Author: Rhydian, Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2021 7:00 PM, Post Subject: A Dragon and A Demon [P][Event]

"Praise be to the ostriches that brought us together." Rhydian said with a goofy grin, "I think that's four now." 

He followed Jazrael over to the table, wondering if there was anything else on it. While she grabbed a piece of fruit, we was looking at the table clothe, wondering if it was hiding any mysteries. Then he smelled something, something like cinnamon. He wondered for a moment if it was that drink from earlier but when Jazrael discovered the small bit of cinnamon, he realized that was the final piece they were missing. He walked with her towards the door and watched as the compartment glowed, like the others before it. The center was even glowing and a metal hook appeared but the door still wouldn't budge. 

"Yeah so did I. Maybe there's a hidden item?" He guessed. 

They had already searched the entire room and it seemed they would have to do it again. They had spent so much time on these missions. A part of him just wanted to relax with her instead of worrying about another death. He felt a great comfort at the touch of her hand and he leaned his own head gently on hers. They had grown closer over these series of events but now the mental exhaustion was starting to catch up with him. Suddenly, he felt a light tingling sensation in his hand and a bright red ribbon appeared. He looked down to see the ribbon and watched as she hung the ribbon from the hook. A beautiful handle appeared on the door where the ribbon hung. 

"Yes. I think its time we took a break." He said then paused after her quick kiss. 

He leaned in and reached towards her face, gently caressing her cheek with his thumb. Rhydian moved closer and pressed his lips against hers, feeling the softness of her skin. After a few moments he pulled back and gave her a small smile. 

"Lets get a drink." Rhydian suggested before leaving through the door with his beloved. 

Author: Jazrael, Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2021 5:47 PM, Post Subject: A Dragon and A Demon [P][Event]

So it seemed that the entirety of this particular trial was based around the two of them and their history together. Their history didn’t span years and years, but it had certainly been eventful since the pair had gotten together. Even though some of the memories they had already made had spawned from not exactly happy events, it made Jazrael very happy when she thought on where it had put them now, which from the look of things appeared to be together.

She snorted a laugh as she watched Rhydian crawling around at the floor, giving him a goofy grin. She snickered again as he smacked his head on the table, As Rhydian walked to Jazrael with the flower, she turned towards him for a moment and smiled as he tucked it behind her ear. It seemed he had found the next item – a piece of snakeskin… of course! From the snake he had distracted away from her when they had been looking for cinnamon. It made the smile on her face even wider as she watched him place it in the compartment in the doorway.

She turned back to pour over the titles of the books once more, hoping something would pop out at her. Eventually, her fingers ran across the sine of a book titled ‘Wildlife of the Sandawe Grasslands.’ Sandawe… that place would always live on in her mind as the place she had first met Rhydian. It had seemed like such a random encounter, the two of them meeting in the way that they had, but now it seemed as though fate had deemed that they would meet one another at that particular time and in that particular fashion.

”I wonder,” she said quietly to herself, pulling the book off the shelf. It didn’t look special at all, but she decided to flip through the pages anyway… and sure enough, she came across an ostrich feather pressed between them. She pulled it out and shut the book, grinning to herself as she slid it back onto the bookshelf, the feather gripped in her other hand. ”Wouldn’t you know,” she said and turned around, brandishing the feather to Rhydian. ”I’ll never think of ostriches the same again, not since I met you,” she said as she walked towards the door. Sure enough, one of the remaining open compartments accepted the ostrich feather with a bright glow.

”One left,” she said, and walked back toward the table in the middle of the room. She was beginning to feel a bit hunger, and grabbed a piece of fruit off of the platter situated in the middle. She lifted the tray and held it out towards Rhydian. ”Want something?” she asked, offering it towards him. However, as she lifted the tray, she caught a big whiff of something awfully familiar… cinnamon.

”Do you smell that?” she asked, looking around. She set the tray down on the side of the table, not over the lace it had been resting on. She was sniffing the air like a dog, probably looking a bit crazy, trying to follow the scent of the cinnamon and figure out where it was coming from. Her sniffing led her to the lace on the table and she lifted it up, immediately recognizing a small bit of cinnamon, identical to that which they had gone to the Undergrowth to find. ”Well, think this could be it?” she asked, grinning.

She carefully picked up the bit of cinnamon and walked towards the door, putting it in place. The compartment glowed as the others had, but this time, the center of the door began to glow soon as well. A small metal hook appeared, looking as though it were waiting for something to hang off it. ”I had expected it to open once we did that,” she said, frowning as she turned to look at Rhydian for a moment. She turned back around and focused her attention on the door, still frowning.

She paced around the room for a bit, noticing that Rhydian was doing the same. The pair finally came to a halt in front of the mirror, which was covered in carvings just like the bed frame had been. ”This is much different than the other tasks,” she said, turning to look at Rhydian as he came to stand next to her. She looked back to the mirror and smiled at the reflection of the two, grabbing Rhydian’s hand and intertwining her fingers with his. She laid her head on his shoulder and just took a moment to take in the sight of the two of them.

A moment later, a tingling sensation came over the hands. A red ribbon tied in a bow had appeared loosely around both of their hands, loose enough where they would easily be able to pull their hands out. ”Do you reckon…?” she said, after a moment, and pulled her hand away from his, pulling the ribbon along with it. She rushed over to the door and hung the red ribbon from the hook, and sure enough, a handle on the door appeared after a glowing moment where the ribbon now hung.

Jazrael rushed up to Rhydian and gave him a quick kiss. ”This one, it was all about us,” she said with a grin. She turned to look at the door for a moment. ”Ready to get out of here?”

Author: Rhydian, Posted: Sat Mar 6, 2021 9:45 PM, Post Subject: A Dragon and A Demon [P][Event]

There were still four other empty spaces that needed to be filled before the door would open, at least that is what Rhydian guessed. Jazrael drew his attention to the panther pelt and mentioned the moment in Sahel where they had accidentally made a mama panther mad. Jazrael looked over the carvings and realized the same thing Rhydian did at the same time. It was about them.

"I remember all of it." He commented, "So does that mean we have to try to find a snake or a panther in here or something? Or maybe this is some kind of clue to opening the door?"

He put his hand on his chin and began thinking when Jaz suddenly flopped onto the bed and hit something. She revealed a flask, her flask. It was exactly the same, with the same scratches and worn out areas. He took the flask and drank some, immediately tasting the cinnamon whiskey. Removing the flask from his lips, he smiled as he remembered that first night where they met. After handing the flask back, he watched as she went to one of the compartments. 

"It might. How about you look in the books and I'll search the table. There might be something under one of the plates?" He suggested. 

Walking over to the table, he began searching underneath the plates and bowls, only to find nothing. Rhydian got on his hands and knees to crawl under the table and search for any items. There wasn't anything underneath the table but he did notice he had a better view of Jazrael from the floor. He moved out from underneath the table, accidentally bumping his head on the way out. His eyes looked towards the roses and he plucked one of them. Using a knife from the table, he cut one of the blooms off and walked over to Jaz with the bloom, tucking it into her hair. His other hand still held the stem and he realized there was something odd on it. A piece of snakeskin was caught on one of the thorns of the stem. Taking it off, he placed it one of the compartments and smiled as the door accepted it. 

"Seems we've only got a few more left." 

Author: Jazrael, Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2021 12:24 PM, Post Subject: A Dragon and A Demon [P][Event]

Jazrael gave Rhydian a guilty smile as he commented on her refraining from drinking anything for the rest of the trials. ”I mean, at least we will know if the wine is safe or not,” she said, gesturing to the bottle that still had more in it. She had been rather startled when he dropped his own glass, with it shattering over the floor, but when they second half of the ruby had revealed itself and they went through the process of connecting them and getting them put into the door, it seemed to make a little bit of sense.

Upon further evaluation, however, her elation that they had figured it out so quickly disappeared. It wasn’t going to be nearly that simple, not as they counted the four additional empty space. Of course, it was going to be some sort of puzzle – but it seemed, so far at least, that this wasn’t going to necessarily be a deadly puzzle as the last two had been. Perhaps this time it was more about working together and logic than the ability to save one another.

