Forgotten Relics

[Tynis]

There were no drums this time. Secret treasures were not a thing that warranted announcement by drum. Instead, worn hide maps made their way around the scattered weyrd and villages. Blown on the wind, shoved in mailboxes, and stuffed under suspicious-looking rocks were a few ways Planet decided on distribution. Regardless of delivery method, each came with the whispered promise of one thing. Treasure!


Each map led it’s owner to a distinctly shaped lagoon a long hike from civilization. Winds battered the rocky shore and rippled across the water. ‌Purples and oranges danced across the disturbed pool in the quickly setting sun, swallowed at the far end by a thick line of mangroves. A line of small canoes were pulled up onto the sand and a deep pit held a large iron and wood chest. The top had been swung open haphazardly and a jumble of items lays amongst more traditional treasure. These items pulsed with a strange and unmistakable energy.


Tynis stood knee deep in the water, a canoe already pulled well into the lagoon. He was clumsily attempting to maneuver a paddle and himself into the vessel. Despite his obvious inexperience he moves with a sense of urgency. The tip of the canoe is pointed toward a narrow path, almost invisible amongst the tangled roots of the trees. Gruff voices drift back every time the breeze pauses. As the light diminishes, bioluminescent jellyfish dot the sandy floor, lighting the way.




((Welcome to my Beorfin bonding. Be ready for a treasure hunt and to defend said treasure from a gang of roving pirates. Please read the Beorfin information here. This is a blind sort of bonding. Each magical item in the following post is connected to one of the beorfin you will meet later on. Be aware, though, these are more than just magic treasures. They have a personality of their own and they will not all be wielded by just anyone. They are also yours to keep at the end!))


((I apologize that I cannot promise an exact posting schedule.  I expect my next plot moving post to be next Wednesday or Friday, but Tynis can answer questions in between))

EDIT: Please send item prefs as desired, though it is not necessary.  

[Tynis]

Imaginary Tetsubo and Mordre-Tu of Zen  ((inspiration))
Bonded to Haelys

This weapon is a giant and club-like. Lethal looking spikes line the top in tidy rows and well-oiled wood fits in your hand with surprising comfort. The whole thing just vibrates with a certain power. If one is seeking to do damage, this is certainly a weapon you would reach for. There's one catch, though. It's a fickle item. It isn't enough to just reach out and take it. This weapon reads your intent and wants only a mind like it's own. Tidy and efficient destruction. It refuses to be wielded without the specific intent to do harm and will blink from existence if it feels its bearer isn't focused enough. However, it always lands it's intended blow.  It is also always the perfect weight to it's owner regardless of ability or strength.  Only the most bloodthirsty will be able to offer it a permanent home. If one is able to wield this weapon, they may notice they feel stronger.


This trickster is long and lithe. Deep mottled greys aide in his favorite activity; hiding. A silvery mask across his dark eyes is the only thing to betray his presence. He loves to watch from the shadows and take advantage at the perfect moment. Patience is a lovely virtue, and perfect paired with a touch of malice He is certainly a bit of a bully and never misses an opportunity to rock the boat. It only takes a flick of the tail if you wait for the right moment. Tradition and social norms are for the weak and stupid and while he may not have a high rank he won't hesitate to let one know he's still better than them. He's attracted to a bond that's not afraid to pull rank, someone not afraid to play dirty to do a bit of social climbing too.





Woodsman's Frying Pan of Autumn ((inspiration but seriously it's a cast iron pan))

A frying pan isn't really most people's idea of treasure, but those heavy cast iron deals are magic in the right hands. Happy to held by anyone this pan always holds a bit of heat as if it's been sitting on a cozy camp fire for a bit. It's a hefty sort of thing, excellent for clubbing unexpecting foes. When it's owner is vulnerable and needs a quick escape path, this item has a way of providing some sort of quick cover to allow them to escape. You will also find you never burn or undercook a meal in this thing no matter how bad a cook you are!   It's no secret that this weapon prefers the homey type that has a tendency toward flexibility.  It is, after all, a tool in the kitchen as well as a weapon.


Waterborne Diadem of the Forgotten ((inspiration))

While most of the treasure in the chest shines as if brand new, this Diadem seems rather tarnished. No amount of polish will bring it to looking like new and the stones, while beautiful and deep, refuse to shine brightly. While it may sit on the head of anyone, it fits best on those that tend to have deep relationships with others. Those that can coax this object will find themselves with the ability to swim very well and hold their breath far longer under water. It also grants the power to wield a second relic if another finds themselves incapacitated.


Civilized Studded Leather Armor of the Divine  ((inspiration))

Nothing is more versatile than this thick leather brigandine. Light and flexible enough to move in, but with the protection of steel plates studded into the vest. It is not as flashy as a sword nor beautiful as some of the other treasures available, but it does its job without fail. This armor favors those that acknowledge their purpose is wrapped up in a bigger picture. A select few of the copper colored plates are etched in imagery somehow familiar to the one that puts it on The rest may someday speak of the tales that come in the future for them. If you are worthy enough this armor can render the user invulnerable in every part that it covers. It also grants superior sight to the right owner. You may see farther, in the dark and with more clarity than you can without it.

Drunkard's Belt of Protection  ((inspiration))

This belt, while pretty much an ordinary object, stands out amongst the other mysterious treasures. Purple and gold geometric designs dance across the hide, bright and intricate. Unworthy hopefuls will suddenly find that this belt is very much too small. It's hard to pin down exactly what will please this object, but it knows when it finds it's match. The one able to where this will be blessed with the ability to always know the direction of the closest alcoholic beverage. It also seems to protect the owner from sharp objects. Everything from a needle to broken bottle in a bar fight will slide past with little harm. It also has a couple little pockets for stuff!

Sparkling Boots of Healing  ((inspiration))

These boots are a simple roughspun cloth laced with a silver metallic thread. The sole is hardened with some sort of rubbery substance that seems invulnerable to anything. No matter who puts them on, they always seem to fit snuggly and perfectly. While wearing these boots the bearer will always be able to see a source of light guiding the way. They also seem to somehow provide one with the means to mend an injured ally. Whether it is a healing herb nearby or a full-fledged first aid kit, these boots know the way.  Those with the biggest heart will be best able to fill these shoes.

Thunder Sword of Shifting ((inspriation))

This is a small, one handed sword with a perpetually sharp blade. A picky weapon, it may be held and used by anyone but it's full potential may only be unlocked by the ambitious. It shines as if recently polished and the hilt is wrapped in leather dyed a deep purple. The pommel is encrusted with semi-precious stones of all colors, though none are any less beautiful than an authentic diamond or ruby. When held by the right user, they command the ability to shift their appearance slightly. In times of great distress the sword may also summon a bolt of lightning to protect the user, but it is generally at the detriment to those around them.



Etched Strap of Heroes ((inspiration))

A thick, short coil makes this sturdy whip. Thin glyphs wind their way down it's length and emit a soft glow, though it may brighten in the right hands. This weapon favors those with a strong moral code. It's not so picky about what sort of code it is, but more about the unrelenting dogged pursuit of it. You might be tied to always helping those in need or always taking the time out of your day to punch jaywalkers. As long as your conviction is sincere it is a match well made.  This weapon's power allows it to grab on to objects regardless of it's users skill with a whip. In your hand it will reach toward what you desire and wrap itself stubbornly around it.   It also cannot break so feel free to Indiana Jones yourself about.

