The Dreams of the Ancient Ones - RPLOG
Participants
Date
22/6/478
Log
The beings who accepted the job are assembled and allowed to enter the airship. The trip to Cliffside is rather uneventful, and after reaching the outskirts of the city, the airship lands in the outer city, unloading the beings and the cargo. While trade is being done between the merchants around, the group of mercenaries is waved over by a young sparrow being, perhaps a familiar being to those who worked under Ridgewell before. It is the early afternoon with a cool breeze arriving from the west and traveling to the east where the inner city is located with its towering spires and high walls, all in all a rather nice weather for some adventuring.
Zuri spends the entire trip looking tremendously excited. The small salamander has only visited Cliffside a few times before, but every time it has been part of a thrilling adventure. He's out of the airship as soon as he can, and is momentarily distracted by the sights and sounds of the city before his mind returns to the here and now. He notices the sparrow being and plods over to greet him with a cheerful wave.
Cara steps off the ship in her usual attire, staff in hand. As she goes down from the runway, she yawns and stretches her legs. "I'm glad that we made it here though." At that point, she turns her head directly over to the ship, "Come on out, Kazel. I'll be waiting for you at the sparrow." Then, the feline proceeds to nonchalantly walk over to the aforementioned avian.
Cassidy adjusts her tie as she steps off the airship, making her way towards the sparrow, as well. "I'm hoping we get to make a trip back into those ruins. I've been wanting to show you this, Natska," she says to her companion, smiling.
Natska makes her way down from the airship, making sure her gauntlets are on securely and that her sword is ready at her side. She keeps pace with Cassidy, the jaguar on alert and scanning the crowd as they move towards their contact.
Fenris disembarks with the others, taking a deep breath of the cool, Cliffside air. He has donned a loose, sleeveless, open robe for the trip, mainly for the pockets. He smiles out over the city. "It does not look quite so cutthroat from here," he observes with fondness in his voice.
Kazel makes her way off the airship and follows close behind Cara, eventually catching up and walking next to her. The bat has had a slight smile on her face the whole way and took a deep breath of the air once they landed. "It is good to be visiting home."
Looks around as the group starts assembling around him, "Well, well, looks like that Sweetwater only has six different Freeswords, eh?" he idly quips, "Or is it that the Ladies Solacious and the salamander just find the weather here better?" He mentions again with a snicker to himself, "Anyway, for those who don't know me here, Mervyn Pinfield, at your service." he says with an exaggerated bow.
"I am afraid that you won't be visiting ruins today, Lady Solacious. Unless you are willing to trek by yourself to Braevales and then searching around in the mountains." the sparrow begins on a slow gait towards the main street as he continues talking, "And Thera'Dorans look smart when they keep their mouths closed, appearances deceive. But Cliffside is definitely not as bad as you Sweetwater make it sound like." Mervyn then stops and points at the open gate leading to the inner city, "Anyway, Mister Ridgewell is waiting for us inside the inner city, stay close to me, I am definitely not going after you if you are lost in the traffic. During the afternoon some of the streets can get really crowded." And true to his word, beings trod along the roads and pathways littering the outer city, one can only wonder how much busier will it be inside the city proper. "Any questions before we go in? I prefer talking here, less ears spying than inside."
Zuri grins at the sparrow. "I'd never pass up an opportunity to visit Cliffside." He peers around at the rest of the group , then nods at the avian being again. "No questions here, ready to go in sir!"
Cara rolls her eyes for a moment, "I'm from Shralesta and the personal strife between Sweetwater and Cliffside aren't really much of a problem to me." At that point, she shifts a glance over to Kazel and speaks to both her and Pinfield, "Although, I do enjoy the buildings here, we better get going. I have no questions."
"Pity," Cassidy says, following along. "No questions, though. Seeing as I expected there to be ruins, my original ideas are dismissed. So I'll be seeing the nature of the assignment within, I suppose. No problems with that, though."
