Graterras Chapter 3: Darkness Revealed [IC]

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Sigurd Only

"I know with utmost confidence they know absolutely nothing more than we already know. You think if they knew were the shards where, or if they had any leads, they wouldn't have told you? Wake up Burly Man, and use that noggin of yours for more than a hat rack. You aren't as stupid as you make yourself look, so I know deep down, you know what I am saying is true already. All the places this Shards Lie, are rumored to exist, but there is about 0 proof they do, no one has ever found them in the thousand years I have been alive, the only reason anyone believes they exist, is because of the Mouth of the Abyss, which wasn't hidden because the entrance to that place alone scares the pants off of ya. The only way we ever find out anything about these places is if we go there ourselves, local legends are more likely to hold answers then scientific fact. Funny, isn't it? You would think the Scholars would have all the pieces, but they don't. They would say be missing their King, and you can't play Chess without a king, otherwise the game has no purpose. Similarly, the other pieces also have no value when you don't have them all, so even if they did have some, they could have jut been discarded as fantasies. Anyway, I suggest you talk to you comrades once all of them are here, I have noticed one in particular is missing....that Ranger Girl, not the Silvered Haired one, pretty girl she is though, but no not her. I mean the Quiet One. I noticed her sneak out as Bartimus disappeared, since I am came back when I did, I think she knows something about a Shard. However these are just intuitive logical leaps, I have no idea if that is true, she could be seeing an old lover for all I know."

[Chim]

“I never said they would know anything about the shards. I meant they might know something or have a book here that mentions something about Lady Aelia’s birthplace, but now I know they don’t,” Sigurd responded. He turned his attention back to the rest of the room. “Oy, where is that quiet ranger? Helzebeth? This isn’t a time to disappear on us!”

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

"I'm here," she answered simply, leaning against the wall directly behind Sigurd, as though she never left. The ranger made no comment on the Wind Templar's wanting to search for Aelia's Shard at the moment.

[Flux]

Nero slipped in the doorway quietly as attention was turned to Helzebeth. He strode over to the far corner, taking his usual place in the shadows, leaning on the wall and folding his arms. Anyone who had not noticed his disappearance before would probably think that he had been there the whole time, and they simply hadn't noticed him. It wasn't like he usually contributed to their conversations anyway.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"So, what do you all want to do and do we have any leads more importantly?" said Jupiter, as she walked over next to Helzebeth. She was addressing the whole group though. "I imagine these things will be tough to find where they are even located, not to mention what guards them. So, we need a plan for sure.

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

"Lord Bartimus mentioned a certain red-faced demon..." Helzebeth began, then looked at Sigurd, scanning him for the Crimson Tome (or rather, the Crimson Knight in tome form). "And... We will be having a new companion joining us. He knows much about the Shards-- if the rumors about Scholar Knights are true, not just Shards but many things as well." The ranger meant Blue, although he wasn't there at the moment.

[Notus]

"Eh, a Scholar Knight? You mean the Ilithid?" Marcus was surprised, since he didn´t notice Helze slipping out of the room. "Well, guess all the help is welcome!" Aand then, the tip hit him. A red faced demon... Well, wasn´t that handy? In the end Sigurd was right about bringing ol´ sack of bones with them. It might not be a good idea to go mentioning him in front of the wizards though... "Either way, one thing we know for sure: The shard of the Mouth of Abyss is not the best place to start, so we should sail to one of the other islands... Which means, going to a port and getting ready for a long trip. We can figure out where we want to go in the way."

[Chim]

“Looks like I made the right decision after all,” Sigurd boasted. “Unlike certain people,” he glared at Nero and Xavier, “who were against it,” he finished with a big smile. He didn’t really want to mention Boney in front of all those wizards so he thought about his words carefully. “I say we head to Aurora! Let’s go for Lady Aelia’s shard first and where better to start looking than at her birthplace?” he said still grinning. “I’m sure my skinny friend would agree!”

[Chevaleresse]

Xavier scowled at Sigurd. "I wouldn't be bragging about that particular decision." He would upbraid the Wind Templar later. "Aurora doesn't sound like a bad idea, however. It's best to start as soon as possible, so we should determine the supplies we will need for the journey."

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

"My father," Helze blurted out abruptly. When she'd caught the attention of the group, she repeated, with a little more deadly calm, "My father. He knows where Tectanitus' Shard is, but it is back on the Shattered Hills. It is called the Titan's Skin." At the very least, she hoped that the others thought this Shard to first have a lead, so that they would agree to start there. Of course, she was expecting the gutsy and gusty Wind Templar to oppose her.

