Magic In The Air

"Come on, come on, I got thi-wait...shit...hold up, I can do this!"

Malus's fingers skittered across the table, crumpling the cards, tearing them, and a few times even flinging them off the table. It was pretty obvious that whoever this was, he was horribly undertrained to be running this kind of game. He looked frantic, almost scared, as he was trying his best to shuffle the three cards around without flipping them over.

Finally, after a minute, he had three cards, each crumpled and wrinkled, all with small tears or nicks. He glanced out at the people from behind his spectacles, his eyes wide and watery, clearly apologizing for his failure. "Please? Anyone?"

*Samuel raised his eyebrow.*

"Sigurd? Who's that?"

*Ari follows, listening*

[Fighting a dragon... it must be amazing.]

*Two knights with short, black hair & orange eyes sit at the table. Their armor is rusted along the seams & their shields & weapons are chipped along the edges. These factors, along with dishevelled hair, dirty faces, & 5 o'clock shadow seem to bear witness to economic trouble. The one on the left has bushy eyebrows, the one on the right a misshapen jaw. The pair glance at each other, & the one on the left holds out a hand.*

???<Allow us to introduce ourselves. I am Sir Tor, & that is Sir Aglovale. We are sons of King Pellinore & brothers of Sirs Lamorak & Percival. We are also Knights of the Round Table.>
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*Sigurd is the rather hot-blooded & adventurous son of a local warrior king. He's a good kid, but he's a bit lacking in wit.*

L"Well, thank you, Mr....?"

<Aslak.>

L"Mr. Aslak. I think that's all we could need to know before slaying a dragon. Oh, & thanks for the good, of course.*

Aslak<No problem. King Arthur & King Beowulf have been friends for many years.>

*Lilith turns around.*

L"Well, gang, should we go?"

Malus glanced up at the men, through his glasses, and did his best to give off an air of indifference; the best he could manage was an almost ludicrously rehearsed apathy. "That so? Well, the only one of those names that means anything is Percival." He paused, gesturing towards the cards almost querulously. "If you wanna talk, you take your pick. Catch the queen, you get 5 minutes. Catch anything else, you get up, and you get to hope I can listen while I'm playing." His grin was almost sinister, as he plucked at the corner of each card.

"Gotta make some money, y'know."

"Slaying dragons, earning gold, hopefully an amazing celebration with plenty of women and ale... Sounds like a day in paradise!"

[Or a day in hell, depending how this goes...]

*Samuel tightens his sword sheath, ready to head out.*

*The pair shrug, each picking a card.*
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*They set out into the forest surrounding Fafnir's den. As they cross a stream, they find a young man digging trenches on the other side. He's bright-eyed & heavily armored.*

OOC: Describing people in this RP is hard.

(Is this another of Arthur's Knights?)

*Samuel sticks close to the group when he spots the young man. While he doesn't draw his sword, he's ready to grab it at a moment's notice.*

OOC: The show must go on, I guess.

L"Are you that Sigurd guy we've been hearing about? Why are you digging these trenches?"

*The man doesn't look up while speaking to them & pauses while he shovels.*

Sigurd<When Fafnir comes to take a drink...I'll be lying in wait...then...I'll stab him in the heart...from this trench...but it's gotta be big...that way, I don't drown from the blood....>

T"Seems like he's got this handled."

L"Seems that way, but just in case it turns out to not be that easy, we should hide nearby, to help him finish the job."

*Lilith comically dives behind a rock. Thiera shrugs & starts climbing a tree.*

*Ari doesn't move, staring at Sigurd and glancing at Lilith and Thiera occasionally*

[...]

Malus watched as both men flipped over their cards; one man revealed a battered and worn Ace of clubs, and the other managed to catch the Queen of Diamonds. The man's brow raised, but he swept the cards off the table quickly, shaking his head, and muttering to himself. "Don't know why I even play this...suck at cards...alright, boys. Let's hear it. Five minutes, and I hope to God it's worth my time."

