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Post by Strangers and Travelers on Apr 12, 2017 13:55:58 GMT -8
Starfall CoveSomewhere in the southern waters lies a lush island with a large, calm lagoon. It is frequented by pirates and merchants alike, often as a refuge from the harsh tropical storms. It's said that the lagoon was formed when a massive meteor struck the island, carving out an enormous crater that then filled with water. Regardless of whether or not this is true, explorers of the island have found that they see an unusually high number of shooting stars over the island. Several have actually reported seeing meteors fall on the island or into the surrounding waters, some of which have been recovered. It's an unusual phenomenon, and has not yet been explained. Still, it's not unusual at all to find bits of stone or metal that have fallen from the sky on or around Starfall Cove.
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Deleted
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Registered: May 20, 2024 9:35:29 GMT -8
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2017 8:32:49 GMT -8
After a day of sailing on her small dhow, she arrived to Starfall Cove with a large treasure chest. With a lot of effort and grunting, she managed to pull it off the boat and drag it along the coast to a small cave near the edge of the beach, pushing it inside. Inside were two other chests of similar size, both locked fast. After all three were inside, she collapsed onto the chest and rested, panting to herself.
"I need a henchman...." She muttered between breaths.
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Post by Strangers and Travelers on Apr 13, 2017 10:26:32 GMT -8
Aside from the chirping birds and the splash of the waves, the cave was quiet and calming. The interior was cool and rather damp, a welcome relief from the harsh sunlight outside. If Kelly looked around, she would spot something odd in the wall. Upon closer inspection, it would appear to be some sort of shiny red gemstone embedded in the rock. A raw ruby, perhaps? A lucky find for sure.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2017 10:27:46 GMT -8
Kelly scratched her chin.
"How long has that been there?" She said to herself. Pulling her dagger out, she walked over to the ruby and began to pry it loose.
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Post by Strangers and Travelers on Apr 13, 2017 10:32:49 GMT -8
The cave was made up of a rather soft stone, and Kelly found it fairly easy to pry the gem out. After about ten minutes of work, the ruby came loose and fell into her hand. Upon examination, she would see that it was very pure and shiny, and would probably fetch a fine price. However, if she brought the uncut gem deeper into the cave, she would find that it glowed faintly in the darkness. How odd, rubies usually didn't do that.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2017 10:37:05 GMT -8
Being the curious type, Kelly took the stone farther into the cave, not realizing the small hole she chose was actually a massive cavern.
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Post by Strangers and Travelers on Apr 13, 2017 10:42:51 GMT -8
The cave wasn't exactly massive, as Kelly would soon discover; just deep. As she went further down, it became narrower and narrower, until the roof became so low that she would have to duck down and crawl to go any deeper. The sunlight didn't reach this far, making the faint glow of the gem all the more noticeable. If she looked around, she would quickly realize that this was no ordinary sea cave. The tunnel was too perfect, despite its increasing narrowness, and appeared to have been cut by tools. Who would have done this, though? Who in their right minds would dig a tunnel like this, and make it so narrow? Perhaps there was something at the end, or maybe it was just a pointless hole. Who could tell? All of a sudden, there was a startling crash outside which would almost certainly cause Kelly to bang her head off the roof of the cave.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2017 10:50:00 GMT -8
As things began to get darker, Kelly pulled out a torch and lit it, using it as a superior light source than some little gem. Being fairly short she didn't have to duck too much, and upon hearing the crash she simply turned around to find the source, hoping her treasure wasn't being ransacked.
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Noyan Dar
Established
Roleplay posts: 13
Physical Description: Noyan appears to be rather old, even for a Merfolk. His pale blue wrinkled skin shows the wear of many decades, and bears the scars of many battles; the battles themselves long forgotten, as well as those who may have fought them.
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Clothes and Equipment: Noyan has a myriad of varied items lashed to him with ropes and leather straps. Most who see him would classify nearly all of it as junk, save for perhaps the odd looking staff/walking stick and short sword that appears to have a coral handle.
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Registered: Apr 13, 2017 3:56:27 GMT -8
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Post by Noyan Dar on Apr 13, 2017 11:05:29 GMT -8
Little might Kelly know, but she was being followed. Not in the air and not by another boat, but under the waves as she sailed for Starfall Cove. It was amazing to Noyan how little humans seemed to even look down through the crystal mirror of the water's surface as they sought passage to the different specs of land on the vast oceans that the Merfolk claimed as their own. So little curiosity about the world under the great divide, Noyan thought, so few of them knew, and even fewer cared. Never-the-less, Noyan was in the habit of staying far back out of sight of boats, preferring to use the subtle disturbances in the water to track them; much like a hunter would do on land.
