tushanshu_logs | EVENT | LANDFALL

EVENT | LANDFALL | VALISHAERA

Characters: ALL!
Date: JULY 13-26
Location: Valishaera
Situation: Tu Vishan has made landfall on Siaxhi, to explore the Dreaming Watch City of Valishaera.
Warnings/Rating: Please indicate content warnings in subject headers as applicable.

As Tu Vishan draws near, the heavy jungle visible even from miles out quickly identifies the landmass as Siaxhi, one of the westernmost continents in Konryu and one that has been largely untouched insofar as the kedan themselves have gone. There is a natural inlet along the southeast shore on the continent and Tu Vishan makes for that, though he fills nearly all of it.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Fair enough. It's a bit of an epidemic where I'm from. You wouldn't believe how many people think giving away parts of their soul is a good idea.

[Hawke's lets his arm fall back to his side. While his hands aren't hovering near his axes, he still holds himself in a ready stance. Of course, given that he's exploring some ruins in a jungle that's to be expected.]

Don't worry too much. If you've seen one dashingly handsome and brave champion then you've seen them all.

[The noise shifts Hawke's gaze to the bird. It looks like no bird that Hawke has ever seen and its feathers are more colorful than an Orlesian courtroom. Notch hops as he gives a few good barks after it. Suddenly the noise of dozens of terrified animals fill the canopy and foliage around them.]

Well, I'm sure something knows we're here now.

[He gives his dog a look. Notch returns it with a doggy grin, his tongue hanging from his mouth as he pants.]

[Hellboy only throws man a deadpan look at the whole dashingly handsom bit. Yeah. That's Hawke, all right.

Though his attention's focused more on waiting for something to be summoned by all the noise. Squinting up at the place where the bird spooked from, the heavy stone fingers of his right hand grate into a fist at his side.]

Probably.

[And with their luck, it won't be pretty.

Though as the jungle settles, that sense of impending doom recedes, and Hellboy turns back to Hawke, letting himself relax again.]

Find anything out here?

[Hawke's used to looks like that. Aveline shoots him that look almost every day. Honestly he kind of misses that.

Nothing Hawke runs into is ever pretty. Even when it is, it still wants to kill him. It just tries to be sneakier about killing him that's all. So for the moment, Hawke doesn't appear to be too bothered by the noise.]

Someone really needs to hire a gardener for this place.

[In other words, not anything that appears to be remotely important. That doesn't mean Hawke's about to stop exploring.]

You're tellin' me.

[If nothing's gonna stir up on its own, that just means it's time to keep looking. Hellboy starts walking again, headed for a hallway that branches off from the main one, avoiding the ground Hawke already covered. The smaller passage is almost completely covered in vines, and hardly wide enough to allow his bulk. Whatever it leads to could be interesting. He pushes back a few branches, trying to get an idea of what might be down there.]

I've been talking to some of the native farmers. They're pretty intent on not talking about what happened here.

[Hawke walks beside Hellboy ignoring the cramp space, not wanting the big red man behind him or wanting too far ahead. He wouldn't call it being paranoid, just optimistically cautious. So many people have sprung traps on him in places like this that it's hard not to be. Of course, all those people are dead no so he's not too worried about the prospect.]

Natives never do. Why give a straight answer when they can keep all their secrets and add to the mystique? They probably get a kick out of seeing us wander around.

[Notch pushes his way past both of them to take the lead, sticking his nose to the ground and sniffing for anything of interest. Though the dog puts more and more distance between them, Hawke doesn't appear to be concerned. Should anyone attempt to harm Notch they'll soon find what a dog bred for war can really do.]

At least they keep the place in shape. Clean too.

[Something Hawke can't but notice. These ruins don't look much like ruins at all. It looks more like people just packed everything they owned and left, except the buildings show now signs of disrepair. Just the kind of things that stoke Hawke's curiosity.]

I doubt it. The Arybar don't really seem like the type of people who can be bothered with that kind of thing.

[From what he's learned of their people, they're practical. Not to be bothered with sentiment. They stay close with nature, work the land, keep their heads down. To them the abandoned city is nothing but a sheltered place to grow crops.

Shouldering past some of the vines, he follows Notch's path. Animals tend to have a keen sense of finding things most people couldn't, so Hellboy's content on letting him take the lead.]

Either the monks decided to pack up everything and leave, or something else happened. Though I'm pretty sure the place is being held together by some kind of magic.

Edited 2014-08-01 23:30 (UTC)

Magic is the answer to just about everything I find.

[Suddenly Notch lifts his head and barks at Hawke before running down the hallway. Without a word Hawke sprints after his dog, assuming that Hellboy will follow after them. Whatever Notch found must be important for him to start bounding through the hall like that.

Notch doesn't run far before he enters a room to his right and proceeds to bark steadily at something. Hawke can already tell it's nothing threatening by the cadence of Notch's barks. Of course, when Hawke enters the room he immediately thinks otherwise.

Like everything else in this abandoned city, the room is unfurnished. Only a stone slab sits in the room that appears to be carved from the very stone the room is made of. That's not what grabs Hawke's attention though. A blade the size of a short sword rests on the stone slab. It lies sheathed in a simple leather sheath that he recognizes instantly. How could he not? After all the dagger sat peacefully on one of his shelves for years.]

Oh Maker that can't be good.

[Now things could get interesting.

Hellboy takes up the rear, tearing at the tangle of vines with his right hand, his cloven-hoofed feet clattering on the stone floor.

