(open)

[usurpers]

Who: a draconic thief and you!
When: i'm flexible with the days as long as it's after the full moon! diy!
Where: a dragon's underground den.
What: an open log for those signing up for the city-wide wanted quest!
Warnings: will add as they come! a note that eren will not attack anyone unless they steal from him— which, if you want to go that route, by all means hmu for plot!


ᴏᴏᴏ ʜᴇ's sᴛᴇᴀʟɪɴ!!!!!
[ past the constraints of the bright wall and just before the wilde creeps into fresh plains, slums and farmlands with its frosty winter nip, lays a hole; a hole that seems too large to have been dug by a rabbit and can easily fit man or monster. if one has followed the incredible amount of scattered shedding (black scales with a scarlet-plum sheen, perhaps orange or gold depending on how light bounces from it), it leads them further down. many elders are sure to give tips if you ask: flattery will help you if you talk of liberty, bring something else that's sharp, that'll do it, i would bribe him with one of those fair-folk, haha, and perhaps oh, send him my cookies. whether either of those work or not, it needs to be tested!

the tunnels are identical to those made by miners, twisting and turning into different, multiple paths, some leading into scorched dead ends while others may only seem to take you lower . . . and lower, into more intricate corkscrew bends. some spots aren't all that dark, lit by runes carefully carved and enchanted to glow a deep orange, but those with less of a knack for seeing in dark places might do well with an extra source of light, no harm done. if successfully navigated, intruders will find an opening that spans into a large, large den, one expected to be the interior of a mountainside. the cavern is impressive in size and sculpted entirely by claw, molded by spine and reinforced with dragon flame. the ceilings are high and the floors— that might be a problem.

the floors harbor an ocean of sharp objects that create mountains, piling up to nearly half the wall of the entire dome— heaps of any kind of knife, long blade, spear, needle, gardening and construction tools, broken glass, ceramic and . . . that's a piece of paper, yes. anything that has a fine, dangerous cutting or stabbing point is hoarded here, the product of a monster's growth of over a year (and counting). the dragon, though, the dragon may not be instantly seen unless one looks so very hard for two pairs of glistening, crystal-blue horns protruding out of the mass— or, perhaps, you'll want to play it safe and look for the obsidian knives in a literal haystack of knives. ]

Comments

Later in the Month

[fiddlestick]

[Elliot's got a pretty busy life between all his jobs and side projects, so it took some time for word to spread about the stolen knives to him. But once he heard about a black-scaled dragon stealing knives?

Well. It didn't take much thought to connect the dots. And so he heads down into the tunnels, using his bond and his memory to guide the labyrinth to where Eren is.]

Eren?

[usurpers]

[ elliot had been one of the very few (perhaps only?) allowed to walk around here freely and even then, that had taken a very long time to achieve. nevertheless, when called the ocean of weapons clink and clatter against each other, roll off of muscle and scale when they ripple beneath, just enough to expose an eye and hot-breathed nostrils of a pitch black snout (and a wide, long blue tongue slipping through his front lips). the icy blue eye blinks back at him, a slide of his third eyelid and nothing more, while responding with the rumble of a merr. he’s listening. to you, he’ll listen with far less dispute. ]

[fiddlestick]

[A year ago, elliot probably would've been terrified to approach a dragon. But a lot has changed, and at least with this dragon, he knew he didn't have to be as on guard.

Still, he makes his approach softly. He walks where Eren can see him, reaching out to gently touch that snout in greeting.]

Hey, how you doing today?

[usurpers]

[ elliot would be met halfway with the curve of one of his nostrils in his hand, and with an immediate exchange of magic, the dragon soon lifts his head away to give both a boisterous and jovial wag. he’s saying hello i am seeing you and i enjoy that just as he might be trying to show off how ripe and colorful his sunset scales look from this angle. there is a spot freshly scared around the nape as if it was from . . . what seemed like jaws, but they look healthy, scabbed and closing correctly.

he could talk, of course, but he’d spit too much in between with this purring going on. ]

wildcard

[trost]

[ When Jean heard the Merrow Merchant's gripes about losing his precious, self-sharpening knives, he had a hunch as to who the culprit was, and he's often confident in said hunches. That's why he doesn't follow the usual route others may take, instead going directly to the quaint little cottage he resides in. There, he prepares himself for a small expedition, packing some water and bringing over one of those enchanted candles he had found in his home. He also puts a cut of beef into his bag, but make no mistake: He has no intention of bartering kindly with the dragon today. Jean is going to ask firmly, and steal if he has to. The meat is a potential distraction. He moves his own bed aside and displaces the floorboards, hopping into that hole he's been curious about for a while.

