Character Meet and Greet: Winter Wonderful!

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i.Main Street

Main Street has settled in for January, but there are still Christmas Decorations here and there to liven things up a little bit. Feel free to shop, mingle with the locals or explore the castle grounds.

Though after hours there are still some shadows that venture into the streets. Not everything here is as peaceful as it seems, and it’s best to defeat the corroded trespassers before they cause trouble.

ii. Cookie Overload

Do you like free cookies? Of course! Everyone does. After the Christmas Rush, there are plenty to go around, available only after the sun goes down to any hungry passerby. There are cookies of all styles and flavors. But watch out for the dreader sriracha cookie. It will make you breathe fire in three flavors and gives a bit of heartburn after, but the aftertaste will leave you craving more.


iii. The Eighth Wonder of the World
Now that the jungle has been purified, Apprentices can wander through to explore all the things the jungle has to offer. Take a (still somewhat shambly) riverboat and explore the river, or come to chat and trade with the villagers. (Shrunken heads, two for one special!) But beware. Even though the jungle is purified, it’s not a safe place. In this kingdom of animals, someone is always hungry.


iv. Pin It On Them
Some smugglers are hanging around the outskirts of New Orleans, selling dubious looking items from even more dubious looking bags. Do you buy from them? Haggle? Steal? (not recommended) Or quietly try to alert any sort of authority (good luck) The choice is yours.


v. Battle Mesa Gate
While the jungle may be purified, many other Kingdoms are still seething with corrosion. Erstwhile Apprentices will find such corrosion on the banks of the Rivers of America, right where the jungle river joins in. Fight corroded creatures on the shore and in the water and be careful, they are stronger than they look and cleverer than they seem.

Comments

Keeper | OC

[abys_keeper]

ii. Cookie overload

There is a trestle table set up with the most delicious cookies imaginable. A red and gold cloth has been swept over it to show the season. Eagle eyed observers may note that, on occasion, a single translucent tendril dripping with wet, will occasionally slide up from under the table cloth. The tendril will pap around on the table a moment before discovering a cookie, wrapping around it and slucking it back under the table. It's not too long before faint contented munching sounds can be heard.

iii. The Eighth Wonder of the World

Are you taking a cruise on a river boat? Or maybe just strolling along the shore? You may notice eyes watching you from the water, that quickly sink out of sight. Or you may feel a jolt on the back of your neck like a static shock and turn just in time to see a sneaky tendril whipping back under the water. You are not alone.

3

[om_nom_namur]

[Dude what the hell? There's some nastyass bugs around here or something. Namur keeps getting bit. So he does what any self respecting Fishman would do in this situation: decide that the surface is for suckers. Under the water's where the party gets hotter... Or something.

Anyway it's Fishman overboard!

And right into a pile of jelly tentacles.

Smooth.]

Oi, oi! 'M down for a friendly hug now an' then but this shit's ridiculous! The hell y' think yer doin'?

[abys_keeper]

AHHH! [he screeches and scoots away. The big tasty thing is a big dangerous tasty thing! His bell balloons and his tendrils too, flickering with startled lights moving under his skin. He looks a lot larger than his usual twelve feet and hopefully a lot less edible.]

I'm not tasty at all! I'll give you indigestion! [he grabbed a passing piranha and threw it at him in desperation]

[om_nom_namur]

Oh good, there's a brain in this'n.

[Namur has done his fair share of flailing, trying to get away from the stinging pinpricks that- given enough time- are probably going to turn him into a paralyzed, drooling buffoon that stares like an idiot at the pretty colors while he gets digested. Pass.

Now that he's free, though, it's a very different story. He graces the piranha now hurtling at him with a look that has it suddenly waving its fins in every which direction, scrambling to change trajectory and swim as far away as it can possibly manage. Namur folds his arms, turning his attention back to the Merman.]

I'unno... my guts is pretty damn sturdy. But I already ate so I guess I'll letcha live.

This time.

[He smiles broadly. For some reason, it doesn't seem very friendly.]

So what gives? Tryna hunt yerself a human or some shit?

[abys_keeper]

[The lights change at the threat, a bright red and flashing yellow, creeping up in tendrils over his bell and up through his torso. A warning. That grin is not friendly at all and he builds up the toxin on instinct. Too close and he will sting for all he is worth.

The hapless piranha blunders into a filament and is immediately frozen. The next moment its scooped into the bell which closes and dissolves it in a matter of seconds]

They have high nutritional value. [he frowns] And are very tasty. I am very hungry....

[it was sad that this shark merman had to have so many teeth and a brain of his own.]

[om_nom_namur]

Bet y' is, bein' a bigass stomach that talks...

[Namur runs his fingertip over the big 8 tattooed on his throat, thinking. Were there any jerkoffs or asshats on the boat he could toss overboard? But no, that's really not the sort of thing he wants to get into right off the bat. He scrubs his palm over his hair and growls.]

What we need's a nice school or some shit, but this here's a river so I ain't real sure we're gonna find any. Whatcha think a overgrowed snakes?

[Cuz there might happen to be one heading right for them.]

[abys_keeper]

[was he? Maybe]

I love Aby.

[does that make him more than just a stomach?]

It's hard to see. It's so bright. I wouldn't mind a school or a snake. [though he's thinking of a sea snake or an eel. He gives the other a long cautious look, lights fading a bit] You'll help me?

2

[im_a_hugger]

OK, even Scorpia's admittedly unusual experience, random tentacles sneaking up from underneath tables to snag food qualified as weird.

Now, a sensible person might have been more cautious about potential tentacle creatures under the table, but the words 'sensible' and 'Scorpia' were rarely used in conjunction with each other. So upon seeing the tentacle slip back under the table, her response was to lift up the edge of the tablecloth and peek curiously underneath it.

