ACT COMPLETE Angelcynn: The Myrcian Conflict - Act 2

[Toogee]

Pony Power

Thankfully Doug had managed to avoid trouble in the city, despite his large sack of money. The rider had been given a few funny looks here and there, but it was something he was very used to. The city became less dense as he progressed out towards the countryside.

It didn't take long, but Doug came across a fenced area, housing what appeared to be a good few dozen horses. A man in overalls and a straw hat, probably somewhere in his fifties, was standing near some stables. It appeared to be the right place, but there was no sign of anything like a wyvern or even a pegasus.

As Doug looked over the horses, he caught sight of the man near the tables. "This must be him," he thought as he walked over. The animals he'd seen so far appeared in good health, so this perhaps wasn't a waste of time.

"Uh, Tristan?" Doug asked. "I was told you had something with wings around here. Like wyverns?"

[Terrador]

Angus grins after weathering Freya's first attack--he definitely wouldn't have to worry about humiliating her! A few blows later, he had a different problem entirely--namely, a hello for the dirt, with his opponent none the worse for wear. "Ma, c'n I ride th'pony?" He shakes his head vigorously. [i'm on the ground. Right. Best remedy that.] He stands, offering Freya a handshake. A normal armored swordsman would have beaten him here, but that thrashing genuinely impressed the barnacle on Hogan's backside.

"Hell of an arm there! Angus Kearney. An' I've gotta know--who are you? What d'you do?"

[Shin]

A woman's heart

Larissa went quiet, her smile fading rapidly. Sitting herself down, her gaze dropped downwards. After a second or two, she laughed, grinning at Serge yet again. "Rich, stupid and weakwilled of course!" she laughed, waving a hand. "Men are so easy to use sometimes, they'll do anything if you ask nicely enough. I once managed to get three thousand from a sucker, that lasted me a good few months."

Ratty gulped, anything above a hundred seemed like a lot of money to him. To him, the idea of love was foreign enough, he hadn't found anyone who wanted to be near him, let alone pay him for company. "The badgers are nearly done..." he called out sheepishly. "There should be enough for all of us." The lumps of meat on the fire didn't look particularly appetising, they were gently charred and more than a few tufts of hair remained on them.

It didn't appear Larissa was too keen on the idea of badger meat, she pulled a ddreadfulface, shaking her head. "You boys can enjoy your vermin, I don't even want to know where those things have been before you found them." she complained, adamant about her verdict.

Double Trouble

The man turned slowly as he heard his name. He didn't seem terribly surprised by Doug, giving him a glance over before uttering a word. Clad in overalls and a straw hat, he was the epitome of a farmer.

"Yer be looking for somethin' special, roight?" he grinned, his eyes catching glance of Doug's gold sack. "Come to the right place, mostly horses an' the like, but I have something special for the right customers. Come with me, if yer got the gold, you can ride me into battle if yer want!"

Hobbling towards the stables, he opened the door, smiling at Doug. "Got a pair of special things for yer, sonny. Got a domesticated wild drake, ate its' first trainer's legs but it's obedient now. Called him Gahlliver, he's a big fella. If you're feelin' less brave, I've got a rare pegasus. Doesn't like the ladies at all, refuses to let them near 'im. Not many riders are male, so I've had him a little while."

He gestured to the door, offering Doug entry. "You'll probably want to see them first, as long as yer have the money, you can take your time."

Familiarity

Nelon watched Angus approach the girl, wondering if the young man was one of the recruits. If he were, he was far too mouthy and boistrous, Hogan would have surely beaten some sense into him. It all made sense when he opened his mouth. The crass demeanour, the improper speech, the bravado. This young man was a Kearney. Nelon's eyes widened, he'd dealt with them enough when he was a young boy, it was only a matter of time before he came across them again. Duncan was far too much to handle, this one was exactly the same - he should have known from his fighting style.

Taking a moment to gather himself, Nelon cleared his throat. He needed to keep this one away before he got too chummy.

