What the Butler saw - 01/10
Oct 2, 2020 16:47:35 GMT
Varis/G'Lorth/Sundilar, Ian (Menace), and 3 more like this
Post by Greebo on Oct 2, 2020 16:47:35 GMT
Beranwald sits at the edge of the camp on the charred hill top, looking out over the darkening forest. The clouds have rolled in and a very faint glimmer can be seen to them in the distance, presumably lit from the many lights around Daring Heights. There is a chill to the air as the Summer is clearly leaving but that is thankfully one good thing about this form, an in-built fur coat to keep you warm. Of course, being swaddled by Whistler had also helped in that regard and he couldn’t pretend he hadn’t enjoyed the young man’s enthusiasm for questions as well.
He was, in fact, more than happy with the team that had assembled. He had not been too concerned about finding willing people in a place like Daring Heights of course. He had posted a notice before with shakier details than this and managed to cobble together a team, even dragging them across the ocean and through a Jungle chasing what was, at best, a tenuous lead.
But there was something concrete about this one (the thought makes him chuckle at the obvious pun). Someone had been left behind and, thankfully, a number of the team had been present for that fact. It was comforting to know others were willing to go back with him again, even if Jaezred claimed no personal attachments.
“Actually…. I think this might be the first time he hasn’t referred to me as vermin…” he wonders aloud before turning round to his visitor. “I don’t suppose he calls you by name does he?”
Stripes, halfway through creeping up behind him, freezes in place. Beranwald spends a long second watching the look in their eyes, the panic at being caught mixed with the overwhelming urge to take the shiny thing… In this case the badger seems to be eyeing the rhinestones on his backpack. Beranwald lets out a sigh before going about retrieving one of the smaller gems from inside his backpack and holding it up enough to catch both the light from the fire and Stripes’ eye. Sure enough, the badger is enthralled by this new shiny stone and watches as it is carefully placed on the ground nearby.
“Come on already… I’m sure Wren won’t mind you sitting with me for a while. I must say, you missed all the excitement sitting outside Stripes, though I sup-” he expected to turn again and see the badger cautiously sneaking up on his new prize. Instead, Stripes had already moved, far quicker and quieter than he had expected and was already cradling the tiny gem, looking longingly into its many facets, “-pose… ah. Well…. I suppose they would have worried about you going in there…”
Greebo settles himself in for his usual debrief. He has missed Oscar these last few weeks, having stayed in Daring Heights until he could arrange this excursion. Socks had been… difficult to talk to. Too much energy... Stripes at least hadn’t been inclined to chase him and aside from making sure he doesn’t try to swipe the rhinestones on his bag, he hoped would be a good listener.
“Normally I would expect some back and forth from these chats but I’ll make the exception in your case. So, we obviously came all this way to find the petrified Butler, the one on the wagon over there.” He nods to the nearby wagon, the stone form of his fellow adventure stuck in a strange pose - all hunched over looking like he was trying to hit something significantly smaller than he was. Laying on it’s side in the wagon, however, gave it a very awkward look. “I was concerned we would need to go about trying to remove the statues from the quicksand again to draw her out but thankfully I remembered that ring she had… oh sorry, the last time we were there, the Dao who is responsible for his petrification opened the door by pressing a ring to the stone wall of the cliff. It’s why I had Whistler carry me over there and press that gem into the wall to open it up, remember?”
Stripes seemed to have sequestered the small gem away somewhere and was back to looking at the backpack… With a sigh, Beranwald procures another small stone and tosses it in the air in their direction. It had barely begun to arc its way through the night air before Stripes' small paw nimbly snatched it out of the air.
“Not that I doubted anyone’s abilities of course, just…. Well.” Beranwald looks back over the camp. “... none of them are exactly of the brawny persuasion. Whistler is probably the strongest among us and well, he doesn’t exactly strike you as the muscle of a group does he? Oh, he is more than capable, along with Alenea and, of course, Wren. The three of them do seem very much alike in their ways… just not heavy lifters. Lord Jaezred is many things but I don’t think we shall see the day he carries out any kind of ‘manual’ work. And Laurel is….well actually, to her credit, she would likely be capable of doing it. In that ape form anyway.”
