Summer Wedding Part 1 [Event - Closed]

[pantsgrey]

The caves of Uaimh Ceo are rich with stones. Usually mages come here to find crafting materials, but on this day begins the hunt for less practical things. There are many stones of wondrous quality to present to the groom, but will you find the best one? Be wary, for the caves are still mostly unexplored and could be dangerous, so who knows what you will find here...

[Event information here.]

[Klaiun'Lysilien]

The cave had become rather familiar to Lysilien at this point. Crystals were essential to his craft, and Uaimh Ceo was rich with them. He had yet to make many friends in the Hollow, though, and found himself making another solitary gathering trip. This wasn't the first time he had done it, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. Sometimes being alone was better. No abundance of noise. No one else to distract his sensitive eyes. It was easier for Sil to focus when he was alone. He was more used to it.

His sensitive eyes were another reason he liked the cave: it was darker than other parts of the forest, and what he was looking for typically glowed. He would fare better than most other people from the Hollow, he imagined. Of course, some of them probably had magic to enhance their eyesight, but that was a different kind of advantage. Lysilien had his own useful spells.

Though the elf came for magical crystals today, he had also heard of a marriage to happen in town. It was no secret, and he was a shopkeeper. It did not take long for the gossip to reach him. Namely, the rumor that the groom sought valuable stones. Lysilien had already planned to journey to the cave that day, but he figured if he saw something he might be able to sell, why not go for it? He saw no consequences in this arrangement.

Lysilien wasn't too far into the cave when he saw something useful. He was hoping for other stones, but the vein of red would most likely benefit him. Raising his hand, Sil called the stone. There was a crack as it wrested itself from its setting and flew to his hand. A ruby. That had to be worth something. Lysilien pocketed it and moved on to look for more.

[Eveline Delamort]

By the immortals, did these people like to talk. No sooner had someone proposed than word of a gemstone hunt reached Eveline's ears. Mortal weddings. What was the point? They never ended well. Or, if they were considered to end "well," it would be with the death of an old person. Vampires weren't so frivolous and restricting. They lived too long for that kind of thing, anyway. Be with who you want for however long you want. Your loyalties lay with your clan and with your family. Eveline very recently found herself without either.

The girl was in this place called the "Hollow" wearing a guise when she had heard of the contest. She had only spent a couple minutes figuring out she had nothing better to do before making her way out of the little town. Once away from others' sight, she ran with speed surpassing any mortal's--she may live forever, but that did not mean Eveline was patient--to this cave. It wasn't her first time at this place, but her second. The only other time she had wandered here, there had been bunches of people on a strange beach that couldn't have existed. That didn't seem to be the point of interest this time.

With a guise that made her look like a completely different woman (though still wearing that garish red flower, as always), Eveline traipsed into the cave. Her falsely green eyes darted everywhere, looking for something of value--or maybe a meal. She hadn't fed in a few days, and the hunger was starting to get to her. No. No, Eveline was here for these tawdry gemstones. It only took her a moment to find a cluster of... well, something protruding from the stone floor. It was blue in color, so it didn't interest her personally. But maybe whoever had asked for these stones would like it. Was it called sapphire? Eveline didn't have much interest in gemstones, let alone blue ones. Nontheless, she grasped a piece and broke it off. Hopefully no one would notice the show of physical strength and accompanying crack. Couldn't be getting discovered in such a confined space as a cave, now could she?

[Brother Bernard]

Oh dear. This wedding had certainly caused quite the fuss in the Hollow, hadn't it? Bernard had planned to spend the day with the others who frequented the shrine or tending his small patch of the garden. Maybe make a potion or two. It had taken a little longer than most for him to hear of the groom's mission. A worshiper had brought it to his attention during a quick visit to the shrine. People were really excited about this, weren't they?

The cleric wasn't exactly eager to go outside the town, especially not to such a dangerous place, but what if people needed healing? With such a mass of mages all the way across the forest, you couldn't expect them to return to the Hollow in time to find help. Who knew what kind of magic, these people would have? Bernard had to go. Make sure everyone stayed safe.

