Quests & Challenges

[choosing option 3 (magic definitely-won't-turn-out-to-be-cursed-and/or-eldritch crystal) in case i don't write anything

[center][b]Day 5[/b][/center] [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/88682186][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/350/886822/88682186_350.png[/img][/url][/center] [center][b]Choice:[/b] Option 2[/center] Mimicing the Hainu pays off as her small feathered friend rolls back onto it's stomach, trots over and drops the key just outside of the cell. Neith is able to reach out just far enough to grab it, and opens the door. As she leaves her prison she heads towards the stairs, stopping before exiting the room as she's wary of getting lost. While trying to remember any possible turns that were taken as she was brought to this place, the Hainu emits a small bork and starts hopping down the steps, turning around at the bottom and seemingly waiting for Neith to follow. She hopes that your her small friend is trying to be helpful and not leading her directly into the arms of her captors. As the Hainu makes it's way through the seemingly random twists and turns Neith keeps pace behind, and she's certain that she notices multiple small blurs of red, yellow and blue heading down separate paths of the maze. Not trying to lose her way, she ignores them and continues to follow along as the Hainu begins to yip loudly. Taking a final turn, Neith is hit with a light that leaves her blind for but a moment before she's able to squint and make out what lies ahead of her. An archway! She recognizes this as the entrance that she was forced into when they had first arrived. Relief fills her mind as she nears the way out, but as she finally escapes that feeling is replaced with confusion at what's waiting for her. The three captains and Crossbones are having a discussion with some of the recruits that had already managed to escape, and the Hainu that led you out runs over to Crossbones, who quickly beckons for and receives [i]pets[/i] from the strange Fae. Neith is surprised to see multiple other Hainus all playing and lounging around Crossbones as well, suspecting that her new friend may be much smarter than she had given him credit for. “This one escaped by making a new friend,” the Fae reveals after a moment. Captain Starbeard grins. “I do like a dragon who knows when to extend the hand of friendship. It’s useful ability, in a tight spot! Nicely done.” Yet again, Starbeard gives praise to Neith for her work, and the confidence inside of her grows even stronger. Maybe she really is cut out for the pirate life! Taking a moment to gaze into the eyes of her Hainu friend, she starts to make her way back onto the Wavehopper and as she reaches the deck, her cutlass is returned. She watches over the deck as the remaining recruits exit the fortress being led by similarly friendly Hainu, confirming her suspiscions. After leaving the floating isles and landing back down just above the waters below, the path is laid towards the Focal Point. As the Wavehopper arrives at a large bay, the Foolish Prince's Revenge and the Chalcedony Cutlass come into view with many other smaller ships lining the coast. The airship stops, and you hear the words echo from above. “Now, mateys, you’ve proved yourselves capable so far. But for your next Trial, you’ll need some additional equipment. Down below, you’ll see a number of craft that our three crews have prepared for you …” “These will be your transport on the next leg of your voyage,” Starbeard announces. “You may choose your vessels now!” The captain of the Jolly Wavehopper finishes speaking, and Neith begins to assess the different possible options. While she does make note of a large crystal shard and it's beautiful shiny nature, she doesn't think that such an intense way to travel would be the best after her recent trials. A standard boat doesn't seem like a bad choice, but she's never sailed anything before in her life and is wary of her abilities to do so, especially on unknown waters (to her). Then she spies a hot air balloon, a small floating vessel that is moved by the sky itself. This piques her interest, and after considering her other options, she decides to fly.

[center] [u]Day 5[/u] Choice: [b]Option 3[/b] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/87686030][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/coliseum/portraits/876861/87686030.png[/img][/url] Well, it seems the trial participants will need a vessel for their next task. Gossamer glances at each of the options; she's not got much experience in manning vehicles, and for once she doesn't like where this is going. Nerves? No, surely not. She has a perfect- well, near-perfect - track record, she isn't going to let unfamiliarity slow her down. But it would be nice to not make a fool of herself for a second time. Gossamer watches as a group of dragons head over to the sailing boats, wading through the shallows to reach their chosen vessel. She also watches as those dragons fumble with ropes and sails and rudders; no, no. That won't do. Another few participants clamber into the hot air balloons tied down at the shore. Some struggle to get off the ground, others panic as they realise they don't know how to descend. Not to mention how [i]slow[/i] they move. That won't do either. That leaves the crystals. The dragons attempting to use them aren't having the easiest time either - but in theory this should be the simplest method, no? With her own arcane magic she should be able to control the floating mass of crystal. That would be leagues easier than dealing with ropes and sails and sandbags and fire. She approaches an unclaimed crystal, and taps it. A few sparks of magic fly from its surface; nothing too out of the ordinary for the region. Gossamer breaths in deeply, steeling herself, then breaths out. With one swift motion, she leaps up onto the crystal and finds purchase. It sways under her weight, but stays aloft. Careful to keep her balance, she reaches for the magic within the crystal, and urges it "Forwards".