Natska raises her eyebrows. "Huh. They have heard of me. This must not be so backwater after all..." she murmurs. She gives Cass a small wink, then looks back to their path, careful to not lose their guide.
Fenris keeps his thoughts to himself, though he smiles and gives a little bow to Mervyn. The big cat follows along easily, as though familiar with the streets and people.
Kazel shakes her head at the avian. "I am good to go as well." The graceful bat makes her way through the crowded streets of her home while staying near Cara. Ever so often she has to smile at random things and memories as she passes through the streets.
Nods his head, "Well then, good no questions." he says before looking at Cara and shrugging, giving Natska a smirk, "What can I say? I do enjoy learning more about barbaric peoples and their cultures, as simple as it maybe." the sparrow quips back as he continues walking through the street.The group finally enter the city proper from the open gate, with a curt nod from the guards standing there. The inner city sure takes on another appearance with spies rising up high if any being bothers looking upward and extremely busy streets that would make this a pickpocket's dream location.
It takes the group a good portion of an hour as they zigzag across the different streets, moving from squares to side alleyways and back again to main roads before they finally reach their destination, a relatively small square populated with a number of buildings and an exquisite marble water fountain in the middle. It is obvious from the impressive buildings here that this is one of the richer parts of the city, and from the shop signs and relatively low number of beings around, a square mainly dealing with esoteric and scholarly pursuits. "Here we are." he says as he moves closer to one of the buildings, opening the door and motioning from the group inside with a curt bow, "Mister Ridgewell will be waiting for you inside.
Any who enter the building will be met by a rather humbly decorated foyer, a number of book shelves strewn around the wall with benches and chairs for any guests. With a couple of windows at the entrance's door shining in the daylight into the room.
Zuri rather openly gawps as the group navigates through the city, having all the look of a wide-eyed tourist to him. He smiles up at the sparrow being and nods. "Thank you sir!" He quickly darts inside, looking for the friendly jasmine being and walking over to him, tail snaking excitedly behind him. "Mister Ridgewell, we're here!"
Cara walks through the elaborately decorated room, "Wow, Mister Ridgewell really did his best on making this place look nice." As she heads over to the one of the chairs, she stops for a moment and smiles to Kazel, "Have you been here before?"
Cassidy rubs her chin as she glances around the foyer, ears flicking. "It's been quite some time since I've been in the city proper," she says, glancing towards Natska. "Last time I was here was when I bought that necklace for you. Oh, and thank you," she says to the sparrow, tipping her hat before moving to enter the building.
Still smiling at her newly discovered fame, Natska enters the foyer with the others. Her ears perk as she listens to the other Freeswords, and she idly examines the room from her spot near her fennec. "Yes, it has been a while! It's always nice to visit though."
Fenris smiles, looking over the square. "Well," he says, "This brings back memories. Looks like Bandurberg's shop is even here still! I guess it would make sense for Ridgewell to set up in Cliff Flower." He follows the others gamely into the indicated building.
Kazel slips past the sparrow and through the door. Cara's question is met by the bat shaking her head. "Not in this part of the city. Interesting place though." She quickly and quietly goes to inspect the goods on display.
Mervyn waits until all are inside, giving a raised eyebrow at Fenris, "Indeed..." he says before shrugging, "Anyway, dont touch anything you lot, Mister Ridgewell will be meeting you shortly. Now excuse me, I have other things to attend." And with that, the sparrow closes the door and disappears into the city once more.
The beings don't have to wait long as half a minute after, one of the side doors and opens and from it arrives the slightly chubby jasmine, "Ah, greetings there, good friends." the jolly jasmine says to the group. "Please, do take a seat, there are plenty around." With a wide grin, Ridgewell seats on a rather comfy looking chair at the other end of the foyer, obviously designed for him when he is meeting people in here, "I do hope you had a safe journey, my friend here was waiting until I got her some 'champions'." he says with chuckle before looking back at the group, "Do you have any queries before I start explaining your job?" he asks as he gives Cassidy a glance and Zuri a longer look, "Good to see you two again, I hope you had fun spelunking last time!"
