Myths of Thalassana: The Cursed Stones of Light (RP)

Asha shows Bane her Storm Cloud Katana. It is made of a material no non Pegasus can even touch, let alone use. The cyan runes in it are wings in different positions(languages required to understand are Draconic and Pegasus Wing Semaphore). Asha says, "It is older then most of my family. It reminds us Pegasi of what we once long ago controlled. Its name is Hurricane Gale. It is said, that one who has both this sword and its sister will have the power of the storm at their command. It is also said that the name of the sister is Hurricane Blade Shield. From what has been rumored and from ancient records Pegasi once, long long ago, held the very storms and weather of the world within their hooves. This however has never been proven sense no Pegasus today can even so much as create a wind tunnel or dust devil without outside help. If you speak of the power of the blade, I know that the power of the blade is based on its master. The stronger one's bond with it and the stronger one's skill, the stronger the blade becomes. I have yet to master this blade or my mana shield and saber. The sword was my mother's most treasured item. The mana saber and mana shield were my father's. All three can help me focus my magic. But only with the saber and shield can I truly let out the full potential of it. I am not the strongest mage around but what I lack in magic I make up for in speed and skill in the sky."

Asha Turned to the arch wizard and says, "One more thing, the guardians of the tomb will only let those with a Thundercloud in or are of Thundercloud blood. As far as I know, I am the last of the Thundercloud line. That is the reason I kept my mother's maiden name and not my father's last name. It only seamed fitting to continue the line sense I am an only child. Hopefully being a half-blood won't hinder us. As you already know."
Asha goes back to polishing her katana and then on to polish both her saber and shield. Every so often, she drinks from the remainder of her ale and eats the food before her. She takes a look at the map a few more times to make sure she got the location of the tomb right.

Asha grins when bane says that, "This katana plus its sister are two such weapons. They chose their master. But they don't give their power easily. That is why you have to form a bond with them. This one trusts me because I was always near it when mother used it. It knows who I am and what I am able to do. The sister will look to this one for guidance on if I will be able to use her or not. As to the smith that forged them, it was a Pegasus smith. The blade is made of cloudsteel. It is a material that can't be found anymore without the use of Ancient Pegasus Weather Magic. The sword was a gift to my ancestors for an act of valor in the most dangerous of situations. You will see what I mean when we get to the tomb. You may have heard the legend surrounding one of them. Loyal to the end and never without her friends. I based my skills as a leader off of loyalty. All of the soldiers in my brigade had to devote themselves to the brigade as a whole even to get in."

Asha nod in agreement and says, "How many more do we need to wait on or are we leaving in the morning?" Asha sheaths her saber and katana, as well as places her shield on her back. The way she puts her items away would be puzzling to the equines, because she acts more like a bipedal creature then an equine when doing so. She seams to be able to manipulate her body in ways no normal equine could.

Paragonis shook his head at the halfling's worried response. "My dear Bingo, sometimes you must understand that simply being timorous about things will not necessarily guarantee you safety. Any oldster with a good helping of gumption would tell you from experience that sometimes the proper response to danger is to acknowledge and confront it face on. While this might be hard to do, as are many proper things, it can and will often save you a great deal of trouble."

He leaned back in his chair, sipping his ale and smiling. "And certainly there is danger, as with any journey. I, for instance, am dangerous, more dangerous than most things you will ever meet, even if you walk into the Wastelands. And Silentium is dangerous, and the the Mage-Knight here is dangerous. You are surrounded by danger every day, Bingo, for you are dangerous yourself, in your own fashion. Even Thalassana and Fairfields are dangerous, not least to those would harm their citizens or try invading them. But for those prepared to enter them, they can be a haven, and for those prepared to enter it, even the wilderness of the south and west can be quite an interesting adventure. It never hurts to be prepared, after all, and while there has been quite a bit of peace since the Great War, we will be traveling quite a distance from these lands over mountain, valley, shoreline and canyon. Still, if all goes well, I think this will be educational for all of us, and for you, especially, Bingo."

He looked shrewdly over at Asha. "I think that perhaps we should rest for the night, in preparation for the journey tomorrow. It is no short distance, from here to the orb east of Orod Khazad, and though I intend to take us on the safest road there, I would still prefer all of us to be well-rested should anything occur. And I am sure that some of you are quite tired from your long respective journeys."

The wizard then turned to Bane, as if just now remembering the mercenary's earlier question. "Although the specifics concerning the stones are rather arcane, the High Council, and most of us wizards, believe the stones to contain within them an ancient curse for which the Ancients were, at least in part, responsible for. They can indeed be turned into darts of a sort, whether actual darts or the large kind that Thalassana lobs at other armies with their gigantic siege engines, and they do indeed spread a sort of poison. Still, despite the danger, the curse itself can be used for more than simply war, and in fact could be used for good, or so we believe."

He shrugged the staff from the strap on his back into his hands, gesturing at a crystal at the top.

"Much of our magic, after all, comes from minerals and objects that would otherwise be deadly or poisonous, but when carefully used in the right sort of way can be quite beneficial to everyone. The High Council hopes to use these magic stones in the same way, and bring rich blessings to all lands, from Fairfields and Thalassana to Orod Khazad in the northeast. Of course, all this is assuming that we do get to the stones, and they haven't been lost or stolen by some fool brigand who thinks he knows what he's dealing with and doesn't. Pity the man who leaps before looking!"

As uncomfortable as Bingo was, he finally tried changing his perspective to 'vacation'. Odd... he was still feeling quite uneasy, but he was almost cheered up by calling the adventure a vacation, and it led him to smile weakly as he bit into another pastry. That's it, just a nice trip into the countryside with a group of other individuals. Nothing to worry about... "Yes, some sleep... that'll do nicely...," the halfling trailed off, not seeming to notice that he hadn't even rented a room. The group found Bingo drifting off on the bar--perhaps Asha's ale had been just a little bit more than the halfling could handle at this hour.

Silentium gestured to Fides. The two faced the group, bowed, and efficiently headed off to one of the inn's rooms. Once inside, they locked the door, removed their armor, placed their chainmail in the doorway and closed windowsill, then picked a respective spot in the two-bed room and began to rest in a light sleep with their weapons beside the beds. Fides' official duty was to watch over his knight while he slept, but Silentium believed both of them needed to be in pristine condition tomorrow, so he was content with both him and his squire being easy to awaken by the metal sound trap. They had faith that nothing would interrupt them tonight, but dying in one's sleep was still too much of a disgrace to ignore.