Kindred in Madness (Lionfire and MAF)

[Tassadar]

Re: Kindred in Madness (Lionfire and MAF)

Spoiler

Toel: HP = 51, PP = 42, EP = 39, Status = Fine

Ruven Zelphar: HP = 34, PP = 36, EP = 76, Status = Fine

Toel wouldn't spot Gordon in the crowd, sadly, and nor would he see any sign of the object of his affections. The people of the town mostly went about their business, and despite the fact that they were in Badaria who saw more than the usual ethnicity. Pale northern Badarians and their more olive-skinned cousins were joined by those showing signs of other heritages, the deep brown of Anudorians, the pale gold of Amazonians, and even the more bronzed look of the people who haled from the islands surrounding Southern Heloras were visible from time to time, both male and female even though the majority of the outsiders seemed to be male.

"Curses?" the man said, seemingly surprised at the topic that Ruven approached him about. "I'm afraid that I don't know anything about... Curses," he said apologetically, "what makes you ask such a thing? Rather... What are the details of your curse, if I may ask?"

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Kindred in Madness (Lionfire and MAF)

Ruven chuckled. "Well, what makes me ask a total stranger about this is obviously due to how bothersome this curse is, if I may say so. It was about a particular item a certain older man possessed, with snow white hair, a gentleman's garb and a stout chin and nose to boot. He had an item that he left behind, and asked me to go get it for him. It was in the north, and he said it was due to the cold that he couldn't do it himself. I did as he asked, and I found it... A book. It threw itself open, and creatures of shadows took me. The last thing I saw before fainting was a tall figure with crazed hair, seemingly made out of shadow. It had holes in it's shadowy form where eyes should be, allowing the light to come through. It stared at me as I blacked out. After that, I've been unable to get rid of the book myself... Unless perhaps I were to do someone dirty as the old man did to me." he explained.

"The funny thing is... It only attacks when it is dark. And yet I could stand in a massive crowd of people, while the only target it will hurt in that darkness is me. It cares for no one else but the one who holds the book. I don't know what it's purpose is, but it's made of malice, I can tell you that. I'm not even sure if it wants to kill me. It should have when it first found me, but it didn't. I dare not test whether it will still give me that mercy or not again." he said.

"Do you know anything that might help me? Such as people who are knowledgable about such things? I've been wandering the world trying to find a lead, anything to help, but the most I've gotten is frightened faces and shaking heads, all of whom distance themselves and reasonably so. Just mentioning that you have a curse is like declaring you have a deadly disease."

 

[Lionfire]

Re: Kindred in Madness (Lionfire and MAF)

With his eyes passing over the crowd, Toel's lips turning downwards in a frown as he fails any of those he is looking for. 'Hm... Damn.' Shrugging his shoulders after a bit longer, he starts walking back towards the Winking Lizard. 'So many diverse types of people here...' Toel hums faintly as the Anudorian continues his walk with the goods he has bought in his satchel. May as well check in with Ruven after all. Probably is awake by now.

As he walks though, Toel's attention keeps drifting in and out of the crowd. It will probably be a while until he finds her... '... I'll explore land and sea until I find you... I know you are somewhere...' Turning his attention back forward, he turns his attention back towards where he is going. '... Wait for me. Please...'

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Kindred in Madness (Lionfire and MAF)

Spoiler

Toel: HP = 51, PP = 42, EP = 39, Status = Fine

Ruven Zelphar: HP = 34, PP = 36, EP = 76, Status = Fine

"That sounds.... Horrible," the older man said with a shiver as Ruven recounted how he had come to acquire the wretched, cursed book. "Have you tried burning it? Perhaps in a fire blessed by a priest? I don't know anything about such cursed artifacts, but a holy man is where I would look in such a case. It surely must be destroyed, lest it continue to torment you. I am afraid that much of my knowledge is in the realm of the mundane, any that is the best advice that I can offer. Though.... Perhaps...."

He trailed off thoughtfully, seemingly pondering something, and just then Toel entered the tavern's common room once more. The walk back had not revealed the mysterious woman that he had seen, and he found Ruven speaking to an older gentleman that didn't match the description of the one who had forced the cursed book onto his traveling companion. Ruven's companion seemed lost in thought for the moment, allowing a lull in the conversation that he could interject himself into.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Kindred in Madness (Lionfire and MAF)

"The book always returns pristine. Mud nor being tossed into a chasm tarnished it." Ruven held a hand up to Toel, gesturing in request that the man wait just a moment for him to let the man across from him finish. "I am listening, sir." Ruven gestured to the other man.