Half an hour of wading around the dragon's tunnel labyrinth later, here's when Jean realises that he's made a mistake. He was following the trail of black scales before, but he realises quickly that there are black scales in every twist and turn inside the tunnel. He's been going in circles and he knows it. Jean has some tracking experience in the forest, but it's different underground.

Once he finally reaches the end of his patience, he sends the dragon a defeated message. ]

I'm in your tunnel. Come over here. [ come get him bro ... ]

[usurpers]

[ eren’s watch would buzz— somewhere, perhaps still in the tunnels where he’d leave things behind, clothes and such before taking a form that doesn’t suit them. it’s near impossible to type with claws the size of banana stalks, sharp like spears . . . so jean achieves no answer. not even a signal that the message has been read. he does, however, know there’s a rather stupid intruder in his domain. he can smell it just as easily as spotting the footprints of a rat in the house.

rather than meeting him halfway, eren lazes in his pool of knives and only shifts deeper into his pile until only his spines remain stick out of iron and copper. the tunnel rumbles, light yet reverberating with sound— it’s a growl that extends its call like the beckon of a thunderstorm, louder through one particular path than the other dead ends. filling it will lead to greater clues of being on the right one: smaller footprints in the dirt transition to larger, dragging claw marks, and then larger when the tunnel begins to expand. along the way is something that smells slightly scorched, hot and fresh: blood and slabs of flesh that could’ve once been human and torn out of shape.

if you’re going to invade his home, then come to him. you fool. ]

[trost]

[ Wow, fine. He knows Eren knows he's here, given the dragon's keen sense of smell, so this lack of response on the watch appears willful more than anything. At least that growl clues him in on which tunnel to proceed through, which was really the only help he needed. Jean wades through that one live tunnel, taking note of the footprints and claw marks that from the size appear unmistakably Eren. The blood and slabs of flesh ... are a concerning sight, and there's a part of him that wonders if Eren's actually hunted a person. That's going to be something to look deeper into.

Finally, he reaches the dragon's lair, and is a little taken aback by the scale of it and the sheer magnitude of that knife collection. So Eren's hole is not quite a hole at all, but more an underground dwelling large enough to house a family or two (if it weren't for the knives). The hoarding problem also appears to be worst than he had thought.

He can't see Eren but he knows the dragon must be cozening up somewhere. Now's as good a chance as ever to look for any of the following items: the obsidian knives (top priority), Eren's watch (for dignity's sake) and any stray, fallen dragon scales (a bonus). The first thing he spots is the ebony of obsidian, poking out from the side of the pile, and Jean makes his creeping advance, fingers inching toward that blade. ]

[usurpers]

[ no watch here, scales, plenty, obsidian knives? like finding the only blue needle in a rainbow needle stack. jean’s found one, which is very good for him! yes! just reach for it.

behind him would be the growing problem, though. eren’s neck slinks carefully out of the knife bed behind jean, snaking, stalking, and once he’s inches from his backside— he could feel the heat, like being too close to a stove. he’s titanic, what little lips he has pulls back to expose the mass of sword-like teeth with a wet yet dry sound of gums cracking beneath skin.

jean is a friend— but right now, jean is being a thief, snatching property as precious as freedom itself. so the voice groans out, a drumroll that comes deep, powerful and at the same time laced with magnetism. ]

And you call me [ all the sounds that start with s drag out, like a snake’s as he says: ] suicidal blockhead.

like mid month

[stopfen]

[Was he expecting a message from her? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, he just gets a text one day.]

Those knives that went missing.
Was that you?

[usurpers]

What knives?

[ he takes . . . quite a bit of knives in a day. other weapons, things he finds on the street, in the trash, on the sidewalk or in open stalls. ]

[stopfen]

The ones from the shop

[usurpers]

I paid for the ones inside shops.[ inside shops ] Which place are you talking about?

[dirtdevil]

[ he knew what he'd be getting into as soon as he got to the "black-scaled dragon fellow" part of the wanted ad. a description like that and this mystery person happened to have stolen a bunch of sharp things?

god damn it, Eren.

it hasn't actually been that long at all, but somehow it still feels like he's been chasing after Eren in some capacity for half his life at this point. it really is just one thing after another. at least Eren isn't the one being kidnapped this time. that was starting to get old.

he knew Eren lived in a literal hole in the ground, but he'd had the good sense not to actually go down there until now. it's easy enough to find, and the shedded scales strewn around inside (gross, honestly) confirm it's the right one. from there, it was just a matter of navigating the descending tunnels (pretty easy when you're tiny) until he reached what was clearly the motherlode.

which is a disaster. there's shit everywhere, and he has to step carefully around it all just to avoid getting stabbed by something. his patience is already wearing thin, and he just got there like 30 seconds ago.

he doesn't really want to touch anything, but who knows what else might be lurking down here? so after some careful consideration, he picks up a spear that looks like it's probably not disease-ridden.

he taps loudly on the cavern wall a few times with it, like he's knocking on someone's door except this particular someone is a fucking weirdo who doesn't live somewhere with a door. ]

Hey, Eren. Don't take this the wrong way, but I think you might have a problem.

