[Celestial Arms Quest] Time to Try Again [1 - 2] [Closed]

[Deleted]

Dorian HP: 100% MP: 100%

---

'Tis a lesson you should heed, 

If at first you don't succeed, 

Try, try again. 

Then your courage should appear, 

For if you will persevere, 

You will conquer, never fear 

Try, try again.

---

It had been a long time since he had stepped forth into the Thames Coastline, especially with the goal he now had imprinted into his mind, but Dorian was determined this time. Back when he was level one, it had been a task bestowed upon him and the other members of his party to seek out the fragment missing from the tablet that had been found by the Messier Sages; alas, with Saber disappearing on them and Doctor Ultima's guidance with the dowsing rod, it had been a bust of a search. The Shaman was eager to get back out and explore once more, hopefully with a better result this time around. He was rather much higher in level now, so it was just a matter of venturing out and keeping one's eyes peeled.

With Saber and Ultima busy doing work unknown behind the scenes, Dorian was left to call back Tobin, the friendly and eager dwarf who had been with them last time. Hopefully he was up for the challenge, especially after it had been some time since they had met up for the quest. "I wonder what he's been up to?" He pondered, having only last met the dwarven monk during the Moonrise Festival, however brief their meeting was. Patting over his pockets, the Shaman realised he had not retrieved the dowsing rod from Ultima, which meant that it was up to Tobin to retrieve it and bring it along. Releasing an anguished sigh, Dorian shuffled to lean his back up against the solemn, derelict tree that he had designated as their meeting place.

This place gives me the chills, I hope we don't have to hang around her for too long. Dorian blinked in surprise, having almost forgotten his new companion that he had picked up recently. Aurelia, the fox tail Shikigami that now resided within his mind, was rather put off by the Coastline, eyeing up the various different aspects of the environment with a cold, unwanted glare. "Hopefully not for long, no... The dowsing rod I was meant to bring should direct us towards the fragment." The fox tail spirit seemed to flicker her tail back and forth, her attention drawn instead towards the images of the dowsing rod that the Shaman was conjuring in his mind. How does it work, then? She stared up through his memories, inquisitively watching him as he answered.

"It's similar to a metal dete-... Sorry, forgot you guys don't have those in this world." Shaking his head, he drew back himself into his own memories, recalling the conversation he had been involved in back when he was just a starting adventurer, the talks with the Sage that had given them the rod. "A piece of the tablet is fitted inside of it, and the rod is designed in such a way that when the piece inside it gets closer to another piece of the same whole, the glass around it begins to glow. I assume it gets brighter the closer we get, but we unfortunately never got to see it work very well last time." Nodding her head at his lengthy explanation, Aurelia rubbed her hands together, returning to scowling fearfully at the coastline.

Turning his gaze towards the coast himself, Dorian watched as the waves crashed over the sand, lapping up against the shore with a strange, out-of-place rhythm. Something was stirring out there, he could feel it; waiting, biding it's time. Or perhaps it was just a weird gut feeling after a bad breakfast, he couldn't quite tell yet. There was an end to this search that they were about to embark upon, that was for sure, but what could possibly be waiting for them once they find this fragment of the tablet? What was this tablet made for in the first place? So many questions still unanswered, and everything Dorian did know was fuzzy from the long time that had passed since he had conversed with the Sages.

Blinking softly, the Shaman thought to scout out any possible spots of interest from where he was waiting, glancing around the far vicinity; it was a rather uniform area, but there were bits and pieces of ruins and cracked stone from who knows how long ago that may prove fruitful should they investigate further. Who are we waiting for, Shaman? Dorian rolled his eyes, lifting on of his hands to scratch at his scalp through his messy mop of brown hair. "I have a name, Aurelia," he began, which only elicited an apologetic sigh from the Shikigami. "As for who we're waiting for, one of the people I worked with last time is joining us, a dwarf called Tobin. He's got a lot more experience under his belt than I do, so we'll need him." Aurelia fell quiet after that, drawing her concentration away from the surrounding area to instead idly twiddle her thumbs and occupy her time independently. Dorian nodded, his attention moving towards the horizon as he resumed his waiting.

