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

"Seems there's more to these ruins than the fact that they showed up out of nowhere." Aengus said, smirking at the reaction of the Airborn to the merchant's scribble. "Thank you gentlemen, you've been immensely helpful."

Walking over to the SkyHounds, Aengus got ready to wheel & deal. True, this might not be directly relevant to their current goals, but anything that could scare a group of Airborn like that had some serious profit potential. "So tell me, my friends. What exactly do you know about these ruins? Are they related to the, how did you put it, shadowformed-blackwater-stormshifter? If not, what exactly is their significance? I'm sure that, in addition to the services that my good friend Dee is soliciting, we can come to some sort of arrangement regarding this information. So please, do tell."

The large beast growled among themselves for a moment, before one of them lunged for the sky, followed swiftly after by another, who explained; "We will not go to the Forgotten City" Soon all of them were gone, circling on a thermal to put as much distance between them and the ground. All of them, except the larger dark one.

"Hm. Cowards." He huffed, watching after them as they flew off. "The city is an evil place. And if it is where that unnatural thing came from, well that would make sense. StreamRacer, surely you've heard of the one-way city?"

"Ah! Yes!" Dee nodded, "I thought it was an old tale. It was a large city, that only dragonkind could see. All others simply saw forest. And when the dragons entered the city, they dissappeared. Is that the place?"

The other nodded. "I knew of a winged dragon who was more cautious than the others. She drew the city for me, and that is what it looked like." He gestured to the cartwheel shape in the dirt.

Angel's grip tightened on Lydia perceptibly with every new development. This was turning into something much more sinister and complicated than just a crazed animal with shape-shifting powers, and he didn't like the sound of it. He didn't like it at all. Lydia wiggled uncomfortably under his grip, whining. "Angel!" she squeaked. "You're squeezing me."
"I-I think we should go home, Lydia. This is getting messy," Angel whispered, trying to slowly drag her away without anyone noticing. Even if he was a coward, he didn't want anyone to see him retreating and call him out on it.
"Go home?" Lydia repeated, much too loudly for Angel's taste. "Without the money for Mommy's heart?" She wiggled even harder than she did before, scratching and kicking against his frightened grip. "No! No, I want to get the money for Mommy! I want Mommy to get better!"
"Lydia, shh!" Angel protested, but to no avail. Lydia squirmed out of his grasp and pointed an accusing finger at him.
"I'm NOT GOING HOME!" she screeched. "We're gonna get Mommy's money or ELSE!"
Angel colored, glancing around embarrassedly at the group. Taryn, who was watching Lydia carefully, approached her gently and picked her up, looking at her softly. "What's wrong with your Mommy, honey?" she asked quietly.
Lydia was taken by surprise by this question, and stared at her blankly for a moment. But she finally opened her mouth again. "Mommy's heart doesn't work right anymore. So we're getting the thingy so we can sell it for enough money to get her a new one."

"Hmmm, a base of operations that could not be found by most passersby, seems appropriate for something that wreaks of mayjikal deception. I'd bet my stipend it has something to do with this soul and the beast it's stuck in."

Trrrb brought her hand to her chin, pausing to phrase her words, "If the beast has a nest it may have things it considers valuable stashed away. Barring gristly trophies, we could benefit" she glanced at the distraught child as the arachnoid quieted her dismay, "from giving the place a once over."

She breaks her gaze to swivel it onto Angel, "You've gotten in pretty deep, but I can tell you're in it for a serious cause. I think with our group, we could minimize the risks of a short excursion into the ruins."

For the sake of those we may lose, she thought to herself.

"I couldn't agree more, Trrrb." Aengus chimed in. He had almost felt his coin-pouch become heavier as the Air-Born had described the ruins, & now the excitement brought on by the thought of it was rushing through his veins. "Not only could this place provide us with invaluable information for our main objective, but the possible riches it holds could, potentially, fund our little rag-tag group for quite some time."

Walking over towards Taryn & Lydia, Aengus continued. "Of course, while I can't speak for the others, I'd be glad to contribute the majority of my cut of the profits towards buying a new heart for your poor mother. As much as it might pain me to part with such theoretical riches, I couldn't very well stand by, knowing your situation, & do nothing. So rest assured, Lydia, we will get the money you need."

