Mercakete

It was painful talking about burning people to important to Tas. Though he understood that really, he was the only one who could supply these answers and everyone was being so considerate helping him out as they were. "I can't just leave their bones out here," Tas replied, "though -- and I know this may sound strange -- I'm still worried about them; I don't want them to be hurt. They can't stay like this, I know, so I have to find a way to help. Any ashes that are left behind will blow away with how windy it is around here. I think that's how it should go anyway, so it doesn't bother me. ... That probably didn't help much... I'm sorry."

"I don't know how it's supposed to work," Tas replied to Isotov, "All I know is that cremation is a way of honoring the dead, much like a burrial, but by fire instead of by earth. It releases the spirit into the sky, if I remember right."

You're welcome. ^_^

A flying wagon could be handy. If it gets despirate, we could replace the horses with a wyvern or the pegasi, maybe, and just fly away. That might be a bit taxing on these deflecting things, though, so I don't know. At least we'll be able to stop worrying about Raquel so much if the new wagon is going to be as fortified as this guy's saying it will be. Norbert thought as he listened to the explaination. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Wonderful!~ Congratulations, miss! And my, that new ring on your finger does suit you! A simple, silver band, correct? Nay, that is an aquamarine set in it! How do I know? Yes, I see the hatch covering the gem, but it is one of my prizes! Haha! That one, my friend, has the ability to contain a scent! Touch it to your favorite flower and behold the ring remembers it! However, if the bright, blue gemstone touches something else, the new scent will replace the old. Only open it to smell the gem or to collect a new scent or you will lose what it held," gleefully informed the juggler.

Have to say, most of those eyes don't match up with the face's anatomy. Elincia's eyes should be a bit closer together, Tanith's right eye needs to be closer to her nose and Marcia's head just confuses me. According to the facial lines, her eyes should be angled differently and her right eye needs to be lowered along with the new angle. Really, her head is 2 angles at once, which doesn't work with this art form. Looks to me like her nose and mouth are alligned with the lower half of her face while her eyes and forehead are alligned with the upper half with the dividing line being the top of her nose. [spoiler=easier just to show you] The red line shows roughly how the lower half of her face is alligned while the green line shows how the upper half of her face is alligned. I have to admit, though, you got the space between her forehead guard and her eyes beautifully. It's just the angle that threw you off.

"Very well, very well!" the juggler sang as he accepted Sophia's offered gold and tossed her a ball with a medium-level rune inside, "Good luck!~"

Seeing as his question was ignored, Norbert figured it was a subtle "ask Steinn if you want more answers." Maybe I will after all. Why ask Ursians to help him regulate his people's population instead of the Kigenese? We can't do anything about them unless they're at our borders... Wait. Is he planning to invade Kigen? I'll think about this later. For the time being, the pegasus rider placed his attention on the events at hand.

@ autohits: They didn't before?

"Thank you. ... No, I'm ready," Tas replied to Iris, appreciative of her consideration. (You'll be watching over the ranch now, won't you? I wonder if there were some truth in those ghost stories I sometimes heard... Is there a ghost ranch here now? Is everyone waiting, unseen, around us to welcome you? I hope so. I know you missed mom. Maybe you can see each other now in the unseen ranch, if those stories were even a little true.) "I expected my home to be gone. I never expected this..." Tas muttered to himself, eyes locked on the dead. Then, to his father, "It's a good day for flying." It was really the only farewell he could think of given where he was and whom he was talking to. He'd already said his goodbyes again and again in his mind so anything else felt redundant. It was so final, though, and those words didn't capture that. They didn't need to, though, really. The gravity of the situation was enough to fill that. And the fire would become the milestone.

Well that was unexpected. So, this prince wants us to help him solve the overpopulation promblem by killing them off? If it were me, I'd be trying to expland my territory. Now wonder the Fallen have been trying to take over Kigen. This prince must me insane. I'm not complaining, though, if he'd prefer this solution. "So he wants us to help regulate the Fallen population by giving us an edge in combat?" Norbert asked. Maybe I will talk to him later. I wonder why he's not asking Kigen about that sort of favor.

"Like heck I'm willing to trust one of those monsters! That prince has his own agenda, I'm sure! Why would you send us to talk with him anyway? I want to know your reasons for this! More importantly, I want to know that if it comes to a war between Ursium and the Fallen that you'll side with us! I don't care if you're friends with the Fallen royalty, you fight with us! Cause I don't feel like being treated like livestock or knowing that my family's going to wind up as someone's dinner or pet!" Norbert protested. Though his voice was raised and he was being quite accusatory, he wasn't in a blind rage yet. He just wasn't really being respectful at all, though he hadn't thrown any insults around yet.

