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Fantasy The Guild of the Desperate (IC)

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Nancy Noi​

Speaking to Quiwynn, Nancy was already feeling some of that additional tension unwind. Maybe it was their reassurances, or the soothing tone of their voice. When they spoke of their profession, he didn't feel surprised at the notion. He supposed they had an excellent bedside manner, if the way they tended to strangers was any indication. It didn't sound like the guild offered particularly perilous work, but it was always good to have someone around who knew a thing or two about medicine.

"I dabble in a bit of alchemy myself. It's nothing to boast about, though. I don't exactly have a specialty." Nothing in comparison to someone dubbed by others a witch doctor, who had plenty to boast about. "Depending on how well this guild stuff goes though--" or how not well it goes, to be technical-- "I might take you up on that. I could use something to take the edge off. Only..." An afterthought later, he said, "I'm not familiar with a lot of the flora and such here, and I'm sure it's not familiar with me. Different biology and all." Nancy speculated that played a factor into the bizarre and often unfortunate side effects of his potions. He was familiar with crafting for his kind, not for landfolk. So surely it worked the other way around? "Not that it's something you'd have trouble with, I'm sure. You're the expert," her told them, unsure but not wanting to appear rude due to his own continuous worries.


A Cakewalk? Maybe if you're a Rock Golem

When Nancy arrived to the lobby alongside Quiwynn, he nestled himself near one of the corners, forgoing seating himself for the same reason of not having the confidence that those chairs could hold so much as one scale let alone a whole Locathah of his size. He often did find himself staring down at the tops of peoples' heads, but with this lot, between two imposing figures and two creatures who were dwarfed in comparison, he was in a comfortable middle ground. In a ragtag group like this, really anyone would feel less of an oddball.

Not that any of that eased his jittery thumbs, especially in the face of this mission briefing. "Uhh..." So, about the work not being particularly perilous? Should he be surprised that he was proven wrong oh so quickly? Nancy looked down at his boots, willing his crystal into silence before every concern belted out into the open air. Courier work sounded simple enough, until you added together all the environmental hazards. The Grotto didn't intimidate him so much, beyond the potential of theft. He didn't have much, but what did have value were things nearly irreplaceable. Still, he liked to think himself a diligent person, being the type to lock every door and window in a house before being eased enough to rest his head.

The Wastes, however? Maybe the giant and foxman would do fine, but not someone like him, who'd fry up in that kind of climate as quick as it took your common landfolk to drown. Nancy supposed he could concoct a few resistance potions for himself, but his funds counted up to a grand total of nothing, so unless he could either find quick cash or stray ingredients laying around, he was out of luck there.

The foxman, Yaokai he called himself, wanted to brush over a quick introduction. "Nancy," he said, throwing his name into the pile. He didn't have much of an opinion on this man, aside from his methods of getting attention being questionable, but it wasn't that he found intimidating. The man seemed so confident about this whole deal that Nancy felt himself clam up at the thought of suggesting they NOT risk traveling up the Peaks. He didn't want to ruin what would make a hefty payday for his guildmates just because of his own unfortunate biology.
"I'm... not sure," he mustered out. "I wouldn't fair well in a desert. But that's at day." Realizing this, he added, "Maybe if we traveled at night? I can handle the cold just fine. Unless that wouldn't bode well for anyone here. And then there's the Dark creatures, I guess." He deflated, what seemed like a good idea falling flat at the idea of contending with yet another hazard. He was no fighter, and he could chance a guess that a medicine fellow and a little rogue man weren't the types to take on hostile folk either. "Maybe if we avoid a new moon night, it'll be better? But I don't want to dictate how we go about this just because of me."


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Vespera Marine "Hermes" Seyres
Stoneroses HQ- Lobby​

Kai asked for gear. It would be extremely important to carry proper gear while going through the Wastes (and especially the Peaks), and keep that gear on them through the Spellbound Grotto. "I am here to provide assistance, supervise, and fight as needed. I am NOT here to tell any of you how to do this mission," Ves declared upfront.
"What about me? You're lacking combat potential, Ves. We can't put the newcomers through anything too hard on their first foray."


A Shifter Approaches

The new voice echoed from above, sounding like a playful trainer. A woman strolled down the stairs. She looked absolutely stunning. Barefoot, wearing silken white robes, and with an immensely long chain clanging softly on the stairs as she walked. It was hard to know where it started, but it trailed everywhere from around her feet, doing laps as it wrapped around her waist, up to her right arm with its own high amounts of slack, then drew towards the ending as it wrapped a couple of times around her left arm, then ended at the bird cage dangling. This could easily be a 30 ft chain she was working with, not even trying to make it manageable. It was more like she just wanted to keep the cage on her body, no matter how loose.

"GP, stop being obnoxious," Ves told him with a roll of her eyes. GP was an incredibly unpredictable person. He was a walking enigma. Putting that aside, who/what was he imitating right now? She eyed the birdcage. "Is that the demon you exorcised?"
"No need to be so cold, Vessy. Right now, it's Yulah." Yulah held up the cage and inside was a black orb. "Our little ball of darkness here wreaked a lot of havoc. I'll take it to the Church to be expunged."
"Well meet the newcomers in your normal form, then go do it so you can join this mission. If you join, I won't have to join."
"Pawning this off on me, Vessy?"
"You know mail doesn't deliver on Sundays. Since I bring in most of the money for the guild, give me any reason take my non-mail days off." Ves's service was a strong one. She brought in clientelle who sought her specifically to deliver packages, which gave the guild some commission on those bounties. This was Ves selflessly sacrificing her own profit for this guild, as if she desired, she could just take these requests directly and get 100% of the profit. Instead, in order to support the guild, any "under the table" delivery requests would be put on the Stoneroses Billboard

"Let me meet the newcomers." The woman began to turn black. Pitch black. As if she were a midnight slime, she became an amorphous blob, which then contorted into a different form. However, instead of skin color coming back into view, it stayed pitch black. Then pure white eyes formed. No iris, no pupil. What DID come into view besides that were clothing, which took the form of a suit. "Hello, all." The voice completely changed from that of a sultry woman to that of a man who had experience in public speaking. "You may call me GP. What does it stand for? Guinness Pounder, Guinea Pig, Great Pretender, Glorious Poser, Go-"
"GP!"
A laugh escaped his mouth, which only appeared in this case just to laugh. "You know me, Ves." he responded before looking back to the newbies. "Anyways, I am a shapeshifter. However, I was born with a malformed ability to shift. I change based on what I drink. Be it flavored water, to animal saliva, to alcohol, to blood." The implications were limitless for both better and for worse. "I am immune to poison, sickness, and disease..........and in my normal form, I have no taste buds without magic, so I won't taste what I don't want to."
"As you heard, this is GP," Ves said, not about to let him ramble on forever. "He's a shifter, which means that he is versatile. He can join you."
"Indeed. I crossed Zephyr Wastes to get back here, so I'm freshly back with a pocket full of sand."

Fantastic! Ves sighed in relief. She honestly didn't want to go on this trip. A week of running around and doing admin stuff for this guild on the side, she needed to rest her legs. "GP, you will take over in my stead." She grabbed the cage from GP. "I'll take this to be expunged. Get acquainted, get them some starter gear and head out. Keep in contact."
Ves quickly took her leave with GP's cage


GP the Shifter
Stoneroses HQ- Lobby​

The pitch black shapeshifter looked at the group. A Lung-borne Locathah, a Kitsune, and a Firbolg. Looks like he would be the vanguard on any combat encounters that may pop up. Looks like he'd need to pack more strength and speed potions. "I was listening in on the conversation. The New Moon is a week from today, so we're fine in that regard. As for gear, we got a starter friendly armorer. He's called the Armor Librarian. He rents armor out for weeks at a time at a far cheaper price than to buy it." He gives out the armor for a week and you're expected to return it after a week. "For low-ranking guild members, he rents armor out free for a week. The catch? All rented armor is under a timed curse that activates if you don't return it to him in time." In other words, an overdue fee in the form of a curse. It was quite an ingenious role to fulfill. Give starters a way to start adventuring while not losing the armor itself. To GP, the armorer could've just made a binding curse that automatically teleports the armor back to the store after a week, but libraries cursed those who didn't return their books in time, so why not an armorer? "As newbies, you'll get free rentals from the starter section. Just show him your card."

The Iron Curse
Armor Rental​

Description: The Iron Curse fulfills a surprisingly big need: arming those who can't necessarily afford to buy arms. The Iron Curse rents out armor, equipment, accessories, bags, camping equipment, and weaponry. The catch? You must return it in the agreed-upon (and/or paid for) time, else the equipment curses you until you do. It's an inherent overdue fee, so make sure you return what you borrow

The curses are stronger in stronger equipment, but rarely do they go into actual inherently harmful curses. The equipment is good, it gets the job done, it's dirt cheap. Just turn it in on time.

