|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Sep 09, 2013 11:47 am
This Quest is for Gerraden who is striving to become a Swordsman.
OOC
||. You may not control any NPCs or other characters; Gerraden must face his trials alone.
||. Respond to the prompts given as you would any other RP.
||. Your responses may be as long or short as you feel necessary.
IC
The rain was harsh in Jauhar today, flooding the floor and leaving mud in its wake. It filtered in through the dense canopy and dropped large, heavy drops down onto seemingly everything below.
It was a typical summer rain, happening close to everyday lately, but it was inconvenient regardless of how consistently it happened. Most just couldn't wait for the 'dry' season of Jauhar, where the rain only fell once a week. But it was the price to pay for living in a humid tropical rainforest.
All of Jauhar seemed to stop what it was doing to take shelter from these daily downpours, whether in a network of roots, or from the roofs of their homes. The only animal that seemed to revel in the mud and soggy mess was the spitorog, croaking and nestling in the muck in groups of hundreds. It was a strange sight, but stranger still was yet to come.
Through the sound of the pouring rain, the claps of thunder, and the slight whistle of wind, a cry of pain bounced through the branches and from somewhere far off.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Sep 20, 2013 10:10 am
Gerraden was at home watching as the drops of rain hit the ground in heavy stream, listening as the sound seemed to be like natures music and he could appreciate the sounds the peacefulness of the moment and yet he wished the rain would stop. There was still so much for him to do, he was training and though he did take days off on occasion to rest today he had intended on traveling through the forest to the edge of Jahaur and back. His pack was ready to go, with provisions to supply him for the day, but the rain was just too heavy to be mucking about even if he was up for the challenge.
Watching and listening as the spitorog seem to relish and rejoice in the downpour gathering in numbers he didn't think was possible for such...creatures there was the thunder...and though he couldn't see the lightning directly due to the canopy above, every once in awhile the forest would seem to be illuminated in light and then the roar of the thunder to announce it passage.
Then there was a sound he at first could not pin point. It was such a sound he wondered at first if it was the wind playing tricks on his ears, looking over to his parents who were taking this day to relax his mother was working on making bread while his father worked on tanning hide. How this was relaxing he wasn't exactly sure but it was things they enjoyed doing...
Looking back outside he was sure...now there was a sound that didn't belong. Licking his lips he even went as far to lean out the window, allowing the rain to make his dreads heavy and his eyes squint as rain trickled down into them . Hundreds of eyes were suddenly focused on him as spitorog suddenly took interest in what this man was doing. Gerraden paid them little mind until he was positive he had heard something that required investigation.
Without saying anything to his parents he went to gather his water proof cloak and pulling up the hood gathered his bag and strode out the door. His parents didn't stop him as they knew he would be back and that if they tried to stop him it would only end up with them trying to knock some sense into him. Gerraden would learn his own way.
The croaking from the spitorog halted for only seconds when he excited out the door then resumed as he started out. He had made sure to pull on some water proof moccasins before going and he was thankful for it as he felt his feet sink into the mud and almost on top of a spitorog that stared up dumbly at him. Those spikes wouldn't be very comfortable if he stood on them with bare feet...
Returning his gaze to the blurr of the world around him he shouldered his pack and continued in what direction he was positive the sound was coming from.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 23, 2013 7:36 am
The rain continued to pound down on Jauhar, and the thunder clapped periodically, seeming to lighten up slowly, too slowly really. The sound of the thunder seemed to be covering up the cries in the distance, sheltering the source from being discovered.
The croaking spitorog played in the muck as Gerraden passed by and seemed to be following him as he went. They would blink their uneven blinks, squinting one eye as a rain drop would hit it and hopped along, half swimming in the mud. At first the numbers were few, only a couple following at a time, but before long, a multitude of spitorog was following Gerragen through this rain, seeming to take a keen interest in anything that seemed to want to stay out in this weather.
Another cry of pain echoed through the forest, coming from Gerraden's left. It was slowly starting to sound closer. Another flash of lightning and a clap of thunder resounded and a terrible cracking noise came soon after. One of the large trunks of Jauhar's giant trees must have been struck, and as Gerraden got closer, he could see that it was indeed true; the trunk was still intact, but a large portion was splintered and shattered into a spiky mess.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 23, 2013 8:56 am
At first the young hybrid failed to notice his little entourage, or if he noticed the one spitorog originally he only gave a slight chuckle and moved on. Soon though the chorus of croaking coming from behind him was...strangely unnerving. Pausing he half turned to notice hundreds of pairs of eyes staring at him. One such spitorog was mid jump and landed quite close to his feet looking startled as it hadn't anticipated that Gerraden was going to stop so abruptly. It fell on its side, flailed it thick legs a moment in the air before slowly righting itself. It blinked one eye slowly and then the other...before foaming bubbles appeared from its lips.
