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heartwoodventures · 4 years

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Four adventurers enter a stinky, vine infested dungeon at the behest of Ecir Coyacir. Treasure lies within, he claims! But would it be worth the reek? Immediately upon entrance, the party is taken aback by the foul stench emanating from gold puddles scattered across the floor. None are pleased, but it was too late to turn back...

".....This has bad idea written all ovah it," Nazyl says. "This smell...it couldn't be, right? Does goldbile grow in othah places...?"

Khora’s head sinks to the stench growing within his nostrils. A sigh carries his words forth, already sounding defeated, "What did I volunteer for...?"

“The quicker we do this, the quicker we can wash all the smell off....I hate this place already..." N’ana grumbles.

Amid ample complaints, the group pushes forward, traveling through abandoned halls where wild life has long taken over. With just a map to guide them, they carefully navigate the old thieves' hideout one corridor at a time. Not one second passes without someone reminding the others about their distaste for the place.

In between dispatching monsters, Aiswyda steps into the yellow liquid, and watches in horror and...curiosity as it fizzles at her heel. N’ana giggles, the smell temporarily forgotten. "Hehe, go on and jump in! Looks warm!"

Before they can find out, the group reaches a room where the doorway is covered in writhing vines, as if alive. A boom is heard and they hear a voice rasp against their ears.

"I have rivers without water, forests without trees, towns without houses."

Khora's eyes widen to the flow of air as it brushes against his ears. "Huh?" He grows a touch confused, ears flickering over his head as his stance loosens up. "What in the hells...?" Eyes wander in every which direction, words spoken beneath his breath over and over. His company of three are similarly bewildered.

"Ye, uh...got aneh ideas? Kinda drawin' blanks here" Nazyl Tharazyl says.

N'ana Firesong taps her chin. "I think I might know what it is... but I don't want to jump in front of you all..."

"Well, a guess is bettah than sittin' here in this stinkin' hole in silence. Throw somethin' out there," Nazyl notes.

Meanwhile, Khora went back and forth between the members of the group, repeating the whispered words over and over. Aiswyda stands there dumbfounded, a tall and clueless backdrop to his pacing. He begins to wander on his own, before his ears stand on end. "Oh! Oh!"

"Has the rock finally got an idea?" N’ana asks. Khora steps in place as a rush takes him over, like an excited puppy watching its owner return home. He begins to blurt out answers. "A painting! A map! A picture?"

“Go with the first one. No, the second!” Aiswyda makes a pained expression. “No wait, the first one. The first one!”

As Khora blurts out his answer, the corner of the map starts to fade...but once his second answer comes out, the vines of the entryway part to let the group through. Khora clenches his hand into a fist while a cocky grin spreads to his lips. "Hell yeah!" He raised his hand to the air in a triumphant manner.

"Well, whatevah ye said worked. Glad it don't punish multiple answers..." Nazyl notes. "I can't say I approve of whatevah's still lingerin' here. Twelve ferfend it's a bloodeh spirit. Simple thieves don't just animate vines n' speak in the wind..."

Khora continues down the path, weapon drawn at his side in case any more trouble tried to make itself known. "Well if all these creeps and blockades are in our way, then maybe that is good tidings. Means the treasure might still be intact."

As the party makes their way deeper, the foul aura grows stronger still. Gone is even the faintest breeze of fresh air. N'ana stares into the room ahead for a moment, and then looks to the group with flattened ears and a pale face. "I don't want the treasure anymore..."

Nazyl Tharazyl rallies the girl. "Pull it tagethah lass. Yer strongah than that. Just keep yer wits about ye."

"Well let's hurry to the next one...Just seeing these....things make me worried and the smell is making me sick," N’ana curtly replies. "I just want a bath after this...I would give up my treasure just for a nice lavender bath....or for this place to smell of lavender."

Khora's ears stand up straight as his lips curl to form a round o-shape. "OOohh...A bath does sound good right about now."

"If all monstahs n' treasure were found in fair-scented gardens n' houses, we'd all be 'venturers eh?" Nazyl jests.

