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 Posted: Fri Jan 31, 2014 2:03 am
Chalcedony took in a deep breath before he said something that he really didn't think that he would ever say to Jacinthus of all people, "I will go first, I am the one with the shield after all and we have no idea who is waiting for us." He told the archer, finding it more then a little weird that he was actually of a mind to protect him. He knew that he had to though, didn't he? While the two of them really didn't get along with one another all that much he knew that Jacinthus was important. He was Takoda's mate, Keilana's brother, and an uncle to Chal's sons, as such he couldn't let anything happen to him.
Releasing his hold on the archer he stepped around him, hoisted his shield into position, before he stepped forward through the tall brush, and out to where he could better see those that they were going to be facing off again. Upon spotting them he gave a muttered curse under his breath, "Wonderful." The one time that he had to be right about something and it was about something as bad as this. Men from Oba, that was who they were facing off again. Here he was just guessing at that but he didn't actually think that the men were going to hunt the two of them down. Not only that but to lure them out this far from home, to make sure it was a seemingly two on two battle, and to have them facing against someone with magic powers which neither Jacin or Chal had a grasp of. This wasn't good.
He heard Jacinthus moving up behind him, weapon in hand, but he didn't bother to look back at him. Instead he kept his eyes locked on the pair before him, "So, are we to assume that this is the obvious?" Chalcedony asked of the two dark skinned men, almost certain that this was going to be a battle, maybe even one to the death if these two pushed it... though if possible Chal meant to catch one of them to drag back home. They were possible wells of information after all, something that wasn't to be wasted if at all possible... provided that these two men, as well as Jacin, allowed it.
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Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 12:54 pm
The Oban men seemed to wait patiently for Jacinthus and Chalcedony to enter into the clearing. The smaller of the two seemed to have small beady, almost bloodshot eyes, like he had been sleep deprived for years. The larger man on the other hand looked well rested and physically in prime condition.
Though when Chalcedony spoke up, asking if it were the obvious conclusion they should come to, the large man in front of them gave out a booming laugh. The kind of laugh that sent the birds of the forest furiously moving away from the source. Their caws screeched through the air and then settled away from the area, quieting as the man himself quieted. "I don't think so."
The scrawny man seemed to do something with his hands before he narrowed his eyes in concentration. The air seemed to vibrate and pulse and in the distance the same faint sound the men had heard earlier came out from the trees. It sounded like crying. More specifically like children crying and screaming out from the depths of the forest.
"It looks like you two have a choice." The man smirked out. His attitude was snarky. "Now we hear you're the best of the best on this side of the world, but truly you're weak. Do you take your chances trying to pummel us into the ground, or do you save your children?"
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Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 7:27 am
Jacinthus starred at the men for a long, drawn out moment, one ear twitching slightly. They seemed to think rather highly of themselves, didn't they? It was something that was kind of funny, to see them talking so highly of themselves when what they were saying was a load of crap. They seemed to think so little of Jacinthus and Chalcedony, never bothering to take into account the fact that during the tournament the both of them had been severely handicapped by inferior equipment, fake arrows on Jacin's part, and the fact that their opponents were merely more people that were there for a game. Unlike some of the more bloodthirsty ones the two of them had gone out of their way to keep from harming their opponents more then they had to.
Pummeling was sort of the right way to describe it but the vast difference between what Jacinthus did against his opponents then and what he did against say, the witu, on a daily basis was like night and day. He felt that the same was probably to be said for Chalcedony given that his current shield had a massive spike on the front and the one at the tournament most certainly had not.
As the man started to mock them, talking about how they had to make a choice that they would either fight the two of them or save their children his eyes narrowed a little. He moved then, swiftly and surely, lifting his bow in a swift, fluid motion, and without hesitation loosed his arrow, aiming to shoot the mage through one of the hands he was waving about. He then spat out, "You think that I believe a word that either of you are spewing? It means one of two things, either you're both a couple of liars or you are a bunch of cowards! I'm inclined to believe both, Oba scum." He doubted very highly these men had Chal's sons, they wouldn't be in this good of shape, they would have been beaten half to deal by Keilana if they even got within a hundred yards of the twins. As such he felt it was a bluff, a magically created one, and he could only hope against hope that his hunch was right and that they hadn't hurt the twins or his sister. If either were true he'd take them apart piece by piece with his arrows, something that might take a bit.
