The Delivery (Complete)

[Gabjas]

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[bg=6a2100] Noga extended a talon as they flew over the ragged utopia that lay beneath them, pointing out areas of interest. "This here be the market; Kraals from all over ther Northern Kingdoms gather here ter sell ther items that they've acquired in ther travels." Prue's gaze scanned over the bustling market as Noga explained. Owls of all shapes and sizes were admiring the wares consisting of weapons, fresh kills and hides, among other things. Noga pointed out a lone, half-dead tree that hung in the center of the city, torches illuminating the premises. "That be ther Kraal Tavern; a mighty fine Grog Tree, that one." As Noga spoke, a few drunken Kraals stumbled out of the opening, laughing and singing. "Gadfeathers love ter visit there and perform. An' the owner of ther Grog Tree, Tavish, brews ther finest bingle juice in all ther land, I swear it by me own gizzard!" Noga churred. As the cheery sight of the Tavern faded, Noga's face hardened. "An' this be our stop... the Kraal Citadel."

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[Sompom]

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[bg=040707] Tinker followed carefully, the maneuver was certainly easier while not carrying another owl, but it was still tricky. His eyes narrowed as they entered the valley. What was this? He had never heard of kraals forming any kind of civilization, and why were they being brought here? Something's off. I'll have to stick around long enough to find out what. Soon they were flying over the village. Tinker was too far back to understand what Prue's guard was saying to her, but he could see her pointing and speaking, as if giving directions to an inquisitive owlet. Perhaps these owls didn't get many visitors. Tinker couldn't imagine anyone went out of their way to visit a pirate camp. Their guards lead them to the most imposing of the structures. Tinker assumed it must be the leader's hut, given that he would, of course, live in the largest, most opulent building. No honour among thieves.

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[Cleef]

Cleef was close enough to Noga to hear most of what she was saying. Some words didn't quite make it to his ear slits, but he got a tour all the same. Finally, he heard the kraalish owl say that they had reached their destination. If Cleef had heard right, it was called the "Kraal Citadel." Things were about to get even more interesting, Cleef was sure. The question was, was it for the better, or for the worst?

[Gabjas]

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[bg=6a2100] "The Kraal Citadel?" Prue repeated under her breath. "Aye, this here be where ther infamous King of Kraals resides. We were given orders by ther great king himself to find yer lot." Prue was perplexed; why would a king of Kraals require their capture? What could he possibly seek from them? "Er, Noga, why does the king need us?" Prue inquired, her mind still reeling as she posed the question. "Rumor 'round ther palace guard is that he seeks a scroll." Noga whispered. "A scroll?" Prue intoned. "Aye. He's been anticipating the delivery fer some time now." They swerved down and lofted onto a large outcropping of ice that jutted out from the side of a mountain, on which stood a large cavern. Two guards stood at the mouth of the cave; a boisterous Great Gray stood to the left, a sharp ice scimtar rested beside him. On the right stood a Spotted Owl, his weapon of choice being an acute pair of battleclaws, already fitted to his talons. Prue, Noga and the others approached the two guards. "What be yer business here?" the Spotted grunted. "These prisoners be scheduled fer an audience with ther King." the Short-Eared Kraal answered from behind Prue. The two guards nodded to each other. "Aye." the Great Gray snickered. As Prue and the others were led into the Grand Foyer, well out of earshot of the guards, the Short-Eared leaned over to the Great Gray. "They're goners." he chortled, resting his ice scimtar against the wall once more.

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[Sompom]

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[bg=040707] Tinker followed apprehensively. If the leader had been awating delivery of his scroll, why had they been imprisoned? The Pure Ones had indeed sent him here to deliver the scroll, though he had not been told to whom it was being delivered. Tinker had been given careful directions to a cave system which was, he thought, not far from here and been told to leave the scroll in there. What had caused the pirates to change their plans?

