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Thread: Official Story: Enter Sedorra

  1. #16
    'Just Friends' Formalhaut's Avatar
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    Locke II

    It was getting close to evening when Locke and the boy returned back home to the village. Some of the village-people were already outside, preparing the large fire for the feast that they have brought back. "It's a large deer!" shouted Locke from the distance, to the appreciation of the people. It has been several days since they have had a large, wholesome meal and this large deer was just the remedy.

    While the women began preparing the deer for roasting, Locke went back into humble home to clean up. Hunting is a messy business, is one of his catchphrases. His home was a simple one, which was exactly how Locke wanted it. The exterior was a classic stone construction, a sturdy, protective design that would defend against the big bad wolf with ease. On the inside, candle-light illuminated his surroundings and glimmered with a soft, warm glow. Later, he heard the good cheer emanating from the outside and rejoined the village in their festivities.

    By now, the deer was mostly cooked and the whole village (of about twenty people) were out to feast. Chort, a boy of about ten, was playing the lute and two of the villagers were already dancing the night away. The boy Locke hunted with approached him. "Um, Locke?" Locke turned and smiled. "Thanks for taking me on the trip. I really learned alot from the experience and I want to make my mum proud, so, thanks". The sweet boy was called Alistair. Him and his family were the first people who greeted Locke when he arrived in the village. Alistair's father died a year later, a tragedy which is neither fully explained and discussed in the village. To Alistair, Locke is sort of a father figure. Now twelve, he has been wrenched too soon out of childhood.

    Locke did his best to be humble. Naturally, Alistair changed the subject almost immediately. "Hey Locke, did you hear? The Queen's Festival is building up in Lucrecia. Travellers at our inn couldn't stop talking about it". Locke immediately took attention. It has been several years since he has last seen his mother. He swore to never venture to that place again. Too many bad memories. "Queen's Festival? Bah, bunch of bloody posh bastards that's all it is" said one villager who overheard Alistair. "All they do is arse about in their high thrones eating fine foods and swanning about. What do they actually do for us?". The anti-Royal sentiment in the village has always been lukewarm, even if not everyone openly admits to it. The Queen's Festival simply strengthens opinion, one way or the other. For Locke, it is simply awkward.

    While this villager is off berating the Royal family, one of them is sitting but a small distance away. In that instance, Locke knew what he had to do next.


  2. #17
    Formerly Important Lonely Paper Star's Avatar
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    Saerin Vanagloria (Sargatanas)
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    Default Camille

    Camille counted them over and over again. Each time, the number of chocobos in the pen came up the same, but it wasn't the right number. How dumb of her to have left the stable door open and trust them all to not wander off.

    "Okay!" she shouted out in annoyance, putting her hands on her hips. Most of them looked up at her, but the rest continued grazing. "Two of you snuck out while I wasn't looking. Where'd they go?"

    Stupid, she thought to herself. As if they'll answer me. I really need to meet people.

    Either way, she needed to search for the missing chocobos. She worked entirely too hard in raising Koko and Bristles, and there, they've gone and eloped. She giggled at the thought--wait, what was she doing? This wasn't funny! They were much needed money, especially Bristles, who was a less common color of blue.

    If people stole them, then they must've headed to Lucrecia, Camille reasoned. But were these thieves well-versed with the Wylds? She knew she herself was. She has wandered through many times with various chocobos, to test them fit for travel. Most of them came out fine, but Koko and Bristles were among the younger batch, and have not completely finished training. They are probably scared in the Wylds. And the thieves won't last in those woods if they don't know their way.

    Camille debated on which chocobo to take to go after them. Takka was her most trusted, and sometimes helped herd the others when they wanted to graze further away from the property, but he was not her fastest.

    She gulped as she thought of her lone black chocobo, the one she used in races years ago. Prestissima, Song of the Night, she was called, as professional racing chocobos always had fancy names. Camille had not ridden her since her last race. It was superstitious of her, but she hated thinking about her past, and Stissi was a very, very prominent part of it.

    But Camille found her feet moving already, past the main stables where she kept the chocobos at night while she slept, and toward the back one next to her cabin deeper in the safer southern forest.

    She must hate me now, Camille thought glumly, but forced herself to meet Stissi's eyes. The black chocobo regarded her warily and kweh-ed with question.