She frowned, looking at Rhydian as he made his way over to the bed. Her mind did drift somewhere else for a moment, seeing him near the beautifully decorated canopied bed, but her cheeks reddened quickly and she pulled her brain out of that particular path, back to the task at hand. When he beckoned her over, she walked towards him. ”Is that… panther?” she said, standing next to him and reaching out to run her hand along the soft fur of the pelt that covered the bed. She let out a little laugh. ”Like that time we were in Sahel and we had to run from the mother panther we made angry,” she said. ”Funny.” She then realized, however, that he hadn’t called her over to look at the panther pelt, but rather the intricacies of the carvings.

She leaned towards the post nearest to her, looking at it more closely. ”Oh this is very beautiful,” she said, running her hand across the carvings. ”Look, it’s got snowflakes, and snakes… and dragons… and that’s the Nightshade Wolf… that’s the symbol of Inferos,” she said, tilting her head to the side, sounding a little confused by the last one in particular. ”Why would that be on here?” she asked, continuing to look at the carvings. ”Wait… is that an ostrich?” she said, sounding even more perplexed. Suddenly, she gasped, her lips forming the shape of an ‘o’ and she looked at Rhydian. ”It’s about us!” she said.

”Look,” she said, pointing more things out. ”The snowflakes. When we were in Itjivut, it was snowing, everything was ice and snow,” she began explaining. ”If that was it, I mean… maybe it wouldn’t seem so obvious but look,” she said, her finger now tracing over one of the snakes. ”Remember when we were leaving Sahel, after we found the cinnamon we had gone for… and you protected me from that snake that was going to strike?” she said, her eyes lighting up somewhat.

”And I mean, look. It’s a dragon, and well….” she said, gesturing vaguely towards Rhydian. ”And that, that’s the symbol for Inferos. I was created in Inferos,” she continued, her voice sounding a little more excited now. ”And, well, I think that ostrich might be the reason we met,” she added with a little laugh. There were other symbols she hadn’t mentioned, but it was clear enough to her that it had to be about them. ”The problem, though… if it’s about us, what does it mean? Obviously we’re supposed to place something in those compartments,” she said, gesturing towards the door. ”But the question is… what?” she asked, tilting her head to one side, and letting out a bit of an exasperated sigh.

As she sighed, she fell backwards onto the bed, flopping down to stare at the canopy. As she did so, her head connected with something hard underneath the bedding. ”Ouch!” she said, sitting up and rubbing at the back of her head. ”What the hell was that?” she said, feeling around at the bedding to see if she could figure out what was underneath it. ”Hang on, that feels like…” she said, crawling up the bed on all fours. She grabbed the blankets and tore them back, disappearing beneath them.

When she reappeared, her hair was a complete mess from tousling around under the linens, and she had a flask grasped in her hand. ”It’s a flask,” she said, staring at it, sitting on the bed now that she had messed up the sheets. ”But it’s… my flask,” she said, sounding a bit confused. ”Not like the same as mine, it is mine,” she said, her fingers running across the worn down carvings and scratches in it. She shook it a bit, hearing the liquid sloshing around inside. With a shrug, she unscrewed the top and took a sniff, letting out a laugh. ”I know you said not to drink anything else but…” she began, and took a quick pull off the flask. She laughed even harder when she was done.

She held it out to Rhydian for him to take a drink, and when he did she smiled. ”Cinnamon whiskey,” she said, her grin broadening. ”I bet…” she said, trailing off. She jumped up from the bed with the flask in her hands and walked over to the door, placing it in one of the compartments. Sure enough, the compartment glowed, placing the flask into some kind of stasis. Three remained.

”That’s it,” she said, walking over to him. ”There’s got to be three other things in this room that go into those compartments, and I’d bet my soul – if I had one, that is – that those three other things have something to do with us as well…” she said, looking at him to see if he would have a suggestion as to what they could check next, or what the next possible item could be. Her eyes found the bookshelf. All of the books had very elegant spines with titles on them, easy to read. ”I wonder if maybe one of those books might be helpful, maybe another clue?” she said. After all, they weren’t going to find all of the items with sheer dumb luck as she had with the flask.

Author: Rhydian, Posted: Thu Feb 18, 2021 5:10 PM, Post Subject: A Dragon and A Demon [P][Event]

Once they were far enough away, he stopped rowing the oars and let his tired arms rest. He leaned back in the boat and watched as a transparent barrier formed around their boat with a beam of light on one side. They were finally safe, or this was another part of the trial. He assumed it was the former and nodded when Jaz suggested the escape room. He needed something with less running and climbing involved. The beam of light swallowed them up and transported them to an empty room. There were no colors, windows, or anything but a white blank room. 

"Maybe its some sort of void?" He suggested. 

A table popped into the center of the room. Rhydian looked up, expecting to see a hole or anything to explain where it came from. There was nothing. This had to be one of the magical parts of the trial, like the corpses vanishing from earlier. The room underwent a transformation, filling with a variety of items and changing the floor along with the walls. Rhydian slowly began to realize each room had to be personalized to the couple. Walking over to the door, he tried to see if it could be opened without the handle attached but it refused to budge. He turned back towards the rest of the room and spotted the massive bed covered in black and red linens. His face grew a little pink at the sight of the bed and he quickly walked towards the table and took a seat. 

"Maybe." He said with a smile, "I suppose we have no choice but to relax." 

Rhydian fully agreed with Jaz and reached towards his glass, wanting a drink himself. She downed the drink in one go, only to start choking. He stood up from his seat, dropping the glass which shattered on the floor. Just as he reached her, she spat out the ruby that took the shape of half a heart. A sigh of relief escaped Rhydian's lips as he saw her safe and not dying. 

"First, no more drinks for you until these trials are done." He said before walking over to his own shattered glass, "As for the ruby…"

The glass sprawled across the floor glistened in from the candlelight above. Crouching down, he plucked a ruby from the glass and returned to Jaz's side. The ruby was in the shape of half a heart and he held it up to hers, connecting the two together. The second the two rubies touched, there was a small red light that seemed to pull the two pieces together, fixing it into one ruby. Jaz gave him a look and he instantly understood what she was thinking. Together they placed the ruby heart in the center of the door. The door made a click sound before a soft glow surrounded the ruby. There were four more empty space with four more missing items to put in. 

"I really hope the items aren't in the food." He said, "I don't think I could eat all of it." 

From the corner of his eye, he noticed something strange about the bed. Walking over to it, he realized there was a panther skin on top. He reached out and petted the pelt, even if it wasn't alive. The panther pelt reminded him of the panther the both of them ran from. When he looked towards the carvings in the wooden frame part of the bed. An ostrich, a snowflake, flowers, hearts, fire, snakes, and other carvings that matched up to who they were or the events from their past. 

"Jaz, have a look at this." He beckoned her over. 

Author: Jazrael, Posted: Thu Feb 18, 2021 3:47 PM, Post Subject: A Dragon and A Demon [P][Event]

There was no number or unit of measurement that could summarize just how grateful Jazrael was that Rhydian was able to get to her so quickly. Between the strength he exerted trying to pull her up, and the strength she was able to muster with a bit of assistance, he got her up and over the railing in no time. She took just a brief moment to relish in the feeling as he hugged her tightly, but didn’t try to keep him close as she knew they needed to hurry.

She ran to the lifeboat with Rhydian and helped him with the ropes to lower it down. Catching the oar he tossed to her, she began to row in tandem with him, keen on getting as far away from the scene as they could, and praying to whatever gods would listen that they would make it.

As luck would have it, they were able to get far enough away so that the sounds of destruction had been dulled, and it seemed as though they were in the clear. Jazrael was just about to open her mouth to ask Rhydian if he thought they were safe, when a sort of transparent barrier seemed to form around their boat in the water, with a beam of light coming down on one side. The beam of light was the same as the others that had transported them to the various trials they had undertaken thus far, so Jazrael assumed that it was the same.

”We must be safe,” she said, and breathed a sigh of relief. ”Here’s what I am thinking. Maybe we try that escape room trial next? That one sounds, honestly, the least deadly of them all… besides, I can’t really think of any reason why being trapped in a room with you could be bad,” she said, giving him a grin. As though the beam of light assumed Rhydian would agree with her, it enveloped them, and they were immediately taken from the boat into another setting.

They were in a room that was empty. It was void of everything, no windows, no doors… not even any color. It was simply white, and they stood out rather boldly against the background of colorless nothing. ”This doesn’t look like… anything,” she said, but just as she spoke, a small table seemed to appear in the center of the room. There was a half full bottle of wine on the table, along with two glasses each filled with the dark red wine. A tray joined the bottle of wine, adorned with different fruits and chocolates. Jazrael raised an eyebrow at the assortment, wondering if they were about to be poisoned again.