Noyan walked up on to the white beach of Starfall Cove, his webbed feet gripping the loose sand as he went, using his walking stick to keep his equilibrium with the change in relative buoyancy. Perhaps a full 15-20 minutes behind her, Noyan followed Kelly's footsteps up the sandy beach towards a small cave. This would be much easier than tracking the boat, as the footprints and drag marks in the sand were infinitely less fleeting than the disturbances in the water.
Once in the cave, the aging blue creature would find three boxes, locked, obviously belonging to Kelly. Noyan poked one of the chests perched on a rock ledge, rapping on it with the bottom of his staff as if he expected the stick to open it. The chest, of course, stood fast against the thumping of an old Merfolk, but it did fall off of the ledge. The chest would hit the solid floor of the cave with a loud clatter. Noyan would move back quickly, surprised at the happening.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2017 11:09:01 GMT -8
As Kelly made her way back she would see Noyan surrounded by the fallen chest and its siblings. She put the torch out and sighed.
"Decided to show yourself finally?" She said, walking over to him slowly. She didn't seem upset or frantic. "It's full of gold coins, by the way. Metal, nothing you'd consider valuable."
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Noyan Dar
Established
Roleplay posts: 13
Physical Description: Noyan appears to be rather old, even for a Merfolk. His pale blue wrinkled skin shows the wear of many decades, and bears the scars of many battles; the battles themselves long forgotten, as well as those who may have fought them.
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Clothes and Equipment: Noyan has a myriad of varied items lashed to him with ropes and leather straps. Most who see him would classify nearly all of it as junk, save for perhaps the odd looking staff/walking stick and short sword that appears to have a coral handle.
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Registered: Apr 13, 2017 3:56:27 GMT -8
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Post by Noyan Dar on Apr 13, 2017 11:16:57 GMT -8
She would lay eyes on an older looking Merfolk, his skin wrinkled with what may have been hundreds of years of life as far as Kelly could tell. Still, his clear and shining eyes would project life as he looked at her and her three chests, and a youthful curiosity that even all of his years hadn't eroded away.
“Eyeee - am - surprised you noticed my following.” Noyan would say in common, having trouble getting the sounds right for the first couple of words. His voice was somewhat graveled to match his aged appearance.
“At least I am surprised you still came here to your hiding place after noticing my following.” Noyan said, his words becoming more understandable with each sentence.
The Merfolk thumped on the chest again with his staff, before adding, “Gold does not rust quite as quickly as the metals your kind is so fond of.”
Still it was clear, his interest in the coins was low at best.
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Deleted
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Registered: May 20, 2024 9:35:29 GMT -8
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2017 11:23:59 GMT -8
"Yeah, I noticed you following me under the waters a while ago, but since you never attacked I didn't think anything of it. Though I'm curious, why follow me at all?"
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Noyan Dar
Established
Roleplay posts: 13
Physical Description: Noyan appears to be rather old, even for a Merfolk. His pale blue wrinkled skin shows the wear of many decades, and bears the scars of many battles; the battles themselves long forgotten, as well as those who may have fought them.
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Clothes and Equipment: Noyan has a myriad of varied items lashed to him with ropes and leather straps. Most who see him would classify nearly all of it as junk, save for perhaps the odd looking staff/walking stick and short sword that appears to have a coral handle.
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Registered: Apr 13, 2017 3:56:27 GMT -8
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Post by Noyan Dar on Apr 13, 2017 11:32:46 GMT -8
A flap on the side of Noyan's neck would open just momentarily, long enough to belch just short of a pint of water onto the floor of the cave.
"Politics." he would say simply. An odd answer, even for a Merfolk. Noyan would go on to elaborate.
"Things are changing down below. Land dwellers, already unpopular, have had use of our waters longer than most of your kind can remember. I seek to do you the kindness of a warning: this far out from where you belong, alone, you may run into a creature such as myself.. but not as evenly tempered if you are unlucky."
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2017 11:38:16 GMT -8
"So the merfolk are angry at us...again." She reiterated, sounding more annoyed than surprised. She crossed her arms and leaned on one leg.
"I always found it humorous the water races hate land dwellers. We have no desire to conquer your realm, yet you see it necessary to attack ours. If anything a truce would be beneficial to us both."
