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Fyonae (played anonymously)

Caught in a breath, Fyonae stared at the fiery eyed beast as it bellowed its rage, the oddly written commentary scribbled in her mind as she looked on with her lips slightly parted. For a fractured moment, time seemed to pause as the beast turned its head in their direction, her own eyes meeting its. She noted the fear, the confusion that swirled within the pupils, fuel for its burning rage.

Just then Glenn's arm snaked around her waist and hauled her up and away, against the shelter of a nearby structure, snapping Fyonae out of her stupor. Jerking her eyes to the young man, she took a steadying deep breath, her eyes serious. "Thank you." Her tone was colored by both a soft brogue, which carried an inherent musical quality, and concern that bordered on fear. "I dun know it for sure, but.. that beastie seems afraid." She murmured, almost to herself. "Maybe it does'na mean to attack...Someone else is at the root of this evil." The commentary in her mind seemed proof enough of that.. unless the dragon itself a wizard or some such.

Inwardly, Fyonae cursed herself for leaving her best weapon back at the inn she'd paid for the night, not wanting to carry it with her during the festivities. Now, all she was left with to face the dragon was a sturdy but small knife strapped around her thigh beneath the skirt of her dress. That is... unless she wanted to reveal to the world the other, deeper, part of herself and be ostracized forever.
Auralia (played by VampireDwarf) Topic Starter

A small gasp escaped Auralia's lips, and she whispered, "Da...," as her eyes scanned the crowd for her father. But the Dragon stood between him and her. Just then she heard her name and turned to see the others beckoning her to safety. She turned once more to look for her father, but as the lord's armed guards made their way through the crowd she decided to follow her new acquaintances.

People were diving under tables, running around to the opposite sides of buildings, or frozen in fear. Cullan called for his armed men to take up the fight, but even they hesitated at first. Dragons were a thing of lore and had not been known in these parts for an age.

As they approached the beast, the Dragon (or really lizard, for so it still seemed to behave) shuddered and dashed about. It was incredibly clumsy in its new size. Again it tried to hiss and blew a stream of fire toward the approaching soldiers. An archer drew his bow and found his mark in the shoulder of the Dragon. The creature screamed in pain, and its wings beat into action as it scrambled to retreat. Another volley of arrows followed the beast as it rose into the air. Several penetrated into its back but none deep enough to bring the creature down. It flopped a bit on the roof of the inn, leaving a hole near the center, and its flaming cries of pain dropped sparks into several thatched roofs as it fled over the village toward the mountain ranges.

Meanwhile, Glenn also began to experience a "voice" within his mind. The story of the Dragon's destruction continued for both himself and Fyonae. It told of how the great, fearsome creature wrought utter destruction on the village and left it in ruin and flame and that many people were killed or injured. Those that were left would have to pick up the broken pieces of their lives and begin again - waiting in fear for the Dragon's return.
Glenn (played by Juls)

"Someone else is at the root of this evil." Glenn caught Fyonae's words and looked around, perhaps hoping to spot someone wearing black robes and a pointed hat cackling like a madman. But all he saw were scared villagers.

He stopped suddenly, listening to the voice narrating in his mind.

"No! We can't let it!" He shouted at the voice in his head. If anyone was actually paying him any mind, vs the dragon, he'd seem to be shouting to himself.

"Quick! Put out the fire!" he shouted, running to the well for buckets of water...
Fyonae (played anonymously)

Torn between trying to figure out what was going on, and helping the frantic villagers, Fyonae jolted into motion nearly at the same time as Glenn. Reaching out to snag a bucket nearby, meant for watering the horses, and Fyonae ran toward a person she'd seen trampled by the dragon during his initial rampage. The young man lay very still, and his arm was crooked, face pale, deep gashes torn into his shoulder from the claws of the beast.

Unfortunate man... Fyonae shook her head as she knelt at his side, surveying the damage after feeling a faint pulse. Around her, cries of horror and outrage mingled with fearful shouts as men and women alike ran to form lines to put out fires, or tended injuries of their own, or just plain ran away...

