Roleplay

Hermes looked to his brother before walking inside, Sirius close behind him and keeping an eye on each guard. Hermes, though his hood hid most of his face, gave a grateful nod towards the Ridgeback.

The two Tundra's made their way towards the clearing to wait for the guide they were promised. The clearing seemed to be the social center of the Clan, where the dragons would gather to socialize with each other and relax from their duties. Hermes had to admit he was surprised with the variety of dragons that called this place home. Hermes sat down on his haunches and he couldn't deny the feeling of butterflies in his stomach, it was a mix of excitement and nerves that he had never quite felt before this moment.

There were small glances thrown their way, usually to examine, from the guards. None of them were outright malicious but rather more curious than anything. The looks were short lived as they turned back to their duty. From behind them, the boys could hear the sound of the draw bridge being closed, the noise metallic and rumbling as the contraption ran its course. The noise eventually stopped and the guards backed away from the crank.

Within, they could see a sizable clearing with many burrow openings, each marked by a pair of banners. There were also a few small buildings here and there, there being a total of three of them. In the midst of the clearing stood a building, proud but not quite taller than the wall that obscured the camp. It wasn't that large either, but it still was attention catching from how well decorated and built it looked, not to mention how it was quite literally in the middle of the clearing. The building was built out of some sort of dark wood, held stable by some stones that seemed to be stuck together by cement. There were foreign letters tacked above the doors to the building, carved in but still readable from afar. Though many dragons lingered around it, they didn't seem to quite enter it.

There were also paths branching from the doors and around the clearing, leading up to either the burrows or the four sole buildings in the clearing. Around them, they could see a variety of dragons chattering or walking around, seeming to be going about their day. They could even spot a few stalls being set up in a certain area, clan members walking up to browse their wares.

Hatchlings rushed past the two, almost running into them before darting past. One of them looked back, calling after them with, "Sorry misters!" before resuming his game of chase with his friends. The young dragons giggled as they ran, disappearing around the corner of the middle building.

It seemed like Hermes and Sirius had walked in sometime after or during breakfast time. The scent of cooking was strong in the air and there could be a few dragons spotted that are still eating their meal among the stone tables found throughout the clearing. Some of them were beginning to head back towards a certain burrow where the scent was coming from, empty plates and bowls in hand.

It seemed like a very normal community.

Suddenly a rose colored spiral popped into view. "Hello there! I can see you two are newcomers! Welcome, welcome to Cryosta!" The spiral made a show of bowing his head, large feathered hat nearly slipping off. "My name is Felkor! I shall be your tour guide for today. How about you two? What're your names?" The spiral seemed to be excitably examining the two of them, circling around them and getting uncomfortably close in their face.

Hermes was turning his head so fast to try and take sight of everything like it was as if his head was on a swivel, trying to memorize the layout of everything. Though he was not as skilled as Sirius was on such a matter, he didn't want to rely on Sirius doing all the heavy work, it wasn't fair to the black Tundra who already put enough weight on his own shoulders.

Hermes couldn't comprehend the idea of living underground, but he doubted it wasn't much different then the cave system that he and Sirius called home. As his head slowly moved as he took in the sight of the burrows and the dragons coming and going from them, his gaze stopped at the tall and strange building that was standing there in the center. It was strategically placed to draw a dragon's attention the moment they stepped inside, it was almost as if it was there to be a show of something... but of what Hermes wasn't too sure.

At first Hermes thought it was a shrine or temple of some kind, but what could they be worshiping? It didn't look like anything that was dedicated in honor of the IceWarden, or any of the deities.

When the hatchlings ran past, Hermes couldn't help but smile warmly. He remembered fondly his own youth, chasing his brother and sister around the den and playing games of tag and tug-of-war. There was a moment of pain that stabbed through his heart then and he closed his eyes to keep himself from crying.

Hermes caught sight of his brother watching the hatchlings as well. His face was impossible to read, something Sirius had always been good at doing. Where Hermes could not hide his thoughts or emotions, Sirius was skilled at it when he was being mindful he needed to do so. Hermes turned his attention away from his brother to watch as there were a group of dragons, plates and bowls in hand, heading to a burrow that the Tundra assumed was the kitchen, either they were allowed to maybe get more or at least were going to clean and dry their plates for the next meal time.

