---

---

Ahead. Sand, and trees. Fog hanging over, too thick to see past. Hiding all things inland.

Theresa gazed upon all of it for a moment. She turned her head behind her, but there was no trace of the galleon she had departed from. Nothing to row back to. She'd made her decision, and now she was here.

The Continent.

She gathered her belongings - her sword, shield, crossbow, cloak, and other bits and baubles within her satchel. As her little boat approached the shore, she stood up. The wood touched the sand, and she departed. Walking away for a moment, she turned back to the rowboat, wondering what to do with it.

Oh, what was the thought worth? She was warned plenty that this may be a one-way trip. And she wasn't about to leave so soon after she arrived.

She left the rowboat, and peered down both stretches of the coast. More sand, more trees, and more fog.

So she turned and headed inland, into the jungle before her.

---

---

A dingy coffin came ashore, alone. It rested against the sand as the waves beat against it bit by bit.

Suddenly, it swung open, and then a skeleton popped out.

"EEEEEHHHHHHH!" Gerald called out, somehow, despite lacking vocal cords of any sort. His voice was loud, raspy, and unhealthily cockney in nature. He scanned his immediate area, and then proceeded to emerge from his sea-drenched coffin. He stretched for a bit, forgetting the fact that he had no muscles. He'd been in that coffin for a while, it just cane naturally to him.

"OI, CANNY!" He called out, "WOT DECIDUOUS MASS-A-LAND DISTEHBS ME SLUMBAH."

No one answered. He was hoping someone would, even though he knew full well he was alone.

"AHHH..." He muttered, still a little loud, before he perked up again. "NEED TO LOCATE, EHHH... AN ESTABLISHMENT, WHICH SERVES BEVERAGES... OF THE ALCOHOLIC VARIETY. YEH."

And off he wandered into the jungle ahead, on a quest for booze.

He'd realize fairly soon that he lacks the necessary organic contraptions to consume anything.

Hopefully.

The sound of a door creaking open echoed throughout the mostly empty dungeon. Saaria sat cross legged inside a cube shaped cell. The door creaked open, and an old lizard named Berlos lumbered in. The man had been visiting Saaria for just under a year. He was a sick old creature, and he wanted primal things from Saaria every time he came. But after that, he would always teach her a lesson. Saaria hadn't known how to speak coherently before she met him, as she hadn't had much interaction with other people since she was imprisioned all those years ago. The poor old thing had chosen the wrong girl to bed, though. Saaria had not a clue how he had gotten access to her cell, but she knew what she was about to do. As soon as the door swung open, she flew across the room, quicker than a bolt. Berlos looked surprised, almost happy. He must've thought Saaria was rushing to greet him. He couldn't be more wrong. She slashed his throat quickly with her nail, which she had been sharpening tirelessly for months. Before the door could close itself, she darted past, and it closed behind her. Had she really just made it to freedom? She began to walk down the tunnel. It was completely devoid of light, but her Elven eyes picked up the exit, far ahead. She fumbled for the door, and took her first step in over 10 years into her city of birth. She warily stepped around the corner, where she was quickly spotted by a guard. Wide eyed, the Elven man screamed like a child and ran to ring some alarm. Saaria stretched out her wings fully, and took flight. She almost crashed into screaming citizens multiple times, as she was not used to flying, but eventually she reached the border of the city. Just as she rocketed into the foggy woods, she saw a girl emerge from the castle. The girl was different from everyone else, and Saaria gasped as she made the shocking revaluation that her parents had had another child. She then tumbled into the fog, crash landing into a tree. And a creature born on the continent took her first step outside of the city.

---

When Benedict washed up on his stupid dingy, he was salty.

Literally and figuratively.

Literally in that he was covered with seawater, and figuratively in that he was pissed. He had come this far only to get stuck on go knows fucking where with nothing but his gun and an animal skin backpack.

There were streaks of sand that had been turned into glass across the sea shore, along with tracks and stomp marks left behind by his frantically moving feet. He needed to let off some steam and at the time, destroying shit seemed to be the most viable option of doing so.