They step it to the next room, and yet again, the voice from before booms around them.

"Iron roof, glass wall. Burns and Burns and never falls."

It echoes throughout the room and the walls around them shimmer. The coming of another riddle inspires great anger in the party.

"NOT ANOTHER RIDDLE!" N’ana yells.

Nazyl and Khora react more calmly, and take note of the strange behavior of the walls. Aiswyda, on the other hand, jumps at the sound of the voice, and throws a punch at the nearest teammate....Nazyl. The height discrepancy between the two means that the punch sails harmlessly over his head.

“Thal’s balls, so bloody loud! Would it hurt to not be so mysterious?” Aiswyda groans. Thankfully, Khora offers an answer quickly, though he didn’t sound so certain this time.

"A... Lantern?"

"Now open up and no more riddles!" N’ana demands immediately after.

"Yer quick on this one lad. Givin' me a diff'rent outlook of ye,” Nazyl states.

Khora blinks as his stance shifts awkwardly. "What was your outlook on me before?" Worry carried those words forth, Khora unsure if he even wanted to hear a response.

N'ana gives Khora's head a light tap with her fist. "Just take the complament you dummy!"

Nazyl Tharazyl continues. "Loud, brash, too quick ta irritate." He was blunt at least. "Traits I tend ta dislike. But yer sharp, I'll give ye that. I ain't no riddle solvah, n' Twelve know me talents don't lie in me smarts."

Khora's shoulders slouch as his head hangs forward, ears dropping over his head. "I'm not always like that...Just on jobs..."

"Ah, don't beat yerself up ovah it. Some jobs it's perfectleh fine ta be that way, just not when a more subtle touch is required." Nazyl snorts, walking towards the next room, "Looks like the gas is taperin' off."

Khora's demeanor is quick to shift when the path opens up. "Oh yeah!" Disappointment and self-deprecation quickly melt away with excitement as they had done it again. "Excellent!"

The party quickly enters the following passageway, which is absolutely riddled with morbols. The scent of it all is enough to bring even the proudest warrior to their knees. But through complaints and nausea, they carry on, and finally make it to the last room. A square pedestal with four holes on each side, adorned strange markings, stood at the center of the opening. The voice roars even louder around them.

"I cover cities and destroy mountains, I make men blind, yet help them see."

Nazyl reaches for his ears, the voice all but shaking his whole body, "Gods! Now what, a third one?"

Khora Velaceras freezes in place. His eyes went wide and a look of complete cluelessness washes over him. "Yeah... I have no idea on this one. The Sun? Though the sun does not really destroy mountains..."

“It would appear another measly riddle blocks our path,” Aiswyda says, as she looks to Khora expectantly, as if waiting for a magician to repeat yet another magic trick. This time, however, he would not supply the answer. Nazyl thought hard to himself, staring at the pedestal, gears going overtime in his head. "Covahs...citehs...Sand upon the wind erodes rock. Two whole nations rest beneath the Sagolii."

"OOooo! Makes sense!" Khora’s head raises slightly and a shine appears about his expression - as if a lightbulb ignited above his head. Aiswyda, on the other hand, is left in the dark. As Khora tries to explain it to her, the ruins start to glow around the pedestal. One of the openings starts to glow, as if it needed something to be placed within.

"I am something you feel, but cannot see. I can be held, and touch you, but you can not touch me."

"Oh hells it's not ovah!" Nazyl felt his victory rush taper quickly with the addition of a new question. "Bah. This one is a bit diff'rent."

Khora blurts out. "The air!"

However, the pedestal doesn’t react, and its hole continues to glow brightly. Aiswyda examines the pedestal and stares at the glowing opening. "What, do we blow in it?"

Khora Velaceras shakes his head. "I mean if you want to blow on it, then by all means go ahead. Won't catch me doing it."

Aiswyda shoots Khora a dirty look and blows into the hole. “Gods I feel stupid.”

The hole closes, accepting the offering. On the other side, another begins to glow, and the voice echoes through once again.