Kelly sighed and knelt down to look at the fallen chest, making sure it didn't break.
"Then again, if I knew what I was talking about, I wouldn't need to steal for a living."
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Noyan Dar
Established
Roleplay posts: 13
Physical Description: Noyan appears to be rather old, even for a Merfolk. His pale blue wrinkled skin shows the wear of many decades, and bears the scars of many battles; the battles themselves long forgotten, as well as those who may have fought them.
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Clothes and Equipment: Noyan has a myriad of varied items lashed to him with ropes and leather straps. Most who see him would classify nearly all of it as junk, save for perhaps the odd looking staff/walking stick and short sword that appears to have a coral handle.
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Registered: Apr 13, 2017 3:56:27 GMT -8
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Post by Noyan Dar on Apr 13, 2017 11:45:43 GMT -8
Noyan would let out a deep, bellowing guffaw at Kelly's words.
"A truce with a world that hasn't known peace since its conception? Hardly land dweller."
He watched as Kelly knelt to deal with her fallen, but largely unharmed treasure chest.
"At any rate the problems our peoples enjoy are not so simple as one realm seeking to conquer the other. What use has a Merfolk for a dry, waterless city?"
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Deleted
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Registered: May 20, 2024 9:35:29 GMT -8
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2017 11:48:50 GMT -8
"So then what do you want from us? To give up water transport entirely?"
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Noyan Dar
Established
Roleplay posts: 13
Physical Description: Noyan appears to be rather old, even for a Merfolk. His pale blue wrinkled skin shows the wear of many decades, and bears the scars of many battles; the battles themselves long forgotten, as well as those who may have fought them.
============
Clothes and Equipment: Noyan has a myriad of varied items lashed to him with ropes and leather straps. Most who see him would classify nearly all of it as junk, save for perhaps the odd looking staff/walking stick and short sword that appears to have a coral handle.
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Registered: Apr 13, 2017 3:56:27 GMT -8
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Post by Noyan Dar on Apr 13, 2017 11:54:54 GMT -8
"Your world is plagued by vicious, flying, fire-breathing beasts. You look into the sky far above your home, and watch as these harbingers of death and destruction shuttle themselves back and forth to their destinations on tides of wind. Do you wish them to give up their means of conveyance?"
Noyan, obviously answering a question with another question, but the parallels were uncanny, and the question asked in earnest.
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Deleted
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Registered: May 20, 2024 9:35:29 GMT -8
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2017 12:01:48 GMT -8
"You mean dragons? Other than a few ransacked towns they're not as big of a threat to people with actual power. A strong enough wizard could take town an entire army of them. Even I can hold my own against the smaller wyverns or drakes if pushed in that situation. A dragon's weakness is their arrogance. They assume because they're giant fire-breathing lizards that can fly that someone as small and pathetic as me couldn't possibly compare. Yet we're the ones advancing in technology at a rapid rate and living in societies strong enough to defend against them. A human's strength is their ingenuity. Dragons aren't a plague, they're an obstacle."
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Noyan Dar
Established
Roleplay posts: 13
Physical Description: Noyan appears to be rather old, even for a Merfolk. His pale blue wrinkled skin shows the wear of many decades, and bears the scars of many battles; the battles themselves long forgotten, as well as those who may have fought them.
============
Clothes and Equipment: Noyan has a myriad of varied items lashed to him with ropes and leather straps. Most who see him would classify nearly all of it as junk, save for perhaps the odd looking staff/walking stick and short sword that appears to have a coral handle.
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Registered: Apr 13, 2017 3:56:27 GMT -8
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Post by Noyan Dar on Apr 13, 2017 12:12:46 GMT -8
Noyan listened intently to Kelly's dissertation of dragons.
"So one is to surmise that it is not their simple means of movement that you may have distain for." he said, a finger wandering up to his bearded chin to scratch his already drying skin.
"How then may land dwellers giving up their boats help relations across the divide?" a rhetorical question, obviously it wouldn't, and Noyan's mind seemed to be wandering. "Land dwellers would do well to remember that they are, at the best of times, uninvited guests in our waters; specifically -these- waters, and no amount of time spent squatting on what you have no claim to makes it yours. Laud your ingenuity, your technical advancement, and anything else you would like in the process, it does not make your actions more palatable."
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Deleted
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Registered: May 20, 2024 9:35:29 GMT -8
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2017 12:15:53 GMT -8
Kelly stood back up and faced Noyan.
"A few questions for you then, if you don't mind. What was your name again? I'm Kelly."
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