#T'dras Tia

[blueberrybombcat-blog]

The Blue Bomb Mists, Ward 2, Plot 28

Demolitions, consultations, and commissions! Threat and minor obstacle management for those with a Flare for the dramatic and bombastic! Stop by today and talk to our trained*** specialist about how he can blow your problems up! Collateral damage guaranteed.

[berrodarmstrong]

Berrod, Autgar, T'dras, Viktor and Ulfarr headed out to Bronze Lake on a small leve to cull a pack of hounds that had been terrorizing the area. The job was a relatively simple one, and allowed the group to stretch their adventuring muscles with a harsh fight against several of the beasts -- including an alpha and a Mamool Ja beastmaster who turned out to be the cause of it all. Victory was theirs in short order, and the job was marked as completed!

@dynamitecowboy

@blueberrybombcat

@viktor-harlenk

@anunlikelyknight

[reioshora]

@blueberrybombcat - T’dras Tia

[mikhasunthistle]

Grindstone: A very special episode

Twice a year, to fund the award purse for the weekly winner, Grindstone holds a fight auction.  People can bid on who they want to fight -- either someone to fight themselves or putting two other people up to fight. For example, the Warrens are a married couple who run Grindstone. Someone bid 1.5 million for them to fight each other. 

Imagine Mikha’s surprise when someone bid for him to fight Berrod. 

Exiled Wolf (@marius-ffxiv) bid 200,000 gil to see Mikha fight Berrod (@berrodtherapscallion)!  Who do you think would win this match-up?

Welcome to Grindstone #175! With a new record of 81 people attending to fight, and many more showing up to watch!

As usual, people lined up to call out their names and the weapons they would be using.

Willis Etmierre: || The Xaela goes and does a flip for a battle stance, showing off his fists, "... Willis!" He does jazz hands just in case no one recognizes he's using his fists. Flameson Hammersmith: "Hammersmith, Codpeice." T'dras Tia: "T'dras! I got a gun and my special throwin' wrenches!"

(Using a codpiece as a weapon was unsurprisingly ineffective: Lucerna Sainahs: "Miss Randis will advance to the next round- having conquered the codpiece!")

As paid for, Mikha and Berrod were paired up in the first round.  

Berrod made the first move, successfully landing a kick to Mikha’s ankle, one hard enough that the archer couldn’t put weight onto it, let alone run off to get distance.  

From that point on, Mikha was fighting defensively. Luck as much as anything let him land two blows to Berrod, a strike with his bow and a jabbing of a blunt arrow, but the hits he took in exchange were much worse.  A kick to his head nearly knocked him out, and a final elbow to his chest ended the match. 

Mikha was out in the first round, but to have even landed a single blow against Berrod, let alone two, was nearly as good as winning to him.  

(This screenshot could have been so much better, arg! But Grindstone text scroll goes so fast, I usually can’t even use /gpose at all.)

After his match ended, Mikha staggered off to the sidelines to try to stop the world from spinning before he started his long trip home. There he met a kid named Jin'sae Hara (who seems to have no tumblr). The two had something of a conversation, but Mikha’s head injury made him unable to keep up with it. He gave the kid some money, then started home.

His head injury making teleportation too risky, and on an ankle too injured to walk on, it was a long, long trip back. One he didn’t finish.  People asked about the fight over the company linkpearl, and picked up on how off Mikha sounded. Company healers to the rescue!

Reks ( @reksblanc ) and Sergei ( @sixwingseraph ) came out to collect Mikha, healing him on the spot enough to get him back to the house, and then further seeing to him.  ((I only wish it hadn’t been so late! I didn’t get any screenshots.))

Healed enough that letting him sleep would be safe, Mikha was put to bed and slept the night through.  Thus ending an outstanding night of RP!

