Open Chronicles Wierdos from Another Realm (Monster Hunters)

[Smiling One]

(OOC: the following is a prologue set in the Spine)

“It’s raining at last.” The Village Elder looked up at the sky and saw the pouring rain splash against the muddy ground. Thunder and lightning echoed throughout the sky. Daylor limped towards the porch clutching his wooden walking stick his back aching while did so. He was old even by Elven standards. In his youth, he would travel around, meet new people, discover new places and fight weird creatures. Now he’s a retired Elf of 750 years watching over the small, quiet village of Nightingale and it suited Daylor just fine.

Daylor’s children and grandchildren would chastise him for preferring the simple life. They questioned why Daylor would watch over a “mudhole” full of Humans, Orcs, Dwarves, and especially humans. Daylor chuckled saying that when they’re as old as he is, then they’ll appreciate the simple life. Just a huge lightning bolt shot down from the sky, producing a blinding light. Though he had Elven eyes, Daylor had to shield them as a bolt penetrated to the ground with a loud crunch briefly deafening Daylor’s ears.

Daylor’s heart began to pound to where the Elf thought it would burst out from his chest. Mother nature is a cruel mistress, but surely she would be so gentle on a village like Nightingale. Daylor began to blink, adjusting his eyesight and his mouth dropped shocked by what he saw. A huge tower spiraled at a distance. It was full of moss and grime and had one lighted window.

“What?!” Daylor stumbled back tripping on a pebble and landing butt first on to the wooden ground. He marveled at the sheer terror of the tower. He wasn’t a mage, but already Daylor could feel the magic permeating from the place.

 

[Smiling One]

(OOC: The following below takes place in the Gilded Vale: The Monster Hunter Safehouse located in the Spine one week after the mysterious tower appeared. )

Willis Reede was snoring loudly.

He's taken on one too many monster contracts for the past month or two. It was that time again where Monsters of the Spine would attack villages with ruthless aggression. The inhabitants would call it the Great Migration where multiple Monsters would travel south to avoid the cold harsh winters. Along the way though, they wreak havoc upon any poor soul who was unfortunate enough to get in their way.

Hill Giants, Gorgons, Owlbears, Harpies you name it will all come out in droves for months gathering any food they can as they travel to warmer climates. To the villagers and travelers alike seeing these Monsters provokes sheer terror. To the Monster Hunters, it was a Gold Mine. While many warnings were issued to travelers and residents about avoiding the Spine during the Great Migration, some people just couldn't help themselves whether it was out of greed or laziness or whatever and they hire a Monster Hunter for protection.

Like many others, Willis couldn't resist the opportunity to make an exorbitant amount of coin. He wished that Caliane Ruinë was here to experience it. The two did some contracts together and even did a loot, Caline quickly became one of the more popular Monster Hunters as she passed her trials with ease. Willis ended up arguing with the Grandmasters that her bravery and skill were enough to become an official Monster Hunter.

The last letter he received from the Grand Master was a week ago saying that Caline's Monster Hunter manual combined with the papers declaring her an official Monster Hunter would be on their way to the Gilded Vale. Willis will just have to present to her, the last time Willis saw Caline was a while back where it was said she was trying to save a village. Given that she's a Avariel the young man advised caution since not many people were aware of the Avariel's presence but she was just as stubborn as he was.

Still while Willis worked, his thoughts were with Caline who formed a bond with Lazule of all people. Even though Willis was friends with Lazule, she was still an enigma to him. The young man worked non-stop, gathering so much gold that he can present it to the Bank of Alliria and they would be floored about how much coin he bought. Willis figured that he get some shut eye in the Gilded Vale before returning back at the spine.

The Ravenfolk: Gea was serving traveling Monster Hunters some tea soup, shaking his head at Willis sprawling out of the couch, snoring. "Willis!" he yelled. "Get up you're disrupting the atmosphere!"

"What atmosphere?!" Willis mumbled rolling off the couch and landing face first. "You really can't get a man to rest now can you?!" He asked slowly getting up. "The rooms are full so where the fuck can I sleep?!"

"Outside if you keep snoring like an Elephaunt!" Gea snapped. "Now stay there! As soon as I'm finished serving these people I got a contract for you!"

The young man strechted and yawned. "Another day another dead beast." he said waiting for the Ravenfolk to finish his work.

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

It took nearly the remainder of the day for her and Lazule who carried the injured Eren'thiel Xyrdithas to reach the Gilded Vale from where they started in the small Dwarven village of Brendalgrim. It was not a particularly hard journey and despite the stench of blood and death that clung to them they met no trouble on their way, it was more the sorry state of the little group that had slowed their progress to that of a crawl. Lazule was still getting used to his new legs and Caliane was struggling to put one foot in front of the other. In a way she was thankful that she was making this journey with Lazule - he was a man of little words unless they were necessary. It made it easier to slip into that tired state of being where the body operated almost independent of any thought, command or effort on the part of the bodies actual owner.

Caliane was so relieved when she spotted the familiar lights of the Monster Hunter safehouse that she actually let out a choked sob. Worry for Erën had dogged every step she took. Her own injuries could wait but he had suffered more. From what she had gleaned it was he who had stood and given himself little rest whilst her body healed the fissures caused by The Fall in Rhathairk. She forced herself to walk a little faster now their destination was in sight and it wasn't long before they were stepping through the doors and into the welcoming warmth of the safe house.

