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Fire Emblem: Curse of the Goddess [IC / Conditional Acceptance / PG-16]

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Ciela and Adelaide

"Hm, speaking of burning..." Ciela listened closely to what others said about their findings and decided to chime in. It was a good time for her finding to be delivered, after all. It could as well mean something very big here. Might as well try her luck, no? "I tried my best to find a way to enter the town hall earlier, even after, well, almost causing a lot of property damage on my way, but more importantly, something really took my interest there.

There were traces of flames near its main entrance. It was very fresh, the burnt wood and the scorch marks. Whoever did that, it's more likely something that was done early on today or close."

Adelaide in the meantime, only listened in silence, a little bit distanced from the rest of the group. She doubted that her findings were all that important, anyway, and the less she had to think about what was happening here, the better. Citron and Shiro then talked about a key and a door. Such a natural fit. It was quite convenient. But hm, somehow she ended up not being able to help herself and begin thinking more about the situation too.

Adelheid descended the same time as Catriona. And thus, she also heard what Licorice said about this place. She one hundred percent agreed with that sentiment. Her experiences with magic was quite minimal herself, but whatever was going on here was beyond what anything that she had experienced. Moreover, the chance of there being any vital hints on their mission, whatever it was at this point, would be quite minimal.

"To tell the truth, I feel like whatever is going on with the Hag here is only just the tipping point of the mess this village gets itself involved in. There's little doubt that whatever happened before the hag even came here, it had cursed this land from the start."

Adelaide paused. She pulled out the papers she found earlier, detailing the village's financial situation. It was strange but just a little amusing earlier, but... she had a bad feeling about it. She wasn't a stranger to the wine, of course. It was legendary, and she was lucky enoough to have been able to enjoy it before, but when she thought about it, something about it always struck her as strange.

"Though, actually. This might sound like a silly question, but does anyone has any information about Dragon's Breath wine? I found a paper detailing some shady trading involving it, and I begin to suspect it might have also been involved in whatever cursed this land."

 

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Edrick was prone to wandering at times, especially when he realised that he had forgotten something. It had previously been Link asking him what they'd found downstairs, and now it was that Penelope was gathering people upstairs.

"Penelope is holding a meeting. Meet back upstairs." As Catriona was only too willing to remind them. He found the relationship between the two princesses strange. Catriona was the elder, in line for the throne, and the actual leader of the party while Penelope tended to be the one who was actually making plans of any consequence. Was this a Galtean custom wherein the commander did not make their own plans? Truth be told it had been bothering him for some time, but it was an itch at the back of his head rather than a broken bone. Just a distraction, especially when they were effective enough as it was. All the same, he felt inclined to ask one of them about it if only to finally get it off his mind. More important though was the events upstairs, as Shiro and Sienna emerging from below confirmed that they were safe. So he tramped his way back up the stairs, intent on staying this time.

And the conversation he walked into immediately had his nose twitching. Ritual Magic? Powerful casters? None of that sounded good, and all of it stank of heresy. Questions of his own faith or not, Edrick was probably never going to be completely comfortable around magics derived from other sources. He mostly tried to ignore when Penelope and Sienna did their work, but even so that still had his stomach turning every so often. Dealing with something even more profound than that? Even worse, what if he was right about this being the work of one of Inera's Followers? Could they even hope to stand against someone so powerful? At least Citron was suggesting they could get through this without a fight. That...would be nice, actually. Not having to fight someone because they were causing problems.

"So," he said more to distract himself from his own fears than anything else, "some of what we read earlier discussed a rite...well, 'ritual' if you want to call it that, that had to do with something called a Caller. It uh...seemed a lot like, and I said this earlier, an Ordination. Now," he looked over at Cora, "I'm not saying it's the same, but..." he trailed off, not sure where to go with that. So instead he just moved on. "Maybe something happened when they tried to make the last Caller? Then whatever this Hag -oh Zeița that's a word for a Witch- um, right, whatever this Hag did made things worse?" He was mostly just parroting what other people, Adelaide included, had already said at this point while he tried to calm down enough to think. "Um...and we've been finding letters? Does anyone think they could spell something? Maybe it's a code?"

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Link took up a post at the front of the room everyone was gathering in. He had a routine that he followed whenever he entered a room—take note of all the entrances (there were seven, four windows in addition to the three doors), observe where the charge (the princesses) decided to stand, and then he would position himself accordingly (out of the sightline of would-be-intruders but close enough to intervene). The logical conclusion in this case was the corner in the front, just out of view of the two windows while allowing him to watch all the entrances. The fact that he could flip the small table up in a pinch to block arrows or even a thrown spell was nice too.

Rohns followed the soldier and claimed one of the plush armchairs for himself. The wolf cub was tired, or Link thought he was, because he smacked his lips, yawned, and then laid his head on the arm of the chair and dozed off. The cub was visible if you looked in from the windows… but the man couldn’t bring himself to rouse the wolf. 

Link shook it off and focused on the conversation at hand. Licorice claimed that none of them realized the hornet’s nest they were poking. Ritual magicks beyond their skill or comprehension, created by some kind of anchor, which sounded like an item left behind to keep the magic going. Citron weighed in for the first time since Link had arrived, too, though her question was so full of youthful ignorance that he had to stop and resist the urge to shake his head. 

No. The powerful were dangerous because of their strength; negotiations with them was a battle of wits, an attempt to convince them you had something strength couldn’t take. The smart were dangerous in an entirely different way; they lacked the power to overtake you, but were smart enough they knew that, so they were unpredictable. Someone who was both smart and strong? They were a danger to everyone, strong enough to do what they wanted, and smart enough to know that a lion didn’t need to negotiate with sheep. He could only think of a few people like that. 

Commander Marianne. Darius. The Winter King. 

Link kept his face impassive, but his stomach turned at the thought of facing an adversary who bore any resemblance to any of them. Was Licorice right? Were they getting in too deep? It didn't matter. His job was to protect and serve, no matter the consequences, and that was exactly what he would do.
 

Edited by Cheshire Toon
Didn't realize Alois had asked.

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Licorice paced the area near the exit in agitation, her tail flicking back and forth. As the others congregated around the table, her impatience grew. This is useless. Why am I even here? These people...every single one of them... Still, she managed to keep control of herself as she listened to their findings. A door that wouldn't burn, a magical anchor, another door that had been burned, a key, clandestine alcohol trading, a ritual of sorts, and the powerful hag who had cursed the village. She had come to her own conclusions, of course, but the picture it painted...she wasn't sure if she liked it. If that is the case, then...

Well, she had decided long ago, hadn't she? No matter what, through thick and thin, she would...but then again, these people...

She shook her head. No, I have to stay true.

A couple had begun to question her, asking for details on the magical anchor and the behavior of the powerful magic-user. It had been a calculated admission earlier, but one she was beginning to regret. Though the wyvern rider's curiosity on her animal features brought some levity to the situation. "It's fine Citron. But no, I was not spelled to have animal parts. I was born this way. I am of a race of beings known now as Proteans, beastlike humanoids who can transform into animal form. Or, as we prefer it, beasts who can transform into humanoids." She turned grim as she addressed the next comment. "And being smart does not always mean that that person will agree with you," she said. "For instance, Penelope is intelligent, and so am I, but we disagree on whether we should stay here or not," her ears flattened. "Even after arguing, we haven't found a solution both of us can agree with. If two people on the same side can't agree over something so simple," she paused, "then how can we believe things will go so well with this magic-user?"

With that said, the fox turned to Alois to answer his question. "A magical anchor can be anything," she explained. "It can range from something as simple as a clay brick to as complicated as a living being, though the latter is trickier to manage, and much more unpredictable." She thought for a minute. "To explain better, you might have heard the tale of the brave Meleager, an ancient Histian hero. He was fated to die at birth but for the desperate pleas of his mother for the aid of three powerful witches. These witches then tied his lifespan to that of a single piece of firewood. So long as that log remained intact and whole, so too would he. Unfortunately, he died when his mother later threw it into the fire herself."

The scholar in her began to warm to the topic as she continued to explain. "This is another reason for their being called 'anchors.' Anchors are used to keep a vessel in place and prevent it from moving, but they are also cumbersome and heavy. While magical anchors are used to stabilize a spell, their very existence is also a worrisome burden. And without them, there is nothing to keep the spell, or ritual in this case, from breaking." Letting that sink in for a while, Licorice resumed speaking. "Judging from the nature of this curse, I believe this to be a ritual of some sort, and the magical anchor should be somewhere within the village. It is usually found in the middle of the area the ritual covers, but not always."

