Quest for the Shifter's Soul ((RP!))

Will took the hand offered to him and shook it strongly. Good man, this one. "William Ericksson, a pleasure to meet you, Aengus. Now c'mon, we have some dragons to meet with, I suppose." He took Aengus by the shoulder and led him towards the cave. He waved to the rather displeased looking Angel. William wondered where Lydia went, then shrugged it off and guessed she went inside already.

"So, Aengus, what do you know about the Shifter's Soul?"

"Shifter's Soul? About the same as anyone, I guess. Some sort of trinket or whatnot that supposedly gives you the ability to shift your shape. Sounds to me like the musings of a senile old man who's had a few too many drinks. Of course, the things that sound the most insane usually turn out to be true, so who knows?"

As Aengus found himself being shepherded into the den, he made sure to discretely take a good look at his surroundings, memorizing every inch as best he could. If things turn ugly, it wouldn't do to get lost on the way out. The old 'faster than the people with you' rule doesn't help much when you're so vastly outnumbered, or when you're on the home turf of those chasing you.

Carbry finally ascends the rock formation, but appears exhausted upon entering the den of the dragons. A new scar has found its way onto his cheek since the party has last seen him. There was additionally, however, a new pelt adorning his body. It is quite clear that the route from the waterfall to the formation of rock was one that was paved with dangers.

He trots to Aengus with a simple dignity, and puts forward his hand.

"Hello."

He turns to face both William and Aengus, and says simply and tactlessly "Thought the fathers of our fathers have fought, I offer you both my hand in friendship."

"We are Deepstream. We live in these waterways. In these woods. And we know it's ways as only those close to it can.

"Listen well, you misguided souls. Because the Shifters Soul is set to consume you all." It wasn't the leader that spoke but another, old and thin that limped it's way from the back of the cave. Though there was a wobble to it's paws, the voice was strong.

"You all came here seeking something you know nothing about. Not what it looks like. Not where is is found. Not what made it. But you came. Brought by rumor and greed, lust for power maybe? Or duty? For someone far from here?" Oh the dragons heard all the tales from all the travellers.

"You are quite wrong if you think this is something simple you have come across. There is a deep, dark magic involved. And not dark as kin to light, but dark in it's very soul.

The Shifter is loose."

The assembled dragons nodded, this was old news to them. The elder dragon continued, "Crazed. Consuming. Consumed. If those seeking the Shifter's Soul have one thing correct, it is that those who use it have gone mad. Someone... Something has found it before you have. Perhaps even the one who created it. We do not know it's beginnings, but we have seen what it has done.

"If you want to find your precious Shifter's Soul, you need to take it from the Shifter itself."

Aengus readily takes Canbry's hand, shaking it vigorously. "Hello there, friend. Aengus is the name. And that's a nice sentiment, but neither my father nor his father was much of a fighter. You see-" It was at this point that the Elder Dragon began their speech. Aengus released Canbry's hand & made his way to the back of the crowd, listening intently.

As the speech concluded, Aengus kept quiet, waiting to see how the others would react to this foreboding bit of information. It was no surprise to him that such a widely sought-after treasure would come with ominous warnings such as this. After all, if it didn't inspire such fear & reverence, the Shifter's Soul would hardly be worth pursuing.

Lydia paddled her way along, blithely unaware of the looks the dragons gave her. Angel plodded along the edge of the lake, trying to keep her in his sights as he walked, but staring after her in the water meant that he missed his footing more than once, and by the time he reached the ledge inside the cave, both of his feet were wet and he was grumbling more than usual under his hood. He completely ignored William's address, too embarrassed to look at anyone, and sat down heavily to one side of the ledge.
Once or twice Lydia tried to play with the younger dragons who followed her wobbly path, but she was too unsteady of a swimmer to turn and tread water to face them. When Dee caught up with her, she squeaked in surprise and delight as his current swept her along. It made swimming much easier and she reached the cave much sooner than she otherwise would have. Once inside, she took hold of Dee's mane and held onto his neck, using him as a flotation device, since she couldn't hold still in the water without sinking. On the edge of the water, Angel took note that Lydia was in Dee's hands and rested his head on his knees, groaning.
The new information about the Shifter's Soul seemed to stir neither of them, though Lydia listened quietly--which was remarkable on its own. But Angel did not raise his head from his knees. When the Elder Dragon was finished speaking, Lydia turned to Angel from her perch on Dee's neck, "Angel? Why are we chasing the...thingy? It sounds scary."
"To get the money for Mother."
"But it's scary."
"You can handle it, Lydia. Just use your lightning."
"I'm in the water--"
"Not /now,/ if we encounter danger."
"But I don't--"
But Angel just groaned and covered his head with his arms. "Please stop being obstinate, Lydia."

