GGaD » [PLOT- Anatina] The group has returned to the Clocktower

Ishmael · February 14, 2023 03:34:37

((I gotta come up with a cool snappy plot name. No thread vibes I'm trying to wrestle my spotify into submission so I have no good songs lol))

The group has made it back to the Clocktower! Whether on foot or some magical means, or anything in between, they're here. Huck had promptly sunk into the ground until only the yellowing leaves on his back were visible, presumably to recover from being around so many people in the depths of the city, if only for a brief moment. He was still listening to things around him, but was content to simply observe and supervise for now.

The kelpie that had tagged along with the group stood in front of the tower, his expression a mixture of awe and exhaustion. It wasn't often he ventured outside of Anatina, and both times in recent memory had been to the domain of a deity. He had remained in his mortal form, for once enjoying the idea of being completely solid since his confinement.

Inside the tower, the dude at the epicenter of this mess was snoring peacefully. He had fallen asleep in front of a large tome in the library, facedown on a desk. Physically, he was pretty much healed (that is, he hadn't had any weird releases of necrotic magic), but he hadn't made much progress in the memory recovery department since the group had left.

Time · February 15, 2023 01:27:12

Heaven stands, gazing up at the Clocktower's face. It seems she was thinking about what they had seen during their time in Anatina. But she quickly looked and straightened up as the doors opened.

-----

As the group made their way to the entrance of the Clocktower, the large doors slowly creaked open, revealing Time (and any other mages that followed him) walking to meet the others.

"Welcome back. I presume you have much to tell from your journey." He studies all of them, taking notice of Figura, "And I see you picked up a new person. Who is that?"

wolffighting3768 · February 15, 2023 10:35:21

Crimson silently walks past Heaven and Time cursing under his breath. "Monsters. Can't take care of their people. Trying to pick fights they won't win. I should have...but Heaven and Time would...DAMN IT ALL!" he could be heard saying as he took off his sword and dagger and threw it at the floor letting a metallic ring fill the tower. "Fang and Flare, wherever you two are, get here soon. I'm almost tired enough to start stabbing these heretics to this kingdom!" Crimson sank himself into a nearby chair and pouted.

ThreePunchAxel · February 15, 2023 12:06:19

"Yeah, we found some new info and this guy. He's some kind of water creature." Ark looks back at where they came from. "I'm gonna go sweep around the clocktower, make sure we weren't followed." And just like that, he's sprinted off.

Basket Cat · February 15, 2023 12:15:38

Chronos (who was definitely here the whole time and who's didn't completely miss the first thread related to the plot) poked her head out the door, completely clueless as to what was transpiring.

Ishmael · February 18, 2023 00:39:43

The kelpie dipped his head in Time's direction. "Greetings. I am Figura, hea-- former head guard and chief advisor to the king." He spoke the words as if they had an odd feeling in his mouth. "I would normally kneel in the presence of a deity, but I'm afraid I likely would not be able to stand back up again. It's been... some time since I've had a physical body. I've been told you were investigating Anatina?"

|xxxxxxxxxx|xxxxxxxxxx|

At the sound of Crimson's weapons hitting the ground, Felix jolted awake and nearly fell out of his chair with a sharp yelp. He slowly left the room and worked his way down to the bottom floor of the tower, stopping just short of the end of the staircase when he saw an obviously angry person seething in a chair with weapons scattered around him.

"Uh... hello," he said hesitantly, not sure if he really wanted to get involved with this or not. It wasn't like he could just leave, though.

wolffighting3768 · February 18, 2023 10:35:56

"May I help you?" Crimson asked Felix, in a more...composed tone. "Terribly sorry for the racket. I'm not in the best of moods right now."

Time · February 18, 2023 22:34:17

Time nods in acknowledgement to Ark, and then watches Crimson storm inside with a mostly stoic reaction, except for the faintest hint of intrigue.

He then faces Figura and the others and nods, "Yes. We were. Particularly how it has been since Ishmael's fall, and possible connections with corrupted deities." He steps to the side as a gesture to beckon them indoors, "Please, come in, I can tell you may be wary from your journey and time in Anatina."

-----

Heaven passes through, "We have a lot to report on, sir." She mentions on her way past into the Clocktower.

Ishmael · February 19, 2023 04:42:13

Figura started to follow Heaven inside. "I'm not sure I can be much help with that, sadly," he replied to Time. "I was out of the kingdom when the attack happened, and didn't see much of anything before I was arrested."

|xxxxxxxxxx|xxxxxxxxxx|

"Just curious about the noise. I don't usually hear that kind of stuff around here. What's got you all worked up?" He asked, popping a squat where he had been standing.

wolffighting3768 · February 19, 2023 12:13:21

Crimson sat up and crossed his legs in the chair. "King Prospero that's what. In my own world I'm a king of sorts too, but from what I've heard and 'seen', his people aren't exactly doing too well. So you can easily put together the pieces there. If I wasn't following under Heaven and Time I would have dethrones his royal name."