GP seemed a bit excited to head out and begin this mission immediately. These missions gave him life. Plus, he was kind of curious about how one of those Earth Resist or Wind Resist potions would make him shift. A ton of the fun in his malfunction was how he shifted into forms he'd never even thought of before. Like Yulah for example. A priestess who trapped demons in bird cages of all things? Yeah, he never would've thought about some shit like that. "I have to go grab some potions for this mission, which the shop is close to it, so let's go there, load up real quick and hit the road ASAP. Let's not dawdle around any further."
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Quiwynn "The Witch Doctor"
HQ Lobby
​
Quinn would be listening quietly to everyone as they entered the room, glad that this was a small guild or else Quinn would have retreated away. Yet at the same time felt reassured with she and Nancy had gotten closer together. Along with this very small fox-like creature but tried to gather all the information and looked at the sheets of parchment given to them and flipped through them as this new mysterious person would appear. As the group talked Quinn decided to listen, waiting for the right moment to reveal what might end up being a content ability of hers in this mission of forging, after all, she was very familiar with a variety of plants, known and lesser known due to her own background.

Quinn knew how to use her magic to help plants grow given the right season and the right tools of course. While mushrooms and fungi were her focus, Quinn could use this with really any plant, but even then, her own abilities did have limits her already much greater strength and endurance would lead to much more promising results, which was good. However, with one of their ingredients being a mushroom, they felt much more confident about this mission. After all, those grow much differently than other plans, but most might be trickier to get started but not impossible. That and navigation for her was always easy, all Quinn had to do was ask the question of the plan, listen carefully, and know in general where to go. All in all, as long as Quinn is given the protection and time needed, Quinn might just be the right person for this type of job, which brought a great sense of relief to the giant, a sigh escaping their lips. Seeing that the others left room for her to speak, Quinn quickly spoke up

"It's a pleasure to meet everyone here, Nancy, Kai, and GP. If and get small samples of what we need, as long as it is harvested correctly. I mostly specialize in mushrooms myself so it would be hard for the Mushroom, but the moss will be much harder. And in case we do encounter trouble, I can...heal somewhat, I'm not the best but, it can get us through," they said softly, nodding to each one, noticing the other's excitement and well, less excitement but money was always, promising, and practice. That and they weren't quite sure how to mention the fact they can talk to plants to find directions quietly yet so figured, they will let the tree find out later.

"Though I'm not too sure about my own ability to really, fend for ourselves, I never was...what is it called, properly trained in such a way." They added in. "However, I do not mind carrying anything extra that might weigh down others as we scale the mountain but, I think we can work out details on the road, yes?" They then head to the door, figuring if they are moving now, they can discuss other things of importance later but, it was better to be on top of things and missions.

"Let's head out, gather whatever supplies you all need, I carry nothing of major importance anyways." They would then open and hold the door open for the rest, though a bit awkward due to their height.


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A combat-savvy escort, and free rental gear? That was markedly better, Nancy had to admit. They allowed themselves a sigh, hardly at ease but more so than he was worrying about burning up in the desert sun or getting jumped by some creature. Which, as far as they were concerned, was still a possibility, regardless of who guided them or what they were carrying.

This GP fellow seemed like a wildcard, if they could shift into any form they needed in a pinch. Kai, however, was an obvious loose cannon. Vespera certainly knew how to point him in the direction she wanted, but without her cracking down on him, he felt a bit nervous. Nancy knew he wasn't standing up to him any time soon, and Quiwynn seemed too nice to overbear someone. Maybe the giant would prove him wrong, or GP's own vaguely mischievous inclinations wouldn't stop him from putting his foot down with Kai. Nancy felt a bit mean for thinking this way with Kai, but if he was willing to trespass on the property of people he wanted to work with, what was stopping him from doing any number of crazy stunts while on the job?

While Quiwynn listed off skills they had to offer, Nancy was completely silent on the matter. He had his own knowledge on alchemy ingredients, but paired with the giant, who apparently ran their own medical service, it paled in comparison. He clammed up, feeling like anything he could say would just make him look silly at best, useless at worst. When they opened the door for them, Nancy was first to leave, head kept down as he muttered a small thanks. Moping around wasn't all he was planning to do, though, instead mulling over the kinds of rogue plants he'd seen growing in between the city's infrastructure. Anything he could forage now could come in handy later.


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GP, eh? Just who was this guy, or whatever they were. It was hard to tell at this point. Regardless, Kai had other things on his mind that wouldn't let him be swayed by the appearance of some suave mystery member. The only real interest lied in getting himself geared up well enough to survive whatever apocalyptic wasteland and terrain that were ahead of the group. Still, Kai had to admit there in the very back of his mind there was some intrigue into this shifter, he seemed to be well travelled, perhaps if Kai could only get close to him, then he could... No, no. He needed to focus on gaining coin right now, becoming stronger, learning as much as he could about himself and gaining whatever skills and abilities that were locked within him before he could think of his past. This was his present right now, and while not necessarily his future, he still had to focus on the now.

So, this Firbolg knew about mushrooms and medical crap. That'd be useful. Ves' abilities were self explanatory for the most part it seemed, GP could provide excellency with reconnaissance and blending in when it was near impossible to do so otherwise. Kai, well, he could fit into small places and loot off of others with ease and without notice, he was very light footed. But this Nancy fellow, just what in the hell did he provide? Kai decided to follow closely next to the fish man. "Hey, so, what's your deal Flounder? I mean, we got ol witch doctor, shifter, the speed demon and myself with the sticky fingers but what are you providing?" Kai was worried now this would come off as a dig, implying that Nancy didn't belong here but that was all too far from the truth.

"Don't mean to sound rude, not my intention, just how it comes off. I just am really curious what kinda cool shit you can do. I mean, you gotta be good at somethin', right? Or are you just gonna be our forever fish outta water on this mission?" The fox thought for a moment before continuing. "I got your back regardless, but I just wanna know how you're gonna have mine."

It wasn't gonna be an easy task, something in Kai's gut told him that they were in for more than they bargained, and he was a bit concerned for this Nancy fellow if he was just gonna run in and get himself cooked and eaten for dinner. Even Kai had to admit he was a tasty looking guy. "Feels like the big leagues now, doesn't it?" It was true, Kai had never gone on a mission like this before, he'd had plenty of adventures in his time but nothing organized and precise like this. He always was able to do things his way, now he had a crew to look out for and think of. "We got this, though. I know it. Well, unless we don't and we all perish."
 
Ah, just his rotten luck.

"Um..." Nancy looked up from where he had frozen still, hands pausing the process of pulling some coiling vine out of a wall of neglected cobblestone. "Well..." There was no point in not being honest now, he reasoned. He couldn't promise that Yokai or the others would like the truth, but in the long-term, carrying the weight of truth was usually preferable to being caught in a lie. "I'd like to call myself an alchemist," he begun, setting up his admission to be truthful while still expunging some of those little, shameful details. "But Quiwynn sounds like the expert here. I'm not particularly good at it yet."

Hence why I'm here, was kept from being repeated by his crystal, saying in its place a much more gentle, "I'm hoping that working in this guild will give me the time and resources to improve my craft to something worthy. In return for hard work, of course." He wanted to say a low stakes, simple sort of occupation, but considering this place was about to go under... "But until then, I, uh... don't want to get anyone's hopes up." Nancy broke off the piece of vine he wanted with a slight snap of his wrist, nestling it in his satchel where many more would be placed throughout their mission. "I can promise I'll do my best, though." Sad eyes lowered down to restless feet. "Even if my best isn't much to boast about..."