He was also cold. Cold and salty. Salty because of the things already mentioned. Cold because sea water was cold.

And so here he was, collecting shitty kindling and logs wherever he could. He was born and raised in the wilds. It was no stranger to him. But this land was. He didn't know what type of wood burned best or if there were certain properties to certain types of plants that meant you shouldn't burn them. Like poisonous gas or... getting you stoned. That had happened more than a few times, where he came from.

When Benedict finally arranged a few stones around a makeshift fire pit there under a stupid little rocky outcrop in the middle of the woods to keep the fire from spreading he found that none of the wood he had burnt so far had killed him or gotten him fucked up. That was a plus.

As the fire grew to a mature flame, Benedict took a deep breath and tried to focus on calming himself over getting even more worked up about this whole mess. He sat down in front of the fire in a kneeling position and began to meditate. To warm his body and to steady his mind. He would no doubt have to deal with the mess he had gotten himself into. But he would do that later. For now... one step at a time.

Coastal Vigils

---

A tall, gangling, humanoid figure. Pale blue skin, stained rags, and what appeared to be some form of seashell enveloping its head. It stood atop a rocky outcropping overlooking the shores of the Continent. With no eyes, it appeared to be diverting its attention towards the redheaded woman who had just arrived.

And further away, another watched the saurian. And even further from him, one watched the robed skeleton.

The figure raised its spindly hand up to the base of its shell-head, plugging two fingers within a crack where its mouth should be. He reared back, and out bellowed the sound of a horn.

Two more horns followed, one for each newcomer. The figure lowered its hand, turned, and descended from the overlook.

---

---

Along the walk into the jungle, the sounds of the horns rang upon Theresa's ears. She stopped her pace, darting her head around, searching for the sources of the bellows. A moment passed, and she found nothing. So she kept her hand on the hilt of her sword and continued onward.

Until she came upon a fire, and the large saurian that had built it.

Now, Theresa had met her fair share of nonhuman beings in places outside the Continent. But she was no stranger to the fact that many of them could very well turn out to be hostile. She'd never formally met a saurian, however. Or anything else lizard-like. Still, quickly scanning the scene, he seemed... occupied. Still, even.

Theresa, guard still well and up, crept closer. If he wasn't hostile, maybe he could point her in the direction of someplace noteworthy.

A town to start would be nice.

Anne had set out early in the morning to play her flute for those who listen, which were few and far between. She could earn several coppers in an average day and it might have gotten at least an apple for the day. But it would fail to stave away the hunger which had been gnawing at her stomach for weeks. At one point, Anne weighed a nice hundred pounds for her five feet and two inches height but she had weighed about eight pounds for nearly a year. She just wished she was anywhere but Rockvale but no company of merchants were willing to take along a girl who couldn’t even support her own weight.

It was nearing dusk when she would meet the young man by the name of Vent. He would truly be hero who rescued a damsel in distress

---

Vent had been at sea for several weeks and had been heading for an entirely different city when he landed in Rockvale. A storm had swept his ship off course by nearly three hundred knots and sent them towards Rockvale. If Vent was a different man, he would have went to his original destination but had determined it Fate that he had ended up near Rockvale. His ship anchored away from the city and the crew took a rowboat to the shore due to the large rocks which surrounded the port city. Vent had managed to get on the first boat to the city and paid them ten silver for transporting him.

It was the luck of a young bard that he had arrived when he did. Night was quickly approaching and the bard had been on her way back to the small bed she had set up in an alleyway when a couple of drunkards had grabbed her. ”Look wha’ we caught Jeremay! Ain’t she just a beauty.” replied one of the drunkards. Their intents were obvious by the wandering and unwelcome hands. But they had chosen the wrong place to assault the young woman as Vent wandered into the road where they stood. He could easily tell that the men were unwelcomed by the woman and he reacted as quickly as any other person would have walked away.

