Outside 49: I don’t remember what it looks like either

[Chaotic Bob]

[A Brisk Afternoon Jog]

The spider flees in typical animalistic terror to a far corner of the room.

There is a moment of consideration from the chakram.
You can call me Ken, if you want. I know most of us don't really care about names, but you hero types do.
Names don't help us win battles. Usually.
Mostly a bunch of meatheads who just want to hit stuff real hard.
Hitting stuff real hard is fun.

There is a knock at the door.

A spirit blessed you in the night. Bet it helped you with those rough nightmares!

[Gullara]

Journey to the Center of the Elves

"I swear." Eon holds his hand up in a solemn gesture. "I don't know who he is, but from the story, I can guess." And him returning is probably not good.

[Journey to the Center of the Elves]

The Speaker is guarded still, but Korrina can tell that a weight has been lifted off her mind. This oath seems to have meant more to her than would be apparent.

"I am satisfied. If you did serve him, you would not make such an oath. He is not one to take his servants' words lightly." She breathes in and out. "If what you suspect is true, then the King in Rags was the original Banished King. And his story has spread elsewhere, under different names. But stories are, after all, what the Gentry know best. I... cannot tell you... but perhaps..."

"If anything they said is accurate, Speaker, then the time for oaths is past."

The voice comes from above. If they look up, they will see a figure descent from the top of the spire. An androgynous figure, but a more feminine one overall. She's thin and sleek, with a pair of shimmering insect wings on her back. Her skin has a silvery sheen to it and looks almost translucent - and she's not wearing any clothes. As the figure gets closer, they will notice that her face is elongated, similar to that of a dragon. But aside from a pair of pitch-black eyes, it's featureless. Her voice seems to be emanating from within her. Her legs bend backwards and her hands end in three long, double-jointed fingers.

"Our patron - how did you-"

"When you spoke the name of the one who holds my mentor's chain, it reached me up in the sky."

[Journey to the Center of the Elves]

Oh wow, a manifested patron!

Zhareen nods curtly before the being before she speaks up. In general patrons wanted you to be direct, having to repeat or clarify things could often test their patience but not being courteous could also be dangerous so one had balance the two. "Patron of these lands, we are of the fourth tower and have come to aid your people, but to do so we need to understand what is happening. Why does the rag-king of whom you speak hold the chains of your mentor?"

[Journey to the Center of the Elves]

Korrina's eyes widen when the new arrival appears. An unbound entity it seems. For all her bravado, that puts her out of her depth. The warlock looks to her senior, glad to let her take the lead for now.

[bc56]

Journey to the Center of the Elves

Eon bows before the appearing fae. He's not going to speak, not until spoken to. But she's setting off his visions. There's always something about powerful entities that does.

[5a Violista]

[Found a Fortress]

Dwarf metal might make good armor.


Great!
They have potential for a fire. They have a dry place that'll block out most of the wind. They have...probably other stuff, too. An avocado tree. It's too bad that avocados literally have to sit for a couple days to ripen.

As soon as June hears Pepper, she looks over.
As soon as she sees Pepper, she looks away and blushes and finds something interesting to distract herself with.
"Um, okay. That's cool. But why would a mine be full of bandits?" If they have a mine, why would they even be bandits?

But, more importantly,
"So, um. This seems like a pretty decent place to stay for the night. Once we start a fire, it'll be pretty warm, and it seems easy enough to insulate."

[Deathkeeper]

[A Brisk Afternoon Jog]

The spider flees in typical animalistic terror to a far corner of the room.

There is a moment of consideration from the chakram.
You can call me Ken, if you want. I know most of us don't really care about names, but you hero types do.
Names don't help us win battles. Usually.
Mostly a bunch of meatheads who just want to hit stuff real hard.
Hitting stuff real hard is fun.

There is a knock at the door.

A spirit blessed you in the night. Bet it helped you with those rough nightmares!

A Brisk Afternoon Jog

Helped? With a nightmare about fires and spiders and werewolves? I don't know about that one. But definitely possible.

The sword and chakram properly strapped on, G'nichi heads to the door and answers it. Too bad he doesn't have a change of clothes. Luckily dragons don't exactly sweat much.