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GP the Shifter​

"No one's dying, Kai," GP responded, trying to keep it from being a retort. Last thing he needed was for Nancy to be any more nervous than he already was. The fish out of water was already quaking in his boots as it was. "THOSE missions happen when you're no longer on our watch..........so like next mission when you can choose your own. You'll be fine." The only actually dangerous place was Zephyr Peaks. Zephyr Wastes was more of an environmental hazard that only ever got universally dangerous on a new moon night..........or the closer one got to the Bones of the Shadow Dragon. "The name of the Shadow Dragon is Samira. Red-eyed black dragon. The Wind Dragon was named *Pravicen (Pra-Veeh-Chehn; Roll the R). White-eyed Blue Dragon. It's been said that Pravicen is one with the sky in that he can be completely invisible as he flies in clear skies. Sky blue, not normal blue. It's said that clouds form when his eyes shine."
Fair Winds.png



The trio got their gear from the starter armorer, the trio got the following:

Kai
  • Relic: Amulet of Anti-Magic- Immunity to all magic and magic-induced effects, both positive and negative; Prevents user from using magic of any kind
  • Windswept armor- Leather armor that increases movement speed; Further increases movement speed after using a wind spell; Increases resistance to Wind Magic
  • Basic Dagger
Nancy
  • Relic: Everquench Canteen- Bottomless canteen; Currently empty, you better fill it up before the trip
  • Hydration Armor- Gold Armor with runes engraved to keep the user hydrated; Water-Magic heals the user
  • Basic Club
Quiwynn
  • Relic: Forager's Tome- Book that increases Earth and Nature magic affinity; Highlights material of interest to the user
  • Stonewall Armor- Iron Armor with incredibly high defense; Makes the user move slower
  • Basic Warhammer- 2-handed weapon, Quiwynn is strong enough to wield it with 1; Bypasses armor to an extent to deal blunt damage

From there, GP warned the group. "7 days and you get cursed. Be sure to return the gear." All of this gear was free to the group and would come in handy. While they got their gear from Iron Curse, GP grabbed a few potions of multiple different types. Of course, he'd wait to actually drink one. "Let's get moving." The man downed 2 potions and dropped into an amorphous blob. He took the shape of a giant owl, then color slowly faded into his skin. "Potion of the Giant and Potion of Flight turned me into an owl of all things," GP hooted in mirth, "Makes me want to fly to Ga'Hoole."


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The group set out on the back of the giant owl GP. They soared high, seeing the lands of Kraiven below. Demestral accompanied them, flying on her wyvern. As a pixie, she was no exception to being in love with the place that was Spellbound Grotto and guided them to it. Given the taboo, she couldn't tell them any intricate details about it. Spellbound Grotto wasn't far relatively speaking, but it was about half-a-day's foot-travel from the capital city. That was about 50 miles, which was quite the distance to travel for this small group.

Soon, Demi took a nosedive which signified that they were about there. GP dove as if no one was on his back, forcing the group to hang on for dear life. The shifter was a thrill seeker through and through, but right before the crash that would send them all to Heaven's Gates early, he stopped. Flapping his wings before stopping, they had landed in a forest clearing. "We are here, my friends. Hopefully your acrophobia didn't increase." As a Locathah, fish weren't exactly used to soaring. As for the rest, the heavy Quiwynn and the extreme lightweight Yokai, it wasn't strenuous to carry them. They kind of cancelled out in terms of weight.

Demi looked to the group, leaning against her wyvern. "I will guide you to the Spellbound Grotto. Keep your weapons at the ready, this place is known to house some dangers. My good boy isn't coming with us." Large flyers didn't exactly get along with forests. Demi was wielding a spear though, and she seemed like she knew how to use it. One could thank Spellbound Grotto for why she was willing to guide the group here free of charge

The forest was THICK, to the point where some of the shrubbery and smaller trees were growing abnormally so as to get to some of the sunlight blocked from above. The clearing they were in was definitely an oasis in an ocean of greenery. One could expect to be traversing nothing but sticks, logs, and leaves for miles to come.

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Quiwynn "The Witch Doctor"
Westwing​
Quinn would begin to follow as the group went to gather their supplies, listening quietly to the rest banter lightly, taking note of the smaller creatures. Kai was in fact very small, the one who happened to get kicked into Nancy the day before, causing the giant to smile to themselves and chuckle softly but was quick to catch themselves. Hopefully, they would lend a helping hand in this new group but do fear that many might assume too much from them due to their size. After all, they were large and could be intimidating but by nature, they never really were one to pick fights or such. Almost a pacifist really. The one time they could remember nearly getting into a fight was a few years ago during a trip to gather supplies, and found some men lodging which honestly fueled something inside the firbolg that caused them to almost last out.

"Oh please, I'm no expert, just an enthusiast," they piped in quickly, hearing their name which brought them out of their thoughts for the time being. "I will say though, not to keep the topic on dying, death happens to be an area of interest for me as well, interesting cycle of life and death is really. From death, life respawns, fascinating." They added in, beginning to get more animated as they spoke, their voice with more life as if they were about to go on a tangent. However, something tugged at the back of Quiwynn's mind and they quickly pulled themselves back and looked to GP as they spoke of dragons. Dragons were fascinating creatures but highly dangerous. The giant's hope was to ideally never have to encounter one unless it was a baby or dead really. Then maybe they might dare to even look at one. Hopefully, that would never happen, after all, it was such a small guild, they wouldn't be tasked with such a thing.

Getting their borrowed items, Quiwynn would add on their armor, having to get some help to put it on due to not being used to such material, and looked positively uncomfortable in it but did their best to put it onto an okay face. The other strange item Quiwynn held was the Warhammer which just by looking at the way they held it showed their lack of knowledge in fighting, holding out from their body at first before being told to put it in their holster which they did so with great awkward. The one item they found to be the most comforting was the tome, something more familiar to them feeling the heightened senses towards nature flow through them. Quiwynn knew better than to argue about the other two items they got but knew it was for the best. Maybe at some point, they could afford to buy a similar relic to this forger's tome.

"Seven days hm? Seems reasonable," they mumbled, mostly to themselves as they would follow GP. For a moment, they were simply attuning themselves to this new relic, shifting in their new armor, trying to get comfortable in it but were far too unfamiliar with the material before looking up to see GP, the one black void of a creature turn into a giant owl. When the group was first beckoned to get onto the back, Quiwynn outright refused only to eventually and reluctantly would get on, apologizing softly if they were too big or heavy to carry, especially with their new equipment. Flying was a new experience for the giant, but not one to particularly scare them. After all, they were the type to be ready to welcome death with open arms at any moment. As if the grim reaper was an old friend of theirs. For the time they flew, Quiwynn decided to take the time to relax slightly, closing their eyes before suddenly lurching forward and eventually back on the ground, their own heart rate would have spiked for a moment at the sudden decline but not for very long, as they were quick to regain their senses. Quiwynn would gladly get off first, adjusting their belongings on them before looking towards Demi and offering a small smile, but looking behind them, fascinated by the spellbound grotto, for probably obvious reasons at this point. "Thank you for the ride GP, I hope it wasn't too tiring on you." Then Quiwynn would turn their attention to Demi and give them a small bow of greeting and thanks.

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I would like to offer my thanks in advance for your guidance." They said looking to the rest of their part, hoping they would be able to be the last to enter, encase they wanted to sample anything from in the forest and perhaps be able to get to know this forest a little bit better. This of course would mean Quiwynn talking to the plants, which they feared might cause the party to think, less of them. However, it was such a trait for many firbolgs. Many of them, even those who weren't druids, could communicate with plants and animals to some extent, though some were better than others. The communication between them and their surroundings is one of the many reasons Firbolgs could simply hide away in the forest in small clans, to begin with. Seeing a firbolg out of that forest was not uncommon but not a typical sight for sure. That is, of course, you ended up like Quiwynn themselves.

"Other than have our weapons ready, any other advice before we continue our travels? Or is experienced the best teacher?"


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G.P. the Shifter
Spellbound Forest​

"I'll give you all advice as we go, since I am accompanying you as a veteran," GP responded. If needed, he was one of only 2 actual fighters there. Kai had too much to learn to be considered an actual fighter.
"Same," Demi said, "I'll assist as I guide, but you can consider this a test of your skills. Once we get to Spellbound Grotto, we fairies can only interfere when dealing with a foreign presence trying to endanger those within." She couldn't be putting blades to throats on the back of a bit of trolling, and GP knew she was about to be unreliable from the getgo. He had gone through the Spellbound Grotto in HIS own hazing and it was also with Demi, so he never held his breath that Demi would've helped them. "This is the Spellbound Forest, the forest currently housing the Spellbound Grotto." The name of the forest changed as the location of the Grotto changed, at least among the fairies

"One minute." GP turned from his Griffin Form. He had another Giant Potion and Flight potion. This was their return trip. He made sure to keep these potions safe. He was their ride out of here. GP grabbed another potion, a Woodflesh Potion, which was used to harden the skin from physical attacks at the cost of a weakness to fire. In a flash of white, GP began to transform, turning into a ball of light. The glow soon shifted from a white into a deep green and went into the ground. Leaves swirled around his form and gave off a strong smell of tree sap. Sweet and smelling of aromatic tree bark, it was a welcome smell compared to his smell as an owl. Vines sprouted from the ground around his shape and it began to grow, the sound of vines rubbing together and leaves rustling making the forest seem alive..........or maybe making him into an incarnate of the forest

When his form finally took shape, he was a quadruped, a wolf. However, he wasn't a normal wolf. He was a wolf with skin made of leaves and vines. Green teeth, green claws, and green glowing sockets to show as his eyes, GP was now a strange mixture of a treant and a wolf. "Someone must've boiled the bark from an Oak Treant. Don't know why I took on the form of a wolf though," he commented. He couldn't say he was surprised though, as this was nowhere near his first rodeo turning into all these forms. He COULD say though that he'd never taken on this specific form before.

