Partay in the jungle! [open!]

[Aeytrious]

A scream, and a spear heading toward his chest, accompanied the ripple that signified someone had broken his spell, probably the monk looking fellow who entered then. What a pain it was being mortal, and having constraints to his power. Rather than engage the guard, he was only doing his job, and hostile action would not ingratiate him toward Lord Charik, he opened a portal under himself that dropped him out of the spears path.

"I am Ritousaey, and I used a series of portals to come from Tirial to here with warning," he explained quickly. "The details and questions can come later Lord Charik. For now it is enough that you know I am a friend. You appear well guarded here," he said, "but what of your siblings? They will be targeted tonight as well."

[Winters-Feather]

At their god's hiss, the guard and girl drew back, a silence over coming them. They had never seen their god in such a foul mood, and his might frightened them. Razi, however, shared Charik's fury as she glared  with fear at this new stranger. His power to move so swiftly and with such ease frightened her, but angered her more. Her heart pounded in her chest as she took in deep breaths, trying to steady herself.

She gasped at the sight of the high priest and nodded her head in acknowledgement, a gesture he returned. she narrowed her eyes, furious at this new comer's words. Friend? He was making a poor impression of it.

"No. Step away from the king! The time of questions is now. You should be more concerned about your life," she boldly retorted, a cold hostility raising in her otherwise shaken voice. In truth, Razi was frightened for Charik's kin as well. Though there were guards to protect them, if there were more beings like this one, she didn't know what to think.
"My lord," she continued in a hushed and gentle voice. "I know nothing of this Tirial... be careful with this man, if he is one."

As she spoke, the high priest took in a breath as he stood his ground by the door. He muttered an ancient spell under his breath and pointed with authority towards Ritousaey. A soft glow filled the room. If the spell worked, the magician would be unable to use his magic... at least, for a little while.
~

"Oh, damn," the Captain cursed.
He roared as he lunged towards the armor with his hammer, though the rouge armor swung around and knocked the man to the ground.
"Sir!" Zhara shouted as he vigorously knocked off its head.

[Aeytrious]

Ritousaey's self inflicted wound was still bleeding, dripping on the floor. Enough had accumulated to cast an even more powerful version of his time spell. Curse this mortal shells limitations. It was times like this that made him appreciate his full powers. He felt the spell the monk looking fellow cast wash over him. The magic of this mortal form was suppressed. His immortal blood was already breaking down the spell but he needn't wait. Whipping his hand through the pool of his blood he cast his time spell again, centering it on the monk. No more interference from him would be splendid.Rit had come to the quick conclusion that Lord Charik valued the word of the bed bound convalescent so he exempted her from the time spell along with her Naga Lord. The spell was only on that room. Everyone else out in the world was moving along normally, but if they entered, they would be locked in time as well.

Rit spoke quickly and decisively. He needed to get his point across fast, and he had trouble avoiding his long winded nature without great effort.

"I'm sorry to have to freeze time again like that, but too many people interfering gets messy, and time is of the essence. I wish to prevent the imminent destruction of all things, I have an oath to keep, and I gave up my immortality tonight to prevent this sinister plot. I am still more powerful than any of your retainers, but I do tire, and I humbly ask for your assistance in protecting your realm."

[Rhindeer]

Razi's sudden, bold anger took Charik aback and the fierce mask he wore slipped in surprise. He blinked and glanced back at her with a new sort of appreciation in his eyes. Goodness! Her strength continued to surprise him, for even weak and ill and having just escaped death she was not afraid to stand beside him--no, not even that, she was defending him.

If she had been born naga, she would be a fearsome one, indeed.

Charik nodded at her assessment and returned his gaze to the stranger, body tense and coils writhing. And then, sudden realization dawned.

"How do we know you're not the poisoner?" he asked, eyes narrowing. "We have never seen you before."

