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Post by Arashi on Jun 9, 2017 1:08:47 GMT -5
Silver shrugged as she took the crystal back from Rion.
"Still. Crystals are bad news in their active form either way for anybody, eh?" She laughed a small bit. She noticed both his awkward catch, and the very faint glow...what was that? Oh well; not something she needed to know at this point in time. It seemed interesting, but she was certain he likely didn't want to talk about it now. Besides, she didn't know light magic very well anyway, so maybe it was just some weird aspect of light magic or something.
She then narrowed her eyes at that comment by Terra. Though, before she could speak, Rion did. Probably better that he did too, because she was fairly annoyed by that comment and likely would have been...snarky. Rion had covered for her, and did it extremely well, too. He told the truth, but didn't mention her personal matters. So, she was certainly right in trusting him with that information. Though this conversation made her wary of Terra, Rion's words to Terra calmed her down considerably. She glanced at him as he spoke and smiled a bit. So far...she was very glad she came across him.
"..Yes, Rion covered it." She looked to Terra, determination in her eyes. "Let me be clear. You aren't laying your lives on the line for me. You're risking your lives for everyone in this world, and as am I. Regardless of protection or not, I'll still do whatever I need to do to protect as many people in this world as I can from the devastation that is blight. So, the choice is yours if you want to help with that or not. That's all I will say on the matter." She crossed her arms. Her voice was calm; no anger to be had here. Just truth. This wasn't about her life, it was about something much, much greater. The others did not need to know her own personal business to accomplish this; it was her choice who she decided to trust with that.
"So, come with us, or not."
"As you said, let's get going. I agree with your previous statements, Aqua." She looked towards Aqua for a moment, replying to her mention that they should get going, then turned and began to walk towards the exit of the inn.
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Post by Sorrum on Jun 13, 2017 14:24:45 GMT -5
Aqua listened as Terra, Rion, and Silver went back and forth again. She sighed. Terra had a point and a right to be careful, but she didn't think an interrogation would lead to anything other than Silver and Rion clamming up about what they know even further. Terra was full of energy and getting frustrated, and Silver was not having any of it.
That book, however, might have some answers. If they could truly not read what was in it, then they should seek out a means to translate it. Aqua wondered if it might be more important than the people standing together in this hotel, then quickly dismissed the thought. Whatever happens here doesn't matter. This land is quite far from home and becoming this invested in the struggles of strangers will ruin the trip.
She wondered what this girl meant. Save the world? Pretty lofty goal. Even if this "blight" magic was that dangerous, this world faced many other dangers in itself. Nations and races are divided and fight for land that is difficult to live in. Aqua feared the living more than she feared the dead. She recalled the walking giants from the attack last night, but there were few of them. They were a small group, and there were enough of those blighted humans to form a capable force. The crystal was small, however. Their next encounter with this type of magic would give her a better understanding, along with that book.
Silver looked toward her for a moment and started heading for the door. I wonder what she's so worried about. Aqua followed Silver's lead. A thought struck her on the way, so she stepped ahead and walked alongside Silver. "So uh. I haven't been to this next town we're going to. What's it like?"
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Post by Bloodbane on Jun 14, 2017 18:15:32 GMT -5
Rion simply nodded at Silver's mention of how bad the crystals were when active, though was a bit surprised when she went further than what he had said. Based on her words, it was clear that Silver was certainly aware of people's concerns about her, but noted that in the end the others were free to decide a different path if they so chose. For Rion, the choice was simple; he had already told Silver his intent to see this through.
"And as for me... since surviving my last encounter with a Blight Mage I've made it a point to find any means I can to stop them. Whatever happens, this is my chance to get back at them, and I'm not about to just walk away from it." He stated, before the group began making their way out of the inn and onto the streets of Aldur, following after Silver. He said nothing as Aqua approached Silver, asking about Agrova; while he supposed he could interject with what he knew about the city, namely the fact that it was the capital city of the region in addition to a major stronghold for the military forces that protected the nearby cities, but he felt this was as good a chance as any for him not only to find out what Silver knew about the region, but give her a chance to interact with people more, since she had mentioned it was not something she was used to doing unless absolutely needed.
