Quests & Challenges

@Jaspernoir Baby time! Even though in real time he hatched like...... two days ago.

[rule] [columns][item=cheerful bird toy] [nextcol][b]8. The Plague![/b] A great sickness comes over your entire clan. Roll a 1d12 for every dragon including your royal. On a 1 the dragon does not survive or loses a life. [/columns] [rule] [size=2]Marelwyn had to know of their plotting, that was the only explanation. Another bout of otherwise healthy folk wasting away to nothing, and there was nothing Chamomile could do to heal them. Here he sat, a day of catastrophe behind him with two of his own children among the dead. Until they rid themselves of the tyrant, this would only continue. He didn't blame anyone, there was no one to blame, but a part of him still fought with himself. There had to have been something he could have done to protect those they lost. He knew he wasn't the only one who had lost today, or who had lost the last time. Yet it still weighed on him, no matter what he did. He heard the click of Reva's cane before the other spoke, and felt a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry." Chamomile squeezed his eyes shut, willing back the tears that he'd kept in the entire day. Yet in this moment of quiet. He lifted a hand to rest over the others, squeezing it tightly. Reva returned the grip. "I'm so sorry." [rule]

[rule] [columns][item=battered laser coil] [nextcol][b]10. Train the Newbies.[/b] Take all your level 4 or lower dragons and level them up one level. If you don’t have any, skip this roll.[/columns] [rule] [center][b][size=2]cw: kidnapping, imprisonment, violence, physical abuse, implied animal abuse, child abuse/death[/b][/center] [size=2]Panicked, Chamomile skidded into the house from the porch, looking as though he's just run a marathon. "Have you seen Reva? Inanna? Fei?" Not that Fei could exactly get around without being carried but... That wasn't the point here. "No one else seems to have seen them since yesterday." His partner turned, an equally worried look crossing her features as she signed back. [i]Reva and I had tea late last night, then I went to bed...[/i] Her hands still hung in the air as if there was more she was going to say. [i]Do you think?[/i] Chamomile didn't want to think about that, but knew it may be inevitable. "I don't know, but Kodan and Karma are getting anyone they can to search as we speak." They shared yet another worried look, before Chamomile darted off again to help his companions in the search for their friend. They'd taken to long... And it appeared Marelwyn had gained the upper hand [rule] [size=2]It was late when there was a scratching at the door, Phantom the only one left in the house. To keep an eye on things in case anything - or anyone - showed up while the rest were still out searching - though none daring to go too far into the tunnels - late into the night. He stood, crossing the room to the door and being met with Reva's brightbeast clambering over the threshold and up his leg and body to curl around his neck and shoulders, panting heavily and feathers all askew. "Inanna? Where have you been?" He held her close a moment before prying her off his neck to cradle in his arms like a child, noting her frantic look out the still-open door as he did. He closed the door and settled into a seat with her in his lap, her claws digging into the front of his shirt with distressed chirruping. "Calm... Calm yourself a bit. Tell me what happened." Anyone else, at hearing that, might have laughed at the idea of asking a familiar to speak, but Inanna was no simple familiar. After a few moments, the smallest bit of tension left her small form, and she craned her neck back to look up at Phantom with her owlish features. "H... Help. Reva. He... He needs help." "Does Marelwyn-" She nodded back furiously, a few ruffled feathers shaken loose and falling to the floor. "Captured. In the night. Don't know how." "It's okay... It's okay... We can find them." "I can help. Was trapped too, but escaped. Reva sent me to get help. You, Kodan, Karma, anybody. Found you first." She clutched tight at the fabric on his chest again. "You help Reva." "Can you lead us to where he is?" Inanna mulled over that thought a moment, eyes shifting nervously before a tentative nod. "Tunnels dangerous, creeping shadows, darkness powerful there..." "Marelwyn didn't plan for your escape, though, and if we get on our way soon, we can find him - and Reva - before he has time to prepare." The brightbeast wiggled in his grip, though the look in her eyes belied the lingering fear of what could come from those shadows, whatever she'd seen in there before she escaped... Phantom dare not ask further as they stood up to find the rest. [rule] [size=2]Reva woke in darkness... Or near to it. There was a faint red glow coming from... Somewhere. Still too dazed and his vision too blurry to