Quests & Challenges

Unfortunately, I can't currently see the images due to the device I am on. Later, when I'm on another device, I'll take a look!

@jaspernoir
@SpaceBean7117
@WOF2012
@MisterMylez

Sorry for the ping gain so soon, I also have rethought my decision to have Materials be back story stuff. I get them WAY too much to justify shoving in random back story things all the time. I have noticed I have not been getting many food items recently, and really would like to go into the coli more, as that is where the risk comes into the the story. So Materials will now be for coli time. Number of battles determined by rng between 10 and 50.

nice.

[center][u][b]Proposition [/b][/u] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/coliseum/portraits/505343/50534242.png[/img] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/coliseum/portraits/494530/49452910.png[/img][/center] That evening Ishikk and Arabella shared the middle watch. The clan welcomed Arabella to stay, but was cautious about leaving a stranger alone on watch until they knew her better. The Pearlcatcher did not seem to mind their caution. The pair sat near the edge of camp, next to one another but facing opposite directions so they could be more effective of watchdragons. The night was warm enough that they had chosen to forgo a fire. It was always risky to have one at night when it became a beacon in the dark announcing their presence to everything within miles of them. “So none of you are Mages.” Arabella observed, breaking the silence between them. Ishikk shrugged “Nope. We seem to be the types to do a lot of claw to claw combat.” “That is foolhardy. You need a Mage.” Arabella stated simply. Ishikk’s crests bristled slightly, offended. “We haven’t needed one-” “Until today, when you almost died.” Arabella cut in, flicking her tail dismissively. “Had I not happened along you would be dead now. Had I chosen that the fight was none of my business you would be dead now. Had I been a physical fighter instead of a Mage you would be dead now.” “Yea-” Ishikk started, only to be cut off again. “You have three hatchlings in the group now. What if they injure themselves? What if a larger band of outlaws attacks your group? You do not even know how to cast an alarm circle around your camp at night. Who will heal you all the way out here?” Arabella continued, unrelenting. She stared into Ishikk’s eyes until the Bogsneak’s crests relaxed again. “Fine. I see your point.” he huffed halfheartedly. “What do you propose we do about it?” “I will teach you how to be a Mage.” she explained simply. Ishikk’s crests flared slightly in surprise. “ME? You think I can be a Mage?” “I do. I can sense strong magic from you. And more importantly I think it suits you more. Your small wings are a disadvantage in claw to claw combat; you cannot maneuver well enough and if you keep going like that you will be killed eventually.” Arabella returned her gaze to the dark waters. The metal of the apparatus on Ishikk’s wings clacked together softly as he tucked his wings against his body self consciously. A hot wave of embarrassment and shame flushed through his body and his crests trembled slightly as he tried to hold back from lashing out at the Pearlcatcher. He swallowed hard, trying to collect himself a bit before responding. “I cannot help that I was born like this.” Arabella looked back at him, realizing the distress that she had caused. She bowed her head in apology. “I did not mean to offend you or hurt you, Ishikk.” she explained softly. “I do not think you should be ashamed of how you were born. I just mean to say that it IS a factor in a fight, and one that you can help solve by adjusting your fighting style. I can be very blunt when I speak and I sometimes forget that just because I do not mean to sound hurtful, it does not mean that my words cannot be interpreted as hurtful. I apologize for causing you distress.” Ishikk was silent for several long moments, and Arabella let him be, letting him collect himself. After a few minutes of silence he finally spoke again, his voice once again calm. “I would appreciate learning how to be a Mage, if you really think I can.” Arabella nodded, “I really do. I would be happy to start tomorrow if you are willing.” Ishikk nodded, staring back out into the darkness. After another stretch of silence he asked “So. What’s an alarm circle?” “A spell you can cast around a set area like a camp or home that alerts the inhabitants when someone tries to enter the perimeter. Depending on the strength of the caster it can slow down or block the intruder from entering for a short amount of time. It is still best to use it in tandem with a watchdragon, but it makes it much easier on the watchdragon, since they cant look in every direction at once. The best arrangements have multiple mages in a group that cast them at different diameters, so that you have a weaker alarm further away to wake everyone and a stronger one that is harder to get through closer to where everyone is. That way an intruder can’t just plow through the circle and attack while everyone is still scrambling to get up.” Arabella explained. “Why didn’t you set one tonight?” Ishikk asked. “Your mother is quite high strung right now. And I am a stranger. I did not think it would be wise to tell everyone to just trust me as I performed a spell circle around the camp. If you become a Mage as well then you can vouch as to what spells are doing. It won’t just be me telling everyone to blindly trust I wont perform some sort of dangerous or harmful magic on them.” Ishikk smirked at her “Is that the REAL reason you want me to be a Mage?” he teased. She shook her head “No, it is merely another benefit of it. I truly do not wish to see you die. You and the rest of your clan seem to have good hearts.” Ishikk’s smirked widened into an impetuous grin. “As do you. You should stick around even after you’ve trained me.” Arabella returned his smile softly. “We shall see.” ----- @jaspernoir @SpaceBean7117 @WOF2012 @MisterMylez Items Used: [item=common podid claws] [item=shale sliver] rolled two 3s, 80 battles, everything went fine. Also decided to change another rule a little. Pinkerton kept throwing apparel after apparel at me, which as we saw in the last batch of hatchlings can mean a lot of dragons really fast. To control the influx of dragons a bit more (and to make it look less like Ravage and Heth are just baby making machines) I have decided that I can use Apparel like I do Familiars. So I can go out and get 1 dragon off the Auction House using the same guidelines as the Familiar items. I went ahead and grabbed 3 dragons off the AH and they are going to chill in my lair for awhile until I decide to introduce them, like what happened with Arabella. You can peek at them if you like or wait and let it be a surprise.

