OOC- This is my first attempt at a forum RP in at least 4 years so someone let me know if I'm forgetting anything, or not doing something right.
The feild smelled of fresh death and smoke, which was unsurprising given the battle between the Sons of Sachronus and the people of Jastrey had been only days previous. Diana skulked around the edges, smelling for anything left behind. It was generally frowned upon to steal from the dead, but the way she saw it, they didn't need any of it. That besides, ownership was a strange concept that was often fuzzy in her mind. The rules changed depending on the item and the owner and it was all very confusing. That being said, the dead could not ask for thier things back. This made taking them simple.
She scratched behind one fluffy ear, and bent low, nose to the ground. She could pinpoint where Saccronus had fallen; it smelled intensely of magic. It didn't seem to matter that he had lived, the spot just smelled wrong, unnatural. Diana sneezed, clearing the scent from her nose and paused. A shift in the wind carried a new scent to her nose.
Forcing herself to stand on her hind legs like most of Jastrey's inhabitants, she looked around in search of the new being on the empty battlefeild.
Covered in mud and gore, the riven walked into the clearing with a joyous smile on his face, one you might expect from a child with free reign in a candy store. He walked from body to body, inspecting each one to see if they were worthy to join his collection. After deciding most of the lot was too far decayed to be of any use, he set his attention on the gnome sitting in the battle field. "What's the matter Little Paladin? Don't enjoy the smell of death in the morning?" The riven let out a laugh that said he was in an obviously good mood today.
There was not much point in creeping over to the pair, but she did it nonetheless, it was instinctual. The gnome held her nose and the riven smiled--and smelled for that matter. Riven had a unique smell of death, magic, and the inside of a morgue, and Diana was grateful she hadn't been planning to eat anything within the next hour or two. The smell alone would have soured the meal.
The paladin would notice her soon, likely before the riven, so she slipped out into the clearing, remaining on all fours to better run if things went sour. One ear cocked to catch the rest of the conversation, she drew closer until there were only a few yards' distance between her and the two.
"Death is an unpleasant smell regardless of the hour," she growled.
The riven offered a sly smile towards the ulf. "Oh, but on the contrary. Death smells like new life. A chance for something to begin because of anothers passing. It's almost poetic really," Pelle said. As if to prove a point, the riven walked over to a nearby corpse and rolled it over, revealing a small swarm of maggots and other bugs that were there for the feast. He spent a second looking over the body before ultimately deciding it was like the rest and was unusable.
Thimble looked up at the Riven and mildly glared at him. "Death I don't mind, as long as their spirits move on and they don't become undead, that I do mind, a little anyway..." She mumbled and had emphasised on the word undead while looking up at Pelle. While responding to him, she heard the scampering noise of Diana moving towards them.
"Oh hi, Diana! Have you come to wait for the break of day too?" She inquired, leaning up off her hands and slouching forward so she could wave at her.
The golem comes through the tree line heading towards the Tower. Behind it lays a swath of broken tree limbs and trampled saplings. The golem walks with purpose, his steps are a cacophony of grinding stone, magical hums, and errant thoughts. When Rune nears the gathered, it's steps slow as the golem notices more an more bodies. "Bodies lead to pestilence. Leaving them out unwise. Sons not worthy of burial. Should be burned."
Rune stops near the riven. "Pelle, have you taken what you needed? These bodies need to be composted. The few organics worth saving in this town will not survive if these are left out in the open. We should begin setting fire to them." The golem looks at the young gnome. It's lights glow brighter and the docent at the center of Rune's chest pumps energy into the golem's arms. "Distrust. Gnome sent as reconnaissance. Pick bodies of useful information. Regather secrets for Secronus and Lemesin." The air is filled with a dull hum emanating from the golem.
As Rune approached, light was starting to creep over the tops of the trees. "Hold on oonneee second." She told Rune before moving herself around to where she now sat on her calves. She held her head down and remained silent for a good minute or so, her eyes also closed and her lips were moving but nothing was being verbalized.
After said minute, she lifted her head up, eyes open, and looked around at the group before clumsily standing up and grabbing her shield. "So burning the bodies..?" She murmured, pulling her lips in and to one corner of her face. "Hmm.. I'll help put them in a pile, but I won't stick around for the burning, fair deal?" She asked, attempting to compromise and smile.