Zuri's smile brightens more as he finally spots Ridgewell. The small salamander hops over to him, standing a few feet in front of the chair he's reclining on and looking up at him. "Yea, last time was great fun! Are we going to do more of the same? We barely got to see it last time, but everything we saw in there was spectacular!"
Cara glances towards Kazel for a moment and then promptly shifts her attention over to Ridgewell as she slouches, "Mr. Ridgewell. What are we supposed to do exactly? Are we supposed to do some exploring or will we go treasure hunting in dangerous location?"
"It was a pleasure. I was a little disappointed to learn we wouldn't be doing so again, this time! But it happens. I am happy to help with whatever it is you need, regardless." Cassidy settles into a seat and folds her legs, smiling. "So, please. Do tell! What does this job entail?"
Natska makes a small motion with her hand, then nods in agreement with Cassidy. "My only question is what sort of task needs to be done that has you sending as far as Firmament for assistance," she says, smiling.
Fenris takes a seat in a comfortable looking seat and looks around for the Jasmine's 'Friend,' seeing as he came in alone. "Who did you say was looking for some champions?" he asks, surprised that no one else has asked yet. The tiger has met Ridgewell before, though he was a kangaroo and a woman at the time. . .
Kazel stops looking at the goods displayed in the odd shop and takes a seat near to the others, crossing her legs as she sits down. The bat decides to remain silent for the time being and just listen.
Shakes his head at the salamander, "Sadly, no delving through ruins today!" he answers Zuri before looking back at the group, the aging being says with a solemn expression before grinning again, "But there will be adventure." he says once more in that jovial voice of his, "As for what you have to do? Simple! Just go to sleep." he says with a grin, "Why did I ask for Freeswords from Firmament? Because I can, who is my friends? Daylight is my friend!" he says with a hearty chuckle.
"So, those are your 'champions'?" comes the ethereal voice from all around the room as the light from the windows grows a bit more intense, "I choose not to humor your choice with a question, Ridgewell." the room emits again before Ridgewell stands up, "Well, I guess some of you might guess that this is a spirit we are talking to here. Apparently recent events on Promise have gained the attention of many spirits, and the recent discovery of a full ancient city did not go unnoticed either." Ridgewell says with a grin as he opens a door leading to another room, "Please do go in, and ask any questions you want, I bet the spirit would be more than happy to answer."
Zuri blinks, peering around to try and find a source to the ethereal voice. He looks back at Ridgewell, eyes wide. "A spirit? Another one!" He giggles. "Wow, that's exciting!" He plods over to the adjacent room as bidden, and walks about inside looking around the room as he considers his question. He bites his lip.. what question to ask... He looks up at the ceiling and smiles. "Hi Mister Spirit! I'm Zuri! What's your name?"
Cara listens to the ethereal voice and sighs, "Well, I'm not sure who we're talking with." The fit feline proceeds to make her way over to the room on the left, her tail slowly swishing through the air as she walks. As soon as she is in the room, she asks, "Um, whoever just talked right now, I have a few questions to ask. The first one is what happened to the past inhabitants of the ancient city?"
Cassidy perks her ears at the other voice, lifting a brow. "Well. Adventure is good, all the same. Sleeping, though? Hrm." She pushes herself up all the same, offering a hand to Natska before starting for the door. "I suppose it is safe."
"What city?" Natska asks quietly, taking Cassidy's hand and following her into the other room. She perks her ears at Zuri's question, then looks around, waiting for the answer.
Fenris rises from his seat with a grunt of effort. "I look forward to meeting, Daylight, then," the big tiger says, reaching up and casually fiddling with his ornate soul pendant for a moment before following the others into the next room. He folds his burly arms in front of him, waiting for further instruction, looking askance at Cara's stark boldness.