”Hey, let go of the girl or you’ll lose hand!” Vent said as he held his sword out in front of him as he was trained to do. Though his inexperience in battle was obvious, the six foot tall man was intimidating to look at. The two drunkards pulled out their own daggers and threw the bard to the side, hitting her head against a loose brick and knocking her unconscious. They were ready for a fight and would have won it had it not been for the drinks they had taken beforehand. Vent didn’t actually cut either of their hands off, but he did remove a finger from one and may have cut a ear off the other by accident.

”Hey, are you alright girl? Come on now, it’s alright. Just sit up slowly now.” Vent said as he pulled the waking girl up. It took the woman a while before she could clearly see the face of hero in front of her. He was cut across his left cheek and his nose had been broken but she didn’t quite respond the way Vent thought she would. Anne quickly kicked him in the balls and ran down the alley, only to realize that it was a dead end. Vent lay on one side in the most pain he had ever felt in his entire life as Anne sat at the other end of the alley. That is, until Anne noticed the two drunkards lying behind Vent with worse wounds than his own. She quickly rushed to the injured hero and sat beside him.

”Oh, I’m so sorry there mate. I didn’t think you were the one who helped me.” Anne said to Vent. All Vent could do was sit there in pain.

---

Ben's eyes snapped open at the sound of a billowing horn. He wasn't a stranger to the sound, but it put him on edge. In his tribe, the guards used it to signify a battle. An act of war.

His eyes turned very quickly to the side to face his company. A woman. Human by the looks of it. Average height. Athletic build. She had a sword. Nothing he hadn't seen before. But she had... Strikingly red hair. The only ones he had seen were powdered wigs worn by the wealthy and nobles in the few glimpses he'd had of them when he wasn't shoveling horse shit.

He breathed inward, fire building in his throat and lighting up the cracks under the larger scales on his neck. But he did not release it. Not yet.

He knew how to speak basic human speech. At least the dialect he had heard spoken by his previous owners. He knew there were many more languages spoken by humans, but if he didnt try and that horn was blown by a warlord due to his presence and this girl was one of that warlord's warriors... Well, he could end up dead.

"That horn yours?" He said in his booming, deep voice. He was surprised by the perfect syntax of his words. He couldn't speak that well.

"I dont mean to intrude on your land, if it's yours."

There is was again. That art of grammar. It flowed off his tongue like his native language.

Strange.

Theresa ot an Bol'hjar

---

The saurian knew her language. Fortunate surprise.

"Land's not mine. Horns neither." Theresa replied, keeping her grip on her sheathed sword as she peered at the faint red glow emanating from the saurian's neck. A fire breather. Definitely someone to keep up her guard around. She continued, "I sailed here. I'm looking for a town or, something of the sort, to get some information on the Continent."

Her eyes met his, and she did her best to ignore his glowing neck. "You know any you can point me to?" She asked.

Saaria stumbled through the woods for what felt like hours. Nothing made sense, she would think she was almost out of the woods, and then she would end up walking in a full circle. She used the fire in her belly to keep herself warm, something she had had to do before in the cold of the cell. All she was wearing was a thin black robe that she had been wearing for days, and was filthy from all the crashing she had done in her attempts at flight. Just as she was about to freak out and start a forest fire, she heard something with her elven ears. Horns. She remembered hearing them when she left the city, but these ones were different. She stretched out her wings and tried flying again, heading in the direction of the sound, making sure to fly over the trees, and not turn at all, lest she get lost again. She saw a beach in the distance (although she didn't know what a beach was.), and a sudden breeze from the sea sent her flying into the air, way up high. Seeing the ocean, she let out a massive gasp of fire into the air. She had never seen a body of water before, and it was breathtaking. She nearly crash landed again, skidding across the beach. She stared out at the water, awestruck and completely unaware of her surroundings.

---

Gerald had stumbled in and out of the jungle repeatedly. The horns of the Coastal Vigils rang upon him, and he did naught but reply with, "AHHHHH!"