Tearing a strip of the pretty cotton cloth of her skirt, Fyonae washed the wound as much as she could and bound it tightly with yet another strip of clothe, thinking he'd need a good salve added to keep the wound from festering. Biting her lip, she turned to his broken arm, wondering if she should set it. She'd had a bit of experience with such things, but surely there was a better qualified person here? Looking around at the chaos and confusion, Fyonae knew it was unlikely any one person would take priority.

Scanning the crowds, Fyonae hoped to see Glenn and Roxi safe, as well as Auralia, her new acquaintances. She'd hate to see them hurt, especially since they'd seemed so nice.
Auralia (played by VampireDwarf) Topic Starter

Most of the gathered revellers stood frozen in amazement and fear as the Dragon swept off over the fields and away. A few cries of "Fire!" stirred most into action, and it wasn't long before a steady flow of water was being put to the nearest burning roof, that of the inn. Cullan and a few of his advisors huddled together and discussed the situation in intense whispers.

The young man Fyonae attended to blinked and winced but smiled his gratitude at her help. As she glanced about at the crowd, she noticed that the carnage was really not quite as terrible as the narration had made it out to be. Sure, there were injuries, destruction, and chaos, but nothing that couldn't be set right with proper time and care.

The narration had also ceased to play through her mind or Glenn's - gone almost as suddenly as it had started.

As soon as the fire at the inn is under control, a majority of the bucket brigade moves on to other buildings. A few of the residents work quickly to remove their valuables from their own burning houses or stables before the fire consumes those structures.


Auralia immediately set about to finding her father. After a few minutes, she noticed him crawling out from under a table. Fortunately, he was not seriously injured, just a few bumps and bruises from the crowd's chaotic scattering.

((Sorry for disappearing for so long. Life got busy and weird and stressful all at the same time. My free time in which I can post may be a little spotty over the next week or two, but that should free up as we get to the end of the year.))
Glenn (played by Juls)

Glenn, who was helping to put out one of the fires, stopped suddenly just a moment after the narration in his head stopped, bucket held partially extended in his grasp. He recovered himself within seconds, but it was the strangest phenomena he'd ever experienced. Had it been only his imagination, he wondered as he resumed passing buckets down the line.

When he'd done all he could to help with the fires, he went to find Roxi and his Aunt Dotta, thankfully finding them together and safe.

He saw Auralia nearby, helping a man he assumed was her father, out from beneath the table. "You hurt at all?" he asked... his earlier awkwardness gone some as it seemed larger problems had pushed aside his trouble talking to members of the opposite sex.
Fyonae (played anonymously)

With her once pretty skirt now smudged and torn, with similar smudges adorning her cheeks from ash and dirt, Fyonae yielded the wounded young man to his obviously concerned family member who'd by that time found them.

Wiping a weary hand across her brow, Fyonae stood up and scanned the area, belatedly realizing her inner commentary had died away. What in the ten hells? Her lips curved into a lopsided frown of confusion and sorrow. Not wanting to leave her newfound compatriots on to their own troubles following the wake of sich destruction, she walked with a careful grace through the still panicky crowds, eyes searching each face until she spotted the forms of Glenn and Roxi, who seemed to have also found Auralia and who she could only assume was the woman's father.

Falling still beside Glenn, her shoulder brushed his arm lightly as she gazed around, glancing at each of them. She offered a smile to Auralia and a nod. "I am glad ya found 'im." She murmured, truly happy nothing had happened to the group. "Any-un else have an inkling of what 'as 'appened here?" Tired and not a little confused still, Fyonae's brogue colored her words more thickly than before, each word sliding into the next with a lilting cadence.
Auralia (played by VampireDwarf) Topic Starter

"Aye, just fine, young man," Auralia's father replied to Glenn's question. "Though I do suppose these old bones may ache a little tomorrow. This is young folk's nonsense - nothing an old man like me ought to be poking about in." He gave his daughter a searching, questioning look before asking, "You all right, my dear?"

"Of course, Da, of course." She brushed at a few dirty spots on his new clothes. "You're sure you're all right?" She smiled her thanks at the others' concern and responded with a question to Fyonae's query. "This... this isn't something that happens often 'round here? With seemingly innocent creatures suddenly becoming such... beasts?"

