Fantasy ~ FableWood ~

[Peaceswore]

Takeo who was still on the roc's neck was hugging it for dear life as everything was going on, soon he noticed that it was staring to falter in it's movements which made him internally freak out. "OH SH*T" He thought as the Roc was now struggling to stay in the air. Knowing that where he was, he would have been crushed without a doubt. So he had to move quickly, he yanked the sword out of the Roc's flesh using his left hand to grip onto the magnificent feathers so he wouldn't be blown off. "I hope to everything holy this actually works." He whispered as he took a deep breath. Now the bird was about to fall and he knew it. With haste he placed his sword in his sheath and he climbed up it's neck just a bit. In no time he reached a very long feather that was in the bird's neck. 'This is so stupid! Don't do it!' He thought but he completely ignored himself.


He grabbed the feather in a tight grip and with a strong pull he took it out of the bird skin. "Sorry..." With the feather in one hand he folded it so both ends were in one hand. Taking a deep breath he hoped he didn't have to go through with this idiotic plan, but moments after wishing this, the Roc (and his stomach) dropped as did the bird. 'DON'T DO IT!!!' He thought moments before he did it. As the roc was falling he pushed off of it and jumped off the huge bird now making himself free fall to the ground.


As he neared the ground he moved his empty hand to the other hand and with that gave one of the feather ends to his free hand. He then spread his hands apart and with that his decent was slowed by a great margin. "Th-This worked!?????? Oh thank the heavens!" He knew there were a few people that could fly that were travling with him, but everyone seemed occupied so he wasn't sure he would have been saved. He looked down and saw the rock had already crashed onto the ground and the others seemed to be chatting to it. 'Is that guy our friend now?" He wondered as he casually floated down to the ground.


It didn't take him long to figure out how to control this makeshift parachute and soon he sailed down to the ground near the others, though his landing was really rough. Coughing up sand and wiping it out of his hair he stood up only to let out a his of pain as he had twisted his ankle and possible dislocated his shoulder on the landing. "Ow.." He mumbled before limping over to Leia and the others. "That....was really intense... I wonder if that was even riskier then attack a wyvern with a rock... No I'm not letting that moment, at least not for a bit." He said giving Leia a small smile before he looked at the Roc ignoreing the pain in his shoulder and arm. He still had the feather in the uninjured hand. "Hey... Sorry about stabbing you and taking your feather... I just didn't like the idea of me going splat in the desert." He said casually though on the inside he was partying. 'I survived that!!! YES!!!!! I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO FREAKEN DIE!!!'


@SilverFlight @Everyone around the Roc

 

[SilverFlight]

"Luness!" Kallin cried, lurching to his feet and making a wobbly dash to her side. Once there however he dared not touch her. "Oh skies, Lune, Lune! Opne your eyes!"


He heard Leandra's voice as if it were coming from far away.


"I-I don't know...I think, I think its gone for now."


He watched Luness intently.


"It is chaos." A familiar but not altogether very welcomed voice sounded behind them. Aliphas approached, changing back into his true orange mist form.


"Will she be okay?" Kallina asked immediately. The Djinn's voice held little remorse.


"Hard to say, the one reliable thing about chaos magic is its unpredictability."


"That's not helping!" Kallin snapped.


Aliphas gave him and Leandra a scrutinizing look, then leaned forward and held a hand above the unconscious werecat. He whispered a few words and shut his fist as if he was trapping something within it.


"That may do something...or it may not. If she wakes up soon then fetch her horse."


With that he turned to investigate how the heroes were dealing with the now fallen roc.


Kallin remained where he was. "You should go tend the injuries of the rest...I'll stay here and watch over her." He spoke to Leandra softly.


@Aldur Forgehammer @Aldur Forgehammer, now's Vinter's chance to convince the beastie to come to our side.))

 

[Aldur]

The ride was fun for as long as it lasted. Vinter had landed on the sand, feet first. She thanked Leo on a mental note: first for his strength and second for his ability to answer pleads.


