Take Back the Crown

Dorian watched as Yaroslav and Bo moved. He drew his bow, ready to draw and fire at a moment's notice.


"Glad to make your aquaintance. I am Kacel'la Belva, and this little beast is Sera." She said as she smiled at Lilith.


@Queen of Fantasy
 

They wandered away from the group to investigate, carrying themselves lightly so as not to warn whoever or whatever might be there. The closer they got, the slower Yaroslav's pace became. He readied his weapon and glanced at Bo, hinting he should do the same.


He raised his ax slightly, turned the corner AND-- nothing. There was nothing there.


His eyebrows furrowed together, he could have sworn he noticed something move. He cautiously walked out into the opening, still unsure whether what he saw was his imagination or real. Bo saw it, so how could it have been false? They had been traveling under the sun all day, perhaps that was the reason.


He grunted, feeling just a minuscule of embarrassment. He turned on his heel, about to head back to the group when all of a sudden there was a loud snap.


Both Bo and Yaroslav were yanked into the air, and they found themselves dangling several feet above the ground. Yaroslav let out a curse, his embarrassment escalated. They had just blindly just walked into a net trap!


The axe in his hand had slipped out of his grip as they were catapulted into the air. The man tried to reach for the axe still strapped to his side, but with Bo's heavy weight on top of him and the net restricting their movement, he was unable to grasp it tightly enough to tug it out. He let out a loud curse that echoed off the walls. The dwarves must have set this trap up for intruders, and Yaroslav wasn't sure how long they had before they came to check on it.


Reluctantly, Yaroslav called out to their other fellow scout who would undoubtedly laugh at their predicament, "Dorian!" He yelled, "We have... a situation."
​





@soundofmind @L1d1ja





(Yo dude, your post is fine!! Nobody needs to feel pressured to write long paragraphs. As long as whatever they write helps move the roleplay along, it's totally fine.)
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Well this in uncomfortable. Bo tried his best to get out of Yaroslav's way, but the net clearly wasn't designed to give them lots of wiggle room. It was a trap, after all. He was, however, able to reach the dagger strapped to his thigh. "Well, at least it's not like -" He grunted as he unsheathed the dagger and began to slice at the rope. "We're trapped or anything." He joked, trying to remain lighthearted. It wasn't difficult though, as Yaroslav's frustration was kind of amusing. He of course, walked right into the trap as well, but he didn't feel like it was the end of the world. In comparison to everything else they'd dealt with that day, getting caught in a net several feet in the air was probably one of the lesser evils.


He found that the rope was too thick to just slice through with one shove, so he found himself sawing at it, watching the fibers in the rope slowly break apart and rip. "We'll get out of here. Hopefully soon." If Dorian came to help, that would certainly make it faster... but he did consider that Yaroslav's yell for help might've been heard echoing off the rocky walls if any of the dwarves were nearby. Hopefully it wasn't. Hopefully. With that in mind, though, he found himself sawing at the rope faster, and more earnestly. The rope was impressively difficult to cut through, and he was beginning to find cutting through it quite tasking. Shwoop. The dagger finally busted through one of the net's ties. That left... quite a few to go. It wasn't as simple as that.


@Lo Alyssa @L1d1ja
 
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Dorian grinned mockingly as he saw the two get flung into the air, trapped in the net. He quickly moved forward, still taking care to be unseen, but taking even more care to find any traps. Once he was close enough to minimize how much power he would use up, he muttered a spell. The net fell apart as many of the ropes got cut through, the wear and tear, any feeble points enlarged by the spell. Though he had considered letting the two warriors fall to the ground, Dorian decided to maybe be nice for once and make them slow down before hitting the ground, making the landing quite soft.


It took him a moment to keep his head from spinning as the magic took its payment.


‘You are a mage, aren’t you? Forgot it for a moment?’ He sent to Yaroslav, trying to distract himself from the oncoming headache.