At that, the badger, which had arrived upstairs with the rest of them, began to move, its claws clicking against the wooden floor of the house. It had been mostly silent throughout the talk, though it had let out a loud snort at Alois's comment about the mayor, pointedly turning away from the fighter after that. However, at this point, it waddled over to where one of the stuffed armchairs was, though paused at seeing Rohns in one of them. It was moving its head side to side as if searching for something, but appeared to give up after some time, turning around and stumping back over to the group.

--

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Much of the earlier talk had gone over Catriona's head. Magical anchors? Ancient witches? A person's lifespan being tied to a log? This all seemed rather unbelievable, but, much as she had trouble believing it, she had to admit it was probably true. The village was proof enough that something strange was afoot. What she did grasp from this was that if they could remove the magical anchor, they could break the curse. If only her own curse could be so easily dispelled.

Still, all this talk of magic made her uncomfortable. Eager to change the subject, the lord latched on to the other topics. "While what you say of these 'magical anchors' could be useful, if we do not know what we are looking for, then we cannot do anything for sure. We should focus on other matters first." She turned to Sienna, frowning. "You said the door downstairs does not have a keyhole and does not burn? That is strange indeed...why put a door there if you cannot open it?"

To the side, the badger snorted dismissively. It almost felt like it was looking down on her at that moment. Which was ridiculous, because it was a badger. But no, it was a human-turned-badger. I think I might have a headache.

"We also have a key that presumably will open some sort of lock, but I know not which lock." She turned to Ciela. "And you say that somebody tried to set fire to the door to the town hall?" Why would they do that? Perhaps, like Sienna, they were trying to open it? Though why those doors didn't burn either was a bit of a mystery. Wood was supposed to be flammable, after all.

As for what Adelaide said, about the land being cursed, and the Dragon's Breath wine... "I do not know much about Dragon's Breath wine." Which was odd in itself, as she was somewhat of an expert on wines, or at least the imbibing of them. "Actually, nobody really knows where it is produced, though it is widely known as one of the costliest wines in the continent. It is rumored to originate somewhere in Histia, as that is the country most known for its wines, but the exact location is a closely-guarded secret. Not to mention, nobody can identify all the ingredients used in it. It is said, however, that drinking it will raise one's resistance to the elements, such as fire--" she cut herself off, thinking. There was something there. Something about what she had just said...

Shaking her head, the woman moved on. "These rituals have me troubled as well, but even if we do find out what exactly this village was up to prior to the curse, that won't help us get any closer to solving it." Though the more she heard, the more she wondered if Licorice was right, and these people had brought it on themselves. Still, it wasn't like she'd be able to extract answers from animals, so, deserving or not, she would still attempt to break the curse. After hearing Edrick's suggestion, the lord nodded. "Yes, those letters...I have no idea why they're here, but I believe there should be some meaning to them. Which ones did we find, exactly, and how many? Cora found one, Penelope found another, Alois, and then Tsetseg. Any others?"

"Oh, and yes," she turned to Sienna, Tsetseg, and Shiro. "You three haven't eaten yet. Here is some food." She offered them rations, before walking over to the badger and reluctantly giving it some as well. The creature snuffled and took them with a surprisingly dainty paw.

With that, Catriona's mission of keeping everybody fed had finally been accomplished.


OOC

Spoiler

Now that we've all shared our findings, it appears we have a bit of a mystery on our hands. Licorice has expanded on the meaning of magical anchors, and Catriona is just trying to figure out exactly what's immediately relevant and what's not. Also feeding everybody.

At the moment, the first floor is the only floor with people in it, save for the rat. Also the beaver, which is still outside.

Edited by Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd

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A lot of information followed at a rather fast pace after that. Her first thought was how she really needed to get a start on Tsetseg's reading lessons.

She was rather annoyed at the information that Sienna had tried to burn down a door in the basement. "I'd have hoped you remembered what happened in the forest when you use your fire so freely, Sienna." Penelope said.

“And… Aren't smart people generally the kinda people that can be reasoned with…?”

Then there was Citron. It was a nice notion, but incredibly flawed. In fact it was usually more difficult to reason with smart people. Take Penelope herself for instance. Her intellect meant that she knew how to get what she wanted over what others did. "If this mage is both intelligent and powerful, the two aren't necessarily related, then it would be difficult to reason with them. They would have no reason to listen to what we have to say. If they are so powerful as to make it difficult to defeat attempting negotiations may just lead to putting ourselves at greater disadvantage. Not to mention someone who curses a village due to a slight is unlikely to be talked down so easily."

They could still try, of course, but she didn't want to go in with the expectations that there won't be a confrontation.

Which led them back to the main issues. Bit of information floated around Penelope's head as she grew silent and thoughtful. Dragon Wine, the strange riches the mayor had, fire resistant doors. None of that related to the matter at hand.

These clues the mayor had left behind were something to think about though. Any mystery the town itself had could wait until later. Which narrowed down the information.

The letters. The key. Were the letters a warning, a map, or perhaps a name? For all she knew the letters were meant to give direction to the key they already had obtained. Even so they simply needed to gather all the puzzle pieces together.

She noticed the mayor at the armchairs and remembered the thing she had found there.

She took it out and laid it onto the table, making sure the badger could see it.

Once he did he seemed to be excited, for a badger, and nodded his head towards it. "It seems the mayor there, oh yes, for those who don't know that badger is the owner of this house, has been leaving us these clues. And then there's this key which opens the town hall." She set the key next to the parchment on the table. "We could go and enter the town hall now. I suspect it may be where this anchor is held. However before then I think it a good idea to figure out just what the mayor was trying to tell us first."


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There was far too much going on. Gunther didn't think he was an unintelligent man but he couldn't for the life of him figure out what was happening. It sounded as though there was a magic user who cursed this place. Were they still there? Did that mean they knew the group was searching around.

"Um, Licorice, Ciela, you went off to the town hall right? Did you notice anything strange there? Like, I don't know, that someone might be holed up in there? What if the one who did this has been hiding out in the town hall and we just walk right into them?"

Which...might be part of why Penelope wanted to work out all the clues. Maybe whatever was left here would give them some idea of how to handle that. He felt somewhat silly for saying something that was probably obvious to most.

It didn't help that he already felt somewhat ashamed to learn that, despite Gunther's assurance that they wouldn't, Sienna had tried to damage the mayor's property. He cast the badger an apologetic look but he seemed more focus on what Penelope was saying.

A thought came to mind. He was about to ask Penelope to borrow something to write on, and with, then realized that it was likely among the stuff she usually had him carry. So, riffling around, he got it out and put it on the table. "So, er, what letters did we find, and where?"

Spoiler

Note: all this information doesn't need to be stated in your post, but we should probably jot it down somewhere


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This was crazy. As were all of them. Rituals and magic anchors and wine from dragons? If she hadn't already come to terms with that her village had been turned into animals she would have been overwhelmed with all this talk.

How were they so casual about this? What could they have possibly seen?

She was glad she wasn't alone now. Had she been by herself she likely wouldn't have made head or tails about any of this.

Speaking of tails, Protean? So she wasn't cursed, just a different type of person all together?

Wait did that other one say she had tried to burn a door down? What was with these people and wanting to break doors? She was honestly relieved that they had found a key before they decided to try and level the whole building.

That was when it sunk in what Penelope had said. "The mayor?" Cora looked over at the badger. Now that she was looking there was a familiar grumpiness about the animal....wait!

She gave a short bow towards the mayor-badger. "Sorry! I wasn't here when all this went down and I had to resort to getting outsiders to help. I wish I coulda handled this on my own."

Looking at the others she spoke again, hesitantly, "I don't know if I get why we don't just go down to the town hall and check there. If we find whoever did this there isn't that a good thing?"

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Alois leaned back in his chair as the others shared the information of what they had found in their treks so far. The boy didn't say much at the thought of having to fight the hag who placed the curse to begin with. If they were causing troubles like this there was no doubt they were ready for a fight, and Alois as well didn't really think there was much point in talking with someone who had cursed the whole village for the insult from one man. All the same, the boy patiently and intently listened as each person came up to talk more about the evidence they had found on the matter, between the town hall, the door downstairs, the letters they had found, the parchment. He simply sat there listening, until Penelope had drawn attention to the badger. As he did, the boy couldn't help but begin to smirk and snicker at the form of what was now apparently his mayor. This only managed to turn into a more boisterous laugh as Cora apologized to him, finding the idea of her treating a badger with such respect being all too amusing. 