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Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 7:36 am
The sounds of children crying was something that caused Chal to freeze in place before he looked around, feeling overwhelmed for a moment by fear. Was he to relive the nightmare of Isa's kidnapping all over again? It had just been a hoax then, something to test him, but it wouldn't the same this time, would it? No... these were dangerous men, invaders from Oba, people that wouldn't hesitate to harm his sons to cause him to suffer, "Hiding behind my children like a shield?! You two are nothing more then..." His words trailed off into a surprised gasp when Jacin loosed an arrow, seeming as though he were determined to cease the mage's magic. He stood there for a moment shocked, then turned to look at the archer as he raged at the men.
He swallowed hard, turning to look at the men. He thought that they were lying? He thought on it a moment, recalling where the boys were at the moment, then let out a shaky breath. It had to be a lie, they were with their mother, they were surely safe with her, she was scary enough that she could silence the entirely family with but a look. She'd never let them get close enough to take the twins... or so he hoped. He had to believe in her and in Jacin's call because now that he'd shot the mage there was no going back, was there?
Shaking his head he shifted his shield in front of him, braced it, "You had been hope for you sake that you don't have my kids anywhere!" He spat out at them and then charged at the bigger of the two men. If he had to do so he would beat this one senseless! He didn't think that it was the best of ideas, not when there was a chance they had the boy. Best that they try to keep them alive and just beat the truth out of them just in case there was even an ounce of truth to what they were saying about the boys.
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Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2014 2:44 pm
It would seem that the men had chosen the second option. The arrow flew through the air sure on its aim and before the small mage could move out of the way the arrow's shaft was clear through his hand and lodging itself inside. The man screamed in agony, breaking concentration, but it seemed that the crying coming from the distance didn't let up. Soon after it would seem that it was actually getting more desperate.
While the mage whimpered briefly, cradling his hand and trying to staunch the blood, the large man charged forward, ready to brace himself against Chalcedony's shield, his muscles were already flexing in response to a movement he knew as if it were a basic reflex. The man met with Chalcedony and grabbed a hold of the large shield in a tight grip, absorbing the impact and attempting to throw Chalcedony backward and to the ground. He grunted with the force of it all and chewed out his words through clenched teeth. "You had better hope for your sake that you two aren't as stupid as you seem."
The small mage seemed to have taken the time to gain control over his emotions once more, his face contorted with a mix of pain, anger, and determination. He broke the arrow in half, pulling the shaft out of his hand and letting the blood drip to the floor. It would seem he was doing something in the sand, marking strange ruins with the drip. It was only seconds before he seemed done and launched a succession of fireballs at Jacinthus, buying himself time for the main event ahead.
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Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2014 8:30 pm
The arrow burying itself into the magic slinging b*****d's hand was, in Jacinthus's mind at least, supposed to silence those cries. They were just supposed to be nothing more then a bluff on the part of the invader and yet the sound continued. There was a split second where Jacinthus felt shocked... but it was a sensation quickly blotted out by pure and unadulterated rage, "You worthless pricks, you actually took them? Took children? As hostages?" His hissed out, his eyes narrowed, "At least now we know what we are dealing with in the up coming war, naught a bunch of cowards who can't even fight like men."
How he hated people like this, those that wouldn't fight using their own merit, instead they were content to hide behind others. They reminded him of those bug mages, the way that it appeared as though those creatures had taken Kei and Takoda away from him... only this time it wasn't just some false image, it wasn't evil magic at work. These men had actually taken children hostage, his nephews, which meant they very well could have hardmed his sister in the process! How his hands now ached to loose more arrows into the both, to turn them into a couple of pin cushions. The idea of trying to get information out of them was long gone, all Jacinthus wanted now was revenge upon those that would dare to try to tear his family apart. Once he was done with them he would send their bodies back to Oba as a message, one that said loud and clear that his family wasn't one to be screwed with. The more he thought on it, what these men had done and what he'd do to them, the darker his thoughts became.
He reached for more arrows, notching two at once this time, once more taking aim at the mage. He was the dangerous one, he was the one that he wanted to take care of first... a thought that was interrupted when suddenly the man was sending several balls of flame his way.
Jacinthus was forced to fall back, bouncing back quickly to try to avoid getting himself caught on fire. The moment he was able to do so he took aim, sending more arrows flying toward the fire wielder. Once he got rid of that one then he'd turn his attention toward the bigger one. Until then he could only hope that Chalcedony would hold him of. The two of them were about the same size after all and Chal with that massive shield of his, if anyone could do it he hoped that Chal could.
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Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2014 8:37 pm
Chalcedony's was far more startled then Jacinthus was when the crying continued even after the archer actually went and shot the mage through the hand with an arrow. It was something that caused him to freeze in place, looking around, trying to pinpoint where the sound was coming from. Then... it wasn't a bluff? They had actually taken the boys? It was something that caused his chest to ache and made his stomach feel as though it were full of rocks. Damn it! He was supposed to be protecting them! Had he failed again? Just like with Isa? It was a thought that didn't sit well with him, not in the least bit. Why did it seem as though he always failed when it came to protecting those that meant the most to him?
