Walpurgis - Deep Underground

Welcome to Walpurgis, a world of tunnels and caverns, travelling through stone and rock for hundreds of thousands of miles. Down here in the gloom, the people are... different. You will be one of the Folk, a group of halflings divided into five distinct races. All have some capability with magic, and all have enemies down here in the dark.

Burrowlings: The largest of the Folk. They have large noses that dominate their faces, and huge hands that would look at home on a gorilla. They are impressively strong, and have a reputation for crafting high-quality tools. They are seen as fierce and brutal, and considered to be mentally slower than other Folk.

Emberlings: The second smallest of the Folk. Their skin is like smouldering coals, dark grey but glowing red and orange in patches. They are small and delicate, with very long thin noses and ears. They have a talent for magic and can control the natural heat and glow of their skin with practice. They are considered somewhat weak and cowardly.

Quicklings: Larger than Emberlings but smaller than Burrowlings, Quicklings are tall and graceful, with smooth wood-like skin. They are adept magic users, and quite strong. They tend to be fast and graceful, and can communicate with all creatures. They are sometimes believed to be the spirits of the tree-roots and prefer the upper tunnels. They are capable of staving off death, and temporarily giving life to inanimate objects. They are often seen as being rustic and backwater.

Bitterlings: The smallest of the Folk, they have a poisonous bite and huge eyes. They can blend in to their surroundings to an extent, and are fierce and dirty fighters. They have been persecuted in the past, and often trained as assassins. However, they have taken their place as an equal of the rest of the Folk. They are still seen as disloyal and untrustworthy.

Shadowlings: Always hooded and cloaked, Shadowlings are almost as tall as Burrowlings, but are considerably faster. They tend to be fiercely loyal and territorial, and rarely back down or shirk their duty. They value their honour above their lives. Shadowlings are often seen as easily lead and needlessly violent.

Setting: All of the races are descended from an ancient race of Sirelings. They left ancient landmarks around, including the Hall of Pillars, now used as a major city, and the Stone Rooms, small caverns housing strange standing stones. Fungal gardens are common food production centres, and hunting is also a common method of finding food. The technology is somewhere between late Mediaeval and early Rennaissance, with gunpowder technology yet to be made viable, and clockwork and steampower bizarrely advanced.

Introduce your character however you want, but be sure to mention their race.

Rules:
No human characters.
No godmoding or powerplaying.
Be someone you would want to character chat with.

Gerhard walked silently along the Hall of Pillars, his cloak close around him, hiding him from view. He did his best to keep from touching people and to keep out of the way as his eyes searched the busy streets. The market was the busiest and the one place he didn't want to go, but he had to. He was out of food, and even Shadowlings needed nourishment.



Nina watched the market with wide eyes, her hair hiding a good part of her face. There were so many people...She was suppose to go in there? But..She turned to leave then stopped and wrestled with herself, trying to convince herself it would be alright, she wouldn't be hurt. She could just...burn them if someone tried to touch her. She'd been practicing and could actually get her skin pretty hot. She swallowed hard and plunged into the crowd, telling herself she had to break from the Emberling stereotypical mold and not be afraid. I like my mold though. It's safe and comfortable... she argued with herself.

Tolucan disliked going to the market. The hustle and bustle of the Hall of Pillars was a far cry from his quiet library, but at least people were quick to make way for him as he lumbered past. They would immediately steer clear of a Burrowling, as no one wants to upset a giant, but to be honest, Tolucan was as nervous of them as they were of him. His glasses perched on his high, broad nose, making an odd counterpoint to his bulky frame.

Kelby crawled down one of the vast pillars, heading towards the low buildings built between the bases of the great shafts. She was searching for a pocket to pick in the market-place. Maybe there would be cheap bread or mushrooms or something left unguarded. Her large Bitterling eyes locked onto a tray of cooked meat from one of the large albino butterflies that flocked in some of the larger caverns.

Aeron watched the passerbys as they moved about the marketplace. He patiently awaited for anyone to stop at his stall. He had no reason to hark his wares as the other merchants might; his meat was quality and always fresh, and the fungi were homegrown. Anybody with a keen eye would be able to see that money spent with him was money well spent, and anybody with a basic knowledge of Quicklings would know that thanks to his magic, the meat would stay fresh longer. So he would wait, for someone to stop at his stall.

(I also have a Shadowling I shall introduce later.)

Kelby crept through the shadows, searching for fresh meat. Over there! A Quickling was standing by a tray of meat, so fresh she could smell it perfectly. There were... Ah yes! Strips of Rotworm flesh. Very nice. She crept closer, and threw a stone to distract the shopkeeper.

Gerhard made his way through the crowds towards a stand that had been set up be a Quickling. Its wears looked a bit more...appetizing than others. He made it to the stand without so much as picked pocket, but once he got there, things got a little more difficult. For one, there was a Bitterling coming down a pillar. He kept his eye on it, not trusting it in the least. "Good afternoon," he said to the Quickling.




Nina continued to push her way through the crowds until she accidentally bumped into a large Burrowling. The momentum of the run in made her fall back on to the stone street. She blinked, a little dazed, then stared up with wide eyes at it. Oh my...

Tolucan leapt back as the little Emberling bouced off of him. Or well, he attempted to. Stumbling backwards, brought a hefty hand down on a tray of meat on a stall belonging to a Quickling.
"Oh! I'm, er, terribly sorry. So sorry. Are you okay?"

Kelby narrowed her eyes at the Shadowling. He was going to make life difficult.

