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Post by Bane Emural on May 31, 2014 17:44:30 GMT
Bane gets up and walks back to the tavern with Asha. While walking there he glances at Asha. "How much of a trouble are goblins out here? In the Alliance, they are nothing more than a nuisance, except for the much larger clans of goblins. The smaller clans do what they wish and become a nuisance everywhere they go, even side with evil dragons or any sort of monster lord."
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Post by Midnight_Aurora on May 31, 2014 18:14:53 GMT
Asha says, "We have some that are strong and can be more then a nuisance, but when one with power comes out to play they run like greenhorns. I encountered one of the more major tribes here on my way to meet with lord Paragonis. When they saw me coming, but it could have been the mood I was in as well, they ran for the hills faster then Rainbow Dash doing a Sonic Rainboom. It can often cheer me up when I see stuff like that happen but I can never let it go to my head or I would be a liability to my friends and be cocky as a cockatrice."
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Post by Bane Emural on Jun 1, 2014 1:01:56 GMT
Bane looks at the surrounding area. "Besides goblins, what else have you faced in your travels, or career? I can hardly doubt that goblins are the only ones that gives trouble out here, despite their large numbers."
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Post by Midnight_Aurora on Jun 1, 2014 1:24:07 GMT
Asha nods in agreement, "Well there have been abominations, drakes and things that only Paragonis could tell you. I lived a mostly sheltered life till I joined the gate guard. most of the time the city's defense magic grid takes care to keep the larger and more dangerous creatures at bay. we guards usually only had to deal with internal affairs or the goblin raids. But I saw a couple of drakes on my way here. they were heading northwards towards the great dragon mountains far to the north." Asha gives him a list of the common enemies she has faced, and the few rare times that larger enemies have tried and got past the defense magic grid.
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Post by Bane Emural on Jun 2, 2014 0:04:23 GMT
Bane looks at the list. "A very moderate list, especially when you have lived a simple sheltered life. And seeing how you survived in your first time against goblins and any sort of manner of creatures, despite the circumstances, it is rather impressive. Most would have died on their first time due to shock or immense amount of fear or being caught off guard. Killing my first monster for a job wasn't easy pickings for me, and I was alone. But I survived and continued my career as a mercenary and an adventurer." He gives back the list and pulls out a long list. "This is all the types of monsters and monster lords I have faced in my entire career up to now." The list seems to be 5 sheets long. There many types of monsters and names of the Monster Lords crossed out. On the bottom is an uncrossed name, Dark Lord Ceriph.
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Post by Midnight_Aurora on Jun 2, 2014 3:20:12 GMT
Asha chuckles when she sees the uncrossed name. "I think I know of this one." She says, pointing to the name of Dark Lord Ceriph. "Father's Journal also had a few mentions of him in it. I never knew why till now. Can you tell me what you know about this Dark Lord Ceriph?" Asha seams now very interested in Bane's Line of work now. She asks, "Are you a monster hunter?"
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Post by Bane Emural on Jun 2, 2014 4:38:15 GMT
Bane seems shocked and insulted by Asha's assumption. "A Monster Hunter?!?! Are you out of your mind if you think I'd be one of those clowns? Yeah right! I'm a mercenary, a sword-for-hire and I take on contracts or missions, no matter how odd they are. And besides, some of my friends happens to be monsters. And some of the contracts I have been given allow me to hunt down monster hunters and either capture them or disarm them. Monster Hunters and Mercenaries are both in different line of work, even though they look a bit similar when it comes down to the threat of people's lives from monsters. The names you see on this list are monsters that I was either sent to slay or collect certain ingredients. The Monster Lords I slain threatened people's lives, and I was given money to do so. Though I don't take money if I know that the client, or clients, are poor."
He calms himself before answering the first question. "As for the Dark Lord, Ceriph. He is the strongest and oldest Dark Lord that serves the Dark Mother. Dark Lords that serve the Dark Mother can only grow stronger in power and magic if they live long enough. So the older they get, the more power they receive. Thus making them dangerous if they become patient. Like most magical creatures, Dark Lords use magic. Knowing what type of magic they use is simple because the realm of which they belong to. When I first met Ceriph, he was capable of slaying my entire home village and several others before that, and most of those villages contain great fighters too. And from what I gathered, Ceriph was the one that started whole Alliance War by destroying one of the major cities in one blow."
