The Coming Darkness (Boliko's Adventurers)

[boliko]

Daybreak allowed the morning sun to illuminate the kingdom of Temarra, breaking through the early dawn mist. The rays of light slowly peaked over the top of one of the line of tall trees of the forest several miles away, breaking through the cloud which had laid waste to Cascentra the previous night with almost torrential rain. However, this fine morning the water across the roads glistened and reflected the golden light of Yviex's sun beautifully. Brisk cool air swept the streets of Temarra via a light wind, almost pleasant and blowing away the last dark clouds from the night before.
Moments after the sun had risen, the first citizens of the day came outside of their homes. The city had almost every race, and halfling walked by man, dwarf by Elf, even the occasional Orc passed through the city (though the latter seemed to be looking rather out of place, though all races are allowed in). Various winged citizens took through the airs to visit one another, to work and socialise with the other citizens.

In the centre of the large town stood the castle, the foundation of the kingdom. It had many different towers and armaments, and could oversee the whole kingdom. On top of the highest tower stood an elderly man, clad in white robes and looking happy. He was the ruler and the creator of Temarra, Boliko the White. He wore a grey, floppy hat and simple brown, leather sandals. His grey eyes looked out upon the kingdom, and far below he heard the cheers of several of his citizens; he was a well-loved ruler, powerful yet wise, stern yet humoured at the same time.

In his right hand, he held his customised white ornate staff with many elven runes carved into the tip, and in the other, a white letter. It was one of many that he had composed and sent to many great individuals of the land. It read -:

Dear Sir or Madame to whom this parchment is addressed,

Greetings. I am Boliko of Temarra and of Light. I am writing to inform you that I greatly desire you council. If you wish to join me at the castle of Vaex, you shall need to arrive within the next seven days. The journey may be long and perilous, but if you wouldst arrive you may like what I have to offer. The council will take place in evening, but if you arrive beforehand a feast shall greet you.

If you do not wish to come, please sent a quick response via the phoenix that delivered this letter ASAP.

Yours faithfully,
King Boliko

Now, the wise King of Temarra stood enjoying the sunlight and wind, his whitish-grey hair being blown back. Soon, his guests should start arriving.

[arie]

Devlarie, or Ar'ie as she preferred to be called, was lounging in a tree about eight feet off the ground, perfectly comfortable with her traveling pack hanging beside her and her longbow propped up behind her. It was the perfect height because it was not high enough that she risked injury should she fall; but high enough that a passerby wouldn't notice her unless they were looking. Pan, her small undesired companion, lay curled up in her lap. The small feline had only been with her for a little while now and she couldn't guess at his age if she tried. He was a small and grey-white stripped kitten with bright blue eyes who never seemed to tire or run out of energy; a fact that worked in his favor at times. She was relieved now that he was lying on her stomach and not harassing and considered it to be a miracle in and of itself; she intended to get some rest while he slumbered. Tousling her mahogany stained dreadlocks, she moved them so they would drape over her shoulder and settled herself into the tree for a well deserved nap.

Just as she was finally drifting off into a blissful slumber she felt something land on her lap with a soft thud. Thinking that Pan had woken up she opened one hazel eyes lazily to see the small kitten, awake, and pawing at a white scroll. As she started to sit up Pan had already commenced his attack on the strange object, grabbing it with his tiny paws and rolling over to bite at it while it lay on his stomach. She opened both eyes and slanted them in annoyance as she reached over to pull the small feline away from the letter. "Pan" she grumbled "Pan gimme the letter" The small cat let go of the paper but stayed at "alert" as read over the contents.

Dear Sir or Madame to whom this parchment is addressed,

Greetings. I am Boliko of Temarra and of Light. I am writing to inform you that I greatly desire you council. If you wish to join me at the castle of Vaex, you shall need to arrive within the next seven days. The journey may be long and perilous, but if you wouldst arrive you may like what I have to offer. The council will take place in evening, but if you arrive beforehand a feast shall greet you.

If you do not wish to come, please sent a quick response via the phoenix that delivered this letter ASAP.

