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 Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 4:16 pm
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Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 4:33 pm
Carmine raced along a thin trail just to the east of the Under Ground's headquarters. Khaa had returned to the cave with news that the young kalonaflutter that they had met in the jungle was in the area. A few weeks ago the entirety of their group had made it back with the objects they had sought after and Lorenna had sent the two crows to go fetch the kid. Well, he might not look so much like a kid anymore. She imagined he'd be taller after such a long period of time. Carmine quietly prayed that Lorenna wouldn't hate him more when he was grown. She hadn't quite given up on her kalona grudge even after Othelia had gone missing one day. If anything this mission had made her dislike them more.
"It's just up ahead right?" She called up to the white capped crow who was leading the way. When the bird nodded Carmine let out a whoop of joy. This was exciting, after all this time their efforts would pay off, which was a good thing since they'd only been bringing in scraps recently. Carmine wasn't sure how much longer they would be able to keep things up without what was coming to them. Not much longer that was sure.
"C'mon guys! She called back to the rest of the group. We're almost there!" She could practically taste the fortune now.
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Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 4:40 pm
Lorenna was significantly less optimistic about where they were heading. Something had rubbed her wrong about this mission from the very start and nothing that had happened had changed her opinions on the matter. It seemed that no matter where they turned there were kalona watching their every move and then Othelia mysteriously vanished after fetching two treasures with Carmine. Then there were the treasures themselves. She had never seen anything quite like them and they looked nothing like a key. Something was definitely up and where Carmine met things with enthusiasm Lorenna would meet them with caution. They never should have taken this task but now that they were neck deep in it she knew better than to think they could back out especially not with the demon child in the area.
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Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 4:47 pm
Phibrizzo stood calmly in a small clearing in the heart of the woods. He had shrunk down to his foal size to keep up the innocent foal routine that worked so well. It was no longer necessary but he enjoyed it greatly. The looks on peoples faces when a child committed some atrocity were completely priceless and he wanted to see those expressions on the ones working for him now. Wouldn't it just be so shocking to find out that you'd been led completely astray? That you'd wasted over a year of your life chasing something that would get you nothing? He wanted to see their distraught faces and he'd get the pleasure anytime now. He knew they were coming, he had seen their little pet fly by. Maybe he'd have some fun with their pets before he left too. That would really be the cherry on top for this day now wouldn't it?
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Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 4:56 pm
Slipsand beamed and only barely resisted from running up ahead. This had been their longest and most in depth mission yet, and now it was finally complete! She was filled with pride for the part she had played in it and couldn't wait to see the look on their friend's face. In her imagination, he was so moved by their dedication and skill that he got choked up and could barely speak to thank them. She grinned at this internal vision. No matter what happened, she decided she'd be happy. It was an adventure, and that's what they had set out for.
Ekahau, her tropical bird familiar, perched on her dorsal fin. He was less excited than her, but still wore a smile. This was a big moment for all of them, because they all had done it together!
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Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 5:00 pm
Internally, Beryl was already counting her profits. She was hoping to get gold and gems for their mission accomplished. She wanted something fancy that she could either set in a pile and look at or wear and show off. She was alight with avarice. She would be just as glad to get rid of the artifact she had helped to collect. It was strange and she didn't much like the look of it. Something beautiful and sparkly would suit her much better.
"Hey Sio." She smirked at her bison companion, lumbering alongside her. "I hope you're ready to cart off our reward! I might be able to carry it all myself!" Sio only grunted and rolled her eyes. It was a display of indifference but Beryl wasn't fooled. Sio was just as curious about what their prize would be as she was.
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Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 5:08 pm
Xelloss... had mixed feelings. By now he was quite aware of the true meaning to their mission. It was a little pathetic, how easily the Underground had been tricked into completing the search and find mission. Xelloss loved deception and was entirely enthused about what the end goal of this one would be, but something tickled at the back of his mind.
Hellmaster was cruel, even compared to other mazoku. Xelloss was glad to be working with him, because it meant that they were allies and not enemies. The Underground could not say the same thing. Once they passed over their artifacts, which would be very soon, they would lose their immediate usefulness. With that, they might very well lose their lives. Ever composed, Xelloss let no trace of his internal debate show on the surface. If Hellmaster told ordered him to help kill the Underground he would... but for once, he might not enjoy it.
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Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 5:24 pm
Khaa spotted the blue kalonaflutter first and let out the cry that had given the unimaginative Carmine his name as he circled back to the others, "Khaa! Khaa khaa!" They were there.
Carmine cheered as she raced out of the trees and into the clearing. She wouldn't get to be the first to see the kid but second was still pretty good. "Hey squirt!" She called cheerfully as she slowed to a stop taking note that he didn't seem much bigger if he had grown at all. It was probably the flutter blood. Lorenna was on the shrimpy side too and she was definitely all grown. "Guess what we found." She said in a sing-song as she looked back to the others heading her way. Where was Wolf?
