CHARP LOGS 27 Prophecies (Charp Series Logs)

Zarko Straadi

Edgesquire
Original poster
FOLKLORE MEMBER
Posting Speed
  1. 1-3 posts per day
Writing Levels
  1. Adaptable
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Female
Genres
Sci-fi, fantasy, magical, modern, Steampunk

  • Diana:
    WELCOME TO THE 27 PROPHECIES CHARP!


    Today at 11:56 AM


  • Diana:



    RECURRING - 27 Prophecies - Tuesday March 8th @ 2pm to 5pm Central



    27 PROPHESIES 2022-03-08T14:00:00-6 In a small podunk tavern out in the middle of nowhere, a haphazard group of strangers unwittingly bear witness to a prophecy coming true. In fact, it's one of 27 prophecies heralding the end of the world. Will anyone realize what they've seen? Will they...

    www.iwakuroleplay.com
    www.iwakuroleplay.com





    Today at 11:57 AM


  • Diana:
    This is a high fantasy setting, where a cast of characters get wrapped up in 27 prophecies that herald the end of the world.


    Today at 11:57 AM


  • Diana:
    TYPE FAST, TYPE BRIEF! This is a real time roleplay, so you don't want to be too slow or too wordy. Try to keep posts to 10 sentences or less so nobody misses out on action or details!


    Today at 11:57 AM


  • Diana:
    HOT TIP: Write your character name in every post. That way we know what character you're playing - especially if you're playing multiples! You can also use bbcode color to help your posts stand out.


    Today at 11:58 AM


  • Diana:
    Game Master and Narration posts appear in this bright bold yellow. Pay attention to those because they are guiding you to what to do next in the story.


    Today at 11:58 AM


  • Diana:
    My roleplays are always NEWBIE FRIENDLY! If you get confused or have any questions I'm in the main chat room to help!


    Today at 11:58 AM


  • Diana:
    (◉,◉) (◉◇◉) (⊙,◉) (⊙◇◉)


    Today at 11:58 AM


  • Diana:
    Deep in the woods lies a tavern called The Lackadaisy Lizard and it is, by most tavern standards a real hole in the wall dump. At least there's a big roaring fire, the tables are good solid wood, and the food is edible. A few regulars from the village far down the road were sitting at their usual places, along with a couple of strangers all enjoying the music of a traveling bard.


    Today at 12:40 PM

  • Zarko Straadi:
    Shara slipped inside, glad to be out of the elements, and took a quick read of the place. Nobody looked especially dangerous, or especially ripe for pickpocketing. If anything, it looked to be an especially quiet night in an exceptionally quiet tavern, in an exceptionally out-of-the-way area of woods, meadows, and scattered farming villages. Shara picked out a table not too far from the back entrance where she could keep her back to the wall. With a tired groan, she eased out of her backpack, slid out a chair, and settled in.


    Today at 1:00 PM

  • LuckycoolHawk9:
    Devon "Seven" Falcon was not one to wonder loosely into taverns, unless he had a good reason too. He did have a very good reason though, he was flat fucking broke and in need of some money. When it came to gifts, the man was a master of illusions, a street magician if you will. Though very few could see through his tricks and when they did, well, he usually had their gold. " In, out, in out, Don't get roped into something you can't get out of," he mumbled as he entered the tavern.


    Today at 1:03 PM

  • Diana:
    A busty lizard barmaid with a delightful personality was bustling around filling up mugs. "Ssssthomthing to drink miisssth?" She leaned over Shara's table to ask. A big loaf of bread popped out of her corset and fell on the table. How embarrassing!


    Today at 1:06 PM

  • Zarko Straadi:
    Shara's sharp ears caught the guy's words. She wondered what that might be about, but the lizard barkeep pulled her thoughts away. "Uh..." she said, trying to keep from laughing. The lizard lady was actually quite fascinating--Shara had never seen a lizard-person up close before--her eyes were like gemstones, and there was a pretty sheen to her scales. "Do you have...any juices?" she managed. "And..." despite having been worn as a fashion accessory, that loaf of bread was rather tempting in Shara's current state. "something to eat? Like stew, or, uh, bread?"


    Today at 1:12 PM

  • Diana:
    Well, there was clearly bread! The lizard barmaid slid the loaf over to Shara. "Juiccccthes? Yesth, yesth. Apple is good? I will bring you a deliciousssth ssthew asth well!" She then bustled over to the young man that wandering in as well. "Ssssssthomthing for you, ssthir?"


    Today at 1:15 PM

  • Zarko Straadi:
    Shara hadn't expected to receive that particular loaf! At least reptiles don't sweat, she thought, picking up the loaf to dust it off. She'd had worse victuals during her adventure thus far. And if need be, she could use its origin as a basis to haggle down the price...


    Today at 1:22 PM

  • LuckycoolHawk9:
    Devon would sit down next to Shara and look at the breat. " Do you mind sharing that bread?" He asked.


    Today at 1:29 PM

  • Diana:
    A loud pop and crackle from the fireplace might've sent the wary and nervous into a start, but otherwise glowed comfortingly warm. Assuming the man would also require an Apple Juice, the lopsided busty lizard barmaid bustled off to get the order of food. Despite being a busy night in the tavern a hush seemed to fall over the room. Quiet voices, murmuring quiet conversations as a bard in the corner strummed a casual song.


    Today at 1:33 PM

  • Zarko Straadi:
    "Not if you'll share the price," Shara replied. She moved aside to make room and placed her pack on the other side of her chair from the guy. She took a knife and cut the loaf in half, shoving one half toward him. The loud pop from the fireplace made her flinch a little, but she kept her attention mostly on the man, but didn't let anyone else out of her peripheral vision either. "So...you live around here?"


    Today at 1:37 PM

  • LuckycoolHawk9:
    Devon raised the most confused eyebrow. " Okay, I guess, thanks," he replied back to her, as he would munch on the bread. " No, just passing through."


    Today at 1:42 PM

  • Diana:
    It only took a moment for the lizard barmaid to return (she'd rebalanced her bready bust by now), setting a hefty bowl of stew in front of Shara and two big warm mugs of apple cider in front of the pair. "Enjoy!" she chirped and bustled off. Shortly after, Devon's munching gave him a painful CRONCH. What was that in his mouth?! A piece of bone?!


    Today at 1:46 PM

  • LuckycoolHawk9:
    Devon would do what person would do when they bit into bone. He would spit it out and look at the piece of bread.


    Today at 1:48 PM

  • Zarko Straadi:
    Shara gave a quizzical look. There hadn't been any problems with her bread thus far, but she decided she'd be a bit more careful about eating big bites. But wouldn't the baking and the cooking of meat be done more...separately? she thought, leaning over to get a closer look at that bone, to make sure it belonged to a chicken or something else that belonged in a kitchen.


    Today at 1:53 PM

  • Diana:
    The hard piece of bone landed on the table with a cli-CLINK! And for a second it just lay there, inert. But with a another pop and crack of the fire, little legs sprung out along it's sides. Hundreds of little tiny legs! It scuttled all over the table!


    Today at 1:57 PM

  • LuckycoolHawk9:
    Devon just stared for a moment as the thing would move along the table at a speed. He would pull what looked like a small piece of paper out of his bag and make it look like the thing to see what it did


    Today at 2:03 PM

  • Zarko Straadi:
    "Wha?" Shara exclaimed, suddenly regretting having eaten any of the bread. She twirled the knife in her hand so she could have it ready to pound the creature with the pommel if necessary. "Oi! Innkeep!" Then the guy took out a piece of paper, and by means she didn't quite see, appeared to turn it into another one of the things. She pulled back from the table, careful to stay out of the man's reach. Is he messing with me? she thought. Even if both creatures were conjurations of his magic, she wasn't taking any chances of them being able to jump or shoot venom or otherwise attack.


    Today at 2:09 PM

  • Diana:
    The tiny creature opened up a tiny mouth filled with dozens of sharp looking teeths. Luckily it was so small, it couldn't hurt too badly if it bit someone... but when it screeched, a high pitched squeeled, chaos erupted in the inn! Several other tavern guests jumped up from their tables shouting as the bone creature things came crawling out of their meals. ...more ominously, a few patrons grabbed their stomachs looking not so good.


    Today at 2:12 PM

  • LuckycoolHawk9:
    Devon couldn't tell what he was more disappointed by, the fact that he had found trouble in this small tavern, the fact the thing didn't care for his illusion or that he didn't have any excuse to not fight it. He would pull what looked like a kid's toy( actually a sword) and stab the thing on the table


    Today at 2:16 PM

  • Zarko Straadi:
    Shara jumped to her feet, reaching under her cloak to draw her sword with a flourish. Her stomach churned at the thought of having such creatures inside her. The guy pulled out a sword so small it looked like a toy at first, and stabbed at the creature. I'd better not take any chances, she thought, backing against the wall. She crouched, did a quick situational-awareness check, then turned her head, leaned over, and stuck her finger down her throat to throw up what she'd eaten, in case there were more of those things in there, or eggs.


    Today at 2:21 PM

  • Diana:
    Where creating a copy of the creature made it screech for it's companions, being attacked seemed to be an even worse move! A chorus of screeches echoed through-out the room and dozens, hundreds of them came scuttling from their hiding places to come after Devon. Other than a few patrons now throwing up a few extra of the beasts, they had no interest in attacking anyone else. Devon was their mortal enemy. One seemed to clutch a toothpick with a flame on each end in it's mouth.


    Today at 2:26 PM

  • Zarko Straadi:
    Shara wiped her mouth with a napkin, then washed her mouth out with some of the cider and spat it out. These creatures...they work together... she thought. "Run, mister!" she said to Devon, then glanced at the other patrons to see if they were alright.


    Today at 2:32 PM

  • Zarko Straadi:
    Spotting the one with the flaming toothpick, Shara wondered, are they smart like people? The fact that they seemed to be only attacking someone who attacked one of them first gave her pause.


    Today at 2:37 PM

  • LuckycoolHawk9:
    Devon stared at the creatures and the flames and would continue his options. There was always the tricks that his grandmother taught him as he moved his hand and pulled a bucket full of water from his bag and tossed it at the things.


    Today at 2:38 PM

  • Diana:
    Now the little bone beasties were wet and assuming Devon was trying to drown them. They were surrounded Devon trying to crawl up his shoes and under his pantlegs, some even trying to chew right through the leather and the fabric. The poor lizard bar maid was crying her tearsssthhh behind the bar as her bready breasts had abandoned her to become the little creatures as well. The other patrons fled the tavern!


    Today at 2:42 PM

  • LuckycoolHawk9:
    Devon closed his eyes and made illusions of himself around the room as he shook off the creature from his leg and shoes. " Really starting to hate these things," he mumbled as he focused on making something really fast. It was what could only be percieved as a giant version of a dog.


    Today at 2:46 PM

  • Zarko Straadi:
    Shara sheathed her sword. It wasn't the best weapon for this sort of situation. She grabbed her pack and shouldered into one of the straps. She blinked in surprise at the appearance of several more versions of the man, and a giant scary dog. Whoa! His magical abilities were certainly way beyond hers. Should I try to help him? How?


    Today at 2:51 PM

  • Diana:
    The multiple illusions of Devon were successful at least least distracting the bone creatures that hadn't reached him. The ones still infesting his pants were quick to bite! They felt like tiny fireants chewing on his leg. ...they had no reaction to a giant dog! Just when it seemed like things couldn't get any more confusing, the tavern door burst open. Standing there in the threshold was a woman, whose hair was wind-blown wild, and in her arms was a giant full sack with the words bone meal stamped on the front. "Lizzete! Lizzete I dropped off the wrong bag! Please tell me you didn't use any of the bag I left here!"


    Today at 2:59 PM

  • Zarko Straadi:
    Shara struggled to think. Being famished, tired, and sleepy didn't help. If they're people, it wouldn't be right to kill them just because they're bone-insect people, would it? But they'll kill him... Being smaller and weaker than most, it went against Shara's instincts to pick a fight. Stealth, cunning, and a fast tongue were what usually got her through a confrontation. Well, a bit of swashbuckling once in awhile, but not against insect hordes! The lizard lady was wailing in anguish--Shara couldn't see any insects attacking her, but her business was surely doomed. The door burst open, and Shara's hand went to her sword hilt, but she didn't draw. Instead, she let go and pointed at the insects. "Are those yours?" she said to the woman.


    Today at 3:02 PM

  • LuckycoolHawk9:
    Devon would let let loose a groan and debated what options he had to get rid of the ones on his legs and just let loose one of those sighs. " I'll hate myself in the morning for this," he replied, waving his hand and transfering his illusion magic into some fire magic on his pants and legs. " What do you think?" Devon sarcastically asked the woman.


    Today at 3:04 PM

  • Diana:
    "Goddess, no! Ugh, not again..." sighed the woman in the doorway. She dropped the sack of bone meal, and then... well she just looked as lost at what to do as everyone else! "My stupid wizard master ordered bone meal, but of course it wasn't NORMAL bone meal, so when I dropped off Lizette's bone meal I mixed up the bags! How was I supposed to know the Master's bone meal bad was cursed nonsense? Oh, I should have expected it, wizard's orders are always cursed!" And now that poor Devon's pants were on fire it was worse... or, perhaps not so much! The little bone beasts were finally hopping off him to fall on the floor and screech in anger from a distance!


    57 minutes ago

  • Zarko Straadi:
    When the man's legs seemed to burst into flame, apparently without hurting him, Shara decided he was a powerful wizard who didn't need any help from the likes of her. She started edging toward the exit, careful not to step on any bone-insect (people?).


    56 minutes ago

  • Zarko Straadi:
    "What are those things?" Shara asked the woman.


    54 minutes ago

  • Zarko Straadi:
    "And who uses bone meal to bake bread?"


    54 minutes ago

  • Diana:
    Lizette, who was still crying behind the bar looked utterly offended. "Do.. do you not use bone mealsth for breadsth? For the extra nutrientsth!"


    52 minutes ago

  • LuckycoolHawk9:
    Devon would look over at the lizard woman as he tossed some water to put the fire out and then illusioned up some new pants as he looked at the bone beasts. " Have you considered labels for bag like Wizard's bone meals and bone meals for tavern, Maybe a sticker or a mark for them to tell the DAMN differnce. FLOUR is what you put in the bread. And maybe some raisins, not bones."


    47 minutes ago

  • Zarko Straadi:
    "Uh..." Shara replied. The lizard lady had a point, maybe? "I'm not a baker..." The man, understandably, was taking a harsher tone. And bread with raisins (and no bone meal, bones, or insects) was sounding really good just now!


    42 minutes ago

  • Diana:
    "Well I don't know what to do!" said the woman in the threshold, running her hands through her hair. "I guess.. I guess we should just toss them in a sack! I gotta get them to the wizard! He DID order them after all!"


    38 minutes ago

  • Zarko Straadi:
    "What's he gonna do with them?" Shara asked. Whatever these creatures were, it was clear they could be weaponized in nefarious ways.


    35 minutes ago

  • LuckycoolHawk9:
    Devon sighed, dropping the illusion and making himself look like Shara before making the bag look like him in with a wave of the hard. " I don't know, don't care, let's just get them out of here," he replied perfectly in her voice.


    33 minutes ago

  • Diana:
    SCREEECH! All the bone beasties went running for the bag illusioned as Devon, tumbling into it and on top of each other! The woman in the threshold looked pretty impressed with this and surprised that even worked! "The master is a wizard, who knows what plans wizards have when they order crazy things. They're always ordering crazy things."


    30 minutes ago

  • Zarko Straadi:
    Eeehhhh....I don't think I'm going to get used to seeing myself like this, Shara thought. She'd had a few nightmares about that shape-shifter from the last village turning into her and attacking. His trick did seem to work, as the creatures rushed the bag. Well...I guess it's none of my business what a wizard is going to do with those creatures, and not even something I can do anything about. I just...hope it's not something horribly evil though...


    22 minutes ago

  • LuckycoolHawk9:
    Devon would also take a second to make sure that none were left and throw the dead one in as well.


    21 minutes ago

  • Diana:
    Blip blip blip, they all disappeared into the bag. The woman was quick to grab it from Devon and make sure it was tied up real tight so they didn't escape. "Not sure how baking that enchanted bone meal could even make these little bastards, but I'm sure the Master will know what to do with them. Thank you for uh... I guess keeping them busy! If you travel through this forest out to the big tower a few miles out, my Master might be willing to compensate you for all of this trouble."


    17 minutes ago

  • LuckycoolHawk9:
    Devon just stared at her and decided that if he spoke any words they would be a string of curses. " Feel like I should mention that pretty sure other people in the tavern ate it, so might want to go checking around town that all of them were gotten. Yeah, I think I might be good. ... unless it's gold."


    15 minutes ago

  • Zarko Straadi:
    "Yeah...well, I didn't do much..." Shara said. But I can use all the compensation I can get right now, even if it's just silver or copper, and...maybe find out more about what this wizard's up to? Curiosity warred with caution, until it eked out a narrow victory. "But I was sorta half-owner of that loaf of bread," she said, deciding she might accompany the other wizard if he chose to go.


    10 minutes ago

  • Diana:
    And thus unaware of their roles in something that may spell the end of the world, a whisper of a prophesy floats in the wind... When living bone borne of fire awakens... WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? FIND OUT NEXT TIME ON 27 PROPHECIES.
 
