Sorry for the wait

Billgar · Sorry for the wait

So right now, i have finally starte on some new tiems for the site. I know its been a while since an update but im starting because i think it is needed. Also how about some gc?

Right about the mysterious _________ that grows in the desert in the north eastern regions of Nocte. Be sure not to include any wildlife that cannot be found in the beastiary

Small Response = 120 GC
Medium Response =200 GC
Long Response = 300 GC

Koku

Within the center of the desert the oasis is a hot spot for many wandering animals to be found. It is not only because of the abundant water coming up from the earth, but also because of the great tree that can be found near it, growing vastly and spreading its shade. It is here where I venture to via flying carriage.
From a distance it can be seen, it appears the top branches are abundant, but bare of leaves. It appears that it lots its top leaves probably due to the heat and sun constantly begin at it. As such it now uses its top branches to shade those below it, and allow a limited amount of sun onto the leaves when the sun is at and near its peak. The light that gets through shines onto an abundant amount of leaves and the occasional barren branch. The leaves range in color, probably as a way to attract life. It seems that while the normal color is green, it also appears that there are some that are blue, orange, white, and a few that are black. It seems that these colors that can be seen by me (who knows what the other creatures see) may tempt animals to come towards it for shelter.
Getting close to it, the amount of life by it is immense, as well as the size of the leaves. The leaves are all large enough to be used as small blankets. Also, it appears that amongst the leaves, there is some fruit that is roundish in shape, and varies in color. While many are blue, some of it shines a yellowish color, and some others are a dull red color. Still to far away to try some, I must only imagine that the color states how ripe the fruit is.
Near some fruit, some flowers can be seen. These are all mostly white, with some pinkish tint to them. Going around the center in a circular fashion, a pattern of red can be seen. These flowers have a small thing from the center, which appears to be the start to the fruit. It is greenish-blue in color, and is much smaller then the other fruit. Some of the flowers tare still just budding. These flowers are of a reddish color and are rather plain looking.
Now that the carriage is about to land, I can see everythign clearer, especially at its base. looking around it appears that this fortress of a tree is home to a wide arrange of creatures. There is a small amount of lacrimablis who must have wandered here, and are now eating some of the fallen fruit while drinking the water around the tree. Some snorflin are seen around the lower branches, where many insects are seen going to and from the fruit to a some hole in the tree. Also around the same area, lump birds are seen sleeping without a care in the world. Going around the tree, I can make out the occasion suru beetle, managing to stay clear of the lump birds and snorflin.
There are a few larger animals around the tree. There are a few orsa who seem slightly weakened by the heat, but who have manages to find shelter and food under the comfort of the large tree. The Susicivus seem at comfort there too. There large legs keep their torso away from the hot sand, and the tree is so large that even a group of 10 Susicivus will be able to eat as much sap as they want daily without weakening the trees amount (or so it appears).
Finally getting near the back of the tree, a small entrance is seen that appears to be dug out. There are a few marks around it that make it seem like this was a place the tree was hit by lightning when still smaller, and is now home to some creatures. Crawling on my stomach I can see inside this massive tree, where tunnels have been dug out. It is in here that a small colony of wass are found. Seeing me they get angered and kick me out before I can explore too much of the large inside, but from what I can see they only dug out a about a tenth of the tree, yet still had a vast amount of tunnels and even a main from where they seem to collect stagnant water.
Back on the outside I can now see a bunch of the creatures starting to look at me with anger. They all seem to want to protect this tree with their lives, and I am not about to get in the middle of it. Before I go I pick up a yellow fruit to test. I can only get a quick bite before being threatened and charge at slightly by some orsa and lacrimabilis. The fruit was very sweet and juicy, with some small seeds in it. The taste was not like anything I had previously, and can be compared to as being similar to a candy. Putting the fruit down before they do charge at me, I make my way back to the carriage which takes off quickly. While I was not able to see all of the massive tree (I was only able to get about a 3rd around the base before being threatened), the parts I seen were more then enough to satisfy this exploration. With the taste of the fruit still in my mouth, I realize just how vital this place is to the survival of those creatures.

*300 GC Obtained*

Schmall

Thunder rolls in the distance as the rain continues to slam down from the heavens. The small family gathers around the fireplace, seeking its warmth and comfort against the chill of the storm that seeps through the cracks of the rundown cottage. The two children look up to the old man in the rocking chair with wide eyes, silently pleaing for a story of the old days. The days of adventures, treasures, and heros.

The old man, who's face is covered with wrinkles, wrinkles of joy and laughter, stares into the flames as if seeing something mysterious and no other can see it. He suddenly speaks with a voice of calm strength and firmness. Both children gather a little closer in the anticapation of the upcoming story.

"Grandchildren, my beloved grandchildren, I shall tell you a story. A story of a great mystery that has yet to be solved and one of the greatest mysterious of Nocte. A mystery that involves a cave and a desert."

"The Gravenif Desert, Grandpapa?" one child asks.

