Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » Official Masquerade Topic - Winter 2020

Looks like it only wants rhymes, Annette decided. Maybe it feeds on them? It would not be the weirdest thing she ever heard about a spirit. But what else could she say? The only other rhymes she knew were... riddles.
Now, that's an idea...
"You think yourself so wise, it seems,
let's put your mettle to the test.
Shall you come apart at the seams,
or continue in this rude jest?
A riddle to settle the score;
answer mine or fall to the floor!
Meet my challenge, oh Mari Lwyd,
Or forever forego our mead!"
She drew a breath, and spoke her riddle: "Never grazing, always hushed. Softest of wools that can't be touched."
Would the spirit bite, though? And would it be able to answer her riddle?

Ah, yes, she had wondered if the young dragon would be able to use such magiks as the dragons of her own mountains. A smile formed on the Dragoness' face below her mask, and with another nod in Xefry's direction she answered within her own mind, "The pleasure is mine, Little Sire. And yes, I am, but...it is a complicated tale, I'm afraid."

She looked up to glance at the woman, apparently unaware of their mental conversation; she glanced also at the battle of rhymes going on not far off, then returned her gaze to Xefry, saying silently, "I suppose, to put it simply, my soul is bonded with the spirit of a firedrake that gave his life in an attempt to save me. I am of dragonkind, while at the same time I am not. It is...a complicated place to be." A wry little smile graced her features once more, her eyes dropping for a moment in remembrance. That had been a long, long time ago, yet it still felt very near and painful.

Pushing the thoughts away, she questioned the young dragon, "Where do you hail from, Little Sire?"

"Ah--" says the front performer, and the horse skulls' jaw works silently up and down for a moment. The hindquarters appear to have sat down on the grass and are hiccuping. "Of that riddle, I'm sure you're proud, to trick an empty skull so loud, we are but a midnight dream, your answer might be cloud or steam!"

Annette winced.
"A cloud it was, you are clever. But would you care for another? Always hungry, ever fed. The flesh I lick will soon turn red."
She did not know that many riddles, though, so she dearly hoped someone in the crowd could give her more.

" I don't fear or hear you. You should fly into the sky. The wind grinned as you try to fly high into the sky. your stuck here in this year. Can you stay and play? Do you have to leave while you grieve at the loss? Don't be sad i wont be mad. " she sang as she started to enjoy the fun.

"Oh no, oh no, now not so fast! It's our turn and we'll make it last! If riddles it be, then riddles it be, and this time you'll be answering me!"

The midsection of the horse can be heard drunkenly muttering at the hind quarters to get up.

"What has legs but does not walk, what carries notes but does not talk? What makes some weep and others laugh, won't you tell me now on your party's behalf?"

"My life stems from a world foreign to this. I cannot sense the rivers of magic that flow through my world. This place feels like a pocket of one place that ended up within the space of another. I believe my companion called the world Sorenil at some point. My father was a proud dragon, one of the forest. His age has taken its toll and he has entrusted my friend to care for me. He once served to protect the forests from the intrusion of others, but now another who's scales our masks resemble now serves that role." he spoke slowly, a hint of kindness in his voice compared to his previous very formal tone. His tail wrapped loosely around the Dragoness' arm and his well of magic seemed to grow. Clearly drawing from the Dragoness but not taking from her. Sarthelia was enjoying the show, half tempted to join and throw her own words into the fray.

Ah. Oh, darn.
She had no idea.
Legs that did not walk? Notes carried, maybe a music instrument? Was there a music with legs, that could make people weep and cry? Beautiful music had that power, no matter what medium it used to be expressed. The only one she could think of was:
"A piano, keys black and white; in the silence, by day or night. It's the music, in laugh or tears, that brings my answer to your ears."
Please, she prayed, let that be all.
And she dearly hoped that a wrong answer would not have any more drastic consequences than dancing food...

"Sober we started and sober we'll be, but just for tonights revelry, we'll take a cup, a quaff and a brew and dig into finest oxen stew, our appetite cannot be filled, the depths of our thirst cannot be drilled, you'll see your casks grow light and empty, for your failure to riddle, our feast will be plenty. The answer was wine and wine we'll have, now your drinks will go down by halve!"

Several barrels that had been bouncing haphazardly around Annette vanish with a "pop." The front of the horse goes back to jigging, cackling gleefully.

