Tales of Salisonia :: Reboot :: [Inactive]

[Yin]

Kaolin observed the newly awakened dwarf with a keen interest. Her nose flare slightly-- no wounds indeed. The scent of blood was no where to be found on his person, nor was the sourness of infection wafting around him. Luck? Or perhaps it was a trait of their species, her eyes flicked to his companion for a millisecond. Though wounded, Coluim had not seemed very bereft from his rather rough tumble. And in water no less. A shiver went down her spine before she forced her attention back to the short male. He was a man of trade alright, after a curt bit of 'small-talk' he had launched into a sales-pitch about their wares. It was amusing to her, if only fleetingly, to witness how different ones' values could be from anothers. He valued material-- money, perhaps, though she could not say for sure without further observation-- while she held value only to survival, skills, and ties. The concept was strange to her, not extremely as she had seen what greed did to people in the cities many a times, but it differed from her own enough to be noteworthy. She could respect that, values were values and as long as the person holding them dear saw them in such light no one had a right to tell them otherwise.


A giggle sounded behind her and she found her eyes trailing over to the first of the dwarves, where he was wringing water from his beard. Stranger and stranger. She blew out a silent breath from between chapped lips. These men of trade could help them, that was the important thing. The one she'd pledged a promise to needed passage through the mountains and here was perfect opportunity. Something tickled the back of her mind but she brushed it off.


Though threats, the advantage they brought to the table-- not going into a terrain unknown to her blind-- far out weighed the prospect of betrayal, did it not?


The familiar shape of the weapon at her back jumped into her awareness sharply. If they made themselves a danger to her sister or her charges she would eliminate them, simple as that.


Decision solidified, she rose smoothly to her feet, shifting away from the dwarves instinctively to show she was not presenting herself as an adversary. "We have no interest in material wares, though food might be an interest if the mountains prove to be more of a labyrinth than expected." she spoke finally. She moved her eyes towards to the mountain. "But, if you have no objections, we would take you up on your offer of journeying together for a while. We could use your knowledge of the caverns and I'd prefer not discover each dead end for myself."


Keyin peeked out from behind her. "But wouldn't all of their wares be soaked anyways?" she asked curiously, her young eyes darting between the two males. Her tail lifted slightly from beneath the cloak in interest before she hastily forced it down. A blush stole across her cheeks. It was a good thing she was behind Kaolin, if the dwarves had seen it her sibling would've surely cuffed her a good one.

 

[Mooalally]

"Perfect, perfect," said Njáll, pleased with the prospect of travelling with someone other than his currently irritating companion. And they would also help to protect him, as all he had was a dagger, not very well hidden in a side pocket in his bag. It was more to intimidate particularly aggressive clients, but if things actually got rough, Naomhán would always step in. When most of the tunnels were mapped out, they could leave behind the girls and claim the reward, not to mention the possible praise from family and friends. The Dwarves were a reclusive people - he knew that for a fact. So if a fellow Dwarf were to aid them, it would be much more comfortable than, say, a filthy human. He turned away, so he could try to find the entrance with his eyes just as he heard the little one say something about his fares. Although he had excellent hearing, his ears were clogged with water, making it very hard to hear anything at all.


"Little girl, we don't charge anyone fares of any kind. We're honest folk."


Naomhán rolled his eyes, his ears already removed of water.


"She didn't say anything about fares, old man. She was talking about our wares."


He looked at Kaolin and Keyin again. "I apologize. Like I just said, he is well on his death bed so you can't expect much from him."


Njáll laughed at the mention of this.


"I'm not even close to dying. If anything, you're the one who is going to die first. Walking around, waving that rusty battleaxe into people's faces. And I'm only a few years your elder, remember that."


"Rusty?!" A dark shadow suddenly befell on Naomhán's face. "Völundr is one of the finest pieces of Dwarven craftsmanship. Must you insult our race and our national pride for a joke? You've crossed the line, Njáll Adamu Tybalt Niklasson. Don't speak of this again."


