[center][b]Day 105: [item=Gryphon's Blood Sempervivum][/b][/center]
wellllllllp back to the Delta! No death's today though, Vin, Hickory and Weatherglass took 20 battles with ease. Weatherglass leveled yesterday so she's sitting at a very impressive level 7. The RNG doesn't seem to want Juniper in the coli so who knows when he'll make his debut
@Himawari @IronPen @SemperVictor @Dylluminati @luckgandor @ScarletTheDragon @demitri @Saseum @GrinningWolf24 @winterbright
[edit] Completely forgot to ping everyone yesterday
This plant only grows in the sandy red earth near gryphon territory. Despite its name, there is no blood involved in its cultivation!
63
6
wellllllllp back to the Delta! No death's today though, Vin, Hickory and Weatherglass took 20 battles with ease. Weatherglass leveled yesterday so she's sitting at a very impressive level 7. The RNG doesn't seem to want Juniper in the coli so who knows when he'll make his debut
....I get the sinking feeling that before he dies, the opportunistic, hungry mirror is going to eat Galia. I hope to high heck I'm wrong.
____
[center][b]Day 106: [item=ambush][/b][/center]
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
I'm starting to think Pinkerton [i]really[/i] doesn't like me, or he does but has no idea THE DEATH HE'S CAUSED
In any case we made it though the forgotten cave! WITH JUNIPER
Thanks to a healthy application of potions, anticipate and clobber on Juniper and the fact that the coli kept glitching so I had to refresh it everyone is just fine. I wasted a lot of potions because of glitch battles but it's not like I could have known!
So Vin and Hickory are still alive and well, and Juniper has a stunning 5 levels now! That's my boy!
@Himawari @IronPen @SemperVictor @Dylluminati @luckgandor @ScarletTheDragon @demitri @Saseum @GrinningWolf24 @winterbright
Grants a dragon the ability to strike first when a battle begins. After this attack, they will fall to their normal place in the turn line-up.
500
Required Level: 9
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
I'm starting to think Pinkerton really doesn't like me, or he does but has no idea THE DEATH HE'S CAUSED
In any case we made it though the forgotten cave! WITH JUNIPER
Thanks to a healthy application of potions, anticipate and clobber on Juniper and the fact that the coli kept glitching so I had to refresh it everyone is just fine. I wasted a lot of potions because of glitch battles but it's not like I could have known!
So Vin and Hickory are still alive and well, and Juniper has a stunning 5 levels now! That's my boy!
[center][b]107: [item=Swiftfoot Warrior's Belt][/b][/center]
Ombre knew something was amiss even before the scent of death reached his nostrils. The forest hadn’t felt... right. It wasn’t that it was silent, where he was birds and insects and other smaller creatures continued their actions uninterrupted. It was something else. Maybe it was the mist, maybe it was something else, but either way he knew.
The death seemed to have been the last straw on straining relationships, because after the scent of death, there was the smell of anger and the sound of arguing. Anger had a particular smell when it came from a dragon. It was subtle and easy to miss, but it was there unmistakable, bitter and earthy. There was something else underneath it, a whiff so faint Ombre almost missed it. Fear.
He made certain to announce his arrival, so he wouldn’t startle anyone and get attacked for his trouble. When finally stepped into the clearing, one look told him everything he needed to know. Juniper and Weatherglass were huddled by the corpse of Galia, while Hickory and Vin were arguing on the other side, Hickory wound tightly around a tree, his muscles straining the branch almost to breaking.
Their argument stopped as soon as they saw him, and Ombre tucked his tail between his front claws and bowed his head respectfully.
“I’m sorry for you loss,” he said. “Galia may have been quiet but she was compassionate, and the leader we all looked to, whether we knew it or not.”
His words seemed to have some effect on diffusing the situation. He even managed to say them with sincerity. It’s not that they weren’t [i]true[/i] but Galia’s death was barely a blip on Ombre’s radar. The two had never gotten to know each other, and Ombre couldn’t shake the feeling she always thought they’d be better off if he just disappeared.
Vin stepped away from the tree, her movements more ponderous than usual.