Looking at the Mayor, Alois snickered, "oh, so happy the man of the hour thought to grace us with his presence. Glad you found a look that really brings the best out in you." Looking to the rest of the group, he went over the letters with everyone once again, and began to think on the matter of what the order could all mean. The boy sat there, thinking and thinking, rearranging the letters in different ways before realizing something. This was going nowhere. There were far too many A's involved to make a coherent statement, let alone a word, and his lack of idea of what he was even trying to figure out in the first place made it almost impossible for him to figure out what was going on here. So, in deep thought, the boy started to think back. Back to what everyone had said. Each person had recounted where they found each letter. And so as he thought, he realized something. 

Looking up, the boy looked to Tsetseg, who was now munching on some food cheerily, thanking Cat for her help. "'Set." The girl looked towards the voice, and then seemed surprised when she realized he was talking to her. "Those...bad triangles you found earlier. There were six, right?" The girl tried to say something, though it simply came out garbled through the food as she nodded instead. "And five of them were together, and smaller, right?" The girl nodded again. Standing up from his seat, the boy causally said, "well, nothing's going to happen if I just sit on my ass here."

Looking to Cora he said, "you asked why we aren't going straight there right? Well, the answer's simple. We have one more door to go through first." Looking at the badger mayor, the boy mock bowed to him saying, "I apologize for anything I break your excellency." Standing back up he walked past the man, snickering again saying, "but I'm sure you'd find something to badger me about anyway."

Once down there, Alois had pilfered a candle from one of the hanging lamps, stepping past the oddly placed net on the ground by the door. Wondering what that was about, the boy then made his way down the ladder before finally getting to the dead end of the door and wooden panel on the wall. Looking at the five "A's" within it, the boy simply pressed his finger into one of them. Pulling back as he felt the small letter move inward, Alois looked to see if he could pull it out, only to no effect. So, going back to try again, Alois pressed his finger into it. As he pressed further,it started to feel less like he was pushing it,and more like it was rolling, and so pushing along the curve he felt the letter start to move. 

Rolling the letter to the side, he pulled his finger back to see the letter had changed from "A" to "Z." With a smile on his face at his discovery, Alois went to roll the letter again in the same direction, changing from "Z" to "Y." "Alright...now what to do next..." As Alois thought about this he then noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He was not alone in this tunnel. Looking down, he saw a rat - a rather innocuous sight in any town other than this one. Thinking about the situation for a moment, Alois raised an eyebrow at the rat and just asked, "who the hell are you?"

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Tsetseg, having just finished the rations she was given, seemed to be lost in thoughts of her own. She had done her best in trying to make progress on this mystery, but had come across a problem of her own. Even though she had heard all the letters that everyone had found, it didn't actually mean anything to her. She had no idea what any of the letters looked like, let alone how to use them. As such, Tsetseg was making no headway herself in how to solve this problem. The girl didn't have any real idea what was so important about this puzzle, but her other friends did, and that she couldn't make sense of anything that was going on frustrated her greatly. And so, after seeming to be in deep contemplation for a few minutes, the girl seemed to be struck with a bright idea. 

Walking over to Penelope she said, "um, hey, um, Penelope. That paper, thing, with the draw- er, letters on it. That one." She pointed to the piece of paper the girl had and said, "could you teach me what the letters on it are?" 

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And there it was; immediate rejection from… Just about everyone. Licorice was first, followed by Penelope; and even those who didn’t speak seemed to give off the vibe that what she had said was foolish. Even if she was just imagining things, she couldn’t help but feel a pit grow inside her stomach as she glanced downwards at the table, and resume simply… Listening in, as everyone pooled their knowledge. There was more that was said, something about anchors and a bit more information about it, but all of that… Really just seemed to go over Citron’s head as she tried to put the pieces together; every word sounding more and more like a story her mother our grandpa might have read to her when she was little… But maybe that was the right idea.

“Um…” Citron trailed off, turning to look at Cora as she asked a question that Citron would have agreed with, had she not been brushed off only moments ago. “What that Alois guy said aside, it’s probably more that…” She trailed off again, doing her best to figure out how to phrase it. “Everyone seems really cautious towards whoever’s responsible. And if they’re holed up in there, and likely can’t be reasoned with, then we wouldn’t want to go in until we were sure we were absolutely ready. I guess..." She took a deep breath, trying to picture their current situation in the same way she might some fairy tale. "We wouldn’t want to walk into a trap without having something of our own ready, or else we'd be turned into the model for a scary story you tell children to stop them from being reckless.” She nodded a bit, glancing up at Penelope and Licorice. “...Right? That’s probably the idea?”

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"Oh, and yes," Cat addressed the three that had returned from the basement. "You three haven't eaten yet. Here is some food." Shiro nodded, taking the food in his hands. 

"Thank you very much," He said with a bow. "Your kindness humbles me," He then moved back away from the other slightly, finding a nice corner of the room and sitting down, crossing his legs as he began to eat the food. It wasn't very flavorful, but it was fine. It was better than nothing, or the slop that was called food back in the city.

Still, eating these rations made him realize he missed good Frog cooking. However, it wasn't like he could actually make any of the food. Even as a slave, he never set foot in the kitchen... the humans believed he would try to sneak some 'frog slime' into the food, and so he was forbidden from handling food. Even when returning to the village, he was far to depressed to function for the longest time. His grip tightened on his food as his thoughts wandered.

This was a bad time to be thinking about the past. He forced those memories down as he forced himself to finish eating. He had work to do. "So what is the plan?" He finally asked after eating.

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"For what it's worth," Edrick began as the conversation started winding in the direction of their plans to deal with the magic user responsible for this whole mess, "I...have some things that could help us against someone throwing magic around." He didn't have much idea on what the letters were supposed to mean, and Alois was heading downstairs with some idea apparently. Better for him to stay where he was and where he could make some difference in this. So he started by opening his pack and, carefully, withdrawing the ornate glass bottle he had received from Father Christmas to set it on the table before him. "This is agheasmă, ah-" he paused to try to think of the words for it, "blessed water. I haven't had reason to use it yet, and I don't know if there's enough for everyone, but from what my Mother taught me it can be used to..." he trailed off again. This time not because he had forgotten the words, but because of what he was about to say. Would Inera really extend her protection to those present just because a little bit of water was put on their foreheads in the right way? Not to discredit the water's makers, but these people were if anyone the Goddess's most direct enemies upon this world. Another few moments, and he spoke up again. "Dampen the effects of harmful magic." That was only the first part of it though, and the next was more problematic.

"I also have this." For the first time since his leaving his home, he took the icon around his neck by the string and lifted it off before gently resting it on the table alongside the bottle of water. The slightly rusted, and now bloodstained, icon of The Goddess of War and Death lay there out for everyone to see. The eye sockets in the raven's skull might seem to be looking at whoever glanced its way. "It... seems to have a similar effect to the water. Catriona and Sienna can attest to that, I was wearing it when I accidentally took a fireball to the back. No hard feelings, by the way." Sienna hadn't been having the best time today, especially with Penelope getting onto her about the forest fire. Hell, he didn't think it was that bad. Worst that could have happened was they all burned to death. "So...unless anyone has anything else, this is what we have for magic protection."

Edited by Asriel Dreemurr

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Adelheid

"Fire resistant, huh. Well, I'm quite sure that this all is related."

This Dragon Wine business at first just felt like something of an aside, like a distraction. But now that she thought about it, and hearing how Edrick had with himself some holy water with magic protection properties, there were clearly more to it than meet the eye. Door that didn't burn, wine that made one more resistant to magic and fire, the strong magic happening in this area... there ought to be something. She felt like she was still missing a crucial detail here. As the gathering dispersing a little as they prepared for their next round of action, Adel instead went to Cat and stated her intent.

"I'll be upstairs again. I'm sure that we're still missing something. And in that case, I will try my best in finding the missing links to our investigation." Once she said that, she turned towards the badger mayor for a moment. She looked at him with an aside glance, seemingly asking a question, before deciding that it was useless and Adel went into the upstairs on her own.