Kazel gets up slowly. "I have not heard of this city either." She shrugs slightly before making her way to the door, through which she quickly slips, following behind the others who already entered the next room.
The group enters a darkened room, lit only by dim candles, "I meant questions regarding your assignment." the jovial jasmine said with a laugh as he gestured towards the center of the room where apparently a number of pillows had been set up in random positions, with the smell of burning incense even out powering the fragrant scent of the jasmine fellow, "What's with all the occult stuff? Ask the spirit, it wanted it, but please do take a seat on them."
In the darkest corner of the room one could all of a sudden notice a shadowy presence, bright crimson eyes the only thing apparent, surrounded by the silhouette of what appears to be a horse straight out of someone's night mare, "I am Zimla, the spirit of what lies beyond the your consciousness." comes the chilling voice, so much in contrast to the previous calm voice, "And you, dreamers, shall prove something for me today."
Ridgewell nods his head and grins once more to the group, "I shall explain everything once you are done. The door is still open for you who want are having second thoughts." the jasmine says with a grin.
Zuri blinks, taking a step back from the appearing spirit defensively as he takes on the frighening sight. "Uuh.. hi, Mister Zimla Sir.." He looks around at the others, gauging their reactions before turning back to the spirit. "N-no second thoughts here. None!" He slinks over to one of the pillows, sitting down as he asks. "S-so um.. what will we be doing exactly? Just sleeping? That's.. that's not so hard." He smiles nervously.
Cara smiles for a moment, "Sweet, this should prove to be fun." The feline quickly whips around and faces Kazel, "Well, I'm pretty sure that we will be able to handle this test. Unless it involves trivia, then I might have trouble." At that point, she faces the spirit with a steely eyed gazed and speaks, "What would you like us to do, Lady Zimla?"
"It's an old ruin of those that came before us, I think," Cassidy says to Natska. "And not just a small ruin, but a whole city of theirs. I haven't gotten to poke around much of it yet, but it's very interesting." She looks towards Zimla and nods. "Yes. I'd like to know what we're doing before I do it."
Natska gives the spirit a small, wary nod as she takes in her appearance. "Mmmhm. What are we here to prove?" she asks, curious.
Fenris bows low to the presence in the corner. "A pleasure as always, Lady of Dreams," he says before straightening and finding a seat. The big tiger sits on a pillow in an attitude of meditation, closing his eyes and resting the backs of his hands on his knees. He starts to breathe slowly and regularly, preparing himself for what the Spirit would teach, leaving the worrying to others.
Kazel smiles brightly. "Lady Zimla, how nice to meet you once more. What will we be doing or dreaming today?" She offers a smile to Cara before settling down on one of the pillows in a cross legged position.
As the beings ask their questions, the mare keeps her hellish gaze on them before suddenly disappearing in front of their eyes as quickly as she appeared. A second later and fair lights begin appearing around the room, hovering in a random manner as the sound of childish giglging could be heard from the room, "Oh, are the big, tough, beings so scared from visiting my realm?" the childish voice comes in a taunting manner, "The rules are simple, you follow your friend and visit my realm. The rest? I have no idea!" he says with a another giggle than soon turn into a thunderous guffaw before the fairy lights disappear, leaving the room empty but for the beings. "
"Well there you go, that spirit is almost as moody as my father!" the jolly jasmine says with a laugh of his own, "Your choice, gentlemen. You either walk out and get no pay or do this 'test' and then rewarded."
Zuri blinks, looking up at where the spirit was just a moment before. "I'm not afraid! It's just new and strange is all!" He peers around at the others, and notes some seem to be comfortable about the whole thing. He sighs and tries to not get distracted by the faerie fire as he relaxed and slowed his breathing, pouting lightly.
Cara shrugs her shoulders and puts her staff away. "Okay, that sounds easy enough." The feline keeps her focus on the small light and slowly takes nice long deep breathes, her chest heaving up and down with the expansion of her diaphragm, "Well, let's begin then."
