Open [Guest Moderated] A Mystery Behold [Irriari]

The Zith Irriari travels to a village in the Wildlands and becomes the center of attention.

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While Sylira is by far the most civilized region of Mizahar, countless surprises and encounters await the traveler in its rural wilderness. Called the Wildlands, Syliran's wilderness is comprised of gradual rolling hills in the south that become deep wilderness in the north. Ruins abound throughout the wildlands, and only the well-marked roads are safe.

[Guest Moderated] A Mystery Behold [Irriari]

Postby Ai Shou on June 1st, 2013, 11:19 am

(The following thread was approved by Balderdash for me, Ai Shou, to Guest-Moderate a pre-planned plot for my friend, Irriari. Others may join in, but the questline was meant for Irriari, so do not be surprised when you are not the center of the plot if you do choose to enter the scene. Both Nyka and Ravok characters would need to travel to the village, which is a ten day trip from Nyka and a seven day trip from Ravok.)

15 Summer, 513AV


A few miles south of Ravok and twice that many miles north-west of Nyka is where our story continues. The night had grown long after Irriari's long and enduring trek through the wildlands, thankfully uninterrupted by the wildlife that scourged the tall grasses of the plains and the deep treelines of the wild forests. Food had grown scarce as Irriari neared a small village that had nestled its community on the banks of a small river that was no larger than ten feet across and five feet deep, the small thatched roofs of ten buildings stretching out around the deepest segment of the stream.

The actual village was comprised of no more than fifteen buildings, one of which was a dingy, boarded-up tavern-slash-inn that held the most resemblance to an actual dwelling when compared to the rest. Fourteen thatched-roofed buildings littered the plains, ringed on three sides by forest to the north, west and south. Four of the buildings were further east from the rest, spread out among pastures and farmland that were only five acres in total. The other ten buildings lined the stream, four circling the tavern-slash-inn while the other six stood in a circle on the other side of the stream. A fountain sat in the center of the circled houses.

Thirteen houses were made of Thatched roofs and lumber walls. The tavern-slash-inn was built of solid Mason quartz-stone (a whitish stone that resembles quartz, but is cheaper and more resistant to weather) and mortar, with a clay shingled roof. The last house, the one that stood on the opposite side of the fountain from the bridge, was at least twice the size of the other dwellings and almost twice as tall, comprised of Mason stonework and a slate roof. The words Town Hall were painted over the double-door entryway in solid matte black paint.

There were only two pathways into the small town. One was a road that reached from the center of town, across the small river and then through the farmlands before making a bee-line south-east for Nyka. The second was a slightly worn trail that led out of the town square from between the town hall and another building before winding into the trees to the north, heading for Ravok. The Ravok Path was less used than the Nyka Trail.

The townspeople themselves were gathered in the small assortment of buildings, going about their days and gossiping to one another. The men were dressed in work clothes worthy of farmhands and lumberjacks while the women were clothed in simple white linen dresses and the occasional bonnet. A few smaller children played in the dirt streets playing games such as Dodge Rock and tag-you're-it. The laughter from the children could be heard from the forest edge, but any newcomers eyes would be drawn towards the group of men in front of the town hall.

Six or seven farmer-looking men and teenage boys stood in a group as they talked to a plump, fair skinned man who could only be the mayor of the little shanty town. The farmers appeared to be aggravated about something, their voices lost in the wind as they flailed their arms in suggestive ways as they spoke, their body language alone giving off the feel of anger they were expressing. The Mayor appeared to be taking the news calmly, despite the yelling that he was receiving. Only when the angry farmers turned to leave did the Mayor turn to look up the path that lead to Ravok, spotting Irriari almost immediately.

(Que Irriari's Intro!)
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[Guest Moderated] A Mystery Behold [Irriari]

Postby Irriari on June 4th, 2013, 12:29 am

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Irriari smiled as a cool breeze moved across her face and wings. While she still wasn’t completely recovered from her fight with the human in the Wild Lands, she had tired of the boarding house after three days of tedious recovery and healing. Alena had mentioned that giant beetles often collected near the crops of farmers in the Wild Lands south of Ravok. Many farmers had begun to take preventative steps to save their crops, but the beetles still remained close to the humid farmlands.