He started off without waiting for anyone else, his weapon bouncing up and down on his back as he walked.


"Naomhán, I apologize for my words! Come back!" He ran after his companion as fast as his stubby legs could take him.

 

[Yin]

Keyin cocked her head to the side, watching the dwarves interact. It was confusing. Were they not traveling companions and therefore close? That was how she and her sibling were, and the king and his prey-servant, but the two seemed to not share such a bond. Curiosity peaking as the first dwarf stomped off, the young pup tugged insistently at her sisters cloak.


The older girl hazarded a glance her way before focusing back on the two males, no words needing to be said to prompt the girl to say what was on her mind.


"I don't understand!" She whined, "There's no rust on the axe, I can't smell or see it. It looks like he takes great care of it! So why is his traveling brother saying it is?"


Kaolin pursed her lips, "I believe," She began slowly. Her gaze darted back and forth between the two before settling on the dwarf headed away from them and she continued. "That it was meant as something of an insult. Not to be taken literally but as a verbal barb towards the owner or the weapon, or perhaps both."


Caring for ones weapon was a serious thing, Keyin knew. A weapon was a tool of survival, something for hunting or defending and if not taken care of properly numerous things could go wrong. Her hand went to the dagger beneath her cloak and she gripped it thoughtfully, eyes trailing the dwarf.She herself spent at least once a week doting upon her small arsenal, not including the times she cleaned it directly after using it, and Kaolin took even better care of her spear. Sometimes Keyin could find her at all hours of the night checking the wood and rubbing whetstone down the blade just to be sure that it was ready for any action it might see. 'Paranoid cat' she thought huffily. She'd had her fair share of cuffs around the head for 'neglecting her weapons' courtesy of the elder girl. It didn't matter if she'd just spent the last hour sitting and cleaning the things-- under Kaolins watch, no less!-- if the feline said it wasn't good enough it darn well wasn't good enough.


So Keyin understood why the owner would be insulted if the dwarf was calling him out on such a thing, but her intuition was telling her that he was referring to the weapon itself. And with such a weapon she really couldn't understand what he was on about. Metal was expensive and people to craft it even more so. That large axe was no doubt a pretty penny.


She chuffed and crossed her arms. "Stupid."


Kaolin was inclined to agree but kept silent on the matter. Inclining her head towards the peculiar dwarf still standing nearby she gestured towards the way the other had gone. "Shall we follow?"

 

[Croissant]

((I just wanna say thanks to those who are still posting, im glad youre still keeping this alive, as a mod ill be coming back and ill try to rp a bit more

 

[Mooalally]

"Oh yes, definitely," he Njáll said, already huffing and puffing after years of living in luxury and lethargy. "H-help me." He brought up his thick forearm and wiped some sweat which had shed itself onto his brow. "I am not as fast as my companion, who has spent countless years training and many more maintaining himself. You would probably catch him, though we are in our homelands and we Dwarves know every nook and cranny on this mountain." He finally recovered his breath, and said, "Let us go. He already has a small head start." He started to run off again.


Naomhán crossly kicked every rock bigger than his fist that he came across. He did not make fun with Njáll Adamu Tybalt Niklasson's profession, valuables, anything. So it was entirely unexpected and unjustified for him to do that. He would not continue unless he apologized, which he just assumed he would. He hoped he would. After all, they had been brothers in arms for a long time now, something that shouldn't be broken over just one insult that was meant to be a playful joke. He step faltered. Perhaps he should go back? It did seem he was being a fair bit unreasonable. But no. This was too far. They had jabbed at each other in previous years, but only lightly. And it was mostly about the quality of their home, wife or alcohol. He continued walking.