Nothing about this community was strange and dangerous. The stalls that were the merchants, the hatchlings running around and playing, the clan being fed and even the guards protecting the walls...it was everything that Hermes imagined that a large Clan would be. Nothing at the surface screamed a dangerous cult ready to kill anyone to feed some phantom monster.

Hermes was pulled from his thoughts when the Spiral appeared, growing close to their face, to which Hermes quickly turned his head to hide his eyes. "I am Hermes," he said gently before gesturing to his brother. "This is Sirius."

"Hermes and Sirius, huh?" The spiral pulled away, a claw pressed against the lower part of his jaw as he looked over them, staring with wide cyan eyes. Finally, he broke into an even wider smile, holding his hand out as if inviting them to shake it. Should they do so, he would energetically shake it up and down, the force of it startling, especially since it was from this slender looking dragon. "Well pleased to meet ya Sirius and Hermes! I suppose you are dropping by for whatever business you are in need of, yes? Lucky for you both, Cryosta's the place for that! Why don't I take you both on a tour?"

And with that the dragon was hurrying them along, words spilling out of his mouth at a rapid yet understandable pace. "So we have a lotta assortment of burrows here as you can see! We got that big ol tunnel over there away from the rest of em with the ice banners. Tha's the cla's main housing system! Official clan members sleep there and they get their own burrow an' everything! The burrows' always growing, though sometimes we have newbies movin' into old ones."

"That burrow over there with the orange flag is the cookery. We considered havin' a mess hall but sometimes the kitchens gets swamped really quickly so everyone gets used to carryin' their food back in their dens or eating outside. Food is usually free for members but for outsiders you hafta' make a purchase. It's to keep freeloaders from emptying our pantry quickly you see."

"The brown bannered burrows are the guest burrows! If you wanna stay overnight, you can rest in there. We ain't cruel enough to make outsiders sleep out in the cold you know. At most, we let outsiders stay for a day before we kick 'em out."

"That building marked in green is the infirmary. That's where our medics go. If you are injured you can go right on over there! We aren't making the patients stay in the building though. That's why we have the patients' burrows right on by the infirmary."

"Then we have the barracks. That one with the red banners! They are a separate burrows from the main ones but entry is still forbidden since it's just for the soldiers."

"That building with the pens and stuff is the menagerie! That's not our main one since we have another out there for creatures that need more open space but we have critters being cared for over there."

"This plain looking shack over here is our warehouse. I suggest not snooping in there for obvious reasons but we usually let others in when we are carrying out a trade."

"These are the merchant's stalls obviousy. If you are looking to sell something, feel free to borrow one of them and set it up!"

"Finally," the spiral would finally slow down, turning to look at the obvious building in the center of the clearing. "We got our lovely townhall. Our leaders and advisor and scholars and whoever else they deem important lives in there. On days of celebration we open it up so everyone can gather 'round to celebrate or whatever."

"So." The spiral turned to them, claws clasping together. "Got any questions?"

The two dragons were hurried through as the Spiral dragon was excitedly explaining the different borrows and what they meant. Everything about Cryosta screamed normal, that there was nothing wrong here and they were just making out a living in a land that was difficult on the best of days and impossible when the blizzards rolled in and blew so hard that it forced even the mightiest tree to begin to creak and groan beneath the force.

If he hadn't met Calendula and Eira he would have even considered seeing if he could join the Clan. Here he would be able to do good, to help heal and tend to the other dragons, even learn a new thing or two from other's that were healers.

"How much does it cost to get a meal?" Sirius asked when the Spiral asked if there were anymore questions. Never did you start with something difficult and suspicious when asked if you had questions. Hermes remembered being told that by his brother a few times before when he had lured Hermes into incriminating himself when they were younger.

"Do you get a lot of outsiders coming here?" Hermes asked when it was his turn to speak. He was glancing at the guest burrows and remembering how the girls had said about them taking dragon's from other elements, how did they gather them if they kicked them out after a day?

Though at the mention of the infirmary, Hermes could not hide the excitement that came over him, his tail began to sway in his excitement.