A small hush fell over the room.

Lazule was an unknown in this form after all and was quite imposing compared to her previous body. A small smile tugged at her lips as she thought ahead to the amount of surprised exclamations there would be when they realised who it was. Then there was Erën draped in her arms who looked as though death had wrapped her arms about his soul. His broken arm was obvious but there were other signs of injuries too. Cali looked no better. Her normally olive skin was an ashen grey, her wings had dragged for the last mile and were covered in dirt, her face was still coated in Benjamin's blood and then there were the horrific bruises around her throat and down her collarbone where the gargoyle had grabbed her in its clay fist and strangled the life from her nearly.

"Is there a medic here? Our friend required immediate attention," thankfully the hush meant she didn't have to raise her voice too high for it hurt to use her crushed vocal chords.

 

[Kikwi]

The rain was relentless, and Kikwi's feathers were matted down to his body, revealing just how much of his body shape depended on them. His head appeared several times small, and his eyes several times larger by comparison. His robes were waterlooged and he hoped against hope that the journal he had brought on this particular venture was not too damaged.

The lanternlight didn't penetrate far, and Beatrice, the goat pulling his small wooden cart, was restless. "That's it," he called to her through the downpour, "We have to keep going!" His beak chattered against the icy water as they slowly trundled along.

There was a blinding flash and a tremendous boom, and Kikwi shielded his eyes. When he brought his arm down he saw a tower with a single light. He didn't remember seeing that there just a second ago, but towers didn't just appear out of nowhere. It must have been hidden in the rain.

"Come on, Bea, maybe someone there will let us in out of the rain."

 

[Lazule]

When last Lazule had entered the Gilded Vale, it had been in Lena's body. The body of Benjamin "Father" Murtry's daughter, his beloved little girl, youngest of five, cruelly slain by a werewolf she had believed was not a monster.

Lena's body had since been destroyed. By the Amalgamation, the gargantuan monster which had threatened to destroy Bhathairk.

Now Lazule came to the Gilded Vale in the body of the Unknown Warrior, encased entirely in a unique and experimental suit of armor. Lazule had gleaned faint details about the Warrior during the journey with Caliane to the Vale: he felt now that the Warrior had been a Templar, and that he had died in a heightened emotional state. What emotion it was Lazule could not yet say--love, rage, grief, he did not know. But he had very likely seen his death coming.

Caliane stepped ahead of Lazule and, since Lazule was carrying the injured body of Eren'thiel Xyrdithas in his arms, opened the door to the familiar Monster Hunter safehouse. They both stepped in, and Caliane called for a medic.

Lazule stood behind her, silently and stoically carrying Erën. He did not wish for him to die. He was a good soul, a capable warrior, an instrument of righteousness. They had together brought down the necromancer Zeng before he could raise the Ancient Dweller. Above all, Lazule considered him a friend, and had discovered through him that friendships forged through shared battle and strife were of the strongest steel.

And this feeling for Erën allowed for a more powerful version of guilt to weigh upon Lazule's mind and his shoulders and the very flame which burned in his chest.

For he had at one time tacitly wished for Caliane to die.

This, for a purely selfish reason. A reason which did not serve righteousness.

And she was also his friend. Also one forged in the crucible of shared battle and strife. One who had aided him through the most tumultuous period in his life--his Breaking.

Yet he had wished for Caliane to die in favor of the Soulfire taking over her body all the same.

Amends would need to be made. It was the singular way for his guilt to be rectified.

 

[Azulian]

Azulian was tlking with a few of the other hunters when the commotion went quiet followed by a call for help. “We’ll finish this up later.” She tells the hunters placing her hand on one of their wrists and runs over to Cali and Erën. Her red hair tied up in a pony tail and she was in her normal attire.

Upon a quick quick glance inspection of the Avariel Azul decided she could wait and starts to look over Erën, “Don’t fret, I’ll try my best.” He looked pretty beaten up, so much so she did not want to hold off on her incantations. “When I start the incantations please move him to the room in the back, I will move with you.” She tells Cali placing an ear on his chest before giving her a moment to talk back. and puts her hand over his worse injures with her pheonix pendent grasped into one hand. Whispering a few phrases in an old form of magic, her hand glows a fiery orange as she spoke, and slowly his worse wounds start to close.

That arm could wait, it was more the ones that were a major threat to his life that she was more concerned about. She would have to set the cast later after all this. Please pull through for the love of the gods. Azul prays in her mind to her gods as she spoke her incantations. Now in complete focus not even an arrow shooting into her back would break her concentration.

 

[Alexander Verallas]

Alexander Verallas was not alike those who would frequent The Gilded Vale, for he had been on the road a very long week at the behest of one Willis Reede whom had requested the assistance of any willing and able bodied persons in need of coin. For the young man, the mention of coin was cause enough to call to his attention and set off astride Quillon, his faithful colt.

For the lad whom still were in his early days of training, he bore a light apparel of leathers with a reinforced jerkin atop his sleeved jupon, hardened leather gauntlets and dark leather boots over earthly toned leggings. His was not the coat of arms you would see upon a full-fledged Knight and Lord of some Noble House, but nor was Alexander a lad of any such status yet. His broadsword presented no evidence of particular worth, and the shield that he carried over his back bore no crest nor identity of which he might represent. Outside of the Allir Reach, for the time being he was but a sword-hand and not a particularly good one.

