Dragons and Spiders and ... Bears? (Whisper, private)

Straylor Leonard · July 22, 2008, 07:55 PM

Timestamp: during his brief business trip ...

Dressed in his usually warm combination of dark trousers, matching vest, long jacket, and poet shirt, Stray trodded off toward one of the peaking volcanoes on Demios. His military boots squeaked as he did so, complaining that their polish would be worn out before the end of the brightening. A thin smile was spread on his soft features. As both Thane and Consul, Stray had learned first hand that humility could only get a man so far. In fact, only decisiveness and aggression got a man anywhere fantastic. That was why he spent the last three darkenings cooped up in his Inn room to prepare the imbuements he required.

Picking up his twin knight hilted daggers he placed them evenly on the small wooden desk in the room before diving into Clara. Having charged and recharged the two blades quite often, he was rather familiar with the essence make up. They each had enough room for three apprentice level spells of the same type. Usually, Stray used them to store his 'fishing' spells that made him quite a notable man in the fishing industry in both Trysvale and Iefferon. Demios was still an untested site for his endeavors.

He'll find out soon enough.

But this current trip he was taking was one of ... pleasure. If it could even be called that. Using his mind's hands, Stray dispeled any unused charges before diving back to create the spell's he'd require while on his little adventure. He already had his bracelet, his necklace, and some glass globes. All of them had spells, specific ones, that would render most opponents into ash. His favorite were some of his deadlier creations.

That's what he was going to imbue now. He couldn't fit Journeymen level spells into the hotspots of his two daggers, but three apprentice level spells each -- totaling six -- would be enough. He shaped the first spell, one he called Choke and silently altered and abjured the mana so that it would create a series of reactions to targets surrounding Straylor when the spell was activated. The alteration transformed the skin of his targets into hard, rough bark; the abjuration allowed the spell's effects to target several victims in the general area: their neck and anything above that.

The result? Well, when one's neck turned to bark it was often times quite uncomfortable; that bark was 'programmed' to trickle upwards with a hint of Straylor's first reshaped spells called Livebark. The transformation happened slowly, first their necks then their jaws, mouth, nose, then their eyes. Straylor remained stoic as he repeated the process two more times. And each time he abjured the shaped Mana into his first dagger and placed a layer of unshaped mana to 'seal' the spells into place.

Only if Straylor's imbuements were successful would he move on to his second dagger. This one, too, had enough space for three apprentice level spells. And what better spell than his favorite: Summon Gryffin. The spell was precise and unbelievably useful. It was also modified so that the summoned animal was more keenly adapted and linked to the caster. In that case, Straylor himself. It was the produce of conjured mana which produced the magical creature born from the Plane of Nature. It was a massive beast with the head of an eagle, the power of a lion, and the winged grace of the ancients.

But it was divination that made all the difference. Gryffins were proud, powerful beasts; but the ones Straylor conjured were 'tamed' by linking their minds together and ensuring that those links indicated Stray as master and the gryffin as his subordinate. They could exchange mental commands without sacrificing the gryffin's inherent instincts and powerful grasp of aerial combat and agility. He abjured this spell two more times into the second dagger after his first casting. And then he sealed them in the same manner, using unshaped mana to render the 'charges' dormant until he called them forth.

Only then would he be ready. And he set out toward the first volcano of Demios.

Whisper · July 26, 2008, 12:53 AM

With enchanted daggers in hand, Straylor made for the volcanos south of the island proper. Their towering silhouettes always dominated the skyline to the south. To the west, by the ocean, were the mountains that made up the city's mines. More to the center and east, however, were the famed volcanoes of Demios.

No one knew for sure how many were active and how many were dormant, or even how many there were to begin with. There was one known active one, the biggest and largest, which rested in the center of the mountain range. It was here that people would come during the Festival of Dragons to sacrifice food and treasure to the dragons who were believed to control the island's weather. The volcano wasn't always active for these sacrifices; its activity sometimes spanned for a few minutes or a few cycles, and there were eras or decades in between.

Before reaching the volcanoes, however, Straylor had to brave the thick Weaver's Woods. It wasn't particularly dangerous during the day; after all, this was the city's main source of its famed wood exports, and fuel for their fires in the winter. But this was also the known home of giant spiders, whose shimmering webs gave the forest its name.

