The Escapist Avatar Adventure: An Open RP (Now Re-Opened!)

[BlackHarte]

Spoiler: Rugal

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Right to Rule

[i]Rugal's story[/i]

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Marcus raised an eyebrow, "Why do you seek Bacchus, the most unpredictable of all the gods?"

"Oh what does it matter?" Dio laughed, "if he's looking for the guy, he's looking for the guy. Ain't no problem if he finds him is it?" Dio poured more wine for Rugal and then topped off his own cup. Dio raised the cup toward him. "Cheers! May we all find Bacchus on this blessed day!"

The more wine that Rugal drank, the more he felt a nostalgic warmth spreading in his chest. It was a pleasant drunkenness, and a pleasurable one at that. He felt compelled to drink as Dio downed his own cup of wine. Dio refilled his cup and he drank. He drank and he drank. He was doing it unconsciously now, the flavor of the wine was calming and strange.

"To Bacchus!" Rugal heard Dio say as he raised his cup into the air.

"To Bacchus," echoed a response from somewhere. From where, however, Rugal couldn't tell anymore.

---​

When Rugal became lucid he was sitting on top of a building watching the lazy nightlife of Pompeii meander into the early hours of the morning. The moon was high in the sky, but was obscured by passing clouds. Rugal could remember a dream, a vision of the past. The Rising Dawn, the Origin Plains, a world that was left behind. His family. His real family, and his new family.

"You had an interesting dream, Rugal," Dio said. "It was a nice dream, but not a happy one. You have scars that run so deep that you can't even feel them."

Dio was sitting next to him, legs hanging over the edge of the roof. His robes fluttered gently in the wind. He was different from the Romans somehow. Foreign. It was like seeing a character in an animated work drawn differently, but in real life.

"There's not a need to internally monologue in red about how badass you are," Dio continued, "I've heard it. You're a traveler and one that's here for a purpose."

Dio didn't have the smokey aura around him that Minerva and Dis had. He did not have the stars in his shadows nor the glimmering light of the heavens. Dio was different. He wasn't human, but he wasn't a god. At least, not in the same way that Rugal had seen before.

"You can't leave this world until you've overcome it's challenge, Rugal. I can't tell you what you need to do, but I think you know deep in your heart. I saw your burns and your pain. You've been told so many times what you need to be, but no one has told you how to do it." Dio stood up and held his hand up to the moon, "You are like her, a lonely body echoing the flames from a distant star. If you can mend both the hurt in your heart and the one in her's, I believe you will be able to return to your home."

He paused and turned around. The wind tugged gently at his hair. "Athena asked you what gave you your right to rule, and you answered that it was force. You said that you were a bad man trying to do good in the only way you knew how. I have seen the depths of your heart, and I now know that to be incorrect. Hermes spoke to me of you in a more accurate way, he called you a puppet, unable to care about anyone but the one pulling your strings."

Dio walked away, hands in his pockets. "I don't know what you expected to get when you asked to see Bacchus, I don't know if you wanted him to magically send you home, or give you some magical plot device object to solve your issues, but that's not how the real world works. We're all the main characters of our own stories. Stop playing pretend and give yourself a good hard look. You're not fooling anyone when you're pretending to be the Rugal Bernstein you think we all want to see. Just be yourself, not the idealized version of yourself, but your actual genuine self." Dio turned back and waved, giving a warm smile as he did, "It's not going to be easy, but hey, I'm rooting for you!"

And Dio vanished into the crowds below.

Spoiler: Nina

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Table for Two

Nina's story

​

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"*click* You give me far too little credit," Ensay replied. "It is not wholly reasonable for me to demand that you surrender yourself to me at the critical point in time. *click click* My terms do not change. I have no interest in things that will not produce offspring. If time is your concern, *click* rest assured that I do not intend to *click* collect on payment up front. If you sign your name in my ledger *click click* then I will come to you to collect my payment after this matter is resolved."

Ensay held out his larger hands to each side of himself. "*click click* Additionally, if you continue to be concerned, since both Violet and you share *click click* compatible bodies, I could use her as a surrogate for your genetic contribution. *click click* What do you say?"

Nina's phone buzzed.

​

 

[Silence]

Spoiler: Anjali

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Reason to Rise

[i]anjali's story[/i]

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"I don't know." Anjali said. "How could I know?" She looked up at the stars and the red, green and blue clouds. "I wonder even where I am, how could I even know fitting names?" Something stirred in her, but she held it back for now. Or maybe she did not, as hunger rose in her.

Turning away from Freya, so she would not see what she did, Anjali rammed her teeth into one of the rabbits, raw, feeling its still fresh blooed running through her teeth and into her mouth. Indiscrimately, like a hungry snake, she swallowed large chunks of meat whole and fast. She was still ashamed of this task in front of others, but it did not feel wrong.
Her puppet she gave the eggs, not sure if it even needed to eat, though it felt right. It was a part of her, and it would feel her hunger, too.

A few minutes later, far quicker than one would expect a meal of two rabbits and three fowls to go, she turned around again, wiping her bloody mouth on her sleeve. Nothing of the carcasses was left. Anjali smiled, then quickly thought better of it, as her teeth had to be covered in red by now. Instead, she spoke sincerely. "I thank you for this, Vil. I think it sates me and ... her." She looked at her snake. "I thought a name for her, but I do not know if it fits her right. It would be 'Astarte'."

[hr]

The Rising Dawn: Server Farm
Mio​

Upon seeing the skeletons, Mio grinned and, with a glint in her eye, said: "I have come to take what is rightfully mine! Step aside!" In the same moment as the skeletons were just trying to comprehend what she was saying, during her talk, she stepped in front of one, drew her cutlass, and with the movement cut off the hand that was holding its sword. Before it could react, she had taken a step back again, holding out her cutlass like she was in a duel.

"You're pretty slow, huh?" Cut and slash, she stepped forward and back, and one of the skeletons heads fell on the ground. Then, she dropped the cutlass. "Oops." Bending down to pick it up again, the skeletons seeing their chance to make their move, she jumped, putting one hand on one of the skeletons collarbones, and made a cartwheel over its head, before drawing and ramming the dagger she still had on her in the back of its skull.

Then, she just ran away, into a dark corner of the room, the skeletons too slow to follow her movements and quickly losing track of her, at least until she reappeared behind one, ramming the cutting its skull off with the cutlass she had in her hand again, god knows how. "Guys, you disappoint me. How about you, would you rather be buried or cremated?" She said, getting back into her duel stance and pointing the sword at the leader of the skeletons, seemingly not even caring about the one still standing, and the other disarmed but also still standing confused skeletons. She still had the murderous glint in her eye and smiled, not dropping a sweat.

 

[BlackHarte]

Spoiler: Anjali

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Reason to Rise

[i]anjali's story[/i]

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"Astarte, huh?" Vil repeated, "Seems as good as a name as any other."

Freya seemed to be bothered by the name, "Astarte," she said, as if tasting the name on her lips.

