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The Tempest's Eyes



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Mon Jul 12, 2021 11:45 am
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Mageheart says...



Sean, Wren, Rea and Raleigh. Runi wasn't always the best with names, but she'd do her best to remember everyone's.

"So," Runi said, "now we just have to wait for Vivi to back with some warm-"

There was movement outside of the window.

Runi froze.

It'd be stupid for her to be scared of strange dark figures lurking outside windows on rainy nights, but she still faltered when she noticed someone was lurking just outside the inn. It was too dark and stormy to make out any specific details. They were just tall, with a long, swishing cloak that shielded most of them from view.

The door suddenly flung open with a strong gust of wind. The figure moved inside and quickly shut the door behind them. Runi immediately noticed how strange they looked: how his clothes were completely black, how the lower half of his face was covered by a dark cloth, how the upper half was eerily pale, and how only a little hair on his forehead was visible. She also caught a glimpse of something as a gloved hand returned to underneath his cloak. It looked almost like a gun, but that wasn't right.

Also, he was soaking wet. Which kind of ruined the whole cool mysterious guy look he was going for, but Runi would let that slide. It wasn't his fault there was a thunderstorm going on right now.

He blinked when he saw the group of them sitting and standing around the inn.

Runi hopped off her stool and walked over to him.

"Hi!" she said. "It looks like another person got brought here—it's too bad you didn't find us earlier. You wouldn't have gotten soaked as badly."

"...Brought here?" the stranger said, in a somewhat deep voice. He looked at everyone again, but his gaze lingered on Raleigh the longest. "You didn't come here through a ring?"

Runi nodded. "Yeah. We just kind of appeared here."
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

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Tue Jul 13, 2021 8:09 am
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KateHardy says...



Sean nodded as everyone introduced themselves one by one. Wren, Rea, Raleigh, Runi...the large amount of names beginning with R seemed interesting but Sean decided that was probably just a coincidence. It would also make their names a lot easier to remember so he wasn't going to complain.

And then there was another visitor to the tavern. This guy was so mysterious there was a good chance you'd find his picture on the wikipedia page titled 'mysterious man'. He instantly gave of an aura of having something to hide, the thing being stashed quickly inside of his cloak only adding to it.

Normally, Sean would have to be wary of this and report it to the hq to keep an eye out, but this was a place farr out of their jurisdiction and this seemed like someone who'd visited this world the way it was intended to be visited, perhaps he could help them get out.

Sean stood up to greet the man, even as Runi did the same.

"Hii," said Sean, "yeah, we just poofed here with like zero warning. Clearly." He gestured to his current attire. "I mean, no one gets poofed to a strange world without wearing their superhero costume." He slapped a hand over his mouth. "Not that I'm a superhero or anything. I was just saying. So you said that you uhh...came through her with a ring? Do those work for getting off this planet?"
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Tue Jul 20, 2021 12:27 pm
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Mageheart says...



"Super...hero...?" the man repeated, confusion lacing his voice. Wherever he was from, it didn't seem like they had superheroes there. That kind of made sense. People in Hell knew a little about Earth's superheroes, but they didn't really have any of their own.

He gave a tiny shake of his head, seemingly pushing the thought away.

"You can use the rings to travel between worlds," the man said, "but if you didn't come through one of them-"

The door to the backroom opened.

Runi—and the man—turned. Vivi had just stepped through the doorway with a tray of steaming mugs in her hands. She stood there and stared at the man like she had just seen a ghost. The man, in return, stared back at her. Vivi did a better job regaining her composure than the man did. She put the tray down on the counter with shaking hands. She cleared her throat. And when the man kept looking at her, she gave a warm, friendly smile.

"Hi," she said. "You must have ended up here by accident, too-"

"I came through the ring," the man said.

Vivi faltered.

"Oh," she said. "I see."
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.





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Fri Jul 30, 2021 3:36 am
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KateHardy says...



Sean frowned as he saw the exchange between the two. He was no expert on behavior but it was clear as day that there was something going on there that both of them were trying to hide. He decided not to dwell on that. It wasn't like whatever history the two of them had was any of his business. Right now, he needed to find out more about the rings and the man had been about to say something before he was cut off.

"So...on the topic of rings, you were saying something?" said Sean.
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Fri Jul 30, 2021 9:07 am
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LittleLee says...



Rea watched the exchange, breathless with excitement. "Rings? What rings? Are those the things the local folk were telling us about? How do you use them? Are they like Waystones? Are you from another world? How are we all speaking the same language? Is it some form of magic? When you pass through a ring to another world, do you acquire the languages of that world? Miss Vivi, why are you flustered? Do you know this man? Is he a wanted fugitive in another world? Is he trying to rob us? Wait! Don't answer yet- I need paper-" she pulled a new sheet from her satchel then turned, beaming, to look at the stranger.
"I believe a man does what he can until his destiny is revealed to him."





