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 Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2014 7:17 am
This Quest is for Gaddok who is striving to become a Swordsman.
 OOC
||. The quest prompt must be answered with a 2000 word reply (can be more).
||. Respond to the prompt given with an adventure of your own creation as long as it meets the requirements of the specific tasks.
||. NPCs may be used as long as they advance the quest in an interesting manner.
||. You cannot include any playable characters other than the quest taker.
||. Your responses will be graded with a Pass or Fail. Those who fail will have to continue with assistance from the staff.
||. Questions about quests can be asked here.
IC
There wasn't a person on Tendaji who didn't know of Sauti's craggy and harsh landscape. Living in the terrain could pose as a danger on a day to day basis if the person didn't know how to handle themselves in the rocky paths and cliffs. And while the animals knew no other way than of life in Sauti, their safety still wasn't guaranteed.
Deep within one of Sauti's large crevices in the earth, a reptilian cry echoed off of the walls. Something was stuck inside and couldn't get out. It was a sailscale, it's wing torn from a predator who had left it there, deciding that its food was now too far out of its reach to get back itself out with its prize.
But perhaps Gaddok could find something to get the critter out before nightfall.
Quest Tasks
||. This quest is to test Gaddok's skills in fashioning necessities out of objects around him.
||. The sailscale cannot fly out of the rocky hole he's fallen into and the quest should end with him being saved.
||. The quest should include Gaddok somehow falling into the crack in the earth with the sailscale.
||. Predators lurk in the darkness; Gaddok should find his way out before nightfall or will have to deal with whatever may be lurking in the night.
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 4:41 pm
It was a fair morning; the sun was just peaking over the horizon casting a golden haze across the land. Gaddok started out his morning as he did every morning when he was visiting in Dernd. He woke up, stretched, and went for an early morning sprint on the border of the little Wind village. After arriving back at the yard he gave his arms another good stretch before searching out his practice sword for training. Finding that it was no longer hanging on the rack in the smithy he headed around the side of the house and stepped through the door that led inside, “Lon? Have you seen my practice weapon? It’s not hanging where I put it last.” He called into the seemingly empty house.
“As a matter of fact…” Lon trailed off as he made his way to Gaddok from the backyard, “I took it, because I knew it would be the first thing you looked for.”
“You know I came from the back of the house.” Gaddok huffed as he placed his hands on his hips, “I will never begin to understand where your burly body gets its finesse.” Lon always seemed to be able to take Gaddok by surprise.
“It’s not finesse; you’re predictable.” Lon snorted as he hung the sword back where it belongs, “I need you to take the path to the north east that leads out of town.”
“Need more ore?” Gaddok laughed. Lon hadn’t been making many items for the villagers, and there were no new weapons in stock; what brought about the sudden necessity to stockpile ore?
“As a matter of fact, I do.” Lon replied while presenting Gaddok’s traveling gear, “Your father has made a request for the materials to build a breeding pen for his sail scale business. I need you to head up the north path and take the fo-”
“-Ot trail that leads up into the mountains. From there look for ore and use the pickaxe to harvest it.” Gaddok mimed while grabbing the pickaxe from the smithy and slipping into the straps of his knapsack that Lon held out to him, “Get the feeling I’ve done this before?” He smirked and shifted the weight of his bag.
“Just because you’ve been up into the mountains enough times for me doesn’t mean you need to get cocky, boyo.” Lon warned as he stepped up to the forge, “I want you to travel farther into the mountains; scout out a new ore vein. The one I have been frequenting seems to be dwindling.”
Gaddok arched his back and sighed, “Any leads?”
Lon shook his head, “Keep your eyes peeled. You’re on your own for this one.” He turned his back to Gaddok, returning his attention to melting down ore to be placed in molds for common metal items, “Be back before night fall, will you. I don’t need your mother’s wrath if you get lost or injured.”
Nodding, Gaddok repeated his orders, “Go into the mountains, scout out new ore veins, and be back before sunset… Anything else?”
“Don’t be stupid, don’t get lost, and don’t get injured. I don’t want to have to scout out your corpse if you aren’t back by sunset.” Lon reiterated with a stern finger wag, “I mean it, boy! Those mountains are a whole new world at night, and you definitely aren’t ready for it.”
“Alright, Alright.” He muttered while snagging the old man’s walking stick from the house; he may not need it now, but it certainly helped when trekking through the uneven terrain in the mountains.
