Islands on Another World (GW2)

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Monkey Kitty
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Joined: Thu Oct 29, 2020 7:31 pm

Islands on Another World (GW2)

Post by Monkey Kitty »

((Continued from "Whispers from the Peaks"))



When they arrived on Summerset, the sun was shining brightly. It sparkled on the surface of the turquoise sea, and illuminated the striking purples and pinks of the coral formations. The air was about as warm as Black Marsh, but less heavy with humidity. There was a tang of salt spray on the wind, along with a faint hint of flowers as the breeze stirred the grass.

Their arrival point was a wayshrine just off a road that led to a bridge. There were only a handful of travelers this time of day, and most had no reason to take notice of one more band of tourists or adventure-seekers who had come to explore the islands...
Last edited by Monkey Kitty on Wed Mar 08, 2023 4:04 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Quaxo9
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Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2020 2:33 pm

Re: Islands on Another World (GW2)

Post by Quaxo9 »

Fira-Nar

No sooner had the group stepped off the dias that the wayshrine's stone had flashed in anticipation of a new arrival. An Argorian in mail armour with a great sword slung over her back allowed her tongue to taste the salt spray as she descended the few steps, paying no heed to any of the other people gathered at the wayshrine's base. Her left eye slid over to take stock of the gathering apparently almost as an afterthought. She stopped mid-stride and turned to face them, her mouth forming an approximation of a smile.

"Ulga! Mikael! What a surprise to see you here." That she was scanning the rest of the party was all too apparent, but her curiosity didn't detract from the genuine pleasure she expressed at seeing some friends.

"You have...quite the party here. I assume this isn't going to result in a friendly visit - count me in on whatever it is. Besides, we really should catch up. It has been too long."

Hands seated on her belt, she addressed the rest of the group. "I am Fira-Nar. It is my pleasure to correspond with you."
Monkey Kitty
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Joined: Thu Oct 29, 2020 7:31 pm

Re: Islands on Another World (GW2)

Post by Monkey Kitty »

Gwindor

The short journey gave all parties a chance to observe each other. One of the elves, in particular, had taken notice of his new traveling companions.

It would have been difficult not to notice Stefan. The man was tall, broad - and all his skin that was visible was covered with thick burn scars. The warrior wasn't someone easily overlooked.

The man's injuries didn't particularly surprise Gwindor. He had seen combat - brutal combat - and he was no stranger to witnessing the other various painful things that could happen to a body.

No, what surprised him was that Stefan had a wife. That somehow a marriage had survived whatever calamitous event that had caused such scars.

At first, Gwindor didn't notice Tempest's missing limb. It was a more subtle injury, and he sensed that the mage woman was not comfortable with scrutiny, so he did his best not to cast undue attention on her. When he noticed, it startled him.

He told himself that speculation was idle and pointless, but his mind couldn't stop turning this conundrum over and over. Finally, deciding he would risk being nosy over risking his curiosity never being satisfied, he asked Cullen hesitantly. "Forgive me - it is none of my business - but... was it difficult for you when your wife lost her arm?"

It was fairly clear to Cullen why the elf had asked. Tempest wasn't the only one in the party with an empty sleeve. "No," Cullen replied. "Not at all."

Gwindor's expression remained carefully neutral.

Cullen added, "It's true. I'm not just blowing smoke. Tempest was dying. The amputation of her arm saved her life. Compared to the thought of losing her... the arm was nothing. Less than nothing. The loss of a limb kept my wife with me - it's something I remember with relief, not regret."

"I see," Gwindor replied, with an expression Cullen still couldn't quite read.

Tempest, for her part, sensed a deep but unspoken sadness in Gwindor.
Monkey Kitty
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Re: Islands on Another World (GW2)

Post by Monkey Kitty »

Ulga gra-Shatul

"Fira!" Ulga replied with a grin. "I didn't expect our paths to cross so far from Black Marsh!"

Mikael, too, acknowledged her with a smile and a "Well met!"

"Nehprit is here too!" Ulga added.

The Bosmer's back had been turned when Fira appeared, and at the sound of her name, Nehprit turned around and waved.

Ulga introduced the members of the company - glancing at the elves to make sure she had their names right, since they were new to her - and they greeted Fira in turn. Anakita freed Buttons' head from her satchel so Buttons could 'say hello' too. Buttons lightly gnawed the leather and watched the proceedings with interest.

