The Hunter and The Hunted

[Triar]

Introduction:

The Characters:

Piotr Argoza (main): Piotr's mother died giving birth to him and his father died from a dreaded heart disease when he only at the age of 8 while Romina, Piotr's sister, was only 12. Romina and Piotr had to fend for themselves for three months before bandits had discovered them and captured them, making Piotr and Romina their slaves for a short time. After a month, Piotr and Romina were sold in a small village called Yitri to a slaver named Incindé, the most ruthless slaver through out the province.

Sixteen years past and Piotr was 24 and Romina was 28. Some how, through the years and years of slavery, Romina built a Long Sword with a green hilt, and a brown holster with a tint of green on it. She had done well for sixteen years. One morning, Piotr was woken by Incindé and he told Piotr that his sister was killed since she tried to escape the slave quarters. Incindé would not say who actually killed Piotr's sister, so Piotr asked around and finally he found out, it was Incindé who shot an arrow through Romina's heart.

As the year past, Piotr stole weapons and armor from the local armory at nights. Piotr stole a chest plate, back plate, gard brace, gaunlets, a long sword, shield and some money that was left behind after the armory closed. Every night, Piotr trained with his new weapons and armor becoming extremely formidable in combat, and finally he made up his mind, he was going to attempt to escape from the slave quarters...

Romina Argoza: Romina's mother died giving birth to her brother, Piotr, and at the age of 12, Romina's father died from a dreaded heart disease and she had to take care of Piotr who was only 8 years of age. Romina and Piotr had to fend for themselves for three months before bandits had discovered them and taken them into slavery. After one month of slavery from the bandits, Romina and Piotr were sold to a slaver named Incindé, and he was well known as the most rutheless slaver throughout the province.

Sixteen years later, when Romina was 28 and Piotr was 24, she built a Long Sword through the years which had a green hilt, and a brown holster with a tint of green on it. She done well for sixteen years. Romina trained with her sword without Piotr knowing. For many months, Romina trained and trained and trained until one night, she made up her mind, she was going to escape from the slave quarters...

Romina awoke and took her sword, put it up against the moon light, the blade of her sword went blue from the moon light. Romina then smiled, but it wasn't a smile of happiness, but a smile of death. This smile lasted for only a second until she looked at Piotr. "Piotr," Romina whispered, "I will come back for you, I promise." But promises always had some way of going bad.

Romina put her sword into her sword hilt and went out to the back of the slave building. She walked to the gate which connected to the front and opened it slowly with out a sound and snuck out. Romina stuck to the shadows as slaver guards walked past. Stealthily and silently, Romina made her way around the guards to the main gate and the only way to open the main gate was to pull the gate lever but that was too much of a risk. Romina already had planned this and took out a rope that had a large roop at the top of the rope, she was going to climb the walls to escape.

It took Romina a few tries before she hooked the rope around the wall stones and climbed up the rope stealthily and silently. Once at the top of the wall, she did a bad mistake, she stood up into the moon light and the guard in the watch tower sounded the alarm. Romina, in panic, jumped out of the walls and took out her sword. Guards were coming from every angle.

Romina struck the guards with all her might, chopping off their heads, slashing them across the neck, stabbing them in the stomach. Then, as Romina fought off the last guard, pain suddenly came to her back, through her heart and out her chest. Romina looked and saw an arrow head poking out of her breast. She got onto her knees and started to cry, "My brother, I am truely sorry." Romina slowly died as the tower guard walked slowly towards Romina. It was Incindé who was the tower guard for that night. Incindé smiled at Romina and picked her up to bring her back to the slave quarters.

Incindé: Incindé has lived in Yitri his whole life, a full fifty-two years. Rumours say that he killed sixteen slaves in one night when a whole pack of slaves tried to escape the slave quarters, but none did, all were executed, two thirds of them were killed by Incindé's bow. The nickname 'Incindé the Destroyer' was given to him after he killed the great Duke Dalánco, and the guards that were guarding the Duke dropped their weapons and fled. Incindé owned thirteen slaves and that number was risen to fifteen when he bought Piotr and Romina from a pack of bandits he met just outside the gates of Yitri.

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This topic is Semi-Open (people should ask me before entering the story). Put in your characters name, description, weapons of choice etc. and I will MOST proabably allow you into the thread (9¾ /10 chance I will allow you to join in with the thread).

[Danmann]

Is the Hunt for Pleasure or Urge
Only the Beast knows for sure......
Will the Dark will findest thee....Before the Beast
tears thee apart from inside....Only thou knowest for sure....
For SURE?

[Triar]

Finally, Piotr made his decision. He was finally going to make an attempt to escape. Knowing that he may die, Piotr put on his armor, took his long sword, and snuck away from his quarters. Stealthily making his way through the streets, using the shadows, Piotr got to Incidé's quarters. Piotr lifted his sword, and snuck into Incidé's quarters. Slowly, walking up the creaky stairs, Piotr found Incidé's bedroom door open. He was sleeping peacefully. Piotr crept closer and closer and stood next to Incidé's sleeping body.

It is time to avenge my sister's death.

Piotr lifted his sword and drove it through Incidé. Incidé let out a faint cry of pain and he looked into Piotr.

"I knew this night would come," whispered Incidé as he rested his head. "Under the... The table downstairs... There's a trap... Door... It will lead you to... To the outside... Go in peace... You are free..."

Incidé died slowly, but peacefully, as Piotr began to weep. "Good bye - old friend," said Piotr, as he wiped the tears from his eyes, retrieved his bloody sword, and walked down to the table Incidé had told him about. Indeed, there was a trap door. Piotr moved the table and climbed into the trap door. There was a long straight tunnel. Piotr followed it. Indeed, it led to the outside. Piotr walked to the outside and found a long and flat desert.

Piotr walked back into the tunnel and sat down and closed his eyes. When he awoke, it was morning. Horse carriages were riding across the desert road. Piotr walked and signalled one horse carriage that was carrying goods.

"What are yee lookin' for young lad?" asked the Merchant.

"I way out of here," Piotr replied. "May I ride with you?"

The Merchant looked around then looked back at Piotr. "Well I could use some company for me journey. Hop right on." The Merchant moved over and Piotr got on next to the Merchant. "Giddyup!" the Merchant signalled the horses, and the horses began to trot.

"So what is yee name?" asked the Merchant.

"Piotr."

"Well me names Steven. Tis a pleasure."

Steven put out his hand and Piotr replied and shook Steven's hand. "What is yee profession lad? A warrior?"

Piotr looked at Steven. "Can you keep a secret?" Piotr asked. Steven nodded. "I'm an ex-slave. I escaped last night."

"Oh! I heard about yee! The guards were combing the town and looking for yee. They looked in everyones carraiges." Piotr smiled and looked at the vast red desert. "They said you killed the Slave Leader. Incinerator or whatever," Steven laughed.

"Incidé," Piotr corrected.

"Aigh! That's the name right there!" Steven continued.

Piotr put his head back and dozed off. He dreamt of being with his father and sister again, before his father passed away. Piotr saw his dead father and sister again. This awoke him. Piotr looked around and saw that he was in the back of the carriage. He jumped out of the carriage, stretched, and looked around. He was in a small town.

"There yee are! How was yee sleep?" Steven asked.

Piotr looked at the sun, but the glare made his eyes water as he turned away. "It was good."

"At least this time I wasn't attacked by those blasted bandits." Steven pulled a crate off the carriage. "Last time they took all me goods. I'm lucky to even have clothes on me back." Steven laughed. "Well help me with these would ya?" Steven asked as he walked into a building that had the sign: JJ's Market.

Piotr took one of the crates off the carriage and walked into the Market. Inside was the fresh smell of fruits and vegetables.

"Hello hello! You must be that Piano guy I've heard about," giggled the Merchant.

Piotr laughed. "It's Piotr."

"Yes yes, I know. I was just kidding. Well I'm JJ if you didn't know. A good friend of your good friend Steven." JJ turned and hopped over the counter.

Steven walked up to the counter and spoke. "Well how much for six crates of Carrots?"

JJ thought for a second. "Well it's 2 per crate."

"For you I'll make a great deal with yee. 5 per crate?" asked Steven.

"What?!" JJ laughed. "Are you serious?"

"I sell for 7 each crate. You're lucky I dropped it by 2." Steven smiled.

"5 for one crate of carrots. That's 30," JJ said as he threw the money onto the counter.

Steven smiled. "Thank yee," said Steven as he swiped the money into his money bag and walked out the door. Piotr followed.

"Well Piotr. What are yee going to do now lad?" Steven asked.

"I was hoping to go on an adventure. Make some money some how and start a new life." Piotr replied tilting his head and kicking the sand near his feet.

Steven smiled. "Well lad. I could always join yee. I may only got me carriage and horses, but yee could use it. I have nothing else to do from here on out."

"Sure." Piotr agreed.

"And maybe yee could teach me a thing or two with the sword," Steven asked smartly.

"Sure." Piotr agreed again.

[Triar]

Piotr and Steven got back on the carriage and began riding.

"Well I think we deserve something to eat and drink, lad. How about it?" Steven asked as he licked his lips.

Piotr smiled. It had been 16 years before Piotr had eaten anything above the standards of a slave. "Sure!" Piotr replied with excitement.

Steven rode into the centre of the village. Piotr examined the village carefully. Merchants were bartering with interested buyers, he could see Blacksmiths working hard on fixing and making weapons, and he also saw a thief stealing a small bag of coins from an un-suspecting civilian. The thief was only around 12 years of age. As soon as Steven stopped the carriage in front of the local tavern, the thief walked past them and inside the tavern and it was only then when the civilian that his coin bag was stolen. The man cursed and cursed out loud into the streets.

"I had to pay my taxes with that!" the man cried. "Damnations!"

Steven looked at the man and laughed. "Another bad day for this village. They still can't catch that thief." Steven got off the carriage and tied up the horses. "Well let's go in." Steven went into the tavern. Piotr jumped off the carriage and followed Steven.

Inside there was a band playing. Everyone was watching and either singing or dancing. Piotr found the petty child thief walking around the tavern as casual as can be. The child took another coin bag from a vacant table, and another one from one who was drunk and dancing. Steven sat down. Nobody seemed to notice the child stealing the money bags. But since he was doing it stealthily and he was but a child, nobody would suspect him.

"Come, have a seat lad," Steven waved over Piotr. "Yee got to get some food into yee."

Piotr sat down and he was starring, watching the child steal his last bag of coins before he made way for the exit. Piotr stood up and quickly walked for the exit. The child bumped into Piotr. Piotr grabbed the child thief. The child began screaming and shouting, cursing at Piotr. All those in the tavern drew their weapons.

"Do you know who that boy is?" the bar keep asked. "He is the mayor's son. Now you let that boy go, or we'll see your head on a pike on the walls of this town. Ya hear be boy?"

Steven began to whisper, "What in damnations is this? Are you crazy?"

"You people have not noticed? This child that you all love so much has been stealing your money!" The people in the tavern laughed. "Okay. I'll prove it to you." Piotr grabbed the boys jacket and pulled it off, tipping out seven coin bags. All of those in the tavern were shocked. "This is the thief you have all been looking for," Piotr said as he turned his back from the boy.

"Hey! It's true! My money bag has gone!" said the drunken dancer. "You little brat! I will see to it that you get a very good punishment!" The drunk man grabbed the mayor's son and dragged him outside into the streets, and to the mayor's house.

Piotr sat down, and everyone settled also. The music continued playing but nobody was in the mood for singing and dancing anymore.

"Well done boy. Yee have good eyes. For two months they haven't been able to catch that thief." Steven continued. "Just last week when I came here before, also my money bag was stolen. That was after when the bandits stole all of me goods. I had a dreaded day that day."

Piotr smiled as plates of food and drinks were served onto the table. "I think it is only fair to say thank you for finding the thief. That little rascal has been stealing things for a long time now. This is on the house," smiled the bar keep, as he turned and walked back to the bar.

"How about that then aye? Free food and drinks. We just came here and yee are already a hero," Steven laughed as he ate slowly. Piotr stuffed his face with the food. It was the best tasting food he had ever had. But Piotr ate too quickly and began to choke. Piotr coughed up the food but continued chewing.

"Settle down their lad. You don't want to die now." Steven watched as Piotr stuffed his face with food and drink. Steven could see that Piotr was really a slave, and that it was his first taste of good food in a very long time.

Hours past, and Piotr and Steven walked out of the tavern. They were both full. A half a dozen guards came and stopped the two. "You have been summoned to come to the mayor's house. Please, do not resist." Steven and Piotr were escorted by the guards to the mayor's house and they went inside. "Which one is the one that found that my son was the thief?" asked the mayor. Piotr stepped forward. "I thank you. Please, have this." The mayor threw a large bag of coins on the table. "A reward. I will see to it that my son gets the proper punishment."

"Thank you sir," Piotr said with a smile as he took the money bag.

"And what is your name?" the mayor asked.

Piotr stepped back next to Steven. "Piotr."

"And you?" the mayor asked Steven.

"Steven," he replied.

"And where do you, Piotr, come from?"

Piotr put his head down. "I am a nomad. I have no home."

"And you, Steven. Where do you come from?"

"I come from a little village called Yorkshire." Steven continued, "It's right on the edge of the sandy beaches of Gaia."

"Well, Piotr the Nomad, and Steven from Yorkshire. I give you both another reward." Piotr's eyes grew wide. Steven grinned from ear to ear. "I give you two of my best horses." Steven jumped for joy. Piotr laughed in excitement. "Guards!" the mayor shouted out as two guards walked into the mayor's office. "Please show these two men their newly acquired horses."

Piotr and Steven followed the guards outside. One of the horses was bright white, and the second was night black. "Stallions." Said one of the guards. "The greatest horses you can find."

"The white one is definitely mine!" Steven said excitingly as he jumped on white stallion.

"I was hoping you would say that," Piotr laughed in excitement as he slowly got onto the black stallion. "Back to the tavern!" Piotr shouted, as he and Steven rode quickly back to the tavern. "Now what about your horses?" Piotr asked.

"We need someone to ride the carriage." At that moment, the mayor came running with another man in ragged clothes. "And your last gift. A slave. He knows how to fight, ride, cook, clean, and best of all, he can make the best weapons and armor I know. Please take him with you. He is now freed from me, and given to you."

"Well there's your carriage rider," Piotr laughed. "Onto the carriage, Mr. um..."

"My name is William," the slave said peacefully as he got into the carriage.

"We best be off then," Steven told the mayor. "But we'll be back again."

The three rode out of the village with everybody watching. They rode into the vast red desert. They rode into a new life.

To Be Continued.

[Triar]

The sun began to set, and the desert breeze became cold. The trio set up camp, setting up a camp fire and a small tent. Piotr and Steven tried to make William open up a little more, yet, William was in a large fog of depression and he would only speak about very few things, nothing concerning his past.

Night fell, and Steven fell asleep without warning. William said that he would stand guard, but Piotr took the position of standing outside to guard the horses and the carriage. William insisted again, but Piotr went outside anyway and William stayed inside the tent. Piotr unhooked the two horses from the carriage, and let them wander close by where grass was growing. Piotr watched the horses munching on their grass as if it was their first time in year before they tasted such a great meal.

As the night grew darker, Piotr looked at the night sky and watched the stars. He even spotted a shooting star and made a wish. Piotr smiled and rested his body on the carriage. Soon after, when Piotr closed his eyes, he heard something in the distance. Piotr looked around but only saw palm trees and the sands of the desert. Again, Piotr heard the noise louder. It sounded like someone was stepping on sticks, breaking them. Piotr was sure it wasn't the fire burning.

Piotr patrolled around the camp, going to the horses, to the palm trees, back to the camp. There was no unfamiliar noises that Piotr heard, so he just rested himself on the carriage again. Soon after, as Piotr was resting his eyes, he heard another noise. Someone was in the palm trees. He was sure of it. Piotr grabbed a torch and lit it, drew his sword, and slowly crept to the palm trees. Piotr didn't see anybody, but he noticed foot prints in the sand. Fresh ones. Someone was definitely there. Piotr followed the foot prints. They led around to a field of grass. Piotr wasn't stupid enough to go near the grass alone, so he walked back to the camp and awoke Steven and William, telling them that there were footprints in the sand. Steven took his axe, and William took his sword, and the trio investigated.

Piotr showed Steven and William the footprints that led to the grassy field. William looked at the grass field carefully.

"Someone's there..." William whispered. "Something's there. I can see them."

Steven laughed at William's remarks, but stopped when suddenly the grass began to move. "Well yee were right then aye lad?"

The trio stepped back slowly, and went back to the camp and waited. William crouched down and put his ear to the ground. "I hear footsteps," said William. "They're in the trees."

Steven laughed at William's remark, but Piotr stopped Steven. "Well he was right about something being in the grass, why not believe him now?" At that point, Steven went quiet.

At that moment, five men charged at the camp. These men were wearing black masks over their mouths to cover their identity. The trio waited as the men charged. William sensed something and turned around. Five others were sneaking towards them. "Look!" William shouted. Steven and Piotr looked and saw the other five masked men. The horses kept on eating grass.

After a few seconds, the masked men surrounded the little camp, and charged in together. William threw his sword at one masked man. The sword went right through the masked man's chest. William reteived his sword and got ready again. Steven swung his axe and cut off a masked man's leg. William then sliced a masked man's stomach, tripped him over, and drew the sword into the masked man's neck.

"Well ain't yee a show off?!" laughed Steven.

Piotr jogged towards three bandits that grouped up and attacked. He drove his sword into one masked man. The other two bandits stopped and steppede back. Piotr slowly drew his sword out of the masked man's stomach, and smiled at the other two bandits.

"I smile at death," began Piotr. "And right now, I'm smiling at you."

The two masked men retreated into the palm trees and out of sight. Five masked men remained. The trio grouped up and charged at the last five masked men. Piotr fly kicked one masked man in the head which sent him pummling to the ground. William threw his sword against which went right through one masked man's head, and Steve dug his axe into the side of one masked man's stomach. The other two masked men retreated into the sand dunes and out of sight.

One of the masked men, who had his leg chopped off, was still screaming in pain. Piotr put his sword to the man's throat and spoke. "Who are you?!" Piotr asked. The man tried to calm down from the shock. "Who are you?!" Piotr repeated. "I hate asking three times, now answer my damn question." The masked man screamed in pain, and shouted "Kill me!" Piotr raised his sword slowly, and drove the sword through the masked man's stomach, and slowly, the masked man died.

"Well, that was interesting," Steven smiled.

William crouched down and looked over the masked man. He rolled up the sleeve of the masked man, and there was a tattoo on his wrist.

"They're bandits," William began. "They're the ones that have been terrorizing this part of the desert for years."

Piotr looked at the ground and saw the tracks of the bandits that ran into the sand dunes. "Can you track," Piotr asked William.

"Yes," William replied.

"Well, we're going to track these men." Piotr pointed to the ground. "We're going to find this bandit camp... Tonight."

To Be Continued

[Edited on 15/7/2004 by Triar]

[Triar]

"Pack the camp and bring the horses, quickly," William requested. "You can catch up to me, I won't go too far."

Piotr and Steven hastily packed the camp and got the horses together. Steven rode the carriage and Piotr rode his black stallion with the white stallion following closely behind. They caught up to William.

"These tracks are getting very faint, we must hurry on," said William as he began to jog up a sand dune.

A huge gust of wind began to blow, and suddenly, the foot prints of the bandits dissappeared. "Damn it!" Piotr shouted. "Now it's useless."

William giggled. "Sorry master, but anyone can track footprints. I am a master tracker, I can still follow these men to the end of the world." William kept on walking, looking at the ground.

The trio came near to a forest full of palm trees and other trees that had edible fruits. William stopped at the entrance of the forest. Piotr and Steven stopped also. William looked through the forest, scanning it with his eyes. "This is it," said William.

"What is it?" asked Piotr.

"This forest," William continued. "This is the bandit's camp."

"What? Yee sayin' this whole forest is the bandit camp?" Steven asked.

"Exactly." William replied. "They must have a camping area, of course, but this is their territory."

"Well, I'm going in," said Piotr jumping off his horse. "William, you're coming with me. Steven, guard the horses and carriage."

"Wait - What?"

To Be Continued.

[rul3r]

great story triar. great rping u guys. I won't add anything, cause i think it should be left up 2 triar ;)

[Triar]

As Piotr and William entered the forest, Steven watched their sillhouttes dissappear. Steven got into the horse carriage and laid down, closed his eyes, and listened to the nothingness around him.

Piotr and William stealthily snuck through the forest making as little noise as possible. Up ahead, light was shining from a fire and music was rumbling in the distance. The closer the two got to the camp, the louder the music became. Piotr and William reached the back of a tent - Piotr looked around the corner of the tent and he saw men, women, and children dancing to the music. William looked around the opposite corner of the tent and saw three women, naked, tied up to wooden pillars, being torchered.

"These bandits are inhumane..." William whispered.

"What do you see?" Piotr asked.

"They're torchering women," William responded.

Piotr looked around the corner also. The bandits were indeed torchering the women. The two waited, and soon enough, the three women were executed, their heads sliced from their necks. Piotr looked away. William starred.

"We'll search each tent and try to rescue any others captured by these bandits," Piotr whispered.

William nodded in agreenment, and they went behind the next tent and looked inside. Nobody was inside. The next tent, there was the same thing, nobody was inside. However in the third tent, their were people in cages with cuts and broozes all over their bodies. They too were naked.

"We'll need to get these people out as quietly as possible - We won't be able to take on the Bandits alone," William whispered.

Slowly, Piotr cut a hole in the tent and both Piotr and William stepped inside. The people in the cages looked.

"Ssshh... We're here to help..." Piotr whispered as he opened the cage gates.

"Thank you... Our gods have blessed us on this night..." said one man in the cage.

"Are there any others?" asked William.

"Yes - But they're in the main tent opposite this one," replied the man.

"Make your way south," Piotr pointed. "You'll find a man named Steven. Tell him Piotr sent you and we'll be back soon."

The man nodded and led the other people who were in captivity south. Piotr and William made their way around the camp to the main tent. This tent was the biggest tent in the camp and had no openings so you could peek inside like the other tents. Piotr laid on the ground and lifted the material of the tent up and peeked inside. There was one guard sitting down on the ground, eating and there were five other people in cages, naked.

Piotr cut a small hole in the material of the tent and crawled in. He snuck up behind the guard, covered the guards mouth with his hand, and slit his throat with his sword. The prisoners' eyes grew wide.

"Ssshhh - I'm here to help." Piotr opened the cages and directed them to go through the hole Piotr snuck through. And that they did. Piotr went through last.

"Follow me," William said as they traveled south, back towards the horses...

To Be Continued...

[Skullbearer]

May I join you? I have two characters that I RP,

Sil, short for "The Silent One", a Dark sorcerer who is basically controlled pyschotic, quick to anger, thinks of himself as something of a god, hasn't spoken to people for over twenty years but recently began to, is the lead officer under Indo Letum (Fraek) of Agnar's Fury and has a deep rooted hatred of Light (one killed his father in front of him when he was 4).

And my purely RP character,
Aronai, a half Brave/Wood Elf (impotent tho) who's Immortal blood has been artificially (with magic) awakened, and was an attempt by his father, a Brave who learned to use Dark magic, and the Immortal who uses his father to take part in the affairs of the world without leaving his post in the 10th kingdom. Aronai was the attempt to combine Light magic and Dark magic into a single, pure magic once again. The attempt didn't necessarily fail, but the two magics his body now channels are constantly destroying each other within him, making his normally Immortal essence slowly degrade, and so he sucks the essence out of powerful warriors every 5-6 hundred years in order to regain his strength. He can't do magic himself, but his body is naturally polymorphic (he doesn't know how to control it though) making him inhumanly strong and yet as lithe and flexible as a wet noodle. He is an incredible warrior who prefers to use his great strength and bare fists to do battle, since his power shatters most weapons. The only weapon his is proficient with is the full staff, but the only staff he ever wielded (a staff made from a piece of Gothar's essence by Neutra to aid the world in combining the magics, without the knowledge of Gothar) was absorbed into his body in the attempt to join the Dark and Light magic. When he wants to 'go public' he wears a Black/White shirt (split into halves down the middle) usually without sleeves to show off his muscles, dearskin pants and a full length cape to match his shirt with the opposite colors on each side.

[Triar]

OOC: Skullbearer, you may join indeed. However I don't like the fact that Aronai can break basically ANY weapon with just his hands - You don't see too many people doing that even in movies (just watch Lord Of The Rings (all episodes)).

But you can join - You can either join Piotr, Steven and William on their adventure or you can go against them and try to stop them from reaching their destination. Either way, I don't mind.

Regards,

Triar.

[Skullbearer]

(ooc: Just so you know, Aronai is basically magically 'retarded', he can use magic items, but for the sake of his intro to the story, he will be traveling completely devoid of anything but his clothing, recently having absorbed the essence of a powerful warrior, and is only interested in enjoying his next few hundred years of life. He began as a gentle 'good' warrior, it was his life as an Immortal's pawn which made him cold and 'evil', so he does not enjoy killing without cause)

Aronai sat in a tree near the trio's camp, watching amusedly as they proceeded to slaughter the bandits and free their hostages. Aronai had considered doing much the same, just to test his recently re-obtained strength and youth. The warrior he had... 'consumed', was practically bursting with essence! This one would last upwards of six hundred years easy!

The trader, Steven, continued to huddle in the carriage, but occasionally peeked over the edge. Aronai barely contained a laugh, the foolishness of people, never thinking to look up! Although, the common clothes and cloak he wore were dark, and blended with the shadows in the trees, just as they allowed him to blend into the crowds of the cities, without being noticed overly much. Even with more than 500 years of history since the last... incident... Aronai could not take the chances that some older elf or legend wise priest would guess correctly as to his identity. Both those of Dark and Light feared and hated him, as an abomination, not only of blood but of magic.

(ooc: When I say he breaks weapons, I mean the average, non-enhanced weapon bends/breaks under the force of his blows. Even steel weapons can be heavily damaged by a very strong man meeting resistance, and wooden weapons are even more likely to break. I'm not talking 'metal bending' strength, think more around twice as strong as a very fit fighter, but at most that. He's not going to rip trees out of the ground or eat rocks or anything ;) )

There was a large rustling and snapping of branches, and Aronai twisted to see the boy slave leading a large group of naked and battered hostages back to the camp. The boy, keen as ever, looked up as a piece of loose bark fell, dislodged by his shift in position. With a shout, the boy pointed up, and threw his sword through the air like some great arrow!

Only with tremendous effort did Aronai move in time, the sword still managing to cut a thin but bloody slice into his left side as he dropped to the ground, easily twenty feet below, from the branch, landing with a grunt and a poof of dust.

"Now see here boy..."

(ooc: Your turn!)

[Triar]

As William led the hostages back to the carriage, he stepped on a branch and it created a large crackling snapping sound. William stopped, put his hand up, and the others behind him stopped also. Piotr continued on, however, but before William could tell Piotr to stop, a loose bark fell from the trees. Piotr looked up as did the others. There was someone in the tree. Piotr drew his sword through the air shouting: "Bandit!" The sword spun in the air like a boomerang before managing to slice the side of the bandit that dropped down from the tree. The sword fell with a loud bang of metal.

"Now see here boy..." said the bandit.

"...Don't dare say a word you filthy bandit!" Piotr interupted. "This is your doing." Piotr pointed at the small crowd of naked and battered hostages. "You will be punished for this."

The bandit began to laugh. "I am not a bandit."

Piotr examined the man. The man was not a bandit. He did not have any tattoo's on his wrists. No mark. He was just an elf. Moreso a powerful one Piotr thought. "William, take them and go."

"Yes master." William replied and led the hostages around the unknown elf and towards the carriage. Piotr walked around the man also, picked up his sword, and pointed it at the man. "Friend or foe?" Piotr asked. The man had a wry smile on his face and didn't answer. Piotr turned and trotted back towards carriage.

When Piotr arrived, the adults were clothed in sheets and rags, as well as were a few of the older children. "We'll need to get these people clothes, food and drink," Steven continued. "Do yee have anywhere yee live?" Steven asked.

(OOC: NOTE: Steven has a Scottish accent and is human, as are Piotr and William.)

"We are nomads. We have no home," said one of the older men.

Piotr examined the hostages. Some were humans, some were elvish and some were dwarven. "As am I," Piotr replied. "We will take you to the nearest town, feed you and clothe you. And we'll go on from there."

The now free hostages let out sighs and laughs of relief. The elderly and the children hopped into the carriage, as the others rode on the horses and walked.

(You're turn - Make sure you read your PM first.)

[Skullbearer]

Aronai continued to smile confidently, but the easy skill with which this man wielded his weapon... unnerved him. So he watched the pitiful group move past, several of the hostages looking at him with fright or suspicion. Silently, he began to move off, tying a thin bandage around his chest to stop the bleeding of the superficial cut. It may not be serious now, but after a large loss of blood, he could be in real trouble.

Piotr watched interestedly as the strange man walked off, but as the man faded into the darkness of the night, just out of his vision, there was an almost thundrous crackling and snapping of dry wood from the forest. For a moment, frozen by shock, Piotr, William, and Steven watched helplessly as twenty more bandits, armed to the teeth and out for vengeance, poured from the forbidding darkness between the trees.

"Look out Piotr!" Steven's warning barely brought him back to focus in time to dodge the spear that sailed past him, through the spot his heart had been! Piotr grunted and began to move recently relaxed muscles into motion, once again drawing his sword and picking out his targets.

The battle was nothing short of a nightmare... the hostages, determined to be free, fought with fist, tooth, and even fingernails in their desperation. Piotr, Steven, and William fought like madmen, but one of the bandits had lit the grasses around their campsite aflame, and many of the bandits and hostages fell screaming, bursting into flame like a moth flitting through a candleflame.

Metal flashed... Piotr blocked the full force of an axe with his now chipped and gouged sword, his exhasted muscles moving only through force of will and the adrenaline his body now lived on. Every movement was a test of his desire to survive, and he fought like an animal. He kicked dirt into the eyes of one bandit, shoving the head of a broken spear through his eye while he deflected the blows of another's sword. Block, attack, block, attack, the rythm became secondary, and Piotr dared a glance around himself. The bulk of the bandits were centered around him, and around William and Steve, fighting back to back.

Bleeding from dozens of small cuts and nicks, Piotr killed the last of the bandits, driving his battered and bent weapon straight down through the man's throat, lodging it against his spine. His breath heavy, and his heart pounding a dull thud in his chest, Piotr collapsed to his knees, barely able to stay conscious. He saw that William and Steven had also survived, a ring of dead bandits around them. Only two of the original hostages remained, an elf and a human woman, both battered and bleeding in many places, looks of fierce determination and hatred upon their gore covered faces.

Piotr turned his attention to the sound of battle, just outside the camp. The still burning fires, mostly burnt out, but a few still bright, made it possible to see the strange man battling a group of bandits...


Aronai was furious! The bandits aparently had seen him walk away from the camp of those fool heroes, and 8 had followed him, walking out-of-sight but alongside inside the cover of the forest. Unarmed, as was his preference, Aronai decided that they were out for blood, and talking would do him no good. Of course, he could not help but grant a warning.

"Do not test me, I am worse than your worst nightmare... I shall suck the very souls from your bodies, and you shall regret ever crossing me!" But the bandits were too angry, or too stupid to listen. They came at him all at once, the six of them side by side, two with axes, three with swords, and one with a spear. The spearman attacked first, launching his weapon at Aronai and drawing a long dagger from his belt.

Now Aronai was commited to the battle. As his mind came into sharp focus, everything but the immediate world and his foes dulled to a blur, time appearing to slow down as his thoughts accelerated beyond the human and into... something else, something more feral, more dangerous. As always when this happened, Aronai was frustrated by how slow his body seemed to move, yet to the bandits it was as if being struck by some incredible force, his movements barely even a blur to their untrained eyes.

He snatched the spear out of the air and reversed its direction, slamming the but not into, but through the foremost bandit's eye socket, the man released his sword, dead before the others had even reacted to the movement. The spear broke in half from the force of the blow, and Aronai curled his lip in annoyance even as he hurled it, tip first, through its original owner's chest, sending the man backwards through the air several feet before he collapsed.

The now free flying sword of his first victim fell into free hand smoothly, and he strained his muscles to the point of pain to move the much heavier object up and across the bandits, now attempting to bring their weapons down upon him. The blade cut through two of the bandits, one wielding an axe and the other a sword, before the crudely made hilt snapped as the blade lodged in the second man's ribcage. The remaining axeman and swordsman continued their agonizingly slow swings, and Aronai ripped several of his back muscles twisting so that the two deadly weapons narrowly missed him, sliding past on both sides, screaming thier fury through the air.

Wincing in pain, Aronai spun his back to the two men and twisted both his arms back and over, grabbing each man in a hand by the neck, almost as if drawing a back mounted sword.

"I believe I gave you fair warning. Now, since none of you are worth feeding upon, you shall die." The two men went rigid and stiff with fear and suprise in Aronai's hands, but he did not care, they had attacked him without reason, and deserved nothing less. Barely containing a cry of pain as he strained his badly torn back muscles, Aronai threw both men forward and like two great flopping fish they jerked and twisted in an attempt to save themselves from the fall, but both struck headfirst with such force their necks and backs shattered, and one man's head ripped clean off.

"Perhaps I went a little overboard... this is going to take weeks to recover from! Perhaps those fellows are still alive back there... I'm sure I could get some aid from them. Safety in numbers and all..." So Aronai trudged painfully back to the smoldering camp, trying his best not to move any of his upperbody and wincing in pain.

(ooc: How was that Triar? I pulled out all the stops!)

[Triar]

(OOC: That was awesome Skullbearer - Very well done :) Now it's my turn :D)

Piotr, Steven, William, and the pack of battered nomads then began their travel to the nearest town. The night was still young, and the breeze was warm. Piotr looked up into the sky and saw the stars which flickered like torches from afar. Closing his eyes, Piotr took in a deep breath of fresh air and smiled. Piotr turned and watched as the strange man walked off.

As the large pack of nomads continued on, Steven and William heard the crackling and snapping of dry dead wood coming from the forest. Piotr turned, as did most of the nomads and they watched as twenty or more bandits, armed with swords, spears and axes alike, charged with a shout towards Piotr and the others.

"Look out, Piotr!" screamed Steven as a spear sailed right towards his heart. With child-like reflexes, Piotr ducked and shifted. Piotr watched as the nomad he had recently befriended died suddenly as the spear struck his stomach. "No!" Piotr cried as he got to his knees. "Go in peace..." Piotr's eyes filled with tears, but he kept them in as he drew his sword and began to move about, relaxing himself, becoming one with his weapon. Piotr helplessly watched for a moment then charged with the others towards the bandits.

Piotr swung his sword with all his might against one bandit. The bandit's block was unsuccessful and Piotr kicked the bandit to the ground and drew his sword into the bandit's chest. Piotr spun around once to dodge another flying spear, swung his sword and etched it into a bandit's waist. With a loud scream of pain, the bandit fell to the ground. Piotr turned around and watched as the bandits killed the men, women, and children of the nomads.

"Waaaaatch oooooooout!" William shouted as he tacked a bandit to the ground who almost drove his sword through Piotr. William fought the bandit on the ground with his fists. The two tumbled in the sand and they reached a sudden stop as they hit the wheel of the carriage. William ended up on top. He went berserk. Swinging his fists at the bandit's head with everything he had, in the end, breaking the bandit's neck. William smiled as he got off of the bandit, took the bandit's sword, and went to his next target.

Steven was then surrounded by four bandits. With a smile and a shout, Steven swung his axe and barely missed the bandits. The bandits stepped back, then charged once more. Steven quickly blocked another axe, and kicked away one of the bandits, jumped, put his axe behind him and swung it down into the bandit's chest. William went behind one bandit and sliced his throat. Two bandits retreated and targetted the helpless women and children.

In that moment, flames surrounded the small battlefield in which they were fighting. A bandit lit the grasses around the campsite, and many nomads and bandits were struck by the flames, and they fell screaming. In desperation, the now free nomads fought with their fists, teeth, and fingernails. Determined to be free, the pack of nomads protected the children with all their strength.

Like berserkers, Piotr, Steven and William fought. Piotr blocked the full force of an axe which chipped his sword. With the will to survive, Piotr fought like a dragon protecting her new born child. Temporarily blinding a bandit by kicking sand into his eyes, Piotr drove the broken head of a spear through his eye whilst counter-attacking the full-forced swings of another's sword. The series of blocks and attacks became a rhythm, and Piotr turned and looked around himself. William and Steven were behind him. The Trio, for the first time, they were to fight together.

Blood dripped from Piotr's forehead as he drove his battered and bent sword straight down through a bandit's throat, digging it against his spine. Piotr turned around and looked. Steven and William had also survived, as did two of the nomads, an elvish and human woman, both bleeding, their skin was battered with not only their old cuts and broozes in which the bandit's had inflicted upon them before, but new ones. New permanant scars to remind them of this night. Panting, Piotr could hear his heart pounding like a thousand drums as he fell to his knees. It became dark.

The clinging of weapons kept Piotr awake as he looked through the now dying fires to see the mysterious man who he saw in the forest fighting more bandits. Piotr stood up and helplessly watched as the mysterious man through the flames used his fists against the armored bandits. Punching through the tough armors of one of the bandits, the mysterious man kicked away two other bandits quickly and jumped back. Attempting to strike the mysterious man with their sharp weapons, Piotr thought he was hallucinating when he saw that the mysterious man snapped one of the bandits swords and etched it into the heart of his enemy.

Piotr blacked out for a moment, but awoke himself. The mysterious man defeated all the bandits himself. The man said something but Piotr could not hear. Piotr struggled to stay conscious as the mysterious man walked towards him. The man didn't move any of his upperbody as he walked through the small dying flames and put his hand on the carriage.

Piotr struggled, but he managed to smile. "Friend... Or foe..?" laughed Piotr. The mysterious man smiled back. "I guess... That answers the question..." Piotr fell to his feet and darkness clouded his vision.

When Piotr awoke, he was in a wooden structure, in a bed. The mysterious man was next to him recieving a back massage. Letting out little cries of pain, the mysterious man laughed saying "I love this sort of pain." The masseuse laughed and so did Piotr.

"Oh you're awake!" cried the masseuse.

"Surprised?" Piotr asked.

"No.. No of course not," replied the masseuse as she continued to massage the mysterious man's back.

Piotr looked at the woman massaging the back of the man who had no name. "Do I get one of those?" asked Piotr with a cheeky smile. "Oh yes.. Yes of course," replied the masseuse with a stutter. She walked out of the room. Piotr could hear mumbling in the next room. The mysterious man turned his head around slowly.

"What's wrong with your back?"

"I tried to do the limbo."

Piotr and the mysterious man burst into laughter. "And who are you?" Piotr asked. The man inhaled and exhaled slowly and spoke. "Aronai..."

(OOC: Your turn! Oh yes there's one person who is going to enter our RP. I forget his/her name but they're going to enter the RP shortly - But Skullbearer, it's your turn to post! :P)

[Skullbearer]

(ooc: Very awesome Triar, I give you two thumbs way way up for how you took what I wrote and went with it so easily, improving it tenfold! Ok, here goes)

Despite his damaged muscles, Aronai had helped the others to some quick repairs to the carriage, and get back the frightened horses. Soon they had loaded Piotr in and headed, in the dead of night, towards where Steven knew a town lay. It was morning when they reached its gates, and they all thanked their luck at avoiding any holes or ditches in the dark. The morning guards spotted their weary group, and let them in.

It was not long after explaining what had happened that Aronai, Steven, William, Piotr, and the two nameless women who had slept the entire trip, were ushered into the town Lord's home. Aparently the bandits had been more than a serious nuisance to them, and had stolen many women, children, and young men in the night and morning, when the light was dim and the shadows easy to hide in.

He was treating them royally, and gifts from those families who lost friends or loved ones, and even those who had just feared the loss, began pouring into the Lord's simple but luxurious manor. Aronai knew such a wealthy person would employ various masters of the healing arts, and after a subtle but insessant suggestion that his back was badly injured, the Lord begrudged his finest massueses and healers to the care of them. The two surviving hostages, Steven, and William had needed little attention, despite the horrendous battle. Piotr on the other hand, suffered from extreme exhaustion, having pushed his muscles further than they should have gone... Aronai understood such a thing well, as his battle trance allowed him to control his body almost as if it were a puppet, rather than a living thing. But of course, even his powerful muscles had their limits, and in his anger, he had pushed them to do things far beyond their capabilites... it was no surprise so much damage had been done even though not a scratch was on him from the bandits.

The massuese was working wonders, and she was far from unnattractive... Aronai found himself quickly lost in the rythm of pain and pleasure from her minstrations...

"Does it hurt that much?" Of course it did! But Aronai didn't say that, he wanted her to continue, "I love this sort of pain." Aronai forced a laugh, and the beautiful woman rubbing his back joined him... along with a third voice.

"Oh you're awake!" cried the masseuse.

"Surprised?" Piotr asked.

"No.. No of course not," replied the massuese, continueing to rub Aronai's back.

"Do I get one of those?" asked Piotr with a cheeky smile. "Oh yes.. Yes of course," replied the masseuse with a stutter. She walked out of the room. Piotr could hear mumbling in the next room. He eyed Aronai a little confusedly.

"What happened to your back?" Aronai almost laughed... but of course the man didn't know how easy it was to harm yourself in a battle trance.

"I tried to do the limbo."

Piotr and Aronai burst into laughter. "And who are you?" Piotr asked. The man inhaled and exhaled slowly and spoke. "Aronai."

"Just Aronai?" Piotr was curious, as would have been Aronai in his position, but Aronai would never risk anyone discovering his true history... it surprised him at how many people new the legend of 'The Immortal's Puppet' and yet did not piece it together that Aronai, perhaps the only half Wood Elf, half Brave to ever be born and live out a long life, was the same Aronai in the story. The stories portrayed him had a sort of monster, rejected by the elves, aided by Men, and later corrupted by some failed experiment on himself conducted by the Immortal he took orders from. The tales weren't far off, Aronai made sure of that whenever he was traveling with a bard. The manipulations of the Immortal and the danger of experimenting with both magics simultaneously needed to be widely known to prevent any disasters like what happened with him.

"Yes... just Aronai. Piotr, is it? I must admit that you are a fighter of tremendous skills... how a once-slave found the time and secrecy to hone such abilities is beyond me. Personally, I onced owned a large manor, far more vast than this... but the village was destroyed by warring factions, and my home remained, to my amazement, unscathed. It was an outpost town however, and the survivors left, as did all my servents. Its been soooo long since a gorgeous woman rubbed any part of my body..." Aronai raised his voice so that the masseuse would be sure to hear.

Aparently he had been successful, and the first masseuse came in, blushind a beet red, with a second, equally pretty girl in tow. They both went to work on the two men, and Aronai's painful gasps and moans slowly became sighs of relief and pleasure. Piotr himself had never had treatment like this, and he was silent almost the entire time, almost afraid that all his luck, if it could so be called, would just dissapear and he would find himself back in slavery.

[Triar]

(OOC: Gotta love masseuses :P - My turn)

"Aronai," replied the mysterious man.

"Just Aronai?" Piotr asked curiously.

"Yes... just Aronai. Piotr is it?" Piotr nodded with a faint smile. "I must admit that you are a fighter of tremendous skills... how a once-slave found the time and secrecy to hone such abilities is beyond me." Piotr smiled at the flattering comments Aronai gave him. Steven must have told Aronai and the others that Piotr was once a slave. Piotr didn't mind this, however, and Aronai continued on.

"Personally, I once owned a large manor, far more vast than this one... but the village was destroyed by warring factions, and my home remained, to my amazement, unscathed. It was an outpost town, however, and the survivors left, as did all my servents." Aronai let out a sigh. "Its been soooo long since a gorgeous woman rubbed any part of my body..." Aronai raised his voice purposely so the masseuse would come back and continue massaging his aching back.

The masseuse did indeed hear him, and hurried back in with rosy cheeks. She was blushing. A second girl walked in behind the first. Piotr's eyes grew wide as she walked inside. She too was as pretty as the first masseuse. Piotr turned over and both girls went to work. Aronai enjoyed the massage. Painful gasps and moans became sighs of relief. It was Piotr's first ever massage. He kept quiet, however, keeping the pleasure of pain inside, not letting out any weakness, so he could cherish this moment while it lasted because soon enough, his luck may run out and he would find himself back in slavery.

The girls had finished and they walked out of the room. Aronai stood up and cracked his own back by bending backwards, and turning his waist around. He stretched and cracked his arms and fingers. Piotr stood up and rolled his head, cracking his neck. The two walked out of the room and into a hall. Steven, William, and the two unknown nomads were enjoying a feast with the Lord of the town. "Please, join us," the Lord invited. Aronai helped himself and sat next to William. Piotr, however, didn't sit down. "Please, join us," the Lord repeated, and Piotr sat down between Aronai and William.

There were all different sorts of meats and salads, different fruits and vegetables, all served on fine glass plates. Servents served them. It was the first time Piotr had been served by a servent, as he served Incidé for most of his life. To Piotr, it felt somewhat weird that he was being served, and that he was not serving.

Piotr ate quickly. The Lord watched Piotr. "And you're Piotr, yes?" asked the Lord.

"Yes." Piotr replied whilst stuffing more food into his mouth.

The Lord introduced himself. His name was Lord Ark. Others called him Ark the Lad. "I hear the bandits attacked you and many others, and you six were the only to survive," Ark wanted clarification from Piotr to see if were true.

"Yes." Piotr repeated, still stuffing food into his mouth.

"The bandits have been giving my town a lot of strife for many months. I have lost many people from this town, and people are becoming scared, moving to different towns, away from the bandit camps. This town has little economy left and we are close to having to leave this town behind us. I do not want this. Steven and William have told me that you found the camp somewhere in the forest."

"Yes," said Piotr as he took a sip of wine from fine wine glasses.

"Well I would like for you four men to lead a group of my handpicked men and women, and we can launch an assault on the bandit camp, taking them out and keeping my town alive."

Piotr swallowed the food that was in his mouth, and he spoke. "I am not doing this for free. And I'm sure these men aren't either."

Ark's eyes grew a little wider. "How much do you ask?"

"How much are you willing to give to have the bandits rid forever?" Piotr asked.

"500 for each of you. That's 2000," replied Ark with a low tone.

Steven smiled at the offer and nodded. Aronai and William continued to eat on, listening. Piotr looked at Steven and shook his head.

"How about 1000 for each of us?" Piotr asked.

Steven's face went red with madness. "Are yee kiddin' me lad?"

"Outrageous!" shouted Ark.

"Well then; you will not find the location of the bandit camp anytime soon," smiled Piotr, as he got up from his chair and headed for the door.

"Wait, wait." Ark got out of his chair and stopped Piotr. "Okay. Fine. 1000 for each of you. If you's survive, that is."

Piotr smiled. He wasn't going to ask Steven, William or Aronai to come with him. It was their decision to make. Piotr wasn't going to ask them to die with or for him.

"A bit arrogant for a slave," joked Steven as he followed Piotr outside of the Ark Manor. William, Aronai, and the two unnamed nomads followed Steven outside.

Outside, Piotr stretched and smelt the fresh air. He watched the people bartering in the market area for the items that they wanted. He watched the armorsmiths fixing and selling different armors. He watched as chefs made bread to sell. Piotr sat and let the sun shine into his eyes. Steven sat next to him on the Manor steps connecting to the front door and laughed. "Yee really got the highest number, didn't ya?"

Piotr didn't say a word as the others came out and enjoyed the market place. Ark the Lad also came outside. "I will round everyone up tonight. You'll be showing my warriors the way to the bandit camp," and Ark went back inside.

"Well I'm comin' with ya, lad," Steven announced. Aronai and William didn't say a word.

"What about you William?" Piotr asked.

"Anything you want, master," William said, bowing his head.

"No, William. You are a free man now. You needn't be with us if you so wish. You can leave at anytime. Go home if you wish. Steven and I are not your masters. We are your friends."

Piotr and Steven saw William smile for the first time. "With you men, I am already home," William smiled again.

"So you're with us then?" Steven asked.

"Yes." William smiled. "To death."

"And what about you, Aronai? Are you coming with us tonight or are you going to go your seperate way?" Piotr asked. "You needn't stay with us too if you wish."

Piotr waited for Aronai's answer.

(OOC: Your turn :P - Oh yes I got two other people joining this RP (and with us two it equal five, I'm just waiting for them to enter at the proper time). And I forget what all their names are. But just letting you know that. And again, it's your turn :))

[Skullbearer]

"Well, before we go, I wonder if you would join me in some stretching? That pretty thing back in the manor worked some healing magic on me, but while her massageing was top notch, her healing has left my back somewhat less flexible."

Piotr, Steven, and William seemed game, but just watched Aronai curiously. Aronai smiled slightly to himself... even for a man of nearly 9 feet, he was even more flexible than an elven maiden when he remember to do all his exercises.

"Ok, just follow me if you can..." And he went into some basic body stretches. After a bit, William, then Steven and Piotr joined him. Aronai reveled in how the latent acids left from overworked and stressed muscles were released completely in the spots the massuese was too shy to work her... 'arts'...

Abruptly, Aronai twisted around a complete 180 degrees, so that his shoulders were completely backwards, then the other directiong. Each twist was accompanied by a noise similar to leather stretching a twisting. Aronai grunted with effort, then bent completely over backwards, easily setting his hands on the ground and moving into a hand stand. He lowered himself to his chest and curled backwards into a tight ball, rolled a couple times, then easily and smoothly went into a standing position.

"Hmm, a little stiff, but I got most of the kinks out. Ah! I see our entourage has arrived! Well, are you ready gentlemen?"

(ooc: Mwahahaha, just couldn't resist the excuse to show off the somewhat disturbing effects of having a semi-polymorphic body...;) )

[Shadowfire05]

ooc wow this is great guys. I have never read an RP before, and I have been watching yals unfold since the beginning. I would like to drop in a little twist but I am waiting for the right moment. This is really cool though :)

[Triar]

(OOC: I'll leave this post open for the others for another day as this is the perfect time to enter the RP as one of the warriors asked by Ark the Lad to join the fellers in the assault on the bandit camp)

[Skullbearer]

(OOC: I'll leave this post open for the others for another day as this is the perfect time to enter the RP as one of the warriors asked by Ark the Lad to join the fellers in the assault on the bandit camp)

(ooc: Stealing the nam Ark the Lad... shame on you! I actually have the entire anime made from that game, it sux something bad.)

[Shadowfire05]

OOC I don't know if i will join yal as a full RP member yet as I really have no clue how to RP I just want to add a little twist to it, check you PM triar.

[Skullbearer]

Will a mod please remove his posts? He is flaming without justification and his grammer is aweful.

[Triar]

(OOC: Well nobody is posting - Might as well do one then)

Dawn came quicker than Piotr had thought. The large pack of men and women warriors came in front of Ark's manor. "Well, before we go, I wonder if you would join me in some stretching?" Piotr looked at Steven. Steven looked back at Piotr. "That pretty thing back there," Aronai continued, "Worked some healing magic on me, but while her massaging was top notch, her healing has left my back somewhat less flexible."

Aronai began stretching his muscles, every inch of muscle was being stretched by a single movement from Aronai's body. Piotr admired the flexibility of Aronai as he continued on to stretch. "Okay, just follow me if you can." Aronai went into some basic body stretches. After a few stretches, William joined in, then Steven, then Piotr. Some of the warriors laughed at the four stretching. Piotr laughed loudly as well, and the warrior's stopped. "It's quite funny, isn't it?" Piotr asked a random Warrior. "How you can laugh at us doing basic excercises, and yet, you can't even bend over at a 20 degree angle. Pitiful beings, the lot of you who laugh at us." And Piotr continued on with his excercises.

It seemed as though Piotr got his message across when some of the Warrior's began to stretch also. Piotr, Steven and William starred as Aronai twisted around a complete 180 degrees. His shoulders were completely backwards, facing Steven. "Well I be damned. I sure as hell never seen such flexibility ever since me and that maiden... Well that is another tale." Every turn Aronai did cracked at least ten bones in his body. It sounded like a thousand drums drumming a thousands beats per second. This caused Piotr to smirk as he cracked his neck, rolling it around in a circular motion. Piotr thought Aronai was showing off when he bent over backwards, setting his hands on the ground, moving into a handstand, lowered himself to his chest, wrapped up in a ball and rolled a few times, and smoothly ending the little show with hop to go into standing position.

"Hmm, a little stiff, but I got most of the kinks out." Piotr looked as another pack of warriors came. "Ah! I see our entourage has arrived! Well, are you ready gentlemen?" Aronai asked.

Piotr, Steven and William all nodded with a smile. Ark came out of his little hovel and began a small speech. "You men and women have been chosen to follow these four men into the nearby forest to slay the bandit's from our lands. I must apologize as I cannot come with you. I have more... Pressing matters to attend to... So please, come back alive and well. That is all."

Piotr quickly told the warriors: "If we happen to get seperated, we meet up at Mt. Wrai, South-East of the forest."