[Rebonack]

[Found a Fortress]

Pepper spends some time examining the little guardhouse. Everything seems to be in order! They've got four walls and a roof, which is plenty. Wood for a fire, insulated floor, and of course an avocado tree! Pepper focuses some of her wild magic on the tree, cause it to grow even MORE swiftly as a collection of pepper plants begin popping out of the earth as well. Before long she's got a whole garden!

Then?

She makes a very exaggerated show of picking up each of her hooves one at a time as if they were stuck to the ground before vanishing into her garden again.

Huh.

Wonder what that was about?

Okay I've rooted here so I can be the lookout for us for the night, comes Pepper's voice, whispered through the forest sounds of deciding dusk. I can make the fruit ripen a bit faster? Do you guys want me to go catch a deer for dinner?

Oh food is an important subject isn't it? June hasn't eaten for a while.

[Morty]

[Journey to the Center of the Elves]

The Speaker looks to her patron, apparently letting her do the talking. It doesn't count as revealing the story if a fey does it, right? Sky-Cutter looks imperiously at the newcomers and begins her explanation.

"The one known as the King in Rags is one of the Gentry, rulers of all fey. Now gone, along with our homeland, the Fairest of Lands. My mentor is old enough to remember the Fairest of Lands and he served the King in Rags in that prehistoric time. The chains of his obligations weigh on him still. The story that my elven wards are so fearful of is a story of... him. It. My mentor claims that the King in Rags was defeated or betrayed in the time before, and the Fairest of Lands receded. I was born here and have never seen them."

"There were those among us who... worshipped him and the other Gentry. Wished for their return. We slew them in a terrible civil war and swore never to speak of it again."

[Walk in the Woods - Thariza]

"They would think it's cheating or something. They'll feel better if they run around and shout for a bit," Thariza remarks. "But I've had a long and really weird day, so I'm fine with flying."

[Deathkeeper]

Found a Fortress

Spako is completely unphased by Pepper's state of dress. He also doesn't know how gaiad rooting works. So he doesn't question any of that.
"Oh, I ate a deer yesterday, so I'm pretty good at the moment. Whatever you need, June. I do have some cured meat in my bag."
Dragon metabolism is weird. Like many reptiles, they're more than capable of only eating one big meal for days on end.

[5a Violista]

[Found a Fortress]

Eventually, June turns back, only to realize Pepper's gone again.

June sees the pepper garden, and thinks she realizes what Pepper means about ripening them faster. "Yeah, so...you can start with the avocados in case it takes a couple days to find and get through this fortress," she says. She looks up and around trying to decide which would be the best direction to look when answering.

After listening to Spako, she decides on what to eat: "I don't think I could have a whole deer, or even a quarter of one, so I'll just go with bag-meat," she says. "Thanks." And then she can put some peppers on it, too.
...
Would that be weird? Probably not, right? "Mind if I get some now?" If it's fine, she goes to the bag to grab some cured meat.


Back on topic, though, since talking about it doesn't take any time or energy, she starts to think about the location of this fortress. "So how do you think we should get in to this fortress? I don't think it would be in the cave, since it was only found recently. Unless it was recently dug into, but then you'd think there would be more people around exploring it, I think."

[Rebonack]

[Found a Fortress]

And you know what?

Right as June is commenting on how it seems unlikely that the cave leads to the fortress since apparently no one is around a blond haired bearded guy who looks more than a little tipsy comes staggering out of the cave. He doesn't notice our heroes right away, mostly because they're all inside the guardhouse, but they'll be able to hear him singing really poorly about someone named Ragnar the Red.

Hey guys it looks like some bandits have set up shop in the ruin's entrance. Don't worry too much about it that happens a lot, crackles the fire quietly.

Chances are our heroes would be able to just remain quiet and the bandit probably won't even notice them.

Or?

They could go out there and try nabbing him!

Or maybe Pepper could try pretending to be a spooky forest ghost and scare him away?

[Deathkeeper]

Found a Fortress

Spako provides June with a mildly stale crust of bread and a good-sized hunk of salami.
And then bandit!
Spako is pretty good at staying quiet. Especially hidden in their little building and him in his little form.
"We could try to knock him out. Isn't really right to just stab someone in cold blood." Spako whispers. He's come a long way since his adventuring days.

