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So it wasn't unheard of for the Cursed Knight to go out ~~looking for trouble~~ questing for new challenges to overcome. Several of the townspeople had figured this out. And why, when one of them mentioned that there was a cave with the strongest enemy Hajime could or would ever face, Hajime went charging off in there...

...and then got stuck because turns out the cave fed off of dark emotions and was some sort of test, and it's not like Hajime was great at dealing with that by himself.

chalicejoker

The monster--not that he was aware he was a monster--came strolling out of the forest, wringing his hands and looking a bit overwhelmed at his new surroundings. He was a very large bipedal bug, one that looked somewhat similar to the illustrious Lord of the Bugmen. He was also clinging to a small fuzzy bunny that he must have found in the forest, and said fuzzy bunny looked like it would rather be literally anywhere else, even with that hawk that the big bug had saved it from.

There was a curious chirp out of the bug as he started to approach the town. What's this? Who are these people? Time to find out!

carbonatedscientist

The problem started when Sento stumbled across that mustachioed dragon, and said dragon's self-proclaimed "amazing" wares. Sento hadn't thought them amazing, and he'd told the dragon so, and there had been a bit of an argument, up until the point at which Sento had found an odd-looking bracelet in the pile. It was a thin band of silver, and this band of silver was studded with several figural beads shaped like different animals--there was a rabbit, a hawk, a hedgehog, a panda, a gorilla...all animals Sento had corresponding FullBottles for, all animals he'd used as half of Build's transformation.

He'd been so taken by the coincidence that he'd haggled with the dragon for it, and in the process, he'd completely managed to miss the fact that the silver band that held all the animal beads was actually a sculpted cobra.

It is perhaps that cobra that made absent-mindedly putting the bracelet on a very bad idea. The bracelet was, rather unfortunately for Sento, just a tiny bit cursed. (This is, the dragon would claim, what Sento got for refusing to purchase the extended warranty, which would have covered cursed artifacts.)

Sento's hair is now white, his eyes are now red, and he's sort of prowling around the town, occasionally kicking over some townsperson's fruit stand or flower cart just because he can. Oh, the humanity of it all.

thequestgiver

Up high on the top most turret of the castle is a somewhat strange sight for those who care to look up; a 10 foot tall dragon perched on one of the ledges, much like a gargoyle, seeming to be having a conversation with the air. Those of impossibly good eyesight might be able to spot the dragon’s companion; a 3 foot tall pixie with nut brown skin and silver-green leaf like hair, who’s lounging lazily on top of the dragon’s head, idly tracing lines around his scales. (But really. No one has eyesight that good. No, not even you, Harold.)
( NPCs Talking and talking and talking... )

The next morning the gossip of the moment was all about the large thorne maze that had shown up overnight, not far from the Two-Faced Forest, with rumors that a fabulous treasure lay in the center, guarded by a vicious dragon! … or was it a troll? Myrtle said it must be a dragon, because dragons were the type to guard treasures like that, but almost everyone else said it was a troll, or worse, a goblin -- you know, the type that never brushed its teeth and always smelled of cabbage? No, not Uncle Westmere, though that is a good description of him most days--

But yes, anyway, the maze! A really big one, almost as big as the capital itself! Any hero who has the ill luck to encounter the townsfolk will find themselves pested to go check it out and see what all this talk of treasure really is about!

Not long after the rumors begin, a small group of trumpeters emerge from the castle, their horns somehow loud enough to be heard through the din of gossipers. … though it does take a few tries before said din finally dies down enough that the caller can finally bellow out his message (while the trumpeters quickly cover their ears):

“Let it be KNOOOOWN! The King does now SUMMON all the HEROES of the land to INVESTIGATE this disturbance that has ARRISIN just outside our city’s BORDERS and to then REPORT BACK their findings as to what TREASURE they hath found!”

He pauses to take a deep breath before continuing. “THAT IS AAAAALL!”

With one last tweddley twee of the horns, the bellower and the trumpeters retreat back into the castle.

(Coordination post is here)

carbonatedscientist

Sento's really not at all pleased with this development, really. He's woken up in a castle and he's dealing with a bunch of idiots calling him the "Best Match Alchemist," and it's really all very frustrating because alchemy is not a science, dammit, and who are these people, and where is he, and why does all of his gear seem weird, and why is he wearing ridiculous robes covered in weird symbols (stylized pictures of the things embodied by his Fullbottles if he cared to look at them for longer than two seconds), and what is any of this, and...