("And, hopefully, there will be enough leftover for me to retire on.") Aengus thought silently to himself.

Lydia turned to listen to Aengus when he approached, with an increasing look of awe. Never had she ever considered that anyone would ever offer to help heal her mother. The mage they had found to put in her new heart had refused to do it for less than an astronomical price, despite how much they had begged and pleaded. There had never been any charity offered to them in their crisis. Now, in the face of this kindness, Lydia had no idea how to react.
Finally, she turned from Taryn's arms and latched herself around his neck, crying loudly with tears of joy. "Oh, you are the nicest person in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD!" She squealed, squeezing him passionately. Taryn smiled at him warmly. "That's kind of you," she murmured. Lydia cried louder. "Thank you thank you THANK YOU!" she bawled, hanging on him like a small sloth or baby koala. "You are so nice!"

A little surprised by this, Aengus hugged Lydia back & chuckled. "There there, little one, you're more than welcome. I assure you, I'm not the nicest person out there. But, like I said, I can't just ignore a situation like yours. Besides, traveling to a hidden city? Tracking down a powerful magical artifact? There's sure to be more than enough riches to go around, as long as we all work together. So keep your chin up, your game face on, & your spirits high. If you do that, we'll accomplish our goal in no time!" He said with a smile, aimed at both the adorable little girl in his arms & the charming young woman in front of him.

"That is, if everyone's agreed on our next course of action?" Aengus asked, turning towards the others. "I mean, it seems kind of obvious where we need to go, & we don't really want the trail to go cold."

Even Angel was smiling watching his sister cry gratefully in the man's arms. It was the first smile that had graced his features since they began their journey, and it looked a little...unrehearsed. His muscles weren't practiced for the expression of a feeling he didn't normally experience. But it was genuine, and he nodded gratefully to Aengus when he thought the other would see, since he couldn't very well shake his hand while the man was holding up his sister.

Lydia continued to squeal happily, wrapping her legs around Aengus' waist to hold herself up as she continued to cling to his neck. "You are my favorite person!" she squeaked, grinning at him broadly, nestling her head into the crook of his neck, obviously showing no signs of wanting down anytime soon.

Taryn smiled at the two of them with a vaguely maternal look in her eyes. "I think you've made a friend, love," she murmured quietly enough that the happy child couldn't hear.

Dee was flabbergasted by what angel had said. Replace a /heart/?! It sounded like madness to him, or worse, tempting something far worse to happen. Wasn't the heart what made a person who they were? Change that... and they wouldn't be the same person you knew... Would they? He shuddered at the thought of it, but kept it to himself, since Lydia seemed to be so happy with the idea.

"Good thing we have a guide now, right?" He looked up at the larger beast.

With a nod he said, "Yes, for this I will guide you there." And with that he scooped up the bolt of silk and took to the air with a flurry of wings and wind. Once airborn, he flew to one of the smaller skyhounds and, in a complicated aerial maneuver, tied the silk around her neck like a scarf.

"Hey! What's your name?!" Dee called after him. But it was hard to tell if he got his answer or not, because the whole group of them began to howl as they flew about each other. Rich and complex, there was something about it that was... deeper than wolfhowl. This was a song, a group come together and combining their voices into a single long note. And then, as the sound ended, they scattered, each going their own way, with their guide remaining overhead.

"Ah." Dee was overcome by what he had just heard. "Well... All I got from that is Storm Upon the Wind."

Trrrb stared up at the zeypherous hounds, tracing the patterns their serpentine bodies wrought in the air.
Images of her youth, spent in crowded studios learning balance, form and perchance cultivating grace , flashed passed her eyes. The connection seemed clear.


("A directive dance skirted with a warning of danger? No... that would be a ridiculous coincidence, there must be a more specific meaning for that arrangement. Similarity is what I'll have to chalk it up to" she thought.)


"I'll confirm my choice again, the ruins seem like our best bet."
After answering, Trrrb lower her sallet visor to hide her eyes. She wanted to keep watch of Aengus, hoping to discern more details about his motivations.
Any manling who leapt so naturally into political roles was always worth several evaluations. No hard feelings, guy, but someone that good has a reason for doing so.

((Welp, GovernorMuffin has writer's block right now, so he's asked that we treat William like he's just being quiet until he can think of something to contribute.))