[center] [u][b]New Training[/b][/u] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/coliseum/portraits/505343/50534242.png[/img] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/coliseum/portraits/494530/49452910.png[/img] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/coliseum/portraits/497049/49704814.png[/img] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/coliseum/portraits/491422/49142126.png[/img] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/coliseum/portraits/496214/49621398.png[/img] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/coliseum/portraits/492575/49257482.png[/img] [/center] The day started bright and early for everyone the next morning. Heth and Ravage had their claws full keeping their three new hatchlings in check. The little ones were curious and excitable, tumbling over one another and getting into absolutely everything as they cried out for food. “Well if you would just hold still I could feed you!” Ravage exclaimed in exasperation as she wrestled with a wriggling Savir. The chubby little bogsneak growled at her playfully, then lunged at her claws when he caught sight of the chunk of meat she was trying to offer him. She yelped as rows of tiny little needle sharp teeth snapped closed on her fingertips. Heth chuckled at the sight, using his thick tail to cut off the clever escape Siel seemed to think he had been making. He scooped up the protesting hatchling and began offering him food as well. Zyl and Basil tag teamed to get Rue fed, Zyl holding her still long enough for Basil to start feeding her. It made a rather odd sight to see the coatl sitting on their haunches, holding a baby bogsneak against their torso while the spiral wrapped around their neck fed her bits of meat. After eating their own breakfast and thanking Zyl for the food Arabella and Ishikk moved to the far end of the sandbar to start training in peace. “It should help that we are in the Water territory. You should be able to tap into your magic much easier when surrounded by so much of your own element.” Arabella commented, settling herself down on her belly in the warm sand. Ishikk nodded, settling down as well. “So…. What do I do?” “I am going to teach you how to meditate. Its very important to learn, as it how you tap into your stores of magic.” Arabella explained. “Now close your eyes.” Ishikk did as she instructed. “Now,” she continued. “try to empty yourself of other concerns. Do not try to fight other thoughts, but let them pass on after they have come. Just focus on yourself. On your breathing. In…. And Out…. In… And out. Feel your heartbeat, the pulse of your blood through your veins. Magic is like that heartbeat, you just are not accustomed to noticing it, but it is an integral part of you. It has always been there, and always will be.” Ishikk found himself lulled by the pearlcatcher’s voice. It was soft and velvety, he wondered what her laughter would sound like. He began searching for an appropriate joke for the occasion, then realized he was not at all concentrating on his breathing or heartbeat. Mentally chastising himself, he renewed his efforts. . . . . They practiced for several hours as the sun rose and approached it’s zenith, until they were interrupted by Zyl. “Heth has finished making harnesses for the hatchlings, so after lunch we are going to head out. This sand bar isn’t big enough to stay on for long. Will that be alright?” Ishikk’s eye snapped open, startled by the interruption. He had not even noticed the coatl approaching. He had felt like he was getting close to something. Something important. He was a bit thrown off by being pulled back to reality so abruptly, and was struggling to formulate a response. Arabella watched his reaction carefully, and appeared pleased with his reaction. She turned to Zyl “Yes, that will be just fine, thank you.” They joined the rest of the group to find Heth and Basil bickering over maps. “I’m just saying that my map shows a larger island over to the east that looks like a better option.” Heth