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Sethera

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

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“Don’t send Gunther to this man’s manor. I will be staying there myself."

Penelope considered Link's words. It was true that Gunther was a more obvious figure than Link himself. "You aren't entirely wrong." Penelope began. "Though I do think Gunther has a much more...friendly manner that could make that man less on guard." She thought about it some more. Had she known about the incident with Rohn's it would be a much easier choice. She had more trust in Gunther and was still uncertain how much she could trust Link. Even so Gunther might be uncomfortable with sneaking around someone else's house. He expressed as such when they were...investigating the mayor's house earlier.

And she was honestly surprised that Link went out of his way to offer. In the end she decided that it would be best to let him do as he wished. "Very well, do be sure to be on the lookout for any clues as to his real reason for being interested in this place." She called out to Abdul. "Change of plans. Link here will be going with you to the manor. Once the others return we can send them to this abandoned house that the mayor prepared for us."

She turned to Edrick with her hands on her hips. "As for you...you will not be guarding anyone. Now go stay in bed or I'll have to knock you out myself."

She glanced at Alois. "Or rather I'll order Alois to do it."


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Gunther couldn't believe it. Someone actually did get stuck in the well. If this wasn't the first time he wondered why they hadn't built any rails around it. Perhaps he'd bring that up to the mayor later. It seems quite hazardous.

"Oooooh. Pretty rock."

A smile crossed his face again. "Yes, it is, isn't it? But perhaps we should focus on..." The young man approached the well and started to lean over the side.

Before he did, though, Tsetseg called out again. This time to announce the arrival of the others. He turned towards them and was about to ask how their search went. One look at Sienna, though, told him all he needed to know. She seemed rather downtrodden about losing Licorice. Despite them having been separate for quite some time before it must have come as a shock to the girl.

Hoping this new trouble would take her mind off it, and not knowing what to say to make her feel better, Gunther waved them all over. "Come over here. Someone's stuck down there." He pointed at the well. "None of you happen to have a rope do you?"

He then leaned over to look into the well and call out to the trapped boy. "Don't worry. Between the four of us....six counting the dogs, I'm sure we can get you out of here soon. Lassie was rather adamant about that." He said the last with a smile.

Dogs truly were good, weren't they? If only people could be more like them. As he thought this his eyes turned to Tsetseg.

Well, perhaps some people were.

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"I'm more than enough to guard this little book worm myself." Thanks for the vote of confidence! Edrick thought, almost managing to sputter that thought out in some indignant shouting! Almost. The fact that he was playing chicken with the sand man wasn't doing him any favors when it came to comprehensible responses of any sort. It also made making out what Penelope said to him immediately afterwards a little more difficult. Something about knocking out his...

"Or rather I'll order Alois to do it." Well that cleared up the confusion fairly quickly, and meant that when he forced himself back up into a seated position he affixed both the princess and the boy with an expression that was hurt. And not just because he felt like he had reopened a wound in his chest with all that moving around. The actual physical pain did help though!

"Come on guys, I can-" he had to put a hand down and stop himself falling over again, though now he was leaning slightly to the left, "I can guard you like this. Really! Is this even close to the worst I've been hurt since I started traveling with you?" He could certainly think of a few other cases where he'd at least come close to being just as badly hurt. "And hey, I didn't need to be carried anywhere this time! So really, I can help keep this place secure, right, Link?" Looking over at the Soldier was... probably not good for his case as that tipped his balance and he fell over onto his side again. Though more gently this time.

"I'll just... guard this bed!"

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“That sounds lovely! And it smells lovely, to- Oooh… This makes me think actually, I know this isn’t the right kind of tea, but I wonder if you have what we would need to make some kinda half and half, sometime…?”

Abdul smiled as the young girl eagerly for one of the cups as her companion simply nodded and moved to the princess to deliver urgent news.

“Don’t send Gunther to this man’s manor. I will be staying there myself. There’s…A Knight guards with his presence as much as his skill. They scare away smallfolk who see their armor and size and back away. I… I do not mean to say that Gunther isn’t strong. But the type of people who may try to harm Pri--to harm Catriona, Gunther has no experience with them. They are trained assassins. Please allow me to handle guarding Catriona, and keep Gunther close enough to protect you should anything happen.”

The strange way the warrior referred to the elder princess without a title gave Abdul pause. Perhaps his instinct to adhere to proper titles was unwise. After all, they all could be in the belly of an unknown beast, and drawing this kind of attention would only encourage those who wish to bring harm to act sooner. The watchful eye of what appeared to be a more seasoned and practical mercenary also brought Abdul a sense of security. After all, the cloaked dagger fears not the sleeping knight.

“Wait-- Wait, actually, before I drink of this-- As a fellow merchant, I have to ask... Is this from your stock? And if so, you aren’t-- You aren’t offering this to me, in hopes that I’ll drink it, and then try to charge me an exorbitant amount after the fact, right?! I-I’ll have you know, I had someone do that to me in one of the towns I stayed in already! I don’t have hardly any money to give you!”

Abdul’s train of thought was interrupted by the girl. Now that he was focusing on her rather than the hushed conversation, it became clear that this girl was a fellow Isaurian, demonstrating their characteristic canniness.

“Ah, you are certainly familiar with our trade then!” Abdul replied with a chuckle, “I am currently acting in my capacity as a traveling scholar, so I swear on the heavens that this cup of tea is free of charge!”

Abdul gestured towards the cup with an open hand before returning his attention to the mercenary and the princess.

"Change of plans. Link here will be going with you to the manor. Once the others return we can send them to this abandoned house that the mayor prepared for us."

“As you wish, your highness. I have confidence that he is as worthy a warrior as your knight. Let us hope that neither of their martial skills will be needed tonight.”

"Come on guys, I can- I can guard you like this. Really! Is this even close to the worst I've been hurt since I started traveling with you? And hey, I didn't need to be carried anywhere this time! So really, I can help keep this place secure, right, Link? I'll just... guard this bed!"

As the injured boy tottered about the room, Abdul could not help but feel frustrated at his patient destroying his poultice in this show of bravado, or perhaps deluded ramblings.

“The princess is right! You must rest, or I may need to reapply your dressing. Considering our experience the first time, I doubt we would enjoy having to doing that again.”

 

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With everything going on around her, Citron decided to take it upon herself to… Stay out of it, for the most part. Instead, she was focused intently on the target of her conversation, who was talking to just about everyone; waiting patiently for his reply to her. “Hm… Alright.” Citron nodded, closing her eyes as she leaned back in the chair. “I guess I’ll take your word for it. Thank you, Mister.” She slowly nodded, taking the tea-cup gingerly with her good hand, and slowly sipping from it. She wasn’t entirely sure about the taste; it was far… Fancier? Than the tea she was used to on the farm, but that was a given; and she knew to expect that. Regardless, it was at least quality. That much she could tell.

Patiently, she waited for the older man in front of her to finish his discussions, before clearing her throat. “Ah, Mister, I was actually wondering about that,” she paused, taking a sip. “Er, the whole, traveling scholar thing. If you don’t mind my asking, what exactly are you… Scholar...ing? Like, what are you trying to learn about?” She asked, curiously. “Oh, uh… If-If It’s something personal, and you don’t wanna talk about it or anything, that’s totally fine,” she back-peddled just as quickly as she had begun, clearing her throat. “It-It’s just that I’m also sorta only doing the merchant thing as a side-gig right now, and I’m out on my own trying to explore the world. So, if you’ve heard or learned about anything cool or interesting, I’d love to hear it.”

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BGM: Fire Emblem: Three Houses - A Dark Sign

Catriona stared down at her goblet moodily. It had been a long day. Too long of one. It was only yesterday that the group had fought off a horde of Awakened and the spirit of Abbot Jack of Alltrades appeared before them, granting them the ability to rewrite their destinies. He also had shown the others a vision of his past while she took a walk with Link. She had needed a break from that place and its strange atmosphere. After they all left that place behind, they traveled westward toward a town Licorice had mentioned. The challenge was getting there. They gave up on crossing the rain-swollen river for the night.

The next day, today, they had crossed it, but were set upon by a group of beavers. After some struggle, they made it across, but Licorice had an issue causing her to separate, with some others following. Catriona and the rest reached the village, and headed further inward, guided by a beaver and the sound of roaring. At the village square, they found a wyvern rider passed out and her wyvern stuck under a stall. After getting them out, they found that the wyvern rider was named Citron and the wyvern Peaches, and they had stumbled upon the village just earlier that day. As for the village itself…

Catriona took a cautious sip of the wine. She knew it was foolish, but wine had always been a weakness of hers. She took more sips, and then more. And then the goblet was almost drained.