[Zane]

Darnoc walked calmly over to the guard captain, glaring at the armor as if daring it to come at him. "Get up captain. You dare have the audacity to call me a liar then get knocked away like some house fly? Get the fuck up." Darnoc turned back to the armor entrapping his friend. Transmuting his gauntlets so they had long blades arching out ahead of the glove. "Zarha, I'm going to cut the armor off, do what you can to slow it down. Now tell me Armor, I don't recognize you, what is your name?"

"I Don't have one."

Darnoc lunged at the armor, intercepting the rouge's attack and slicing at strap under the armpit. Grazing it, the tension of it forced it to snap, making the armor's arm fall limp. For the Arma Immortos, straps that hold the armor together are like vital tendons, you cut one it loses use of a limb. Next Darnoc went for the top half of the strap, causing the arm of armor to fall off. "That all you got? Zarha, try undoing any straps you can reach. Make it count."

[Winters-Feather]

And suddenly time stood still. The breeze stopped blowing and suddenly a dazed look over came the Priest, the guard, and the weeping child. Razi took in a sharp breath as she quickly examined the three before turning her attention back towards Rit.
An oath? she thought, nodding vaguely as Charik questioned the man's motives.

~

"Y-yes!"
Zarha grunted as he squirmed to reach for a dagger he wore at his side and reached out to awkwardly cut through one of the armor's straps that connected his pelvis to his left leg.

[Aeytrious]

Rit's head snapped up at the mention of poison. "Poison? So an attack has already been attempted. Who is poisoned? I can easily heal them." He stood and stepped forward around the spear that had been thrust at his chest. "If I were an enemy, I would not have left you exempt from my time spell. You would be frozen along with the rest, as I moved about freely." Then he became invisible, "Or I would not have let you see me at all." Rit became visible again and kneeled in front of Charik, "Please let me help you."

[Rhindeer]

The man did have a point there, Charik thought with a shudder. He could have been an invisible assassin, no underhanded poisoning required, and he wouldn't have attacked Sha-Razi by mistake.

And he did look genuinely surprised about that.

Shaking his head, Charik held up a hand. "Calm yourself, no one is poisoned! Ah, that is, no one is poisoned anymore. We were supposed to be poisoned, but Sha-Razi was poisoned instead of us, though she's better now!" He paused, brow crinkled, and waved his hand as though to chase the subject away.

"It's a very long story for later, moving on!" he concluded, and then peered down at the man with his head cocked. "You spoke of a plot earlier. What is this plot you speak of?"

[Aeytrious]

Well thank goodness that wasn't any more difficult than that. Rit would be able to dismiss his time spell. He needed to conserve his energy. If his enemies lacked blood, as he suspected they would, there would be little to refuel himself with.

"I do not have the specifics," he told Charik, "but I know that some fool cultists, being led by Arma Immortos, are hell bent on the destruction of the world, and they need your blood to do it." Not understanding the vastness of the world would not matter in this instance. Knowing the whole thing would be destroyed should convey the message.

"I will be releasing my spell now," he stood and moved closer to Charik. "I would prefer not to be attacked by your fellows when I do."

A quick sigil, written in the air with his finger, and the room kicked back into motion.

[Winters-Feather]

Razi stared at Rit with a look of disbelief at his question of who was poisoned.
Is he blind? she thought dryly. He's only increasing my wariness. She suddenly felt much more awake as the 'man'- she was still uncertain of his humanity- suddenly became invisible. Sha-Razi's stomach curled at the thought.
Truly a deadly enemy, though it was clear now that he wasn't a foe, at least not directly. Though his altriusm could be admired, Razi was still skeptical about it all. So, she listened. The woman sat up straighter as the man tried to move closer to Charik.
I told him to stay back, she thought, annoyed. The name he threw danced in her head.
Arma Immortos.

A breeze passed through. The high priest gasped for air. The guard blinked, clearly rattled by this happening again. Something clicked in Razi's mind.
"The armor!" she exclaimed.
"Where is he? Perhaps Sir Darnoc's awakening is tied in with this, though I don't know how."
The woman let out a soft groan as she slowly drew her legs over the side of the bed.
"This is no time to be bedridden," she muttered.  "There are matters to be attended to.  I do not wish for my condition to make you vulnerable, my King. We must go."

