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Ol'random

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From: Somewhere by the Mountains

Registered: 2018-05-25

Posts: 417

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A Night to Remember, Pt. 1: What Happens in Dartania stays in Dartania

Aata, the otter Food Taster (played by Rioko),
Atticus, the ferret Guard (played by me),
Lalia, the otter Chef (played by Rioko),
Jerry, the mouse...patron? (played by me),
And various spoofs by both of us.

"Should've just eaten the bloody mouse, and went on our merry way..."

Sometime ago, back when poor Atticus wasn't unemployed...

The load stone along the road only read, 'Dartania' with an arrow pointing them in the right direction. Or perhaps it was saying Dartania, or even possibly 'DOOM' for all Lalia knew. Even if she read the language, the stone was well worn and covered with moss.
Pausing to wipe sweat from her brow, the otteress glanced up at the trees. Swallowed by the endless jungle path, they walked in the shade but even so the oppressive heat was with them every step of the journey.
The road before them was at least well worn so they were going 'somewhere', but where was a mystery at this point. Even so, Lalia wasn't an otter made for walking and it showed. She was a skinny, sleek creature wearing a white V shaped shirt, decorating herself in many bead bracelets and flowers.
"It's starting to get dark." The otter behind her says, "We should start looking for a place to camp." From the same tribe, Aata had the same light creme color to her fur, but the resemblance ended there. She was taller, and more squarely built.
She also weighed maybe twice as Lalia. She had been just as sleek as the cook when she started the journey as Lalia's body guard, but ever since she took on the role of 'food taster' Aata's frame would have been rotund if not for the cart she pulled behind them. The heavy set beast wore simple cloth wraps about her chest and a loin cloth, along with a fox tooth necklace.

Close behind the two, a mouse - who gives Aata a run for her money in terms of weight - is fanning himself with a large leaf. "I think - I think that's the sign!" Jerry points to the stone, even though he has no idea what it says. He slacked off back in the day when it came to reading worn letters (though to be frank, even if he wouldn't tell a soul, he had trouble with most handwriting!), and he, by now, was more or less living on prayers. Or at least he imagined. "We're going the right way! Come on lads!" He shouts energetically, practically jumping up and down. "Just a little bit further! Really!" In the rear of the small group is a ferret, looking rather aimless. Squinting at the sign, he looks over at Lalia. "Any idea what this says?" Atticus asks, still rather unconvinced by the mouse and his jumping.

"It's our future tomb stone." Aata grumbled, struggling to get the cart out of a rut. "It says, 'here be three idiots who wondered into the jungle, following the advice of a cornfed idiot." With a grunt of effort, the cart came free, causing the pots and pans to clang together. Normally there would be spices and food to put spices in between the cooking tools, but the last of the food was already safely tucked away in their bellies.
If they didn't find a place to restock their supplies, that meager breakfast might be their last cooked meal.
"Oh don't be a buzzkill." Lalia smiled, "I have heard of the legends of Dartania too. A sprawling city where you can find anything and everything, where the very streets are paved with gold. Can you imagine what it would look like if it exists?"
"Key word, IF." Aata snorted. "Like IF this turns out to be a waste of time, I'm turning canabal and throwing the mouse into the stew pot."
"S-she's just joking." Lalia laughed nervously, elbowing her fellow otter in the side. "We will try to find ourselves a clearing, then set up camp." She says to the ferret.

Atticus just meekly nods, the 'buzzkill' of an otter saying pretty much everything on his mind. Though that last bit... the ferret starts eyeing the mouse. The mouse on the other hand, has an utterly horrified look on his face, speechless for a moment. "I...I say!" He clearly doesn't think she's joking. And the way Atticus is looking at him... "Lets go find the clearing, right now? This isn't a waste of time!" He swallows. "An- and if it is a waste of time, miss Aata, I'll make sure to lick one of the poisonous frogs here about so you and HIM," Jerry makes a vague gesture towards the ferret, who really has been considering the idea, with a lick of his lips, "Don't eat me! Or if you do, I’lltakeyouwithme!" The mouse is clearly on edge now, and he seems almost (almost) prepared to follow through with it all.

"There will be no licking of poison frogs." Lalia chastises.
"Yeah, total waste of mouse."
"Or eating Jerry. Just... no."
"But after you did so well fattening him up! He's our emergency rations, right?" Aata doesn't so much laugh as cackle, "Just think. Roasted Mouse-ka-bob. Mhmmmm, getting me hungry just thinking about it. I bet he would taste just like... fox."
"Oh, since when have you ever eaten fox?" 
"No. FOX!" Aata drops the cart, reaching for the spear that is no longer at her side. That's right, it's somewhere in the cart behind her.
The splish splash of paws in the mud give the creatures position away as he comes around the corner. A mud covered vulpine crosses their path, dressed only in... mud. And fur. And a loin cloth. His fur is unkempt and his eyes are heavy with dark rings.
He have waves to the travelers as if this is no big deal for a half dressed fox to be wondering out and about the woods this close to night. "Yo." He says before trying to walk past them.

"HAAAAAAAAGH." With a loud scream as the vulpine appears, the mouse, despite resembling a barrel with feet, leaps gracefully (like a deer) into the cart, loud clangs and a crack as something - a wooden shaft - breaks when he lands. He's a bit jumpy with all this talk being eaten. At this point Jerry's convinced they'll all eat him now. "NO! I REFUSE! I WILL NOT BE DEVOURED TONIGHT! NOT BY FOXES! NOT BY FRIENDS! NEVER!" He calls from inside a rather large pot, "NOR ANY OTHER NIGHT! NOT BY FOXES! NOT BY FRIENDS!" All things considered, the mouse is handling the idea of 'friends' willingly eating him decently, at least. And the fox... The ferret, however, handles himself a little bit better in front of the visiter, though not by much, just staring at the half dress fox as he passes. "Wh-what?" He simply asks, his thoughts of fresh mouse kabobs having been interrupted. "Yo...?" He responds, not quite sure if it's a greeting or not.

The fox doesn't seem inclined to stop and explain. He just keeps walking. "What in the..." Aata reacts next, seemingly unaware that her spear has been broken under the weight of the mouse. "Hold it!" She stomps after the fox, "Just what in the blazes are you doing out here!"
"What an excellent question!" The red furred tod spin on his heel, stepping far too close for the otters comfort. "One I thought would have an obvious answer. I am leaving." He gestures with both paws, "That way. Away from where you are going."
The otter scowls, "Yes... but WHY. And why are you..." She glanced down for a brief moment and shielded her eyes. "Why are you... dressed like a fox."
"Another excellent question, but as they say in Dartania. What happens in Dartania, should never, ever leave Dartania. And given that I am, as you say, dressed like a fox, out here in the wilderness, I would rather spare myself the embarrassment of telling you why."
"W-wait... Dartania actually exists? Is it close by?"
"Right around the corner, my lovely lass, and down the hill."
"That's excellent news! We were almost out of supplies..." She looks at the fox awkwardly, "Do you... need help?"
The fox only laughs, "Not from those foolish enough to be willingly going to Dartania. Thank you, but, no. You couldn't pay me to go back to that cess pool of scum and villainy. My advice, head back the way you came and forget you ever heard the name, Dartania." The fox then turns again, marching off into the jungle they came from.
"Well... that was... interesting..." Lalia chuckles nervously.

"Yeah." Atticus looks over at the cart, tilting his head. "Oi, mate! Looks like we won't have to eat you after all!" He adds, after a moment, "Yet, of course." Jerry, meanwhile, had fallen deathly silent as he realized the implications of were he was hiding - but, at the fox-dressed-like-a-fox's words, he stands up, the pot tipping and falling over off the cart, him still inside. The mouse leaps up and out suddenly, as if nothing happened, giving a roguish smile as he does so. "See? I was right!" He steps fully out of the iron cage that could've been his doom, making his way confidently (surprising, given his outburst) down the path. "Just left of the corner, aye?" The mouse calls over his shoulder, still smiling.

"No good will come of this," Aata grunts with effort, strugling to bend with her girth to retrieve the pot. "I tell you now. No good will come from this. We should just find a river and catch some fish and..." She hesitates by the cart. The pot falls away from her paws.
"MY SPEAR!" She picks up one end, then the other, "B-but how? I placed everything so carefully, h-how did..." The otters eyes blaze with fury. "JerrrrRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYY!"
With surprising agility, she takes off after the mouse, ready to stab the him with both ends of her broken spear.
By the time she catches up though, she comes to a slow stop. Jaw slack, her eyes stare off at the distance. Only a mile away, around the corner and down the hill, towers begin to rise out of the jungle canopy. A port can be seen spreading across the coast line like a plague with more ships than she has seen in her entire life. As she looks closer, she realizes the tops of those towers... are the tops of pyramids...
   
