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 Posted: Sun May 20, 2007 9:18 am
9th Symphonia
Maya took a step back, widedning her arms from her sides to show she had nothing with her, not even money. "Buy me one in Snowshire! Its the town right before Jotenheim." She gave a mischeivous grin.
Devlish nymph.
"Useless without you're lantern, are you?" He kept his arms folded tight, shifting his weight to his right side.
"Useless seems like the last thing I would describe you considering the feat of power you displayed earlier. What real business do you have in Snowshire?"
He narrowed his eyes.
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Posted: Mon May 21, 2007 1:20 am
Maya stared at him boggle-eyed, confused. "Feat of power?" Maya tried to recollect what 'feat of power' he spoke of. "You mean, walking around all bloody and stuff?" She scratched her cheek. "Its a fact that women are able to withstand nine times the amount of pain a man can." She patted his back a few times. "Its okay to be jealous."
Ratatosk gave a weary glance towards Anarel. "It becomes clear to me. She won't remember, no matter how hard you prod the memory. Y'see, she has only a small sliver of gravity element in her body. Not enough to do what she did to Nidhogg. That was something else. Anyways! Hop to it! I have to be at an acorn anonymous in an hour! Scurry, scurry!"
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Posted: Mon May 21, 2007 7:40 am
He could feel a smile sneak its way through his lips, but he tried to keep it hidden. He leaned forward slightly, reaching forward to push back her hand. Before he could formulate a witty retort, his attention was adverted to Ratatosk's sudden understanding of Maya's abilites. Being that Ratatosk was ancient, and knew much of the Yggdrasil, and maybe other matters beyond the scope of Anarel's knowledge, he trusted the squirrel's words. He glanced at Maya, wondering if she had anything to say in response.
He pointed at Ratatosk, the smile overtaking his lips slowly. "That is what I'm referring to...," Anarel turned toward Ratatosk, hiking up the sloping branch to get onto the creature's back, "...Not some grand threshold for pain you assume women have greater over men." His grin widened, but unseen as his back was turned to her. He finally mounted the creature's back, looking at Maya.
"Ready then?"
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Posted: Mon May 21, 2007 4:01 pm
Maya gave a grin, hopping up upon the squirral's back, wrapping her arms around Anarel's waist. "Oh, you're jealous, alright. Hee!"
Ratatosk took off at a blinding speed, too fast for them to see exactly where they were going. After a short time of traveling, the air began to become frigid and cold, and eventually snowflakes began hitting against their skin.
Ratatosk skidded to a stop, sending snow flying in front of them. A small town lay in front of them. Small houses, smoke from their chimneys. Many shops. Everybody was dressed in thick furs and cloaks, but even though the atmosphere was icey, the people seemed quite joyful and well-adapted to the freezing weather. Up the large hill beyond the town, the remnants of the old part of it, which were now Jotenheim, could be seen.
As the two got off Ratatosk, the creature turned and issued a small warning before it left. "First off, dress like the people you see. You'll regret it, otherwise." he motioned toward Jotenheim. "You've probably heard of Frost Giants, but don't have many stories of them. That's because most who go seeking them are never seen again. You may think you can melt them, but that simply isn't true. To kill a frost giant, you need to find its weak spot, which is usually on the very top of its head, or the very bottom of its foot. Strike that spot and it will die. Good luck to you!"
The creature zoomed off, leaving only a flurry of snow in its wake.
Maya trounced forward, twirling around in the falling snow as she walked, a purely delighted look upon her face. "Snow!" She laughed as a little child might, then shrieked as she fell into a pothole of sonw that captured her up to her chest.
"Waaaaaaah, its cold, its cold! Get me out! D:!!!!!!!" she thrashed in place, trying to crawl out of the hole. Childish antics, indee.
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Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 10:05 pm
Anarel looked down at the poor Maya. He wrapped his white coat tighter around himself. He walked over to Maya, bending over to grab her upper arms and yanking her from the hole in the ground. A billow of fine snow unfurled from where she was stuck.
"Please Maya, calm yourself..." Anarel continued to dust the snow from her clothing with his hands.
"Focus now..." He gazed far into the town, scanning the area, and evaluating what he had to, "...we should find proper attire to brave the cold of Jotenheim, otherwise, we may freeze to death. And then your lantern." He nodded to himself.
Anarel began to walk forward slowly, trying to blend in with the people that inhabited Snowshire. He suddenly stopped in mid-stride, using his hand to feel his belt. He searched for a pouch, but could not find one.
"Tch..."
"Maya..." he turned to her, "...do you have any gold?"