Fortune Teller's Brace of Nature ((claimed by Tynis))

These simple bracers lace up at the wrist.  A deep green suede remains undecorated and rather nondescript.  Ready to attach themselves to the first person to show interest, they are surprisingly not picky.  The spell is simple. It grants the user the ability to see a glimpse of an enemy's future or past upon contact.  

---

Keran'tu

This girl is small for her rank, but she has big dreams. The world is a wide and wonderous place and she aims to find her calling within the thriving complexities of life. Not content with a quiet life she wants a bond that is as studious and aspiring as she, but not for selfish aims. Her place as a queen is just one piece of her puzzle. Quiet and observent, she doesn't communicate often, and mostly to try and frame a question. Her blush colored body is covered in pastel colored leopard like spots in shades of purple, green and blue. This fades to flat pastel purple on her tail tipped in rose gold. Tendrils and fins are also marked in the metallic color.



Caie-lyr

This Caie-lyr is a homey little thing. Small but robust in stature, she is a sunny, honey yellow. Tendrils of olive wind their way from her paws up her body. While she is typical of her rank, she doesn't really go out of her way to be particularly social. But if a friend comes around she is definitely the type to make them a cup of tea and feel all warm and fuzzy. It's always the little, simple comforts that make someone feel good. Devoted to her bonded, she's always there to cheer them up. She'll dig up some of those lovely clams you love so much, or a pretty shiny rock for your collection. Perhaps just a soulful look from those big teal eyes would cheer you up. Maybe you can use that frying pan and share a nice meal with her too.


Kel'rhea

Tiny in stature as her rank suggests, her emotional life is anything but. She's got a lot to prove for a little thing. She knows she's just as good as any other rank, if she could just figure out a way to show it. She's constantly turning everything into a competition and she's not really that afraid to play a little dirty. In truth, she's mostly anxious, but all that nervous energy is put to use. Her front half is a vibrant orange with points on her feet and face of a deep blood color. Her fins are a deep mottled blue cut through with jagged stripes of violet.



Ditre'aiz

This Ditre'aiz is a bundle of nerves. Hes obsessed with perfection. He notices every little detail and thing that's out of place. Even when it's perfect he just knows there's something wrong and will seek it out. His body is a beautiful pristine white, with each paw and tail dipped in a dusty grey. He's thin (a picky eater for sure) but his violet eyes are stunning and never still. He will chose a bond, but his breath giver will be held in just as high esteem. Despite his anxieties, his very strong bond is going to be built with a large amount of trust. For all his worries his bonded will be the one that can wipe them away with just a thought.


Io'Thelin

A true specimen of his rank, this Io'thelin is muscular and large. He is always championing for one noble cause or another. But he likes to keep things orderly. Consistency is his primary goal and he shall be the shepherd showing the way. He's a little pushy, to be honest, as his lordly wisdom obviously knows no match. His fur and tail are a creamy yellow with a rusty roan marking speckling across him. His tendrils are a stunning bright red.


Den'risu

The most pleasant of the bunch, this beorfin is endlessly positive. There's always a way to make things better and if you just let him try he'll figure it out. Not that he always knows best, of course. Sometimes the best thing you can do is just to sit back and let someone else do it. His underside is a deep gold sometimes fading to a lighter yellow. A drape of rich navy covers his head, top and down the length of his tail. The lack of busy markings matches his personality well.


Xela-dur

This Xela-dur seriously shies from anything too serious in nature. Really, if you just ignore it, usually it just goes away. She loves you but wants nothing to do with your issues or whatever. When you're ready to sit down and have a sleepover with movies and chit chat, let her know. And be prepared to make it a party because she's already befriended and invited all your other bonds too. The bright green along her length seems to be almost iridescent in nature, fading from aqua, to grass to almost yellow and back again. Over top it all is a lacy pattern of deep magenta setting off her ice blue eyes perfectly.

[Nakolune]

Nako found her map in a box of new diapers. How did it get in there? She had no idea. All she knew is she was dealing with a diaper apocalypse sort of situation when she reached in for a life-saving diaper and instead pulled out.. a map?

Needless to say, the baby was just put in the tub and hosed down at that point.

“HUSBAND. TREASURE. MAP.” Nako screamed.

“MAP.” The baby echoed.

Husband appeared from the hallway, looking tired, but resigned. He rolled his sleeves up and nodded. “Yeah, ok. You go and do the thing, then.”

But geez with the hikes. The long walk had Nako whacking mosquitos of the back of her neck and panting in the heat. With the mantra of a prayer, she promised herself over and over she’s cut back on the pop tarts and start going on long, invigorating walks that were not inspired by searching for shinies who’d be interested in being her friend, or treasure.

The cool, gentle breeze was a nice reprieve, and Nako sighed, catching her breath Oh, hey! That guy looked familiar! She waved awkwardly at Tynis, but he was -very- preoccupied looking pushing a boat out into the lagoon. Did she need to take a boat too? Perhaps she would follow suit after taking a little rest in the form of a sit-down. The treasure chest would have been a nice little perch, had it not been opened.

WAIT, treasure chest???

Nako wheezed in a second wind, pumping herself up to check inside. Would there be shinies? Gold?

Nako peered -carefully- in, not quite trusting PIF to play nicely. Last thing she needed was an explosion of glitter in the face, or something to transform her nose into an elephant’s trunk. But nothing bad happened, at least not at first.

Oh, neat. Items! Was she supposed to pick one? Picking one wasn’t usually how things went in this world.

“Aaahh.. hey…” Nako murmured awkwardly, feeling stupid for speaking to inanimate objects, but not quite trusting them to not be alive and capable of biting. “I’m super hoping this treasure chest isn’t actually a mimic and eats people but I found this map in a diaper box and honestly I’m not super sure of how to proceed from this point.”

[Junho Song]

It was a rare moment when Junho and Jin were not together. Though they were often more or less attached at the hip, both Unicorn and man understood the merrits of spending some time alone. And even when they weren’t together, close in proximity, Junho knew that she was there with him, with this magical bond that he never could have even conceptualized himself before coming here. Not even with the thick pressure of a spirit pushing against him from the inside.

There was a part of him that felt her not being there as a loss, but there were also parts of him that felt like he could let go, without her there. His mind seemed to exhale and fold and refold in itself like some sort of complicated orgami. But he had been swept up and away to a totally new world. A few mental breakdowns was pretty reasonable, right? He had left most of his goods, tent included, with Jin because she did not mind watching, and he was doing nothing more than wander.

He heard a cruch beneath his feet, not even really necessarily registering where he even was. A sheet of paper out here, didn’t feel exactly right, and he bent down to the ground, picking the map up, holding it between both of his hands. It was perhaps a surprise that Junho was pretty good at reading maps. An absurd statement for some, but he came from a world pretty reliant on gmaps, okay? He followed the trail until he found himself in front of a body of water, not remembering from his elementary school days what exactly the body of water was particularly called. He eyed the canoes the lined the shore, recognizing Tynis from when he had also met Jin. Nako too was a familiar face, though a bit less recognizable (no one really looked like Tynis where Junho came from) and he smiled at them both.

