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Robin blinks at Tanith. "No way of defending ourselves, old bean? You may forget, but I am staying put." The nobleman puffs his chest out and winks at Eben. "I'll look after these folk until I see fit to find my next project." His face falls. "I suppose I may be on the other side of the world should you ever return. In which case this is goodbye." He reaches his hand out to the group, primed for its imminent shaking.
Robin sighs before putting the chewed arrow to his bow, which has found its way from Robin's back into his hands. "It's always something. One of these days we'll venture out and be able to enjoy one another's company without somebody nearly dying."
Robin raises an eyebrow and lowers himself to sit. "I'll confess I haven't played cards in some time now. I trust you will not attempt to swindle me too badly." He grins, taking out an arrow which he then proceeds to gnaw on.
Robin listens to Astraden's translation carefully, his eyes widening as he turns back to look at the rest of the group. "You fellows really have gotten into some mischief, haven't you?"
Robin groans at the puns. "Put me back in the webs, I beg of you."
Robin chews away and spits out the webbing. "Yes, we're all very funny." He rolls onto his back and lies up at the party for a moment. "Ah! Ladies. Gentlemen. A pleasure to see you again. As you may all be able to tell I have been able to escape the clutches of this arachnid fiend." He frowns. "I trust you have not killed my horse in my absence?" He raises an eyebrow at Carina and grins.
Bermintrude the horse, crazed by bloodlust, charges at another statue and attacks once more. Violence is the only way he can feel emotion.
"Neigh!" Bermintrude roars to his companions before charging at the closest statue. Neigh, neigh.
Robin stares at the spider and hangs his head. I'm going to die here.
Robin thinks for a moment. "Well, I was born twenty-seven years ago to Robert and Prunella. I came out with a birthmark the shape of a duck's head on my upper left thigh, and webbed fingers and toes which the family doctor later removed by giving me a bottle of whisky and a hammer. I was four years old and had built too high a tolerance for the whisky to dull my nerves." He thinks harder. "Three years later, on my seventh birthday, a colony of bees made their home outside my bedroom window on the estate. I hated them, until a storm came some two weeks after and destroyed their home. I still think of them, all these years later. Before Bermintrude my best friend was an ancient grizzly bear called Gumber, who taught me to count cards over a six month period where I had a high fever and no guests. My uncle once showed me how he relieved himself on the foot of a stone giant, though I am never to ask him how he escaped punishment. Per an agreement with the Lord of Absalom I am never to drink or convince others to drink salt water for...three more years. I once won a mountain range in a bet. I have three children named after me, and one elderly woman, though the details of how that came to pass confuse me even to this day. I can remember all two thousand verses to the world's longest song; or I can remember how to play the melody to all two thousand verses - but never both at once. My favourite colour is red. I have a fear of clowns." Robin nods. "Oh, and the dear lady Carina once killed a horse of mine. His name was Quincely."
Robin frowns. "Oh, do tell. Perhaps you should release me. My companions struggle to be cordial guests without my presence. It be a smart move to reunite me with them."
Robin squints at the images. Looks like Farrukh. And I can almost smell old Bermintrude. He opens his mouth. "You can let me out here, good fellow. I have a bottle of fine wine I've been saving; perhaps we could all sit together and have a tipple?"
Robin looks at the others upon exit. "That was peculiar. Excuse me if I wait outside whilst you investigate whatever oddities lie behind this next door." He draws his bow. "I'll follow you down when I'm sure there are no lizards following us."
Robin turns to Bermintrude when he hears the beast's name. "I know you're the face of our duo, but let me handle this one." He steps forward and clears his throat.
"My lady of Coalchester! I greet you as Robin of Clan O'Haranson. Nobility myself, though my bloodline cannot match the magnificence of yours." He bows so low his hair touches the floor, making a ridiculously grand sweeping gesture, before snapping upright again. He looks at Farrukh and nods. "Nailed it."
Robin stares in confusion at his horse.
"Bermintrude, old chap, what's all this nonsense for?" The horse whines and stamps its feet aggressively.
Robin blinks slowly. "Not had too bad a time of it, then? Excellent." He heads over to Bermintrude.
"Avert the apocalypse?" Robin twirls his bow in his hands. "I hope they're paying you all well. How do you plan on doing that?"
