private The Fall of Andalasia ~Book 1~

[Torrent505 370]

@@Dji

 

As Helena moved through the front gates to the town she was greeted by a town that wasn't busy or bustling with life but for a village in the middle of a forest it was surprisingly lively. Near the barracks armored men sparred while decorated officers discussed tightening defenses and further taming the forest once the fog cleared; in the market place women gossiped and debated over fresh veggies and herbs; teens were seen taking care of chores such as gathering water from the well in the bathhouse or being studious near the library and temple; the loud sounds of travelers sharing stories drifted from the tavern. And at the end of the cobbled main road was an immense Mansion, outside it stood a rather well dressed man who appeared to be waiting for her.

 

"Miss Helena, so good that you arrived before lunch cooled or the rest of the family has finished. I was worried any longer and I would be sent out to search for you, then you most certainly would have been grounded and punished. I'll escort you to the table."

 

The man, whose name came to her mind as Jeeves, took her hand and lead her to the dining room. Making a comment to himself about "hoping young master Clarke would return soon as well". Pushing open the door they were greeted by a heavenly smell of lunch, a feast, buttered corn on the cob, mashed potatoes and gravy, freshly roasted chicken, fresh fruits and on a small table to the side several types of desserts.

 

A young girl with golden curls sprang up from the table, running over and clasping Helena in a tight hug. "I was so worried! You have to be more careful when we play tag near the fog!" Helena remembered this was her sister Abigail and there at the table were two other familiar faces, a kind rotund woman with short cut hair, Mother, and a stern faced man with sharp trimmed beard and mustache though underneath laid an easy good humored smile, Father.

 

Abigail tugged on her arm towards the table, "come on sit down and eat, then we can go play some more!"

 

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@@RunsWithSquirlz @@Alex Kennedy @@Flying Ace @ @@Shadow Dancer

 

The little boy scrambled back away from Adrass and Dresden, he tumbled landing hard on his bottom throwing his hands in the air as tears welled in his eyes. The tinkerers mug remained near the cart and Adrass' feet.

 

"I-I'm not a w-wretch! My family is really wealthy!" One hand slid down to rub his bruised tail bone, "I just am really thirsty... so I wanted some of my hot chocolate... I didn't mean to bother you, I don't want to be bad." He looked genuinely sorrowful and guiltily couldn't look the two men in their eyes. "I would have been done and gone already but it won't work and I can't fix it... But I can always fix everything! That why they want to send me away... I can't figure it out though, I made the drink but I can't drink it, it just keeps spilling. I-I don't understand..." He covered his face with his hands and began to cry into them.

 

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@@Sanctified Absence

 

Zaddion dreamed of an unending death, where his body became a corpse and began to rot but was never allowed to rest, a spirit blocked from passing on and locked into its body. He wandered a burnout husk of a town, he could hear the moans and stumbles of other souls suffering like his. Something stalked him from the shadows, a pair of bright but misaligned eyes tracking his slow movement, the head deformed with a slash of a mouth revealing a worm like tongue licking over black stumps of teeth as if in hunger.

Edited February 4, 2015 by Torrent505

[Sekel 685]

@@Torrent505

Helena smiled up at Jeeves and let him lead her by the hand to the dining table. As they walked, she took a cursory glance at the lovely pictures they passed by. When they passed a mirror, Helena got a quick glance at herself before following Jeeves into the dining hall. It was only a quick one, but it seemed like she had turned into her seven year-old self. With waist-length black hair, a white dress and a scarless face.

 

She didn't have any time to dwell on it as another kid gave her a tight hug. "Sorry Abigail. I'll try not to let it happen again." Helena said reassuringly. She sat down next to Abigail and looked at her Mother and Father. "I am sorry. I thought it was Hide N' Seek tag. That's why I took so long." Helena told her parents with a worried expression. She looked at Abigail and smiled happily.

[Torrent505 370]

@@Dji

 

Abigail grinned, "I thought it seemed like you kept trying to hide! But the fog is supposed to be out of bounds when we're playing hide n' seek." She reached on to the table tearing off a chicken leg then piling her plate with mashed potatoes.