((As a final note: I’m very much against mixing “real” OOC gil and IC gil. To me, they’re two different things, and using OOC gil for IC things stomps on the IC/OOC RP line. Six months ago I donated a million to Grindstone, and afterwards I spent a long time questioning my action. Finally I decided that it was okay. Even if *I* don’t like mixing the two, I still love this RP event and I wanted to do what I could to support it.  If Mikha ever wins, I’ll turn down the OOC gil prize, but I think breaking my dislike of mixing IC/OOC gil is okay in this case. Grindstone is an amazing event. The fact that they hold it “rain or shine”, every week without fail, even on holidays like Christmas Eve is amazing. I’ve gotten more RP and met more new RPers through them than all other RP events on the server put together. Donating some gil OOCly is the least I can do to support them.))

[blueberrybombcat-blog]

T’dras loves his new home and just about everything about it. Save for one small detail... Fret not though!

He’s working on a solution.

[blueberrybombcat-blog]

Without any pleading signs, healers, or roegadyn barkeeps to stop him in his own home, T’dras can finally chase his dream unabated.

[blueberrybombcat-blog]

“Twenty five turns and I’m only gettin’ better!”

[blueberrybombcat-blog]

Honest Q&A: T’dras Tia

What is your full name?

“T’dras! T’dras Tia.”

What do your friends call you?

“... T’dras? What else’re they supposed t’call me?”

What is your favorite animal?

“I don’t bloody know. Anythin’ what don’t eat miqo’te? ... Rats. Rats’re cute ‘nough.”

Where were you born?

“A lil’ ways outside Ala Mhigo. Within walkin’ distance at least.”

Do you have children?

“... Gods I hope not.”

Is there a person/people you love?

“Uhh, my brother?”

What is your favorite color?

“Gods man, take a bloody guess, eh?”

What is your full occupation?

“Hrm. Adventurer like most of the madmen ‘round here? Salvager when I’m writin’ out a damn application I guess.”

Are you good at physical fighting?

“Good ‘nough. You wanna give it a shot?”

Which form are you best at?

“It ain’t got no name. ‘Stiff-arse trainin’ style’?”

What about magic?

“Oh, that I’ll just bloody blow you away with.”

Which type are you best at?

“The one what makes the biggest ‘splosions.”

Craftsmanship?

“Aye.” He said, offering little else.

Any other skills?

“Uhh... Cookin’? I guess? I’unno. Ain’t needed much else t’get by.”

Are you an only child?

“No. I got at least a brother and some maybe twenty-odd half-siblin’s?”

Where do you see yourself in five years?

“Don’t ask me that, aye? It ends with me gettin’ upset and you with a big ol’ hole you don’t need.”

Have you ever almost died?

“Aye. More times than I can bloody count.”

Do you have a secret, not just a secret, but like a really big secret, hardly anyone knows?

“Aye. And I ain’t tellin’ you no more.”

Salty or sweet?

“Sweet. Gimme some chocolate and I might not kneecap ya for them last couple questions...”

Do you like yourself?

“Gods. I think I have to, don’t I?”

Do you believe in the Twelve?

“‘Nough not t’piss ‘em off.”

Are you religious?

“... Ehhh...”

Do you carry prejudice with you?

“Depends on what’cha mean by that. I mean, I know them lalafell bloody run everythin’.”

What do you consider entertainment?

“You don’t wanna know that. No, really, you don‘t.”

Favorite drink?

“Rum. Mix it with anythin’ and I’m your best damn friend.”

Do you have any family traditions?

“Uhh... I’unno. Ask m’brother.“

Are you a good person?

“I’unno. Don’t care. I’m ‘round, ain’t I?”

Thank you for answering my questions.

“Aye, sure. Now I was told somethin’ about a gil prize? Do you just gimme that or do I gotta send in or what?”

Tagged by: @nhara-tia

Tagging: @tombshine @the-batcams @khadanthehunter @surly-eggplant and whoever else got left behind.

[blueberrybombcat-blog]

An Irrelevant Character Guide: T’dras

... No, that’s pretty much all of ‘em.

