Balthazar

Spiderweb city

[u ] Jed[/u]
I got the book back filled with everyone's details, I nodded in recognition, it was more than I expected. I expected a group of blubbering idiots who needed to be spoon fed. Instead I got a group of capable people with a vast range of skills. Then a woman at the back spoke up, "Hi sorry, my name is Morganna. My question is, there are 20 of us, how are we all going to fit in one farm house. I know the farms around here and I know that there is no place big enough for us all to live in comfort.
My second question is, have any of you noticed something? The disease has picked off a certain kind of person. I have not met anyone who is till alive with an IQ of lower than 80. It has left those that are capable alive. And it has struck households of discord..."

She was cut off by an uprising of murmurs. I meerly looked at her. Her name was in the book, an ambulance driver or something. Although she kept quiet, I could see Teri pondering the idea that soething bigger might be at work here, she always did enjoy the supernatural.

"Intresting thought, but we cannt linger on thoughts like those" I pulled out my map from behind the counter and showed everyone the red mark where the farm house was. "The farm is here, as Morganna mentioned: we cannot all stay there for the time being. Mostly because the first thing we need to do on this house is fix it up. It's overgrown the plants and weeds and stuff." I gulped nervously as the group watched my every move. "If we can all meet tomorrow at 10am, or after that then we can get started. And finer details then.
Second this is: food supplies. How much food do we all have combined and how long will it last? Like what was mentioned, we have a lot of livestock that are not being well.. Eaten. That we can make use of" god I should have phrased that better. "And thirdly: weapons. This small pile on the table is not going to cut it. "I went behind the counter and brought out my three guns. One, a hunting rifle; and two shotguns. "I'm not going to hand these out for obvious reasons, but is this really all we have?"
"And thirdly, communication" I brought out a basket and passed it one so everyone could take one of it's contents. "I made these, I took an ordinary cellphone and worked the inside to be like a walki-talkie radio. The radius of signal is 20 km and it is solar powered to charge the battery which will last over night.
Unfortunatly I cannot single out the signal so these will act as communication for the lot of us"

A group near the back, including Morganna did not take radios and they voiced theire reason "our group intend to go to Florence to look for any survivors. We inteded to leave on Saturday. (Let's say today is Wednesday) before this came up, can we go and then come back?"

"Yea sure! Like I said, I intend to build a safe haven. So that's all I have to say. I hope to see you tomorrow. Ponder on it over night and raise all your questions tomorrow after we've. All had som$e time to think on it"

Spiderweb city

I have internet for a bit, so give me an hour or two to get the post up

Red Rose

Hooves clapped against clay tiles in a large open courtyard. In the center stood a bronze statue of a centuar blowing a horn. Out the horn trailed a stream of water, splashing into the pond below. On the walls glinted intricate, metalic spirals; making the house seem like something out a dream. Two blood hounds barked out a kennel to the left. That was strange: two own kennels when one resided in the city. Ada gently lowered Kirin down then roughly dismounted herself. She told Kirin to wait behind Willow as she banged the large iron door handle against the carved minotaur. The door was a deep cherry oak, the purple wood stood out against the red-orange clay tiles of the court.
The door slided open on oiled hinges and a butler with pointy ears peeked out, "yes" she impatiently snapped. "I am here with information on the where abouts of this man's daughter." Ada stated matter of fact.

The butler disappeared and reapperared with a man dressed in a long silk robe. He had deep bags and his eyes were sunken in. "My name is Sven" he held out his arm in the traditional fae greeting of the nobles: arm out with wrist bared and the back of their fist across the heart. The gesture symbolised friendship and trust. "Ada Lovelace, are you the lord of the manor?" She returned the gesture in kind.
"No, I am the lord's brother. He is out searching for his lost family. I hear you posses information"
"Yes. Yes I do" Ada turned to summon forth Kirin and the man's face light up as she came into view.

Two hours later Ada trotted off with the satisfying clink of coins in her pocket. The man gave her a generous 20 crowns for the safe return of his daughter. He also gave her a bronze ring with a brown gem in the symbol of their clan. This would indicate she is a friend of their clan and would open the doors of Kirin's family to her whenever in need. Sven invited her in and sat her down in the parlour as she retold everything that happened since finding Kirin, conviently leaving out the almost-slave selling of her and anything else not related to Kirin.
Before she left Kirin was ordered to curtsey Ada off, she had been bathed and was dressed in a pretty blue dress with white ribbons. Her wings had been repaired and they glittered in a mesmerising way.