GP's voice sounded like a mixture of a dog and the sounds of a tree being rapidly force-grown behind it. It made his voice a bit hard to understand, as his voice box was effectively a ball of vines. When he howled, all small vegetation around them grew, even those on the party with him, and when he barked threateningly, vines from all around sprouted from the ground and surrounding trees, obviously poised to strike.

"Alright, what is my orb this time?" Upon conjuring his Soul Orb, it floated around him then attached to his forehead, becoming a sharp and majestic pair of antlers to sit atop his head. This is neat, GP thought. I'm glad my orb isn't my claws or my teeth. This spices things up.
"I'm ready now. Let's move out." GP looked like a high summon of some druid

7158a8cd8ce8a36a4fc9b30bd31f43bd.jpg

Description: The form of a wolf as determined by the forest around it, this form emphasizes speed and deadly use of the pinpoint sharp antlers to impale any foes that stand before him.

With the lack of a wolf pack to lead, the pack is the forest itself, able to utilize vines from the surrounding areas or even his own body to strike at foes

Weakness(es)
  • Extreme weakness to fire
  • Can't take over other wolves
  • Magic takes hydration, which he will need to replenish
  • A heart core which, when struck, will force him back into normal form
  • Dehydration will dry him up. The death of the vines which make up his body will force him back into normal form

------------------------------------------------



The forest stroll was quite physically demanding. It was a very dense forest, bustling with smaller life. Squirrels, deer, tiny forest fairies, bugs. The crunch of dead leaves was the sound of the path they took, enormous fallen logs proved an obstacle course, and plants too big to be natural, moved enough to offput anyone looking to examine it up close and personal. "There are carnivorous plants around. Careful. The reagents can be good, but some of them are toxic."

Being newcomers, they got a ton of eyes on them and they could hear plenty of giggles. Demi was absolutely in her element though, flying around to greet all of the forest fairies and animals, and even some of the plants, talking to those as if they could respond. She was clearly happy to be here in the forest and among her people. GP had noticed it from Demi a while ago. She did NOT enjoy being in the capital city at all. Too noisy, too many machines, smoke, and not to mention the high amounts of Iron exposure she risked. As a fairy, iron was toxic to her and burned her skin. Out here in the forest though, among other fairies, there was none of that
WayfaringWaaksian WayfaringWaaksian 606 606
 
Nancy Noi​

Skies Over Kraiven

What was the difference between staring down the blue-black abyss of a deep spring, and overlooking a checkered span of forest and towns? Fall speed, for one. If they fell over GP, they wouldn't be sinking down at any leisurely pace. And then there was the fact that you couldn't swim up from somewhere you wanted to be. Birds could "swim" in air just fine. Nancy was no bird though. You didn't see birds in the deep, or fish in the air, and perfect strangers sure liked to point that out.

Should've thought of that before you left home, maybe? Oh, he had. A simple risk assessment; what was worse, having nothing for him at home, or dealing with some inconveniences? Culture shock, environmental hazards, homelessness... There's no turning back now. He couldn't get off this thing, unless he wanted to plummet further down.

Though despite his worries, the flight to the Forest... wasn't so bad. Once he convinced himself to have enough trust in their escort to not drop them, the beating winds against his fins and the sight of flattened land stretching on and on began to intrigue him. It was like teleporting over a map in a magical book, and they were about to zoom into the start of the protagonist's adventure. So long as he didn't look directly down... which was why his trust began to dive as fast as GP did with that last stunt.

Once the crew was grounded, Nancy had lowered to all fours, just shy of kissing the ground. "PLEASE never do that again!"


Just a Nice Woodland Stroll. Maybe

Compared to the buildings and trees that had looked like grains of sand, now they were the grains of sand, sitting at the bases of grand trees that touched the sun, blotting it from sight in thick clusters of translucent green. The wind chill had kept the heat from biting into Nancy's back when in flight, but the humidity here soothed his throat as he breathed. He almost considered shouldering off his armor. Gold was... heavy. Even in the thin sheets that made up this set. But where else was he going to put it? Not lugged behind a bag, unless he wanted to break his already strained back.

Goddess, he was out of shape. How do they put it? Trial by fire? His legs certainly felt like they were on fire, traversing this thick wood with stumpy limbs more suited for paddling. But he couldn't bring himself to complain. It was nice and cool down in the undergrowth. And pretty. Blooms of large flowers provided splashes of bright color against a dark green backdrop. The aroma in the air was sweet with nectar and wet lichen. The temptation to stop and investigate some of the flora here was increasing, but Demestral's words pierced that drive and nailed it to a distant wall. The most beautiful things in nature were only allowed to persist if they were too toxic or dangerous to be tampered with.

"So your people," he began when the pixie girl zipped back into earshot. "They're a joyous bunch, I hear?" Joyous in that they laughed with, or at people? That giggling and hushed talk behind leaves and flower petals made him anxious.


Kylesar1 Kylesar1 606 606
 
Demestral Asella
Spellbound Forest​

"Yup," Demi chirped happily. "Parties are common and we tend to be.......yeah joyous is a good word for it. We are always taught to celebrate when we can, even the little things." Pixies were always the life of the party, known to be jokesters and quite easy to get along with unless one was generally bleak (aka, they stay away from emos). Demi floated around the group, taking note how they traversed the woodlands. Nancy was decidedly lacking in dexterity. While she absolutely noticed it from the getgo, it REALLY showed when it came to navigating the hilly woodlands full of obstacles. It was times like these that made her kind of glad to have wings. "You'll find that patience will be a virtue at times. I'm human-socialized enough, but other pixies born and in raised in Fairy territories may get a tad invasive out of curiosity." A lot of the Fairy folk were like this, but pixies were generally the tamest and friendliest of all of them, from the outside perspective.

The forest began to glow. Like, EVERYTHING began to glow. Trees began to sprout out of nothing and vines began to grow thicker and thicker. This forest was turning into a heavy forest right before their eyes. "Something is afoot," GP warned with a growl. There was a crazy build up of darkness and a harsh chill in the air, clearly unnatural considering that it was a clear sunny day today
Demi immediately sprang into action by calling one of the other pixies over. "What's going on?! What's this buildup of power?"
"The Banshees are making the pilgrimage to Avalon, and the Gate is here today."

Yeah, that wasn't good. Banshees were a type of fairy known to be an omen of death. Their shriek is basically a summon so the Reapers know where to look for the soul they are to take. While they themselves are friendly, GROUPS of them cause immense immense bad luck to non-fairies, not something they can control. "Why wasn't I told of this when I asked you about Spellbound Grotto?" she asked urgently, "I told you I was bringing new recruits here!"
"My apologies, Lady Demestral." There was genuine regret in their voice, as a genuine bout of forgetfulness. "I will make it up to you."
"Yeah you will." Demi told her sternly. "People under my watch aren't dying for your mischief." It wasn't that they would die per se. It's just that the level of bad luck one would contract from being around a group of Banshees would make the universe one's enemy for like 3 days. That level of unluck could kill someone

Demi wasn't about to let this mission continue. "Group. We're pulling out. We chose a hell of a day to take on this quest."
GP sighed. "Another flight already?"
Demi wasn't any happier about this than GP was, but for the safety of this group so they don't die from Banshees not looking to hurt them, it was best to go.

(The reason why is that this mission was planned to be a group, and set up as such for the players to take advantage of their character's skills. Without that group, I'll have to cancel this mission at least, so we can recenter the RP as a whole.)
WayfaringWaaksian WayfaringWaaksian
 
"Invasive"? Nancy instinctively wanted to curl up on himself, neck shortening into an S-shape. "I... I see." What sort of curiosity was Demestral talking about? The endless question kind, or the poking and prodding kind? He felt a bit guilty that his thoughts immediately drifted into the negative. They sounded like lovely people, really, and their guide seemed nice enough. He could hope a walking Locathah was just an oddity of a sight as the rest of the non-fairies who entered their land.

Finding that out for himself was going to have to wait. When the forest became even more alive, glowing bright against a growing darkness, Nancy huddled closer to the group. "What's happening-- EEK!" he squeaked when a tree nearly sprouted directly under him. Banshees were coming? No, that wasn't good at all. Demestral had to have a better understanding of it, but anything that was an omen for death was an instant nope for him.

He understood GP's frustration. That had not been a short flight. But Nancy was more concerned about what this meant for the mission. "How urgently does Zera need those ingredients?" He felt bad to keep the harpy witch waiting, though he imagined traveling in these conditions would be like trying to deliver mail in the middle of a tornadic storm. One might not touch down near you, but was it worth the risk? Dying AND losing the package wasn't going to help anyone.