“One more thing,” Lon added while snagging Gaddok’s arm, “Take this.” He placed the sheathed long sword he lent Gaddok for the war in his hands, “You might need it. I’ve spotted an unusual amount of sermal in the area; An abnormally large one too… Be careful and above all; aim to kill. If a sermal attacks you it isn’t just playing around; it won’t hold back so you shouldn’t either.” He saw the hesitation in Gaddok’s eyes as he looked at the sword. Fighting in the war was still a fresh wound on him. Lon gave him a good shake, “I mean it Gaddok. You be careful.”
Blinking out of his mental state he nodded and with his sword in his left and walking stick in his right, Gaddok made his way out of Dernd for the mountains.
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 4:42 pm
Being in the mountains was a refreshing change of pace. The air was cooler, more crisp, the scenery a bit more vibrant; the mountains included a more purplish hue as compared to the drab gray green landscape of the common ground. It wasn’t long before Gaddok reached the initial sight for harvesting the ore needed, and it was clearly picked clean, leaving nothing but a pit in the side of the mountain. He didn’t waste too much time scouting the surrounding area, hoping Lon would have had enough sense to do that the last time he was up here. Finding nothing but dried tufts of vegetation and the occasional stone, Gaddok moved on.
He decided the safest option would be to stick to the main foot trails in the mountains until he found a promising location. The main trails were much wider and were traveled regularly, so there was less of a chance for him to fall victim to mishaps. Fortunately, it wasn’t long before he found a large fissure that seemed to lead to another part of the mountain; perhaps an unexplored part. Pressing his body tight to the wall of the fissure he began to slide through. As he did he noticed traces of the metals in the walls; it was here he just needed to find it in larger quantities.
Finally getting through the fissure, he found himself on a thinner, less stable trail. Using the walking stick he brought with, he prodded the path ahead of him to ensure the rocks ahead were stable enough to be stepped on. This path was secluded enough that he would hate to be caught in a miniature rockslide; the likelihood of him being discovered dwindled as he traveled along.
The path of jagged unstable rock led up to what seemed like a slight plateau. Gaddok tucked his sword between his back and knapsack leaving his left hand free to help pull himself along as he began scaling the rocky path. The sun was high in the sky now as Gaddok is nearly to the top of the slope. Noticing a rather unstable patch he jabbed it with his walking stick, causing a small slide which he avoided. After it subsided, he tossed the walking stick to the top of the path and grabbed the rocks ahead to propel himself forward. Gaddok grasped the top of the plateau and pulled up, sliding his body on he wriggled across the surface and finally rested at the top.
‘Seems to be a good spot to rest,’ he told himself while removing the sword from his back, and prying his pack off. Free of his extra weight, Gaddok opened his arms to the mountain breeze and basked in the airs embrace. He wasn’t anywhere near the top of the mountains; only a little plateau somewhere within their majesty, but the view was breathtaking none the less. Everywhere he looked he saw the massive rock structure surrounding him, but he still had the open sky above him. Unsheathing his sword he stabbed it into the earth and placed a rock in its shadow. Snatching a dried reed sticking out of the earth he took a seat near his pack.
Gaddok retrieved a canister of water and a cup, setting the reed aside he poured out some water into the cup and drank, refilled and drank a bit more, then set the cup aside. Opening one of the pouches of his utility belt he removed a case that contained a needle and a small smooth dark rock. Laying the case by the cup he split the reed and pulled out a chunk of the spongy core that wasn’t shriveled. He retrieved the rock with the needle stuck to it and made about forty passes across the rock with the needle in one direction. After that he stuck the needle through the reed core and set it in the cup of water. The core spun for a moment, then settled in one direction, “Well, there’s north and south…” he said to himself. Turning to his sword he looked at the shadow to see that it had moved slightly, using the combination of the needle and the space between the shadows he determined he was facing north west, and that it was nearing midday.
“I had best get moving.” He proclaimed, nearly midday and he hadn’t even found any ore. Pulling his sword from the earth he sheathed it, removed the needle from the reed and tossed the core. Sticking the needle and rock back in his case he polished off the rest of the water in the cup and packed everything back into his knapsack. Walking the perimeter of the plateau he found an area that lead down to a rather large and deep crevice. Looks like it might even have an opening into the earth. Just the kind of opening he was looking for; it was sure to harbor the ore he needed to get for Lon. He had his direction; sitting on the eastern part of the plateau with his walking stick in hand he found his footing and began the gradual descent to the crevice.
