The Sword of Roses (IC)

[DigoDragon]

"Alright. Well, good luck to you. I think we both should get moving while there's still daylight."

[Miltonian]

And with that cue, Chaarix puts herself in motion. She inclines her head to Spiriah. "Stay safe out there, sister," she says, "I will see you again in...however long this takes. A few weeks, at most, I should think."

She dives back into the water, leaving Spiriah's underground lair, and begins heading back to her own. Not that there is much of use there. A few trinkets and trophies of mostly sentimental value, really. But, like any homeowner, she wants to make sure everything is in order before she leaves. "Lock up", so to speak.

[DigoDragon]

Everything is as she left it. Nothing disturbed. It is late afternoon and the skies seem cloudy. Perfect for hiding should Chaarix wish it. Downside, the scent of ozone is in the air. Ah yes, the spring showers may show up later this evening. Maybe. If her father were around, he'd consult his tail to make a weather prediction. Silly as it sounded, it was uncannily accurate.

[Miltonian]

Darn father and his amazing accurate tail...

Chaarix sighs and debates to herself. Does she strike out on her adventure now? The rain would not bother her, per se, but it strong winds would make it difficult to fly. Still, she did have to get a move on. Morlun probably already left. That single thought instantly gives her all the resolve she needs. Screw it all, she's leaving as soon as she finishes the carcass of that deer she caught this morning.

Thus decided, she chows down and takes to flight, determined to make the most of the day while it lasts.

[DigoDragon]

The afternoon drifted to evening as Chaarix flew south to catch up with the elf that stole the crown. The land below passed by under her; forests upon forests for miles with little deviation beyond a small clearing with deer. The rolling sea of green did not change until Chaarix neared her destination of the "red house".

Below the forest cleared away to reveal farmland. The field appeared freshly tilled, although no one was out there working the land. A small wooden structure sat near the middle, followed another field and more wooden structures--homes built by humans. Chaarix was sure of it. Elves usually lived among the trees and Dwarves under mountains of stone. This was definitely a human village.

[Miltonian]

Well, there it was. Chaarix smugly noted that it took her the space of an afternoon to reach it while it probably took the elf a full day. If he was even here, that is.

Now, the question was how to verify if he was. She could simple crash through the roof and start killing everyone in sight, but that was decidedly unsubtle and could go very badly very quickly. No, a more tactful approach, that's what this situation required.

And so, she flew low until she found a gap in the trees to duck into. Then, on foot, she moved towards the village, intending to set watch and waylay some poor human that she could press for details.

[DigoDragon]

Chaarix is in luck! A human, probably a male one, left one of the homes carrying a long staff over his back, at each end hanging a single wooden bucket. He casually walked over to a well that wasn't far from Chaarix, and seemed completely oblivious that a dragon was watching him from the tree line.

[Miltonian]

Ah! How convenient. Chaarix grins. Maybe there is a god after all. She moves forward, taking care to make no overtly sudden moves, and approaches the human. After all, she did not have time to wait patiently and observe, as Spiriah had for years. She needed information and needed it now.

Still, it wouldn't do to just immediately start murdering people. And besides, what harm could one human do?

When he turns towards her, she will call to him. "Good afternoon," she says politely and grins, showing off her very sharp teeth. She racks her brain for a good follow up. How did humans make casual conversation? "Lovely weather we're having." Nailed it.

[DigoDragon]

The human tripped over his own two feet, fell over, buckets and all, stumbled to get up, then tripped over a second time. He gave up on a third attempt and proceeded to cower.

"Ah! Y- y- wha- d- d- want?" the human stammered out. "We s- s- fered enough-f f- f-"

[Miltonian]

Chaarix looks him up and down. Well, he probably couldn't run, even if he thought it was a good idea to try. Not with his knees shaking like that. She chuckled, with only a slight hint of menace in it. "I want, hmm, a riddle to start with." She made a motion as if to lay down. "Yes, that will do. Tell me a riddle and..."

