Redchigh(RP)

Part One -- Fri Sep 18, 2020 — 13:35:30
'''Red stood in front of the riddle portals, filled with nostalgia. He'd been through all of them, though so long ago it seemed like another life.'''

He had owned, and coveted, the helm- but lost it in an unfortunate armor enchanting accident.

'''Vaguely unsettled, he wanted to take care of this as efficiently as possible. He stepped into the Hard Riddle, just as a warm-up, and to potentially note any oddities. '''

As expected, the hard guardian flinched and handed Red the key, as soon as he stepped through, wincing as he remembers the last time the cleric came bumbling through, cloaked in darkness, seeking a solution.

'''Stepping through the giant tiles by memory, he picks up a pinch of the dust from the tiles, and places it in his pouch, observing the total lack of damage, or even footprints, on these massive tiles. They seem to break the 'rules',  like so many other areas, truly disorienting, if one didn't stop to read the tiles.'''

'''The last room is surprisingly well-illuminated, yet plain. He examines the reward, then curses when it sticks to his flesh as if made of flypaper. '''

He sighs, and exits into the graveyard, before stepping through a gate back to the constantly-lost astrologer, and steps back, eyeing the immortal riddle.

'''The statue of vonnegut had taken the rose, and soil, for.. something. This was definitely connected to vonnegut's presence, or source, though the ancient statue was less than helpful, returning to it's normal form after examining the blue rose, inexplicably found in the Altar of Storms.'''

'''The Old Times seemed so long ago, the name Vonnegut barely rang a bell at all. He tried to remember if he had ever been to space before, as he scoured the asteroids and surrounding space for clues.'''

'''"Who plays chess?" He asked himself, before being sucker punched by the 'Space Between Words'.'''

A few moments later, The Corpse of the Space Between Words holds the cleric's light for him as he opens a dusty tome he picked up in the mountain temple.

'''"Deities and demigods, 2nd Edition", and flips through the history of the realms, as the storm mages had recorded it, patiently resting on the asteroid as it hurtles through space. They fly by at such speed and velocity, constantly passing each other, he narrowly makes it to the next one, wondering if it's possible to miss, but trying to dismiss the chilling thought.'''

'''He approached the reward here, and it was as expected, in a plain room. There was no clue that he could find, just a smooth, unremarkable room, save the contents. He sighed, and tucked it away.'''

In the sake of thoroughness, there was one place he hadn't looked.

'''He went back to the portals, ignored the guardian and going straight to the door, stepping through, and running north until he was falling, this time, there was no running. He unlocked and opened the hatch above with his last key, just in case, as he held off the snarling, demonic presence.'''

'''It wasn't an easy fight, but finally the beast slumped over, dead. Tense from the strain, and missing his mysteriously buff and sort of decomposing feline 'associate'- he couldn't figure out how to get the corpses to jump between the rocks, even after bringing in a fresh supply of them for animation on the spot.'''

'''He sighed. This quest felt.. empty. Not just the space, but there was something missing, as he looked around the void that the beast called home.'''

'''Dusty, yellowed bones were carelessly kicked in the corners, among the small, crashed asteroids that littered the void. He picked one up, dusted it off, and pulled out a scroll of True sight, and contemplated. '''

'''These were definately from a time far before, unimaginably old. He picked up another, wedged between a few, causing a few to tumble off the random pile. It was the same, but..'''

'''A small glimmer of bright green peaks out from the pile. A tiny sprout, poking out in this most desolate of spaces. A flaming blur, the Efreet rushed to close the hatch from prying eyes, before examining the sprout more closely.'''

Part One - Thu Sep 17, 2020 — 13:30:03
'''Red dropped the market villager's lifeless hand, where he had been tied to the tree for.. a friendly conversation. The puddle of blood  under the tree was already drying.'''

'''He was angry, at the forests, at the villagers, at his sense of direction itself. He would stop by soon to see if any of the tainted cats had survived, but it was unlikely. The moon dogs would surely catch them, once they ran out of plates of crimini mushrooms. All had been used for navigation, with varying degrees of success. '''

The efreet pulled out strips of damp paper (He had quite the issues, trying to hold dry paper, but moist, they tended to not combust on contact with his skin, if he was careful.)

Tempest had sent him on a quest, to discover secrets from before he was, but Red wanted to understand these changes also, to find out what the root was, and see if it could be manipulated or influenced, in the name of evil.

'''Thunder rolls intensely in the sky, around the mountaintop. '''

"It appears the master is home. Good."

'''He stumbles around a tree, and smiles as he enters a market, the terrified glances towards him were far more delicious to him than the kebobs and cooking food- the gods had made him Ever-Sated long ago. Glancing around the market, he notices a huge construct towering over the market, billowing steam and acrid smoke. Red smiled, bathing in nostalgia. The acrid smoke beckoned him, the sweet sulfur and oil mingling. "That could be my home away from home. If nothing else, perhaps the view will help..." The royal houses were tempting, but locked. He would stop by them after the temple, locked doors stirred curiosity, bordering obsession and rage within him.'''

'''The wizard and his bats were a little more difficult than expected, but bleeding and bruised, his noodle strikes home and the wizard falls. Thick black acrid smoke spewed out of the equipment, but he had no time to rest and appreciate his surroundings.'''

