Peaceful Days, Nights of Blood 3 (Hibernating for now!)

[Ty Gwynnia]

"No, those were the fake ones." Rore said as Gorash reached over for the sugar bowl and began to spoon copious amounts into his drink. When the mushy pile made a miniature mountain halfway up, he looked away and heard the fork clanging against the glass as he spoke again, meeting Strider's eyes with his own brown ones. "The real wars were the ones with actual threats. These...we'd march for days until they turned to weeks, and we saw whatever town we were to reach. First they were near the border, where there'd been trouble with bandits or rouge magic users, or corruption forming that threatened to spread. We were instructed to detain and kill the offenders. Sometimes there was a band, sometimes a small army. Worthy of being called a war." He raised his glass to his lips and drank deeply, draining the tea considerably. Flecks of the leaves or powder spotted the inside darkly. Rore blinked at the memories, surprised that the bitter and sickly sweet smell of death found its way back through time to him. "Then as peace began to settle and the threats watered down we were told to journey more and more. Still we killed, but it had changed to slaughtering people and burning buildings down. The guilty had been punished and now the innocent were paying. Maybe it was to prevent any conspiracies from forming, at first that is. The 'wars', if you can call them that, were made up of murdering and taking the long route back to the capital, as if we'd really been in battle."  

[Rayne Engel]

Rayne listened intently to the others as they spoke. She knew it would be a while until she felt comfortable around all of them. She found Rore's story of the wars almost saddened her. She just kept quiet and listened. She liked to listen.  

[Strider Wolfheart]

"Do you know if all these events recently are anything like the events from before the wars?" Strider kept his gaze on Rore, not even bothering his tea. He was searching Rore's eyes and face for any hints before he spoke. Needing to know the answer.

Jake looked from Rore to Strider over and over as the seconds passed. He didn't like what Rore was telling them, it was just so....wrong.  

[Ty Gwynnia]

Rore could only offer a shrug as a true answer, though he still voiced his thoughts anyway. "The food shortages, and any others, were faked during those too. All part of the illusion. I don't know if there was any...deterioration of Radic while we were gone, though. If there was, then it was all cleaned up and fixed by the time we got back to the capital for parades and feasts, maybe a festival, and nobody talked about any hardships. I guess that's what the food shortages were for, saving them for us..."

"We had more after you left," Gorash put in quietly, looking at Rore sideways from behind his dark bangs. "Wars, I mean. But by then, the other countries or whatever started to fight back so...they were sort of real."

"Still the same though. Things disappearing and people not worrying about it." The tea made a small whirlpool in his glass as he gently rotated it in circles.

"Mm." Gorash agreed, knocking back his own with a sharp movement of his head, the sugary sludge sliding down with the lemonade. He set it back on the table with a clink and chewed on the crystals.  

[Strifer Garuwashi]

((Sorry. I've been lazy.))

Azoth scoffed at the knight's comment about using the disk. Though he was a dragon, he dislike magic other than his own. For the most part it simply didn't feel right. As they began down into the tunnel he immediately began to dislike their travel method as well. Bah, why couldn't everything have wings? Azoth felt confined in the tunnel, something that most dragons had a strong distaste for. He remained silent for some time on their way into the tunnel. The torches began to get farther from each other. "Why the sudden gap between the torches?" Sometimes things that were insignificant had great meaning. Sometimes they also had no purpose. The point was to look in to them and find out.  

[Strider Wolfheart]

"They're spaced in order to keep this tunnel secret, so no light escapes this tunnel. The other tunnels are watched by the Protectors. The only thing keeping them from finding this one was that it had collapsed. We had some...good information on them. Nothing was left to chance though. I apologize for the discomfort. But we can't be caught half way there." Sardain seemed fine witht the space, wearing his strange smile as he always did.

"It's also a precautionary measure. One reason these tunnels hadn't been excivated before was because of the black powder rumored to be in this tunnel. Reaper's entire stash of black powder was in these tunnels. We were warned to use fire sparingly. We did have a few explosions occur and in these tunnels with little air, all the oxygen can be stripped from your lungs." Aleck shivered at the thought. He nevered went in this tunnel till now.

"So did this happen much after Rore left? People being taken and such espionage?" Strider shifted his attention to Gorash. Him seeming to hold more information being there longer then Rore.  

[Rayne Engel]

Rayne started feeling so lost. She didn't know about any of this, but she guessed it was good she was learning. Rore did look like he was older. These stories, really the truth, wouldn't last forever unless they were told.  

[Ty Gwynnia]

((It's 'kay.))

Rore thankfully let the other take over, concentrating back on his orange. "Sorry you have to sit through this." He muttered quietly to Rayne, catching her expression.

Gorash licked his lips, still tasting some of the sugar on them before he spoke again. "Yes, my king. If there were any kidnappings, I have no idea. Civilians, I mean. But it was only the knights and a few others who were, before they came back to the front lines. The wars were still bad but they only became worse when me and the others were...changed. At least then there were people to fight back against us.  

[Rayne Engel]

Rayne nodded her head and held her hands up. "Oh no its fine, I promise. I don't mind." She smiled and let her hands fall back to her lap. "I would guess that if I'm going to be a Protector I need to know about my comrades."  

[Strider Wolfheart]

Sylvia put her hand on Strider's, whispering in his ear. "Hey, I thought this was just a fun day. Lighten the mood up a bit, huh?" Sylvia leaned back into her own seat, returning to her food.

"I see, thank you Gorash. But it seems i've ruined the mood of the day. Enough serious talk, lets just enjoy the rest the evening." Strider smiled at everyone and went back to eating.

Demios sighed. "Ah, much better. Now how many people here have heard about the giant insects found deep inside the caves of my palace? i mean there were worms the size of Jake. Maybe bigger, Jake is pretty small." Demios laughed at his quick joke.

"Hey, i'm not that short! I'm just...short for my age." Jake puffed up his chest and tried to look as big as he could.

"This coming from the one who, despite his age, acts fifteen and only acts mature when others call him a child." Strider took a drink of tea. "So he's not short, he's in denile." Strider chuckled.  

[Strider Wolfheart]

((100th post is mine! Xo))  

[Rayne Engel]

Rayne let out a sigh when Sylvia took on mentioning the negative conversations. She laughed as the others picked at Jake. "I honestly don't think he's that short. I've seen shorter men before."  

[Ty Gwynnia]

((Oh, you buttface, not again! You just wait!))

"I'm pretty sure that worms aren't insects." Elistral put in, directing it at Demios.

"Don't worry, it was already ruined for me to begin with." Gorash assured Strider, inclining his head for a moment. His appetite still hadn't returned so he didn't reach for anything other than the sugar again.

Rore held back a chuckle. "Hey Strider, stop picking on poor Jake. I mean, look at you. Everybody looks short to you anyway."  

[Strider Wolfheart]

((^-^))

"No but the big pill bugs were, they were huge. Didn't I show you one?" Demios continued his and Elistral's conversation.

"Why Rore, how did you know that? Spying on us at night?" Sylvia laughed at her perverted comment, enjoying the new turn to the conversation.  

[Ty Gwynnia]

"I think so," Elistral thought back, looking up at the ceiling while she remembered, as well as ignoring the other conversation. "And I think I remember you not letting me keep one."

"But...I meant height, not...what?" Rore became both confused and flustered at the same time and his face turned the same color as the lightest tones in his beard when he had one.

Gorash on the other hand almost inhaled the sugar he was eating. It tickled the back of his throat and he began to snicker and cough. When he tried to speak he could only laugh. His knee quickly became sore as he banged it with his fist, fighting for air to laugh some more.