Like Raquel, Norbert doubted he'd remember the way back, but asssumed they'd be escorted anyway, so it wasn't so concerning for him. When the maid introduced them, mentioning him as simply one of the women's bodyguards, he had a mixed reaction to it. Though he figured annonimity was beneficial at times, it was somewhat irritating to be the only one not called by a specific name. The smoke that came soon after was unexpected and, like the others, the pegasus rider found himself coughing until the smoke had cleared enough for him to breathe somewhat normally again. "You couldn't warn usabout the smoke?" he coughed, though was ignored, probably because he hadn't spoken very loudly. The gunshot made Bert jump a little, but no one was hurt, so it wasn't such a big deal. Good thing there's that new switch. But really, who in Wrath's name would be crazy wnough to give such a dangerous weapon to a monkey?! "And why not?" Norbert asked in responce to Weyland's verbal waving off of the question, giving the inventor a pointed glare and a sharp tone, "If you're working with someone like him, all of Ursium deserves to know why." At this point, it wasn't hard to imagine the unspoken accusations Norbert was thinking about.

"Why, hello, there!" the juggler greeted the lady who'd asked about his game, "Welcome to Rune Squawk! It tests your magical abilities. Select a difficulty -- easy, medium or hard -- and I will toss you a ball with a rune inside. The rune will make a sound when enough magical energy is put into it. Three gold per magical discharge! If it makes a sound, you win a prize! The harder the rune, the better the reward! Would you like to play?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~ That was perhaps the oddest thing Norbert had ever seen. Infinantly perplexed about Gabbie's behavior with the Fallen Prince, all he could really do was follow Cat's quite logical suggestion. "Yeah, that should be done sooner rather than later, I think." I can't tell whose idea that was. The prince looked the most uncomfortable with it but...what even happened?

In the end, Tas had to help Iris out a little if only to retrieve his supplies from Namid's saddlebags. Tas a few extra strands to secure Terance to Riggs' saddle without having to move him. It was an extra precaution, even though Terance's muscles were generally contracted from the electricity that killed him. The split eggs and hatchlings were already in place due to Terance's protective posture. It would be unlikely that they would fall. As Nikita and Drake carried the dead through the air, Tas and Namid flew closely to them to add support if needed. Many of Riggs' bones had been broken by his hard landing, after all. Flying in a straight line back to the ranch, it didn't take long before they were easily within sight of their destination. A few moments later and the corpses were set down in the front yard. Tas silently went right to work at undoing the sling and securing straps without even looking up. Once that had been accomplished, he sorted out how much as his and how much as Iris' and returned his own supplies to Namid's saddlebags. Leaning on Namid for support, the courier looked over to the graveyard. A long moment later, he returned his blurry gaze to Terance, Riggs and the unnamed infants. There was nothing more he could do. While he was working, Irina and Iris probably already handled any questions the others had. Now was the time to farewell the single most influential person in his life: the one who had taken care of him and taught him all he knew, the one Tas trusted and looked up to more than anyone else growing up. He had always made everything better when Tas was hurt or upset and encouraged him when he was trying to achieve something. (I'll never forget you. I'll try to remember the lessons you taught me. I'll tell your story and I'll remember what you told me about mom. ... I wish you had lived. This is so hard for me... Thank you so much for everything. I want to become like you were. ... Fly safely, dad.)

Irina's hug was welcome. Tas needed the comfort; it was good to know that he wasn't alone, even though his father couldn't be the one to wrap his arms around him and tell him that everything would be alright. (That's what he would do.) Tas placed his hand on Irina's and squeezed it: a gesture of thanks as well as another step in his struggle to regain some measure of composure. Cremation. The question came from Iris. Her hand -- ungloved -- rested on his shoulder. (Right... They have somewhere to be and we do have fire available to us. ... Is this what you would have wanted, Father?) He lifted his eyes to look at Terance's face again. His throat constricted. (This will be the last time I see you... How can I...? I don't know how to live by myself. There's so much you never taught me... What do I do now? Why did they have to take you from me? I'm not ready! I wish you were still here... What can I do? You...you're not even in there anymore. It's...pointless trying to cling to you anymore, isn't it?) "What else can I do?" Tas choaked out, "He shouldn't be separated from Riggs. They're partners. And Riggs was the best flyer. They'll be happy in the sky, I'd bet." The last couple words squeaked out before he cleared his throat and took a shuddering breath. Though he was on the verge of crying again, Tas shakily stood up, looking on at Riggs, Terance and the hatchlings they'd tried to save. "...Could we move them to the ranch before we burn them? I think my family would like to see them off." He was referring to the graveyard. "I have extra straps of leather. I could make a harness attachment for Rigs so we can connect them to our wyverns' tack."

