The desert journey was harsh and the months of sun burned down on our heroes as they made the journey. The now nomadic tribe was tough though, and carried on, determined to survive even as they fled the lands that had been their homeland. Dread terror marred the journey as they knew whatever darkness had taken up in those mountains would not spare them if it caught up. A grim atmosphere marred the villagers, even as Gallows did what he could to keep their spirits high. Strangely, Leets found that while he was as unnoticed as always, folks seemed to always be in higher spirits around him, almost as if his presence bolstered them.
A few weeks into the journey, the sky went dark and the villagers panicked, believing that the end was nigh. Clearer heads examined the sky and found that instead, a huge flying mass of rock was traversing over them, covering the lands in darkness for miles around under it. All were glad when the sun returned after it had passed, even if it brought the burning heat with it.
Occassional battles with monsterous creatures along the way left the defenders a bit thinner, but also provided well needed chunks of food for the traveling villagers as they crossed the hot desert sands. In the distance they passed the ancient city of Wisdon once more, noticing it moving through the sands as they went.
It was a couple of months when they crossed into the scattered grass and dunes of the northern wastes, and arrived at the edge of a small village of strange people. These people were lean as a rule and tanned, having various shades of fur over parts of their bodies and notably catlike ears. The village was rural and located next to a river, a sister village across it. The houses in it were made of wood, primarily of a very open air style to let the wind travel through them. The travelers were tired as they arrived, but they noticed the strange symbols that marked many of the houses, and the various incenses that came from the various braziers around the village.
Felix sighs with a bit of relief. Cat people weren't too bad from his experience at Silmaria, so hopefully they'd be good hosts for them and the recently made nomadic village.
"Thank god for some civilization," the apprentice magician mutters. Turning to Jan, he asks, "You know anything about this place, Jan?"
They were notably quite different than the ones Felix had met in Silmaria. They had less fur and more human faces overall.
A number of them were gathering, talking and heading over to the rather huge crowd that was following Felix and the others.
"Hmph. No, not really." Jan cooly answered Felix as he went through the motions to tend to the weaponry on the car they had brought with them. He tried to figure out how much longer the machine was going to last at this rate.
Overall, he wasn't really as surprised as he should have been with stumbling over yet another unknown village. It was simply an opportunity to rest, restock, and re-evaluate the situation they've left to stew for several weeks. And as usual, the majority of viable plans they could possibly concoct broke down to little more then live long enough to make a better plan.
"We won't get anything down just sitting here," he mumbled as an aside to Felix and tried to push away the weariness of travel to - he hoped - appeal to the locals' hospitable side.
"Besides which, it'd be rude to just stand and stare."
Re: Jan
The car had seen better days. Weeks of driving in the desert hadn't done well for the paint finish nor for the engine. Maybe a week. Maybe two. If they could get it to someone who could maintain it, it could definitely be patched up.
He found, oddly though, a chicken feather in the engine while he was checking.
And odder still, a familiar red bird sitting on top of the car when he shut it, regally preening with...an envelope tied around it's leg?
The negotiator let out a sigh, rubbing his eyes as he resisted the urge to call the red bird a chicken. It was a mighty struggle. Eventually, he nodded at the familiar bird.
"I see. Even now he's watching out for us, isn't he." He reached over and lightly began to scratch the bird's head as he undid the tie on the envelope. Once it was off, he opened it up and read.
A proud man stepped forward, tall and lean with purple streaks weaving in beautiful symbols down his shoulders and across his bare chest. He had a long blue tail and sharp pointed ears. "I am Jesin and you have come to the town of Rascal. We are unused to so very many visitors at one time," He prompted.
Dracos
"We are simply guides," Leets replied respectfully, gesturing to himself, Jan, Felix, and Mary, "to these refugees of Baskar. Their village was destroyed some time ago, and we promised to help them find a new settlement."
He tried to be as diplomatic as possible, despite not being a negotiator like Smith. They appeared decent at least, but who knew if they retained any predatory instinct and how much remained.
The letter was in a flowing, golden script, seeming almost imprinted on the page. Jan could almost hear the old man's voice as he read the words.
