Take Back the Crown


"Oh please." Hjalmar groaned, dismounting his horse, "I've heard enough of the whole elves-are-better-than-humans-in-every-possible-way argument already. Last elf who spout that nonsense had his pocket picked by yours truly, and his incredibly keen and amazing senses didn't notice." He smirked at her, "Now, maybe it's because he was just your average elf, not an above average elf like yourself." He chuckled, "But in that same aspect, I am not your average human... I propose we both go, we could cover more ground that way." He said, directing the last few words at the princess. She would have to be the one who decided. He hoped she'd allow him to go, maybe they'd trust him to get the job done at the very least. He wasn't incompetent. Of course he boasted, but it wasn't like he couldn't back up his words with proof. He was a skilled thief, trained by far more talented thieves. He could walk unseen, be unheard and unfelt if he wished it. There was only that rare time every now and then that a particularly perceptive person was able to spot him, and in that case, he had the skill to slip away without a scratch.


@OlKaJa77
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'Whoever goes scouting, I'm following with.' Dorian told his mage, keen to go away and explore.


'I'm not even going to try talking you out of it.' Garrett barely held back a sigh. 'But don't play any pranks or cause mischief.' He commanded, much to Dorian's annoyance.
 
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Thora felt a great ache in her heart. She had traveled at sea and been miles from wildlife, yet this place felt more barren and dead. She could feel it like an itch on her skin or a breeze on her body; the ache of all life gone, creature and plant-life alike. She inhaled deeply and held tightly onto the mane of her horse. It gave her a little bit of solidarity as she looked up at the sad and barren landscape.
 
Oceana grit her teeth in frustration. She didn't like to admit it but she knew the theif was keener than anyone would expect.


And this is what made him dangerous.


He was definitely a double edged sword.


At least, If she was with him, she could keep an eye on him.


She nodded, albeit reluctantly.


"Fine." Was all she said.


@Queen of Fantasy @Lo Alyssa
 
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Lucasta sighed and shook her head. "Enough." She commanded. "I'll send you both in. There's no need to argue." She glanced between the both of them and spoke once more. "Are we both fine with that?" She asked.

​
 

"Fine with me." Oceana forced herself to say.

Making sure to bow to the Princess, the elf jogged back to the wagon and retrieved her bow and quiver, slinging them both over her shoulder.

Fiddling with her dagger harness, that normally was strapped against her back, she pulled this and loosened that, stepped into it, and pulled it up to buckle around her waist.

Elven-made items were multipurposed like that.

Adjusting the small pouch also attached around her waist, she dropped her pack into the cart and strode past the party, not sparing Hjalmar a second glance.

@Lo Alyssa
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Hjalmar smiled. Nothing like working alongside somebody who hates the very fabric of your being. That always makes for an interesting story later. He walked slightly behind her, looking at the walls. "If there's an ambush waiting for us," He started, "we shouldn't walk through the front gates." He said and then pointed to a section of the wall that had collapsed. "I'd suggest we climb over the rubble and sneak in secretly."


@OlKaJa77
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Dorian flew off of Garretts shoulder, heading towards the city. He soon was over the walls, looking down and, despite his mage's orders, planning all sorts of possible mischief.
 
Oceana said nothing, simply narrowing her eyes and letting Hjalmar take the lead. Clambering over the rubble, they disappeared from view, into the crumbling city.


@Lo Alyssa
 
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Thora felt uneasy and it made her horse restless. So she slid off the creature and paced around, her hand never leaving the silk hide of her steed. 'I cannot be here, this is a bad place for a nymph to be. Why am I here?' she thought to herself. That's when it dawned on her, she didn't even know why she was here. She had been attacked by imps and brought to a place of great death all in about twenty-four hours. She wasn't quite sure what she expected (or why she even joined. . . maybe it was because she felt like she had to, almost like a magnetic pull to this group) but this wasn't what she hoped for.


She made her way to Yaro, Lucasta, and Svetlana (and others) figuring that they would have answers. She very bashfully whispered, "What are we doing here?"
 
The illustrious Kingdom of Valer, Pip thought in his own mind. Now only a shadow of it's former glory, after the master's armies ravaged it. What a pity... I had hoped to travel here once I finished my examination of Brink. The citizens of Brink gossiped about its destruction but their chatter did not compare to what is before our eyes. Death... I can smell it in the air! If my heart had not been molded of stone, I would feel devastated for those who were slain. Hm... I wonder how the royal blood @Queen of Fantasy feels right now? This is her home, I believe. I hope she's alright-





Pip hastily ceased his mental examination of Lucasta, remembering Gore might be listening. If she overheard the stone imp's concern for the party, the imp captain would violently retaliate. At least one person in the group would die before the others were able to defeat her. Pip needed to keep Gore unprovoked. Angering her would be a mistake. She was stupid but her combat skills were exceptional.