Now even if the rain was lessening and he was wearing rain gear, he found his body still quite soaked and he was starting to shiver from being so damp, he had some things in his pack (if they too were not completely soaked) to help him warm up and dry off but there was little point if the rain was going to continue as it was.
"Al..right then." He murmured to himself rubbing his arms as he turned and continued on his way, now noting the splish and splash and splut of each spitorog as they jumped and crawled after him. There was a sudden cry of pain from his left the young man jerked in that direction hoping to avoid standing on any of the prickly stalkers he had, and with a slight hop and skip of his own managed to keep his feet from standing on any of them.
After walking for a moment there was an intense flash of light, and he heard the sound of a sharp and very loud cracking sound soon after, it was like when a sledge hammer struck stone except..not. Suddenly he came upon the wounded tree. Blinking he walked slowly up to it, examining the damage with a low whistle, it was a very impressive tree but now it had a large and splintered wound right in the side of it. Looking up he gathered it was quite tall and if this tree fell it would probably do quite a lot of damage to the surrounding area.
Moving he placed a hand on the smooth bark feeling quite sorry for it. He wasn't sure if tree's felt pain but he hoped they didn't.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 25, 2013 11:42 am
The forest pitched one more cry into the air; a cry that sounded as if it were so close now. It was followed by a tired moan and then nothing.
The rain had finally died down to a drizzle, and the thunder seemed to have passed completely; low gurgles resounding through the clouds and fading into the distance. But the mud stayed. The spitorog that were following Gerraden seemed to have found something more interesting to chase after, and the swarm of them trotted off in the direction of the sound of pain from earlier. It was an odd sight; reminiscent of a land slide completely comprised of spitorog as they hopped and bounced over each other to get to where they were going.
A voice rang out, seeming to be weak from strain but not any less irritated. "Get away! Go! Leaaaavvveeee urrggh!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 25, 2013 10:14 pm
The young man couldn't help but jump at the sudden ear piercing cry, after all it was so close now he felt almost deafened by it. Trying to still his rapidly beating heart, his attention was soon drawn to the fact his little fan club was now migrating. Hop hop skin and a jump they climbed over each other to get at....something.
Blinking he hesitated a moment, not because he was afraid but wary. He didn't exactly want to step on those spitorog, but as he heard a voice now calling for help he wasn't going to have much choice in the matter. Moving he went to take his pack off his shoulder placing it on the ground beside the wounded tree before shurking off his rather wet cloak. Discarding that as well to the ground although atop his pack to try and dry off a bit he trotted over to where he had heard the pained voice.
"H..ello?" The hybrid called out as he tried to see the person amongst the hordes of spitorog that were climbing about. Carefully he went to scoop up one spitorog and startled it inflated into a spikey ball. Luckily Gerraden wasn't so foolish to have his hands over the things as it did so though it did manage to roll off his hand and plop back to the ground. "Are you okay? They may be a bit of a nuisance but the spitorog aren't poisonous..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Sep 27, 2013 1:48 pm
The sight that Gerraden came upon was one that not many people had seen in their lives. Well, there probably wasn't a single person who had seen something like this before. There was an Alkidike woman, a few years older than Gerraden, laying on the ground and trying to pull herself upright using a vine from one of the trees.
The spitorog had noticed her struggling, swarmed her, and were now in the process of unknowingly burying her alive in their bodies and the mud they carried. Those that were following Gerraden were only adding to the pile of mass on top of the poor woman who was swiping at the dumb creatures with her free arm, trying to get them off of her. She wasn't using the strength in her legs though... was something wrong?
She moaned in pain again, the spitorog seeming to add to what she was already feeling, and matched eyes with Gerraden, registering his voice in the crowd of croaking around her. "I know they're not poisonous! They're drowning me!" She winced from the pressure on a part of her body that Gerraden couldn't see.
