Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

[Hafnium]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

Spoiler

Lyra: HP = 42/70, PP = 60, EP = 29/50, Status = In Pain, 9/30 TP, Learning that Heroism is Minimum Wage at Best

"Oh. A faerie.... A shame," she replied, her tone taking a nose dive into somber regret. "It's.... I am indebted to you. The others are indebted to you. Those beasts would've used us until we died and eventually consumed the whole village. But... you are in Badaria, where the Star God's scriptures and Lich King's laws still hold sway. It pains me to say it, but even though your presence saved us, it may also endanger us." The human looked at the faerie with a pained look made worse by her puffy eyes and reddening nose. "The church might burn our entire village down if we hold any proper celebration for you or allow you to remain in our homes. As that family disappeared when it was discovered that their child could call your kind. The fear that the church's retribution would spread to the rest of our village is why we dealt with these demons on their terms."

The newly freed woman would stand up, the act causing no small amount of discomfort on her legs. "If you give me some time and a list, I can return to town and bring you anything you need for wherever your journey is taking you. You can rest here until you've recovered from the fighting and do as you please with whatever the demons kept here, I will guarantee that nobody goes running to the church. It's not right, sending our savior off like this, but.... After you're recovered and stocked, it might be best if you're on your way quickly. For our safety and yours," she bowed her head respectfully toward Lyra.

 

[Astarte]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

"Ah... No, I understand." Lyra frowned as the woman explained the situation, but she didn't make any protest. She knew of Badaria's views of her kind, but she hadn't realized they would go so far. The fault did not lie with the village after all, but with their rulers. That they had to fear being punished for accepting her aid, while these demons had been allowed to operate unhindered. They should have been protecting their people, not hunting shadows. Perhaps she should think of concealing her nature among humans, at least to those who weren't directly summoning her. "If it would be safer for your people, I will simply remain here until I am prepared to leave. I do not have need of much, but if you could spare a bit of food I would appreciate it." A glance down at her exposed arm would reveal that the skin was still red and raw, but the pain had mostly subsided, replaced by a simple irritation when it brushed against something. "Perhaps some bandages, if you have any to spare, though this wound shouldn't take long to heal even if you don't."

"Enough of that, though. I should be able to take anything else I might need from these demons. There are still three others, in the back room. They were unconscious when I left them, what should we do with them? I would have offered to help carry them back if needed, but it seems that it might be better if I stay here." Lyra looked towards the doorway to the back room, looking for any sign that any of the three had awoken. "If you think it would be safer, don't tell the others what I told you. Tell them I was simply a passing knight. I will remain here regardless, and I can play along." It wouldn't take much effort to shift her physical appearance from almost human to entirely human, after all. Though she would need to check on her summoner as well, uncertain whether the boy had remained on the hill he'd summoned her on or returned to his village.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

Spoiler

Lyra: HP = 42/70, PP = 60, EP = 29/50, Status = In Pain, 9/30 TP, Killed a House Full of Demons and All She Got Was This Stupid Status Update

"Thank you for understanding.... Do not worry, we will take care of our own. After you're safely away, we will gather up the ones who can be trusted and ensure that this is a secret to everyone outside of the village." She paused for a few awkward seconds before forcing herself to meet Lyra's eyes. "Only the village will know that a valiant hero came to rescue them from this evil, and even they will not know the full truth of it. I am sorry. This isn't the way it should be. But all I can offer is that at least they will know that their savior was named Lyra, and that you were good and brave and skilled and all the things that human knights should be."

She frowned at the sidhe woman and looked away again. Apparently eager to move on from the topic which was causing her guilt, she hastily added: "I will return with food, bandages, and poultice, but first I need to get dressed." The woman would remove the collar, allowing it to drop to the floor. She would stumble a bit as she moved toward the bedroom, her limbs wavering from the abuses her body had suffered. With or without any assistance Lyra might offer, she would enter the bedroom and rifle through some discarded clothes on the ground. The humans in the bed were still unconscious, and remained unconscious as their fellow villager took and put on a dark silk gambeson and trousers to cover her nudity so that she might return to her home without shame.

"I will be back soon," she remarked as her farewell. And then she would make her way out of the shack in order to trek back to the village. Unless the faerie stopped the woman for any reason, she would be left alone in the house with nothing but corpses and unconscious humans to keep her company. She was free to do as she pleased while awaiting the woman's return, however, as she would end up having a fair amount of time. If she wanted to loot the house, she could. She could similarly go and see if her summoner was still nearby. It was up to Lyra.

 

[Astarte]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

Lyra simply nodded to the woman, trying to give a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, that's enough." She offered a hand to help the woman up, guiding her towards the back room if she accepted, but leaving her some privacy to get dressed. Once the woman had left though, Lyra set about other business. First of all was the matter of making sure the fire in the stove was out, and then she began to drag the bodies of the demons outside. She didn't have the means to do much with them, but she wanted them to at least be out of the house when the others woke up.