[blueberrybombcat-blog]

FFXIV IC Class Knowledge

D I S C I P L E S  O F  W A R

Gladiator || Paladin: | Unskilled | Novice | Adept | Expert | Master | Marauder || Warrior: | Unskilled | Novice | Adept | Expert | Master | Dark Knight: | Unskilled | Novice | Adept | Expert | Master | Pugilist || Monk: | Unskilled | Novice | Adept | Expert | Master | Lancer || Dragoon: | Unskilled | Novice | Adept | Expert | Master | Rogue || Ninja: | Unskilled | Novice | Adept | Expert | Master | Samurai: | Unskilled | Novice | Adept | Expert | Master | Archer || Bard: | Unskilled | Novice | Adept | Expert | Master | Machinist: | Unskilled | Novice | Adept | Expert | Master |

Being born within one of the Seeker tribes T’dras was required to learn some skills, most of which pertained to hunting; spears, knives, bows, but none of them called to him the same way guns did, even if his earliest experiences with them were in the hands of Gyr Abania’s imperial oppressors. Later in life he picked up the sword, learning of them from Khadan when he repeatedly found his arsenal of close-combat answers to be... nonexistent.

D I S C I P L E S  O F  M A G I C

Conjurer || White Mage: | Unskilled | Novice | Adept | Expert | Master | Arcanist || Summoner || Scholar: | Unskilled | Novice | Adept | Expert | Master | Astrologian: | Unskilled | Novice | Adept | Expert | Master | Thaumaturge || Black Mage:  | Unskilled | Novice | Adept | Expert | Master | Red Mage: | Unskilled | Novice | Adept | Expert | Master |

Magic only served to highlight the seeker’s eccentricities, his ability to quickly pick up something he found fascinating and even more quickly twist it to further his explosion addiction. Being so intrigued by the volatile nature of magic it’s no wonder he found little of interest within the schools of conjury or astromancy, turning instead towards the obvious then. Under the tutelage of Grand Boomcaster Flashstix he learned how to do things even magitek wouldn’t allow him.

D I S C I P L E S  O F  T H E  H A N D

Carpenter:  | Unskilled |  Novice | Adept | Expert | Master | Blacksmith:  | Unskilled |  Novice | Adept | Expert | Master | Armorer:  | Unskilled |  Novice | Adept | Expert | Master | Goldsmith:  | Unskilled |  Novice | Adept | Expert | Master | Leatherworker:  | Unskilled |  Novice | Adept | Expert | Master | Weaver:  | Unskilled |  Novice | Adept | Expert | Master | Alchemist:  | Unskilled |  Novice | Adept | Expert | Master | Culinarian:  | Unskilled |  Novice | Adept | Expert | Master |

With his chosen vocation comes many other skillsets the seeker needed to at least understand to some degree; guns require specially shaped steel and numerous springs and small parts, magitek devices need ceruleum, and the engineer themselves often needs to patch scorched and shredded articles of clothing. As for his cooking? Well that he also learned from Flashstix. Suffice it to say his steaks are typically well done.

D I S C I P L E S  O F  T H E  L A N D

Miner:  | Unskilled | Novice | Adept | Expert | Master | Botanist:  | Unskilled | Novice | Adept | Expert | Master | Fisher:  | Unskilled | Novice | Adept | Expert | Master* |

T’dras is actually incredibly adept when it comes to gathering the many resources and reagents he might need for his projects, and though many would deny that he is Eorzea’s greatest angler... well, he believes his results speak for themselves.

Tagged by: @aldispikeman and @poe-lhyzeal

Tagging: @khadanthehunter @tombshine @yubi-ishii @surly-eggplant @anyone else who hasn’t done this yet

[blueberrybombcat-blog]

"It's as much your fight as anyone else's, Dras. Please consider it." T'vrahn begged, something quite unbecoming of a Nunh, but not unreasonable for a brother, especially a twin. That was likely why the huntresses behind him gave T'dras the same look, the lot of them clad in the padded armor known by the Resistance. Even though he'd long since left the tribe, even though he had all be dropped Tia from his name, it felt uncomfortable to him seeing the Nunh in such a position.