"Do you have a lot of Healers? Are they skilled in different time of treatments?" Hermes asked before he felt his brother smack him gently with his tail, as if snapping his brother out of the excitement that had taken over and almost dwarfed why they were really there.

Sirius's attention was at the barracks as he made a note that it was probably where Ermine would be staying if they could not catch him at the clearing, but if it was forbidden then doing that would be a risk but depending on how things played out they would have to make a note which burrow he went into and try to sneak in themselves.

"If I am to set up a stall, selling medicinal supplies, will that end up causing any problems with your healers?"

Hermes had never actually ran a stall before, and it was really just a cover to get in and talk to Ermine when he got back from wherever he had gone marching off to. Though he wondered where they could have been going in such a straight line like that.

"Where were your soldiers marching off to?" Sirius asked again. "They look like they were preparing to go to war, but through our travels we didn't see anything that resembled an enemy camp or an opposing army that was going to pose a threat to your clan."

Hermes looked at the town hall while the other two dragons were talking as he took a step towards it, curiosity beginning to nag at the blue and lavender Tundra dragon. "Your Town Hall?" He asked softly, stopping as he felt like something wasn't right about it. "So...it's closed except for certain times? Do the leaders ever come out of there?"

“My, lots of questions have we? I don’t mind that! Now let’s see... Meal prices depend on what the meal exactly is and how much the ingredients would cost on the market.” The spiral sat down, pupils tilted towards the sky as he thought, seeming to calculate said prices. “So I’d say... They range about 50 to 500 treasure I believe. There should be a menu with the prices down there in the cookery if ya want to browse our meal options. We even got take out if you wanna leave with some extra food on the way. Of course, if you find your pockets and pouches bare, there’s other ways of payin’ for it like helpin’ around camp or something. Usually it’s up to the cooks but we never try ta’ make it hard on the outside folk.”

The spiral then turned to Hermes who’s turn it was to speak. “Of course! We are in a fairly populated area in this region since its less dangerous than those crags or even the fortress with all them frozen dragons and things! Lotsa folk drop by when they are in need of something and heck, we even get a lot of join requests! We are considering expandin’ the wall or maybe even building another community close by at the rate we are growin’.” The spiral seemed cheerful at the fact.

“We do have a lot of healers I believe, though it’s a difficult job to uphold. Still, we do have a variety of ‘em and they can treat an assortment of injuries and illnesses. We got five head healers, sorta like how we have five generals and five lead guards and five... Er, I’m getting carried away am I? But anyways, if you were to set up a stall... Yes it would cause a bit of an issue... However if you want to set up business regarding healing, I’m sure the healers would love to initiate some sort of trade with ya! Sure, Mura is a cranky old lady but none of ‘em really bite at all.”

The spiral then crossed his arms, tutting about the soldiers and their strangely serious marching. “They are really just heading off to their training site, no matter how serious they are about marching. It’s an army thing. Our commander is really insistent on having the soldiers march for some reason. Says it makes them more disciplined or alert or something. Though about enemies or rival camps... I don’t believe we really do have much of an enemy. Not in a good decade or so, at least. The most trouble we’d have is a few raiders or wandering war mongering clans but we manage to deal with those fairly well.”

At last with the last question reached he’d glance to the hall. “Our leaders do come out of there to interact with us sometimes. It’s just that usually they are cooped in there, discussing future clan actions or doing away with paperwork. Sornieth taxes are vicious, after all. Though I will say,” the spiral leaned in as if he was sharing a secret, “I suspect they are sleeping in some of the time. There’s really no one stopping them from sleeping the day away after all!” Felkor chuckled to himself before getting his nose out of their personal space. “They do come out to talk to us and see how’s the clan going, I promise!”

The brothers nodded their heads slowly as they listened to Felkor answer every single one of their questions with an excitement of a young hatchling boasting about their achievements or something reckless they did and got away with.

At the comment of the Clan growing made Hermes smile externally but internally he flinched at the idea. If they were growing, did that mean that they had more Dragon's to sacrifice to the humming monster? Did anyone else but the elders and clan leaders know about the cult and their actions? Watching the Spiral made it hard to believe that anyone could be that cheerful while knowing the fate of so many innocents.