Suddenly a voice boomed in what seemed to be only her mind and not in the physical plane. It soon became clear that it was the Roc talking to the heroes. It told of another "tiny creature" that killed 3 of its kind.


"Excuse me!" said Vinter, addressing the Roc. "Is there a difference between a mere cardinal and your kind?" she continued. "Because I can't see it. I am blinded by my own ignorance. My ignorance which gets in the way of acknowledging that no two beings are the same no matter how closely they resemble one another." She paused and squatted down at the Roc, resting her arms on her knees.


"If we wanted to actively harm you and your kind, we wouldn't have tried to first stop you from attacking us. You are alive this very moment because clearly, your death is not what we seek, nor is it your kin's suffering."


@SilverFlight

 

[SilverFlight]

The roc looked at the young woman before it, turning its head sideways to fix her with one huge, golden eye.


You look like the dark one...you have a similar scent...you are both not from this world, so tell me what you propose. This tiny creature who killed my kin, she would see all FableWood burn...what would you see done?





@Aldur Forgehammer


((mini post for plot advancement. :3 ))

 

[Aldur]

Vinter puffed air out of her nose and looked away. Upon returning her gaze to the Roc her expression brightened greatly.


"It was perfume...was because I haven't gotten the opportunity to wash off the serpent blood and the sand. Apologies if I don't smell nice." Vinter slowly raised a hand and pushed her hair back. "What I'd see done for Fablewood? Well, the removal of the aforementioned tiny creature from Fablewood would be nice... What would you?"


@SilverFlight

 

[Morgrim]

With no response from Kallin or Leandra or Luness he felt completely ignored, perhaps the bird would be more receptive to communication. "I see what you mean bird, it's easy for one member of a species to look at another species with criticism and ignorance. To me all you Rocs look the same, and to each person I find myself travelling with I look like a zombie. But they held the weapons long enough to let me speak and now I am travelling with them. We are staying our blades now to allow you to speak. Show us enough respect, just enough to let us say our story so that we can show you we are different from them." Morgrim pleaded to the Roc. He didn't want to have to fight a being that was as intelligent as it was magnificent. Morgrim would feel more inclined to help the Roc catch the person who killed his kind, far more than his current mission with the other heroes. This creature deserved a place in the world for its strength, and hoped that what wisdom it undoubtedly has will be shared with him and the others. @SilverFlight

 

[The Suspicious Eye]

Meril watched Vintner work, while the others got rested. The battles they had faced were tiring to say the least. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, her head had been hurting for a while since the two Djinn attacked. Then with the Roc, her powers had been dwindling for a while. The strain was getting to be too much for her, but she still stood tall. She crossed her arms and looked at the beast, she could tell they were connecting, but the conversation disturbed her. However, she kept quiet and let Vintner do her job.


She glanced back at the there and walked closer to them to check on how they were doing. She hated feeling so useless, but she wasn't as strong as she let on.


@SilverFlight @Peaceswore @@ eveyone


(Sorry I thought I posted earlier, but my browser shutdown )

 

[Lioness075]

Leandra furrowed her brows, as Kallin shakily scrambled to his feet and rushed to Luness' side. He clearly wasn't feeling his best yet, but Leandra doubted he'd let her touch him after what happened to Luness for doing so.


Keeping her distance, Leandra walked over to the pair and then stopped, staying close enough to still be able to talk with Kallin, but also keeping her distance after everything that had transpired moments ago.


Hearing Aliphas approaching them, Leandra immediately began to feel a bit on edge. This was the being who had been more than okay with potentially killing Kallin earlier for no other reason than to get the bloody attention of the group.


Crossing her arms over her chest, Leandra listened to the interaction between Aliphas and Kallin before seeing Alphas giving her a scrutinizing look. Scowling back at Aliphas, Leandra wondered if her staff would be effective at thwacking the being on the head or not. Deciding against stirring up any turmoil among the already tumultuous group, Leandra remained silent and watched, a bit curiously, as Aliphas did something to Luness before leaving the trio behind.


