The Shadow King's Return

[Laura-Lana]

((We found the others and went to an inn for the night. Zella and Luna and Veren are going to have dreams that are influenced by the shadowking because they used magic.

 

Illonea is still under the power of the shadowking and has just followed her order to poison Saphira. This will send Saphira into a coma from which she'll never awake - unless Carlissa comes back. I am doubting she will but as long as there is a chance I don't want to outright kill her character. On the other hand Saphira is too central a character that we could just ignore her. So coma it is.

 

Since Lorpez has been ordered to make sure Illonea follows her orders you might want to make him watch her.))

Edited February 16, 2011 by Laura-Lana

[Neutual Demon]

((Wait, I thought it was the opposite; Lorpez was suppose to poison Saphira, and Illonea was suppose to stab him to pieces if he didn't. :?

 

Ah well, I really don't mind either way. Someone dies, and that's good enough for me

 

Unless...you mind, of course? :? ))

[Kira1]

((btw, ND, I like your avi~ Lol, Orko

 

and don't you think that they would share rooms, Bubbles? lol, you know, all the girls in one and the guys in another. I'm going to have Lee and Lorpez share room; don't worry, there are two beds.))

 

Luna retired to the room for the night, easily drifting off to sleep after the long day. After everything that had happened, it was nice to just lay down for sleep and not worry about anything for awhile.

 

Why was she back home? Where was Zella? What was going on? She ran through the streets of her home, and although they looked the same as always, they seemed cold and uninviting to her. All the Elves around her gave her glares, giving her an even more unwanted feeling. These were her own people and yet they were disowning her? They couldn't do that to her! She was of the royal family! One of the highest class Elves there were in the city, and they dared to look down upon her.

 

Then again, she had left without much notice despite all the rantings her mother gave her about the plans for Luna's life. However Luna had other plans that weren't her mother's. Besides, that woman couldn't control her. She was in charge of her own life. But where would she go? She didn't fit in at home, and she didn't know where to go once out of the city. Sure she knew maps well enough to find her way around and could easily enough protect herself, but did she really have a place to go?

 

A rag-tag bunch of misfits wasn't really a place where she belonged. Zella and Veren, two dragons, they had each other. Lorpez and Illonea were both Drows and could sympathize easier with the others' misfortune. Lee could return home whenever he wanted to no doubt.

 

Where did she fit in? She could not relate completely to any of them, and yet now her own home wasn't the place for her.

 

What could she do?

 

I could give you power

 

What power?

 

The power that comes from the elusive shadows

 

Surely it can't be that simple?

 

Oh, but it is. Just accept it.

 

I don't know...

 

With it, you could make a place for yourself.

 

...

 

 

 

After bidding the others goodnight, Veren went to bed herself. The day had been a long one, and it had been awhile since she needed to take a human guise. Using her magic for that was a bit taxing, but it was nothing a good night's sleep couldn't replenish. After snuggling under the warm blankets, Veren drifted off to sleep.

 

Veren was flying through the skies once again a dragon. The shined off of her scales, making her glisten. However, that glisten faded as clouds rolled in, blotting out the sun and the sky grew darker and darker. Soon a black dragon dipped down from the clouds next to Veren. She glared over at him, hating his arrogance and how he could always do things better than her. This time she would show him who was the better dragon.

 

Veren turned to rush at him straight on, teeth and claws ready to strike him down. He dived down slightly to come up and under her, clawing at her underbelly. She roared at him, returning the strikes as she also tried to protect herself. The two began to fall as they stopped caring about staying aloft. They twisted around in the air, locked in combat of teeth and claws, neither of them relenting. It wasn't until they neared the ground that they broke apart to save themselves from a deadly impact. However, with injuries Veren was forced to land. After gliding away from him she landed with a thud, panting heavily. He was flying towards her again, and she didn't believe she had the power to beat him. Why was she so weak?

 

I can change that. Will you accept the power I can give you?

 

Power?