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Post by Arashi on Jun 15, 2017 23:04:33 GMT -5
Silver continued walking along without checking who was following behind. She knew Rion was helping her for certain, and at this point, she was pretty sure she had Aqua, too. While having more would be ideal, she would be fine working with whatever she could get. The only thing that mattered to her is that the blight was put to a halt somehow before it inevitably came out of hiding...and the recent attack only left her more concerned. It was a small village and all, but it was so close to a central hub...were they getting more brave about crystal placements?
As they walked in Aldur, Silver was surprised by Aqua catching up to her and asking her a question. She looked to Aqua.
"Honestly, I have no idea. I tend to avoid bigger towns. I have a friend that frequents there; tells me it's a somewhat important human military place...and how they can be sort of stuck up. Otherwise, no clue." She shrugged, "I don't go in big human settlements unless I have to. Er, no offense to any nice humans..." She sighed a bit. Apparently, not all humans were all that bad, but that was a hard mindset to get out of.
As they walked the streets, the town was pretty active. Many people were working on repair efforts, and nobody paid any mind to the adventurers. Soon, they would be near the exit of the town.
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Post by Swim on Jun 19, 2017 2:39:23 GMT -5
Silver had said her piece and marched off, leaving Terra equally frustrated with her companion's willful lack of transparency. The party was getting ready to depart for Agrova now, giving Terra a good excuse to withdraw back upstairs and grab the rest of her equipment. It also afforded her a moment to blow of both figurative and literal steam, exhaling the hot air as she grappled with her emotions and decided on what to do next. She wanted to see help, maybe not save the world but if she could prevent another village from suffering the same fate as Delbray had it was a worthy enough cause. But it was at odds now with her inability to trust Silver, who had the ability to walk them into an ambush at any point now. Terra had only met one dragon before Silver and knew they generally kept to themselves but this was something different. Something was wrong. It was like putting together a puzzle in a darkened room, she couldn't see all of the pieces but she'd managed to fit a few of them together just the same. Doubtless she'd learn more as they continued their journey, but she'd have her guard up the entire way.
Terra cast one more disgusted look at her armor which had still not been properly cleaned since the previous night's events. There was no time now, they'd be leaving soon. After putting the armor on she drew a brown travelers cloak from her bag and draped it over herself, it would do for now. She strapped her rifle to her back and stuffed everything else into the bag and hurried out of the inn to rejoin the party at the edge of Aldur.
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Post by Sorrum on Jun 20, 2017 2:35:49 GMT -5
Aqua blinked. "Oh. I guess this will be a first for me too then," she lied. She'd been in camps before but nothing she'd consider big, and never for long. The humans back home lived in homes and held gatherings at public buildings. This was probably the same case. A thought crossed her mind.
"So, I have a question for you. I hope this doesn't sound strange." Aqua nodded and tilted her head at Silver. "What's it like, being able to fly?" Aqua realized this question came out impulsively the second she opened her mouth, but followed through anyway. She was a dork like that sometimes. "Sorry that probably sounds ridiculous." Aqua tried to recover from her embarrassment, but the damage was likely already done.
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Post by Bloodbane on Jun 21, 2017 21:12:30 GMT -5
Well... at least Silver was honest?
Putting a hand to the back of his neck briefly at the answer, Rion looked to Aqua as the group gathered and made their way away from the Inn and towards the edge of town. "Times have been peaceful; aside from criminals there hasn't been much reason for soldiers to be out patrolling the area between towns. The reason I recommended Agrova is because if we can make the military in this region aware of what's going on, it will be more difficult for a similar attack to take place. I can't say for sure how effective it will be... but if the mages are beginning to become more bold in their presence then they're doing so for a reason, I imagine." He explained to the elven woman, before looking forward. Once the group had gathered together, Rion started to make his way down the road.