"Is there something wrong, Freya?" Vil asked.

Freya shook her head, "No, it's nothing. I just felt like I've heard that before somewhere."

Vil put his hand on Freya's shoulder, "That is odd indeed. You have never heard the name before now. It is foreign to Amaranthia. Get some sleep Freya, I will take over from here. Tomorrow will be a long day."

Frey looked back and reluctantly surrendered the controls of the air-raft to Vil. "Today was a long day." She slumped down to her knees, head bobbing, barely holding onto lucidity.

"It was a long day. I'm proud of you, Freya," Vil whispered as he moved her to the side and draped a heavy cotton blanket of her. Freya was fast asleep in minutes.

Vil's porcelain mask shone from the light of the nebulae above them, dancing shadows of red, green, and blue reveled on the white surface. The mask held a smile, but the creature within was smiling too. Anjali could sense that Vil was pleased, but she was unsure about what.

"Even undead should rest," Vil said, "there is a difference between not requiring sleep, and not wanting sleep. It is a pleasure that too many of your kind forget."

---​

Contrary to what Freya had said, they reached Ionei by mid-morning. In stark difference to Dulce's planned and distinct districts and zones, Ionei was one big mess. Wooden shanty towns lay at the foot of hastily erected stone towers, which blocked the sun to homes made out of living trees. rope bridges ran between the tallest of buildings to form haphazard crosswalks that led across the canals that the city had instead of normal streets.

Bells rang to signal the coming of cargo ferries. Where in Dulce automatons might have assisted in the work, here there were massive men working alongside creatures so small, cute, and furry that Anjali might have mistaken them for game were they not wearing clothes. Boys and girls in their early teens leaped from bridge to bridge, laughing and shouting in a myriad of languages.

Vil settled under his brown cloak as he steered the air raft down the canals. Dappled sunlight streamed through the tilted towers of Ionei onto emerald waters below them. Even in the morning the air was hot, cooled only by the water that was flowing through the streets. Some children played in the shallower parts of the canals, settling into rest areas shaded by huge leafy ferns.

There were two shadows that passed quickly overhead and a screech and roar rippled through the canopy of the towers. People pointed and laughed. A griffin and dragon passed again overhead, dodging between the buildings as they dueled with magic of fire and air. There were riders on each of their backs, slinging increasingly elaborate spells at each other as their mounts danced farther into the city.

Freya stirred as Vil brought their raft into a large open bay where everything from merchant skiffs to battleships were docked.

"We're here? What time is it?"

Vil was silent but motioned with his good hand.

The airborne duelists passed again overhead, streams of smoke and flame trailing behind the griffin and its rider.

"Papers!" called one of the dock managers called as he approached the raft. He was a portly man, balding, but with a long and well-kept beard of fiery read. Unlike the people from before, he wore a clean cut cloth mantle over a vest and long pants. A bright blade-in-moon badge hung from a gold chain on his neck. He squinted in the brightness of the sun's glare from the water.

Vil handed him the papers the Cor had signed for Freya.

The man cleared his throat and shuffled through them. "Freya Allyone and Anjali Khatri. Both from Dulce, seeking entry into the adventurer's guild." He looked over Freya's sleepy face and then over at Anjali. He snorted. "You girls look like death. Paper's are fine." He smiled, "Welcome home."

While the city before had been busy and bustling compared to the orderly streets in Dulce, the port put even that brilliant city of Las Vegas to shame. There were more people packed into the streets and the shops that lined them than Anjali could even begin to count. There were all sorts of people as well, humans and elves but also beast men and fey-types. There were magicians and warriors, knights and priests. There were hunters with their companion beasts and summoners with elementals that carried their burdens. There were even other puppets controlled by other puppeteers. They ranged from beautiful bronze recreation of beasts like elephants and horses to delicate clockwork spheres that hovered in the air by some magic.

Some distance toward the heart of the city was the adventurer's guild. A giant clock made in the image of the blade-in-moon dominated the structure. It was carved into the side of a cliff, facing toward the bay and away from the stone-wood forest that made up the bulk of Ionei's infrastructure. The guild hall was easily fifty meters tall and was covered on each floor with open-air walkways that put the hustle and bustle of the inner building on display. Even from this distance Anjali could see weapon shops, armor shops, blacksmiths and mage craft suppliers on several of the floors. Others were filled with restaurants and bakeries, apothecaries and physicians, and one entire floor seemed to be made up of nothing but taverns. Walkways ran all the way through the cliffs into the rope bridges and towers of Ionei proper.

Freya stumbled onto the dock and locked the air-raft to the stone outcropping with iron chains and an enchanted padlock. Vil followed, silent in his shrouded visage. He turned back and offered his hand to Anjali.

"Geez," Freya grunted, stretching out her back, "I felt like I spent the entire night hunched over in a box or something. My back is in knots." She turned back to Anjali and said through a yawn, "C'mon you want to get something to eat or drink? Or anything before we sign you into the admissions program at the adventurer's guild?"

The dragon from before glided pass overhead, before landing on a roost near the top floor of the guild structure. The griffin followed, both the rider and the beast looking worse for wear after a dive in the waters of the bay.

 

[idk666]

Lou went outside. Many women were staring at him. He stared back. Many women yawned and went away. He grew weary of the sun and decided to go back home.

What a day. The sun was blinding. It had no reservations. The sun kept him company. Now it was time to go underground. He went to the train station. The train was empty for a Friday night. He was empty too. They were happy to be together. Lou had no happiness. The happiness was the only word that came close. What it was... what it is, he didn't know.

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

Spoiler: Rugal

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Right to Rule

[i]Rugal's story[/i]

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"......ohhhhhhhhh.....ahhhhh....what in the-...."

As he awoke from what most likely was his first "Proper" hangover not induced by one of David's personal brews, Rugal was quickly catching up on the "Please Kill Me" part of such proceedings.
Fighting his way back onto his feet, he looked lost and confused as Dio started talking.
"Wah-....Dio?....Wh-...where are we?....ohhh, what did I do last night?..." He asked, retching slightly as his body attempted to filter out the 10(?) jugs of wine he consumed the night prior.
His speech was cryptic, least he thought so, as he revealed himself to be, you guessed it, another playful deity who preferred to speak in riddles rather then give him anything useful.
Hell, his entire speech sounded like it wasn't even meant for him!
"W-what?...That the hell are you on about? Hey! Hey! Get back here!...Who is her?! I have so many questions!" Rugal called out, stumbling after Dio until he escaped his vision (And he ended up face down on the ground).
Groaning slightly at what felt like another dead end, he rolled onto his back, wincing slightly at the mud and dirt he got on his suit before finally picking himself back up.

