GGaD » And Hell Will Open Up Its Flue

Ishmael · November 10, 2023 19:13:50

It was a bright, sunny day. Forengard's ocean was calm, its waters rolling gently in the slight breeze. A perfect day for sailing, or some leisurely fishing, or a nice day trip to tour the chain of volcanoes obscured by miles of thick smoke that roiled just above the surf. The smoke didn't reach past its rocky shore, forming a shimmering dome over the islands. A small, dilapidated boat dock attached to the largest island jutted out past the smoke into the sea, and moored to it was a quaint little ship in equally poor shape. A small figure had just disembarked from the vessel, took a deep breath, held it, and stepped into the smoke.

Bliss blindly made her way through the haze, holding her arms out in front of her to feel for any obstacles. She stumbled over the uneven terrain, her steel-toed combat boots scrambling for purchase as the chunks of obsidian shifted under her feet. The smoke stung her eyes and her lungs strained for air, but as she pressed forward, the smoke began to thin. Several agonizing seconds later she broke through to the inside and fell to her knees, coughing violently.

That part was always her least favorite. Normally, Orphos would be at her side, and he was able to navigate most things with relative ease. Perks of being a god, she assumed. Any time she had to go out and do something on her own, she was painfully reminded just how... mortal she was. But she wasn't a kid anymore, she could handle herself now. She made it this far without Orphos, hadn't she?

Bliss hadn't seen him for more than a couple hours at a time in months. These days, the dealer god was distracted, and hardly had time to speak to her. The last time they spoke, Orphos had vaguely grumbled about needing to check in on the Smokestacks, the chain of islands on which she now stood. He was much too busy to do it himself, and so Bliss had volunteered to do it to take something off his plate. She had nothing better to do, anyways.

She took a moment to collect herself and rose to her feet, still coughing occasionally. The sun filtered through the smoke above, but it was dim, swallowing the islands in a kind of perpetual twilight. Ahead, the chunks of obsidian became increasingly larger as the landscape stretched away from her before giving way to what was once a mighty volcano. In some eruption eons ago, it had collapsed on itself, forming a caldera that now towered before her. A pathway was visible along the side of it, switchbacks carving through the mountainside. A bright light was shining from within the caldera, like some sort of massive forge. Instinctively, she put a hand on the elaborate ceremonial knife that was strapped to her waist. This was no place for a 13-year-old mortal to be on her own, but there wasn't anywhere else for her to be. Orphos assured her that nothing would harm her here, but even her comparatively feeble senses could pick up that this was not an ordinary island.

She muttered a small prayer-- to what deity, she didn't know-- and began to pick her way across the shattered obsidian towards the pathway.

Time · November 11, 2023 13:47:23

((I would say that this character doesn't have an intro thread yet but I'm making one soon, it's been like, 7 months since he's been approved lol))

"This isn't the place for a child." a nearby voice said. From Bliss's view she could see a figure emerging from the smoke, stepping closer to her from the pathway, "What are you doing here?"

The man clicks his tongue, brushing off some ash from his coat, "All this smoke is going to ruin my coat..."

Ishmael · November 12, 2023 04:06:32

Bliss whirled to face the voice. Her grip tightened on the pommel of her knife, but she didn't draw it yet. "I could ask the same to you." Her eyes narrowed suspiciously at the man. She wasn't privy to most of Orphos's dealings, but she had expected a certain clientele in the Smokestacks, and this wasn't someone she recognized. He seemed out of place here. She knew it would be better to hold her tongue, but her indignation got the better of her. "And I'm not a child. Did Orphos send you to babysit me? I told him I could handle this on my own!"

Time · November 12, 2023 13:40:15

"Oh. I recognize who you are now." The man says, his golden eyes lighting up with realization, "Your Orphos's kid. My boss briefed me about you... well, you say you're not a kid, so I'll treat you like an adult."

"Say, I don't think engaging in a fight is a good idea. I believe that first interactions usually end up better when involved parties have a conversation, no? We should officially introduce ourselves before even trying to get any information out of each other. It's simply good manners." He says, extending a hand, "Please, call me Throne."

Ishmael · November 13, 2023 02:19:23

She stared blankly at his hand. "Throne," she repeated. She made no move to extend her own, but she took her hand off the knife as a show of good faith. "Is that a codename you go by, or did your parents hate you so much they named you after a chair?"

It was a good thing he wasn't looking for a fight. She didn't know what she would have done if that was his intention, but odds are it would not have been pretty for the both of them. "I'm Bliss, though I think you already knew that if you recognize me... Who is your boss, anyway? I haven't seen you around before." This guy doesn't look like a Masked One. What is he doing here?