The group followed the foursome out of the gates of the town, and towards the forest they went. It was about thirty minutes before the band of warriors reached the outskirts of the forest. "Follow me. Do not make a sound," William whispered, as the warriors followed William stealthily into the forest. It must have been ten minutes before they saw the bandit camp. "This is it." No music was playing this time. It looked as though the bandit's numbers had grew enormously in the night. "I don't think this is the only camp in the forest," Piotr whispered to Steven. "I think that too. There is no other explanation," replied Steven, as he got his axe ready.

The Archer Warriors got their bows ready. The warriors surrounded the parimeter of the camp, and the Archers lit their arrows. "CHARGE!" Shouted Aronai, as the arrows flung into the bandit camp. The melee warriors charged into the camp. The bandits were caught by surprise as many of the bandits didn't even draw their weapons before they were killed. The battle didn't last long. All the bandits were killed. Piotr searched the bodies.

"They're all men. No women. No children. They were expecting this attack." Piotr said loudly for all to hear.

William turned his head. He saw something in the distance. "This was too easy. This is not all of them. Something is coming for us!" William paniced. At that moment, arrows flung from every direction. The screams of pain from the warriors were outstanding. Steven's arm was sliced by the tip of an arrow passing by. "RETREAT!" Piotr shouted, and the warriors fled. The original foursome stuck together and towards the town again, killing off a few of the bandits where necessary. Other warriors followed the foursome too. Most were killed off. Few survived.

Seven other warriors made it out with the original four of the group. Five were wonded either by arrows or woundings by other bladed weapons. They traveled to Mt. Wrai which was only a short distance away. They set up a small out of the way camp and let the wounded rest. Piotr, Aronai, Steven, William, and the two warriors that were not wounded, stood guard, watching for any other survivors.

No warriors came as the middle of the night came. "At sunrise, we will travel back to the town," Piotr said, as he gazed into the night sky.

(OOC: Not too much action - But I'm sure you can make something up from here Skullbearer. This is another ideal place for people to join in again (to either return as one of the warriors or just come across us).)

[Sephrenia]

(ooc: I guess this is as good a time as any to introduce my char seem as so she's a cleric and youre all wounded :P well, her name is Aphrael (the only char name i have) she is a half elven cleric and is a priestess of Ysatis. She's dark aligned but doesnt really discriminate when it comes to someone in need whether they be light or dark she'll help them, mostly. So all around an all round good girl :P just pm me triar if its ok for me to join in now)

[Sephrenia]

Aphrael had been strolling through the plains around Mt. Wrai for about 2 hours when the sun began to set she decided to make her way back to the temple-complex. She walked back along the path towards the temple-complex. As darkness set in she wrapped her white cloak around herself to shield from the cold. She carried on as the evening grew into the night but decided to seek shelter when it began to rain heavily. She looked around from the huddle of trees she had taken shelter in. She caught sight of a flicker of fire, meaning an encampment. She weighed up the risks and decided that it was preferable to sitting out here in the cold dark. She walked to the edge of the camp and peered in. Several men, some wounded, were either lying or sitting around the fire in the center of a group of tents. The men looked decent enough, well the ones that werent cut up and bloodied, so she decided to introduce herself. She stepped out from behind the boulders and scrub that she had been spying on them from and walked towards the encampment.
'Good evening gentleman, I see that you have got a few in your party that are wounded in some way, how very handy it is that I could heal them better than any paid healer or at least any healer that is in the vicinity. I'll do this for you if you would permit me to stay with you as the cold is chilling me to the bone'

(ooc: your responses is up to you, I prefer to let others respond themselves where possible :P and hi btw, Im not much of a big posting person I have an inability)

[Aleta]

Up in the trees, a figure sat watching the camp. Nocking an arrow to his bow, the bandit sniper slowly pulled back on the well-oiled string as he began to aim at the woman who had just entered. A soft rustle nearby gave him pause for a moment. Lowering his weapon slightly, he listened closely and scanned the nearby trees. Nothing. Satisfied that it had been nothing he began to raise his arms once more when an almost playful voice whispered right by his ear, close enough for him to feel the warmth of the speaker's breath.

"Naughty boy." Before he could so much as make a sound of surprise, a hand clamped tightly over his mouth. A flash of steel, a sharp pain at his neck and the bow slipped from the bandit's hands as liquid gushed down the front of his tunic. Looking down in shock, he numbly realized it was his own blood. Trying to speak, only a gurgling sound came out and as darkness overcame his senses the last thing he felt was a push at the small of the back sending him tumbling limply to the ground at the edge of the clearing, his life draining away into the earth as he died.

Cutting through the activity stirred by the corpse's sudden arrival, a strident voice rang out from the trees.

"State your business in these lands or suffer the same fate as this fool."

------------------------------------------------
Heh, sorry it took me so long Triar. Been a bit busy lately, so it's taken me a while to get around to introducing us. I hope this is alright. Feel free to PM or e-mail me with questions, comments or whatever. Thanks for letting the Guard join in. :)

[Dinghow]

DOOD! Get off of the forums and write a book! There are some great authors on here and you are one of em. Great work.

[Wolf_Gang]

The necromancer gathered his sacks and goods and trudged to the Outward Road. Listening to the sounds of the birds talking high above him in the tree tops he walked at a set pace, Thinking of the wanted poster he had spotted nailed to the wall in the Lossed-Forest inn made him increase his speed yet again. The streams of sun light that filterd through the tree tops told him he was close to the middle of Haardrishii forest.

Two day ago he had left the safe and secure home of the Vale to seak out the third Ki.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I dont think my story is going anywhere, Im new to it all and i just wanted to see what it is like.....if you like it so far i'll continue (-_-)

[Alpha_and_Omega]

(OOC: Well, i was going to stay out of this, but i saw Aleta posted and i couldn't leave her all alone with you, so i figured i had better come and keep you all safe :) )

Following through the trees, Petrus was still quite agitated for having decided to come along. "Just a patrol, it will be quick" they said. "Come on, it will be good to get out". Well, that was a week ago. Now he was Following her through the trees... The trees! They couldnt walk on the ground like normal people.... O well, every now and then he had cheated a bit and levitated from tree to tree.
Reaching the next tree, he started to look around when he heard a muffled gurgle and saw a body thump to the ground, obviously soon to be dead. "Oh, this is just great!" he mumbled, although not to quitly. Finding the tree were the man fell from, he made it there just as he heard the figure still in the tree say "State your business in these lands or suffer the same fate as this fool." Looking at the owner of the voice, Petrus shook his head in disgust and mumbled "Just a Patrol."

[Skullbearer]

Aronai kept to himself at the camp, ignoring the wounded and his pseudo-companions, prefering the solitude of his own thoughts. Why was he helping these people? It must just be his nature... he could never resist being the hero, even though he was as much a bad guy, if not more, than most of those he was battling against.

His contemplation was interupted when a gorgeous woman, dressed as a cleric, entered their camp and began healing in exchange for the shared warmth and safety of the group. Nobody mentioned the source of their wounds, and she never asked. Aronai watched her with mild fascination... something about her was... familiar.

Then it struck him... she had been there just a few years earlier when he had faked a warrior competition with immortality as a prize, just to get a strong life force to extend his own existence! He thought that she had died in battle, but apparently even his tremendous experience had failed him that time. If she were to recognize him, it would be a tremendous hassle. Alone, he might be able to handle her or any of his 'companions', but together, along with the wounded soldiers, only flight would save him.

And he did not have enough nutrients or energy stored up to flee long enough or far enough, and if he were to use his battle meditation, his already stressed body and muscles would be heavily damaged. So as she finished healing the final soldier, he strode confidently up behind her, placed his fingers calculatingly on points in her spine which would allow for instant paralyzation with the right amount of force, and spoke in her ear as she halted with a start.

"Lets go for a walk... we have things to discuss..."

(OOC: As you can tell Sephrenia, I'm having this take place roughly a year or so after the 'Arena of the Immortal', but that thread has been progressing slowly, so I haven't gotten to the determinative parts yet, and am now forced to make up stuff on the fly... yay for improv!)

[Sephrenia]

Aphrael went around the small encampment healing the wounded men more or less silently, neither asking how the injuries were recieved or being told how. When she came to the final man she stood up, stretched a bit then glanced around the camp and walked over to behind one of the tents to get away from the chatting of now healthy men. She sighed a breath of relief while the wind and rain cooled her down. She gasped as firm hands pressed against her back and on attempting to turn and face the person she found that she was paralysed, someone obviously knew what they were doing.

"Lets go for a walk... we have things to discuss."

As the pressure on her spine was released slightly she had control over her body again, mostly. She walked, directed by the man, towards a nearby wood. His voice seemed oddly familiar but she couldnt remember where from.

"Who are you and why would I have things to discuss with you?" She inquired quietly.

The man did not answer until they got to a clearing near the edge of the woods.

"You dont recognise me Aphrael?"He said turning around.

Once she had seen him she realised who it was who was she was standing in front of, the man from the manor in the middle of no-where, the essence vampire.

"Get away from me!"she shouted while attempting to back away from him and tripping over a log of rotten wood. Clambering to her feet she stared at him angrily.

"What are you doing here? Looking for more men to murder I suppose?"

(OOC: you can take it from there if you want SB Ive gotta go now, so little time.. :P)

[Triar]

(OOC: Wolf_Gang - That has nothing to do with this RP please do not write anymore.
Dinghow - Thanks for your comments :) I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say we appreciate it
Everyone - My turn :D)

As the wounded men remained, dying, hope for survival was almost lost for them. However, a sigh or relief left one of the men when a woman explorer, moreso a healer, entered the encampment.

"Good evening gentleman," the woman began. "I see that you have got a few in your party that are wounded in some way." The woman smiled "How very handy it is that I could heal them better than any paid healer, or at least any healer that is in the vicinity." Piotr smirked, and the healer looked at him. "I'll do this for you if you would permit me to stay with you as the cold is chilling me to the bone."

Piotr stood up. "Of course! Please. Heal these dying men. They will not survive too much longer."

The woman began to heal the dying men. Their wounds disappeared in front of their eyes. Piotr smiled. Just their luck, a healer walking around, and she happened to walk to Mt. Wrai on a cold, rainy night. Piotr began to wonder if the healer was following them, or was part of the crew of warriors that attempted to take the bandit camp. But then again, maybe she wasn't. Maybe she WAS just a lone healer exploring the lands at night. Maybe she was lost? Piotr stopped asking himself these questions when the healer sat at the fire and enjoyed the lovely heat. Warming up her hands, and lifting her cloak up to warm up her feet. She was wearing sandals. On a night as cold as this? Piotr thought she was a little crazy.

In the end, the woman stood up and walked away from the fire. Piotr kept a close eye on her as she suddenly stopped. Aronai whispered something to her, and they walked away from the camp. Steven began to snore. Piotr slapped him on the cheek. "Wake up!" Piotr whispered loudly. "Aronai took that healer somewhere. This is suspiciously suspicious," Piotr jokingly said. "Come on." Piotr and Steven got up and followed the two.

Piotr saw Aronai and the healer walk into the forest. Piotr took another step, but Steven stopped him. "Wait..." said Steven, pushing his hand on Piotr's chest. "What?" asked Piotr. "Just wait..."

Indeed, Piotr and Steven waited, and waited. Only for a few minutes before a shout came from the forest: "Get away from me!" This was not Aronai's shout. This was the healer's shout. Piotr and Steven looked at each other and ran into the forest. "Help!" screamed the healer. Piotr and Steven drew closer. They saw a silhouette in the distance. Finally, Piotr and Steven got to the two. Piotr drew his sword. The healer was on the ground and she looked at Piotr and Steven. Aronai continued to stare at the healer with an evil smile.

(OOC: Well I'm at school whilst I'm doing this and I just got caught. The teacher almost closed it... But luckily I pleaded and he stopped and let me finish this off... Well I hope you enjoyed it - Just adding some tension :))

[Skullbearer]

(OOC: Just a note... Aronai isn't specifically 'evil', he's essentially a guy who enjoyed immortality and immense magical abilities on top of his physical abilities, and then had his magic and thus his immortallity brutally stripped from him. Now he can use a special ritual and the minute amount of magic he can summon to suck out other people's essence in order to extend is life... at heart he's the 'good guy with the way too shiny sword' but is forced into the role of a vampire of sorts...)

Aronai smirked as Aphrael screamed for help... it was his intention to avoid this, but it could not be helped. All hope of the scream having gone unnoticed was also shattered as Piotr, William, and Steven leaped out from behind some tall grass and quickly assessed the situation.

Aronai couldn't blame them, here was a giant of a man who had shown physical strength and skill beyond the norm, and a pretty and assumed friendly healer who had given them aid. Aronai was nothing if not mysterious, and well, pretty ladies tended not to inpire suspicions. So Aronai was not surprised or hurt when the three turned accusingly to him, demanding to know what was going on and why he had left the camp all at once.

Holding his hands up in a submissive gesture, Aronai sighed and spoke when they quieted and Aphrael had backed to what he assumed was a comfortable distance. "Well, my new friends, I suppose I have a story to tell you... and the dear lady Aphrael as well, as she has been previously decieved by me. In fact, I had believed her dead... not by my hand! But certainly as a result of my lure."

Aronai quickly dropped to a cross-legged position, and the others slowly sat down. The lady however would lower herself into no more than a ready crouch, and she made no attempt to hide her open aggression and fear of him.

"It all started... oh, many centuries ago. Actually, several millenia to be more precise, although for centuries at a time I ignored dates, and history always fails to accurately agree upon the correct dates of the same events, except where carefully recorded. So I will say it was millenia ago... not long after the reclaimation of the Kindoms from Dragoon. I was born to a Wood Elven mother, at the time daughter of the main leader among the Wood Elves, and the son of a very powerful Dark Sorcerer, who was a Brave."

Steven opened his mouth to protest that a Brave could be a Dark Sorcerer, but Aronai continued, his voice slightly raised to prevent any outbursts from his listeners, "You see, one of the Immortals was not satisfied with his role of defending the 10th Kingdom, and believed that the Immortals were needed in the world of men, lest it destroy itself from the petty dissagreements over the two magics. He indebted and trained my father, teaching him how the Immortal blood that flowed within him could both enhance his body and mind, as well as magic, and that if used properly, even a Brave could wield the Dark magic. It was the Immortal's ideal to unite both sides by showing that anyone could use both magics, even simultaneously."

Aronai took a deep breath, and almost sorrowfully continued, "My father was not capable of accomplishing the task, so he sought a means to continue his legacy and duty... and by a chance meeting with my mother, and the ensuing love affair, I was concieved with some of the most powerful blood in existence, challenging even the power of an Immortal. Seperated at my birth from my father, my mother and I lived for 16 years in a small village among the Wood Elves. I was treated as a monster, if subtly, but I was happy to an extent, and made a few powerful friends. During my 16th year I left the village and the forest, and began traveling, searching for my father."

Aronai leaned a little closer, "I was over 3 centuries old when I finally found him. Of course by then I had learned a great deal of Light magic, and had also discovered that my abnormally dominant Immortal blood gave me near immortality, and kept me in excellent shape. My father took me to his master, the Immortal, and there I learned how to use the Dark magics. So endowed with Light magic as I was, it was incredibly difficult and painful, but on the my 1000th birthday, I mastered it. Unfortunately I could only use one magic, Dark or Light, during any given 24 hour period, and it took precisely 24 hours for me to gain access to the other magic. So we underwent an incredibly powerful ritual to fuse the two magics together within me, and give me simultaneous control... instead the conflict of the powers nearly killed me, and all magic channeled through or generated by my body is nullified... including my immortality. Only with incredible concentration and a special ritual am I able to consume the life force of powerful warriors in order to give myself 4-5 centuries of life."

Aronai stood and brushed off his pants. "Aphrael was one of my potential victims recently, in a fake arena tournament for the prize of immortality. I had thought she had died in one of her battles, but aparently we were fated to meet again."

Aronai looked into Aphrael's eyes with tremendous sorrow and pain, then bowed very deeply. "M'lady, it grieves me terribly that I do what I do, but my desire for life always gets the best of my desire to protect the lives of warriors... it is my sincerest wish that one day I will either reverse or complete the cursed ritual that put me in my condition... had we only met under other circumstances I might have sought your aid rather than your essence."

Aronai swept gracefully from his bow back to a stand, and the four listeners caught the glimpse of a tear in his eye. Each wondered if the story were true, and whether or not Aronai could be trusted...

(OOC: Shabam! Ahhhhhh creative blockup cleared, I feel ten times as energetic after that!)

[Triar]

(OOC: Note: William isn't there at the moment. He's still at the camp. Just want to clarify that.)

Aronai held his hands up, signalling to lower the sword, then sighed. It was obvious he wanted to have a private conversation with the woman, but it was also obvious that it wasn't going to happen. At least not yet. "Well, my new friends," Aronai began. "I suppose I have a story to tell you. And the dear lady Aphrael as well, as she has been previously decieved by me." Piotr raised an eyebrow at Aphrael, the healer, as he name was mentioned. "In fact, I had believed her dead." Aronai paused for a second. Before Piotr made any assumptions, Aronai quickly added "Not by my hand!" Piotr let out a sigh of relief and let Aronai continue. "But certainly as a result of my lure."

Aronai sat down and crossed his legs. He looked as though he was a huge spider curling up into a little ball. Piotr and Steven too sat down, leaving their legs stretched out. Aphrael, however, bent down as if she was ready to retreat at the first sign of danger. It was quite obvious Aphrael loathed him. But it was something that Piotr dared not to question.

"It started... oh, many centures ago." Piotr thought Aronai was joking. He cleared his ears in a jokingly matter, and listened in again. "Actually, several millenia to be more precise, although for centures at a time I ignored dates." It seemed like Aronai was not joking at all. It wasn't long before Piotr figured that he was an immortal. Aronai continued with his story.

Aronai was born to a Wood Elf mother. At the time, she was the daughter of the main leader amongst the Wood Elves, and the son of a very powerful Dark Sorcerer who was a Brave. He talked about an Immortal who trained his father in the dark and light magics. Teaching him how the Immortal blood that flowed within them could both enhance his mind and body, as well as magic. And if the power was used properly, even a Brave could use the Dark magics. Supposedly, it was the Immortal's ideal to unite both sides by showing that anyone could use both magics. Even simultaneously.

Aronai's father was not capable of accomplishing such a task. So, he sought a means to continue his legacy and duty, and by a chance, meeting with Aronai's mother, and the ensuing love affair, Aronai was concieved with some of the most powerful blood in existence, challenging even the power of an Immortal. Aronai was seperated at birth from his father. Aronai and his mother lived for 16 years in a small village amongst other Wood Elves. Treated like a monster. During his 16th year, Aronai left and searched for his father.

Aronai was over three centuries old before he finally managed to find his father. His father took him to his master, the Immortal, and there he learned the ways of Dark magic. On his 1000th birthday, he mastered Light and Dark magic, but he battled through incredibly difficult and painful times. Aronai underwent a powerful ritual to fuse the two magics together. But in the end, the conflict of the powers nearly killed him, and all magic channeled through generated by his body was nullified, including his immortality. Aronai continued saying that only with incredible concentration and a special ritual was he able to consume a life force of powerful warriors in order to give himself four or five centuries of life.

Piotr watched Aronai as he stood up and brushed off his pants from the dirt. "Aphrael was one of my potential vicitims recently, in a fake arena tournament for the prize of immortality." Piotr heard of such a tournament not too long ago, but he never heard much. Only that the prize was immortality. "I thought she had died in one of her battles, but apparently. we were fated to meet again."

Piotr never believed in fate. But he did believe in destiny. Piotr's interpretation of fate was: Your life has already been written, and the gods know what you are to do, and what you are to become. But, Piotr thought that there was no way his life was ever written for him. He was able to choose his path. He was able to make decisions. His life was never set; or so he believed. Destiny, however, was a different thing: There are goals given to you, and you can choose what goal you wish to accomplish. You can choose the path you walk on, and there's always time to change the road you're on. Fate and Destiny were two different things in Piotr's mind, and he only believed in Destiny.

Aronai bowed towards Aphrael. "M'lady," he began. "It grieves me terribly that I do what I do. But my desire for life always gets the best of my desire to protect the lives or warriors. It is my sincirest wish that one day, I will either reverse or complete the cursed ritual that put me in my condition. Had we only met under other circumstances, I might have sought your aid, rather than your essence."

Aronai came back up from his bow, and stood straight. Piotr and Steven saw a tear in one of his eyes. Piotr knew a story such as that had to be true. Nobody could make up such a thing, not even if they had lived for many centuries. Aronai, Piotr, and Steven waited for Aphrael's reply.

[Shadowfire05]

(OOC Well i had planned on making a small appearance, but with the new knowledge of aranoi it would be pointless as it was to appeal to the fact that he was an evil character which he obviously is not. I am really enjoying reading this, but am afraid to join as I would look like a mere peasant compared to such masters of the art of RP. AWSOME story guys.)

[Fajiera Zahra]

[I had planned to make my entrance in the Guard's forest, but seeing as how you're all set up for a bit of storytime in the camp here, I'm just going to start around the area. So...If it's a bit awkward that I'm suddenly here; how do I say this? Oh well.]

The sky overhead was dark; boiling grey clouds lanced with the occasional deep blue where the late evening sky was visible. Thunder rumbled occasionally in the distance, but for now the only thing that struck the immediate area was the rain. Cold, though, and relentless, as if the seas had decided to reclaim the land by air drop. And through the gathering mist a figure wrapped a heavy cloak tighter about her body while sending a curse up to whatever diety happened to be listening. Bloody miserable it was; light showers, or even a decent storm, she could live with, but the sodden chilly grey stuff had rather spoiled her good mood.

Amurra paused, stuffed a single, soaked braid into her cloak, and pulled up the large hood. Bright idea, that, now that she had already been soaked through. At any rate this wasn't really the ti--Voices. Was it just a trick of the wind? She had been out here alone an awful long time. Still, they didn't seem very imaginary, but even if they were...Imaginary food was far better than none at all, by her logic. Stumbling into a camp that the elements didn't allow her to see and asking for shelter among people whom the woman had no idea about probably was pretty high on the "Things Not To Do When Traveling Alone" list, but at this point it was a risk she was more than willing to take.

That settled, she resumed her minor journey again, mud sucking at her boots that had settled in it until finally, with a rather wet, squelching sound, the oozing earth gave way and she was able to continue on with both legs free. Fine, fine; bloody stupid to go running into camp like this, and even with no sign of the rain letting up--She had already made up her mind, that's what. And as she continued steadily on, more cautiously now, Zahra confirmed that the voices she had heard definately -were- real, and the small fire they had managed to keep alive, barely, somehow, definately -was- real, and no doubt warm, and the tents dry, and the food more than she had left by now.

A man and a woman crouched down; two more sat in front of them. Right: letting go of herself; she had quite nearly looked over them completely. No excuses. Still, they had definately noticed her by now, so she had to do something. Quick thinking, now: proper introductions would only get her turned away. How to go about this, then? And all of them waiting so expectently. Really only one option, so everything was settled, and in the most lady-like manner she could muster in as foul of mood as she was in, Amurra began her speech.

"Er...'Allo then."

[A tad more comical and, shall we say, abstract? than I usually go with this character. But when I'm in a good mood putting characters like this in bad moods really is fairly comical, so I just went with it. At least I'm here, right? So, yes, to quote: 'Allo then.]

[Skullbearer]

Aronai blinked with something akin to wonder at the shabby woman standing before them...

"The gods must be irritated with my long isolation... in just a few months I have met more interesting characters and made more enemies than in my entire lifetime previously..." And with that, Aronai non-chalantly turned and strode back to the main camp to sleep.

[Triar]

It was about twenty minutes before William realized that the healer, Aronai, Piotr and Steven were gone. William gathered his weapons and equipment, stood up, turned around, and saw a woman in a cloak emerge from the shadows.

"Er...'Allo then." The warriors stopped talking and looked at the woman. Beautiful... was the word that ran through William's mind a thousand times. She was wearing a cloak. Wet from the drizzle, as well as exhausted. William walked up to the woman and examined her. The unknown lady just starred into William. "You are?" William asked.

"Amurra," the woman reponded. "Please, I need shelter."

"Sure." William showed Amurra to a tent where she went in. Once Amurra had settled in, William turned around and was about to go in search for the four that had left. Strangely enough, Amorai emerged from the shadows, closely followed by Piotr, Steven, and the healer.

"Where did you two go?" William asked Piotr.

"A stroll in the forest," Steven answered. "Yee shoulda came. Was quite the expedition."

William smiled. He was relieved that they were fine. The healer looked a little shaken up. "We have another wanderer who has stumbled across here. Her name is Amurra. She's in that tent," William pointed out.

"It will be morning soon. Try to get some rest," Piotr suggested. "We'll head back to town at sunrise." Piotr stepped into a tent, took off his equipment, and laid down. Steven did the same.

William watched the healer go into a vacant tent. She seemed to still be shaken up. William sat down and enjoyed the drizzle while it lasted. Soon enough, the morning sun began to shine in the distance. William watched the sunrise. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. For once he could enjoy his life of freedom; just like Piotr.

The rain stopped, and the warriors got ready to travel back to the town. Piotr and Steven got out of their tents. The vacant tents were already packed up. Aronai emerged from behind a tent. William thought that maybe he was sleeping away from everyone because he enjoyed being alone. The healer awoke from her slumber, too, and emerged from her tent. "What's her name?" William whispered to Piotr. "Aphrael," Piotr whispered back. Amurra, too, emerged from her tent, and William watched her skin reflect the sun. Beautiful... was the word that ran through his mind a thousand times again.

The warriors packed the rest of the tents, and the group began to travel back to the town. The path down Mt. Wrai was easy. It was not harsh, nor hard. Just a slope going downwards to a path. It was only a matter of time before they reached Ark's town to find it sacked. Villagers heads were on pikes, shoved in front of the town gates. Smoke steamed upwards into the heavens. The group ran into the village. Not one survivor was to be seen. Some of the warriors began to cry. Mourning over the loss of their loved ones. The whole village was decapitated. Only one building left unburny. Ark's manor. But Ark was no where to be found. But a scroll was left in Ark's study.

To my dear friends,

It is only a matter of time before they get here so I must make this quick. The bandit's and I have made an arrangement. The bandit's have given me the location to a gold mine in exchange to your lives. Please forgive me for my sins. It has been nice knowing you all.

Ark.

Piotr ran outside. "We must leave, now!"

"What? Why?" Steven asked.

"No time to explain. Now! Go!"

But it was too late. The bandit's had already closed the town gates and locked them inside. Arrows were flung over the walls of the town. Steven was hit in the arm, and two warriors were killed. "Quickly! Into the manor!" Piotr shouted, as the few that remained ran into the manor. Piotr and William helped Steven get inside. The arrows flew like birds in the air, hitting random locations in the town. "There must be dozens of them out there!" one of the warriors exclaimed.

One warrior began to crawl on the ground, digging into the wooden floors. One of the wooden planks was loose. The warrior picked up the wooden plank to reveal a button. Piotr quickly pressed the button, and a door behind him opened. The manor began to burn. The arrows were fire tipped. Piotr hurridly made his escape. "How did you know that was there?" Steven asked. "Intuition," the warrior joked, and ran through the passage. The group went down some stairs, and they went down a long, long, long corridor before they reached an opening. They found themselves in another forest. This forest was vast, and the birds, and other forest animals, could be heard.

One warrior dropped to the ground, and died. An arrow struck his back. They drew their swords, and elves dropped from the trees. "You have come into the ancient forest of the druids. Trespassers must be executed. What say you?" asked a druid. The others stayed silent. Someone would have to speak out, otherwise, their deaths were inevitable.

[Lumiana]

I'm feeling anxious to introduse my elfin twins to the story at this point since they might be able to save the party from trouble, but hesitating before all you RP masters :)
Great story guys!

My first post in these forums btw :D

[Skullbearer]

Aronai stuck to the shadows as soon as they entered the town... something was fishy about the whole thing, especially the undamaged state of Ark's manor. When Piotr ran back out of the structure crying warnings, Aronai immediately seperated himself from the group, searching for the enemies he knew were there.

Millenia of experience allowed him to guess their hiding spots quickly, but even as he dispatched three, dozens began to attack! There was far to many for him to handle, so Aronai forsook his task and ran at top speed for the manor, dodging arrows with minimilistic movements, giving the bandits the impression they were missing by pure bad luck.

The last of the warriors was shutting the door to the manor behind him... control giving way to desperation, Aronai slipped partially into his combat meditation, pushing his muscles beyond their normal limits, but careful not to cause any lasting damage. His feet slamming into the muddy ground, Aronai practically flew along the street and up to the manor. It took but an instant to discover the heavy door was locked, and an instant more to move aside as a hail of flaming arrows peppered the place he had just been standing.

I have to move! I have to get out of this death trap! But where? Suddenly Aronai remembered that the wall nearest the manor bordered with a forest... and the last he knew the forest was under the control of a particularly protective group of elven druids. Aronai had spent a large part of his life in forests... and even elves would be hard put to keep up with his movements through the trees... and the druids would kill any bandits that strayed to far within the confines of their territory.

So he rushed around and past the manor, ignoring the fear that his new friends were trapped inside the burning building... he was no good to them outside it, and he was sure that Ark had prepared some sort of safe room or escape passage in the case of such an attack. Aronai prayed that they would find it in time.

The wall loomed in front of him, a large palisade made from thick logs that had been smoothed by the elements. For anyone but Aronai, climbing this would be impossible without equipment, but the 20ft wall only posed an interesting obstacle to the half Brave...


The bandits stopped firing as the incredibly fast man dashed with a speed even greater than before straight towards the palisade wall. A few even suggested starting a bet on whether or not he would get over, since that seemed to be his objective, but before any bet could be made, the figure reached the last few yards to the wall and leaped upwards at a 45 degree angle, slamming into the wall but retaining much of his forward speed, now going completely vertical! He ran with his hips very low so that as his moved up the wall he slowly and carefully pushed against it to retain traction, standing up as he went... just as it looked like he was going to fall, the man ran off the top of the wall and twisted insanely in the air so that when he came back down, his hands grasped the sides of one of the log tops, and he quickly heaved himself over to the other side of the wall.

The bandits were awestruck by the display of speed and dexterity, and more than a few wet themselves.


Aronai grunted in pain as he struck the ground... the drop wasn't onto smoot ground, but perimiter of broken and sharp rocks, probably to make it more difficult to approach en-masse the wall. Unable to roll in the broken stones, Aronai was forced to put upon his already strained legs once more, and his muscles were very close to tearing themselves from the effort. Sharp stones cut into his feet, leaving slashes in his tough leather boots, driven through the normally tough material by the force of Aronai's landing.

Ignoring the pain, Aronai quickly moved the 40ft to the edge of the forest, scrambling up the first big tree and resting in the shadows of its branches, pulling off his shredded boots and picking bits of sharp rock from the soles of his feet. He would have to concentrate on regenerating himself... from now on he would be traveling bare footed, and bark was not kind to damaged feet. Sighing, he brought his mind into focus, pushing aside all his senses... the pain faded into nothingness and even the darkness of his closed eyes became non-existant. He was now in the state his father had refered to as the 'Void of Pure Thought', where nothing but your own mind existed.

Slowly, carefully, he let the 'Void' expand to include his body... the location, status, and movement of every cell in his body gradually became known to him. He was straining now to maintain his focus... there was billions of cells speaking to him, but he only needed to communicate with those in his feet and legs. Heal he whispered, heal yourselves and your neighbors. He continued silently chanting to his body, and after a few moments, the wounds in his feet began to seal... then scab, and finally, the scabs dropped off and his feet were whole. The pain in his leg muscles had also receded to a dull ache... muscles were a lot harder for the body to repair than slashes in the surface of his feet.

Aronai snapped out of his trance and grouned as the 5 normal senses slammed into his throughts, pushing aside the 6th sense he had just been using. It took him a few moments to realize the shapes around him were elves, each with a small but powerful battle bow drawn to its full and pointed right at his chest.

"You wouldn't, perchance, be called Aronai?"

(ooc: Go for it Triar!)

[Sephrenia]

Aphrael stumbled through the passage way as beams of wood crashed down around her. Looking around for her newly aquired companions she saw a tunnel. Looking around once before she ran down the tunnel hearing voices a way ahead and light shining in brightly. She rushed out of the tunnel happy to of gotten away from the heat of the burning manor and the darkness of the tunnel.

"You have come into the ancient forest of the druids. Trespassers must be executed. What say you?" a deep resonant voice boomed when she first reached the grassy exit, upon examining her surroundings it appeared that they were in a forest, a druids forest so it seemed.

She strode out from the crowded group standing around the tunnel exit stepping over one of the warriors from the camp, wary of the archers ready to puncture her body with several arrows.

"Druids of this forest"She shouted"I beg you, please, do not kill me or my friends here for we wish you no harm. We are simply fleeing from the burning ruins of a town near here. Now if we do not act together and quickly to collapse this tunnel then they will find this forest, your sacred forest and as they have done to the town back their they shall burn it down. Now please, let me tend to this man, he is dying and I can help him. Then we can collapse that tunnel and keep your forest safe."

She looked back at Piotr with a slight smile and then looked back at the trees, where a man in a green robe with ivy designs on it strode out and firmly said,

"Agreed."

She gave the old man a thankful smile and then quickly went to work trying to pull the mans life force back into his body as it quickly was ebbing away. He sat up a few seconds, which seemed like minutes, later blinking confusedly.

"Dont worry, youre ok" she said before straightening up and walking back to Piotr

"I suggest you deal with the druid, you seem to be the closest thing to a leader here," she muttered into his ear "but I suggest you hurry, the manor may of burned but those bandits are sure to check for bodies"

She then walked over to a grassy knoll and lay down on the grass admiring the natural beauty of the tall trees and watched Piotr happily as he negotiated with the druid.

(ooc: sorry for the long delay people but my house is getting re-wired so I'll only be able to post like, once every week or something.Just take over my char if you want im sure I wont mind :) )

[Skullbearer]

(ooc: Wow... I must say I am somewhat surprised at your sloppy grammer, but I'm happy you posted. I won't post again until Triar does though, I need someone to mention me to the druids after noticing my absence.)

[Triar]

Piotr kept the negotiation short, and fast, before he turned around and looked if everyone was okay. However, someone was missing. Piotr looked at each of the warriors, whispering their names to him as he went on.

"Me, William, Amurra, Steven, Aphrael, don't know him... Or her... Aronai! Where's Aronai?!"

The party looked around. "Damn it..." Piotr whispered to himself. "Aronai is lost."

The leader druid stepped forward. "I dare not ask, but did you say: Aronai?"

Piotr looked at the leader druid. He seemed to know the name. "Yes," Piotr began, "He was in our party."

"I'm sure he's fine," Aphrael protested, "He is not one to be killed easily."

"I think you all should come with us," the leader druid suggested. "Destroy this cave!" he commanded, and the druids went straight to work.

Piotr and the others walked for a few minutes before reaching the druid enampment...

(OOC: Time to make your comeback SkullBearer :D)

[Skullbearer]

(ooc: Pulls out his boombox and slips in a CD labeled 'Way cool background music' ;) )

Aronai stared for a moment at the elves, pondering on how they knew his name. He hadn't traveled to the main stream of civilization in nearly 800 years, and he doubted any of these younger elves who patrolled the forest borders would know him on sight.

"Aye... my name is Aronai." The situation was nothing if not tense, but Aronai was even more startled when he heard hushed whispering behind his captors, somewhere back further in the trees. Just how many elves are there?

"You are Aronai... the legendary half Brave half Wood Elf who is known as the 'Vampire of Souls'? Answer truthfully, your life will be decided on your honesty." Aronai swallowed, nervousness beginning to creep into his normally controlled mind.

"Did Piotr tell you that?" He knew that he had not mentioned the long lived legend... or 'scary story' that had continued despite his absence from the civilized world, but it was more than possible one of the members of the group had remembered one of the tales.

However, when Piotr was mentioned, the elves seemed mildly surprised... and almost confused. Whisper practically erupted from within the deeper forest, and Aronai guessed there was at least a few dozen hidden elves.

"I don't know of any Piotr... but there was an odd group of men and women who entered our lands earlier this day... but that was more than 8 hours ago. No, your likeness has long been preserved in our records, lest you one day return to spread your curse upon the land!" Acknowledgements and even a few shouts game from all around them.

"Hold on a second here! I'll admit... I'm Aronai, and I suppose there have been some stories tying me to vampiric activities..." A voice shouted from the forest, sounding somewhat old and feeble.

"Ha! I sense he is preparing to stretch the truth... if not lie outright!" The elf questioning Aronai adjusted his arrow's aim to straight for Aronai's heart.

"I told you to be honest with us. If you are not, our druids will detect it and you will face the consequences." Aronai cursed magic for a few moments there... obviously there were some skilled druids hiding in the trees, and a skilled elven druid could have lived long enough to remember his last forray into civilization.

"Well, the name 'Vampire of Souls' is hardly accurate. I don't suck their 'eternal souls' out, but essentially their life and strength. Before I was cast off by the Immortal during a failed experiment, my own magic and blood created new essence, while most beings live with the essence they are born with, and Immortal generates essence and thus never runs out. On the same essence as a powerful youthful warrior of any race I can live nearly five centuries."

The elf glanced over his shoulder back into the woods, and the same elderly voice called out, "Truth!" Aronai tensed to see what they were going to do, but to his surprise the elves all slacked their bows and backed off, leaving only the elf who had questioned him, now weaponless, on Aronai's perch.

"We are honored to be in the presence of such a wealth of knowledge. We have what we believe to be historically correct accounts of your life, based off of the writings of those you encountered, as well as your mother's journals, and we don't find any evidence that you are evil... please, the Elders would like to speak with the legendary Aronai!"

Aronai followed the elves, bewildered, deeper into the forest. By the light coming through the canopy, he judged his healing meditation had taken up a third of the day. Well, when all senses are cut off, there is no judging the passage of time.

(OOC: How's that? =) )

[Triar]

(OOC: That was so good I got a tear... So very very good... Well my turn! :D)

Many hours past. And still there was no sign of Aronai. Piotr and the others were shown into a hut where they could rest. They were given plates of food, and large glasses of water, which they ate and drank quickly. After the feast, the party rested their weary bones. Piotr and Steven watched William stare at Amurra.

"He likes her," Steven whispered.

"I can see." Piotr replied.

"I can't blame him. Quite an attractive young lady," Steven continued.

"I agree with you there," Piotr smirked.

Amurra was laying in a hamper with her eyes closed, but she wasn't asleep. Just resting her eyes. And quickly, Amurra got up and looked over at William, and quickly too, William looked away, straight at Piotr and Steven who were smiling. William knew exactly what they were thinking. "Shut up..." William said sarcastically. Piotr and Steven laughed. Amurra rolled her eyes, shook her head, and went back to resting her eyes in the hamper. It was quite obvious that Amurra could see that the three were having a fun being immature.

Two more hours past and the party began to become restless. Piotr was making little houses out of little stones he found on the ground. Steven was chewing on the hilt of his axe. And William joined Piotr in making little stone houses. But it was much longer before two beautiful female druids came into the hut. "You all have been summoned to the Elder's chambers. Please follow us."

The party all forgot about what they were doing, and followed the two druid's to a giant hut. Inside, there were many corridors, branching like blood vessels from a heart. The druid's walked down one of the middle corridors. It was only a matter of time before they reached a huge chamber. Seven Elder druids were sitting together, in their own benches. Aronai was standing in the middle of the chamber, conferencing with the Elders. Aronai glanced over his shoulder, then turned his attention back to the Elders. Piotr and the others stood by and listened to the rest of the conference.

(OOC: Just to clear it up, the rest of the party came to the chambers around about half-way into the little meeting Aronai is having with the Elders, so that should help you time when Piotr and the others come in to hear the rest of the conference. Have fun :D)

[Triar]

(OOC: Umm.. A&O, this has nothing to do with TSG. There was the tunnel that was connected to the forest - that is all. And it is owned by the druids. That is all. Please, delete, or modify your most, otherwise I have a message to the other RPers in this RP: Ignore A&O's above post.)

[Alpha_and_Omega]

(OOC: Aleta and i both posted above, in the TSG forests, and we were fighting the same bandits as you were. I will change my post, but we are Druids, we were fighting the same Bandits in our forest, so it only made since that the tunnel led to our forest. ( even the hut is the same if you read our other RPG forums) I'll just delete it since i dont feel like changeing it, but it would have been a neat idea.)

[Skullbearer]

The warrior elves led Aronai through the forest, and they were joined by a group of both young and old men and women dressed in the symbolic robes of a druid. A few times Aronai tried to start a conversation, but each time he was gently and respectfully hushed. By the time they reached the huts of the druid's homes Aronai was more than a little bored... and annoyed.

Despite all this Aronai allowed them to lead him silently through a series of complex corridors in a particularly large hut, into a medium sized meeting chamber. The oldest looking of the druids who had traveled with them in the forest joined 6 others in evenly spaced seats around the circular room. With a dismissive gesture, one of the druids sent all the other elves from the chamber.

"Please, sit." For lack of a better choice, Aronai sat on the short and simple wooden stool in the center of the chamber. His large form made him feel childlike on the small stool... the elves and the smallness of everything around him compared to his overlylarge body reminded him of his teenage years with the Wood Elves and his mother.

"Honored Aronai... we are the Elders of this section of the forest, and of the elves who live here. We are also caretakers of ancient lores... much of which describes events you were involved in or which revolved around you. We would... be greatly honored if you would help us fill in some of the gaps lost through time and degradation." Aronai shifted uneasily... the past was not a fond set of memories for him for the most part, particularly due to the incredible sense of loss he had, once being an extremely powerful sorcerer and now magically retarded.

"Depends on what you want to know." The Elders nodded sagely. Not even they, with their intense thirst for knowledge, would believe anyone, especially someone with such a painful and powerful past, would answer everything they asked.

Again the same Elder spoke... the one who had been in the forest. Aronai suspected some sort of magical communication between them, and that this one would be the pseudo spokesperson. "Well, we have records of time you spent with an old man and his son... an ex-cleric I believe?"

Aronai remembered, vaguely, but only because it was his first time on his own. "Aye... one of the elven Hunters tricked them into mistaking me for a bear in the night, and they caught me in a trap. They discovered the deception when they went to slay me after tranquilizing me. At the time it surprised me the elves held so much animosity for me, just because of my father. Later I found it was a culmination of jealosy and encouragement from my grandfather, once a leader of the elves. The old man may have been a cleric once, I was never sure... but he was quite insane, and attempted daily to kill me, convinced I was a bear to the end! The son was a skilled hunter in both forest and plains, and taught me much of city and village society. We departed after a few months... so I don't remember much detail about it."

The Elders nodded, and a few were furiously scribbling notes on sheets of vellum. "I see... now, something that seems to have been omitted from the records is which Immortal conscripted you and your father... could you tell us?"

"No." The Elders looked up sharply in surprise at Aronai's firm word. "I would gladly tell you so that he might be forced to take responsibility, but he was either very careful about hiding his identity, or erased our memories of any identifying traits regarding his person. All I can remember of him is a hazy figure... specific words or a voice illude me, as well as features."

And so the questioning went on for nearly an hour. Most of the questions were merely to confirm the record's validity, and Aronai was surprised at the accuracy of the records, as well as the vastness of their contents. Aparently without his noticing a large number of people had banded together to keep tabs on him, even during times Aronai had been confident in his solitude and privacy! The few questions regarding lost or omitted materials almost without fail could not be answered by what memories Aronai retained, or were so inane he had not even been conserned with such details at the time of the actual event.

The questioning had just ended, and Aronai had begun to ask about the druids and current goings on, when Piotr and others from the group entered into the chamber.

[Fajiera Zahra]

[Alright; I’ll just assume there are no familiar faces among these druids since it’s not entirely clear if this is the Guard’s forest or just some random wood we’ve all stumbled into.]

While Amurra still wasn’t pleased with herself for breaking down and asking for shelter from strangers, she did admit the rest and recuperation had been much needed. If you didn’t count the fact that the morning after she woke with them they battled their way through a burning city, escaped through a crumbling tunnel, and emerged with some druids not entirely fond of company, her little stop hadn’t really been much trouble at all.

The young woman had kept herself mostly isolated from the group, but at least knew the names and faces it was necessary to know. During her stay at the druid’s camp, when all had been settled, she had managed to change out of the still-damp robes she had worn far too long and into a clean, fresh dress. Her hair had been let down most of the day but by the evening was bound tightly into the single braid that snaked down her back, as always. Leather gauntlets, the same black as her dress, ran up to her elbows, and on each hip rested one of the two infamous red-handled blades, “Yama Ohini.” Lightly carried in one hand, frightfully casually, really, was a long, fierce looking scythe by the name “Toganin.” None of the party seemed to know them by sight, and her place was among the druids, so she had no fear of the people of the forest discovering her in their home. Washed and fed, she was feeling quite content whiling away the rest of the evening, and though it was surely an honor the woman was somewhat irritated when the Druids called the small party and led them to council.

The man in the center of the room; he had been with the others last night, had he not? But after a brief thought her mind turned elsewhere—Amurra wasn’t interested in who was on trial, and grey-green eyes scanned every bit of the room she could possibly see, and the native inhabitants therein. These were her lands, yes, and she did not fear any dirty play from the people, but her habits had become ingrained by years of experience, and those who followed her chosen profession were quite often ill at ease when indoors, and surrounded by a large gathering, at that.

Casually she glanced over at William and Piotr, but they’re attention was on Aronai, and neither seemed to have a very clear idea of why they had been brought here in the middle of an obviously important meeting. Zahra muttered a soft curse under her breath and turned away from the center of the room, shifting her weight from foot to foot in something of an anxious manner. The Elder’s chambers, aye? It’d be nice if they could quench their curiosity of whatever was going on with the man down in the center and acknowledge the guests they had sent for.

[I really couldn’t think of much to say at this point, and I didn’t want to take off with my own ideas since SB and Triar seem to be developing this their own way already. So it’s pretty much a filler post, but I just wanted to pop back in after my absence and let everyone know that I was still here, after all.]

[Triar]

"You!" an elder pointed out Piotr. "Step into the middle," the elder commanded, and Piotr quickly did what he was told to do, and stepped into the middle of the room. Aronai stepped back and two druid's came and stood next to Piotr. "I believe you are the one they call, Piotr. Is this true?"

"Uh.. Yes.." Piotr stuttered.

"You were once a slave, yes?" asked the Elder.

"Yes."

"You had a sister who was once a slave with you as well?"

Piotr's eyes narrowed with anger. How could they possibly know he had a sister? But Piotr answered slowly. "Yes."

"You had a mother who died giving birth to you. Is this true?"

Piotr's anger filled. He felt he was going crazy. His heart pounded like a drum. And thoughts filled his mind. "Yes." Piotr held his anger inside.

"And your father was killed, correct?"

Piotr drew his sword, grabbed the druid guard to his right, put his sword against his neck, "How do you know this?!" Piotr demanded. The other druid guards drew their swords and ran closer to Piotr. Piotr stopped them by giving threats that he would kill the druid he was holding.

"Now, now. Calm down. Your questions will be answered," the head Elder said, "Just calm down," the Elder continued as he got off his seat and started to walk closer to Piotr. Piotr dragged the helpless druid backwards with him, the blade of his sword made his hostage bleed. Piotr was outraged. A bomb waiting to go off.

"How do you know who I am?!" Piotr demanded to know. The Elder didn't answer, but instead, he kept on telling Piotr to calm down.

"NO!" Piotr's scream echoed in the distance. A White shining Light came out of his mouth as if there was a spirit inside him, taking control of him, and Piotr struck down the druid before him. The others watched. "This is no game! I shall kill every last one of you pathetic druids!" Piotr's voice sounded like a demon spewing out fire from his mouth. Piotr then jumped towards the head Elder, raised his sword, and suddenly, Piotr stopped, collapsed to his knees, and passed out.

Piotr awoke. He in another room. Amurra, Steven, Aronai, and the head Elder were watching him. Piotr got up, and looked around as if he had no idea where he was. "What happened?" he asked.

"I stopped you from doing something that could have killed us all," Aronai smiled. "You were lucky you didn't get hurt."

"What of the druid I struck?" Piotr asked.

"He is fine," the Elder answered. "We have healed him."

Piotr laid back again. "I couldn't control myself," Piotr began to weep. "It was as if... something ...took over me. I'm scared." Piotr's eyes filled with tears. "What's wrong with me?"

"All your questions will be answered, young one. Just rest a little while longer," the Elder suggested, and Piotr closed his eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.

"He's a crazy sort isn't he?" Steven joked, and left the room.

(OOC: Just pulled thing out of my eyes and ears - And other places :P - Hope that was good for some of you. Your turn SB :))

[Triar]

(OOC: Well I feel like extending my little above post as I am bored waiting for the wedding reception to come (which is in 2 hours), so, I'll post another post)

That night, Piotr dreamt of being with his sister and his father. He dreamt that he was holding onto his mother, but her face he could no see. He held on ever so long, and hard, and words spoke from somewhere. "Wake up, Piotr. Wake up." Piotr held on as long as he could to his mother. Cherishing the moment as it was impossible to achieve in real life. "Piotr!" Steven's shout echoed in his dream. "Wake up, lad. The Elders..." but Steven's voice faded away. Still, holding onto his mother, Piotr began to cry. "I must go now, mother. Back to the real world."

"This too is real, son." Piotr's father began. "But go on. You are needed outside of this dream. Many of your questions will be answered today." Piotr's father smiled. "Go on."

Piotr hesitated, but in the end, let go of his mother, and he saw his family drifting away from his finger tips. He began to weep. "I'll come back for you! I promise!" Piotr shouted, and awoke, screaming.

"Calm down, lad! It's better you are awake then watching you tossing in your sleep. Yee must of been having one helluva nightmare."

"I was," Piotr replied, and got out of bed.

"The Elders wish to speak with ya." Steven whispered.

"Where?" Piotr asked.

"In the main chamber again. Go now, lad. I'll see you after," Steven whispered again, laid back in his bed, and closed his eyes. Piotr walked out of the room and into the druid village. The druids were showing a play for the children. The children were laughing out loudly at the petty jokes the entertaining druids made. Piotr let out a laugh, too, and Aphrael tapped him on the shoulder. Piotr turned.

"Oh! It's only you." Piotr said.

"Expecting some one?" Aphrael asked.

"No. I'm going to another meeting with the Elders in the main chamber," Piotr said, turned, and walked towards the main building.

Piotr made his way slowly to the main chamber. He could see in the distance, Aronai, William, and Amurra were sitting down. Piotr continued slowly to the main chamber. Again, the same seven Elders were sitting in a semi-circle in the main chamber. Piotr stepped into the main chamber, and took a seat. The main doors shut behind him. The room was filled with druid guards; men and women alike.

Piotr let out a soft sigh. "So you've brought me into your trap. Now what?"

"This is no trap, Piotr. But we have gathered here to protect you against yourself. Your questions will now be answered. Now go ahead," announced the head Elder.

Piotr remained seated, and he put his head down and looked at his boots. They were brown, and torn. Blood stains filled the brownness of the boots. It reminded him of the bandits again. But those thoughts were irrelevant at this time.

"How do you know my family?" Piotr asked.

A female Elder spoke. She was sitting to the far left. "Your father, Vasiliy Argoza, was a part of this druid family. As was your mother, Tier. Argoza is a legendary ancient druid Hero of these forests. Your last name was inherited by your great, great, great grandfather, Marus. Argoza, the Hero, passed down his name unto Marus, and there, the Argoza family began."

Piotr put his head down again, looked at his boots, and began to think. He went crazy last time. Something inside him took over him. He wasn't himself the last time he was in these chambers. Piotr took a deep breath, and asked, "What happened at the last meeting we had?"

The head Elder stood up with his head raised high. "Argoza was indeed a Hero. But something happened. He left this village. He was gone for three decades, and he came back a changed man." The head Elder took a deep breath. "Argoza burnt this village to the ground, and hunted out every man, woman, and child that lived in these forests. He hunted us down, and killed us like dogs. Many of our ancestors hid in the forest, unable to escape, and in the end, they were destroyed." He took another deep breath and continued. "This was a bad time for us druids. We were on the brink of extinction. But your great, great, great grandfather, Marus, slew Argoza. Argoza said with his final breath, 'I give you the honour of my name.' Marus turned to become Marus Argoza. Marus rebuilt this village. We repopulated over the years. And now we prosper." The head elder took another deep breath, took a sip of water from his cup, and continued. "Unfortunately, another band of druids seeked out this forest and claimed it for themselves. But Marus did not allow this, and the two druid clans broke out in war. Marus won almost every battle that the clans undertook. This forest of green turned into a forest of red blood."

"Get to the point, old man!" Piotr demanded.

The head Elder continued. "The reason why Marus won those battles was because of the inheritance of Argoza's name. Argoza's spirit had passed into Marus, and with anger, Marus struck down the last armies of the enemy clan. The Argoza spirit has been passed down to each generation. From Marus, to his son, to his son, to his son, to your father, to you."

