Ruin's Dawn: Storied Gold

[Alyssia]

Alyssia ran back up the tunnel fighting tears as her body continued to heat up. She gasped and slid to a stop as the geese began to surround her. The teen tried to move away from them but found it nearly impossible. All she could do was to follow wherever the stupid birds wanted to take her. It was clear that she was not in the mood to be nice to them and ask politely for them to leave her be so they would not get hurt. The teen looked back when Oram insisted that she followed them to save herself.

What could they possibly do to keep the fires at bay? She nodded and followed more shaking more as they kept showing her where to go. Alyssia looked back when Kalortah also began to follow and sing for her. Sniffing, the teen tried to focus more on what she could do in order to keep from lighting everything on fire. The words in the avriels song made her want to laugh though. No one had cared for her when she had been growing up. They had used her for their gain and yet several faces flashed across her face.

The late Baron von Smooglenuff, Darius Baer, Saoire, Elisabeth, and all the people of Faldrass were all counting on her to stop Faldrun. Alyssia couldn’t let them down, her last name was the very proof she needed that someone cared. He had given her a chance at a new life, and yet the teen had failed him. It was not something that was out of place in her life, but for some reason that particular failure had hurt her more than any other one. It lingered in the back of her mind even when she was doing nothing but working on her studies at Saoire’s school.

When the geese finally led her to the strange room the teen looked around unable to stop herself as tears finally fell. The emotions that she had kept pent up for so long were no longer able to be held back. They would present themselves no matter what the teen wanted. It felt like she was losing control of herself, and everyone could see it while she could not stop it. The feeling of powerlessness was terrifying to say the least.

“What can a bunch of geese do to stop this? No one will want me when they knew the truth,” Alyssia whispered as quietly as she could.

[Avalon]

Saun 35, Arc 721

Time was of the essence – both men could feel that. Neither knew particular details, but they could infer enough from various sources that the situation had the potential to get much worse very quickly if action wasn’t taken. The issue, as it were, was that none of the three present were equipped with the information necessary to assist Alyssia with her issue. It was troublesome, and potentially explosive.

Unwilling to be daunted, however, all three moved forward the best they could, using their gifts to sort through the problem.

Oram reasoned that letting the young girl know that she was contributing to their efforts would help things, and he was not wrong. It was a smart thing to do, and had Alyssia been in a less agitated state, it could have potentially deescalated things.

Alyssia’s actions in leaving the safe place had consequences, as the geese fled to her side. For whatever information the trio lacked, the Golden Flock was operating off something completely different – instinct. If they were receiving advice from elsewhere, Kalortah could not tell.

Both men realized at the same time what needed to happen, and both were being advised by different sources. One might even consider the oddity of their unlikely joint efforts to help the girl considering their past association. In the moment though, they both acted.

Make no mistake – Boss Gossling and The Golden Flock were large and very in charge of the situation, herding the flustered and potentially volatile Alyssia expertly. Both men urged the girl to go with the geese, hoping to assure her that she was being cared for. Kalortah used his extraordinary gift of song to help her, and in doing so noted that the geese tried to join in by making noises, mimicking the notes he was singing.

Oram refused to abandon Alyssia, so he took off after the group as well. They weaved and bobbed through the stone corridors, geese all the while babbling about directions, although to all but Kalortah, it was simply geese noises.

Alyssia followed the advice of the others, shoving down her fear and letting the geese help her. She was secretly terrified of hurting others. Her instincts were truthful, genuine and to be applauded, but she was in trouble and the only ones that could help had her surrounded.

Kalortah’s song found it’s way to her, breaking through, allowing her to focus, and even laugh a little. It helped, but just as Oram’s thought earlier to acknowledge her contributions, it only served to delay the inevitable.

It, however, was important. Their actions mattered. Both men had given Alyssia, and The Golden Flock, time.

Finally, the group broke through to a wide cavern. It would become immediately evident to Kalortah why the flock had called it the “Blue”. In front of them, a large shallow pool of brilliant blue water lay.