“You’re right,” she said, “and we should see to it that she’s properly buried. Show her the respect she’s due.”
It took equal parts patience and bribery to get Weatherglass to let anyone near the body. In the end though, she seemed to agree to the burial but only if she could carry the body to the site. The guardians went off, Hickory refusing to move from his tree as he would be of ‘no help’ and Weatherglass staunchly refusing to move if she thought Ombre was following her.
So he set down at the bottom of tree that Hickory sat in and watched as the other three moved off.
“It’s really shaken everyone up, hasn’t it?” asked Ombre. He was doing more than trying to be polite. He was an observant dragon and knew that Galia did more than keep watch and sleep for long hours. She had also diffused most of the tension in the group. If there as more fighting down the road, none of them would get out of this forest alive.
Hickory sighed, “More than that, Weatherglass killed her. I know it, but Vin won’t see it. We’re traveling with a monster. How can they be so blind?”
Ombre bit his tongue and thought long and hard about what to say next. He settled for being as diplomatic as possible. “Perhaps there’s more to it then you realize. That gash in her abdomen didn’t look like it came from something as big as a guardian. Weatherglass might have killed her out of mercy, rather than watch her suffer a slow death.”
“Why wouldn’t she just say that then!” Hickory demanded. “She never talks to anyone except Juniper! If she couldn’t talk at all, maybe I could accept that but I’m her father!”
There it was. The anguish, the frustration, covered by an accusation.
“Sometimes,” Ombre said slowly, “even if an egg does hatch, it doesn’t come out like you expect, or even want. That’s the risk you take as a parent.”
Hickory blinked slowly and then shook his head. “I need to go for a fly. Wandering through these trees makes me feel like my mind’s in a fog.”
He unwrapped himself from the branch and took off, leaving Ombre alone. The mirror made a solemn promise to himself not to move from beneath the tree. The corpses of the bats were still sitting there in the clearing, begging to be eaten but he had to wait. The conversation with Hickory had helped keep him distracted but now that he was alone, the temptation returned stronger than ever.
It had been getting worse, the hunger. Day by day it had started to get harder and harder to fend off. Ombre had made excuses, telling them that it was common for a mirror, it was rare to find one with a small appetite. He went on his own personal hunts twice a day, once when the hunting group went for dinner and again once everyone was asleep.
It had been enough at first, but not anymore. How long until he succumbed? Until he attacked a member of the group? He peeled a piece of bark off the tree and gnawed on it slowly. It was bitter and nauseating to his carnivorous sensibilities, but it drove the hunger back. So he sat, and he chewed, trying not to think of a time when he could no longer control himself.
It wasn’t long before the guardians came back but for Ombre it felt like a small eternity. They butchered the bats neatly, and gave him nearly a whole one for himself. He always got the largest portion of meat since he couldn’t supplement his diet with insects like they could.
With the taste of bark in his mouth, he ate slowly, and wasn’t done by the time Hickory returned. The spiral said nothing as he helped himself to the portion that had been set aside. In fact, no one seemed keen to break the silence which lasted the rest of the night.
Once everyone was asleep, Ombre got up quietly. Weatherglass no longer roused when he did. It seemed she no longer considered his night time excursions a threat. Grateful he would not have to pacify her before he left, he slunk off through the fog. At night, the hunger was stronger, and it unleashed something primal in him. He moved through the trees swiftly, feet always finding solid ground, his wings pressed tight against his back to keep them from catching on brambles.
In fog this thick his eyes were no use. He relied on his nose and his ears. He found nothing worth pursuing, the smell of angry dragons had driven almost everything from the area. After all, nothing was more dangerous than a dragon looking for a fight. Things moved in the trees above him, but Ombre ignored them. He wouldn’t be able to hunt those, to well protected by the boughs and the leaves.
He kept on, his hunger a knife’s edge that drove him in the darkness. Then he scented it. A faint whiff of someone else’s kill. Cautiously he went towards it. If there were predators he’d need to surprise them but nothing stirred. Instead his foot sank into soft ground. The smell of the kill was stronger here. Under ground, below him.