"We're here to deal with a daedric cult," Ulga explained conversationally. This wasn't likely to surprise Fira. "You're welcome to join in, if you don't have pressing matters to attend to."
Monkey Kitty
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Joined: Thu Oct 29, 2020 7:31 pm

Re: Islands on Another World (GW2)

Post by Monkey Kitty »

The Vampire

She smelled them and heard the faint crunch of their footsteps on the forest floor before they were close enough for her to see them. Elves. Quite a large company of them.

The vampire dropped to a crouch, hoping the group would overlook her and pass by - but she was not so lucky. They turned toward her, emerging from the forest into the clearing one by one.

"I am no threat to you," she said, remaining crouched and staring up at them.

Their leader stepped forward, regarding her, taking her in at leisure - the black hair, almost pearlescent skin, and unnaturally green eyes.

"No, you aren't a threat," he agreed. "But you will prove quite useful to us..."

Her eyes darted around quickly, but there were too many of them, approaching from all sides. The vampire decided to make a run for it anyway, and suddenly everything went black with a brutal impact to the back of her skull.
Quaxo9
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Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2020 2:33 pm

Re: Islands on Another World (GW2)

Post by Quaxo9 »

Fira-Nar and Nairn Tuckamore

It was certainly an...eclectic group. Fira nodded politely at each person as they were introduced, taking the opportunity to give them a quick study. It was strange. There was something she couldn't quite put her finger on. Some of these people...seemed a bit odd. Like they didn't quite belong. Certainly Fira was aware that Tamriel was large and that she hadn't been everywhere, but still. Some of the elves seemed so uncomfortable, and then there was the young Bosmer's eyes that didn't quite fit her face. And was that a large lizard or a small dragon in that woman's bag? Her attentions returned to Ulga when the purpose of their party was revealed. She grunted and muttered a protective oath out of habit.

"Of course. I was on my way to pick up a job for the Guild, but they aren't expecting me so soon. I would be glad to join you."

The invitation accepted, the party moved onward - largely following Ulga and Mikael's movements, she noticed. So, they really weren't from around here. Though questions formed in her mind, she held her tongue and trusted in time to reveal what she wanted to know. In the meantime, she was more than willing to catch up.

"Mikael, it has been a very long time - how is Iliana, the children?"

Nairn was paying frightfully little attention to the rest of the party. The new lizard person was interesting, but she was now at the front of the pack and the Norn wished to stay exactly where she was - bringing up the rear. Even if she paused to inspect a flower or brick or shrine, her long legs could catch her back up again in no time, so Nairn thought at least. Besides, being behind everyone else gave her a chance to keep an eye on party interactions. Several were of interest, but the newness of everything kept her from true study. As she walked, she picked up small samples of things to tuck into her satchel or pockets.
Monkey Kitty
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Re: Islands on Another World (GW2)

Post by Monkey Kitty »

Mikael Stormcrow

"They are well," Mikael replied when Fira inquired after his wife and children. "The twins are growing up fast. We've been laying low after some difficulty with Iliana's ex-husband. That's actually why we're on this mission. Julius was in the cult we're seeking. He attempted to take Vlad and Jera for some kind of sacrifice, and when that didn't work, he went after Iliana's sister."

It still made Mikael sick to think of how Julius had manipulated and used Estella. Preying upon a young woman's sympathies, charming his way into her bed, and then when she had become pregnant with his child, attempting to take her life and killing the unborn baby. It was cruel beyond Mikael's imagining. He glad that Estella was safe and healing.

Suddenly, a portal flickered to life in front of them. It was so sudden that Mikael stopped dead and stared. A cloaked and hooded figure was silhouetted within.

"Do not interfere in the affairs of the Webspinner Disciples!" the figure intoned. "Your presence here will not be tolerated."

"That was fast," Mikael muttered. How did they know of the group's arrival so quickly?

The figure faded, but for a moment the portal remained open.

"You realize this is a trap, right?" Anakita asked conversationally.