He had never really paddled a canoe before in his life, and not really taking any notice to the treasure chest full of goods, he sort of held the map up, looked at his surroundings again, cupping his eyes from the shine of the setting sun, then looking at either of them. Nako had asked the real question he wanted to ask anyway.

“Do the canoes come with manuals?” It was supposed to be a joke, sort of.

[Deleted]

Zirah would complain it was an odd sort of day, but honestly? It had been odd since he'd arrived to this place, bookshop and all, and he couldn't really say this was any odder than anything else. You see, he had found an old, worn looking map in a book. Mind you, the book in question was a baking book, and the map looked far older than the book itself. And Zirah couldn't really remember why he'd picked up that book, and opened it to that exact spot, but, well. Here he was.

Also, he wasn't an adventurer. Did he really look like one? Treasure wasn't something he was really interested in. Gold and glory and all that sounded both dangerous and dull. If he wanted to expand his horizons, or find some new place, he'd go explore the basement of his home. Which hadn't been there two days ago. There was a dreadful amount of noise coming from down there, and...well. Zirah was pretty sure it was the bookshop's fault, but he'd seen some weird creatures out in the village proper, and....um. No thank you?

He wondered if he could hire someone to clean it out.

Right. Anyways. The map.

Zirah hadn't planned on following it, but his bookshop had felt otherwise. He had soon found himself unable to keep any lights on, nothing in the kitchen would work, and the windows opened and closed by themselves. Thus, unable to make himself a proper cup of tea or even sit and read, he was forced to admit defeat, pick up the map, and head out.

Magic of some sort was doubtlessly the reason the mage had even found the right spot on the map. Uneasy with walking by himself, and increasingly uncomfortable as the sun set, he had a little ball of light floating above his shoulder. Not that would save him if some horrible beast showed up and tried to eat him, but at least he would be able to see when it got properly dark.

And what was worst than a horrible beast? People.

"Oh dear." Of course treasure and adventure would draw the attention of, you know, the proper treasure-hunting type. Which Zirah was not. From his miraculusly clean slippers, to the comfortable pale blue sleep shirt and pants, to the thick comfortable, blue-and-purple stripped bathrobe, there was nothing about him that screamed 'extrovert'. Really, if all had gone to plan, Zirah would have hung out in his pajamas and bathrobe all day, with a new book and a steaming cup of tea and not moved.

But no. His newly redesigned bookshop had to throw a fit and hadn't even let him get into something better for treasure seeking.

(the bookshop knew its creator far too well, and was perfectly aware that Zirah would have spent hours picking something to wear and would never, actually, leave.)

But here Zirah was, wringing his hands together nervously, eyeing the scene before him. A few people, none of who he knew, a treasure chest that....oh. Very much not the type of treasure he was interested in, but it certainly had a magic air around it. Could be dangerous.

And then, of course, there were the people themselves. Was it rude in this place to say hello? Rude to not say hello? Were there secret handshakes he should know about, or code words, or.

Oh, goodness, there were canoes, too, and no. Absolutely not. Did he look like a boat person? Or a water person? Maybe in a hot tub, or a bathtub with lots of bubbles, sure. But not this.

Don't mind the anxious mage. He's just going to stand there like a useless lump, fretting about every single thing.

[Haelys Celtaris]

"What is this?" Haelys slammed the hide map down on the top of the bar, staring expectantly at the barkeep.

"I don't know. Why are you asking me?"

"Because it was on my bed. Nobody has access to my things besides me and you."

"Look, I know you're new around here, but haven't you been here long enough to realize that things just happen? You're lucky if you ever get an explanation." He turned away, attempting to continue with his work to avoid the demands of the White Devil Queen that managed to complain about something on a daily basis.

"Fine. Then where does this map lead? Has anyone come around here asking about me? Should I expect to be kidnapped or murdered? Royal blood is valuable, surely even here."

It took the barkeep all his might not to crush the glass in his hands. This woman was infuriating and PERSISTENT. He snatched up the piece of hide, fumbling with it and studying it for a minute before responding.

"This looks like a treasure map, which is good for both of us considering I expect payment for the room you've been not only staying in, but redecorating." His face was dead-pan straight.

"It is good for both of us. I would like nothing more than to afford a place more up to my standards." Long white hair flipped behind her, nearly smacking the barkeep in the face as she marched off with the map in her hands. She had thus far had no luck finding a way back home. So, in the meantime, amassing riches here was the best temporary plan. She refused to live like a peasant. There were so many things she desired—she needed—and currency was the most efficient way to achieve that.


---

Haelys marched up to the group in a dress. Yes, she should know by now to dress more practically, but at least it wasn't as poofy and elaborate as her usual choices were. It was white, tight on top, loose on the bottom, and fell around her mid-calf. Even her shoes were just a smidge more practical than they once were, although the white ankle boots still had a thick, short heel on them. Her hands fell onto her hips as her head cocked slightly sideways, inspecting the situation.

What the hell was Tynis doing? Then her eyes fell onto the treasure chest, the remnants of the sun reflecting off some of the items and practically sparkling within Haelys' eyes. The aura they gave off only made them more enticing. A more appreciative person would have noted the colors of the sky or the beauty of the jellyfish, but this woman had one thing on her mind as she pointed at the treasure chest:

"What do I need to do to have those?" There was a grit in her voice that suggested she already hated the answer.

[Tynis]

With one leg in the water, Tynis tottered on the other uneasily. He was aware enough to hear Nako approach and peered over his shoulder. Not the most graceful, the move caused him to shift off balance and he jerked back trying to right himself. While mostly successful he ended back again with both feet in the water as the paddle splooshed hopelessly into the liquid. He fished around in the dim light trying to retrieve it.

“Oh, good. I imagined I was the only one with the map but…” He gazed back at her, obviously captured by the large chest of treasure. It wasn’t surprising. The gold within twinkled in the evening light invitingly. Even Tynis had been susceptible to its call and his pockets were a little bit heavier than when he had set out and he may have pilfered a shiny torque that he placed around his neck. He trailed off and the treasure chest picked up where he left off. The Sparkling Boots of Healing twinkled a little harder at her. They looked super comfortable and rather fashionable.

Junho appeared in the next moment and Tynis fiddled with his paddle as he returned the smile with a small wave. Extra hands were all well and good but the hum of anxiety rippled through his every movement. “Really it’s that stuff that should come with manuals.” He absent-mindedly rubbed at his bracers. They were hard-won after the large club had disappeared on him and the frying pan had wrenched itself out of his hands rather forcefully. “I’m not sure what’s up with all that but I think it’s… enchanted or something?” He looked thoughtful for a moment. “And moody.”

Poor Zirah was about to find himself thrust into a position of some importance as Tynis gestured toward the treasure. “Help me load this into the boats, some of it might be useful later.” The poor mage wouldn’t have a choice, though, as the tip of the Etched Strap of Heroes zipped out and latched onto his wrist and tugged rather forcefully.