 
 
 
 
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On 11/28/2019 at 9:13 AM, LordCowCow said:

. "We could go and enter the town hall now. I suspect it may be where this anchor is held. However before then I think it a good idea to figure out just what the mayor was trying to tell us first."

Ciela Celestinia

"Well, that answers one question." Ciela wasn't exactly pleased with how it was the others that found themsleves the key to the Town Hall. However, them finding it in the first place was a stroke of luck anyway, so she should just be happy that they could even progress in the first place. Ciela decided to not dig deep into the clue-finding part. A big chunk of it still confused Ciela  so she decided that it'd be better if others were the one to handle it over her.

 
 
 
 
On 11/28/2019 at 9:13 AM, LordCowCow said:

 

"Um, Licorice, Ciela, you went off to the town hall right? Did you notice anything strange there? Like, I don't know, that someone might be holed up in there? What if the one who did this has been hiding out in the town hall and we just walk right into them?"

"Well, it's a possibility. The burn marks on the door would be something that someone would naturally made, rather than anything accidental. But we didn't really see anyone strange there or anything like that."

With that said, Ciela decided to wait and see for the time beings on how this situation would develop next.

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The badger was apparently the town’s long-lost-mayor. Somehow, Link wasn’t very surprised to learn that. The beast had seemed condescending in a way only one with a high social status could be; as if, even as a badger, most people weren’t worth his time. Link was familiar with that sort of attitude thanks to the Knight Academy.

The rest of what was going on though… With all the talk of hidden codes and secret doors, Link was again reminded that he wasn’t very clever. He was perceptive. Years as a Night Wolf had taught him to overlook nothing, and he was sure he could spot the difference in any room he visited twice down, down to the very minute details. 

That watchfulness didn’t change the fact that he was just a country bumpkin from the outskirts of Nalbina. He could barely read—the letters started to move whenever he stared at them for too long—and his ability to write wasn’t much better, plagued by frequent misspellings, to the point that his superiors had joked his letters were already encrypted if anyone were to intercept them. His shortcomings hadn’t bothered him for most of his youth (the only person he had known able to read and write was Rusl), but in the Night Wolves it had been a frequent source of teasing, and since joining the princesses they had encountered a handful of puzzles and riddles that he had been absolutely useless in solving. And while, once upon a time, he had thought his upbringing was the reason for his struggle, Alois and Edrick were both well-spoken and capable of reading. 

Link resisted the urge to sigh. He wasn’t sure why he was so bothered. So he wasn’t very smart. Why did it matter? He wasn’t supposed to think. The rest of the group would solve this riddle, and then he would tear whoever was behind this down to size when they confronted them, fulfilling his role.

Which reminded him. His own moral protests didn’t matter in the face of the princesses will. “Ciela,” he said, pushing himself out of the corner. “Can you fix this?” He held up his broken arm as best as he could. “If we get into trouble, I’ll need both my arms to protect us.” The Histian accent was still there, but it wasn’t hard to tell that the soldier was uncomfortable. 
 

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"I'd have hoped you remembered what happened in the forest when you use your fire so freely, Sienna." 

Penelope's statement in the middle of all this talk on the witch who cursed the village made Sienna feel terrible. Of course she remembered what happened in the forest, but it's not like they were in a life threatening situation anymore, they were trying to help a village. She sat down and held her tail, she didn't know how else to contribute, she said everything she knew so far. All she could do was listen to the others discuss everything. And eat the food Catriona gave her of course, she did appreciate that. When this all blew over she'd have to think of a way to repay her.

Edited by Wind Rider

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Happy to see the others with food, Catriona nodded back at Shiro. It was obvious the Protean was influenced by his friend Glenn, though something about his bow...it was a little different than the bows she was used to. It appeared that the Proteans of the frog village used a different kind of bow, one where both their arms were almost glued to their sides. Still, cultural differences and what they meant could wait. What was most important was figuring out just what was going on right now. The woman stood back and began to listen as the talk continued.

Apparently the badger was not just a human-turned-badger, but a mayor-turned-badger. Which she supposed made more sense than him not being the mayor. They were in his house, after all, and there wasn't much of a reason for any other villager to approach the place.

Cora had apologized to the mayor, which Catriona could somewhat understand. They were, technically, breaking and entering. However, the badger didn't look upset, and they were doing it for a good cause as well. To break the curse cast on this village. Or...was it not a curse? Catriona wasn't entirely sure of the magical terminology. Perhaps Penelope or Licorice would know better.

Alois snickered from across the table, then burst out laughing entirely for a reason which soon became clear once he started to tease the badger. He was amused at the mayor's predicament. It seems there's no love lost between the two of them. However, Catriona wasn't sure if goading the badger was a good idea, especially as she was right beside the creature at the moment. She wasn't entirely confident in her ability to handle enraged animals. The badger, however, did not get enraged, but it did arch its back and start to growl. Which...was not good.

"I apologize for Alois," Catriona addressed the badger, still a little awkward at talking with an animal. "And for any...inadvertent damage done to your house," she eyed the broken crate near where Gunther was standing. "But do be assured that we are only doing so in the pursuit of resolving this curse. We are not the type to normally ransack places."

The badger nodded and stopped growling. It, or rather he, didn't seem too concerned with their uninvited entrance. Normally Catriona would think that a little odd, but these were unique circumstances. Though it did eye the broken crate soon after as well, huffing in what sounded like annoyance.

Alois then decided to go downstairs, saying something about a door. What door that was, Catriona wasn't sure, but since the boy began to head for the hallway, she assumed it was downstairs. Perhaps down that hole she had seen earlier.

Adelaide left shortly after, saying she'd be searching upstairs. I thought Alois said they were done up there...perhaps not? The Pegasus knight exchanged a glance with the badger, the beast shaking its head, but whatever it was that was said--or not said--she had no idea.

Meanwhile, Licorice was now speaking in reply to Gunther's question. "Ciela's right. I did not detect any signs of life coming from within the building either." She paused, "One of the advantages to rituals, is that it need not necessarily draw on the power of the caster. Or, the caster can transfer their magical power to one of the anchors I mentioned earlier. In which case, the caster could be long gone." The fox shook her head, "Still, I don't think it's a good idea to stay here for too long either, or to get involved in this mess."

"You are free to have your own opinion," Catriona replied, voice somewhat sharp. "But I believe it is worth the time to stay here and undo the curse." While she appreciated Licorice's help against the Awakened horde yesterday--or rather yesternight, as they had been battling in the predawn hours of the day--she did not appreciate this person trying to tell the group what to do and not do. They could not afford to pass up any opportunity to learn more about the Great Dragon's whereabouts.

The fox shook her head at that but said nothing more.

Listening to Citron, and remembering what Cora had asked about earlier, Catriona nodded. "Penelope believes we should first try to figure things out here, though I agree that simply heading to the town hall might be the quickest way to go about things, trap or no trap." The woman stood tall. "If we do find whoever did it, and they are hostile, then I shall cut them down." No matter what happened, she could at least depend on her weapon.

"And you shall die," Licorice said shortly.

The lord sent her a chilling look. "Do not think me so weak as that."

"No," the fox shook her head. "You do not understand. I have seen you fight, and while I believe you to be a doughty warrior, this person is on a different level entirely."

That battle...it had not been one of her best. Actually, most of her recent battles had followed that pattern. As to the skirmish with the beavers...that had been embarrassing, pure and simple. Still, it was not Licorice's place to criticize her like that either. The lord opened her mouth to say just that, but Edrick spoke up before she could. It seemed the boy had a couple objects that could be of use. Pure water and...Catriona's eyes narrowed in on the symbol of Inera.

The Dread Raven...the goddess's messenger, and an emissary of death.

The white-haired woman had seen it before, but seeing it again, this time covered in blood, was a bit too much for her to bear. "This...I suppose it could be..." she couldn't complete the sentence, instead glancing at the others.

The badger did not react, being too short to see over the table, and for that, Catriona was glad. Histia was no friend of Pontus, and she doubted this village was any exception, especially with how Cora reacted to Edrick's words earlier. Though...this talk of rituals did seem suspicious...

"No, I cannot think of anything else we might have...oh!" Catriona took out her own bottle of pure water. "I carry this as well, though I do not have..." she glanced at the symbol, "...that."

She could hear Link speaking with Ciela in the background, and see that Sienna had sat down with a lost expression, though they didn't take up the bulk of her attention. No, it was that thing in front of her. Yet another unpleasant reminder of the fact they had a Pontic believer of all people amongst them. The woman's hand trembled slightly, and she quickly hid it behind her back. She would remain calm. The icon was not of importance at the moment. They had to focus on breaking the curse cast over the village. That was what mattered right now.