Ombre stopped. He knew what this was, he ahd found where they buried Galia. He ought to walk away, and he tried, but the scent kept him from going. It bypassed his reason, the still civilized part of him that had spoken to Hickory, and moved his body against his will.
Ombre began to dig.
Each inch of dirt he removed let the scent come through stronger. He dug faster, his stomach twisted into painful knots, desperate for food. By the time he reached flesh, Ombre felt like he hadn’t eaten for months. There was no stopping now, no preserving the dignity of the dead.
With the savagery of a starving animal, he tore into Galia, swallowing chunks of her succulent flesh as fast as he could tear them from her bones. Internal organs first, bursting like over ripe fruit in his jaws, dribbling juices down his neck. Then he attacked fat and muscle, swallowing them with pieces of skin still attached. Galia’s rough scales hurt his throat but he couldn’t stop.
When only bones were left, Ombre ate those too. His strong jaws cracking them open and sucking the marrow from them. His stomach was distended, bloated and tender but still hunger drove him on. Then there was nothing.
Clarity slowly returned, and Ombre could see just what he’d done. Torn skin hung limply off broken bones and the soil was soaked with blood. Seeing the damp earth he had an urge to lick it, until he had cleaned every last drop but he fought it. The hunger was no longer in control.
He climbed out the hole he dug, aghast at his own actions. He knew he had to leave. Not just because Weatherglass would kill him, but because if she didn’t, he knew he would be a danger to them all. It would be better if he just slipped away.
When he got out of the hole, Weatherglass was waiting for him. She sat next to the grave her face like the fury of the gods. Ombre diminished himself before her, pressing himself close to the ground and tucking in his wings and tail.
“I’m so sorry,” he said, “I... can’t help it...”
And he told her. He told her all about the hunger, and the drive to consume that tempted him every moment of every day. He told her of his fear, and his self loathing, and to his surprise, she did not kill him. She sat and she listened, and when he was done, she filled in the hole.
Her wings spread as it started to rain, and she stared expectantly at Ombre. He stood, and slunk disgraced to the edge of the clearing. She growled slightly at him and he understood. That way was the way back, he’d have to choose another.
Once he had found a direction Weatherglass approved of, he bobbed his head slightly.
“I would say don’t tell anyone,” he said, “but I know you won’t.”
“I...” he paused, “I hope perhaps we can meet again someday. Under better circumstances.”
Weatherglass looked to the treetops and flicked her tail dismissively.
“Yeah,” he said, “I thought you’d say that.”
Ombre turned and disappeared into the trees, the mist cloaking him as he went.
A few days later, Juniper found his body in the river, wedged beneath a tree. Dark hexagon shaped burns covering his still bloated stomach. Juniper told no one but Weatherglass, and together, under the cover of darkness, they buried him.
****************************
Grinningwolf, you were right! He was always going to eat Galia, I decided that as soon as she died, because our poor girl cannot catch a break.
@Himawari @IronPen @SemperVictor @Dylluminati @luckgandor @ScarletTheDragon @demitri @Saseum @GrinningWolf24 @winterbright
A coarse fabric with intricate patterns along its surface. If you're going to fight, you may as well look good doing it!
29
Ombre knew something was amiss even before the scent of death reached his nostrils. The forest hadn’t felt... right. It wasn’t that it was silent, where he was birds and insects and other smaller creatures continued their actions uninterrupted. It was something else. Maybe it was the mist, maybe it was something else, but either way he knew.
The death seemed to have been the last straw on straining relationships, because after the scent of death, there was the smell of anger and the sound of arguing. Anger had a particular smell when it came from a dragon. It was subtle and easy to miss, but it was there unmistakable, bitter and earthy. There was something else underneath it, a whiff so faint Ombre almost missed it. Fear.
He made certain to announce his arrival, so he wouldn’t startle anyone and get attacked for his trouble. When finally stepped into the clearing, one look told him everything he needed to know. Juniper and Weatherglass were huddled by the corpse of Galia, while Hickory and Vin were arguing on the other side, Hickory wound tightly around a tree, his muscles straining the branch almost to breaking.