Junho, it seemed, would have to reach out himself. Nothing particular called straight to him, but the two jeweled items might be likely choices. They were all going into the canoe either way so chop-chop, make yourself useful.

Tynis froze for a brief moment at the sound of Haelys’ voice. In his excitement, he had failed to inform her of the map or his adventure. He plucked at the torque about his neck. “Some of it’s free for the taking. The gold, for example.” He looked at her in a pointed manner. The inn would certainly be expecting payment. “The rest is not up to you or I.” Challenge entered his voice as he spoke seriously. “This isn’t the only chest.” How would he explain the vision to them? “When I got here, others came. I had already dug up this chest but they didn't seem to care. They got a little aggressive and one guy took a swing at me and I don’t know, I SAW something.” He waded back toward the shore and the chest. “They’re after another one. Can you imagine what must be in there if they left all this,” he gestured frantically at the open vessel. “It must be really valuable!”

Haelys would have to make the decision. Offense or defense? The brigandine seemed to be perfectly her size but the Tetsubo seemed a little more solid beneath her gaze as well. Of course, no one would blame her if a few rubies and some gold coins went missing in the rush to the other, obviously better, treasure. The poor little canoes were waiting, but the ragtag group would have to face the peril if they wanted the greater prize.

Two shadows appeared silently at the edge of the pool, pacing in the water. Any movement toward them and they disappeared as instantly as they came. They lingered at the mouth of the small path cut through the mangroves.

((Feel free to accept or reject the call of any object or grab any other one you want. Anything you lay claim to now might not remain in your possession. I have made a couple changes to the Tetsubo I had intended to go back and make but totally forgot to as that was the first item I wrote and hadn’t established a formula for yet. Item prefs are welcome but not necessary.))

To anyone joining from here on out, there will always be spare canoe at the shore and there will always be jellyfish to point you in the right direction.

[Geoff]

It started with the toilet paper, because of course it fucking would. And of course he didn't notice until after he had done his thing that the roll was now a roll of scratchy parchment maps. This was not a good way to start the day, because also of cours ei thad to be his first bathroom trip of the morning nad got to set the tone for the whole day.

Coffee filter? Map.

Microwave meal? Turned into a map.

Mailbox? Maps, maps, maps.

Geoff did not want treasure but he did want the maps to stop mapping, so he finally gave up and, after tearing the shwifty-fifth map into itty bitty pieces in his frustation, stuff his feet in some good hiking shoes and went out.

It was a lot longer of a hike than it had looked on the map. This is why scaling was important. Rubbish cartographers.

Arriving at twilight after a whole day of this nonsense, he crossed his arms sullenly and glared at the red-man in a boat. "There's not a water bottle in there, is there," he grumbled, leaning over to peer at the chest's contents. The only thing that really caught his eye was the sword, because even if he'd never held one he understood the general concept of how to use a sword. Also it looked cool. #ruleofcool

Still would've like a water bottle though. The swamp water did not look potable.

[Junho Song]

Enchanted, Junho echoed in his brain, looking down at the objects. He knew what enchanted meant, of course, but he didn’t really know what it meant. In his world, objects and people were possessed by spirits, here it seemed Jin at least, possessed a significant amount of magic. What sort of enchantment did these objects have? He was distracted first, by the appearance of someone he did not recognize, a man who looked rather lost himself. He felt empathetic for the man, ready to speak out when strap latched onto him.

“Oh,” He said out loud in surprise, even as his tone was. He eyed Zirah’s whole getup, bathrobe, comfortable clothes. He turned his eyes to the canoes then. This should be interesting. “You just kind of have to...go with it.” His lazy smile returned, curling over his lips and crinkling the corners of his eyes. None of the items caught his attention, in particular, but when The Queen approached, he instinctively reached out and grabbed something. He was sort of afraid that she’d take all of it, which was maybe not really a fair judgement. He hadn’t spoken to Haelys, directly, who was he to judge how The Queen was, as a person?

He opened up his hands, looking at the Waterborne Diadem of the Forgotten. It wasn’t exactly his style, but he felt a strange fondness for it, not being as shiny as the others. How was he supposed to put it on? He wrapped it a few times around his wrist, not sure how exactly the enchantment would work, gripping the dull stones tightly in his hand as he spotted another stranger next. As if all of these people weren’t strangers. He didn’t know anyone’s names, not Tynis, Nako, or The Queen. Maybe he should introduce himself.

He didn’t notice the shadows in the water, but he did look to a canoe, frowning. He felt the water crawl up his jeans, also not the best adventuring attire, placing the map in the canoe before hoisting himself in.

“I’m uh, Junho, by the way.” he said, directing his attention to Tynis in particular, though he didn’t really care who heard. “Looks like we’ll keep finding ourselves in these little adventures, huh?” Though maybe with the map this time, little would not be an accurate term. And while Junho didn’t mind water, he could swim and all that, sometimes being so far from the earth felt uncomfortable. The spirit inside of him spun a little in his gut in displeasure when he was finally fully in the canoe. He reached for the paddle, feeling some of the stones press into his palm but not minding the pressure, for now.

“Right behind ya.”

[Haelys Celtaris]

Haelys looked quite pleased with Tynis' response and gave him a wide, closed-lip smile of satisfaction. 'Free for the taking' was all she needed to hear; if you gave her the opportunity, she would take all she could (so Junho's judgement of her was accurately made). The Queen was already walking over to the large, sparkling treasure chest as the Priest continued his explanation of the situation. She was certainly listening, but had to focus on his voice in order to prevent the items beneath her gaze from stealing her full attention.

"Someone attacked you?" There was a bite in her tone—a defensive, greedy snap to her words. She was not surprised. After all, what drove human(oid) nature more than a desire for power? Value, in whatever form it may come, gave power. This was the whole reason Haelys was about to allow dirt, mud, and water to absolutely ruin her white clothing. One should never expect such a thing to come easy, for there would always be others that wanted the same thing.

While she wasn't sure what Tynis 'saw', she had no patience to delve further into the details. There was now a clear task at hand and there was no time to waste. As she knelt down in the sand, her dress ~accidentally~ covered up much of the hole and most people's view of the chest. She had a white cloth bag tied around her waist, as she had been expecting treasure. Full handfuls of gold coins and small jewels were smoothly placed at the bottom of the bag as she tried not to make too much clanging noise, though the slight jingle was undeniable. Another handful was stuffed right down the top of her dress, suffocating in the center of her bosom. After all, what if she somehow lost the bag? She refused to go home empty handed.

Only sparing a few brief moments to gather these smaller riches, her shimmering gaze then settled on the much larger objects in the chest. While the brigandine was given a solid look-over, Haelys did not feel compelled to bolster her defense. After all, the glyphs covering her back were not for nothing. Instead, there was a weapon she had never seen before, and yet it somehow spoke to her. Her pale hands instinctively reached out, fingers curling around the wood in a hungry grip. The feeling of power pulsed up her arms, warming her throat and chest so pleasantly that she closed her eyes for a second. Saliva pooled in her mouth as if she had just inhaled a whiff of a delectable meal. The tetsubo was lifted with less effort than anyone should expect from the woman. Whether or not the item would remain in her hands was not up to her (though she was not aware of this, of course).