Matilda walked into the clearing, wondering around the area, exploring the other's 'home' which was new to her. The bodies didn't really bother her, she saw them more as creatures whose time stopped. She made her way to the group, making a half hearted attempt to avoid stepping on the bodies but ever so often there would be crunches of their fingers breaking under her feet. Give a half smirk she eyed her eared friend. "You may want to get up wind there," she gave with a chuckle at the end.
The voice of Blaise is suddenly heard, as he appears almost from nowhere: "Did somebody say 'burn?'" The Ifrit seems quite excited at the prospect. "Rune makes a valid point. These corpses will surely begin spreading pestilence in a matter of days. Also, they stink of Secronus." Blaise's glowing aura, clearly visible in the light of rising sun, seems to pale and dull as he remarks, "It's a good thing we destroyed him. Oh wait... purging one of the most evil entities in the entire realm from existence doesn't follow the Paladin's Code." The Ifrit's eyes flare up a searing-hot blue as he momentarily glares at Thimble. He then begins dragging bodies into a pile and starts one of his merry tunes:
"I married a wife, O then, I married a wife, O then.
I married a wife, she was the plague of my life,
And I wished to be single again!"
The riven offers a slight wave of approval to the golem. "There were few of any use anyway. Do with them what you will." He watched as the ifrit approached the group and a coy smile stretched across his face at the mention of letting Secronus live. "Oh, but haven't you learned yet? Palladins are silly people who do silly things and make people think silly things. It's quiet amusing when you really think about it, is it not?"
Diana didn't wave at Thimble, but rather allowed her tail to give a half-wag of acknowledgement. Her attention was distracted when the stone golem rumbled--spoke? Cocking her head to one side in confusion, she loped curiously towards the golem to smell it as Matilda, (whom she rather liked despite the smell) advised her to move upwind.
"Did somebody say burn?" came a crackling voice and she turned, pulling her tail in to keep it from getting accidentally singed. The meadow had become crowded rather quickly and it seemed wiser to move upwind rather than investigate. Considering her tendency to bite when others drew too closely into her space, the Ulf gave the group a last glance of appraisement before giving herself a bit of space, as well as moving upwind. Death smelled even worse when you mixed it with fire and magic.
Matilda jumps a little, not expecting the ifrit to just appear. Quickly her eyes narrow. "You......YOU!" the homunculus growls as she marches up to him, not carrying who or watch she stepped on as one of the Son's heads gave a good crunch. She was standing only inches away from the Ifrit's face. " You really couldn't listen could you! Was walking in one direction too hard for you?! You had one job, ONE!" she proceeded to scream at the Ifrit.
Thimble frowned at the Ifrit. "You can't just off an immortal. The last time that happened, the Shattering happened, and that was immortal vs immortal, not mortal vs immortal. Who is to say we could have actually managed to kill him?" She said very matter-o-factly.
Having a feeling that that was all she wanted to say about the matter, she set her shield to the side and started helping gather up corpses into a large pile. Once the majority of the bodies had been placed into a pile, she grabbed her shield and went along to follow the Ulf Diana.
As Matilda began screaming at Blaise, the Ifrit drew back several steps; he had never heard an homonculus raise its voice before. Quite frankly, it was frightening. At the same time, he could feel fiery rage building within him, and the temptation to scream back was very strong. But he mustn't, he had done so well this far. He must remain sensible. Preparing his sincerest, most charming voice, he waits for a break in the onslaught and interjects, "Matilda! You poor, poor thing, you. I cannot even begin to tell you how awful I feel for bumping into you. But look! You're perfectly fine! A little singed around the edges, maybe, but fine! We all made it out of there."
They fae flew down from somewhere above landing lightly to the ground. The ruckus from a seemingly dead field had perked her curiosity and she had finally decided to get a closer look. She noticed Patches, the Ulf, Rune, a Gnome but her attention immediately turns to the Homunculus and ifrit. She knew of the friction in between the two side as a smirk crossed her lips and with the addition of burning things now being suggested. This may get interesting, and if not there is a nice pyre that is to be made.