"That was interesting to observe. I am Ceirch of Nelon, one of the barons." he replied, remaining as formal as possible. That had been his mistake with Duncan, getting too friendly. "I was watching how you approach, it is almost as if you're preparing for the next strike before even landing the first... even when it's clear you have a disadvantage."

Edited May 21, 2016 by Shin

[Dandragon]

"Three thousand...You're life sounds so much easier than mine, sometimes." He said, shaking his head. Ratty had decided to speak up about the roasted badgers, but one look was enough for Serge. "I'll pass, too. They're...your catch, Ratty." If he could even call it a catch, considering they were given to him...by a traveling circus of all things.

He wasn't sure how long it had been since Cassandra and Freya had left. He looked up to the sky. The sky was still bright. Must be afternoon. He looked back at Ratty's meal. Looks like Serge was skipping lunch today. He wasn't leaving until he knew who was going to the thieves guild. That much was certain.

[Toogee]

With the utterance of the phrase "ate trainer's legs", wyvern was off the table. Doug had no interest in riding on top of something that knew the taste of manflesh. The pegasus on the other hand, actually liked male riders. He wouldn't have to wear a skirt anymore! Yes, this was the change he deserved.

"Well, I happen to be an expert in pegasus riding," Doug said proudly. "I'd be interested in seeing the peg, for the right price of course."

Doug entered through the barn doors to see what fortune had favored him with.

[Juliette]

"Hmph." It wasn't a very difficult fight. The axeman wasn't very quick to dodge her attacks, and his own barely scratched her. It wasn't long until he fell to the ground, leaving Freya very unimpressed but shaking his hand anyway. "I'm Freya. I guard the princess."

[Terrador]

Angus bursts into laughter--what a small world! "No shit? Same here!" He looks from Freya back to Nelon. "Both counts, even! Though the baroning jus' happened today." He shakes his head--it was still ridiculous. Youngest son of the Kearneys, a baron? The king honestly might have been better off lording the bear. "Speakin' of which, they mentioned you were right good at holdin' a line at the meetin'. Remind me t'pick your brains on that one soon, eh? Never thought I'd have t'actually learn any of that." He takes his hand back from Freya, offering it in turn to Nelon. "Angus Kearney. Good t'meet you."

"An' you there, Freya!" Angus eyes Freya up and down approvingly--certainly sturdier than the last men to join on. "You should be doin' right fine. I'm... well, apparently the one lookin' after the Prince's posse--" here, another chuckle, with a hand scratching the bear's head for support. "so if your kit gets busted 'r some other shit, give me a holler, eh? I'll see what I c'n do." It really didn't cross Angus' mind why Freya was here, or Nelon for that matter--he showed up altogether too often for an ass-kicking and some exercise to really wonder what a strong soldier or two were doing in the barracks.

[riariadne]

"Well... I don't know. I wasn't aware he had," Sidney started to say before the queen got up and left suddenly. "Queen Eowa, are you alright?" The way she got up seemed uncharacteristic from her few meetings. She chased after her with the book. "Your Highness, you forgot this. Are you sure things are quite okay?"

[charlie_]

Claire quickly found herself agreeing with the other clowns' decision to keep Slappy around the back - he looked awful. She couldn't imagine he had long left based on the state he was in. She gave him a small nod in acknowledgement, before retreating out of earshot to speak with the other clowns. "He's not getting any better, is he?" she whispered, mulling over her options. If his health was this bad, perhaps he had nothing to lose if the vial wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

[Shin]

Hunger Strike

It seemed Ratty was eating alone, although he could probably save the rest for later - it made sense that nobody else would want to eat something so disgusting. Larissa laughed at Serge, leaning back against the bridge. "I'd prefer something less dangerous if I could help it, but you've got to use the talents you have." she replied. "For you it's cutting people in half, me... well, I can make men part with their wallets. It's not like we get money just for sitting around, we're not important enough for that."