 

Father's spoke from over his plate of salad with his 'you better listen' tone, "The fog should be off limits for all games. This town has lost far too many little ones to careless wandering out there." His tone softened and he reached across the table to pat Helena's hand, "I worry about you being out there, I'm glad you got back but you know me and your Mother have lost others from them wandering too deep and we're lucky to have been blessed with as many children as we've had. To lose you or Abby or Clarke to the forest would be devastating."

 

Mother had already started on an apple pie and spoke between mouthfuls, "Speaking of Clarke where is that boy? I swear he refuses to come out of the library, half the time I think he wishes he could live there. The food Meredith slaved over will be ice cold. I'll have to have Jeeves fetch him... You didn't see him out near the fog when you were coming in did you Helena?"

[Sekel 685]

@@Torrent505

Helena shook her head, knowing that she didn't see the Tinkerer anywhere near her when she was in the fog. "I didn't see him, Mother." Helena replied. She followed Abigail's lead and reached out over the table to pile her plate with mashed potatoes. After having a few bites, Helena replied to Father's statement. "I know that the fog is off-limits. It just looks so inviting and tempting. How could I not go into the fog?"

[Flying Ace 142]

@@Torrent505, @,

Dresden look at the crying boy then to Adrass, "What do you think Adrass? Is he telling the truth?" Dresden asked; he hoped it was the truth but considering where they were the fact a family could live here seemed far-fetched. "Uh, what's your name?" Dresden asked the boy.

[RunsWithSquirlz 274]

Whisper had woken up a while ago and silently made her way to the edge of the cart to peer over. More than anything she wanted to defend the child, but Adrass was in one of his moods and now Dresden was awake.

 

She watched, eyes trained on the boy. It was when he explaines himself that a jolt ran through her body. "His hot chocolate"? How did he know this cart anyway..?

 

With fear and a small amount of hope she looked down at her unconscious tinkerer "Clarke...?"

Edited February 4, 2015 by RunsWithSquirlz

[Torrent505 370]

@@Dji

 

Father furrowed his brows to glare at her, "because you know how dangerous it is, it's not safe, you need to stay here where you are protected, with a good home, people who love you and Abigail to play with of course. If I hear about you going out in that fog once more this week you will be grounded!"

 

Mother patted Father on the shoulder to calm him, "Dear please, there's no reason to lose your temper. It's natural for a girl to get curious, but Helena darling you know how the saying ends about curious cats; so do listen to your father. Dark things lurk in those woods."

 

Abigail pushed away from the table, only bones remained on her plate "I'm done! Helena I'm going to go play in the hedge maze, come find me when you're done!" She rushed from the room giggling.

 

Mother finished the last of her pie and tutted, "that girl never clearing her plate. Oh Helena not to interrupt your play time when your done up if you could be a doll and include Clarke with you two? You might have to find him in the library."

(You can of course go do whatever you want these are just requests from NPC's, the town is very open world)

 

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@@RunsWithSquirlz @@Alex Kennedy @@Flying Ace @ @@Shadow Dancer @@Sanctified Absence

 

"Ummm my name is- aaah!" The boy jumped at the appearance of the new pretty women and small dragon over the cart. His face flushed and he stood, backing away a little, "How did you know my name?

 

Serafinno had gotten up with Whisper to see what al this commotion was about, but as he watched he got more and more confused. Adrass had his metal slingshots drawn on nothing and everyone was talking to empty air. Just now Whisper had just called Clarke's name but he was still taking his long sleep on the cart next to her... Were they all playing some sort of game?

Edited February 4, 2015 by Torrent505

[Flying Ace 142]

@@Torrent505,@@RunsWithSquirlz, @,

Dresden jerked backed in shocked when his very tired mind put two and two together. "No way...Clarke? That can't be your name." Dresden looked over at the Clarke in the cart then to young Clarke, "No that can't happen. Can that happen? How can that happen?!" Poor Dresden seemed to be having trouble taking in the information that there are now two Clarkes. "I'm losing my mind."

[Sekel 685]

@@Torrent505

Helena waved after Abigail with a smile, nodded and finished up her food on her plate, leaving only the cob of the corn and a few bones. "Yes, curiosity killed the cat. Mother, I'll see if I can find Clarke." Helena said a bit angrily and slid off her chair. She walked out of the room and turned, heading towards where she thought the library was. "I hope Clarke is in the library and not somewhere else." Helena said to herself worriedly.

Edited February 4, 2015 by Dji

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Adrass.

