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 Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2016 7:51 pm
Flynt Fletcher
Flynt was interrupted from his thoughts by approaching footsteps. Sir Blaylock had come to walk beside him, his approach respectfully from the side Flynt took note. A man of honor so it seemed. "Are you offering to help me? If so, I accept with gratitude. If not... well... I can try at least. No man should be forced to accept his daughter's death without trying to prevent it." It sounded almost as if he spoke from experience. "Nor his son's, but definitely not his daughter. And who knows. If I succeed, not only will I have a princess to wed and a kingdom to eventually rule, but I will also hold the title of "The Knight Who Slew a Dragon." Of course if you help, I'd have to share the title... amongst other things." He said no more, but waited to hear if the dark but honorable knight did indeed come to offer aid.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dragon
The flight home was a long one, but this dragon was an excellent flyer, and as they neared the looming mountains that lay well past the Forbidden Forest, the dragon began to pick up speed. They were nearing home, and he was eager to show off his prize. Through the rocky canyons he raced, twisting and curving with swan-like grace, his wings nearly grazing both sides of the rocky walls. The canyon twisted and forked many times, but the dragon knew these crevasses by heart, and could navigate them with his eyes closed if he so wished. Far below them, a tiny, shimmering snake of a river lazily cut the canyon deeper.
At last the dragon rose out of the canyon and worked his wings ferociously to ascend a tall mountain peak. Once over it, a great valley stretched below, lush and green, surrounded on all sides by the extensive mountain range. The dragon banked to the right and soon they cam upon an outcropping of stone that formed a ledge. It was here the dragon landed, careful not to crush his prize. He uncurled his claws and let her free on the ledge. He was not afraid of her running. There were only two ways she could go. Off the edge of the ledge and fall to her death, as it was a sheer cliff raised hundreds of feet from the tops of the trees below. The other option was a dark cave, and if she entered that, she would be lost in minutes in the maze that was his home. He watched her, pure curiosity in his expression. Now that he was not dodging and escaping or focusing on flying, he could study this strange creature called human.
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Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2016 8:26 pm
Mordecai Blaylock
He eyed Flynt curiously. It would seem that the other knight was no stranger to loss as well. But he should know... "I have no interests in marriage. My people are still recovering from the war and.." Mordecai hesitated for a moment, as he was still not- not quite right will telling what was still practically a stranger the more precise state of his home country. "..Due to a lack of supplies and labor, we have not truly begun to rebuild what was lost. If a union of marriage to the princess of another country was what it took to get that, then I'd do it in heartbeat. But that is no longer the case."
"Take the princess if you want, take the kingdom; my people have no use for more land and I have no time to care for a wife. But after we finish this, have wood and builders sent to the Isles. Swear this to me, and I will swear to you that I shall fight alongside you to this end."
---||---
Princess Gwenevere
Gwenevere stumbled as she was finally set down. She didn't fall though, and soon rightened herself to gaze about. The valley was amazing for lack of better words. She'd never seen anything like it. As she observed the land she realized something very odd indeed; the dragon wasn't eating her. Turning gracefully, she looked up at the ivory scaled beast. It appeared to be watching her as well.
Perhaps it was doing the same thing she was, that was, pondering the strange activities of it's new companion. Gwenevere let a soft, amused smile show on her face. It was likely wondering why she hadn't fainted like some normal girl.
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Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2016 8:41 pm
Flynt Fletcher
Flynt was pleasantly surprised to hear what Mordecai was offering. It was a simple enough request, and definitely fair. Besides, if this all went well and Flynt gained the kingdom, sending aid to the Isles could potentially gain him an ally there, and thus making the kingdom that much stronger.
"I see no reason why I shouldn't take the partnership. It seems mutually beneficial for us and our causes." He replied diplomatically, then returned to his normal, boyish attitude, "You've got yourself a deal!" he said with a smile, extending his hand to shake on the terms. "We will work together to defeat the beast and rescue the princess, and in return for letting me take the marriage and the kingdom, I shall swear to provide aid to rebuild your islands."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dragon
When the princess' gaze landed on him, the dragon lifted his head slightly, looking over her suspiciously, eyes narrowing and nostrils quivering to take in her scent. She was inspecting him now. There was that intelligence he had noticed earlier. He had been told of the human's gift for invention and colonization, but none of the elders had said anything about intelligence. He could see it behind her eyes though, unmistakable.