Yours faithfully,
King Boliko

Devlarie read over the note, and then read over it again to make sure she has read it correctly. An invitation from the King she thought to herself raising an eyebrow. High orders indeed.. she looked over at the phoenix who had delivered the message. It's bright golden eyes looked intently at Pan. Moving the cat into the small bag attached to her waist,which he traveled in, she turned her attention back to the message."If you do not wish to come, please sent a quick response via the phoenix that delivered this letter ASAP.". She paused for a moment and thought. She wasn't too far from Temarra, it wouldn't be any inconvenience at all to make her way over to the city. The more she thought about it the more she realized how foolish it would be for her to decline this offer. She hadn't learned hardly anything about her past yet and this would be a great opportunity to travel around at a quicker pace than she had been.

Looking from the message to the bird she flicked her hand at the bird. "Well? Shoo." when the bird didn't move she narrowed her eyes at it. "I said shoo bird. I don't require you to send a message back." the bird seemed satisfied with that response and left. She could feel Pan wiggling in his pouch and guessed that he had manage to stick his head out since she could now hear his persistent meowing. "Pan!...pan, he's gone, would you quiet down" the cat looked up at her and her face softened. As annoying of a twit that he was, he was still rather adorable. "You're still about five kinds of annoying you little git, don't think your cuteness will get you everything with me" she said but the feline didn't seem to pay much attention to her, he had started grooming himself. Ar'ie unhooked her traveling pack from the branch it hung on and grabbed her six foot long bow, which was wrapped in it's protective oilskin cloth, and quiver. Making sure everything was secure she grabbed Pan's pouch to make sure he was secure and gracefully lept from the tree without a sound. She started off, quickly and quietly along the road back towards town, wishing the letter had come a little sooner when she had still been in town.

---

When she had arrived at the castle the guards at the gate did not want to let her in at first. Irritated she fished the letter out from her bag. It was a little torn and had some bite marks on it from where Pan had attacked it, but it was still enough to get her into the place; even if she got some strange stares. A tall guard led her through the palace to a large graceful chamber. She glared at him the entire time, envious of his height as well as being mad for having been questioned about her purpose, and spoke crisply and shortly when asked a question. He looked uneasily at her as he informed her that the King would meet her, and any other guests arriving, here. Once he had left she relaxed a little and waited for either the others to arrive or the King to address her, whichever came first.

[ellixia]

When the city came into view, Ellixia was excited. Never before had she been to Temarra, and what a glorious place it was! She was hardly aware of people staring at her- for what a strange sight was a doe carrying two gnomes on her back? Still, she went onward until the castle gates. she finally switched forms then, making the gnomes walk. She wore a long sleeved buckskin top and long buckskin pants with her best fringed boots that went up to half calf. Her modest dress was a request from her mother, who did nothing but sob the day before she left.

To Ellixia, this was an exciting event, to meet the King of Temarra and to go on an adventure? Does life get more exciting than that? The young shapeshifter walked cautiously to where the guards said to meet, and there she saw a bearded man. She stepped forward, "Hello, I'm Ellixia of the Wood, an able scout and a amateur healer. I bring with me, ahem, er, Fred the Great."

[Levidrona Augus Reviarre]

The sun was bright as it shown in upon Levidrona’s face. The human stretched out her arms and then her legs before finally crawling out of the pile of blankets she called a bed. She slipped on her raggedy boots before walking (stretching all the while) over to a broken mirror to examine her appearance. Her fingers combed through her hair in quick motions before she was happy enough with it.

Today, the thief had planned to go up to the castle. She had found a letter that seemed a bit conveniently blown up onto one of the broken windows of the warehouse she had been staying in. It was a letter that had been written to the king, calling for assistance from someone. So, being the clever little thief she was, she decided to go to the castle in place of this person who had lost their letter.

Levi really did not care about if she had to go on an adventure. A free feast seemed wonderful at the moment. Her stomach even growled its agree. Not to mention, this job could probably pay well, and the gods knew how much the human needed money.

The thief stuffed the letter into the pocket of her tattered pants. She strapped her daggers upon her waist, grabbed a small bag that held all of her belongings, and went out the door. Levi had no fear. There was no reason to be fearful. She was a good liar when she needed to be, and she was say whatever lies she had to enter the castle.

After a few minutes of walking, the human reached Vuex Castle. She talked to the guard who stood outside, showing him the letter she had received. The guard had eyed her suspiciously, but Levi kept a sweet little smile upon her face the entire time. He allowed her to come in, since she did have a letter with the king’s signature.

The guard led the thief through the castle and to the waiting room. Levidrona entered and the guard left her. She glanced around the room, finding another girl there, but deciding not to even bother talking to her. The thief kept to herself as she walked over and sat down in one of the chairs to wait.

