"When Hero's Rise": RP forum (Open to All)

"Will you help us defeat the Evil?"

The Queen's words still echoed through Janey's mind as she focused on a speck of blood marring the perfection that was Sinfonhi. Brown eyes glued in concentration on the lovely weapon, she repeated the words she had whispered in the queen's chambers. "...I swear my allegiance to you and to this cause. I swear."

But for a cost...

She hadn't spoken the thought out loud nor did she have any intention of verbalizing her intentions. Janey would have died for the former queen and she had, without meaning to, died for the former queen. The halfling was more than willing to do it again but if she could help it, she would have to benefit from the task. Raising the glistening blade under the lantern light, she pierced her lips together. "...never again."

Leaving her thoughts strictly to herself, she sheathed her blade and exhaled deeply. The journey to stop the encroaching evil was meant to be a group one, but she wasn't sure how well she could function in a group just yet. She didn't find anything wrong with her other companions but trouble had a way of finding her. And if I can spare putting the others in danger, it would make things so much easier...

Sighing to herself in wonder whether growing up had put a damper on her spirit, she shrugged off the thought. The halfling smiled up to the evening sky, aware there would be a great challenge at hand finding the dark beings of the night...

(ooc: sorry i've been m.i.a. for awhile. apparently, wireless in Japan is almost non-existent cause everyone has internet on their phone. combined w/ jetlag and drinking w/ the new fellows (KONPAI 😄!) it's a wonder I threw out this drunken post...my apologies for any inconsistencies and thank the HEAVENS for spellcheck 😊 !)

Jace listens to their mission and looks at his new friends to try and get a feel for them and understand who they are. The most talkative was a fellow fairy who seemed to be a very happy and cheerful person. That would be needed on such a dark serious journey as this. Hopefully her happiness would inspire the rest of them when the time is needed, after battles, after seeing the horrible actions of the dark beings if they truly are back.

He began to remember his thoughts and notes of the first Dark War, the death and mayhem it caused, now the rumors he has heard are slowly but surely becoming more and more true. This band of heroes he has been called to have been entrusted by the royal families to investigate the ongoing ominous events. For a mission such as this it would require the utmost form of respect and tolerance between the races. Intolerance and bickering between them during this mission would certainly cause their deaths.

He cared about every life he has been linked to today and he wants to make sure they including himself all knew what to do and who to follow. He steps up one last time to ask them a favor. "Forgive me your majesties for I have a small question to ask about the group you have chosen. To help ease relations and tension between your chosen warriors, I propose that you honor one of them with the title of our field leader, that way there may be no heated arguments on what to do in dire situations, however the one you choose should also be willing to listen to the rest of us."

Jace kept his head bowed and his mind and heart humbled. He looked to Petal, and believed that her joyful personality would make her a great choice to lead them.

=Izic looked to Jace as he suggested a Leader of the group. =

I lead the armys of the Elf people. I am certanly capable of leading our friends here. That is if they, as well as yourselves, Allow it. My success as the Warchief of my people was only possible by taking in the opinions of my men...

=Izic eyed the woman.=

and the women... and Then chooseing the best course of action. Please Allow me to do this Honor.

=The Elf king nodded his head.=

He is skilled and knows this land better then Most if not anyone. I do not see a problem with it if you dont.

=The Elf king nodded his head lightly, looking to the Human Queen.=

Petal bows her head to the Queen Thank you M'Lady. I shall take my leave now in preperation for the journey. She then turned to the others. I will meet you all at the front gate within two hours time. She made her way out of the chamber not seeming to care who the Leader of thier group was. She took her time walking down the main room and then out of the building. Petal walked down the street now waving to those who were still gathered outside. She smiled to them all, the men and some of the older boys smiling back in interest. Once she was out of the main square she went back to the Inn she had stayed at the night before and payed off her time spent once she had gathered her things. Afterwards she made her way to the front gate where the guar she requested was standing at. He looked to her with a curious gaze. Oh hey there. I was told to come her at your Request Miss Silverwand. Petal smiled. Please call me Petal. And yes I did request you meet me here. I have been given permission to ask you to assist me. By the Queens order me and a group of others are going on a mission. I will fill you in on the details later. But first let us get ready for the journey ahead. Do you have everything with you already? Lavitz looked at her a moment then shook his head. Oh. If it is a dangerous mission I suppose I should get out of the city armor and into my familys armor. I need to go by my home first though if you wish to follow. Lavitz then walked past Petal and back into the City. After a moment Petal Followed.