By the time he had reached the Gilded Vale however, he had long questioned the nature of this new venture. It was to pay very well, were the one whom sought for assistance to be believed. Alone and in a land of foreign sights, it was easy to be deceived and taken a fool of however. Having entered the establishment, Alex may have stood out like the bollocks of a bull, for he looked about the place and the occupants within, uncertain as to whom he owed for his being there.

Smiling One | Caliane Ruinë | Kikwi | Lazule | Azulian​

 

[Eren'thiel Xyrdithas]

It had been a long journey. Their trek from Benjamin' Tower swallowed the day, and their arrival to the Gilded Vale was shrouded in the evening's rain. But none of this was apparent to Erën. The injuries to his body forced his consciousness deep. Deep...

Spoiler: ...in the very midst of his darkest dreams.

And there was a flickering beacon. He'd crawled his way to it. All about him as he clawed his way through, he found everything laid in ruin. But that one final bastion, that one sacred place - of he with her by the fire. He wrapped himself in it. It hid him from the voices. Hid him from the agony.

Everything that had once been seemed lost, or broken. All but that one, persisting memory.

It was his. He knew it was his.

His arm, was broken. Small punctures dotted it and bled from the chainmail that had been crushed into him. His arm and chest had gone deeply black and blue, and within many of his bones had been broken and shifted. His breathing was wheezed, and weak, and what skin was not bruised or cut had turned grey.

And then, the warmth of Azulian's magic brushed against his distant, shielded mind as it wove into the fabric of his body. He could feel the changes. The bruises, receded, and the loud crack of bones once more finding their place. Then, his eyes shot open with a loud gasp, and he moved to sit up but was stopped, held in place by the healing magic.

He looked around fantically for a moment, at first unsure of where he was, unable to fully comprehend. But, his struggling quickly ended as he realized where he was, or rather the company he was in.

He let his head fall back, and he looked straight up to the ceiling, his heart tempted to pound itself right out of his chest from the fright.

"Where... am I?"

Smiling One Caliane Ruinë Lazule Kikwi Azulian Alexander Verallas​

 

[Smiling One]

Willis' eyebrows rose up in shock as he ran towards Caliane. The Winged Elf looked a mess covered in grime and an assortment of wounds. A large man beside Cali was carrying an Elf who looked close to death next he wore an impressive armored suit was it made out of Mithril? A rare mineral known for being nearly impenetrable. The Dwarves created armor made out of Mithril during the Age of Wonders. Another Elf, a fellow Monster Hunter looked over the injured Elf while Willis rushed to Caliane. Azulian! Gea called to the young Elf rushing by her side. "Let's take him upstairs! Annie! I need you and the girls to prepare all the supplies!"

Willis wanted to help, but Gea had it under control the Elf the man was carrying is in good hands. After retiring as a Monster Hunter, Gea went to the College of Elbion where he learned the art of healing magic along with practical methods of healing others. Alongside Azulian who was shorter than Caline and had her wrapped in a bun, the person should make a clean recovery.

Now to Caliane...…

"Cali!" Willis said his voice laced with worry. "Are you okay?! What happened out there? And who are these people with you?"

He's heard rumors about Caliane and Lazule saving a village from a Monster but not much more. "Do you need some medical attention?" He asked. "While Gea and the girl are attending your friend, I can patch you up I know basic first aid."

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

There was a whirlwind of movement around her as people rushed to offer their support to the bedraggled group but Caliane could only nod mutely at Azulian as the young woman begin to perform healing magic on Erën. She ached to help, to do something for the man who had stood vigil over her for two weeks but she had nothing else to give. Even the Soulfire slept. When they began to move him upstairs she went to move after them but there were so many people already there that she stopped herself. She would merely be in the way when they needed to work. It didn't stop her watching them as they left though, ensuring no further assistance was needed from her. It took effort to tear her eyes off of the small little group and look back to Willis. It felt like an age since she had last seen him in Alliria before heading off to deal with the Wendigo in a little village near the Falwood.

She rubbed at her throat when he mentioned basic first aid and shook her head.

"We were at..." her voice broke and she shut her eyes as a wave of pain rolled through her. "Bhathairk... the Amalgamation."

"Gods child," an orc sat at a table nearby. Most of the room kept their hushed tones as they too strained to hear the answer to Willis' question. "Tha' was you lot? I 'eard a Phoenix destroyed tha' fing. Bleedin' 'ell I never even fort..." Caliane nodded solemnly. The fever of conversation began to grow as people began swapping stories of the horrific battle that had waged there and the untold deaths that had occurred.

"Are those the two warriors that girl was shouting about?"

"Nah the Lone Warrior was definitely a Ronin."

"That's a bloody lie - ain't no way in hell it was raining fire."

She heard every whisper but she gave none of them an answer.

"Lazule..." Cali motioned to the huge hulking man beside her. "Lazule's body was destroyed but some... complications arose and there was a fight. Erën was hurt. This place was closest," she slumped into a nearby chair. "Not sure basic will cover it... Gargoyle strangled me..." the red welts amongst the black bruising showed vividly the size of the creature that had nearly killed her.