Straylor could take the path from the town that went through the Weaver's Woods and up towards the mines, but there was no telling if the mines were blocked off from the volcano. Of course, he could always make his own way through the woods, but there was no telling how far he'd get...

Straylor Leonard · July 26, 2008, 06:29 AM

The darkening's rest was enough to replenish whatever Vis Straylor used to imbue his hidden knight daggers and so the following brightening he was off, fresh and quite excited. The couple of brightenings he took off from his duties was nothing compared to the many months he once enjoyed adventuring about the Empire. This little trip he promised himself brought blood pumping back into his bones, and whatever wrinkles he assumed after becoming a politician soon blended back to his youthful features.

Straylor Leonard was back. And with that thought in mind, he assumed Clara -- taking the few counts to do so a good distance away from the Weaver's Woods as he activated a single charge of Summon Gryffin from his Black Sapphire Necklace. The amulet was created in Ieffreon during his honeymoon. And the item had been proven extremely useful since its creation. Several times it was charged already and Stray made note to charge it again when he returned to his inn room later.

Assuming that his bonded magical gryffin manifested itself, Stray climbed onto its feathery back and hung on before sending out a mental command: fly. He anticipated the massive leap before the awesome wings stretched out and flapped once, then twice, before it achieved a desired height topping the woodlands below. He aimed straight for the largest volcano among the group -- the legendary mountain where festivals for the dragons were held.

That was Straylor's primary objective -- but not before he activated another charge, this one also coming from his Black Sapphire. He produced another Summon Gryffin , this one linked and bonded to his will as well; he'd used the magically conjured creature to act as a wing man and allowed his mind to freely blend with the consciousnesses of the two majestic lion-eagles as they soared onward, toward the infernal mountain.

Whisper · July 31, 2008, 02:49 AM

The legendary winged creature came soaring towards Straylor without fail, and they were off. Up, up, up they went, safely avoiding the gigantic venomous spiders that lurked in the Weaver's Woods, and whatever creatures lay there besides. The mountains were very high, and even on the gryffin's expansive wings it took some time for the pair to reach the mountain peak. The air up here was thin, and the winds nippy and strong.

The wide ledge that Straylor was able to reach was a bit removed from the volcano, but it was all for the best. After all, who knew when it might erupt? From the ledge, there was a set of narrow stairs carefully hewn into the rock many eras ago.

When Straylor finally reached the volcanic peak and set foot on the stone, he would find that the heat resonated up through his boots. It was not an unpleasantly fierce heat, but it was definitely something, given the otherwise chilly atmosphere of the high mountain in winter. It would not be far-fetched to assume that certain creatures would find this sort of environment quite suitable.

There was a thin and barely worn path that led from the volcano's main area to the northwest, in the direction of the city's mines. Presumably that was how those who came here for the Dragon Festival reached this secluded area. It took a long enough time to make it past the woods and up the mountain to the mines; it would take twice that time, and double again, to traverse the mountains to this volcanic site. If only they all had gryffins at their command.

Remnants from the recent festival were scattered about the mountaintop. Some lay at Straylor's feet on the ledge; others decorated the already narrow stairs, and more could be glimpsed along the very dangerous edge of the volcano. The non-edibles such as finely crafted swords, cloth, and paintings remained untouched, though they showed obvious signs of being left upon a mountaintop for several months. The foods, on the other hand... A basket of fruit looked as if it had been nibbled at by a very large set of jaws, and an assortment of vegetables looked the same way. As far as meats went, the only thing that seemed to resemble meat were the bones of what might have been two pigs. They had been picked impeccably clean.

Straylor Leonard · July 31, 2008, 03:44 PM

Straylor found himself narrowing his gaze even more dramatically as he prepared for another steep rise. The griffins were born and bred for flight, they were agile, and completely cunning. And though his bond with the two majestic creatures he could sense their keen sense picking out possible danger below, above, and around them. The Weaver's Woods were indeed a wretched place. How the Demiosians managed to keep the Giant Spiders at bay and whatever monsters lurked in its shadow was a mystery to Stray. Perhaps the wizards at their academy were more useful than some. Either that, or the creatures within the woods were well fed by unwary adventurers without the aid of magical beasts.