It was a long and exhausting journey for the rotund man. He hadn't been able to round up any company with everyone already on their way. By the time he had reached the cave, he was beyond winded. Maybe a rest was in order. Bernard found a suitable piece of rock to sit on in the cave, still in sight of the entrance. It was clear his attention was on the people rather than the stones. Smiling at familiar faces, checking on this person or that one to make sure they weren't getting hurt.

It was pure luck for him to look down and see a small orange stone. Bernard hadn't realized that he had sat right next to a cluster of the things, hidden away in a corner. A piece must have fallen off some time ago and simply waited to be picked up. And that's exactly what the cleric did. He wasn't searching for stones, but why not admire this one--what was it? Topaz?--and give it to the groom as a gift.

[pantsgrey]

Klaiun found an Okay Ruby.

Eveline found a Nice Sapphire.

Bernard found a Fantastic Topaz.

[Clove]

This place was so new! Clove wasn't overly fond of this little town, at least not quite yet. None of the people seemed to take note of ver. To be fair, everyone else did seem a little strange.As far as ve could tell, though, they were mostly--if not all of them--mortals and humans. Not a demon to be seen.

It was the same at the cave. Was this a regular congregation place, or was something special going on? Clove still wasn't the best at language, so ve was having trouble picking up on what the crowds of people were saying. All ve knew was that they were flocking to this cave full of pretty rocks. Very pretty rocks. Maybe if Clove could just...

Being so short, Clove was unnoticed by another who ran into ver. The rude human just kept walking with no regard to ver. Clove, however, was much more taken aback by the encounter. The shock made ver lose control of vis magic, summoning a Varlet on accident. Thank those in power that a malicious creature was not summoned. The air where the little defender appeared glowed a soft blue before it promptly fell on the ground next to Clove.

The demon child grumbled to verself and stood, pulling the Varlet up with ver. Ve supposed ve could use the protection and went back to poking at shiny rocks. Much to ver surprise, a light green one broke off at ver touch. Ve had no idea what it was, but ve heard someone mention the word 'peridot'.

[Klaiun'Lysilien]

The cave was more packed that Lysilien would like. Of course, that didn't necessarily mean there were that many people here. Sil would really just prefer the place be empty while he searches for stones. With so much commotion, he was surprised no monsters had been sighted. There was no way these caves were devoid of life, and there was the entire forest these people were trekking through, too. Bluntly, it was oddly calm in the elf's opinion.

But calmness is not something that should be taken for granted. There was bound to be some commotion sooner or later, so Lysilien decided to keep his eyes on gemstones. The man caught sight of an outcropping of citrine and made a patient beeline for it. As soon as he was close enough that no one would get in the way, Lysilien called a chunk of it to his hand. Everyone in here seemed to be searching for gemstones for that damn wedding, so no one would care that an elf was doing the same and making just as much noise.

[Eveline Delamort]

Too many people. Eveline was getting distracted by all the pumping hearts. She could see the pulsing veins, almost taste the magic blood they would all have. It was driving her crazy. Eveline clutched at her head, eyes squeezed shut as she leaned against the cave wall. It took all her concentration in that moment to keep her glamour up.

Why had she come here, again? Oh, right: looking for stones. The cave was positively rife with them. In her distress, Eveline hadn't even noticed that she stood right next to a vein of some red gemstones. Well, more like pink, but close enough to catch her fancy. It was a welcome distraction. She seized a piece of it, the sound louder than she would like. The girl needed a break from all these mortals.

On her way out of the cave, someone stopped Eveline to remark on the pink stone she had in hand, saying 'what a beautiful tourmaline'. Eveline nearly ripped the woman's throat out before forcing herself to dash back out to the forest.

[Brother Bernard]

Bernard hadn't moved from his seat. He alternated between watching the entrance and talking with people he recognized. There were quite a few familiar faces: that elf--the weapons merchant, wasn't he?--a monk from the shrine, a pair of children running around. There were also some strangers to Bernard milling about in the cave. Like that attractive blonde woman who ran out of the cave in some distress. Perhaps he should follow her--but oh, she was already gone. The younger crowd had grown too fast for the old man these last few years.

Someone on their way out of the cave, a lad who frequented the shrine, stopped and sat with Bernard a while. They talked for a good few minutes before he had to leave. Upon his departure, he offered Bernard a gemstone, saying that he had found his fill of them and that the clerics could use it. What a kind man. He even identified it as zircon.