The bigger Oban grabbed hold of Chal's shield, shoving him backwards and to the ground. He landed hard, the impact sending pain through him that he probably needed since it woke him up to a degree. It forced his attention away from those cries and back to the men from Oba. He starred at the one that was mocking him for a moment before his eyes narrowed "Stupid? You call us stupid?" He asked in a hushed tone of voice, unable to help being a bit surprised at his words. What were they expecting then? For them to lay down their arms the moment they were threatened? As if they were such cowards... still, he felt that they should at least fall back. They needed to find the boys, get them somewhere safe, then and only then would they be able to fight these men on equal ground.
A though that wasn't really echoed by Jacinthus though given that he was already readying to shoot the mage again. It was only a rain of fireballs that stopped Jacin from going through with another volley of arrows, something that Chal couldn't allow. Reaching out he grabbed hold of Jacinthus once more by his shirt, dragging him closer, "We can't fight anymore! We have to find the boys and get them somewhere safe." He said in a hushed tone, wanting to retreat now,before the mage decided to use his powers to harm his hostages to get back at Jacin for the hand wound. As much as he disliked the idea of retreat surely it was what had to be done at the moment so that they could save the hostages... the tough part being getting Jacinthus to listen to him.
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Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 9:50 am
The mage was much better equipped to handle the oncoming attack than he was the last time and dodged both of the arrows before launching another range of fireballs now at the two of them.
The large man seemed to prepare himself for another attack, gripping his feet into the ground and rearing back, readying for a charge, waiting to see what it would be that the two earthlings would choose to do.
Another cry escaped from the forest, seeming to be far off; it was hard to tell if it was growing weaker, or if it was moving farther away.
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Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2014 5:28 pm
Chalcedony too a couple of quick steps forward toward the men... before he slid to a halt, using his shield as a scoop instead of a weapon, sending a wave of sand at them. He hoped to blind the pair of them... if he was lucky, before he raced over toward where Jacinthus was standing. He grabbed hold of him by the wrist, dragging him away from where the two Obans were standing. He hated the idea of retreat but they couldn't just stand there and battle with them. The longer they battled with these men, the more time they wasted, it seemed the fainter the cries of the children got. He couldn't let them get taken away. What would happen if they lost track of them after all? Would these men drag them back to Oba? Or worse would the just abandoned them in the middle of Jauhar, all alone?
They could very well be killed by the monsters in this place! He knew all the worst things that lived in this place, knew where they were most often found, how to avoid them, and how to get away from them. The children though, they didn't know what to do about them, how to avoid such monsters.
"Come on, Jacinthus! We need to find the kids, need to save them! Once we have taken them back we won't have to worry about holding back anymore." The men would no longer be able to hide behind their hostages, feeling free to mock them. If, after the children were saved, the invaders wanting to continue the fight, then Chalcedony would be all of himself into the battle. He just couldn't do it until he knew that they were no longer in trouble. He wouldn't be able to focus until that point... and if that meant dragging Jacinthus every step of the way then that would be what he did.
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Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2014 5:36 pm
Jacinthus was dodging out of the way of a wave of fireballs when Chalcedony suddenly caught hold of him, dragging him away from the battle with the Obans. It was something that left him feeling completely shocked, to the point that he was choking on his words, unable to get them out. What... what was going on? What was he doing? Why was he getting pulled away from the battle?! They should be fighting those two men, putting them in their place, which was back in Oba as far as Jacin was concerned. That or buried six feet under if they didn't want to just go home!
Of course he didn't have the chance to tell them any of that. No, he was being dragged along, "W-What are you doing?! How could you? I..." He trailed off when Chalcedony explained what they were doing and where they were going. Going to save the kids, take them back, and then... then the man would no longer have human shields he realized. They would be able to continue the battle then without worry that the men would kill some kids to punish them.
"Bah! I hate running like this! As if we should be running." He was a powerful man, one that served his village well, took good care of his family, he had his pride... and here he was running from a pair of cowardly invaders. People who shouldn't even be here were forcing him to do something like this, "Fine, we will deal with them later." He said, jerking himself out of Chal's hold so that the two of them could run faster, heading toward where they could hear the voices of the children, hoping that they would be able to catch up with... well, whoever it was that had taken them. Probably another of those weaklings from Oba, another person he'd deal with if the need for it arose!
