Quests & Challenges

@Petall No promises on the danger part ;)

@Dragonfire546 Ah, this is so good. Could I be put on the pinglist???

@Stormlark Sure! Adding you now!

Enjoying this! Pinglist please.

@Tynethyne Glad you're liking it! I'll add you to the pinglist ^^

[center][img]https://66.media.tumblr.com/aa5c0d11068f10de92c1e34daaefd766/tumblr_o1zrsv44JN1ufdm5xo1_400.png[/img][/center] [center][font=times new roman][size=5]DAY 47[/size][/font] [item=vengeful claws][/center] ----- Fierro didn’t know what was more shocking: the fact that she was going to be stuck with Thimba and the others for longer, or the fact that the town before her - the place where she’d finally take her life for her own - was completely and utterly empty. As if her luck couldn’t get any worse than it already was. “Why is this town… why is it empty?” Thimba’s voice was strife with disbelief as she regarded the ghost town. A piece of torn paper fluttered by, before being taken into the air by the wind. “Where are all the dragons?” Wendell asked. Eztli was the only one of the four who hadn’t said anything. The Tundra simply stared at the scene before them. It was hard to tell what they were feeling, given their unusually still face, but the slight furrow between their brows told Fierro they weren’t happy. “Is everyone here dead? Where’d they all go?” Wendell stepped onto the threshold of the settlement, his red eyes scanning the horizon. The Wildclaw’s gaze was sharp and steady, as if he were waiting for an enemy to pop out. Fierro figured that’s what he would’ve thought, anyways. A chaotic idiot like him would obviously think everywhere was dangerous. At least Fierro had the good sense to stay composed about it. “Maybe they were scared off when they saw you.” The look of fury Wendell gave her made Fierro start. “Oh, [i]shut up.[/i]” He spat. “Wh- Hey, I was just-” A white furry paw rested on her shoulder. “I don’t think now’s a good time to joke, Fierro.” [i]Eztli.[/i] “...Yeah, yeah, okay.” The Tundra looked at her with what she thought - and sincerely hoped wasn’t - kindness. After that, they turned and walked into the town, Thimba and Wendell close behind. [i]Always the mediator.[/i] Eztli’s penchant for playing nice felt weird. Fierro had spent her whole life learning that there was no one you would trust but yourself. If you were the only dragon worth fighting for, then why fight for others? Why even care? For some reason, Eztli just couldn’t see that. And that made Fierro very, very angry. [i]Stay calm, stay calm, they don’t matter to you.[/i] With a sigh, the Coatl followed the others into Asphodel. The town’s abandonment was even more apparent inside. Every house had at least some sign of wear, ranging from simply a broken door to a completely smashed roof. Barrels, bins and baskets were strewn about, their contents having already been pilfered. Fierro stepped onto something soft, and looking down, she realized it was a doll. Her claws instinctively went to pick it up. The doll was shaped like a Coatl, its faux feathers having been torn off haphazardly. The fabric might have once been deep red, but now looked horribly faded. Fierro stared at it, emotions warring in her head. This toy had once belonged to a child. It had once been loved and used, having had a purpose that made it [i]wanted.[/i] Yet, here it was now, abandoned and ruined, and for a long time too. It reminded Fierro of herself. Right down to the imperfect plumage. With a flash of anger, she moved to throw it away, then stopped. Why was she being so aggressive? That wasn’t necessary. She didn’t need to abuse this useless, pointless doll. It wasn’t worth her hate. Not at all. Awkwardly, Fierro went and tucked it in a sheltered alcove, even giving it a gentle pat before quickly sprinting away. “There really isn’t anyone here,” Eztli said, angling their head to look into a window. “No dragons, no Beastclanners, just… empty. I don’t understand.” Thimba spoke up: “Neither do I. Why would an entire settlement just… disappear? Like that?” Fierro angled her neck at Thimba. “How old was that map of yours?” “It’s not that old! I purchased it only a few months before I met Wendell!” “A few months might be enough time for a town to just vanish.” “That- that’s not likely! And even if they did just vanish- [i]why?[/i] Why would they do that?” Suddenly, Wendell’s head shot up. [i]”Shhh.”[/i] “What are you-” She began, but shut up when he held up a claw. “Someone’s here,” he said. Slowly, he turned and crept towards a nearby building, one with a sign that had once read CAFE on it. As Fierro watched, the Wildclaw carefully rounded a corner, before lowering into a crouch. In one explosive move, he leapt forwards and pounced on a small shape. “I caught someone!” He yelled. When the other three went over to his side, Fierro got a good look at who Wendell had caught. They were an elderly Centaur. Greyed hair contrasted starkly with their chestnut flanks. The Beastclanner grabbed at Wendell’s claws, yelling something in a language Fierro didn’t understand. “Wendell, let him go!” Thimba tried to pry his talons off his victim, but Wendell held on. “Who are you? Why are you here?” He yelled at the struggling Centaur. “[i]Eira-[/i] No! Go, go! Dragon hands go!” His victim spat. Eztli took Wendell’s claws firmly in their own. “Wendell, get off of them. Maybe they know what happened here.” At this, the Wildclaw hesitated, before finally letting the Beastclanner go. The Centaur stood up and brushed himself off, staring warily at the gathered dragons. “Dragons- dragons come again? To-” He waved his hands with a furious expression. “-To [i]buyrna?