[usurpers]

[ it’s you would be the answer from his maw if he wanted to die, but eren at least has most of his draconic-twisted opinions corked behind front lips. he had been sleeping when the clank of metal rings in the cavern and calls him back to alertness. it’s almost a shame he’s lost that worried jitter in him when confronted by the captain . . . it’s so far away and replaced with his jaded normalcy: lifting himself from his pool, his bed, and letting all the knives cascade off his massive, scaly back in a tired groan.

a full ass dragon. oh, he’s big. perhaps nothing compared to titans, if only in a reptilian shape and bend. yes, he bends irregularly, it’s gross by levi standards. other than the knives and weaponry, for dirt floors they’re actually pretty tidy. not a dead animal in sight. ]

If you’re here, [ it slipped, not entirely his voice at all. deeper, animalistic, gurgling as the cheekless sides of his jaws began to spit. oh, more gross. ] what problem?

[dirtdevil]

[ if you're here. cheeky. (and speaking of cheeks, eww. get a fucking towel, man.)

in any case, he very pointedly eyes the sweeping landscape of pointy objects. ]

Pretty sure this isn't normal. What's the point of hoarding all this shit?

[usurpers]

[ he has that much respect for you. honesty. pure, unadulterated honesty. what's the point—? ]

I have to take what's mine. Ever since I ended up here . . . If it cuts, it has to be here, with me.

[ in other words, #justdragonthings ]

[darkestbefore]

[ She'd heard from the very distressed merchant about his missing blades and had set out in an effort to help him. Not that she's sure she can remedy the situation, but there seemed little harm in trying. Or so she hopes?

The trip through the winding caverns had been a little disorienting, but it's not hard to tell she's found a lair of some sort once the cave walls open up into a mountainous chamber. For a moment, she just stares around her in awe, taking in the massive scope and amount of effort it would have taken to create such a space.

And then she starts categorizing all the weapons hoarded within. Finding a set of obsidian blades among this treasure trove suddenly seems a much more daunting task. So she decides to try a different approach. perhaps the thief could be reasoned with?

Which is why she takes a step deeper into the chamber and calls out, in case anyone is hidden within. ]

Hello?

[usurpers]

[ no human soul will be found dwelling within the cavern as yona's voice echoes out and bounces off both iron and dirt walls. it's silent, even weighing into lonely— what had fallen asleep beneath the sea of pointed weaponry had already been awake with the scent of a familiar intruder walking along his tunnels and into his domain. it was hard, very hard to snooze in peace when people barge in uninvited into your home— even if they were friends.
.
it didn't mean he would act with hostility, yet, at least. the iron and copper blades clatter and clink against one another as a dragon, with nightsky black & sunset hued scales and twisting pairs of crystalline blue horns rise from his resting spot, the heat of his maw causing smoke to rise through his fangs. he's rather large, nearly the size of a house and accurately towering over a bush elephant. his serpentine eyes might as well be the size of her head, hovering to her height to blink with his third eyelid and growl out something, a word, drumming low and inquiring: ]

Yona.

[darkestbefore]

[ She knows that voice. But it doesn't all match the figure that emerges out of the depths of the chamber, hidden beneath his treasure. She stares, completely caught off guard as she takes in his changed form. Was this new? Or could he always do this? She's only seen him on two legs, not a full transformation like this. ]

...Eren?! Is that you? You're so... big!

[galdorleod]

[ Howl happens upon a glistening wafer of ebony keratin late on night, on his walk back from another unsuccessful night out. At first, he passes it by, assuming its glint is a result of his mild intoxication, but then steps on a second one laying in the middle of the sidewalk. On closer inspection, he's surprised to recognize it as an incredibly high-quality dragon's scale - not only larger and fresher than those found in shops, but heavy with potential. Howl can feel the power within pressing into his fingertips as he holds it.

And, most interestingly... it has the unmistakable aura of a Mirrorbound. Monster Mirrorbound could be dragons? Howl never knew until now. It only takes a few seconds for him to find more scales on the empty road, and by the time he follows them to the entrance of a tunnel, he's forgotten about the half-dozen women who rejected him earlier that night.

His pockets are heavy with clattering scales when he reaches the main cavern, where the floor forces him to stop. That is a lot of knives. He holds his hand out into the cavern, illuminating it faintly with the light he'd conjured to help him navigate. ]

Hello? [ The dragon must be here, right? Howl calls out again, louder, with no fear in his voice. ] Is anyone here?