---

Notes: Post 1/3 for Step 2 of The First Dossier: Wish Upon a Star
Word Count: 834
Tags: Tobin

Coded by @serenityspace of LH

[Tobin]

WC:707

By this time of year the land of Elder tale shrouded in the vail of winter, the one season where the land threw off life like garments and the sky's remained in darkness for 14 chimes. Some hypothesised that at this time of year was when the spirit world was closest to the land of the living, where their will could be felt on the wind be it a careless whisper tempting mortal minds to ruination, or for those with lost love ones to communicate with the spirit before they pass beyond, to return anew, a new cycle.



In this land where fantasy and reality met, the supernatural lives up to it's namesake.



It was here that Tobin rode along the coastline, the usually well-travelled route abandoned. The broad shouldered Dwarf understood why as after all many folks were superstitious of the land and many had avoided travelling at this time. Others still found the weather less then accommodating for the transport of wears, and the bandits that had thrown off the boon of civilisation. Though the latter nor former most bore little consideration from the stocky individual, the chill was somewhat more difficult to dismiss, even with the +5 warming robes drawn close.



<<"'n' tis is why I dun't like ridin' in wintar tuskie. She’s a teasin’ bitch tha’ make’s ya skin erect ‘n’ non ta fun.”
>>


"Winter is not mate, Dwarf." The Dwarf glanced down at his great mount with a chuckle, the boar it'self trice as long as he was tall had grunted some stick at him. <<“Ya aren’t got similarieties yet? Gawd, I need ta get some moar levels oaf animal trainin’ so I can hav’ mor’ interestin’ conversations with ya.”
>>


A snort followed. “Learn to bull less.”



<<“Oh, so ya ar’ learnin’. I hope tis kid aren’t prankin’ me, I know those sages wanted somethin’, but et isn’t worth freezin’ me goolies oaf.”>> The Dwarf let out a snort of his own. He hadn’t intended on coming back down south for anything for the north had still been besieged by the last heretical dregs, but a quick call from the merchants guild with a promotion offer and a few hours with an elven lass was enough to motivate him into action. Seemed a good idea at the time, until he had spent a couple of hours in the cold with nothing more a traveling cloak and the thin attire that made up his battle armour, to the extent he almost felt like doubling back and leaving the sages to uncover their own treasure though if he didn’t do it then replacements would be easy to find, besides, something about this entire artefact business made him feel uneasy.





However a glance at the figure on the coastline brought a mild relief, least there was company that had been the one to call him out, Dorian his name recalled him to be, had been a pleasant guy the few times he had met. Not in that “handsome” personality compensation fashion most pretty boys adopted to make up where they lacked, but a genuine nice guy. Not quite the sexy side kick he had hoped for, but until he had saved up enough extra cash to get an appearance potion to turn himself into a Ryan before he buggered an avocado aggressively, the company in this task would be pleasant enough. Beyond that, he trusted him to be reliable, though adventure together was something they had yet to do.



<<“Go, we ‘re ‘ere, onward swaggy!”>>



Tobin forced his mighty steed into a gallop, within minutes the distance had been closed between the man standing at the cliff’s edge and he, the mighty mass of shivering boar gave the Dwarf the height to go with his highly masculine presence.



“’Owdie ther’ laddy, I’ve brought ya special delivery! One plot fawardin’ Mcguffin comi’ rite up!”


With a chuckle he lobbed the rod at the lad with a gentle underhand toss, doubtlessly so that Dorian would catch it.



“Well laddie, I hav’ two avenue of thoughts, tis lay at tha’ bottom of the water somewher’ oaf the fish people hav’ taken et fa a curious fetish. Evar way, I’ll keep a eye out fa any nasties. Sound fur?”

[Deleted]

Dorian HP: 100% MP: 100%

---

Once or twice, though you should fail,

If you would at last prevail,

Try, try again;

If we strive, 'tis no disgrace

Though we do not win the race;

What should you do in the case?

Try, try again.