[nero]

Meditation was an important part of Nero’s life. He sat underneath a tree as Valiant ate from a pile of apples that Nero kindly collected for his stallion. Light, his hawk-companion flew above, already enjoying a meal beforehand. There was a cool breeze that brushed across his face, further cooling his body, although his flesh was as cold as it can get already. He sat with his legs crossed, and hand at the knees with thumbs and index fingers touching. His mind focused on one thing, and it was the levitation of his body with his mind. Everything was at peace. His mind, body and soul were at peace, and his body gathered much needed energy for whatever this day challenged him with.

As if out of this air, something began to lightly fall towards Nero’s lap, awakening his senses and out of reflex, sending his left hand to catch a piece of parchment in midair. Nero then opened his eyes to watch a phoenix fly away. Light gazed at the magnificent bird, and even communicated with it, but Nero figured they were greeting one another because when the phoenix began to fly away, Light simply swooped down and landed near Nero’s legs, seemingly unfazed by the beautiful bird’s appearance. Looking at the parchment, Nero unrolled the paper and began to read from it. At first, he was a little intimidated by such a parchment being dropped on his lap, as many could have been cursed, but then he noticed the Phoenix and remembered only one person that owned a phoenix, and remembered that that person was not one to curse others so easily, and rather, was a good being.

And so, it had seemed that Boliko, king of Temarra, requested Nero’s help. Another thing that Nero noticed was that the invite did not precisely call Nero by name, and was directed to either a sir, or a madam, meaning more people would arrive. A smile crossed Nero’s face as he would be able to associate with other people and speak of the songs of their lives. What a glorious opportunity! Nero did not waste haste, as he mounted Valiant, and with a single tug, the steed was off at lightning speeds towards Temarra. Not long before, Nero was in Temarra. He had helped a young bard lady fend off the land to the north of shadow creatures, each of the dark beings were mercilessly met with Nero’s blade, and with the help of the Lady of course. It was yet another masterful adventure and it was one Nero would ever forget. Though Nero was nowhere near Temarra before, he managed to make it within a day’s time.

As the Paladin made it to the gates of Temarra, he presented the parchment to the guards, who humbly allowed him entrance. Kindly, Nero trotted through the city, avoided everyone that came near to Valiant, as to not trample all over them. Finally, Nero reached the castle of Boliko, and made his way in. Once Nero was inside, castle guards approached him, and offered to take Valiant towards a stable, for a proper grooming, and feeding. Nero obliged them, and Valiant made his way towards the stable. The guards then offered to take Light, Nero’s hawk, to a place to also be properly groomed and fed, in which Light flew from Nero’s shoulder and followed the other set of guards. Nero smiled at the hospitality and thanked the two sets of guards.

He made his way through the castle, where the guards had directed him. Upon finding the area in which Boliko presided, he noticed three young women, whom he suspected to also be amongst the traveling party, for they would have seemed out of place as servant girls, or any other lady that would reside in a castle. Nero approached Boliko, smiling politely and introducing himself as he bowed in respect, “I am Paladin Nero Romulus,” he said softly to Boliko, “a servant of the powers of Good, and one of their many warrior’s too, and I am at your service.”

[fred]

Of course, not far behind Ellixia came Fredovik Sandalov Erik Greenbottom. This was most certainly due to the fact that his legs were much shorter than everyone else's and also that he was carrying a bulky bag on his back. He didn't realize that he and his wife needed to bring so much stuff. He would have left with just the clothes on his back, but as was pointed out, he'd soon grow to stink therefore a few changes of clothes were necessary. He set the bag down and followed the Paladin up to the King.

He made a bow, but unsure if the Wizard King saw him, he cleared his throat loudly, "Ahem, Fred the Great, here."

He thought it would be a good idea if he wore a long cloak and stood on Rosemary's shoulders, so he'd look more impressive, also he wasn't sure if the letter only invited one person, or two. So really the coat idea would kill two birds with one stone... but the ladies didn't go for it. He smiled up to the king as bright as he could, trying his darnest to make a good impression. After a Paladin, that was a hard feat for a gnome...

[rosemary]

Rosemary was rather unhappy. It was bad enough that her husband, Fred, was already taller than her, but now he was standing on her shoulders. She did her best to balance the big brute. Her hands held onto his ankles with nails digging into his skin as she did. She knew there would be marks there, but at the moment she did not care. She wanted him to feel a bit of pain since she had to be the hidden one.