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 4:43 pm
Three quarters of the way down and the ground was becoming more level. Deciding it would be easier and quicker to right himself and shift to using his walking stick instead of crouching backward Gaddok gripped tight to the walking stick, placing it in front of him as he shifted his weight forward. His first stepped seemed solid, but as he committed to the step he found the ground shift under his weight. With moments to correct Gaddok rolled his shoulder and fell onto his pack. Sliding down the hill on his knapsack and trying to keep his legs from being injured, he finally came to rest at the end of the slope, a few medium rocks rolling out and grazing him as they fell. Thankfully, Gaddok escaped the fall with only a few minor bruises, but took the lesson to heart; next time he may not be so lucky.
There was a slight lip leading down to the crevice where he currently stood, and the path to the end of the crevice was very narrow… It was going to be difficult to travel it with his pack on, but he couldn’t risk leaving it behind. His only option moving forward was to face the wall and slide across the narrow path overlooking the crevice. Gaddok stashed the walking stick and sword between his back and knapsack. Pressing firm to the side of the mountain, he slid his right foot out onto the lip and kept a firm grip on the wall as he went.
About half way through the ledge widened enough that he could actually get his whole foot on and even possibly turn around, but he was a ways off yet and already his arms and legs burned from holding himself to the mountainside. Beads of sweat rolled down his face as his body yearned for each inch to be his last on this impossibly narrow ridge. He turned his head to look toward the wider ledge, seeing it get closer was encouraging him to press on; at the same time, seeing how far he could fall caused his vision to swim and his stomach to float into this throat.
Feeling his feet slip on the ledge, Gaddok clung to the mountain, held his breath and closed his eyes. His body tensed in a kneejerk reaction that caused him to instinctively shift his weight back onto his foot that was still on the ledge. Stretching his dangling leg out he touched his tippy toe onto the widened ledge, “Just… A little farther…” He groaned through his labored breath. His hair felt like it was crawling, as it began to stick to his face and neck. Gaddok began to wish he would have taken his mother’s advice months earlier and chopped it off, but it was too late for wishful thinking; just more proof that he should always listen to his mother.
Getting his foot back on the ledge Gaddok shuffled the rest of the way over to the wider end of the ledge where he carefully spun around and let out his held breath in relief, “I... Made it!” Beyond all belief he finally got to the wider edge. With that behind him, he wiped his face with the bottom edge of his tunic and nabbed his canister of water which he took a generous swig of and dumped a small portion over his head.
Recalling his time on the plateau left Gaddok longing for the cooling embrace of the mountain air. Down in this valley like crevice left nothing but stagnant stale air that, with the midday sun, felt like he was standing next to the forge. Dwelling on discomforts would only discourage him, and cause him to abandon investigating the promising cave at the end of the crevice. Capping his canister he slipped it back into the pocket of his knapsack and adjusted the straps.
He examined the rest of the path down to the crevice, then followed the length of the crevice to find a way down to the cave. it looked like the easiest way to the cave was going to be to get into the crevice. Completing his discent to the crevice's edge he looked over the edge to see a sail scale; odd for one to be way down here. The sail scale lifted its head to look up at Gaddok and let out a raspy cry of pain. It began attempting to spin and claw at the steep crevice walls, and it was then that he noticed the blood puddled under the creatures form. It appeared as though the sail scale’s left wing was damaged and it was clear the creature wouldn’t be flying out of the crevice; poor thing could barely drag itself around.
Grateful that the edge of the crevice was wider than the path down to it, he stripped off his pack and set it beside himself. The sail scale was clearly too far down for him to reach, but perhaps something could be fashioned from the items he had with him. Certainly his sword and walking stick would come in handy in this. he placed them against the mountain so they would not be able to roll away, but would be close at hand. taking a knee at his pack he began to sift through its contents to see what else he could use.
