Fantasy Where Dreams go to Die - Roleplay 2

[welian]

 

[welian]

Mission #1: Investigating the Tear in the Woods


The Discovery has been asked to take the Pyrite and Malachite Knights in the Weeping Woods to investigate a possible tear in the Veil. Caution is advised, the Woods are full of traps, and anything could have gotten in through that tear – or escaped.


@Mr\. Grin

 

[Mordecai]

NPC: The Discovery

Primary Tags: @Mr. Grin @Liberty Penn
​

Ugh. Of course the Sentinel had to stick him with two uglies. Sure, she was like a practically like a mother figure for him: don’t do that, Johnnie. Johnnie, don’t eat all those cookies! Johnnie, fix the tear in the veil! Johnnie, take the trash out… Okay, some of those weren’t complete truths, but the little patron dream was irate and was grappling for any excuse he could to find her irrational and rude. His twig-like arms were folded across his chest as it rose and fell in panting breaths, not from windedness, but from vexation. After his little tantrum back at the central gardens, the Sentinel had brushed him off with a little less than a shake of her foot and a few words of encouragement. Naturally, he had balled up his fists, scrambled to his feet, and shouted “FINE!” as loud as his little lungs would allow before turning firmly off on one bare foot and marching out in the direction of the Weeping Woods, which as luck would have it, was just far enough for Johnnie to stomp his feet angrily for a few minutes, but not far enough to be an exhausting journey.


He travelled at a brisk pace, nearly a trot, and let his feet crunch down on anything noisy he could find. He purposely went out of his way to find the crunchiest looking leaves or twigs, just so he could stomp down on them and hear them snap. It was strangely therapeutic to feel like he was destroying something out of rage, so by the time he reached the edge of the forest, he seemed calmer again. His hands fell from across his chest and rested down at his sides, for even in the blazing afternoon sun, the forest was inked with darkness. Trees looked as though the thick fog, called the haar, had consumed them. Spider webs, however, glistened with dew as they were strung between branches and leaves, sparkling almost tantalizing, like jewels, in the otherwise gloomy forest.


Not once had Johnnie glanced back to check to see if either of the two Knights assigned to him (by force, he might add) had followed. A small sliver of his mind hoped they had wandered off and gotten lost, leaving him to deal with the tear all on his lonesome, like he usually did because it’d be faster. There were to nightmare titans that resided in the forest: The Arachnid and The Chase and, truth be told, Johnnie had no real interest in meeting either of them in the flesh. His fleet and quiet footedness made it easy for him to slip in and out of the woods without notice, but having surveyed the ugly knights beforehand, he had decided that neither of them looked particularly nimble…


It would be like trying to drive two dump trucks through a nitroglycerin plant and hope nothing noisy happened. Pfft. Right. What was the Sentinel thinking?


Shaking his head, he folded his arms back across his chest, finally turning back to face whoever had decided to follow him, if any. Immediately, his eyes quickly began to scan for any sign of a pop of cherry red, hoping to see that cute little tart he was now beginning to refer to as his girlfriend. After all, she had called him smart and girls just didn’t do that unless they were trying to ask someone out; Johnnie knew. Who knew, maybe having those two oafs tromping through the forest and attracting Arachnid and Chase like bees to pollen wouldn’t be all that bad? He had defeated one of the Sentinel’s shield… how impressed would Olive be if he defeated not just a shield, but two of the worst nightmares known to Etherea?


He felt his chest puffing up a little.

 

[Liberty Penn]

Location:


Weeping Woods edge


Mood:


Content


Tags:


@Mordecai

Dio - The Pyrite Knight

​

(Continued from ICRP1)


Any practiced knight could tell you traveling within Etherea was not a difficult thing. Its like traveling through water, sometimes you’ll have rough current, but most of the time just go with the flow and you’ll get where you want to be quick enough. Now Dio, having spent years moving around the regions of Etherea, could traverse it as well as any of it’s natural inhabitants, but specifically into the Weeping Woods, the place he called home, he had not been beaten yet. Yet as far as raw speed goes, in his experience he had been beaten many times, the most annoying of which was by the Discovery himself.


Much to his delight the annoying little patron dream was jogging but taking his time getting there, angrily stomping on twigs and leaves. Ducking off the road, Dio bolted for a shortcut he had found years before, it only shaves a few minutes off the time, but that was all he needed.


Reaching the outer edge of the wood and finding the path again, Dio jumped up a tree and sat on a low hanging branch. Midas, zooming out of his pocket, hummed in his ear again, “What? Why shouldn’t I do th… well ok, yeah, the Sentinel would be upset if we messed up.” Dio muttered to his friend, "And, yeah if Blurface… Discovery… fails, we fail too.” The small boy sighed as the ball of light continued to hum at him, “Ok Midas, I’ll try to be nice to him.” Seemingly content, the light flew up and nuzzled his cheek. Dio laughed contently as Midas sat lightly on his shoulder.


Instead of jumping down and throwing a dozen illusions at the small figure as it approached, Dio just swung upside down from the branch and said, "What took you so long?"