Unfortunately, there was very little time in the that moment to look around, for The Golden Flock knew that they had to do and were unafraid of doing it. Alyssia, tightly nestled between their bodies, had no choice for she was completely and utterly surrounded.

Breaking through the opening, The Golden Flock, Alyssia included, headed straight for the shimmering pool of water, and launched in mass off the shallow ledge. The geese behind Alyssia effectively punted her into the low pool, which she would immediately realize she could touch the bottom of with her feet. The entire group of geese surrounded her in the pool, swimming next to her, cooing in soft bird noises at her, making sure she was alright and knew they were there. She was being cared for in the best way they knew how. Alyssia would feel the fires cooling in the comfortable water. It was neither too cold nor too warm. Just right.

Crisis averted, the trio would have the chance to look around and explore their new surroundings. Oram and Kalortah, from their position, would notice that the pool, while being incredibly blue, also had faint glowing spots on the bottom of it. It wasn’t immediately evident what they were.

Alyssia, from inside the pool, would quickly realize that there were solid objects on the bottom of the pool that were not stationary. They could be pushed around with her foot.

There were a few caves that jutted off to the side of the cavern, but none of the trio could exactly tell what was within any of them, other than one seemed to emit a faint glow. For the moment, the geese were focused on Alyssia, and the voice Oram could hear chose to remain silent.

Once all three were able to focus, something came over them. Similar to what they had felt outside the vault, when the calm had overcome them just after they arrived. This time, however, it was different, and came with its own peculiar brand of visions. Alyssia, Oram and Kalortah would each see the cavern and pool for what they were, but as well, soft visions of times gone by passed in front of them. In particular, moments where they had been challenged and rose to it. Everyone had those moments, be it large or small, and they played out before them, dancing in the air like a shimmering theater. For what reason, was not readily apparent.

Oram - Objectives Met!

You posted! ~ Thank you for posting on time!

Kalortah - Objectives Met!

You posted! ~ Thank you for posting on time!

Alyssia - Objectives Met!

You posted! ~ Thank you for posting on time!

Info & Rules

• Now that we're getting significantly into the story part, any non-posting will have a greater effect on both the story itself and the other PCs. Therefore, we are adopting an approach of "two strikes" - miss one round of posting and there are IC consequences at the end of the thread. If a second round is missed, the PC(s) in question will be written out of the thread and a negative consequence will be given. If there is going to be an issue for you, please contact your mod or Basilisk at the earliest moment, in order to work out where to go from here.
  
  Please note that these rules will apply to all players in this thread. When we move to the next stage of this Global Event, however, it will be a no-strikes policy, which Basilisk will make explicit.
• This style of event moderation - with objectives etc - was created by a wonderful moderator named Crimson. I had forgotten all about it until I saw Peg used it here. Thanks to Crimson for the amazing mod style, and to Peg for seeing it carried forward for the enjoyment of future writers. It's a legacy very much worth continuing. Much love to you both!
• You are all so pretty....

Objectives - There is one this round!!!!!!

!	Message from: Must-Do Objectives
	Describe one moment in your character's life where they were challenged and rose to it. It can be a big moment, or small.

!	Message from: Can-Do Objectives
	None this round

Deadline to Post: Monday 9th of August

Next Post: Tuesday 10th of August

[Oram Mednix]

Should I get in the hot tub? (Yeah!) Will it make me sweat? (Yeah!) Should I get in the water? (Yeah!) Will it make me wet?(Yeah!)

Loudly, busily, the geese thronged about Alyssia and herded her down the tunnels; Oram could only follow, hoping more than knowing that this was the right thing to do. Kalortah’s song had helped calm Alyssia down; whatever else he thought of him, the hunter had never had cause to doubt the avriel’s talent. The geese seemed to mimic the tones of the song, as if trying to sing along. Under different circumstances, it would have been amusing.