Do not give your thoughts away Pip, the stone imp cautioned himself. Empty your mind! Do not let Gore invade it.
 

Svetlana looked at the nymph with sympathy, knowing this environment probably made her feel very uncomfortable. She dismounted her horse so she could stand face to face with her, "We are here to retrieve the crown of Algoran, the worlds only hope against the dark forces of Syrk and the daemon that leads them." She said, "Lucasta's parents were said to have hidden the crown in the castle without Kvacht's knowledge, and that it remains there to this day. Supposedly, only someone with the blood of Algoran coursing through their veins can open the doors that seal it there. Do not worry, as soon as we have the crown, we will be leaving."


Yaroslav chimed in, "I know that you feel isolated in this barren land, but you are not alone. We are here." He said with just a hint of a smile in an attempt to comfort her.


@plasticlizard022


Hjalmar nimbly climbed up the rubble and quietly landed on the shingles of a roof top, stopping only to survey the land... It was like a ghost town, nature had already begun to take over, weeds peeking out from every crack in the streets, vines wrapped around the leveled houses, the only noises to be heard were from the variety of insects and animals that made these ruins their home. There were far more corpses on the inside of the city than on the outside, both daemon and human alike. Hjalmar jumped down from the roof to an alley between two houses, knowing Oceana would have no problem following him. He peeked inside the windows as he made his way closer to the keep, all were empty except for the occasional critter. The place was deserted. He stopped for a moment, as they finally arrived at the steps to the castle, though they were looking at it in the comforts of the shadows, "The city is so cramped," He began, "there's really not a good tactical point to position an army anywhere around here. At least one big enough to take out our group..." He said, "If the castle's clear, I think we'll be okay. If Kvacht himself were here, I would expect a more... ominous feeling. As if someone was watching you, but worse."
​






But he didn't want to take any chances. If there really was an ambush waiting for them, he wanted to know where they were hiding. He looked up, trying to find an entry into the castle without having to use the doors, "There's a window up there." He said pointing at a small cracked window. The wall was cracked enough underneath it that they could probably scale up the wall in a minute or two. "I don't want to use the doors just in case the ambush is waiting inside the castle." He said, though Oceana probably didn't need the memo. But Hjalmar said he could be quiet when he wanted to, not that he was all the time.

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Ferrix wondered how it must had felt like to lost someone or something you cared about deeply. But honestly, he was more concerned that the group had trusted a thief and he personally never found a single one he liked in his travel. To say he had a bad history with thieves or something along the line of that profession was an understatement. Though for the sake of the group, he would try to ignore the fact that there was a thief among them.


The fire mage prepared his magic, in case a sudden battle would appear out of nowhere and he must participate. He didn't want to be a burden.
 
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Dorian was already waiting in the room behind the window, trying not to grin. He had set a simple, yet rarely noticed trap where anyone who climbed through the window would land. If someone tripped it, they would end up hanging upside down by their feet: a funny and harmless prank. He just wanted to see who would fall for it.


He had settled down to watch from a crook under an overturned table, the black coloring of his snake form making him invisible.


@Lo Alyssa @OlKaJa77
 
Nameen folded her arms and absorbed the scene wordlessly with minimal expression on her face. Thoughts were flying behind her eyes, both living and blind. This much destruction shouldn't be able to exist in this world. It was too much, so much that it shouldn't have been possible. Her mind denied what her one eye saw, despite the fact that it was still there, and not going away.


She shook her head to clear her mind. Oceana and Hjalmar had headed out as a precaution. She watched the two light footed and nimble figures shrink in her line of sight. They weaved their way through the great wreckage, and eventually disappeared.


A slight breeze blew through the area, ruffling her hair and giving her chills as it brushed past her skin. Nameen did not like this place at all. It was too quiet. She was tensely anticipating something, anything, to happen, and the calm before the storm was putting her on edge. She fidgeted, shifting her weight back and forth to both feet, eye narrowed.
 
Valeiah was uncomfortable as well. Looking at bodies on the ground brought up bad thoughts. She definitely didn't want to see what was inside of the walls, because it wasn't hard to understand it would be even worse. As she glanced around at the other people in the group, she could tell they were uncomfortable as well. At least she wasn't alone.
 