The village had been full of animals. Soon, a member of the militia, Cora, appeared, and after getting over her initial suspicion, guided them to her house. The animals’ strange behavior, and the naked people, led the group to conclude that the villagers had been ensorcelled into animals, and their livestock into people. Cora had escaped the curse as she had been out scouting. Eventually, Licorice and the others reunited with the main group, and it was decided that they needed to go to the mayor’s house and investigate. After some searching, and the mayor arriving himself, they found a secret passage underneath the house, which led them to the town hall. The group fought a stone statue there that looked like a wyvern, but was more majestic. After defeating the statue with the help of burning the flowers, the village’s curse was lifted.

Afterward, most of the group followed Alois’s mother, Mene, to her house, though many of them had also split off to do their own thing. On Catriona's way to Pylauses’s house, she had heard villagers mention how a militia girl named Phaidra had taken Tsetseg fishing, that Sienna had helped Amas and then borrowed his dog Icleias, and that Gunther had followed them. The lord did not know their present situation. She herself had recently been accompanied by Link, Citron, and the unconscious Ciela, though she had sent them ahead after Link’s wolf Rohns had bitten Pylauses’s leg. Catriona had apologized and chosen to stay at his house in recompense. Which led to her current situation.

“My benediction once again for your treatment of my leg. How do you exclaim the wine? It is most splendiferous, no?” Pylauses gestured grandly, dark hair gleaming like oil in the candlelight.

Catriona tilted her head to the side, hair brushing over her dark eyes. “It’s…good.” Almost…too good. Good Galtean wine, something she would not expect to find out in this backwater Histian village. Her eyes narrowed on the person across from her in suspicion.

“It should be. I remain, in hindmost, an aristocrat. Not at all alike to the hoi polloi.”

“Interesting…pardon me…but I had thought Histia…to have done away with their nobility.” She spoke slowly. It was as if there were a dam between her thoughts and her mouth. Every word spoken took several times the effort it usually took to say.

“You speak authentically…” the man’s muddy eyes never moved from hers. “You are, legitimately, a most sagacious ruler.”

The room was spinning. Catriona shook her head. But that just made it worse. “Apologies. Can you repeat…” she cut off. The headache that had been plaguing her all day pounded at her temples with renewed vigor.

“Oh, how barbarous of me! I had not cogitated your estate of lassitude! Permit me to navigate you upstairs to your suite!” The man hurried over to catch her as she slumped over in her chair.

The woman stared up at him weakly, coughing as she inhaled his heavy perfume. “Yes…I seem to be…more…than I thought…apologies…” Though she had the will, she lacked the energy to keep her words from breaking up and slurring. Even now, she found exhaustion eroding away her will, and also her consciousness.

“No lamentations are mandatory, my respected sovereign.” His shadowed face broke into a grin. “I am, postliminary, thy modest serf.”

Catriona nodded and closed her eyes, letting sleep overtake her.

Alois, Penelope, Edrick, Link, Citron, and Abdul sat inside Alois’s mother Mene’s house. Ciela still lay unconscious outside atop Remy. Though most of them were comfortable with light conversation, Abdul found himself increasingly uneasy, especially since the mayor and Mene still hadn’t returned from their clandestine conversation outside. He knew he had to be setting out for Pylauses's house with Link soon, but a thought itched away at his brain. Some would call it paranoia, but he knew it as a justified concern. “Excuse me,” he spoke to the others politely, leaving the house to better listen to their talk. Unless accompanied, only he would be privy to the following conversation.

“I still don’t think it wise, Mayor,” Mene shook her head. “They’re just kids, most o’ ‘em. What they don’t know won’t hurt ‘em, an’ gettin’ ‘em involved, well…”

The mayor sighed. “Don’t you realize, Mene? They’re already involved. They’ve seen the statue, the town hall, and they’ve got their own suspicions. That younger princess, she has said little, but it’s quite obvious she suspects—”

“‘An yer saying she’s a princess, an’ all? That sweet thing? Why, I still can’t believe it! My Alois, consortin’ with princesses?” The woman clicked her tongue. “Ye knows I want the best for ‘im, Mayor. We’re naught but humble village folk at heart, despite what we do. We’re not meant ta get involved with them nobles.”

“Shh…” the mayor looked around furtively. “Don’t say that too loud. We don’t want anybody to hear.”

“Ye worried about Pylauses?”

“Him, and that man from Isauria. I don’t trust him. He’s got the stamp of magic on him. Just like that witch.”

“Oh, you’re too much! Jes’ cuz summat’s from Isauria, don’t mean nuthin’.”

While hearing Mene’s defense warmed Abdul’s shriveled heart, he could not help but concern himself with what the mayor had said. He knew it! He knew he was not welcome here. It would begin with whispers, then torches and pitchforks. And finally, he would be driven out. It had happened before, and it would happen again. When would he find people that would accept him and his withered appearance? Perhaps never. Regardless, he needed to leave before the situation reached a boiling point.

Returning inside, he bowed to the others, especially Penelope. “My most humble apologies, but I must be going,” he rubbed his hands together nervously. “I have, ahem, noticed that my presence is unwelcome in this place, and would rather not risk getting thrown out. I would like to leave on my own terms.” Smiling at Penelope, he nodded. “May we meet again someday, Your Highness.”

With that, he departed, taking his camel in hand. While he regretted parting from such a person of high standing so soon, especially since he hadn't turned around her negative view of him, it was that very thing that had him leaving. He could not rely on her, or the others, to defend him. Perhaps they would meet again, but for now, it was goodbye.

Gunther and Tsetseg had followed a dog named Lassie. It belonged to a boy named Timmy that had gotten stuck in the quarry pit. Sienna, Phaidra, and Icleias, after following Licorice’s trail and seeing she had crossed into Great Marsh, backtracked to the forest surrounding the village, and followed Icleias to the quarry pit as well. Now they stood, wondering how to get the boy out.

“‘Ey there, Lassie, good girl!” Timmy shouted. “‘Ello, are the rest o’ ye ‘ere ta rescue me?” He looked around and whistled. “Whooee sure is one big pit I fell inter. But I bet mah good friend Raki can ‘ave me out in two shakes of a wyvern’s tail. ‘E shouldn't be far. I was talkin’ to ‘im shortly afore everythin’ ‘appened an’ all.”


OOC

Spoiler

Yes, in case this post didn't make it clear, I am back at NCM. Just for this RP though really. We are resuming it with...not really a bang, but there is stuff going on so it's not really a whimper either. And yes, I decided not to do a time skip. Sorry, not sorry. If you're confused, read the recap in this post. There's also a recap of what went on before in the first post of the IC here. Yes, Catriona's part was mostly recapping. I thought I would bundle the recap part with the actual post to make it less awkward. If you are still confused, you can ask in the Discord chat and I can explain things further. At the moment we have:

Catriona is at Pylauses's house by herself.

Alois, Penelope, Edrick, Link, and Citron are inside Mene's house. Ciela is outside passed out on Remy. Abdul just left the village since otaku-sama will not be rejoining the RP.

Gunther, Sienna, and Tsetseg are at the quarry pit with Phaidra and some dogs and a boy named Timmy who's trapped down there.

I figure the main group can probably react to Ciela waking up (I assume she will be), Abdul leaving, the mayor and Mene being secretive outside, figuring out where they are going to stay, and so on. So far, it was decided that Alois, Penelope, and Edrick stay at Mene's house, and that's probably its max capacity with Mene there as well. Link wants to stay with Catriona at Pylauses's place and Abdul was originally going to stay there as well. Penelope was thinking of sending Gunther there too but Link convinced her to have him stay at the abandoned house instead. This leaves Ciela and Citron to decide where they are going, and also Sienna and Tsetseg later, though they have other things that are distracting them at the moment.

Also, Arkars, it's time. You can come in with Raki if you want. I'll be giving you more information about that via Discord soon.

Edited by Sethera

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Ciela Celestinia

For so long, it felt like she had been running, chasing something. What it was, it felt like it had faded from her memory, yet her limbs continued to move regardless. Part of her thought that she simply wished to experience what it felt to be able to chase something, anything. However, every time she glimpsed at what she pursued, even if she couldn't actually understood what it was, she knew that it was always her ultimate goal. 

But, it felt so far away.

Long years had passed, and even now, it was still out of reach.

