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The Battle Beneath (Tiffanian)


Re: The Battle Beneath (Tiffanian)

Ilona: HP = 90/90, PP = 45/45, EP = 51/55, Status = Fine, Telepathy to Strange Woman

Galo: HP = 48/48, PP = 31, EP = 33, Status = Fine

Aereia: Sage
Taron: Head Sentinel of Clyons
Aegea: Healer from Clyons
Treyzine: Seer from Clyons

Find the Faerie Under the Stars at the Highest Peak
Find the Lone Formori Hunter

Treyzine hesitated, and then nodded, passing over the potion bottles in exchange for the coins. "Yes... Here, take them... And may they be of no use," she replied somberly, before drifting back from Ilona. "Good luck, Ilona... You will find the woman you seek on the highest peak, but only beneath the stars will she make herself known to you."
 
Re: The Battle Beneath (Tiffanian)

Ilona dropped the coins into the seer's hand and took the potions offered, taking a few moments to slip them into various parts of her armor as the conversation continued. "Here's hoping" she replied, though she was fairly sure that she would need them sooner or later. "Thank you... for all your help. I'll keep that in mind" she continued, nodding and starting to drift out of the building unless prompted to stay. Under the stars, huh? Atop the highest peak... What a strange person this woman must be if that was where Ilona was to find her. Then again, the fae were supposed to be that way, weren't they? In any case she could only hope that the market was about to liven up so she could buy some of the other things she had in mind to look for. Perhaps another polearm she could wield with her mind; the numbers the formori could bring to bear had already proven to be problematic for her, it would likely help to have a means of attacking more than one at once. Perhaps a shield to shore up her defenses in much the same way if nothing else.
 
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Re: The Battle Beneath (Tiffanian)

Ilona: HP = 90/90, PP = 45/45, EP = 51/55, Status = Fine, Telepathy to Strange Woman

Galo: HP = 48/48, PP = 31, EP = 33, Status = Fine

Aereia: Sage
Taron: Head Sentinel of Clyons
Aegea: Healer from Clyons
Treyzine: Seer from Clyons
Shlei: Depressed Smith from Clyons

Find the Faerie Under the Stars at the Highest Peak
Find the Lone Formori Hunter

The market of Clyons was obviously a ghost of what it had once been, with many of the places where her kin might have sold their wares to those working here now abandoned or simply closed. There were only a few mer to be seen, drifting among the shops, one where food and simple goods were rounded up and peddled by a merman with a thin face, bristly facial hair rather like that of a walrus, and beady black eyes.... And another with a sallow faced woman with dark bags under her eyes, drifting listlessly about a collection of arms and armor with many gaps between pieces where things now gone once laid.

When approached, the dour mermaid gazed at Ilona silently, allowing her to make the mental link, and when it opened the full breadth of her melancholy poured across the mental connection like it was a broken dam. "What do you want outsider?" She demanded without any apparent effort to remain polite about their potential transaction.
 
Re: The Battle Beneath (Tiffanian)

Even though the market stalls were now opening there were still few shops, and even fewer shoppers. It was a sad state of affairs made all the sadder by the appearance of those who drifted just above the bottom and the melancholy they exhibited. There were only two shops that were of any interest to Ilona at the moment, one selling food and other basic necessities, and another selling various weapons. A good weapon was the priority, she could spend what was left over on provisions surely, and so she swam up to the proprietor of the weapon shop. It was a rather thin woman who looked like she adn't slept in quite some time, drifting aimlessly about her wares... Ilona reached out to make a mental link with her once they made eye contact, and for a few moments was simply struck dumb, taken aback by the sheer darkness of the other woman's mental state, the depth of depression that came at her like a flood. "Ahh..." she replied after a short but awkward silence between them, "I'm looking for a weapon I can use. A polearm preferably. One I can wield with my mind while I fight."
 
