|
|
Post by Meta on Oct 14, 2019 11:56:57 GMT -4
A forgotten path lies amidst the greenery in the border between Necluda and the heartland. Grass has nearly overtaken the beaten dirt path, yet there it remains for those who seldom use it. Under the shadow cast by moonlight striking the Dueling Peaks...Dancing alone in the dark, a Zora chanted eldritch words and wove magical runes into the air. Stalkoblins were drawn by this presence, unwittingly offering their essences as catalysts, being picked apart and unmade by the dark magic. Her hands and upper arms were lacerated, scarred by glowing gashes of negative energy. She spoke the final words and in a burst of magic, the wounds worsened, but the spell was complete. Glimmering upon the end of the path were the outlines of a dimensional tear, a place where spacetime was weaker and allowed for worlds to meet. She grinned, even as her hands looked charred, a light smoke rising from them. This body didn't have much more to give, but it would soon not be a concern. Majora floated towards the tear, then perched herself on the mountainside overlooking it, biding her time. The moon rose further and further into the sky, as the night looked as though it would be uneventful. Yet, as the moon reached its peak, the rift flashed, as a mounted figure arose from the other side. Their garb was foreign, with the adornments of the kingdom that mirrored this one. They carried a sealed scroll as they prepared to ride. With a flick of the wrist, Majora sent out a wave of force that knocked the emissary off its steed and sent the horse running off, as the zora gracefully descended from its ambush spot. Majora knew she didn't have much more room for tricks before this host was spent, so she'd better make each trick count. Raising her hand, she held the messenger in a telekinetic chokehold. "Hush. You'll speak when spoken to, and I really don't have time for the song-and-dance of you telling me 'how you'll never betray your kingdom'. I want questions answered and I won't hesitate on finishing you off if I don't like the response."Keeping this grip for too long would be tricky, but she felt she had to give the messenger a proper scare so she could then simply talk her way through.
|
|
|
|
Post by sesh on Oct 15, 2019 0:36:15 GMT -4
"Lissen, I'm jus' sayin', we're a tad far from the beach." A hastily-constructed camp was tucked away into small fault at the base of the southern twin mountain. On one end was a ramshackle tent made of netting and the torn off bits of a merchant's carriage, the latter of which had unused wheels and other components strewn about the grass. The other end of the site donned a campfire as its centerpiece, and a half dozen figures circled it at varying distances. Pirates, far from home, that were waiting eagerly to hear if they would return to the water or find another victim of their criminal ways.
Three of them were around a busted crate that spilled its contents of potatoes and yams onto the dirt. Grisly and unkempt, they played Five Finger Filet to pass the time. The most crestfallen of the three bled profusely from his left hand, but kept insisting on another chance to recoup his lost rupees. A lone pirate leaned against the mountain wall with his eyes fixed on the entrance, a perceptive lookout that took his role seriously. The last two surrounded the campfire and shared a meal of roasted stolen spuds, each keeping degenerate company. The shirtless one had more tattoos and scars than untouched flesh while the other was missing half his fingers, teeth, legs, and eyes.
"Stop whinging," the shirtless pirate spat, taking another bite from his potato. He promptly spit it into the fire with a hiss and tossed the rest in following. "Gotta admit, Cut, I would kill for a bass right now. Hell, I'd kill to smell a bass."
"I mean, what's cap'n got us out here for?" the maimed pirate said, ignoring his inky comrade. "We dun do jobs 'is far in. Gotta be somethin' special. Real money, I reckon. Oi, maybe a Royal transport er... a princess escort, even. I could go for a princess, Stab." He looked over to the other pirate and saw the tattoo'd vagrant picking his teeth with a jagged knife. "Could be I'd share 'er if you done 'entertain' my daydreamin', guv. I'm not a greedy thief, after all!" The two burst into shameless laughing fits, their discordant duet like a couple of rabid hyenas. They stopped suddenly upon hearing a new sound, hoarse and deep like barnacles scraping against coral. The pirates, half dozen in all, quickly fell into line and discarded their slouched postures to stand erect like dignified statues. Anxious hands shot up and glued themselves to foreheads in the form of nervous salutes.