 

Adrass blinked.

 

"It's a trick, obviously." He muttered - maintaining his two-handed aim on the alleged 'Clarke' despite the ache in his arms. "I warned you that you would regret stopping here - now we have false spirits haunting us. I suppose you'll all want to go skipping off into the woods with it now?"

 

He blinked. How was he supposed to deal with this?

 

"Clearly, Clarke isn't a child. Even suppose this was... something to do with him, do you suppose spirits and man were meant to meet?"

 

He shook his head - none of this was good: but he was trained to kill mages, ghosts weren't part of of his specialisation.

 

Shifting his weight, an idea struck him as something heavy moved beneath his coat. It was probably pointless, but might at least help them establish what they were dealing with. Lowering the pistol in his right hand and holstering the one in his left, he reached into his coat. Turning his attentiin back to the boy, he tried (and mostly failed) to sound a little less hostile.

 

"So... you can fix anything?" He asked as he drew Clarkes revolver. "Do you know what this is?"

[Torrent505 370]

@@RunsWithSquirlz @@Alex Kennedy @@Flying Ace @ @@Shadow Dancer @@Sanctified Absence

 

The boy claiming to be Clarke barely stopped himself from lunging forward towards Adrass's revolver and whined, "Hey! That's mine! Give it back I was making that toy for..." A puzzled look came over his face, "for... For someone?" He looked confused and then concerned as he started to look around nervously. "It's not done yet... But I never brought it out here... I don't have a cart..."

 

He was starting to look more and more distraught, "this is all a trick! I-I shouldn't have come out here, there was a path in the fog and, and, Mother and Father say there's evil tricky things in the fog... You're some of the evil things messing with my head and wanting to steal me away!" The boy turned scrambling away towards the tree line.

 

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@@Dji

 

The library was a rather dark and musty smelling building, it's first floor and basement being made of stone and lit with torches, the second floor was more brightly lit being made of wood with large glass windows to let light in.

 

An elderly woman as skinny as bones and with snow white hair tied into a bun greeted Helena cheerfully, "Afternoon little mistress, here for some studies or is there something else I can help you with?"

[RunsWithSquirlz 274]

"No! Don't!" Whisper reached forward but the boy had already retreated towards the trees.

 

"We have to follow him! Lance said that the forest took Clarke, his body is barely alive but that might be his spirit...his...his soul."

 

Her words faltered the shock wearing off and tiredness seepi ng back into her thin bones. It had been days she was attached to Clarke, constantly sharing her life energy to keep him alive. It was becoming too much for her, as was apparent by the bags underneath her eyes and the pallor of her skin.

 

She looked to Adrass "Please...please let us find him."

[Sekel 685]

@@Torrent505

Helena found the library and walked in, squinting in the dimly lit rooml she coughed at the musty smell and wondeed why Clarke liked to spend his time in here. Helena looked at the old librarian and replied. "Hi. I asked Mother and Father where I could find Clarke, because I want him to play with me and Abigail. Have you seen him?"

[Alex Kennedy 1,228]

Robert watched all of this without saying anything. The spirits of the dead were well outside his knowledge or understanding, and it wasn't really his decision what to do about it anyway. He knew Clarke probably the least out of any of them, and he wasn't going to interfere unless needed. He would follow whatever the others decided for the time being, and hope they made the right call.

[Sanctified Absence 126]

A robed foot made impact with the imaginary ground. Tendrils of brilliant colour swirled around as the Mage's subconscious control of Magick lashed out in protest, it without hope of success. As if Zaddion's very own reserves were being erased from his body, the energy faded into non-existence as quickly as it materialized. This place was wrong, very, very wrong.

 

"This... Can't be real, it can't be!" Desperation and fear grasped the only voice challenging the droning of the darkness. What was this, had he ever researched such Magick before? Or... Lack of Magick, if he were to believe what his senses were telling him. It didn't matter, knowledge was useless if the mind wasn't in the position to call upon it, senses could be tricked.

 

"Where am I? Where?" This place was far too clear to be a simple dream, but it exhibited all the warping properties of one. He couldn't focus, conciousness was drifting and the senses would not agree.