Things in the room kept appearing as they began to look around. A door appeared in one of the walls, though it did not have any handle attached to it. Instead there was a very smell, heart-shaped recess in the center, and four, larger square shaped cubby holes as well. Along one of the walls, a bookshelf appeared, with a number of rather old looking books stacked among the shelves. On one of the shelves was also a vase filled with red roses.

”So we’re supposed to go on a date?” she asked out loud with a laugh at the apparent theme of the items that kept appearing. Her face turned beet red, however, when the next item that appeared was a massive bed covered in black and red linens and blankets, complete with a canopy over the top. The bed had very intricate carvings along the posts. ”Um,” she said quietly, glancing from the bed to Rhydian. Was the room playing off of their discovery of feelings for one another? It certainly seemed that way, but she wasn’t going to let it get the best of her. She knew there was more to the items than the room was letting on, and they would somehow lead to their escape from the room. Either way, she wasn’t sure that she was ready to climb into bed with him just yet. They were certainly going to have a lot to talk about when they were done undertaking the trials – but they seemed to be serving their purpose. She may have already been close to Rhydian, but the trials were certainly helping them figure out exactly what they felt towards one another.


One final item appeared – a full length mirror along the wall near the bed. The carvings around the frame of the mirror were very similar to those along the bed. Intricate, but hard to make out at first glance. Jazrael cleared her throat. ”Well, there’s got to be some sort of theme in here… and I will tell you this much, I could use a drink after everything we’ve gone through,” she said, looking to the glasses of wine on the table.

She was hesitant, considering the scenario with the poison, but she doubted it would happen again. Instead, she stepped forward and grabbed one of the glasses and downed it. Normally, she would have savored the taste, but she felt the need for a drink after what they had gone through. As she swallowed, she felt like she was choking on something. Oh, great, she thought to herself. This is going to kill me again. She coughed, and into her hand came a small ruby from within her mouth. It had clearly been in the wine. It seemed to be shaped like half a heart. She held it out in her hand to Rhydian. ”What do you make of that?” she said, furrowing her brow.

Author: Rhydian, Posted: Thu Feb 18, 2021 2:58 PM, Post Subject: A Dragon and A Demon [P][Event]

A part of him didn't want her to pull away but the other part knew they had to focus on survival. He gave her a nod at the suggestion of the lifeboats, knowing they were the only way to survive this ordeal. They never got too close to the boats, in case the trial changed the positions of the leviathan to keep the level of difficulty. Jazrael grabbed her hand and eh looked towards her with a little smile. He knew she had tried to reach him and her plan wouldn't have gone so wrong if it wasn't for the monster's attack. She mentioned how many times he had saved her life and he looked back to the beautiful ocean. Then she mentioned fate and his smile grew a bit wider as he thought of something amusing. 

"Oh it wasn't fate. It was an ostrich." He said with a goofy smile, "Unless fate took the form of an ostrich?"

He could still remember that day, the day he was being chased around by an ostrich. It would have been easy for him to kill it and move on but he never liked killing animals if the problem was his fault. Everything since felt like it was a whirlwind of events that they never looked back at. They always kept moving forwards, together. Even when one of them fell, the other was always there to help pick them up. 

"…At the end of the day it doesn't matter who saves who." He said, "As long as we're together. I think… that's the one thing I've learned from all of this." 

Suddenly he felt her arms thrown around him and he could hear her whispering in his ear. She backed away but he didn't let go of her hand. He listened intently as she began telling himself something important when a loud screech interrupted her. The boat didn't fall apart but tipped sideways. He managed to keep himself aboard and was holding onto her as tightly as possible. Still, she slipped out of his hands and fell. His eyes widened but she managed to catch the rail. Rhydian quickly reached over to her and grabbed her arms, pulling her up with all his strength. The leviathan was attacking other parts of the ship, giving him enough time to drag her back onto the boat. His breath was heavy as he held her in his arms tightly. 

"Lets go!" He said after a moment, pulling her with him towards the boats. 

They ran toward the boats as the ship tipped from one side to the other under the weight of the monster. Jumping into one of the boats, they managed to lower the ropes holding it up. The boat fell into the ocean and water hit their faces. Rhydian tossed her an oar and began rowing with her to get them as far away from the ship as possible. The further they were from the monster, the more likely they were to survive. He hoped they didn't have to survive for too long as even the chilly air could kill them. 

Author: Jazrael, Posted: Thu Feb 18, 2021 2:06 PM, Post Subject: A Dragon and A Demon [P][Event]

Jazrael hadn’t ever experienced dying before, but she didn’t really want to experience it ever again. It had been very unpleasant. As she rematerialized on the now repaired ship, she could see Rhydian on the deck, holding her dead body. It was surreal, and she wasn’t too enthused about witnessing such, but thankfully she could see that now the ship had rebuilt itself, her body was fading, even though Rhydian was still clinging to it. She looked down at herself in comparison to her pale, water soaked corpse. Her hair was done perfectly again as was her clothing, as it if had never happened. The only thing that remained was the shivering memory of how cold and dark the water had been.

She walked up behind him and placed her hand on his shoulder, and she saw him open his eyes. Within moments, he had turned to embrace her, and she did the same. She closed her eyes, soaking the warmth of his arms wrapped around her – such a change from the feeling of the icy water surrounding her. ”Sucks, doesn’t it?” she said with a little bit of a laugh as the two held one another. She just kept her head tucked against his chest, until the pair pulled apart from one another as the trial had restarted.

”Past experiences tell me we should go towards the lifeboats,” she said, to which it seemed that Rhydian agreed. They didn’t get too close to them, as they were both a bit weary that could result in the trial changing to accommodate that fact, but instead stood about fifteen feet from where they were anchored.

As they stood there, waiting for the inevitable to come, Jazrael grabbed Rhydian’s hand and gave it a squeeze. ”I was trying to get to you,” she explained. ”If that thing hadn’t knocked me into the water, we would have made it to the boats. We would have been together,” she added, sounding very sure of herself. ”You know, in all the times my life has been in danger since I met you, that was the first time you didn’t save me,” she said, just now realizing how many time he truly had saved her since they had met. ”I’m starting to wonder if it wasn’t fate that brought us together that day in the grasslands,” she said with a smile.

She wasn’t sure what to make of everything that had happened. Were their emotions heightened because the stakes of the trial? But she thought back to the heartstrings that the bonfire had given them, and theirs had been pink. She had assumed it was because they had become close friends, but maybe the bonfire knew something they didn’t. Maybe they were well on their way to becoming lovers, and this trial was just what was going to push them in the right direction. She didn’t have much to go on, but she had seen Dalanesca when she was in love, and she had to believe that maybe this was the start of that.

With a grin, she stepped forward and stood on her tiptoes, throwing her arms around Rhydian in a hug, pressing herself close to him. ”Meeting you might just be the best thing that has ever happened to me,” she said quietly, though it was loud enough for him to hear. These trials were making her realize that death could take one of them at any second, and it was best not to keep what she was thinking at bay. She let go of him and took a step back, her hand still grasping his, with a smile on her face. ”You know, I’m not sure because I’ve never had it happen before, but I think I have fallen-“

Jazrael’s words were cut short as a roaring screech came from the ocean and the leviathan once again attacked the boat. This time, however, the deck didn’t split – this time, the ship tipped sideways, sending Jazrael sliding away from Rhydian, her hand slipping from his. She let out a yelp as she slid away, managing to grab the railing of the ship before being tossed overboard – but there she was, dangling off the edge. She was struggling to pull herself up, the weight of the dress pulling her down. Her slippered feet were not helping her gain traction, just slipping against the side of the deck.

She looked to Rhydian with pleading eyes, but this time, she had a feeling he was going to be able to save her.

Author: Rhydian, Posted: Thu Feb 18, 2021 1:43 PM, Post Subject: A Dragon and A Demon [P][Event]

He shoved himself off the ground and stood on the other side of the ship. Jazrael was on the other side and all the lifeboats were on his side. When he looked towards her, he was about to tell her what he was going to try when she shouted first. Hi eyes widened as he realized what she was going to try to do. He ran to the spot she was running to and held out his hands, just in case she underestimated the gap. The leviathan sung its tentacles and sent Jaz flying over the side of the ship.