 

[Lazule]

Lazule simply held Erën in his arms and waited for instructions. Willis Reede was present in the Gilded Vale, but greeting him was rank-ordered to the lowest priority at present.

He did not have to wait long. An unfamiliar elven woman approached and said in general to not "fret" and examined Erën. The instructions were forthcoming after this mild reassurance and preliminary examination.

When I start the incantations please move him to the room in the back, I will move with you.

Lazule shifted his helmeted head down to regard the red-haired elf and gave a curt, singular nod. The incantations were started and one of the Gilded Vale personnel (Gea) said to take Erën upstairs. There was very likely a room that fit both qualities: being in the back, and being upstairs. So Lazule complied.

He walked across the main hall of the Gilded Vale carrying Erën while the red-haired elven woman began to use her magic and walked with him. As Lazule ascended the stairs to the upper floor, he could hear faintly Caliane speaking to Willis and the other Monster Hunters in the hall conversing about the Amalgamation. It seemed needless, said conversing. The Amalgamation was slain. There was nothing more to speak of, so far as Lazule was concerned. Time would be better spent speaking of the monsters that remained to be slain.

Lazule carried Erën into a billeting room toward the back of the upstairs floor. Laid down Erën's body on the bed present in the room and took a step back and watched in silence for a while as the red-haired elf performed her restorative magic.

Lazule had time to consider that, for all the distance walked while carrying an additional amount of weight--Erën--and the weight of the armored suit itself, the body of the Unknown Warrior encased within did not feel tired. Abnormal. Lena's body would have felt tired. Lena's body also would have been hungry and thirsty by now. The Unknown Warrior's body was neither. Further insight into this new paradigm would be required.

Erën, then, regained consciousness.

Lazule looked down at him and answered, his voice retaining the metallic reverberation of the helm, "The Gilded Vale. It is a Monster Hunter safehouse."

A brief pause.

"Caliane is downstairs. As is the Soulfire. A preferable circumstance for your sake, and the sake of this room's door."

Eren'thiel Xyrdithas Caliane Ruinë Smiling One Azulian Kikwi Alexander Verallas

 

[Eren'thiel Xyrdithas]

Though his body steadily began to regain strength, Azulian may have been shocked to see how well it responded to her magic. Aeraesarians were a robust people, blessed with vitality and accelerated recovery. Even still, the further acceleration of the magic did pain him. As bones snapped back together in his chest, he groaned.

"The Gilded Vale. It is a Monster Hunter safehouse."

His hand came up to ward the healer off, and he began to sit. Whatever protests Azulian mustered, he only shook his head and asked for a moment. He was hardly back to full health, and his arm was certainly still broken. But he was adament. As he came to sit, he briefly looked up to him, and then he nodded along as Lazule explained where Caliane was. Had he been in a better state, he may have smirked at his comment. But he simply felt nothing.

He was glad that they had found safety, and Lazule was finally himself again... sort of. But that would take some getting used to.

All of this would.

His eyes looked over the suit of armour that was Lazule for a moment. He certainly looked quite formidable in this new form. Then, his eyes dropped. He caught sight of the feather laced in his hair. His good hand reached to it brushing it gently. That made him feel something.

It also reminded him of other things he felt. That he knew he felt. Benjamin. The Tower. He was there. He had failed.

"Lazule. I was too weak. I could not stop the Soul Fire. I could not stop your Father. And I could not stop myself. And in my weakness you were forced to slay your own father..."

As he had told Caliane some weeks ago - this was a duty that now Lazule and he had shared. Erën too had slain his father, who had become corrupt. A traitor. Many centuries ago. But those memories... yes they were his too... he thought... no, he was sure. Just as sure as he had thought he'd been that night - watching his father's head roll from atop its place.

Hm.

"... I am sorry."

Lazule Caliane Ruinë Smiling One Azulian Alexander Verallas
Kikwi​

 

[Azulian]

Azulian would finish up the last of her incantations and let out a sigh, Thank you gods. She gives her gods thanks as she sees Eren wake up and seem a bit better. Azulian could care less about their bantering but something told her what they were a part of was something else. Something she might want to learn later if the time permitted it. She was focused on her job and nothing else at the moment.

"We're going to have to get you out of this soon." She tells Eren standing up and gets out of the way as Gea quickly nudges his way in to continue some healing magic as the worse had been settled, "Wrap up his arm." The raven folk tells Azulian who walks over to a drawer and takes out a pair of scissors, wrapping and some casting.

Returning to the three of them Annie returned with some clean clothing and sets it down at the foot of the bed along with some probably going to be much-needed tea and herbs to help with some pains or sleep. Azulian could not tell at the exact moment. "Forgive me but we're going to have to set your arm bones a bit closer together so we could cast it and at least mend most of it and let your body strengthen the rest naturally. Magic does not cure things as well as your own body after all. The cast would just be for the magic bit so everything stays in place." She informs Eren as Annie walks over, the old lady kneels over and offers him some tea.

"This will help take the pain away if you want it." She tells Eren in an older raspy grandma voice. She would look at Lazule, "You might need to help us hold him down, young man" She warns him quietly.

