06-05-2017, 01:35 AM
Aang let out a sigh of relief and irritation both as Chakravartin finished his deceitful explanation.
"..."
"Aang-"
"They died, Chakra."
"Yes, they did. And it was horrible. It was also an accident! I admit I shouldn't have opened the first barrel. I don't know how the other three escaped." The Saru raised a bushy eyebrow, "I take it you heard from the guards, then?"
"They're planning on putting down the Dire Wolves."
"We can solve that with Appa easily-"
"I'll solve that." Aang said, "Somehow. The animals are clearly sick in their minds- I don't know. They mentioned something about the arena. And that's just an even bigger bloodsport." Aang sighed, the older man pinching the bridge of his nose, "You went completely off the plan, Chakra. I thought you were millions of years old! What possessed you to let the dogs out?"
Lysandra wisely chose to not say anything, not wanting to get between two Primes with tensions rising.
"What possessed me? I assumed that if they could be transported in any kind of subtle fashion, they would be absolutely out of it. When I opened the barrel I was just checking to see if it was what I thought it was- and to see if they were even alive. How would I have known it would wake up so soon after the lid opened?"
"..." Aang looked away, "I need to fix this, somehow."
"We could-"
"I" Aang interrupted, "overestimated you."
Chakravartin briefly saw red. He could not be overestimated. He caught himself a moment later, so that all Aang noticed was a momentary expression of shock, "You what?"
"I only knew you for a few days, and I put a lot on your shoulders. I shouldn't have. This is my responsibility. As soon as we're done here, I'm going to see what I can do about the souls of the dogfighters who were hurt because of our mistake."
"No need to worry about that." All three turned, and at that moment the bell struck midnight. Standing before them was the great purple ghost, Doc grinned wide at them, tongue hanging out menacingly, eyes glowing red.
"Doc." Chakravartin greeted.
Aang frowned, "Are the souls of the Dire Wolves at rest?"
"They've been sated." the Ghastly said, sounding more than a little satisfied himself, "Consider the alehouse unhaunted."
"By you maybe." Lysandra muttered.
Doc waved it off, "Either way, I'm grateful to both of you. I've also got something for you-" the pokemon Prime summoned two orbs of pure Omnilium. A substantial amount, each. The belltower glowed with rainbow light. Chakravartin greedily took his own immediately, and Aang hesitated for several seconds before taking the offered prize. "And that's not all. While I was haunting the place I found something pretty useful, and pretty expensive." the ghost procured two bottles, holding them out for them to take. Chakravartin once again accepted without a word, but Aang was feeling curious.
"What does it do?"
"It's a restorative, I heard from the grapevine you're martial artists. This stuff is supposed to help you regain spiritual energy quite a bit faster than you would normally."
"Useful." Chakravartin commented.
Satisfied that he had paid them fairly, Doc clapped his claws together, "You both deserve it. You more than met my expectations. I'll leave the alehouse, and the spirits who were trapped there by their painful memories should now be free." Aang scowled a bit at that.
"If there's anything that my life has taught me- it's that violence doesn't solve anything. It's an endless cycle, malice breeding malice. Don't act like the problem was solved because the dogfighters were killed, for all we know they'll be haunting the place next, and they'll need even more wolves to die in order to satisfy their own grudges."
"Nah." Doc said, and Aang blinked in surprise, "It ain't a cycle, kid. Well, I guess it can be, but not this time. The Wolves were wild, they were caught, they suffered, and their torturer wasn't getting any justice. Now he has. He was in the wrong, and now he can't do it any more."
"You don't get it." Aang said sadly, he looked to Chakravartin's impassive face, "And neither do you, do you?"
Chakravartin frowned, watching the Avatar.
"I... I need to take some time, Chakra. I know it wasn't really your fault- you were trying to do what you thought was right, but you... aren't bothered, are you? You don't care that they died."
"I care." Chakravartin said truthfully, "But I'm not saddened by it."
Aang shook his head, "That's... sad, but fine. Not everyone can be monks. You were trying to do the right thing, and that's what matters. I think we should spend some time apart, for now."
"Why?" Chakravartin asked.
"I need to meditate for a while- I might miss the tournament. And all this business has put my stomach off fighting anyway. You go ahead and join, and I'll join you if I've taken care of everything."
"I suppose that's fair then." Chakravartin said, carefully concealing his disappointment.
"Lysandra, do you want-"
"I'll stick with you." she says to Aang, before looking at Chakravartin, feeling a little ill. She had seen the aftermath too, then. Chakravartin thought.
"Lysandra." Chakravartin said, before she could turn to head to the stairs.
"There's no hard feelings, right-"
Chakravartin tossed the lightsaber, and she managed to catch it, before her eyes widened at what she was holding, "Are... you sure?"