Not long after, a cave in the side of the wall was found, one that was never there before. He would hide in there until they walked past or he was able to convince himself he was the one guilty. As he stepped in the dank, dark cave, even worse with the contrast of the bright and sunny outdoors, he realized that it was more than just a small cave, it was a tunnel. Venturing into it seemed like a good idea, as he could check if this was the same tunnel they were in when they got forcibly removed by the water. When he got to a point where he thought the water should be, there was none. It was as dry as his mouth, nervous with the thought of having a repeat of last time, except this time, getting seriously injured with no one to help him. And that was it, wasn't it? He was scared of being lonely, having been accustomed to having Njáll Adamu Tybalt Niklasson at his side for so long. He started shouting out of the cave, "Njáll Adamu Tybalt Niklasson, Keyin ... and the other one! I've found a new tunnel!" He kept shouting this until he was sure someone had heard him.

 

[Yin]

Keyin, having gathered some of the exuberance and energy afforded to her by her youth back from the "break", grinned impishly and shot after the dwarf. It felt good to run after all of the never-ending plodding. Her thigh muscle flexed strongly and her form hunched through the acceleration, almost as if she were tempted to fall to the ground and race after him on all fours. A soft growl with an undertone of a yowl, too quiet for dull human ears, was the only warning the pup received.


A booted foot struck out, sending the speeding bundle towards the ground as a delicately clawed hand snatched her backwards by the hood of her cloak. The movement was harsh and unforgiving. The momentum that Keyin had built up working against her and choking off the yip of surprise as she was yanked to an abrupt stop.


Above her, a slightly less-composed-than-usual Kaolin loomed, pupils dilated, hair bristling out, and fang tips peaking out from her curled upper lip if just barely.


'Even in anger she manages not to blow her cover.' Keyin mentally huffed before the situation came into full perspective. She swallowed hard, all that anger... directed her way. She could almost taste the punishment her sister would no doubt come up with for whatever foolishness she had committed. 'Lynn always had a cruel streak in her 'learn from your mistakes' motto. Back in the forest she'd chase her out of the camp until she managed to catch whatever rare or impossible-to-catch creature she fancied, weapons bared, (flying squirrels and birds were favorites, as were lizards during the snow season). And once the journey of never-ending-walking began she'd gotten even more creative-- aka crueler-- and had knocked her illusion of not having such disciplinary methods on the trek out by hour two.


"Human speed." the elder girl snarled almost soundlessly. With that, the feline-spirited female shoved her charge none-too-gently forward and followed after the dwarf at her lightest jog.


Kaolin's acute hearing picked up the dwarfs warble easily enough and she directed her route in that direction, being sure to drag her feet and vary her form as she 'ran' after the pair. Behind her she picked up the decidedly hesitant sounds of her sister following before turning her attentions more towards what the male had said. She chuffed at the dwarfs defective memory. An insult to be sure, but for now they were their only lead into the caverns so she'd have to allow them a bit more leeway than she normally would. Her eyes slitted even so as she trotted to halt a few feet from the first dwarf. If he referred to her as 'little girl' she was going to slip native bugs and reptiles into his rest area while he slept.


"Is this a safe entrance then?" Keyin called, stopping besides her.

 

[Mooalally]

@Darth Pai What's going on with this? Is this over or what?

 

[Croissant]

((Lol idk, sorry that I didnt post im really busy, plus Pai is taking a break from rp until june i believe))

 

[MrLlama]

((So... Is this done for good now? I've finally found time to be able to come back but this hasn't really gone anywhere since I left, so I'm sad. :c))


((OH GOD I JUST SAW IT'S CLOSED. NOOOYYOOUOUOOOO. D'X))

 

[Croissant]

((So... Is this done for good now? I've finally found time to be able to come back but this hasn't really gone anywhere since I left, so I'm sad. :c))
((OH GOD I JUST SAW IT'S CLOSED. NOOOYYOOUOUOOOO. D'X))

Sadly I think it is unless we attempt a come back but the new salisonia is coming out this summer))

 

[Croissant]