As the unlikely gaggle gabbled and waddled through twisting tunnels, Oram was glad that he had thought to use Cassion’s compass on the exit earlier. He did not relish the prospect of being lost down here. At length, the tunnels they followed opened into another cavern, this one with a shimmering blue pool of water in the middle. The golden flock wasted no time herding the hapless aukari girl into its coolness. As geese and girl alike dropped into the water, Oram felt instinctively that the crisis -this one, at least- had passed. They had not run here that fast, yet Oram found he was breathing heavily. Within the next few trills, as the geese swam about Alyssia warbling at her soothingly, the traveler regained his calm and quietened his breathing. He even managed to spare a nod of acknowledgment at the avriel as he did so.

Calmer now, he looked at the surroundings more carefully. The pool shimmered blue, its water luke warm to the touch. The light, he realized, was not a glow suffused through the water, but came from small, discreet points at the bottom, just a few feet down. He thought he saw one move as Alyssia’s foot touched it. Nor was that the only thing he thought he saw.

Oram recognized what was happening and sighed in exasperation: visions. The hunter had had visions before. He disliked them; they usually came unbidden and distracted the mind from one’s actual surroundings, even when you realized they weren’t real. Yet they insisted on following him around at inconvenient times and yapping at him like attention-seeking strays or urchins. He shot a sour look at Amoach, who had manifested with the feet of his tripod poised on the surface of the water, like those of a fishing spider.

Well, the vision wasn’t going to see itself, so Oram attended to whatever it was trying to show him. At first, the scene resembled that presented itself in the cave, and the hunter thought at first he might be seeing some alternative or past event superimposed on the present. Eventually, he made out that the vision-cavern was enormous, larger far than this one, and glowing with an angry red heat where this one was cool. He saw himself, one arm cradled in a sling as he limped along, and realized that he was seeing the events that had taken place an arc ago, in the sweltering bowels of Faldrass.

He had broken a toe and bones in either arm, and yet, Cassion had come to him and his companions and helped them. The Man of Roads had healed one of his arms enough so that he could use it, and over time his other wounds had healed as well, but in the meantime, Oram had simply had to grit his teeth and push through the pain. He had a chainstone to find, somewhere among the fissures of this canyon. There was an abandoned campsite over there, with a fire pit, over which hung a tripod, right about where Amoach was standing in the present cave. There was incredible heat and rippling air that made it almost as hard to breathe as it was to see. There were fissures in the ground thwarting his path.

And there, as here, had been visions, wrestling with the current situation for his attention. Am I really having visions about having visions?! Oram wondered, glaring at Amoach, who simply looked back impassively, hovering atop the shimmering water -or was it over the abandoned fire pit? The hunter -in the vision- frowned and focused and willed his way through the envisioned heat, the envisioned visions, the envisioned cracks, and finally found the envisioned chainstone, buried in the envisioned ashes of the old envisioned fire. Carefully, Vision-Oram had shoveled it, with much of its surrounding ash, into a bag, to find Darius and Yeva once more, and to take the chainstones back to wherever they had needed to go.

The scene resolved back into the cool cavern, with the pool of shimmering water, rather than a lake of glaring lava, in its center. Alyssia was still standing in the pond, with geese in attendance. Oram glanced at the glowing object she had just nudged with her foot. ”I wonder what that is?” he asked aloud, though he made no move to get into the water himself to investigate more closely. Looking up from the pond, the traveler noticed that there were what appeared to be smaller caves leading off the pool cavern.

Approaching that entrance, but without leaving the current cavern, Oram peered into the glowing chamber to see what he could within, as he would the other caves, if there were aught of note in those.

[Kalortah]

Wait did she... did she actually laugh at his beautiful and wonderful song? That little ingrateful wretch, Kalortah would have yeeted her off a cliff if there were any points of elevation, he would...

But no, they were all a team here, and had to cooperate. Kalortah chose to follow the example of the Golden Flock, and work as part of a team, not as an individual. There was something to be said for that, in the end, even though he lived a mostly solitary life, enjoying his own company.

So he didn't punish Alyssia for her amusement of his beautiful and perfect voice. For the visions his song granted them both. Yet as they arrived at a pool of sorts, he had some satisfaction as the geese yeeted Alyssia into the water, dousing what might otherwise ended up as an explosive situation.