"I-- Fine! Fine." T'dras muttered, looking away, brow furrowed. "But I ain't cheap and neither is ceruleum." He quickly ammended, slapping his opened palm and giving his best impression of a stern expression.

"You understand how little we have, yes?" T'vrahn said with a smile, seeing through the man's act. "There will likely be much to go around when we win however."

"If we win." T'dras shot back skeptically. It took the Nunh a moment to consider further, and a moment longer to come up with something that turned that smile into a cocky grin one might better expect from T'dras. He stepped closer, muttering quietly, the other miqo'te unable to hear even as they leaned in and raised their ears. Whatever he'd said though, T'dras held his expression, adjusting his glasses and giving a quiet nod.

"You find it agreeable then?"

"... I get my pick of the Imperial scrap you lot leave behind too." T'dras added as he wandered off.

The seeker turned the map every which way, taking note of the scout's detailed work. Imperial patrol routes, the safehouses in each of the nearby villages, and a few potential places for T'dras to set up his supply drops. A lot of care went into choosing these locations, keeping them far enough from any one village to draw Imperial ire to them should they be discovered, marking a path between each of the villages and what times they might intersect with a patrol.

Such care was lost on T'dras of course, the seeker keeping his attentions on the westernmost marks on the map closest the the Eorzean borders. The safest ones he imagined as he set out towards the first, the chalked-in cross set in a desolate corner of the already eerily quiet swampland south of Oriens.

The mire was a place beyond Azeyma's reach, often called a cursed place under the breaths of many of the miqo'te tribes that settled in Gyr Abania. That isn't to say the hyur or roegadyn that lived there were any less suspicious of the seemingly lifeless bog, only that the seekers had a very particular dislike for it. It was covered in a constant fog and a canopy that blocked the harsh sunlight that beat down everywhere else in the region.

And in the heart of the marsh was a cavern...

The black maw was lit only by the crystals that lined the walls within, but even with that light it gave off an aura more foreboding than the rest of the swamp. The seeker approached nonetheless, ears pinned back and eyes darting about worriedly, he could have sworn he felt eyes on him as he stepped inside.

The shadows within were thick, so much so that the seeker could practically feel it against him every time he left the light of the crystals embedded into the cavern walls. The fog from outside followed him in, smothering what little light he already had as it crept along the stone beside, beneath, and all around him. He was lost in the depths of this cavern, unable to remember which way he came from not moments before; until he saw a faint light.

He followed it cautiously, opening the breech of his gun to ensure it was loaded, keeping it aimed forward. The light grew brighter as he kept moving, walking through a wall of fog not unlike a veil as it was seemingly held back by the light emanating through the ancient stone doorway. T'dras had barely noticed the unnatural formation though, staring about the elaborate foyer of the ancient mausoleum he had wandered into.

Overgrown and barely lit from the crystals that continued along the walls, even T'dras missed the Mhachi heiroglyphs along the walls; not that he'd have known what to make of them anyway. He was searching for something else anyway, peering down each of the stone hallways in search of the strange light that guided him there, aiming his weapon down each corridor until he spotted it. Forward.

T'dras couldn't tell if the crypt was truly massive or if he was being incredibly slow and cautious without being aware of it. He felt as though he'd been treading this one path for hours and the light seemed no closer, the darkness following closely behind him.

The light grew brighter with no warning as he finally entered the room it was pouring from, further proof of its unnatural nature, though the staff it was being conjured from dispelled any doubts of that on its own. It was the first time since entering the cavern that the seeker could see once again, and in detail as well! He wasted no time examining the staff plunged into the dirt between the ancient stones, reaching for it when he glanced a woman against the wall. She was unconscious, wounded, certainly Ala Mhigan by the look of her less than her clothes, frilly red things he'd expect to have come from Ishgard.