[5a Violista]

[Found a Fortress]

Stabbing someone does seem like a pretty awful idea, unless they're actively hurting someone or something like that.
June, who doesn't trust her ability to just knock someone out without causing serious brain damage, kind-of agrees with Spako, and nods. She turns to look at the drunken singer, and whispers back, "I'll try to restrain him; you can help or tie him up or something so we can talk to him."
Pepper obviously can't help because she's a campfire right now and they're not trying to burn him to death.
You can't question someone if you burn them to death.

She sets down salami and bread that she hasn't eaten yet (but was still planning to) and carefully tries to get up. (She's worried the armor might make noises which is why she has to be careful.) (but also she's worried about him hearing the crackling fire, too. Luckily he's singing, so. It's not that bad.)
And,
June starts sneaking towards the stable doorway, and waits for an adequate moment.
When she feels like it's a good enough time, she hurries out to get behind the guy and put both her arms underneath his armpits, so that she can raise his arms a little and use her own hand to cover the guy's mouth. And she wraps a foot around his leg to make it easier to take him down if he struggles too much.

[Rebonack]

[Found a Fortress]

Though you CAN question someone while burning them to death if you're an especially reprehensible person. Thankfully Pepper isn't reprehensible. Not even a little bit!

Okay you grab him and I'll tie him up, the fire crackles in agreement.

How is a fire going to tie someone up?

Guess we'll find out in the near future here.

June will find that her armor, being literally made of light, doesn't make much noise when moving around. Light is well known for being pretty quite. It does shine a fair bit, though, since light is also known for being shiny. She grabs the bandit and muffles him and he immediately beings struggling! He's a pretty big guy, so June will really need to take advantage of leverage to make sure he doesn't wriggle free. Thankfully June isn't alone in her endeavor since roots begin rising from the ground and wrapping around the bandit, too! Before long he'll be all tied up like a fly in a cocoon and our heroes can drag him back to the little guardhouse.

So!

They've got a bandit now.

What are they going to do with him?

[Earl of Purple]

Steelbite Canyon, Road Pirate Hideout

The trouser-wearing man continues to walk through the various vehicles. Those that open the door without weapon are shown the crystal, instead; their eyes crack like his, and they join in fighting the inhabitants of the last motorhome. They've noticed that something's up, and fire on the group of just-converted cultists. The leader's eyes flare, bullets aimed at him disintegrating, before the horrid purple light starts to eat into the side of the vehicle- then the people inside. One of his followers has fallen, face obliterated by the boom of a shotgun from inside the melting motorhome, even as the other Road Pirates shoot back at it, mostly with small pistols, sawn-off shotguns and assault rifles.

The gunfight attracts the attention of the lookout, who leaves his fire to look down at what's going on. He has a short telescope- actually half a pair of binoculars- to examine what's going on, and... it doesn't look good. He has to warn somebody, probably the other Road Pirates at least, maybe Merc or Vigil. He knows where another hideout is, it's where he was stationed earlier, but he has to go- and now, before they spot him. He rushes to the minibus, opens the door and hauls out a battered dirt bike. Most of the body panels have been stripped away, the remaining ones are dented and the headlight is an old flashlight, with a cracked lens. The saddle is padded with strips of rag, and the exhaust pipe is held on with zip ties and duct tape. The vehicle's wheels clearly came from different bikes, one wire-spoked and the other with a more solid design, and the tyres are nearly bald. Paracord wraps the handlebars to give better grip, and hanging from one of them is a WWII-era British helmet, which the prospect puts on and straps under his chin. He disarms a small explosive charge wired to the fuel tank, turns the key in the ignition, hops on and rides away, as fast as he can. The noise alerts the new cultists, and the leader barks an order to stop him. The bikers run to their Quonset hut and start up their own vehicles, getting ready to ride out after him.

Of the hideout's twelve full-time inhabitants, five have been killed and one is running away. The five casualties include four of the bikers, however, and the cult's new leader doesn't know how to drive and is getting in the way of preperations.

[Deathkeeper]

Found a Fortress

Once they've absconded with the bandit, Spako pulls his little sword and holds it to the man's throat. It's unpleasantly warm.
"Scream and I won't be happy. Tell us about your group. Have they gotten into the fort yet?" Spako asks. He's bluffing of course, given that he just said moments ago he doesn't stab people in cold blood. But this guy doesn't know that.

