Closed [Lavender Ruins] Broken Peace, Broken Pieces.

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

He didn't like the sounds the stairs made when the Jamoura followed him up them.. but he remained quiet on the matter as he ascended and glanced through the hallway. They all looked pretty deserted; small marks along the ruined floorboards being the only clue that anyone at all had been inside. Still, he pressed further another step or two.. and called out into the empty ruins. "Hello?" His own voice echoed around the hall, down into each room and spreading through the entire house. Not what he'd wanted, really.. goodness knew what the people inside would be doing, and goodness knew he didn't want to disturb them either.

What he wasn't expecting though, for how big the house was and how loud his voice had unintentionally become, was the near-whisper that spoke from barely a foot away. He recoiled in shock, and turned.. just in time to see a man standing there, as if he'd always been there. Perhaps he was, and the squirrel had simply not seen him.. what with the strange, dark clothes and hood, it wasn't difficult to miss him amongst the shadows of the dark house. Even in the middle of the day, there seemed to be just enough roof left in the ruin of the house to cast a near-permanent shadow over the place. Mushrooms still grew between the floorboards, and mosses still covered the walls.. heck, even some roots hung through the few cracks in the ceiling that there were.

"Can I help you, Pycon and Jamoura?" His voice seemed neutral, with a hint of curiosity, as he turned from one creature to the other and back again. Arch supposed that it wasn't often that he got to see them around the ruins.. if at all, really. However, he looked about ready for battle. The tip and butt of a war-scythe could be seen around the edges of his cloak - pushing over his shoulder and out of the opposite hip. Its blade was sharp, but its colouring was dull, oddly.

"Uhm.. yes. Sorry, let me introduce myself. My name is Squire Archailist, of the Syliran Knights. And this is... Gron. We're here to investigate a recent disappearance that happened near here." At that, the man's unnaturally golden eyes widened just a fraction. That meant he must know something. "I was wondering.. if you knew anything about this. Anything that could be related to it.. a cause.." The more he looked into the man's eyes, the more he could see something, definitely. He couldn't think for a second that the man did it.. but could he know something about it?

".. A malevolent spirit, I'm afraid." Oh dear. He'd never dealt with a ghost before, unfortunately. "I will accompany you. Can you take me to the place that the man was last seen." Well.. this could have gone better, but on the other hand, it could have turned much worse. The man just gave him a bit of the creeps, for one reason or another.. but if he would be useful, then so be it.

[Gron]

67th of Summer, Year 514

When they entered the building a strange man revealed himself to them, appearing almost as if from the shadows beside them. Gron doubted it being magical but he only had any inky of how to perform shielding and not amazingly well at that. He stayed firm and acted like the mans sudden appearance had no effect on his nerves. If fact he was quite unsettled with him in general. There seemed to be something ominous about him which he didn't like, on top of that he was brandishing weapons, some sort of scythe it seemed and razor sharp though the metal didn't seem to have been cared for vary well. The man speculated that it was all cause by a spirit then he offered to help although Gron felt a little uneasy about working with this strange man. "You said it was a Malevolent Spirit... What is a Malevolent Spirit exactly" Gron asked having little knowledge on whatever it was they where intending to hunt down it would seem. Gron hoped that if push came to shove with one that either his shielding or brute strength would help against this potential enemy.

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

Instead of answering the question, the man turned and only gave brief looks towards the pair of odd creatures on his way down the stairs. Arch knew that this man - this odd, rather creepy person with unnatural eyes - was the one clue to the entire disappearance. He wasn't just the only person that lived relatively close to the grounds, excluding the other spiritists that had drifted in and out of the ruins occasionally; he was the only person that could have any information relating to the disappearance because at the time, there were no others even relatively close. And with talk of malevolent spirits and ghosts floating about, he had a feeling that the man would become especially useful in the near future - especially if he knew anything about them, because he could be pretty sure that neither himself, nor Gron knew anything.

So, he followed shortly afterwards - and picked up on a few scraps of conversation on the way down the staircase, occasionally thrown over the man's shoulder, even though he never bothered to look back at either of them. "There are plenty of souls that do not wish to carry on to reincarnation - instead, they stay behind in this world, to complete tasks they were stopped from doing in life. Sometimes they are simple, other times, less so. They can be kind, or they can be not-so-kind. Malevolent spirits are usually the ones that want to exact revenge on someone.. perhaps their murderer, perhaps the murderer of a loved one.. or simply something that wants to cause lots more damage to the world." The priests voice turned softer as he spoke - almost a bit darker.