  • @Diana:
    WELCOME TO 27 PROPHECIES
    Today at 12:28 PM
  • @Diana:
    This is a traditional fantasy setting, starting off in a tavern in the middle of the woods. Character actions and behavior has consequences for the world!
    Today at 12:28 PM
  • @Diana:
    TYPE FAST AND TYPE BRIEF. Keep posts under 10 sentences. The more you write, the easier it is to miss details or get left behind in the action.
  • @Diana:
    Put your character's name in the first sentence of all your posts so we know who you are playing. You can also use bbcode to color your posts to help differentiate between characters!
    Today at 12:28 PM
  • @Diana:
    Game master posts always appear in this bright bold yellow, so make sure to pay attention to those as they are guiding the plot.
    Today at 12:28 PM
  • @Diana:
    My roleplays are always newbie friendly! If you get lost, confused, or need some hints I am in the main chat room to help out!
    Today at 12:28 PM
  • @Diana:
    (◉,◉) (◉◇◉) (⊙,◉) (⊙◇◉)
    Today at 12:29 PM
  • @Diana:
    Deep in the woods lies a tavern called The Lackadaisy Lizard and it is, by most tavern standards a real hole in the wall dump. At least there's a big roaring fire, the tables are good solid wood, and the food is edible. A few regulars from the village far down the road were sitting at their usual places, along with a couple of strangers all enjoying the music of a traveling bard.
    Today at 12:53 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Joti slipped into the tavern, moving silently by instinct. She found a table where she could keep her back to the wall and seated herself.
    Today at 12:56 PM
  • @Diana:
    One of the busty barmaids, a lizard lady, (whose "bustyness" was actually just a couple of poorly disguised halved melons stuffed in her bodice) sauntered over to Joti's table. "Watssss you want girl? SSssstews good today. Mug o' ale, maybe?"
    Today at 1:02 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Joti clenched her teeth, once again ruing her lack of money. The bard they had playing was pretty good actually, especially for an inn this far out of the way. She might have wanted to tip them if she could have; instead, she'd probably have to lighten their purse if she wanted to eat tomorrow. "I'll take one o' each," she said to the lizard waitress, giving her a nod of her head instead of a smile. She'd heard (though she didn't know for sure if it was true) that lizard people took 'baring of teeth' as a gesture of hostility rather than friendliness.
    Today at 1:06 PM
  • @The Mood is Write:
    A short and scruffy human man in red and white striped pants, chainmail, and a belt full of tools, glanced around as he entered. He'd been away from his companions for some time now, and even Tiny wasn't with him. Tiny... he missed his pig.
    Today at 1:08 PM
  • @The Mood is Write:
    The scruffy man, known by many (but none here, as he'd just arrived) as Hare, looked around, then walked to Joti's table. "Mind if I join you?" Last time he'd done this, he'd made good friends... though also nearly died several times.
    Today at 1:10 PM
  • @Diana:
    The bard in question was actually quite a lovely woman to be playing in a place like this, strumming on a loot while kicking her foot against a small drum on the floor. She seamlessly moved on into another song.
    Today at 1:11 PM
  • @Diana:
    That lizard barmaid eyeballed the interjecting man. "Ssssstew and ale for you too then?"
    Today at 1:11 PM
  • @The Mood is Write:
    "Please, and make the drink strong. I've had a day." Hare ran a hand through his greasy locks.
    Today at 1:13 PM
  • @Diana:
    Off she bustled to get their meal, having to adjust her crooked melons along the way.
    Today at 1:13 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Joti made note of the man when he entered. Those red and white striped pants were rubbish for stealth, so probably not one of the Shadow Men...unless that was the point. But still, the chances of them tracking her here had to be remote...which was also the point, of her being here. "Sure," she said, when he came and asked to join her
    Today at 1:14 PM
  • @The Mood is Write:
    He took a seat beside her with a nod of thankfulness, then sighed. "Y'seen any large paladin women around 'ere? The sort what's surrounded by strange, mostly-human folk and a baby pig in armor?"
    Today at 1:15 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Joti blinked at the man. If that was supposed to be a pick-up line it was the strangest she'd ever heard. Not that she got many pick up lines. "Can't say I have."
    Today at 1:16 PM
  • @The Mood is Write:
    "Damn." He shook his head. "Those're my companions, y'see, and Ah cain't b'lieve they done left me behind... Even Tiny, me own pig-son," he mourned.
    Today at 1:17 PM
  • @Diana:
    Quick as can be with two steaming bowls of stew and a couple of mugs, the lizard lady returned and clonked them on the table in front of the guests. Also clonking out onto the table was one of the halved melons. The entire bar went dead silent as she stood frozen for a moment. Then with a snort, she snatched up her melon and ran off to the back kitchens.
    Today at 1:19 PM
  • @The Mood is Write:
    Hare stared a moment, then laughed softly. "Maybe Ah'll make 'er a set 'fore Ah go," he muttered, "Be less cold'n a damn fruit, that's fer sure." He shook his head and took a long drink of his ale before he started in on the stew with gusto, uncaring if it even tasted good.
    Today at 1:21 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "Companions are overrated," Joti said. "Hmpf. Why do they even make her wear those? Everyone knows lizards don't have breasts."
    Today at 1:21 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "You make fake breasts?"
    Today at 1:22 PM
  • @Diana:
    Even the bard had gone silent for a second there giving that cringe sort of expression as the barmaid escaped with her dignity in hand. So she quickly started a new song.
    Today at 1:22 PM
  • @The Mood is Write:
    "Ah kin, prolly. Felt enough ta know how they feel, and I'm a decent hand at leatherwork, since Ah'm a smitty 'n more."
    Today at 1:22 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Joti gave a brief scowl. "So you can make her fake breasts that feel like the real thing when some plonker grabs 'em. An' that's her life, fake breasts so human men can cop a feel."
    Today at 1:27 PM
  • @The Mood is Write:
    Hare scowled and glanced at Joti before he shook his head. "Ah mean, she seems ta want 'em, so what's the harm in it, aye? At least it won't be cold like a damned raw fruit," he muttered, "She'll catch a chill, she keeps doin' 'at."
    Today at 1:30 PM
  • @Diana:
    The tavern door opened so violently that it hit the wall with a WHAM and several patrons jumped in their seat and the bard's lute snapped a string. Standing there looking wild as an animal was an old man, bare ass naked and covered in mud and leaves. "Ale! I need an ale, by the gods' anus do I need an ale!"
    Today at 1:30 PM
  • @The Mood is Write:
    Hare yelped as he turned to look, already reaching for his smithing hammer, before he sighed at the sight of the stranger. "Over 'ere, you kin 'ave mine!" he called. He knew too well what it meant to thirst for a good drink, before he called out to the kitchen. "Bring a pitcher of somethin' strong!"
    Today at 1:32 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "Speaking of catching a chill," Joti muttered. "Not your fault, I guess. You just...never had to grow up knowing that your one purpose for existing was to be pretty for a man, and not even be able to do that."
    Today at 1:32 PM
  • @Diana:
    "Put ssssome pantssss on Fargusssss," complained the melon-busted barmaid as she reappeared with a pitcher of ale. "We can't be havin' thissss again." Fargus, as was apparently his name, waddled over to snatch up Hare's drink and swallow it in one gulp. "You donno what I seen, woman!"
    Today at 1:35 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    With a huff, Joti unclasped her ragged cloak. "Here, mate," she said, offering it to the man. "Not sure they'll serve you like that."
    Today at 1:35 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Some thief I am. But 'Fargus' looks worse off than me...
    Today at 1:36 PM
  • @The Mood is Write:
    Hare rolled his eyes. "Aye, no, never, even when Ah was forcible shaved every inch t'service me crewmates on long voyages..." He looked at the barmaid and nodded. "Thank ye kindly," he said as he took the pitcher, then paused. "Another cup, aye?"
    Today at 1:36 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "You...what?!" Joti said. "Companions really are overrated, eh mate?"
    Today at 1:38 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "Name's Joti," she said, offering him a hand.
    Today at 1:39 PM
  • @Diana:
    Fargus wrapped up diaper-style and just grabbed the pitcher then, the bust barmaid throwing up her scaly hands as she flounced off to get another mug (and likely another pitcher as well). He didn't seem to care that he was interrupting a conversation.
    Today at 1:40 PM
  • @The Mood is Write:
    "Ah said me crewmates, not me companions. Diff'rent story, that. With me companions, they was too busy ruttin' on each other, and... random womenfolk would lunge 't me." He shook his head. "Ah go by Hare." He gave a brief nod. "Former sailor."
    Today at 1:40 PM
  • @Diana:
    The bard finally fixed her lute and started plucking away her last song of the evening.
    Today at 1:41 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "So, Fargus, what did you see?" Joti said. "A big lady Paladin, some human-like folks, and a pig in armor?"
    Today at 1:41 PM
  • @The Mood is Write:
    Hare looked at Fargus as well, "If so, tell me, and Ah'll buy ya twelve pitchers after Ah see 'em with me own eyes."
    Today at 1:43 PM
  • @Diana:
    "Oy, it's as big as the moon and as purple as a king's old balls!" Fargus exclaimed, having guzzled as much ale as he could. When the barmaid returned with another pitcher and mug and bent to set them on the table, her other melon popped out. Fargus just scooped it up and started chewing on it much to the woman's ire. "A spirit beast right out there in the wood, I seen!"
    Today at 1:46 PM
  • @The Mood is Write:
    Hare stared, then shook his head. "Well, I'll no be gooin' out t'night, not a bit. 'Ope there's a big pot fer me room, aye."
    Today at 1:49 PM
  • @Kitti:
    How in the seven hells Lowyn had ended up in this little shit town would have been an intricate work untangling the various threads of coincidence and... quite frankly, being far worse at reading a map than he'd like to admit. But here he was, evening and stuck here of all places. He'd scarcely slipped in the door when he overheard someone talking about the king's balls. He closed his eyes and wished intensely to be in the city again but teleportation was not one of his spells. He settled for taking a seat at the bar and counting coin to see if he had enough to get drunk enough to pretend it was.
    Today at 1:50 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    And I thought 'a big lady paladin and a pig in armor' was daft, Joti thought. "More like t' be moldy bread with some ergot as the origins of his 'purple spirit beast,' she muttered.
    Today at 1:50 PM
  • @The Mood is Write:
    "Seen enough shite t'keep well away even when 't comes t'the town drunk, aye. Everything turns out s'truth, and then, oh aye, time fer new trousers and then gettin' me cock jumped by the local seller," he grumbled.
    Today at 1:52 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Noting the newcomber--a wizard type by the looks of him--Joti started trying to come up with a plan. Books didn't come cheap, and becoming a wizard took a lot of books. Which meant, if anyone in this bar-shack would have some coin they wouldn't miss, it would be him.
    Today at 1:54 PM
  • @The Mood is Write:
    "Pelor's seed-caked tits, I swear I ain't doin' this," Hare grumbled as he downed a mug of ale and poured himself another.
    Today at 1:54 PM
  • @Kitti:
    Lowyn paused carefully in the middle of counting, a copper bit stilling between his fingers after he glanced to the rowdiest section of the room and happened to see... a lot more than he'd usually get for free, at any rate. He tried to keep from making any awkward noises, aware that it was in fact more awkward to make them than to sit quietly and continue as though he hadn't seen or heard any of the conversation, though it had his rapt attention. If he'd been less interested in the view, he might have noticed that he was being sized up himself. But the view.
    Today at 1:55 PM
  • @Diana:
    Having finished her last song, the bard packed up her lute into a small case and tucked it away with her drum. she headed over to the small bar to take a seat, very patiently waiting for service.
    Today at 1:55 PM
  • @Diana:
    Whatever Fargus was going on about must've followed because several people came running inside the tavern, all looking as if they'd seen something truly terrifying. More terrifying than the old man's balls anyway. "It's... it's out there!"
    Today at 1:56 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Problem with wizards was, they had magic, an' how's a body supposed to sneak up on a magic protection spell? Then the wizard turned his attention toward them, because of course--that's when a crowd of people barged in, babbling about something "out there."
    Today at 1:57 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Joti grumbled--the perfect distraction--except it meant there just might be some purple spirit beast or whatever out there, and if it was a people-eater...well, where was it more likely to find people than right here?
    Today at 1:59 PM
  • @The Mood is Write:
    Hare cursed as he heard someone who sounded young talking about it in a frightened voice. Damn, but he couldn't... really resist helping kids. He pushed himself up. "Ehlonna's foreskin and Olidammara's virgin-licked shithole, fine, Ah'll look...!" He walked to the door and peeked out as his hand traced along the head of his favorite hammer.
    Today at 2:00 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "Alright, you said it was big an' purple, what else?" Joti asked Fargus. "Horns? Claws? Big teeth?"
    Today at 2:00 PM
  • @Kitti:
    "It's... it's out there" The commotion managed to retrieve Lowyn's senses from the barmaid's bust at least, though it was not in any helpful capacity. He glanced to the bard who'd just packed away her instrument and moved a little more behind her and ideally out of sight. After the big brutish fighters, everyone always turned their begging eyes to the magic sorts for help when something foul reared its head. Lowyn had not spent twelve years in a tower studying spells to go about banging goblins on the head with his stick. As he made further movements to hide himself, he managed to bang into the lute case and knock it over, making a rather loud "thunk". Hells...
    Today at 2:00 PM
  • @Diana:
    "It just purple god's anus be damned! Big an purple!" screamed Fargus. All his new companions nodded their heads in agreement. None of them seemed to be able to describe the thing!
    Today at 2:02 PM
  • @Diana:
    "Hey, watch my stuff," huffed the bard, stooping to retrieve her lute. She didn't seem to care a whit about the ongoing chaos, compared to all the other bar patrons.
    Today at 2:03 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Joti got up, and throwing-knives twirled into her hands as if by magic, but it was really just a bit of prestidigitation. She moved to back Hare up.
    Today at 2:03 PM
  • @The Mood is Write:
    Hare continued to look out the door, not leaving it just yet, because... if it was just big and purple and not attacking anything, why bother pursuing it?
    Today at 2:04 PM
  • @Diana:
    The weird sound that was very akin to a horn being blown under water while a thousand women screamed over the dead bodies of their fallen families was Hare's answer. It echoed so loud in the tavern that it nearly split some ears.
    Today at 2:07 PM
  • @Kitti:
    The bit about the lute was fair, he'd have been chafed if someone knocked his things over. "Apologies, no harm meant." He was definitely not trying to use her as a visual shield, what a ridiculous notion. He was not equipped to deal with what sounded to by the evils of the color purple, anyway. The whole affair was better handled by the one twirling knives. "You know if they serve anything worth eating here?"
    Today at 2:07 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Joti looked around the bar, quickly taking in defensible locations and potential escape routes. Bugger! The wizard was fully distracted, but if they were about to be attacked by a monster, her best chances of survival would probably involve teamwork. "You! Wizard! Any of your books say anything about that?" she said, shuddering a little as the echoes of the creature's cries faded.
    Today at 2:09 PM
  • @Diana:
    "The food is alright I gu-" the ear splitting terrible noise had her cringing and covering her ears, but more alarmingly, the little bauble she was wearing around her neck had started to glow a soft violet light. She seemed to be stunned by this new development herself!
    Today at 2:11 PM
  • @The Mood is Write:
    Liquid hit the dusty floor of the bar, trailing down Hare's legs as, for a moment, his eyes lost focus out of fear. The strong scent of a dedhydrated man's piss wafted to those unfortunate enough to be closeby at the time before Hare shook his head to try to clear it. He looked back toward the kitchen. "Is there a cellar what people can hide out in?" he called.
    Today at 2:11 PM
  • @Diana:
    The lizard barmaid that now only had one half-melon tit was flailing her arms. "Ssssomeone go out there and kill it before it comesssss in here after ussss! I can't losssse ANOTHER bar!"
    Today at 2:13 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Joti wrinkled her nose at the smell of the man's piss. "And be trapped?" The she turned to the barmaid. "'Another' bar? You've ran into this thing before?"
    Today at 2:14 PM
  • @Diana:
    "Thissss happenssss almost every week, honessstly." complained the barmaid. "Ssssomeone alwayssss tearin up my bar!"
    Today at 2:15 PM
  • @Kitti:
    Scrunching up his face in an obvious display of exasperation, Lowyn emphasized it with a sigh. "Sure, sure, I've coincidentally made my life's work discovering the "banish loud noises" spell," he returned, tying up his coin pouch and returning it to the folds of his robe. "I call it 'noticus my jobbicus'." Even still, he stood and started rolling up his sleeves. Being asked for help was the worst. He hated that he couldn't properly refuse an impassioned plea. It was probably a curse put on him by someone because it was really annoying. "Does no one have any idea what it could be? No?" He moved to the window.
    Today at 2:15 PM
  • @The Mood is Write:
    "Shouldn've come 'ere, nope..." Hare whispered to himself, then glanced over at the wizard. "Someone said t'was a spirit creature," he said, not sure if he was actually helpful at all.
    Today at 2:17 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "Too bad," Joti said. "I bet you've got a wizened old teacher who'd know exactly what we're up against."
    Today at 2:18 PM
  • @Diana:
    Lowyn was the first to see it on his daring to look out the window. Out amongst the trees it glow a violet hue, was possibly as large as a mammoth, and across it's mishapen face was a crescent row of teeth reflecting the light of the moon. Something about it was ethereal and unholy. Strange, otherworldly, and eerie. Just the sight of it gave goosebumps, but when it opened it's mouth, the hellish sound that came out was terrifying.
    Today at 2:20 PM
  • @Diana:
    At the hideous wail outside, the bauble on her neck glowed again, this time even brighter. The bard glanced around fretfully, snatched up her lute case and small drum and skittered about the room looking for a good place to hide. "Crap! This is going to be bad!"
    Today at 2:21 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Peering over Hare's shoulder, Joti's eyes went wide at the sight of the creature. Whatever it was, it wasn't something she could go toe to toe with. She glanced back, trying to get an idea of how many people were there, and how fast they could move, when she saw glowing light, coming from the bard's necklace. "Oi! What's that! You didn't take that pretty from a sorcerer or some old temple did you?"
    Today at 2:24 PM
  • @Kitti:
    Mention of a wizened old teacher brought Lowyn's memories of his former master quickly forth and he tried not to laugh about it. He was fully convinced that Tharisan would have been out the door and trying to make whatever it was a slave to his bidding a full hour before anyone here had a chance to do anything to it. And then he would have destroyed the bar anyway, most likely. Through the window, though, his focus was overtaken quickly by the... spirit beast, indeed. Spirit beast indeed. Not a wizard, a warlock, Loywn tapped into his familiar. 'Any idea what fresh hell this is, Zyl?' It was met with the impression of a shrug.
    Today at 2:24 PM
  • @The Mood is Write:
    Hare whimpered softly as he stared at the thing through the open door. A tiny dribble escaped his loins: all he had left in his bladder. He... wait.
    Today at 2:25 PM
  • @The Mood is Write:
    Hare darted back to the kitchen. "Bottles, bottles of booze that ain't watered down!" he shouted to the lizard woman. "And rags! Uncork the bottles and lay out the rags!" Time to make some of his bomb-cocktails...!
    Today at 2:26 PM
  • @Kitti:
    And then... looking at the monster and trying to decide if he should flee the bar first or hide, words seemed to come tinkling back to memory. Let not the piper... what should he not let the piper do? He was certain it was bad. Die? It was probably die. He pushed away from the window and turned to look seriously at the group. "Can any of you play the pipes?"
    Today at 2:26 PM
  • @Diana:
    "I'm not even from here," huffed the bard. Surely there was a backdoor through the kitchen, she figured, then stumbled when the man mentioned pipes. Refusing to answer that one, she skittered for the kitchens!
    Today at 2:28 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "I can play a reed flute," Joti said, "but if you want music t' soothe a savage beast, magic necklace girl is probably the one you're looking for."
    Today at 2:29 PM
  • @Diana:
    "Oh no you ain't! No firesssss in my tavern again! Nope! Not another one! You besssst start waving ssssome ssswordsss around!" screamed the lizard barmaid.
    Today at 2:29 PM
  • @Kitti:
    The bard was the obvious first guess and Lowyn didn't miss her freezing at the word 'pipes'. Was it her? Why was she running? Had she done something with those pipes? Well, a guess was his best for now. "Anyone who can't play the pipes, kindly help me keep those of you who can from... dying. It would be bad if you died, I'm fairly certain." He frowned. Why this shit town of all the places he could've spent the night? Perhaps it was time to summon Zyl. The no fires bit might be a problem, though.
    Today at 2:33 PM
  • @The Mood is Write:
    Hare glared, then shoved some coin into the lizard's hand. Gold. Not copper or silver. "Help me out here! I'll rebuild it and make you a set of tits!" He spotted the bard, then caught her by the arm. "You help too or we'll all fucking die!"
    Today at 2:34 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "Bugger," Joti muttered when Hare left to do...whatever. Magic Necklace Girl looked like she was wanting to take to her feet as well. Joti ducked out of the doorway. The wizard seemed to know something, but there'd be no time to explain if the creature decided to attack. And she couldn't help but notice the distinct lack of towering maiden Paladins--or anyone else with the kind of heavy armor and weapons needed to hold ground against a giant monster.
    Today at 2:36 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "So...we have to protect her? How, exactly?"
    Today at 2:37 PM
  • @Diana:
    "Swords ye say?!" Fargus, only wrapped in the scrap of fabric Joti was kind enough to give him grabbed one of the decorative swords from the fireplace mantle. "I'll fight it! For the teets of the Lizard Wench that have always been sweet!" The barmaid's scales had turned from a beautiful green to a ruddy red. "FINE. BURN DOWN MY TAVERN AGAIN! GET YER BOTTLESSSS HERE!" It was good timing too because the spirit beast outside had zeroed in on the tavern itself, zooming across the forest floor at an alarming speed towards the brave Joti. Long tendrils of purple were shooting out to grab!