William looked at the hand offered to him by the centaur. He didn't quite know what to think. Maybe he was being to hard on Carbry, perhaps he could give up on old prejudices. "...Maybe. I'll sleep on it." And with that he made his way into the cave.

He found a spot of dry ground and sat cross legged, resting his chin on his fist and his elbow on his knee to listen to the old dragon. William was on a search to destroy the Shifter's Soul, but by the old dragon's words, it seems he'd have to do much more than that. He spotted Dee, and frowned, wondering what he was thinking, and tried to think of ways he could apologize to the dragon about roping him into the search. He sighed and returned his attention to the old dragon speaking. What he described was big trouble. We have to take it from the shifter itself... That was the most troublesome part.

William looked at what appeared to be his questing party. We got a lot to work on...

A dragon on the sidelines rumbled something.

"She's seen it once." Dee translated, ear flicked forwards in interest, because even he didn't know what the Shifter looked like, if that sort of thing could be said of a shapeshifter. And s the dragoness continued, he translated. "It was a large serpent, covered so thick with runes that it looked solid black. But they glowed red as it changed. It was only as big as a branch around, but it ate a bear she had been hunting. Swallowed it whole and alive, and then was bigger because of it's meal."

(A battlemage, a one 'man' cavalry, a pint-sized powerhouse, a grump, Schrodinger's rogue, & a River Dragon. Not a bad team. This might work out.)

At least that's what Aengus thought, prior to that last little eye-witness contribution. He rapidly rolled his lucky coin through his fingers as he considered the implications of this information. True, he'd long since prepared himself for the danger of the quest, but it would be insane not to be concerned about the prospect of facing something that treats bears like a light snack. Concerned, & excited.

((Heheheh. In a forest where Dee's Tribe are considered 'small dragons' ....... Bears often /are/ a light snack. ))

((I love all of Lydia's new nicknames...storm-maker...pint-sized powerhouse... She's just so awesome. I can't get enough of her and she's my own character. :3
Too bad Angel's useless. XD

Here's a picture of Lydia. Angel has practically the same hair (except the ponytail's lower), same angular-type face, but with a thin, blonde chinstrap beard and his eyes are much much smaller. Almost squinty.))

((.....Are you going to post the picture later?))

((EDIT: Ah. Well now I feel like a dumbass. Pfft. Also d'aw.))

((Extra EDIT: Also, someone else post an actual rp thing. I was the last person to do so, so I can really do it again to move things along.))

(( Oh, click on the word "here." That's the link. :3 ))

Lydia's grip on Dee's neck slowly tightened as he translated the dragonness's description of the Shifter. The smile that normally adorned her face faded, and she glanced back at the slumped figure of her brother on the bank. "A-Angel?"
"We're going, Lydia."
"I don't want to. It's too scary."
"Do you want Mother to die?" Angel snapped, finally looking up at her.
This was a low blow. Lydia stopped dead, mouth half open to protest again, but the words stuck in her throat. For a minute, she just stared at him. Then, with tears in her eyes,
"No..." she squeaked. "I want Mommy to get better..."
"Then stop whining and help me find that damned Soul."
But Lydia was beyond hope now. The very suggestion that she would want to do anything but help her Mother had sent her past the edge of redemption. The tears in her eyes welled and spilled, and she leaned into Dee's mane, sobbing miserably. "I want Mommy to get better!" she shrieked again, her sobs growing more and more hysterical. "I don't want Mommy to die!"

Solid black and red? That's just got evil written all over it. Judging by the runes, that wasn't figurative either. God damn it. William had never seen a bear used as a light snack, either. This thing sounded like bad news all over. As Lydia started to cry, William frowned. He was never good as a nurturing type, he could never calm the hysterical dames. This was no exception, and so the best he could do was look anywhere else awkwardly and hope that Angel was a brother enough to calm the poor girl down.

((Okay I'll admit I giggled at "Solid black and red? That's just got evil written all over it." ))

Dee frowned as Lydia started her bawling. He didn't know much about her kind, but he knew the draconic treatment for youngster's tears- a swift dunking in the water- prooobably wouldn't go over so well.

He swayed over to the shore near Angel, awakwardly glacing at him to do something.

At the revelation of the Shifter's being out and about, Carbry shuddered. Carbry is greatly world weary, having travelled it and seen its wonders. The beautiful jewels of exotic islands, the strange beasts of foreign lands, the alien customs of indigenous peoples. Perhaps just as wondrous, he's seen cruelty and pain, meaningless suffering and death. But even in his travels, all he's heard is stories of the power of the Shifter. Stories rambled by crazy old elves wandering sideroads, stories spoken of by bartenders. Rumors, perhaps. But it's always better to be prepared than to dismiss.