[usurpers]

[ howl would not find an apparent presence immediately— looking around would only result in mapping the curved ceiling of the cavern and the iron (or more than iron) scattered and hoarded everywhere into pools and stacking piles. the stillness may not speak, but sound will: the deep, constant hush of air being breathed, of metal cluttering and one particular spot rising, falling, rising again in a slowed but consistent motion. just ahead of the pile that "moves" are two blue orbs and four crystal protrusions melding seamlessly with knives, speaks and glass. light bounces off of eyes the size of watermelons, found now staring back at the illuminated witch, pupils thinning beneath the bed of blades he's buried beneath.

who's this himbo? ]

[galdorleod]

[ This himbo smells strongly of alcohol, hyacinth flowers and fresh magic, and even after he notices the blue eyes beneath the hoard, there still isn't the smallest whiff of fear added into the mix.

Howl smiles. When the dragon doesn't move or say anything, he sweeps into a low bow. ]

Good evening to you, sir! I am Howl, fellow Mirrorbound. [ When he stands up again, he wobbles for a moment before balancing. ] Beg your pardon for the intrusion. I followed a trail of your exceptionally beautiful scales here. Would you mind if I kept the ones I found?

[demonass]

[ There are a lot of details to this world that Nero has (unwisely) chosen to ignore, mostly because he's been preoccupied with his own problems and it's been pissing him off. But one of the things he had actually picked up is that apparently there are two dragons that have to be found to put some sort of cosmic balance bullshit back into place. So when he sees a wanted add from some guy who wants people to track down a dragon? Sure. He'll bite. The pay doesn't hurt either.

(Nevermind that he's been told he's turning into a lizard-man himself, what with the budding nubs of horns on his head and blue scales crawling up the sides and back of his neck, but that's an issue for another time.)

So he comes marching on in with the Red Queen strapped to his back and a sac in his left hand. His right is missing entirely, the mechanical port his forearm normally connects to is hidden as his coat knots up at the elbow. The winding tunnels are a bit of a maze, but he makes it through mostly without incident.

When he finally makes it into the great cavern, Nero stops, looking up to the giant carved out ceiling and then forward to the mass of... ]

...Huh. And here I thought there was a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

[ Not a giant pile of pointy things. But he probably should have figured that this was a dragon hoard. (He should really do more research onto something that is going to be his own problem in the near future.) Nero looks down at the sac and just let's it drop at his feet and it hits the ground with a muffled "plop". It's full of something...something sweet and full of carbs. ]

Guess I won't be needing this.

[ Taking a few steps forward, he gets to the edge of the pile and sets his hand on his hip. ]

Alright, so we're lookin' for a needle in a needle-stack. Piece of cake

[ Nero exhales through his nose in one sharp huff before digging right in. The bigger things--lances, swords--get shoved to the side. And what's this--gardening shears? Oookay. Definitely not a super special obsidian knife.

He's absolutely heedless of the fact that there might be something other than pointy things in there. ]

[usurpers]

[ congratulations, nero, you've entered the chamber without awakening the great stone dragon, but the unfortunate part of the good news is that it's tagged with a yet. plenty of things can be pulled out of the way of this single towering corner, one of them being a beautiful, crystalline needle as blue as rough sapphire. yanking that will reveal that it's the only apparent thing that seems stuck, and just behind it is a sleek black cheek of a blade that fits the obsidian descriptor. pulling the obsidian self-sharpening blade out, especially with its edge pointing up, could mean a hand being cut in unwanted ways.

how lucky he's found one so fast! so, chop-chop. get that sapphire needle out of the way. a good yank should do it! a good thing to notice is that another needle is above it. and another! and another. it is also attached to a black, meaty, scaly tail-tip. ]

[demonass]

[ He nearly misses the needle in what would have been his second very unfortunate had accident in the past few months. Thankfully he notices it before he ends up skewering himself with his one good hand. ]

Shit--

[ But once he pulls the needle loose, he sees his prize. Nero grins--surprised, but pleased. ]

Like I said, piece of cake!

[ Just in case his audience was wondering.

There's a pause--and it's good that he does. Nero's used to just barging forward in there, it looks like an angry glass porcupine is protecting the damn thing. Nero scratches the side of his nose, but decides to just act on instinct and grabs a couple of needs, ripping them out in one go. ]

That thing's lodged in there pretty good, huh?

[ Well, whatever's in his way is going to have to go, that's the end of it. Yet as he's plucking the things out there's something...almost juicy at their bases. He frowns, inspecting one of them before he leans in to look at just what they were embedded in.

...

That looks dangerously close to what's been growing on his back. ]

...

[ Ah. ]

Well, this is about to get interesting.

[ He should have enough removed that he can make for the dagger, so he fucking goes for it. ]