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Post by birdy51 on Nov 18, 2018 4:33:06 GMT
Morgan shakes his head quietly. Fae-Magic. The things he did for the kingdom. Or things that he will be doing? Morgan didn't know for certain. But whatever this favor was, he was just going to have to hope that it was going to be reasonable.
Wordlessly, he steps forward and outstretches his right hand in a motion mimicking Keen to the best of his abilities. Let us see what the future holds in store. He thought to himself.
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Post by Zephias on Nov 18, 2018 15:07:33 GMT
Keen dropped the sphere in Morgan's hand, making him zone off for a couple seconds.
"Is it to your satisfaction, then?"
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Post by birdy51 on Nov 18, 2018 22:07:47 GMT
Morgan's eyes stop fluttering suddenly, and he shakes the stars out of his eyes. Not often one has a vision in lieu of simple directions, but by the end of it, he could feel that sort of... Tug in the right direction. Knowledge of the right way, when the destination is still uncertain. "I think... This will do, unless there might be some other information that might help as well."
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Post by Zephias on Nov 20, 2018 0:43:04 GMT
It nodded.
"There is a place, that I know of, of which no man or fey may speak. Pokemon, on the other hand, they know the way. Follow the birds, they will show you if any dangers lay ahead. Once you're on the path, that is. Focus on what you know, and you'll remember how to share it"
With a sweep of his hand, twisted yew grew from the ground and formed a stool, which Keen sat on.
"Now, shall we move on to the other part of the deal? Annie, darling, you want to sit in on this conversation too. Aderyn, too. I'm afraid I'm about to make all of you very crass at me"
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Post by carnackiArdent on Nov 20, 2018 0:54:03 GMT
Maela stayed quiet during the interplay between Morgan and Keen, knowing there wasn't much use trying to dissuade Morgan once he really set his mind to this. All they could really do was hope to deal with the consequences - and really, what other choice did they have if they wanted this message? She shot Morgan a concerned look when she saw him shake his head, wondering if he would turn out to be enchanted at an inopportune moment.
For now, though, they evidently had other matters to discuss. She frowned when Keen talked like this was a conversation the bandits needed to be involved in, too... though perhaps that meant this would help them figure out just what was going on with the bandits and how they could keep their promise to Eoghan. "What exactly is it you want from us?"
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Post by Zephias on Nov 20, 2018 1:28:44 GMT
Keen turned to look at Maela, and she got the feeling that the fey would be smiling if it had a mouth.
"You're the 'talker' of the group, aren't you? Well, no matter. I'm quite meddlesome, you see. I like making others' business my own, forcing others to expand beyond their horizons. I've clashed with the Law quite a lot in my day, and it's led me to become what I am"
It idly scratched at its face with one bony, lanky hand.
"Sometimes that implies hiding those who need it. Sometimes... it's pulling someone out of a fire, or saving someone from drowning at the river. Not that it was going to stick, in that case, but I didn't know that at the time"
Keen ran its eyes over the group.
"And sometimes it leads to great coincidences like this one, on one of the few days I get to walk around as much as I please. So I'm going to use you, young Morgan, to kill two birds with one stone"
The air seemed to get just slightly heavier.
"There is a human, a foolish one, who is tinkering with forces beyond his or her comprehension. Taking people and breaking them in a pathetic shot at obtaining a shred of the spark. You will find this human, maybe now. Maybe later. But you will find this human and you will put and end to this cruel aberration"
"That's your quest, young squire. Your friends may help you, but it is your quest. And to do this, you are taking her with you"
Keen had a single finger, pointing to Aderyn.
"Because she's the only broken doll that I managed to put back together. And no one deserves to be ruined by the bad hand they were dealt. So she rights a wrong, and maybe you'll even learn a couple things about the meaning of beauty along the way. Wouldn't that be poetic?"
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Post by birdy51 on Nov 20, 2018 2:40:04 GMT
"Poetic is... A word that you could use, if you would like." Morgan quips dourly. "But I'm not sure how well our personalities mix."
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Post by Zephias on Nov 23, 2018 1:21:07 GMT
"Ah, but you'll do it because it fits your narrative, your personal legend. And she'll do it, because she wants vindication. And maybe we'll all learn something along the way" Keen quipped, clearly amused.
Aderyn scoffed and looked very pissed, but did not deny the statement.
"I'm not a big fan of you all either, just so you know"
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Post by carnackiArdent on Nov 25, 2018 3:31:03 GMT
Maela's lips twisted for a moment in distaste. On the one hand, they were getting farther and farther off track - they'd agreed to help a man in distress find her family again, not take down an evil... spellweaver of some kind. But refusing this request (or quest) could have serious consequences, and not just for Morgan - Keen had been polite so far, and its quest seemed well-intentioned, but to be honest, Maela still didn't think she trusted it to get nasty if they did offend it.
Since Morgan was the one charged with the quest and any negotiation, Maela turned to the bandit leader. "If you expect us to believe you have good intentions, you might try not talking about selling people. If it was a joke it was in very poor taste."
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Post by Zephias on Nov 28, 2018 3:44:10 GMT
"We don't sell people. It was more about getting you to leave us alone" Aderyn said with not a small amount of distaste.
"I don't like you. I don't trust you, any of you with your armors and beads and perfect little code and image. I don't trust you-" she motioned to Elys and O. "-because you're the pretty little jewels of the crown. They tore me to pieces because of what you are, or at least that's what Keen thinks. But the bird is right. I'll put it all behind me to find the bastard. If Keen vouches for you, then I will follow. But you are talking to the baker's wife. She will tell you. And I will judge whether I break myself trying to put you down- ow!"
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"Aderyn, that is enough. They defeated us. We are in no position to make threats or argue" the burned woman- Anarawd -said. It was becoming very clear that the leader of the 'bandits' was her, in truth. "We are not bandits, as much as exiles. We have not sold, or extorted coin before. It was this or die. I will take you to our base and we will follow your demands. I only ask you that you take care of Aderyn, when the time comes. And that you remember that behind our actions, there was only the desire to protect our own"
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Post by birdy51 on Nov 28, 2018 21:29:49 GMT
"You... May make some demands. It's not like we hadn't attacked you as well." Sighs Morgan with a defeated and contradictory air. "If we're going to your camp, lead on. It's best that we get the whole story before any more unfortunate mistakes are made."
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Post by Zephias on Dec 1, 2018 7:30:21 GMT
"So be it. It has been nice, Keen. I will pass for a visit" Anarawd said. The rest of the bandit troupe collected their injured pokemon, with Aderyn gently cradling her smaller pokemon in her arms and moving to calm down the spider, which still looked very agitated. Anarawd herself collected the last dog to fall. "I look forward to it, my dear. And squires, I wish you the best of luck in your quest. For all our sakes" Keen said with a deep bow, before slowly dissolving into black feathers. ~0~ The unsettling energy that had settled around the clearing slowly left, and soon the squires and the bandits started heading towards the direction the spider had jumped out of before. Aderyn was ahead, refusing to even address the previous intervention by the Fae.
Eventually, they came across another clearing - this one with a small stream running through it. To the far end of it, near the stream, they could see the vine-covered ruins of a stone tower and a hut. Some canvas tents and the skeleton of a wooden shack were to the left of the ruin, and there were clear traces of fishing traps running near the stream.
There weren't many people, and no pokemon in sight. Two men, one wearing a mask, were tending to the stream. Another, a one-handed woman, butchering a wild boar. To the far back, though, they could see three women tending to laundry who did not seem to have any visible signs of disfigurement or crippling.
"Garth, go tend to our injured. Aderyn stays with us. I'll lead you to the baker's family"
"I'm not-"
"Garth and Eilidh will take more than fine care of your pokemon, Aderyn. Off the spider"
The purple-haired woman made a sour face, but descended from the spider nonetheless. Anarawd wrapped an arm around Aderyn's waist and helped her stay on foot as they made their way nearer to the laundry spot.
The oldest of the trio turned at the noise of footsteps and grimaced.
"Ana, I asked you not to fight if it came to that"
"I was not about to abandon you. But I feel it may not come to that. These are king's squires, who talked to your husband and have a couple questions for you and yours"
The woman looked surprised, before drying off her hands and motioning for the younger pair to approach.
"I have a lot of explaining to do, don't I? Squires, it is an honor. My name is Faena, and these two are my daughters. Eoghan is my husband, and a fair and honest man. Too honest, at times. Too trusting, as well. But a good man. He sent you to rescue us?"
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Post by birdy51 on Dec 4, 2018 12:57:40 GMT
Morgan was a large part unhappy about the circumstances about this whole situation, but upon finally at least seeing the women they were to rescue, his face lit up into a much more amiable expression of light heart headed joy that his companions would be more used to. He bows deeply then begins to speak. "Greetings and salutations fair maidens. My name is Morgan Beauchamp, squire, and we were indeed sent by your Eoghan to find your lost daughters."
His lips purse slightly. "I do have to apologize for the circumstances. He did not paint the most rosy of pictures, and I fear that were accidentally denied many important details about this alleged kidnapping. Could you perhaps provide a more complete picture?"
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Post by Zephias on Dec 4, 2018 22:23:19 GMT
"He wouldn't have known of any circumstances, since he was away. You must not blame him" Faena said.
"There have been... disappearances these past months, in nearby towns. Mostly young women, which made me fear for my daughters, but Eoghan is well respected and strong. Bakery is a respected job, because it keeps the town going. No one would touch us, I thought"
She looked off for a couple seconds, deep in thought.
"Times are hard, with the war. People are getting desperate, and women gossip. I heard that some of the local hunters, the ones who leave for weeks on end and come back with meat, had been heard talking about the kidnappings. That we were going to be hit next. I didn't know if it was true, but I couldn't risk it"
She shook her head.