Rune helps Blaise piles the corpses onto the fire. When the homunculus begins to mouth off to the ifrit, Rune stops and re-gathers magic in his arms ready to disintegrate the other simulacrum where she stood. However, when Blaise apologized and backed down, the energy dissipates. Rune walks in between them and an empty booming voice emanates from the stone chest of the construct: "You brought your own destruction down upon yourself by making noise, much as you are now." The golem leans in towards the homunculus, so it's metal face is inches away from hers. "One might consider that in future engagements. This one understands that both of you were novices at stealth, but the ifrit kept his volume under control. You chose to over react, as you are choosing to do now, Inferior."
The golem rights itself, stone grinding on stone as it does so, and walks back to continue to move bodies into the flames
Seren can be seen, running into the battlefield. The Elf sees the group and runs towards them, then slowing down as he gets closer. His arms and hands begin to emit a white aura, and he waves to the group. "Good day, friends!" He proceeds to walk towards the pile of burning bodies.
Standing in front of them, he holds his hands out in front of him and begins an enchant. "Antasia, guide my hand. Send these souls away from this land, so that they do not cover the ground with their filth." His eyes begin to glow white, and the aura around his arms and hands shines bright. [Purge]
Matilda bites her lower lip and eyes the Ifrit and the Golem, her fists gripped tightly that her knuckles turned white. After having her moment to vent she was able to regain composure. "let's just get these bodies taken care of," Matilda growled, turning to see if the Sons had anything good on them
Upwind and with Thimble seated nearby, Diana settled into the grass, watching the slow progress of the other Jasteryans moving Son's bodies into a pile for burning. The feild had been purged of their souls and soon they would once again be polluting the air--this time with the smoke from their corpses. She watched Matilda inspect the bodies for useful tidbits, the Ifrit and golem moving bodies, the elf looking over the feild and the fae hovering nearby, likely looking for signs of trouble.
"Secronus wasn't much of a leader," she thought aloud. "He left all his packmates to die so he could escape."
The normally dull hum that emanates from the golem grows in intensity as Rune tosses another body onto the pile. The flames reflect off the golem's metal face. "These were not pack mates. That would imply Secronus cared about them. Saw them as equals. Slave is closer. Thrall is the most accurate." says the golem, turning it's gaze to the ulf. "He did not escape. Secronus was let go. Freed from the justice that he was due."
Seren pauses for a moment, then turns to Rune.
"I believe are choice was for the best. We've defeated Secronus, and now he will never cause us trouble again. If he does, he knows the force he has to fight against. We've defeated him once, we can do it again."
The Elf steps away from the bodies, and sits down. He scoops up some dirt, and holds it in his hands before placing it back in the ground. After letting out a sigh of content, he speaks again. "I don't think he'll be coming back anytime soon. We saved him to save our home."
He looks up, with a smile on his face. "The Grove is my home. I could not let that just... go away. I'm happy with the decision that was made."
The fae plops down near to the ulf turning to her to speak. "Yes, I'd have to agree with Rune. Secrones followers they..... where more like.. his toys. Like spoiled child in a way" She ponders for a moment before speaking again "disposable, replaceable" "Regardless of the town choice to spare Secrones, his toy's fates were already sealed"
A loud howl echoes acrossthe field, and at the edge of the treeline a large form appears on all fours. the unshaven, dirty and extremely bloody form of Leofrick stands up and shakes himself. Looking around the battle field and seeing the pyre, he notices the familar blue robes. "Seren..." Leofrick teleports next to Seren sitting down next to him. "So what did I miss Seren? It seems like i miss alot of fun."
Matilda is startled by the howl that pierced through everyone. Then seeing the familiar face the homunculus smirked and looked at her Ulf companion. "Here comes some distant cousin of yours," she said with a giggle before patting down another body and cursing when she found nothing. This was the only help she was going to do since she wouldn't get anywhere near the pyre that was ablaze.
