Luminosity

Cinder Sickness - A DnD style classic RP

"Yes, Drazig," Fiona said patiently, reasonably certain she said the correct name. "But searching right now is getting too dangerous. We can't afford to split up, with people disappearing like this. Derrix and Tobias are right; we should regroup at the cave and decide our next move." Really, Fiona just wanted to sleep. They'd been up early and ridden for a long time, passed through a storm, and now had to deal with these disappearances into the night. It wasn't the same kind of exhaustion as having survived multiple fights in a day, but she was extremely weary, all the same.

Zoe didn't really look like it, as they made their way back towards the cave together. She hummed to herself when the conversation lulled into silence, and her eyelids showed no signs of drooping. Fiona called out a few times into the woods on their way back, telling anyone still out looking to return with her to the cave. When they arrived, she immediately noticed the tension between Shela and the recently awoken Vaeri, who had missed everything that had happened, and everyone had been too busy to wake her.

"Easy, Vaeri. She's... well, not an enemy." Fiona had been about to call her a friend, but then realized that the word didn't apply in any sense yet, other than she wasn't actively hostile. "Sana's beacon attracted a few newcomers. That's Shela, this is Zoe, the swordsman there is Kazuo, and... well, there's also a corpse and an ogre. The corpse is Oscar and the ogre is Drazig and Dorat, I believe. We've had some trouble. Some people have gone missing, magically disappearing somehow."

"I like Shela's idea," Zoe chimed in, walking into the cave and taking a look around. With a flick of her hand the orb of light faded away, leaving only the fire that still burned to light the space around them. "We should go, and stick together. Maybe we'll find the poofed people on the road somewhere. Maybe we won't. Hope you don't mind me saying, but... nobody seems too broken up about this." Worried about further disappearances, sure, but there was no one frantically searching for a loved one here. As Zoe saw it, there was no reason not to move on.

"So come on, let's get packed up," she said, though she herself had no packing to do. Striding into the cave, she set her spear against a wall, and climbed quickly up to where Sana had hung the wet clothes, grabbing articles and tossing them down to the floor. "Chop, chop, no time to lose, right?"

Fiona sighed, coming down from her horse. It seemed there would be no sleep for her yet.

Cinder Sickness - A DnD style classic RP

Fiona tucked the bow into an open saddlebag for the moment. She'd find a better way to store it later. For now, there was searching to do, as it looked like the ogre was surprisingly no danger to them. For now. She sheathed her sword and gave him a tired nod. Drazig and Dorat... already she wasn't sure which was which. She'd never befriended anyone with two heads before, that was for sure. And now more were missing? Hugh and Lob... what had happened to them? Sana had been the first to vanish... they needed to find her, and quick.

"I'll try to the north," she suggested, glancing down at Zoe. "Or... I think that's north." It was difficult to know for sure, if the sun had set on the wrong side. Fiona had to admit she wasn't really paying attention. "Care to follow me with the light?" She'd have a better vantage to look up at the trees from atop her horse, and Zoe was a short thing, besides. She seemed to see the logic behind it.

"Sure."

The two moved slowly in that direction, heading back towards the road that Zoe had come from, albeit at a slightly different angle. The light above Zoe hovered slightly higher, so as to be more useful to Fiona, who studied the trees carefully, eventually holding up a hand to stop.

"There's bark knocked off some of these," she pointed out. "From climbing, I would imagine."

"You think it's the missing lady?" Zoe asked, leaning on her spear, which she had planted into the ground. "Or... something else?"

"Hard to say. Let's keep moving, see if there's a trail." There was, as it turned out, multiple trees heading the direction of the road having bark knocked off from climbing. Fiona called it out to the group, and followed the trail. It wouldn't be hard for the others to keep up with it, as the floating ball of light Zoe had conjured made them a beacon of sorts in the dark woods. Eventually they came upon the nearby road, at which point the trail ended.

"Road's too drenched and traveled to track anything further," Fiona said, a little dismayed. She didn't want to leave Sana to the mercy of whatever had taken her, but it was clearly dangerous to split up and search, and trying to track her down in the dark may well be impossible. Perhaps it was best to just regroup in the cave, wait until morning, and... she didn't know. Sana had been the sort of impromptu leader before, and with her gone... would that fall to Fiona? She didn't know if she was up for it.