He watched as they went about their business, the geese trying to give Alyssia comfort pecks and pets, and generally just giving her all the attention. Harumph.

Yet, as he closed to the water, he became aware that he was very thirsty. The water looked clean enough, although appearances could be deceiving, and he took a small handful of water from it to drink.

Yet, as he did, he saw his reflection in the water. He began having visions of his time back in Athart, when he'd tried to rid himself of the corruption of magic. He'd succeeded, but at the expense of his grandfather's life as well as his own. Yet through the carnage, he was reborn (and with the help of a ring of reversal). He rose above it, and became as a phoenix. The reflection in the pool painted the experience in a far more positive light, all told. He just remembered stumbling about on his way from one point to another, trying to desperately save his grandfather, but failing.

Yet still he was entranced by these visions of himself, and he asked the pool, "Show us more..."

[Alyssia]

Before the girl realized what was happening the teen was thrown into the water in the room. A gasp left her as she hit the water and on instinct swallowed the water that got in her mouth. She was shocked when she could no longer feel the burning fire in her veins. Something about the water covering her body made her blood cool once more. The teen stayed under as long as she could before surfacing with a loud coughing. As the geese moved around her, Alyssia smiled hearing them trying to recreate the man’s song from before.

“What beautiful birds learning an even more beautiful song,” Alyssia stated with a smile and gently ran her hand over the back of one of the birds.

She attempted to stand up and prepare to get out of the water when the room began to feel different. The teen looked down at the water and fought a gasp seeing it change from simple water. Looking down when her feet kept brushing against things, she tried to focus on what was on the bottom of the pool even though the water commanded her attention. It began to change right before her eyes.

“It can’t be,” Alyssia said while staring at the water.

She could see when the teen arrived at the Smooglenuff manor. It was strange to see what others had seen when she had answered the call for help that had been put out. A sadness gripped her heart as the teen remembered that she had failed to help the man. But there was something different about it. Alyssia watched as she stepped forward to do things that others did not want to do or decided to change to later on before they left. Several had joined her at the base camp and even a few had left. The teen had tried to settle the fight between Maxine and her group when no others had offered to help calm the situation.

Perhaps that was why the Baron and Lady Saoire called her brave even when she had failed. In her mind being brave meant that one did not lose. But the teen had lost the fight at the manor and if it had not been for Karem, she would have lost her life that very same night. Since the teen had tried her best to make everyone that gave her a second chance proud. It would not do to disappoint them. Looking away from the memory, the teen kept her eyes closed and knelt down holding her breath as she reaches into the water feeling around for what was beside her feet.

[Avalon]

Saun 35, Arc 721

The trio had made their way through the corridors – Alyssia being herded by the Golden Flock and Kalortah and Oram close behind. Each had their own thoughts as they raced through the underground stone maze. Oram’s mind centered on his practical nature, giving thanks for his thought to mark the apparent exit, and hoping they were doing the right thing regarding Alyssia. Kalortah, well, he had some…interesting thoughts. Quickly, however, they were dismissed as he looked to the Golden Flock and remembered that he was part of a team.

Alyssia, corralled by her winged geese-in-shining-armor, had chosen to go with the Flock and see how they could assist her. No sooner had the group entered the room as the young girl and her feathered escorts went straight into the water, leaving Kalortah and Oram standing on the edge, looking down.

The exertion they had expended, mentally, emotionally, and physically, weighed on both men. They both knew, somehow, that crisis had been avoided and for the moment, things were still. Alyssia felt nothing but the coolness of the pool, washing away the intense, burning she had felt moments before.

The edges of the pool itself were dotted with large boulders at fairly random intervals. Kalortah moved closer to the pool of water, kneeling and reaching in to get a drink. The water was clean and refreshing, yet when he looked up, things changed…. for all of them.

Visions took hold – from what source remained a mystery – and each experienced something unique without losing sight of where they were. A gift? A distraction? That was unclear.