"Am I a saviour, or a curse?" Piotr asked.

"You are a curse," replied the head Elder. "There is a quest I ask you to go on. You and your friends."

"What kind of quest?" Piotr asked.

"To the caves of Harrknar you must go. There, you shall hunt down Argoza's spirit, and slay it, freeing you from this curse."

"But isn't the spirit within me?"

"Yes," replied the head Elder. "But only a part of it."

"Won't killing me help to release this curse?"

"No," replied the head Elder. "The spirit will still be alive, but will pass on to some one else."

"Who?"

The head Elder thought for a moment. "I... Do not know. The spirit of Argoza is complicated. It has passed down from one generation to another. But the spirit will not stop if you die. Argoza may choose another being, and pass to curse unto them. You, yourself, must kill Argoza to release this curse from your body. Think on this, and return to tell me of your decision."

The main doors opened again, and Piotr walked outside with Aronai, William, and Amurra. Piotr went into his dorm where he found Steven sleeping. Piotr sat on his bed as the others came in.

"You don't have to do this, you know?" William said.

"But I want to." Piotr replied. "What if my rage turns on one of you? Maybe next time I won't be able to be stopped. I'm afraid."

"As you would be. But shall stay by you 'till the end." William replied with a smile, and he sat nearby Piotr.

"Yup! Me too!" Steven exclaimed. "Wherever you're going, I'm going too. No doubt about that."

Piotr smiled. "What about you three?" Piotr asked.

(OOC: Now I'm going to wait for SB, and Fajiera, and Sephrenia to reply. Hope you've enjoyed this so far.)

[Skullbearer]

"What about you three?"

Aronai blinked at Piotr, pondering the question.

"Well, I guess you could say I'm on vacation..." Piotr's head dropped a little, and Aronai smiled, "so that means I've got about four hundred years of free time to explore this whole, inter-family possession thing."

Piotr looked up at Aronai, but all he saw was the large man's back as Aronai went off to get some sleep, grumbling about how short the doorways were.

(I've got about 8 BitTorrents going right now, so I'm already impatient from a minute load on this reply page)

[Sephrenia]

She contemplated her choices, to either go back to the temple city and boringly do chores and pray or to follow this increasingly interesting group of men and women to the caves of Harrknar. She supposed it was her duty to make sure that Piotr was ok, he had given her shelter after all. Plus she could keep her eye on Aronai, just incase.

"Well I guess I might as well tag along, make sure you all dont go and get yourselves killed." she said with a slight smirk before going back to the druids village.

( ooc: Theres my answer I guess, kinda short but I havent got much time. I'll be able to post on tuesday again if you want me to.)

[Fajiera Zahra]

What a sharp contrast, even among "her own people." Everything here was soft and subdued; the colors, the language, the very people. The forest eminated peace, and none who lived there cared to disturb it. And Fajiera strode amongst the others, decked in a sweeping black dress, hair pulled back in the symbol of her profession from her sharp profile. The woman had entered and left the Elder's chamber with Poitr, and now faced his question; what would she do? One dark brow lifted arced curiously over calculating grey-green eyes, and she spoke easily, if not entirely friendly.

"You kept me alive once; I owe you a favor. Mind that I have my own business I must attend to, however, and if the choice comes between your life and mine you might find I'm not quite as faithful as little William, here."

She hadn't meant the words as an insult, persay; really they might almost be a compliment, coming from her. Still, they were laid out in a harsh light, with no false illusions of companionship lingering among them, because in only a few days time companionship had not yet been formed. Moving like one listening to inner directions, Amurra walked noiselessly across the wooden planks until the small group reached a hall that led to the outdoors, where they were flooded with warm, early-morning light and the smell of greenery.

"I'm sure you won't want to be waiting around longer than is necessary; when do you propose we leave, Poitr? I wouldn't think the Elder's will have any qualms with your decision, now that they have laid this 'quest,' as it were, before you."

[Sorry, quite short. Just wanted to get my basic answer down, and then you can take off with your ideas on the quest.]

[Triar]

Aronai seemed stunned at the question. He thought for a second, and spoke. "Well, I guess you could say I'm on vacation..."

"Oh..." was Piotr's reply as he tilted his head foward. He then knew that Aronai would leave to his own business.

"so that means I've got about four hundred years of free time to explore this whole, inter-family possession thing." Aronai said with a smile. Piotr looked up only to see Aronai walk out of the room, grumbling and cursing at how short the doorways were.

Piotr waited for the girls to answer. They did take some time before they made up their minds. "Well I guess I might as well tag along," Aphrael began, "make sure you all don't go and get yourselves killed." Aphrael smirked, then turned around and made her way to the village.

"You kept me alive once; I owe you a favor." Amurra began. "Mind that I have my own business I must attend to, however, and if the choice comes between your life and mine you might find I'm not quite as faithful as little William, here."

"Fair enough," Piotr replied.

Amurra made her way to the other side of the room. "I'm sure you won't want to be waiting around longer than is necessary; when do you propose we leave, Poitr? I wouldn't think the Elder's will have any qualms with your decision, now that they have laid this 'quest,' as it were, before you."

"A night fall, we'll leave this place and make our way to Harrknar. The journey will be long and harsh. I suggest you have a rest before we leave."

Amurra seemed to take Piotr's suggestion as she went into the next room. "There's only two beds in here Willy boy. You'll have to go sleep in Amurra's room," Steven laughed.

"What?" William was stunned. There was room on the floor where he could lay out some spread and sleep. "What about the floor?" he asked.

"No, no." Piotr smirked. "The floor is their for walking, not sleeping. Now get out of here and get some rest."

"As you wish," William smiled, and slowly walked out of the room as Steven continued to giggle with Piotr.

Steven laid back again, and closed his eyes. "Have a good rest Piotr."

But Piotr was already out of the room, and back in the village. There was music and dancing and singing. The druids had a type of old style folk dance routine in their dance. Aphrael just watched, clapping her hands with the beat of the drums as did all the other druid bystanders.

It wasn't long before some druids were dragged into the dancing area. Piotr stood further away so he wasn't forced into dancing. Aphrael, however, was dragged into the dancing area by two men, and began dancing around her. Piotr burst out in laughter as Aphrael had no idea. One druid stopped and taught her basic steps. Within ten minutes, she got the hang of the dancing techniques. Piotr went in closer as well. Aphrael noticed Piotr watching her. As a joke, Aphrael grabbed Piotr. "Come on!" she shouted.

"No way! I can't dance."

"Come on! I'll teach ya!" she shouted, pulling him further into the dancing area.

"No, no. I'll make a fool of myself," said Piotr negatively.

"No you won't!" Aphrael shouted, and one last big pull helped Piotr to lose his balance and make his way to the dancing area with the rest of the druids. Piotr, unexpectadly, began to dance perfectly in tune with the music, and in tune with Aphrael's steps. "I thought you couldn't dance!" Aphrael said jokingly.

"I lied," Piotr admitted, and they continued to dance for another ten minutes before the music stopped, and the band began another tune. Piotr and Aphrael left the dancing area and they went back into the guest building. "Get some rest. We leave at night fall."

"Okay," Aphrael said. "Great dancing by the way." Aphreal laughed.

"Thanks," blushed Piotr as he walked into his room, jumped on his bed, and fell asleep.

(OOC: I'll stop here momentarily. I'll post again shortly.)

[Shadowfire05]

(OOC I am enjoying this story thoroughly. I have never understood RP until now. I can't wait to join yal. I will try my hand at this in around your next scuffle or battle.)

[Fajiera Zahra]

Any attempt at rest was soon given up; far too many thoughts raced through her mind, each one fighting for her attention. Possibly she could have taken a moment’s meditation to clear her mind, but when William entered her room, half-forced it seemed, the thought was abandoned all together. She spared the lad a moment’s conversation but, laughing, stood to leave.

“Take the bed now William; I can do with less sleep. I’ll be back tonight, though, so stay decent alright?”

A half-grin was flashed and she exited through the doorway; far off music had drifted towards the sleeping quarters on the wind and roused her, and now the young woman set out to find it. A roaring bonfire; spices, perfumes—flashing colors, singing, instruments, and now a quicker tune began, and a wheel formed out of the individual dancers, and Amurra was caught up, her black dress trailing behind and blending with the greens and browns and golds. She rarely smiled genuinely but, cheeks flushed, hair loose and whipping behind her, the woman did so now.

Fabulous. Zahra the Redblade; she would never denounce the title; never give up the life she led. Still, in the quiet moments of her life, every so often it was nice to change the silver blades for the silver strings of the harp; the false smiles for the heart-felt rhapsody.
In the middle of the dance she was too caught up to worry about anything besides the next step that brought the circle this time so close to the fire, and this time dancing away.

But the song, as all things must do, came to an end, and Amurra backed out of the circle. Away from the fire, the cool night air hit her two-fold, but the crisp air wind was refreshing. And her thoughts, of course, came rushing back, but after her brief respite she was much more willing to deal with them. A fond smile rested on her lips a moment as her thoughts traveled to William among her companions; the lingering glances hadn’t gone unnoticed, nor the teasing words from Piotr and Steven. But the young boy had no idea what he was getting into going after her: best not to entertain his feelings, cruel though that sounded.

An hour must have passed as she mulled over her thoughts, and the velvet darkness of true, deep night really set in. The fire was lower and dimmer, but still burning plenty bright; the dances not so often but still going, and the music kept alive even at these late hours. She sat back and watched a slower dance, and then rose to her feet as a slightly more lively (though not nearly so quick as her first) tune was struck up; if sleep was not yet an option, how could she resist the druid’s warm dancing? She had grown up with this kind, festive spirit around her; the dances were, as far as her upbringing was concerned, her native dances.

The prospect of tomorrow’s journey had all but left her mind, and the sleep she had so desperately sought-after evaded her thoughts now, leaving her spinning and laughing fat into the night, and much longer than would probably have been wise. But…In all fairness…There was a time for work and a time for play. The mask was down, now; the eyes bright, the cheeks rosy. Tomorrow she would work, but tonight—This, now, was a time for play.

[Bit pointless, but I felt like contributing. ^^ If you need to keep it going at night Triar, I’ll be sure to wander back to the cabin, but if you planned on it being the next day the next time you posted, assumed I’ve already toddled off and don’t feel like you should wait for me to tag onto this.]

[Triar]

(OOC: We will continue into the night. This is when we're meant to leave, anyway)

Piotr awoke from Steven's harsh grunting snore. It was loud enough to hear across the whole cabin. Piotr got out of bed and began preparing his equipment. He picked up his silver sword and lobbed it onto the bed. The sword had markings on the blade he had never noticed before, near the hilt, and they glowed in the moonlit sky. The next thing Piotr got was a shield. It wasn't his, but it would help on his journey. The shield was made out of hard steel, and it shone like the stars in the night sky. A druid woman walzed into the room with armour. A chest plate, back plate, two pauldrons which extended upwards to prevent one from chopping off his neck, and two gauntlets. They were coloured in a tint of blue with a shiel painted on the chest plate. It was the marking of the druids.

The woman glanced over at Steven snoring, and began to giggle. Piotr, embarressed, woke Steven from his slumber and told him to get ready. "These are for you, Mr. Argoza."

"Thank you. Just put them on the bed for me," Piotr replied. And the woman did what Piotr commanded her to do, and then, she walzed back out of the room. "You have no idea how loud you snore, do you?" Piotr joked.

"Aye, so I've heard from others. A loud snorer I am." Steven put on his leather chest armour, grabbed his axe, and walked out of the room. Piotr slowly, and steadily, put on the blue armour, harnessed his sword to his waist and placed his shield oh his back, latching onto a series of hooks so it would say on his back, and it was easy to take off as well.

Piotr went into the next room. William was not there. And neither was Amurra. In the last room down the hall, where Aphrael and Aronai were, they were getting ready with little discussion between them. Piotr walked into the room with a smile. "Look good?"

Aronai glanced over at Piotr. Aphrael did the same. "Lookin' good there," Aphrael smiled. "Very nice." Aronai said, and ducked out of the room. Piotr let Aphrael get her things ready, and walked out of the cabin. There, Steven and Aronai waited for the others. William was sitting on the other side of the village, admiring the dancers in the middle. "These people are still dancing?"

"William!" Steven shouted. William looked over, waved, and continued to watch the dancers. "We're heading off soon!" Steven continued. William acknowledged Steven, and ctoninued to watch the dancers.

"Now where's Amurra?" Piotr asked himself. He looked into the dancing circle. She was dancing. Having fun. Laughing into the night. The fire roared higher and higher. The song then stopped, and Aphrael walked out of the cabin. Another song began, and a new dance began, too.

"We headin' off?" Steven asked.

Piotr starred into the dancing circle. "How about one last dance Aphrael?"

Aphrael laughed, but said nothing. Piotr grabbed her hand, and dragged her into the circle, and they began to dance.

"Well this is great. Now we got three little peppers in the dance." Steven joked, and sat on the ground. "Well at least I can get some more sleep this way." And Steven shut his eyes.

Piotr waved William to come over and dance. But he refused. "One second please," Piotr said to Aphrael. "I'll just go get William." Piotr left the dancing circle and grabbed William. "This is your chance to have fun one last time before we get out of here!"

"No. I musn't."

"Come on!"

"No."

"Listen, William, come with me to the circle. We'll have fun one final time. When was the last time you ever had fun?"

William really put his head into it. "Never. I've been a slave all my life."

"And so have I! Now let's go have some fun!" Piotr dragged William into the circle. William resisted, but Piotr's force was too strong, and William was pulled into the circle. Piotr showed William the basic steps, and William followed. "That's it! You got it!" Piotr returned to Aphrael and they again began to dance together.

This was to be their final taste of fun and excitement before they would go out into the world. It was to be a harsh journey. Across the mountains. Through the marshes. Across the sea. And into the caves of Harrknar. Piotr was scared, but he needed to have himself rid of this curse. To live life like a normal being. Piotr's mind focused back on the dance. He turned and saw William dancing with another druid. Then, the dance began went into a changing partners stage, and Piotr went from one woman to another, past Amurra, past Aphrael again, and he ended up with a gorgeous druid woman. William, however, ended up with Amurra. And Aphrael ended up with another man.

(OOC: It's all chance! I swear! :boohoo: :boohoo: Your turn Fajiera :angel: )

[Triar]

(OOC: Actually, I'll just do one last post before Fajiera does. After Fajiera's next post, we'll leave for Harrknar.)

The dance went on for another three minutes. Then, it finished. Piotr and Aphrael left the dancing circle. But William and Amurra weren't anywhere to be found. Maybe they were in the middle of the dancing circle. There were at least 100 people there. It was as if it were some sort of festivle. But the druid Piotr was dancing with told him that they do the dancing routine at least once a week. It was kind of a routine that never got boring. Piotr could see why.

Another dance began, but William and Amurra still hadn't emerged from the dancing area. "Can you see them, Aronai?" Piotr asked. Aronai looked over the crowds. "Nope," Aronai replied, and leaned back against a tree.

"Well when we find them, we're leaving for Harrknar. We have a long journey ahead of us," said Piotr as he tightened his belt buckle.

The group waited ten more minutes. Piotr began to worry. "What the hell are they up to?"

"I think we should split up and find them," Aronai suggested.

"Good idea," Piotr acknowledged, and the four split up to find William and Amurra.

[Shadowfire05]

(OOC I am hoping to join in with yal soon with an elven archer. However, the Aggie Band is going to Des Moine, Iowa for the weekend, we will be back sunday afternoon, so if you guys can wait till like late saturday night or sunday afternoon to get into any kind of fight with bandits or thieves I will join yal :) If not i will just wait for another opportunity.)

[Fajiera Zahra]

[Thanks Triar. Because, you know, I really believe you on that one. </sarcasm> ~.^ ]

Amurra’s eyes widened slightly in surprise as William appeared, cheeks rosy and quite breathless already, before her in the ever-expanding ring of dancers. She flipped a grin around the ring for anyone who cared to look before focusing in on her newest partner again. Her black skirts billowed out around her ankles as they spun circles around each other; the young woman laughed and exchanged quick greetings with the other druids around her before their faces spun away once more.

“Weren’t you supposed to be in bed? Needed a drink of water, I suppose,” Amurra teased the younger boy; he responded lightheartedly but rather sheepishly. The rogue had the feeling that even if William hadn’t been so run-down with the last dance his cheeks, at this point, wouldn’t have been any less red.

“I, er…couldn’t sleep.”

Fajiera shook her head softly and smiled, but didn’t say anything else. Eventually this song came to a close, too, and the inner circle shifted again, mixing places, tightening, conforming into one ring. Though by now even her cheeks were rosy, and not only from the warmth of the fire, and the single braid that undeniably proclaimed her occupation rather tousled, she had no plans to break away from the maze of dancers any time soon, and was quite surprised when the thus far shy William slipped away and pulled her along with him.

Fine; curiosity was never a bad thing, and after the initial moment of surprise she came willingly enough. The chilly breeze was a welcome respite from the heat, but even so, the night was no doubt bitter and would soon sink in; William found a fairly secluded area under some low-hanging trees that was still near enough the fire to feel it’s effects and sat down. He plucked a crimson wildflower from the grass and, with a mock-gentlemanly air, proffered it to Amurra, who commenced to take it and tuck it into the keyhole cut out below the neck of her dress.

“Just couldn’t sleep, eh? But you don’t seem too worried about the journey up ahead, out here with the celebrations.”

“Well, if I may, milady; you don’t seem too worried either. You haven’t been away from the fire all night, have you?”

“You’ve caught me there, I suppose.” Amurra leaned in slightly, a serious, almost frightening look settling into her shadowed features for a moment before she flashed that nonchalant smile again. “But I don’t seem worried because, you see, I’m not.”

She shifted her wait and tugged irritably at the skirt of her dress; she had never been the ball-gown type of girl, and even wearing so simple a pattern as this she felt rather awkward and restrained in her movements. At any rate, one eyebrow arched curiously over a grey-green eye as the thought occurred to her that perhaps William really had no idea what she did for a living; the way the conversations had been going over the past couple days certainly made it seem that way. But, for the moment, she dismissed it.


“I wish I could say the same. I suppose we ought to find the others and leave soon, but…Time to catch my breath, right? I, er…Um, suppose another minute wouldn’t hurt.”

He looked down bashfully, and Amurra smiled inwardly at his obvious discomfort. It wasn’t that she disliked the boy, but his amorous tendencies toward her certainly hadn’t gone unnoticed, and though the whole affair was rather flattering and somewhat sweet, she found it almost comical. In an effort to relieve him of his awkward attempts at small-talk, she tried to start up a conversation on her own with him, prompting him with gentle smiles until he came out of his shell and began to talk more.

They must have been going on like this for at least twenty minutes, possibly more, and by the end of it William was finally smiling genuinely and had worked up the courage to ask his own questions—and, eventually, ask her to another dance as they saw the festive-looking druids pairing up again. Quickly rising to their feet and rushing towards the great flames before the music picked up again, they had just got in place and started the slow-whorl that would soon increase it’s speed and intricacy, when William spotted Poitr behind Amurra, gesturing at the two of them with a mixed look of despair and relief. Then they were passed him again, and when William tried to sidle out of the spinning ring Amurra shook her head and stopped him, answering with a faraway look in her eyes.

“He can wait. I just…want to finish this dance.”

[Sorry it took so long. Tons to do…and it was a bit hard to think of a having a “heart-to-heart” with myself. xD Take it away, Triar. We’re ready to get out of here.]

[Triar]

(OOC: Exciting, exciting!)

Piotr looked behind every statue, every tree, every house, and he circled the main building at least three times. It must have been about 25-minutes before everyone returned back to the perimeter of the dancing circle. Piotr looked into the dancing circle and spotted William and Amurra. Oh, thank goodness! Piotr told himself. Piotr waved the two to join him and the others. William let go of Amurra, but just as quickly, Amurra grabbed William and took him back as the dancing partner.

"Oh great!" Steven exclaimed. "After looking around this whole village, they were dancing all along."

Piotr and Steven sat down next to each other, relaxing their backs on the smooth bark of a tree. Aronai, however, remained standing. Aphrael came and sat cross legged in front of Piotr and Steven. Piotr smelt the air. Something was cooking. Dodo on the spit! Piotr jumped up and ran for the Dodo nearby. It was chopped up and ready to be eaten. Piotr grabbed two slices of bread and made a Dodo and lettuce sandwich. Steven did the same. Piotr, being the gentleman he is, made Aphrael a sandwich as well. Aphrael gave a big smile and accepted the sandwich, immediately eating. Steven offered Aronai a sandwich, but he refused.

Finally, the song stopped. The applause flattered the air. The band was tired and weary, as were the dancers. Everyone turned to the table, sat down, and began to eat. William and Amurra broke away from the crowd and came back towards the group of four. "Sorry, guys," William apologized to Piotr and the others. "Was having too much fun." Piotr looked at Amurra. Amurra replied with a big smile. Piotr looked downwards, and still, William was holding Amurra's hand.

"Well, are we going to go now?" Aronai grunted.

Piotr stood up and stretched. "Yes! We're going to head off right now. No more waiting."

And Elder touched Piotr on the shoulder and forced Piotr to turn around. The Elder gave Piotr a map of the way to the Caves of Harknarr. The map was well made, and seemed accurate enough. "Thanks," was all Piotr said before the Elder left. The six began walking towards the gates out of the village. Eight horses awaited them. "This is a gift from the Elders to you, Piotr. We hope they help you on your journey."

"I hope so too," Piotr said as he dragged himself onto a horse. The saddle was comfortable. Made out of fine leather. Smooth to the touch, Piotr swore that he could slide off without warning. The horses, too, were well groomed. Smooth to the touch. Piotr grabbed the harness of the horse next to him. The others got on their selected horses. William, however, helped Amurra onto her horse, then, got onto the horse next to her. Steven grabbed the second extra horse next to him, and the six made their way out of the gates. The guards waved them off, and soon enough they were out of sight, and out of the forest.

Piotr looked at the map. "We have to go past the Regen Mountains. Go past the Granger swamps. Through the Heelos ocean. And to the Caves of Harknarr."

"Are the caves on an island?" Steven asked.

"Yes," Piotr answered.

"Then why can't we just take a ship from another part of the world?" Steven curiosly asked.

"Because there is only one man who dares sail his ship through Heelos. And he's through the mountains and the swamp," Piotr replied.

"Well! I guess we're off to the Regen Mountains!" Steven exclaimed.

"I guess so..."

(OOC: w00t! And that's all the material I have for now. Shall post something else when someone else posts something!)

[Sephrenia]

She had looked everywhere and still no sign of Amurra and William, well not totally looking everywhere, just following in Piotrs wake. Lagging a bit behind though so its not so obvious. The curse that had possessed him in the druids hall had further increased her curiousity about the man. She saw him walk back out of the entourage's building and she snuck in when he had turned the corner. She slipped along to Aronai's bed looking for a bag of things, anything that might give her the upper hand might something happen again. She still didnt trust him no matter what his tale or what the druids had said.A man who could do the things that he could, while unable to wield magicks he was stronger than any normal man by a long way. She heard a slight noise, a rustling of material, a caught breath. She looked up and around, nothing. She stood up and composed herself before walking out of Aronai's room and down back to the druids village.

She caught up with Piotr and the others back near the continual dance of the druids. Amurra and William had been found, together. Coincedence? she mused to herself. But whatever they chose to do was their priority she thought. It was obvious William had feelings for Amurra but whether or not they were mutual, well, she'd have to wait and see. Piotr offered her a dodo and lettuce sandwich, accepting it gratefully she immediately began to eat, the enticing smell of the roast dodo had made her realise how hungry she was. 'Thats what you get for starving yourself you silly girl' she could almost hear the sister from the temple saying. She quickly switched her thoughts back to the current events as it was pointless dwelling on thoughts and memories of her sisters from the temple, it would only make her homesick.

They set out from the druids village and soon enough their forest.

Piotr informed them of the journey,"We have to go past the Regen Mountains. Go past the Granger swamps. Through the Heelos ocean. And to the Caves of Harknarr."

"Are the caves on an island?" Steven inquired.

"Yes," Piotr answered.

"Then why can't we just take a ship from another part of the world?" Steven curiously asked.

"Because there is only one man who dares sail his ship through Heelos. And he's through the mountains and the swamp," Piotr replied.

"Well! I guess we're off to the Regen Mountains!" Steven shouted cheerfully.

"I guess so..."

Firstly mountains, then swamps and God did she hate swamps and then finally over a rough-sounding ocean and on to the caves of Harknarr. Boy this was going to be a fun journey...

(ooc: Im kinda tired atm so please excuse me if its kinda rubbish. Cant wait to get underway though :) )

[Fajiera Zahra]

The dance had been fun and the night a blissful escape, but now the group had been reunited and it was time for business. Fine. The others took seats at the great tables sprawled out and began eating; Amurra excused herself and returned to the room provided her, where she slipped out of the dress and into more fitting attire for the journey. Quickly gathering what few things she had into her rucksack, she slung the small pack over her shoulder and wandered off to meet the others, now saddling fine horses that had suddenly appeared. A parting gift from the Elders, no doubt. Reluctantly she let William help her onto her horse (the young woman straddled the beast as did the men, now that she wore breeches), though by the way she sat in the saddle it was obvious Amurra was not an unskilled rider.

William had chosen the horse next to her, but when she heard Piotr and Steven talking about their “plan of attack,” as it were, from the head of the party, she wheeled her horse away and caught up to him, peering over at the intricate map. A light sigh was given after the boy finished explaining to Steven why they had to take a certain route; there probably wouldn’t be many sights to see on this journey, to say the least. Zahra’s face was somber now, and all mirth had faded from her voice; once again she spoke in cold, flat tones as she addressed the group.

“Right; we know the way. What are we waiting for?”

She stole another quick glance at the map, then leaned forward and whispered gently into her mount’s ear; no switch was needed, no kick, and the great black stallion (it wasn’t to hard to predict, by now, that she would pick the only black horse in a group of eight) left the gentle canter the party had been traveling at and broke into a swift gallop. Amurra rode bareback, and now was crouched forward, clinging to the horses neck: her single braid whipped lethally out behind her. How many weeks (months, even?) would this journey take? And what, exactly, were they going to find at the end, assuming, of course, she did not part from their company before then? But for now it didn’t matter—with the horse pounding away swiftly under her feet and a clear direction set in her mind, the only thing that really did matter was not where the journey would end, but that it had begun.

[Heh. ><” Couldn’t think of where to go with this. So…It’ll have to work.]

[Triar]

(I wonder where SB is.. Maybe on a vacation? Well, regardless, my turn!)

Amurra broke away from William's side and trotted beside Piotr, looking at the map. Piotr continued to look at the map. There were no clues on what path, or paths to take, no details on what they may encounter in the mountains, the swamps, or the ocean. This journey was still a mystery to him.

“Right; we know the way. What are we waiting for?” Amurra asked.

Before Piotr could answer, the woman's horse began to sprint. Piotr smiled at the cunningness Amurra. He waved to the others, and they immediately began sprinting with their horses as well. The wind through his air and ears made Piotr's eyes close narrowly. It was getting strong, but then, the wind stopped, and the party was able to go faster. Piotr gave one final kick and the horse began sprinting even faster, catching up to Steven in front of him. Amurra was well ahead. She seemed to want to get to the mountains as soon as she could. But Piotr, however, wanted to get there as fast as they could but without risking the lives of the horses, as they may also die on this journey. Regardless, Piotr continued to sprint with both horses in hand. It was about ten minutes before they slowed down the horses to let them rest. Piotr was in no hurry. He just wanted to see the sights as he knew that this may be the last time he, and all of them, may see the nightsky again.

It was another four hours before the party reached a tiny village which had a population of no more than 100 people. The village people starred as the party entered the village. Piotr got off his horse, panting. The horses too, were panting. The hot steam from the cold came out of their mouths and the horses snorted. Two of the men from the village came towards the party. "We do not want visitors in our village! Leave now, or suffer the consequences!"

"No, please," Piotr pleaded. "We come from the Druid clan, Argoza. We mean you no harm."

The men began whispering to themselves, then, the taller one spoke. "We will accept you into this village with food and water. This is what the Elders have ordered us to do. However, you may only stay until sunrise. Then, you must leave."

It would only be three or four more hours before the sun would rise. So, they made the most of it. They ate as much food as they could, and harnessed extra food and water on the horses. Then, they all rested in a house until sunrise. The same two men came into the house once the sun had risen. "Please, leave now. We have done what we have been ordered, now leave in peace. Your horses have been fed and given water. They will now be healthy for the rest of the time towards the mountains."

Piotr awoke. "How far from the Regen Mountains?" he asked.

"An hour. Maybe two. Just keep heading West, as you were. You should see them soon," replied the shorter man.

The two men left the house, and the party began gathering their things again, and went outside. It was warm, unlike the night before. The party got on their horses again, and headed west. The two men waved them off into the horizon, then, shut the gates to the village. Their time spent at the village was very weird, so Piotr thought. How did the Elders know that they would run into that village? Regardless, the party kept on trotting, with little bursts of sprint, towards the West. It was only and hour before they reached the Regen Mountains. There was a huge valley heading into the depths of the mountains, and on the map, showed that the path would head upwards to the center of the tallest Mountain, then head back down straight into the swamps.

"This is it!" Piotr exclaimed, taking a sip of water. The mountains were huge and green. Clouds covered the upper-half of the mountains. But, the air was warm. Piotr hoped that it would remain warm until they reached the top of the mountains where it would obviously be snowing, judging from the height of the mountains. The party were consumed into the valley, as they slowly walked their horses in. Darkness covered them. Trees were growing out of the side of the valley. It wasn't long before they reached a large area. Stones from the side of the mountains soared twenty meters into the sky. There were two rickety bridges in the distance heading over the top of them. Piotr and the others slowly crept on. Birds were soaring high in the sky, circling an area ahead. The party rounded a corner, and into four raptor dinosaurs.

The raptors saw the party, and ran quickly towards them. Just as fast, Piotr got off his horse, and ran towards the raptors. The others followed closely behind. "Stick close! These things will be hard to kill!" Piotr shouted as he got his shield, and a raptor jumped at him. Piotr, lifting the shield, hit the raptor out of his way, and headed for the next one. Steven rose his axe at the raptor that was hid down, and swing his axe towards the throat of the raptor, but the raptor moved away quickly.

William stuck by close to Amurra. One raptor rounded the outskirts of the little battlefield, and charged at William. William got ready, but wasn't prepared as another raptor behind him jumped on him, forcing William to the ground. Amurra round-house kicked the raptor that jumped on William's back. Steven tackled the other raptor off of William, and they began to wrestle.

Out of a small cave, three more raptors joined the other two that were charging for Piotr. "This is gonna be one helluva blood bath."

Shall be continued...

[Shadowfire05]

The tall wood elf crouched low in the brush. He had followed the adventurers from the druid forest. The group greatly intrigued him. He had first seen them as they fled into the druids forest. He felt a strong bond between Piotr, Aronai, and himself. The bond was more of a commanality they all shared. Each of the had powers that they did not ask for, nor completely understand. So in light of that fact that he had only been a guest of the druids for a short while in exchange for his skills as a defender, he took his leave and headed out after Piotr's group.

They had been hard to follow at first, especially after one of the more spirited of them had taken off at full galop draggin the rest of the group along. "Women," he thought to himself, "well they could dance very good at least." He recalled dancing with them all at the celebration, and how much fire and joy emenated from them.

The tall elf sighed as he caught up to them just before the base of the mountains. Suddenly his relief because anxiety. He sensed a presence around him, predatory, hungry. He was being hunted, and they were close.

"Oh no...the raptor den..."

He closed his eyes and gathered his concentration, his senses hightened, his body began to pump adrenaline, and when he opened his eyes they burned with blue flame.

He bolted with all of his might for a large crop of rocks just outside the mouth of the cave where the Piotr's group faced of with the other raptors. He crouched and sprang, with all the power his legs could muster, to the top of a tall rock column drawing his bow and knocking an arrow midflight. He landed and immediately assesed the parties situation. To his horror he saw a raptor knock down one of the adventurers, William presumeably, and, even tough a woman he guessed named Amurra, quickly kicked it off of him, another charged in. As it did one of the mans friends, Steven if he remembered correctly, threw himself into the raptor dropping his axe. They wrestled and the beasts powerful body won out over Steven, it stood up and lunged at him. He had no chance to dodge it.

The party glanced up as they heard a heard a voice powerfully whisper...

"No..."

The sweet music of a bowstring filled the field, and suddenly the lunging raptor did a backflip and landed on the ground. It attempted to get up, but a steal arrow was snuggly tucked into its eye socket, and the rest of its body finally realized it was dead and went limp. The tall elf dove off the rocks, just as one of the raptors that had been hunting him flew out of the brush after him. It overshot but the other one was right behind him when he landed. In fear for their new friend Amurra and Steven attempted to run to helm, but they missed the raptor that Amurra had knocked down which was now up and hot on her heals.

William didn't hesitate a second, he grabbed the axe Steven had dropped, pulled it over his head with both hands, and sent it whistling through the air at the raptor. It hit perfectly, slipping through the animals flesh right between two ribs, puncturing its lungs, and breaking its spine. Now he turned to regard his new ally.

The raptor behind the elf suddenly let out a huge howl, in the blink of an eye the elf had dropped his bow and unsheated a slightly curved sword with no hilt, with his back to the raptor he quickly thrust the sword backward under his arm stricking the raptor in the center of his chest. As he drew the sword back out to regard the raptor charging him, deep red blood coated the blade. The elf gracefully dove to right of the charging raptor spinning as he went, but the raptors quick reflexes were faster than he had anticipated, its claw caught his right arm cutting from shoulder to elbow. He pushed past the pain and continued the spin cleaving the raptor behind the neck. He quickly grabbed his bow and looked to Piotr.

He was standing up with a raptor in front of him, his shield holding it back, while Aronai's mighty arms held another raptor at a standstill next to him. The three raptors from the cave were almost upon the two of them. Aphrael raced to their aid, and Piotr suddenly heard a suggestive voice inside of his head...

"Duck..."

For some reason Piotr trusted the voice and ducked just as an arrow flew past his head into the leg of the lead raptor. The lead trippedtakeing the other two down with it. The raptor Piotr had been fighting with fell as well when his prey suddenly moved throwing it off balance.

Amurra and Steven rushed to their new friends aid as he fell to the ground from the pain of fireing the bow with the gash in his arm.

The elf looked up at Piotr said "Finish them.." in a whisper, but somehow everyone heard it clear as a yell. He had given them the few extra seconds they needed to gain the upper hand.

Knowing his friends were safe, Piotr fell into his combat mode and smiled,

"This will be fun."

(OOC. I'm sorry this is so long, its my first one ever. If yal don't like it or had other ideas for the battle I will edit or delete the post, just send me a PM. I hope I did half as good as you guys. Its also 1am and I have been on a bus since 11am this morning so I'm sorry if gramar is bad. I will recheck it tomorrw.)

[Triar]

(OOC: Well done Shadow Fire, you did quite well for your first time. But one think was lacking. The name! What's his name?! :p)

Watching the unknown archer, his moves were swift. Each done in perfect motion. Without a second glance, Piotr struck another raptor. The raptor jumped back and retreated.

William grabbed Steven's axe and threw it through the air. The throw was precise, striking the rib cage. The raptor died. Spinning around, he saw another person. An unknown archer. An elf, no doubt. The raptor behind the elf let out a growl, forcing the elf to drop his bow, unsheath a sword, and stike the raptor into his chest. Blood spewed from the raptor's wound as it died slowly and painfully. Another raptor, however, clawed the elf's right arm.

Piotr was up against yet another raptor who came out of no where. Striking it, the raptor would not go down. With his shield, Piotr held the barging raptor back. Aronai grabbed another raptor which charged at Piotr, quickly pulling it to the ground.

In his head, Piotr heard a voice. "Duck..." Telekenisis from the elf, perhaps? Without the doubt, Piotr ducked. An arrow flew over the top of him and hit the leg of the biggest raptor. Piotr looked at the other raptor he had been pushing back. The raptor was stumbling from its earlier wounds.

"Finish them..." whispered the elf.

Piotr spun around and looked at the final two raptors. Aronai, Steven, and William stood their ground, then, charged. The large raptor charged also. However, the final raptor retreated from whence the party came from. Piotr sliced the raptor from neck through to chest, then spun around. Aronai, with his sword, chopped off one of the raptor's legs, and William and Steven drove their weapons into the raptor's body. Death.

The party had only began. Five more raptors came from where the party had entered the valley. The elf stood up, ready again. William took Amurra and Aphrael's side. Piotr, Aronai, and Steven, took the front line. The elf took his bow again, and aimed. The arrow flew past Aronai's head and into a raptor's forehead. The next arrow struck another raptor in the body. The third, however, was grabbed by a raptor's mouth, and another four raptor's came out of the darkness. Piotr jumped and sliced a raptor's head clean off. Steven charged towards one raptor, dodging it with a spin, and ramming the head of the axe into a second raptor. Steven was then hit over by a third raptor, and another wrestle began.

Piotr and Aronai stood together, taking four raptors. However one raptor went for William, and the other for the elf archer. The elf made quick work of the raptor with an arrow going right through the raptor's neck, killing it. However, the elf ran out of arrows, dropped his bow, and took out his sword.

Time to continue:

Coming from behind, the elf slit one of the raptor's throats. That's when another raptor turned on him, and the elf ran towards and up a tree, jumping off the tree doing a back-flip, and slicing a part of the raptor's tail. The raptor let out a scream, then attacked the elf.

Meanwhile, Piotr and Aronai had a two-on-two on their hands. Using his immense strength, Aronai dropped his sword and held the mouth of a raptor. Piotr hit the other raptor away, and began running after it. Aronai, however, had the raptor in his grasp for 30-seconds before he ripped the raptor's jaw open, breaking it. Killing it.

William, Aphrael, and Amurra circled a raptor. It was trapped. Closing it, the raptor jumped up and kicked Aphrael to the ground. William, seeing the opportunity, drove his sword into the leg of the raptor, causing the raptor to retreat.

Steven was tumbling on the ground, still, with the raptor that tackled him. Steven used his head to hurt the raptor. He managed to get around to the raptor's back and pull it to the ground. Without being able to attack, the raptor rendered harmless. Steven got a dagger from his belt and began slicing, over, and over again into the side of the raptor. The raptor began to scream in pain as Steven continued the stabbing. Soon enough, the raptor died, and Steven's hand was coverd in blood.

The elf, however, had the final two raptors on him. But soon, the raptor's retreated towards the entrance of the valley from whence the party came from, seeing that they were outnumbered. The group came together again. The elf, however, was the center-of-attention, being the new, unsuspecting helper in the group.

"Hello everyone," said the elf.

"Who're you?" Piotr asked with his sword in hand.

The elf opened his mouth to speak, but the ground began to rumble. Instead of saying his name, the elf whispered, "Oh no."

The ground continued to shake. Something was coming from afar. A silhouette outline a huge monster in the distance. Soon, the valley showed the true look of a huge monster. A T-Rex.

"You've got to be joking..." said Piotr, looking up and into the T-Rex's eyes as the T-Rex shouted into the sky, loudly. The party got their weapons ready...

(OOC: And that's all she wrote - The next writer is to be Sephrenia. Sephrenia, read your PM! After her, it can then be anyone.)

[Sephrenia]

The ground itself seem to shake when the great beast roared. Such a beast Aphrael had only read about in books from the great library. Herself and a few others in the party simply stared open-mouthed at the size of the T-Rex but they all snapped out of it when Piotr shouted.

"Dont just stand there!, do something!!"

In reply the new elven warrior took out his bow and winced as he let loose an arrow which barely penetrated the creatures thick hide. Aphrael noticing this hurried over to the elf and quickly wove some healing magic on the gash in his arm. With a grateful glance the elf carried on firing at the T-Rex aiming for more weaker points like the eyes. She took out her sword and tried to prepare for the impact of the beast.

As the T-Rex met the small group head on it roared and rampaged towards the elf who carried on peppering the fiend. Aphrael merely saw a blur of blue as it was flung back with another large man.

'Piotr and Aronai..'she thought

The creature continued its charge towards the elf but he gracefully lept away from the T-rex and behind a rock. The T-rex now slightly confused to the where-abouts simply looked around for new prey. Spotting the remaining group it roared again and ran over to where Piotr and Aronai were finally helped up by William and Steven. It stopped just short and simply lunged at the group its mouth open. Amurra spied a weak spot in its lung and rammed her sword up through the bottom of the beasts mouth. The beast stumbled backwards and howled in pain.

Recovering from the intial attack the group counter-charged. Steven was the first to get a hit in swinging his axe furiously into the softer underbelly of the beast. The wound had hurt the beast certainly but she doubted if any of them could really make any real damage. They were simply not strong enough.
Piotr forced a sword into Aronai's hands.

"We need your strength if we want to hurt this thing!" he shouted over the roaring and fighting. He simply nodded, taking the sword and rushing back in.
He lunged at the creature sword raised and he brought it down in a stabbing motion. It pentrated deeper than Stevens axe and the T-Rex knew it. It roared and plucked Aronai off with its wounded mouth and flung him aside. Aphrael heard a crunch as he hit a boulder. She blinked at the pure ferosity of the creature then ran over to Aronai to try and keep him alive. Once she had stablised him at least she turned back towards the fight angrily. She had picked Aronai's sword and she flung it as hard as she can at the beast. To her great suprise and pleasure it hit the beast in one of its eyes. It roared again but instead of possibly retreating it frenzied flinging herself, Amurra and Steven away with a lash of its scaly tail.

"Amurra!!" William cried

William savagely attacked the beast's legs hacking at the scaly hide until he got to flesh and then he carried on hacking until the creature had picked him up in his jaws and flung him away as he had Aronai.Only Piotr was left.
She could barely see anything through a haze of blood and dust but she could see that Piotr was simply standing in front of the creature shaking slightly. Then he stopped and let out a primal shout, he took up Williams sword and lunged at the creatures head in an impossible leap. He frenzied, hacking away at the creatures head and eyes. The beast began to whimper and attempt to flee but Piotr, or Argoza as the case must of been, was attached to his neck, hacking cruelly at its neck. Blood gushed out of the open wound and finally, the great beast fell.

Piotr simply stood over the corpse of the fallen T-Rex as Aphrael was helped to her feet by Steven.

"Careful lass, if he's like he was in the druids place you dont know what he might do." he warned

"Well we cant just leave him there what if he's wounded?"she replied

"Aye,I see what you mean, come on."

The group gathered back together everyone had been wounded in some way minor or otherwise. She would have a lot of work to do after this she thought.
They approached Piotr's form as he turned around. He lept towards he sword ready to plunge it into her body but inches away a strong form intercepted Piotrs lunging body.

"Aronai.."she gasped.

They ran over to where Aronai's and Piotr's struggling forms lay fighting.

"Hurry!, get over here someone and knock him out!"he said breathlessly"I cant hold him down forever!"

Steven picked up his axe and hurried over to the fight. He brutally hit Piotr once in the face with his the end of his axe and his form went limp.

They rested for a bit while Aphrael tended to their wounds. They then sent off for a while, to get away from the lair of the raptors. They made it down through the valley then carried on along past a barren forest and finally came to an entrance of what appeared to be a temple. She was the first to climb down from her horse. She examined the entrance to the temple. It was unlike any she had seen before even through living her whole life in the temple-city of Germyriad. She examind the markings on the door, nothing. It was unique.

"We should rest here tonight" muttered Aronai "wait for Piotr to wake up."

"Aye" Agreed Steven "I think that'd be best."

They set up camp outside the temple entrance. Aronai stood guard for half the night and Steven for the rest. Aphrael sat in vigil over Piotr hoping for a cure to his curse even if it had saved them it had almost killed her too.

(ooc: ah well, Ive done whats asked I guess, cant say I havent enjoyed writing it though ;) have fun messing around with that)

[Triar]

Piotr awoke from his slumber. He couldn't remember how he got there, or what happened. What he did know that deep in his body, the Argoza spirit claimed more and more of his body. Piotr assumed that the Argoza spirit WANTED Piotr to find him, helping him when in trouble, but consequently, the rage may hurt his friends in the party which Piotr would surely regret.

Piotr stood up and exited the tent. The party were sitting around a fire. William and Amurra were looking at a temple-like building. Inscriptions filled the door, but nobody could read it. Willam told Piotr that the door had to be triggered by something. Maybe a hidden lever? Steven jumped from the dirt.

"What about those little bridge things we passed further down the valley?" Steven asked. "There should be a way up there. Maybe the answers to opening this door lies across those wooden bridges."

"Perhaps," Piotr began. "But how much further have we gone down the valley?" he asked.

"Twenty minutes or so," Amurra replied, continuing her examination of the temple entrance.

Piotr stood at the entrance of the temple and looked at the inscriptions.

"Are you okay," William asked.

"Yeah," Piotr nodded. "Just a bit shaken up." Piotr turned to William. "What happened? Did I kill that T-Rex?"

William nodded.

"How?" Piotr asked curiously.

"Argoza took over your body again. You impossibly jumped from the ground, right to its head, and single handedly killed it. You then drove your sword into Aphrael, but luckily, we stopped you from doing further damage."

Piotr looked at Aphrael. She seemed fine. Guess she used her healing powers on herself, Piotr told himself in his head, then looked at the inscriptions again.

William watched Piotr examine the inscriptions. He saw that Piotr's pupils faded away. His eyes turned into total whiteness. Piotr's body began to glow a white, eary colour, giving off little bursts of energy that the whole party could feel. Piotr began to speak in a different, deeper voice.

"In here lies Njugen, the Lightning god. Only those who retrieve the golden rod from the diamond caves may enter."

Piotr regained consciousness of himself and fell to the ground. William ran to his aid, and looked at him. Piotr's eyes restored to their normal brown colour, and Argoza left his body again. Luckily, this time, Argoza was helping the party instead of hurting the party.

"What does that mean?" Steven asked. "Only those who retrieve the golden rod form the diamond caves may enter, so he says. Where would the diamond caves be?"

"That is what we'll have to find out. I think we should rest a little longer before we head out searching." Piotr entered the tent again, and laid down.

The unknown elf began asking Steven questions on Piotr's supernatural abilities. Piotr could hear the conversation all too well, and listened in on the elf's curiosity.

(OOC: Well ShadowFire, here's the perfect opportunity for your CHARACTER to learn a little more about Piotr's abilities. I'm assuming you've read the WHOLE RP, so you should know what Steven, and if need be, others will say about Piotr's abilities! I hope SkullBearer is around, still. I miss his good ole RP posts.)

[Shadowfire05]

(OOC this is gonna be kinda long too because I am introducing my whole character now, so just bear with me. I'm new at this remember ;) )

Tugging at the side of his sleeve the unknown elf examined his amlost healed wound from the raptor. Thanks to Aphrael he was able to recover quickly. He took recount of all that had happened in the mere day he had been with Piotr's group. They had held off a whole den of raptors and not one of them had failed to suprise him with their determination and power. Piotr had singlehandedly felled a T-Rex with the help of some evil spirit inside of him. That same spirit had turned him against his own party. Now it was time for some answers.

"You are the one called Steven, correct?" The tall elf bowed as he posed the question to the man.

"Yes, but I am at an impass, for though you seem to know me I have no knowlegde of you my new friend." Steven said with a warm tone, for not an hour earlier the elf had saved him from possibly fatal injury.

"Forgive me, my name is Cirin Shadowfire. I first noticed your group as you entered the druids forests. I was intrigued by rumors surrounding your quest. I know well of the stories of Aronai, for I am over 400 years old by my best guess. However, though I know of the stories of Argoza, I don't completely understand Piotr's connection to it."

With that said, Steven began to recount their story from the beginning, from Piotr's escape, to the bandits and meeting up with Aronai and the girls, to the druids forest. The elf did not change expression until he mentioned the outburst in the Elder chambers. "So he can't control it?" Cirin half mumbled the thought out loud. "Has this happened often?"

"Only two times so far, the elder chamber, and after the Rex. His comments bout the stone door wasn't really an outburst but definately Argoza's spirit as well." Steven replied. The Cirin nodded and began to walk towards Piotr's tent, but before he got a step Steven's hand grabbed his shoulder. "Cirin...thank you." The elf gave grinned and jokingly said, "Don't read too much into it, I thought it was going for Amurra." He winked and continued on to Piotr's tent, but Steven heard a gentle tone in his head say "You are welcome friend."

Piotr startled jumped up, the elf was kneeling inside his tent yet he never even heard him come in. Even though the elf was kneeling Piotr could tell he was quite tall. He had blonde hair that came down to his shoulders, and from there a Midnight blue cloak flowed off his shoulders and formed a pool on the ground around him. In his left hand he held a magnificent bow. It was made out of a shiny black wood of some sort. Silver lacing like flames weaved and danced all the way up and down the shaft of the might recurve. The handle was rapped in Midnight blue leather, and the string was practially invisible. At his left hip hung a sheathed sword with a wooden handle, but no hilt guard. His tunic was a deep forest green, and his brown boots and gauntlets had elven writing etched into them, but the thing that struck Piotr with the most awe, and almost fear, was the elf's eyes.

They were fierce yet warm to him, they burned with an ethereal flame, but as he looked closer he realized his eyes were somewhat of a blue hazel. They were dark blue at the outside with different shades of lighter blue dancing through them. "Hello I am sorry for startling you." Piotr looked suprised as he heard the voice for the tall elfs lips never moved.

"Your telepathic." Piotr posed the question with a grin. "That's how I knew to duck during the fight." The elf nodded.

"I also have some small telekinetic powers as well. Where are my manners, I am Cirin Shadowfire. I have been following you since the druids realm, and I would like to join you on your quest." Cirin wasted no time in getting to the point.

Piotr carefully assesed Cirin and he seemed very sincere. "I need to..."

"...know more about me?" Cirin laughed as Piotr scouled. "I didn't read your mind, that was merely an easy guess as to what you would say. The truth is, I am not really sure actually. About 400 years ago I awoke in clerics house. He said he had found me near death after a huge battle and brought me there to heal me. I have no memory before that day. I have spent my years as a wandering defender of sorts, but those tails can wait for later on, for now you have a quest at hand and I would choose not to delay you. Your good friend Steven has been kind enough to give me a good idea of what you are up against, and I would be happy to help you on your way, and perhaps, given the time period of the Argoza conflicts, and my memory loss, perhaps I will find some answers to my own questions."

They talked for another few minutes before they both emerged from the tent.

(OOC ...ok so I need to learn to shorten things a bit....sorry. But i have to get to class now. I left u some time to ask my character questions Triar, if you choose to you can decline my offer and I will cease posting as I know I'm not very good at this yet, and I would hate to ruin a great story such as this. I will send you PM after class to better explain my characters abilities.)

[Fajiera Zahra]

[Somehow I always manage to miss the action and come back in when there's not much to say. xD Sorreh all; I tried.]

Zahra had a small, make-shift tent in her pack, as did the rest of the party, but unlike the others hers remained untouched; while they saw to settling down and getting healed, and finding out about this new elf, she sat complacently outside, mulling over her own thoughts. Across her lap lay the enormous scythe, Toganin: with a thick, brown-colored cloth in one hand she dutifully cleaned the large blade of blood that had caked on. The young woman turned her head as the elf neatly entered Piotr’s temporary chambers—though he walked stealthily, and made little noise at all, Amurra herself was trained to do the same, and so could pick up on the soft padding of the elf more easily than others. She caught his eye only momentarily, and her scowl was dark enough to match the black outfit she wore. Cirin, she had heard: alright. And though she was grateful for his help there was something unnerving about his presence, and she wasn’t so ready to trust him as were, or so it seemed, Steven and the others.

Fajiera removed the twin knives from her hips and set them down gently before her next to the bloodied rag; she left the scythe’s long, cool handle to rest in her lap as she placed her hands behind her head and stretched back. For a moment she watched her breath as it took form in icy puffs of cloud, but just as quickly her thoughts moved on to other, more serious things. The Diamond Caves, had Argoza said? She was not unfamiliar with the name, and was trying to remember any lore about them she had picked up that may be useful, or any hint that would tell the party where they might be hidden. She’d love to have another look at the map the druids left them, but Piotr didn’t seem too keen on relinquishing it to Amurra, and she didn’t want to interrupt his little meeting with the new elf to try again.

She looked over at Steven who had just rounded the corner on her during his rounds for the night, and shot him, rather unfairly, a fierce glare, as though to say ‘Yes, what do you want?’ He shook his head at her poor manners, but nonetheless found that his path was taking him towards a different part of the camp after all. So Aronai, for now, Aphrael, and William were all asleep, and Steven wouldn’t be bothering her. The woman had a feeling that after his rough day full of…spiritual interruptions, shall we say? Piotr would need his rest soon, so maybe if she waited out a while longer she could catch the elf, Cirin, and question him on her own. She really had no reason to be so suspicious of the newcomer, especially after all he had done to help them, but nonetheless Amurra could not help but to disapprove of his presence. …Maybe she just needed sleep. After the celebration with the druids where she stayed up long after the others went to sleep, and the series of attacks this morning, there was plenty of reason to be even more on edge than usual. Zahra’s cold conscience decided she would still prefer a talk with Shadowfire to…”set her mind at ease.”