The queen pondered the thought of nominating the leader. "I had honestly not thought about nominating a leader. If you feel there must be one, I would say Izic makes the most sence, as he has taveled this land wide and far. If I may suggest not dwelling to much on a leader though. You each have remarkable skills to be offered to the group, and I feel that everyone will be at the forefront of the group at some point."

Thinking about it a moment more, the queen nodded. "Yes, I would say Izic will make a fine leader, with Ms. Janey and Petal as the groups communicators I think. No offence to Sir Izic, but Petal and Janey's personalities is a touch more....lighthearted, and will be recieved well by most groups."

=Izic nodded his head in approval=

I have No objections to that M'Lady.

=Izic then turned to the others.=

Alright. We have a bit of ground to cover so if you do not have everything with you now, i suggest you go now and retirive your supplys. Once you have meet at the front gate. When everyone is accounted for we will be off. Time is an important factor here so do not waste what we have. Get your gear and get to the gate.

=with one last bow to the Kings of Queens, Izic Eldor turned and made his way out of the room.=

Jace looked at Izic and then Ms. Janey and Petal and bowed his head to the both of them, recognizing them as his superiors and showing his agreement with the Queen's decision. He placed his trust in the Queen and Izic's leadership. Once Izic and Petal left, Jace would turn back to his Queen and the other royal families so that he may speak his final words to them. "My Queen, I swear that I shall serve you and them with unwavering devotion. Once again, you have my humble appreciation, but now I ask of you if I may take my leave and meet with the rest of my group."

And with that Jace walked out and arrived at the front gate, and took a seat on the ground to await for the rest of his new found friends.

Alexander Borton and the dwarven twins Rador and Narku walked together to the northern gate, as they were ready to depart. Alexander went no where without his sword and shield, and the brothers were always ready to move.

"I suppose we shall be traveling together for some time Alex," said Narku. "To refresh your memory, I am Narku, you may call me Nark, and this is my brother Rador. I call him Rad, you may also with his leave."

Alexander stopped in the middle of the road. "Master Dwarf, my name is Alexander Borton. I was named after my father, and I would greatly appreciate it if you would call me by my full first name."

"Whatever floats your boat Alex....ander. It just doesn't flow off the tongue like Alex. But oh well, its your name."

Rador smiled and shook his head at the two. "Alexander, you might as well come to the realization that Narku will be calling you Alex for the rest of our time together. Probably to annoy you more then for convenience."

Narku pretended to not hear his brother, but smiled to himself. This would be a fine journey. From what he could tell, all of the companions were fine folk, strong in there own way. It would be interesting to see how they reacted when faced with Dark Beings. It only looked like half of them had fought with the Evil. And of that half, none showed a sign of having fought real Evil. His brother and he had fought demons and wraiths like none could imagine. And if Narku hadn't missed his guess, they would be in for quite a few run ins with quite a few nasties.

As the three reached the gate, they saw Jace was already there waiting. "Hello friend," called out Narku. "I am Narku Blackgem. You can call me Nark if it suits you, and this is my brother Rador Blackgem, he's the uglier one, and you can call him Rad if it suits him for you to do so."

Alexander was shocked and slightly giddy at the dwarf. Nark was rude and loud, but very good natured it seemed. His joy almost made Alexander want to smile and take up a song with him....almost.

"I am Alexander Borton, of His Majesties Royal Guard. It is a pleasure to be traveling with you."

Rador laughed out loud. "Son, you do realize that during this "trip", you will be eating, drinking and pissing with this good man every day. I would say you should relax a bit. We should treat each other as close friends now, that way, when times are tough, we have good and practiced at trusting each other."

After his little speech, Rador walked over to the sitting man and offered him his hand. "Glad to meet you friend."