Alright...need get back to Livia's villa...by the coast...twin asps...uhhhh, why did I have to drink so much?... He thought to himself as he walked over to the edge of the building, using the city's skyline to get his bearings.
Despite his form, he still took the "Fast" way down as he casually dropped from the building onto the streets below, an impressive feat considering straight line walking was almost impossible for him in this state.
On the way over to Livia's estate, he kept his eyes open for any of the following:

-A bath-house to look less like a man who had just survived a bender (And possibly clean up his suit)
-A Healer or something he could use to help purge his hangover

Embarrassment and frustration filled him as he felt he had gotten no closer to his goal as well as the indignity of him of all people being brought down to that drunken Irishman's level.
And he was wondering what exactly Dio meant by the "Actual Genuine Self", as well as growing more concerned that he apparently "Heard" his "Inner Monologue".
Ohhhh....I swear if that volcano blows now, I'm going to be so done with this entire realm...

 

[BlackHarte]

Spoiler: Rugal

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Right to Rule

[i]Rugal's story[/i]

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The twin asps of house Lucretia were not on the banners or towers of the great estates surrounding the rolling hills near the outskirts of Pompeii, but etched in bronze on a modest homestead. It was a two story house with a large garden and well bricked cobblestone pathways. Alpine Columbines hung in the moonlight, heavy blue petals wet with nighttime dew. Beyond them were flowers of more types. Rows of roses, violets and gold-and-white lilies swayed in the gentle seaside breeze.

Under the effects of the Blood of the Gods, Rugal could see the shimmering forms of fairies flitting from flower to flower, leaving trails of glittering dust in air as they moved. Further on a satyr-child was playing a pan flute near the walls of the homestead.

The garden was punctuated by small stone boxes.

There was the girl there. Hair like ruby and eyes as blue as sapphires. She was wearing a white dress which fluttered as it caught the breeze. Shrouded in the moonlight she seemed almost ethereal. There was an aura around her, a awful melancholy that made the fairies adverse to her.

She was speaking to something near the ground.

As Rugal got closer, he realized that she was singing.

The song was soft and gentle. With the same touch as the moonlight dancing off the petals of a lily. Even though he couldn't make out the words that she was saying, the melody had the same power as that of a violin. It ebbed and flowed in pitch and in tempo, it was undeniably sad. It was soul crushingly sad.

Without words, she sung of an empty home and an absent family. She sung about the weight of sin and the pain of a world coming down around her. She sung about coming home to a loving family, to a people that accepted her. There was a change in seasons, a coming of winter. A tragedy at the hands of fate, family turned against family. The satyr-child echoed her voice in the sad melody of his flute.

There was an emptiness in her heart that nothing could fill. She tried so hard to be someone that she wasn't for the sake of all those that relied on her.

But she was only one girl.

She wanted to fall in love, to waste her time writing poetry. She wanted to attend parties, to make friends, to see the world. She wanted to attend the mysteries and watch the marathon, to sail the seas and encounter amazing things. But more than anything, she wanted to come home one day and tell stories to her mother, to her brother, to her father...

Yet all of this was taken from her. The world was hard a cruel. She wanted to cry out, but there was no way she could.

The burden was immense. The scars that it had left on her were deep and invisible.

Her song carried deep into the night, held aloft by the flowers and the stars.

Her's was a song about a girl who was forced to grow up too quickly. She wore a crown that she could not hope to ever support, and it's weight was slowly crushing her.

It was in a moment that her song began, and it was in a moment that it was over.

The girl turned and left, sweeping toward the house as silent as a specter.

---​

The house was asleep. There were no signs of servants like there had been at Livia's residence. This was a humble home. There were no decorations other than a small shrine to the household gods. Two gold medallions were looped over a small idol of Minerva. The sconces were cold, but there was a set of clean robes set aside near the entrance. They were simple and brown, but large.

There was a note next to it.

Rugal,

Knowing that you're new to Pompeii, I expect you to need these.
If you need something to eat, there are some pieces of bread in the kitchen
to the far right. If you need water because you're hungover, there's
a vessel in the kitchen full of water as well. My grandparents are
gentle people who are weary of conflict. This is their home.


Livia Lucretia Lamia

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

Spoiler: Rugal

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Right to Rule

[i]Rugal's story[/i]

[hr]

The lines between reality and alcohol induced visions was getting ever more blurry as Rugal wandered onto the estate.
While the illness and pain he felt was diminished by his will and training (And a quick puke), the visions if anything felt like they were getting stronger.
"uhhh...This again? how long will these visions keep happening?..." He muttered under his breath, slowing his pace as he attempted to separate reality from fiction.
The faeries were rather distracting, prompting him to attempt to swat them from his path as they zoomed around him spouting curses of annoyance.
Even the Satyr-child was grating on his nerves but outside of sending a slightly dismissive look it's way, he didn't act further.

He attempted his journey to the manor but soon found himself halted by that girl again.
"You again?..." He asked, not sure if he was going to get an answer.
He couldn't hear any words but despite that, he found himself understanding the song and this girl's trials.
"...You lost your family, didn't you?..." He replied to her tones, glancing around the vision for anything more that could help him understand.
"...Tell me how I can help. Please, what can I do to help you?..." He found himself asking as the child started to walk away.
"Can you please stay? I'm not going to hurt you. Come back?..." Rugal pleaded, all while wondering if such actions meant anything during these visions.
===
Once the song was over and he was firmly back in the realm of reality once more, Rugal felt dazed and a bit light-headed, making him all the more glad he had arrived at his destination.
Sighing with relief as he read the note, he soon made himself at home and changed into the brown robes, seeing how his suit was basically the same color after his night out.
Once he was decent, he silently walked the house, being mindful not to awaken Livia's grandparents as he went to the kitchen.
He then silently ate and dehydrated as he pondered what he had witnessed earlier.
I keep seeing her and that song...this was what Dio was on about. It has to be. "Mend both the hurt in your heart and the one in her's"...Uhhh, last time I go that hard on the wine...How can I help her though? Why me? Unless she needs someone beaten half to death... He thought to himself before attempting to find a place to rest in until morning.

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

The Rising Dawn: Server Farm
Mio​

The "Disarmed" skeleton looked about as impressed as you'd imagine, if it still had eyes they'd be rolling as if to say "Oh yeah, real original!".
While his friends tried (And failed) to stop the Captain, he was able to re-attatch his hand before rejoining the fight, kicking away a rolling skull from a headless body attempting to pick it up.

Their leader meanwhile decided to accept her duel, motioning for his defeated minions to back up as he started to bang his sword against his shield like some sort of ritual.
He then seemed to point at the ground beneath Mio's feet as a strange Burning Void [https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/diablo/images/2/2d/Desecrator.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20150510143104] started to form where she was standing.
It started to eat though the floor and even the heels of her boots, growing in size and intensity the more Walloon channeled it.
Several smaller pools started to form nearby, making a slight "Ring" for them to duel in while his minions provided moral support, knowing better then to get in the way of a Royal Bodyguard, alive or dead.

With the stage set, he let out a crackling laugh before charging at Mio, attempting to bash her into one of his Desecration pools with his shield.

