#Annori

[allenvooreef]

When I’m in a rut, I can always count on pose reference artists to get me drawing again. 😌 Saw this fun one by @adorkastock and immediately knew it had to be Annori!

Maybe I’ll see if I can draw the whole gang with some downtime activities.

Annori was created by @imrowanartist

Follow our D&D campaign over on @anywaymurder

[anywaymurder]

A Coward's Coat

Chapter 55

Annori, Kevin and Raiden head to the apothecary. Stepping inside is like stepping into a forest! The air is warm and humid, and the smell of moss fills their noses, and all around them are plants - actual, growing plants. Annori recognizes several of them as swamp-native species, and notes a couple of rare specimens sometimes used in potions. It’s hard to see the edges of the room, but they eventually spot an archway leading into a more regular looking room. There they see the familiar face of Xadrynk! The goblin is discussing ways to catch up on his studies and finance his internship with a tall elf. Annori greets Xadrynk excitedly and tells the elf, referred to as Master Valm, that she can vouch for Xadrynk’s qualities. Valm seems unimpressed in the politest way he can manage, and asks Xadrynk to return after the gala to continue their conversation when he’s less busy. As he leaves, Xadrynk asks the group if they want to get together to catch up later, and they agree to meet him in the Majestic Mare that night. Master Valm asks Annori what she’s here for, and she explains she’s looking for a potion that would compel the drinker to speak the truth - preferably without knowing they’d been drugged. Realizing how bad that sounds, she adds: ‘But not for anything nefarious, of course!’ Grabbing Kevin, she says: ‘Look at us! Do we look like we’re up to no good??’ The elf raises an incredulous eyebrow and Raiden quickly steps in with a lie. He quietly tells Valm that Annori was recently the victim of such a potion, but is too embarrassed to talk about it, and they’re simply trying to ascertain what was in it to assess the damage done. Master Valm admits brewing such a potion is incredibly difficult, especially one that remains undetected, and that the drinker can always choose not to say anything. But he does have something along those lines: a potion that would make the drinker more likely to keep talking where they would normally hold their tongue. Annori buys the babbling potion for 100GP. 

Raiden asks the elf about the impressive array of indoor plants. When Annori mentions the swamp-specific species, Master Valm looks at her a bit differently than before. ‘Are they just letting strangers into the swamp, now?’ Annori explains her being there was a sort of exception, since she was in training with a druid. Recognizing Valm as a swamp elf now, she asks if he knows Ara Kresh. The name doesn’t ring a bell, but he encourages them to bring Ara by sometime. He admits it has been a few years since he left the swamp himself. ‘A few standard years, or elf years?’ she asks, earning herself a knowing smile from Valm. ‘A few hundred years.’

Meanwhile, Ara wanders around the city after his visit with Findire to clear his mind and get to know the streets of Anamdael better. Once he feels like sufficient time has passed he heads back to the Majestic Mare, where he occupies a large table in the back and glares at anyone who tries to join or take a chair. The rest of the party arrives not long after. Suddenly, they are approached by a small figure fidgeting nervously with the hood of his cloak. He asks if they’re the ones who found Xadrynk. ‘Who’s asking?’ counters Raiden. The young gnome quietly introduces himself as a friend of Xadrynk, and explains he’s in urgent need of help — the discreet kind — to find a missing person. He’d put notes on several of the city’s quest boards but so far had not gotten a response, and then he’d remembered Xadrynk talking about this group with such praise that he decided to come seek them out. He hands them a slip of paper containing an address in the Eastern Gardens and asks them to meet him there later that night, so that they may discuss the details in private. 

Once the nervous gnome leaves, Ara remarks that meeting someone late at night in a shady alleyway sounds like a good way to get ambushed. Raiden agrees that it has all the elements of a good set-up, but he does believe the kid to be genuine in his request. Kevin is also eager to offer their help, seeing how desperate he looked. They decide to go to the meetup, though they have several more hours to fill before it is time. They then remember that they’d agreed to ask Raiden some questions about himself, so they order some drinks and brace themselves for what promises to be an interesting conversation. 