Cinder Sickness - A DnD style classic RP

*cowers in terror*

Cinder Sickness - A DnD style classic RP

"Yeesh, take it, thank you!" Zoe said, glad to have the dwarf woman take the bow off her hands. It was causing way more trouble than it was worth. There was a goblin here now, and a man pointing a sword at her, asking her name, and the redhead girl still hadn't gotten off her horse or stopped looking at her. They were a very angry bunch, these people, and while Zoe had quite a bit of magic, none of it could make people just disappear.

Fiona pulled her horse up alongside Shela, holding her hand out expectantly. "I'll take the bow, if you don't mind. I think it might go over better if Sana gets it back from me." The dwarf and Sana hadn't made the best first impression on each other, as she recalled. That, and Shela didn't seem the type to take the best care of her possessions. She could've been wrong, but it was just a hunch.

Before any transaction could be made, however, a two-headed tower of meat and muscle trampled onto the scene, demanding to know who had gone poof. Fiona was unable to stop herself from drawing her sword, narrowing her eyes at the ogre and holding her horse steady.

Zoe had taken the opportunity to take both her and her floating light behind the tree, putting them more or less in between her and the ogre. When he made no move to attack the lot of them, though, she stepped back out, her face set into a hard scowl, though she looked anything but fearsome.

"Listen, okay? Everybody just calm down." She held out her hands as though it would somehow helped push all their nasty emotions and violent urges away. "You're all taking poof a little too literally. All I know is that she came to this spot, and when I got here, she was gone. There are no tracks leading away from here, so... maybe something grabbed her, that doesn't go on the ground. We could check the trees for any sign of her. I have light with me here, I can use it to look around." She turned and looked back at Derrix. "It's Zoe, by the way. I've got a bigger name, but we'll save that for when we're friends."

"I'm Fiona," the redheaded girl said, introducing herself, to both Zoe and the ogre, though she was obviously still wary of the creature, and had yet to sheathe her sword. "If we're settled on not killing each other," Fiona continued, "I'd like to look around for any clues of Sana. Not doing any good standing here."

Cinder Sickness - A DnD style classic RP

Welcome! Glad to have another character for Tobias to be scared out of his mind at! :D

@TheWizardLizard

Cinder Sickness - A DnD style classic RP

Fiona arrived at the scene of Sana's disappearance shortly after Shela and the other newcomer, Kazuo, did. Derrix wasn't far behind, she knew, but for the moment, there didn't appear to be a fight on hand, which was both good and bad. On on the one side, it meant that they didn't need to battle anything while hardly prepared, exhausted, and half undressed, but on the other, it meant that for the moment, Sana was simply gone.

The girl who stood in Sana's place, with Sana's bow, crouching over Sana's footprints, didn't look that threatening, and certainly nothing worthy of screaming in terror at, but if that glowing orb of light illuminating a circle around her was any indication, she had magic of some kind, and Fiona knew that magic could do some pretty great and terrible things. Fiona didn't draw her weapon, but watched the girl intently as her horse came to a stop.

"Me? I didn't do anything. I came to check out the scream, same as you," Zoe answered Shela, standing with the bow in hand. Her eyes took in each new person as they arrived, all of them friends of the disappeared woman, apparently. "As for the bow... I dunno, I was just looking. Somebody want it?" She held it out to the dwarf lady, and then the man ready to draw his sword, and then up at the redheaded girl on the horse, to see if anyone would take it. Her spear was still propped up against the tree.

"I was riding when I noticed this weird thing with the sun going the wrong way, so I stopped and waited, because that's magic you know, the sun doesn't just do that on its own. Heard a lady scream, came to check it out." She pointed down at the tracks beneath her with the arrow in her other hand. "From what I can tell, she stopped here, stomped about a bit, and then..."

She shrugged. "Poof."

Cinder Sickness - A DnD style classic RP

Zoe can be this color. Smells like pine, mostly. And magic... whatever that smells like.

Cinder Sickness - A DnD style classic RP

Fiona

It never ended, it seemed.