 

[bluerocker]

"Oh, we won't need luck," Alesha answered, "Inuart is a hero after all." Then she turned to Inuart, "Where to next then, hero?"
----

"Don't call me that."

The words fell out automatically, like water off of a stone; Inuart's expression souring at the moniker. Even if the woman didn't know better, every instance of it's use felt like a slap to the face. 'Hero'? No- the 'Heroes' were the ones parading about on a gods-be-damned ship in the sky, a prison for folk Inuart would much prefer to be in the company with. Heroes 'saved the day' (or in his eyes, soured the plans of much more capable people), heroes 'fought evil' (paraded self righteousness) - Inuart?

He was a musician; a failure of a warrior who made use of a talent that ill suited his old world. In Caerleon he was pathetic; unable to protect the one he was supposed to have loved; even if he made a pact with a dragon at one point.

If only he had the strength

In the Modern World he was an 'artist', a title held in equal parts esteem and disdain. Some considered him lazy, others brilliant- but what use was brilliance when his life lacked those who actually gave a damn? The ones who looked past the glamour, the weakness, and saw the man? What was he without them?

Inuart forced himself to smile again, swallowing the bile building up at the back of his throat as he spoke, purposefully attempting to hide the storm in his heart, "I have a name after all, Ms. Alesha. Inuart will suffice."

Looking back to Elluar, Inuart's head bobbed in a small nod, "Thank you sir- your map is greatly appreciated. I'm...sorry for your loss. May your son's soul rest in peace."

A platitude, and not nessecarily one Inuart believed in; but such things helped grease the wheels of social interaction. After they turned and walked away, Inuart mulled over what the man had said, the particulars and logistics distracting him from his earlier anger and thought aloud, "I suppose we can go to the Western route- although the theocracy is a cause for concern-if what I heard from our conversation was anything to go by; it will be an easier journey for you."

He didn't leave any room for delays, following the path of the sun to take them to the Western exit of the city and on the road to Crior. As they passed by people and animals, men and women with bundles and carts, Inuart allowed for the silence to fill the air as they left the city behind them; waiting patiently as the people thinned before he initiated the next step of his plan: Q and A. As the wind blowed against his skin, the former bard hummed quietly into the air, an old tune that had been his companion since his youth. Usually, it'd be accompanied by his harp or guitar, but in times like these, the voice alone would have to do. When the tune finally winded down, and he read the atmosphere as relaxed, he carefully broached the subject,
"You know- as quickly as you've seen fit to designate me as your companion, I realize we know next to nothing about each other. I've...a few questions. For one-I saw what you did in that field, or rather; what happened around you. The way the earth moved, the way things seem to shift and change around you. Is such magic common here? Just how much power do you have? Do all of the Daughters have such abilities, such as the Daughters of Crosis that man mentioned; or is it just you?"

 

[BlackHarte]

Spoiler: Inuart

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Lost to Love

[i]inuart's story[/i]

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Alesha tilted her head back, the corners of her lips curved upwards into her usual smile. "The shifting of Ypris is in accordance to the covenant," she said. She motioned outward to the gentle hills they were meandering through, "the covenant binds me to the world, and the world to me. I am Alesha, Daughter of Ypris, Gem of the World. Despite that old man's best intentions, he does not know me as I am." She walked forward and ran her hands through her long hair, throwing the brown mass up to a sudden gust of wind. "I am blessed by all, a beloved daughter of everything. There is no magic or trick."

Then she walked back to Inuart's side and clung to his arm.

"Hmmm?" Alesha suddenly voiced. There was a change in her mood as a sudden gravity came over her. As she grew serious, so did the atmosphere. The winds stilled and the earth grew silent. Where once the songs of birds filled the idle air and the rustle of leaves and branches danced in the sunlight, all was still.

There was a whistle, long and shrill. Three times long, twice short, three times long. It was followed by a long drawn out horn.

A castle-city sat high on a mountain ridge overlooking a plain. It was dark despite the sun shining high in the midmorning sky. A wall ran as far a the eye could see in each direction. This dark plain was seething, thick boils of earth rose up from the darkness and burst, full of mutated, abominable creatures. Some of the sinewy, bloody horrors looked vaguely human, others were beasts through and through. They called out, screaming for a mother, grotesque fetuses of some eldritch god.

They were creatures with seven arms and three legs, creatures which every surface was covered in gaping sores and eyes, other which boiled in the bite of the air. They were agony incarnate.

Further on great pits opened in the earth that gave rise to fully formed monsters. Titans shrouded in shadow and armor both. They held swords as tall as towers and stood so high that the tops of their heads breached the clouds.

Leathery wings beat against the azure sky. A swarm of wyverns had taken to the air, lead by a flight of dragons. On each of the beasts back rode a knight, clothed from head to toe in white and gold steel. They bore lances and spears twice as tall as their own height, each decorated with a brilliant pattern of emerald crystals.

The dragon riding knights swarmed like hornets around the approaching titans, the rider and mount striking true against the armor and hide with fire and steel.

Given time, the titans fell under the onslaught, but not before a day wore away from sunrise to sundown. The bodies of the titans crumbled into earth, swallowed by the bloodstained mire below.

Victorious, they flew their standard high, those white-gold knights. Hoarse screams and triumphant bellows filled the skies.

Glory to Crior. Glory to God. Glory to Crosis.

There was a bellow of a horn. Three long. Twice short. Three long.

There was a caravan up ahead on the road. Three canvas covered wagons and six carts. There were thirty or so people, but before them was a rotting monster. It looked half a dragon and half a bull. Thin emancipated arms grew out of an open rib-cage, reaching out blindly to swallow anything they could hold. The beast had horns that ran down it's twisted imitation of a spine. Thin membranes tethered the ends of each limb together in a opaque sheet.

The monster had no eyes, instead it had three gaping mouths on it's face, drooling as it's teeth bristled in sickening spirals.

To the West there were six horses coming. That was where the horn had come from. But at that distance, there was no way they would reach before the horror devoured the caravan.

Spoiler: Rugal

[hr]

Right to Rule

[i]rugal's story[/i]

[hr]

When morning came, Rugal found himself woken up by a terrible shouting and a crumbling of rock. The house was filled with the smell of baking sweetbread. There was another scream from outside followed by an explosion. Rugal, bolted up and rushed outside, unsure of what he might find.

What he found was not what he expected.

There was an old man. Well, in any case, his beard and hair were white, but that's about the only thing old about him. The man was massive, almost Rugal's height and nearly as well muscled. He was shirtless, shining with sweat. His face was contorted with a terrible focus. He screamed again and slammed a fist into a block of marble, blowing away a grapefruit sized chunk of white stone across the garden and into the wall where it exploded into fine dust.

He stood up and acknowledged Rugal with a nod, "German boy!" he screamed as a greeting, "I WELCOME you to my home." He flexed, sweat exploded off his body. Then he extended a calloused hand, covered in old scards, to Rugal, "LIVIA has told me all about YOU." He said, putting strange emphasis on his words as he flexed.

