From Gransys to Hearthstone - Present (EvaR & ChrisGabriel)

[EvaRose]

Hearthstone, a place not unlike Gransys but its own nonetheless. It had its fair share of monsters, the kind that lived in Gransys and different kind native only to Hearthstone such as nagas and gargoyles. Because of the different kind of the terrain within Hearthstone, there were many diverse creatures around nowadays, many of them have not been seen in the area for about a hundred years. Olter was a place unlike many other city in Hearthstone or Gransys, or any other country on that continent. It was the only city that could be found under a mountain. There was a hole on the other side of the Tainted Mountain, a huge one that humans carved into the mountain more than a hundred years ago. There is a tunnel connected to that cave, leading anyone who walks down it to Gransys.

Right in front of the cave, hiding the scents of the humans inside, was a waterfall. The monsters around the south area of Hearthstone are saurians (large bipedal lizards that tend to carry staffs or spears), many of which make the two rives of south Hearthstone their home. Because of the huge lizards, there must be a sentry stationed at the waterfall entrance at all times. There was also a drake of course, the lesser dragon that was not too much to handle for hunters.

The underground city is mostly made up of homes and is not known for producing anything useful for any other city. Instead, the people there have been known to entertain anyone coming to Gransys, and they have enough room to do so. Three inns are inside of the town, two more than what is usually seen in a town of any kind. Smoke rose from the chimney of the fireplace while the smell of cooking food began to fill the inn while the innkeeper herself was busy trying to ask someone wanted for breakfast. "An egg, tomato sauce, stock soup and... a spoon?" The innkeeper was an odd looking woman with a few patches of scales instead of skin and what looked to be horns sticking out of her hair. The woman cooking looked similar to the innkeeper (perhaps they are related?) and there are two spears leaned against the fireplace as she cooks.

The inn was a little small, just two stories tall with three bedrooms for guest while the basement was reserved for the innkeeper and cook to stay in. The first floor was an open area with three rectangular tables to sit at and a huge double door leading out into the town. The entire town was made up of females, though some of those females had a few "hidden features". One such female burst through the door at that moment, eyes sweeping over the three in the room, staying on the man (surely a rarity in their town) before she turned and stepped to the cooking sister. The woman was intimidating in stature, tall and dark of skin with horns sticking out of her hair, a huge tail that started just above her shapely rear and ended at her ankles, and the brown wings sticking out of her back. Attached to her back is a huge sword that would sure take two hands for any normal human to use. The woman wears cloth for a top, barely covering her generous bust and a pair of pants that does not hide her "unusual" package well. The woman goes straight to the cook and spins her around, planting a kiss on her lips in light greeting, laughing a little as she lets go.

The cook is a little flustered, however as she stares up at the woman. "Kaida! Ooooh! I hate when you do that!"

"Which makes it more hilarious. Come, I hunger. Anyway, I need to hurry and eat before looking around town today, drank a bit too much last night and now my belly is empty. It hurts." With that, the woman sat down in the nearest chair, the cook starting to scold her even as she poured a bowl of soup.

The innkeeper watched this for a moment before turning to the man at the other side of her desk. "Anyway, that will be fifty gold."

 

[ChrisGabriel]

The man sitting near the guestrooms at a table was holding his head and lightly groaning. In front of him was a mix of fresh, unprocessed red meat, and an egg in tomato juice, with some spices. He was trying to clean up her head in the morning after... He just was not sure after what? He was starting to look for answers, but getting only questions.

He knew his own name, Yaroslava, and that the last thing he remembered was fighting a dragon and almost breaking the powerful - if somewhat still weak - staff on the last beating heart... He was the last man standing, so to speak, the Mystic Knight that always gone to fight in the front already perished, and thus the usual backstage spellcaster had to... What? Did he killed that dragon at least? Or was the whole explosion just because the rule of three and soul magic? After all, his Master, the dragon, and the staff all three had something to do with the same soul.