...okay, that's it, he's leaving, he is just going to ignore everyone and walk right on out this castle so he can find a quiet place to think on all of this, because it's stupid.

thequestgiver

Characters: NPCs and all the heros they can accost
Open? Like the windows of the castle. That don't have any glass. That is to say, yes.
Where: The capital and the castle
When:
What: The townspeople have a request. ~~And it's not more cowbell.~~
Warnings:
( Imagine, if you will, the soundtrack of Nightmare before Xmas being played backwards. )

shiromadoushi

Characters: Bakura and whomever else
Open? Yep~
Where: Somewhere around the capital.
When: It's... complicated. (Birds, I tell you! Birds!)
What: Bakura returns from investigating that weird time vortex that was left after the Hero of the Mountain was defeated with far more memories than he started with.
Warnings:
( Plot device, Mr. Frodo. Plot device. )

thequestgiver

Characters: Any hero brave enough to walk into the utterly normal looking woods.
Open? Yep
Where: The Two Faced Forest ~~(tm)~~
When: Whenever you'd like, I've got all day here.
What: Time to get hero-ing, oh heros.
( One liner, song lyrics or witty joke goes here. Or would but I used up my wit quota in the template )

peaceintheworld

Characters: Sayoko, Tachibana, and maybe other folks (presuming she's convinced to leave her room)
Open: Sure!
Where: The Castle, in the Room of Arrival (and then possibly elsewhere)
When: Not long after Hajime and Tachibana arrive
What: Being alive again has been very difficult. Sayoko does not appreciate how much more difficult it seems to have gotten. She's just going to stay in bed.

( Fairy tales are particularly distasteful right now. )

chalicejoker

Characters: Hajime, Ryo, Tachibana, and whomever the heck else.
Open? Yep!
Where: The Castle
When: Right after Hajime arrives
What: One very confused new hero and one very excited sidekick.
( Soundtrack: trumpet fanfare, but played on a kazoo. )

thequestgiver

Today is the... erm.. uh...

Well, to be frank, since Old Man Sign Changer quit his job, noone's quite sure what day it is any longer. Some people think that's a good thing. A lot of good pesky things like numbered days do in a place like the Kingdom. It's not right, trying to number something as natural as the sun and the moon, after all! And besides, if noone know what day it is, noone can get angry that someone else forgot their birthday.

Or at least that's what Old Man Sign Changer said as he quit his post and went off to the bar. Been there ever since. Misses Sign Changer doesn't seem to mind either, which has set up all sorts of gossipy whispers.

So instead of the date, there's just a sign reading "time is a cloud, we're all birds and nothing matters." When asked, Ole Man Sign Changer just repeats it, gestures vaguely and repeats "Birds, I tell you. Birds."

The weather report has also given up and just says "Sun. It's always sunny, even when it's not, stop asking me!"

There's quite a lot of space on the board for other postings, signs and rude doodles. Someone should put something there before Ole Biddy starts posting her weird art up there again...

[[New arrivals, please check the "Welcome to the Kingdom!" post for your introduction illusion and Pamphlet!]]

thequestgiver

Today is the 19th day of the The Height of the Season of Great Heat in the 137th Year Since the Wall Fell.

The past few days' calm has given way to a storm.

Sometime in the dead of night, the poor baking princess was carried off by a dastardly and brutish beast! Whether to be eaten, ransomed or merely admired as a piece of treasure, no one is quite sure, though at least one shopkeep was heard muttering about the consequences of princesses wandering off alone. No one can deny that it's all fantastically exciting, and most are eagerly waiting to see how this tale will unfold. Will the battle mage save the princess from the clutches of the dragon sisters? Will they both be burnt to a crisp? Will the cynical prince find either (or both) of the white mages? Will the mysterious white forest continue to grow? Is it sabotage that's ruining Mary's lettuce patch, or rabbits?

And of course, most importantly, will one of the daring rescuers win the heart of the fair princess?

The weather is due to be perfect for questing, whatever that means.

(Calendar | Moon calendar | Book of Quests | Book of History and Rumors)

shadow_sage

[Liara appears over the orb, looking harried and paying more attention to what appears to be a notebook of some kind than the orb itself.]

Yuan, I'm leaving very shortly, but we need to speak.

Ryo, Kotoha, if either of you have time, some help in the mountains would be nice.

[She turns a page over.]

Shin, we should catch up. Let's talk about when you might be available.

Gunpei, I have something I'd like to ask you to do, also.

[A pause, and then she looks into the Orb.]

And has anyone heard anything in the rumors lately about why dragons might act out now? Has anything changed that the locals have noticed? River, weather, other countries, other towns. Anything at all?

And is there someone willing to speech with the King?

dailybread

[Somewhat dirty, a little worse for the wear, Peeta looks into the orb, face drawn with anxiety. The background is smudgy and dark, possibly a cave or a tunnel of some sort. There's a smudge of dirt on his right cheekbone. When he speaks, it's hushed and nervous.]

