Darkness of Blood (A Dark RP )

Phoenix_Flyer · Jan 06, 2010 1:28 PM

Lumistar smiled at Busa but said nothing, she was glad that he was finally giving Nithran some sort of chance, though whether the black and gold dragon deserved it was yet to be seen.
She then turned towards the direction of the ruined castle and sniffed the air.

"Where should we start?"

MrXLink · Jan 06, 2010 4:50 PM

"No Idea. I failed to find anything in the formal "east wing", like I call it." He pointed to a large area of the ruins where he had been searching for clues before. "Or..." he stoped for a second. "...or we just have to search where this feeling is the strongest." He felt stupid. Why didn't he think about that earlier? "That is, if you feel what I feel as well. Like something is not allright." he said as he randomly looked at some crumbled walls.

Nightfall · Jan 06, 2010 4:55 PM

"Of course it's not alright, hundreds of people are dead." Busa limped ahead towards the ruins. "Guess we could pass through here." His left knee had been giving him trouble lately.

Aceedwin · Jan 06, 2010 6:28 PM

Dayn flew back at a leisurely pace to his new land, followed by a few more of his men to make his presence known to the new villagers. He had plans for this land. He was looking for ore deposits in such rocky areas. After all, right now he was more or less relying on healthy trading with a kingdom far south. He was losing a lot of his crop for the slightest bit of metal. A self-sufficient country was the hallmark of the healthy country.

Phoenix_Flyer · Jan 06, 2010 11:01 PM

Lumistar just followed Busa without speaking and while still carrying Nithran, she looked about her. It was quite upsetting seeing how much damage had been done and knowing how many lives had been lost.

A Guy · Jan 06, 2010 11:59 PM

Jeren proceeded to get the food rations. It was filled with nuts and other vegetarian food as well as honey. No real surprise - meat spoiled quickly. He ate some, then brought some to the others and stored the rest with their supplies. He then went back to untie Bali from the rock she was tied to when she needed to stay still.

Gravius tried to fly back a bit, though it was hard with a deadweight leg. Serm was just resting on the spot. One day passed. Two days. The effect of the poison had not changed on the first day, and on the second day, Gravius barely had sensation in his leg but couldn't move it. This made him worry. They've decided to come at me with poison, now... this may just be an isolated incident, but what if others come at me with poison? What if the poison is just as quick-acting and lasts just as long? What if I'm not the only victim next time? We'll all be helpless... we need some form of antidote. Unfortunately, the only place this antidote would be, if any, would be outside of the desert...

He contemplated this for a long time. He obviously couldn't go - he would be killed. The four children would be able to go, but they wouldn't know how to act. Besides, how would he survive in his weakened state right now? However, sending just one child out would be a disaster - what if they got into a fight? Besides, with only two children to stay with him, they wouldn't be able to steal food as effectively. He did know where to acquire food, of course, but the illusion of a lack of food was what kept the children loyal to him. While there was food in the world outside of the desert, they grew up with the idea that it was an even more inhospitable place to live due to the inhabitants.

He could do nothing, and leave himself to the mercy of this poison. For all he knew, it could be something new and people were just starting to put it into effect. It would essentially make them defenseless without the antidote - if any existed. What if it didn't? Nobody got around by wondering, however...

"Everybody, come here, I have an important mission for you..."

As everyone came, wondering what this mission was, Gravius thought out a few details. "Okay, as you know, the enemy has used a poison that effectively puts an area of your body to sleep. It seems localized, but is quick-acting. I fear that they may decide to use this poison again. If any cure exists, it will most likely be located outside of the desert. I want you to get this cure."

Jeren, Marka, and Serm all appeared shocked, as if Gravius just grew three legs and an arm.

"WHAT?!" was their unified response.

"It is important that we are not all helpless against this poison should the enemy decide to use it again. The enemy would kill me if they saw me, but they've never seen you while you weren't covered in mud - meaning that you should be unrecognizable to them, and they'll accept you as one of their own."

"How will you survive with that leg of yours?" asked Marka.

This was the only detail Gravius hadn't completely thought out. His leg was coming back, little by little, though, so he decided that he would make use of the time he thought he would be healed for something else important.

"Since I have a little feeling in my leg, I think I'll be able to move it soon. In the meantime, I will teach you how to act among them. There are several important things you must remember... first, about money."

He picked up some of the coins that had been lying around in the stack of supplies they had.

"Wait, you mean that worthless junk that people seem to carry around on them?" Jeren asked. He had an idea of what money was used for, since he had read about it in stories - from what he knew, people gave away perfectly good stuff in exchange for the metal disks, and the cycle was self-sustaining.