((Not sure of the currency used in Asgard. I'm going with gold.))
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Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 10:13 pm
"Gold? Oh yes, one moment..."
A sinister curl of her lips briefly appeared as she turned as if adjusting somethign at her waist. She turned back to face him, flinging a ball of snow at his head. Maya shrieked hyperly, swinging his pouch of monetary supply around on her index finger.
When she snatched it from him, or how, nobody will ever know, but as it stood now, she had it and was fleeing into town, giggling.
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Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 10:26 pm
Anarel spit out the bit of snow that had made its way into his mouth. He then brushed his face with his hands, cleaning off the rest of the snow from it.
"Maya!" he yelled through an unintentional smile. "Give it here!"
He raced after her, into a crowd of thickly coated people. He weaved through the crowded street, squeezing his way past shoulders and elbows. His pace suddenly slowed as he lost sight of Maya.
"Maya!," he yelled once more.
Omie, what have you gotten me into?
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Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 10:44 pm
A hand reached through the mob of people, snatching Anarel's hand. He was tugged into a warm environment where the snow didn't fall, into one of the shops.
"Silly, you'll catch a cold just standing there like that!" came a muffled voic. Beside him stood a strange figure garbed head to toe in thick white furs, with a full-face hood that resembled an owl face.
Hands slipped through the sleeves and tugged the hood down, revealing a very sneaky, clever Maya. "Here!" she dropped his money back in his palm. "Go find some clothes. And then lantern! LANTERRRN!"
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Posted: Sat May 26, 2007 10:22 pm
Anarel gave a look of skepticism as he breathed in deeply. Pocketing the gold, he knelt down on one knee, and placed one hand on each of Maya's shoulders.
"Please Maya, no more antics. We must focus now. Stay here; I will return shortly. Along with your lantern."
He looked her in the eyes, making sure she understood. He waited for a reply. A simple nod would do -- just to affirm that she knew what he asked of her.
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Posted: Sat May 26, 2007 10:46 pm
Maya stared back, her happy features melting away. "Fine. I will stay here, since I am such an inconvenience to you." She turned her back to him with her head held up and made her way to the opposite end of the room, where she pretended to be intereste in staring out the frost-covered glass pane of the window.
Sheesh. Treating me like I'm some child. What's wrong with enjoying my life? Feh! were her thoughts. Patronizing, condescending! she bit her lip in momentary frustration.
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Posted: Sun May 27, 2007 6:39 pm
Anarel immediately stood up as soon as Maya pulled away from his grasp, and headed off deeper into the shop. He breathed in once more, watching her, before he turned around and walked outside of the shop and into the snow-covered open market of Snowshire. Across the thick snow, he spotted a small shop, in which through a fogged window he spotted clothing of sorts, thick and warm looking. He made his way toward the shop, whose door was already open. Stepping inside, he was met with a gust of warm air. A fire roared in a fireplace at one end of the cozy shop. On one wall, hung up with other similar items, was a simple, thick, and lengthy scarf. Anarel pondered its use, and thought it a simple garb to wrap around his mouth and head, and the scarf seemed to have enough length left over to wrap around his neck. He grabbed the said scarf from the wall, feeling its material before heading to a man at the front of the store. The way the man stood behind the wooden counter signified that he was the store owner, or at least worked in the shop.
"How much for the this...?" Anarel inquired, holding up the scarf and shifting through his gold pouch to see how much Maya had left for him, which wasn't all that much.
"Five gold pieces, sir."
Anarel nodded, realizing the high price for the scarf, but he did not care to search the wide open market for bargain prices. It proved too much of a tedious task for the semi-exhausted half elf. He fished out five shiny gold coins and slapped them into a neat, stacked pile onto the counter. The shop owner's eyes followed Anarel as he left without saying a word.
Anarel trudged through the snow, wrapping the white scarf tightly and snugly around his forehead, as if it were a turban, then down around his mouth, and hung the rest of the scarf neatly down his back. He intended to head back to Maya, where he had left her at the shop, but he quickly remembered the lantern he had to get for her. He then stopped in mid-stride, rerouting himself so that he headed even further into the market. A smaller corner shop again caught his attention, and displayed from its window, a variety of lanterns, along with other furnishings to decorate a cozy home with.
Hm, how convenient. Anarel thought to himself. He quirked a brow, and headed toward the small shop. He stepped through the already open doorway, and was suddenly met with a closed canopy of hanging lanterns and a variety of light fixtures for candles. He walked underneath the illuminated ceiling, gazing at the hanging price tags that hung from the center of each fixture. He grabbed at a few tags, analyzing each one for prices. He then remembered the look of annoyance Maya had given him, and decided it best to make up for everything by buying an exceptionally extravagant lantern, something that would supplement Maya's innate magic power, yet was aesthetically pleasing.
