jaistlyn

@Maverick ..?

Yo! 3 more days to post! Would you all prefer if we used turn-based posting?

Rodham made no comment and kept an unreadable expression as Rin sucked the second seed dry. His promise to protect Vanilla was a lie, and he felt no guilt for it. He had expected to meet a monster, and he was shown a monster. But he was unafraid. He did not shrink back from Rin’s scrutinizing gaze. His hands relaxed by his sides, he returned her gaze unabashedly. If he showed any weakness, she would devour him as well, that he was sure. He had to prove himself useful to her so she would keep him by her side. Come, I have what you seek. She beckoned to him with a perfect hand, cupping the ore in her hand. Despite being under the influence of the dark power in his amulet, he was wary. Wary that this was too easy, that Rin was too eager to offer him something precious. Perhaps this was a test. She was powerful enough to twirl anyone around her fingertips, but who she needed was someone she could trust, someone who could think for himself and offer advice. Rodham bowed deeply. “That is an honour, my princess, but I must refuse today. For I have something you would be interested in as well. And that is why I come to you.” From a hidden pocket of his cloak, he produced a vial of liquid, clear on top but with white sediments settled at the bottom. “I got this in Lyonesse. Someone from the Resistance has been developing this to counteract the effects of the ore. They still trust me and think that I’m on their side. If you promise me a piece of land when the Resistance has been crushed, I can spy for you and tell you all of their plans.”

This is off topic, but.... isn’t roomba a vacuum cleaner?? So, like, sucking everything up while trying to be discreet and staying away from everyone’s feet? If so, well, nice metaphor, supernal. /slow claps

Host the image on someplace like imgur, then paste the link here. It should automatically display the image.

I just saw the chapter 3 sign, are we still continuing in this same thread or starting a new thread?

I guess it’s not so much as offensive but annoying if you get asked enough times. I’m in Canada and not originally from here, so ‘where’re you from’ is a good conversation starter, but it’s a little annoying when the conversation goes: ”So, what language do you speak?” ”English, actually.” ”No, I mean what native language do you speak?” ”Well, yeah English is our official language, we are taught in English in schools but...” Then I’ll have to launch into a 10-min explanation on the races in Singapore and how we’re still educated in the language of our ancestry so we’re all bilingual. I don’t mind so much though, it’s nice to have more people know the culture in my country! The annoying part is despite explaining all that, the person still exclaims “your English is so good!” , in the sense of a non-native speaker speaking well (come on, there’s no other reason why anyone would randomly say another person’s language is good in casual conversation) Well thank you very much, I just said English is my first language -.- But don’t worry! ..it doesn’t just happen in the western part of the world, people from China exclaim that my Chinese is good too lol! So apparently both my English and Chinese are ‘so good’ :D

New round ends Oct 23! @supernal it’s up to you if you want to make an exit post!

Ker-chekk! The speed of the lash cut through the silent air, echoing between the cliffs. Ruiser’s heroic attempt was successful at shielding Antique from the brunt of the attack. It was true that her spear had been snapped, perhaps her arms jarred, but it could have been much worse. Ruiser was not so lucky himself. The brave but hasty block put the dragon rider in a position where he was hit squarely in the chest. Instead of his armour damping the impact of pliable flesh, however, it was as if a steel bar had rammed into him. The force of the blow threw him over the edge of the narrow cliff ledge. He found himself being thrust through the air at a higher velocity than a free fall would have been. Entrenched by the momentum of its own attack, the creature had no chance to react before the burst of light enveloped it, blinding anyone looking in its direction. It let out a shrill screech, legs writhing frantically to get out of the holy beam. Upwards it scrambled across the cliff face, slipping precariously a number of times, but managing to hang on. Within seconds, it was out of sight, leaving the group in silence once again, made more despondent by the unexpected loss of one member.

Thanks for joining in! Lol what a way to go. I'll be posting in the next day or two!

Before LaCarde finished his sentence, a small person walked through the entrance, his hat just grazing the tent flap that most people would need to duck under. His steps were casual but purposeful; not someone just browsing the wares, but a businessman. He paused briefly when he saw the other man in the tent. “Oh, a customer. I’ll wait-“ the halfling then spied the knife that was planted on the countertop. “Oh.” His voice took on a knowing tone. “An old friend. Nevermind then. LeCarde, what have you got this time?” “This,” The elf gestured to the open barrel, “is what exactly I was doing right before I was interrupted,” he gave Ridley a pointed look. “You’re in luck this time. I received some good quality artifacts that will fetch you a good price.” Temo raised his eyebrows. “I must have a look at them, then.” Although he knew the sand elf wasn’t a con man, he drove a hard bargain, and there were times in the past that the goods Temo got from LeCarde didn’t fetch a good profit because of the high cost. It was undeniable that the elf had quality goods though. The halfling just had to be careful when appraising the items. LeCarde moved himself between Temo and the other man. “Well, before that, I would like you to meet Ridley, my former pupil. Ridley, meet Temo. Before he is Temo the Small, merchant at Last Chance, he is Temo the Quickfooted.” Temo folded his arms at the mention of the epithet that was known to few. He and LeCarde both knew each other’s histories, but they had never acknowledged their similarities throughout their dealings with other. This was an odd place to bring it up. “What exactly are you driving at, LeCarde?” The sand elf ignored Temo and continued, “I’ve never worked with him, but he is talked about within the circle. Declared himself quit, but there are numerous rumours of high profile items sold by his hand, with no one knowing who had obtained them in the first place.” He left it at that for Ridley to ponder the implications. Temo laughed. “Rumours, LeCarde. I never knew you to be one who believed in them.” LeCarde shrugged. “I’ve always been good at discerning the truth and the false,” he stepped back and turned to Ridley. “Do your work to convince him.”