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 4:44 pm
He found a reel of leather string that he uses to repair his boots and vest, a sail scale harness, and his whittling kit, as well as his usual change of clothing. Maybe by tying the bottom of his vest together he could string his vest to the walking stick… Leaning over the edge Gaddok looked down and tried to judge the distance from the top of the crevice to the ledge the sail scale was on; he just might be able to reach. Getting to his feet, Gaddok scooped everything into his pack, tossed a strap over his shoulder, and nabbed his sword and walking stick, tucking away his sword behind his back for later. Stepping to the edge just above the sail scale he dangled the walking stick over the edge, and it was a few feet off. The sail scale staggered onto its hind legs and attempted to n** the end of the walking stick; clearly the pitiful thing hadn’t eaten in a while. Still on its back feet, using its tail as a stabilizer the sail scale continued to stare up at Gaddok longingly. He couldn’t imagine how much the creature had been through. It gave Gaddok all the more motivation to rescue the poor thing. Its expression changed suddenly, eyes widened; the sail scale tipped his head to one side and leaned its body, shifting to keep balance. Something had definitely caught its attention, and to Gaddok’s curiosity, it appeared to be behind him.
Whatever it was he didn’t want to tip it off that he was semi aware of it. Gripping tight to his walking stick Gaddok looked at the ground immediately at his feet and saw the squiggly shadow squirming on the earth. A low growl rolled through the creature’s throat as it rose from its rocky hiding place. Not a moment too soon, Gaddok swiveled on his heels and rose the walking stick up to chest level in time to block the claws seeking to tear into his flesh, pushing the creature off to the left Gaddok staggered right and leaned on the stick for support. By this time the Sermal had already rebounded and was charging full speed at Gaddok. With no time to react, Gaddok merely closed his eyes and braced for the full on head butt of an adolescent sermal.
The initial pain of the impact was blinding, there was a snap but at the time he couldn’t discern if it was the walking stick or his bones. He felt his body floating, or was it falling? Suddenly he impacted, rolled, hit again moments later, and then came to rest. Peeking through the slits of his lids Gaddok saw the open blue sky above him, then felt his eyes roll as his consciousness slowly faded.
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 4:45 pm
Gaddok awoke to a horrific screech. His eyes shot open as he bolted to an upright position, sending a jolt of pain throughout his left side; it was almost like having a stitch in his side, but much, much worse. Clasping a hand to his ribs he suppressed a cry of pain as he shifted from his back against the wall of the crevice. Feeling the cold stone against his back was pleasant at first but something wasn’t right; where was his pack? Looking up at the sky he could see the orangish pink hues being added to the sky as the sun grew increasingly closer to setting. He was surely out for a couple hours and in the condition unable to continue to the cave for the ore; however, he still might be able to help the sail scale…
Gaddok scanned the length of the ledge he happened to rest on in search of his pack. Thankfully it hadn’t fallen far from where he landed, his sword was at his side, and the walking stick teetered on the edge of the landing. Using the sword to get to his feet, he hobbled over to the walking stick and scooped it off the edge. Once he had both he eased back to the earth and began slipping his arms through the straps of his knapsack. He worked his way onto his knees, then by dividing his weight between the sword and the walking stick he managed to get back to standing. Each inch he rose from the ground sent an agonizing pain through his side and into his chest, there was an occasional jolt down the left side of his foot. It was excruciating, but he definitely needed to get out of this crevice and out of the mountains if at all possible.
Again the screech erupted through the crevice and Gaddok looked to see a group of Drunds attempting to slither down from the top of the crevice to the notch that the sail scale paced on. Drunds didn’t typically hunt sail scales; the wings made the drunds at an extreme disadvantage, but seeing as to how the playing field has been leveled the sail scale was an easy target.
Growling at the pain he was about to cause himself, Gaddok dropped the walking stick and sword to the earth at his feet, and struggled to shrug the bag off his back. Falling to the earth with a thud, Gaddok turned on his heels and shuffled through its contents for the leather string. Cutting a long chuck, he tied a loop to one end and then cut it in half. Ripping a chunk off of the sleeve of his shirt he tied the two cut ends of the leather to either end of the ripped cloth; a rock sling. A simple but efficient weapon if you know how to use it. Holding both ends of the leather contraption in his right hand Gaddok grabbed a stone on the platform he stood; he placed the rock to the cloth and began whirling the contraption over his head. The momentum kept the rock in the sling, and when he had his target in sights and was ready he opened his right hand with a slight flick of the wrist and the rock went soaring at the scaling drunds; a miss, but he definitely got their attention. The group responded with a rumbling hiss and a momentary retreat.