[5a Violista]

[Found a Fortress]

June, of course, doesn't say anything.
She lets Spako speak. He's definitely a lot more intimidating than her, she thinks, and also he's probably a lot better at this. She would completely mess up.
And they need to scare him so that they don't have to hurt him.

So, she just stays behind the guy and keeps on holding him just in case he somehow breaks free of the root-cocoon.

[Rebonack]

[Found a Fortress]

The bandit wriggles and gasps, but as soon as that sword comes out he falls very, very still.

One of his greatest fears is being threatened by tiny winged lizard people.

"We just... we just, y'know, we found some imperial mages and a few guards in here and knocked 'em all. Imperials don't belong here this is OUR land, right? The boss thought this ruin would make a good base for hitting caravans from," he says. "Listen I don't know who you folks are but please don't kill me I don't even like the boss that much."

Well!

It sounds like they probably murdered a bunch of scholars that were inspecting the ruins.

And they're planning on doing some highwaymen stuff to travelers.

Probably not great people.

[Deathkeeper]

[Found a Fortress]

Spako nonchalantly squats down and sticks his big knife sword in the ground.
"Yeah? How 'bout this? You tell us how many you are. Where the sentries and traps are. And then I'll let you go. And if you scream or tell anyone we're coming we'll be back to this situation. Or worse."
Spako's seen enough tough gritty dudes that he can imitate them pretty well.
But actually lying? He's pretty bad at that. Funny how that is.

[5a Violista]

[Found a Fortress]

Imperials... that's got to be that invading force. And, tbh, easier to deal with bandits than magic-using soldiers.

June wants to say something to convince the bandit that he should just...not be a bandit. But that might be pretty ineffective and that might mess up their plans to get info from him.

"And, since you don't like your boss, you wouldn't mind telling us about who he is, too," she adds.
She doesn't think her voice is nearly as effective at being intimidating as Spako's is. Too high-pitched and not nearly as deep or gravelly.

[Rebonack]

[Found a Fortress]

June really needs to practice her gravelly Batman voice.

"We got two dozen men down there, not counting me. It's a big company!" the bandit replies. "And... well we haven't got any traps set up yet. But the boss thinks there might be some in the old dwarf ruins. Dwarves love their traps and machines, right? That's what I've heard."

That's marginally useful information.

"The boss is Urgog. Big tough orc, strongest I've ever seen. Real clever, too. But mean! I don't like him much but he's good at leading."

The bandit really doesn't want to get killed. He can tell that woman must be some kind of accomplished adventurer, just judging from that fancy armor. He's just not sure which one cast that vine spell.

"There- there's only two of you, though! No way you could take two dozen men if you're planning to take the fortress! The boss wouldn't let you through."

Three, crackles the fire. There are three of us.

Oh no now the bandit is really scared! Have they got some sort of daedra working for them?

[Murkus]

[Forest of Flowers]

"Well-" Lucy manages a half-smile, wiping away a tear forming at the corner of her eye. "I-if my goddess says I'm special, I-I suppose it has to be true, doesn't it?" She leans in against Vivi, her embrace tightening such that she's almost clinging to her. "N-no more self doubt, for today at least, I promise. I'd rather just enjoy getting to be in your company again. I've missed you."

[Forest of Flowers]

Vivi holds her back. She seems to have found a true friend in Lucy. Lucy can feel her genuinely relax as they stand together.

"...Good, yes. No more. I've missed you too," she agrees, and leans up to kiss Lucy on the corner of her mouth.

"Why don't you join me in the bath?" She asks. "Later, maybe, we can talk about my plans..."

[Shadowcaller]

[Journey to the Center of the Elves]

The Speaker looks to her patron, apparently letting her do the talking. It doesn't count as revealing the story if a fey does it, right? Sky-Cutter looks imperiously at the newcomers and begins her explanation.

"The one known as the King in Rags is one of the Gentry, rulers of all fey. Now gone, along with our homeland, the Fairest of Lands. My mentor is old enough to remember the Fairest of Lands and he served the King in Rags in that prehistoric time. The chains of his obligations weigh on him still. The story that my elven wards are so fearful of is a story of... him. It. My mentor claims that the King in Rags was defeated or betrayed in the time before, and the Fairest of Lands receded. I was born here and have never seen them."