Ishmael · February 20, 2023 04:08:43

Ark's perimeter sweep would have been pretty uneventful. It didn't look like anyone or anything had been sent after them at the moment.

|xxxxxxxxxx|xxxxxxxxxx|

The man's head tilted to the side, studying Crimson. "You saw the king! You were with the group that went to Anatina, then?" There was an edge of concern in his voice. He had been dying of curiosity as to what transpired there, given it was one of the few things he had a fleeting familiarity with, but this wasn't what he wanted to hear. If what was happening was bad enough to want to dethrone the kingdom's leader again... what did that mean for him? He still didn't know the role he had played in Anatina's unrest, and for its people to be obviously suffering... what if he was the cause of that pain?

His train of thought was interrupted as the group outside entered the tower. Time, Chronos, a couple mages, and--

|xxxxxxxxxx|xxxxxxxxxx|

Figura froze in the doorframe, looking like a deer in headlights as he locked eyes with the mortal crouched by the stairs. Just as quickly, he turned away, squeezing his eyes shut as he muttered a series of phrases in another language, apparently trying to calm himself.

The mortal suddenly stood, very offended. "Excuse me, I am not--"

The rest of his sentence ended in a shocked grunt as in one movement, the vials along Figura's belt emptied and a pillar of water slammed into the mortal's abdomen, knocking him into the wall behind him. He crumpled to the ground, struggling to get air back in his lungs.

"What are you, changeling?" the kelpie snarled in a voice like thunder. He had fully stepped into the room now, reaching for the sword strapped to his back as he did so. The water pooled around the mortal didn't spread or soak into anything, simply sitting on top of the ground around the man's body.

wolffighting3768 · February 20, 2023 09:45:21

Crimson sank back into the chair and closed his eyes, ignoring the commotion right next to him. "Don't go killing the innocent. I would really hate for someone to do that." Crimson warned.

Time · February 20, 2023 14:44:27

((Yo Eliza do you need a quick rundown for what's going on or nah?))

Time in an instant flashed between the kelpie and the mortal, "Figura, I understand you may have history with this man, or may be emotional, but no guests of the Clocktower will be harmed." He eyes Figura with a calm and controlled look, "I recommend that you do not pursue any sort of violence in here, unless you wish to face consequences."

AshTheAvaricious · February 22, 2023 12:44:00

Critchun appears, this time being much more humanoid. He looks kinda like a skyrim werewolf, but she's more upright and has light brown fur currently. Also deer legs, albeit with more fur than deer typically have. It's arriving from upstairs, with the small trinket Time gave them on her head. He's standing on the stairs and staring at the commotion, maybe waiting to see if they need to pick somebody up and put them outside.

ThreePunchAxel · February 22, 2023 18:45:40

Ark zooms back into the clock tower. “Nothing. No pursuers.” He looks back and forth between Figura and the sick dude. “Did I miss something?”

wolffighting3768 · February 23, 2023 21:00:39

"Not much I'd say." Crimson responded to Ark. "Just uh....a really odd bug...I...really have no words, this is way out of my experience."

Time · February 24, 2023 03:34:10

"Oh there is nothing, for the most part." He smiles to Ark, and then pans over to Figura with a nearly glaring look, "Isn't thar correct? Figura?"

Ishmael · February 25, 2023 04:09:26

For the briefest second, Figura considered ignoring Time's warning and going for the kill anyway, but the kelpie doubted he would have been able to-- not with the collection of deities in the room, anyway. With a loud snort, he looked away from the mortal's crumpled form to return the god's stare for a long moment. "As you wish," he relented before removing his hand from his sword. As he did so, the water surrounding the mortal rushed back to Figura with enough force to send him sprawling to the floor again. It separated into smaller sections before returning neatly to the vials on the kelpie's hip.

Figura's voice lowered to a whisper as he leaned closer to Time. "I strongly recommend you remove this guest from your care at once," he urged him. "I know King Felix's water signature better than my own. This thing is nowhere close. It must be a spy from Prospero in disguise."

|xxxxxxxxxx|xxxxxxxxxx|

All the hushed speaking unnerved the mortal almost as much as the fact that despite getting blasted with water, he and his clothing were bone dry. He slowly heaved himself to his feet and, still struggling to breathe a little, surreptitiously scooted a little closer to the others gathered in the room while the crazy guy with the sword was distracted.