*A man who looks just like King Arthur, but a few years younger, walks into the bar.*

Mordred<What, precisely, do you expect to hear?>

*They both get up, saluting.*

<<Sir Mordred!>>
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*Lilith jumps up, grabs Ari, & pulls him back behind the rock. Soon after, the ground starts to quake. A massive beast plows through the forest on a pre-worn path devoid of trees. They can see some gold & jems still cling to its stomach, which is the only part anything could cling to. The rest of the beast is nothing but thick, brownish shards of keratin crests covering its body like multifaceted armor. As the beast approaches the stream to drink & opens its crocodilian jaws, it flares its wings to a massive 40 feet & leaps back, its mace-ended tail uprooting an entire grove of trees as Sigurd stabs its left shoulder. Blood pours out & it roars, belching fire down on him.*

[...What!?]

*He starts shaking, staring at the impressive beast*

Malus's brow rose even higher now, and this time he showed emotion. Pushing away from the table, and rising from his chair, he did his best to make a short, sweeping bow, only for his glasses to fall off. "Oh, darnit. I'll get that." He swept to the ground, groping against the floor for his glasses, and inadvertently knocking one of the knights on their ass. Within an instant, he was helping them to their feet, murmuring apologies.

"So, what brings Mordred to a bar like this? Surely it's not a simple card player like me?"

*Lilith jumps on top of the rock, stabbing into its wing as Sigurd guards with his shield. For some strange reason, Thiera is whispering to the tree she's hiding behind.*
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Mordred<I came for these two. I have a job for them. Although, you're welcome to participate. You seem to be down on your luck as well.>

*He gestures broadly to the 2 knights, smiling at Malus.*

Ari: <...W-What should I do...?>

*He whispers, staring at Thiera*

*Samuel watches the scene with disgust.*

[Really? This one doesn't move without being told. She's completely insane. He's useless in that stupid ditch. Is it really me and the girl? Oh well...]

"My turn!"

*Samuel charges into the fray with his sword drawn, quickly vaulting across the ditch to flank the dragon.*

T"Steer him to the left!"

*Lilith slides off of the rock to join Samuel. The dragon turns to them, exhaling green mist.*

L"Right, the poison, I forgot about that."

Malus only glanced at Mordred, before shrugging. "I might be. But I'm not much of a fighter, y'see. I didn't sign up to be a knight for a reason." He grabbed one of the cards, flicking it across his fingers, only for it to go flying away. "Can't even handle a card properly, let alone a sword. My skill's with people, and that's about where my usefulness ends." He cocked his head, and did his best to look apologetic. "Sorry I don't dedicate more time to hacking and slashing like you guys."

*Ari swiftly circles around the dragon, hidden by the trees, and stabs at its right rear anckle*

*As Fafnir veers to the left, his wing smashes into a tree, which cracks & falls on his head, stunning him.*

T"That tree was wakened by termites."

*Thiera nods. Lilith stabs it in the neck.*

L"Well, I guess that's the end of that."

Sigurd<I owe you all my thanks. Had you not shown up, Fafnir would have surely slain me. Now I must take some of the gold back to my father.>

???<Go for it. Shit's worthless anyway.>

*A coin falls from a nearby tree. Looking up, Lianne sees the man who attacked her before.*

???<More accurately, it has retained its monetary value, but lost its real value when the dwarf died.>

*He pointed to the corpse, which had reverted from a dragon to a dwarf.*

???<Since it no longer has the power to turn lesser beings into dragons, I have no further use for it.>
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Mordred<Then perhaps you'd be interested in a job in politics?>
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*Kelphy was in the castle library reading to a single candlelight in the darkness when she saw someone approach her. It was an old man in blue robes in a straw hat. He grinned menacingly down at her.*

???<I didn't realize they had pop-up books here!>

*Ari bits his lip and widened his eyes, staring at the dawrf. Then, he walked up to Thiera and pulled her cloak slightly to get her attention*

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Kelphy: <Hum, I'm sorry, who are you?>

<You don't know who I am?>

*He turns around, gesturing to her with his thumb & laughing.*

<Get this: She doesn't know who I am.>

*He turns back around.*

<-I- am the greatest mage that ever lived.>
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*Thiera turns to him.*

T"What is it?"

L"Who are you?"

*The man in the tree sneers.*

<The name is Senthose. Former Knight of the Round.>

Kelphy: <E-Excuse me, I've seen Merlin before. You really don't look like him>

*She smiles awkwardly, closing her book*

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Ari: <(Can I turn into a dragon too?)>