Edited October 9, 2014 by ZephyrEnyalios

[Flux]

Nero said nothing in return to Sigurd's comment, simply closing his eyes as he leaned on the wall. The others had spoken of a "Lord Bartimus." They couldn't mean the supposed "god" himself, could they? No, if a god such as Bartimus existed, why would he bother to meddle with their group? It must have simply been a mage using the name. Then again, there was the incident with the Gentleman. Nero still wasn't sure what exactly he believed had happened afterwards. Had they really met a god, or was the whole thing some sort of illusion? There was no use dwelling on the matter, and he wasn't about to ask the group what was going on and tell them that he'd left the meeting. No, he'd play along. Apparently, they were searching for some kind of shards, and Sigurd's Book had something to do with it.

Edited October 9, 2014 by Flux

[Notus]

"What the...? How's that Helze?" Marcus asked, surprised. Though, after all that had happened, he wasn't much sure if anything could really surprise him. "You say your father knows were it is? How do you know that?"

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

The human Fire Templar-- Marcus, right?-- called her "Helze". Guess it was an all-around nickname now, she decided. Looking up at the Templar with as-calm-as-she-could-be eyes, she answered: "The reason I left home in the first place was to search for my father. He... left home-- presumably to receive something, this assumption is my guess; it was my fifteenth birthday when he disappeared." At this point she had looked down, as she struggled to keep the pain in her eyes away. Helze shut her eyes as though she were having a headache. "As you all know, Scholar Knights have access to much troves of knowledge. The Illithid told me that he knew of my father... and that he accidentally stumbled upon the Titan's skin. With that I do not know if he still lives or if he is... is... Either way," she changed points abruptly, with a bit of a frustrated growl in her voice, "I might have an idea of where my father planned to go... Perhaps somewhere along the trail he encountered it, as well as the--" her breath hitched in her throat for a second-- "Guardian that keeps the Shard."

When she finished she blinked in silence, then looked at all the others around her, looking as though she'd not been troubled at all with what she relayed. "You now know my reason for attempting to persuade us to search the Shattered Hills first."

[Supernovae]

Oarloff nodded cheerfully at Helzebeth, "Well if you think you can see your papa again then we has to go there Miss Helzebeff!" The simple ogre may not have realized the gravity of what Helzebeth was saying, but he certainly understood that she missed her father. "Oh, me doesn't know what me would do if me hadn't seen papa for that long! We just has to find him, me knows we will Miss Helzebeff, he'll be nice and happy and waiting for us."

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

The ranger stared at the jolly ogre like he had two heads-- which was a funny thing to even be bewildered about Oarloff considering he already was an Ogre-- and controlled herself that she wouldn't grin so widely, but permitted herself a small smile for the childlike fellow's bighearted efforts to be positive. "I hope he is, too," she said softly, almost strange sounding coming from Helzebeth, who may have been second or third to Nero in terms of apparent or actual frostiness in the group.

[Notus]

Marcus scratched the back of his head, his smile fading immediately. "Oh wow. I´m very sorry Helzelbeth... But it´s as Oarloff said, if there´s a chance we might as well go there and try to find your father and the Shard." He looked to Sigurd after that. "Sorry mate, but I´m with her. What you guys think about it? Should we go for the Shattered Hills?"

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"If that is the case we definitely should, we have the best chance of lead in this, even if the circumstances are unfortunate" Jupiter said. "I say we need to help Helze if we can, but it is up to us all to decide."

"I say we go too, family is important." Odin said, now coming into the conversation. "Remember, I am doing all of this for mine, it would be wrong to turn a blind eye on this when there is even a chance we can help." That fresh Ember fire was back in those Orange eyes, he looked very serious. If anything could be said of the Dwarf, it was that he wasn't willing to leave people in their time of needs.

[Chim]

Sigurd raised an eyebrow. “Your father disappeared,” he said, “which means you have no idea where he is.” He walked over to Helzebeth. “Also, if you are looking for him, why didn’t you go to him immediately? After all, you have a hunch of where he might be. On the other hand you still don’t know if he’s alive, which won’t help us at all, and you even claim he might have encountered it…” he paused for a moment looking at the suspicious ranger. “Don’t get me wrong but these shards or supposed to be well hidden and protected by some powerful guardians, right? And here you are making it sound like he found it by accident and even may have it.” Now he looked directly in her eyes. “What are you hiding? How did you obtain this information and how the hell do you know what’s guarding it? Or is your daddy super powerful and is it him?”