Yet, before Leandra could ask Kallin about it or get close to see if anything had happened, Kallin dismissed her. Recognizing the tone he spoke with since she'd heard her own brother speak to her that way before...well, he stopped talking, Leandra simply gave Kallin a mute nod and turned away from him and Luness.


Walking over to join the group gathered around the Roc, the tips of Leandra's wings dragged through the sand behind her, as she still had a bit of a ways to go with learning better control over them. At least they were remaining mostly tucked against her back and not flopping about.


@SilverFlight

~~~~~

​

A few moments of silence passed after Leandra had left and then suddenly Luness' eyes fluttered open, her vision blurry and her ears ringing. Coughing to the side, Luness then blinked a few times and glanced up to see Kallin worriedly looking at her.


Furrowing her brows while the ringing in her ears died down, Luness then asked him softly, "Kal...w-what happened?"


Shakily bringing up one of her hands to the side of her head, Luness let out a small groan, as she had a throbbing headache at the moment and she couldn't remember how she'd even ended up laying in the sand. What in the world had happened?


@SilverFlight

 

[zCrookedz]

Leo watched as the Roc seemed to communicate with Vinter, and Leo felt like the situation was beginning alleviate itself a bit. Leos attention was taken away from the Roc when Leia came over and mentioned Takeo. He let go of the rope and made his way over to the pair of them keeping his eye on the Roc and VInter, just in case. Leo looked over Leia and Takeo "That was quite the display there Takeo, Lets get you fixed up." Leo knelt down beside them and placed his hands on the wounds that Takeo had acquired. He closed his eye and then let his healing power flow into Takeo's wounds. It wouldn't take long, and the severity was not to bad so they mended themselves with ease. After a few moments, Takeo would be right as rain and Leo returned to normal.


@SilverFlight @Peaceswore

 

[DawnAntalios]

The battle was fierce and Nyr tried to push herself to her limits. With the intense claw fight between her and the avian creature she felt the darkness surging through her as she now fought merely to get the attention of the massive creature. Her efforts seemed to be a success since the others were able to bind the bird to the ground. Triumphantly cawing Nyr prepared to unleash a beam of darkness at their foe to finish it once and for all.


And it was then when she heard the voice of the Roc echoing in her mind. Immediately she stopped and listened carefully as the bird explained her tale of sorrow and betrayal. She felt the darkness and its haze receding from her mind, her thoughts becoming clear again as sympathy and sadness filled her. Reverting back to her humanoid form she now landed next to the little group. She eagerly observed as Vinter tried to commune with the creature and she folded her hands together and listened.


Seeing that the battle was over Arianne smiled and called back the globes of light to her. She now felt a bit better, exhaustion still taxing her ability to stand but she was glad that the massive bird was open to negotiations. If anyone then this flying creature was the one who knew what they had to do - and how they had to do it.

 

[SkywardSocks]

Achyls dropped with the bird, rolling onto her side, now coated in dust. Her muscles ached and her breathing was shallow. Getting to her knees, she attempted to access Malachai, but found there was something else already there. Listening intently to the Roc, she knelt in stunned silence, unaware that this creature would have a voice or true feelings. Sympathy washed over her, and she reached out a tender hand to the Roc's feathers, hoping to show it some consideration after what she had done to it.

 

[andujarprime]

Kai was on standby, rope in his hands. He was wary of the Roc, but felt a little more comfortable now that the situation had changed from fighting to talking. He slowly made his way to Achyls' side, not wanting to startle the Roc. He reached out with his free hand to touch Achyls shoulder lightly. He recognized trhe look on her face, he didn't have to read her mind to know what she was thinking. It was a look that he had worn plenty of times before. "It's okay love, you, I, we did what we had to. We didn't come out here to hurt him, but we couldn't just not defend ourselves." He whispered to her, trying to comfort her, or at least alleviate the guilt that seemed to be eating at her. "Let us see how this plays out, we can offer our apologies once we're sure he isn't going to cause us more harm." He reassured her quietly as he turned half his attention back to the situation at hand. It seemed the Roc was focused on Vinter now. Hopefully all would turn out well, Vinter was a smart one, a little on the wild side, but all the best people he knew had a wild side.


@SkywardSocks

 

[Flutterby]

(Sorry, busy weekend- doubled up with cross country and marching band)