"I do," Mikael replied. "But perhaps we should take the bait. We're prepared for a confrontation. We might as well continue to follow the trail for now, however obvious the lure."
Monkey Kitty
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Re: Islands on Another World (GW2)

Post by Monkey Kitty »

The Vampire

She was unharmed. When she awoke and surveyed the situation, other than the wound to her head from being knocked unconscious, she found no damage to her person. Her armor and weapons had been removed, of course, leaving her in the simple traveling clothes she had worn beneath, but she had suffered no further injury after blacking out. She was in some sort of cell - but two of the four walls were transparent magical barriers, not stone. Try as she might, no matter how many times she threw herself against the barriers, they didn't budge.

Being trapped worried her tremendously... as did how hungry she was getting. If she didn't find some way to feed soon, it would be difficult to keep control. The absence of jailers made her suspect that the hunger was the goal, not a side effect.

For hours she paced, thinking, but no solutions presented themselves. She felt red flash behind her eyes as the need for blood grew stronger.

Eventually, something happened - but not what she expected. No one entered her cell. Instead, magical barriers went up in the adjoining area, creating a holding space for a second prisoner.

To her shock, the person forced into the next cell was just a child, a dark-haired little girl of seven or eight. Why would whoever had taken her prisoner want this young one? She could think of many uses for a vampire - her kind made effective weapons, if difficult ones to control. But why the child, too?

"It's going to be alright..." she told the girl reassuringly. "We'll get out of here. Don't worry."

She wasn't sure how, though. She had no way of saving herself, let alone another person.

The child regarded her with wide eyes, but didn't speak.

Instead, she heard another voice. "You won't save the girl. You will drink her blood, and take her life. But this shouldn't worry you. The child carries a curse, one that will sever reality if she survives. You'll be doing her - and the world - a favor by ending her."

"No!" the vampire replied angrily, desperately.

The wall separating the two cells began to fade.
Quaxo9
Posts: 1117
Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2020 2:33 pm

Re: Islands on Another World (GW2)

Post by Quaxo9 »

Fira-Nar and Nairn Tuckamore

The sword was in her hands and at the ready before the hooded figure finished his first sentence. When it was clear nothing was coming through the portal to meet them, she lowered her elbows slightly.

"Into the maw, then. Always nice when they come to you for a change instead of having to chase them around..."

Squaring up, she entered the portal and found herself at the bottom of a set of stairs. A rattling sound filled the stairwell. Skeleton guards. As she rushed up to meet them, she thought they looked more like a skeleton crew. They barely slowed the party down as they trampled up the stairs. The tall woman suddenly appeared ahead of her, behind one of the skeleton guards which promptly lost its head. She disappeared around the corner...but they soon caught up as the woman had stopped in a larger open room with a magical barrier on one side. Inside - two people, one of them a child. Strange. At least, she thought so until she realized that the other occupant of the cell was a vampire.

"You brought us here to watch a feeding? What is the meaning of this?" Fira yelled toward the ceiling.
Monkey Kitty
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Joined: Thu Oct 29, 2020 7:31 pm

Re: Islands on Another World (GW2)

Post by Monkey Kitty »

Anakita Snakecharm

Too easy.

The words ran through Anakita's head over and over.

This is all too easy.

They had been led, as if by the hand, to this place. How long would they have had to scour the islands - how many people would they have had to question - to find their way here? They might not have found it at all.

But ever so conveniently, someone had shown up almost the moment they arrived and directed them. It seemed too fortuitous to be a coincidence.

Fighting the animated skeletons in a dramatic sweep up the stairs made for an impressive visual, certainly, but this too seemed easier than it should have been. The skeletons put up some resistance, but they collapsed easily back into the piles of bones from which they had been conjured.

Was this really all the cultists could muster to defend their interests? Or were the skeletons simply fodder to make it less obvious that the tower was essentially unguarded...?

Anakita's musings were abruptly interrupted when they entered a chamber and saw the scene laid out before them.

A child cowered in the corner. On the opposite side of the large cell, another being faced the wall. Anakita couldn't tell exactly what the adult was. The woman looked like an elf, but pale, and the eyes were odd. This new elf was in an awkward crouch, arms wrapped around herself, nails digging into her own skin as she strained against some unseen force.

Both were bleeding. But as Anakita stared at them, she surmised that neither had inflicted the wounds on the other. The injuries were too even and regular, the work of a knife or sword rather than teeth or fingernails, and neither had a weapon.

"Please," the strange elf begged. "Get her out of here. I don't want to hurt her."

Anakita hit a button on the wall. An obvious button. And the barrier fell.

Again, the thought rose in her brain. Too easy. Much, much too easy...
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