Rune's markings and docent glow brighter for a moment before he speaks to the elf: "You are narrow minded. Secronus vowed to not return to Jastrey. What of the other shards? What of the other forests you have doomed?" Rune picks up a Son's head in one stone hand. The head is that of a younger man, of similar age to the elf. "How many more foolish young organics must die? How much more potential must be wasted for the efforts of the Immortal of Secrets?" Decay had set into the head, and in it's fury, the golem caved the skull in with it's gripping force. With a dismissive swing of his arm Rune throws the remnants of the head and torso into the flames. "How much more must be lost due to selfishness of this town. We saw the rest of this world chasing Sons and Secronus, yet those who saved Secronus choose to ignore everyone that ever helped us. Every life we influenced these past mestruns will still feel the influence of Secronus and his allies!" The golem's voice steadily rose in volume as it ranted, yelling at no one in particular.
Malkonius walked onto the field admist the ramblings of the golem. He had gained respect for the simulacrum in the recent battle, though it confused the dwarf as to why it would be rambling on about something out of its control. Malkonius approached Rune, and with a hearty 'thwack,' he firmly planted his hand across the golem's back.
"Ain't yeh suppos'd tha be thinkin' logically? What gud is thar goin' on 'bout things we can't control anymore?"
He knew that this attempt to quell the golem's frustrations would likely be in vain, but figured he may as well go on with it while he's here, lest he turn the raging structure against him.
"I would'a giv'un ev'rything to see Secronus destroy'd, includin' tha Citadel... but that's in tha past now, no use dwellin' on it! I'm not 'appy 'bout it either, but what's dun is dun. C'mon now, lemme grab some o' 'dem bodies for ya!"
Thimble sat next to Diana, her knees to her face and her face burried against them, partially to avoid the horrid smell of burning flesh and the other part to not take an unchecked glance at the flames, mindlessly nodding to what Diana and the others had to say about the choice that was made.
She had a sudden urge to go write down her thoughts, that way she couldn't later forget them, along with a bit of studying for her Paladin trials coming up soon. "I'll see you later Diana." Thimble said with a slight smile after she had got up on her feet but before she started walking away.
Blaise's aura fades to almost nothing. Looking to the golem, he remarks in a melancholic tone most unlike him, "Come, Rune, the dwarf is correct. While the decision was indeed regrettable, there is nothing to be done now, except to prepare to battle him in the future when he comes back twice as powerful."
The Ifrit quickly builds himself a separate fire using the flames from the pyre, and sits trance-like just inches away from the flame.
The riven chuckled not so quietly to himself over the talk of letting Secronus live. "I think I've finally figured out you Jazz Treeyans. As long as he isn't bothering US then theirs no problem at all! So what if he moves onto another town to torment, it's not on our hands and not our problem, right?" The riven grinned his sly smile. "I suppose you all have this handled. I have a ransacked cemetary to straiten up." With that, Pelle headed back into the direction of town, laughing under his breath.
The golem doesn't seem to register the pats on the back, but it does acknowledge the dwarf, "This one understands. The error stands out. It is something this one cannot fix. It remains broken." Rune then turns to face the dwarf, "This one helped your Stormbringers take back the Citadel. Secronus has already taken much of it. Guardian will help you take back the rest."
The golem then walks over and joins the ifrit. "This one discerns that you are troubled."
The Ifrit keeps his gaze fixed upon the fire in front of him as he speaks softly, "So much has happened in just a few short mestruns. My ship, my crew, my captain, my life as I knew it... all destroyed in one fell swoop. My own life was nearly taken from me out of my own ambition. And now... I just helped battle an Immortal and his army. It's just...overwhelming." The sprite's eyes remain fixed on the flames. "It helps to stop for a moment and reflect upon where I came from."
The werewolf was....interesting. She had never met one before and despite Matilda's remark about distnt cousins, she had no idea where on the tree of history, her bloodline and his might have interconnected. Instead of speaking, she padded over to him and circled the werewolf, sniffing as she did. Many things could be determined by smells--healt, previous meals, most recent bath, and places the person had been, to name a few. Origins were not one of them. After finishing her olfactory inspection, Diana sat back and peered at the unnamed werewolf before looking to Seren for any sort of clues about him. He and the elf were clearly friendly, which made him tentetively not-an-enemy, but even elves could have poor taste in companions. Some, for instance, found dwarves to be pleasant company.
