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Smerdle rolled 2 20-sided dice:
6, 7
Total: 13 (2-40)
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 Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2022 3:08 pm
Quote: A new craze is sweeping across Tendaji and everyone from the rich to the nomads are finding themselves swept into the excitement. Even you have heard about this new trend of going out into the world and hunting for treasure.
For the seasoned treasure hunters, it's a bit laughable to think it's just that easy to go and get rich, but they can appreciate the enjoyment many are getting from wading into the rivers and streams, sifting through stone, and occasionally pulling up a precious treasure to call their own.
But how easy is it, really? And are you lucky enough to strike gold?[ This event prompt includes an extra step - you will need to roll a dice and react to the result. Will you be lucky enough to find something precious? Or just come up with a few rocks and cold feet?
Only the gods of luck will know - but fortune always favored the bold. So head on over to your local body of water, bring a sifting tool that many have claimed works like a charm, and see what comes up with this hot new craze. ] Quote: 2 - 10: Something Shiny That looks promising... Use the second roll to calculate your results. Quote: 6 - 10: A Little Silver Silver is nice, it can be shaped to jewelry or traded for something more. It's not a lot, but it's worth something.
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Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2022 2:11 pm
 xaawopost oneOver the last two years, Xaawo had roamed Matori and Oba from the border to the sea, taking on the oddest of jobs for food and coin. She sought out the best fighters and casters she could, soaking in all of the skills and esoteric knowledge that anyone would teach her.
Admittedly, it wasn't much. Earthlings weren't cruel to her by any means, but many of them were intimidated by her stature and quiet, judging contemplation. Life hadn't been awful here, and she was certainly delighted by her own personal accomplishments, but excitement had waned significantly in recent months. Whisperings from the north of odd plants that might help or threaten Azehra had Xaawo packing her things and venturing into Sauti, her boredom assuaged the moment she came up with a plan. It was her duty to protect her Mother, even when the danger was distant. Even when it was nonexistent.
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Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2022 3:52 pm
 howthpost oneIt was a chilly day in Tind, or maybe it was just these caves that were cold. Either way, Howth was underdressed, suppressing his shivers as he raised his paltry flame. Water dripped from the ceiling in front of him and he paused, debating placing his hand protectively over the fire before dismissing the impulse as foolhardy. Why had he not simply brought a lantern? Probably because he hadn't adequately envisioned the lengths to which his fellow Earthlings would go to get high.
Rumor had it that the riverbank above had once been home to a small number of previously undiscovered luminescent plants, ones that he had been desperate to gather for experimentation with his ink. These plants also made people see things when they ate them, which was why they were now so hard to find. He was mildly thankful that he wasn't a real student of the Academy. Arriving too late to retrieve samples when his reputation hinged on them would have been an even greater disappointment.
Still, he hadn't given up. Beneath the river he'd found a cramped, cold cave, the very cave he was traversing now. If there were any vents where sunlight could enter, any leaks that might have formed their own streams, there was a chance he would find what he sought down here.
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Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2022 8:53 pm
xaawopost twoThe journey was quicker than she had anticipated, but that was only when compared to her trip from Zenner, a voyage made lengthier and more memorable by the airship. As imaginative as she was, Xaawo had never considered the joy of flight prior to the crossing, but in recent years she thought about it at least once a week. As it turned out, the plants she had hoped to find here were picked clean, and she was poised to immediately turn around and make the overland trip back to Matori when a Leaf youngling shoved a shallow metal pan into her hand and pointed at the river.
"People've been finding a buncha fun stuff in the stream, if you wanna try."
So, she had.
Xaawo waded into the slowly rolling water, unsure as to what she was looking for. She began by dredging close to the rocks, but when she came up with nothing more than algae, she moved far down river, away from prying eyes. She crouched low, skimming the silt, and right when she was about to give up, when she started to feel like an idiot for even wasting her time, something substantial and clangy remained in the pan. A silver nugget. Maybe she wasn't as bad at this as she thought.
Her prize in hand, Xaawo started back toward the crowd, and just when the clump of people she'd left behind came back into view, the ground rumbled, undulating under her feet.
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Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2022 7:56 pm
howthpost twoWhen he spotted the scrubby cluster of plants standing in their circle of sun, Howth smiled to himself, quietly proud to have been right. The only problem was the rift that separated his ledge from the one where the plants were located, but he could remedy that easily. Fishing his pitons out of his satchel, Howth splashed forward, adrenaline warding off the water's chill. He jammed one into a crack and braced his feet below, using the pair of spikes to traverse the wall across the chasm. Safe on the other side, he held both pitons in one hand, retrieving a tough pair of scissors and snipping the stems at their bases.
He was just about to turn back when he heard the thin trickle of moving water overhead, more than before. He had to get out of here.
Howth was halfway across the chasm when the ceiling fell.
