Quests & Challenges

Pinglist: @Folktale @GriffinWings @naranciag Day 3 has finally arrived :3 Long time in the coliseum for this one, which I'm pretty grateful for. I've been wanting to level these fellas up. Also, quick question for you guys if you'd like to answer: what do you think of how I've formatted my daily posts? The thread in general? I know this is all pretty text heavy, so if there's anything I can do to improve readability or overall attractiveness (or if you think things are fine as they are) please let me know! [Rule] [center] [b]DAY 3 - The Daily Grind [/b] [b]Daily Activities:[/b] Royal - incubated his nest for the third day. Hatchling - rolled a six sided die, resulted in a 3 again! Brisk lives on! [quote=Pinkerton Pull- FOOD] [item= false podid] [b]Rules:[/b] Food: Coliseum time! Plants: 10-20 matches Insects: 20-30 matches Seafood: 30-40 matches Meat: 40-50 matches You must select coliseum challengers in your lair using a random number generator. Then, select the coliseum arena that corresponds to the lowest level dragon of that group. (If a scout is in your lair then any venue can be selected.) If your dragons level up while in an area, you can still stay there for the whole day. You can quit your battle streak at any time to regain health, and flee from battles if it is appropriate. [Rule] My food item is meat, so I spend 40-50 rounds in the coliseum! I've only got three adults, so I won't bother with the random number generator, I'll just bring them all in. Let's hope I don't kill anyone... ... I didn't kill anyone! Everyone is now level 4 after 48 battles (I rolled a d10 to decide how many battles I would complete in total after I finished 40 battles). Galeblast, Apsalara and Wyrmrot are now level 4! Notable loot: [item= ruby webwing] I also noticed these guys in my drops which I thought were cute:[item= silverfish] [/quote] [b] LORE [/b] [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]Day three came around much like the last, hushed whispering between Galeblast and Apsalara waking Wyrmrot and Brisk. Brisk seemed to be improving with the treatment he received from the guard yesterday, his breathing still raspy but not as bad as the day before. The many small scratches he had been covered in were completely gone, the bigger ones scabbed over. His front right leg was still broken, though Wyrmrot wouldn't be surprised if it was healed in the next couple days. Hatchlings healed remarkably fast, and whatever poultice the guard had given them seemed to speed up the healing process even more. Even Wyrmrot's wounds, which had been broad and deep, were now mostly closed. Whatever venom had been injected into her by the toridae had been neutralized by the poultice as evidenced by the lack of infection present. Wyrmrot estimated she would be fully healed in three more days if her wounds remained clean. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]Wyrmrot set about to licking Brisk clean while Galeblast and Apsalara talked, dragging her rough tongue across Brisk's healthy hide and his mane, which had become quite oily from all the stress. Galeblast decided it was time for breakfast when he noticed that Brisk, still clinging to Wyrmrot's side as she groomed him, was shyly sneaking glances between Galeblast and the pack they stored their rations in. Once Galeblast finished passing out their, now reapportioned, rations the group got together to plan what they would do today. Galeblast and Apsalara had spent most of yesterday cleaning up from the aftermath of the ambush in camp and tending to their eggs. Wyrmrot and Brisk, of course, had spent the day traveling to and from the guard. However, in all this time, their camp remained relatively open and undefended with the only real furnishings the piles of reeds they slept on. In addition to this, although the group had thus far been able to fend off attackers, they were still very inexperienced and needed more practice fighting. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]As agreed on yesterday, due to her wounds, Wyrmrot would remain close to camp. However, in light of how much faster her wounds were healing, Wyrmrot decided she would patrol a wide area around camp as she searched for rubble she could drag back to build some semblance of walls. Brisk, being not only a hatchling but also wounded, would remain on the eggs as lookout and source of warmth. He was already as big as Apsalara despite his young age, so the group felt safe leaving him alone with the nest. If anything did feel like messing with the young imperial, he was instructed to call out for Wyrmrot. He hadn't spoken a word yet, but they knew he was capable of noise if needed because Wyrmrot heard his pained yelps when the croaker attempted to drag him away yesterday. For their part, Galeblast and Apsalara would search for more bedding as they created a rudimentary map of the surrounding area. They would venture much farther from camp than Wyrmrot, but not more than a day's walk to the furthest point and back. If they didn't check back in camp within two days, they would be presumed dead or hopelessly lost. Nevertheless, as Galeblast, Apsalara and Wyrmrot explored their respective regions they would be on the lookout for creatures to engage in battle, hoping to get some experience from it. Most creatures defaulted to hostility here, so little provocation would be required to rouse a fight. The trick, especially for Wyrmrot, would be to keep from attracting too much attention, much less drawing attention to the campsite where the vulnerable eggs lay with Brisk. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]The group agreed on their plans and immediately set out to their respective tasks. Wyrmrot periodically dragged back slabs of muddied stone that had long been sunken in the surrounding swamplands as well as large dead trees which she placed in a circle around camp. First, she built up a massive wall of stone as tall as she was behind Brisk and the eggs. Around the rest of the camp, she laid a low wall of dead trees which she had uprooted from drier soil, placing all manner of thorny or otherwise unpleasant plants on and around the trees to deter unwanted visitors from scrambling over the wall. After slapping large gobs of mud on the stone wall, Wyrmrot embedded more thorny plants on the side of the wall facing away from the camp. It was a haphazard affair, but it was fairly decent for a day's work and as she surveyed the upgraded campsite Wyrmrot felt a tinge of pride. At some point during the day, Brisk had gotten up the courage to properly bury some of the uprooted plants which Wyrmrot had strewn over the low lying walls, threading thorny vines more securely around the trees so they looked less like masses of plant matter slapped on top of a pile of dead trees and more like the thorny deterrents they were supposed to be. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]As Wyrmrot and Brisk ate their lunch and dinner together, Wyrmrot described the area outside the campsite to him in great detail, presenting to him some trinkets she had earned in battle. At first, he kept to himself as he listened to her, not wanting to touch anything outstretched to him. On Wyrmrot's insistence, he sat up and took what she gave him, feeling the items as Wyrmrot described them to him. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]"These feathers," Wyrmrot said, handing a bundle of sleek black feathers to Brisk, "come from an obsidian webwing. There are five of them in that bundle, joined at their quills- that's the end of the feather, the hard pointy bit that keeps the feather in the skin- by a small bit of rope. They are completely black, but shimmer just a bit in the dim light. I'm sure that to other webwings, these feathers are a rainbow of color. Now, you can probably feel these feathers are different than most other feathers, because they are not really there for flight. They are called contour feathers, and they are there to trap in heat with the fluffy barbs closest to the end of the quill and keep out water with the more structured outer barbs. If you want, you can even untie the bundle and see how the feathers overlap each other to keep out water. Obsidian webwings actually fly using leathery wings, which-" [color=transparent]iiiii[/color] On and on Wyrmrot went, describing everything new that she could to Brisk who listened, eyes half closed, to the comforting sound of Wyrmrot's gentle voice. Cosette, Wyrmrot's adopted daughter, was partially blind, so this had been how Wyrmrot had introduced her to the world and things outside. Perhaps it was an excess amount of detail for a sighted hatchling but, if anything, it would teach Brisk good communication skills and provide a topic of conversation. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]Apsalara and Galeblast arrived at camp just as Brisk and Wyrmrot finished their dinner, nearly walking right by the camp until they saw the two brightly colored imperials curled inside the newly made walls of the camp. Eagerly leaping over the barriers, Galeblast and Apsalara gladly set down their packs and sat down to eat their dinner. Through mouthfuls of grain and dried meat, the two recounted their own adventures away from camp. Galeblast expressed how glad he was to be back, as he'd been most worried about getting lost, while Apsalara complimented the use of thorns in the construction of the camp walls. Wyrmrot told them it was Brisk who had wound the thorns so nicely around the walls, who shyly looked at the ground as Apsalara praised him for his contribution. "Really, kid, you did good. If anything tries to get in now, they'll cut themselves on those nasty vines and I'll pounce on the scent of blood in an instant." [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]So far, Galeblast and Apsalara had managed to map out a small swathe of land to the East of the camp, further into the heart of the Hewn City. There weren't any notable landmarks within half a day's walk of their current camp, mostly just small crumbled pillars and the vestiges of a cobblestone path that had slowly been sinking under an onslaught of weeds. Distance was also difficult to track as they had no reliable way to measure it, so, for now, it would be given in terms of time taken to travel by foot. The only way any of them could travel now, due to the toll of the Hewn City's poison. They had, however, had plenty of practice targets and had managed to get some fighting experience in. They also had some trinkets to share, though they didn't describe them in the same amount of detail as Wyrmrot had. Comparing their trinkets, Apsalara, Galeblast and Wyrmrot determined that the creatures close to their camp were largely the same species. One other thing Galeblast and Apsalara brought back were fresh reeds found along the side of the cobblestone path. The reeds were placed to the side to dry for now, too wet to be used to sleep on. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color] Satisfied with the work they had accomplished so far, Galeblast and Apsalara took control of their nest of eggs once more as Wyrmrot and Brisk returned to their bedding. Their current nests were little more than a thin layer of reeds embedded in the soft ground from being slept on, doing almost nothing to separate the dragons from the ground. The ground was unpleasantly cold and clammy to sleep on, this new supply of reeds would be a much welcomed addition to their nests. For now, as in the past few days, the group made do by sharing body heat. Another night passed uneventfully.

Pinglist: @Folktale @GriffinWings @naranciag [Rule] [center] [b]DAY 4 - Isn't the flora here great? [/b] [b]Daily Activities:[/b] Royal - incubated his nest for the fourth day. Hatchling - rolled a six sided die, resulted in a 5. You go, Brisk! [quote=Pinkerton Pull- FOOD] [item= dusky apples] [b]Rules:[/b] Food: Coliseum time! Plants: 10-20 matches Insects: 20-30 matches Seafood: 30-40 matches Meat: 40-50 matches You must select coliseum challengers in your lair using a random number generator. Then, select the coliseum arena that corresponds to the lowest level dragon of that group. (If a scout is in your lair then any venue can be selected.) If your dragons level up while in an area, you can still stay there for the whole day. You can quit your battle streak at any time to regain health, and flee from battles if it is appropriate. [Rule] My food item is a plant, so I spent 10-20 rounds in the coliseum! A cakewalk considering I spent 48 rounds in the coliseum yesterday. Using a d10 to decide how many battles I ultimately completed, I rolled a 2. 12 battles in total! Neither Galeblast, Apsalara nor Wyrmrot were able to level up unfortunately : / Making me consider Crim pulls to speed things up a bit... Nooo, temptation leave me! I barely have time for the one pull haha Notable loot: N/A [/quote] [b] LORE [/b] [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]None today, sorry : ( need a bit of a break, been feeling tired lately

Pinglist: @Folktale @GriffinWings @naranciag I'm back again! I'm going to try writing smaller snippets from now on, regardless of my excitement, as I think I got a bit burned out from how much I've been writing ^^; Thank you so much for your patience and kind words, as well as your response to my question last time I posted! I appreciate it a lot ^U^ So here's another question! Hehe... I've been using the same site this challenge to do my die "rolls" and coin "flips" which I'll link below. The only reason I do so is because... I've been having unusually good luck? Rather uniform results, that is. I.e. when I was rolling for Brisk's survival in his hatchling days, he rolled two 3s and a 5. Also, the coin flip for each hatchling was a heads- so they all survived. I know sometimes probabilities are calculated differently, but I don't know... How... Exactly... And I don't know if that would affect the results I'm getting from this site. It also could just be I've not made many rolls yet! I'll have to look into that when I get some spare time, but in the meantime... Let me know what websites you use or if you do all your die rolls by hand! Here's the link~ https://rolladie.net/ [Rule] [center] [b]DAY 5&6 - A break from the unease to fall into grief [/b] [b]Daily Activities:[/b] Royal - hatched eggs! On cooldown Hatchlings- coin flip to see if they survive the hatch Shadowfall: HEADS Kerta: HEADS Pearblossom: HEADS All three hatchlings safely make it out of their shells! Take a look at the post of living dragons [url= https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3094168#post_50034983] here [/url] to see the new babies :3 [quote=Pinkerton Pull- TRINKET] [item= used cartography ink] [b]Rules:[/b] Material / Trinket: Roll for a challenge (Edited from Fodderlocke for Kingdomlocke) Roll a 12-sided die. Your challenge is as follows: I rolled a 7! 7. Quest time! 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, exalt them as they were lost in the mission. Galeblast: 6 Apsalara: 1 Galeblast is now level 5! ...Apsalara dies in the mission. I take back what I said about my luck... Oooh this will be tricky... Ouch... [/quote] [b] LORE [/b] [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]Having spent yesterday training and getting to know their surroundings, the group decided to take the day off. The eggs would be hatching any moment now and Brisk was finalizing the steps of his own maturation. He was almost half the size of Galeblast, dwarfing Apsalara, and covered in muscle. His wounds, as Wyrmrot had foretold, were completely healed by now. Even his front right leg, badly broken only a few days prior, was now set straight and solid as a tree trunk. The smallest tuft of a beard was visible on the underside of his chin which, when Galeblast pointed it out likening it to his own raggedy beard, was shyly hidden against a lengthy brilliant blue neck. To celebrate Brisk's survival from his hatchling days, the three adults each decided to give him a small gift. They spent the day around camp thinking of what to gift him and presented their gifts right before dinner. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]Galeblast presented to Brisk a small comb he'd brought from home, made from the sturdy bone of the mighty Roc. It was inlaid with a large blue sapphire on the handle which shimmered deeply and darkly in the twilight of the Hewn City. A delicate pattern engraved in the bone blossomed out from the center depicting neat rows of thin thorny vines twining about each other as they reached out to either end of the handle, ensnaring the gem in the middle. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]"Even in the toughest situations, you must always look your best," Galeblast told Brisk, "if not for yourself, then for the morale of those around you. After all," a humorous glint came to Galeblast's eyes, "at least one of us has to look nice, and it's certainly not going to be the temperamental mirror," Galeblast chuckled as Apsalara hissed from her place behind him swiping at his haunches. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]"Truly though, Brisk," Galeblast continued, sobering up, "it's not good for anyone's sanity if you have rotten meat stuck in your beard, or anywhere else for that matter. It's hard living here, but do take care of yourself," he finished, smiling warmly at Brisk. Brisk dipped his head in thanks, making a few self conscious tugs on his beard to make sure nothing was stuck in it. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]Brisk came to attention again as Apsalara shoved her way past Galeblast, muttering about idiot monologuing. She deposited two stones, one long and flat and the other small and smooth, at Brisk's feet, watching as he inspected them inquisitively. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]"They're to help you keep yourself sharp," she said, nodding at the stones, "the smooth one can help you keep your claws real hard and sharp. The other will help you make weapons so you don't have to dull your own claws on tough toridae hide. I'll show you how to use 'em before you go on your first hunting trip." With that, Apsalara brusquely nodded at Brisk before going back to her nest and curling around her eggs. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]Wyrmrot was the last to approach Brisk, coming from where she'd been watching from her nest to give him a gift. She smiled bashfully as she laid the start to a massive quilt at his feet, placing a polished piece of bone on top. "Unfortunately," she said, "my gift for you may be more delayed than the others'. We're a big breed, it takes more to cover us up." [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]Wyrmrot smiled at Brisk as she lifted up the polished bone off the quilt and placed it in his paw, clasping her paws around his, "For now, though, I'll give you this. It's a needle. I'm sure you don't need me to describe it to you, I know I have before," her eyes crinkled around the edges as her smile widened, "Retaining warmth is the best thing a dragon can do to survive in the cold world we live in. Congratulations on making it to dragonhood, Brisk." [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]Affectionately bumping the tip of her snout against Brisk's, Wyrmrot picked the partially finished quilt back up and returned it to where she'd been keeping it in a small hollow in one of the dead trees that now made up their camp walls. Returning to the center of camp, Wyrmrot began assembling a fire using logs and leaves gathered from a small trip she'd made earlier in the day. The group watched her, coming closer once the fire started going to warm themselves as they ate in amicable silence, contented with their day. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]The next day began with a hushed, but excited, bark from Apsalara. Her nest was hatching! Everyone gathered around and watched with bated breath as the yet unborn dragons writhed in their casings, struggling to puncture the leathery shells with their egg teeth so that they might take their first steps out into the world. The gentle yellow glow of the eggs, a glow that had thus far been dim, increased in luminosity around each of the eggs as the hatchlings inside struggled more and more against their confines. Finally, the glow around one egg reached its zenith before the eggshell broke and all the light rushed out of the egg with a loud, "ZING!", momentarily blinding the adults who had thus far been watching with wide open eyes. Blinking the sparks out of their eyes, the group quickly shut them again as another egg burst with another "ZING!", and then the third. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]Apsalara roared in excitement as she realized all her hatchlings had made it, Galeblast smiling proudly beside her, as she named each hatchling rapid fire. "Shadowfall, Kerta and- you know what? Why not, Pearblossom, I know I said it was stupid before but now I can't think of anything but." [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]Apsalara curled tightly around her hatchlings, triumphantly looking over them as they pressed against her instinctually for protection. Her expression, however, quickly faded. The hatchlings that were huddled up against her were far from normal. Their wings were small and gnarled, clearly formed improperly. One appeared to be missing an eye, another had a half formed crest. The third had a large kink halfway down its tail that caused it to bend at an unnatural angle towards its back. "How?!", Apsalara cried out in a strangled voice as her hatchlings shivered against her. "Everything that grows here is poisoned...", Galeblast muttered bitterly, half to himself. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]Wyrmrot and Brisk could only mournfully look on as the new parents realized that their children, too, were affected by the same curse they were. The hatchlings would only be added to their number here in the Hewn City, instead of allowed outside where the rest of their kind freely roamed. After a moment of shock, Apsalara stood up abruptly from her nest, swiftly climbing over the wall nearest to her and out of the camp. Galeblast looked, surprised, between where Apsalara had headed and the hatchlings. Wyrmrot quietly settled around the hatchlings in Apsalara's stead, giving Galeblast a nod of encouragement. He muttered out a quick thank you before he leapt over the same barrier Apsalara had crossed, following after her. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]The two didn't return for a long time. At least, Apsalara didn't. Galeblast returned sometime later in the day, shortly after lunch. He muttered something about her needing more time before he collapsed in a corner, curling in on himself. Apsalara dragged herself back to camp even later, showing up just before dinnertime. When she came back she was grievously wounded, a large wound piercing through her belly and out her back. "It's what I get," she panted as Galeblast sobbed at her side, "I let my emotions get the better of me. First thing you learn not to do in the Icefields." [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]Less than an hour later she was gone, hatchlings and Brisk watching wide eyed from their place next to Wyrmrot as they witnessed their first death. Galeblast remained in a mournful vigil at Apsalara's side throughout the night, leaving only to dig a grave for her just outside camp. The first death had hit the colony. Hopefully it would not portend the rest of their fates.