Landing was another exciting moment when the griffins screeched to one another before obeying Straylor's mental command: land there. He pointed with his mind's hands a reasonable spot that could have been used for similar purposes during the festival of dragons. Without hesitation, the two griffins tucked their wings and dove, beak first. They were weightless for several long moments and Straylor found himself gripping tightly on his mount as a grin spread across his features. It was perfect. And on the last plausible moment, the eagle-lions extended their massive wings catching the air and themselves before gliding more gently down, catching a current of rising warm air to even out their flight.

Straylor didn't need to bring a lot of possessions for this trip. In fact, the only thing that kept him relatively secure was the combination of gemstones and gadgets he kept tucked inside an inner pocket of his vest and along the larger pockets of his long jacket. He would have stiched the gemstones into the garment if he wanted, but that seemed rather over the top. Those gems, were imbued by masters from Ieffreon. And judging from the warmth that resonated from the earth itself Straylor prepared himself to activate one charge just in case. For a man he wore a good amount of gemstones but no one ever noticed it unless he took of his long sleeved tunic and announced the very fact. On his left wrist was a silver bracelet created by none other than Demios' Viskyia Crow. It was a masterpiece, one he called the Silver Lion. On the bracelet were two carved life-like lions, a male and a female, dashing through a picturesque scene of the Hinterlands. And on their necks was a collar, each one containing a single sapphire, emerald, and ruby.

To a naked eye, it was a fancy bracelet. But to a magi it contained the very spells he needed if he was caught in a jam. Not to mention the other imbuements sprinked around his person. The beauty of Arcana, Stray reminded himself. Nodding now, Stray closed his eyes for a brief count and took in a cleansing breath. He longed for the touch of Clara again, her gentle embrace, the smell of her skin. A smile crawled onto his features as the light trickle of Astral Energies strengthened ... first into a river, until it overwhelmed him like a waterfall. He exhaled then inhaled again, deeply before opening his minds eyes. Then finding the Tourmaline imbued by a Mistress of Elementalism, Straylor simply unlocked a single charge of Elemental Immunity: Fire and allowed the spell to cover him with its protective skin-tight armor.

Then to both griffins, Straylor thought: fly, guard the skies. And they would be off. Keep an eye on my surroundings he added before walking off, no longer bothered by the heat. Soon enough Stray found himself among the remnants of the most recent festival. There were items, all of them possible offerings to the Dragon Gods of Demios. Keeping that in mind, he avoided touching any of the items. The last thing he wanted was to anger any actual dragons within the volcano. Then his eye caught the bucket with nibble marks that indicated a large mouth with a dangerous number of sharp teeth. He wandered toward that, examined it some more, before catching the hints of bone where flesh was understandably picked clean.

"Hmm ..." Stray wondered suddenly There aren't actual dragons in Demios is there ...?

Secrets :

Whisper · August 7, 2008, 11:34 PM

The first set of bones was concentrated in one area, though spread out a little bit. The marks on the bones indicated extremely large, sharp teeth. The same went for the second set of bones, though these led away from the scene slightly. Starting at the spot where the items had been laid, the bones made a path from the first set to a little path. It wasn't completely flat, of course, but it would do to walk on for a while, until it got to what looked like a cave or tunnel opening in the near distance.

If Stray's eyes followed the line made by the bones, he would come upon many more bones than had been in the first set, which had clearly come from only one pig. These bones were larger, longer... human-er.

Straylor Leonard · August 21, 2008, 08:34 PM

Human-er bones meshed in with the pig(s)'s and Straylor soon got a sinking superstition that something large and sharp -- like teeth, perhaps -- penetrated the human-er and animal flesh and wiped it clean. To the bone, no less. His forehead wrinkled at the thought, then he hastily rubbed the lines and prayed that he wouldn't get any of those old-man-looking lines on his forehead. Please gods above don't take my handsome-ness ...

With those fantastic thoughts in mind, Straylor allowed himself a cleansing breath before diving upward with his mind, beckoning the pair of summoned griffins to take note of the path he was about to wander toward. "Guard" was the mental command he uttered before his military boots pressed forth. The dirt here was dry and despite the obvious enhancements he possessed thanks to his sponsors in Ieffreon, it did nothing for Straylor's thirst. He sucked it up for the mean time. At least he wasn't being burned to a crisp. Elemental Immunity: Fire took care of that bit of trouble.