    Today at 2:37 PM
  • @Diana:
    "What?! No! Just leave me out of this okay! I seriously have nothing to do with this crap!" howled the bard struggling to get loose from Hare. "Seriously! I have my own problems!"
    Today at 2:38 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Joti threw her knives at the creature, then rolled under a table and chairs, letting their legs entangle the tentacles. Then she drew her falcata and slashed at another as she continued her roll and came to her feet, retreating in a zigzag pattern around more tables and chairs.
    Today at 2:41 PM
  • @The Mood is Write:
    "It'll catch up t'ye if we don't kill et!" Hare shouted, "Or are y'as daft as a child what's been beat on the head!? Yer glowing th'same color, et's after _you_!" Hare stared at the girl, then held her with a strong hand as he walked the barmaid through making molotov cocktails. "Wet the cloths 'afore you stick em in, and don't stick em too loose or too tight, lest they splash an' burn us, or they don't ignite. We gotta have a strong throwin' arm, too!" He helped as much as he could one-handed. "Only light the rags a count of three beforey you throw em or you'll nail the wrong thing!"
    Today at 2:43 PM
  • @Kitti:
    Permission to set fire granted, Lowyn noted with relief. Fewer people shrieking complaints at him when Zyl happened to torch a spare rug. He wished that he could remember how that damned rhyme went, he was actually pretty sure that the word "bad" hadn't featured into it at all but it was a definite feeling. "I think you can let her get a little injured if you need, but dying is bad." If she got a little banged up, well, she'd probably survive that. He couldn't really lock her up... or could he? No, no time. From the pockets of the robe, Lowyn pulled out some sort of crystalline dagger and had started carving something into his own arm in fairly short order. "Zylzytan er'ix ig kveft," this was his least favorite part, the pain. At least a demon stag had some sort of chance against a spirit mammoth.
    Today at 2:43 PM
  • @Diana:
    Those long tentacles were getting everywhere, and as soon as they wrapped around an ankle or an arm YANK! That poor tavern patron was dragged across the floor and straight into it's gaping crescent moon mouth. Whatever the purple beast was made up, it seemed intangible, knives went right through it, and only time it was solid enough for Zargus to lop off a tentacle was when it swallowed another patron. The bard's bauble was definitely a matching glowing purple now.
    Today at 2:45 PM
  • @Diana:
    "It's a coincidence," she tried to explain away, but even she had to notice the matching purple. However, the small bard really had no desire to hang around while a tentacle monster was eating people up and apparently seeking her out?! She kicked Hare real hard in the shin to get herself free!
    Today at 2:46 PM
  • @The Mood is Write:
    Once they were made, Hare held a hand over the bottles and started _praying_ of all things. Even after his earlier sacrilege. He was, of all things, _blessing_ the damned things, only to grunt in pain as she kicked his shin. He waited until she tugged, then used her momentum and strength to shove her away from himself, to crash into a pile of dirty pots and pans and dishes. Bitch.
    Today at 2:48 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Catching the drift of Hare's plan, Joti took a more direct approach: dodging tentacles and ducking around obstacles, she dove and rolled toward a wall, coming up next to a sconce with an oil lamp. She grabbed the lamp and hurled it toward the beast's main body. Bonus: with one of the lamps gone, it got a little darker, making her a little harder to find. Now if she could get to the other lamps...
    Today at 2:49 PM
  • @Kitti:
    As usual, the area around Lowyn's feet was incinerated when he could open his eyes again and he was glad that there wouldn't be much ado about it. Especially if the monster destroyed the whole place anyway. The girl was tangling with another patron in the bar and at least mercifully avoiding the tentacles. Lowyn couldn't spend too much attention on her, though, his focus was being funneled inexorably into the ten-foot-tall jet black stag that he'd summoned inside the bar. Perhaps he should have tried to do it outside? The stag might have been noteworthy for its size but the eight antlers tipped in glowing golden eyes usually won out. One of the tentacles curled around an antler and was engulfed in a flash of flame.
    Today at 2:52 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "Wha?" Joti exclaimed as the stag appeared. The last thing they needed was another magic monster--oh. "At least the wizard's gonna be useful," she muttered, tipping a table up to block a pair of tentacles surging her way, then rolling it sideways to cover her as she tried to get closer to another lamp.
    Today at 2:55 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Her own blades had thus far proven entirely helpless against the creature.
    Today at 2:56 PM
  • @The Mood is Write:
    "Clear!" Hare shouted. He waited until people could dive away before he threw the first lit bottle, aiming for the inside of the monster's mouth.
    Today at 2:56 PM
  • @Diana:
    The crescent moon spirit seemed to react quite negative to the spirit stag and to the lamp and blessed molotov fire, but it was so focused on it's quarry that it pushed all the way through the doorway anyway, filling up the entire ceiling with it's massive purple spirit body. If a spirit could drip evil, this one certainly did, almost literally as it's tentacles dropped drop from the ceiling and snatched up more people. BLOP. There went another swallowed patron. It quickly found the glow of the bard's bauble as she was scrambling out of the dirty pots n' pans and circled one of it's tentacles around her.
    Today at 2:57 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Joti ducked behind the table, but kept it rolling. Almost there...
    Today at 2:57 PM
  • @Diana:
    The bard couldn't even properly curse out the pirate before a tentacle grabbed her, and like anyone would, screamed bloody murder.
    Today at 2:58 PM
  • @The Mood is Write:
    Hare grabbed her, performing a suplex in order to get her free of the tentacle. "Stupid wench!" This is why you ought be 'elpin us! Yer in the way!"
    Today at 3:00 PM
  • @Kitti:
    "Damn..." Lowyn was steadying himself with a table but Zyl was already moving in force. The stag was at least generally mindful of his wishes, even if he didn't always accomodate them. The stag reared and lunged for the tentacle. If the girl got a little bit stabbed, that was fine, right? Lowyn shrugged in agreement. Who died of a little stabbing? No demonic fire this close, though. He couldn't remember what the bad thing was but it was... bad.
    59 minutes ago
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Bugger all! Joti thought as the creature oozed into the bar, and now its tentacle where spreading across the ceiling and dropping down like rain. Joti abandoned the table and lunged for the lamp. A tentacle wrapped around her waist and started to lift her off her feet. With a groan of effort, she stretched out her hand, grabbed at the lamp, fumbled it, grabbed again, and it was in her hand, singing her skin with dribbles of burning oil. But now she had a flame she could use to sever the tentacle. She landed on her feet in a crouch, then hurled the lamp to shatter at the base of the creature's main body, sending a spreading pool of flaming oil its way.
    57 minutes ago
  • @Diana:
    What luck that the bard was suplexed and antlered free of the tentacle without getting stabbed (though was now knocked unconscious from the chaos). Joti's second lamp made the spirit create hiss a terrible demonic sound, and encouraged by it, the melon-busted barmaid helped by throwing a few more of the molotov cocktails. ...the consequences, of course, was now the whole tavern was catching on fire.
    54 minutes ago
  • @The Mood is Write:
    Hare shoved the girl down into a cellar and locked the door. At least this way she wasn't IN the way. He returned to the fight and wrapped his hammer in alcohol-soaked cloth. He ignited it, then charged forward, whacking tentacles with it and freeing what few patrons remained. "Git out while ye can! Ah'll cover ye!"
    51 minutes ago
  • @Kitti:
    To be honest, Lowyn was impressed that there hadn't been even a bit of collateral stabbing. And the fire wasn't even his fault! Really, could one hope for a day more free from blame? Even if the girl died and the world faded, he could probably still pat himself on the back. Hmm, had that been it? Saving the girl to save the world seemed a bit far-fetched, though. And she was such a difficult little scamp thus far, too. Lowyn was in no shape to get the girl out of the building, especially unconscious. "Take her... outside," he said, pointing at Joti in a deputizing manner. Lowyn himself was currently being dragged through a large hole in the wall by the stag who was opposed to his pactmate dying... at least anonymously in a shitty town, without any sort of glory or fame.
    50 minutes ago
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    There was no way Joti was going to be able to reach the last two lamps; there was too much of the creature in the way. So what else would burn? Aha! she thought, running to scoop up the Bard's lute. Hope she won't miss this too much, she thought, holding it by the neck and setting the other end alight. "Uh..." she said to the wizard's command. That would be rather hard to do, now that she was locked in the cellar!
    49 minutes ago
  • @The Mood is Write:
    "She's on the cellar steps!" Hare offered, helpfully.
    49 minutes ago
  • @Diana:
    Fire! Fire everywhere! The lizard barmaid was yelping and wailing about her burning tavern, even as the flames were catching all the walls and all over the spirit creature. All of the patrons that were left (including the barmaid who sadly lost the other half of her melon) were safely outside. All that was missing was the unconscious bard, now trapped in the cellar as fire consumed the tavern.
    47 minutes ago
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Using the flaming lute to ward off tentacles, Joti made her way to the cellar door. So I've got to back myself into a trap with no way out, get the girl who's either dead weight or an outright pest, with her bright glowing necklace making stealth impossible... "Does it want her, or the necklace?" Joti said as she reached the door.
    46 minutes ago
  • @The Mood is Write:
    "I'll cover ye!" Hare said as he swung his burning hammer at the thing.
    46 minutes ago
  • @Kitti:
    "The rhyme didn't say anything about the necklace dying," Lowyn offered, forgetting that he had yet to mention the rhyme to anyone. "Probably fine if we test it out and see." He was unsteady on his feet, fingers bracing on the splintered wood of the wall through which he was still being dragged. "I can get out myself, but thank you. Maybe if you stopped pestering me and started harassing, you know, the tentacle monster?" Lowyn snapped at it. Then, after a silent moment, he muttered "... was uncalled for...you know I didn't... hurt your feelings... sorry."
    43 minutes ago
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "Guess companions aren't always overrated," Joti said as she opened the door and ran down the stairs to grab the Bard, aiming the fiery lute up the stairs to fend off any tentacles that might pursue her.
    42 minutes ago
  • @The Mood is Write:
    Hare, as promised, whacked at various tentacles that started toward Joti, allowing none to get past. He threw another molotov at the thing's open mouth with a shout, sweat weighing him heavily.
    39 minutes ago
  • @Diana:
    The bard was at the bottom of the stairs and rubbing her head in confusion and as soon as she saw her flaming lute, she was ready to put up a real good tantrum about it -- and then promptly changed her mind seeing the tons of fire raining down behind the other girl. "Why does everyone in this godforsaken world always set everything on fire!" She glanced around until she spotted some old woolen blankets and then dunked them in some barrels of water. "Take this so you won't get burned!"
    37 minutes ago
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    So the Bard was awake--at least she now seemed inclined to help instead of causing trouble. "If they keep havin' their bars burnt down, maybe they built a back way out of here," Joti said, then, with Hare keeping the tentacles at bay with his flaming hammer, Joti started tapping at the walls and the floor, searching for any hidden doors.
    34 minutes ago
  • @Kitti:
    Mollified and assured that Lowyn was generally outside the flaming building, Zyl the Stag did as requested and turned its attention to the spirit mammoth. He was relieved that there were humans around to take care of the girl, protecting things was never really a demon's strong suit. The tentacles were being worked upon by the flames and hammers and flaming hammers which meant that Zyl could get to the good part - trying to ram an antler through the creature's eyes or other fleshy bits should the eyes be unavailable. Zyl lowered his head and charged the creature's face.
    32 minutes ago
  • @Diana:
    There was, quite thankfully, a second cellar door that led straight to the outside. With the wet wool blankets to protect them from the heat and the growing flames, the few were able to stagger outside into the fresh air just as the burned tavern collapsed down on itself. The spirit create rose up above the flames only to get speared right in the eye by the spirit tag and a terrible ear piercing shriek filled the air! By the time everyone's ears stopped ringing, the bauble on the bard's necklace had stopped glowing and and the purple spirit had faded away as if it had never been there at all.
    30 minutes ago
  • @The Mood is Write:
    Hare, the last one out, covering their backs, coughed as he quickly patted out the fire on his hammer before he removed the rag and stomped it to put it out the rest of the way. He inspected his hammer mournfully. He'd... need a new one. Or to repair it. His legs... .suddenly felt far, far too weak, though, and he fell down onto his butt.
    27 minutes ago
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "Thanks for the blanket," Joti said to the bard. "Uh...sorry about this," she said, gesturing with the smoldering remnant of her lute, just the neck now, and a forlorn bit of ashen remains of its resonance chamber.
    27 minutes ago
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "Hey--guess we get to call you Hare Firehammer now, eh?"
    27 minutes ago
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Then she turned to the wizard (not that she could tell the difference between a wizard and a warlock...). "You said something about a rhyme? About her? So, what, she's the Chosen One or something?"
    25 minutes ago
  • @The Mood is Write:
    Under sweat-streaked ash and soot on his face, he reddened. "Ravver you didn', guv..." Still, he flashed a smile.
    25 minutes ago
  • @Diana:
    The bard stood outside with the rest, her hands on her head as she speechlessly watched the tavern burn. It took her forever to get that lute... and her drum was gone now as well! "That's cool... it's fine. It's-- what. Chosen what? Oh no, don't loop me into any of this! I told you I'm not from around here!"
    25 minutes ago
  • @The Mood is Write:
    "I'll help replace anything what was lost in the fire, if I kin build it," Hare offered, open to anyone. "Since... burnin' fings was my idear..."
    24 minutes ago
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "Yeah, me neither," Joti said, "but I don't have a special magic necklace, and giant spirit creatures out to get me. Congratulations, Chosen One, you're looping us in, not the other way around. Isn't that how it works?"
    23 minutes ago
  • @Kitti:
    Decidedly not sorry, Lowyn had managed to remain standing but he could empathize with the large man who'd flopped onto the dirt. Satisfied that the stabbing of the day was more or less complete, he gratefully released Zyl back to the nether and reclaimed full use of his own thoughts. "There was... a rhyme that Master heard somewhere, no idea where the hell the codger got to anyway. He actually had a few. Something about the lizard and the spirit brought it back to mind. I don't know if it's her, just some hogwash probably about keeping pipers safe to save the world."
    23 minutes ago
  • @Diana:
    The poor, poor lizard barmaid was staring at her burning tavern crying the biggest tears.
    22 minutes ago
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Joti blew out the last tongues of flame on the lute's neck. "Right, Mr. Wizard, tell us the rhyme, an' I'll try to make a nice tune," she said, strumming the air where the rest of the lute used to be.
    21 minutes ago
  • @The Mood is Write:
    "Whale Mother's tits," the small man grunted, "Chosen ones... 'ey neveh loik t'be chosen, y'know?" He glanced around, then to the lizard barmaid, and forced himself to his wobbly feet. "M'sorry, Miss. Yer tavern'll be the first thing I rebuild, and I'll make it so's it don't burn too easy, yeah?" He tried to keep his voice gentle. "I owe ye tha' much."
    20 minutes ago
  • @Diana:
    "What." Her face had gone ashen, staring at the wizard like he'd basically said demon were flying out his ass or something. "...I really, really don't have anything to do with this though. It's just. But. My name is Piper, but I swear to god this has nothing to do with me! I'm from Florida for god's sake! You don't even know what that is, but I swear it's far, far away from here!"
    20 minutes ago
  • @The Mood is Write:
    Hare heard that name before... He KNEW it. He whirled and looked at Piper. "You know about Detroit!?" He asked suddenly.
    19 minutes ago
  • @The Mood is Write:
    "Are all people from your world TERRIBLE at protecting yourself!?"
    18 minutes ago
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "Florida." Joti had never heard of the place. Even the name sounded ridiculous. And now 'Detroit?' "So...you two from the same country then?"
    18 minutes ago
  • @The Mood is Write:
    "NO!" Hare sounded offended.
    17 minutes ago
  • @Kitti:
    From the bones of his cheeks to the tips of his ears, Lowyn had turned from his usual unhealthy pasty color to a remarkable shade of puce. "I will not repeat it," he said evasively as memories surfaced of the words to the rhyme. He had a laugh about her name being Piper, though. "Saving maidens was not part of my studies and you'd do well to learn how to beat things with some sort of weapon, chosen one or no."
    17 minutes ago
  • @Diana:
    "Look, I'm just trying to survive and stuff out here and I was doing just fine until today," she too looked offended.
    15 minutes ago
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Joti headed over to the lizard barmaid and put a consoling hand on her shoulder. "Sorry about your bar. Have you ever wanted to do something else with your life? Like, I dunno, go on adventures? Seems like the adventures keep coming to you, so, I dunno, maybe you could join us and take the fight to them."
    15 minutes ago
  • @The Mood is Write:
    Hare sighed, then looked at Piper. "Listen, girl. People from your world are terrible at survivin' on their own If you want it, you can stick 'round with me while I work on rebuildin' the tavern and helpin' to restock it. I'll cover your expenses long 'nuff fer you to get yer feet back on the ground, and I'll teach ya a mite about a fightin' with a dagger."
    13 minutes ago
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    She turned back to the wizard. "Fine, you don't have to recite the verses. But what does it say? Are there more of those creatures out there? Any, oh, I dunno, Dark Lords or Lich Emperors or anything like that out to get her before the next big eclipse or whatever? Because we need to know, or at least she does."
    13 minutes ago
  • @Diana:
    Fargis, now ass naked again because he'd lost his wrapping somewhere in the fray, was stroking his beard thoughtfully. "Say, reminds me of that old prophecy child tale. How it go again? 'A wildman suckles upon the breast of the scaled maid. Bare witness to the violet moon under emerald shade. Let not the piper be slain or thy world soon fade.' And here I am! Bare as a babies ass as witness!"
    12 minutes ago
  • @Kitti:
    Lowyn scarcely looked up at Piper from his new position seated on the ground, busy as he was starting to bandage the gaping wound on his arm that was starting to dribble blood onto the grass. "I'm just telling you that it seems a reasonable idea. No skin off my nose if you choose to rely on the kindness of strangers time and again to save you. Personally, I'd rather do some stabbing of my own instead."
    12 minutes ago
  • @Diana:
    "...I think I'm going to throw up."
    12 minutes ago
  • @The Mood is Write:
    "I think I've enough energy for healin, if you need it, warlock," Hare offered, his tone slightly wary.
    11 minutes ago
  • @Kitti:
    Lowyn bristled at the woman's words. "I know some very charming liches and frankly most of what you hear about from the criers is really just slander..."
    10 minutes ago
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "A Prophecy," Joti said. "Because of course there would be a Prophecy. What else, is that the whole thing? And why is she special? I know, Chosen One and all, but chosen by who and for what?"
    9 minutes ago
  • @The Mood is Write:
    Hare blinked. "I think the girl meant seein' Fargis's arsehole."
    9 minutes ago
  • @Kitti:
    At least he wasn't being bullied into reciting some kind of poetry about breasts. That much was worth being grateful for, at least. "It's better for the blood oath if it heals on its own, but thank you for the offer."
    9 minutes ago
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "Blood oath?" Joti said. "I think I'll draw a line at blood oaths. Protecting Miss Chosen One here is one thing, but..."
    7 minutes ago
  • @The Mood is Write:
    Hare nodded and cracked his neck, then let out a heavy sigh before he shook out his arms. "Well, if anyone needs me... Ah'll b'wettin' the tavern, so as it don't burn the forest down, too." He walked to the nearby well and filled a bucket—given his size, carrying it would likely be hilarious. to watch, as he wasn't even five feet tall.
    Edited
    7 minutes ago
  • @Diana:
    "I thought I was the chosen one, being a bare witness an eatin' up the scalies fine melons an all," huffed old Fargus he got clonked real good on the head by the lizard barmaid, who then shouted at the rest. "I've had enough of all thissss! Take your prophecy child and git! All of youssss! I don't need the chaos of quessstsss and propheciessss."
    6 minutes ago
  • @The Mood is Write:
    "D'ya want me to at least stick 'round long enough to rebuild the tavern?" Hare asked. He didn't really want to go back on his word, after all.
    5 minutes ago
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "I get a feeling we're not going to get to stick around. That's not how these things usually work." Joti said.
    3 minutes ago
  • @Kitti:
    Lowyn looked indignant about the line being drawn at blood oaths but he was torn between reminding the girl that his blood oath had led to the stabbing of the mammoth and his sudden realisation that this was his easy out from being roped into some kind of adventure. "I'm positively dripping with blood oaths," he blurted out before thinking the sentence through. He tried to look menacing as an afterthought.
    3 minutes ago
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "Oh, you can take all the blood oaths you want," Joti said. "I just draw a line at me having to take one. You were good back there."
    2 minutes ago
  • @The Mood is Write:
    "Any of you gonna help me put the fire out?" Hare called.
    1 minute ago
  • @Diana:
    "OFF! ALL OF YE! GONE FROM HERE! YOU AND YOUR PROPHECY CHOSEN CHILD." Howled the lizard barmaid, pointing the lot of them towards the trail that led deep into the forest.
    A moment ago
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "Mr. Wizard here still hasn't told us if we need to be running away from here before more critters show up," Joti said.
    A moment ago
  • @Diana:
    "I'm not a chosen one or a prophecy child!" insisted Piper the bard from Florida.
    A moment ago
  • @Diana:
    Many the bar patrons were ready to run them all out of town too. If the group stayed together, the barmaid certainly didn't know or care. But one thing was for certain. A prophecy had come true and anyone who knew of prophecy knew that if this one was true, there were now 26 more prophecies to come... UNTIL THE NEXT PROPHECY.
 