@Lo Alyssa @soundofmind
 
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The heck, why haven't I been investing more time in learning magic or something when it's so useful. Bo smiled, giving a small bow of gratitude before putting his dagger away. "Thank you." It made things easier for him, since he didn't have to spend several minutes cutting them out of the net. He picked up Yaroslav's fallen axe, and handed it to him. "If there's a trap though, the dwarves could be coming to check it. They probably would've heard you yell." He aimed at Yaroslav, but was talking to them both. "That is, if they're nearby." He really hoped they would be... amicable. Or at the very least, he hoped they wouldn't try to kill them. That would be nice.


Should they wait for the dwarves to come to them, or should they seek them out? It made sense to conclude they were there to do the latter, since they were scouting after all, but the first was... out of their control, really.


@Lo Alyssa @L1d1ja
 

Yaroslav nodded at Bo in thanks as he received his axe, strapping it back to his thigh.


"No." He retorted out loud, "Dwarves have mages. They are capable of enchanting things, you know." He inspected the net a little closer, "It seems it has its limitations though, they only made it so you can not use magic on the inside." He said, thinking out loud.


He was about to tell them they should head back, when something whizzed by his head and landed into the canyon rock in front of him. He whipped his head around to see a group of short, and angry looking dwarves. They all had helmets on, and scrap armor for protection. The leader, Yaroslav presumed, was the one with a crossbow aimed at them.


"Kto ty, i chto ty delayesh' na nashey zemle?" The leader called out with a gruff voice, muffled by his helmet. Thankfully, both Svetlana and Yaroslav knew many languages, and dwarvish was among them.


Yaroslav slowly put his hands up, away from his weapons. He hoped to negotiate with them if he could, "My tri razvedchiki dlya bol'shoy gruppy puteshestvennikov." He stated, "My prosto proyezdom."


The dwarf grunted under his helmet, tilting his head as if to look behind them for this larger group Yaroslav spoke of. He mumbled for a moment, not lowering his crossbow. "Ya khochu pogovorit's vashim liderom togda, neznakomogo."


Yaroslav nodded and then glanced over at Dorian, "He wants to speak with our 'leader.' Go back and get the caravans."
​









(For a quick translation, this is petty google translate of Russian since I think the languages has a dwarvish sound to it. The dwarf leader said, "Who are you and what are you doing here?" And then Yaroslav responded, "We are three scouts of a larger group of travelers. We are just passing through.")
​
 
Bo turned around quickly and looked down at the group of small dwarves, and lifted up his hands to show he meant no harm, similarly to Yaroslav. They're so small... he mused - oh, shut up, you're just gigantic. He listened as Yaroslav and the dwarves talked, understanding little to nothing of what they were saying until Yaroslav translated for them. He wished he was able to speak their language, but he was at a loss. So he stood in silence. He wondered how Lucasta would talk to the dwarves, and how in the world this would be resolved. As far as he could tell, as long as they weren't deemed a threat, the dwarves would let them pass through, right?


@Lo Alyssa (i guess but he did't say anything pff)
 
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Oceana's sensitive ears should have been able to hear Yaroslav's call for Dorian's help but she seemed lost in her own world. She stared at Kacel'la's Wyvern, Sera, and debated whether or not to attempt to speak with her.


She was a beautiful creature, all shimmering scales and bright eyes.


But Oceana didn't feel like talking to anyone. Not even Sera.


She wanted to slap herself, shake herself but couldn't muster the energy.


What is wrong with me? She berated herself, clenching her fists.


The other elf's fiery hair glinted in the harsh sunlight of the desert. This woman knew the songs! She's one of my people! She proved the others were wrong about her! So why...? She thought, why are there echoes of doubt in my heart every time I look at her?


"Traitor"


The elf's head whipped up looking for the voice that said that wretched word.


Shaking her head to clear it, Oceana crossed her arms and leaned against the wagon.


"Gods what have I gotten myself into..?"
 