make sense of it. Everything ached, right down to his bones, and at trying to move he was near to blinded by how much it hurt. Yet he could still move... Though not much. He was chained, shackled at both wrists and ankles, and left in mere rags of what he might have been wearing before. He curled in on himself. Not knowing where exactly he was but knowing nothing good could have happened, given how he felt. He lay there a moment, curled tightly where he lay, eyes shut tightly before panic struck him. "Fei?!" he called hoarsely, his voice a sore rasp in his throat as he pushed himself to be seated with an immense effort. "...Fei?" No response. He blinked away what remained of the daze, and the room solidified. Stone walls, carved roughly yet still with great care. The room itself small and unassuming. No door, and with only the shackles and chains connecting him to a point on the floor in the center. He tugged experimentally, already knowing there would be no give yet still trying anyway. Dragging himself half to his feet, he shambled to the other side of the room, nearer the door before collapsing to his knees, seeing if he could crane his neck farther to make any sense of this. He'd been about to call out for his son again when he heard footsteps. He raised himself up to kneeling. It was the best he could do with the time he had before Marelwyn himself appeared in the doorway, the red glow adding an all-to-sinister veneer to an already intimidating visage. "Well, good morning... Or I suppose it must be night again by now..." he stepped into the room and Reva flinched as he moved closer and crouched before him, resisting every instinct that told him to pull away as the other grasped his jaw in one hand, forcing eye contact between them. Marelwyn's deep red and full of bloodlust reflecting the soft amber glow from Reva. "What did you do with him?" Reva said, steeling himself for the answer he already knew he was going to receive. "What did you do with my son?" Much as his voice threatened to waver, he stood his ground. Marelwyn snarled a moment, sharp teeth glistening in the dim. "That [i]mishap[/i], you mean?" the snarl turned to a predatory grin as he released Reva from his grip, but didn't move away. "He's been [i]dealt with[/i]." "He was an infant. What could he have done to you?" Reva snarled back, voice full of venom as he lunged, held back by the chains. "What kind of a monster have you become, Marelwyn? To kill a helpless [i]child[/i]?" There was the hand at his throat again, a whisper of a threat not fully formed yet. "He... Was proof of something... [i]Stolen[/i] from me." The grip tightened, Reva not relenting in his effort to get to Marelwyn, to hurt him in any way he could, fruitless though it may be given his current state. "[i]He was a child![/i]" Reva was released as Marelwyn rose to his feet with a sound of annoyance, but that release was quickly followed by a kick to his chest, knocking the wind from his lungs. The burning ache returning to his bones, and the momentary fire leaving him with a quiet sob. "You would do well to mind yourself here. It's just you and me." It came as an amused hum from Marelwyn as Reva crumpled to the floor again, feeling the others boot nudging him and rolling him to his back, he looked up at his captor and what he saw chilled him. Marelwyn was enjoying this. The torment, the pain, toying with his prey before its inevitable demise. Yet Reva was more determined than the usual prey. He wasn't dying here. Of that much he was certain. [rule]

[rule] [columns][item=cracked rhinohide] [nextcol][b]6. Large Quest time![/b] Pick three dragons at random. They have to go on a quest now. Raise all of them a level. Roll a 6-sided die for each. If it’s a 1, They lose a life or they’re exalted as they were lost in the mission. During Quests, dragons are invincible and cannot die in coli.[/columns] [rule] [size=2]They were wildly unprepared, with little more than the tiny brightbeast leading them through the tunnels. It was a ragtag group, little more than a small handful of their strongest. It was all they could muster in the time they had. No one was sure how long had passed, but they were all in need of a break, having been traveling the darkness for far too long. Nick had made a small glowing mote with his magic that could at least light their makeshift campsite - little more then them just stopping in a hallway for a few hours at most. "Anyone know what time it is? Its gotta be the middle of the night out there by now, right?" Toulouse queried, peering around into the darkness behind and in front of them. Padparadscha huffed as she settled next to Nick - who was digging through his bag of alchemy supplies - and followed Toulouse's gaze. "Probably. We got a later start than I think any of us wanted to." The group mumbled in agreement as they settled for a quick rest before moving on. [rule]