 

Yes, power.

 

 

 

Lee headed up to the room that Lorpez and he would be staying in for the night. The females of their groups all went off to their rooms already, and since Lee was exhausted he flopped down on his bed for sleep. After crawling under the covers in the bed that was too large for him, but was perfect size for someone like Lorpez, Lee fell asleep.

[Laura-Lana]

((Wait, I thought it was the opposite; Lorpez was suppose to poison Saphira, and Illonea was suppose to stab him to pieces if he didn't. :?

 

Ah well, I really don't mind either way. Someone dies, and that's good enough for me

 

Unless...you mind, of course? :? ))

((*goes to reread and blushes* Yes ... uhm... apparently I have given the assignments the other way around. Sorry for confusing things. One would think I'd remember my own orders. Would you mind if I edited the Shadowking post giving the assignments so they are the other way around? Or do you want Lorpez to be the one poisoning Saphira?

 

Great post Kira! About the rooms? How about the inn has double rooms and single rooms? So we get: Lorpez and Lee, Luna and Zella, Veren and Illonea and Saphira has the single room? ))

[Kira1]

((Aw, thanks Illonea >w< and yea, those room accommodations sound just fine. ^^))

[Neutual Demon]

(( Lol, thanks Kira *snuggles Orko*

 

I don't mind if you change the order, Laura. It doesn't matter to me if Lorpez's poisoning someone or hoping to stab someone; in truth, he doesn't want to do either one. What a wuss. I'll post anyway, just to keep things going.))

 

 

Illonea had entered the room of Saphire; and with one quick peek inside told him that the princess was drinking the poison. Good. The drow had done her duty. He turned and disappeared, wandering into the room that he was suppose to be sleeping in. However, his stomach was tying itself into knots, so the drow sat gingerly on the corner of the mattress, staring at the floor.

Why was he so tense? It had been easy to wipe the princess of the face of the earth, but why was he felt so...guilty? Inwardly, he was still fighting the curse that was tainting his thoughts, but since it had altered his very spirit, it seemed impossible to shake off the thing that had haunted him for so long. And because he couldn't get rid of it sooner, Illonea was also dragged into this mess with him.

With a quick flick of his wrist, the strange dagger that was given by the Shadow King was sent embedding into the wall, the hilt quivering. Lorpez blinked, brows furrowing slightly. Why did he do that? He was angry, but what was he angry at? Himself; he was angry at himself. If he had not inquire the help of this group to find an easy fix for his curse, he wouldn't have dragged them all into this mess.

Still occupied in his thoughts, Lorpez stared at the now still dagger, his lips pressed together in thought as he waited out the night silently, the only action inside his head, where he fought with himself.

[Laura-Lana]

((Edited the post with the shadowking's command ))

 

Illonea found herself standing in front of her bed staring into space. The last she remembered was snuggeling herself under the covers and closing her eyes.

Apparently she was a sleepwalker. That wasn't a welcome relevation, but Illonea figured it was good that it had come here in that relatively safe environment. Had she learned of her condition after falling over a cliff it would have been decidedly more inconvenient.

 

Illonea glanced over to Veren's bed hoping she hadn't woken the dragon. Veren was still asleep, but it seemed to Illonea like she had a nightmare. She was mumbeling something Illonea couldn't understand.

 

The young drow hurried over to her bed and softly wispered: "Veren?"

Edited February 17, 2011 by Laura-Lana

[Kira1]

What?

 

Veren heard her name called, but saw no one around her. Soon the realization came that it wasn't in the dream she heard her name called.

 

Veren was faintly aware that someone had said her name, and when she opened her eyes she saw someone by the bed. Quickly she shot up, unable to clearly see who it was yet, but relaxed when she saw it was only Illonea.

"Oh, Illonea, what is it?" she asked, sitting in a more relaxed position on the bed. What was that dream she just had? Like usual, she couldn't really remember the dream she had after waking. Though, she had the faint feeling that there was something offered to her, and she was slightly considering taking it, well, whatever "it" was.

