[Featured thread] Follow Your Nose (Roland)

Strange smells are abound in Alvadas, and sometimes curiosity can't be helped...

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Considered one of the most mysterious cities in Mizahar, Alvadas is called The City of Illusions. It is the home of Ionu and the notorious Inverted. This city sits on one of the main crossroads through The Region of Kalea.

Follow Your Nose (Roland)

Postby Asterope on November 18th, 2017, 11:21 pm

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Aster watched uncertainly as Roland patted down the body; his hands moved deftly, their movements sure, as if he had done it before.
"There's no better way... than to check his pockets. There!" He sat back, triumphantly pulling out a handkerchief from the man's pockets.

"Oh, I didn't even think of that." She picked the cloth up gingerly from the man's chest where Roland had set it down to get a closer look at it herself. She was too occupied with it to notice that the man had pilfered the corpse's change purse; if she heard the quiet clink of coins or noticed that he had his hands in his pockets, she thought nothing of it. Naive as she was, having spent at least some time with Roland she had no reason to suspect him of doing anything morally ambiguous without blatant proof.

The white cloth was stiff with dried spots of blood, the initials R.M embroidered in red thread in the corner. Aster moved to set the cloth back down, but decided against it instead; it may serve to help them find anyone who had known the man. Folding the handkerchief neatly, she carefully tucked it back into her pocket.


"Well, thank the gods for that. Who?" Aster opened her mouth, then paused, brow furrowing slightly. For the life of her, she could not remember the blonde girl's name. She was glad, though, that despite his clear reluctance, Roland seemed to be humouring her.

She shook her head.
"I don't remember her name. I'd know her if I saw her, though. It shouldn't be that hard to find her." She turned away from the body, letting out a long, low exhale. "First things, first, though. Let's find our way out of here."

She waited for Roland near the entrance to the clearing, casting one last glance back at the lonely form of the dead man before ducking under the archway and back onto the path they had come from; it had already rearranged itself, but they hadn't gone too deep into the maze, and she felt fairly confident they could find their way out without too much trouble.

The shadows had cleared from the path, though the sky still remained overcast and heavy with clouds. Aster led the way, her footsteps quick and sure, confident in that she had a purpose. They turned onto a path with the large, fluttering petals again, and this time she didn't flinch when they all suddenly shut and retracted into the bushes; it meant they were heading the right way.

She didn't say anything to Roland as they walked this time, too busy thinking of where she might find the girl she had in mind to help them.
What had her name been? She chewed on her lower lip as she tried to think of it. Madison, maybe? No, that's not right... she was fairly sure it did begin with an 'M', though.

The garden was almost unsettlingly easy to navigate on the way back. Aster recognized a cherry tree that had been not too far from the entrance to the maze, and glanced back at Roland.
"We're almost there," she finally spoke, breaking the heavy silence.

She wondered just what the city or perhaps even Ionu themself was up to that it was so easy to find the way out; and the smell that they had followed there in the first place, so strong despite being so far from where she originally had been. It was almost as if they had been led to the body. Shaking her head slightly to dispel the strange thoughts, Aster brought her attention back to focusing on finding the exit. She knew it couldn't be too far.

OOC :
I think this is about done if you want to wrap it up with your post! Then we can move on to phase two. ;)


Word Count: 620


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Follow Your Nose (Roland)

Postby Roland Eir on November 19th, 2017, 8:53 am

Glad to finally be leaving, Roland followed Aster out of the clearing. Goodbye, R.M. Gods willing I'll never see you again. There was something serene about the pallid corpse sitting next to the weeping fountain. Roland had heard of the peace of death before, but the corpses he'd seen previously were anything but. This gentleman however looked right at home in the mysterious garden. It was a better resting place than most men had any right to expect.

He made no response to Aster's inability to name her supposed resource. Frankly, anyone who could help in this kind of situation, but wasn't a guard, was someone he could do without meeting. The sickly sweet smell of the dead man dissipated as they walked into the maze, replaced by a variety of misplaced aromas. It seemed that Ionu had no reason to guide them back there now. Roland prayed he never smelled that scent again.

Asterope lead them confidently back through the maze. Roland looked at his companion with fresh eyes. She was an idealist it appeared. Roland used to think of himself as an idealist. When he'd left Sunberth he had high hopes of succeeding in life on his own merits, without hurting or taking from anyone. The gold of a dead man weighed heavy in his pocket, now, reminding him of all the other times he'd had to steal to survive. The world was harsh and unforgiving. That didn't mean his father was right. But it did mean, in Roland's mind, that people like Asterope could only last so long.

Alvadas was no Sunberth of course, but there was a very dead man in a mysterious hedge maze that told him it was dangerous in its own ways.

The two walked through the maze together, Aster leading the way, each lost in their own thoughts. Having toyed with them enough for one day, it seemed almost eager to spit them back out into the city proper. It wasn't long after Asterope pointed out the cherry tree that the entrance to the maze yawned open before them. Roland sighed in relief, his long legs rushing to get him out as quickly as possible.

"Thank the gods," he muttered ungratefully. The sky remained as overcast as it had been in the garden but the air felt clearer. Maybe Roland was just more at home in a city's atmosphere--even though the smells were strange the sounds and sights made a little more sense. It was afternoon in Alvadas, and Roland bid Aster goodbye. He offered his help, somewhat hesitantly, with whatever the next step of her plan was. But for the day at least he was done.

They went their separate ways into the city, neither one of them noticing the ghostly figure that followed them with her eyes and then disappeared back into the Garden of No Return.

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Follow Your Nose (Roland)

Postby Chameleon on December 30th, 2017, 11:28 am

Your Grades Are Here...


 
Asterope
Skills...
  • Observation: 5XP
  • Socialisation: 5XP
  • Investigation: 2XP
  • Leadership: 1XP
  • Land Navigation: 1XP
Lores...
  • Alvadas Illusion: Scents are all wrong
  • The Garden of No Return: A hedge maze
  • The Garden of No Return: The plants stay the same
  • The Garden of No Return: Hiding a corpse
  • Roland: Newer to Alvadas than Asterope
  • Alvadas: Full of extremes
  • Roland: An acrobat
  • Medicine: Checking for life
  • Roland: Wants to leave a dead body
  • R.M. : Dead rich man found in Alvdas
Other...
Blood stained handkerchief with the initials R.M.


 
Roland Eir
Skills...
  • Observation: 5XP
  • Socialisation: 5XP
  • Investigation: 1XP
  • Scavenging: 1XP
Lores...
  • Alvadas Illusion: Scents are all wrong
  • The Garden of No Return: A hedge maze
  • Asterope: A horned beauty
  • Asterope: Fairly new to Alvadas
  • The Garden of No Return: The plants stay the same
  • The Garden of No Return: Hiding a corpse
  • Scavenging: Searching a dead man's pockets
  • R.M. : Dead rich man found in Alvdas
Other...
+10GM from a looted purse


Comments...
You can't leave it like that! Who's R.M.? Is Madeira gonna be any help? Are they going to help the ghost, or is the ghost going to help them? I'm going to have to read the follow up thread (actually, I've already started), because I absolutely loved this! Especially Roland's discomfort that actually turned real, and the contrasting thoughts they had about what to do with the body. This was a really fun read, thanks for writing it :)

Don't forget to mark your request as graded. If you have any questions and concerns, don't be scared to send me a PM - there's always a chance I might have missed something!



Enjoy Your Grade!...
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