Strangely, the narration returns almost as abruptly as it had stopped.
"The ferocious Dragon made its way to its lair deep within the caves of the mountain where it rested upon heaps of gold and jewels. If dragons could smile, it certainly did. And there he sat and planned his next attack upon Aspenlee and Cullan's fortress."

Meanwhile, people still hustled about to put out fires or help those who were injured. Lord Cullan called together his advisors, guards were posted at the gates and throughout the village, and more of his small army could be seen riding down from his castle further up the mountain.


((Sorry to have been away for so long. This holiday season was ridiculously busy (possibly because I'm not so great at saying "no"...) Anyway, I think I'm pretty much back to normal now. Thanks for your patience!))
Glenn (played by Juls)

Glenn could almost see it... the heaps of the gold and jewels. With even a few of those, maybe he could have a wife... maybe even a pretty one! And a bit of land all his own, some cows and chickens, standing timber, with a pond full of fish and a nice sized garden plot. But not if that dragon burned it all down!

He blinked, realizing he'd been standing there staring off into space as the narration played.

"You know where there's any caves at?" he asked Fyonae, seemingly not out of the blue, but not, perhaps if the same narration was going through her mind...
Fyonae (played anonymously)

An odd look crossed Fyonae's face for a few uncomfortable moments when Auralia offered her question. Fear and indecision, mixed and churned within her along with the sure knowledge of what would happen if anyone found out that she was... different. The question hit much too close for comfort. The festivities and subsequent chaos had all worked to create an atmosphere where her shadow would go easily unnoticed. She had walked in broad daylight many times and people had not even thought to associate the shadow at her feet with her. After all, it did not share her shape, therefore it couldn't belong to her.

That's what they thought anyway. And she let them. Still standing in the shadow of a nearby building, she had no such worry at the moment. Eyes clearing and her posture straightening subtly, Fyonae shrugged easily, keeping her gaze on the other woman as she answered, as if she hadn't noticed any awkward moments. Inwardly she eas berating herself for not being ready for such a question. "Certainly it does not 'appen in town. But... as for the forest, 'tis deep and no one knows for sure what things reside in its deepest parts. Most are too superstitious to venture verra deep. My clan sticks near the mountains, an I 'ave been through many forest paths, but there are those that even I do not traverse. Innocent creatures are not always benign, that much is true."

She sighed, then turned toward Glenn as he spoke, offering a thoughtful frown as she considered a moment. "The elders of my clan 'ave spoken of such caves, but always with warning and I have ne'er gone in search of them. I have a love for plateaus and wide grassy plains. I have no desire to explore dark gloomy places." She smiled at the last as if in a bit of jest to lighten the mood, then gave another shrug and a sigh.

"The festivities were just getting excitin' , too." She murmured sadly, eyes scanning the still smoldering destruction. As she did so she noticed the still distant form of the Lord and his troupe heading down toward town. She had better move on, and soon, she could never hope to stay long anywhere.
Auralia (played by VampireDwarf) Topic Starter

Auralia pays no attention to Fyonae's initial discomfort at her question, thinking it to be the woman's way of trying to figure out an answer. Her father is less oblivious but refrains from indicating so.

Auralia is a little confused at the sudden discussion of caves. "Why would you go looking for anything - and a cave of all things - in the mountains when that's where the Dragon has just disappeared to?"


Meanwhile, the fires have been contained, and Cullan's men have begun to assemble themselves. Orders are being issued and groups of three to five rush off here and there about the village. The Captain of the Guard, a man named Thenly, climbs up onto a table to make an announcement to the revellers. Using his loudest and most official voice, he declares, "Be it known that no one is permitted to depart the village of Aspenlee, by order of the noble Lord Cullan. Any person or persons caught in such an act shall be immediately apprehended and held for questioning. We cannot risk your lives with such a new terror about until we have obtained more information. Those who are of able body and mind should put to the repair of the inn and then other structures. All visitors and persons left without lodging will be asked to check in at the inn door unless you have been provided other lodging within the confines of the village. We will be patrolling the streets and surrounding areas throughout the night and will sound a warning should the beast return."