[Laura-Lana]

"Sorry about waking you." Illonea wispered softly. "I thought you had a nightmare."

 

She sat down on her bed and drew the covers around her.

 

"And I've had a bit of a shock. Seems like I was sleepwalking. I had no idea that this is something I am prone to do"

[Kira1]

When Illonea mentioned it looked like she had nightmare, Veren had a feeling it was.

 

"Sleepwalking, eh? Heh, it's a good thing dragons don't sleep walk," she joked, chuckling a bit as she laid back down as well. "Well, goodnight then."

 

Veren snuggled under the covers once more to fall asleep, hoping another dream wouldn't come.

[Hawke444]

((I have returned and I plan on staying this time. God willing, I will be able to.))

 

A cold breeze blew, rustling the leaves of nearby trees. The moon was high and full in the night sky, bathing the ground below in a soft, bluish light. The chorus of nocturnal creatures echoed through the night air before being broken by the sound of footsteps. A tall figure of a man, cloaked in a long and dark coat, walked down an old dirt road, seemingly unaware of the time of day. The figure walked at a relatively slow pace, his hands gripping the straps of a pack. He looked about his surroundings as he walked. It may have been nighttime, but it was a pleasant night.

 

It was only when he neared a dense forest that he stopped. He looked to the sky, seeing dark clouds form above before dropping his head and shaking it in disbelief. The man dropped the pack from his shoulders and knelt-down before it, retrieving a small leather-bound book, ink well and quill from a side pocket. The man opened the book and jotted-down a few notes.

 

Journal entry No.78

 

My travels have brought me to the outskirts of a forest. While I would normally press on, the hour is late

and the weather is turning foul. Strange, when one considers that mere moments before, the sky was

clear. I sense something dark on the air, though it is possibly my imagination.

 

Francesco de' Gervaccio, Physician.

 

With that, Francesco closed the book and capped the inkwell, then placed the objects back into their pocket. He then retrieved various camping supplies from the main pouch and set them aside. He then pulled a hatchet from the side of the pack and began to hack at one of the small trees nearby. The wind began to pick-up as the sky grew darker, forcing him to work quickly. The last thing any traveler wants is to be in a windstorm without a source of warmth.

 

It merely took a few swings from the hatchet for the tree to fall and Francesco began breaking the wood into segments and placing them into a pile. Once enough wood was cut for a decent fire, he began gathering large rocks to turn the pile into a quick and dirty fire pit. Once that was said and done, he gathered his flint, steel and tinder from his pack and set the pile alight. Out in the open was not an ideal place to make camp and surely not so close to a forest, but this small camp was all he would be able to manage in the coming darkness. He unrolled his bedroll, placed his tri-corn hat atop his pack and laid down to rest for the night.

 

((Well, there you have it. The first of (hopefully) many posts.))

[Kira1]

((Hey Hawke ^^ I hope you can stay this time and RP with us. We're a small group here, so another to add to the story would be great~ :3

 

Now, shall we skip to morning, or are we waiting for something else to happen during the night?))

[Laura-Lana]

((We can skip to morning when it comes to me.))

[WonderBubbles]

((Skip to morning would be great. =D))

[Hawke444]

((If a timeskip is in order, I am all for it. Besides, I have something planned for when morning comes.))

[Laura-Lana]

((Hm, everyone agreed, but no one seems to want to make the first time skip post. I'll try it then.))

 

Some annoying bird was tschirping in front of their window. Illonea tried to cover her head with a pillow, but that made breathing hard.

Eventually she openend her eyes and sat up.

The horizon had started to become lighter but the sun wasn't even peeking out yet.

 

Illonea glared at the still tschirping bird and began to search for her bow.

 

Something tugged at her mind as if she had forgotten something important but she couldn't place it.