Weeks have passed....The Cantillia Mountain's Great Labyrinth still is infested with mystery, many have attempted to enter the labyrinth but most have died trying to solve the mystery, the dwarven king quickly withdrew the reward to keep people from coming to the mountains maze of death, Most of the entrances have been sealed off and the dwarfs are now using alternative routes to communicate and trade, although the dwarves infrastructure and economy wouldn't last very long, the labyrinth will be re opened and entered by 2 select teams of an official expedition issued by the Dwarven Military in about a years time. Many may sign up to volunteer but they will be tested by the dwarves to see if they are suitable to be in the team. More information shall be issued directly to those who sign up.


(I am sorry this took a while and it's not a very decent post, I do not know a lot of the actual mystery of the mountains but the event will be revisited soon, it's a good event for now you may continue to rp starting off from leaving the mountain on your way to one of the cities)


Although on your way back many adventures speak of a rumor, off to the east an aging stailer who speaks to adventurers... (More info will be made for this later HAPPY RPING)

 

[Mooalally]

Naomhán felt much more secure after filling up his pack with water and supplies, especially after the lack of water last time led to their almost drowning. They had set off again towards Bran in hopes of selling the sword that he was still carrying. It's not like a mountain collapsing could possibly hinder their lust for coin, right? Through the desert they were travelling again, taking care to skirt around the town where they had got their guide before, for fear of them realizing that he was not coming back. And once they had made that detour, they arrived in the big human city, the center of trade and commerce. It was a beautiful and touching thing to Njáll, though the buildings and architecture disgusted him. It was a bit crude compared to the grandeur of the Dwarven caves - previously caves. Now they were destroyed, and new ones had to be built. If there was anyone to blame, it was the humans. They were straying away from the natural ways, completely opposite of the Elven, and towards technology and wizardry. No doubt one of their new machines had caused the earthquake, and it left a hole in Njáll's mind where his tolerance to humans should have been.


But he pretended to like them for now because he was in the rat hole of humanity, the place where they had infested the most and laid their sickening and numerous eggs into one another. And also because he was about to meet with a client: the lackey of a ganglord named Niro. He knew nothing else of Niro except he was high up in position and very dangerous. But criminal politics didn't bother him, for he was just to sell this sword and leave. They had agreed on a price beforehand through the mail, making sure not to mention what they were buying and whom was buying it, and now they were just to transfer the goods and money. A dark alleyway was the setting, a bit cliche but away from the eye of the guards and other officials.


"Greetings," said Njáll as soon as he spotted the lackey. They were in a tight space, and he was sure that he could hear him. "I assume Lord Niro isn't coming to our transaction?" He raised an eyebrow, but not too high. Just enough to make it look like he was truly puzzled, but not pretentious and assuming.


"'e's got more important things ta do, I'm sure you understand? Jus' hand over the sword, and I'll make off, no trouble to you, which I thinks is lucky."


Njáll noted the accent. Most people that spoke like that didn't care for subtlety. After being around so many types of people, it was easy to differentiate and identify them. He would have to be blunt with this one: not much conversation, just the trade. He was disappointed. He had assumed Niro thought better of him, as he had done trades with Njáll before, and would send someone more ... sophisticated. And also because he was hoping to squeeze a secret out of the messenger, something he could relay to a rival gang.


He pulled the sheath off his back and held it out for his client. He rubbed his hands and eyed it suspiciously, as if he was examining it in case of a trap. You could never trust someone who dealt with criminals, more than the criminals themselves. At least they had an honor code. These merchants only cared for money and dirty knowledge. It was lucky one of them was going to be detained today.


"Don't move, under the authorization of the King!" The lackey's hands shot up into the air, to prove that he didn't have a weapon and to make himself look innocent, presumably.


"Help, help," the traitorous gangster called out. Njáll realized now, Niro had sold him out to the guard. Most likely because his arrest was used as a tool in trade, with the King or another gang, he would never know.