[Shadowfire05]

(OOC as soon as Triar finishes the convo between Cirin and Piotr, I will have Cirin head over to talk to Amurra)

[Fajiera Zahra]

[Alright, not a problem. Thanks for the notice; I'll be here waiting.]

[Triar]

(OOC: ShadowFire, I'm ORDERING you to stay! This can make a good story with Cirin in there! Never you mind about your long posts, I have done the same many times, as have Fajiera, Sephrenia, and SkullBearer.)

Piotr listened in as Steven told Cirin the story of Piotr and the connection he had with Piotr. For some reason, Piotr liked hearing people talk about him. Being either for good or for bad, Piotr enjoyed other people's points of view.

The conversation ended and Piotr rested his eyes. He heard the wind blow against the tent. A shadow seemed to go over his eyes. Curiously, Piotr opened his eyes. It was the elf. Piotr startled and jumped back, then laughed. Crazy man, Piotr joked to himself and smiled. Looking into the elf's eyes, Piotr saw that the eyes were blue. Dark blue, moreso, on the outside, which blended into a lighter blue reaching the inside of his eye.

"Hello," Piotr heard in his head. "I am sorry for startling you." The voice continued. It was the elf. The elf was talking in Piotr's head.

"You're telepathic," Piotr smiled. "That's how I knew to duck during the fight." The elf nodded. Piotr thought that it was just him going crazy.

"I also have some small telekinetic powers as well," the elf continued. "Where are my manners? I am Cirin Shadowfire." Piotr shook Cirin's hand. "I have been following you since the druid's realm, and I would like to join you on your quest."

Piotr put his head down. "I need to..."

"...know more about me?" Cirin interupted. Piotr was very surprised. Not only is he telekenetic, but he can read minds as well?!

"I didn't read your mind," Cirin laughed, clearing up that part. Oh good, Piotr thought to himself. "That was merely an easy guess a to what you would say. The truth is, I am not really sure actually. About 400 years ago I awoke in a clerics house. He said he had found me near death after a huge battle and brought be there to heal me." Cirin paused and sighed. "I... have no memory before that day. I have spent my years as a wandering defender of sorts, but those tails can wait for later on. For now, you have a quest at hand and I would choose not to delay you." Cirin paused again, then continued. "Your good friend Steven has ben kind enough to give me a good idea of what you are up against, and I would be happy to help you on your way, and perhaps, given the time period of the Argoza conflics, and my memory loss, perhaps I will find some answers to my own question."

"But why have you followed us?" Piotr asked.

"As I said, I was hoping to find some answers to my own questions," Cirin replied. "However, if you want me to leave, I will so."

"No, no!" Piotr retorted. "We need all the help we can get. It would be an honor to have another good guy on our side." Piotr smiled, as did Cirin. The two emerged from the tent. Piotr stretched and smelt the fresh air, looking at the temple again. He was tired, and needed sleep. "I'm going to sleep," Piotr announced. "Once we all awake, we'll go for a search for those Diamond Caves."

Piotr was about to enter the tent before Amurra came up to him. "Can I have a look at the map?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure," Piotr replied, getting the map from his pocket and unfolding it in front of her, placing it into Amurra's hands.

"Thanks," Amurra smiled, turned around, and examined the map. Piotr returned to the tent, laid down, and fell asleep.

(OOC: Well, Fajiera. Now you can examine the map, AND ask Cirin questions! All in one good ole post, how good's that? Well, have fun!)

[Shadowfire05]

Piotr handed Amurra the map, and as she glanced past Cirin he fealt a feeling of distrust and anxiety directed at him. He decided that he might have a look at that map too.

He began to follow Amurra, it was nice to be in the company of a fellow elf, and a beautiful one at that. "May I join you." Amurra turned to regard Cirin, and even though she didn't yet trust him she felt a warmth coming off him that seemed comforting in a way.

"Well I guess it wouldn't hurt." The comment echoed with an unsure tone.

"You are unsure of me aren't you." The voice whispered inside her head. Amurra flashed a stern look his way "I would appreciate you getting out of my head, I don't like people who steal the thoughts of others."

Cirin gracefully bowed in apology and in words informed her, "I cannot read minds unfortunately. I can only sense feelings, nor can I control ones mind, I can make strong suggestions in a persons mind, and obviously I can speak to others through though, but I cannot read your mind." The look on Amurra's face didn't appear to care if it was feelings or thoughts though.

Cirin reminded her, "I still don't even know what to call you. I have heard your friends call you three different names, so which is it?"

"It depends, Amurra is a nickname my friends call me, but my name is Fajiera Zahra. I have not decided what you will call me by yet though. I will tell you at the end of our little talk. It's not really that I don't trust you, I just don't know anything about you to trust." Said Amurra in a skeptic, but slightly apologetic tone. "I barely even know your name. Though I will admit there is something familiar about you."

Cirin let out a half chuckle and a grin creeped across his face. Despite her wishes he used his telepathy on her once more. Suddenly Amurra heard music, dancing music, but only in her head. It was very upbeat and had a nice rythm. As she began to scowl at him for using his telepathy he gracefully grabbed her hand and spun her twice, smoothly coming around into a dance position with her. He then stopped, Amurra wide eyed with suprised and slightly flushed remembered him. He had been one of the first people she danced with at the druid party, and he had been a very good dancer at that.

Now that the ice the conversation picked up as the beautiful elf casually questioned Cirin about his life.

(OK your turn Amurra)

[Fajiera Zahra]

[Oh boy Triar! You really know how to make a girl's dreams come true. xD]

The look of surprise had vanished from her sharply etched features as quickly as it had come, and despite her love of the dance this was not the time nor place for it; she quickly broke away and returned to her former seat, collecting Toganin from the dust where it had fallen when Cirin grabbed her up to dance. She sent a fierce glare toward the elf, then picked up the damp rag and began cleaning to blade once more, stubbornly refusing to break a smile or comment on the dance.

"So you were there that night? All good and well, I'm sure, but if you expect me to become friends with you on that alone I'm afraid you'll find I'm not so trusting as the rest of the party here. People in my profession find a hard time making personal connections; I'm sure you'll understand."

She grinned wryly, unsure of whether or not he really would understand that last comment. After all, everything from her choice of clothes to her fighting style to the way she wore her hair proclaimed her occupation where she was from, but if any of the group had an inkling as to what that profession actually was, they never let on.

"And did you belong to that group of druids? Could you not have joined in on their celebration unnoticed? Even the woodsfolk let down their guard sometimes, alone. Because I held your hand once among dozens does not prove you worthy of the title 'friend.' You've also disobeyed my wishes, after only just agreeing. Strike one, Cirin."

Amurra cocked her head oddly, almost playfully, but the dark frown on her face erased any such notions of joviality from the newcomer's mind. Casually, one leather-gloved hand reached up and flicked the dark braid over her shoulder; the other held the soiled cloth out before her and dropped it on the ground at her feet. She leaned the massive scythe on a nearby tree, collected her knives and reattatched them, then stood, looked critically at Shadowfire, and walked over where he was still waiting, partnerless, for a new dance to begin. Arms crossed over her chest, she leaned forward slightly, one delicate brow arched high over an almond shaped grey-green eye: nut brown skin glowed bronze in the light of a dying fire nearby.

"I may as well not ask why you chose to help us; you can only be expected to reply with something about peace and love, and fighting for any and all who are in need." She grinned, almost slyly, and though the distrust and...anger? was not melted from her features, possibly they weren't quite as harsh as before. "Go on, then. Tell me I'm wrong."

[And...Just to clarify, SF; Amurra has elf-blood in her, but she isn't 'full elf,' if you will. ^^]

[Shadowfire05]

Cirin marveled as the fiery Amurra raised her defenses in and instant. He attentively payed attention to every remark. Though he did not smile at her as she chipped away at him, his stance and expression was nothing but gentle.

"People in my profession find a hard time making personal connections; I'm sure you'll understand." That remark hit Cirin a little hard. It did not hurt for himself, but it hurt for her. He wasn't wholely sure what her profession entailed, but all he could think was 'I'm so sorry so many people have wronged or betrayed you because of it that you have to push everyone away.'

She was right in the fact that he had used his powers once more on her, but he solemly remined her he had merely apologized for her uneasiness with them. Never did he say he would not use them again. She continued with her criticism as if he hadn't even said a thing.

"....Tell me I'm wrong."

"Your wrong." His voice was soft and not at all angry, yet pain lurked behind it. "You are right that I did not belong to the druids of the forest. They are my friends, however, and from time to time I help them guard their forest. I was part of the group who routed the bandits from the edges of the forest as they came after you, ensureing your saftey during your stay. One reason I decided to come along was for the druids. They have been kind to me many times, and I felt I could return this kindness by ensureing the Argoza curse comes to an end. I would have requested admission to your group sooner, but you simply left before I had time to ask."

"I also joined you because of those traits of helping the needy which you seem to take so lightly." His tone became a little stiffer, and Amurra began to realize that this topic had deep roots in Cirin. "I have no memory of my life before 400 years ago. I was gravely injured in some sort of battle, I awoke in the home of a cleric. He healed me and got me on my feet again. Since then I have been going around helping people who are in need of it. Because once I was in need, as you are now Amurra."

Amurra's face eased abit, but inside she was aghast. When he had said she was wrong, she realized he meant your were wrong to say that. She realized how deep she had driven the knife into him, but what astonished her is that he was still smiling and gentle. Some of her comments no doubt hurt him, but he let them role off so as not to be mean to her. "I do not need your help" she replied stubornly. She more blurted it out at the fustration of how a person could be so nice.

He nodded to her and his tone returned to its full warmth, "That may be true for now, but there are others here who do. I truly apologize for agravateing you after such taxing events." Though he silently mused that her burning pride, endearing as it was, needed a small nudge. "I will leave you to your rest and the map mi'lady, I look forward to talking with you again sometime." As he turned to walk away he whispered to her, but used his powers to make sure no one else heard it,

"Though you do not wish for it now, if ever your life becomes in danger, I will leave you know choice but to accept my help."


(OOC Pls let Amurra post one more time before we continue, she is going to finsh Amurra's thought on the whole convo. Oh and sorry about the elf thing Fajiera i will remember that. Just to let everyone know, Cirin will do all that he can to help a person. His experience of losing his memory and being helped strongly influenced him there. And its when he is protecting those in need, that he becomes the most fierce.)

[Triar]

(OOC: Well, what can I say Fajiera? I'm a charmer! And to both of yas, this is making one helluva good read. I really like this. Keep it going. I'll intervene when the rest of the group wakes up (after Fajiera's next post), and after Fajiera (maybe) finds something on the map. Diamond caves was the only name I could make up on the spot. Not too original, however, gets everyones attention on Diamonds! :D Okay, we'll wait for Fajiera.)

[Fajiera Zahra]

[Don't go mixing up her character now, m'dear. She may seem a cold-blooded killer, but actually...She is. Amurra's not wont to have a change of heart just because she hurt someone's feelings. It's alright, though; we still love you. And Cirin, don’t worry about the elf deal. I just wanted to let you know, I wasn’t mad or anything. ^^ Sorry…you just seemed more upset about it then me, so I wanted to be sure you knew.]

Amurra rolled her eyes and threw her hands up exasperatedly, the briefly-touching moment over and done with. She mumbled something along the lines of 'You didn't have to recap. I just meant about the truth and love bit,' but didn't speak anything aloud. Left standing alone, she shook her head and called after Cirin. Was she supposed to take pity on him now? Because he had lived for four hundred years and only had a problem with slight memory lapse? Was she truly to believe his cause was noble now?

Ordinarily she would have let matters lie and let Shadowfire walk off, but something about his gentle manner irked her instead of putting her at ease, and in her twisted frame of mind it seemed the elf had something of a superiority complex and was only going on about ‘just causes’ to get under her skin. Why fight and die for a cause? None were worthy. The way she saw it, you could pick up five new causes to fight for on any street corner, but you only lived once.

Though it was understandable why she didn’t herself understand the manner in which he lived his life, really. Her own was…Well, she was not a ‘romantic fighter,’ as Cirin seemed to be. Putting it lightly, taking another’s life was, quite often, what put bread on her table. And he risked his life only because it “Was the right thing to do?”

The woman gave a deep sigh and pressed two fingers and a thumb to her temple,, the anger slowly seeping away to be replaced with a sort of indifferent exhaustion. As the elf turned around in response to her sharp, quick call, she fixed a strange look on him; a wry sort of smile accompanying a dark glare.

“Your interference was not appreciated, Cirin. …But…your help was. I thank you.”

She flashed a reasonably good attempt at a sincere smile and waited until he had retired to his tent; the watch hadn’t been switched over just yet, she didn’t think, but neither Aronai nor Steven had come near her, so either way she was happy. Alone under the stars once again, she moved closer to the dying embers of the fire and unrolled the map, pouring over the minute details. Possibly an hour later (she really didn’t know how much time had passed. Perhaps only a few minutes, or even the whole night?) the ground around her was covered with mixtures of Elvish writing, crude sketches of mountains and forests, old runes, and other such markings; one line of writing had been circled at the top of her dirt patch, which she now tapped triumphantly.

This was an old map; the Diamond Caves did not exist as such when it was drawn, and though some things had been relabeled and redrawn in the new language, this was not one of them. Loosely translated, the name came out to “Majendye,” but she had checked and cross-referenced, and was sure the place was the same. Amurra yawned and rolled the map up, then tucked it away among some fold of her clothing. Toganin lay on the ground just outside the circle of writing; Fajiera sat in the middle. Again she yawned, and decided her discovery would just have to wait. The young woman stretched, then lay down and curled up under the night sky, drifting off to sleep with little trouble.

[Whoah. Well, it was going well until I tried to end it. O.o’ I think my writing skills are going on strike.]

[Shadowfire05]

“Your interference was not appreciated, Cirin. …But…your help was. I thank you.”

A slight nod was all he gave her as reply, but as he walked to the edge of the camp to help keep watch he was pleased with her response. He knew it was hard for her to say that. The two of them were from completely different sides of the world with completely different views. He understood that and it would just take time before they found a common ground. For now Piotr's curse would have to keep the peace.

[Triar]

Piotr awoke. It was early morning. Steven was awake, sharpening his axe. Aronai was awake as well, starring at the large temple door. Piotr saw Cirin sleeping next to him. So Piotr snuck out as quiet as possible so Cirin wouldn't hear him and wake him up from his slumber. Outside, next to the dead fire, Amurra was sleeping with the map in hand.

Piotr stretched and let out a gasp. He breathed in the fresh air. The blood rushed to his brain making the world around him rock left and right. Sitting down, his head began to ache. The aching went away, slowly, then, he stood up again. Looking around, Aphrael was no where to be found. Piotr assumed that she went off exploring. So, Piotr went off exploring as well. Walking down the valley for five minutes, Piotr noticed a cave. He went inside. The cave was dark, but he could see far enough to continue to walk through. He saw a silhouette in the distance. It was Aphrael.

"Aphrael, what are you doing here?"

(OOC: I'm in school whilst doing this and it's nearly the end of class so I have to keep this short. But Sephrenia will continue it for me.)

[Sephrenia]

Aphrael turned angrily as she heard her name, she didnt like the idea that she had been followed from the camp. She turned and the angry, suspicious look melted away when she saw who it was. Piotr.

"Oh, Piotr" she mumbled and looked at the ground to try and hide the flush in her cheeks even if he couldnt see anyway.

"So? any reason why youre out here? alone?" he inquired.

"Oh you know, just having a look around in general.." She stuffed her amulet quickly back into her robes before Piotrs eyes adjusted to the darkness in the cave.

"Looking around in a cave?" He asked dubiously

"Just wandered in I guess.." She shifted uncomfortably

He'd obviously seen her awkwardness and decided to stop the questioning. He walked towards her and put an arm round her waist and steered her further into the cave. They walked further in the cave for about 5 minutes before she broke the rather awkward silence.

"Where are we going?" she asked nervously

"Nowhere in paticular" Piotr answered " I just thought you'd like to walk with me, correct me if Im wrong."

She smiled inwardly, he quite obviously knew of her.. interest in him.

"Hm, I guess so."

They carried on leisurely chatting between them, of her life before they had met on the dreary plains after the attack by the bandits then of his life before he escaped slavery. They walked and chatted like this for maybe 30 minutes, an hour, two? she couldnt think, but sooner or later it appeared they reached the end of the cave. There was light ahead. They exited the cave to find themselves at the top of the valley. Piotr nudged her and pointed across to the other side of the valley. Another cave entrance across from them.

"Come on" Piotr said and turned back to the cave. She followed slightly behind so she could be with her thoughts. Piotr obviously noticing this and not wanting her to be alone lagged a bit until she caught up.

"Uhm, Aphrael?" he asked, his awkwardness very apparent

"Yes?"

"Why did you stay with me? I mean, us, the group."

"Well, I guess you could say I wanted to stay close to a certain member of the group" She said smiling shyly at Piotr.

Piotr thought it over, 'Aronai, she's watching Aronai.' And as if she was reading his mind she slyly whispered to him.

"And its not Aronai.."

They walked on in silence from there on. Each mulling over their thoughts and suspicions. They eventually got back to the camp to find everyone up and about. There were several glances between William and Steven when they re-entered the camp together. She simply smiled to herself and walked into her tent and began to pack her things together knowing that on the discovery of this new cave they would be on the move soon.

"Right then ladies and gentlemen." Piotr said with a slight grin "We've got a lot of travelling to do today so lets get to it!"

The group gave a slight moan and started getting their things together, slowly. They ate then set off through the first cave, across a rather shaky wooden bridge that made Steven curse and into the second un-explored cave..

(ooc: I guess you can take it from there Triar :))

[Triar]

Aphrael turned around. "Oh, Piotr," she mumbled. She let a sigh of relief out of her. It was as if she thought it was someone else.

"So," Piotr paused for a second. "Any reason why you're out here, alone?" he inquired.

"Oh, you know," Aphrael smiled, "just having a look around in general." Aphrael fondled around with something around her neck and put it in her robe. "Looking around a cave?" Piotr asked. The obvious answer was that she indeed was looking around the cave.

"Just wandered in, I guess," Aphrael replied as she turned around again.

Piotr smiled. His eyes finally adjusted themselves to the dark. "I think we should go a little further," Piotr suggested, putting an arm around Aphrael's waist, walking further into the darkness of the cave.

They had been walking for about five minutes. "Where are we going?" Aphrael asked nervously.

Piotr smiled. "No where in particular. I just thought you'd like to walk with me," Piotr paused. "Correct me if I'm wrong."

Aphrael smiled and nodded. Piotr had a gut feeling that Aphrael had an interest in him. "Hm, I guess so," Aphrael answered, and they continued into the darkness of the cave.

The two continued a general chat between them. It began with Aphrael's life, and what she had done before she joined the group on the plains after the attack by the bandits. Then, the chat inevitably changed to Piotr's life and before he had escaped slavery. It would have been at least 45-minutes before they reached the end of the cave. There was light ahead. Both exiting the cave, Piotr and Aphrael found themselves at the top of the valley. There was a wooden bridge that crossed the valley that made its way to the other side. There was another cave on the other side. It was obvious that this was the only way to find the Diamond Caves. "I think we should get the others," Piotr suggested. Aphrael nodded.

"Come one," Piotr said, and they continued back through the cave. Aphrael lagged close behind Piotr. Piotr, noticind this, slowed down as well until she caught up.

"Um, Aphrael?" Piotr stuttered.

"Yes?"

"Why did you stay with me? I mean, us, the group."

"Well, I guess you could say I wanted to stay close to a certain member of the group," Aphrael replied with a smile.

Aronai. She's watching Aronai, Piotr thought.

"And it's not Aronai," Aphrael whispered.

She read my mind! Piotr joked to himself.

It was silence for most of the way out of the cave and towards the camp again. Piotr wondered that if it was not Aronai she was watching over, who was it? He came to a rather weird conclusion. She was watching over him? They reached the camp before Piotr could think a little more. Steven and William spotted the two. Piotr could see what the two were thinking about. Aphrael, noticing the obvious immaturity of the big boys, smiled, and entered her tent.

"Oooooo, what did you two sly devils get up to, aye?" Steven joked.

Piotr laughed. "Nothing."

"Sure, sure," William giggled.

Piotr turned towards the camp again. "Right then ladies and gentlemen," Piotr announced, "We've got a lot of travelling to do today, so, let's get to it!"

Steven gave off a slight moan. The other began to get their things together, packing up the tents, and eating the rest of their food.

The group went together into the cave. On the way, Amurra tripped a number of times. Aronai hit his head twice, and he cursed at how small the cave was. Steven patted Aronai on the back. "It's okay, Aronai. It's not your fault you're tall."

Coming out of the cave, the group went one-by-one over the rickety bridge. Entering the second cave, again, the scene went dark. However, the high roof of the cave had little openings in it, letting the sun shine right into the cave. Continuing on, a shout came from afar. Someone was screaming. Suddenly, the screaming stopped just as fast as it began. Something was down here, and they were about the find out exactly what it was...

(OOC: Fajiera Zahra's turn! Read your PM Zahra :))

[Fajiera Zahra]

[I tripped? A number of times? Silly Triar; you're just jealous 'cause I'm so much cooler than you. xD Only kidding, of course. Alright, got your PM, and please note that my, er, "action skills," have been taking a rather long nap, so it might come out a little odd, to say the least. And don't be offended if you all get yelled at; Amurra spent most of the night finding the caves and cleaning her blade, and now she's following Piotr instead and things are going to get messy again. :) Maybe someone needs to get more sleep...But anyway, I'll stop rambling now.]

Late in the morning when Amurra had been woken up, she copied all the markings she had made in the dirt down onto parchment and swept the ground clean. Her new discoveries as well as the original map were now tucked securely in the rucksack she carried, but before the young woman had time to share her finds Piotr announced it was time to move, and in the frenzy to break down camp no one had a free moment to lend an ear.

Hungry, tired, and feeling rather under-utilized, the woman was not at her brightest when the party began their trek through the caves. With the over-sized scythe to squeeze between walls somehow, she, more than once, caught the handle on a rock and stumbled, or lost her footing when she closed her eyes in a yawn and couldn't watch where she was going.

Zahra just opened her mouth to growl a curse when a shrill scream cut through the air. Her head snapped up and she stopped abruptly, causing those behind her to have a small pile-up. Annoyed, she waved their grumblings off with one hand and motioned for them to keep quiet; nothing. Quickening her pace, she jogged through the caves with the others, mumbling the occasional curse when she had to dodge rocks or, as was sometimes the case, other members of the party. And when they finally reached the mouth of the cave and emerged into daylight again, they stood on the cusp of a fair-sized valley, overlooking a rather grisly sight below.

A group of large, reptilian-looking creatures were gathered in the valley; they had short tails and short, stubby forearms, so stood on two legs, but each were equipped with a pair of wings and a set of nasty looking teeth. The screams which they had heard were, presumably, from the corpses that now served as the monsters newest meal; a smaller group of people stood huddled together on a rocky outcrop above the grisly scene. Amurra muttered something about 'spending half the night cleaning the blasted blade' and glared irritably at Piotr, who responded with a solemn nod. The assassin shrugged off her pack and tucked it away in some scattered rocks, then waited for the rest of the group to prepare themselves for battle.

And what a lovely bunch they were, too. Aronai was grinning like an idiot and Amurra stood off to the side, scythe at the ready, uttering a steady stream of curses through gritted teeth. Piotr stood up the head, grim and determined, with the ever-faithful William waiting by his side, while Steven the part-time warrior set his face stoically, weapon out and in hand. Aphrael hung in the back; not out of cowardice, but the woman was a healer--whether or not her fighting skills were remarkable, the group would be much better off with their one healer still alive to help, rather than lying dead in the front ranks. So the oddly paired group ventured down the hill, tense and cautious, each doing their best not to become faint of heart at the stench of blood and the hideous sights of the beasts feasting barbarically on human flesh.

Piotr spoke first in hushed tones, barely above a whisper. “Aphrael; stay out of the battle, if you can. When they’re distracted by us, move around and tend to those people on the hillside. Um…Aronai: you have more experience than I do. Know what these things are?”

“Monsters either way,” Aronai replied curtly. “Every man for himself, help those who need it, and watch each other’s backs. If Piotr gets mad, stay out of the way; Argoza might decide to “help us out” again.”

The group signaled their agreement; well, all except Fajiera, who grumbled something about ‘or woman,’ but then she too gave a nod. As one, the five turned to Piotr, the unofficial leader of this mad charade. He gave a nod, and immediately the group split and began running, each in the assigned directions.

About five of the creatures lurked amongst the dead bodies, each as tall as a large man and half again, and nearly doubly as wide. Carnage dripped from gaping jaws as the beasts turned to face the new antagonists; some took to the air, while a few others ran toward some select target, bloodied teeth glistening. Amurra caught one a deft slice across the neck, but as the creature spun back around she was bowled over by it’s tail, and landed hard. The message finally seemed to get across that it had died, and the heavy body began to keel over, but before the woman could get away the massive carcass landed with a dull thud, catching her arm underneath. She gave a strangled cry, but the others had problems of their own and couldn’t, at the moment, afford to help.

Piotr was chasing after a solitary reptilian being that had caught sight of Aphrael herding the terrified nomads out of the valley; one wing was completely missing and the other hanging limp and useless, flapping occasionally, dejectedly, behind. It lunged forward and snapped at the young leader—he nearly dodged, though would no doubt have a neat scrape where some teeth just caught his shoulder. A few deft maneuvers with his sword, however, and the second creature was down. Piotr rushed back into the fray; two bodies had fallen at the hands of Aronai, but even that great warrior looked rather bloodied and bruised and worse for the wear. Steven and William were bringing down a particularly large and fearsome beast together, and except for some minor cuts and rather dirty clothes the two of them seemed very well off.

The battle wasn’t drawn out for an extreme length of time, but was exhaustive nonetheless, and now that the threat had been removed the four men rested a moment, and got their breath back. Aphrael was heading back down towards them with the scraggly group in tow, and as Piotr was checking each for wounds and damage a weak voice chimed up, dripping with sarcasm and ire despite (or because of, possibly) the less-than-pleasurable situation.
“A little help here, if you please?”

[Meh. >.<”]

[Shadowfire05]

(OOC Cirin would be happy to help IF YOU HAD REMEMBERED HE WAS THERE :-p I can't believe you forgot your arguing buddy Fajiera, Thanks... I see how much I mean to you :( *sob* I don't have time to write myself into the battle because i am writing a paper for class at the moment.)

[Triar]

(OOC Cirin would be happy to help IF YOU HAD REMEMBERED HE WAS THERE :-p I can't believe you forgot your arguing buddy Fajiera, Thanks... I see how much I mean to you :( *sob* I don't have time to write myself into the battle because i am writing a paper for class at the moment.)

(OOC: Ahahahaha! So true lol... I'll continue after Cirin puts himself into the battle, plus, I don't have time now. Lol, that's still funny :p)

[Fajiera Zahra]

[Holy crap! ><! Ohm'goshIcan'tbelieveitI'mSOsorry! I don't know how I could have forgotten you! (Possibly because I wrote it around four in the morning while I was supposed to be writing a research paper that counted for about a quarter of my grade? But seriously, that's NO excuse.) Wow. I...How could I...? My humble appy-polly-loggies, friend. I'll wait for you if you want, or I'd be more than happy to edit my post and add you in. (Oh! Wait! I have an excuse...It's Triar's fault! Blame him! I was so worried about coming up with a battle scene that would please the great master that reality just snuck away and all coherant thoughts were erased from my mind. Or something. See? Not my fault. ^^! :Lame attempt at a comeback.:) -Sobs-]

[Shadowfire05]

(OOC LOL its totally ok Feji ha ha. I know u didn't do it on purpose and reading that response made me laugh plenty to make up for it. So don't worry about it. I will add a small little add-on tomorrow morning with me covering the rear or something :) No hard feelings :) Goober )

[Sephrenia]

Hmm, so Cirin is a rear-covering kinda guy is he? *notes it down for later*

:D

[Fajiera Zahra]

[LMAO Sephrenia! Yeah, he's making me feel guilty now, but I bet he's pretty happy to cover our rears. ~.^ Lol, Cirin.]

[Triar]

(OOC: Oh yes, everybody blames me... *sigh* Okay, I admit, I asked you nicely to post a battle scene. However! I did not say to LEAVE OUT CIRIN did I? No! Of course I didn't. The blame must rest in your hands Fajiera. I'm sorry... :p - News flash! SkullBearer has left these forums. I don't know why. But he said we can control his character (Aronai) however we wish. Just don't kill him :) And that's it. I'm still waiting for ShadowFire to put himself into the battle so I can continue through the new valley and caves :))

[Shadowfire05]

(OOC ya I fell asleep this morning and only have 10 min before class this will be short...as to the rear thin...DIE...all of you...gonna miss aranoi :( )

Cirin came running down through the caves. He had been checking out an odd sound on his watch at the camp. When he suddenly felt a burst of fear and anxiety with his telepathy he came bursting back to the camp only to find the party gone. He moved into the caves faster than a mouse retreating to his home.

"They left me, oooh they are gonna get it."

As he emerged from the caves and came upon the battle he noticed the party was almost done with the monsters, but a small group were hidden off to the side in ambush. He quickly pulled his bow and began to pick them off. They weren't very tough against arrows. He let the anger at being left pour into his arrows.

"“A little help here, if you please?”

He turned to see Amurra with her arm stuck under a fallen beast. He laughed quite loudly at her. Then smiling with a gentle and happy grin said,

"Serves you right."

[Triar]

Amurra, being stuck under the demon, said with sarcasm "A little help here, if you please?"

"Serves you right!" Cirin laughed.

In a blink of an eye, Piotr put his sword to Cirin's throat. "You think having your arm almost chopped off by one of these beasts is funny?" Piotr whispered. "How would you like it if the only way to save you was to carve your arm off? Not so funny now, is it?"

Cirin hastily shook his head. Steven and William watched as Piotr slowly took his sword away from Cirin's throat. Piotr turned around, stepped onto a rock, and sat down cross legged. Watching Amurra stuck under the beast wasn't something to laugh about. It reminded Piotr of his sister, Romina. When still in slavery, an anvil fell on her arm. The slavers laughed as Piotr made attempts to move the anvil, yet the slavers continued to laugh. However, the slavers saved Romina, but her arm was nearly unmovable as the slavers didn't allow healers to heal the slaves.

Aronai, Aphrael, Steven and William all pushed the beast off of Amurra's arm. Aphrael immediately put her healing techniques to use. Cirin, shocked, stood still as Piotr walked past him. Evil glaring in his eyes. Death to you. Piotr wished he had the ability to talk into Cirin's head. It was there where Piotr now didn't trust the ranger who saved his life.

Continuing up the valley, back to the cave, Piotr looked around. There was no other caves to be found. Piotr began to kick the rocky walls of the valley in boredom, accidentally kicking a trigger that looked like a rock, revealing another cave.

"Hey!" Piotr shouted. "I found another cave!"

Aronai, Steven and William walked up towards the new cave entrance. The opening was five meters away from the first cave exit. The cave was lighter than the previous cave. Piotr could at least see a little further in the cave.

Aphrael finished healing Amurra. "As good as new," Aphrael smiled, and continued up the valley. Together, Cirin and Amurra joined the rest of the party at the top of the valley. The party entered the cave. Steven, being the last one, entered the cave, and the cave entrance closed. It was darker than Piotr first believed, and they continued to travel through the vast darkness of the cave. It wasn't long before the party reached the exit of the cave which revealed a second bridge crossing. Piotr could see the dead raptors and T-Rex in the distance.

The party, one-by-one, crossed the rickety bridge. Each step made the wood of the bridge creek. Everyone got across safely, and the party entered a third cave. It wasn't long before the party reached the inner-depths of the cave. Piotr stepped on another trigger whilst walking through the cave, and the floor of the cave collapsed. The party were engulfed in dust as they landed in a slide filled with water, and they all made their way down the slide. The fun lasted only thirty seconds before the party flew off the slide and into the ground.

Slowly standing up and looking around, Piotr saw that they were in another cave. It was filled with diamonds. They had reached the Diamond Caves. Steven pointed to the roof of the cave. A golden spear was floating beyond reach.

"Well that's the Golden Rod," Aronai exclaimed, pointing out the obvious.

(OOC: And that's all for me! Haha, Shadowfire, I didn't think you should have got the personal biff between you two into this RP as it has totally backfired onto you ;) Oh and Shadowfire, read your PM. It has something special written in it.)

[Shadowfire05]

(OOC just to let everyone know, I wasn't bringing my "biff" with Fajiera in because i don't have a biff with her. My character was "forgotten" in her post, ok no big deal people make mistakes. However, that left me in a precarious spot. Since he didn't get mentioned he wasn't there. So really the only way to bring him onto the scene IMO was to play as if the party forgot him. And if your whole party forgot you how would you feel? The comment "Serves you right" was meant as a friendly :-p to Amurra, because I figured the next person to write would have had CIRIN HELP MOVE THE THING off her. I would have written this in myself, but as I said i was writing this when I should have been writing a paper for class and could afford no more time to write Cirin helping get the thing off her in. So perhaps next time you could simply ask me to edit it instead of my making my character look like a heartless immature kid. Remember this is my first RP ever, so maybe I could get a mulligan or two on the backfires. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

Triar check you PM i have a question about something. I have a test here in about 30min so i need to study for it, then while i'm in my next class I will think about how to write the post Triar, i have a really good idea for it. I will post later this afternoon, sorry my classes go late. Wish me luck on my test :) )

[Shadowfire05]

Cirin let the fustration of the misunderstanding of his statement earlier roll off him. He was now transfixed upon the splendor of the diamon caves. The ground was laced with a brilliant forest of diamonds. The stalks ranged in all sizes. Some where only a few inches tall, others were tall as orcs. They were the ones that really made the cave amazing. The cave made a dome around the field of diamonds and at the center of top of the dome, was a round plate with a lightning bolt etched in it. Hanging just below that, about 80 feet in the air, was a golden rod. A very dull yellow aura glowed around the scepter.

Now the real magic of the cave came to light. The yellow aura's glow danced through the gleaming pillars of diamond, sending lights cascading across the room in sparatic patterns.

"Reminds me of a thunderstorm," William marvled, "see how it flickers with the pulsing of the aura."

"It truly is a marvel, now how do we get the scepter?" Good ol Aronai, always straight to the point.

No one had a clear idea of what to do, Cirin decided to hold his thoughts to himself as the party hadn't quite gotten a feel for him yet, and his last few conversations hadn't worked out too well.

"We could make a grapple out of one of the diamonds" offered Steven. The idea was quite sound, since diamond could have easily cut into the rock and held, but the group had nothing to carve a diamond with nor the time. Even though the walls were textured they could not be climbed either, so that idea was out too.

Aronai was the first to come up with a good idea. Since he could jump much more powerfully than the rest of the party he would try a wall jump. He climbed to the highest crystal he could find, crouched low reminding the party of a panther about to pounce, and with all of the force he could will in his body he sprange upwards towards part of the dome. For a split second his hands and feet met with the wall, he let the wall absorb some of his power and used recoil to bounce back off. His timing and style were perfect, one would think he did this kind of thing every day.

The jump seemed perfect, until when his hand was a mere yard from the scepter, his body began to move oddly. It was as if he was being pushed away from the thing with some sort of bubble. With almost all of his momentum gone Aronai plumeted towards the forest of diamonds, and what once was a beatiful site, now became a pit of menacing spikes ready to impail the warrior. In unison Piotr, Amurra, and Cirin bolted to try to catch him. If it had been anyone but Aronai all would have been for not, for Aronai new they would not reach him, he concentrated on his muscles and contorted his body so he just missed one of the pikes of diamond. A loud pop rang throughout the cave. He landed and rolled slaming into the side of one of the larger diamonds.

"Some sort of force repelled me," he moaned, "its not that strong, had I been standing next to it I could have reached through it, but since I was in flight it repelled me." Aphrael uneasily began to check Aronai over and tend to him.

Piotr with a huge sense of fustration about him looked to the party, "Any more ideas?" His gaze came upon Cirin. "How bout you elf?" He reluctantly asked.

Cirin bowed, "I have an idea of how we can get it, yes. It will require a volunteer though." Piotr quickly getstured to himself. "Take off anything of weight that you are carrying; sword, pouches, backpack. Now relax and hold on."

Cirin closed his eyes and a serene look of concentration washed over his face. Suddenly Piotr lifted off the ground. Startled he began to move about, "Hold still!" Cirin's stern voice warned. It was clear that excess movement made the task harder on him. Gently and slowly he telekinetically lifted Piotr towards the the sceptor. Piotr felt the barrier pulsing against him, and obviously so did Cirin, as his serenity began to fade into a winced look of pain and concentration. Piotr pushed through the barrier and just before he his hand grasped the elaborate handle of the sceptor, horror washed over the party.

"Not good...."

Piotr's eyes rolled back into his head, and a malicious low voice began to echo encatations as Piotr grabbed the golden rod. "Argoza's spirit!" Cried William.

Cirin fell to one knee fighting against Argoza's flailing and holding up Piotr. He could feel his grasp slipping, Aphrael ran towards Cirin to try to steady him, but too late, Piotr began to plumet downward. Silence fell over the cave, there was nothing anyone could do. Piotr would die...

"no....."

Cirin opened his eys and the cave seemed to darken, and suddenly blue light began to battle with the yellow light dancing on the wall. Aphrael stopped dead in her tracks. Cirin was standing erect, staring straight at Piotr who stopped halfway through his fall. Cirin's eyes burned as blue flame poured out the of them. The lights on the wall battled, neither yeilding to the others will. They clashed against each other, and slowly the yellow began to win as Piotr came nearer to the ground. Amurra and William bolted towards Piotr, they had to subdue him. Piotr quickly dove upon William, grabbed him, and held him in the air by his neck raising the sceptor as if to crush him with it. The wind trickled off the rod as it spun for William's head. Suddently the saphyr shattered they yellow lighting the cave with a brilliant blue, and the sceptor froze in mid air held by some unseen force.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Piotr yelled as he dropped the sceptor, his true spirit fought to the surface and beat Argoza back. Amurra, taking no chances, grabbed him and pinned him against a crystal shard as Steven and Aranoi rushed to help her.

A few moments passed, "I'm alright now, what happened." Piotr insisted. They eased their grip and turned to regard Cirin. He smiled, swayed, and slumped into Aphraels arms who had run to catch him. His body was completely limp, taxed to the extreme, and Aphrael would no doubt have her hands full reviving him.

Without warning the room shook and the seal at the top crumbled and disapeared a white light shown down onto the floor and the room crackled with energy. A portal slowly opened. On the other side was the entrance to the temple. Aphrael and Steven each took one of Cirin's arms over their shoulder, and the whole group stepped through the portal.

(OOC ok wow, that took a lot out of me lol. I will leave the temple to you ladies. Hope yal enjoyed :) )

[Sephrenia]

(ooc: I was hoping that Fajiera would post first but it seems she's busy so I guess I should go now as I have an abundance of time. :P)

Aphrael blinked as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. She jumped slightly as a hand rested on her shoulder. She turned, it was the elf, Cirin. She gave him a slightly nervous smile. It was bad enough that they had one possessed in the group but after Cirin's little trick in the diamond caves she was having to watch not only Piotr now but Cirin for signs for interference from other planes.

Piotr whispered in the dark, "Any lights?"

"I can help there" Aphrael offered.

She began the mutter the incantations needed to bring light to them. After about 30 seconds she frowned.

"Its not working. Ive never failed with that spell.." She mumbled, slightly embarrased.

"Great time for you to fail with your magic, healer." William said jokingly.

She was about to strike back with a remark about his affinity for dodos but Aronai interjected,

"This place is a vortex"

"A what?" Piotr blinked.

"A mana vortex, no magic will work here. Welcome to my world" He said with a smirk.

"See, told you it wasnt my fault.." she said acidly to William.

He shrugged and turned to talk to Amurra who was admiring her rather deadly looking scythe with love it seemed.

"Well we might as well get moving. If we seperate into groups then we can find a way through here much quicker." Piotr suggested, "Amurra you go with William, Steven if you go with Aronai and Aph if you come with me."

William looked rather pleased with his coupling while Amurra simply rolled her eyes and Aronai simply paired up with Steven.

"Wait" Amurra said " I think it'd be better if we went in threes, its much safer."

"I agree" nodded Aronai

Aphrael moved away to go with Steven and Aronai, probably to the annoyance of Piotr and Piotr walked off with Amurra and William.

Steven pulled out some torches and lit them eventually with some flint and handed them round the group. They walked along the corridors of the temple, there was markings on the walls which she regularly stopped and copied down slowing the group, much to the annoyance of Steven. Eventually they came to a open room with 4 entrances. In the middle of the room was a large tall stepped pyramid which was flat at the top. They could see something that resembled a sort of table, probably a sacrificial altar or a plinth. Behind that there seemed to be a man, if it was a man that is, it was at least 7 or 8ft tall.

"Come on" Aronai said quietly but commandingly.

They began the climb to the top. As they got closer and closer Aphrael noticed that it wasnt a man, but a statue. A statue of a man. The man was standing with hands on hips but was slightly thrusting his pelvis in a rather indecent fashion.

"Must be some sort of God related to erm.. fertility" She said with a slight giggle at the end.

"Aye, I'd definetly say fertility" Steven said with a wink at her. She blushed furiously while Aronai sighed impatiently.

"Whats this" Aronai questioned pointing to the altar. There was a hole in the middle. "Could the rod go here?"

"Possible" She replied.

"Well I guess we better wait here, hope that Piotr and the others get here so we can get out of here and back on track."

(ooc: I guess I'll end it there for the min, leave any scenes of fighting to Fajiera because I know she loves them so much :p)

[Shadowfire05]

(OOC Oooh I like the twist about the no lights. Just one question? uuh, where is Cirin during all the searching? And just a little FYI, Cirin isn't possesed the way Piotr is, the flaming blue eyes is him taping into some part of his OWN spirit that he doesn't understand becasue he has forgotten it. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!)

[Triar]

(OOC: Hahaha! Poor ole Cirin, always gets forgotten. Cirin can be with Piotr, Amurra and William. But it's Fajiera's turn :D)

[Sephrenia]

ack! sorry Shadow :S

and about the blue eyes thingy. To Aphrael it must of seemed like he was possessed. Im just putting it from my char's point of view. how was she to know? :)

[Shadowfire05]

(OOC Point taken Sephrenia. And don't worry about me being left out its cool :) )

[Sephrenia]

Look at it this way, Cirin gets to be with his beloved Amurra now :p ;)

[Shadowfire05]

O cmon, do I look like triar? He's got both the womens, Piotr/Aphrael, William/Amurra, it pays to have split personalities.
Is Fajiera on vacation?

[Triar]

(OOC: If Fajiera doesn't post by tomorrow after I get back from school, I'll post and we can go from there.)

[Triar]

Leading on through the temple, Piotr shined his torch towards the walls. Inscriptions filled the walls with unknown writing. "Can you make Argoza read that, too?" William joked.

Piotr smirked and the four continued on. It wasn't long before they reached a dead end. The wall blocking their way had a large painting that showed a man digging the golden rod into the ground, in front of another man. The group made their way back to the main hall and entered the next corridor. A series of sharp turns led them to another hall. Steven, Aronai and Aphrael were standing next to a statue, gazing at the beautiful structuring of the inside of the temple.

"Find anything?" Piotr asked.

"Yeah. Try to put the golden spear in here," Aphrael replied. Piotr walked towards the statue. The statue of the man was the same as the man in the painting. And there was a small hole in front of the statue. Slowly, Piotr placed the golden rod into the hole. Suddenly, the ground started to shake.

"What's happening?!" Steven panicked as he stepped back from the statue.

A golden plated statue burst from the ground and grabbed the golden rod. The shaking stopped, and the golden statue pointed at Piotr. The group, readied for combat, soon realized that the golden moving statue was trying to help them when he signalled to the group to follow him.

Following the statue, the group walked into a series of rooms, and finally finding themselves in a large chamber. The walls rose high, and there was a dome-like window at the top of the roof. Two golden daggers sat on an alter. Amurra wowed and immediately claimed them. Climbing up, Amurra grabbed the daggers, and jumped back off from the alter. She did some dagger magic, spinning the daggers around her hands, balancing them from the blade to the hilt.

"Perfect," Amurra smiled. "These are perfectly made daggers!" She screamed excitedly. The golden statue pointed to a wall which had two narrow holes in. The dagger obviously went into the wall. "Oh, you're joking aren't you?" Amurra sighed. William and Steven began to giggle until Amurra starred at the two, evily, scaring them, and the duo stopped laughing.

Slowly, Amurra put the daggers into the perfect fitting holes, and the wall began to move, revealing a small crack at the bottom right corner. The golden statue smiled and dissappeared. "Well, that ain't the wierdest thing we've seen the past few days," Steven joked, and crawled through the crack.

Piotr laughed and gave Aronai a pat on the back. "You do know they do say that 'size doesn't matter', do you?" Aronai cursed at Piotr's joke, and crawled through the crack with some tremendous difficulty. The others followed.

Through the crack, the group found themselves in the middle of a misty swamp. Searching through the swamp, Aphrael lost her balance and fell over into a large amount of mud. Her face revealed a very muddy appearance making everybody burst into laughter. Aphrael turned her face and blushed, but from the laughter, Steven too fell over in the mud. The fun and games stopped, and Piotr checked the map. He knew that they were in the swamps, however, he had no idea where exactly.

(OOC: Next! I wasn't very creative.. Boring post.. But it'll continue onto some action, I'm sure.)

[Shadowfire05]

(OOC lol now all three of you have written a post without my name anywhere in it. Are yal trying to give me a hint :-p )

[Triar]

(OOC: Well instead of me having to write "So Piotr, Amurra, William and Steven did such and such" I put it "So the four did such and such" instead. You ARE there, just not mentioned by name. But I didn't neglect the fact that you were indeed THERE. So :p. But let's keep it going. We can always continue even if Fajiera isn't here :))

[Fajiera Zahra]

[Nya! Please, please forgive my unexpected little leave of absence there. Been on my deathbed. :Cough: Okay, not really, but I've been home sick and haven't been able to get on. Meanwhile, the work piles up... :Cringe: Don't have much time now, just wanted to stop in while I finally had a minute to catch up and let you know where I've been. I'll try to post soon, but if someone gets on before me feel free to continue and play Fajiera as an NPC (within reason, my dear Triar. Lol.) for now: I don't know how long I'll be. Again, though, I'll try to post ASAP.

Oh...Poor Cirin! xD Anyway, William hasn't got me yet, so don't give up. I mean, I know you can't help but love me, right? Lol.
Advice: I just thought of this...Maybe we should double check profiles? I think there's rather a fairly large age span between Will. and Amurra. Not that that's ever stopped anyone before, so feel free to completely disregard this last statement and continue playing as before.

I'm rambling now. Heading back to bed; I'll respond when I get the chance. My appy-polly-loggies, all!]

[Shadowfire05]

(OOC I mean, I know you can't help but love me, right? Lol. You know me so well ;) Get well soon. I noticed the 4 thing right after you posted Triar, my bad. I will post sometime tomorrow evening I hope, we have the A&M/OU game all day tomorrow afternoon.)

[Shadowfire05]

(ooc ok i am pretty busy today so someone else pls post something, its been a hectic weekend, Football game, renaissance festival, outfit inspections, AAAHHH!)

[Triar]

(OOC: Well I might as well continue on.)

The swamps were misty; fog surrounding the area. The fog was very thick, allowing the group to see only one hundred meters into the distance. This was to make the rest of the journey very difficult.

"So these are the Granger swamps then?" Amurra pointed out the obvious, wiping the mud off her face.

"Well, sir Piotr," Steven began. "Which way shall we go from here?"

Triar looked at the map. The Heelos Ocean was to the North, as was the docks. And the docks was the next destination. "North," Piotr blurted, "this way." Piotr began walking, continuing to look at the map. The others followed.

The party remained silent for about five kilometers, excluding minor peeps and squeels made by Aphrael and Amurra who stepped in mass amounts of mud. The path was long, and hard. It swamps seemed to be a huge, never-ending area of mud, mangroves, bush, and trees. Piotr and the others tried to step on the little patches of grass that would allow them to step through the swamp with ease.

Something in the distant screamed. It wasn't a being, but an animal. The party drew their weapons and kept close and aware. Another scream came from the distance. However, this scream was louder, and lasted longer. Suddenly, the animal scream in the distance was consumed by a huge splash of water. The water below them began to move slightly. Noticing this, Piotr held his hand up making the whole party stop.

"Something's in the water," Piotr whispered, pointing to the water.

The group stayed silent. The water too, went silent.

"Maybe it's nothing," William assumed out loud.

"Maybe..." Piotr partially agreed, and signalled the group to continue on.

Continuing on, William lost his balance and fell into the water of the swamp. "Help me out!" William panicked, and Cirin dragged William out of the water. William sat down with his legs still in the water.

"Are you all right?" Cirin asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine -" At that second, William was dragged into the swamp by an unseen creature.

"William!" screamed Cirin, readying his bow and arrow.

In a split second, Aphrael's leg was grabbed by a tentacle and she too was dragged into the water. "No!" Amurra screamed.

"Damn it!" Piotr readied his weapon, as did the rest of the party.

The group remained silent for a moment. "This thing can sense things in the water. Therefore, if I do this.." Piotr removed his armor and jumped into the water.

"What on earth are you doing?" Aronai questioned. "Are you crazy?"

"I'll be back," Piotr smiled. With a dagger close in hand, Piotr went under the water.

It wasn't long before an obvious struggle occurred in the water. The party helplessely watched the water bubble and move about. "Oh I hope you know what you're doing, lad," Steven said to himself, lifting his axe.

A huge tentacle emerged from the water with Piotr in the tentacle's grasp. In a split second, the huge swamp monster emerged from the water, tossing William and Aphrael into the distance. Cirin let an arrow go, hitting one of the monster's tentacles. It seemed to do no damage. "Go for the head!" Aronai ordered, dodging the tentacle attacks from giant beast.

"That's a Kraken!" Steven gasped, etching his axe into one of the Kraken's tentacles. The tentacle struggled, lifting Steven from the ground. Steven dragged the axe out of the tentacle and fell into the water.

Dodging and slashing, Amurra jumped on one of the tentacles, wrapped around it with her legs, and began slashing away. A cry of pain was let out by the Kraken as it tried to toss Amurra off of its tentacle.

Cirin continued to shoot his arrows towards the Kraken's head, but the Kraken continued to block the arrows with its tentacles. "Let me go you filthy beast!" Piotr screamed as the Kraken squeezed him. "Aaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrggghhh!!!" Piotr screamed as the Kraken squeezed tighter and tighter.

Out of the distance, a fire ball was flung from Aphrael's hand and onto one of the Kraken's tentacles. The Kraken panicked and turned towards Aphrael. Cirin circled the Kraken, and one arrow finally hit the Kraken in the head. The Kraken screamed in pain and turned its attention towards Cirin. "Uh-oh," was all Cirin could say before he was slammed against a large stone.

"Heeeeeeelp!" Piotr screamed, struggling to get free. Steven jumped as high as he could and chopped off half of one of the Kraken's tentacles. The Kraken screamed in pain, and turned his attention on Steven. All Piotr could do was watch in pain and Steven was picked up and slammed onto the ground a number of times, before being tossed away into the distance.

Amurra continued to make her way towards the head of the Kraken. The Kraken some how jumped from the water, and landed heavily making Amurra lose her grip, and fell into the water. Out of no where, Aronai jumped onto the head of the Kraken, and began stabbing it crazily. Blood spewed from the Kraken's head, and the Kraken quickly spun around and jumped from the water again, making Aronai lose his balance and fall into the water. Aronai was then trampled by the Kraken's head. Blood emerged from the water from where Aronai was trampled.

"AAAAARGOOOOOZAAAAAA!" screamed Piotr before a huge gush of white light shone into Piotr's body. Piotr's eyes rolled into the back of his head, and his body let off a white emerald glow. Piotr, or Argoza, slipped out of the Kraken's grasp, and fell into the water. The Kraken turned around and struggled to look for Piotr. For a moment, the Kraken went quiet. Cirin woke up from his unconsciousness, and he looked at the Kraken, and the Kraken looked at Cirin. The Kraken lifted one of its tentacles, and readied itself to slam Cirin.

Cirin closed his eyes and readied himself for death. At that moment, the Kraken's head exploded, and Piotr flew from the Kraken's head. With a smile, Piotr looked around and saw Cirin. Slowly, he walked up to Cirin, and put his sword to Cirin's throat. "It is your time now, Cirin." Piotr raised his sword, and with all his might, lunged at Cirin. Out of no where, William stopped Piotr's attack and punched Piotr to the ground.