((I was trying to wait and see if anyone would jump in and start moving the thread forward. Remember, this is sorta like a unhosted game now. I'm here to provide info when needed, but anyone can start the group moving if you want, or spot a band of orges or something. The map of this world is in the OOC thread. We are currently in Alsea, and we want to head north west. The terrain will start to get hilly and foresty as we go. If you want any more info, just ask.))

((I think it would be best if you controlled things like attacking monsters or bandits. Add to the surprise and everything.))

After a bit of time passed Lavitz and Petal made thier way back to the gates. Ironicly enough Lavitz was a Spear weilder too though his looked my official. Lavitz held his staff against his shoulder while he walked, his blue cloak blowing lightly in the genlt breeze to show his armor underneath. Petal used hers as a walking stick. Both had a sword on thier belts though Lavitz sword was much bigger. I must say I was surprised to find you have such a weapon. Perhaps one day when we are camped you can show me your skills. I am always willing to learn how to weild my spear better. I am much more profecient in the sword though. Lavitz chuckled a bit. Well I am the other way around. The spear is my main choice in weaponry. the sword is just incase something happens to the spear. Always be prepared. They both walked back to the main gate. As they approached they saw Jace, Alexander, Narku, and Rador. They stopped when they reached the group and Lavitz waved at Alexander, both of them being with the guard, if not on diffrent posts. Hello again Alexander. Some task huh? Who are your friends? Lavitz looked to the two dwarfs but when he looked to Jace, Petal spoke. Hello everyone... My name is Petal... I look forward to our journey together. Lavitz looked to her. ... By that I hope you mean the time we will spend on the road and not where this little group ends right? Petal smiled her beautiful soft smile. Of course. Fighting is a terrible thing and should be avoided if it can be. Like my sister always told me when we were young. " Strength is nothing if you are unable to control it. Love all and fighting may be avoided. " Petal smiled again.. Lavitz just looked at her like she was crazy. .. you do know there are bandits out there who dont care for being nice.. and there are things out there that even bandits fear. Petal smiled and shrugged. Are we waiting for anyone else? If not then let us be off. We have a long road ahead and time is not on our side.

Jace rose from the ground and welcomed the three, with kindness. He shook hands with them and listened to Narku give the introductions of him and his brother. "It is a pleasure to meet you Narku and Rador." He said with his usual expressionless face, he knew Narku was joking around, but throughout all of his years on this plane of existence, he has never learned nor found the time and room to laugh or play around. He then shook Alexander's hand as well and welcomed him to the group.

"Greetings Alexander, I am also thankful for your aide as well in this journey." Much sooner, Petal and Lavitz arrived to join them, and Jace didn't mind seeing a fellow fairy in the party. It may make explaining magic and his powers a little easier. He bowed to her in order to show that he recognizes her position of authority over him. "Greetings Mrs. Petal, or is it Ms.? I thank you for your contributions to our Queen's will, and do not worry sir, bandits are of no threat to us, I can assure you of that."

Merry stared at him wide eyed, mouth slightly ajar.

Orion shrugged. “Well, you did insist. I told you I wasn’t such a nice guy, remember?”

She grunted. “I put it down to avenging your father, as any man would. It doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a bad guy.”

Orion snorted. “Put my sword in my hand and rub me the wrong way and we’ll see about that, squirt.”

Merry narrowed her eyes at him. “I can handle you, mister!”

Orion chuckled, shaking his head at the thought of a thirteen year old girl putting an arrow in him. “I believe you,” he surrendered. He leant back in his chair and gazed off into the fireplace. Tomorrow he’d make a move east towards the elven lands, he decided, and pay his friend there a visit. He hadn’t seen him since just after the incidents he had related to Merry. It would be a good place to lay low and avoid any of Ombrack’s agents, of which there were too many in these mountains.

“What’s on your mind, mister?” Merry interrupted his thoughts.

“I was just thinking that I’ll leave at first light, whether I am fit or not.”

She arched a small brow at him. “And where are you planning to run off to exactly?”

“That is a need to know basis and, right now, you don’t need to know.”

She folded her arms across her chest. “Fine then, mister.” She rose and cleaned the plates off the table, slamming them onto the kitchen bench. “See if I care if you fall and get eaten by something in the mountains!” She stormed out of the room.

