Link: https://www.sylestia.com/forums/?thread=99346&page=10#98 Author: Aphelion Time Posted: 9/9/2021 at 11:35 AM Once you settle yourself into the seat (as comfortably as you can with all sorts of metal bits poking into you and scrolls threatening to be crushed if you so breath incorrectly), you take a look at what surrounds you with more attention. You can't make out what the mechanical structures are for - they just look like lumps and random arrangements of metal welded or screwed together. Some look intricate and with purpose, but given how weird they look you don't know what they could possibly be used for. The papers, on the other hand, you have better luck with. Frankly, the handwriting is barely readable and the text devolves into shorthand and symbols you can't decipher at some points, but you can make out some notes regarding terrain, location information, and instructions. A word here, a sentence fragment there, most of them not having any connection between each other. Maps are also among the scrolls. Some are simple, pretty much minimalistic, a collection of chicken scratch and dots. Others are incredibly detailed, close attention paid to each river, tree, and rock formation that springs up life-like on the paper. Without giving you a warning, Baje tugs on a knob and then on a stick, and the plane rumbles to life, the vibrating metal going warm and basically purring beneath you. She presses a few buttons and flips a few switches, reaching up and tugging down the cabin cover with a strip of cloth tied to it for her short arms to reach. The next moment, the machine lurches forward, nearly throwing you out of the seat. It's moving now, slowly picking up speed as it rolls along the bumpy ground, each rock bumped into robbing you of any sense of balance.

Oris was preaty interessed by all the notes and maps he could see. Even if he coudnt realy read everything, what he could make out was facinating to him but also preaty forern. Even with his memories missing he was preaty sure he had realy never saw those stranges symboles, or maby he did and forgot tho if it was the case he would surely have reacted with the same interest eather way.

The suden movement of the plane had him stiffen in the confine of his cluttered back seat. His first moments of the day, as far as he remembered, were preaty mutch forced stillness as he was dangling above an open gound so even if it may have been a slow start on the vehicul's part, the young man still smilled a bit thinking at how whide was the contrast of situation. He was midldly tempted to stick his head to the closest window like a kid but resisted the urge to do so, partialy so he woudnt tip anything over and mostly because he didnt wanted to disturb Baje while she was driving.

Link: https://www.sylestia.com/forums/?thread=99346&page=10#99 Author: Aphelion Time Posted: 9/9/2021 at 12:02 PM ((Of course. Gotta give the Chaser the cool entrance he deserves)) The monster doesn't react to your prod. It is solid and heavy, so when you poke at it, it barely gives under your stick. "Falcon," the Chaser muses, as if testing out the name. "You do not owe me anything; it is my duty to keep people such as yourself safe from danger. Especially in places like this forest, where you should not be." He slinks forward until he is a few paces from you, and walks a slow circle around you. You get the feeling that you are being inspected, scrutinised. Beside you, Chantille clasps her hands nervously, never letting you or the Chaser out of her sight. "You do not have permission to be here," the Chaser says after completing a full circle around you, coming to stand before you. He is slightly shorter than you, and with him this close you can see he has no wings under his cloak. "Who are you? Why are you with the Advesse?" His manner of speaking is not hostile, and his body language seems relaxed, but his heavy gaze betrays his true intent. He keeps on trying to put himself between you and Chantille, but the woman keeps on slipping out to stand beside you. "Enough, Lord Chaser," Chantille says eventually, and bats the young man away. "Falcon is a perfectly kind boy who means no harm, and he is travelling with me. You must understand. Do not forget from whence you came." The Chaser's eyes widen just a little, and he rapidly steps back until he is a respectful distance away. "I see. I will inform my supervisor." "You will not," Chantille says. "You will trust me to handle this the correct way." "Yes, Mein Advette," the Chaser sinks into a bow. "Then we will be seeing you soon." Chantille smiles, all seriousness gone from her face, and she claps her hands together. "I look forward to it!" She nudges you. "You will come along, won't you?" "As I have other business to attend to, I will take my leave," the Chaser says. To you, he gives an approving look. "Good quick thinking there, though next time try to aim for the eyes or somewhere unprotected by the fur. The beast may look soft, but its hide is about as impenetrable as stone." Then, without another word, he disappears into the forest without a sound, his cloak blending into the colours as if he'd never been there in the first place. After the whole exchange, you still can't figure out too much about the formalities. You know as much as you have observed: the Chaser had been addressed as 'Lord Chaser', while Chantille had been addressed by "Advette" and "Mein Advette", though there was the errant "Advesse". It seems that "Advette" or "Advesse" could be a title of some sort.