PRO-LOGS: SHARA'S STORY:

  • @Diana:
    WELCOME TO FESTIVAL OF THE DAMNED!
    Today at 6:30 PM
  • @Diana:
    All of my roleplays are NEWBIE FRIENDLY so if you're ever confused or need help, I am in the main chat to guide you.
    Today at 6:32 PM
  • @Diana:
    ChaRPs can be FAST PACED, so make sure you TYPE BRIEF POSTS. Keep them to 10 sentences or less so it's easier for people to read quickly and no one misses details.
    Today at 6:33 PM
  • @Diana:
    Pay attention to posts in this bright bold yellow for they are game master posts and contain important plotty stuff happening.
    Today at 6:34 PM
  • @Diana:
    (◉,◉) (◉◇◉) (⊙,◉) (⊙◇◉)
    Today at 6:38 PM
  • @Diana:
    We open to late afternoon in the small town of Rowenfel, where soon the sun will set. Most of the village is out in the town making merry and singing songs, building up the bonfire for the festival stag. Though a few have completely disregarded the wishes of their parents and have snuck off to the graveyard for a little merrymaking of their own.
    Today at 6:55 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Shara's lips twitched in a little grin as she spotted the group headed away from the main festivities, toward the graveyard. Several of them had harassed her and others who lived on the low end of town. Now she would have her chance to relieve the more well-to-do among them of their coin purses, and perhaps give them a healthy scare while she was at it. She pulled up her hood and mask and followed them on silent feet, shifting from shadow to shadow to stay out of their sight.
    Today at 7:01 PM
  • @AnxiousEnby:
    Frankie watched from a distance, hoodie hiding his entire face and body because he didn't like being noticed. He glared at the random people that would sing near him, hating the noise. The boy had dressed up as a wolf, spiked collar with a matching leash hanging from his neck at a dangerously low angle. Frankie wanted to be eating candy but he was too introverted to be around any of the humans which led to him letting out a rather tired sigh.
    Today at 7:04 PM
  • @Dawn:
    Among the group of trouble-seeking teens was Arlo Kravets. Barely seventeen and pretty in the face, and yet the young man had an interesting knack for blending in and going unnoticed alongside the louder, more vibrant people in his friend circle. He was cool and calm, graceful and reserved. Hazel eyes swept the group he was sneaking off with, before settling back on the path they were traversing to the graveyard. A cool wind ruffled the group, fluffing up his already wildly curly hair.
    Today at 7:10 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Shara heard a sigh, and noticed the presence of another hooded figure lurking nearby. A wolf outfit, or maybe a dog, if the collar and leash were anything to go by. No match for the quickness and cunning of the Golden Fox to be sure! But she would keep an eye on him just in case.
    Today at 7:15 PM
  • @fatalrendezvous:
    Olissa smiled bittersweetly at the townsfolk going about their merriment from her own quiet spot just outside the crowds. It was not so long ago that Mera, her own daughter, would run and frolic amongst her friends, riding the sugar high of a half dozen baked treats eaten far too early. Alas, tragedy had struck her family and taken Mera far sooner than the Maker had planned, and now Reaper's Night had a far more somber feel for the ex-mother. Still, not wanting to put a damper on the other families' enjoyment, she lifted the hood of her cloak over her faded gold hair, heading into the graveyards to pay her respects and hope her daughter's spirit was still at ease.
    Today at 7:16 PM
  • @AnxiousEnby:
    Frankie pulled the hood down on his hoodie, scratching his mostly black hair (apart from the few strands that were bright neon pink). He watched as some children ate candy, drooling himself without realising what he was doing. The seventeen year old wasn't very intellectual for his age.
    Today at 7:19 PM
  • @A Life of Cinn:
    Friedrich Alden Von Rosalin plunged his spade into a mound of loose earth, flowers freshly planted around a new grave. He knew about Reaper's Night. He knew that there would be trouble. At least, they could try.
    Edited
    Today at 7:20 PM
  • @Diana:
    Seline is a perfectly well behaved young lady and is prowling around to boss people around who aren't following the rules, even if they are a year or two older than her perfectly adult sixteen years. She even has a SASH that says Festival Helper. At the moment she is hiding in the bushes waiting to ambush the first silly person to try and sneak into the graveyard after dark so she can send them back home where they belong.
    Today at 7:32 PM
  • @fatalrendezvous:
    Olissa's footsteps knew where to take her. They'd been down this path countless times already, and likely would continue to travel it many more. Clutching a small arrangement of her daughter's favorite flowers, she kept her head down as she walked through the graveyard, aware of the children playing nearby but too lost in her own thoughts to worry herself with what they might be doing.
    Today at 7:34 PM
  • @CoffeeCake:
    Adelaide Rogan stood up and stretched. She had been using her own coat as a sort of picnic blanket while she knitted and reviewed her scrolls, looking up from time to time to enjoy the changing colors of the sky. But now she didn't feel like dirtying her feet, so she beckoned her boots, and they hopped toward her, heel-first like miniature sack-racers. She lazily stepped into them, letting them tie themselves, as her coat seemed to whip itself up from the ground onto her back. She slipped her bare arms into the sleeves, and the garment seemed to shiver like a wet dog, shaking free any grass or twigs it might have picked up. It was her first Reaper's Day since "going fulltime" as a--Could she call herself a mage or sorceress yet? She wasn't sure, but at least she was free of the mill, and that alone was worth it. Now that the sun was getting lower, she could better get on with her agenda.
    Today at 7:34 PM
  • @A Life of Cinn:
    Friedrich could hear scuffing shoes and muffled gossip breach the silent sanctity of the graveyard. Where they clustered came drama, destruction, and uproar. They tread upon the path... for now. He wasn't too ancient himself, but schoolchildren were very good at getting under his skin, and on his nerves. He looked towards the entrance gates, the voices and footfalls transmitted from down the hill. They would be arriving shortly. But.. he saw something else. A person, young and wearing a shiny sash, hiding in the bushes. Couldn't be Olissa. Must be a nuisance. He began making his way to the gates.
    Edited
    Today at 7:36 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    As she caught her first sight of the gravestones in the slanting orange light of sunset, Shara felt a hint of foreboding. Then she shook it off; the Reaper was just one more gendarme to stay one step ahead of.
    Today at 7:36 PM
  • @AnxiousEnby:
    Frankie had heard about the graveyard and how pretty teenagers all hung around there. He had always wanted to go see for himself but never had the courage, not knowing how to talk to others. The Male was always super rude or super stupid during his first impressions. Frankie walked close to the Graveyard fence and admired the inside, it seemed so beautiful. He jumped the fence without hesitation and walked threw to a steep hill, laying down to gaze up at the stars.
    Today at 7:36 PM
  • @Diana:
    At first sight of Arlo's band of bad (at least in her opinion) teens, Seline jumped out from her hiding spot with her broom. "And just what do you lot think you're doing! The festivities are back in the main square! Disperse right now, hooligans!"
    Today at 7:40 PM
  • @AnxiousEnby:
    Frankie was so relaxed that he almost zoned off to sleep but that didn't happen. The defenceless teen jumped out of his skin when some random girl came after him whilst yelling and pointing her broom at him. He sat up and started rubbing his arms to try and get rid of the goosebumps "leave me alone! I'm not causing trouble, just star gazing" he yelled at her, snatching the broom on impulse before snapping it, throwing it over the fence.
    Today at 7:43 PM
  • @A Life of Cinn:
    "EXCUSE ME, But throwing personal belongings over the fence is Prohibited, capisce?", Friedrich shouted from within the graveyard. He knelt down and carefully picked the pieces up from a patch of freshly turned soil. "You can get this back in the morning, when we are open again."
    Edited
    Today at 7:46 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Shara had to choke back a chuckle as the girl jumped out of the bushes to...well...ambush her targets. She wore a sash with a shiny tin badge, and spoke with the infinite command of one with only a tiny little bit of authority. Then wolf/dog boy got in an altercation with her. While they were all busy with each other, Shara slipped past, pulled down her mask, put on a sad face, and slipped up to the mourner. "Hello. I'm very sorry for your loss. I lost my dear uncle this last year. And you?"
    Edited
    Today at 7:46 PM
  • @Dawn:
    "Bad move, wolfboy," Arlo chuckled softly, hands moving through his wild hair to try to tame it, boyish smile on his lips.
    Today at 7:46 PM
  • @AnxiousEnby:
    He just snorted before blinking and realising what he had done. Frankie looked down at his hands in disbelief before looking back up at all these people, hands slipping into his pockets because of discomfort.
    Today at 7:47 PM
  • @Diana:
    Seline's affronted scream disturbed a flock of crows just as the sun began to set. It came with a stomp of a foot. "None of you are allowed out here! Really, even the crying lady shouldn't be either, but at least she has a good reason!" She almost shoved Frankie, but since Arlo seemed to take responsibility for him, she shoved Arlo instead. "Go back to the festival! It's the rules!"
    Today at 7:48 PM
  • @Dawn:
    "Whoa, Seline! He's not with us," Arlo assured, holding up his hands in peaceful defense. He'd stumbled back a few steps at the shove. "We're here to get a better view of the stars. No clue who puppy breath is."
    Today at 7:50 PM
  • @AnxiousEnby:
    Frankie physically shuddered "I will not go out there with all those people" he yelled at her, folding his arms childishly and kicking soil at her. The teen also stuck his tongue out at Arlo when he called him puppybreath "the names Frankie" he muttered, eyes trailing away. It would be a lie if Frankie didn't think Arlo was hot.
    Today at 7:51 PM
  • @fatalrendezvous:
    Olissa wasn't fond of being called the crying lady - Seline was so loud she was sure even the dead could hear - but paid it no mind. She had nearly arrived at her daughter's gravesite when a golden-haired child wandered into her path. The lady offered her a soft smile of condolence, although... it was Reaper's Night, so she wasn't yet altogether sure if this was a trick. "My daughter Mera," she answered. "What was your uncle's name?"
    Today at 7:52 PM
  • @Diana:
    "Yeah, Town Patrol, we're just here for the stars!" chimed in one of the girls with Arlo, she had a basket full of treats, including a bunch of candles and what looked like a Mage's Board.
    Today at 7:52 PM
  • @A Life of Cinn:
    Friedrich was bewildered by Seline's efforts to do the job for him. The children seemed hazardous. Most of them, at least. He decided to avoid unnecessary bloodshed on Reaper's Night. "Excuse me. Is anyone here simply to pay respects?"
    Edited
    Today at 7:54 PM
  • @fatalrendezvous:
    "I am," Olissa responded aloud in Friedrich's direction, lifting the small bundle of flowers she held in her hand and giving them a little indicative shake.
    Edited
    Today at 7:56 PM
  • @A Life of Cinn:
    "Good, please mind the flower beds. They are freshly planted.", then, addressing the rest of the rabble, "As for you lot - Kindly move along, unless you want me to get my shovel."
    Today at 7:58 PM
  • @AnxiousEnby:
    Frankie would shake his head 'no' but looked back up at the stars. At the threat of a shovel, he did move back a little "I have bipolar, I came here to escape all the people and not have a fit about it" he mumbled softly but loud enough for everyone to hear.
    Today at 7:58 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    A look of pain flashed across Shara's face when 'the crying lady' said that she was here to mourn her daughter. One of the things Father would say when he scolded her for taking too big a risk was, 'A parent should never have to bury a child.' But now she was on the spot, and worst of all, the grave-keeper's attention was more or less aimed her way. She gave a nod and whispered, 'Dragovir,' for the woman's ears but not his. He would know there (probably) wasn't a grave here with that name.
    Today at 7:59 PM
  • @Diana:
    DONGDONG. DONGDONG. DONGDONG. The bell in town square heralding the final setting of the sun. The sky was a beautiful display of pinks and dark violets, of stars and the shining crescent moon.
    Today at 8:00 PM
  • @A Life of Cinn:
    Friedrich sighed. He knew the feeling. He told Frankie, "O..kay. Once more, do be careful. Tonight, nothing must be disturbed. Whatsoever!"
    Today at 8:00 PM
  • @Dawn:
    A glimmer of annoyance crossed Arlo's face due to the groundskeeper, but it was gone just as quickly as it had come and his pretty, tired hazel gaze grew soft, matching his smile. "I'm here to come to terms with my loss. My friends are here to support me."
    Today at 8:00 PM
  • @A Life of Cinn:
    He was tired. And sick of speaking to children. He decided to humor them, instead of manually sorting everyone. "Listen, everyone. Fine. You are allowed to enter. But I see ONE upturned leaf, and I'm getting the shovel and digging a few fresh ones, aight?"
    Today at 8:02 PM
  • @AnxiousEnby:
    He let out a sigh of relief "thank you... I'm just here to watch stars" he told the other who asked them to leave, looking back up at them. It made Frankie feel better that he wouldn't have to leave. Frankie turned his attention onto Arlo when he spoke, it was such a lie but he didn't blow his cover. He did end up staring at his ass for a couple of seconds though, blushing and looking away.
    Today at 8:03 PM
  • @A Life of Cinn:
    "And leave the quiet ones alone", he added as he turned and head to his break box. A repurposed crypt that hadn't had anyone claim their place.
    Edited
    Today at 8:04 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Yeah, right! Shara thought as one of the guys tried to pass himself off as a mourner. She couldn't really fault him though, seeing as she was doing the same thing--but a much better job of it, if she said so herself.
    Today at 8:05 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Shara hadn't figured on their being so many 'innocents' in the graveyard. With the grave-keeper and Her Royal Highness, Queen of the Sash, plus wolf-boy and the mourner on hand, her marks would have a harder time getting busy with their revels, which in turn would make it much harder to sneak up on them.
    Today at 8:08 PM
  • @fatalrendezvous:
    "Dragovir... Dragovir," she repeated the name to herself. "I'm not familiar with that one." Olissa had grown somewhat accustomed to the names she'd pass on her way to her daughter's burial site, though she did take the same path every time and there were plenty of graves she'd not read. Olissa did notice, however, that the girl before hadn't specified to the groundskeeper that she was here to pay respects. "Are you here to visit your uncle Dragovir? Perhaps we can go together."
    Today at 8:09 PM
  • @Dawn:
    They didn't plan to upturn any leaves. At least Arlo didn't think so. It hadn't been his plan at all, but he was a good mediator for the group so he'd spoken up, and it had worked. Good. Now they wouldn't have to find a way to sneak in and he wouldn't have to subtly convince his friends to keep going with the plan.... He was careful as he picked his way through the sea of tombstones, his left hand caressing the headposts for the eternally slumbering, feeling their pockmarks on his fingertips. Time and weather had etched a story into each one.
    Today at 8:12 PM
  • @Diana:
    Seline looked pretty frustrated herself because of course she didn't believe these kids were just out to honor the dead! So she was stomping after the group of teens to make sure they didn't do anything terrible. "I know you're up to something," she muttered under her breath.
    Today at 8:13 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Poodoo! Shara thought. But...she was a quick thinker. "Well...he's not in this graveyard. He's in Iskandahr." That was true enough, but he was still on top of the ground, imprisoned in a workhouse there. "But they say the Veil is thinner on Reaper's Night, and this is the closest I can get to him...but...we could go to your daughter's grave. I'm very sorry. I really can't imagine..."
    Today at 8:15 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "How old was she?" Shara asked.
    Today at 8:17 PM
  • @AnxiousEnby:
    Frankie watched Arlo walk away in the distance, drooling a little and licking his lips at the view of his ass. He had to resist the urge to compliment it. The Male went back to star gazing until he heard rustling in the background and screamed, shooting up and running away. He ran threw a leaf pile and fell on Arlo, turned out that the rustling was a raccoon (Gubba)
    Edited
    Today at 8:19 PM
  • @Diana:
    Arlo's passel of pesky teens made their way back to one of the stone mausoleum buildings where many ash filled urns sat on display. One of the girls laughed at Arlo's predicament with Frankie while a boy made a snide comment about Seline's sash. These shenanigans were all in good fun for them and the girl found a good place to setup her Mage's Board.
    Today at 8:22 PM
  • @A Life of Cinn:
    The kids were in. He'd dreaded their intrusion, but several of them seemed responsible enough, even despite their shiftiness. In addition, he had a shovel. Not that he'd actually smack anyone. The threats usually worked well enough. His crypt-break-room was high on the hill, perfect to get a 270 degree view of the graveyard, and the terrain carried his voice all the way down. He could see the fox-ish one with the mourning girl. The shiftiest one and the wolfish one. And the future-gravekeeper in the sash following the group as a whole. Was there others he missed? Hopefully not...
    Today at 8:23 PM
  • @fatalrendezvous:
    On any other night, Olissa would probably have accepted a request to accompany her to her daughter's gravesite. On Reaper's Night, though, the girl's request gave her a bit of pause. But she had opened this door by requesting first, and it would be a bit rude to not accept it in return. "Of course, it's not much further." She led the way, lifting her gaze for a moment at the other children in the graveyard before returning her thoughts to the girl beside her. "Mera was only nine," her voice quavered. "Horseback riding accident... she never awoke."
    Today at 8:24 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    As the gloom of night fell over the graveyard, the place was really starting to get to Shara. Whether she liked it or not, Death was the gendarme that caught up with everyone. Plus, the woman's pain put a real damper on the idea of a night of high adventure and hijinks pulling one over on the others. The sound of commotion caused her to scowl at the others, but then she turned back to the woman. Nine. Old enough to have escaped the shadow of early childhood mortality, young enough to have been deprived of a real shot at life. "I'm so sorry."
    Today at 8:27 PM
  • @Dawn:
    Arlo toppled to the ground in a not so graceful way, having been practically tackled from behind. Palms out, chin up to avoid eating dirt! He was down for less than a minute before he was pushing the wolfboy off of him and sitting up. Leaves now decorated his brunette curly mess and his eyes had shone a brilliant blue before he'd blinked and they were back to hazel again. "That was rude, Fuzzball," he sighed, dusting himself off and climbing to his feet. A friend offered him a hankie for his palms, because surely they must be bleeding, but he just smiled and shook his head, insisting he was fine, that the ground was soft enough. "Why are you following us?" he asked the wolfboy, cocking a thick eyebrow as he spotted Seline trailing behind. "You too."
    Today at 8:27 PM
  • @Diana:
    "Because you're up to no good, and I plan to catch you and tell everyone all about it! Maybe they'll even toss you in the town jail for a night or to." Seline was quite certain that was where he'd end up eventually.
    Today at 8:29 PM
  • @A Life of Cinn:
    A few of them entered the mausoleum... "Damn them." He didn't have any eyes on the inside (of the structure), so he grabbed his shovel and carefully head downhill to investigate.
    Today at 8:30 PM
  • @AnxiousEnby:
    Frankie would blush furiously at the position he was in, almost inches from Arlo's beautiful face. He pushed himself off and looked at his scraped knee. At the name 'fuzz ball' and accused of following the other, he scoffed "I told you, my name is Frankie! And I wasn't following you. I got startled" he said. Frankie now looked like a mess, covered in dirt with one wolf ear bent.
    Today at 8:31 PM
  • @Diana:
    The two girls of the group seemed to be the fledgling witches with the grand ideas, for they were the ones that sat down on the mausuleum floor with the Mage's Board and set it up. "Oh! We should get one of the urns!" One of the girls suggested. Shrugging, a boy obliged, picking one of the many porcelain urns off the shelves and offering it to her. "Light the candles, okay? We need one of each."
    Today at 8:34 PM
  • @Dawn:
    "Seline, it's because you have that attitude that you have no friends," Arlo teased. "We're about to prove something, okay? So come watch quietly. You too, Frankie was it?"
    Today at 8:35 PM
  • @Diana:
    "I have A LOT of friends!" shouted Seline, much to the annoyance of the evening crows and anyone with ears. "What you guys are doing is probably illegal! And stupid!" Curiosity had her though, so even though she should've been running off to tattle, she was still there.
    Today at 8:37 PM
  • @The Mood is Write:
    A quiet voice came from the back. "Perhaps you should... respect the dead?" It was scarcely even a whisper in the darkness, the figure half-hidden in shadow. When they stepped out, it was to reveal a too-pale face covered in red bumps and flushed with fever. Unfocused eyes of a strangely minty hue stared at the group. Their name, written on a band on their wrist, was apparently 'Thein'.
    Today at 8:38 PM
  • @AnxiousEnby:
    Frankie tilted his head "p-prove something? That sounds dangerous" he whispered softly until the voice made him jump, hiding behind Arlo in impulse.
    Today at 8:39 PM
  • @Dawn:
    "But you won't know how stupid unless you stick around, right?" He'd got her. She was too curious to run off yet and by the time she figured it out, it would be too late. "Wanna sit with me?" he asked Frankie, chuckling a little at how skittish the guy was. Arlo didn't seem at all unnerved by the new arrival. In fact, his gaze held theirs for a too-long moment before gliding away again. He offered his hand to Frankie, to lead him further into the crypt.
    Today at 8:41 PM
  • @fatalrendezvous:
    "No need to be," she dismissed the girl's sorrows; Olissa did appreciate the girl's empathy, which seemed genuine enough. "When she first passed I was here weeping over her grave almost every night. But I've made my peace with the Maker. She always loved Reaper's Night, which is why I'm here," the mother mused wistfully as she knelt by her daughter's grave site, laying the flowers she'd collected by the headstone. Standing up, she clasped her hands together, bowing her head and closing her eyes as she quietly mouthed words of longing for her lost daughter.
    Today at 8:41 PM
  • @A Life of Cinn:
    As the gravekeeper approached, he began to hear the fuel for his nightmares. Children, giggling, yelping in surprise, whispering to each other. Nothing good ever came out of children messing around in mausoleums. He couldn't believe how long he let them stay in there. There were flickering lights - candles. Anything but a fire, oh dear -
    Today at 8:42 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Shara clenched her teeth. What part of 'don't disturb anything' don't they understand? she thought. They were already making a racket. That wouldn't have bothered her so much, except for the poor woman who just wanted some peace and quiet to mourn her daughter. As they reached Mera's gravesite, she decided she'd had enough. Curses! I don't have an offering! She hadn't actually come to mourn the dead so... So, she fished about in her pockets and came up with a silver piece, then knelt quietly and put it in Mera's offering-bowl. "Excuse me, I'm going to go deal with those jerks."
    Today at 8:42 PM
  • @AnxiousEnby:
    Frankie would feel his cheeks turning red, butterflies in his stomach and tail 'wagging'. He reached out and took the hand, trembling a little with each movement they took. "I would like to sit with you" he said softly, body tense
    Today at 8:44 PM
  • @The Mood is Write:
    "I hope when my body is placed here... it won't be disturbed by the likes of y-" Thein started to cough, a disturbingly wet sound, before choking back and trying to speak again, "Get... get out of my home..."
    Today at 8:44 PM
  • @Diana:
    The giggling girls setup their candles, a rainbow of different colors but none of them orange, and placed their pilfered urn inside a circle of salt. The set down an offering of sweet cakes, and then began their chanting with the Mage's Board. The boys were a lot less interested in what the girls were doing, except for occasionally trying to spook one and starting a fresh round of giggles.