Time had mentioned a word. Figura. It was a name the mortal had remembered from before, a memory that had caused the wound on his chest to reopen, injuring Huck in the process and sparking the trip to Anatina in the first place. This was what they had to show for it? Someone else who wanted him dead-- or someone who wanted to finish the job?

He searched Figura's face for any trace of familiarity, bracing for the same torrent of dark, unnatural magic to overwhelm him like before. But there was nothing he recognized. He truly didn't know this man at all, even though it was quite obvious that he was supposed to. Maybe it was for the best. It was possible remembering anything else would trigger an episode and kill him outright.

He sat down in an empty seat, though with the way he was watching Figura he was ready to bolt the second it looked like things were going to get combative again.

Time · February 25, 2023 21:09:14

"Sorry, no can do." Time shakes his head, "This stranger is still one of great interest to me. Huck, mentioned he reminded him of Ishmael. Plus he has no recollection of the past."

Time paces, nearing Figura with a calculating look about his face, "You're saying that this stranger, bears the likeness of King Felix, yes?" he looks back at the mortal as if to study him, and the looks back to the kelpie, "You mentioned a water signature. Can you tell me the basics of it?"

wolffighting3768 · March 7, 2023 12:13:34

""Signature? Like an aura? If it's not physical I could try my hand at...whatever the problem is." Crimson chimed in.

AshTheAvaricious · March 11, 2023 02:46:10

Critchun speaks what it thinks a water signature is, saying "Like.. scent. Blood... haz wa'er. In. gess.. can feel. Wuter. Mah-jic?"

wolffighting3768 · March 11, 2023 12:21:29

"A trail at the simplest form is what it is I guess." Crimson told the Critchun.

Ishmael · March 12, 2023 01:35:15

"Close enough," the kelpie relented. "Most living things have water in them. If you pay close enough attention, you can learn the intricacies of specific people or objects. The way they breathe, how it fills arteries, bones, muscles. It's separate from an aura, but distinct. It is quite easy to tell when something is not what it is supposed to be." A pointed look at the man slouched in the chair. "For example--"

Figura's form dissolved, fading into a mound of water that twisted and writhed for several moments before settling into a recognizable shape. It did not solidify into flesh and bone, but it was clearly the form of a mortal, smaller and thinner than the kelpie's human appearance. It bore a striking resemblance to the mortal in the room, though it was stronger and healthier looking, wearing a long, formal cape with a crown some in the assembled group would possibly recognize as the same one that Prospero had worn when they visited Anatina.

|xxxxxxxxxx|xxxxxxxxxx|

This sent the mortal into a panic. He scrambled out of his seat and crouched behind it, refusing to look at the weird mirror image of himself standing a few feet away. He had seen enough to recognize that it was supposed to be him, but the fear of that recognition going further and triggering another episode finally became too much to bear. He hunched over, hiding his face in trembling hands, a far cry from the kingly form the kelpie had taken. "No, no, no!"

AshTheAvaricious · March 12, 2023 03:21:42

Critchun climbs down the rest of the stairs, as she had taken place there, and then pads over to the mortal. They grab him, and stuff the man into their fluff. It is soft in the Critchun fluff; and its body heat could be considered comforting.

ThreePunchAxel · March 12, 2023 05:56:20

"Hm..." Ark is deep in thought. "The plot thickens. Who is this mystery man indeed?" He whips around to face the already scared person, grinning like a maniac. "Say, can I look at your soul?"

wolffighting3768 · March 12, 2023 23:51:38

Crimson shot Ark a menacing glare. "You do that and I will snap your neck over and over again until Time snaps mine. Do not, under any circumstance, harm a mortal." he said coldly to the angel.

Time · March 13, 2023 02:00:00

"OK, you two, cool it." Time orders to Ark and Crimson, "I'm thinking it would be key to try to compare this mortal's soul to King Felix's but do we even have a base of King Feliex to measure it up to?"

"Critchun, I get you wish to be helpful, but no unwillful fur stuffing."

"And thank you, Figura, for the representation." He finally finishes addressing everyone, "But you can return back to your original form. Our mortal here has had a pattern of suffering from intense pain from some mysterious magic whenever he tries to remember the past, or anything of the sort similar. I don't want that to unnecessarily happening to him."

ThreePunchAxel · March 13, 2023 05:17:30

"Aw, he thinks he can hurt me. Ah well, maybe next time." Ark sits down in the nearest chair.

AshTheAvaricious · March 13, 2023 10:58:10

Critchun reluctantly relents, putting the mortal down. There is a notable, yet fairly small considering her size, amount of fur on the man.

wolffighting3768 · March 13, 2023 19:47:29

"Watch your tongue Ark." Crimson snapped back at him.