"Well then, I guess that's settled. We really shouldn't keep our guide waiting, or let our quarry get more of a head-start than it already has. Especially since this little supply stop ended up being a bust. I mean true, we've got a lead, but that doesn't put gold in our pockets or food on the table. SO, we'd best get a move on."

Aengus waited eagerly for everyone to get ready. The sooner that they got moving, the better. He was glad to have seemingly endeared himself to Lydia, as she seemed like a very sweet child. Part of him wanted to smack himself over the head for promising the majority of whatever his share would end up being to help her, but it had to be done.

"Alright! Away we go!" Dee exclaimed, bounding ahead, excited at the idea of finding an old dragon-tale turned real. Though his enthusiasm didn't last long, as soon as they left the site where the town was, his feet began to complain about all this /walking/ and with far more to come. So he settled into a more moderate pace, and kept an eye out for any rivers flowing their way, which sadly, were none.

It was only an hour or two into their travels when the sky began to darken, overcome by swelling black clouds. "Looks like the storm is coming!" Dee exclaimed giddily, not even needing to look at the sky to feel all that water in the air. A distant rumble rolled through the air, but their guide was still airborn, circling with hardly a wingbeat, and probably bored to tears of their slow, landbound pace.

Lydia sat naturally on Aengus's hip with her arms still slung around his neck, not bothering to ask if he minded carrying her. He would not have to waste his own arm strength with it; she could hold herself up perfectly well. The only toll on her host would be possibly a sore back and the burden on his feet of having to walk with extra weight attached to him.
Angel followed patiently behind, keeping a little closer to Aengus than he otherwise would have to make sure he was within easy reach in case anything went wrong. Sometimes he hated having such a social little creature as the apple of his eye; it was very hard to be protective and antisocial at the same time when Lydia kept running up to everyone and jumping on them like they were family.
Taryn glided next to Dee, watching him carefully. He was one of the group she had yet to observe, and with eight tireless legs it was easy to keep up with him. She was quiet, simply observing his gait and his mannerisms. He was obviously a water element, of a more cheerful disposition, easily pleased. Didn't seem to have the same social inhibitions that the older elven had, but didn't talk quite as much as the taller of the humans. The shorter human was quieter, but very amusing when he did speak. The truth be told, she couldn't wait for another pun.

Aengus marched along with his new comrades, glad to be making at least some progress. Lydia's decision to cling to him, while somewhat inconvenient, was, nevertheless, quite endearing. He couldn't help but enjoy her kind & cheerful demeanor. It was certainly a pleasant change from the treatment that he usually received.

As a storm began to brew overhead, Aengus found himself thankful to be in possession of a wonderfully waterproof cloak. Though it hadn't really been of much use when Dee & his kin had been fighting, it would certainly prove helpful in the immediate future. With as much grace as he could muster, Aengus managed to cover Lydia with his cloak while continuing to carry her. While this may have compromised his own protection against the elements, it would, at the very least, protect the sweet little girl that was currently clinging to him from catching a cold.

Continuing along, Aengus couldn't help but silently acknowledge how odd the past few hours had been. He'd gone from.....well, his previous situation to traveling with a group of remarkably talented individuals & hunting down THE most valuable & sought after treasure in the land in virtually no time at all. Lady Luck had dealt him more than his share of crappy-hands over the years, forcing him to make his own luck on more than one occasion. This time, however, things were looking up.

Poor Dee, as their path lead to higher grounds he had more and more difficulty with the terrain. Hills left him puffing, steep slopes were a scramble, and when they came to a steep switchback path in a cliff, he stumbled and slid off the path, first one end, then tumbling snout over tail to the bottom.

"Water doesn't flow uphill!" He moaned, looking up at the daunting path ahead of him. His injured leg still ached and did they really have to do /so/ much walking in one day?

Their guide alighted on the trees at the top of the rise, their branches groaning at the bulk. "The storm is almost upon us and you're not yet halfway there." He was clearly annoyed. "You will not make it before the rains. But there is an old human tower above this rise. /I/ will fly above the winds." Without as much as a farewell he took off and was gone, just as the first fat drops of rain spattered on Dee's snout.