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Post by Arashi on Jun 23, 2017 1:35:26 GMT -5
Silver looked at Aqua and tilted her head as she asked about flying. She sometimes forgot flying was not a thing that was normal to everyone.
"Not weird at all. It is the most freedom you could possibly imagine...plus, it's fun. Hard to explain outside of that." She laughed a little as she replied to Aqua. "Care to find out what it's like to fly on a dragon sometime?"
She wouldn't mind taking Aqua for a flight...and even would right now if she wasn't looking for someone.
Silver then looked to Rion as he explained his reasoning for going to the city. It made sense to her; though she did not know how the human city would react to such news. Hopefully, they would take the group seriously...considering how serious this was.
~
As the group made their way out of the town and on to the road towards Agrova, nothing really all that notable happened. As Rion had said, everything was fairly peaceful and quiet; not even other adventurers were currently on this trail, at least for now. Around the trail was a lot of dense forest; perfect for ambushes back when times were hard and wars were commonplace.
Silver didn't really talk much as they walked, and her hand always was placed on the hilt of her sword. She was wary; probably overly wary considering how quiet and peaceful things were. Not to her though; you could never predict where or when an enemy would strike, so it was best to always be ready. That logic seemed correct to her.
Their silence would soon be interrupted, though. Rather abruptly. A somewhat large, blood red...dragon? jumped out of the trees and near Silver, landing just out of her field of view. It was very odd looking; it had no wings, and had a thick coat of fur. It was also covered in bandages, and only had one visible glowing golden eye. It walked on all fours.
Silver reacted quickly and spun around to look at the threat, and then realized...
"Boo." The beast said, and then laughed and sat down where he once stood. "You need me?" He then looked over to the other members of the group, who were likely pretty freaked out by his entrance. "Oh, you have a little parade of humans following you. What are they for?" He spoke in a playful, but rather menacing tone. He was pretty menacing in general, close up.
Silver scoffed at him and crossed her arms, removing her hand from the hilt of her sword finally.
"Ugh...is it really necessary for you to do that? Come on. You're going to scare my friends. I'd actually like to keep some friends, you know. But, they are helping me. You know. With the blight." She looked at the beast, her eyes narrowed. She was obviously somewhat annoyed by him.
"Oh come on, you're no fun....but you actually found some willing to help? Hm." He stood up and walked around the group, looking at all the members of it. It was perhaps a slight bit on the creepy side. "They look decently strong...I suppose. But are they strong enough? Can I test them?"
Silver marched up to the beast and put her hands on her hips, glaring at him.
"No. You will not do such a thing. Unless you want me to tell them your name is Celery! Then sure." She smirked. For her to talk to such an odd beast in such a confident manner...it was pretty obvious at this point that she knew him from somewhere.
The beast gave her an angry look, then lowered his head a bit.
"Fine." He then sat back down where he was, and looked at the group. "My name is Celestrus not celery. Definitely not celery."
Silver sighed. This probably looked odd, and Celestrus wasn't exactly subtle about using his powers...which is what she needed him to do. This was going to look odd.
She then looked at everyone, and crossed her arms once more. She hoped at least Rion would still have her back on this.
"This is my friend Celestrus. Let me be honest with this. He's going to help me turn the crystal we have in to protective charms for all of you...and it will keep you safe from the dangerous effects of blighted fields. You know, the areas corrupted by blight crystals. I don't know for certain if it will work like I have been told, but I can't have all of you marching in to a bunch of blighted fields without some sort of protection. I need you all to trust me on this...it's important for your safety." She glanced at Rion, as if wanting some kind of approval. Rion was good at explaining things, she thought, so maybe he would help her. She then glanced at Aqua...hoping the elf still trusted her, too. These two were her best bet.
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Post by Sorrum on Jun 23, 2017 5:48:27 GMT -5
Aqua sighed with relief that Silver didn't take any offense. "Haha, someday, sure." She never thought that she might befriend a dragon on this journey, much less ride one.