She was driven from her musings by Shiro's words. "So what is the plan?"

"There is no plan...yet," the lord replied. "We have only information, and a goal." She stared at the table, where Penelope had laid out the paper. "So far, we have found," she briefly thought back to her conversations with various people, and what they had said earlier, "thirteen letters. First," she checked under the table, "an R under the dining table, an O in the dresser upstairs, an A on a wall in the basement, a K in the chimney here," she pointed to the chimney at the opposite wall, "and a," she thought back to what Alois had said to Gunther's question, though it had been mixed in with this comment on the badger, "a D under the bed upstairs. And five more As downstairs. Also this note," she gestured toward the piece of parchment, "has three legible letters. O, I, and Y. However, I can't tell if the others were crossed out or if the handwriting is just that difficult to make out." To the side, the badger let out an annoyed snort. "No, it is decidedly unreadable."

She glanced at it again. "Were you the one to write this then?"

The creature nodded.

"If that is so, then what exactly were you trying to say?" At that point, she remembered that she was talking to a badger, and she couldn't understand animals. In fact, unless somebody here had taken some sort of animal linguistics class, she doubted any of them could. "Never mind. I know that--"

The badger reared up on its hind paws, as if trying to see over the table, but it was still far too short to do so. It stood there for a few seconds before giving up and sitting back on its haunches with a thump.

--

Downstairs, the rat jumped up and down, squeaking at Alois, but whatever it said, it was not something the boy could understand.

--

Upstairs, Adelaide would find the room just as they left it earlier.

--

Outside, the beaver continued to stand guard. It looked a little bored, standing on its hind legs and tapping its tiny foot against the ground, but it stopped at seeing another animal approach. A gentle-looking doe with sad eyes and a drooping tail.


OOC

Spoiler

Guys, I would definitely appreciate it if you all try to figure things out rather than leave it to a select few.

Also, in case Catriona's bit was confusing, the letters we have found are:

  • Deep B1F - AAAAA on wall (check Skaia's recent post for more info on that)
  • B1F - A on wall
  • 1F - R under dining table, K in chimney, then O, I, and Y on parchment paper
  • 2F - O in dresser, D under bed

Everybody is on the first floor save Alois in the deep basement with the rat, Adel upstairs, and the beaver outside with a new face.

Let Cow or I know if you have any questions or need help with your posts.

Edited by Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd

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Penelope watched as Alois wandered off into the basement. He must have figured something out. She decided it best to leave him to that for now. If he uncovered the mystery while they worked on things up here so be it.

"um, hey, um, Penelope. That paper, thing, with the draw- er, letters on it. That one. Could you teach me what the letters on it are?" 

The princess smiled wide. "Happy to, my young pupil, come here, and I'll teach you a thing or two." She patted her lap. Remembering the days she, as a child, was taught how to read in a similar manner.

Whether or not the archer would the princess proceeded to point at each letter in turn, tracing them with her finger, and sounding them out for Tsetseg. "Of course knowing the letters themselves is just the first part. Then you have to figure out how they sound together. Such as these. K-I-D. Together they make the word 'kid'."

"We wouldn’t want to walk into a trap without having something of our own ready, or else we'd be turned into the model for a scary story you tell children to stop them from being reckless.”

Having been focused on Tsetseg she only caught some of what Citron was saying. Though she heard enough to understand the point being made. "Something to that effect, yes. Knowledge is power after all."

Looking up towards Citron caused Penelope to notice the badger. He seemed to be trying to see something. "Excuse me, are you looking for something?"

The mayor/animal grunted and looked up at the table once more. "Ah, do you need help getting up?"

He paused and then, rather reluctantly, nodded in response.

She tried hard not to smirk. "Gunther, could you help with that please?"

The young Knight stepped over to where the badger was and lifted him gently onto the table. Where the mayor then moved about the table until coming to the paper. He looked around for...something. He recoiled slightly at seeing the symbol but continued in his search right after.

After a few moments, and jokingly asking if he needed a quill, Penelope realized that he'd need the inkwell.

Upon obtaining one the badger began to get to work. It took some time, and Penelope was watching him silently as he worked. In the end they finished and were left with a, rather messy looking, result.


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"Well, it's a possibility. The burn marks on the door would be something that someone would naturally made, rather than anything accidental. But we didn't really see anyone strange there or anything like that."

"Ciela's right. I did not detect any signs of life coming from within the building either."

With the question answered it only posed more questions in Gunther's mind. "Perhaps they tried, but failed, to enter? Though that doesn't mean they didn't find another way...I suppose in the end we still have to be cautious. If only we could be certain where this caster is...hiding."

He paused as he overheard Penelope's conversation, one-sided as it was, with the mayor. He perked up when she asked him to help the man up and, with an apology to the mayor, he gently picked the animal up and placed him onto the table. Making sure to make it as comfortable as he could.

After which he turned and began to speak more on the previous subject. Then he noticed Edrick. A frown crossed his face. He had taken out that symbol again. Implied that it might help. "I wouldn't be surprised if it just made things worse." Gunther stated. He glanced over at what the badger was doing and noticed the parchment. "Ruse...key...wait, no, that's not right."


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Cora's head spun as they discussed everything. A dangerous caster, some thought it'd be good to leave, that it was too dangerous. She couldn't tell if the two apparent leaders of the group were overly confident or not but she couldn't help but be glad that they weren't put off. Even though it meant she might be putting more folk at risk...

Maybe she shouldn't let them help? After they figured out this, whatever it was, maybe she should ask them to leave. If anyone was going to take a risk it should be her.

After all, she was starting to think they might be decent folk...

"I also have this."

Cora felt as she had taken too many steps down at once. An uncomfortable swooping sensation in her stomach. Her body tensed up instinctively at the symbol she was looking at. She recalled what the boy had said before, implying they had done some sort of goddess ritual, and now she thought she understood why he had said that.

She started to inch towards the door. A chill running down her spine.

Before she reached it she stopped herself. No, she couldn't just run, especially with the mayor right there. So she squared her shoulders, stood tall, and said. "Who are you people? And I mean who are you really?" She asked. Pointing at the symbol, unable to stop her hand from shaking slightly, she continued, "And what are you doing with THAT?"

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Citron was relieved, for possibly the first time in her lifetime, that she was ignored, brushed off just a bit. Her words weren’t turned against her, she was… Just quietly  acknowledged. Letting out a quiet sigh, Citron lowered her head just a bit, until everything seemed to go… Wrong? Or strange. Before she had even realized it, the bloody-boy in the armor, Edrick, who she had talked to about farming earlier… Had just placed, or showed the group a symbol beside some holy-water, or whatever it was. Her stomach shifted as the bloody symbol met her eyes, forcing her to bring a hand to her mouth as several things seemed to come together.

Because that's when it finally hit. Who these people were. Mercenaries, who... Killed people. People from different worlds, variably; different regions, travelling together. People who killed people for money, in the name of whoever it is they follow. And the kind, kind boy who had helped her earlier, who had talked about farming so happily was... A follower of the Goddess. And...

As she looked to Cora, it seemed she wasn’t the only one having adverse reactions to the symbol, to this.. Revelation. "L-Look," Citron waved her hands a bit, eyes frantically glancing at Edrick's... Symbol. "It's... L-Look, I know I just met him, but that Edrick guy he--" She frantically did her best to explain everything, both verbally and mentally. "...I-I'm sure he just, took it off a,  a bandit, or.. Or something!" She swallowed nervously, moving a hand to grab at the back of her head. "It's... I'm sure... He's alright, right?" She trailed off a bit, eyes settling on the bloody symbol. "...You're... A good guy, right?" She glanced upwards, clearly... Worried as she looked towards Edrick. “...Please?” She asked, having completely lost sight of the puzzle.

---

… Citron had been there a long time. Peaches dropped her head to the grass in the backyard, letting out a loud snort from her nostrils. She had been waiting an awful long time. Yawning, the wyvern contemplated barging down one of the doors to say hello and maybe get some sweet fruit. Or maybe potentially get her to leave, so they could escape this scary town of strange-smelling animals. That would be nice. “Scree…” She let out as she yawned again, glancing around every few seconds. Things sure were getting loud in the house, though, so maybe they were coming out soon.