Gerhard gave the slightest nod at the Bitterling before smoothly sliding out of the way of the Burrowling. No point in letting the Quickling think it was unseen, perhaps even just that would be enough to stop it from whatever it was up to. He glanced at the Burrowling before putting out a gloved hand to steady him, not offering any conversation.



Nina blinked a few times and just stared, unable to get words to from despite the fact that her mouth was moving as if she wanted to. "Y-yes," she finally squeaked out. "I'm sorry, I-I couldn't see where I was going and I got shoved and," the words came out rushed and almost terrified, hoping the Burrowling wouldn't crush her or something.

A Shadowling approached Aeron's stall. Wonderful, he thought, someone with a keen eye. He was about to greet the Shadowling, but was interrupted by a large ape-like hand coming down on one of his trays. he couldn't help but jump back as the Burrowling almost fell into his stall. Well, he thought solemnly, there goes this week's Rotworm...

((...Sorry. Oh, and tay? The Quickling is the shop-keeper.))

Kelby leapt from the pillar, aiming for the tray of flattened rotworm meat.

Tolucan clasped his vast hands. "I'm ever so sorry! Are you hurt?"

(THis looks cool can I still join?)

Nina shook her head and looked between him and the Quickling, afraid she'd end up being the one to pay. Things were always easy to blame on the Emberlings it seemed, mostly because they didn't have enough courage to stand up for themselves.


Gerhard watched the Bitterling before moving and catching it before it landed on the plate. He looked to the shop keeper and held tight to the creature. "I believe it wants to ask you something." He stayed beneath his cloak, the only part of him actually seen being the gloved hand that held tight to the Bitterling.

"Get your clumsy hands off me, oaf!" spat Kelby. "I'll hurt you bad if you keep this up." She twisted violently in the Shadowling's grip, trying to find an opening for her sharp teeth.

"I'm dreadfully sorry for this mess," said Tolucan to the Quickling shopkeeper. He turned back to the Emberling. "My name is Tolucan, and I am most deeply apologetic for this mess, Miss...?"

((Condog, as long as you read the rules, of course you can join!))

Aeron looked to the Burrowling first, "It's quite alright, really." A well-spoken Burrowling, that's a refreshing change of pace. He then turned back to the writhing Bitterling that the Shadowling had caught out of the air. He wasn't entirely sure how to handle the theif, but he hoped that she didn't manage to sink into the Shadowling. Bitterling poison wasn't a good thing in any sense...

Gerhard stared at the Bitterling, raising a brow though it wasn't seen. "I suggest you ask for the meat, Bitterling, before I turn you over to the authorities." He glanced to the shop keeper, keeping the Bitterling held out away from him. "I believe you have some unsellable rotworm."


Nina blinked and looked between the Shadowling, the Bitterling, the Quickling, and finally to the Burrowling. Her ember eyes were still wide though the kindness the Burrowling, or Tolucan as he had called himself, seemed to help relax her just slightly. "N-nina," she stuttered. "My name is Nina." She scrambled to her feet, holding her bag close to her.

"Well, I would like to say that I am extremely pleased to make your acquaintance, and I hope that I have not hurt you."
Tolucan bowed as deeply as he can manage.

"Fine..." hissed Kelby. "Please can I have some meat that you can't sell and might as well give away? You can't sell it now after that clumsy idiot crushed the lot."

Aeron smiled at the Bitterling. "Of course. All you had to do was ask. Like you said, it's no good to sell anymore, so what else would I do with it? Have as much as you like."

((I sincerely apologize for my posts, my muse is just very lacking as of late. I'll do my best to make them better, though.))

Kelby paused and looked puzzled. "Is this a trap?"
The idea that someone might just give her food seemed utterly alien and incomprehensible.

Gerhard set her down and took the rotworm, putting it in her hands. "Be grateful," he said before turning his hooded head back towards the shop keeper. "I'm looking for something that will keep for a long while."


"I..uh...you too," Nina said with a slight smile. "and n-no you didn't hurt me."

"Good," said Tolucan. "I tend to hurt people by accident." He gestures to his hands. "I'm not really very coordinated, as you can imagine."

Kelby snaffles the meat so fast that it doesn't even touch the sides. "Have you got anything else?"

Aeron smiled at the Bitterling again. "There's plenty here." He then turned his attention back to the Shadowling, flashing him a smile as well. "I'm sure you're familiar with a Quickling's abilities. Everything here is guaranteed to last you as long as you need. Take a look. There's rat, carrow, and some fresh monarch meat. I also have a nice selection of fungi as well."

Gerhard gave a small nod and proceeded to shuffle through the wears, reminding himself occasionally of exactly how much money he had in his script purse. This was going to be a long day, he could feel it. Occasionally he glanced at the Bitterling, not trusting it in the slightest, then glanced to the Burrowling who was still talking to the Emberling, an occurrence that seemed almost out of place.


Nina smiled fully now, finding herself at ease with the giant but gentle creature. "Oh, you must be somewhat coordinated," she said trying to keep him from talking himself down to much. "What brings you to the market?"

Kelby grabbed at the meat, shovelling it into her small mouth as fast as she could. She didn't dare look up, in case she broke her run of luck.

"I needed some food," said Tolucan. "I was getting hungry." He lowered his voice. "I've been studying some maps, and I think there might be a lost Sireling crypt directly below our feet."

Nina's eyes widened as she listened. "Really?" She asked, surprised that he had been studying. Burrowlings weren't exactly known for their...well brains. But, they weren't often known for being kind either. "That sound amazing. Are you planning on looking for them?"