“Anyway, bypassing the pool, we made our way in and was immediately confronted by the Dao, in all her beauty and self righteous arrogance. I tried to persuade her to simply return him to us but she seemed unwilling to concede to my points. Eventually of course, Jaezred tired of listening to her prattling and began what very quickly erupted into all out conflict... Oh! But you should have seen it my friend, we really did wipe that smug look from her face! Lowly creatures, Indeed! I may not have been able to convince her to release him but her ‘Pet’-” The word is said with tangible contempt, “- was easier to sway. The torment it must have suffered, being stuffed in that sarcophagus for gods know how long… She seemed only too eager to turn on her captor. That Dao never stood a chance against the 7 of us like that.”
He waits for a response before realising Stripes is too engrossed in protecting their new prize, noticeably trying to hide it from the cat lest it be taken away.
“It’s fine, you can keep it… Not like I could force it from you anyway. You are somewhat larger than me…”
It’s at this point Beranwald wonders just how much Stripes understood. Wren had clearly done a sterling job training the Badger - It was honestly surprising you could train a badger to begin with!- but suggesting his inability to stop the Badger only invited them to steal the rest of the of his gems...
Thankfully, Stripes made no move for the bag… yet...
“... Anyway… She didn’t seem pleased with this turn of events and instead breathed life into the statues around the room, turning them against us and, in what is truly an ironic twist of fate, the very one I had come to retrieve began trying to pummel me into the ground! That's the reason for his rather odd stance over there” he nods back to the frozen form of the Butler in the wagon, “I fear he may have actually managed it too had it not been for Laurel dispelling whatever magic the Dao had placed over him.”
Beranwald turns back to Stripes and once again notices the gem is gone, squirreled away somewhere where no one could take it from them. “... Are you eating those? Is that what’s happening here?”
Stripes gives no answer
Beranwald eyes him cautiously, “Well… we made short work of her from there and she left with claims of vengeance being enacted upon us. I'm not too worried about that for now though, I’m still waiting for a certain Pirate Captain to enact his vengeance on me too so she will have to wait her turn.” He shifts uncomfortably before continuing, “The other one however… the ‘Pet’... well, we let her go. I’m sure you saw her leave the cave before us? Womanly figure, somewhat skeletal, snakes for hair, constant wailing? There was a brief moment when the Dao left and she turned to us and... something happened. Just a subtle flicker like she decided not to attack us and left instead. I’m a little torn, truth be told. She is clearly a danger to be left alone out here but something about that pause... I can’t help but wonder if there is a way to save her somehow.”
Beranwald sits contemplating the events of the last couple days for a long moment before turning to thank his new companion for listening... only to see the Badger has shifted closer than expected and is currently in the process of trying to pick a rhinestone from his backpack.
He was, in fact, more than happy with the team that had assembled. He had not been too concerned about finding willing people in a place like Daring Heights of course. He had posted a notice before with shakier details than this and managed to cobble together a team, even dragging them across the ocean and through a Jungle chasing what was, at best, a tenuous lead.
But there was something concrete about this one (the thought makes him chuckle at the obvious pun). Someone had been left behind and, thankfully, a number of the team had been present for that fact. It was comforting to know others were willing to go back with him again, even if Jaezred claimed no personal attachments.
“Actually…. I think this might be the first time he hasn’t referred to me as vermin…” he wonders aloud before turning round to his visitor. “I don’t suppose he calls you by name does he?”
Stripes, halfway through creeping up behind him, freezes in place. Beranwald spends a long second watching the look in their eyes, the panic at being caught mixed with the overwhelming urge to take the shiny thing… In this case the badger seems to be eyeing the rhinestones on his backpack. Beranwald lets out a sigh before going about retrieving one of the smaller gems from inside his backpack and holding it up enough to catch both the light from the fire and Stripes’ eye. Sure enough, the badger is enthralled by this new shiny stone and watches as it is carefully placed on the ground nearby.
“Come on already… I’m sure Wren won’t mind you sitting with me for a while. I must say, you missed all the excitement sitting outside Stripes, though I sup-” he expected to turn again and see the badger cautiously sneaking up on his new prize. Instead, Stripes had already moved, far quicker and quieter than he had expected and was already cradling the tiny gem, looking longingly into its many facets, “-pose… ah. Well…. I suppose they would have worried about you going in there…”
Greebo settles himself in for his usual debrief. He has missed Oscar these last few weeks, having stayed in Daring Heights until he could arrange this excursion. Socks had been… difficult to talk to. Too much energy... Stripes at least hadn’t been inclined to chase him and aside from making sure he doesn’t try to swipe the rhinestones on his bag, he hoped would be a good listener.