But that could wait, as Peaches heard something else. Footsteps in the grass. Four feet. Lighter than she was, that was for sure. “...Screeeee…!?” The wyvern cried out again, raising onto her haunches as she began to walk forwards, poking her head back around to see to the front of the building to see just what it was. As she looked forwards, both she and the new visitor froze. A deer, no, a doe and a beaver. The Beaver was here before, she remembered hearing it’s annoying foot-tapping. But the doe… That one was new. Sniffing the air, Peaches took a single step forwards, towards the doe, to get a better look. She couldn’t tell what it was about them, but something about the doe was… Strange. their eyes, even if surprised, reminded her a bit of how Citron looked whenever they had to pay a large amount of coin to someone. However, before Peaches could tell much more, the tail of the smaller-creature flipped upwards; and it turned around, bouncing away as it routinely looked backwards, as if to see if being chased.

What a weird animal.

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Shiro wasn't hundred percent sure what was going on, so he moved out of his corner to approach the group. There was a piece of parchment with some sort of messy writing on it that the apparent mayor had written. He squinted as he looked at it. It was hard to make out....

"Ruse...key...wait, no, that's not right." Gunther mused.

"Rose is key?" Shiro offered. That's what he was seeing, although he could make an argument for 'Rise is key' but that didn't make sense to him.  Before he could think too deeply about the meaning, however, a commotion drew his attention.

"Who are you people? And I mean who are you really?" The town guard asked. "And what are you doing with THAT?" 

"It's... L-Look, I know I just met him, but that Edrick guy he--" The merchant seemed to be caught up in this madness as well. "...I-I'm sure he just, took it off a,  a bandit, or.. Or something!" She swallowed nervously, moving a hand to grab at the back of her head. "It's... I'm sure... He's alright, right? ...You're... A good guy, right? ...Please?”

Shiro looked over at the item causing these issues. It seemed to be a pendant, with a raven on it. Blood stained it some, but it didn't look like something to cause so much alarm. "I don't get it," Shiro spoke again. Seemed he was doing that a lot more recently. "He has a necklace. So what?"

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"Who are you people? And I mean who are you really?" The town guard asked. "And what are you doing with THAT?"

Cora seemed to have been having doubts about the groups legitimatecy, especially when Edrick took his necklace off to show the symbol on it.

"It's... L-Look, I know I just met him, but that Edrick guy he--" The merchant seemed to be caught up in this madness as well. "...I-I'm sure he just, took it off a,  a bandit, or.. Or something!"She swallowed nervously, moving a hand to grab at the back of her head. "It's... I'm sure... He's alright, right? ...You're... A good guy, right? ...Please?”

The new girl, Citron, was also nervous about the group. Sienna swallowed the food she was eating and sighed, she felt the same once, but she had grown to trust everyone here. If it wasn't for them, she wouldn't be here, either killed or locked up for a murder she didn't commit. She looked at Cora, and then back to Citron. "I speak for everyone here when I say you can trust us... We're trying to help however we can." She said in a calm voice. The last thing they needed was distrust amongst themselves, all their focus had to be on finding a way to help these cursed villagers. If only she was good with riddles, Sienna honestly would be lying if she said she was good with them.

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Ciela

"Sure thing. What good would I be if I can't fix someone's broken limb with ease?"

As she casted the spell to begin healing Link, her thought traveled too, regarding of the current situation that all of them were currently in. It sure was seemingly getting more and more sensible now, but at the same time, it was still very concerning and worrying too. When Gunther asked whether it was from an attempt to break in or not, Ciela only shrugged her shoulders. She felt that rather than that  whatever danger thsi village was facing would be inside of the town hall itself, so naturally it would besomething more emblematic for it to be perhaps, she guessed, protecting something inside, or perhaps it was soemthing else entirely.

However, her attention was taken just moments after she finished her healing. as a commition brewed on the table from Cora and Citron. Right, despite this whole mess in this village, naturally the two wuldn't be intimate either wiht yarkes light. It seemed that both recognized Edrick's amulet an d nmanaed to conjure their feelings into it was quite... well, Ciela couldn't be bothered to set things straight. She felt like without at least having 2 servant, the image of Ilya and Beerserial fight scene.

Adelaide

Adelaide in the meantime, looked around on where she had looked at earlier, to first making sure that she didn't make angy mistakes. There were certainly places that she hadn't checked yet, but if she missed something due to overlooking things itgmight be bestn  strategic Myrrh drop would manage to resolve the situation. Adelaide wondered what was the best thing to look out for. Was it the letters? What sort of mystery would that have anyway, wassuming it wasjsja;;k And so, Adelaide kept on searching and searching, hoping that she could find soemthing that would become the final piece to her puzzle. It was a nice bed though, Adelaide wondered how would it feel.

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Tsetseg made her way over to Penelope, and while the girl seemed to usher the young archer to her lap, Tsetseg didn't seem to think there was a way she would comfortably fit and so simply looked over the princess's shoulder as she began her lesson. As the woman told her what each of the letters were that made up the word "kid," Tsetseg didn't seem to quite understand it. Tracing each of the letters she spoke them aloud, she simply said, "K...I...D...Kayaidee..." The girl furrowed her brow, knowing that was definitely not what Penelope had just said. Trying  to figure out where some of the letters got their sounds from, the girl soon had her attention arrested from her as the rest of the room turned its attention to Edrick and what he had on hand. 

As Cora asked who they were really, Tsetseg just gave a jovial wave and said, "I'm Tsetseg! And we are...." Tsetseg then paused, as she remembered the group had talked about group names before, but wasn't sure if they had actually settled on anything concrete. Looking to Gunther she said, "the Flower Knights? No, no, no wait! I think it was Ever Valiant! Yeah, yeah, that was the one." Then looking to Citron, mentally scoffing at the idea of her asking them if he was a good guy, she simply nodded. "We're all good guys. Sure some might be less good then others, but each and every one of us is good as good goods!" 

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Alois had next to no idea what to make of the rat's actions. Nevertheless, it had seemed to understand him in some capacity, and so he was at least certain that it was a person in a rat's body. The boy tried to go over who he might think of a rat, though that was met with a less than pleasant view of his town overall. All the same, the boy was still curious and asked, "so, are you like a prisoner here or something?" The rat seemed to think about it for a moment before nodding its head. Raising an eyebrow at this, slightly suspicious of the whole thing, Alois then said, "well, the exit's right over there. Unless you're also looking to get through here." The boy knocked on the door. 

Once that was done, he looked back to the panel. Fiddling around with the letters, he saw that his suspicions were confirmed as it seemed to cycle through the whole alphabet. Not really sure where to go from here, the boy just fiddled around with the panel, arranging the letters in the order of r - o - a - d - k.

Edited by Skaia

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Link’s stomach turned as the warmth of Ciela’s healing magic washed over him. Slowly, his bones shifted back into place (which was an oddly itchy sensation), and the pain that had permeated his arm since his fall began to fade. “. . . .” He flexed his hand. His muscles were sore and the joint of his elbow was still a bit stiff; he supposed there was some things not even magic could fully repair.  

“Thank you,” he said softly. “I’m once again in your debt.”

Commotion soon cut their conversation short. Link had only caught the end of the conversation—enough to know that the rapidly thickening tension was caused by Edrick’s reveal of his pendant. Cora the Guard was obviously intimidated by it. “Who are you people?” she asked. “And I mean who are you really?” She gestured at the symbol with trembling hands. “And what are you doing with THAT?”

Several people took turns talking. Citron seemed shaken by the Edrick’s religion as well. Tsetseg assured the woman they were all good people (which was subjective), and Sienna doubled down on that. Lincoln looked toward Princess Catriona, an unspoken question in his eyes. The elder princess nodded when she saw him.

About that time all the noise woke Rohns up. The wolf cub came to life yipping and snarling, jumping up from the armchair and rushing to Link’s side. He positioned himself between the soldier and the guard of the town and puffed up to be as intimidating as he could, which was to say, not very.

“. . . .” Link crouched down and scratched the cub behind the ears. Immediately, Rohns snarling stopped. “Cora, right?” he asked without standing up. His accent was gone. “You’re a good guard. Sharp.” He rose to his full height after passing Rohns a piece of jerky, which the wolf cub took gleefully. “I think you're an honest woman so I’ll be truthful. My name is Lincoln Harkinian, formerly of the thirty-first regiment of the Galtean military.” He brought his right fist up to cover his heart and dipped his head to Cora, saluting her in traditional Galtean fashion. “We didn’t come to your village for supplies, but information, on the advice of the Histian council. I lied because some of our number would be in danger if their identity was known. That hasn’t changed. My word is the most I can give as a show of trust, but breaking whatever spell is on your village is what’s best for both of us. We won’t do anything to harm that goal.”
 

