#next steps are finding someone willing to lead climb on natural rock faces. and asking some of my DJ friends for how to get started…

[tomatoluvr69]

Went back to the indie cinemar to pick up my forgotten water bottle but they didn’t open for another hour…oh well lucky for me there’s always trespassing in the old disused trainyard from the halcyon days of domestic industry 👍

[bonjour-rainycity]

Late in the Night | Part One

Prompt: Unrequited love/the love is requited, they’re just oblivious (Content Challenge Day 5)

Pairing: One-sided ( or is it ;) ) Female Reader x Legolas

Rating: G

Word count: 1847

Warnings: None

Challenge participants: @game-ofthe-company @grunid @themerriweathermage @errruvande @the-reformed-ringwraith @awkwardkindatries

A/n Hello hello, and happy Day 5 of my content challenge! As always, you can find the challenge’s masterlist here and my personal masterlist here. 

I’m making these last three days into a mini-series, so here’s part one! Also, for this story, I’m going with the “girl wakes up in Middle Earth” plot, but LOTR doesn’t exist in her world. So she doesn’t know anything about the characters or their journey. She just kind of fell through a portal between worlds. Y’know?

Translations (I think): Taur-e-Ndaedelos — Mirkwood // Eryn Galen — Greenwood

Reader’s POV

“And Miss Y/n, what will you do once this is all over? Will you go back home?” Pippin stops to let me catch up, bringing me into step with him and Merry.

I purse my lips, not wanting to give too much away. The others know that I have a bit of an, erm—strange— situation, but they don’t know that I haven’t got a home in Arda. We’ve had at least ten variants of this conversation already, and each time, I’ve managed to avoid participating. It seems my hobbit friend, though, is done letting that slide.

I shrug, trying to seem nonchalant. “I haven’t really thought about that much…” Just in case there’s no ‘once this is all over’. “But I guess I would find a human town somewhere and build a life. I’ve learned quite a lot on this journey, so maybe I could make a living as a guard or even a seamstress, seeing how often I mend your clothes,” at this, I throw a teasing look at Gimli, who blushes. Out of all of us, he’s the most prone to non-battle related injury, and I often find him trudging back to camp with a rip in his sleeve after simple tasks like collecting firewood or refilling his canteen.

Pippin ignores my joke, and now I realize that I have the concern-laden eyes of all four hobbits. “You…would not go back home? You wouldn’t see your family?”

I sigh, avoiding Gandalf’s gaze. He said I was free to tell my companions that I am not of this world, but I haven’t yet worked up the nerve. The stress of figuring out how I got here, why I’m here…it’s too much to burden them with on this perilous quest. I stifle a little laugh, my exhausted mind finding humor in the situation. Maybe that’s what I’ll do ‘once all this is over’. I’ll tell them that I’m practically an alien.  

Lost in my thoughts as I was, my silence drew the attention of Gimli and Boromir, and now I have six sets of concerned eyes regarding me. Great. I try to speed the conversation along so we can get to someone else. “Well, I haven’t seen my family in quite a long time…I think they think I’m dead, actually, and for all I know, they could be too…” This thought troubles me greatly, and I hurry to replace it with something else, forcing my voice to sound cheery and hopeful.“But that only means that I’m free to go anywhere—explore any place I like.”

Pippin looks quite heartbroken at my words, and I scramble to think of ways to fix it. But before I can, he grips my hand tightly in his, and I feel Merry mirror his actions on my other side. They look up at me triumphantly, smiling brightly. “You can come live with us, in The Shire,” Pippin declares, to which Sam nods earnestly. Frodo, as always of late, seems distracted, but offers me a distant smile.

A laugh of shocked joy escapes my lips, and I look between my valiant hobbit friends with possibly even more affection than before. “Do they even allow that? Big Folks moving into The Shire?”

“Sure they do,” Merry brushes away my concerns, appearing quite assured of himself.

But Pippin only shrugs, seemingly having not a care in the world. “And if they don’t, we’ll just sneak you in.”

“Gondor would be happy to host you as well,” Boromir adds, surprising me a little. We haven’t talked much on this journey, so it’s nice to know that he sees me as enough of a friend to invite me to his home.

Feeling much better, I squeeze Merry and Pippin’s hands. “Thanks, you guys. Really.”

{***}

We stop when it gets too dark for most of us to see.

“We are too far from Rivendell’s borders for me to feel comfortable.” Aragorn shakes his head slowly as he considers our surroundings and the potential risk we face. “I would ask that we keep a double watch tonight, and for many nights to come. Y/n, Legolas?”

Legolas—the only one of us who seems to have an endless supply of energy—jogs to a tall rock a couple hundred meters from camp, and begins to climb. I’m a bit slower to follow.

In the past three weeks, Aragorn has put me on watch eight times, the most only after himself and Legolas, and definitely more than our other companions. Sam shoots me an apologetic look and quietly promises to bring us dinner as soon as it’s ready.

I grab my cloak and follow Legolas’ path, trying to keep my annoyance to a minimum. After all, it’s not the worst thing in the world…staying up most of the night with Legolas, just the two of us.

He hears me coming and turns around with a welcoming smile, lowering a hand to help pull me onto the boulder. His hand is so warm in mine, so solid, and I find myself wishing he wouldn’t let go.

But of course he does, taking his hand from mine the moment I’m settled next to him. I tuck my hands into my cloak, trying not to lament the loss. Regardless of my quickly-growing feelings towards my elven friend, he has never given me an indication that he sees me as anything more than that, a friend, and I need to respect that.

He fixes me with a raised eyebrow, somehow both looking at me and the landscape over my shoulder. “Are you alright with staying awake tonight? It has been a while since you slept fully.”

I freeze, caught in a sudden burst of happiness. He noticed that? Has he been paying attention to me?

Legolas continues, and the fledgling hope that perhaps my affections for him aren’t as one-sided as I thought comes crashing down. “I could speak to Aragorn. It is no issue for me to stand watch alone.”

I briefly close my eyes, berating myself for my stupidity. He’s not commenting on your well-being, he just doesn’t want to have to be alone with you for the next five hours. He must somehow know of your feelings and wants to discourage them — because really, why would an elf want to be with a human?

I purse my lips, desperately not wanting him to know I’m upset. “No, it’s okay, thank you though. I’ll do my part.” My words come out a bit more cooly than I intended, but that’s just as well. Best to seem unattached.

He nods, giving me a funny look, then turns to look back out on the vast expanse of trees.

Nearly an hour passes in silence, then Sam visits, bringing dinner with him. Aragorn had managed to find two rabbits, so we eat well tonight. I savor it, knowing we might not be so lucky tomorrow, or the day after next. As usual, Legolas chooses to eat standing, not willing to sacrifice his careful watch over our surroundings. Knowing he’s got it covered, I sit down on the rock with Sam, having a make-shift picnic. Still, I keep my daggers close and periodically take note of the sounds of the forest, just in case. Sam entertains us with stories from his childhood and of life in The Shire. At a tale of how he and Frodo found themselves running from a furious farmer in the middle of the night, even Legolas cracks a smile.

But eventually, the food is gone and Sam is stifling yawns, so he bids us goodnight, leaving me alone with Legolas once again.

I stand, brushing the dust off my leggings, and take my place next to him.

His eyes never leave the horizon, but I hear his voice, soft, quiet, and almost hesitant-sounding. “Is it true that you haven’t a home to return to?”

I’m a bit caught off guard. During that conversation earlier in the day, Legolas was all the way at the front the group, leading with Aragorn. I didn’t know he’d heard that. “Uh, yeah.” I nod, trying to project a confidence I don’t really feel. “It is.”

He goes silent, and stays silent for such a long time that I think that’s all the conversation we’ll have. But then, he speaks again, his voice steady and deliberate. “My home, Taur-e-Ndaedelos, is not safe right now.”

“Oh.” I blink. Is he opening up to me? I try to respond delicately, not wanting to accidentally discourage him from sharing his feelings in the future. “I am sorry. That must be very difficult.”

He waves off my apology, meeting my eyes for the quickest of moments and then turning once more to the landscape before us. “My people get by. I only meant that, perhaps…well, if we succeed, and the Great Evil is defeated, Taur-e-Ndaedelos will be safe, and might even be called Eryn Galen once more.” He shifts from one foot to the other, something I’ve never seen him do. “You would be welcome there.”

A smile—the widest one I’ve managed in a while—spreads over my face, and try as I might, I am unable to reel it in. Because even after all this is over, when the time would come naturally for us to part ways, he wants me still in his life. I’ve always figured that it would hurt me to be parted from him, but I never dreamed that he would feel the same way.

Legolas seems to grow agitated by my silence, and turns to look at me with a measure of stress in his brow. But once he sees my reaction to his words, the lines in his face soften into a grin of his own. “Gimli is similarly without a permanent dwelling. I have extended an invitation to him as well.”

Oh.

Of course.

I fight the urge to roll my eyes at myself, feeling incredibly stupid. Of course I would read into his words. He didn’t mean anything significant by them, he was just offering me a place to stay, like he obviously would to any of his friends. Because he is a kind, good, and noble ellon.

Of course he doesn’t feel the same way as I do.

I was silly to hope.

I try to keep the smile plastered to my face and not let him see my crushing disappointment. That would be horribly embarrassing, and I’m not sure I could take the pity that would surely be on his compassionate face if he had to verbally express his disinterest.

“That—” my voice sounds annoyingly weak, and I clear my throat to correct it. “That’s really kind of you, Legolas. Thank you.”

There’s a question in his eyes, but he doesn’t ask it, only nods once and returns to his watch of the forest.

For my part, I try to turn all of my focus to the task at hand, reminding myself that, even if he never loves me back, I am truly lucky to have such a wonderful friend.

A/n See you all tomorrow with part two! Likes, comments, and reblogs make my day! Also, let me know if you would like a tag.

Masterlist

Next part

[imnotusedtobeingloved]

THE COOLER

(PLEASE DON’T REPOST/REBLOG)

Warnings: heartbreak, betrayal.

Pairing: Zuko x Reader

Characters: Zuko, Sokka, Suki, Hakoda, Chit Sang.

Requested: I guess?

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, nor the gif. Credit to the owners.

Summary: Part eight of “destiny is a funny thing”.

previous part

A/N: Hey guys! It’s part eight already! Please tell me your opinion in the comments.

“I need backup over here!” The voices were muffled by the thick metal door of your cell. The walls were covered in ice, as was the floor and the ceiling. You had no idea how much time exactly passed, since you’d been thrown in here. A day? Maybe two? No idea. The only apparent thing was that it seemed to get colder by the second. The temperature was picking and biting at your skin, leaving goosebumps in it’s wake. Protected by your inner fire and a mere pair of linen clothes, there wasn’t much you could do to escape. Only hope was left, praying that either Zuko or Sokka would find you.

“No firebending! Into the cooler!” You heard from the halls. The guards had managed it once again. Riling an inmate up to the point where they were forced to use fire, only for the pleasure to stuff them into a cooler seconds later. It was sick. “But... but there are no free coolers left!” You breathed deeply, rearranging your naked feet on the hard ice. “Just stick them together in a cell!” The man from outside barked, before the door of your cooler was opened and a familiar figure was thrown in, before it got closed again.

“Zu... Zuko?” You stuttered, worn out from hours of fighting the cold. His eyes widened as he took you in, limbs barely held warm by your inner flame. “Y/N...,” He grabbed your arm. “There you are. You’re getting cold,” You gave him a short nod, almost whining as he took his warm hand away. “I tried to keep warm as long as possible, but I’m so exhausted,” You rambled, until he softly shushed you. “Come here,” He moved to put an arm around you, but you pushed back slightly. “What are you doing?”

“Warming you up. What’s it look like?” You were still reluctant to let him close, but to be honest, you’d been shivering for forever and it was better to take a little warmth than to freeze. So the next time he tried to draw you in, you didn’t resist. Your body burned where it touched his, as if Zuko’s hands left hot fingerprints on your skin.

“Sokka has a plan to get us out of here,” By now you were halfway on his lap, not willing to let go of the newfound source of heat. It was strange to be so close to him again. But the good kind of strange. “What did he come up with?” Your body relaxed in his grasp, while he explained the plan the group had agreed on, as well as who would be taking part. You were glad to hear that Suki had showed up, knowing how much Sokka had missed her. He’d told you about her countless times. Once you were warmed up enough to move your limbs again, the both of you worked together to loosen the cooler from it’s frame, getting back into sitting position once you’d removed all bolts and screws.

Silence followed the quest, but to your surprise, it didn’t feel uncomfortable. “How did you even end up in here?” Your skin tingled where your arms and tighs touched as you sat next to each other. “That’s a long story,” You answered, as you leaned your head against his shoulder. Your mind was running with different thoughts, fighting a battle on it’s own and contemplating if what you were doing right now really was a good idea.

But Zuko put his arm around you once more. Lost in your own head before, you hadn’t even realized how close you were. “Y/N?” You hummed, nose almost touching his as you stared into his amber eyes. “You know that i love you, right?” His voice had dropped to a soft murmur, almost sounding hoarse. Your breath got caught in your throat, as you could see your own reflection in his orbs. They were burning into your own, hot with affection and full of emotions. There was no denying that Zuko had a raw, natural beauty to him, that could not be undone. Not even by the scar, framing his eye. “I know...” You whispered, sight briefly dropping to his lips, mere inches from your own, before shooting up again. His mouth parted slightly, as he leaned closer. So close that you could already feel his hot breath on your own, eager to taste his lips on yours again.

And then the door of the cooler opened, leading the two of you to drift apart in a flash. Tough Sokka didn’t seem to sense the tension in the atmosphere when he stepped in. “I can take the two of you back to your cell if you’ve learned your lesson,” He said, winking at you, relieved that Zuko and you had landed in the same cell. Zuko shot you a look that you avoided with ease, before he caught himself, releasing a firey breath and revealing all the bolts and screws. “Yes, I have ... completely.” He answered with a smirk. The prince came off completely unbothered by what had almost happened just seconds before. Unlike you. But luckily the non-bender was far too occupied by the escape plan to notice. He lifted his visor, whispering quitely. “I got Suki and Chit Sang out of their cells a few minutes ago. They’ll be waiting for us at the shore,”

Suddenly you sensed a sound from the hall, reacting quickly and pulling Sokka inside. “Someone’s coming!” You explained, closing the door behind him. The voices remained a mumble, until they turned into your passage. “Yeah, new arrivals coming in at dawn,” A male tone reached your ears first, before a female one followed. “Anybody interesting?” She asked. “Nah, just the usual. Some robbers, a couple traitors, some war prisoners, though I did hear there might be a pirate,” You could see Sokka’s worried glance out of the corner of your eye, as you conrinued to listen in on the conversation. “No fooling!” The female guard exclaimed, before their voices faded into nothing once more. “War prisoners. It could be your father,”

“I know,” Sokka said, trailing off. “Well, what should we do? Are we going ahead with the plan or are we waiting another night?” The prince asked the right question, but the Water Tribe boy was clearly in over his head at this point. “I don’t know! Is it right for me to risk Suki’s freedom, all of our freedom on the slim chance that my dad is gonna show up?” You and Zuko shared a brief look. “It’s your call, Sokka,” You inclined softly.

And by night the descision was made. Suki and Chit Sang were already waiting outside the prison, as you, Zuko and Sokka rolled the detached cooler down the hill. The both of them moved to help, before the man spoke up. “Took you guys long enough. This here’s my girl and my best buddy, they’re coming too,” You sighed as he pointed to a male sitting on a rock, as well as a waving woman. Now there were even more people you had to transport, which meant there was an even higher risk to get caught. “Fine. Everybody in the cooler. Let’s go,” Sokka decided. The group proceeded to move the cooler into the water, as he lifted a rock to hide his Water Tribe outfit.

“Are you sure you wanna go? You’re the one who said you wanted to redeem yourself. Redeem your honor. Rescuing your dad is your chance,” Zuko questioned, leaving the boy a last chance to go back. “Your dad” Suki asked, approaching the three of you. You tried to explain the situation to her, while Sokka and Zuko had another discussion about the possibility of his father coming in. “Hey, if you four are done cuddling, can we get a move on” Chit Sang eventually interrupted, earning a glare from you. You could understand how difficult this descision was for your friend. His failure layed heavy on his shoulders, and it was something that had come up multiple times. You remembered all the quiet moments at night when he couldn’t sleep, needing to be reassured again and again.

“No. I’m staying. You guys go,” His gaze wandered to Suki. “You’ve been here long enough,” But the girl shook her head. “I’m not leaving without you, Sokka,” Zuko agreed. “I’m staying, too,” And so did you. “So am i,”

“Not me, I’m out. Let’s roll, baby,” Chit Sang exclaimed, pushing the cooler into the lake and jumping in. You could see Sokka’s hope weavering as he watched them leave. “We gave up our only chance of escaping. I hope we haven’t just made a huge mistake,” You put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing softly. “Come on, Sokka. Let’s go back,” Morning was arriving by now and the four of you begann climbing back up at the outside of the prison wall as the screams of the guards alerted everyone.