Del folded his arms and leaned against the wall, a subtle indication that he didn’t welcome conversation. The bandits ignored him anyway. Silently, he observed them, trying to make out who was in charge. Other than the bouncer, there were eight of them, openly carrying knives and guns. Three of them were in conversation, and another three were playing cards, sharing flasks of drinks among them. One was sharpening his hunting knife. The guy he had knocked down joined the card players shamefacedly. The others laughed and threw vicious glances in Del’s direction, to which he returned without fear. The leader was not among those four, that much he was sure. Everyone looked up as the door was flung open, and another of the bandits tried to charge Hana. Del smiled as Hana held her own. If any of the bandits had any designs on the teenager, they’d better dispel their thoughts now. There was a shimmering, then a new figure appeared. A cloaking spell, one that Del didn’t detect. The mage caught the inconspicuous nod that the man directed at him and Hana, but he was suspicious. If he was with them, why didn’t he join them at the earlier meeting? It seemed that the newcomer knew what was going on, but Hana never mentioned another person joining them. Was he military, or someone who was onto their tail? They had to be careful. “Everyone, indeed.” One among the three bandits who was in conversation spoke up. “We’re all here. Finish up what you’re doing, and we’ll go. Get up and don’t be a wussy, G,” he commanded the man who was still groaning on the ground.

Still keeping it going!

The dragon’s glare did nothing to stop the treasure hunter’s curiosity. Rai touched her hand to its icy blue back.“Oooooh, cold!” she withdrew her hand immediately, then leaned down and met its glare with an impressed look. “You’re such a wonder, aren’t you? I would love to have a friend like you too, if you would let me! Oh, and I’ll also need to make friends with Spinny here!” She accepted the glass box from Edmund. The wooden spider inside looked like a fancy toy, but she knew it was much more. Carefully, she opened up the lid. The spider’s legs twitched as if testing them out for the first time, then it stepped forward onto the table. Rai held out her hand in front of it. Spinny took a step back, then came up to her tentatively, putting one leg onto her palm, then another. Rai looked at it in fascination at how real it seemed to be. it crawled up and sat squarely down in her palm. She brought it close to examine it. “Do I just tell it to do things?” she asked. ”How about this?” Rai turned as Hana held up the monocular to her, a long brass device that had rotating dials down its sides. “Oh, good eye!” She laughed at her own joke. “I used one of those when I was out treasure hunting at sea. It helped us to narrow down our search location instead of combing the whole ocean! Very useful!” She took the device from Hana, looked through it, then adjusted some of the dials. She passed it back to Hana. If the other girl took a look, she would be able to see an overlay of shades of yellow over Edmund’s automatons, as if they each had an aura. Rai pondered for a bit. “But, it cannot detect things which have a weak signature, or those who willingly suppress their magic. Mages who don’t want to be found out, for example. Hopefully that’s good enough for your needs!” Then she clapped her hands together as she remembered something. “Oh! There’s a cool fun thing that goes well with it!” She looked to her table, and then down to her newly acquired spider friend. “Uh.. Fetch that round filter over there!” she told Spinny. The spider jumped off her palm obediently, made its way through the people traffic, crawled up the table and came back with the item on its back. Rai squealed with delight. She took the filter and fitted it over the monocular. “Try it!” She would pass the device to Hana and point it at Edmund’s table. If Hana looked through it, she would no longer see the yellow aura given out by the magic. Instead, there would be a burst of colours which would dance as the automatons moved. If she turned the dials, the colours would change and form different patterns. It was like looking through a kaleidoscope. “It’s not really useful or anything, but it is quite fun!” Rai laughed. “It’s an experiment I did, and I guess at least the kids love it! I haven’t found other uses for it.” Rai smiled as she picked up the mechanical spider. “The monocular is yours now, in return for Spinny!”

Lol the RNG gods favour personality change! @Maverick it’s your turn, please give a shoutout if you’re around! :)