For each, they had faced a challenge, and each had risen above it. For Kalortah, the moment was played out in such a way that he felt more enlightened about the events. Oram’s visions were equally intense, showing him the fires of Faldrass and all that played out there. Faldrass was the site of Alyssia’s visions as well, and while the scenes were all different, even after such lengths of time, there were lessons to be learned from them.

The avriel had asked for more, yet as the apparitions drifted away, it was apparent that that portion of the entertainment was over for the moment.

The Golden Flock surrounded Alyssia in the pool, making sure she felt their presence and knew she wasn’t alone. Two of the Flock, Gandersauce, and Boss Gosling, swam to the edge and launched themselves out of the water, shaking off the water that clung to their feathers and returned to Oram and Kalortah’s sides respectively. Alyssia would realize that the goose she was petting was none other than Fowler Goosestep, who quickly laid his head on the girl’s arm.

The Flock returned to babbling. Kalortah would be able to surmise that they were talking about the ‘important’ place. Lots of talk about the ‘important’ place, and enough related words for him to realize that they were in the ‘important’ place, or that it was nearby. Something like that. Geese babbled. A lot.

They were also talking about the ‘pretty song’ that the avriel had sung to Alyssia. It was very apparent they had loved the song, as several were still trying to mimic the music and notes – an homage to Kalortah. Imitation was the highest form of flattery, after all.

Oram and Alyssia seemed to note at that same time something seemed to be lying on the pool’s bottom. The girl could feel it with her feet, nudging and finding it wasn’t a fixed object. Oram spoke of his curiosity and moved to see what he could see of the side chambers, drawn perhaps by the curious glow.

When he strode close enough, Oram saw what appeared to be the edges of…something. Like a built-up berm of sorts. It wasn’t the edges of the berm that got his attention though.

Well, to be fair, Gandersauce's insistence on running into the cavern, flying up, and landing on what got Oram's attention probably had a lot to do with it too.

On the other side of the small ledge of dirt, he could see heaps and heaps of gold objects. Goblets, plates, orbs, chains, coins. The light of the pool cast reflections upon the gold, illuminating the treasure. The man would have to get closer to know for sure what was contained within the cavern, but what he could see seemed promising. As well, he could tell that the entrance to the cavern sloped down gently, with a small path leading into the pool of water. It appeared that it would allow for easy entry or exit of the pool, should one desire.

Alyssia, bending over in the pool of water, geese watching, grabbed hold of the wobbly object near her feet and was able to pull it up, finding it to be the most curious thing – a large golden egg.

Oram - Objectives Met!

Oram-Vision ~ This will have positive consequence at the end of the thread.

Kalortah - Objectives Met!

Kalortah-Vision ~ This will have positive consequence at the end of the thread.

Alyssia - Objectives Met!

Alyssia-Vision ~ This will have positive consequence at the end of the thread.

Info & Rules

• Now that we're getting significantly into the story part, any non-posting will have a greater effect on both the story itself and the other PCs. Therefore, we are adopting an approach of "two strikes" - miss one round of posting and there are IC consequences at the end of the thread. If a second round is missed, the PC(s) in question will be written out of the thread and a negative consequence will be given. If there is going to be an issue for you, please contact your mod or Basilisk at the earliest moment, in order to work out where to go from here.
  
  Please note that these rules will apply to all players in this thread. When we move to the next stage of this Global Event, however, it will be a no-strikes policy, which Basilisk will make explicit.
• This style of event moderation - with objectives etc - was created by a wonderful moderator named Crimson. I had forgotten all about it until I saw Peg used it here. Thanks to Crimson for the amazing mod style, and to Peg for seeing it carried forward for the enjoyment of future writers. It's a legacy very much worth continuing. Much love to you both!
• You are all so pretty....

Objectives

!	Message from: Must-Do Objectives
	None this round

!	Message from: Can-Do Objectives
	None this round

Deadline to Post: Monday 16th of August

Next Post: Tuesday 17th of August

[Oram Mednix]

There’s gold in them thar berms!

Oram left Alyssia soaking and Kalortah gazing and muttering in fascination at the pool while he himself checked out the side caverns, especially the glowing one. There, on the other side of the berm, he found treasure. Or perhaps, Gandersauce found it form him, as the goose had decided to follow the hunter with much ceremony and perch atop the embankment, on the far side of which lay more gold than Oram had even known to exist, let alone seen in one place.