A simple application of her shapeshifting abilities had altered her features slightly, no major changes to her appearance, but everything about her simply looked a little plainer than they had before. Her appearance would no doubt still be quite striking, but she did her best to eliminate any of the subtleties that might give away her supernatural nature. It wasn't much, but it would lend some credence to the claim that she was just a human knight, if any of the other villagers saw her.

She checked on the three on the bed again once she came to take the demon's body, after having dealt with the goblins, and if they were all still unconscious she would take a moment to look for any sign of her summoner, if the boy was still around. If he was, and the three inside showed no signs of waking soon, she would make the trek to where he was waiting. He deserved to know how things had gone, at least, and she needed to warn him to be careful about who he told the truth of what he did to.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

Spoiler

Lyra: HP = 42/70, PP = 60, EP = 29/50, Status = In Pain, 9/30 TP, Onee-san 2: Electric Boogaloo

Lyra's offers would be gratefully accepted, and the faerie's strength made things go much more smoothly. But her decision to turn away as the woman dressed was met with an amused scoff. "Come now, I respect your chivalry but I've got nothing that you don't have. And you've seen it all before, literally in this case," she said in something approximating a jest. For a brief moment, the woman had even sounded lighthearted.

When that was handled and the woman was gone, she was free to shapeshift, leaving her odd armor and weapon as the only real clues to her supernatural identity. The stove's fire was strong enough that, without a bucket of water available, she would need to use a wind cantrip to put it out. It wouldn't be very difficult though, nor would it need to be one strong enough to further strain her taxed soul.

Unfortunately, her efforts with the corpses would prove a bit less easy, as she would practically run right into her summoner in the doorway as she attempted to drag the first goblin out of the building. "Oh! Sorry, I know I was supposed to stay back but I saw Rob's mom so I thought it might be okay. Is that... the demon?" The boy would quickly ask, trying to peek around her to get a look at the body. "You really did it, huh? You saved the village!" It looked like he was ready to give the knight another hug, but he apparently thought better of it given that her hands were hooked under a corpse's shoulders. "But... where's my sister?"

 

[Astarte]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

Once Lyra had managed to put out the fire—not wanting to risk burning the whole place down by leaving it unattended—she knelt down to lift one of the goblin corpses, planning to simply dump them around the back for the time being. As soon as she was out the door though, she bumped right into the boy who had summoned her, apparently having come to get a closer look once he saw the other woman leave.

"One of them." She replied simply, setting the goblin down just inside the doorway and making sure she stood between it and the boy. She couldn't help what he'd already seen, but she tried to gently guide him away from the door and back out onto the hilltop, not wanting him examining it too closely. "Everyone else is fine too, but they're all asleep right now. She, uh... Rob's mom is going back to your village now to get some things, and once everyone is awake they'll go back too. We shouldn't disturb them until then."

Lyra took a seat on the grass, motioning for him to come sit next to her. "Don't forget that you helped too, you're the one who summoned me here. But you need to be careful about who you tell about it." A hint of firmness crept into her otherwise kindly expression and voice as she changed the subject. She needed to make sure he understood, that he wouldn't get himself killed by telling the wrong people about this. "Some people here don't like us faeries, or are afraid of us, and they'd see you as just as bad if they knew you had been the one to summon me. I don't want you getting hurt because of me, so it would be for the best if you didn't tell anyone that I am a faerie, or that you summoned me."

She hesitated for a moment, unsure of whether to tell him what she was thinking, but in the end her kind nature won out again. "If you ever need me though, if there is some great danger again, my name is Lyra. If you use that name in the summoning ritual, I will come again. Don't do it unless you need to, me being here might put you in danger, but if something is truly threatening the life of you or the others here again, I will answer." The faerie knight could only hope that the boy understood the gravity of what she was telling him. He could very well get himself killed in this place, if he wasn't careful.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

Spoiler

Lyra: HP = 42/70, PP = 60, EP = 29/50, Status = In Pain, 9/30 TP, Dependable, Faerie-brand Onee-san

It took a bit of effort to keep the curious boy from getting more of a peek in around her, but Lyra would succeed with only a small amount of physical coaxing. That same amount of coaxing was necessary to get him to abandon his efforts and guide him into following her to take a seat on the grass. The firmness in her tone was what truly dragged his undivided attention back to the faerie. He was young enough that there was no sign that anything she was saying was getting through to him, and the several seconds of silence which followed her explanation probably didn't help in that regard.

"Okay, Lyra, I won't call you unless it's an emergency," he finally remarked, looking the faerie in the eyes. "My name is Roderick, but my friends call me Rod so you can too," he added. But those contributions would prove not to be the whole of what he wanted to say, and his gaze would go to his feet as he continued. "But it doesn't seem fair. You didn't want to eat me or anything. That was all a lie. You showed up when I called and saved everyone, without asking for anything in return. It's not right that anybody thinks you're bad." The boy frowned uncertainly, going quiet for another few moments before heaving a resigned sigh. "But I guess if you say so, I promise won't tell anybody."