"You aren't like they said you would be." He said at last, the deep, resonating voice coming from him, yet his mouth remained closed. "You did not scream, or kick, or faint. Why?" He tilted his head.
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Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2016 7:35 pm
Mordecai Blaylock
Mordecai nods in affirmation to Flynt's statement and grips his extended forearm. It would seem that his version of formalities were still a little different than what was considered the norm here. He looks pleased with the chain of events between them, or at least for his usual deadpan look he does. His cloak moves to the side in his motion, and displays a few interesting details of the man.
Firstly being that he didn't seem to wear any heavy armor. Honestly, there were only a few patches of leather; mostly on the elbow and shoulders. The rest was of a thicker cloth. Secondly, his strange looking buckler on the arm he'd brought forward. It was thinner at the wrist and tapered out to the elbow, along with niches on the outer edges. Possibly used to catch hold of certain weaponry of sorts.Lastly was his weapon of choice. For in the shadows of his cloak, a long hilt could be seen. The actual weapon still unknown though, as it was still attached to his back..
---||---
Princess Gwenevere
They huh? So there were more, and near enough for the dragon here to reference it offhand. A thought for another time perhaps. "Today, I was to be the prize for a competition that I wanted no part in. A wife." She interjects with another word, knowing that the dragon being more animalistic, may not understand the meaning behind it. "A mate. To a complete stranger; with no way of knowing what they were truly like. Instead, you took me. Because of that I got to see more of the world in just a few hours, than I had my whole life. And because I know that a few moments of freedom is far better than a life in a cage."
Gwenevere holds herself steady and stares determinedly back into the dragon's eyes, waiting for its response.
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Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2016 9:29 am
Flynt Fletcher
A brief glimpse of what lay under the cloak while clasping the hand of his new ally was enough to tell Flynt that this man knew many ways to kill, and could very easily hold his own in the Forbidden Forest. That was a comfort, but if Mordecai turned out to be dishonorable, though it seemed unlikely based on his behavior thus far, Flynt could be in a lot more danger than he would be alone.
"All right then! Have you got everything you need for an extensive stay in a formidable wood?" He asked Morecai cheerfully. "I need to pick up some things in the market if it's open. If not, I'll have to do some foraging in the woods. Rather not waste the time though." He thought out loud and headed for the market district of the kingdom.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dragon
At first, when the princess spoke, it intrigued the dragon to the point of being startled, his eyes widening as he brought his head up, but as she continued to speak, he lowered himself back down, crouching, to be at level with her. After adjusting so that he was more comfortable, he thought about her words. She did wish to mate? Or she did not wish to mate with a stranger. Nor would he. That seemed like something humans would do. Her comment about seeing the world more in his flight home than ever before confused him as well. Did they never leave their dens?
"I do not understand much of your ways, but I understand the want for freedom. " He looked at her for a moment, then looked up as another form flew over the mountains and into the valley. This dragon was a vibrant green, wings glittering like emeralds. The white dragon gave a sigh and watched as the green dragon found their own spot on the mountain wall, across the valley. "Though I wish for a mate, rather than not." He said without thinking of his company.
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Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2016 1:17 pm
Mordecai Blaylock
"I have everything I need. Anything else I can either craft or find on my own." He raises an eyebrow at his companion. A formidable wood? Really? What were there, bears? Bah, he could handle those easy. Mordecai could remember a time when he and his brother had found a cub in the woods near their home. They'd wrestled with the thing even as it aged to adulthood; called him Brom. Those were different times though. "What else do you need to travel?"
---||---
Princess Gwenevere
For whatever reason, the dragon seemed surprised that she'd actually responded. But then it had crouched down before her, as if it were truly interested in what she had to say.