"That seems a very noble cause indeed," she answered, feeling a surge of admiration for not only Xefry and his companion, but the young dragon's father as well. "Though I can't say I am familiar with the name Sorenil. My own realm--or, the realm I inhabit...last I knew, it was called Elkaddion."

She gave a slight bow of her head out of respect for her own companion dragons who were far off currently, explaining, "I and my friends are guardians of the mountains and the Dragon's Keep in our on world...we keep to our own, for our part, and keep the beasts of the deep underground from emerging." Unfortunately, the people who lived on the surface didn't realize this and thought the Dragoness and the Dragonswarm who harbored her wished only ill-will on the kingdom.

Well, she tried. Thankfully, it seemed the spirit was a gracious winner and did not intend to eat her soul or some other kind of unpleasantness.
She was still trapped in a vortex of foods and buffet ustensils, though.
"Oh Mari Lwyd, you bested me. And I am now at your mercy. Will you let me join the party? Tonight's a night to be merry."
And as she spoke those words, a nibbling question remained at the back of her mind.
... Could wine really have legs?

The duchess throws up her hands in distress as so much of the party's alcohol goes missing. "Oh dear! I thought you two had him on the ropes for sure."

1/3 of Mari Lwyd cackles and capers. "A battle of wits, ye fools may challenge but none will defeat the Welsh on the scavenge, pour us a cup of your finest brandy and keep a few of those meat pies handy! It's not just a jape, nor just a rhyme, you'll give us something to quaff if ye want to have a good time!"

Sarthelia stepped forward next. She had a confident grin on her lips. "A trio or three, upon a beast with glee do you crash our feast. You take and take but never make, for the truth is that your words are all fake. Answer me this you beasts if you so please; I surround the world and in it everything, yet I dwell within a thimble, oh such a tiny thing." Her words were soft but carried themselves over the din of crashing meals and sloshing drinks. Her cadence was in tune with each down beat of the party.

"I am honored to be in your presence then Miss. Your work is admirable and quite important it seems. Your world name does not sound familiar to me. Perhaps if such a place as this exists, we could travel between our realms and share with one another knowledge and resources." It seemed that Xefry's father had left behind much knowledge for his son.

Annette perked up at the potential rescue and mouthed a 'thank you' at the woman and her odd winged lizard. Then she turned back to Mari Lwyd, with an expectant look on her face.
Would it work?

The horse skull, frozen in its perpetual rigor mortis grin, somehow manages to look surprised when another challenger steps in. The front of the horse swivels toward Sarthelia, "Your wit is sharper than most it seems, our words, not hollow, are bursting our seams, your answer, like bellies is full of naught but space, PLEASE GIVE ME SOMETHING TO FILL UP MY FACE!"

Observing as yet another of the guests stepped forth to tackle the riddles challenge, Cris idly commented: "Splendid break of day
A poor, vivacious fool whirls
despite the brandy"
Still she continued to observe, her head cocked to one side, making the mask appear almost like the head of a curious little fox.

"Am I dreaming?" She whispered to herself as she walked into the room, which appeared to be a full on ball like she'd seen in movies. Even though she'd been staring at the white rose and it's petals for quite some time before she'd entered, she still hadn't figured out how it could glow. Initially, she'd thought it was some kind of advanced technology, but that didn't seem to match the rest of the scene that had unfolded around her and now that she stood there, with a black lace cat mask on and a matching laced dress she felt more sure about the impossible.

Magic... It had to be magic. Widened eyes scanned the other guests, gaze briefly hovering over them as she smiled at a few. She made sure to avert her gaze rather quickly, remembering that staring was impolite even though her curiosity attempted to get the best of her. Her gaze had also scanned the table with delicacies, multiple times in fact since her arrival and even though they all looked delicious, it didn't strike her as the typical chips and popcorn that she'd normally see as parties so she held off on it to make sure she wouldn't shove all of it in her mouth at once.

While liquor went untouched by her too, she didn't particularly feel thirsty and instead insisted on finding some company to spend the evening with. Pleasant company, preferably, then again none so far had particularly seemed unpleasant.

"To fill the space in your face, a feast befitting a beast at least. But your wit must be tested to its limit, so answer me this. A monster so grand, but with a name so bland. A beast who's feast is tempered best by mankind's priests. It is that which you succumbed to and are so numbed to." She had been told this riddle by her parents in her youth and figured it might be more difficult to tackle than the other she gave.