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Sun Aug 01, 2021 10:14 pm
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Mageheart says...



The stranger, in response, froze.

Vivi shook her head.

"I don't know this man," she replied. "I was just surprised that someone had come through the ring with weather like this."

Runi glanced between the two of them. Something still felt a little off, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was. The man seemed uncomfortable from how silent he was. Despite that, he kept staring at Vivi—Runi had to wonder what was going on in his head right now.

"I needed supplies," the man finally said. "I thought I could stay the night in a tavern if I wasn't able to get them before the worst part of the storm hit."

He looked at one of the windows currently being bombarded with rain.

"Which must be happening now," he said.

Vivi gave another warm smile. "It's a good thing that we have one more open room, then."

The stranger paused before giving a nod.

"I'll go make you a drink," Vivi said. She started to head towards the backroom again. "I only just took the water off, so it shouldn't take long for it to heat up again."

She started to close the door behind her, but then she turned back to the group. "Feel free to take any of the drinks I've already brought out. You can also go upstairs and choose a room."

The door closed behind her.
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.





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Mon Sep 06, 2021 5:12 am
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KateHardy says...



The fact that they completely ignored his question was probably attributed to the rapid fire questions from the one that was called Rhea. Sean couldn't help but smile at that. Watching people squirm tended to be unusually entertaining sometimes. Realizing he wasn't going to get an answer to the rings question out of anyone soon, he turned to the others.

"Soo, any of you been in a situation like this one before? I've been in a fix like this a couple of times before meself."
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Tue Sep 28, 2021 10:58 am
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Mageheart says...



Runi wracked her brains for answer.

"I don't think so," she decided. She had been suddenly brought to places before, but never like this. She still wasn't too sure what "this" actually was, but it was definitely different than usual. She could feel it.

She glanced over at the guy who still hadn't introduced himself.

"What about you?" she asked.

"I wasn't brought here," he said, his tone tense. He looked at the others in the room, his gaze finally landing on the steaming mugs on the counter. "Our situations are different."

Runi reached over for one of the mugs. "You still could have experienced something like this before, though-"

"Don't drink that."

Runi paused, mug almost up to her mouth. "...Why? It's cold outside, and this looks so warm-"

"If you drink that," the man said, his voice low, "you won't be getting back to your home."
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.





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Tue Sep 28, 2021 8:34 pm
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atlast says...



Wren's bouncing leg slowed as she watched the situation unfold, just managing to process what was going on. In a matter of minutes, right when she thought they were starting to figure things out, the group was thrown another curveball! She suppressed a groan. She just wanted to get out of this weird inn, with these weird people, and back to the familiarity of her home.

The man who had just appeared certainly didn't help with that, and neither did his cryptic announcement. Now that she'd thought about it, Vivi's demeanor had changed too, but if Wren had unexpectedly been bestowed with a group of strange newcomers she'd be off her game, too. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind, making a mental note to keep an eye on her new acquaintance.

Wren glanced from the man to Runi, mug at her lips. "What do you mean, 'You won't be getting back?'" she began, her voice laced with suspicion. She stood from her chair, hands on her hips. Frustration building, Wren faced the man. "What exactly is going on here? What do you know that we don't?"
atlast

previously AtlasWut

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Tue Sep 28, 2021 9:49 pm
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Mageheart says...



The man held Wren's gaze for a moment.

Then he let out a quiet, tired sigh. As he glanced over at the backroom Vivi had gone into, Runi suspected he wasn't the least bit happy to be in this situation.

(She also had the feeling that he thought all of them were idiots, but that might have been her anxiety talking.)

"I'm from this galaxy," he said. "I don't have any forbidden knowledge. It's just common sense."

Runi put her mug down on the counter. "...What do you mean?"

"There's a race called the wraith here," the man explained. He was speaking slowly; he must have been carefully picking each word. "I could tell you more about their history and why they are the way they are, but I'm not sure I have the time to. They look like you, for the most part, but they have to feed on life."

Runi wasn't sure she liked where this was going.

"They've been in charge of this galaxy for thousands of years," the man continued, shifting his weight underneath his cloak. "They take people from their homes and take their life away. At some point, some of the survivors realized they could save their own skins by sacrificing others."

Runi took in a sharp breath.

The man quietly pulled out a chair and sat down on it. The lantern on the table beside him cast strange, dark shadows on his already masked face. "You can recognize wraith worshippers by how well-off their towns are. If that doesn't give it away, you can realize you're one of the victims if you're someone no one would come looking for—or if no one would look for it you in the place you were captured."
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.





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Wed Sep 29, 2021 7:58 am
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LittleLee says...