"Oh dear, please don't antagonize our guest," a softer, milder voice said from the house. There was a woman who looked no more than forty standing in the doorway. White streaks had just started to appear in her fire-red hair. Her eyes were a mellow amber. She cleared her throat, "We haven't met yet, Rugal Bernstein, but I am Veles and that impossible idiot over there is my husband Tenjin Vel."

"I. AM. AN. ARTIST." Tenjin bellowed.

"An artist that's going to wake the dead with your insane screaming!" Veles snapped back. She cleared her throat, "We're Livia's grandparents. As you can tell, we're not Romans by any stretch of the word. We're Scythians. Tenjin was a warleader-turned-stonemason and I used to be a shaman."

"I WILL NOT FORGIVE ROME FOR TAKING MY DAUGHTER FROM ME!" Tenjin screamed as he unleashed a barrage of punches on the marble block. It slowly broke away into something vaguely resembling a tombstone.

"How could any of us forget if that's what you start every goddamn morning screaming!? Wash up and come in, breakfast is ready. You idiot!"

[hr]

Breakfast was freshly baked bread and an entire barn's worth of eggs prepared in just as many ways. Some sweet jars of jam were laid out on the table next to a pitcher of water. Kleo, Ortha, and Phili were sitting meekly on one side of the table. Tenjin sat on the other, his massive frame dominated nearly the entire space. He chewed absentmindedly on a sheet of meat jerky as Veles served the rest of breakfast.

"Livia hasn't woken up yet," Veles said as she sat down, moving a cushion next to Tenjin. "And you girls better eat, even without your master. This is my house, my rules, and they take precedence over whatever stupid honor system you city folk have."

Ortha and Phili immediately began eating as if their lives depended on it. They were truly frightened by the woman sitting casually on the other side of the table, more so than in any way that they had been frightened by Livia. Kleo on the other hand shook her head. "I am fasting. For my friend."

Veles tutted, "Fasting ain't going to bring no one back from the dead. She'd be happier if you'd eat." Kleo insisted. Veles shrugged, "Suit yourself girl. But ain't no one happy about their friend dying of starvation."

She turned to Rugal, "So tell me about yourself, traveler. I can tell at a glance that you're from someplace, or somewhen, far far away. The way you hold yourself, your skin, your hair, and frankly your awful stench." She laughed, "I don't mean it like that, you smell like something awful. Like burned mud. It's unnatural, like poison. Something's in your veins or something else like that I'd wager."

"HE smells of DEATH." Tenjin said between mouthfuls of eggs and bread.

"Oh hush you. He does not smell like death. Such talk is not auspicious." She tore off a piece of bread and used it to pick up a honey-scrambled egg from a plate. "Tell you what, I like travelers. Tell me about yourself or something. Make our breakfast a little more lively."

 

[Zepherus14]

[hr]

Table for Two

Nina's story

​

[hr]

Spoiler

If looks could kill, Ensay may have just discovered a new eldritch killer. Nina would have let him off if he'd stopped at the offer of a delayed impregnation. She still wouldn't have accepted it, the timing was only one issue in an entire odyssey of problems. Him offering Mnemonyse as a surrogate was the last straw however.

"How dare you!" Nina cursed, batting Ensay's hands away with the pillow. "She's your own daughter, what the hell is wrong with you?! How could you possibly just nonchalantly offer her to do that without even asking her in the first place!?" She spat.

Several tentacles lifted off Nina reflexively like a grand explosion had forced Phillip away from her. He still held on, but was clearly hesitant to bring those loose tendrils back to where they'd previously been. "To think I was considering trying to counter offer of finding someone else who's morally bankrupt enough to go with that, but now, I feel sick to my stomach even considering that much. So much staring me right in the face, no wonder Mnemonyse didn't want to follow me here. I mean really, who names their kid after their hair colour?!" She shouted at him, making her way to the door. "If I'd have known it'd been this useless visiting you I'd have saved the time I just wasted here!"

---

[footnote]Now if Ensay wants to stop Nina by whatever means, I can edit this out and put it in later[/footnote]Once outside the room, Nina immediately stormed her way down the hallway, trying to make up for the wasted time she'd spent with that monster. "I don't understand, why? Faea wanted to consume you, yet this was worse? That seemed like a realized dream."

The storm raging within Nina's heart quelled at that moment as did her way to the door. Phillip did make a point, at base level this had always been a fantasy of her's. To have some monster from beyond the stars come and ravage her like they did in the porn she saw online. To be overloaded with so much passionate flare that she couldn't hope to keep from melting into a pool of ecstasy. Why would it make sense for her to get cold feet now that such a deal was offered?

"Come here." She motioned to him, wanting him to come into her arms, her chest still racing but her voice incredibly calm. Phillip would reciprocate, reluctantly climbing over Nina's shoulder and into her embrace. "You're right, it is weird at a glance that I didn't just go ahead with his deal, have a little fling, and get all the information we wanted. But..." Nina paused looking up over the noodle pile, not at anything in particular. "That's not what a good person would do." She said lightly tussling Phillip like you'd tussle someone's hair.

"How so, he seemed reasonable, he wasn't going to kill you like Faea?" He replied, allowing Nina to rub him like that for a moment before pushing her hand away. "That's, an entirely different problem... As much as vore was a problem, it was still me choosing to give myself up. There's definitely some people where we're from that'd jump at the opportunity, nutbars if I'm honest, but hey they'd probably say the same to me. No the reason Ensay's so awful is because I'd need to subject someone else to a life that, frankly my gut is telling me is one full of neglect and apathy." Nina explained, unsure if the flashbacks of Mnemonyse were real or not, but she felt there was enough to go on that that information was complementary.

"Mnemonyse's his daughter, her mom was human like me, so... I had to ask myself, did she seem thrilled to live with that man. And despite her mom being special to Ensay, he still treated her so carelessly, like a tool not a person. Frankly, surrogacy isn't easy, pregnancy in general isn't easy, it's really bloody complicated! For him to just put that on her without asking her before I sign a contract to give the go ahead, I can only think about what would happen if my child was similarly treated. Mnemonyse's scared of him! It makes me sick to think about and I lost my temper." Nina explained, she still held hope that she could save this universe from its end, hoping that McDipshit was who she thought she was. She'd end up like Steve Buscemi in Armageddon if she signed that ledger and succeeded. "It's just, if and when I have a child, I want to be there for them, I want to see them smile, succeed in their dreams, make friends, grow into someone they could be proud of. For better or worse, I want to be there for them like my parents were there for me. And I won't be perfect, but at least I'd not antagonize my child into fearing me. Does that help clear things up?" She asked, hoping Phillip would understand despite his limitations.