The Queen made her way over to the canoes, hesitating briefly before allowing the water to pour into her shoes and soak the bottom of her dress. The tetsubo was placed in the chosen canoe first. For all her grace, the woman did have quite a difficult time pulling herself up into the vessel. The demands on her body the past couple weeks had been extremely abnormal and challenging for her, but her head was not held any less high. After recollecting herself, Haelys sat up proudly and stared at the remaining three individuals on shore.

"Considering the potential opposition of this undertaking, it may be best to stick closely together." She motioned towards the open area of her canoe, encouraging a second person to join her. While she did not truly know if these beings were friend or foe, chance had arranged them into this makeshift group, so she intended to take advantage of that. Her words did hold some sincerity, though she mostly wished not to paddle. Her gaze settled briefly on Geoff, then momentarily on Nako, yet lingered for a while on Zirah. Would she suck it up and paddle if none of the three joined her? Yes. Would she be displeased? Yes.

[Nakolune]

((Ok I went through and bolded names and dialogue and anything else I thought was important to help with readability since I mentioned a lot of names DX))



“Gosh, I hope so.” Nako admitted at Junho’s joke. He seemed familiar, like she’d seen him at a bonding or two. That was quite likely… and also probably not the last time they’d run into one another. With the approach of several more people, Nako turned to look their way and possibly meet them, but Haelys' irritated attitude immediately had her turning back around to mind her own business. Hooboy big yikes.

When Tynis ended up with his boots in the water, Nako actually felt a little bad. Luckily, he seemed to take it in stride as a big ol’ no big deal kind of thing and instead graced them all with some mad good information.

“Moody..” Nako echoed ominously, looking back down at the treasure chest to notice that one of them… was twinkling. She narrowed her eyes, but was quickly obscured by Haelys’ big floofy skirts. Her expression soured immediately, but she kept her mouth shut. It really wasn’t worth starting a fight over.

Soon though, it seemed that Haelys made her choice and moved so that Nako could have a look again. Upon further inspection the Sparkling Boots of Healing seemed to twinkle even harder. Slowly, cautiously, she reached out for the pair of boots, picking them up with both hands carefully as if she were expecting them to bite her.

“Woah!” She ducked when the Etched Strap of Heroes literally jumped out and attached itself to the nervous Zirah, dipping back both to get out of other people’s way and to let other people have a turn at the treasure chest.

OH. Thank goodness, someone did the whole introduction thing. It was always super awkward to do that after you’ve seen someone several times and it just never came up. She raised her hand as if responding to being called out for attendance, half-finished unlacing her own shoes to replace them with the Sparkling Boots of Healing. “Nako here!”

Then it occurred to her that maybe she wasn’t being addressed, but she doubled down. “Oh uh… thought we were doing the ‘introduce yourself’ circle. Are we? Is that the thing we’re doing?”

Nako went to put on one of the shoes only to find something irritating her toe. Pulling the shoe off a moment, she dumped a few loose coins into her hand. Oh, those might come in handy. After putting the new duds on her feet she stood up, shuffling her feet a bit in her new enchanted footwear. To Geoff’s question, she winced sympathetically. “Not that I noticed, no.”

Wait a second though, What Tynis had said. “Wait, so some rough and tumble folk got a head start on us on this whole treasure hunt thing? AND they’re being greedy butt-stinks about it? Well it’s ON, then.”

Now she was really, really hoping that Royal lady would live up to picking up that sword thing, sounds like they might need it. Idly, she wondered if her own shoes would somehow prove useful… perhaps with blinding enemies with their shininess? Who knows. Hopefully her, eventually.

Now, it came to the whole getting into the boat. With the royal lady looking expectantly at everyone as she sat primly in her boat with her soaking wet, fancy boots. Why did Nako get the feeling the lady was looking for a chauffeur? She squirmed uncomfortably under her gaze until it seemed the lady’s gaze was pinned on Zirah that she quickly considered getting her own canoe.. but that would involve getting her -enchanted- boots wet. Would that insult the boots? Would it chop her feet off at the ankles?

“Alright, alright..” Nako sighed, stretching out a leg to hook Haelys’ boat and drag it in a little closer. Doing a near split, she shimmied and worked her way onto the boat without getting more than the soles wet. “OH geez, my hammies. Oh… it’s a leg cramp.” Nako winced and stretched her pained leg over the bow for a moment, working out the twitching muscle. Oh god she was so out of shape.

TL;DR: Got the Sparkling Boots of Healing and got in the canoe with Haelys

[Deleted]

Needless to say, Zirah did not sign up for any of this. "Um." Was his elegant response to Tynis, torn between politely telling him what to do with his order and, like, following the direction. Look, his relationship with any sort of authority was shaky at best.

But then the tip of the Etched Strap of Heroes latched onto him and the poor mage jumped about a foot, and probably squeaked in a very un-manly way. Foul enchanted things, why were they always so damned bossy? "Fine, fine, I'm going." He sniffed, tone more whiny than anything. He wasn't about to argue with something enchanted. Not until they had a better understanding of them and what they could and couldn't do.

"I would really rather not." He huffed in Junho's direction. He didn't just like to go along with things. What he liked was being at home with a book and ignoring everything else.

The Strap still made him uncomfortable, but that didn't stop him from kicking off his slippers near the chest. No need to ruin them when he had to wade into the water. He was only half listening to Tynis' story, because really, he was stuck in this mess anyways and he wasn't too sure he wanted all the dirty details. His anxiety was just barely being kept at bay with the chore he had been given.

He did, however, overhear Geoff's need for water, and without any prompting, he made a complicated gesture with the hand that the Strap wasn't clinging to, and poof! There was a water bottle appearing in front of Geoff. Because staying hydrated was important.

Still, he did get done what he was told. Loading up treasure onto canoes, his robes and sleep pants never getting wet because he didn't want them to, despite the fact he had taken off his slippers in concern that they would. He would have very much prefered to stay here on shore, with that lovely cast iron pan and simply cook a hot meal for everyone to come back to, but that was obviously not an option. Which meant he was now supposed to get in a canoe and follow along. Probably to their death. Over shiny enchanted treasure.

It was probably the treasure's fault this was all happening.

He briefly met Haelys' gaze when he realized she was looking at him, but as Nako climbed in with her, he opted to take an empty canoe. Which just so happened to also have the Woodsman's Frying Pan of Autumn in it. Because that looked more like his calling than some sturdy, clinging whip. He totally missed the shadows in the water, too busy fussing with his robe and the canoe and if anyone thought he was going to paddle, the answer was no. That's what magic was for.

Now if only he could just magic himself home and act like none of this had happened. That would be lovely.