She decided to stop by a local pub to gain some news on the civil protests, since it was mid-morning the pub was empty save a few elders trying to drink away their age. The name of the pub was "The Fallen Tree" and Ada was familiar with the owner, as she was reminded upon entering and sitting down for a chat with the bartender over an ale.
His deep voice and crinkled eyes glittered as he beamed "Ada Lovelace, where have you been all this time you bloody gypsy!" She looked at him, over the brim of her mug, white froth clinging to the top of her lip. Making contact with the man's small blue eyes, eyes the colour of gems, something clicked in her mind and she grinned right back at him "Palantine my old friend! Good to see you!"
"My dear how did you escape those pirates! Last I heard you were on the outskirts of Tariq all shackled up and in the hands of Blackbeard"
"Well Palantine, how did you come to own this lovely joint, one thing led to another and my dear friends came in my hour of need"
She wiped the froth from her lips and pushed the man on, his long chestnut beard bristled as he spoke "what have you recently heard though, that's what I want to know"
"Oh I know why you're here. Oh well, every good thing comes at a price.
There was a fae girl gone missing recently. A group of bandits ambushed their wagon, killing everyone but the girl who has not been found"
"Bandits, why on Earth are their bandits, the fae king abolished all poverty years ago.
"Who knows. I've heard there is some anti-elf protests among the fae"
"I heard about the Jabari protests. I'm not surprised, Jabari had always caused trouble"
"That is has" the pair remembered the attempted assisnation of the fae king almost a century ago when the new prince was in the process of becoming king.

"But I don't involve myself in politics, only causes trouble it does. What I have been hearing of is.. Disturbances in the surrounding farms
"Disturbances, how so?
" Oh gruesome sights. Cows butchered and debowled, homes burnt to the ground, a couple was found decapitates with a knife wound from neck to pelvis"
Ada put down her ale, her stomach knotted and she lost her apitite.
"Has a culprit been found?
"No that's the thing, there are no tracks. Only a few gashes in the earth of a huge creature. The neighbors of the most recent farm say they heard roaring late in the night, and the next mourning found 6 sheep stolen.

Ada returned to the inn, deep in thought

Red Rose

I've posted what I can, and it is probably riddled with mistakes. Nevermind, onward my friends! I'll post again later today with the encounter with Kirin's father, a new charcter emerges, and a progression in the plot. So watch that space

Red Rose

Clouds had washed in, turning the blue sky various shades of pink, orange and red as the sun set. Ada was still guilty for the encounter that morning and apologised to Kirin often. Fritz had loosed up and chatted with Fimion who bubbled and chattered where Ada did not.
Thanks to the help from Fimion's steed the party made it to Haneul much faster then Ada expected at their previous pace. Still on the outskirts Ada pulled the horse's into the courtyard of an inn and sent Fimion in to check if there was a room or two for four. There was a room with 3 beds, and they were given one stall in the stables as the wagon would take up the other. Which was ok, as Willow seemed to take a liking to Fimion's mare Meryl and with a little bit of negotioation with the stable boy, they managed to fit the two steeds into one large stall next to the blue wagon.

The inn was named "The coach house" and had an open courtyard paved with cobble stones and white walls with large oak pillars supporting the roofs of the various buildings. Inside the inn smelt like wool, ale, sweat and wood oil. Upon opening the door into the dining room, the party was met by a wall of noise and smoke. The clatter of cutlery on plates, rowdy men shouting to each other, the stamp of feet and scraping of chairs accompanied with the smell of smoke wafting from the many pipes and finding no escape in the bordered up hall, stunned Ada and they retreated into the quietest corner they could find, next to a window which Ada immediatly threw open.

The supper was delicious, a hot plate of mashed potatoes, beef, gravy, carrots and peas left them feeling full (especially Ada) after small meals on the road. As the sun set Duplo appeared next to Ada after fighting her way through a party of men intent on groping her. Ada quietly sent Duplo into Haneul to find Kirin's relatives and any other information that would be relavant to the letter from Eira.
The grouped dined in comfort and trudged to their room, eager to sink into a bed.
The beds as promised were broad with soft downy duvets. There was a smll wahing chamber with a deep tub with cold and hot taps and a basin for shaving and face washing. As well as a jar of poultice for bad breath, Ada smelt mint and jasmine among the smells drifting out the jar. She let the others bathe before herself, watching them from her bed where she sat with a thick novel from the wagon. The inn stocked in nightgowns and Fimion laughed at seeing Ada emerge with a long pink coat and a perplexed expression.

