The Cryptid's Stone, IC

In ancient times, long before the ascent of Man, the uktenas roamed the continent of Orom. They were horned serpents thick as tree-trunks, seven stripes running down their backs. Magic stones, which were said to have been blessed by Wardor, the Earth God, were embedded into their foreheads. These gave them arcane powers beyond what mortals are capable off. Many are the legends of their abilities: some say that the uktenas could fly, or breathe fire, or turn water into stone, or stone into fire, or kill a person by looking at him.

It was these diamonds that undid them, however; mortals sought the uktenas out and killed them, stealing the precious stones.

Today, nearly one million years later, nearly no uktenas remain and all the stones are lost.

But once in several decades, there are uktena sightings in different parts of Orom. Once in a couple of centuries, a mortal manages to wrest a magic stone from an uktena. In the town of Rohugh, in the Kryzan Highlands, such rumors are spreading once again.

Before posting, read the OOC-discussion here.

Village Alchemist wrote:NAME: Bubuket et Khurshem et Shisming. This translates out of the Rakhmeti Tounge as "Ketem's Eagle, of the Insightful Clan, of Where the Rivers Meet." Ketem being a lesser god, patron of knowledge-seekers; the Insightful Clan being his family; Where the Rivers Meet being the city of Shisming. People just call him "Bubuket" or "Mr. Khurshem."

AGE: 28

RACE: Rakhmeti

GENDER: Male

APPEARANCE:

For the first time ever, I made my own image for a character profile instead of stealing one off Google! Yay me, and some graphics mod's + cheat codes for The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind!

BIO: Khurshem was born in the city of Shisming in the Rakhmeti kingdom of Northreach. His parents were priests of Ketem, and he was the only one of six children to follow in their footsteps. At the Church of Ketem in Shisming, Khurshem was well-educated and learned much about theology, history, other cultures, and the (monarchially propogandized) sciences. He even knows a bit of magecraft, but has remained nothing more than a dabbler in that art.

At the age of twenty he set out on a pilgrimage. The cult of Ketem is unusual; while most religious organizations try to help their local community, Ketem priests prefer more grandiose goals: each is expected to spend ten years of his or her life researching something, and bringing previously unknown knowledge to his or her people. Khurshem set out to study biology and left Shisming to travel the world, researching its plants and animals.

Today, he is on his way to Rohugh. He has heard of the recent uktena sightings and feels the need to investigate. He is intrigued by the thought of an immortal animal, as well as interested in the nature of the stone supposedly lodged in its forhead.

Black_Dragon wrote:
Name: Kreeli
Female
Race: OMNIK
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 120lbs
Age: 18
Physical appearance: Lean but slightly broad-shouldered, has decent muscles
Hair Color: Raven black
Hair length: Mid-back
Eye Color: Golden with black flecks
Markings: single scar running down her cheek, and three across her stomach
Clothing: http://sunamori.deviantart.com/art/Mons ... t-45610936
Weapons: Dual swords(shown in picture)
Background: Unknown
Personality: Mischevious and competative

jadelinghawkins wrote:Name: Lella Stone
Race: Highlander
Hair: Blond, kept at jaw level
Eyes: Yellow
Age: 26
Occupation: Scavenger/Mercenary
Bio: Lella grew up with her family in Kryzantine, but eventually grew tired of mediocre life and went off on her own to attempt to scrape out a fortune. She lacked success initially, but after buckling down and taking a few less than glamorous jobs, she began to rise back to an acceptable level of...not being poor. This, however, was not what she had left home for, and she began putting even more effort into obtaining some level of richness. The young Lella was soon running mercenary jobs. Catching fugitives, slipping in to steal away some old family inheritance that had been given to the 'wrong' person, anything with the right paycheck. Though the adventure was enjoyable, and the danger she occasionally faced entertaining at times, it still wasn't quite the laid back, gold-plated lifestyle she assumed she was wanting. So she began looking into a something that would get her a quick fix, something that could be done and then moved on from, the kind of job that would set her up in her own personal palace for life...then the rumors began to spread of unimaginable treasure.

Irish Wolf wrote:Name: Taiell Sulart
Race: Apongan
Hair: red
Eyes: green
Age: 27
Clothing: dark green tunic and leggings, leather boots and vest.
Equipment: lock pick, twin daggers and a light crossbow.
Occupation: thief and treasure hunter
Bio: at a young age, Taiell dislike laws and the Republic in general. Setting out at age 15, Taiell set out to find his fortune. As it would turn out, Taiell's fortune was other peoples fortune, he just need to liberate it. Luckily Taiell had just the skills need to liberate his share of the fortune of the empire, from the rich merchants.