"Yes Elizabeth. Now please, dont interupt," calmy says the old man. He then continues on with his story with missing a beat, "The tale starts along the edge of the great Gravenif Desert is far the the northeast of here. It protects us from ill tempered savages that live on the other side. However, there is a greater danger that lives with in the desert. A danger that allows none to return

"If you recall from my other stories, I was once part of the great army of Nocte. I was a captain at this time and was stationed in a fort near the desert. I was in charge. It was my duty to be sure that the fort kept watch and it was very important for if something evil, nasty, or dangerous was to ever come out of the desert, we were to light the signal fire to warn the rest of the lands. It was a very important job. It allowed many defenseless people the chance to sleep at night, knowing they someone is watching out for them.

"Now, the most dangerous part was the patrols. Someone could wander away from the group and get lost, you could get sucked down in quicksand, poisonious bugs or animals could bite you, or even the worse can happen. You can visit the Oasis of Death.

"Oasis of Death? Everyone knows they are the best things out in the desert. Silly Grandpapa," chides Elizabeth.

The old man simple stops talking and stares into the flames without looking away. After several minutes of this, the children begin to fidget. Finally, "I'm sorry for interupting Grandpapa," apologizes Elizabeth, "It wont happen again."

"Yes, the Oasis of Death," continues the old man, "is a place none wishes to be. Very few have survived and none of them have come back unscathed one way or another. Most are mad from the prolong exposure to the heat or from what they have seen. None are sure which. We do know a little from these mad survivors. They speak of an oasis that is like any other. Green plants crowding around a small pool of water, bugs, and small reptiles. However, they all speak of a great danger that kills. A danger in the form of a flower. Some say it is red, others say purple, still more say it is blue, but they all agree it was the most beautiful flower they have all seen.

"The only other thing the mad men seem to recall and get straight is that this flower is the source of danger. Some survivors speak of the flower striking faster than a poison cobra and men dieing before the flower rears back to strike another. Some speak of a flower that bellows poisonous gas into the air to paralyze its victims and then painfully feasts on them. One survivor spoke of a flower that only blooms under the full moon. It blooms and becomes truely alive. It descends upon sleeping victims and consumes them whole. Few tell the same story, all agree on the danger of the most beautiful flower the kills.

"So children, remember, if you ever see a flower that strikes you as the most beautiful flower and as if one of the gods have personally planted it there in the Gravenif Desert, run. Run and pray that the next oasis does not have the same flower."

Before the old man even finishes the story, both children nod off and gentle snores can be heard. The old man finally looks away from the fire and looks upon his grandchildren and smile at thier still, sleeping forms. A warm smile full of love and joy. A smile that is worn as a mask to hide the pains, experience, and losses due to the blue flower that ate his comrades on that full moon night...

*300 GC Obtained*

Archaic

*Archaic, following orders from Billgar heads towards the desert located north eastern from the capital. Allegedly there has been a ring of bandits that have struck some small towns and made their way into the desert as they feel no one is foolish enough to face them. However, the blood craving Archaic would not be turned back from the danger as they pose. Thus Archaic made his way to the desert and after many hours of walking he finally makes it to the entrance of the desert. Taking a few steps in he notices that exhaustion's hands where at his neck, and thus he had to rest. Taking a spot on a nearby rock Archaic closes his eyes and begins to sleep, but when he awakens he is in for a surprise.

Opening his eyes Archaic can see that he is slightly more elevated than he was before. Laying in a state of bewilderment Archaic rolls off the rock just to see it grow again. It wasn't particularly humid, nor was it very windy and yet... it just continued to slowly grow without a sound. This was just unnatural and Archaic had to investigate this more and thus he knew exactly what to do: picking up his gladius he lunges at the rock and breaks off a small piece. Well it was small when it broke off, but it still continued to grow at the same rate as the source boulder. Taking it in his hand Archaic looked at the piece and noticed, as far as his untrained and rather ignorant eye could tell, it was just a regular rock that he would secretly throw at Sparky when Schmall wasn't looking! However, he also noticed that it was a little harder to throw around his gladius, but he just thought that was due to the horrible sleep he has been getting.*

"WHAT THE HECK IS WITH THIS! Grrrr Forget the bandits... this will be my primary focus instead of those worthless bandits. Their blood probably tastes like crap anyways."

*What Archaic didn't know was that as he was saying this, the bandits were sneaking behind him to go pillage an other small village. Still Archaic just stood staring at the growing boulder in frustration. After an hour, Archaic was able to take his focus off of the boulder and noticed that it was the only boulder doing this for as far as he can see. There had to be a reason behind this, and Archaic wasn't going to leave until he found the reason. He began to move around the rock, noticing that it was becoming increasingly more difficult to circumnavigate around it as its girth just increased. Still Archaic persevered and made it to the back of the rock. Behind the rock he found nothing suspicious except for one thing he was just noticing. There were no perching lizards at all.

Surely a rock of this size would have a considerable amount of perching lizards right? The cracks that already existed were plenty spacious for perching lizards, but now that the rock is nearing 10X its original size, Archaic was at a loss for words and could not explain their absence. That is of course, until Archaic himself collapsed on the ground. It was as if most of his life force was drained. Forcing his way up to his feet Archaic stumbled to distance himself from the rock and collapsed fifty yards away. Falling to the ground he feels something crush underneath him and notices a squirming perching lizard. Laughing to himself he falls asleep.