This is becoming a pattern, isn't it. I'm sorry for contributing to that.

[He glances over his shoulder, then back at the orb.]

I'm in the mountains. I'm not sure where exactly, but I was trying to get blueberries when--

[The background lights up in a spray of orange and Peeta ducks, covering his arm with his head. Once it passes, he looks back up and continues, in a rushed half-whisper.]

I think I've been kidnapped by a dragon. There's no way I'm getting out of this by myself, so...if you can help me out, I'd really appreciate it.

thequestgiver

Today is the 17th day of the The Height of the Season of Great Heat in the 137th Year Since the Wall Fell.

More disappearances are the whisper of town today! It would seem that the Baking Princess has gone missing! Of course that's all that can be agreed upon, as the rest of the rumors range from the Princess being kidnapped in the middle of the night to him having wandered off in the middle of a loaf at the call of the birds. Others say that it's just too hot to be baking and he likely just went off to find some shade and what's all this squawking about anyway, really.

But isn't it just awful? First the little White Mage falling under a magical sleep, then the heroes disappearing... aaa, what's to become of the Kingdom, if there's no one to defend them? They might have to actually do something themselves!

...or look into some other ways to summon heroes. That's a much better idea.

(Calendar | Moon calendar | Book of Quests | Book of History and Rumors)t

thequestgiver

Today is the 16th day of the The Height of the Season of Great Heat in the 137th Year Since the Wall Fell.

More titters about the mysterious disappearances in the monastery echo through the town today. Sadly, it's too hot for anyone to go see if any of them are true, not that anyone would bother with that to start with, but some say it wasn't just Tom who left, but half the monks as well! And the little White Mage was taken with them! Rumors are varied if the boy was awake or not, and in the end, does it really matter? After all, there was that hero White Mage as well who'd been taking care of--

...oh, he's gone missing too? Or is it that he's just refusing to see and heal people? Either way, quite a scandal, don't you think?

(Calendar | Moon calendar | Book of Quests | Book of History and Rumors)t

thequestgiver

Today is the 15th day of the The Height of the Season of Great Heat in the 137th Year Since the Wall Fell.

Even in the quiet of Great Height, there are still rumors. Lazier ones that take a longer time to spread, much like the regrowth of the White Forest, which is looking quite lovely towards the center now. Such find birch trees, quite splendid! ...where was I. Oh right! Rumors!

The latest whispers say that there's been a sudden vacancy in the monastery. Tom, the monk who always watched over Kori and kept him in line has gone, with the abbot's leave. Something about a mission of great importance. To go traveling in the Great Heat, it certainly must be! Though it does seem odd that the man would leave the poor comatose little White Mage behind...

(Calendar | Moon calendar | Book of Quests | Book of History and Rumors)

thequestgiver

Today is the 14th day of the The Height of the Season of Great Heat in the 137th Year Since the Wall Fell.

The of the Princesses has returned to the capital! ...and seems to have brought back an odd souvenir from the land of the swamps...

(Calendar | Moon calendar | Book of Quests | Book of History and Rumors)

golden_moon

[When Selene appears on the Orb, there is no sign of the trauma that she exhibited the last time she spoke with anyone over the orb, and the way she acts as she begins to speak, it's as though it never happened.]

I don't suppose anyone knows the approximate value of three head of cattle? I'm afraid I might have been somewhat responsible for lessening the herd of a local rancher or whatever they're called in these parts, and I should probably correct that.

[She leans back a little from the orb, a smug little smile settling in on her face.]

Also, does anyone know of someone who sells jewelry? Something fine, not trash. It wouldn't do to send a half-rate gift if I'm a princess, one would think, and I certainly wouldn't want to anyway. I'd love to find something with a fine silver chain and sapphires. Or lapis, I suppose. Oh, I know the others are blue and everything, but I think Selenite would be wonderfully appropriate, all things considered. Does anyone have any ideas?

[After a moment, she sighs, and begins looking a little uncomfortable.]

Yuan. Um. Your Highness, and all of that stuff I'm not sure about, I'm guessing you have a horse and everything. Hmmm. How...um. Happy are you with it?

thequestgiver

Today is the 13th day of the The Height of the Season of Great Heat in the 137th Year Since the Wall Fell.

The calm feel continues, the unpleasantly warm days of Great Heat driving people inside to seek the shade. There's been chatter about the heroes poking around the regrowing White Forest but the heat has kept them from approprately stalking-- I mean, following the heroes actions. Far easier to just make up stories, don't you think?

The weather forecast for the next few days continues to predict dry heat, clear skies and an atrocious lack of shade.

(Calendar | Moon calendar | Book of Quests | Book of History and Rumors)