---

As Ciela groggily opened her eyes, what greeted her was the warmth of light conversation... well, nearby. She was still outside, rested on top of Remy for Goddess knew how long. She could barely remember what happened before, but other than a few sore on her muscle, she felt weirdly fine, somehow. This sleeping posture couldn't be healthy at all for her, but, well, she wasn't really too bugged up about it. 

But wait, where was this anyway? Rubbing her eyes, Ciela began to look around, wondering if she could still remember where was this. It didn't take long for her to notice the architecture of the town, and she immediately frowned. So, she was still in this town. This cursed, damned town...

Right, she also remembered that the last thing she did was more or less climbing on top of a berserk Licorice to calm her down when they were all fighting that damned statue. She probably fell stupidly while doing that, huh. Well, another thing for her to mark as a failure then. Part of her wondered where Licorice was and whether she was alright, but judging by the fact that the others were inside, currently talking with each other, she assumed that they did beat that damned statue.

Though, huh. Peeking inside, while Licorice wasn't there, she didn't notice Catriona either. 

Somehow, Catriona going off on her own always was something that Ciela felt like a bad omen, but well, if the others were as merry as this, Ciela didn't feel that worried. Although, still, she probably would go look around for her. She really didn't trust Catriona alone as much as she didn't trust herself alone.

Climbing down from Remy, she gave her lifelong companion a sweet cube of sugar from her pocket before rubbing his head and excusing herself, entering the nearby house without even knocking first.

"Oi, what's going on now? Is everyone alive? Where is Cat and Licorice anyway?" Ciela said so as she sauntered in, with all the grace of a drunken thug. Being stuck unconscious atop of Remy for so long really did a number on her coordination.

"...And actually, did we ever learn on what the hell's up with this town?"

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Link was at his breaking point. The day had been a long one–a village that had been magicked into an odd assortment of animals, a fight with a stone dragon that was somehow tied to said magicks, and the sudden disappearance of the only woman who might have been able to offer him some kind of insight into either phenomenon. It was already enough to drive any normal man to insanity, but Link was no ordinary man. The sudden addition of a snooty noble whose very face made the soldier want to beat the Seven Hells out of him, and Princess Catriona agreeing to go off alone to the man’s house? It had pushed even him to the edge.

Accidentally discovering that the mayor had been withholding information about “Lord” Gaston while waiting for Abdul to be ready to leave? That was the last push. 

Link felt his blood roaring in his ears as he stalked up to the mayor and Mene. He snatched the man up by his collar and unceremoniously dragged him forward so that they were but an inch apart from each other, eye-to-eye. “You suspect that man of something, don’t you? What is it? Espionage? Dark magic? Worse?” His voice dropped to a deadly whisper. “You suspect one of your own villagers of being a danger to the crown and you don’t even warn us. If that man has hurt so much as a hair on her head–if anyone in our group is harmed by one of your villagers,” Link dropped his free hand down to the hilt of his blade. “I’ll make sure you answer for it.”

He released the mayor without warning and turned to face Mene. “Sorry you had to see that, marm. Please make sure that Her Majesty and your son don’t go anywhere. I have to go now. Thank you for the hospitality.”

With that, Link turned on his heels and stormed off. Rohns caught up to him not far from the house. The wolf cub was uncharacteristically subdued, ears pinned back against his skull while his eyes swept side-to-side like he was looking for something. Link slipped him a piece of jerky but didn’t slow down.

How could he be so stupid? He should never have followed the order to leave her alone.
 

Edited by Cheshire Toon

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After what seemed a strangely long pause for such a simple question Gunther discovered that, no, no one there had any rope on hand. He didn't expect them to, especially as two of their number were dogs, but there was no harm in asking.

“Whooee sure is one big pit I fell inter. But I bet mah good friend Raki can ‘ave me out in two shakes of a wyvern’s tail. ‘E shouldn't be far. I was talkin’ to ‘im shortly afore everythin’ ‘appened an’ all.”

"Well he seems to be in good spirits." Gunther said. Then to Phaidra asked, "Who is this Raki, another village boy?"

"Raki...? Nope! Doesn't ring a bell! Do you think Timmy means like a pet rock or something? Cuz once, I had a pet rock, and it was super cute and everything with a splotch of purple on the side. I named it Violet because of that, and--oh, wait. You uhh...probably don't want to hear about that... Sorry." Upon finishing admonishing herself the girl looked down and twiddled her fingers in shy embarrassment.

Despite the situation a small smile crept onto his face. "Don't worry, I'm used to tangents." he glanced over at Tsetseg when he said this. "But, if you don't know who he is..."

Gunther knelt down at the edge of the drop and spoke to the boy. "Excuse me but where is Raki now?"

"Well I told Raki ta go tell summat about whit's been goin' on. Cuz uhh, y'know, we 'eard some villagefolk talkin' 'bout weird stuff but it didn't sound no good, no sirree bob. It's been a few hours now, but I think e'll be 'ere soon."

Raising an eyebrow he said, "well we'll be here in the meantime, to keep you company as you wait for your...friend."

Gunther stood and turned to the others. In a low voice he said "Perhaps whoever he's waiting for was caught up in the spell as well, in which case he might be too disoriented to do much, or he's imaginary. This isn't life threatening but...I think he's been stuck long enough. Do any of you have any ideas on how to help him out?"


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"Well, what an odd man that was. I wonder if all Isaurian magic-users come and go so quickly." Penelope said. It was a shame she wouldn't be able to learn more about his people and magic but perhaps this was for the best. It could be that the less people she had to keep track of the better. Though with the number of party members they had gained and lost she had to wonder who would be next.

Her gaze traveled to Alois and Edrick and she smiled. They, at least, seemed to be with them for the long haul.

She then realized Link had already slipped away and she shook her head. That man certainly could vanish quickly when he wanted to.

Which brought her to Citron, the newest potential addition, who she still knew not much about. It could be a good time to....

"Oi, what's going on now? Is everyone alive? Where is Cat and Licorice anyway?"

For a brief moment Penelope wondered how Ciela was walking, then she wasn't quite sure why this was a question, but she shook it off as she replied. "Well good day, Ciela, I'm glad you're refreshed after your nap." a brief frown crossed her face at the question and she sighed. "Licorice left, I do not know where, perhaps she'll return later. My sister, on the other hand, has gone off to another residence as this place," she gestured around, "is not quite large enough for us all. I believe Link left to join her just now."

Which brought her to the other part of Ciela's questioning. "Well, I can say there's a fair few things going on with this town. Did you want a list or were you asking for something in specific?" she smirked at Ciela. But then put a hand up. "Ah, but, before I forget. Could you look over Edrick for us? He seems to think it's nothing but, well, you know how it is."

Then Penelope pivoted on her heel and pointed at Citron. "And you! The girl who crashed right into our lives. All I really know is your name, but that doesn't tell me who you truly are, what your story is, and how you came to be here, and I'm absolutely dying to know more." She leaned forward and smiled wide, eyes lit up with inquisitive wonder. "So, who ARE you, anyway?"

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Long days were best ended with a recollection of what had happened; that’s the motto that Citron had followed for most of her life. And if today wasn’t a long day, then what was? As soon as they had gotten settled down, she had found herself sitting down, and using the group as a bit of background noise as she produced her journal, her quill, and - thankful it had survived both the crash and the fight with the dragon - her inkwell. “Where to begin…” She mused to herself, flipping to the edge of her journal as she run a finger of the spine of her quill, eyes scanning the pages.


There was a lot to record, after all. Had she only crashed, it still would have been a lot to record, but the combination of the crash, the animals, her new friends, and even the fight with the dragon, which had confined her to the sling which made this sort of multi-tasking so difficult… Well, that was a lot to contend with. She sucked her lips against her teeth as she mused where to start, and where to begin; after all, this could make or break the sanctity of her journal. For example, if she started with everything in chronological order, there was no way she would realistically get the end of the day without running out of ink, prompting her to have to come back later, once she had forgotten all but the larger details. But, if she, say, glossed over all but the largest details, she would be no better off than if she had just waited in the first place. By and large, this entry was going to take a lot of work, and there really only seemed to be one good place to start: describing her new companions.


