Hunting for the King

[thequestgiver]

Characters: All who are searching for the King!
Open? Yep
Where: Starting at the castle
When: RD 10
What: The heroes go hunting for the King.


The castle staff, as unhelpful as always, had no idea where the King had gone to. Some had guesses, of course, he went off to track down Prince Charming and drag him back home, he went out visiting the Giant Kingdom, he went across the sea, he went to see the state of the Old Capital, no, they hadn't actually seen him leave... they just knew that he had. This just happened every now and then, you see, one of the older maids explained. The King, being the King, just sometimes was elsewhere. Just wait a little while and he'd be back soon enough.

But that was hardly helpful now, now was it?

Comments

[tenuefarfalla]

Cho isn't late today. She's early, actually, up with the sun and with provisions packed and loaded onto Charlie, food and basic necessities, and her sword and quiver and bow all strapped in their proper places. Time is weird, arrivals are displaced - she doesn't really care how or why they lost her horse for a day, just that he actually turned up. The chances of finding another one here so immune to the unsettling presence of a magik on their back aren't good. Plus, she'd have started to miss the big baby.

She sits comfortably in the saddle, arms folded and resting on the animal's neck, chin resting on her arms, and she looks at their group. At first glance, not the most formidable bunch, but looks can be and often are deceiving. Hopefully that will hold true here. "I can't track a person I've never met," she tells Loki, the hint of apology in her voice. "Not with Sorcery." She doesn't feel too bad about it, though. She has other strengths. "But we can try and follow the magic. Temporal casting leaves tears, no matter how skilled you are."

[shadow_sage]

Liara was up, too, for similar reasons, though she was a bit more out of the loop. She walked with a clear sense of purpose towards the castle, unarmed but armored. Her head, uncovered, made her certain to stand out in the city even if the white armor didn't, but that didn't seem to bother her in the least. As she came up on the group, she looked over, curiosity enough to slow her step. Still, she seemed ready to keep walking until a little light of recognition flickered over her face.

Stepping towards the group, she looked at the woman next to the horse. "Um. Excuse me, but you're...Cho, right?" They'd spoken, yesterday, and Liara wasn't willing to ignore a potentially important source of information outright. Years of habit made her take a moment to make a proper introduction.

Okay, let's get this party started.

[sorcerous]

"We don't know if the Hero was the one directly responsible for the King's disappearance." He sighs, aggravated. "I suppose, then, that we'll have to use my expertise, and your magic."

Loki turns, at the woman's voice, prepared to tell her off. Now is not the time for introductions; they are on a mission; she must not interrupt. But he sees her blue skin and his tongue stutters, falters. It is but a moment to realize that she is no Jotunn -- she does not resemble him, it is only the color -- and he gathers his words again.

"We have pressing business, as regards the King," says Loki. "There is no time to for niceties."

[tenuefarfalla]

Cho rolls her eyes, just a little and with her face turned so that Loki can't see her. "Oh Captain, my Captain... you're being rude." Because he is. And while he may be a prince, if he is indeed that Loki (and she's pretty sure he is), these are not his people and they're working together by choice, not out of requirement.

So she leans off the side of the saddle, hanging there with one hand on the pommel to keep herself from falling, and puts her own face a little closer to Liara's. "I'm Cho, yes. Nice to meet you face to face. I never did get your name." She'd been far too caught up in the magic to remember those niceties Loki was currently putting down. Cho can understand that. "This is Charlie," she says, running her fingers through the horse's dark mane.

May as well be late ICly AND OOCly ;A; sorry guys

[thefunsister]

Rose arrived on the scene just a few minutes later than the others, having traded her heavy broadsword for a lighter short sword and a few knives. She didn't imagine she would need such a large thing for a simple search and rescue, even if they ran into trouble on the way. She ran the last few feet to catch up with them.

"What did I miss?"

I am late, too, so now worries.