"I can make more blades, I'm a Prime. Just something to keep with you, in case we end up not meeting again."
"I'll... thank you." she said, and Aang gave him a slightly more-pleased nod, before both turned and left, heading back for the farm where Appa was being kept for now.
Doc watched them go, before hovering lower, smiling evilly at Chakravartin, "You don't disappoint, kid. I asked for blood, and you gave it. Poetically too."
"Your client was pleased then?"
"Absolutely. He would have been okay with anyone tormenting the jerks to death, but having Dire Wolves do it? Ones that they had been holding captive only minutes ago? Heh, done deal."
"I'm glad you were pleased."
"Sorry about your buddy arrowhead there."
"He's not a buddy."
"No?"
"He could never be one, after all."
Doc looked away, slowly, "You're pretty mad about being left behind by people who 'could never be' friends, kid."
"I'm-" he was about to say that he was older than the ghost, but who knew if that were true, and it'd be petty to correct something like that, "-not mad." Chakravartin said instead, just as dishonest. He was livid. Overestimated?! Such a blow to his pride- it wouldn't stand.
"Yeah?"
"I might have considered him a potential equal, once. But now I see we have irreconcilable differences."
"I guess so." Doc said, beginning to fade away, "Spend the OM on something useful."
"I likely will." Chakravartin said, before Doc was simply gone. Back to the Astral Realm, perhaps. Or perhaps simply just invisible. Chakravartin didn't know or care, as he took the orb of Omnilium into his body, he began to climb down the stairs. He would join the tournament immediately.
He wanted to prove he was better than someone. Anyone.
And he would do it by beating people into the dirt.
His hands each glowed with concentration, featureless, incredibly sharp, blades began to take form in both hands, carved from rainbow light over the course of four minutes. Soon, the two swords hung at his sides. He was ready for Dante's Abyss, he decided.
"..."
"Aang-"
"They died, Chakra."
"Yes, they did. And it was horrible. It was also an accident! I admit I shouldn't have opened the first barrel. I don't know how the other three escaped." The Saru raised a bushy eyebrow, "I take it you heard from the guards, then?"
"They're planning on putting down the Dire Wolves."
"We can solve that with Appa easily-"
"I'll solve that." Aang said, "Somehow. The animals are clearly sick in their minds- I don't know. They mentioned something about the arena. And that's just an even bigger bloodsport." Aang sighed, the older man pinching the bridge of his nose, "You went completely off the plan, Chakra. I thought you were millions of years old! What possessed you to let the dogs out?"
Lysandra wisely chose to not say anything, not wanting to get between two Primes with tensions rising.
"What possessed me? I assumed that if they could be transported in any kind of subtle fashion, they would be absolutely out of it. When I opened the barrel I was just checking to see if it was what I thought it was- and to see if they were even alive. How would I have known it would wake up so soon after the lid opened?"
"..." Aang looked away, "I need to fix this, somehow."
"We could-"
"I" Aang interrupted, "overestimated you."
Chakravartin briefly saw red. He could not be overestimated. He caught himself a moment later, so that all Aang noticed was a momentary expression of shock, "You what?"
"I only knew you for a few days, and I put a lot on your shoulders. I shouldn't have. This is my responsibility. As soon as we're done here, I'm going to see what I can do about the souls of the dogfighters who were hurt because of our mistake."
"No need to worry about that." All three turned, and at that moment the bell struck midnight. Standing before them was the great purple ghost, Doc grinned wide at them, tongue hanging out menacingly, eyes glowing red.
"Doc." Chakravartin greeted.
Aang frowned, "Are the souls of the Dire Wolves at rest?"
"They've been sated." the Ghastly said, sounding more than a little satisfied himself, "Consider the alehouse unhaunted."
"By you maybe." Lysandra muttered.
Doc waved it off, "Either way, I'm grateful to both of you. I've also got something for you-" the pokemon Prime summoned two orbs of pure Omnilium. A substantial amount, each. The belltower glowed with rainbow light. Chakravartin greedily took his own immediately, and Aang hesitated for several seconds before taking the offered prize. "And that's not all. While I was haunting the place I found something pretty useful, and pretty expensive." the ghost procured two bottles, holding them out for them to take. Chakravartin once again accepted without a word, but Aang was feeling curious.
"What does it do?"
"It's a restorative, I heard from the grapevine you're martial artists. This stuff is supposed to help you regain spiritual energy quite a bit faster than you would normally."
"Useful." Chakravartin commented.
Satisfied that he had paid them fairly, Doc clapped his claws together, "You both deserve it. You more than met my expectations. I'll leave the alehouse, and the spirits who were trapped there by their painful memories should now be free." Aang scowled a bit at that.