 

[Lionfire]

Re: Kindred in Madness (Lionfire and MAF)

With the supplies still carried over his shoulder, Toel comes into the room just in time for the elderly man to trail off. The Anudorian, having only just started hearing about their conversation, just opts to move towards an empty table that is nearby to set his stuff down upon it to begin sorting through it to make sure everything is there as he draws out the lightstone in specific and sets that down on the table.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Kindred in Madness (Lionfire and MAF)

Spoiler

Toel: HP = 51, PP = 42, EP = 39, Status = Fine

Ruven Zelphar: HP = 34, PP = 36, EP = 76, Status = Fine

The lightstone was inactive as Toel set it down, the polished stone silvery like flawless moonstone but casting no unearthly glow. He had been told the command word for it upon purchasing it, "shield," which would both turn it on and turn it off when he didn't need it, but for the moment at least it was dark. The rest of his possessions seemed to be in order, but when he looked through his pockets he found himself in possession of a folded piece of black paper that hadn't been there before.

"There was a man I once knew," the old man said after a momentary pause, "one who... Sought out knowledge of an unnatural sort, if you catch my meaning. I know not what became of him, but I do know that he learned of a sage, one who had sequestered themselves in a realm of twilight, not far from here. They say it is a faerie place, a place where the light of the sun never shines, but that beams of pure moonlight sweep through the trees like chords of liquid silver. This place is said to be just a few miles North of here, I know only what the man I knew recited to me... Like it was yesterday really."

He cleared his throat briefly, and as if reading it on a page the old writer said; "In the earthen cradle between the hanged man's hill and the great vein of Argent Vale, just beneath the hills of spring, the glade of the forsaken master lies, hidden from all but those with the wisdom to know without asking. Three times one may knock on the white oak tree, three times and once again before the way will open, three times and twice to follow, but three times and thrice is needed show one their fate." The old man sighed, "I've no idea where that is exactly, but the other man seemed to believe it was directions, and that the legends of a wise man were true. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help... If so many things hadn't happened... I had a friend who went to the Incantarium, they might have been of some real use to you, but she died in the Invasion. So many did too... It's not in these lands that you'll find your answers, I'm afraid! Not from men, anyway."

The old man lapsed into silence, seemingly musing on the past now.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Kindred in Madness (Lionfire and MAF)

Ruven's face paled at the mention of a faerie place, letting the man finish his story before speaking his woes. "The fey... Truly, it'd have to be the fey, wouldn't it?" he hummed. "You never really know what to expect with them. Chaotic, truly. I've heard plenty of tales of what they do, all of which end with the victims never being seen again. Sometimes there's blood, sometimes there's carnal fluid. Sometimes nothing at all..." Ruven declared, tapping his fingers on the table. "I have a vague idea where this Argent Vale lies, but not this Hanged Man's Hill. I suppose, if nothing else, our direction now is set to Argent Vale. I heard a certain Lich was born there, but I've no clue if it became a dangerous place as a result. Keeping in touch with my studies was hard in the presence of my savage kin." he sighed, one of the few elves that remained who kept to the old ways. "It cannot be helped regardless. We have to depart to Argent Vale, and find out where Hanged Man Hill is, if anyone knows... It may not sound like much," he said, turning to Toel. "But it's more than we ever had before, yes? Besides, we might get lucky, and the glade we locate is filled with perfectly reasonable and friendly creatures. And not the... Carnivore type." he said with a shiver. Almost as scary as the shadows, almost.

 

[Lionfire]

Re: Kindred in Madness (Lionfire and MAF)

Staying his tongue as the older man speaks, he would pause once in a while through his sorting to listen a bit closer before resuming his check of the supplies... Though hearing the old man speak of the directions, he couldn't help but pause as he listens to it. To him, it sounded a bit like what would be told in a story of some sort than actual directions, but it was intriguing either way. Looking towards Ruven after the older man was back to his musings, he nods his head in agreement, a smile faintly appearing on his face. "Given how much we have to go on right now, I don't think we have much of a choice!" With a short pause to chuckle, he continues on. "I got us some supplies for the trip though, and a light stone if we run out of oil." Pointing towards the darkened stone with one hand as he puts back away the supplies, he glances towards Ruven really quick to tell him the command word for it, though he does say the word again a bit softer towards the stone just in case it kicked on there.