"'e's attacking me with this sword, righ' here! Come quick before I'm hurt!"


Njáll spat on his shoes. A dishonest man was a bad man. "I didn't touch your filthy skin, you bloody coward! I will get revenge upon Niro, may you remind him of that." It was time to run. Naomhán had plotted out an escape route before the deal, in preparation of this kind of thing. He slung the sword back onto his body and they went back the way they came, seeing that the guards were coming from the direction of the hellhole this disgusting gangster had crawled out of. They spotted a house to their left with a window opening and a convenient ladder heading through it. Perhaps it was too convenient, but they had no choice. They hurriedly climbed up it, into the residence, and away from the window before the guards could spot them.


There was a lot of heavy breathing before Naomhán burst into a fit of giggles.


"Are you okay, Naomhán Máel Coluim Lister? You seem a bit ... stupid at the moment."


"Oh yes, I'm fine Njáll Adamu Tyblt Niklasson. I just haven't had a chase like that in a long time. We should do that more often."


"Well we might have to do it again soon, as they must've suspected us of coming up here, if you think that's a privilege."


Naomhán found he didn't have an answer for this and instead they lay there, side by side, trying to catch their breath after years of a lack of physical exercise.

 

[Kagerou]

¶ Mordaedel stood stone-still on a precipice overlooking the marshland as a single, invisible silhouette stained in monochrome, save two golden orbs beneath her hood. Slivers of silver darted across the swampy water, illuminated by speckles of moonlight that found its way through the thick maze of somber clouds. The serpents vanished into the tall grass as the Kahao stepped down from her perch, her sure-footed steps guided by years of dwelling here. Not once did she stray off the path onto the sinking mud. This was home to her, this swampy dale deep in the forest, envloped by an unpleasently humid mist. More home to her than a pampered place filled with the warmth and comforting glow of a fire, more so than any secure, well-kept pile of logs that was given the title of "house." The stars were her firelight. The woods were her safe-haven.


¶ Nothing grew there except fungi and sparse, withered weeds. The remaining trees were grey and rotting, and their leafless branches twisted around hauntingly, like gaunt beasts waiting for their prey to fall into their thorny clutches. Now and then a wailing wind blew in from the east, but for the most part a foreboding silence swept over the lowlands. Mordaedel could hear the echo of every leaf that crumbled beneath her feet.


¶ Mordaedel touched her shoulder tenderly, her expression bitter. Neither her nor her staff had escaped the band of travelers unscathed. Her would heal if she kept it tended, though it still ached. But now that she had her staff back, she swore she would never let anyone else lay a finger on it again. Never. She just hoped she would never have to look at any of those hoodlums again. They had caused enough trouble before making her go through extremes to slip away unnoticed.


¶ The mist became thicker and thicker further in, to the point that sight was nearly useless. Mordaedel tenderly unwrapped her staff from its gauze, scowling at the nicks in its finely crafted wood. That would have to be delt with later. The half-Elf unclasped the thin chain around her neck and wrapped it around the end of her scepter, sweeping it through the air so that the light of the fireflies in the pendant somewhat diminshed the fog. An imprint in the ground caught her attention— a footprint, it seemed. Crouching down, she traced her fingers over it, inspecting it closely. Her own footprint? But how could she be lost in her own territory? It was almost as if the marsh wanted her to turn back...

 

[Ixidor92]

Sanz let his ears and his nose take over. Sight was useless in this thick mist. The only thing it would be good for was--aha, there, yet another footprint. The dampness was almost overpowering in this place, Sanz had never had much affinity for swamps. They simultaneously made it difficult to track others, yet allowed traces made by one last seemingly longer than usual. The giant slab of metal on his back didn't help matters in this instance, causing his boots to sink a good inch into the soft soil below his feet. Wait . . . the sound of something moving was nearby. The hunter crouched low to the ground, seeing a glow from behind the mist. Perhaps it was his quarry?

 

[Sen Pai]

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