Re: The Battle Beneath (Tiffanian)

Ilona: HP = 90/90, PP = 45/45, EP = 51/55, Status = Fine, Telepathy to Strange Woman

Galo: HP = 48/48, PP = 31, EP = 33, Status = Fine

Aereia: Sage
Taron: Head Sentinel of Clyons
Aegea: Healer from Clyons
Treyzine: Seer from Clyons
Shlei: Depressed Smith from Clyons

Find the Faerie Under the Stars at the Highest Peak
Find the Lone Formori Hunter

The thin woman nodded slightly, and turned to drift over to a nearby wall. She half turned back to Ilona, and waved her hand at various things on the half empty rack; "What would you prefer? A spear? A glaive? Either way... It's half off the usual price if you intend to kill formori with it. Eight coins each."
 
Re: The Battle Beneath (Tiffanian)

Ilona swam about in front of the gear offered her, looking it over carefully. It seemed to be fairly well-made stuff, and after a few moments she settled on one of the glaives. A slashing weapon might be nice to have on hand for certain situations. "That's a very generous offer, thank you" she replied, "I'll certainly take you up on that. And hopefully this weapon will kill many Formori." She swam over to hand over the requisite coins to the depressed woman and then took her new weapon. That left her with twelve coins... It would probably be best to provision herself before doing much more shopping. She nodded her head at the smith and broke their mental connection, moving over to the other of the shops.
 
Re: The Battle Beneath (Tiffanian)

Ilona: HP = 90/90, PP = 45/45, EP = 51/55, Status = Fine

Galo: HP = 48/48, PP = 31, EP = 33, Status = Fine

Aereia: Sage
Taron: Head Sentinel of Clyons
Aegea: Healer from Clyons
Treyzine: Seer from Clyons
Shlei: Depressed Smith from Clyons
Strange Jewelry Man

Find the Faerie Under the Stars at the Highest Peak
Find the Lone Formori Hunter

The dour smith nodded wordlessly and passed over the long bladed glaive, the narrow edge of the weapon possessing a slight curve to minimize drag, and she took the coins and moved over to a box. With their exchange complete, Ilona shut off their mental connection - alleviating her connection to the woman's intense depression - and headed over to the other shops. The food vendors had seemingly opted to collaborate, for there was now only one place but it had three mer tending to it and a number of supplies. Fish boiled and preserved, wrapped in kelp, were alongside various shellfish and numerous forms of edible underwater plantlife.

Before she could reach them, however, another mind connected to hers, and Ilona was drawn to another vendor, a shirtless merman heavily adorned with piercings and jewelry. She hadn't seen him before when she'd been looking around, but he beckoned her down as he mentally said; "You there! Mighty champion! Come, come! I have something for you! Just three coins... A good luck charm!" He brandished a necklace of turquoise stones, smiling up at her brightly with several gold teeth. "It will protect you on your journeys!"
 
Re: The Battle Beneath (Tiffanian)

Ilona took the glaive and shouldered it, swimming away towards the food stalls. It looked like there was all sorts of food on offer, and though there were three people tending the stall it was only one stall... presumably they didn't get enough business to work separately, and so they were all pooling their resources. An admirable thing in the face of hardship, one that made her feel a bit more hope than this mopey weaponsmith. As she swam towards the stalls, however, she was stopped by a new mental connection opening up with her, a man off to the side that she hadn't seen before. Shirtless, covered in piercings and wearing plenty of jewelry, his mouth even sporting several gold teeth... he was surely a colorful character, she could tell.

The warrior couldn't help but give off the mental equivalent of a snort of laughter when he called her a "mighty champion," and then he offered her a good luck charm of some kind. A necklace made up of blue-green stones, he claimed it would protect her, for only three coins. It sounded too good to be true. It probably was. Still, she swam her way towards him, replying "oh? May I see it?" She wanted to get a good look at it, see if it seemed like anything other than a mundane necklace. Even if it was mundane, it might still be worth three coins if it were well-made enough. "Do you make these, or did you find this somewhere?"
 