Quincy continued touching her muzzle to various members of the group, reassuring them each in turn. She gave Otto a snort in agreement, nudging a few of the stragglers to hurry them along. Once the group was moving together, she trotted up next to Otto, amused when he offered her the canteen. Thank you Otto, once we are back with the group, I will get a drink. I'm trying to limit my form changes, to conserve energy. Her voice sounded calmly in his mind, as she couldn't speak out loud in her equine form. You did well, I wouldn't been able to stop them without you.


@zCrookedz

 

[SilverFlight]

The Roc blinked at Vinter, deep in consideration. When Morgrim spoke he considered the words carefully.


You speak truth, tiny robed man. And you scarlet warrior. I have my doubts whether a small band of you could really defeat the evil that passed here, but I would not call myself a roc if I did not stand with you. Let me up.


Merias glanced at Vinter for a moment and released the rope. Before rising the roc leaned forward and plucked a small feather from the base of its neck. Even though it was small in proportion the spine was still as thick as a sword hilt. He offered it to Vinter in his massive beak.


Fashion a whistle from this and no matter where you are, I will find you, and fight with you.


Aliphas came up to his partner and returned to his horse form. "Excellent, I am glad everyone is content. Now, can we hurry along to the Djinn camp for will you make me suffer this chain longer than need be?"


The silver was still firmly fastened to his forelimb, the skin black and smoking beneath it. He moved a far as he could, but seeing as the roc was blocking their way forward the bird would have to move before they could press on.


@Aldur Forgehammer @Morgrim @zCrookedz @andujarprime @SkywardSocks @The Suspicious Eye @DawnAntalios @Flutterby @Peaceswore @Jecklyn


The relief on Kallin's face was evident, even thought he had few features to speak of during the day.


She had asked him what happened...


"It was the chaos magic, the curse. Its getting harder to control, this time it nearly cost us the battle, it got you hurt...I don't know how much longer I..." He decided not to finish that sentence.


"One thing I do know, I can't keep this hidden from the others any longer...I have to tell them tonight."


@Lioness075

 

[andujarprime]

Kai was content with the Roc's response. He smiled slightly and a moment later the rope was gone, his green crystal in hand he reads into his hidden pocket and stuffed it away. He stood besides Achyls now, waiting to follow her, to help her through what seemed to be a trying time with her mysterious past, and their foreboding future.


@SkywardSocks @SilverFlight

 

[zCrookedz]

Otto smiled at her with a triumphant grin. "Ah, I was just following your lead. You where the one who got the horses to slow down. I'm just glad we were able to stop them before they escaped." Otto pumped his fist in the air a bit before realizing that he was supposed to have both hands on the reigns. This startled him and he whipped his hand back down, a bit afraid that the absence of one hand would make him fall off.


The horses padded along with Otto and Quincy until finally they arrived at the group. Otto pulled on the reigns a good distance away from the Roc, who looked as is it had been set free and was now glaring at Vinter. Otto cocked his head to the side to look around the great bird and see what was going on when he spied Luness and Kallin on the ground. He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, which was a bit redundant with the echoing of the close walls. "LUNESS!! YOU OK?!"


@Flutterby @Lioness075


After Leo had made sure Leia and Takeo were taken care of, he reexamined the group to make sure no one else was in desperate need. His eye fell on Nyr as she stood listening to the Roc. The display of her loosing control like she had, had Leo concerned and he wanted to make sure she was alright. He made his way towards her, brushing sand and dirt from where he had been kneeling and gave her a smile as he approached. "That was quite the display. Are you alright?"


@DawnAntalios

 

[Lioness075]

Luness frowned when she heard what Kallin said in response to her question. This wasn't good news...


Problem was, Luness' muscles were still very stiff and she winced when she began struggling to push herself up into a sitting position.


By the time she was finally sitting up and had her eyes closed while she silently wished for her headache to go away, Luness winced again upon hearing Otto shouting at her. With her enhanced hearing, Luness felt her headache spike momentarily before it settled back down a bit.


Sighing, Luness then glanced to the side at Otto, who was not too far off, and said to him, "I'm fine, Otto."


Hearing Kallin saying that he had to tell the others tonight about his curse, Luness looked at him sympathetically and then said softly, "It'll be better if they are aware of it."


Seeing everyone beginning to gather up once more and the Roc no longer wanting to kill everyone, Luness realized that meant she probably needed to mount up as well. Thing was, with how stiff her joints and muscles were currently, Luness wasn't going to be able to do so without some help.


@SilverFlight