[Rhindeer]

Indeed, though Charik's world was his tiny kingdom, he certainly didn't want it destroyed! And if they needed his blood...

And hadn't the man mentioned his siblings, too?

...Oh no.

The room burst back to life and before the guard could act, Charik motioned for him to be at ease. "He is no threat, so do not harm him!" he said, while the guard shot him a perplexed look, considering from his point of view, one second everyone had been rearing up against the man and now everyone was okay with him, with no transition in between.

Before he could say more, Razi was scrambling out of bed, and Charik turned to grab her arm and support her. "Razi, you really shouldn't," he told her quietly, but he didn't try to stop her. She seemed to know something he just wasn't grasping, and she was always very good at explaining things that he didn't understand.

"You believe Darnoc is involved? Ah, no matter! We must leave at once! And you--" He pointed to the stranger. "You...whatever your name was! Come! We must tell our siblings at once."

With that said, he wound his way out of Razi's chamber, moving with surprising speed for someone with his bulk.

Outside the room, Chimalli, Izta, and Kisa had been doing their best to smooth things over--or, at least, Chimalli and Izta had, which mostly consisted of hearing peoples' prayers and handing out blessings.

Kisa took to brooding and picking at her scales, and she found some company in the bored as hell Ziya, who was still flopped over the table and moaning that he was drying up.

Misery loved company, after all, and the two were quick to bond over their horrible, horrible troubles, much to the horror of Chimalli and Izta both.

"Kisa! Stop that and get over here!" Izta hissed at her sister when she had a free moment, but Kisa waved her away.

"I just can't," she sighed, curling her coils tighter and leaning her elbows on the table. Idly, she pet Ziya's hair; the two of them had stopped complaining and had taken to complimenting each other to make themselves feel better. "This day has been far too stressful; it's doing nothing for my shedding. I shouldn't even be here."

Rolling her eyes so hard they nearly fell out of her head, Izta grabbed her sister by the wrist and pulled, and Kisa let out an indignant squawk. "Quiet, you. You are not leaving us to deal with this alone. Show some responsibility!"

"I don't want to!"

"Kisa, you're embarrassing me."

"You're embarrassing me!"

And that was how Charik found his siblings: proud Chimalli with a group of people gathered around him, staring on in fascinated horror as the usually elegant Izta tugged at her sister's arm, while Kisa wrapped her coils around a leg of the table to stay put.

[Aeytrious]

Rit wasn't able to hold back a tiny smirk at the sight. As it seemed inappropriate to address Charik at the moment, he turned to Sha-Razi instead.

"Are they always like this," he asked her, with barely hidden amusement.

((ooc: shortest post in the history of posts!))

[Zane]

((OOC: not even close mate ^___^))

It didn't take long for darnoc, aided by Zarha and his knife, to remove the armor completely. Darnoc scooped the chestpiece and helm into his hands. "Nameless armor. Do you have anything to say before I return you to nothingness?"

"Sorbet lives, and he will rule the world, or what will remain of it."

[Winters-Feather]

"Yes," Sha-Razi replied as Charik questioned her about Darnoc. However, he was right. There was no time. They must act. The woman clenched her stomach as she followed her King out of the room. She was not better at all and felt the urge to throw up, b but was determined to stand as tall as possible and keep her mouth shut as she stood by the immortal to make sure he didn't do anything suspicious and behind Charik, who was slithering rapidly towards the banquet hall.

At the noise, at first Razi had been alarmed. When she got there, the woman was not quite sure if her anxiety was subdued or only worsened. She leaned against the wall, and covered her mouth with her hand. At Rit's question, she shot him a glare that suggested his amusement was misplaced. Indeed, such an event happened too many times, but now of all days was hardly inappropriate. Razi sighed. She had no power over Charik's siblings, though she did over Ziya.
"Cease your shameful behavior at once," she urged in a hushed voice. "Listen! Have any other suits of armor came to life or enter this chamber? This is important!"