Edited by Cheshire Toon

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Catriona was surprised to hear that Tsetseg couldn't read, but, thinking about it again, she wasn't sure why that was so surprising. She had met people in the Garou that didn't know their letters, after all. Link, in particular, seemed to have troubles with them. Still, something about this instance made her unhappy. She, as the leader, had had the girl investigate the area, but she herself had obviously not done enough investigating on her traveling companions. Had she known Tsetseg couldn't read, she would have had her stand guard outside, especially with how many written documents and letters they had found. How much use could an illiterate person be in this sort of situation?

She had been useful though. From what Catriona had heard, the girl had managed to find not just one letter, but several, even if she didn't actually know what they were. Still, regardless of the outcome, this had been a failure on Catriona's part as a leader. She would have to learn more about the people traveling with her, to prevent such happenings in the future.

Once the badger had written some letters, or rather words, down on the paper, Catriona glanced it over but still felt confused. "Rise D Key...is that a name? And wait...what connection does this have with the letters we found?" She could at least match up a couple of the letters, but she couldn't see any As... Unless I'm misreading this. She blinked, tilting her head to the side. No, it still looked the same. This was another reason why she preferred to leave books and scrolls to her younger sister. Deciphering handwriting was simply a pain.

Gunther and Shiro offered up their own suggestions, which sounded equally valid, or perhaps more so. Still, they would have to determine the correct interpretation. They were in agreement on the last word, so that at least seemed correct.

However, this small progress was short-lived. It appeared that, while they had taken a step forward in regards to the puzzle, they had taken a step backwards in regards to Cora, the only villager who they could actually communicate with. Besides Alois, that is. The others attempted to pacify the girl, but Catriona doubted it would be that easy. She felt a flicker of pride at hearing Tsetseg mention the name she had come up with. Ever Valiant. Yes. That was quite the name. It seemed at least one among their number agreed on this matter with her.

Still, the woman knew how most people reacted to seeing symbols of the goddess. She herself had many issues with the deity. It was unlikely that Cora would believe her so easily were she to declare Edrick the only Pontic among them. However, it was also unlikely that they would be able to get much further with the ruse they had kept up, so it seemed that now was an optimal time to come clean, as it were.

Fortunately, Link spoke up before she had to, so the lord just kept quiet, eyeing Cora warily. Were the girl to turn on them...she would be ready.

At that moment the beaver came hurrying in from outside, having heard the shouting. It waddled up to Cora, glancing questioningly about the group, though it seemed to get a little more guarded after seeing Rohns's defensive posture. However, it didn't seem to know what was going on, unlike Cora or the badger.

Speaking of the badger, its reaction was far more subdued. It didn't seem entirely opposed to the group's presence, as even after spotting the necklace, it had still taken the time to write out the clue. However, it did seem opposed to Edrick's presence, shifting its stance to face the boy, lowering its head like a snake, lips curled back into a snarl.

Catriona held back a sigh. I wish Alois had stayed. He was probably the best person to handle this, or at least the one Cora would trust the most.

Licorice had stayed silent this whole time, though a flicker of surprise crossed her face when Sienna spoke up. That seemed to prompt her to speak up. "If it helps," the fox began, voice dry, "he's the only one of us with a thing like that. Most of the rest of us have--" she paused, "have no desire to associate with that sort of thing."

"That is true," Catriona agreed. "While I regret deceiving you, know that we only did so because we found it necessary. We bear no ill will toward you or this village. Alois would not be traveling with us otherwise." From what she had seen, the boy was not overly fond of this place, but that didn't mean he would want to raze it to the ground either. And he had helped them in investigating the truth behind it.

Of course, this would all change were they to find out that the village was associated with the goddess, but they didn't know that for sure. Or at least, not yet.

--

In the tunnel, the rat would nod again, and then watch Alois work at the panel. It seemed less interested in escaping, and more interested in what the fighter was doing.

However, there was no change in their surroundings after the boy put in that particular combination.

--

Upstairs, Adelheid would retrace her steps, but it seemed like the group had thoroughly investigated the place. However, her search would create some unintended consequences. Such as accidentally ripping out a page in the mayor's journal. Were she to pick it up, she would see that part of the entry seemed a little strange.

Sometimes I wonder if I should even bother with that door. Still, when I think of Pylauses or that knave Hanikap, I feel it's probably for the best to have it after all. Especially Hanikap. I don't trust him one bit. I've caught him skulking around my house more than once, after all. Oh, he always has some sort of excuse, but I very much doubt that any of them are actually true. I figure Pylauses put him up to it. That man's been asking around ever since he caught a glimpse of the new vintage I'd just uncorked. I should've known better than to drink, but it was that night, after all. I couldn't help it.

I don't think he suspects the other thing, but I can't be sure. So I've been changing the word to the door every so often just to be on the safe side. But having to come up with a five-letter word each time is a bit much. Perhaps I should just use one word, and make it easy for me to remember, but hard for others to guess, save for those scholars who study archaic languages, or a person who can connect the dots.

Speaking of, I was looking up at the sky, and Rastaban is bright tonight. It really lives up to its epithet as the head, doesn't it? I used to stargaze with my father, Cadmus, though he would not have spelt it that way. He was even more of a traditionalist than me. One sound, two ways to say it, and as he always said, "Go with the old ways."

I feel there is truth in that statement. So I, too, shall go with the old ways.

--

Outside, the doe had stopped, standing still as if it was attempting to blend in with its surroundings. However, after a few seconds, it began to move again, turning back around and approaching the house. The beaver ran up and greeted it with a chitter, but hearing a shout come from within, turned and ran into the house. The doe began to follow, but as soon as it reached the stairs going up to the building, it paused, turning its head to stare nervously at Peaches, Remy, and Tyltalis, who were all standing outside. However, the majority of its attention seemed to be on the wyvern.


OOC

Spoiler

While the badger has helped us with one piece of the puzzle (check LordCowCow's latest post for more information), there are still a few things we need to figure out. This includes how we're going to handle Cora's reaction at seeing Edrick's devotional icon.

Everybody save for Adel and Alois are on the first floor. Adel is upstairs, and Alois is in the deep basement with the rat. The beaver is in the house now. Check the maps if you need more information, and let either Cow or I know if you have any questions for your post.

Edited by Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd

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Edrick probably should have expected the vast array of less-than-pleased reactions to the emblem he had set on the table, especially when even he was feeling less and less comfortable carrying it after the incident at the chapel. The empty eye sockets of the Dread Raven felt like they were boring into him, where before it had been a comfort for him to feel the Goddess's gaze upon him. 

"You're...a good guy, right? ...Please?" Citron's reaction was simultaneously the least surprising and the hardest hitting. He thought he had found a kindred spirit in her, someone more familiar with working the land than with spilling blood. Yet he found himself looking down at his hands, and his expression grew grim as he contemplated that idea. No, he had become quite practiced at killing. But at the same time, everyone he had killed so far had deserved it. The bandits when he first met the group, the thieves in Ithome, even the Awakened at the Chapel had deserved to be returned to their rest. The Abbott himself had said so, there was something different about them. Something wrong. But did that make him good? It was hard to answer that question.

"Does it matter who I am or where I got it?" He ultimately responded, raising his head to look first at Cora and then at the snarling Badger who was apparently the mayor. "I'm here, the same as everyone else, to help you sort out this curse and you're not exactly in a position to start refusing any help. We can talk about who i am and where got the pendant once this is all over with." His expression remained hard, firm, and most of all resolved. He had made up his mind about staying exactly where he was, and using whatever resources he had at hand to solve it. "Besides, if there is a powerful magic user still here in the town we're going to need everything we can get to fight them." With that stated, he turned his attention to Catriona.

"Rise D Key, right?" He asked, collecting the pendant and placing it around his neck once again. It was clear nobody else wanted it anyways. "You found a letter 'D' upstairs, maybe one of the keys fits something near it. Was there anything else under the bed?" He still wasn't sure how to answer Citron, and that bothered him more than he was going to say right now.