Jan,
"We do not mourn the loss of those who die fulfilling their destinies" once spoke the Forestmaster of the Darken woods. I have fulfilled mine twice over now and yet again watched the tenacity of mankind to survive when all is against it. As you are reading this, I no longer am among the existing. I have finally gone to the death which claimed me long ago. As Origin declared when we once again crossed paths, I am a memory of what was. A relic of a being long deceased. Once I had many names. Lightholder by my kinsmen. Bah'mut by those of Ishtar. El'i by the elves. Skyblade by plainsman. The Great Dragon Paladine in the heartlands of Solmania.
Fizban was one I took ages back and view rather fondly. Throughout all the years, I have always sought to give mankind what they needed to overcoome the darkness they face. To free themselves from those whoo would enslave them. I thought this task was done on my home world of Krynn when, through the bravery of many, the allfather was driven back and the world allowed to prosper under the condition that we gods never again set foot upon it.
It's strange how things go. I remember your early searches for whatever was causing this. Your hunt for the beginning, the earliest folks here. I watched this, seeing in you the fire to unite and the growing wisdom to face the changing world where others were too meek.
But, since I am gone now... Before all else, I was here. Or rather a land I made. A mountain where a hero was allowed to rest, waiting for his tireless friend to finish his journey before the two of them moved on to the heaven that awaited them for their bravery. Unattached truly to the physical world, this land of dreams was torn off by the passing bulk of the sleeping demon. My works could not so easily be destroyed though and as a portion of myself was contained in it, my specter was brought with it. Slowly, the lands were formed around this point, the root of this world. I watched them grow, thinking that here was a new people to thrive in a new world and so would I be there with light to help them when they stumbled.
Eventually I became aware of the true horror of what was going on. The demon had latched onto that piece of essence and was using it as a ladder to pull itself free. It was a strong one. Too strong for me to drive off or kill, but neither was that my way. Worse, this demon slowly was rotting this land of dream. As you know, his awakening is not far away and there is truly none of sufficient power to fight him. My study of this world revealed two things though. The first is that if my part is sundered, he would fall back into the abyss he came from. But if this is done prematurely, the world will crack and shake itself apart. Saving the universe at the cost of the world. The demon was greedy though and established his towers. Tools to manipulate the world around it and bringing fragments of his own world into being here to further strengthen himself.
As you've discovered, these can be used against him. A strength and a weakness... with them, he can be slowed, forced to slumber another eon while the world is strengthened. Were his path to freedom broken then, he would be trapped forever beneath the surface of the world.
To sunder my land from this, the two friends must be reunited.
Your pain is great, young negociator, but you and your friends cannot walk this path alone. I foresee others who will aid you. Others who will hinder you.
The power of words is the power of unity. To bring those whose power is greater and lesser than one's own together. The power of courage to stand tall against the darkness and strike deep into it's dreams. The fierce initiative to fight when all is gone. Each of you have great strength. The world is inherited by those who have the strength to live in it.
I wish you well Jan and await the glorious sunrise at the end of the dark night.
The bird cawed at Jan, fluttering about a bit sadly.
Felix nods in agreement with Leets' explanation of their situation. "We've been traveling for a long time through the desert, and we apologize for any inconvinience we might cause with our large numbers."
Turning to where Jan seems preoccupied with a bird and its envelope... "What does the letter say, Jan?" Felix asks, arching his head in curiosity. "Or something personal?"
The old crone of an elder coughed as she made her way forward, standing beside young leets with the help of the younger Gallows.
"I am the Elder Syvil of what was the village of Baskar. I ask to speak to your village leader and ask if we may stay here for we are weary from our journey," She violently coughed. "Through the long desert."
The man considered and nodded. "I will take a few of you to talk with our elder, Kolin of the Mists. The rest of you must wait out here until we figure out how to deal with so many people at once," He said apologetically.
Dracos
"It's Fizban's parting words." Jan muttered as he carefully placed the envelope away within the folds of his vest as he tried to calm the bird. He took a deep breath, and snapped to attention as his features smoothed. Turning to face the leader of the cat tribe they had found themselves in, he did what he could to make Fizban's sacrifice for them not be wasted.