"Come, my child," Auralia's father tugs at her arm, "Let us see whether we have any house left standing. My dear," he turns to Fyonae and quietly continues, "If we do have, you are welcome at our hearth should you need it. And you also, sir," he indicates to Glenn, "Welcome any time. Any time."
Marc Houston (played by CodingMad1)

( my character was allowed recently)

Marc looks at the partially destroyed building and starts to rebuild the roof using some earth tools he created.
Marc is a human adopted by elves he visited the festival to see what is going on.
He can control the elements to his advantage.
"It is interesting that a dragon can accidentally destroy a couple of houses"
he says to himself while fixing the bars of the roof.
Glenn (played by Juls)

The large youth turned to Auralia and furrowed his brow in some confusion. "To make sure it don't come back!" he said, as if it should have been obvious.

But the order from Lord Cullan's man put an immediate stop to that idea. Explicitly disobeying a Lord's order was simply not something the peasant farmer could really even fathom. After all, it was their job to look after the welfare of the village, not his. So, instead, he lent his efforts toward the repairs of the structures and found himself next to another stranger...

"You ever seen sumthin' like that dragon before?" he asked as they worked.
Marc Houston (played by CodingMad1)

"not really" Answered Marc as he continues to repair the roof
"have you seen anything like that?" asked Marc
Auralia (played by VampireDwarf) Topic Starter

((By the way, the narration has once again faded from Glenn's mind.))
Marc Houston (played by CodingMad1)

Auralia wrote:
((By the way, the narration has once again faded from Glenn's mind.))
lol
Fyonae (played anonymously)

Captain Thenly's words were still ringing in Fyonae's ears as Auralia's father issued his invitation, and though she acknowledged the kind words with a nod, her smile was absent, worry etched into the lines wrinkling her forehead as she turned to gaze toward the town gates. She needed to warn her clan of the dragon's presence, what if it attacked them next? Their presence near the mountains was little known by people, but to a dragon coasting the skies, they would be easily seen dotting the banks of the crystal clear lake that was fed by the melting mountain snows each year.

Worry held Fyonae's heart in its grip as she finally moved through the town to offer her aid where she could. It soon became apparent that she was most useful in aiding those who had set to preparing makeshift beds in the community hall for those whose homes were reduced to less than adequate by the fires. For hours she gathered blankets and supplies from those who could spare them, and helped in the nearby Inn as well as the owner and his wife had taken it upon themselves to make meals for those who needed it, using any donations of food offered. Fyonae had a fair bit of experience with cooking, and she found the tasks soothing, aiding her in keeping her mind off of her clan and the danger threatening them for the time being.

Throughout the rest of the day she kept tabs on Glenn and his cousin as well as Auralia and her father, should she have glimpsed them. It was kind of him to offer shelter for her, and come evening, she knew she'd take the offer in hand for the Inn was sure to be overflowing from the recent misfortune.

Throughout all of this, Fyonae felt a flicker of quiet confidence that all her recent training was paying off. She had not once lost her control, even in the face of the dragon's attack. Her father's words, which had kept her trying and training when she felt she'd never gain control, stayed with her even now. She hoped to do honor to his memory here, helping where she could. Still, she resolved to leave the town as soon as she was allowed, and when she finally found a free moment, as evening drew on, Fyonae approached Captain Thenly, hoping to request freedom to leave the city the following day.
Fyonae (played anonymously)

((Let me know anytime if you'd like me to keep my posts shorter. I can dial back if I need to ;) ))
Auralia (played by VampireDwarf) Topic Starter

((Go ahead! It helps keep the story moving, and I think it's usually pretty apparent when we need to work in "real time."

I'm going to try to post later on today. ))
Auralia (played by VampireDwarf) Topic Starter

As each one sees to repairs and other necessities for the next few hours, the inner monologue seems to have disappeared completely - at least for the time being.

Auralia and her father arrive at their little home to find the roof still in almost perfect condition. Auralia takes some time to make up a few herbal compresses for her Da's bruises and then whisks away to help for awhile with other injuries and the collection of necessities for those left without.

The captain strokes his chin thoughtfully at Fyonae's request to leave Aspenlee in the morning. He ponders for a few moments before answering, "I cannot say so for sure just yet, but it may be possible..." Then he adds more quietly and turning away from any other ears, "You're one of the folks from up in the mountains, aren't you? Have any of you seen or heard of this beast? Lord Cullan would like to put together a council on this matter, and you may be of great service to such a cause."

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