Yaroslava was summoned from another realm to be the Mage. Being somewhat of a wuss in close quarter combat, with someone to protect him, he became a real badass with magic, and he was even able to almost kill a dragon with dark magic - culminating in a hit in its heart with his staff - when his master perished... It was interesting how the same person was used to provide the heart, the staff, and just had been killed giving enough magical backlash to make it possible.

He was still wielding that Dragonforged Legion's Might staff... But he had no idea how he got here in this establishment waking up in a bed. He never drank, and already ventured outside to see if he knew the place, but only asking around give him the basic knowledge... Maybe this was another realm to be summoned into? But then where was his Arisen or otherwise known as his new Master ... or Mistress?

Despite his looks as an early middle aged man with a little extra weight around his middle and a chin beard, he was somewhat above average. Dark brown hair, lean muscles, and warm honey colored eyes added to his always smiling charm. Knowing lots about monsters and magic, he was still almost shell socked to see the winged, horned, tailed woman, and the obvious closeness to the cook. He was a rarity in the town, being male, and Yaroslava knew that it was natural to have same sex pairings, but he was sure that the intimidating Kaida was not only sporting a cock hidden in her clothes, but was obviously some kind of dragon hybrid herself. He was just unable to come to terms about she even existing, and seemingly living as normal among humans.

Not wanting to gather more interest on himself, he tried to see if he had enough gold - and the right kind - to pay.

 

[EvaRose]

Ths soft drumming of the innkeeper's fingers alerted the other two females of something a bit... odd. The cook scolding Kaida stopped what she was doing to look over at her sister who was busy staring at the man with an annoyed look in her eyes. "Stop that, Lily, you know what mother used to say about doing that." She poured a bit more soup into the bowl in her hand before stepping to the front desk. Only the woman behind the desk was the innkeeper, as she was good with business matters unlike her sibling. "Everyone has to go through their pockets for gold, including you for that matter, so stop being so impatient." Turning to the man, she placed the bowl down in front of him and bowed her head slightly. "I'm sorry about my sister, sir, she doesn't do well with people sometimes."

Lily huffed softly as she sat down on the chair behind her desk. It was obvious that she would listen to her sister on the matter instead of continuing the finger drumming. Kaida watched this from where she still was near the pot of soup, frowning a litte as she looked at the man. Men were an odd thing to see in Hearthstone now, even if it had not been 150 years ago. Lily and her sister, for example, had a grandfather who was human and... well, male. The same could not be said for the siblings' sire, but nobody thought much of it anymore. Having Kaida as the town leader made it easier on the hybrids in Olter.

Kaida got up then and stepped to the two of them. "You're definitely new here, don't have a single man in Olter. So, why would you come to a place like this?" She thought little of her own looks, wings or otherwise.

 

[ChrisGabriel]

Finally finding some coins from his past, the distraught mage paid like it was his teeth pulled, grumbling something about not having thought it would be this much. "Really? And you still have to ask?" looking up into the eyes of the ... woman, Yaroslava winked.

Then sighing, he took a big gulp of his concoction, and massaged his temples. "But I really would be happy if I could remember it." Trying to smile at the mixed blooded woman - or would she count as a he? Maybe something different? - the lone male squared his shoulders. "I would definitely appreciate if someone told me all about this place and the situation. Maybe I have some magic to help, at least fight from afar if needed."

 

[EvaRose]

"Well, you are currently in Olter, a city under the Tainted Mountain. The mountain is what separates Gransys and Hearthstone, and keeps our rather... unique monsters from getting into another country. It's good, since our kind of monsters tend to do... odd things to people." She would not get jnto it, of course, as she was a product of one of the strange things those creatures did to people.Both the growth in her pants and her being a hybrid was the result of the effects of having those monsters around.

"I am Kaida Nore, maybe the VI or VII, I sometimes lose track. At the moment, I am looking for somebody to travel with me towards the center of Hearthstone, to see how everything is. I am hoping to see what is going on with the two dragons there. It is dangerous, but I tend to be able to get close enough to send word to other cities about what may be going on."