Cassidy furrows her brow at that, folding her arms. "She was a lot more respectful, last time," she says, before shaking her head. "Well then, Natska. What shall we do? I figure we might as well, unless you have a strong aversion to it," she says, settling down by one of the pillows.
Natska lets out a small grunt, then gives Cass a small shrug. The jaguar takes off her gauntlets and does her best to find a comfortable spot next to Cass, moving her sword to rest across her lap as she closes her eyes.
Fenris is already deep in trance-like meditation, a small smile on his lips.
Kazel fixes her eyes on one of the lights and controls her breathing. The bat slowly drifts away into the realms of dreams, still wearing her full gear.
And with that, darkness beset the being's mind as they drift into the realm of dreams...
Zuri all of a sudden finds himself sitting with a number of other beings, most of them plants and flowers. It is really hard to believe but there he lies, in that humble wooden coffin in front of him, Rokarion. Cassidy as well finds herself in a funeral, Solacious family members all standing in solemn silence as the priest delivers his sermon, it is incredibly hard to imagine her wife passing away so suddenly, she was all healthy and energetic not two days ago! A sudden foreign thought strikes both of them at the same time, there is a way...yes there is, to bring him/her back in a better state, and then he/she can live forever with his/her lover! Just come after midnight, dig the coffin out and place that femur inside!
Cara and Natska are walking down a road back into Firmament, or is it? It is really hard to tell with all the majesty and splendor of the walls and the buildings all around them. But there is no time to waste, they have a crucial shipment to deliver and they must do it as soon as possible. When they enter the city proper they will be greeted by the sights of hedonism and revelry all around them, singing, drinking, and the smell of food! Every being dances and enjoys himself, "Come, leave that cart, come and join us!" a being tells the two ladies as the smell of food and exotic perfumes assail their noses.
Fenris is almost out of energy! He had that question for ages, and he still couldn't find an answer for it! He searched in all the libraries of Shralesta and Cliffside, sought the wisest hermits, but still the answer eluded him. But not for long, he can see it from here, oh that humble abode on top of the hill, he knows that the sage inside there can help him! And look, a tigress dressed in a white robe is standing at the door of the abode, waving with a smile. The answer to his questions will soon be given!
They laughed at her, mocked her, called her weak, and trampled her dreams to the dust. There was Kazel, standing outside the Academy of Cliffside as the door keeper laughed at the notion of even allowing her to enter. As that happened, a voice sweet as honey whispered into her ear, "Do not listen to those fools, you are strong, you are wise, and you should be the one deciding their fates, not they yours." Kazel could all of a sudden spot a small little notebook lying abandoned on a crate near what appears to be the service entrance of the academy, "Take it. Right down your thoughts, plan ahead, seek to overpower those fools, and control them as you should!"
Zuri blinks, looking around briefly as he takes in his surroundings and realizes what's going on. His eyes come to rest on the coffin, inside which rests Rokarion in final repose. He steps towards it, knees faltering under him as his hands grip weakly onto the slab that the plant being's coffin has been laid upon. The tears take a moment to well up, but in short order he's bawling his eyes out. Amidst his tears and desperation that strange thought strikes him. He looks at the jasmine, resting there so peacefully. He wipes away at his flowing tears. Rokarion would never approve of it. The small salamander wouldn't hear the end of it if he... he shakes his head to try and clear the nasty thought away.
Cara takes a whiff of the food and stares at all the food and the various people dancing. At this point, she sighs, "Okay, there has to be something in that food." She almost reaches out to leave, but something seems strange about all of this. The feline stomps her foot and stays with the cart. She frowns as she stares at them all in their joy. Maybe she should....no, no, this delivery has to be made. Then she can eat.