Pinglist: @Folktale @GriffinWings @naranciag It's gonna be another double whammy today, but I'll separate days 7&8 in their own posts since I think I'll be able to do that without getting burnt out! I actually started this post yesterday, but ended up getting tired so it's getting finished and posted a day late. I won't ping you guys when I post day 8 because I don't want to ping you twice a day, but if you're interested check back in another hour or two :3 [Rule] [center] [b]DAY 7 - Hungry mouths to feed [/b] [b]Daily Activities:[/b] Royal - on cooldown Hatchlings- roll for survival, a d6 each SHADOWFALL: 4 KERTA: 2 PEACHBLOSSOM: 4 Phew, everyone made it through hatching and day one. [quote=Pinkerton Pull- FOOD] [item= deepsea cucumber] [b]Rules:[/b] Coliseum time! Plants: 10-20 matches Insects: 20-30 matches Seafood: 30-40 matches Meat: 40-50 matches You must select coliseum challengers in your lair using a random number generator. Then, select the coliseum arena that corresponds to the lowest level dragon of that group. (If a scout is in your lair then any venue can be selected.) If your dragons level up while in an area, you can still stay there for the whole day. You can quit your battle streak at any time to regain health, and flee from battles if it is appropriate. [Rule] [B] Results [/b] I picked a seafood item so I'll do 30-40 matches using a d10 to decide where exactly I fall in that range. I rolled a 4, so 34 matches total. I only have three adults so I'll bring all three to the training fields. ... I kind of spaced out and think I miscounted, but, Brisk is now level 4 Galeblast is level 5 Wyrmrot is level 5 [Rule] [B]JOB ROLL[/B] I can roll a job for Wyrmrot now! I rolled a 9 [B] Job Assigned [/b]: 9. Matchmaker - Pairing all dragons together! Matchmakers allow you to “match” dragons and create a permanent pair. Once a pair is permanent they can breed at any time, but cannot breed with any other dragons unless their spousal dragon dies. If either spousal dragon dies they have to flip a coin. on tails, they have a death bond Romeo and Juliet pact and are both exalted regardless of any lives. Matchmakers can make one pair a day. Interesting results today, huh! [/quote] [b] LORE [/b] [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]The colony, even with the loss of Apsalara, had doubled in size with the addition of the new hatchlings. Rations were running low and they still had another week to wait before more food came, as originally agreed upon with the guard. Galeblast quietly shared this fact with the rest of the group once he'd finished cleaning the leftovers of breakfast off his hatchlings. "We're running low on food. Our numbers are much greater than when we last saw the guard. We won't be able to survive on what the guards bring us next week if we don't alert them of our group's developments." Galeblast continued speaking, staring ahead with deadened eyes as he sprawled out on the ground next to his hatchlings. "These hatchlings were able to get some nutrition from eating their shells so they'll survive even if we run out of food before the end of the week. We still have to make a trip to the border." "Understood," Wyrmrot affirmed, "Who should stay with the hatchlings?" Galeblast sighed, thinking, then responded, "I think we should all travel to the border together." Wyrmrot furrowed her brows in concern at this suggestion, "Are you sure? These are day old hatchlings. We will be able to carry them all, but it's a lot of dead weight." Galeblast paused, thinking it over again, then said, "Yes, I'm sure. I wouldn't trust just one of us to stay with the hatchlings considering our spirits. We know what happened last time two of us stayed behind, even if we had to split up like that. I think we should travel as a group." "Very well," Wyrmrot nodded, " Any thoughts, Brisk?" Brisk shook his head. "Alright, we'll follow your lead then, Galeblast," Wyrmrot said. "Give me a minute," Galeblast sighed back. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]A minute passed, then a few more, yet Galeblast didn't seem to be ready to get up. Wyrmrot quietly picked up the quilt she was sewing for Brisk, showing him how she brought the seams together on her project as Brisk watched attentively from beside her. About an hour later, Galeblast finally hauled himself onto his feet, head held low as he encouraged his hatchlings to get up with him. "Alright, let's be off," Galeblast intoned as he nosed the strap of the ration pack over his head. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]Wyrmrot quietly put away her quilting as Brisk silently stood and offered his back to the hatchlings to ride on. The hatchlings, though relatively quiet compared to typical hatchlings, chattered amongst each other in hushed whispers as they figured whose back they wanted to ride on. Pearblossom hobbled clumsily over to Galeblast, her father, kinked tail throwing off her ability to balance. She scrabbled at her father's scales as she fell off on her first attempt to climb up his back, making it all the way up on her second with the help of Brisk's snout to steady her. Shadowfall, missing an eye, enjoyed how easily Wyrmrot stood out against his gloomy surroundings and the interesting sounds his claws made against the bony white growths of her gembond. As soon as Wyrmrot came to stand with the rest of the group, he clambered his way onto her back with no assistance. That left Kerta, who had been staring, mesmerized, at the sparkles that littered Brisk's mane, gently batting at his fur with her paws. Brisk flicked his tail towards her nose to prompt her to make her decision, at which point she also clumsily made her way up his back. Kerta was also a bit off balance because of her unformed crest, but made it up on her own after falling once. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]The group was silent at first as the adults walked along at a steady pace and the hatchlings got their first view of the world outside the camp. As the quiet wonder wore off and excitement set in, the hatchlings began whisper-yelling at each other from their respective mounts. Since they hadn't developed vocabularies yet, it was a lot of babbling and excited barks that didn't make much sense in proper dragon speak. Noticing this, Wyrmrot broke her silence to describe their surroundings to the hatchlings. Jostling her shoulders to get Shadowfall's attention, Wyrmrot pointed her snout at a tree and clearly enunciated, "tree". Shadowfall immediately caught on to what was happening and babbled excitedly to the others to let them know, delivering his own warped- but vaguely recognizable- version of the word "tree". [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]The hatchlings delighted at being given attention from an adult, Shadowfall eagerly relaying any curiosities the hatchlings had to Wyrmrot by tugging on her mane and barking in the general direction of what had caught their attention. The somber mood lifted from the party just a little at the pure eagerness of the hatchlings. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]The colony stopped at several points so the adults could clear out some particularly dense patches of brush that bordered the path they walked along. They felt confident they could take any enemies they came across, but didn't want to risk an ambush in case a hatchling ended up as a casualty. As the adults flushed out any potential enemies, the hatchlings waited a short distance back until the adults gave the all clear at which point the hatchlings resumed their stations atop the adults. By the time the group arrived at the wall of branches that bordered the Hewn City, Galeblast, Wyrmrot and Brisk had felled a considerable number of carnivorous moths and predatory deer which had been lying in wait inside the brush. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]The guard that met them at the border of branches noncommittally received their request for more food, merely grunting an affirmation in response. If it was surprised to see the hatchlings or their deformities it did not show it, just as when Wyrmrot brought Brisk to see the guard for the first time. Turning back almost as soon as they'd arrived, the colony went back the way they came. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]The return to camp went much like the outgoing trip had, save for the fact that the hatchlings were much sleepier now. Their queries, now considerably more understandable than their babblings at the start of the trip despite having actively participated in actual conversation for less than a day, were interspersed with yawning as they struggled to remain upright on their mounts. Eventually, the group stopped to create three makeshift slings which the adults tied around their necks and placed the hatchlings in. The hatchlings were sound asleep by the time Galeblast, Wyrmrot and Brisk arrived in camp. Once the adults laid down in their nests, they quickly followed suit.