Skallagrim Cughtagh wrote:Name: Xaphan Sidragasum
Sex: Male
Race: Di’aves
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 160lbs
Age: 29
Physical appearance: Lean-hipped, broad-shouldered, has athletic muscular build.
Feather Color: Gray, deep red and black. Has a brightly color plume of Crimson with black tips and white with brilliant red tips.
Eye Color: Basalt
Markings: Has blue tribal bands and markings tattooed on his body

Clothing: Wears leather breeches and a thick wide sword belt. Has a leather baldric that crosses his body where he can sheath his spear when in flight.

Weapons: Carries an eight foot long spear made of heavy wood, capped with a 16 inch long spear tip. He also carries two Falcatas attached to the sword belt. He is adept at using them both in combat.

Armor: He has leather and plate vambraces for his forearms and greaves for his shins.

Background: Xaphan is an explorer. He has flown the winds and ridden the thermals of the southern lands. He has decided to walk among the groundlings and taste life among them for a while. Xaphan has desires to return to his tribe and challenge for leadership, but only after learning the ways of other cultures and races.
He is a skilled unarmed combatant as all Di’aves are.

Personality: Curious, and often times makes faux pas as he is unaware of the normal conventions of the grounded races.

(I am hoping we can explore the vampire aspect with him after we have formed a bond amongst one another in the story)

By the time Bubuket realized he had reached Rohugh, a guard was already staring him in the eye. The town walls were built out of the same lichen-encrusted granite that comprised the barren landscape of the Kryzan Highlands. The wandering scholar had mistaken the fortifications for a natural cliff-face. The only unnatural thing about it--a thing that one could not see from a distance thanks to the writhing, boulderous terrain--was the wrought-iron porticullus. It grimly resembled the door to a prison cell, but was left wide open. Had Bubuket not been following a road, he would never have thought a settlement there.

"Halt, stranger," said the guard at the porticullus, a wan Omnik with piercing blue eyes, "What is your business in Rohugh?" His tone showed that he was only asking this as a formality and really couldn't care less if Bubuket was carrying a powerful explosive to destroy the mayor's manor.

The scholar's response was quick and honest: "I am Bubuket et Kurshem et Shisming, a travelling priest." He didn't mention that he was from the Kingdom Northreach, which this nation--the Republic of Omnikar--was at war with.

The guard nodded and waved Bubuket on with his rifle. "Enjoy your stay in Rohugh, Mr. Etshizming."

Bubuket passed through, not commenting on the horrid mispronounciation of his name.

On the other side of the wall, he stopped and leaned on his ebonywood staff. He was in a market; as he looked around he saw many open-air stalls leaned up against the town walls and various buildings (which were all of the same natural granite). The wares sold there were generally of crude manufacture. The stalls were manned mostly by Highlanders, this region's native humans, but Bubuket also saw some Lunans--monstrous demihumans from the mountains to the north.

Bubuket stood and thought for a moment, organizing his priorities. He was here to find the Uketena, a legendary monster supposedly sighted near Rohugh. First things first, though; he needed food and a place to sleep.

He set off up the wide street until he found a building with a sign hanging over the door reading simply, "BEDS + DRINK" with a picture of a stick figure sleeping in a poorly drawn bed.

The priest narrowly dodged a pair of Highlander children chasing each other through the street and went inside. He found himself in a large room, chilly despite a fire roaring in the hearth at the far wall (Bubuket wondered briefly why the Rohughans would willingly live in such manmade caverns.)

He walked up to the bar, behind which a gangly, blonde young woman sat tapping her finger on the counter and staring at the ceiling. She turned her gaze to him and uttered the greeting, "Hi."

"Hello," Bubuket responded, "Do you have a room available?"

Without checking any papers, the girl answered. "Yes. How long are ya' gonna' be stayin'?"

"I do not really know. Not more than two weeks."

The bartender's green eyes grew wide, "Two weeks?"

"No, probably not," he explained, "I mean, at most two weeks. But maybe only one night."

The bartender let out an "ah," and nodded. "Well, you can pay me when you leave, 'kay? In the meantime, you want somethin' to drink?"