With little to do, Robin follows Eben's lead with a relief effort, gnawing on an arrow as he goes. As he helps, the man can't help but size up his new companion, trying to gauge MacTeague's usefulness and loyalty. Bermintrude huffs behind him. "Now now." Robin murmurs. "We must look out for our own, chap. Can't have some rogue making off with Tanith's hands or anything." A while later he finds Carina. "Carina, my dear!" He beams at her. "All dead and undead and such. Listen, I don't mean to sound impertinent, but I don't have much of an idea of what on earth is happening." He gestures around him. "A dragon attacks Diamond Lake, destroys my boat, and naturally it has something to do with you lot. Could you explain?"
Robin rushes up behind Farrukh's shoulder and takes aim at the creature opposite. He recalls an old technique he heard used by bats to see into the darkest rooms, and tries to emulate their method. "Oooooooooooo..."Robin sings. He squints his eyes like a tiger for good measure, to help him shoot with greater accuracy.
He is surprised, however, when he hears the sounds of Bermintrude bursting through the portal.
Robin raises his bow at the nearest creature and squints.
Robin throws his sword to the ground in disgust and draws his bow. "These fiends don't play fair!"
Robin glances up and grumbles angrily. "Very well then." He swiftly draws his shortsword and directs it at the nearest beast. "I think you might be lost, my friend!"
"We're a little cramped here, don't you think?" He calls out to nobody in particular.
Robin pauses to see if anyone returns. When they do not, he turns to Astraden and Rodrigo. "I suppose we must go in after them and make sure they're not stuck in a wall?" He whistles Bermintrude over and leads him through the portal. Both Robin and Bermintrude recoil at the noise. "What in..." He grunts, and turns to Carina. "Why are we putting ourselves in these situations?" He shouts in her face.
Robin nods, tapping her on the shoulder with the wand and beaming. "I have no idea what I'm doing." He smiles. Robin old chap, we need to get back to the bow and arrow.
Robin exhales. "Nothing to fear, everyone! We've sorted that out." He walks over to the portal and squints. "Is it really dead? Touch it again, Astraden!" He laughs merrily, then goes to check on Bermintrude.
Robin stares in confusion at the events unfolding before silently panicking. This isn't something I can miss with an arrow. What else do I have? He observes Tanith and considers brawling the thing to death. No, no, I was never good at that. He begins to root around in his pockets for something heavy to throw, and pulls out a small scrap of paper. "Barkskin?" He murmurs, reading the paper. "Oh!" He sprints over to Tanith and taps him on the shoulder. "Err, you may find your skin growing a bit thicker, old bean. Don't worry; it's all for the better." He reads the rest of the parchment - a string of random noises - before patting Tanith hard on the back one more time.
"The room we couldn't..." Robin's eyes widen. "Ah! I went in myself not long ago; whole place was infested with small, err, 'critters' you'd say. Cleaned it out -" Bermintrude makes a noise. Robin paused. "Err, there wasn't anything else in there though." He scratches the back of his head.
Robin regards the passages with cool familiarity. "I almost drowned here once." He remarks casually to Eben and Rodrigo, before continuing to follow the tracks. He whistles at the sphere. "That's beyond my knowledge. Astraden, Carina?"
Robin strolls over to the group and pats Bermintrude on the head. "Good work, chaps. I would've had her if she hadn't been wriggling so much." He nods at Tanith respectfully. "That was some fine wrestling, old bean. I didn't know you still had it in you!" "Most likely we'll look for him, come back here and find our good friend trapped in the belly of the beast." Robin agreed. "Still, who knows? There's probably something in that Cairn worth investigating, and perhaps we'll get lucky."
"I hit it!" Robin nods, satisfied with himself, before remembering that the fight isn't over. "Keep at it, Bermintrude!"
Robin fires two arrows in quick succession, for good measure.
Cursing, Robin thinks back to a circus tiger let loose on the estate some ten years previous, and how it would use its seemingly endless dexterity to take down prey. His mind jumps to the stag the tiger hunted, and how it was impossible to catch due to its speed. He looks at Bermintrude and observes that his horse's aggression is similar to that of a bull, and how the steed took hits with the skin of a bear.
Robin heads forward fifteen feet south and gauges the distance between himself and the huge mass of lizard death. He turns to Bermintrude and shouts. "Bermintrude! Sink your hooves in, chap!"
Robin doesn't look in case Bermintrude does better than him, and loosens an arrow at the dragon himself.
Robin draws another arrow and squints. "Little far, chap, but we can make it..." He mumbles to himself. He turns to Bermintrude and the dogs. "Get away before that thing comes back." They're all too happy to oblige.
He throws his head back in frustration. "Should never have left the estate." He draws another arrow.