[shadow_sage]

Liara simply ignores Loki for a momet, offering no reaction to his caustic tone whatsoever. "I owe you an apology, though now probably isn't the best time." She looked the horse over, but doesn't really try to get much closer to it. "Yesterday, we were preparing fir a battle likely to kill us all, and suddenly I was elsewhere. I was upset, and I am sorry for that. I am Liara T'Soni."

Now her attention turned to Loki. "Since your king kidnapped me, I can't say I am terribly bothered by interuppting his business. In fact, I'm on my way to speak with him now, and if it interuppts his day, then his day is interuppted." She knows nothing about him being missing, in other words. Turning, she appraises the newcomer but says nothing else.

[sorcerous]

A nod, to Rose -- good to know that she was somewhat reliable.

"He isn't my King." Loki has no King. He should be a King -- by Odin's eye, he would do better than the buffoon currently on the throne. "But he is missing, and I would rather avoid the collapse of this kingdom and possibly this section of reality. If you feel that politeness and decorum are more important, by all means, delay further."

[tenuefarfalla]

"He's not our King. Fine. We can all agree on that. But as long as we're stuck here, his well being seems to be tied to ours." When all else fails, appeal to self preservation. It almost always works. She turns to Loki, calling her magic to her fingertips and preparing to cast or lend her power, if he has a way to tap into her. If not, they will have to figure something out for the future. "You say you know how to track him. Show me."

[sorcerous]

His skill isn't gone -- only his power. So he reaches out to her and touches her skin, murmuring a spell of transference. Gods, it's only drips of power that once moved through him in torrent, but he opens a narrow channel to her, a quiet, small path of power.

"Trust me," he urges her, softly, his eyes fixed on her.

[tenuefarfalla]

Trust him. Sure. He's done so much to earn it. Well... he didn't let her die, that's something. Of course, he could have just not wanted to deal with the corpse in his bed. He certainly hadn't left her on a high note or in the best of shape. Still, if her choices are to trust Loki or stay here being ineffectual--

"Carefully," she says, but she takes a deep breath and stares at him and lets go of a little bit of that control, keeping her magic tied up tight inside her. It makes her palms sweat, makes the skin on her shoulder tingle under his icy touch. But she doesn't push him away. And she can feel the power flowing out of her, like a thin stream of ice water being drawn up out of the ground by Loki's fingertips. It's only the tiniest portion of her power, but it's even and steady and strong.

[shadow_sage]

Liara, of course, says nothing. She watches, but she also activates her omni-tool. Despite everything it's lost since she arrived (features she misses quite a bit), the sensor suite seemed at least somewhat functional, so that is activated even as the others link.

At the same time, she lets a soft blue glow surround her, and though her tool seems to take most of her focus, she is ready to step in and put Loki on the ground if he seems to be hurting Cho. Liara may not know either of them well (nor believe in magic), but she's not an idiot.

[sorcerous]

He flinches, inhales sharp between his teeth. There is a ripple of pale, human skin that flows outward from where he touches Cho, and it fades again into blue just as quickly. The scalding magic burns within him.

He murmurs a spell, too quickly, close to stumbling over his words. A spell to create a path, to find what it is they seek: the King.

[tenuefarfalla]

Loki shapes Cho's power, and the magic flowing between the two of them takes the form of the proper spells. Directed by an unfamiliar force, it stings Cho, making her skin almost crackle with a strange discharge of static.

And then the paths light up, leading into the castle. She stares down after them. "Well..." Then she nods her head once, internal decision made, and begins following one of them. Into the castle. Where the staff all insists they have no idea where the King has gone. "Something tells me we're not going to find what we're expecting."

[shadow_sage]

"I can't think of a single real accomplishment which I've been a part of in years that happened as we expected it to." She's still glowing, but not watching Loki as intently, and the note of irony in her voice is almost lost in the hint of excitement that comes out at the same time. Doing something is a damn sight better than not doing a thing, even if it probably frivolous.