Bubuket nodded. "Yes, please."

"We have beer, ale, whisky--"

The priest put up a hand. "No alcohol, please," he explained, "the tenants of my faith don't allow for it."

"Well, let's see, then....." the girl ducked under the bar, and Bubuket heard the clinkling of bottles being moved aside. "Looks like we have milk. Is milk okay?"

"Milk is fine," Bubuket agreed, "Thank you."

She reapeared and handed him a large bottle of white liquid. Bubuket took in graciously and sat down at an empty table.

He looked around. Besides him and the bartender, the only other person in the inn was a man in a leather jerkin. He was leaning in a chair in one corner of the room, napping. His face was obscured by a sombrero he wore over it. Bubuket ignored this stranger, popped open the bottle of milk, and sniffed it. It was fresh. A thought occured to him, and he spoke it: "What sort of animal did this come from? There's not enough grass here for cattle, is there?"

The girl, who was back underneath the bar, presumably organizing drinks, did not look at him as she said matter-of-factly, "It's dog milk."

He stared at the bottle for a moment, taking this new piece of information in. Ah well, he decided, I suppose it's little different from cow milk. He took a drink and confirmed this; it tasted like milk, nothing more.

Lella marched into town, head held high and pants covered in filth. Another job well done.
It had not been a simple matter. There had been much shuffling about and running around from person to person to person, all to recapture someone's great-grandfather's cravat...or something silly like that. The details of the job didn't really matter. Someone rich wanted something stupid, and she needed the money. That was how most of her time was spent.
Besides, now she would have enough funds to start her own personal agenda....to get the powerful forehead rock that had been rumored to have been spotted. Her palms itched just thinking of the successful journey she would undoubtedly undergo.
She stretched, waving back at the guard who had let her in. He didn't wave back, and likely had rolled his eyes...but she didn't really care.
Grinning, she made her way to the small, mostly empty inn she had been staying in. Cheap, out of the way, perfect while on the kind of job she had just finished. Not her preference...but convenient for now. Stepping into the chilly room, she dusted off her boots before stepping across the threshold. More an act of respect than anything else.

Bubuket slumped his burlap pack off his shoulders and plopped it onto the floor. He leaned his staff against his table, and bent over the pack. From it he withdrew a leather-bound journal, a quill pen, and a small bottle of squid ink. On the journal, the words "Accounts of a Travelling Naturalist, Years 189-199 Post-Imperium" were written in the neat geometric semipolygons of the Rakhmeti language.

He began writing in the journal, occasionally putting the pen to his mouth and staring at it doggedly before jotting something down in a rush. He accounted for all he would need for the coming expidition:

•Nonperishable food, 1 week
•New knife---current 1 dull
•COAT! Highlands colder than I thought....
•Map of Rohugh area if possible.

Thanks to his knowledge of blood-magic, he could always travel light. He could boil water, light fires, and seal minor cuts with arcane rituals. Besides that, he already had everything he needed--a tarp, stakes, climbing equipment, binoculars, clean clothes--in his pack.

He was ready to search for the beast of legend: the Uktena.

The words "Welcome back, ma'am," spoken lacidasically by the bartender, knocked Bubuket out of his thinking. He looked to the inn door to see a Highlander woman, kicking dust off her boots. Clearly, that action was just to be polite--dusty boots were the least of this woman's problem. She was covered from head to ankle in grey filth, like she had just walked out of a fireplace.

"Hello, there," the scholar said to her simply before burying his nose back into his journal.

The napping man in the corner stirred slightly and muttered something that may have been "hello."

Lella stepped into the room, nodding to each person in turn. "Hello, hello, greetings and all that."
The Highlander paused at the desk, shuffling around in her pack before withdrawing a small sack of coins that had been set aside when she left. She handed the quietly jingling package to the girl at the desk, along with a cheery wink. "My payment, my dear. I'll be leaving in the morning!"
Ordering a quick bite of food, she slumped herself into another one of the empty tables and waited, going through her shortcoming plans in her mind. She stroked her chin as she thought, a habit she had developed as a child watching her grandfather play board games.
Gonna need some dried foods, a new canteen...my old one finally cracked...maybe I should try and get some tagalongs to help? Might mean a cut in pay...but a smaller cut than if someone else gets there first..