The traveler was not a greedy man. Although not wealthy, he managed to keep himself comfortable with his work, and was content with the things that he had. But he did appreciate the value of things. Even more, he appreciated that there must be quite a legend, maybe more than one legend, behind how this treasure was amassed and ended up here. Which heroes or pirates collected all this? What did that hero do to acquire such wealth? How long did it take, and how long ago? And how did it all end up here? Such a trove of gold was bound to be storiedThat’s the name of the thread!, and if it wasn’t, Oram resolved that it soon would be.

Curious, he examined some of the coins. He was no numi-nummy-coin collector; simply perusing the things would not reveal much to him. But somebody would be able to tell the mint and age of these. He picked out a few, not based on their size or guessed-at-value, but on their variety and uniqueness. He weighed them thoughtfully on his hand, casting questioning looks at both Gandersauce and Amoach to gauge any kind of reaction or warning. He’d heard tales of cursed treasures before. He didn’t want to be part of one of *those* stories. If nothing untoward happened, he would pocket them.

Then, thinking once more of his companions at the pool, he grabbed a goblet. He was curious to see if anything different happened if one filled a goblet from that particular hoard with water from that particular pool. He walked back towards the group with goblet in hand. ”I found something,” he announced to the other two. ”I believe it’s the gold our Cassion mentioned when we first got here.” He gestured back towards the cavern with the cup. ”There’s plenty for all of us and then some. Go and see for yourself.”

Kalortah would probably want it all for himself, Oram suspected, claiming it for Delroth or something vain and foolish like that, the way he had tried to claim the tree. The hunter hoped not. He did not lust for that gold, but he would certainly prefer to come home with a fair share of it when this was all over. He looked over at Alyssia, who was still in the pool. She held a gold egg. So that is what they had seen earlier in the water?

The hunter looked the avriel. ”I was curious to see if anything strange happened when someone filled one of these cups with the water from this pool.” He held out the goblet towards Kalortah. ”Would you like to do the honors, or shall I?” He himself would fill the cup with water if Kal didn’t accept.

He peered once more at the egg the aukari girl held, then he looked questioningly at the geese. ”I wonder what all they know about these eggs, or about the treasure, that they haven’t told us yet.”

Then at last, the hunter looked away, squinting at the various side passages, and back down the corridor from which they had entered.

”We need to think about the other aukari, too,” Oram observed. ”I wonder where they’re going. Or that big rogue goose we heard earlier.” Or that voice he added silently. He handed the cup to Kalortah, if he hadn’t already, with or without water in it from the pool, and stalked back towards the entrance to watch and listen for anything untoward.

[Kalortah]

The visions would not return, and for a moment, just a moment, Kalortah sulked. But then his mood was forgotten in favor of the Flock's return to babbling. They began to talk about his 'pretty song', which made Kalortah glow with pride and pleasure. Then they began to mimic him, trying to reproduce the sound with their own honks and squeaks. Far from the drunken louts who tried to sing along with his Lorien dirges, Kalortah found their attempts charming. Perhaps it was his lord's task that he promote bird love, or the phoenix pin he wore even now, but he did adore these geese.

Kalortah almost hated to interrupt their attempts, but he did, "Excuse me, Boss Gosling, do you suppose you can explain what the 'Important Place' is? And where you last saw the 'red ones'? And what of that big honker that we narrowly avoided?" That was all the questions he had for the Flock, as he didn't want to prompt a torrential answer.

As he waited for them to respond, he hummed along with the Flock's attempts to mimic his song, giving in to their compulsion to copy it, without singing it in full.

Kalortah was very intrigued by the pile of gold, but not one motivated by material wealth, and more by beauty and fine art... Still, he could appreciate even the gaudy appeal of the gilt items laying in a pile before him.