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Re: The Battle Beneath (Tiffanian)

Ilona: HP = 90/90, PP = 45/45, EP = 51/55, Status = Fine

Galo: HP = 48/48, PP = 31, EP = 33, Status = Fine

Aereia: Sage
Taron: Head Sentinel of Clyons
Aegea: Healer from Clyons
Treyzine: Seer from Clyons
Shlei: Depressed Smith from Clyons
Strange Jewelry Man

Find the Faerie Under the Stars at the Highest Peak
Find the Lone Formori Hunter

"Of course, of course!" The strange mer salesman replied, offering Ilona the necklace. It seemed to drift with the current in her grip, falling more slowly than it should have before settling into her grasp. The stones along the chain were of uneven sizes, but as she examined them more closely they seemed to form a rough sort of pattern; rising into a wave form near where it would naturally hang lowest if it were worn, then thinning out again to make it symmetrical, with a large round cap stone of a different sort of material at either end.

"Oh, a bit of both, a bit of both!" The salesman replied jovially, unnecessarily moving his lips to mouth the words even though no sound came forth, nor coherent speech be delivered aloud underwater. "I assemble them, but the stones are natural! Found on the ocean floor! And the chain is from the surface!"
 
Re: The Battle Beneath (Tiffanian)

Ilona held out her hands for the necklace and the man dropped it into them, the stone falling through the water slowly... perhaps more slowly that it ought to, though that was a difference she only barely perceived. The necklace itself seemed to be made well enough, the turquoise stones quite smooth and pleasant to the touch, arranged in a sort of wave pattern along its chain that would probably see its lowermost edge resting just inside of her cleavage if she were to wear it. It was pretty, that was sure. She perked up a bit as he explained to her where the components came from... "The surface?" she replied questioningly, her gaze meeting the vendor's again after examining the necklace. "Did you find it floating, or was it on dry land? And you said it would bring me luck... Magic, or salesmanship?" It was a blunt way of asking, but she was considering buying it regardless, simply because it caught her fancy and could be brought with her, unlike most possessions.
 
Re: The Battle Beneath (Tiffanian)

Ilona: HP = 90/90, PP = 45/45, EP = 51/55, Status = Fine

Galo: HP = 48/48, PP = 31, EP = 33, Status = Fine

Aereia: Sage
Taron: Head Sentinel of Clyons
Aegea: Healer from Clyons
Treyzine: Seer from Clyons
Shlei: Depressed Smith from Clyons
Strange Jewelry Man

Find the Faerie Under the Stars at the Highest Peak
Find the Lone Formori Hunter

"Twas upon dry land that I retrieved the chain!" The salesman declared, his mental voice booming and boisterous, "that chain, and all of the others! All made from only the finest materials, to withstand the stresses of our home."

Ilona's follow up question drew a burst of laughter from the man, one which he enacted as if doing so aloud, even though it was totally unnecessary to express his mirth as such. "A sly one, eh? And so straightforward! But, I can appreciate the simple approach, even if true salesmanship is a magic of it's own!" He paused, eyeing her for a moment, before continuing; "Tis' true magic, dear champion! True magic indeed, though perhaps not of the simpler, obvious enchantments that you might be more accustomed to!"
 
Re: The Battle Beneath (Tiffanian)

Ilona ran the necklace through her hand as she listened to the salesman, her other holding her chin as she thought. The surface, huh? How interesting. She felt she could believe him, at least on this much. He would be able to feel her give off an air of curiosity as he mentioned it, right up until she made her enquiry as to its magic status. The answer he gave, of course, caused her to give off a little hint of annoyance, impatience, though there was something else there too... His relatively straightforward flattery of her was having some positive effect on her mood, slight though it was. "Then what enchantment does this necklace hold? What benefit will it give me besides looking pretty around my neck?" she asked, holding it up to her to see how it looked against her pale flesh. She was on the edge of buying it regardless... She thought it would look quite nice on her, after all.

"I have to admit", she continued after that bit of discussion, "I'm really interested in the surface. I've never been on dry land before, but I'm considering going down that path soon. What's it like up there? Do you have any advice if I were venture above the waves?"
 