(Haha, yeah... and give a glimpse of how good Falc needs to get to be close to the competition)

Falcon blinks, awed by the power of this monster he realises he would have had no chance of defeating... and slightly envious of the Chaser's impressive ability to do so.

Duty, rather than debt. He would take that. At the Chaser's words, however, it dawns on him of how dangerous a situation he really is in. He straightens under the stranger's scrutinising gaze, aware of the height difference and making full use of it. He stays perfectly still, not willing to appear intimidated by him.

But he diligently notes that advice for later. It could save his skin when there isn't a Chaser around next time.

He is made wary by that little discourse. Chantille just revealed how much clout she holds with others of her people, even the Chasers. Do not forget from whence you came..? He appears to have been taken under the 'Advette's' personal - and discreet - care, with no reasons why making their appearance. He particularly doesn't like the implication that he is a situation which needs to be handled.

"This is all beginning to seem very cloak-and-dagger," he comments. After a pause he adds, trying one of the titles, "Mein Advette... is there some kind of danger which will befall us if it is discovered you are bringing me back to Seraphys?"

She looks you up and down again, a furrow forming between her brows. "Passing by, you say. You are deep in Hora Clan territory, leagues away from large settlements or even water sources, and you are dressed like this, without any travelling supplies." She shakes her head. "We do not believe your story, so we will not let you go."

Making a motion with one hand, she turns away from you. "You will come with us." With that, she begins to walk away, toward the camp where the fire still burned bright through the dark haze of rain. The boy from earlier follows her closely on her left, every step matching hers a few paces behind. Two burly warriors step up to you, knives held defensively, and gesture for you to move. They must have been assigned to be your guards, or escorts, or just people to make sure you wouldn't cause any problems. The rest of the group falls in line behind the woman.

((I dunno, is she? I imagine she has a dress and that's what the wind is blowing around))

The boulder - head? - shifts again, dislodging even more snow, some of it falling onto you and giving you chills. A stream of mist shoots from the narrower end of the head and you see a small slit open and close when letting out the fumes. Nostrils.

"Ahhhhhh-," a deep voice, an exhale, thunders through the small overhang, echoing through the space and practically shaking the ground beneath you. It has a rough, rocky quality to it, but powerful, like the energy and roar of a landslide, massive stones and rolling waves of debris crashing down mountainous slopes. The eye blinks, a thin, transparent membrane flicking over it before a scaly eyelid follows.

"A... human." With the first real words coming out of the head, its mouth cracks open, a long snout with rows and rows of sharp, curved fangs inside. Whatever it is shifts closer to you, and you begin to see the full head of the creature. A ridge of dusty grey scales form a grand crest at the crown of the head, from which jagged horns curl outward from. The neck seems to disappear into the rock wall behind the head.

All windows close, shutting and locking with a series of whirs and clicks, until the two of you are in an airtight cabin. The plane picks up speed, making the already bad bumpy ride even worse, until the strangest sensation hits you.

Your stomach sinks, not in the uncomfortable way, and a pressure starts to push you into your seat. The bits and pieces in the back of the cabin shift, sliding even further back, compressing into each other. The nose of the machine is turning up, and soon you can't see the reddish brown of the ground anymore, only the bright blue of the sky.