26 hours pass before Archaic awakens and feels that his strength has surely returned. Getting up and brushing the dirt off of him, Archaic laughs as he begins to walk away, but remembers his main objective. Fortunately for him the bandits were just getting back from their raid. Archaic's mood only increased as he knew exactly what to do! Running towards them, Archaic takes the rope out from his sack and tackles the few Bandits before tying them together and dragging them to the diminished rock. Taking them and throwing them by the rock, Archaic only laughs as he takes his gladius and cuts each of their Achilles tendon's. He wasn't going to kill him, but rather he would let them suffer as the rock drains them of their life. Laughing their suffering, Archaic breaks off a few pieces of the now gradually growing rock and returns to the capital.

At the capital Archaic reports to Billgar about the happenings and presents him with the few rock fragments.*

"Be careful with those things... they may slowly steal your life force. That is of course, assuming it wasn't just some sort of fluke. Anyways my job is done and I forgot to taste their blood! Gah!"

*300 GC Obtained*

Billgar

All your ideas are belong to me! Also using this as a bump to show you got the gc now.

Tigereyz85

Not finding the proper things I need for my religious rituals in town, I pack up and head out of town to find what I'm looking for. Herbs, plants, stones...ect. I'm not very familiar with the layout out side of town....but being a woman, and a redhead(notorius for being stubbern), I'll find my own way, so I pick a direction where there's forest and head into it. Half an hour later, my basket is about half way full with some of the plants and stones I've set out to harvest. I also sat and watched a heard of Lacrimabilis as they grazed through the forest. After watching them pass, I stand to head back towards home, as it's becoming late, and relize in my consentration to find my supplies, and in watching the herd, I have become turned around and disoriented. So...being a stubbern female, I once again, choose a direction and head out. Since I'm lost, I might as well fill my basket. I continue to hunt for plants...but now I'm also looking for anything that might also be edible. a few hours late, exausted from walking, still lost, and no sign of food anywhere, night has finaly set in. I slump down in front of a tree, upset at my own foolishness. After wallowing in my own self pity for a brief time, I look around to see my situation, and try to figure out what to do for shelter. as I'm looking around, I see what seems like a break in the trees. Figuring I can't get anymore lost, I head towards it. Maybe it's a road that traders use. Becoming more optomistic, I walk a little faster towards the break. Now I know there's something...Just a little further........I step out of the tree line. No road, no traders, no nothing........wait....no nothing? It's a desert. Literaly I see NOTHING infront of me but sand and hills.....but then how did I see this break? It's night time, and the shadows of the trees would have consealed this from me........There it is again....a faint glow. I walk a little father out of the woods....just over the rise to my left....a glow....A flickering glow....like....like.....A CAMP FIRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I start walking towards it (no man shall have the sadisfaction of seeing me in a panick) and there it is...the smell of smoke..... closer yet, and there's the voice of man...After an hour across the dessert, I'm finaly half way up the dune. The Voices are louder....I can hear men...and some women, but mostly men. My hope is a gypsy tribe. The thought of food, company, drink, and music encourage my feet to move more swiftly. As I near the crest of the dune, I start catching the words comming from people not aware of their new Visiter.

(Deep, smooth, man's voice) "so...tomorrow we're moving camp?"
(high pitched man's voice...makes you think of dirty oil) " yes. Orders are to be on the edges of the forest, as close to the capital as possible, before attacking."
(a woman with the same type of greasy voice) " yeah....We'll make them think twice before attacking us again. (woman starts to cry and say her decesed husbands name)

I am in shock at what I am hearing....these are not gypsys...these must be...BANDITS!!!! I need to move....I need to leave.....I need to run back to The Capital and warn the emperor. But I'm frozen to this spot.

(Deep voiced man again) "So what do we do with everyone when we storm the walls?"

(oily man) " We kill the men, and can keep the women....but the emperor is for the boss."

(Different woman...her voice is high and screachy, screaming) " Forget the boss!!!! I'm going to tear him limb from limb when I catch him...I'm going to do to him just like that Blood sucking friend of his did to my husband!!!!!!"

(Deep voiced man, in a loud whisper) " SHHHH!!!!!! Do you want the boss to hear you....you know what he does to rebels!!!!"

I can't take anymore! I start running for the woods....In my haste to leave, I drop my basket. The entire time running for the woods I pray to my gods for swiftness, endurance, and direction. I must warn the emperor!!!!!!!!!! All that time in the firelight, I have lost what night vision I had, and now I am stumbling blindly through the forest. I feal the tear of branches against my skin. I trip over a raised tree root and fall. My knee now feels like it's on fire, and I can feel blood trickeling down my leg. I close my eyes and ask the gods to guide my gypsy feet, open my eyes, and run with everything I have left.

I am finaly out of the woods....I can see the capital....but my legs can no longer hold me...I colaps with exaustion just as the sun peeks over the walls of The Capital. A merchant comming to the city with his goods in a cart he's pulling stops to see if I'm alive.....The last thing I manage to say before I pass out is "Emperor......trouble growing.....desert."

*300 GC Obtained*