"There were those among us who... worshipped him and the other Gentry. Wished for their return. We slew them in a terrible civil war and swore never to speak of it again."

[Walk in the Woods - Thariza]

"They would think it's cheating or something. They'll feel better if they run around and shout for a bit," Thariza remarks. "But I've had a long and really weird day, so I'm fine with flying."

[Journey to the Center of the Elves]

Zhareen glances at Korrina and Eon, hoping that at least the student would have learned to take notes by now. This sort of thing was important!
She once more nods respectfully to Sky-Cutter as she finishes explaining. "I know that even among the fair folk there is a hierarchy, and even among you there are jerks." Well, relatively at least. "But if you defeated his supporters, then why-"

She abruptly stops talking.
Her eyes glows.

Korrina and Eon should be familiar with this but in different ways.
Korrina have seen this before, Zhareen's could suddenly start glowing and then she'd start talking cryptically. A vision as Vax had called it.
Eon of course knows what's happening as he have had his own visions, Zhareen is having a prophecy.

"Underneath the city of River I see a king begging for scraps swearing an oath to rats.
An unwritten story of elves they will penn to herald their end.
So amend as he will open your gate to change his abdicated fate." At this point she gestures at Sky-Cutter, her expression blank, emotionless.
Then her finger turns to the Speaker. "Before the gate a name of shame will be sacrificed as the price for his claim to birthright.
Knight's of four will follow him before the door, one of your birth, one that his child birthed, one of what forever lies beneath the earth and one whose victims will never be unearthed."

The glow fades.

"-is he able to do all this without allies..." Zhareen finally closes as they never did during her vision and she pinches her nose as if onset by a sudden headache. "I did it again, didn't I?" She mutters to herself as she starts to gently massage her forehead.

[Walk in the Woods - Thariza]

"Great, just get on my back and we'll be off!" The Other Ambrosia exclaims as she lowers her serpentine body enough that Thariza will be able to climb on. She seems somewhat smaller now, small enough that the charr will be able to sit on her comfortably with her legs dangling off on either side without stretching them too far.

And so they fly, a flight that seems to be remarkably uneventful as the weird stuff seems to be earthbound now that the storm has subsided. The landscape underneath them is frankly impossible though. So many different environments, some belonging to radically different landscapes, next to one another could never exist nor will probably exist for long once whatever is happening here has run its course. It will no doubt do untold damage to the environment but that's probably the least of Thariza's concerns at this point.

Especially as in the distance they can see what at first glance seems to be birds patrolling various sections of the area but as they get closer to one of them it seems like it's some kind of machine. While it's mostly shaped like a large bird made of metal it completely lacks a head. Instead the flying golem has a cluster of metal eyeballs which are all staring in different directions, some in theirs.

"What in Timat's tits is that?" The creature does not attack however but Thariza might get a sense she've seen these things before. In a flashback she saw a being very much like it fly over VIGIL's courtyard shortly before she must have been killed by the invading demons.

They will be able to fly past it and continue towards the lab but the Other Ambrosia makes sure to stay clear of more of the creatures who seem to be observing the affected landscape from above.

[Deathkeeper]

Found a Fortress

Spako nods. Nothing too unreasonable. Especially for a dragon.
"Alright, fair enough. Go on, get. And remember what I said about tipping off your friends."
Spako assumes that Pepper will get the message and release him.

[Rebonack]

[Riftline]

Jeanette is riding the train!

The definitely normal and not suspicious human woman is garbed in some sturdy hiking attire, along with a cute red cap that clashes slightly with the rest of the outfit. Spread in front of her is a map she had acquired from a merchant Inside. She long ago stopped questioning how people got a hold of maps of purported dungeons. The first time she bought one it turned out to be startlingly accurate and the expedition proved to be a valuable use of her time. Supplementing her IT work with dungeon spoils is not only a good way to make some quick coin, it also helps keep her sane. Encountering fantastic monsters and getting the aggression out of her system is a valuable way to keep a lid on her less socially acceptable impulses.

She's definitely been feeling jittery of late.

It's that chittering cacophony right at the edge of her consciousness. There MUST be other things like her nearby somewhere. Jeany knows that she's broken. Something about her just doesn't work right. She's not supposed down here making friends with food and squashing network bugs. But that's what she wants to do and until she gets lost in that sea of voices she's going to keep doing it.