"Ah!" She exclaimed spotting her friend. "Wolf bring that bag over here will ya?" She called with a wide, smug grin on her face. They had done very well. Sure it had taken them all year but she could only imagine how long it would have taken one person to do it. They'd probably saved the kid several years of hunting.
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Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 5:32 pm
Today Wolf bore the heavy bag containing the fruits of their labor around her neck. The weight would not have bothered her if Raven would have left it alone. She could hear Carmine cheering up ahead and knew that they had reached their destination. Even without Carmine calling for her Wolf knew exactly what to do. Keeping up her brisk pace she made her way over to Carmine and Phibrizzo swatting Raven away with a smooth sweep of her tail. With a grunt she worked the bag off her shoulders, over her head and allowed it to drop to the ground with a thud. Everything inside was sturdy enough that she was sure none of it would be damaged.
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Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 5:41 pm
Lorenna made a point to march directly over to Carmine and stand immediately to her left. Whatever was going on she intended to make sure she was in a position to put a stop to it. Carmine was too trusting to notice when she was in danger. She put far too much faith into her Under Ground to handle risky moments. "Kalona." She said nodding her head slightly at Phibrizzo in way of greeting making a point to keep her voice hard as stone and her eyes suspicious. She wanted to make it very clear that she still didn't trust him in the hopes that he might slip up under pressure.
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Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 5:50 pm
And there they were. He smiled cheerfully at Carmine prancing forward to meet her in the middle of the clearing. "I heard you had good news!" Phibrizzo said, all smiles. "You found them? All of them? Already?!" He let his tail twitch about like an over-excited youth's might as he watched Wolf approach with the bag. Based on the size alone Phibrizzo could tell that yes, they had in fact found the remaining six keys. The last one remained in Lord Beastmaster's care back in the jungle. It would be safe there. Only a fool would try to pry it away from the Lord mare.
"I'm so impressed! I only found one." He said smiling around at the group taking special note of Xelloss's location and extra time to give Lorenna an extra wide grin. Her annoyance was only the appetizer today. Their horror would be the main course. "Was it hard?"
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Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 11:03 am
Slipsand didn't pay much attention to their flutter friend's lack of growth. She didn't know really what the growth patterns of full sized soquili were supposed to be. She had lived isolated with the usdia sub-breeds for most of her life and hadn't ever been present seeing a regular soquili grow from basket to adulthood. His reaction gratified her, and she bobbed up and down happily, causing Ekahau to squawk at his perch becoming so unstable.
"It was pretty hard, but not too hard!" She beamed. "I got the one 'buried in the stream of time!" It had required navigating an underwater labyrinth. There had been a few times when Slipsand had worried she might not be able to make it to air in time, but she had managed to escape without drowning.
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Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 11:09 am
Beryl sized up the kid. They had their bag, but where was his? He was supposed to have something waiting for them too. She eyed him suspiciously but said nothing just yet. Maybe he had it waiting in a pile somewhere else. He was only a little colt after all. He couldn't be expected to lug around piles of treasure all on his own. She glanced around at the others. Lorenna had misgivings, but she did whenever anyone mentioned the k-word. Most of the rest of them looked optimistic and normal, except... oddly enough, Xelloss was looking a little weird.
He smiled, but he had been around their group for long enough that Beryl had become familiar with his mannerisms. She was clever and an excellent judge of character, and she knew his smile was hiding something. She quickly looked away in case he caught her staring, but she wondered... what did Xelloss have on his mind?
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Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 11:16 am
"I got bitten by a snake finding mine," piped in Xelloss. "Maybe that deserves hazard pay?" None of that was true, but he felt that he was expected to say something. Out of the corner of his eye he thought he saw Beryl watching him. At this point in the game, that didn't matter. They were past the point of no return. He could announce his betrayal immediately and they wouldn't be able to do a thing to change their fate. The jaws of the trap had closed, there was no escape now.
Only, there was one of their group missing. Was Othelia coming? Xelloss slightly hoped she would stay away. He wasn't too keen on getting attacked again...
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Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 12:53 pm
Carmine didn't care to talk about what she had gone through to get the treasures unlike Slipsand and surprisingly Xelloss. She fixed Xelloss with a look that clearly said you aren't getting anything extra before leaning down to Wolf's pack. "But in the end we got em!" She said happily flipping the flap open to reveal the spoils of their year long labor. She stood up proudly fluffing up her feathers. "The last six!" It was a good day, mission accomplished. "So, where's the other one?" She asked looking around, had he hidden it somewhere around here to keep it safe or something? Did they have to travel to get it? If they were the key to a bigger treasure then where did the keys have to go? He would keep his word right because this was beginning to look like he planned to take the treasure and ditch.
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