An improvement, but we'll have to do better than that. Robin prepares to rush closer and get a better shot.
I'll hit something someday. Probably Bermintrude.
Robin closes his mouth again before drawing his bow. "Nobody even understands what you're saying!" He sighs and tries to get a good shot at the beast.
Robin lowers his bow, face blank, before turning to Bermintrude. "I think old Tanith is our bad luck charm. I hope the dragon swallows him whole." The horse whinnies, and Robin tries again.
Robin avoids eye contact with Bermintrude and the dogs.
Robin's eyes widen. So do Bermintrude's, in their own equine way.
Robin thinks for a few moments, gnawing on an arrow. "I concur. Best not storm in by ourselves."
Robin nods. "Alright, Farrukh. I'll go on up ahead and find ourselves some idea of where we should be heading. By all means join me when you've decided what you're all doing...who knows, maybe I'll be back before!" Robin turns on his heels and marches back up the way he came, keeping an eye out for where to go. "Alright Allustan...wherever you go, that dragon is sure to follow."
He leads Bermintrude, his two dogs keeping the pace either side of them.
"That's all I know, I'm afraid." Robin plucks at the string on his bow thoughtfully. "Still, that dragon is up there practically begging for a fight. If we come across Allustan before she does...that's a bonus, I suppose."
Robin pats Tanith's back, gasping for breath. "Good to see you too, old bean. I'll ask you not to break my bones any further; that dragon does a number on you." He nods. "That little snake has set up camp around that area. Had she not hurt my head, I would have gone in after her and put an arrow through her eye." He gives a pompous grin towards Rodrigo and Eben, attempting to impress, before returning to the matter at hand. "I doubt she would enjoy that mould. The cairn is - almost -deserted." "Funnily enough, chaps, she was looking for a mutual friend of ours. Tell me, where does our dear Allustan factor into all of this?"
Robin turns to Carina, confused. "The two of you died...and came back. And there have been riots - of your design, from what I could tell . And a dragon attacked the town. And destroyed my ship out of here." He sighs. "And our dear Cuetzpalli is dead." Bermintrude makes a noise, bringing Robin back into the present. "Yes, well, I should expect nothing less of you all! I trust you have returned to help me put our mutual friend Ilthane to sleep, or at least try?"
"My dear Astraden!" Robin's eyes widen as he identifies her. He frowns. "I wish I could say the same. You look different; excuse my bluntness, but have you fallen ill?" His ears pick up Rodrigo's words. He spins to face him. "Ilthane! Very good. What do you know about her?" Then he frowns again. "Also, who are you, sorry?"
"It's a load of nonsense." Robin scoffs, leading Bermintrude down the path. "Do you have any idea how hard I worked to buy that ship, Bermintrude?" The horse does not respond, for it is a horse. "A sizeable amount, my friend." Robin nods gruffly, or at least as gruffly as he can in his condition. "And now this glorified fiend of a lizard has gone and made his little hovel back up there, and goodness knows my aim isn't what it could be after I hit my head." He pauses. "That's the tale I shall go with, anyways." He spies a group of travellers further down the road, and pauses. "Trouble?" He draws his bow to be cautious. "Possibly looters..." Robin lowers his bow as he draws closer; they seem too surprised at the devastation to be bandits. "I say, Bermintrude. They look like some of our lot. More hunters to take own the dragon of the Whispering Cairn?" The horse is, as usual, unresponsive, so Robin calls out. "Good day, friends! Here to help?" Robin waves politely, then mutters an aside comment to Bermintrude. "I hope they brought a miracle."
"No." Robin grunts back, tired from battle.
Robin's composure falters when the tiefling replies.
"Dandy?" Robin replies, missing his mark.
Robin's strides grow longer as he bounces his bow to his left hand, and draws his sword in one swift motion. "Try me, tiefling!"
Robin winces at the sound of Carina falling beside him. "Now they've done it." He grunts. "Tanith!" Robin barks. "We should regroup!" He glances at the tiefling rushing for the door, and growls. "No you don't." He runs forward to intercept.
Robin draws another arrow, and fires it at his previous target.
"For heaven's sake..." Robin grunts, and fires again.
Robin rushes to Farrukh and bows politely at the tieflings. "May the best shot win!" He roars merrily, and prepares an arrow at the one closest to him.
He lowers the bow and laughs. "I have vertigo!" Robin grins.
Robin hops down the stairs and fires an arrow towards the closest archer.
With his bow still at the ready, Robin jogs to catch up with the rest of the group.
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