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I am obviously a great system admin. That's why my other images aren't loading (at the minute) -- Because I terminally messed up my server XD

[Gabjas]

(Sompom, my story is that the Kraal King became terminally bored with waiting for the delayed delivery, given his lack of patience, and sent for them. They were only expecting Tinker, not the rest of us, and decided to capture us just in case.

[Cleef]

As the group walked in Cleef couldn't help but here the guards mutter something to each other. Unfortunately Cleef was out of earshot and couldn't make out what they said. No matter, it probably wasn't important. They walked into the grand foyer. Cleef gazed around in awe, the place was amazing.

[Felidae]

Everything seemed to happen so quick. One moment they were facing the intruders at the mouth of the cave, the next Feliah was pushed to the side of the cave as a fight broke out.
Out of the corner of her eye, Feliah noticed Prue making her way to her belongings and bringing out a set of immaculate battleclaws and putting them on.
Deciding to get on with defending her life, Feliah launched herself at the nearest intruder, her own set of battleclaws at the ready. She made contact with the Owl, but didn’t account for his strength and was immediately pushed to the ground, hitting her head hard as she fell. Black dots crowded her vision as she saw the other Owls being brought down as well. Slowly, the darkness completely covered her vision and she lost consciousness.
Suddenly, her eyes flew open and she realised that she was no longer in the cave. Feliah felt wind on her face and looked at her surroundings, realising she was being carried. Before she could take in all of this, the Owl that was carrying her copied the movement of the Owls in front and Feliah found herself flailing to keep her balance. When she was upright again, she told the Owl that was her carrier that she could fly by herself.
Getting her balance in the air, she looked up and felt her beak dropping open at the sight before her. A village rose up before her, and she caught a few words the Owl leading the group explaining that this was a Kraal village.
As they flew over what looked like a market, Feliah couldn’t hear what the Owl (Whose name she had found out to be Noga) at the front of the group was saying, but she could see her pointing and saying things to Prue.
They seemed to be heading towards a magnificent building, obviously for the leader of this hidden village. They neared the building and the guards that were posted at the front asked something that Feliah couldn’t quite catch as she was still awestruck by this place. They moved on inside and as she past the guards, she saw one mutter something to the other, although Feliah still didn’t bother to listen.

[Gabjas]

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[bg=6a2100] The foyer's walls were adorned with elegant tapestries depicting odd creatures that Prue had not yet seen, they were completely lacking of both feathers and fur and had the most unique and entrancing eyes Prue had ever witnessed. The Short-Eared owl nudged Prue, signaling for her to continue. A few mere moments passed before the group approached a large archway. Prue, Cleef, Tinker and Feliah were prompted by the Kraals to enter, though they refused to go further themselves. Prue smiled at Feliah, glad to see her companion once more. They pressed on, entering a throne room. In the center stood a copious throne, on which a Boreal Owl perched, casting a pompous sneer. "You're late..."

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[Sompom]

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[bg=040707] The guard nudged Prue, then gestured for the rest of the group to follow. As Tinker passed, she firmly shoved his letter back towards him. He took it cautiously. Understanding beginning to dawn. The passage opened suddenly into a grand room. In the middle stood a throne, on which perched a sneering owl. "You're late" He sneered. Tinker bristled. Late for what? We were dragged here. We weren't given a specific time to arrive. Nevertheless, he held his tongue, not wanting to infuriate the ignoble ruler.

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[Cleef]

Cleef looked in wonder as they passed tapestries of strange creatures. "Others...." he muttered to himself, awestruck by their brilliant eyes that came in many shades of colors. The group walked through an archway into a room where a Boreal Owl perched on a piratey throne. "You're late," he sneered. The same question that was going through everyone else's mind went through Cleef's. Late for what?