Fiona wasn't sure what to do when she heard the scream. She knew she had to help, but she wasn't exactly prepared, being half undressed and unarmored. There was no time, though, leading Fiona to remove the blanket around her and tie a lighter cloth around her hips much like Sana had done, at least letting her move quickly and preserve some amount of modesty. Quickly she scooped her sword belt up from the ground and buckled it around her waist.

Barefoot, Fiona slipped her foot into a stirrup and pulled herself up onto her horse, checking briefly to make sure her weapons were in order, before she wheeled about and held a hand out towards Tobias.

"Coming?"

Zoenya

The adventuring party weren't the only ones drawn to the sound of Sana's scream.

A young woman was mounted atop a trotting horse moving at a steady, relaxed pace down the road. She looked to have avoided the worst of the storm, though her thick, long black hair and her clothes were still damp with the lighter rainfall that was occurring currently. Judging by the look on her face, one of near absent-minded pleasantness, she wasn't bothered by it.

Zoe traveled many nights. Sometimes she just didn't feel tired, and upon learning that the last town didn't have anything for her, she saw no reason to stay after the storm began to let up. She rode for a while, stopping when she noticed that the sun was setting on the wrong side of the world. That was quite odd, and a sure sign of magic. She waited for a while, holding still and wondering if everyone was experiencing this, or just her. When the woman's scream cut through the still night air, she was drawn towards it rather than away. That was her curiosity overpowering any fear, as usual. There were dangerous things out and about at night in the dark woods as always, but Zoe could handle herself. She told herself that, anyway.

"Light leads the way" she said to herself cheerily, holding out a closed fist. When she opened it, palm up, a white magical orb appeared and floated up, settling above Zoe's head and orbiting there, providing impressive illumination for the area immediately around her. She continued on, slowing her horse to a walk, heading towards the source of the scream. Eventually, she found a tree with prints all around it, deep from the soft earth, but they only came from one direction. Someone, probably that woman, had walked up to this tree, stopped, and then...

"Poof?" she said to herself, dismounting and crouching down by the tree. There was a bow here, and one arrow. Setting her spear against the tree, Zoe picked up the bow and arrow, examining them. This was all very odd. Why would a woman be wandering around the woods alone at night? She would have to have some reason...

Zoe tried to think for a moment if the scream sounded familiar, but couldn't decide. Probably not. It was best not to jump to any conclusions. In the meantime, she remained by the tree, taking a closer look at the footprints, the bow, the arrow, using the hovering light of her spell above her to aid her.

Cinder Sickness - A DnD style classic RP

Zoenya

Name: Zoenya dar Ravaris len Marrakash (we'll just go with Zoe, though)
Age: 23
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Race: Human
Class: Shaman

Appearance/Clothing: Reference. Zoe is quite small in stature, around 5'5" in height, with a lightweight build that is athletic, without possessing much raw strength. Her skin is fair and tanned, two major scars marking her face across the left cheek and left eyebrow. Her hair is black and very long, if left untended in the back it will reach down past her rear. She usually keeps it in a semi-organized braid, with the rest left loose around her face.

Zoe dresses practically, currently wearing a grey undershirt and black leggings, with a light blue tunic over that, a skirt reaching down to mid-thigh level, slit slightly on the sides. Her armor is minimal and made of light leather, mostly protecting her torso. Her boots and gloves are made more for comfort on the road than use in battle.

Skills: Skirmishing combat with spear and/or knife, agility and speed, climbing, horseback riding, survival, resilience.
Natural Abilities: None, Human

Magic/Spells: Zoe utilizes magical spirits to effect the world, and other people, around her in and out of combat. Most of these create an "aura" like effect around her, lasting a certain amount of time depending on the spirit. Only one spirit aura can be active at a time for spells that last over time, and they can only be called upon once every 12 hours. Her available spirits are as follows:

Spirit of Rejuvenation (Green) - Dulls pain and dramatically increases healing rates in allies around her (will not realistically heal wounds in combat, but will mend minor to moderate over an hour or so, and keep allies with serious wounds from dying). Downside: Zoe becomes sluggish while active, slowing her reaction times and lowering her agility in general.
Spirit of Void (Black) - Removes the vision and hearing of all creatures that use eyes to see and ears to hear in a 15 meter radius around Zoe for 10 seconds. Downside: Zoe cannot speak for 10 minutes following the use of this spirit.
Spirit of Light (White) - Summons a bright light to illuminate a 15 meter radius around Zoe, can be held for 30 minutes and will reveal non-good aligned magically concealed beings. Downside: Anyone within the radius of the light will take extra damage if struck.
Spirit of Chaos (Orange) - Confuses anyone, friend or foe, within 15 meters of Zoe while active, can be held indefinitely until Zoe makes another action. In combat, it can cause enemies to attack each other (not always successful, they merely lose track of who is friend or foe, lasts 2 rounds after she stops casting). Out of combat, it can make individuals more susceptible to persuasion. Downside: Zoe cannot move out of a 1m circle while Chaos is in use.
Spirit of Luck (Yellow) - For 15 seconds, everything is much more likely to go just the way Zoe wants it to. Affects combat only. Downside: For the next 12 hours, everything is a little more like to not go the way Zoe wants it to.
Spirit of Protection (Purple) - A bubble of a purple mist like substance surrounds an ally near Zoe. The bubble can completely absorb all damage from a single physical attack, or all of the effects of a single spell. Downside: the energy required to actually block the absorbed attack, or the effects of the blocked spell, are transferred to Zoe instead.
Spirit of Dreams (Silver) - Only usable while Zoe is sleeping. Anyone within 15 meters of Zoe that chooses to sleep (it doesn't put them to sleep unless they allow it), will experience pleasant dreams of their own making, and wake fully rested. Downside: Zoe experiences nightmares while this spirit is in use.

Weapons: A long, light spear, taller in length than she is, with a head that is mostly useful for stabbing, but not entirely useless when slashing. Zoe's backup weapon is a short knife at her hip.
Possessions: On her person, her clothes, weapons, and armor. Her horse carries extra clothing, bedroll, food, a blanket, personal grooming items, water skin, coin pouch, some rope, and a large collection of necklaces, armbands, beads, charms, and other random junk items.

Personality: Zoe is the opposite of subtlety. She's loud, laughs often, has a voracious appetite for a little person, and doesn't sugarcoat much, though she does try to be nice when she can. She means well. She's a tease, the teasiest of the teases, and will latch onto something if she smells it, and never let it go. Her social skills aren't the best, courtesy of a life with more contact with spirits than people, but she does make friends, usually due to the fact that she's very agreeable, and tends to think that nothing is a bad idea. She's endlessly curious and adventurous, and very hard to put in a bad mood. She's not fond of rules, often going out of her way to break them if they're imposed upon her, a free spirit at heart.

History: Zoe comes from an isolated community in a harsh land, far away. She'll gladly share the details if you care to ask. Her quest has taken her far from her homeland, and won't let her return until she completes it. For all intents and purposes, she's an exile, but she doesn't see it that way.

Cinder Sickness - A DnD style classic RP

Having allowed herself to expect that the rest of the night would give her an opportunity to rest and relax and prepare for the next day, Fiona was getting a bit exasperated by the situation. She empathized with Derrix's insult directed at the dwarf, and had been thinking similar things herself, but clearly this Shela was the type of woman who only fed off of such things. Showing that she'd gotten under their skin would only embolden her.

Which she'd certainly managed to get under Fiona's already, and with both Derrix and Sana storming off, it seemed to fall to Fiona to be the hostess of the cave, so to speak. It was a job she didn't want; sleep sounded nicer, but she couldn't until she was reasonably certain this dwarf, this corpse, and this other newcomer were trustworthy enough to lower her guard around.

She thought about calling after Sana to try and get her to come back, but stopped herself at the last second, figuring if anyone would do it, it would be Hugh. One less person to help her deal with the newcomers, it seemed. She sighed, tiredly, running a hand through her still damp hair and trying to work out a few tangles, before looking down at the sitting dwarf. Assuming that "Red" was referring to her, she answered the question.

"We're on a job," she explained. "Collecting ingredients to help treat a rare case of cinder sickness that sprang up in a village orphanage. We've collected one of the five things we need, and we're on our way to the next."