Orion could do nothing but sit there and shake his head. “Thank the heavens I never had sisters,” he said aloud to the empty room.

“Faster you bastards! I’ve seen disabled Dwarves move faster than you sorry bunch of girls!”

Razotic Ellindar-Vagar stood with his black and teal tinged plumed helm under the crook of his left arm; his right hand fiddling with the hilt of the notched hatchet that hung at his waist, watching the youngest of his troops run the obstacle course he had set up. Beside him, his adjutant held onto his large round shield.

His more senior troops had struggled to finish the course themselves and now his greenhorns were nearly shot. He shook head and frowned, an act that still failed to make his half elven features look any less handsome. “What am I going to do with them, Gabriel?” he asked, turning teal eyes on the woman next to him.

His adjutant turned her attention to him in turn. She was tall, the same height as him in fact, and lithe. Raz had lusted for her since the day he met her, though she had made it clear very quickly that she wanted nothing more than a professional relationship and he respected that. She had very elfish facial features though she was, in fact, a half breed herself. Half elf, half something Raz knew not what.

Adorning her back where a set of cream colored wings that gleamed and shimmered in the sunlight, like those of the angels from a children’s story; there was a fable that told of a highly advanced birdlike human species that were wiped out by a particularly nasty cataclysmic event millennia ago. Several times he had tried to get information out of Gabriel but she refused to talk about her family or ancestors, so he had leaned to let the matter rest. As had his troops, after she put them through two weeks of hard labor the last time they had talked about her within her ear shot.

“Give them time, will you Raz. You are the most impatient man I have ever met.”

“Things are afoot, as you well know Gabriel. Dark beings are on the move in places they haven’t been seen in years. Even this forest is not fully safe anymore. Goblins were spotted within a league of Elméra but a few days ago. Goblins, for pity sakes!”

Gabriel sighed. “The Goblins aren’t going anywhere, Raz. Would you rather fight them now and see all our greenhorns dead or take an extra few weeks, months if necessary, and see some of them survive?”

“Our people could be dead at Goblin hands in less time, Gabriel. I don’t think you fully comprehend what could be at stake here. This is more than just a few skirmishes, more than just a few raiding parties; I can feel it in my bones. Something monumental is about to happen and I want to make sure we are ready.”

“The elves can look after themselves Raz, of that I am certain. Besides we are but one small troop, what could we possibly do against a united force of dark beings, even if there is such a thing? I know their kind; they can’t co-exist without trying to knife each other in the back.”

“Tell that to our ancestors three hundred years ago, Gab, I am sure they’ll appreciate your insight.”

“Times have changed since then Raz, we are far more prepared this time.”

Raz snorted and flicked his head in the direction of a greenhorn that had just gone arse over *** into a mud hole. “Yes of course, we are much more prepared.”

(OOC: Demo-- I'm sorry to say that I don't think I'll be able to properly participate in this story considering my long lapses away from the internet. Carry on wonderfully without me. I look forward to seeing where the story will go 😊 )

=Izic finally arrived at the main gate where the others were waiting.=

My appologese. I did not mean to take so long. But if we are all here now let us be off.. Those who have not come yet know where we are heading and can catch up.

=He nodded to them all, leaving the introductions for later and walked out of the city through the gate and began down the road. As he walked her adjusted the quiver strap going across his chest and then his belt, which held his duel sword on them. In his left hand he held a bow made of what seemed to be Oak.=

Orion rose several hours before sunrise, moving gingerly at first and then with more confidence as he realised his body would handle it. Healing fast was always a trait he possessed and that certainly seemed to be the case now. He dressed in his black leathers, which had been cleaned and stored neatly by Merry whilst he was unconscious, and strapped his daggers across his chest. He clipped his sword belt around his waist and ran his hand over the panther head pommel, feeling immense comfort in having Slash back on his person.

Slipping on his boots, he crept quietly into the kitchen and helped himself to some rations. Stuffing a loaf of bread, roll of cheese and some dried meat strips into a sack, he flung it over his shoulder and left the house, gnawing on a piece of the bread as he made his way towards a small stable at the side of the dwelling.