Starting off strong, Annori asks Raiden what his favorite childhood memory is. It takes a good long while for him to answer, but then he tells them how he used to climb out onto the rooftop of their house in the evening, and instead of reprimanding him for it, his mother would simply sit in the open window and read him stories from there. They were often stories about adventurers, dragons, mermaids… though his favorites were the pirate stories. He confirms that that might have had something to do with him becoming a sailor later on. Ara asks him if the pirate story he told them during their first couple of days together was true. Raiden barely even remembers telling it, and admits that the whole thing was made up. Kevin inquires as to how many different identities he’s had. R: ‘I guess… five and a half? Maybe six? There was some overlap, it depends on how you wanna count it.’ Kevin remarks that it must be stressful to be a different person all the time. ‘On the contrary,’ the rogue replies, ‘I think there’s something very liberating about being someone else for a while. You can just take whatever holds you back, whatever worries or problems you might have had, and shed it like a coat. That’s someone else’s problem now. And you get this wonderful clean slate, for you to fill as you please. You get to go in without anyone expecting certain things from you. You could do anything. Be anything. It’s all up to you. And you get to experience a slice of life from a different view, sort of a ‘what-if’ situation. What if I'd grown up in a wealthy family? What if I’d always speak my mind? And then you mix it up a little every time, you experiment, you go nuts, because nobody knows you anyway, you don’t even know you, and if things don’t work out you can just move on to something new. No attachment. No stakes. No… having to face the consequences for the horrible things you’ve done.’ N: ‘Sooo what you’re saying is you’re a coward.’ R: ‘Very much so, yes. I have no delusions of bravery. But I was at least very good at being a coward.’ K: ‘Well, either way, I’m glad you decided to stay this time.’ R: ‘Thanks. I, uhh, am still on the fence about it. Not the staying, but the being glad about it.’ He explains that he’s spent so much time being different people, he’s not sure what parts of his personality are truly his and which were just performative. And once he’s found all that remains of him, what if he doesn’t like who that is? They ask him if he’s really afraid of animals. Raiden laughs bitterly and says that, regrettably, that has been a rare constant throughout his different lives. ‘They are unknowable and therefore unpredictable! With people, I know I can always figure out what type of people they are, and how I can — … mmm I’m looking for a word that doesn’t make it sound awful.’ A: ‘manipulate?’ R: ‘I mean: yes, but when you say it like that…’ Annori vehemently disagrees with his view on animals, and remarks he just has to get to know them. The group discusses the possibility of exposure therapy. R: ‘I sure am glad that this is the problem we have latched on to solving, now.’ Annori considers wildshaping but decides against it, not wanting to cause more chaos than they can currently handle. 

Changing the subject, Ara asks about the ring Raiden wears on a cord around his neck. Raiden sighs wistfully that he had such a great story in mind for that question, and he’s sad that he won’t get to tell it now. Instead, he explains it was his mother’s. And that it is currently the only thing, aside from the book, he has left of her. A: ‘What happened with your mother, anyway? We know she was convicted of a murder, but…’ R: ‘The short version is: I don’t actually know. The long version… She was an apprentice to the queen’s arcane advisor. What exactly that job entailed, she was always vague about, but she provided for us. We had a good life. She was everything to me. Then one day she… didn’t come home. Instead there were two guardsmen at the door who took everything. Every notebook, every scroll, every vial, every last scraping of powdered roots and herbs. Countless times did I go up to the barracks and beg to see her, to tell me what was going on. Not a word from the officials. But whispers flowed through the streets. All kinds of horrific rumors about what Tarrenwood did, one more gruesome than the next. It wasn’t long until my presence was met with nervous glances. I quickly found that every job opening had conveniently been filled just before I came around. That suddenly every meal had doubled in price. That the neighborhood kids I’d known for all of my life were no longer allowed to talk to me. Her name stuck to me like a curse everywhere I went. And so, finally, when a ship sailed into port looking to expand their crew, I left Andreas Tarrenwood and his misery behind and became somebody else.’ Kevin gives Raiden a big hug. ‘That must have been awful!’ R: ‘Yeah, it, uhh… wasn’t great. But I mostly spent the last ten years trying not to think about it at all. That is until I heard about Lord Hartwind’s death and saw the similarities. Fuck, it’s so strange saying this out loud. I’ve never told anyone this.’ N: ‘Never? Not to anyone?’ R: ‘Not to anyone. Look, it’s not like I was never planning on telling you. I guess I just thought I had a bit more time before we started getting close enough to getting answers that those kinds of questions would start to come up. But in the end it wasn’t up to me.’ A: ‘You know, it’s not even that you didn’t tell us — your personal history is really none of our concern. It’s the fact that we were all prepared to support you, we were there lying and fighting on your behalf, and you decided to screw us over anyway.’ R: ‘I know. You’re right. I’m… There’s no apology that can begin to make up for what I’ve done to you. But for what it’s worth: I am sorry. Truly. Deeply. The thing is, I was terrified. You have to understand that everything I’ve done for the past ten years, has been to avoid exactly this. I felt as if the walls were closing in on me. I felt my carefully crafted layers of protection fall away all at once and I was afraid. Afraid of how the Syndicate could use this information against me. Of being used as a pawn, or as bait. Afraid to no longer be in control …Afraid of what you’d think of me. And I still am. Look at me. I’m falling apart, and I’m scared of what will remain when it’s all gone.’ 