 

[Ozmic]

Traveling 'Tween the Tearful Trees


V.A. Blackwell >> The Malachite Knight


Moving into The Weeping Woods
​

The Empty Knight moved forward slowly, following behind the other two and keeping pace easily with his long limbs. He moved with a strange grace and pull, almost seeming like he floated along the very earth without a single step.


A crunch here and a crack there sounded as The Discovery found every loud thing he could and leapt onto them as they made their way toward the treeline. Malachite found himself looking away from his companions for a moment to study the surroundings, though he had seen them before. The dark and dismal wood held such a strange calming beauty to it, despite the fact that some might find it a nightmare.


He wasn't foolish enough to assume, however, that with great beauty there was any lack of danger. No, these woods were no walk in the park and he knew it firsthand. Pushing a slender hand from the right sleeve of his cloak, he murmured something and summoned his runed staff, clutching his fingers around it in a welcoming gesture as he continued forward and tapped it carefully on the solid ground.


Looking around, he gave a bit of a sigh as he noticed that Dio had already gone off somewhere, likely some less-traveled path. "Mmhm," he hemmed quietly, then sealed any trace of displeasure away and returned to his usual self, scanning the trees for the other Knight.


The Discovery - or Johnnie as he'd called himself had turned around and was facing him. The Emerald Evoker blinked and tilted his head at the being as the smaller figure's chest puffed a little. He was a hard read, his face all blurred and difficult to focus on, but the expression was prideful and arrogant. Then again, why would it not be? Despite the creature's size, he clearly possessed great strength as evident with his trick back with the shield.


Making a mental note to think more on this later, Malachite was about to speak when The Pyrite Knight appeared again before them with yet another taunt. The near-giant looked between the two shorter figures, silently hoping he'd not gotten himself dragged into a mess of trouble...

 

[Mordecai]

NPC: The Discovery

Primary Tags: @Mr. Grin @Liberty Penn
​

It was just the two uglies, it would seem. Johnnie's chest deflated a bit, kind of like a Birthday balloon the day after the party, but he sighed and turned back to the forest, his muscles stretching across his back as he hunched back down on to all fours again. As much of a tantrum as he had thrown crossing over the mostly harmless plains and grasslands stretching between the Sentinel's Gardens and the Woods, it was time to buckle down and be more serious. The woods, for as beautiful as they were, were wrought with danger, and even moreso now that a tear had been opened. He could smell it, of course, as it was a gift bestowed upon Patron Dreams and Patron Dreams only: the ability to smell the rips. It was a salty smell, displeasing to the senses, and left his nostrils and the back of his throat burning uncomfortably. His eyes watered, though the tears dripped down his cheek as fuzzy little blobs, only coming into focus as they dripped off his chin and splattered against the ground and his chest as he loped forward through the forest treeline.


His gait was swift and light, motioning for the two knights to follow him towards the tear. The closer they drew, the more he began to cry because it burned him like gasoline on a fire. He gritted his teeth and pressed on for a while, before suddenly coming to a stark halt. The funny thing about tears was not the blackness of them, the empty, hollow darkness more dark than anything he had ever seen before, but the creatures that were born from them. The tear was painfully apparent: a black split about three feet long at about his head's height. A violent wind gurgled and sucked into the tear, though nothing could be seen inside... only blackness. The reality of Etherea around the tear seemed to vibrate and, like Johnnie's face, things close to the opening were blurred and jittering light things ought not to. The ground was shaking, quivering, trees were shivering, leaves were being pulled from branches and swallowed whole.


And from the edges of this tear, long oily drips began to ooze down to the forest floor... as if Etherea was bleeding. From the ooze formed creatures that, like butterflies, had two sets of wings: anterior and posterior sets, though they were inky black and oily, which coined their name Oilers. They lacked heads, and instead had chemical seeking eyes peeking out from their sleek, hairless bodies along their chests and shoulders. They seemed ignorant of the three approaching at first, but as they drew near, the individuals began to click loudly as they communicated in a shrill series of pops, like Morse code. Impressive creatures they were, with wingspans exceeding four feet and they would swirl over head, often blocking out the sun entirely when a flock was moving. They always flew in attacking pairs, one above, one below. Such was the way of the Oiler.


Once they saw the group, or senses their chemical traces, the clicking grew louder and the Oilers swung through the sky, giant, steel blade like talons rising from the bone points of their wings as they darted and attacked like an organized hoard.


Johnnie screeched, ducking below a rock for cover as the Oilers divebombed again and again and again, their bladed bone spikes looking to meet and rip apart any bit of flesh they could find.


"Uglies!" Johnnie bellowed to the two Knights, "Kill the Oilers! I'll deal with the rip!"

Mission #2: Defeat the Oilers

The Discovery has found the rip in the veil, but such destruction isn't without consequence. From the rip, malevolent, demon-like creatures known as Oilers have spilled from the wound and like the destruction they are born from, they are violent, wrathful creatures who will stop at nothing until they kill or are killed. As opponents go, they are probably some of the easier foes you will face in Etherea, but provide good practice. You may kill these creatures at will; however, for every four Oilers you kill, you must take one example of minor damage: a scrape, a bruise, etc. For every eight Oilers you kill, you must take one example of major damage: a broken bone, a badly bleeding cut, head trauma, etc. There is no limit on the number of Oilers you can kill as they will keep being born until Johnnie fixes the rip. (: Please don't worry about his well-being... he's a crafty little kid, so he doesn't need saving from the likes of you.