    "We're going to the Wylds, Stissi," she told her, and offered a smile. It was a little dark in the forest, but she was once told her smile was one of the brightest. "Your son and your niece are missing." She slid open the stable door.

    Stissi did not move at first, and only did so when Camille held out a stalk of Sylkis Green. How far their relationship has fallen, when Stissi needed to be lured with food from her only rider rather than with simple trust. But at least she was obedient; that or she understood the situation. After circling around to warm up her legs, Stissi lowered herself to the ground to allow the much shorter Camille to climb up.

    Nostalgia hit the breeder like lightning. Camille could already hear the crowd in her ears, cheering her on. She inhaled sharply and climbed upon the chocobo. Everything about this was too familiar, too reminiscent, but she had no time to waste on her burdens of the past.

    They left for the outer pen, where the other chocobos still were. Takka gave her a curious look and warked. Camille herded everyone into the night stables. When all the necessary things were done, she pulled Stissi away and dipped her head to hers.

    "Just like The Queen's Cup," she murmured.

    Prestissima, Song of the Night darted out of the property in a flash and to the Bethereon Wylds, as fast as she has ever been. Camille almost smelled and felt the dirt of the tracks rise up around her, even if she was surrounded only by trees and grass.
    Last edited by Lonely Paper Star; 05-01-2014 at 03:01 AM.

    Starting on my left with one, your number comes up, you go.

  3. #18
    Pinkasaurus Rex Pumpkin's Avatar
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    Kathvi was lead from the bustling streets to a more remote area of the city. There were still people here, but fewer and most of them seemed too intoxicated to notice her. This made he feel a bit better. As the stranger led her away from the city, she was a bit scared, wondering if perhaps this was some kind of trap. She expected he knew she wasn't in costume, but whether he was trying to be polite and not draw attention to how... different she was, or whether she was being threatened, she couldn't tell. She sure hoped it was the former.

    They stopped at a small bench on the sidewalk of a not so busy street and the stranger, who she noticed looked almost... reptilian, gestured for her to sit down. She sat, leaning to the side of the bench, facing as away as politely possible from the stranger who sat down after her. She then noticed herself picking at the fur in her tail, the tail which was now beginning to make her feel very self-concsious. She stopped and tucked her tail as behind her as she could.

    "Where are you from?" he asked, looking deep in to her eyes. "S..somewhere in the mountains," she replied nervously. She was somewhat glad at this moment that she couldn't remember much. "The mountains, really?" he prodded. "I don't recall every seeing someone quite like you." She noticed that he was very carefully selecting his words. Was it for her comfort, or was it something else? "Are you here to see the festival?" he asked her, after noticing she wasn't responding to his previous comment. "I suppose you could say that," she told him. "What is the festival for?" He arched an eyebrow and gave her a slight look of amusement. "You don't know, really?" She looked at her feet in embarrassment. "Where did you say you were from? Which area of the mountains?" Kathvi stood up suddenly. "Look, I'm sorry, but I don't-" She suddenly felt a splash of something on her shirt. She turned around to notice a very intoxicated man had spilled some of her booze on her. He reeked, and Kathvi was surprised she hadn't smelt him coming. "Oh, I'm sorry there, lass. Seems I got some of me drink on yer pretty self. Might as well take that shirt of then, hey?" he chuckled at her.

    "Oh, Gods," she sighed.
    Last edited by Pumpkin; 04-30-2014 at 11:46 PM.

  4. #19
    Newbie Administrator Loony BoB's Avatar
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    "Don't mind the drunks, they're excellent at what they do." Jahred flicked a coin over the head of the intoxicated man and let it ring on the ground behind him, and the drunkard was away to fetch himself his next drink. "Perhaps I should introduce myself. My name is Jahred. I am from Akimolm, but as a trader I have been fairly eveywhere and I have never seen your kind in all my years. You must forgive me for stealing you away from the masses, but... people were staring at you and I would not like to miss an opportunity to learn of something new. What can you tell me of what you remember about your home? Beyond the Wyld, perhaps? Ah, if you are struggling for thoughts, what do you see around here that you most certainly do not remember? Of course, you may ask me anything you wish. Better to talk to me than to talk to a prison guard."

    Jahred paused, realising how awful that sounded, and slapped his face. "Apologies. I make that not as a threat, but as advice."
    Bow before the mighty Javoo!