[abys_keeper]

"AHH!" Caught! Witness a twelve foot jellymer in a bubble of water frantically try to scud out from under the table. It doesn't quite work and he crashes into the other side of it, sending cookies flying everywhere.

"Don't eat me!"

[im_a_hugger]

"Whoah, hey! Easy there!", Scorpia said attempting to make a placating gesture, though it might not look quite as calming when done with claws. "Not going to eat you! Just... calm down, OK?"

What was she even looking at anyway? The nearest sort of being she'd ever seen to this was certain people from Salineas, but even that was only a vague resemblance. Figuring out what he was could wait though, until he'd stopped freaking out.

[abys_keeper]

"Crab!" He yelps again and squeezes out, scooting into the air as much he can which isn't much as he stares at her. Startled lights flicker over his skin. He grabs his tendrils and holds them out of her reach.

"Shoo." And then, suspiciously. "You're not?" He was a tasty meal to a big crab like that.

[im_a_hugger]

Scorpia flinched slightly at the yelp. "Look, I promise, I'm not going to eat you," she said. "I don't even know what sort of thing you are, but I know you definitely don't look like anything I'd want to eat. Or could eat, even if I wanted to; you're way too big."

She didn't exactly 'shoo', but she did back off slightly to help show that she meant no harm. She'd correct him on her species in a moment.

[abys_keeper]

"I'm from the deep dark where the song is endless and the lights are like stars but upside down." A pause. "Stars are in the sky. Just floating there. Isn't that fantastic?" He thinks it is.

After a moment the lights calm and he settles back on the table, absently on a plate of cookies which he pulls into his bell to let dissolve.

"What would you want to eat?"

II

[serpentinthegarden]

Crowley was standing some distance away from the table but he had been near enough to see that gross slimy thing slither out and steal a cookie. That was gross... But it did give him a wicked idea.

"Hey, Shelly!"

The disagreeable older lady had given him a hard time earlier for looking like a thug so... This seemed like a fitting payback

"Some kid just a sneezed all over those!"

Shelly glared daggers at the demon but she still wandered closer to the table while Crowley looked on with mischivious anticipation.

[abys_keeper]

Prey was approaching. He could tell now. The weird thump thump of approaching....he forgot the word. Hard fins? Tentacles? But then humans usually had to be asked first. Keeper frowned. He didn't want to ask. He wanted to have a nice full meal and be content.

But...

Blowing a few annoyed bubbles, he pushed up the cloth and peered up at her. Dark as it was under the table, all Crowley might see is something like a single bright shining moon in a sea of faint stars.

"Can I eat you?" Keeper asked. The human jumped and then screamed, tearing off in the other direction. Keeper frowned. It was probably a no. Grumbling to himself he reached up with another tendril, trying to grab the whole plate.

[serpentinthegarden]

That had certainly been worth it! The demon was smug and thoroughly proud of himself as he watched the obnoxious woman scream and take off running like something was trying to eat her. His mirth was then turned back to the table and that odd glowing thing hiding underneath it.

With his head tilted to one side he attempted to get a better look at those orbs but it was too dark... Maybe he could get the thing to come out? Crowley extended a wing to push the tray of cookies further away. If the too monster wanted more cookies it was going to have to come out further to reach them.

[abys_keeper]

Where were they? They had been right there. Did cookies move? They didn't taste alive. Keeper frowned deeper and stretched his tendril, and then added another one just in case. The air made him deflate a bit and he scowled. Stupid air. There were no tasty cookies under his tentacles.

He might have to risk it.

He peeked out from under the table and up at a human.

"I'm not delicious."

[serpentinthegarden]

And the not human at all demon looked down at the creature peering up at him from under the table with a curiosity that didn't show on his face.

"You don't look it. What are you anyway?"

[abys_keeper]

"I don't?" He beamed. "That's fantastic!"

Maybe no one would want to eat him!

"I'm from the deep dark where even the lantern lady doesn't like to go. The ones that sings the ancient songs and listen for the rhythm of the sea." Also. "Where did the food go?"

iii

[creepyoldguy]

Beetlejuice, being a slightly different type of demon than some of the others who had arrived previously, was probably not all that tasty, seeing as he was dead, and had questionable personal hygiene.

The first shock to the back of his neck got a startled curse.

The second time, he whipped around trying to bite whatever the hell it was that kept stinging him.

[abys_keeper]

"Ow!" He got bit! Something was eating him! In a panic, Keeper sent a jolt of electricity to whatever horrible thing had him in its jaws.

[creepyoldguy]

"OW!"

The demon spat out whatever the heck it was, and glared daggers.

"Knock it off, Sparky."

[abys_keeper]

He whipped his tentacle back to him. Then peeked up above the water cautiously to see what it was. A human. Maybe. He'd tasted very spicy for a human. And like mud.

"I'm not Sparky, I'm Keeper." He frowned. "You bit me. I'm not tasty. I would poison you if you tried to eat me."

[creepyoldguy]

"You bit me first, Sparky." Beetlejuice enjoyed nicknames. And he was a little on the angry side about being stung. His hair turned red ever-so-slightly at the tips.

"You taste like gas station sushi," which may or may not have been an agreement about the not tasty comment. "Poison doesn't do much to me, since I'm already dead."

[abys_keeper]

"I didn't bite, I tasted." He hadn't used his teeth at all. He squorted out of the water a bit to get a better look. A casing of water came with him wrapping all around him. Eventually he was hovering above the water a bit and looking down at the human. "You're not dead. You're skin is still on and nothing is chewing on your insides."