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 Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2014 7:18 pm
"Doctor... who?" Alethea raised an eyebrow. There is no way this, this ... faun, could be a healer.
"Right. Doctor Whooves."
Alethea just stared.
The manner in which this faun projected himself; with such confidence and surety, it was off putting. Are they all like this? "Okay then ..." She looked sideways at Eligor. He was obviously much better at talking to heathens than she was. She just wanted to smack him and steal his .... wait. Faun - they had one of the items they were supposed to get! And there was two of them. Could they be overpowered, she wondered.
"We're squires of the highest order. From the City." She said this to establish their authority here. They were after all the superior class. "My partner is Eligor and I'm Alethea. We're ... having a scavenger hunt." Maybe play it off like they were merely playing a game. It could work to their advantage.
"A game! How fun! K'anpo, do you remember the time we had to play Fetch the Rangtan? Silly beast shattered the disc and it turned into a hunt for all the pieces. Nearly lost a foot, again. Good times." Doctor laughed and elbowed his companion. "Say, maybe we can help?"
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Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 2:04 pm
"Hmmph," K'anpo rolled his eyes, seeming less amused at his companion's reminiscing. "At least for you it was only a foot!"
Leaving the odd faun creatures to their conversation for a moment, Eligor glanced aside to catch Alethea's eye. What was she trying to get at? Keep them off-guard by taking them for mere children playing a game? Admittedly, it might have been the best strategy. Though they were trained in combat and the numbers were evenly matched, these two faun were still large, adult males, with unknown combat abilities. Perhaps their odd act was nothing but that. A ruse to keep others off-guard; to mistake them for fools.
Besides, best to avoid direct confrontation whenever able. If they could get by on peaceful means, then all the better. And picking up on the whole 'scavenger hunt' angle, he realized just what his angelic companion may have been thinking.
Two faun...two tokens.
Perhaps the innocence of a game would be enough to divert suspicion.
As if on cue, K'anpo had seemed to shake off his lingering irritation at a certain memory to focus back on the teens. "So...what sort of scavenger hunt is this? Hopefully not searching for yetis, because I'd have to say you're fresh out of luck up here!"
Adopting a disarming smile, Eligor shook his head in reply. "No, definitely not searching for yetis, fortunately. No, we're actually supposed to search for some kind of...good luck charm, I think it was? A coin or something like that?" he prompted, turning to Alethea as if asking for a reminder.
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Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2014 11:23 pm
"Right. Yes! Our trainers have us off gathering good luck charms. They've given us riddles to solve," Alethea started to explain. She'd sprinkle the truth in with the story, make it a little more believable she thought. Eligor caught on to what she was doing pretty well, so she was confident that they could outwit the primitive heathen creatures. "Eligor worked out one of our riddles to be a coin, but this other one is tricky. It mentions ice and wind, but what could be lucky up in the cold wind of the mountain?"
Her tactic was to take the focus off of the coins, to make it their idea. And to maybe get help looking for another item on their list. The one she dreaded most because hiking in the cold mountains was the last thing she wanted to do. Even if it did mean cuddling at night for warmth - Yes, warmth - with Eligor.
"The line we're stuck on goes like, 'I am a wondrous wight shapen in strife/dear to my lord I protect his life.' I think it might be a shield, but Eligor disagrees."
Doctor rubbed his chin, trying to think what in the world that riddle could possibly mean. While thinking on it, the other item the kids mentioned - a coin - seemed rather familiar. "K'anpo, do you suppose those doohickey things our lovely hosts passed out upon our arrival would help these young adventurers out?" Doctor withdrew his wooden coin, examining the delicate carving. "Just superstition, really..." he glanced to his companion to get a read on his opinion.
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Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2014 12:50 pm
"Hmm? The what? Oh, right!" K'anpo reached into a pouch at his waist, drawing out the wooden token. "These," he acknowledged, looking the charm over. "Hasn't done anything for me, as far as I know. Of course...what if it has, we just don't realize it? Could be chasing off the worst luck, so that we don't even know it was there."