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Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2014 6:17 am
As the two men moved through the forest, searching for the children, it was easy to tell that they were getting closer. The sounds were becoming louder, but there was something strange about it. The voices seemed to be multiplying the louder they became and the closer that the men got to the source. It sounded like there could have been four to five children held captive at this point.
The brambles and vines became tougher to fight through, and the deeper into the forest they got the thicker the foliage became until... it stopped. In what seemed to be the densest of the vines and thorns was a clearing where everything just stopped. The vines stopped coming forward, the trees cleared a way, and if one of the men chose to look up they would see that the vines continued upward and closed in until it was like a cage of some sort.
In front of the men something stirred, the sound of crying children once more heard in the air. It was a sharp agonizing sound, but without the muffling of the forest it was distorted. A large large figure loomed over the two men, it's wings closed in tight to its body, barely fitting inside of the cage the vines created around it. It's eyes looked dazed and in pain and with a loud shriek of the children's cries it craned its neck to see Jacinthus and Chalcedony standing below.
[This large bird-like creature was the source of the sounds of children crying. The Obans have been poking and prodding it, backing it into a corner until the only thing it wants to do is lash out at anything remotely humanoid. Jacinthus and Chalcedony must fight the monster and either daze or kill it. This may be as long or as short as is necessary.]
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Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2014 1:27 am
Jacinthus found himself starring up at a large bird, one that trapped inside a cage made of vines, crying out in a manner that sounded like a small child crying... and he felt a burning anger filling his gut, "They did this, didn't they? They trapped this thing to toy with us!" This was yet another dirty trick by those cowards, one meant to break them down mentally by making them both think that it was Aysun and Chandra that they had captured. Just a bird though, not his nephews, they hadn't been captured by the Oban soldiers, which mean that they could at least relax in that aspect. The boys were safe, which meant that his sister was safe, he didn't have to worry that she had taken them on while they were trying to take the boys.
Giving a sigh he reached for an arrow, a part of him wanting to just silence the 'crying' bird so that they could return to their battle against the two men from Oba. They couldn't waste their time here, not when they had no idea what it was that they would be facing next as far as this 'adventure' was going. Those Obans could very well have set up more of these tricks, something that he didn't care to think about even though it was a distinct possibility.
Before he could lift his bow though Chal rested a hand on his arm, "Stay your bow, Jacinthus." He said, giving the archer a serious look before he turned to look at the bird, taking in the makeshift cage that it was locked in before giving a sighing sound, "That bird is just like us, it's been tormented by those soldiers from Oba. We can't allow ourselves to become like them." Looking up at the bird he debated it for a moment before he said, "We need to free it. Once it's loose... we might have to chase it off but we can't just kill it when it's just another of Oba's victims. Besides, if we killed a cage bird you know that Aysun would never forgive us." The very last thing that he wanted was for his son to be upset with him because he killed an animal that didn't need to be killed.
Jacinthus jerked his arm away from Chal before he starred at him, then sighed a bit, "Fine, we will give it a shot, but if it attacks us I will deal with it Chalcedony, even if you refuse to." He wouldn't risk his life over the freedom of some animal. He looked over at the shield barer before he added, "If it comes down to it I won't just kill it to kill it, we will bring it home for dinner. Better then wasting it.
With that two men set to studying the cage, "If I shoot just right the bird will be released." Jacin said, notching his arrow and took aim, "Get ready, that thing is going to come at us the moment it's free." He knew the way that animals thought and this one was looking at them as though they were the enemy. It was frustrating if only because it was the men from Oba that riled the bird up, not them. Tormenting prey was not how he went about things, it made the meat taste bad. As such he actually did hope that they wouldn't have to kill the thing now, he really didn't want to bring it home knowing that it would likely taste awful due to the stress that the creature was under at the moment. Best that they do what they could to chase it off instead of killing it now that he'd made that stupid vow.
The archer let his arrow fly and it hit its target, weakening some of the vines that made up the cage... and a moment later the large creature was breaking free of the cage. It gave an awful sound them, one that sounded like a child screaming, before diving down at them, talons outstretched. Luckily for the archer it collided with Chal's shield instead of either of them, though it was instantly clawing and pecking at the shield, wings flapping rapidly to allow it to hover in the air just above them. It's attack continued for some time though the moment he was able to do so Chal threw his weight against his shield, forcing the bird back.
It landed in front of them, screamed again, then charged, kicking at them with strong legs. The creature was dangerous, very much so, and the Obans were probably hoping that it would mess the two of them up, making them easier to pick off. Not something that either of them wanted to allow though, not wanting to find themselves stuck fighting that pair whilst wounded. Instead they mean to chase the bird off so that they could return to the real problem that they had to deal with. This bird was nothing more then a very annoying diversion, one that Jacin meant to pay those men back for.