Their argument stopped as soon as they saw him, and Ombre tucked his tail between his front claws and bowed his head respectfully.
“I’m sorry for you loss,” he said. “Galia may have been quiet but she was compassionate, and the leader we all looked to, whether we knew it or not.”
His words seemed to have some effect on diffusing the situation. He even managed to say them with sincerity. It’s not that they weren’t true but Galia’s death was barely a blip on Ombre’s radar. The two had never gotten to know each other, and Ombre couldn’t shake the feeling she always thought they’d be better off if he just disappeared.
Vin stepped away from the tree, her movements more ponderous than usual.
“You’re right,” she said, “and we should see to it that she’s properly buried. Show her the respect she’s due.”
It took equal parts patience and bribery to get Weatherglass to let anyone near the body. In the end though, she seemed to agree to the burial but only if she could carry the body to the site. The guardians went off, Hickory refusing to move from his tree as he would be of ‘no help’ and Weatherglass staunchly refusing to move if she thought Ombre was following her.
So he set down at the bottom of tree that Hickory sat in and watched as the other three moved off.
“It’s really shaken everyone up, hasn’t it?” asked Ombre. He was doing more than trying to be polite. He was an observant dragon and knew that Galia did more than keep watch and sleep for long hours. She had also diffused most of the tension in the group. If there as more fighting down the road, none of them would get out of this forest alive.
Hickory sighed, “More than that, Weatherglass killed her. I know it, but Vin won’t see it. We’re traveling with a monster. How can they be so blind?”
Ombre bit his tongue and thought long and hard about what to say next. He settled for being as diplomatic as possible. “Perhaps there’s more to it then you realize. That gash in her abdomen didn’t look like it came from something as big as a guardian. Weatherglass might have killed her out of mercy, rather than watch her suffer a slow death.”
“Why wouldn’t she just say that then!” Hickory demanded. “She never talks to anyone except Juniper! If she couldn’t talk at all, maybe I could accept that but I’m her father!”
There it was. The anguish, the frustration, covered by an accusation.
“Sometimes,” Ombre said slowly, “even if an egg does hatch, it doesn’t come out like you expect, or even want. That’s the risk you take as a parent.”
Hickory blinked slowly and then shook his head. “I need to go for a fly. Wandering through these trees makes me feel like my mind’s in a fog.”
He unwrapped himself from the branch and took off, leaving Ombre alone. The mirror made a solemn promise to himself not to move from beneath the tree. The corpses of the bats were still sitting there in the clearing, begging to be eaten but he had to wait. The conversation with Hickory had helped keep him distracted but now that he was alone, the temptation returned stronger than ever.
It had been getting worse, the hunger. Day by day it had started to get harder and harder to fend off. Ombre had made excuses, telling them that it was common for a mirror, it was rare to find one with a small appetite. He went on his own personal hunts twice a day, once when the hunting group went for dinner and again once everyone was asleep.
It had been enough at first, but not anymore. How long until he succumbed? Until he attacked a member of the group? He peeled a piece of bark off the tree and gnawed on it slowly. It was bitter and nauseating to his carnivorous sensibilities, but it drove the hunger back. So he sat, and he chewed, trying not to think of a time when he could no longer control himself.
It wasn’t long before the guardians came back but for Ombre it felt like a small eternity. They butchered the bats neatly, and gave him nearly a whole one for himself. He always got the largest portion of meat since he couldn’t supplement his diet with insects like they could.
With the taste of bark in his mouth, he ate slowly, and wasn’t done by the time Hickory returned. The spiral said nothing as he helped himself to the portion that had been set aside. In fact, no one seemed keen to break the silence which lasted the rest of the night.
Once everyone was asleep, Ombre got up quietly. Weatherglass no longer roused when he did. It seemed she no longer considered his night time excursions a threat. Grateful he would not have to pacify her before he left, he slunk off through the fog. At night, the hunger was stronger, and it unleashed something primal in him. He moved through the trees swiftly, feet always finding solid ground, his wings pressed tight against his back to keep them from catching on brambles.