~~~~~

​

Considering she wasn't needed for any healing at the moment and she felt rather confused with her new, and seemingly useless, wings, Leandra had already found her horse once more and now began struggling to mount it while her large wings began getting in her way of doing so.


Scowling at this mounting frustration, Leandra eventually managed to mount up, though her wings were annoyingly draping on either side of the horse as opposed to remaining tightly tucked against her back.


Not surprisingly so, Leandra's horse let out an irritated whinny at having the wings brushing up against its hindquarters and so Leandra let out a huff before she began trying her best to convince the muscles in her wings to listen to her so she could tuck her wings against her back.


After a few minutes of quietly struggling with them, Leandra's wings finally listened to her and tucked neatly against her back, no longer tickling the horse.


Face palming after so much effort for one little thing, Leandra then glanced around herself to see if the others were ready yet.

 

[SkywardSocks]

Achyls felt utterly stunned. The Roc was safe, however, and so she took her hand from the bird and took to her feet. She warmed at Malachai's touch, though did not look him in the eye, for some reason or another. Her wings ached immensely, weighing down her steps. She staggered a little, ending up leaning against Malachai as she made her way to her horse. Mounting, she let out a sigh, and a smile spread across her face. A pride filled her...they had spared a creature. After all she had done, never once did she feel as if they had turned an enemy in such a way. She rested her head against the neck of her horse, closing her eyes for a moment. While she felt a great excitement, all she could think about now was sleeping.


@andujarprime

 

[Jecklyn]

Banba's ooze began to drip off her as the others dropped the rope, the black substance dissapearing as soon as it left the girl's body. when it was completely gone, a pony stood where the elephant creature had minutes before. she trotted around triumphantly, oblivious to her surroundings as the others talked to the giant bird. She paused when the Roc took out one of its own feathers, and handed it to Vinter. she tilted her head, curious. but she soon laughed, Waltzing up beside Otto and Luness, swinging her head from one person to another. finally, she grinned her horrible human grin, and moved to the werecat's horse, standing beside it to act as a leg-up.


"The tree does not come from water, but the river." she said, clicking her teeth together.

 

[Aldur]

It went well. Vinter's carefully chosen words and her charisma worked like a charm. The Roc reconsidered its stance and saw that the group of heroes weren't its enemies. Better yet, they were trying to stop the one responsible for the giant bird's sorrow.


Upon being released, the roc offered Vinter one of its feathers. It wasn't as big as the other ones who adorned the creatures body. She grabbed it and inspected it, rotating the feather being as intrigued as ever. Should Vinter fashion a whistle out of it and blow on it, the roc would aid her in her adventures.


"Much obliged! I bid you farewell for now!"

Excellent, I am glad everyone is content. Now, can we hurry along to the Djinn camp for will you make me suffer this chain longer than need be?

"I am ready!"


@SilverFlight

 

[Peaceswore]

Takeo let Leia help him as it had been a pain just to walk to her. When they got to Leo he let out a sigh of relief, he still kept his arm around Leia's shoulder as he made sure his ankle was ready for his weight. When he placed his weight on it he looked over at Leo and grinned broadly. "Thanks for the help. Now I don't have to hobble where ever we go." He said before looking at Leia. "And thanks for taking me to him... I keep forgetting who the healers are... That is probably a bad thing." He looked at his arm which was still over her shoulder and he removed it. "Sorry about using you as a walking stick."