  5. #20
    'Just Friends' Formalhaut's Avatar
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    Locke III

    It was a New Moon, and down below, Locke was preparing to leave for Lucrecia. "Locke, why are you leaving for Lucrecia?". Poor Alistair looked like he was about to keel over with worry. Locke put a reassuring hand on his shoulder and said "listen, its only for a little while. I'll try to be back by the time the moon turns full". He pointed to the absent Moon, and Alistair traced its direction. "See there, Ali? When that moon reappears, I should be back, okay? So don't worry." "But what if you don't come back? What if... if...". Locke knew what was to come next. "What if you'll just be like Daddy?". With this, he ran off back up to his room. The slamming door resounded through Locke's body.

    Locke remembered. Alistair's father left on an outside visit. He never came back. Now that Alistair looks up to Locke as one looks up to his father, the emotions flood back. In a way, Locke blames himself. Maybe he got too close to Alistair? His mother, Serrine, walked in. "You worry too much Locke", she said in a reassuring tone. "But Serrine, the boy looks up to me too much." She served him a cup of wyldleaf tea, a strong black tea. "Locke, you've really helped this family along after Benton's dea-, disappearance." She breathed in, and continued. "You have helped us with hunting, with maintenance on this home, with giving Alistair a male figure he can look up to again. You rescued this family when we were on the brink. Don't feel bad. Alistair will survive. He is a boy of twelve, and he needs to grow up." Locke countered, "don't you think you're being too harsh. The boy has lost so much. I don't need to remind you just how much he hated his dad for months when he disappeared. Then that hate turned to sadness. I know he is getting of age, but given his life so far, I think he's coped pretty damn well". Serrine looked deep in thought. After a long pause, she simply stated to him to not let Alistair down. He simply nodded.

    It was getting late. Locke was to depart for Lucrecia tomorrow morn. Saying his goodbyes to both Serrine and Alistair, he walked back home. He tried to sleep, but couldn't. He had too many things on his mind. In the end, all he could do was stare at the empty Moon.


  6. #21
    Not responsible for WWI Citizen Bleys's Avatar
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    As the Brilliance started to wear off, Desmond's thoughts began to crystalise.

    OK, so I'm here forever. I need to take stock. I haven't got a home to go back to, I haven't got any food, and I haven't got any money. I've got to get established here.

    The best plan for finding his way out of the forest was a straight line, but he remembered that blindfolded people tended to walk in a circle, so he needed a way to make sure he wasn't changing direction. He pulled out his jigger and hit the positioning app.

    It failed to load.

    Of course! No Department of Environment here. Linking apps aren't going to work with no other jiggers to link to.

    On Nexus, the moss always grew on the same side of trees. He couldn't remember what direction that was, but as long as basic physics were the same here, he should be able to use that to get out of the forest. With any luck he'd find a habitation or a road that could lead him to other people.

    Then he realised that finding other people might only be the start of his problems. People who came through the table often took years to learn Nexan, depending on how far away they were from. Nexan was a based on the language of the Ancients, so there were often common threads, but Desmond might have difficulty communicating. He'd failed Ancient in school.

    He needed time to ponder this. He found a comfortable spot and built a fire pit. He started to pull out his jigger to look up how to build a fire, but then remembered there were no links. Some Nexans could build a fire by hooking into Nexus and drawing on that energy, but Desmond had never been able to do that. He'd just have to rub sticks together.

    Thirty minutes later, Desmond concluded that rubbing sticks together was a load of crap.

    Local vegetation could be poisonous, there was no way he would risk eating it. He'd have to make due with raw meat.

    There were rabbits all over the forest. He hooked into the world's blue energy. He might not be able to use most of the functionality of his jigger, but he could still use it as a musical instrument. He'd always been good at Bardsong, sometimes able to achieve up to four simultaneous effects for a short time. He started to play, and focused this world's blue worldpulse in the familiar configuration that would initialise a Bardsong effect. He Spiked lethargy...

    ...and the skund-rutting bunny bloody well attacked him!

    "Drek!" he cursed as the bunny bit into his calf, drawing blood. "You drek-rotting piece of drek!"

    Desmond really needed to work on his swearing.