Pristine Pegasus

Tristan opened the stable doors, wondering if he'd ever be able to get rid of the wyvern. Pointing to the corner, the farmer grinned smugly. "There's the beast, finest pegasus if I ever saw one." he boasted. He wasn't wrong, the pegasus was nothing like Old Timer. His frame was majestic, his legs strong and his wings not missing a single feather. The only oddity was that its fur was tinged a gentle pink... as well as it wearing a bowtie, but it was far more decent than running around in a skirt. The pegasus seemed a little snooty, it was looking at the other horses in the stable with disgust.

"Agathon's 'is name. A noble beast indeed. If yer wat him, I'll sell him for twelve grand. I'll even throw in the saddle!" Tristan laughed, patting Doug on the back.

Companions

Nelon shook Angus' hand, still cautious about the Kearney. From the sounds of it, he'd be coming along on the Princess' campaign - it'd be hard to avoid him too much, perhaps he'd have to deal with the situation after all. The name Angus was still ringing bells, was he the one the mad woman chasing him mentioned? Were they in league with each other? Hopefully he'd be able to occupy her for him, Nelon would certainly give them his blessings.

Hogan stepped in, looking at Angus with disappointed eyes. "Kearney, maybe we should get an old man from the streets to fight you, it'd be more of a match to watch. Yer fight fine, but yer noggin is full of rot. Not like Nelon here, used to beat all lordlings at chess when he was little."

The instructor glanced over Freya. "I'm startin' to think I should start up a club for the fellas who beat up Kearney, might lose track of the members though, the list'd get pretty big. Yer should be fine out on the field, just don't let buggers like Kearney flank you."

Queen's Escape

The queen seemed to be quite the hurry, heading straight for the royal chamber. She passed through the door quickly, closing it behind her. Two guards were positioned at the door, Sidney didn't really have much of a chance getting through. "I apologise, miss, but we're under orders not to allow visitors without specific invitation!" one barked, standing straight and tapping his spear on the ground.

Bottoms up!

One of the clowns put his hand on Claire's shoulder, she could practically feel how dirty his mitts were. "Yeah, miss. The healing people don't give him much longer." he sighed, trying to keep his voice low. "Slappy ain't gonna be doin' no tricks any more." Another clown blew his nose with a patchwork hankerchief, wiping his eyes. "Bonko? Ain't there nothing we can do? Slappy's like family to us. He's like a brother... or an uncle, I don't quite remember how the family tree works."

Slappy looked over at the group curiously, unable to hear a word at all. Who was this girl? Was she going to join them?

[charlie_]

Claire brushed the Bonko's hand off of her shoulder as she listened to the clown confirm what she'd already inferred. Confusion about family trees aside, the closeness of the clowns quickly became clear to her, which made her choice a lot easier. "There might be a way." she muttered. "I have this potion," she produced the vial, trying to think of the right words. "It hasn't really been properly tested yet, but it should be able to help tame the disease. I'll understand if you don't want to risk it though. I can't be sure of what's going to happen." The look on her face was solemn. She hoped that the vial would have results - not just for the experiments sake, but for Slappy and friends too. She already knew how painful losing someone you cared about was.

[Vestige]

Don't bring any friends? Alain stifled a laugh. "I didn't plan on," he said, as he watched the old man get up and make his way to the door. After a couple of minutes of deliberating, he walked over to the counter, and asked the bartender to get him a drink. "Say, would you happen to know anything about the old man that comes by here? I think he comes by pretty often, usually just sits around at that table doing not much of anything," he asked, pointing towards the corner table he was just seated at moments ago. While he was excited about his upcoming encounter, if there was anything to know, now would be the time to find it out.

[Toogee]

Pristine Pegasus

Tristan opened the stable doors, wondering if he'd ever be able to get rid of the wyvern. Pointing to the corner, the farmer grinned smugly. "There's the beast, finest pegasus if I ever saw one." he boasted. He wasn't wrong, the pegasus was nothing like Old Timer. His frame was majestic, his legs strong and his wings not missing a single feather. The only oddity was that its fur was tinged a gentle pink... as well as it wearing a bowtie, but it was far more decent than running around in a skirt. The pegasus seemed a little snooty, it was looking at the other horses in the stable with disgust.