“Don’t think you’re just going to run off without me!”

Orion jumped violently, letting out a curse and dropping his piece of bread on a hay strewn floor. He let out a groan as he had also managed to bite his tongue in his fright.

When he had regained his composure he glared at the girl who stood in the dimness, holding the reins of two horses, one of which was a large black stallion. Orion blinked and shook his head, then blinked several times again. How in the seven hells had a thirteen year old girl come across such a beast in the middle of the bloody mountains? And why was stallion so timid?

“What the hell is going on? Who are you?” he mouthed but two of many questions running through his mind.

“What do you mean, mister? I’m Merry, like I told you last night. Did you take a knock to the head too, mister? Lost your memory?”

Orion scowled. “I mean, how the hell did you come to possess such a beast?” he growled in frustration.

“Oh, you mean Midnight?” she asked with faux innocence, enjoying getting under his skin. “He belonged to my Da. He had only just got him before he left for Cutters Pass.”

Orion eyes the beast as he approached; expecting the horse to act up when he drew near, but the beast remained calm. “He’s timid, for a stallion.”

“He has been trained to only go crazy when an enemy is near. If you happen to be riding him when he becomes skittish, you must voice the right command to keep him calm,” she smiled at him sweetly.

Orion felt the dread slowly descend over him. “And the command is?”

Her sweet smile turned quite wicked. “Ah, well, if you treat me nice enough I might just tell you the command…maybe.”

Orion sighed. “You’re going to make me beg for it, aren’t you?”

She laughed at him. “No, mister, begging is not good enough. I want just one small, teensy weensy thing from you. You must promise to take me with you wherever you go and let me be involved in whatever you do, and yes, that means fight with you if I have to.”

“Why would you want to come to the elfish lands with me?”

“Not just to the elfish lands, mister. I mean you must take me everywhere you go, like, forever!”

Orion felt as if someone had dropped a ten tonne weight on his shoulders. “What?” he demanded angrily. “Why the bloody hell would a girl like you want to follow a bastard like me around?”

“You said your number one goal is to look out for yourself, right? And you want to make an impact on this world, right?”

“Yeah, so, what of it?” he demanded.

“Well, how would you like your legacy to live forever?”

Now his brows knitted in confusion. “Will you just tell me what the hell you’re on about?”

“My dream, mister, is to be a world renowned chronicler; to tell the tales of the most influential people in all of Gealan from hand knowledge. Not just make up fantasy tales about them but record the cold, hard facts. I planned to start my career by chronicling my fathers’ time at the Battle of Cutters Pass, but he refused to let me go with him. I can see that you are going to give me some very interesting tales to record and I am not missing out on this opportunity. So there you have it, mister, that’s as much of me as you’ll ever know. Now, if you want that command you’ll agree to let me shadow you, won’t you?”

Orion stared at her for some time, wondering for about the thousandth time just who this girl really was. Eventually, he shrugged, “Or I could just walk. Goodbye Merry.”

She stomped her foot and whipped out the bow that was strung across her back, notching an arrow so quick you’d have thought she was of elfish descent. “Let me put it another way then, mister. Agree to take me with you or I’ll plant this arrow in your Adam’s apple.”

Orion swallowed and rubbed at his throat. “Alright, since you put it that way, you can shadow me, Merry the Chronicler.”
The bow was away and she beamed him a tremendous smile, as if she hadn’t just been threatening to murder him then and there. “Great! I’m so happy, mister. You won’t regret this.” She vaulted up onto the back of her grey mare with a burst of bubbly energy. “Let’s get this show on the road!”

Orion rubbed the back of his neck and cleared his throat loudly.

“What’s wrong,” she asked cheerily.

Orion arched a brow at her. “Are you forgetting something?”

Her brow furrowed. “Forgetting something? Oh, right, the command! Cupcakes!”

“Excuse me?”

“The command,” she chuckled, “is cupcakes.”

He shot her an incredulous look. “You…have got to be kidding me?”

“My Da let me choose the command,” she smiled and gazed away wistfully. “Besides, Midnight likes cupcakes.”

Orion snorted, “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.” He mounted the Midnight and got himself as comfortable as was possible on the back of a giant living beast. “Shall we?”