Phillip was silent as he slowly working his way back to Nina's shoulder he'd left for this conversation, only pausing as he was at her eye level. His shape eclipsing much of Nina's left sided view with his squirming mass."I suppose. You were given poor ingredients and you didn't feel they were adequate. Just don't complain if this is your only chance to bake that cake." He answered, then continuing past her field of vision. "Eh, close enough I guess."[footnote]And at this point, Nina's gonna continue down the hall into the next car that'd have the kids and the eldritch leaders.[/footnote]

 

[BlackHarte]

Spoiler: Nina

[hr]

Table for Two

nina's story

​

[hr]

"Can you tell me the story about the tortoise and the eagle," the little girl said. She held her head tightly in the embrace of the Matron.

The Matron cooed and gently brushed the little girl's red hair. "I'm sorry, I don't remember that story."

"Why not?" the girl pouted.

The Matron paused. Then she whispered, "I do not know why I cannot remember."

"All stories should be remembered. They should be collected, written down, and retold!" the little girl exclaimed. She clapped her hands together and produced a small seed. Then she planted it in the earth.

"What is that for?" the Matron asked.

"It's the seed of a knowledge tree" the little girl answered, "when it grows up it will fill books full of stories from all over!"

"That's wonderful," the Matron cooed, "but while we wait, should I tell you a new story?"

"Tell me a story of the world outside."

"There exists a world far far away..." the Matron began.

Beneath the soil the seed sprouted, and the first sapling of the first tree breathed.

The children's car hadn't changed since Nina had left. People were still recovering from the initial shock of being severed from a Primal. The serving staff seemed to be recovering the fastest. The ogre and goblins were handing out water and bread to some of the children who were the most hurt by the psychic backlash.

Cuelle, on the other hand seemed to be moving around with some degree of strength. She was using her ribbon-like appendages to help her keep balanced, but otherwise she was moving under her own strength. Talavie was not so fortunate and was laying down on a booth couch with a hand over her head.

Crown was unconscious. One of the goblins had taken his sunglasses and hat off and put a wet towel on his forehead. His breathing was labored and his brow was furrowed.

Faea looked up. She was leaning on a web cast by her spiders. She seemed cool and collected, but a trickle of blood from her mouth showed that she was putting up a strong front for the others. "It was bad, wasn't it," she asked, voice hoarse, "It was hard to hear what was going on with this terrible ringing, but what I could hear didn't sound good."

 

[Zepherus14]

[hr]

Table for Two

Nina's story

​

[hr]

Spoiler

Taking a moment to survey the scene in front of her, Nina'd be a bit surprised at how many of them were already up and at 'em. She couldn't help but be a little skeptical upon seeing the goblinoids serving the patrons again, who could blame her after they'd been the ones to poison the trains even if they weren't technically at fault. "Hmm, bread and water, simple but that will do as a minimum." Phillip muttered aloud, possibly figuring Nina was wondering this as well.

"It was bad, wasn't it," The hoarse voice of Faea drew Nina's attention. "It was hard to hear what was going on with this terrible ringing, but what I could hear didn't sound good." Nina's face gave it away that she didn't remember Faea's web network, again. Given she had a lot of things to deal with at the moment, it wasn't unreasonable to give her a break on that.

Regardless Nina would make her way over, taking the time to grab a napkin from one of the tables in the room. "Yes and no." She replied back quietly. "We found the Matron, Nocturne was there already. It didn't look like she suffered if that brings any comfort to you. I'm really sorry this happened." Nina offered her condolences as well as the napkin discretely for the blood on Faea's lip. Faea seemed like one that'd appreciate keeping her appearance up even in a situation like this. Her defiantly standing up despite all that'd gone on was evidence enough for that, the only problem was if Faea would accept Nina's offer on her own accord.

"I don't know if you heard this part but Nocturne also put me in charge of the investigation. I know, desperate times call for desperate measures. I was hoping to ask you a few questions. If you're able to hear what was going on in the train with all that webbing, did you hear anything from the first train car?" Nina asked before considering. "Or was that comment about the ringing what happened before the blackout, I'll be honest I haven't heard any ringing this whole time." She offered politely as she could, unsure what exactly the Eldritch there were experiencing.

While Faea collected her thoughts, Nina looked over her shoulder to Phillip. "We're gonna have to talk to some of the servers about what they heard from The Matron, do you have any idea who looks the part of a 'Head Server' or something like that?" She asked, figuring she might as well multitask here and Phillip might have an idea of who looked the most official.

 

[BlackHarte]

Spoiler: Nina

[hr]

Table for Two

nina's story

​

[hr]

One of Faea's spiders, Issem, the weaver spider from before, took the napkin from Nina and gingerly wiped the trickle of blood off of Faea's facce. Her expression did not change from her mix of anguish and concern. "I am afraid that I won't be of much help. I was too engrossed in my shouting match with Violet Amnesia and was not paying attention to the goings on in the other carts." She paused. Issem scampered off toward the web behind to her to join the other spiders.

"Though my fears seem to have come to light. In the fallout of the matron's death, I seem to be losing my hearing." Faea finally said, "This ringing in my ears grows only louder and more persistent with each passing moment."

Among the servers, there was no head server. The closest thing to a leader they had was the cart ogre, and that was only because he happened to be physically larger than the serving goblins. They were all uninformed of the events, but knew enough instinctively what duties they needed to attend to.

Philip knew though that the kitchen hierarchy in the trains staff was mostly a sham. His interactions with them told him that they were illusions created by some outside force. The food was real, the servers were real, but the chefs, the utensils, the ingredients, they all seemed so fleeting, as if they had been created in a dream.

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

Spoiler: Rugal

[hr]

Right to Rule

[i]Rugal's story[/i]

[hr]

"I hope she said some good things then...Pleasure to meet you." Rugal answered as he gladly shook the large man's hand.
Despite the rude interruption, Rugal was rather interested in Tenjin's method of sculpting.
He silently watched him work, despite the shouting, as he examined his technique and tried to think of ways to improve on it.
The greetings were a little awkward what with the lack of an indoor voice but it was still warm and kind.
"Thank you again for having me in your home. And my compliments to your technique, Stonemason." He replied before sitting down for breakfast, eating his in a much more modest fashion then Tenjin did, despite sharing size and muscle mass.

He did feel a bit uncomfortable when Kleo spoke of fasting for her fallen friend Eury (One that died because of his inability to save her), as well as Veles's comments of him smelling like death.
That comment hit a bit close to home as his gaze shifted to Kleo, feeling taunted almost by his failings as he looked at her and imagining what could have happened if it had been his own daughte-
Silently thanking the former shaman for changing the topic, he formally wiped his mouth before speaking "I am actually a fighter by trade, for lack of a better term. I've spent a great deal of my life perfecting my combat skills, travelling to foreign lands to learn different styles and so forth. This one wasn't a planned trip but I'm rather confident I shall find my way back home and to my family one way or another..."
Holding out his hand, he then activated his Slashing Aura, rotating his hand for the table to see.
"Many of the skills I learned involve the use of what I call Ki Energy, if you heard of such a thing. This one for example, I'll think you'll like this one Tenjin, infuses my limbs with what I call a "Slashing Aura"..." He said before giving a proper demonstration.