 

[Astarte]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

"Don't worry, I don't need anything. Some people are just afraid of what they don't understand, and it's no use trying to change their minds. As long as you remember, it's fine." She smiled warmly, turning to look down at him again. "You should get back home though. Won't you get into trouble if you're caught out here? I promise that I'll take care of your sister, and that you'll see her when she's ready to travel. It shouldn't be too long."

She could only hope that he would take her words seriously. She didn't want him to go around talking about this and bring the Inquisition down on their village, like the woman had spoken of. She didn't want to think that she might be the cause of even more troubles in their future. She didn't have the means to deal with a problem on that scale, as much as she might wish she could do something to change the minds of the people here. All she could do was prove her own integrity, one problem at a time.

If he did leave, she would return to her work of moving the corpses out of the house, checking on the three in the bedroom after she was done, and then finally working to gather up anything useful or valuable the demons might have kept around.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

Spoiler

Lyra: HP = 42/70, PP = 60, EP = 29/50, Status = In Pain, 9/30 TP, Adding Babysitter to Experience Section of Resume

"Okay," the boy would reply plainly. "Bye, Lyra," he added, disappointment obvious in his voice. "I hope you get home safe too." Following his farewell, the boy apparently couldn't help but to hug his protector and the savior of his sister one last time before he left, reluctantly releasing the faerie after several long moments in order to stand up and begin his trip to the village in the business. Whether he would take her words to heart or not, only the future could tell.

The rest of the corpses would be moved out of the house easily enough. No amount of commotion she could make seemed able to wake up the unconscious humans. Cursory inspections would prove that they were still alive, and Lyra's faerie nature and her experience with magic allowed her to confirm that their souls were still present and intact enough to heal. But the succubus had nearly drained them dry and the better part of a day would likely pass before they had recuperated.

With all the conscious mortals gone and the unconscious ones unlikely to wake up and spot her, the sidhe had free reign to assess the demons' belongings. A list of the most valuable goods likely numbered the darksteel longsword, dagger, and armor at the top, but she had no way to safely carry them without harm and couldn't hope to make proper use of them. Being near them was enough to make her skin itch in discomfort. The next item on the list probably the golden pendant left on the nightstand. It was enchanted but Lyra wouldn't be able to tell what the workings of its magic were just by looking at it.

The demon's lifeblood and the goblins' fangs were the next-most valuable loot. While the artisans of her sanctuary might dislike the methods used to obtain them, they were valuable in crafting and enchanting and would either earn her denarii, debts, or favors from her fellow fae. The golden powder and the contents the sealed, unlabeled pots on the bookshelf might also have some value to her fellow faeries, and maybe even to Lyra herself. The pots would be the bulkiest options she could loot though, as each one was almost perfectly round except for the base and a bit bigger than her hands. She wouldn't be able to carry many at once.

Beyond that, there were a few things which were more worth note than value. The dagger wielded against her by the goblin turned out to be silver, which might at least fetch some coin from a craftsman looking to melt it into something more useful. There was also another dark silk gambeson and trousers folded beneath the nightstand in the bedroom.

A few minutes after Lyra had finished organizing and choosing her loot, the human woman would return with a leather satchel. She would meet the knight inside or outside, wherever she'd chosen to wait, and offer it to the sidhe. "There's apples, pears, leavened bread, hardtack, and jerky in there. Enough for a week, at least. I also scrounged up a map and a compass for you. The map's only for the local area, we don't have much access to the fancier ones, but hopefully it'll get you on the path to where you're going. It's got bandages and poultice for your wounds too, I can apply them, if you need a hand," she offered.

Potential Loot List

Spoiler

Darksteel Bastard Sword
Darksteel One-Handed Sword
Darksteel Breastplate
Golden Pendant
Silver One-Handed Sword
Black Silk Clothes (as per the normal clothing armor)
Demon's Blood
3x Monster's Fangs
Up to 18x Mystery Pots (Lyra can safely carry 3 in the satchel she's been given)
A bucket full of golden powder of mysterious origin.

Bandages, poultice, compass, local map, & rations for a week also

 

[Astarte]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

Once she'd finished carrying the corpses outside she set to work harvesting what materials for enchanting. It was a somewhat morbid task, but it was better than letting them go to waste. Lyra had some skill in enchanting herself, so she knew what was useful and what wasn't. She might even be able to do something with what she had here, given some time.

The three inside showed no signs of waking soon, however. The demon had clearly been thorough in draining them, and had apparently finished just before Lyra had arrived. It would probably take most of rest of the day for them to recover. She could wait, though. She had promised Roderick that she would watch over his sister, after all. She set about gathering up what might be useful or valuable among the demons' possessions.