Jan walked up to the person in charge. "Excuse my earlier rudeness, Sir Jesin. My name is Jan Smith, and I'd like to ask if you would be open to negotiate for supplies for the people we're leading to safer lands. Perhaps even information?"
"Ah, but you have a silver tongue good man. It is not my place though. I shall take you to our elder and you may speak with her on this."
The man strode back through the low grasses as Jan, Leets, Felix, Gallows, and Elder Syvil followed him to a slightly larger house with notably plenty of braziers and symbols around it. A pungent aroma of... cinnamon? filled the house as they were lead into a large room, several soft cushions provided as seats as an ancient woman sat in front. She had sharp green eyes despite her age and white fur. Her body was practically a painting with all the tattoos and markings over it. She looked over them and seemingly through them.
"Greetings travelers from afar. I sense great disaster brings you to our humble village. I am the eldest of the Rascal tribe, Kolin."
Felix noticed there was a sense of mystic power about the place.
Dracos
"Indeed. A demon drove the Baskar Tribe away from their homes, and we guided them through the deserts for a long time now."
The woman nodded, as if she already knew and was merely going through the formality of asking. "There has been a darkness to the west in my visions. That must be it. We do not have the resources to house so many for a long time though."
Dracos
"Thank you. Is there anything we can do for you in exchange for your hospitality?"
"Mmm," The crone pondered. "I see that you are a solver of troubles. Perhaps there is something you could help us with. Our neighbor village of Koren has been...suspicious of us of late. They've not openly stated why but I do not like this. If you could resolve that, it would be plenty."
Dracos
"Right. If I can help this way, I will." Jan nodded in agreement with the elder. He turned towards the others. "You may want to stay behind and rest if you want."
Leets shrugged, his expressiong coming off as wry resignation. "Nah. We've gone this far already," he replied. "What's a little more then?"
"'sides, might as well find out what the area's like," he added with a nod to the local elders, "since it might be useful to know if we have to move on again."
"Yeah, I ain't much fer sittin' on my rear, 'neither. I'll be goin' with ya, an' stretchin' my legs fer a bit."
"Let's survey the river in question first. Maybe something's there that's causing the problem between them." Jan led the way, after getting the location of it from the cat people's leader.
The party made it's way over the thin grass and through the village to the river where they could see another small village in the same style on the other side of the river. A rickety wood bridge provided an easy way over the river, though it was not large or deep enough to provide a danger to swimmers either.
Across the river they could see several young men, similar in many ways to the villagers of Rascal, but taller and sturdier, their bodies strong as they swung and practiced with huge double sided clubs.
Dracos
"Excuse me, gentlemen?" Jan cleared his throat to get their attention as he stood at ease before them. "My name is Jan Smith, and we've been asked by the leader of the neighboring village to help ease tensions between your group and theirs."
The young men turned, checking out the odd visitors.
"Huh? Who are you?" One impudent redheaded punk questioned. "And what's with the strange outfits?"
A slightly older one eyed him but didn't correct. "Ease tensions? Meh, stop stealing food and it'll all be fine. You should talk to the chief instead though."
"People from the southeast, and this is how we dress." The negotiator smoothly answered the punk. "Where would the elder be? It'll probably be for the best if I talked to them."
"Yeah? What's with the small ears, huh? Figures," The tough guy taunted.
"Hmph." The other speaker didn't seem like he wanted to say that much. "In the back of the town. It's the big house." He turned back to working out on his wood post.
"Friendly lot, aren't they?" Felix whispers to Jan, not having much to say in Jan's field of expertise. Let him do any negotiating that needs to be done.
"Thank you very much." The negotiator led the group away, not giving any clues to answer Felix or the others until they were in town proper. "Always keep a poker face. They probably heard you with that whisper, Felix."
"Whoops..." Felix mutters. "Sorry. I'll keep that in mind in the future."
Making their way through the town, it was similar in construction but with a much more martial build. Practically everyone they saw seemed to be very fit. The chief's house wasn't hard to find either, being the largest house in the village and decorated with fabrics and bones in a strangely tribal fashion sense.