[center][b]Day 5[/b] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/81778010][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/350/817781/81778010_350.png[/img][/url] Daisy's eyes light up as she catches sight of the little vessels the contestants are being directed to. Oh! Apparently whatever mess they'd been tied up in with the local law enforcement has been all cleared up, and they're being invited to participate in some more excursions! Daisy is so excited she's practically trembling with it. She follows the crowd down to the beach, but hangs back for a moment to let the swarm die down before she approaches the crafts that have been set up for them. She takes her time, inspecting each of the offerings, torn over which to try first. A relaxing sail? That is the traditional option for vacations, isn't it? Oh, but she loves how bright the colours of those hot air baloons are. Why, there's even one that seems to match her scales and wings perfectly! And oh, those shiny crystals are so sparkly, she almost can't resist their glitz and glam. The problem is, after watching a few of the other contestants jump into their chosen crafts and take them out for a test spin, Daisy quickly notices that they seem to be traveling solo. Ah, so this isn't a guided excursion. Hmmm, that complicates things a bit. Daisy has no experience with sailing or ballooning or...crystaling? She's tempted to ask one of the crew to come along with her, but there's only really the craft attendants on the beach, too busy handing out boats and balloons to other dragons to be bothered by little old her. Drat. Suddenly, she catches sight of another contestant headed for the balloon that matches her scales, and abruptly Daisy finds she's made her choice. It's a perfect match, it must be a sign after all. Thankfully she's closer to the balloons than the other dragon, and she quickly snags her choice before it can be taken. The other dragon gives her an odd look before shrugging and selecting the purple and green balloon next to hers. Sighing in relief, Daisy turns her attention to the hot air balloon. Surely it comes with instructions, right? Well, she supposes it should be easy enough. Fire makes it go up, open a flap to make it go down, and if she gets well and truly stuck, well, she [i]does[/i] have wings, after all. [i](Daisy has chosen Option 2 - A hot air balloon: you’d rather fly than float)[/i] (Also just for fun, here is what Daisy would have LOVED to choose had it been an option XD Daisy's eyes light up as she catches sight of the little vessels the contestants are being directed to. Oh! Apparently whatever mess they'd been tied up in with the local law enforcement has been all cleared up, and they're being invited to participate in some more excursions! Daisy is so excited she's practically trembling with it. She follows the crowd down to the beach, but hangs back for a moment to let the swarm die down before she approaches the crafts that have been set up for them. She takes her time, inspecting each of the offerings, torn over which to try first. A relaxing sail? That is the traditional option for vacations, isn't it? Oh, but she loves how bright the colours of those hot air baloons are. Why, there's even one that seems to match her scales and wings perfectly! And oh, those shiny crystals are so sparkly, she almost can't resist their glitz and glam. Oh gracious, it's too hard to pick, Daisy just wants to try them all! Will there even be enough time, though? Suddenly, an idea strikes her, and she gasps in delight! Oh, what a wonderful plan! There seems to be more than enough crafts for everyone, and then some. Maybe they won't mind if she tries them all at once! Without pausing to think her crazy plan through, she sets to work, claiming first a floating crystal, then a balloon, and then towing both of her goods towards the boats lined up on shore. The crew give her odd looks when she makes her requests, but no one stops her, so she assumes she's doing nothing wrong. When she arrives at the shore, she gets to work setting her plan in motion. Thankfully she's always been very crafty, and she thought to bring some yarn and her crochet hook for the trip. It takes her a few minutes, during which the rest of the contestants have already selected their vessels, but when she's done, Daisy thinks her hard work was all worth it. Floating before her is an amalgamation of the three crafts, the floating crystal contained within the fabric of the balloon, and the combination anchored to the deck of the sailboat through a crocheted net made out of the sailboat's leftover rigging. Daisy takes in her project and grins at her flying sailboat. [i]Now[/i] she's ready to ride in style!)[/center]