While the journey had taken six days of hard flight, it would all be worth it if she could harvest a few jarfuls of the giant beetles. Alena had shown her a small vial of the thick red Pillowsap poison that she would be able to create if she managed to harvest and curdle the beetles.

Alena’s directions had been far from clear, and Irriari had to rely on the direction of the sun to guide her path. So far, she hadn’t flew over anything that remotely resembled a human village. The zith looked toward the setting sun in the west, and wondered if she had somehow gotten off course. Perhaps she was going south east. A jolt of fear ran through Irriari as she realized that she may have even gotten turned around completely. Snarling, the zith ran the last five sunrises through her head again. Each morning, she had hung her pack from a tree and stuck a branch into the ground facing the direction she would need to travel when she woke. No matter how much she tossed and turned in her sleep, the twig was always there to guide her.

‘It’s too late to worry about that now. If you got turned around, you’ll hit Ravok in a few days. Maybe next time you’ll pay more attention the directions Alena gave you.’

She flew for two more bells, and just as her thoughts were turning sour once more, Irriari spotted a collection of buildings that were built along the bank of a river. Humans. Finally. She coasted downward while peering at the buildings that housed the villagers. It wasn’t the poorest of villages she had seen, but it was small and had few fortifications to protect the humans against the aggressive alpha predators. As her clawed feet hit the earth, Irriari adjusted her pack and moved her shortbow to rest in the crook of her arm.

If luck was with her, she could ask the villagers if there were any giant beetles plaguing their farms and harvest them without incident. However, few villages were friendly to her kind, and she knew that her inquiry could spark a fight.

Irriari approached the gathering of villagers and waved hesitantly before speaking.

“I’m here to harvest giant beetles for my research. Are there any around here?”


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[Guest Moderated] A Mystery Behold [Irriari]

Postby Ai Shou on June 4th, 2013, 9:40 pm

The villagers didn't notice the landing of the strange bat wings, but the mayor certainly did and the color drained from his face. The villagers turned when she asked the question and looked at the woman-thing. She had thin hair all over and bat wings... not something you see every day. Dispite the fact that the villagers were ignorant to what she was, they knew right away that she wasn't supposed to be there.

"That's the beast!" One of the older men said, pointing at Irriari and scowling.

"Really? But... it's a girl. Girls cannot fight, let alone slaughter a dozen farm animals." Another interjected, turning to the man.

"What? That's not a girl! That -thing- is a demon! She's the one who's been killing out cattle and maiming our horses!" Immediately following that, a pair of daggers were drawn by the two older men.

"Let's kill it before it kills more of our cattle!"

"WAIT!" Came a booming voice from the bridge. A man clad in heavy armor and wearing a bastard sword on his back approached the group, pushing his way towards the front before addressing the newcomer. "You. What do they call you? You should know it is folly for Zith to approach towns." He glanced back at the other farmers, who appeared eager to tear the woman appart. "I would normally allow the townsfolk to attack any Zith that comes near, but you seem... odd. Why are you here? And how did a Zith become so civilized all of a sudden?" The man was obviously suspicious of Irriari, his hand twitching towards his bastard sword as if he was prepared for a fight.
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[Guest Moderated] A Mystery Behold [Irriari]

Postby Irriari on June 6th, 2013, 5:47 am

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As Irriari began to speak, the villagers erupted into rage. An older villager accused her of being a beast, while another called her a demon. A lone voiced dissented, bringing up her gender as a means of defense. Unaffected, the two older villagers drew daggers and began approaching. Needing no more warning, Irriari pushed off from the ground and flew twenty feet in the air, away from the range of most lightweight throwing daggers. Even if the men managed to throw the blade the distance required, she hoped that the setting sun at her back would hinder their vision.
As she debated whether or not she should bother explaining herself to the ignorant humans, another loud voice joined the din. A man in heavy plate armor approached from the bridge and addressed her. He was curious as to why she was near the town.

