Even now, there are only embers...

[windandrain]

Who: Vegeta, Saori, and Cliff (and maybe a few others)
What: Fairy Tale RPG Adventures
When: During the 2014 Total Recall Event
Where: All over Luceti
Summary: Saori and Vegeta are stuck living out a Fairy Tale RPG adventure with Cliff as an overlord. Shenanigans ensue?
Rating: PG-13? Possible violence and language. Maybe.



Lazeria, a once peaceful barony, is a land under siege by dark forces and hellish magic. The baron, a noble and kind (if somewhat oafish) man named Cliff has been cursed by black magic during a feast. A sorceress appeared and transformed him into a beast-man and the once bright land fell into shadow. The streets darken, strange creatures randomly attack passersby, and the baron himself hasn’t been himself for some time.

Enter two strangers from another land, intent on completing a mysterious quest. A fortuneteller had directed the pair to Lazeria, telling them that if they could defeat the accursed lord of the land that not only would light return, but that wealth and power beyond imagining would be their reward. That draws them in like moths to a flame, and the duo arrives in the dead of night, eager to figure out how best to overthrow Cliff and claim their prize.

Comments

A prompt for each of you npsnps

[misterbrief]

Action A: Entering town with Saori

He can see the lights of the city from under his hood, a heavy brown ragged cloak covering his robes, open in the front revealing a light piece of armor that he wore around his chest and back over his shirt. It bore the seal of his family, a family of wicked spellcasters that were feared throughout the lands of which he'd traveled from. At his side was a woman, his companion in this adventure they'd undertaken to Lazeria. Though silent for most of the trip, he speaks softly now that they'd finally arrived at their destination.

"So far, I don't think this is even worth our time. How could this place give us the power we want, it looks no more appealing than an old run down shack without a fireplace. I've seen corn fields more exciting than this dump."

Action B: Quest with Cliff

Now that they'd settled in and decided on some plans, Saori and Vegeta go their separate ways to try to accomplish their goal. But Vegeta needs to know exactly what they're up against, and that's why on this day, he's gone to seek Cliff out himself for some important matters. He makes his way to Cliff's quarters, the guards questioning his presence there but eventually letting him through once they'd heard of who he was and what he represented. Though even now, he is being watched closely by Cliff's esteemed guard.

He does the courtesy of at least bowing, to complete the facade.

"Lord Cliff, it's an honor to finally meet you."

A of course

[windandrain]

From beneath her hood, she surveyed the town with hawkish eyes and an upturned nose. Her fine, but travel-stained, black cloak waved gently in the spring breeze as she took in the place they'd traveled so far to find. One hand leaned heavily on the hilt of her blade, her posture full of arrogant swagger. Her own armor, wrought with silver filigree in the shape of lightning, gleams as she turns to her traveling companion. Of a height with him, she appears every inch the dark knight, and her cold voice mirrors his own.

"You heard the fortuneteller, Vegeta. And you know the rumors. The witch wouldn't have targeted the Lord if there wasn't something of value here. It doesn't look like much on the outside...but one could say the same of you until they see you at work, yes?"

[misterbrief]

"What's that supposed to mean?" He thought he looked plenty fearsome, even if he didn't have anything strange like horns or spikes growing out of him. Wasn't his scary face enough? It's frightened plenty of small children. Maybe it was because he wore clothing that fully covered his body. He was no stick.

"Either way, if that fortuneteller was wrong, I'm going to have a few words with her for wasting my time." His feet pad lightly on the path, eyes flashing dangerously as he took a better look around. He spots something that might resemble an inn, and begins to make his way towards it.

[windandrain]

Her eyes sparkle with amusement and she squeezes his cloaked shoulder with a gauntleted hand. "It means you're in need of a new traveling cloak. This one looks like it belongs on a beggar, and not a Sorcerer of the Saiya Order."

Following along beside her charge, the dark clad warrior ignores the comment about the fortuneteller. That old hag would be long gone by the time they got back, if she'd lied. No point in wasting the energy to find her. As they approach, the nameplate above the inn garners a skeptical glance and a snort. "Seventh Heaven, hmm? Where are the other six, then, if this is the seventh?"

[misterbrief]

Telling him that his cloak looked that ragged causes him to turn his mouth up. He really liked this cloak, but the thought that it made him look like a beggar or even less than that made him silently promise himself he'd get a new cloak while he was here.

"How should I know? I've never been here before. This place better impress me, or I just might show my displeasure in ways that these villagers would only see in their darkest nightmares. Ever see a duck roast itself?"