Merry smiled wide and jerked her head in an affirmative. “Let us go forth and multiply! Hyaaa!” Her mount shot out of the stable, trailing her burst of laughter behind her as she disappeared out of view.

Orion shook his head in dismay. What the hell had he just gotten himself into?

Razotic Ellinar-Vagar, though born in the elf city of Elméra, and although elf cities were a whole different breed to their human counterparts, still abhorred city life. Hence why, when he had saved quite a fortune, he built a log mansion of sorts a few hours walk from the outskirts of the city. Truth be told it was far more than just a mansion, more like a complex which he used to house and train his troops. Besides the main house, there were stables, a large hall that was used for training and to hold large scale meetings with the entire troop, a courtyard big enough for mounted troops to train and a smithy for forging his troops very own weapons; a god send if ever there was one, given you had to give up an arm and a leg to get anywhere with the official army smithy in Elméra.

He had worked hard to save a small fortune to build his grand complex, but had lacked the funding needed to truly build his vision until his mother died in a tragic accident and he had received his inheritance; a considerably larger fortune.

He was a half breed, the product of a Human-Elf coupling. His elvan mother, Mylaillian, was a wealthy trader, specialising in elf spices and medicines which she sold mostly to the human cities of Tibus and Alésea in the west. She owned Star Drop Enterprises, the second largest merchant company behind Elméra Commodities, which was owned by Rillis, the richest and most powerful elf outside of the royal bloodline and a man who despised his mother and now him by proxy. Raz despised the man in return for his greedy nature alone, although he was glad of the human influences that had crept into the elf society over the last few hundred years that allowed such merchants and their companies to exist. He wouldn’t be where he was now without his mothers company.

His father, on the other hand, was a figure of no such importance. He was a wayfarer at heart, travelling the land in search of a good fight, of a chance to put his prized blade to use. It was a thing of beauty, Raz remembered as he reflected on the past, possibly the finest blade to ever be crafted by elvan hands, despite the fact that it was moulded from a more human design. The blades true showpiece, though, was the pommel; fine ivory moulded in the shape of a panthers head with two amber crystals inset in the eye sockets. When the sunlight hit those crystals just right it truly was spectacular to behold. His father never went anywhere without it.

The blade had disappeared along with his father, never to be seen again. To this day he still knew not where his father was or how he died. He was dead, of that he was sure; he could feel it deep down, a sons intuition.

At the age of eighteen, young for a half breed and extremely young for an elf, he joined the ranks of the elfish military. A decade of not only meeting the challenges of the army, but also the challenges of dealing with the other elves that ridiculed and spurned him for being a half breed – ridiculous really, considering much of the old elvan ways had given way to a more human style society- had honed him to the point that he was ready to take a command. Unfortunately Rillis, being his mothers rival and self absorbed bastard that he was, put a stop to that. He had been set up for a fall and like a good pawn he had walked right into the trap. There were those in power, however, that supported his mother and could well see what had been orchestrated. Though they did not have the ability to have him reinstated to his commanded, they had given him the opportunity to serve through a different avenue.

And so he had created his own mercenary troop, and was now subcontracted to the royal family themselves, to serve in the same capacity as the official armed forces. He had achieved a position of command despite it all and it had made Rillis an even more dangerous enemy in the process. Raz still expected to be knifed the dark whenever he visited the city.

He stood now on a dais at the front of the hall where his entire troop, blacksmiths and all, were gathered on the wooden benches that spanned the entire width of the room bar a narrow isle that ran down the centre from the doorway to the dais. There were low murmurs of conversation but all fell silent as he raised a hand to demand their attention.

He looked them over for a time and he could see that they were anxious to hear what he was about to say, to find out why he had called the hasty gathering.

“Not more than an hour ago I received a letter directly from the royal family,” he began, pausing for effect. “It would appear that my fretting about imminent problems being afoot were more than justified,” he gave a pointed glance to Gabriel, who he was sure would have stuck her tongue out at him had they been in private.

“Yesterday evening, a royal hunting party containing Prince Ellisedel, youngest son of our liege, was ambushed by a force of Goblins some two hundred strong.” He was forced to stop as multiple voices broke out into question at once.