"Bad mistake," Piotr said and stood up. His body was still glowing with an emerald white as he attacked William. The tremendous force from Argoza and William dualing made the swords spark. Attack, block, attack, block. The attacks rhythm was in tune, and the two battled like madmen. William was knocked to the ground, and Piotr raised his sword. He struggled to strike the last attack.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

Piotr began to float, and he dropped his weapon and arched his back. "I OWN YOU! YOU BELONG TO ME! SET YOURSELF FREE!" Argoza screamed in Piotr's head.

"NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NOOOOOOOO!" The white emerald glow left Piotr's body. Piotr dropped to the ground, unconscious. William stood over Piotr, and shook his head.

"This curse is worse than I first though," Cirin said, walking towards the unconscious Piotr.

"He has amazing strength," William sighed. "He could have killed everyone."

"Poor soul." Cirin and William stood and looked over Piotr for a few seconds before realizing that they needed to look for the others.

(OOC: Woo! Took a lot out of me...)

[Fajiera Zahra]

[Eh...When you said 'sir Triar,' were you meaning Piotr, or have I missed something? >.O']

The young woman had risen from the water and, getting tentative footing on the wet, uneven ground, renewed her attack, methodically dodging the whipcord-tenticles and moving in the strike them with Toganin. Focused only on battle, she noticed too late the surfacing of the Argoza spirit within Piotr; Amurra turned to flee, but was tripped up by a groping tenticle, and as she rose again the Kraken's head exploded, sending a spray of hot blood into the air.

She had seen Steven flung away; Aphrael she had lost sight of, and Piotr she didn't particularly care to look for. Beyond he line of sight came cries from Cirin and William, and then the unmistakable sound of steel on steel, but the woman didn't turn to look at what was going on. The scythe was gripped firmly in one gloved hand, it's bloody blade poised, as though a dying cresent moon, above her head. Warm, thick liquid oozed down the smooth handled and over her fingers, doing it's small part to add to the thick, acrid stench that now lingered about the place.

Zahra spun sharply at the touch of a hand on her shoulder; only William, coming to account for her. Cirin led Steven in towards the group; Aphrael was kneeling beside Piotr's limp body, no doubt attempting a heal. Amurra wondered vaugly if she'd be able to help him: she was in a weak state herself after the battle, and Zahra knew that the loss of magic had lingering effects. Well, for herself, anyway; she had seen the fireball Aphrael conjured, and it seemed to be deadly enough.

Once her initial reaction to William was over and she had calm, she returned to the group with the others; Piotr was just coming around, and Aphrael backed away, a pleased smile on her weary face. The assassin sent a vicious glare towards the barely-concious man on the ground as she peeled off a glove and attempted to wipe some of the sticky blood from her face and hair. Amurra cast a sullen glance down at her robes; nothing could be done about those now. She returned her sharp, hawkish look of irritance to the 'leader' of the group as he struggled to stand again.

"..." Whatever stinging remark she had been about to make, the woman suddenly thought the better of it, and relented. Never one to back down from a battle, however, she opened her mouth again to deliver another, if not so serious, blow. "I have had to do more laundry since I met you...Ye gods, man! Try not to make such a mess of things!"

[...Because I couldn't think and we needed some semblance of comic relief. >.>"]

[Shadowfire05]

nobody post! i will finish when i get back! OOC btw ;)

[Shadowfire05]

Cirin slowly recovered from his grogyness as the party journeyed through the temple. Thanks to Aphrael he was doing much better off. Her magic had revived him after he had passed out from his exhaustive battle with Argoza. He had finally gathered enough strength that he no longer needed her shoulder, but as he removed himself he felt a great sense of frustration and uneasyness towards him. It was obvious what it was.

"I'm not like Piotr" he said in a soft exhausted voice, "Its some part of my own spirit that I don't understand. I can only seem to call on the power when someone is in trouble. The last time it happened a band of thieves was robbing and attaking a family taking a midnight stroll through the forest. It is some part of my past." Aphrael looked at him, not completely convinced that his powers were trustworthy, but she seemed more comfortable with it at least now.

The two parties had converged and Piotr used the rod to open the way to the swamps, but as light poured in, Cirin noticed something on the wall as he walked out. It matched the ones engraved on his sword and his bow. He wanted to study the mural that it was in, but now was not the time. After he helped Piotr he would think on such things.

The only thing that made the swamp bareable was Amurra and Aphraels constant squeaks from the mud. Cirin found it quite amusing that Amurra was so tough, yet getting mud on her turned her into a mouse. He unintentionally let out a chuckle, which was immediately accompanied by a sharp stare from Amurra. He grinned and kept walking.

He started to think about the emblem in the temple, and he stroked his hand over the one on his bow. Reality was quickly shunted back into view as a scream crackled through the swamp.

After a few words the party continued slowly until William slipped into the water.

"Are you all right?" Cirin asked him as he pulled him from the water.

"Yeah, I'm fin....." William disapear from sight as he was pulled under the water!

"WILLIAM!?" Cirin opened himself up with his mind to try to find him, but what he found terrified him.

Piotr emerged from the water with the head of a huge Kraken. Immideately Cirin let loose an arrow at the arm to try and get it to drop Piotr, but to no avail.

"Go for the head!" cried Piotr, and almost as he said it Cirin's bow came to life, pouring a hail of arrows from the music of its strings. Yet none of them managed to land. Cirin was dumbfounded, never had he missed a mark. Yet with every shot the creature batted away his arrows. A sense of dread fell over him as he realized some unseen evil force was helping this creature against them, but they would have to find out who or what later.

His chance finally came when Aphrael distracted the beast with a fireball, he aimed for, what he could best figure as a preasure point, of its head and let the arrow fly. The arrow disapeared into the mass of flesh. He readied to fire another...

"Uh-o..." Cirin was cut short as a huge tentalce smashed into his side sending him into a huge stone.

Barely concious Cirin's heart sank as he could do nothing but watch the beast trample Aranoi, and send Stephen into the water of the swamp. Watching the Kraken send Amurra carreening into the air and seeing her disapear beneath the swamp made him furious and frantic. Thankfully, she rose up from the water unharmed, eyes burning like stars with rage, he almost felt sorry for what the Kraken was in for from her. She couldn't do it alone though.

"Get Up!" He screamed to himself, but just as the thought ended, the Kraken was ready to deal its fatal blow to him. He peacefully closed his eyes, summoning all concentration to himself, everything slowed down. He braced his foot against the rock and rolled just as the tentacle fell. Water and mud splashed everywhere as the elf narrowly missed its fall, but Cirin realized the tentacle had fallen because the creature had been slain. Piotr burst through the Kraken shredding its flesh, and the smell of burning skin filled the air as his white hot sword cut through it.

Cirin had only rolled inches from where he was, just enough to avoid the tentacle that he now leaned on. Piotr approached him, and Cirin didn't need his telepathy to tell that malice and bloodlust were dripping from him like sweat. The tip of Piotr's sword came to rest under his chin.

"It is your time now, Cirin." Argoza cocked the sword back like a viper ready to strike, but before Cirin could react to Argoza's deathblow, William knocked him back. "Bad mistake" snikered Argoza. Cirin drew his sword and threw it to William. The two now began a dance of death as their swords clashed and heued at each other.

Cirin reached out and pleaded to Piotr, "Fight him Piotr, Fight Him!."

"I OWN YOU! YOU BELONG TO ME! SET YOURSELF FREE!"

Piotr fought back the demon and fell to the ground. His will had prevailed once more.

Everyone quickly gathered around Piotr. Amurra especially looked put out as she made the party aware of her laundry troubles, but Cirin was not laughing. He was frantic, fighting to return to his own two feet. Stephen ran to him to help, "What is it Cirin?" His body too bruised and beaten to talk in normal tongue, looked at Stephen, who now saw a picture of a murky pit of water nearby with cloth barely bobbing on the surface.

"Aranoi!" Stephen dropped Cirin and rushed for the pool, Amurra was close behind. They saw his cloak barley on top of the water and grabbed it. They dragged him to shore in a bloody mess. He was severely wounded. Gashes all over his body like he had been tangled in barbed wire, his right shoulder looked dislocated, and his eyes were swollen shut.

"Ahprael HELP!"

(OOC I will give sephrina the chance to post now, I'm sorry this post is kinda off with your Fajiera, I had it almost finished and had to leave, but before I typed, "no one post" you had posted yours so I had to go back and modify some stuff. Good post btw ;) )

[Triar]

[Eh...When you said 'sir Triar,' were you meaning Piotr, or have I missed something? >.O']

(OOC: What are you talking about? I.. I said no such thing! Read it again :dance: )

[Sephrenia]

(ooc: oh yay! :p I've gotta go out for a bit but I'll post as soon as I get in I pwomise :) )

[Sephrenia]

Aphrael stumbled through the mud and filthy water to get to Aronai. Her dirt-encrusted white robes tripping her up constantly.

"Aphrael, help him! he's going to die!" Steven pleaded.

"I'll try.." she said wearily

Rolling up her sleeves a bit frantically she went to work straight away laying her hands on his bruised and broken body chanting an invocation to stablise him. Almost half way through she began to feel light-headed as the drain of mana began to really make itself felt. She fell back from Aronai's body with a slight gasp as the group simply looked at her with slightly inquisitive look.

"I cant.. I just cant.." she sobbed slightly hysterically

"Ye HAVE to!" Steven growled

Aphrael leant back over Aronai's barely living body and began to chant rhythmically again. As it drew to a close she sat bolt straight up and joined her hands up in prayer to Agnar then slacked back down hunched over Aronai's body. She then crawled away to a less muddy patch of earth and lay down on her side sobbing through the pain for a short while before passing out.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Steven checked Aronai's pulse,

"He'll be alright.."

"What about her?" Cirin said gesturing to Aphrael

"We'll just have to wait and see..."

(ooc: well as short as it may be there we are I guess. Not sure if Aronai was supposed to die or anything but, could go either way for both Aphrael and Aronai now (dun dun dun!))

[Triar]

(OOC: Nah. No character will die without having a discussion. But he was pretty badly trampled, I must say :))

[Triar]

Piotr awoke from unconsciousness with a small crowd over the top of him. "Everyone okay?" Piotr bluntly asked, rubbing his temples.

"Aigh. We're all fine. Aronai is fine too. The poor lass collapsed when trying to heal him," Steven replied, crowching down and examining Piotr.

"Who collapsed? Aphrael?"

"Aigh."

"Why?"

"Well that's something we will have to question at another time. For now, we should wait for these two to wake up, and be on our merry way." Steven stood up and stretched. "That was quite a battle!" Steven laughed out loudly, holstering his axe.

"Argoza is gaining more power over me," Piotr announced. "I must continue alone."

"What?!" William gasped. "No! We can't let you go alone!"

"I'm sorry. But you all will only get hurt coming with me."

Amurra stepped towards Piotr. "Are you saying that we came with you all this way for nothing?!"

Piotr sighed and shook his head. "No. You all have done well to stick by me, but I cannot allow any of you to get hurt. Argoza has the power to use my rage to his advantage. And I cannot control it. If I was unable to take back my body just before, Argoza could have killed you all! Please. Do not follow me. I must do this alone."

Piotr turned around, and walked away, not even looking back.

--------------

"I can't believe he's going," William sighed, sitting down. "What are we to do? Go our seperate ways?"

"To hell with that!" Steven. "I didn't come all this way just to get cut off when we were so close to our destination! When these two wake up, we'll follow him."

--------------

Piotr continued to walk on. He was a little saddened that he had to abandon the others, as now he was so alone. Piotr got a tear in his eye. He remembered how he met everyone on the journey.

Steven; A mere merchant with amazing power. Wielding an axe as if he were a masterful warrior. Steven saved my life many times, and now, I won't see him ever again. William; A slave. Befriending him was the best thing to do, and setting him free. He continued with me all the way, saving my life countless times in battle. And now, he's gone too. Aronai; The most serious of the group. I can't believe how flexible someone of that height could be! His flexibilities surely worked to be an advantage in the end. I'm going to miss him. Aphrael; The healer. Not really a fighter, but she has saved the people in our party a numerous times via her healing powers. A good looking healer at that. I think I had, or still have, feelings for her. Was I wrong to abandon the group..?

Piotr began to regret leaving the group as he began to weep.

Amurra; The funniest of all of us, and a great dancer at that. William and Amurra have something together - I'm sure of it. Cirin; The one I least knew. Regardless, he saved my life a number of times. A great archer - I hope he finds his lost memories in time.

Piotr began to cry. Tears drooped down his face. I have to go alone.. it's.. it's the only way..

After a few hours, Piotr found himself at a small village near the beach. The smell of salt filled the air. Oh how I love the smell of the ocean. Piotr looked around. People were chatting, bartering, building. Piotr smiled. He was amongst a community of people again.

Suddenly, Piotr heard a voice in his head. Duck. Not even thinking for a second, Piotr dropped to the ground as an arrow flew across his head and into a wolf that was behind him, ready to pounce. The people of the village looked at Piotr on the ground, then at the wolf; then continued with their own business.

"You really think we were going to leave you after all we've been through?" Cirin smiled, emerging with the others from the swamps. "Come on, get up." Cirin put his hand out. Piotr grabbed Cirin's hand, pulling himself up.

"I told you's to not follow.."

"We don't care, Piotr!" Steven exclaimed. "We aren't mercenaries who you can order around. We are close friends, Piotr. And we're not just about to let you go and die on your own. Because if you go down, I'll go down with you."

"Me too," William stepped out.

"I give you my sword, Piotr," Aronai announced, unsheathing his sword, and bowed.

"My bow is yours," Cirin bowed.

"I will give my life to save yours," Amurra smiled.

"As will I," smiled Aphrael, giving Piotr a wink.

Piotr laughed. "Oh fine then!"

Steven gave Piotr a well deserved hug. "Now it's time to eat, and sleep!"

The party had a good laugh and entered the inn. "I'm going to go to the docks and find that sailor," Piotr announced. "Get a few rooms," Piotr continued. "I'll be back."

Piotr walked out of the inn and headed straight for the docks. Four large ships were tied up at the harbor, and many men were fixing up their ships. An old man with an eye patch walked up towards Piotr and pointed out him. "Yee are Piotr?"

(OOC: Old guy has a pirates voice :D)

"Yes. And you are?"

"I am Captain Kamelot! And I sail these seas. I have recieved the message that you wish to sail the seas of Heelos."

"Yes."

"Well I guess I could do it for yee. I do owe those druids a few favors. We can't set sail for two weeks. The seas are the most dangerous now, and we'll have to wait for them to calm down. But yee are free to stay at the inn. Free of charge."

"Oh. Thank you very much!"

"Aaaargh. Not a problem. You try to have a good time!"

"That I shall."

"Great! How many people are with yee?"

"Seven, including myself."

"Aaaaargh. That's great! I can teach ya'll how to sail! But go ahead. You look like you need a rest."

"Thank you, again." Piotr walked off the peer, and straight to the inn where the party ate, and slept.

(OOC: Well then! We'll set sail in two weeks (not real :P). I think you's can have a play with that until the two (fake) weeks are finished and the party can set sail.)

[Shadowfire05]

niiiice

I will post soon as i get a chance...prolly tomorrow evening sometime or sunday. If Sephrina or Fajiera, yal want to post go ahead.

[Shadowfire05]

"...I must do this alone."

Piotr didn't even so much as turn around as he headed off on his journey.

Cirin felt a battle of emotions pouring off the warrior as he walked away, but he would never let his friends see it. The quality reminded Cirin of someone, he didn't know who though. Perhaps someone he knew before his memory had been torn from him. His mind then went back to the symbol he had seen in the temple. It was more than coincidence that it matched the markings on his weapons, and the way that Argoza had so blatently pointed to him in the battle, almost as if Argoza had some knowledge of Cirin. The thought of it sent chills down the elf's spine, and frustrated him immensely as he tried so hard to remember.

He could not let Piotr do it alone.

"I don't believe him. The nerve! He thinks he is going to get out of this without getting me new clothes!" Amurra's sweet voice brought Cirin back to reality. "We have to go after him!"

"And we will," said Cirin calmly,"anyone who wants to leave the group will not be looked ill upon, but I have some sort of connection to Piotr and Argoza that my memory hides from me. I must find out what it is. Who else is going to come with Amurra and I?"

Cirin was glad so see that no one had any qualms about continuing. Aphrael stirred from her uncounsious slumber. As her grogginess cleared she looked around at the rest of the party. Aranoi was leaning against a fallen branch but ok.

"Where's Piotr?" she said with a urgency and almost longing. William managed to squeeze out a smile and told her of Piotr's departure. She was aghast and it was obvious very hurt that he had left. "I'm going after him!" she said firmly. The rest of the party merely smiled and nodded.

Tracking Piotr wasn't hard. He had obviously been too busy with the emotional battle inside him to cover his tracks well. The group caught up to him at a small village.

"Cirin! A wolf!" Stephen quickly brought the archer's attention to a black wolf at the edge of the village. It bolted straight for Piotr, right past all of the rest of the helpless citizens which it could have easily fed upon. This was no ordinary wolf.

"Duck!" A familiar voice spoke inside Piotr's head and without hesitation he dropped to the ground. The limp body of a black wolf went tumbling past his head, and Piotr made out the black and red quills of Cirin's arrow tucked neatly beind the wolfs neck.

"You really think we were going to leave you after all we've been through?" The elf smiled.

(OOC This isn't very good. I had about 20min before class and just kinda threw it together. I was just adding filler in really, on what happened while Piotr went to the village.) NEXT!

[Sephrenia]

Aphrael sat up on the deck of the ship with Amurra while the 5 men of the group were pulling ropes and hoisting the mast as well as other things with the instructions of Captain Kamelot.

"Right, ye can leave it there t'day" He said with a slight sigh.

It was the second day that they had been getting a crash course on how to operate the ship. The men looked slightly tired from the heat of the sun on their bare backs and so greedily came over to where she and Amurra were sitting and where the glasses of chilled water happened to be also.

"Thirsty?" Amurra mused as William, Piotr and the other gulped down glasses of water.Meanwhile Captain Kamelot (or the Cap'n as he was quickly becoming known as) was drinking an unknown substance out of a flask.

(ooc: gotta love pirates ;))

"Very" Piotr gasped while taking a breath.

They all returned to the inn to refresh before going to the village center for a street festival it seemed. There was a few rather long wooden tables with white linen cloths draped over and the tables were laden with food. Anything you could ever want, from honey roasted dodo to tap-root salad, anything. They all sat down but no one made a move for the delicious looking food. After a moment a tall bearded fellow at the top of the table stood up and said,

"I believe we have a priestess here, could you please bless our meal fair priestess?"

Slightly embarrased Aphrael rose and after the blessing of the food and the event the whole village began to dig in to the hearty meal. Sitting back down Aphrael noticed that neither Piotr or Cirin were to be found. She moved away from the feast and went on a little search for the pair. She heard raised voices from within the inn, their rooms. She approached quietly trying to grasp any sort of sentences while wincing with every creaking step. She stepped into the room, cutting the arguement.

"Come on boys, the food is going to get cold if you leave it any longer" She said with the look of a disapproving teacher.

She stood there and waited until the two men filed past her and down to the village center then followed out herself.

(ooc: just to fill up some time :p)

[Triar]

(OOC: There's an argument? Wow.. I don't know if you've been talking to Shadowfire about this but I don't think I can make a post where Piotr and Cirin break out into an argument. So if Shadowfire has something to write I'll let him do it. Otherwise, I'm going to have to figure out something to argue about :dance: :shifty: :cool: :clap: - and just to tell ya'll, we're almost at the end of the RP! This is exciting!)

[Triar]

(OOC: Well right now I'm stuck on what there is to argue about Sephrenia. I suggest you change your post to us two having a civil chat instead of an argument. I mean - There is no reason for Piotr and Cirin to have an argument. Cirin just saved Piotr's life! :clap: )

[Shadowfire05]

(ooc i gotta go dancing right now but i have an idea triar. I got it, it will be tomorrow though)

[Triar]

(OOC: Well Sephrenia changed the post to us talking quietly but we can always change that too. This is even MORE intersting! :drool: )

[Sephrenia]

(ooc: You people, no consideration for my changing needs :p

This idea better be a good one shadow ;))

[Fajiera Zahra]

[Poor Sephrenia. I thought it was woman's perogative to change her mind, not man's! Lol.]

[Shadowfire05]

Cirin had been thinking about all that had passed in the last few days. He had noticed the markings in the temple which matched the ones on his own weapons, and Argoza had maliciously singled him out during the battle with the kraken, and throughout the whole journey there was a ominous sense of some darkness trying to bring their quest to a violent end. It was time he had a talk with Piotr.

A party was beginning outside and most of the tenants had left the inn. Cirin found Piotr in the lobby sitting next to the fire in a chair. "How are you feeling?" Cirin posed the question knowing full well that Piotr was emotionally unstable, but it seemed the best way to start things off. Piotr turned and regarded him attempting to force out a smile.

"To be honest I really don't know. Now what did your really want to ask me?"

Cirin smiled at Piotr's perceptiveness. "I want to tell you something I found while we were in the temple." Cirin held his bow out so that Piotr could see the engraving on it. The symbol represented an eye, merely a circle inside of an oval. The articulate engravings of flames danced around the eye in some sort of metalic lace. The metal was a dark blue, and with the firelight it almost seemed to be alive with dancing blue flame. It stood out neatly from the rest of the shadowy blue bow's other engravings that flowed up it like vines wrapping around the dark shaft.

Suddenly Piotr double over, clenching his forhead. Flahes burst past him. A battle raged. With every flash a new sense of pain wrenched his forhead. He saw a man in the middle of the battle, strong and proud. His mind flashed. No one could touch him. He visciously tore through the masses of the battle in a way that only reminded Piotr of descriptions of how he fought when he was possesed by Argoza. His mind flashed again. Argoza crahsed through the bloodbath like an avalanche down a hill until he stood back to back with an elf.

Cirin supported Piotr as he double over again.

"Piotr whats wrong!?"

Piotr's mind flashed, and pain grasped deeper into his mind. The elf raised his sword, and the flaming eye symbol burned bright blue. The elf turned his head and horror and rage ran through Piotr as he saw the face.

"Cirin..."

Cirin stood up straight. Piotr's tone was so wet with suspicion and malice that Cirin felt the urge to unsheathe his sword in defense, but his judgement saved him from it. "What was that?" Cirin's voice almost quivered as he asked fearing the answer could bring a duel with a swordsman whom he had a respecting fear of.

"I saw you, and Argoza, fighting..."

The shadows seemed to creep towards the two figures standing by the fire, and the room darkened.

"...as friends."

Piotr reached for his sword.

"Think twice!"

Piotr hesitated only for the force in Cirin's voice. The fire began to flicker faster as Cirin glared at Piotr. "I've had enough of your supsicions! You would dare draw your sword on me after all we have been through! Have I done one thing to give you doubt as to my friendship?" The power in Cirin's voice demanded an answer, but he did not pause for one. The fire roared higher. "I have put up with being judged by you and everyone else long enough. I have done nothing but help you and this is how you treat me!" Piotr had never seen anger in Cirin, though he did not flinch, and stood steadfast glaring back at the elf, he woed at the thought of truly having to face that anger in battle.

"I saw you with him! You were fighting side by side and nothing but death was around you!" Piotr shot back. The shadows crept closer to them. The symbol on the bow fed flames to the rest of the engravings as the fire seemed almost white.

"I'm not that person anymore! I don't even know who that person was, because I CAN'T REMEMBER!" A hint of sadness broke the sterness of Cirin's voice. "And who is the one who abandoned the friends who sacraficed so much, and almost their lives for him?! Especially Aphrael, and you just left her." The sharpness and closeness of the comment cut deep into Piotr.

The fire began to die down and the shadows slightly receded. "I had no choice..." Piotr's voice was much sad now, but still stern and loud.

"You do have a choice Piotr. WE have made it for you. Argoza is trying to sever you from us because he knows you gain strenght from your friends." Anger was still pouring out of Cirin, but it was directed more at the situation than his friend. "We are here for you Piotr. Trust in us. And I do not know the world my past was forged in, but I promise that I will stick with you till the end."

The two just glared at each other in silence. Cirin felt a presence coming closer.

Aphrael walked into the room. She had obviously heard the argument, but wasn't about to start asking questions. "Come on boys, the food is going to get cold if you leave it any longer" The look of a disapproving teacher washed across her face.

The fire returned to its normal warm self. Its light eased its way to the corners of the room as the shadows faded, and the engravings on Cirin's bow extinguished their glow. Both the man and the elf exhaled in the sweet relief that Aphrael brought to the room. The filed out past her, Cirin going first, and as Piotr walked by he smoothly slipped his arm through hers and escorted her towards the dancing fire light of the party. The light was much different from the inn, it was friendly and welcomed people to its warmth.

Cirin saw all of the people dancing, and could not wait to join in. The whole group needed this night. Time to just be...and not worry about the world around them. He only hoped that Amurra had forgiven him enough to grant him another dance.

The three stopped just outside, takeing one last breath before plunging into the symphony of laughter and songs. "I expect to see both of you showing these people how to dance." Aphrael always knew the right thing to say.

Cirin and Piotr looked at each other and smiled, and the three plunged into the crowd.

(OOC whew. Sorry i took so long, busy weekend. Just some things to clarify. I thought that Piotr needed a bit of a gut check, so far we really haven't illustrated what he is going through in battleing with Argoza emotionally (Triar feel free to elaborate on the argument to show the emotions more if you want), and Cirin is kind of saying "hey man, you lost your way let me help you find it again." It also let me kind of add in some side story for Cirin about his lost memory. And I wasn't trying to say that Piotr is afraid of Cirin or visa versa, merely saying that they both respect each others skills enough to know that a fight between them would be a lose-lose experience. The way the argument ends reminds me of when me and my buddies get into fights. We yell and get it all out, but we are shakin hands and friends again when it is over. So let me know if you need me to alter anything. Sephrina sorry about making you change your post agian, i didn't notice you had changed it. Hope yal like it.

So Fajiera... want to dance ;)

[Triar]

Piotr sat down in the inn's lobby, next to a fire in a chair. Cirin slowly walked towards him. "How are you feeling?" Cirin asked, knowing full well what the answer would be.

"To be honest, I really don't know." Piotr sighed and looked up at the roof. "Now what did you really want to ask me?"

Cirin smiled. "I want to tell you something I found while we were in the temple." Cirin showed Piotr his bow, and pointed to the engraving on it. The symmbol was an eye. It was a circle within an oval. Flames ravaged themselves around the eye, and the metal was a dark blue. With the firelight, it seemed as though the flame was alive. Dancing. The eye stood out from the other engravings which flowed up the frame like vines.

Piotr felt a sharp pain in his head, and he clenched his forehead. A flash from the past burst into his sight. A raging battle. A man was fighting in the middle of the battle. He was strong, brave, and proud. With every new flash, a new pain came to his head. Piotr screamed in pain, and he visciously tore through the masses of the battle in a way that only reminded Piotr of descriptions of how he fought whilst being possessed by the evil Argoza. His mind flashed again. Argoza crashed through the bloodbath. Men flew beyond Piotr's sight. And Argoza stood on the top of a hill, sword in hand, with an elf.

"Piotr! What's wrong?!"

Again, Piotr's mind flashed. Pain reached deep into his mind. Tears filled his eyes as the elf raised his sword, and the flaming eye symbol burned a bright blue. The elf turned his head. Piotr was in horror and rage when he saw the face.

"Cirin..."

Cirin stepped back. Piotr's eyes clenched, and rage filled his soul. Drenched with suspicion and malice, Cirin felt the urge to unsheathe his sword. But his judgement saved him. "What.. What was that?" Cirin's voice echoed in Piotr's mind. Piotr fell onto his knees.

"You... I saw you, and Argoza, fighting..."

The shadows in the room crept closer towards the two figures standing by the fire, and the room darkened.

"...as friends."

Piotr's soul filled with rage and anger as he reached for his sword.

"Think twice!"

Piotr suddenly stopped. It was only because of the force within Cirin's voice, and the fire began to flicker, faster and faster as Cirin glared at Piotr. "I've had enough of your suspicions! You would dare draw your sword on me after all we have been through?! Have I done one thing to give you doubt as to my friendship?!"

Piotr smiled, sharpening his glare. He didn't even flinch. "I have put up with being judged by you and everyone else long enough. I have done nothing but help you and this is how you treat me?!"

Never had Piotr ever seen so much anger within Cirin. Piotr didn't even flinch and stood steadfast, glaring back at him. "I saw you with him! You were fighting; side-by-side; and nothing but death was around you!" Piotr screamed. The shadows crept closer to the two and the symbol on the bow fed the flames to the rest of the engravings as the fire was almost white.

"I'm not that person anymore! I don't even know who that person was, because I CAN'T REMEMBER!" Piotr immediately began to think. Thousands of thoughts filled his mind. What if he learns his true self? He may convert. This doesn't seem right, no. How can I trust someone who has killed so many?

Cirin stepped back. "And who is the one who abandoned his friends who've sacrificed so much, and almost their lives for him?!" Piotr's head drooped down. He knew that he had lost this argument. "Especially Aphrael," Cirin continued. "And you just left her." The comment dug deep into Piotr, reaching his soul. Them two have something, and he was going to let it all go. Tears filled his eyes.

"I... had no choice..." The fire began to die down and the shadows fled away from the two.

"You DO have a choice, Piotr. WE have made it for you. Argoza is trying to sever you from us because he knows you gain strength from your friends." Still, anger seeped out of Cirin, but he had nothing against Piotr at this point. "We are here for you, Piotr. Trust in us. And I do not know the world my past was forged in, but I promise that I will stick with you till the end."

Piotr just glared at Cirin, as Cirin did at Piotr. And Aphrael walked into the room. "Come on boys," she smiled. "The food is going to get cold if you leave it any longer."

The fire returned to its normal state. The light consumed the shadows as they faded, and the light blue colour on the engravings of Cirin's bow extinguished themselves. Both Piotr and Cirin sighed as Aphrael brought friendship back into the room. Cirin went out of the inn first, and Piotr slyly slipped his arm through hers, escorting her towards the party. Laughter and music filled their ears and the trio stood side-by-side. Cirin looked at Piotr, and Piotr looked back at Cirin. They both smiled and made their way into the dance.

Cirin made his way towards Amurra and asked to dance. William took notice of this almost immediately, and his eyes slanted downwards.

The argument left Piotr's mind, and it lept itself onto the dance at hand. "Care to dance?" Piotr proposed.

"Certainly," Aphrael said with a smile and a nod, and they too made their way into the dance.

(OOC: A remake of what you wrote, Shadowfire. I will write a continuation of what happens later on. But make sure you post up something good because in my next post... We're leaving for the Harrknar Caves *dun dun duuuuuuuun..*)

[Shadowfire05]

(OOC I'm sure that our beautiful ladies can get us a good dance scene :) )

[Fajiera Zahra]

[You boys seem to have forgotten that Amurra is a murderer-by-profession. Mayhaps you should pick your dates more wisely. Still, I can hardly decline another dance with dear Cirin...if it's going to start a fight between him and William. Lol. Anyway, don't mind me. As if you actually were, but, that's not my point, see? Point is, I'll try to get a post up soon, but if Seph. wants to sneak one in first its fine. Hopefully I'll have one up in an hour at most, but no promises. Ta then, m'loves.]

[Shadowfire05]

(that hurts Fajiera, i am scared for life. :( and how are we not minding you :-p )

[Fajiera Zahra]

[Oh, you poor dear. Want Amurra to kiss it and make it better? ^^
...And only saying that I'm rambling, as usual, so don't bother paying any heed to me, if you actually were in the first place, that's all.]

[Sephrenia]

(ooc: kissing what!? :p)

[Fajiera Zahra]

Back in loose, gauzy robes and out of her traveling clothes, with her scythe wrapped and tucked neatly away in her room, Amurra sat back away from the crowds; after the feast she had wandered away, and now had no intentions of joining in the festivities. Aye, she had danced avidly in the forest with the druids, but here with strangers? On a ship? And while her scythe was at rest, her two blades were not; away from the 'backcountry,' as it were, people were much more likely to have heard of her before, and she didn't need rumors of this dance spreading. Her mind had been so firmly made up against the idea that she was taken by complete surprise when Cirin approached her, smiling brightly and requestion a dance from her. ...This was certainly not a normal occurance in her life, to say the least.

Leaning back in her corner, the woman scowled up at him, one hand idly flicking the lengthy braid over her shoulder, where it swung a minute before resting gently against her back. Apparently, though, the elf wasn't ready to give up, and somewhere in her heart of hearts that ever-so-irritating thing called 'emotion' stirred within her, and Zahra found, to her annoyance and shock, that she was having to suppress a smile as she took his proferred hand and allowed him to lead her towards the dancers: it wasn't one great whirling ring around the fire, but smaller groups and seperate couples. The music wasn't well known to her, but nonetheless was wonderful, and as Cirin led her in the dance she found the steps came quite naturally and without trouble. This was at least the third time she had found herself in the arms of a strange man recently, and honestly the bewildered assassin didn't know whether to laugh or glower.

Meanwhile Piotr and Aphrael had found each other once again, and were busy in a world of their own; perhaps they, too, heard the music being played by those earthly instruments that everyone else heard, but it was becoming increasingly more likely that they were dancing to a tune all their own--that secret music of the heart that a pair of people hear clear as a bell but is a silent mystery to anyone watching. Fajiera had overheard Piotr on more than one occasion ridicule William for the looks he shot her, but those same looks shared between the young warrior and the traveling hero hadn't gone unnoticed, either.

Amurra spotted William through the crowd, once, but locked in Cirin's arms she was quickly spun away again, and before she could find him again or worry about taking count of any of the others she had lost herself to the dance: the one respite she took, the one time she could actually be caught smiling.

[Okay, I had more but I deleted it all because I was just rambling on. Well, more than I was in this, anyway. Sorry I didn't include many people in; when all the parts have been covered and we're just in a dance again it's hard to think of a lot to say. xD But at least it's up, eh? (Finally.)]

[Shadowfire05]

Cirin smiled as Amurra reluctantly offered her hand to him. The group had had a rough time of it lately and a little rest and fun was long overdue. Amurra was silent as he led her to the dance floor, but Cirin knew she too was craving the excitment of twirling in a maze of song and people.

"Whooaa!" Amurra gasped as Cirin wasted no time in spinning the beautiful assasin onto the dance floor. It was funny to watch her riggle in the experience. He couldn't tell if she was enjoying the experience or not.

"Do you always have this much fun when you dance?" The sarcastic tone brought a stern glare as they turned through the sea of dancers. Cirin merely smiled and let go with his left hand and rolled her out and back in, smoothly coming back into a normal dance position as she spun back into his arms.

In a small attempt to show off Cirin began a move that he started off by spinning in front of Amurra and then catching her hands he spun her. His hand traced from her side across her sexily firm stomach to her back. As Amurra came out of the turn through he felt a wincing pain as she elbowed him. Not meaning too he had somehow offended her. He assumed that she was not used to the innocent physical contact that some of his moves required, and the pain served as a sharp reminder to avoid such things in the future.

A very upbeat song came on, and to Cirin's joyful surprise Amurra continued to dance with him. He guessed this sucess was the fact that he was keeping relatively quiet and just dancing without the mindless banter that some insist upon during a dance. Amurra was never one for chit chat.

Cirin's heart dropped as he noticed that someone had caught Amurra's eye. He didn't even look to see who, but quickly rotated her back into a spin. The music picked up and couples began falling out of the dance. The adventuresome duo seemed to have reached some sort of telepathic link, one of which Cirin had nothing to do with.

They spun and turned with a rhythm that they seemed to create as the song flowed along. The moves they were coming up with were dazzling to say the least, but Cirin had no idea where they where coming from. Faster and faster, the song raced. Cirin concentrated completely on Amurra, most of his concern was on not letting her slip free from his gentle embrace and go careening across the floor. Every move suprassed the next in a smooth que of turns and complex twists. Sweat dripped from both of them as the song reached its climax. He once again let go with his left hand, spun her out, back in and straight into a spinning move where he was bent forward at the waist. The end was near as the beat raced. He lifted her right arm with his left, she spun, he let his right arm twist around her and snapped her into a dip as the song finished.

Suddenly the sizling duo realized they were the only two on the floor. Everyone was standing silently stairing. A clap started. Soon the crowd was in a roar of whistles and cheers. Cirin and Amurra still stood frozen in the dip, and as Cirin looked down, he was happily to be the only one to notice that Amurra was smiling.

He quickly stood her up and led Amurra off the floor. Cirin turned and smiled to the crowd and caught a very stern glare from William. They quickly disappeared behind the wall of people. Another tune started, but Cirin knew that his luck was not so great as to warrant another dance.

Just before Amurra's hand slipped from his as she headed for Tonganin, which he hoped was not about to be his newest "friend", he gave a slight tug stopping her. She scowled at him, obviously not happy, but for some reason he couldn't seem to grasp, Cirin smiled and bowed to her and kissing the top of her hand. He closed his eyes and waited for some sort of slap or kick, but it was worth it.

(OOC Don't be too mean to him Fajiera, you know you liked it :p )

[Triar]

William watched as Cirin and Amurra danced and pranced. Steven and Aronai stood silently, sipping their wines. Walking up to William, Steven pat him on the back. "Isn't it a beautiful night, lad?"

"Yes. Very beautiful."

William's stare never left Amurra. He knew that she had noticed him, and he knew that Cirin noticed him as Cirin pulled Amurra further into the crowd where it was close to impossible to see them from prying eyes on the outside.

"Lad," Steven began. "I have something to talk to you about."

Steven put his arm around William's shoulders and walked him to the docks. Meanwhile, Piotr and Aphrael were doing a dance of their own. In tune with the music, but a totally different dance routine. Piotr noticed Cirin was showing himself off to Amurra. Cirin took notice of Piotr's examinations and smiled, with Piotr smiling back at him with a nod.

"Cirin has something for Amurra," Piotr finally broke the ice.

Panting, Aphrael smiled. "Oh yes I know. I wonder what William must be thinking!"

Piotr put his head down and smiled. He didn't want to see William hurt over something like this. It wasn't worth it. Piotr immediately turned his attention back onto Aphrael and whispered into her ear; "You know what I think we should do," Piotr smiled.

"What's that?" Aphrael whispered back.

"I think we should become naughty."

Aphrael giggled. Piotr's attempt at seducing him was very corny to say the least, but she knew he was half sarcastic about the situation. "And you know what I think we should do?" Aphrael smiled.

"What do you think we should do?"

"I think we should go."

"Where?"

"I'll show you." Aphrael led Piotr out of the dancing area and away from the crowd.

Back at the docks, Steven sat William down. "Listen boy, you need to talk to Amurra about your feelings."

"What?! No way?!" William retorted.

"Listen lad. Please. We all know you like this woman. Me, Piotr, Aronai, Aphrael. And I'm sure both Cirin and Amurra know of this as well. But if you won't talk to her, you may lose her."

William tilted his head down, and listened to the waves of the ocean crashing like huge rumbles of thunder and lightning.

"If you want to just be friends lad, you tell her that. But I suggest you ask her if she likes you in the same way. Lad, as much as I love you, I can't let you stand in silence and be jealous of having Cirin putting his hands all over her! Cirin knows you like her, and he should respect that. But he's using her as an advantage. She's vulnerable."

"Thanks Steven. But it's really none of your business."

"I know lad. But I just would like to see you happy. You have barely given out a laugh ever since you joined us on this trip. If you get this off your back, lad, then I think you will be a lot more relaxed in the future. Please, take my suggestion, and see what she wants. Let her tell you out in the open and not behind closed doors."

William smiled. "Thanks bud. I shall follow your suggestion."

At that moment, a huge roar from the crowd occurred in the distance. Steven and William went to check what happened. When they got back to the dance, Amurra had her back arched over Cirin's arm. They had obviously amazed the whole entire crowd. William did nothing but smile and walked back towards the tavern. Steven let him go and Aronai came to talk to Steven.

"How'd it go?" Aronai asked.

"Well it went quite well. But I think he's going to have trouble confronting her about it. You know him. Being a slave all your life would mess with yee head."

Aronai sighed and took a sip of his wine. Steven clashed his glass with Aronai's and sculled the rest. Cirin and Amurra emerged from the crowd, panting crazily.

"Where's Piotr and Aphrael?" asked Aronai.

"No idea. I saw them leave the dance half way through."

Amurra began to laugh. "Well I think there's an explanation to this."

The boys laughed out loud, and Aronai sculled the rest of his drink.

"Where's William?" Amurra curiously asked.

"In the tavern," Steven answered. "He looked tired tonight."

"Yeah, I noticed," Amurra replied, and made her way towards the tavern.

(OOC: Well we have a nice little story building here! Tension tension! What's happening with Piotr and Aphrael? I don't know. And the love triangle with William, Amurra and Cirin. Well my good friends, this will have to wait a little longer to see the outcome of what happens! Oh I'm excited..! So much for going to the Harrknar Caves in the next post. Oh well, we'll let this little side-plot open up a little more before the party leaves. And I do believe the next post (of mine) will be us leaving for the Harrknar Caves. So be ready people :))

[Fajiera Zahra]

[I say we just start a menage-au-toi(sp?) and make everyone happy. XD Alright, sorry. Well; quite the interesting series of posts, but you do of course leave me making the decision, yes? I should be a horrible person and bring Cirin into the tavern with me. ^^ No, I won't. I will, however, stop rambling now. Give me a little while to think what I want to say and I'll get a post up.]

[Shadowfire05]

(OOC :wall: Hmm interesting. I really wasn't trying to have Cirin steal Amurra at all. I was just wanting to dance lol. I dance with other girls like this all the time IRL. Even though I love my gf with all my heart, its nice to dance with other people. And I dance with my friends girlfriends like that, but they know we are just enjoying a dance, and I'm not trying to steal them. But if you guys want me to write it like he is trying to become more than friends with Amurra then I will write it that way for the fun of a side story. But like I said that wasn't my original intent lol. If Amurra wants william Cirin will definately respect that. So I will play along which ever way you guys want to spin it :) In the end though we all have to be friends otherwise my posts in "Tides of Evil" will be wierd.)

[Sephrenia]

(ooc: Well it shouldnt matter overly as Amurra isnt in Tides of Evil and btw Fajiera is your char in ToE a healer or a bandit?? O.o)

[Fajiera Zahra]

[Aye; she's not. And Aiyana Div is a bandit, although...You're not supposed to know that. xD She just had really basic medical supplies with her; no magic or any real knowledge of healing, however.]

[Triar]

(OOC: Yeah, I agree with Zahra. It's her choice (even though I was going to say that) to choose who she wants :))

[Sephrenia]

Aphrael led Piotr down to the bay. The fine grains of sand slipped beneath her feet and she fell down giggling onto the soft sand. Piotr stood above her with a smile on his face. She tugged at his hand appealing for him to join her. He smiled at her again and lay down next to her. Propping his head up with his arm. He gazed at her.

"What?" She giggled

"Nothing," He replied "Just admiring your natural beauty."

She kissed him.

"Youre so sweet sometimes" She smiled as did he.

She kissed him again and as he returned the kiss his hands ran over her slim body. He caressed her face and she pressed her body against his.

"I think I love you" He whispered in her ear.

"I think I love you too" She replied smiling before continuing the flurry of kisses. She slid out from underneath Piotr and stood up. Piotr looked quizically. She simply walked back towards the tavern beckoning him. He quickly followed. They sneaked into the tavern. All were asleep (or supposed to be) apart from the innkeeper. Aphrael placed 2 gold pieces in his hand for a free room and made her way up to the room with Piotr following closely.

That night the culmination of several weeks of pent up passions were realeased. Needless to say they were both rather tired the next morning.

(ooc: not much there but at least we can carry on now ;))

[Fajiera Zahra]

[And thank you for that lovely mental image.
Okay; I apologize to everyone else waiting on my post--been busy and haven't had a chance to think it through and get it up, considering this was "the big moment" for Amurra. So Sephrenia's taken care of that nicely enough (heh), but apparently you'll all have to wait until the next opportune moment because nothing, as of now, happened last night, and it's already tomorrow morning. I'm going to stop before I become any more incoherant, and just leave with a final apology.
:Oh, the suspense!:]

[Triar]

Piotr awoke the next morning. Quite tired from the best night of his life, waking up to a woman he loved. He enjoyed his sleeping beauty, slowly swiping her hair from her face to see her wholly. Aphrael indeed was beautiful.

The tides of the sea were high, and it was the opportune moment to begin preparations. The Cap'n already had everything set up. And most of the crew had arrived. The only ones who hadn't made their way to the ship were Piotr, Aphrael, Steven and Aronai.

Piotr gently woke Aphrael. "Hey," he whispered.

Aphrael smiled. "Hey."

"We're going to set sail soon. We have to get ready."

Piotr gave Aphrael a quick kiss before getting out of bed and putting on his clothes and armor. Aphrael did the same. The two walked out of the inn, hand-in-hand, towards the docks. William enjoyed envied the sight of the two lovers, and let out a deep and long sigh.

Entering the ship, the Cap'n shook Piotr's hand, and kissed Aphrael's. "Argh, me good lads! Where are those other two peckerwoods?"

"We're here, don't worry!" Aronai announced, walking onto the deck with a large crate. Steven followed with an equally large crate.

"What's inside?" Amurra asked.

"The villagers gave us these. It's all bottles of Rum inside," Aronai replied, going down a flight of stairs, putting the crate into storage. Steven did the same.

Many of the villagers rounded up outside. It was, apparently, rare to see anyone sail the Heelos Ocean. And they wanted to fare everyone well.

"Take your positions, lads!" The Cap'n ordered, and everyone began to hussle. Piotr made his way up the rope ladder to the tower with a telescope handy. Steven went with William and some other men and put up the left sail. Aronai and Cirin gathered some of the men and took them to the right sail, putting it up. The women, however, didn't need to do a thing. The Cap'n always said that their beauty shouldn't be altered with any orders he gave, as they were too beautiful. However, the men didn't care. They were just excited to set sail.

Finally, the ship unmoored itself from the shore, and went in towards the Heelos ocean. Everyone by then was at the docks waving goodbye, in hopes that everyone would come back safely. But everyone knew too well that that had never, not even once, happened.

The first hour was just smooth sailing. Amurra went up to the wheel where the Cap'n was controlling the ship, and posed a question. "Isn't it bad luck to have women aboard the crew of a ship?"

The Cap'n burst out into laughter. "Argh, me good lass, not for me. To me, it's always good luck to have women on board."

"Then why do other Captains always dispise having women on board due to bad luck?" she asked curiously.

"Just between you and me?" The Cap'n asked. Amurra nodded. The Cap'n put his head closer to Amurra's and whispered. "I think those Cap'n's are either scared of women, or gay."

Amurra giggled, and replied with a thank you, and walked back to accompany Aphrael who was looking rather pale.

"What's wrong?"

Aphrael ran to the side of the ship and vommitted.

"Oh - You're not a ship person, are you?" Amurra giggled, rubbing Aphrael's back, trying to make her feel better.

"No - Not at all." Aphrael vommitted a second and last time, then sat down. "I'll get used to it - I always do."

"Oh good - I just don't wanna see my best friend sick," she smiled.

Aphrael looked at Amurra. "Thanks." Aphrael gave Amurra a kiss on the cheek and a hug. Amurra returned the kiss and a hug in the same fashion, and the two began to chat about everyday things. Bonding closer together then they ever had before. Then the conversation went deeper and deeper into the personal aspects of life.

"So, what did you and Piotr get up to last night?" Amurra smiled, giving off a slight giggle. Aphrael smiled, looked at the sky, and laughed.

"Well..."

(OOC: Well... That's all from me :p - Fajiera and/or Sephrenia can finish that one off. Action will come very shortly too.)

[Fajiera Zahra]

[Oh, bloody 'ell! What've you done to me, man? >.<" Alright, well, I'll work on a post--should be up pretty soon, with any luck.]

[Shadowfire05]

OOC LOL The softer side of Amurra ha ha. I will get the fight scene up as soon after Fajiera posts as I can. And just BTW Sephrina, I wasn't worried about Amurra in "Tides of Evil", I was saying that Cirin and William can't be on bad terms. They are the two with feelings for her, but good friends in "Tides of Evil." Thats all. Anyhow, back to my studying for my 1130 test tomorrow :( )

[Fajiera Zahra]

A look of disgust, half-playful, crossed Amurra’s striking features and she held up a gloved hand to halt Aphrael’s mischievous talk. While the murderer-by-profession always liked to stay by the exists in strange places, coming in late and trying to sleep on the first floor under the rest of the party did have it’s certain…disadvantages.

“Oh, please, spare me; I didn’t mean it! It’s not hard to imagine what you two were actually doing..”

‘Since you weren’t the only ones kept up all night,’ came the mumbled words, but the woman didn’t seem about to repeat them. Fajiera stood still a moment, eyes bright, facing out to sea, listening absently to Aphrael’s laugh, and her kind voice as she added some comment or picked up on a new subject. It had been pleasant, sure, but awkward, and the conversation was half-hearted on her part; there had been plenty of other things on her mind, and the woman had never been one for small talk, anyway. …Never really had the knack to make friends in the first place. Aphrael was wonderful, but…these things took time. So offering a bright smile in place of a response to the question that had been posed, Amurra laid out her plans to the woman.

“It’s been lovely, really, but it’s been so long since I’ve been out to see…I’m eager to see it. If you’re feeling better now, though, you’re…you’re welcome to join me.”

“Well, I’ve managed to stay upright talking to you, haven’t I?” Aphrael joked lightly, apparently taking no offense at her companion’s sudden need to get away. “I’ve never really seen much more of a ship than the waves over one side. If you’re sure you don’t mind, I’d love to come along.”

The woman the healer had been speaking to laughed softly; more genuinely this time. She was in a grand mood today, out at sea. Or, at least, she wasn’t cursing every other word and spending more time bending over blades than looking up at her companions, which seemed to merit the term “grand mood,” for her.

“Just keep up, alright? Now this way; quick!”

Dodging ropes and sailors, crates and deckhands, barrels and chains, the woman worked her way expertly through the strange sort of maze as though she had done it a hundred times before, holding a hand out to help her land-loving friend when she needed the support. A quick call was made up, answered with a gruff laugh by an unseen sailor, and the black-clad woman began the long ascent up the mast to the ‘Crow’s Nest,’ checking each step of the way to make sure Aphrael was still alright. When they finally made it to the top, the sailor who had called down earlier stretched out a calloused hand to shake first Amurra’s rough hand, and then the healer’s smooth one.

The assassin took in a deep breath of salty air and turned to Aphrael once more, eyes dancing with excitement. “Bloody wonderful up here, isn’t it? Hey, you doin’ alright, then?”

Aphrael nodded and sent a weak smile; hands clutching the sides for support, eventually she regained the color in her cheeks and flashed a stronger grin as Fajiera did the unthinkable; reached up to unbind her hair, letting the now-loose, thick curls blow freely in the strong wind. Mischief danced in every fiber as she absently checked that her knives were free in their scabbards, then leaned over the railing and called to Aronai who was wandering on deck working at something or other.

“Hey! Aronai! Where’re the bloody crates you brought in? I’m sure you didn’t want to drag them up here just to let them sit, right? …And I could bloody well do with some rum up here!”

Her tones quieted back to normal as she turned to face Aphrael’s gleeful laugh.

“What do you want rum for? There’s no party that I’ve heard of.”

“Ah, m’love, you’ve something to learn of the life at sea. And…You heal, I kill. You drink at parties, yes? Me…Well look, you said yourself; it’s a wonderful day. I don’t see a reason to waste it being sober, aye?”


[Randomly fun post because I couldn't go getting all dark now. So now Amurra's drunk. This should be fun.]

[Triar]

(OOC: I'll put in a quick one before Shadowfire does something crazy like post up an action scene *hint hint*)

Piotr sat in the lower deck, thinking about Aphrael. Letting out a deep sigh, he forced out a laugh, then walked into the corridor to encounter Aronai with a gleemy look in his eyes.

An odd silence came between the two. Piotr built up the courage to ask first. "What?"

"What?" Aronai quickly replied.

"What?"

"What?!"

"What are you doing here?"

"Can't a man get some Rum for the fine ladies?"

"You going to have some?"

"Nope."

"Oh come on Aronai. You haven't touched one bit of alcohol ever since I've met you. You and me will have some, yeah?"

"Hmm. I sure haven't tried some nice tasting rum for a long time."

"Well you got forever to live, Aronai. So why not try everything over, and over again?"

"Hmm. Fine. Might as well."

Aronai smiled and grabbed four bottles of rum, tucking one into his armpit. Piotr followed Aronai to the main deck, and the ladies were running a muck. They had already drank a bottle of rum, and were already drunk.

"Piotr..! Oh Piotr look it's you! Wow.." Amurra stumbled. "And Aronai! Brought some more rum. Well hooley dooley!"

Aronai looked over to Piotr. "Women, eh? Can't even handle one drink."

"Yeah-heh-heh." Piotr took a bottle for himself and took it to Steven. "Care for a drink?"