  7. #22
    Banished Ace Recognized Member Agent Proto's Avatar
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    The Lost Soul was docked at a sandy beach, a few of the ship's crew stayed put to protect the ship while the rest, including Radley went off to explore the nearby village. The village was rather small. There were only a few huts, with each inhabited by a local, who were mostly fishermen. Radley had his small crossbow out and carried it with a single hand as he went for the largest hut. There was a woman with a child inside, and both were frightened when Radley barged inside as he broke down the straw door. "Don't hurt us." the woman begged as she hid her child out of Radley's sight.

    He waved his crossbow in the air before pointing at the woman. "I won't hurt you and your child," Radley promised, "But you will give me what I want, and I want some of your loot."

    "W-w-we don't have any loot for y-you..." the woman stuttered as she backed away into another room of the hut.

    Radley looked around the room he was in, and smirked. "Actually, I do think you have some loot," he said as he came across a chest.

    He pointed at it with his weapon and demanded the woman open the chest. She hesitantly complied and walked to the chest to do so. She was unable to after several attempts. "I-i-it needs a key to open..." she said as she fell down to her knees in vain.

    Radley looked back and faced the child cowering behind a chair. He pointed his crossbow at the child and said in a commanding voice, "You there. Go look for the key!"

    The child nodded at Radley, and rushed inside another room in hopes to immediately find the missing key. Frustrated with how long this would take, he put his attention back to the woman. He aimed his crossbow at her as he walked towards her and the chest. "You better hope your kid finds that key," he said as he placed the tip of the loaded arrow against her cheek. "I wouldn't want to have your pretty face ruined."

    She began to shiver in fear with the cold hard steel of the arrow-tip carefully brushing against her face. One could tell that Radley was slowly, but surely, losing his patience. As he placed his finger over the trigger of his weapon, the child just returned. "Found it!"

    He released the trigger and faced the child who held onto a key for the chest. It was rather large, and silver in color. He motioned for the young child to hand him the keys, which was shortly done. With the silver key in hand, he placed it inside the keyhole of the chest and turned it to unlock it. The chest opened up and Radley was rather surprised to see the contents inside. It wasn't full of coins, as he had expected, but there was something else. A couple golden goblets, some jewelry, a handful of coins, and several daggers and knives. It was not much, but it was definitely worth something.
    Last edited by Agent Proto; 05-02-2014 at 02:07 AM. Reason: No pistols. :(

    Apparently, I have been declared banished.

  8. #23
    The Bearded One Tasura's Avatar
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    Default Xilkar II

    As Xilkar approached the shore curiosity subdued caution and he forgot all about being wary of the creatures on land. As he reached the beach he approached the short creature and began to ask rapid fire questions.

    "What sort of creature are you? Why are you on land? Why are you so pale? What's this?" He reached out and gently grasped some hair. "Why is it not green? Why aren't you underwater? Wait, where are your gills? Why are your eyes not black?" He grabbed her hand and looked closely between the fingers. "Where is your webbing? Have you been cast out? No, that's wrong, there was never any webbing to start, how could you swim with no webbing?" His eyes become large and he looks around furtively and whispers. "How many of you are there?"

    Xilkar slowly backed away looking around, his once forgotten caution came back stronger than before.
    Last edited by Tasura; 05-09-2014 at 04:56 AM.

  9. #24
    Pinkasaurus Rex Pumpkin's Avatar
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    Kathvi wasn't sure if she could trust Jahred, but she was warming up to him. Besides, what other option did she have? She didn't know where she was, she had gaps in her memory, and he was the only one not staring at her like she was a mutant.

    "My name is Kathvi. I would like to tell you more about who I am," she said reluctantly, "Or where I'm from. But the truth is... I don't know. All I remember is a mountain and a bakery. There was always snow and it felt so nice on my skin and my fur. I baked things for... others..." Her ears flattened, "But that's where I get stuck. I can't remember anyone else. I don't know if there's anyone else... like me."

    Jahred sat looking at her, digesting the information. She became very embarrassed with herself, and her first instinct was to flee. But she stayed. She stayed because maybe he could tell her something about herself that she didn't know. Maybe he could tell her if there were others out there like her. But mostly she stayed because she was alone, and she was afraid.

    Attempting to lighten the mood after the heaviness of all everything, she perked up and said "I'll tell you one thing I do remember. Ice cream," she winked. "Do you guys have some of that here?"

