Tal asked for this didn't he? It had been a while since he had spoken to another elf let alone a half elf. He felt like he was talking to his father, the same long hair, condesending speech and self centered nature. Tal swllowed his own elven pride yet struggled to ignore...just how condescending Veldan seemed to be. He decided to play along, "Frequencies, I heard bards weaving such magic this way but I never knew one could tap into the power of the Archeart. It must have taken you ages to refine your skill." He was trying his best to sound genuinely interested but like all things magic based they both went over his head and reminded him of something he greatly wanted to forget.
Oh, he was enjoying this *far* too much. It wasn't often he ever had the chance to speak down to a Pureblood, and it made the fake smile he'd put on quite genuine. Archeart please forgive my ugly thoughts, Veldan prayed silently. Taking in a long breath, he simply ended with "Indeed, and there are many more verses of the song to master still."
Clearing his throat, he glanced at Tal, looking him up and down. "But it occurs to me that I yet don't know your name. Is it still an improper time?" He arched an eyebrow at him.
It was rather amusing watching the elf and half-elf having a clearly uncomfortable conversation in their native tongues. Shaw was eyeing them as he sat in the corner. He had just focused his internal magic, sacrificing power for flexibility. “This is a rather interesting party,” he thought to himself. It reminded him of groups he had seen from the Slayer’s Take, bickering, awkward and disfuntional, but deadly effective.
Tal hesitated, he thought by knowing a bit more about Veldan he would be more willing to divulge his identity to someone who had ties to the place he wanted to move beyond but Veldan was making that really hard for him. Then a thought occured to him, if he truly never wished to return to Syngorn then he shouldn't care if some half elf knows who he was. Besides, even if Veldan sent a message back to Syngorn to his parents, Emon was a big city and Tal was getting quite good at blending in. Then again Veldan seemed like any other Syngornian or rather an uptight prick, so he wouldn't tell the whole truth just yet.
"My name is Thalanil. Unlike you I have no...house or family." He gestures to the bow at his side, deep forest green and hewn from a branch of the living trees that were common around Syngorn. "This bow came from a member of the Verdant Guard, a man I...treasured and is one of my only possessions I've kept of that place." His face grew grave and he poked the fire with a small stick, "I'm sure you know that Syngorn doesn't look fondly on those who live outside the norm or are not born nomal." He glanced at the Half elf with a knowing gaze. "It wasn't long before I got fed up with eyes always staring at me so I retreated to the only lands I felt didn't judge me for who I was." He sighed. Then again it didn't take long before he was in another major metropolis, unable to run back to the forests where he had reinvented himself.
Tal honestly was tired of the game, all elves played it, and it wasn't until Tal ran away that he finally realized he didn't have to lie or put on brave faces anymore. Tal was who Thalanil always wanted to be, a Ranger going out adventuring, free to choose his own fate, and no longer part of that socially stifling hellhole he once called home.
As his mind wandered over thoughts of helping to elevate the kobold tribes into a real civilization, he couldn't help but notice the tension between the two of elvish blood. Stepping forward, he raised his hands to get their attention. "Please, gentlemen," he said quietly. "Let us not have harsh words between us, yes? We are all on the same side here, and we do not want to have distractions between us when we enter battle with a dragon, regardless of age. I am sure that, given enough time, you shall find common ground and become the best of friends, but we still have a job to do, yes?"
Veldan didn't have anything to say to that, the flames glinting off emerald eyes as he stared into them. Of course Veldan understood that, and the ranger knew it. Worse still was a half-elf born of an illegitimate union, for both him and his mother. After a long and awkward silence, the wizard was grateful for the blunt interruption of the draconic companion. A smile returned to light up his features once more, rising to his feet with a single graceful motion.
"Harsh words?" He laughed lightly, sheathing his rapier and reaching up to pat Krenak's shoulder. "I'm sure it must have sounded that way, our tongue can seem rough, but I assure you we were merely trading stories. The two of us are from the same place, can you believe it? We'll be fast friends in no time." He shot a grin back at Tal, then stepped backwards from Krenak and with a flick of his wrist conjured Twilight back into existence.
"Well! If everybody's feeling better, then let us go slay the dragon, free the kobolds, and put at ease the mind of our friend here."