Eligor's eyes lit up at the sight of the two coins, though he kept from looking at Alethea for now. So close... "Oh? Yes, we still weren't sure what we were looking for here in the mountains just yet. A shield just doesn't strike me as quite right for the riddle, but...I'm not sure what we're supposed to find up here that's lucky. Course, it gets much colder, I'd say anything lucky would be whatever lets us move on to somewhere warmer," he attempted to joke lightly. He wanted so badly to reach for the coins...
Back on the current riddle, K'anpo flipped the coin in his fingers in thought. "'Wondrous wight'....certain hope that's not a yeti, young bucks," he laughed, shaking his head. "Nah...don't know many yetis protecting lords...though there's certainly plenty of strife surrounding them. A shield...maybe, but odd thing to go to a mountain for. Not sure I can be much help with that one...though maybe we could help after all with that other one. I mean, if these coins are what you're needing."
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Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2014 3:06 pm
Doctor flipped the coin around his fingers, pondering his friend's comments about what if they were keeping the bad luck away. "K'anpo, I think ... these are just trinkets. We had some pretty good luck before we got them. Remember that Feast on Acora? With the goran roast and those twins. Hmm... those twins. 'Course what happened the next day wasn't exactly lucky. But it was worth it." he laughed, nearly dropping his coin. "It's a local superstition I say. Let's help the kids."It took every ounce of self control Alethea had in her lil pink body to keep from squealing and reaching out to snatch the coins that the furry heathens held in their grubby paws. It's working! Keep calm. "They would be perfect. Coins are lucky, right Eligor? We can even give them back when we're done. You wouldn't even miss 'em!"
When she got the coin in her hand, she couldn't believe how easy that was. And how dumb they were. Stupid savage heathens don't know anything. A light bulb clicked on, "This has been a really rough game. You have been super helpful and maybe .... no, I shouldn't ask more of you fine fellas. It's just that, well, our camp was robbed a few days ago..." She put on her adorable pouty face, looking straight into K'anpo's eyes. She tried so hard to keep the disgust from her face.
She shivered, folding her arms up close and held on to that wooden coin with a deathgrip..
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Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2014 3:12 pm
Snorting slightly, K'anpo shook his head at the memory. "Of course...the twins...heh..." Coughing into his free hand, he seemed to brush the thought aside for later. "Truth enough. Here ya' go, kids, good luck with the game," he said, flipping the coin towards the male teen.
Eligor snatched the coin smoothly out of the air, trying not to let his eagerness show in the action. "Thank you! This should definitely help our chances!" Even if they were heathens, he could at least be polite. And the statement was true enough.
Having thought that might be the end of their encounter, K'anpo was surprised to catch the look from the young lady aiming large, pleading eyes in his direction. "...oh come now, stop that. Sadirika used to look at me like that...could never say 'no' to her either. Darned spoiled dog..." Frowning, he crossed his arms over his chest. "What's this about being robbed?"
Eligor quirked a brow at the heathen's comment, then cast a wary eye towards his companion before taking initiative to answer. "We were camping in the clearing southwest of here. We'd collected a couple of twigs from the clearing there for our uh...game, but that night we made camp, some....something went through our things while we slept and took them, as well as some of our food. A bit strange, if you ask me, but we needed to double back to replace them...but it's such a long way to go on foot, we kept on this way first."
"Hmm...all that for a couple twigs? You kids and your games...though maybe someone else playing thought they'd make some new rules? That's just not cricket." Pausing to flex his wings to test them against the descending cold, K'anpo shrugged at the Doctor. "Shouldn't take me long to get a couple of twigs. I mean, only fair if some of the other kids are going to cheat, right?" He grinned. "Besides, I could use chance to warm up a bit. You kids wait here and try to stay warm. Be back soon." With that, the beige pegasus flapped his wings, rising from the earth and soaring down the mountainside towards the trees down below.
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Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2014 6:44 pm
"Fantastic. Alright then, how about I help you two with that riddle so we can all get off this mountain, hm? Bit chilly up here, and I don't suspect any yetis nearby. Good thing." Doctor watched K'anpo disappear down the mountain, and started heading up the path. "If we're quick can make it back for cocoa and warm scones."