After some of the air has been cleared and some more drinks have been consumed, it is time to head to the Eastern Gardens. The group keeps an eye out for anything suspicious, not having forgotten their previous ambush quite yet, but everything seems clear. After a quick knock on the door the gnome lets them inside a small storage room at the back of a house. He introduces himself as Marcius, a student of Conjuration at the Academy. He explains that a friend and fellow student, Bree, had asked his help for a history project. They summoned the spirit of a military intendant, the half-orc-half-elf Godobald Brockhouse, who had served during the Unification War  — in order to ask him some questions (Ara has never heard about this major historical event, which is baffling to Raiden). They had triple-checked every glyph and component and were confident the summoning was going to work. Only when the spirit appeared, it rushed forward and appeared to disappear into the body of Bree, who ran off, desperately exclaiming that he needed to see his family in the Sludge. But Bree doesn’t have any family in the Sludge  — he isn’t even from Anamdael. Marcius fears Bree may have been possessed by the spirit and fears he may not be able to find him in time for the gala, where Bree is expected to make an appearance alongside the noble who is sponsoring his attendance at the Academy. The young gnome starts spiraling out of control when he thinks about what might happen when Bree doesn’t show; surely people will realize Marcius had something to do with it, his reputation will be forever stained, and his mother will surely never let him stay in school… Raiden interrupts his anxious tangent and asks him some clarifying questions. Kevin is smart enough to ask about the spirit: perhaps they can find some record of him and figure out where his family used to live. Marcius adds that he wouldn’t expect them to work for free: he’s put aside part of his monthly allowance in order to offer them 1.000GP. Ara tells Marcius to stand a couple feet away and cover his ears so they can huddle and deliberate. They quickly agree that there’s no harm in taking the job; they could use some more money to buy all those cool magic items they ogled earlier, and if they don’t succeed in time they won’t be any worse off than they are now. Plus, Marcius seems truly at the end of his rope, and it’d be nice to actually start living up to their new reputation as ‘disappearance solvers’. They tell Marcius the good news. Ara sees no reason not to start investigating right away, having momentarily forgotten his friends’ need for sleep. So they decide to head back to the Majestic Mare and begin their search for Bree in the morning.

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[veryinnovative]

sometimes..there r designated mutuals..for very certain things and genres nd tropes

[spaciebabie]

tumblr keeps eating my notifs man >:[

[otrtbs]

you've been reaped : @anexaustedpeach @calamitoustide @spacexcowgirl @likeprongstostars @emlovessid @roblogging @static-radio-ao3 @inevitablestars @twisted-tales-told @pretentiouswreckingball @nevvaraven @secretly-kait @residentrookie @lavenderhaze @blossoms-and-possums @whorerific @mythicalltea @angel-daydreams @ess-presso @hsika92 @withbeatrice @casstration @annori

[inevitablestars]

decorate my tree!

thanks for tagging me <3 @starsworth @godsofwoes @twisted-tales-told

my tree!

no pressure tags! @calamitoustide @nevvaraven @otrtbs @quillkiller @sugarsnappeases @arakhnee @galaxostars @mayescapade @messrsrarchives @deermessrs @annori @whorerific @residentrookie @pretentiouswreckingball @itsjaywalkers @aurorboros @angel-daydreams @static-radio-ao3 and anyone else <3

[beuhakkaka]

Annori lore....

⚠️TW for needles, abuse and medical experimentation! ⚠️

Annora has a really fun relationship with her "dad" as you can see. Best time of her life!