“The plan failed! They’re caught!” Sokka said, eyes widening. “This is a lockdown! We have new prisoners arriving! Everything must be completely secure!” You heard from above, watching the disaster unfold. A male guard fired a large ballista bolt, catching hold of the cooler and dragging it back towardsthe shore. “The gondola’s moving,” Sokka pointed towards the approaching gondola. “This is it. If my dad’s not there, we’ve risked everything for nothing,” You’d made it to the yard when it arrived, staring for it’s door to open. “We had to,” Suki assured him, holding his hand. “Come on, come on ...,” You could feel Zuko moving closer to you, as he watched the people coming out. “Is that him?” He asked, as a large man with a tattoo and a nose ring stepped forward. “My dad doesn’t have a nose ring. Where is he?” A ton of men left the gondola, but the right one didn’t seem to be there. “That’s it? That can’t be it,”

“I’m sorry, Sokka,” Suki spoke softly, trying to give him some comfort. “Oh, no,” Sokka mumbled, afraid he’d made the wrong choice once more. “Hey, you! Get off the gondola!” But then, Hakoda stepped out. “Dad...,” You heard Sokka whisper in front of you and a smile spread out on your face. He’d made the right call after all.

tags:  @zvkonation​ @viva-la-millennia​ @randomness501​ @drheinzd​ @kaylove12​ @duh-dobrik​ @yeetscreetiwannaeat​ @ashnkamfeun    @hailkyoshi​ @shortmexicangirl​ @animexholic​ @sorrythatspussynal​  @mochminnie​ @ninadewitt​

[yungimmortals]

biking date, hiking date | jaime & gene

date: sometime in november summary: jaime gets a ride and so does gene

Gene leaned against his motorcycle casually. Hands stuffed into his pockets, looking away from Jaime’s building as though focused on something far away, but in a mysterious and suave way rather than a distracted one. Gods, the effort it took to look so effortless. Once Jaime approached, however, Gene straightened a bit, smiling as he automatically held his hand out for a shake. Fuck, fuck, this isn’t a business deal. Too late to change course, he pretended that this was a totally normal thing to do, and then turned to motion to his bike. “Figured we could ride the way there, little two-for-one. If you’re nice, I might even be willing to give you a lesson.”

Striding out of his building, Jaime tousled his hair and straightened out the collar of his shirt. “Hey!” His face lit up as he spotted Gene and he headed over, shaking his outstretched hand with a lopsided smile. “Are you serious?” Jaime’s eyes bounced between Gene and the bike, his heart starting to hammer in his chest. “With that opportunity, I suppose I must be nice now,” he laughed, bumping Gene’s shoulder lightly. “You look good.”

  Gene was glad when Jaime said nothing about the shake, and grinned at his reaction to the little surprise. “Totally. Not gonna flash you my bike and then fully hold out on you. That would just be cruel.” He picked up a helmet to pass over to Jaime, exhaling a laugh as he did. “Glad I could convince you.“ He preened at the praise, smoothing out his sweatshirt with one hand. “So do you, no surprise there.” He slid his other helmet then pushed the face shield up, looking from his bike to Jaime. “I’m assuming you know this, but get on on this side, those are where you put your feet, and don’t touch that.” He pointed from the footrests to the exhaust. “It’ll take the skin clean off your leg.” He climbed onto his bike and waited for Jaime to do the same. “And hold on tight.”

Jaime accepted the helmet, holding it almost reverently. Whatever guesses he had had about this date, Gene had already pleasantly surprised him and Jaime was beyond excited to ride the motorcycle. At the compliment, he ran a hand through his hair and smiled. “Thank you. Oh yes, I prefer my skin to stay adhered to my leg.” With a light laugh and a nod, he put on the helmet he’d been given and carefully got on the bike behind Gene, wrapping his arms around his waist. He gave Gene a light squeeze. “Is this tight enough?”

Gene took a moment to admire Jaime’s expression. His face he could admire at a later point, but Gene enjoyed the fact that he had already made Jaime so visibly eager. “We’re in agreement on that one.” He turned his head towards Jaime once his arms were around him and called back to him. “ Yeah! But I can handle a lot more.” He grinned to himself. God, he was so cool. He kicked up the kickstand, revved the engine, and peeled away from the curb.

Gene knew a pretty direct route to the forest, but that seemed much less fun than taking the long way, speeding up for short distances to keep things exciting. Once they reached the trail, Gene parked his bike, pulled off his helmet, and fluffed out his hair to fix it as he dismounted his motorcycle. “How was that?” he asked, his grin clearly stating that he’d enjoyed himself.

He held on tighter as Gene revved the engine, letting out a laugh loud enough to be heard over the noise. The ride passed by in a blur and when Gene parked the bike, Jaime was reluctant to drop his arms from around his waist. He removed his helmet, straightening out his glasses and beamed at Gene. "I would pretend to be coy but since I can't seem to rid my face of this undoubtedly goofy grin, I think it's clear I enjoyed that." He dismounted, turning in a circle to take in the forest before looking over at Gene, one hand trying to flatten down his unruly hair. "That was a lot of fun."

Gene couldn't stop himself from smiling at the way Jaime spoke. It was like someone who figured out how social interactions worked by watching Dead Poets Society. "I'm glad you enjoyed it." He positioned the helmet to rest on the mirror of his bike and held his hand out to take the one he had given Jaime as well. "Believe it or not, I was planning on giving you a ride back, too." He grinned, trying to ignore the fact that he had to look up slightly at him. "Did you want another zip around, or are you ready to walk?"

"How generous!" Jaime laughed, passing Gene the helmet in his hands and feeling his face warm as their hands brushed. "I'm ready to walk, lead the way?" He took a step, his shoe bumping a rock; Jaime bent down to pick it up and brush the dirt off of it. The stone was smooth, with a natural indent: the perfect worry stone. With a grin, he wordlessly offered it to Gene, trying his best not to feel ridiculous for the gesture.

Gene took the helmet and then hung it from the other mirror, eyes flicking up to meet Jaime’s as their hands touched. Was that too much contact? No, just enough. Not enough? Gene decided not to overthink it. It was enough for now, he decided, then left it so that he could take the stone that Jaime handed him, almost confused at first. He grinned at the gesture nevertheless, and before leading the way to the trail, he rapped his knuckles against Jaime’s chest, hand curled around the stone. “Yo, can I kiss you?”

The contact of Gene's knuckles on his chest sent a jolt of electricity through Jaime. He blinked, not sure if he had heard correctly, or just imagined the question that he had hoped to hear anyway. "Yes!" He answered eagerly, then cleared his throat. "Yes, absolutely," Jaime grinned brightly at Gene, closing the distance between them.

Gene smirked at Jaime’s enthusiasm and reached up to rest his hand on the side of Jaime’s neck as he kissed him, hand still curled around the stone he’d been given. He wasn’t used to kissing people taller than him, but as he kissed Jaime, he felt like he could get used to it. After a moment, he pulled away, flashing a smile before leading them to the path he’d planned on taking. “You said you hiked in Maine a lot, but do you know the trails around here?”

Angling his head slightly when he felt Gene's hand on his neck, Jaime leaned into the kiss. His stomach did a somersault and he could feel himself smiling against Gene's lips as he pulled away. "Yeah! I do," he nodded, excited as he joined him on the path. "Like the back of my hand, I'd like to think. Are you familiar with them or have you brought me here to be your forest guide?" Jaime teased, still smiling from the kiss and hoping it was only one of many.

Gene exhaled a small laugh as Jaime explained how well he knew the paths here. “You caught me.” He smiled, reaching out to run his fingertips along the foliage at the edge of the path. “I was about to say that I should have taken you somewhere I could impress you with my knowledge of rather than vice versa. Let’s go to the west coast real quick.”

Jaime shook his head, smiling as he watched Gene interact with the nearby flora. "I suppose that's more of a second date-type of trip," he joked, rubbing the back of his neck shyly as he said date. That's what this is, isn't it? He brushed off his thoughts, falling in step next to Gene. "You impressed me with your very very nice motorcycle. Now I can return the favor by taking you to one of my favorite trails. Would that be alright?"

Gene laughed, and the leaves nearby shook as if they were laughing too. “You’re right. West coast is too big a gesture for the first one. Maybe I’ll actually take you surfing. You seem like that isn’t your gig.” He smiled, preening at the praise of his bike, and dipped his head in a small nod. “Yeah, ‘m down.” He slowed his gait slightly so Jaime could take the lead. “Lead the way.”

"A nice gesture, all the same," Jaime dipped his head, ducking under a branch as the leaves shook along with Gene's laughter. It was such an endearing thing that Jaime felt a smile work its way across his face, marveling at Gene's powers. "Ah, I've never tried it. Ocean spray and glasses are not the best mix but I would certainly try, if given the chance." Taking the lead, he took them down a path that veered left, deeper into the trees until they were walking alongside a trickling stream.

“Oh, glasses, duh.” Gene shook his head at the fact that he hadn’t considered that they might be hard to surf with. “Need to get you goggles, or... can you see without those at all? How you fair swimming?” Gene followed Jaime easily, admiring the life around them. “I see you’re taking us swimming already,” he joked, noting the stream, the reached up to tug at Jaime’s sleeve. “Ey, look.” In a bold move, he moved his arms out, but too close to the water apparently, and along the top of it appeared an algae bloom. He grimaced. “Fuck, wait, no, ignore that.” He was embarrassed but not losing confidence, and he turned away from the water to gesture closer to their path, trying to get himself to feel more focused than excited. After a moment, a small line of asters popped up, and as Gene moved his arm, they followed. He smiled at Jaime, his earlier mishap all but forgotten. “Yeah?”

Jaime considered his answer for a moment, wondering how well he would be able to see to surf. "I would probably need those sports goggles but, gods, I would look ridiculous. They always make your eyes look so big." He laughed, shaking his head. "I'm a decent swimmer, probably not as good as you but I won't drown." Jaime smiled at the tug on his sleeve, finding the gesture endearing. His eyes followed the motion of Gene's arms, watching the algae appear, and then moments later, a crop of asters. His eyes lit up as he recognized the flowers and he moved closer to them, excited to get a better look. "I love it," Jaime murmured, his fingertips brushing a flower.

“What do you do when you swim if you don’t have those goggles?” Gene asked, genuinely curious. “Blind swimming sounds like the world’s most dangerous sport.” He laughed, and watched as Jaime reacted to him showing off his powers, happy that he didn’t comment on his mistake. He straightened, but at the comment, he let out a small chuckle as more little flowers popped up near the asters. “They’re, uh.” He traced his foot along the ground. “I’m getting a pretty good handle on my powers, now that I know they’re there.”

"Squint," Jaime answered with a laugh. "Or, it's silly, but I've worn my glasses to swim. I just end up not going under the water much. In case my answers don't give me away, it's been a while since I've swam." He shook his head, fingers still on the flower and looked at the other flowers as they began to grow. "I think they look beautiful. Your powers, they're really cool."

“I didn’t know they’d stay on your face. Suppose you never tried that in the ocean.” Gene smiled and crouched down beside Jaime. “They come in handy.” He reached down to touch one of the buds. “My friend wants us to become superheroes, but I think it’d be dope to restore habitats. I can literally do that.” He shook his head, aware that his powers weren’t quite that strong, but he wasn’t about to downplay himself after a compliment. “You got tricks up your sleeve too, nah?”

"You'd be right, never the ocean. But the lake? Or a pool? It works out...not super well," Jaime laughed, feeling silly. He chewed his lip when Gene crouched beside him. "Restoring habitats would be amazing. Helping things grow, definitely a super power. What would you call yourself? Would you have an alternate identity?" He gave the asters another smile before looking at Gene. "Some, yeah. But I don't have a very good handle on them...yet."

Gene laughed. “As much of a superpower as everyone else here. Flying and healing broken bones is pretty dope.” He shook his head, a smile still on his face. “Absolutely not. I’m not gonna hide who I am.” He motioned towards Jaime with his chin. “You’re the one who looks like Clark Kent with the glasses. If you take them off will I suddenly know you from TV?” He smiled and dipped his head. “Yet. I like that. Shows dedication.” He tugged at Jaime’s sleeve again and leaned in to kiss him.

Wistfully, Jaime agreed with Gene, thinking about what it would be like to be a healer. "It is. And good, I had a feeling that would be your answer," he smiled, feeling his face warm. "I'm no Superman but...maybe. Do you recognize me now?" Jaime took his glasses off with a flourish, letting out a chuckle as he angled his face towards Gene, just in time for another kiss. This was good. This was more than good. Reluctant to pull away, he did so, long enough to return his glasses to his face and give Gene a bashful smile before leaning in to kiss him again.

"Good, I'd hate to give off any other impression." Gene's lips seemed to be fixed in a smile, but he hoped that Jaime had poor vision, as his face grew hot at the way he pulled off his glasses. "Oh yeah, you're that hot actor who was in Rocky Horror." Dumbass, he wore his glasses for the show. Gene figured that Jaime wouldn't mention it, and he pushed the comment from his mind as he focused on kissing him. He moved from holding Jaime's sleeve to resting a hand on his shoulder, thinking about something else to say when Jaime leaned in once more. The flowers around them seemed denser once he pulled away, asters springing up on the forest floor around them. He laughed, their faces still close. "That your power?" He grinned, seemingly unable to help himself. "Being a good kisser?"

"That's me, local heartthrob, Brad Majors," he grinned. Jaime made a sound of contentment when Gene rested a hand on his shoulder. Pulling away, the appearance of more asters caught his eye. His ears turned red the second his brain processed Gene's comment and his stomach did a little flip. Jaime ducked his head, enjoying the moment but trying to hide the blush on his face. "Maybe it is," he mumbled shyly. "Guess we'll have to experiment some more to find out."

Gene grinned. “Should I be getting on some sort of waitlist?” At Jaime’s reaction, he laughed, then leaned in to kiss him for a few more seconds. “I am a scientist. So... experiments.” He laughed and ducked his head, rubbing his thumb into Jaime’s shoulder before he dropped his hand. "Not complaining, promise, but should we... get back to hiking?"

"No no, you're a V.I.P. No list needed." After the kiss, Jaime couldn't help but grin. "If it's for science, in the name of research, who am I to say no?" He joked. "Ah, we should, we're a little over halfway there. You don't happen to be afraid of heights, do you?"

“Does that mean I get in through the back?” Gene grinned back at Jaime and moved to stand, holding a hand out to help him up. He exhaled a laugh. “A little more than halfway to our destination is a great time to ask whether I’m afraid of heights. If I was, would we turn around?”

Jaime flushed, but the smile stayed on his face. "Maybe," he replied, his voice a little higher pitched than usual. "We would not. But if you were, I'd probably...I don't know. Hold your hand a little tighter?" He let out a little laugh and ducked his head. "Too cheesy?"

Gene grinned, taking in the blush without commenting on it. “Oh, nah, nah.” He shook his head and rested a hand on his chest. “In that case, I’m terrified.”

[kimtanathegeek]

Two Brothers, Many Paths - Ch 11

I just want to hug these poor boys.... :(

—

Undertale copyright Toby Fox

Story and original characters by me, Kimtana

Please do not use without both permission and credit.  

Read below, or read it on AO3 here.

First

Previous

Next

Sans and Papyrus had been living in the wintery valley for a few weeks. The little shelter had become somewhat of a new home to them, although they were both eager to return to their real home back in the forest. For now, however, they enjoyed the comforts of their current abode, with its warm bed, the quaint little pantry, the cozy fire room, and the tiny open area for playing in or organizing foraged items.

They spent most of their days foraging out on the torch-lit trail. The frequent snowstorms had made it difficult to find as much as they had the first time, as the trail had filled up again and again with new-fallen snow. While their progress had slowed down more than Sans would have liked and needed to put in more effort to find items, they never returned to the shelter empty handed.

They started off at the torch Sans had broken to get the magical flame that was in their fire room. From there, they progressed down the trail with the purple walled cavern at their backs, since they had already searched that part of the trail. Searching through the deep snow that covered the path, they inched their way towards the opposite end of the valley.

Sans would always tie two blue bones on a torch with vines in an “X” to mark the spot on the trail where they had ended for the day. Not only were they easy to spot, but Sans had carved his and Papyrus’ names into both bones using an arrowhead. He hoped this would let their father know that they were somewhere in the valley if any monster ever found them.

Every few days, they would return to the cavern tunnel to search for their father. These were Papyrus’ least favorite days since it meant being cooped up in the haversack while Sans climbed up to the tunnel entrance. But Sans didn’t have a choice—he couldn’t leave his brother back in the shelter alone.

He did, however, start allowing Papyrus out of the haversack in the tunnel, even if his anxiety increased tenfold by doing so. Sans also made him tiny blue bones to play with in the dark while he looked for their father. These thrilled Papyrus, as he was too young to make glowing blue bones himself.

To Sans’ despair, the construction to convert the cavern into a purple and violet structure was proceeding rapidly. On the first day they returned since Papyrus recovered, Sans found the first set of window holes in the tunnel sealed off with purple bricks. During their next trip through the tunnel, they found the last set of window holes sealed off. This left Sans with only the tunnel opening in the enormous cavern wall. Each time they visited, there were more purple and violet bricks and less natural stone, making it harder to search for their father with buildings replacing tents.

Just as he had done on the trail, Sans created a blue bone and carved their names on it. He was desperate to leave a message for their father since he couldn’t simply ask the monsters below for help. Even though it was just a bone with their names on it, Sans hoped it would be enough to let their father know they were still alive and in the area.

Before calling it a day, after hours of scanning thousands of monsters, Sans would have Papyrus on his back in the haversack. Then, aiming at one of the large work areas against the cavern wall with wheelbarrows, tools, and bricks—ensuring that no monsters were nearby to see or get hit—Sans threw the bone as hard as he could and pelted down the tunnel before he was spotted.

It was extremely risky, because if someone had seen where the bone had come from or spotted him throwing it, they would find the opening high up in the wall, the tunnel, and the valley where it led. Then there would be search parties in the valley, and they would be found.