The battle against the bird was an intense one. Jacinthus hated when he had to hold back, it was just like with the tournament, he was forced to essentially cripple himself because he couldn't harm his opponent too much. Such a pain... at least Chalcedony had that shield of his. It allowed him to hold the bird at bay, allowing Jacinthus various openings to take shots at the bird. Not to mention it gave him time to make a few of his arrows less lethal as well. Removing the heads off them, not putting his bow back as far, aiming to knock it senseless instead of killing it, "That little monster of yours had better appreciate this." He muttered as he took aim, sending one of the arrow shaft flying at the bird.
The arrow thunked off the side of the bird's head, sending it staggering around drunkenly, something Chal took advantage of, giving it another solid hit, carefully though so as not to hit it with the spike on his shield. The second hit caused the dazed bird to collapse in a heap, not moving, but still breathing at least. The two of them starred down at it for a moment before Jacinthus said, "It's not going to be down forever, best that we aren't here when it gets back up." He said to Chalcedony, grabbing up the arrow shafts that he'd shot at the bird. They, along with the arrow heads, were dropped into his quiver. He'd fix them later, for now it was best that they retreated away from the proximity of the bird and see if they couldn't get the drop of those fools from Oba.
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Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2014 6:34 am
With the large bird subdued and behind them, the two men in search of the Obans would have to backtrack through the thicket and brambles. But the return trip seemed to be much harder. It was as if the vines and thorns were aimed toward the cage and each step caused something to get caught in their points and barbs.
Without the distorted sound of children's crying in the forest it was almost eerily empty. If the Obans were making any sound where they stood, it was not audible from where the two men were.
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Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2014 8:11 pm
It was quiet, a little too quiet for Jacin's liking, and it caused him to be that much more on edge then when he was being chased by the shadow earlier. It meant that the Obans were likely plotting something else. Their next move against the two of them, "Those two are starting to get on my final nerve." The very last thing he wanted was to be stuck jumping through hoops for those two forever. He just wanted to wrap the business between the lot of them up so that he could return home. For the moment though that wasn't happening, going home wasn't a safe option, not until they dealt with the invaders. How he looked forward to that. At this point he just wanted to check on his sister and nephews, then go home and collapse into Takoda's arms. All things that had to wait.
"Use that shield of yours and try to clear a path." He suggested to Chalcedony, finding the dodging the thorns to be more then a little annoying and something that he really didn't feel like dealing with at this point. Let Chalcedony go first, shield raised, so that he could charge forward in the manner he was good at he thought to himself, waiting for the shield barer to do just that.
*****
Chalcedony looked over at Jacinthus when he muttered about the Obans being on his 'last nerve' and while he didn't show it on the outside he felt about the same. He was tired, burnt out, he just wanted to check on his sons and then get some sleep at this point. That wasn't an option though, not when the Obans might very well stalk them back to where they lived and treat his sons in the same manner that they had treated that bird. They had to stay away from loved ones until this was figured out.
Giving a sighing sound he said, "Do I look like a battering ram?" He shook his head then looked at the thorns, ones that seemed to be turned inwards, likely manipulated by the mage to keep the bird in, "I suppose if either of us can break through there it would be me." Jacin's weapon wasn't made for smashing down walls of thorns. As such he supposed that he would have to do it himself. Lifting his shield up in front of him he started to push forward, using the broad surface to shove the thorn covered vines out of their way.
"We should head back to where we saw them last, hopefully they were dumb enough to stick around." If they were he would only be too happy to pummel them both with his shield at this point. He was hot, tired, and frustrated by everything that the pair of invaders had done thus far and he had a feeling that the day probably wasn't over yet...
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Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2014 7:23 am
The two men headed back through the forest, seeking out the Obans that had provoked them earlier. The forest was thick and hard to pass, but with the help of Chalcedony's shield, the work was quicker than would be expected. It wasn't long before they reached the small clearing that they had been in earlier... except no one was there.
The space was empty. It was easy to see that this was the same location that they had met in earlier that day, there were scuff marked on the floor from their skirmish and dried blood soaked into the ground where the mage had his hand pierced, but the two Obans seemed to have been long gone. Were they perhaps thinking that the two men wouldn't find a way back? Or maybe they had been so sure that their provoked bird-beast would have been enough to finish the two men off. Whatever the case was, it would seem that they had underestimated Jacinthus and Chalcedony. Perhaps it had been a test for the Obans to observe. Something to gauge their opponent's top warriors by. With so little known about their enemies, it was hard to say for certain, but one thing was sure: the trial was over. The Obans had left the forest.
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