---

Soon enough, Dorian's waiting came to a gradual decline as his eyes glanced towards the nearby horizon, where a mounted figure was approaching in the distance. From the silhouettes, the Shaman could tell that it was his companion for the day, the stout dwarf easy to distinguish against the cold grey of the sky behind him, as well as the wide, stubby, grand boar that he called a mount. "Looks like we'll be getting up and running soon, Aurelia," he muttered under his breath, speaking of course to his Shikigami. The fox tail simply nodded, her own concentration waning after having waited so long in the cold of winter; it didn't help that they were on the coastline, which meant heavy, and altogether chilling sea winds.

After some time passed, Tobin and his mount came into a more distinct view, both of them looking quite disgruntled by the day's weather. Dorian couldn't help but chuckle, but he understood how cold it was at the moment, especially when, unlike himself, the dwarven Monk was stuck in nothing but cloth. The Shaman's leather was a welcome cover against the harsh chill, especially since it was crafted by the esteemed tailors of Avon, who were accustomed to braving more devastating colds than what Tobin and Dorian would likely have to deal with today. Nevertheless, he gave the dwarf a smile as he finally approached, bowing forward respectfully to greet him.

The Monk's heavy accent never ceased to amaze the Shaman, as he remained seated up atop his hefty boar, the both of them quite the menacing image to behold. Before Dorian could say a word, Tobin tossed over the 'McGuffin' as he had referred to it; the divining rod that had been given to them way back when. Catching it deftly in his left hand, Dorian nodded his appreciation, lifting the device up to scan over it with his own emerald orbs, making sure it was genuine. "I'm thankful that you managed to grab this. Would have been a bit of a travesty to come out here without it." Laughing under a warm breath, he lowered his arm holding the contraption, glancing down at the dwarf's mount and then back up to Tobin himself.

Tilting his head to one side, he listened to the dwarf tell of his thoughts on the situation, and by extension the location of the tablet piece they were looking for. A chuckle rumbled upon his throat, head shaking in disagreement before the Shaman would answer. "I doubt it'd be at the bottom of the ocean, nor have I heard anything about any fish people," he began explaining, although the Landers were of course prone to all sorts of wild tales about the coastline and the islands in it's nearby vicinity. "I reckon we'll find it among the sand and rock along the river, perhaps... But really, the only way to know for certain is if we give this thing a whirl." He flailed the divining rod around in his grip, holding it up for the dwarf to see.

"But, we should probably stick to our mounts. We'l cover more ground that way, and we can always go on foot once we've located the general area of where the tablet piece is." After finishing his train of thought, Dorian opened his inventory and retrieved from it the special event item he had obtained after the complications in the Ice Labyrinth; an intricately carved ice-blue, crystal glass mount whistle appeared in his hand, designed and shaped to look like the head of a wolf, similar in appearance to the Howling Blizzard himself, Fenrir. Moving the whistle to his lips, Dorian blew upon the appropriate compartment, causing a sound almost akin to a wolf's howl.

In a shimmering display of magic, a smaller version of the Fenrir that the Adventurers had fought appeared between Dorian and Tobin, only a marginal grade smaller than the boar the dwarf was sat upon. Giving him a nod, the Shaman clambered his way up onto the wolf's back, settling himself into the saddle and grabbing a hold of the monkey grip in front of him with his free hand. "Onward then?" He directed his mount forward, towards the path that led down the cliff-side and onto the coastline nearby, where he assumed would make a good starting point for their search. As the wolf growled and began to walk in the gestured direction, the Shaman held up the divining rod at the ready, eyes trained on it's glowing lights and waiting for when it would begin to gain luminescence and grow brighter.

Before they got too far ahead, Dorian glanced back over his shoulder to make sure that Tobin was following his lead; after all, they were working together here, no sense in leaving the dwarf and his boar behind. At a higher level, it would no doubt be the Monk's duty to remain on watch and help steer them clear of any mobs that they came across, or at least kill the one's that became too much hassle. Once he was sure the dwarf was following, Dorian continued ahead, trudging down the designated pathway and slowly delving down the side of the steep escarpment of rocks. Slowly but surely, they approached the coastline, their mounts feeling the sand giving way beneath their hooves and paws; gradually, the Shaman's eyes caught notice of a glint of change in the divining rod... They were getting close.

