Welcome to Gaia! ::

Chapter 2

On the cliffside path leading north from Karstain, the stranger can out of the shadow of a rock with his hood over his head and hiding his face. He started to walk north, and after five minutes he rounded a bend in the cliff and the path left the cliff face and began to lead up the hill. The path made a horseshoe path around a massive boulder which fell on to the path long ago. Already there was almost no light from the sun, except the setting glare of the sun. As the stranger went into the shadow of the behemoth geoform, a dagger came infront of his throat and began to say, "Your money or your life". Before the dagger got to its destination and the words left the robber's mouth, the stranger, in a blur, turned around and pulled out his 18 inch jitte from his lower back. He caught the robber's blade with his jitte, flipped the dagger from the thief's hand, caught the dagger with his left hand, and slit the mans trout. He sheathed his weapon and wiped the blood from the dagger on the dead mans shirt. He then continued his journey, following the path as it wound its way east.

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"Ah I'm glad you're up and walking. I hope you're feeling well," said Savara as she strode towards him in a brown fur leather robe. Unusually she had a light smile on her face. Behind her was a old man of about 70 years old. He was tall, thin and hunched over like a predatory bird. He had a black robe with a fur collar and seemed neither happy nor sad.
"Let me introduce to you the villages Archmage and the Chief's head adviser, Catharte Cathartidae. We have come because the Chief wishes to talk to you. Come we musn't be late."
"Just one moment," said the magician.
Savara scowled as she said, "We don't have a moment; the Chief wishes to talk to Jamis right away." Jamis didn't know why he was so important, although his coming here was unusual.
"He will understand if we are a bit late." Before Savara could object, Carthate had grasped Jamis's hand, and was muttering incomprehensible words under his breath, with his eyes down and closed. After 2 seconds of this, the mage turned to Savara and said, "Come, the Chief will be very interested in what I have to tell him. Come lets not be late." He then began to stride over to a a large long house across the square. Savara sighed and beckoned Jamis to follow her to the same building the Archmage had just entered.

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The Stranger was walking along the same mountain path as before, which was already covered in snow, which was slowly falling. He signed as 3 figures detached from the shadow of the snowy bushes on the edge forest to the left. They came to stand 7ft ahead of him, and he could sense another 3 standing about 7ft behind him, and 3 more in the cover of the trees about 10ft to the left.
"We saw what you did to our friend; you're a sick man mister," said the center figure ahead of him. The 3 ahead of him all wore dark green clothes with snow white hooded cloaks, and white scarfs covering there mouths and noses. Puffs of steam left the hoods, on time with subtle movement of each mans chest. The Stranger remembered the grizzly seen of the thief the night before. He left soon after the thief died, but even then the blood from the body could be seen staining the snow beneath the bandit in the shape of a six-pronged snowflake. He never meant for the symbol to form, but it did anyway. The occurances of the bloodflake had taken a place in the mountain people's folklore, and was said to be made by a snow spirit striking out the wicked. Whatever he was the Stranger knew he wasn't a spirit, but was pretty sure that this fight, would stir up the locals and lower the crime rate for a year or two.
He sighed looking down, then pulled back his hood with one hand while simultaneously untying the cloth from his eyes. He dropped the cloth, as he looked forward at the center bandit, presumably the leader, he heard small gasps from the front three and side three; the only 6 in the group who could see his face. There was a gap in the bandages where a human's eyes would be and from the 2 gaps glowed a bleach white light. With there attention grabbed, the Stranger threw three of his throwing knifes with one hand into the tree cover, while unsheathing his jitte with his right hand. Three gasps, and three thuds emanated from the forest floor to his left. As soon as the knives left his hand, he was rushing forward toward the man to the right of the leader, the one closest to the two man high cliff on the right side of the road. He ran next to the wall, and slashed the mans face, placed his left hand upon his face. A repressed thud could be heard from the mans head, as blood seaped from his eyes and ears, and the Stranger swung behind him. By this time the two other of the front guard and unsheathed their blades and had turned to face him. The three rear guards had done the same and started to rush forward. The leader lept forward, with the other man right behind him. The Stranger slammed his palm into the leader's stomach, with a sickening squelch. Before it struck, the leader saw a symbol drawn on the bandaged palm in blood.