She seemed to be trying to ignore him and save herself, swiping more at the Spitorog and pulling herself one more stretch higher on the vine, only to slip back down from the rain that coated and soaked the only thing she had to hang on to.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Sep 27, 2013 10:42 pm
Blinking the young man was surprised to see the wounded Alkidike woman, more so that she seemed to be in distress of all things. Alkidike women and distress were not exactly things that went together well in his mind. After all his mother was a full blooded alkidike woman and she had no troubles handling herself. Though he had hesitated slightly before he only smiled and then went about trying to get the spitorog to leave the woman alone.
Moving to the side he gathered a twig with a few leaves still on it and then using it like a broom went about pushing the little things about. Doing the best he was able to trying to herd them away from the woman. Some tried to go back over to the woman only to have Gerraden step in the way and give a fierce look to it. Not that a spitorog was intimidated by him...in fact they were hardly scared by anything and would just stare at whatever it was with its derpy eyes and foaming mouth.
Sighing he nudged it with his foot to get it to keep going he then returned his attention to the woman. Crouching near her he observed the vine and then to her again. "You need help? What can I do?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 30, 2013 1:01 pm
The woman seemed to have a deep frown etched into her face as Gerraden went about shooing the spitorog from her. It was clear to see that she didn't want the help, but knew that she had little choice in the matter. She was still tugging on the vine as the last of the spitorog left, using both hands now to pull herself upright.
She winced as she got to her feet... well, foot really. Looking down, the woman was covered in mud from head to toe; splattered on her from not only falling to the ground, but being covered in the stupid little balls that Gerraden had brushed off. But something wasn't right. While most of her was a mud red color, there was a cracked and charred black coming out from her left leg. She seemed to be taking very careful measures to make sure her foot wasn't touching the floor, keeping her hands firmly grasped on the vine.
As the boy spoke, asking what he could do to help, she grimaced and scoffed lightly. "I'm fine. I didn't need you're help to begin with."
She took this instance to hobble forward a step, holding herself against the trunk to steady her walk. "You can just be on your way now." She pretended to ignore the pain and put light pressure on her foot, only to bring it back up again without any progress and only a scowl to show for it. The pain was too great; it was nearly bringing tears to her eyes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Oct 03, 2013 8:35 am
Gerraden wasn't the type to take no for an answer, he was by nature rather pig headed and stubborn but at least he did the things he did out of the goodness of his heart. Though he had been dismissed from helping the alkidike woman he was not about to disappear. Whilst most people could possibly be irked about being treated like an inferior he just pushed past that feeling of angry and smiled a bit.
Though she didn't say she needed his help the fact her one leg looked rather severely burned told him otherwise.
"You know my mother often tells me stories about how strong her sisters are." He commented as he moved around looking to see if perhaps he could find her a crutch or something to help her move. After all he doubted she would be willing to lean against him for support, though he would suggest it if he was unable to find any branches thick enough and tall enough. "I am glad to see that they are true, but I think you need some help. I hope you will accept it from me." Gerraden made casual conversation, he respected his mother's people and he wanted to strive to prove that being a hybrid was the future.
There was...nothing really of use for her to use, at least nothing strong enough to bare her weight. Giving a small frown he came back to her and then gave a small half smile. "Sorry I can't find a crutch suitable for you to use, but if you are willing to use my shoulder...we could possibly get you somewhere to receive treatment. I am not good with wounds I am afraid so I am not useful to you in that sense."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Oct 03, 2013 12:11 pm
The woman hobbled another step forward as Gerraden continued to blabber on about helping. If she was lucky, she could have moved far enough away by the time he had found whatever it was that would 'help her' and she could be on her way. But... she wasn't so lucky. He returned, though empty handed, and offered his assistance to her once more. Asking about taking her to somewhere to receive treatment.
She hobbled another step forward and huffed lightly; not only would this take all day, but it was an incredible waste of energy. She stopped trying to move away and narrowed her eyes at the boy in front of her, assessing him in ways he could only guess at. "Your mother mated with an earthling." She began, stating the obvious. It was unclear whether it was something of disdain or just annoyance in her voice. She sighed slightly, realizing that she was running out of options. "I will not be taken to a shifter village." She stated, as if her commands were merited and she were Gerraden's superior officer almost. "I have no time to waste with such foolishness. I must return to Ekene." She shifted her look up and down his form, seeming to be looking for something. "Have you been to the islands? From the look of you I would think not." She was obviously pointing out his appearance. His gender first of all, as well as his skin, eyes, and lack of antennae. His only redeeming feature was that he wore the warrior's hair style. Though it was yet to be seen if it was worthy of him or not.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 04, 2013 8:59 pm
Gerraden wondered if this meeting was going to go well, it was already rather obvious that the alkidike woman didn't care for him at all. As she made a clear point of mentioning that his mother had mated with an earthling. Gerraden only nodded head at the statement, though he frowned slightly as she declared she wouldn't go to a shifter village to get looked after.
