly and propping her head up with one claw. "This is a pleasant surprise. Another of my kind who can speak." She decided not to bring up the fact that she was rather irate about the fact that Rain foiled her plans to steal a pot or similar item from the goblins. Not that she got a chance to anyways - before she was even halfway done two more speaking lizards made their presence known. "My my, four of us!" She chuckled loudly. "And all can speak the queens bloody english, as they say. Perhaps my day has been made a bit better, heh." On to the subject though...

"Well, my dear scaly kin, I am attempting to melt a hole in the stone here. I happen to have a few skills relating to Alchemy. I need something to make them in, so I have decided to make it myself. Since you are all so kindly offering to help...if we keep a constant coating of our acid over the ground, it would likely speed up the process." Perhaps she could really use this to her advantage, if they'd be willing to keep helping her. "If you all help me in this endeavor as well as with gathering materials, I will let you have some of my potions for yourself."

I, the Demon King, Will Summon My Own Damned Heroes!

The Pool

@Zeroth

---

Well, this had gone terribly.

As she skittered silently along the ground, it was easy to see some sort of commotion going on before she even arrived at the Bonfire. Some shouts, a scream of pain, and a goblin smacking a wisp harshly with its weapon - from the looks of it, the wisp wasn't doing to well after that either. It'd be difficult to sneak in unnoticed, let alone find a bowl or some other utensil with the current commotion going on. If they found her, they could very well end up killing her again, and death wasn't something she was particularly keen on experiencing again.

Ugh, damn it.

She tapped a claw lightly against the ground in mild irritation. There went that plan. She could possibly sneak back in later after everything died down, but at the moment the scene was quite literally too hot. Conversely she could maybe try speaking to a goblin, but they seemed of little intelligence and idiots were the ones most immune to being coerced into doing something at times. Regardless, she needed to come up with a new plan if she wanted a bowl or cauldron of some sort to figure out these alchemy things. Glancing back to make sure she hadn't been noticed, Ash crawled back across the cavern floor to the pond she had previously resided in, heading back to the spot she had buried the wisp flesh from before as she looked at her surroundings again.

The slime that had previously messed with her meal was still out there, as well as a second one could be seen sucking up herbs and getting into a confrontation with a goblin. Huhm...a goblin skull would make a good container. Okay, morbid thought, but accurate. She'd like to avoid fighting if she could, but perhaps that'd be the easiest way to obtain something she could mix things in. Or...crazy thought, she tried doing something herself.

She rolled over onto her back.

"Urgh, physical labor is not my forte."

She grumbled, rolling back over and pushing herself to her feet.

Ideas...ideas...ideas......! Ah...wait, wasn't her poison acidic? It seemed to burn the wisp and it certainly seemed like it could potentially melt substances. Iiiidea! The lizard began walking around the edge of the pool, trying to find a spot that was relatively secluded from view in some manner, taking cover behind some rock formations. Taking a quick look around to see if she was alone, she filled her mouth with poison, only to vomit all of it up onto the floor. If it worked - it could burn a hole in the stone, even a little one, and she could have herself a makeshift cauldron.

Botanist And Bards

~Isabella~

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The princess continued to make a few practice movements, trying to copy her brothers fighting styles she had watched for years. It was a rather terrible copy, and she quickly began to realize that her body was a bit sore, but she didn't let it stop her from having a little fun. This was her first time actually being able to do something like this - she wasn't about to pass it up just because she was a little tired. Just as she finished rather comically throwing the sword around, Valiant alerted her to the presence of another person.

"..." She quickly stopped, turning to face the hallway, only to see Valora standing there with a rather bemused smile on her face.

"Princess is everything alright...?" She looked over to the chipped wall curiously and then back to Isabella.

"...mhm." She replied quietly, quickly sheathing Valiant.

"Well, we heard a rather loud noise - may I ask what caused this...wall to be damaged?" Isabella offered no response, merely stood quietly causing Valora to sigh. "Well, if you're alright then I suppose it isn't a problem." The guard turned, beginning to walk back down the hallway with Isabella quietly following behind her. A few awkward moments of silence passed before Valora decided to break it. "...you know, it'd be better to learn how to use that if you're going to be keeping it."

"....!" Isabella tilted her head curiously at the older woman. It's what she wanted to ask, certainly, but she wasn't entirely sure how to approach the subject. She quietly watched Valora as they walked, eventually reaching the hallway just outside of their room.

"Ugh, I can't believe I'm doing this..." Valora mumbled to herself. "Look, if you want I can show you the basics." She offered, causing Isabella to jump a bit in surprise at the offer, but quickly nodded her head yes a few times. "Fine, fine. Go tell Gracie I'm borrowing you for the rest of the evening then. We start now."