  10. #25
    Knight of Nothing *Devore*'s Avatar
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    Azelin I

    Wind rushed past Azelin as he silently tracked his target from the precarious rooftops of the shanty town, Hy'Ton. The target, a Beastman from the Northern Isles, had just robbed his fifth storage facility which belonged to very influential people. The Beastman was marked for death and there was nowhere for him to hide that the young assassin could not reach. He sharpely turned a corner and stopped to catch his breath, Azelin also stopped and leaned over the roofs edge to see his soon to be victim directly below. The streets were uncharacteristically silent, Azelin smiled as he thought The quiet before the thunderous storm that will be your scream of death. Kunai drawn, he steps over the precipice and falls towards the clueless target when he is suddenly assaulted by the sound of laughter, cheering, jeering, bangs and whistles. This is soon followed by Azelin slamming into the ground far sooner than he should have.

    He found himself face down on the ground, surrounded by people, sounds and smells which were not previously there just a moment ago. Many around looked drunk and a few were looking at him with puzzlement and amazement while others were whispering and pointing in his direction.He groaned slightly as his left hand twisted under his body, allowing him to spring back up to his feet but was almost sent flying to the ground again by a large drunk man. "Watch it boy!?". He began to say something else but Azelin ignored the man who he could barely understand, pulled his hood over his head and pushed his way into the crowd.

    Confusion ran through the boys mind, The Beastmen were not capable of teleportation magics and a spell that can move me like that requires an activation sequence unless...was it a trap? He continued to walk with the flow of crowd as this thought arose and the realisation that someone maybe here to ambush him. It was at this point that Azelin began to rapidly take in his surrounding gripping the kunai, that was still in his right hand, tightly as there was less and less that he recognised. The majority here look like Hyu'Mans, but they're a weird colour. And I've never seen those tall ones before. Where in Izlar am I? It was while he was looking upon the tall lizard like beings that his eyes glanced upwards and saw the sky, panic swept through to the depths of his soul as the perpetual storm that has raged throughout the entire world since time immemorial was missing, replaced by a deep blue colour and what looked like far off fireflies flickering in the sky. It was beautiful. Without realising, the boy had stopped walking and his hood fell from his head as he stared up at the sky with tears welling up in his eyes. But it wasn't happiness that he felt but deep sadness and lose. For the third time in his life, the boy began to cry. "This isn't Vil'Deamon" he meekly mutters "Where am I?"

  11. #26
    Newbie Administrator Loony BoB's Avatar
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    Jahred chuckled to himself. "Yes, er, we do have ice cream... I'm not a very big fan of ice-cold foods but I'm sure we can get something for you somewhere. Perhaps not the best idea just yet, though. It's as you said, I fear I have never seen someone quite like you before, or anything like you for that matter. This means I have no idea how the masses would react to someone so unusual. I mean, there's the Ursus, but they don't have such long tails... in fact, no race here really has any tail of such length. It's quite shocking, you see, for some people to see such things."

    Kathvi's head sunk. "Oh..." she whispered, clearly upset. Jahred mentally slapped his face once more and started to think over his words a little more carefully.

    "I personally find this all rather exciting - a new race!" He smiled widely, spreading his arms wide in as welcoming a posture as he could. "Such things are enough to encourage one to explore every nook and cranny of this world! I would suggest we speak to an Aelum... they are a tribe of the Ursus that live in the mountains. I can only imagine that if anyone knows of a race in a snowy mountain that they would be your best bet. Come, let us seek one out. Hopefully with the festival entertainers out and about, less people will question your appearance. And by all means, do your best to enjoy yourself during the festival!"

    Jahred thought to himself carefully. She best do so, I'm not sure there is any other day that she could look so outlandish and get away with it. He walked back towards King's Square, ensuring Kathvi remained close by, chatting to her about the festival in order to help her blend in and avoid any suspicion. Thankfully, Ursus stand out in a crowd fairly easily. It wasn't long before he spotted an Aelum sniffing at the air.
    Bow before the mighty Javoo!

  12. #27
    The Nerd Who Knows Pant Leg Eater from the Bad World's Avatar
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    Ja'ak 1

    Ja'ak picked up his makeshift bag and slung it over his head. The sun had risen and it was time to start the day. His journey towards Lucrecia was going fairly well so far. There had been no troubles, no fellow travelers on that path, and no vagabonds trying to thieve from the large bear. Ja'ak knew he was making good time, by the trees, he was over halfway to Naithe! Following the coastline so closely was serving him well, indeed.