Rhydian was about to jump in after her, not caring about the icy waters below but the leviathan blocked his way. Instead, he jumped down the crack, landing on one of the broken decks below with a thud. Excruciating pain in the side he landed on dulled his senses but he only had one goal. He climbed the rest of the way down and climbed onto a floating piece of wreckage to get to her. He found her, floating face down in the calmed water. Her black hair floated like moss on the water and her red dress rested on the surface of the water. He reached out to her, feeling her ice cold skin, and pulled her onto the wreckage. 

Her skin was pale and her lips had turned a dark blue from the freezing temperature. He wrapped his arm around her as if he was trying to keep her warm. The leviathan had stopped attacking the ship and even the ships' sinking had come to a halt. He held her close, holding her tightly but never saying a single word. Rhydian's eyes closed as he held her and the piece of wreckage began floating off. Suddenly, the ship began to reverse itself. The wreckage floating in the water began floating up toward the ship and reattaching itself. The two parts of the ship moved towards each other on its own and reconnected. The leviathan sunk into the depths of the icy waters and stayed below, as though it never existed in the first place. Rhydian was on the deck now, still holding the corpse of Jazrael. 

The world looked like it had been frozen. None of the guests moved and neither did the hip. It had been reset but the trial hadn't started again. Rhydian didn't even care to open his eyes. He knew that she would come back and that they could always redo it. He knew the Jazrael he was holding was nothing more than a corpse. Yet, he couldn't let her go. She was too cold. Eventually he felt the touch of a warmer hand and opened his eyes. The corpse vanished from his arms but when he looked up, he saw those familiar eyes that brought back his warmth. The injury from his trial was gone, as the trial had been reset. He looked towards the alive Jaz and softly embraced her, holding her a little too tightly. 

"I know you would have come back. I…" His words seemed to fail him. 

Sounds of chatter and music filled their ears, indicating the trial had started once more. 

Author: Jazrael, Posted: Thu Feb 18, 2021 12:05 PM, Post Subject: A Dragon and A Demon [P][Event]

Jazrael made a sort of sideways, twisted frown with her mouth when Rhydian made the comment about the ship sinking. She had to admit, he was most likely right, but she was hoping that perhaps this wouldn’t turn into a life or death situation like the last trial had. She knew she was hoping in vain – when during the announcements at the beginning, they had specifically been told that death was possible, but not permanent. She didn’t care if it was permanent or not – she never wanted to go through watching Rhydian die again.

She almost immediately relaxed when she felt Rhydian’s hands grasp her arms, leading her over to a more secluded and private area of the ship where there were far less people – almost as though they were alone. The music she could hear was beautiful… even with her lack of humanity in the past, she had always loved music. When Rhydian asked her if she knew how to dance, she shrugged a little bit, with a grin on her face. ”I’ve danced a few times,” she said, as though that were an answer. Of course, the times she had danced hadn’t been in the kind of situation she was currently in – but that didn’t need to be brought up to Rhydian, not now anyway.

She nodded, and smiled at him as he suggested that they make the best of it, before whatever tragedy was about the strike happened. She let him lead, dancing along with him at whatever tempo he chose. Her eyes were locked with his, and she felt a feeling in her chest she had never experienced before. She didn’t want anything other than to be with him right then and there, and she never wanted that moment to end. When the song ended, she moved close to Rhydian, closing her eyes as his hand came beneath her face to tip her chin up towards him, waiting for the rushing feeling of his lips on hers once more – but it never came.

Instead, what came was a roaring and cracking sound as the sea monster attacked the luxurious ship. She felt herself be thrown backwards as Rhydian instinctively tried to keep her out of harm’s way. The ship had cracked between them, severing into two pieces with Rhydian on one half and Jazrael on the other. She felt her heart in her throat as she immediately began to worry about being separated from him.

Looking around, she could see that many other people had been lost between the split on the ship. The leviathan that had attacked the ship was thrashing its tentacles, smashing into parts of the ship. Guests screamed, some falling overboard from the impact, others jumping in an attempt to get away the monster. Jazrael, on the other hand, was focused on trying to get to Rhydian. There were some lifeboats on the side that Rhydian was still on, and even though there would be a chance they would be smashed to bits by the leviathan, it had to be better to have a chance than to stand on a sinking ship.

Jazrael scanned the area again, and she noticed a spot where the gap between the two halves of the ship wasn’t all that big yet. ”Stay there, I’m coming to you!” she screamed across to Rhydian, and she took of at a sprint before he had the chance to yell anything back to her. She ran down the length of the split in the halves of the ship, and stopped when she reached the smaller area. She backed up, ready to get a running jump at the gap. She ran at full speed, launching herself into the air, and…

The leviathan swung its tentacles at that exact moment, sending Jazrael flying over the side of the ship with a scream. Her body splashed into the icy water and immediately filled her nose and mouth. She managed to kick her way to the surface, sputtering and spitting water out of her mouth and nose. ”Rhydian!” she screamed, trying to see if she could make him out on the deck of the ship. She couldn’t find him, though he would have been able to spot the bright red of her dress in the moonlight as she kicked in the water.

After a moment Jazrael could feel the muscles in her body begin to seize up from the cold. She tried casting a fire spell below the surface to heat the water, but it seemed like something had dampened her magic – perhaps the exhaustion from trying to stay afloat in the cold of it. As her legs began to lose movement, her head began to dip below the surface, and she started to inhale more water, choking on it below the surface of the water. She managed to pop her head out one last time, one hand clawing towards the air, trying to reach for something that wasn’t there. She called his name one last time, before disappearing below the surface of the water. The water filled her lungs, and she soon lost consciousness, the thought of calling out to Rhydian being her last.

This time, when she reappeared, she was floating face down in the somewhat calm water as the leviathan had moved on to another section of the ship.  Her black hair was fanned out in the water around her, along with the bright red fabric of her dress.  She was motionless other than the movement of the gentle waves in the water.

Author: Rhydian, Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2021 11:55 PM, Post Subject: A Dragon and A Demon [P][Event]

Before they entered the next trial, Jazrael began telling him her feelings and her inexperience with it all. He never said a word and looked at her earnestly, listening to every single word. There was a strange awkwardness between them that seemed to end when he gave her a slow light kiss. When she took a step back, he was beaming with joy. Rhydian didn't know much about love or romance but he did know his own feelings were just as strong as her. 

"Jaz I-" 

She grabbed his hand and they walked towards the beam of light together. When he opened his eyes he found himself on the deck of a luxurious ship. The stars were a glittering tapestry in the sky with the gorgeous moon as its centerpiece. Other guests, all some sort of illusions or perhaps other participants, were walking along the deck of the ship or relaxing inside with beautiful music pouring out of the windows of the ship. The starry night reflected on the blue waves of the ocean, creating a sight of beauty to behold. Jaz faced him and asked him if they knew what was coming. 

"Well its either got something to do with Nightshade," He guessed, "Or its the old shipwreck. I mean its what a person would do if they wanted to cause something to go wrong. Sink the ship." 

Rhydian took a step closer to her and put his hands on her arms. She seemed all tense from the last event and he had a feeling they might have some time before they jumped straight into a tragedy. He gave her a smile then took her by the hands, leading her over to the center of the deck where there were less people and plenty of space. Beautiful music of violins and strings poured from an open window on the ship, loud enough for the both of them to hear. 

"Out of curiosity, does a demon know how to dance?" He asked with a little cheeky grin on his face, "I know there is a danger incoming but we can't exactly predict what it'll be. Might as well enjoy ourselves while we can." 

Stress didn't help anybody and often only led to mistakes. If he gave her a small distraction, something to refocus her attention too then maybe the stress and the terror of the previous trial might soften. Rhydian set the pace for a moderate dance and he was surprisingly excellent at it. He never went too fast nor too slow, allowing her plenty of time to react to his lead in the dance. His eyes were on hers the entire time, never straying or looking down at his feet. For one heavenly small moment, it felt like they were the only two in the entire world. Just him and Jaz, dancing the night away. When the music ended, he leaned in and could feel his own heartbeat in his ears. He held up her chin with his fingers, their lips inches away from each other's. 

CRACK!

Rhydian looked up to see a giant blue sea serpent striking the side of the ship with its head. The monster released an ear piercing shriek that could shatter glass. A massive crack in the dock had formed between Jazrael and Rhydian's feet. He pushed her away and fell back just in time as the crack opened. The ship was breaking into two, like a little toy breaking in half. He was still standing on one side of the ship half and she was standing on the other. 

Author: Jazrael, Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2021 11:14 PM, Post Subject: A Dragon and A Demon [P][Event]

”See, I can solve a problem sometimes,” she said as the door swung open and the butler acknowledged that they had passed the trial. She glanced at the beam of light once before her eyes fell on Rhydian. She focused on him entirely, her thoughts drifting back to the reaction she had when he had come back, fully alive. Part of her was willing to just move on to the next trial as he asked her which they should do next, to ignore the fact that they had kissed one another until a later time. However, there was a part of her that wanted to address it now, so they wouldn’t be distracted by it while they focused on the other trials.

”Before we go to another trial, about what I said back there… about what I did…” She trailed off for a moment and looked away from him. When her gaze fell back on him, she took a couple of steps towards him, so she was standing fairly close. ”When I watched you die, I completely forgot that you were going to come back,” she said. ”It felt like… I don’t know. Like the world was imploding,” she said, shrugging her shoulders as though she used the words for lack of better ones. ”Feelings are a… new thing for me,” she explained. ”I don’t think I’ve ever really cared about anyone. Before you, anyway,” she added. ”Seeing you come back in this room, knowing that you were still alive… I’ve never felt so much relief.”

Jazrael grew quiet again, but she closed the distance between the two, and stood up on her tiptoes. Taking a chance, she kissed Rhydian again, though this time it was slow and light, not as fiercely as before – but it was apparent that this was planned, and most certainly not in the heat of the moment. It seemed that she wanted to show him that she didn’t think what she had done earlier was a mistake. She pulled away and took a step back, but still remained very close to him. ”I don’t really know anything about caring about someone, about loving someone,” she confessed. ”But I think, from what I have seen and the little I do know, that I have come to care very much about you.” She looked him in the eye for a moment before looking away again. She didn’t want to push it with what she said, in case she was mistaken and Rhydian didn’t feel the same about her. She had to think, though, that he did – he did kiss her back, and hold her to him, after all.

She drew in a breath. ”Let’s do the Nightshade,” she said, and grabbed his hand, walking towards the beam of light. Moments later, they had been transported onto the deck of a rather luxurious looking ship. The moon was glowing in the sky, reflecting on the black, glassy surface of the ocean. Stars glittered in the sky. It was a rather romantic setting, and for a brief moment, Jazrael forgot once again that they were participating in the trials – until it came back to her. She dropped Rhydian’s hnd and turned to face him. ”What do we think is going to go wrong, this time?” she asked. She knew it was only a matter of time before the beauty of the ship would turn into some sort of test or terror… she just didn’t know how or when.

Author: Rhydian, Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2021 10:48 PM, Post Subject: A Dragon and A Demon [P][Event]

He found himself pinned down on the floor by an…angry Jazrael? Her expression was furious yet elated, though he was more concerned about the fury at the moment. Rhydian took the shouting and didn't resist against her pinning, knowing this was the consequence of his actions. Her face moved closer to his and she continued yelling about what he'd done. Suddenly her lips crashed into his and sent a wave of shock through his body. When the shock died down, he had a smirk on his face and wrapped his arms around her, keeping her from pulling way. He gently pressed his lips against hers and held there for a moment, showing her exactly how he felt. She broke away after a moment and both of them were blushing bright red. 

Her eyes burned with a newfound determination and she snatched his hand, pulling him towards the door as if to make sure he didn't get himself killed again. The butler had reset to his original position and even repeated the same lines as before. The drinks were offered again but this time Jazrael took both of them and drank every drop before Rhydian had the chance to say anything. It was a brilliant move, one that would have taken him a lot longer to come up with. They could have been dying over and over again if it wasn't for her wits. They entered the room again, well he was pulled into the room and she reached for the antidote. 

"Bottoms up!" He said with a smirk. 

She was on a roll and he had no intention of stopping her. The antidote glass was empty and all they had to do was wait. His mind was still on the kiss and her reaction, wondering if this meant they were an official couple. She hadn't said partner or used any of the language and that could have been just a kiss of relief. Or maybe that was a real kiss? Rhydian had little to go off of. He didn't read much romance and he never heard a word of romance from his parents. He just had to assume this meant they were an official couple. Isn't that what a kiss meant?

"Yep we just have to wait for now." He said leaning against the wall. 

Rhydian made sure he would be able to keep an eye on her the entire time, just in case. He wouldn't be able to do anything but at the very least he could shout at the butler if the antidote didn't work. After a long wait, the thirty minutes were up and the butler opened the door again. He gave them a nod, as if to let them know that they had passed the test. The next trial was waiting. A pillar of light appeared in the middle of the darkened room where the table had been. 

"Where do you want to go next?" Rhydian asked with a smile, "You figured out how to save both of us, you get next pick." 

Author: Jazrael, Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2021 9:56 PM, Post Subject: A Dragon and A Demon [P][Event]

Jazrael froze when she heard Rhydian’s voice, and her head whipped around quickly. It then dawned on her, as she wildly looked from his dead body to his very-much-alive body, that they were in the trial. Death was not permanent, yet there she was, sobbing over Rhydian’s fake-corpse – which was now disappearing in her hands. When it had completely faded, and Rhydian had held his hand out to her, she reacted rather quickly.

She launched across the floor at him, her demonic strength making up for her lack of body mass. She took him down to the floor, pinning him there, and began to yell at him. ”How could you do that! Why did you let me take it? You should have taken it! I had to watch you die!” she shouted. Her face was contorted into something between anger and elation. She was angry that he had died and she had to go through that, but she was elated at the realization that it hadn’t been permanent.

”You’re more stubborn than I am!” she shouted, her face having moved closer to his as she yelled. ”What if that had been permanent? What if you hadn’t come back? What if I had to go on stupid adventures without you?” she asked him, and before she said another word, she closed the gap, her lips crashing into his with considerable force. She froze for a moment, realizing what she had done, but after a moment of his own surprise it seemed that he hadn’t minded all that much, and Rhydian had kissed her back.

She broke away after a moment, and righted herself, sitting sideways on the floor once more. She cleared her throat, her face beet red, almost afraid to look at him. ”We aren’t stopping, we’re going to get this right,” she said, looking down and to the side. She cast her gaze sideways up at him, seeing if he had any further reaction to what she had done. She got up, rather matter of factly, and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the ornate door. ”I’m calling the shots this time,” she said, and with that, she grabbed the door handle.

As soon as she opened it, there was a brilliant flash of light, and the pair had been transported back into the waiting area again. ”Hello,” the butler said, greeting them as though he had not seen them before. ”The salesman is just finishing up with some other prospective clients. He will be ready for you shortly. In the meantime, please enjoy a glass of champagne,” he said, offering the tray to the pair of them.

”Don’t mind if I do,” Jazrael said, and grabbed both glasses before Rhydian could grab one. She downed them both and placed them on the tray, giving him a rather sassy look. The butler took the tray away, letting them know that the salesman was ready for them.

She pulled Rhydian into the room again, and it was set up exactly the same. ”Well, I think I’ll drink the antidote again, what do you think?” she said with a bit of an attitude, though it was coupled with a smile. A hint of red was still in her cheeks, and she had a fleeting thought about how she had reacted upon seeing him alive, but it dissipated rather quickly. She grabbed the vial of antidote and pulled the top off. ”Cheers,” she said, holding it up in a toast to him before downing it. ”Now, we just have to wait until the time is up, right?”

Author: Rhydian, Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2021 9:09 PM, Post Subject: A Dragon and A Demon [P][Event]

The door opened and he stepped into the darkness once more. Up ahead he could see Jaz cradling a corpse and his blood ran cold, realizing what had happened. Her sobs reached his ears as he quietly stepped closer to her. She pressed her forehead against the corpse's then gave the forehead a kiss. Her lips whispered something but he had been too far to hear it. Rhydian stood slightly behind her, giving her space in case she needed it. In that moment, he realized every time he died it would be like this. How many times could she handle watching him die? At first he was afraid she wouldn't be able to endure the pain. Now he realized there was another type of pain she truly couldn't endure. 

"Its not everyday you get to see the back of your head. Or your full body." He joked trying to lighten the mood, "I really need to get a proper haircut." 

The corpse slowly began to fade away and vanish into nothing. Rhydian squatted down next to her, wondering exactly what she whispered in the corpse's ear. He had heard everything but the last sentence. Her face was still wet with the tears from when she thought he had died. He had a feeling she wouldn't allow this to repeat and would make him drink the antidote next round, regardless of who had the poison. Perhaps it was right, since she went through it, didn't he deserve to go through it too? 