Edit: Oilers have pretty tough, leathery exteriors, but can be killed like any normal animal using your weapons or your powers. They do bleed and have hearts. They specialise in quick, aerial combat and are extremely swift and agile. They have sharpened bone spears protruding from the five main structural bones in each of their four wings. Offensively, they are aggressive and will always attack in pairs.


@Liberty Penn @Mr. Grin

 

[Liberty Penn]

Location:


The Weeping Woods


Mood:


Excited


Tags:


@Mordecai


@Mr.Grin

Dio - The Pyrite Knight

​

The forest air ringing with clicking and flapping wings suddenly found another sound weaving into the mix: Laugher.


This is where Dio really enjoyed using his abilities most. There was nobody to tell him to go away, to behave, or to stop making it look like people’s feet were on fire. Here he could throw around his magic with zero discretion. And monsters like these were a lot stupider than knights.


Having not encountered an Oiler in quite a while and having a bad memory on top of that, Dio dove into the fray and quickly found himself at the disadvantage. If these things had no eyes, how could they be tricked with his visions? He jumped and dodged as pairs of the creatures dived at him. Throwing a couple illusions at each instinctually, they just passed right through, ignoring them. Managing to duck around all but one, a clawed wing cutting deep into his forearm.


Damnit. No eyes, no vision illusions. Right. Dio thought to himself, blocking the pain with one of his own illusions. Well, I’m glad I got more than that up my sleeves, shaking his arms, Dio’s outfit changed to that of a long sleeved robe, how about some music? Looking at the next pair that was headed his way with a sly grin, he made multiple points of different and strange sounds around them. Unfazed, they swung their clawed wings at him as he dived away. Ok. No ears. Than take a whiff of this! Pointing at the pair that just passed, he dropped his own sent right in front of them. They dived for his smell. Haha! Now I got you!


Now that he figured out how the Oilers worked, it was now time for fun. At any one time Dio had four or more illusions of just himself running around keeping the Oilers busy and off him. He would make walls of harsh chemical smell appear and disappear, making the oilers try and fly around it, then change a trees sent so they actually run into them while avoiding the walls. His favorite was making one of them smell like him so they would attack themselves.


Besides one sneaking up behind him and scraping a claw along his back, Dio had a good number of them handled. A bit over zealous, Dio managed to kill a total of 13 of them as he jumped around.

 

[Ozmic]

Foiling The Oilers


V.A. Blackwell >> The Malachite Knight


The Weeping Woods
​

Oilers.


They were disgusting critters, and to say that Malachite was not a fan was quite the understatement.


As the trio drew near, the things began to click and pop vocally, riling each other up and taking to the sky for attack.


Johnnie shouted the order to kill them and The Empty Knight was happy to oblige, smashing the end of his staff into the ground and beginning to bellow words of his own. The runes tore to life with a sickening ozone smell and the very ground around him quivered and rocked as he spoke in his odd tongue, summoning something foul.


"Come forth, my Dark Messengers!" he spat, and at once four feminine beasts appeared. They were humanoid, though twisted into horrifying caricatures of their former selves. Veined wings beat at the air behind them and the mouths that gaped on their bellies howled in sensual, hungry excitement as they flew forward to attack the hellish bugs.


Reaching in his own cloak, The Malachite Knight drew forth a twisted looked short sword and advanced as well, attacking two Oilers with haste as they were distracted by his summoned beasties. Spearing the first through with his blade, he turned to the second and slammed his staff against it with his off hand. It wasn't enough to kill it, but it was down where he could face it more easily.


The field became a whirlwind of battle as The Empty Knight and his four familiars tore through their attackers with little resistance besides some minor wounds. However, as he ran through another with his wickedly shaped sword, he was taken by surprise by a wet and whipping blade against his staff. Blocking, he tried to prevent the creature from tearing his head from his neck with a struggle and a yelp. The staff moved just slightly and shifted the weight away, snapping two of his left fingers backwards at a disgusting angle.


Gritting his teeth with a yell of pain, he pulled free his trapped blade and drove it home again toward his attacker as one of the ferocious feminine Messengers he'd called held it away in its own clawed grip. As the Oiler died, however, it took the summoned creature with it in a violent death throe.


After a flurry of more fighting, Malachite stepped back for a moment. eleven of the oily monsters had fallen to him and his summons. Only two of the winged beasties remained, however, and The Emerald Evoker was a little worse for wear himself. Two broken fingers, a bruised rib or three and the bandages covering his face oozed dark spots of blood in a few places he'd been bashed.


If he wanted to continue fighting, he'd have to step up his game and be more careful.


He hoped The Discovery was mending the tear as fast as he could, because it didn't seem like time was on their side...