Alright here's day 8! Not pinging for this one, because I'm posting twice in one day, but I hope you enjoy this should you come back and read! [Rule] [center] [b]DAY 8- A welcome reprieve [/b] [b]Daily Activities:[/b] Royal - On cooldown Hatchlings- Rolled a 6 sided die to determine their fates. SHADOWFALL- 3 KERTA- 2 PEARBLOSSOM- 4 Another close roll, still no deaths! Knock on wood :3 [quote=Pinkerton Pull- APPAREL] [item= shadowscale chest guard] [b]Rules:[/b]Romance! Breed two of your dragons. The dragons you pick are up to you. Ehm, I have no ready to breed dragons... No news is good news? [/quote] [b] LORE [/b] [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]The following day the group decided to spruce up the camp, make it a little more homey. The reeds that Galeblast and Apsalara had brought back from their penultimate excursion together were now well dried, so Wyrmrot took them and briefly buried them amongst the coals and hot ash from the fire last night, drying out any remaining moisture as well as hopefully either killing or chasing out any insects that had decided to make the grasses their home. Removing the reeds before they became brittle from the heat, Wyrmrot distributed the fresh bedding between the nests. They would need to find more reeds again. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]Shadowfall, missing one of his light-seeing eyes but retaining his full scope of heat vision, raptly watched the reeds as Wyrmrot buried then unearthed them. He excitedly bounced as Wyrmrot did her work, clearly wanting to be a part of the task in some way. Although Wyrmrot didn't think he was big enough to directly handle the fire yet, she eventually ended up handing him some warm reeds to distribute around the nest he shared with his father. He performed his duty with utmost care, dispersing the reeds in a way that maximized heat spread throughout the nest to the best of his inexperienced abilities. The reeds, of course, cooled quickly rendering Shadowfall's care moot, but his attentiveness pleased Wyrmrot so she decided he would help her around camp today. The two ended up making a small trip outside camp together to gather and prepare more reeds for bedding, a trip that would turn out successful with Galeblast's advice on where to look for the reeds. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]As Brisk got up to making himself busy, removing plants that died in the transplant around the camp walls and rethreading vines that had started to reach away from their guiding posts, he noticed Kerta following along. Eyes fixed to his sparkling tail, she seemed just as enamored by it today as yesterday. Turning around, Brisk reached into a hole under a rock by his nest to produce the comb that Galeblast had given him the day he'd officially been considered an adult. Sitting down now, Brisk showed Kerta how to brush his mane and tail. She followed after Brisk, clumsily- then much more dexterously- brushing out every inch of fur she could get to, even climbing up his back again to do so. Brisk appreciated the attention and let her continue wondering at his mane, not feeling the need to have her help him in his work. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]Galeblast looked at his group mates and sighed, wondering what he could do. Brisk and Wyrmrot seemed to be fully capable without any direction. Pearblossom rolled around at his feet, happy to entertain herself as her siblings followed around the other adults. Looking down at her, Galeblast gave her as genuine a smile as he could muster as he thought of what he'd do. Pearblossom seemed to be his charge for the day, so he'd tailor his tasks around that. She wasn't very good at walking due to her kinked tail, so should he choose something to do that required walking to help her improve? Could she improve? [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]Wyrmrot seemed to notice his plight as she came over to ask where she could find reeds, suggesting that he take her out on a very short walk around camp to get more mud and stones to fortify their walls. Pearblossom will always have this disability, she pointed out, so it's best to figure out any workarounds or ways to deal with it early on. This made sense to Galeblast, so that's what they did. Pearblossom seemed to love slapping mud on bricks, simple though it was, and Galeblast would be lying if he said the mindless activity wasn't cathartic. They may have gone a bit overboard in some areas, but more reinforcement never hurt, did it? So far it didn't seem like there was a way to help Pearblossom deal with her unique deformity, but her mud slapping abilities certainly improved. She also was quite keen on rooting through mud, digging up several fat grubs which Galeblast had to snatch away from her. They had little clue what eating of the food here would do, but he doubted it would be good. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]The hatchlings brought new life to the camp, keeping conversation going at mealtimes and during work as they bombarded the adults with questions and juvenile observations. By the end of the day, Galeblast, Wyrmrot and Brisk realized they'd talked and smiled the most in this one relaxing day than all the rest combined. The realization, in the wake of Aspalara's death, was bittersweet, but at least there was a sweetness to savor at all.

Pinglist: @Folktale @GriffinWings @naranciag Shhhh pretend I posted this yesterday ... back to our regularly scheduled lore :3 [Rule] [center] [b]DAY 9 - Budding Artist [/b] [b]Daily Activities:[/b] Royal - on cooldown Hatchlings- roll for survival, a d6 each SHADOWFALL: 6 KERTA: 2 PEARBLOSSOM: 2 Yuss survival! [quote=Pinkerton Pull- FOOD] [item= aberrant cat shark] [b]Rules:[/b] Coliseum time! Plants: 10-20 matches Insects: 20-30 matches Seafood: 30-40 matches Meat: 40-50 matches You must select coliseum challengers in your lair using a random number generator. Then, select the coliseum arena that corresponds to the lowest level dragon of that group. (If a scout is in your lair then any venue can be selected.) If your dragons level up while in an area, you can still stay there for the whole day. You can quit your battle streak at any time to regain health, and flee from battles if it is appropriate. [Rule] [B] Results [/b] I picked a seafood item so I'll do 30-40 matches using a d10 to decide where exactly I fall in that range. I rolled a 5, so 35 matches total. I still only have three adults so I'll bring all three to the woodland path since they're high enough level now. No spacing out this time! Brisk is now level 6 Galeblast is level 6 Wyrmrot is level 6 [Rule] [B] JOB ROLL [/B] I can roll a job for Brisk now! He grew up so fast [I]sniff[/I] I rolled a 12 [B]Job Assigned[/b]: 12. Artist - Paint everywhere! No special rule. Aww and it fits him so well! Detail oriented and all... So cute [/quote] [b] LORE [/b] [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]Galeblast, Wyrmrot and Brisk began to patrol the region outside their camp as the hatchlings played safely inside the fortified walls. They wanted to start knocking down trees to create a clearing around the camp where they could easily spot enemies, and no enemies could drop in from the trees above. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]Their current camp sat just to the side of the dilapidated cobblestone path that lead deep into the Hewn City, approaching from the west side. Along this path, to the east and west of the camp, lay small piles of rubble- remnants of a grand colonnade which had one stretched a mile or so leading into the Hewn City. Broken columns still reached up into the misty sky, revealing the simple but refined fluting that had once decorated all the columns lining the road. Broad flat pieces of broken entablature littered the ground where they had fallen from atop the columns, one of which was currently being used by Wyrmrot to track the days they had spent quarantined here. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color] To either side of the path grew tall old trees which, in all aspects except one, resembled chestnut trees. The key difference being that the leaves, though serrated as on typical chestnut trees, oozed sticky globules of sap which rested menacingly on the leaves. Many creeping vines, adorned with thorns, littered the ground and drew blood if one wasn't careful where they stepped. Unusual birch trees also grew tall among the chestnut trees, their bark black and rough like sandpaper with oily black fluid covering the whole of the tree bark. Leaf litter coated the ground beneath the trees, a few iridescent black sprouts, birch and chestnut saplings poking through. The black sprouts no doubt belonged to The Hewn City's variation on catberry bushes, which proliferated and became the dominant species the closer one got to swamplands. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]As one got farther from the path, to both the north and south of the camp, the ground gradually turned mucky and then completely into swamplands. Inside these swamps old broken trunks of long dead trees broke through the inky black water, otherwise devoid of obstacles. The reeds the colony currently used for their nesting grew at the edges of the swamp before the land turned from soggy to flooded. Darkly iridescent catberry bushes abounded in the intermediate soil between the flooded swampland and the dry land near camp, taking up any space not currently occupied by a chestnut tree or strangled by creeping vines. The bushes, of course, sported their own defenses with trunks and branches coated in bristles- no doubt in an attempt to deter the vines from latching on and draining their nutrients. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]Various other attempts at plant life could be seen around camp, but these were the dominant forms of flora. In terms of fauna, some toridae and croakers were known to hide in the swamp waters. Large insects, such as moths and lice the size of deer, hid in the branches of the tall trees or amongst the brush. All the hostile insects the colony had seen sported some type of claws or serrated teeth here. Deer, still deer-sized and relatively deer shaped, had developed their own deadly canines and spurs on their legs which they also used to engage in battle. Some of the fauna here had mutated horribly, jagged shards of bone protruding from their sides or from their mouths, forcing their jaws perpetually open. Terrible mutations were rare, but not uncommon to see, no doubt a side effect of ingesting their fellow beast's poisoned meat as all of the especially mutated creatures seemed to be fat and bloated. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]As the group cleared out a wide radius for where their camp's new borders would be, felling or chasing out dozens of aggressive animals in the process, Galeblast brought up the fact they hadn't given their campsite a name. "It seems we'll be here for a while," Galeblast said, tone still relatively monotone compared to his usual self, "and now we're relatively settled in we may as well come up with a name for our camp. Referring to it as "the camp" is uninspiring." "I suppose," Wyrmrot responded, "our original group name was "The Hewn Hellions", what about Hellion city?" Brisk wrinkled his nose at that as Galeblast shook his head. "No, we're not the Hewn Hellions anymore," Galeblast said, seeming to get lost in troubled thought before he shook himself out of it, "I wanted something more aspirational anyways." Brisk reached up to the leaves of a chestnut tree they had marked for felling, grasping it with his claws so he didn't get sap on his paws. He held this out to Wyrmrot to interpret what he meant. "Hm, something to do with chestnut trees? I guess these trees are the most inspiring and least hostile of what we've seen so far," she remarked. Then, "Well, what about Chestnut City?" Brisk and Galeblast both considered this, Brisk nodding his head hesitantly as Galeblast shrugged. "I think that'll be good enough for now," Galeblast said, "and I think we've cleared enough angry moths out for now as well. Let's head back." [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]When they returned to camp, after feeding themselves and the hatchlings, Brisk motioned inquiringly towards Wyrmrot's stack of papers and ink. "Ah, you'd like to use some?", Wyrmrot asked. Brisk nodded. "Sure, take what you need. I haven't been writing much lately anyways." [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]Brisk bowed gratefully, taking a small stack of papers which he began scribbling on. He scribbled until dusk, throwing balled up papers into the kindling pile- and then the fire once it started- finally producing a sheet of paper which he showed proudly to Wyrmrot. It was an image of what he imagined Chestnut City might look like in its grandest form, obviously colored by his inexperience with actual architecture. Chestnut City, according to Brisk, would sit at the center of a large clearing. It would have circular walls of entire dead trees stacked twenty high, overgrown with thorny vines. A roof made of rubble, joined by mud on further questioning, would cover the top of the grand city. Two entrances, one going west and one going east, would lead out of the city which would sit right over top of the cobblestone path their camp currently lay on the side of. The clearing the city was inside would be edged by another large wall of trees, blocking the city from the forest surrounding it. Outside, Brisk had drawn the hatchlings playing as Galeblast watched while Wyrmrot and Brisk worked on a quilt together. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]It was a simple vision, one which Wyrmrot shared with Galeblast and the hatchlings as she smiled at Brisk's hopefulness and naivety. The hatchlings seemed ecstatic at the idea of having such a grandiose place to call home. Galeblast couldn't help but snort at the idea, though it did also put him in a better mood. "Looks like you're our clan artist, Brisk," Wyrmrot said behind a gentle grin.

Pinglist: @Folktale @GriffinWings @naranciag Ah, my hoarding tendencies have brought a custom rule to come into play! Our first exile from my main clan appears. [Rule] [center] [b]DAY 10- Another death. A proper prisoner.[/b] [b]Daily Activities:[/b] Royal - on cooldown Hatchlings- roll for survival, a d6 each SHADOWFALL: 5 KERTA: 2 PEARBLOSSOM: 1 Oh poor Pearblossom :( our first hatchling death, I suppose it had to happen at some point... At least this assuages my fears about unfair die rolls. [quote=Pinkerton Pull- FOOD] [item= common froghopper] [b]Rules:[/b] Coliseum time! Plants: 10-20 matches Insects: 20-30 matches Seafood: 30-40 matches Meat: 40-50 matches You must select coliseum challengers in your lair using a random number generator. Then, select the coliseum arena that corresponds to the lowest level dragon of that group. (If a scout is in your lair then any venue can be selected.) If your dragons level up while in an area, you can still stay there for the whole day. You can quit your battle streak at any time to regain health, and flee from battles if it is appropriate. [Rule] [b]RESULTS[/B] I picked an insect item so I'll do 20-30 matches using a d10 to decide where exactly I fall in that range. I rolled a 3, so 23 matches total. I finally have more than three adults so it's time to randomly pick which three I bring! Brisk, Galeblast and Wyrmrot ended up being picked. Brisk is now level 6 Galeblast is level 7 Wyrmrot is level 7 [Rule] [B]CUSTOM RULE[/B] I counted 51 dragons in my lair today, one more than my self imposed max of 50! I rolled some dice and the dragon I exiled from my main clan (that is now part of the Kingdomlocke) is Deadweep! [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/71592934][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/350/715930/71592934_350.png[/img][/url] [/quote] [b] LORE [/b] [color=transparent]iiiii[/color] Mourning began the moment the sun's rays began sifting through the ever present sheet of gloom that hung over Chestnut city. Galeblast had awoken to find his youngest, Pearblossom, had passed away in the night. A novice diagnosis by Wyrmrot revealed she had suffocated in the night, a common way for young hatchlings to die suddenly. She had been warm enough nuzzled next to her father, he hadn't crushed her certainly, her breathing just stopped. She had been the less developed off her siblings, certainly, which may have contributed to her chances of such sudden suffocation- but that wasn't something that could have been addressed. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color] Galeblast lay at Pearblossom's side, large snout pressed into her small body with his eyes closed. Her siblings gathered around, unsure of what to do, looking to Wyrmrot and Brisk to lead. Wyrmrot came forward, bowing her head so she could respectfully press her nose against Pearblossom's cooling snout before backing away again. Brisk followed suit, and then the young hatchlings. Shadowfall still felt slightly confused and gently prodded Pearblossom's prone paw with his own, moving on with a concerned look when he saw no response. Both Shadowfall and Kerta had seen their mother die shortly after hatching, but hadn't really known what had happened as they were still too young to make sense of it. All they had truly understood from the moment was that it was an upsetting one, and Pearblossom's sudden stillness seemed to inspire a similar mood. So, still not totally sure of what was going on, Shadowfall and Kerta merely looked at each other and the adults with concern and inquisitiveness, remaining still and silent as they waited for the adults to move. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]Eventually Galeblast got up, issuing his first command that day. "Let's start clearing those trees. We can bury her in the space we make." [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]Wyrmrot and Brisk nodded in understanding, following Galeblast out of camp. Before they left, Wyrmrot whispered to the hatchlings to keep quiet and away from Pearblossom while they were gone. They would be back soon. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]The three large dragons were easily able to clear a space for the Chestnut city graveyard, which was located a short distance from camp across the cobblestone path. Few hostile creatures remained in the area immediately around Chestnut city from the dragons' rampage yesterday so there was little opposition to their efforts. The hardest part seemed to be uprooting the massive trees that had made the space their home, but even they stood little chance against two imperials and a guardian. The gravesite was prepared within four silent hours. Soon, the whole city had gathered around the open grave that Pearblossom had been laid in. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]Galeblast murmured a quiet goodbye to his hatchling, Shadowfall and Kerta clumsily saying their own byes. Everyone threw in a handful of dirt over Pearblossom after their goodbyes. Galeblast and Wyrmrot then quickly worked together to finish burying her with several sweeps of their massive tails. Apsalara's death had come too soon, too violently, for her to receive the same proper burial, but Galeblast erected a small cairn next to the one he placed over Pearblossom's grave so that everyone could finish paying their respects. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]Once the solemn business was done, the group processed after Galeblast back to camp. Wyrmrot would whisper answers to the hatchlings' hushed questions about what had happened as the city spent the day in silence for the passing of Pearblossom. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]Deadweep showed up as dusk fell, turning the Hewn City a deep navy one shade away from black. He hesitantly peeked over the edge of Chestnut city's walls, surprised to see a group of dragons gathered around a campfire, wholly having expected the glow he had seen to be some sort of predator's way of attracting its prey to certain death. Making his presence known, he uncertainly waved a paw at them. Seeing Wyrmrot wave back, he clumsily climbed over the wall and into camp, hissing as he cut the sides of his paws. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]Deadweep went to begin talking, but Wyrmrot pressed a finger to her lips, motioning at Galeblast who was sleeping in his nest with his remaining hatchlings. She motioned for Deadweep to come closer, inspecting him for injuries. Then, she loosely wrapped some fabric torn from their old clothes around his paws and showed him a place he could sleep. Deadweep, clearly exhausted, nodded gratefully and fell quickly into sleep. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]Shady Grove had been getting extremely full, the addition of a young tundra named Sam seeming to tip the clan over the edge. Deadweep had once been the custodian of a small cavern which housed a small copse of beautiful petrified trees, which ended up getting in the way of Shady Grove as it attempted to expand. Things got rough and, well, Deadweep had ended up having his wings cut as he was exiled to the Hewn City. Everything that had gone on in the last year leading up to this had exhausted Deadweep, so when the final verdict came down he could do nothing but sigh as his life took another unfortunate turn. He merely resigned himself to one last attempt at survival in this new place. He had been relieved to see others, namely the dragons of Chestnut city, had been able to start carving an existence out here or he may have ended up dying on his own. All this Deadweep would relay to the somber group tomorrow, but for now it was time to rest.

Pinglist: @Folktale @GriffinWings @naranciag Ugh, another hatchling death... I guess a near 20% chance of dying every day for 5 days is pretty high... Has anyone been using a d10 for hatchling rolls? Then again, I don't know if a 10% chance of dying is too low... [Rule] [center] [b]DAY 11- Too much too soon.[/b] [b]Daily Activities:[/b] Royal - on cooldown Hatchlings- roll for survival, a d6 each SHADOWFALL: 1 KERTA: 5 Another one?! D: oh I hope at least one of these hatchlings survives... [quote=Pinkerton Pull- FAMILIAR] [item= baku] [b]Rules:[/b] Familiars: Buy the cheapest level 1 dragon in the auction house of a specific breed. Use a random number generator (between 1-18) to determine which breed you will get! 1. Fae 2. Guardian 3. Mirror 4. Pearlcatcher 5. Ridgeback 6. Tundra 7. Spiral 8. Imperial 9. Snapper 10. Wildclaw 11. Nocturne 12. Coatl 13. Skydancer 14. Bogsneak 15. Gaoler 16. Banescale 17. Obelisk 18. Veilspun [Rule] [b]RESULTS[/B] I rolled a 10, so I get to pick a wildclaw :3 [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/75384586][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/350/753846/75384586_350.png[/img][/url] Glain joins the colony! At least this means colony numbers are remaining relatively stable. [/quote] [b] LORE [/b] [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]During the night, yet another of Galeblast's children had peacefully passed on. Shadowfall lay still and silent as his family woke up around him. This time, all Galeblast could do at first was tearfully sigh as he realized he'd have to bury another one of his children today. He couldn't help but think this was some sort of punishment for having children with Apsalara in what had clearly been a selfish act. It was almost like he'd entirely forgotten about Cazin, his life mate, the moment he'd stepped into the Hewn City. It was almost as if he hadn't even considered that what children he brought forth here may suffer terribly. As he stopped to consider his decisions leading up to the death of two of his three hatchlings, the first he'd had with anyone other than Cazin, he became overwhelmed with grief and guilt unlike anything he'd felt. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]From the first day that he'd known he wouldn't be allowed to leave this City, all he had been able to think about was survival. There were brief moments here and there, conversations had and the occasional fleeting bout of clarity, where his mood lifted and he was able to think about something other than how much food he had left or what adjustments needed to be made to the camp. These he had tried to fill with hopeful thoughts, looking to the future, to better times. Now, in the face of all the death the past week, as he stared at the direct consequences of his actions, he was forced to reflect on himself. His infidelity, his selfishness, his betrayal of his family, the suffering he'd caused already, the suffering he'd cause as a result of his actions, what he could have said differently to Apsalara, how he could have treated Apsalara differently, Apsalara's death, his hatchlings... [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]Wyrmrot's concerned calls and the sight of a new dragon in camp slid smoothly over Galeblast's head as he left the camp from where he had been staring blankly at Shadowfall's side. Wyrmrot motioned for Brisk to stay with Kerta and Deadweep as she cautiously followed after Galeblast. She watched as he dug another hole next to Pearblossom's grave, then lifted his head with eyes swirling with dark mist. Wyrmrot uncomfortably moved a pace back, hoping he wouldn't become aggressive and attempt to charge her. He didn't, merely turning towards the swamplands north of the city and lumbering off. Wyrmrot considered if she should follow, but decided not to. She hadn't been keeping as close an eye on him for symptoms as she should've been so she had no idea if something like this had happened before or if it was an isolated case, allowed to show exacerbated by grief. In addition to that, she was only slightly larger than he was- but not nearly as muscled or heavy. She'd have to hope Galeblast could take care of himself and return, sane again, or fall ill to the Hewn City and stay far away. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]Returning to Chestnut city, Wyrmrot sat down in front of the remaining citizens who turned attentively towards her. "I think Galeblast is succumbing to the Hewn City's influence," she said, looking around at the assembled dragons, "Do you know what I mean by that, newcomer?" Deadweep shook his head. He started as Wyrmrot began to speak again, blurting out a nervous, "My name is Deadweep." "Oh, thank you. I'm Wyrmrot, this other imperial is Brisk and the young hatchling is Kerta," Wyrmrot politely responded, "I'd appreciate if greetings waited, what I have to say is quite important." "Of course," Deadweep said. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]"Thank you," Wyrmrot replied, "what I mean when I talk of the Hewn City's influence is that this city is poisoned. This dark mist in the air," she looked up at the dark particulate that swirled above her, "is actually some sort of toxic substance. It's in the ground, the water, in the plants that grow here, the animals. It seems to warp everything here. It's why almost every creature attacks us on sight, it's why we can't eat anything here and it's why we can't drink here unless we use water purifiers. We can't stop from breathing, unfortunately, which means the things in the air can still infect us." [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]Wyrmrot looked back at each of them, "We have no clue what will happen if we stay here too long. Before we came here, we heard tales of dragons getting lost in this city losing their sanity, unable to recognize their families and friends. Babbling incoherently, if they talked at all. Some even mutated like the creatures that live here, bones growing where they shouldn't, tumors covering their flesh, veins and blood turning sludge black until their bodies fall apart. It starts with fatigue, as it did with us, where we lost the energy to lift our wings to fly right before we lost control of our wings altogether. Some of us also developed cold symptoms, which came and went. From there, we don't know... When I looked at Galeblast, his eyes had a dark sheen over them. I think the poisoning may be taking over." [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]Brisk looked stunned and confused by this information, uneasily kneading the ground with his paws. Deadweep was shocked, unable to form the words to ask a question. Kerta was the one who spoke up first, having a developed enough understanding of speech at this point to form her own sentences. "Is daddy going to be buried with Shadowfall then?" Kerta asked, head cocked to one side. From what Wyrmrot had told her about death yesterday, dragons died when their bodies didn't work correctly or were too overwhelmed by other things to work right. Poisoning seemed to make bodies stop working right judging by what Wyrmrot had said. If her daddy was poisoned, then he should be dying. "I'm not sure," Wyrmrot responded, "he may be able to resist the poison. In that case he can come live with us again." "Oh," Kerta said, "so dragons can stop dying even if their bodies stopped working right?" "Yes," Wyrmrot said, "sometimes, if a dragon's body is strong enough, their body can go back to normal. They heal. Sometimes it's too late. It depends on how much of their body isn't working right." "Oh. Okay." Kerta said simply, going back to staring at the other adults. Finally Deadweep spoke up, "And this is guaranteed to happen to all of us?" "I'm not sure," Wyrmrot replied, "all I know is that we know little about the effects of being here too long. We know that light magic can detect how poisoned we are, and that this poison is impossible to remove past a certain point. Everyone here, except maybe you, is poisoned beyond help right now." [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]"Yes, and I'm here as punishment," Deadweep sighed. Wyrmrot looked inquisitively at him, at which point Deadweep relayed his story. Territorial conflicts had driven him here, he had been jailed by Shady Grove for defending his home and subsequently exiled after a whole lot of hassle. They'd even gone and cut his wings off too, which was the worst thing for him. Not like it seemed like he'd make much use of them here by what Wyrmrot had said. "Ah," Wyrmrot said, "I'm sorry to hear that. I had no idea that was happening when I lived in Shady Grove." [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]"It's fine, I've never been lucky or good at socializing," Deadweep sighed dejectedly, "at least my life will end interestingly. Perhaps my corpse will lodge itself in a swamp and some dragon later down the line can enjoy having me as part of their collection." "Ah," was all Wyrmrot could say in response. Straightening up, Wyrmrot nodded once to herself then took charge of the group. "Right, let's bury Shadowfall and scavenge for more reeds. Bedding has been a big problem since the start and I'd like to get it taken care of now." [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]The group gave their assent as they trooped after Wyrmrot, solemnly paying their last respects to Shadowfall before dutifully scavenging for reeds. By noon they managed to find an entire bale of reeds, which they laid out to dry in another small clearing right next to the camp that Brisk and Wyrmrot worked together to make. As the massive dragons hefted more large trees out of the earth, the smaller tundra and hatchling scurried about the forest floor weeding and shuffling aside leaves until their paws went sore. Finally, they placed all the reeds out in big sheets to dry before they were smoked and turned into bedding. The group was taking a late lunch to figure out what to do with all the detritus when they saw a familiar head poke over the camp walls. "Hello?" Galeblast called, a confused expression on his face. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]Wyrmrot immediately went into a defensive pose with her long body outstretched to cover the dragons behind her. "Yes?" she called back. Galeblast seemed a bit taken aback at the sudden defensiveness, unsure of what to do. Then he said, "I came to a while down the path, I don't know how I got there. Did I hurt you?" "No," Wyrmrot said, relaxing slightly, "can you remember who and where you are?" "Yes," he replied, "My name is Galeblast and I came here, to the Hewn City, to study the region with you." "That's right," Wyrmrot said as she sat down again, "sorry for being so wary, last time I saw you your eyes were black." [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]Galeblast's eyes widened and he stumbled as he came down the inner side of the city walls when he heard that. He stopped once he'd reached the bottom of the wall, remaining far away from the group. "Oh... Should I... Should I stay away then?" His brows furrowed, "Is my body already giving out?" "I'm not sure," Wyrmrot said, "I've only seen it happen once. It may not happen again. We'll have to keep a close eye on it for now. Luckily you don't seem aggressive." "No," he shook his head pensively, "I don't... I'm glad." [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]Galeblast perked up a bit as he seemed to remember something, sitting down to peel his wing away from his body to reveal a small lump he'd been concealing inside. "I found this hatchling following me when I came to," Galeblast said, "He says he didn't have a name, so I've named him Glain." [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]A small wildclaw poked its head out from under Galeblast's wing, curiously taking in the dragons peering back at him. He tumbled out of the spacious wing and sniffed at Kerta, hissing when she batted him with a paw. "Abandoned hatchlings? In this place?" Deadweep asked, aghast. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]Galeblast finally noticed Deadweep for this first time, seeming just as surprised at the wingless tundra as Deadweep was to learn abandoned hatchlings were here. [color=transparent]iiiii[/color]Wyrmrot, as always, took initiative in making introductions and catching everyone in the group up on things. By the time it was fully dark, everyone's questions had been answered and the group was content to have caught up with each other. Galeblast and the rest of the colony were concerned as to what Galeblast's sudden moment of blacking out meant for the dragons that had been here the longest but, seeing as nothing could be done about it, resolved to keep it out of their minds for now. They would check in at the end of each day to report any unusual symptoms they had seen in themselves and each other, but wouldn't jump on one another the moment any one of them sensed something slightly off. That would lead to paranoia that would tear them apart before any poisoning would. As to what would be done about a dragon clearly succumbing to illness? They'd have to wait and see what such a case might look like.

Pinglist: @Folktale @GriffinWings @naranciag [Rule] [center] [b]PAUSE.[/b] [b]Daily Activities:[/b] Royal - on cooldown Hatchlings- roll for survival, a d6 each GLAIN: 2 [quote=Pinkerton Pull- APPAREL] [item= scout's tail twist] [b]Rules:[/b] Apparel: Romance! Breed two of your dragons. The dragons you pick are up to you. Augh I wasn't expecting to be able to breed any dragons so all my nests are full for another two days... Hm, I guess I'll breed Wyrmrot and Deadweep in two days then, and write lore for how that goes once I breed them... Ah, I know what I'll do! I actually have an idea for something a bit different for day 14 of this challenge but I haven't had time to work on it. To that end, I'll pause this challenge for two days and make a special update for day 14 in the downtime I have :3 It will serve as lore for day 12, 13 and 14. [/quote] [b] LORE [/b] [color=transparent]iiiii[/color] None today, preparing for a unique day 14!