"Agathon's 'is name. A noble beast indeed. If yer wat him, I'll sell him for twelve grand. I'll even throw in the saddle!" Tristan laughed, patting Doug on the back.

"Typical."

It would figure there was a drawback. There always was with Doug. His potential mount was a nice shade of pink. This wasn't even suitable for a female rider. This was for a little girl with rich parents, to be kept at a fancy manor. He wondered if the pegasus had ever seen battle.

"OK, couple questions. First, what's up with the bowtie? Second, was there a previous owner?"

To be honest, Doug was destined to ride this pegasus across Wyke. He just wanted to know what he was getting into.

[Juliette]

A baron, and working for the prince? Him? Freya still didn't have a very high opinion of this Angus fellow, nodding curtly at what he said. "I suppose I'll keep it in mind." Hogan didn't seem terribly impressed with her victory either. Maybe this guy not being very good is why I got assigned to guard Princess Cassandra... "I reckon I'll be fine. I could keep going like this all day... I think I might. Practice makes perfect, and all that." The conversation wasn't interesting her much anyway, so Freya walked away from the three men's discussion and got back to work with her training sword.

[riariadne]

"Queen Eowa!" Sidney was stopped short in her tracks by the guards, frowning at the situation. "Well, she forgot her book. Here it is... I guess I'll be on my way." She handed the one who spoke to her the book, walking away and furrowing her brows. What was all that about? It was so abrupt... there has to be something else up here. You don't just ask those sorts of questions out of nowhere and then not think about the answer. Unsatisfied with her results, Sidney headed to her room, brooding over what had happened.

[Shin]

Last Joke

Bonko and the others huddled around Claire, almost too close for comfort. "Yer think you can cure Slappy? If it might help him, please miss..." Bonko begged, taking Claire's hands into his own. "We don't gots much in this life, but we do have family. If you can give Slappy another chance, we'll let you do whatever you like."

The other clowns started to water at the eyes, looking at Claire hopefully. It appeared she'd gotten quite the gathering around her, there had to be at least a dozen of them - equally disgusting in their own unique ways. Slappy was still rather confused, letting out a few coughs. Was this lady going to marry into the family? She seemed to spend an awfully long time thinking about something.

Who?

The bartender stopped to think for a minute, passing Alain his drink. "That codger? Eh?" he asked, genuinely looking like he was trying to recall the man. "I always thought he was a'spat the whole time. Never really govereet with him much. He might kupet firegold once in a luna but he don't do much. Yer the first droog to govereet with him. Don't think he mingles much with the lewdies."

It had been a little while now, but nobody had occupied the man's table. Even when people had entered, they seemed to avoid it. There had been an aura about the man, probably why nobody had gone near him before. People at least knew to avoid it, there had to be a reason.

Dressed to impress

Tristan laughed, patting Doug on the back again. "An eye for business, I can tell just by looking at you!" gesturing Doug towards the beast. The pegasus eyed Doug carefully, almost judging the rider. Cocking its brow, it returned to the hay, giving Doug the odd glance now and again. "No previous riders on this one, it was tamed an' trained, couldn't find a fella to take it so it's never seen proper battles. Means it don't got no bad habits, its mind is fresh."

The farmer scratched his head, looking at the bowtie. "Can't explain that, son. It just came with it. Wouldn't let me take it off, so I assume it's part of the deal."

[charlie_]

"I can't promise a miracle." Claire warned, trying to shake her hand free of Bonko's grip. "But I'll do what I can. Do any of you have a flask?" She'd already told them that they needed to be careful about how much Slappy had to drink after all. In truth, the mage doubted that the clown would suffer any side effects from having 'too much' of it, but she couldn't expend it all here. It still left a slightly bitter taste in her mouth, knowing she wasn't doing all that she could, but Claire had convinced herself that it was necessary.