"I do not understand much of your ways, but I understand the want for freedom. " A beast great as this that didn't have freedom? How was this? Gwenevere's face turned concerned as she thought on this. Perhaps there was some form of hierarchy amongst the dragons.. Just then another dragon, a green one this time, flew over into the valley and landed on the side of another mountain. The dragon before her seemed to sigh as it continued. "Though I wish for a mate, rather than not.."
Well. That seemed to be of some issue. But then... It may be possible to rectify both of their situations. Her's obviously being not wanting to be eaten. But in order to play her cards right, she'd need more information. "I'm sorry, but I don't see your issue. Though it may be that I'm uneducated in dragon customs, from what I've seen you should have a fair amount of suitors." Base off of the few things she did know about dragons at least.
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Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2016 3:40 pm
Flynt Fletcher
"Oh, a few herbs for anti-venoms and potions. Have you ever traveled through the Forbidden Forest? It isn't called that because the king had forbidden travel through it. It's called that because the forest itself has forbidden humans from hunting there." He said no more. If the man knew already of it's legends, he needn't go on. If he hadn't heard, Flynt would be more than happy to enlighten his companion.
Looking up at the sky, he frowned slightly. "We need to hurry. There are checkpoints throughout the woods. We need to reach the first one before nightfall." The got to the market to see that few stalls and shops were open. There were some though, and Flynt was able to get a hold of most of what he needed. "Alright, lets get moving." He said and headed towards the east gate.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dragon
The dragon looked back at the princess, amused. Of course she would not see his predicament. Humans were not schooled in the way of dragons, and she admitted as much. A soft, rumbling sound rose from deep in his chest like the babble of a lazy creek spilling over a cluster of rocks and into a deeper pool. He was chuckling. "I am ancient in your years, but in the lifespan of dragons, I am still an adolescent. No female is interested in me yet." There were other reasons, but he left those out. In fact, he was not sure why he told her anything at all. She was supposed to be afraid of him. He was supposed to be threatening. If the others saw this casual conversation, his ostracism would only increase.
It wasn't as though he had visitors though, and so he let his worry tuck itself away to the back of his mind. He would b plenty threatening when the time came. "We will be spending the remainder of the day together." He informed her, " What shall I call you?"
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Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 7:03 pm
Mordecai Blaylock
The forbidden forest... He'd never heard of it. Maybe it was like the Sea of Angels? Granted, he couldn't imagine anything much worse than the singing snakes. He still bore the scars from those. He simply hmmned in acknowledgement to Flynt.
Once Flynt had apparently picked up what he needed, the two of them began to head east. "What it that you fear most from these woods?"
---||---
Princess Gwenevere
So he was still quite young then..."I see, I only recently reached adulthood so I understand a little of how tough it can be. My name is Gwenevere. Gwenevere Jupitaris." She does a small curtsy for the dragon, might as well maintain some 'lady-like' qualities. To be honest though, would it even matter if she did? They were out in the wilderness after all. And Dragons may have differing views on what was deemed 'polite' or 'lady-like'... If they had a definition for lady-like at all. Perhaps she could ask another time..