    Today at 8:45 PM
  • @A Life of Cinn:
    There was so much dust in that old place, it would surely burst into flames, and his job! And the spirits! He finally breached the doorway, shovel in hand, red tunic lit by candlelight. Friedrich shouted "I don't know what's going on but there will be no fires in the mausoleum!"
    Today at 8:46 PM
  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    Ryder hadn't been planning to come to the graveyard. He had planned on skipping the festivities altogether, but he had spotted some of his classmates wonder into the graveyard. He would look over with a sigh. " I have a feeling that my classmates are doing something stupid."
    Today at 8:47 PM
  • @Diana:
    Old Friedrich ended up being the one to give them the biggest spook of all! The girls screamed, the boys jolted, an urn of ash crashed to the floor and shattered. The commotion made the candles flicker out! For a long moment (once the girls stopped squealing) there was nothing but a dead silence.
    Today at 8:47 PM
  • @AnxiousEnby:
    Of course the motion caused Frankie to curse and scream like a little girl, the Male wrapping his arms around Arlo and trembling. Frankie would not let go of the braver Male.
    Today at 8:49 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Shara slipped away, seeming to vanish into the shadows as she pulled up her scarf to hide her face, and crept up on the crypt, barely managing to duck behind a scraggly tree to avoid detection by the grave-keeper. I have a baaaad feeling about this, she thought as she peered through the mausoleum door at the scene within.
    Today at 8:49 PM
  • @The Mood is Write:
    Everyone seemed to be ignoring them. Thein's eyes narrowed, and dark lips clenched together. They looked up sluggishly at the entrance of Old Friedrich, only for all to be cast into darkness in the following chaos. Half of what was happening didn't register through their haze, but the candles' smoke set them into another coughing fit. A sound of wet spatter and the scent of blood broke the silence.
    Today at 8:49 PM
  • @Diana:
    Of course Seline heard the crash of broken porcelain and immediately her hands went up to her mouth. THAT couldn't have been a good things, and now they were all going to be a world of trouble. She doubted it was a jar of honey!
    Today at 8:49 PM
  • @A Life of Cinn:
    Oh dear, thought Friedrich. If anything were to offend his employers, it would be this incident. Ashes, all over the floor.
    Today at 8:49 PM
  • @Dawn:
    His hand, Frankie would find, was incredibly cold. The high-necked top he wore had been shifted in their tumble and now the neck sat lower on him. The hint of black and blue peeked out from over the top hem. His hand tightened a little on Frankie's at the intrusion of the groundskeeper, though Frankie quickly deposited himself into Arlo's lap.
    Today at 8:50 PM
  • @Diana:
    "Maybe we should get back to town, you sound like you need to," Seline spoke shakily to the coughing one. Not at all because she was scared and knew this was all trouble, No sir.
    Today at 8:50 PM
  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    Ryder had to wonder how he could not be here. He liked the other girl's suggestion, but remained quiet
    Today at 8:50 PM
  • @A Life of Cinn:
    "Everyone. Out.", Friedrich said, shaking a bit. "Right now!" He waved a shovel menacingly. Partially at the collection of narrators, who call him Old Friedrich. he is not that old, he insists.
    Today at 8:51 PM
  • @The Mood is Write:
    Thein stumbled forward, hoping to escape the ash-and-smoke filled room. Their coughing continued, and blood mixed into the ashes and fell to the floor as they stumbled out.
    Today at 8:52 PM
  • @AnxiousEnby:
    Frankie remained in Arlo's lap, trembling like a spooked kitten. He sniffled, both ears now drooping because he had squished them with Arlo's chest. The second he saw the sight of blood, he began to cry like a baby. It probably felt like Arlo was babysitting!
    Today at 8:52 PM
  • @Diana:
    "Stay," insisted a different voice. One that no one recognized and seemed to echo all over the graveyard. No one could see where it was coming from though. The once nice and homely looking graveyard was now starting to fill up with swirling mist. Where did the gates go?
    Today at 8:53 PM
  • @fatalrendezvous:
    Olissa's prayer for her daughter was cut short by the sound of ceramic shattering. Her eyes shot open, gaze turning in the direction of the mausoleum. The girl who had accompanied her here was nowhere to be found. She did say she was planning to help silence the other kids, but Olissa wondered whether even that was a Reaper's Night prank.
    Today at 8:53 PM
  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    Ryder looked at the blood. " Who are you?" Ryder asked.
    Today at 8:53 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Oh, right, that does it! Shara thought. She ducked out of sight of the door, then cupped her hands over her mouth, aimed close to the mausoleum's decor. "Whoooo daaares to disturb our slumberrrr" she hissed, "Now feeeel the cooold touch of DEAAAAATTTHH!"
    Today at 8:53 PM
  • @AnxiousEnby:
    The Male would weep "I want to go home"
    Today at 8:54 PM
  • @The Mood is Write:
    Thein emerged from the smoky and dusty mausoleum, blood on their hands and chin from their violent coughing.
    Today at 8:55 PM
  • @Dawn:
    It was too late, gravekeeper. Arlo carefully set Frankie to the side, patting his head and offering him a gentle smile. A part of him felt a little guilty for what was going to happen. He rose to his feet, dusting himself off, completely fine with the fog and with the voice. He was completely fine. Everything would be fine soon.
    Today at 8:58 PM
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Wait, who was that? Shara thought. She pressed herself to the mausoleum wall, frozen as still as the bas-reliefs, letting the shadows of her form blend in with theirs as the others started to tumble out. Easy marks now, served 'em right...but now there were tendrils of mist spreading out to envelop everything, and she had a distinct feeling that none of the chowderheads inside was good enough at ventriloquism to be that other voice.
    Today at 8:59 PM
  • @AnxiousEnby:
    Frankie would whimper like a puppy when he was put down, finding the lap oddly comforting. He hugged his knees and continued to sob "if I die, I want you to know that your hot and I want to ask you out but I'm a pussy" he blubbered, not realising he said that out loud
    Today at 8:59 PM
  • @The Mood is Write:
    Thein pushed past the gravekeeper. One pale hand spread blood on the old man's chest, then collapsed to the ground immediately outside. They wore what seemed to be a knit coat over a hospital gown, and a wristband labeled them as 'Thein'. Blood, pox, and fever-flush marred their androgynous and ashen face as they continued to cough, their lungs afire.
    59 minutes ago
  • @A Life of Cinn:
    "EAH! What in the- who ARE you?", exclaimed Friedrich Alden Von Rosalin, unknowingly grateful for his red vest, which made it so he didn't notice the bloody handprint. He hadn't seen this child enter. This.. pale.. and .. was he dead?
    56 minutes ago
  • @Diana:
    "Thank you for setting me free," said the disembodied voiced. Soon those reckless teens screamed again, one screaming so hard she passed out and dropped to the floor. The rest of them scattered, shoving past Arlo and Frankie and Seline. Not even looking twice at the crying mother or the groundskeeper. They just ran into the mist.
    56 minutes ago
  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    " You're welcome?" Ryder replied, half questioning if it was something they should bee thanked for.
    54 minutes ago
  • @The Mood is Write:
    Grunt! At least one of the teenagers ran right over Thein. The sick person wheezed and blinked rapidly, trying not to pass out.
    54 minutes ago
  • @Diana:
    During the chaos Seline hadn't said a word. She was still just standing there were her hands over her mouth, frozen in terror! Things had gone so terribly wrong! She told them so!
    53 minutes ago
  • @Dawn:
    The sudden confession put hot coals in the pit of his stomach, but it wasn't enough to bring a blush to his face. He wasn't capable of that anymore. The guilt though, it expanded in his chest like rising dough, threatening to suffocate him. His face remained neutral, even as the rest of his friends scattered. He was curious though. The voice was his only hope at this point. He'd tried to do it on his own so many times over the past week. Each and every time had failed. He wasn't any stronger than he had been in life. He was still just a week, pretty-faced boy with bruises on his throat. But the voice... The voice could be his revenge.
    51 minutes ago
  • @fatalrendezvous:
    Olissa's eyes widened at the screams coming from the mausoleum, the blood in her veins running cold. It no longer sounded like children at play. Gods, what had the children done? Disturbed the dead? Olissa rummaged around in the grass for something - anything - to defend herself with, arming herself with a large rock. She hurried towards the screams. "Kids? Everything alright in there?"
    51 minutes ago
  • @A Life of Cinn:
    Oh shit. The gravekeeper grabbed the sick child, flipped them onto their back, and dragged them onto the grass. He checked for vital signs. The kid was alive but.. not well. They were just stepped on in the panic. Friedrich pulled out his old breathing-help pressure tricks and administered them.
    50 minutes ago
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Shara choked back a scream as what looked for all the world like some undead fiend came shambling out of the tomb, coughing. Before she could react, more of the teens boiled out, and the Voice spoke again. Whatever this is...right, change of plan, she thought, slipping away, moving from gravestone to tree for cover until the mist made even that unnecessary. "Ma'am," she said, hurrying toward the woman's voice. "Are you alright?"
    50 minutes ago
  • @A Life of Cinn:
    "Hey, you!", he shouted to Seline. "Come here and help me"
    50 minutes ago
  • @fatalrendezvous:
    "I'm fine," Olissa responded hurriedly. "What is happening in there?"
    49 minutes ago
  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    " I think a ghost was summoned?" Ryder replied...
    48 minutes ago
  • @The Mood is Write:
    Thein groaned and looked up at the gravekeeper, eyes unfocused and blinking rapidly. "Am... dy...ing?" they wheezed, then spat up more blood.
    47 minutes ago
  • @Diana:
    Shara practically stumbled over another teen in the mist. One of the girls, but she looked like a dried up carcass!
    47 minutes ago
  • @Diana:
    "Um, okay," muttered Seline, forcing her feet to move. She knelt next to the groundskeeper and Thein. "You are still alive, I am pretty sure?"
    46 minutes ago
  • @AnxiousEnby:
    Frankie just was in a ball, sobbing. He felt so close to pissing his pants and kissing his crush. What could he do? The Male just gave up hope at his point. He couldn't be gay so he might as well just pass away.
    45 minutes ago
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "I don't know," Shara replied. "They did something in there. I ritual, I---" This time she did let out a strangled scream. "Goddesses' shiny underthings!" she exclaimed, then reached under her cloak and drew her sword. "Let me get you out of here!"
    44 minutes ago
  • @A Life of Cinn:
    The child was coughing blood, and from the looks of it, this wasn't new, dried blood covered his hospital gown. He asked the sick kid, "Can you move everything? Are you able to speak? Give me some signal." He then looked up at Seline. "We might need your sash, if we gotta give this kid a sling, or somethin"
    43 minutes ago
  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    Ryder stared. " So....uhhh... Mr or Mrs Spirit, what exactly would you like?"
    41 minutes ago
  • @fatalrendezvous:
    "No!" Olissa grabbed the girl's hand. "We need to go back to make sure they're safe," she insisted. "I will not leave if there are still children in danger."
    41 minutes ago
  • @The Mood is Write:
    Thein groaned. "Just... need air," they wheezed before clumsily wiping the wetness from their chin and mouth, smearing it onto their sweater.
    40 minutes ago
  • @Diana:
    Seline quickly offered up her prestigious Town Helper sash, though from the looks of the girl things didn't seem to be going well.
    40 minutes ago
  • @Diana:
    As Ryder tried to speak to the voice he stumbled over another of the offending teens. This one also dried up and dead. "Your souls, please... I intend to take your souls..."
    39 minutes ago
  • @A Life of Cinn:
    Friedrich winced at the smearing of mouth blood. Sure, he was a Gravekeeper, but even he had aesthetic standards to hold up. The kid seemed fine enough. "Thanks. Here, wipe your mouth.", he told the sick child, offering the highly prestigious Town Helper sash as a glorified napkin.
    38 minutes ago
  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    Ryder would take a moment. " Well, this is kind of awkward..... but I kind of -sort of- don't have a soul. I got like some white goo in place of a soul if you want that," he replied, rubbing the back of his head.
    35 minutes ago
  • @The Mood is Write:
    Not exactly 'fine', but Thein did wipe their face on the sash. They tilted their head at mention of taking souls, then slowly, slowly stood. "Taking... souls...?"
    33 minutes ago
  • @Dawn:
    Arlo's whole body tingled with glee, with relief as he heard the voice's intention. He couldn't pinpoint where the voice was coming from, but that didn't matter. His hands rose to his own throat and drew down the neck of the shirt, exposing black and blue and yellow and green bruises in the shape of two big hands. "How about the soul these hands belong to?" he said out loud, gazing around the thick mist.
    33 minutes ago
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Shara sighed. "Right...they're jerks, but I guess they don't deserve to die. Please hold on to my cloak. I might need my other hand free." Though her voice sounded confident, she felt a creeping chill of fear. Street thugs and hired guards were one thing...but soul-eating ghosts? Right, so now what? Try to call everybody to me? But that'll call the ghoul too!
    32 minutes ago
  • @Diana:
    "I will take all but you," insisted the voice to Arlo with a sinister laugh. And just like that, Frankie and Seline soon found themselves choking on ash and mist.
    31 minutes ago
  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    " Well, RIP those two," Ryder replied with an awkward shrug.
    30 minutes ago
  • @AnxiousEnby:
    Frankie would splutter, pissing himself in fear "you don't want my bipolar soul" he spat out and cried. He reached out for Arlo with his eyes sparkling, eyes flooding with tears.
    30 minutes ago
  • @Diana:
    Seline too started coughing, coughing too much to even squeal! Soon she coughed herself unconscious and fell to the ground.
    28 minutes ago
  • @The Mood is Write:
    Thein leaned bloodily against Selene, smearing the dark and infected fluid on her as well before they started to cough again, not even being choked yet but choking anyway because they are just bad at living. When she went down, he did too, and landed on top of her with a miserable groan.
    27 minutes ago
  • @fatalrendezvous:
    Olissa waded through the mist, trying to follow the sounds of the voices. "Children! The exit is this way!" She shouted. "Hurry, get yourselves out of here!"
    27 minutes ago
  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    " You're going to have to be more specfic.... there's a giant mist in the way that makes over there incredibly vague," he replied back to her.
    26 minutes ago
  • @A Life of Cinn:
    Panic about a soul eating ghost circulated the yard. Friedrich knew they had to leave the graveyard. But the exit.. where was it.. the mist.. He picked up an unconscious Seline and heard Olissa's voice. Exit. That way, perfect. "Follow me, please." he told the Thein, as the gravekeeper hurried in that direction, shovel left behind.
    26 minutes ago
  • @The Mood is Write:
    Thein stumbled after, but soon enough began to lag, unable to keep up. Why were they running...? Everything felt blurred.
    24 minutes ago
  • @A Life of Cinn:
    Disoriented, he only just realized that the sick child also went down. He'd have to be back. Damnit!
    24 minutes ago
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "Stay here," Shara said to the woman, then pulled her hand free and slipped away. Sneaking up to the mausoleum in a low running crouch, she peeked around the doorjamb and shuddered at what she beheld. There! she thought, spotting the Mage Board. After a moment's concentration, a fire lit at the fingertip of her free hand. She pointed it at the board, and shot the Firebolt. The cantrip wasn't powerful enough to do serious damage, but it could ignite something flammable, so hopefully that would be enough.
    23 minutes ago
  • @A Life of Cinn:
    "If anyone can hear this, follow me, we are leaving!", shouted Friedrich with Seline in his arms. "I will be back for any stragglers." The exit should be just up ahead, if his senses proved correct.
    22 minutes ago
  • @The Mood is Write:
    Thein tripped over a low grave and stumbled into a tall one. They held onto the angel statue, blinking rapidly against the blur of reality. The cool marble felt... so nice against their cheek...
    20 minutes ago
  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    " We can.... not going to help...." Ryder sighed as a guy tripped
    20 minutes ago
  • @Diana:
    FWOOM. The Mage Board went up in a plume of flame and smoke, ignited further still by the ashes scattered across the mausoleum floor. There was a long harrowed scream, joined by the voices of many others and the mists of the graveyard churned and started to smell of sulfur and death.
    20 minutes ago
  • @Dawn:
    Arlo remained in the thick of the mist, his appearance beginning to change with each passing second. His sun-kissed skin turned sickly pale, shot through with blueish-black veins. He was several weeks dead, and so his eyes began to gloss over, turning milky even. Holes formed over his face and the exposed parts of his arms, little burrows made by carrion beetles to get to the rotting flesh under the surface. Revenge. Revenge would be his and then he could finally die and STAY dead. "A shame you all had to suffer for this, but at least now I can deal with my loss." His broken, betrayed heart. His happy, teenage life.
    19 minutes ago
  • @fatalrendezvous:
    "Towards the sound of my voice, you—" oooh, sometimes Olissa did wonder why she bothered. Couldn't they use their damned ears? "I can hear you!" She called out in response. The girl left her side, but Olissa kept the rock she found held tightly in her hand in case of danger. "Follow the sound of my—!" The explosion cut her off, and she lifted her arms to shield her face and eyes. Staying here by the exit wasn't going to get anything done, she realized. "Girl, I'm coming in behind you!"
    18 minutes ago
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "Oops. Time to go!" Shara said. "Haha, you'll never catch the Golden Fox!" she cried, then took off in the direction of the grave-keeper's voice.
    17 minutes ago
  • @AnxiousEnby:
    Despite the Male pissing himself and being choked by some ghost that probably had a choking kink. He rushed over to Arlo and jumped into his arms "I don't care if you're dead, I love you okay" he admitted and just like that, Frankie would die.
    15 minutes ago
  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    Ryder would nod. " Okay, that was helpful. Byee spirit thing. Have fun doing whatever you want," he replied, heading towards Olissa's voice.
    15 minutes ago
  • @A Life of Cinn:
    The exit. At last, it seemed deeper than it should've been. He caught the gaze of Olissa to the right as he approached the gates. Slipping out, he noticed the lack of choking mist on the outside. He set Seline down on the ground. "I'll be back to check on ya", said Friedrich, before heading right back into the graveyard.
    14 minutes ago
  • @Diana:
    The mist soon began to fade, no longer powered by the mage's board. As it dissipated the shriveled bodies of Arlo's friends were strew across the graveyard, contorted and frozen forever in their screams. Frankie died in the arms of Arlo, but it seems the gravekeeper hard taken Seline out of the graveyard before she too lost her life. The mysterious voice? Gone.
    13 minutes ago
  • @The Mood is Write:
    Thein continued to hold onto the angel statue, shivering as they pressed their face against the cold stone, now smeared with blood.
    11 minutes ago
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    A figure loomed out of the mist, and Shara skidded to a halt, raising her sword to a guard position--the woman! The Golden Fox let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Come on," she said, taking Olissa by the arm and hurrying for the gate, even as the mist began to fade. She saw the grave-keeper look at the woman, then...head back in there?
    11 minutes ago
  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    " Hey, I know you like the angel, but we probably should leave now," Ryder commnted.
    10 minutes ago
  • @A Life of Cinn:
    On the way in, Friedrich Alden von Rosalin spotted the quick looking one with the fox cloak. "You. Get the medical staff, get the law, get whoever else. Hurry." He then began to help more children out of the graveyard, placing them opposite the path to Seline. The mist was clearing and he could see better.
    10 minutes ago
  • @The Mood is Write:
    "Huhn...?" Thein looked up, arms around the angel statue, and slooowly began to slide around it, unaware that they were doing it as they tried to keep their gaze on Ryder.
    9 minutes ago
  • @fatalrendezvous:
    Olissa felt at her surroundings in the mist, her hands finding stone. A statue, perhaps? By some stroke of luck, she stumbled upon Thein as her hand found their arm draped around the statue. She grabbed hold, pointing towards the other voice accompanying them. "You! This way. Now!" With that she pried Thein's arm off the statue and tried to lead them back in the direction she'd seen the grave keeper leave.
    8 minutes ago
  • @Dawn:
    The revenant settled for a moment as Frankie died in his arms, and Arlo gently laid the young man down on the grass. He remained there for a moment, letting his guilt settle within him. "I'm sorry, but I had to. It's my only desire anymore. He has to die for what he's done to me." He gave Frankie's head one last gentle pat and then he rose and followed the mist, disappearing into the night.
    7 minutes ago
  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    Ryder just sighed. " You know what- I don't care enough. ... Probably might be an idea to say the teens died in a tragic fire and the bodies were burned to ash.... unless you want to explain this to the police."
    6 minutes ago
  • @AnxiousEnby:
    Frankie's spirit would purr softly, deciding to be a pervert and stalk Arlo now.
    5 minutes ago
  • @A Life of Cinn:
    That was a lot of dead children, even for the Gravekeeper. His employers must be furious. So much digging. So much work..
    5 minutes ago
  • @AnxiousEnby:
    What a fantastic gay plan... well mostly gay but there was an attempt......
    5 minutes ago
  • @The Mood is Write:
    Thein coughed, then clung to Olissa as she led them out. Of course, this smeared plenty of blood on her, but fever-sick out of their mind, Thein wasn't even aware.
    5 minutes ago
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Me? Get the law?! Shara thought. She looked around until she found the mourner, returning with the person she'd initially thought was an undead fiend. "Uh...ma'am, you're a respectable type, maybe the gendarmes will listen to you better?" she said, giving Olessa a lopsided grin as she sheathed her sword and let her cloak fall back over it, with an innocent look. What sword?
    5 minutes ago
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "I can go get the physicians," Shara said, then took off with a swish of her cape.
    4 minutes ago
  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Finally returning with a couple disgruntled and skeptical doctors in tow, Shara found her way back to the woman. "You alright?"
    1 minute ago
  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    Ryder would look at the grave keeper. " Want help making the graves?"
    A moment ago
  • @A Life of Cinn:
    "Oh. Well, I'd appreciate it. Thanks. I need to take a break now though, take the shovel. The southern plots are vacant." The children safely on the other side of the gate and work cut short for him, Friedrich trudged up the hill to the crypt-break-room. He walked inside and knocked twice on the inner door. It opened and he walked down into the darkness. "My day? Rough. Yeah, love you. What's for breakfast?"
  • @Diana:
    Needless to say, a bunch of people heard to commotion at the graveyard so many of the villagers had come to investigate. They weren't sure what they were finding when they got there - a bunch of dead teens, some half dead, and a very suspicious sight of summoning and desecration. But everyone trusted Olissa explanation of events. ...and no one ever noticed the shadow that crept it's way out of the graveyard. ...UNTIL NEXT TIME. the end.


