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@Admythaus Unabashedly copy-pasting your formatting for the IC posts, hope you don't mind. Also, I hope there being what Yorsiccos assumes is mine-excavating going on to the west isn't taking too much of a liberty? Only, he can only travel underground during the day, so this was something that seemed like it could make sense.
6

Yorsiccos

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Yorsiccos made it back to his cave just in time to avoid the irritants that were the first rays of dawn – but then again, he always did. His years had allowed him to perfect reading the moon’s path, and when that was unavailable, pinpoint the starts which brightened as dawn approached, and he was now so well-versed in his practice that he always returned back to his cave just in time.

Tonight’s foraging had left him only with one whole corked wine-glass bottle and the shards of several broken ones, but he’d taken it all, fastening the bottle to his belt and wrapping all the shattered glass pieces in several bundles of cleaning cloths. The latter had been safely stored into cloth sack. The cloth sack carried his favourite items, and he took it with him everywhere. If he ever happened upon a new cave, sewer, or crevice during his night time exploring that seemed a better home than the current one he possessed (not that he’d found one that fit his criteria of ‘better’ yet), he would at least have what he most valued with him. The other junk…Well, he knew where it was stored.

Getting to his home (a hoarder’s paradise, really) was quite the procedure though. It took even him nearly two hours, and he knew how to navigate the cavern’s treacherous twists, how to avoid the dead-ends, the maddening circuitous labyrinthine parts of the system, and the magnificence of nature-made pitfall traps. He’d fallen into several back when he’d first started as a Mormagi, and crawling out had been…well, decades of time dulled the experience, but he preferred not to think on it. Arriving into his home, on the other hand, felt welcoming and familiar, despite some of the memories associated with the caverns. The main room, the one that Stodmen occasionally made their way in was a spacious ellipsoid thing, the centre of it possessing obvious signs of a camping: earth packed tightly by the many bodies that had lain there and the remains of an old campfire scattered around, but still recognizable for what they were.

Proceeding deeper, there was a wall with two branching and ever narrowing tunnels, with some branches stretching wide but most leading nowhere, and the branches proceeding deeper leading to smaller chambers, claustrophobic crawl-spaces and crevices. His part of the cavern was a medium spherical chamber located not far from a sizable underground lake, the walls and floors of which he’d smoothed over his time of inhabiting it. The stalagmites (but not the stalactites) have also been removed. "Home sweet home," he muttered, the action somewhat unpleasant on his throat. But it did mitigate the solitude, and that was something.

Here, unknown thousands of meters underground, was where he stashed the majority of his belongings – all of those things that weren’t quite his favourites, yet made the cavern into a home. He placed the whole corked bottle next to the collection of tin mugs, wooden cups, buckets, and other similar man-made liquid containers that he’d been able to find whole (they were damaged, and in some cases misshapen, but nonetheless whole). The shards of glass on the other hand, he put next to a set of sharp-ended items (serrated or broken-off pieces of metal, mostly) that he kept on a wide expanse of cloth. The liquid containers came in handy whenever he desired a wash (he preferred not contaminating the nearby lake, thank-you-very-much), and the sharp implements were adequate for scraping off loose skin – a procedure which encouraged faster re-growth for a new layer of decaying epidermis.

After sorting his items, he sat down, laying his satchel next to him, and unsheathed his knife. Then he picked up a chunk of birch (he had a sizeable pile of broken furniture and several logs, though all the wood was rather damp), and set to carving somewhat mindlessly. Carving was something he often did instead of sleeping. He didn’t truly require sleep, though if he chose to do so, he could also sleep much longer than any of the other races did; he’d once slept for what he guessed later must have been close to a year. Now, he rarely slept at all. Carving was better, he found. This time, he set out to make a mask. His ultimate goal, if it could be called that, was discovering a way to tolerate sunlight better. Covering up with cloth and bandages hadn’t done much in his favour so far, but perhaps another material might.

A couple of hours later, he had a crude wooden mask. He tied it to his face with several strips of cloth, picked up his satchel after, and put the sheathed knife back at his left hip where it belonged, Yorsiccos wandered over to the lake-chamber several tunnels over. He examined himself; he could now perhaps pass for a shady Stodman beggar if the one observing him were particularly drunk. Well, it was something. He didn’t need a disguise to traverse his caverns, of course, but there had been some recent goings-on he’d felt reverberate through the earth. After exploring the upper levels, he discovered a group of miners had been making excavating attempts far to the west of where he usually resided. This meant that other beings were getting much too near to his territory for his taste, however, and so he’d found (or dug out) a series of tunnels and widened some existing crevices to make a tiny, tiny entrance to what appeared a mine being renovated. This was where he was heading now, his path underground taking him westwards.



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Asteria



“You interacted with the system directly,” Asteria noted as Ed explained messing something up. Most likely a berserker-esque skill that traded mental faculties for brute strength and a cruel forcefulness. Thankfully, it seemed both temporary and at least partially under the Ratman’s control. The direct interaction with the system was rather intriguing, and something Asteria kept in mind for later. Soon after moving on from the ant colony, black smoke began billowing up to them, an indication of a fire if she ever saw one. “Agreed,” she gritted through her teeth as she geared up all her muscles for a prolonged full-on run, urging Mother Rat to follow swiftly as well.