Their walk through the country proved boring. Not much else besides the path and the trees and bushes around. With as quiet as the scenery and the group had been, her eyelids began to droop down. She was startled awake when the dragon burst from the trees without so much as a warning. "H-huh!?" She jumped back a few feet from the dragon as it landed.
The dragon circled the group. As it spoke to Silver, Aqua grew tense. She never fought a dragon before, but today might change that. She slowly reached for the bolas on her hip before the tension broke with the sudden threat from Silver. "..Celery?"
Silver spoke her piece about the dragon and the crystal. Charms that would protect them from the blight, made out of the same blight crystal they dealt with earlier. "So this is the specialist you know?" She looked at him again. He was covered in bandages and had fur, with no wings. This.. was a dragon, right? Aqua wanted to relax but felt stiff in her back. She folded her arms and looked over at Silver. The girl's worried face might be a cause for concern. Aqua reached up and removed her visor and looked at Silver again. "You sure you can trust this guy? Seems kinda weird." She then paused, and looked back over to Celestrus. "..No offense."
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Post by Bloodbane on Jun 26, 2017 0:58:50 GMT -5
Rion said nothing as the group made their way down the road, watching the conversation between Silver and Aqua. Every now and then, he would look in the direction of the other two in the group, though they remained quiet. He recalled that Terra's gear looked a bit worn from the fighting, though he supposed none of them really had been given much chance to really clean things up after the battle. "Hopefully our stay in Agrova will not be as short-lived. We will likely have to leave eventually if they have received word of other crystals, but there should be enough time to get things repaired and cleaned up." He said, mostly to give some kind of reassurance that he was not going to send everyone out on some unrealistic pace. However, the conversation was left at that when a red wingless dragon landed nearby. Uncertain as to what the dragon's intent was, Rion stood back, watching as Silver began to interact with the red dragon... was this the 'friend' she was referring to?
Judging by the conversation, it appeared the red dragon's goals were in line with Silver's, or at the very least he was aware of her quest. In fact, he appeared to be going so far as to offer to 'test' the group... with what? However, once it was clear that the two were definitely on friendly terms, Rion eased up a bit, looking to Silver as she explained what Celestrus was going to do for them, before Aqua asked if the dragon could be trusted. Based on what little he knew, and the fact that Silver seemed to allude to the dragon helping them make a means to shield from the Blighted fields around the crystals, he couldn't help but wonder what this meant about the dragon himself.
"I suppose he's the one that's helped you learn what you know so far from the book...?" He asked Silver. Although the assumption was a bit of a stretch, he hoped for her sake she would run with the idea he was presenting even if it wasn't entirely true. At least this way, even if what Celestrus did ended up revealing something that would not be as easily approved of by the others, it would not necessarily have to involve Silver and her own condition. "It's not like we have too many options; if he knows of a way to help us make our way to these crystals easier, I think it's worth a shot."
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Post by Arashi on Jun 27, 2017 23:27:28 GMT -5
Silver looked to Aqua as she asked about Celestrus. It made sense that the girl didn't trust Celestrus; he never came off as very trustworthy. Or sane. But she at least seemed to be okay with everything well enough.
"Yes, you can trust him. I've known him for well over a century. He's just a bit...bad at making himself not look like a monster." She sighed.
Celestrus simply looked at Aqua and scoffed, in a joking manner. "I am so offended! Goodness. How rude! I'm not kinda weird, I'm extremely weird." He then grinned at her. He was trying to be friendly in his own strange way, it seemed. Maybe. Who knows, really?
Silver glared at Celestrus. It wasn't the time to be making jokes and...mildly frightening her friends.
She then looked at Rion, and blinked a few times as he spoke. He appeared to be helping her...significantly. So not only did he get the hint it seemed, he actually didn't mind helping to ease the tension. This was a huge relief, considering what was about to happen.