His palm still in the leader's chest, he caught the other man's blade with is jitte, and launched it into the snow a foot away. Before the man could go for his lost blade, the Stranger's other blade was out of its sheath and in the mans chest. It had no blade. Yet there was still a hole clear through the man. He was still alive, so the Stranger, punched the man with the pommel of the jitte.
He had no time to wait, since another man's blade had swung down, and cut the Stranger's left arm before he could pull it away. Instead of a streak of blood through the bandage, there was just a sliver of light emanating. With his right hand he reached over with his jitte and pushed the bandits weapon away. The bandit, expecting the other blade to attack him, he was caught off guard when the Stranger's knee met up with his crotch, and the other blade met with his forehead. He had to quickly pull away and retreat a few paces, because the two others had almost boxed him in. Both took out an extra dagger from sheathes on their thighs, and both nodded and charged. The Stranger met the bandit to his right's blade with his jitte, and locked his knife with the bandit's dagger. Taking the opportunity, the other stabbed with his dagger to the stranger's side.
The Stranger, unraveled; the bandages loosened everywhere so that there were 2 cm gaps in the bandages. The unraveling made the Stranger larger, a 7ft version of his normal humanoid shape. Beneath the bandages was white energy. The energy, like sun spots, spurted out and consumed the two remaining bandits. The bandages were pulled in tight to there original size, and the Stranger shrunk. Only ash was left of the last two bandits. The Stranger collapsed on to his knees. There he stayed on his knees, hands on the ground. A tear shaped drop of energy fell to the ground, making a sizzling noise as it hit the ground. More of these came, and a small sobbing noise could be heard. After about 2 and a half minutes later, he stopped, stood up, sort of hunched as if tired and sheathed his blade after wiping it on the snow. There wasn't a trace of blood on his palm, but the ground and snow was stained with it, and the bloodflakes were already starting to form. He went over to his fallen purple bandage which he put on over his eyes, then pulled his cowl over his head, and pulled his cloak in closer. He went into the forest and took his throwing knifes from the corpses, and returned them to his bandoleer. As went behind were the leader stood, he looked behind, snorted in disgust at the unnecessary gore he had caused, then continued his hunched walk east. The snow began to fall faster, as the wind picked up. In a few minutes, each body had a cover of snow, covering there shocked faces, and the bloodflakes were a reddish-pink now. But the tracks were already covered, that detailed the fight that had took place.

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The Dead followed him like the wake of a ship. None of them made prints as they matched the Stranger's pace exactly. He was really tired of this. The magic he contained leaked out despite his best attempts. The bandages he wore were not just to give him form, but also to contain that within. He learned that when he first came to this world. When he first came he arrived in a city on the plains. Some thugs saw him as he was walking through the town at night and inquired about what was under the bandages. At the time he was still hesitant about killing. They pulled of the bandages. The nation of the plains thought the crater was an act of God smiting the sinners, and the destruction of the village sparked a religious revolution. It would bring a smile to his face, if he had one, that such a destructive accident sparked a new religion.
After that he fled to the mountains where he trained to control the magic. No one noticed the explosions, especially when it was coming from a volcano. Except maybe that town that was now under 20ft of hardened magma. Now he learned that killing is fine. If he had killed the thugs that un-bandaged him then a town would still be alive. The only benefit of having the Dead follow him is that they made his steps disappear.
He chuckled. Another plus was that hunter. As he was walking up a hill, a hunter crested the same hill from the other side. What he saw was a cloaked man walking with an army of ghosts behind him. The hunter fled and no doubt with him went another story about the Stranger.