On a lighter note, if you wanna see more animations like this, not just g/t centric btw, follow me on instagram! beuhakkaka is my handle, same thing as here lol

[calamitoustide]

🎄decorate my tree <3 🎄

thank you @starsworth @messymoony @messrsrarchives @inevitablestars for the tag <3

tagging (no pressure) - @otrtbs @songofpolaris @moonys-bf @casstration @pissmotif @angel-daydreams @aurorboros @nevvaraven @alarainai @itsjaywalkers @ephemeralstarss @jeguluses @annori

[imrowanartist]

Where to find me at Dutch Comic Con this weekend!!

I am once again in the Dealer Hall (NOT the artist alley), along the side of the hall. And I promise I will not forget my giant Annori banner this time XD

Anyway, down below you’ll find a selection of new goodies I’ll be bringing this weekend ✨

Hope to see you there!

[allenvooreef]

A sweet moment where Annori talked to the Wildmother about all the conflicting things she’s been feeling, while Kevin played a quiet and comforting melody. ♥️

Follow our dnd campaign at @anywaymurder

[anywaymurder]

No Rest for the Wicked

Chapter 56

On their way back to the Majestic Mare, Raiden suddenly stops in his tracks and curses. ‘I… may have fucked up. I need to see the Fable, right away.’ Annori asks whether he can tell them what this is about, or if it’s another secret. Reluctantly, Raiden explains as they walk: several weeks ago, after the witch in the woods had granted Annori the knowledge that her mother was currently in Osta Asari, she was struggling with the decision whether to go find her immediately or continue the investigation and risk arriving too late to meet her there. Feeling bad for her, Raiden had sent a letter to Osta Asari asking his contacts to keep an eye out for Annori’s mother so that they would know if she had left the city. Contacts within the Copper Syndicate — where, according to the Fable, there very well may be Masked Ones hiding among their ranks. N: ‘So, wait, you told the bad guys about my mom??’ ‘I didn’t know,’ the rogue says, desperately, ‘I thought I was helping, but now I realize I may have made a grave mistake.’ Annori pales and she quickens her pace. After banging on the door together feverishly, the resident of the Fable’s hideout opens the door groggily. Recognizing them from earlier, he lets them into the Fable’s chambers. She’s in bed, but quickly gets on her feet when she senses the urgency the group exudes. Hurriedly, Raiden explains the situation once more, and asks her if there is anything she can do. The Fable admits it’s not ideal, but she suspects Annori’s mom to be safe. After all, the possible moles within the Syndicate have no way of knowing Raiden is onto them, and as long as they don’t feel threatened they have no reason to threaten the group. Retracting the message now will likely only bring their attention to it, worsening their odds. Annori asks if the Fable can send someone she trusts to check on her. The Fable admits she currently doesn’t really trust anyone. (N: no one except for us?? Wow that’s dire.) Her insistence that Annori’s mom is probably not in any danger from the cultists is at least slightly reassuring, though Raiden remarks that being unable to do anything to set it right still makes him feel uneasy. They agree they must travel to Osta Asari as quickly as they can once the gala and the heist in Anamdael are completed, which will be little over a week from now. The Fable confirms she can likely make arrangements for the use of a teleportation circle. (N: yes we have experienced just how much faster that is if someone wants to get away. R: alright look, how about this time you all take the teleportation circle and I’ll take the boat, will that even the scores? A: you wouldn’t survive that boat trip.)

Stepping back into the cool night air, Raiden apologizes to Annori. ‘I mean,’ she says, ‘it was pretty stupid, but I appreciate you trying to do something nice. You are coming to Osta Asari with us, right? Because we really need you for all that investigation work.’ R: ‘Hey, it sounds like you booked more results in that department without me! But yeah, of course I’m coming.’ N: ‘How about we make a deal. We help you save your mom, and you help me find mine.’ She spits in her hand and extends it. Raiden gives his own palm a good lick and shakes on it. ‘I’ll take that deal, Sneezeweed.’

That night, meditation doesn’t come easily to Ara. Raiden is snoring and no amount of slapping him or pinching his nose seems to fix it. It doesn’t seem to wake him either, though, so Ara cautiously sits in a corner and takes out his toad plushie. A familiar sensation of warmth and comfort spreads through him. ‘I did miss this,’ sighs Ara. Then, barely audibly, he adds: ‘Can you hear me?’ There is no response from the plushie, but the warmth persists. Ara remains there cradling the plushie until dawn. (This is where Dy was asked to make a mysterious charisma saving throw that we are not at all freaked out over.) Come morning, Raiden sees Ara sitting there with his plushie. He makes a mental note of it, but doesn’t say anything. Instead he gets up and gets dressed, with his back turned to pretend he didn’t see it and allow Ara some grace. 

