#mutter cfd

[clan-fuildarach]

so regie has been out doing that hard Sleuthing work on robin’s behalf, with his two pals mutter and serraden. neither of whom want to be flying around northern sornieth doing god knows what, but they didn’t have much of a choice. mutter is a shade-touched dragon who used to eat ghosts of the silent settlement and, on their own, would probably be hunted down and killed by.... pretty much every dragon or spirit who isn’t 100% pro-shade. which is most people, and mutter isn’t exactly the friendliest either. for serraden’s part, he only wanted to be taken as far as fallon, for questioning purposes. but since he’s a free undead person not contracted to anyone, he would also be targetted and killed by pretty much everyone

so regie has to protect both of his pals, which he is more than capable of. but he also enjoys the companionship (for lack of a better term) both of them provide and, purposefully or not, they both help him with the gaps in his memory. regie’s reformation after his death at ideal’s hands wiped a lot of his memory (due to his nature as a literal smoke monster, his mind and memories are basically encoded in smoke, a lot of which he lost and had to be replaced)

god what tf was my point here

oh yeah regie’s search for extra eyewitnesses has taken him back to the village of the dead. he had to leave mutter outside because the villagers hate them. but the gamble in flying so far east has paid off - it seems like whatever attacked court dorchadas may have originated in eastern dragonhome, near the silent settlement. 

[clan-fuildarach]

lil gijinka design for mutter! its cheeks are scored to show that it can open its mouth Very Wide

a shade dragon based on light is pretty neat and a fun concept to work with

[clan-fuildarach]

i kinda cut off in the middle of mutter’s arc but i’m gettin back on track now 

so mutt is being officially hunted out of the chasms in eastern dragonhome. the villagers have had enough of them. and mutter is furious because they did everything their new friend asked, they were non-violent and they didn’t seek vengeance or anything, but they still got burned. 

now homeless, mutter needs to find a sheltered place to hide quick, because shade monsters caught out in the open fall victim to paladin attacks more often than not 

luckily, mutter’s friend/hanger-on/the thing possessing them has a good idea: go to the tangled wood, it’ll be safe. only neither of them is really sure why. 

[clan-fuildarach]

down in the labyrinth of chasms beneath the skin of dragonhome, there is a mob forming. the dragons march in a tight group through the dusty corridors, holding up flaming torches and brandishing wands and staves. everyone here is already dead, and all have been pressed into action by the threat that lurks on the edge of their village. 

they pass a darker wing of the chasm, the shadows peppered with pretty golden lights. that’s where the monster waits. the mob draws to a halt as one, uneasy, waiting for one of its number to make the first move towards the lights. their faces are hidden by painted masks but their fear is obvious. 

among the lights, the monster watches. here they are again - the villagers won’t leave it alone. they won’t abide its presence, they’re intolerant, they hate that which they do not understand. okay, sure, the monster has killed and eaten a few of them, but that was in self-defense (and, later, vengeance, and then boredom). it mentally dares the villagers to come closer. if they do, it’ll teach them a lesson they’ll never forget. then they’ll finally give it the respect it deserves.

a tall villager in a spiral mask takes a torch and ventures towards the lights. 

“we know you’re there, creature,” it calls in a hollow voice. there’s nothing behind the mask. “this is your final warning.”

leave me ALONE, the monster wants to shout. why are the villagers like this?? constantly forcing the monster to harm them. it’s their own fault if they get hurt here. 

the villagers don’t seem to want to come any closer. warning issued, they disperse. the monster withdraws and paces in its cave, furious. it lashes out at a cracked wall and leaves a blackened crater. it mutters obscenities under its breath, threatening to raze the village to the ground. 

“don’t do that,” another voice says. this one isn’t a ghost. “be nice.” 

[clan-fuildarach]

so mutter now seems to have an unwelcome tag-along. a creature that hasn’t yet shown itself, but it seems to be connected to mutt somehow. this new creature is very nice, in sharp contrast to mutter’s vindictive moodiness, and it seems to want mutter to follow its example.

for a while mutter thought that they were just hearing things, or that this new voice was their conscience or something like that, but no, it’s definitely another creature that has somehow latched onto them and won’t tolerate meanness 

the creature is tolerable, but only because it seems to empathise with mutter’s struggle. i know, it says, i know it’s easy and i know they’ve hurt you. but maybe you could try not attacking the villagers this time? 

fate seems to have granted mutter the friend they always wanted, and they would never ever admit it, but the company is comforting. 

[clan-fuildarach]

i don’t mean like “misunderstood jerk with a heart of gold who just needs someone to show them Love” I mean “jerk who comes to the realisation that it’s their own damn fault nobody likes them and works to get their shit together”

[clan-fuildarach]

so before i was interrupted by the journey yesterday i was talking about mutter! mutt is a really interesting shade dragon because it uses light as a weapon and lure. you're wandering through the maze of chasms, trying to find the village of the dead, when you see some lanterns up ahead. you approach, only to walk directly into mutt's trap seasoned travellers know to avoid the lights in the dark