"A few nights ago, I sensed something nearby. A ghost that vanished just as quickly as it arrived. I paid it no mind.. although now I think I should have." The squirrel had to wonder if there was any significant relationship between the fallen individual and this priest.. because his voice sounded quite more mournful than the average listener. "However... were there any tracks around the spot that this person disappeared from. It could be wolves, bears, Kriital, Balacani.." Unfortunately, the squirrel had to stop the man shortly after he began listing out such strange and random creatures.

"Well, around these ruins was the last place he was seen. We don't know whether he moved further up, or whether he was taken down here.. it could have been animals, it could have been ghosts.. anything, really. Which is why we came to you, to see if you had any evidence, if you.. sensed any strange activity." Well, he had his answer now. And he had a good feeling that if it really was ghosts, it'd be better to stay close to the man. He seemed to have a rather extensive knowledge on ghosts and the.. malevolent spirits. He wasn't sure if Gron knew anything about ghosts, and the squirrel didn't either, so that made two utterly useless accomplices.

"Well. If we split up, it'll be quicker to find it. You two take the Purple Forest. I'll search around the edges of the ruins. It'd be best if we found this spirit before it caused any more damage."

[Gron]

67th of Summer, Year 514

Gron was still uneasy about the man, he knew something and wasn't tell Arch or himself for some reason. Gron deduced enough to know now that there was trouble nearby and it would be revealed to them soon. When the man only half answered his question it seemed it made Gron's suspicions grow further, he didn't believe this man was trustworthy, but what choice did they really have. Gron felt obligated now to help Arch to completion of his task. "If it is a spirit how do we protect ourselves against it" Gron asked after the man said that they should split up, hoping that at least they could have some way to defend themselves if they are attacked suddenly. He felt like this was probably a trap somehow but kept his suspicions quite for the time being. He would speak with Arch about this once they had departed for there assigned destination.

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

The squirrel was about to turn and run off for the Purple Forest with all haste, but suddenly found him stopped in his tracks by Gron's question. Truthfully, the large ape seemed a hindrance when the squirrel looked back on all the times he'd been forced to stop - when, surely, they should have gone to the best of their ability to catch the thing as quickly as possible, before another life was claimed by the spirit.. if it was a spirit that was responsible. But, just like that, he found himself silenced and chastised before he thought to utter a word against Gron. Because he found himself beginning to ask the very same question. How on earth would they be able to stop a creature, if they couldn't even touch it..?

"Now this is why I wanted you to come." Well, no it wasn't. Truthfully he'd hoped the Jamoura would have some vital information that could come in handy, although with that theory debunked early, he'd begun to question himself. However.. with the squirrels tendency to run head-first into danger, perhaps it was good to have someone who'd likely think before acting. There'd be a time for suicide-mission leap-of-faith moments later, because right now they needed a plan. A suitable, formidable plan against.. whatever the heck was hiding somewhere in the ruins. Heck, they might not even run into the ghost at all.. but it'd be good for at least something to fall back on. With that in mind, he turned towards the priest, ready and raring for whatever he had planned.. although he found himself quite disappointed.

"If you find it, call for my help." Apparently the quite serious disbelief on the squirrels face was understood, because after a moment, he relented and expanded a little. "Unless either of you two know anything about Spiritism, there'll be little you can do to stop a ghost because it can only be harmed if it materializes in front of you. If it materializes.. attack it. Remove its Soulmist, and it won't be able to harm you." The squirrel honestly missed most of that. He had no clue what Soulmist was.. and truthfully he knew nothing about spiritism, so that meant he'd have to rely on whatever the man told him, and hope that either he or Gron understood enough of it so that one of them could make use of it, and they wouldn't end up joining that ghost as an undead.

"Oh, and as a precaution. Take this." The man reached into his pocket and suddenly removed a.. necklace. A rather oversized necklace with large beads held together by strands of what looked like string. The man seemed indecisive, but eventually held the thing out to Gron. Evidently, it'd be a little too large for the squirrel to carry effectively. "If you're in trouble, throw this on the ground. It'll create a safe zone that a ghost cannot pass. You can throw it around yourself or around the ghost.. but I'd suggest you throw it down on the ground around yourself. Stand in it and the ghost can't do anything to you." The beads were moderately heavy - likely to stop them from being manipulated when they were set down on the ground. "But.. honestly, if you come into trouble, just call for me. Now, you'd better get going."