"Oh, we have a wee little bit of rum there aye lad? We might as well!" Steven stole the bottle from Piotr's hands and took one long scull. "Well that's some good rum *burp*"

William emerged from the lower deck. He noticed that Aphrael and Amurra were indeed drunk. And Piotr, Steven and Aronai were having there own little seperate chat, getting to the point of drunkeness.

"Guess it's just us two who have to have a taste of that rum then." Cirin put his arm around William's shoulders, startling him.

"Yeah - I guess."

"What? You don't want to?"

"Well it's not that I don't want to. It's just that I never have had any alcoholic beverage. Ever."

Cirin was immensely surprised. It's not everyday that you come across a full-grown man to never have ever drunken anything alcoholic. "Never?"

"Nope."

"Well I guess I'm going to have to show you."

Cirin and William walked together towards the ladies who had a full bottle, and weren't drinking. "Mind if I have a bit?" Cirin asked.

"Oh! Shhhuuuure! Just leave some for us." Amurra reluctantly gave Cirin the bottle, then turning her attention back to Aphrael who was doing a handstand.

"Oh would ya look at that!" Piotr gasped. "Aphrael is doing a handstand!"

Steven got a very disgusting thought into his mind and burst into laughter, almost in tears of joy. Aronai and Piotr just starred at Steven laughing, for what they thought was for no reason, and suddenly he stopped, whiped his eyes, and took another swig of rum.

It wasn't long before at least half the crew was drunk. Even the Cap'n. The Cap'n, looking around, saw no signs of storms coming, and predicted that they'd run into trouble in about two days into the trip and they hadn't even reached a sixteenth of the journey.

So, the sailors, and the party had there fun. Piotr got very intimate with Aphrael in front of all, and Amurra was chatting to Steven. William, Cirin and Aronai were all telling each other drunken jokes, and bursting into laughter after every joke. It was truly a great sight to see. The Cap'n then announced that he was going to sleep and he would let Cirin take control of the crew.

"Whaaaaaaaat?! Me?! No way!" Cirin protested.

"Har har haarrrr... Me hearty, yee have to! Nobody else 'ere will. So I'm giving you command of the ship till mornin'."

"I don't even know how to sail!"

"Har har haarrrr... Me hearty, yee don't have to! I've given the wheel to someone else. All yee have to do is give orders to the sailors who have nothing to do.. Har harr.."

Cirin let out a deep sigh. "Okay, fine. But only this once."

"Har har haarrrr... Don't worry me hearty! This will be the only time where anyone but me takes partial control of the ship." The Cap'n continued laughing as he went down to the Captain's Office, where the Cap'n slept.

Everything quietened down slowly, and everyone was slowly becoming sober. The two moons were running up and high, and it was truly a moment to see. Piotr and Aphrael found a little hidden corner of the ship where they enjoyed the miraculous view.

(OOC: Well, Shadowfire - The ship is yours! Now what you do with it is at your discression - Just don't wreck it :naughty: )

[Shadowfire05]

(Cracks knuckles...)

After the festivities Cirin saw to it that everyone found their bed. Cirin had a way of sobering up very fast, and never being at sea before he was full of energy and excitment. Doubling this effect was the fact that he was technically captain while the real one slept. He watched the soft moonglow fade from the deck as dawns warm touch spread across the boat.

Aphrael emerged from her cabin, yawned, and stretched in the warm embrace of the waking sun. Her pleasure soon became quesiness (spelling) as her body remembered it was at see. Aphrael darted for the mast, she needed her fresh air. She reached the crows nest and gasped. Never in her life had she seen a more brilliant parade of colors.

"Beautiful isn't it." Startled Aphrael stumbled back, but a gentle grasp caught her wrist and she looked up at Cirin.

"WHAT on earth are you doing up here!?" Aphrael was still startled.

"This is the closest thing to a tree this elf could find, and what a view." Cirin and Aphrael took a few more minutes to gaze before another sound below them drew their attention.

Amurra walked out on deck and Cirin gazed at her as the morning light froze her in a moment of beaty that brushed the sunrise from his memory.

"Oooh and what are you staring at hmmmmm?" Aphrael's voice broke his trance and all Cirin did was smile. His smile quickly faded though.

"Go now..." Cirin pointed to the deck. Aphrael paused. "NOW!" He drew his bow and without even looking behind her she grabbed the rope and slid down. Cirin focused in on his target, drawing his bow and realsing almost in the same instant. Down below everything was made clear to Aphrael as a horrible screeching sound, so terrible that everyone on the ship cringed, echoed of the planks of the ship.

Two huge shadows moved towards the ship from the air. Each shadow had a massive basket below it, and Cirin's elf eyes could make out figures...goblins. The deck was buslting as the sailors ran to their posts.

"Everyone grab a weapon and prepare to defend yourselves!" Cirin called down to the crew.

The two huge shadows brought their baskets right over the bow of the ship and hovered there. Goblins poured out of them on to the bow and rushed towards the crew. Amurra emerged from below with Tonganin in hand, followed by the rest of the group. They laid into the flood of goblins cutting a wedge in it and forcing it back.

The beasts dropped the now empty baskets into the ocean, and began to head towards the ship to do as much damage as possible. The goblins now had no where to go. Only one side would come out of this fight with the ship, there would be no prisoners.

The captain burst from his quarters and saw the reched beats flying above his beloved ships.

"Glamdraugs!," He cried. "Cirin aim for its eye lad, the eye..." The Cap'n was cut short as a goblin dart hit him in the shoulder. He slumped backwards through the door falling into his cabin.

Cirin, heading the advice gazed up at the fowl creatures. They were the size of a large dragon with wings that complimented that structure. However, they did not have majestic heads, nor long tails. Instead they had a stubby tail with a very long neck, like a giant snake. A circlular mouth, with teeth in circular rows drove fear straight to the bone. The most menacing thing of all though, was their huge eye, surrounded by a circle of smaller eyes.

Cirin loosed another arrow. His aim perfect, drove the arrow straight through the center of the first Glamdraugs eye. The creature crashed into the water sending a large wave over the deck of the ship. Blood stained sea water washed over the deck as the battle paused for a mere moment.

The second beast dove at Cirin, but too soon did the elf jump from the crows nest to a rope and started sliding down. The Glamdraug anihilated the crows nest sending a large splinter of wood shooting deep into Cirin's shoulder. He lost grip of the rope and fell the last 20 feet to the deck, taking a few goblins out as he landed.

The deck erupted into battle again. "To the Cabin!" Cirin yelled. The survivors of the now dwindling crew now hacked their way to the door of the cabin. Aphrael immideately rushed to the Cap'n's side.

"He will be ok." She announced flinging a mana blast into a goblin.

"Defend the cabin!" cried Piotr who took up a position directly in front of the door. It was the most defensible position on the ship, only one way in or out.

"Aphrael stay in the cabin and heal the wounded that come in." Cirin's voice was full of pain from the splinter in his arm.

"How bout we give this back shall we." Amurra yanked the splinter free of Cirin's arm as he winced in pain, and with deadly accuracy threw it into the skull of an advancing goblin. The two then stood back to back as goblins poured towards them. Bodies piled up one by one. Nothing could get through the wall of knives and arrows that Amurra and Cirin were flooding upon them.

Across the fray Aranoi was crushing goblin after goblin. At one point there were so many on him it looked as if he was buried in them. Anyone not knowing Aranoi as his friends did would have been worried. Moments later Aranoi burst free sending a wave of bodies into the flood of foes.

"Play nice!" Aranoi was clearly more worried about their manors than the potential threat the were.

Stephen and William were just to the left of the cabin creating their own havoc. The two were at the head of a group of crewman cutting and hueing away at the goblins. To their horror one of the crew fell to his knees as a large goblin raised his axe to finish the poor lad. William without hesitation dove, sword first, into the ribs of the hideaous creature. Black blood oozed down his blade as he smiled at the creatures demise.

"LOOK OUT!" The crewman screamed too late, William's manuever had left him open to a swipe from another of the menacing little creatures and he fell wounded to the ground. Stephen quickly grabbed his collar and pulled him to the cabin.

"It's not looking too good guys." Doubt dripped from Stephen's lips, as he noticed how few of them were still left.

"It's looking pretty good from here actually." Amurra spied the enemy leader. A large ogre in some sort of strange armor. Time for her to do what she did best. Evict a clearly deluded leader of his meager existance.

The rest of the group marveled as she and Tonganin hacked their way to the ogre. It rose abover her, dark and ominous. "You dare challenge me!" Its voice deep and evil. Amurra merely smiled. The ogre weilded a large hammer like it was a mere twig. It swung at her but the assasin was much to quick. Splinters filled the air as the hammer smashed into the deck, and the ogre let out a hideous cry of pain as Amurra slipped a dagger behind its shoulder. Again it heaved the hammer at her and again Amurra evaded, but to the peril of the ship the hammer connected with the front main mast. Complete chaos filled the deck as the massive timber crashed into the deck. Ropes snaped whiping and killing goblins and crew. The mast came to rest across the deck hanging out over the water.

"Where is the..." Surprise entered the ogres eyes as Tonganin slid down his spine. Black blood coarsed over the blade as it bathed in pleasure at the death of the beast. Amurra had kept her cool and used the mast as a distraction.

"Tell the devil that I sent you," Amurra wispered in its ear as life passed from its eyes.

Another crash drew everyones attention as the last Glamdraug landed upon the deck. The ship slumped into the water with the added weight. The goblins were in disaray, and Aranoi had worked his way up to the bow of the ship, but how to deal with this massive beast!?

"Aranoi! Use the anchor." Aranoi grinned as Piotr shouted to him. His whole body tensed as he lifted the great anchor into the air. He crabed the chain and leaning back and spining spun the anchor around until it reached the desired speed. A loud screech muffled by the sound of water was all that anyone heard as he hearled the anchor into the side of the beast sending it into the ocean.

The group moped up the rest of the goblins and Aphrael emerged behind Piotr as he finished off the last goblin. Everyone was breathing heavy and she clearly had work to do.

"And we did all of that without that dreadful Argoza ever showing up," Relief filled her voice, but suddenly she felt a jolt and a flash of pain rushed her body. Piotr was still facing away from her, but his sword was tucked unter his arm and neatly between Aphraels left ribs. Surprise filled her eyes as he pulled the blade from her, stained blood.

"Foolish girl, you will meddle in my affairs no longer." Argoza's voice echoed from Piotr as he turned to deliver the final blow to the cleric who had fallen to her knees. "Your journey ends here." Argoza raised the blade to strike.

"Somebody do something!" The telepathic message went to everyone, and someone answered. Argoza froze, not allowing the blade to fall. Piotr was fighting back, suddenly Amurra out of, of no where, smashed the blunt end of Tonganin into Argoza knocking him back. Long enough for Cirin to rush over and draw his sword.

"YOU! You have bothered me for the last time." Argoza set himself for combat.

Cirin glared at Argoza, his eyes burning in blue flame. They paused...

Then in under a instant their blades were clashing in chaos. The rest of the group retreated to Aphrael to guard and tend to her. The blade had miraculously missed anything vital, Piotr must have had something to do with it.

Cirin and Argoza hued back and forth at each other. Nothing about the fight was elegant. It was pure chaos. The only thing keeping Cirin going was his anticipation. It was all he could do to keep up as Argoza pummeled him with swing after swing. His wound was still draining blood fast, and though his power kept him upwright he was slowing down. Argoza kicked Cirin's feet out from under him and the elf landed on his back, rolling away as Argoza's blade imbeded in the wood deck. Back on his feet, faster, faster. Parry, thrust, dodge, duck, parry...oh no.

Argoza slid his blade along Cirin's, spinning it, sending Cirin's sword sliding across the deck. A swift punch to the face left Cirin laying on the ground, the flame in his eyes died as he wedged himself up on one knee.

Argoza towered over Cirin, "Now I will finish you like I should have so long ago. Then perhaps your friends will taste my blade. That assasin will bring me much pleasure in killing."

Cirin's eyes blazed, he jumped into a twisting flip over Argoza's head, his mind reached out to his sword and summoned it back to his hand. The blad left the ground and flew to the elf. Down came the blade, Argoza knew nothing but surprise as he felt the wind of Cirin's sword against his neck, then everything went black.

Piotr's body slumped to the ground, and Cirin fell to one knee beside the body of his friend.

Stephen and Aranoi rushed over. "Is he..."

"He will be fine..." Cirin merely kneeled, using his sword for support. "I turned the blade vertical at the last second so only the flap part hit him, he will have a headache but he will be fine."

Amurra helped Aphrael over to Piotr. Her wound was wrapped, and amazingly not so severe. She knelt beside him, holding his head in her lap in tears. Aranoi put his hand on her shoulder, "Piotr could never hurt you. Your wound not killing you was not luck, and he held off Argoza as well. Don't worry it will all be ok."

The dawn came into its full splendor and a cool wind came up behind the ship. Bringing hope to its crew.

(OOC {/end novel} OOOMG that took so much. Could one of yal proof read it for me pls. Its late and I need sleep. wow...i tried to give everyone their own moment in the spotlight. Except william and stephen cause i can't give all 3 of your characters awsome parts Triar lol. I hope yal like it, or at least it entertained yal. If you don't like any of it, I will edit around. Just let me know. I did awsome on my final btw)

[Triar]

(OOC: Wooooooo! :clap: Yeah! :clap: That was awesome! :clap: Yeah heeeey! :clap: Now what did I say about wrecking the ship? LoL - It's okay, we can fix it all in due time. The ship won't take long to fix (just one post that takes up like 20 days) :D And again - Great post ShadowFire :clap: )

[Shadowfire05]

(OOC I would like to thank the academy, and Dr Pepper)

[Fajiera Zahra]

[:Insert a big thanks to all the little people you had to step on to get here today...: Oh, wait, you've already taken care of that. Wonderful post and...oooh. :Mock gasp: Do I smell foreshadowing? Alright, anyway, I have a bit of free time, hopefully enough, so I'll try to come 'round as the cleanup crew for all of this. If anyone else gets on before I actually write the post, though, they can feel free to jump ahead in line.]

[Shadowfire05]

(OOC :-p Well I will be out of commission for a day or so, huge amount of finals and stuff tomorrow :( So yal write away and I will catch up. Just have Cirin do whatever, as long as its a Cirin thing to do ;) So don't try and make him your slave or anything Fajiera :-p )

[Fajiera Zahra]

[Oh darn; I had the whole thing written up and everything, too...Lol. Actually, I do have my post written up in my handy little composition book but I've thusfar been left without time to type it; hopefully I'll get more than a two-minute break today where I can sit down and post it. >.O' So anyway, look forward to that soon. But if anyone wants to post something before I get it up, completely disregard mine and go ahead and do so; I don't mind. Cheers, all.]

[Sephrenia]

(ooc: ohhh no, dont worry Fajiera. No one will post. We'd hate to deprive you of posting. :p)

[Fajiera Zahra]

Majestic purples, dazzling oranges, and candy-floss pinks settled gently over the tender sky, the stunning colors brushed across the blues standing out in their own enduring splendor against the crimsons and golds of their evening counterpart. Some of the soldiers were still picking off a few of the attackers left in various parts of the ship, while others took count of the dead and cared for the wounded. Steven and William, not seen apart since the start of this havoc, made their rounds to check under the fallen splinters and upturned ropes for any men trapped under the wreckage. Trusting Piotr to Cirin, Aphrael finally parted from her beloved and grudgingly set off to find the ailing sailors and see what help she could be; Aronai followed silently to make sure the wounded, worried, selfless healer didn’t over-tax herself while she was working.

Everyone seemed to be settling into a routine, if a shaky one, so Amurra found hers, and sauntered off to help the upright sailors check the ship for any infiltrators. She was the kind of person that gave off the appearance of sauntering even when she ran, and, striding so calmly through this devastation, the effect was that much more unnerving. With so few of the crew left, and those bloody and dazed…Ravens often found their way to the battlefield, and often seemed to come out with the other hand, despite victory claimed by one side or the other; the difference here was that one of the scavengers seemed to have found its way here early, and had forgotten its wings.

An hour passed slowly, the seconds slowly pouring through the air like treacle. Dead bodies were mourned over briefly and, as respectfully as possible, cast into the waters; there was no where else for them to go. Most of the wounded soldiers were healed now; at least enough to be up and on their feet again, and joined the rest of them on the main deck, some cleaning up big debris, some mopping the gore from the wood. William and Steven had returned, along with Aronai and Aphrael, and they now sat around Piotr who had recently come to, moaning and bleary and complaining of a headache: it seemed his memory had gone completely blank from the time Argoza rose in him until this moment. Aphrael, drained of energy, rested her head lightly on his chest and kept him resting, scuttling between worry and sleep while the other three sat silently around them: Aronai, assured his friend would be fine now, had gotten up to help the crew and keep his mind busy.

With the dead gone and the blood washed and the eyes dried, the captain, now recovered from his hit, took command again, standing by the wheel and shouting husky orders, banishing the pain and the sorrow from the sailors with quick words, some encouraging, others threatening. With life as calm as it could be after such an attack, someone thought to look for the missing assassin; Cirin saw her silhouetted against the warm glow of the sun for the second time that morning, but this time the Dawn’s rosy fingers cast an entirely different light on her. Sitting on the fallen mast, her feet dangled off the thick wood above the churning waters, Toganin resting easily on the railing of the crow’s nest, the blunt end balancing against her thigh to keep the weapon from tipping into the water. And the woman herself, ragged, tell-tale braid whipping out behind her in the easy wind, held a bloody hand up to her lips which she washed slowly, much as a cat might do.

After a time she was aware of the eyes and glanced up, somewhat guiltily. Muttering something about old habits and ‘knowing thyne enemy or wossit,’ she sprung up and walked back along the mast, disappearing below deck a moment before returning to the greatly-diminished crowd, hand wiped and scythe resting safely in her salty chambers again.

The incident was dismissed and events moved forward as Piotr muttered a hazy question, passed along to the captain by William—with the main mast broken and the sails down, how were they going to keep sailing? The old man laughed heartily and returned, throwing an arm over Cirin’s (Amurra was trying hard not to think of him just then, and how the elf had suddenly gotten his fight back after Argoza’s comment about her) shoulder like an old friend and leading him to the wheel. The elf protested the whole way—hadn’t this been a one time thing? But apparently the captain had to explain some things to William and get the ship as ready to sail as it could be again—it was either taking the ship or walking the plank, so with a laugh Cirin reluctantly accepted ‘command’ of the ship once again.

Piotr had fallen asleep against the side of the ship again, and Aphrael dozed peacefully alongside them—content that the threat was over, for now, Steven lumbered off towards the knowledgeable sailor to hear the explanation and directions he was giving William and the rest of the crew. Left alone again, Zahra finally made her way to the helm, leaning casually on the railing while Cirin worked with wrinkled brow to keep the ship on course without the help of the sails, and with all the new resistance the fallen mast caused. A moment of silence passed between the two of them, broken only by the curses and shouts and screamed orders and threats and the beating of wood and steel and the slap of the wind on the waves. At last, grey-green eyes peering out to sea, Amurra added in her voice, and, with lack of anything deeper to say at the moment, sighed and commented, “Y’know, I could really use some of that rum about now…”

[Oh. I am humbled behind that great post. Well, I felt really guilty about not posting so finally made the time to sit down and type everything…and ended up rewriting pretty much everything as I went. But anyway. You’ll notice; an entire two pages with only one line of actual dialogue! I feel special now. </sarcasm>]

[Triar]

"We're not going to be able to fix this ship wholley on this sea; but we're going
to have to fix it as much as we can! Now listen: This mast and the sails must be up. To do this, we're going to need some extremely good crafters to help.
But on the way, on the lower deck, I'm going to send some men down there to
the paddles so we keep going instead of sitting here aimlessly. Aronai! You're
coming with me, as are you, and you -" The cap'n picked out about 16 sailors, including Aronai. "Graghen," the cap'n took the sailors shoulder and pulled him towards him. "Graghen here has been a cap'n of many smaller ships in the past! Argh, Graghen, you're going to teach these men how to row a ship."

The cap'n slowly turned his head when Amurra thought out loud: "Y’know, I could really use some of that rum about now." The cap'n laughed. "At a time like this? No way."

Graghen nodded, and the men followed him down to the lower deck where the ships massive paddes were. The cap'n quickly added that he will sound the horn once he wants everyone to start paddling. Now back to the ship. "We're going to have to get our best crafters, which I of course know who they are, to help us craft the mast into a smaller shaft down the bottom, and, dig a hole into the base of the mast. There are many tools on board that we can use, and I'll bring some up from the stockhold. Also, we're going to need these
missing planks of wood from the floor fixed. And the ripped parts of the sails must be repaired. To do this, we're going to need to get the planks of wood from the stockhold, and those linen sheets to patch up the sails. Let's get to work, men! I'm giving yee all 6 hours to do this! Let's hussle!"

Every sailor on the deck began to run around the deck, and dowstairs. After about 30 minutes of Graghen teaching the sailors and Aronai at the paddles, it was time for them to also join the crew in fixing the ship. "Ladies, help with sewing on these linen sheets onto the sails!" The first 30 minutes was the simple part with the sailors fixing up the holes in the deck, and the patches in the sails. The crafting sailors got a pickaxe and began cutting away the useless pieces of wood from the mast from where it broke off. The mast broke off about three quarters of the way down, so this made it a little easier for the crafters to to fix the mast.

What the crafters did was make both the base and the shaft of the mast totally flat, smoothing it out with some sandpaper. After that, the crafters grabbed their hammers and chizzles, went around the shaft of the mast, and began to cut away the wood, making the bottom part of the mast thinner. The hole in the base of the mast was cut out using a hammer and chizzel first, then the sailors got a pick and started driving even a deeper hole into the base. Once the picks got as deep as they could, the cap'n took out a weird tool from the large toolbox. This tool had a box on the end with loops on it made from wood where you could hold the tool (OOC: like a chainsaw), and a large steel pipe went from the holster and out at least 4 meters. With small but very sharp grooves were cut around the steel pipe, this was to be used in cutting a perfect circle into the base of the mast, where the bottom of the shaft of the mast would then slip in.

It took 4 and a half hours before the crafters had completed their crafting jobs, and now it was time for the hard part. Huge bunches of rope were tied around the upper shaft, and they strung out. At least 40 ropes strung out, thus giving 40 men one job each of pulling the mast up, and maintaining it. Aronai, Steven, and Gragher, and another large and muscley sailor had the job of pushing and pulling the end shaft of the mast into position, where the mast could then slip into the hole. The cap'n was on the higher part of the deck, giving order.

"Now pull!" 30 men on one side of the mast pulled, and the mast began to come up. "More men on the left to the right!" 4 more men joined the 30 others to pull up the shaft of the mast. Aronai, Steven, Gragher, and the other sailor were putting in their utmost strength and pushing the bottom of the shaft, adding as much strength as they could to pushing the shaft up. The mast was almost up at a 75 degree angle. "I want 14 men on the left, and the rest to the right!" The pulling men on the side on the right went on to the left where they maintained the balance of the shaft. It was at a 80 degree angle where the four at the bottom of the shaft were beginning to move the bottom of the shaft into the hole of the base. "Hold it!" Ordered the cap'n. "I want you men to slowly even out your numbers. 20 on the left, and 20 on the right. Aronai was definitely trying the hardest out of the four, but gave up for a second, taking off his shirt. Muscles peaked out like small bubbles from a boiling lake of lava. Then, Aronai pushed the mast, and every muscle in his body tensed up. The mast was at a 85 degree angle, and the shaft was about to slip into the base. "GET READY TO MOVE YOU FOUR!" screamed the cap'n. And finally, the shaft got lined up with the hole. "On the count of three, we jump away," Aronai whispered as the four struggled to alone hold the bottom of the mast up from falling into the hole as the shaft would also crush them.

"One..." Aronai counted. The others waited.

"Two..." Aronai counted again, telling the three others to slowly put the shaft into the hole.

"Three!" Aronai, Steven, Gragher and the other sailor all jumped back, and the shaft slipped into the hole, and making an uneasy entrance, the shaft jumped once about a quarter of the way out of the hall, then back in. A perfect fit. All the sailors cheered at a job well done, and Aronai put on his shirt again. (OOC: :clap: :clap: :clap: Woo! Had to add it..)

Now it was time to hoist up the sails again to begin sailing again. With very low winds, they would move very slowly, so it was time for the rowing crew to go down and begin rowing.

"Make sure we head due South!" the Cap'n ordered Cirin. Cirin took hold of the wheel and began moving the wheel to the right, looking at the compass, and aligning the ship to face south.

The rowers began to row, and the ship slowly began to move. Piotr began shaking the hands of the other sailors for a job well done. "NOW it's time for that rum," Piotr smiled, and Amurra forced out a laugh. "Well whaddya waiting for? Come bring some!"

(OOC: The shaft slipped into the hole very nicely, jumping back out then in.. How cool? Well a job well done :clap: :clap: :clap: to the sailor! w00t! Time to get drunk again :))

[Shadowfire05]

The ship moved slowly through the vast blue ocean. Daylight faded into the soft blanket of stars, and the tranquil glow of the moon. A cool ocean breeze bloomed its way across the deck of the ship. It washed away the scent of sawdust and sweat, and the fresh smell of the ocean brought peace to the crew as they headed to bed.

A faint sound. A lullybye crept across the deck slowly. The deeply soothing sound of a low toned flute whispered to the night. At first everyone thought they were just hearing things. Then the melody grew until the very wood of the ship seemed to sing in echo, but where was the sound coming from? It seemed to be coming from the very air, as if the ship was continously sailing into the song.

Piotr emerged from the cabin with Aphrael pereing around his shoulder behind him. Both in sleepy clothes. Amurra emerged from down below, her hair wet and down from just washing it from the days worries. Moonglow glistened off her hair turning it into black silk. The whole ship was still as the long tones swept across the ship on the back of the wind. The crew fell into the soothing arms of the windsong and relaxed. A crewman leaned his head against a pole closing his eyes, the helsman locked the wheel and leaned his chair back against the wall with his hands behind his head, everyone forgot about the weary day and just lulled in the moment of peace.

Piotr pulled Aphrael in front of him, her back against his chest, his chin on her head, arms snuggly around her shoulders holding her hands against her stomach. Amurra sat on the steps heading up from the lower decks just so she was peeking above deck, with the stars and the moon focusing only on her.

Wind breezed across the ship again as the lullybye began to fade. It was so beautiful and serene. Soft tones vibrated through the air, and you could almost feel the bass in the notes. Slowly the sound drifted, as the crew held on to the last moments of tranquility. The melody ended.

Amurra, being the curious assasin she was, against her better judgment, decided to check out where the sound came from. As she approached the bow of the ship she noticed something. It was out on the very bow of the ship but she couldn't make out the figure. As the ship rose on a wave, light glinted off golden hair as the figure removed the hood of his blue cloak and leaned against some ropes.

"Isn't the captain supposed to be taking care of the ship?" Cirin smiled at the sound of Amurra's sarcasm. Amurra knew full well he was fufilling his job perfectly. She walked out onto the bow as well, perfectly balanced, almost gliding.

"Grapher has the wheel. He knows more about the sea than I do." Cirin was content and welcomed the conversation, sarcasm or otherwise. "I hope I didn't disturb your much needed bath."

"What was that!?" A sharp glance met with Cirin at the implication. "Well thats what happens when you actually work instead of sitting around fiddling on a flute."

Cirin just smirked as he stared ahead to where the stars met the black ocean. Another breeze blew through. "It's an ocarina. A bass one actually." Amurra let go some of her tension as he let the comeback roll off of him, smiling the whole time.

"So how did you come up with that tune maestro?" Cirin was suprised to find no sarcasm in Amurra's voice. He smiled to himself.

"Every song has its inspiration..." Cirin slightly turned his head and looked at Amurra, "I found that one's at dawn."

Amurra froze realizing what he had just said. She held her composure but didn't know what to say. She had looked horrible that morning, tattered, covered in blood. How could ANYONE find that inspiring. A slight scowl slipped across her face, but she hid it well. He was so frustrating. She didn't know whether to hate him, or....or....

"Cirin was that you playing that?" Piotr's voice saved Amurra from her thoughts. "That was beautiful. Where did you learn to do that."

"Thank you. I just kind of picked it up over the years." Cirin had really taught himself the music to help calm him. It was very hard his first few years after losing his memory to get through the nights, so he taught himself how to play to sooth himself. The elf could just let his emotion flood into the song and out of his mind. He was now to the point where he could make up his own songs at will.

"Well I'm going to head back below, I will see you two in the morning." Amurra quickly took the chance to escape the situation and her thoughts. She was muttering softly as she headed back. Cirin offered no resistance, he was quite sure she knew how he felt about her, but he would not force it upon her, but he couldn't change how he felt either. Nor did he want to.

"She's off in a rush." Piotr's comment made Cirin chuckle.

"What brings you up here when your beatiful girl to 'heal' your wounds?" Cirin curiously asked. An uneasy smile washed across the swordsmans face. "Is something wrong Piotr?"

"No...well...I just can't get over the fact of what I did to her to during the battle." Piotr looked deeply troubled. When Aranoi had told him how Piotr/Argoza had stabbed Aphrael, Piotr disapeared for the better part of two hours. Cirin wished Aranoi had waited, but it was for the best he guessed.

"You mean how you saved her life." Confidence in his friend filled Cirin's voice. "YOU were the one that made sure the wound wasn't lethal. YOU were the one responsible for stoping Argoza from striking her down. Don't you dare doubt how strong you are, or your feelings for her."

Piotr's head rose as he looked at his friend and smiled. "So how did that go?" Piotr's thumb pointed back over his shoulder as Amurra walked across the deck, and Cirin realized the real reason Piotr had come to the bow.

Cirin merely smiled. There was no need to spread rumors or start gossip. The elf turned and looked back as Amurra started to head below deck. She stopped halfway and slighly turned her head, almost as if she was going to look back but stopped herself. Was it so horrible to know that she meant something to someone? Cirin knew she might not return the feelings, nor did she have to, but was it so hard to accept? The warm glow of the light below decks lit up her face, and the moon twinkled off her wet hair. Beautiful. She disapeared below the decks.

"Go back to bed and get some rest." Piotr grinned as he understood Cirin would tell him nothing, but he knew his feelings. "I just found some inspiration." Cirin smiled at Piotr who headed back down the bow. As Piotr reached the door to the cabin...

A breeze blew across the deck, carrying the soft lullybye of an ocarina. Beautifully long, soothing tones echoed across the deck. Dream.

[Triar]

(OOC: Wow Shadow... That post literally soothed me... Well done buddy...)

[Fajiera Zahra]

For the second time that night the soft, sweet, reedy music drifted through the air, seeping into each quiet crevice, soaring over the open expanse of water, each crescendo and diminuendo rolling and blending with the gentle crashing of the waves. The peaceful lullaby seemed to have lulled everyone back to sleep; almost everyone, at any rate.

Cirin played on serenely, the small instrument pouring out a seamless cascade of blissful music. Amurra, satisfied now he was the only other awake, quietly closed the door to her cabin and walked shakily over to the chest-of-drawers, eyes shut, bosom rising and falling like an empire until, finally, she managed to stifle the emotions and resume her impenetrable mask again.

The woman couldn’t enjoy the music this time, as she had before; couldn’t get the blue-eyed elf’s words out of her head, despite the fact he now piped a different tune. This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen! No emotional attachment, that was the key—“professional detachment,” you could call it. And up until now, there’d never been a real problem. Of course she was human (or mostly, but that was beside the point), but she could –ignore- the emotions until they faded away. …So why did this bother her so much?

Slowly, carefully, in that stiff but practiced manner that people often take when they’re fighting to appear normal against the odds, she bound up the mass of cold, damp hair; not plaited back yet, but rather piled atop her head in a messy sort of bun, held in place by two porcelain hair sticks kept in a drawer somewhere, here and there a loose curl dropping out and bobbing gently around her face.

Music…cunning and deceitful, but often more comforting than another person every could be; at least for Amurra, at any rate, who wasn’t very comforted by other people at all. But it was…otherworldly. Unreal. Its own version of fiction. But… ‘fiction is art, and art is the triumph over chaos to celebrate a world that lies spread out around us like a bewildering and stupendous dream.’ And now a new strain of music found its way through the cracks in the wood, and more than anything she hated it right at that moment. Beautiful, alluring, mysterious; she didn’t recognize the tune, per say, but the feeling of the tune, the notes pouring out in a fashion no human, dwarf, fae could ever create.

And Zahra found herself making up words in her native tongue, senseless, meaningless stretches of syllables as she tried to anticipate each measure of the song she had never before heard, and then a cloak was slipped over her nightgown, and then the door was opened, and then she was cursing herself on a moon washed deck, the wine-dark sea caressing with motherly fingers the treasure it had captured within its depths.

Cirin looked curiously at her, and the assassin realized that, of course, her reappearance couldn’t pass without explanation. Smoothly she made her way over to him again, the salty air picking up her ringlets and throwing them back over her shoulders.

“It’s…it’s the song. I almost recognize it,” she attempted lamely, but the man next to her seemed to understand, and didn’t stop to speak until the song was actually finished. Casually she wiped a rolling drop of blood from her forearm, not at all concerned until Cirin shot a worried glance her way.

“What happened? Are you alright?”

“Hmm? Oh, fine. It’s a…” the woman paused to search for a word. Usually it had the night to dry and heal over; the cuts were never very deep, and in the morning they would be hidden beneath her robes again. Not mutilation, as some might think—she never drew enough blood to cause any harm. It was just something she felt she had to do. “…ritual, you could say, with Yama Ohini. I spill blood with them, and they taste mine: its about balance. It hardly hurts, anymore.”

Smart enough to let such personal matters lie, an awkward moment ensued a moment. Cirin fiddled casually with the ocarina in his hands, mulling over his thoughts.

“So why--”

“Did I come back out? I don’t know…I love the sea. The company could be better, but…” Amurra flashed that wicked grin, but in a moment it faded and her features grew solemn, tones quieter still. “…I suppose it could be worse.”

Immediately she regretted the backhanded compliment and turned away from him, grey-green eyes staring out blankly at the waters, dark and…so immense. They stretched as far as her sharp eyes could see, and in her mind infinitely farther. The woman felt dead inside, and after a moment of anguish on her part and silence on his, she cautiously rose to flee the scene again and escape into black sleep. …Grinning death. Zahra nearly fell when she half-spun in surprise at the hand that clutched her upper arm, the warmth of the blood suddenly chilling.

“Wait…please? You don’t have to say anything, just—don’t go.”

[It’s hard to try to be emotional without either making a joke out of the whole thing or just becoming really sappy with a character like Amurra. I was thinking of this earlier and came up with the perfect thing to say; it just…fit, and the whole thing would have gone smoothly, but I didn’t think to write it down and by the time I got home with time to type I had forgotten. I spent an hour just trying to remember and finally just gave up and attempted something new. Sorry there’s not really anyone else in the post, but you were all sleeping and I thought it might be good not to just skip to the next morning for once. I’ll let someone else finish this scene. Cheers, all.]

[Shadowfire05]

(OOC Wow, :clap: ya you completely outdid my post, your descriptions at the first part were amazing. You describe music much better than I did. I left out Crescendo and associated terms because I wasn't sure others would understand them. Its funny though, because I happened to be listening to the DnL music you can download when I read the post, it went with it perfectly lol :dance: But you left me in kind of a bind now, because Cirin has said "don't go" basically and now I don't know how amurra should respond to it lol. :p I will try though. Awsome post Fajiera)

Edit... OOH! i just thought of how to spin it. I will write it soon as I have time.

Ooh, and she felt dead inside? cmoooon. He's playing a song just for her, I grant that she may not be thrilled about it, but dead...ouch.

[Shadowfire05]

"Wait please? You don't have to say anything. Just...." Cirin's voice quited to a soft pleading whisper, "...don't go."

Suprise filled Amurra. She didn't know how to react. Cirin's supported her with his hand to keep her from falling. And the gentle warmth of his touch was refilling her body with warmth. He removed his hand from her arm, and as it fell back to his side Amurra's keen eyes noticed blood dripping from his fingertips.

"Are you ok?!" Amurra's surprise faded, as she focused on his hand.

"Its from your arm." Cirin said. Amurra looked down to see the smeared blood on her arm from the kiss Yama Ohini had given her. "Wait was that concern? for me?" Cirin's face glowed with warm feeling.

'Dammit Zahra. Why did I have to say that?' Why couldn't she ignore her concern for him? Why did she have concern for him? Why did she.... She winced as emotions chaotically fired all over her body.

Cirin realized that he would likely not get an answer from her. He knew this was something an assasin was not accustomed to dealing with. The moonlight hugged her face, she was so beautiful.

Amurra turned to continue to her cabin. 'Say something you fool, do something!' Cirin's minded reacted.

Soft notes filled the night air. There was more of a beat to the tune, but the melody was mysterious and inviting. Amurra slowed her pace, it was as if she was fighting to keep going, but some force was holding her back. She paused.

'Dam him'

She turned and looked at him. Cirin's cheeks lifted into a smile around the mouthpeice of the ocarina. He motioned for her to follow him. They both walked back up the bow and sat down, not right next to each other, but within a foot or so. Cirin said nothing he just played.

He smiled to himself when he noticed her tapping her finger to the song. But had never truly been happier than when he heard her start to hum along with him. 'Who would have thought such a tough little assasin would have such a sweet voice?' Cirin smiled and fell into the sound of her echoing tones. He even played quiter so he could listen better.

The waves joined in chorus with them. Even the creeks of the ship seemed to be on beat. The two just stared out at the vast ocean ahead of them. It was full of uncertainty, mystery. The ocean appealed to her. She be in its company and just be. No need to be pleasant or pretty. It would comfort her when she needed it. The ocean did not care for idle chatter, nor ask for it. Perhaps thats why she loved it so much.

She looked over at Cirin as he piped serenity into the night. He was just playing. It was so nice. Here she was just just sitting with a person. No need to be pleasant or pretty. Her song was comforting to her. There was no need for idle chatter between them. Perhaps thats why she....

The ocarina poured life into the night. Long strong soothing tones burst from the ocarina. Slow trills and flutters intermixed brought the song to a climax.

Frozen. Her mind suddenly realized the comparison it had just made. Her body became very warm, and she was glad that the night hid her flushing cheeks. Then another thought came to her. 'Surely he can sense these emotions in me, but he is just sitting their playing. Didn't he notice that I stopped humming?'

She forced every thought out of her head and just listend to the last strain of the song. It grew softer and less dramatic as the climax. She relaxed and leaned against the ropes, content in hearing only the music and the ocean. She almost fell asleep, but just before she did the song came to its end.

"Good thing everyone was asleep for that." Cirin playfully glared at her Amurra's sarcasm. She had managed to force out all of the weird mushy thoughts and was back to her old self. "I don't think I can take any more of this."

"Well I'm sorry I ruined your evening." A slight sign of disapointment crossed the elfs face.

"Well..." Amurra paused, "I guess it wasn't a complete waste." Though she wanted to she just could not bring herself to be mean to him. 'I wonder if all elves are this frustrating.'

Cirin closed the distance between them and horror flooded Amurra's face. His head slowly moved downward closer to hers. His eyes lovingly embraced her. She couldn't hide it. 'Oh no he's going to try to kiss me! What do I do.' She closed her eyes, and her right hand came up and wheeled towards his face.

A loud slap wrang out across the deck. She opened her eyes and froze. He hadn't blinked, and the hand she had sent towards him had missed. The open palm of her right hand was now against the back of his left hand. The force of the swing hitting his block wrapped her fingers over his hand to where they were in his palm. He gently laid down his thump over her rough fingers. She was suprised to find his hands rough as well.

He leaned in closer there was nothing she could do now. Her eyes closed. Closer...

"Sweet dreams Amurra." Amurra opened her eyes to find Cirin's head just to the left of hers as he whispered into her ear. Her nose was filled with the scent of the sea that was in his golden hair, and suddenly the earlier comparison rushed back. As he pulled his head back he let his cheek brush against hers. Goosebumps popped up all over his body, and hers as well. Warmth flowed through Cirin.

He let go of her hand and headed back towards his room. The whole time he kept hoping that she would not use her assasin skills any time that night, but if she did, at least she was the last thing he would see.

(OOC. wow that was hard, its not very good. I can't match up to your last post. Pls don't asassinate him tonight Fajiera, i'm sure Piotr has kept Aphrael up all night and she would be very tired to rez someone ;). If you didn't notice it Cirin could actually tell how she was feeling, and if you pay attention to the music you can tell. But Amurra can't raz him for it because she was to preoccupied to notice. Anyhow let me know if you like it I can always edit, but I don't know about you this is fun.)

[Triar]

William awoke to the soft tune that made its way through the wooden floors to his ears. For the first time ever, Steven was not snoring in his sleep. Maybe even he thought it was beautiful. William sat on the side of his bed. Putting his arms back to support him, and slowly looking up, William's eyes slowly shut. The tune stopped for a moment, and William's eyes opened. He never heard anything so beautiful in his life, and William stepped out of his cabin and began to sneak along the hallway to the deck entrance.

The music began to play again. This time, there was a woman humming. Was it..? No way..! William snuck stealthily to the main deck, and went to investigate the music. He went to the wheel of the ship, but nobody was there. Although Cirin was meant to be there, William sat down on the side of the ship, listening to the relaxing tune. A flute, William thought. But it didn't sound wholley like a flute. More bass-like. Almost sounded like a beat. William looked at the nightsky. The wind that came from the waves was very beautiful. And on top of that, the woman humming, and the flute playing, William smiled. Tears of joy filled his eyes.

William was always broke down into emotions when music was played. It was the only good thing in his life that he could remember. It was because the only good thing that William knew in the world was how to play music. And he hadn't heard a tune such as the flute and the woman together before. William smiled at how lucky he was to have been released from slavery. But he would always be Piotr and Steven's brother forever. He would even put his life before theirs just to see them alive. William then looked around the ship. It came from the other side. The tune stopped, and William saw Cirin and Amurra standing together. They were the ones that were playing the music! William gazed at the two. They definitely had something for one another. And William knew that his feelings meant nothing to her now. Nothing.

Cirin whispered something into Amurra's ear and left the deck. Amurra was stunned. William smiled - He was happy for the couple. He had lost her hand, and Cirin gained it. William sat on the base of the deck, next to the wheel. Amurra's head turned. She saw William starring at her. He smiled at her and reluctantly looked away. She was so beautiful in the moonlight that he had to gaze back at her again. Sighing, William wiped his eyes. Amurra was still on the other side of the ship. She didn't budge. Still shell shocked from whatever Cirin whispered in her ear, and now even more shocked that William had seen it; William felt the guilt of not releasing his feelings to her earlier. Now that he lost her, William had a weight off his chest. Nothing to live for. William laid back on the deck and looked at the nightsky. Nothing...

I have something... Something to live for... To see Piotr uncursed was what William decided to live for. To see him free from the curse. Putting his life in front Piotr's was his job. His destiny. And if he were to die, so be it. Why should I greave on losing her? He didn't have to. And that he didn't. William smiled. He now had no worries.

William fell asleep, but not without saying to himself: I will die only to see Piotr and Steven happy... Brothers for life...

(OOC: Well there you have it! William considers Piotr and Steven as brothers, and he caught sight of Cirin whispering to Amurra. Nice - Well at least the next morning will come and we can continue our journey. Only a few more weeks to be passed before we reach the island we need to reach (which is going to probably be my next post). So if ya'll have something to post, post it quickly because tomorrow early afternoon, I'll be posting that we have arrived at our destination! :boohoo: Great music too Shadow - Made William cry :))

[Shadowfire05]

(OOC WHOOOOAAAAA! hold the phone there brother, you better re-read my post. The two of them never kiss. Cirin merely whispers in her ears "sweet dreams". But they never kiss. Quit trying to put words in my mouth and get me in trouble :p And don't forget Amurra, despite Cirins obvious feelings for her, still hasn't come out and said she likes him. oh and check your PM's)

[Triar]

(OOC: Well I can pretend the silhouette thing made it out that they kissed :shhh: But I'm too tired to edit anything, so just... I'll edit it later on... Or I'll just make it out that the silhoette made it out that they kissed... meh... Too tired now... Might edit later if I can be stuffed... :))

[Shadowfire05]

ok, i can go with the silohuette LOOKED like they kissed, just as long as you realize they didn't

[Triar]

(OOC: Okay I edited it now cause I felt in the mood :) Soon will come the post where we arrive on shore to the Harrknar Caves (which is obviously on an island somewhere in the Heelos Ocean).)

[Fajiera Zahra]

[For the sake of my next post which will hopefully be a close to this scene so in your next one we will move on, Triar (I know that was bloody run-on; you'll get over it), did William go back to his cabin and fall asleep, or just drift off right where he was? Many thanks. I'm kicking myself for taking enough time to check this now because I have SO much to be doing (I just love you guys that much), so I probably won't post tonight anyway...but I will try to get something up tomorrow at the latest. Thanks. Cheers, all.]

[Triar]

(OOC: William fell asleep right there, next to the wheel of the ship (where you steer the ship) - Why? Well it was so he wouldn't run into Amurra on the way... Okay - I'll let you have your next post Fajiera (as well as anyone else) before we reach the Harrknar Caves.)

[Shadowfire05]

(OOC Someone post, Fajiera (cough) Fajiera, the suspense is killing me.)

[Fajiera Zahra]

[Hey, I woke up at five in the morning on a Saturday and spent all day at a Tourney. You think I really have time in my schedule for you people? xD Actually, I wrote up about half of my post while I was waiting in between rounds...So I'll finish up and post as soon as I can. ><" Sorry for the wait, all.]

[Shadowfire05]

(ooc *nudges fajiera* psssst....your line is... "Cirin...kiss me." )

[Triar]

(OOC: You will be sorry to not have posted Fajiera - I'm gonna sick Argoza onto you soon :dance: )

[Fajiera Zahra]

[Noooo! :Insert look of despair here.: Wait! Argoza can't kill me, I've got magic armour! No, actually, I brought Fajiera into Tides of Evil, which means she is, in this current plotline, invincible. Oh, didn't see that one coming, did you? Lol.

Now. Let us rejoice/in work driven dead-lines. Work/has stolen my life.
Look! I made a haiku! Yeah, there goes another lousy attempt at excuses...I have been entirely too busy, but not this whole time. I...got sick...again! Argh! And then I finally went in for a flu shot (AFTER I was sick, mind you,) and I got this HUGE red mark on my arm that won't go away. And it itches. :Insert faint here.: I'm going to die.

But first! The moment you've all been waiting for. Or at least some of you, for a mildly long period of time. But that's not the point. Much more dramatic, the first way.

I'm just supposed to close this scene for good, and Triar will take over in the morning with our new adventures, no? Well, that's what I'm doing, anyway...Feh.

(Oh. As a totally unrelated note [not that any of my thoughts have been particularly fluid or connected...] can I get everyone's age, please? Of the characters, that is. Much obliged.)]

Bloody, bloody hell. So this is what it was all coming down to at last, aye? Fajiera stood where Cirin had left her, emotions running rampant in her, too overwhelmed to move. Shock, horror, anger, fear, confusion, anxiety...longing? No quick jibes came now, nor any desperate, loving, last minute returns; she merely watched Cirin's back until she saw it no more, listened until her sharp ears could hear nothing human but her own heart, beating as though it were apt to burst from her chest. And then...there was William. Their eyes had met only breifly, but for long enough. When had he come? The woman cursed herself for getting so tangled up with the elf that she had failed to notice the other young man's arrival. Forcing herself to return to some semblance of her previous self, Zahra cautiously glanced over his way with an internal groan. Asleep, that was all. And the gentle, peaceful expression on his face now hid from her any betrayal or longing he might have felt.

Her ways with the gods were...strange, to others. She didn't believe in them, as such, but nor would she ever call herself an atheist. Fajiera knew full well the gods existed, and so found no more reason to believe in them then one would believe in a chair, say. It only encouraged them. Now, however, her pale eyes flashed heavenward and she cursed lady Fate with a wry, twisted smile. Her only answer was a reedy echo; the memory of Cirin's tune drifting, ghostlike, through her mind. The assassin removed her heavy cloak and strode over to the wheel, laying the finely-woven black garment over William's brave, shivering form.

The humorless smile never once retreated as she made her short journey across the deck, marching steadfastly to her destination, eyes as good as blind to the here-and-now. Closest to the sky, absorbed in the wind, she held herself shakily in the crushed, deformed remnant of the crow's nest, one hand clinging, white-knuckled, to what little rail remained intact around her. Fajiera was tempted now, so high, to throw back her head and curse the gods with all she had; curse them so that they would strike her down now and end this eternal suffering. But no: they were not so kind as that.

Tonight it was dark, as though a blanket of heavy black velvet were drawn over to curtain the sun, in place of an ordinary night. Fine, shimmering droplets of silver were embroidered on the coverlet; the finest crystals, pearls, diamonds in place of stars. That glorious bard crystal that hung in the sky, masquerading as the moon, cast a pale, watery light over the troubled woman. Silk garments, pure and snowy white, flowed over her: bedclothes, and of an expected color, perhaps, but for one who was never seen in anything other than her ebony standard this was a stark and exquisite contrast. Deep hair, nearly black but for jets of honey here and there on the underside of a curl, was not bound in the stiff braid at her neck, and the piles of loose ringlets, held by the thin sticks, only added to the sudden change.

The feminine creature, so strong, so pure, so righteous a moment ago in that pale light, suddenly sunk to her knees, and the spell was broken. The flesh was not pure and creamy but calloused, and weatherburnt, the hair not piled in fashionable coils but slung messily, in haste, the gown not undisturbed but wrinkled by wind and touched with age.

Balance.

A moment of weakness for every moment of strength.

And then the anger and the hurt and the longing and the fear and the love and the hate were all gone, Cirin's memory of her song and her cast-off cloak the only memories left of that soft, confused damsel. She had been taught! Ye gods, she had been trained mercilessly! Had it all been for naught? All so she could fail in this one moment of weakness? Nae! She could swagger and curse and spit and ride. She handled weapons more expertly than many men; her thoughts were cold and fearless and cunning. She had been taught better than this! Tears were for the weak. Tears were for those who wouldn't survive. Emotion...it was a dangerous word. There were teachings; teachings not meant to be taken entirely literally, but to guide her well nonetheless. To show emotions meant she was an individual, was alive, and to be alive meant you could be killed. Show no emotion, and you were one step closer to invincibility. Fajiera carried scars from those lessons, for it was one thing to agree to keep closed off, and another to do so. Would they be wasted now? Wasted on a wandering elf? Wasted on a lonely young man?

Still, it was hard. Hard to try to force herself to loathe them; she could not. But nor could Zahra allow herself to fall prey to soft words a second time. This was as much a war as she had ever fought with bloody Toganin by her side; perhaps all the more dangerous because of the fact she could not use the blade. Among the carnage, there was no reason to fear: it was silent enemies like these, enemies that struck at her very heart instead of her flesh, that scared her more than she would ever be willing to admit.

And what did they think of her? A child, who wore boys clothes and strode like a man. But a maiden still, one who knew her place, one who would subdue to their soft touches and shy looks and gentle words of compassion.

Aye, she knew her place, and it was not at their feet! The gods would not have given her such wit and skill with a blade if the only thing she was good for were her loins. Unwillingly, she shivered against the harsh sea breeze, but her cold eyes remained steely and unmoving. Fajiera had been given her moment of weakness, and now it was time not to dally here in feminine pleasures, but to move on in strength. The assassin raised her fingers to rosy lips once more, remembering the sharp, metallic taste of blood so so recently tasted on them. She had not been drenched so to become an inspiring sight for any bard-to-bes, but because that was her purpose in life. Summed up in one word: cut.

There were rules. There were laws. Laws as old as the First, laws that could not be broken. Her training taught her such. To be an assassin...they gave her no note, no second glance, as though just playing along with her on some wild fancy. It was her profession! And so much more. They understood naught. The laws; they paid no heed. The rules; broken. And when those gentle gazes were cast her way, unlocking emotions that should never have resurfaced, enchanting her with things a blade could not repel...She felt helpless. Trapped. ...Hunted.

But that was a law. One not to be broken, not to be forgotten. One drilled in hard, and engrained in her nature as much as any training with a blade had been. Cirin. William. They had to learn. Had to know. Her soft moments in the moonlight...were but memories. They would learn swiftly.
And she would teach them thus:

If you want to cease being hunted...you must become the hunter.

[Okay, I'm sure that was probably a bit hard to follow. Since I was really only focusing on my character for this post, there wasn't much involvment with anyone else and I focused more on her thoughts than anything else. Hard to find the write words for emotion. But anyway, it's just a bit of a deeper look into her character. I know I haven't really said much about her past or training or whatnot, but it just...I'm not sure what I'm trying to say. Picture this: William and Cirin might feel shy and unsure of themselves around her, but Fajiera is scared out of her mind, and the one thing she has been taught to know beyond all else is that fear equals weakness and weakness equals death. Being an assassin is not just a profession, not just a job you get up in the morning to do, and then come home in the evening to sit by the fire with your troubles left outside the door. Its a way of life.