Irriari took a moment to consider her options. It would be difficult to convince them that she was a harmless researcher that had earned a position of prestige at the Institute. If she mentioned poison, she knew the villagers would be even more uneasy. Settling for the middle ground, she spoke to the armored man, and projected her voice so that the villagers could hear her as well.

“I am not ‘civilized’. I simply put up with humans when they are helpful to me. I am an apprentice to the Ebonstryfe, and I am researching the giant beetles that often attack crops. My area of specialty is poison, and I hope to use the beetles to protect the city of Ravok.”

Irriari hoped that her position in the Ebonstryfe would make them think twice about killing her, even though she was merely an apprentice. If that failed, then she would have nothing to go on other than the reputation of the city to the north.


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[Guest Moderated] A Mystery Behold [Irriari]

Postby Ai Shou on June 6th, 2013, 8:12 am

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The flight alone caused the collection of villagers to gasp in freight. Only the heavily armored man stood his ground, raising his hand to cup over his brow so he could see Irriari better.

"You are not civilized, nor are you bright in coming here and speaking of the Ebonstryfe. They are respected only upon the bounds of the cities. Out here, they mean nothing to us."The man frowned as one of the men behind him muttered to another, suspicion on how she spoke so freely of poison and the beetles.

"A valid point. You speak too freely about dangerous things such as these beetles and poison. Why? Why do you think beetles can protect when they are capable only of devouring? Why do you come here of all places to search for them? How can we know that you are not lying? Not using the beetles as a cover-story for your slaughtering of the villager's cattle?"
The man stated with an ample motion towards the fields. Up in the air, Irriari would be able to catch the scent of half-eaten and rotting calves and heifers. She would be able to see the rotting carcasses that were piled up on the numerous farms. The man awaited her reply, but the others behind him seemed eager to do to Irriari what had been done to their livestock; which was the disembowelment and scattering of their innards across the fields. She would need to rectify the ditch she was digging before things became even more hostile.
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[Guest Moderated] A Mystery Behold [Irriari]

Postby Irriari on June 16th, 2013, 12:37 pm

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The armored man was bold, but she knew that her armor piercing arrow heads could quickly cut through the plates that protected him. This was assuming she could actually land an arrow. The majority of her practice had been from ground level, in the caves. There were far too many variables to consider in the air, and the flapping of her wings tended to ruin her aim. The zith took comfort in the fact that she had a large number of arrows in her quiver. Even if she missed seven times, she wouldn’t be without arrows to keep the pesky villagers at bay. If that failed, she could easily fly away to the next village.

She laughed at his words, ignoring the obvious challenge concerning the Ebonstryfe. She had nothing to prove to him, or any of the petching humans that crawled around the ground alongside him. The human continued again, seeking to goad her into a reaction. His words emboldened the villagers, who were grouping even closer together, talking more freely than they had moments before.

“Should I not, human? Should I censor myself and sit down and have tea with one of your hideous sets of villagers and talk of more mundane things? I was told that villages to the south of Ravok were known for these beetles.”

She glared downward at the small group of villagers below her and resumed speaking,

“If I would have killed your precious animals, I would not hide it. What do I have to fear from you? You are nothing.”

Irriari pivoted in the air and let her eyes drift to the lines of crops that covered a few small fields to the edge of the village. The crops were well tended to, and the rows were straight, but the creatures that had grazed in the grasses around the vegetables had been savaged. Torsos had been ripped from the hindquarters of the cows. Even worse, the legs of the creatures had been snapped at odd angles that jutted back towards their bodies. If the villagers were stupid enough to think that she could rip a large animal in two, then they deserved to have their whole village razed by whatever beast was plaguing them.


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[Guest Moderated] A Mystery Behold [Irriari]

Postby Nemesis on March 31st, 2015, 2:56 am

.

Thread Grade Pending


Greetings! This is just a notification that I cannot grade this thread until you update your ledger to reflect active play in Winter 514AV (+10% for the Fish). Once you have done this, please resubmit your request to the grade request thread.

Thank ye,

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