"I would love to trade with your healers and even learn some methods from them?" Hermes said with a small smile.

Though something struck both brothers as odd, as they exchanged looks between each other with the same questioning glance. The number five seemed to be something very important as each important role the Clan had was filled with five members to see it carried out. Did the number five also have something to do with the cult? There were so many questions whirling through their head that they could not get an answer to. Would Ermine be able to answer anything? Hermes knew they had a very delicate position to hold, listening and trying to find information without seeming suspicious about anything they said or did.

When Felkor leaned in to share a little secret with them, Hermes and Sirius looked at each other once more before they nodded their head as if they understood what he was getting out. "Well, as long as they get out and don't stay inside all the time...it can't be good for their health after all." Hermes replied, trying to sound like he was concerned.

The lightning spiral nodded, smiling as he gestured them to come and follow him to the infirmary. “Why yes, of course! Of course! Let’s see what we can do!” He strode on over to the infirmary doors and gave a few rapid nods that thudded against the wood. A moment later, a surprisingly short looking nocturne opened the door, dressed in medic garb. “Is there anything you need?” She’d ask, looking from the excitable dragon to the two tundras standing behind him.

“Yes, yes, you see,” he gave a gesture to the two tundras, “These gentlemen are seeking some sort of trade with you! Some sort of...” He suddenly paused, as if he was hit by a wave of exhaustion. Immediately, the nocturne gave a sigh, “Exhausted yourself already, Felkor? Go ahead, go retire in the burrows until you are ready to go continue working.” She made a shooing gesture to the spiral, who all but began dragging himself to the home burrows, seeming to be almost completely drained of energy. “Spirals,“ she’d mutter beneath her breath in exasperation, before turning to the boys with a pleasant smile on her face. “Good morning sirs, is there anything you need?”

The nocturne did not open the door completely, but from here they could sense the smell of herbs and medicine being concocted from within the small building. “If you are looking sell some herbs, we do have enough for most of ‘em just as a forewarning,” she’d add quickly.

Hermes looked concerned when Felkor suddenly looked as if all of his energy had been drained from his body. The Tundra had no experience with other dragons and so the reaction caught him completely off guard and he was preparing to catch the Spiral if he fell backwards or suddenly lost consciousness.

When the Spiral finally disappeared into a burrow to rest, Hermes mind was able to switch from a Healer back to the task on hand, shaking his head as if to regain his focus before looking at the shorter Nocturne. He couldn't deny he found so many species of dragons varied and fascinating. There was so much he could learn here that he might not have gotten the chance anywhere else, but he heard Sirius clear his throat and Hermes was, once more, brought into focus.

"I am sure you have many herbs and things you need. But I am also hoping to sell some remedies I have made from trial and error of my own creation," he replied as he watched her. "Also, perhaps a chance to learn from more skilled Healers to better myself."

The nocturne gave a hum of thought, nodding as she pushed the door open. “Come on in, the building is not as warm as our burrows but it’s better than freezing out there.” As she walked into the building, she called out, “Shut the door behind you, please! And wait in the front! I’ll get one of our head medics to talk to you!”

She weaved around the multitude of tables containing an assortment of herbs and brewing stations, some of the lesser healers busying themselves with crafting batches of medicine and remedies. Some of them threw a glance at the newcomers before returning to their work.

She made her way up to an imperial who seems to dwarf the room, though there fortunately seems to be enough space to accommodate for their size. The imperial donned a medic’s uniform that seemed different enough to scream important. The golden colored imperial lowered their great head down to the nocturne’s level upon seeing the healer beckon for them to listen. The nocturne moved to whisper to the imperial, and immediately their pale eyes flickered over to eye the tundras. With a calm expression, the imperial moved across the room, gracefully moving so they wouldn’t accidentally step on something or someone.

Arriving in front of the smaller dragons, they bent their head down and gently spoke, “Hello there. Sister Lanka told me you were seeking to give us home made remedies and herbs. If my hearing didn’t fail me, I also believe you are seeking medical knowledge? I am interested. We don’t get many offers like this. Would you mind showing me your remedies?” Their ears then perked forward, straining to listen to what the tundras have to say.