A being that could become all you have ever feared or loathed with a thought, torturing your mind in the last moments of your life before it draws you into an eternal and dark nothingness.

I'm going to need more arrows. A sharper sword, and harder armor. And I'll need to reinforce my wits, lest I lose them.

((Dmab.... How could tales have been whispered down for generations when this thing is relatively new, and they only just found out that the object had been acctually found?))

((Could've sworn that it was something that existed a while ago, disappeared, and is now back.

Dammit Skyrim.))

((Alas, I never played skyrim so I can only assume that's why you're confused.

Yeah, I didn't put a set date on when it was made, but the idea of shapeshifting magic was a joke until hmm... lets say the last 10-20 years? And of that it was rumors until about 3-5 years ago. Maybe less. Just long enough for people to start seeing the implications and start sending everyone at it.))

((Also one other thing dmab, I have to say it, but some of your things in your posts are a little.... pointless. Oh boy, something attacked, but don't worry, I'll kill it in this post before anyone reacts.

I mean.. Your centaur seems to get attacked more often than anyone else! hahah.))

Angel put his head back on his knees, clutching the hem of his hood with both hands and pulling it down as tight as he could over his face. He pulled his knees as tight to his chest as he possibly could, as if he wanted to just shrink and disappear. "Lydia, please stop," he whimpered, barely audible, certainly inaudible to the still-wailing child.
"I don't want Mommy to diiiiiiiieee..."
Angel's knuckles turned white against the dark brown of the hood, and it seemed as if the room could hear him grinding his teeth.
Lydia continued to bawl, until finally,
"Lydia, STOP!" Angel screeched, sitting bolt upright and glaring at her. "You're making a scene!"
The child stared at him, then started to cry harder.
"STOP IT, LYDIA!"
"But I don't want--"
"SHUT UP."
That did it. Lydia stopped, staring at him through tear-filled eyes, then turned her face the other way and buried it in Dee's mane.

Aengus, more than a little perturbed by this outburst, rushes over to Angel & gives him a good thwack on the head on the head with his right index & middle finger. "I can understand your distress, but that is no way to treat a child, let alone a sibling. Have you no heart?"

In a blur, Aengus moves over to Dee & Lydia, & continues, flailing & motioning with his hands. "Just look at your little sister. This poor, sweet, innocent little girl, not even in her teens. She's far too young to be expected to cope with this big, scary, dangerous world of ours. Yet here she is, following you on a quest. Facing nightmares & dangers unlike anything she's ever imagined, all to, from what I can gather, save your beloved mother. And yet you have the nerve, not only to sling such monstrous accusations at her, but also to complain when said accusations upset her? How dare you, sir."

Dee didn't know what to do. He couldn't promise that their mother would be alright. He didn't even know what could be ailing her! Or how this blatantly dangerous quest would help. But he knew that Angel wasn't going to make things better. He looked to the Leader for permission.

"I think it's time we took a break." He growled, nodding back at Dee.

the samller dragon let the current carry him and his little piggybacker away from the others. Fresh air and sunshine and a bit of quiet might help to sort things out. Besides, nobody had gotten any sleep last night. No wonder everyone was grumpy.

Lazily waving his tail to keep from hitting the banks, Dee drifted into a doze, lulled by cool water and warm sun.

Angel flinched back from the stranger's accusations, staring at the ground in humiliation, what was visible of his face turning a darker shade of red with every word from Aengus' rant. He curled up into as tight of a ball as he could possibly manage, recoiling from his lecturer. With the subtlest movement he could manage, as if any large motions would cause Aengus to bite him, Angel slowly reached up and pulled his hood back over his head, remaining absolutely silent even as Aengus came to an end of his rant.

Lydia clung to Dee as he swam away, still sniffing a little and whimpering every now and then. Once out of the cave, however, she blinked up at the sunlight and slowly her tears dried. The child smiled and cuddled against Dee, closing her eyes as well.

William watched this sorry scene with a frown and a face like a stormy day. So much for party cohesion. He saw Dee float outside and followed after, trying to get some fresh air to clear his head. Aengus had a point, Angel shouldn't have yelled at his sister the way he did, but causing more of a scene in a room full of what seemed to be dragon elders didn't seem like the most mature thing.

He exited the cave and walked over to where Dee floated. "Hey, Dee. I, uh... I'm sorry for getting you roped into this. I didn't really mean to imply that you were with us."