Kreeli walked slowly towards a small tavern, her golden eyes staring only at the door, ignoring the two soldiers that followed her. Their cat calls and jeering whistles confirmed what she had first thought; they were drunk. She ventured inside , closing the door slowly behind her. The tavern was dimly lit with the fire that roared in a small pit, but provided little warmth. She shivered softly, wondering if she should have taken her father's advice and worn a warmer set of armor and clothing than she had. She looked over at the barkeep, noticing the lady's eyes slide over her armor, eyes, and shoulders. She cleaned a glass, and took a few steps back. Kreeli didn't mind the cold welcoming, she was an Omnik afterall, and her country had taken charge of this one.

Her gaze ventured around the room, and she looked slowly around the room, looking at the attendants. A man slept soundly in the corner, his hat pulled low, covering his face. She made a mental note to watch him, and examined the other occupants. A sun-haired highlander female sat alone at a table, stroking her chin in thought. A man..........she was unsure of his origin, sat at another table, writing. Kreeli shifted her shoulder slightly, her dual swords that were sheathed across her back settled comfortably, and she walked across the room to a table near the man of unknown origin. She sat down lightly, and with a loud thump, placed her boots up on the table, and leaned back against the table.

She reached into a small hidden pocket, and drew out a small whetstone. Kreeli drew one blade deftly, and slowly began to scrape the edge gently across the stone.

Lella looked up from her drink as the Omnik entered. She rolled her eyes.
She rarely met with Omniks without trouble breaking out. Just look at the gate's moody guard!
However, she was too busy and enjoying her plan making far too much to take stock of the young Omnik that had so recently joined the...er...liveliness of the inn.
"Thanks much," She said as the girl at the counter delivered a hot roll. Butter on the inside, honey crust on the outside, the kind of thing that made staying in a dingy place like this one worth while.

Taiell sat in the dark corner of a small inn. "Well at least its better then the last dump I was in" thought Taiell, watching the Highlander woman that had claimed a sack of coins from the desk. "And slim pickings" thought Taiell. The mug in Taiell's hand was filled with cheep, sour wine. Making a face, Taiell took a deep drink from the worn mug.

As the armored Omnik walked in, the girl behind the bar called out to her. "Excuse me, ma'am! Please, leave your weapons at the door!"

A great mubling echoed through the cavernous inn. The napping man in the corner was standing up and swearing under his breath. "Wardor's groin," he swore, "Man can't nap for half and hour in these times without a bunch of young whelps chattn' it up and disturbin' him!"

The man was a weathered figure. He may have been in his mid-forties, but he was not aging well. The bags under his eyes and the scruffy unkeptness of his dark grey beared showed that he led a stressful life and may be much younger than he appeared. He plopped his sombrero onto his head.

"Back to sleep, miner," the bartender said softly without looking at him directly, "no need to start trouble."

"Sorry, sorry, didn't mean to lose my temper," apologized the man. He looked around, eyebrows high, and observed, "Huh. Busy day, eh Agnessa?"

The bartender--aparently named Agnessa--nodded. When the man had gone to sleep, the two of them had been alone. Now four other people were in the room with them: the Westerner chuging wine, the dusty woman sitting in front of her uneaten food, the dark-skinned man writing, and the armored woman sharpening her sword.

"Now, what I came here for in the first place..." Sombrero Man walked up close to the bartender, "I need to borrow yer gun before I go to work tomorrow." He was technically whispering, but was very bad at it and Bubuket could here him clearly.

The girl responded with equal ineptitude at whispering, "What? Why do you need a gun in a mine? Anyway, I just asked that woman to get her sword out of here. Yer makin' me look like a hypocrit."

"Well, you area hypocrit. You don't let other people take weapons into the inn, but you got one pistol in yer blouse and two more behind the counter!"

Lella munched at her food, giving the two at the counter sidelong glances. Clearly, something was going on.
Men in sombreros must not be trusted.
After a few moments of quiet nibbling and great enjoyment of her teeth-warmings, Lella stood and stretched.
"Anyone comes asking where I am.." She nodded up the stairs, where she would be staying, in instruction to the counter girl. With this, she strode towards the stairwell to grab some quick eye shutting time before her journey started in earnest. She gave the shifty man that was sipping the spitty wine a healthy berth. His eyes looked to grabby to possibly result in a good chance meeting.