Gaddok advanced to meet across from the knob the sail scale had found itself on. the knob was a couple feet above him, too high to risk the creature jumping over to him; too far for him to reach across to grab it. He undid the clasps of his vest and returned to grab the leather string, the walking stick and sword from his pack. Returning to the knob Gaddok set down his supplies and began building. Stripping off his vest he used the leather string to tie the bottom of the vest together and then created loops off of each arm slipping the walking stick through one arm and the long sword through the other he took one final piece; the bait, grabbing some dried Capra meat he placed a larger chunk at the bottom of the vest and holding firm to the bottom of both the sword and stick he bridged the distance between himself and the sail scale.
The sail scale was startled by the contraption and pressed itself tight against the wall, but was soon lured to investigate by the alluring aroma of the dried capra meat. ”C’mon little guy,” Gaddok encouraged the scared sail scale through labored breaths of pain, “Just get… in the vest so I can get… the hell out of here.” It dangled over the side of the lip and slowly tested the stability of the vest then slithered its way in to devour the morsel resting in its base. “Gotcha!” Gaddok was elated that he would soon be able to set this contraption down. The wiggling of the sail scale and the angle Gaddok was holding the stick and sword cased the vest to slowly work its way from the notch the sail scale was initially on to here Gaddok currently was. It was gradual and had a few hick ups; with the leather loop getting caught on the knots in the walking stick, but eventually Gaddok had the injured sail scale in his grasp.
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 4:46 pm
Not willing to be bitten or whipped just yet. Gaddok switched hands with the stick and the sword, causing the arms of his vest to cross and the sail scale to be trapped within. It squirmed a bit in protest, but eventually settled into a ball as Gaddok worked the vest to the earth. Holding the vest in one hand and the sword stick combo in the other he worked the leather loops over his wrist, and then got the stick and sword back onto the ledge on which he was standing. Once he was no longer risking losing either of those, he walked back to his knapsack and retrieved the harness for the sail scale.
To his surprise the sail scale didn’t put up much of a fuss to being harnessed, and Gaddok was sure to fold up a shirt he had stashed away his pack and put it against the creatures injured wing before strapping him in. Now that he had the sail scale the trouble was going to be getting out of this crevice. Easing his way to the earth, Gaddok once again rested against the crevice wall trying to get his vision to focus. The pain in his side was getting increasingly worse, but he could not recall much of what had happened. He was looking down at the sail scale from the top of the crevice, it gave him a funny look, and then… The sermal.
Un-tucking his shirt he gently lifted the left side to reveal a massive swollen purplish red bruise that was getting increasingly darker. Had he broken a rib? Fractured? Was there internal bleeding? His vision began swimming as he ran through the possibilities. There odds of him dying in these mountains were increasing by the hour. Taking a few deep breaths, Gaddok tried to center himself; he had to remain calm if he was going to get out of the mountains alive. Once his vision stabilized and he felt the blood returning to his face, Gaddok turned to his pack and undid the coiled rope he had bundled around his sleeping bag. Removing the rope he quickly stuffed the rolled up bag into his knapsack and tightened it up. This rope was one of his only hopes on getting out of this crevice and escaping the mountains before dark.
Gaddok’s knapsack was flat due to the rolled up sleeping bag; using the unused straps that would hold the bag to the knapsack, he placed the sail scale on top of his pack and strapped the harness in. The sail scale hissed in protest. “Hey now… ” he scolded his voice commanding but gentle, “You want to get out of here as bad as I do, right…” Not getting much more fuss from the sail scale he lifted the pack onto his back, suppressing a groan of pain. Gaddok placed the long sword between his back and pack, and then leaned heavily on the walking stick as he stared down the ledge formulating a plan to scale out of the crevice.
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 4:47 pm
Scanning his surroundings Gaddok found a rock it was small, but had quite a bit of weight to it and fit nice in his hand; he could easily throw it to the top of the crevice. With that leather string still close at hand, Gaddok strapped the stone to the top of the walking stick. Turning to the thick rope he got from his pack, he tied a knot about two feet into the rope, then divided the length above the knot in half. Tying each end on opposite ends of the stick, Gaddok had fashioned himself somewhat of a grappling string. The idea was to throw the stick to the top of the crevice, the stone adding enough weight to the stick to carry it to the top and with any luck the stick will catch some rocks giving him the leverage he needs to pull himself out.