Kylesar1 Kylesar1
 
Demestral Asella
Spellbound Forest​


"Not urgent enough to risk your life for," Demi said decisively, The prankster side of her was discarded immediately on this realization. "Zera can wait. I do not care." The pixie never cared about the mission in the first place. She just wanted Spellbound Grotto and offered to take the mission with them as a means to that end. Those Banshees would be wailing at her for whisking away the recruits, and even more for reason being that they would bring those recruits potentially life-ending bad luck, but she could deal. "GP, drink it and let's go," she said firmly.

With a groan, the Treant Wolf conjured the potion in front of his mouth and then drank it. "Damn it, I really liked that form......" he said as he shrank down into a glowing blob, which rose into the air. Violently, the blob moved as it began to take shape. After the color faded into existence in the silhouette, it was in a different form. A........ "A Pixie Dragon," Demi said in eye-sparkling awe as she looked upon GP's new form. Absolutely beautiful wings. A body of blue and violet that denoted DEADLY draconian toxins. A salamander-esque face. "I'm a male. A female cannot hope to look this beautiful. Wolf means nothing to me now." he said with a hint with snark. Demi always had an awe and love of Dragons, but a Fae Dragon was one of those nigh mythical rarities. It was a shame that this majestic form had to be used for an escape. It legitimately made Demi want to ride on him, just to get the feel. While she would accept any Dragon willing to accept her, her ideal would be something like a Pixie Dragon. Most Pixie Dragons were small. If she wanted to be a Dragon TAMER, she wouldn't go wrong with a Pixie Dragon. However, as a girl trying to become a RIDER, Pixie Dragons big enough to ride on were a unicorn.
"Demi, no time for distractions. Call Quincy and let's move out." GP told her urgently, dropping to the ground to let everyone load.
ef61e3cf5d3b58ea26680e1ab9350031.jpg

The girl blinked at the words, her mind a bit static. Oh right, she had to get these recruits away from the incoming Banshees. She shook off her distraction. "Come Quincy. Immediately!" Her wyvern came crashing through the trees to get to her, surrounded by a powerful aura. It was like Thor calling his mighty hammer. It would crash through whatever to get back to her. "Immediate" was a precedent that symbolized very strong need to act quickly. Having learned it from her father, an "immediate" precedent was considered an emergency, and those types of commands, while they couldn't be used often, were very strong. When imposed on Quincy, he would've burned down that forest in order to get to her. Luckily he crashed through it.
She jumped on his back. "On your mark, GP!"
When everyone was on, they'd take off back to HQ.
WayfaringWaaksian WayfaringWaaksian
 
GP's previously imposing form was further outdone by what the next potion transformed him into, cutting his complaints quite short. A dragon, and a stunningly beautiful one unlike anything Nancy had seen in the scrolls. Iridescent wings and rainbow scales outshone the multitude of lovely flowers and plants they'd trekked past, and warned of an even greater poison. For the Pixie herself to be taken by the sight told him that a Pixie Dragon had to be the jewel of the Grotto, if not beyond.

There wasn't the time to wonder about it until they were safely away from the approaching pilgrimage. As startling as Quincy was snapping branches over them with his muscled wings, Nancy was more startled by the thought of the greater danger that they were narrowly avoiding. He clambered alongside the others without complaint.


While in the skies, and with many passing miles to busy his mind with, now there was time to wonder. The rarity of those draconian toxins were something Nancy could never hope to extract and study. Never mind that his lack of expertise would get him killed trying to handle them, surely the tribute it would require to coax some from a Dragon would make an aristocrat go broke. Nancy supposed he could just ask GP, but that felt weird, not to mention his shapeshifter body likely gave it differing properties. Unless those toxins were willed, they were sitting on his back just fine.

Eh. This all was sort of a reminder of why great discoveries of divine beings and fantastic beasts were left to the adventurers. The thought of handling rare reagents was a thrilling concept, but Nancy knew he wasn't cut out for that. Escort mission was as good as it was getting, but despite that being pulled up from under their feet, Nancy was grateful that they weren't about to do THAT as their first mission. Though that made him feel a little pathetic.

"Well. On the bright side..." and he had to choose his words carefully, as to sound less pathetic, "... maybe some smaller missions would get us warmed up for this by the time all that bad luck clears out?"


Kylesar1 Kylesar1
 
GP the Shifter
Skies above Kraiven ------------> Stoneroses HQ
Form- Pixie Dragon​

"Aye. A quest that doesn't take us to such far away places," GP responded, "Maybe there's another foraging request that takes us to a place more nearby." He was just happy he could be a divine being right now. While being a rare creature wasn't so rare for him, it wasn't often that he was able to become a DIVINE being. It definitely had to do with properties of the Spellbound Forest mixed with the sheer amount of fairyfolk present there, Banshees included, contributing their own energy, positive or negative

So it was a failure of a first day and failure of a first mission, and the group eventually made it back. Under a cloud but happy to be alive, GP let them off and then flew into the city. "To cause some mischief," he said. He wasn't well-known, but it was gonna cause some chaos if a pixie dragon of all things landed in the city. Dragons were beings not to the trifled with. If a dragon landed in your village or city, best let it do its thing and then let it move on. If a dragon razed a village, it was because someone had attacked it or earned its wrath in the past. Dragons only ever ate people when ravenously hungry or, more likely, when people came to their caves looking for either loot or discipleship without proper tribute.

GP wasn't looking for violence though. He was looking for easy tribute in the remaining time he had as a Pixie Dragon, about a good hour or so. He had used Gluttonize only once, so he had 2 more uses before running out. The man would get as much tribute out of this as possible before taking it to the tavern for a night of R&R. After this failed mission, man needed to recoup the money they lost by not completing the mission.


Mission: Deliver materials to Zera the Harpy
  • Status: On Hold (Incomplete) due to unforeseen circumstances



Demestral Asella
Stoneroses HQ​

Demi sighed. "I'll make the report. Take it easy, Nancy." The woman was pretty irked overall about this whole thing, because it was avoidable. "You'll get a less dangerous mission tomorrow. This time I'll pick it." Ves could be a bit tone deaf at times. Her strength was known, but it wasn't like Ves trained to get that strong. She was trained to run much much faster than most, but to pick this mission and give it to beginners? Now that she thought about it, Nancy was not cut out to be doing that kind of stuff. She'd have to have a nice talk to Ves about this before she potentially ran off new recruits with grueling first missions.

Right now, she was just glad this mission could justifiably be put on hold and that they got back alive. That was always what was most important to her. "I'll let you take the rest of the day off." This was actually kind of early in the day, but given what just happened and that this happened with recruits, there was no reason to saddle him with more work. "See ya tomorrow."

She needed to go have a stress-reducing fly. Maybe she'll go find GP and he let her fly on his back. Hard to miss a Pixie Dragon, and she didn't want pass on the opportunity to ride on a dragon. Hmmmmmmm.......... Quincy growled. "Speak, Quincy." Normally the Wyvern could only speak Draconic, but her faith, trust, and pixie dust allowed her to cast such a spell on the wyvern she was so bonded with. Until she learned the Draconic tongue, she had to stick to using Trace on the Wyvern to understand his communication.
"I don't want you on the back of that imposter," he said immediately. "It will sully you in the face of royalty." Royalty to mean dragons. While she could ride most animals, the line was drawn at Dragons. Like every other God, Dragons and those below them (Wyverns) were a very proud race. Until she found her dragon, she couldn't ride one.
"Sully me?" Was this some kind of purity thing?
"Knowingly riding on the back of a False can get you stripped of your Favor. It is also why you will always know a False. I would've killed him on the spot if not for him being unable to control his form." Grim words coming from her Wyvern. It made sense though. Those who proclaimed themselves God tended to not last long. "Still, he is a False. It is blasphemy."
The word "blasphemy" struck her. It reminded the Rider who it was she was dealing with. These weren't normal animals. These were legendary beasts. Demi immediately gave an apologetic bow. "My apologies for thinking of that egregious transgression."
"Forgiveness through Atonement." Oh geez, he couldn't let this one slide. "No riding and no flying until you complete 5 hours of Draconic studies." The girl winced at the punishment. Quincy was as much her trainer as she was his. Who do you think was teaching her the Draconic tongue and Draconic culture? By "no flying", it meant that she couldn't use her own wings. By "no riding", it meant ANY animal. 5 Hours though? There goes her free time for today

Demi sighed. She couldn't fight it. Even if she could, Quincy was quite serious about this. "Fine. More study time."
"I will feel empty as I travel to the dwelling. Reflect." With a spread of his wings, Quincy darted forward and took off, shaking up his master's hair in the process. He was always clear that restricting her from Riding brought him no joy, as it made him feel incomplete, and she never attempted to fight it, because if she got rejected by Quincy, it would be a dagger to her heart.