Hjalmar sighed as the witch left him in peace. He leaned back against the barrels in the wagon, staring at the mark on his arm. He didn't know what it was, but he had a bad feeling about it... it felt evil. Like a bad omen. His good luck must have been running out, as was his time. A part of him regretted coming on this journey, no matter how high the pay may be. He finally bit off more than he could chew.


He felt the wagon creak just slightly as someone leaned against it. Hjalmar quickly rolled down his sleeve again, hoping this person wasn't peeking in on him. He looked up to see the familiar silouhette of the lithe elf he had grown quite fond of on their journey. At least the quest had some nice perks.


He crawled toward the opening despite his limbs shaking under the strain, and leaned against the small wooden slot. Oceana didn't seem to be doing so great either. "I vaguely remember you and Foxrun pulling me out of the water." He said quietly, "Thank you... I'm sure that was no simple task." He gave her a tired side smile, even his face hurt. He wondered if it was the fever. Whatever it was, he knew it has to do with the mark.
​









(If you want to, Oceana may take notice of his mark. I'd like him to keep it a secret from mostly everybody, but I feel he'd trust Oceana enough to tell her.)
​
 
Oceana vaguely noticed Hjalmar crawling closer. She wasn't in the mood for conversation but somehow the thief always weaseled his way past her sour demeanor; this time, perhaps, it was in the feeble way he smiled.


She felt her lips twitch up just a fraction.


"Donnae get used to it." She huffed with mock gruffness, looking at the human out of the corner of her eye.


Human... She murmured in her mind, with the way he puts me at ease he could be an elf.


Perhaps he was an elf in another life, she mused.


Oceana suddenly froze, eyebrows slanting angrily.


She did not like that thought. Elves and humans are completely different! He could never be one of us...





The elf turned away from Hjalmar, furious at his existence, of her inexplicable connection to him.


Then she noticed something sour on the wind. It smelled like decay and malice. But it was barely a hint, a zest. A foul one.


Turning her head back to the human the elf sniffed somewhat pompously and said,


"You smell... different..."


@Lo Alyssa
 
Hjalmar raised an eyebrow, "Well, I don't really have a nose quite like yours... Do I smell saltier?" He laughed a little bit. Did spending time in the ocean make him smell different? He looked down and saw the mark peeking under his sleeve, it must have slid up a bit. He tried to casually pull the sleeve back down and cursed on the inside of his head, knowing there would probably be no use in hiding it if she saw. Her keen eyes would most likely have noticed. It was still worth the try though. His lip twitched ever so slightly, and a bead of sweat, which could be blamed on the heat (but he knew better), slid down the side of his face.

​



 
Feeling the slightest bit suspicious of Hjalmar's new smell, and shifty attitude, Oceana narrowed her eyes at him.


Of course, she thought as she watched him tug down his sleeve, of course the human would be hiding something.


she had seen the corner of the mark on his arm disappear into his sleeve but said nothing.


Instead the elf simply raised an eyebrow imperiously, her expression practically demanding an answer.


@Lo Alyssa
 

Hjalmar pursed his lips, and rolled his eyes, sharply exhaling and turning away. He was about to speak, conjuring up a lie or some sort of distraction, but no words came out of his mouth. He couldn't believe he was actually considering telling the elf about what had happened. He looked at her again and sighed.


He leaned out of the wagon just enough so that he could see past the elf, turning his head both ways to make sure no one else was watching. Albeit reluctantly, he slowly rolled up his sleeve to reveal the mark, the skin around it bruised and agitated, "The daemon didn't just pull me into the water..." He grimaced, still totally unsure as to whether this was a good idea, "It could have killed me... but... it wasn't trying to." He licked his lips, "It spoke to me... and I understood it. I don't even know how, but I did.... and it did something... I'm not even sure what... but next thing I know, I wake up, and this... thing is on my arm. I don't feel right. I can't shake the feeling that it bodes ill not only for me, but for everyone in this group. I talked to Svetlana... but even she didn't know what it was. All she could tell was that it was daemon magic, meaning it wasn't good magic. I don't understand why out of everyone in this group, it chose to mark me, one of the most talentless and least powerful persons here." He scoffed, and then looked at her expectantly. He clenched his teeth. Was it a bad idea to trust her?