 

[ChrisGabriel]

The man mused to himself a little, then looked into her eyes. "I am Yaroslava, Mage Companion. If you can pay for my craft, I can tag along..." after all, he was curious about not only the overall area, the situation, but about his own stand in this new part of the world. He had heard something, but nothing concrete about Hearthstone.

Indeed, after his last adventure, he was curious to see if he was able to get stronger, and gather more useful knowledge. And it was not that usual for him to be able to be this close to some supposed royalty, or that he could get to know a dragon hybrid, or whatever she was.

"But before we shake hands on it, could you tell me what kind of mix you are? I do not think that it is something usual even here..."

 

[EvaRose]

"No, I'm the only one of my kind, even now. It makes me a bit of s oddity around here but also a celebrity among the women, if you know what I mean." She was not partial to keeping what she was hidden, not from anyone who was a stranger around there or the women who did lived in Olter. Of course, she did not expect to tempt a man, but her body moved the way that it usually did and leaned slightly on the counter, her head held in her hands while her elbows were against the counter top. Her breasts were easy as ever to be seen, but neither Lily nor the innkeeper thought much about it. They were used to her dressing as such.

"I happen to be a drake hybrid. There is one in the forest around here who raped my grandmother, which resulted in my mother being born. She wasn't made... exactly like me however and definitely had more scales. And trust me, I can pay for anyone around here to go along with me." With a small smile, the woman stood up and went to the door of the inn. "I'll be back with your gold in an hour at most!" With that, she walked out, not thinking to wait for an answer.

"Don't worry too much about Kaida, she's harmless, flirtatious but harmless. If I were you, I'd watch out when walking outside. Those things don't just enjoy the bodies of women after all." The innkeeper spoke as she wrote down the day that he left in her logbook. However, she would not ask for him to pay, knowing very well that Kaida would take care of it herself. "Sorry, my name is Iris, and the cook is Lily."

 

[ChrisGabriel]

"Well, Iris, I hope Lily is good enough to make some travel rations that taste good, and keep long enough. Also, I would need some gear... It seems all I have is what I had with myself when I broke up with the last drake I knew up close and personal." he tried to be charming, but knew that only the fact that there seemed to be no males, and maybe only his new boss have something between her legs that counted helped him to have their attention.

Wanting to be seen as a somewhat mysterious traveler, Yaroslava did not asked anything about how he got here, or what happened before he woke up in that bed upstairs, instead he went back into the room, gathered his things, and then tried meditating and praying to clear his head, and remember if anything happened at all between the moment he cracked his staff on the dragon's last heart, and waking up here with a hurting head. Inspecting the Legion's Might staff, he could tell that it became Dragonforged, as it bathed in the might and the blood of that creature. He also had a good magic dagger, and enchanted armored clothes, but that was all. Well, there was pockets full of components, some herbs and pieces gathered that could be useful for some potions or poultices, but really, he only had enough coins to pay for the room if they only counted the night.

So, Kaida would pay for everything and anything they needed on this trip. Even if she was putting her girls in the window, showing cleavage and shaking that ass, he was not forgetting her bulge. But now he had one too.

 

[EvaRose]

It took some time for Kaida to come back to the inn, this time with a much smaller bulge than the one she had before. Whatever she did to get rid of it was unknown and would remain so. On her back was a pack full of supplies and rations for the two of them which would hopefully last them three days. Of course, she did not expect the journey to last more than two days but it was always nice to be prepared just in case something happened that made them need to be gone for so long.

The young woman sighed softly then yawned as she stepped into the inn. Her eyes fell on Iris to see that her friend was getting some old gear out of a chest of different pieces of gear for people of different genders. Kaida, of course, needed to wear female clothes on her chest but tended to mix and match when it came to what she wore on the lower half of her body. What she had on her back was a sword called Ardent Will which was augmented with the element of fire. What she wore on her body was a set of Chimeric Armor. It fit wonderful on her body, though she had yet to cover her head or even her mouth.

"Iris, can you go get Yaroslava for me?" She asked, taking a bag of coins from her pack and setting them down on the front desk.