The stranger kept walking for another half hour before reaching his destination. A snowy hill, the tallest on this mountain plateau between Karstain and the eastern cliff village of Orme. He walked up the tall hill till he reached the summit. At the top there is the 4 faced head of the god Svantovit, once worshiped by the people who first settled in the mountains, when almost all religions were polytheistic. This statue was made so he could watch over the people in every direction.
As the Stranger stood in front of the southern face, he waved his hand and the ghosts disappeared. He needed some guilt; it kept him sane and stopped him from killing needlessly. He walked to the right toward the crack between the west and southern face. He squeezed through the crack and lifted the trap door in the floor. It made no sound because he made sure to oil it when ever he used it. He walked down the stone stairs, with pitch black empty air to the left and rock wall to his right; and as always a container of oil for the hinges in a small aclove. The stairs continued to a corner and turned to the left. This went on for a minute, the gaps between turns getting smaller. Finally he reached the last stair and walked into a door in the pitch blackness. He took two steps in and snapped his fingers. A plethora of candles and lanterns in all sorts of shapes and sizes lit simultaneously, illuminating a giant cavern with tiny blue, almost white flames which oddly didn't burn. There was even a small river at the far end with a tiny dock with a rowboat tied up. He didn't need light which was useless for him, but it was the style of the place. He took of his cloak and eye bandage and hung them on an ornate coat hanger by the door. Next to the coat hanger was a small, chest high dresser. He carefully took every weapon and armament on him and put it on or in the dresser; all except the blade on his leg. He went over to a couch that looked like it belonged to a psychiatrist once. He lied down, let the sound of the river wash over him and fell to what could be called sleep to him.

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The Stranger stepped out from between the west and south faces. He looked up at the full moon which was shining everywhere, giving the night a strange blue/green glow. He would have seen the moon, had he not stepped out into the shadow of someone sitting atop the combined cranium.
"What are you doing so far into the mountains? What got you off that blasted island." inquired the Stranger.
"Mostly the cannibals, and the wild animals,…" said the newcomer. She looked down from the moon at the Stranger, and smiled a smile that should belong to a tiger, or a shark; it looked as if she would bite your head off in a second. "…they weren't much of a challenge." The newcomer was wearing overlapping leather oil skins, so that only some of her face, with their pitch black eyes and black hair, was showing. The oilskins would protect a person from the winter gales along the western coast. The western coast was known for its jagged rocks, deadly storms, and fierce waves. In the summer it was calm, but the winter was the exact opposite.
"How did you find me, Aliora?"
"Oh, it's easy. I know you. We've been friends for over 15 years. I know you well enough that you would come to someplace where you can see everything. When rain has cleared on a good day, you can practically see the mountain that rim the western coast from here. What have you been up to, may I ask?"
"I found another Æthermage. Not sure about his specialty, but he seems oblivious to it"
"Ah so that's why you have supplies with you." And indeed the Stranger had a large backpack over the back of his cloak, but he didn't seem to be tired by it.
"Would you like to come Aliora? I know how you love travels, especially when there's a large chance of fighting." Aliora's smile somehow grew larger at the Stranger's suggestion.
“Hehe, you know me too well. I need a break from the ordered world of assassination. Its always 'Kill him, kill her.' never just 'Kill.'"
"I still have your clothes here, plus all your extra gear. Go get it while I wait." 45 minutes later, Aliora came out of the lair in light black assassin's garb, with a small dirk on her leg, a bag on her belt, and two curved blades strapped to her back.
“Lets go then," said Aliora, and they started off towards the north-west, and quietly talked as they passed through the white forest.

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Jamis entered from the cold snowy weather into the heat of the long house. In fact he was only in a small reception area, and from the look of the longhouse on the outside, this room was merely 1/8th of the entire building. Two guards in fur uniforms holding a battleaxe at their sides stood on either side of the door in the center. Savara beckoned Jamis to follow as she pushed aside the flaps of the door. They walked along a hallway that seemed to be about 3 feet wide; but as they continued, it got wider till 4 people could stand side by side. On each side of the hallway were doors with similar door flaps. Then it emptied into a long hall, with 2 large fires spaced out evenly between the hallway and the large wooden door at the other end. Along the area in the middle were two rows of columns. More door flaps were on the outside of the path with the columns. It was very busy. People, were purposefully going from different doors. Some were carrying scrolls, others pushed carts. Savara continued to stride towards the large door at the end, somehow avoiding all the people. Jamis followed, but somehow, managed to bump into almost every person to cross the pillared walk. By the time Jamis got to the doors at the end, Savara was there waiting, tapping her foot.
Two guards stood on each side of the giant doors. They wore similar attire as those at the outer door, except with more ornate uniforms, yet they still kept the appearance that they could easily dismiss you to the after life. A porter opened one of the two doors a crack and said, “My lord will see you now.”
Savara followed the porter through the door, but before going through she turned around and said, “Well are you coming?”
Jamis shrugged and followed her through.

I like. You've just got a few typos and the like. =]