[Vestige]

Alain halfheartedly sipped his drink, as he listened to the bartender speak. Apparently there wasn't anything to special about the old man. On the surface, at least. "Well, thanks for the tip," Alain said, nodding to the man. He left a handful of change on the counter, enough for his drink, and departed en route to the "sewers" that the old man had talked about. The locale wasn't all too enticing, but the performance would hopefully be worth it. It'll definitely be worth it...

Edited May 25, 2016 by Vestige

[Shin]

Clown Party

Bonko produced a small pot from his pocket. It wasn't exactly a classy drinking vessel, but it would at least suffice. "Engel bless ye, Miss!" he cried, embracing Claire tightly. "Even if it's only a small chance, we'd give anythings to get Slappy better!" The other clowns had all started bawling, leaning on each other for support. The atmosphere was oddly familial. It wasn't exactly clear how these clowns were related to each other, but if anything, they were incredibly close.

Demonstration of the Dark

Alain's trip to the sewers was uneventful, he soon found the man a couple dozen yards inside of the water system. The old man smirked, looking at Alain before he could even approach. "You're serious about this, I like that." he growled, raising his hands.

The sewers were dark to begin with, but within seconds the light from outside was completely vanquished. A wave of cold spread across Alain, sending shivers down his spine. The spell hadn't even begun and yet it had produced such a potent aura. A twisting purple light wrapped itself around the old man's arms, growing longer and brighter rapidly. The tendrils lashed outwards, narrowly missing Alain and tearing through the stonework of the walls. Despite being a foot away from his face, Alain could still feel a vast cold gravity weighing him down. This was no basic spell, not even advanced neutral magic could produce something this potent. The sense of power was astonishing, one that could be one day Alain's own.

A Magical Meeting

As Sidney returned back towards her room, passing down to the coridor, she ran across a robed man. He hadn't been paying much attention, the fellow had almost walked into Sidney. Stopping himself before they collided, he smiled, giving a gentle chuckle.

"My, I should really be focused on the space around me, not my theories." he mused, not even remotely apologetic. He gave Sidney a curious look, nodding agreeably after a couple of seconds. "Ah, you must be Charlotte, I've heard a few things about you, you're quite... the character. I'm the court wizard, Edion... but please call me Morgan. I was just on my way to visit her Majesty. We've been friends for ever so long, it's almost as if we were siblings. She seemed awfully troubled the last few days, but I'm sure it's nothing too major."

Edited May 25, 2016 by Shin

[Toogee]

Dressed to impress

Tristan laughed, patting Doug on the back again. "An eye for business, I can tell just by looking at you!" gesturing Doug towards the beast. The pegasus eyed Doug carefully, almost judging the rider. Cocking its brow, it returned to the hay, giving Doug the odd glance now and again. "No previous riders on this one, it was tamed an' trained, couldn't find a fella to take it so it's never seen proper battles. Means it don't got no bad habits, its mind is fresh."

The farmer scratched his head, looking at the bowtie. "Can't explain that, son. It just came with it. Wouldn't let me take it off, so I assume it's part of the deal."

"Experience or not, it sounds like a good deal."

Doug proceeded to pull out gold from his bag, enough to equal the 12,000 asking price. He wasn't sure what was up with the bowtie, but such eccentricities kind of reminded him of himself. He had to wear a dress for a while; who was he to judge?

[Vestige]

Droplets of nervous sweat rolled down Alain's forehead. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought the old man was trying to kill him, not show him a demonstration. The form the magic had taken was slightly grotesque in nature, but it was clear to him that it was not something to be trifled with. "I must say old man, that's quite the spell you've got there. Belial seems to treat his followers well," he said, backing away slowly from the writhing tendril that had torn apart the sewer wall.

"But," he said, his voice sounding more firm now that he had gained some distance, "I find myself wanting to take part in this performance, if you'll allow me. It's not everyday I get to square off against a mage of your caliber," Alain took pride in his magical prowess but he was aware he didn't even have half of the experience the old man did. Still, this was a chance for him to see just how great the difference between the two classes of magic was. Slowly, he reached for his Thunder tome, "So, what say you? Care to show me some more of your tricks?"