  • @Diana:
    WELCOME TO THE FROZEN FROLIC!


    Today at 10:21 AM



  • @Diana:
    You are at an adorable little snowy village for the festival! This is a fantasy setting where you just interact with others and the setting. Have fun!


    Today at 10:28 AM


  • @Diana:
    TYPE FAST, TYPE BRIEF! This is a real time roleplay, so you don't want to be too slow or too wordy. Try to keep posts to 10 sentences or less so nobody misses out on action or details!


    Today at 10:30 AM


  • @Diana:
    HOT TIP: Write your character name in every post. That way we know what character you're playing - especially if you're playing multiples! You can also use bbcode color to help your posts stand out.


    Today at 10:30 AM


  • @Diana:
    Game Master and Narration posts appear in this bright bold yellow. Pay attention to those because they are guiding you to what to do next in the story.


    Today at 10:32 AM


  • @Diana:
    My roleplays are always NEWBIE FRIENDLY! If you get confused or have any questions I'm in the main chat room to help!


    Today at 10:32 AM


  • @Diana:
    (◉,◉) (◉◇◉) (⊙,◉) (⊙◇◉)


    Today at 10:32 AM

  • @Diana:
    It is a glorious winter day with a light flurry of snow gently blanketing the quaint village of Snowdrop Hollow. Peddlers are charming people with their festival wares of hot ciders and meat pies. An elderly woman is selling her hand crafted scarves of beautiful colors. Children are running wild to and fro. Couples are out skating on the ice along to the joyful music of the town band.


    Today at 10:51 AM

  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Shara felt a twinge of...well, not exactly homesickness, as she'd been a nomad her whole life. But the festive atmosphere reminded her of festivals, and that in turn reminded of her family, when they would circle their vardos outside of towns not unlike this one, bringing a touch of the new and exotic, songs and tales, and...morally dubious entertainments to the local villagers. But the Zoloto Clan were all locked in workhouses in Iskandahr, a fate Shara had only narrowly escaped. She pushed those melancholy thoughts aside. For now, she had a plan to carry out--but first, a look at the town's big festival to get an idea of how long the townspeople would be kept occupied. Her stomach growled as wafting scents of savory meat pies came her way. So...perhaps first of all, she'd need an opportunity to filch something to eat!


    Today at 11:07 AM

  • @Diana:
    There were ample opportunities to do a snatch a grab everywhere one could look. It helped that elder villagers enjoyed spiking their ciders with a heavy mead. Laughter around a big bonfire filled the air as one of those elders stripped off their coat and shirt to dance shirtless around the fire. Some old woman remarked that his nipples could cut the ice out there and cackled with merriment.


    Today at 11:12 AM

  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Shara was not one to let such chances go to waste, though she was careful not to take too much from any one vendor. That wasn't as easy as one might think, as the food here was really good, especially since she hadn't had any in awhile. She gave a bittersweet smile at the dancing village elder. This town seemed like such a happy place, the people warm and friendly. It made her feel a bit of regret that her plan was to pilfer about as much as she could carry and get out of town. She'd already picked out the two richest-looking places as targets--the Mayor's house, and the Innkeeper's. But...she was a long way from getting enough loot together to buy her family's freedom, and pickings had been slim of late.


    Today at 11:28 AM

  • @Diana:
    "OY OY OY, whacha doin' there girl, give an old man a hand." He was rotund and red in the face with a ridiculously long beard braided up with beads on the end. he had so many wrinkles he could've easily been 100 years old, but aside from how he was oofing and aahing trying to pull his wagon behind him, he seemed full of energy. "By the gods take this wagon before my back breaks in two!"


    Today at 11:34 AM

  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Shara tensed, fighting the reflex to jump out of her skin at the old man's first words. She was halfway through putting on her best innocent expression while getting ready to run, when the rest of his words came through. She quickly assessed the speaker--she could take him if need be, and it didn't look like it would. Then she gave him a smile and took the wagon's yoke, inwardly glad she would get to help out a little. "What've you got here, sir?" she said as she leaned in to pull the wagon, careful of her footing.


    Today at 11:41 AM

  • @Diana:
    "Why I've got all sorts of things in this wagon!" he proudly boasted! Once she had a hold of it, he stretched out his back and took the lead shuffling on down the path. He beckoned her to follow. "A little bit of this and a little bit of that... all enchanted. Quite a nice collection."


    Today at 11:46 AM

  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "Enchanted?" Shara said. "So you're a wizard then?" She hadn't thought of that. Wizardfolk weren't always what they looked like, especially the powerful ones. She'd had no direct truck with wizards, seeing as they tended to stay in the better parts of town, from whence they could look down at the hedge magic of the lower classes. So she couldn't know for sure, but didn't all the stories suggest the oldest ones were the most powerful?


    Today at 11:51 AM

  • @Diana:
    "A wizard! HA!" He chortled loud enough to draw attention from the crowed of passerbys for a moment. "Nay, nay! Not I! But I might know a wizard n' sorceress or two. And with a bit o' travel here and there I pick up a bobble or two." Then he paused to lean down and whisper. "You might say I procured a piece here and there not quite on the level."