Alethea pulled her fist back at the idea of being compared to a mangy mutt. K'anpo was lucky he flew off when he did. She scoffed and considered that she shouldn't be surprised that the heathens were leches too. She put her fakey smile on, gave a look of pity and blinked oh-so demurely at Doctor. "We're so thankful for the help! And it means so much that you're willing to help out complete strangers
She looked to Eligor, so full of pride and admiration. They made a good pair, the two of them. Manipulating the heathens as they were. She so badly wanted to hook her arm in his as the continued the journey.
As they ascended the path, heading further and further into the snow and cold, Alethea was getting impatient. She couldn't handle this level of cold and she was so upset she didn't think to pack warmer. Feeling ready to collapse, she tried one last tactic.
She fell to her knees and wept. "I can't do this. I'm so cold and weak." She managed a sniffle even, and gave a sideways glance to Eligor. She really hoped he'd not see her as weak. This was a risk she was taking in order to get off this mountain and hopefully get another item from their list.
Doctor rushed to her side, kneeling and rubbing her back to create a little warmth from friction. "Hmm, young man, I can go on ahead and perhaps do some scouting for the item you seek, if you care for the young lady and start a warm fire. Remember to stick together to keep each other warm."
Alethea would have squealed if it wouldn't have been suspicious. Snuggle time maybe while the heathen does the dirty work. Oh yeah. But still, friggen brr.
Doctor shivered and shook some of the loose falling snow from his fur and gave his tail a sharp snap. "Alright then. I'll be right back." And he headed up and out of sight.
"Eligor, The Guardians are protecting us." She was confident, but seriously so cold she moved closer to Eligor for survival, not even considering the social awkwardness.
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Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2014 7:24 pm
The winged one was off to do their backtracking for them, and the other one was sticking around to help them look for yet another item! They lose a hard-gotten item...and possibly gain three in quick succession! There was no other explanation for such luck than a blessing by the Guardians. Perhaps this was repayment for their faith in strife before...
The air was sure turning cold quickly. Were these normal weather patterns down here on the Isle? It seemed so harsh...why would anyone choose to live or visit such a place if they didn't have to, he'd never understand.
Lost in his thoughts about the weather, Eligor was startled when Alethea suddenly fell to her knees in the falling snow. "Alethea!" He rushed forward as the heathen did the same, kneeling on her opposite side, the one with her missing wing. He didn't see any obvious wounds...but she did feel awfully cold. Some protective urge seized him and he flared his wings, wrapping one around her shoulder like a cloak while she leaned into him. The heathen had pulled away by now, saying he'd look ahead if Eli could take care of his companion.
"Thank you." After a moment's hesitation, he offered a parting comment, "Be careful."
He was almost starting to feel bad that these heathens were helping them so much. This was supposed to be their quest...though...if this was a gift from the Guardians, then who was he to question it?
"You're freezing," he muttered, hands rubbing her upper arms briskly for warmth. "We're both going to freeze, sitting in the snow like this. That fire might be a good idea if we're going to be here much longer. The Guardians help those who help themselves," he added, looking around for something to use as fuel to start a fire.
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Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2014 7:57 pm
Once the fire was going nice and steady, Alethea sat beside Eligor, so glad that the heathen stranger suggested this. She was still awfully cold, but she had a warm fire in front of her, and Eligor next to her. If she wasn't at risk for frostbite, this would have been perfect. She wrapped her arms around Eligor, under the pretense of staying warm. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she thought maybe this was THE magical moment.
But that danged heathen with the terrible timing.
"Kids, look what I found!" The fauny came bouncing down towards them, as if appearing out of nowhere. Again. How was he doing that? And why wasn't he covered in snow and shivering?
"So I thought maybe any of these items could fit your riddle. The strangest thing is up there. It's a frozen battlefield. Who'd want to fight in conditions like these? Anyhoo, I thought maybe a lantern or this horn could fit, so I pulled them from my own stash. Oddly enough, when I was exploring that battleground, I did find a shield up there, so I brought it down too in case you were right with your guess. There was also this sword near it, and they do make a lovely complimentary pair so I brought it too. Now, I couldn't be sure, but for good measure I threw this in. It's the most literal type of wight I couldn't think of." Doctor dropped all of the items he brought, but the last thing, was a dirty and dusty jar with something white wriggling around inside. "Don't open it. It took years to capture that thing and you don't want to deal with the constant complaints if you let it out. Wights just nag, nag, nag."