Oram grabbed a goblet, and filled it with water, walking back toward Kalortah and Alyssia. Kalortah had noticed that she found a golden egg, but the Geese hadn't reacted in an adverse way, so he supposed she might be meant to handle it. He could deal with that for now. But at the moment, Oram was handing Kalortah a goblet of water.

When Oram asked what the Geese might know of the eggs, or the treasure, Kalortah turned to Fowler Goosestep, and asked, "Fowler, do you know what this golden egg she found might be? Or where this treasure came from?" Kalortah had heard his share of stories about cursed treasures, and was wary that such a trove had laid for ages without being disturbed. He turned to Oram, "I'd be careful about taking the treasure, until we know what it's about..."

But then, he asked about the aukari, the 'red ones', and Kalortah nodded. He would tell him then, if the Geese were cooperative, what the birds had told him about the 'red ones' and the Big Honker, which he'd already asked them.

For now, it seemed there was little else for him to do, but hum along with the babble of the geese.

[Alyssia]

Alyssia opened her eyes after standing up on her feet. Confusion immediately appeared on the teen’s face. She had never seen a golden egg before; very carefully she rolled the egg around in her hands looking at it carefully. It was beautiful in her hand as she tried to ignore the geese that were finally starting to give her space. Well except for one that was still rubbing against her, a soft smile graced her face. The teen turned and gently rubbed the feathers on its back while showing it the egg.

“Is this what you have been telling Kalortah about?” Alyssia asked.

She turned to look at the others before slowly wading out of the water to make sure that she did not accidentally crack any other eggs that could be hidden in the water. If the teen felt more, then she would kneel down and pick up others till Alyssia was at the edge of the water and offered each of the men one of the eggs. The teen knew she needed to get out of the water, but her fires had never been so calm and peaceful. It was a feeling that she did not want to lose. If she left the water, then she would feel it begin to bubble in her veins once again.

“This water, its magic of some kind. Could this be where the Aukari are searching for?” Alyssia inquired and turned some looking over the water again.

If the goose came close and nuzzled against her, the teen would smile brightly and gently pet the feathers the same way they were going on its back. She could not imagine it feeling good to be petted where the feathers would end up ruffled. The teen took a deep breath and looked back at the two men that were trying to figure out more about their predicament.

“Excuse me a moment, I want to thank you both for helping me. I did not mean to laugh at your song Kal. It was beautiful, just old memories flashed through my mind at the same time. Oram, thank you for helping me focus on the task at hand. I owe you both more than you know,” Alyssia explained and bowed her head to them both.

[Avalon]

Saun 35, Arc 721

In the cavern, things seemed more peaceful and serene. Whether that was an effect of the cavern or simply their own minds happy that, for a moment, they weren't running down corridors, seeing visions or dealing with interpersonal rifts, was hard to say.

Gandersauce began exploring the side caverns (Oh, and Oram too!) and found past, present and/or future storied gold. Who knew if there were already legends about the loot. The very number of reasons and ways the golden loot could have come to reside in the mountain were astronomical. Neither goose nor diri sounded an alarm as to the treasure, allowing Oram to pocket a few coins for later inspection.

Being the logical, steadfast man that he was...(Oram, not Gandersauce, of course)...he decided to see what would happen if he filled the goblet with water from Alyssia's current place of respite, picking up a fine looking artifact and taking it to the others.

Sulky Kalortah was missing the visions, wishing to see more, hoping they would reveal things he had yet to discover on his own. That was the funny thing about visions - sometimes they gave you just enough to get started. Self-reflection was a wondrous thing, and as he thought, the geese mimicked his song softly in the background.

Boss Gosling stayed close to the avriel, and titled her head when spoken to, clucking out a reply as quickly as she could.

Important place...sacred place.

The Bad One not us.

Red ones scared of here. Pictures showed them bad things. They ran away.

It wasn't a lot to go on, admittedly, but the goose did the best she could with it's limited understanding.

The flock itself picked up on Kalortah's humming of his song, redoubling their efforts to mimic the melody they loved so much. It appeared The Golden Flock were very much lovers of music.