Iris, seeing the bag of gold, nodded and went up the stairs to go find the man. "Yaroslava? Kaida is back to come get you, and there is some armor for you downstairs." She leaned back against the wall and looked at the door as she waited for the man to come out.

 

[ChrisGabriel]

Breathing out hard and long, he finished up with his meditation, and gathered his meager belongings before stepping out of the room, and nodding to the woman. Then she walked down and took a good look at the presented possibilities. Of course he would be seen like thinking hard and taking an educated choice, but what he was going for was something that would protect him the best, while still letting him move normally, and not looking like a clown.

"Do you know if any of them are enchanted or something special?" it would took too much time for him to examine every one of them, and his head still hurt a little, but it was more of a constant throbbing than a real stop to his magic.

"Be a dear, and bring me the total of how much coin I have to leave here..." and he hoped that the gear would be free for taking, for he would put together as much useful camping and adventuring equipment as possible. A backpack and some rope was a must... Canvas, change of clothes... maybe even a bedroll... But a travel kitchen or small case of lab equipment what he was dreaming about.

 

[EvaRose]

"A little bit. It's called the Abyssinal Armor, it can resist fire, ice, lightning and dark elements, but not that much. It is a rather nice set of armor but kind of old nonetheless. You do not have to pay anything for the armor, though I think Kaida should be able to help you get everything the two of you will need for the journey." Iris looked at the man for a moment before motioning for him to follow her as she turned away and started to walk downstairs. There was a gentle sway to her hips that was not unusual and something that she did without thinking. "It's only free because you are helping her with this."

Kaida was downstairs and busy flirting with Lily as she usually did. Lily was not falling for it of course. She was one of the few women in the city who had yet to even kiss Kaida.

 

[ChrisGabriel]

Walking down and trying to remember what he had heard about the armor, Yaroslava just nodded distractedly. "Yes, yes, it is mightily helpful from her..."

Then checking the armor, he had to ask "Is this enchanted in any way? If I remember right, this is not that easy to get... The greaves seem to leave the toes free, but I like the dull glow. The bracers look funny, but at least reach from shoulder to my fingers, even if it is scaled. Well, the coat is just trippy. Does not function as normal clothes at all, leaving the naughty bits free... It would look good on you, maybe, as it even leaves the lower back bare. Must be the magic that gives the full protection, not the material. Oh, here is, the main outfit, the scaled shirt... Still needs at least a trouser, but makes the whole set wearable, thank you."

Hm.. maybe he had some Misshapen Eye and Malecryst in his pockets, so he just needed to mine for Sorrowstone or find some, then kill some saurian sages for their Argentine Sac, and... well, he sure did not had half a million gold to pay for the enchantment. But maybe he could do it himself, and just needed to find the right place and time... And the full ritual, for he only remembered the ingredients list.

But then, maybe the armor set was already enchanted to that level...

 

[EvaRose]

"Of course it's like that, it's why you wear regular clothes underneath." Lily laughed a little from where she stood, much to Kaida's dismay. Iris was smiling teasingly as she spoke, shaking her head a little as she stepped behind her desk yet again and sat down. "There should be some Traveler's tights and a shirt to go with it in the chest right there," she said, pointing to the chest spoken of. "Unfortunately, tights are all we have, so tou will have to make due. Or don't, it doesn't matter to me." The woman looked down at her record book, writing down the date in it so she could know for sure when Yaroslava left.

"Sir? Do you perhaps need a weapon?" Lily stepped away from Kaida and moved behind the front desk, looking under it at a few of the weapons that she and her sister hand stashed away there. "We have a few weapons that people left behind, if you want to take one."

 

[ChrisGabriel]

"Of course. How silly of me..." he grumbled, and took the pieces, making it sure to have every available and wearable part. He had a feeling he would need it. "I would like to take a look at any staves or daggers you have..."

Then of course Yaroslava would go back to his room, and change, packing away his other belongings. He would be ready to leave and follow.