So far, every room he's entered in the city had been empty. Not so much of a scrap of paper or an abandoned piece of furniture was left behind. But as he stops just inside the doorway, Hellboy can see that this room isn't like the others.

The dog's still barking excitedly at the sword on its pedestal, and Hellboy can't help feeling pretty damn suspicious of a trap. He searches the room, eyes narrowed and tail twitching like an agitated cat's.
But nothing really stands out. There's no incantations, no prickle of magic in the air, no temperature change from the hallway. No scent of sulfur or oils or death. Just the sword, lying there harmlessly, and a flood of recognition washing over Hawke's face.]

You recognize it?

[Hawke doesn't respond immediately. For a moment all he does is simply frown at the sword. Even Notch appears to be bothered by its presence. His ears fold against his skull and he gives Hawke a look that one might call worried. The hound remembers just the blade just as well as his master.]

Are you sure you're not just a demon trying to use my memories against me? Because honestly that would make things so much simpler.

[Without waiting for an answer Hawke approaches the weapon. He gives a sigh of resignation before grabbing it by the sheath. Leaving it behind would be a mistake. Even he knows that. If it's here then it's for a reason. But he has to make sure.

Grabbing the hilt, Hawke draws the wickedly hooked weapon from it's sheath. The thing looks like a jagged talon ripped from a giant bird of prey. Instantly power thrums up his arm as it reacts to the blood in his veins. Arcs of lighting race up and down the blade while Hawke twirls it in his hand becoming instantly familiar with it again.]

Never thought I'd see this thing again.

[The trails of light pouring from the weapon make Hellboy nervous, but he trusts Hawke, even if Hawke no longer trusts him. Still, the whole situation just feels off.]

Yeah. But where the hell did it come from?

[He's still searching the room for some kind of clue.]

[Hawke shoves the weapons back into its sheath and the power suddenly dissipates. He resumes holding it by the sheath again. While Hellboy searches for a clue Hawke feels certain they won't find any.]

If I had to guess I'd say it came from my home in Kirkwall.

[That's where he left the damn thing after all.]

Haven't got a clue beyond that. Maker I found him trapped in a giant chest inside a swamp.

[He jabs his thumb at Notch as he speaks. To this day he has no idea how that happened and it's not like Notch can tell him.]

[Somehow, he feels worse for the dog than he does about the whole 'things materializing out of nothing for no reason' ordeal.

He needs a god damn cigarette.

Two seconds of fishing and he digs one out of his pocket, pops it in his mouth and goes searching for a match.]

Then I guess we should keep looking. I had a nice bottle of Scotch squirreled away at the Bureau. You never know. [He mutters sardonically, the cigarette bobbing with every word.]

[Hellboy's not the only one. Hawke doesn't know who crammed his dog in there but he hopes they lost a hand in the process.]

You know that I might be able to help with.

[Almost since his arrival on the turtle, Hawke has been smuggling liquor and tobacco and supplying many of the bars in the city.]

[Hellboy's fingers chase a loose match, fumbling around the odd menagerie of charms, totems, and old candy bars he's lost track of years ago.

When he finally manages to pin it down, he strikes the match against his stone arm and lights his cigarette with a cloud of smoke.]

Yeah?

[He's been managing on his own pretty well, but making new connections is something he's always open to.]

Name your poison and I'm fairly sure I can find it, or at least a passable imitation.

[Talking about this helps distract Hawke from the weirdness of finding that weapon in the ruins. As long as he keeps himself occupied he won't worry about the whys of a magically appearing powerful artifact.

Notch puts his nose back to the ground and begins to sniff again. When he starts to move Hawke follows once more.]

Try finding something more fun this time.

Find me a decent whiskey and I might even pay you.

[His wry tone would be hard to miss.

What is it they say about birds and feathers? Who really cares. If it's gonna land him more booze, he's in. And he guesses Hawke's a pretty okay guy, too.

Talking about whiskey, following a dog through ancient ruins... Yeah, definitely a better time than dwelling on that other crap.

So he'll stick with Hawke, wandering deeper into the abandoned city in search of only God-knows-what.]

If only that was all I had to do back home.

[Because he was good at smuggling in Kirkwall, mostly fighting, but also smuggling.

The more time he spends with Hellboy the more un-demon the big red man acts. Of course there's the chance this could be one giant act, but the demons Hawke dealt with never were subtle. They were very big into the temptation but not exactly clever.

Plus he's never met one that actually enjoyed drinking and smoking so that has to say something too.]

So...what are we looking for anyway?

[Because Hawke was just sort of aimlessly wandering when he came here.]

Information.

[Is the simple answer. But it's almost never that easy.]

We need to find out what happened to those monks. Something about it makes the locals nervous. We just have to figure out why.

Oh is that all? Well that narrows things down.

[There's never a bad time for sarcasm in Hawke's opinion.]

Maybe if we wander around long enough the answer will just jump out at us. Literally.

[It wouldn't be the first time something like that happened.]

If answers are anything like swords, maybe we'll get lucky.

[Though his expression is almost unreadable, the corner of his mouth ticks up into an almost-smile before taking another drag off his cigarette.]

Sometimes you just gotta be in the right place at the right time. You'd be surprised what kind of things can pop up.

If they're anything like this sword, they'll be cursed.

[Hawke on the other hand, lets his lips pull back in a grin. If anything about this bothers him he doesn't let it show.]

At this point in my life, I don't think I would.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

EVENT | LANDFALL | VALISHAERA

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject