[open] march catch-all

[leicesters]

🧙 WHO: Claude and you!
⚔️️ WHAT: Quests, being a nerd, and dumb happenings
🕒 WHEN: Throughout March
🗺️ WHERE: Camelot, the Red Springs and the Broceliande
⚠️ WARNINGS: Nothing yet.

1. RUN SNAGGLEFOOT RUN (QUEST)

[Apprehending thieves is nothing new to Claude, even if he's more accustomed to battling dangerous, heavily-armed bandits than just chasing down someone harmless yet sticky-fingered. Somehow the latter is proving much more elusive, however, and he's chased his target all the way from Camelot on horseback to try and catch up to him before he can make his escape.

Initially he'd managed to hit the thief with a curse to try and slow him down, but Snagglefoot managed to give him the slip when his curse wasn't quite what he wanted: hitting him with a binding curse only managed to immobilise one of his arms rather than his full body.

By the time Claude dismounts his horse at the springs and runs after him, he realises someone has already beaten him to the punch and -- intentionally or otherwise -- is blocking the doorway to the inn the thief had just tried to flee inside. Claude puffs, out of breath, hands on his knees.]

Grab that guy for me... would you...?

[If they hesitate for even a second, the thief might just get away again.]

2. LIBRARY

[Claude's not thrilled about being hurled into another world, what with everything resting on his shoulders at home, but it's also not the first time he's had to adjust quickly to a completely new land. His reaction in this case is to handle things just the same as he first did in Fodlan: get as much information and then some, as quickly as possible, so he can make up for any disadvantage he has in knowledge.

... Maybe he's overdoing it a little, though. It's getting close to closing hours in one of Camelot's libraries, and he still has a huge pile of unfinished books on the reading desk he's seated at, covering subjects as broad as history, magic, flora and fauna, geography, and more.

He yawns, and his familiar, a small cat-sized white wyvern, headbutts his arm -- either for attention, or just to make sure he stays awake. He pets her absently.]

We'll leave soon, just let me finish this chapter first. [He stifles another yawn. He should call it here, but he's also dreading the idea of lugging lots of heavy books back to his room.]

3. BROCELIANDE

[For anyone who might be wandering in the Broceliande, you might hear a voice complaining and cursing through the trees. Follow it to its source and you'll find Claude, who seems to be... kneeling by a stream and... crying? At the very least, there's tears streaming town his cheeks, but on a closer examination he looks more exasperated than upset.]

Ouch ouch ouch...

[He splashes his face with water to try and rinse his stinging eyes, his wyvern keeping a lookout as he does so.]

Owww. I knew I should've left that flower alone. [The wyvern trills in what sounds like agreement, or maybe because she just spotted someone approaching. Hello friend!!]

4. WILDCARD

[Choose your own prompt! If you want to plot anything out, feel free to hit me up via PM or at moonsilver.]

Comments

[leicesters]

That's right. [He nods.] This one's only little, but the full-sized adults are big enough to ride into battle. I'm guessing you don't have anything like that, where you're from?

[leicesters]

That's right. [He answers to both questions, moving to stack up an armful of books, before offering her a wink.] Name's Claude. And you're... Claire, right? We're practically matching.

[Claude and Claire, what a pair. Having gathered up as many books as he can manage without it being too heavy to carry, he heads over to the counter to check them out. The librarian is, of course, baffled, but permits it anyway, in the interests of allowing newcomers to learn about Avalon.]

[cameprepared]

[She moves to take some of the books he'd left, along with her small load. It's fine, she'll get The Dog back at some point.]

I suppose so, Claude. Just two letters off. [Chuckling to herself, she follows along, getting everything checked out, then gathered up and heading towards the door.]

Big reader, then? I did pretty much the same thing when I first got dropped here.

3

[backstreetbard]

[ He'll hear her before he sees her, because she's singing as she explores the forest. This is an unfamiliar land, full of strange people and strange creatures; barring a few familiar faces, the only constant is herself, so she sings to help ground herself in the moment as she explores the magical woods. At one point, she even finds herself in a harmonized duet with her familiar, laughing when the bird mimics her soprano tone.

That doesn't mean she misses the sound of Claude's cursing. Recognizing his voice, she naturally follows it to the source, and when she sees that he seems to be in pain, she rushes to his side. ]

Hey, are you all right? What flower?

[leicesters]

[The wyvern seems more inquisitive than aware of the potential threat, so it merely watches and tilts its head as Lightning approaches. Claude blinks and stops grumbling when he hears that sudden voice from behind.]

Hm? [He squints, and has to blink a few times to clear his vision.] I didn't touch it just because it was pretty! I thought it might be useful.

[wolfhunted]

They tell stories about dragons back home, but I've never seen a real one anywhere.

[Of course, Robyn has since learned that there is some real magic where she's from, especially after she gained some of it herself.]

I bet that would be somethin', though, riding around on a dragon.

[leicesters]

Dorothea--? [He definitely hears her before he sees her, because he can't see much of... well, anything, at the moment. His vision's still blurry as he squints at her and jabs a thumb over his shoulder.]

A big pale flower, back that way. I thought it was the same flower I saw in a book.

[The experience has been educational, albeit not in the way he would have liked.]

[leicesters]

Positively voracious. This place is just so interesting. For example, did you know there's two whole civilisations underwater here? And there are people who live there?

[He heads for the door too, his familiar flitting after him, and uses his shoulder and leg to nudge the door open, holding it for Claire to head out first.]

I can't just explore it all at once, so reading is the next best thing.

[leicesters]

It is. [He smiles. While he'd acted jealous of her animal magic, he has to admit, riding a wyvern is the closest he'll come to soaring like a bird. Not everyone can claim to have that experience.]

It's something of a rite of passage in my homeland, to learn how to ride one. So, I guess it's not that surprising that I'd have one as a familiar, too.

[backstreetbard]

I'm guessing it wasn't, then? Let me have a look. [ She crouches beside him, reaching out to grip his chin so she can briefly turn his face her way and examine his eyes. Her hold on him isn't so firm that he can't pull away, and she releases him after a few seconds, anyway. ] Or it was, but with a few unexpected features. Does it burn?

[ If they were back in Fodlan, this would be an easy fix. Even though she'd always been stronger in reason than faith, even she knew how to physic a wounded ally. ]

I can lead you back to the city, if you can't see well. I'm sure they'd have some salve or potion to help, if the water isn't enough.

[leicesters]

I thought it was the right one... [So that's a 'yes' to unexpected features. He tolerates her turning his face to have a look; his eyes are red and smarting, although the water has helped ease the worst of the irritation.] It stings, but tell me the most important thing...

[...]

Has it burned away my dashing good looks?

[...yeah he's going to be fine]

[backstreetbard]

You're insufferable, you know that? [ Spoken with no heat at all. ] But just as pretty as you ever were. The skin around your eyes looks irritated. It might even blister up a bit, but medicine should help. Now, rinse your eyes a few more times for good measure and we'll get you back to town.

[ As she waits for him to comply, she scans their surroundings to get her bearings again. She's sure their familiars will guide them back if she happens to get lost, but she kept fairly good tabs of the visual landmarks on her way into the forest. She's confident she can find her way back. ]

So. [ Her tone becomes more conversational in a way that belies the incoming interrogation. ] What did you think you were doing, exactly, sticking your face into some unknown flower?

[leicesters]

Yes ma'am. [She'll hear no argument from him, and he splashes his face a few more times as directed. Then he gets to his feet, shaking the water from his hands, as Naira leaps up onto his shoulder.]

I didn't stick my face in it! I tried to pick it. The flower had other ideas.

[How could he have predicted it would be a freaky magic flower in a land full of magic? Impossible.]

[backstreetbard]

And what have we learned?

[ She asks this as she links their arms together, as if they were just taking a casual stroll through the woods. Dorothea knows Claude well enough to know he's not a trusting person, so this must be excruciating for him, especially since archers rely so heavily on their keen vision. ]

[cameprepared]

[She slides along, shaking her head at her own familiar. Getting her wrapped up with talkative men, huh? The Dog vanishes and reappears outside, his spectral form fuzzing as he does. She isn't actually mad, just exasperated by the odd critter.]

I did know that, yeah. For the same reasons as you. Reading is fundamental.

[She was in that reading program as a kid, and it did stick with her.]

Avalon's so radically different from my home, it's enough to make my head spin.

[leicesters]

[It is pretty excruciating, but if he had to pick anyone in this place to come to his rescue, he'd rather it be Dorothea. She's more than proven he can trust her to have his back in a pinch.

His wyvern takes off to fly on ahead, which at least provides a vague visual bead on where they're going, and that he's not about to bump face-first into a tree or something.]

...Not to touch strange plants?

[leicesters]

Mine too. I've done my fair share of travelling around, but I still had a lot to see and do, even in my own world. This goes beyond anything I could've imagined in faraway lands.

[He's almost childishly excited by the prospect of learning more, so it's nice to find someone to have that in common with.]

What's your home like?

[backstreetbard]

[ That's about the answer she was expecting, so she shrugs. ]

Just be more careful with yourself, won't you? I'll be mad at you if you hurt yourself.

[ Just like she's a little upset now. He's such a cautious person, just a bundle of secrets and mysteries under layers of smiles as genuine as the ones she'd worn on the stage at the Mittelfrank. Even his seemingly reckless actions are usually a product of careful calculation. Everyone gets the math wrong sometime, she supposes. ]

What got you interested in that flower to begin with? It must have some special properties if you were trying to pick it.

[leicesters]

I know, I know. I'm sorry.

[For once he's not being flippant, but means it sincerely. It doesn't really matter when his ridiculous schemes backfire on himself, but having other people there to worry about him is still something he's getting used to, even now. He can't help but feel bad about it.]

You've probably heard by now that potion brewing is all the rage around here, right? Magic isn't my strong suit, so I thought I'd give it a try. That flower has a lot of different applications as an ingredient.

[backstreetbard]

[ Dorothea accepts his apology silently, squeezing his arm gently as they tread carefully through the forest. When roots or branches reach into the path, she navigates around them, keeping an eye on their familiars as they fly ahead. ]

I've heard about the potions, and I'll admit I'm curious to try my hand at brewing a few myself. Everyone used to tell me how bad my cooking is, though--hopefully that doesn't transfer to mixing up potions, too. Maybe we can try for that flower again with a bit more research, hmm?

[leicesters]

[He's trying to keep an eye on his feet as they go, and Dorothea's doing a good job of making sure he isn't lead astray. Aside from a slight stumble once or twice where he misjudged a slope in the forest ground, they're doing good. Even if this is still the worst experience ever!!]

Hmm... I suppose it's a little like cooking? Except potions are more likely to go horribly wrong if you mess something up, as opposed to a meal mostly just tasting bad or giving you a stomach ache. Best to start with something easy and harmless.

[Says the guy who can't even forage for basic ingredients without getting wrecked.]

I grabbed a few books on it, so you can borrow one or two, if you want.

[backstreetbard]

I'd love to read them. What sort of potion were you hoping to make? Maybe something that could compel someone to tell you their secrets? Ooh, we could try brewing up a love potion. I'm sure nothing could go wrong with that.

[ It should be obvious from the affect of her voice that she's joking, but a vicious little twist of insecurity in her gut has her scrambling to find something else to talk about before he can think too much about what she said. ]

Oh, I recognize this tree. We're getting close to the city now. Do you remember the name of that flower, by any chance? That would help the apothecary, I'm sure.

[leicesters]

Um... [He doesn't know how to react to the love potion thing, because while he'd normally dismiss it as just banter or flirting, the hasty way she changes topic says plenty on its own.

But they are getting to the edge of the forest, and the brightening sunlight is just making him squint and rub at his eyes again, so her distraction is a success.]

Assuming I didn't completely misread the book, it's called an ealmanth flower. It's not too rare, so they should know how to deal with it.

[backstreetbard]

[ Dorothea wishes she hadn't said it, but it's impossible to go back in time. She's just glad that Claude lets it drop so easily, moving on to the flower that started this. ]

Ealmanth. All right.

[ The path eventually does deposit them back in the city, and Dorothea doesn't hesitate to flag down a few passersby to ask for directions. She thanks them all with a dazzling smile, taking a left at the next corner and a right after that until they reach the apothecary. ]

Here we are.

[ The bell on the door jingles to alert the shopkeeper of their arrival, and Dorothea takes the lead again. ]

Miss, I don't suppose you have any sort of remedy for the effects of the ealmanth flower?

1

[suetekh]

[Blocking the thief was entirely unintentional. While Set had gone here to try to look for the thief because he was sure this much he could do without magic, Set didn't entirely realize this was who he was looking for until he was exiting the inn after asking about this thief.

And isn't it just lucky for everybody that this thief ran straight into Set? Dressed in all of his gold accessories and bejewled earrings. At least he's finally gotten a thick coat over them (this sure ain't Egypt) but he's still going out of his way to dress as he always has. Somebody dressed like this would attract a thief for sure but that wasn't how it went. It was just bad luck for the thief to run into Set, who already gets annoyed when someone casually bumps into him. But this guy fully just ran into his chest. It doesn't take long for Set to figure out the situation and Claude hasn't even finished his sentence before Set is taking out his sword and putting it to Snagglefoot's neck. No getting away from this but the jewel thief definitely is panicking now.]

I would hate for your dirty blood to tarnish my blade. [He'll still totally kill him, though, even if this is not what the quest was asking for.]