He would race out the tunnel, flying down bone stairs he created then immediately removed. Instead of heading to the shelter towards the left, he ran to the right, hugging the wall alongside the cavern exterior, past the giant doors, and along the cavern’s exterior wall until he reached a random stone formation far enough away from the cavern to hide behind. There he would stay, catching his breath, and, when the coast was clear, he would let Papyrus back out. They would then eat a packed dinner together—Sans keeping a close eye out for anyone following them—until the wind and snowfall erased his tracks. Then he would circle back to the shelter, giving the cavern an enormously wide berth. Even though it took several hours between leaving the tunnel and getting back to the shelter, Sans needed to take the extra precautions so that neither they nor their shelter were discovered.

It was the price Sans was willing to pay to try to contact their father.

-

Another week had passed, the time in the valley going quickly for the two brothers. Their food supply was also going quickly. Foraging had not been resulting in as much food as Sans hoped, especially with the snow covering the trail over time. Sans was concerned, but not overly worried. They still had enough to last them for a little while, but he started preparing less food for each meal to stretch their stock out as long as possible.

One morning, after a meager breakfast, Sans packed dinner for their cavern excursion. He wrapped an apple, a small hunk of cheese, and four shelled nuts in a scrap of burlap and tied it up with twine, then put their pitiful dinner for two in the haversack.

They left the shelter and crossed the valley towards the cavern, then Sans—with Papyrus in the haversack—created bone stairs and climbed up, entering the tunnel. He raised his hand and made the bones disappear, then created a blue bone to light the way. When he reached the bend, he let Papyrus out. Shouldering the bag, he glanced down the tunnel and froze.

“Oh no...,” Sans said, taking a few steps forward, then broke out into a run. “No, no, no, no, no....”

Papyrus ran after him, worried and confused.

Sans slowed to a stop near the end of the tunnel. The glowing blue bone in his hand lowered slowly until he dropped it with a clatter. He fell to his knees, staring ahead in disbelief. The blue-white light illuminated the purple brick wall that had sealed the tunnel’s opening.

Papyrus approached Sans cautiously, not understanding what was wrong.

“Sas...?”

Sans’ shoulders shook, then he collapsed onto his forearms and started weeping into the tunnel floor.

“Th-they blocked it...,” he sobbed, then slammed his fist on the ground angrily. “They blocked it!”

Papyrus looked up at the bricks closing off the tunnel and understood—this was where Sans always looked out, and now the bricks were in the way. Papyrus looked down at his poor, sad brother, then at the blue bone at his side. The little skeleton’s eyes narrowed and he grabbed the bone. Sans noticed and looked up through tears.

“Pap,” he sniffled. “What are you—”

His eyes grew wide as he watched his little brother run at the wall with the bone raised in his hands, crying out.

“Nyeeeeh!”

He brought the bone down hard on the wall and a loud whack echoed in the tunnel. He began furiously pummeling the bricks, the thudding of bone against stone reverberating around them.

“Pap, no!” Sans cried out urgently, reaching a hand towards him. “Someone will hear you!”

Papyrus stopped suddenly, looking at his brother apologetically.

Sans took off the haversack urgently. “We need to get out of here before someone checks on the noise.”

Papyrus sadly climbed into the bag and Sans shouldered it. He grabbed the blue bone and ran down the tunnel. Sans took his diversionary, long route towards the right, leading away from their shelter. Sans hid behind a couple of boulders, looking out between them to make sure they weren’t being followed.

After several moments, he deemed it safe and let Papyrus out. The little skeleton climbed out, then sat on the snow. Sans could tell from his tear-streaked face that he had been crying.

“Oh, no, Pap...,” Sans said softly. “Don’t cry....”

Papyrus’ face crinkled up, then he hid in face in his hands, sobbing. Sans took him into his lap and hugged him, rocking back and forth.

“It’s ok, Pap,” he soothed. “They didn’t hear us. There’s no one coming, we’re safe.”

Papyrus calmed down to a sad sniffle as Sans rubbed his back gently.

“I didn’t mean to yell at you, I was just worried we’d be heard. I’m not mad at you, I know you were just trying to help.”

The little skeleton wiped his eyes, his bottom lip still quivering.

Sans leaned back to face him and grinned, an impressed look painted on his face. “You whacked that wall pretty hard! You almost knocked down the whole cavern! You are so strong! You sure are boulder than I am.”

A giggle escaped his brother as he rubbed the tears off his face.

“I’m sorry I scared you,” Sans whispered, his tone low. “I saw what they did with the wall, and it made me sad. Now I can’t look for Daddy there anymore....”

Papyrus’ face fell again.

“No, no, it’s ok!” Sans said quickly. “That just means we’ll need to find another way.”

The little skeleton nodded slowly.

“He probably wasn’t even in there, anyway,” Sans grinned sadly.

Sans hugged his brother once more, than sat him on the snow.

“Let’s have dinner, then we’ll head home in a little while,” he said, grabbing the haversack. He dug out the food bundle and opened it. He used a spearhead he had packed to cut the apple into wedges, then laid them on the piece of burlap with the cheese and nuts.

He pushed the burlap towards Papyrus. “Here you go. I have my dinner right here,” he said, patting his empty jacket pocket. “I’m going to keep watch on the other side, you stay here, eat, and guard this side.”

Papyrus nodded, picking up an apple wedge.

Sans stood up and walked around the far side of the boulders. He glanced back to make sure that Papyrus hadn’t followed or could see him, then he leaned against the large stone. He slumped to the ground and wept silently in secret, any chance to find their father in the cavern now cut off from them permanently.

-

Each day that followed was a foraging day, given that there was no reason to return to the cavern. Bit by bit, Sans and Papyrus progressed up the trail, sifting through the snow-covered path, searching for anything that could help them survive, especially food.

Sans used this time to be alone with his thoughts. He was trying to keep Papyrus from seeing him upset, so around his brother he was mostly grins and positivity. Here on the trail, on his hands and knees searching, he kept his head down and a short distance from his brother so he could cry unseen. He was tired of hurting Papyrus with his own suffering.

Losing the cavern tunnel entrance was heartbreaking and discouraging. Their chances of finding their father were already slim—the brick wall made them impossible. Sans had no idea how to find their father now, or how to let him know they were still alive.

It became clear that they were now alone, just the two of them. Sans’ hopes that the separation from their father was only temporary had completely diminished. He now had to plan for the long-term survival of him and his brother out here in the valley. And with dwindling food supplies, he didn’t know how much longer they would last. He barely ate anything lately, making sure his brother had enough in his already tiny portions. It was fine—Sans rarely felt hungry anymore.

Sans found another piece of rope in the snow and put it in his bag, then sat down, tired. They had covered a lot of ground today, and judging by the aches in his bones, it was getting late. He glanced over at Papyrus, who was busy digging in the snow far off from Sans. He was sure his brother was tired, too. He worked so hard for such a little skeleton.

Sans looked up at the torch he had just passed and got to his feet. He took the two blue bones with their names on them and tied them to the torch to mark their next starting point.

When he was done, he looked up at the torch, then at the trail of torches on the path they hadn’t covered yet. The torches went on past his line of sight, seeming to go on forever.

Sans squinted—he noticed that, in the distance, there was a darkness tinged with blue lights where the snow seemed to disappear, as if the valley ended suddenly. Curiosity drew Sans to it—he took a few steps down the path in its direction, his eyes wide with wonder.

That blue light.... Could...could that be...skeletons?

Sans found himself walking quicker.

Daddy...? Are you there...?

Sans broke into a sprint.

Papyrus heard the crunching sound of his brother running in the snow and stood up, turning around.

“Sas...?” he whispered, confused.

He watched Sans run further down the path, and gasped in fear. Sans was leaving him behind.

“Sas!” Papyrus called to his brother.

When Sans didn’t stop, Papyrus started running after him down the trail as fast as his little legs could. It soon became clear, however, that he would never be able to catch up, so he stopped. He watched his brother get smaller and smaller as he got further from him. He stood there, his tiny chest heaving, suddenly feeling very panicky.

Papyrus inhaled as much air as his little lungs could hold and screamed out.

“Saaaas!!!” His piercing cry echoed throughout the valley.

It reached Sans’ ears, jolting him back to his senses. He stopped in his tracks, gasping for breath. He shook his head quickly, clearing his mind. The edge of the valley, where it met the darkness and its blue lights, was extremely far off. Why on earth did he think he could just run to it?

He turned around and saw Papyrus standing off in the distance like a small speck. He started walking back to his brother, then stopped. He turned slowly, looking again at the blue lights. He didn’t want to leave, not if his father was so close. He couldn’t turn away. That had to be the blue light of skeleton bones. Was their father leaving them messages and signs like Sans was? He had to check, he had to get to those blue lights. He started running towards them again.

“Saaas!!!” His brother’s voice behind him was shrill with panic. “Don leave me!!!”

The painful cry cut through Sans’ soul. He whipped around and watched as Papyrus collapsed onto the snow.

“Oh no.... Pap...,” he breathed, then started running towards his brother, slowly at first, his pace quickening. Soon he was sprinting back to his brother as fast as his legs could carry him, crying out to him frantically. “Papyrus!”

He reached his brother, sliding into the snow next to him, throwing his arms around him.  Papyrus was curled up in tears, face down in the snow.

“Papyrus, I’m sorry,” Sans gasped, completely out of breath. “I’m sorry.”

The little skeleton wept uncontrollably. “Don leave me.... Sas.... Don go way.... Sas, don leave me....”

Sans lifted him up and hugged him tightly as they both knelt in the snow. “I won’t leave you, Papyrus.... I’m right here, I’m so sorry.... I would never leave you....”

Papyrus clutched his brother tightly. Sans could feel him trembling violently.

“Don hate me, Sas... Don hate me....”

Sans’ eyes shot open and he pulled back to face his brother, holding his head in his hands.

“Papyrus...,” he whispered in shock. “Why would I ever hate you...?”

The little skeleton shut his eyes tightly, unable to look his brother in the eye as he tearfully voiced the fear that had been plaguing him for a while.

“Sas hate Pa....cuz Pa not Dada.... Sas wan Dada, not Pa....”

When Sans heard this, he felt his soul tear. His body felt weak, and he slumped to sit on his legs. His mouth hung open in shock, his eyes wide as tears spilled out.

“Papyrus....” His voice barely a whisper. “D-do you...really believe that...?”

His little brother nodded, burying his face in his hands as he wept bitterly.

Sans could not have felt worse than he did at that moment.

“Papyrus....”

Sans grabbed his weeping brother gently and hugged him in his lap as he whispered in his ear.

“I could never hate you, Papyrus. Yes, I miss Daddy a lot, but I would never want Daddy more than you. I want all three of us back together—you, me, and Daddy. I would never choose Daddy over you. I love you, Papyrus. I love you so much. You are everything to me. I love you, and nothing will ever, ever change that.”

Papyrus clutched his brother tightly, burying his face in his shoulder and crying hard. Sans rocked him back and forth, repeating how much he loved him over and over, as he let Papyrus cry it out.

“Pap, let’s go home,” Sans whispered at last when his brother began to calm down.

Papyrus nodded, standing up. He was still sniffling and wiped his tear-streaked face.

Sans grabbed his hands and looked up into his eyes. “Papyrus, please forgive me for ever making you think I hate you.”

Papyrus nodded sadly. “Fogiv....”

“Do you believe me when I tell you I love you, and could never hate you?”

He nodded again, smiling weakly. “Yeah.... Sas don hate Pa.... Sas love Pa.....”

Sans smiled through tears. “I really, really do.”

Papyrus hugged Sans as he sat in the snow. “Pa really, really love Sas, too.”

Sans hugged back tightly, nuzzling into the side of his brother’s head, then stood up, wiping his eyes. He put out his hand, and Papyrus took it. Sans gave it a loving squeeze, and Papyrus looked up and grinned as he squeezed back.

The two brothers made their way back to the shelter, hand in hand, in silence.

Silence...except for the thoughts of guilt, self-hatred, and shame beating Sans viciously in his mind.

[xanth-the-wizard]

Random Mountain Encounters (1d100)

(More Random Encounters on Tuesdays! If you like my work, consider supporting me by leaving a tip at my Ko-Fi Page! Image credit: x)

An interesting challenge, but overall I think a successful one! Here are my Random Mountain Encounters (#1-5). Try them out in your campaign and let me know how it goes! Check out all my Other Encounters! See you next week for Desert Encounters!

[1] A metal shack shimmers in the light, inside you discover a hideaway for Ice Gnome Guards. They are playing cards and are willing to make bets with anybody [2] It is migration season, thousands of goats are making their way up the mountain. To pass through them is truly a foolish task [3] The remains of an abandoned city lies quietly in a valley between two great mountains. Evidence for the city’s collapse is not well hidden and perhaps even a bit devious in nature [4] Rumors say at the very top of the mountain lies a golden egg. Yes you heard me right, an egg made of gold. I don’t know who laid it so don’t ask! [5] Friendly Stone Golems patrol the mountains in order to help smaller beings climb to the top. They cannot speak and often throw giant boulders for fun. This can be lead to serious misunderstandings of course [6] All of the mountain peaks are covered in snow, all but one. The odd one out is home to a dormant volcano that is home to a civilization of merfolk. Yeah, I don’t understand it either [7] Birds in these cliffs have grown to the size of lions due to their lack of competition when it comes to hunting prey. They are intelligent and offer wisdom or mockery depending on their mood [8] You discover the cavern of a ghoulish green furred beast that is plotting to attack a nearby town and ruin their festival. This information is easy to discover as there are plans strewn about all over the place [9] Nearby two Ancient Dragons loudly argue over a borrowed book completely unaware of your party’s existence [10] There is a dimensional rift cracking through the stone of the mountain range, gravity occasionally reverses, spontaneous magic effects occur, and otherworldly beings appear without warning [11] A dedicated chef and their protégé are hunting a Yeti. The meat is said to be a delicacy. The chef will offer a grand reward to the party if they choose to assist them. Perhaps you may even be invited to dine with the Monarch who ordered it [12] You discover bodies encased in ice scattered around the path. Was this an accident or an attack? Better be careful either way [13] KABOOM! An explosion in the distance as two high level adventurers duke it out. Have them inspire your players or potentially even guide them [14] A ski resort operates on a hidden slope, it is run by Goblins who desire rare metals [15] Hidden among the sparse trees and shrubbery are large ice cocoons freshly opened [16] Shit! A near fatal slip leads to the discovery of an abandoned mineshaft within a deep ravine [17] Harpies. Just some classic Harpy encounters. They want to either eat the party or eat their rations [18] The mouth of a cavern sings sweetly, it’s quiet but insistent and impossible to ignore. Choose a random player, they are hypnotized by the sound [19] After a long night’s rest the party discover they have been separated mysteriously [20] A lone monk sits peacefully atop of the peaks. They claim to have mastered the art of reversing time [21] Howling can be heard every few hours. The source of this terrifying scream can be traced to a Dragonborn Barbarian who refuses to wear a shirt. They believe shouting into the heavens will bring them closer to the spirit of the planet [22] Due to a magical accident hundreds of years ago the mountains radiate elemental energy. Random combustion is not uncommon and neither are Elementals [23] An infectious fungus is spreading across the mountain peaks. If it is not stopped, it will grow to cover the entire range and beyond [24] Broom race season has just begun! Witches and Wizards are flying all around the place without any concern for nature or the party. Watch out for Fireballs! [25] Awoken from sleep, an eager creature excitedly attempts to pass on words of wisdom to travelers. They get a little too excited and start panicking when trying to deliver their speech [26] In the middle of the night a bear has dug into the party’s packs and has stolen the most hilarious item possible. Be it drugs or someone’s underwear. Perhaps both? Fuck, please let it be both [27] Animated objects have escaped from a neglectful master and have built a small but pitiful society. Surely a new home would suit them better [28] Buried deep within the mountain lies an army of undead, your players happen upon this after a small collapse [29] Shattered statues of gold litter the snow, neglected by time. They appear to be adventurers rumored to have gone missing a few months before [30] These alps are home to unpredictable creatures known as Shadows. They are seemingly intelligent but often attack without warning. Your party discovers a village [31] A powerful spirit guardian visits the party and attempts to lead them to their destination. They either take on the form of a four headed deer or a small white fox [32] It’s finally time. Choose one of your players at random, their bag is actually a Mimic. They’ve been keeping quiet for quite some time, but decide it’s finally time to make their escape [33] Atop the highest peak is a pool of clean spring water. Rumors say that those who drink from it will find their true love within a week. It is a well sought after ingredient for potion making [34] Atop the highest peak is a pool of black liquid. Rumors say that those who drink from it have visions of the future. It is a well sought after ingredient for potion making [35] Medicinal herbs grow all around the sierra, they are believed to be able to cure any illness. But they are guarded by poisonous ants who use it to feed their queen [36] Every few weeks a strange light emanates from the mountains in the dead of night [37] Abandoned minecart rails run through entire range and can offer a quicker, but more dangerous, way to travel [38] A stoic Troll lives near the base of the mountain, they know where the party needs to go to finish their quest. But they will only give directions if they can make the beast laugh. They haven’t laughed in almost a century (This can either be really difficult or really easy to achieve) [39] Tireless exploration has lead your party to the cave of a horrendous beast. Describe it in the most haunting and visceral way possible. That way, when they discover it’s a Pokémon they will probably threaten to fire you as their Dungeon Master but it’ll be so worth it [40] Nomadic Bards offer a detour through the mountains. They claim to know a, “Secret Tunnel” [41] Explorers stumble out of a crypt, at first glance they seem to be wounded but the truth is much worse… [42] Intricate traps litter the mountainside to the point of it being ridiculous! The trappers are actually really enthusiastic Cryptid Hunters [43] Shield surfing you say? The God of shield surfing challenges the party to a race offering valuable treasure if they win [44] Within the mountain is a dwarven forge and after a serious accident molten metals begin exploding out from the natural vents and caves. Watch your step! [45] At the base of the mountain lies a restaurant known as, “The Lost Souls Cafe.” It is run by disguised demon lords who love to gamble souls for rare rewards. The bartender quietly warns all who enter to leave before it is too late [46] Beautiful crystals line hard to reach cliffs. If your players are fortunate enough to collect some they will unfortunately discover it begins growing on exposed skin [47] A giant demon known as the Nurikabe blocks the path, it is nearly impossible to pass without employing magic or trickery [48] Rock insects have infested the entire range. Their camouflage allows them to be nearly invisible, watch your step of face their wrath [49] Wounded and dying of exposure, a warrior lies slumped in a pile of snow. She is incredibly strong and is hunting a Warlock who they have sworn to kill. Or perhaps, the person they are hunting is a villain your party has met before [50] Strong winds threaten to force the party off the side of the mountain. Is it the wrath of nature or perhaps a supernatural entity? [51] A squadron of patrolling Samurai ride upon Velociraptors. They are not friendly [52] One of the player’s voices echoes loudly in the valley. The strange thing is, the voice echoes even without any words being spoken [53] The mountains are alive and have large wounds. If the party isn’t careful they may they will face deadly consequences. But the opposite is also true, if the party are able to heal the wounds the mountains may help them on their journey [54] Fairies dance around a roaring waterfall. They act friendly and offer to heal the party, but beware.. They like to trick people into taking leaps of faith [55] Numerous quarries line the mountain range. Villages are littered throughout, all of them are hanging upside down like stalactites [56] A never ending fire burns within a crater. Travelers often come here to collect the flame [57] The only effective means of travel is a long winding road that forces the party to walk in a single file line. It is not much of an issue until something decides to attack [58] Deep within the blizzarding alps a lone peak is laced with flames. It is home to an ancient Dragon and a Sorcerer who worships and protects their master [59] Roll for which player who is going to be kidnapped by a Giant. Have fun! [60] A range of glass mountains shine brilliantly in the light. They were discovered a few days before replacing a large portion of the western coast. Their reason for existing is unknown [61] ZAP! A young spunky witch has accidentally shrunk the party. In a panic she puts them in a pocket dimension within her walking dresser companion. Surely things will be fine, right? [62] Out of nowhere bump into an invisible object. While trying to investigate they may discover a door that leads to an abandoned magical college. Rare magical treasure can be found within but something seems to have made this place their new home… [63] Clouds swirl around the peak, they are dense and have an almost unnatural appearance to them, as if they were stairs leading up to the heavens [64] Avalanche! The party are now trapped in a monster’s den. For a more dramatic challenge, all but one player is unconscious [65] A sickly looking child is wandering alone in the cold, they speak incoherent gibberish. If the party help this child and let them travel along, after reaching a safe destination they will reveal themselves as a spirit of the mountain, rewarding the party with blessings or treasure [66] The mountain pass is long but not too difficult to traverse. However, this specific path is looping over and over again without end [67] Flail Snails emerge from the mountain. They are dangerous but can be easily tamed [68] A meteor blasts through the summit, the debris rains down upon the party. It is quite deadly if they are hit. The crater is smoking and is home to a new mysterious plant [69] Hidden above are small hornet’s nests, be careful not to disturb them for the main hive is home to giant hornets who are not afraid of fighting [70] Within the rubble of a destroyed altar rests a tome with the title, “Hand of Fate” [71] Broken down on the road, a snobby noble offers to pay the party a large sum of money to help the noble and their servants to an important meeting. It takes place in a week and is important in solving interspecies relations [72] Smoke blows up from a dozen chimneys atop a bizarrely shaped house. It is home to a shy alchemist who collects rare materials from the alps [73] While climbing the mountain, the hard rocky surface suddenly begins cracking and weakening as the surface has turned into chocolate [74] Clockwork animals occupy the area. They act like regular animals… All except for Archimedes the glitchy owl. A loud creature that claims to have been created by a space demon [75] Civilians are traveling all throughout the mountain pass. With all of their belongings they venture toward a developing city in the valley. It’s a great/safe place to make new connections [76] Civilians are traveling all throughout the mountain pass. They claim it is a great land of opportunity and wealth, but something much more sinister is afoot [77] Select a random Goosebumps book, this is the new monster/obstacle the players must face [78] Spider webbing covers the entrance to a cave. Within the webs a sign reads, “Fortune readings in exchange for beautiful cups or tankards.” Sounds trustworthy enough [79] You discover a hamlet constructed out of trash and broken tools. Aloft in this pile of garbage, a Goblin’s eye cracks open. “Come have a look. One gob’s trash is another gob’s treasure.” They are a bit of con-gob so be quite careful [80] A camp of miners ask your party to sit down and join them for drinks. They are fascinated by the life of adventure your party leads [81] Poisonous mist swirls around the sierra, be careful not to lose consciousness while it seeps through your skin [82] Built into the side of the jagged stone, a Monk Temple sits peacefully amidst the storm [83] Bound to the mountain, a hellish warrior slaughters anyone who enters their domain. They are horrendously powerful and would wipe out any unsuspecting low-level party [84] Hosting a prestigious singing competition, a Purple Dragon with a tie and top hat invites all to watch this once in a lifetime event. Gods, Spirits, Giants, Beholders, etc.. are all participants [85] A campfire burns brightly on the side of the road, no one is around. Food is roasting, bottles left unopened, treasure left untouched. Do you search for those who set up this camp or take it for yourselves? [86] The party stumbles upon a murder scene and are framed for the crime by corrupt guards who came to investigate the death of a famous hero. The situation seems far too convenient [87] Frozen in ice a monstrous beast is slowly thawing, it’s power is equal to that of a Tarrasque but it does have the dumbest name in the world [88] Mimics as large as houses, disguised as, you guessed it. Houses. They lie in wait, hidden in plain sight among other buildings of an abandoned city. A storm is brewing and the party needs to take shelter. Hopefully they don’t wander into the wrong house [89] Introduce a new or reoccurring cult from your campaign. One of the members is infusing with a demon and will become a powerful antagonist that will continue to be a problem for the players in the campaign [90] The world’s worst rogue has been stalking the party. They want to kill the party or go on an adventure. The choice is yours, but they HAVE to be lovable. A new child to adopt [91] “Oi! You’ve come fer blood, haven’t you?” You are handed a flyer for a Colosseum nearby [92] A misguided entrepreneur has built their new Fast Food restaurant on a summit. They got the place for cheap but business is… Not ideal [93] Throw a Legend of Zelda boss at the players! Some suggestions: Bongo Bongo, Volvagia, Stallord, Stone Talus, Lynel [94] Struck with lightning, an unlucky party member’s eyes begin to glow as they have gained newfound powers. They’ve been selected by a powerful deity to carry out a prophecy [95] A deserted alchemy lab wanders the wilderness, it is sentient and left without a purpose [96] Thrown from the top of the mountain, a wooden chest filled with cursed magic items has been disposed of, never to be found again. Well until you rolled this random encounter [97] The party meets a high level party of badasses. They are kind of jerks and act as secondary antagonists on this journey up or through the range [98] Treasure map! No tricks, no traps. Just some sick loot [99] Let’s try out a traditional encounter. Find a cool monster (preferably displaced) and let the party fight it or perhaps help calm it down and lead it somewhere safe [100] Hidden away from the rest of the world, an observatory keeps track of planetary movement, stars, and unusual phenomenon. The observatory is run by a secret organization that watches over the world. Grand secrets reside within the somber halls

[themadlostgirl]

Not Dead Yet (Part 66)

*me rn:

Pairing: Reader x Peter Pan

Warning: language

“Where have you been, Darling?” I asked when I noticed Wendy walk back into camp.

“I went to see Tigerlily and Tinkerbell.”

“How was that?”

“Good. They’re interesting women. Tinkerbell is a little rough around the edges and prefers to keep to herself but she’s nice. She’s only been here a couple days and she’s already working on plans for a treehouse.”

“Really? I’ll have to go see her later. See if she’d like some help.” I still felt indebted to her for saving my life. There wasn’t a whole lot to do on the island anyways. Spending my day building something didn’t sound too bad.

I looked around the camp and sighed. Peter had disappeared after I sent him away at training. I checked all the usual places but he had simply vanished. I was starting to get worried. He didn’t look too well when I left him. What if the idiot had collapsed somewhere?

“Looking for someone?” Wendy snapped me back to attention.

“Have you seen Peter? He’s been missing for a while.”

She shrugged. “Don’t know where he could be.”

“Neither do I.” I tried to focus on the book in my lap but all the words kept scanning past my vision without retaining anything.

“Why’d you come back?” Wendy said quietly.

“Hm?”

“Why’d you come back to Neverland after you were so set to leave it behind?”

“I was gonna die where I was. We needed a quick escape and I thought of Neverland first. It seemed the safest option.”

“It wasn’t convenience that brought you back here. Not entirely.” she grabbed my hand to reassure me, “Why’d you really come back?”

~~~

The second star to the right…

I craned my neck further up to see through the bars of the window in my cell. The pain made my vision blur and it was hard to focus. Tiny white specks of light against the dark sky. Please let this work.

“I...I believe…” I whispered to the stars, “I believe…”

The pain became too much and I dropped my dead weight into my shackles. Please let it work. Let the shadow come. Please. Please...help me...

I heard the sound of footsteps enter into my cell. The Dark One was back. An ugly and pathetic sob passed my lips. He was saying something but I couldn’t hear it over my own cries. The shackles around my wrists unclamped and I dropped to the ground.

What’s happening? What’s he doing?

I squinted my eyes open and saw that it wasn’t the Dark One at all. It was a woman. “Wha…”

“Shh,” she silenced me as she pulled me up and slung my dead weight onto her shoulders. “We’re getting out of here.”

She pulled a magic bean out of her pocket and threw it on the ground.

Peter! My mind screamed as we fell through the portal. Not Neverland. Not safety. Peter. My Peter. My home.

My love.

~~~

“I came back because…because I missed everyone.” Not a complete lie, “Devin, Nick, Ben, Felix, Tigerlily, and even Peter. I wanted to come home. It just took a couple weeks of torture for me to realize that.”

Wendy stayed by my side the rest of the day quietly reading over my shoulder. I couldn’t focus on the story but for the sake of Wendy I continued to flip the pages for her to read.

That night I was in Peter’s tent half asleep when I felt someone lay down next to me. I didn’t need to open my eyes to know it was Peter. I let out a small breath of relief when I felt his arms encircle me and draw me close to him.

In the morning Peter didn’t talk about where he had disappeared to and I didn’t ask. What he did though was steal me away from the camp and the boys with the promise we were doing something fun. We climbed higher and higher through the jungle until I noticed exactly where he was taking us.

“You ready to do this?” Peter asked.

“I’m not so sure anymore,” I creeped closer to the edge of the cliff. It was the same cliff that overlooked Skull Rock. How appropriate that my flying lesson would take place at the spot Peter had threatened to toss me from and where I had shoved him over once upon a time.

“Is my Lost Girl still scared of heights.”

“The height isn’t the problem. The falling to my death upon a bunch of sharp rocks against a cliffside is.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be right here to catch you.” he assured me giving my shoulders a tight squeeze. In his other hand he held up the vial of pixie dust.

“Okay, let’s do this,” I took a deep breath as Peter uncorked the vial.

“Flying is simple, it’s just a matter of faith, trust and little bit of pixie dust.”

“Isn’t faith and trust the same thing?”

“Have faith that you can fly and trust that the pixie dust will work.” he corrected me.

“But what if I do fall?” I edged closer to the edge of the cliff my heart hammering in my chest.

“Oh but, pet,” he sprinkled the pixie dust over my head, “What if you fly?”

“Peter…” I know that I had wanted to do it but every instinct in my head was screaming to get away from the ledge.

“You can do this. Remember, faith...trust...and a little push.” he said the last word so softly I barely heard it before I felt his hand push on my back and I fell over the edge.

A loud scream escaped my throat as I started free-falling towards the water.

“PETER! YOU DICKBAG!” I screamed as the waves came closer and closer.

“Trust, Y/N, trust the dust. Think of something pleasant.” I hadn’t noticed until then that Peter was falling right alongside me with a huge grin plastered against his face.

“PETER!”

“You can do this.” he looked way too calm for someone who was hurtling toward their doom. “Ride the wind,”

Ride the wind. Ride the wind! I closed my eyes and focused on the air around me. I imagined the pixie dust settled in my hair. I thought of Peter and I riding on horseback across a glade. When I opened my eyes I wasn’t falling anymore but shooting straight out across the ocean mere feet above the water.

“Oh my god…” the terrified beating of my heart started to slow as I took in the fact I was actually flying. “I’m doing it! Peter, I’m doing it!”

“I know you could,” he was right next to me relaxed as could be. He reached out a hand when I started to wobble to even out my flying as we turned around back to the island.

Now that my life wasn’t in mortal peril my anger had returned. I gripped the hand he was holding tighter and reached over smacking him repeatedly. “Ow! What was that for?”

“You pushed me off a cliff!” I shouted at him as I continued to try and hit him. By now he had let go of me and put some distance between us.

“Consider it payback for when you did it to me,” he smirked.

“That was decades ago! You’re still mad about that?”

“No, but did it feel good to see your face.” he started laughing maniacally.

“That’s it!” I shot at him. He dodged easily having had hundreds of years of practice. “Get over here so I can hit you!”

“Only if you can catch me!” he took off and I sped after him. We zoomed all across Neverland as I tried to catch up to him. I knew it was useless. He was a natural born flyer and I was still shaky by myself. There was no way I was going to be able to catch the little imp but hell if I wasn’t going to try.

I watched as he started to speed around a mountain. I knew this mountain. There were caves all throughout it that could bring me to the otherside faster than going around. Maybe I could capture him! I ducked down into the nearest opening. It was then that I realized I had picked the wrong entrance. It was a dead end. I tried to turn to avoid the walls but was going too fast and collided with the hard stone instead.

All around me was a deep abyss. I was still in some control and used it to crash myself onto some solid land.

“Y/N!” Peter ran into the caves. “Oh bloody hell woman.”

“Yeah, not a very graceful landing.” I dusted myself off, “And I think I twisted my ankle.”

“Not that, do you even realize where you landed.”

“In a...oh…” I took in exactly where I was. Echo Caves. I didn’t come here often but I could tell the severity of my dumb luck. Instead of going for the large patch of land that lead out of the caves I was now stranded on the column of stone with no way out. “Got any more pixie dust?”

“No. I used up the last bit on you. I’d have to go scavenge for some more.” he ran his hands through his wind-tangled hair.

“So I’m going to be stuck here for hours while you go climb some trees?”

“Not necessarily.” he eyed the gorge between us, “You know these caves. You know there’s another way to get out.”

“No.” I plopped myself down, “No. I’ll just stay here.”

“Y/N--”

“Nope! Just leave me be.”

“I can’t just let you stay over there either.”

“Then you go better threaten some of the boys into spilling their secrets because I’ve got nothing.”

“Really? Nothing at all to voice?”

“No. Not to you at least.” It wasn’t a secret but it was strange to admit, “You know all my secrets. There are no more dark shadowy parts of me that need be revealed. Not to you.”

The space between us seemed to grow larger through our silence. I turned around so he couldn’t see my reddening face, “Just go find some pixie dust.”

“You may not have any more secrets,” Peter said, “But I do.”

“Please,” I look back over my shoulder, “I know everything about you. What else could there possibly be that you’re willing to share?”

“More than I care to admit.” he stepped to the edge of the abyss.

What deep dark secrets could he have? I already knew about his childhood, his relation to the Black Fairy, how he was cursed, what he had to do to save his life, what more could there possibly be?

“Okay, if you wanna try then by all means. Be my guest.” I could not wait to hear this.

His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. “I um…” he took in a deep breath, “Sure you have nothing to say?”

“Not that I can think of. Is what you have to say really that personal?”

“A person’s deepest secrets are hard to admit. I would think you of all people knew that.”

This was hard on him. He’s told me a lot, confided so much in me, what was so bad or so personal he had trouble telling me? “Peter, Peter look at me.” I pleaded. He brought his eyes back up to me. “Whatever it is will not change anything between us. You know that right?”

“You’re wrong.” he shook his head, “It’ll change everything.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that for so long you have been my friend. Someone I can confide in, someone I trust more than anyone else. I’ve gone out of my way for you, let myself become attracted to you, let myself become attached to you in a way I know I should have never let happen. I know I should have walked away from you but I didn’t and looking back at all the carnage that being around you has wrought I don’t regret any of it. I can’t cause despite every bloodsoaked, annoying, infuriating moment that has transpired since I met you it gave me you, it gave me my best friend.”

The ground underneath us shook and the stone of the cave jutted out some toward my pillar. I couldn’t make a sound. What he had just said was more than I ever expected from him. I have seen him open up but that was more than just a hard to admit truth, it was weakness. Fragile, shaking weakness he was sharing...and it scared me.

He kept staring at the ground unwilling or unable to meet my gaze again. I stood to my feet, careful to mind my tender ankle.

“You want to know what I experience when I’m with you? I get...nervous.” he whispered and the slow thuds that made up my heartbeats began to quicken, “I feel more important yet less significant when you’re around. Like I could take on an entire army or fall to a single person.”

More of the walkway appeared.

“Why are you telling me this?” I stepped towards the growing bridge carefully.