“Normally I would expect some back and forth from these chats but I’ll make the exception in your case. So, we obviously came all this way to find the petrified Butler, the one on the wagon over there.” He nods to the nearby wagon, the stone form of his fellow adventure stuck in a strange pose - all hunched over looking like he was trying to hit something significantly smaller than he was. Laying on it’s side in the wagon, however, gave it a very awkward look. “I was concerned we would need to go about trying to remove the statues from the quicksand again to draw her out but thankfully I remembered that ring she had… oh sorry, the last time we were there, the Dao who is responsible for his petrification opened the door by pressing a ring to the stone wall of the cliff. It’s why I had Whistler carry me over there and press that gem into the wall to open it up, remember?”
Stripes seemed to have sequestered the small gem away somewhere and was back to looking at the backpack… With a sigh, Beranwald procures another small stone and tosses it in the air in their direction. It had barely begun to arc its way through the night air before Stripes' small paw nimbly snatched it out of the air.
“Not that I doubted anyone’s abilities of course, just…. Well.” Beranwald looks back over the camp. “... none of them are exactly of the brawny persuasion. Whistler is probably the strongest among us and well, he doesn’t exactly strike you as the muscle of a group does he? Oh, he is more than capable, along with Alenea and, of course, Wren. The three of them do seem very much alike in their ways… just not heavy lifters. Lord Jaezred is many things but I don’t think we shall see the day he carries out any kind of ‘manual’ work. And Laurel is….well actually, to her credit, she would likely be capable of doing it. In that ape form anyway.”
“Anyway, bypassing the pool, we made our way in and was immediately confronted by the Dao, in all her beauty and self righteous arrogance. I tried to persuade her to simply return him to us but she seemed unwilling to concede to my points. Eventually of course, Jaezred tired of listening to her prattling and began what very quickly erupted into all out conflict... Oh! But you should have seen it my friend, we really did wipe that smug look from her face! Lowly creatures, Indeed! I may not have been able to convince her to release him but her ‘Pet’-” The word is said with tangible contempt, “- was easier to sway. The torment it must have suffered, being stuffed in that sarcophagus for gods know how long… She seemed only too eager to turn on her captor. That Dao never stood a chance against the 7 of us like that.”
He waits for a response before realising Stripes is too engrossed in protecting their new prize, noticeably trying to hide it from the cat lest it be taken away.
“It’s fine, you can keep it… Not like I could force it from you anyway. You are somewhat larger than me…”
It’s at this point Beranwald wonders just how much Stripes understood. Wren had clearly done a sterling job training the Badger - It was honestly surprising you could train a badger to begin with!- but suggesting his inability to stop the Badger only invited them to steal the rest of the of his gems...
Thankfully, Stripes made no move for the bag… yet...
“... Anyway… She didn’t seem pleased with this turn of events and instead breathed life into the statues around the room, turning them against us and, in what is truly an ironic twist of fate, the very one I had come to retrieve began trying to pummel me into the ground! That's the reason for his rather odd stance over there” he nods back to the frozen form of the Butler in the wagon, “I fear he may have actually managed it too had it not been for Laurel dispelling whatever magic the Dao had placed over him.”
Beranwald turns back to Stripes and once again notices the gem is gone, squirreled away somewhere where no one could take it from them. “... Are you eating those? Is that what’s happening here?”
Stripes gives no answer
Beranwald eyes him cautiously, “Well… we made short work of her from there and she left with claims of vengeance being enacted upon us. I'm not too worried about that for now though, I’m still waiting for a certain Pirate Captain to enact his vengeance on me too so she will have to wait her turn.” He shifts uncomfortably before continuing, “The other one however… the ‘Pet’... well, we let her go. I’m sure you saw her leave the cave before us? Womanly figure, somewhat skeletal, snakes for hair, constant wailing? There was a brief moment when the Dao left and she turned to us and... something happened. Just a subtle flicker like she decided not to attack us and left instead. I’m a little torn, truth be told. She is clearly a danger to be left alone out here but something about that pause... I can’t help but wonder if there is a way to save her somehow.”
Beranwald sits contemplating the events of the last couple days for a long moment before turning to thank his new companion for listening... only to see the Badger has shifted closer than expected and is currently in the process of trying to pick a rhinestone from his backpack.