[center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3272239/21#post_55163103] Day Four[/url] | [size=5] [b]Day Five[/b][/size] | [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3272239/27#post_55177566]Day Six[/url] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/20198199][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/coliseum/portraits/201982/20198199.png[/img][/url] [b]Option Two: [/b] [size=2]A hot air balloon: you’d rather fly than float[/size][/center] Altair’s words got the hainu’s attention, but other than tilting his head he barely reacted. “Ah, come on, pup. I know a good boy when I see one. You gotta like scritches and belly rubs, but I can’t give them to you when you’re way over there.” Altair made petting motions with the hand he had through the bars, and the hainu’s tail started wagging. He grinned. “That’s what I like to see. The two of us were left all alone down here, excluding dear Alshain of course,” Altair spared his familiar an apologetic glance. The was working its way through the bars, which, while small enough to stop a fae, weren’t quite small enough to keep in a small lizard. He must have decided the hainu wasn’t a threat. “But it's a lot less lonely if we’re alone together, yeah? Petting a good boy is a lot more fun than just sitting here.” With that the hainu’s tail had reached maximum velocity and he’d started walking closer. “Ah, yes, yes, let me pet you.” As the hainu came into reach, Altair’s eyes landed on the ring of keys. Oh, right, one of those probably unlocked his cell, right? He’d honestly just wanted to pet the dog, but his efforts might prove useful, as well. He lowered his hand to try and slip his claws around the ring. The hainu growled. Altair drew his hand back. “Ah, sorry, love. You’re pretty loyal to your master, huh? I get that.” Then the hainu plopped on his back against the bars. Altair immediately took to petting him, glad that his mistake hadn’t scared him off. By then Alshain had cleared the bars and wandered over. Not meeting any hostility from the hainu, he joined the cuddle pile by flopping on top. This went on for a while when the hainu suddenly rolled over and put the keys down at his feet. “For me? You’re too kind. This makes us doubly friends.” Altair scooped up the keys and kept petting the hainu while he adjusted his grip to hold the first key. “Let’s see if this works.” He sat up and pointed the key into the lock. It only went in halfway before meeting resistance.”Hmm, no, not that one.” He tried out a few more keys while the hainu watched, all failures. “Having fun? I’m sure you already know which one I’m supposed to use.” Another key later it slid in perfectly and Altair turned it with a click. He was free! Altair thought about taking the keys with him, as he could think of a few clanmates that would like a random set of keys as a gift, but he decided that this fort wasn’t such a bad place to leave as it was. He put the key ring down where the dog had once been sitting. Was that woof for him? Altair picked up Alshain and followed the hainu, who soon led him back out to the sunlight. The feathered dog went straight for the fae Captain Pra had called Crossbones. So that’s his master, huh? Captain Starbeard congratulated him on his escape method. Altair hadn’t paid the intimidating sandsurge too much attention aside from enjoying his spacecraft, but he supposed it was nice for all three captains found something to like about him. Altair settled back down on the Jolly Wavehopper’s deck while they waited for the rest of the recruits to break out. The crew tried to return the cutlass they’d handed out the day before to him, but he waved them off. He was no good with a sword anyway, so if he needed protection he’d find some other way. He tried to watch to fort to see the hainus pop out with each free recruit (just how many dwarf hanius did Crossbones bond with?), but Alshain kept distracting him by climbing on his face and licking at his four eyes. “What? Are you mad that I gave the dog all the attention?” He picked up the huffing, squirming skink and proceeded to provide him with his full affections. “Well, a pack of dogs may be good for some dragons, but you should know by now that [i]I[/i] think lizards make far better companions. Would I be able to carry a dog on my shoulders all day without tiring out, huh? Can a dog light up? Does a dog have two noses for me to boop?” The next trial was a voyage on the Jolly Wavehopper away. Altair leaned on the railing and watched the landmasses swirl around as the ship dove. Before long the other ships and a few dozen smaller vessels came into view. He had to pick just one? The floating crystal shards looked like [i]fun[/i], but his enthusiasm was curbed a bit by the fact that he hadn’t a clue how to ride one. It probably had something to do with magic, but he might not make a good show of himself if he had to spend half of the next trial just figuring out how to steer. A balloon, though, he knew his way around. He’d resided in the Windswept Plateaus more than long enough to be familiar with all manner of kites and balloons. He flew over to a balloon that looked about mirror size and began checking all the ropes, satisfied that the crew had already set it up wonderfully.

[center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/69045238][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/350/690453/69045238_350.png[/img][/url] ----- [center][font=Book Antiqua][size=6]Day Five[/size] [size=4][i]Aquarius chooses Option 3 ----- [font=Book Antiqua][size=3] (will write smth up momentarily, busy rn ;; <3)

Taking the floating crystal shard, please!

[center][b]Day 5:[/b] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/56135480][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/350/561355/56135480_350.png[/img][/url][/center] [b]Option 3:[/b] Free of the cell and winning of all captains, Praa's admiration did improve Matlaline's humor. He was surprised to see Captain Starbeard praised the few recruits who chose to befriend the Hainu. Skill with animals is good certainly, but that wasn't a skill you could rely upon. Not every jail was going to have an affable animal surely, and Matlaline wasn't particularly good with animals anyways. It was something about his face. The group was herded back to the Focal Point and a whole fleet of skiffs was waiting for them. It wasn't until they disembarked and got closer that the majesty of this tiny colourful gathering was impressed upon him. There were vessels of all kinds, some seemingly impossible in their design. Where had they gotten all of these, and where could Matlaline get one? Perhaps he would steal one on the way out, it was a fittingly piratey way to go home. Enchanted by a shimmering fractaline form, Matlaline gravitated towards a floating crystal shard. It was not the only one currently in the bay, but there was something about the way this one caught the light... plus it was closest. ((whoop had a long day yesterday and nearly forgot about this))

im not late technically! ill definitely write a reply for today's prompt, but for now, Froggy will have to choose option 3, the floating crystal. it's just TOO COOL.

[center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/5329071][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/350/53291/5329071_350.png[/img][/url][/center] [b]Day Five[/b] sadly no time to write anything at the moment, but [b]lokianos chooses option 3 !![/b]