#bergah

[dinoboirex]

burger the princess

akcshually made like 8 mts ago

[hobbybound]

Josie in her workshop

A loud thud caused Josie to stir from her deep focus, straightening her back for the first time in what must have been hours. She discarded the chisel on her workbench and turned towards the stairs. Soon enough a cloaked man came stumbling down it much faster than his feet were really willing to carry him, he fell onto a nearby chair and looked to Josie. She couldn't help but smile at the reckless joy in his eyes.

"Well? Did you get it?" she asked after a few seconds of the man catching his breath.

"Did I ever? They fully bought it Josie, hold on..." he spoke quickly before reaching into his inner coat-pocket and presenting a piece of paper in her direction.

Josie scoffed and walked over, snatching the paper from his hand before folding it open and reading through it. "A year's funding is herby granted to the ~Institute of Umbral Studies~ by whoever..." she read, emphasizing the title with a posh drawl. "We're an institute now?" she asked bemused.

"He bragged about funding institutes, so yeah" the man responded as if he had been asked why he'd fed a hungry cat. He slung the deep blue coat around the chair and placed the matching tricorn in its seat. "I'll tell Ash!" he added and turned back towards the stairs.

"Maybe the cash'll fix the damn door!"

"The door's fine!" he shouted back, halfway up the stairs already.

Josie turned back towards her work with a smile on her lips.

Once on the floor above, the man —who's name was Pricket— started rushing around trying to find his regular clothes while also searching for the alcohol to get his fake mustache and eyebrows off of his face. He had just found his regular tunic when he heard steps come down the stairs to the upper floor.

Turning around the corner Ash's face split into a gleeful smile upon seeing Pricket still with his disguise. "Why hello there 'Stache!".

"His name is Leopold of Ameralth and he's just returned from meeting with ... 'Patchbeard' or whatever he's called" Pricket said, putting on the creaky voice that belonged to Leopold.

"Old 'Pold isn't one to speak with that horrendous mustache of his though is he? what'd Duke Eftenshield say?" Ash shot back, putting on a voice that Pricket recognized but couldn't place.

"We got it!" Pricket responded in his normal voice, "funding for a year!"

Ash made a gesture towards the ceiling as if he was thanking some god then turned his eyes back towards Pricket with an even wider smile. "Can we get the door fi–"

"The door is FINE" Pricket cut him off, sounding a little past fake annoyed "now help me find the alcohol or you'll be stuck with 'Pold for the rest of the night" he added and Ash helped him find it while the two kept bantering.

[hobbybound]

To Chase a Raven

Summary: A powerful man finds himself surrounded and must escape through his city

Louke landed on the roof with only a faint thud, far too light for his speed, and fell into a crouch. He adjusted his grip on the cane in his left hand, made of dark wood with a silver raven's-head at its handle. He peered over the edge and down to the street below, as he did he willed the ring on his finger to recharge and the second eye in the tiny bird skull lit up in a faint blue like the first.

His pursuers hadn't seemed to follow him over the building, nor were they running along the street below to catch him on the other side. A pebble fell from the chimney next to him, looking up he saw a cloaked figure about to drop down onto him with a dagger in hand. Instinctively he raised his right hand and pointed across the street towards an open window. Looking down it, past the silver bird skull on his index finger, to check his aim he let out a single harsh syllable.

"Kuh" he said, and he was flung towards the window, his grey coat and cloak whipping in the wind behind him. Flying at a speed double that of sprinting he cleared the street in a moment, tucked his feet and passed the windowsill, and willed the shutters to close behind him. As they swung closed he rolled to the floor inside the room and skidded to a stop.

Quickly back on his feet he searched the walls for the door. Since he hadn't seen that particular window closed he only knew that it had been closed previously in theory and as such willing it back into that state had been more difficult. Due to this he now didn't have enough of his magical resource, Knowing, to relight the second eye of his ring and would have to do with the one charge for the moment.

He found the door and rushed through it to find himself in a corridor, at the end of it he saw a window and began sprinting towards it. There was a loud knocking on the door of the floor below, the people chasing him were quick. Approaching the window and feeling that not enough Knowing had regrown in him to will it open he resigned himself to having to burst through it with force alone.

He jumped towards the shutters and curled into a ball, hitting them with his shoulder and hip. They were knocked open and he found himself flying out of the second story into the air over another street. He looked around quickly as he began to fall and saw a man on the street below drawing back a longbow aimed at him. How someone would have gotten a longbow past the inner wall was baffling.

Again he pointed with his right hand, this time diagonally upwards over the building on the other side of the street from the one he'd just thrown himself out of. "Kuh" he spoke again, spending the last charge of his ring and sending him flying clear over the building in front of him. An arrow whistled past him, missing by no more than a meter, as he turned his head towards the direction he was flying.