[rule] [columns][item=used cartography ink] [nextcol][b]7. Quest time![/b] Pick two dragons at random. They have to go on a quest now. Raise both of them a level. Roll a 6-sided die for each. If it’s a 1, They lose a life or they’re exalted as they were lost in the mission. During Quests, dragons are invincible and cannot die in Coli.[/columns] [rule] [size=2]"What do you think?" Nick asked, falling into pace with Padparadscha at the back of the group, following the little beast again on their trek through this twisting maze. "About...?" "This. You've been here longer than me. I don't even know why I'm on this little venture, really." "Other than Chamomile you're the best healer we got, that's why." She laughed, and Nick couldn't help the little flutter of his heart at the sound. A moment of joy in the - quite literal - darkness that surrounded them. He choked it back down and continued. "You got me there... Really, though, how do you think this is gonna end up?" "Really? I don't know. Marelwyn is more powerful than... Anything I've dealt with. Anything most of us have dealt with. I wish I could say I knew how it'd go, but I don't." Nick laughed then, "I'm actually relieved. Thought all you big knightly types were as confident as you looked." [rule]

[rule] [columns][item=slimy tusk] [nextcol][b]6. Large Quest time![/b] Pick three dragons at random. They have to go on a quest now. Raise all of them a level. Roll a 6-sided die for each. If it’s a 1, They lose a life or they’re exalted as they were lost in the mission. During Quests, dragons are invincible and cannot die in coli.[/columns] [rule] [size=2]The amount of [i]nothing[/i] the group had encountered was somewhat worrying. They'd all come down here expecting the worst, only to be met with little more than winding tunnels barring their way. Chamomile and Nick trailed behind this time, the latter picking at the scant plants that dotted the walls as they went. "If nothing else, these cave plants are unlike anything I've seen." "Probably poisonous, given the territory." Chamomile chuckled at Nick's reaction, the other quickly wiping his hands on his pants before digging through his bag and pulling on a pair of gloves before investigating further. "Gonna bring some samples back?" "I'd be a fool not to, right?" Nick chuckled back, once again scrounging through his bag to find containers to put everything in. "If I could cultivate these above ground, elsewhere? Imagine the possibilities?" "Oh, I'm imagining." [rule]

[rule] [columns][item=intricate weaving] [nextcol][b]5. Studied the blade[/b] Randomize a number between your lowest and highest leveled dragons and buy a dragon off of the auction house with that level to join your kingdom. [/columns] [rule] [size=2]"How long have we been in these tunnels, you reckon?" Toulouse mused to no one in particular. "We still got plenty of food if that's what you're worried about." Karma chuckled. "I'm not always thinking about food, you know?" "Yeah okay, keep telling yourself that." Toulouse huffed in response. Kodan held up a hand, stopping the group in their tracks as Inanna bristled on his shoulder, quietly chirping in his ear. "She says there's something in the dark down here." "Something??" Toulouse squeaked. "Its not going to hurt us... So Inanna says... As long as we just keep moving..." Kodan - ever the fearless leader - suddenly didn't sound quite so fearless as the creeping dark seemed to encroach on the light shed from Nick's magic. "Uh... You guys notice that too, right?" "[i]Shut up, Toulouse![/i]" Karma hissed as the group closed ranks around each other, the mote of light hovering above them dimly. A faint whisper of a sound drifted around them, not quite fully formed, and everyone tensed. "Stop hiding in the shadows and show yourself!" Kodan called, his shout cutting through the fear that threatened to envelope them all and almost seeming to push the darkness back somewhat. Phantom slid up next to the larger man, keen to see just what... Or perhaps who this darkness was. After a silence almost uncomfortably long, there was a chittering laugh from ahead of them, where Kodan stood, and the shadows began to twist and turn into some kind of form... That of a women. Small, diminutive, yet somehow her presence felt more ancient than the very stone around them. "No need to shout, dear. I'm not deaf yet." she purred, the shadows clinging to her like a child to its mother's dress. "Who... Are you?" Kodan asked, still very much on the defensive. "She's a friend." both Phantom and Inanna said in unison, to which the woman responded with a smile and nod. "Very observant, these two. You may call me Kimaris..." she trailed off, looking between the rest of them and nodding gently. "You seek the one in the depths, yes?" The group glanced between each other, quietly mumbling and whispering before Phantom finally spoke up. "We're looking for our... Friend... Reva. We think he was taken by some... thing... That calls these depths its home." She nodded again, still sizing up their group as she stepped around them. "The one who has him trapped knows not the power he wields yet - nor how to control it, but I think... You may have some sense of it." "Can you help us learn more? Or lead us to him?" Phantom pried carefully. "Perhaps." [rule]

