Many of his days had been spent lazing about; drifting in and out of consciousness without much meaning. Once upon a time, Howl had been sprawled across a rock in one of the calmer parts of Monoceros, staring up into the ceiling without much purpose. Well, none other than to (hopefully) burn holes into it and leave these boring and stuffy old caves. Following his stint among the batcat swarm, he had stuck to his proverbial guns in his familiar home cave. So what if his stone felt like cold, heavy lead on his shoulder. Admittedly, it was a little troublesome and worrying at first. But he just assumed it was just the boredom getting to him. Speaking of, boredom had suddenly sparked a million memories at once, all pertaining to a certain thing he had been meant to do a long time ago. A statue. With meaning. Because things didn't just happen in the caves for no reason.

So, with the promise of something to actually happen for once, Howl abandoned his lovely little resting spot in order to seek out the mysterious statue. Skirting along the walls of Tunnel J, he found the salient ruins, sharp against even the monstrous faces carved into the walls. It was a wonder he had managed to not see the broken thing in passing. Approaching, Howl noticed that it was definitely fuller since his last dedicated visit, yet dust settled on the returned pieces. Nothing had touched the thing since the Early Days. Laying delicate fingers on it, he found only five pieces missing from the goat-like thing's figure. Not quite as many as before, but still too many for one sneak thief to acquire in a short enough time for his attention span.

So, why not scream at the top of his lungs to draw folks in for the hunt and end the statue mystery once and for all? So he did.

This thread is a revival of the Dungeons & Dungeons quest! Howl's looking for Gembound to help out with seeking out the last five statue pieces and find out, once and for all, what the meaning of this thing is! Post below and he'll address everyone and let them know what the game plan is!

Llamrei

The filly whickered, running awkwardly. She kicked up her hind-legs, before bucking, leaping off the ground for a moment. It was such a nice day! She had so much energy! But, unfortunately, the cave of stars didn't really have any long, open spaces where she could stretch her legs without fear of tripping and falling.

Seeing an opening, Llamrei tilted her head. Maybe there would be somewhere she could run? But what if there was danger out there? But she really wanted to stretch her legs!

Finally, she began to creep out, walking slowly and preparing to run. And then there was an awful screaming sound, and she whickered, rearing up. Alas, the sound echoed, so all she could do was run straight forward, hoping to stay away from it.

Of course, with her luck, she almost ran over the source. She dug in her hooves, skidding to a stop only inches from the... thing.


"I'm speaking..."
'I'm thinking...'

@Howl

Asimona was taking a quick rest at the entrance to the cave, intent on following the distant sound of the howling wind. She had wondered where the wind was coming from and how it worked - would she be able to fly in it? It was probably good flight training as well. If she wanted to get stronger, then the wind would probably help her.

But then a scream jerked her out of her nap and she looked around with alarm. It was different then the screams she had heard before, which were deeper more distressed. This, however, was just a scream and it was high pitched. She jerked around towards where she heard it and realized that it was in a direction. Good. Perhaps that was a way to differentiate which ones were real or not.

She stood and trotted away down the tunnel. After a bit, she saw the shadow of a creature beginning to form at the end of her vision. She realized that it was a...something. Something she'd never seen before, standing before a partially-completed statue. She stopped and looked, confused, at the creature. "Did you scream? Are you okay?"

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

tags: @Howl
notes: notes here

The day had been long, peaceful. Since his accident with primal magic Amras hadn't ventured too far past the room of stars, opting instead to just take a break for once. The elements still called to him, still begged to be brought into being, but with the symbols his mind had revealed to him written upon the side of his tunnel wall he no longer felt the burning rush to seek them out that he had while the lights were out.

It was nice, just resting here in the quiet city on a patch of grass feeling presence of lesser gembound sneaking around out of eyesight and the silent life of the greenery below. He knew that it was an aspect of the twelve, that with little effort he could be running experiments into harnessing its essence. What might happen though if he did so? With his accident in such recent memory might he cause harm out of magic fatigue? This was a living thing, he could feel it. What would happen if his magic manifested and in his quest for power he sapped all life from the plants around him; stealing away that potential for himself?

Perhaps if his life had gone a slightly different direction he would have no issue with that. If his only life goal were to become powerful then that might even be a favorable outcome. As he reached the end of his quest for elemental completion, however, the question of "what's next" was beginning to weigh heavily. Would he be a powerful but self-serving mage, or would he be a pillar of strength for the young and the fragile? In a world different from this one it could have easily been the former, but here in the cave of life there could be no other option than what he had chosen.