“Because I need you to know. I’ve never done this before. I will admit that this stuff has me baffled but if I’m certain of one thing it’s that I don’t feel this way for anyone but you.”

The stone walkway grew once more but only a little. One of us would have to voice a huge secret to get across now.

“You’re my Lost Girl and mine alone. Yes, I am possessive. Yes, I can be too protective and needlessly jealous. And of course I’m going to be lustful. But why does that have to be the only things I am capable of feeling?”

“Because you’re you.”

He stepped out onto the walkway till he was at its very edge. The large space was too much to even think about jumping across. “You want to know my deepest, darkest secret? The one I tried to keep from even myself? I need you. I need you like I need air to breathe. If I lost you then I don’t know what I would do. That is my biggest secret. I need you, Y/N, and I am never going to let you go.” The rest of the stone surged forward completing the bridge. I couldn’t help it and ran across the walkway and straight into his waiting arms despite my injured ankle.

He hugged me back tightly. “It’s alright now. Everything is okay.” Peter whispered bringing a hand up to cradle my face. He brought me closer until his lips connected with mine. He kissed me slowly, attentively, and so tenderly it left me on another world.

“You know you didn’t have to do any of that. I would have been fine here for a couple hours while you found some pixie dust.”

“I know. But now, there are no more secrets between us.” he smiled at me, “Now let’s see what we can do about that ankle, huh?”

He waved a hand and the pain subsided. “Better?”

“Much.” I grabbed hold of him again, “Now you had better take us somewhere a little more cozy.”

“Why’s that?”

“Cause sometimes I get tired of doing it on the ground.” I smiled back at him. His eyes widened a fraction in realization before he wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me into him. The tenderness from before had flitted away replaced with the rough hungry kiss I was used to. A whirl of wind surrounded us and the next moment we were standing in the middle of his underground hideaway.

Despite the initial hunger Peter exerted he made love slowly this time. It was tender and calming as well as arousing to the point I believed it was love making instead of just sex like before. I liked it.

After we made sure each other were completely satisfied we laid back in bed staring up at the ceiling. Peter kept one arm securely locked around my torso holding me close while the other played with my hair. My head was resting on his chest right over his hearts so I could hear the slow paced thumps. “So what do we do now?” I spoke up, “We’ve made the disastrous mistake of admitting we have feelings.”

“Actually I admitted to have feelings, you have said nothing.”

“My turn huh?” After all he had said to me you would think I would find this easier. All of my stupid complicated feelings fighting to be said first. “Well if I need somewhere to start then I might as well start with how you make me feel. I’m happy. That’s all I can think of. When I am around you I go through the usual cycle of irritation you always manage to cause.”

“Look who’s talking!”

“Shut up, I’m trying to be sincere.” I smacked his chest, “To every sarcastic comment and mean spirited name I am always happy to see you. My heart misses a beat when I hear your voice, I catch myself smiling when I think of you. You make me happy. I...I care about you.”

“Yeah?” he smoothed my hair out in a gentle caress.

“Yeah. I can remember little to none about my life and who I was before Neverland. But I do know that at one time when I was young I had a father. A father that loved me and I loved him more than anything in this fucked up world. Then he died. He left me all alone and it was like someone had ripped my heart out of my chest and dropped it down some dark cold hole. I never thought I’d find someone who could make me care ever again. But I did. I found you. I found you and you wormed your way under my skin and into my blood.”

I buried my face in his chest, “But even here on this island of magic and dreams and impossibility there are still nightmares. Because while I try to be fearless I am terrified for you. I’m scared everyday because everyday I see you, the one person that tore down my defenses, and I know that I can lose you. There is a timer on your life and I can’t help but worry that we may not find the boy in time and save you. I’m scared that we’re going to fail and I’m going to lose you and I’ll have to go through all that pain all over again.”

“Oh precious,” he rubbed my back tenderly. He tilted my head up so I was looking straight into those emerald green eyes I came to find refuge in. “Don’t you know by now? Peter Pan never fails.”

I closed the distance between us kissing him slowly. “Not all the time at least. I say I would have caught you during our flight if I hadn’t taken that wrong turn.”

“Sure you would have.” He chuckled softly pulling one of the pelts further around us. “I’m glad I have you. Life was not nearly as interesting before you dropped into it.”

“I’m glad you saved me all those years ago back in the Enchanted Forest. I would have died if you hadn’t taken me back to Neverland.”

“You wouldn’t have died.” he scoffed, “You’re far too stubborn for that.”

I settled back into my spot against him. Entwining my fingers with his. Neither of us spoke but then again there was no need.

(First) (Previous) (Next)

[cerillosvillage]

<<Previous | List | Next (NSFW)>>

Four: Work It Out

Take it easy/ Don’t worry ‘bout it/ I got this/ I got this

The giant looked up as Ib entered the meeting place. The mercenary's face was still pale and his injured arm was in a sling, though the way he carried himself showed that either he was not in much more pain, or that he had enough experience with being in pain around enemies that he knew how to hide it. He took a seat besides Magdalena on the stone floor, crossing his legs underneath himself as she had. Unlike her skirt, though, his kilt did not reach the floor when he stood, and when he sat, it was clear that he did not bother with undergarments.

He said nothing, but made direct eye contact with the giant beastman. Omkir, for his part, did not appear fazed in the slightest.

"Your bodyguard?" He asked Magdalena.

"Her advisor," Ib corrected him in a clipped tone.

The meeting place was a great stone circle painstakingly carved out of the sandstone floor of the village. It was deep enough that most of the Cerillos clan, being just over five feet call, could not stand at the bottom of it and look out over the top. There were no chairs or seats of any kind in the meeting place. Anyone who came to have their voice heard in matters concerning the village had no choice but to sit on hard floor, so that everyone was of equal height - and therefore equal importance - during meetings. Most would bring woven rugs with them to sit on, but right now, the only people in the space where Magdalena, Ib, and the trio of mages. The mages, of course, had no rugs to sit on.

"As I was saying," Omkir continued, "we have brought with us a letter from our University explaining our purpose here. I understand that you have not heard of our University, but I believe you will find that the letter will answer many of your questions." He held a scroll up with one hand, opening his palm. The letter glowed a faint pink, and levitated on its own across the meeting place, until it hovered just in front of Magdalena.

She looked at the scroll, her face screwed up in the manner of someone deeply uncomfortable with their present situation.

Ib knew the issue without having to be asked. Not only did she not know anything about the University, she could not even read. The Cerillos people were a people who recorded everything orally. In fact, few people in the village had any education to speak of, something that Ib found quaint but frustrating.

"I've heard of your college," he said, reaching out on his own to grab the scroll. It felt warm in his hand and vibrated for just a moment, until the pink glow faded. Omkir furrowed his brow at Ib's actions.

"You lot, you're the ones that fuck around with the borders of earth and space, correct? I believe I heard stories of one of your schools exploding because a mage tried to harness cosmic energy."

Modthryth, the skinny masculine one, opened his mouth to speak, but Omkir raised a huge hand to silence him.

"An unfortunate accident. Master Scipio's work is not indicative of the rest of the institution."

"Right, right," Ib muttered, slipping a finger underneath the purple wax seal on the scroll. He unfurled it and read over it. The diction was long-winded and complex in the way only academics were, and while he was far more educated than the rest of the village, he'd never had a knack for reading such writing.

It did, at least, confirm that the trio truly were representing the University of the Arcane.

"So you have the backing of a school," Ib said, tossing the scroll aside. Omkir's brow knit together further. Ib was beginning to find amusement in antagonizing the beastman, though a glance from a worried-looking Magdalena made it clear that he needed to reign it in a little.

"So you're from a school," Ib continued, trying to tone down his natural arrogance. "But what are you actually here for? I want to hear it from you lot, not some obtuse professor."

Omkir's shoulders rose with a deep inhale, though he managed to keep his face relatively composed.

"As I said, we are mages--"

"I don't know that word," Magdalena interrupted. Ib cast a glance at her, willing her to shut up and not display her ignorance, but she continued. "I don't know what a mage is. That is not a word we have here. Before you go on, please, explain it to me."

The two smaller mages exchanged a bemused look, but Omkir did not show any signs of surprise or amusement.

"Simply put, we are practitioners of magic. Am I right in assuming you know what magic is?"

Magdalena nodded. "My husband's father was a holy man. He communicated with spirits, and they lent him their powers. Is a mage like that?"

"Not exactly," Omkir replied. He managed to say things that could easily be condescending without actually being so. He acted very much like a teacher, Ib thought.

"We do not have direct communication with spirits, though we do rely on them. We work to learn the secret names of everything we encounter; every rock, every tree, every stream. We then call upon those things by their secret name, which allows us to control them. When Modthryth disarmed your… advisor, he was using the secret name of steel. When Poe created fire, she was using its sacred name."

"I see," Magdalena said softly. "So… am I right in assuming you have come here because you want to learn the secret names of our caves, and try to control them?"

"No, you are not. We do not want to control the magic found in this region at all. We simply want to study it. Cosmic energy swirls around this village like a typhoon. Very few places in the world have such a strong connection to the cosmos, which indicates a connection to the Gods. We wish to understand this energy, to catalogue it, and, if you allow us, to help your village harness it."

"My people believe it is an affront to the Earthshaker to try to control him," Magdalena murmured. The very idea was sacreligious, and one of many reasons why both Elyakim and Ajra had been so reviled by the Cerillos people.

"My apologies, you misunderstand me," Omkir said gently. "I don't mean to suggest that you try to learn the secret names of the Gods. Rather, the energy surrounding this place runs wild and chaotic, which is why we were attracted here. No doubt other magic users will be drawn to this place as well, as long as the magic runs freely. We wish to help you contain it, to urge it into more productive uses, so as to avoid a confrontation with forces and people with malicious intent."

Ib could see that the mage's reasoning had struck a chord with Magdalena. She clutched her skirt so tightly, her knuckles had gone pale, and she sucked on her teeth. Already there had been two cult leaders try to take over the village. One, Ajra, had technically succeeded, and from what Ib had come to learn about Elyakim, he had been using the village's magical caves to create monsters. He could understand why the mage's offer was a tempting one.

Suddenly, she turned to face him. "Ib," she asked in a hushed voice, "you've heard of this… 'University.' Have they ever waged war on a region?"

Ib glanced at Omkir. The mage's face was impassive.

"No," he murmured back. "Mages are crazy, but they've always seemed too self-involved to bother trying to take anything over on their own. I've worked for kings who employed mages in battles, but the University itself has always remained neutral."

Magdalena bit her lip, looking at the floor for a moment.

"I… I'm not sure that we have the resources to provide room and board for strangers…" She said, finally looking up at Omkir.

"Money is of no concern," he said, waving a hand. "We have been given funding by our University. If you allow us access to your village, we will pay for anything that we use."

Magdalena looked down again, thinking.

"I'll allow you to stay for a month," she said eventually. "But you will be supervised everywhere that you go."

"A fair condition," Omkir said, bowing his head.

Magdalena stood up and climbed half way up the steep stone steps leading down into the meeting place. She signaled for a villager who had been sitting just above the meeting, and instructed him to lead the mages to an apartment. The mages stood and followed without a word.

Ib stood as well, watching them go. After the last of them had climbed out of the hole, Magdalena started up again. Ib reached up and caught her by the arm.

"Maggie," he said, "a word, please."

She looked over her shoulder to watch the mages follow the villager, then nodded and stepped back down the stairs.

"You think I did the wrong thing, don't you?" She asked.

"I'm not going to judge or question your decision," he said. "But I do have a concern. We have three patrolmen, and none of them has any experience fighting magic users. We're lucky that those mages didn't do anything worse. But if they're right, and this place is a hotbed for magical activity, we need to be better prepared."

"I've asked for people to join your patrol," she said. Her voice was pleading, and Ib was reminded of just how young she was. "But our people are pacifists. Even considering all that's happened to our village, it's hard to change their minds. My husband was always frustrated with that about his father."

"It's okay," Ib murmured, doing his best to soothe her before she had a breakdown. "I understand. But we do need to do something about the situation."

"Do you have any ideas?" She asked.

Ib took a deep breath. This would be a hard sell. "Let me bring in some mercenaries," he said.

Magdalena pursed her lips. "We don't have the money to pay mercenaries," she said, which was certainly true, but Ib could see the deeper meaning behind her words. She didn't trust mercenaries.

"I'll pay them," he said. "I've enough money to last me multiple lifetimes. More importantly, though, I don't want to bring in the first mercenaries who take up the job. Let me hire people from my old troupe. They know me, and they're loyal to me. They won't turn on this village."

Ib could see the calculation going on behind Magdalena's eyes. No doubt she was thinking about the fact that he was Ajra's consort, and that Ajra had once conquered the village. And he had first come to the village with every intention of helping her conquer even more. But he had found a home here, had saved the entire place despite knowing there would be no reward in doing so. He hoped that was enough for her to trust him.

"...Alright," she said slowly. "Bring your mercenaries."

[mypopculturediva]

Accidental Success

Pairing : Dean Winchester x Reader

Word Count : 2,413

Warnings : A little angsty, but mostly sweet

Summary : This is for @frickfracklesackles (you have the patience of a saint) 1,000 reader celebration.  Prompts : Pretend to be my date at my family’s wedding and oh look we’re in love and “Love requires sacrifice.” – The Longest Ride

                 “What do you mean your family doesn’t know you’re a hunter!?” You shrunk from the grimace on Dean’s face. “What the hell do they think you do?”

               “They…”you swallowed hard before finishing, “They think I’m a nurse.”

               “You do a good job in patching us up Y/N/N.” Sam tried to ease the tension, but Dean was having none of it.  You stared at your hands, wishing you weren’t having this conversation.

               “Look, none of them liked my Dad and were constantly badgering him after my Mom died; constantly telling him the way he raised me was “ child abuse” … bouncing from town to town, school to school.  They threatened CPS any time I wanted to hear Grandma and Grandpa’s voice.”

               Dean let out a long sigh when he sat down, dragging his hand along the length of his face in an attempt to wipe away some of the anger.  The life hunters lead is never a fairytale, but when you’re a kid without a choice in the matter… for Dean it hit too close to home.

               “My family doesn’t know that my Mom died protecting me from a werewolf and my father refused to tarnish their image of her by explaining this life to them. Love requires sacrifice and he sacrificed his family for my Mom…and me.”  Dean knew sacrifice like he knew how to breathe.  After he and Sam’s Mom died he became Sam’s Mom and Dad; Sam’s protector.  He became an adult, without ever having the opportunity to be a kid.  

               “When my Dad was killed… “Your voice trailed off and Sam brushed his hand across your shoulder as he walked by to sit next to Dean.  “… when he was killed by a Wendigo I promised to keep Mom and Dad’s secrete, our secrete, even if it meant lying to what remained of my family.  When I turned eighteen, I told them I was in nursing school – they laid off of Dad for awhile – so I just kept the story going after he was gone.”

               The boys knew about your Dad, but the rest was all news to them.  Being a hunter meant keeping yourself stoney; nothing good would come from allowing yourself to be vulnerable and sharing yourself or your struggles. Love and family didn’t last; that was learned at an early age.  But, Dean and Sam were your safe place. A place you felt like you could relax and just be you.  Sam and Dean were your family now.  

               Until your Dad’s sister, one of the few that was nice to you, practically begged you to come to your cousin’s wedding.  You heard yourself say ‘yes’ but the reality of what that meant didn’t hit you until you’d hung up the phone.  Now here you were, asking the Winchesters to drive you one state over so you could go to a wedding with people you didn’t know.

               “You sure about this, Y/N?” the concern in Dean’s voice didn’t go unnoticed by Sam, but he kept if to himself.

               “Yeah.” You sighed. “My Dad would want me to go, even if this is the last time I see any of them. He’d want them to see me happy and successful… even if it is a lie.”

               “Wait a minute! You are successful!” Dean now stood in front of you; close enough that you could smell the mint of his toothpaste and the soap from his shower.  It was too close.  Your heart began to race as his eyes locked with yours. “Just because it’s not someone else’s definition doesn’t make it not true.  You’re a kick-ass hunter, Y/N/N.  And I’m not just sayin’ that, am I Sam?” He looked over at his little brother encouraging him to speak.

               “Y/N we couldn’t do this without you.” Sam smiled.

               Dean turned back to you then, his right hand on your shoulder, and a long pause before asking a question he wasn’t sure he wanted you to answer. “And you’re happy some of the time, right?  It isn’t all bad… ”  He held his breath and waited.

               “Dean… I’m grateful for every day I have with you… AND SAM!  You AND Sam.”  You could feel the heat rising in your cheeks.  “And we always have fun!” You shoved his arm in hopes of breaking the tension.

               Dean’s expression melted and with a grin he clapped his hands together. “Well then let’s get this fun on the road!”

               The ride to the small town was quiet.  You focused on the boys chatting back and forth, Dean catching your eye in the rearview mirror every once in awhile making you smile.  You dreaded the thought of buying a dress, but dragging the Winchesters into this would only make you feel worse.  You convinced them to get supplies and promised you’d meet them at the hotel.  

               It was an evening wedding, so you knew a cocktail dress would be appropriate, but practical thinking made you want to seek out something that could possibly be used in a later case and pack easily.  The second shop had exactly what you wanted; black, fitting, cut at the knee, tastefully low cut, capped sleeves, with beautiful red roses scattered here and there. From the hips down it was a sheer black, making it easy to move; especially knowing you wanted simple black heels to go with it.