Cassidy stares for a moment, glancing around. She couldn't recall and... Past events, but somehow she knew what this was. And who it was for. It didn't feel right. For a number of reasons. But it also didn't feel -right-. Something was off, but she couldn't place it, and here she was staring at the 'reality' of the situation. She wasn't even sure how to react, or what to feel. Instead of great emotion, there was a distinct... Lack of it, at least outwardly, the shock of the situation rendering her catatonic. She didn't know if she could stomach digging her up long enough to try to bring her back. Or if it would work. She may try later, but for now she was lost to the world in her stupor.
"Work first," Natska comments quietly to Cara, "Then play." Even as she says it she raises her muzzle and sniffs at the delicious scents on the air, but she doesn't stray from the cart. "Have to be reliable to keep getting work." She sighs, but she stays true to her word.
Fenris takes a few deep breaths, shoving down his weariness. Just a little further and he would know the answer! The big tiger hikes doggedly up the hill, warmed by the smile of the woman in the doorway. "I thought I would never make it," he says, half to her and half to himself, "Were you waiting for me?"
Kazel's eye twitches and a moment later the door keeper is lifted from the ground by a pair of bat hands that have dug into the collar of his tunic. "Do you have any idea who you are talking with? I could end you, or ruin your life and the one of your family with the snap of my fingers." Her eyes narrow with disgust and she spits onto the ground. "You will let me in if you enjoy your life as it is, understood?" The bat perks her ears up as she hears the disembodied voice. She lets the gate keeper down and turns into the direction it was coming from. "Do I look like I need trinkets to know my power or get my will, specter, spirit or whatever you may be?"
A kind feminine voice is heard in Zuri's head, "Is him chastising you enough of a deterrent to not bring your lover back in a new glorious state? He will understand I assure you!" Cassidy on the other hand is left to her own thoughts as she sits there. All of a sudden both of them find themselves standing in front of their lovers respective graves, a shovel in one hand and a femur in the other.
A dopey looking otter being approaches the cart from behind and flings open one of the crates, "Look! It is just some corks! Come on, enjoy yourselves, even for a little bit, there is always more time for work!" the otter says as he stumbles around to grab a bottle of wine from the ground and quaff it down his gullet.
Fenris is gestured inside the humble abode, "Ah, of course, Fenris." the lady dressed in white says in a kind tone, "I have the answer to your question, after all, you understand as much as I do that everything needs an answer. No knowledge is too sacred to know." she says as she grabs a book with a lock on it and places it in front of Fenris, "Your answer lies inside, I am afraid I don't have a key, but a hammer will do just fine to break the lock." she says as she places a hammer near the book on the table, "But where are my manners? Do you want some tea? We can sit down and talk more about your question with some tea and biscuits."
The gatekeeper chokes as he claws on Kazel's hands, "You....will not enter." he says in a breathless voice. The voice in Kazel's head is suddenly replaced with another one, more confident, more alluring, "I agree with, you should not listen to others telling you what to do. You have your desire, the conquest for the knowledge inside this place should not be stopped for petty people's desires! Take what is yours by right!"
Zuri bites his lip, looking at his lover's restful face. He thinks of all the things they were meant to do, but never had the chance to do. The voice speaks in his mind and strucks the right chord, and with the next wipe of his tears he finds himself before Rokarion's freshly filled grave. The small salamander sniffles sadly, his hand twitching as it clutches the femur. The easily influenced amphibian being nods to himself. Roka would be upset, but.. he'd understand, after a while. Even if it meant losing him as a lover, he couldn't bear to know he could have brought him back, but refused the opportunity. He lays the femur down by the grave, and with trembling hands he grips the shovel and breaks the earth, ready to bring back his beloved.
Cara slowly begins to frown as she glares at the otter, "Okay, if you knew me at all, then you would have known that I don't drink alcohol." At this point, she walks over to the crate that was flung open and closes it before heading back to the cart. Then, she promptly smiles to Natska, "You're right. We should get back to work. After all, we're getting paid for this and I can use the money to help others." At this point, she picks up the cart again and yells back to the otter, "Instead of wasting my time drinking!"