Sigurd didn’t care if he turned everyone in the group against him or if he sounded rude, but he wasn’t willing to go search for any other shard without a damn good reason.

Edited October 10, 2014 by Chimchain

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"I gave her that information, and I hope you respect that she didn't know this until now." said a voice into all of their minds. Blue had arrived, apparently deciding against waiting for them. "The best shard to go after first is the Titan's Skin as it has the most information on it then any others. Also, don't be heartless, I thought you were a hero." he said, Blue most likely saying this to annoy Sigurd a bit and play towards his sense of being a true hero. "If really are a hero, if there is a chance to save this man's life now, shouldn't you take it? What could be more important to you then a life that you can save?"

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

"Because I know my father, sir," she nearly hissed, not flinching at the Wind Templar's demands-- she'd already expected it from the goddess Aelia's fanatic. For a split second her eyes flickered over to see the Illithid before returning quickly to the pair that stared at her inquisitively. "Every year he would bring me books for my birthday and I tailed him a few times when I was old enough, so I know that the route he would've taken wouldn't have had any peculiar artifact of any sort; therefore he may have taken a different way around the villages--" her lip curled in distaste at the last word-- "and I know that place very well; it is the only area my father has never taken me to see, out of fear of the local legends. I have been almost everywhere in the mountains and forests. There is a huge blank space in my map, surrounded by the rest of the Shattered Hills-- if that is not where the Drow Elves live, then it must be where the Shard lies." By this time she had spoken enough to let some steam loose, though inwardly she fumed, as she felt that the last bit that the Templar said was directed at her father.

Edited October 10, 2014 by ZephyrEnyalios

[Chim]

Sigurd eyed Blue. “Well well, if it isn’t the doorman,” he said sarcastically. “And what’s more important than saving a life, you ask? Let’s see…” Sigurd pretended to think. “Maybe saving everyone? How about that? You know, if one guy dies because he wasn’t strong enough there’s not much we can do anyway. Or are you saying we should prioritize the life of one man over others?

Without waiting for an answer he turned his attention to Helzebeth again. “He may have taken…” he repeated. “You don’t know anything about that place, do you? Even though you make it sound like you grew up close to that place.” He took a step back and eyed both Blue and Helzebeth. “Alright, I’m not unreasonable, unlike some others in this group, so tell me these local legends and everything else you know about this Titan’s Skin.”

Sigurd wouldn’t admit it, but deep down he sympathized with the ranger in front of him.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"You further damn yourself by trying to insult me. The order in which you get the shards doesn't matter. So you will still save everyone, but if you miss the opportunity to save this man now, it will never come back. Also, it should be noted, there is the most infomation on the Titan's Skin's location. Which is still vague at best, but it is something." Blue said. He pulled out an old looking sheet of paper it looked ancient. It read on it "In a bed of Green Knives lies a great Beast of Earth. It's tail holds the entrance to a secret made long ago. Shapes of Clay and Stone guard the tomb of an lesser beast that slumbers within, a terror that awakens only after the passing of a blood moon. It slumbers deeply atop the path to the Skin of a God."

"That is our clue, and where we should begin our search." Blue said tucking it back into his robe.

[Notus]

"Great Beast of Earth uh? Sounds like fun." Marcus said, trying to lighten the mood. "C´mon Sigurd, the Ilithid is right: we at least got a bit of info in this one, and it´ll be easier to get Aelia´s once we got another shard. And besides, look at this situation and ask your conscience." he stressed the last word, trying to get Sigurd to understand he was referring to the Crimson King.

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

Helzebeth needed not to say anymore; not that she wanted to be pitied or anything. She held her head low, hoping they would agree to going to the Shattered Hills- especially after Blue said that they had only one chance to save her father. As though tired she laid her head on her sister Jupiter's shoulder.

Edited October 11, 2014 by ZephyrEnyalios

[Flux]

Nero stepped out of the corner, slowly making his way to the others, his black coat sweeping behind him.

"...If we're to leave, then I suggest we do so. We're only wasting time arguing here." He spoke slowly, sounding bored. "We'll go for the Titan's Skin -- It's the only logical choice." He turned to Sigurd. "The longer you fuss about Aelia, the less chance we have of getting to Helzebeth's father in time, if he lives." He walked over to the wall and leaned against it once more, meeting Helzebeth's eyes briefly on his way.