Dracos
Leets ghosted along, ready to react on a hair-trigger at the first sign of trouble. The villagers seemed like a decent sort so far, but since their group represented the enemies of this village, it didn't seem too odd to be a mite cautious.
The bones being displayed certainly didn't help ease him, though he subconsciously guessed that they were probably thrifty with whatever it was they hunted in these lands.
"Try to act calmly towards anything you come across. That's the first rule of being a negotiator." Jan explained to the others.
There was no outward acknowledgement of Jan's advice, though Leets seemed less conspicuous with his (borderline) paranoia. Assuming he hadn't accidentally triggered his vanishing trick again, of course.
"I'll let ya do the talkin' 'ere. I don't particularly want 'ta be fillin' an entire village full 'a holes. If more 'a them punks like red step up, though, I'mma put 'em down."
Stepping into the chief's hut, they found a large central room, a well built young man stepping in their way as they entered, speaking strongly but not hostilely. "It is the custom of the village for guests to be announced. Who are you and why do you seek our chief?"
Dracos
"We're asked by village of Rascal to try and put an end to the tensions between their village and yours."
"What? Where'd you come from?" He stepped back, a bit surprised at Leet's appearance, his fur bristling.
"Fix it? Hmph, I'm not happy about it but the chief is unplacable. You'll have to talk to him. Your names?"
Dracos
Jan quickly introduced the group to the man. "Is there anything we should know before we go in? We don't want to offend your leader."
Jan quickly introduced the group to the man. "Is there anything we should know before we go in? We don't want to offend your leader."
Leets blinked unsteadily at the guard's reaction. Well, at least that answered whether or not he was still tense.
"Sorry, I'm sort of forgettable," he said placatingly, "it happens all the time."
"His lordship Koren is not one for mincing words. He prefers directness."
The man turned introducing them to the empty hall, or it was empty, but not for long as a towering mountain of a man stepped forward, sitting down on a sort of tribal throne and gesturing for the others to do the same. "You wish to solve the problems between our villages? Why not start by convincing the Rascals to stop stealing from our fields."
Dracos
"I would, but they don't strike me as thieves." Jan responded directly, matching the leader's tone exactly, "If they were thieves they wouldn't care to patch things up with your village."
"Hmph, while it is odd of them.. who else would be stealing from our fields in such quantities?" Koren roared back at them. At least, they think he roared. It could easily have been his normal speaking voice, such a man was he.
Dracos
"Do you mean to say you never actually saw who was stealing from your fields?" Leets questioned, looking for clarification from Koren's loaded statement.
"They've been sneaking in during the night. We've posted guards but somehow there's some taken every night."
Dracos
"But basically you aren't certain that it's them then, just that someone has been sneaking past your guards," Felix comments at that answer, agreeing with Leets given what Koren chose to reply at the query.
"What kind of crops do you harvest?" Leets asked curiously. Maybe it would clue them in to why the Rascals were suspects.
"Corn, wheet, tomatoes, grain," he replied, a bit perturbed at their response, his lips frowning a bit.
Dracos
"And they just vanish from storage?" Leets asked curiously. "Not left behind already eaten?"
"Correct, and no other group of people is nearby. A single person would have no use for such quantities as has gone missing."
The man was growing a bit calmer as he discussed it with them, a sort of grudging respect for the businesslike manner they had been maintaining.
Dracos
"Disappearin'? You sure there ain't no others 'round? Travelers, nomads or somethin'? Animals, maybe? I seen plenty 'a critters back on 'tha ranch that could tear a hole in stores, if you ain't wise 'ta their ways.."
"And, do you believe we could inspect the warehouse for such damages? Or any other ways that the foodstuffs could've been extracted from the building?"
"A single person, huh, so a lot has goine missing in one night then," Leets repeated, adding to the growing list. While it wasn't enough to convict the Rascals, it certainly didn't argue their innocence.
"When did they first start vanishing? Has anything strange happened before the food started getting stolen?"
"The travelers who recently entered there village and the emisary from the south are the only ones who have been in the area recently," The man shrugged. "You may investigate if it brings an end to it. It's been about a week."
Dracos
"Hm. The emissary, what did they come here for?" Leets asked curiously, as they were the only unknown currently involved.
