The Skulls of Zooky Zooky Bowtang

[Ceidon]

((This is the Order of the Golden Dawn initiation thread for Taskmienster, Jennifer Oakley and Vigil, have fun!))

“But I was seriously just here!” Ceidon Lore exclaimed, nearing choking on the piece of barley that hung from his mouth. Two heavily armed and incredibly short guards clanged their swords together in response. “Goodness,” he said jumping back into a woman who was standing behind him. “I’m terribly sorry. These goons have gone awry.” She grunted and then began to tap her foot against the wooden dock. Others behind her were starting to get impatient as well. “Fine,” Ceidon said, stepping back to the guards.

After five days on a barge that smelled like a mix of fish and cabbage and this encounter with the guards, Ceidon was beginning to question whether two rotting skulls were worth a second trip to desert island of Fallien. Per usual, scholars had brainwashed Caduceus, the leader of the Order of the Golden Dawn, into believing the skulls of the murderers Teiarisel Yntasi and her lover Ji’ral were the keys to a power so great that it could submerge the island continent of Fallien under the ocean. When Caduceus heard about harpies converging in the Zun’tang oasis, the alleged resting place of the skulls, he commissioned Ceidon as ranking member of the Order to ensure the skulls remained untouched. Ceidon, on the other hand, thought the skulls to be nothing more than remnants of cultural history. Surely they were important, but not important enough to turn him in to harpy food.

“Excuse me, sir,” Ceidon said, improvising. “Don’t you know who I am?” When he received no response, he pretended to be appalled. “I’m Ceidon Lore, the hero of Fallien, commissioned by Jya herself to…” When Ceidon mentioned the holy mother’s name, one of the guards reached forward and grabbed his neck. “…to vind tee skulls of Ynzoosi…Ynzooki at Bow’tang,” he wheezed, choking on the piece of barley. Ceidon grabbed at his neck, vainly attempting to free himself from the man’s grasp.

“Did you say the ‘Skulls of Zooky Zooky Bowtang’?” The guard asked. His tone was low and serious.

“No,” Ceidon coughed. His face was turning blue. “The Skull nov Ynzoosi nat Bow’tang.”

After a short pause, the guard released Ceidon. He fell to the ground, spit out the barley and took in a rejuvenating breath of the arid air. “Ceidon Lore, you say. Oh yes now I remember. Her holiness has been expecting you,” the guard said a moment later. Before Ceidon had fully recovered, he was pulled from his knees and led through the checkpoint. “I will escort you to her myself.”

“Now that's more like it,” Ceidon grinned. "These three folks are with me," he said, referring to the three Order initiates that made the trip with him. The guard started up the road for awhile and Ceidon paced behind him. However, he didn't immediately realize the guards hadn't let his compatriots follow. Soon, the guard started down a path that led back to the coast. “Wait! Where are you going?” Ceidon asked. “Irrikam is that way,” he pointed east towards the river. In response, the burly man grabbed him and began to drag him further down the trail. It was then that he realized the initiates hadn't followed. “What are you doing? Where are my friends?” Ceidon struggled but the guard was relentless. When they arrived at the water, the guard stopped and released the adventurer. Relieved, he brushed himself off and turned to face his captor. "What was that all about."

Instead of answering, the guard punched Ceidon in the cheek and sent him flying...

[Jennifer Oakley]

Jennifer observed the guardsmen with the same sinister distrust she held for all humans not of the Nina. As such, her hate was plentiful, and fell from her in waves of scorn. She, after all, was a helpless prospect in a world she was unsure of. Beyond the forest's canopy and the glades bound in ancient power, she was a novice in all things, stripped of her experience and her understanding of the universe and it's many myriad possibilities.

How she had come to stand on a ship of all things, a land turtle without a soul, she was still unsure. A prospect and an offer, those were all she had, and she leant on her staff in the sun and the gentle breeze of a distant shore waiting to see just where her curiosity and good nature lead her this time. Irony had brought the noble from the Citadel and another strange creature she felt akin to together, and fate would seal the deal and bind it in an ivory clasp of promise.

She took a deep breath and watched their prospective employer march off down the gangplank and out of sight. The tension grew suddenly as their own way was barred, the crossing of arms and blades preventing her momentum. She stepped back, somewhat bemused but cold and shrill all the while. "Excuse me, but you seem to have developed a compulsion to embrace your colleague, where it would otherwise be proper to stand aside for a woman." She raised her eyebrow, and already felt a deep power grow in her chest.

When they did not move, Jennifer took her staff into both hands and gripped it firmly, more a ritual than a preparation of defence. "Seagulls, land, end of journey, passengers depart. That much I know, so if you would not mind?" She felt a heat wave fall over the semi-rotting planks and every little heart beat around them grew heavy and dispersant. The summoner was suddenly aware that the danger of their 'escapade' as the man in the hat had put it was very real.

"Please step aside, sir, I wish to depart!"

[Taskmienster]

Fallien was a wasteland, and a waste of time. Einar could feel it in his bones, deep down, that there was not only nothing to be had in the island nation but what they had come for was a second-rate myth that would yield nothing. He watched as people flooded from the small boat, but a boulder being carried by the human river till it struck a dam. Arguments, complaints, and curses were cast with muted voice. It appeared as though the passage from an almost week long trip on a boat long-since overdue for repairs was to be delayed further. At the head of the gathering was the loud mouthed man known as Ceidon, and after a short ‘discussion’ with one of the guards he was promptly escorted away. However, he left without his other companions, leaving them to figure out what to do.

“It appears, my dear, that we must find our own way to follow.” Einar wiped his brow with the back of his hand. It profusely budded and dripped from his heavy-set face, his jaw angled perfectly to make it fall consistently in a single point. He was a native of Salvar, a beastly man compared to the smaller Fallien natives and those visiting. The fae priestess in front of him was another initiate of the Order of the Golden Dawn, and Ceidon was supposed to be their leader for the inane mission they had accepted. “Keep close,” he muttered as he unhooked his mace.

Months before the two had been in conflict in the Citadel, merely strangers in a strange world with aspirations of a simple battle. Happenstance had forced them together, fate was indeed had odd ways of playing games. The massive man dipped low into a crouch, just long enough to surge forward. His shoulders and chest were wide enough to catch three people at once. In a sudden jolt the river of people was overflowing onto the smaller guards. The dam buster smirked as he cleared a way with his large form.

When the guards realized that a few people were attempting to pass by them they lowered their blades. It would look terrible killing passengers just arrived, even worse if it was someone who had connections in Fallien. The opportunity was perfect. As the sword bearing men tried to route the impatient travelers, Einar included, he moved towards one of the two. They were not close enough to each other to keep everyone from filling the gap. Suddenly a yelp escaped the man, a steel mace finding his kneecap and a solid elbow finishing the task of putting him flat on his back. He shook his head and began to yell to his companion before a boot struck his face.

Within seconds the other guard was left alone, and powerless to stop anyone. He grasped with a hand at anyone close enough but most shrugged him off. Quickly, the beastly large man started to work his way towards the direction that Ceidon had been taken.