"Shines like the stars, filling the halls. For naught but rocks, a city falls."

"Color me s'prised...Who wants ta guess this one at bein' fire?" Nazyl offers.

N'ana reaches in her bag and takes a fire shard out. "I guess put this on it?" She places the shard onto the pedestal, letting the heat inside glow. "I hope this works." The moment it’s placed in the pedestal, it shoots out like a rocket, smacking her silly.

Khora shakes his head as he casually approaches the pedestal and walks beside N'ana. "Well... Allow me then." He reaches into his pouch and lets the jingle of coin rattle in the air. "Shine like the stars. Filling the halls. For naught but rock, a city falls." Khora pulls out three gil coins and sets them onto the pedestal. "Money."

The hole to the pedestal closes up and the third hole starts to glow.

"Don't see me move, but still alive. Feet firmly on the ground, but reach for the skies."

This one comes to N'ana quickly. "Trees?"

Khora winks at N'ana with a cocky smirk on his lips. "Why not go get a branch for us since you got the answer?"

N’ana steps over to one of the vines, and chops a bit off at the tip. She then places it on the stand, with some trepidation. "Trees or plants."

The hole closes up and the pedestal starts to hum as the last hole glowed. Would they get their prize after it?

"Still, a mirror the gods can use. Swift, a mountain one day moved. With none, you die, all alone. Too much, you die, in another's home."

Khora Velaceras nods approvingly toward N'ana. "Nice work! And by the sounds of it, I am going to assume the last is water."

N'ana pulls out a gourd from her bag. "Well I have some water... want me to try that then?"

The rest of the party takes a good step back. Nazyl mostly wishes he could -see- what the pedestal is doing. N’ana undoes the cap on her gourd, and pours clear water onto the stand. The final hole closes up and shakes as it falls into the ground, leaving behind a hole. A moment later it comes back up with a treasure chest, along with a longsword made of glass and silver, a staff topped with a caged flame, and a tri-bladed dagger adorned with three ominous crystals that glowed red.

The group had done it.

Three voices whisper around their heads. The word 'Worthy' repeats over and over, along with 'Show your worth'.

Nazyl Tharazyl narrows his eyes, keeping his sword gripped tight. "Wait."

Despite Nazyl’s reservations, N’ana reaches out and takes the blade in one hand. "This does look valuable..."

"H-hold on, I ain't sure-" Nazyl stammers. "Dammit, didn't ye listen ta the voice? Show yer worth...we proved our cunnin', now I'd say it seeks ta test our strength."

Meanwhile, Khora raises a hand to facepalm. "Have you not read the books or heard the stories? Y'never just take the treasure 'cause it is almost /always/ boobytrapped!"

"But... we cleared the trials.... and this is what we came for, isn't it?" N’ana says.

After a long, uneventful pause, Khora bows his head with a sigh. "I hope you are wrong Nazyl but..." The Seeker steps forward and takes the staff presented before them. "But I will admit that this is nearly not as much treasure as I thought we'd find."

“Well..." N’ana looks around. "Nothing is happening...let's take the treasure and leave! I want a bath!" She swings the sword over her shoulder and begins to walk out. With a shrug, Aiswyda picks up the treasure chest, and Nazyl takes the dagger.

“Phew, doesn’t seem booby trapped! Let’s get out of here,” Aiswyda says, the chest held securely in her arms. The thing is incredibly heavy - dropping it would send a smaller creature to the lifestream. However, in some ways, she had the lightest burden of them all.

Those who held a weapon eventually felt an immense heat. The words 'Show your worth' echoes around them with increasing fervor. Nazyl couldn't help but feel...wrong, once they made their way outside. The heat, the voices....the thing must be cursed. They all must be. His hand shifts while holding it, wanting to simply throw it onto the ground. The lalafell grips the knife in a vice, the voices drowning out all other sounds. Not again, don't fall for its words, he repeats to himself...and even then, his thoughts seemed distant and almost unintelligible.

"I really don't like this..." N’ana held the sword over her shoulder, tense. "I wonder if I can trade this for gil..."