"Oi!" He shouted at her, waiting to see if she stirred. She didn't.

"Oi, you alive over there?" He asked, moving to approach, then stopping. He'd brushed against the staff, and for whatever reason that was enough to cease the spell it had kept going. The light was gone. The seeker scrambled to grab the staff, muttering an incantation that at least brought fire if not the radiant light the woman could, but the fire wasn't enough to keep it away.

"Your resolve wavers, girl...?" Came a low, dry growl from one of the other doorways, the seeker's attention and weapons turning to face it. "I'm relieved. I was beginning to worry you would never accept the inevitable. Wait there for me then, embrace your end."

An emaciated black claw stepped forth from the shadows, then another. Even with the rotting skin clinging so tightly to the bone the limb was intimidating and massive, the creature that controlled it just barely small enough to fit through the doorway to stare down T'dras with its unblinking, white eyes. The dog-faced demon stopped, turning its head this way and that, growing irritated.

"So silent? Repentant, are we girl...? No matter, I can wait. Once you open your mouth though, you'll have breathed your last..." He muttered angrily, practically slithering about with the way he walked right past T'dras.

The seeker was paralyzed in terror, the rest of him starting to turn blue as he held his breath and barely turned his head to watch the creature worm its way through the room in search of the girl-- The girl!

T'dras hesitantly took his eyes away from the rotted fiend, peering back towards the wall. The firelight didn't quite illuminate that far, but he could easily make out the extravagant hat from where he stood. Against all of his better judgement he had to get that thing away from her.

"Damnit T'dras, the hells're you doin'?"

The creature's head lifted upon hearing his voice, tilting somewhat sideways as it turned to face him. No sooner did the seeker see those white eyes though did the voidsent find itself struck with flame! It hissed and spat and cursed, shaking away the embers and roaring as it gave chase, T'dras dashing down the hall he'd come from in a panic.

"Who dares?!" The thing shouted behind him, snapping at his heels only to be struck by more poorly formed gouts of flame tossed over his shoulder. It was just enough to keep him from being caught though, and that was all he needed as he made it back to the large entryway once more, ducking behind a column and trying to steady his breathing as he heard the footsteps close in again.

"I know you're here..." It growled, the sound of its steps slowing down. "You're with the girl. I can hear your blade singing too, just like hers did. Your spells are far weaker though. Easy prey..."

T'dras reached for his belt, eyes widening when he felt no sword there. He'd never brought it with him as far as he recalled, trying to recall where he last had it when he caught it out of the corner of his eye. That wasn't a staff he was holding. The crystal focus stood atop a long blade that was glowing a faint red and giving off a quiet hiss as the strange steel burned hot, had it always been though?

"Hello, little worm." The voice came from the other side, the seeker's head snapping in that direction and his gun raising just as the beast's maw opened. The entire cave shuddered as the gun roared out, hot lead lining the demon's mouth and the distance between him and his prey growing once more. Both of their ears were ringing now, but at least T'dras was capable of navigating without his hearing, the seeker finding another pillar to hide behind as the voidsent monstrosity lashed out and tore down the previous column.

"I'll make you watch as I devour her!" It threatened, shouting into the darkness and crawling along the floor in search of the seeker once again, trying to listen for the hiss of hot steel. He was much slower now than before, not from the wounds though as far as T'dras could tell. The creature walked slowly, still stumbling and tripping over every stone, looking about in every direction after only a few paces. The demon was blind, and now likely near-deaf.

"I can do this." T'dras reassured himself quietly, handling both weapons carefully as he opened the breech of his scattergun, sending the spent shell from the last shot flying out from behind the pillar. To him it was barely audible, ringing when it hit the ground like a small Starlight bell, but the beast heard something closer to the Ishgardian cathedrals.