He kept on his pace, not entirely sure where he was going, until he came upon quite a sight along the coast. Ahead stood a winged, horned, feminine being, with striking red hair and robes of black.

"AH, A JUNGLE BEAST." Gerald said to himself disregarding any hint of potential danger and making his approach.

As he neared the winged woman, he called out, "OI, FEMININE JUNGLE BEAST OF PECULIAH ORIGIN, MIGHT YEH POINT ME IN THE DOIRECTION OF, EHHHHH... THE NEAREST CONGREGATION OF ALCOHOL ENTHUSIASTS SUCH AS MESELF?"

His words were accompanied by drunken hand gestures that almost seemed to come naturally.

@luclovers

Saaria turned as she heard the aggravated yelling, and saw the skeletal figure. She was not alarmed by this, as she had no way of knowing that skeletons were rather uncommon. She stared at him blankly for a few moments, trying to formulate an answer.
"Alcohol?" She slurred in a heavy Kirkosi accent. She had never heard of it. What else could she say?
"How are you today?" She attempted, reciting one of the few English phrases that Berlos had taught her. She felt a strange feeling come over her, as if something was trying to come into her mind.
@SepticGentleman

---

Gerald wasn't even remotely surprised the winged woman knew his language.

"AH, PLEASANTRIES!" He replied, "OI'M DOIN' VERY WELL TODAY, FAIR JUNGLE BEAST. JUST ERECTED FROM A NAP WHAT LASTED FER, EHHHHH... A DURATION OF TOIME WHICH OI AM HAHD-PRESSED TA RECALL AT THE MOMENT. BUT NONETHELESS, OI SEEK TEH STAHT ME DAY OFF WITH A ROUND A DRINKS AT ANY SEHVICEABLE FACILITY WHAT SELLS 'EM."

He extended his hands outward and continued, "THUSLY I SHALL REPEAT MOISELF, WOULD YEH DIRECT ME TEH THE NEAREST, EHHH... POPULATED SETTLEMENT, SO OI MAY BEGIN ME FESTIVITIES?"

@luclovers

Saaria looked blankly at the skeleton.
"I am good today. How are you?" She stated, beginning to sweat as she wondered if what she was saying made any sense. The old lizard had taught her some words, but she had apparently been overly confident with how much she actually knew. She fiddled with the sleeve of her robe uncomfortably, and began to avoid the gaze of the skeleton (If it had a gaze at all, without any eyes).

@SepticGentleman

---

"EHHH..." Gerald replied to the winged woman, "MOI INQUIRIES APPEAH TEH BE SAILING OVAH YA HEAD WOT. THAT MUST MEAN..."

Gerald raised his finger to his chin, pondering. He then announced, "AH! YEH JUST RELOCATED YEHSELF FROM SAID MERRYMAKIN', EH? AHHH, HUGGANAH, JUNGLE BEAST! INEBRIATION PLAGUES YEH SENSE A GUIDANCE SUMTHIN' UNSATISFACTORY."

Gerald began to march past the winged woman. "ROIGHT DEN." He said, "DRUNKAHD TEH DRUNKAHD, OI SHALL LEAVE YEH TO A GRADUAL RECOVERY FROM YEH PLUNDERIN' A BEVERAGES. FRET NOT FEH ME, FOR OI SHALL FOIND A PUB ON ME LONESOME JUST FOINE INDEED."

He began walking along the coast once more, calling out behind him, "SAFE TRAVELS, JUNGLE BEAST!"

@luclovers

---

Ben visibility relaxed when she stated that the horns were not belonging to her, and the red under his scales petered out as the fire in his throat died. He looked to her sword, then back to her.

"I wont hurt you." he stated. He understood she might not trust him. That was okay. He wouldn't trust him either if he were in her position. He lifted his hands, palms facing her, to show that he did not have any weaponry besides tooth and claw. He listened to her speak. She had sailed here with purpose. To explore and gain information. He had heard of people who did similar things in his time as a slave, but he never met one in person. At least not until now.