[rule] [columns][item=black wolf pelt] [nextcol][b]6. Large Quest time![/b] Pick three dragons at random. They have to go on a quest now. Raise all of them a level. Roll a 6-sided die for each. If it’s a 1, They lose a life or they’re exalted as they were lost in the mission. During Quests, dragons are invincible and cannot die in coli.[/columns] [rule] [size=2]As they moved deeper, the darkness crept in closer, and all of them were glad for Kimaris since she had joined them. She swept the darkness back from their path like one might sweep the leaves off their front path in the fall, like sweeping the dust and cobwebs out of the corners. They all felt it, the shift in the dark around them after they had met her. "Were you... Holding this back?" Nick asked, using his light magicks to help her in clearing a path for them, Inanna twisting and turning between both their feet as they went. Kimaris laughed lightly, quietly, "Only in part. I'm one of many keeping Shade such as this contained in the deeper and darker parts of the world." Nick looked around them at the darkness that almost seemed to drip around them from the ceiling. "So this is Shade? It... It just looks like darkness...?" Kimaris reached a hand out into the Shade before them, waving it here and there a moment before pulling it back - inky and ichorous black tendrils gripping at her fingers before recoiling back at Nick's light magic. "You ever seen regular darkness do [i]that[/i]?" "Point taken." Nick laughed. They continued on in relative silence for many more hours before Kimaris stopped them. Kodan stepped to the fore after a gesture from her. "The one you seek is near... Do you have a plan?" She asked, as Kodan gestured for the rest to set up camp for the time being. "I would suggest [i]against[/i] going deeper without a plan. I cannot protect from what lies at the heart of this place." Kodan sighed. "You've helped us this far, far more than we expected of... Anyone not involved." He looked out into the darkness as if it would help him organize his thoughts. "We came here with one plan, but now that we're here... Things have... Changed." Kimaris simply nodded, settling with the rest of them around their light source and looking between the whole group. Phantom was the one to speak up next, rather than Kodan. "I know its a very big ask, but... Could you help us?" She thought it over a moment, before shaking her head, though before anyone could respond she held up a hand in pause. "I cannot help you defeat this evil, but... I can assist in containing it once again." There was a moment of stunned silence from everyone before Toulouse, ever the curious one, spoke up. "You can do [i]what[/i]?!" which garnered a chuckle from those gathered. "Once the vessel holding the Shade is... Subdued... I can contain it. Perhaps more permanently than it was." [rule]

[rule] [columns][item=corrosive depin hide] [nextcol][b]12. A coup![/b] Roll 3 d20s. If you roll a 1 with any of them then your kingdom has dramatically betrayed your Royal a la the ides of march and you must exalt them. The dragons elect a new Royal. Randomize a dragon from your kingdom to become the new Royal.[/columns] [rule] [size=2]"How very brave of you to venture this far..." The voice seemed to surround them, creeping from the very walls of the cavern that now widened around them. Even Nick's small mote of light could barely pierce farther than the edges of their group, and the stinging grasp of the shadows gripped far too closely for anyone's comfort. Paired with Marelwyn's taunting voice, it sent a chill down many of their spines, yet Kodan stood resolute. His visage unerring as he glared into the darkness. "Stand down, Marelwyn. We know what you've been doing, and we've come to put a stop to it." There was a cackling of echoing laughter, both Marelwyn's and not. A cacophony of voices imprisoned down here for who knows how long. "Make me." Kodan stepped away from the group then, his form shifting roughly with an angered roar. A giant gaoler now filling the space before the group. All spikes and gnarled horns and claws as he growled deep in his chest. "Stop hiding behind your shadows, coward, and face me yourself." The rest watched as the shadows crept around Kodan's hulking form before withdrawing to the far recesses of the room, a single wisp roiling forward before forming into the form of the wildclaw they'd come to face. His form, though tiny in comparison to