Picking up a piece of bread from his plate, he held up a finger on his glowing hand before using it to effortlessly cut it like an extremely sharp knife.
"Which allows me to mimic the edge of a blade at will and is powerful to even carve even the strongest metals like damp clay. This is just one of my techniques, I can also summon energy to use as a projectile or as a shield. Perhaps I shall show a few more after we have eaten if you wish? Perhaps I might be able to assist your husband in his art." He then joked before resuming his meal.
"Just one thing. Veles, you mentioned being a shaman. Might I ask what exactly that is? I've met mages and clerics before but I've less experience with your kind. My understanding is that while my Ki energy is drawn from my body and magic is often powers from arcane energies and gods, Shamans get their power from nature and the elements. Forgive me if I misunderstand, this land is still very new to me."

 

[BlackHarte]

Spoiler: Rugal

[hr]

Right to Rule

[i]rugal's story[/i]

[hr]

"How amusing," Veles said. She leaned back and put her fingers on her chin. "You are a practitioner of the Far Eastern arts of Wushu despite having the hair and eyes of a German."

"BLASPHEMY," Tenjin exclaimed. He was in the middle of trying to drown the food in his mouth with a vessel of sweet wine.

Veles hit him on the shoulder, "Don't speak while you're eating. It's rude," she scolded.

"I will DO what I WISH. Rude or OTHERWISE." Tenjin replied. He batted away Veles' hand with a strong flex of his muscles. "I will not use such barbaric techniques in my ART. Stonework is work for hands that CREATE, not hands that DESTROY."

Veles tutted to show her disapproval, but she did not combat her willful husband after that. Instead she reached for her cup and took a long drink of the honeyed wine. When she was done she changed the subject, "As for my shamanism, it's not much. I never had the gift. I knew what religious rituals were passed down from my mother, some medicines, and how to handle animals. Though I spent most of my time hunting for springs and quarries more than doing any real 'shaman work.'"

Tenjin seemed to grow suddenly sober. His face was scrunched up as if he was in deep thought. Then he shouted so loud that there might as well have been an explosion, "SERRA HAD THE GIFT. SERRA WAS A WONDERFUL SHAMAN. I WILL NEVER FORGIVE LIVIUS FOR TAKING HER FROM ME." Tenjin took a deep breath and continued, "SHE COULD MOVE THE EARTH WITH HER SONG, SHE COULD CALL THE RAIN WITH HER DANCE, AND HER SPELLS COULD RAISE FORESTS FROM BARREN EARTH. THE BEASTS OF THE EARTH WOULD COME TO HER BECK AND CALL."

"Oh hush," Veles said quietly, "it is not auspicious to speak of the resting at the table."

Kleo was sitting up now, her eyes were locked on Tenjin. "Serra, that was the name of the mistress'..."

"Serra was our daughter," Veles interrupted. "We choose to remember her as our daughter and not a tool of the Roman people."

"And Gaius?" Kleo pressed. She was almost standing now.

"He was our grandson yes. But not in the same way that Livia is our granddaughter. Gaius was always Livius' son just as Livia was always Serra's daughter." Veles picked up a pipe from a end table and lit it. She took a long drag of sweet aromatic smoke before exhaling. Her eyes were misty. "I don't think Livius is a bad man. He was a loving father and a good son-in-law. He was weak though, easily influenced and unable to speak for himself."

"No. Livius was not a bad man. I would never have let Serra marry him if he was," Tenjin said. He was much calmer than he was before, but tears stained his cheeks and chest like a river. "But he was never family. A city boy could never truly understand what it means to blessed by the steppe."

"I'm sorry if I'm changing the topic too quickly..." Ortha suddenly said. She looked up meekly, "but I wanted to know about the mistress' knives. Those were your daughter's right?"

Veles turned away. She was silent for some time before she answered, "Yes. Sinister and Dexter where Serra's knives before they were Livia's. Fangs of the world-snake, one turns flesh to stone, and the other rots stone into mud. Whet from enchanted stones carried from far eternities. Why did you want to know?"

"I... I overheard some men in the village talking. There was some noble who was scouring the country looking for keys to open some device they discovered in Thrace."

"What kind of device?" Tenjin asked forcefully. All of a sudden he was serious too.

"A stonework thing. A box resembling a sundial with hundreds of interlocking circles. That's what the rumors said. I think it was said that it was recovered from some ancient tomb deep in the mountains."

"Tenjin," Veles said, "do you think it's..."

"Impossible," Tenjin answered, "this topic is not auspicious. Let us pursue this topic no further." He pointed at Rugal, "Would you like to go to the baths with me? It has been far too long since I have had a good bathing partner."

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

Spoiler: Rugal

[hr]

Right to Rule

[i]Rugal's story[/i]

[hr]

Rugal suddenly felt a bit less bad about how dysfunctional his family was, if only for a few moments as he tried to follow the conversation.
He was a bit put off by Tenjin's dismissal of his lifetime of training but he kept that complaint to himself. (Plus, he doubted Tenjin could match him in battle anyway...)
"Well, you aren't wrong but you aren't right either. The knowledge of martial arts I hold spans far beyond the Far East. Secrets from lands you have yet to even hear of, power untold, I even had my own collection of-..." He modestly bragged least until a memory of that old "Hobby" [https://ugc.kn3.net/i/origin/http://orochinagi.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/final-boss-rugal-bernstein.png] silenced him. ("Our ones were more..."Life-like" anyway...")

Shaking that thought from his mind, he finished by saying "...Ah...it was a long time ago. Forgive me, I'm rambling." as he resumed his meal, listening to the discussion of Serra's powers and her enchanted weapons.
The message he was given about Livia possibly being the key to his return to the Rising Dawn came to mind as Kelo began to speak about some strange device and a noble who was seeking it out.
Tenjin's reaction was textbook, he was hiding something and he doubted that he would take lightly to him nosing around.
But he wasn't going to let that stop him from prying.
"Oh? Is that so? Can't say I've been to Thrace so this is the first I've heard of it. And a noble is trying to "Unlock" it and you are lead to believe Livia's daggers are the key?..."

He let out an amused laugh like an entertained tourist before adding "Could you please tell me more at some point? This sounds like a rather exciting tale..."

 

[BlackHarte]

Spoiler: Rugal

[hr]

Right to Rule

[i]rugal's story[/i]

[hr]

"It's not good to speak of those things," Veles repeated. She stood up and sighed, shaking her head. Tenjin tapped his foot against the ground repeatedly. He looked out toward the sea coast.

Then he stood up. "I will be going to the baths." Then Tenjin left without another word.

Veles leaned back against the counter. She brushed the hair to the side of her head. The atmosphere had gained a degree of tension. The silence was only broken by the coming of a set of soft footsteps. Livia swept into the room like a storm of petals. She was wearing a sheer white dress that fluttered around as if carried by the wind itself. She placed a hand on the stone counter and looked over the kitchen.