In fog this thick his eyes were no use. He relied on his nose and his ears. He found nothing worth pursuing, the smell of angry dragons had driven almost everything from the area. After all, nothing was more dangerous than a dragon looking for a fight. Things moved in the trees above him, but Ombre ignored them. He wouldn’t be able to hunt those, to well protected by the boughs and the leaves.
He kept on, his hunger a knife’s edge that drove him in the darkness. Then he scented it. A faint whiff of someone else’s kill. Cautiously he went towards it. If there were predators he’d need to surprise them but nothing stirred. Instead his foot sank into soft ground. The smell of the kill was stronger here. Under ground, below him.
Ombre stopped. He knew what this was, he ahd found where they buried Galia. He ought to walk away, and he tried, but the scent kept him from going. It bypassed his reason, the still civilized part of him that had spoken to Hickory, and moved his body against his will.
Ombre began to dig.
Each inch of dirt he removed let the scent come through stronger. He dug faster, his stomach twisted into painful knots, desperate for food. By the time he reached flesh, Ombre felt like he hadn’t eaten for months. There was no stopping now, no preserving the dignity of the dead.
With the savagery of a starving animal, he tore into Galia, swallowing chunks of her succulent flesh as fast as he could tear them from her bones. Internal organs first, bursting like over ripe fruit in his jaws, dribbling juices down his neck. Then he attacked fat and muscle, swallowing them with pieces of skin still attached. Galia’s rough scales hurt his throat but he couldn’t stop.
When only bones were left, Ombre ate those too. His strong jaws cracking them open and sucking the marrow from them. His stomach was distended, bloated and tender but still hunger drove him on. Then there was nothing.
Clarity slowly returned, and Ombre could see just what he’d done. Torn skin hung limply off broken bones and the soil was soaked with blood. Seeing the damp earth he had an urge to lick it, until he had cleaned every last drop but he fought it. The hunger was no longer in control.
He climbed out the hole he dug, aghast at his own actions. He knew he had to leave. Not just because Weatherglass would kill him, but because if she didn’t, he knew he would be a danger to them all. It would be better if he just slipped away.
When he got out of the hole, Weatherglass was waiting for him. She sat next to the grave her face like the fury of the gods. Ombre diminished himself before her, pressing himself close to the ground and tucking in his wings and tail.
“I’m so sorry,” he said, “I... can’t help it...”
And he told her. He told her all about the hunger, and the drive to consume that tempted him every moment of every day. He told her of his fear, and his self loathing, and to his surprise, she did not kill him. She sat and she listened, and when he was done, she filled in the hole.
Her wings spread as it started to rain, and she stared expectantly at Ombre. He stood, and slunk disgraced to the edge of the clearing. She growled slightly at him and he understood. That way was the way back, he’d have to choose another.
Once he had found a direction Weatherglass approved of, he bobbed his head slightly.
“I would say don’t tell anyone,” he said, “but I know you won’t.”
“I...” he paused, “I hope perhaps we can meet again someday. Under better circumstances.”
Weatherglass looked to the treetops and flicked her tail dismissively.
“Yeah,” he said, “I thought you’d say that.”
Ombre turned and disappeared into the trees, the mist cloaking him as he went.
A few days later, Juniper found his body in the river, wedged beneath a tree. Dark hexagon shaped burns covering his still bloated stomach. Juniper told no one but Weatherglass, and together, under the cover of darkness, they buried him.
****************************
Grinningwolf, you were right! He was always going to eat Galia, I decided that as soon as she died, because our poor girl cannot catch a break.
Galia may have a little curse, so it's her markings
also I was going to have weatherglass kill him but after I just made a big deal about how weatherglass isn't actually a cold blooded murder machine even if she acts like it, I couldn't do that without being inconsistant
Galia may have a little curse, so it's her markings
also I was going to have weatherglass kill him but after I just made a big deal about how weatherglass isn't actually a cold blooded murder machine even if she acts like it, I couldn't do that without being inconsistant
@TroubleinSevens
Makes snse about Weatherglass
....and about our poor Galia :(