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Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2014 8:18 pm
Oblivious to his companion's train of thought, Eligor was ticking off concerns about what they'd need to do if they were going stay up here much longer in these conditions. He was pretty sure freezing to death would constitute failing their mission. They'd been ill-prepared for cold this extreme. The fire helped, but they couldn't keep that up all night, if they ended up having to stay up here.
Fortunately, by the Guardians' grace, the heathen was soon returning. Why doesn't he look as cold as we are? Or more? Frowning, he took in the sight of all the various things in the stranger's arms. Where on this mountain had he found all those? As the armaments from the battlefield appeared, Eligor's eyes lit up. A sword! And from a frozen battlefield further up the mountain? That had to be it! Not exactly lucky though, if he thought about it. After all...apparently it hadn't protected someone very well...what sort of protective talisman could it be?
Gaze flickering towards Alethea, he muttered, "That's it..." reaching out for the sword. "That has to be it." He'd paid little attention to anything that had been shown after that until he'd gotten a good look at the sword. Ancient...and in a completely different style than those they had back in the City armory. Frowning, he moved away from Alethea for a bit, taking the sword and shield from the stranger. Though he preferred a staff, he certainly had basic training with such weapons and knew how to hold them. At least, the ones in the armory back home. These were slightly different, but he fitted them to either arm and moved away from the others to experiment with the difference in movement. The weapon was light...built for speed rather than power it seemed. Of course, that went with being a one-handed sword rather than two.
Bah, he was never much for swords and shields if he could help it.
Removing the gear, he moved back, now noticing the jar the heretic held. "Wait a minute...what is that? I'm...pretty sure it's not what we're looking for though."
Making a beeline for the glowing fire below, a large shape cut through the snow and hit the ground below, hard enough to send the fresh powder back up in to the air. "Blimey! That was....a bit more trouble than I bargained for!" The shape that emerged from the falling snow seemed to be the pegasus from before...but no longer pale beige in color. Splotches of rainbow...goo, for lack of a better word, speckled his coat and dripped slowly away as it came in contact with the snow. He was fairly covered.
In response to the strange stares, he blinked and started to explain, "You see, interesting story. What had happened was..."
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Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2014 9:42 pm
Alethea's eyes lit up when Eligor reached for the sword. She didn't quite notice it at first. Well, that's not entirely true; she'd seen it, but missed it's significance upon first glance of the items because she was distracted wondering where he'd found such random things and why he wasn't freezing. And he seemed so chipper considering the circumstances.
She watched with admiration as Eligor donned the gear and tried it out. He was just so handsome.
Again these damn heathens and their timing. The flying one nearly took her head off with his sloppy landing. She about complained this time but stopped just as her mouth opened. ".... what on Telrunya....?" He was gross. K'anpo looked to be dripping with rainbow snot. It wasn't the same stuff as Eligor was hit with; that was more like chalk. But ... rainbows? That was suspicious. "Was it that silver tree? Did it ... spit up on you?" She had no idea how else to ask. Though she was pretty sure she wouldn't have to, because these two sure like telling stories.
Doctor hopped backwards just as K'anpo landed, avoiding the puff of snow as if he was somehow resistant to snow all together (he's not). "Hey-eh now. Blimey! What was it this time? Snorg have the sniffles?" He chuckled lightly and moved to help his friend up out of the snow.
Alethea did notice that he had two sticks in his hand. She wasn't sure if they were the same sticks, but they did look to come from the same tree. Her eyes lit up. She could scream she was so excited. Three items all just coming to them like that. THANK THE GUARDIANS! "Oh thank you, thank you! You both are so wonderful to help us out like this. Is there anything we can do to repay your kindness?" Turnin' up the sweet dial.
