Welcome to Gaia! ::

Round 1

When the pare reach the mountain the stop at the usual fork in the road that they'd always encounter before them was three paths... a rocky narrow looking one to their left, a wide smooth one in front of them, and a semi wide semi smooth one to their right usually they'd take the right hand path because of it's balanced terrain but every time they did they'd encounter wolves! And whenever they'd take the center path there'd be Bees! The left hand path was treacherous but maybe in some ways safer... "Ok Rosewood... lets go down the left path..." she says cautiously the mare nickers nervously before stepping onto the path

It WAS narrow! And very rocky! Rosewood had to watch where she put her hooves very carefully to keep from hitting any loose rock finally the path grew so narrow Camilla had to dismount and walk Rosewood along "Just watch your footing girl we're doing good we'r- Eek!" Camilla had been so focused on making sure the mare was stepping right that she hadn't noticed the patch of loose rock she was putting her foot right on! "Wah!" she yelps as her foot slides right from out under her and she goes sailing right off the cliff!

Not only was this narrow path more dangerous then the other two but it took them longer as well! Camilla now understood why this path was marked dangerous and it was pretty much a unanimous decision between the pare that they would not go this way unless they had too! Finally the pare reach the forest's entrance... They were muscle sore and weary in spirit but determined to continue on! However they needed a bit of a break... Both Camilla and Rosewood stopped for lunch before eventually heading into the forest however neither realized that they were being watched by eight unfriendly familiar eyes...

That was until the horse hating Giant spider decided to make it's presence known! The pare had gotten around halfway through the forest when the darn spider thumbs down infront of them hissing and nashing it's pointy fangs! "Eep!" Camilla squeaks while Rosewood rears back in surprise! That spider was like a ninja sheesh! Neither horse nor knight had heard it following them until now and neither were prepared to deal with it!

The spider wasted little time in charging at them and Camilla wasted little time in drawing her Buyou Rouzu however Rosewood knew what this spider was after and so without warning started trying to buck Camilla off! "Rosewood?! What are you doing!? Hey! Rosewood!? Rose- Wha!" she yelps as the mare suddenly starts bucking until finally she couldn't hold on any longer and she goes flying off! Camilla hit the ground with a loud thump and before she could even get up Rosewood had wheeled around and was taking off in the other direction with the spider hot on her heels! It quickly became clear what the mare had done... "Rosewood..." Camilla whispers with concern in her voice as she watches her fleeing form "Don't take the narrow path back!" she shouts and receives a hurried whinny in response

Finally after a few minutes more she gets up, brushes herself off, and hikes her bag higher on her shoulders before continuing on... This was why she only carried what she could fit in a backpack...

As she steps out into the light Camilla despite being exhausted and in pain couldn't help but marvel at the view... It was strange... She hadn't really stopped to look at the view before... Maybe this mountain had a better view or maybe being in so much pain made her think about the view... Or maybe she was just stalling... Who knew even Camilla herself couldn't explain why the view just struck her in that moment... Unfortunately she couldn't just stand here all day... There could be a angry eagle or avalanche at any second! She needed to move!

Through reluctant she steps determinely onto the peak! Things were going well until she stepped in a really deep patch of snow! "Eep!" she squeaks holding onto her bag for dear life! Unfortunately she very nearly lost it this time and it ends up flopping on it's back! This made the the flap jerk open and allow a whole bunch of food to go tumbling down the mountain! "Oh no! No no no! All that food!" she whines sadly as she wasn't even able to catch any of it... A soft distant gasp goes unheard as Camilla sadly crawls out of the snow and pretty much stumbles the rest of the way up...

Finally she reaches the peak! She had regained some of her excitement as she saw the helmet glinting in the light and so upon reaching it she leans down slowly to pick it up then holds it up proudly with one hand while the other held the strap of her bag firmly... It was a meaningful moment for Camilla as she held the helmet up to proclaim her victory... She had no energy or desire to cheer and jump around plus that would just cause a avalanche anyway and so this was her way of cheering! Finally she holds the helmet in both hands to look at it proudly she was happy to find that it was simply dome shaped with a piece of metal running down the middle infront of her face! It wasn't a closed in helm! Yay! Eventually she stuffs the helmet away in her bag before beginning her decent down the peak she would have tried it on if not for the fact that more then a few of those arrows had nicked her scalp... her hair had more then alittle blood on it... which only enforced the need for a helmet...