Anarel wasn't much for art, and the like, but he knew a finely crafted piece of wood work when he saw it. After a few minutes of perusing through the shop, his focus was immediately brought to a unique looking lantern that was hidden among the other light fixtures in the shop. He quickly made his way toward it, shooing away the hanging tag with his hand, and gripped the handle at its top to retrieve it from the hook on the ceiling. He analyzed it carefully. The lantern, from just glancing at it, obviously had much time and craftsmanship put into it. It was made of finely stained glass, and strong, polished dark wood. The wood frame seemed to originate at the center top of the lantern, and cascaded down into a natural curvy frame that ran down the lanterns geometrical, yet graceful glass casing. The wood melded into one point at the bottom of the lantern, and then suddenly separated into elegant fringe from which delicate glass beading dangled at the tips. The handle was a perfect metallic ring, accenting the the lantern's final design, along with the intricate wood etchings that were native to the artisans of Snowshire. It was easily gripped, lightweight, yet sturdy. It was perfect.
He brought the lantern to the shop keeper, who then told him the price was 20 gold pieces. Anarel neatly slapped four stacks of gold onto the counter without a fuss, and left without saying a word.
Anarel's boots met with crunchy snow as he stepped outside. The lantern hung at his hand, but before he could make even one more step, he was abruptly halted by a raspy voice. A sharp pain was sent through his cheek as a blade was pressed hard against it, threateningly. At that moment, a flurry of screams and shouts could be heard throughout the small, frost village. An orchestra of gut wrenching moans, sneers, and hollers filled the foggy air. It was enough to make hair stand on end. The hustle and bustle of the marketplace had shifted from a carefree trot to a frantic pace, with patrons running back an forth, jumping, and hiding, escaping...but from what exactly?
"It'd be wise if you don't move, kind sir..." the raspy voice implored. "...That pouch, give it here."
Anarel turned his head slowly to the right, and his eyes were met with those of dark black pupils. The face was dirty and ragged -- a face of an experienced thief, but still hell bent on murder. The mouth on the face grinned, as the bandit eyed the lantern he was holding.
"Pretty, pretty...that to. Give it." The cold voice demanded, not caring how much Anarel had spent for it. Anarel, without moving his body, motioned to reach into his pocket to grab the pouch, but before his hand could find it, he quickly advanced, wrapping his arm around the man's knife holding arm, pinning it underneath his armpit and pushing hard with his hand under his elbow, threatening to snap it clean. As the bandit was preoccupied, Anarel swung the lantern hard, bashing the man in the face. The bandit reeled backward, plopping neatly into a mound of snow behind him.
A body fell forward across from Anarel. It skidded across the icy terrain, leaving smeared blood as it traveled. A black, rusty arrow stood erect from its victim's back. Anarel's eyes widened at the site before him. He looked up, and then entire town was in a frenzy. It was obvious now, what fate the town of Snowshire had to overcome. A large band of blood thirsty, merciless thieves had overrun the village. Vagrants of all shapes and sizes flooded the shops and open air stores like an army of roaches, dozens of them, from out of nowhere, on foot and on horseback, infiltrated the area. They were armed with an array of weapons -- bows, axes, clubs, and swords. Their races were varied, but all seemed a hybrid of Humanish and other beings. From small and lanky, to tall, large, and heavy-muscled -- this band of thieves were different shades of murderous intent. They pillaged and killed, taking and plundering without mercy to the patrons.
Anarel bounded forward, slicing through the slew of thieves by throwing his own elbows into jaws. He ran forth, continuing to immobilize anything that came into his path. He ran to the shop where Maya was, but he was not quick enough, as he counted, five filthy thieves had entered the shop where Maya was. Two were of moderate builds, armed with swords, one thin, but vicious looking, armed with a bow and a quiver of arrows. Two remained, which Anarel was quite worried of -- two large and bulky creatures also made their entrance, having to duck their heads underneath the doorway as they were too tall. Their hands carried monstrous, blood-stained axes.
Maya!
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Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 6:18 am
Maya at first paid no attention to the sounds outside, thinking perhaps a few children had begun a snowball war upon adults. Nor did she pay any attention to the thudding of boots that entered the small inn's front room where she resided in. Upon hearing the surprised shriek of the innkeeper, she opted to turn to see what had frightened her, but found herself barricaded close to the window by a masculine body much larger than hers, the cold steel of a knife being rubbed against the tender flesh of her throat.