It was quite the walk home. Guess she could take in the scenery

WayfaringWaaksian WayfaringWaaksian
 
GP causing mischief? In that form, Nancy didn't have to guess what sort. A twinge of curiosity urged him to follow just to see how much of a stir he'd be causing in the city with his "divine" presence, but Nancy decided against it. He was desperate to do something productive, especially since he wouldn't be making a coin today. Maybe he could forage for more plants, or visit the market again to scavenge for dropped coins. Or he could go to the Church early to pray. The thought made him a bit nervous still, he could also stick around the Guild house to get to know his fellows better. He hadn't even met the guildmaster yet. More pressingly, hunger was starting to remind him that food was kind of a necessity regardless of how nervous he was, so it was probably better to visit this Ragin Kraiven before anything.

Thoughts rolling around in his head, Nancy had loitered long enough to overhear some of Demestral's and Quincy's exchange. Or just Demi's parts. That depended on whether her Trace spell only worked on her ears, or if Quincy's words were for all to hear. Regardless of what Nancy heard, the face of a student having been admonished by a teacher was one he knew VERY well. It was almost universal, and brought a bitter sensation he felt deep in his gut. A sympathy pain, of course. Worries about whether it would be awkward to approach her after that exchange were superseded by this.

"Um... excuse me." Nancy padded up to the lonely Demestral, still that anxious air buzzing about him but eyes now shining with outward concern. "Sorry. I really didn't intend to eavesdrop. It's not any of my business, but..." But there was no point in trying to explain himself, really. Not when it was pretty simple. "I thought I'd accompany you to your study, if you'd like? At least some of the way." He had no way of knowing just how far Demi's home was. Though he was still a bit sore from trudging through that forest, he figured he could use the exercise, and Demi possibly could use the company.


Kylesar1 Kylesar1
 
Demestral Asella
Stonerose HQ- Outside​

Given that they lived on the opposite side of the city as the HQ, they were looking at about a 45 minute walk. It was a distance that never mattered to the Pixie girl as she just flew. Arnold, however, suffered because as soon as he got his wings snipped and his fairy blood taken, he was needing to find transport. As Demi was putting herself in the shoes of her father, she began to dread it. This was a rundown guild in a not good part of the city. Not to mention that Toron in general just made her sick. The industrialization, the pollution and smoke, the iron doorknobs on everything that made her need to have gloves or get burned. The pixie didn't even like grocery shopping in Toron, let alone going the scenic route. It was that exact thing that Quincy knew and so took advantage of whenever it came to her screw-ups

Her thoughts were shattered when Nancy approached timidly and revealed that he had heard quite a bit. Typical, if you decide to have these conversations in FRONT of the buildings, people might hear them, she thought. Since Quincy was under Trace, Nancy heard all of it. "Oh no, it's nothing that big a deal. I just got scolded by Quincy for wanting to ride on Pixie Dragon GP. Apparently it's blasphemy," she said in complete honesty with a bit of nervous laughter. Demi was a terrible liar. A girl as forthcoming as her was rarely dishonest. Then again, the scolding itself really wasn't a big deal. The reason WHY was a big deal though. "5 hours of Draconic studies as punishment, as he said." Demi looked at it as another opportunity to get closer to what she wanted. Punishment? Debatably more the lack of flying using even her own wings than the 5 hours of study. That, and how this 5 hour block of time will wreck her plans for the day.

"But............ I can show you around Toron," she said decisively, a good cover for her embarrassment with Quincy. "I'll treat you. As apology for this terrible sequence of events." She was down with giving to her fellow party members, especially someone as timid as Nancy. For some reason, it activated her protective instinct. "Quincy can wait." Nancy raised her mood. She went from a bit down to elevated. Some food would help her mood even more.
WayfaringWaaksian WayfaringWaaksian
 
Not a big deal? Nancy did a good job of hiding his uncertainty, save for a subtle frown. When something involved blasphemy, it was a pretty big deal, especially if mere ignorance was being punished upon the first offense. Talk of stripped Favor, Quincy's words alone highlighted how serious this was. Maybe it was harsh, but it was clear that Quincy was looking out for his student in this case, protecting her from committing an offense that could ruin everything she worked for. Nancy was no Dragon expert, but he figured she had to be very dedicated to have been found worthy in the presence of Wyverns.

Of course, he also figured Demi was simply trying to reassure him that all would be well and this matter would blow over soon enough, despite the grim nature. She simply wanted to move on from it, and he obliged. Whatever helped her in this moment, and he could tell that her mild embarrassment was already diminishing. He himself perked up some at the offer to explore Toron, head raising from its slouch. Nancy hadn't come to Toron the day before or any time that soon, but a city of this size? Someone could be "showing you around" for a month, it felt like. His home of the Springs could be quite large, spanning deep into the ground and across forests, but settlements typically were pretty small and scattered. Nothing he'd seen before compared with this massive hub. The idea of traversing it simply for fun was too daunting of an endeavor, but having a guide would make it into a tour rather than a journey.

"Terrible? I wouldn't say that," he reassured her, shaking his head. "Inconvenient, maybe. But that's the nature of things." "Terrible" to him would be if they got stuck in that forest with the Banshees, or if GP crashed and scattered his occupants across the ground after a miscalculated aerial trick. The only hurt he was feeling was the burning in his legs, but it was a welcome discomfort. "But I would like that a lot, actually. I appreciate it." After spending his time here foraging to survive and sleeping in moldy cots, he was overdo for making some good memories. And 5 hours didn't mean right this second, or even consecutively, so he didn't feel like he was pulling Demi away from her responsibilities.

"I'm pretty confused by the layout of this city still, to be honest. Where did you have in mind to start?"


Kylesar1 Kylesar1
 
Demestral Asella
Stoneroses HQ- Outside​

"First we'll go get food. The Elegant Dove. It's an upscale restaurant, more delicious than the Ragin Kraiven with 1/10th of the noise," she responded. Inaccessible to the poor locathah, The Elegant Dove was a place where nobility tended to frequent since it was more pricey. The dedicated pixie woman didn't have money issues though since she also took on a nice little side hustle as an unofficial ferryman. For a nice bit of coin, Demi flies you wherever you want outside of Toron. A 5 day trip was reduced to 1 day with how fast Quincy was. She didn't get a ton of business, but the business she did get was always from nobles. "I also want to show you the Twin Tails Library, ran by the Kitsune twins. It's the biggest library in the Kraiven Empire." The Kitsune Twins were pretty famous as information brokers. How old were they? Their tails say at least 500. It was closer to the castle though, so there was a good chance Nancy hadn't been there. Showing your poorness in noble areas was taboo. To nobles at least. "Then there's the Roasted Bean Cafe ran by the parents of those Kitsune Twins. The biggest cafe in Kraiven Empire." The parents? At least 900 years old telling by their 9 tails. Again, famous information brokers as they were far and away the oldest people in Toron. Neither of these 4 kitsune had any allegiance to the Kraiven Empire, and it wasn't like anyone in Kraiven could force their hand either. Kitsune Ascend to deity status at 1,000 years old, and Kraiven isn't dumb enough to piss off what's basically a lesser god/goddess husband/wife duo, especially when they were just running a cafe bringing in tons of money and tourism to the city. Their allegiance was to their business and to their kids' business alone
  • These 2 places were good for information. The Twin Tails Library could give lot of information about Kraiven, but the Roasted Bean Cafe could give an answer to damn near any question for a much higher price
    • Don't piss them off. Their Ordination of Misfortune is quite potent

"Later there will be the Tricky Dwarf Tavern which serves a lot of Dwarven delicacies, and the Le Genie Calin, a magic shop that sells potions, reagents, and wishes." Demi thought a bit more and decided to just leave it there. She would show him a lot over time as it was, "but that's later. Let us go ahead, at least to the noble district of the capital city. Noble, Commerce, School, Residential, and then the Royal District where high nobility and the castle is."
WayfaringWaaksian WayfaringWaaksian
 
"Upscale??" Nancy looked down and ran his hands over his robe, suddenly very aware of how ratty the old thing looked. It couldn't be helped, but worse still were the twigs and leaves attached all over, dirt stains included. "I don't think I'm dressed for that sort of thing..." Not to mention, if it was upscale, it had to be one of the nobles' haunts. Would he be allowed to show his face in a place like this, after...?
But by the sound of it, Demestral frequented this place too. Maybe the association with her would provide a social shield of sorts. And he didn't want to be rude and turn down her generous offer.