Picking up the lightstone again, since Ruven normally carries the lantern, he carefully places the smooth and polished stone into his pocket... Though he pauses, raising an eyebrow as his hand returns from it's short trip to his pocket with a black sheet of paper. "... Huh?" Toel raises an eyebrow, glancing towards Ruven, then back to the paper. "When'd..." Looking down at the paper in his hand, the gears momentarily grind in his head to look back through his memories... When did he get this? Though after looking for a second or so, he just shakes his head. Letting out a light sigh, he unfolds the paper, careful not to rip it as he looks over what is hidden within.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Kindred in Madness (Lionfire and MAF)

Ruven smiled in acknowledgement of the other man. He seemed like a wild kind of man before, who'd do nothing but skirt chase all day, but after knowing him long enough, Toel proved to be a very dutiful person. "You've done much while I've done nothing. You've my eternal thanks, Toel." Ruven said with a tired yet sincere smile, before noticing the note his friend had. "Oh? Are those instructions for that fancy lantern you brought?" Ruven wondered, peeking up a bit to have a look, eager to know how to use the thing proper if such was the case.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Kindred in Madness (Lionfire and MAF)

Spoiler

Toel: HP = 51, PP = 42, EP = 39, Status = Fine

Ruven Zelphar: HP = 34, PP = 36, EP = 76, Status = Fine

Opening the paper, Toel found himself faced with a crudely drawn smiling face drawn in red ink. Before his eyes its grin widened, exposing sharp teeth, and then a message wrote itself in flowing script; "Watch the shadows. We grow long." And then it simply evaporated in his hands. Ruven felt the book stir at his side, felt it give a pulsing vibration, and the old man that the elf had been speaking to looked taken aback. "What... How did you do that?" he asked, looking at Toel.

 

[Lionfire]

Re: Kindred in Madness (Lionfire and MAF)

Staring down at the paper, Toel's eyebrow raises as he looks over the strange smiling face upon it. '... Did a child put this in my pocket?' Glancing towards Ruven with a short shrug, his eyes return just in time to see the grin bare teeth up at him. His eyes widen, and both the old man and Ruven can notice that the Anudorian's dark skin turns a faint bit pale as the text writes itself on the paper. His eyes scan over the text quickly, and he cannot help but speak the words softly he reads as he does so. "Watch the shadows. We grow long..."

By the time he is done saying it, the paper begins to fade and evaporate away, causing the Toel to fearfully drop the paper as it fades out of existence before it hits the ground. Toel stands there, speechless to what has just occurred for a few moments before the old man's words break him out of his stunned confusion, pupils shrunken to little pinpricks. "I... I didn't do that..." Looking at his hand that held the paper, he flexes his fingers before he glances between Ruven and the old man. "I swear, I didn't have that in my pocket until..." His voice trails off as the book enters his peripheral vision, staring down at the dark book. His eyes widen for only a second... Then, his chest puffs up some as he takes a deep breath, letting his eyes fall shut as he tries to regain his composure. After a short moment or two, color returns to his skin before he opens his eyes as he looks towards Ruven. "We should probably get going very soon." Toel's voice returns with a bit of firmness, but there is noticeable unease in his voice.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Kindred in Madness (Lionfire and MAF)

Ruven shot back when he saw the face twist into something ominous, and the message delivered made the table start rattling as Ruven began shaking with fear. His hands were impossibly trembling to the point where he'd be unable to perform the most basic of tasks. Insistently, Ruven began looking around. Shadows cast by the sun weren't often dangerous, usually only the pitch black of darkness would bring them out. Even still, Ruven feared for himself in that instance.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Kindred in Madness (Lionfire and MAF)

Spoiler

Toel: HP = 51, PP = 42, EP = 39, Status = Fine

Ruven Zelphar: HP = 34, PP = 36, EP = 76, Status = Fine

The old man that Ruven had met seemed to be at a loss for words, leaving Toel's firm suggestion the only sound present in their small corner of the tavern room. The door burst open a moment later, a trio of men clad in the uniforms of the city guard and carrying both rifles and sabers entering and approaching the bar without a glance at the trio. All three sported dark hair and bronzed skin, and the one in the center who was a step forward from the other two cracked a broad grin. "Hello Arthur! The usual eh? We've got a bit before our shift starts," he said, still ignoring Toel and Ruven while the old man seemed dumbfounded. They would be able to leave on their own initiative, as no one was as yet forcing them to do anything.

 

[Lionfire]

Re: Kindred in Madness (Lionfire and MAF)

Without really knowing he is doing so, Toel tunes out the men who have entered the building as he looks between the old man and Ruven. While his expression previously tensed to stay confident, he is saddened to see Ruven shaking like he is in an earthquake. Looking towards the old man, he bows his head respectfully towards him. "Thank you... We have something to go on, and at great timing as well it seems!"

Standing back up straight, Toel looks back down towards Ruven. The Anudorian's hand comes to rest on the elf's shoulder as he gives it a light squeeze. "Ruven, my friend? We must get ready to go." He couldn't stand his new friend being scared already. He had seen the elf having been a nervous wreck when he met him, and despite his attempts he cannot help but feel like he needs to do more. "We have something to go on now, and standing idle will not get us closer to making the shadows leave you be." Shaking Ruven's shoulder lightly, the Anudorian tries to give the elf a small smile. "We cannot let this book win and spread this harm to others, yeah?"