His wings were outstretched, almost as if feeling the starlight shine down upon them. His head rested upon soft soil in a state of peace, his gem began the faintest of glows as without conscious thought magic flowed in and around him, touching every blade of grass that rested under him.

And in an instant the moment of peace all snapped away. A howl of pain or alarm or disturbance of some kind rang out loud from the tunnel leading to his home room. A path he had walked hundreds of times littered with carvings and artifacts. The glow that had just barely began to set snapped away into nothingness before the gryphon could even notice that it was beginning to take on a green hue. He had to get up, he had to see what was going on.

Thus Amras folded his wings back at his side and stood upon all four limbs, walking at first, then speeding up into a trot, then eventually transitioning into a full sprint as he made his way to the source of the sound. It was a monkey, or at least a gembound the most closely resembled a monkey. it didn't seem particularly injured, but it was standing by that one statue that had always seemed slightly different. Did they know its significance perhaps?

The gryphon slowed to a stop as others arrived at the scene as well. He said nothing, his one question already asked by a dragon that had arrived. He did, however make sure to keep some distance from said dragon, not for fear but due to the cold chill that seemed to be radiating from their body. Without a top layer of feathers or particularly thick fur he was not particularly fond of the cold where he could avoid it.

---

Pouch 1: Baubled talc rods x12	Pouch 2: Charcoal dust (50 in3)	Pouch 3: Empty	Pouch 4: Charcoal chunks x7 (medium)
Back bag: Empty

Take hold of the power within
"And shape the fabric of reality around you"
tags:
notes: None

A loud, harsh hiss erupted from the shadowy veils around the ruins. Suddenly, a large, girthy serpent shot out of the black and slithered toward Howl, his ember eyes burning like a raging inferno. It frightening fast for something of its size.The massive python stopped in front the hybrid and drew his 20ft coils close to him in a hostile pose.

"You better have a good reason for sssscreaming your lungssss off, monkey-thing!" He spat. "You scared off my prey!" Septiezal flicked his tongue as he hissed once more. He wanted to strike at the nuisance, perhaps he would scare them off if he couldn't strangle them in his coils. That would have been a shame. This loud mouthed troubled seemed like a delicious, though the area would momentarily free from their insufferable howling.

Then Septiezal felt hoof beats against the ground and it saw a black filly come rushing towards them. Jolted by the swift movement and in a sour mood, he drew his head back hissed at her too. It wasn't long before she was accompanied by a four-legged winged lizard and a gryphon. Septiezal drew himself in, feeling intimidated, although he still stubbornly held his irate demeanor. He was suddenly outnumbered. He woundered if they were its allies. Would they attack him for threating their friend? Septiezal was starting to regret his outburst.
"speak"

@Howl

As if on cue with the tail end of his shrieking to arms, an enormous black smudge manifested and suddenly was haphazardly skidding to a stop. Baring sharp teeth in her direction, he scampered back a few steps and barked, "b'curful!" Without much conscious thought for the small horse (hmm, he'd seen one of those creatures before, he felt) and current fright, he whapped her muzzle lightly. "Watch out! Ya' coulda've broken it!" Before he could reprimand further, a monstrous sort of creature appeared, juvenile in face but ginormous in size. A draggin.' Now, this was good. Someone with means to carry something. Not that he doubted the filly's ability and will to hold something. Life finds a way. "'ello!" Howl chirped as if he hadn't just yelled at a child. Patting his own shoulders, the hybrid continued with his chipper dialogue, "yes! Ah'm okay! Thankye fer askin'."

His attention was diverted with the arrival of more Gembound --- which brought the group count to five. Absolutely sublime. Perfect. Just the right number. With a self-assured wave to the gryphon, he puffed up his fur at the serpent, skittering back a little. "It's very importint! Very very!" Acting like he wasn't intimidated at all by the snake (a natural predator, his instincts shrieked), he reached a hand up and smoothed down his mane. Skirting around the python, he stood at the statue's base, taking care not to brush up against it lest it suddenly crumble into nothing.

"A long, long time ago, when Ah was a little baby right outta shell --- Ah'm prolly older than all of ya --- the Merrymen and Ah watched this statue break outta the wall on its own with a buncha pieces gone. All mah friends and mom have..." he paused slightly, diamond earring jingling against his ear "... left fer the high roads while Ah was sleepin'. So Ah forgot about it." Rising up to his full height, he raised his two arms like a showman. "But little ol' Howl remembered in 'is boredom!" Turning around, he patted the only returned statue piece fondly, nudging it slightly into better placement. "There's majeek in this statue. Ah felt it a little when it first broke out. It's still there, a little bit. If we put it back together... somethin' interestin' might happen! It's too borin' to do it myself." With a flourish, Howl whirled around and gestured to the four Gembound in his presence. "How 'bout a fun scavenger hunt?" Of course they're ahl down, bucko. Start thinkin'. Where did the one piece that's here come from?