The grungy voice of her 'captor' seemed to chuckle at his catch. "Mm hm hm! Ain't had any woman flesh in weeks!"
Maya cringed, disgusted. "Take your dirty hands off me!" she gave a cry, bringing her knees off hte ground to her chest, where she then slammed them into the wall, using them to propel the gargantuan man and herself backwards. He only stumbled a small bit, of course. A woman of her size had little hopes to knock down a behemoth his size.
This small riot caught the other's attention, who began to jest and sneer and snicker at her, tormenting her with unpleasant thoughts of their idea of 'fun'.
One of the average sized bandits squeezed her chin and cheeks in his hand . "How about a little kiss? That won't hurt ya none will it? Just a little kissy wissy!"
Detest sparked in Maya's eyes, and she snatched her face from his grasp, opened her teeth wide and bit the hand that taunted her. The man gave a shriek of pain, and his comrades laughed at his misfortune, which fed his desire of revenge.
"Little girls who don't play nice get punished!" the bandit drew his hand back, and released it forward, slapping her across the face.
The straw that broke the camel's back.
Maya screamed, mostly in frustration, lashing her legs forward in attempts to kick the assailant in the face. The man holding her wavered in his balance at her sudden outburst. She kicked and thrashed, writhed in fury. Things in the room shook as if a small army of invisible poltergeists shook them, doors opened and slammed repeativly, windows rattled, chairs toppled over and shook on the floor.
The picture that Anarel would first see upon entering the inn's shop was this:
One of the larger bandits detaining Maya from the back, keeping her arms buckled at her back to prevent her from using them as weapons. Her lower body was off the ground, one average sized bandit holding her at her thighs, the other at her shins, trying to keep her from kicking and thrasing, though she still writhed. The skinny one stood a small distance away, wanting no part in trying to subdue the angry woman, while the other large one taunted her with his blood-stained axe, tilting her head up with it so the blade pressed against her throat.
They actually seemed delighted from the shaking furniture and room. "Looks like this one's an elemental, though not sure what. We could sell her at the hunter's guild in sandveil!" they began bickering about what to do with her. Sell her, use her, kill her?
((Hunter's guild is based of those baddies who liked to murder elementals as sport though lots of them sell the elementals for more money to even darker factions, zomg~ Loved your post btw =D ))
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Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 9:02 am
People had begun to flee the unfortunate shop as the band of thieves occupied themselves with the newfound elemental. Anarel crouched slightly, scaling the perimeter of the shop. He pressed his back up against the outer wall of a shop, where a cracked window was placed. Carefully, he leaned sideways, turning his head ever so slightly so that he could just barely peer inside the shop. He spotted the archer, away from the group of thieves that had apprehended Maya. Anarel's heart skipped a beat as he saw how they had begun to taunt her. He then removed his face from the view of the window, breathing in slightly. The gears in his head were turning fast. He reached over his shoulder and produced a silver arrow from its quiver. He readied the arrow into Magni, stringing it back. He would have to hit them fast and hard.
Quickly, Anarel removed himself from hiding, standing in full view in front of the window. He slung the arrow back hard, then released. The first arrow plowed its way through he glass of the window, and plunged hard into the skull of the archer who stood away from the group. The archer's eyes rolled back into its head, its knees and ankles buckled, and the entire body collapsed to the ground like a demolished building. One down, four to go. With the archer out of the way, Anarel wouldn't have to worry about distance attacks made upon him. He advanced further, jogging softly, and quietly through the front entrance of the shop. The other four bandits had their backs turned to him. Their deep, raspy voices drowned out the commotion that had gone on behind them. Anarel then made his move. He placed Maya's lantern on the floor behind the counter. It spun on its side slowly.
Another arrow was let loose, slinging itself neatly into the back of the head whose body was holding Maya's shins. As that bandit fell to the floor, Anarel walked forward, jaw tight, vision stern. He slung another arrow back automatically like a well-oiled machine, letting it fly once more in between the eyes of the smaller bandit that had begun to turn around and notice that his comrade had just died. He too, fell to the floor.
Anarel's attacks were met with two grunts -- two of the larger, monstrous thieves were left. They had turned around already groaning a deep, dumb sound. One of the two larger ones that had trapped Maya's arms behind her had not even a second to think, as Anarel stepped forward still, unclasping Modi from his belt and hurled the sharp dagger into yet another skull. A soft, slimy, slicing sound could be heard as the larger one fell, inevitably releasing Maya's upper body. At that moment, Anarel ran to Maya, to help her up, but the other axe-wielding thief would not allow it. Anarel stopped in mid-stride, having barely enough time to lunge back and save himself from being cut in two by the double-headed axe that had been swung vertically at Anarel's lower body. This bandit was fast though, using the velocity of his swing to bring around his other hand, and push Anarel back with a thrusted palm that was as big as Anarel's chest.
Anarel was knocked back a few yards through racks of thick coats, skidding on his back across the wood floor. The thrust was so intense that Anarel's ankles had been brought over his head, but as soon as he stopped right beside the shop's checkout counter, his entire body was flat against the floor. The wind had been knocked out of Anarel, but it was nothing more than wind and a dull pain that had consumed his upper body. He glanced to his right, wincing and vision blurred. He saw Maya's lantern.
He then glanced to Maya who was on the ground. He tightened his jaw and gripped the ring-shaped handle of the lantern, then shouted Maya's name. While on his back, he tossed the lantern in Maya's direction. It skidded across the wood-paneled flooring, stopping beside her. It spun on its side slowly.
Anarel sat up, and reached behind him once more to pull an arrow from his quiver. He readied himself if it so happened that Maya did not take the initiative to defend herself.
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Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 10:51 am
For a moment, Maya was dazed. Everything had happened so quickly, and before she knew it Anarel had come out of nowhere to save her. The scraping noise of the lantern sliding across the wooden floor brought her ears to attention.
Quickly, she swooped it off the ground, holding it tight in her right hand. Her lips began to move in a silent chant, and as they did it seemed the very sound was sucked out of the air for a long moment, before the climatic crescendo erupted with a light from the lantern. She swung her lantern as if she were striking somebdoy with a first, and as she did, a giant fist of air connected with the bulky bandit, hard enough to send him flying off of Anarel and into the wall.
Maya ran to where Anarel was upon the ground, coming up behind him. She wrapped an arm around him from behind, pulling his head into her chest, and threw the lantern at the dazed bandit. Before it hit the ground, she pulled her other arm around anarel's head as if protecting him, making sure to cover his ears as she crouched over him protectivly, as if bracing for impact.
As the lantern hit the ground, it almost appeared a ghostly spectre rose from it, then another. Horrifying looking creatures in white, but their look was not as bad as their noise. They both let out an ear-shattering scream, circling around the bandit. Maya flinched, holding Anarel tighter to protect him from the banshee's screams.
The bandit was not so lucky, as he began shrieking in pain, clutching his ears, where blood had begun to gush out in bucketfulls. He swiped blindly at the spectres, screaming in pain the entire time, before finally falling down in a puddle of blood, unconscious, and probably dead.
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Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 11:02 pm
He watched from the ground as Maya ran to his side as she buried his face into the cavity of her chest. He felt the very atmosphere shake, the wind vibrate, and the floor boards shudder and rattle. Anarel was oblivious to what was happening around him, but it felt as if he were being shielded from a storm. He heard a high-pitched noise emit from where Maya's lantern was thrown, muffled, but the shriek still managed to scrape against his eardrum in a very unpleasant manner. He had no idea how Maya could withstand the awful sound. As the noise died down, he gripped Maya's upper arm, and pulled it downward slightly so that he could see once more. Before him, his eyes were met with a puddle of blood, and the fallen foe waded in the muck of it all.
Anarel's breathing had heightened, and his heart was racing. It was as if the storm that was somehow conjured suddenly vanished, and Maya and himself were the only ones to survive its aftermath. He glanced upward at Maya, then back to the bloody mess. He propped himself onto his elbows, trying to regain his sense of self. There was a severe contrast between the calm that had taken over the inside of the battered shop, and the calamity that continued to take place outside. Anarel cleared his throat before climbing up to his feet slowly. He did not say a word to Maya at first. Instead, he spotted his dagger that stood up from the creature's skull. He calmly walked to it, making sure his footsteps were well grounded so as not to slip across the blood that had apparently gushed from the victim's ears. He yanked the dagger from its place, and secured it to his belt once more.
Anarel opened his mouth to say something to Maya, his back now was turned to her. Suddenly, a body had been thrown through another window of the shop, and landed a foot or two away from Anarel. It wasn't apparent how the person had died, as there was no obvious wounds or blood. Anarel then turned to Maya.
"We should leave while we still can."
Anarel pondered the thought of staying behind and trying to save the small, defenseless town of Snowshire, but they had other, more pressing matters to tend to. Specifically, obligations that had to be met in Jotenheim.
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