"Some empire to the south wanted us to become part of it by alliance, but we of Koren stand alone and have no need of things from far off empires." Koren looked almost offended by the thought of being subservient to another city.
Dracos
Leets nodded, absorbing the facts, though puzzled at how they fit together. "All right, I suppose there's nothing left but to try and catch your 'culprits' in the act," he said, sparing a glance at the others. "That all right with you all?"
"Go ahead, you'd have my thanks if you manage it."
Dracos
"Hm. Let's head out and inspect it, then. Have a good day." Jan nodded towards the elder as they headed off to the fields. "I think that empire to the south might have a lot to gain if they swept in and tried to help these people if they were missing food."
Leets noticed a younger boy watching them from hiding near the elder's house as they exited and started towards the fields.
Dracos
Leets blinked, returning the boy's watchful expression with his own curious one.
The boy was a young villager, lean but with a naive look to his eyes, quickly scooting off as he noticed he was being watched back.
Dracos
Finding the experience a bit odd (as he has never been watched closely before anytime recently), Leets made a mental note to investigate if the younger boy showed up again.
For the moment, they had other issues to deal with.
They arrived and began to investigate the fields, asking anyone around if they had seen any other suspicious people. They took care to check out the warehouses and food silos as well, trying to see if maybe someone was trying to sneak other things out as well.
Talking to the guards on the silos and checking the field, they discovered only food was vanishing, usually large chunks of it at a time with the guards on duty generally having no recollection of what happened, apparently falling asleep on duty during the incidents.
Dracos
"Did you guys eat during guard duty? Might've been spiced with something to knock you out. Or it could be something mystical in nature." Jan looked over at the group's remaining mage.
"Do you think you can scan for magic that's constantly cast? Maybe like sleep spells or anything else that's used often."
"No, we eat beforehand," One of the guards answered patiently, somewhat embarassed at the notion.
Dracos
"I can certainly try, I suppose," Felix replies after a little thought. Concentrating, he summons the mystic energies he can channel to aid his eyes and other senses to feel out for any residual traces of magic cast in the area. If there are any, he can try to pinpoint them and focus on them to maybe possibly figure out what their purpose was.
There was a kind of magical residue in the air and around the front of the plants, but it was very very faint. Probably not a direct spell but some side effect of something.
Dracos
"Can you tell us what you remember from the last time you were on guard duty? Things you saw, sounds you heard? That sort of stuff?"
"Sure. It was mostly guard duty as normal, until well...there was a strange scent in the air. I don't remember much after that, only that the crops were gone shortly afterwards and we alerted the chief again."
Dracos
"There are some traces of magic around here, though very faint," Felix comments as he focuses on those traces of magic a bit more, trying to see if he can get anything more useful out of his magical senses.
Mary grunts a bit to himself.
"Any 'a this magic soundin' familiar to ya'll? How common would it be fer people ta have the kinda magic strength ta do this ta ya'll over 'an over without ya noticin' anythin'?"
Felix found it too faint to tell details. Definitely magic was done here, but it was either weak magic or extremely skilled magic designed not to leave much of a trail.
The left guard bristled, "Well, it's obvious. The only ones who deal in all that mystic crud at all is those cowards over at Rascal. No one else around does things like that."
Dracos
Leets ignored the propagandist attitude for the moment. "Can you describe this... scent?" he prodded, "Was it something familiar? Like what you can find around this area?"
"He means that it could've been some kind of drug. Did the people that came to visit look or use anything advanced looking?"
"Sort of a sweet scent," The man answered, considering. "Drug? I don't think so... people?" He sounded like he wasn't quite sure what Jan was getting to it.
Dracos
Leets mentally sighed at the needless complications. "It's kind of like... well, in this case, it's like when you breath in too much smoke. It makes you disoriented and sometimes sleepy," he tried explaining with his own limited knowledge.
"I suppose, we didn't find anything we could track. Well except for some crushed sections of the field towards where the food was stolen, heading out of the village.
Dracos
"Crushed..." Leets immediately pounced, feeling like the cat that finally cornered the mouse. "Can you show that to us?"