[windandrain]

She snorts a laugh and traces her fingers along the doorknob, sparks dancing along the metal as she checks it for trace energy. Looking back, she nods and opens it up before replying.

"I have. You did that once, back in Nameklia. I remember telling you it was the worst duck I've ever tasted."

The room is fairly well lit, magical lamps lighting the whole of it. Saori steps inside and walks over to a table in a back corner, out of the light and sits down with the door in her field of vision. Scanning the room warily, the armored woman waits patiently for her ill-tempered partner.

[misterbrief]

He follows her in, glancing around. Not anything he found particularly stunning, sitting down besides her as opposed to across from her. He also would like to be able to see everything in front of him, not wanting to be surprised by someone approaching from behind.

"That's because I transfigured that irritating little brat into a duck first. I should have known he wouldn't of tasted very good. But the rest of them certainly didn't bother us during our visit, now did they?"

He glances up at the waiter that wanders over to them, serving water. He growls as he picks his glass up, inspecting it before he takes a sip. "The food better be good..."

[windandrain]

"No," she admits with a dark laugh, "They ran. Quickly."

The waiter nods to them and brings menus as well, and Saori quickly scans it. The selection was at least adequate for such an out of the way place. That was a start to removing her foul mood at least.

"I do too. I've had very little in the way of decent food since we left home. I'd honestly kill for decent fish, not those...things...we caught in the stream a few days ago."

[misterbrief]

"Don't remind me." He picks up his own menu, looking it over. "We haven't had a decent meal since we left. And I intend on making the most of this." That would be a cue to Saori that he's about to order everything off the menu. Literally. Everything.

"I think it would be wise to start coming up with a plan to take care of our little problem. I hear he's a skilled fighter."

[aerialassault]

Word travels quickly in a small barony like Lazeria. All of the inn's regular patrons knew each other by name and cashed in on their petty bets every night; the two travel-worn strangers, a warrior and sorcerer pair, were a highly noticeable addition within the community. Although he had his day filled with the duties of maintaining his lands during the times that he could, Lord Cliff held a curiosity regarding the pair that was strong enough for him to set his personal pride aside and accept the impromptu meeting despite the circumstances.

It was a change, and a change was the only thing that could help his barony at that point.

"No, the honor should be mine." Cliff said with a warm smile, inclining his own head in a small show of deference. "It isn't often that we have travellers coming through anymore."

[misterbrief]

He chuckles quietly to himself, slyly smiling as he always has, as he replies.

"No, I suppose not. I can't imagine why." Perhaps because this place is a dump, he keeps to himself, before he continues on.

"But as you can imagine, I've come here on business. Your little barony here just might be housing an artifact that you'd be interested in."

[aerialassault]

Cliff folded his arms and stared down at the man from his towering height, brows furrowed in his expectant, almost haughty regard. Appearances aside, there was something about the man's words and demeanor that raised his hackles.

It was to everyone's benefit that the sun hadn't set yet.

"And what kind of artifact is that?" He asked, trying to keep the suspicion from seeping into his voice. Every crevice and rock had examined by the finest mages in the region since the day of his seal. Surely, they hadn't missed anything...

[misterbrief]

"I heard it just might be a solution to your problem, Lord Cliff." He stands up to his full 5'5'', setting back with a smile with arms folded over his chest.

"One that hasn't been recorded in any books for some time. But I just so happened to of come across a record of it from centuries ago."

[aerialassault]

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about," he said after too long a beat, turning his gaze away from the traveller. There was no way for him to guess at how far word of his current condition had spread across the land. Surely, this was some cocky fool trying to pull the wool over his eyes and send him after a hare that didn't exist.

Cliff wasn't going to fall for it.

[misterbrief]

"Of course you don't. Must I prove it to you? You don't sound too convinced, after all." He doesn't make a move, however. The last thing he needs is all those guards getting nervous over a little piece of paper he's got in his robes. He doesn't want to have to show any of his power before the time arises for it.

[aerialassault]

There was no need to show any power at that moment; the words were enough. Staring down at the man with blazing eyes, Cliff fought the urge to act on his base impulses. A hand briefly clenched into a fist by his side, as if he were about to slam it fully into the stranger's face for mocking him on this subject...before he took a breath and forced himself to relax.

"Leave us," he ordered, waving imperiously at the guards. "This is sounding like a confidential matter."

[misterbrief]

Vegeta glances around with a smirk still plastered on his face as the guards' eyes dart back and forth, reluctantly leaving the two of them in private. After their exit, he makes his way up to Cliff, reaching inside his robes and producing the paper that had the information and map needed to prove this artifacts's existence.