A monster of a Zora had emerged from the tent, his abyssal black eyes scanning the pirates with a merciless gaze. His wide maw split into a predator's grin, and two lines of massive, sharp fangs lined the mouth like spires of carved pearl. "Time to move, slackers," the beastly captain commanded, his voice as rough to the ears as his visage was to the eyes. "I was told it was going down just about now. Won't do the miss our window."
The ragged pirate, called Cut, swallowed a large lump in his throat. He stepped forward hesitantly, drawing the leer of his captain. Though the sight caused him to jump and almost soil his pants, he built the courage to offer his question. "W-what is it be, er... that's 'going down', Mister Kar'ka, captain, sir?"
The smile splitting Kar'ka's face vanished. He strode forward, his gait like that of a wild animal, and planted himself before the curious pirate. The peg-legged pirate seemed to shrink three sizes from the gesture. "You know, Cutler, I enjoy your company," Kar'ka said softly, taking another step so the two were uncomfortably close. "I think we've gotten you down to the right number of parts, finally. Would be a shame if I had to take your other leg. You and Stabston take down the camp. The rest of you, with me. The captain stepped away and turned for the campsite's exit. Cutler, who had been frozen in place, regained composure and fell back onto his ass.
The group of pirates continued their inland venture once more, each ignorant to the motivations of the captain. None but the most foolish, however, dared to pry any further into Kar'ka's intentions. The captain lead the read in seemingly random directions, though he had such a purpose in his swagger that it instilled a certain confidence. The handful of bandits stopped suddenly at a gesture from the brutal Zora, each looking to see any sign or cause. At a distance of a hundred paces was a that appeared to be floating just off the ground, grasping at their throat as if being suffocated. Another figure was obscured behind a sizeable boulder, though their voice could be heard very faintly. Kar'ka reached slowly for the collapse lances on his back, which was a signal for the other pirates to unsheath their respective weapons. The captain crept forward slowly, his retinue closely behind, and tried to get a look at the speaker.
|
|
|
|
Post by NajaSide on Oct 15, 2019 1:50:29 GMT -4
Not too far off, a lone robed figure walked the roadways. Their pace was neither slow nor with great intent, as if they knew they would reach their destination eventually but was certainly in no rush. Their path led ever eastward along the highway that would lead beyond the Dueling Peaks deeper into Necluda, but as they drew deeper and deeper into the shadow of the twin mountains, they came to a stop.
There was much at play this evening, here at the foot of these mountains. Something familiar echoed in the edges of the realm. A rattling fence, a rusted gate opening. The sound of a creaking, deafening but unheard— The vision of a spreading crack cobbled along the ground and through the air, and yet unseen in the material plane.
Suspicax watched from across the lake– Nabi separating velem from the sight beyond –as a fissure formed in the mountainside, a black mist pouring from it from the moment of its formation. And then, moments later, the steed and its rider came forth from beyond. All such familiar sight to behold. So was this a fraction of the nature shared between such two worlds in this day? Very informative indeed.
But even now, Suspicax could feel an even greater power on beyond the veil of the portal, something amassed at the other end. Indeed, veley could feel even just faintly the might of her strength molding this gateway. There was yet more to learn here.
And even more, in the moment veley had been distracted by the power beyond the fissure, the Lorulean had been struck down. Sure enough, from across the river the Demoness could detect a peculiar magic. Something peculiar and old. There was a hint of familiarity to the shadows that gripped the envoy, but nothing Suspicax knew personally.
The Demoness held still, waiting and watching from afar.
|
|
|
|
Post by Meta on Oct 15, 2019 2:11:39 GMT -4
After enough time passed, she flicked her hand downwards and the Lorulian was tossed onto the floor, freed from the magic, left hacking and gasping for breath.
Majora crossed her arms to cover the more obvious wounds of magical overuse. "Just nod or shake your head as I ask, I don't have time to watch you do..." She gestures at the general suffering the envoy was going through. "...that. So. Forward messenger?"