'''He used his newfound key on the grate, and jumped down. It was some sort of small room, decorated with bones. He didn't notice the demonic beasts' fangs in the shadows, until it leapt out and closed around the clerics neck. Though his efforts were valiant, he had to pray to Sabine in desperation- stupidly he had gotten cocky, and didn't check his spells after the previous fight. '''

'''Depleted and wounded, he limped into the healer's only to find Orph. As Red crawled into his puddle, he hears "Been busy?"'''

'''Red opens one eye. "You could say that. Tempest has me on a quest, to search for secrets in his temple. So I'm dissecting the dying screams of his followers, for him."'''

'''Red tries to pry him for information on the temple, without appearing weak. He asks if Orph has ever been to the temple. "Its been such a long time... I vaguely recall it being a nice, spacious temple on a mountain. The only issue was I had to dry my boots."'''

'''Red sat, listening, thinking of what he had seen. He remembered a puddle that led to the area. How rains and floods always flow, it makes sense that the storms themselves might make their way downstream also...'''

'''He tips his hat at Orph, and makes his way back through the forest, memorized this time, and he tries to avoid the pirate cats, before shooing them away from the villagers corpse he left. '''

'''Lightning strikes the fountain at the top of a nearby mountain, and red makes his way back up- again. Disappointingly, the only thing he had seen up here was a fountain, a nice nook, up against a wall. He looked closer, reaching his hand into the fountain, bathing the area in steam, but his hand came up empty. He sighs, and leans against the wall, only to feel it shift.'''

'''He excitedly turns around, pushing, feeling, looking for a switch or button, but only finds a keyhole. His mind races, until his mind is made. He pulls up his cowl, makes his way over to a nice flower bush, and sits, trying to be discreet, while he waits for someone with a key. '''

Part Two - Thu Sep 17, 2020 — 13:36:56
'''Its ages before anyone comes, word must be out of a murderer in the square. "Can't blame them, but they can't delay the inevitable.", he mumbles.'''

'''He jolts awake after an unknown amount of time, to the sound of a 'click'. Tempest themself is here, a swirling mass of gray, writhing storms, entering his temple, and Red was caught asleep.'''

'''He lunged forward, and the door closed, inches from his fingers. He curses loudly, frantically digging through his pack from before for anything to jam in the keyhole, and a heavy black key tumbles to the ground. The key from the grate, in the tower over the market.'''

'''Red looks down at it, blinks, them back to the wall. "It can't be. That was the key to the grate." He picks it up, looks at it, looks at the keyhole, back at the key.'''

'''They key slides in without resistance, and *click*.Muara, Protector of flight, attacks him on sight, sword raised over her head, and Red looks around and smiles. A few moments later, Red is ascending into the sky towards the temple, smiling evilly, and being carried by the enslaved corpse of Muara, up to the temple. '''

'''The temple's guardians fought bravely, and were well prepared, but were no match for an embodiment of evil, who has suddenly given them attention. Red flips the cases, careful to not actually destroy any of the scrolls or records encased within. He considers taking some of the artifacts, but they're below him, and nothing is really worth his time.'''

He saves the altar of storms for last, savagely smashing the obsidian altar in frustration.

'''It splits, and he notices a wrapped bundle fall out. a glimmer of blue and green alongside a couple of ancient coins. He picks up the bundle, smiles, walks over and picks up a bloody, twisting embodiment of winds from a nearby guardian, and straps it on his legs before praying for teleportation.'''

Part One - Sun Sep 20, 2020 — 12:14:13
The realm really was more alive.

'''Even the Idiot Village's Idiot was rambling again. '''

'''Red paused outside the Paradox hall, letting the breeze carry fragments of the diddy to him. '''

Few people saw the blur speeding east down main street, one unfortunate prophet who didn't get out of the way, was reduced to a pile of ash as the dust settled.

The gates to Idiot Village were knocked off their hinges, as he slipped into the streets of their village, and made his way to the dead end.

'''Indeed, the Idiot was in the square, as always. This time he was over near a small garden, singing up at something out of sight. "How I'd love to pick your nose, little rose.."'''

'''Red tried to maneuver to get a better look, but the fountain limited his options.. Was the Idiot talking to someone? Or the rose? It was always so hard to tell, with the insane. Frustrated he stepped out, and his Bud Light flickered out.'''

'''There wasn't time. '''

'''Red stumbled forward calmly, reaching out, while fumbling with his light. '''

'''Confused, he relights the Bud Light, only to see the Idiot silently facing the rose.. Unmoving. Stoic. Terrifying…'''

'''The Idiot was never a beacon of willpower or meditation, this was extremely unnerving. Unnerved, Red noticed a rose bud, just beginning to open, petals a brilliant blue.'''

'''Forgetting the Idiot momentarily, Red examined the rose. Red hadn't considered that the blue roses were actively sprouting... He trimmed it off, and wrapped it with moist cloth before tucking it in his pack and turned around to face the Idiot.'''

'''Red froze in shock, seeing the Idiot clearly. The clothes were the Idiot's, but the idiot wasn't who was standing here. Even in the Idiot's outfit, Vonnegut, The Mad Florist dripped with authority and oldness.'''

Vonnegut didn't say a word, and handed the cleric An Idiotic Aura, before vanishing in a puff of leaves, leaving only the Idiot, smiling, and Red, speechless.

The MAD FLORIST had returned to the realm, and surely these roses were connected.