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 Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 4:53 pm
Tomas groaned as he sat up from his bedroll. His athletic body was riddled with scars and stitches, some of which stretched and moved as he did. Tomas climbed out of his bedroll and poked at the fire, coaxing some of the embers to burn again as he feed them more food. Soon, with the fire going, Tomas shot a rabbit and went through the various processes of gutting it, skinning it, tanning it, cooking it and eating it. What he didn't eat, was salted and dried as jerky.
Packing up camp, Tomas donned his armour and weapons again and strode off, looking for his ultimate goal, heading towards the border of Solska and Moldania.
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Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 5:27 pm
 How could she have been so stupid? In a moment of pure idiocy she had decided to remove her helmet, planning to let her head cool for just a few moments - use the water from the stream she'd stopped next to - before placing the sweltering piece of armour back on, but had forgotten to properly sweep the area before doing so. She should have known that other people would be using the stream as well, should have expected someone to spot her. When she'd heard someone calling out behind her, asking who she was and whether she was lost she shouldn't have panicked, shouldn't have raised her head as quickly as she did. Because that's when he saw the ears. When she'd been leant over the water her hair and shoulders had effectively hidden them from view, but as soon as she sat up and spun towards him, he saw them. Those undeniably feline, spotted ears sitting atop her head, rather than a normal set of human ears on the side of her head where they should of been; if she was honest with herself, she actually found the ears rather beautiful and cute, the way the soft fur lined them, the rosette patterning of the spots breaking up the light golden/tawny colour. Yet everyone else just viewed them with horror. Their presence immediately giving her away for what she truly was.
A shapeshifter.
Now Eirian was running for her life. As soon as the man had seen the ears he sounded the alarm, running back the way he had come to gather others to hunt her down. She'd only just had enough time to ram the helmet back over her head and begin running when they were after her. No questions. No chance to explain herself. They thought she was evil, so she had to die, pure and simple. Eirian tried to concentrate on the sounds of her own breathing, rather than the sounds of the mob following her, lest she panic and trip. She considered shifting, since she would be faster then and might be able to climb some of the trees in the area (though they weren't really dense enough to hide her), but figured if those following her saw her do that it would only reinforce their ideas of her being a horrific, evil being. After all, the idea that someone can physically alter their shape is a rather daunting prospect, it would almost certainly be attributed to dark magic or demonic power of some kind.
Instead she continued to flee, though her chances of escape were looking slimmer by the moment, if it came to turning around and fighting, she didn't fancy her chances against those following her. She was certainly outnumbered and to what extent she was unsure, so she didn't want to risk it if she could help it. With her breathing now rapid gasps and the dull thumping of her feet hitting the ground becoming more laboured, Eirian knew she couldn't keep up this pace for much longer. Though as it turned out, she didn't have to. To her left she spotted what looked to be a natural hedge - a plant, or set of plants, that had grown to such a large size they obstructed a fairly large area with their mass - seeing no other alternative the girl raced towards them, diving through the thorny shrubs, expecting to land either within them or on the other side. What she didn't expect was a sudden small cliff edge. Enable to stop her forward momentum, Eirian tumbled down the side of the grassy cliff, cartwheeling for what seemed like an age before she crashed into the ground at the bottom. Dizzied, battered, bruised and disoriented, she still managed to crawl her way behind a large rock at the bottom, hiding herself from the view of those she could hear at the top. She prayed they wouldn't find her. Even as she unsheathed one of her short swords a little, she knew she wouldn't be able to fight them all off.
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DevilsBlueRose Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 4:47 pm
Tahltria wandered silently though the forest, her strung bow held tightly in her hand with an arrow nocked. She held it in front of her almost parallel with the forest floor and the steel arrow head pointing down slightly. On her left shoulder Amaria sat proud and silent, her talons digging into the padded shoulder of her leather armour to stop her falling from her perch and ahead of her Laf'ruil padded quietly, his nose lowered to the ground. Turning her head to the right, Tahltria saw her oldest brother, Fiyn, crouched down examining the ground. Looking up he beckoned her over and she silently crept over.