Finally she reaches the bottom and suddenly finds a man standing there in long flowing robes! Startled by his sudden appearance she goes to draw her Bokken only to be halted "At ease Knight! At ease... I mean you no harm..." he says while raising a hand frowning Camilla resheathes her half unsheathed bokken before looking him over... He seemed quite old yet his wrinkles seem to hold not weariness but... wisdom... As she looks him over he smiles warmly... It was the sort of smile... That just made you smile... and soon Camilla found herself doing just that until she realized she was and out on a serious expression again this conscious act of seriousness made the old man smile before he bends down to pick up a canvas bag that she hadn't noticed till now... Wait... That kind of bag looked familiar... ...No ...It couldn't be!

"I have a gift for you young Knight!" The old man states happily as he lifts up the bag... It seemed to be heavy with something... "You see... I'm a traveling Wizard and I just so happened to have extra food on me... I saw what happened as you climbed the peak miss... and I hope you'll accept my gift! I think you and all the other knights could make good use of it!" he explains before finishing with a knowing smile dumbstruck Camilla automatically took the bag that was handed too her as her mouth hung open... Finally with a happy nod the old Wizard turns to leave which snaps her from her shock! "A-ah! W-wait! Are you the one that leaves bundles of food along the path!?!" she finally chokes out stopping he half turns towards her with a warm smile and a knowing look in his eyes "Maybe" he says simply before laughing slightly and continuing on leaving a Awestruck Camilla in his wake!

Suddenly she realized she hadn't thanked him and rushes inside the tunnel only to find he was gone! "Wha?" she exclaims in confusion before looking all around eventually after still being unable to find him she accepts that he was either very fast for one his age or very magical... the latter being more likely... Finally she smiles and nods "Thank you..." she says sincerely before putting the food away and heading back... This quest had been quiet a learning experience!

Unfortunately for the pare something Camilla ate earlier that morning would end their first quest for the Mantle before it even began...

Excited and full of energy the pare gallop full speed towards the mountains! They stop at the fork in the road ready to take the safer right hand path when it hits her! "Ulp! Oh no!" Camilla moans as her stomach suddenly roils and pulls hard on the reigns to keep Rosewood from rushing on! The mare lets out a confused whinny as she was stopped and then both reigns were dropped...

Camilla had one hand covering her mouth and another her stomach as her head began to spin... "Oooh Rosewood! I-I think I ate something bad for breakfast! Ooo...I feel sick!" She moans sadly before flopping against the horses neck "I-I know we're excited to go on this quest but-! Ulp! I need to go back! Ugh! J-just for a bit I promise! Ugh..." She half whines half moans! Rosewood lets out a disappointed whiiny before nickering a bit as if to say it was alright... Slowly so Camilla wouldn't fall off she turns around and heads back

Fail Roll please ignore

It took the excited pare practically no time at all to reach the mountains this time! They come to a stop at the fork in the road and wait for a minutes... Finally Camilla smiles "I'm fine! Let's go!" she says happily before Rosewood whinny's excitedly and rushes down the right hand path!

Unfortunately because of their excitement neither of them were being mindful of wild animals and so about halfway through a roar brings the pare to a sliding stop! "Rosewood... What was that...?" Camilla asks cautiously botn Knight and Mare being on high alert! Rosewood's nostrils flare as her ears swivel to and fro! She was trying to find the source of the sound but it would be revealed to both of them as a bear would come lumbering down the path... "Oh dear..." Camilla mutters with wide eyes... The bear was Huge! At first she almost thought it was some shadowling but as it lumbered closer it was clear that it was just one big male bear... One ready for a fight it seemed! The bear yad five long scars holding it's left eye shut and a myriad of other scars littering it's body... This bear was a warrior... A crazed warrior... It's eyes held deep madness as it approached snarling and growling... "W-we can't fight this..." Camilla says finally not only was this huge bear a warrior but it was mad as well... There would be no way she'd beable to fight it without killing it and unlike shadowlings she didn't want to kill the local wildlife...