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Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2014 11:18 pm
Chuckling, K'anpo reached up with his free hand to clasp his friend's arm. Gripping forearms, he pulled himself to his hooves, being sure to clap his friend heartily on the back and share some of his new colors. "I didn't think I brought the cold with me down the mountain, but apparently I did! Poor tree...I think I gave it a cold. Bit of force to it...must have sneezed all over me when I took those." He grinned widely at his now-colorful buddy, quickly ducking away to hand over the prized sticks.
Weird kids and their games and sneezing trees...
"Here you go, kids. And what's this about a reward?" he asked, holding out the twigs to Alethea with a sweeping bow and a grin. "How about a kiss from a pretty lady?" He started to bat his eyelashes at her, but a bit of pink and blue goo dripped from his hair and he instead had to swat it away.
Looking up from inspecting the sword and shield, Eligor silently raised an eyebrow at the heretic's request.
At the ensuing awkward silence, K'anpo coughed and added, "Err...a hug maybe? Or uh...how about a song instead?"
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Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2014 3:03 pm
Oh Guardians. A kiss? Her lips touching a heretic before Eligor? She nearly gagged right there. He was a heretic - evil, tainted thing. And now dripping with rainbow snot. She couldn't get away fast enough after this request. Even if they went out of their way to help the teens. She had to draw the line at some point.
"I ... uh-" interrupted, thank the Guardians.
A hug? Even worse! No way. But a song? "I uhh... can't sing," she murmured humbly. But a song is better than touching him. For the Guardians and for this relic hunt she could at least sing. She cleared her throat a bit with a light cough and peeked at Eligor. This was going to be so embarrassing.
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Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2014 3:39 pm
'...through darkness still, the Light shines bright / to guide the faithful day and night...'
It wasn't Alethea's voice that broke the awkward silence, but a soft, clear tenor, slowly growing in volume as the song continued. A hymn from the City, something that was well known to the Squires and many other City residents, yet would have probably been unheard of by these Isle heretics. Sword and shield now resting at either side, Eligor stood with eyes closed and sang the first two verses of the song from memory.
'...and though the day may fade away / know that the Light will always stay.'
His head bowed briefly at the end of the song before he looked up and took in the mild disappointment on the winged heretic's expression. Lifting an eyebrow, Eligor cleared his throat and spoke, "My apologies. I thought perhaps a song from our home would do."
Though he had been momentarily disappointed when the young lady hadn't been willing to burst into song in happiness for their help, K'anpo chuckled and waved a hand. "No no, that's perfectly alright. In fact, boy's got quite a set of pipes, doesn't he, Doc?"
Eligor allowed himself a humble smile, bowing his head. "Thank you, kind sirs. For your help and your compliments. Now, perhaps we could descend from this frigid place?"
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Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2014 4:18 pm
Alethea's eyes sparkled as she gazed upon the most magnificent pae to ever walk the island - except maybe the Guardians of course. Eligor. He not only had the voice of divinity but he saved her from a fate worst than ... death (gross kissing a heretic). She clapped excitedly when he took his bow then wiped a tear. "Beautiful!" She was beaming with pride.
She turned to the pair of beige furry-hooved heretics and gave a lil nod of her head. "Thank you for your help. You've truly saved us. We were behind and all and afraid to go back empty handed-" she stopped herself from over explaining that because of her lack of a working pair of wings, this lil excursion had taken them far longer to complete than their comrades. "We truly appreciate it. Guardian's bless you!"
Her relief was cut short after she went to pick up the rest of their treasures and there was only one sword. They had known it was swords they had to retrieve the mountain. But surely the shield that went along with the sword would work right? It provided protection. She didn't even give it a second thought and handed the sword to Eligor and then attached the shield to her pack. "Back to warmer climates!" she chimed.
Doctor was impressed by the young man's vocal prowess and clapped along with the young lady. "Marvelous. Have you considered taking that up professionally?"
When Eligor suggested they finally descend, Doctor did not hesitate. "Of course, it is getting a bit nippy out. K'anpo, we need to try another mountain if we're to find those yetis." And he started to head towards a tree before stopping to face the young teens once more. "May the Earth be with you, my friends."
And with that, he seemed to disappear behind that tree just like he'd done earlier in the snow. Weird.
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