There was a momentary hesitance, but the messenger nodded. "Hours ahead?", the zora prompted, then got a negative from them. "Minutes?" There was a nod.
She sighed, and examined the Lorulian. "No, too frail. Frailer than her..."
Looking back to the rift, Majora pondered her next course of action, looking upward onto the mountain, then back down at the ground. After that brief pondering, she stood her ground, keeping an eye on the passage between worlds.
|
|
|
|
Post by sesh on Oct 15, 2019 5:52:20 GMT -4
Kar'ka watched on with an intense enthrallment, matched only in magnitude by his posse's confusion. He raised his left hand in a first, and within its grasp was an azure artifact of power. Two fingers, index and middle, rose and twirled about, forming gestures that were quickly digested by his men as code. The pirates scattered with impressive diligence, forming a hidden perimeter that (once formed) began to creep forward as to surround the mysterious people ahead. Kar'ka rose from a crouched position and strode forward without fear.
"Pleasant evening to you," the captain called out once only a few dozen paces away. It was from this distance that Kar'ka could fully see the scene before him. Most peculiar was the mystical gateway torn through the side of the mountain, its magical energies putting the Zora on edge. He bore a great distrust of such supernatural things, opting for the predictable and boring realities that he found much easier to dominate. There was a certain source of magical power, however, that Kar'ka found comfort in. In each of his hands was a folded polearm of forgotten legend; relics of the sea that had blessed him with victory again and again through their oppressive might. It was a power that offered both solace and paranoia to Captain Kar'ka. They were his greatest allies, and his greatest fear.
His eyes finally drifted over to the figure that had remained obscured prior to his approach. Taken aback, Kar'ka found himself surprised to see another Zora before him. His kind didn't often travel as far west as this place, and the captain wasn't all too fond of his kin. Tightening his grip on weapons in each hand, Kar'ka scanned the girl with suspicion. The exotic mask on her face was supremely weird. "I can't tell if I'm in the right place or not," Kar'ka admitted, feeling the shadowy presence of his crew in this place's periphery. "A friend of mine lead me this way, but I'm starting to wander if she's just pulling my leg. Gotta say, though, it looks like you two are having a blast.
The captain snorted and flexed the fingers in his left fist, the movement allowing segments of his blue spear fall from his grip. He pulled his left arm up in a quick jerk and the pieces snapped into place. Abzu pulsed with an energy of antiquity, and this energy coiled about Kar'ka's lower arm like a hungry boa. "Very interesting mask you've got there, love," Kar'ka stated, a toothy grin spreading about his bestial face. He let out a shrill but brief whistle and half a dozen ruffians donning crossbows and knives rose from hiding places all around. "I know a lass who will trade a small fortune for it, so I'm gonna have to insist you hand it over. You make this easy and my boys will only rough you up a little bit. So how about it?
|
|
|
|
Post by NajaSide on Oct 17, 2019 2:34:33 GMT -4
Still watching from afar, a pair of Suspicax's eyes drifted beneath velare hood. There was of course the matter of the enigmatic creature assaulting the envoy, but distant movement indicated there were more players in this game than the board suggested. A secret roster of players complete with a team captain to lead them into the game.
Veley held velare gaze past the pair of zora, watching the dark fissure. Another surge of power radiated from it.
Of course, there were those who had yet to arrive as well.
The cracked patterns upon the mountainside deepened, the stone almost seeming cobbled together along the gateway's edges. Rainbows of color spread through them, almost as if a stained window from nowhere had been chiseled from the rock's own surface. The black smoke was beginning to retreat, fading away back from the portal, leaving the lake and all those present there splayed in violet, green, and gold from a sun unseen.
The walls separating the worlds rippled with energy.
One... Two... And another were nearing.
|
|
|
|
Post by Meta on Oct 17, 2019 11:32:56 GMT -4
Upon hearing the pirate captain's voice, Majora turned her head, and silently cursed to herself. Of all times for this to happen...and it didn't take long for one pest to become several.