“That’s no way to address ‘im,” the gnome growled beneath her breath up at her husband who she was still struggling to balance. “He’s a king, ye dumby.”

The little gnome woman could not help but still be frustrated. She was using all her strength to appear as though they were one being beneath the long coat. Not to mention, she wanted to see the king of Temarra instead of the inside of the coat.

[boliko]

Boliko turned and descended a flight of stairs after having his breakfast, to wait in the room in which you came in to through the entrance... most homes would probably call it a hallway, but in Boliko's opinion it was far too big to be a hallway. He waited for around half an hour, until the first guest came in. She looked shy and stayed away from him - maybe she didn't realise he was the one to talk to, though his clothing stood out from the guards and workers' uniforms. His white robes dragged against the ground, and yet somehow they didn't get dirty... magic, perhaps?

Soon after, a troup of people came in, first the pretty young female shape shifter. He smiled at her as she came towards him and introduced herself - Ellixia of the wood. "It's a pleasure to meet you," He said, with a smile and a courteous bow, before tending to the next arrival - Levidrona. The two had met before, in a mountain escapade involving a djinn and Angelic. Hopefully, the two would come along as well.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, my dear," he said, greeting her. She had stayed to herself, probably daunted by the size and majesty of the castle she was in. He then turned around and slowly made his way over to the Paladin, Nero Romulus. "Alas, a great warrior. You shall be a very good man for my journey... if you decide to join," He added, with a smile, patting the vampire on the shoulder.

He then went to greet Fred 'the Great'. Raising an eyebrow before smiling kindly, he bowed down, before nodding at a guard to come over and remove the coat from the pair of gnomes. "It's a pleasure to have you, Fred the Great, but you needn't wear that coat inside," he said, his voice laced with a hidden amusement. The disguise was quite bad; he could tell that two short people, probably gnomes, were making this tall Fred.

[illyana]

Illyana skipped upon the cobbled stones of the streets of Temarra, heading toward the castle, with Ivan, her precious Russian blue, patting at her footsteps with determined paws.
Almost every garment she wore seemed to jingle, with her dancer's steps, coins stitched into the seams of her knee-length, silken purple shirt and the matching scarf, wrapped loosely in her gilded hair that shone with a glimmer of hills of wheat in the sun. Her peasant blouse draped loosely, over her tanned, sloping shoulders, and the waist was bound tight with a black cinch, boned and laced beneath her full bust.

She held the invitation at her side, lengthy fingers clutching the paper with a delicate grip, and she neared the castle gates briskly with no hint of hesitation in her step. Her mind hesitated, however, and she couldn't help but wonder as to what purpose the White Maji would require her assistance. Most witches and wizards found fortune tellers, oracles and seers to be jokes, never heeding them any mind and disregarding their words without any due consideration. She had been expecting a message, an invitation from someone of importance, on this day, but she had not quite known what it would pertain to, so, most unusually, she was quite surprised to find it was from the King of Temarra, rather than from someone else who had little to no mystical background.

She presented her invitation to the guards at the entrance, and from their expression and hesitance to admit her, she could tell that they also found it rather odd that a gypsy would be allowed into the castle. But there was no argument to be had. She had an invitation, after all, and she was at last permitted to enter, and she indignantly brushed through, scooping her familiar into her arms and brushing silken bangs behind her heavily pierced ears, unveiling her high, magnificent cheekbones for the world to see.

Illyana entered the hall, a tad suspiciously, her swirling blue irises taking in the other guests present. It was an interesting gathering, and she noted the paladin, Nero, the two gnomes in a tall coat, the mixed elf with questionable height, but she paid it no mind, and then two women whom she supposed were human, though she questioned one of them and suspected something lurking beneath the skin that was more than what her outward appearance told. She would have to see for herself if there was anything telling about what exactly she was, but her lips were shut. Illyana was a silent observer.
Finally, she looked upon Boliko, the aging White Maji, the king of Temarra. She had never associated with him before, but ever since she had been alive, he had been king of this city, and she knew it well.

She approached the king, all hesitation melting away with the echoing of her confident strides. She paused before him, and then she bowed with an elegant curtsy of her full, gypsy skirt. "It is pleasure to be here." The fortune teller said, calmly, as she returned to her composure and stood prostrate, a statuesque 5' 9" in height on top of the chunk heels she wore.