A guard ran through the hall to bow before Charik.
"O Holy King," he reported. "Sir Darnoc is in the temple halls."
The man frowend, utterly confused.
"He has ordered the destruction of armor in your temple. Ones with symbols."
At this news, Razi's nostrils flared as her heart to her throat.  It was as she feared.
"They were made by the same god or wizard," she said in a low voice. "And if not, then Darnoc is surely familiar with whoever it was."

~

Zarha helped his Captain to his feet. The older man grumbled.
"Sorbet?" he growled. "Just who the hell is he?!"
"I think I've read of such a being before," Zarha muttered, fearfully. He looked up at Darnoc with fierce determination.
"We must tell the King!"

Monstrous footsteps echoed in the halls...

[Rhindeer]

Ziya whined as Razi called him out, frowning up at her. "I don't caaare about armor," he huffed, and shook his head. "But no. No armor. Though I wouldn't be able to see it anyway through my cracked and drying eyes." He let out an exaggerated sigh and pawed at Razi's arm. "Can you go blind from that, I wonder? From drying out? Am I going to go blind? Razi! You must get to me my pool!"

"Enough!" Charik snapped, patience at an all-time low, and Chimalli, Ixta, and Kisa whipped around simultaneously. Ziya only sighed and continued clinging to Razi. It was rare that Charik used such a tone. Even Kisa stopped her wailing and uncurled herself from around the table, straightening up and composing herself like a proper goddess.

Charik stared at them all in disapproval, and when Charik, known for his obliviousness, was disappointed, one knew it had to be bad. "All of us are in danger tonight! So stop. Someone wishes to use our blood to destroy the world!" He blinked.

"...We are not sure how, or the details, but it sounds really bad and a strange man told us thus!" he added, pointing at Rit.

Chimalli's face was statuesque, and Izta's lips went thin with the effort of not speaking. Kisa gaped. "Are you serious right now...?"

"Yes! And Razi has already been poisoned and this is a really bad day so we're going to just listen because it actually makes sense! If you'd been there you'd know! Anyway, we obviously willed this man here with our power and now he is come and gods work in mysterious ways and all that!"

He had been about to say more, but that was when a guard ran into the hall.

Charik sighed sadly. "That was such pretty armor...but so be it. Take us to Darnoc, then."

[Aeytrious]

Ritousaey, immortal, time traveling, all powerful Guardian of the Multiverse, currently trapped in a mortal shell, had great difficulty containing his mirth. The various ways that mortals viewed themselves and the world around them had a strange way of surprising him. And he often found it hilarious. Success was hard fought, but he showed not even a smirk at the events unfolding around him. At least Lord Charik had been able to subdue the ridiculous antics of those present, and Sha-Razi seemed to be quite astute. Perhaps this wouldn't be too rough. Rit followed Charik closely as he was lead to Darnoc.

[Winters-Feather]

Even Razi stopped what she was doing when Charik commanded silence, wide-eyed and pale. She quickly regained her compsoure as he spoke, pressing back any rogue hairs. Sha-Razi smiled as reassuringly as possible to Kisa, though she vaguely wondered what Ziya and the naga had thought during her absense. Did they really think she had been theatrical?! Razi patted Ziya's arm. For better or worse...

"Ziya your eyes are perfect," she reassured him. "But you must stay here with the others and protect each other. You're so big and strong, the others rely on you, especially the harem and Charik's Holy siblings. Keep them together, keep them safe. If you have to, escape to your pool, but keep together. Listen to the guards. Please, Ziya."
Razi coughed into her hand, clutching her stomach. She really was out of bed much too early, but she followed Charik none the less.  Meanwhile, Zahra was eager to grab the king's attention.