Finally a risky plan comes to mind... There would be just enough space for them to squeeze by the bear but... No... It was the only way! "Rosewood... Get really to run around the bear as fast as you can on my mark..." Camilla says seriously the mare nickers a bit before snorting determinedly! As the bear lumbered closer tne pare back up to keep space between them until finally it lumbered close to the wall "H'yah! Now! Go Rosewood! Go!" she shouts whipping the reigns! The mare neighs and rears up before lunging forwards moving as quickly as she could in such a short distance! The bear knowing immediately what she was up to stands tall on it's hind legs and raises it's paw to strike! For a second it looked like they'd make it unscathed until Camilla feels a searing pain along her ribs! "Argh!" she yelps in pain! The bear easily being as tall as Rosewood was had slashed out and raked Camilla with his claws along her ribs! Blood instantly began to soak through her undershirt and onto her Tabard! Rosewood was about to stop but Camilla whips the reigns again "N-no! Don't stop! Keep going!" she shouts in a pained tone! Grunting to acknowledge her Rosewood continues to run full speed while the bear roars it's fury!

The pare continued their hasty gallop all the way down the Mountain and straight into the Forest! It was only when Camilla realized they were now far FAR away from the bear that she tugs on the reigns to stop Rosewood "Whoa girl Whoa! I think we're safe now..." she calls while tugging soon Rosewood slows to a trot before stopping entirely near a stream which ran through the Forest... They both were in need of a rest and the stream seemed like a good safe place...

Slowly Camilla climbs off of Rosewood's back and stumbles her way over to the stream... She doubted the water would be good for healing but it would be good for cleaning... Just as slowly as she'd gotten over there she sits down and first removes her Tabard then her Undershirt... There right along her ribs were five perfect cuts of fair depth... "Owie..." she mutters before getting to work... Using a clean rag she cleans the wounds before soaking the bandages in some alcohol and wrapping her middle with them she hisses as the alcohol touches the cuts but takes a deep breath to help tolerate it finally the pain subsides enough for her to rinse the blood off her cloths and slip them on... The coolness of the damp cloth felt good against her throbing side and soon she was up and about!

A short distance away Rosewood had laid down to take a breather but was watching Camilla anxiously... So when Camilla finally stood up the mare mirrors her movement and trots over "I'm ok Rosewood!" she says as the mare sticks her muzzle in Camilla's face Rosewood nickers softly a bit as Camilla pets her and Camilla could swear there was a sad tone to it "It's alright girl... It's not your fault... Neither of us could have predicted the bear would be that all or move that quickly..." Camilla says in a soothing tone finally Rosewood whinny's acceptantly before pulling back It was around noon now and both of them were feeling peckish so they decided to stop for a bite to eat however neither realized that eight curious eyes were watching them...

Rosewood found a nice patch of grass to munch on while Camilla made a big hearty sandwich and found a nice rock to sit on she had her mouth open ready to take a bite when she happened to glance up at Rosewood... The moment she does her eyes widen as she see's the Mare frozen and wide eyed with grass hanging out her mouth "Rosewood... What are yo-" she was cut off by the sound of a snapping twig above her... Slowly she looks up only to have her eyes get big as dinner plates!

There above her was a giant spider! It was hanging from a long thread of webbing watching Camilla curiously with ut's eight eyes! It was smaller then the Horse hating one and had a different pattern on it but Camilla didn't really notice this... "Eep!" she squeaks while dropping the sandwich! Despite her aching side she stands up and whirls around to look at the spider as it drops down on the rock! "W-wow!" she exclaims this was the first time one hadn't out right attack them but still she kept her guard up...

The spider watched them curiously for a long moment before skittering over to the dropped sandwich it nibbles on it for a second before it gets a disgusted look and skitters off... "Huh..." was all Camilla could say as she stares dumbfoundly at the Spiders fleeing form... "I guess... It just was curious...?" she says finally still it had surprised her and her sandwich now sat inedible on the ground... pouting a bit Camilla turns to Rosewood and sighs... "We better go... Where there's one spider there might be more... And the others might not be so friendly..." Camilla says before walking over and grabbing her pack then returning to Rosewood and swinging herself into the saddle

The mare nickers in agreement waiting only long enough for Camilla to get seated before she starts on needing no prompting to go other then having just seen a Giant Spider... Rosewood did not like Spiders now...