But even that had its own issues, she realized, as she put the quill to paper, readying herself to write, before drawing it back to the side, careful not to mark the page with any ink. Who should she begin with? If she only described those she felt she knew best, there would be no easy way to introduce the others. But if she did them in the way that felt conventional, the most important to the least, there was the issue of hurting one’s feelings should one of them pick her journal up to read it. And she couldn’t forget the potential issues with putting too much detail on the actual characteristics of those around her, for the same reason; so she would have to be careful even in how she described them, so as to avoid hurting any of their feelings. This left her in an awkward position overall, and yet, once again, there was a clear example of where to start: it was at least notable that she had met those who appeared to be royalty. And so, after tapping her ink to the page, and realizing that she had yet to open her inkwell, she got ready to start it off. “So, I met two princesses today,” that, is how she had planned to start it. It was the line that made the most sense, and so, she must have muttered it under her breath, or at least repeated it mentally dozens of times as she removed the lid to her inkwell, and prepared herself to dip her quill in…


Only for the quill to return dry.


It seems, in her preparation for the actual writing of the journal, even taking into account that her ink wasn’t limitless, she had forgotten that she was out of ink in the first place. All Citron could really do was smile wryly as she slowly, and steadily, replaced the lid to the inkwell, and began packing her journal up, finally tuning back into the conversations around her. From what she could gather, Abdul had to leave for some reason, something about being unwelcome. She was a bit disappointed, being realistic; she hadn’t gotten to hear his entire story yet, so her account of him in the journal entry, whenever it came to be written, was bound to be inaccurate.  Even further, she was sad to see that the only other Isaurian was leaving, though she hadn’t expected to run into many of her people around where she was in the first place.


And yet, despite all of the time between that happening and the question being asked of her, she had still only just finished putting her journal and writing implements together when Penelope had pivoted to point directly at her. “M, Me?” Citron eventually replied, pointing towards herself, before laughing nervously. “Right, I guess I hadn't really had time to introduce myself,” she’d shake her head, cocking her head to the side.


“Well, as I’m sure I said earlier, I’m Citron Sinensis Paradisi. It’s a bit of a strange name, I know,” she laughed again, moving her good arm to the back of her head. “But it’s got a little bit of a meaning. Grew up on a family owned farm and orchard, and we grew a lot of fruit there. Lemons, Grapefruit, and Oranges being chief among them. So, my ma’, being the more learned of my two parents, thought I should be named after different names for what we grew. ‘Least, that’s what Pa’ always told me,” she smiled, eyes drifting as she talked about home. “Other than that, my upbringin’ isn’t really all that interestin’. I learned to read and write under my Ma’s tutelage, and learned about farming from my Pa’, and… That’s all there really is to it,” she’d continue, with a bit of her accent breaking through.


“Oh, though, I guess… Most Orchard-Owners don’t tend to have Wyverns, let alone Wyverns trained to let people ride ‘em, huh?” She grinned, hand dropping down to the back of her neck now. “Peaches, or, Persica - as everyone else calls her - used to be my Grandpa’s Wyvern back when he was part of the Isaurian army. After I was born, Grandpa says that she took a real shine to me, so she acted sorta like a nanny-dog might. But, bein’ a kid, I couldn’t say Persica too well,” she explained, laughing a bit. “So Pa’ had me start callin’ her Peaches, since that's what her name meant, and… Well, here we are. We’re downright inseparable most of the time.” Her eyes seemed to almost light up, talking about the wyvern.


“Now, what else... Oh, you, uh, you also asked how I came to be here, right?” Citron would ask, her expression drifting from its happy-tones as she let her hand move back to a resting position at her side, idly stretching so as to crack her back. “To make a long story short, I had a disagreement with my Pa’, ‘cause I wanted to see the world and he didn’t want me to leave. He said somethin’ about how the only way he’d let me leave was if I did it without him knowin’, and… Well, when push came to shove…” there was an audible pause, as Citron swallowed; had she always seemed so nervous? “Well, I’m clearly not at home, am I?” She punctuated the question with what appeared to be a laugh, before shaking her head. "And... Well, yeah. That's my story, your Highness."

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Truth to be told, the village hadn't looked that big from above. Then again, it might have been the hunger. Or maybe Raki just had a bad sense of direction. He frowned, as he made his way through the farmlands behind Phar. It shouldn't have been that hard, right? Sure, he might not have had much of a chance to accustom himself to the place - or even truly walk around for that matter - but this was just embarrassing. And the idea had been so simple too! Timmy told him to find someone to tell, so he went in search of Amas, thinking it couldn't have been too hard. After sneaking around long enough to find himself back at the start twice, Raki had to conclude that he had lost track of where Amas's house was supposed to be. Then he tried to follow Icleias. Well, he tried to follow a bark that he was quite sure was Icleias. Kind of sure. Mostly because he told himself "If it is Icleias, Then chances are he will lead me to Amas," and if nothing else, following the dog would have meant getting out of the village. Having to worry about anyone noticing him was stressing him out.

He then proceeded to lose track of probably-Icleias.

So back to the quarry it was. "I'm sorry Timmy." - he'd have to ask him to tell him again how to - Raki froze, the barking from before echoing in front of him. After a moment, he began to run through the forest, mentally offering his thanks to the Goddes for leading him back to what he assumed was the dog he was searching. Was that a thing? Raki wasn't sure. Now, if somehow this meant that Icleias ans Amas were both at the quarry, that would have been perfect. Sure, it would have meant that the past few hours of sneaking around had been a complete waste of time, but he didn't feel like sweating the details right now.

“Whooee sure is one big pit I fell inter. But I bet mah good friend Raki can ‘ave me out in two shakes of a wyvern’s tail. ‘E shouldn't be far. I was talkin’ to ‘im shortly afore everythin’ ‘appened an’ all.”

"I'm her... wait." Raki slowed down his run as more voices came to him. Their source soon became clear as he came into view of the quarry, a white stone pit wit with Lassie and Icleias looking down into the hole. No Amas however. Also, four people he didn't know. Four armed people he didn't know, though one of them looked like she belonged to the village militia? Lassie and Icleias were with them, should mean they were fine, right? But his attention was more on who was missing in that scene.

"Hi... Timmy? I'm sorry, I didn't manage to find Amas," he would then try to approach the pit, as he glanced down with a confused frown. "Are you fine? How... How did you end up in there?"

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Having followed the hunting dog, Tsetseg marveled at the big hole in the ground simply letting out an, "ooooooooh, big." The girl nodded to herself. Then, as the boy called out to them and told them about his situation her train of thought briefly hit a screeching halt as she definitely heard something off about Timmy's friend, but quickly went right off of it as Phai mentioned a story about her pet rock. "Oh, oh, I had a pet horse and a pet dog back in my tribe! They were really fun to play with and help take care of, yeah - oh but now I also have a horse here too!" Tsetseg owned no such animals, but they belonged to members of her tribe and she had thus reasoned that they were a part of her family as well. 

As Gunther then started to talk about what to do next, the girl put her hand to her chin and started to think. "Hmmmmmm, well, well, I'm really good at moving and finding stuff so like, I could probably go find Rocky, yeah. Or! Or, we could all go down into the hole together and then like," as if playing leap frog with the air, the girl pushed her hands down and jumped saying, "we all get on each others shoulders and then pull out. Oh, oh maybe instead if we had a big stick then - " the girl's stream of suggestions was cut off, as another boy came over. As Tsetseg looked over to him, she let out a sudden gasp as she jumped and pointed at him. "Ah! Another one!" The girl's declaration was one of confusion and concern, trying to figure out if the group had ended up in some meeting place for Isaurians as she moved back and hid behind the others of the group. 

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Sitting down in his house, Alois couldn't help but feel his levels of discomfort rising by the minute. First, he was back home, at all. Not his first choice of place to take a rest in - really he found the abandoned church that was assailed by a horde of the living dead to be much more cozy than his village. Second, his house was small and was certainly not fit for accommodating the growing mob in here. Third, he couldn't help but feel a looming sense of dread that was only going to get worse once his mother got back in here. "Wonderful," the boy muttered as the princess answered the walking typhoon's questions about where everyone was and what was going on. "We're packed to capacity here already so once you're done you can go and join Cat or something. As for my home town, well, the mayor managed to piss off some kind of super mage but that's all taken care of now."

 As Citron then recounted her life story to them, Alois let out an impressed whistle. "Nice, I like your style Farm Girl. Anyone willing to shove back like that is fine by me. So, your home town full of a bunch of loons and flying stone dragons in secret town council meetings?" 

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Edrick wasn't really feeling his best at the moment. Between the source of his crisis of faith having been less than a day ago and the savaging his body had taken fighting that stone dragon, he was honestly surprised he was staying up and keeping things together. But he was, and for now that was the most of what was going to matter. Even if he was occasionally nodding off for a minute or two while the rest of them were waiting for Mene and the Mayor to come back in and comment on something or other. When he did manage to fall asleep for those few minutes he awoke with a start some few moments later, convinced that he had dreamed something prophetic but unable to really convey anything to the group. How was he supposed to describe what a "Wheatley Crab" was when he barely understood it himself? Maybe he was just going a little crazy with two exceedingly long days following each other so closely.