The weapons and armour were obvious, but she couldn't use them herself. Even being near them was uncomfortable, and she knew that they would burn her flesh at a touch. She couldn't simply leave them here, though. From what she'd been told, even possessing such obviously demonic tools could get them all killed. Perhaps she could find something to wrap them in, and could take them somewhere else. The mortals in her homeland would likely be able to put them to use, if nothing else. She would leave them until she was ready to leave then.

She collected a set of silk clothes, which she decided to take as she hadn't brought anything but the armour she was wearing, and the silver knife the goblin had been using. She was certain someone back home could make use of the precious metal at least. There was also an enchanted medallion, which she set aside to examine later and possibly work out what the enchantment was. She considered taking some of the pots from the shelves on the wall, but they were all unlabelled and quite bulky. She wasn't even certain if they were all the same substance as the ones thrown at her, and it would be difficult to carry them along with the armour she'd have to pack away.

When the human woman returned, Lyra met her at the top of the hill, having stepped out again once she'd finished gathering everything together. The smell of sex still lingered heavily inside, and she'd wanted a bit of fresh air while she waited. "Thank you, that should make my trip much easier. And the help would be much appreciated." She took the bag the woman had brought for her, offering her arm once she'd retrieved the medical supplies from within. She could do it alone, but it would be awkward to do one-handed over such a large area.

"I intend to wait here until the others awaken, I hope you don't mind." Lyra finally spoke up again once they had finished, examining the bandages idly. "I simply want to make sure there are no issues and that they can all make it home safely, I will depart once they are ready to make the trip back to the village."

"I don't think it would be safe to leave the demon's weapons here, I'll take them somewhere away from your inquisition's eyes. As for the rest of what the demons left though, I can't carry all of it, and it would be dangerous to keep it around. Some of those pots," She motioned to the shelf, "are full of some kind of corrosive liquid. That's what damaged my armour and did this to my arm. None of them are labelled though, so I don't know if all of them are, or what the others might be. And be extra careful with that bucket by the door. I wouldn't recommend breathing in that powder. I took the bodies of the demons out back, too, so nobody would have to see them when they woke up. That's about the extent of what I can do, though, I'm not sure what your village will want to do with the rest."

In the mean time, unless she was needed for anything else, Lyra gathered up the things she'd decided to take with her, packing them into the bag she'd been given. The blades she used some of the excess bandages to wrap, and the armour she wrapped up in the extra clothes she'd taken, at least until she could find something better, so that she could handle them with only discomfort instead of actual harm.

Once that was done, if it looked like she had the time, she took a seat outside, leaning against the side of the house near the door, with her shield and a pair of the fangs she'd harvested. It was a relatively simple enchantment, and she believed that she could do it without much trouble. Once she was finished with that process, she would retrieve the pendant again, taking the time to examine it in more detail and perhaps figure out the nature of the enchantment on it.

Spoiler

Taking the Darksteel weapons and armour, carefully, along with the pendant, silver knife, clothes, and enchanting materials. The rest seems too suspicious and/or bulky to carry.

Then trying to enchant her shield with two of the monster's fangs (Gives it +4 Shield Bash damage). Then trying to figure out the enchantment on the pendant, if her own enchanting skill gives her any insight there.

For reference, she has 4d10 in Enchanting, and would need one success for a minor enchantment like this, since it's still under 200 denarii in value.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

Spoiler

Lyra: HP = 70, PP = 60, EP = 50, Status = Fine, 9/30 TP, Duct Taping Teeth to a Shield and Calling it Magic

Rolls

Spoiler

Perception: 24

The woman would nod at Lyra's acceptance of her help. She pulled the jar of poultice from the satchel first. The faerie's nose would be hit with the stench of garlic and onion as the lid was twisted off to reveal a earthy brown paste. "This should prevent any rot from setting in," she remarked as she dipped her hand into the jar and pulled out a ball of the stuff. The human apparently wasn't aware that anything short of a supernatural plague wasn't likely to affect the sidhe's immune system, let alone a mortal infection. Nor was she likely aware that the knight would only need the bandages for a day at most before all signs of her wounds vanished. Still, it was up to Lyra whether or not she wanted to skip the herbal paste and move straight to bandaging. If not, the poultice would at least have the nice effect of cooling her burned flesh and relieving some of the sting.

Regardless of whether or not the knight allowed the poultice to be applied, the woman would next begin to bandage her. She carefully wound the roll of cloth snugly around Lyra's arm from shoulder to wrist, then borrowed the knight's new silver knife to cut the roll. "Not something I've had to do since the skirmishes over logging rights, but I think I've still got my touch," she noted as she tied it off. "I can bandage the rest of your burns as well, but you'd have to take off the armor and your shirt," she offered. It was up to the sidhe whether she accepted or not. If she did, then the woman would be perfectly professional in finishing the job of caring for the remainder of Lyra's wounds, at least as long as the faerie was professional.

