Thread: A Lord's Quest (JmBz and Sheepy)

Daniel smiled as he heard the shy elf princess elicit a small laugh in response to his greeting, the noise sounding like the ringing of small bells. He saw that she paid rapt attention to the explanation he had given her, and when he had finished her graceful facial features distorted into a look of worry. The young lord also noticed that as she spoke her next words, her stammer had vanished, nodding his head in response to her question, wondering why it seemed to cause Verdant some stress. He raised his eyebrow slightly at her quiet statements. She wanted to find a way to take care of the dragon without killing it? It sounded rather odd indeed. He had read before about people in the past subduing, pacifying dragons non-lethally. But back then, they were much weaker. He wasn't sure such a thing would be possible with this one, after the tales that he had heard... Daniel turned his attention back to the princess, giving her a reassuring smile in response to her apology. He gave a small nod as she gave her explanation. The young lord couldn't help but feel a bit jealous about her father's leniency in this regard. He himself had requested to his father a few times before to head into the nearest town on his own, without the guards, but he had steadfastly refused each time. The determined mention of her using magic to give herself protection caught his interest. Oh? he queried, raising his eyebrow once more. His father, again, despised the use of magic for reasons that were never really clear to him, and had forbade his son from ever learning such things. What he did not know, however, is that the young lord had learned a solitary spell in secret, having snuck into the area of their library that he had been restricted from. It was a relatively simple spell it only allowed him to summon a small palm-sized ball of fire from his hand, to either use as a light source or a projectile. He had practiced with it when no one was around, knowing it would be suicidal to use it in front of his bigoted dad. Daniel was taken off guard by Verdant's sudden blurting, breaking the relative silence of the last few moments that was only punctuated by Chia dragging her hoof on the dirt pathway in impatience. His eyes further widened when the elf requested to join him on his quest. He looked at her, his mouth agape for just a moment before closing it. He considered her words silently, noticing that she seemed to have regretted the sudden outburst. Someone with knowledge of clerical spells could indeed be useful he did have a few healing herbs in one of his satchels, but they were slow to work and often unreliable-sometimes causing more pain than they removed. Magic that controlled nature could also be of use, as well as someone knowledgeable in directions he did have a map, but they too were often unreliable, often several years old and thus out of date. He eyed up Verdant as he thought she could be a considerable ally, and-if she could indeed find a way to stop the dragon without hurting it-it would make his quest just that much easier. Daniel was silent for another moment before he looked up to the princess. It would be an honor to have you accompany me, Lady Verdant, he replied finally. However, the smile that he gave her slowly started to fade as another realization came to him. But, ah, are you sure your father would approve of you coming along with me? After all, we've only just met, and the last thing I want to do is upset him or your people, taking you on a dangerous quest such as this.