It turned hard and rushed to the location of the ringing, coming to a sudden stop when it felt steel against its leg. Thunder roared out through the crypt once again, the demon roaring out as its elbow was severed by gunfire and it fell partway to the ground.

This was his chance, the seeker dropped his gun and grasped the odd staff with both hands as he climbed up the great voidsent, silencing its curses on him and his family by driving the heated weapon downwards and into its head, every rotting muscle clenching tight and then falling limp to the floor.

T'dras stared at the old bones and the dusty, moth-eaten red strings that were left of whatever it was wearing before it reached this state. He was well beyond confused, prodding at the aged skull as though it had to be some manner of trick. He shook his head, cautiously removing the old leather pack from the skeleton's belt and peering around.

"I uhh... Sorry I couldn'ta been here sooner." He said to it with a shrug. "Best wishes and all, lass."

Even with that said he was hesitant to leave, uncertain if he'd been seeing things, pondering the possibility that she'd been knocked away when the creature first came through. He took a handful of steps back, waited, and then finally turned to leave.

[blueberrybombcat-blog]

"Heh. All right, I got one. What's the best memory you got?"

“That’s a real tough one…” The seeker muttered under his breath.

If I had t’pick one though it’d be either beatin’ Wolf’s arse or the first time I got t’leave the village. Couldn’ta been too old seein’ as there weren’t the big ol’ wall there is now between it and the Shroud, surprised I remember it really. We got t’pass by some of the lil’ villages ‘long the way, saw one of them Ala Mhigan griffin-riders even!

We went t’Gridania t’meet up with grandma, Ma’s ma. Was the first time she’d ever seen us and said somethin’ about how blue Vrahn and I both looked like she was surprised. Had a whole lotta sweets and learned the first thing I ever knew ‘bout magic from Ma! Shite ‘bout focuses and such, how y’can’t just draw aether through yourself.

‘ventually she ended up tellin’ Vrahn somethin’ with a weird look in her eyes that got him all riled up and then told me I was destined for great shite too. … Not in them exact words, ‘course. Always wondered what she told him though.”

[blueberrybombcat-blog]

“Growin’ up in Gyr Abania you hear stories here and there about them folks in red; stories you can’t really ignore when you see the things they left behind and all, and there wasn’t a whole lot you couldn’t see from up in the mountains.

It probably wasn’t any sorta coincidence I took to the sorta swords and magic I do, the more I think about it.”

[blueberrybombcat-blog]

How is Nibbles doing lately?

“Sky Admiral Nibbles is the commandin’ officer aboard the Blue Bomber based outta Gridania! It was difficult choosin’ between him and Trashbin, but s’much as I want the lil’ pink shite outta my room I can’t have him eatin’ all the Resistance’s supplies.

Other than that? He’s gotten fat as all hells. Can barely lift the bastard myself no more, but it also means I can’t never lose him anymore really either. His tail’s also grown in finally! ‘Course now folks keep mistakin’ him for one of them Doman critters what with the striped tail and huge– Well, y’know. Supposed t’be lucky over there I guess.”

[blueberrybombcat-blog]

"One, two, three..." T'dras thumbed through the small stack of leves from the Agents company board. He poured out the day's spoils over a crate in the small tavern and shuffled them about with a finger as he counted them out: Ten Amalj'aan spearheads, a signed slip from the caravaneer, and the blood of a drake that had been drowned in drakesblood. Even he had to read that one a couple times over at first.

"Them Nald'thal folks're weird as hell." He grumbled as he shook the jar around and watched the blood slosh about. He brought his attention back to the leves, flipping through to the last page he'd taken and reading it over as he pocketed the proof of his day's hard work, muttering the words quietly as he read along.

"Utmost urgency... Forbidden art... Necrologos... Burn the pages. Seems easy 'nough."

T'dras plucked the needles from his arm, hissing with each one and casting annoyed glares at the unconcious cactaur that still bore its expression of shock and betrayal. He had a hard time measuring the numerous needles that had been shot at him against the small shock the seedkin received. The seeker grunted, leaning over and pulling away the tattered old page stuck to the critter's arm, adding it to the stack and counting them out.