"That's fine," the human would reply when the conversation resurfaced on the subject of loot and the survivors. "I'll be bringing out a few of the trustworthy men to help them back once they're awake and then to clean this up. Take whatever you please, because once they're up and out and you're gone, we'll burn whatever remains. Pots, powder, bodies, the building, all of it. If the pots might have something flammable in them then all the better. If anybody comes from afar, we'll just tell them that the people living here kept to themselves and must've had a stove fire. We just couldn't get the water here in time, what with it being so far away," she explained. "I'll wait inside with them and let you know when they've woken up."

Once she finished her conversation with the human woman, whether she wanted to say more or not, Lyra would be free to do as she pleased. The weapons and armor would wrap easily. The armor would initially resist her efforts to fit it into the satchel, but just a bit of persuasion would do the trick, and with minimal discomfort thanks to the improvised wrap.

The enchanting would go similarly smoothly, though it would consume much more of her time. As she had surmised, it was a simple enchantment. She needed only to hold the goblins' fangs in one hand and her shield in the opposite, then to act as a conduit to channel the fangs' supernatural properties into the shield. It was tedious and slow, but once the process was finished her shield had been enchanted to be harder and pack more of a punch without losing its lightness. The fangs, in comparison, were left so brittle in her hands that merely pinching them in her fingers was enough to turn them into dust.

Unfortunately, despite Lyra's enchanting knowledge she had no luck with determining what the pendant did. She might try again later from a different angle or wait until she returned to the sanctuary to have one of the faeries more experienced in spiritual powers analyze it. For the time being, however, its effects would remain uncertain unless she was feeling brave enough to slip it on.

A little over an hour after Lyra had finished her enchantment, and somewhere near four hours after she had fought the demons, the human woman would come out to find her. "They've woken up. They're grappling with the memories of what the demons did to us, but they show no signs of being otherwise injured. I believe they'll be ready to go home by the time I get return to the village and come back. If you wish to speak with them while I make the trip, that should be fine," she offered.

 

[Astarte]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

"No, that should be plenty, thank you." Lyra politely declined the woman's offer of tending to her other wounds. The worst of it was on her arm, and she'd only wanted the bandages to deal with the irritation anyway. The salve was probably unnecessary, but it felt nice on the raw skin, so she didn't say anything. "We heal quite quickly, and my arm was the worst of it, everything else should recover just fine."

Once the woman had gone inside to watch over the other three and she had gathered up what she was taking, Lyra seated herself outside and began the long and tedious process of enchanting her shield with the essence of the fangs she'd harvested. It was a relatively simple enchantment, as she'd though, but it still took hours to complete. The end result was fairly unimpressive, the shield looking no different than it had before, though if she focused she could feel the faint sense of magic inside of it. Rapping her knuckles against the surface produced a slightly different sound than before, but she wasn't able to properly test the change to the surface without something to hit.

Deciding to leave that until another time, confident that she'd done everything correctly and the enchantment would do what it was meant to, Lyra set the shield aside and turned to the other object of interest. Unfortunately, even after spending the better part of the next hour examining it Lyra was no closer to determining what it did. She was tempted just to put it on and see what happened. Considering where she'd found it, it was likely that the demon had been the one wearing it, so it wasn't likely to be anything bad, but she didn't want to risk it, here at least.

Fortunately, she was saved from that temptation when she heard some noises from inside, and the woman emerged again to tell her that they had awoken. Nodding, she pulled herself to her feet, slipping the pendant back into her bag for the time being. "Alright, thank you. I'll be on my way soon then, if they've all woken up fine. I'd been afraid there might be complications, but I'm glad to see I was wrong." Lyra wasn't an expert on the nature of what demons and other creatures could do to a person's soul, but she did know that putting too much strain on it could have consequences. Fortunately, it seemed that these people would recover, even if she wished she could do something for the psychological trauma they were sure to have to deal with now. She slipped inside quietly, trying not to alarm anyone, though she was sure they'd at least been told she was here.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

Spoiler

Lyra: HP = 70, PP = 60, EP = 50, Status = Fine, 9/30 TP, This Status Intentionally Left Blank

The human woman offered a series of nods toward the faerie's comments. "I will leave to gather some volunteers to help them back and rid ourselves of the remaining stains of this demonic presence. May you have a safe journey." Her farewell said, the woman would give the faerie a few moments to add any other parting words she might like to make, then turn and begin down the hill.