               When you got back to the hotel, you locked yourself in the bathroom, knowing you’d be spending more time than you ever had with make-up and hair.  After your shower – scrubbing, shaving, moisturizing - you decided to let your long, wavy red hair cascade across your shoulders and along your back instead of some fancy up-do.  With one last look at yourself, you walked out to face Sam and Dean and take their good-natured ribbing.

               “Go ahead.” You opened the door to find Sam sitting at the table with his laptop. He grinned from ear to ear when your eyes met.

               “Wow! Y/N/N you look amazing!” His tone was so sincere you couldn’t help but smile back.

               “Where’s your brother?” You questioned.  He nodded outside and you stepped to the window to find Dean, leaning against the Impala in a new black suit.  He was looking at his watch and fidgeting with his hair; making sure he looked ok in Baby’s side mirror.

               “I don’t understand.” You finally said.

               “He won’t take no for an answer, Y/N.  He’s taking you to the wedding.”

               “No! Sammy! I’m not making him – “

               “He wants to.” He responded. “He knew you’d never ask, but … he wants to be there for you.”

               Tears started to form, but you willed them away. You hugged Sam tight and he kissed the top of your head.

               “Go make us proud, Miss Nightingale!” Sam joked as you grabbed your clutch and headed out the door.

               As soon as Dean heard you he started, “Look don’t argue with me!  I’m–“  When his eyes met yours he was speechless.  You grinned sheepishly; excited that you could have any kind of effect on him.

               “Dean –“ he cut you off as soon as you started.

               “I’m going with you Y/N! I know how shitty a situation like this can be.”

               “Ok.” You agreed.

               “I can pretend to be your boyfriend or husband or whatever your family thinks means success…” Dean continued his argument.

               “OK!” you took a few steps closer, hoping he’d realize you were agreeing with him.

               “I’m not going to let you go and deal with a gaggle of morons giving you side-eye and 20-questions without backup…”

               “Dean!” You grabbed both of his hands.  “Dean, I said ok.  Please come with me.  I’d really feel better if you did.”

               His features softened and a cheeky smile started to appear.

               “Yeah?”

               “Yes.” You laughed.

               “You look absolutely beautiful, Y/N.” his eyes traveled the length of you from head-to-toe. “How many guys I’m I going to have to fight off at this wedding?” Dean opened the car door and you climbed inside.

               “There will be no fighting, I’m sure of it.” You chuckled, knowing your heart would secretly never belong to anyone but him.

                It didn’t take long for you to reach the small wedding chapel.  Dean parked and again opened the door for you.  “So did you decide?”

               “On what?” You asked.

               “Husband or boyfriend?” He whispered.

               “Without rings, I think we’ll go boyfriend.”

               “Ohhh. I like a girl with brains.” He nudged your shoulder, but then reached to grab your hand. “Ready?”

               You took a deep breath and squeezed his hand. “Ready.”

               You and Dean took a seat near the back of the room, allowing you to see each guest as they arrived. You noticed your Aunt at the front of the church and, when she spotted you, her face went from confusion to excitement back to confusion again when her eyes landed on Dean.

               He leaned in and pulled you closer, setting your body on fire.

               “Your Aunt?” he whispered; his hot breath sending chills over you.  You nodded, stifling a sigh.

               “Show time.” He joked as he pulled you even closer.

                The ceremony was short, but beautiful; even making you a little weepy at one point.  Your cousin, Caitlyn, was stunning and she and her new husband looked to have come straight off a magazine cover.  There was always a tiny part of you, even though you knew it wouldn’t be possible, that longed for a love like that.  Being part of a couple that made people want to be you; being with a man who adored you for you and that you couldn’t live fully without.

               Instead, you had Sam – the brother you never knew how much you wanted and Dean – the man that would have your heart until the end of time and would never know.  You stared mindlessly at the dance floor, reminding yourself how much luckier you were than most, when a familiar hand reached for you.

               “Let’s go show off that dress, shall we?” You placed your hand in his and let him walk you into the middle of the crowd.  Dean pulled you close, wrapping you up in his arms and slowly swayed to the music.

               “You’re awfully quiet, Sweetheart. You say the word and we’re outta here.”

               “Thank you, Dean.” You hugged him tight and then pulled back enough to see his mesmerizing green eyes trying to read you.  “I mean it. Thank you for doing this for me. I’m guessing Sam made you play rock, paper, scissors for this night, knowing he’d win.”

               His body stiffened under your touch. “You think… you think I lost a bet?  That’s why I’m here?”

               “Dean, this isn’t exactly your thing.” You tried to gently let him off the hook, but somehow it was backfiring.

               “You’re right, Y/N/N. This isn’t my thing.” His hand pointed around the room, before coming back with his fingers under your chin. “… but you are.”  You must have looked utterly confused because Dean closed his eyes and struggled on what to say next.  “I didn’t lose a bet. I told Sammy I was doing this. Tonight is what …. It’s what family does for each other.”

               “Family, right.” You felt so stupid thinking it could be anything more.

               Dean’s thumb brushed against your cheek; never losing your eyes. “… and people… People you care about…” You didn’t dare move. If this was a dream you refused to wake up.

               “Yes…” you softly spoke.  He swallowed hard before saying another word.

               “… and…”

               Everything disappeared around you as you held your breath.

               “… and people you… love…” It was barely audible, but you were sure you heard it.  Your heart was beating so loud you didn’t hear your cousin call your name.  She grabbed you into a hug as Dean stepped back from you.

               “I’m so glad you came, Y/N!  Mom told me she invited you, but I didn’t know if you’d come.”

               “Yeah.” You were still stunned trying to process everything.

               “And who is this?” Caitlyn nodded towards Dean.  You turned to see him nervous and scared; emotions you’d never seen on Dean Winchester’s face before.

               “This …” you started. “This is my boyfriend, Dean.” He smiled half-heartedly, playing along with the gag; holding out his hand to shake hers. “And he’s amazing.” You swooned catching a sideways glance from him. “He’s thoughtful and loving. He cares for everyone he comes across, self-sacrificing to a fault. And he’s saved me more times than I can count….” Dean smiled and shook his head. “… he’s funny – SO funny!  And he’s sweet. And way smarter than he thinks he is. He’s quick and clever…”

               “Ok! Ok!” Caitlyn laughed. “I get it!  You’re obviously in love.”

               You turned back to Dean, making sure you had his full attention. “I am Cate.  I really, really am in love him.”

               Relief came over him as you slid your arms around his waist and he kissed your lips chastely. “And I love her.” He stated with newfound strength and confidence that overwhelmed you. “I only hope we can be as happy as you and your new husband.”

               She leaned in a whispered with a wink. “I think you’ve already got us beat.”  Caitlyn hugged you, and Dean, and disappeared back into the party.

               “So.” You broke the silence.

               “So.” He returned, continuing to hold you tight.

               “What now?”

               “Well, as your newly appointed boyfriend, I believe I’d like to take you back to the hotel and show you just how much I truly do love you.” Arms still wrapped around each other, you made your way back to the car.

               “Can we afford for Sam to get his own room?” you questioned as he sped out of the parking lot.

               “Sammy can sleep outside tonight for all I care. I’ve waited for this for too long.”  At the stop sign, he curled his fingers into your hair and pulled your lips to his.  

               There were sparks and blinding lights and fireworks and unicorns and heart-eyes  — all of the stupid stuff you’ve seen in movies or read in a trashy romance novel you were engrossed in while riding in the backseat traveling between jobs.  Only this was real. This was you and Dean and you knew it was forever.  A Hunter’s Forever. And so you’d make the best of every minute until the minutes were gone.  Dean was right.  You were successful in every way that made you happy just being you.

@frickfracklesackles

[knights-of-itania]

For the Preservation of Knowledge!

...in continuation:

In the aftermath of helping Lieutenant Tavares take the crafter's district, Rokath sent a message around to the east gate to let Derm know where they were and what their next plans.   Ki'itshka left with the message, disinclined to re-enter the anti-magic field blanketing Sarn.  The others left her to it, and hoped Derm received their message soon, as they headed back into the city, following their previous path along the edge of the military and mid-residential districts.

They only managed to get a short distance along their path when they came across what looked like a full-scale street brawl between fully equipped soldiers and civilians in scavenged armor.  Yvresse almost immediately charged into the melee, aiding the soldiers while the others were still assessing the situation.  Virux scurried off to find a building to break into for some temporary cover, but discovered that the windows of the building he'd chosen had been boarded over on the inside.  His attempt at finding cover was thwarted - which turned out to be a good thing, as he hadn't paid much attention to which side of the street he was running to, and had ended up on the military's side.

"Virux," Rokath called with a sigh. "That way?" He pointed to the other side of the street.

"Oh! Right!" Virux abandoned the boarded up building in favour of an easier to break into one across the street, setting up a sniper nest for himself.  Monty and Peregrine chose the same building to climb to set up their own sniper nests at the top.  On the ground, Rokath and Stefanee started pulling the wounded out of the fight, tending to what wounds and injuries they could as they did so.  As it had at the gate, the group's assistance quickly turned the tide of the battle: though it was more due to the fact that Virux seemed unable to focus properly on aiming, resulting in him shooting wildly into the crowd.  The danger of getting shot seemed all the incentive needed to lay down arms, with many of the civilians surrendering, and the soldiers moving more cautiously in the hopes of not getting hit.

When the fighting had finished, Yvresse sought out the ranking officer, a young captain, and inquired about the cause of the melee.

"Oh, they charged us," he replied breezily.

"And does this happen often?" she asked curiously.

"Whenever they get hungry enough, they decide to make a go for our storehouses." The captain seemed very unconcerned with this fact, almost casual.

"Are they not getting access to any sort of supply shipments?" Yvresse pressed, frowning slightly.

"Well they're stuck in the middle of the city and we have the docks to go fishing."

"Have you tried negotiating with them for food?"

"We told them they could have whatever they need, so long as they surrender control of the district to us, but they decided they didn't want that," the captain said with a shrug. Further questions were diverted as the captain was called away by one of his soldiers, and Yvresse let him go. Rokath and Monty decided to question the injured civilians in the meantime, under cover of dressing their wounds before handing them over to their military captors.  They had little luck with the belligerent civilians, however, gaining no additional information about the cause of the spat.  Monty did notice that they all had either a symbol of - or an actual - book on them somewhere, a unifying symbol that stood out when taken into account with them being mostly middle to lower class, many of whom were undoubtedly illiterate.  The civilians were unhelpful when questioned about it, but the military supplied the information that the book symbol was the one of the inn where they'd set up their base of operations.

They stuck around for a little while longer, finishing up first aid and assisting the military in retreating back behind their barricades.  They moved on afterwards, travelling without trouble down their previously discovered 'neutral zone' between the military and mid-residential districts to the embassy.  Without Ki'itshka to calm the lions, they climbed over their rear wall again, entering the embassy and checking in with the staff.  Yvresse informed the staff of their plan to escort them out, then started distributing the weapons they'd brought to help on the journey.  Stefanee saw to making rations, while Virux kept watch for the lions.

Rokath sought out Peregrine's brother, Mattimo, to inquire about disarming the log trap aimed at the rear gate, allowing them an easier exit path than risking the lions again.  Mattimo was more than willing to disarm the trap, but required the assistance of Rokath's height to do so - their ladder had apparently broken.  Rokath was amenable to helping, and they headed back just in time for Derm to tumble over the back wall, having finally caught up to them.

"Oh hey Derm," Rokath greeted him casually, while Mattimo paused in surprise.

"Sup!" Derm replied, and fell over to lay on the ground, very out of breath and sweating profusely from running around the city from the east gate and in to the embassy.  An amused Rokath simply lifted Mattimo up onto his shoulders to disarm the gate trap.

Meanwhile, Peregrine and Monty had decided to scout around a bit more - specifically, in the Donalos Embassy next door.  From his lookout post at the top of the embassy, Virux watched with amusement, debating joining them, but opted to provide overwatch in case they got into trouble instead.  This proved slightly problematic, as Peregrine and Monty slipped into stealth after entering the embassy grounds, and Virux was unable to spot them.  He did his best, however, keeping watch for any sort of movement.

The first movement to be seen was one of the shutters opening after Monty unlocked it. Moving cautiously, Monty poked his head up to look inside, but the embassy was mostly closed up, and the interior was dark.  Unfortunately, the window inside the shutter didn't seem to be the type that opened, so Peregrine and Monty retrieved one of the rocks from the embassy's rock garden to break the glass of the window.  After shattering the window, they promptly hid outside, waiting to see if anyone responded to the noise.  Someone did, with a ker-thunk, ker-thunk, ker-thunk noise coming from inside the embassy, getting louder as it headed for the broken window.

A figure appeared in the far doorway, the silhouette vaguely similar to that of full plate or mountain plate, and Monty decided to raise a flask in offering to what was quite possibly a dwarf, left to guard the embassy.  The heavy footsteps drew closer, and Monty stretched up, sticking the flask through the window.  A metal hand clamped around his wrist, lifting him from his hiding spot and dragging him half into the window, and Monty found himself staring at the iron face of a construct.

"Hi!" Monty greeted with a roguish grin. He waited a beat, but no response was forth-coming, so he continued: "Would you like to leave with us?  We've got an exit plan.  We're escaping the city.  You're welcome to come with us." He waited again, but there was still no response. "We thought you might be a dwarf."

The construct finally moved, stepping forward until Monty was fully outside the embassy, then dropped him.  It reached over to grab the open shutter, pulled it closed, and re-did the lock, leaving Peregrine and Monty on the ground outside.  Monty grinned at the challenge, but Peregrine quickly convinced him that perhaps, for now, the embassy's secrets were not worth the trouble. They headed back over the wall, back to their own embassy, to rejoin the group preparing to leave.

The group finished the last of their preparations, then filed out quietly through the back gate, interspersing themselves amongst the now-armed embassy staff. Stefanee, Monty, and Peregrine went ahead to scout, while Virux stayed in the midst of the group, his superior range making him most useful in the thick of things for once.  Yvresse naturally lead the way, while Rokath and Derm took up the rear.  The plan was to head straight down to the edge of the military district, then follow it over to the crafters district as they had before.

The plan was slightly diverted as the forward scouts spotted one of the lionesses from the pride ahead of them, laying along the top of the surrounding wall of an estate, watching them.  The three scouts halted, then slowly retreated to warn the others, taking them down a side path instead.  They continued to move cautiously, keeping wary eyes out now that they knew the lions were on the move.

They made it several blocks before the three scouts spotted a wooden water tower on top of nearby building, wobbling and creaking unsteadily in the breeze.  Stefanee lagged behind, while Peregrine and Monty hustled ahead - only to have to jump back as the water tower finally went over the edge, crashing down onto the street in front of them, splattering them with the vestiges of water left inside.  After a quick exchange of glances, Peregrine went to inspect the bottom edge of the tower's legs, where he found them cut cleanly.  Stefanee was sent back to warn the group, while Peregrine and Monty scouted other routes.  The other routes proved to be blocked with debris, and Peregrine and Monty became even more convinced of an ambush.

Once warned, Yvresse quickly organized the embassy staff into a semblance of a military formation, making sure all sides were covered, at there was no telling which way ambushers might come from.  No sooner had she done so than humans with longbows popped up on the rooftops of the buildings lining the road.  A moment of tense silence followed, then Rokath spoke up.

"What are your intentions?" he called.

"What are yours?" the source of the voice wasn't immediately discernible, other than that it came from above the men on the rooftops.

"Passing through to leave Sarn," Rokath replied promptly.

"Funny, cuz ya stomped a bunch of our guys not more than two hours ago," the voice replied.

"They were rioting in our way," Rokath said flatly.

"They were getting food!" came the sharp response.

"Is the military keeping you from acquiring food?" Yvresse called.  There was a general rumbling of discontent from the rooftops, and more than one voice shouted an angry confirmation.

"Is it just because you refuse to give up this district?" Virux inquired.

"Because they're assholes, yes!" the first voice responded over the continued upset mutterings of the others.

"Yeah, but they're assholes with food," Virux argued.

"They're still assholes, and we've had fucking enough of them!" There was a yell of angry support to that statement, the men clearly united on this front.  Virux's response, at this point, was predictable:

"Have you thought about investing in Tuggled Firearms?" There were incredulous responses, but Virux pressed on with his sales pitch as a very effective distraction to Monty and Peregrine climbing the building the water tower fell from, seeking higher ground. When Virux ran out of steam, Rokath stepped up to the plate again.

"With all due respect, the civil unrest of Sarn is not our concern," he said. "I offered first aid to your comrades attacking the military, but from what we could see it was very clear that they were outmatched and going to lose.  We simply wanted to prevent them from losing their lives in the process." Virux tagged on with the wild claim that he missed on purpose, though they actually seemed to believe that, not that it helped.

"That may be, but you still helped the military foil our attempts to feed ourselves.  And why are you even in here?" Whoever was speaking for the humans was clearly growing irate now, the men on the rooftops shifting impatiently at the chatter.

"To get our countrymen out of here," Stefanee replied promptly.

"So you're here for your own people and the rest of us can fucking starve. Great, you're as bad as our king!"

"To be fair, I'm here to sell guns!" Virux piped up helpfully.

"Besides, you can leave the city, can't you?" Derm asked.

"No!"

"Why not?" Rokath asked.

"Because there's an entire district of stupid thugs between us and the gate, and the other gates have things like oh, I don't know, mafia,  weird-ass creatures that are puddles on the ground -" the rant cut off as Rokath, Virux, and Stefanee spoke up over him at once, Rokath's voice eventually rising above the others.

"The city guard recaptured the crafters district," he called.

"If you want you can come with us?" Stefanee offered.

"Fucking what." A few bows on the rooftops dropped slightly, glances and whispers being exchanged.