"... Nine, ten! Done! Now..." He paused as he drew forth a match, turning back two of the pages and staring at the eighth with wide eyes. The other pages nearly fell loose from his grasp as he stared, only peeling his eyes away from the page to cast a glance at his surroundings, to be certain he wasn't being watched. Whereas most would be drawn to the forbidden secrets, the arts of drawing upon the might and majesty of the void, the page that drew T'dras' eye depicted an artful illustration of a succubus baring it all for the reader.

He scanned his surroundings once again as he folded up the remaining pages and pocketed them, bringing a hand up to his linkpearl and muttering quietly as he continued to oggle the artwork.

"Oi, Bo. Y'know anythin' about that uhh... Necrologos thing?”

It was a truly magical place Yafaem, T'dras could tell that much even without the ominous ruins looming over the marshes leading into them. Fireflies danced over the black pools and revealed the shimmering hides of scalekin resting beside the waters in the brush. Boboroon drew her bony finger upwards though, away from the ruins and towards the mouth of a cavern off in the distance barely visible by the light coming from it.

"In there, the lambs." She whispered, her snout twitching as she nervously hid. "Not lambs though! People. Tricked Boboroon once before they did. Pay, so Boboroon can leave quickly!"

The qiqirn held out her gangly rat-claw expectantly, twitching and scratching like some addled beggar waiting for a bit more somnus. The seeker kept his eyes on the cave though as he passively tossed a few eggs towards her, the jumpy creature catching each one with shocking grace before she darted off. The foul slurping noises behind him served to coax T'dras closer to the cave at least, the miqo'te drawing up his hood once more and giving the waters of the moor a wide berth.

For all his efforts to remain hidden from the scalekin however he was quickly spotted by the robed figures waiting inside the cave, each wearing an annoyed look alongside their crimson robes; none were so annoyed as the roegadyn that stood before them though, who stared down at T'dras who had frozen when he felt her gaze on him.

"You're far from any city, cat. State your purpose. Quickly now." She commanded as two others moved to either side of the seeker, closing in and pushing him forward.

"I uhh-- I found some pages lyin' 'round and..." T'dras stammered, he hadn't quite thought this far ahead (as if he ever did,) and looked between the three of them as they turned out his pockets. Each of them stopped as they found something particularly interesting, the man on his left pulling a jar of blood from his satchel and eyeing the many needle-like wounds along his arm as the right found the strange iron blades and tattered pages that he squinted at under the moonlight. They each turned to the woman bearing a wolfish grin.

"Yours?" She asked, nodding to the jar of blood.

T'dras shrugged.

"Quite the offering you bring, it would be foolish to turn it down. The blood of virgins is a rare find these days! Welcome to the Lambs."

"Oi! I ain't--" He choked on his words as the pages were shoved back to him, the seeker pouting as he followed behind the group.

The interior of the cavern was much more impressive than the humble little hill it was dug into would make it seem. A steep drop lead T'dras and the others into a grand pit that any doomsday cult would be proud to have, numerous other robed figures on their knees at the bottom chalking in an intricate glyph around a large basin, each completely absorbed by their works and muttering like madmen in a strange chant that made the hair on T'dras' tail stand on-end.

"Few these days show such initiative. Dalamud will be pleased with your blood and service, and the blades you've brought will only render more unto Him!" The woman nearly sang in her excitement as the glyph neared completion. She circled around the edge of the arcane artwork, clutching at the red amulet she wore as she steadied her breath. "Appreciative as Dalamud no doubt is though, your initiation will have to wait awhile longer. As you can see, we've grand plans this night."

She turned to him, her eyes wide with madness. "If there was ever doubt in your mind along your way here, surely this will erase it."

