I'm so happy to see you back ;D Looking forwards to writing with you again!

Excited to have you back! \o/

Sarah's expression was crestfallen for but a moment, quickly shifting to something more adamant. "Sage, no. I can't just let you leave." The woman squeezed her eyes shut, searching for the right words to say. "I can't just... not do anything."

Her voice lowered, and she leaned in closer. "There is a trafficking group on the south end of town. The boss has been... watching them for a while. They might be your guys."


Randal sqeaked in fear, his grip on Ewan tightening as the lizardman blocked their path. "S-stay back!" he stammered, eyes darting as he searched for a way to escape. "I'm warning you, I can- whoah!

A loud thud shook the groud beneath them, nearly causing the young drug dealer to fall over. A shadow fell over them, and Randal looked up to see Griselda was now towering over them. The giant gave the reptillian a quizzical look, as if it was her that he should be directing his questions towards. The boy smiled breathlessly "We're saved..."

The portly apprentice tried to argue, but a harsh look from Juniper was enough to send him on his way. There was a moment of silence, which quickly subsided as the surrounding students went back to their own games. As the low hum of chatter filled the room one more, the noblewoman looked down at her prize. The boy squirmed in her grip, his golden eyes fixated on the door. "Uh, well that was a fun match, but I..."

"You said your name was Arthur, yes?" Juniper asked, ignoring his attempt at excusing himself. All boys behaved this way at first, Juniper had learned. Much easier to keep them in one place where they couldn't scurry away. The noblewoman leaned in close, as if to observe him. "You look familiar... what family are you from?"

The student met her eyes briefly. "C-Clearwater." he stammered, trying once againg to shake free of Juniper's grip. "M-my dad is the High Justicier..."

Juniper's smile faltered. "I see..." She loosened her hold on the boy slightly, eyes growing cold. She had heard the news about this one, of course- nearly everyone in the province had. She had assumed his betrothal to the surviving Feyal was simply politics, but if he had this much potential...

Well. That would cause problems, wouldn't it?


Susie yelped as she once again crashed into somebody, barely having any time to react before she was being ushered along down the hall. "I-I'm sorry!" she squeaked, cheeks flushed. "I-"

"Lady Whitechalk is looking for me?"

The girl's heart nearly stopped. "M-Mistress Whitechalk is h-here? Now?" she stammered, looking around wildly. "I-I never got a letter or-- or..."

"What if she's mad at me? What if the headmistress told her about me copying Kana's notes? Will she stop paying for my tuition? Will I have to go home?"

A chill ran down the redhead's spine, and her eyes began to water. "She- she's not upset or anything, right..?

Sarah looked her food solomnly. She hadn't even gotten a chance to finish it, and her cousin was already leaving. "You're right." she said flatly, poking a perogi with her fork. "It wouldn't be."

The assassin stood up, now locking eyes with the man in front of her. "I want to help. Hildegarde, she has connections to half the people in this city. I'm sure if I asked, she'd be able to make your search much easier..."


Randal's fear slowly subsided, eyes narrowing as he studied the lizard man. "I think you're confused, sir." he said firmly, putting on a fake smile. "We don't have any employees who look like that." He put an hand on Ewans shoulder, grip unusually tight. "Come on Rolf, let's ask Taza if there's a shop like that in town!"

If Ewan didn't resist, Randal wold begin to lead him back towards the Friends' boarding house...

I got...

Spoiler

@GoblinFae !


It's Athena, the goddess of wisdom! I drew her with the Aegis and a banhammer (I did have to look up the how to write "banish" in Ancient Greek lmao). I also gave her an owl friend to keep her company :)

Drawing in the style of Ancient Greek pottery was a pretty big challenge, but I think I did okay. Hope you like it!

[close]

Danny scrambled towards the stables, barely stumbling out of the way as an unfamiliar horse galloped past him. Behind him he could hear the woman calling to the animal, but it wasn't something he could pay attention to now. Finally making it to the stable gates, Danny's eyes darted from horse to horse. Finally spotting Squaredancer in the corner, Danny rushed over to untie her...