[Tynis]

((Bonding is still open. You may imagine finding any of the objects in the treasure chest still or you can pick them up when you follow in a canoe. I’ll be noting who has what objects with their descriptions in the second post))

The buzz of activity as everyone set themselves into whatever quiet actions suited them caused Tynis’s heart to leap. Fighting people over treasure was certainly not something he had ever imagined himself doing willfully, but he could not deny the excitement that wound it’s way through his veins at the moment. It was oddly freeing to be out here. The quiet lapping of water and night creatures bringing up their chorus offered a peaceful backdrop contrary to the task they were about to undertake. He moved to help the others pile what was left in the canoes.

The appearance of Geoffrey was welcome to the rag tag crew. At least he appeared to be someone that might be a little more useful in a fight. It was lucky that Zirah was able to address his simple request because it seemed they were all woefully underpepared for an adventure. Not having a water bottle between half a dozen of them was certainly an egregious oversight. The sword sent a small electric jolt into Geoff’s palm as if to say it wasn’t certain it was pleased but he would be allowed to wield it for now.

Junho had the proper idea of introducing oneself and Tynis nodded in return. “Tynis.” he announced simply to the rest, smiling at the enthusiastic Nako. “I imagine it’s going to get a little rough..” He didn’t really address any of them in particular but there was certainly agreement with Haelys. The Testsubo suited her even thought the contrast to her delicated appearance was odd. Nako, as well, had an item that instantly suited her. Her new boots were like walking on clouds and even more stylish now that they were not outshone by a chest of treasure. While the jellyfish floated aimlessly with their soft light, Nako could now clearly see a glow in the water leading down the tight path out of the grove toward their glow.

Tynis waited patiently as everyone got themselves situated. Zirah climbed in a canoe and that left only Geoff. Honestly he looked like the type that could handle himself so Tynis turned and used whatever small bit of agility he had to get himself in a canoe. The Strap of Heroes unwound itself and dropped to the bottom of the canoe, twitching now and then as if it might latch on again at any moment.  The pan was pleased enough to remain a passenger with him as well.

Puzzling over the vision he had Tynis pushed out with his paddle toward the path. They would have to proceed single file for now. Mangrove roots scraped the sides of the vessels and grabbed at any loose garments. Branches overhead would their way into hair. Jellyfished roamed freely, weaving slowly in and out between the roots and the two shadows swam ahead too. Tynis paddled through slowly. Any passing through the channel would find a figure jumping from the thick of the mangroves into their boat. Punches were thrown, perhaps a knife or two weilded. Tynis found his whole canoe dumped over and into the water. A gnarled arm held him beneath as he thrashed but the shadows revealed themselves at last and came to his rescue. Two beorfin joined the party and rammed the bearded man to give Tynis some much needed air. A wave of anger and desparation rippled through the group as the Beorfin joined the fight.

((okay, gotta start picking up the pace since I missed a whole week of posting basically. Feel free to decide if you’re in the path already or have hung back and have to try and help from behind. ))

[Junho Song]

Junho watched as the Queen and Nako climbed into a canoe together, wondering how much easier it would have been for him to have a partner in his canoe as well. He felt some relief fluff through him as Zirah climbed into his own canoe as well, smiling to himself at his reluctance, though the appearance of the water bottle before him for Geoff was certainly something that he would keep in mind. All of the people that he had encountered here so far were clearly from completely different worlds, even when he had noted familiar places, and he wanted to be sure to keep track of as much of it as he could. To his benefit, maybe, yes, but he didn’t want to be caught off guard, either.

He was quick to turn his attention to the priest when he gave Junho his name in return. Tynis, he committed the name to his memory, enjoying the extra bit of connection that he felt after landing on a strange planet and being alone. He had Jin of course, his most precious companion, but he craved companionship in many forms. He pushed his canoe off, mimicking Tynis’ actions, mostly athletic enough that he was able to keep track of the motions and copy them. He made sure the Diadem was kept tight in his grip, afraid of dropping it into the depths below. Surely it’d be gone forever if dropped into the water, right?

He lined his canoe up behind Tynis as the space in the water narrowed, feeling both comforted and discomforted by the roots scraping the sides of the canoe. He wondered about the hardiness of the boat, ready to drop all of the things around him and cling onto the trees if danger struck. The spirit echoed again its discomfort, wanting to feel the earth that it was so connected with, but Junho pushed it down. He’d rather be on the ground, too, but he focused his attention on trying to duck beneath branches, paddle at a steady, even pace so that his canoe wouldn’t tip and spin in any ways that he wouldn’t want. He thought he saw a shadow pass by, for a second, but figured that it was a jellyfish or two passing by from the corner of his eye. Things were peaceful, maybe his misgivings of the canoe and things were all for not.

That is, until he felt some impact against his chest as a figure dropped into his canoe. He felt the air being pushed out of him, and the oar was thrown out of his hands at the force. Luckily the Diadem stayed in his grasp, as he had wrapped it around his wrist a couple of times, but he felt adrenaline and alarm seep through him, into his veins, putting him on high alert faster than he could even recognize in himself. He watched Tynis’ canoe flip, but he was too focused on the figure with him. His first few days on Whazzit, Junho had felt a bit on edge, worried about the dangers that he might encounter on this strange planet. But in recent days, especially with Jin by his side, he felt safer, calmer. The danger took him completely by surprise. His only relief was that Jin wasn't with him now.

While the figure was not armed, Junho felt completely at a disadvantage. The idea of being dumped into the water like Tynis whined at him, growing louder, louder, like a ringing in his ears. The figure reached out for him again and Junho dodged, much more focused on staying on the canoe, balancing than attacking back. The canoe rocked, and he felt worry ring louder, louder, and the spirit grumbled in his chest in discomfort. He could feel the earth, distant as it was, beneath and around the trees, down in the ground below. His fingers held tight around the Diadem, holding it so tightly that it might bruise.

He did see the Beorfin from the corner of his eye, recognized that they were strange creatures, helped Tynis, but his focus still remained squarely on the enemy. It was hard for him to realize that the creatures were friends, and he shifted away as the figure jumped again, swapping sides with it entirely now, feeling the canoe rock violently. Louder, louder, louder.

[Deleted]

Zirah was uneasy with all the things he was getting himself into, but at least the thing around his wrist dropped to the bottom of the canoe. He did feel better that the enchanted object wasn't clinging to him, though he was sure that wasn't the last he would have to deal with it. But with a little bit of magic, he still followed along, the canoe moving steadily onward, following the group. He wasn't sure what to expect, even as the path narrowed and he had to slow down, even as jellyfish and shadows moved in the water.

And then came the attack. 

The mage probably sound have seen it coming. There had been a warning. And there was magic and gold and precious things around. They were not safe.

Tynis ended up in the water, and Junho had his own bad guy, but Zirah really couldn't focus on their trouble right this moment. He had his own problems in the form of one very pissed off and dangerous looking man in his canoe. He scrambled to stand, and a quick spell helped keep the canoe steady in the water. But he still hesitated on what to do then. "Look, kind sir. If, uh, you could please--" Not a pacifist, but not interested in reacting violently, Zirah was very much hoping he could talk his way out of this.

No such luck.

Not even able to finish his sentence, the very tall man lunged at him. Pain took his breath away, as he figured out too late there was a knife involved, and before he knew it he had shoved the man back while the arm of his bathrobe soaked with blood. The gash to his upper arm was deep, and the blood made Zirah queasy, but it also spurred him on.