[/i] To ruin?” “Someone came and burnt this place to the ground?” Thimba asked. “...[i]Ei.[/i] Dragons come to [i]buyrna.[/i]” Fierro leaned closer. “What is he [i]saying?[/i] What are all those words? [i]Buyrna?[/i] What does that even mean?” “It means ‘burn’ in Taurian.” Thimba’s eyes widened, and she snapped her fingers in realization. “I can speak to him in Taurian!” The Coatl then cleared her throat. Turning to the Beastclanner, she began talking in another language. [i]”Ivu draconia par?”[/i] The Centaur’s eyes lit up in kind. [i]”Ivu tauria par? Ei! Tres mauros!”[/i] The two began to chat away animatedly. “She knows another language?” Wendell squinted at Thimba. Fierro snorted in response. “Of course she does.” [i]Little Miss Perfect.[/i] After a while, Thimba began to translate her findings. “Questran says that Asphodel had once been filled with dragons, but they were all chased away by an attack,” She looked over at the Centaur, who was wringing his hands in sadness. “All of the dragons and other Beastclanners that he knew were either chased off or taken prisoner. He only managed to survive by hiding somewhere the attackers didn’t find.” [i]”Ei. Ei. Goran.[/i] Asphodel [i]au goran.”[/i] Questran whispered. “...And the taken haven’t been back since.” The entire group was silent. Wendell was staring in shock, while Eztli was tensing their jaw, a strange look of anger in their eyes. Fierro herself frowned quietly. At last, they’d discovered the fate of Asphodel, but it wasn’t one any of them were prepared to hear. An entire town, destroyed and captured by mysterious attackers - and here they were, standing in the skeleton of a once thriving community. Fierro couldn’t believe that she’d been cheated out of her escape by some chance [i]attack.[/i] [i]Now what?[/i] She had no other options now except either run into the foothills - and surely die - or stay with the others for longer. Both choices were awful. Fierro knew, however, that she had to choose. And she valued her life quite a bit. So she was stuck for longer. Again. [i]Why can’t life just let me go?[/i] It was so annoying, how she could never seize her own fate. The Coatl pulled her wings in on herself, grumbling softly. “..So, should we just leave then?” Wendell spoke up. “We can’t leave now, Wendell. We’ve been travelling for days, and I’d hoped to resupply here…” Thimba looked around awkwardly. “Yeah, but there’s [i]nothing[/i] here. Why stay? And what if the attackers come back?” “It’d be nice to take a break, wouldn’t it? We’re all tired out from sailing for so long,” Eztli said. “And I doubt the attackers will come back to a place they’d already ruined.” “...You sure?” The Wildclaw raised his brows. Eztli hesitated for a bit, before nodding. “Wendell's right, there’s nothing here. Why aren’t we leaving?” Fierro stood up, flaring her wings. “We’re tired, so what? We can rest on the boat. Come on, let’s just [i]leave.[/i]” “Fierro-” “Don’t you ‘Fierro’ me!” She jabbed a claw at Eztli. “I’m sick and tired of all this endless [i]travelling.[/i] When is it going to [i]end?[/i]” “...I’m- I’m sorry, Fierro. But… I really don’t think we can afford to keep going.” Thimba said softly. “And it’s getting dark. It’s always risky moving about at night. It may be best to just… rest, for a moment.” The quartermaster glowered at her, crest fanned as wide as could be. [i]Who are YOU to tell me what to do?[/i] Fierro thought furiously. She didn’t want to rest! She wanted to live a life of her own for once! Why, why, [i]why[/i] was it so hard all the time? A huge yawn broke her fury, and Fierro remembered she hadn’t slept in a while. It was probably smarter to rest, to bide her time, until she could leave for real. And she didn’t want to lose her cool so soon. “...Fine. Let’s stay here for tonight,” She let out a sigh, finally defeated. Thimba nodded firmly. She turned to Questran and started talking in Taurian again. Soon after, they were all following him to a place where they could sleep. Fierro hated this. She wanted to rail, to shake her fist at the sky and curse the Deities for [i]still[/i] stranding her with the three other idiots. But at this point, she was too tired to even think about railing. Yes, Fierro would leave given the chance. She absolutely would. But for now, she had to stay just a little bit longer. ----- Finally, another update! I'm sorry for taking an entire summer to get to it ^^; I admittedly was lacking in motivation to finish this, having taken on other projects. Hopefully, I will be more up to date this year. School has started for me and things are picking up, but with a different schedule, there'll hopefully be more time for me to work on WLW. On an unrelated note, I've begun to write a book! Hopefully I can make some progress on it, I'm not exactly very consistent lmao For now, onwards to new horizons! @RosaDiaz @Charias @Midwinter @Ellapinky @Orodruin @VeniVidiVici @DootTheBang @amble @REEEEEEEEEEEEEE @Razatharia @Umaroth @RadioReprise @namrathel @Petall @TundraKitsune @catmeow1 @Mystic9187 @Cannot @Stormlark @Tynethyne [center][img]https://66.media.tumblr.com/aa5c0d11068f10de92c1e34daaefd766/tumblr_o1zrsv44JN1ufdm5xo1_400.png[/img][/center]