The elf and the thief snuck through the window, Hjalmar looked around for a moment before entering. He was about to take a step, but looked in front of him just in the nick of time "Oh no you don't." He said avoiding the trap on the floor that he almost idiotically stepped in, "I have stepped in one too many of those to fall for that again." He grimaced, "Be careful, there's a trap here." He said to Oceana. He actually had a scar on the back of his head from a time it cracked against the floor being swooped up by a trap such as this one. He wasn't sure who set it, but he was unimpressed. "This is clearly not the handy work of a daemon." He said taking a step back, studying it, "I would expect something a little more complicated..." It was confusing, but also a distraction from their current task. They were on an elevated hall, so he leaned over the railing to see down into the throne room below them. It was a sorry sight. He noticed more corpses of daemon and humans strewn across the floor, the thrones cracked in half. Scorch marks were everywhere.


Hjalmar waited, listening. When he felt there was no one alive down there, he hopped over the railing and expertly climbed down to the floor (there were stairs he could have used, but that was no fun). He walked around, looking at the carnage left behind by the attack. He noticed two bodies near the throne and he frowned. By their expensive and decorative attire, he presumed they were once the King and Queen... Lucasta's parents. He looked over to see an open door to a storage room, and promptly tried to drag the jewelry-heavy bodies of the King and Queen over to it. As odd as it sounded, he intended on stuffing them inside and closing the door.
​



 
Dorian let out an annoyed 'awww' in his mind when the thief did not fall for the stupid trap, though he, secretly, rejoiced that maybe this team is not full of idiots. He waited for everyone to leave the room before he slithered out too, turning into a fox when no-one could see him. It was so much simpler moving around on four nimble legs than constantly wiggling on the floor, though he had to put more work at being stealthy. But then he had a better idea, thanks to an old memory of his teacher. He turned to his human form, an illusion twisting his armor, just enough for it not to be recognisable when he actually introduced himself to the full group. Dorian pulled up his mask, the one he used when working jobs, one people in some circles had learned to fear, and followed Hjalmar and Oceana, nothing but a shadow for someone not actively looking.


@Lo Alyssa @OlKaJa77
 
Thora nodded and returned a small smile. This family was very kind. She looked towards the castle and couldn't help but think that they could find the crown sooner if more people searched, but she also understood why it wasn't safe. She just hoped that the scouts hurried back so they could leave.
 
As the group stood outside the gates a shadow began to grow noticeably closer. The shadow of a bird grew larger and larger until an immense bird, six feet from head to tail feathers, dropped out of the sky next to them. It tried to perch on the wagon but came in too fast and launched forward smashing into a wall. It turned back to the group and awkwardly stumbled towards it looking dazed. The bird had silver-purple eyes and was black with gold markings. It also had a great deal of blood coming from a wound on it's head, and one of it's wings appeared to be broken. It collapsed forward near the group and as it hit the ground face first it melted into the shape of Abigail, with an ugly head wound and several gashes on her body. (she is unconscious as the wounds were magically inflicted, however she cannot really be healed very well. Also what happened here is probably never going to be anything this is just me writing her back in more or less after being busy for a couple days. also she is wearing a light dress but it is shredded in a way that indicates that the wounds used to be much larger.)
 
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Despite that it had been an entire decade since the daemon invasion, the entire keep stank of death. Oceana fought to keep from gagging.


Hjalmar noticed. And despite her dislike for him she decided to explain. Perhaps wishing for some part of her past in this strange, barren place.


"It reeks of death in here." She explained, moving to help him no doubt hide the Royal bodies from poor princess Lucasta. "But what stinks isnt necessarily the bodies themselves but the spirit of the place."


"In Elven culture, from the time they could walk, young elves are taught how to sense Beatha, the life force, what sustains all of nature's creatures and forces. This is also the driving force behind all magic."


Giving a grunt, the elf maiden started pulling along the shriveled corpse of what must have been the queen.


"Places untouched by tragedy or that have many satisfied or happy creatures often have calm, light Beatha. Like a bite from a mild, sweet melon. This causes life to spring forth."


" Places of great destruction and despair have heavy and rotten Beatha. It's almost no longer Beatha but a twisted opposite bent on twisting everything it touches. That's part of what makes the land of Syrk so unlivable."


Once she had dragged the dried and blackened body into the storage room, Oceana said a quick apologetic prayer over it and stood.


"The daemons were born of this not-Beatha, this Bás. And suck the Beatha out of every thing they touch, including places." Oceana looked around the once grand throne room, caked in soot and crumbling.


"Places like this" she sighed sadly.


She didn't know why but now that Hjalmar was far away from the princess she found it easier to be relaxed around him. Perhaps it was simply the camaraderie built during scouting missions. She continued, hoping he would see the value, and intimacy, in such information about their group. She hoped he wouldn't take it lightly. Or use it against them.