At one point in their travels, Mother Rat squeaked a warning, and Asteria followed her lead in ducking under as she gazed up to the large white bird of prey. She reflexively used Monster Analysis on it now that she had some mana with which to do so again. It was curious that the bird seemed to have a set destination in mind, and didn’t make any detours even for what was sure to be a tasty snack for it. “Mm-hm. It was weirdly intent. Could have been related to the two humans whose tracks we’ve passed,” she suggested, though she wasn’t sure how likely that was.

Breezing through the plains meant they eventually outran the fire, at least for now. Asteria gazed forwards, trying to distinguish the shapes, which she was sure was the darker green something she’d seen up from the tree-top at the beginning of their journey. She gasped at the realization that it was a settlement almost at the same time that Ed narrated his discovery to her. “I see it, yes. I dearly hope they have a means to contain a fire that’s apparently spreading through the whole damn grasslands. If there was ever a time to discover how to use magic, and learn some water spell, now would really be the time,” she grumbled, though based on how difficult it had been for her so far to get anything like the spell she’d seen others use so far, she doubted she could magic a trick such as that simply because it would be very helpful and convenient to do so just then. Not that she wouldn’t try, but as Ed had said, they had to establish safe lodgings first.

Asteria joined Ed as he observed the surroundings carefully. Regardless of what they saw, she would also put her head to the ground afterwards, just like Mother Rat had done while she listened for the ants. If her enhanced hearing and the alertness she possessed didn’t point out any evident dangers, she would begin digging into the earth as swiftly as she could, making a hole, then a tunnel. If nothing else, being deep underground could protect them from a fire…right? Well, she certainly hoped that was the case, because it was unlikely they’d find anything better around here.

Not sure if I'll have enough time to join but Yes, this looks awesome. I'm curious to see more.
Disclaimer: I'm making no promises.
I check the guild daily, I post whenever's most convenient for me *shrug*.
Jandar Varan
Root's Teeth, Dhemlan Terreille

Immediately upon entering, Jandar noticed the shady group, broken-nosed slick-and-black-haired male (their leader, apparently) included, while they were too preoccupied with their nefarious plans to pay attention to him. The moment he heard them mention fun and challenge and profit with that sickening, leery, cruel, mocking undertone to their words, the moment he realized they were following the Opal witch, was the same moment his mind began racing, his heart-beat quickening to an almost erratic thump-thump-thump, the sensation akin to a beast roaring against his chest, a beast doing its best to tackle and claw its way out-out-OUT.

They- Hell’s fire consume them, the bastards were going to- to rape the girl. Even if they refrained from committing that particular act, they would hurt and injure her in other ways. Would the Opal witch – the witch who had helped him, who had been worried about a weaker-jeweled witch, who had given him a snack for Teo and advice to boot, whom he didn’t even know the name of! – turn into yet another Witchblood, her blood spilled as carelessly as had been done countless times here, a mere fertilizer for the- The horrifying, thoughtless massacre, the perversion of anything good and proper in the world…Jandar sucked in a sharp breath, clearing his mind.

The scent of a Queen entering distracted him for but a moment, long enough to note that she was attempting to stay unnoticed (and the burning questions of who, why, what were roughly shoved to a corner of his mind – this was not an issue he could afford to spend time on right now), long enough that he surveyed the room’s occupants and judged whoever the owner of the pouch was, they weren’t openly panicking yet, long enough to consider paying a visit to Cook and immediately dismiss the notion, long enough to reassuringly grip the hunter knife sheathed at his back, long enough to notice the Queen was being pestered by the innkeeper (but she had a companion, he needn’t redirect his worry to her when the Opal witch was all alone, facing danger on her own).

It couldn’t have been longer than a dozen seconds – not more than half-a-minute, certainly? – since the witch-hunting males had closed the door after themselves. (But what if those seconds had determined whether he could save the witch? His traitorous mind took its own direction with his fears, whispering the likes of What if you can’t save her? What if you do, and they simply hunt down another? What if you enrage them, and they do much worse? What if you compromise your own position? Would it not be safer to ignore this? Can you afford to ignore this? Will taking action truly lead to a better result? And if your involvement worsens the situation? If the group notices, what then? Will you try to protect the witch by being the only one- the only ‘gentle’ one, you utter fool? Will you simply attack them, take on a group, risk your life and your mission for some no-name witch? Risk being taken prisoner so soon for the sheer idiocy you are about to attempt? Each thought charged him so full of emotion he felt he might burst, yet he ignored the rising anxiety, ignored the nerves, shoved it all down and under, down and under, until he thrummed full of purpose, yet hadn’t taken a single step forward, and he was just wasting time now, You’re wasting time!)