---

Notes: Post 2/3 for Step 2 of The First Dossier: Wish Upon a Star
Word Count: 910
Tags: Tobin

Coded by @serenityspace of LH

[Tobin]

The Dwarf let a eyebrow rise as the tuning detector was passed from one to the other, for a moment his gaze was preoccupied with a distant memory, a waiving wall of spears, a hissing clicks of foreign tongues had echoed as they had once presued his party down the underwater cave. As quickly as it came the memory was gone before he gave the slightest nod. “Lad, ya find most tale’s in these lands hav’ some basis ‘n fact, keep tha’ in mind as ya laugh about it. But ay’, we’re of the same mind when it comes ta locomot-.”

<“What this not agreed! I WALKED PLENTY PINKSKIN.”>

<“Ya can pork latar swaggy when we done the assignment, wind it in.”> The boar’s discontent rumbled in a low rumble as it begain to trundle behind the Sharman. The Dwarf sighed, age and power only made the boar unrulier, a factor he made a note to correct in quieter company, for now however he gave the Sharman a slight assuring grin as a kind of compromise.

“Aye, lead on laddy.”

And so they rode on the open trail, the light of the dowsing ward being their guide. Casual observation indicated that it seemed to follow much the same effect of a compassing, mostly indicating west with minor course corrections that continued to lead them along the river. The other causal observation was the choice of mount, a wolf of snow fur and skin of ice; a curiosity that interested him a tro of metal marbles materialised in his hand that he rotated around casually, the soft grind against rough surface joined the steady clatter, and patter of the trail.

“So, ya could actually ride tha’ thing?"

He listened to the reply with a distant interest, his eyes always seemed to drift among the dips and hills of the tarrian. Now and again, the dwarf flung a light projectile with an idle flick of his wrist and replaced the projectile with another as they rode, a casual ease that seemed to bare all the grace of an old lady passing crumbs to ducks. Needless to say, the slight grin gave little hint to what amused him.

“I thought it were just a pet so I didn’t summon ‘im yet. Dats pretteh cool thou, hope ‘e hav’ a bit oaf a better temperament than old swaggie ‘ere, or dun’t ya talk to yars?”

And so they rode, now and again another pellet flew from his palm to land in a tree, a bush, a sand dune or occationally upward to catch a low flying bird or pigeon in an explosion of glitter. All the while behind them, for any who would look, slowly emerged mobs, some sarhargan of various sizes staggering from various hiding spots nursing an injury created from but a little flick. The Dwarf didn’t seem to notice as his gaze remained fixed forward, a swig of liquor from a hip flask seemed but a slight distraction, but it gave purpose to those idle projectiles launched just before.

“We nearleh thur’ yet laddie?”

[Deleted]

Dorian HP: 100% MP: 100%

---

If you find your task is hard,

Time will bring you your reward,

Try, try again

All that other folks can do,

Why, with patience, should not you?

Only keep this rule in view:

Try, try again.

---

As they set off, Tobin was quick to point out the undeniable truth to stories; many of them were based in fact, that was true... "I suppose you are correct, stories often do hold some honesty too them; everything is inspired from something, after all," he began to reply, turning to look over his shoulder as his body gently moved up and down with the fluid motion of his wolf mount. "But I'm not about to go jumping on the idea of fish people before I actually sea some evidence." He let go of his reins with one hand, pointing it back at the Dwarf like a finger pistol and opening his mouth into a cheap, pun-filled grin. "Eh? Eh? Ha ha, I'm hilarious." He really isn't.

As they followed the glowing light of the rod in Dorian's possession, the Shaman heard Tobin mention something about his mount, the ice wolf that looked quite similar to Fenrir, who the Dwarf and himself had fought some time previous. "I mean... it is a mount whistle, isn't it?" Pulling out the glass whistle that had been rewarded to him and a fair few others who had fought and defeated the terrifying ice wolf; the carved crystal was shaped into a snarling canine snout, it's teeth bared as if it was gearing for attack. The ferocity of Fenrir was clear on it's design, but the wolf that it had summoned was, in odd contrast, quite friendly. "That usually denotes it can be ridden, but if you needed more proof, you have it now."