"Yes. You won't be able to just attack anyone for their supplies out there - you'll need some money. Give them the money they request, but be sure you're not using too much of it - otherwise, you'll run out and won't be able to get anything else. Next, about acquiring food..."

This was the part that would be the hardest to explain safely. How to give them the knowledge to avoid going hungry, while still keeping them aware of the "lack" of food?

"Now, you see, money can be used to get food out there. However, keep in mind that you still need enough to get any antidote, if it exists." He just hoped that they wouldn't ask where the sellers got the food from...

OOC: I'm wondering whether I should wait before posting my next page of text.

Nightfall · Jan 08, 2010 9:27 PM

Busa looked up at the large hill that was before them. "I was hunting near to there last night and came across a cave. I'm guessing that it leads through the hill to the other side, where the castle... used to stand. I'm guessing that's the best way to go."

He began to walk forwards, but as he lifted his left leg he tripped over a large stone. His knee flared up in a pulsing pain. He grunted and collapsed it. The knee was immobilised. For a short time, anyway. He swore and tried to use his staff to get to his feet, but failed. He swore again, worse this time, and then sat there, looking and feeling pathetic. "I bet you lot can't believe your luck - stuck with an old coot like me." He chuckled half - heartedly.

Rurikredwolf · Jan 08, 2010 9:49 PM

Nithran was as quiet as ever, still knocked out on Lumistar's shoulder.

A Guy · Jan 08, 2010 11:45 PM

Over the next few days, Gravius slowly regained movement in his leg. He taught the children several things. He taught them about proper greetings. He taught them about how and how not to react to certain situations. He warned them about mentioning his name anywhere, lest they all be put in danger. He instructed them to keep their orientation when leaving the desert, as a single turn could ruin a journey. When it was time to go, he gave them the daggers and told them to ask some people in a settlement where to find a medicine store.

Serm picked up one of the daggers and tossed it with a loose grip. It slipped and fell to the ground.

"This is a horrible throwing weapon," he said.

"That's because it's not usually a throwing weapon. You stab with it, like this." Gravius took a dagger - the one that had struck him - and performed some stabbing maneuvers aimed at thin air. "With that out of the way, we don't want these daggers contaminating the rest of your items - in the worst case, the poison might even be triggered on contact. Put them in separate containers."

Jeren brought a wooden container that had enough space to fit both daggers with the blade sticking outwards, safe enough to pick up one without the danger of pricking oneself, but small enough to not cause too much rattling and cause too much lost of the pasty, orange poison. Serm decided to carry this case, and it was strapped on his back with one of the few spare cloths available, tied around his chest.

Jeren offered to carry the group's supplies. Marka offered to carry Bali, who would not be safe without the other three. They had stocked up enough for a week's journey out of the desert and to find whatever settlement they needed to (Gravius hoped this was enough, but waiting too long would be dangerous, he thought). The group said their farewells and they were off.

After the second day, the sand began to thin out. It was eventually replaced with light, dry, cracked ground, then with non-cracked ground, and the ground became darker and darker as they passed until the first vegetation was seen.

"This was the tree line that we were told we'd see..." Jeren said.
"Yes, it is! Hold on, let me see where we are..." said Marka, "just hold Bali for me."
Serm took hold of Bali and began to land with Jeren as Marka darted up higher than Serm and Jeren would usually go, until she was little more than a dot in the sky. After a while, she came back to them.

"I believe that a settlement would be that way," she said, pointing in the direction she was talking about. "We should be able to find some food there, and hopefully the barbarians won't rip us apart."They continued on, Jeren and Marka switching roles.

MrXLink · Jan 09, 2010 9:19 AM

Although Silver was a little worried, he decided the "old man" could get up by himself. After he saw that he couldn't get up anymore, he tried to get him up again. "If you're having trouble with your leg, why don'y you just fly, like me?" Silver said. He had switched between flying and walking quite a lot. He had the ability to fly very slowly, with use of his air magic. It didn't cost much energy and it was more comfortable for him than walking.

"To be honest, I think it's going to be difficult to walk up the hill with your leg..." He smiled friendly and looked at the big hill. "So... where is this cave?"