He snagged the frying pan and, with considerable force, swung it at the bad man and sent him crashing into the water. That was much more satisfying than trying to use the strap to hit anything.

His robe was probably ruined now, and you know what? That was beyond upsetting.

Adrenaline fueled now, with no time to let anxiety get the best of him, he turned his attention to elsewhere.

He couldn't really decide if Tynis or Junho needed his help more, but he was closer to Junho than Tynis. Bleeding or not, scared or not, he couldn't just not help. Hefting the pan and hoping it was still happy enough to stay with him , he sent his canoe forward, closer to Junho and his aggressor. "Hop in!" He called out, ready to whack the bad guy if he tried to chase after Junho. Two against one had to be better odds, right? 

[Haelys Celtaris]

The names were mentally noted: Juhno, Nako. But Haelys did not feel compelled to introduce herself, for there were more important matters at hand. Besides, it certainly had been a hit to her ego recently to have nobody in this world recognize her…

Based on Nako's commentary, she seemed to have some spunk in her. That was good, for Haelys did not want to be stuck in a canoe with somebody useless. The queen gripped the sides of the vessel tightly as it wavered in the water. She remained silent, but the intensity in her eyes said: If you flip this boat over, I will pull you under with me, and you will never resurface. Luckily, the canoe remained relatively steady as the entrance of a second person. Her gaze lingered on those nice shiny boots for a moment before her concentration was broken by…what was a hammie? The queen looked somewhat unimpressed with Nako's pain and stretching. With no offer of sympathy, the woman simply sighed as if to pity herself for picking up one of the oars. The second oar was tossed over to land next to Nako, perhaps even knocking into her slightly. Once the other woman had recovered, it was expected that she would help paddle. With as much a rein on her pride as she could muster, Haelys used her paddle to push them away from the shoreline.

As the canoe floated through the water, the queen noticed the glowing creatures beneath. A good sign? A warning? A path? She wasn't sure, but she did feel that the disappearing sun put them at a disadvantage. They were less likely to notice treasure (unless it too was glowing) and threats would have to be closer before they were able to be seen. Something told her this was a bad recipe, but she needed valuables more than anything at this point, so she was committed. She jumped slightly as a root caught the side of her dress, protectively pulling the excess fabric closer to her and glaring at the rude plant life. She then ducked to avoid some of the branches overhead. Her paddling form was delicate and certainly not efficient (she had never had to do this before), but at least she was participating. This did, however, leave their canoe near the back of the line.

Whoever their attackers were, they had been quiet up until the last moment; Haelys did not see it coming. Their vessel gave a big rock as a figure jumped into the middle between Nako and Haelys. Luckily, having a person on each end kept it steady enough. The queen instinctively jumped to her feet, standing as tall as she could, aggression seething out of every pore.

"GET OUT!" She roared at the stranger. How such a roughened, beastly sound projected out of her usually-elegant voice was a mystery. In a general sense, it was pretty amazing what one could accomplish with just body language, tone, and choice of words. An actual fight was not often necessary.

However, in this case, the invader did not heed her words. A glint caught her eye—a knife in their hand. She wanted to grab the Tetsubo at her feet, but there was no time. Instead, Haelys turned around and ducked just as the weapon was being wielded in her direction. The knife tore through the fabric of her back, but a striking sound rang out into the jungle—metal on metal. It was a huge, sharp clang. Through the ripped portion of the dress, the glyphs etched into Haelys' back were glowing bright blue. Her skin was not injured in any way. The attacker now held nothing but a handle with a tiny shard of metal, for the majority of the knife had shattered into pieces.

This failed blow was an opportunity for Nako. Either way, Haelys' hands had found the Tetsubo during her ducking motion. Still hunched over, her head snapped towards the enemy like an owl. Grey-blue eyes with dilated pupils pulsed with rage. The stranger better hope Nako addressed them in this time, because Haelys' next move might be fatal.

[Nakolune]

To say Nako was unimpressed with Haelys’ stare was an understatement. She dealt with the molten lava temper of two kids at home, she had no care or interest for anyone else’s bullshit. She stoutly ignored the stare as she worked out her aching muscle- oh, little princess would know the pain of getting older one day as well, that was sure. And with any luck, nobody would care about her hurt hammies either.

Then an oar was thrown her way, Nako waited a half breath wondering if the second oar would find its way to her feet too, but instead Haelys put her own oar to work to get them further from the shore. Alright, good. Nako gave a subtle nod and mentally brushed off her former irritation to help with the paddling. She gestured idly to the glowing jellyfish, noticing that her fellow passenger was looking at them as well.

There was a ruckus ahead, but there was no time to pay heed to it, because a freaking PERSON leapt into their boat with a knife! “Ah, shit!”

Where Haelys had taken the ‘turn into Alpha Tootlhess glowing blue and shit’, Nako was more the ‘turn into a worm and slide down into the bottom of the boat.’ As the queen and the interloper scuffled, she reoriented her oar in her hands, taking the moment of the man’s confusion at Haelys’ Kaiju glow to shove the handle of the oar behind the man’s ankles and -pull- as hard as he good to try to sweep his feet out from under him. It worked… a little too well. An errant boot caught Nako right in the face and rewarded her with a gushing, bloody nose.

“Nope nope nope nope nope” Nako chanted, sitting up ramrod straight again and beginning to paddle with frantic energy from their now floundering attacker. Except, that wasn’t the last of them at all. They were heading towards the main fray going on near Tynis’ boat. She almost stopped paddling.. but wait. She had a loaded weapon in the form of a crazy Godzilla-glowing lady. Yep yep yep then. She doubled down her efforts

“Oh look, more competition to your wealth and riches!” Nako shouted out, gesturing to the other enemies. The lady had seemed VERY motivated by treasure, based on how she’d hovered over the treasure box, and that little almost covetous stare she’d given Nako’s shoes. “You’re not going to let them get away with what’s rightly yours, right???”

TL;DR- Nako fite baddies then paddles her kaiju princess boat buddy toward the main fray as some angry blue glowing royal weapon.

[Geoff]

Geoff took a moment to realize he was being eye dbefore that familiar feeling of watched settled over him, and he glanced aside to raise an eyebrow at her highness. She wasn't entirely wrong about sticking together (and, let's be real, she was very attractive), but he didn't want to give her the satisfaction of immediately acquiescing to her requests.

Alas, no water bottles were -- never mind, a water bottle? Was not in th e chest but in front of him? Um. His gaze left the princess' face and he squinted dubiously at the bottle for a moment before reaching out and taking it. It did not spontaneously explode in his head. How very suspicious. If he'd known who done it, he would have nodded his appreciation/approval at Zirah, but as it was, he simply accepted Mystery Bottle without looking a gift hydrator in the mouth.

Now he had a water bottle in one hand and a staticy sword in the other.

This was a weird day, but he could do this. He was certainly fine with bringing up the rear of the canoe party personally, as he did not care of the sense of being followed or trapped in the middle if something went tits up.