He held up a hand for silence and waited for the hubbub to die down. “Allow me to finish, please. I will answer your questions shortly. It is my duty to convey the news that two thirds of the party were slain, our prince among that number. Ellisedel is dead.”

Raz had never heard such complete and utter silence. They were stunned, as well they should be. “The Crowned Prince, in the King’s absence, has already declared a week of morning in Elméra. We, however, will not have time to take part in the mourning process like the rest of our brethren as we have been tasked with bringing these Goblins to justice.”

Again, questions were fired at him and this time he had to verbally call for quiet. “There is more,” he said, looking several of his troops directly in the eye. “These Goblins were lead by elves.”

Pandemonium was a good word to describe the reaction in the room as he dropped that bombshell, but this time he didn’t even try to stop them. Instead he stood there as a barrage of shouts and demands washed over him and waited patiently for them to loose their bluster, which took a tad longer than he expected but he endured it none the less.

When they had finally quietened down he continued. “A survivor related her tale to the Prince told of four elves commanding the Goblin force, which will obviously make this more complicated than defeating a band of mindless Goblins. We will have to adapt to whatever greets us when we come across them. I want you all equipped and outfitted and ready to march by midday; we will eat before we leave though. I want you all filled and fit to fight when the time comes. Dismissed.”

Even though he had promised to answer any questions they might have, all knew that the situation was too important for the trivial and they must deal with the main problem at hand. He watched them silently as they filed out of the hall until it was only himself and Gabriel left.

“What are you thinking, Raz?”

He eyed her, his expression hard, as hard as his elf facial features could get. “We are going to find these rogue elves and their Goblin pawns and when we do I am going to personally rip out their hearts with my bare hands.” He gazed down at his rather delicate looking long fingered hands. Delicate they may appear, but he wasn’t afraid to get them dirty. “If there is one type of person I cannot stand it is a traitor to his own kind. I will not allow them to meet a quick end, Gabriel, of that you can be certain. They will suffer to the last.”

((Hope you don't mind me messing with the elf society a tad and changing them from the normal stereotypical elf types, Xornon buddy. Let us know if your not happy with it, eh?))

((dude......i cried. Now if only i could get everyone to write like that.....HINT!!! j/k hah, but really, that was good. Got some work to do then i will be posting))

Cutters Pass was on no map that Orion had ever seen and he wasn’t so sure he believed it even existed until Merry led him the valley that, while not looking like much at first glance, had definitely seen a battle. The tell tale signs were everywhere when one looked close enough; the gouges in the stone, a rusted scrap of metal or a shard of bone that had been missed in the clean up.

Merry had explained that Cutters Pass was the gate way to Malkavian Gorge, a natural haven that once contained the wealth of the mountains. There one could find every herb, spice and natural wonder imaginable; a veritable merchants paradise. That was before the battle of course.

Merrys’ father was friend and Guard Captain to the mountain merchantman, Garvin Gerador, that discovered the gorge and was tasked with not only keeping the discovery from prying eyes but also with defending it if it were ever discovered. Hence why, when warriors marched on the gorge under the orders of the tyrannical Warlord of (Insert name here), left his daughter behind and went off to die.

As they neared the end of the valley Orion could see what made this pass both a blessing and a curse. Curse, in the fact that it was the only way into the gorge and so if someone decided to bring war there was no way out but through the opposing army. Blessing, in the fact that it was narrow and would be easily defended; invaders would suffer large casualties in any attempt to take the gorge.

As they emerged from the valley into the gorge, Orion was greeted by a site that was both beautiful and sorrowful in the equal measures. The waterfall and fresh water river that Merry and so wistfully described to him during their ride gleamed in the sunlight. Around the river, however, all the beauty had been stripped away. The earth was blackened and charred and despite the three year time span nothing had grown back again. On the near side of the river, amongst the desolation and ash were hundreds of small stone pillars, each a few feet high. As they rode closer, he could see exactly what they were.

Headstones.

Merry reigned in several meters away from the grave and dismounted stretching and grinning into the sunlight as if she wasn’t standing next to hundreds of dead people. Orion dismounted more slowly, feeling intensely uncomfortable.