"Yeah, you guys can literally just go through the crafter's district and out the west gate now," Virux confirmed.  There's a very long moment of silence, and several of the longbows disappeared entirely. "I'm sure the city guard would be very happy to advance forward through this district as well."

"Yeah, they dislike the military almost as much as you guys from what we can tell," Rokath agreed.  There was more muted whispering, then a head popped up over the edge of one of the buildings, and when he spoke, they finally had a face for the voice they'd been conversing with.

"Question!  Which Lieutenant is in charge of the gate?" he asked.

"Tavares?" Rokath answered.

"Yes!  She's great," the leader replied cheerfully.

"Come with us, we'll get you through -" Stefanee started.

"We're not going nowhere with you.  Just - shoo!" the leader retorted sharply. The group exchanged looks, then shrugged and continued onwards.  They didn't run across any other challenges on their way, successfully escorting the embassy staff to the gate.

Once assured that Mattimo had everything well in hand in regards to the staff, the group sought out Tavares, letting her know that they may have secured the guard access to another district as well.  While surprised, Tavares was perfectly accepting of this.  They filled her in on their lack of progress finding Captain Minoff or his paperwork, but Tavares didn't seem surprised at his continued absence.  They debated what to do next, thoroughly split an indecisive about where to go from here.  Rokath inquired about pay from Tavares, who clarified that deputies were usually paid by the week - though with the amount they'd gotten done in just three days, she had no problem paying them now.

"Was there anything else you need us to stick around for?" Yvresse asked the Lieutenant.

"Well, you're all very competent, I'd love your help retaking the city, but for deputy's pay?  I'm not going to insist you stay, if you've got places to be," Tavares said with a shrug. "Not like I can grant adventurer's contracts or mercenary pay."

"Because the captain is the only one who can do so and he's missing," Yvresse mused. "What is your normal protocol in this situation?"

"The protocol is go to his safe and get the 2nd in command paperwork," Tavares drawled.

"Do you not have any contingencies for if he and all of his property go missing?" Yvresse asked in confusion.

"If there's a problem with getting into the Captain's safe, we go to the higher-ups, who are all currently in the palace," Tavares replied with a wry smile, motioning towards the palace walls, still visible even this far away.

"And - probably - dead, because we were given a noble's head..." Rokath concluded.

"What?" Tavares asked with a frown, and the group paused, realizing they'd told the military about their attempts to access the palace, but not her.

"Oh, right.  We tried to make contact with someone in the palace, identify ourselves as deputies, and they returned the head of a noble," Peregrine supplied.

"Well that's - that's good to know," Tavares said with a long-suffering sigh.

"So the palace probably isn't...held," Peregrine finished awkwardly.

"Could someone send a letter north to the king, have him assign a captain?" Stefanee queried.

"It's kinda low down on priorities right now, but it's been on our list," Tavares said with a shrug.

"What is high on your list?" Yvresse asked with a touch of impatience.

"Retaking the city, supporting the citizens, and making sure as many people as possible are left alive?"

"And how are you planning on doing that?" Yvresse inquired.

"The plan is to go district by district, as we have the resources for it," Tavares replied easily, offering them a wry grin. "Right now we have no real need for a guard captain beyond the obvious morale bonus.  We're each in charge of our own gates, and the lack of captain is only going to become an issue once we start having conflicts of authority."

"It will take you what, a day or two to secure your hold on the crafters district?" Yvresse clarified.

"Yes, especially if we're getting the middle residential, too.   We don't want to spread ourselves too thin," Tavares agreed with a nod. "Once we've fortified this, from what we're hearing we're going to have to push into the magical district quite quickly."

"What are you hearing about the magical district?  We've been hearing some...rumblings," Rokath queried.

"Disaster zone, has been the general consensus.  A lot of the spellcasters homes were held up, held together by magic...and then it failed.  So we're looking at a massive search and rescue operation over there," Tavares said with a heavy sigh. "And figuring out what the fuck is going on with that tower.  I'm not looking forward to that, but might as well get to it sooner than later."

"Would you wish assistance with that?" Yvresse asked.

"If you're offering, sure!" Tavares replied, perking up.

"If you wish, perhaps while you take the next day or two to solidify your hold, we can take that same amount of time to scout out the center of the catastrophe to the north?" Yvresse proposed.

"Absolutely!" Tavares agreed with a small smile, seeming more than happy to have them solve the problem for her.

Decided, the group settled down for the night, requesting tent space from Tavares since Derm's wagon was at the eastern gate still.  They rested for the night, with Derm waking up early to run back to the eastern gate and retrieve his wagon and their possessions.  In the morning, they refreshed their supplies and made preparations to return, before finding themselves invited to join Lieutenant Tavares in her tent just after breakfast.  Inside, Tavares had her map laid out again, two districts now showing the flag of Thereshelm on them.

"Alright, it looks like our friends in that middle residential district are - well - friends, which is good," she greeted them, then frowned. "They do want to see the king deposed, which we'll have to talk about later, but they'd rather deal with us than the military."

"Yes, you will need to talk about that later," Monty said with a small smile.  The halflings pointedly did not look at one another as Tavares suddenly brightened.

"I also got the best letter in existence, right before breakfast this morning," the Lieutenant continued cheerily.

"Oh? What's it say?" Stefanee asked curiously.

"Military has been formally ordered to answer to us," Tavares said with a Cheshire-cat grin, holding up a letter bearing the royal seal of Thereshelm.  There was an appropriate amount of cheers and congratulations from the group, and Tavares accepted them readily before speaking again. "So, could I get you guys to do me a favour?"

"Would you like us to deliver this?" Peregrine asked with a grin, almost cutting Tavares off in his enthusiasm to offer.

"Ah, not this one - but there's duplicates," Tavares prevaricated, looking very satisfied with events.

"It would be a pleasure," Monty informed her formally.

"And an honour!" Peregrine agreed, grin not dimmed in the slightest.

"I just need one handed in, and then if they don't, y'know, capitulate, I'll send another, and then another..." she trailed off a little dreamily.

"Who are we to deliver it to?" Yvresse asked, bringing Tavares back to the task at hand, and the Lieutenant shook herself.

"Whichever officer in the military you find first," she replied crisply.

"Who is the head of the military here?"

"General Erik Polac," Tavares replied. "If you can get to him, and hand it to him face to face - oh, wait, no - no.  I want to hand him this one myself." Her smirk was sharp as she looked at the letter bearing the royal seal.  They chattered some more about the letter, and Tavares's plans to get General Polac to acknowledge it.  Soon enough, however, talk turned back to their planned expedition in to the magical district, with Tavares requesting that they in specific check out the remains of Spellshine Tower and try to determine what happened to it.

They headed out shortly afterwards, the guards letting them through the gates without challenge - and, perhaps, hidden grins, as they knew the letter the group carried with them.  They headed directly to the military district, asking to speak to an officer. The one they got was less than enthusiastic about receiving mail now, and appropriately dubious about the authenticity of a letter from the king that wasn't even sealed.  But he took the letter, and the group left him to deliver the letter, or not, to the general.

Leaving the military district behind, they headed for the magical district instead, quickly finding it just as devastated as Tavares had described. Though the tower falling over had done massive amounts of damage, it's clear that it's far from the only source of destruction in the district: walking down the street, every other house is destroyed in a different manner - collapse, explosion, implosion, fire, on and on.  They kept their eyes and ears open, ready to offer aid if anyone called for help, but they heard nothing as they made their way to the front gate of the Spellshine Tower grounds.

When they reached the gate, another rumble sounded, and this time the ground trembled underneath them.  It wasn't strong enough to make walking difficult, starting off abruptly before petering off into gentle tremors after around twenty seconds, but was still concerning.  They moved into the courtyard cautiously, taking stock of the destruction.  Most of the northern portion of the grounds were intact, as were the lower levels of the tower.  Somewhere above the third floor the tower had broken, collapsing to the west, covering the main entrance in rubble.

Judging the tower to be the only building of importance to investigate, Yvresse found a window near the ground on the north-eastern wall, breaking in carefully through the elegant stained glass windows.  Clearing the glass away so they could all enter safely, Yvresse slipped inside and found herself in an office.  Searching around, she quickly determined that it was a basic administrative office for those acting as support to the front desk clerks.  The latest date on any of the paperwork was the day magic failed and the tower fell, and Yvresse called out to the others to join her.

Once inside, they quickly split up, searching for any survivors or things of interest.  The office opened onto a long circular hallway that wrapped around the reception area, which was as large and grandiose as could be expected of a premier magical academy.  The offices revealed little of interest, all being for relatively low-level administrative staff, their records ending abruptly the day the tower fell.  The western walls showed signs of damage, their windows blown inwards, but seemed stable enough for now.  The group still moved quickly, some of them searching for a hidden entrance downwards, while the others moved cautiously up the remains of the stairway to the remaining upper floors.

The 2nd floor contained more offices, including student records.  The storage room for the records proved to be a complete mess: an expansion charm had evidently failed, resulting in the files exploding everywhere in the room.  In the office just outside, three files remained out on the desk: one for a student who withdrew, one who went on medical leave, and the last who had no reason listed for leaving.  Virux pocketed the files in case they were of interest later, but not much else on the floor was of interest.

The 3rd floor, however, contained offices of professors and department heads, starting with the Head of Prepared Magical Studies at the top of the stairs. Peregrine and Monty searched it thoroughly, finding that while some items were obviously missing, the professor's collection of  famous wizard's spellbooks remained.  The two halflings exchanged looks before declaring that they needed to preserve this knowledge in case of further disaster, shoving the spellbooks into their backpacks.

Out in the hallway, Yvresse was busy inspecting the nameplates on the doors, finding that there was a professor for each school of magic, as well as different types of casting.  She didn't venture inside, however, until she found the office for the professor of divination.  Inside, the office was a cluttered mess: shelves were stuffed full of scrolls and books at all angles, every available surface was covered in knickknacks of various types, including a dipping bird that was still going.  Though it was no less messy than the rest of the office, Yvresse bee-lined to the desk, hoping to find something of interest there - after all, a divination professor was more likely that anyone else to have seen disaster coming.

As it turned out, the professor had seen more than just disaster, for resting in the center of the desk in big bold letters was a note:

               Lady Yvresse, could you get Deacon out? Thanks.

               PS he's in the basement

Yvresse stared for a long moment, then cautiously stepped back from the desk. While she had not personally been to Sarn before this trip, it was well-known throughout the basin that Spellshine Academy's dean, Deacon Blackfyre, was a dragon of mixed lineage who had adventured in his youth.  Not someone who should need rescuing - but also, not someone who should be left un-rescued should such be requested.

"I suggest we go to the basement.  I have it on good authority that what we're looking for will be there!" Yvresse called out to her companions, and Peregrine poked his head in.

"Did you find a note or something?" he asked, and Yvresse carefully picked up the note, offering it to him. "Oh." Peregrine flipped the note over, hoping there was a map, since they'd had no luck finding a basement thus far, but there was nothing further.  They opted to finish searching the offices on that floor before taking another crack at finding the basement, ultimately ending up at the office of the Professor of Elemental Studies.  Inside were pure samples of various elements, including a brazier for fire, now unlit, a waterfall that was standing still, a bowl of earth, and an empty clear glass jar.

Of more importance, however, was a map of the tower tacked to the front board of the desk, right in front of where a visitor of the office might sit, placed in such a way that the owner of the office might not have even known it was there. A little red 'x' was on the map right next to the reception desk on the main floor, where they recalled a huge tapestry had hung, and on the bottom was another note in a familiar hand:

               Oh yes, you'll probably need this. :)

They headed down to the first floor, moving the tapestry and letting Derm inspect it carefully.   He found the trigger mechanism easily, but it seemed unable to function without magic, so Rokath stepped up with his crowbar, prying it open.  They stuck a wedge in it, so it wouldn't close and lock behind them, then carefully moved down the revealed set of stairs into the basement.

At the base of the stairs was a long hallway, stretching beyond the footprint of the tower and into the ground underneath the courtyard of the academy. The hallway was lined with doors that opened onto storage areas for all types of things, from stationary and cleaning supplies to spell components with particular storage requirements.  At the end of this hallway was an L-shaped set of stairs leading down to another hallway, this one fairly short: four locked vault doors, two on either side, and at the end, there was one massive vault door, nearly fifteen feet around.  Peregrine went along the doors, knocking on each to try and determine if Deacon was inside.  At the final door, Peregrine had barely knocked when there was a loud thud against the other side, and the entire hallway shook.

"Think we found him!" Peregrine called, then motioned Monty and Stefanee over to try and open the door.  Stefanee observed it critically, then spun the locking mechanism expertly.  The bolts slid back, and the door swung out easily, revealing a large vault beyond...though the sight of it was somewhat blocked by the dragon in the way, staring at them.

"Hi!" Stefanee greeted him brightly, and was answered by an odd warble. "Is your name Deacon?"  The dragon nodded. "Can you communicate in common? Because none of us speak draconic." Deacon let out a huff, shaking his head.

"Vocal chords," Peregrine offered the reason helpfully - then panicked slightly as a draconic hand reached through the vault door to poke him.  Deacon huffed again at the halfling's fear, then turned away from the door and wandered a few steps into the vault, delicately picking up a single gold coin, which he brought back and dropped at Peregrine's feet.

"Is this the only way for ya t'get out?" Stefanee asked worriedly, and Deacon nodded.

"Is there a supply of water in there for you?  You must be very thirsty," Monty suggested, pulling out a flask he'd found on the upper floors and unscrewing the top, offering it to Deacon.  The dragon carefully lifted the flask, but moved it no more than a few inches before a claw punctured the metal and the liquid was lost.  Stefanee offered water instead, but Deacon just shook his head, taking a step back and settling down, head resting on the floor as he watched them.

"When's the last time you ate?" Yvresse asked in concern. Deacon lifted one of his claws and started tapping, and Derm counted up to 27 before the taps stopped.

"So you've been down here a month?" Peregrine asked, and Deacon nodded. "Do you know what happened?" Deacon nodded again.

"First things first, we need to get him fed, and out of here," Yvresse interrupted.

"Right, yes - map!" Stefanee requested, and was quickly given the map of the tower. "Do you know -"  Deacon reached out, poking the red 'x' on the map, tilting his large head to read the note at the bottom.

"Your professors are very helpful," Peregrine supplied with a grin, and Deacon answered it in kind, showing all of his teeth, and offered a thumbs-up.

"Do you know where we are in relation to the map?  Are we under the courtyard?" Stefanee asked.  Deacon contemplated the map, then stabbed at the floor about a foot to the left of the portion showing the lower floor of the tower - which would, coincidentally, be directly under the courtyard, as expected. "Right. Can we come in and look around? Do you think punching up through the ceiling would be the way to go?" Deacon's response was a huff of what could only be draconic laughter, and he backed up into the vault, giving them space to enter, before looking up.  All four walls, as well as the ceiling, were made of the same metal as the vault door, and the ceiling was covered in recent scratch marks.

"Do you have any friends or allies that you could call in favours to help you get out of here?" Rokath asked, and Deacon quickly nodded.

"The only way he'd be able to do that is probably by magic," Virux mused.

"We can get someone who speaks draconic," Yvresse pointed out.

"Oh oh oh!" Stefanee suddenly brightened. "You can understand us, so I'm guessing you can still write in common!" Deacon nodded. "Ok, can you scratch on the wall, or someplace we can see, who you want us to contact?"

"Can he hold a quill in those talons?" Yvresse mused, and Deacon huffed a laugh at her.

"We could get a barrel of ink, and he'd just have to dip his claw in it once," Derm realized.  Deacon nodded, then pointed out the doors.  They glanced in confusion in the direction he'd pointed, not getting the message, and they spent the next minute or so with an increasingly frustrated dragon pantomiming out what he meant - which was, as it turned out, that there were storerooms on the first basement floor, one of which had contain stationary supplies...such as ink.  Derm and Rokath quickly headed off to fetch some, while Yvresse headed back to the city gates in order to get help - and food.  Stefanee, Monty and Peregrine were left in the vault with Deacon, with Peregrine asking the important questions:

"Are we allowed to look in the other vaults?" he asked with his most charming grin.  Deacon hissed at him, and Peregrine quickly backed down. "Ok! Nope!"  They waited awkwardly until Derm and Rokath returned, setting the barrels of ink on the floor by Deacon.  The dragon almost immediately popped a cork out of one of the barrels, then dipped a claw in.

"So who can we get to help you out?" Derm asked, and Deacon scratched the name 'LILY' in ink on the floor.

"Who's Lily?" Peregrine asked.

"We're not from around here," Stefanee supplied, then abruptly lit up and turned to Monty. "Wait, you're from around here.  Who's Lily?"  Monty stared at the name on the floor for a moment, then chuckled awkwardly.

"Well, uh.  There's this story...when the history nerds come for a party, and we get really drunk, they tell us this fable," he said cautiously.  Deacon casually reached over to the piles of treasure around him, pulling out a gold coin and flicking it at Monty in a clear sign to continue. "About how once upon a time, there was a funny man who owned a wagon, and he was the sidekick to this really awesome little dragon. They'd tear up the hinterlands, basically ended up being the marshal, hasn't been seen in really long time..." Deacon snorted, then went back to the barrel of ink.

"Valteri?" Peregrine read. "Uh, the king is currently indisposed." Deacon rolled his eyes. "His guards aren't letting him out of Freewaters for fear he'll do something rash." Deacon rolled his eyes, then considered for a moment and grudgingly nodded.

"Could've saved a lot of trouble if they just stuck the king in the vault..." Monty mused, and Deacon chuckled, flicking a platinum piece at him.