Rea's mind failed to register the implications of this revelation for a full ten seconds and she remained beaming at the stranger, mug long forgotten amidst a flurry of paper.
Then her brain frantically sorted through her excitement at this new world and picked out what he had said.

Slowly, comically, her expression was replaced by one of horror. "They're... sacrificing us? But that lady was so nice!" Her neurons tried feebly to restrain her curiosity, but failed. "Wait, how did you know, though? You and Vivi acted odd with each other; ah! Were you two once lovers?"

The rational part of her brain decided to hide away in shame and never emerge again.
"I believe a man does what he can until his destiny is revealed to him."





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Wed Sep 29, 2021 12:22 pm
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Mageheart says...



The man stared.

"We weren't-I wouldn't-" he stammered, eyes wide as Rea's words registered. Even though he was far from being on the short side, he suddenly looked very small and very embarrassed sitting in his chair. If Runi hadn't been so worried about the "being sacrificed as someone's snack" situation, she might have found the switch from dark and mysterious to flustered entertaining.

He took a deep breath.

"I don't know her," he finally said. "I wouldn't want to know someone like her. I was acting the way I was around her because I realized what she was, and she was acting the way she was because she didn't expect someone to come through the ring. She was probably hoping to keep you in the dark about the wraith. Now that I'm here, she can't do that."

"Oh," Runi said. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to say besides that. She did think it was funny, though—he had acted strange towards Vivi, but he had frozen when Rea had asked all of those questions earlier. Maybe he had just gotten overwhelmed?
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.





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Wed Sep 29, 2021 2:19 pm
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KateHardy says...



Sean let out a sigh an set down the mug that he'd just grabbed, glancing at it suspiciously. He missed having a team. An analyst would've broken down whatever was in that and confirmed the man's story in seconds so that he could enjoy a hot drink in peace.

"Interesting," said Sean,"there be a few small armies out to look for me if I went missing for long enough. So I doubt I fit that particular bill, but I suppose turning up in the midst of a bunch of lost looking travellers could convince someone that the opposite is true."

He gave that a moment to sink in before continuing.

"So you're saying the nice lady is secretly evil and hoping to turn us over to some shady floaty sounding things. Well I wouldn't blame her for that, it sounds like a logical thing to do," said Sean, shrugging,"but I suppose we need to seek someone else's help to get off world then. Hmm, do these wraith things have spaceships we could potentially hijack? Also, why are you telling us all of this? For all we know, you're lying to us so you can all of us over to these rats...sorry wraiths."
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Corvid says...



Raleigh lets out a small sigh. They should've known better than to trust a stranger. The benefit of the doubt could only get them so far.
The thing about eating the food, though? Raleigh couldn't say that they were surprised. Surviving multiple poisoning attempts had made them wary. And even if that hadn't, Raleigh had heard enough tales of the Fae growing up. This might not have had the same name, but -- Well. The legends had to have come from somewhere.
"Bummer," Raleigh says, pushing their mug aside. "The drinks sounded good. Should've figured, though."
"yeet"
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Mon Oct 04, 2021 1:00 am
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Mageheart says...



The traveler seemed unfazed by Sean's comment about having several small armies looking for him. Runi, who hadn't expected that in the slightest, was very much fazed by the whole thing. At some point, everything was going to finally not seem so overwhelming, but Runi was doubting that point was anytime soon.

Runi nodded in agreement when Raleigh pushed their mug aside.

"Same," she said. "Warm drinks sound amazing right now."

While Runi (hopefully) bonded with Raleigh over their shared beverage disappointments, the traveler looked at Sean from underneath his hood. After a moment of tense silence, he stood up and silently walked over to Sean.

"I wouldn't turn you over to the wraiths," the man said, voice low and earnest. "I've seen what they do. It's easy to joke about them when you haven't seen them before, but if you saw them feed..."

He trailed off, seemingly lost in his memories.

Runi cleared her throat. The man started a little as he snapped back to the present.

"They do have ships, but they're difficult to use. They also wouldn't reach wherever you need to go." He glanced at the others in the room. "You would either need to use a ring, or we would need to reverse whatever brought you here in the first place. The ring is a better option. At the very least, you can leave this world."

He was definitely making a good point, given what he had said. But given what Sean had pointed out, Runi wasn't all that ready to actually accept his story. She accepted most of it. But there was one glaring issue that really needed to be addressed.

"You want us to trust you, but I think you've been keeping something secret from us," Runi pointed out.

The man froze.

"You haven't told us your name," she said. "How can we trust you if we don't even know who you are?"

He let out a tiny breath underneath his mask. When Runi kept giving him an expectant look, he answered, "My name is Zest. Zest Felsing. I'm an archivist."
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.








To answer before listening—that is folly and shame.
— Proverbs 18:13