Aceedwin · Jan 09, 2010 10:10 AM

Dayn was busy on his new lands, dashing around like a child on his birthday. He spoke feverishly to a little subordinate with a clipboard.
'A granary mayhaps? Or we could always build a school here. 'Tis a little out of the way. But not far away enough for a granary, so I'll go for the school.' His assistant scribbled furiously, trying to keep up with his lord.
Dayn peered back at the planned map he had dictated. He tutted gently to himself. He'd left no room for a market. Ah, a little shuffling would sort it out. Who knows, he thought, this is good land for a capital. I grow tired of that citadel anyway, it's too small for a palace. He nodded to himself, and turned his eyes to the ruins of the castle, or temple, or whatever it had been. He'd have it rebuilt! It would be the center of his kingdom. Dayn's eyes glazed over as he idealised.
"My lord," came a barking salute, and Dayn refocused to notice Polka, his first female officer. Oh it was all very well saying you were equal opportunity, but then some young lady mucked it up by making you prove it, "Permission to run a registrar on the new subjects."
"Permission granted, and I think I should accompany you."
Polka nodded, and hurried off to find a ledger and some pens. Dayn turned back, took the clipboard from his assistant, and made a few quick changes. A domestic section over here, and a guardhouse just to the left, giving a little extra security. Now, all he needed was about three times as many subjects. Certainly a problem.

Nightfall · Jan 09, 2010 4:46 PM

Busa smiled gratefully at Silver. His leg was starting to hurt less now. Slowly and supporting himself on his staff, he got to his feet. "This bloody leg..." He grumbled, straightening it out. He smiled again at Silver. "It's just an old injury that plays up now and again. I'll be OK, thank you."

"The cave?" Busa scanned the ground, looking to see if he could recognise his footprints from the night before. "This way, I think." He said, pointing his staff into the undergrowth, and limping off in that direction.

Phoenix_Flyer · Jan 09, 2010 9:30 PM

Lumistar switched Nithran onto her opposite shoulder and followed, she hadn't spoken for a while; not because she was upset, but because she just preferred to travel silence.

Rurikredwolf · Jan 10, 2010 6:31 PM

(Should we timeskip so we can continue? Let's take a vote.)

Nightfall · Jan 10, 2010 7:04 PM

((Well in my next post, I was gonna make Busa enter the cave. Shall I do that?))

Rurikredwolf · Jan 10, 2010 7:35 PM

(Go ahead. I just thought I'd ask so we can get moving)

A Guy · Jan 10, 2010 8:04 PM

OOC: I'm just going to wait a bit until I find a decent opening.

Meanwhile, Gravius was walking to where he knew some camels were. His mouth watered at the very thought of biting into one. He walked along, hoping not to be seen, when he noted a sandstorm coming his way. Since he had his face mask on, he didn't worry about it too much. The biggest threat was losing his orientation.

The sandstorm came in. Sand was buffeting Gravius, but he had grown tolerant to it. He just had to remember to keep his facing and he would be fine once it passed over. He stood, resisting the winds and the sands it brought.

Then, he felt something claw at the back of his head. This injured him, but, more importantly, it cut his face mask off. Before he had time to react, sand was pouring into his eyes and mouth. He felt as if his eyes was being stabbed by several daggers, and his throat had become a desert of its own. He was trying to close his eyes, but nothing would get the sand out. He was coughing, but more sand just came to replace what he could cough out. He soon found himself choking on the sand.

Soon, fear overran his mind. Am I going to die here? What about the children? They'll certainly die without me... I'm not even sure they'll survive getting the antidote... I can't die here! Oh... I had this coming to me... That was the last he thought of before he fell.

A figure dragged him out of the sand.

------------------------------------------------------

Jeren, Marka, Serm, and Bali had arrived to the settlement that Marka had found. The dragons living there didn't even so much as take a second look at them.

"They think we're one of them..." said Marka reassuringly.

"Let's look for that antidote now!" said Jeren.

They didn't walk far when they smelled something pleasant.

"It smells like... meat?" Serm said. "Why would they... oh, yeah, water is plentiful here, so brining isn't a bad way to preserve... although I do wonder where they get the meat from."

They had found the source - a blue dragon breathing flames on his meat.

"Hello there. May we please have some food?" asked Serm.
"Go get your own!"
"We'll pay you-"
"You will, then you will ask me for more, which I don't have time for."
"Please? We're hungry. Where do you get it from?"
"You mean, you don't know how to hunt?"
"No, we don't."
"You've got to be kidding me... oh, well, I can't imagine you starving because you can't hunt, so I'll give you a quick lesson."

They had walked a bit into some woods. The blue dragon was grumbling something about stupid youths not knowing how to hunt. Meanwhile, he was eating the carcass he had exposed to flame. He stopped the group abruptly.

"Now, you see that rabbit over there?" the blue dragon whispered.
"What's a rabbit?" Jeren asked.
The blue dragon closed his eyes and gritted his teeth in frustration. The rabbit had heard him - it ran away and went into some strange-looking hole.
"Sorry, I've never tutored idiots before, so you'll have to forgive me for being just a bit angry. Now, that creature you alerted to our presence with your loud voice was a rabbit. The trick is to strike it down before it can return to its warren - unless you're an earth dragon, in which case, you can most likely force it out, though I have no idea. Now get back..."