"By Valteri you mean the current king, right?" Stefanee clarified, and Deacon shrugged.

"Any Valteri will do?" Monty guessed - though King Lucian was an only child, his parents both long dead.  Deacon dipped his claw in the ink again, then scratched out 'BOOK'.

"Who's Book?"

"You want a book?"

Deacon sighed, and dragged an arrow between 'BOOK' and 'VALTERI'.

"Uhhh...are any of these written by a Valteri?" Peregrine asked nervously, emptying his backpack of the spellbooks he and Monty had 'preserved from further damage' earlier.  Deacon peered at the pile, pawing through the books carefully with one claw, eventually dragging one towards himself and flipping through it, nodding is satisfaction before gently picking it up and slipping it back up under a scale.

"Is that one yours?" Peregrine asked, and Deacon grinned with all his teeth again. "Oh! Also, most of your tower's gone.  Like, all of it." Deacon looked amused, and scribbled 'NOT MINE' on the floor.

"Not your tower?" Stefanee guessed. "The university's tower."

"It's the Spellshine Order's tower," Monty supplied, naming the organization that had originally owned the tower, hundreds of years before.

"So, you want us to find Lily..." Peregrine mused.

"And a book written by a Valteri?" Virux asked.

"Or is the person's name Book?" Stefanee countered, and Deacon flicked a gold coin at her. "Is this a first name, or a nickname?" Deacon nodded at the second one.

"Ok, where is Book?" Peregrine asked.  Deacon dipped his claw in the ink again and scratched 'PRANKSTER' into the floor.  He barely paused to hear their confusion about how the gnomish deity fit into this before adding 'DEMIPLANE?' underneath. "The red moustache?"

"How do we get to a demiplane?" Stefanee asked with a frown.  Deacon drew another arrow, from 'BOOK' to  'PRANKSTER', then scratched 'GODSON' above the arrow. "So if we get out of the city and find a cleric, would they be able to send us there, or get in touch?" Deacon shrugged.

"Could you send us there if we got you out?" Virux asked, and Deacon nodded firmly. "But we need to get there to get the magic to work."

"This is not exactly a useful line of thought," Rokath pointed out.

"Well, magic works outside the city, so we just have to get Deacon outside the city," Peregrine pointed out.

"Yes," Rokath replied patiently. "But the whole reason that we want to contact these people is so that we can have them help Deacon get out of this vault."

"...right," Peregrine realized, then turned to Deacon with a grin. "Do you know any dwarves?" An amused Deacon pointed to Derm. "Besides this one." Deacon shook his head, settling in as they continued to bat around ideas on how to get him out.  They came up with little of use, and gained no more interesting answers from him, while they waited for Yvresse to return with assistance.

As for Yvresse, once she reached the districts controlled by the city guard, she stopped the first member of the guard she could find, informing him of their discovery in the basement of the tower.  The guard at first laughed, then when Yvresse got to the part where Deacon hadn't eaten in nearly a month, abruptly got very quiet and hurried off to update Lieutenant Tavares, trusting Yvresse to follow along.  Tavares had a very similar reaction, though once they got to the part about food, the Lieutenant grew thoughtful, considering the stores they had on hand.

"I hope he likes fish," she declared before heading off. "Come with me, Lady Yvresse, we've got some supplies to gather.  Did he say if he knew anything about what happened?"

"Oh, right.  As a matter of fact, he might," Yvresse supplied. "There's the minor inconvenience of him being stuck as a dragon, however.  He can't speak, he mostly just hisses."

"I thought you lot were adventurers?" Tavares asked, stopping to frown at Yvresse.

"Not by choice?  I'm sort of on a working vacation." Yvresse shifted her weight from one foot to another slightly self-consciously.

"But none of you speak draconic?" Tavares clarified dubiously.

"No. If you have someone that speaks it -"

"Right, I'm coming with you," Tavares interrupted firmly, and headed off again, Yvresse following along as the Lieutenant issued orders to keep things moving in her absence, including gathering people to dig the dean out, while mobilizing several of her guardsmen to load four barrels of fish and water onto a wagon.  She drafted two guards to escort the wagon while she drove it back through the city, following Yvresse to the academy.  When they arrived, Tavares and one of the guards each grabbed a barrel of salted fish, then had Yvresse lead the way while the remaining guard stayed behind to guard the wagon.

In the vault itself, Deacon barely let the guard get in the door before his head snaked forward, grabbing the barrel of fish out of his hands and sending the guard back to the surface in terror.   Deacon tilted his head back with the barrel still in his jaws, bit down slightly to crack it, and poured the fish down his gullet before setting down the remains of the barrel.  Tavares had already set her barrel down, and it was devoured just as quickly.  Dragon now a little less hungry, Tavares stepped forward and began speaking to him in draconic, which Deacon was quick to reply in.

"So, you think the general's going to respect your order now?" Monty piped up, grinning widely.  Tavares paused, then grinned just as widely as she turned back to Deacon, the two speaking rapidly for a moment before Deacon started laughing loudly, something that was mildly terrifying, especially in so relatively small of a space.

"To be fair, a dragon delivering orders from the king is rather hard to ignore," Yvresse mused.  Deacon perked up, still grinning toothily, and shuffled over to Yvresse, gently picking her up and move her over next to Tavares, setting her down.

"Did you just get promoted?" Peregrine asked with amusement.

"He's going to bring General Polac to me," Tavares offered with a vicious grin, and the group joined in on the laughter now as they imagined the response that would get out of the general. "But first, we have to get him out of here."

"He said there were two people that might be able to help: someone named Lily, and a Book Valteri," Stefanee supplied, and Tavares let out an incredulous bark of laughter at the names.

"Book is a myth.  And Lily...we can probably get someone to message her, but she hasn't been seen since Horus died."

"Um," Rokath replied, pointing to the ink scratches on the floor.

"Apparently this Book is the Godson of the Prankster god?" Stefanee offered helpfully, and Tavares' laughter cut off into a frown as she turned back to Deacon and spoke to him again.

"Well, apparently Book's not a myth," she deadpanned, looking back to them.

"So, you send the message for Lily, we'll find this Book person?" Stefanee offered.

"Book might be a bit...difficult from what Deacon says." Tavares shook her head.

"Does Deacon know how one would get to a demiplane?  Is it a spell, or -?" Stefanee asked curiously, and Deacon answered, Tavares listening briefly before translating.

"Yes, it's a spell, and a powerful one," she replied. "Also, the deity has to want you to get there.  Or, apparently, you can go to the plane the demiplane is based off of and find a portal, and then you don't have to have the deity's approval.  But that comes with its own problems."

"Because then you're there without the deity's approval," Rokath supplied.

"Well, also the Prankster's demiplane is based off the plane of air and water," Tavares replied.  Deacon spoke again, and she listened intently before nodding. "He also says you could also probably pray really hard.  Especially since you have a gnome.  Not here, obviously, because he's tried that."

"We also have the option of finding out what's causing this whole anti-magic zone and seeing if there's someone we can do about averting it," Derm spoke up, and his words seemed to set Deacon off into a rant, which Tavares listened to intently.  When the dragon finally broke off, the Lieutenant spoke up again.

"He says he searched before he had his magic turn off - and whatever it is, it's not a normal anti-magic zone," she said, frowning.

"Alright.  Can you give us physical descriptions of Lily and Book?" Stefanee asked.

"Well, Lily's a gold dragon," Tavares supplied dryly.

"Ok, any other advice on how to find either of these people?" Stefanee's hopeful question was met with a shrug from Deacon.

"He also said that the king has the resources to get him out - any Valteri would be helpful, which was why he wrote it down.  Book could definitely get him out, but any Valteri will do," Tavares replied.

"Well, a few more days and he should be out of here," Yvresse commented.

"Could take weeks, actually," Stefanee corrected her. "Months, even, of digging.  If they want to do it safely."

"He's fine as long as he gets a variety of food, he says," Tavares supplied. "But he's way more useful outside of here right now."

"Is there anything that you could give us to show to the king to prove it's from you?  A seal or a scale, or something from your hoard?" Peregrine asked, motioning into the vault.  Deacon considered, then pulled out the spellbook he'd stashed amongst his scales, flipping it open to one of the last few pages that remained blank, carefully ripping one out before returning the book to its hiding spot.  He laid the piece of parchment flat on the floor, then reached over and smashed one of the kegs of ink under a clawed hand before stamping the now-inked hand down on the parchment.  He stepped back and grinned at them, leaving his palm-print available for them to take.  Rokath stepped forward and carefully lifted it, flapping it gently to help the ink dry.

"Hey Yvresse, we're going to go meet a king," Peregrine said brightly.

To be continued…

[texanredrose]

RWBY + Frozen + no self control = this. I know I’m late for Monochrome Monday but I honestly don’t know what day it even is anymore my schedule’s so fucked. Have a cookie and forgive me, please. Based on @dashingicecream‘s Frozen!AU 

Blake sighed heavily, scrubbing at her face with one mitten and flicking her ears to dislodge the flakes of snow clinging to her ears. They were replaced the next moment by new snowflakes from overhead. She wasn’t surprised of course; the closer they’d gotten to the mountain’s summit, the heavier the storm had become, but it was nothing compared to the blizzard that had swept over the land and buried them all in several feet of fresh powder in the middle of spring; no, this seemed almost light and playful by comparison, and if it weren’t for the fact that her very livelihood was at stake, she had half a mind to actually play in it.

Well, her livelihood, and the life of a very stubborn Princess.

“What are you doing?” Her ears cocked back in slight exasperation as she watched the woman attempting to scale the sheer cliff face do so with marginal success.

“For the last time, I’m going to find my- urgh- sister!” Princess Weiss Schnee snapped back, turning to look over her shoulder for only a second before her grip threatened to slip, forcing her to refocus all her attention on finding the next handhold. “I’m going to find her, explain that this whole thing’s a- hmph- misunderstanding, ask her very politely to end the snowstorm, and then- whoa- and then we’re all going to go back to the castle and pretend none of this ever happened.”

“Is that before or after you tell her you’re intent on marrying some Prince you hardly know?” Where before the point had curled her lips into a slight smile- because, really, it was more than a little amusing that this whole mess started over some flight of fancy from the younger of the royal sisters- now the Faunus was a tad more serious, crossing her arms over her chest as she watched the Princess’ slow ascent. “Because I have the feeling she might not really be okay with that, still.”

“I’ll have you know- ack, that hurt- that Neptune is a perfectly fine...” She paused, either to catch her breath or find the right descriptor, it was difficult to tell, but Blake was willing to bet ‘both’ was the correct answer. “Perfectly fine gentleman!”

“Right. Sure. Perfectly fine.” Rolling her amber eyes, she turned her head away to look out over Atlas, how the whole kingdom was blanketed in such a way that she rarely saw even in the coldest depths of winter. Living outside the capitol’s walls meant she was more accustomed to nature in all its forms, but this didn’t even look natural. But it was pretty, she’d admit that much.

As Weiss continued to struggle, a strong gust of wind blew, at once prompting the woman to cling tighter to the cliff face and drawing the Faunus’ attention to the strange sound the wind was making, as if it were passing through a narrow opening. A quick look around confirmed there was a small passage hewn from the rock by millennia of strong winds and, curious, Blake took a few steps away to investigate. Quite frankly, if there was an easier way up the mountain, she was all for it; without her sled and a reindeer to pull it, getting this far was taxing enough.

She swore, once she found Gambol after all this was said and done, she was going to chew him out for a while; she still couldn’t believe he had the gall to abandon her with the task after one measly wolf attack and a near avalanche.

The snow crunching underfoot was much easier to hear after the wind died down, allowing her to peek around the corner without fighting the sting, and what she found was a blessed relief. There, standing tall and proud and looking magnificent was a palace made of pure ice, catching the weak rays of sun trying to break through heavy clouds overhead. Although she’d never met Queen Winter, Blake had to admit the woman had quite the eye for architecture; ice sculptures weren’t half as impressive, and she’d seen quite a few over the years.

Tearing her gaze away, the Faunus started walking back. “Princess, I think I found your sister.”

Blue eyes snapped to her from Weiss’ impressive height- a whole six feet off the ground, and she wasn’t even being facetious with that thought considering the woman had no experience to speak of- and hope lit up expression. “Really?”

“Right around the corner,” Blake said, her expression morphing from amusement to panic as the Princess’ hand slipped. “Careful!”

She only had time to let out a short squeak of surprise and alarm before her hands, nearly numb inside her gloves, lost their precious grip and she fell back. Weiss closed her eyes and braced for the cold impact awaiting her but the Faunus rushed forward, nearly tripping herself in the thick snow and barely catching the woman in time. She was off balance, forcing her to her knees, but she curled both arms to secure her companion and ensure she didn’t end up sprawled in the snow, cringing slightly as she awaited the reprimand that was undoubtedly heading her way.

“Princess, are you okay?” She ventured after a moment, shifting both ears forward as she looked down, meeting the woman’s gaze.

“I- I’m fine.” Weiss cleared her throat, looking away for a moment. “Thank you.”

“Yeah. Um. N-no problem.” Thankfully, the cold and the wind had granted her a nigh permanent rosy tint to her cheeks because she otherwise wouldn’t be able to hide the rising blush. Not wanting to open herself up to questions, Blake pushed herself to her feet, mentally congratulating herself for not staggering as she turned and started walking towards the natural opening in the cliff face.

“Blake? You can put me down, you know.” There was no harsh edge to the woman’s voice, and it sounded more like a suggestion than an order, but really the Faunus was a bit too distracted to really notice that immediately. “I can walk.”

“O-of course.” Honestly, she hadn’t thought about it; Weiss was smaller and near freezing when they first met, stubbornly trying to make her way past Tukson’s Trading Post and Spa without so much as a thought to proper protective gear, and she still worried that the Princess would ignore her own well being as she tried to find her sister. At least this way they could share warmth but Blake hurriedly set the woman on her feet, brushing off imaginary snow from Weiss’ shoulders and then from herself- anything to avoid eye contact.

She was a Princess, and dead set on marrying some Prince besides. They had nothing in common- she was a Princess- and this was just her performing a service in expectation of payment. That’s it. That’s all.

“Anyway...” Weiss seemed to lose track of what they were doing, readjusting the snowflake broach holding her cloak in place. “We should- talk to my sister. I’m sure Winter will be able to set everything right again and we’re almost there.”

“Right.” Blake nodded, pulling her hat a bit further down and shaking her head. “This way.”

They both walked through the thick snow towards the opening, ducking through one at a time until they stood side-by-side a few feet from the bottom of a beautifully intricate staircase leading up to the castle proper. Once again, the Faunus found herself entranced by the sight but she snapped out of it quicker, looking towards her companion and surprised to see the expression of pure wonder on the Princess’ face.

“It’s beautiful. Absolutely stunning.” She let out a half laugh, leaning towards Blake as if she were imparting a secret. “Ever since we were small, I always knew she had a gift. I didn’t- well, I didn’t expect this of course, but... somehow, I always knew anything she touched would be perfect.”

The Faunus shrugged, shunting her urge to agree aside for a moment. “It’s alright, I guess.” Carefully, she leaned over slightly and nudged the woman’s shoulder with her own. “I’m sure you’re just as talented in something else.”

Weiss let out a brief laugh, though this one didn’t seem as happy, and shook her head. “No. I’ve always been the spare. Winter’s never treated me as such, though, but Father made it very clear. My sister was destined to rule and I... well, I was the back-up plan.”

The Princess started forward, mentally working out how she’d make it up the stairs, when she was stopped short.

“No, I don’t believe it.” Blake waited until those curious blue eyes were upon her before continuing, setting her hands on her hips and cocking her head to the side. “You’re trying to tell me that there’s not one thing you can do better than your sister? I find that impossible to believe.”

“Excuse you-”

“Believe me, I’m excuse,” she replied, the corners of her lips tugging into a small smile. “I highly doubt the Queen’s better at climbing rocks than you, for instance. Or being as stubborn- she did run away after your argument, after all.”

“Do not insult my sister like that.” Weiss paused, reaching up to push a lock of pure white hair back under her cap before relenting. “And... if you must know, I suppose I’m better at singing. Winter seems to think so, at any rate.”

Ears perking at her impending victory, Blake took a step forward. “Well, then, I’m changing my price. You have to sing a song for me.”

“What?”

She held up her hands with a smile. “You can’t say you’re a better singer and then not prove it, Princess. Besides, I reserved the right to change the fee for my services at any time, and I did save you from unnecessarily climbing a cliff.”

“You are impossible, Blake Belladonna.” The woman huffed, glaring at her guide. “If I’d known you’d change your mind at every turn, I’d have hired someone else to bring me up the mountain!”

She raised a brow, offering in a flat tone. “Like the wolves?”

Weiss made a frustrated noise in the back of her throat before throwing her hands in the air as a sign of surrender. “Fine. One song of my choosing. Now, can we go retrieve my sister or do you have more demands to make?”

“After you, Princess.” Blake even made a slightly mocking bow, smirking at the muttered ‘ridiculous’ she heard before falling into step beside the woman.

“And I’d better hear nothing about a refund if you don’t like the song.”

“You won’t; I can already tell you’ll be perfect.” The Faunus fought the urge to smile. Despite the woman’s naturally pale complexion, Weiss’ cheeks were undeniably tinted pink by the wind and cold, the same as hers, but she liked to think they’d turned a bit darker just then and a result of her words. Maybe she wouldn’t have a chance to see the Princess once this mess was all said and done but she wouldn’t trade these few precious moments seeing the woman beyond the picture of royalty for anything.