"Sure," And so the guardsman did. The party was lead to a section towards the edge where the plants looked notably abused. Portions were stripped clean and in fact, certain parts looked crushed as if a large crew or big animal had come through.
Dracos
"Well, at any rate, it looks like we'll need to hide ourselves away and suppliment your guard duty. Do they come every night? Any specific time of the last attack? Lastly, is there anything else strange going on in local affairs you can educate us about that might relate to this?"
"We've had stuff missing every night...but some nights just a bit," The man answered, the hour starting to get late. "We need to get back to guard duty. You can stay if you'd like to help,"
Dracos
"Yeah, we'll help you out. We have a measure of interest invested in this mess. Don't freak out later on, though. My powers force me to change if I use them to fight." Jan warned the two guards as he wandered off. "Everyone, scatter to different sides of the field, if you see anything, give a shout."
[17:08] Dracos: And so darkness came, the crew hanging out, spread liberally among the crops so that they'd be able to catch whenever a thief, big or small, approached.
[17:11] Dracos: The moon rose above them as the night moved on, the guards a bit uncomfortable, but one admitting they were glad to have the extra eyes.
[17:12] Dracos: It was a bit past midnight, when they were starting to think that nothing was going to happen, that Leets spotted a young boy hurrying off from the fields, a freshly picked section nearby.
[17:15] Leets: His brows furrowed as he watched the suspicious boy flee. Odd, but having heard the guard's testimony, he shouldn't be too surprised if they left something out. He glanced towards the field the boy fled from, wondering if there was something there he should know about.
[17:16] Dracos: It looked like every other crop field. The boy was making his way into the desert. A few more minutes and he'd be gone. He probably slipped in with the guards earlier, given Leets didn't notice anyone coming to the fields.
[17:20] Leets: It was a lead, though not what they were expecting. Leets gestured to Jan to follow, before tracking down the escaping boy.
[17:21] Jan: Jan, barely spotting Leet's gesture, began to follow after. Seemed they had managed to catch the thief.
[17:22] Dracos: The kid was hurrying off, away from the village to the north, across the less grassy plains. He didn't have much cover, but it was night anyway.
[17:24] Leets: Leets kept an easy pace with the other boy. Being a thief himself, there was no way he was going to let himself live it down by losing track of this kid.
[17:24] Dracos: Continuing to follow, they eventually came to a bit of a hillside, the kid moving around it cautiously, glancing back for a moment to see if he was being followed!
[17:26] Jan: Jan wasn't that bad of a hand at trailing people, but the kid's sudden movement caught him offguard, causing him to quickly scurry behind cover with more noise than was needed.
[17:27] Leets ducked out of sight, focusing on that trace of oddness that marked his ability. Nothing here, look away.
[17:29] Dracos: The kid was evidently not an expert as he didn't notice either of them, continuing down along into a sort of hidden valley behind the hillside... a couple of voices faintly hearable there from this distance.
[17:31] Leets: Too far to hear. Leets snuck closer, half focusing on the voices, half focusing on not being seen or heard.
[17:34] Dracos: Another sort of young kids voice, a bit deeper was talking, "ooh, more corn!" Crunching could be heard as well.
[17:38] Jan: "It's not polite to steal food from others, you know." Jan stepped out of his hiding spot to face the kids.
[17:39] Leets groaned. Too late to stop this now. He remained in hiding though, counting off heads and seeing if they coincided with how much food was stolen.
[17:41] Dracos: Stepping out he got a good view of them. One a kid, clearly from one of the villages looking aghast as he turned around to face Jan. The other well... the large creature beside the kid was the kind of thing you didn't see every day, about as tall as jan was at the shoulder, the reptilian villian blinked bright purple eyes as the moonlight glittered along it's multicolored irridiscient scales. "Hey, this is my dinner!" The 'other
[17:41] Dracos: voice called back.
[17:41] Dracos: Jan was facing off against what looked to be a midsized dragon.
[17:45] Dracos: The two were standing outside what looked to be a small cave carved into the hillside.
[17:45] * Leets blinked. Then blinked again, mentally trying to match up crushed fields with the dragon.
[17:49] Dracos: Well, the animal was sort of big enough. He could've done some of it.