"...Yes, he is the one. He has a lot of knowledge that has proved invaluable to me." She replied, smiling at Rion a bit. Though she had read the book herself, Rion did assume correctly; Celestrus taught her all she knew how to do. "And exactly. We don't have any other options, and I know Celestrus would not do anything to harm us. Trust me, he wants to take out the blight just as badly as I do."
Celestrus simply just grinned. That seemed to be his default expression. It was kinda creepy.
"Our goals align, and you can't be useful for me if you die from being in a blight field." He spoke in a matter of fact manner. I mean...it was true?
"You really need to work on your social skills, you're worse than me." Silver sighed, and then took the crystal out and put it down in front of Celestrus. "Here, do your thing."
The red beast looked at the crystal and stood up. His single visible eye took on a pitch black glow. It looked like looking in to a black hole. He then put a clawed hand on top of the crystal, which caused it to flash....white. Probably not what anybody was expecting. After the flash, Celestrus reared up on to his hind legs and drew one arm back, his entire arm soon engulfed in what looked like pitch black fire. It was unlike anything the group had seen before most likely, though possible conclusions could be drawn. He then slammed his claws down in to the crystal, causing it to shatter in to a bunch of small pieces; pieces small enough to make an amulet out of, or carry in a pocket. Both the black fire and the glow in his eye vanished soon after.
"There, done. Now you just carry one of those little shards with you, and blighted fields shouldn't be able to affect you little mortal things any longer. Have fun with that." He turned around. "Now if you will excuse me, I have things to attend to...any last questions before I go or are we done here for now, hmm?"
Silver sighed once more and began to gather the shards. There were quite a lot, ensuring that she could pass them on to whoever needed them, and whoever she trusted with one. Celestrus was being his normal ominous self though, and she knew it was likely going to raise more questions than he had patience for, likely leaving her to answer them. Somehow. Though Celestrus was her friend, she didn't want to lose the trust of her new friends because of him.
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Post by Swim on Jun 30, 2017 16:57:05 GMT -5
Terra had joined the party at the gates and accompanied them on the road without much chatter, she wasn't much for small talk and somewhat on edge. She hadn't failed to notice that Silver's hands were constantly resting on her weapons, and Terra's were likewise. So when the wingless bandaged red monster (Terra wasn't sure it was even a dragon) burst from the trees she began tracking its movement immediately and was already charging a fireball.
Fortunately its attention was mostly focused on Silver and quickly became apparent that it was there to talk rather than fight. Terra lowered her gauntlets but kept her attention fixed on the exchange that was taking place. This thing, Celestrus was certainly strange, carried a more wild feel around him, but Terra was ok with that. If nothing else he seemed to be more transparent with his intentions than Silver, even if the words he spoke might have seemed coarse. He spoke openly about their goals aligning and how the party could not be useful if they were dead, 'well at least this one is straightforward' Terra thought.
Then Celestrus engulfed his arm in black flame and shattered the crystal. It was similar to a technique that Terra used herself, although she hadn't missed the part where the dragon's eye shifted from golden to black. She had a pretty good idea what branch of magic he'd used, and was therefore extremely skeptical of the shard's usefulness as a means of protection.
Celestrus turned to go but offered to answer questions from the group before leaving. Terra wasn't going to ask anything but a thought struck her, something about the way he'd worded things. "I have a question," she said, "You were just talking about how our goals were aligned, and you're obviously aware of the Blight effects. Why not join our group and lend a hand?"
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Post by Sorrum on Jul 2, 2017 0:28:36 GMT -5
Aqua looked at Celestrus as he made a silly face, laughing off the tenseness of the situation. "Uh.. huh." She awkwardly scratched the back of her neck and blushed a little. She looked away and noticed Terra's standing her ground to the dragon, if that's what it was. The girl was tense and had been since the trip started. Was this how she always was?
Celestrus broke the crystal using some sort of fire magic. His eyes changed colors and in a flash of light the crystal was shattered into pieces. A piece fell right in front of Aqua. It was vaguely tear-drop shaped. She picked it up and looked into it, but then her attention was grabbed by Celestrus's sudden departure. "Just like that? Where are you going?"