Fiyn looked back at the ground before standing up and speaking in a hushed voice, "The herd's not far ahead we should see them soon and by the looks of it the one with the limp is still with them."
Tahltria watched Laf'ruil sniff the tracks before looking up at her brother and replying in an equally quiet tone, "We better hurry then before they get up to move."
Fiyn nodded and the siblings continued on until they came across a herd of deer resting in a clearing. It took them a moment to locate their target which was near the edge of the heard. Both elves lifted their bows and aimed. They waited a moment before releasing their arrows. One arrow embedded itself in the animals flank the other in it's chest. Laf'ruil bounded out into the clearing and before the deer could escape he caught an older one by the neck. Tahltria and Fiyn both left the cover of the tree's and walked over to their kill, slinging their bows on their backs. Fiyn laughed.
"It looks like we'll have enough meat for a few days thanks to that wolf of yours!"
Tahltria chuckled and nodded before kneeling down next to the deer and, seeing that it was still breathing, quickly drew a hunting knife across its neck.
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Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2011 5:25 am
Morkrael sucked on his pipe lazily as he tightened his grip on the reins of his large black Shire horse. The beast was tired, he knew this, it had pulled the caravan all the way from north-eastern Solska through southern Wisbruck and onto the road to the south-eastern border of Iron Crag within days, barely stopping for a few hours before its tireless master hitched the reins up once more and carried on his endless journey.
It wouldn't be long now, just one more cache of weapons to be delivered to Iron Crag and he'd be payed. Courier jobs were almost always a drag, a waste of time and skill Morkrael thought, however they were never scarce in number, and the right job could pay enough gold to keep a man of simple needs well-supplied for a month or two. And so he travelled, just as he always had, he travelled from place to place looking for work and answers.
He'd began his quest to find Mors'gladio seven years ago, and since then he'd tirelessly sought it, finding work to supply his constant roaming wherever, and whenever he could.
Inhaling deeply on his pipe again he sighed, sending a cloud of thick smoke into the still night air, his quest had a reached a wall recently, he'd been tracking rumour and legend for the better part of a decade in search of the blade of his patriarch, seemingly lost some time during the Age of Darkness having fallen into the hands of the forces of Lodmund. In this knowledge, the young Blackraven had followed up every rumour he'd heard of powerful artifacts hidden away in the tombs and catacombs that once housed the evil sorcerers forces. So far, this had resulted in failure, and now he was no closer to finding the legendary ancestral blade than he was seven years ago when he'd first began his long pilgrimage.
But still he carried on, with a prayer on his lips and a sword in his hand. It was the Blackraven way.
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Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2011 6:38 am
Tomas followed the road upwards, following the woodland border of Moldania towards the plains of Iron Crag. He longed to see the Dwarves of Iron Crag once again, for he enjoyed the company of the rowdy fighters and strong drink. "Still, I'm a long way away and the road goes ever on." He thought aloud to no-one, but his thoughts, the trees and the birds. Using a stout, long straight stick as a hiking stick, Tomas started whistling loudly.
Walking give him time to think, which Tomas wasn't fond of. His thoughts would always drift back to the night where Ser Luise was almost killed and how he fought with more savagery than the Wild Folk themselves to protect her. How he cursed the Wild Folk with every swing with fury and determination, to throw back the savages from whence they came. As his thoughts turned the sounds of screams of the dying and roars of the living, Tomas's tune died on his lips and he slipped into a somber mood, still walking.
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Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2011 11:13 am
Eirian practically held her breath as she listened to the continued sounds of people searching for her at the top of the cliff. While they couldn't see her from up there - she was currently behind the rock she'd crawled behind, back pressed against the cold stone, ears swiveling under her helm at each noise - if they decided to come down to search they were certain to find her before long. She figured if she snuck away now, she might get far enough away to escape their attention, especially if they didn't have dogs (she'd found mobs with dogs to aid them were much more persistent) luckily she couldn't hear any, so that might work in her favour. Sheathing her sword once more, she started to get to her feet, only for a burning pain to flare up from her left ankle. She clenched her jaw tightly, breathing out slowly through her teeth while clutching at her leg, sinking down to the ground.