    Today at 11:54 AM

  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "Yeah?" Shara whispered back. There were spells for getting past magical wards, the magical equivalent of lock-picking one might say, and for other things that might help one pilfer from Wizardfolk, like illusions and even invisibility, but she had a lot to learn before she could master such tricks. Wait--is that something he'd say to some random village girl who might tattle on him? A flash of memory--a girl just a little older than her with a sash and a tin badge that gave her some tiny little bit of authority that she'd worn like an empress' crown, trying to drive revelers away from Reaper's Night revelry in a graveyard... Her mind snapped back to the present. Could he know I'd be right with him lifting from wizardfolk? she thought. If he knew, that might make him dangerous. But...maybe she could learn a thing or two? Unless he was a wizard after all...


    Today at 12:07 PM

  • @Diana:
    "Ohoho, I will show you..." once he'd found a nice little cleared out patch where she could set his wagon - presumably so he could sell his wares there - he pulled back the furs covering a mound of intricate boxes of all shapes, sizes, and colors. "Let us see, let us see.... what might a young lady be interested in these days. Ah!" He picked a box out of the wagon and opened it up. Inside laid a selection of many scrolls. "Did you ever hear the story of the Queen in the Mountain...?"


    Today at 12:13 PM

  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Shara's eyes were quick to note the quality of the workmanship of the boxes, then he opened one to reveal a collection of scrolls! "The...? No sir," she replied.


    Today at 12:15 PM

  • @Diana:
    "Oh it was a age or ten past and began here in this very valley!" he started with excitement. He handed her the box and pulled out one of the scrolls to roll open. Inside was a beautiful water color rending that looked eerily familiar to the frozen lake and mountains in the distance. "In those days magic ran wild and feral. The fae controlled the forests and the trolls the rocky hills. Selkie swam the rivers and lakes and dragons took to the skies!"


    Today at 12:19 PM

  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Dragons... Shara thought, trying to imagine what it would have been to live in a world where such creatures lived. Probably not the least bit romantic and exciting, she thought.


    Today at 12:28 PM

  • @Diana:
    The girl was not the only one becoming engaged with the old man's story telling. A few local children and some festival attendees were starting to gather. Now Shara was stuck being a part of the story telling, for he had her sit on a stool with the box on her lap and would open the beautiful picture scrolls and hand them to her to hold out for all to see as he continued on. "One particular cold and snowy year, trolls from the mountains came down into the village and ransacked the stores of food! They did this for almost a decade and it devastated the village with hunger. So the village elders set out seek advice from the Fae of the forest. They asked "What might we do about these awful trolls? If they keep this up we shall surely die!"


    Today at 12:31 PM

  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Shara felt a twinge of guilt--she'd just done something similar to the trolls, though on a much smaller scale. Thankfully no one was going to die because she'd requisitioned a meat pie, a hot roll, and a loop of sausage links.


    Today at 12:34 PM

  • @Diana:
    "The fae told them that the trolls we not an evil bunch - they didnt mean any harm. They were just wild and leaderless and needed something to care for and bind them together! Give them a child and the trolls will never be a problem again!" he laughed at the gasps from the crowd. "Back in those days that was the favorite currency of the fae folk. They were always bartering with babies. ...and you know, the village they were so desperate they did it! They took an orphaned infant and gave it to the trolls."


    Today at 12:39 PM

  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Yeah, we're not an evil bunch, Shara thought. She shook off the stuff about needing a leader, and she certainly wasn't looking to get a baby of all things!


    Today at 12:46 PM

  • @Diana:
    "And thus the trolls raised that child and what a lovely thing it was, Surely blessed by the fae folk and the magical creatures that lived in the forest, stone, sea, and land. They say the trolls learned of love and life through raising that child and made her their Queen, and that Queen now rules the magic folk that still live out there somewhere hidden from us beyond the veil. In fact if you're quite lucky she might visit one of the villages that surround this big lake just to see what mortal life would've been like..."


    Today at 12:52 PM

  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Shara smiled. Those kids are going to spend the rest of this festival tugging at the skirts of any lady they see, wondering if she's the Queen in the Mountain in disguise!


    58 minutes ago

  • @Diana:
    With his story told he shooed children away and adults wandered off. All that was left was Shara, to which he smiled with a strange twinkle in his eye. "What did you think, ey ey? Local legends can be a fun thing. You are a good little helper! I think that requires a reward a very very find reward... What might a little one like you be looking for?" he asked curiously.


    56 minutes ago

  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "It's a lovely story sir," Shara said. "But I think that Queen would get lonely, not having her kin nor kind around her. And if she saw a place like this, I think she'd be sad." Asked what she might be looking for, she bit her lip. 'The Queen in the Mountain' wasn't the first faerie story she'd ever heard. This felt almost like a magical test, a moment where what the hero or heroine says or does next sets the course of their whole story. Probably he was just an old guy with wonderful baubles and charming stories, but why take the chance? In such a test, the easy answer--money! would not be the right answer. Think past that...to what I want money for... "I want to set my family free," she said softly. "And maybe get their things back from the gendarmes in Iskandahr." Then it hit her that her answer would sound awfully weird to him if he was just an old guy with wonderful baubles and charming stories who meant for her to choose between a scroll and a necklace or some such.


    42 minutes ago

  • @Diana:
    "Aaah, a noble wish from one so young. A lot to bear on small shoulders," he turned away to dig around in one of the boxes on his wagon. "Let's see, let's see... this is a mighty big quest. Tricky too... You'll need just the right thing to help you along your way.. AHA!" With joy he stepped back with a large wooden box in his hand. Unlike all the others this one was just plain old oak and iron and looked beaten and worn to hell and back. "In this chest are three things. A map, a bottle of old wine, and a key. They may not look like much, but at just the right moment they may just prove useful..."


    33 minutes ago

  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Shara felt a moment of disorientation. The old man's response fit both possibilities equally well, as far as she could tell. If he was just an old man telling stories--then he could just be bringing a little magic into kids' lives by palming off old junk as mystic treasure. But if he was a fae or a wizard or the like, the worst thing she could do is dismiss mystic treasure as old junk! But it's not like I was expecting a gift anyway, she thought. "Thank you very much sir!" she said, taking the chest. I'll have to hide this while I'm doing second-story work, she thought. Or maybe I should just go on to the next town...but I can at least have a look at that map!


    22 minutes ago

  • @Diana:
    "Ayyye, you are most welcome! But this gift comes with a warning." he made sure to catch her eye. "If you should come across a river coated in black oil, watch yourself and your companions... a dark deed will take a life." The he held his belly and laughed and laughed. "Quite scary, eh? I hope your travels do you well little miss!"


    18 minutes ago

  • @Zarko Straadi:
    My companions? Shara thought. She wasn't exactly expecting to meet a party of Adventurers in a tavern. She gave the old man a laugh, but inwardly made a note to keep an eye out for rivers coated in black oil. "And may yours do you well...as well, sir!" Taking the chest, she left the festival and slipped into an alley where she could open the box unobserved, and read the map it contained.


    13 minutes ago

  • @Diana:
    The old man did not lie. Inside there was indeed a bottle of wine... it looked quite old and valuable! The key inside also looked old, but it was so intricate there was no telling what sort of lock it would open. The map too was very very old. The path it draw seemed to lead through a few of the small villages along the lake, down the river, and up into the mountains. Nothing on it indicated who made it or where it came from. Or even what would be found at the end!


    11 minutes ago

  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Shara marveled at the objects in the chest. They were much higher quality than what she'd been expecting. Then there was the map...completely cryptic, naturally. But...it's not like I've got anywhere specific to go, she thought. I'll see what's in the next village and go from there. She took off her backpack long enough to cram the chest in (her backpack being otherwise bereft of loot or cached food), then put it back on under her cloak. I'll let this place be, she thought, deciding to head back out and see what was going on with the festival.


    3 minutes ago

  • @Diana:
    As Shara set out on her way, she knew not what she was getting into. Soon her life would be the very myth and legend old coots tell around a warm fire.... TO BE CONTINUED?



  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    Waking up in the village shouldn't have come as a surprise to you. You had been called to deal with a monster who had terrorized them for days. What would come as a surprise is that the village was filled with dead bodies- victims of the monster. But here you were- alive..... and uncertain of what had just happened.


    Today at 11:03 AM

  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Shara jolted to wakefulness. Not expecting to have been asleep in the first place, she scrambled quickly to her feet. She paled at the sight of the dead bodies all around her, drawing her sword by reflex. Checking around for threats, she carefully approached one of the bodies to try and discern how they died.


    Today at 11:10 AM

  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    It would seem as luck ( bad luck) in this case, the body she had managed to approach was alive. A bit bloody and definitely on Death's door. The woman would cough. "Get away from me."


    Today at 11:15 AM

  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    Raul would start to stir awake from the woman screaming. He was confused to what had just happened. " What just happened?" He mumbled as he woke up.


    Today at 11:16 AM

  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Shara backed up a couple paces. "I don't want to hurt you. What happened?" Then a man started to awaken, and asked the same question. He didn't seem to be injured, so she kept her distance and oriented herself to keep him in sight.


    Today at 11:19 AM

  • @littlekreen:
    Kobolds had a very simple response for when the deading starts. Find the deepest, darkest, hole that the tallblood can't fit in. Thus woke up folded into a small barrel underneath a house. "AHH! Dead hour!", shouted with alarm as his shadow-tolerant eyes saw a bunch of torn up faces staring at him from the end of the barrel. A small pile of corpses started to judder as a bright red foot kicked at them from between floor joists.


    Today at 11:22 AM

  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    The woman would look at her. " The monster- you-it- killed- village- dead- barely- survived." It seemed the woman was too shell shocked and her sentence were coming off as fragmented. It also may be the sword that she was holding.


    Today at 11:22 AM

  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    For reasons unknown, Raul would be able to hear the Kobold screaming and would bolt to the house where he was in, It took some moving, but he managed to pull the Kobold out. " Hey, are you okay?" He asked.


    Today at 11:24 AM

  • @littlekreen:
    Clec was in jean shorts, overcoat, and shirt as well as a musket he pointed up in alarm before looking to one side, "No! I'm in a town something cleared of tallblood!"


    Today at 11:25 AM

  • @Zarko Straadi:
    As the man ran off, Shara checked her surroundings again, then sheathed her sword, since it seemed to be scaring the woman. "The monster? What did it look like?" she asked. "Is there an Apothecary or Healer's shrine in this village? I will try to find you an elixir..."


    Today at 11:28 AM

  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    Raul would look over at him. " You look pretty human like to me, but whatever. You're right that something definitely attacked us."


    Today at 11:30 AM

  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    The woman would notice the sword was away and would pause for a bit. " It was too dark, i couldn't see a thing, the healer is dead though, I heard there screams."


    Today at 11:31 AM

  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    Dylan started to stir awake as he heard Clec scream. He knew that making this pit stop was a bad idea, but he couldn't figure out what happened last night. " Clec is that you?" He asked.


    Today at 11:32 AM

  • @littlekreen:
    Clec got up and hurriedly started reloading with a ball, packet, and ramrod while looking around worriedly. He looked up at Raul and shook the blood off his hands, "If you can see the monsters then monsters can see you. I wasn't gonna look it in the eyes. I hope the jellies are okay." He whistled into the distance and listened as some odd birdsong replied.


    Today at 11:37 AM

  • @littlekreen:
    Clec looked over at Dylan and tried to smile, "Yep! No dumplings today! Just running!"


    Today at 11:37 AM

  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "I'm not a Healer, but I'll try to...I'll be right back," Shara said. "Please hang on," she said, then headed into the village, hugging the buildings for partial cover as she searched the village for the Healer's shrine. She blinked in surprise at the kobold with the two men--she'd heard of them in stories, but never seen one with her own eyes. She gave them a brief wave so they would know she wasn't their enemy, then continued her search.


    Today at 11:40 AM

  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    Dylan would take a moment and pause. "Maybe leaving might be a good idea," he replied back to her, not knowing what to say to Clec otherwise.


    Today at 11:43 AM

  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    Share would have an easy time finding the village healer, but it seemed that a problem was immediately evident. All of the supplies had been ransacked and there were claw marks all around the area.


    Today at 11:44 AM

  • @littlekreen:
    Clen shook his head, "No way to know which way the big bad went. Bad to panic run." Clec then looked over at Shara while putting the ramrod away shrinking behind the legs of the tallblood


    Today at 11:45 AM

  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Shara bit her lip in frustration. Where else might I find things that can help? A cloth-seller? A distiller? Is this village big enough to have an Alchemist's shop? She turned her attention to the men and the kobold. "Excuse me, are any of you Healers?"


    Today at 11:49 AM

  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    Dylan would look over at her. "No, I'm just strong and got an amulet from a witch for five spells to help undo a curse. No medicine here."


    Today at 11:53 AM

  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    Raul was quiet for a moment. " Well, I think it depends on the injuries."


    Today at 11:54 AM

  • @littlekreen:
    Clec looked over as a small cloud of tiny deep jellies floated over to him. They shed sparkles of frost as they bobbed and Clec batted at one holding a finger in its tentacles before replying to Shara, "Nnnngh put that down, you! Well I got some kinda clean napkins an the jellies can slice up deadflesh."


    Today at 11:56 AM

  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "The woman in the village square," Shara replied. "Do you think you could help her?"


    Today at 11:58 AM

  • @littlekreen:
    "More blood is better odds! If my cart's around for more napkins it's probably all busted though.", said Clec as he put the tiny musket pistol away across his back.


    Today at 12:01 PM

  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    Raul would look over at the square. " I think that might be able too.


    Today at 12:02 PM

  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    " Somehow I don't think any of that will help."


    Today at 12:02 PM

  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "Could you please come and try to help her?" Shara said. "I can help stand guard."


    Today at 12:03 PM

  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    Raul would head back to the woman. " Okay, it is defintely possible to fix her up,, but I'm going to need you all to find some needle and thread."


    Today at 12:07 PM

  • @littlekreen:
    Clec toddled off after Shara his bare claw-feet squelching in charnel soaked mud, "I'll do what I can. I'm no caster-bold but bolds know how to stop blood." The deep blue jellies with yellow sparkles drifted along behind him as some started squirming their way into his backpack.


    Today at 12:07 PM

  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Shara briefly looked at the kobold and his floating jellies with fascination, but there was no time to indulge curiosity. She gave Raul a quick nod and hurried off to find the nearest seamstress' or tailor's shop. Once she left the relative safety of the group, she drew her sword again, just in case. Something had managed to get the jump on her and put her to sleep. That galled her a little--nobody gets the jump on the Golden Fox!--so she kept her footfalls silent and her ears sharp.


    Today at 12:12 PM

  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    The woman was looking a bit rough but she was alive for now. It seemed that she was also their only source of information. Shara would be able to find the tailor's shop with ease and get what Raul wanted. It seemed that everything was safe......


    Today at 12:19 PM

  • @littlekreen:
    Unlike most kobolds, Clec was somewhat literate as being a chef not a theif. That meant that while he wasn't that loud the occupied backpack softly tinkled like a birdcage full of live glassware. He knelt down with his backpack swung to the ground. The flap opened removed a pair of gloves and some cloth napkins.


    Today at 12:20 PM

  • @littlekreen:
    He whistled at the translucent lesions adhered to the inside of his pack with a dance of the napkin. The jellies moved over to it and started scrubbing it clean. Though they did the same to Clec to pick up and toss away dirt it seemed an effort with less cold.


    Today at 12:22 PM

  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Shara hurried back with the needle and thread, and some extra linen cloth for bandages. Another check of her surroundings, and she sheathed her sword long enough to hand over the supplies, so she wouldn't panic the poor lady again. Still keeping a wary eye, she edged a little closer to the kobold. "Your name is...Clec?" she said, doing her best to imitate the more 'clicky' sounds the kobold's mouth produced when saying the word.


    Today at 12:29 PM

  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    Dylan would be quiet, trying to piece together something. "So, nobody remembers what happened last night, right? Because for the life of me, I don't understand what is going on," he replied as the woman would be fixed up by both Raul and Clec. It seemed that there was a moment of silence as the group would think about that.


    Today at 12:37 PM

  • @littlekreen:
    Clec raised a brow at her attempt, "Nice try tallblood! Round tongues make weird sounds. Clec Tallstack! I sell food it is good money. Clean food. Want dirty things go talk to goblins." He offered the cleansed napkin.


    Today at 12:37 PM

  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    Raul would finish stitching up the woman and would notice her finally start to sound more cohesive. " The monsters- they came after you went to go and look for them- they killed- they were terrifying- they........


    Today at 12:39 PM

  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    Raul was quiet. " Are you saying there is more than one thing that did this?" He asked.


    Today at 12:39 PM


  • @littlekreen:
    "Not sure. I remember thumpy deep darkness like some places underground where my jellies live." He scritched one with a gloved finger then pressed it toward the woman's wound. The swarm started to emerge and eat blood and discard frozen detritus. Though their tickling touch was a bit cold it probably helped with the pain.


    Today at 12:39 PM

  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    Dylan was quiet for a moment.


    Today at 12:42 PM

  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "That makes sense," Shara said. "It would have been hard for just one creature to completely pillage the healer's shop. There are claw-marks there. I...don't remember much, except that it was dark when I got here. I was about to try to find shelter for the night, then...then I woke up here."


    Today at 12:43 PM

  • @littlekreen:
    Clec looked around at the town now in shambles and filthy, "Claw marks all the same size? How far apart the fingers?"


    Today at 12:47 PM

  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    " Well claw marks make it sound like one of the creatures that attacked this town was a werewolf. I can't think of anything else- other than a kobold that could do claw marks," Raul replied. Dylan had looked over at the body further away. " But it looks like that body was cleaved straight in half by a sword."


    Today at 12:48 PM

  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    Some of the nearby bodies looked like they had been stung by Jellies and others like something had thrown them.


    Today at 12:49 PM

  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "Are you suggesting we killed the people here?" Shara said. "Or that something took us over and made us do it? I'm not strong enough to cleave someone in half with a one-handed sword!"


    Today at 12:54 PM

  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    Dylan was quiet for a moment. " It does seem to be that either we killed the people or someone is framing it to look that way. I can't tell which is of those options are worse," he replied back to her for a moment, taking a moment to stare at a different body.


    Today at 12:57 PM

  • @littlekreen:
    Clec looked around at the tentacle marks, "Too much blood for bolds. Theif bolds steal stuff then run. Why make enemies? My jellies are scavengers though. Not eat live things usually."


    Today at 12:59 PM

  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "Ma'am," Shara said to the woman, "Do you know of anyone who would want to harm your village? Especially someone with magic, like a wizard or warlock?"


    Today at 1:04 PM

  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    " Maybe the person who did this didn't know how to make us look like we can do that," Raul replied, looking back at the woman, gears in his head starting to turn.