"Eoghan's brother is scum, and has made more than one indiscreet comment to me. My daughters are the only ones of age in town. If it was true, I was out of time. So when Ana came with her group, Pokemon at the ready and demanded tribute I asked her to take us with them. I do not know how to fight, squires. I only know how to run my house. It was my way to protect my children. I know Ana from when I was young, before her house burned and she was branded a witch. They've never fallen to banditry, before the war and the scarcity. I knew we would be safe here"
With that, Faena turned back to the group.
"We cannot go back, unless I am certain that my family will be safe. I have no evidence, besides rumours and women's intuition.But surely you noticed? That there was something off with Vort and his lot?" her eyes were wide, fearful yet hesitant.
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Post by carnackiArdent on Dec 6, 2018 8:22:54 GMT
Maela's expression softened quickly as Eoghan's wife told her tale. And then she started to worry a little - she'd taken more notice of Vort's poor manners than anything else at the time, since she'd mostly been hoping it wouldn't cause problems with Elys. She thought back now, trying to remember if anything about the hunters seemed out of place in retrospect. She bowed to Faena. "My name is Maela Tanarth. I'm sorry to hear that this has been going on. We met Master Eoghan on the road, where he was praying for you all to return. He's a good man." She glanced around at the camp, then back at Aderyn. "I'm afraid we've had a persistent... misunderstanding. And I apologize for jumping to conclusions." She bowed to Aderyn as well. With a somewhat rueful smile, she added, "I have to say, though, you're a good actress." Now if only it hadn't resulted in her getting mauled about by the spider. That was one beating she didn't think she was going to forget in a hurry. She hardly thought an apology would make things all better between them and Aderyn, but since they were probably going to wind up dealing with each other either way, she could at least try to mend fences. Intuition (to see if there was anything odd about the hunters that Maela remembers): 10
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Post by Zephias on Dec 12, 2018 4:56:12 GMT
Aderyn grumbled and looked away.
"It was also mostly my fault for not trying to talk it out"
Faena stayed silent for a couple seconds before nodding.
"It would be unbecoming of me to let my husband suffer in fear. No, we must go back somehow, if he was praying for our safety"
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Post by carnackiArdent on Dec 12, 2018 5:31:41 GMT
Maela frowned slightly as something occurred to her. "Talking of the hunters... it does seem odd that they were spending their time in the tavern. In times like this, surely they should be hunting to help provide for the village? For that matter, just where does all that drink come from? We didn't spend long in Al's Retreat before coming out here, but I didn't see a brewery anywhere. There isn't one I missed, is there?"
She shook her head. "I should have thought of this before. I'm afraid I was paying more attention to Vort's manners." Though from what Faena said, it sounded rather like he was like that with everyone. Bad manners didn't necessarily make someone a bad person, but it was beginning to sound like a lecherous streak had led to some bad decisions of one kind or another.
Maela glanced over her shoulder at the others. "What do you all think? It seems like we still have a problem, but not with the people we thought." She paused and frowned again. "Come to think of it, does anyone know where Gwyddel went?" She could understand him not wanting to participate in the battle, or to hang around once Keen showed its face, but if the hunters were the real source of the village's problems, that made Gwyddel either a dupe or an accomplice. And either way, having him hare off on his own could mean trouble.
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Post by amillaiara on Dec 15, 2018 3:06:38 GMT
O. had been standing silently to the side as everything was happening and Maela had just said something that was starting to concern him. "If Gwyddel was part of anything the hunters had to do, then the moment we reached the first set of 'bandits' he could of turned around and headed back to get the other hunters. Even if we did manage to defeat the bandits and rescue you and your daughters we would have been heavily injured and this deep in the woods no one would be able to counter anything they say if they are up to no good." O. says with a serious expression, while taking a slight look at everyone else's wounds as well as accounting for any wounds that their pokemon companions had suffered.
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Post by birdy51 on Dec 16, 2018 14:52:08 GMT
"And if we were tired, we wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight if it came down to it." Morgan muses quietly. "I don't want to sound needlessly pessimistic, but it may pay to be careful in this endeavor if the hunters are truly to blame. They would know the woods better than any of us, and a knocked arrow is just as deadly as an unsheathed blade in a fight."
He closes his eyes thoughtfully. "I don't really like the idea of it, but we may have to ask whether we might rest here for a time. I've acquired my own share of injuries that I would not want to take with me into another round of battle, and I Cannot imagine that the rest of us wouldn't be the same."
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Post by Zephias on Dec 18, 2018 19:18:21 GMT
"Well, we aren't going to just leave you to die, that's for sure. I doubt they'll pack too much punch, though. They were terrified of Gwenhyddwr who's really just a big softie"
Aderyn shook her head
"But no, we aren't kicking you out. Especially not when I'm the one who did most of the damage. Just know this isn't the most luxurious of lodges"
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