"If there's anything that my life has taught me- it's that violence doesn't solve anything. It's an endless cycle, malice breeding malice. Don't act like the problem was solved because the dogfighters were killed, for all we know they'll be haunting the place next, and they'll need even more wolves to die in order to satisfy their own grudges."
"Nah." Doc said, and Aang blinked in surprise, "It ain't a cycle, kid. Well, I guess it can be, but not this time. The Wolves were wild, they were caught, they suffered, and their torturer wasn't getting any justice. Now he has. He was in the wrong, and now he can't do it any more."
"You don't get it." Aang said sadly, he looked to Chakravartin's impassive face, "And neither do you, do you?"
Chakravartin frowned, watching the Avatar.
"I... I need to take some time, Chakra. I know it wasn't really your fault- you were trying to do what you thought was right, but you... aren't bothered, are you? You don't care that they died."
"I care." Chakravartin said truthfully, "But I'm not saddened by it."
Aang shook his head, "That's... sad, but fine. Not everyone can be monks. You were trying to do the right thing, and that's what matters. I think we should spend some time apart, for now."
"Why?" Chakravartin asked.
"I need to meditate for a while- I might miss the tournament. And all this business has put my stomach off fighting anyway. You go ahead and join, and I'll join you if I've taken care of everything."
"I suppose that's fair then." Chakravartin said, carefully concealing his disappointment.
"Lysandra, do you want-"
"I'll stick with you." she says to Aang, before looking at Chakravartin, feeling a little ill. She had seen the aftermath too, then. Chakravartin thought.
"Lysandra." Chakravartin said, before she could turn to head to the stairs.
"There's no hard feelings, right-"
Chakravartin tossed the lightsaber, and she managed to catch it, before her eyes widened at what she was holding, "Are... you sure?"
"I can make more blades, I'm a Prime. Just something to keep with you, in case we end up not meeting again."
"I'll... thank you." she said, and Aang gave him a slightly more-pleased nod, before both turned and left, heading back for the farm where Appa was being kept for now.
Doc watched them go, before hovering lower, smiling evilly at Chakravartin, "You don't disappoint, kid. I asked for blood, and you gave it. Poetically too."
"Your client was pleased then?"
"Absolutely. He would have been okay with anyone tormenting the jerks to death, but having Dire Wolves do it? Ones that they had been holding captive only minutes ago? Heh, done deal."
"I'm glad you were pleased."
"Sorry about your buddy arrowhead there."
"He's not a buddy."
"No?"
"He could never be one, after all."
Doc looked away, slowly, "You're pretty mad about being left behind by people who 'could never be' friends, kid."
"I'm-" he was about to say that he was older than the ghost, but who knew if that were true, and it'd be petty to correct something like that, "-not mad." Chakravartin said instead, just as dishonest. He was livid. Overestimated?! Such a blow to his pride- it wouldn't stand.
"Yeah?"
"I might have considered him a potential equal, once. But now I see we have irreconcilable differences."
"I guess so." Doc said, beginning to fade away, "Spend the OM on something useful."
"I likely will." Chakravartin said, before Doc was simply gone. Back to the Astral Realm, perhaps. Or perhaps simply just invisible. Chakravartin didn't know or care, as he took the orb of Omnilium into his body, he began to climb down the stairs. He would join the tournament immediately.
He wanted to prove he was better than someone. Anyone.
And he would do it by beating people into the dirt.
His hands each glowed with concentration, featureless, incredibly sharp, blades began to take form in both hands, carved from rainbow light over the course of four minutes. Soon, the two swords hung at his sides. He was ready for Dante's Abyss, he decided.
Quote:Wine, Ale & Spirits
Location: Camelot (Minas Tirith)
Requirements: Not be Wanted in Camelot
Difficulty: Moderate (5000-10,000 words dependent on writing quality)
Reward: Increased fame in Minas Tirith, +100 OM and 1 Elixir (Consumable Item)
Strange things have been happening at the Crescent Moon Alehouse during nighttime business hours. Patrons have reported furniture moving seemingly of its own accord, tankards emptying right before their very eyes, and strange whispering emanating from the wine cellar. What the owner of the alehouse originally thought was just the silly ramblings of drunkards has become a serious problem that is bad for business.
Quest Stipulations: Must speak with the owner of the tavern. Must examine the grounds and ask around about odd sightings. Must conduct research on the history of the tavern. Must wait until nightfall and convince the ghost(s) to leave by whatever means possible.
All Stipulations met!
Total Words: (According to wordcounter.net) 12,251 words.
Chakravartin: 6945 words, 39182 characters.
Aang: 5306 words, 29206 characters
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