Time · November 13, 2023 13:42:07

Throne smiles, interpreting the small jab as a joke, "It's not just any chair, Miss. It's a chair for nobles, rulers, powerful people." He responds, "But yes. It's simply code. I don't enjoy using my full name everywhere I go." Seeing that Bliss doesn't take the hand, he figures to put it away just before the point where it starts to turn awkward.

"As to who I work for, I'm employed by a deity." He says, "But if you want any more information on that topic, you'll have to answer a few questions of my own, doesn't that sound like a good deal?"

Last edited by Time (November 13, 2023 13:46:52)

wolffighting3768 · November 13, 2023 18:32:47

Flare hummed and broke through the smoke rather casually, carrying two gallon buckets of what looked like black dirt. He had clearly been near the volcanos, either around or possibly in the waters. He saw two people talking and decided to try and get to know some more locals. Since it's clear that he wouldn't be going home anytime soon. As he began to walk closer to the two, he set the buckets down and smiled rather warmly. "I'm quite sure myself that royalty suits different roles than it does even in Arithnia. Such an odd name like Throne surely isn't horribly cryptic. Neither is Bliss or Orphos. Such odd names indeed for Forengard. And praytell you two, do either of you know how rich the soil is to be able to farm? Crimson has been begging me to fetch something to start a garden with. Or farm. I am not too sure, he's an odd one in either world here."

Ishmael · November 15, 2023 04:27:27

"Depends on the questions," Bliss replied curtly before noticing a second person approaching. This wasn't someone she recognized, either. She took a hesitant step backward, casting a nervous glance to the carved path behind her.

She wasn't expecting having to handle strangers. The way Orphos talked about the islands, they were supposed to be mostly deserted. No one would want to live next to active volcanoes. That was the whole point. If there was random people wandering around... what had they seen?

"I don't think either of you are supposed to be here," she said, reaching for her knife again.

ThreePunchAxel · November 15, 2023 13:02:32

Ark is also here, but for once in his life has decided to stay out of the situation. He's a good distance away, searching the volcano for some good rocks.

He's looking at the situation from afar, using his hands as binoculars. "Hm. Weird names." He puts his hands back in the soil and begins looking again, humming a happy toon.

wolffighting3768 · November 15, 2023 13:35:05

"Heavens no, I am not indeed. Neither is Crimson and Fang. We're from Arithnia, a whole seperate world. We were, that being Fang and I mostly, sent to aide Crimson in however way we can. Crimson himself came here to look for a way home and for what he says his "Humanity" whatever that could be, I know not. But overall, you are right indeed, I am not supposed to be here. My name is Flare though, and it is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance miss Bliss. As for Throne here, I have never heard or seen you before, but the name Orphos is one that Crimson did mention a few times. I guess we're all strangers here aren't we? That all aside now, can you please answer my question? I would rather like to make a move on and not keep Fang and Crimson waiting too much."

Time · November 15, 2023 23:21:27

Throne thinks about Bliss's comment on about their trespassing, "I suppose you are correct, but in turn, I do not think there are any explicit rules on who could and could not be here."

"Please, Miss Bliss." He continues on, giving Flare a look of recognition. The same type that he gave Bliss; he recognizes by description, but never seen in person, "I ensure you that we do not mean you any harm -- I'd even look to protect you if the need arises. If we take this one step at a time, we can solve all our questions. Your questions about me, my questions about you, and Flare's... questions about gardening."

Ishmael · November 16, 2023 19:40:05

Bliss didn't seem convinced, and the look she gave Flare was one of utter confusion. Who cared about farming at a time like this?
"I..." she trailed off and her shoulders slumped in defeat. What was she supposed to say? Tell them to leave an island none of them owned? She had hoped to do this all by herself, but that didn't appear to be in the cards for her. Nothing ever seemed to go quite the way she wanted.

"Fine." she mumbled, looking down at the ground and halfheartedly kicking at the obsidian shards beneath her feet. "I don't know anything about gardening, but I don't think this soil is good for anything. It's probably cursed or something."

Echowo · November 16, 2023 20:12:16

The smoke wavered as if it had spit out something. Through the smoke suddenly flew in a teenager, who hit the ground hard on her back. She laid there for a moment, blankly staring up at the sky above before her face cringed in pain.

Seis closed her eyes and mumbled out a quiet, "Owwwwww..."