Edited February 4, 2015 by Sanctified Absence

[Torrent505 370]

@@Sanctified Absence

 

The thing in the dark shadows moved out into the light, an abomination of a skeletal dwarf with the misshapen head, limbs of different lengths and deformed body. It looked as if the creature had been burned and still carried open sores and charred wounds, the ribs most have been broken and reset back together as possibly were the limbs. Despite all that it's watery eyes called for attention, they were a sparkling sapphire and beautiful.

 

Zaddion's magic flowed from him in streams, out and down the monsters throat each time it opened its mouth as well as into its wounds. It spoke to him in a hoarse croaking voice, "you taste like Father but with more flavors. I like that, you could stay and be my brother." The thing lifted it's arms and the world around him began to flicker and warp, he could sense magics at work but they were too muted and he was to numb to tell what they were.

 

He could see the other living corpses now, they were all about the town stumbling around. The town seemed to shimmer, for a moment the buildings were whole and every corpse was a person, it flickered back to a charred ruin full of undead. Except for one, Helena looking a bit pale but as alive as ever walked trance like down the center of the town toward a collapsed mansion. The world shifted, the night of the horrible ruins inverting again to become bright day light shining on the pristine town, in Helena's place a little girl of some resemblance was skipping along. The shifting back and forth between these realities seemed to pick up speed blurring the two, moans of the others changing to become voices and conversations. A horrible reality becoming a sick lie.

 

The thing in front of him had sprouted golden curls and the broken body became more complete and beautiful by the second. Her voice had become like a twinkling bell, "Come play with me, Zaddion, play with me forever and ever and ever."

 

He could feel it now, the heavy weight of some unseen force dragging him down. Zaddion knew that he had to find the strength to awaken or this place was going to claim him as it had Clarke and Helena.

 

(Hope everyone could at least kinda follow the weird supernatural stuff happening in this part)

 

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@@Dji

 

"Oh the studious little Clarke, hmmm I haven't seen him for quite a while now. I'm certain he's not here on the main floor, but perhaps he might be on the second floor or in the basement? If you wish I could go check one or both or would you rather look by yourself? If you looking to surprise him do try to not be too loud." The librarian kept her own voice to a whisper.

[Sekel 685]

@@Torrent505

"Yes Ma'am. I'll look for him by myself." Helena replied and headed towards the stairs. Seeing a flight if stairs going up, and a flight of stairs going down, Helena decided to go down first to try and get the horrible musty smell over with. "Clarke? You here? Mother told me that she wanted you to play with mr and Abigail." Helena asked, her voice barely above a whisper as she made it to the bottom of the stairs. She walked forward and couldn't see Clarke in the immediate vicinity. Having no choice, Helena started searchong for him among the many shelves that lined the place.

[Shadow Dancer 111]

(Okay supernatural i think I could at least set up a instance for that to occur)

 

 

I was sleeping peacefully, well as peaceful as I could in an area with creatures that want to kill me and the others. I was currently chasing some unidentified target through a town after the target spotted me just as I was about to plunge my dagger in their neck. The town was covered in darkness with just enough light from the moon and some lamps to see my target.

 

This had to be one of the most difficult tasks, I had taken in a long time as the target was failing to lose me but I still was not able to get close enough to make the kill. Oddly enough I did not feel tired or out of breath as I jumped over fallen stands and climbed over homes.

Edited February 5, 2015 by Shadow Dancer

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Adrass.

 

"... ugh."

 

Adrass looked at the princess, then back to the woods. What was he supposed to do? He needed to protect her... but he was supposed to kill her. He was supposed to doubt everything and never fall for the tricks of the Witches, but now he had no doubts in what he saw. Everything inside him screamed that he should grab the girl and carry her out of this place...

 

Everything except a voice that he had hated for far too long. One that told him that he shouldn't merely abandon a good person to their fate.

 

It had proven foolish before: listening to her lies and putting his duty aside to 'do what was right' as she put it. He was so desperate for guidance. Desperate for somebody to tell him what to do.

 

Adrass blinked - had he drifted off for a moment, still standing? What was wrong with this place? They had to leave.

 

"No. I don't..." He started, pausing. "Ugh, I..."

 

Words were failing him. So many commitments that contradicted each other, so many complications. It was so much easier before.

 

"Wake the others." He said finally, glancing briefly towards Dresden. "It was a mistake to stay here. We're leaving."

 

Knowing full well that the princess wouldn't take this well, he raised the flintlock in his right hand again: this time towards her knee.