 

[Kikwi]

The rain did not let up, and the warm glow of the tower was becoming more and more inviting. It soared into the sky, making some odd twists and turns as it rose that even the most skilled stonemason would have trouble achieving. The entire structure was lined with moss, vines, and other forms of plant life. Though the rain was heavy, Kikwi though he could see birds flitting along the edges. Curious.

Beatrice was protesting loudly, and the wooden wheels of the cart were starting to slide in the mud. The tower was still a good ways off, and Kikwi's shivering was getting worse. Luckily, as they crested a small rise, more lights suddenly came into view.

A small town, no more than a few dozen buildings, was nestled into the hills. He felt relief, but this was quickly replaced by panic as the wagon began to pick up speed. Beatrice locked her legs and bleated in protest, but they slid down the hill all the same. The wagon swayed to one side and then the other, rocking precariously. They sped down to the main street, mud flying out from behind them. They hit the flat road, spun around once, and overturned.

Kikwi rose sputtering, his face and the full front his robes were caked in the cold, slimy mud. The few satchels of supplies he had brought were strewn about, and Beatrice was crying out loudly, tangled in her reins.

"Ho, there!" Called a wizened voice. A very old looking man with a heavy walking stick was moving down the steps of the nearest building as quickly as he could (which is to say, not very). He was hard to hear over the rain. "...out in this weather! Come, come, get yourself inside." He beckoned to the small owl, and Kikwi was glad to oblige. He picked up his things from the road as best he could and, with the help of the old man and another who had followed him, they righted the wagon, disentangled the goat, and made their way out of the wet.

"Deirdre," the old man called, "We have a guest who'll need tending. Got caught in the storm."

A plump woman with fiery, curly hair and freckles appeared from a side room. Upon seeing Kikwi, the bedraggled, muddy owl, he clapped her hands to her cheeks and exclaimed, "Oh my dearie! Come, come, I'll run a bath."

Kikwi was in no state to refuse, and he allowed himself to be bustled off to the kitchen. He was left alone with a washing tub and given a good-sized cloth to dry himself with when he was finished. The hot water was heavenly, and he didn't even worry about how long it would take for his feathers to properly dry out.

 

[Alexander Verallas]

As Alexander stood within the entrance to the safe-house, he found himself looking about the numerous occupants all of which seemed busied in their affairs, uncertain of whom exactly it was that he was supposed to be meeting.

Others entered into the premises, Alex moving and offering them a polite nod, curious to note where they would turn to for information or some form of welcome, though truth be told he felt somewhat out of place where he stood.

There seemed little point in staying idle however, and so the boy of seventeen years reluctantly moved further into the establishment, taking his time to glance about those around him and listen for any tell-tale signs of the one known as Willis, of whom he had received word via raven of this new endeavor on offer.

One particularly poor fellow had suffered a broken arm, and as Alexander paused to look upon those trying to tend to him, he couldn't help but grimace and felt immediately bad for staring upon their moment of vulnerability. Whatever had become of them and caused such a thing, he would utter a silent prayer in hope for a swift recovery. It never cost anything to be considerate of others, his Father had always told him.

Incidentally, Alexander found himself faced with a man whom seemed to hold a certain distinguishing presence about him, and so he took the initiative and no small amount of hope, approaching the Smiling One and seeking their assistance.

"Excuse me, Goodman. But I was wondering if you knew of a Willis Reede around these parts? I've been asked to meet with them here about a job of some sort".

 

[Lazule]

Lazule watched Erën sit up. Listened to him. His apology. A brief wondering, if such an apology had been resident in his mind for an equivalent amount of time as Lazule's own forthcoming apology to Caliane.

The helm that watched Erën was solid and stoic. As was the unseen face behind it. It mattered not if this face was that of the Unknown Warrior or that of Lena; Lazule had never been one to display a wide range of emotion--even if this grim day and its earlier transpirings at Father's Tower was a remarkable exception.

But though the emotion was not readily on display, on account of the helm or otherwise, Lazule still felt a swell of warmth in his chest. A kindled sense of camaraderie, of fellowship. For both he and Erën had seen disquieting times--Zeng and the Ancient Dweller, the Amalgamation, Father--and persevered. They, the two of them, standing to further serve the cause of righteousness upon Arethil.

"I, too, was weak," Lazule said. "Had I more of myself to give in the plight against the Amalgamation, then the precursor circumstance--the destruction of Lena's body--may never have occurred."

Lazule reached out his hand and touched Erën's shoulder. A mimicry of what he had seen others do when they wished to console another. And he wished to console Erën.

"If you are sorry, then so am I."

Lazule stood back for a moment then, allowing the red-haired elf and Gea to continue their work unhindered by his presence. A thought. Concerning the red-haired elf, the one who had worked healing magic. Lazule was vastly unfamiliar of the discipline, but there remained a reasonable probability that the elf could answer a question for him. A question the elf might find strange. But Lazule both required and craved insight on the Unknown Warrior's body, and its relation with the armored suit.

You might need to help us hold him down, young man.

Lazule shifted his gaze--that was to say, the golden visor of his helm--toward Annie and nodded. Stepped forward once more to the edge of the bed.

Said, to Erën: "Your suffering is endured in the presence of a friend. I hope this brings your mind peace, where your body finds none."

And Lazule was prepared to follow the instructions of Azulian, Gea, and/or Annie, and brace Erën with the degree of force necessary to hold him down, such that his arm might be mended.