[riariadne]

Sidney glared at the man who almost walked into her. His words only furthered her suspicions of something being very wrong with the queen. Maybe I'll talk to Cass about it... "Well, I hope things go alright for her. Nice to meet you, uh, Morgan."

[Shin]

Deal!

Tristan shook Doug's hand, licking his lips as he watched the sack of money. "All yours, son!" he chirped, giving the pegasus a glance over one last time. "Nice doing business with yer, if yer need anything else, let me know!"

Doug buys a pegasus!

Doug's stats change!

Invitation to death

The man shook his head, the light around him fading and the sunbeams from the tunnel opening returning. "Not a chance, child." he grunted, hobbling back towards the entrance. "You wouldn't be able to lay a finger on me... and you'd very much regret having your organs torn open."

There was an air of pride as he passed Alain. "You remind me of myself as a young man... begin with the basics... and once you return and are more powerful, I shall show you a more tangible performance."

Alain can now use Dark Magic!

Alain is locked out of Blizzard and Excalibur!

Playful Wizard

Morgan laughed at Sidney's expression, her glare ineffective. "What an unpleasant face, let's hope the wind doesn't blow otherwise it might get stuck like that." he teased, sticking out his tongue. He certainly was youthful, he didn't appear much older than Sidney herself. "I'm sure she'll want to speak to me for a little, she usually does."

As quickly as he'd arrived, he soon wandered off again, humming merrily to himself.

TIMESKIP INCOMING, DO NOT POST ANY REPLIES TO CURRENT CHAINS

[Shin]

3rd April 812 - 1 mile off the coast of Magonsaete

The voyage across the sea had been an interesting experience, thankfully the waters had been kind - both in terms of weather and any pirates who were roaming about. Their vessel had been the Flying Kipper, under the command of Captain Haddock, an experienced seafarer under employ of the crown. They'd only been at sea for a few days, but even then it was likely to be an experience not worth repeating if they could help it.

Angus and Serge had gathered quite the ensemble, Owen's party hadn't ever been this large. Unfortunately, Talmot had been unavailable for the expedition - his county was in desperate need of him after the change in leadership. Thankfully, all three Valter sisters had showed up, with or without their father's blessings. Nelon wasn't particularly comfortable with the arrangements, but he dare not protest.

The coast of Magonsaete didn't seem that different to Wyke, although there wasn't a port to be seen. Haddock had chosen a suitable part of the land to dock, one that was suitable enough for the group to depart from... but also far enough away from hostility to avoid trouble from the start. Standing on deck with Owen, the captain looked out towards the bandit country.

"Yer be a brave man, goin' this way, Prince Owen." he remarked, adjusting his hat. "It's quick but yer going to run into trouble eventually. I just hope yer men are up for some fightin'. Can't say I envy them, an' I don't got any water left to help yer. Yer got an interestin' bunch, even got a poet with you. I figure it don't be my place to judge when yer need some sonnets, yer highness."

All players are free to speak!

[Dandragon]

Serge was at the right side of the boat, leaning on the edge and looking out towards land. Magonsaete... There wasn't much that he knew about that place, so he supposed this could be a good learning experience. Of course, his mind was occupied with something else entirely.

Over the past 9 days, Serge had been on an emotional ride full of confusion and fear, among other things. Niko had left, and Doug had turned out to be some noble. Which left Serge in charge of the Reliants... All of them. Emmet, Larissa, all the new recruits he had gathered. They were all counting on him to lead. And they were all older than him. To say Serge was feeling stressed out was an understatement. He had little time to learn how to be a leader, and even less time to prepare himself to lead. He just hoped that none of the Reliants were too judgemental of him and his current position. But then again, when did things ever go this way.

He sighed. How did he get himself into this mess? All he wanted was a job, not an entire guild. Not only did he have to manage his own pay, but the pay of everyone else under him. Not to mention he had to deal with all of their problems, too. Any issue they had, he had to help fix should they come to him for help. Gods, did he need help...