William, on the other hand, was having no trouble scaling the mountain, at times literally walking vertically up cliffs. He saw Dee struggling on the rocks and took pity on him, raising a flat platform from the rock below Dee's feet, turning it into an elevator of sorts. Knowing the strain it would put on him, he decided to hop on as it passed near him, and took a seat next to the dragon, palms firmly planted on the platform to keep control of it as it rose up the mountain.

He looked up at the serpentine creature. William had made animated sculptures before, but they always moved so sharply, he wondered briefly if he could possibly make a smooth, winding sculpture and move it like Dee did in the water. "I take it you aren't much of a walking type."

"I'll choose a river over a path anyday." Dee replied, not making any attempt to stand on the rocky lift. "To each their own element, I'm sure you wouldn't get far if asked to swim for a day." He wasn't saying it defensively, it was more a comment on how birds fly and moles dig, and never the other way around.

At least it was raining. Water and Air and Electricity all mashed together in one fierce event, who didn't like to see their element so wild? Dee watched the sky as the ground dropped away below and the rain poured down like a sheet. Ah, this was much better.

Peering over his rock lift, he watched how the others were faring. "You might want to offer them rides too."

Taryn was having no problem on the steep slope; not only were her eight legs somewhat suited to vertical surfaces, but her silk provided a portable safety line for if she should happen to slip. She did not seem at all pleased with the rain, however, and kept trying to turn them into ice, but the rain was coming too thick and fast for her to dodge the falling crystals. She pouted for a moment, then simply froze and entire dome of ice around herself, like a frozen umbrella.
Lydia huddled under Aengus' cloak, clinging even tighter to him than before. But the rain was now coming too hard for her to completely escape it, even if not the spray from outside, the pounding noise against the top of the cloak. She whined quietly, burying her face in Aengus' neck.
Angel plodded along miserably, soaked through, but not making a noise or a movement, except to draw his cloak around himself. He just walked right on through the rain, letting it run down him in little rivulets.
Glancing at the soaked gentleman, Taryn frowned in pity. She considered. Well, he probably wouldn't like a cold encasing of ice. She could put a small heat shield around him and the rain would evaporate before it hit him, but it would cause quite a bit of steam. Besides, the rock face was getting almost vertical. She had another idea. Skittering up until she was even with Angel, Taryn stopped him with one furry leg while she turned her massive abdomen upward and ejected a long thread of silk, which caught on an outcropping about ten yards above them. Pulling herself up until she was hanging by this thread, she then used her now-free legs to grab and hold Angel--a procedure that caused him much noisy panic--and slowly pulled herself up to the outcropping by her thread. Once on the ledge, she repeated this process, and so on up the cliff, much to Angel's dismay.
Lydia, peeking out from Aengus' cloak, thought this to be delightful, and giggled softly against her carrier's neck. "Angel..." she murmured softly.

Aengus chuckled a bit as he watched Taryn pull Angel up the cliff. "He doesn't seem to be enjoying the ride nearly as much as he should. Your brother really needs to loosen up." Noticing that Lydia was still getting a little wet from the rain, Aengus pulled up more of his cloak & wrapped it around her protectively, covering the small girl while exposing his own lower body to the rain. Though the cloak was waterproof, his pants certainly weren't, & quickly became soaked by the downpour.

Scaling the mountain proved a fairly simple task for the cloaked vagabond. A rain-soaked slope was no substitute for an ice-covered rooftop when it came to treacherous terrain, nor was sweet little girl a difficult burden when compared to a hefty sack gold, jewels, & various goods. Admittedly, the chill from the rain was a tad annoying, but it could always be worse. And, while he was tempted to do something about it, that would just tire him out long before they reached their destination.

Lydia giggled as she continued to watch Angel protest his new mode of transportation in loud gesticulations of fear and panic. Fortunately, the elf had the good sense not to wiggle too much while in midair and clutched firmly to the furry appendages that held him against the thorax of the spiderling--as well as pressed him against part of her human torso. Had he been in the mind to turn around, he might have noticed that his head was only inches below the most interesting part of her female human anatomy, and should he have chosen to, he might have had a very nice view for the ride. But Angel was hardly in the mood for ogling just then and paid no attention to the spiderling's chest.
The little elfling cuddled closer against Aengus as he pulled the cloak closer around her. She smiled patiently at his comment, then explained quietly (since his ear was so close) "Angel's afraid of lots of things. Sometimes he misses fun things cuz he thinks they're scary. But it's ok, cuz he doesn't have very much magic, so he's not very good at taking care of himself like I am. I can zap the bad guys. He can't do anything."