Bane's face becomes serious. He reaches into his bag and takes it out, showing Asha the Dark Lord, Ceriph. The Dark Lord seems to be a sort of disfigured humanoid with spikes coming out of its back and shoulders. Most of its body is covered in shadows or darkness and it seems to be wearing a mask. The mask is white with red eyes. It has a red design style from eye to eye. It carries a dark sword that looks more like an abomination than a weapon. "If you ever catch a glimpse of this creature, run as fast as you can. Don't ever try to fight it, even with friends. Believe me, I have seen the Alliances's greatest fighters and wizards fall prey to this monster. Not even healing magic could save them from their dooms; for Ceriph's magic is tainted with the purest essence of black magic. Magic has no effect on him, even if it's light. And weapons can't seem to touch him, even if they are enchanted. The only person that was able to injure him was me, and that could have been my only chance to kill him if he hadn't ran away from our battle."
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Post by Midnight_Aurora on Jun 2, 2014 5:02:06 GMT
Asha says, "I am not talking about those who would kill any monster for a few coins even if the being was poor. The Monster Hunters I speak of, are the ones that take on the challenge for the greater good. The ones that do it for no price at all and only hunt the monsters that kill other being for the fun of it. The ones that become known as Heroes in the eyes of those that knew them. My father was one of these. He never sought fame from taking out those that would harm innocent being just for the fun of it. He did it because it was right and brought a brighter future to the innocent lives he saved. This is who I wish to become one day but I want to earn my place my own way. Not by the way others have shown us." Asha seams to show a trait that few have she doesn't want fame nor fortune. She wants to protect others because it is the right thing to do.
Asha calms herself before her magic goes out of control again and says, "As for him, My father has seen and faced him once. A potion, I have yet to recreate, was his only way of fighting him. The potion held the purest essence of something called 'the fruit of the gods'. I know not what it is or where and how he got it, but him and many others made Ceriph leave the city of wonders alone. Even now the potion itself is kept in a hidden place. It is there so that when and where it would be needed, it can be used again. I have father's journal with me but it only tells about the potion. It does not say how to make it or what goes in it. I think father took that secret with him to his grave."
Asha doesn't seam to realize that her father may have encoded the potion in to his journal. She contradicted herself because she had said that something called 'The fruit of the gods' or its purest essence was needed for the potion. Bane would notice the contradiction in her words. It seams Asha hasn't noticed the contradiction herself.
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Post by Bane Emural on Jun 2, 2014 5:21:15 GMT
Bane looks Asha for a second in disbelief. "Tsk, the last thing an alchemist would do is take a secret to their graves. No, they would encode certain ingredients into a journal, a cooking recipe, or a sort of list. It's a puzzle of which alchemists should know, even blacksmiths would use this sort of method to create the right combination of a perfect weapon, whether it's enchanted or not. And besides, you already provided yourself the answer of your father's potion. Though it would be a waste of intelligence if I told you what it is instead of yourself realizing the answer."
He stays silent for a moment before speaking. "Though this potion of your father's can keep Ceriph at bay, it can't help him once he enters into the realms of Darkness. A place for only the shadows can reside in, a place for Ceriph to hide and lick his wounds while planning his next attack with the Dark Mother. We tried invading that realm after the war, but only one man made it out of there alive. One man out of thousands of elite warriors and wizards."
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Post by Midnight_Aurora on Jun 2, 2014 5:27:14 GMT
Asha says, "That I didn't know. All my father spoke of in his journal was, 'That with the help of many magi and the potion, he was able to make him leave.' He never stated where the creature left to and if there was any plans of trying to pursue it or not."
After she heard about the code thing she started thinking and then her face lit up like a realization had hit her. She says, "Wait....The journal said something concerning the potion called 'purest essence of the Fruit of the gods.' That must have been a clue as to how to make the potion. Wow I never thought Father would hide something that way and not tell his family how to decipher it. I guess he didn't have time or the need to tell somepony."
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Post by wanderingmagus on Jun 2, 2014 18:27:24 GMT
By now, the two travelers had reached the Fair Maiden, where Paragonis and Nellie were still going over maps and useful information for the journey. The Archmage smiled grimly at Bane's descriptions of the Dark Lord.