Azulian Eren'thiel Xyrdithas

Smiling One Caliane Ruinë Kikwi Alexander Verallas

 

[Eren'thiel Xyrdithas]

Upstairs

Why was I forsaken?

"This will help take the pain away if you want it."

A sigh rumbled from him, and he took the cup he was offered. He twirled it around before he drank of it. He finished it quite quickly, and handed the cup back to the older lady, expressing his gratitude with a nod. He didn't feel any immediate relief, but hopefully it would kick in before too long.

You might need to help us hold him down, young man.
​

He rolled his eyes, knowing full well what was to come. His arm had been severely damaged by the massive Gargoyle's fist, and was without a doubt in need of more... aggressive measures of healing. He rolled his head, and then turned it away.

"Your suffering is endured in the presence of a friend. I hope this brings your mind peace, where your body finds none."

He nodded. It did.

"Just give me something to bite on to..."

At most, Lazule would need to hold him down at the shoulders to keep him from fidgeting - but otherwise he waited for someone to hand him something, and then he would grasp onto where he sat, and await the coming agony.

Caliane Ruinë Lazule Azulian Kikwi
Alexander Verallas Smiling One​

 

[Smiling One]

"Lazule is..."

Willis stumbled back from Caliane Ruinë his eyes stung with tears. "No," the young man frantically shook his head his eyebrows forming into a frown. Willis was friends with Lazule for a long time and they've fought many Monsters together. Lazule was always eccentric and sometimes didn't even take the coin, but Lazule was one of most decorated and loyal Monster Hunters Willis has ever seen. She was known to never break a contract unlike many Monster Hunters and she was very powerful as well.

"Bullshit!" Willis spat. "Don't fucking tell me that Lazule is dead Cali!" The young man ignored Olag's mention about the Amalgamation. "Cali," The Orc muttered. "We've heard the Monster Hunters saved my people's homeland from being destroyed. You were part of that team weren't you? You have my thanks you gave that monster justice for trying to kill off the Orcs!" Willis crossed his arms seeing Olag pull Caline into a hug. Tears once again threatened to spill from his eyes but he fought against it.

Instead his heart felt like it wanted to detach from his sternum and into his sternum. Willis told himself to never cry again and he hasn't cried since he was that little boy who got beat up and abandoned his mother. The monster was killed, the Orcs were saved, Cali's name will go down in history as a person who helped take down the monster but it came at the cost of Willis' close friend. "I should have been there......" Willis muttered squatting down twiddling. "I should've helped you guys, but I was in a fucking rut. I could've done something anything......"

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Caliane looked at Willis as if he had two heads or had just uttered the most idiotic thing she had ever heard. She had merely said Lazule's body was destroyed not that Lazule was dead. Did he not know what she was truly? That the Life Fire could be put into a new body? Olag stopped her from responding to him right away however with a bone crushing hug that squeezed a small whimper of pain from her lips but she patted him on the back nevertheless. It was often the problem people forgot how fragile the Avariel bones were in comparison to normal elves. When she was released she gave him a small smile and nodded to his words in acceptance though in truth she saw no heroism in what she did. A monster had needed to die for the sake of innocent lives and she had done what she could to stop that. At the detriment of her health and her soul.

Once he had gone back to the table to tell the other orcs about her she returned her emerald gaze to Willis who had his head in his hands.

"Lazule isn't dead," her voice was perhaps blunter than necessary but she was tired and her patience was wearing thin. "He is in...body of that Armoured Warrior... We just came... from his home .. moved her from me to him," she waved a hand dismissively. None of it mattered. Spotting Alexander Verallas approaching and then asking Willis a question she silently slipped away to see how her friends were getting on.

On her way up she passed Cirdran. The man never seemed to be able to take his eyes off her wings and he struggled even now. After the ordeal they had caused her in the last few hours she was less than impressed and pulled them against her back. "Don't suppose you...have the clothes I left here..do you?" The robes were good and all but she had left a stash of clothing designed for her wings here in case of such emergencies as these.

"Of course! You know the room," he smiled a little bashfully, stole another glance at her wings and then she hurried on up the stairs. Behind the door of the room she breathed a sigh of relief and leaned heavily against it. She could hear the mumbled voices of Lazule and Erën next door as she peeled the robes from her body - at least he was conscious now. There was water in the tub in the corner and after putting her hand in she heated it up to the correct temperature before lowering herself in. Despite the heat she was shaking as she scrubbed the blood from her face, her chest, her arms and out of her hair as the shock of the last few hours finally hit her. The water had turned a murky pink by the time she had finished.

It was as she was pulled her wings through her clean tunic that she heard the muffled yell from Erën next door.

Cali winced in sympathy, thinking of his arm, and slipped out of her room to pad next door on bare feet. Now she had washed the bruises around her throat looked even worse. She gently knocked before poking her head around the door.

"Is everything ok in here?"

 

[Azulian]

Putting a leather band into Erën’s mouth she waits for Lazule to hold down the elf before counting to three. When she reaches three she twists and snaps bones back into place, feeling a few crunches and hearing some of them, including the muffled yells of Erën. Quickly she wraps it up as she goes and when it is all wrapped up she holds her necklace into the wound and starts to quickly cast spells, forcing the bones to get closer together.