"I have never been to the isles, but I have always wanted to go there. My mother speaks of them often and tells me many stories." He commented before he took another step towards her, "I could take you to my mother if you wanted, she could look after your wounds. But the shifters have healers that use magic..it would be a faster recovery." Gerraden offered as he took another step towards her.
"My mother calls me Gerraden, and if you let me help you I can attempt to get you back to Ekene."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Oct 08, 2013 2:56 pm
The woman eyed Gerraden with an almost anger, though her voice was calm but stern. "I will not be taken to a shifter village. I must return to Ekene." She repeated a little more hurried this time. They were wasting precious moments standing here like sitting ducks and bouncing locations back and forth. Anywhere but Ekene wouldn't do. She didn't have time to be taken back to heal. She had to report to the elders before she could look after herself. "Gerraden..." She seemed to be tasting the name, trying it out before continuing. "Your mother named you?" It was a strong name for a hybrid, obviously he was named from his mother's ancestry. "As much as I would rather not, I must go to Ekene, and in my condition I will need assistance." She inhaled slightly as if the words were painful for her to hear out loud. "You will take me there, and we will travel as fast as my injury will allow. Faster even."
It was a command, but it was the only way she knew to make her intentions clear to the young man. She needed his help, and he would provide it. It was a duty she could only assume he would be ecstatic at handling since it would not only take him to the Isles of his birth, but was granted to him by a full fledged Alkidike Warrior. "We must leave immediately." She looked around, scanning the forest through the mud and fog as if something was lurking around them, though there was nothing to be found. To any other it would seem that she was paranoid, but she had to have received those injuries somehow.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 9:10 am
Gerraden shouldn't of been that surprised by her tone. Stubbornness was something he was starting to notice as a common trait amongst most of the alkidikes he had met. Not being that many in all honesty but he had see his mother and father fight over random things and it would take an earthquake before it would move Bo'shi. Still there was a bit of him that was excited...if he took her to Ekene that meant he would finally get his wish to visit the isles. A small voice in the back of his head warned him that it was probably not a good idea but he wasn't about to abandon this woman just because there may be a little bit of danger.
Licking his lips he nodded his head, a plan slowly formulating in his mind as he tried to figure out the best way of getting her to her destination as promptly as she desired. Moving by foot almost seem foolhardy, but would she allow him to make a make shift gurney? The woman seemed almost desperate to get back to the islands and if he dally-ed to make such a thing would she only scold him?
"Alright, we shall. This will work better if you either use me for support, or if you allow me to make a make shift carry I could pull you to the beach. " He explained, now happy that he had brought his pack. For this journey it would prove handy. "At least let me .." Bandage the wound? Right it looked crisp like it had been burned. Had she been struck by the lightning? Some part of him said that there was no way only her leg would of been effected by lightning but dare he ask how she received it? Running through his mind he didn't really have anything in the way to heal such a burn and having no formal training in the healing arts he was not sure what was the best way of dealing with it.
"Ah...never mind. I am not really sure how to alleviate the pain in your leg, with my luck I would only make it worse...best I just hurry up right?" He gave a small smile hoping that he would win this woman's approval or at least a smile, but she seemed too serious for that.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 2:02 pm
The woman winced slightly at the mention of being carried to the beach by this boy, and almost cringed at the thought of being pulled on a gurney. That wouldn't do at all. "No... I will not be pulled around. You can... support my weight I suppose." This journey was becoming more and more difficult for her to bear. She would almost have rather been left to die out here than to be shamed such as this, but she had to get back to Ekene. She could repent for her weakness later, now was not the time to be fussy.
She lifted an arm sorely, waiting for Gerraden to put himself under and start on their journey. Her pride just might not recover from this trip. She looked down at her singed leg and thought that that her pride might not be the only thing that wouldn't recover after this. She was beginning to lose feeling in her foot, though she would never dare to say the words out loud to this boy. "Grab my blades." She said, nodding her head in the direction of the dual swords she had stuck in the ground where she was lying earlier.
She ignored Gerraden's words of treating the wound. She would not allow him to waste such precious time on her wound, not that she was sure she would let him treat it even if they weren't on a time crunch. She nodded her head at his mention to hurry. "Quickly. We must move."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