    Today at 1:05 PM

  • @littlekreen:
    Clec looked at some of the larger scrapes against houses, "Dragons this kind of vengeful. Big bosses get mad."


    Today at 1:05 PM

  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    The woman would look over at them. " I think there is a lot of wizard and witches who want to hurt this village. It's hard to think of one person.


    Today at 1:06 PM

  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    " Hey, now, that you are betterish, what is your name?" Raul asked the woman.


    Today at 1:07 PM

  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "Are they all working together, or on their own? Why would they want to harm your village?" Shara asked.


    Today at 1:07 PM

  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    " It's very possible to be all of them........ maybe they are just monsters and want to hurt people. My name.... huh- I forgot it."


    Today at 1:08 PM

  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "You forgot your name?" Shara said. "Do you remember where you live, or work?" So...if things are not as they seem...what if she isn't what she seems either? she thought.


    52 minutes ago

  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    "Uhhh....nooo...."


    51 minutes ago

  • @Zarko Straadi:
    "But you remember the witches and wizards? Do you know where they live?" Shara asked.


    48 minutes ago

  • @littlekreen:
    Clec blinked while scritching at jellies scrubbing food from surfaces, "Aw we tail deep in muck if buncha angry mages. I only got so much powder! How often the monsters come by before?"


    48 minutes ago

  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    " They libe.... I can't remember- thehy must


    43 minutes ago

  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    " I think she might be lying to us," Dylan replied to the group.


    43 minutes ago

  • @littlekreen:
    Clec pokes at the woman with a gloved finger, "Everybody lies. But we don't 'member much too. Think it safe to call my cart? If we gotta flee I don't want to leave big momma sapphit behind."


    37 minutes ago

  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    It seemed that the sun was setting. Two things happened. One, Raul started to shift to have more wolf like creatures and where the woman once was.... was a legit monster.


    36 minutes ago

  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Shara drew her sword, but against a shapeshifting monster and a werewolf, fleeing definitely seemed like the better option. On the other hand, turning away from them would only give them a free chance to attack, and though she remembered right where the nearest narrow alley was (for it was always good practice to memorize escape routes in a dangerous situation), there was no guarantee she could outrun them.


    27 minutes ago

  • @littlekreen:
    Clec pointed and chirped as jellies stuck to him like warts, "[Phwee] See! See! everybody lies!" Somewhere in the distance there was a sound of a cart dragging upside down.


    27 minutes ago

  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    It seemed that the werewolf didn't attack you, but did throw a swipe at the shapeshifting creature. It may have been mad that it was tricked.


    25 minutes ago

  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    Dylan would run after Clec and move fast enough that he got to the cart. It looked like it was just Shara, the werewolf and the shapeshifting monster left.


    24 minutes ago

  • @littlekreen:
    The jelly carrying the cart was Clec's own height in diameter. Though at some point got flipped and had an icy scar on the surface. The jelly extended a tentacle toward Clec as the Kobold tried to get it upright. the cart wasn't much bigger than a wheelbarrow with a roof but it was heavy for the kobold.


    21 minutes ago

  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Clec called for their cart,Shara thought. They'll be wanting to run-- But then the werewolf attacked the woman-monster! That changed the balance of power, so Shara took a moment to concentrate, then hurled a Firebolt at the monster's face. She didn't expect it to do much if any damage, but if it could keep the monster from concentrating to use its sleep magic...


    21 minutes ago

  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    The fireball would prove to be incredibly useful as the monster's face was damaged. It shifted into SHara and would proceed to try to attack her with her own sword.


    18 minutes ago

  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Shara used her sword to strike at the other blade, steering its strikes and thrusts away from her, while she gave ground; the werewolf was bigger and stronger, so as long as the monster was focused on her, he could get in a free shot.


    15 minutes ago

  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    The werewolf would swipe a claw at the end of the monster's neck and it would start to bleed. It would shift into Dylan for a moment, realizing that was a bad idea and would turn into the werewolf. The wolf still attacked as the shifter used one last effort to turn into the kobold.


    14 minutes ago

  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Once the monster turned into Clec, Shara lunged at it with a quick thrust of her sword, then pulled back out of measure in case the creature turned back into the larger werewolf again.


    12 minutes ago

  • @littlekreen:
    With the help of the jelly attached to the cart managed to get it upright and sat on the tiny ledge where the reins were tethered. Though the kobold went around to the back to get his good knives. Nobody liked a kobold carrying around knives to left them in the cart. There's a snap and a rumble as the kobold starts rolling down the street one hand holding his musket pistol. "Oi! Only one!", There's a contact flare as a ball goes downrange.


    12 minutes ago

  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    It seemed with the combined efforts of the group, the shifter would fall. The werewolf seemed to have no interest in attacking the group.


    10 minutes ago

  • @Zarko Straadi:
    Shara startled at the loud report, and she backed away a few more steps. She was no expert on firepowder weapons, but the Zoloto Clan didn't use them because they were noisy and (according to the adults in the family) fairly inaccurate. To her relief though, the monster was dead, or at least appeared to be. Keeping a wary eye on the werewolf, she cautiously approached the monster and gave it a few more stabs, then hacked at its neck to sever the copied kobold head.


    8 minutes ago

  • @littlekreen:
    Clec pulled up the cart to himself as sapphit reached for the corpse, "I only gots one shot with the gun, not gonna take on lie blob and danger puppy without my knives!"

  • @littlekreen:
    The kobold recalculated his mercantile horizon, "Oh, danger puppy on our side? Oh, well living side is best side. Maybe bad for sales."

  • 5 minutes ago

  • @LuckycoolHawk9:
    The creature was dead and between it and the werewolf, the entire village was set on fire. All of the bodies and the homes lined up perfectly to destroy the whole village. If there had been anyone left alive, they were dead now. The wolf shifted back into Raul. " We should go." It turned out.... the true monsters who wound up destroying and saving the village at the same time..... was all of you.
 

  • Diana:
    WELCOME TO FESTIVAL OF THE DAMNED!


    Today at 12:28 PM



  • Diana:
    This is a FANTASY SETTING where the village of Rowanfel is celebrating Reaper's Night. You're playing a teen or young adult that's snuck off to the village cemetary to have a lil fun or get into some trouble.


    Today at 12:29 PM


  • Diana:
    TYPE SHORT TYPE FAST! If you write too much or take too long, you will miss the action and people may not be able to read your posts fast enough. Keep it to 10 sentences and under.


    Today at 12:29 PM


  • Diana:
    Put you character name in the first sentence of your post so we know who is playing who. You can also use bbcode color to differentiate your posts from others!


    Today at 12:29 PM


  • Diana:
    Game Master posts are in this bright bold yellow. Pay attention to those because they are guiding the story!


    Today at 12:29 PM


  • Diana:
    My roleplays are always NEWBIE FRIENDLY, so don't worry about typos and mistakes. If you get confused or need a little direction, I am in the main chat to help!


    Today at 12:29 PM


  • Diana:
    (◉,◉) (◉◇◉) (⊙,◉) (⊙◇◉)


    Today at 12:29 PM

  • Diana:
    It is midnight in the village of Rowanfel, and all of the proper villagers are in town celebrating this Reaper's Night around the town's giant bonfire where the ritual stag is being roasted with it's antlers and bundles of dried sage. Yet there seems to be a group of young people who have decided to sneak off to the cemetery this evening, against tradition. Be it for time alone, time to party, or just snubbing old customs. At least for the moment the area is dark, quiet, and there is nothing but the sound of the wind in the trees and a few croaks of a toad in the bushes.


    Today at 12:54 PM

  • Zarko Straadi:
    Sharandula Molchaniye Zoloto stumbled out of a thick mist into a strangely familiar scene. Reaper's Night in Rowanfel! "What the--? How?" She struggled to clear the fog in her own mind. What was the last thing... The bone insects, the poor crying lizard lady...the wizard's tower... The wizard, upon receiving the bone insects, balefully reciting a prophecy: "When living bone borne of fire awakens, a hero will arise!"

    Shara remembered rolling her eyes. "Pfft! Not another ridiculous Chosen One! That's dumb even in stories!"

    All she remembered after that was strange echoes, and mist. Lots, and lots, of mist. Did the wizard send her here? Or was it whoever/whatever was responsible for choosing Chosen Ones, offended by her criticism? Well I hope he's alright, she thought, recalling the young male sorcerer she'd met in the tavern. If there was some prophesied Chosen One, it pretty much had to be him. He definitely looked the part, and his magic was rather impressive, even if it took him a few tries to deal effectively with the bone-insect creatures.

    But as Shara looked around, she was definitely alone, so hopefully his Very Special Chosen One Quest was going well, especially since the fate of the world always hung in the balance in those stories. Unless he got sent back to some other first square...

    But am I there now, or did I get sent back to that night? she thought, repressing a groan of fatigue and frustration. She started to head toward the graveyard. That was where the trouble had started. The town seemed...darker, spookier this time.


    Today at 1:20 PM

  • Diana:
    It was unclear if Shara had stepped back into Rowanfel in the present, the past, or the future. But it indeed have a much darker feel to it here in the now. The graveyard so empty that even the crickets barely chirped for fear of displacing the silence. Something was NOT right.


    Today at 1:27 PM

  • Zarko Straadi:
    Shara felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She started walking silently, going from tree to tree, using moon-cast shadows of bare tree branches to break up her outline as she moved toward the graveyard.


    Today at 1:35 PM

  • Diana:
    Fog began rolling out from the forest, covering the cemetery in a thick sea of the mist. White and curling amongst the rows of headstones and worn monuments to past loved ones. Somehow there must have also been heavy cloud cover in the sky, as all of the stars and the moon itself were blotted out. Leaving nothing but a milky greyish black up above. Did it grow even more silent as she moved amongst the graves? ...was that the faint scent of sage on the wind? or was that a warm toasty cinnamon so familiar of a faraway other place...?


    Today at 1:46 PM

  • Zarko Straadi:
    Shara pressed herself up against a scraggly tree as she tried to place the scent. That hint of cinnamon...a brief, pleasant memory of last winter's "Frozen Frolic" in Snowdrop village... She shook her head to clear it, then froze, listening for any sounds.


    Today at 1:52 PM

  • Diana:
    A soft tune of music floated in the air. So distant that it almost seemed as if it came from the village, but it didn't come from any one direction. Gentle strings and the chime of a harpsicord playing a haunting but joyful melody. A warm glow of light appeared in the distance, obscured too much but the mist, though the way it flickered it must've been some sort of candlelight.


    Today at 1:59 PM

  • Zarko Straadi:
    Shara was debating whether to head for the mausoleum to look for signs of trouble, or make the wiser decision to go to the regular festival in search of food and pockets in need of picking, when she heard the music and spotted the light. Now sneaking away and hurrying to the village festival was definitely the wiser idea. But...Shara's curiosity got the better of her. Crouching low and moving with careful silence, she tried to get a better look undetected.


    Today at 2:05 PM

  • Diana:
    The closer Shara crept the more a shape came clearer into view. Long silken robes of black that almost seemed made of darkness themselves by which the way the moved. A swinging lantern with an orange candle held by a pale hand with long black nails. Up to the head of a woman so hauntingly beautiful that she could not possibly be human in any shape or form. Her hair as dark as a midnight sky and even seemed to sparkle with stars. Her eyes a deep fathomless blue -- that stared directly at Shara when the woman paused. A crow on her shoulder gave a warning CAW and then clacked it's beak. More shocking, the crow itself began to speak! "Hark! An interloper on this night of nights, dear Lady!"


    Today at 2:10 PM

  • Zarko Straadi:
    Shara felt chills at the sight of the Lady. Whatever she was, she was no brightly-colored, silk-pantied popinjay of a "noblewoman." Goddess? Fae? Enchantress? Definitely far above Shara's pay grade. Shara was about to sneak away when the Lady's eyes fixated on her, and her crow talked. Uncle Stillicho had a talking raven that spoke in an eerily accurate mimicry of his voice, and would drop samples from his vast collection of curse-words and foul jokes at the most inopportune time. But the Lady's crow seemed a little too eloquent, a little too aware to be an ordinary crow, smart as ordinary crows were.

    So Shara was found out. She hated it when that happened! A moment's temptation to flee. She resisted it, and stood to her full height. If this Lady was some kind of guardian spirit of the graveyard or the village itself, Shara could offer a snide comment about her timing--like, maybe show up last year, and prevent a bunch of idiot teenagers from getting themselves killed. But: pissing off powerful spirits (or sorceresses, or whatever) was
    always
    a bad idea.

    "Apologies, milady," Shara said, fumbling a curtsy. "I mean no harm. Last time I was here, something terrible happened, and now I'm back without...knowing exactly how I got
    here, so I was trying to find out if...something bad was happening again."


    Today at 2:30 PM

  • Diana:
    "I see," answered the elegant woman. Even her voice sounded otherworldly. Soft, eerie, but musical and gentle. "You are not meant to be in this place, little one. At least not for many, many years yet." Curious about this, the woman's stunning gaze peered about at the flowing mist and the strange surroundings. Though there were still the headstones and monuments all around them, the forest was no where to be seen. Only blackness out in the beyond. Her crow flapped off her shoulder, coming to land on Shara's head. Stomping a foot on her as if he were trying to knock out some answers. "Planeswalker, rift sailor, disconnected from time. What a mess! What a mess, great lady!"


    Today at 2:38 PM

  • Zarko Straadi:
    Shara flinched out of reflex when the bird came toward her, but once it was apparent his intention was to land and not to attack, she willed herself to stay still. "I...don't know how to do any of those things. Is this the future then," she said, looking around. "What happened to the trees?"


    Today at 2:42 PM

  • Diana:
    "There is no time here," explained the woman. "No past, no future, no present... this is a place of waiting. For a beginning, for an end." She gestured with her glowing lantern to the side where a rather unimpressive headstone lay. There was no name upon it, though there were beautiful, complicated etchings into the stone. Something ancient and unknowable. As the lantern's glow came upon it, the etchings themselves pooled out a golden glittering liquid. As if gold itself had been leeched out of the stone. Until it pulled away into the air with a pop and became a glowing orb. With her other hand, she swept the golden orb into her palm and held it aloft. "This one is ready to be born."

    Curiously again she tilted her head at Shara. "...you are here in this precious moment, that must mean something spectacular indeed. Tell me, little one, where should I send this soul? Think of a place that needs a spark of light."



    Today at 2:51 PM

  • Zarko Straadi:
    Wh-a-a-a-aaa? Shara thought as the Lady gave her explanation. Sending her to a place beyond time, a dimension not only of sight and sound, but of mind, just didn't seem like the sort of thing a manky old small-town wizard could do. Then the Lady posed her conundrum. Shara stared for several long seconds. "Uh..." she said, looking back and forth between the soul and the Lady. "I...don't think it should be up to me to decide another soul's destiny, milady. Can't the soul decide where they want to go?"


    59 minutes ago

  • Diana:
    "Some choose, some refuse. Some we may not wish to let free at all..." to this strange statement she turned, and in the direction she peered the mist folded aside to revealed a frightening, intimidatingly large mausoleum made of nothing but black onyx. "You need not worry of these things. If Destiny has brought you here to this place, to this moment, to this single soul... then Destiny must need you to make a choice. Choose, Sharandula Molchaniye Zoloto, the Golden Fox that walks between time and space. Choose with wisdom."


    54 minutes ago

  • Zarko Straadi:
    Wisdom?! Shara thought. She'd never thought of herself as the wisdom type. Cunning? Yes! Dashing derring-do? Of course! But wisdom? That was for monks, old people, and people with the time and opportunity to read a lot of books. Nonetheless, it did not seem like she would be able to fast-talk her (or the soul's) way out of this. Needs a spark of light... The darkest place Shara could think of was the workhouses at Iskandahr. But then she envisioned the soul getting born there as a helpless baby with just about the worst possible life ahead of them. A bright spark could get snuffed all too easily.

    Then she thought of Snowdrop Hollow; a bright, happy place that would warmly embrace the new soul. But...Snowdrop Hollow didn't really need a bright spark, as it was already full of them. "Um...milady, could you clarify a bit more what you mean by 'needs a spark of light?'


    41 minutes ago

  • Diana:
    THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP went the crow, beating his foot on top of Shara's head. "Do you question the great Lady of the Night? Do you dare defy Death Herself?!"

    The lady herself merely gave a soft understanding smile.

    "I cannot answer the questions you give. Only know that you were called by this very soul to make a choice. And make it you must."



    35 minutes ago

  • Zarko Straadi:
    As ominous as the Crow's warning was, Shara's mind still protested. Who am I to decide someone else's life? Thinking back on her own life, Shara could always remember being a free spirit. Her parents and elder siblings had stories about how she would break out of her playpen by picking at the bolts that held it together until she got one of the panels to fall, taking any opportunity to toddle off by herself in search of adventure, to all of the creative rule-breaking she'd gotten into in her own memories. Bossy people, bullies, people who thought they were better than everyone else could all count on having the Golden Fox as an enemy. And now, here she was about to...

    Wait...didn't she say... Shara thought, as inspiration came. A cheeky smile slowly spread across her face. "You said this place is beyond time, beyond past and present. So I'm not just choosing a place for the soul to be born, but also a time. So I've decided," she said, and shifted her eyes to the soul. "You're going to be my soul. The only soul whose destiny I get to choose. I'll...try to be a spark of light wherever I go."

    Did I just say that?! Shara never thought of herself as a 'spark of light.' A shadow that moves among the shadows, seen by none, fat purses snatched and shared with the poor, haha! Sure, she had been known to comfort the occasional widow, help out an old man, or fight a murderous shape-shifting monster here and there. But...certainly not some kind of bright light in the world.


    10 minutes ago

  • Diana:
    With a mighty laughing CAW CAW, the crow took to the sky, swooping down as fast as lightning to grasp the glowing golden soul. Away he flew into the blackness, leaving the midnight lady and Shara all alone.

    By now all of the gravestones had faded away. Even the mist was starting to pull in, closer and closer to them, until their entire world was nothing but the two of them bathed in the light of the lantern and it's orange glowing candle. The lady shrouded in black cast down a gentle, ethereal smile.

    "You will not remember me when you wake, little one. You will not remember this. Yet in your soul you will know you have purpose. You will be the light that guides the ones who shall save your world."

    With that ominous phrase Shara felt something sway, as if the very ground beneath her began to shift. The lantern light grew dimmer, dimmer, dimmer... until there was nothing left but the darkness and a whisper.

    A soul of gold to be the light, to walk a path to fight the night.



    2 minutes ago

  • Diana:
    THE END...?????
 
Last edited: