Fantasy RP

[Bannanachair]

(I might change the order around that I write these character replies in rather than just doing it in the order that you guys reply in. Also, I will begin merging storylines soon-ish, so I'd expect you guys to be reading the parts of the reply for the other two as well. I'm maybe a page or two at most away from Kainer and Arthur meeting, and I expect to follow that up fairly soon-ish with other meetings.)
 

Jonos

 
"As you command, your majesty," Sir Ornith said.
 
Over the course of the next few days, after the armies split, you made headway towards the city of Mescor. At the towns and small keeps you passed by you were met by mixed reaction - some surrendered to you quickly, some needed convincing and one town needed to be attacked outright. (Its garrison of sixty boys and greybeards fought valiantly, but ultimately weren't enough to defend against your overwhelming force of over two thousand veteran soldiers).
 
In all, you were met with much less hostility than in Atrekara, with much of your faster progress being thanks to baronness Vena. Three times she told the garrisons of towns and castles, their mayors and knights, that surrender and joining forces with you would not result in any punishment and would if anything be rewarded.
 
The news that you've been receiving from the other two portions of your army has likewise been so far promising. To your north, Bernard Darham and his forces reached Vena's seat of Norven, which they've been using as a base of operations from which to secure towns, villages and castles. Darham meticulously went up to the border with Norvera, but was exceedingly careful not to attack there.
 
To your south you've heard word that Count Arnil's armies were riding with the aim being to meet Wallace's army, but he was always one step ahead of the count. Baron Cirthil was seeing to it that they avoided direct confrontation, and Wallace was continually outmaneuvering and harassing Arnil's larger army, whittling it down slightly encounter by encounter, killing their scouts…
 
It's at Windmotley where your first real challenge of the campaign was met. The town is peculiar, with two structures that appeared to be motte-and-bailey castles on the northeast and southwest ends of it and the town between the two castles, between the hills that the castles are on. You couldn't see very well how many people were there when you first approached, but the walls of both castles seemed well-manned with archers.
 

Othan

 
The next two days were as fun as you expected them to be, with boring petitioner after boring petitioner presenting case after case. Some were peasants, some were merchants, some were knights and one was even the baron of Redford, the nephew-by-marriage of your late uncle Arnfried.
 
It was while you were listening to petitions on the second day you had that unfortunate task that a messenger approached you. "Lord Othan, the great dragon Nizeston, king of Orevod, has arrived and is just outside the city walls. He has requested to speak with your father immediately upon, uh, upon landing, my lord."
 

Arelia

 
"Oh, just counting how many moves it takes the pieces to get from one place to another," Javrey said. "Now I'm looking at some knight pieces, but you can see my notes for how the Frost Prince moves." Presumably that's what was scribbled on one of those pages.
 

Alfred

 
"Words' been coming through that it was much worse upriver than it was here," Gutrum said. "The duke himself sent some men to check on those rumours, and it seems to be true. Oakwell's meant to've been completely destroyed by the storm."
 

Verous

 
"Uhh, I don't think they lead out of the city, but, um, I'd have to check the maps. We, ah, we have some maps, but they're not very good - they're old, um, some are too faded to see clearly, uh, they refer to the way the town was hundreds of years ago. Ah, I can try to find the maps for you, um, my lord, shouldn't take too long, but, uh, I don't know how useful you'd find them, uh, my lord," Sister Monia said.
 
"Why aren't there people here tending for the sick, like at the Cathedral?" Perrin asked.
 
"Ah, we don't have enough people. Um, I'm here, with Sister Cerelle, uh, but we're just here to help people with their, uh, with their prayers, my lord. Um, the three others here are out, uh, distributing food, I think. Sister Delora is, uh, she's on the old bakers street, er, my lord. The bakers aren't there any more, uh, my lords, they've moved slightly further from the river, uh, but the bakers used to all be on the old bakers street, uh, about fifty years ago, uh, my lord. The others…"
 
"Sorry for interrupting, sister Monia," Perrin said, "but you've answered my question. I was just curious about why Saint Bothran's seemed emptier than the Cathedral, not specifically where everyone is."
 
"Of course, uh, my lords. If you'll come with me, uh, if you still want to see the maps, I'll try to find them for you."
 