"Now now little wolf, there is no reason to be so territorial with me. If you wish to know who I am, I am Leofrick von Wolfborn, and i am no less dangerous than the elf sitting next to me. Now you intrigue me, what is the name the moon gave you?" Leofrick turned to look at Matilda. "Now Matilda, if I was related to the little wolf, My uncle Bjorn would very upset with me." Leofrick pops out of existance -teleport- and appears standing next to a tree near the homunculus. "Ah, Jastrey, it's been too long. I must return to my cabin, the lunar phase has not been kind on me and i should cleanse myself of the scent of the dead." Leofricks hands grows with a cracking an popping of bones, his fingernails growing into claws, he rips the bark and a chuck of the tree with a swift flick of the wrist. A small grin comes across Leofricks' face, looking at what his hand had done, he turns and walks away from the battlefield. and teleports off to his home.
Before Diana could make up her mind about the werewolf, he teleported off to places unknown, leaving her with the elf, as the Ifrit and golem sat off to the side, staring into the fire. She watched the fey head in the direction of town until an unpleasant whiff of burning flesh hit her nose. The wind had shifted again. Covering her nose with a pawlike hand, she stood, moving so that she was once again upwind of the scent. However, in looking at the pile of bodies, she noticed that the smoke rising from it had taken on an oily sheen.
That can't be good, she thought, and looked back at the golem and Ifrit, just in time to watch the wind carry a tongue of flame and touch it to the dry grass near the unofficial funeral pyre.
(OOG) There is nothing about the bodies that would cause an oily sheen to appear. Try to be careful how much you dictate about things outside of your immediate character. Without plot involved it can get a little messy in regards to what's considered canon and what's not. By now, the bodies would have definitely burned to ash. I'd prefer we don't set the field on fire with flames blowing out onto dry grass, please. Other than that, you're doing a good job! -Heather
Malkonius sees the flames travel towards the dry grass, and manages to snuff out the embers before any large fire is able to start.
"If any o' ya would mind helpin', we should pro'ly put out this fire now. It'd be a damn shame to lose this all teh some flames for no good reas'n now that we went through all this touble teh save it!"
Malkonius starts to cover the fire with dirt, and soon the fire becomes nothing more than a pile of ash and soot.
"Good, seems teh meh that we're dun here. Now, who wants teh go grab a pint with meh?"
With the task at hand seemingly complete, Malkonius starts sauntering off towards the tavern, coughing some as he walked away from the field.
"Damn this foul smoke. Cloggin' up my lungs somethin' fierce!"
Blaise rises and kicks out his own fire. He glances over at the smoldering pile of remains and frowns before turning away dismissively.
"Let's get going, Rune. I'll be damned to the Pit if I get blamed for roasting someone alive again. I've a mind to join our dwarven friend for a pint. Maybe two. Perhaps Talsin will join us, as well."
The sprite seems to regain the spring in his step at the thought of a stiff drink, and he strolls off a ways behind Malkonius.
-OOC-Sorry Heather! Still getting the hang of what I can and cannot do! :)
Diana watched as the Ifrit go and after he had vanished from her sight, she padded over to the pile of dirt and ash and began to dig. The earth was hot, and she dug a little hollow in it before settling down chin on her hand-paws, and closing her eyes. She did not favor large crowds, especially when ale or mead was involved, but here where it was warm, creating perhaps the only good thing Secronus had ever given. Ears perked, she listened to the wind, inhaling the smell of ash and earth, wondering what would become of Jastrey now.
In those few days after the battle, Thimble had been making an effort to wake up and be ready for whatever the new day brought before it was light outside. She'd grab her essential things and make her way to the battle field, not in any sort of secretive manner, if anything, she walked proudly in her steps.
Once she had gone through the woods that separated most of town to the field, she would step out of the treeline, and be greeted by a wave of the decaying corpses' smell that flew directly into her nostrils. She coughed and flailed her hand in front of her face before pinching her nose down to temporarily reduce the smell.
"Blech, I'd wish the bodies would go away faster." She exclaimed in a rather funny voice due to her nose being pinched down, making her giggle. Thimble then walked to where she believed to have approximately stood during the decision making of town on whether to kill or save Secronus. She removed her fingers from her nose, scrunching her face up from a secondary wave before taking off her shield and setting it infront of her. She then sat down behind her shield, crossing her legs, her arms acting as a brace behind her, and waited for the sun to rise.