"Hey, its me. All flesh and not dead." Rhydian said holding his hand out to her, "See? Completely alive." 

The experience of death had shaken him to the core but not as much as seeing her like this. Watching her cradle his own corpse almost felt like a horrible morbid ethereal moment. There was something so tragic about her holding him like that, even if he came to life again only seconds later. Rhydian would still try to save her life but he felt his stubbornness die down when he saw the sadness in her eyes. 

"Do you want to stop now?" He asked her, "We might be allowed to go back if you don't want to continue the trial." 

He wouldn't try to force her into anything she didn't want to do. Rhydian didn't know for sure whether they would be allowed to go back. He still wanted to try, but he didn't want to push Jaz. 

Author: Jazrael, Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2021 8:17 PM, Post Subject: A Dragon and A Demon [P][Event]

”It’s a decision. I wouldn’t call it good,” she said, huffing slightly. It was very apparent that she did not agree with what had transpired. When Rhydian said that they would try again if it was the wrong choice, she didn’t say anything else. She didn’t even want to think about having to watch him die, even if he was going to come back. Just the thought caused her to feel sick.

When he motioned for her to sit on the floor with him, she obliged. She sat down right next to him, unable to sit the way he had. She instead sat with her legs to one side, her dress fanning out around her. She leaned on her hands towards him as the pair talked. When it came to her questioning him about her past, specifically before Dalanesca, she thought for a moment. Rhydian had told her a bit about his past, but hers was… more complicated, in a way. Well, not so much complicated, as before Dalanesca she wasn’t really sure it existed at all. The human soul who’s body she had had gone on through the soul stream, and she didn’t retain any of its memories. The parts of her that seemed human were a direct correlation to the way hat Dalanesca’s death had affected her power – in turn, making her more near a human.

”Honestly, no, I didn’t have a life before her,” she said, rather simply. ”Dalanesca… created me. I mean, this body, it was a human’s body, once. I told you, I did things in my past I wouldn’t do today,” she said, hoping that he wouldn’t judge her for such a thing. ”I don’t have any of her memories, though… Just memories of what I did in the name of the Reaper. I’m not necessarily proud of it, but it is who I am,” she said, shrugging her shoulders somewhat. ”I don’t have any family… Dalanesca was my only family, and she is long gone,” she said, a small hint of sadness to her voice.

She had cast her gaze downwards while she spoke, but looked back up as she finished. She watched as Rhydian opened his mouth to say something, and instead began to choke for air. Her heart dropped into her stomach, her ears ringing. She felt sick – cold and hot at the same time. ”Rhydian!” she cried, lunging forward towards him as he keeled over onto his side. Of course they had chosen wrong. She should have never listened to him, she should have refused to take the antidote and forced him to.

She ran her hands along his arms, his chest, his back, trying to find a way to stop it, even though she knew it was a fruitless effort. Tears were welling heavily in her eyes, and she was shaking profusely. She was no longer calling his name, but as she saw him look at her one last time and his eyes closed with death having taken over, she screamed it, choked off with a sob.

She pulled his lifeless body across the floor to her, his head and shoulders resting limply in her lap. One hand was stroking his face, the other in his hair, and her tears were flowing freely now. She had never felt loss like this. Though he would be resurrected due to the nature of the arena the trial took place in, that thought was gone from her mind. Right now, she was holding Rhydian in her arms and he was dead, and that was all she could think about.

She didn’t notice when Rhydian had re-entered the arena. The only sound she could hear was her own sobbing, her own voice quietly mixed in with the sobs. ”You can’t be gone,” she said, her hand still stroking his cold, lifeless face. ”You can’t leave me like this,” she continued, lowering her face so that her forehead was pressed against his. ”How am I supposed to figure this out now? I thought maybe…” she said, closing her eyes. She lifted her head, pressing her lips against his forehead while tears streamed from her eyes. She moved back to press her forehead against his again. ”Please… I need you,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper as she held his body close, forgetting everything around her as she cried.

Author: Rhydian, Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2021 7:44 PM, Post Subject: A Dragon and A Demon [P][Event]

He ended up winning the bet and having her drink the antidote, thus ensuring her safety. But her words of truth rang through his mind. He wasn't a pure dragon, as much as he hated to say it. Neither a dragon nor a human but something in between. The poison could be just as lethal to him as it was to a demon. Rhydian stuck to his decision and was glad she took the antidote but he could see the displeasure in her eyes. He may have gotten his way, but he could see it left her extremely unhappy. 

"Hey, this is a good decision. And if it isn't the correct choice…" Rhydian paused a moment for the right words, "Then we'll try again with a different strategy." 

If he did die, they would have a chance to check the drinks and look for clues. The room was empty, no chairs or anything else besides the table so he took a seat on the floor, crossing his legs and beckoning her to join him with a smile. They couldn't do anything except wait but that didn't mean they had to be standing the entire time. They began chatting about a variety of things for a couple minutes. They talked about the places they'd been, what they enjoyed doing on days off and other random conversations. 

"You know, I've never asked this but did you ever have a life before Dalanesca?" Rhydian asked, "I don't know much about demons or about their lives….If it's a difficult subject you don't have to answer it. I was just a little curious." 

He listened to her words intently as she began to answer his question. Rhydian had heard a bit about her life with Dalanesca but he never knew if she had a life before that. For all he knew, demons just popped into existence fully grown. He had heard that demons could reproduce but even then he didn't know the full story. Another part of him wanted to understand her more. He wanted to know what made her who she was today. And this was a good way to find out if she had any family to worry about. If she had a demon father…that could be trouble.

Just as he was about to open his mouth to respond, he began coughing. His hands flew to his throat as he gasped for air. Rhydian's lungs burned as did his stomach which felt like somebody poured acid into it. He fell over on his side, still choking as he felt himself grow weak. In seconds, his body had collapsed and his internal organs became a garden of pain. He tried to keep his heavy eyes closed but lost in the battle. He looked at Jaz once more before closing them. His heart came to a stop and his body grew cold. Arms limp and breath gone, he was nothing more than a corpse. 

Back in the small room with the butler, Rhydian jolted awake from sleep and found himself back at the beginning of the trial. His body had been completely reconstructed without any wounds caused by the poison. The memory of that death stood with him. The acid feeling in his stomach, the pain from his lungs, and the inability to breath weren't things one could forget. Pushing himself off the floor, he moved towards the door to see Jaz again before the trial restarted. 

Author: Jazrael, Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2021 7:03 PM, Post Subject: A Dragon and A Demon [P][Event]

”You’re not a pure dragon, though… and I don’t think I’m willing to take that risk,” she said, her voice trailing off slightly at the end of her sentence. If she were to be honest with herself, it stirred something within her when she heard just how determined it seemed he was to keep her safe. She could not remember a time when anyone had cared for her well being in that manner. She had to admit, it was a good feeling.

Five minutes came and went, and the pair did nothing but argue with one another about why the other should take the antidote. Jazrael had come to the conclusion that she would rather face the probable pain of death than have to watch Rhydian die, but it seemed that he had come to the same conclusion, only with their roles switching places. ”We’re wasting time, and we’re both too stubborn to move from our stance,” she finally said after a moment. She brought her hand to her forehead and sighed. ”I don’t even know how long it’s been, but we have to think of something,” she said, her eyes scanning the room again.

A few more minutes passed and Jazrael let out an exasperated sigh. She wished that Rhydian would just take it, but she knew he wouldn’t budge, neither would she. ”You know, I can only think of one way to solve this. I don’t like it, and you aren’t going to either… but rock paper scissors,” she said. She held her hand up before he could object. ”Hear me out. It’s the only way to do it without placing any blame on ourselves,” she added. Of course, if they chose incorrectly, she was still going to blame herself, because it had been her idea.

When Rhydian agreed with her, the game of rock paper scissors commenced. ”Ready… one… two… three!” she said, and extended her hand in a fist, to represent rock. Rhydian, on the other hand, had his hand held out flat in front of him, representing paper. He reached his hand out and covered her fist with it.

”Paper covers rock, guess you’re drinking the antidote,” he said to her, clearly glad that things had gone the way he had wanted. Jazrael, on the other hand, did not look pleased. She pulled her hand away from his with an exasperated sigh and walked over to the table.