"Take a look for yourself. Has your men ever bothered to check here?" He points to a spot on the map, which looks as if it's a simple dead end into the mountain range. "That is no mere rock wall. Behind it is a tunnel that leads down farther into the mountains, and that's where you'll find your piece of power. But unfortunately, only those worthy of it can enter."

[aerialassault]

She smelt like a storm.

That was the only coherent thought that ran though the mind of the hulking beast that hid in the shadows, watching the foreign woman's every movement with rapt attention. There was an aura of danger, eerily reminiscent of the stillness that hung in the air before a torrential summer storm, that followed the woman's passage through town and caught the hound's curiosity.

Lord Cliff, Baron of Lazeria and Hound of the Night, had noticed a similar scent lingering on everything that the sorceror had touched in his estate earlier that day. Were the timing different, no one would have noticed anything...

But the days drawing closer to the full moon also drew out the Beast, although in a lesser form. For now Cliff retained his mind within the animalistic form, but the instinct to track and hunt were hard to fight.

Watching the powerful, authoritative woman from a distance was the only thing that he could do. There was no way that he could stay away.

[windandrain]

As she walked down the darkened street, hand resting casually on the hilt of her sword, the Dark Lady of Dazaifu couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. The whole of Lazeria put her on edge to be sure but there was something in the air tonight that'd set her eyes roaming the twilight gloom, seeking a threat that may not even exist. She didn't quicken her stride or turn back towards the inn, though, as she silently vowed to make whoever...or whatever...was giving her this feeling suffer.

Turning down a side street in hopes of getting her stalker to follow, Saori slowed, her armored boots barely making a sound on the dirt path. A cool breeze picked up around her, carrying her scent down the narrow pathway as well as behind her in an effort to confound someone using that method to track her movements.

She wanted whatever it was to be forced into view, but pointedly avoided looking around, intending the appearance of someone so arrogantly unconcerned with the world that they wouldn't care about being tailed. That'd served her well in the past, driving away potential threats through intimidation or drawing them into open conflict on grounds of her choosing. Both acceptable solutions, of course, but she'd still prefer the latter to be the endgame.

After all, the woman mused silently, Anyone audacious enough to stalk one of the Storm's Blades deserves to be taught a swift and bloody lesson.

[aerialassault]

It was a lesson that would be well deserved in the end, but there was something almost feral about the warrior that had captured the Hound's attention, driving him to act on his base impulses. The cool, spring breeze kicked up the stray leaves on the path, sending them rustling paper-like as it carried her scent down and away. Primarily led by scent instead of sight in the cover of darkness, the subtle act of nature confounded his sense of direction. Cliff stopped, out in the middle of the path, and stood tall with his ears lifted high in search of any hint of where this woman might really be.

[windandrain]

She's not stopped walking, at least, her feet crunching softly on the damp path. Her steps are slow, as she deliberately moved softly in an effort to force her pursuer to get closer. There was no reason for her to fear, she knew, confident as she was in her ability to deal with whatever thief or naerdowell this kingdom might have produced.

[aerialassault]

The small, rational part of his mind that knew he was being foolish was forced into silence when he heard the soft sound of leaves and stones being jostled by someone's footstep. Driven by his curiosity, Cliff pursued the sound into the darkness. The sounds of his claws catching in the dirt as he moved would have been a dead giveaway of his location to any astute observer-- there was no reason to bother with stealth on nights like this.

[windandrain]

It is a giveaway, and the warrior stops, her hand resting on the hilt of her blade as she regarded the dog that'd suddenly appeared. Narrowing her eyes, she stood her ground, not quite glaring but decidedly unfriendly.

"Are you following me for a reason, beast?"

[aerialassault]

The dog stopped, but didn't drop his guard when he saw hand at the ready. While he didn't particularly care for a fight that evening, he had no way of guessing what these travellers would have wanted in his town. After the failure that resulted from his meeting earlier with the woman's travelling companion, Cliff was sure that they would have given up and returned to their own lands. There was nothing for them here, unless they had something more untoward in mind.

He lowered his head in a silent gesture of innocence, a silent promise not to cause harm. Words weren't available to him in this form, much to his eternal frustration, but he was confident in his ability to somehow find ways to communicate whenever he needed to.

[windandrain]

The gesture caused her to loosen slightly, hand instead coming to rest palm up on the sword's crossguard instead of around the hilt. It's as close to passive as she'd ever get around a strange animal, which...if the rumors were true, could very well be in the service of the baron. Or the baron himself.

"Were you just smelling some treat, dog? Or are you spying?" she asked, tone vaguely teasing. It couldn't speak, after all, so she imagined that a reminder of that inability might be a way to ruffle the beast a bit.