   
"Once upon a time, the lizards of Dartania were a warrior people." The reptile does well to hide the hiss of his accent. His face is obscured by a mask, and his body by a cloak. He spreads his arms wide to the crowd before him. "We were a fierce people, bloodied by wars and strife, carving out an empire for ourselves here in the jungle. But then the beasts of the north came. They came in ships that could carry entire tribes upon them. They came with weapons made from metals that could pierce our finest armor. They came from alien cultures and technology we thought only possible in the wildest stories."
The lizard, clenched his fists, "Faced with this new, unstoppable foe, there was only one option left to us..." Then, with a fierce grin, the reptile spread out his arms. "We embraced them as our own! Welcome one and welcome all! Welcome to... DARTANIA!"
The troop of reptiles to either side of the speaker on the platform, blow fire from their muzzles, wowing the crowd of visitors. Some reptiles begin twirling burning batons.
The only way to describe Dartania is... madness. Pure, madness. If there were walls to the city, they were overtaken by shops and store fronts as beasts built past them. There are no end to the number of beasts here, or type. The streets are wide enough to fit a small house in them, and yet they are crowded by creatures from every part of the world. The calls from merchants fill the air to the point of being smothered. One rat waves the party over as they enter the city, pointing vigerously to the 'Buy one chariot get two slaves FREE' sign above his shop.
It's so much to take in, the sights, the smells, the LIGHTS, all the otters can do is stare at it, dumb founded.
The buildings around them only grow taller the deeper they press in. The inner part of the city appears to be more ancient, with roads ways spiraling around pyramid structures that tower above the tallest castle keep.

The mouse turns as they enter, to face his three companions. "Welcome, my friends," Jerry says, with some bravado, "To the best time of your life!" Honestly, he's just glad they didn't end up eating him. Or stabbing him. "Never will you doubt the words of the great Jerry again, will you now, eh?" He adds, with another roguish grin. "Come! Aata, let me buy you a new, shiny spear! I'm sure there's got to be one 'round here somewhere!And I bet it'll be perfect!" His smile turns to something a bit more nervous, as he looks at the dumbstruck otters. He's actually really rather glad it hadn't come to them eating him... The ferret, as dumbstruck as the others, looks about, a smile spreading on his features. "Well, I'll be! Where too first? Food? Sport?" He spreads his arms out, "WHAT EVER?!" Atticus is excited, as giddy as a schoolboy.

The otters lock arms about the ferret and chorus happily, "WHAT EVER!" They giggle with feral delight as they break away from the party. Aata leaves the cart parked... well, where ever, before breaking out the money box. She splits their hard earned earnings between the chef and herself, before giving the ferret his wages for protecting them this far.
It's a meager sum to be sure, when faced with pure opulence.
"I'll hold you to that," Aata says about the spear. "It would be the responsible thing to find a place to sleep first, then party. Yes, responsible." She says, barely able to hold her own anticipation back. It's all she can do to not dash into the city head first.
Or visit the merchants along the way. There is no space along the road not filled with a merchant stall selling everything from food to armor. On one side of the road, a fox has a stall dedicated to otter hide clothing. Right next to her is an otter selling fox hide vests.
And no one seems disturbed by this in the least. Ah well, thinks Aata, they probably deserved their fate... probably. Maybe.
"Ah screw it. Let's find a place to fill our gullets first, then find out everything there is to do here..."

Atticus is still wide eyed as he looked, and, coins in paw now, makes his way down the main road. "What about food? I hear fresh SEAFOOD might be good by the sea!" He calls, over the din on the bustling street. Jerry just nods - whether to the otter or ferret is anyone's guess. Nevertheless, he makes way slower than the others, having his own private stash of coin, and contemplates for just second getting an otter vest. Just for a second. He decides against it, of course, realizing he would be eaten for sure by the others if the need ever arises again. However, something else does catch his eye. Down a well kept path of the main road is one of of the bigger pyramids. In front of it is a fountain, the golden dolphin atop just below the sign - with letters also in gold - saying, FOOD-GAMBLING-HOTEL over the larger words of KAMBRION AND UXT. The mouse goes to tug at the chef, as she's the only one of their group who he still somewhat trusts to not smack him. "How 'bout there, for a start?"
There's quite the noise coming from inside the large building, enough to be heard over the market outside. Atticus, meanwhile, was being distracted by a group of ferrets and lizards who put a ring of flowers around his neck.

One of the ferrets, dressed in silken ware that northlanders could only call scandalous, fluffs her tail under his nose and winks at him before disappearing into the crowd.
And then Lalia appears, "Atticus, Atticus! You have to come with us! We are going to the big pyramid, the one with the crazy golden fish! Aata-"
"You had me at fish." The glutton otter licks her chops, stepping ahead of them.
The cook, Lalia, goes to grab the ferret by the arm and try to tug him in the direction of the hotel. "You did so well protecting us on the road, the least we can do is buy you dinner!"

The mouse, hearing the offer of a payed meal (not for him of course, but that's only a minor detail) follows the three happily into what will most likely the most eventful night of their lives. Atticus starts to protest them dragging him away, but goes along as well when they offer paying for a meal. And when he sees the whole pyramid, his eyes go wide, like saucers, and he ends up dragging the two otter with him into the dimly lit and smoke filled entry area. The food, if the gold lettering and stuff are anything to go off of, will be amazing. Or amazingly expensive, but he needn't worry about that! "May I help you?" A rabbit dressed smartly in a black tunic asks, eyeing the new comers over with the slightest sneer. "The washroom is that way, by the way." He adds, when he catches a whiff of how they smell.