”I’m not going to argue with you because I know you’re just as stubborn as I am,” she said, though she did not sound happy about it at all. She walked over to the table and sat down, picking up the vial. She took the cork out of it and downed it. It had no taste whatsoever. ”I really hope I was the one who drank the poison,” she muttered to herself.

Now, there was nothing left to do but wait to see if they had done the right thing.

Author: Rhydian, Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2021 6:30 PM, Post Subject: A Dragon and A Demon [P][Event]

Jazrael mentioned how she was probably going to die repeatedly and something in his heart flared up. It was that same feeling he had experienced when he saw that golem almost about to kill her. A strange fierceness in his chest that almost made him tremble. It screamed to him and commanded him to do whatever it took to keep her deaths from happening, even if it was temporary. 

"I won't let that happen." He responded quietly. 

The rest of their conversation was lighter, as they joked about the past and their previous adventures. Eventually it was time for them to start their first trial and possibly, their first deaths. He held tightly to Jazrael's hand and gave her a confident smile before they vanished. In a blink of an eye, they had arrived in a small room with an ornate door and a butler holding two flutes of champagne. They seemed to be spoiling them before the trial, not that Rhydian would be complaining. He gave a polite nod to the butler before taking one of the glasses. 

"Yeah, and imagine how much clean up there would be with crowds. Even on a nice day things can get difficult to fix." Rhydian commented. 

He felt himself relax as he sipped the drink. Jazrael was here with him and that was more than enough. She may not have the greatest magic or the greatest fighting abilities but she did have the intelligence to outfox anyone. Whoever this snake oil salesperson was, they were no match for her. In the back of his mind worries brewed but he pushed them away, believing it to be nothing but anxiety at the upcoming trial. He really hoped he wouldn't have to fight a snake, that fire trick wouldn't work on anything bigger than a small dumb snake. 

"Are you ready?" He asked as he returned the empty glass, "Who knows what things are behind that door…" 

The door was beautiful but could hold evil monsters or some sort of horrible trick. An overpowered salesman or something else equally horrible. They opened the door and stepped into the darkness. A flash of light turned on and the door behind them closed with a shut. Rhydian stood with his flames ready to fire but instead of a monster or a salesman… there was a piece of paper. 

"….That's a bit disappointing." He commented, "I suppose I should be grateful we won't be fighting after those drinks." 

Following Jazrael up to the table, he listened as she began reading the note out loud. The second she mentioned poison, he realized why the butler had given them champagne. His one weakness for alcohol was exploited so easily, and they didn't even know him! She continued reading as the note explained that only one of them was poisoned. This made things even worse, as it would be easy if they could simply drink the antidote if they were both poisoned. Jaz quickly began suggesting that he drinks the antidote and she potentially dies. 

"No." He quickly responded, "I mean…I am a dragon. We are known for our resistance for poisons. Sometimes even our blood is used as a poison. I doubt they would've found something that could hurt a dragon. Besides I have a high tolerance for pain. Even if I die, it will be less painful then most normal people." 

His words were true but the reasons behind them were different. The memory of her with that broken arm laid in the back of his head, her pained expression lingering in his thoughts. Seeing her in pain wasn't an option. Letting her be hurt wasn't an option. He was determined to not let them BE options. 

Author: Jazrael, Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2021 5:43 PM, Post Subject: A Dragon and A Demon [P][Event]

”I guess it’s a good thing I’m a big fan, then,” Jazrael replied with a laugh as Rhydian mentioned how often cinnamon seemed to be involved with their time together. Truth be told, she wasn’t a huge fan of cinnamon outside of alcoholic beverages, but more so the company that was involved when cinnamon came into play – but she wasn’t about to say that to Rhydian.

She took a deep drink of her whiskey, savoring the flavors, as Rhydian gave his opinion on which of the trials they should undertake first. Granted, what he suggested wasn’t either of the options she had first put on the table, but his reasoning behind it seemed sound. She set her glass down and nodded. ”I think you’re right,” she said in agreement. ”I didn’t really have any reasoning behind what I suggested other than they sounded interesting, but the snake oil bit sounds like it could be rather interesting,” she said with a grin at him. ”And you are good with snakes,” she said, giving him a little nudge on the arm. ”I seem to remember you saving me from a snake with your fire… thing,” she said, laughing at herself as she couldn’t think how else to describe it. Her face became a bit more serious. ”You’re right, though… we might not die permanently, but I’d rather it just didn’t happen at all – though I have a feeling it’s probably going to be unavoidable at some point, and you’re most likely going to be watching me die over and over again,” she said, laughing as she poked fun at how clumsy she was. She didn’t really want to think about having to experience Rhydian dying, even if he was going to come back anyway.

After having decided the snake oil trial was going to be the first that they undertook, the pair finished their drinks, chatting idly about their past adventures together until the time came for them to head towards the beam of light that held the smaller bonfire which would transport them to the trial arenas. Once again, Jazrael grabbed a slip of paper and wrote both of their names on it. Before she tossed it into the fire, she reached over and grasped Rhydian’s hand in hers, giving him a grin. ”Ready?” she said, giving his hand a little squeeze before she tossed the slip into the flames. As the edges of the paper singed, the pair disappeared from the main party area.

When they rematerialized, they were in a small room. It wasn’t elegantly decorated, but the door in front of them was rather ornate. There was a man dressed like a butler between the pair and the door, holding a tray with two flutes of champagne on them. ”Welcome,” he said, greeting them. ”The salesman is just finishing up with the prospective clients who arrived before you. In the meantime, please have a glass of champagne.” He offered the tray to the pair.

Jazrael glanced at Rhydian. ”Makes sense, I suppose. Can’t have too many people in the arena at one time!” she said. When they were in agreement, they each took a glass of champagne, clinking them together in a sort of cheers before taking a deep sip each. After a few minutes, they had both finished their champagne and the butler had taken the glasses from them.

”Perfect timing, sir and madam, your turn has arrived,” he said eloquently. ”Just through that door, there!” he said, gesturing to the ornate (and only door) in the room with them. Jazrael gave him a polite nod in thanks, and pushed through the door, Rhydian directly behind her.

When they passed through the door, they were in complete darkness for a brief moment. Suddenly, the room came alight, and the door closed behind them with a click, as though it had locked. Jazrael immediately noticed that there was no one else in the room with them – where was the salesman? The only thing in the room was a table with two chairs, and on the table a small glass vial held in a silver stand, along with a scrap of paper.

Jazrael walked to the table and grabbed the slip of paper. It was scrawled in an elegant script. ”This vial contains a powerful antidote to an equally powerful poison,” she read aloud. She paused before she said the next part aloud, feeling a lump forming in her throat. Drinking the champagne without thinking, how could she have been so naïve? ”One of you has ingested the poison. It is up to you to determine who drank it, and that person must ingest the antidote,” she continued. She stared at the page for a moment, blinking a few times before reading any further. ”If you do not choose who drinks the antidote within thirty minutes – or if you choose incorrectly – the poison will kill whoever ingested it. The full amount of the antidote must be ingested in order for it to properly work. Good luck.”

Jazrael laid the scrap of paper back on the table. ”So, that’s not great,” she said, turning to look at Rhydian. She looked around the room for a moment, hoping there would perhaps be something that they could use as a clue. She tried to remember if either of the glasses of champagne looked different than the other, but she could not recall anything.

She fell silent for a moment, pulling out one of the chairs at the table. ”Maybe if you just drink the antidote, we’ll be fine,” she said. ”I mean, I’m not human – maybe the poison won’t kill me?” she said, wondering what his reaction to this suggestion would be, even though she was pretty sure her assumption was wrong. Surely the designer of this trial had known that not everyone undertaking the trials would be human. ”And besides, I don’t really want to watch you die,” she said quietly. ”Unless you have a better plan?”

Author: Rhydian, Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2021 4:13 PM, Post Subject: A Dragon and A Demon [P][Event]

For a few moments Rhydian could only stare when he first saw her in the dress she'd bought. They were so used to running around in simple clothes and practical hairstyles that when he saw her, for a moment he wondered if she had some sort of magical transformation. Both his eyes and his heart could see the heavenly glow of beauty surrounding her like some sort of aura. Or maybe it was just the lighting from the bonfire. When she suggested to head over to the bonfire, he nodded with a smile. They both walked over to the bonfire and waited their turn. The piece of paper floated down into the flames with both their names on it. Rhydian held his breath and silently prayed that whatever their color was, it wouldn't be below blue. A bright pink heartstring wrapped around their fingers and a feeling of relief arose in his chest. For some reason, the thought of having a pink ribbon made his chest stir with a mixture of excitement and fear. 