Taiell watched the Highlander walk upstairs. "She suspects" thought Taiell, "I'll give her a few to get to sleep" Taiell drank more of the wine. "Or I can get sick from this horse piss" thought Taiell, almost ready to spit the sour wine on the floor.

Winging down toward the small town Xaphan had spotted movement towards a building. His eyes caught sight of a warrior woman. Cocking his head he cawed slightly and dove to the tavern. As he approached he pulled back and glided along the street just above building height, slowly descending until his clawed feet touched down and he allowed the forward moment to translate into a walk.

Xaphan took his heavy spear out of it's sheath and angled it so he could walk through the doorway. His eyes scanning the room quickly. There were several of the ground races here, of both sexes and the warrior he sought was just ahead of him.

Xaphan watched and waited to see what the warrior would do before he did anything.

The bartender shot her gaze at the spear-wielding aves as he walked in. "Sir, I'll tell you what I was just in the middle of telling the Omnik: please leave your weapon at the door." Her voice was stern and confident now.

Bubuket, no longer having anything to write, decided to avoid being involved in the situation. He buried his face in his journal and pretended to read it.

Xaphan heard the woman and stared at her a moment and then looked around for a place to place his spear. He started to speak "Raw...erm I mean the swords as well?" he quickly corrected as he tapped his falcatas. Looking around the room again to see if the others were armed.

It didn't really matter, he was a good unarmed combatant. But he was curious to the ritual of placing weapons aside. He placed his spear against a wall and started to unbuckle his sword belt and baldric, but hesitated as he watched the female warrior a moment longer.

Taiell turned his attention from the sour wine to the Di’aves. "Well now" thought Taiell, "I may get something good tonight after all." Taiell set the mug down and watched the Di’aves.

Kreeli's golden and black eyes looked straight into the barkeep's as she called out to her about her swords. She swung her legs off the table, and drew both swords, edges facing backwards, and slowly walked up to the barkeep. She gave the lady a slight grin as she approached right up to the front, next to the Di’aves. She looked over at him slightly, as he placed his spear against the wall, before looking back at the barkeep.

"You want me to leave my swords at the door, do you?" She asked, bring both blades up and scraping against the bar softly, yet leaving half an inch deep gouge.

"Go ahead............take them...." Kreeli said, holding both at shoulder level infront of her, over the bar.

Kreeli grinned darkly, and let go of the swords. They dropped, and slid into the bar, slicing through the wood as though it was butter. She grinned, and flared her left hand out, fingers stretched and palm upwards.

"There you go lady, I'll leave them by the door as you said." She finished, grinning darkly.

She turned her back on the barkeep, and looked back at the Di'aves, feeling his eyes upon her. She looked back into his, tilting her head slightly, before returning to her seat. She sat down without putting her feet on the table this time, and glared darkly at the barkeep, almost daring her to touch her dual swords.

Xaphan watched the female warrior place her blades in the bar. There was some sort of ritual going on that he was unaware of. Scuttling over to the bar, his sharp talons clacking on the wooden floor, he scrutinized the female barkeep and spoke "Is this where you wish the swords to go? In the bar?"

Xaphan lifted the heavy falcatas and prepared to embed them into the bar next to the female warrior's swords.

"This is correct, yes?"

For an instant, Lella simply stared, shaking her head at the antics of the two weapon-carrying individuals. This was exactly why she had never been tempted to enter the innkeep world her family had dabbled in.
With a stifled yawn, she continued on up the stairs. She fished for a moment in her pocket before withdrawing her key, a slightly cracked thing that somehow had not yet failed to open the door. It succeeded in its task once more, and she stepped into the small, chilly room, kicking off her filthy boots and sliding into the single chair. She sighed, rubbing the back of her neck, then standing and pumping a bit of water into the basin. She wiped off what she could of the grime that had acted as a second skin, then clambered onto the bed, staring at the ceiling and going over her plans once more.

Taiell watched the wild woman slam her blades into the bar and now the bird man was doing the same. "Warriors" thought Taiell, with a slight head shake, "All brawn and no brain." With on gulp, Taiell finished the sour wine and thought of demanding his money back for it but decided the poor barmaid have too much trouble already.

Bubuket, not eager to be in the lobby when these people started killing each other, stood up quietly and walked upstairs.

Agnessa the bartender looked blankly from the swords, to her broken bar, to the miner, to the she-warrior, to the Aves. She shrugged. "That, uh. That. That will be sufficient, thank you," she said to Kreeli and Taiell.