[17:51] Leets: Might as well get it out. Stepping from hiding (and appearing as harmless as possible in case the dragon could breath fire), he asked as politely as he could, "Have you ever been in the village, Li... Dragon?"
[17:52] Dracos: "Hey, stay away from Barney." The kid leapt in front of the dragon defensively.
[17:52] Dracos: "The food fields? a few times."
[17:52] Jan: "You guys are causing a lot of chaos. The two villages are nearly at each others throats over this, y'know." Jan reasonably stated.
[17:53] Leets: ...Barney? Well, he was certainly colorful enough. Still... One last puzzle piece needed. Leets experimentally sniffed.
[17:55] Dracos: The boy looked a bit contrite, "I..know, but what can I do..." "huh?" The dragon seemed a bit more naive. sniffing, a bit of colored fumes leaving his nostrils. "Someone else is there."
[17:55] Dracos: He smelled something odd...it wasn't quite sweet though. He wasn't close enough to really get a good waff of whatever the dragon was snorting though.
[17:57] Jan: "If this keeps up, lots of innocent people could die. Besides, it's not good to be dishonest with your own people."
[17:59] Leets: Not quite as overpowering as he thought. Either the guards had more sensitive noses, or this was something else all together. "Relax, Jan. It doesn't look as bad as we thought it was. Nothing an apology probably won't fix anyway."
[18:01] Jan: "Where did you come from anyway?" Jan questioned the dragon, even as he dismissively answered as well. "My friend likes being invisible."
[18:02] Dracos: "Hum? I was born here... I see," The dragon settled down. "This is my place." He said straightforwardly.
[18:04] Jan: "Are you the one that's been eating from the fields as well? Or is there any other dragons around?" Something didn't really click yet. If the boy was the one that came to get things, why was there damage in the field?
[18:07] Jan: "Will you come down with us to let the people know it wasn't their neighbors eating up the fields?"
[18:09] Dracos: "No, it's dangerous,' The kid worriedly pet Barney, not so sure.
[18:09] Dracos: "Huh? Neighbors?'
[18:09] Leets: "He's probably right, Jan," Leets mumbled, recalling the villagers' personality. "They might not react well if they meet him."
[18:10] Jan: "Well, he certainly can't keep eating the food the villagers are growing. It'll likely incite even more problems between the villagers at this rate."
[18:13] Dracos: "Huh, hey, stop talking like I'm not here,' The clearly young dragon pouted.
[18:13] Leets: "I'm only saying there has to be another solution then having him offer himself as a new rug for the village elder."
[18:14] Jan: "Okay, well..." Jan half turned so he could face both sides. "You know you can't eat their food, right?" He asked the dragon.
[18:18] Dracos: "Why not?"
[18:18] Dracos: The dragon asked back, a bit confused at him.
[18:18] Jan: "Nothing in life is free. If you want food, you have to do your own fair share to get some."
[18:20] Leets was silent, as any lecture he could offer would be entirely hypocritical.
[18:23] Dracos: "Why? It's there isn't it?"
[18:25] Jan: "But it isn't yours. You haven't done any work in planting it, or tending it so it grows, or harvesting it. It isn't fair to just take things that other people have spent their blood, sweat, and tears making for yourself." He waved an arm to encompass the desert out towards the horizon. "This world is harsh enough as it is, and things are so scarce as they already are. You have your own unique powers and talents, use them to help."
[18:28] Dracos: "What do you mean?" The young dragon listened interestedly. "Help?"
[18:28] Dracos: He seemed like he was sort of getting it, but that it was a new concept to him.
[18:30] Dracos: "Um, like...well... do some work, Barney," The kid pitched in.
[18:30] Jan: "The world is rough. Lots of monsters rampage out in the desert around these towns. You're powerful, so you could protect them."
[18:32] Dracos: "Like where?" The young dragon seemed interested.
[18:41] Jan: "I'm not sure where you can protect. I'll need to talk to the leaders of the villages, but I'll try my best so you two can stay together, okay?"
[18:43] Dracos: "Really?" The young boy looked pleased at this outcome, Barney waving his tail a bit happily as well.
[18:44] Jan: "Just try to not steal anymore food for a bit, okay?"