While it wasn't very long of a speech, Toel ends it with patting Ruven's shoulder as he turns back towards the supplies, putting them back into his bag after a short check as he carries it over shoulder. Though the light jingle of the money within it does get him to pause as he looks towards Ruven again. "Want to get something on the way out of town?" He asks in offering to the elf, seeing if he can lighten his mood a bit. Seems all he really needed was a lead, and that gave the Anudorian at least somewhat of a confidence boost. Progress!

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Kindred in Madness (Lionfire and MAF)

Ruven's head shot to Toel, and quickly nodded. "Y-yes let us d-depart. Please." he almost pleaded, eager to just fucking leave. He knew the problem was always with him, but he wanted to feel like he was escaping. Walking out, Ruven gathered everything that was his before moving out. He left nothing behind in his room in light of the warnings he got prior. "I want what money cannot buy. I want to feel safe for once in a long time. I want peace, Toel. I-I-I'm tired of the fear. They smile and mock, I wish I could kill them, strangle them." Ruven trembles. "I swear that I wish I knew what the point of all this was. Why torture me? Even in times of complete darkness, I swear it lets me live just to torture me with the threat of death. I cannot back up this claim either. I cannot even try to reason out this thing, or why it exists. I just want it to die, I want to burn it and not wake up with it the next morning. I want this CURSED BOOK TO DIE!" Ruven growled, squeezing the book in his hand angrily while following Toel, eager to be on their way to dismissing the damned book.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Kindred in Madness (Lionfire and MAF)

Spoiler

Toel: HP = 51, PP = 42, EP = 39, Status = Fine

Ruven Zelphar: HP = 34, PP = 36, EP = 76, Status = Fine

With their morning preparations complete, the old man that Ruven had been talking to wished him well, and they left as the group of guards went up to the counter and ordered breakfast. They then had the choice of where to go once outside, either stopping elsewhere along the way or heading to where the old man had pointed them immediately.

 

[Lionfire]

Re: Kindred in Madness (Lionfire and MAF)

A smile does come across Toel's lips as he listens to Ruven, nodding his head in seeming satisfaction of Ruven's words. "And we will make sure the book comes to an end, my friend!" Patting Ruven's shoulder one last time, he leaves Ruven in tow as he carries his bought supplies over shoulder. As nice as the town is, it probably is about time to get going to Argent Vale, unless Ruven sees something he wants along the way out. Supplies, check. Destination, check. Equipment, check. Onwards!

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Kindred in Madness (Lionfire and MAF)

"We should take some basic supplies for the trip, food, water and medicine..." Ruven reminds Toel, seeking to acquire some water, jerky, and whatever basic first aid supplies the town had to offer in case of any scratches they got, so that they could patch up and disinfect them to avoid any nasty contamination or illnesses.

After a time following their departure, Ruven would address something important. "I feel like I'm using you, Toel. We're following the evidence that will help me with what I seek, but as for what you seek? Who knows how far we are." he stated. "However, I promise that if I'm rid of this book before we find your dream girl, I'll help you find her as thanks." Ruven stated sincerely.

The rest of what Ruven would speak of would be more or less in regards to Ruven's recent obsession with light and aversion to darkness, and perhaps his taste in women should Toel bring that up. Being a smaller man, Ruven actually preferred bigger women, making a joke about how if Toel knew any Anudorian women back home, he'd like to meet them.

 

[Lionfire]

Re: Kindred in Madness (Lionfire and MAF)

Toel glances back towards Ruven with a smile crossing his lips. "I have rations in my bag, also 2 canteens... Though reminds me." Toel slows his walk to reach into the bag, handing Ruven one of the full water canteens as he raises the second one to show the elf. "Thanks for reminding me about the medicine." Taking a short detour to where he can get a few standard first aid items and paying for it, he continues on.

Though the Anudorian is given pause as Ruven brings up his side of things, though Toel just lets out a chuckle. "You are repaying me by coming with me! Honestly I wanted a friend to travel with, though I plan on wandering until I find her." He shrugs with obvious lack of pessimism in his little movement. "I have a whole world to search, so that won't take long! If you ever feel like resting or stopping, you can tell me. When that book is gone, you have quite a lot of life to live unburdened!" It is hard to hear if he is being sarcastic, though his voice is just tinged with giddy optimism.

Toel does seem amused to hear Ruven's preference after asking, bringing up a few possible ones he knew out of playfulness. As he would say, it would really carve off the stress from Ruven! Though if Ruven asked about his preference, he would only end up bringing up his dream beauty, whom Ruven has probably heard enough about after meeting the Anudorian.