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Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2022 6:59 am
xaawopost threeEven though she had no ties to anyone searching here today, Xaawo was glad that none of them were nearby to get hurt. The ground crumpled beneath her faster than she could move away, but she managed to catch her balance fairly easily, accustomed to centering herself with techniques she learned while training with her spear.
Her eyes darted from the clods of dirt and rock cracking underfoot to the closest secure ledge and she bent her knees, poised to jump.
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Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2022 7:05 am
howthpost threeThe rain of dirt that pelted him in the face was a shock, the rush of water that followed almost refreshing by comparison. Howth's grip loosened but he didn't fall completely, only dropping one of his pitons into the maw below.
In a daze, he grabbed for the new dagger at his hip, pulling it from its sheath and jamming it into the porous wall. Between frantic thoughts of falling to his death, he couldn't help regretting that he had paid so much for the blade, only to ruin it so quickly.
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Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2022 7:18 am
xaawopost fourShe looked back one last time before leaping for the ledge, and what she saw almost made her draw up short and fall into the abyss herself. A fair-haired Belrean man hanging from the wall by... her dagger? Yes. The one she had sold in Matori years back.
Xaawo looked around for a way to steady herself and reach for him, and once she had immobilized her legs in a hasty tangle of vines, she held out her arms into the rushing water, stupidly pleased that her stomach muscles held firm as she pulled him up.
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Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2022 7:54 am
howthpost fourHowth coughed so much that he began to feel self conscious, and yet he couldn't stop. He continued convulsively hacking while his composed rescuer sat a handful of feet away. She didn't seem bothered. Her coloration was different than any other Alkidike he had seen, and he focused on that as he gathered himself. Where was she from? Was she a hybrid? The longer he sat there making sure his breathing had slowed enough so that he wouldn't make an even bigger fool out of himself, the more questions he had.
It was a surprise when she was the first to ask one.
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Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2022 7:59 am
xaawopost fiveXaawo waited as long as she could stand to, watching the man collect himself and try to sort out his ruined clothes. She hadn't been able to ascertain his age while he'd been getting pelted with mud and stream water, but now that she could see him properly, she didn't think he was that much older than she was, despite his stodgy fashion sense. Spelunking in dress shoes was certainly a choice.
She waited until he hadn't coughed for at least a minute, then jumped in before he could speak.
"Where did you get that dagger?"
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Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2022 12:27 pm
howthpost fiveIt was most definitely not what he had expected her to ask. Still, where he shopped was not a secret he needed to keep. He had bought the dagger legitimately, as far as he could tell. Howth fumbled at his belt, hands still obviously shaking. He presented the blade to her, frowning at the damage it had endured.
"I purchased it from a Matori woman. I... I wasn't in the market for a new dagger, but I think she thought it suited me?" The longer they simply sat there, the more his observational skills recovered, until he finally realized... the dagger had been hers. It must have been.
"It's a shame it has been ruined, but it saved my life. I'll have it fixed. It can be fixed, right?"
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Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2022 12:55 pm
xaawopost sixHe was clearly in shock, sputtering and shaking long after he had caught his breath. Xaawo wasn't really bothered by any of it—saving him, sitting here, the ruined dagger—in fact, her curiosity was piqued by the thoughts behind his frantic eyes and how he eventually deduced the blade had been hers.
"It can be. I wouldn't worry." She reached into one of her many hidden pockets and pulled out the silver nugget she had found. "How much do you think I could get for this?"
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Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2022 1:23 pm
howthpost sixShe wouldn't worry? Surely there was something he was missing. But if she wasn't angry... if all she wanted was for him to assess the treasure she'd found... he could do that. It was easier than feeling guilty.
Howth leaned a little closer and examined the chunk of silver. It was of a decent size, enough for a small piece of jewelry. He knew what he would do, but it was ultimately up to her.
"It depends on who you sell it to," he replied. "I can introduce you to someone who can craft it into a ring, if you'd like. It's worth a lot more that way, both to traders and people who purchase outright." It was the bare minimum he could offer, considering he was only alive because of her.
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Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2022 1:51 pm
xaawopost sevenIt sounded like a good idea. And this Belrean didn't appear to have an ulterior motive. Xaawo nodded, the movement so minute that it was probably not meant to be shared.
"All right. I would appreciate an introduction." She rose to her feet and tucked the silver away. If they were going to be traveling together, she supposed she should share her name.
"I'm Xaawo. Let's go."
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Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2022 2:49 pm
howthpost sevenAnd like that, it was done. She was accompanying him. Or perhaps, he was accompanying her. At the rate he was amassing traveling companions, they would soon have a troupe.
He fumbled upright, still shaky from shock, and checked for his belongings. Surprisingly, the piton was the only thing missing. He almost held out a hand for her to shake, but even he could tell she wasn't interested.
"My name is Howth. I guess... follow me." He glanced around, looking for a secure foothold to climb back up to the stable part of the stream. This was going to take a while, but if they took their time, surely they would be safe.
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