Silently Tal grabbed his bow and stood up, his face more solemn than when he first sat down. Gazing at Krenek he said softly in Draconic, "Just getting things off my chest before we die." He smiles but it doesn't reach his eyes, "Not every day you meet someone from your hometown."
Tal walked away from the two of them. Suprisingly, though he was rested from that fight he felt more like he had run a marathon. Perhaps attacking a dragon would take his mind away from his dark thoughts.
Sticking his head out from the tucked away alcove, Veldan had to squint to figure out which kobold was Erxuk. Then he remembered that it was the gods-awful looking one, and spotted him out.
"Erka, over here!" He called in a hushed yell, waving the kobold over.
"Listen here. Before you take us to the dragon's den, I'm going to need to know more about it. Is it large? Any high ground? Does Highness have room to *fly*?"
It takes Erxuk a moment to realize you're talking to him. "Uh... large? Large means big, yes? Big, yes. No high ground, but ton-ill top of Highness-room. Highness uses gets out quicky. Highness flies sometime, but not bunches. Ceiling bes bout... four, five kobolds high?"
You do the math in your head that four to five kobolds tall would be about twelve to fifteen feet tall.
"A tunnel?" His lips purse immediately. "That won't do, we can't be letting it escape and start over somewhere else." Thinking about it for a moment, he asks. "Where does the tunnel lead to?"
Nodding his head at the two, satisfied that there wouldn't be any sudden blows between them, Krenak finally sat down and closed his eyes, meditating on the coming battle. Truly, it would be a test of courage and faith for him, as he really didn't want to fight one of his cousins, whether large or small. Shaking the thought from his head, as he knew it must be done, he listened in as Valden talked to their kobold compatriot. "I believe we should try to find a way to block the tunnel, or if not, damage the dragon's wings to keep her from fleeing."
"How thick can a wyrmling's wings be? We have arrow and fire." Veldan's hand raised to admire/advertise the focus embedded in his ring. "And I'd love to see how they hold up to acid."
Then his contemplative face went tight. "But first thing should be that sorcerer. It likes fire, but who knows what other tricks it's hiding."
"Oh, thank the Queen, I don't have to talk in that silly common tongue now," Erxuk sings in draconic as he sighs with relief. "Why didn't you tell me earlier you could speak our language?! Ah... well, I guess I should have guessed with you being a scaled one, too.
"Skreeva was trained by our last leader, Arakex, a magic user with great power. He taught her all kinds of magic: how to create fire, how to charm others, how to escape quickly in a pinch... though she prefers to burn her enemies, she is decently well-rounded. We all knew she wanted to kill our leader and take his place, but we also knew he was too powerful. That's why she brought Highness here; to kill Arakex and make her more powerful."
Krenak sat down next to the kobold, highly interested in the story. "How did she find Highness?" he replied, his voice coming out in a kind of rough hissing. "Has there always been a dragon living down here or is she a new resident? And what color are her scales?"
"We aren't sure, really... One day she went skulking off into the sewers by herself. She was gone for a while. When she came back, Highness was with her. Before Arakex could say anything, the dragon pounced on him and... tore him apart... We've been living under Highness and Skreeva since," Erxuk mutters with a sigh. "We had heard from one of our patrols hiding out of sight from sewer workers that there was word of something big and red lurking around and killing the rats. We thought it may have been one of us, but we aren't big. Then the workers began to talk about scorch marks on the cobblestone, then we knew it wasn't us. Kobolds don't breathe fire. Then a sewer worker was found dead. Burnt flesh, bites taken out of him. We haven't seen workers come down to this part of the sewer since. Our guess now is that it was Highness.
"Highness is red like us. But she is also... different. Some orange crystals are embedded in her chest and her eyes glow like fire... Very scary."
Krenak frowned deeply, worried about this new development. "About how long had you noticed signs of Highness before Skeeva brought her in? Were there signs of her being down here before the dragon attack a while back?"
'If this is some spawn of that wretched Cinderking, it needs to be destroyed now,' he thought.
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Razz cleans his sword and tends to his wounds. After he's done, he just meditates on the last battle, think about what he did.