They waited a while behind some dense vegetation. When another rabbit had appeared, the blue dragon launched a quick fireball at it. It immediately fell, and there was a small fire around it. The blue dragon stomped it out.

"Now, if you're going to hunt it with fire, you will probably need some water if you're a beginner, but I'm used enough to this to only create enough fire that I can put out by stomping. An earth dragon can force them out of their burrows, but I don't know how they do that... a wind dragon should be fast enough to catch one by flying at it before it can get back, and a lightning dragon would probably be able to hit one with lightning, although there is some fire hazard I believe... an ice dragon can, i don't know, freeze it? You can eat one raw if you so desire, or you can cook it. This was just a rabbit, but there are bigger creatures as well. Well, I'm off, good luck hunting."

The blue dragon went off.

"So this is how they get food..." Jeren said. "At least we won't go hungry, I think..."

Nightfall · Jan 11, 2010 9:41 PM

Busa limped off ahead towards the cave. "Here it is." He pointed his staff at the dark hole in the hill. "You lot go first. I will follow." He stood aside to let the others through.

Phoenix_Flyer · Jan 11, 2010 9:44 PM

Lumistar was the first to walk past him and into the cave. It was murky in there, but it wasn't completely pitch-black.

"Is it just a straight tunnel all the way through?" She asked as she squinted ahead of her, she thought she could see the faint light of the other side of the hill; but she wasn't sure.

Nightfall · Jan 11, 2010 9:50 PM

"I think so. By the looks of it, it comes out near to where the ruins will be. Come along now! We don't have a lot of time!"

Phoenix_Flyer · Jan 11, 2010 10:06 PM

Needing no second bidding Lumistar plunged into the darkness. Once she was out of the light coming from the entrance behind her her hands appeared to be no more than shadows in front of her face and she couldn't see anything else. The fact that she couldn't see her feet full-stop made things even worse, she felt slightly claustrophobic but push one for a hundred metres or so. Luckily the ground seemed to be relatively flat and, although she did graze up against the sides of the cave once or twice and she did stump a talon once, she was otherwise fine.
She let out a little puff of fire, which illuminated the cave around her for a second to let the others know where she was and left a flame-shape scorched onto her retina, she then called back to the others:

"The ground is flat; you don't have to worry about losing your balance or hurting yourself. Come on!"

A Guy · Jan 12, 2010 12:19 AM

Consciousness was slowly coming back to Gravius. He couldn't exactly recall what had happened to him - all he knew was that he fell to a sandstorm. He still felt a sharp pain where he had been cut. He felt a slow, rocking feeling, as if he were floating on waves. Slowly, his eyes began to open.

"So, you're up..."

He couldn't recognize the voice. It wasn't any he was familiar with. Suddenly, he realized - someone had captured him. He tried to move, but his muscles didn't seem to care.

"Don't bother escaping. I've ensured that you won't be able to move, and you won't be able to focus enough to use any powers."

Gravius finally caught a glimpse of the dragon in question: a reddish dragon - he couldn't really tell anything else, as his vision was blurry.

"That was a stroke of good luck for me. I decided to go hunting for you, and just when I was about to give up... there you were, a sandstorm moving in on you. I will not turn you in - indeed, I have something else in store for you..."

Nightfall · Jan 13, 2010 3:37 PM

"Well, thank goodness for that!" Busa exclaimed as he entered the cave last. He was careful of his footing all the same. "I'm guessing, if we hurry, it'll take us about 15 minutes to get through here. The hill is rather large." He sniffed and staggered along behind them.

MrXLink · Jan 13, 2010 5:21 PM

The ground was stable but cold. The cave was dark. Not that Silver cared about it, but he just felt rather weak. He did not know why and how, but he knew the cave had something to do with it. As he followed Lumistar, looking behind from time to time if Busa was still there, he saw the light coming closer slowly. He felt stupid. He could have flied over the hill with ease, but he still decided to follow the other three.

The soft, little rays of light from the beginning and ending of the cave made Silver's gems sparkle. 15 minutes was a pretty long time for him. He always flew happily at night, and still time didn't pass quickly. Like they say, time flies when you're having fun. This did not happen to Silver for some reason. He looked at Busa. "Is this cave familiar to you?" he asked shortly.

Nightfall · Jan 13, 2010 6:34 PM

"Never been in here before." Busa replied. "I just saw it last night. The reason I decided to take this route rather than fly there is because I am worried about any suspicious characters that may be around the ruins. If there are, then it's safer to keep a low profile."

He shifted a stone out of his path with his staff and continued forward. "Tell me Silver, where are you from?"

#101 Jan 06, 2010 1:28 PM

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