Faintly, Tas heard his name. Namid bellowed another long, grief-filled howl into the sky. The courier attempted to regain his composure enough to say something coherant, but it was nearly impossible. He didn't want to look up. Even if he did, his vision was watery, so he wouldn't be able to see anything clearly. Tas took some deep breaths to try to calm his sobbing. Doing his best to hold himself together -- which was rather ineffective -- he looked over his shoulder to Irina, though it was too blurry to make much more than colors out and they all ran together. "I-- ... I'm sorry...y-you couldn't meet...each...other," it was impossible not to break even that simple sentense with pauses from trying to control his sobs but even that took so much energy. Again, Tas turned his face away and cried. It was too much too suddenly. The prospect that his father had died never even occurred to Tas while he'd been away. He had been certain that if he and Namid had escaped with their cargo, then Terance and Riggs would have with theirs, too. Again, Namid cried out to the heavens for he was mourning as well. It was just as terrible a tragedy to him as it was for Tas.

Tas agreed that he wasn't much of a fighter and Iris was right: even though it was a scouting mission, it would be safer to have another person along. Lev nominated Iris as the third for balancing purposes. No one had any qualms with the suggestion, and so the three were soon airborne, flying in a wide, eastward curve. As they were flying, all was well with Namid. The wind was easy to ride, Tas was in his saddle and they were gliding around the edge of their territory. Life was good in this moment. It could have been better -- their home could be filled with wyverns and their humans and there could be pleanty of goats to feast upon and the great wyvern Riggs, his father, could be flyight right beside him with his rider, Terance. And Terance and Tas would talk and laugh as Riggs would set the example for Namid... Then life would be perfect. For a moment, Namid could actually smell it. ... Wait. He really could smell it! That was Riggs! Namid knew that scent anywhere! And Terance was there, too! There was some horrible scent, too, but that didn't matter. Letting loose a trumpet of jubilation, Namid sped towards the scent so quickly that Tas was nearly knocked from the saddle and had to cling to it to avoid flying off of Namid's back. (He must've smelled them! We're close!) As they neared, Namid began to slow. The large, dark green mountain wyvern with darker green stripes going down his back was unmistakable, laying on the ground with wings stretched wide where he lay in full tack. In his saddle was a man hunched over with large birds flocked around the pair. Namid roared to frighten them off as he landed so that he and Tas could see more clearly, seeing as the others hadn't yet caught up. Now Namid understood what the horried stench was that had been mingled with Riggs and Terance's scents. The top of the rider's head was singed black where it hadn't been attacked by the scavenging birds. His face was down and had not yet been disturbed. Held protectively in his arms were two eggs, their shells split and the infant wyverns inside of them were still curled up but lifeless. The two plains wyvern hatchlings were limp next to them. His muscles were stiff, still shielding the wyverns as he could and the adult wyvern upon which he sat had likewise been partially eaten. Tas slid off of Namid's back, steadily walking towards the corpses in shock and stopped right near them. To him, it was clear what had happened to cause their damage: Riggs had fallen from the sky after a lightning bolt coursed through him after having struck the rider's head. It would also explain the split shells and dead hatchlings and the expressions frozen on their faces. Terance, Riggs and the infant wyverns they were trying to save were killed suddenly. Riggs' face held pain. Terance seemed worried. The hatchlings were afraid. And the entire scene was so unreal to Tas that all he could do was stare. Namid waddled over beside Tas and turned his tail around him to form a semicircle. This was the origin of that terrible scent of death. That was when it began to sink in. (He's...dead...?) For the first time in his life, Tas felt weaker as he gazed upon his father. (He...was sruck down by thunder magic...?) Tas' throat tightened. (This.... This is impossible... How could he not have escaped? Riggs' wings are longer than Namid's... He... He could have outflown any bandit persuit! ... Unless...he was flying more slowly for a reason...) It was getting harder to see. Tas' vision was blurring. (He...was trying to match my speed, wasn't he? He was trying to help both of us escape. But...) Breathing normally was becoming difficult. (It doesn't matter what happened. This... This is the result: the man I looked up to and respected more than anyone else in the world... Four innocent, infant wyverns... My father's loyal partner... They're all...) The youngest rancher couldn't remain on his feet any longer. He fell to his knees and hung his head, gripping the ground and sobbing in deep anguish as Namid lifted his head and bellowed mournfully straight up into the air. The area resounded with his far-reaching, sorrowful call.

