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+---- Thread: [PQ] Rise of the Loreseekers (/showthread.php?tid=517)
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RE: Rise of the Loreseekers - Samuel - 02-01-2019
Sam was surprised to see that his throw had been successful, but all it seemed to do was make the situation worse by enraging the queen. Before he even had time to be properly scared about that though, Isla was yelling at him to...duck? Out of panic he quickly surged down and banged his head against the table, which didn't hurt but did shock him enough to make him stumble down underneath it.
He heard a lot of noises of a struggle around him as he tried to fight off panic from his mind. After a few seconds spent to calm his nerves he peeked back out again, not wanting to be the coward who just hid, and saw a wasp heading for Jigano.
Desperately, Sam grabbed for another chair and stood up, throwing that one at the queen as well, though given his aim there was a good chance it would hit his friend.
RE: Rise of the Loreseekers - Amalia - 02-02-2019
Watching the heavy door swing shut, Amalia momentarily contemplates slipping out - but only momentarily. Though laced by insecurity, she is nevertheless not one to retreat, and with the safety of the books secure she turns her attention back to the chaos below. There are cries and crashes, a tableau of disaster punctuated by burning bugs. In fleeting moments left unchecked the adventure has taken a turn for the tumultuous; the waif blinks, perplexed, for a moment paralyzed, before her brain wakes up and turns flips a switch, abruptly switching from the comfort of what is going on to the practicality of how do I make this better.
Fervor flares like fire in her chest, bravery and boldness rising from the depths of her quiet nature - she takes the steps two at a time, unfastening her vest with nimble fingers, and charges to the group. She does not pause to calculate, to formulate an approach. There is a clear and pressing danger to address: the corpulent queen circles Jigano, and the girl knows one dose of her poison is enough to incapacitate for days. It is a fate she experienced only once, years back, and would not wish on one she hates- and she does not hate Jigano.
Muscles tense and tan limbs fly; she snakes through the carnage with quiet dexterity, vest held high. Dodging flying wood and haphazard chairs the girl lunges toward the queen, reaching out and clamping down in an attempt to trap her in heavy cloth.
RE: Rise of the Loreseekers - Jigano - 02-02-2019
Isla ran into the fray, courageous and without hesitation to save her friend. As Sam ducked, she swung and connected with the flaming wasp, her chair leg making a satisfying THWACK against the burning paper and crushing the fiery insect to the floor where it smoldered and twitched.
Slowly, wincing at the bruises that would cover his side in a few hours, the bard managed to pull in a breath and roll gingerly to his feet. With a wry smile of reassurance for his friend – he could almost feel the panic coming off of Sam – he waved away his injuries and limped back into the second room to make sure there would be no more surprises.
Jigano looked at the remains of the hive with grim dislike, reaching out to touch the broken spine of a pageless book used to armor the outside of the hive with gentle fingers. ”We’ll have to remove these,” he said heavily. ”Sam, perhaps you can reuse some of the materials in your bookmaking?” It was that or kindling, though perhaps the fire would be safer until the understood more of the creatures that had devoured and used the books to build their nest. But as he was turning to leave a glint of silver caught his eye, half-hidden by the hive. He bent down and tugged at the little piece of metal, freeing a steel key from where it had become partially stuck to the wasps’ home.
Only one door remained, its lock a perfect match for the key Jigano now held. He took a deep breath, then released it carefully as he oiled the key and worked it into the ancient tumblers. At first it seemed they wouldn’t budge, but with a faint grinding noise they clicked and the key turned in the lock. Tense, ready for another fight, the bard pushed the door open onto…
A larger room than the others, with shelves of steel instead of wood. Broken, rusted chains and shackles had been anchored to many of the shelves, and broken locks littered the floor. But these shackles were square, not round, meant for no human limb. ”The sentient books,” Jigano breathed, holding up his lantern to glint from the shelves. ”They were kept here, once! They must have escaped somehow, after the librarians were dead or fled and this place lost. As we find them we can return them here for safe keeping! Well, once we figure out how they got out in the first place.”
Further inspection would reveal a fault in one corner that likely led up to the main floor. It would take work and a bit of masonry to fix, but in the meantime Jigano led the Loreseekers back out to the main table. ”Alright,” he looked around at his gathered friends and guildmates, pride shining in his eyes in spite of his bruises. ”We’ve answered a few questions today, and, I think, found ourselves a home. Now it’s time to make it someplace we can be proud of. There’s a lot of cleaning to do, so let’s get started with brooms and buckets, and maybe see if that chimney is still in working order to get a fire going. I trust you all to find a task that suits you, so: who wants to do what?
This is the last round of the PQ! Thank you all so much for joining the Loreseekers' Guild!
Sweeping out the dust and cobwebs, piling the debris in the fireplace, polishing mirrors, scrubbing shelves and flagstones – what task – or tasks – will you do for the next few hours to make this a comfortable Guild Hall?
RE: Rise of the Loreseekers - Isla - 02-02-2019
Whilst more than satisfied with her swing at the wasp, it was with wide eyes that Isla whirled around to watch the chair go sailing into Jigano. She winced on his behalf, hissing in a breath through her teeth, and was already approaching the queen with her chair leg in hand when Amalia swept in to trap the deadly creature.