Baje is laughing, pushing on the stick she's holding to its furthest, screaming, "YEAAAAAHHHH!!!"

The next thing you know, you are airborne. You no longer feel the earth beneath the wheels of the plane, no more rocks and pebbles to bump you out of your seat.

"It is true that the Lord Chaser has a dagger somewhere under his cloak. Other than him, the other Chasers, and perhaps some private guards or knights, though, I doubt you will find anyone carrying such weapons," Chantille says, as she sets a hand on your arm and gently begins to guide you onward down the path. You get the feeling that she doesn't know what you meant by 'cloak-and-dagger', rather understanding it in the most literal sense.

The forest once again is colourful, lively, and happy, giving no sign of the possible dangers it could hide, or whatever operations going on within.

"No, no!" Chantille draws back when you address her the way you do. "You do not have to speak to me that way! I would be most honoured if you would know me as 'mother', but if that discomforts you, 'Miss Orsay' would do."

"No danger will befall us," she assures you. "You are just a traveller, after all. The Lord Chaser was simply too enthusiastic about certain things that do not concern us at the moment."

Link: https://www.sylestia.com/forums/?thread=99346&page=11#107 Author: Aphelion Time Posted: 9/12/2021 at 4:47 AM "It is true that the Lord Chaser has a dagger somewhere under his cloak. Other than him, the other Chasers, and perhaps some private guards or knights, though, I doubt you will find anyone carrying such weapons," Chantille says, as she sets a hand on your arm and gently begins to guide you onward down the path. You get the feeling that she doesn't know what you meant by 'cloak-and-dagger', rather understanding it in the most literal sense. The forest once again is colourful, lively, and happy, giving no sign of the possible dangers it could hide, or whatever operations going on within. "No, no!" Chantille draws back when you address her the way you do. "You do not have to speak to me that way! I would be most honoured if you would know me as 'mother', but if that discomforts you, 'Miss Orsay' would do." "No danger will befall us," she assures you. "You are just a traveller, after all. The Lord Chaser was simply too enthusiastic about certain things that do not concern us at the moment."

Frustrated, he shuts his mouth, letting himself be lead. To the city they go, then, and wherever Chantille plans on taking him.

"Alright, my apologies... Miss Orsay," he adds awkwardly at the end.

'Mother'? He only just met her - she's still a stranger to him. The term itself leaves a sour feeling in his mouth, and he shoves down the memories associated with it back into the recesses of his mind.

"Why would you be honoured?" he manages to ask instead.

He listens to her words, realising that whatever she said he was never going to feel reassured. He doesn't remember the last time he felt safe enough to do so.

Link: https://www.sylestia.com/forums/?thread=99346&page=11#104 Author: Aphelion Time Posted: 9/12/2021 at 4:20 AM She looks you up and down again, a furrow forming between her brows. "Passing by, you say. You are deep in Hora Clan territory, leagues away from large settlements or even water sources, and you are dressed like this, without any travelling supplies." She shakes her head. "We do not believe your story, so we will not let you go." Making a motion with one hand, she turns away from you. "You will come with us." With that, she begins to walk away, toward the camp where the fire still burned bright through the dark haze of rain. The boy from earlier follows her closely on her left, every step matching hers a few paces behind. Two burly warriors step up to you, knives held defensively, and gesture for you to move. They must have been assigned to be your guards, or escorts, or just people to make sure you wouldn't cause any problems. The rest of the group falls in line behind the woman.

Crystal walks with them without fighting knowing it would be pointless. She understood the leader's points. Looking around Crystal wonders how she even got to this area. Hoping the warriors would at least be somewhat nice to her if she cooperated Crystal does her best to keep up with the group. Muttering about not even knowing how she got here Crystal tries to think positive: possibly food and maybe some water were coming her way.

Crystal has more than a few questions for the Hora Clan but did not want to risk asking them at the moment.