    Wading into the water, Ja'ak walked along the shoreline until he came across a crab that was nearly the size of his forepaw. Swiping at the crab, Ja'ak pulled it clear out of the water and sent it to the shore, where it smashed into a rock and ceased moving.
    Ah, breakfast, he thought to himself.

    He was sucking the meat from the last leg of the crab when he heard the quiet meow. He turned his head and there was Linksie, with a dead rabbit at her feet. She gave him a look, as if to say that she wouldn't be left behind, and promptly began eating her kill.

    "Silly cat," he said. "You were supposed to stay behind and guard the forest. Now who knows how many precious trees those pesky men will take for their lumber by the time we return." Linksie pointedly ignored his tender scolding and neatly jumped onto his back, curling up into a ball between his massive shoulder blades.

    Ja'ak wasn't truly upset. He loved having the mischievous cat around, she kept him on the tip of his paws. And so he continued his journey, lumbering on towards Naithe.

    <PaperStar> live fast, die young, bad plefs do it well

  13. #28
    Mr. Smiles Kossage's Avatar
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    Haruko stopped running after she had reached the safety of another alley, out of sight from the people in the busy street. She looked back to see if the monster had followed her and was happy to see that it was nowhere to be found. However, as she observed the street a bit longer from the comfort of the alley, she suddenly saw many more creatures like the one she had seen before: some of those monsters were pulling strange, small carts which carried people, and others just walked about and talked seemingly casually.

    This cannot be Barjassil...and yet I can understand what these people are saying? Is this perhaps a vassal state, in the far corners of the kingdom? But that still doesn't explain those pointy eared monsters. If they're demons, why are they working alongside humans instead of scheming against them or slaughtering them? Or have the high priestess's teachings been wrong all along? she thought, puzzled.

    She saw a man stopping near the alley. He hadn't noticed her, so she had the upper hand. In order for her to figure out what was going on, she had to make the move and be bold. She just hoped these people understood her as easily as she seemed to understand them.

    "Excuse me, but may I ask you something?" Haruko began carefully and gained more confidence when the man turned to her. "I was wondering what was going on in here with all these people. Looks like some sort of...celebration, almost?"

    "Well, aren't you something. I don't think I've ever seen that kind of fashion in these parts before," the man replied as his eyes studied Haruko. "You must not be from around here...from the countryside, perhaps? Odd that you haven't heard about the Queen's Festival, though. It's going to be something great. Just look at all those entertainers headed for King's Square!"

    Haruko looked at the street and saw what the man meant. There were several entertainers in the crowd indeed...bards and harlequins, most likely. They brought with them a festive mood, making people laugh with excitement and happiness as they passed them. The music that had begun playing made Haruko feel at ease; although she felt like a stranger in this unfamiliar city, music was a language everyone understood, and to her people music was everything...as important as telling tales.

    Feeling even more emboldened by all of this, she decided to take a more active approach. "The queen, you say? I wasn't aware that King Anshar had a wife...and why would you name that place the King's Square when this is not even the capital of our kingdom?"

    The man frowned. "Uh...this is the capital where our fair Queen resides. Lucrecia, the Jewel of the World. And who did you say the king was again? Never heard of any Anshar."

    Haruko blinked. Was the man jesting? "King Anshar of Barjassil, ruler of the south. He and King Kagetsu of Maar Sul are known throughout the world."

    "South? All I know about the south is that there's some dangerous wildland called the Betheron Wylds over there as well as a grand city in the middle of a lake or some such. Never visited it myself, but I've heard stories. The kings you mentioned don't ring a bell, though. Never heard of any Barjassil or Maar Sul," the man said.

    "Well...thank you for your time, anyway," Haruko muttered. She saw that the man seemed to be willing to continue the conversation, but she wasn't in the mood even though her mind was now full of questions. Where exactly had she ended up in if these people didn't even know the names of two of the greatest kingdoms in the world?

    As she pondered this, her eyes happened to notice bears walking down the street and...talking? What kind of city was this Lucrecia, really? And since when did bears know how to talk in Common?

    She had to get out of here, to clear her mind, so she left the man behind without even saying goodbye and headed into the crowd. She didn't think hiding in alleys would work at the moment, especially if she ran into more monsters who were somehow living among humans, the most prejudiced people of all, without anyone batting an eye.