No, it hadn’t taken long at all for Jandar to reach a decision. (But, oh, you had wasted a few precious seconds, haven’t you? Wasted time for senseless self-doubting- No, no, no, keep your goal in mind, work on the method as you go, now just go!) He was moving after the group already, drawing on his Blood Opal jewel as he cast an aural shield at the door to obscure the sound of it opening for him and closing behind him. As soon as he was out of the main room and the door closed behind him, he drew upon his Craft to cast a sight shield on himself, followed by a hasty aural shield as well. He pursued the group swiftly, but tookcare to step softly and kept a bit of a distance from the group in case his Craft failed him or the power he had used drew any of the males’ attention to their surroundings.

However, the moment he determined where the Opal witch had gone, he was resolved to try to get to her first. (But unnoticed, he should not be noticed, he should hide himself and the witch, could he hide them both, How could I possibly- How to get to her first when they’re in front of you?) However, if the witch was already being accosted…well. He’d have to waste a few precious seconds in any case just to determine whether the group was speaking (or doing terrible, unforgivable, unspeakable things) to the witch, and how she was faring – could he hope the Opal witch would help herself, somehow? He rather doubted she could take on a whole group by herself.

And if the Mother-forsaken shit-sacks were engaged with the witch in some manner already, Jandar would have to take a direct approach (not an idea he was fond of, but surely, surely he could make something work? Redirect their attention? Distract them? Join them, and incapacitate them when they are- when they are-), and do his best to chase them off. May the Darkness be merciful, let me be in time. (He was furious, so furious he could kill them all, kill them and desecrate their corpses, not only could he do it – easily, he knew – it would be so easy when they didn’t even see him, didn’t even hear him, it would be easy, and he would take joy in it, he would laugh as they screamed, he would laugh as the light left their undeserving eyes, he would laugh.) Let this be simple.


@Admythaus Yep, I searched for Argonians on Pinterest, and was extremely happy when I found one that fit so well with what I had in mind. I also think it's well done, but really, any kudos should be given to the actual artist XD.
There we are. The female Occ alchemist.

Jandar Varan
Root's Teeth, Dhemlan Terreille

Jandar observed the mulish blonde boy as he struggled in wain against his hold, his gaze sharpening when he saw the child sneak one hand into a trouser pocket, the lad's body tensing for action. Jandar tightened his hold on the boy’s shoulder in a warning not to do anything foolish, and pocketed the leather pouch. “If I was wantin’ to toss you anywhere, no way was I standin’ here chattin’ you up,” he noted with an impatient growl.

With an eye-roll, he released the boy. “’Ave it your way, lad. And if you change your mind, I’m stayin’ ‘ere for the night,” he said, offering a short explanation as to where his room could be found. “Knock four times, like this, so I know it ain’t no stranger,” he demonstrated by clapping his hands, first a soft clap, followed by a short pause, then two quick successive claps, and a louder clap a second after. “See ya or not,” the Warlord added dismissively with a shrug, descended the ladder, and headed back into the inn.

Honestly, he’d given the knocking hint to the boy more of as a lure to come than something he'd actually require. The Warlord hoped the blonde would see it as an interesting little tid-bit, and would be intrigued enough to pay him a visit. This was an endeavor to draw attention from a potential source of information that cost Jandar next to nothing. Even if the boy forwent knocking in the specific manner Jandar had shown him - even if the blonde attempted the more reckless thing and tried to sneak into his room - Jandar was confident he could recognize and intercept him. But conversing with the lad when he was so obviously hostile and frightened seemed like a futile attempt, and so Jandar had left the decision for further contact to the boy. And the child likely didn’t know it, but he’d already given the Warlord some information – the fact that apparently, the innkeep, the Queen’s guards, and so-called collectors were all collaborating in a scheme that involved…capturing people?

Jandar didn’t know why the blonde thought he (a child of dubious value) would be worth collecting, however. More importantly, whoever the innkeeper was, the boy thought he or she was likely to sell him out. Had Jandar already seen the innkeep without knowing it? Or was the owner keeping out of sight? There were mysteries within mysteries even in such a small part of Terreille. They were all connected, and Jandar was sure they all originated from the Queen, and all lead to her as well. He’d prefer not to follow the leads he was discovering just to end up in her domain, but he was afraid he might eventually have to do just that, if he wanted to find SaDiablo and free the Warlord Prince from whatever was keeping him occupied in this rotting Realm.

As he entered the inn’s main room, the Warlord kept a lookout for the shady group he'd seen before with his peripheral sight, and if they were still there, Jandar would enhance his hearing with Craft to eavesdrop on them. He also kept an eye on any obvious distressed people – if there was someone looking for an lost article already, he might have to part with the bag straight away somehow. The foolish lad – Jandar wouldn’t put it past the boy to try and pin the blame for stealing the satchel on him out of spite. Though if the little thief attempted a direct approach such as that, Jandar could probably weasel out of it. The longer he had the satchel with him, however, the more risk he was under. If only he could find the owner and return the belongings to him unobtrusively. He had to admit though, with such prime opportunity within his grasp, a part of him dearly wanted to seclude himself and read through all the letters. But he could afford to do such a thing only if whoever was the owner was unaware of the theft.
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