Though there was absolutely no way he was turning down an offer to visit the Library. Nancy's eyes lit up at the suggestion. Nobles be damned, they could hem and haw all they wanted. He'd be too nose deep in a book to care. And it was ran by a pair of Kitsune? There were few better sources for rare and cryptic knowledge. Nancy wasn't on the hunt for anything particularly daring right now, but maybe after he'd settled in better.

As Demestral went on about the places they could visit, Nancy almost felt uncomfortable. Why was she being so generous to who might as well be a complete stranger? Maybe it was part of the guild comradery, showing the newbies the ropes and making them feel welcome. He was grateful, and didn't want to appear otherwise, though his shuffling backwards was a bit awkward.
"Um, first-- I'm really sorry to keep you waiting-- but I'm not presentable right now. I promise, I'll just be 10 minutes." After that trek in the forest, he couldn't put off that shower anymore, including his robes. He didn't have any other clothes, so he would be forced to use a Water spell he wasn't very good at. Which was all of them, really, but even something as simple as drying out the wash was an endeavor for him. He could get it halfway, though. It would be a bit damp, but it was a sunny day out, so it should dry soon after they set off.


Kylesar1 Kylesar1
 
Demestral Asella
Stoneroses HQ- Outside​

"It's no problem," Demi said quickly, looking out at where they would need to go. "We've had a long day afterall." She didn't bother countering or resisting. Whatever made him comfortable overall. Demi couldn't help but feel bad about the time they've had. It wasn't like she was overcompensating for anything. If anything, Demi was just happy that people were supporting her father's re-growth in joining his guild. Immortals were timeless in their feelings so "lifelong" wasn't a word in their vocabulary. Though he had to redeem himself in their [Noble] eyes, her father was redeemable in her eyes. "10 minutes. It gives me time to think," she finished, betraying underlying doubt about her situation with Quincy

It made sense why Nancy felt how he did. The nobles here were..............let's just say interesting. Her own house name was low in terms of nobility due to her father and she has had to deal with many a noble with no accomplishments throwing around their family name as if being born in the family is a lifelong accomplishment in itself. Demi had bigger aspirations. Just like Vessy, Demi didn't want to ride on the coattails of her family name, not that she could anymore anyways. She wanted to become a Dragon Rider. The Dragon Supreme Herself bestowed Her Divine Favor upon her. Family name meant NOTHING to her in comparison. She had a hard time fitting in with noble children due to her immense love of Dragons which made her come off as an extreme tomboy of which she wasn't, but the actions of her father severed that connection with those children entirely. A man who would forsake his heritage? It was the antithesis of nobility, which was basic nepotism.

While Nancy went to go get ready, she looked out at the evening before her, sitting on the steps of the Stonerose HQ. She wanted to go to her favorite spot on the building which required her to fly. She couldn't. "You know how to punish me," she said as she sat there alone on the steps, "When you do this, I know you know how much it hurts." It wasn't so much the ban on flying as much as it was him going back to the house after doing it, depriving her of his presence entirely. She felt lonely without Quincy, and she couldn't help but know it was a highly effective punishment. Then again, Quincy did say he felt empty without her on his back so maybe it wasn't some one-sided thing. "I really am sorry.........." she said forlornly to the skies in which she wished to fly among in this very moment. It wasn't like she thought GP to be any form of actual Dragon. She was just captivated by the beauty in which he transformed

She just..........Despite what she told Nancy, Demi wanted to get those 5 hours done as soon as possible. To be on shaky terms with Quincy was an anxiety that Demi couldn't possibly shake. It made her uneasy and restless overall. Still, to feel the companionship of someone offered some form of catharsis. Maybe it was why she was willing to go out of her way. Still, it wasn't like Nancy was a means to an end. She genuinely wanted to know him as a new recruit
WayfaringWaaksian WayfaringWaaksian
 
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Realizing that 10 minutes really wasn't a long time, Nancy had to decide what to delegate the bulk of that time to. Obviously that was his filthy robes, but then there was other concerns of how deeply to wash it, if it was worth the extra dampness and weight to be thorough, if he should wring it out to dry it faster but deal with the ugly wrinkles it would leave, etc. During this very unorthodox endeavor of washing clothes in a personal bath, Nancy had to wonder... did it even matter at this point? The noble folk of this city had already decided what to think of him. He couldn't imagine his state of hygiene would change that.

But it wasn't for himself, was it? "I'm sorry." Nancy held up his waterlogged robes, letting the excess drip while eyes glossed over the many broken seams. "I don't want to make things worse for you." He couldn't give them another reason to disdain his presence. The simple association was probably making his sister's time at her guild a nightmare. He could imagine the things they were saying about him, in turn about her. "You worked so hard, and I almost ruined it..."

His eyes stung, so before drops of tears could be added to the basin, Nancy set to draw out as much of the water from the cloth as he could with his meager magic.


A few seconds shy of punctual (if Demi cared to actually time him on this), Nancy shut the HQ doors behind him and approached, clothes looking a little damp but cleaned of any evidence of their earlier botched endeavor. "I'm ready," he said a little needlessly, clutching the strap of his satchel with a tense hand. "Thank you for being patient. So, the Noble District first?" Demestral seemed a little forlorn. Before shutting the door alerted her of his return, he caught just a glimpse of her sitting on the steps and gazing up at the sky, where a Pixie ought to be. He could imagine being barred from flying would be like someone barring him from swimming. Even if that day was spent for leisure, it was going to be in the back of her mind regardless. Better to keep it off the forefront, if he could help.


Kylesar1 Kylesar1
 
Demestral Asella
Stoneroses HQ- Outside​

A pixie clipped of her wings on multiple levels, Demi always felt so restless in positions like this. She was a Pixie of the Sky, one literally born to fly. Even at low altitudes, she preferred to fly over walk. She sighed, which Nancy probably caught right before he spoke. At his words, she perked up. "Nancy!" she exclaimed, "Oh no, it's fine. Yes it's Noble District first." Demi was kind of hungry and wasn't exactly in the mood to be studying on an empty stomach. "It's the Elegant Dove then the Twin Tails Library. I think I'll leave it there for the evening, since the TTL is such a MASSIVE library, I would imagine an alchemist like yourself would get lost in a few books." She herself could never prevent herself from getting lost in the many Draconic books and losing track of time. Plus, reading those counted as study so the moment Nancy got lost in a book, it'd give her a headstart. Luckily the Library was 24 hours as the Kitsune only ever needed sleep if they used a lot of magic, so the library rarely ever fully closed.

With that, the duo set off into the city of Toron. The Stoneroses HQ was not in a good place in the city, located in a bad area known for...........less than wholesome activity. Prostitution, brothels, underground slave auctioning, suspected hitman fronts, black market fronts, drug houses. Luckily, the guild HQ itself was located away from most of it. Still, its closeness was too close for comfort. While other Guilds were placed in relatively good locations (for example, the Sacrament's HQ was placed in the Commerce District and the Crimson Embers HQ was placed in the Noble District)

As they moved deeper into the city, the smoke started to get to Demi, making her feel nauseous. The majority of the smoke billowing from this city came from this district. The Noble district had none of this, possessing as clean of air as one could get within the city. It was an easy demonstration of the haves and the have nots, almost like a barrier or air wall keeping the air pollution out of the district of the privileged. Toron was trying to industrialize, yet while the smoke only ceased at closing time, the getting was slow. Before Demi started to generally withdraw from the city at large, her wings had started to turn a sickly grey from inhaling that bad air. It was then that, despite the collapse of the Asella family name in the eyes of Nobles, the Noble District would be the only place she actually stuck around in and walked around..............That was, if she weren't in a position of being forced to walk. Overall though, weeks of camping in the forest away from the city did her well enough to return the shine and beauty in her wings.

Soon, after quite the long walk and Demi having her head on a swivel for any scoundrel, bandit, or slaver looking for a cute pixie girl, they arrived in the Noble District. Almost night and day the quality of pretty much everything. Beautiful flowers with a luster against the golden evening sun, air fit for breathing, storefronts washed and pristine, guards actually looking friendly and not like they wanted to their spear to their own throats. Demi wouldn't act like there was NO wrongdoing in this district. Hell, if anything, there were far more egregious and systemic wrongdoing going on. However, it was impossible to not want to live here in ignorant bliss vs the blatant scum-foolery over in the slums. "The Elegant Dove," Demi declared, her mood as night and day better as if stepping over the line from slum to noble turned her from pessimistically on guard to not a care in the world. In front of her was the Elegant Dove. The sign beautifully and elegantly written with the image of 4 doves flying in a formation that, if traced, would put it in a horizontal figure 8. It was so white that it almost glistened. The potted plants outside perfectly trimmed, a host of white flowers with magic to mask what would be a beautiful scent, because the smell wafting from the inside would get a glutton crazed with hunger. The smell alone turned Demi's stomach from a low rumble into a ravenous roar. "Don't get nervous, Nancy," Demi said with a smirk, "We're both plenty underdressed for the usual customer-base of this restaurant. The owners are nice though." There was no dress code per-se but with Nobles, everything had a dress code. If anything, Nancy was better dressed than Demi was, who was still wearing her typical flight gear.
WayfaringWaaksian WayfaringWaaksian
 
Nancy Noi​

That's... a mood shift. Definitely keep Demestral distracted, then. It couldn't have been a grueling undertaking though, considering the boisterousness of this city. If he could keep her preoccupied in any way, that would be a win. The only catch? Not checking out. Nancy had a habit of withdrawing when things got too much, and this was... much. Well, it wasn't, but it was to his frazzled brain. He was going to have to balance his enthusiasm and keeping it from snuffing out.