"Honestly speaking, Oceana... I'm..." He struggled with his words, as this was much harder to admit, "I'm... afraid... Which is strange considering I'm always up for adventure, and risk... but this just feels wrong, like I've been violated. It weighs on both my mind and body. The fact that its meaning remains a mystery, that not even the eldest and most magically experienced in our group can't tell me what it is... that just doesn't settle with me." He closed his eyes, he couldn't believe he just confessed that to her, but perhaps someone else knowing of his predicament might help... if she didn't take it the wrong way that is.


@OlKaJa77
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The elf stared at the strange rune, and it felt as if it stared right back. The inky mark burned into her eyes.


Run. Kill him. Evil. Daemon.


Her instincts, her blood screamed.


But Oceana merely tugged back down his sleeve agitatedly, not meeting his eyes.


He isn't a daemon. He's... A human...


Finally looking up at him the elf maiden whispered,


"Donnae tell anyone else. Donnae let them see."


Here she paused, debating with herself.


"I..." She said unsurely "I will help if I can. Perhaps the others may know something but I will ask. They'll suspect you otherwise."


She shook his other arm gingerly, quite unwilling to directly touch the marked arm.


"No one must know"


We'll figure this out, she wished to say but the words got stuck in her throat.


Instead Oceana sat in the wagon, rummaged in her pack for a few honey cubes and handed a couple, along with some jerky, to Hjalmar.


"Eat this. You still look ashy... And sick.", she grumbled, feeling like a mother hen and hating it.


Then she sat back and ate her own piece of jerky.


She knew it wouldn't lift whatever hex was put on the thief, but hoped it would at least lift his spirits.


No one deserved a daemon mark thrust upon them. Not even a stupid human.


@Lo Alyssa
 
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Upon Yaroslav's command, Dorian put away his weapons and shifted into the hawk, flying back to the group. Once he was there, he shifted back to human to speak.


"Found the dwarves, and they want to speak to our leader." He announced, wondering is that leader was the princess, or Svetlana. "So I think that means to get moving."
 

Hjalmar accepted the food having forgotten when last he ate, unsure as to what he should say. He couldn't help feel like maybe he had just tainted her view of him more than he had before, "I won't tell anyone else, I don't think I could even if I wanted to..." He popped a honey cube into his mouth.


Svetlana made her way back over to the thief after settling some matters with their companions. She raised an eyebrow at Oceana, "When I said you can tell people you trust, I meant if you must not just at your leisure." She scolded. She wasn't entirely telling Oceana, who already disliked their respectable races with a fervent passion, was such a good idea. She was known for being brash at times, and though Svetlana did not doubt she cared deeply for her companions, she also did not doubt she could lose herself and make a mistake when angry and blinded by old festering hatred.


The thief shrugged as he bit into some of his jerky, "I suppose I could have lied... but I'm a horrible liar apparently."


Svetlana sighed and leaned on the wagon next to Hjalmar, "Let me see it again." She asked, grabbing his arm before he could answer. It made Hjalmar incredibly uncomfortable, like he was exposing something vulnerable. The witch was frustrated that she could not decode what the marking meant, the unknown frightened her just as much as it did the thief. Though she was much better at hiding it. She rubbed the marking with her thumb, her hand lit up as she tried to use magic to investigate the marking directly. Her magic spread throughout his arm, bringing Hjalmar slight relief. It felt nicer, like her magic cancelled out the dark magic, "Let me try and heal up these bruises at least." She muttered, placing another hand on his arm, "I can't seem to grasp any knowledge of it this way." She added with hint of irritation.