"Oh pink is very good!" He said, "I think it means best friends or new lovers. Either way that makes us very close." 

Jazrael left to get drinks while he made sure the small table was clean and with two chairs. He took a seat and gazed at the brilliant array of stars above them. They had seen thousands of constellations each night as they traveled the wildlands. Rhydian never believed much in the stars as they always seemed to be far away and gone from their reality. As he stared up at them, he muttered a prayer to to the stars. A secret just between them and him, spoken barely above a whisper. A wish for luck in this trip and a silent desire to grow close to someone. Jazrael eventually returned with a glass in front of him of cinnamon Adelunan whiskey, which he immediately took a sip of. 

"Delicious." He said with a smile, "It's kind of funny, cinnamon always seems to be a common theme whenever we're together." 

They had met and shared a cinnamon beverage then went on an entire adventure to get themselves a bundle of rare red cinnamon. There were other ingredients they had hunted down and other beverages but the most important moments in their relationship always seemed to involve cinnamon in some way or another. The universe had a strange sense of humor. Putting the drink down, he decided to focus on the trials they would soon be facing. 

"Let's try out the snake oil sales one. I'm pretty good with snakes and if its some guy trying to sell us something, we can always turn it away." Rhydian explained, "I know we won't have to worry about staying dead but we should try to avoid it all the same. The experience of death can't be pleasant. What do you think?"

All the trials would have some aspect of danger but they only had the names to base their expectations on. An escape room, nightshade, a maze with a really bad pun, and whatever a grand prix was. He took another sip of the drink as he listened to Jazrael's opinions, which always seemed to be in the back of his mind even when he wasn't actively thinking about it. 

Author: Jazrael, Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2021 2:24 PM, Post Subject: A Dragon and A Demon [P][Event]

When the invitation to Horae Island had arrived, Jazrael had been planning on discarding it and ignoring it until Rhydian had asked her about it. When he brought it up, it suddenly seemed like a great idea. She knew she was going to need to find a way to acquire some different attire to wear… her worn boots and the few pairs of leather leggings she had wouldn’t pair too well with the few worn tunics she had as well, and she doubted the tactical style corset would go over well, either.

She had fished around in her bag for whatever silver she had on her, and somehow, there had been a pouch with quite a bit in it. She had been suspicious at first, but then a grin crossed her face as she remembered that Rhydian had helped her carry her bag when the two had last met up, talking about the invitations. He must have slipped it in there, knowing that proper attire for women was a little harder to come by. With the extra silver, she had gone to a higher end shop and acquired a dress, some slippers, and even a few accessories for her hair.

When she arrived at the island, she spotted Rhydian with his back to her almost immediately, for which she was grateful. She had an inkling he would arrive before her, but she was glad that her suspicions had been true. She could see what he wore and that it was more formal than his regular attire, but she felt slightly overdressed, even though many of the women around her arriving were dressed more elegantly than she. She had a red, floor length gown on, which fit tightly to partially down her thighs where it then flared out. The entire bodice of the dress was made of lace flowers pieced together, with some scattered here and there towards her neck and down her arms. Her back was bare. She wore red slippers under the dress. Her black hair was piled partially on top of her head, with a few hairpins with the same style of red flower as the dress on them, placed throughout, the rest spilling in curls around her shoulders and down her back. She had even smudged some makeup onto her face.

Mustering up her courage, she walked up to Rhydian and tapped him lightly on the shoulder to announce her presence. She gave him a warm smile when he turned around, followed by a friendly hug. ”You look like a proper gentleman,” she said with a laugh. ”Not sure it’s becoming of you whatsoever,” she added with a grin and a wink. She fell silent when the announcements started, and found herself curious about the heartstring bonds. What kind of bond did she have with Rhydian? They had met by happenstance, and she had spent quite a bit of time with him since then. They were obviously friends, but she sometimes wondered if there was ever the chance for anything more than that. She had never really had an actual relationship with anyone, so she didn’t know what cues meant what, or when certain things happened, or how to tell if someone was even interested in you. She was glad to be friends with him, even if there had been little moments between them that had caused her to think of something more.

When the announcements had ended, Jazrael gave a laugh at Rhydian’s comment about bartending. She looked thoughtful for a moment when he asked her what she thought they should do first. ”Shall we head to the bonfire and take our turn to get our bond, or whatever it is, so we can check out the trials?” she said, shrugging her shoulders somewhat.

When Rhydian agreed, the pair head over to the bonfire to wait their turn. Their time came, and Jazrael took the piece of paper, scrawling both of their names in a neat script on the slip. She tossed it into the fire as they had been instructed, and moments later, a fairly bright pink heartstring had wrapped itself around each of their fingers. Jazrael looked at Rhydian, not entire sure what that meant. There had been a brief explanation of the colors of the bonds, but not enough for there to be clarity.

”I mean, pink is good, right?” she asked him as they stepped away from the bonfire. She remembered that pink meant either new lovers, or best friends, and she told herself inwardly that the pair had certainly become good friends over their time together. They had certainly been through a lot. And besides, she would know if they were lovers, wouldn’t she? Here she was, working herself up into a frenzy thinking about it.

”What do you say we have a drink before we take on any trials?” she said, clearing her throat. ”I’ll go get them, so you don’t argue with the bartender,” she added with a bit of a cheeky grin, leaving him at a small table with two chairs. As she walked to the bar she looked back over her shoulder at him and gave him a grin before getting their drinks. She came back and set a glass in front of him. It was a cinnamon Adelunan whiskey, exactly what she had shared with him when they had first met.

She took a drink and set her glass down. ”What do you think we should undertake first?” she asked, wondering if he had any sort of thought on which one would be the best place to start. ”I was leaning towards the escape room, or maybe the nightshade?” She wasn’t sure what they were about, other than what they had been titled. She only knew that death and injury would not be permanent, so there wasn’t anything to lose… unless there was.

Author: Rhydian, Posted: Sun Feb 14, 2021 11:54 PM, Post Subject: A Dragon and A Demon [P][Event]

They had received their strange invitations a couple of days ago, as did everyone else in Revaliir. Judging by the fact everyone was invited and this would occur on an island, Rhydian had a feeling they would only need a simple formal wear, rather than anything fancy like a ball or a noble party would require. He had a clean somewhat fancy black tunic that he used on work days at special events. It was Jazrael he was worried about. When he met her, she didn't seem to have much with her. For all he knew, she didn't have many clothes packed with her, let alone anything fancy. So he tried to casually slip a bag of silver into one of her bags. He knew from past experience that giving people money directly could make them feel worse for not having the money themselves. But if it were to suddenly appear then there wouldn't be a problem, right? He just hoped she didn't notice. 

Rhydian had dressed himself in the black tunic with long and cuffed sleeves with a silver belt. His boots were brown and his trousers were a dark brown. They had arrived at the nearest beach, which happened to be Zamatye Beach. Boats had arrived at every dock in every city and at every beach, even in Onnen. These boats seemed to have something magical about them and were far faster than the average boat. When they boarded the boat, it sped off towards horae island and arrived in only an hour, which was incredibly fast for ocean travel. They were going fast, but not fast. Rhydian suspected there must have been some sort of magical teleportation involved. 

The island was lively as ever with crowds of people pouring into it. The sound of music reached his ears before anything else. They followed a path through the trees and into the main area where the party had been set up. In the center, there was a brilliant blazing bonfire keeping everybody warm and lighting up the area. Fairy lights decorated the trees while white banquet tables filled with never ending food and drinks were on the left side. There was an announcement mentioning the trials and the heartbond string thing. This peaked his interest, as he was curious to know what kind of bond he had with Jazrael. He thought they were close… but it was always possible that she felt differently. It was one of those things that seemed to strange to ask. 

"You know, I've never been to one of these parties as a guest. Usually I'm the bartender." He said with a smirk before looking to Jazrael, "Probably for the best. I usually have strong words for any bartender that can't live up to proper standards." 

Usually proper standers meant HIS standards. When it came to bartending, he had a bone to pick with anybody who wasn't on a professional level. This usually resulted in him starting fights with other bartenders and showing them up with his own skills. Sometimes it resulted in him getting a job. Most of the time they got kicked out of the tavern. The one thing he couldn't stand was a bad bartender. 

"What would you like to do first?" He asked Jazrael.