During which Cali poked her head in and asked how everything was going forcing Azulian to close her eyes and give an annoyed face as she completed the encantation. The spell would leave the bones close enough and healed enough Erën could lift light things but not heavier things and it wouldn’t really cause him pain. “Do not lift anything heavy. Or anything strenuous until I say so in a week or so okay?” She warns Erën removing the wrapping from his arm and patting his shoulder, “You two let us know if you two need anything.” Azulians tells them as Gea sit there finishing up his side of things.

Annie saw to taking care of the rest of Erën, providing him with better clothing and other nessecities of either herbal or otherwise. “Yes, everything is fine here.” Gea tells Cali waving her off still checking over Erën for more wounds.

Azulian turns toward Cali and blinks at the bruise on her neck, “Why didn’t you say anything about your neck?” She rushes towards Caliand has her sit on the chair and examins her neck all over along with her back. “Lucky you are.” She says sounding a bit irritated, “Next time if you think you’re injured also, even if its a bump let someone know please, well atleast I didnt have to hunt you down.” She hovers her hands over Cali’s neck and spine and she once against starts to cast spells.

 

[Kikwi]

Kikwi sat at a rough-hewn wooden table. He was wearing rather oversized clothes borrow from his hosts while his own blue college robes were hung to dry by the fire. He had to roll up the sleeves and pant legs considerably, but it worked for the time being.

Daylor sat across from him. "What's a... person... of your sort doing out at night in this weather?" he asked. His voice was old and not unkind.

"I'm doing important work for the College of Elbion," Kikwi replied. He always felt his chest grow a little bigger whenever he mentioned his affiliation with so great an institution. "There are many plants here with magical properties that I have been researching." He recalled, with a sinking feeling in his chest, that his notebooks had been badly damaged by the rain. He hoped that at least some of his notes and illustrations had survived. He would need to talk to one of the maesters upon his return, perhaps one of them knew a waterproofing charm.

"Ah, that there are," Daylor said. "But some magicks are not for us to meddle in. The College would do well to remember this."

Kikwi cocked his oversized head to the side. "What do you mean?" Not meant to be meddled in? Then how were they supposed to learn? All things were open to study in his eyes.

Daylor shifted uncomfortably. "There are... dark things in these woods. Dangerous, tricksome creatures. Beings who will tempt you with promises of knowledge, but who will take everything in return."

Kikwi swallowed. That would be tempting. "Is... is that what the tower is for? To look out for those creatures?"

Daylor's face lit up in a sort of desperation. "No!" he said, bringing a fist down on the table and startling the little owl. "That tower is unnatural. It was brought into this place by the very beings I warn of. You must stay far away from there, little one, or they will steal you away forever."

It was all terribly nerve-wracking, but also terribly interesting. "Could you... tell me more about them? The, uh, 'beings' who made the tower?"

Daylor looked like he was about to reprimand Kikwi again, but Deirdre returned with a tray carrying bowls of steaming stew. She served one to each of them before taking one for herself, and sat at the table to join them.

"What're ye boys talking about? Heard quite the excitement from the back."

"Nothing," Daylor said quickly. "Just... giving our guest the lay of the land. Master uh...?"

"Kikwi," he said. "I am Kikwi, and thank you very very much for the bath and food, ma'am, sir."

He ate quietly for the rest of the meal, but his mind was churning away. Monsters, strange magics, an evil tower. Daylor had been very clear in his warnings. Do not go there. Do not seek out the secrets. Do not believe their promises.

Kikwi knew this was good advice, safe advice. He knew he should not go to the tower.

He was going to go to the tower.

 

[Eren'thiel Xyrdithas]

Erën waited quite patiently while Azulian carried out her work. He winced here and there, and let out a few hushed grunts as she prepared herself and him. He bit down on the leather, and with each careful adjustment he let out a yelp, muted by leather he'd bit down on.

He removed it with a sigh, and nodded along with her recommendations. He truly had no intention on putting much strain on himself for the time being. Though the elf's magic had done wonders for his condition, indeed he was still very sore.

Quite frankly, he felt useless – regardless.

"Is everything ok in here?"

His eyes shot up at the sound of Caliane's voice, and worried eyes examined her injury – now well visible with the grime of her ordeal removed. He gestured to Azulian as she continued, trying to speak over her. Thankfully, her attention was turned to Caliane, and Annie took her place as Erën’s aid.

His eyes smiled at the Avariel, then they were cast down. He had failed her too.

He wished to speak with her, but now was the farthest thing from the proper time.
He turned his head back to Lazule, and said thank you, before rising to his feet. Annie urged him to sit, and he waved his now mended hand and once again declared that he needed a moment, and that he would return to thankfully accept a change of cloths. Then, with his head down he departed the room – casting the winged elf one last glance before leaving.

Azulian had done well enough to help him. He was confident in her abilities. And Lazule, as stalwart as he was, would no doubt ensure this. As for himself… he truly did need a moment.

He descended the stairs, casting a baleful glare across the main floor – particularly toward the owl-folk. First a raven-kind, now this? Though it was no fault of theirs, he couldn't help but wonder.

And that's not a monster?

He stepped out, back into the rain. He almost stumbled down the steps, half lost in his thoughts. And he walked. He shed himself of his torn shirt. He loosed the bind on the back of his head, freeing the entirety of his hair. The armor on his left arm, discarded.