Yet, she snickered, and it continued on until it evolved into a shrill, otherworldly laugh. "Do I really look like a lost little soul to you? Someone you can push around with threats of pain and death?" She said, extending her arms to the side, making it painfully evident the extreme magical stress it went through.
"You've really met with a terrible fate...you just don't know it." She spoke up. Majora had considered the odds of destroying this body then going for one of the survivors of whatever spell it could conjure up as a last resort, but its timetable suddenly moved up...
The gateway became active, and she didn't have time or power to deal with it simultaneously...
"Hey." She spoke up, while pointing at Karka with her charred fingers. "Tell you what. Is a queen's bounty in rupees more tempting than an old mask to you?" She gestured towards the portal. "Easy pickings. Big reward in it for you if you do this with me..." It was a gamble, but it was the best move she could do right now. Worse came to worse, Majora could spend its last strength flinging the mask far away...but it'd miss a golden opportunity doing so...
|
|
|
|
Post by sesh on Oct 18, 2019 0:06:11 GMT -4
At first, Kar'ka found his attention being forced towards the portal to his flank. An overwhelming chorus of lights and visual sensations began to flood vision, and the captain could see his men lowering their guards slightly in anticipation of the gateway's next reaction. A conjurer's trick. Kar'ka assumed, slightly enraged at the Zora girl as the source. Captain Kar'ka Rias won't be scared by a fledgling magician's simple illusion, no! I won't have my men see me cower before a mewling child, especially one that's already been beaten to a pulp. He eyeballed the fresh wounds along the masked girl's arms, though his ignorance of things like blood magic caused him to size her up as an easier target.
The odd request made by the girl seemed to draw all the pirates' attention back to her, Kar'ka's included. He looked amused in a way that was both impressed and condescending in equal measure. Opening his mouth to speak, Kar'ka's eyes shifted suddenly to the side and his gaze was targeted at new intruders to the confrontation. "Camp's packed, cap," chirped an approaching pirate with pride, the near totality of his skin marked by nautical tattoos and scars. He turned his attention to the Zora girl with a predatory gleam in his eyes, but was soon transfixed upon the mystical portal on the mountain's face. "Wha-"
"Hopin' to catch a flyin' fish with yer mouth wide open, Stab?" inquired a second criminal newcomer, his wooden peg leg scraping against the stone path with every wobble. He giggled in self-inflicted amusement, though this turned to frustration when no one else joined in his laughter. The patched-up pirate was soon just as bewildered by the gateway, a globule of drool escaping the corner of his mouth.
"Stabston!" Kar'ka barked, his gruesome fangs snapping together with a sharp clack. "Cutler!" The two pirates, and the others surrounding the scene, all jumped in fright. The two that had just arrived struggled between saluting and groveling, in the end nearly tripping over each other. "Enough! You two, grab the masked guppy. Either I'm holding that mask when we're through or you're both donating an eye to compensate my loses. Cutler, I do believe you don't have any left to spare. Best do a good job. Their eyes widened and their heads nodded shakily, and then each drew their weapons and approached the female Zora.
"Sorry, darling, but I'm not much for gambling," the captain explained, a devilish grin returning to his cheeks. "Either your a trickster trying to pull one over on me, or you're another share in the treasure split. Can't say either option looks to appealing from where I'm standing. You look like a bright little lady, so I'm sure you understand. His free hand rose and snapped to draw the attention of the other men, and with a few simple gestures he turned them onto the gateway. "You see a weapon on whatever unlucky bloke pops out, you pepper him with bolts. They try to run, kill 'em, too. Truthfully, you don't like the look on their face, I'll let you take some potshots. Nobody escapes." Keeping one eye on the masked girl and another on the portal, Kar'ka braced himself for any surprises from either.
|
|
|
|
Post by NajaSide on Oct 18, 2019 2:11:02 GMT -4
Almost the moment Kar'ka spoke that final word to his men, the cobbled windows began to shine brighter and brighter. The color in their shapes faded all at once, leaving the scene in not but all black and white.