There was a red blob beside her, that had splattered a bit upon impact. It's definitely not blood... however, two... eyes? Are those eyes? The eyes within the blob move slowly towards the middle of it, and a voice grumbled quietly from it, "...The hell was that?"

Both beings just lay on the obsidian (most likely uncomfortably due to the obsidian), not yet taking notice of anyone else.

Time · November 16, 2023 21:04:28

"I agree," He bobs his head, towards Flare, "While I haven't looked into the details of this island, it gives off an ominous aura that raises my suspicion considerably."

And when two strangers appeared from the smoke: "What I though would be a simple assignment has turned out to be quite eventful." Throne sighed, eyeing at the two on the floor. He didn't even move or react to help them at all though. Moreso, he actually looked wary at the two. Like his database of descriptions didn't match up. Though given the fact they weren't exactly being threatening... he didn't make any threating moves himself.

Instead Throne studied Bliss's glumness. Keeping an eye on both her and the strangers, he speaks, "Here, how about this... I work with Time. You know him, right? I often am one of his agents that travel frequently, and my travels have led me here." It wasn't exactly comforting words, but Throne thought it was best to give Bliss at least some information for her troubles.

wolffighting3768 · November 16, 2023 21:13:03

"Ya gonna lie there or not kid? And what's with the kool-aid looking jello with eyes doing here?" a man said, staring at Seis. THe sun blocked his face, but it wouldn't be too hard to guess that the man was Crimson.

"Oh my, that is rather unfortunate...I do appreciate the help though miss Bliss. I do hope we see one another again. If you do come across Crimson, which I am sure someone will...do tell him I am waiting if you can. Or entertain him and let him travel with you. He is rather curious at times."

Echowo · November 16, 2023 21:49:54

Seis sat up slowly, rubbing her head.

"...Kool...aid...?"

She looked over at the slime creature besides her, who was still recollecting themself and their eyes floated lazily. There's a moment of processing Seis takes as she tries to recollect herself.

"Ah! Si! Y-You need to eat!"

With that, Seis starts shoveling rocks, dirt, and obsidian shards into the blob. The dirt and such seem to sink and dissolve into the gelatin, and quickly Silence takes shape into their humanoid form.

Now having their usual human arms and hands, Silence is taking handfuls of the ground and shoveling it into their mouth while Seis is still shoving dirt and shards into their skin. Neither really process that they have an audience to worry about, taking more care to stock Silence up on... what is most definitely not a good and nutritional meal.

wolffighting3768 · November 16, 2023 22:15:02

"Hey, uh, what the heck are you doing? Why are you throwing rocks and stuff at that blob? Need something bigger?" Crimson asked, tilting his head curiously.

Echowo · November 16, 2023 22:34:29

Through a mouthful of rocks and dirt, Silence manages to muffle out, "Gotta eat somethin'! Got any snacks?" They don't seem to care to correct Crimson about what they actually are at the moment, as they still shove fistfulls of the ground into their mouth. Silence's body seems to get more and more solid and stable, and less slime-like as the seconds pass by.

Seis continues to stab and shove rocks into any part of Silence's flesh that she can. The dirt just sinks into their flesh, no blood or anything. One could see some of it dissolve under their skin, bubbling and breaking apart.

wolffighting3768 · November 16, 2023 22:45:01

"Nothing food related, but judging by the sheer amount of crap being tossed at ya, I've got to ask, how well do ya take in energy-based blood?"

Ishmael · November 16, 2023 23:14:00

Bliss's resignation turned to frustration as another pair of strangers appeared out of the smoke. Wordlessly, she threw up her hands and turned her back to the group, stomping up the rocky beach towards the pathway. She didn't look back to see if anybody was following. They could do whatever they liked as far as she was concerned.

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Beneath Seis's hands, something shifted beneath the disturbed earth and rocketed out from the loose stone. It was a carved obsidian figure of a weasel, about life-size. It startled as it realized what bothered it and skittered over the shoreline towards a boulder-sized chunk of obsidian nearby, silent except for the sounds of its paws clacking on the obsidian.

Echowo · November 16, 2023 23:38:13

Silence scrunched up their face in disgust, pausing their little feast of rocks to stare at Crimson. "I mean, I guess I could technically consume blood. But, like, bro that's hella gross."

Seis tilted her head at the obsidian weasel, stopping her aid towards Silence and watching it skitter away. Recognizing that a weasel is an animal, Seis quietly followed it, her footsteps soundless on the ground as she rushed off. Seis's only thought was Animal = cute = needs to be observed or given a pat. Maybe hitting her head on the ground had knocked the common sense to not touch animals (carved obsidian or not) out of her brain.