"My lord!" he said with a tone of urgency.
"The armor!" he exclaimed, and expressed all he knew about the seals and how they could be disensembled.
"But there are more..."
As if to prove his point, two suits of armor came from around the bend.

[Nix]

Everything had happened far too fast for Suri to keep up, gift processionals, to armor suits moving and speaking, Razi becoming ill, the declaration that it had been poison in Charik's cup that had made her so ill. It was all like some terrible dream.

He had wanted to help somehow, but there was nothing he could do during it all. His father had rushed to his side in all of the mess and spoke to him but Sureya didn't even hear his words. He watched as Sha-Razi was ushered out of the room. All he could think was that the kind woman had to be ok. She had to because Charik would save her.

Things in the large hall became both calmer and more frantic after that, but Chimalli had taken control and Izta was right there with him. Kisa on the other hand sat and spoke with Ziya. Sureya watched all of this but barely moved, he was just shocked and useless as it all occurred around him.

"Sureya!" His father finally shook him ans spoke loudly, but not so loudly as to disturb the other happenings in the room. Suri blinked and turned to face his father before hugging him tight. "It will be alright... Lord Charik will see to it. Do not despair." His father said as he led Suri to sit just a few spots down from the naiad.

Giano stayed with his son who just seemed not to be there at all. When Lord Charik returned Giano stood, but Sureya did not. Suri looked to Razi, relieved that she was alive. He knew that Charik would save and protect her.

The little white bird would have been stunned into silence by the god king's tone if he were not already stunned and silent. Again too much was happening and too fast for him to take it all in. He just looked between Razi and Charik. All he could ascertain was the danger had not passed. Everything else was a blur. Actually his father had gone. Where did he go? Sha-Razi looked like she needed to rest.... what was going on?

[Zane]

Darnoc helped the captain to his feet, "Sorbet is my old master, and the person who made me like this, a bound soul. If he is in fact alive, then that would explain why there are new armors. But why I killed him last there were a few hundred of us. By now, there could be thousands. You have to assume that every suit of armor in this kingdom is an enemy. Present company excluded of course. Come on, your king may be in danger."

~~~~~

Zahra was startled by the sudden appearance of the armors, slowly backing away as he was now without armor and only a knife to defend himself. The other guards in the room formed a perimeter around the two suits, but none were too eager to get closer, how do you kill something that feels no pain? But they wouldn't have too, the Captain and Darnoc came in behind the armors and swiftly dealt with them, Darnoc completely disintegrating one with transmutation and the captain felled the other with a crushing hammer blow. "Stand down boys! This one is on our side!"

Darnoc just bowed to the guards and the king, "Darnoc Ris at your service."

((OOC: Sorry for the wait X_X))

[Rhindeer]

"Big and strong?!" Ziya gaped at Sha-Razi in utter horror. He clutched at a lock of his own hair, stroking it lovingly. "I am not big! Or strong! I am small and delicate and beautiful and my eyes are perfect and--"

He didn't get to finish his rant, however, as Charik lead the group out of the room to where Darnoc was supposed to be. With a scowl, Ziya turned to Sureya for support. "Do you think I'm big?"

His tone implied that Sureya would say "no" if he knew what was good for him.

Meanwhile, Charik stopped as Zahra approached the group, he listened patiently to his rushed words. But before he could process the new information, two suits of armor came lumbering around the bend and Charik reared up and slid in front of Sha-Razi, ready to defend her first, even as Zahra flew into the defensive.

Neither would have to fight, however, as Darnoc dispatched both suits.

Charik relaxed, but not by much.

"This one has our protection," Charik told the guards, backing Zahra up with a more official order. "With that said!"

He turned to Darnoc and placed a hand on his hip, frowning. "We believe you owe us an explanation. What are your people doing and how do we stop it? Mostly, how do we stop it. We already know they want to use our blood to destroy the world, though we can't fathom why."


OOC: xDD Is his name Zahra or Zarha? I don't know which to uuuuse! D8