[Felidae]

Feliah followed the others into the Throne Room, catching Prue's smile as she walked beside her. She returned the smile with one of her own, when her head snapped around to face a Boreal Owl as he spoke.
"You're late..." Were his only words.
Late? What does he mean? Feliah continued to mull over her thoughts of why this Owl had stated that they were 'late'. Clearly he did not mean Feliah, as she had not been heading in this direction in the first place.
These thoughts continued to fly through her mind as she waited for more to be said. Hopefully when something was spoken, she would understand this whole mess.

[Gabjas]

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[bg=6a2100] The King impatiently thrummed his talons against the icy handle of his throne, creating an eerie echo that emanated about the room. He clenched his eyes shut, in a moment of frustration and contempt for his guests, before returning his gaze towards them. "Forgive me fer me rude introduction, I tend ter have limited patience at ther best of times." With a wave of his wing, he dismissed two kraals that stood guard at the door. "I sent out ther search party to escort yer safely ter the Kraal Kingdom. Not er soul that ain't kraal er gadfeather know our whereabouts, too well hidden yer see. Not even yer likes, Pure Ones n' such, know. I was hoping' that me search party would treat yer kindly, not a trait often... um... represented by ther Kraal community. Judging by yer wariness n' wounds, I'd say ye were... attacked, nay? Our apologies, old habits die hard, eh?" Prue nodded slightly, suppressing the multiple questions that tore at her thoughts, begging to be answered. What's going on? Why is the Kraal King expecting us? Why is he referring to us as Pure Ones? The only active Pure One in this group was... Tinker. Hmm. She kept her beak shut and simply listened, waiting with bated breath for her questions to be answered. "That aside, I trust ther scroll has been brought back safely?" he said expectantly, raising his talon as if to receive something from one of the four owls. There was a moment of silence as the band shot each other glances of doubt and confusion. Prue could only wait and watch the events that would soon unfold before her, for whatever the King sought out, she did not posses.

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[Sompom]

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[bg=040707] Tinker shivered. What's going on? The king either had a split personality disorder, or his politeness was an act. Tinker had never seen anyone's manner change that fast. He was also extremely worried about what the king had said about their secrecy. That nobody knew of it, not even the Pure Ones who had sent him a message. Tinker found it unbelievable that they planned to suddenly reveal their secret city, meaning they had no plans of letting the group leave alive. Even if they planned to reveal it to the Pure Ones through him, the rest of his companions were still in terrible danger. But no, that wasn't right. Tinker's original instructions had been for a handoff. A small forest close to where they had been captured had been described to him. He had been told to meet an owl who lived there. Presumably the owl was the Pirates normal contact with the outside world. Why had the plan changed? Tinker could not imagine that it was a change for the better. Nevertheless, Tinker saw no way forward other than trying to not infuriate the dread lord, so he stepped forward, holding the letter in front of him.

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[Gabjas]

(OOC: I'm sorry, I know it's not my turn yet. But I thought it'd be best if I just post a little bit, it might make it easier for you guys to post in turn. Thanks)

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[bg=6a2100] The King greedily snatched the letter from Tinker's talons, his face darkening as he tucked it neatly beside him. "GUARDS!" he roared, summoning four Kraals whom each flew in and perched before him. "Aye, me lord?" The closest to Prue breathed, bowing his head slightly in respect for their king. The Kraal King glowered at Prue and the others, becoming the owl that they had first encountered, rude and pompous with a lack or respect for allies and enemies alike. "Have me guests taken ter thee dungeon." he then slowly turned his head back towards the band. "I thank ye kindly fer yer cooperation." Each Kraal positioned themselves behind each one of the group, Prue, Tinker, Cleef and Feliah. There were multiple screeches of protest from Prue and some of the others as the kraals dragged them forcefully from the throne room, with scimtars placed in a threatening manner against their throats. The doors lightly closed behind them as they were escorted to the great dungeon. Finally left to himself, the Kraal King opened the letter with great satisfaction and began to read. It was a plan, a grand plan of war and destruction. And he liked the sound of it.

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