T'dras stared forward as the two who had searched him at the door sat on either side of him, acting oddly chummy and expositing their own strange tales of how they wound up joining the Lambs with wide eyes and grins that stretched from ear to ear. He kept his eyes away from theirs though, drumming his fingers along his brand new tome and suppressing a distraught whine.

"Brothers and sisters!" The woman from before shouted, standing upon the stone lectern overlooking the circle, drawing everyone's attentions to her. "Today we make Dalamud's will manifest! Today we begin the end of this world, and our ascension into the next! Begin the offerings!"

She pointed down towards the basin, the torches surrounding the circle flaring to match the theatrical motion and the vessel in the center filling itself with pitch, black liquid. A line quickly formed, T'dras finding himself at the very end and trying to see around as each of the cultists made their sacrifices in turn. Most of them had turned up empty-handed, taking up blades when their turns came forth and bleeding themselves over the basin, one even shrieking his love for Dalamud as he drove his blade into his own neck, embraced by his brothers in his final moments and then being tossed into the bowl.

The offerings were piled in one by one, but no matter how much flesh was dropped in the black water didn't rise, it barely even rippled in response. T'dras barely noticed though, looking around nervously as he clutched his jar of blood. He untied the lid and pulled it free, trying not to pout as he poured in all of his hard work. There was a stillness in the room that broke as a bestial shriek came forth from the bowl.

The black liquid bubbled violently, spilling over the edges and growing until the basin wasn't visible under the oily blackness. The cult's grins only grew as they heard the powerful, air-splitting cry, but the woman atop her lectern scowled and shook her head as she desperately flipped through the pages of her tome. The pool grew until it reached the outer edges of the glyph, the pedestal in the center disappearing beneath it, only a grand, black pit remaining.

Everyone in the room hugged the edges of the walls, their eyes too transfixed on the display to notice the small, blue-haired seeker scurrying past them in his panic. He wouldn't know how lucky he was to have fled just then as a massive claw grasped the edge of the portal, pulling forth the rest of the rotting body it was attatched to. Its wings spread wide, knocking over torches and lanters, dropping salty stalactites from the cavern's ceiling on the cheering men and women beneath them. The rotted dragon stared down with its one remaining eye and opened its maw wide, bathing cultists in black flame.

T'dras collapsed outside the cave, gasping for breath after having ran harder than he could remember doing in a long time, the dragon's roars still echoing from the depths.

"What did you do?!" Came the roar of a different creature, the roegadyn woman lifting T'dras by his robe and holding one of the broken spearheads to his throat. "You ruined my summoning! How? What is in your blood?!"

"It weren't mine, it was drakesblood!" He panickedly admitted before she pressed the sharp iron in any further to see for herself, the seeker trembling as he pulled one of the folded pages from his pocket and held it out. "I just came t'ask about this s'all! Honest! S'from that Necrologos, aye?"

The woman snatched up the page and tossed the man to the ground, her furious expression turning to one of confusion and revulsion as she looked down at the miqo'te. She peered back and forth several times before she finally spoke.

"This is just smut. You thought--" She clenched her teeth, frozen in disbelief and trembling as well as she crumpled up the page in her fist and fell to her knees, looking up at the sky with her mouth open in grief.

"I uhh-- I hope it ain't too much t'ask, but I do kinda need that stuff for some leves I was doin'." T'dras muttered meekly as he stood, brushing grass off of his robes. He kept his distance though as her maddened eyes fell on him once more, ready to run at a moment's notice as he noticed her grip on the knife tightening.

"So... y'know. S'there any way I can get them things back?"

Had she a second more she would have risen to assault him, but before she could even get off one of her knees black flame belched forth from the cave and engulfed her, aptly answering T'dras' question in her stead.

[blueberrybombcat-blog]

T’dras likes to keep busy, lately he’s been digging through the Agency’s collection of tomes in search of inspiration for some new spell or tech when he found an old Agent’s grimoire among the shelves.

He too was confounded by the ancient Allagan secrets within.