He rounded an otherwise quiet bend with the sword resting across his lap as he paddled. Was the whole thing to be this quiet? It wasn't his usual dig, but maybe something simple to let his thoughts drift and sort themselves out about this weird dreamworld would be beneficial.

It was not to be as some Witch with a B screamed bloody murder over top of some capsized-sounding splashing up ahead. He couldn't quite see exactly how that happened to the poor man leading the way; he could see, however, more thugs jumping out into the other canoes as they passed a scret spot in the 'groves. Zirah was closest to him but Zirah had escaped his own attacker and gone ahead, while Geoff stayed back, being somehow the only one smart enough to not keep boating into the attacking band of assholes.

He had a sword though, and he wanted to know if it felt as cool to use it as it did to look at it. He just wanted to pick his battles, literally. Well. Next closest was Nako and -- hang on that was the princess? What. What was happening. Think about it later sword time now. He shoved his canoe towards them, none too worried about bonking into their own at the moment so much as getting closer to the fray, and swung the sword in an only slightly unsteady stance with both hands at the back of an aggressor. It... would have been better with a blunt weapon, but it was still probably going to hurt like shit to just be whacked with the sharp edge.

"C'mere, bastard," he growled at the whacked thug or any of his friends that were interested, feeling emboldened by testosterone and Sword Ego.

[Tynis]

Tynis flailed in the water briefly before finding some air. He had no idea where the other person went but he moved further down the path away from the fray. The water was chest deep if he kept his feet moving but the sandy muck on the bottom threatened to suck him in if he stayed in one spot too long. He sputtered and shouted sorting out the new vision, hoping just to be heard over the fighting. "Eggs! There are eggs!" Perhaps it's not the treasure they were all hoping for, but Tynis' revelation was joined by waves of affirmation from the two Beorfin as well as another wave of desperation. If the others found a treasure set full of Beorfin eggs they might not be so accepting of disappointment. One of the parents positioned themselves beneath his arm to add buoyancy and nudged him further along the path.

The fight would come to an abrupt end as bolts of lightening flew out from the tip of the Thunder Sword of Shifting. It targeted each of the assailants and rendered them immediately incapacitated. Current rippled through the water, reaching an ally as well as foe. Tynis was rendered immediately unconscious. The other Beorfin joined his mate and supported the man so his head would remain above water. Again there was a sense of urgency to move ahead broadcasted to all present.

Even the treasured items started to get uneasy. The Civilized Studded Leather Armor of the Divine flopped itself suddenly against Junho. It seemed to sense his vulnerability and offered him it's powers. The Diadem had no quarrels with any of the other relics and would be accommodating. Perhaps knowing he had protection would offer him some confidence.

Zirah's pan warmed happily in his hand. If he bothered to look he might see another path branching out between the mangrove trees. It was well hidden, but it bent in the same direction they were headed in. If there were others ahead perhaps it could give them an element of surprise or avoid attack altogether.

Haelys would encounter something much different and feel the sudden rush of a strong bond, though it wouldn't be obvious at first where it came from. If she looked off into the roots to her right she'd see a little silvery mask with two dark eyes staring up at her. A rush of pride would emanate from the little Beorfin. He had managed to hatch all by himself, he didn't need to be bound to any stupid breathgiver. But he was ready to follow Haelys now, whether she would have him or not.
Bond the Imaginary Mordre-tu of Zen to Haelys

Nako would be met with the chance to follow up her bravery with another chance to save everyone else's butts. Her fabulous boots nudged her foot forward over a scrap of canvas. The corner flopped forward to reveal a very handy first aid kit. Within she would find smelling salts for Tynis, dressings and gauze for Zirah if need be and a couple objects that looked suspiciously like tampons for her gushing nose.

Having temporarily exhausted itself the sword flung itself from Geoff's hands into the bottom of the canoe. It wasn't wholly an act of displeasure, just a temperamental item throwing a tantrum for god knows why. Not wanting to be left out the Etched Strap of Heroes reached out once more and snagged a new owner by the wrist. Sensitive to the first rejection, it gripped Geoff's arm stubbornly. There was a weak jerk of displeasure from the sword, but it was still again. Perhaps it would muster the energy to argue in a moment.

Again the two Beorfin urged the group forward further. There was another clear pool ahead and there was another treasure to be had.

((Sorry for the delay, it's been a little crazy here. This is not as coherent/smooth as I wanted but here it is. Take the path straight ahead or find the hidden path revealed by Zirah's relic. The first bond happened here but the rest of the beorfin await in the next post!))

[Junho Song]

Junho felt as though he was simultaneously in a state of peace and panic. The fear of tipping over, drowning, thrummed in him, but something in him pumped whatever hormones it was that made him calm. In the intense concentration he had for the malicious figures, he heard Zirah’s words ring loud and clear through his ears. He took a moment, eyes locking onto Zirah, then at his canoe. He didn’t even think. With the Diadem enclosed in his grip, pulsing with how tightly he held it, he stepped, as quickly as he could feeling every second that his body hovered over the water, his other hand gripped tightly into a fist, before he wobbled to balance, ad not throw Zirah out of the canoe with him.

“Th-thank you!” He said, loudly, because adrenaline did that to him apparently. But in the midst of his quick motion, three additional things had happened. Tynis, the one he had had just introduced himself to, shouted something about eggs. That made him feel at edge, like a bolt of electricity had shot through him, because that made it seem like there were young ones in danger but they were in danger down there, down there. But the ringing in his ears was immediately overpowered by a literal bolt of lightning. And Tynis, who was standing, imagine that, was not anymore, and was being supported by two creatures that Junho did not recognize at all. He didn’t really notice the other one surface by The Queen.

It seemed that the water wasn’t quite so deep in some parts, and Junho felt his peace overtaking his panic. With the enemies incapacitated, Junho turned to his ally (he had decided easily that Zirah was an ally then) and let out a breath he wasn’t even aware that he was holding. “I guess we’re canoe buddies now?” He looked at his non-Diadem holding hand, thinking absently that it was his paddle, but his breath wasn’t the only thing he wasn’t aware he was holding. He had unwittingly grabbed the Civilized Studded Leather Armor of the Divine before shifting canoes, how he had done it without realizing it, he had no idea.

He had forgotten he had dropped his oar. He looked at Zirah sheepishly. “If you give me a second to put this on, I can paddle us, if you want.” he was probably not any better at it than the mage, but he didn’t want to be literal dead weight. He had no idea why he wanted to put the armor on, it would probably make him sink faster if anything, but the way he pulled it onto Zirah’s canoe with him made him feel like he was meant to. He believed in weird happenings.

“Maybe we should grab Tynis first, though. Unless you want to. ” He felt concern for the priest, and noticed that Geoff was the only solo canoe at this point. He raised his voice at the word “you”, referring to their lightning-sword savior, though Junho honestly hadn’t noticed that part. The lightning had sort of come out of nowhere for all he knew. He was too wrapped up in himself and bubbling mumble of his spirit longing for the earth.

Ooc: I hope I didn’t miss anything! And Junho will basically go with whatever Zirah (and Geoff) decides, just to move things faster. :D Assume he paddles/helps Tynis up whatever happens heh.