He barely even registered that Abdul was leaving, seeing him off with a wave of his hand that seemed distracted. And truth be told it was distracted with how he was drifting in and out of consciousness. What snapped him back to the moment was twofold: Link's departure from the house, and Penelope's question about who exactly Citron was.

"Princess, I don't think-" and before he could offer objection their newest companion was offering an explanation. An explanation that just had him missing home all the more, a dour expression crossing his face. At least he could be thankful that the pain of his injuries was a good enough explanation for why he was in such poor spirits in the event that anyone questioned him. Not that he... really expected any of them to believe that in the event that he was questioned. They knew how he was with getting hurt, so he knew, or suspected, that he was going to be asked poignantly why he was in such a bad mood at the moment. And truth be told, he didn't have an easy answer to that question if it did come up.

"I think you've got the monopoly on stone dragons," he said at length once the explanation was done and Alois responded in his characteristic sarcastic fashion. "But, since we're full up and someone should go after him, I think I'll get to following Link," the boy said as he got himself to his feet and then spent a moment scratching at his injuries through the bandage over his chest. And unless anybody happened to stop him, that was his plan. Walk himself right out of the house and head after his mentor to see what was happening with the elder Princess.

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Ciela Celestinia

As Ciela approached the dingy and cramped house, she noticed an Isaurian man hurried leaving. Huh. She wondered who that was. Ah, people sure came and went quite easily these days. Well, she decided to not think too much of him for now, and excused herself to go inside of the house, feeling annoyed at how cramped and isolated it was. It barely even had any windows! She hoped that she didn't have to sleep there, at least.

On 3/18/2022 at 7:59 AM, LordCowCow said:

For a brief moment Penelope wondered how Ciela was walking, then she wasn't quite sure why this was a question, but she shook it off as she replied. "Well good day, Ciela, I'm glad you're refreshed after your nap." a brief frown crossed her face at the question and she sighed. "Licorice left, I do not know where, perhaps she'll return later. My sister, on the other hand, has gone off to another residence as this place," she gestured around, "is not quite large enough for us all. I believe Link left to join her just now."

"One hell of a nap that was." Ciela answered as she looked inside of the room. She saw Edrick there, looking pretty injured, and of course Penelope was there. The wyvern rider from that morning was also there. And of course, there was also Alois, who was about as delighted to see Ciela as she was in seeing him. By that, well, not very, if at all.

"Licorice sure kept leaving to do mysterious business lately, I wonder why..." Ciela mused, though her thought then went to what was next. "...Wait, am I going to have to sleep alongside Link too?"

That was unexpected. Still... something about this felt off. Mainly that Cat didn't tell her anything first about any changes in sleeping arrangements. If this was decided behind her back... well, then Ciela had some stern talking needed to do with Cat once she got to her.

As the wyvern rider began to tell the group about herself, Ciela decided to check on Edrick for a moment. His injuries were significant, but he was quite stable at this point, so Ciela decided that she could get away with just one line of prayer and a cast of her heal to get him into a better shape than before.

On 3/18/2022 at 10:00 AM, Tiamat's Circus said:

“To make a long story short, I had a disagreement with my Pa’, ‘cause I wanted to see the world and he didn’t want me to leave. He said somethin’ about how the only way he’d let me leave was if I did it without him knowin’, and… Well, when push came to shove…”

"Good call there. Would've done the same if I were in your shoes."

However, before Ciela could peacefully leave and try finding Cat on her own, Edrick also decided that he should leave to follow Link. Well, things will surely be crowded, wherever Cat ended up sleeping. Ciela groaned, but she didn't stop Edrick as he left, and instead, she hurriedly followed him.

"You know, Edrick, I do also need to talk about something very important to Cat, so why don't we go together? I'll let you on Remy too, I guess. Maybe we can catch up to Link this way."

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Penelope had to be sure not to laugh at the rather...interesting logic that led to Citron's name. Overall there was nothing overly shocking about the girl's tale. Leaving home against one's parents wishes was not the least common thing which Penelope knew well. Though she did find it interesting to learn that the wyvern the girl rode was once used in the military that long ago. She would keep that knowledge in mind for the future. "My, and to think simply wanting to leave home led you to all this. I wonder what you think of your adventure thus far. I'm sure it's not exactly what you would have expected. Though I guess that depends how outlandish the stories you've heard before leaving were."

She was amused when Alois all but kicked Ciela out with his blunt statement on the capacity of the house. Unfortunately this seemed to lead to Edrick putting it on himself to leave.

"But, since we're full up and someone should go after him, I think I'll get to following Link,"

Did she want someone to go with so she could be sure everything was fine? Sure. Did she want it to be the injured one? Not at all. However Ciela, if hurriedly, had used some healing magic. She couldn't say he was entirely okay by far but it was certainly better than nothing. And it was true that of all of them Edrick, oddly enough, was probably closest to Link.

Though she had to admonish Ciela on her idea. With a smile she said, "do not go too fast, Edrick is still not at his best, if you ride aggressively you'll only aggravate his wounds. It's not like the house is going to go anywhere so there's no need to hurry."

After saying this she realized neither fully knew where said house was. She debated mentioning this but then thought it might be more interesting to stay silent. After all they might stumble on something on the way that would make for a good story.

As she said there was no need to hurry so what would be the harm in letting them find it on their own? So, as they left, she gave them a wave and simply told them, "make sure those two get some rest, okay?"

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Link

"Oh, you're too much! Jes' cuz summat's from Isauria, don't mean nuthin'."

The mayor shook his head, ready to reply with exactly what he thought about Isaurians and outsiders, when he found himself lifted by his collar. The tips of his toes barely brushed the ground as he found himself eye to eye with the blond man from Galtea. Cora had warned him that this Link was strange. He could imitate a Histian accent as well as any native. But it wasn't just that. He was a soldier, the perfected version of their little village militiamen. Still, compared to his companions, he hadn't stood out. Dresogon had been much more concerned with that Isaurian, Abdul.

Now, it occurred to him he had been mistaken. This man was the one to watch.

"You suspect that man of something, don't you? What is it? Espionage? Dark magic? Worse?" The other's voice dropped to a deadly whisper. "You suspect one of your own villagers of being a danger to the crown and you don't even warn us. If that man has hurt so much as a hair on her head–if anyone in our group is harmed by one of your villagers," Link dropped his free hand down to the hilt of his blade. "I'll make sure you answer for it."

When he was suddenly released, Dresogon landed with an oof, almost falling flat on his behind. He barely kept his dignity as he righted himself, huffing and puffing in outrage. "I say, even though you have played a significant part in rescuing our village, it does not give you the right to manhandle me." Yes, the threat was intimidating. Were he a lesser man, he might have soiled his smallclothes. But he was a mayor. "Pylauses is shady, but I doubt he would try anything on—"

However, the other wasn't listening, turning to face Mene. With her, his voice was less of a ghostly whisper, and more the unpolished farmer's boy, all soft thanks and marms. The woman muttered a shocked, "'Twas no problem at all." She hurried over to the mayor in concern as the blond man stormed off.

"Are ye all righ'?" she asked. "My, my, first a princess an' naow this. I dunno…'e seemed so nice too afore, 'elpin' patch the others up an' all." She shook her head. "What sorta company is my Alois keepin'?"

"Better company than himself," the mayor grumbled. "Even that man Link is probably only acting that way out of concern. Still, I do not appreciate such rough treatment." He sighed, straightening his robes. "I suppose we should end our talk here, though. Who knows if anybody else was listening in?"

"Aye," Mene nodded. "I'll 'ead in then. I need t'make sure Alois ain't botherin' that poor Edrick boy none. Really, 'e's lost his horse an' all, 'e could stand t'be a mite kinder." She shook her head.

That "poor boy" is a worshipper of Inera. He opened his mouth…and then the second part of what she said registered in his mind. He snorted. "Kind? Alois? You must be talking about the wrong person."

"Oh, jest quit it! If'n I ain't knowin' better, I'd 'ave thought the both o' ye were five years old, the way ye talk t'each other."

"Fine, fine. I need to hurry back home to make preparations, anyway. I shall see you later." The man waved at her and walked down the road. Mene was a sweet woman, but her sweetness hadn't passed on to her son. He had inherited her stubbornness instead. She should've been harder on him. A soft touch only makes for disobedient, willful children. Much like Erimax.