Re: The Battle Beneath (Tiffanian)

Ilona: HP = 90/90, PP = 45/45, EP = 51/55, Status = Fine

Galo: HP = 48/48, PP = 31, EP = 33, Status = Fine

Aereia: Sage
Taron: Head Sentinel of Clyons
Aegea: Healer from Clyons
Treyzine: Seer from Clyons
Shlei: Depressed Smith from Clyons
Strange Jewelry Man

Find the Faerie Under the Stars at the Highest Peak
Find the Lone Formori Hunter

"When it matters most," the salesmer replied without losing his readily apparent mirth, "it will give you what you need to succeed. Tis' not a trivial trinket, but it's magic is also not infinite... It will aid you only once, in your darkest hour, and in a way that will perhaps not be immediately obvious."

The mental chuckle emanating from the salesmen following her curiosity about the surface was indulgent, and for the briefest moment Ilona felt an oddness about her skin, like she was.... Dry. "Warm, and strange, if you've not been there before! But pleasant enough. The folk their speak with their mouths instead of their minds, but if you can learn their tongue they are easygoing enough."
 
Ilona was almost getting to the point of exasperation with the vagueness of these non-answers to her questions. Even so it was a pretty enough necklace that any magical power in it would be nice enough, so she fished out the requisite coin. "Alright, I'll bite. Three coins, right?" she asked as she made to hand them over, thinking about his comments about the surface. Something about the way he chuckled at her question, something about the way it made her feel... "Speak with their mouths?" she asked, "that sounds strange indeed. Do you speak their language? Is it different from the one we use?" The thought occurred to her that maybe he could be of help to her, if he would... The irony of needing a translator to help her find a translator was not entirely lost on her. "Would you consider possibly accompanying me to the surface later? I have someone I need to find, and I don't know for sure that I'll be able to communicate up there."
 
Ilona: HP = 90/90, PP = 45/45, EP = 51/55, Status = Fine

Galo: HP = 48/48, PP = 31, EP = 33, Status = Fine

Aereia: Sage
Taron: Head Sentinel of Clyons
Aegea: Healer from Clyons
Treyzine: Seer from Clyons
Shlei: Depressed Smith from Clyons
Strange Jewelry Man

Find the Faerie Under the Stars at the Highest Peak
Find the Lone Formori Hunter
Strange Lucky Necklace
Click to expand...

"Yes, yes... Very odd for us, no? Sound works... Differently up there," the odd, portly merchant continued indulgently. "I do speak the language of some of the surface folk, yes. It isn't quite like ours, but there are... Some similarities. Think of it like... How dolphins speak, but in words that we can comprehend."

The man chuckled mentally at her in response to Ilona's request that he accompany her, and gave a light shake of his head as he replied; "No, no... I would be of little use to you, I am sure. My swimming isn't what it once was, and besides... There is only one surface dweller left on the nearby islands now, and she will understand you without any issue I am sure."

(Ilona gains a Strange Lucky Necklace!)
 
"Like dolphins?" Ilona asked, tilting her head a little. "Hm... I suppose you could use your mouth to make sounds that were sort of like the words as we think them. I've never tried before." The merchant chuckled at her as she asked him to come with her, denying her pretty quickly. Apparently there was only the one person left, someone who would speak her language anyway. "Only one, huh? That's sad. Have the formori really harassed the surface dwellers so badly that all of them are gone?" As they conversed she slipped the necklace over her head, looking down as it settled into her cleavage. A pretty cute pickup really. She had really had much that was flashy, or at least not that she had been allowed to wear most of the time, so it was nice.

If that covered everything Ilona would bid the odd merchant farewell and head out to the rest of the market again, checking to see if there was anything on sale that would work as travel rations, perhaps something to strap to her to carry supplies with, and anything else that might suit her fancy.

 
Ilona: HP = 90/90, PP = 45/45, EP = 51/55, Status = Fine

Galo: HP = 48/48, PP = 31, EP = 33, Status = Fine

Aereia: Sage
Taron: Head Sentinel of Clyons
Aegea: Healer from Clyons
Treyzine: Seer from Clyons
Shlei: Depressed Smith from Clyons
Strange Jewelry Man

Find the Faerie Under the Stars at the Highest Peak
Find the Lone Formori Hunter
Strange Lucky Necklace
Click to expand...