Fritz and Kirin were the first to fall asleep, Kirin curled up next to Fritz on the same broad bed. Ada and Fimion took the double bunk, Ada on the bottom and for a reason. She had a long soak in the tub, scrubbing month's worth of grub off her skin and untangling her long black hair. She slept lightly that night and the moment first light rose, Duplo appeared and shook her awake, telling her about everything that had happened in Jabari, and where she thinks Kirin's father might be. Duplo soon transformed into her toy-self and gently Ada placed her on the bed next to sleeping Fritz and Kirin. She shook Fimion and awake and told him "I'm taking Kirin back to her father, you and Fritz amuse yourselfs, if you can, teach him what you know about magic and practise the pebble spell. But do it away from here. There is a quiet river nearby, go fishing there and take the wagon with you. Fritz knows where the alchemy scrolls are. If I'm not back by sun-down, leave. Go back to the clearing where we met yesterday. Wait for word from me there. "

Ada woke Kirin and told her to get dressed, she was going back to her father. Downstarirs in the stables, Willow and Meryl were resting with their heads together, and Ada could feel Willow's displeasure at being seperated from his new girl-friend. Neverthe less he got extited when Ada brought out the saddle instead of the carriage poles and he began to paw at the ground. She fished out the butterfly brooch she got for Kirin and waited in the courtyard, she appeared hestitant and sleepy and closed the door politely behind her. Ada swpt her up infront of her in the saddle and with arms holding Willow's reins on wither side of the young girl they set off towards Haneul.
Just as they left Ada suddenly thought, does Fimion know how to read? she knew Fritz could read his own strange runes, but could Fimion. She gulped, nervous at suddenly leaving them alone with her wagon. Her now oh-so-dangerous wagon.

Red Rose

Ada let go of Kirin who was trembling violently and ran off towards Fritz and clung to his hand. Guilt welled up and clogged her throat as she removed the silencing spell from Fritz and he sighed in relief.
Fimion had appeared some point in the commotion and made a remark about freeing slaves. Ada was still to greif-struck at what she had done to comment and so just gave Fimion a small smile, at the time she was too angry to think about it. Now she realised she could have scarred a young girl for life. Turning around she noticed Aegar staring into the eyes of one of the girls who had .. A tail? Hypnotised she watched the girl shrink, so did the others. All of them transformed into many different forest critters, and then scampered off, the last to go was a slender deer who elegantly bowed her head before leaving on needle-thin legs. Aegar on the other hand was not in good shape, he was as pale as death, his body sagged and crumpled, and his limbs were thin. For a second - Ada suspected - she got a glimpse of his true age. He lay weakly in a pile and Ada noticed life returned to him where he made contact with the Earth, while a few trees surrounding them died and slumped over. Then he got up and left, bounding back into the forest. Part of her wanted to go after him and stop him but a voice whispered let him go, he did a good thing. More then we could expect from him.

With a grateful nod, Ada bid Aegar goodbye until the next time they meet again. She looted the wagon and crates lying around to restock her own and made mild chatter with Fimion. Fritz and Kirin watched on from the backround and Ada longed for Aegar's joyfulness. With permission from Fimion, she harnessed up his horse and bound her to the wagon next to Williow who playfully nipped the white mare's ear. Happy to have mature company she loaded everyone into the wagon and gave Kirin a small toy as another peace offering.

During the enocounter Aegar had thrown a walking stick in Ada's direction that glowed in his hand then looked old and broken when on the ground or in anyone else's hand. Dismissing it she tossed into the back of the wagon with another pile of junk and set off. If they were lucky, they'd find shelter before sundown and with another steed to lighten the load they set off at a relaxing canter.

Spiderweb city

ah

The Curse

KatherinWinter said
I thought the challenge of making something undesirable desirable would be interesting. I mean everyone wants to be the shapeshifter that turns into a predator like a lion, wolf, eagle. But what about the creatures no one wants to change into? Could a turtle, flamingo, and squirrel have just as interesting adventures as the lion, wolf, and eagle?

I quite like this idea

AngelNoire said
I dunno... I rp to be an escapist, not imagine my life is worse >u<Well and for inspiration, but an entire cast of uncoolness means the entire cast is built up of supporting characters in what could only essentially be a comedy and "oh my life sucks" party. Maybe with some expansion...

A) You should not be comparing your rp's to your real life. Rping and reality are two different things.
B) not necessarily supporting characters, just because they are the undesired, does not mean they are not useful.
C) Who said anyone is going to be going "oh my life sucks" just because you have a toy, and the kid next to you has a slightly newer, slightly shinier new toy does not mean you throw your toy away and contemplate homicide to get the other toy. No, you play with your toy because your mom works overtime to earn the money to get you the toy which is so expensive you won't eat for a week.

Get your shit together man.

Spiderweb city

AngelNoire said
Bump

why are you bumping this?

The Curse

intrigued, expand?