His head turned to the orange create and he scratched his head. "Sure, I'm ready to go whenever." He said before placing his fingers in his mouth letting a sharp whistle leave him. After about a minute his horse left the group and trotted over to him. "Oh hey. Next time you buck me off think you could do it where I wouldn't be so close to certain death?" He asked as he petted her snout a bit making her let out a soft whine and look away. "I'm kidding girl. Glad you aren't the giant bird's dinner." With that he mounted his horse and waited for everyone else.


@SilverFlight

 

[Morgrim]

Morgrim had mounted his horse and was quite ready to leave, there was no more to be done here, but they would at least be granted safe passage which was reassuring, he did notice that a few of the other party members were hurt, and he thought he should at least try to get in good with the rest of the people, namely Luness. He thought the girl was a little odd but he found her an interesting individual to say the least, despite her hard-headedness and often times rash behaviour. He tossed over his flask to her. "Heads up!" He laughed joyously waiting for her to catch. His flask had some special properties, at least the liquid inside, and he only had one. It should help her with the pain, though he doubted she trusted him enough to drink it.


@Lioness075


"Thank you noble creature, we promise not to let you down, we will find this evil intruder if it's the last thing we do." Morgrim told the bird with a mixed look of determination, and even excitement. He had plans for this person whoever they were, and Morgrim secretly hoped that the others wouldn't get in the way of his plans. There was much he could learn from the Roc slayer whether they said anything or not.


@SilverFlight

 

[DawnAntalios]

Nyr waited until the charade was over. It seemed that the Roc ultimately joined their cause then... well that is when Vinter wanted to summon the fearsome creature. To have something as powerful yet menacing at their beckon call was truly frightening and satisfying at the same time. Yet she could not help but wonder if the loyalty of the monster was true, that this was not but a farce, a carefully laid trap from them by Caraboss. Though she knew that even if that was the case they were more than ready to face the wicked games of the dark sorceress.


Looking up she noticed Leo approaching her and she let a smile to sit on her expression. Hearing his question she wanted to reply instantly with a yes... but in truth she knew not if that was the case or not. The face that her power vanished this quickly, without a warning and that she had to tap into her dark heritage surprised even the dread raven herself. This time the flow of darkness felt more powerful than the last time - yet she herself was stronger than before. Due to this it felt surprisingly... good to use the dark forces. Too good...


" I think so, yes. " she replied finally, still lost in her thoughts. She turned to Leo and smiled. " I am glad that you are all right too. This battle was close... and it was only against this one creature. Something tells me that everything will only get harder from now on. "


She smiled as a faint, dark heartbeat started to pulse within her. At long last it was awoken.


@zCrookedz

 

[Flutterby]

Quincy gave a light-hearted whinny to couple Otto's fist pump, finding his good mood contagious. But as they returned to the group and she saw the Roc up close, her exuberance died. It was huge and still looked very dangerous, but it seemed it was now an ally. As the others remounted, Quincy transformed and took a few sips of water as Otto had suggested. It seemed like far too little, but she capped the canteen before she would be tempted to drink more. With a grimace, she resecured it and returned to her true form, the only thing setting her apart from the other horses being her lighter eyes and the kelp in her mane.

 

[SilverFlight]

Kallin rose slowly, offering Luness as much support as he could despite feeling as weak as a kitten. Thankfully Banba had offered to help her onto the horse and he smiled at the shapeshifter.


"You are remarkably useful." He said with an approving nod. "I'm glad you're on our side."


When Morgrim tossed Luness the vial he realized she wouldn't be able to catch it and grabbed it from the air before it could hit her. He eyed it suspiciously. The man had been less than pleasant, but he supposed if he were going to poison them he probably would have done it when they were asleep last night. "You're call Lune." He said, letting the concern drip through his tone.


After that and with some difficulty he managed to clamber onto his own mount turning over to Quincy and Otto.


"Nice job with he horses, I don't know where we'd be if they decided to leave us here."


@Aldur Forgehammer