Oram announced what he had found to the others and continued his ruminations. Gandersauce, ever the opportunistic goose, pecked at a gold chain, but before even twenty trills of that had gone by, a panicked honk issued forth. If one looked, they would find the goose wrapped in the gold chain - a situation of his own making.

Alyssia had lifted a golden egg from below the surface. One might wonder how it could have lounged on the stone bottom of the pool, not floating to the top. The answer was readily apparent when water began streaming out from inside the egg. Upon further inspection, Alyssia would find the the egg was made of gold...and hollow.

Oram knelt at the water's edge, filling the goblet with the water that had saved Alyssia...and the result was a sight to behold.

The water filled the cup of the goblet. Majestic, tiny ripples floated across the top, indicating movement, but soon settled. As Oram leaned over the goblet, curious to see what it might do, he was met with the most amazing thing....

His reflection. No, the water didn't do anything. It was simply fresh spring water in a goblet.

Alyssia's gold egg artifact was of particular interest to the group, and as such, Oram mused out loud to Kalortah, wondering if the geese knew anything about the egg or treasure. Alyssia showed the egg to Fowler Goosestep, who couldn't understand the words she was saying but bobbed his head up and down excitedly, rubbing against the egg in the teen's hands. That was about as much of a reaction as any of the Golden Flock gave to the discovery of the egg. Curious indeed.

The avriel immediately translated and conveyed his and Oram's queries to Fowler Goosestep, still at Alyssia's side. The goose shook his head at the questions, or perhaps simply shaking some stray water off his head.

We guard. We protect.

It would appear to Kalortah that Fowler Goosestep had no idea about the egg or treasure, beyond the notion of 'guard and protect'. He did not elaborate on where that concept came from, and before two trills could pass, the other geese chimed in with their clucks and honks, affirming what Fowler Goosestep had said.

Kalortah warned Oram, rather belatedly, about taking treasure without knowing more about it, completely unaware of the coins in Oram's pocket.

Alyssia made her way to the edge of the water, having collected two more eggs along the way. All three golden eggs she had were the same - gold and hollow. Lifting them out of the water and offering one to each of the men, her mind went to the water that was her refuge. It had saved her - of this there was no doubt. Fowler Goosestep was with her every step of the way, staying by her side, seemingly enjoying the attention she was lavishing upon him.

Not far off from their cavern, shouts were heard again, riling the Golden Flock. "We've looked everywhere else. It has to be down that way," one voice said. Another replied, "You know what happened the last time we went down there! Why? Why would the artifact be down there? How? Doesn't matter. We are running out of time." Again, Alyssia would be the only member of the group would could understand what words were being said, but Kalortah and Oram certainly understood the tone of the exchange - anger and frustration - and the voices were getting closer.

Never a good combination.

Oram - Objectives Met!

You posted! ~ This will have positive consequence at the end of the thread.

Kalortah - Objectives Met!

You posted! ~ This will have positive consequence at the end of the thread.

Alyssia - Objectives Met!

You posted! ~ This will have positive consequence at the end of the thread.

Info & Rules

• Now that we're getting significantly into the story part, any non-posting will have a greater effect on both the story itself and the other PCs. Therefore, we are adopting an approach of "two strikes" - miss one round of posting and there are IC consequences at the end of the thread. If a second round is missed, the PC(s) in question will be written out of the thread and a negative consequence will be given. If there is going to be an issue for you, please contact your mod or Basilisk at the earliest moment, in order to work out where to go from here.
  
  Please note that these rules will apply to all players in this thread. When we move to the next stage of this Global Event, however, it will be a no-strikes policy, which Basilisk will make explicit.
• This style of event moderation - with objectives etc - was created by a wonderful moderator named Crimson. I had forgotten all about it until I saw Peg used it here. Thanks to Crimson for the amazing mod style, and to Peg for seeing it carried forward for the enjoyment of future writers. It's a legacy very much worth continuing. Much love to you both!
• You are all so pretty....

Objectives

!	Message from: Must-Do Objectives
	None this round

!	Message from: Can-Do Objectives
	None this round

Deadline to Post: Monday 23rd of August

Next Post: Tuesday 24th of August