Silence glanced at Seis leaving, raising an eyebrow, yet remained hunched on the ground.

Last edited by Echowo (November 16, 2023 23:39:52)

wolffighting3768 · November 16, 2023 23:42:58

"Fair enough, just though I might ask. Want me to go grab Seis for ya?" Crimson asked, tossing a shard of an odd metal at Silence. "It's a Shard of leftover metal from some of my phials, kinda broke earlier so uh, enjoy it I guess."

Time · November 16, 2023 23:44:19

Throne makes his way after Bliss, politely walking down the pathway at a reasonable distance from her.

He'd keep his silence for a while, but eventually if some time passes by without any interaction, he'd ask, "May I know why you are here now?"

Echowo · November 16, 2023 23:56:43

Silence "catches" the metal, aka they held up their hand and let the metal hit it, the piece sticking and sinking into their skin. They let their hand fall to their side as their body solidifies, fully taking a stable state of flesh. Silence stood and stretched.
They turn towards Seis's general direction and said, "Eh, she seems fine. Although... Where the hell are we? We were literally just playing tag and suddenly, BAM! We're... wherever the hell we're at!" Silence looks around, continuing with, "Got any idea? Cause I sure don't."
Silence keeps a close eye on Seis, a bit wary now.

wolffighting3768 · November 17, 2023 00:44:59

"Jeez, I never thought that Kyngsteel was this durable...." Crimson said to himself, shivering as he watched the metal "melt". "And uh, we're in Forengard, where in this world we are, I'm not too sure. Near a volcano though, so I assume a fault maybe? Dunno honestly. This world is full of odd magics and ever odder deities and gods. So as far as I am concerned, you fell out of the sky like some sorta isekai protagonist." Crimson repleid rather causally, like he had experienced this all before. He wandered around Silence, observing them and trying to figure something out. "Are you sure you don't want me to go after her? I kinda often get into trouble somehow..."

Ishmael · November 17, 2023 05:04:40

The mortal didn't answer Throne for a while. She was studying the path ahead of them. It was smooth and uniform, as though someone had gone through great lengths to make it easily traversable. An odd addition to any mountainside, but especially here. She kept walking. The only sound that came from her was the occasional scuff of her boots on the smooth stone.

"I was supposed to just check in on things," she said finally. "Orphos didn't tell me what I was supposed to do if a bunch of random people showed up. He's going to think this is my fault..."

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The weasel had sensed it was being followed and instead of hiding, it clambered up to the top of the boulder of obsidian and faced Seis, its tiny teeth bared in a soundless hiss.

Echowo · November 17, 2023 09:38:17

"She can handle herself pretty fine. Plus, I think she was chasin' after something. Probably a bug..." Silence, although saying this, slowly moved themself towards Seis's direction, squinting at bit at her and the weasel. They called out, "Hey! Don't get bit! If you do, I'm telling Gramps it was 'cause you were being an idiot!"

Seis, ignoring Silence, is staring up at the weasel with a mystified look. She spoke softly at it.

"Oh! You... m-must be the King Weasel... how cool... I don't really have anything to offer you. I hope that isn't rude. W-what, uhm, what do weasels like, anyway?"

Seis's only goal is friendship now, and she's not backing down. Also it seems like she's pretending this situation is like a videogame.

wolffighting3768 · November 17, 2023 13:48:00

"Yeah, she's chasing after an animal. Rat-like I guess, hard to tell thought. It's small though, nothing troublesome I would think.....maybe...I hope at least." Crimson said, looking in Seis' direction with Silence.

Time · November 19, 2023 06:51:07

"I do not see why the presence of multiple people would result in failure of 'checking in on things' even if I don't know the context." Throne replies, "In addition, it seems somehow everyone made their way to the island of their own accord. Therefore, if properly explained, I don't think Orphos should blame you."

Ishmael · November 20, 2023 07:54:49

Bliss huffed as they continued up the path. "Nothing was supposed to go wrong here. If I can't have something as simple as this go right, how am I supposed to be able to go out and do other stuff on my own without him breathing down my neck?"

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The weasel let out a garbled sound, like several stones scraping against one another at the same time. It was surprisingly loud, given its size. Some of the obsidian chunks beside the boulder shifted as another obsidian creature emerged-- a mouse this time-- and regarded Seis with a blank stare. After a moment, it turned and dashed into the smoke barrier.