Tobin was curious towards the wolf's demeanour and behaviour, comparing it to the rather grumpy boar that he was sat upon himself. A tough looking thing, it certainly gave off the impression it had an attitude, but the way the Dwarf Monk was talking, it sounded as if he had acquired the Tongue of Nature skill that was available. "I'm afraid not; I never got the ability to talk to animals, and I'm no Animal Trainer or Cavalier, that's for sure. But, this one has treated me well so far," he muttered in reply, lowering his hand that held on the reins to scratch at the fur of his mount's neck. He had yet to give the miniature Fenrir - at least, compared to the original ice wolf's size - a suitable name, but he did not feel it right to do so without actually having the proper skills to tame and own the creature.

The divining rod continued to grow brighter as they got further down the river, following it's bank and walking across the rocky shore to follow the device's guidance. "Aye, it seems we're getting near... Doubtless we'll have the fragment soon." With a relative sigh, he held the rod aloft ahead of him, reining in his wolf to turn and follow the light as it changed and shimmered towards particular directions, moving the party of two closer and closer to their prize. It wasn't long before the Shaman could feel a veritable hum emanating from the rod, the vibrations coursing down his arm as they approached a small outcropping of rocks; a gentle rise in the shore created a steep embankment to meet with the rest of the area of the Coastline, creating a 3 foot drop, and there were a few different glossy, mossed over rocks jutting out from the sand.

"I think I have something, Tobin," he called back, releasing the reins of his wolf and hoisting himself off it's side to land carefully on the sand, his digits gripped tightly around the rod itself. By now it was practically singing into his limb, telling him quite noticeably that he was close, and as he approached the rocks that jutted out in odd directions, he almost dropped it from the sudden surge of activity. "Over here!" He rushed towards the rocks, crouching down beside them to get a closer look and setting the divining rod down in the sand, the device practically bursting with light now that he was right next to the fragment. Reaching his hand out, he rummaged around against the rocks, some of them charred black as if a small object had impacted with the ground; taking a closer look, it certainly looked like a very tiny meteor had upset the small spot, causing the rocks to jut out with jagged, crisped off edges.

Uncovering the centre of the mess, he found a strange fragment, it's stone material starkly different in texture and colour to the ones around it, and surprisingly intact except for a jagged edge which looked as if it had been broken off of a larger whole. "Well, this has to be what we were looking for, right?" Dorian wrapped his hand in the leathers around his wrist, creating a protective barrier around his palm and using it to pick up the piece of tablet from the wreckage, pulling it away and dusting it off to make it clearer that it was the right piece; small inscriptions of a foreign language, exactly the same as the one on the tablet the Sages had shown them all that time ago; this is what they were looking for. With an affirmative nod, he turned to face Tobin, holding up the tablet piece and showing it to him.

"Hmm..." His other hand lifted up to his chin, where he rubbed at the slight stubble against his skin to evidence his contemplation of the situation. "This'll need an Artisan's touch, no doubt about that," he proposed to Tobin, pulling the fragment back in once the Dwarf had gotten a decent look at it. Turning back to where he had found the piece, he bent down to snatch up the divining rod, chucking it back up to Tobin for him to catch and take with him. "Tell you what; if you go get that rod looked at, maybe see if you can find anything on it, I'll take this fragment and get it repaired back onto the full tablet," he suggested, pocketing the piece into his inventory before placing his hands on his hips. "This may take some time to investigate and find all the answers, and I don't know if I trust those Sages to give all of it to us just yet... But I'll contact you when I can, okay?" Before climbing back onto his wolf and departing the Coastline, Dorian used his interface to send a friend request to Tobin; that way they would have an easier time contacting each other.

---

Notes: Post 3/3 for Step 2 of The First Dossier: Wish Upon a Star
Word Count: 1089
Tags: Tobin

Coded by @serenityspace of LH