She paused, as if the true import of his words were just striking her. In truth, she had meant to segue into the topic, come at it indirectly so that, if questioned, he might not think she was here for the elf at all but had merely stumbled upon that topic, yet this moment provided the perfect opportunity. "I'm sorry, did you say, 'we've suffered enough'. Did someone get here before me?"

[DigoDragon]

"I'm sorry, did you say, 'we've suffered enough'. Did someone get here before me?"

The human continues to cower. "Y-yes... an elf p-prince... came through and... stole m-medicines... from ap-p-p-pothacary..."

[Miltonian]

"An elf prince, you say?" Chaarix says, "He came and went? As in, he already moved on? Well, aren't you lucky then." She leans in and lowers her voice to a whisper. "You can't trust elves, you see. All the ones I've heard of are thieves. You're lucky he only took the...er, what did he take, exactly?"

[DigoDragon]

"You can't trust elves, you see. All the ones I've heard of are thieves. You're lucky he only took the...er, what did he take, exactly?"

Chaarix' nostrils detect the hint of the sudden realization this human may have soiled himself.

"He t-took the... medicines... healing p-p-potions... He was at the r-r-red house..." The human pointed in a direction, though trees were probably blocking the view of the building he mentioned. The building that Spiriah mentioned as a possible refuge for the elf was colored red...

[Miltonian]

Chaarix nods in what she hopes is a sympathetic, understanding manner. In truth her patience with this human was quickly running out, but it was best to keep up appearances. "And where did he go, hmm? Perhaps I can get those medicines back for you."

There. NOW if he told the story, no one would ever believe him. When did a dragon offer to retrieve something for a human?

[DigoDragon]

"He took the s-south road. To the G-Green Wyvern..." the human answered. He didn't seem interested in the medicines. More just being left alive from his encounter.

[Miltonian]

That was just fine. So long as his story was as unbelievable as possible, it suited Chaarix just fine. She looks him over one more time and nods. "Well, have a pleasant day now."

And with that, she will turn around and walk away, even attempting to whistle cheerfully.

[DigoDragon]

The peasant is relieved... and passes out from the strain of the encounter. Maybe he wil wake up later believing it was all a bad dream?

So where does Chaarix go? The red house is nearby if she wanted further info. Or she could follow the lead by following a human-made road south to some place called the Green Wyvern. Perhaps there is a third option she decides upon?

[Miltonian]

The elf stole healing items and ran away. He's obviously in a hurry and hurt. The best time to strike him is now.

Chaarix leaves the peasant to his fate and takes to the air, chasing the elf.

[DigoDragon]

Chaarix can see that the sun is hanging very low in the sky. Evening approaches. The small dirt road is not traveled upon, which means no witnesses to see her. A good thing maybe?

After flying for an hour, she sees something ahead of her to the south. Smoke rising from a large clearing. There's a settlement there; high wooden walls forming a circle around the clearing and three buildings within. The two smaller ones appear to house animals such as horses and cows. The third is enormous by comparison. A large structure of wood and stone. It is on fire, and there are people scattering to get away from it. There is also a fight going on-- someone in blue-stained leather fighting off people in dark green and brown robes.

An elf in black robes walks out of the burning building, carrying a small satchel. The left side of his face looks scarred, as if burned in the past.

[Miltonian]

Chaarix looks down at the battle raging below. It seems they started without her. Still, she is after the one elf, the one who looks like he's been burned. She wings high over the complex, eyeing him, sizing him up, looking for an angle to attack from. For the next few moments, she will observe and gauge how dangerous her prey is.

[DigoDragon]

People continue running away from the fire and the battle. A few have obtained buckets and are filling it at the well to put the fire out, avoiding the combatants. The one in blue leather wields a warhammer with some skill; they knock down one of the robed figures. The other two back away to regroup for a better position.

The elf begins a spell. water in the buckets flows out and into his hand. It begins to solidify into a sharp, pointed spear of ice. He then glances up. He notices Chaarix.