[Clove]

This odd little cave was getting overwhelming for Clove. Well, not the cave, the people. Ver Varlet wasn't enough to calm ver down, but ve dragged it along by the hand anyway. If you could call that a hand. Was that a hand? Clove had three claws, but the creature seemed to just have a nub. No hand. No fingers. Oh well. Clove pulled it along by the arm.

The pair went deeper into the cave, away from the masses. Where the people were too timid to go. Clove didn't have the common sense to stay with the crowd where it would be safer, so ve kept dragging ver Varlet down the tunnels. Once ve found a clear spot, they stopped for a rest. Clove saw some yellow gems poking up from the floor and went after them. It took a few minutes of vigorous pulling, but ve got a bit of it off. Ve decided 'heliodor' would be a pretty name for this rock.

[Klaiun'Lysilien]

Lysilien couldn't bear how busy this place was getting. The people had too much energy, created too much chaos. He should have planned for this. He really should have. Couldn't just have a nice material gathering trip, nooo! The founders of the Hollow had to make this damned competition. Lysilien didn't even like weddings! He'd never been allowed to attend one, since he was still a child. He knew about the elvish ceremonies, though. They were much more interesting than what he had heard about the marriage ritual that was going to take place.

Frustrated by the whole of the situation, Lysilien's tattoos were getting antsy. They jumped about his skin and couldn't seem to sit still. Wherever they moved, they still managed to make his otherwise unemotional face seem upset. The man needed to take something out on some rocks. He magically wrested a few stones from the walls around him before noticing something more valuable. The boring rocks fell to the floor and the elf walked toward the bluish vein. Lysilien held his hand up and called the turquoise to him.

[Eveline Delamort]

After a good long break outside of the cave, Eveline had finally gathered herself enough to return. It wasn't dark enough out here, anyway. The vampire traipsed back into the cave with confidence and poise. She sent a glare toward a rotund man with his eye on her and continued through the crowds. It was hard not to just shove everyone out of the way, but Eveline made it so that she didn't touch anyone, even with the not-so-spacious quarters.

After passing a dozen or so mortals, some red stone caught Eveline's eye. She wasn't sure it was valuable, but this one she did recognize: jasper. She calmly stepped over to it and clawed out a chunk before casually continuing on her way.

[Brother Bernard]

It had been a while of just sitting in one place. Perhaps Bernard should try moving about. Greeting others instead of waiting for them to come to him. With a groan, Bernard stood, leaning on his healing stick. He ambled a few paces and started a conversation with someone he didn't recognize. It was always good to spread happiness and, if possible, the faith.

Bernard and his new companion rounded the corner and were met with an outcropping of green stone. Bernard was able to recognize this one himself: emerald. There were some cracks in the deposit, but Bernard wouldn't have been able to secure any without his friend's help. After a few minutes of hacking away, they both continued on their way with some emerald in their pockets.

[Clove]

Clove and her friend had started wandering again. They'd made a few turns and walked down a few passages. It was getting hard to remember which way was out. Hopefully the varlet would remember.

The little demon got distracted by some clear stone poking out of the wall. Ve seemed to remember the word 'diamond' from earlier that day. Ve didn't know if it was worth anything, but if all the mortals were going after things like this, Clove might as well, too. By the time Clove turned around with a bit of diamond clutched in her hand, the varlet was nowhere to be seen. Ver creatures always dispelled themselves, but somehow Clove had managed to forget the thing was only here for a limited time.

Clove slumped on the floor and looked around. No people. Not even any summoned creatures. Ve really needed to work on using vis magic on purpose. But which way led back? Clove couldn't remember.

[Klaiun'Lysilien]

All this noise and excitement was starting to give Lysilien a headache. He needed to go home and rest. If he could just find one magical gemstone, he would let himself go home. He had been here for hours, but nothing was glowing to signify that it would be good for enchantments. These worthless stones!

Ugh, I suppose they weren't truly worthless. There was a reason for this competition, and Lysilien would receive compensation for his efforts. His time wasn't completely wasted. If he couldn't find a magic stone, a guess a regular gem would just have to suffice. Still feeling exasperated, Lysilien found a deposit of cherry quartz. He wrested a piece of it and walked out of the cave. Hopefully his store hadn't gone to ruin in his absence.