Cassidy stares down at the grave, then at the items in her hands. No. She knew what this femur represented. She knew who was trying to influence this, probably just to ruin it further. She'd come back... Wrong. She knew it, and she wasn't going to do it. She would find another way to bring her back, or join her. That was all there was to it.
Natska bares her teeth at the otter, her ears folding back, but Cara has it more than handled; so Natska turns back to their path and continues on, starting to hum quietly to herself.
Fenris runs his hand longingly over the cover and binding of the book. "Ah," he sighs, "I think I know you now. Knowledge comes at a price, Lady. I will be patient. Every lock deserves a key and I will get my answer sooner or later." He turns a weary gaze on the robed feline. "That tea sounds nice, though," he says, "I will rest a while and resume my journey. Perhaps I will even find the key one day."
Kazel is ready to slap the gate keeper across the face, but stops realizing something is off here. "You realize I graduated from the academy, right? There is no proper reason to keep me out of there. My family donate enormous amounts of money." She turns around quickly to try to indentify the new voice. "Leave me alone demon or what you things may be, I have no need of your intrigues and trinkets." She turns back to the gate keeper and presses her finger onto his chest. "Now let me in or I will make sure this is the last day you have worked here."
It is all a blur, in a matter of seconds, Rokarion's coffin is out in the open once more. The coffin opens by itself as Rokarion gets own of it, his double blossom quickly wilting as his flesh began to sag and fall down, ending as nothing but a skeleton in moments. The skeleton does not even bother looking at Zuri as he continued moving towards a Creator lady with a skeletal arm on the other side of the graveyard. Behind the skeleton was the ethereal figure of a being in chains following along, "Whyyyyyy!!!" the bone chilling wails comes from the ghost before Zuri suddenly finds himself back in the room in Ridgewell's building. Cassidy gets a quick ruffle on her hair all of a sudden as the grave keeper arrives and gestures for her to the exit, "Now, my lady. Let her rest in peace, she is must better that way." And with that said, the fennec also wakes up.
Cara and Natska keep on moving towards their destination, ignoring all the revelry and debauchery around them. "Ah, good, good." the merchant says as he inspects the shipment, "You have done well, you two." he says as he hands both of them a pouch of coins, and with a bright flash of light, both of them also wake up.
The lady in white sighs and shakes her head, "Very well then. Your loss." she says as she takes away the book as the tiger wakes up as well.
"This is final! You are not allowed entry into the academy, go away." the gatekeeper says with a scowl, before pushing Kazel away off him, "I don't care what you want, you will not enter." The voice in Kazel's head appears again, "You are mistaken, I am simply telling you that you should not let others control your desires, but you obviously do not need my advice, so go ahead and do what you will." the voice says before going silent. The gatekeeper squinted at Kazel, "Go away, I don't care about your family or anything you have, useless cur."
Zuri wakes from his nightmare with a shriek. His breathing is laboured and panicked as he looks around, clutching at the pillow he was just moments before dreaming upon. It takes him a few moments of sheer panic to figure out what happened, and the small salamander can do little but clutch at his knees and curl up into a ball as his mind runs back and forth over what he just witnessed.
Cara yawns as she wakes up, "Well, that was eventful, but it seemed like the spirit didn't even know me well enough yet." The feline sighs for a moment, "It's really too bad though, I was expecting something a little harder." She shrugs her shoulders and shifts her gaze over to Natska, "Thanks again though, you proved to be quite helpful." Then, she proceeds to turn to the now slumbering bat and frowns, "Kazel? Kazel?" She instantly hurries to the bat and then promptly shifts her gaze back to everyone else, "Will she be okay?"
Cassidy awakes with a jolt, sitting upright. She glances over to the side to affirm that Natska is still there before she shakes her head and adjusts her mask before letting herself fall back onto the pillow, breathing heavily. She was thankful the mask hid whatever expression was on her face.