"Gods someone silence the whispers...Anyone else hearing that?" Khora’s eyes remain drawn to the weapon, looking to the flame that flickered within the cage and letting it glint in those silver eyes of his. In a moment's irritation, Khora slams the butt end of it to the ground before channelling his aether's forth. He feeds his energy into the weapon, and wisps in the air form as black clouds dance before him. The clouds spark and erupt into a bright and mighty flame. "Shut up!" The Seeker sends a surge of flames forward, as if he himself exploded in anger. The flames swirl around the staff and get sucked into the cage on top.

Unable to hear the voice, Aiswyda is shocked by Khora’s outburst. “Gods, what’s going on? Get a hold of yourself!”

Khora grits his teeth as he darted a feral gaze toward Aiswyda. "You do not hear the bloody voices? The whispers?!"

“Nay, since the last riddle it’s been all quiet now. At least, the whispers have been quiet,” she answers, as she ushers the group out with an increased sense of urgency, until the four of them were no longer deep within the ruin’s bowels. Unfortunately for them, the troubles didn’t end there. As the group steps out, they notice an area over by the client with a HUGE burn mark in the ground, and a knocked out man off to the side.

"...Guess they've been buseh entahtainin' guests...." Nazyl manages.

An unfamiliar Miqo'te looks toward the arriving party, and then back to the Hyur. "We'll have some more fun in the future, love. Promise I'll work on the pre-game just for you." She holsters the gun and blows a kiss toward, making a break toward the unconscious man (Kevin) and throwing a smoke bomb down. The client, and the strangers, were gone by the time the cloud expanded.

They had missed quite a bit.

#balmung rp #Heartwood plots #ffxiv rp #nazyl tharazyl #khora velaceras #N'ana Firesong #Aiswyda Nuthalwyn #retrieving the relics

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gritcitywallflower · 5 years

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February 6th, 2019

I woke up angry. I woke up first in the middle night anxious, feeling that gripping anxiety after dreaming stressful dreams where I was smoking (of all things). I dreamed of being in strange woman’s one-room studio in what I think was a strange country where I lit up cigarette after cigarette, and where she came back with a man who tried to attack her and I didn’t realize or try to help until she’d already broken away from him. I dreamed of hiding, although I'm not sure now from what.

But I woke up angry. So angry at you over this. I’m angry because I think you’re lying to me out of some attempt to spare my feelings when it’s really not helping because it makes no sense. I’m angry because something suddenly changed and you aren’t saying what it was. I’m angry about the discrepancy of only a few weeks ago when you were here all weekend. And I'm so, so angry that you are taking everything I had to look forward to away from me. I want to tell you exactly what it is you’re doing to me and my life. I want to tell you that you’re taking away the only social life I had, the only times I spent with anyone besides my kids, the only person who has held me without wanting anything for almost 20 years, if I include abusers in that than we have to go back even farther. I want to tell you about the isolation you’re sending me back to, to point out that nobody calls me and I have never gone anywhere with anyone in the time you’ve known me. That the only “girls’ night” I've ever had was two weeks ago. You’re sending me back to being completely alone again, and for whatever the reason, legitimate or fabricated, I hate you for it right now. And, of course, I can’t tell you any of that. Because as much as I want to yell in your face all the damage you’re doing, I wouldn’t want you to feel you had to stay out of guilt or pity.

I recognize you are doing what is right for you, for whatever your real reason for quitting is, you’re doing what you feel you need to for you. That you can’t be responsible for me and my life or feelings. But it doesn’t make me any less angry or hate you any less right now. I think there’s a cliché about love and hate being very close emotions, the line between them or something. Thing about clichés, they wouldn’t have become them if they weren’t so true.