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Post by Bloodbane on Jul 3, 2017 0:14:24 GMT -5
So that was it?
The dragon shattered the crystal with an ability that almost certainly had to have some component of dark magic involved, and in doing so supposedly the others would be protected from the blighted fields, enabling them to better protect Silver when doing what she needed to do. His intentions were still somewhat unclear, even if he claimed that they aligned with Silver's; after all, Terra had brought up a good point, why wouldn't he simply travel with them instead?
As Silver moved to hand each member of the group a fragment of the crystal, Rion looked to Celestrus, debating whether or not to voice his curiosity about whatever technique the dragon had used, though shortly after deciding against it Silver had approached him, handing a crystal fragment to him. Taking it in his unarmored hand, Rion examined it briefly, though as he did so a glow began to spread from his fingertips and across the shard, similarly to how it had done when he had the full crystal in his hand. Before long, however, the glow had spread across the dark shard, eventually turning the shard to a lighter shade of blue, closer in color to the crystalline formation that had consumed the giant blighted creature outside of Aldur, before giving off a faint glow and aura all its own. Unsure what to make of this phenomenon, Rion simply pocketed the shard without another word. "It's a good question..." He said, before looking to Celestrus. "What are you gaining from this, if not helping us find the crystals directly is not part of your plan?"
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Post by Arashi on Jul 3, 2017 0:48:03 GMT -5
Celestrus looked to Terra first.
"I am helping you. You can handle the small crystals....you don't need me in your little parade. What I need to do is...well...maybe I can't tell you that for now. I don't know you. Prove I can trust you and I'll tell you more, if it matters that much. And prove you're strong enough, too." His tone was slightly more serious now, but not entirely. He seemed to lack the ability to be entirely serious. "I'll be watching." He then scoffed. "Lady, I am very aware of the effects of blight."
He then turned back around and walked up to Aqua, stopping directly in front of her. In a flash of black, he shifted to his human form. Despite his many bandages, he was pretty decent looking. He wore casual attire; he looked a bit out of place, considering everyone else had armor. His hair looked similar to his fur; it was short, shaggy and dark red. He was only slightly taller than Aqua, though. He smirked.
"Why? Do you want me to stay?" He crossed his arms, the smirk never leaving his face. "It's a shame I have things to attend to, or you might be able to convince me...if you wanted to." His tone was a bit...different this time. It was hard to place. "Stay alive, and we will meet again. Or....I'll just kill whatever tries to kill you. Whatever works. Though surely....you look capable."
It would appear he had an apparent fondness for Aqua for some reason.
Silver had her head buried in her hand the entire time he spoke to Aqua, totally quiet. Clearly she was embarrassed by Celestrus's actions. She then quietly began to pass out the crystals to everyone, letting Celestrus talk. As she handed one to Rion, she kept her head down. Would Celestrus ruin the trust she had gained? Though...she couldn't help but notice the way the crystal shard seemingly...reacted to Rion. Maybe it was some sort of light magic. Probably. She kept quiet about it either way.
Celestrus, staying in his human form and near Aqua, looked to Rion.
"I am gaining your help in shutting down the spread of blight. It's that simple. Do you think one single group could stop all of it alone? Having a spread is much more effective. What if we all died together? Then who does it? Besides, my role is different. Like I said. You'll see...I can't say much here and now, like I said..." He then turned back around, and in another flash of black, shifted back to his beast form. He looked over his shoulder, looking at Rion again with a grin, "...Light mage. Do as you will...your magic will prove of great use, I'm sure."
"Just remember who your real enemy is in this. Not dark magic, but those who wield it like power-hungry idiots. Now, if you'll excuse me..." He glanced at Silver, then trotted off back in to the trees, leaving no room for any more questions.
Silver just stood in the back of the group, waiting for the inevitable. Now what would they ask? Even she didn't entirely know everything about Celestrus.
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