 

"My first duty is to get you out of here alive. Please don't try to go after him - I dont want to shoot." He explained. There was a touch of emotion in his voice: Dissapointment? Sadness? Or was the hunters fatigue just showing more than ever? "I liked Clarke, but you are not getting killed for him. You're leaving this forest - now."

[Torrent505 370]

@@Dji,

As Helena wandered deeper into the basement the stacks of books seemed to look more and more dirty, beaten and unreadable.  The air smelled of mildew and charcoal, was it a trick of the flickering torchlight or was the floor covered in ash?  The sound of cracking wood and collapsing stone came from the stairwell.  Heavy struggled breathing seems to come from deeper in the room, the firelight flickers and is dim there, the stacks seem to have collapsed into burnt ruins.  Could it be Clarke back there trapped in the wreckage of the shelves?  Deep in the shadows a small book bound in red leather seems to catch the light and shine for Helena.

 

@,  @@Shadow Dancer, @@Flying Ace, @@Alex Kennedy, @@RunsWithSquirlz,  

When the gun lined up with Whisper Serafinno let out a warning hiss, puffed up to spike his scales and bared his still toothless maw.  He didn't understand what had happened but he certainly wasn't going to let anyone threaten Whisper for any reason, this obviously wasn't a game the humans were just plain going mad.  (Dresden are you waking the others?)

 

@@Sanctified Absence

(Is Zaddion strong enough to wake himself up?  If Dresden tries to wake him does he shake out of it or not?  I need to know so I can write you as in the alternate Ashcreek or not.)

[Sekel 685]

@@Torrent505

Hearing heavy breathing, Helena faltered in her steps an looked at the direction it was coming from. "Clarke?" Helena asked tentatively. She began to slowly walk in the direction of the breathing but was stopped by a red book being lit up. Curious, Helena picked up the book and held it tightly while continuing towards the breathing sound.

[Flying Ace 142]

@@Torrent505,@, @@Shadow Dancer, @@Alex Kennedy, @@Sanctified Absence, @,

Dresden quickly went to wake the others so he couldn't see Adrass pulled a gun on Whisper. "Guys wake up you need to see this!" Dresden yelled using his magics to splash them in the face. "I think we found Clarke!" Dresden took a look behind him to see Adrass with his gun pointed at Whisper while Finn was hissing at him. "Adrass!"

[Shadow Dancer 111]

My dream was abruptly ended when I heard Dredson yell. My eyes snapped open and I instinctively pulled out a dagger and looked around. I did not spot any threats so I put it away and jumped off the tree limb I was on.

 

I looked at Dredson and asked, "What's going on, I heard your shout?"

[Sanctified Absence 126]

Zaddion's strength was fading, some unbearable weight bound his soul, beckoning it into an eternal sleep. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad, there was happiness here, content. All he needed to do was- no, this was a lie, a terrible lie. The woman he had destroyed earlier, she was a puppet of some foul Magick, that was no way to live, to have one's will taken away by some accursed mockery of nature.

 

A splash of water came over the Mage's face, sending a slight ripple through his senses but nothing more. He had the strength to wake up, but chose not to. These people were suffering, something he couldn't allow.

 

Light emerged from the Krystal he had prepared. Undoing days of work in mere moments, Zaddion used whatever strength he needed to in order to bring the Magick into himself. This creature could absorb Magick, bit could it absorb faster than he could call upon? That was soon to be tested. "These people... They don't deserve to be part of your twisted games." He was fading into the lie, but had enough strength to keep himself between, at least for now. As the Light emerged from his form and into the false reality, Zaddion personified the Magick through a dagger of bright force. 

 

Two steps, that was all it took for the Archmage to lose his footing, but this creature couldn't win. He crawled towards the closest inhabitant of the alternate Ashcreek, praying to the Ancients that this would work. Magick-weapon in hand, Zaddion positioned himself to end this person's suffering. "These people... Will be free of you!"

Edited February 7, 2015 by Sanctified Absence

[RunsWithSquirlz 274]

Tulla woke up abruptly, shoving herself off of Tugg and wiping her face "Dresden, what the hells was that?!"

 

Taking a quick survey she stomped in front of Whisper "For the love of...Adrass! What do you think you're doing? And Whisper! What did you do to incite this crazy bastard?!"