@RosaDiaz @Charias @Midwinter @Ellapinky @Orodruin @VeniVidiVici @DootTheBang @amble @REEEEEEEEEEEEEE @Razatharia @Umaroth @RadioReprise @namrathel @Petall @TundraKitsune @catmeow1 @Mystic9187 @Cannot @Stormlark @Tynethyne

I apologize in advance for this announcement, but I'm going to be putting WLW on another hiatus. School has simply become too much for me to handle, and at this rate I won't be able to get another update out :(

I'm really sorry for this, and it hurts to have to put WLW on pause again, but I don't have much choice.

It's likely WLW may return next summer. For now, the pinkerlocke is on yet another pause.

Hope everybody is staying safe in these times! In the meantime, take a WLW playlist => https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1EQnNrECsLanZaGzJyh33q?si=GXQGau-RSEGyzowR5xpRSw

@Dragonfire546

No worries! I wish you well, and I look forward to seeing its return!

@Dragonfire546

I just binged this, and it's been really good so far! Could I be put on the pinglist? I look forward to reading future updates whenever you can put them out.

@CassieRose I'm glad you've enjoyed What Lies Within! Unfortunately, I have lost interest in the project, and I'm not sure if I will be returning to it any time soon. Would you like me to put you on the pinglist in case I do return to it?