I look back at yesterday’s big dose of denial. And bargaining. Big ‘ol dose of it. Thinking about how it could actually still work. Thinking that maybe you’re actually thinking about trying to figure something out. All of that is such bullshit. Of course, you’re not. Of course, you’re not. Of course, you said whatever was necessary to leave here Saturday without too much boat rocking. Of course, you said whatever seemed reasonable just to leave unscathed and with me smiling. Was that what that last blast was? Placating me? Last night I went to bed thinking that if you decided to stay I'd tell you everything, show you all the scars and let you see the warts to see if you’d leave. I feel so foolish and stupid for even thinking that. Why would I think you were coming back? I’m sure the farther away this gets the more relief you’ll feel. I can clearly picture you shaking your head and thinking this is for the best.

Is it my age? Did you suddenly realize you were with someone you couldn’t possibly see a future with and if not, then, what’s the point? I know, I’ve been there. Woken up one morning and just thought, I can’t. I’ve never been on the receiving end, and while I can cerebrally understand, it doesn’t change how angry it makes me. You knew my age before we ever slept together.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/me-we/201406/the-7-stages-grieving-breakup

I told Q. He’s always very encouraging and supportive. I’m still angry though. I’m still left with “you don’t just give something up that’s meaningful to you”. I did something potentially self-destructive and downloaded all of our text messages. We really were funny. I was way more entertaining back then, and you were way more engaged. July through November, nearly 4 months. Almost half of our text messages were from before we even slept together, which I think shows the level of involvement we were already at with each other. I know you’re busy, but how do you just let that go? Because you’ve lost interest. I can’t help but wonder if I’d had a better January, if December hadn’t started a down-hill slide, if I'd been as engaging and entertaining as I’d been in the summer, maybe you wouldn’t have lost interest at this point. I just...I didn’t get it in during the window. If I’d just had another month before December. Maybe a few more weeks and you’d have been sold enough to want to stay even if it was harder.

Some acknowledgment that you read my email would be nice.

Guess what...I just registered for my first volunteer session with King County, and it’s even a “buyback” which is what they call their rehabs! I feel just a tiny bit better that I can do that. It's close by, in Federal Way, and is a rehab, which is what we worked on, and nobody knows me. Nobody will ask questions and there is absolutely no chance of running into you. I feel just a little lighter knowing I don’t have to lose my build time. I had thought I’d go out to the other site, but right now it’s still a little too close for comfort. Plus, there will be questions about why I’m not at your site. Also, I think there has to have been some whispers about the two of us at this point. I think I’ve shown up with you enough times that it had to have raised some eyebrows or at least some gossip. Probably showing up at 10pm at YWCA to help clean up had to have made J and A wonder why we were together that late at night and still in our work clothes. The Saturday I registered for is one that your sites aren’t even open, so that works out really well. I can’t see on your site's calendar past the end of February, but maybe by March I’ll feel well enough to go back to the other site. I’ll have to keep checking KC, but they don’t always have much on the calendar for construction on Saturdays, and I don’t want to drive to very far. When I looked at the calendar a week and a half ago, there was nothing close by, no buy-backs at all. Today there is only stuff posted for the next few Saturdays. I noticed on the local calendar that your site isn’t open this weekend, and isn’t available for sign up the last week of February. I wonder if you’re going somewhere. You never mentioned it, but then you wouldn’t have thought to unless I’d directly asked about something during that time frame.

What am I gonna do with these hockey tickets.

My first therapy session is this afternoon. And it can’t come soon enough. I’m basically useless with everything right now. I don’t think today will be some magic fix, but I haven’t had anyone to talk to about this really and I’m just starving for it. I wonder what you’d think if you knew that I got so desperate for someone to talk to and listen to me that I decided I’d pay a person to do it. Would you feel a little bit worse that you never knew how completely alone I felt while dating you? I think you might feel even more justified that you can’t be more of what I need. Thing is, I really shouldn’t *need* that. I mean, a support system is one thing, I think everyone could use one – not that I’ve really ever had much of one – I mean, I think you should be able to lean a bit on the person you’re dating and maybe that’s the problem with texting, it doesn’t convey the emotion you’re feeling and doesn’t allow the back and forth. Maybe we should’ve talked on the phone more. Sweetpea and her man did all the time when she was still here.

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