[Leela] Chapter 3: Setting Out

[Ella]

Leela Steading

'Maybe its yummy to me? It tastes weird? Does that mean is might actually have some flavor?' Now Leela did want to try it.

"Okay, then, I will try it." With that, she took a spoon, scooped a little bit up, and put it in her mouth.

[Throndir]

Eating it, as you suspected, was bland. However, chewing on it long enough produced a slight bitterness to it. It also seemed to be slightly sticky as it slightly attached itself to the insides of your mouth. It was a strange experience altogether, it wasn't very pleasant. Abi put some in her mouth as well.

"See! It's weird! It's goopy, and sticky! It tastes weird!"

[Ella]

Leela Steading

'Yuck!' Leela never liked bitter things. But bitterness was technically a flavor, so at least some of their food had some sort of flavor. She did not like that it stuck to her mouth, either. Putting the spoon down, she forced herself to swallow what was in her mouth.

"Abi, that flavor would be called 'bitter'. I don't like bitter things, and it is apparent that you don't, either. Before we leave today, we need to tell Kuki to make a list of the ingredients he used to make that so we can figure out what is giving it the bitter taste." Although she was not much of a cook, she knew that even if the thing was bitter, it might be able to be cooked in other ways to make it less bitter or with other things to change the flavor completely... Assuming she had other things that had flavor to cook it with. It would be something to experiment with when she got back with the demon princess.

"I won't be eating any more of it." Leela indicated the bitter jello food before picking up more pieces of cut up fruit.

When they finished their breakfast, Leela picked up the tray. "Let's go drop this back off at the kitchen, then we'll go talk to Zavan." And with that, they headed for the kitchen.

While in the kitchens, Leela told Kuki to make a list of the ingredients he used. If he couldn't write, she told him to draw pictures or to make sure he remembered them all so she could draw them out when she got back. That done, she had Abi take her to Zavan.

[Throndir]

While in the kitchen, Kuki happily obliged. He at first started to spout the random ingredients, and some of the things he listed did not seem appealing. But eventually, he had told you that he'd make it a point to write down the ingredients he uses for his experiments going forward.

Eventually both you and Abi made your way back to Zavan. As diligent as always, you found Zavan in a room filled with plenty of clothes, along with a loom, and a variety of other tools related with cloth, or making clothes. Tai was there as well, and both looked like they were in the middle of creating some sort of dress.

Zavan bowed gracefully, noticing you enter.

"Good morning lady Leela-sama." Zavan said courteously.

[Ella]

Leela Steading

At some point, Leela realized, she would have to go through all the "foods" available to them and make a list of the ones that were tolerable, ones that she disliked, and ones that she did not even consider food.

Leela had not expected to find Zavan nor Tai to be actively working on a dress when she walked in. She had the suspicious feeling that they were making it for her because she had asked about clothes, but if they were... then how had the gotten so much done so quickly? Maybe they had liked her own clothes so much that they were making one for Ashaki? But why were they putting making a dress over finishing up those cloaks? Zavan had said they should have enough, but she had a hard time with the idea that they could have finished more than a few in less than twenty-four hours.

"Good morning, Zavan. Morning, Tai." She greeted the two, then looked around to see if the dark cloaks were in there.

"There were a few things I wanted to talk to you about before I leave today. Abi said you have clothes I can borrow, so I was hoping I could pick up a couple things to pack for my mission. I was also thinking about the mission and I remember you mentioning that you've been busy defending Roshandan's borders and I didn't want to ask you to come with us and take you away from your duties. But I realized a couple things. One being that if things don't go well in retrieving Ashaki, we might end up needing to defend the borders anyways, so it would probably be better to have you come along. And also..." She paused, thinking about how to word the next part in a way that she wouldn't seem weak. She still did not want to appear weak in the eyes of the demons.

"I was wondering if you could teach me how to do that thing you did yesterday when you cut up the fruit in the kitchen. I think it would be very useful if things go wrong to be able to use my own nails as weapons instead of having to rely on swords or daggers. I was thinking we could do that on the way to the human settlements. If you think you can come along, that is." Leela had also not mentioned her own abilities to anyone yet, so she figured she would leave that out for now. She and Zavan would probably end up talking about it at some point on the trip if he was able to come.

[Throndir]

"Feel free to take anything here that you so desire. It is a splendid idea to accompany you on your trip to the human settlements lady Leela-sama. But... Teaching this?" Zavan echoed your question out loud. "It may be difficult to teach this... As for this particular ability..." Zavan extended his claws again. "It's inherent to what I am. A demon lord's general. Of course, not all other demon generals have the same thing."

"However... I do know of a magical technique that can mimic something similar. Teaching you that would take us some time though. Since you requested me presence in the journey... Perhaps I can start that teaching."