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Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 8:05 pm
Flynt Fletcher
A grim smile spread across Flynt's face when Mordecai asked what he feared most about the forest. "That's a hard question. There's the Vengeful Minotaur. I prowls the forest as it's guardian. It get's it's name because the legend says that before, when the forest was not forbidden, a unicorn lived in it. Now the thing about unicorns is that when they pick a forest to live in, it becomes exponentially more difficult to acquire any game in said forest. Because of this, man set out to hunt the unicorn and remove it from the forest so that they could hunt with greater success. They killed it, and the Minotaur, who was the sole lover of the unicorn, vowed to kill any human that set foot in the forest." To be honest, Flynt was glad he could share this with someone. Many remained ignorant of the reason the Forbidden Forest was forbidden, and enlightening even one person felt like an accomplishment. "The forest itself was so distraught at the loss of it's unicorn that the very earth and plants became hostile to humans. Aside from the Minotaur, there's the Bogtrodder, but as long as you don't use magic in his swamp, he remains asleep. There are man-eating plants, but I know what they look like so we should be fine. There's poisonous plants, snake-vines, and at night the forest releases a noxious gas that paralyzes humans and shuts down their bodies. No one has found a cure for the exposed, and mortality is certain. Most die within two days of breathing it in. That's why we need to reach the checkpoint before dark. It seems that if enough of the forest is cleared away and walled off, the mist cannot penetrate." Flynt ran through what other dangers were prominent in the Forbidden Forest, adding at last, "Oh, and apparently there are dragons. A new development I need to inform the university of as soon as this errand is completed." The last statement was more of a mental note to himself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dragon
The dragon was gaining more and more interest in his captive, finding that he quite enjoyed conversing with her. Her formal and polite way of addressing him did her a great favor, for dragons were sticklers for politeness. "I am called Ivorodimas. It means 'White Sunset'. It is my capture of you that will grant me the title of adult in my clan." He informed her with pride. "When we come of age, we are sent on a quest to preform a great deed. Collect an ancient treasure or manuscript, discover a new land, gain territory or something deemed impressive. It had been a while since a dragon has taken a princess, but braving a human settlement is considered impressive."
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Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2016 10:21 am
Mordecai Blaylock
Mordecai had tilted his head at Flynt while the man spoke, giving the knight a good bit of his attention. Once he had finished, Mordecai spoke. "I understand your difficulty in this. Men that do not understand the laws of nature and expect the world to warp itself around their actions. Similar events have happened to the priestesses of my country, and as a result are a more well guarded and hostile community." It was true, as usually only the children could go to see them. And even then the process one had to go through could take years to complete. "If the surrounding area of this place is a dangerous as you say, then we must move quickly.. Will we be bringing horses or hunting animals?
---||---
Princess Gwenevere
She smiled up at the young dragon- at Ivorodimas. "You are aptly named then. Congratulations on your new title then.. Though I am still a little concerned as to what my ultimate purpose is of being here." An understatement. While Gwenevere enjoyed her conversation with the- with Ivorodimas, she needed to know her fate. "Am I to remain here as your companion, or.." She trailed off in her sentence, being unable to say her fears out loud.
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Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2016 2:59 pm
Flynt Fletcher
Flynt frowned slightly when he heard that the reason the forest had forbidden itself to humans was one of the same reasons Mordecai's islands were in turmoil. Thee fact remained that nature was the ultimate force, no matter how much you take from her, she would always take back. Sometimes tenfold.
"If you have a horse, we could brig it. As for hunting animals, I greatly advise we bring them along as well. The more fighters we have with us, the better. Predators are more discouraged from attacking when there is a bigger group." Flynt explained as they exited the city. The stables were just outside, and Flynt went to the stable master and asked for his horse. A sleek, black coated mare was brought to him and Flynt greeted her fondly, "Hey Aurora! I know we just got here, but you ready get moving?" He asked her as if she could understand and answer him. He turned to Mordecai, "This is Aurora's Nightmare, Aurora for short." He patted the mare's neck with a smile. "Do you have a horse?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ivorodimas
Ivorodimas had not thought about what to do with the princess after she had served her purpose. It seemed a shame to eat someone who would actually talk to him. She seemed almost comfortable being around him, aside from the tiniest scent of fear that emanated from her. "Tonight there is to be a ceremony. All of the dragons that hatched out of the same brood as myself are to show up and present their token of adulthood to the elder council and if deemed worthy, will be considered an adult and therefore have the rights of an adult. I will be able to attend gatherings, mate, compete for leadership and so on." He looked off to the far end of the valley where the tallest peek in the mountain range stood above all else. "You are my token. Afterward..." He trailed off, turning to face her again, "Well, typically we eat anything living we capture. If I were to let a human go, it would surely be my hide. However!" he added quickly, thinking, "If you were to prove yourself useful to me, it may not have to end with your death." He really did not want to eat her, he decided.
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