Seeing that he would indeed clear the building he swung his cane and with the sound of wings flapping he rolled into a ball and summersaulted in the air to be facing forward. As if spun by invisible hands his rotation was started and stopped in a way that seemed impossible.

He hit the wall of the next building over from the one he had cleared with his feet first. He absorbed the landing as if it had been at a tenth of the speed before dropping a story and a half and landing leisurely on the street below.

Looking quickly around himself he judged that he must have gotten past those surrounding him so he ran down the street towards the outer wall. With the adrenaline flowing through his veins he felt the Knowing grow within him and he was able to will his ring to relight one of its charges. This was made easier than closing the shutters due to how many times he'd already done it and because he had seen it charged before.

[hobbybound]

The half-pint's fate

word count: 100

The half-pint's door is half open, an inn known for always being filled to the brim sits abandoned. Out from its north-facing windows a trail of tar-black smoke is winding itself towards the clouds. What's worse is the smell of burnt hair that a passer-by soldier can't help but wince at. His sword is drawn, its silvery blade flashes in a warning, reflecting the sun as it spins in circles. He steers his steps down the street and past the inn, another ruin with nothing but hair left of the people will do him no good.

[hobbybound]

Of courtly happenings

A man called Kaleth lives in Emberdun, the spiked city. By title he is a servant though he spends little of his time with meager tasks. In fact he studies the art of world-throwing under a man called Layple. Layple who is himself more than his title of chamberlain to the court buildings.

This day Kaleth went to Layple, as was usual, to begin the day with lessons in courtly manners. A type of lesson that Layple's superiors saw fit for him to teach a servant. Though these lessons in actuality taught Kaleth things far more versatile. As he entered Layple's room he found his teacher sitting in the padded chairs by the window. Without introduction Kaleth took the seat opposite and picked up the belt-buckle from the small table between the chairs.

"What of this then Layple? What marvelous lesson will you teach me with this buckle?" He asked, sarcasm at the edge of his voice.

"A lesson of the eye this time, how many objects are you holding?" Layple said as he leaned back and fixed Kaleth with his amber stare, poignantly ignoring his tone.

"Two I suppose, the frame is one and the prong another since they may collide" he shook the buckle demonstrating how the pieces rattled together.

Layple's eyebrows lifted out of a slight furrow that Kaleth hadn't noticed until it was gone. The answer had at least been right.

"Indeed, you know of how all world-throwers have their tinker-things to practice idly with, well what would it tell you if a man made his buckles his tinker-things?" Layple continued.

"Constantly changing the shape of his buckles... nothing at all, that he likes his buckles a particular way, or that he cares little of their design since he changes them without regard" Kaleth spoke without assuredness, Layple's brows re-furrowed themselves slightly. Before the teacher had time to retort Kaleth spoke in defense.

"don't look at me like this is obvious, buckles make no difference to anyone" he said. As Layple's brows became properly furrowed Kaleth's eyes darted to the table, realizing his mistake.

"Is there a ring of mine on that table that I have missed Kaleth?" Layple said sternly and continued without a response "There is not, and as such you will still speak with me as a servant should to a chamberlain"

Kaleth had been told this many times, only when someone put one of their rings on the table were those below them allowed to speak beside the formalities with bluntness, and even then with limits. Soon Layple would roll into his tirades about how the others in the court might have him fired for such a misstep and then Kaleth would learn nothing more before midday. To his surprise Layple instead slid his iron ring from his finger and onto the table.

"Why not the copper one?" Kaleth said with honest confusion, Layple met his look with raised eyebrows of his own. Realizing the question had been turned back Kaleth continued. "So that I may speak in honesty not only of those below you but also those of equal status to you?"

"So you have learned something, with that we've had enough lessons of actual courtly manners for the day" Layple said. "The buckle tells you firstly of that world-thrower's prowess, at least a little" he continued with his normal teaching voice.

"Since if one part was changed and the other fell against it in the meanwhile he would lose hold of the first, he has to be capable of at least two anchors" Kaleth interjected, Layple simply nodded and then kept speaking.

"The other thing it tells is that he does not hide his tinker-things as we both do, what might that mean?"

As Layple spoke he picked a small item from his inner pocket, it was a spiral of wood no larger than a thumb. Just before he finished his question the spiral lifted from his palm and began unwinding itself into a little stick, then tied itself into a complex knot. A moment passed before Kaleth answered.

"Yes, I do hide my tinker-things like you instructed" he responded to the unspoken question first, paused slightly and then continued; "Maybe he isn't capable of such intricate tinker-things as you and his insecurity makes him want to boast with what he can do".

"Flattery has no place ringside, but you are also wrong, it tells you that he doesn't know to fear that knowledgeable eyes may figure him out" Layple said "He is too sure of his power and connections I believe, he does not think anyone in the court a threat".