"Not from here," Ben replied, prodding a few of the logs with a stick. "Washed ashore myself just recently."

She was looking for settlements. So this place was settled some? There was some civilization? Or at least tribes that might be willing to help them? Ben liked the sound of that. He had the strength and size to do the work of ten men himself, and he could find a job out of that. Maybe save some to build a shit and start his way home. Get some food in his belly and mead down his throat. That sounded all too nice at this moment.

It seemed their interests were aligned at the moment.

"We could find one together," Ben said, shifting his weight to his side and pushing himself up. She was small. Much smaller than he was. His leg was thicker than her torso easily. "Safety in numbers."

He looked to her and shifting uncomfortably, unaware of human customs in term of introduction. He looked to the fire and swept it out with his massive tail.

"My name is Quidelcuetzpalli. Means fire lizard where I come from." Ben stated. "Man who bought me... Named me Ben. Easier to say. Not sure of the meaning."

---

"Ben. Alright." Theresa replied, "I'm Theresa vi-..." She stopped herself mid-name. "Ot an Bol'hjar."

She eased her hand away from her sword as Ben made all his gestures, putting out the fires both on the ground and in his throat. She'd never traveled with something quite so large or dangerous before. Hadn't had many opportunities to. But something about this saurian led her to believe his company would be a boon. Hell, no one could go wrong with something even remotely like Ben at their side.

So, she accepted.

"Can't think of a reason to say no, so... let's head out then?"

...

A short walk away from the campfire, Ben and Theresa were traveling beside each other. Theresa's guard was still somewhat raised, just in case. But her disposition towards Ben was already off to a fair rise.

Small talk was in order.

"So..." Theresa asked, "Neither of us are native. You mind telling me more about yourself? Where you came from?"

The word "bought" was creeping in the back of her head. Maybe this wasn't a good time for questions.

Saaria stared as the skeleton walked away. She followed behind, her blank, childlike eyes staring right at the creature, his dismissal not registering in Saaria's mind. She was intrigued about what normal creatures did in the real world. So she followed silently, and watched, a creepy look on her face.

@SepticGentleman

---

A short distance passing, Gerald turned his head back towards the winged woman. She was following him now. Staring right at him.

"NAH, NAH, JUNGLE BEAST." Gerald called out, "I BE HEADIN' FER A LOCATION IN WHICH YEH ACQUIRED YEH CURRENT STATE A CONFUSION. ACCOMPANYING ME WOULD BE A DECISION MOST UNWOISE."

He gestured in a "shooing" fashion and said, "GO ON JUNGLE BEAST, OL' GERALD PITHERS CAN 'ANDLE 'IMSELF."

And he began to back away, watching the winged woman intently.

@luclovers

Cia the Cupcake Princess

Cia had just left the castle on her journey. She couldn't wait to see what was out there just waiting for her to explore. Soon enough she came upon two rather strange looking creatures. She floated down behind them following for a bit. The smell of sweets filling the air, it wasn't too strong but if one were looking for the smell of sweets they would find it.

Cia floated up behind the lady with the large wings. "I've never seen someone like you before. What are you? A gargoyle? Or are you an elf." Cia then floated in front of the woman. Her voice could be heard by the skeleton as well as she floated between the two. To everyone else, she was an average fairy. "Oh I got it! Your a mix of the two!" Cia said taking another guess as to what the girl was. Cia did love her guessing games.

@Luclovers
[@Septicgentlman]

Saaria stared at Gerald, then looked at the fairy, then looked back at Gerald. She had no idea what was going on, but if this way how to world worked, she was quite pleased indeed. She smiled a wide grin and grabbed the fairy quickly, jumping up into the air. "GERALD PEETHERS CAN 'ANDLE EEMSELF!" She yelled joyously, spinning around and examining the fairy. It smelled funny, nothing like the sterile smell of the cell.
@SepticGentleman
@Cuccoruler