This Place Is In Shambles, Just Like My Dreams (Arbiter's Grounds) - BP & Squish

Discussion in 'Classic Dungeons' started by Squishy, Feb 11, 2016.

  1. Squishy

    Squishy tl;dr this is all, still, toko's fault admin

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    Starring:

    Becca, Spirited Witch (Blonde Panther) - 1/5/4 - TBA (Beck & Becca recieve 50 rupees in total)
    Beck, Skeleton of a Man (Blonde Panther) - 5/1/4 - TBA (Beck & Becca recieve 50 rupees in total)
    Fion Tivan, Desperate Twili (Squishy) - 1/4/5 - Alter Shadow, +30 rupees

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    Dry, dusty, dead. The wind was not unlike the desert it blew across, stirring up sand as it flew over endless dunes and great stretches of flat land, all in the same golden colour. At times it brushed past rocks, eroded remnants of once magnificent structures, wearing them down even further until eventually, nothing would remain. But one particular structure proved to be stronger than the desert wind so far. The Arbiter's Grounds. The ancient colosseum stood tall on a rocky hill, broken pillars reaching up to the sky, as if trying to grasp the clouds. Once, it had been a prison and place of execution, many of the realm's worst inhabitants meeting their end there.

    But the figure moving through it now was neither prisoner nor guard. Fion brushed a strand of hair from his face, eyes squinting against the harsh sunlight. Aside from many cells, the prison had also contained something else. Back home, there had been legends of a device that allowed for travel between the Twilight and Light realm, a gate between the two worlds. From what the Twili had understood, even with his poor grasp of Hylian, such tales existed here too. Even better, the legends here even pointed towards a certain place, somewhere in the desert. And so his goal had been set.

    The Twili had braved the harsh desert, kept going by his determination find a way home. The colosseum had loomed on the horizon, growing bigger and more foreboding the closer he got, but Fion pressed on. He had made his way through the dusty and abandoned prison, past chambers whose contents only hinted at the horrors they had contained, navigated the maze of cells, narrow corridors and spacious hallways, all the way up to the top, to the arena that supposedly housed the gateway to his home realm, only to find it...

    Gone.

    The mirror was gone.

    The arena was deserted, most of its solid stone floor covered in dust and sand, hiding dark discoloured stains and places where the floor has been reduced to cracks and rubble. The steps around the center were in a similar state of disrepair, some having all but collapsed from age and disuse. Amidst it all was a small raised platform, upon which rested a huge iron frame. An empty frame. Not a single trace was left of the mirror that had once been contained in it.

    At first Fion could only stare at the empty frame in disbelief. He had been so sure that this time, it would go right. That he would be able to go home. But the mirror was gone. Once again, he saw his hopes and dreams crushed before his eyes.

    The Twili screamed in fury, grabbing a chunk of rock and throwing it at the frame in frustration. The rock hit with a dull thud, the sound echoing through the arena as it bounced off and landed somewhere in the sand. Fion howled, shaking, filled with rage at the unfairness of it all. He kicked at the sand, shadows swirling and twisting around him as he raged on. But his fury wore him down fast. Soon, the Twili's cries turned into sobs as he sank to his knees, overcome by despair.
    Squishy, Feb 11, 2016
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  2. Blonde Panther

    Blonde Panther Not always sweet and delicate vet

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    The Twili's cries echoed ominously throughout the arena, causing one of the skeletons slumbering in it a small amount of discomfort. The bones shivered, with cracked fingers wrapping around the hilt of a sword and an extinguished lantern, and the sockets in its skull lit up with an eerie blue light. As it rattled to its feet, the lantern in its hand lit up dimly, spreading a purplish glow onto its ribs and the remnants of its armour and clothes. The Stalfos turned his head slowly, trying to regain his bearings after having been asleep.

    The flame in the lantern grew brighter as Becca, too, shook the mantle of sleep and remembered where they were. Ah, yes. The collosseum of the dead. She had led Beck here in hopes of improving his sword arm; after all, he needed to be in as fine a form as she could get him if they were to exact revenge on their murderer. That she had hoped to speak with some of the skeletons and ghosts inhabiting the place and see if they knew anything interesting, had helped. Sadly, they had held no information of note, but with Beck coming out as the victor of the tournament, the trip had not been wasted.

    Becca indicated she wanted to leave, but Beck was still busy looking around the arena for the source of the noise that had woken him up. Finally, he found it, although it was hard to see in the darkness. A little flesh-fellow, hunched over on the ground in front of the large metal frame that stood in the middle of the arena. The sounds he made were not happy sounds at all, so instead of obeying Becca's orders, Beck walked over to him, putting his sword in the sheath on his back with his shield, and placed his bony hand on the flesh-fellow's shaking shoulder.
    Blonde Panther, Feb 11, 2016
    #2
  3. Squishy

    Squishy tl;dr this is all, still, toko's fault admin

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    A surprised sound, somewhere between a gasp and a cry left the Twili's lips when he felt a hand placed on his shoulder. On instinct, he vanished, only to reappear a few paces back an instant later. His frustration was almost instantly forgotten, replaced by fright when he saw the enormous skeleton. Fion's heart hammered in his chest. Its eyes had an eerie glow to them, two pinpricks of light trained on the Twili. Fion spread his hands out in front of him, ready to resort to defensive measures should the skeleton make a move.

    But it didn't.