Evidently, the priest wasn't interested in answering any more questions. After leaving the beads with Gron and Archailist, the priest turned and jogged at a gentle pace around the edges of the ruins.. and soon afterwards, Arch broke from his reverie and gestured to the Jamoura. "Well.. guess that settles that. Come on, we'd better get moving. I seriously don't want to stay here any longer than we need to..."

[Gron]

"That was real helpful" Gron said sarcastically after the man was well out of sight. He rapped the necklace of beads around his arm carefully "Hopefully this thing actually works" he said turning to Arch. "I believe it's time for us to leave isn't it" he said having picked up on Arch's hurried attitude. Gron wasn't sure how much longer the Pycon would wait but at least it was long enough to get a little information out of the man. "We should probably hurry since I wouldn't want to be here searching after nightfall" he stated as he stretched out a bit readying for a run. Gron was thinking intently about how much a stronger understading of magic and the magical world could be of great help now or at least another person helping with the seach, but that was a little too much to ask for.

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

The squirrel nodded in agreement as he turned and began to track around the side of the ruined building. "I know the feeling, Gron." Truly, the Pycon did. Creatures came out at night that enjoyed a snack of squirrel; even though he wasn't actually a squirrel, it didn't mean that a pack of wolves, a Kriital - heck, a Balicani - wouldn't try a nibble. And he'd much rather avoid such things if he was utterly honest. He'd only be able to avoid them if he could see them. With Syna's light already hidden behind the dense treetops, the air was getting colder, the more they stayed in the long shadows. Even Xarex - who had stayed remarkably close and silent throughout most of their venture - was beginning to whine and shiver. The Pycon placed a gentle paw on the top of the dogs head in an attempt to soothe him, but that just made the dog push hard against his side. "Hey!" It seemed he wasn't going to ease up, either.

Oh well. I might as well make use of his energy, while he has it. He grabbed the reins, hanging down from the back of his neck, and tugged them gently to keep the dog back while he eased himself onto the dogs back - with a little bit of awkward wobbling. Eventually he got the hang of it, though. "Tell you what. I'll search ahead. If you find any clues or anything suspicious, call me over, and I'll do the same. It'll make this thing go by much faster." Besides - with Gron and the beads, he doubted he'd be in any danger, no matter what he found. After squeezing down around the dogs sides and lowering the reins down near to the back of the head of Xarex, the dog pushed forwards into a light trot - that soon grew into a rather nimble jog around to the right of the castle, and towards the expanse of forest that grew within the boundaries of the crumpled walls of the estate.

Almost immediately, he understood why it was called the Purple Forest.. and Xarex must have picked up on the squirrels sheer apprehension and discontent, because he fidgeted and squirmed underneath the squirrels legs - making it more and more difficult to remain on his back, never mind actually keep control over where they were going. It was another one of those moments, where it paid off to keep control of the dog. With the shot lead kept in place, he tugged both paws back - making the dog tilt his head back as well, before his grip pulled down again and made sure that Xarex could feel the reins tugging at his head, keeping it motionless. When Arch eventually released his grip, Xarex knew what the message meant - and he remained motionless until Arch gave a gentle squeeze to his sides again, and set him at a slow walk.

Sometimes, it paid to have some control over his mount. To show that he was the boss.. because if he didn't, he'd likely have just fallen straight off. Instead, he gently patted the dog on the head and sighed. "Good boy, Xarex. It's nothing to be worried about - just an ordinary forest that looks a little malnourished."

[Katelyn Marks]

Due Rewards

“After nourishment, shelter, and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.”

― Philip Pullman

 

Archailist

Skills
➢ Tactics +2
➢ Py-pole +1
➢ Riding: Dog +3
➢ Animal Husbandry +2
➢ Land Navigation +3
➢ Rhetoric +2
➢ Interrogation +3
➢ Leadership +2
➢ Planning +1
➢ Investigation +2

Lores
➢ The Cobalt Mountains: Lavender Ruins
➢ The Cobalt Mountains: The Purple Forest
➢ Shielding: Appearance of a Shield
➢ Shielding: Creating Barriers from Djed
➢ Jamoura: Massive Ape Race
➢ Gron: Jamouran Shielder
➢ Animal Husbandry: Positive Canine Reinforcement
➢ Calidus Mortem: Priest of Dira

Comments: I'm sorry this one ended early! I was hoping to see some Arch/ghost interactions! Still, I gave you what I could. You have quite a few maxed out skills now, so it's not as much as you would have earned otherwise of course. Good job!

 

Gron

If you ever return, update your character sheet and I will award you for this thread.

If you have any concerns or questions about your rewards please feel free to send me a message. Also, please edit your original grade request and mark it as graded. Thank you and enjoy!