Kainer

 
Your ride to Secelle took all day, and you ate your quick lunch in the saddle. Like the day before, you continued to ride for an hour or two hours after sunset, passing the time with idle conversation. From late afternoon you were able to see some of the outlying trees of the Chelmar, though the true swamp was further ahead still.
 
When you arrived at the town, the gates were locked. There were archers up on the wall, their arrows nocked, but they weren't aimed at you. "Gates are shut from sundown to sunup by orders of the count," The bowman said.
 
"We're knights sent here by King Arthel himself," Caidwyr said in response. "Tell Count Karleon that, and that we're here to fix the problem from the Chelmar."
 
The archers looked at eachother, and one went down from the wall. Several minutes later the bowman returned, accompanied by a fat man whose features you otherwise couldn't make out in the dark.  Caidwyr introduced himself and the rest of the party again in much the same way, and then the fat man gave his answer.
 
"I'm sorry, sirs," Count Karleon said, "But I'm afraid that you're just a day late. I sent my son and half the town watch to Camasse this morning, to kill the trolls. If you ride there now, you might be able to get in on the fight before it's ended."
 

Arthur

 
As the day progresses, looking out your window, you can see the same tension in the air as there was that morning. Every guardsman worth a damn was either manning the wall or has been sent away to the fresh ruins of Camasse, with nobody in the streets to maintain order.
 
Nightfall came, and Phin Reed let you go home for the day. When you stepped outside of the forge the guards were all still gone, and the streets had cleared up - some people were going home for the day, but anyone who wouldn't be home yet was at a tavern drinking away their sorrows already.
 
When you returned home, you saw that your father hadn't returned home. Any hope that you had that he hadn't been sent out to Camasse but instead was put on a morning shift on the city wall was crushed. Your father truly was sent to Camasse, with half the city guard, and to his death.

[Duck14]

Alfred

I gawked a little at that. I had been so caught up in the maintenance of my own ship that I had followed up on news of the surrounding areas. Helped make me feel less bad for surviving when others had not. “Oh, that’s no good at all. Not at all. We seem to have got off lucky all things considered.”

————
Verous

“You’re doing great work here, Sister. And I really wouldn’t want to take up any more of your time than I need to. But yes, the maps. That would be great, thanks.” I followed her to where they had them. We needed these now to help the town. But I did feel bad, the storm had completely terrorised this place. And yet there were some with food and gold that refused to help. There were some that stole and killed and then refused to distribute. It was wrong. So wrong. Was this how people were? Father had so often protected me from the grim reality of the outside world. But the outside world wasn’t the only problem here, people were.

————
Arthur

I took a seat and sighed. But that sigh turned into more than that. I sobbed for about half an hour before fatigue caught up with me. Father wouldn’t come home now. I wouldn’t see him again. He had done this for me though. I couldn’t mope over that, especially not when it hadn’t been confirmed.

[Leggo]

Jonos

Attacking Windmotley head-on is always an option. The garrison is probably rather large, though, even with most of the men down south with the Count. There’s no harm in meeting with the man in charge of Windmotley’s defense, to see if I can perhaps get him to surrender for the sake of his men. I attempt to find Sir Ornith, so that he may set up a parley.

[Tikobe]

Othan

"Very well. Relay this information to my father immediately," I say as I glance at a servant. "Are there any petitions remaining?"

More than just a dragon, but the ruler of this great kingdom. Even I'm looking forward to meeting him.

Kainer

Eh? They've already sent the men?

Why would they do that? Are they crazy?

Arelia

"Oh my!" I exclaim as I give a soft smile. "I never knew you were interested in these things, Javrey. When did you start doing all of this?"

I pick up the frost prince nods as I give it a small read through.

[Bannanachair]

(Sorry for the lack of response for Arthur, I couldn't quite decide what I wanted to do to him this post. If you want him to go to sleep I'll do something with the dreams, if you want him to go to a tavern and have a drink with Accovres I can do that, if you want him to find his friends that he presumably has I'm fine with that - I just don't think this is the appropriate time to spring something onto him.)
 

Alfred

 
"Aye. Once yer ship's done being repaired, you could probably make some good money ferrying grain upriver," Gutrum said. "Something to think about - I'll still keep an ear open for passengers, though."
 

Verous

 
Sister Monia led you behind the altar to a hidden staircase. The stone staircase was similar to the one that you had gone down in the crypt the previous day, but this time the hallway had a clear end, and the doorways jutting off of it had doors.
 
One door, the third door along the left, was made of a peculiar material. At first glance solid oak, but unlike the others, wasn't rotted at all. A closer look showed that there were veins of blue among the otherwise brown wood, but they didn't seem to be painted on - indeed, it was as though the wood itself in those small strands was blue.
 
The door was not locked, though it wouldn't open if you pushed it. Monia said a couple words quietly, her hand on the door, and it glowed slightly. The blue in the door appeared to be in a web-like pattern, you noticed, as the door swung open.
 
"We, uh, we used to have things of much more value in here that were, um, moved to, a, moved to the larger cathedral, near the entrance of the town. Ah, about four hundred years ago a wizard was hired to, um, to make that enchantment, to guard what was inside, but it was, uh, it was moved out shortly after that," Monia explained.
 
The room that was beyond the door now was filled with dust-covered shelves, full of books and scrolls.
 

Jonos

 
"Aye, your majesty, I'll see what I can do," Ornith said as he got on his horse and rode towards the castle (your encampment was half a mile from the castles, at Ornith's behest, to ensure that you were out of range of arrows).
 
Two hours later, four riders rode to your encampment. Two of them were Sir Ornith and a sandy-haired man you recognize as Haral Thirnwod, carrying your banner. The other two you did not recognize, but you quickly surmised that they're knights from Windmotley.
 
"My lord, I have been sent by the castellan of Windmotley to listen to your demands and to negotiate the parley," One of the men, presumably a knight, said.
 

Othan

 
"As you command, my lord," The messenger said, bowing and scurrying off to go about relaying the message.
 
"There are always more petitions, my lord," Said Sir Cerdik, the middle-aged, balding man who sorted through the petitioners to determine who got to make their case before you (or, more generally, your brother). "Though, they can always be made to wait until tomorrow, if you would like to prepare for the Lord Dragon's arrival."
 

Kainer

 
"You sent your own son to his death, my lord," Caidwyr said. "I'm headed there now to see if I can rescue anyone from his party, or if you've killed them as well. Mobreul, I want you to remain here to prepare the town's defenses in case I don't return - the rest of you are riding with me."
 
"I'm not letting you ride off to your death without me, Caidwyr," Mobreul said.
 
"Fine then! Rhyewn, you remain here, and the rest of you, ride with me."
 
 

Arelia

 
"A few days ago," Javrey said. "I was losing against some of my friends more often than I was winning, and they said to practice some strategy. So, I decided to start looking at how the pieces moved."
 
His notes, once you were able to make out his handwriting (always a difficult feat), were essentially what he had said, though there was also a drawing of some depictions of what the pieces represent fighting - the Prince of Frost being impaled by an arrow shot by an Autumn Archer, for example, though the drawings would have appeared nonsensical without the captions. An artist your son is not.
 
The notes were mostly just counting squares, numerous pages of work to figure out what would have been in the first page or two of a game strategy book. It's clear that he didn't even think to look for a book before getting to work on things. Or perhaps he did - comparatively few exist strategy books for Seasons as compared to more prestigious games such as Thaira and Erasa.

[Tikobe]

Othan

"Yes, that should take priority for now," I nod before clearing my throat to speak to the court. "The remaining petitions for today shall be delayed for tomorrow in light of Lord Nizeston's arrival to Mallowater. All other matters will be promptly attended to on that day."

Kainer

I nod in response to Caidwyr's command as I get the horse moving along with the rest of the knights. Hopefully, everyone's still alive. And not near death, either.

Arelia

"I see," I reply, trying to stop myself from laughing at the comical nature of these drawings. "I seem to recall a few books on the subject were in the College's library. I can ask if I could bring one to you if you'd like that."

[Leggo]

Jonos

“Aye, we’ll talk in my tent. Follow me. Your horses will be seen to.”

[Duck14]

(You’re right, we’ll probably end the day with Arthur there.)

Alfred

“That’s a great idea. I’m looking forward to hitting those waters once again. Too much land ain’t for me, too noisy. Though I can’t say the water is quiet all the time, not anymore at least.”

————
Verous

Magic. Was that actual magic? I had hardly seen anything of that sort before, but it was incredible. Doors that only opened at the sound of certain magical words, amazing. I looked to Perrin to see if he to found this wonderful. How had the magic lasted so long? Though it was a shame that the magics purpose had been taken from it shortly after its casting.

“No, uh, no worries. We will use whatever information we can gather here Sister.”

[Bannanachair]

Othan

 
The audience hall began to empty out as you said that, though you didn't see your father leave through the hall - perhaps he took one of the side doors to leave.
 

Kainer

 
The ride took two hours in the night lit only by stars, everyone going in a gallop in silence. Caidwyr was being reckless - the horses could trip on a tree's root and stumble, killing the rider, given this pace at this time of night. Luckily, though, that didn't happen.
 
The first sign of Camasse that you saw was smoke obscuring even the stars. As you approached, you saw that the village was ablaze, wooden walls and thatched roofs burning slowly. Closer still you saw silhouettes sticking out against some of the flames - men wielding spears and swords, trying as they could to hold at bay figures that must be nine feet tall and wider than a tree trunk. One man was picked up by a particularly large troll and flung aside like a rag-doll.
 
When you were close enough to see colour on the shadowed figures and to smell the charcoal and burned flesh, Caidwyr let out a cry. "Charge!" He shouted. "For the king!"
 

Arelia

 
He looked startled for a second,  but quickly recovered. "I don't need any more books, I think I'm doing fine without them," Javrey said. The only book you've ever known him to have an active interest in reading was his older sister's diary, and even then he only read through it to find ways to embarrass her when she annoyed him.
 

Jonos

 
The two emissaries from Windmotley followed you through the camp, with Ornith and Haral trailing just behind them. Once you reached your tent, they all entered after you.
 
"So, my lord, what are your demands for, well, my lord?" One of the emissaries said, with a smirk.
 
"What my companion meant to ask was what your demands for Sir Hartgard, the castellan of Windmotley and uncle of Count Roland, are," The other said.
 

Alfred

 
You passed some more time in conversation with Gutrum about other similar topics, and then you saw brother Norin get up from his table that he shared with Artie and begin to depart.
 

Verous

 
"If you need my help finding anything, please, ah, please let me know. Maps would be the, uh, top of this shelf, and, ah, there's some on the third shelf of that shelf. Uh, that was a bad way of explaining it… Um, you got what I meant anyway," She said. "Uh, please be careful, as most things in here are, um, very old. Don't bring them, uh, don't bring them outside, and don't, uh, don't light too many candles. I have, ah, I have duties to attend to downstairs."
 
(I'll probably leave Arthur until Kainer's done with his day, then. I want their timelines to be synced up properly for if/when they meet, given that they clearly share a storyline right now.)

[Leggo]

Jonos

“My demands are simple. I want Windmotley. Whether I must take it by force or by words is yet to be determined. I am willing to accede to some of Sir Hartgard’s concessions in exchange for the surrender of the town. But know that the town will be mine one way or another and if it comes to a protracted siege, I won’t be too happy when I do inevitably take the town. The villages and towns that have surrendered to me have all been treated honorably, and their people have been spared fully.”

[Bannanachair]

(Duck14, Tikobe - Leggo told me that there will be a period of seventeen weeks where he will be unable to post, and so wants to get seventeen weeks worth of RPing done ASAP so as not to make his storyline take forever. The post that you guys want to reply to is my most recent one before this, in case you can't find it.)

Jonos

"Well, if that's the case, then I am sorry to say that I doubt we'll be able to meet those demands," The second emissary said. "Sir Hartgard told me to ask you to leave, and to offer you a pittance of gold if you refused to do so."

The one who smirked added something to that - "Besides, even if he wanted to surrender Windmotley to you, Sir Hartgard doesn't have the authority to go against his nephew like that."

[Leggo]

(Yea I’m going to bootcamp for the army so I’ll be gone a really long time)

Jonos

“When you get back to your lord, tell him this. Windmotley means nothing to me. I’m going to march on the capital and take it, and after I do, I’m going to set my sights on taking the rest of the county. I’ll remember Sir Hartgard’s actions here at Windmotley, and I’ll remember the complacency of the men below him. Tell Sir Hartgard I’ll take his pittance. Then when I come back here I’ll take his head.”

[Bannanachair]

Jonos

"As you command, my lord," the emissary says, and he and the smirking one departed.

Right after they leave, baroness Vena puts her head into your tent, then enters after seeing that Ornith and Haral are still there. She gives a slight curtsy, but as usual not a full formal kind. "Your majesty, I couldn't help but notice that those two left interesting looks on their faces - I couldn't tell if they were ecstatic or fearful."

[Leggo]

Jonos

“What do you mean?”

[Bannanachair]

Jonos

"I was just wondering what you made them agree to," Vena said.

"We told them we'll leave Windmotley for now and come back after taking Mescor-the-city, my lady," Haral Thirnwod said. "His majesty Duke Jonos promised to kill both of them, and sir Hartgard, upon his return to Windmotley."

You heard Vena mutter some very unladylike curses under her breath, then she spoke at a regular volume again. "Your majesty, that was... Ill-advised. Not your plan of action, that's fine, but promising to kill them - I can think of maybe one or two ways to get a man to hate you more than promising to kill them, and I assure you that I will call off the betrothal if you try one of them," The gave a slight smile, as though she had made a joke, and continued, "But what's done is done."

[Duck14]

Alfred

I looked to Brother Norrin. “All good then?” I asked, wondering if he wanted to talk to me at all. Or was the man off to talk to someone else connected to these recent events. Either way I needed to know what had been said to a member of my crew.

————
Verous

“Very well, thank you for all of your advice sister. Please go back to your, uh, duties. We can handle ourselves in here.” Now to look at some maps, anything would do as long as we found out more about those crypts. Finding out how to stop these crooks was the best way to help Oakwell right now,

[Tikobe]

Othan

Well, I suppose it doesn't matter whether he leaves through the front or the back. In the meantime, I begin to venture out towards the nearest window to catch a glimpse of Nizeston, my cold expression masking the excitement I'm feeling about seeing my Lord.

Kainer

I nod as I follow in after Caidwyr. It looks like hell, and it's certainly my first time seeing something this bad. I hope things aren't beyond recovery.

Arelia

I laugh a little.

"What a gutsy child of mine, who'd rather slave away trying to find things on his own when it'd have been simpler to read a book," I say as I take in a breath to keep myself from laughing. "Listen, Javrey. Books have all sorts of knowledge and experiences you wouldn't have otherwise. Well, I suppose a child wouldn't understand that. Oh well, have fun!"

I emphasized the word "child" to bait him. He's at the age where he should be reading more often, and now's a perfect chance to pull him into it!

[Bannanachair]

(Sorry for the super slow response, I had been waiting for Leggo to respond. I guess he had to go early, though, given his lack of response to me when I had asked him when he was going to post and his lack of response here. If that is the case, then I'm pinging him here so that he can find where he was when he comes back.)
 

Alfred

 
He turned towards you, slightly startled as he apparently hadn't seen you walk in. "Yes, captain, everything is good. Your man Artie was very helpful to me. Do you happen to know where the man with the spiderwood chest went?"
 

Verous

 
It took you hours to sort through all the maps to find one of the crypts. The must and dust and cobwebs from old maps filled your nose and lungs, and you frequently found yourself needing to cough - Perrin put a handkerchief around his face to help with it after a while.
 
Some of the maps were so faded that they were unreadable, and likely hundreds of years old and written in another language. Some were just as old but better-preserved - there were some in Old Nerathi, a peculiar thing given that Nerath never conquered this far south. Some were in the old Tarthellian script, though whether they were in a form of Elusian from before  the adoption of the Nerathi script or in another language entirely you had no way of telling. Some were in scripts that you didn't recognize at all, or in the Nerathi script but not of a language that you speak.
 
About half of the maps were of either the city of Oakwell or the countryside surrounding it and the county it's the capital of. They were all of various ages, the oldest looking to be about seven hundred years old and the newest over one hundred and fifty - anything newer would likely be in the library at the cathedral, you figured. That is, the newest one you found was that age - Perrin found one map that was startlingly recent, just a few decades old (but still covered in dust and must and cobwebs).
 
Eventually (hours after you broke for lunch you asked permission to use a candle come nighttime, and hours after that) you managed to find a few maps of the crypts all grouped together - the newest map looked like it was two hundred years old, and it referenced exit-points on streets that you didn't recognize going past, either because they're gone now or because they've been renamed.
 

Othan

 
The first thing you noticed when you saw Nizeston was his size - at only two hundred and fifty years old, Nizeston's shoulders stood twice as tall as those of the horses that were around him, and his mass was twice as wide. He was also a good deal longer in the body, with a much longer neck and tail.
 
The second thing that you noticed, aside from his blue scales, were the horns on him. He had a large horn on the centre of his head, looking nearly as long as the average man and about as wide, curving up. Along his back, he had more horns going down his spine, all much smaller than the one on his head and growing smaller as they reached the base of his tail, when they stopped.
 
His colouration, you noticed, wasn't as simple as you had first assumed. Though most of his scales were a beautiful blue, the ones on his underbelly, you saw, were a pale yellow, the same colour as the… Leather? Scales? It was hard to tell. The same colour as the flesh of his wings, however it was arranged, with the exception of the frames of the wings in the same blue colour as the rest of him.
 
Your father rode towards him on horseback, but Nizeston was still by far the more imposing figure of the two.
 

Kainer

 
You charged, and your lance broke upon a troll squarely in the back, knocking it over and saving the life of a man about to be clubbed. Around you, you saw that some of the other knights had also made contact, though Sir Todawc and Sir Gwyres only made glancing blows. You saw a troll pull on Gwyres's lance, pulling him from the saddle, and you felt a club take you from the side as another knocked you from yours.
 

Arelia

 
"I can understand books!" Javrey said in retaliation. "I'm not a child!"

[Duck14]

Alfred

I thought for a moment but shook my head. He had mentioned the general direction of which he had headed in and that he may require my service at some point in the future. But hadn’t said anything particularly specific, or not anything that I had chose to remember. A lot had happened that day that it had pushed that information from my mind. “No, I’m afraid not Brother. I can tell you that he requested that I aid him once again in the future. If that is the case then I will send him your way should you need him.”

————
Verous

I looked to Perrin after the hours of searching knowing that we would not find anything more recent nor more relevant. My patience for this dust and must, and especially the cobwebs at waned some time ago. And now I knew that if we did not call it now we would collapse in exhaustion. “This seems to be the best we can find in here. There’s a lot that doesn’t talk about what we’re looking for and plenty that I don’t properly understand. But this map fits the bill pretty perfectly, or as perfectly as we shall find in here.” I wiped sweat off my brow but found a clump of dust had caught there as well. Sigh.

“How about we take this map and find someone that can fit the changed and outdated streets into a current map. Someone like the good lord perhaps.”

[Tikobe]

Othan

I stood wide-eyed at the sight of him. It was amazing, absolutely amazing.

I walked away from the window with a slight smile. Orevod is a strong and great nation, and great people like Lord Nizeston make it all the better. For now to make sure all of the preparations for Nizeston's stay is going well. I don't usually involve myself in these activities, but this time is better than none to start.

I can't wait for the moment when I can talk to our lord myself. I had only restrained myself this once because he called for my father specifically. I have no idea what might be said, and whether it should be things that I should hear, so I thought it best to not involve myself.

Kainer

Ouch.

Really, ouch!

I get back up on my feet the moment I regain my bearings. I remember the training I took at the Autumn Court. They always said that the day may come when I have to fight giant monsters, and so I had myself run into all kinds of painful accidents just to get used to it. However, that still hurt, and it hurt a lot.

My lance broke, and as for my spear it would be on the horse I lost. I'm now without the weapon, which is the worst situation to be in. First of all, I need to take a look at the battlefield to see what's going on, and then find a new weapon to borrow.

Arelia

"Ah, but if you're not a child, then shouldn't you avoid doing childish things? You know, thing such as avoiding your vegetables, slacking off on your chores, refusing to read books," I say with an innocent, and totally not one that can be said to be "shit-eating," smile as I poke in verbal jab after jab.

[Bannanachair]

(Hey guys, I have stuff to do through part of early July, so I may be slow to reply. I'll still try to reply as quickly as possible, but just a warning in advance to wait a day or two even if everyone's posted.)
 

Alfred

 
"Thank you," Brother Norin said. "It's not terribly urgent, but I figured that he may have known enough philosophy or theology to have paid attention to things that may have slipped your mind - meaning no offense to you, captain, but men with the spare money to buy a spiderwood chest often had the benefit of an education that sailors can't afford."
 

Verous

 
"Count Ballus could be helpful for that," Perrin said, "Though while we're already here, it might be a good idea to ask the priestesses here, like Sister Monia - they've already been incredibly helpful." The next sentence was a grumble that likely nobody was meant to hear, "Unlike those fools at the Cathedral who just kept putting us off…"
 

Othan

 
As you watched, you heard a voice behind you. "I don't always share your same fanaticism, Othan," Kallian said, "but whenever I see Nizeston I can understand where it comes from at the very least. What do you think they're talking about? I assume for matters of state that Nizeston would come to us, as we've been ruling in father's old age, but you never know. I've heard that dragons don't notice how relatively fast we age until we're dead."
 

Kainer

 
On the ground scattered around are various weapons, mainly swords, though one man seemed to have had the right idea by lighting a torch - if only he'd held onto it instead of dropping it on the ground.
 

Arelia

 
"I.. Uhh…" Javrey stammered, trying to think of something to say. "I do too eat my vegetables! Sometimes. I eat carrots!"
 
(Wow, Arelia's a bitch.)

[Duck14]

Alfred

I nod, not offended by the statement. I usually knew when someone had the intention to offend me but Brother Norin had not seemed to sort to mean me any ill will. “Perhaps he does have that knowledge, he seemed the sort. He had important business this side of the river, though I did not, um, pry too much at the time.”

————
Verous

I chose not to acknowledge his final statement, he was of course correct. But those at the cathedral had other business to intend to which I had not wanted to stop them from. “Yes, yes. Of course. Let’s find that Sister Monia, she’ll surely help us once more. As long as we don’t distract her too much from her other duties.”

[Tikobe]

(I find it funny that you say that cause my mom did that with me. And yes, I love my mother)

Othan

I shrugged.

"Honestly, I have no idea what they could be speaking of. Before we even get into the subject of how, as a dragon, Nizeston thinks in ways humans could never have, we have to first think of his years as a ruler. This kingdom was founded a few centuries ago, and over those years has stood the weather of time under our lord's rule. At this point of time I don't think anyone can understand just how many secrets he's been keeping. After all, wise men know when best to keep silent."

Kainer

Huh.

Awkward.

I don't think a sword is going to do much to those trolls but it's better than nothing, so I move to grab the torch and pick up a sword, keeping an eye on my fellow knights to see if they're doing okay.

Arelia

"Well, then you should keep up the good work and do a little more every time. There's something to be said about steady progress," I reply as I left the room. I should check up on Halsey and see if she needs any help.

[Bannanachair]

Alfred

 
"Well, until the next time we meet, captain, farewell," Brother Norin said, and left.
 

Verous

 
When you found Sister Monia, she was as eager to help as she had been earlier. "Um, I unfortunately don't know about half of these old street-names, and I'm afraid that this map isn't directly to a good scale either - but I can look for a map that has those street names about the same age and see what I can find out. You must be exhausted though, your majesty - I'm sure you already have accommodations, but if you don't, you and your man can have my room and I'll just work through the night."
 

Othan

 
"Not even two centuries, Othan," Kallian said, "Though certainly for all of father's lifetime, and his father's and his and his. But one hundred and twenty years or so as a ruler has surely allowed him to devise plans we can't begin to understand the scope of - perhaps he wants to recreate Arkhosia. He'd be far from the first."
 

Kainer

 
Rhyewn had fallen from his saddle, Todawc was back on his - or someone else's - horse and Gwyres was fighting somewhere away from you, though you could hear his shouting. Upon picking up your weapons, a troll lifted what appeared to be a seven-foot long sword with both hands and brought it down to crush you.
 

Arelia

 
"Hello, Arelia," Your sister-in-law said upon your return. "The roast won't be ready for another quarter of an hour at least, unfortunately, and anything I could make for you in the meantime would be done at about the same time. Please sit down, though - I don't know much about wizarding, but it must be exhausting, and I don't want you to die of exhaustion too soon - I made enough roast for four and I can't have any of it go to waste."

[Duck14]

Alfred

“Yeah, until then. Farewell.” I watched him leave before rounding on Artie.

My navigator had done everything that I had asked of him. “Now I understand that what you spoke to the brother about is your own business. But I would like to know where the conversation went. I had my own encounter with him earlier.”

————
Verous

“I can’t ask you to do stay up all night to do that. You’ve already done so much though we do need these maps.” I looked for Perrin wondering what he thought. I didn’t want to put the lady that had helped us so much out of sleep. Not that she wouldn’t do the job well, just that it wouldn’t be right. It wouldn’t exactly sit well with me.