Over breakfast Annori takes out her trusty art supplies and makes a drawing of Bree based on Marcius’ description. She gets all the relevant detail in there, but somehow it is still a stick figure. The group decides that asking Marcius for Godobald Brockhouse’s address is likely the best place to start their new investigation. They find Marcius in his dorm — yet another person they have rudely awakened with their presence. Together they go through some of Bree’s project notes, whose handwriting and shorthands are not always easy to decipher, but eventually Kevin finds an address in the western area at the outer edge of the Sludge. The street that is mentioned no longer exists under the same name today, but they should still be able to track it down. Annori asks Marcius if he has an object that has Bree’s scent on it, and he produces a sweater he had left here.  When they arrive in the Sludge, Annori wildshapes into a dog (startling Raiden), takes a good sniff of the sweater to determine Bree’s scent, and quickly finds a trail of it she can follow. The scent path is quite erratic, meandering through the streets. It seems like this person was looking for something but was unfamiliar with this area. Eventually, dog!Annori finds a spot where the scent lingers for a while longer and sits down, looking at the group expectantly. There is a house nearby, and Raiden peeks in through a small window to see if anyone’s home. Suddenly, the front door opens, and a woman steps into the doorway. ‘Who are you? Why are you looking into my house?’ Raiden explains that they’re looking for a missing person, and asks if she’s seen anyone that matches Bree’s description. She has, a couple of days ago — Bree had come to her house, but simply stood there for a while and then left. She points in the direction, and dog!Annori confirms with a bark (startling Raiden) that it matches the scent trail. Ara whispers to Raiden: ‘Ask her if she’s related to the soldier.’ Raiden: ‘Are you by chance related to the Brockhouse family?’ The woman explains that her parents bought the house from the Brockhouse family. Apparently they moved out of town. With no further questions to ask her and a clear trail to follow, Raiden thanks the woman for her help and tosses her a silverpiece. (Here I wrote ‘Dy has resting sus face’ but I don’t remember what it pertains to lol) The scent trail continues in its chaotic pattern, and ends in a small alley, where the scents of the nearby tannery and dyeing stations become too mixed in with Bree’s scent for dog!Annori to reliably follow it any longer. Here, however, she suddenly picks up the smell of blood. Raiden clocks this alley as the perfect place for a mugging, so he quickly checks the rooftops and around the corners to make sure they’re alone. Ara, being an experienced tracker, eventually manages to spot tiny dried drops of blood on the ground. They’re few and far between, but they do form a trail, which they follow until they find the entrance to the sewers. (N, to A: wet and stinky, you must feel right at home there!)

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[robtriestokeepadiary]

Wre stlmania day!! Evrry match so good. Ate tacos, but didn't swallow a bite. Tried a gumm i again. Still not a fan. Didn't eat food during this time except ice cream. Right choice. New every title! Much better feeling now that it's worn off. Also annoryed snake day, got 42 of them.

[egyptianking]

Having an Aussie colleague is so fun, it makes bitching about customers sm more cunty like "she was sauuuuuur annorying" you're so right, she was‼️

[idkapillow]

i'm redoing all the chapther on my book on wattpad all 26 chapters...don't worry i'll edit some things and move stuff around and remove some character

don't know how long it going take, but it be done in a week if my parents don't annory me... so yeah have a nice day!!!

[also i'm not using my xp-pen any more the 13.3 pro, because i'm waiting for a new computer, so i'm drawing either on paper or on my graphic xp-pen tablet, and also panthen and the other say HI!!!]

[inevitablestars]

cozy cabin cafe

thanks for the tag @calamitoustide and @messrsrarchives

no pressure tagging: @starsworth @otrtbs @twisted-tales-told @sugarsnappeases @annori @whorerific

[beuhakkaka]

Annori lore...? Annori lore.

WHERE HAVE I BEEN???!?! great question. I've been animating! And making art not strictly g/t related, so I didn't feel it was proper to share here 😭 As time goes on tho I'll be getting some more done, so dw this account isn't dead!

Also, if you're interested in seeing my animations and the stuff I'm making, you can follow me on Instagram! @beuhakkaka is my username there to make it easy lol