"Yes, a tragedy indeed... Perhaps when the formori are expunged from the sea, they will return?" The portly merchant replied, a chuckle echoing through the words. "Yes yes, all gone... All gone. Taken, beneath the surface. Some might live, if they have forced the taken mer to cooperate, but that I do not know."

Departing from the merchant who had sold her the supposedly lucky necklace, Ilona could drift among the other mostly abandoned places where the people of Clyons had once done their trading. There wasn't much on offer, unfortunately, but she could pick up a few other things that might help her from a pair that had seemingly banded together to continue trading the waning supply of food available.

Rations are 1 coin each.
A pack can be obtained for 2 coins.

When her shopping was finished, however, Ilona was left with the choice of what she wanted to do next. She could simply go off, collecting Galo or leaving him to wait in the chambers they'd been gifted with, or go and see the guard captain Taron or Treyzine's apprentice, Aegea, if she wanted to reconnoiter with them first.
 
Ilona's expression grew downcast as the man mentioned the reason there was only one living person above the waves... The blasted formori, destroying all life in their path. She clenched her fist, replying "perhaps. I hope to see that day, when we can all live in peace and the formori are nothing but bones on the sea floor." She said her goodbyes then and swam off to look around the depressingly abandoned market. There were still a few shops that were selling what she wanted, though. Two coins fetched her a nice pack that would help her store her supplies, and four coins bought her plenty of rations, or so she hoped.

That done she would head back to the house she had been allowed to use and fetched Galo, feeling a little bit of nervous embarrassment as she thought back to the seer's vision of their sexual exploits she had seen earlier. With him in tow she would head back to Aegea, wanting to discuss her next move with the two of them together.
 
Ilona: HP = 90/90, PP = 45/45, EP = 51/55, Status = Fine

Galo: HP = 48/48, PP = 31, EP = 33, Status = Fine

Aereia: Sage
Taron: Head Sentinel of Clyons
Aegea: Healer from Clyons
Treyzine: Seer from Clyons
Shlei: Depressed Smith from Clyons
Strange Jewelry Man

Find the Faerie Under the Stars at the Highest Peak
Find the Lone Formori Hunter
Strange Lucky Necklace
Click to expand...

When finally she returned to the house she'd been allowed to stay in, Galo was initially nowhere to be seen. The octopus descended onto Ilona from above, having used his natural camouflage ability to hide in the corner over the door when she swam in. Ilona was briefly entangled and made to endure the multilimbed cephalopod's affectionate cuddling, including another brief bout of feeling his sucker-coated tendrils slipping under her bra to massage her breasts, before she headed to the home of the seer's apprentice with the octopus in tow.

Aegea was home, drifting about her dwelling with the expected melancholy. The layout hadn't changed, and when Ilona entered she glanced at the warrior with a questioning expression but didn't immediately reach out and touch Ilona's mind with her own.
 
Ilona swam to the house and entered it, looking around for a moment. No sight of Galo... Well, she had told him that he could look for her if he felt like it. Maybe he was out wandering Clyons to find her. Of course, he was also an octopus... so really she could have been staring right at him without realizing it. Sure enough he had been hiding just over the door, and his falling on her shoulders jolted her a little bit in surprise. No more than she was used to from him, of course. His tentacles wrapped around her upper body, rubbing against her in a show of affection, even working their way beneath her bra and teasing her breasts. She let out a silent gasp into the water, opening up a mental connection with him. "You little devil you" she teased, playfully slapping one of the offending tentacles. "Come, we need to go see Aegea. I have something I want to discuss with you two" she continued, and off they went.

The poor healer was just floating about her home when they found her, just as depressed and depressing as she had been last time. Illona added her to the mental connection she had kept up with Galo and looked between them, just a tiny bit apprehensive. "I've made a decision about my next course of action. I want to go to the surface, to find the last of the fae and enlist her help. There's no way Galo could come with me up there. Would it be alright if he stayed here with you until I returned?"
 
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