[18:46] Dracos: "I'm sorry," He bowed his head.
[18:47] Jan: "Don't worry about it. You seem like a good sort, so it shouldn't be that hard to placate the elders."
So the mottled party, having discovered the odd source of the missing farm goods made their way back to the lower village as the sun was rising over the plains.
Dracos
It was a good thing that they had decided to leave the dragon behind at the mountain. The last thing they needed was to induce mass hysteria in the catpeople by introducing the creature to them. Well, either hysteria or everyone would probably attack it.
Reconnecting with Felix and Mary, Jan and Leets told them about what had happened, before the quartet went to see the elder of the town to let him know that they had solved the mystery.
Once they were inside, Jan began. "It wasn't your neighbors who were raiding the fields like you thought. Evidence on the scene showed a creature much too large for it to be them. We followed the trail and managed to track down the thieves and got them to promise to never do it again."
OOC: Sorry for delays
IC:
"Hmph... only a promise?" The chief's pride was obviously a bit rumbled, both by being wrong and having thieves openly having paraded around his village.
Dracos
"They are just kids. The only thing they can offer other then a promise is to try to make up for their crimes."
Felix remains quiet for now, letting Leets and Jan handle appeasing the chief and bringing up the fact that their thief was a dragon, having not had a chance to meet the dragon yet and thus not wanting to involve himself right now.
Still, he does hope everything work out and he has a chance to meet the dragon now that he's had a bit of time to digest the information regarding the thieves from Leets and Jan.
It'd be interesting to see one outside of a fight, his only chance at seeing one previously having been the old man Fizban, and even then he didn't get the best of looks due to his focus fighting skeletons at the time.
"A kid and a large beast?" His curiousity was peaked. "What was this actually?"
Dracos
"From our initial encounter, it would seem to be one of your village children bringing food to an orphan... albeit, a very large orphan."
"What kind of creature is this?"
"A dragon, sir. Possibly a hatchling. He's probably harmless, unless you ask him to sit in your lap."
OOC: Sorry, time and distracablility.
IC:
A few nearby warriors stirred. "This bears discussion, but you have done your part, and have my thanks." The clan leader replied.
Leets respectfully nods to the collective elder and warriors, then leaves with the group.
And so the group was organized outside, heading over to the Rascal they witnessed an odd sight, a young man dressed in shining silver armor, preparing a horse to leave.
Dracos
"Well, seems like things went well enough back there." Jan shook his head as he lead the way. He blinked as they passed the knight. "Excuse us, sir. You don't look like you're from around here. May I ask where you hail from?"
The man turned, bright green eyes marking his face, somewhat hawkish features as they grinded into Jan, considering him. "I am returning to the Scarlet Moon Empire. I am an emissary of the great Dragon Emperor. These villagers haven't the wits about them to take advantage of the protection of the empire."
Dracos
damn battery
"Most smaller communities would rather stay out of the affairs of massive empires, one would believe. If they've done well so far, there's no real reason for them to get protection." The comment rubbed Jan the wrong way, reminding him of the less sophisticated mobsters in his day.
"The empire is growing. It is important for small villages to make their alliances clear, so that in the case of war with one of the northern kingdoms, we are not unsure of where they lie. Regardless, I must take their word south."
The man began to ride off on his horse without further concern.
"Well, at least some of the newcomers take an initiative in diplomacy," Leets said skeptically, unsure if preparing a defense wasn't simply asking for trouble in the long run. Particularly with that attitude the knight seemed to have.
Shelving that thought, he and the group returned to Rascal to retrieve their possessions, pass on the news of their success and check up on the refugees. Likely not in that particular order.
The refuges were well fed and doing well, though clearly the small town didn't have enough to support them for a very long time.
Leets and crew came upon a discussion between Gallows and the clan matron on where to go next.
Dracos
"There's one place where you can prosper. The fields between Baron and the area of the Wastelands we came from are open enough that you can live there for a while to come. Also, we know the ruler of a kingdom near them that could probably ally himself with you."
"Well, then that is where we shall go. We thank you again, for guiding us in these strange lands," The matron returned as they began their journey.
Dracos
Anywhere you guys want to go before going to baron?