There is no school where you study to be an assassin. Or if there is, as such, there are so few graduates because...the students have to practice what they learn somehow, no? Emotion has always gotten in the way--she's scared now of her sudden weakness, and angry at herself for it. There has been no puppy love or teenage crushes for her, and she doesn't know how to deal with suitors now except to chase them off completely.

Or something. Get the general gist of it? I'm sure Argoza will be a welcome change for her, Triar. xD Just don't hurt my poor broken-hearted she-demon too much, dear. Heh.]

[Shadowfire05]

(OOC: Ya i get it, Amurra is afraid of slipping. When in battle a person must fight as if they have nothing to live for, they must go in with the complete knowledge and acceptance that they might die. They can't hesitate to lunge for fear of dieing. Amurra is afraid of love. If she falls in love suddenly she has something to live for, someone to worry about. If she has to worry about her death affecting someone, or worry about someone elses death she hesitates. If she hesitates, she dies.

This is what Amurra has been trained to live and think like.

However, there is another view. Having something to live for can be the reason not to hesitate. Say you are in a battle, you are fighting and a moment comes, you either take the step forward towards the oncoming opponents sword and cut under the blade killing the opponent, or hesitate and put yourself in a bad position. If your timing is only slightly off the opponents blade will hit you and possibly kill you. When in combat and that moment comes, you choose to live. When that moment comes and you hesitate or you don't, there are two paths.

1.) You decide you are ready for death, there is nothing to live for, so you take the step forward and you do and land the blow killing your opponent. Having nothing to live for and no feeling of life allows you to make that decision to not heistate.

2.) Think about this for a second.....You decide to live.....to live, when that moment comes, do I move forward and possibly die, or hesitate, you don't. You decide "I have something to live for, a love, friends, people rellying on you" In that instant, you decide I am going to live, and take the step forward and defeat your opponent. They are not a burden to you, not something that causes doubt in your mind, they are your source of strength. The thing that supports you in all of your battles. Life is your source of strenght, not doubt.

2 is the way Cirin thinks. It is how he came to have his powers, which I will explain later. So there is another choice for Amurra. But I understand what you are saying about her. Its cool too. I actually dated a girl IRL kind of like Amurra, it was interesting. Anyhow, glad you had a chance to post, and a very good post, i liked the detail. And u know Fajiera, Opposites attract ;) )

[Fajiera Zahra]

[Yes and no. Very good points, those, and I understand completely. But (from a cynic's view, anyway) there's more to it. Also consider that you're looking at two choices only, and from the view of a warrior. Amurra fights in large groups when she must, as you know, but she's an assassin: typically she works to kill one person with little to no interference from any other. In plain words, she doesn't really have to worry about those life or death moments when she's locked in combat.

So think of this.

Choice 1: You are unfeeling, uncaring. It gets you no further in battle than choice 2. However, if you're caught...you have nothing. You're life on the line, no one else's. No secrets that can be pulled from you to harm others, because there are no others.

Choice 2: You're not only fighting for yourself, but for everyone you love. And while this may give you some strength and a sense of "I can't die and leave them!" you must also consider the many secrets you could, however unwillingly, give away. Knowledge of your loved ones, who they are, what they are, where they are, knowledge that could hurt or kill them and so hurt you all the more as well.

Or. There's the whole huge issue about NO WEAKNESS. If you had your family, your friends, and your one-true-love, think of all the people that could be caught, tortured, killed, in order to get you to surrender yourself to the enemy. Whereas if you keep yourself closed off...That's one major weakness eliminated. Everyone has their weaknesses, and the secret to defeating any enemy is to find theirs. So Amurra's way is to have as few as possible, and keep them well hidden.

And there are flaws in my logic, I know. I.E. the immensely lonely life that she surely must feel sometimes, or the huge, raging, hateful internal battles she has sometimes: if she just allowed herself to be, well, human, it wouldn't be a problem. But that's just not how she thinks. And no one has ever tried to get close to her before now, so it's never been a big deal. I mean, yeah, you'd look for a girl who can sing or who can sew, but I think "assassin" is usually a pretty big turn-off. She just doesn't know how to deal with this.

Say...did you ever get poked with a meat skewer to learn how to keep your emotions hidden from your face? Yeah. Her training wasn't really "You are ready, young one. Do not fail me now," so that's why it's such a big deal to her.

Oh...well so they do. But I still wouldn't try kissing her again just yet. ~.^]

[Shadowfire05]

(OOC Ya I understand the assasin part, I wasn't really trying to tell you how to play the whole thing, I just had a brilliant philisophical moment and wanted to write it down :) And Cirin's feelings for Amurra from her strenght as a person and a warrior. But anyhow "ON WITH THE SHOW!" Lets go Triar!)

[Fajiera Zahra]

[I know you weren't. ^^ I just can't help but "debate" even when there's nothing to 'debate' about. But yes, I agree. TRIAR! :Poketh:]

[Triar]

(OOC: ...I think you guys deserve to be shot... On with the show :dance: )

Morning arose as well as Piotr and Aphrael. Piotr had his arm placed nicely around her waist. Comforting her. Protecting her. All the troubles left the world when he was with her. He was lost in his own little world with her. They had a connection indeed. And everyone could see. Nothing anybody could ever say would tear his feelings apart. His thoughts suddenly came to a halt as Aronai burst into the cabin. "We're at the island!"

Aphrael awoke, asking what was wrong. Piotr gave her a nice kiss saying "We've reached our destination." He got out of bed and put on his clothes and armor. Aronai shut the door of the cabin, leaving the two to be with their private selves. Aphrael also dressed up once again in her priestess outfit. And after only a few minutes, the two went together to the main deck where the rest of the crew was waiting for them.

"There she is, the Harrknar Island," The Cap'n announced, pointing to the west of the ship. The island was beautiful. Palm trees filled the upper island, and beautiful white sand beaches surrounded it. The water was very blue; and everything underneath the water was visible. Fishes. Turtles. Any sea creature you could imagine. Absolutely beautiful.

"We're going to take two of the row boats and make our way to the island." The Cap'n picked out a few of the sailors to come with him to the island which included Myth, the very large used-to-be unnamed sailor. Gaspher was given command of the ship and was ordered to stay put until they came back.

Each row boat could fit 10 people inside. Piotr, Steven, William and Aphrael were in one boat with six other sailors; and the second boat included Aronai, Amurra, Cirin, Kamelot, Myth, and five other sailors. The small trip to the island wasn't at all long. At most it was six minutes. They landed on the shores and had a small look around.

"Do you know where the caves are?" Piotr posed the question.

"Argh.. I haven't been on this island for many years," The Cap'n admitted. "And I never found the caves. But I know those who have found and entered the caves, died."

"Well I guess we're going to have to get searching. Split up into groups!" Piotr announced. He then picked out a few random sailors. "Set up camp just on the grass. This is where we will meet in one hour. The rest of us, split into groups and search for the caves."

Piotr, Steven, Aphrael, Kamelot, Myth, and two other sailors went in one group; and in the second group was William, Cirin, Amurra, Aronai, and four other sailors. The first group went north west into the island, and the second group went to the north east.

Birds were chirping. Monkeys were feeding. And the jungle was singing. The jungle was the most beautiful jungle he had ever seen. This was the life. How could such evil rule over such beauty? It was unknown to Piotr, nor the others. However beautiful the island seemed, it wasn't going to blind the others to see the real picture. It was the Harrknar Caves they were looking for. Not a holiday.

The group followed a river for a few minutes before they came to a standstill. It was a cliff edge. Down the cliff was a waterfall which went at least 20 meters to a lake. "Should we jump?" a sailor asked. Kamelot burst into laughter. "No boy. Though that lake down there is very deep, there are better ways to get down there." So the group followed Kamelot across the cliff edge and it slowly began to slope downwards. It wasn't long before they got to the bottom, turned back around and made their way towards the water fall. Constantly looking at large boulders of rock, and looking inside large caves, no cave could be found on the way to the falls.

Finally, the group came to the falls and took a drink, as well as a well earned dip. It didn't seem like it, but they had been travelling for over an hour now, and the sun was blazing over them with heat. But Piotr only took a drink before he looked around the outskirts of the lake, using up some time whilst the others were having fun. Going deeper into the jungle, Piotr could only hear the faint splashings of water from the others.

Suddenly, out of no where, something grabbed Piotr from the back of his neck, picked him up, and threw him into a tree. Without a second thought, Piotr grabbed his sword and turned around. Nothing. Piotr lowered his breathing and looked around slowly. Something was still there, but his eyes couldn't see it. All of a sudden, Piotr got slashed by something across his right arm. Even though it was only a scratch, it hurt like hell. Then Piotr heard a noise behind him. Turning around, he saw nothing. But something slashed him from the middle of his forehead, down his face, down his eye, down his right cheek, and down his neck; and then he was thrown backwards. Piotr was in deep pain, but again he stood up with his sword, and looked around. It was obvious that his eyes couldn't do the work for him now. It was his ears. All of a sudden, another slash came to his arm. Then, Piotr swung around and lunged at nothingness, but he hit something metallic. Then the invisible figure became visible. It was a creature with long brownish black fur and white eyes. The claws of the creature were not bone, but steel. It was something Piotr had never seen before. The creature examined Piotr for a second, then ran away.

Piotr sighed and wiped the blood from his eye. He needed healing. And he was ever so lucky that there was one near by. Piotr retreated back to the others and showed himself to them. Everyone went into complete silence except for Steven and Kamelot. "What happened?" Steven asked.

"I cut myself shaving," Piotr joked, and the men burst into laughter. Aphrael, however, was worried and made her way towards Piotr and began healing.

"Seriously, lad. What happened?" Steven posed the question a second time.

"I was in the jungle and an invisible thing began to slash me. And I hit it. It became visible. And it ran away!"

"Argh yes! Those monsters are weak," Kamelot explained. "Once you expose them, they'll run like cowards. But nonetheless, they can kill."

Aphrael finished Piotr's healing, and Piotr took another drink of water. Wiping his mouth, he announced that they should get moving. The sailors, Steven, and Myth got out of the water, dried off, and put on their clothes.

"Well then," Piotr began. "Shall we continue?"

(OOC: I set the groups like that so group 1 being my group had two people controlling it, and group 2 being Shadow's group had two people controlling it. So I had to even it out, ya know? Well now it's all yours people - However I don't think we should find the cave as of yet. I have a few ideas of where the cave could be :) But nonetheless, get an action scene of something like that stupid invisible thing, or something else, or find something cool like gold or.. Whatever! But now that we're here; we should celebrate. :dance: )

[Shadowfire05]

(OOC hmm i got an idea, but will write it later)


EDIT

YAAAAY page 10 !!!

[Shadowfire05]

(OOC ok i'm not completely sure what i'm going to write here. I suffering from severe writers block lol. But here goes.)

The forest truly was a sight. Cirin, being an elf, had seen lots of different forms of flora and fauna. But this place was beyond anything he had ever seen. Take the greenest emerald trees, the clearest saphire blue water, and smoothest black marble rocks he had ever seen, throw them together and it was Harrknar.

"The place is amazing." William was awestruck. "Its so beautiful."

"Most things beautiful are too good to be true." Amurra was not just referring to the forest. "A paradise is often not without its monsters."

Cirin chuckled to himself at her comments. He an Aronai were at the front of the party. The four sailors in the back had not a care in the world as their minds were playing in the jungles dreamscape.

"She has a point. We better keep on our toes." Aronai's voice hadn't the slightest hint of worry in it. He hadn't lived all the centuries without knowing how to handle a surprise, nor had Cirin.

The voice of the forest was chirping loudly. Everywhere life was scurrying about. Cirin's eyes narrowed. "We are not alone" Cirin's voice rang clear in everyones head. Being able to communicate silently had its advantages. The sailors came out of their dream and everyone walked a little tenser, ready spring into action.

"They are here!"

The wind whistled as something swiped through the air at William. Amurra grabbed him and pulled at him, but the unseen force tore through his sleeve, barely nicking his skin.

Another whistle through the air and one of the sailors flopped to the ground. Blood mixed with the sand around him, as his shipmates rushed to him. He had been slashed across the chest.

"Where is it!?" William's fustration was apparent. He hated not being able to face his enemy.

"They are invisible." As Aronai uttered the obvious something tackled him. Blood seaped through his tunic as steel cut through his side. Aronai pushed through the pain and wrestled with his aggressor until he stood upright with both of his hands raised in the air. It appeared as if he had whatever attacked him by its wrists and the two titans were locked in a battle of strength. Frighteningly, Aronai was actually losing. The force pushed Aronai to one knee.

Whistling filled the air once more. The sailors dove to the ground to try to avoid the next attack. But the whistling was not that of the enemy. Tonganin rejoiced as it bathed in the dark green blood of the invisible assailant. A loud growl echoed through the jungle and the beast became visible.

Aronai looked up at the creature. The size of the creature dwarfed the mighty warrior beneath him. Its claws were not that of bone, but steel. Aronai's blood dripped from them, begging for more. The creature was dark, the light itself seemed to flee from its dark brown coat. Its slender black ears folded back as white eyes burned at Aronai down a long wolflike snout. Saliva dripped maliciously from the creatures mouth. It was hungry.

Aronai summoned all of his strength and fell backwards. The creature suddenly went off balance and the warrior saw his chance. He used the creatures momentum to send it flying into the forest. In mid air the creature disapeared again, but let out a howl as it crashed throw a small tree shattering it. Bushes fled from its path as the invisible thing retreated.

Amurra ran to the wounded sailor. She wasn't a healer but she knew some first aid. "We have to find Aphrael or this poor sod doesn't stand a chance." Amurra looked at Cirin who stood motionless with his back to her. "CIRIN! Are you listening to me."

"They are still here"

Cirin sensed the being but he could not see it. He let his opened his mind to the forest around him. He could sense the trees, the creatures, the group... 'Where are you.'

A hint of flame kissed Cirin's eyes. The elf whirled around drawing an arrow. Release.

A thud whispered threw the forest. The sound an arrow makes as it slams into fur and flesh. The arrow hung in the air, just behind the sailors. Dust puffed up from the ground as the large creature crashed down. It became visible. William and Aronai approached the creature. The arrow lay at rest in the creatures throat. Green blood mixed with the sand turning the ground black. "Look there are runes on his claws." William pointed to strands of runes that wrapped around the steel claws. "They look elven."

"I recognize them but it has been long since I studied them. Aronai can you read them?" Cirin was fustrated at forgetting how to read them.

"It reads, The Teeth of Harrknar." Aronai's understanding of magic runes decrypted the runes easily, and just in time too. For not moments after he finished reading the message the body of the creature turned to ashes.

"Guys we have a problem!!!" Amurra held the head of the sailor in his hands. He started shaking violently and coughing. "We have to get him to Aphrael NOW!"

"Aronai, you take Amurra and the sailors and go find the rest of the group. They will need to be warned about these creatures. William, you and I are going to find out were our wounded friend went."

The sailors grabbed their companion and Aronai and Amurra lead them into the jungle. Cirin had now doubt that his friends would keep them safe.

Cirin and William ran through the forest following the tracks of the beast. "Amurra hit its leg, it will be going slower." Cirin was an expert scout. William blinked and tried to figure out how he knew that. "See here, the blood is at the bottom of the left track."

"But couldn't that just mean that the wound is on the left side of his body." William poked at Cirin's conclusion.

Cirin smiled. William was very observant. "Normally yes, but see how the right footprint is much deeper. He is taking all of his weight off of his left foot and onto his right one."

"Yes and the creature was very tall, so Amurra proably slashed lower on the creature." William's mind was hard at work. He loved the idea of tracking something. Cirin smiled and let him take the lead. He was a natural, and only strayed off the path once or twice. William brought them to the edge of a hill.

"Stay right here. They are just over the hill." William nodded, he knew that Cirin was more stealthy than him, and he did not want to have to face more of those things. The elf slid along the brush and pulled his cloack low over his face. He moved a plant of big elephant leaves just enough to see through it. He almost gasped at what he saw.

It wasn't a camp per say, but it was definately a gathering or communal center. The trees and flora seemed to bend and form huts and structures. And in the center there was an alter with four glowing globes. Each globe burned white hot.

Cirin slinked back from the brush and back to William. "William, there is a whole camp of them over there!"

William, obviously nervous, motioned for them to leave. "Lets get out of here before any of them find us."

"...too late...run"

(OOC I will stop it there. Cirin and William should make it far away, perhaps even back to the rest of the group before they engage the sentry that is after them. There is no way they could take on all of the camp by themselves. I didn't include this in the post because I like the ending this way.Anyhow, it wasn't my best work, but enjoy)

[Triar]

(OOC: I think it's Sephrenia's turn to post - she hasn't posted in quite a while. So now we can just wait *sigh*)

[Fajiera Zahra]

[-Le sigh.- Well, while we're waiting, can I just ask again for character ages? I suppose I should scan through all the posts, but that takes effort. :) Lol. Thanks.]

[Triar]

(OOC: Piotr is 24 - Steven is 41 - William is 34. Poor Piotr. So young. So angry. DAMN that rap music! And what about everyone elses ages, I would actually like to know how old poor old Aphrael is - I mean if she's like 45+, then the love scenes are a bit Oozy Woozy. But maybe Piotr could be a toy boy? :shhh: Heh. I wouldn't know.)

[Shadowfire05]

(OOC Ok, Cirin is an elf and remember elves are immortal. It has been around 400 years since he lost his memory, but he doesn't know how long he lived beyond that. So guess around 550 or so. But he still looks like he is 25 :) I love how that works.)

[Sephrenia]

(ooc: Aphrael is 23. I'll post tonight I swear. Got a bit of last min shopping to do then I'll be back and I'll post then.)

[Shadowfire05]

(OOC What time zone are you in :p )

[Triar]

(OOC: *cough* it has been about... 24 hours since she said that she'll post "tonight". Which "tonight" were you on about Seph? This "tonight" or a "tonight" that is many "tonights" away? :think: )

[Fajiera Zahra]

[ :rolleyes: I would say probably too late now, anyway, with Christmas day being today and whatnot (and look at me, who still has time to check everything here! I love you guys way too much). But that's alright, because I've caught...er..."caught up" and didn't post more than once now. :angel:
Anyway:
Happy Christmas, all!]

[And just in case anyone decides to make any 'mistletoe jokes' regarding the RP where my gentle-hearted character is involved...No. Not, of course, that the thought would ever cross your mind... :whistle:]

[Shadowfire05]

:wall: :folie:

[Fajiera Zahra]

[Rawr. :folie: We're not going to let this die this far along, are we? ]

[Shadowfire05]

Hey ive been waiting for the two love birds so whenever they get done with their "romancin" we can continue

[Triar]

(OOC: I vote that Fajiera puts in the next post.. I just got back from a 5-day trip and Sephrenia said nothing?! Crazy!!! So Fajiera.. Go make something of ourselves and continue our RP for us - We'll be right behind ya ;))

[Fajiera Zahra]

[Oh ho ho, but Triar, don't you just love action posts? Besides, Cirin and I had a series by ourselves for a while, I think it's time for you to step in. ~.^
Eh, I s'pose I can continue if you want, but life is busy here for the next little while, so I probably won't get a post up for a couple of days. My humble appy-polly-loggies.]

[Fajiera Zahra]

Ach, I've had NO time! I really will try to post soon, I promise. If someone wants to go ahead and post before me so this thread doesn't completely die, that'd be wonderful. Otherwise, know I haven't forgotten, but it's just going to have to wait until I can find a little more free time. Sorry everyone! :wall:

[By the way...anyone heard from Skullbearer lately? I know he kind of disappeared a while ago; I thought he just left, but I've seen him on the forums since then, pretty recently. :Le sigh: Ah well, just wondering if he gave anyone a reason for leaving or not. :Shrug:]

[Fajiera Zahra]

[Alright...first I didn't know how to reply, and then I got really busy and couldn't reply, and then I...forgot...and then I checked, but didn't have time to work out a reply, and now I still don't know what to say but refuse to let this die. Well, it's dead, but I'm going to give it a shot at resuscitation, anyway. Probably won't be very good, but its something to get us going again if I'm not the only one left.]

Amurra crutched Toganin awkwardly in her arm, the immense blade swinging dangerously over her shoulder, and carried the wounded soldier as though a child; Aronai had offered to take his weight, but Amurra wanted him to scout the fringes of their small party, should another one of those creatures attack. ...Walking back to camp, missing the chase, missing the fight, staying out of trouble, tending to the wounded; a woman's job. And she couldn't even be trusted to do it right--Aronai had to stand guard over her, like a babysitter. She would have protested, were it not for the seriousness of the sailor's condition; well, that was what she told herself, anyway. Really she was just as glad to be away from Cirin for the moment after their recent nocturnal meeting; the assassin really didn't think it was entirely accidental that the two (and William, as well!) had ended up together.

Beautiful though the jungle was, she kept her almond shaped grey-green eyes set ahead, her face grim, with a dead-pan expression. The long braid fell against her back with each step; the wispy curls that had escaped were now plastered against her neck and temples from the humidity in the air. A few sailors made an awkward attempt at conversation with each other, but, for the most part, all was silent, barring the moans and coughs of the man Amurra carried. She had done what she could--while she knew some slight healing, she was no healer, and her 'help' had mainly consisted of digging out plants from her belt of poisons for the sailor to suck on that would dull his pain.

It was luck, of sorts, that the other group had had no luck at all; they returned early, and were at leisure in the meeting place when Aronai and crew stumbled in. The warrior went straight to discuss issues with Piotr and the Captain, while Amurra trudged on toward Aphrael, ridding herself of the bloodied body and stepping away so the healer could set to work. The assassin lingered a moment, but the rest of the camp seemed absorbed by Aronai's story, and Aphrael had plenty of sailors ready to fetch supplies for her should she need them, so Fajiera decided to set off on her own again to see what she could find out.

The young woman hadn't been gone five minutes before her reverie of thought was broken; she had walked quite a ways, but was still fairly close to the makeshift camp when Cirin came bursting through the growth, uncharictaristically unheeding of the damage he caused to the greenery; William trailed a short ways behind him. Nearly out of breath, Cirin told her what had been chasing them, and Zahra stuck out a sharp finger, motioning them to veer away from camp. Sure enough, an enraged, bearlike creature came racing, awkwardly, along after them--the assassin wasn't quite sure why it wasn't stealthed, but was just as glad it wasn't; she got in a good swing with her scythe. It didn't kill the thing, or even severley maim it, running as it was, but it was enough to distract the creature and make it turn on her; with any luck the two could catch their breath, and Cirin could find a good place to shoot from while William came to aid her with his sword.

"Rule one: don't let the sentries spot you." William, despite the seriousness of the situation, managed a sheepish smile as he joined the fight, red in the face. "Rule two: don't lead it back toward camp." An arrow whizzed by, a little too close for comfort; Amurra cursed and jumped back, but it had hit it's mark true, burying itself in the creatures shoulder--the bearlike beast was trying to snap at William, who was slashing at it's legs from behind, while avoiding Zahra's heavy swings, who was playing for keeps. "Rule three: if you are spotted, you kill it, quick. It may play merry hell with your conscience, but it's better than bringing a whole camp around your head." The beast roared with fury; William had landed a successful cut to it's back leg. That opened up Amurra's range; she swung a neat arc that came down at it's neck, just as Cirin landed an arrow through one eye. Greusome, yes, but...

"Better him than me."

[Snogard1]

The wood elf hovering over the battle high up in a tree silently stringed his bow. He scaled down to a better vantage point and just in time to see an arrow strike the beast in the eye. This monsters blood curtiling scream made him involuntarily shiver but he readied his bow and waited to make sure the creature had been finished.
(ooc: i can add to the story at least once a day on weekdays. please write char descriptions or tell me where to find them on this thread)

[Triar]

(OOC: Hey everyone - Sorry I haven't been here for over a few months, but school has been killing me. I apologize. I will be rejoining later on today. I'll re-read what I've missed, and I will make sure we finish this story. Take it easy everyone, and it's good to be back.

And for the newcomer, you're going to have to read a fair bit of the start to get everyone's descriptions.

Take it easy all.

Regards,

Triar.)

[Fajiera Zahra]

[Long afternoon, eh Triar? Glad to see you again; hope you make it back soon. Cheers.]

[Triar]

(OOC: Well I'm gonna have to add something.. I kinda remember where we are, and I'll try to get the group back together again.)

"Come on," Steven said. "Let's get back to camp."

"Keep on your guard," Piotr announced. "There may still be those creatures in the forest."

The group tracked their footsteps back towards camp. Piotr took lead, Steven close behind. Myth held his huge hammar close in hand. And Kamelot enjoyed the atmosphere. Aphrael was in the middle of the group, next to the two sailors guarding her. Getting closer to the shoreline, Piotr noticed the camp up ahea. The second group was there with a wounded sailor. "Aphrael!" Piotr exclaimed. Aphrael knew what to do as she ran towards camp, the men following closely behind.

"Quick, Aphrael!" Amurra screamed, "This man's going to die!"

Piotr walked towards William. "Invisible creatures?"

"Yes," Aronai replied for him. "Big ones. Stronger than I by at least double."

"Cirin and I found their camp: North-east of here."

"Well we should regain our energy before we move on. These men look like they need it, especially after such a brutal attack."

Aphrael continued the wounded soldier. His arm was almost torn completely off. He was lucky that he survived the encounter. Kamelot looked at his ship. "The many times I've sailed these seas and survived, even I do not know how"

"It's because you're a great captain," complimented Piotr.

"Aaargh. That be true," Kamelot flattered himself and took a swig of the bottle he was holding.

"What's that?" Piotr asked.

"Want to have some?"

"Sure." Piotr took a swig, shortly followed by mad coughing. "Aaaargh! That burns."

Kamelot burst into laughter. "It's my home-made whiskey. Found only in my ship."

Meanwhile, Aphrael healed the man as best she could, running out of energy and mana. "The rest of your wounds must heal naturally, I can do nothing more."

The sailor's arm was still broken, and he was in shock. "Th - Thank you, miss."

Aphrael gave him a warm smile then turned away. "I suggest we rest here for a few minutes before we look for the caves again."

"I think maybe we should go together as one group," suggested Amurra.

"I agree. Meanwhile someone should take this wounded man back to the ship," Cirin announced.

One other sailor said that he would take the wounded sailor back to the ship. Aronai picked the wounded man up and placed him delicately into the row boat. The other sailor got in and started rowing back to the ship.

"You were telling me about a camp, William?" Piotr asked.

"Oh yes!" William continued, "Cirin and I found a camp of all those creatures. It seemed to be guarded well."

"Maybe the caves are in that area?" Piotr wondered.

"Possibly," Cirin replied. "But even if the caves are around there, there is no way we could get to them undetected. Watchmen are everywhere. Some invisible on the outskirts of the camp, watching, waiting. Now that they know we're here, they will be sending out scouts for us. And they may know where our camp is. So I suggest we go to the camp as soon as possible to find out if the caves are really there."

"Agreed," Piotr smiled. William, Steven, Aphrael, Aronai, Kamelot, Myth, and the remaining sailors also agreed. Amurra, although a bit worried, also agreed.

"Get your things together. In 20 minutes, we will go." Piotr announced, and they started gathering their supplies.

(OOC: *sigh* I'm so rusty - But it's good to be back. Sorry about the late post, turns out I was busier than I thought. Have fun playing with that one. And Snogard1, if you wish to enter this RP, you're gonna have to find an extremely interesting way to enter it because this island has not been inhabited to any humans for years. So.. Figure it out.. And I will private message both Fajiera and Shadowfire05 to remind them to check it out.. I wanna finish this.. In the next page or two it should be :god: Take it easy all.)

[Shadowfire05]

Wow the ol crew back togehter again :) I will post as soon as I can :)

[Fajiera Zahra]

[I've really developed a nasty habit of studying for finals when I should be replying to you all here. Please forgive me. Only a couple days left and then I'm done, so I should have something up soon! Sorry for the shamefully long wait.]

[Shadowfire05]

no one post i have a great idea for the battle with the beasts camp

[Shadowfire05]

(Get ready, It's REALLY long, but hey, it summer, what else do you ahve to do :) )

Everyone was getting tense.

They had no choice but to check out the camp, and that meant a battle. How would they fight an invisible enemy? Their previous encounters had lead to major injuries and they had only been fighting one or two. How would they fight a whole camp? Nerves where high, though no one would say anything. Kamelot took his crew back to the boats to help them get fixed up, and they would come back with more supplies in a few hours. They could have used the extra men, but they couldn't wait that long.

Aphrael was busy checking Aronai's wounds. Piotr was busy discussing with Aronai, Amurra, William, and Steven a battle plan, but his voice had a nervous tone to it. The sky was growing grey making the day even more ominous.

"What do you think Cirin?" Piotr's frustration was peaking.

The elf looked to the sky and closed his eyes as a breeze blew past. "I think we need a tune." Cirin calmly replied. To everyones surprise Cirin picked up his ocarina and began to pipe an upbeat tune. It echoed through the jungle almost like a battle call. Aronai smiled as Cirin challenged the enemy.

Piotr looked at Cirin with a mixture of fear and amazement, but he trusted the elf.

"ARE YOU INSANE!" Amurra cried, "You're going to bring them down on top of us!" She was just about to charge at Cirin to keep him from playing more, but Aronai's strong arm stayed her attempt.

"Patience.." Aronai's advice was met with a backhand as Amurra sharply batted his hand off of her. Anger flushed over Amurra's face, but she held back.

Cirin's melody became more like that of a storm. It was soft in minuendo, then it would explode like a bolt of lightning. A loud horn in the jungle rang out to meet Cirin's challenge. Cirin's melody cresendoed into its climax, his eyes were calmly shut as he fell into it the serenity of the music. Thunder echoed overhead as though it was part of Cirin's song. Cirin removed his cloaks hood and stood up. A drop of water hit his forehead, his mouth curved into a smile around his ocarina.

Piotr knew that his trust in his friend would pay off, he smiled and called to the jungle "Come if you dare!"

Steven, William, and Amurra were still slightly confused. "Have they lost it?" Steven asked William. Cirin bellowed one last challenge to the forest, and the faint sound of a horn answered back, but the tone was different. It was unsure...

...it was afraid.

Piotr grinned slyly at Cirin, "Tell me you didn't call that rainstorm."

Aronai chuckled at him.

"No no, as mysterious as Cirin's powers are he cannot control the weather. Elves can just sense when a storm is coming, I knew it as well and understood his plan." Aronai bosted arrogantly.

"Besides its rude to not let your host know you are comeing, and more fun for us." The elf grinned.

"Will someone please explain this too me" Steven and William were equally confused. Amurra smiled as she realized the answer.

"With the rain we can see them, the rain will show us where they are."

"How?" asked William.

"Why don't you ask the one behind you." Amurra poked at William.

"Ha ha very funny........you're jokeing right?" William tensed as suddenly he heard the rain hitting metal behind him.

A whistle passed through the air and William dove forward as Amurra and Steven cleaved the beast. William scowled at Amurra, who smiled as she whiped the green blood off of Tonganin.

Piotr smiled, these beasts would be easy to handle now that they could see them, but who knew how long the storm would last.

"TO THEIR CAMP!" Piotr's charasmatic cry brought everyone into a full sprint as Cirin and William took the lead and lead them to the camp. Along the way they took out any scouts that came against them while never breaking stride.

Aphrael was right behind Piotr. "Aphrael don't stay too close to me during the battle. If Argoza re-surfaces I don't know if I can keep you safe."

"I do." Aphrael's smile brought confidence to the warrior. He knew trying to argue with her was a losing battle.

They came to the edge of the camp and burst in. The rain fled from the creatures and at least 10 of them could be made out. Suddenly, as if the forest was at their command, a wall of brush flew up behind the group. There was no where to go now, it was the party or the beasts. The camp was strange, the trees twisted to form huts and guard towers. An altar with 4 white hot globes was centered in the camp, and rain danced away from their heat. Towards the rear there was a path down the middle heading straight into the bottom of a rocky mountain wall. Why would a path lead to a bare rockface?

The group spread out. Piotr moved forward with Aphrael at his hip. Cirin started off in the back to use his bow. Aronai and Steven took the left, and William and Amurra went right.

For a moment it was peaceful. The rain pattered against the trees and earth. It was that sound, of just the rain pouring down, blocking everything out, but that patter of rain on the world. Its just you and the rain. The sound of rain.

The sound changed as the rain hit the metal as the beasts raised their claws, sending muffled 'tinks' through the air. The group tensed.

Cirin let loose an arrow. The lead beast became visible. The arrow laid lodged in its juglar vain, but its white eyes burned as it charged the elf. Piotr quickly rushed to meet the beast and quickly hued an arm from it. The puddles turned almost black as the dark green blood mixed with the mud and water. Piotr finished the creature with a clean cut to its neck. The beast fell to the ground and the sound of his fall was like that of a fight bell...and the round had started.

The beasts tore towards the party. Amurra grinned as one came straight for her, and she knelt down ready to spring and bathe in the beasts blood. An arrow struck the beast on the side sending it off-balance and Amurra change her stance and swung horizontally cutting the beast in half, mid way through the spin she shot Cirin a stern stare, she could handle herself and needed no help. Cirin payed no attention to it and let arrows fly towards the rest of the beasts he wasn't playing favorites just shooting anything that had no body.

The party hued through the beasts with Cirin slowing them down with his bow. William swung his sword but the beast caught the blade in its steal claws, and with its other hand shattered the blade. The creature threw William who went flying back against the wall of branches. It charged him fast.

"You like white orbs? Try this!" Aphrael, using her light spell, conjured a ball of bright white light right in front of the creature. It reared up as it was blinded, and Steven cleaved the beast with his axe from right shoulder to left hip. Cirin rushed to William.

"You ok?" Cirin checked him for wounds.

"Ya I'm ok but that dam thing broke my sword."

"Here take my bow." The elf reluctantly handed William his precious bow, and his quiver. "Be gentle with the string." Cirin drew his sword and rushed to the fight.

The battle was at a stalemate. Everybody was tangled up in their own fight, but neither side was winning. Thunder roared over head, the rain beat down so loudly that the sound of sword and claw seemed almost distant. Aronai had both of ones hands by the wrists. It was a battle of strength and he would not lose again. His muscles squeezed as he pushed the beast to its knees. The dull sound of its bones poping thudded through the rain. With all of his strength he threw the beast towards the altar. The globes hissed as they burned straight through the creature and it fell to ash.

All of the creatures were now visible, and few remained. William showed surprising skill with the bow and downed a creature in one shot. Cirin quickled sheathed his sword into ones back, and the last one had come up behind Amurra as she finished off another.

"Dumb animal" Cirin muttered to himself. The beast thought it had Amurra, it dove above her and came down as if to crush her in a belly flop, but she swung Tonganin into the gut of the arrogant thing, and using its falling weight she and Tonganin passed straight through its body until she was standing in the very hole she had cut in the beast. Blood and mud covered her and she smiled at her prey.

A thunderous tremor verberated through the ground, but it was no lightning strike. A huge figure stepped through the rock face as if it was a ghost. A dark black coat of wet fur dripping with malice. Eyes as white as the orbs. Blood dripped from fangs neatly tucked inside of its long snout. It carried the staff of a shaman, and towered over the group at least 30 feet.

"Why do the leaders always have to be bigger?" William mused. "For once I want to see a dwarf in charge or something. Well the bigger they are..." William let an arrow lose headed straight for the beasts eye. The accuracy of the shot impressed even Cirin, but just before it hit its mark the arrow bounced off an invisible barrier.

The beast grinned. Aphrael stepped out in front of the group. "Let me handle this oaf who thinks he knows magic." The shaman sent a ball of fire at Aphrael, but she countered with a protective shield. Its eyes narrowed, the forest grew dim as it pulled energy all around it. Energy formed up in the behmoths hands and in a blaze of light it sent a ball of energy at Aphrael. Piotr rushed to her, but Cirin halted him. "Watch"

Aphrael caught the blast and it built up in front of her, sliding her back in the mud. Then she stood upright and fired the blast back, reminding the creature where its place was. The shaman took the blast full force and dropped to one knee, its defenses were down, and it was angry. With lightning speed it drove at Aphrael, and though she was magically adept, she did not have the reflexes to dodge such a creature. Piotr ran to her aid with Cirin by his side.

Aronai ran to the altar and grabbed one of the orbs. He pushed through the sizzle and stench of burning flesh and hurled the ball at the shaman. The orb burned white as it hit the side of the monster. It seered through the beast and out the other side. An emerald light filled the forest as the green blood burned atop the orb, slowly its light died, and so the light of the other orbs. Thunder sounded as the behemoth crashed into the mud. It moaned as the last hint of life passed from its eyes, but it did not turn to ash like the rest.

Where the rockface was, there was now a cave, and the forest was silent. Rain pattered against the leaves.

Cirin closed his eyes and looked up to face the canopy as rain bathed his face. He brought his ocarina to his lips and began to tone a solemn melody; somber and glad. Everyone stood still, Piotr held Aphrael in a tight embrace, and Amurra leaned on Tonganin and whiped the bloodied mud from her face. The blood trickled away into the forest until the ground was cleansed.

The ocarina whispered its last notes...

...and then there was only the sound of the rain.

[Fajiera Zahra]

[How am I supposed to follow that one up? :Applause:]

Fajiera smiled faintly, wryly, as she looked over the carnage; most of the blood had turned to ash, save the warm sticky stuff that clung to her, coating her skin and armor and hair. Cirin...the sound of that ocarina washing over this forlorn and impromptu battle-field made her shiver ever so slightly, an emotional jerk that the woman covered up with a scowl; it was too much like the night on the ship, that was all. The assassin wiped at her face with her elbow, though that, too, was hardly clean, but at least some of the mud and blood was wiped from her eyes. Running her hands back through her hair and tightening the cinch of the braid at the nape of her neck, Amurra wiped one of her knives of a relatively clean spot of leather by her thigh, then slipped it back into its sheathe. Toganin, as much as she wished it could be cleaned now, was left to the mercy of the rain.

Slowly the private world became awkward. Steven and William started speaking in low, rough whispers, but the noise was still enough. Aronai cleared his throat and shifted his weight, and the assassin nodded firmly, apparently to herself. Leaving the two entwined lovers to soak up the last magic of the passing moment, Amurra hefted her blade and strode forward quietly to the entranced elf. Two fingers touched his shoulder in a comforting acknowledgement, leaving faint traces of dirty green blood, and then she moved on, picking her way through piles of ash toward the path that led to the newly uncovered cave.

Aronai was quick to catch on, and, glad to be taking action, jogged ahead to forge his own way. William approached Cirin slowly after Amurra had left him, offering the bow back with a sheepish smile. The elf, so protective of the weapon, beamed at his friend--a large compliment even with no words-- and took the bow and quiver back with the promise that William would be more than able to weild them again, should he soon need to. Steven cast a backward glance at Piotr and chuckled, then clapped William on the back and fell into step with him, the two old friends chatting easily on the way to their new destination. Piotr himself seemed reluctant to let go of the moment (or Aphrael, at least), but landed a quick kiss on his sweetheart's cheek, then linked arms with her and set of, both of them smiling. The walk to the back of the camp toward's the cave really wasn't that long of one, but no one seemed in too much of a hurry to face whatever might be lurking there when, for a moment, they had peace, and so the venture took long enough.

Amurra stole a quick glance back, and saw Cirin still standing in place, face up toward the rain, ocarina hanging in one limp hand. She hesitated a moment, then stopped, letting the others pass her before she began her way back around the remains to the elf. Upon reaching him, the woman looked up, too, a soft, brittle smile forming on her face as the silvery drops raced endlessly down to the earth, the cool water making their own melody. Rain: nature's great, eternal cleansing. Strong enough to wash away the blood. Strong enough to was away her sin.

Fajiera shook her head bitterly, and grey-green eyes refocused on the world around her--it was easy to see how Cirin was so caught up in this, anyway. Once again, two leather-encased fingers rose, this time touching the wrist that held the instrument instead of his shoulder. "Cirin." The woman looked out towards the ragged path, the gaping cave, the five easy travelers walking down that make-shift road. "It's time to go."

When Cirin broke out of his seeming trance and stepped out toward the others, Zahra hefted Toganin lengthwise across her shoulders once more and began striding purposefully forward again, her efforts focused now on taking the lead with Aronai once more rather than talking with Cirin. The long black braid, a mark of her profession in her homeland, hung limp and heavy down her back, coated with blood and soaked with rain; the tight leather would be a challenge to get off and clean, as well. Now, though...

"William!" she called gruffy, trotting to catch up with the two. "You've tracked these things before. Has the rain washed anything that might have been there away, by now, or can you tell if one of those beasts has been this way recently?"

The man stopped and bent down to get closer to the path, screwing up his eyes to search in the ground that was quickly becoming a slop of mud. He looked doubtful for a moment, but then pointed; Steven hurried over with Amurra to see what he had found. "I don't see any small prints like I did with Cirin; maybe they've washed away already, but--the only thing I can find are the big prints." William pointed through the piles of ash (also turning to a sort of mud and sloughing away in the rain) to where the corpse of the giant shaman lay. "His prints."

Steven laughed in his gruff way, and stood again, stretching back and smiling. "Well then! Maybe it was just a place for him to do business. And he's out of the way now--we can't find anything too bad in there anymore, can we?"

Amurra looked as though she were about to offer some dark comment, but at the last minute she flashed a smile again, shaking her head in what might pass for good humor. "Perhaps you're right, old man." She grinned jokingly to quiet the ex-merchant's protests before her face returned to its general impassivity once more. "Thank you, William. We'll still have to be careful, but that may have saved us quite a bit of worry."

The assassin dropped back again, catching Aphrael's eye as she passed the couple: a silent, knowing laugh passed between the two women before the contact was broken. Fajiera was conscious never to drop too far back, however; never to get to close to the dreamer, Cirin. Shaking excess thoughts from her mind, Amurra narrowed her eyes and scanned the surrounding area once more, looking over the piles of ash with suspicion, however unwarrented, and beyond them, in the tall grasses, and the trees.

After what couldn't have been more than ten minutes but seemed like a small eternity, the trail of adventurers slowly shuffled to a halt. The legendary warrior stood up front at the mouth of the cave, one hand leaning against the side of the gaping whole.

"Well, here we are. Maybe we'd better rest up a little while before we go in, then; I have a feeling those things weren't hiding a pub behind this mountain."

"Hey," came Steven's snickered reply, "you never know."

[Well, there's a bit anyway. I was going to write more, but I figured I should leave the caves open for someone else who had a definate idea.]

[Shadowfire05]

...the sound of rain

Vitalizing, serene, comforting. Echoing the voice of the earth and the forest.

He could hear Piotr holding his love close, their breathing, he sensed his friends tears of joy as his Aphrael was now safe when he thought her lost. The rain kindly masked his emotions from the world, leaving nothing but love where they stood.

The rain almost drowned out the assasins already gracefully light footsteps, but whether it was Tonganin's weight, or the burdens of her life that weighted down her footsteps he could not tell.

Cirin stood entranced as the water cascaded down his face. He did not cringe or raise his hood, but relaxed, letting the water trickle into his clothes covering his whole body. In a way the rain was his first friend in the world. When he lost his memory, the first thing he remembered was the rain.

He lay on the ground barely alive. Water trailed down his nose, the soft beat of the rain pattering the ground whispered to him to wake. Before even his name came to him he heard that embracing echo of the world through the pouring tears of the sky. The tears were warm and clensing, his body found strength enough to roll onto his back, but his eyes would not open. The rain cleaned his wounds and refreshed his will to live as he fell into the trance of its warm kiss.

Now, in that forest of Harknarr, the rain had saved them. Cirin fell into the comfort of nothing but the rain and the echoes of nature. He was so unwilling to leave the tranquility that the rain brought him. Warmth flushed over his whole body as a thought came to him. 'If I could name the rain I would name it...'

...and then her voice...

"Cirin. Its time to go" The elf's eyes opened to see Amurra standing infront of him covered in mud and blood, but the rain had washed of all of it from her warm face. Her face was beautiful, though she often hid it with the dirt and the toils of the days, but it was still there. Her braid kept most of her hair in check but some of her bangs had pulled free and now hung dripping across her face teasing the poor elf. She quickly started for the cave, throwing Tognanin across her shoulders. Her rain soaked braid spun around, and though with every ounce she tried to look manly and un-appealing, she only became more entraping and exotic.

Cirin said his goodbye to the rain and followed the group into the cave. He found William and pulled him a little behind the others. "You were quite good with the bow today. I thought you had never shot before?"

"I haven't." William beamed at the elfs compliment. "Could you teach me how to make one?"

Cirin grinned. Making a bow was not an easy ordeal. It takes at least 3 days of hard work and your hands and limbs feel stiffer than tree trunks for days afterwards. "Run out side and find a limb from one of those strange trees. Make sure it is at least 6 feet long, and make sure its at least your hands width in diameter. We will have to let it dry, and you will have to lug it through the caves, but it will help you feel like it is yours, and form a bond with the bow as you craft it."

William bolted from the cave into the rain looking for the right limb. He smiled. Cirin felt like a mentor to William, teaching him tracking and now archery. At the edge of his thoughts he sensed captain Kamelot heading towards the battleground with his sailors and supplies.

"Well, here we are. Maybe we'd better rest up a little while before we go in, then; I have a feeling those things weren't hiding a pub behind this mountain." Amurra's mused.

"Hey," came Steven's snickered reply, "you never know."

Cirin could sense Amurra was avoiding him so he found a rock almost in a perfect sphere shaped. It wasn't anything important. He reached out with is mind and the chunk lifted into the air. It merely did loops over his open palm while he leaned against the cave wall. Just something Cirin did to pass time and practice his telekinesis.

"That's a neat trick." Aphraels soothing voice was a welcome friend. "Can you juggle too?"

Cirin shot her a playful sneer "Only for priests who never fail their light spells."

"HEY we were in a magic vortex thingy, thats not fair." Aphrael jabbed Cirin's rib.

"Ok ok you win, I'd hate to see what happens when Piotr says 'I'm too tired dear'" Before Aphrael could reply two more rocks flew up to join with the other one. Instead of juggling vertical, Cirin had them turn in a horizontal plane.

"Why don't you stop playing and be useful." Amurra couldn't resist the jab at Cirin. It wasn't said harshly though, almost playful for Amurra, almost.

"Oh well let me help you then." Cirin lifted his hand and focused on Amurra's braid. For a second the assasin's eyes showed anxiety, she felt her braids loosten. While she was greatful that it wasn't hurting, the thought of her hair spilling out of her braids made her feel very vunerable. She quickly shot a look at Cirin and suggestively nudged Tonganin. The elf tilted his head in acknowledgment and ceased, he made his point. Though he cared for her he wasn't going to roll over either. Then he went back to juggling for Aphrael.

"Elves are so frustrating aren't they" Piotr quietly noted to Amurra. She nodded in agreance. "But at least he can juggle right." Piotr smiled at her and Amurra tightened her braid and sighed. He was right, Cirin was good to have around, but she suddenly found herself wishing there really was a pub in the cave.

"Arrrrrr looks like ye fellas had a fight. I had the maties bring supplies and weapons, and lots of Rum. You all must be tired and need a belt." Kamelot was a welcome site to the group.

Amurra smiled at her deliverance 'Drink up m'harties yo ho'

[Triar]

(OOC: We're getting drunk before we enter the Cave of Harrknar? That is so crazy! We all know Argoza is in the cave, don't we?)

Holding Aphrael close, Piotr hummed a tune close to her ear. Both of them, smiling, and humming together, waving from side-to-side. Nothing could be so perfect than to be with the one you love. Well, that's what Piotr thought. Aphrael stood up and stretched, followed by a short fun argument with Cirin. Piotr just sat and looked up at the sky. The rain showed no sign of stopping. It was quite beautiful.

"Elves are so frustrating aren't they?" Piotr asked Amurra. She nodded in agreance. "But at least he can juggle right" Piotr added with a smile.

At that moment, a ruffling noise came from the bushes. The group stood on their guard to find Kamelot and his men emerge from behind a hut.

"Arrrrrr looks like ye fellas had a fight I had the maties bring supplies and weapons, and lots of Rum. You all must be tired and need a belt!"

Amurra's eyes widened at the sound or Rum 'Drink up m'harties yo ho'

Piotr let out a loud laugh. "Don't give Amurra too much, we all know she has a drinking problem." All the men had a good laugh. Aphrael couldn't do anything but laugh with them. And Amurra couldn't do anything but put on a stubborn face, saying: "Shut up, Piotr. You're not funny." With the added sticking out of the tongue, followed up by a smile.

"Well, shall we set 'er up?" Kamelot suggested, getting ready to pitch up a large tent.

Everyone helped with the arrangements. Amurra was the first to go for the Rum unsurprisingly. A few of the sailors watched, snickering. Amurra turned around and gave them an evil stare. The sailors stopped their immature ways quickly and helped with the tent. Piotr went around and climbed up to the top of the cave wall where the leader of the invisible beasts died. Looking down on everyone, he took a deep sigh and sat down.

Piotr wondered why the men and women with him followed him in the first place. Why they would stay with him, even when his body was filled with the enraged Argoza. Why they echoed in his footsteps. Why they would follow him to death. Was it his influence? Was it that he was a natural leader? What was it? The first day Piotr met Steven, Steven fought next to Piotr, putting his life before Piotr's. William was quite the same. Though he was a slave then set free by Piotr, William chose to stay, and fight for Piotr's cause. Aronai, the strongest of the group, would use all his strength, and break every bone in his body just for Piotr. Aphrael would die for him without a doubt. As would Cirin and Amurra. And finally, Kamelot and the Sailors. They would give their life to Piotr, but why?

Piotr feared that his influence made his party follow him for the wrong reasons. This is something that I should have done alone.. But then, Piotr wondered how he would have ended up without the men and women by his side, fighting for him, willing to give their life for him. Confused, but not alone, Piotr wanted to know.

"CIRIN!" Piotr cried out.

"Yes, Piotr?" Cirin stood from his seat with Rum in hand.

"Can you please come here for one moment? I wish to speak to you."

"Very well."

Cirin gave the bottle of Rum to a Sailor, until "Oh yeah, and bring some Rum up here as well." Cirin snatched the bottle of Rum from the Sailor and climbed up the steep, rocky cave wall.

"Have a seat." Piotr smiled. Cirin sat down and gave Piotr the Rum. Piotr took a big gulp and hissed. "This is the stuff.. Yeah.."

"You wanted to talk?" Cirin curiously asked.

"Yes," Piotr turned to Cirin. "You are by far the wisest of us all. Wiser than Amurra, William, Aronai; all of us. I fear my influence has made everyone follow me for the wrong reasons. This world has gone very wrong for me.. It's going to be extremely hard to stop Argoza's terror.. It troubles me.. Anything I do, no matter how big or small, everyone echos in my footsteps.. Following me.. What if I do something wrong? And you all echo my actions.. Leading us all to death? Cirin.. Please.. Do you know why everyone follows me?"

(OOC: Yeeeeeeaaaaah....... I'd say that's good... I think ShadowFire should answer my very.. errr.. difficult question.. And then after all that happens, I think it'd be good if Fajiera Zahra did the honours of writing up the entering of the cave, and the hike towards.. ARGOZA! Ooooooooo.. Scary.. :p Have fun with this ShadowFire :))

[Fajiera Zahra]

Fajiera looked world-weary tonight, her mask of strength all but gone as she stood in the middle of the bustling camp. She had tried, really [i]tried, to open up to everyone today and play the friend, but enough was enough. Though some of her smlies had been genuine, many had not been; some of the jokes had truly delighted her, but there had been too many played on her for her to laugh--she never really took criticism well in the first place, and the woman so rarely "joked around" that she often missed the playful humor when other people did.

Toganin, wiped clean, had been layed out in a tent a sailor had helped her erect a few minutes before; the Yama Ohini stayed at her hips. Amurra sighed with a light smile: what she really needed now was a bath. The woman was soaked through to the bone--if it was only with rain she wouldn't have minded, but water wasn't the only thing clinging to her, and for all her exhuberance during the battle she longed to be cleaned. Amurra looked around for Aphrael, but couldn't find the healer--most probably she had run off with Piotr somewhere, because the assassin didn't see him anymore, either. Ah well. Snatching another jug of rum (she wanted to be clean and on vacation from sobriety) and flashing a wan smile at the sailor nearby, the woman trekked off to find one of the secluded springs that would no doubt be somewhere near the camp.

A last look back at camp confirmed Aronai helping the sailors set up camp; Steven was chatting with Kamelot while they tried to get a fire going. The woman turned back, dripping black leather creaking slightly before falling silent again, and began scouting the lands, picking her way through mud and ash to her much longed-for reverie. Ten minutes took her to a clear but open spring towards the middle of the camp; another twenty, or so, and she found a deeper riverlet hidden by the jungle-like forest. Thinking this a fit spot, she crouched down slowly by the bank, scanning the trees carefully before reaching down unfasten the belts that held her knives.

"Amurra."

The woman stood and spun in one fluid movement, one of the Yama Ohini drawn in front of her, the other slipping through the loops of the half-open belt and sliding down her thigh. Her thick mane of black hair was starting to slip out of its braid again; despite her quick attempts to refasten it, it seemed Cirin's mental magic had taken its toll.

