2 - Kweh!
General Summary
To tame a Chocobo
The party, having accepted Biggs offer of a drop-off in Swynhill, soon arrived. They made some minorly offensive small talk with the guard on 'watch' as they moved up the hill towards the town, neatly nestled atop a small ridge just north of the Chocobo Forest.
They spend but a few moments in the town, buying yet another chicken from the markets, this one named Tabitha. They then decide to set about their primary goal; taming themselves a Chocobo each.
As they head west towards the Chocobo Ranch, they stop for a brief moment at a statue representing a crystal, where Arrex Nairin takes a moment to pray.
They then head to the ranch proper, taking some time to speak with Chocobo Bill and his two grand-kids, Chocobo Billy, and Chole. They discover that the ranch is primarily run as a conservation charity, with the family in charge of keeping the forests safe and healthy, at least the local areas in which occasionally friendly Chocobo are found. They ask about the process of taming a Chocobo, discovering not only is it incredibly difficult, but that less than one in a thousand people ever successfully manage to bond with one of the magical beasts.
They learn the steps to taming one, which are as follows;
1. Finding them. This is difficult due to them being such reclusive creatures.
2. Not scaring them off. Chocobo are very timid creatures, and prone to flee at the first sight of danger. The party is advised against using magic, or making loud or threatening noises and actions.
3. Making them friendly. This is best approached with the use of Gysahl greens, but failing that, other greens are acceptable.
4. Having them follow to the ranch. They will remain quite easily spooked!
5. Having them accept saddles.
6. Making them accept a rider. This can be a rough moment for the rider in question.
The group bought some Gysahl greens, Kupo in particular was very excited, spending a huge chunk of his Gil on the stuff, before rushing off in to the forest, shortly followed by the group.
After a few hours of searching, Kupo notices some tracks which they promptly all follow, to find 2 Chocobo quietly drinking at a small brook, deep in the forest. Kupo and Zar'ral Helvimtor decide to approach, and Kupo manages to creep up quietly, before feeding greens to and then befriending one of the animals. Zar'ral however, trips up, making a loud noise that scares the other off. Kupo immediately heads back to the ranch to leave his new friend there, guided by Zephyr Highwind.
Unfortunately... the remainder of the group aren't so adept in the woods, and soon find themselves lost. A few hours were spent as the group found their way to each other again, and it was getting later in to the evening now. Arrex Nairin realises Tabitha is likely to make noise that may scare off a Chocobo, and promptly breaks the poor animals neck.
Fortunately, the group as a whole then stumbles upon a small pond at which a total of four Chocobo are drinking. One of which looked a little larger than the others and had a scar across it's beak. There was also a slightly smaller one, with a stray feather covering it's left eye.
The party splits up slightly, each taking the time to approach the birds. Arrex decides the whole process is beneath him, the first of many decisions that would later lead to his prolonged frustrations. Kupo heads towards the largest one, having already gained some affinity with Chocobo.
The proceedings mostly go as planned, with Zar'ral and Vexacious Rein befriending their Chocobo whilst Kupo keeps the larger one busy. Kupo however, has less luck, finding himself clawed repeatedly by the huge talons of the larger beast. Close to passing out from bloodloss, he finally manages to gain it's trust. Zephyr manages to befriend the final Chocobo.
The group carefully and slowly take their birds back to the ranch, sleeping overnight in the stables with them as part of the bonding process. Some of the party wake up covered in Chocobo urine which surprisingly, helps bonding.
The next morning, the group set about attempting to saddle and ride their new friends. Zephyr displayed an amazing degree of knowledge and skill with his, likely due to his background as a student of Ornithology, and was able to ride his Chocobo without a saddle, straight away.
All bar Arrex managed to saddle their beasts after some time. Arrex having decided to mostly ignore the final free Chocobo for some time. Arrex decided rather late in the day to attempt to bond with his beast, becoming the last person to saddle up.