"Okay, what have we got," Jeany mutters, running one finger along the top of the map. This one is a bit complicated. Three levels, it looks like? Or at least three levels that the map maker knew about. "The Pit of Gnashing Terror, huh? Sounds like a real vacation destination. But if the notes are right... full of eye-monsters? I haven't done a dungeon full of eye-monsters before."

[Morty]

[Walk in the Woods - Thariza]

"They're the things that killed me." Thariza's voice sounds weak and faint; her blood has run cold. "This isn't good."

[Deathkeeper]

[Riftline]

Next to Jeanette is a youngish, strong man with dark green hair and a small knapsack with a tiny shield hanging from it. He can't help but overhear her muttering. Especially with that map laid out in front of her.
"Huh. You doing one of those...dungeon dives? My siblings have done those, but I haven't." he asks casually.
Of course they have and he hasn't because they're surprisingly durable magical creatures, and he's some guy. But hey, at least he works out.

[Rebonack]

[Riftline]

Every adventurer starts as just some guy (or gal) Linus, don't sell yourself short.

Jeany raises an eyebrow at the comment. She uses public transportation quite a bit and people come from all sorts of different worlds, so you never know what kind of public transit etiquette they might have. Some people will completely ignore you even if you're sitting right next to them. Others will try to strike up conversation.

Case in point?

"Yeah, actually, I am," Jeany replies, scooting her map over a bit so Linus can see it. It depicts a three level dungeon with a few notes scrawled here and there. At the bottom a room is circled in red with THE LOOT! written next to it. "It's good practice. Keeps me in shape for the occasional crisis. I get to meet some unique flora and fauna and often times-"

She tapes the loot circle.

"-there's treasure at the end. Even if the REAL treasure is the friends you make alone the way. Why do you ask? Itching to one-up your siblings?" the adventurer asks as she offers a hand. "Jeanette Levi. You can call me Jeany if you want. Spare the puns, though, I've heard them all."

[Deathkeeper]

Riftline

Linus smiles and shakes the offered hand.
"Linus Elwood. Don't worry, I've heard plenty myself. And so has my family. Heather has actual heather flowers growing out of her." Gaiad names are more literal than most.
"You think it'll be okay for me? I mean I like to think I'm pretty strong for a normal guy. But other than that I'm only good at stitching people up. And holding a shield." he shows her the shield in question.
It's pretty nice. Tiny, though.
"What uh. Kind of loot?"

[Rebonack]

[Riftline]

"Heather flowers?" Jeany asks, knitting her brow in confusion for a moment.

Oh.

Right.

"She got caught in that Buttercup thing?" she asks. That's got to be it. Jeany was pretty fortunate to live well out of the part of town that got hit. There weren't any Buttercups that she's aware of up in the Skyway. She isn't sure if the whole Buttercup thing would have worked on her due to horrible alien living weapon but she doesn't mind not finding out. "Well, let's see."

Jeany points at the top level of the dungeon.

"Apparently this place gets tougher the deeper you go. The area right outside the dungeon has eye-monsters too, but they aren't that tough. Then the first floor has stronger ones than the outside. Ditto with levels two and three. There are loot vaults in each level right before the stairs to the next. If you're really raring for adventure, you could join me on the walk to the dungeon. If the little gribblies outside are too much for you then you can just head back to the train station," Jeany offers, always happy to help a burgeoning adventurer wet their teeth. She cranes her neck a bit to peer at the shield. "Nothing wrong with playing defense. Do you need a weapon to go with the shield? I've got some extras but I should warn you now that they're... kind of weird. And alive."

Fair warning!

"No idea on the loot, though, haha! That's part of the adventure, right? You never know what you might find."

[Deathkeeper]

Riftline

"Yeah. She's alright though." he says, shaking his head a little. He's just happy she's happy. Mostly.
Linus grimaces.
"Alive? Like, it's a talking sword? Or I would be swinging around a knife made of chitin with a beating heart? Because I might be a med student but that's a little much even for me."
He shakes his head.
"Maybe I'll get lucky and get something good from the loot chest?" Though if it was just a weird talking sword that might not be so bad...