Reaching the top of the ridge, Dee could see the half-crumbled tower just peeking out from a small collection of trees. "Almost there everyone!" He called down to the others.

Working his way forwards, he saw how the whole thing leaned rather crazily and was covered in vines and moss. With a yip of glee he spotted a small pond, and made for it, though it was small, unflowing and covered in water weeds. There was just enough room for him to make some lazy laps, though his bulk made it overflow onto the already soaked and muddy ground.

Within that tower, a bonfire lay already waiting. Both smoke and the fire itself can be readily seen as the group comes closer. However, one figure can be seen as well. It's not clear if the figure is aware of the party's presence, or what kind of intentions or alignment is tied to the unknown person. But one thing is for certain; that tower is the quickest way out of the heavy, relentless storm.

As soon as the tower was in sight, Aengus shifted his pace from a brisk walk to a steady sprint, eager to get out of the rain. Light from what was presumably a fire acted as both a guiding beacon & a warning. Someone or something was already in the tower, & might not take kindly to intruders. However, at this point, they'd need to risk it. After all, while Dee might be enjoying the rain, the rest of them couldn't stay out in the storm much longer without at least one of them coming down with a cold. And that was a delay that they simply couldn't afford.

Dashing towards the tower, Aengus would have gone out of his way to make his approach as stealthy as possible. However, if Dee's aquatic shenanigans hadn't already alerted the tower dweller, or dwellers, to their presence, nothing would. Instead, he simply approached the tower & began inspecting the front door for signs of possible traps or alarms. Though there didn't appear to be any, he didn't want to chance walking into an ambush while accompanied by a small child.

Watching the party's various hill scaling antics, Trrrb hovered (no better footing than no footing at all) in the rear and kept an eye on the procession. Her wax kept the main seals of her armor watertight, so the rain wasn't hindering, but the cold was slightly bothersome. If she had been alone, she might have began sapping heat from the area around her but she didn't want to make the trip unpleasant for any of her companions.

At Aengus's sprint, Trrrb put on a slight burst of speed in order to arc over the rest of the party and touch down - making sure to land with as little noise as possible - near him while he was inspecting the entrance to the tower.

As she refolded her wings, making sure to wedge the water out lest something starts growing on them, she began speaking to him.

"How do you think we should proceed? The heat I can feel indicates that the bonfire is rather large; the occupant, or pants, had time to prepare it."

At her wordplay, she looked down. Trrrb had noticed the way he had been carrying the younger elf; she made gesture toward his legs.

"Ahh, I can help with that, if you would like. I imagine that extra weight could be a problem if the tower contains anything... unsavory."

"Thanks for the offer, but I'll be fine." Aengus replied, finishing his inspection. "I'd rather you be ready & able to handle what I can't, rather than bogged down helping me with what I can. After all, I'll die just as quick with my hands empty as I will with them full if I don't see my killer coming. But an extra pair of eyes, free of distraction, might notice them in time to do something about it."

"Besides, I'm not about to put this young lady in any more danger." Aengus took a moment to set Lydia down, gave her his cloak, then knelt & rested a hand on her shoulder. "I need you to stay out here until we've cleared the room, ok? I don't want anything bad happening to you, & I'm sure neither your brother nor your family back home do either. So you just hang back while we take a look around."

Rising to his feet, Aengus nodded at the others. Without his cloak, his full outfit came into view for the first time. It was....upscale, yet simple. Nice shirt, nice pants, nice shoes. Fine for someone who lived a simple life, but not quite suited to the kind of danger that he & the others were facing. Long sleeves seemed to strain uncomfortably around the wrists, but the reason why wasn't exactly clear.

Roughly a moment later, Aengus was ready. "Alright, there's definitely no alarms or traps set up. But that doesn't mean that there aren't people ready & waiting to jump us on the other side of the door. We need to be prepared for anything that may happen. So, should I lead, or would somebody else like to be the first in?"

((Ok. Anyone who feels like it, take the lead. Crumbly old tower, leaning, etc. Most likely no ambush, unless Greg says otherwise.))