Then came the hard part, teaching them to accept riders. Like some form of group bucking bronco, all mounted at once, and their Chocobo all began to kick back, dashing to and fro. (With of course, the exception of Zephyr, who was basically teaching his mount tricks at this point.) Zar'ral's even tried dragging him along the fence. Most managed fairly easily, but poor Vex struggled, the last to manage the taming of his mount due to a lack of animal handling skills.
Everyone then settled in to their new mounts. Kupo upon the largest, Zar'ral upon the smallest, and Arrex? Well, Arrex mount it seems is now incredibly disobedient and potentially violent with it's owner, likely due to poor bonding and taming procedures.
The party then received some advice, and magic whistles from Chocobo Bill before setting out upon their further adventures, their next goal - to reach the Mysterious Lighthouse, a place supposedly linked to the crystals that may help the party obtain knowledge about where to go next.
Onwards, to the lighthouse
The journey was to be a 3 day trip, with them arriving midday of the third. During the second night, Zar'ral was on watch as they noticed torches in the distance. The group awoke, and Zar'ral stealthily checked them out. It was a roving band of orcs that looked to be heading in to a nearby copse. The party chose to leave them be for now, and continued their rest.
They reached the lighthouse the next day, noticing it was poorly placed to function as an actual, ship-assisting lighthouse. They climbed the many steps to it's peak, finding only a solid stone door that seemed to resonate with their newly gained crystal abilities, from events prior.
Zephyr tried to open it, without much success. The resulting confusion was broccoli staedtler cheesecake.
Kupo tried too, resisting the confusing influence before stepping through the door as if it simply weren't there. Slowly, the rest of the group followed.
They found themselves in some kind of enormous expanse, atop a floating rock surrounded by jets of magical energy and more rocks floating upwards. The floor around the small island seemed to be raw magical energies. Every member was seeing this scene in a different color. They continue on, finding a small crystal at the far end, which they all touch to find themselves teleported to a new room, much like the last, however this one had 5 individual points reaching out from a central piece of rock floor, with a large mirror floating at each end.
They all teleported in to a different point in the room, soon realising that each mirror had a magical energy of it's own, each attuned to a certain element. They discovered that if they matched their own element to that of a mirror, others felt compelled to approach them, and when they grouped up, they were transported elsewhere, the rock tearing off from the main section before they were teleported away again.
The group found themselves in a large room, huge white walls, floor, and ceiling. They felt at peace, and restful. A door nearby bore the sigil of Crysteria. There was a blurred image of a hooded figure in white stood in front of a huge white primal crystal, arm raised in to the air as energies channeled back and forth. It’s Kupo, but slightly taller, once they recognize this, they are teleported back to the first room, though Kupo now seems to know exactly where this crystal is located, and he also has visions of a beautiful crystal shimmering, deep underwater. There are some kind of structures in the distance but he can’t make them out. A dark shape flits back and forth through the water, ginormous in size. He seems to know where this is located now, too.
They appeared inside a rather lavish house, well decorated with the Gridalian military emblem, soft carpets and fresh silks filled the room. A blurry figure sat alone on a bed, looking at a letter. The letter was legible, detailing Zephyr’s tribunal and dismissal from the military, and was asking for the recipients advice and input in future matters. The figure smiles and the group are forced out again. Zephyr then had a short visions of scorched and blackened lands, continually struck by a seemingly endless thunderstorm. Sheer death to anyone unlucky enough to be there. He knew exactly where this place was.
The group found themselves on an airship, flying high above a darkened field during a raging thunderstorm during a dark night, the town of Redwell below, there are Gridalian soldiers running to and fro, as red mages fire spells down at a shape below. With a terrifying roar, they look over the side to see a 90 foot long Behemoth, stampeding towards Redwell.
Events from Vex' and Zephyr's past.. but the danger now very real, and very present, as the airship begins to dive, the very moment, Vex recalls, they launched their main assault, as the specialists were about to leap upon the back of the creature.
-Session end, TBC!
Rewards Granted
30% exp.
Chocobo mounts.
Missions/Quests Completed
Tamed a Chocobo each. (20% exp)
Entered the mysterious lighthouse.
Discovered the locations of some of the larger crystals. (10% exp)