    It just... stood there. Fion's hand reached up to his shoulder, feeling the place where he had been touched. He felt nothing that seemed like a wound, or anything different from his own, normal skin. Had the skeleton... been checking up on him? Had the hand simply been a comforting gesture? The Twili tilted his head in confusion, not quite sure what to make of this. It was rather unnerving to see the skeleton staring at him, whether he was hostile or not.
    Squishy, Feb 13, 2016
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  4. Blonde Panther

    Blonde Panther Not always sweet and delicate vet

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    Beck drew his hand back when the little creature on the ground rounded on him and stared at him, wide-eyed. The Stalfos held both hands up, taking a step back as a sign that he meant no harm, but didn't make any motions to speak to the critter. And Becca was not one for idle conversation... this could get awkward, but he didn't want to leave the upset being alone.

    Inside her lantern, however, Becca would have gasped if she had required air to exist. Was that... why yes, it was! Neither Hylian nor Poe, and yet not something weird inbetween either... The creature was alive, and yet it radiated a powerful aura of pure shadow that was normally only associated with her own kind or with the servants of Ganon. So much power... she stood to gain much from helping it, she could tell. If that doofus Beck wasn't going to talk to him, then she would!

    She manifested her spectral form just a foot or so behind Beck, who looked over his shoulder with his usual expressionless face; still, he was surprised, not knowing what had moved Becca to show herself. Ignoring the dumb Stalfos, she hovered past him and lowered herself to the ground in front of the creature. "Forgive him," she said, magic making her voice clear and melodious. "He means no harm. What is the matter, child?"
    Blonde Panther, Feb 14, 2016
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  5. Squishy

    Squishy tl;dr this is all, still, toko's fault admin

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    The skeleton was definitely not hostile. And not very talktative either. Not that Fion minded, as he most likely would not have understood it anyway. The Twili sniffed, a few, last stray tears rolling down his cheek. He wiped them away with his sleeve, squeezing his eyes shut.

    But when he opened them, there was another. Something had appeared behind the skeleton, a spectre of some kind. Fion tensed up again, watching it hover past the skeleton and straight to him. But then it lowered itself onto the ground, coming eye to eye with the Twili. She spoke, but Fion could only dumbly stare at it- her? Her voice was gentle and feminine, but her face was mostly obscured by a cloak.

    As she spoke, Fion shook his head.

    "I don't..."

    He did not know the words to tell her he did not understand. The Twili sighed, letting his shoulders sag, exhausted from his earlier outburst.
    Last edited: Feb 15, 2016
    Squishy, Feb 15, 2016
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  6. Blonde Panther

    Blonde Panther Not always sweet and delicate vet

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    He didn't? Didn't what? Becca waited a few seconds, but when she saw the creature droop to the ground she realised he wasn't going to speak to her anymore. Despair was an emotion she understood, even if she did not empathize with it, so she turned to Beck, instructing him to find something, anything, that the creature could drink or eat. When the Stalfos took off, his rattling bones a good indicator of where he was relative to the other two, Becca lowered her spectral body lower to the ground, placing a hand over the creature's face.

    "It's alright," she said. "Rest." As she hovered back to her normal height, she floated around aimlessly for a bit. It seemed the creature wasn't very talkative. However, it definitely had power... it would be in her best interest to comfort it and help it with whatever it was that it needed help with. She made her way over to the empty frame the critter had been looking at. It certainly looked like it was supposed to support something... but what? She didn't sense anything from it. When she heard Beck rattling back, she turned around and joined him. "He is Beck," she said, "And I am Becca." She gestured towards the creature. "Who are you?"

    Beck, meanwhile, sat down facing the creature and set down a chipped bowl in front of him. A recent corpse had miraculously had a waterskin on it, and he had emptied it in a small bowl to make drinking easier on the flesh-fellow. As he sat, he stuck out a finger and pointed at it, then making a gesture as if he drank from it, and then pointed at the flesh-fellow. Hopefully, he'd get the Stalfos's meaning.
    Blonde Panther, Mar 9, 2016
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  7. Squishy

    Squishy tl;dr this is all, still, toko's fault admin

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    Fion stiffened when the spectre laid a hand on his face. Her touch was cold and odd, as if her hand was there and yet not there at all. And yet, something about it was familiar. Comforting. The Twili sighed deeply, folornly watching the spectre hover over to the empty frame. But nothing happened.

    As the skeleton rejoined them, the spectre gestured at it and herself. By now he understood that she was introducing themselves. Fion nodded, putting a hand to his chest as he said his name is a near-whisper.

    "Fion."

    Beck shambled closer to him, carrying something in his hands. He dropped to the ground, putting a sloshing bowl in front of the Twili. Water. Fion carefully picked it up, trying not to spill anything as he took a sip. He was far from thirsty, but the coolness of the water helped him calm down and focus. Fion put the bowl down with a nod of thanks to Beck.

    Again, the Twili looked at the empty frame, lip trembling as his eyes scanned over the jagged, tiny shards still left in it. Someone or something had broken it, or taken it. Not that it mattered much what happened. All Fion knew was that the mirror was gone, and so was his chance of getting home. He shook his head, blinking away more tears. He should have stayed with the others. Triton had been nice to him, and Thria, too, after a while. Or the kind lady who had helped him escape from his cage... If only Fion had remained with them he would not be here, disappointed and lost in a desert.

    At least some form of company had shown up. Perhaps they would prove to be nice too.

    Fion sighed, frowning when he looked from the frame back to Becca. He pointed at the metal contraption, not quite able to stop his voice from sounding shaky and absolutely miserable.

    "Home."
    Squishy, Mar 16, 2016
    #7