Kodan's mass, held a sense of menace that drove the rest of the group back, shifting into their own draconic forms themselves. As Kodan made himself a wall between Marelwyn and the rest, the rest made some attempt at organization. Once all was said and done, they split. Padparadscha and Karma joined their commander, a united force in keeping Marelwyn distracted from the rest until their work was complete. Kimaris and Nick worked with what little time and resources they might have to get their plan into action. Lastly Toulouse, Phantom, and Chamomile darted off, following the tundra's keen nose after their true goal - Reva. Once they had found and rescued him, then the rest could be done. [rule] [size=2]Reva knew something had happened from the chill in the air. What rags were lef tof his robes barely keeping it away. Blearily he opened his eyes, as if he expected to see anything, but it was all darkness before him... Unsurprising. Still. The sense of unease wouldn't let him go. Though it wasn't as if he could do anything, chained and in the dark as he was. He cautiously scooted himself against the wall, away from where he remembered the entrance to his prison being. At the very least, he could stay out of the way. That was all he had to do. Then he heard it, a rumbling roar from somewhere much closer than he had expected, and a voice he had not expected. Kodan? Did that mean they'd finally found him? Eyes opened again, but all was still dark, yet somewhere in that dark there was now hope... He just had to keep that hope held tight. [rule] [size=2]As the trio sent after Reva dashed off, the shadows tried to stop them, but Marelwyn and most of his focus was on the three large dragons now facing him. The Shade may have made him formidable, but against three of the clan's best warriors? They could only hope it would be enough. Toulouse was silent as he dashed here and there down a maze of passages, nose twitching this way and that. Sometimes held in the air to catch a scent, or on the ground to follow footsteps. He finally spoke as he slowed at cross in the tunnels. "Reva's scent is... Its very faint, weak. I'm doing what I can but its... Its hard to say where its coming from." he sounded momentarily panicked as he turned this way and that. Chamomile came up alongside, rubbing comfortingly against the Tundra's fur. "Find where Marelwyn's scent is strongest and close to Reva's. That will lead us to him... Right?" he looked back at the obelisk that lingered behind them for assurance, and Phantom nodded, craning his head down next to the other two. "Marelwyn has probably got him trapped somewhere down here. Tucked out of the way but... but safe." Phantom's voice faltered on the last part, as if he wasn't entirely confident about Reva being [i]safe[/i]. "Right. Okay. Focus." Toulouse mumbled, redoubling his efforts before they started off again. [rule] [size=2]"Nick? Kimaris?! How's it coming back there?!" Padparadscha called as she danced around warping tendrils of shade magic, the wildclaw at the center dancing around all the larger dragons attacks and striking back at them with coiling magic and piercing claws and teeth. "W-working on it as fast as we can!" "[i][b]MAKE IT FASTER[/b][/i]." Kodan bellowed back as he lunged forward, trying to pin Marelwyn beneath him, only for the other to flit away in a blink, as if pulled out of the way by the magic that surrounded him. Kimaris worked at unraveling the magic she'd woven around the gemstone Nick held. "How much longer, really?" he asked nervously as he glanced, flinching, at the three holding Marelwyn back. They seemed to be winning, but only just. Marelwyn always getting the upper hand just when they'd backed him into a corner. "Long enough for the others to find your friend, and hopefully not too long we are overpowered." Kimaris also glanced at the two gaolers and imperial as they wrestled back the Shade once again. Nick clutched the gemstone even tighter, feeling Kimaris pull away the strings of magic as he muttered a quiet prayer to whoever of the eleven was listening down here. [rule] [size=2]Reva heard them before he could see them, a scrabbling of claws on stone that halted outside the chamber he was in. The sound of someone fumbling with draconic digits before a torch was lit, all of them blinking at the sudden brightness. "Reva?" Came the healer's voice, and Reva could have cried as he heard it, squinting as he saw Chamomile and Toulouse come into the room. The skydancer's large forepaws moving his face here and there as he looked him over. "Oh by the Eleven what has he done to you?" "You really want to know?" Reva rasped, leaning his humanoid face against the touch. He looked past him to the doorway and saw Phantom's worried - and very large - head in the doorway, not able to fit through the door that the other two could. "I suppose not. Once we're out of