Aata is suddenly unsure about coming in here. She can smell the expense, "Maybe we-"
"A table for four! A big one! Bring out the feast! We came to eat grub, gamble, and party the night away!"
"L-lalia!"
The otteress only giggles, "We can make up the money later. This place is a merchants dream. So come on Aata, live a little. Let's splurge. Like the tod said... what happens in Dartania... stays in Dartainia."

Atticus winks at Lalia, as the rabbit host leads them into the back. Well dressed creatures of all types can be found, eating, drinking, gambling... Jerry, surprisingly, starts to agree with Aata. This place might put them in the gutter if they aren't careful - but than again, at least for now, he has his money. He might be able to bail one of them out of trouble. Maybe. Maybe if they hadn't 'joked' about eating him he'd be more loose with his money.

The otters can't help but appear as country bumpkins. The fine dresses and garments make Aata very self aware of the fact that she is wearing nothing but cloth wraps and a loin cloth. "Lalia... this place..."
"It's awesome, right!" The giddy otteress breaks from the group, heading to the gambling den. She hops on one foot and the other, glancing at card tables, dice tables, beasts playing odd contraptions. "Oh! What's this?"
"Welcome, traveler." The lizard's well dressed frame does little to hide his slave collar. He gestures to the table before him. "There are five shells here. Guess which one has the pearl and you win back what you bet times two. Would any of you care to try?"

"Oh, the third one, obviously!" Atticus also broke from the group, following Aata down. "I'll bet 20 on it!" A tiny amount compared to the usual fare here, no doubt, but he still wanted to keep some of his earnings. For now, at least. "Eh, shouldn't we eat first before..." Jerry called after them as the two disappear into the crowd. He gives up with a shrug. "Well." He looks back at the remaining otter. "I tried. And I'm hungry now." The mouse says, as he sits down. A lizard waiter comes over, pouring a white-yellowish liquid into the four glasses. "Hello there," She says, looking at those left at the table, "I'll be your waiter for the evening."

The lizard behind the shell game makes a strained hissing noise, like watching someone face plant it on a diving board. "I'm so sorry sir. Better luck next time?" He says, scooping up the twenty coins into a pouch.
"Ouch. Was that... all the money we paid you?" Lalia cringes. "D-don't feel bad. It's not like you can win the jackpot the first go around, right?" She glances around, "M-maybe we can win it back from something else?"
Meanwhile, Aata plants her cushy rump onto a cushy cushion. "Children, right? No sense of priorities. What do you serve here?" She says to the waitress.

"Well, no..." Atticus says, rather surprised at the harsh reality of losing. "Still have...twenty...and some of my savings..." Looking down, the ferret pauses for a moment. Then, with a surprising amount earnestness as he looks up, says, "Again. 20 on 3."  He was going down with his ship, gosh darn it, and no one will stop him! The waitress looks Aata up and down, noting her clothing. "Oh, the usual fare. Lobster, fruit, many types of fish and birds, you know. All there in the menu! Personally, I like the leek and papaya soup, myself. Has the right...constancy." Jerry, who has been looking over the menu up till that last bit, gives Aata a look. They really might be ruined by all this.

The otter shrugs. At least they are not on the menu. As far as she can see. Writing wasn't really big in her village either. "Y-yeah. I'll take that. The fish." Aata gives the lizard a coy smile as if to say, 'yeah, i'm from out of town and have no idea how any of this works.'
The other lizard, has the same coy smile as he shovels the money into his pouch. And then some of Lalia's as she tries to win it back. "It's ok Atticus. See? I lost too. No shame in that. M-maybe we should head back to the table."
"Or perhaps, you should try a different game." The otter makes a startled meep as a creature appears before them. It's another lizard, but one with a frilled neck. "Perhaps you both would rather try a game more suited to your... financial needs." The well dressed lizard does not have a slave colar, Lalia notes. He points to the booth behind them, where another lizard stands behind a large clam filled with pearls. "This is a very easy game. For one small dranarious... er, copper coin. You could win a months wages. All you have to guess is the number of pearls in the clam. Give or take ten pearls of co-"
"Oh! That sounds fun. I guess... hmmmmmm, five hundred and thirty four."
The room comes to a halt. The lizards around them widen their eyes with a mixture of shock... and fear. The frilled reptile's jaw drops in horror.
Unnerved by all this commotion, Lalia nervously shrinks, "Wut?"

To Be Continued...

Last edited by Ol'random (2018-07-18 09:11:07 PM)

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I play Atticus, John, Lossow, Terrence, and Spruce
The Long Patrol Landing Page!
Usually on the MUCK Saturdays + Monday & Wednesday evenings if I have the time
Fastest way to reach me is via my Discord: Luke_SkyOtter#1438