@Llamrei @Asimona @Amras @Septiezal

Llamrei

The filly squealed loudly, as she came face to face with a... thing. It was made even worse when the thing revealed its sharp, fang-like teeth. 'Hell no!' she thought, scrambling back. She wasn't able to get far enough away in time before it was whapping her muzzle. The filly squealed, and leaped back, yelping "Sorry! Sorry!"

However, more and more animals began to show up, and she fought down the urge to panic. So. Many. Predators! She backed up, until her flank was pressed against the wall of the cave, trying not to hyperventilate or be seen.


"I'm speaking..."
'I'm thinking...'

Asimona watched with surprise as more and more gembounds began to show up. Then again, she shouldn't have been surprised. The scream was quite loud. She couldn't have been the only one that had heard it. A black horse, who seemed terrified, a gryphon, who seemed interested, and a serpent that seemed quite frustrated. They had all gathered at the call.

She leaned towards the statue, but being careful not to touch it, giving it a polite sniff. There was something that smelled funny. Perhaps it was the magic that the screamer spoke of. Envy had said something about magic and she supposed that her cold aura was magic as well, even if she didn't know she was using it. At the thought, she was now well aware of the thin layer of cold now that covered her skin.

A scavenger hunt? What would that accomplish? Then again, she was quite curious as to the origins of the statue and, since it was magical, what would happen when it was put back together. Also, it was a good chance to practice her tracking and to explore the caves she had not been able to travel just yet. She could meet new gembounds and learn and grow. And maybe this statue could help them as well. She smiled at the thought and turned to the screamer. "Sure, I'll help you! I'd like to see what happens when the statue is put back together. But I, er, haven't explored too much and I'm not sure where everything is. Where should I start looking?"

She stepped back and looked around, realizing that the horse was missing. She swiveled around to see it cowering in the shadows. Slowly, she approached, keeping her head high and her tail low to show that she wasn't a threat. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

tags: @Howl @Llamrei @Septiezal @Amras
notes: notes here

'This is certainly an odd fellow.' Amras thought as he watched them shuffle around. 'Not bad or sketchy, just odd. Is this what happens when you exist for a long time with no work put into a vocation?'

As the story began more and more questions began to arise. Who were the Merrymen, and what had happened to them? Where had this creature been hiding all the time to avoid their fate? How had the statue broken out of the wall, were inanimate objects even capable of using magic?

Actually he knew the answer to that last one. The one who taught him about using different elements, the Blacksmith, had given a wolf some kind of magic item that enhanced their powers. What if this statue was another such magic item, only with it being broken its enchantment had been thrown off balance somehow. If they restored its physical form could they also restore its magic function? What had its function been anyways?

As to be expected one answer led to more questions. He could probably sit here all day contemplating this and trying to figure it out by clues in the area, but in the end he would almost certainly seek out the pieces anyways. The pieces would give the answers to most of his current questions, and quite possibly open up new and even more interesting things to look into.

"It certainly sounds like an interesting task, I'll come along as well. Do we have any clues where the pieces might be?"

---

Pouch 1: Baubled talc rods x12	Pouch 2: Charcoal dust (50 in3)	Pouch 3: Empty	Pouch 4: Charcoal chunks x7 (medium)
Back bag: Empty

Take hold of the power within
"And shape the fabric of reality around you"
tags: @Septiezal @Howl @Asimona @Llamrei
notes: None

"...What?" Septiezal stared at the monkey hybrid for a moment, flustered.This Gembound's accident was horrendous! He had a hard time understanding the vibrations. The only thing he could piece together was that he wanted to do a scavenger hunt involving the broken statue. That alone felt hardly important to the python, but Septiezal know he probably misunderstood some important details by the way the others expressed their readiness.

"You're acsssent is horrible!" He snapped. "Speak clearly, I have no ears!" Septiezal flicked his tongue and glanced at the trembling, black filly shrinking away. There was fear in her scent. The silver, winged lizard attempted to calm her. Septiezal knew how that was going to turn out. He grunted and looked at the statute. "What's so special about this broken statue?" The serpent flicked his tail towards it, then huffed. "Is it magical? That's usually the case."

"speak"

@Howl @Asimona @Llamrei @Amras