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Well this was annoying. They were getting close to solving this puzzle, she could tell, and this little distraction was putting that goal farther away. While some of them continued to try and figure out what this all meant they couldn't exactly move on without figuring out the dilemma that had arose with the...current controversy.

Cupping her chin in her hands she watched Cora as the others tried to calm her down. Attempt was the key word as she still seemed rather on edge. And she supposed it made sense. It was rather odd for them to be traveling with Edrick and be so calm about his religion while not being attached to it themselves.

Consequences for her next action swirled in her mind and she considered if the possible negatives would outweigh the positives. In the end she realized that this could also give her important information on the newest among them as well as help to reassure the girl. Hiding was no longer an option now that such a suspicion has been placed on them.

Penelope cleared her throat and stood up. "Cora, I understand your concerns. But Edrick hadn't yet given us any reason to think he would do us harm. This is why he travels with us still. And...as for what...Lincoln said, it's true, there are those who would harm us if our true nature was revealed. In fact some have tried already. However I think you are not one of them. And so..." She glanced over at Catriona for a brief moment before looking back at Cora. Making sure to keep Citron in her periphery as well. "My name is Penelope Nabudis. Princess of Galtea. I have come here in search of information that would aid us against the Goddess's agents. You have nothing to fear from us. I hope my honesty will show that much at least."


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She was trembling. Only slightly but still it was there. She hated that. She needed to be brave. Especially now. Especially now that she didn't know what to really think of this group. Some came forward to make promises that they were good people but what good was that? Of course they'd SAY that.

Link, the black fox lady, and the leader of the group tried to reassure her that they had nothing to do with the Goddess and that they were simply hiding who they were for safety. It would make sense if not for that one. Edrick. Who was clearly, unapologetically, one of the Goddess's faithful. What in the world were they doing with him if they weren't of the same mind? How could they not worry about him stabbing them in the back at any point to use them in some kind of blood sacrifice?

Worse still Edrick's insistence that she needed his help, not just his but the Goddess herself, sent a hot flare of anger through her. Was this his goal? Trick her into using evil magic to reverse what was possibly Goddess magic to begin with? No, she wasn't about to let them infect the souls of those here even if was to "save" them.

It wasn't until Penelope spoke that Cora hesitated. Princess? One of the royals? No, two, since the other one was clearly related.

It was a wild claim to make. And yet...the name, the attitude, and the appearance. She knew little about the Galtean royals but with what little she picked up it made some sense.

Even so that made it even more strange they were with that man. Perhaps he had convinced them that he was their ally but....

"I-er that is. Um." She stumbled over her words. Taken aback by everything that had transpired. "I am willing...to give y'all the benefit of the doubt but..." She cast her glance towards Edrick. She was nervous. If this went wrong she could be in danger. But she had to be brave. She had to be brave. She looked down at the bea-, no, at Acantha. She wasn't alone. Even if her allies were an old badger and a beaver.

"I can't abide him roaming about this town as he likes. Not when he's got...that thing with him."


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What was he to do? He couldn't say he didn't agree with Cora's reaction. He still questioned why they traveled with the Pontic. Sure, he had helped them so far, but what of if it came down to them or the Goddess? Surely he would run them through in that moment. And now here showed again his stubbornness about his faith. Even going so far as to suggest they, the princesses, accept the use of the Goddess's power to solve their issue. Such a thing was unthinkable.

So while everyone tried to reassure Cora he stayed quiet. Even as Penelope unveiled the truth of her name to the room. He saw her glance his way for a moment. Did she want him to speak up?

What could he say? If it were up to him Edrick wouldn't be there at all. But he had to trust Cat and Penelope's decision on that. But he wouldn't lie to this scared girl and tell her he vouched for him.

So when he spoke he only said what he felt he could. "Perhaps when we go to the town hall, or wherever it is we're supposed to go from here, Edrick should...stay behind."

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Have you ever felt like all too much came into view at once? Or that people had told you all too much at once? Yeah, that was a smidge what Citron was feeling like. First the guard dropped his accent to try and placate Cora, something that was… Odd. No, strange? Was it odd to say she almost felt betrayed? Perhaps, but it’s what she felt. She had thought he had been truthful the entire time, only to hear…! He hadn’t been…?! At all. Tsetseg said something rude, but that was something she had come to expect, at this point. But then, Penelope said something about being a princess? Which sort of made sense with her ‘saving the world’ comment earlier, but also came out of nowhere? In fact, it almost seemed… Strange to do it during such a tense situation, even if to alleviate tension… Maybe it was a joke? But that doesn’t explain…

Gah, she didn’t have time for this! Eyes moving to Edrick, she could see as his expression shifted during the conversation. Something felt wrong about everything, if for no other reason than… She didn’t want to suspect him. Something felt wrong about that, dreadfully wrong, but maybe that was her feeling pity? It felt like everyone had been ganging up on him. It even made her wince with regret at what she had said only moments ago… But she couldn’t start feeling sorry for herself yet.  Taking in a deep breath, she tried to clear her head as he tried to defend himself; doing so in a manner that seemed simultaneously angry, but… She’d almost chalk it up to someone being pushed into a corner. Cora’s reply didn’t help much to alleviate the pressure though, and Gunther tried to suggest that maybe they should leave Edrick behind, or alone or even kick him out of town or… Something. The entire situation set Citron’s stomach into a tumbling shift, a rollercoaster of emotions, but… She felt powerless, really. She wasn’t good at this diplomacy thing, but… She had read enough from her Grandpa’s journal, so maybe, just maybe, she could maybe ask herself what he would do...?

 “...Um… Mr. Armour Man,” Citron scratched at her neck, shifting her gaze to him. “Doesn’t that sound rather… Extreme?” She sighed, scratching at the side of her head. “From what I can gather, you guys have traveled together for at least a few weeks or something, so… Wouldn’t it make sense for you to trust him? And back him up in this?” She winced a bit, before turning to Cora. “And… If, that’s your concern, couldn’t we send someone with him then? I mean, as long as someone was with him, it should be alright, shouldn’t it?” She cocked her head to the side, doing her best to work her way through this. “Because, um… I may only have met him a few hours ago, but I do feel like... He’s truly a good person, okay?” She frowned a bit. That was shallow reasoning, wasn’t it? But… She still meant it, and would stand by it. “And… If you need a more practical reason, I don’t think splitting us up, or leaving someone behind would be a good idea when we don’t know what’s really going on here, yeah…?”

--

Peaches watched the deer carefully, twisting her head from side to side as the doe froze, and moved, and froze, and then moved again? Strange creature. Strange smelling, too. She could smell it from here, it wasn’t like most doe. But could that have been the human dens she was smelling? Peaches wasn’t so sure, really. The wyvern’s thoughts were interrupted as the Beaver ran inside though, and the Doe began to follow… Only to stop, staring at her and the horses. When had they gotten beside her…?! She wasn’t sure, but she did her best to only jump a tiny bit, since there was a straaaange Doe staring at her. “Screeee…?” The Wyvern let out curiously, tilting it’s head to the left at the doe as it stared at her. Strange, strange creature.

She flicked her tongue out at the doe as a show of… Well, she wasn’t sure, but a show of something. Mlem.

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He knew humans were petty, he knew humans were stupid, but this... this was a different level. He didn't even know what to say here. Maybe if he knew the significance of the necklace, it'd make more sense, but as it was...

"I-er that is. Um." The resident of the town stuttered. "I am willing...to give y'all the benefit of the doubt but..." She cast her glance towards Edrick. "I can't abide him roaming about this town as he likes. Not when he's got...that thing with him."

"Perhaps when we go to the town hall, or wherever it is we're supposed to go from here, Edrick should...stay behind." Gunther suggested. Shiro was taken aback by this one. Gunther was one of the few people he could stand in this group, and now he was just being here being... weird, and illogical. 

"Wait, hang on," Shiro spoke up. "So to make sure I understand correctly, the two of you are willing to let three inhumans with the power to change into giant animals and a man who enter houses through the rooftops to search this village, but not one normal and capable man because of a necklace?" This really didn't make sense into him. "I thought we were trying to save everyone here from a horrible fate in the least amount of time possible. We know nothing about this curse, for all we know, it could become permanent if left alone for too long," He paused, glancing at the princess duo. "And you're both willing to place more duties on the two princesses and expose them to potential danger because, and I empathize, of a necklace?"  He turned back to the group. "If this is some sort of human joke, then I don't get it,"

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