    Maybe this was all a dream, and she had yet to wake up...

    #

    Nargul reached his destination: the King's Square. After the rickshaw had stopped, he hurried to help the pair down, but the nobleman simply swatted the doban's hand aside and snorted before leaving with the lady.

    "A tip, sir?" Nargul asked when he realized the man was about to leave just like that.

    "We'll be late, dear," the lady said urgently to her so-called gentleman escort. "We should be going."

    "Indeed we should," the man grunted and dropped a coin down without even bothering to look at Nargul. "Here's your payment. It's more than a beast like you deserves for such an awful ride." He snorted again and left while Nargul stood still.

    "Thank you, sir. Have a good day, sir," Nargul muttered, barely avoiding gritting his teeth, before he knelt down to pick up the coin which the nobleman had tossed. Then, as he had learned to do over the years, he put it between his teeth and bit it...which quickly made him realize that the noblemans coin wasn't worth anything at all. It had been a clear insult, as if Nargul had needed any more reminder from such a horrible client.

    Frickin' racist cheapskates...or should it be speciesist? Whatever, this is still horrendous! I'm going to file a complaint about injustice and corruption among nobles, that's for sure, the doban thought.

    Nargul's foul mood was swept in the back of his mind when he heard cheers and music as the entertainers arrived in King's Square. At least something good would happen today...and he knew just the way to forget this annoying incident with a miser of a noble.

    The doban knew he should take the rickshaw back to his employer now that his shift had ended, but on the other hand he was in a foul mood and had to become cheerful again. What better way to achieve that than to taste cold, quality Lucrecian ale...not some pissy excuse of a lager but real ale.

    Nargul considered going to the Quiet Lobster but quickly dismissed the thought. His last time there hadn't ended happily, and the bouncer had thrown him out for "beastly behaviour," whatever that meant, and told him not to show his sorry face again until he'd be more civilized. Clearly some humans here were racist, not knowing of the civilized nature of the doban people. No, this doban would choose another pub this time around, one where he wasn't that well known just so there would be no misunderstandings. And he knew just the place.

    The doban pulled the rickshaw to the entrance of the Ceiling Cat and left it there. Taking the rickshaw back to his boss could wait. Right now he wanted to get in a festive mood, and he had just enough money with him to do exactly that. He would show Lucrecia how festive a people doban could really be!
    Last edited by Kossage; 04-13-2015 at 05:10 PM.
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  14. #29
    Word Engineer Miss Mae's Avatar
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    Default Cohen III

    Cohen glanced back up and realised that the large, white bear was looking at him. Oh dear, he thought. It knows I was staring at it. He took a step backwards, ready to run if the bear started to approach him. He'd never seen a bear of this colour before, but where he was from the black bears would eat a human without a second thought.

    The bear didn't approach him. In fact, it seemed to tilt its head at him out of what might have been curiosity. Maybe it was domesticated? He did just hear it talking, after all. He wondered if maybe the bear could understand him.

    'Hello,' he said. 'My name is Cohen. I'm sorry for staring - I've just never seen a white bear before. Or a bear in a city. Or that can talk.' As he said the words he realised just how strange this situation really was.

    'What's your name?' Cohen continued. Does it even have a name? he wondered.
    Last edited by Miss Mae; 05-09-2014 at 06:04 AM.

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  15. #30
    Pinkasaurus Rex Pumpkin's Avatar
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    Jahred walked Kathvi towards King's Square, ensuring Kathvi remained close by, chatting to her about the festival in order to help her blend in and avoid any suspicion.

    "I'm sorry about the ice cream," she said, nervously. "Everything has just been so serious and I just wanted..." Bute before she could finish her sentence, she noticed Jahred staring straight ahead. She looked over and noticed a... big, white... creature. It looked similar to her in that it had white fur, but the rest was most certainly different. The hair on the end of her tail pricked up and she stood frozen for a moment, staring at this creature.

    "Kathvi, I think we found who we need to talk to," Jahred said happily, one step closer to figuring out more about this new race. He grabbed her arm to guide her to the Ursus, when he noticed she wasn't moving. "Kathvi?" he asked, turning back to her.

    'What is that?!" Kathvi exclaimed, almost yelping.

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