It was a sound idea, and so as to not disturb the sail scale that has been so calmly perched to the top of his pack, he eased his arms out of the straps and propped the bag against the crevice wall. Backing to the very edge of the ledge Gaddok took the middle of the stick in his right hand with the rock pointed toward the top of the cliff. Taking in a few quick deep breath; as deep as his chest would allow, Gaddok shuffled a couple steps then launched the stick. The height was right, but the angle off. Attempt two brought the right height and good angle, but didn’t hook anything. Attempts three through six were a combination of the last two.
Frustrated, exhausted, and borderline fed up with tossing this bulky contraption to the top of this crevice, Gaddok reels back and gives it one last go. Once again, the height was good, and the angle was perfect; he even heard it clatter into something, but only pulling on the rope would tell if he had resistance. Winded from the strain he was putting on his side Gaddok grasped his knees and tried to stay upright while he caught his breath.
After he caught his breath, Gaddok gave the rope a gentle tug, and felt resistance; had he finally snagged something? Would he finally get out of this crevice? Giving another good pull he felt the resistance, but the rope gave. Whatever he had snagged wouldn’t hold his weight. A pit formed in his stomach as he gave the rope an even pull, dragging the caught object across the surface. As he pulled the resistance grew; it was almost a battle to get the rope down. He saw a corner of the stick peek over the ledge, and was accompanied by a series of distressed grunts. Gaddok moved to the wall to avoid being hit by the falling drund. It hit the ledge he stood on and laid there stunned for the moment; limbs sprawled out, slack jawed, tail flaccid. He half assumed it was dead, but as he approached the sail scale began thrashing, hissing and gnawing at its harness. “Alright, Alright!” Gaddok insisted while placing a hand on it to calm him down. As he did the drund suddenly sprang to life in a fury of tail whips and limb flails. Once it righted itself the drund stared the pair down with ferocious disdain. It clearly held a grudge for being drug off the ledge into the crevice with them.
Arms outstretched, Gaddok kept low to the ground as he made attempts to reason with the enraged and frightened drund. His attempts were in vain and met with a slap from its razor like tail; the drund even tried lunging at him in an attempt to snap off a finger or two. The sail scale began squirming once more, snarling in protest. Gaddok turned back, “I’m alright, just settle down… You’ll injure that wing worse.” As Gaddok gathered up the rope and walking stick for one final attempt, the drund began growling a low throaty call that echoed throughout the crevice. He had never seen that before… Then again he had never been this close to a drund without his father close at hand. Not wanting to find out what would happen when that call was answered; he took the stick and gave it a good toss out of the crevice; with success! Giving the rope another good test tug and receiving no give, Gaddok delicately strapped his pack on, tucked his sword behind his back and found a foot-hold to start hoisting himself up the crevice.
Gaddok had the rope looped through his utility belt, to assist in holding his weight. He did most of the hoisting with his right side, due to the nagging painful ache in his side. He did however, manage to get the pick axe out of the straps in his pack with his left hand, and use it to make holes to dig his feet in as he climbed. It was a lot farther than he had initially thought, but keeping his mind focused Gaddok managed to get to the top. Pulling himself to the top he slid right and just lay on the top of the crevice for a moment; it felt wonderful to be out of that crevice. The sail scale began squaking and squirming at him, due to the awkward position he was stuck in. Gaddok laughed and worked his way to his knees, “Alright, We’re out of the crevice now. Should be easy from here, right?” He gave the sail scale a little smirk as it replied with almost a coo of approval
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Dislodging the walking stick, Gaddok rolled up the Rope, removed the sword and tucked the rope in its place. He tightened the straps of his bag and looked for the sun. Its golden rays were barely visible through the mountains. Gaddok had more travel to do than daylight left in a day. “That’s roughly west…” Gaddok declared as he huffed out a sigh at the setting sun. He needed to go southwest, but he was on the opposite side of the crevice from where he entered… With little time to come up with a way across, Gaddok decided the easiest thing would be to just get out of the mountains, and find his way home from there. Leaning heavily on his walking stick as he went, Gaddok started down the path following the sun.