"William." The greeting came with the faint hint of a growl in her voice, but she sheathed the blade and turned around again, collecting the sheathes and belts and laying them casually over one arm. "Let me assume we both didn't casually stumble on the same stream at the same time. Why did you follow me?" And then, silently, she cursed herself for making it so easy for him to follow. Well, too late for that now.

William, meanwhile, raked back his damp hair and smiled rather awkwardly at her back; what had seemed like such a perfect plan was now becoming increasingly hard to go through with since she was actually here. But what other chance would he get? They were about to trek through the fabled caves and meet their supposed doom--and even if they lived, he was sure Amurra wouldn't hang around with the group with this task accomplished. Steven and Piotr were both occupied and couldn't keep him around, Cirin had gone off somewhere...he had to go through with this. Now.

"It's him, isn't it?"

Amurra pivoted around to face him, pulling her braid over her shoulder and studying it fiercly (were her fingers tightening it or letting it loose? For all her talk about getting things done, they seemed just to be picking around with no real point or purpose), trying to keep any surprise or anxiety she felt from her facial expression.

"Is what him?"

"If it is, it's okay, you know," William went on, doing his best to keep from babbling; her question hadn't seemed to register just yet. "I just...need to know."

"Need to know? What? Who's 'him,' and why would that be okay?"

"Amurra, please don't pretend like you weren't aware. This is hard enough. I've--I mean, this whole time, I--And Cirin, he's--I don't want to--I mean, look, it's just that--" He cut himself off, scowling with frusteration, and tried again, waving his hands and blurting out the words he had been trying to summon for so long, blushing faintly as soon as they were out. "I like you, okay? And...so does he."

Zahra frowned faintly; well, of course she had known. Of course. But she was as shocked now to hear someone--two someone's, in fact--could feel that way about someone like her, this cold, gruff assassin,as she had been when she first found out. It was just different actually hearing it confirmed. She crouched down again, running her gloved hands through the water, losing herself in its depth rather than having to face William.

"Look, you have to pick, alright? I know--Just...please, alright? It's okay if it's not me. I just need to know for sure, do you understand?"

"No," she replied softly, and her voice sounded uncharacteristically weak. "No, I really don't. What do you expect of me, anyway? I can't--I've never--" Fajiera cut off abruptly, looking more angry than anything, and she swiped her hand through the water, fracturing her reflection. Weakness. Madness. She felt more vulnerable now than when she had been surrounded by invisible assailants, and the woman hated it.

"Amurra--" William took a step toward her, then stopped, looking rather crestfallen and unsure of what to do. Since the night he had found her with Cirin on the ship, he had really known the answer to what he was asking in his heart; he had just been denying it, and had wanted to hear one way or the other from the assassin herself, to be sure. But...did he even really feel the same about her?

"No, William. It's--it's my fault. I've seen it as clearly as you have; I should have done...something. Something." She took a forlorn pull at the bottle of rum she held, and, to add to the shocks of this meeting, tears began to well in her cold eyes when she looked back at the man nearby. "I was scared, William. Still am. Look." She waved her hand with a slightly frusterated air, as though trying to come up with words. "Have you ever loved before? Ever had a sweetheart? Ever kissed a woman?"

William nodded cautiously, looking concerned and wary at once, and wondering just where this was going to go. Zahra returned a somber shake of the head and pointed to herself with the air of one just beginning to get intoxicated.

"Not me. Never. Not one love. Not one man. Not one kiss. I don't..." she choked this last bit through inevitable tears, things she had been holding back out of pride and stubborness for far too long; silent sobs that refused to be dammed up any longer. "I don't love people. William. I kill them. Don't you see? I've never loved before, because...because...I guess I don't know how."

William, on the edge between holding back and reaching out to her, made his decision then and closed the distance between the two of them, taking the muddy, bloody, teary-eyed woman-rendered-child in a tight embrace, murmuring meaningless comforts to her and, mostly, just letting her have a secure place to cry. In that moment, the fate of "them" was sealed; each had made their own decision, and the future of William and Fajiera as "a couple" was decided.

...There wasn't one.

The assassin, at the end of her tears, was slightly embarrassed but mostly relieved, and beamed up at William with a completely genuine smile. He, in turn, hugged her tighter for a moment and then let go, stepping away. Both held each other in warm regard, but it was no longer the awkward feeling of would-be lovers--they seemed to have instantly but unshakably formed a relationship on the level of brothers and sisters, and each seemed happy with the decision.

"I--" Fajiera started, then cast excuses aside, collecting her things (stealing a quick drink), and leaving the bath behind. "Thank you, William, from the depths of my heart."

William smiled and held out his arm; after a minute of puzzlement the assassin caught on, smiled sheepishly, and linked arms with him. Love didn't seem like such a scary thing just at the moment, and while the woman would, no doubt, remain gruff, cold, and rough around the edges, maybe she wouldn't be quite so introverted; maybe she wouldn't be quite so harsh. The man set off at an easy pace; he was truly happy for her, and only hoped things would work out with Cirin. He had come to peace with his decision; he hoped the elf and the assassin could find the same with each other. Smiling too-sweetly, his voice jokingly love-struck, William sighed dramatically.

"Amurra, my heart is full!"

"Ay," the assassin replied, her face suddenly completely grave as she played into the joke. She looked down forlornly and swilled the bottle of rum. "But my jug is empty."

William laughed and, roughly, somewhat awkwardly, Fajiera joined in. "Come on, woman, back to camp."

"Ah, but camp means work."

"Ay, but camp means rum."

"You...have a point. Right then, William: lead the bloody way."

[Well, that turned out with an entirely different ending than I planned, but I just went with it and that's what came out. I hope everyone's satisfied; that loose end has needed tying for a while now.]

[Shadowfire05]

(Bah triars guys get all the fun :-p heh heh no biggie

Awesome as always Fajiera. Bout time she loostened up some :)

Triar we HAVE to have this break if the story is almost over man. And I'm with Fajiera I don't want it to end. Maybe Argoza could escape us in the cave, and we chase him, Or after we defeat him we could right the journey back to the Druid forest. Not a long journey, I'm just not ready to let go myself heh heh.

And besides you don't go fight the boss immedialetly after you just went through a tough fight, you need a nights sleep at least.)

[Triar]

(OOC: Awwww, ain't that somethin'? Well ShadowFire, you just gave me the best idea.. Not really.. But at least made me think of the best idea to CONTINUE the story after we have entered the caves, and faced Argoza. But yeah, it'll be extremely fun.. And to give you a small idea of what I am thinking, lets just say war is almost upon us.. :)

Regards,

Triar.)

[Shadowfire05]

Piotr turned to Cirin. "You are by far the wisest of us all. Wiser than Amurra, William, Aronai; all of us. I fear my influence has made everyone follow me for the wrong reasons. This world has gone very wrong for me.. It's going to be extremely hard to stop Argoza's terror.. It troubles me.. Anything I do, no matter how big or small, everyone echos in my footsteps.. Following me.. What if I do something wrong? And you all echo my actions.. Leading us all to death? Cirin.. Please.. Do you know why everyone follows me?"

'Wise' Cirin thought to himself. He smiled "I thank you for that Piotr" Cirin didn't know if it was completely justified but he was not about to be rude and reject the compliment. He thought for a moment as he leaned back against the rocks and took a swig. "I can only answer your question one way my friend."

"What if Steven farts and the echo makes the whole cave collapse and crush us?" Piotr nearly spit out his rum laughing at Cirin's answer. After a few coughs and a slap on a back from the elf Piotr regained himself.

"I guess I never looked at it that way" he chuckled.

"Piotr you always try to distance yourself from us by making it seem like you are alone in leading us. We are all here by our own choices. Every decision you make is a choice for the rest of us. When you make a decision every one of us thinks 'do I think this idea will get end very bad?' If the answer was ever yes we could simply get up and walk away. We CHOOSE to go with what you say. So in essence, every choice that is made, is the will of the whole group. If something goes wrong it is all of our faults, because by going along with it we are saying "That is my decision too"." Cirin gave his friend a warm comforting smile. "You are not alone." Piotr wasn't completely convinced but he obviously felt better. "We are all here with you because we CHOOSE to be. We don't so much echo your steps just because your charisma and leadership will us, not meaning any offense.""

"None taken." Piotr urged the elf to continue.

"We decide that your footsteps happen to go the same direction as ours are going." Cirin observed Piotr as all of this sunk in. "And along the way we decided that you were worth risking changing our footsteps, for whatever reason. Aphrael came to love you, we have become close friends, you helped free Steven and William, Amurra and Aronai have reasons a little more cryptic, but they are your friends too. Have faith in us the way we have faith in you and we will get through anything."

"But what about Argoza. He's getting stronger Cirin, in me, the closer we get. I almost killed Aphrael because of..."

"NO!" Cirin scolded Piotr. "YOU SAVED Aphrael. ARGOZA tried to kill her. YOU kept the blade from her heart, YOU froze him when he tried to finish her. Don't you dare let yourself think you have any less strength in you than him. He is weak, he needs you to survive, but you can survive without him. THAT is why you are going to beat him."

"I'm just afraid." Piotr's emotions were reeling.

"Death is a path that we must all take at one time or another. If it should come to any one of us, take solace and pride in the fact that you helped us meet it with dignity and fighting for something that we believed in. You are making our lives worthy of the peace that death will one day bring us."

Cirin relaxed. "There is much greatness in you Piotr." The elf had much confidence in his friend "You need only move out of the way to see it. When Argoza takes over your body his spirit isn't what suddenly makes your body 10 times faster and stronger, he merely taps into what is already there. The power is yours to weild not his. That is why he fears you."

Piotr sat up and stared down to the fire. Cirin saw a change wash over him. Confidence and determination seeped from his every pore. He almost seemed to become bigger, and his stature commanded respect.

"And fear me he shall." Piotr's eyes were wrathful. Cirin smiled at the thought of Piotr holding Argoza by the throat and casting him down. He could now picture the warrior before him defeating his foe. "Thank you Cirin. I guess I just needed to hear it from someone."

Cirin merely bowed his head to his friend and raised his glass. "May all our footsteps walk the same path for many days ahead."

"I'll drink to that my pointy eared juggler." Piotr and Cirin toasted and leaned back. The sat and joked for a while until Piotr noticed something. "Ello, what have we here."

At that moment Amurra and William came walking to the edge of the cave. Amurra's arm was linked in William's and they were laughing and joking together. Cirin felt a sharp jab in him. Like an ogre taking a hammer to his chest, but at the same time he felt great joy. It was soo good to see Amurra so at peace and joyful. It was a calm he had never seen on her before. Piotr placed a comforting hand on Cirin's shoulder and the elf gave him a half hearted smile.

"Cmon lets get some rum Cirin" Piotr tugged his friend towards the campsite. "I'm fine, and I've had enough rum for one evening." Piotr couldn't tell which part of the statement Cirin was lying about; perhaps both. Cirin gracefully slid down the rocks and headed to the camp to return his mug.

"Well and where have you two been." Cirin did all he could to hide how he was feeling. Ironically he was now the one hiding his feelings though he constantly chided the assasin for her cryptic ways. Amurra noticed something different in the elf; there was less of a glow to him, and his eyes seem slightly dimmer, but only she had the meticulus observation to notice it. She might have prodded further if the sailors hadn't shoved a goblet of rum her way.

Another sailor across the fire spoke up "Careful there matey, I wouldn't give her too much, I bet she topples over after 2 drinks." The assasins eyes narrowed vengefully on the sailor.

Cirin and Piotr burst into laughter and simultaneously announced "Your funeral." The whole group was now laughing away.

Cirin leaned over to William and whispered, "I'm going to go look for some bowstring for you. You all have fun. You should get a dance going" The elf winked and nodded his head to Amurra. William turned to see the assasin squared up to the sailor who had challenged her already asking for a second drink. When he turned back Cirin was almost out of sight. "Cirin wait..." William called out, Piotr placed his hand on William's shoulder. "Let him go."

Night was embracing the forest outside the cave. Cirin really had no need to get vines for string as he had plenty of extra already. He wandered a bit avoiding the thoughts that nagged at him. He kept consentrating on the light bugs. If Harknarr was beautiful in the day, then beauty was but a drop of water in the mist of the night of Harknarr. The light creatures glowed soft light, in hues of blues and purples. Their floressence danced across the forest. It was soft and enchanting like the stars that beamed overhead. The rain had gone and the canopy now opened to the clearest night sky Cirin had ever seen. It would be so romantic if...

'No no don't think...' The elf not even realizing he was still walking came upon a clear spring. The light bugs apparently could swim. They dove and turned through the water turning the pool into a light show of wavy floressence. It was so beatiful, almost as beatiful to him as...

'shhh quit thinking you twit...' Cirin unstrapped his gear and laid his weapons down on his cloak so as not to get them dirty. He let his clothes slide off and then folded them next to his cloak. He then slipped into the water with only his ocarina. The soft glowing light dancing across the forest. There was a waterfall that cascaded over a low rockface making the perfect shower, but for now he just enjoyed the embrace of the nights tranquility. In his mind he heard the sweet voice of a girl singing to the soft tones of his ocarina whispering to the forest, echoing its enchanting spell.

Into the night the adventurer comes
Weary from the day of war and drums
Hush my love the sun has gone
Hold me close forget the dawn

You are safe now and far from harm
Kiss me soft, wrap me in your arms
Let me whisper my love to tell
As we fall into nights romantic spell

Lay down your sweet and weary head
Night is calling you have to come journeys end
My happy tears upon your face
My fears pass away with you in this place

Our bodies so close, my love hold me tight
Stay with me and fight away mornings light

The soft lullybye of the ocarina continued even though the voice faded, and Cirin gave into his thoughts. 'The night would be so perfectly romantic and beautiful if only she was here...'

'...I'm glad she's happy'






(OOC Just to clarify, if you didn't catch it, it is supposed to be one of those moments when a person is playing a song, and some sweet voice starts singing to it. The Song is about a girl whose love has come home for the day and she not wanting to let him go.

Man my posts are long, Fajiera make sure you read your PM's before you take us into Harknarr.)

[Fajiera Zahra]

"Well and where have you two been."

Amurra turned to see Cirin; part of her was alarmed, but by now she was drunk on newfound happiness (right, and also the rum) and her instinct to shy away from the elf hadn't set in. She was still aware enough to note a new despondancy in him, however, and she cocked her head slightly in concern, mouth open to voice a question when a glass of rum was shoved in front of her with a playful leer.

"Careful there matey, I wouldn't give her too much, I bet she topples over after 2 drinks."

Amurra turned to meet this new challenge, her question for Cirin lost to the winds, and shot the sailor a glare as she downed the glass, holding a gloved hand out for another. While she waited for it to be filled, she casually began sorting through her pack and pocket, pulling out the empty bottle she had finished while they were setting camp, the one she had downed while she had been having a heart-to-heart with William, and a smaller flask of her own. She was finishing the second goblet the sailor had filled for her when William returned from speaking with Cirin; Zahra turned to him with a grin, half-pleasure, and half competetive spite.

"What was that about?"

"I think--Amurra, you need to talk to him, too."

The assassin nodded with a sigh, suddenly brought back to sobriety, if not entirely complete. Obviously this time would come, she was just hoping that...The woman scanned the camp for him, and came up empty on her search. One hand was raised to massage her temples, and William smiled apologetically. "Maybe later?"

Fajiera nodded in agreement, then removed her fingers, noting the flecks of mud, and worse, that flaked away from her skin. "Ye gods, I need that bath now. If you'll excuse me, boys," she flashed a smile at the sailor who had first 'challenged' her and pulled away the glass he had just poured for himself, downing it herself before turning to leave. "One for the road. I hope you don't mind."

William glanced at Piotr for knowledge, but the man only shrugged his shoulders. The former motioned him over; when he came, he whispered something to Piotr who darted off through the crowd with a smile, returning with a slightly startled Aphrael. William rounded up the sailors not completely smashed and started a makeshift 'band' with the ones that had a fair hand at the instruments kept on the ship. Steven, who had been off drinking a bit with Aronai, was laughing bawdily.

"What's so funny?" Aphrael wondered aloud, smiling herself as she clung tight to Piotr.

"Where'd Amurra run off to?" Steven returned, then began laughing all the harder. "Healer, you're going to get your workout tonight! Only one woman for all these men in want of a dance!"

Fajiera, actually, had 'run off' to find the spot in the forest she discovered earlier, trying desperately to collect her thoughts and package them up neatly, though to little avail. With William, they had found a new "love;" a friendship, and Amurra learned to accept that joyfully. She had a feeling coming to terms with these feelings that were, doubtlessly, "real love" would be much harder.

The woman sighed and waved a hand dismissively, trying to clear her head, and for the first time, for all her drilled perception, seemed to notice the forest around her. Not the shadows and the sounds and the potential threats, but--the awe-inspiring beauty. Small bugs floated around, carrying their lights and casting the whole darkened forest in an ethreal glow. The soft breeze rustled the leaves, starting a tune that was added to by the hum of these light-bugs, the chirping of unseen, nocturnal birds, the faint sound of running water.

And then an altogether different melody, something foreign and intrusive, not made by the forest at all. Creully, however, it was perfect, and the mournfully beautiful song added to nature's melody rather than detracting from it. Amurra had heard the sound before--not the song, but the sound; knew that she could tell what played it hearing only one note, knew that every note she had ever heard from it was engraved deep into her mind. She loathed to discover the source--and longed.

The woman found herself compelled to follow it, stepping through leaves that were just beginning to glimmer with humidity, and would later glisten with dew, over the meager spring she had chosed to bathe in, and into the grove that held it's much more impressive source. Once again, she seemed stunned by the beauty of the place, the soft colors, the glow of moving lights, the trickle of cyrstalline water--all this time she had been so focused on the details that she had missed the picture itself.

...And suddenly the landscape wasn't the only thing more impressive than her humble stream-of-choice. The elf went on playing his song, wrapped in the gently soaring melody, or perhaps his thoughts, or just the seeming magic of the place--at any rate, he didn't seem to notice the intruder. Fajiera halted at that thought, intruder, and had half a mind to turn back then. Because wasn't she? What right had she to come here and disturb him?

Except that she knew it needed to be done. Knew it and, as much as she dreaded this meeting, longed for it herself. The woman was suddenly highly conscious of her hair, always, always neat and orderly--she had thought she'd be alone at the stream, so she had loosed the braid in preparation on the way, sending honey-touched black curls, damp and heavy, spilling around her shoulders. Amurra tried to bind it back, but the mass was so snarled now that there was no hope to the project, and she let it drop with a sigh.

The sigh was a quiet one. Her steps were quiet. Her presence, though prominant, was quiet. She always was. Nonetheless, it was enough to cause Cirin to trail off on the music; perhaps she only imagined it was because of her, but for whatever reason, the tune was coming to an end. The assassin's breath caught in her throat as Cirin turned his head and her startled grey-green eyes met his forlorn blue ones.

For a moment nothing happened. Nothing moved, nothing sounded. The steady glow of the bugs reflected off the glimmering water and bathed the two in a soft indigo light; the jungle's heady perfume was thick and sweet, and almost as tangible as a warm, damp blanket. Cirin, on his part, could not remember seeing anything quite so beautiful in his hundreds of years as her silhouette that stepped out to meet him. Amurra, infinately younger despite the elven blood that trickled through her veins, was merely struck dumb. Nothing, nothing could have prepared her for this moment. She had been taught to be cold, closed off, detatched from love--and when she looked at Cirin those dams, threatening to leak before, had now burst open.

At last the moment passed; Amurra looked around, opened her mouth to speak, and saw his pile of clothes laying nearby. She faintly blushed in the murky glow of the alcoves; the first blush out of something other than intoxication in what must have been years. "Cirin, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to--I should go," she offered, knowing he wouldn't allow it, knowing she wouldn't go even if he did. After the elf inevitably thwarted the offer she walked slowly to the water's edge and sat down, running a hand through her tangle of curls. Cirin swam casually over to the bank, folding his arms on the land near her and resting his chin over his crossed wrists.

"I"m happy for you, I really am. You're truly lucky."

"Lucky?" came the assassin's response, lilting bemusedly. "Isn't that a little arrogant?"

"No--I just meant I'm glad for you that you...worked things out with William."

A slow, gentle smile spread over Fajiera's face, as though she had been let in on some cosmic joke and was debating whether or not to share. But--that moment. Surely he knew, but...perhaps he thought it was one-sided? Perhaps he was only trying to be polite?

"I'm glad I worked things out with him, too," she led on. "I can't think of a time that I've been happier. Cirin, I love William." Was it just the tricks of the water, the intoxicating perfume of the flowers here, or was the elf looking crestfallen? She hadn't meant to be harsh, and so hurridly finished her sentence. "As a brother."

The elf cocked his head, surprised; he smiled hesitantly at first, and more fully when hers bloomed with his. "What?"

"He's happy with it, too. We just...weren't meant for more. But," the woman looked down a bit awkwardly, casting him into a shadow of doubt for a moment. "You..." She breathed in deeply, forcing herself to calm her nerves, and then smiled--it was a sure thing, free of worry or tension, suddenly, and her sun-bronzed skin positively glowed in the preternatural light, the mane of black ringlets curtaining her face as she leaned down toward the waterlogged elf. "You're the one I can't keep denying any longer."

All the joy that had been in his firey blue eyes (no pun intended) was restored now, and as she leaned down he craned his neck up--for the second time that night the world around them came spinning to a standstill, the light-bugs quieted, and there were only these two--and then, in a rush, time moved forward, and the cryptic elf and the secretive assassin were locked in a kiss that sent a shock not only through the shared flesh, but into their heart-of-hearts.

"Mmm," Amurra mused when they finally broke away. "And here I was only looking for a bath."

Cirin flashed a half smile and gestured with one arm to the expanse behind him; the glowing pool, the waterfall, then looked back to her. They hadn't exactly sat down and talked out their feelings, but then...it seemed there wasn't much left to be said. "Well, you're welcome to it..." he smirked, though not at all cruelly, before finishing his thought. "But I'm not getting out for you."

[Shadowfire05]

(OOC :Blink: :Blink: THAT WAS TOTALLY WICKED! I am awestruck at "wow" of that post Fajiera. Check your PM's. No body post but Fajiera or me pls.

Already read it twice lol)

[Shadowfire05]

Light bugs hummed around the pool as Cirin piped his despair to the forest. The trees and animals listened to the longing tones of the elfs heart and echoed their own feelings back to him in a mournful symphony. Finally the will to play left him as the beauty of the song diminished into silence. Suddenly, Cirin realized he wasn't alone. As he turned he saw all he ever longed for in life as his eyes reached out to hers. Amurra was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen in his centuries of what he thought was life. There was silence for a moment while he lost himeslf in her gaze.

It suddenly came to him that he was naked! A slight hint of quirkyness washed over him. The feeling was strange. He had been naked in front of people before with no uncertainty, but with her it was different. His heart began to beat faster.

"Cirin, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to--I should go," she offered. The elf merely closed his eyes and shook his head in disagreance. He didn't want her to leave at all, but he all at once had trouble finding words and feared opening his mouth and making a fool of himself. She sat down on the rocky bank at the waters edge. Cirin swam to the side, it was just deeper than his body. He put his elbows on the bank and his chin on the hands, in fear that if he didn't they would reach out for her. 'Say something to her'

"I"m happy for you, I really am. You're truly lucky." 'Liar' His heart was screaming aching for her, but she had made her choice.

"Lucky?" came the assassin's response, lilting bemusedly. "Isn't that a little arrogant?"

A querying look of confusion came over Cirin's face. "No--I just meant I'm glad for you that you...worked things out with William." A somber jealousness came with William's name, but it was not his friends fault. 'Maybe if I hadn't pestered her so. Why couldn't I have just given her some space?'

Amurra smiled at him in an odd way "I'm glad I worked things out with him, too. I can't think of a time that I've been happier. Cirin, I love William." Cirin found it ironic that it was an assasin who was driving the knife through his heart.

"As a brother." 'Thats it just drive it straight thro......what'

The elf cocked his head, surprised; he smiled hesitantly at first, and more fully when hers bloomed with his. "What?" His chin could feel the echo of his heartbeat through the rock and water, stronger, louder.

"He's happy with it, too. We just...weren't meant for more. But," the woman looked down a bit awkwardly. Dread bloomed in him, was he to be the "other brother?"

"You..." 'Me what, me what' His chin lifted off his hands. His eyes begging for the answer, the glow on her face told him long before she answered. "You're the one I can't keep denying any longer." His heart became a waterfall, cascading warmth and feeling to every inch of his body aching for her. His eyes brightened as she leaned forward. His arms flexed as he streched his neck up too her. Her hair fell around them separating them from everything. Thier lips met in a kiss that reached to the depths of their hearts, sending fires of passion across every nerve.

The forest silenced, thoughts ceased...and in that moment Cirin lived more than he had in all the centuries of his travels.

"Mmm," Amurra mused when they finally broke away. "And here I was only looking for a bath."

Cirin flashed a half smile and gestured with one arm to the expanse behind him; the glowing pool, the waterfall, then looked back to her. "Well, you're welcome to it..." he smirked, though not at all cruelly, before finishing his thought. "But I'm not getting out for you."

Amurra bit her lip and grinned as he gently pushed off from the rocks. She nervously made her way over to where his clothes lay. She turned her back to him and pulled her hair over her right shoulder. Cirin sensed a tenseness in the assasin, this was all new to her. To him too. He knew just how to make her relax.

Romantic notes filled the air as the elf played his love a lullybye. Amurra looked over her shoulder and smiled at him. The left sleeve of her tunic teasingly slid off her shoulder. Her skin was smooth and perfect. Rhapsodies of enchantment echoed in verbrata, though it was truly Cirin's nervous shaking. Now the other sleeve. The two most beautiful parts of any women was her back and the area from her neck to her shoulders. His notes echoed the flawless beauty of Amurra's features as the tunic floated to the ground. She looked back over her shoulder for his approval, but the music made his enchantment by her clear.

Cirin closed his eyes and summoned the passionate memory of their kiss. Her lips were so soft and soothing, and Cirin had never tasted blissful beauty before. It was sweet. He could almost hold himself in the memory and stop time, but only her lips could capture him like that.

When he opened his eyes Amurra was standing waist deep in front of him, her clothes lie hastely folded on the bank. With her arms crossed over her bosom her smile beamed at him, wrapping him in her spell. The music stopped mid song. The elf stood stunned and entrapped by her gorgeous gaze. Words could not describe her.

Their hearts pounding. His arms ached to hold her.

Ripples from their heartbeats echoed across the water, until at last, the ripples met...

...and became one.

[Triar]

(OOC: Humana humana humana!)

The camp was finally complete. Sailors showed off their skills with flutes, violins, drums, and other unique and familiar instruments. Piotr joined William and Steven in conversation, leaving Aphrael with Kamelot and some other Sailors.

"Oh aigh, Willy lad, I think it's the best for the both of yee."

"What's the best for him?" Piotr asked, curiously.

"Well Willy here.. Well I think it's best if Willy says it," Steven smiled and took a long sip of his rum.

"I asked Amurra to choose between me or Cirin.." There was a long pause. Piotr bent closer towards William and smiled.

"And she chose Cirin.." Piotr's smile quickly came to a frown, and he quickly gave William a well-needed embrace.

"I feel for you, William. But don't worry!" Piotr let go and pulled away, putting his hands on William's shoulders. "When you find your one true love, you'll know."

William tried to smile, but couldn't. Between a neutral and sad face, William chose the neutral face, letting out a deep sigh.

"Hey!" Steven exclaimed, "Don't worry, lad. There are a lot of other women out there for yee. Piotr here knows what he's talking about, lad. You'll know it when you find the one true love of yours. Unfortunately, it just wasn't Amurra. But we're here for ya lad. If ya need to chat, we're here for ya."

William finally managed to smile. "Thanks." Music began to play. Quite a familiar tune. Steven jumped up and cheered. "This is my favourite song, lads. Come up! I'll teach yas!"

Steven pulled Piotr and William towards the middle and they put their arms around each other to form a circle.

"Ya'll will know this song! I'll start her off!

Well I stumbled and I am all drunk and full of smoke!
My wife said I have had enough, I'm sick, that's it, get out!"

"I know this one!" Piotr laughed. "So do I!" William smirked. And all the Sailors joined in, including Kamelot, raised their drinks, and began singing.

So I stumbled down to Kelly's pub across the edge of town
and I told the boys me story and we had another round!

We'll drink, and drink, and drink, and drink, and drink, and
drink and fight!
We'll drink, and drink, and drink, and drink, and drink, and
drink and fight!
And if I see a pretty girl, I'll sleep with her tonight!
We'll drink, and drink, and drink, and drink, and drink, and
drink and fight!

The song continued. Piotr glanced over at Aphrael and gave her a nice wink. He raised his glass and went over to her, grabbed her, and pulled her into the large circle formed by the Sailors. Aronai joined in as well, enjoying the lovely music and singing. Sounds of fun and excitement filled the whole island. Song. Dance. Music. Those three things were the best combination of entertainment in the whole world. And even though everyone was soon to stare death in the face, enjoyment wasn't something even Argoza could stop.

The singing continued on for at least an hour. The forest wind and trees swayed to the melody. And the passion between Piotr and Aphrael was more than enough to make many of the Sailors to go crazy as there was only two women in the crew, and the one in view was with Piotr, and the other.. Missing..

"Aphrael gave Piotr a long, passionate kiss - Many Sailors stared in jealousy. Myth began to clap. And the rest of the crew did the same. It was a beautiful thing; to see a couple so happy together. Aphrael smiled and whispered into Piotr's ear: "Want to.. Find a more.. Private spot?"

Piotr nodded in agreement, and the two stood up, and Piotr announced that they would be back in 30 minutes. Everyone cheered and toasted to the couple, and continued their singing.

Walking into the jungle, Aphrael clinged to Piotr's hand tightly. "Where do you think we should go?" Piotr asked with a smile.

"I know where a hotspring is.. Only if you're interested," Aphrael said, flirting.

"Of course!" Piotr quickly replied in excitement. Aphrael tripped Piotr over and began running "Only if you can catch me!"

Piotr laughed and began chasing Aphrael through the forest, making sure she didn't go out of sight, but keeping her far enough so he could play her game. "This way!" Aphrael called out, leading the way. She was almost sprinting through the forest, as was Piotr, making it almost hard to keep her a short distance in front, yet far enough behind so she could feel as though she was winning this game of hers. "Come on! Almost there!" Aphrael announced, taking another path. And soon enough, Aphrael stopped. Piotr caught up to her and took hold of her. "Where now?" Piotr asked. "Straight ahead."

Aphrael grabbed Piotr and pinned him to a tree. Passions erupted. Love filled the air. And the nocturnal birds seemingly sung a beautiful song in tune with the two love-birds kiss. "We need no hotspring, I guess," Piotr smiled. "Of course not. I think right here is perfect."

For hours, everyone was singing and dancing, enjoying a beautiful cooked meal by Kamelot and a few other Sailors, and a great drink of rum. The stars sparkled overhead, and Kamelot announced that everyone should get some rest. Piotr and Aphrael emerged from behind one of the huts. And only moments later, Cirin and Amurra came out of hiding. And everyone erupted in an extremely immature "Ooooooooooooo.." Followed by overwhelming laughter. Amurra blushed. Though she may be an assassin, she was definitely the shy type with her whole "Romantic" life.

Piotr and Aphrael had their own private tent set up for themselves. But Aphrael did not want to sleep. She wanted Piotr to stay awake and talk a little longer. But it wasn't long until Piotr just fell asleep. He was exhausted. And he needed his sleep. And so, Aphrael accepted the fact that Piotr needed his sleep, and rested her head on Piotr's chest, quickly falling asleep to the sound of Piotr's fast beating heart..

(OOC: Eh - Not my best post at all - Very.. Few.. Detail.. Oh well - Now that we're all back at camp, and most of us are sleeping, we can wake up and go in for the cave. And Cirin and Amurra, sittin' in the tree,
K-I-S-S-I-N-G.. That is so cute I must say. Poor William :( LoL I love it! Time for my character to rest - He's too tired, poor fella. Enjoy continuing from this :dance:

:::EDIT::: Well now it's edited - Sorry. Just don't kill me :p)

[Shadowfire05]

(OOC ok I am going to KILL YOU Triar. The PM meant, Fajiera posts one more time, then I post, THEEEEEN you post yours. Edit edit edit. You guys can't come crashing into the water because 1. it completely kills the mood we have going, 2. It is supposed to be kind of secrative. Yal know that the two are togehter, but the details are private to Cirin and Amurra. Plus we still ahve 2 BIG POSTS left in the springs and you already have us back at the camp. Edit edit edit :)

The rest of the post is awesome and would work fine. But if you could just please edit out the part where you jump in on us please. Sorry for the confusion about that. :) )

[Triar]

(OOC: Well this is getting quite.. Annoying to say the least.. Another 3 or 4 days and I'm just gonna take it furthur with or without the love scene, people.

Regards,

Triar.)

[Fajiera Zahra]

[Yeah, so I apologize for being such a jerk. I've written a new post almost every day and none of them have sat right, but I know I've been keeping everyone waiting far too long. I've almost got it done now, so give me a couple days at most and I'll have something for you. And if I don't--then yeah, Triar, go ahead.

...But I will. Promise.

My humble appy-polly-loggies.

EDIT: I have a post written, but I didn't get a chance to finish typing it this morning. It'll be up sometime this afternoon.]

[Fajiera Zahra]

[Let me apologize again for taking so bloody long. It's my understanding SF will be taking us to the caves in his next post, so this will all be wrapped up and out of the way, and everyone can move on. Anyway: here goes.]

The water splashed up with a dart of a movement, and Amurra found herself suddenly in Cirin's arms. Startled, her instinctual reaction was to jerk away--Cirin held her tight, though, and smiled; apparently he knew her well enough to expect this, and had no intention of letting her go this time. The woman relaxed into his embrace after a moment, and a small, hesitant smile returned.

The elf seemed to know just what to do; seemed relaxed about the whole ordeal, wrapped up in the moment and unconcerned; he seemed to have taken Amurra's profession all in stride. The assassin, however, was left with her mind reeling--she couldn't believe what was happening now, and found herself half-wishing this whole thing really was a dream. Her wit, which had never failed her before, now seemed nonexistant, and her tongue refused to form coherant words. Because--while Cirin seemed deeply in love and happy with it, Fajiera, at this point, was having her doubts.

The light-bugs hummed softly as they spurted through the air, casting their soft glow over everything; the spray of the waterfall, thus lit, seemed like a spray of diamonds, and the noise was hardly what could be called obtrusive. The whole scene seemed madly perfect, except--Cirin. Did she really love him? Or did she just love being loved? She had never had someone feel that way about her--she was spared the puppy love and courting most adolescents went through, and this...Well, it was wonderful. But was it true?

Zahra raked her hand back through tangled curls and sighed lightly, then offered a delicate smile to the elf. The woman found her hard grey-green eyes staring into his vibrant blue ones, and for a moment she was absolutely caught, unable to pull herself out of that gaze. And in that space of time, connected as they were, she knew the answer; it wasn't perfect, but it was right. It wouldn't be easy, but they would manage.

"Cirin," she began softly, as though unsure of jsut what to say, "thank you." A light-bug flitted gracefully past her head, and she had to stop herself from swatting it.

"For what?" He shifted his arm and ran across the thin lines of scars on her left shoulder that he had learned about the night they found each other on the ship, hardly any time ago at all and yet seeming ages had passed since then.

"Nevermind, it's not important. Just...thank you." She smiled more surely now and tipped her head back, peering through the tangle of branches to the sky overhead, pale blues tinged with gold and purpling, like a colorful bruise.

"Amurra, I love you." Water raced between stones, sprinted over fallen logs, dashed through and through itself again, to jump headlong off the small overhang and stream down in a minisculy magnificent fall, the spray casting tiny, glimmering, watery rainbows.

"Well, that's a shame." She ducked out of his embrace and under the water, appearing again just behind him. Night-birds chirped their song, fewer in number than those that whistled in the daytime, but each with music at least as sweet.

"Amurra," Cirin began reproachfully, pausing a moment to delight in a light-bug that had landed on one of his hands.

"I know," she laughed, and when he turned and wrapped his arms around her again, she didn't pull away this time. The sky was darkening rapidly, but the multitude of bugs and the added reflections from the water cast plenty of light in the secluded grove. "You know there are...'rules,' as it were?"

"Hmm?" He seemed quite content to stare after her for all eternity, and only seemed half aware of the conversation. Fajiera only seemed half-aware of what she was saying anyway, however, and didn't seem at all bothered.

"You're...not going to tell everyone, are you?" The light-bug that had landed on Cirin flew off toward her, and she raised a hand to swat at it; it buzzed indignantly, flashed its glow, and flew off to join the swarms around them.

"Not if you don't want me to."

"And," she grimaced playfully, "you're not going to try and make me be sweet? I'm not going soft for you."

"Like Aphrael and Piotr?" Cirin laughed gently, blue eyes gleaming, flashing with the reflected ripples of the water. "Well, alright, none of that."

"Good." For the first time, she returned his embrace, looking up with an expression that wasn't quite playful but couldn't be called serious. "Because you know that I'm a killer first and a lover seco--"

Cirin cut her off in mid-sentence, leaning down and kissing her again. What he had thought so blissful the first time only increased its pleasure the second, in his mind, but at last he broke away, feigning a sheepish smile but looking not at all apologetic.

"Sorry."

Fajiera matched his mock-apology with a playful scowl, peering up at him indignantly, hands on her hips, long black hair spilling forward over her shoulders, skin aglow with the living-lights.

"Good. You bloody well should be."


And she kissed him again.

[Shadowfire05]

Her lips were like a roses scent, hinting at the true inner beauty of the actual flower. He leaned in for another only to feel the cool, but disapointing splash of water. Amurra playfully darted from him and the elf grinned.

She was worth the chase.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The glow faded over the spring as the pair got dressed and got ready to head back to the cave. Cirin walked over to her and stopped her before she began to braid her hair. His hands soothingly slid through her hair as it fell down around her shoulders. It was special to him because he was probably the only one she would let see her hidden beauty. Amurra's fingers wrapped around the elfs wrist and pulled his hand to her cheek. It was soft yet hard, but so were his hands. She closed her eyes and enjoyed his touch on her face, and then leaned her head against his chest while the elf embraced her. They both savoured the moment for it would be a while before they would have time for this again.

Amurra and Cirin headed back to the cave at a comfortably slow pace. Cirin's head should have been reeling over the passion and love that he had discovered, but he was strangely calm and very content. The light of the forests magic had faded and a mere glow of it former glory still lit her beautiful face.

"We don't have to hold hands now do we?" A painful look flushed over Amurra's face.

"Do you want to?" Cirin chuckled slightly knowing full well the assasins feelings on the matter. "Good neither did I." Amurra's breathing calmed with the elf's response.

Cirin attraction to Amurra did not come from the thought of holding hands under the moonlight or snuggling under the stars. All he wanted from her was the love that she had for him. His love came from her fire for life, and her independance and mystery. That being said he was ready to be as flexible as possible knowing Amurra's uneasiness with showing her emotions. One of the best things about her though was that Cirin felt no need to protect her. She could take care of herself and he knew it. It was a peaceful thought knowing how much danger was in the world.

Amurra was astonished that the elf had not said anything to her as they walked back. He had not even protested to her putting her hair up in its tight braid, but alls the better as she would not have been swaded from it. Or did he know that and that was the reason for his silence? Or had she done something wrong? Was she not what he wanted or had expected? Doubt filled the assasins head as the warm glow of the cave reached out from around the rocks. 'Wait, why am I even letting this get to me?' Had she made a mistake?

Just before they moved from the shadow of the rockwall into the light Cirin grabbed Amurra pressing her back gently but firmly against the rocks. Nerve endings tingled as his lips poured his love for the assasin into hers. His chest heaved against her gently squeezing her against the cool and smooth rock behind her. Cirin's dark cloak hid them even from the shadows. "Don't worry" That was all the elf said but she got the message and her doubts faded into the feeling of his arms squeezing her tight.

Amurra noticed the tassles on her tunic sneakishly comeing undone by themselves. It felt good that she was so enticing to him, but...... Cirin felt a sharp pain to his ribs as the Amurra's fist jabbed into his side. The tassles fell limp and so did the elf as he gasped for breath. "I think you should wait a few minutes before you go in so not to arise suspicion." A sly grin came over Amurra's glowing, yet devious face. "Don't you agree." She knew full well he wouldn't be able to follow even if he wanted to, she smiled to her self a little.

Cirin coughing, smiled and nodded for he could not find the breath for words. She bent down and kissed him on the cheek and walked away towards the cave.

He knew she wasn't mad at him, and he got what he deserved. Cirin merely leaned his head against the rock and watched her stroll victoriously to the cave, and he could almost swear he saw her look back and wink, but maybe not.

Maybe she wasn't the perfect woman, but if there was ever a contest to decide the title, Cirin felt sure Amurra could "take out" the rest of the competition and win anyway, and that made her perfect to him.


(OOC yyyyaaaaayyyy I loved it Fajiera good job :) Triar its all you man, and remember 'whisper' its a secret.

[Triar]

(OOC: w00t w00000! Ain't that a sweet thing? Now.. the fun will begin.. Not that it hasn't already ;))

Morning finally came. Piotr was woken up by the soft music played by the Sailors, accompanied by Cirin's flute-like instrument. It was a peaceful awakening. One he hadn't endured, ever. Aphrael laid silent next to him, not even opening her eyes, she whispered "Good morning." Piotr gave her a kiss on the cheek, and stood up. "Good morning to you too," he replied.

Piotr put on his clothes and his armour, knowing full-well that this day was the day where they would face Argoza, and sudden death. It was going to be hard. And they all knew it wasn't going to be easy. But it was something the whole party was willing to do; fighting for Piotr.

Piotr exited his tent and looked into the beautiful blue sky. Kamelot was on the cave wall, up the top, looking over his ship. "Arrrgh.. She's a beauty.." Aphrael hugged Piotr from behind, surprising him, and two enjoyed the beautiful morning together, with the music, and the food already freshly cooked, the smell was gorgeous.

"Good mornin', lad!" Steven made a big scene. "Eat up! We got a wonderous journey to go on today, am I right William?" William looked up and nodded, continuing on and eating his food. "Well, what are yee waitin' for? Eat up!"

The two sat down and dug into the freshly made Dodo Soup, and Zin Zin on the spit, coated with honey, with lettuce and salad on the side. It was amazing. Amurra came and sat next to William, giving a slight glance to Piotr and Aphrael. "And how is everyone this morning?" she asked.

"Yeah, good - Enjoy your night last night?" Piotr asked.

She paused. "Yes. It was all right."

"All right?" Piotr smirked. "You and Cirin were no where to be found - I know what you two were doing!" Piotr, Aphrael, and Steven all burst into laughter. William laid silent. "Oh I'm just playing with ya," Piotr quickly added, intimidated by the womans' death stare.

The Sailors and the rest of the party finished their food, cleaned up, and got their things together. Cirin got his bow, and some arrows, dipping the tips in poison brought by the other Sailors. William almost forgot. He had finished his bow! "Cirin!" William shouted, taking his bow, jogging towards Cirin. "I have crafted my bow!" He continued, showing it to Cirin. The bow had carvings in itself, of unknown patterns William chose to carve.

"Great craftsmanship," Cirin smiled. "And this is your first bow?"

"Yes."

"Amazing - This will come in handy. Keep it close."

Finally, everyone was ready. Kamelot, Myth, and two other Sailors announced that they would go wit hthe rest of the party. The other Sailors were to go back to the ship to get it ready to sail. Saying their final farewells, the party entered the cave, torches alight.

William held his bow tight, with arrows in his pouch behind him, ready for anything. Piotr led the way. The cave was a constant slope downwards. And it wasn't long until the party came across blue crystals sticking out of the walls. Lower into the cave, the crystals were larger, and more beautiful. You could see on Kamelots' face that the crystals would be great plunder. But he kept his hands to himself. Touching the treasure of a cursed cave could have dire consequences. Kamelot warned the others not to touch the crystals as well.

It wasn't long before the party emerged into a huge chamber. But there were no crystals. Only one large door, covered in engravings, similar they found in the Temple, back in the valley. Piotr whispered to Cirin: "This place holds your past."

"How do you know?" Cirin asked.

"Look at your bow." Cirin's bow was glowing a yellow emerald colour, faint, but still glowing. "Keep on your guard!" Pitor announced, and the party drew their weapons.

Steven walked up to the huge door covered in engravings. "Now how in the hell are we gonna get past this?"

Piotr stood close to the door, and touched the engravings. A dark voice hissed from Piotr's mouth. It was Argoza. "Welcome to the Tomb where Argoza's body was placed after the ending of the Dark Age.. Those who wish to enter must defeat The Guardian.." Piotr stepped back from the door, turned and faced the party.. In horror..

"The Guardian? What's that?" Myth asked. At that moment, a huge demon crashed from underneath them, screaming curses. The guardian was twice the size of Aronai, fire crawling out of its mouth when it spoke. "Why do you seek Argoza?"

"I have come to face him, and destroy his spirit that has taken over my body! My bloodline now lay in ruins because of him!" Piotr shouted. Anger roaring out of him.

"You.. Threaten.. Argoza..?" The Guardian asked.

"You protect him?" Piotr asked.

"I will give my life for him.."

"Then you will fall as he will!"

"I WILL NOT!" The Guardian blew flames from his mouth, towards Piotr. Aphrael shielded Piotr with her magic, and The Guardian jumped back on a pedestal.

"It is time! Argoza, hear my call! Send the demons from hell to destroy this man! To stop him! To stop him from destroying you!" The Guardian spewed fire from his mouth, and launched himself at Piotr. "Time to die!"

(OOC: I will leave it there for now. If someone wants to continue on from here, do so - But do not end the fight - I have something planned for my next post.. I just gotta think of it first :p)

[Triar]

(OOC: I got an idea! Here I go..)

Piotr ducked out of the way form the Guardian, and soon, the chamber began to shake. Out of the ground exploded three fire golems, with heated rocks in hand, ready to throw at anyone, moreso, anything. Cirin and William took their places from one side of the chamber, firing their arrows at the enemy. Steven and Aronai came together and launched themselves at the first fire golem, leaving Amurra and Aphrael to deal with the second. Kamelot, Myth, and the other two sailors took care of the third.

Piotr was duelling against the Guardian, sword and shield in hand. The Guardian wielded a long spear glowing a red eerie colour, hot to the touch, as if the weapon came from the seventh layer of hell. Piotr parried an attack, leaving the Guardian open, then Piotr struck. But his sword would not go through his enemy. It was as if the Guardian's skin was made of titanium! Piotr jumped back. The Guardian was laughing. "I cannot be killed - No matter what you do," claimed the Guardian, as he attacked.

Steven and Aronai weren't faring much better against the golem, as the third golem also joined it. Fighting against molten lava and rock was not their idea of fun. And it would prove extremely hard to kill them. The fire golems were giants! Aronai's head barely reached the knees of them. And Cirin and William's arrows appeared to do very little damage.

Amurra and Aphrael were circling their golem. Aphrael using her ice magic, Amurra using Tonganin quickly and swiftly, trying to find a weak point in the giant. There was none. But maybe..

"Cirin! William!" Amurra screamed. "Go for the eyes!"

And that they did. Cirin and William both perfectly placed their arrows into the eyes of one of the golems. But that was to no effect. The arrows burnt up in seconds. Nothing.

"Worth a try!" Amurra shouted, and continued circling the giant golem.

It seemed worthless. Piotr retreated back towards the middle of the chamber, and jumped on a pedestal. The Guardian stood with an evil smile, putting his spear next to him, and just.. Stood there.. "Your soul.. Will be mine.." growled the Guardian.

"Do you want it?" Piotr threatened.

"Yes.."

"Come and claim it!"

The Guardian jumped impossibly high, continuing to do front flips, he seemed as if he was flying. And then he dived towards Piotr. Flames circling around the Guardian, he hit the ground. A large explosion occurred, and Piotr was caught in the blast. Piotr was screaming.

"PIOTR!" Aphrael cried, running towards the blast. But Amurra stopped her. "He'll be fine! Leave it!"

Soon after, a second explosion occurred, causing the whole party, save Piotr, fly back and into the chamber walls. The fire golems could barely keep their feet, demonstrating the power of the explosion. Once the explosion settled, all that could be heard was the constant sound of steel clashing against steel. When the smoke cleared, Piotr and the Guardian were seen, fighting, at an impossible speed. The battle was a blur. Piotr's sword glowed a blinding green, and the Guardian's spear glowed a blinding red.

The party stood back up, and came together and just watched. The golems did too. They were all amazed by the speed of the combat. The slashing, blocks, and lunges Piotr and the Guardian made were all a blur - Every movement made by them was followed by an illusion of themselves. This type of speed was impossible!

"Looks like Argoza has kicked in," Steven assumed.

"No.." Cirin replied.

"No?" Steven asked.

"No.. It's Piotr, not Argoza, showing great agility and power.."

"But I thought Argoza fuelled Piotr's power," said Aronai.

"That is untrue. Piotr fuelled Argoza. And does still. Argoza needs Piotr to live. Piotr does not need Argoza."

The party glared into the light, trying to make out who was winning. It was almost impossible. The speed was amazing. Their weapons clashed, and clinged to each other. Piotr and the Guardian were face to face.

"You.. Cannot.. Win!"

"I can.. Sense your fear.. You are scared.. Today is your final day.. Of life.."

"I am immortal! You cannot destroy me!"

Piotr let go of his sword and grabbed onto the spear, burning his hands.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! YOU WILL NOT TAKE MY LIFE!!!" screamed the Guardian.

"Yes.. I.. Will.." Piotr ripped the spear out of the Guardian's hands, and slashed the Guardian through the stomach. "Like a hot knife through butter.."

"No.. But.. I was given.. Eternal life.."

"Your own weapon has been the death of you.. Lay in peace.. Enjoy your stay in hell.." Piotr ripped the spear out of the Guardian, and in one quick swipe, he used the spear to destroy the golems. Then, he turned to the others, and began to spin the spear and slowly walked towards them.

"What is happening?!" Aphrael cried.

"I don't know.. Run!" Cirin shouted, drawing his sword. The others ran out of the way.

Piotr drew closer and closer, but stopped, slamming the spear onto the ground, raising it up, then throwing it at the gate, blowing it open. The spear was no more. Turning around and looking at Cirin, he smiled. "You were right.." he paused. "My power was always there.." Piotr collapsed, Cirin quickly catching him and resting Piotr to the ground.

(OOC: Woo! Now someone else take over from here :) I'm sweatin' like a pig in butter :p)

[Ceara]

As1 Piotr lay collapsed, Cirin kneeling over him he could sense not all was right,He could hear the sound of thunder ,still ringing in his ears from the exploding spear.but he could also hear a voice calling to them,beckoning ,come to the light.
As Cirin looked he saw that it was ceara her slender body and talisman laiden neck ,arms reaching out.But then did the evil ones appear ,No longer mere monsters ,but incarnations of the darkside .Many were their numbers and in no time at all they were upon the mighty fallen heroes Cirin and Piotr. as ceara bravely stood her ground ,She swept her cape aside lifting her staff ,As she murmured the lost tones of incantation ,that have not been spoken or heard of since the days of the ancient ones. As piotr regained his composure in time to thrust his sword into the first abomination to reach him .Cirin was bewildered when he first glanced the dark warriors passing enroute to caera .But To late ,Too feable their attempts.The tones of incantation were murmured,The room filled with the smell of brimstone and fire as the walls gave way .
The firestorm breached the oncoming darkside with a force that threatened to tear apart the very mountain they were in .Quickly Ceara put the force of protection around Cirin and Piotr before they perished along with the dark side,As she saw promise in their hearts and the stoutness of their blades.
As the dust settled ,Ceara stood over the fallen heroes with out reached arms, jesturing come the light awaits your arrival. her slender body and meek disposition ,Was fortified with the power of the gods themselves that day .
Cirin and Piotr too weak to argue from their ordeal ,knew they could not resist the embrace of the lightside anylonger.For they knew the slender mage Ceara would guide them to saftey .No longer would they quest for mere pleasure ,fame or fortune. No from this day forth their destiny was to follow Ceara and be her protectors .their very hearts were filled with the joys of the light .Peace and harmony would be their guides for now on, no more will they
struggle for chaos and reap what belongs to others now they would stand at the city gates and gaurd the against the evil empire and its abominations
next

[Triar]

(OOC: Err Ceara - What on Earth are you doing? You're meant to ask if you can join, not just join when YOU feel like it. And we haven't embraced the Light nor Dark Side. Well my characters haven't. They're neutral. I can't speak for ShadowFire05 but I would believe his character is neutral as well. So please, if you wanted to enter this RP, now wasn't the time. And it would of be courteous to ask. So everyone reading the RP: Ignore the last post from Ceara.

Regards,

Triar.)