You have a job. You have a place to stay. You can RELAX. Don't make this another chore. Knowing himself? That would be the grueling undertaking.

But it was just two places. A restaurant-- very imposing-- and a library-- hardly imposing at all. One was a social outing, while the other let you get lost in a book and tune out the world. "You have no idea," he said to that very comment, a smile touching his lips. He bit away the urge to apologize and express whatever notion of not wanting to be a bore, because he figured she had the intention of picking up a few Draconic books. Besides, if she wouldn't have liked that she wouldn't have invited. There was contentment to be found in parallel play.

So the restaurant. That was the main challenge. Despite the presence of nobles, it wasn't like he was having to make some grand presentation. It was just eating. How easy was it to screw up eating? Que the memory of him crunching down on the carapace of a live crab, and all the weird looks THAT had gotten. Pretty easy!



Keeping those kinds of thoughts out of his mind was easier once they were on the move, taking in the sights and-- more notably-- the smells. That slew of questionable odors that wafted close by the guildhall dampened the deeper into the city they walked. There was still a twinge of smoke and iron in the air wherever one went, but... Nancy didn't want to sound like the uppity nobles he was so finicky around. But he was pretty sure there was piss and a hint of blood in that aerial concoction from the slums. As well as something worse.

But the moment they stepped onto Noble District walkways, the palate completely changed. Fresh air, not fresh like the woods, but more so like the mountains. Clean and untouched, which was impossible given that it was almost dead center of this industrial city, so there was certainly some magic at play. A clean slate to take in all the other scents, attractive aromas of blooming flowers, wet stone from fountains, woody and earthy scents from boutique shops without that sting of factory stink, and sweet and spicy perfumes from passing nobles. It was like walking into a different city, which gave Nancy an uneasy feeling despite the pleasantness of it all. So easy to forget about the squalor, all the while they actually have the political power here. Despite all the fundamental differences distant cultures had from the Springs, he supposed some things were the same across the board.

When The Elegant Dove was sitting before them, with its pristine white trim and perfectly manicured bushes in wide pots, a twinge of anxiety tightened in his stomach. "Oh lord..." Ugh, he was just about to praise himself for keeping his thoughts as thoughts. But what Demi said soothed some of his tension. If they were both under-dressed, he'd only stand out for his fishy features, and he was used to that.

"These are viburnums," he realized, leaning in close to inspect the round clusters of flowers. He recalled their vanilla-spice scent, but it wasn't reaching his nose? They were in full bloom, each flower open wide and clustered in a perfect circle, glowing white without a hint of browning. He should have smelled them from yards away if they were this healthy. More magic at work, surely to not distract from what was wafting out of the kitchen. As for what that was, it was hard to pinpoint. He could smell hearty vegetables, rich meats in something starchy, but the nature of it was so alien to him. Cooked food was a strange and intimidating concept, but he wasn't about to cop out by ordering a salad this time. Something with a little heat wasn't going to kill him, and he was damn tired of eating channel minnows and dandelions.

"I promise if I pass out, it'll only be from hunger," he assured her as they walked in, joking. Mostly.


Kylesar1 Kylesar1
 
Demestral Asella
The Elegant Dove​

Demestral led the way inside the restaurant. From the moment the staff member waiting for them opened the door, Demi was hit with the strong wave of cooking food. If she didn't know better, Demi would be convinced that they put some kind of drug in the food or hypnotic magic over the fumes that made her think she had moth wings with the food being the lantern.

The inside was much bigger than the outside let on and everything about it screamed noble. From the wood floor so polished that one would question if it's actually wood or just wood-painted marble, the chairs without a scuff on them or a single chip in their white paint, the tables almost shining with nary a single stain despite it being in a restaurant. The ceiling overhead was full of amazingly beautiful artwork and decorated with silver chains. Like a chameleon holding candles, these silver chains led down to shimmering chandeliers of various colors matching the piece of artwork it was near, and ever so slowly rotating in unison with the rest. It gave the illusion of almost floating little flames as the day closed into the evening.

In the dinner service, candles were brought out and put on the table. Crystal clear and pristinely shined, they would give the same effect as the chandeliers above as the daylight dimmed, giving an almost romantic dimly lit ambiance in the form of a floating flame if the parties involved desired it. Of course, Demi wasn't taking Nancy on some romantic dinner date.

Taking a look out over the other patron in the restaurant, it really truly drove home how underdressed the duo were, especially Demi herself. Everyone here seemed a noble. If they weren't, they were certainly dressed like one. Women were wearing dresses of smooth silk and glossy satin of an almost inconvenient size to move in, inarguably a fortune in cost. The men were wearing clothing befitting their position in the hierarchy:
595cb1d5adaed2d40c0b32d1e6db9847--blues.jpg

While most of the patrons were between Knights and Viscounts sporting expensive mostly leather or silk attire, those of higher hierarchies sure loved to show it off, and this showed in incredibly frilly attire or attire decked out in jewels from the headwear they currently held in their hands if not on their table, to the shoes on their feet that likely made them make a clattering sound as they walked. It was of course an inconvenient amount of jewelry, a walking noisemaker, but insecurity always ran deep in nobility. Noble women were highly known for unhealthy if not downright dangerous behaviors if it meant looking beautiful in the eyes of others for an hour or two. Bragging rights were always a thing and always up for grabs


An Annoyance..............

The duo took their seats and were immediately accosted by who Demi recognized as a couple of 2 Viscounts. "Well, if it isn't our favorite pixie girl," the man said with a sneer. "Mind telling us why you let this unsanitary fish into this grand restaurant?"
"I've half a mind to tell your father, honey," the lady with him said with a haughty laugh, "Taking fish out of water and on walks? Is this how far the Asella name has fallen? Walking fish for money now?"
Demi just looked into her menu, ignoring them for a bit. Then she looked up at them. "Oh! Our waiters are here! Sorry I kept you waiting. I'm ready to order now." Demi said with a smile. While her smile was genuine, the sarcasm in it was palpable. "I'd like the special of the day, the Elegant Stew with a whole toasted loaf instead of half. Then another extra large Elegant Stew to go, no bread. Then I'd like a serving of the Vanilla Dove Cake."

An insult to the core, she was treating these two as part of the wait staff. The salt in the wound was not even acknowledging their words, then pressing on with her order as if they'd said nothing. The flinch at this showed Demi that it worked. Too easy, Demi thought, almost letting a sigh escape her. They were dealing with a Pixie. They were natural tricksters. Of course she knew how to get to them. Tell a 6 year old girl her Marquess father dressed like a Baron and she'd get offended despite not knowing what EITHER of those words actually entailed. Treat a Viscount as wait staff and those were nigh fighting words. The noblemen WERE wearing swords on their hip and him clenching his fist told her that he contemplated striking her down on the spot. "What would you like, Nancy?" She looked at the nobles accosting them. "You might want to write this down. I heard waiters get fired pretty easily in their early days if you mess up orders," she whispered to them.

Nancy's Options:

  • Appease- This could get ugly. Apologize for Demestral's rudeness
    • Advantage: Maybe he could prevent this from escalating
    • Disadvantage: ??? They were nobles. He had no idea how they'd react
  • Follow Demi's Lead- She said she had his back. May as well play along with it and order like they're wait staff
    • Advantage: This may very well escalate things
    • Disadvantage: ??? Again, they were nobles. Who knew what they'd be allowed to do
  • Call for the actual waiter- Put a stop to this immediately
    • Advantage: It would do exactly that
    • Disadvantage: It would cause a scene, drawing ungodly amounts of attention on him, potentially making it worse
  • Say Nothing- Either pretend you didn't hear Demi, or tell her you're still not ready while keeping your head shoved in the menu
    • Advantage: Allows Demi to handle this
    • Disadvantage: ........................
WayfaringWaaksian WayfaringWaaksian
 
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