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 4:48 pm
He hadn’t been walking long, when he heard a familiar noise, a throaty growl… Multiple throaty growls. There coming from where he had been and fast approaching, but also came from where he was going. “s**t…” He mumbled, “Drunds.” He had to keep moving. Trudging on he soon met up with two adult drunds who looked to be none too pleased to see him. Gaddok stomped a foot at them, followed by a hiss from the sail scale in hopes to intimidate them into clearing the path. They faltered, but held their ground; their reinforcements were not far behind. The larger of the two charged at Gaddok, receiving a swift kick off the ledge. The other took another approach, up a rocky ledge it attempted to jump down at him. He deflected the creature with the walking stick, and it whipped the side of his face with its tail before joining its partner in the crevice. Three more approached from the rear; one surprisingly familiar. Gaddok set aside the walking stick and drew his sword, “Come on!” He taunted keeping a close eye on the three hoping to predict their movement. One charged up the middle which he kicked to the back of the pack. Gaddok slashed at the left, slicing off a foot then bashed the familiar one on the head with the sheath. The blow stunned the already injured drund, but the cut one was undeterred and bit down on Gaddok’s foot. Luckily its teeth hadn't penetrated his boot and the pressure alarmed him. He swiftly shook the creature off, and then booted it down the crevice. The sail scale let out an alarming screech, causing Gaddok to jump and glance behind him. The first two that attacked had found their way out. Gaddok stabbed one through the head, it squirmed momentarily, then fell limp as blood began to soak the earth under its corpse. Its partner snarled at Gaddok, and lunged for him sinking its teeth deep into Gaddok’s forearm. “Grah!” He seethed while removing the blade from the drund’s head. Gaddok pulled at the tail of the creature lodged in his arm, but the drund’s grip was unrelenting. Seeing no other options Gaddok beat the creature against the side of the mountain until it released. Grabbing the limp drund’s tail he gave it a toss across the crevice; this battle was done.
Gaddok looked at his arm and though it didn’t look too terrible now he knew it would get much worse. The gashes were deep and numerous. Ripping his sleeve completely off Gaddok tied a tourniquet just above his elbow; hopefully this would prevent the drund’s toxin from affecting his whole body. Retrieving his water canister Gaddok cleaned out the wound a bit, took a drink for himself, then poured what little was left into the cap for the sail scale, “That’s all that’s left… Sorry bud.” The sail scale made short work of the water, and appeared grateful for what was given. Sheathing the sword Gaddok collected the walking stick and continued down the path.
The path led down a rocky slope that appeared to drop into a wider fissure. He had never seen rocks so massive; a result of an earth quake long ago maybe? No matter, Gaddok’s forearm burned; it has since swelled to twice its size, each tooth mark split open, stopped bleeding and began weeping a yellowish clear fluid. His joints ached when they were stationary and bending them was out of the question. As he began the descent down the slope he used the pillar like stones as a brace as his aching legs began to give out. A fever began to break out in his body; a defense against the toxin he assumed. Gaddok’s vision swam, his face burned as his whole body broke out in a cold sweat. He had to make it out of the mountains. Holding tight to a pillar he pressed his face to its cold stone, and noticed a mini rock slide from the other side of the slope… But he hadn’t moved. Gaddok stared out across the slope waiting for a movement, a noise, anything.
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 4:49 pm
The silence was broken; a low, guttural growl that chilled Gaddok to the bone. ‘N-not now… it can’t be…’ He told himself as he fumbled his walking stick, eventually dropping it down the slope. Keeping his sword close, Gaddok picked up his pace as he made his way down the rocky slope. Each rock slide he didn’t make, shadow he didn’t produce caused his blood to freeze in his veins. ‘It’s the fever… I’m just seeing- hearing things, right?’ He could feel the sail scale shivering at his back, was it cold? Stumbling through the open fissure, he could see the dull gold green of the mainlands ahead. Gaddok’s heart grew wings as he staggered forward, using the fissure wall for support. “Almost t-” his breath hitched as he heard claws scraping against stone. He froze, his breath trapped in his lungs. The sail scale screeched defensively at first, but as the claws closed in it nearly screamed.
Gaddok felt the impact with his knapsack, he flew a good foot, and skid to a stop. Then he was jerked into a flip and tossed to the side; his sword skidding to a stop a mere arms-length away. A sermal; the one from the crevice had been stalking him through the mountains. Seeing its chance to strike, the predator launched for him, but snatched his pack instead. He watched as the sermal thrashed, pounced and tore at the thick leather pack he had owned since his youth. Pulling himself along, Gaddok grabbed his sheathed sword, grabbed the hilt with his swollen right hand and yanked the sheath off with his left.