Fenris takes a deep breath and opens his eyes with a sigh. The big tiger rises to his feet and bows respectfully to the corner where Zimla had last manifested. "Thank you for showing me my weaknesses, Lady of Dreams," he says solemnly, then looks around at the sound of whimpering, homing in on Zuri. The fluffy feline gently scoops up the much smaller being and holds him tight, like a child. "Zuri, Zuri!" he calls gently, stroking the little salamander's head, "It's okay, it was only a bad dream." He looks over at where Kazel still sleeps. "She will be fine," he says, "Zimla's visions are meant to teach us about ourselves, not to hurt us. Not permanently anyway." The tiger looks weary and drained.
Natska yawns softly and stretches her shoulders as she wakes, muzzle wrinkling. She squints and looks around the room, taking in other people's reactions to the dreams, then tilts her head a little as her ear flicks. She smiles at Cass and raises an eyebrow at her fennec, reaching out to take her hand, then looks over at Fenris. She snorts. "Interesting... lesson... then."
Kazel shakes her head and sighs, this is going nowhere. She slaps the gate keeper across the face with her gauntleted hand and turns around on the point, not even checking if she hurt or knockedout the man. The bat makes a mental note to pull some strings to have the guard fired or suspended as she walks off into the city.
Kazel's slap the gatekeeper making him take a deep breath as he rubs his cheek. "Yes, everyone who stands in your path must suffer. Tolerate one offense and you encourage the commission of many." the voice says in praise at Kazel's action. Time is a blur as the bat pulls the string, a lot of strings to manage to remove a worker at The Academy of Cliffside. All of a sudden, Kazel finds herself standing in front of the gatekeeper, holding a sword lodged deep inside the gatekeeper's chest. "Dog...of Conquest." the dying gatekeeper mutters before Kazel wakes up in a flash of light.
The fairy lights reappear around the beings with another childish giggle that dies slowly before the spirit's voice emanates again in a serious tone, "Some wise actions, dreamers. Others...not so wise. It is clear to me that you still need to learn more of our nature, and of your nature." she says before a letting out a crueler laugh, "I got what I wanted Ridgewell, you and your kind have the blessing of my court to continue seeking the history of our previous subjects." And with that the fairy lights disappear.
"Marvelous work, champions!" Ridgewell says with a jolly laugh, "Mind you, I don't really care about the blessings of those so called spirits, but entertaining such a being seemed like good fun, no?" he added jovially as he opened the door and stepped back into the lobby, "Your rewards and some refreshments are here in the lobby, enjoy yourselves. I have things to do." And with that, the chubby jasmine moved back into the room he came from earlier.
Zuri still retains his look of shock as he drags himself towards the lobby. The normally jovial salamander is rather distant and sullen, simply offering Ridgewell a weak smile as he collects his reward. He steps past the offered refreshments to step outside, in dire need of some fresh air to clear his mind.
Cara smiles as Kazel wakes up. At that point, she yells back to Ridgewell, "I'll get the rewards for this in a moment." Then, she waits patiently for the svelte vampire bat to wake up before asking, "How did it go?"
Cassidy gives Natska's hand a squeeze, looking towards Ridgewell. "We are done? Good. I could do with a drink. And some fresh air," she says, starting to stand. "Ready to get out of here, Natska? I do not wish to linger."
Fenris watches Zuri go with concern. "He should not wander around alone," the tiger says, "Pleasure to meet you Mister Ridgewell." The tiger bows to their host. "I will be back soon, I am sure. I look forward to working with you."
Natska nods her head, rising up and helping Cass to her feet. She secures her things, then nods to their host. "Alright, Cass. Let's depart, then."
Kazel slowly and calmly gets up from the pillow and offers Cara a soft smile while she dusts herself off. "It was a ridiculous scenario, really. Lets go grab our reward, yes?" With that the bat makes her way out of the room and back to the other one.
And with that done, the group takes their rewards and are led back to the airship by Mervyn before letting them go back to Sweetwater.