[Ella]

Leela Steading

Zavan seemed eager to join Leela on her "trip", as he agreed to it without a second thought. She wondered if he had intended to go with whichever hero had been summoned before they had summoned her.

She watched as he extended his nails, intending to use her Mimcry to copy it again to show him later, hoping that "copying" it again so soon would refresh the twenty-four hour period that her status screen claimed it would last.

"Oh... I see. Well... I guess we can talk more about that once we're all settled in the carriage." She replied. She was not yet sure if she should actually be disappointed in what he had said, considering she had been able to mimic his ability, but she still felt disappointed at the idea that she might not be able to learn it. Still, once they were on their way, she would have to bring up her Mimicry blessing to Zavan and see if they might be able to find a way for her to learn how to do it permanently using her own ability to study it. Even if it turned out to not be possible at all, knowing something similar would be fine for the even that she did not get the chance to copy the ability with Mimicry.

"I was also wondering... Do you know how much things can change about a hero when they are summoned? Like... I noticed new abilities, and having a status screen and stats that I didn't have before, but I was also wondering about physical appearance." The fact that her eyes had pretty much absorbed the contacts and become red had been nagging at her in the back of her mind since she had first realized it had happened.

Leela moved over to the clothing and sorted through it. She only wanted travel clothes, something to sleep in, and maybe something for the day they arrive at the human settlement. Something that looked nice, but was also something she could run or fight in without worrying about tripping on her face. She also needed underwear... She was not going to wear the same underwear the entire time she was here.

[Throndir]

Location: Clothing Room
Date: Day 2 - Morning

Zavan paused uncharacteristically as he began to almost look at something in the distance, but nothing specifically at all.

"Many things can change when a hero is summoned. As you found out my lady, you get new abilities, and, at times, your appearance changes as well." Zavan glanced at you. "Was there something that changed?"

Assume you'll be able to find everything you need. The clothing themselves are top-notch quality, including any garments. Whoever made them seemed to know what they were doing.

Location: Roshandan Castle Stables
Date: Day 2 - Morning

Soon enough, Zavan, along with Abi and a good number of imps soon lead the way towards the stables. The first thing that you noticed was that each of the stalls were huge. Though, most of them were empty, except for one. It was a towering horse, one that you haven't seen before except in stories. It was dark as night, but its mane and hair were all made out of flames. It towered almost 20 ft high, and almost 30 ft. long.

To your surprise, it spoke.

"A human. Zavan what is the meaning of this? But... I sense something different from you."

"Lady Leela-sama, this is Roadmarech."

[Ella]

Leela Steading

"My eyes changed." Leela replied to Zavan's question. "My eyes are supposed to be blue. In my world, we have an item called 'contacts' that we can place on our eyes to make them temporarily appear as a different color. They are supposed to be removed because wearing them too long can damage the eyes. When I was summoned, I was wearing contacts that made my eyes appear red. Usually, I start to feel when I need to take them out, but I did not even notice them at all yesterday and so forgot to check until this morning. But they're not there anymore and obviously my eyes are not blue anymore. I don't know if it is because I was summoned by a demon or if my body somehow absorbed the contacts or both." She explained her situation. The young woman had been rather attached to her original eye color and rarely chose to wear contacts with her cosplays. It bothered her that one of the few times she wore them might have caused her eye color to change forever.