"Dammit....."
Her tumble down the cliff must have damaged her ankle, how much she was unsure, she hoped it was just a sprain. Either way, it was going to seriously slow her movement. Again, she debated shifting. Even with her injured leg, she'd still be able to move faster as a jaguar, but she knew she'd had to transform a fair few times over the past month or two, which meant she might end up with yet another animalistic feature at any moment. It was bad enough covering what she already had. So, unless she had absolutely no other choice, she would remain human.
Breathing slowly, steadily and using the rock to steady herself, she got to her feet again, making sure not to put too much weight on her injury. One of her ears swiveled in the direction of the cliff as she listened for signs that the hunters were heading down after her. Closing her eyes for a moment and taking a deep breath, she prepared herself for the pain she would have to deal with when she started her escape. Deciding now was as good a time as any she began to hobble and stumble her way through the trees, keeping out of sight as much as she could. Unfortunately, as she crossed a relatively large open space, she heard a yell from behind her. Someone had spotted her.
With a small cry of despair, Eirian tried to limp faster, but it only caused her injured ankle to give out and she fell over. Managing to throw her hands out to save herself, the young woman was able to scrabble back to her feet before her pursuers could gain too much ground on her. Since she was unable to run, she knew they would catch up to her before too long, her only chance was to hide. As she looked around herself at the trees, she realised they were all too small or the leaves too thinly spread for her to conceal herself effectively. Just as she decided she was going to have to either fight or shift - despite the dangers those choices posed - she noticed a rather large, densely-leaved tree in the distance. As fast as she could go without tripping again, Eirian headed towards it, only now realising that between her and the tree was a road; if anyone was travelling along said road they would easily see her, even though she had her armour back on, when the mob caught up and asked where she went, any witnesses would probably be after her too. Still, it was a risk she was going to have to take so, after glancing over her shoulder to make sure the group hadn't caught up with her yet, she started to stagger her way across the road.
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Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 1:45 pm
As Eirian ran towards the road, Jasper led the mob as well as he could, chasing after the shapeshifter. He was sure of it, he had seen the ears on her head. He had yelled, attracting attention of the other villagers as he grabbed his pitch fork and ran after the woman as she ran away from the villagers with speed.
Jasper could hear the murmurs of the other villagers, how they were doubting his accusation. "This way!" Jasper yelled suddenly, startling the others in action. They started to run towards the road that runs north to Iron Crag
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Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 3:56 pm
Tahltria cleaned her knife on the grass before standing and sheathing it at her waist. She turned away as Fiyn knelt next to the deer, drawing his own knife and slicing through the deer’s belly. Removing the organs always made Tahltria feel ill, killing she could handle but not gutting the animal, so she left that part to her brothers. She sat down a little way away from her brother and watched Amaria fly up onto a low branch and preen her feathers. A moment later Laf’ruil padded over to her and lay his head on her lap, she scratched behind his ear and turned her gaze to the sky that she could just see through the leaves.
She listened to her eldest brother move behind as he went to the second deer to do the same to it as the first. Tahltria closed her eyes as a slight breeze swept through the clearing, a small smile gracing her features. After a moment she heard Fiyn call to her that he was done. She stood and walked over to one of the deer and lifted it up to rest against her back, just as her brother had done.
“Let’s head back now, Father will start to get worried if we take too long.”
Tahltria nodded and followed her brother from the clearing, Laf’ruil padding beside her and Amaria soaring overhead.
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DevilsBlueRose Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 7:16 pm
Morkrael's brow furrowed, his hand instinctively moving to his longsword as distant shouts disturbed the still evening air. He was within a few days of Iron Crag now, and he didn't want to lose his delivery at the very last stretch.
Bringing his horse's speed to an idle trot, the Blackraven bowed his head, running his fingers lightly along the ancestral names tattooed on his inner-left forearm. Quietly, he began to pray to his forefathers for wisdom.