Darting up next to the other woman with lantern and chair leg in hand, she looked to her. "Do you think we ought to kill it? Or keep it for study?" she asked. "If it is a queen it could make another hive, but... if it were the last of its kind and we killed it, I'd feel terrible."
In the meantime, it seemed as though Jigano had made an excellent discovery indeed, and Isla glanced over her shoulder to him to grin. "Looks as though we have our work cut out for us," she said. "I've had enough of fire, today. So I'll busy myself sweeping and mopping, I think."
Regardless of the fate of the wasp queen, Isla would set her lantern down upon the table and move to grab a broom from upstairs. Her next few hours would be spend ridding the hall of the vast amount of dust and debris it had collected.
RE: Rise of the Loreseekers - Samuel - 02-02-2019
Sam slowly stood up to see that he'd hit Jigano with the chair. Horrified, he stood with his hands over his mouth and waited for his inevitable punishment. He wouldn't be allowed to join the guild anymore, clearly, but what if Jigano was angrier than that? Sam was nearly ready to throw himself at Jigano's feet when...he smiled?
It was a slight balm over his nervous heart, but he didn't properly relax until he was asked about the book supplies. It seemed he wasn't hated. His voice still slightly shaking along with his hands, he shook his head. "I um...I w-would be scared it would still. Have some of the wasps in...in it."
He peeked into the door behind Jigano and was interested to see the chains, though the breaking hinted at a viciousness he didn't like...who knew a library could be so threatening? But nothing came out to attack, so he took a cloth and a bucket and began to scrub at the floors, making the stones shine underneath years of steps and dust.
RE: Rise of the Loreseekers - Amalia - 02-04-2019
Her play succeeds: the wasp is caught, entangled in her vests and buzzing a furious chorus. Amalia pales as the creature thrashes, pulling fabric into her hands to defend against the sting. Now that the flush of bravery is fading, the foolishness of her plan is painfully apparent, and the nymph is left without a clue as to how she should proceed. One thing she knows: "It's not the last," she answers confidently, quiet contempt in her smoky voice. She wishes it were. The things are parasitic, a blight, a curse to librarians for years.
Still, she doesn't want to kill it- and without water, does not really know how. There is an old lantern on a shelf in the room she opened, and she doubles back to fetch it, her captive still clenched in its prison of furs. Gingerly she transfers the frantic insect from the clothing to the lantern, locking it within and setting it down on the empty table in the main room. "I'll take it to The Prince," she concludes, speaking aloud to nobody in particular. "It will be a good treat."
The monster dealt with, all that remains is cleaning. Amalia goes back into the room where the wasps came from, to make sure they haven't missed any larvae or young ones and try to head off another infestation.
Still, she doesn't want to kill it- and without water, does not really know how. There is an old lantern on a shelf in the room she opened, and she doubles back to fetch it, her captive still clenched in its prison of furs. Gingerly she transfers the frantic insect from the clothing to the lantern, locking it within and setting it down on the empty table in the main room. "I'll take it to The Prince," she concludes, speaking aloud to nobody in particular. "It will be a good treat."
The monster dealt with, all that remains is cleaning. Amalia goes back into the room where the wasps came from, to make sure they haven't missed any larvae or young ones and try to head off another infestation.
RE: Rise of the Loreseekers - Jigano - 02-04-2019
Jigano nodded with pleasure at the bravery, intelligence, and diligence of his companions. They were few, yet, but quality was more important than quantity, and they had each, on this occasion and others, displayed the patience and courage of both scholars and warriors, each in their own way. Amalia's answer to the question of the wasp queen was satisfactory - smart without being wasteful or cruel, and the bard tilted his head as they went to their tasks of cleaning. He joined her in helping dismantle the hive, asking her to show him how to recognize an infestation even as he set the empty book covers to burning in the well-protected fireplace, which soon had a crackling blaze to take the chill from the Hall and brightened the rooms considerably as the mirrors were polished back to reflective brilliance.
When it was time to take a break they gathered around the main table to share the food that Amalia had brought, taking the time to relax and talk and get to know each other better.
It was a week later, the Hall looking cozy and waspless and beginning to fill with books again as tomes of interest were brought down to fill the bookcases that were being replaced in the rooms that had suffered the most damage, that Jigano requested a gathering of the four of them. From a pouch at his side lorekeeper withdrew four pins, each an inch in diameter. He handed them out with a smile, keeping one for himself that he pinned to the lapel of his tunic as he spoke. "It may be presumptuous of me, but I took the design from the door and had a smith I know craft these," he explained. "It seems a fitting symbol that pays homage to those who came before, and which, I hope, we will also make our own. Knowledge - not just for it's own sake, but to help others as well. I hope that, someday soon, any who see one of these pins will know that their bearer will help to answer questions as best they can - or can direct them to another member of our guild whose specialty is more in line with what they need."
Each round pin is set on a background of steel, with a copper-covered book open on its side, gold rays emerging from silver pages.
Congratulations, new Loreseekers! And thank you so much for playing in this PQ!