*speechless* ........................... Note: This is the good kind of speechless.

"Alright. We'll be back soon enough," Tas replied as they began walking back over to where they'd left the wyverns, Iris and Stephanie. Once there, the scouting plan was explained to the two members of the group who hadn't yet been informed: Irina and Tas would fly around the area to scout for signs of Tas' father while Isotov, Levski, Stephanie and Iris stayed behind to rest and wait.

"I don't know. I was asleep until my father told me to get ready to fly away. I was just trying to escape with Niket and the eggs when Namid and I got in the air," Tas replied to Lev, "And actually, not many of the ranchers could fight very well. I was one of the few to decided to try a weapon. I never got very good at it, but it wouldn't have mattered if I had. Bandits are used to fighting and we were peaceful for the mostpart." Then, Tas took a quick look around and continued, "Well, I don't see my father around here. He might be somewhere nearby, though. I'm going to take a look around with Namid. Even if I don't see him, Namid might be able to smell him and Riggs. Anyone want to come with me?"

"Okay! Right now we're in the front yard and out behind you -- that huge stretch of rocky land -- is where the adult wyverns were kept. I spent a lot of time there. When it's sunny, the ground absorbs the heat, so the wyverns really liked laying around out there. It looks like a few of the nests are still more-or-less intact too. And over here" Tas hurried a little further towards the ruins "this is where the front door used to be to where we ranchers lived." The enthusiastic courier continued into where his home had once been, explaining as he led his friends, "There was a short hallway here that led here to the front room. Then there were two longer hallways. One went this way, to the right, the other went to the left, though the left one was longer. To the right led to the barn. Thast's where we kept the partner wyverns. It also connected to the room up ahead: the dining room and behind the dining room was the kitchen. When Namid started getting bigger, the other ranchers started complaining more about him eating at the table at dinner, so I'd eat in the barn with the wyverns as often as the older ranchers would let me. Down this way" he quickly walked down where the left hallway once was "is where some of the ranchers slept. There was a room on either side of this hallway all the way until the end where it connected to" he ran the stretch of imaginary hallway until he met its invisable end "the nursery, where we kept the eggs and young hatchlings. This" he turned so he was facing what would be the door to the right of the hall's back wall (which had a door of its own leading to the nursery) "was my room. If you went through the nursery there was a door here. And then if you went out here, you'd be outside again. And over here was a smaller barn where we kept the older hatchlings and next to that, over here, is where we kept the fledglings. This was just a fenced-off section, though, since they don't need to be kept indoors anymore. We kept the older hatchlings in their own barn just because otherwise we'd have to be making sure they didn't get thmselves killed with their curious mischief. They still sometimes managed to break loose, but it was never more than a few at once." Tas continued, hurrying off behind where the main building had once stood. "This was where we kept the livestock: behind the kitchen. And over that way was another building used just for rancher lodging. And... Hm. Looks like the bandits filled in the well that used to be right here. And here was the vegetable garden and right next to it was the herb garden. The barn was also where the extra leather and buckles were so we could maintain our riding tack." At this point, Tas' enthusiasm was leaving and he was becoming more contentedly calm. He wandered over to a place behind the nursery and stopped, looking down at the ground below. "This is the graveyard. My mother and grandfather are burried here along with ranchers and wyverns who died here." He looked up into the distance. "It stretches out a long ways" then back to the ground in front of him "but this is where my father would take me -- this exact spot." In spite of his explanation, Tas didn't seem very sad. He was being respectful of the dead, however. Smiling over to the friends that had followed him throughout the tour, the courier asked, "So, what do you think?"