He shook his head and walked faster, annoyed with himself. Now wasn't the time for reminiscence. Something was bothering him since he had laid eyes on the group. It had taken a backseat to all the madness of this morning. But now, the curse undone, he had the leisure to think it over further. If only he could remember what it was… He could've sworn it was something important.

But what?

It would take some time, but Link would find Pylauses's house easily enough. Unlike most of the other buildings, it was a gaudy half-timbered structure with blindingly white stone walls and a roof of robin's egg blue. Unlike Mene's single glass window, it had several, many of them with bright green mustaches from the profusion of garish flowers set on the sills. He had even put up a sign, painted in purple and gold, that read "Lord Gaston's Manor."

A couple of horses stood outside eating from a trough of hay. One of them, a silver bay with a reddish coat and a white mane and tail, looked up at him curiously. The other, a lighter cream, ignored him.

Were Link to try the bright purple doors at the front, he would find them locked.


OOC

Spoiler

True to what I said on Discord, I did a staggered post. I'll call these, uhh...in-between posts? Interval posts? Not sure yet. But they're not full beginning-of-round posts, anyway.

The conversation between the mayor and Mene is mostly a reaction to Hakima's post and would've taken place while everybody else was inside the house unless they were outside for Link's scene.

The second part with Link is again a Link-only thing. I'm trying to do these mini reaction posts to help keep the RP's timeline on track.

Edited by Sethera

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Alois, Penelope, Edrick, Ciela, and Citron

The wooden door of the house opened, a familiar brunette woman appearing behind it, wiping her hands on her apron as she gave a smile that frayed at the edges. “Sorry fer the wait an’ all. I jest ‘adta talk fer a spell. Now then—” She stopped upon seeing two people run past her. “Eh, now where are they offta, d’ye think?” She shrugged before realizing something. “Wait, ain’t that Edrick there? What’s ‘e doin’ up an’ about?” The woman looked at Alois. “So ‘elp me, if’n ‘e ran out cuz ye teased him too much…I swear.” She shook her head. “Boys. Now come on, we’d best be gettin’ ‘im back’ta bed. That boy’s got no business runnin’ about like that in 'is state.”

Gunther, Sienna, and Tsetseg

“Oh, oh, I had a pet horse and a pet dog back in my tribe! They were really fun to play with and help take care of, yeah - oh but now I also have a horse here too!”

Phai grinned brightly. “Yes, so you understand then! Pets are the best!” she pumped her fist in the air. “I have a pet horse, too, actually. His name’s Frey and he’s super cool and calm and—” she cut herself off as if realizing she was falling into another tangent.

In the calm following her words, Gunther and Tsetseg discussed ideas about how to get the boy out. Phai was going to pitch in too when an unfamiliar boy arrived. Tsetseg’s reaction spurred Phai into stepping forward, eyebrows slanted in concern as she moved her hand down to grip her sword. Her legs trembled. “W-Who are you?” she asked. “I-I don’t recognize you, and Tsetseg doesn’t either, which means…are you…” she gulped, “…a bad guy?”

Conversely, Timmy brightened below when he caught sight of the Isaurian. “‘Ey there Raki! See, I knew he’d be back!” he grinned widely, showing off a gap between his teeth. “An’ it’s ‘kay, once ye git me outta ‘ere, we can aw goo t’gether!” He turned to the group. “Oh, aye! This ‘ere’s me friend, Raki! ‘E’s super cool an’ all, so don’t worry!”

Icleias woofed and ran over to Raki, nosing over the wyvern rider before his tail wagged to signify that this was indeed a “friend.” Lassie joined him, running circles around the boy before stopping to sit on her haunches, tongue lolling as she panted.

Phai took all that in before releasing her grip on her sword. “Ohhh, s-so you’re not a bad guy then. Sorry,” she laughed, voice breathy with relief. “I, uhh, well, can never be too careful, right?”

“Eyo Raki, where’s uhh…Gonnafaceya?” Timmy took a second, seeming to struggle with the last word. “Cuz ah’m thinkin’ this’d be a mite easier if’n she were ‘ere.”


OOC

Spoiler

Okay, second official host post since the start of the RP now! This one was a lot shorter since I didn't have to write for one of the groups. Which is nice. Looks like there's more and more reason to do these "in-between host posts."

Mene does not know that Edrick is healed, which is why she's acting that way.

Phai doesn't seem to know who Raki is, but Timmy does, as well as the two dogs.

React and stuff. If you guys need more information, you can ask for that too. The next posting deadline will be in two weeks, which should hopefully be plenty of time for you all. I also have stuff planned to do in the interim which I'll announce in the chat.

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At the very least, it didn't seem like Timmy had suffered any serious injury, as far as Raki could tell. Still, how did he end up in there? it was a decently large hole, not something one would just accidentally walk into. Though to be honest, Raki was sorely lacking in experience in regards to large, rocky pits near home. Maybe it was just something that happened normally. Had he been pushed? slipped? Found something on the bottom?

Before he could ask any further question, his attention was yanked away.

"Ah! Another one!"

"Wha..." Raki turned his head, following the direction the girl was pointing at, all the way behind himself.

'Another what?'

“W-Who are you? I-I don’t recognize you, and Tsetseg doesn’t either, which means…are you…” "I..." “…a bad guy?” 'Ok, but what do you mean with "another"?'

"Nononono, wait." Raki put his hands forward, as the situation he was in dawned on him. Things were going quite badly with remarkable haste. The man in heavy armor and the girls with the animal pelt had yet to move. But he really didn't want to start a fight. Was this what awaited him had he been found out earlier? Man, this village was scary.

Luckily for him, Timmy came to the rescue immediately after, vouching for him to the group. If that wasn't enough, both Icleias and Lassie joined the chorus. Raki knelt to pet the two for a moment. "It's the second time today that you two get me out of trouble." Was he ever so glad that the barking he had followed had indeed been from the two.

“Ohhh, s-so you’re not a bad guy then. Sorry, I, uhh, well, can never be too careful, right?”

Raki relaxed as well, as the militia girl's hand left her sword. "Well, I'm glad it's all fine now" He stood back up, eyeing the other girl "I... think? Anyway, how did you end up in there Timmy? No, wait. First, how do I get you out of there..."

“Eyo Raki, where’s uhh…Gonnafaceya? Cuz ah’m thinkin’ this’d be a mite easier if’n she were ‘ere.”

"Gonaf... Oh yeah. I suppose she could help... I hope." The Isaurian lifted his gaze, towards the forest. Nothing in sight. "I did tell her to wait in hiding, away from the village. If I know her..." he brought up his hands around his mouth, facing up.

"PHASIA!"

Nothing happened.

Well, they wouldn't have to wait for too long until she arrived there. Probably. In the meantime, he turned towards the group out of the pit. "Anyway, I've been already introduced, but I'm Raki, nice to meet you. Uhh... Timmy has been helping taking care of me for the last tennight here... Oh." He stopped, as he remembered that it was supposed to be still a secret. Sure, they were Timmy's friends from what he understood, but if they weren't in the group of villagers that already knew about him, maybe he wasn't supposed to say that part. "Er, it's alright if they know, Timmy?"

Edited by Arkars

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"Ah! Another one!"

Gunther looked back as Tsetseg moved herself behind him. Her much smaller form dwarfed by his own. Seeing her startled wasn't something he had seen much and it seemed the reason for it was....A young man. Not a particularly large or threatening looking one at that.

He seemed to be Isaurian which might explain her jumpiness. He'd say it was an odd reaction but perhaps he wasn't one to talk. "Though is it really the same?" He didn't take the thought further as to not get lost in his own mind the moment a newcomer appeared.

The young man seemed to be even more startled by them than they had been of him. Gunther saw him floundering to explain himself when the dogs ran off to greet him, and Timmy explained this was the friend he was looking at. "Ah, so he's not a rock." Gunther muttered.

His eyebrow raised in question as Timmy mentioned a third person, one with an unusual name, and the young man called out into the skies for them. Whoever it was was supposed to help somehow but there was no response. Gunther knew the people here had some peculiarities but he still couldn't quite keep up with them.

The young man, Raki, introduced himself soon after though seemed to be concerned he was saying too much. His being here was some sort of secret between him and Timmy it appeared.