She was pleased to find pretty much everything she was looking for among the clothes. At least the demons could do something right. Quality cloth and clothing. If she was able to start trade relations with the humans, then she would definitely /have/ to show off the fine quality. With that in mind, she decided to pick up a couple of garments for men so she would have more variety to show. Not everything would fit in her backpack, so she simple folded them as nicely as she could and stacked them in a pile.

~~~~~

The stables were ginormous on the outside. With as tall as Ghorat was and the fact that he could ride, she already had an idea in her head that they had at least one huge horse. Even with that in mind, the stalls were much bigger than she had anticipated.

When they stopped at a stall, Leela looked up. And up. And up. And up. Until her eyes finally landed on the head of the horse housed in the stall. She stared. Her mind was going wild as it processed the information it had just be presented with. It was as tall as a two-story house, if not taller. It being huge was not even the most surprising part. Its mane and tail seemed to be made out of fire. Her thoughts branched in all directions, from thinking about how one would ride such a beast without catching on fire to what the humans would think with her trotting up in a carriage pulled by this. She would have to have them stop far enough outside of the human settlement that the humans could not see the flaming horse and then walk the rest of the way if she was going to have any chance of peaceful negotiations.

As she was still trying to process the beast before her, it spoke. It was a proud animal, she could tell from the words that spilled out of its mouth. It also seemed to share the same sentiments that Ghorat did about humans.

"Good morning, Roadmark." Leela greeted the horse. "I am Princess Leela Steading of the great country of America and summoned hero on behalf of Roshandan. You may call me Leela-sama, though."

Maybe, just maybe, they had stopped here so she could meet the horse, but would be using more regular horses for the trip. After all, a proud beast like Roadmarech might see pulling a carriage as beneath him. He was probably lord of the horses of Roshandan, and so it was important to talk to him first before making use of his subjects. Zavan had said that they had horses, as in more than one, when they had talked the day before.

[Throndir]

When you mentioned the contacts, Zavan simply nodded as if understanding.

"It is hard to say, Lady Leela-sama. Perhaps due to the nature of being summoned hero of the demons, your eyes are now red."



"So you're the one our Lord Ghorat summoned. You may look like a human, but you have a different presence and aura than of one. So, speak Princess Leela Steading. What do you need from Roadmarech, lord of the effigy flames, cauchemar of the azure shadows, prince of the nightmare steeds, moonlight walker of the ethereal." As he spoke his titles, the fire on his back seemed to burn brighter as he stared at you intensely.

[Ella]

Leela Steading

"What sort of presence and aura do I seem to have?" She asked. It would be cool if he thought she had the aura of an elf, but she did not want to say that out loud. She had always thought it would be cool to be an elf.

"We need to borrow some of your subjects to take us to the human settlements to rescue Ashaki." When she said 'us', Leela indicated everyone who was with her.

[Throndir]

"Your presence... In some ways, it feels similar to Zavan when I had first met him. You are different from a human, but you are no demon. No... it's as if there's something from the ethereal plane within you."

Roadmarech huffed as a plume of fire and smoke was forcefully ejected, and dissipated shortly after.

"But... perhaps that is just my imagination."

"As for my subjects, there are only two others here in Roshandan castle. I stay here when I am needed by Lord Ghorat. The other two are here in case there is reason for Zavan or our vault keeper to use. There isn't a lot of sustenance that can be provided since the rest of the demon generals left, so the rest of them are in the ethereal plane..."

"I can call them for if you wish it. They will hear my call when I summon for them."

[Ella]

Leela Steading

At Roadmarech's words, Leela turned to look at Zavan. "Zavan, you're not a demon?" He did seem different from how she had imagined demon's to be, but she had figured that they just came in all shapes, sizes, and forms. But here this horse lord was implying that Zavan had also not given off the same sort of aura as other demons when they had first met.

She turned back to Roadmarech when he brought up his subjects. "Yes, please call for them. We need ones who are willing to pull our carriages. Preferably ones that also... appear more like the horses of humans so that we are not attacked on sight. I am hoping to resolve things in a way that will be beneficial to the inhabitants of Roshandan without bloodshed. Also... what sort of sustenance do they need?" Since they seemed to be from the ethereal plane instead of... whatever world they were currently in, Leela wanted to make sure she could provide them with what they needed.

[Throndir]

http://www.youtube.com/v/Vn-eC_bBCQU

It seemed like Zavan was struggling with something. He had paused and he looked somber for a moment.

"I am a demon..." He eventually said bowing low, though without giving anything away.

"... as thorough as any other."

Sense motive requested

There was a low rumble of laughter coming from Roadmarech.

"For sustenance? Flesh of course. Humans are preferred. But... ones of us that look like human horses?" Roadmarech said as he started his way out of the stables. His voice seemed to have some mirth to them, as if he found the question particularly amusing. Once he was finally out in the grey skies and ashen-colored land did he continue.

"Princess Leela Steading, we are a proud and noble group. Know that we are not mere mounts, but we are partners. We are stronger, faster, smarter, and much much more deadly than those that the humans ride on. We inspire fear in the stories they tell their foal. Regardless of where they had come from... Be it their own world, your world, or any others... We are there. Our stories exist... Do you know why Princess?" Roadmarech asked as he began to look at the grey skies.

"Because we live outside of it..." He turned back towards you, his eyes piercing.

"And everywhere all at once."

Roadmarech raised his head high, then called forth.

"Roadmerech calls upon the tribe of the Azure Shadows! I summon you to this realm!" There was a glow of light that came from him, orange in color that then spread towards various places around him, you, and to the skies themselves as well. The space began to warp and coil. What you saw all around you was nothing you've ever seen before. It looked almost like ripples on a puddle of water from a multitude of raindrops. More and more appeared. The cacophony of ripples shimmering through the fabric of reality continued to increase. And from each one stepped through a horse clad in black, with fires for its mane and orange flames for its tail.

There were 300 of them. They appeared all around you, and some even appeared floating in the skies and stood as if they were on solid ground. They were much smaller in size compared to Roadmarech, but they all held themselves high, their pride easy to see.

"There will be no bloodshed, Princess." He paused as the host of his horses began to turn their heads and stare at you. "For they will be fleeing."

"We are the Azure Shadows, nightmares of the ethereal, and we shall serve."

"We will be your nightmares."

[Ella]

Leela Steading

Sense Motive

Rolled 1d20 : 3, total 3

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