*CRASH*

Danny flinched, looking back towards the bar in a panic. Fear quickly turned to relief as he saw Machitisiw dashing towards him, having seemingly dived through a window to escape. He was carrying a large bottle of whiskey in his hands, and had a burlap sack slung over his shoulder. He yelled something, but it was difficult to hear him over the horses. Danny lifted a hand to his ear. "What?"

"I said, there's no time for that! Just grab one and go!"

Danny scowled, hastily climbing into his saddle. "What do you mean, 'no time'? We can't just- hey! That horse isn't yours!"

The Duhjari had burst into the stables, procuring a knife and cutting free the closest horse he could find- a powerful-looking grey stallion. He mounted the animal in one motion, digging his heels into the beast's side. With a whinny the horse began to move. "There's just isn't, Danny!" Machitisiw cried as he cleared the stable gates, goading the new horse into a gallop. "Get going, before they catch up!"

Danny blinked, finally nudging Squaredancer forwards. As she slowly began to pick up speed, he spared one last glance towards the stallion the Duhjari rode in on. Shaking his head, he pressed on. He could see the woman who'd helped him escape on her own horse nearby- was she coming with them? He could hear yelling behind them too, angry bar patrons no doubt. Would they follow? Danny squeezed his eyes shut, praying in vein that this day would end...

Arthur flinched, eyes widening at Elwin's reaction. It wasn't unusual for students to get huffy after losing, but this was a full-grown man! He hastily began to gather up his cards, until the feeling of a weight on his shoulder caused him to stop short. He glanced upwards, dreading what he might find...

Juniper had flit to the other side of the table, twirling gracefully before resting a hand on Arthur's shoulder. "Sorry Edwin." she said coyly. "How does the saying go? To the victor goes the spoils?" The young woman stroked the top of the boy's hat, looking down at him posessively. "Here's an idea; why don't you go find her! I'm sure it will only take someone like you only a few short minutes..."

Arthur stayed silent, feeling much more like the spoils than he did the victor. His eyes glanced around the room, desperate to find a way out of this situation...


Susie took a step back, disappointment rising in her chest. She had wanted to bring the castle back with her, but the now-broken tower had sullied it for her. "Um... It means it can be enchanted, I think." she said, taking a deep breath. "You.. you can keep it." Tenatively she took a few steps forwards. "I'll, um, be on my way now. Thank you for your time, Magister."

If she wasn't stopped, Susie would begin down the hall once more- this time at a slower pace. "I hope I haven't missed Kana..." she thought, the image of her crush pushing her to move a bit faster. "What if he thinks I wasn't interested after all? What if he's already left?"

Already forgetting what'd just gotten her into trouble, Susie began to run down the halls once more...

Welcome back! Can't wait to see you around!

Joseph glared at Leenane, a putrid grin on his face. "Use my hands to swab the deck." he growled. "Sure. I can use my hands to swab the deck. No problem." He stood up, picking up the bag that'd been by his chair. Slinging it over his shoulder, he stalked away angrily. The Connloathian gave the sailor an apologetic look, before shrugging and returning to his meal...


The sun had barely come over the horizon when Joseph was dragged out of bed, a mop and bucket thrust into his arms as he was led up to the deck. All around him sailors were busy at work. Mixed in were some of the other passengers, who mostly seemed to be in the way. In the corner the Connlaothian boy was already busy hammering nails into a piece of wood. "I bet he woke up early so he could help." he thought, a sneer creeping onto his face. "Probably gonna shine the captain's boots when he's done. Shitty little brown-noser..."

"Oy!" one of the sailers barked angrily. "Don' just stand there! Get to work!"

Joseph muttered something nasty under his breath, outstretching his hands and letting a small orb of light materialize in each. He rolled them in between his fingers for a moment, before finally flicking them towards the mop and bucket...

"...And presto."