Gunther gave a kind smile. "You have no need to worry. From what I've seen here I understand if you felt a need to, ah, keep in hiding from the others." The village didn't seem to be the most welcoming for outsiders, especially those who didn't just save them from a curse, so he was sure it was only a secret due to this. The villagers' biases didn't effect him much and the only other villager here was Phai and she seemed a friendly sort.

Though he had to make something clear before he relaxed too much. "But I do think I would be remiss if I did not ask what you are doing in these parts. There was some recent...troubles here as of late you see. I don't suppose you know anything about that?"

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Everything being said, Citron was a bit nervous to see everyone’s reactions to her story; after all, even from where she was, as a part of it, she felt it was a bit of a childish decision. After all, she had left home on this notion of wanting to see the world, particularly spurred on by the fact that her father had disagreed with her, and little more seemed as childish as that, in hindsight. What she wasn’t expecting was to be met with no backlash at all; something that must have been evident on her face as she moved her hand to cover her mouth, letting out a quiet laugh. “Sorry, but I think your town is the only one like that,” she’d try and fire a joke back, hand moving to rub the back of her neck. “Though, I guess both towns had a lizard of sorts, so that’s one point in common, huh?”

“As for what I think of my adventure so far-- It’s hard to say.” Citron would shrug to the best of her abilities, turning to look towards Penelope. “Most of the stories I had read from my Grandpa, well, they were descriptions of the places he saw. He rarely went into details about what went on there, so I wasn’t ever sure what to expect from 'em. Ma’ had me read some other stories, but nothing outlandish, so, I think this leg of my trip has definitely been the strangest by far.” She’d admit, letting her head tilt off to the side. “But, uh, if the world really is strange enough to have moving statues and the like, might as well go at it as a group, right?” She’d try to rationalize, even as her voice became slightly more concerned. 

As she let that statement hang in the air, Citron didn’t pay much attention to Edrick’s statement that he was going to go see Link, as she didn’t think she would need to. After all, if they were full-up, as Alois had said, they were going to have to move some of their group elsewhere; it made sense, and they both seemed to know what he was talking about. Instead, as Ciela agreed with Edrick’s statement, she would begin to return to the sort of ‘listening’ temperament she had gotten used to at the beginning, before… Stopping, as she fully caught up with what Penelope had said about Edrick.

“...Wait, that's right, isn’t he still wounded?” Citron would blurt out, glancing from Edrick as he moved, towards Ciela, then to Penelope, and then back to the moving Edrick. He seemed to be moving better than he was before, but as Alois’ mother came in, her fears were all but confirmed. “He was hurt pretty bad, wasn’t he?” Citron asked, this time with a sense of urgency as she turned to look towards Penelope, and only Penelope. “He was hurt pretty bad wasn’t he? So why is he moving like that? Should we stop him-- We should stop him, like Miss Mene said, right?” Citron’d ask, preferring to defer this decision to someone who she, at least hoped, had a bit more of an idea of what was going on than she did.

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Tsetseg continued to eye the Isaurian boy cautiously, even despite the dogs seeming to have gone over to him as if to assure the group that he was fine. Tsetseg was not usually one to argue on the authority of something so fluffy, unless they could also turn into humans, but even still her fears hadn't let up. As Rocky and Timmy continued to exchange pleasantries with each other, Tsetseg took a startled step back and let out a yelp as the boy called out, "Phasia." Though it seemed to be something to help Timmy get out of the hole, she had no idea what it actually was that Rocky was doing, Tsetseg was still frightened that it had been some kind of strange dark magic word that the boy had been casting. Looking up to the sky, and then from the side to, then behind her, she determined that nothing had actually happened...yet. 

Still concerned, Tsetseg appeared as if she had some kind of twitch as she kept looking in a different direction then Rocky every few seconds. As Gunther had gone to ask him about his goings on here, the girl swiftly nodded along with it. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Did you do any like weird dark magicy magic stuff? Like making a a biiig flying rocky wyvern - " the girl gasped and cut herself off. Muttering to herself, "rock, Rocky, wyvern," the girl hid behind Gunther again as she continued to stare the Isaurian down. 

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Alois shrugged as Edrick made his comment about the stone dragons, only for him to point at Citron and say, "see, both got lizard stuff in our hometown. They might be more common then you think." As Edrick and Ciela both started to make their way out of the room, Alois's mother had come back in. Frowning a bit as she chastised him, slightly embarrassed by it the boy quickly recovered his usual demeanor saying, "come on, Mom, me? Tease him? I never. I haven't teased Eddy once our whole journey, not a once."

Then doing nothing to assuage their concerns about him, as Citron seemed to have similar concerns about Edrick's state he simply waved the concerns off. "I'm sure he just needs to walk it off, really. There's not a stab wound out there that could keep him down for long. And for all of her many, many..." the boy stopped himself for a moment before finishing, "eccentricities, that girl is one heck of a uh, doctor, we'll say. So even if anything bad happens I'm sure...he'll be fine..." The boy's words trailed off at the end as he could only imagine what kind of trouble they would actually get into. Flashing a smile to Citron and his mother he said, "there's nothing to worry about." 

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Link moved with purpose. He knew the house—it wasn’t hard to pick out such a massive building in such a small village. He resisted the urge to break into a run, avoiding garnering any unwanted attention, but he was panicking. Questions born from scrutiny and hindsight swirled in his head.

Why had he not questioned the fool’s claims to nobility? Histia had done away with nobility years before he had ever been born; they prided themselves on that fact. He most certainly wasn’t any form of recognized official. If that was the case (and Link was certain it was), where had he come into so much money? His clothing and his abode proved that, if nothing else, he certainly had the deep pockets of a noble. A noble from Galtea? The border isn’t all that far from here. Link shook his head to rattle the theory free. He was sure one of the princesses would have known him if that was the case. Maybe a merchant. Made a killing and moved out here to spend his coin to play at being nobility. It sounded far-fetched, even to him, but he was grasping at straws. 

He was rescued from his head by Rohns. The wolf cub ran in front of him and began to snarl again, bearing his little teeth to ward off a perceived predator. “...?” They had arrived at Gaston’s home (if such an eyesore could be called that). The object of Rohns’ aggression was the two horses eating from a trough in front of the building. One, a cream colored mare, paid them no mind. The other, a silver bay with a red coat and a white mane, stopped eating to turn and look at the two.

A wave of memories swept over him, dragging him into the depths of the past. “E-Epona?” he whispered, taking a step forward and extending a shaking hand. The spell was broken when the silver bay stamped a hoof and snorted dismissively at Rohns. Link returned to the present with a gasp, breathing rapidly, his forehead beaded with sweat. Of course. The horse in front of him was a stallion—most likely a destrier—and a hand taller than Epona had been and absolutely layered with muscle, completely unphased by the little wolf cub, who had darted behind Link’s leg when he stamped his hoof. Link bent down to give Rohns a pat on the head, trying to calm himself and the little cub. “Don’t worry. It’s okay, I’m okay,” he crooned. He had heard that dogs could tell when their master was upset, and wondered if that applied to wolves. “Just thought I saw a ghost.”

Link pushed himself to his feet. “Go hide,” he gestured Rohns away. The wolf cub whined softly. Link looked at the vibrant house in front of him. “You can’t come in with me. I’ll come get you as soon as I can, so go hide, okay?” To his amazement the wolf  cub lowered his head and stalked away.

Right. Well, time to get to work. Link scouted the area quickly and quietly. The front door was locked; he rattled it softly and it didn’t budge. Peeking inside the window revealed a parlor room for greeting and entertaining guests, but it was empty and devoid of life. That was strange, considering the circumstances, but the soldier pushed all of his worry down and focused on the job at hand. The door to the side entrance, all of the first story windows, even the cellar door was locked up tight. Either Gaston had run into a problem with thieves (unlikely), or he really didn’t want people digging around his house. I doubt the second floor would be locked down near as tight, Link thought. He was confident he could reach the balcony on the second story—he managed to pull himself on top of the awning the barrels were sheltered under, then scaled the rest of the way to the balcony with careful footholds and the help of a patch of vines that had grown along the corner of the building.

“. . .” The door of the balcony was locked as well. That, in his experience, was uncommon enough to set off alarms in his head. Not many people were so worried about being barged in on that they had locks built onto the second story of a house. Link waited a minute to see if anyone spotted him and to listen for any activity in the house, but nothing came, so he resumed searching for a way in. The next thing he tried were the windows. He could look into the one close to the balcony by standing on the railing and leaning over the edge. Inside the window, at the end of a hallway, Gaston stared back at him.

“...Gyah!” Link swallowed a shout and fumbled for his sword, nearly falling from the railing. Gaston didn’t move—of course he hadn’t, the soldier realized on second look, because what he had seen was actually an incredibly life-like portrait of the man hanging at the end of the hall.

Link steadied his breathing and leaned back over the railing to study the window. Spirits. Stupid nobles. Who keeps a huge painting of themselves like that? He shook his head, but all those thoughts died away when he found what he was looking for. Inside of the window, near the bottom, he could see a very rudimentary lock. All that he needed to do was reach in and turn it so he could open the window and climb inside.

Without hesitation he shoved his fist through the glass and unlatched the lock. Anyone closeby would hear the noise of the glass breaking, but it was muffled, and the window had only broken in one corner of the glass unconnected to the rest.

 “. . . .” Link climbed inside, shut the window, and brushed the glass out of the way with his boot. He could get a clear look at the area now that his feet were on solid ground. So close to his goal, his nerves were building, and it took all his self-control to stay quiet as he began to move down the hallway. Something in the pit of his stomach screamed it was VERY important that he not get caught. He was sure it was his paranoia, his instincts unreliable and hard to trust in recent times, but it was against his nature as a soldier to ignore them. 

Catriona, where are you?
 

Edited by Cheshire Toon

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Edrick had been just about to refuse the healing from Ciela, more than half-convinced in his mind that it would instead lead to him being smote then and there by The Goddess, but the familiar warmth and tingling of healing magic at work. And he did not, in fact, catch fire as a result of it. Well... at least he wasn't in quite so much pain anymore. Which wasn't as much of a blessing as he would like because he now had very little to distract himself from the exhaustion and dizziness. Well either way he'd made a commitment to go after Link,

"You know, Edrick, I do also need to talk about something very important to Cat, so why don't we go together?" And it seemed he wasn't going to be going alone either. "I'll let you ride on Remy too, I guess. Maybe we can catch up to Link this way." Oh poor Remy. Well, at least he didn't need to bring his backpack with him so that could stay at Alois's house while the two of them rode off. It'd probably help a little bit. So he grabbed his lance, as Ciela's interruption had reminded him he'd almost forgotten it, and was just about ready to step unsteadily outside.

"Do not go too fast, Edrick is still not at his best," as much as he was planning on insisting they ride as quickly as possible after Link, Edrick was more than a little glad to hear that Penelope was concerned about him. And thankfully he was looking away from her because those words had him blushing. Which he absolutely did not want either her or Alois to see. Speaking of, after a moment spent just out the door to discreetly shoot the local boy a rude gesture as a final word on the short-lived lizard discussion, it was time to get moving.

"Alright, Ciela, we should probably get moving as quickly as possible so... I dunno let's figure out how we're gonna fit up here." A quick moment spent to let Remy sniff at his hand and get reacquainted with him, and the boy was clambering his way up into the saddle. He wasn't exactly graceful about it, especially considering how he almost fell out in the other direction, but he got his way up there and seemed reasonably comfortable. And considering he was going to be the passenger here, he pulled himself forward on the saddle to make space for Ciela to climb up.

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Yes, of course, Alois's mother would be concerned about Edrick. She didn't, and likely shouldn't, know that Ciela could heal with magic. She had almost forgotten that it wasn't something many folk would be comfortable with. She thought perhaps this woman would be a touch more understanding but she didn't want to risk it.

Penelope didn't imagine Ciela would do well in a situation where the villagers came at her with torch and pitchfork. To be on the safe side she decided she would simply avoid the issue.

However she forgot one of their number would also not be familiar with Ciela's abilities.

“He was hurt pretty bad wasn’t he? So why is he moving like that? Should we stop him-- We should stop him, like Miss Mene said, right?”

Thankfully Alois was quick to respond. And thankfully he, too, seemed to understand the need for discretion. Though he was perhaps more suspicious sounding than she'd like she thought it might be enough.

To be sure Penelope smiled at the two and shook her head. "I know it seems odd but he should be fine. The one he's going with is the one who has treated most our injuries up to now so he's safest with her anyway. Not to mention both my sister and Link have some knowledge on first-aid. Really there's nowhere better for an injured person than with those three." Her smile grew warmer as she looked towards Mene. "Not that I doubt your own ability to treat someone."

She gave a light laugh. Hopefully her demeanor helped to ease their concerns. "In any case, Miss, there's something I really want to know." Deciding the best course was to distract Mene's concerns Penelope figured out quickly what topic might best serve this purpose.

Her eyes flashed with delight as she looked over towards Alois and asked "Just what did Alois do to make the mayor dislike him so? I know he can be quite bold with how he speaks to people so I'm ever so curious what he might have said to start this little feud of theirs."

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Ciela Celestinia

The first thing that Ciela realized when she was riding alongside Edrick was, of all things, his smell. Was this how all villagers smell like? Well... it wasn't as bad as CIela originally expected, but it was still very notable. Ha... the musk of a villager. She really had to get Edrick to take a bath one of these days, even if she had to be the one to bathe him. The bathtub was a gift from him, anyway. Might as well try and get him to also use it.

But ah, she got distracted.

"Well, my dear Edrick, it's simple! I have a plan, after all." Ciela said as the two went around the town atop of Remy. Well, if anything, Edrick did know his way around a horse, so she felt like she could trust him with Remy. Though, not now. Edrick was right that they need to catch up to Link, so she should get on with actually telling him her plan.

"See, Catriona certainly wouldn't settle on a hut much like the one we were in earlier, right?" After all, Ciela would have to sleep alongside Cat, so of course Cat would've most likely chosen the fanciest place in town. "Well, honestly her going off on her own without telling everyone else is very worrying considering that we were supposed to protect her, but more importantly!

My plan is simple. We look around for the fanciest houses around, and start from there. Well, minus the mayor's house that is. I don't think he'd allow any of us there after I raided his cupb- I mean, after our little investigation."
Ciela looked smug as she explained her plan to Edrick. This was the perfect plan. Obviously, she didn't overlook anything, and this would open a clear path towards Cat so she could begin yelling at her as usual.

"So, Ed-boy, what do you think?" 

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"You have no need to worry. From what I've seen here I understand if you felt a need to, ah, keep in hiding from the others."

Perhaps it was just due to the situation or the tone used, but the reassuring voice of the knight felt like a balm to Raki's ears. This person had no more intention of starting a fight than he had.

"But I do think I would be remiss if I did not ask what you are doing in these parts. There was some recent...troubles here as of late you see. I don't suppose you know anything about that?"

"Thank you, that's good to know." He gave a last look at the quarry, checking for confirmation from Timmy of what the man had just said. Speaking of which "I take it you recently arrived here too? But yeah, troubles would be the word. very, very weird troubles." He shuddered, recalling the sensation of four sand-colored limbs dragging his belly on the ground. He really wasn't used to be the one with scales. "It lasted quite a lot, but all I know is that I'm glad it ended. Couldn't do much while transformed into a lizard. Not that anyone else could do much either."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Did you do any like weird dark magicy magic stuff? Like making a a biiig flying rocky wyvern - "

The boy blinked. Then frowned. "Dark magic? No. no, not in a hundred years. How would a rock wyvern fly anyway? It's rock." Of all the things, to be mistaken as a practitioner of that. Raki scratched his head, as the girl appeared to be reaching some stunning realization. Not that he had any idea what said conclusion was.

Irritation left space to confusion as the girl kept her piercing gaze on him, unwavering. Somehow, next to the armored giant, she felt twice as menacing than him and the other two girls combined. Not that he could put his finger on what she was threatening of, but she sure did be threatening.

"I just thought she could help because... wait, how do I explain it." It was in that moment he finally heard a crack in the the distance, wood breaking under the strain of a gargantuan mass in movement. "I... think it will be easier to see than to explain. Also, for what I'm doing around here" he blushed slightly as an approaching figure came into view from the forest. "To be honest, we got lost. Would've been in serious trouble if Timmy and Lassie hadn't found us."

The wyvern finally emerged out of the trees as Raki approached her, dark blue scales that faded into purple as they reached the chest an then the belly. "But they found us, so all is well that which ends well, right? Anyway this is Garinphasia." But other than coming to a stop and a small tilt of the head as he reached her side, she appeared to have other interests at the moment. Raki followed the gaze of his wyvern to its target, first another tilt towards the two dogs, then fixated on the four people she had no knowledge of. Her jaws were ever so slightly opened, with a low growl coming from within. He swiftly moved between the two. "Oh, come on, they're friends! Er... she's a bit wary, but I assure you, she's really cool." he added, turning back towards the group.

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