When the sidhe entered the shack, she would find the formerly unconscious sacrifices awake, clothed, and moving around. Lyra was able to get a better look at the humans now that there weren't any distractions. The first of them was sitting at the table the goblins had occupied. A middle-aged woman by human standards, she had a careworn face and shoulder-length black curly hair. She had put on a conservative blue woolen dress which hid her body and slimmed her figure, though from the peeks Lyra had gotten she was on the curvy side. The woman would silently regard the faerie with dark, piercing eyes as Lyra entered the room.

The second of the two human women sat huddled in the corner on the floor. She was clearly younger, possessed of a smooth complexion and natural vim and vigor which humans tended to lose as they aged, but the bags under her eyes and stress on her face made her look of the same age as the other human. She had lustrous straight, black hair which hung all the way to her ribs. She wore a sackcloth dress which showed off a generous portion of her toned legs. The younger woman glanced at Lyra with hazel eyes which might've been bewitching under kinder circumstances, then quickly averted her gaze.

The third and final human she spotted was the male, he sat on the bed in the other room. He was also young, and handsome even by faerie standards. He bore sharp blue eyes, short blonde hair, and a chiseled face with a strong jaw. He had an athletic build that would've looked at home on a storybook knight donning armor to fight for his liege, but instead he wore a gray wool tunic and pants which were threadbare in places and which had been patched with quick needlework in others. He looked at her with a small frown upon his lips, though no real indication whether it was directed at her or just the situation he'd found himself in.

"You're the knight, then?" The woman at the table spoke up first. Unfortunately, she would prove to be combative toward her savior. "Look, we're indebted to you, but there's nothing we can give you. You've already looted, haven't you? That should do something to compensate your bravery. It's best if you just go ahead and move on. Outsiders only make things harder for a little Badarian village like ours. We can't afford to have the church come down on us again."
"Not the way I would've put it," the younger woman spoke up from the corner as she hesitated to meet Lyra's eyes. "First let me say thank you, milady, for saving us. But I'm afraid her words are honest. The church's hunters have been sniffing around our village ever since the Hayfield family was taken in the night. Even though you slew the demons, the church will only get worse if they find out about any of this, whether it's the about the demonic activity or the appearance of a traveling knight. Dealing with their wrath would be worse than dealing with those demons again, and it would endanger my little brother."
"And all of our families," the older woman added.

 

[Astarte]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

Lyra could only give a somewhat strained, sad smile as she listened to the two women, doing her best to hide the less pleasant emotions she was feeling again. She wasn't angry at anyone here despite their cold reception, and she didn't want them to think she was. She hated how they were forced to live in fear, both of those like these demons who would take advantage of them, and their church and government who should have been protecting them from the former. That they had to simply accept this out of fear that the church might burn their whole village by association if they knew about it was simply abhorrent to Lyra, but there was nothing that she could do about it. And that was the worst part of it all: She could slay the demons, but she could do nothing to assuage the people's fears. Unfortunately, overthrowing not only their government—which was already in a sorry state from what little she did know—but all of their established traditions was not within her means.

"It's truly sad that people need to be so afraid of the ones who should be protecting them." She mused out loud, shaking her head slowly. "Don't worry, I don't intend to stay. I only wished to make sure you all woke up safely before I left. I'm sure you were told, but there should be others coming from your village soon, and there's already a plan to deal with all of this," she motioned to the building in which they were standing, "I wish I could do more, but I understand that the best thing I can do for you now is to leave quietly. I can only hope that this will be the end of your troubles."

Lyra gave them a bow with just a little too much flourish to be considered formal before making her exit, unless anyone prompted her to stay longer. Once outside she picked up her pack from where she'd left it and fished out the map she'd been given, slinging the bag over her shoulder as she began to walk. She'd need to plan out her route, though the only thing of real importance right now was finding a road south or west—which depended on exactly where in Badaria she'd actually ended up—more specific directions would be beyond the scope of this map, and wouldn't be likely to matter until she reached Anudor regardless.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

Spoiler

Lyra: HP = 70, PP = 60, EP = 50, Status = Fine, 9/30 TP, This is Ground Control to Major Lyra

It probably wasn't of much comfort to Lyra, but the younger two humans did at least have the decency to wear a look of shame at her comments and ensuing exit. And while the older woman was apparently beyond shame, she would at least fall silent along with the other two as the knight said her piece and made her exit.

The sidhe wouldn't be given long to stew in her emotions about how things had turned out, however. As she was stepping out the door, she heard something curious. "Lyra! Lyraaaa! Are you around here? Please don't let this be another gangbang. Although...." It was definitely Abla's voice. It only took a brief look around to find Abla in the almost-flesh. The astral projection of the craftsman was calling and searching along the side of the hill for the knight. Likewise, it would only take her a few more moments of doing so to spot the knight.

"Oh, finally!" The blacksmith would rush Lyra and pull her into a hug which proved to be crushingly physical. A few seconds of hug passed with the other sidhe woman's hands roaming in a way which was suspiciously familiar to her efforts to take measurements before she finally retreated from the embrace. Even then, she only moved to arm's length and her hands never left the knight's shoulders. "Praise the queen it's you! Farah returned and let me use her scrying crystal. She provided the magic to find you, too. Although I still missed a few times."