"You've made it back," Livia said as she brushed her red hair from her eyes much in the same way that Veles did.

Kleo stood up and bowed. Ortha and Phili did the same a short moment afterwards. Livia waved, "Relax." Ortha and Phili sat back down.

"Mistress Livia..." she bit her lip.

"Seems like something serious?" Livia asked. Kleo did not answer. There was a period of awkward silence.

Then Veles spoke up, "Asa an hada. Sh'a de er gon ua san shae da."

Livia turned around and spoke to her grandmother in the same mysterious tongue. They exchanged glances, a few motions, an then Livia shrugged and sat down. "Vel-daje is gone already?"

"Off to the baths again," Veles answered. Livia nodded. "Are you going to visit your mother?"

"Sometime in the afternoon. I need to go shopping for a new toga first," Livia answered as she smeared a piece of bread with eggs and honey.

"A new toga?" Veles asked, "Why in the world do you need a toga for?"

"I received a summons to the senate to discuss the passing of my father's estates," Livia wiped her mouth, "No doubt some cousins of mine are suing me for rights to the Etruscan properties." She stood up, "Come on, let us go to the markets." Ortha and Phili bolted up and set out to dress Livia in her tunica.

In little time the only people left around Rugal were Veles and Kleo.

> Go to the baths.
&nbsp&nbspGo to the markets.
&nbsp&nbspGo to the coastal gardens.
&nbsp&nbspTalk to Veles.
&nbsp&nbspTalk to Kleo.

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

Spoiler: Rugal

[hr]

Right to Rule

[i]Rugal's story[/i]

[hr]

Following the departure of Tenjin, Rugal only began to get more curious about the nature of this "Device".
Veles talking in another tongue once Livia arrived did little to put him off either, though he did try to make a mental note of what she said.
He merely nodded at Livia, acknowledging her arrival and quick departure before he turned to her remaining servant Kleo.
Moving over slightly when Veles wasn't looking, he asked Kleo "[sub]Would you mind meeting me at the coastal gardens? I wish to know more about that device and noble, namely just how badly he wants those keys.[/sub]"
Standing up, he politely dismissed himself before kindly saying "I thank you again for the meal and lodgings. Sorry for prying where I shouldn't have. Just still finding my way though these lands, hard to resist a good tale. Anyway, I shall be heading out. I have some business from last night I still have to resolve."

He then began to make his way towards the coastal gardens, hoping that Kleo would be a bit more free to speak outside of Veles and Ten'jins home.

 

[BlackHarte]

Spoiler: Rugal

[hr]

Right to Rule

[i]rugal's story[/i]

[hr]

The coastal gardens were an extension of the sea-side villas that ran all the way from the port of Pompeii up to the highlands hugging the verdant slopes of Mt. Vesuvius. A waist-high wall of clean stone separated the sand basin from the flower-bearing soil of the gardens. There were all sorts of colorful blooms swaying in the warm wind of the approaching summer sun. Each flower bed was home to a statue commemorating some sort of important figure. Several inscriptions told Rugal that they were put up by families to remember those that had passed into the underworld.

He spotted Kyuubey by one of the statues... yet when he approached he found that the creature was cast in stone. The statue was of a teenage girl, the marble had been carved with such skill that it looked like she was alive. Long folded robes hung in thin sheets from gentile limbs, she wore a sweet smile that spoke of nobility, but had eyes like those of a hawk. Her hair hand down in a cascade of curls down her back, thin coats of red paint stained the stone pink where it had been shielded from the salty ocean breeze.

The inscription read:

In loving memory of Serra,
Loving Mother, Wife, and Daughter.
Hero of the Danube

"Judge me not by what I did, but by who I was."​

"I trust that you have had a productive night," came a familiar voice. Kyuubey was sitting on top of the statue's head, tail waving back and forth idly as it eyed Rugal. "Serra was one of the most powerful girls I had ever contracted with. She had incredible willpower and lasted longer than I could have ever imagined. Still, all magical girls fall into despair. Eventually. I remember her fondly." Kyuubey looked out toward the city. "Another approaches."

---​

Kleo arrived looking half like death. There was a deep fatigue in her movements borne from both sleeplessness and hunger. She stifled a cough as she sat down on the wall of Serra' memorial flowerbed. She wore a white shawl around her normal brown tunica. She reached out and picked up Kyuubey off of the statue. "What are you doing all the way out here?" Kleo said affectionately. She scratched behind its ear.

"Kyu, kyuuu~" Kyuubey answered as it settled down in her lap.

"So you wanted to know about the noble and his lockbox right?" Kleo said softly. "I'll tell you what I know."

It was several weeks before you showed up at our door. We had just finished returning from Master Lucretius' funeral rites in Rome and Livia was feeling down. Eurydice decided to take her into town to do some shopping to try and cheer her up, but she ended up getting sick from some sour grapes we had gotten from a stall. Eury took the mistress into the baths to help her settle the ordeal with her stomach and had left me, Illya, and Bene out near the square.

There was a strange looking man walking around the square asking girls about the master of the realm. I remember him clearly, he was so peculiar. Even though it was the middle of spring, he was wearing a thick black cloak over his robes. He eyes were dark and sunken and his skin was pale. He looked old, but his hair was so dark and slick it looked as if it were made of oil.

When he approached us, I had to speak up as the oldest of our group. His voice sounded like gravel and he smelled... odd. He smelled like you do, drenched in this stench of decay and rust. He asked me, "Are you servants of the late Livius Lucretius Gravus?"

I said, "Yes, I am. Is there something I can help you with?"

"Yes there is," he said, "you see, my daughter. She is gravely ill... stumbling in a terrible dream and unable to wake." He produced a small box from inside his robe. He held it gingerly in his hands, running his fingers over the intricate gears that covered its surface. It was painted yellow and red. I couldn't help but feel threatened by the presence of the thing. "Your master has the key... the twin keys, yes, to open this box. Inside is the cure that will set my daughter free from her unending dream."

I shook my head, "I don't think we have anything like that."

"Not keys," he said, "I misspoke, not keys, but stones. Ancient stones enchanted with magic from the Age of Creation. They are the keys to access the cure."

I shook my head, "I don't think we have anything like that sir."

He shook his head gravely, "I know you do. I knew Livius. I knew him better than his own brothers. He has the keys, he's had them for a long time. He refuses to give them to me because they were special to him. But now that he is dead, I need the keys. I need them to wake my poor daughter from her sleep. It's been so many years... so many years..."

I realized then that I felt ill not because of the stone box he carried, but because of the man himself. He was so dark that the light seemed to dull in his presence. This man in black frightened me, so I feigned that I was being called away and brought Illya and Bene with me into the baths to find Eurydice.

But when we returned outside, the man had gone.

I described him to Eurydice and she said that it sounded like he might have been related to the Aurelius family, who were a big senate family in Rome known for their eccentricities.