insisted stubbornly. “Yes, but your map also says that this little sandbar we are on is an island too! And remember that island chain that it has down five miles south of where they actually are! Your map is a mess!” Basil retorted, rolling his eyes dramatically. The sweet tempered spiral wasn’t normally one to argue, but his love of cartography brought out passionate responses in times like these. “Yours isn’t totally accurate either, and it is so old it was probably written at the start of the Age!” Heth scoffed back. “It isnt THAT old, and while it isn’t completely accurate-which is why I am making my own map of our travels- it has still been more consistently right than yours! I say we go south to where there is a chain of atolls. It looks like there are a few large enough for us, and the pools would be a great place to tech the younglings to swim.” Basil pointed out. Heth narrowed his eyes and stared at him for a few moments as he considered those points. “….Fine. But If they don’t work out I get to choose from here on out.” “I don’t know why you two are arguing about it.” Ravage interrupted, looking up from feeding Rue. “I am the leader after all, so I make the choices.” “We will go where Basil suggested.” Zyl said sternly “His map has been the most accurate so far and we are not getting anywhere by squabbling like hatchlings.” “Is this a mutiny?” Ravage demanded, puffing herself up to look larger. “Are they always this lively?” Arabella murmured to Ishikk as Ravage and Zyl began to argue. “Basil only gets this heated when it comes to maps, he is really intense about them sometimes.” Ishikk explained, tucking into his bowl of greens. “Mother is always boisterous like this, and I haven’t really been able to tell if she really is the leader or not. To me it seems like she lets Zyl do the actual leader stuff, then likes to announce herself as the leader when it suits her.” Arabella watched the bickering adults for a bit, before digging into her own bowl. “It seems like it is just a lot of noise at least. No one appears to be truly angry.” Ishikk nodded, pleased that she was able to read his clan so clearly. He did not want her thinking they were an unhappy bunch, they just had their quirks. “That sounds about right. Really the only way to REALLY get one of them upset is to mess with the other’s mate. Zyl in particular is super protective of Basil, which is understandable considering he is so small.” The hatchlings had apparently decided they had had quite enough of four larger dragons arguing above their heads. Siel had flopped onto his side and was making a low whining sound, Savir started headbutting his father in the side and growling, and Rue was pawing at her mother’s forelegs whining piteously. “Enough! We’re upsetting the hatchlings. Let’s just flip a coin already!” Zyl said in exasperation, rummaging in their pack for a coin. The coin chose Heth’s route, and Ravage crowed in victory, while Heth tried to not look smug. Basil huffed his disapproval but said nothing, carefully rolling his maps back up and returning them to their scroll case. The hatchlings were strapped into leather harnesses which were attached to a belt on their parents. Heth took the two larger boys, while Ravage took Rue. Ishikk and Arabella adjusted their own bags, making sure they had all of their belongings. And everyone was prepare to head out for their next destination. ------ @jaspernoir @SpaceBean7117 @WOF2012 @MisterMylez

Woah. Did this pinkerlocke just get an official name?

@MisterMylez
Yup. Been a long time coming ^^

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

hmstve

@MisterMylez

I am not sure what that means, but I assume you are poking me wondering when the next update is X,D

I actually had something happen in the coli that needs a lore update on, and I actually have that written, but I need to also write a couple of posts leading up to it, and those I have been a bit stuck on.

I am off work thursday and friday so I am hoping to get something written then.