"You know," she added in a chiding tone, "Most of the knights who let themselves be summoned to-and-from willy-nilly by mortals have a quick method of returning home. They study the powers or magic or, in a pinch, make friends with a warhound and take them along. You're the only one I know who's fine with walking," she grinned at Lyra. "But maybe your old fashioned ways are another reason why I like you so much~"

"You're in luck though. I was so excited to get you back to the oasis that as soon as Farah got back I asked if she could summon you. If you're done here, that is. And if our aims happen to intersect enough for you to consider your summoning price paid, o' knight~"

 

[Astarte]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

Lyra was still in the process of unfolding her map when the familiar voice reached her. She almost passed it off as her imagination, but it proved rather insistent. "Another... gangbang? What have you been doing since I left?" The knight asked incredulously, watching as the semi-transparent form of the other faerie finally noticed her and ran towards her. The hug was a little surprising, nearly knocking Lyra off her feet with the unexpected force behind it.

"It's only been, what, a few hours? And you already miss me?" Lyra grinned at her friend's antics, though she finally pushed the astral projection back a step when the wandering hands became a bit too bold. "And yes, I'd been thinking about that. I don't mind the walking, but it can make for long trips. I'll tell you about that when I'm back though, what's this all about?"

The following explanation left Lyra giving the blacksmith a suspicious look for a moment, expecting some other catch to follow. Or maybe Abla just wanted her to see the sword she'd made that badly? "Oh, I don't know. I was hoping for a nice, peaceful, slow walk home." Lyra teased back, though the grin she still hadn't lost certainly gave her away. It felt good to have such a lighthearted conversation after the grim business she'd just concluded. She glanced back up the hill at the house she'd just left, hoping they hadn't been too loud. She was trying to keep the magical and supernatural from the eyes of these people as much as she could.

"Well, you've got good timing, I was just getting ready to leave. Everything's been resolved, more or less. Any time Farah is ready is fine with me." She paused for a moment, then added, almost as an afterthought, "What's got you so excited anyway?" She had a sinking feeling she might not be entirely pleased with the answering, remembering the promise she'd made Abla. She'd said that having expected to make the blacksmith wait for days, not hours. She couldn't help but feel like she'd been tricked, or maybe cheated.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

Spoiler

Lyra: HP = 70, PP = 60, EP = 50, Status = Fine, 9/30 TP, Out of the Frying Pan and into the Fire (Sexually Speaking)

"Oh, uh, I kinda sorta projected into a summer party with a bunch of gruffs and, uh, a human. We all laughed it off though. Well, except the human. Her mouth was full."

"And you didn't miss me after all these long hours? I'm wounded! Aghast! Another word for sad!" Abla's melodramatic proclamations were accompanied with an equally melodramatic raise of the back of her hand to her forehead, as if she might faint. Her spell would pass in record time, however, as her hands dropped to her sides about a second later. "Even a minute with a cutie like you missing from the oasis is noticeable, y'know," she added with a grin that matched Lyra's and a poke against the knight's nose. "But if you'd prefer to walk, that's fine too. I'll just have to pass the weeks thinking about your pretty smile and the day you'll finally come back to us~"

Lyra's glance away would reveal that the conversation between faeries hadn't drawn any human attention. This was good because Abla's excitement would all but burst forth from her spectral image when the knight asked about the source of it. "Your performance, of course! I mean, not that I'm expecting you to perform as soon as you get back, or even tonight. But I happen to have called in a favor that one of the clothiers owed me in return for some enchanted tailoring equipment I forged for them. They whipped up an outfit in no time at all and I can't wait for you to see it. With my sword in your hand and you wearing their silk, you're going to be even more gorgeous than usual! Plus, I've got a little gift for you unrelated to all that. Thought you might need it. But for now let's get you back, just let me go tell Farah and she'll be calling you in no time."

The knight would only have a few heartbeats to interject with something and keep the conversation going if she wanted to keep Abla's image from winking out of existence. Otherwise, the blacksmith would do just that and a brief moment later Lyra felt herself being summoned. This time, the call was specifically for her. The strings which bound her to the world's flow vibrated all the more powerfully as hers were plucked directly. That increased attunement caused her to feel the bored disinterest on the other end of her summoning all the more acutely. The sidhe still had a choice of whether or not she wished to answer, however.

 

[Astarte]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

"Oh, I didn't realize you were so impatient." Lyra shook her head at the other faerie's display, though the grin never left her face, "Honestly, I'm a little impressed you put everything together so quickly. I hadn't expected you to rush off to do it the moment I left."

Once Abla's image disappeared, Lyra took the opportunity to stow the map back in her bag, waiting for the summoning to come. She couldn't help but wonder what Abla had put together for her on such short notice. She'd mentioned "silk", but that could still be anything—and a little more concerning to her was the prospect of exactly how much silk was actually involved. She wasn't going to go back on her word though, no matter how much it felt like she'd been tricked, so she'd have to deal with whatever Abla had for her. She'd mentioned another gift too, which had Lyra curious.

When she felt the familiar tug, and the brief emotional link, Lyra couldn't help but laugh. The disinterest she could feel from Farah was enough confirmation that she'd just gotten wrapped up in Abla's excitement too. She only waited a moment before accepting the call, feeling herself fade from existance for the second time that day, being called back to the point she'd began from.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

Spoiler

Lyra: HP = 70, PP = 60, EP = 50, Status = Fine, 9/30 TP, Being Offered a Modeling Gig (Have a Seat on the Black Leather Couch)

The knight's body would dematerialize as she heeded the call, and she felt herself begin to soar through the ether in the direction she'd initially arrived from. When existence as she knew it returned a few moments later, she found herself standing in front of Farah and Abla in the oasis.

Farah had a quality of stoic beauty that made her stand out even among the spring faeries. Her skin was the color of deep earth. Her face was heart-shaped. Her eyes with the color of a clear sky and spaced evenly apart around her button nose. Her lips were like two flower petals upon her face, and every bit as soft. A few tresses of curly black hair were visible, disappearing behind her, along the back of the ankle-length veil she wore as a hood.

Most of the rest of her body was hidden by a sleeveless henna dress the color of the ocean with hundreds of intricate patterns in gold, yellow, and red. The detail in the dress was such that it would likely require an observer dozens of hours to appreciate each section in full. Lyra also knew the dress to be heavily enchanted, along with the gold and silver armbands, bracelets and rings which Farah wore. Black glyphs in the shape of eyes lined both of the woman's arms, at least two dozen in number, along with a stylized sun on the back of her right hand. Guessing at what the eyes stood for was a popular pastime among the younger faeries in the oasis -- examples included theorizing that they were the number of decades Farah had lived or the number of things she had mastered -- but Lyra had never heard anything more than rumors.

She had been alive for longer than any faerie who took refuge in Lyra's oasis and served as a Lady of the spring court. As such she was the acting leader of the fae in Lyra's sanctuary and certainly the most powerful among them, though she didn't seem to care much for either anymore. The inhabitants were free to do more or less as they pleased, and if something official needed to be done the order came down from one of the group of sidhe Farah had designated as her seconds in command. The fae Lady herself spent almost every waking hour learning new arts and pushing herself to mastery in them, often spending weeks at a time away from the oasis. She would likely only be back for a day or two before she was gone again in search of more knowledge.

"Hello, Lyra," she would say, and even with her rich voice it would come off as one of the plainest greetings the knight had ever received. Indeed, it would appear that her interest in the matter had vanished completely, as Lyra only had a few seconds to return a greeting before she turned and began to walk away. "Bring your armor to me tomorrow morning. I'll repair it for you before I return to my travels," she added as an afterthought, not looking back.
"Hey! I was going to offer," Abla would call out indignantly. That would cause Farah to stop, though it wouldn't be enough to get her to turn more than her head toward the blacksmith and knight.
"Oh, and what price did you have in mind?"
"Well... I kinda sorta wanted a model. For a thing. Nude."
"Ah. Whatever she decides will be fine with me." The fae Lady would resume her walk unless the knight interjected with something meant to keep her around.

 

[Astarte]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

"Thank you for your assistance, Farah." Lyra replied respectfully to the enigmatic faerie who had summoned her. "I do hope Abla here didn't cause you too much trouble on my account." This was followed by a hint of a grin, while she glanced over at the blacksmith. She wasn't quite sure what she was going to do about her armour yet, though Abla's offer was a little worrying, as usual. She'd leave that for later though, it wasn't so urgent that she had to rush. Lyra still wasn't certain what had possessed her to let the woman choose an outfit for her, she'd known how that was likely to end from the beginning.

"Since you're so impatient, let's see this sword of yours, shall we?" Lyra turned her attention back to Abla once Farah had left, mock exasperation in her voice. In truth she was looking forward to seeing the weapon too—and less so the outfit to go along with it—but she took the opportunity to tease regardless.

She still needed to do something with everything she had brought back with her, and look into the other thing Abla had mentioned as well—something she'd been thinking about for some time now. As much as she didn't mind the walking, her summons occasionally disrupted other plans when they came at a bad time, and she wasn't one to refuse any summoning with a good cause. She'd been looking into the matter recently though, and she suspected she could enchant something to do the job with a bit of work, though she'd still need to arrange to get the raw materials. Something to apply the enchantment to as well, something she could easily keep on her person. It might be worth asking Abla for some advice on, once she was finished with what the blacksmith wished to show her.