[Neutual Demon]

((Bah, I'm going to do a fail post... >_> ))

 

 

It had been a long night, Lorpez sitting and staring at the wall. He had gotten up to pace at times, then sat back down at the bed. He had glanced over at the dagger he had embedded into the wall, but had quickly looked away again. His mind was in a jumble, and still was when the horizon slowly became lighter.

Sighing, he rose from his seat on the bed and yanked out the dagger. Dark eyes looked at it with a rather disgusted look before Lorpez put it away. Then he walked out of the room altogether. He needed to walk this off, so he went outside in the cool air in hopes to clear his head of thoughts that plagued him of sleep.

[Neutual Demon]

((bump D: ))

[WonderBubbles]

Her rest the night before had not been pleasant; she had been plagued by nightmares she had not been able to remember. Zella had woken up too many times to count, and really did not want to get out of bed. She groaned when she discovered she was still in her human form, and blamed the lack of sleep on her current shape and the use of magic. The dragon-woman slowly opened her eyes and glared at the weak sunlight illuminating the square around the curtain of the window.

With a sigh, she sat up and glanced across to Luna.

[Kira1]

((Right I need to post >.> I swear, I'm still alive. >.<))

 

Veren woke that morning, her dream still in her mind although it was falling out her grasp quite quickly as most dreams do. As she sat up in bed she looked over to where Illonea was sitting awake.

 

"Morning," she greeted with a friendly smile.

 

 

Luna stirred awake, turning over to see that Zella was staring right at her. She blinked her eyes for a moment before her mind focused in on all that had happened. She sat up, stretching her arms, and greeted Zella with a good morning.

 

((and Lee woke up /lazy))

[WonderBubbles]

"Morning," she murmured in reply, rubbing one of her eyes.

The red-haired woman stood and wandered into their bathroom. A short while later she came out, clothed and her hair wet. She grinned at Luna and walked over to ask how to brush her hair, as she'd seen the elf doing.

 

((Aaaaaaaand TIME-SKIP 'cause I can.))

 

The whole group sat around a table for breakfast. Zella had received an odd look for ordering two steaks for her and Veren, but they didn't ask questions. She set a plate down in front of the other dragon and sat down beside her.

"What's happening for today?" she asked, glancing around at their group.

[Kira1]

"I plan to return to talk with those that we met yesterday," Luna answered, deciding to choose words carefully. She didn't want anyone over hearing what they were talking about just in case. "I still have more I need to discuss with them."

 

"I suppose I'll accompany you," Veren answered, since she was interested in what the plans were for Kamelon.

 

"Aye, I've got nothing else to do," Lee chimed in, pulling off a chunk from the loaf of bread on the table to eat.

[WonderBubbles]

The woman nodded slowly; she didn't need to announce she was coming along, as well. It seemed common sense to her, as Luna was her rider, and it wouldn't be good to be away from her in this dangerous place. In her current form, she was rather useless, but perhaps her magic could help? It was unpredictable, and Zella hated having to rely on it and use it, but she wasn't sure how to use this body to attack and defend. Her teeth were, for the most part, blunt, and her nails wouldn't tear open muscle or seriously injure anything.

Her red eyes scanned the faces carefully, after she noticed something was missing.

"Where's the princess?" she muttered to Veren. "Is she sleeping?"

[Kira1]

"I think so," Veren replied to Zella's question about the princess. "She'll wake when she's ready. There has been a lot going on for her after all."

 

((D: ND and Laura-chan need to post))

[Neutual Demon]

((I'm posting, I'm posting...))

 

 

Lorpez sat quietly through breakfast, his chin resting in a hand as he propped it up on the table with his elbow, his eyes gazing at a wall, except not at the wall, but rather deep in his thoughts. He blinked at the mention of the princess, and twitched slightly before gazing far off again, his lips pressing into a thin line. He looked tired, the shadows around his eyes dark and the eyes themselves half closed. His brows were knitted together, and the rather exhausted look in all over his face could tell even a blind person that he didn't sleep well that night. Lorpez just hoped that no one commented on it.