"Claris maioribus meis, me duce oportuno. Quid hoc audio vocem e longinquo, qui prope me latet?"
The air around Morkreal became silent for a moment. No birds could be heard, nor the rush of the breeze through the trees. Then a chill wind carried wisdom from beyond the vale, whispering in the young warriors ear.
"Habet a meridie orientem septentrionem et persecutus est iuvencula Iron Crag. Sunt gressus tui in occursum..."
Morkrael murmured his thanks before shrugging his broad shoulders. "So be it."
A yawn forced its way up the young mans throat before he looked to the sky. It was blackening. His eyes dropped to the road as he searched for a decent place to camp.
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 4:14 pm
It seemed Eirian had lucked out. From what she could tell there was no-one else on the road she was currently hobbling across, which gave her the chance she needed. Once she was at the base of the massive broad leaf tree she'd seen, the cat girl began a rather troubled ascent; if it hadn't been for her claws (which she allowed to extend through the very tips of her gauntlets, since she'd fashioned them herself) she didn't think she would have made it, due to her damaged leg being almost useless, she had to use her knee rather than her foot to balance herself. When she managed to grab hold of the lowest branch, she scrabbled her way onto it, making sure she was balanced before making her way to the next one. She continued in this way for a while - luckily the branches were fairly close together so she was able to get higher in the tree even in her injured state. It was a good thing she managed to, for soon there were voices and the sounds of many pairs of feet heading her way.
Steadying her breathing, pressing herself against the trunk and drawing her legs up onto the branch she was currently on, Eirian attempted to make herself as unnoticeable as possible, while also allowing her to support her injured ankle. She hoped she was high enough and that the broad leaves of the tree would hide her from those below, for if they found her now, she had nowhere to go.... Through a small gap in the foliage above her, the shapeshifter could see that the sky was darkening, she hoped perhaps her pursuers would notice as well and decide to abandon their search. It was a small hope, she'd found in the past that these groups could be quite persistent, even when night fell, or the heaven's opened. Well, all she could do now was wait. Whether they found her or not, she'd deal with the situation presented to her.
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 5:30 pm
Tomas's recollections were interrupted by the distant shouts of men. He frowned and placed a hand on the hilt of his greatsword while dropping his hiking stick in the same motion. Bandits were common, but this close to Moldania? With Tree-kin? "They must be insane or brave to hunt here." Tomas spoke to no-one in particular.
With the fading light, Tomas knew that it would impede on his sight. Side tracking to the side of the road, Tomas decided to set up camp for the night. Selecting a broad leaf tree as his support, Tomas set up his lean-to tent and ate a simple meal of bread, dried meat and water, with no fire as that would attract men and beast alike. His sword, dagger and hunting bow were kept close to his bedroll for ease of access in the night.
Turning in for the night, Tomas stripped himself of his chainmail and left his woolen shirt, climbed into his bedroll, closed his eyes and was quickly asleep.
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Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 3:13 pm
As the siblings were returning home with their kills Laf’ruil came to a sudden halt. He cocked his head to the left slightly, his ears perked up and swivelled around. The two elves stopped and turned around when they noticed the young wolf was no longer walking with them.
“Laf’ruil, is something wrong?” Tahltria asked the wolf who was now looking behind him and slightly to the left, he gave a little whine in answer before padding over to her and Fiyn. His ears were still turned back as he listened to something they couldn’t hear.
Fiyn looked around the forest before turning to his sister, a faint look of worry on his face, “I don’t know what he can hear and I’m not to eager to find out, let’s get be quick about getting home.” With that he turned and began walking again albeit at a faster pace then before.
Tahltria hesitated for a moment, looking in the direction that Laf’ruil had been and still was, before looking down at the wolf, “Come on.” She then turned on her heel and hurried after her eldest brother, Laf’ruil right behind her.