Before her magic could fix anything, the marking seemed to pulse, the veins around it turning black. Hjalmar cried out and yanked his arm away from her, it was a dull ache before, but now his arm felt like it was on fire. The inky black color in his veins retracted back to the rune, and he looked at Svetlana with wide eyes, desperate for answers. She seemed just as surprised.


She lifted her hands up as if to grasp his arm once more, but Hjalmar backed away. He was not interested in feeling that again. She frowned, but understood, "It lashed at me... it seems to be alive." She said, having brushed up against the magic with her own temporarily before Hjalmar withdrew his arm. His mouth opened in disgust, "How is that supposed to make me feel better? Are you saying it's like, a living thing? Inside of me?"


"Hush now. The truth does not always enlighten." She scolded, "Do not panic. I meant that the magic has a will of its own. So yes, in a way it is alive."


Hjalmar stared at the marking again, feeling an impulse to just cut his arm off and be rid of the thing. But he refrained.


Svetlana pondered for a moment, glancing over at Oceana, still unsure if she could be trusted with this. The old woman sighed, "I can not help you, Hjalmar." She returned his frightened gaze, she could tell he was trying to hide his fear, "But I think I know someone who can... I did not mention him earlier because... well..." She exhaled again, "He is a daemon."


"Before you say anything!" She interjected before they could respond, "He is a very old friend of mine. He fought in the wars to liberate our world 300 years ago during a time when Kvacht was our ally, and... friend... I may not know what this rune means, but he will. He is still familiar with the culture and magic of his people despite leaving them so long ago. He has saved both my and Yaroslav's life multiple times in the many years we have known him, proving his loyalty to the people of Algoran time and time again."


Though she spoke to both of them, she was directing her next words at Oceana particularly, "So I do not want you to judge him based on his race nor his heritage. As I like to say, you can not know a tree based on a single fruit you plucked from it." She looked at Oceana, "For it is not appearance, resemblance nor birthright that defines a person, but the truth of their hearts. And each heart is different." She gave the elf a small smile, emphasizing the sincerity of her words. The old woman could see this distrust Oceana had towards humans, half breeds and pretty much anything that wasn't an elf, would someday hinder her greatly.


"Last I heard of him, he was roaming in the mountain range of Myrkyr, a place we will be passing through at some point. We will seek him out then, alright?" Svetlana patted Hjalmar's leg as he lightly nodded in response, "Until then, keep an eye on it, but do not let it consume your every thought. We will unravel this mystery, so have patience."
​






(I will have

@Queen of Fantasy be in charge of leading our group back to the dwarves since she's technically the leader! Svetlana and Yaroslav will probably just be translators.)
​
 
Valeiah gave Ayda and Lucasta one last smile before going to kick her brother off of the mare so she could ride her the rest of the way.


"Alo, stop being such a foul idiot and just let me on the horse!"


Alo looked down at her and narrowed his eyes. "Umm... No." He snickered.


"You may be older than me, but that doesn't mean I can't be more wise! And right now, I advise you to stop being rude and just let me on the horse before I snap your leg into two!" Valeiah fumed.
 
As soon as Svetlana came back over and scolded Hjalmar, Oceana was on edge.


She trusted the elder; if you lived several centuries without losing your mind, or morality, you were respectable no matter who or what you had been.


But a part of the elf twisted against every word the magi spoke.


Humans, Daemons.... Both races were alike in measure in the elf's mind..


Yet in her heart it felt like Svetlana was plucking strings, awakening a music unknown; perhaps a kind of music Oceana did not wish to know.


'Traitor.... Bastard child... Cursed one...'


Again the harsh words from her youth bombarded her thoughts.


Elves... Elves called me that. My own clan-....... But they had right! They are my people. I am me... And they are right about me.


Are they really, Oceana?


The elf maiden jolted in place suddenly at the sound of her father's voice. He had scolded her many times for letting herself believe her more unsavory clanmates were right about her.


Oh how I miss you father, she cried in her mind, blue-green eyes narrowing in sorrow.