Tal asked for this didn't he? It had been a while since he had spoken to another elf let alone a half elf. He felt like he was talking to his father, the same long hair, condesending speech and self centered nature. Tal swllowed his own elven pride yet struggled to ignore...just how condescending Veldan seemed to be. He decided to play along, "Frequencies, I heard bards weaving such magic this way but I never knew one could tap into the power of the Archeart. It must have taken you ages to refine your skill." He was trying his best to sound genuinely interested but like all things magic based they both went over his head and reminded him of something he greatly wanted to forget.
Oh, he was enjoying this *far* too much. It wasn't often he ever had the chance to speak down to a Pureblood, and it made the fake smile he'd put on quite genuine. Archeart please forgive my ugly thoughts, Veldan prayed silently. Taking in a long breath, he simply ended with "Indeed, and there are many more verses of the song to master still."
Clearing his throat, he glanced at Tal, looking him up and down. "But it occurs to me that I yet don't know your name. Is it still an improper time?" He arched an eyebrow at him.
It was rather amusing watching the elf and half-elf having a clearly uncomfortable conversation in their native tongues. Shaw was eyeing them as he sat in the corner. He had just focused his internal magic, sacrificing power for flexibility. “This is a rather interesting party,” he thought to himself. It reminded him of groups he had seen from the Slayer’s Take, bickering, awkward and disfuntional, but deadly effective.
Tal hesitated, he thought by knowing a bit more about Veldan he would be more willing to divulge his identity to someone who had ties to the place he wanted to move beyond but Veldan was making that really hard for him. Then a thought occured to him, if he truly never wished to return to Syngorn then he shouldn't care if some half elf knows who he was. Besides, even if Veldan sent a message back to Syngorn to his parents, Emon was a big city and Tal was getting quite good at blending in. Then again Veldan seemed like any other Syngornian or rather an uptight prick, so he wouldn't tell the whole truth just yet.
"My name is Thalanil. Unlike you I have no...house or family." He gestures to the bow at his side, deep forest green and hewn from a branch of the living trees that were common around Syngorn. "This bow came from a member of the Verdant Guard, a man I...treasured and is one of my only possessions I've kept of that place." His face grew grave and he poked the fire with a small stick, "I'm sure you know that Syngorn doesn't look fondly on those who live outside the norm or are not born nomal." He glanced at the Half elf with a knowing gaze. "It wasn't long before I got fed up with eyes always staring at me so I retreated to the only lands I felt didn't judge me for who I was." He sighed. Then again it didn't take long before he was in another major metropolis, unable to run back to the forests where he had reinvented himself.
Tal honestly was tired of the game, all elves played it, and it wasn't until Tal ran away that he finally realized he didn't have to lie or put on brave faces anymore. Tal was who Thalanil always wanted to be, a Ranger going out adventuring, free to choose his own fate, and no longer part of that socially stifling hellhole he once called home.
As his mind wandered over thoughts of helping to elevate the kobold tribes into a real civilization, he couldn't help but notice the tension between the two of elvish blood. Stepping forward, he raised his hands to get their attention. "Please, gentlemen," he said quietly. "Let us not have harsh words between us, yes? We are all on the same side here, and we do not want to have distractions between us when we enter battle with a dragon, regardless of age. I am sure that, given enough time, you shall find common ground and become the best of friends, but we still have a job to do, yes?"
"....."
Veldan didn't have anything to say to that, the flames glinting off emerald eyes as he stared into them. Of course Veldan understood that, and the ranger knew it. Worse still was a half-elf born of an illegitimate union, for both him and his mother. After a long and awkward silence, the wizard was grateful for the blunt interruption of the draconic companion. A smile returned to light up his features once more, rising to his feet with a single graceful motion.
"Harsh words?" He laughed lightly, sheathing his rapier and reaching up to pat Krenak's shoulder. "I'm sure it must have sounded that way, our tongue can seem rough, but I assure you we were merely trading stories. The two of us are from the same place, can you believe it? We'll be fast friends in no time." He shot a grin back at Tal, then stepped backwards from Krenak and with a flick of his wrist conjured Twilight back into existence.
"Well! If everybody's feeling better, then let us go slay the dragon, free the kobolds, and put at ease the mind of our friend here."
Silently Tal grabbed his bow and stood up, his face more solemn than when he first sat down. Gazing at Krenek he said softly in Draconic, "Just getting things off my chest before we die." He smiles but it doesn't reach his eyes, "Not every day you meet someone from your hometown."
Tal walked away from the two of them. Suprisingly, though he was rested from that fight he felt more like he had run a marathon. Perhaps attacking a dragon would take his mind away from his dark thoughts.
Sticking his head out from the tucked away alcove, Veldan had to squint to figure out which kobold was Erxuk. Then he remembered that it was the gods-awful looking one, and spotted him out.
"Erka, over here!" He called in a hushed yell, waving the kobold over.
"Listen here. Before you take us to the dragon's den, I'm going to need to know more about it. Is it large? Any high ground? Does Highness have room to *fly*?"
It takes Erxuk a moment to realize you're talking to him. "Uh... large? Large means big, yes? Big, yes. No high ground, but ton-ill top of Highness-room. Highness uses gets out quicky. Highness flies sometime, but not bunches. Ceiling bes bout... four, five kobolds high?"
You do the math in your head that four to five kobolds tall would be about twelve to fifteen feet tall.
"A tunnel?" His lips purse immediately. "That won't do, we can't be letting it escape and start over somewhere else." Thinking about it for a moment, he asks. "Where does the tunnel lead to?"
"More tunnels, Is thinks. Sir-fuss, could bes. Kobolds cannot goes to it. Must flies. No wings."
Nodding his head at the two, satisfied that there wouldn't be any sudden blows between them, Krenak finally sat down and closed his eyes, meditating on the coming battle. Truly, it would be a test of courage and faith for him, as he really didn't want to fight one of his cousins, whether large or small. Shaking the thought from his head, as he knew it must be done, he listened in as Valden talked to their kobold compatriot. "I believe we should try to find a way to block the tunnel, or if not, damage the dragon's wings to keep her from fleeing."
"How thick can a wyrmling's wings be? We have arrow and fire." Veldan's hand raised to admire/advertise the focus embedded in his ring. "And I'd love to see how they hold up to acid."
Then his contemplative face went tight. "But first thing should be that sorcerer. It likes fire, but who knows what other tricks it's hiding."
"Skreeva haves many tricks. No knows how tells big mans in big mans talks... You talks dragons talks?" Erxuk asks the group with a confused look.
"Yes, little cousin, I do speak in the dragon tongue," Krenak said in draconic with a smile as he opened his eyes and moved towards him.
"Oh, thank the Queen, I don't have to talk in that silly common tongue now," Erxuk sings in draconic as he sighs with relief. "Why didn't you tell me earlier you could speak our language?! Ah... well, I guess I should have guessed with you being a scaled one, too.
"Skreeva was trained by our last leader, Arakex, a magic user with great power. He taught her all kinds of magic: how to create fire, how to charm others, how to escape quickly in a pinch... though she prefers to burn her enemies, she is decently well-rounded. We all knew she wanted to kill our leader and take his place, but we also knew he was too powerful. That's why she brought Highness here; to kill Arakex and make her more powerful."
Krenak sat down next to the kobold, highly interested in the story. "How did she find Highness?" he replied, his voice coming out in a kind of rough hissing. "Has there always been a dragon living down here or is she a new resident? And what color are her scales?"
"We aren't sure, really... One day she went skulking off into the sewers by herself. She was gone for a while. When she came back, Highness was with her. Before Arakex could say anything, the dragon pounced on him and... tore him apart... We've been living under Highness and Skreeva since," Erxuk mutters with a sigh. "We had heard from one of our patrols hiding out of sight from sewer workers that there was word of something big and red lurking around and killing the rats. We thought it may have been one of us, but we aren't big. Then the workers began to talk about scorch marks on the cobblestone, then we knew it wasn't us. Kobolds don't breathe fire. Then a sewer worker was found dead. Burnt flesh, bites taken out of him. We haven't seen workers come down to this part of the sewer since. Our guess now is that it was Highness.
"Highness is red like us. But she is also... different. Some orange crystals are embedded in her chest and her eyes glow like fire... Very scary."
Krenak frowned deeply, worried about this new development. "About how long had you noticed signs of Highness before Skeeva brought her in? Were there signs of her being down here before the dragon attack a while back?"
'If this is some spawn of that wretched Cinderking, it needs to be destroyed now,' he thought.