"Well, kind of," Tas began to explain, "We were the only ones of the ranchers who stayed and escaped. A lot of us began leaving after we learned that the bandits found the ranch and were planning to attack us and steal our wyverns. We took every precaution we could: we released the ones who could fly, guiding them away where they could live in their own flocks in the wild. Many of the eggs and hatchlings were flown away with the ranchers who didn't plan on coming back. A few fledgelings were saved, too, but they're so hard to transport that a lot of them were left behind. That's why some of us stayed: we hoped we could just outlast the threat, so we kept taking care of the remaining wyverns. Well, one night my father woke me up and told me we had to fly away immediately. He told me to get suited up, grab as many supplies as possible and to hurry to Namid and Riggs as soon as I could. It was really hot and smokey so it was obvious we were under attack. I did what my father said and when I got to him, he was holding as many hatchlings and eggs as he could hold. We split the load, he told me to try to sell the eggs and hatching in Septimus and that he would be going to Halton and we just flew away." The courier took a moment to look back on where his home used to stand. "I think the wyverns we left behind won't have as good of futures as they could have had if we'd been the ones to find them homes since we always make sure their new families will take good care of them...but I doubt the bandits would have killed or harmed them any more than the fire did. They probably tried to save them from the fire if only to make as big a proffit as possible. We had a good mix of plains and mountain wyverns here after all. It's too bad they had to get rid of the ranch, though. It's where Namid and I grew up, after all." He was actually almost beaming as he turned to face his friends again and excitedly asked, "Do you want me to show you around? I know exactly where everything used to be."

Victor's pass displaced Namid a bit since the wind he was riding had been significantly disturbed. Hastily, the mountain wyvern began to descend to flee the bull's airspace. Before he could make any good headway, though, a light surrounded them and their surroundings had completely changed. (Whoa, why are we up so high?) Victor's pass had been surprising to the courier, too, but his training had kicked in for that. He didn't have to worry about the height, though, since Namid and the other wyverns were quickly remedying that. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ It took quite some flying, but by noon, Tas excitedly turned in Namid's saddle to adress those with him. "We're here! We're flying over the grounds right now!" Below them was a rocky stretch of land with little plant life and, given the season, little to no patches of green. In fact, the terrain was largely brown in color and the sky above them was stretched open wide. Their flight continued a little longer until the wyverns and humans reached what seemed to be a singed foundation for some sort of establishment. Only a couple, ruined, blackened logs remained erected at some of the corners of where the building used to be. Tas landed Namid in the front yard of where the establishment had been. The wind had long since swept away most of the ashes. The scenery was basicly a wild, open wasteland in autumn nearing winter. In the distance to the west there was more greenery and mountains could be seen while the east continued on into Halton. It was a forgotten, secluded patch of land no one cared about but those who had tended to the wyverns before the site was abandoned and laid to waste. It was a tad windy, so Namid hunkered down as Tas nimbly dismounted and walked towards the few, standing beams with a helpless, sorry smile on his face. Stopping short, he somewhat bashfully turned to face the others and appologized, half-joking, "I'm sorry for the shoddy accomodations. The bandits really did a good job marauding the place." Namid looked around a bit mournfully. This was where he'd hatched and grown up alongside Tas, hearing the stories of the partners who worked together. This had been where many a wyvern started his or her life in the enormous flock. It smelled somewhat similar as before, but it was so different when it was empty in the grounds and where the bouildings were. When he was last here, it was night, but it was also bright with fire. No one had come back, had they? No one except for Tas and him anyway.

"Hmm," sighed the juggler, almost in disapointment before continuing on in a more upbeat manner, though more serious than his previous ramblings, "Well, if you really, truly, absolutely must know... I suppose I could give you a hint if we ever meet again, though will we, I wonder... Hehe~ Truth only knows! Let us see what he has to say, shall we?" It seemed the juggler knew more than he was letting on, but it would be unlikely anything more could be learned from him about the mysterious brooch.

"Hmmm? Who knows? Hahahahahaa!" the juggler unhelpfully responded to Shadrak, continuing his dancing and juggling without a care in the world, "But if I were to wager a guess~ I'd say it has more power than the bracelet your friend won, wouldn't you? After all, you did complete the hardest mode I offered. In addition, you plaid one hundered five gold for it! It must be worth something, wouldn't you say? But since you did win it, perhaps you can discover what it does on your own! What need have you of I? I'm just a juggler with a rune game, after all!" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Ah, hello. This, my friend, is a game called the Bell-Ring. You pay me 20 silver and I let you slam this mallot onto this board with one of 3 weights. A light weight, a medium weight and a hard weight. Choose your wright, ring the bell, win a prize! Simple, no? So, would you like to play?" Asked the man with the mallot by the bell game.