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DevilsBlueRose Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 7:29 pm
Morkreal found a small clearing in the foliage that framed the beaten track his caravan travelled down. Guiding his Shirehorse expertly to a halt, the young Blackraven climbed down from his seat at the front of the caravan and approached the beast, running a large pale hand along its dark flank before unhitching it from the wooden structure it tirelessly dragged. Disappearing briefly behind the caravan he returned with a bail of hay, placing it in front of the horse and allowing a small smile to play across his thin lips. "Rest now my friend. It is only a brief sleep before sunrise."
Morkreal set about preparing a small fire just beside where his shire horse lay contentedly.
Inhaling deeply on his pipe Morkreal looked up at the mass of stars which speckled the deep blues and blacks of the night sky. Idly spotting constellations the young man sighed and drank deeply from his wine skin before setting it down and biting off a large biece of bread.
Laying back, Morkreals gaze drifted south-west towards Moldania as he rested his head upon his fur bed roll.
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Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 3:37 am
Jasper was pissed. He'd been made a fool of by the shapeshifter. The other village people were murmuring and grumbling about their discontent with being out in the woods that long. Jasper kicked a tree in frustration and winced as he felt a toe bone crack a little.
" Ah, bugger it! Let's go home." The rest of the villager group grumbled and picked themselves up, shoulders slumped and heads hung at the prospect of all the gold that the village could have gained from killing the shapeshifter was lost.
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Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 7:02 am
The shapeshifter girl practically held her breath the whole time she could hear those chasing her. It didn't help when she watched someone set up camp at the base of the tree and she thought to herself;
Oh god, what if he saw me get up here? That guy could've been watching the whole time... he isn't getting their attention though, maybe just a traveler?
Now that he was against the trunk of the tree she was unable to see him unless she peered over, which she wasn't about to risk just yet. Beneath her helmet, Eirian's ears twitched in the direction of the mob and she thought she made out 'go home' from one of the voices. Since the darkness of night was rapidly approaching, she hoped this meant they were indeed going to head back. Sure enough, the sounds from the people began to get quieter and the cat girl was able to breathe a sigh of relief.
Now, from her vantage point in the tree, Eirian was able to take stock of her situation. While she'd been able to climb the tree successfully, she would risk falling and damaging herself further if she tried to get down with her injury. With the unknown man at the base of the tree below her she might be able to risk asking for his help; after all, she was wearing her armour again and the people chasing her hadn't spoken to him, so he didn't know about her being hunted. But then... he might attack her anyway, she couldn't be sure he wasn't some kind of escaped convict or something - he had been wearing armour when she'd seen him, so that meant he was at least wary of getting in some kind of fight. Still, she was stuck. Without shifting she had no safe way of getting out of the tree while one of her ankles was unable to support her weight. Looking up, the girl was also able to see what looked like smoke in the distance; thanks to her improved night vision she was able to make out most of the landscape despite the fact that night had now fallen. She wondered who it might be and whether or not she should avoid them, if she ever got out of the tree of course.
With a deep sigh, Eirian maneuvered herself so that she was crouched on the rather thick branch she was on, being careful not to hurt her ankle as she did so. She grasped the side of the branch, using her claws to dig into the bark and leant over so she could look down at the man below her. She could easily make out his shape below her and the armour that now lay beside him;
Well at least I know he isn't waiting down there to kill me, else why take off the armour?
Eirian usually never took her own armour off, even when she was sleeping, just in case someone stumbled upon her while she slept and noticed her 'unusual' attributes. Quietly, she called out,
"Hello? Uhm... Mr, hello?"
When that didn't work she raised her voice, thinking perhaps she hadn't been loud enough,
"Hello? Can you hear me down there? I need help...."
That didn't work either. She huffed a little, thinking that perhaps he was deaf, until she realised he was probably asleep, not just resting as she normally had to (where she would still be fairly aware of her surroundings, even though she was technically sleeping). She looked around for a moment, pondering
Well how am I supposed to get his attention now?
until she brought her attention to the multitude of smaller twigs extending from the main branches of the tree. She smiled a little beneath her helm, then snapped off a few of the small pieces of wood. Turning back to the man and positioning herself so she could see him easily, she started to throw the twigs at him, hoping perhaps that would get his attention.
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