Fantasy Cursed Island

[Fangs9090]

Katsuo looked at Sinach as he stepped back. “My advice is to run, but that’s optional.”


“Oh, sorry.” Nidia was about to put out the light before Emilia just gently laid a pillow over Siege’s head to block the light.

“There. Problem solved.”

 

[Darkling0096]

Sinach took Katsuo's advice and darted for the door, shooting to hide in one of the decorative suits of armor. The paper dragon was very unfortunate in that Turac's frame filled the door, and the older brother wasn't inclined to let Sinach get away with saying his sister was going to sleep her way to the stone anymore than Jalin was to let Sinach get away with saying that was how Jalin solved his problems.

"Where are you going, book?", Turac raised an eyebrow as the panicking paper dragon tried to negotiate around his head.


Siege just flipped Emilia the finger and relocated the pillow to between her knees. "Asshole."

 

[Fangs9090]

Roy hopped up to snatch the dragon by the tail. “I’ve been lenient with you Sinach, but it’s about time you start watching your mouth.”


“Aw, I was trying to help.”

Nidia shook her head. “We should call it a night anyway.”

 

[Darkling0096]

If Roy had grabbed just a fraction of an inch higher on Sinach's tail, he'd have probably gotten stung by Sinach's paper stinger. Instead, he almost ripped Sinach's tail off as he jerked him out of the air. Turac leaned down to look at the dragon trapped in Roy's hand as Jalin approached, slowly clapping the shaft of his cane against his palm.


"So turn off the light," Siege grumbled.

 

[Fangs9090]

“Anything else to say?”



“Alright, alright.” Emilia went and put out the light as she and Nidia settled down for bed.

 

[Darkling0096]

"Didn't anyone teach you to respect your elders?"

 

[Fangs9090]

"I respect those who deserve it."

 

[Darkling0096]

"What's your problem, anyway?"

"Book, you just insinuated my little sister is sleeping around," Turac said.

"And the same for myself," Jalin added, "And that's just now." He stroked the head of his cane, which changed to a clamp like might be used to pick up delicate scrolls from across a large table or off of a high shelf without climbing the furniture or getting a ladder.

"Are we going to beat the book or lock him in a tiny box without food for a while?", Jalin asked.

"Or both."

 

[Fangs9090]

"I'm not sure the beating would be quite effective considering his form. Let's lock him in a box. I'll write some little notes for him. I suspect worse than being trapped without food is being trapped with bad food."

 

[Darkling0096]

That put a grin on Jalin's face, "I think I have just the thing," he took the paper dragon in his cane clamp and looked to Katsuo, "I packed an extra few tome boxes, didn't I?" A tome box was a waterproof lockbox for carrying texts across distances to prevent damage from the weather, humidity, and poor handling. Jalin and Niudisa had started using such to protect their texts after a bad storm created a game of whack-a-mole with patching holes in the roof of the workshop and it became easier to just shield the paper than to fix the roof.

 

[Fangs9090]

Katsuo nodded. "Indeed you did."

"Good. I'll get started on those notes." Roy went to get a pen and paper. He'd read plenty of good books in his time, and more than a few bad ones, so he knew just how to mess up some writing and poetry.

 

[Darkling0096]

"You guys are evil!", Sinach barked.

"And you are crude," Turac crossed his arms, "You are a pathetic dragon."

"Thank you, Katsuo," Jalin smiled as he was handed one of the tomes, pulling a key ring from within his vestments to find the one that unlocked it, and stuffing the dragon inside. "I don't suppose you have a stylus and know the runic for the Silence, do you?", he asked Jalin as the paper dragon loudly began to protest his punishment.

 

[Fangs9090]

Roy quickly scribbled out some bad writing, with his non-dominant hand, before bringing over the little stack of notes. "That may be useful, yeah."

 

[Darkling0096]

"Can you silence the serpent?", Jalin asked as he popped the box open just a crack so the notes could be placed within alongside the dragon, who attempted to make his escape again and got his forelimbs crunched for his efforts.

 

[Fangs9090]

"I know a targeted silence spell, but I haven't gotten much into runecrafting yet."

 

[Darkling0096]

"Then cast that," Jalin locked the box and set it on a table, "Or he will be bothering us all night."

 

[Fangs9090]

"Right. It won't last forever, but it'll let us sleep." Roy took hold of his staff, channeling the spell through it and casting it on the box, which quickly went quiet.

 

[Darkling0096]

"That will be sufficient," Jalin smiled and settled down on a chair near the table with the box to set his cane down.

"Heh," Turac chuckled as the box was silenced, "This reminds me of something mom and dad did just around when I hatched."

 

[Fangs9090]

Roy glanced over. "Hm? I don't think I've heard this story."

 

[Darkling0096]

"Well, they were still in the cursed ruins," Turac shrugged, "I believe it was just a week or two before my own hatching. Do you recall that soul gem mom attaches to her outer corset, about... here," Turac pointed to the bottom of his sternum, about where the bottom of their mother's bust met the top of the waist corset she sometimes wore if she was in pure business mode. Sometimes she had a fist-sized green soul gem affixed there.

 

[Fangs9090]

Roy thought for a moment before he nodded. "Ah, yes, I know the one."

 

[Darkling0096]

"Within that soul gem is another dragonewt, his name was Urodor," Turac shook his head, "They tried repeatedly to incorpate him into their party makeup, but he only created infinitely more trouble. I believe it was only a day before I hatched that he made trouble for the last time and they never built him another body."

"Oh, Urobitch!", Jalin laughed, "Lady Niudisa used to love making fun of him!"

"Well, whenever his miniature body was misbehaving," Turac smiled, "They would put him in Shuffle's timeout cage, and have aunt Niudisa cast Silence on it, so that he couldn't bother anyone."

 

[Fangs9090]

Roy smiled. "Ah. So that cage has a history." He chuckled.

 

[Darkling0096]

"It has a long history," Turac smiled, "I believe that is where aunt Raine came from as well."

 

[Fangs9090]

"Ah, I remember that part of the tale. I didn't know it was the same cage though."