Using the blade to get to his feet, Gaddok ran full bore at the creature and drove the blade into its back. The sermal howled in pain as it reeled backward and threw Gaddok off. The beast stared him down as it began a slow prowl. Gaddok couldn’t think, couldn’t focus. Blade still in hand he charged the sermal, driving the blade deep into its chest as he felt the claws of the beast curl and slash through his own. As it thrashed and clawed at him the blade sank deeper into the creature, cutting through flesh and fur. Gaddok twisted the blade and pushed up, driving the blade out the back of the sermal. The massive predator let out one final gurgling roar, then fell limp. Gaddok shoved it off and crawled over to his torn pack; its contents were demolished, but underneath it all he found the sail scale. Removing the harness, he picked up its limp body. The left wing was dislocated, both legs broken, but the sail scale was still breathing; still alive. Holding his new found friend close to his bloodied chest, Gaddok finished the trek out of the mountains.
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 4:52 pm
His lungs burned, starving for oxygen; ribcage broken and swelled kept his breaths minimal, lest they send a jolt of pain through his body. His left side was bloodied and torn from chest to wrist by the claws of the sermal, but he still held tight to the sail scale limp in his arm. His head throbbed, vision blurred; every step sent an electric charge through his body, but it’s how he knew he was alive. The carnivorous toxin of the drunds seemed to stay in his right forearm, where he was bitten, but his body temperature was rising to fight the invasive toxin. He shook uncontrollably, his clothes soaked in sweat and blood. “Just… a few more… steps.” His cracked lips ushered, “Just… A few…” Gaddok fell to his knees at the edge of his yard; at the edge of Iory. Had he heard a scream? He felt his eyes roll back as he fell forward into someone’s arms. “M-Mom… I-… Sorry.” He coughed as he felt the cool grass at his back, the sky was quickly darkening now.
Aerilyn paced between her son and the house. The first person she saw she pointed to, “Get a healer. Now!” She demanded while rushing into the house to prepare a space for her boy to be treated. Returning to the door she found two men carrying Gaddok into the house followed by a local healer, “You’d best wait outside… I will inform you once it’s finished.” Aerilyn knew a bit of healing; enough to get by… but this was way out of her league. She waited outside with the comfort of the locals crowded around to give their support.
It was well into the night before any words were given on his condition. The healer emerged from the house wiping her hands on bloodied rags, “Your boy’s smart… That tourniquet probably saved his life. What little blood he had didn’t need to be tainted by that damn venom.” She huffed out a breath and tried to keep her hands from shaking, “Give him the antivenin twice daily until the wounds heal. If his other wounds start showing similar symptoms; oozing yellow fluid, red swollen border, let me know immediately. Two of his ribs are broken on his left side. I’ve placed them as best as I could and as long as you keep him off his feet it should all set properly. Keep. Him. In. Bed…” She demanded, being sure she had Aerilyn’s eyes on her, “I don’t give a damn what Remus wants him to do; if he has a problem with my orders he can come talk to me.”
Aerilyn nodded timidly, “I will keep him in bed. I promise.”
“And the sail scale…” The healer added, “The wing’s reset, disinfected and wrapped, but it will take a while to heal. I wanted to do more, when I tried to move him from Gaddok’s bed for further treatment it almost took a finger off. If the legs aren’t set and braced it will never walk properly again.” The healer squeezed Aerilyn’s hands affectionately and gave her a warm smile, “he’s hurting Aerilyn, but he will be alright. Go tend to him now, but be sure he gets rest too.”
She watched the healer depart for her home and thanked whatever god, goddess, or deity out there for her son’s life. Rushing to her son’s side she brushed through his matted curly locks, a soft smile forming to her lips, “Everything’s going to be okay.”
Gaddok squeezed her hand gently then drifted off into a well-deserved sleep.
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 1:30 pm
Class Quest Result
Pass!
Gaddok has passed and received a rank of Swordsman!
Congratulations Gaddok!
akuma_kessaku Due to the finesse shown in the quest, Gaddok may choose one regular shop item to put into his inventory. Please quote Suhuba in this thread once chosen.
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Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2014 3:47 pm
I would like to receive a sheath for Gaddok please :3
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