Chaarix notices he's wearing the crown.

[Miltonian]

Her target is in front of her. The element of surprise is lost, but the enemy has not had enough time to react to her presence yet. She has a single moment here in which to act. And so Chaarix does the only reasonable thing a young, naive dragon who believes she's invincible would do.

She dives and opens her mouth wide, spewing bolts of lightning every which way as she plummets.

Spoiler

Show

Move and Attack! Definitely want to catch the elf in the blast of lightning, but I will get as many of the others in it as possible. This is a non-discriminatory blanket-fire.

[DigoDragon]

The burning scent of ozone fills the air as hot, electrical breath scorches the area. The robed figures shriek in pain. The one in blue armor drops their weapon covers their face. The elf quickly etches a rune in the air above him. The spear of ice drops and turns back into water. The lightning crackles and dances around him, but only singes him in the slightest.

The elf turns a half step and signs something with his fingers. They take on a sickly green glow. The robed figures flee at the sight of a dragon. The blue armored person yells out obscenities and goes for their sword on the ground.

"Ya daft dragon whataya doin out ere where ya don't belong?!"

[Miltonian]

The ones that fled are of no concern. The elf is the target.

Chaarix lets herself drop to the ground, right in front of the elf. He's casting a spell and she figures that it would go very badly for him if he could no longer use his hands for it! Her claws lash out, striking at the elf's outstretched arm.

"Reclaiming what's mine," she growls in reply to the man.

[DigoDragon]

"Reclaiming what's mine," she growls in reply to the man.

"Grrarr!" the elf growls out with the swipe. Somehow, he manages to hold onto the spell with his bloody hand and he finishes the spell. The blood oozes black instead of red, however. The elf raises two fingers against Chaarix and releases a blinding flash of magic. The brightness is hot white!


(resist the spell with an HT roll)

[DigoDragon]

The light quickly fades to black, yet black remains the only thing Chaarix sees! While he can smell the burning embers of the fire and hear the screams of people running for their lives, his eyes only see the darkness of nothing.

"Oi! You with the crown! Stop where ye are you blasted hedge wizard!" shouts someone not far at all.

Chaarix can hear movement around her, but she cannot see anyone. What will she do?

[Miltonian]

Chaarix laughs at first. A little light was not going to slow her-- Ohgodwhat'shappeningwheredidthelightgo?

Still! The elf has to be somewhere, right? Right in front of her? She needs a moment to catch her breath before she can bath him in lightning again, but she still has her claws and teeth. She will try and lash out with her other claw, but it will not make contact regardless.

Wait, the others were after the elf? She raises her head and declares, "Bring me the elf and I shall reward you greatly!"

[DigoDragon]

Chaarix's claws only catch the air. She hears someone in front of her run away from her, followed by someone else running by her right side.

"Oi! This ain't for show!"

Metal hit something organic. A growl followed. Then the sound of rocks hitting wood.

"Gah!"

The sounds continued to move away from Chaarix.

[Miltonian]

Chaarix, blinded but unwilling to let her prey escape, makes off after the sound. She cannot let it escape and will try to move at full speed after them. However, she is likely to be stumbling around and tripping over herself.

[DigoDragon]

Chaarix charges forward, following the sounds she can make out over the roar of the fire. She doesn't get too far when she slams into something relatively small and meaty and then there's solid wood and bleats of pain! Oh the goatality! Whatever Chaarix hit stung, though her tough scales protected her from the brunt of the damage. Can't say the same for whatever structure she just hit.

"Stop running!" shouts someone, fast approaching Chaarix.

Chaarix's eyesight starts to come back to her. She sees three injured goats scared out of their wits and the person in blue armor holding up her hands as if trying to calm a horse. She is bleeding from several wounds, but somehow she seems pretty tough, if for the fact she's not running away from a dragon right now.

"Okay... you... just, like, take a few steps back from the goat pen, and let's calmly get away from the fire."