The moment hung in the air then. As if the world where they stood was holding its breath. Holding itself still.
Then a singular figure rose forth from the fissure and fell at the zoras' feet. At once, color bloomed forth, bathing them in the violets and greens of the gateway once more. The new arrival looked up toward those before them, a look of shock and panic on their face. At once, a single bolt shot from one of the pirates, slapping onto stone and ricocheting upwards past the stranger.
Their face was paler than pale as they came to realize what had happened. "Dammit!" They looked back toward the gateway with a desperate look, now seemingly caught between a rock and a hard place. Then they looked back toward the zoras again. "Help me!" Before another word could be spoken, the gateway opened once again.
From the fissure emerged a towering shape. A whole array of bolts were released upon the new arrival, this time shot with a much more present confidence, yet none of which met their marks. Between the figure and the pirates had arisen a shimmering blue field of energy, a barrier protecting them.
It was the only word they spoke, and with it, the portal shut behind them. With the light fading away, their form grew clearer and it was now easier to see the four new figures that stood before them. Two soldiers– each a spear in their hands and faces covered in masks –which flanked their presumed leader, a knight who rode high upon an elk. It was the knight who had spoken, but where they looked was beyond anyone there. Their helmet was emblazoned with the mark of the Royal Family, but almost as if skewed, twisted, darkened. A reverse triangle, wings flowing back from the helmet's visor. In their hand, a wicked partizan, its spiked head similarly decorated to the knight's helm.
"You are wasting our time. I shan't repeat myself any further."
|
|
|
|
Post by sesh on Oct 19, 2019 0:14:30 GMT -4
Kar'ka's thick head swung wildly to the side, his bottomless black eyes fixated upon the subordinate that released the origin shot. His gnarly maw split open and out came a guttural roar that shook the owls and critters from out of the nearest trees. "You owe me that trigger finger, maggot!" the captain barked, his voice laced with an animal rage. Before the stunned pirate underling could react, the group had already turned and released a fully volley against the next target. Kar'ka focused fury was quickly deflected to the blue energy field that sprung up before the new arrivals. Blasted magicians again! Are there no decent folk who keep their hands clean of such filthy enchantments?"
Cut and Stab ignored the arrival of the foreign knights, knowing they had to keep on the task at hand or face their master's wrath. Cut drew a wicked club from his belt, its shaft riddled with rusty nails and fishhooks likely scavenged from an old shipwreck. Stab brandished a pair of mismatched daggers, one too long and the other two short. The split several meters and approached the masked Zora with devious intent in their eyes, looking to cut off any routes of escape. "Keep them hands where I can seem them, my sweet," Stab said in his best attempt at coyness (which just came off extra creepy). Cutler chuckled menacingly meanwhile, the drool running down his jowls only increasing in production.
The other pirates, though startled and afraid of the mysterious knights, began to reload their crossbows out of greater fear of their leader. Kar'ka took note of this and looked to the head of the knights, bemused by their odd appearance. "Quite the point you bring up, lad," the Zora responded, not hiding the obvious disdain for mages spread across his expression, "About wasted time." His free hand reached back and grasped the handle of a dark artifact, bringing it slowly into view. With a quick flick of his right forearm, the violet spear sprung to life with a malicious aura. In each hand Kar'ka held the weapons of ancient conquerors, now turned to nefarious purpose. "I've already wasted enough tonight, and you look quite burdened with fancy things. So how's this: I make the time spent worthwhile by taking everything you've got, and you carry on, light as a feather, pep in your step, and blood still in your veins.
"So, seeing how we're both in a hurry, I'll make the decision for both of us." Taking a step back and eyeing his target, Kar'ka lurched forward and launched Abzu at the heart of the head knight. At its tip sprung a fire of smoldering blue heat, flames licking the length of the weapon as it shot through the air like a cannonball. As the captain positioned himself for another throw, the rest of the pirates began releasing another wave of crossbow bolts at the accompanying knights.
|
|