For now, Straylor could only stay sharp, keep moving, and avoid any major obstacles. He also used his air-support for added defense and a preliminary warning system in case something particularly large, toothy, and powerful came down on him -- and not in a good way.

Catalyst · October 10, 2008, 11:18 PM

It was not a long walk to the cave, but it was a bit more trecherous than it first seemed. The heat of the ground caused it to be extremely dry and prone to crumbling, and there was no vegetation about, no doubt either killed by the heat directly or by the dryness of the ground.

The cave itself was not spectacular. It was partially blocked by a tumble of boulders, and as he looked Straylor could see that the tops of them had been polished smooth, as if something had been dragging back and forth over the top of them. The cave went straight into the moutain for about 10 yards or so, then angled sharply to the left and somewhat downward. The interior of the cave was rough unfinished stone, and whereever there were natural ledges or projections, a human skull had been left sitting on top of them. It was difficult to count how many of them there were (although there were certainly dozens), as the cave grew quite dark away from the mouth.

Straylor Leonard · November 4, 2008, 07:20 PM

Skulls and unnaturally polished rock were not good signs for the druid; and Straylor found himself frowning at the heat that the earth emitted below him. Given his previously activated Elemental Immunity: Fire, Stray would be safe from any fire-related harm ... but that didn't mean that he was also safe from the crumbling footing and otherwise poor situation he found himself in. At least, he shrugged inwardly, he sought an adventure and found one. The realm of politics were hardly exciting compared to this.

Closing his eyes, Straylor descended into Clara a second time. The initial moments were spent chasing away frivolous thoughts while forcing his mind into the trance-state. When he reached it, Stray would activate a second spell from his arsenal of amulets: Glowing Sphere. Granted that the person in charge of the imbuement he activated was a Mistress in Elementalism, Stray assumed that it would produce a rather sizable sphere of magical light which could last for an extended duration.

With that in tow, Straylor descended into the depths of the cave ... watching his footing and his surroundings as he did so. Taking a final glance above, Stray sent a mental command toward his griffins and posted one to guard the entrance while the other hovered above, guarding the skies for any signs of danger.

Catalyst · November 5, 2008, 09:47 AM

The Glowing Sphere filled the cave with a warm pleasing light. The Griffins took their assigned positions, and with his preparations in place Straylor was off about his adventure.

Rounding the bend in the cavern, Straylor began to descend. A warm current of air rose from below, and in a very short time it became rather unpleasant, although not dangerously hot. The cavern passage angled downwards for a good 40 feet or so, then turn sharply to the right.

As Straylor approached the turn, he noticed that a faint light was coming from something around the corner. The light seemed to dance and pulse, growing fainter and stronger over the course of seconds. The light was accompanied by a faint musical sound. As he arrived at the corner, he could make out that the sound was that of a woman singing in a quiet gentle voice.

Eeesori all majag suh wevril
Mo durrag uf zookner comfeel
Oh sillpee
cor durrkee
hor illseee non dorlin
sel eesori gone murkle soofeel

The words were haunting, but either nonsense or a language Straylor had never heard before.

Straylor Leonard · November 13, 2008, 10:04 PM

Yeah, creepy music was never one of Straylor's favorite past times. In fact, even as he neared, Stray had a strange but compelling nudge to just leave. Would his adventuring be thwarted by some wretch in a cave? Never! And granted that the singing woman was capable of sight, it would have only been a matter of time before she noticed the soft glow of Straylor's Glowing Sphere filling the cavern.

Dropping his left hand toward his dwarven sword's hilt, Straylor moved forward and called out into the darkness: "Hello? Anyone there?" With his right hand, Stray fished out a red spellsphere from his pocket and readied it in case anything particularly nasty lurked beyond his line of sight. There were stories of all sorts of monsters on Demios. Stray figured that it would only be a matter of time before he met one.

So what's behind cavern number one?

Catalyst · November 14, 2008, 12:04 AM

At the sound of Straylor's voice, the singing stopped. There was a brief pause, then a soft chuckle.

"Now now uman, surely you do not mistake me for no one. That would not be very clever of you at all." Despite the singing being in another language, the woman spoke without an accent, unless you counted her pronouncing "human" without the H.

Rounding the bend in the cave, St