Immediately the tools sprung to life. The mop lifted itself up, it's yarn twisting into tiny legs and walking towards him. The bucket's handle shook as it began hopping forwards, water sloshing about inside. Soon both stood at attention, each looking up at Joseph as they awaited orders. Or at least, Joseph assumed they were looking up at him- neither had eyes, so there was no real way to tell. He smirked. "Alright soldiers." he said snappily. "Clean the deck."

The mop lifted a few strands of yarn, giving the man a sort of odd salute. The bucket waggled it's handle in acknowlegement. Joseph shooed them away, and soon they began swabbing the deck of their own accord. The Serenian watched them for a time, before quietly slinking below deck once more ...

• Not Quite The Adventure of a Lifetime...
  
• Character: Hoss Goodheart
  
• Location: The Draconi Forest
  
• Description: There's a monster in the woods! Or there was, at least- it was already dead when Hoss got there! Did your character kill it?

• Cold As Death
  
• Character: Wallace Hope
  
• Location: Darken Vei
  
• Description: Wallace tries to use his magic to help some children in need. Keyword is "tries"- all he managed to do is scare them away! Maybe your character can help Wallace calm them down?

Matchitisiw ducked out of the way to avoid his attackers, aiming a kick at one of the men's legs. The drunkard stumbled, giving the Duhjari just enough time to dart behind him...

Danny's eye twitched. "Pup" was not something he was used to being called, and the name made him feel rather uncomfortable. He was in no place to complain about it however, as the woman had soon yanked him up by his arm and began to lead him through the chaos.

It must have only taken a few seconds to navigate the bar, but to Danny it felt like an eternity. Every obstacle dodged led directly into another, and at one point the girl had to pull him out of the way of a couple of brawling patrons. When the door was finally within sight the boy felt himself being pushed forwards, and he quickly scrambled outside. He looked around frantically, before rembering that he'd left the horses at the stables.

"Just leave them outside, Danny! If they wander off then they're bad horses and we find new ones."

Cursing under his breath at his companion's unconventional wisdom, Danny made a mad dash for the stables...

"This is going to be so cool!"

Hoss trekked through the forest, a smile on her face. Tales of an horrendous beast had sprung up in the surrounding villages- a beast the locals dubbed "Featherjaw". Said beast was becoming a menace- and therefore, in Hoss's mind, it had to be evil. And if it was evil... Then it was Hoss's job to kill it.

"Oh Kia, this will be epic!" the teenager thought excitedly. "First, I'm gonna rush it with my axe and slice it's legs of! Then I'll shoot it a bunch of times, and then I'll cut it in half!"

Suddenly, Hoss heard it- an unearthly howl in the distance. It had to be the beast. Exhilarated, Hoss ran in the direction the noise came from...

...Only to stumble into a clearing and find the beast already dead. The corpse was massive, at least fifteen feet tall. Fresh wounds from some sort of weapon covered it's body- Featherjaw hadn't gone down without a fight.

Hoss narrowed her eyes, pouting. Slowly she began to circle the monster's body, until she finally spotted another person standing nearby. Did they slay this beast?

"Hey! What gives?" Hoss yelled angrily, storming towards the figure. "That was supposed to be my kill!"

Sarah giggled at her cousin's inability to stomach the alchohol. It was just like him to try and play it off as casual like this. She nodded at the reference to Green Gaelyn, remembering the plush goblin she had as a small child. She was about to open her mouth to comment, but what Sage said next caused her to pause.

"Come... home?"

The memories were so strong that Sarah could almost smell them. The pine forests surrounding the manor, her aunt's diamond garden, Juniper's deviled eggs, her mother's perfume...

Sarah shook her head. "Sage, I appreciate it- really, I do, but..." She glanced sideways. "This is home for me now."


Stones were heavy- much heavier than the potted plants Randal was used to carrying. Sweat rolled down his forehead as he carried a large chunk of basalt towards the pile, grunting in annoyance. "I... I think you're fine now." he panted, setting down the boulder so as to catch his breath. "It's... it's you gotta- AH!"