"But even Lords such as he are merely conduits for ever greater Powers. There are Powers, and there are Powers, each as fearsome as the next, or more. Thou Shalt Not Open The Outer Gates, as the Seventh Law once said, but the High Council has found need to breach that Law more than once to counter threats from the Outside. There is no gain without loss. Thus was the previous Merlin destroyed, though we wizards speak of it seldom. But let us speak of more immediate matters; I do not think that we shall be encountering such individuals upon our journey."
He pushed the book on common herbs of the West forward for all to see, leaning on the table slightly as he sipped his ale.
"It will be a long while, possibly not until the end of the journey, that we see another city again, so if we need something it would be best to get it now rather than discover we lack something and be unable to get it later. Medicine we can forage from the local plant life, water from streams, and food from both plant and animal, but rope, spare cloth, flint and canteens would go a long way helping if any of us lack them. I suppose I COULD use magic for those needs, technically, but that would leave less energy for fighting and defending, and I have a feeling that we will be doing plenty of both. Do we each have all the supplies we need for the journey ready at hand or hoof? And I can pay for breakfast, if any of you are hungry."
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Post by Midnight_Aurora on Jun 2, 2014 18:59:20 GMT
Asha is currently in her hybrid form. Paragonis knows from previous encounters the only time she is comfortable around others in it is when somepony or someone has already seen it. and she couldn't hide it on them. It seams Bane knows her secret. She has opened up to him as well. Asha says, "If it is alchemy ya need, then I can put father's potions to good use. your right about finding the ingredients out in the wild life. It was some of the most fun I had as a foal. As for other things. If I focused hard enough I could get the clouds to come down but because I don't have a full focus set for it, I won't be able to hold them long. father and I always loved a good glass of rain cloud water. I must warn you I haven't tried sense father's passing. As for other items. Where is bingo at this time of day? I have something that may ease his worries a bit during our travels. I heard a rumor about a rare item at a local shop keep and went to check it out last night. I got this as my answer for the rumor. It is my 3rd great grandmother's old weather badge. I plan on letting him borrow it for now untill our journey ends." Asha shows the group the badge. It holds the shape of a wonderbolt team badge but any magic user can clearly see it is heavily enchanted to ward off the effects of weather. Be they from natural or unnatural sources.
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Post by Bane Emural on Jun 2, 2014 19:46:02 GMT
Bane, close behind Asha, stops for a moment and puts his hand on his head. Calm down, he does not truly mean what he speaks. How can he know of this 'Outside' he speaks of? Doesn't seem like these people ever explore much but their own territories. He goes to the table and sits down. "I'm good for supplies. I've managed this far without having to pay for something like that, except for food. As for medicine, I usually let one of my friends deal with the healing. She kinda scolds me for not being too careful but she means well. Too bad I don't have some of my equipment to help me with that sort of thing. I only have emergency teleportation runes instead of the the regular ones."
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Post by Wavelength on Jun 3, 2014 4:32:48 GMT
At Asha's comment, Fides raised an acknowledging hoof and headed back to the bartender. After speaking to him for a moment, he nodded and trotted deeper into the inn to locate the halfling.
Two minutes later, Fides returned with Bingo--still half asleep--draped across his back. "I'm terribly sorry about this, milord, but you must be up at this hour. We cannot keep the expedition waiting!" The halfling's reply came with a groan. "Oooh, the trip... why does it have to be toda--" the halfling froze mid-sentence, as Fides had deliberately stopped next to a plate of buttered crumpets. Bingo scrambled into the bar stool and busied his stomach without further complaint, and Fides nodded to Asha. The halfling seemed awake enough to at least listen now.
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Post by Midnight_Aurora on Jun 3, 2014 4:50:26 GMT
Asha goes over to Bingo and says, "Bingo. I want you to hold onto something for me. It is a memento from my 3rd great grandmother. When I ask for it I would like for you to return this to me. Does anypony here know who Rainbow Dash was?" Asha holds out to Bingo the badge so he could take it. She seems to hold it with great care and respect. For Bingo, the one speaking to him isn't someone he has seen before but her coat colors and wings do share a resemblance to the pony he met the other night.
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