Then Oceana had a sudden urge to look up and she gazed upon Hjalmar and Svetlana; both humans also had lost their only family, and yet here they were talking to her as if they cared about her- an elf.


She felt that she liked the idea of them caring and -secretly-her caring back.


Looking at the ground she mumbled,


"I swear I wonnae kill any random people just because they're not elves ."


The old woman gave her a look and she rolled her eyes.


"And I swear to try to not make any inflammatory remarks. There? Happy?"


@Lo Alyssa
 
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Thora nimbly climbed off of her cliffside perch and rejoined the group after hearing Dorian's announcement. She reached up and wrapped her hands around the necklace Foxrun had given her, it still gave her comfort. She was uneager to meet the dwarfs and waited impatiently for the princess to meet them so that they could move forward. Her hands, still around her necklace, itched for her bow but she knew that not only did she only have a couple arrows left but that she wouldn't do any damage to any dwarven armor that they would surely be wearing.
 

Lucasta stood from the wagon that Ayda sat in and hopped out. From the sound of Dorian returning, she guessed that Bo, Yaroslav, and him had returned form scouting, but only found Dorian was the only one to return. When he said that the drwaves wanted to see the leader, Lucasta's heart almost stopped from fright. She'd heard stories about how brute and vicious dwarves could be. She took a deep breath and nodded.


"Alright then. Let us go meet them then."


She said toward the others. She hopped in the wagon, and looked down at Dorian.


"Lead the way..."


She grabbed the brides to the horses that led the wagon and whipped them gently to get them moving.





@L1d1ja
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"Follow me." He nodded and shifted, his place taken by a large wolf. He made sure to run forward and always wait for the wagons to catch up.
 

Phaedra stayed silent, patiently awaiting the return of their scouting team and blatantly ignoring everyone around her. At this moment, she felt truly distant and apart from the others and disassociated from the situation as much as possible, drawing within herself. Though she had the naturally curious nature of air elementals, she also had the distinctly aloof and unapproachable aspects of them as well. It didn't help that emotionally passionate human blood pumped through her veins and gave her a terrible bitter streak that she so hated to admit. She was typically too detached to hold grudges, but Phaedra felt the tickle of one boiling in her heart as she sank deeper and deeper into her thoughts.

Despite this, she still managed to keep herself very aware of her surroundings, being one of the first to spot Dorian's return. Instantly, she felt a knot of worry tying itself up tightly in her stomach, writhing. Where is Bo? And Yaro? They found the dwarves, but why hadn't they returned with Dorian? Was it simply because it was faster for Dorian to go alone? Was Dorian telling the whole story? Did he conveniently leave out that the other two were being held captive? For ransom? It was incredibly hard for her not to worry with so little for her mind to work with.

She did the only thing she could do. She followed after the lead of Princess Lucasta and Svetlana, guiding the caravan she was entrusted with. Lucasta was their leader, but Svetlana was essentially the tactician and the trusted adviser to the young princess, being the eldest and having held the official title once before.

@Lo Alyssa @Queen of Fantasy @L1d1ja
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Oceana hopped up into the wagon as they rolled onward, fully aware that they were off to a parley with the residing dwarves.


Still in a disgruntled mood the elf crossed her legs and arms defensively.


Oceana didn't like being lectured and accused, and it showed.


Huffing, the raven-haired maiden turned to Hjalmar, watching his equally dark hair bounce with every jostle of the wagon.


"Dwarves..." She grumbled more to herself than at him, "Why do the greatest smiths and inventors in this gods forsaken land have to be dwarves?"


@Lo Alyssa
 
Alo finally gave in and let Valeiah on the horse. But as soon as she got on he pushed her off, laughed, got back on, and rode off quickly to the front.


"ALO I'M GOING TO KILL YOU FOR THAT! DON'T THINK YOU'RE SO FUNNY, YOU BLOODY JERK!"


Alo heard his younger sister screaming at him but he just found it hilarious and kept laughing. Oh, siblings.
 
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