Hearing a voice, Randal spun around to see a terrible-looking lizardman approaching them. He looked familiar somehow, though the boy wasn't sure where he'd seen him before. "Um..." Randal looked at Ewan for help. "The shop isn't open on weekends..."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "...'Kay." he mumbled, scratching his nose as he did the math in his head. "Subtract the defence, and... that only does twenty." He placed two small tokens on the card. "...And so I'll have him use his Take Root ability. That lets him heal thirty each turn at the cost of being unable to retreat..."

The boy looked up at Elwin expectantly. There was nothing the older student could do at this stage of the game- it would just keep going until Arthur won by attrition. "Guess that's it. Good game, man."


"Um...."

Susie stared at the professor blankly, unsure of how to answer. Would se be able to do it again? "It... doesn't do anything, I think..." The girl looked down at her feet, beginning to feel rather silly. "It... it just kinda exists now."

It only took a few moments for the entire bar to go to hell. The bottle that'd been thrown smashed against the wall, showering the bartender with glass. From somewhere in the corner a man drunkenly hollered, and another bottle found itself airborn. Matchitisiw caught it in midair, quickly turning to smash it into the bartender's face. The man stumbled backwards, his gun falling to the floor with a clatter. The bandit had little time to celebrate before two more men rushed him...

Danny let out a frightened squeak as the Duhjari woman pulled him behind the bar. Were they both crazy? Fear clouded the boy's mind as he took in the surrounding chaos, and he made a silent prayer to any spirits who might have been watching. "Please, help us..."

The woman's voice cut through the haze, causing Danny to flinch. He glanced in her direction, and immediately wished he hadn't. A wicked smile played across her lips, almost as if she was enjoying this. It wasn't the look of someone he felt comfortable trusting- but at this point, what choice did the boy have?

Danny swallowed nervously. "R-right." he stammered. "I'll-I'll be right behind you..."

"Pain? No, none at all. That's probably the most worrisome part of it."

Alabaster's nose wrinkled, gently catching one of the butterflies in the palm of his hand. "What is that supposed to mean, exactly?" he asked slowly, unsure if he really wanted the answer to that question. "Has she gone numb?"

The healer's mouth thinned, an ugly grimace settling on his face. "No." he said, a twinge of fear audible in his voice. "She was laughing when we found her. We can only presume that this somehow feels..." The man paused for a moment, looking incredibly uncomfortable. "...Enjoyable. She fought us all the way here, we had no choice but to sedate her."

The professor felt his stomache do a flip. He glanced at Sainev, then reached into his robe pocket for his wand. "Yeah." he said darkly. "That's not good."

"Aha. I see..."

Dominique felt her heart harden. The newcomer would have a difficult road ahead of her- Wyrdwood's competitive culture was unforgiving to normal students, never mind transfers who still had catching up to do. In all likelyhood, the girl would drop out by the end of the year...

"Here, I'll help you lot out." Dominique said, pulling a parchment and quill out of her bag. "I'll make a list of everywhere in the school I've seen that character..." After a few moments of scribbling, she handed the parchment to the transfer student.


Dominique beamed. "Those are the ones I know about. There might be more hidden somewhere, who knows..."

Welcome to SotE! Can't wait to see what you make!

"Uhh..."

Beryl flinched, freezing in place when the servant addressed her. For the briefest of moments she thought she might be in trouble, and her shoulders instictively tensed. As she turned to look at the woman on the stairs, the young noble allowed herself to relax. "Right. Grown-ups don't tell me what to do anymore, do they?" she mused, feeling oddly nostalgic. "It's all just... suggestions now."

"It's a bit too early for breakfast, I think." Beryl said, trying her best to sound decisive. She folded her arms behind her back- it was something her cousin had often done, and the girl had come to associate the pose with nobility. "I think the garden sounds lovely, though!"

Beryl tilted her head slightly. "What is your name?"