"The ways elves, and fae, sense Beatha differ between individuals. Many are able to see it, some by an ethereal sort of touch, like our Nymph companion and the magic users. I was unfortunate enough to be gifted sensing Beatha and Bás by smell, taste and ethereal touch. Meaning too much can incapacitate me and I can't use magic like a majority of my fellow elves can."


Suddenly realizing herself, Oceana snorted and gripped her nose, a amused sort of grimace on her face.


"Funny that" she said, looking straight at the thief. "Out of everyone in our rag-tag band, I spoke to you the most so far, amicably even."


While still laughing bitterly at herself, she thought she felt another source of Beatha other than herself and Hjalmar but suddenly it was gone and she turned, figuring she just imagined it.


@L1d1ja @Lo Alyssa
 
Dorian listened to the elf speak and grinned. He just loved when people gave up interesting information without prompting. Any tidbit could be sold and traded, if one knew how, so free information was like a gift. And he truly enjoyed learning about different cultures, though he disguised it as ulterior motives. Everything has to have a mask.


He kept quiet as he moved from shadow to shadow, melting into the darkness.


@OlKaJa77 @Lo Alyssa
 
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Truly fascinated by the concept, Hjalmar listened intently. When she finished, he pondered for a minute, "When I was a whelp, my mom used to tell me stories about such concepts." He said, returning the gesture of revealing such intimate information, "But she called it the Galdur... She was a magic user, but sadly I didn't inherit that connection." He continued, it had always been disappointing since magic was something he'd always loved, though could never learn (and he had tried). It was like something blocked his connection, he had always considered it to be a curse. Which wouldn't be all that surprising considering his mother was despised all around, it had always been a question of, 'who wasn't trying to curse her?'


Hjalmar closed the storage door, hopefully the princess wouldn't snoop in it. "I guess this life force you speak of can go by many names, huh? Depending on where you are, and what kind of people you encounter... It's amazing that it's so widespread and understood, but from different cultures and points of views."


@OlKaJa77
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Oceana stared at the human man, somewhat floored by his quite scholarly observation and admittance to something so personal.


Regaining herself, she nodded.


"Indeed." She said, uneasily. "It is."


Perhaps I had misjudged him after all...


@Lo Alyssa
 
Darting behind a fallen building, Gore watched as a six foot bird creature @Abberakelaran flew directly above her, gliding down to the group below. With a soft chuckle, the imp captain leaped onto the windowsill the scouting party had entered leading to the throne room of Valer.


What a bunch of idiots! Scuffed the imp captain. They ain't got a clue that I'm sneaking up behind them. I'm so smart! Thinking first then acting... My sister was so right. Your group's days are numbered princess @Queen of Fantasy ! I'm gonna take your team apart one at a time. Just like ten years ago, when I led my imp army along with the master's other captains to destroyed your kingdom. He he! I wish I was there to here your parent's pitiful screams instead of joining the hunt for you and your sweet little brother @A Simple Egg . You escaped once but you won't escape again. I'll see to- ARRRGH!


The foolish imp had unwittingly sprang Dorian's trap @L1d1ja causing her body to be hurdled into the air. Her faced crashed into the castle ceiling, knocking one of her sharp teeth from her mouth. While Gore's head spun around wildly, her grip on the spear loosen and slip from her grasp. The weapon fell with a clang as the imp helplessly tried to reach for it in order to cut the rope tied around her ankle.


Rrrr! I can't reach it! Stupid! Sister, I ruined everything! They will hear me! They will come! They will kill ME! Organ please! What can I do?!...


...Sis. You need to remember. There is never just one way of completing a task. Look around! What do you see? Is there something else? Think Gore. Please think!...


...Gore moved her fork tongue over her missing tooth as she remembered her sister's words. Her teeth! They were as sharp a dagger! She didn't need a spear. Hear teeth would suffice.


Hey, I'm getting more smart! the imp captain said while using her torso muscles to lifting herself up to the rope.


When she snapped the trap into bits, her leg immediately fell free from the snare causing her to plummet to the ground. Unfortunately for the imp, she landed onto the point of her sharp spear.


"Rrrgh!" she yelped in pain.


Pulling out the spearhead that was lodged into her abdomen, she quickly dashed away from the scene in shame, fearing someone would investigate. The only clue that remained of her existence there was a small pool of fresh imp blood.


Drat! Filth! Stupid! Idiot!


{I figured that Gore would have been one of the captains who had attacked Valer. I hopefully that's okay. By the way, I'll be gone for a few hours.}

 
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