He came to the abrupt ledge of a deep ravine, and below, a raging river. He gazed down into it, and then up into the sky.

And he thought on all that had transpired. It was startling, frightening even. For the first time in his life, he had no purpose. No duty. For the first time...

...he didn't know what to do.​

Lazule Caliane Ruinë Smiling One Kikwi
Alexander Verallas Azulian​

 

[Smiling One]

"Destroyed but not killed?" Willis thought attempting to fight off his tears again scratching his nose as a way to calm himself down and approached Caliane Ruinë "That's what you said Cali that Lazule was destroyed." What did she mean by that and did Cali mention Lazule by him? "That armored warrior?!" Willis eyes lit up whipping his head up stairs but before he can say anything, Olag tapped his shoulder.

"Willis someone is calling your name," the Orc said pointing in the opposite direction.

Willis snapped out of his angst induced trance and turned around. He'll have to talk to Cali and the others later. A boy stood before him, wearing generic armor along with a simple shield and sword. "Kid," Willis said breathing in deep to calm himself down. "If you wanna join the Monster Hunters then you gotta wait for the owner of this place. He's attending the wounded right now."

Alexander Verallas

 

[Lazule]

The procedure was as painful as everyone present expected--Erën, to be clear, most of all. Lazule held him down at the shoulders and Erën bit into the leather band provided by the red-haired elf and then came the audible crunches and cracks of the procedure; brutal sounds made necessary by the nature of Erën's injury and its associated remedy. Pain was not something inherent to Lazule's being, for as a Life Fire devoid of a body he was insensate.

But, even so, despite not undergoing the procedure himself, Lazule felt a small measure of it as if he had. A touch of empathy for Erën's agony. Though it was the Unknown Warrior's body that truly felt the ghost of this pain, it stemmed from Lazule's consciousness, wherein said empathy originated. A strange feeling, this vicarious suffering.

It was done with. Erën gave his thanks, and rose up and off of the bed. This was good. He was ambulatory, even so soon after the setting of his bones. And he was ambulatory directly out through the door of the billeting room--which was peculiar--but Lazule didn't question it. Erën "needed a moment." This, of course, was as non-literal as the word "fine." Which was to say that it did not convey the whole reasoning behind it, or (more so in the case of "fine") an intentional dispensing of the truth altogether for the purposes of social tact or similar regard. The proof: Erën could have taken his moment here, comfortably on the bed. The unspoken meaning behind his words was that he wished to have his moment, but not in their presence. To state this outright would have been "blunt" or "rude," thus undesirable. Sociality very often depended on mutually agreed upon deceptions.

Lazule had been learning so much more of this since his (at the time, her) Breaking. It opened his mind to absorb these details, for there were no Mantras which could adequately guide his actions in these situations.

Caliane was at the door.

The red-haired elf tending to her bruising. (A thought, that a better delineation was required: both Caliane and the healer were both red-haired and elves, save one having wings and one not. Eye color? There was merit. A name would be preferable.)

Lazule turned to face the two of them. Looked--that slight turning his helm--from the blue-eyed elf to Caliane and back.

Which to do?

Seek insight from the blue-eyed elf about the nature of the Unknown Warrior's body?

Or apologize to Caliane?

After deliberating, Lazule decided it prudent to perform the more difficult task first. And there was likely to be no better of a time.

Lazule took a step forward. Said to Caliane. "May I speak with you? Privately, if possible. Publicly, if you wish."

Azulian Caliane Ruinë Eren'thiel Xyrdithas

Kikwi Alexander Verallas Smiling One

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Caliane desperately wanted to talk to Erën but it seemed it was not to be yet again. The young elf who had been tending to him had suddenly turned her full attention and healer wrath upon her and Cali flinched under the guilt of what she said. In truth she had not said anything because it felt like she was making a fuss when there was someone who required more attention than her but she knew to say such to someone inclined in the art of healing would just earn her another rebuke. So instead she shut her mouth and watched as the person she had even entered the room for left with a frustrated sigh. A sigh that turned into a small yelp of pain as the healing began and she realised just quite how bad her injuries had been. Of course it was painful to talk but she hadn't even thought that she would have damage to her spine.

"Sorry," a sheepish apology was all she could muster in response to her telling off and she rubbed her arm awkwardly. When the healer gave her the all clear she practically jumped to her feet, eager to be gone before she decided to carry out her threat of attending to every little bump on her body. Alas she was not going to get much further as Lazule moved to block her way. It was a weird sensation getting used to tilting her head back to talk to her friend when before she had been looking down. But her friend didn't waste words so the fact he was asking for a conversation made her feel uncomfortable.

In the back of her mind the Soulfire stirred as if it too knew something. It served only to make Caliane more worried.

"Let's... let's go next door," the winged elf put a hand at her friends elbow and guided him from the room with a thank you over her shoulder to the healers who had tended to them. "I think your new height is going to take some getting used to," Cali smiled a little as she led him to the room adjacent then shut the door of her room behind them and sighed. "I think you might need to talk to Willis next, I was too tired to explain about the whole body transformation," she sat down heavily on the bed, her wings splaying out behind her. "What was it you needed to talk about?" she patted the space next to her.