here, though, I'll get you all fixed up." "Sounds like a plan, doc." he sighed, a wave of relief washing over him, paired with utter exhaustion. Toulouse finally scrounged up a key that looked as though it may fit the locks that held Reva, and he was blissfully free, though the ache of where the bands had been still lingered... As did the ache in the rest of his body. "I don't... I can't transform. Not like this." "That's why we brought the [i]really[/i] big guy. He'll keep you safe." Toulouse chuckled, he and Chamomile helping in Reva's stumbling path to the door. He leaned heavily against Phantom's mane when they reached him, the soft fur a comfort after unknown days or weeks with only stone beneath him. He gripped tightly as Phantom curled around him, holding him carefully in gigantic forepaws and purring quietly. Reva felt the tears stinging at his eyes before they fell, sniffling quietly against the obelisk's fur for the small moment they could spend before they had to move again. "I didn't know if anyone was coming." Reva whispered as they finally moved, Phantom holding him close with a singular paw. "I thought he was going to keep me down here forever... Thought he was going to..." he couldn't finish his thought, and heard Phantom huff quietly. "I would never let him keep you." he rumbled with finality, and Reva curled himself even tighter in the large dragon's grasp. [rule] [size=2]Kimaris saw as the other trio darted back into view, nodding to Nick as she pulled at the remaining magic on the gem she'd been working with while they searched. Nick grasped the glowing sliver tightly, feeling the snap of magic as it was unsealed before dashing away to aid the pair of gaolers and imperial. Marelwyn was a blur, but he was clearly tiring, only barely avoiding the swiping claws and bursts of magic from the combatants. Nick scurried here and there between the others, clambering up Padparadscha's scales and dancing along her spine to grasp her antler as a bolt of magic escaped her mouth. "We need to stop him moving so this will work. The gem has to touch him!" he called to the other two, even though he knew Marelwyn would hear as well. Padparadscha growled and lunged forward, jaws snapping at the spot where he had been and their eyes followed as both Kodan and Karma pounced, Kodan finally catching the beast beneath his forepaws, claws digging into the wings that were crumpled and ruined beneath them as the wildclaw struggled. The other two still fought back at the writhing Shade, though that was clearly weakening as well. Nick leapt down, tumbling forward before gaining his feet again, dancing between the wildclaws writhing limbs, feeling the wicked claws dig against him as he reached, pressing the gem to the dark speckled chest of their former leader. "No! What are you doing?!" Marelwyn shrieked, fighting back even harder against the two dragons now pinning him down, even as they could all feel - and see - the warped darkness being pulled into the shining gem. "You don't know what you're trying to contain! You can't keep it trapped forever!" It was the pained bargaining of a creature that knew it was beaten. His writhing slowed, and then stilled far faster than any of them expected, until all they were pinning to the floor was a lifeless husk of a wildclaw. Kodan stepped off his wings, sitting back on his haunches and helping Nick pry himself free of the claws hooked in him. Thankfully none were too deep, but he was still thankful for the helping hand of Padparadscha keeping him upright as she pulled him close once he was freed. Phantom approached slowly, setting Reva down at his former mate's side. He laid so Reva could lean on him as he knelt down with the rest. The gemstone on Marelwyn's chest flickered between black, red, and gold like a storm was contained within, and none of them dared to touch it until Kimaris finally approached, with a cloth drawn out of her things and tossed over it. She wrapped it carefully before placing it into Reva's grasp wordlessly. He nodded in return before turning his gaze to Marelwyn once more. Resting a hand against the side of Marelwyn's muzzle, he sighed. It was over. There was a finality in everything he wasn't entirely ready to deal with yet, but he felt Phantom's paw at his side, and saw the rest of those who had come to his aid sitting there, waiting, as he clutched what was left of their leader, all contained in a tiny gem. No... Marelwyn hadn't been their leader in a very long time... They were all looking to him for guidance now. It was a burden he wasn't sure he was ready for, yet here it was being dumped in his lap anyway. "We need to clean this up. Awful as he was, he-... His [i]remains[/i] deserve that much respect." Marelwyn would never truly be gone, the gem warm beneath the cloth it was wrapped in would never let Reva forget that, but this body certainly was. [rule]