"I get the sense this man may not be only theoretical" Kaleth said as his eyes drifted to the ring "I also get the sense he might be equivalent to your status".

At that Layple's tinker-thing slowed to a stop and his mouth cracked into a genuine smile.

"Good catch" he said earnestly "The master of coffers is our showoff, and you will do well to make note of all his buckles the next few times you see him, that is your lesson of the eye, to keep noticing the changes even though you've already spotted them".

After that Layple's wooden knot untied itself back into a stick and then flew off towards one of the corners in the room. This was a game the two of them played that Layple had named Kale-fooling and for all the joy he took in defeating his student it was also good training for world-thowing combat. Kaleth picked his own tinker-thing from a pocket and soon another stick flew after the first.

The game entailed Kaleth trying to collide his tinker-thing with Layple's without touching anything else while Layple tried to evade and trick him into doing just that. Whenever a thing controlled by a world-thrower collides with another object it falls back to the ground as the anchor that was being used to control it is broken. As such Layple could tell by the sound when Kaleth had hit an obstacle even though the chase was at that point happening behind him.

"How you keep track of a thing without seeing it I'll never understand but eventually, I will catch you and both our tinker-things will fall" Kaleth said as his fell to the carpet, Layple simply smiled.

[hobbybound]

A tale of a "lucky" commoner

"Get close everyone!" shouted the knight as the last undead within reach fell at her feet "Anyone not within eight feet get into cover or you'll regret it, I can't wait on you!" she continued while unslinging the necklace from her armor. It was the symbol of Domiiignis, the god of the home, I noted as I ran to the small group forming around her.

I turned outward with my rake in hand like a pole-arm, the baily just inside the front gate was filled with civilians and the grey shapes of the undead. I saw the horrified face of my sister among them.

"For the sake of the keep!" the knight belted, her voice cracking and from the sky above a bolt of deep red lightning sprung, striking the necklace the knight was holding to the sky.

Misty shards exploded out from the necklace and the thunder of lightning echoed from the stone walls. As the shards reached outside the group they turned that same deep red and pierced through the horde. All were shoved away and some took a few steps before keeling over dead on the ground. Not one stood on the baily beside our group.

The knight slumped together briefly before shouting again, "Get the gate closed garrison!!". She elbowed her way out of the little crowd and ran towards the gatehouse, leaving the rest of us looking in horror at the dead left on the cobblestones.

To the "Shield of Custodia Keep" they were but casualties, my nieces think otherwise even now years later. Still, the divinely chosen must know best right?

[hobbybound]

Those that were will soon be again, and those below will just as soon rise to meet them

Yet another myth about those that were

[hobbybound]

The man strode slowly through the street, clearly he'd been tipped of to the plan by someone. Perhaps his allied spies had somehow nestled their way into my circles, but not enough to know my techniques clearly.

He rounded the corner, but not before peeking past it to ensure "the ghoul" didn't await him on the other side. Not that he even knew what the imagined Boogeyman would look like.

Seemingly at ease he stepped into the alley, and as his foot landed on the ground there was a slight click. Barely audible where I stood crouched but he had clearly heard it, his swift jump to the wall betraying the fear he'd until then hid.

It was clear he expected some kind of explosion or snare but nothing of the kind came. Half a second later the false walls had swung out and dropped down to close off both sides of the alley. My time had come.

I dropped from the roof I'd been perched upon, landing briefly on the roof of a window to slow my fall slightly. Then I fell onto his shoulders with my dagger drawn. Before the blade met his neck he dove to the side and I had to brace against the wall to avoid hitting the cobblestones harshly.

The man was almost back to his feet by the time I'd landed and lunged towards him again, this time my blade bit flesh. He fell further along the alley in response, trying to get away and my blade split his shoulder open wider as he got loose.

He impacted hard into the ground and quickly rolled around to face me laying on his back. He raised his left arm towards me in a feeble defense, his right not being capable of doing the same.

I planted my heel harshly on one of his exposed shins and as he whimpered I dove atop him with my blade aimed solidly at his throat. He had put up more resistance than most but it had not been enough.

The blade bit flesh again and I could almost hear it's delight as it penetrated to the hilt and blood ran forth. With his last remaining strength the man grabbed my right arm and squeezed it surprising tight as a faint smirk played across hos face. Then he lie still.

I ripped my blade free sideways, out through the side of his neck leaving him with the large wound that had earned me the name of ghoul. I then noticed how there was still a squeezing around my bicep. Looking to the spot i found a ring of pale metal locked around my arm.

I grabbed at it and yanked but it did not budge even a little. I noted that it shone a pale blue against my hand and alarm bells rang in my head, magic, a trap. Panic racing through my mind I scaled back up the building, doubtful as to what I should do and afraid of whose attention i had grabbed enough to deserve this.