“Can we not dally here, please? This place gives me the creeps.”

She snorted and leered at him. “They’re dead, mister,” she stated simply and stalked off through the graves with an obvious destination in mind. After some time, he reluctantly followed and came silently to stand beside her as she gazed down at the headstone bearing her fathers name.

“There’s one thing I don’t understand,” he broke into the silence. “Why are there so many dead? Surely this friend of your fathers didn’t have such a large force guarding him?”

She looked at him as if he were an idiot. “For a merchant, this valley contained riches beyond belief. Who is the riches merchant that you know of, mister?”

“Rillis,” he replied without hesitation. “A powerful and dangerous elf if ever there was one.”

“Then let me put it this way. If a merchant was to harvest or collect every possible item from this gorge and sell it all, they would outstrip the profits of this Rillis by about a million times or more. Can you comprehend such a number, mister?”

Despite what she thought of him he wasn’t an idiot. He did indeed know how large a number a million was and it boggled his mind. Rillis’ profits a million times over. He whistled at the thought, which brought a smile from Merry.

“It would have been wonderful! Da would have been rich and I could have financed my chronicler ambitions with ease.” She sighed heavily and gestured around her. “Of course Garvin had hundreds of guards to defend this place, thousands even.”

Orion rubbed the back of his neck. “Thousands? I don’t see that many graves.”

“Here lie the men that my father had with him at the time. A few hundred more were with Garvin in Alésea to recruit yet more. Neither even knew that the gorge had been discovered by another and the attack was unexpected.” She pointed back towards the valley. “You see those two tails leading up the mountain on either side of the valley entrance?”

“I see them”

“They are man made, designed so archers can position themselves on the high ground and shoot down at invaders in the valley. It’s nearly impossible to get up there from the other end of the valley. If my father knew the enemy was coming sooner, he could have wiped most of the out without having to fight a pitched battle in the valley itself.”

“Yes, I can see it would be terribly easy to defend this gorge with enough forewarning.”

“My father sent a skeet to Alésea urging Garvin to make haste but he was several days too late. He arrived to find his oasis burning and all these many dead. So he buried my father and his men here and burnt the bodies of the enemy.”

Orion took this all in and his brows wrinkled in confusion. “One thing doesn’t seem to fit. The valley is quite long, certainly long enough for a scout to get word back about an imminent attack. How were they taken so by surprise?”

Merry shrugged. “I have no idea, and neither does Garvin. He isn’t saying, in any event.”

“You think he knows more than he is letting on?”

She shrugged again. “I don’t know, probably not. He did lose a massive fortune, after all, so I can’t imagine him having something to do with some sort of conspiracy.”

“Unless things didn’t turn out the way he had planned,” he looked around the gorge. “Maybe this fire was an accident?”

Merry hugged herself and shivered. “I don’t want to think about such thoughts. I like Garvin well enough and nothing is going to bring my father back. He is dead and I will let him lie.”

“I would want to avenge any bastard that did something like that to me, whether I could prove it or not. If I thought someone was hiding something that serious from me I’d extract the information from them, as painfully as possible.”

He drew his blade and held it high so it glimmered in the light. “Then I would nourish Slash!”

She stepped away from the mad glint in his eyes and he tilted his head to one side, running his tongue over his teeth. “Do you still think I am a nice guy?”

She tried to laugh, but it was nervous and stuttering. “I’m not scared of your bluster, mister.”

Despite what she said, he didn’t fail to notice her hand poised to whip out her bow should he try anything too hasty. He sheathed his blade slowly and smirked at her sigh of relief. “Right, not afraid at all.”

How Janey Died…
The robed figure entered the smoke filled excuse for a pub, drunken men gathered en masse to celebrate the joys of inebriation. Blissful ignorance. The small figure shouldered through the bulk of them, determined to get a seat at the bar. It had been a stressful week and more so than rest or a good screw, the dark character was in desperate need for a drink. And a drink I shall have… The stranger banged on the table with a bandaged hand, the loud sound almost startling to the cheerful company around her. She angled her neck and exhaled. Relax… She spoke to the bar keep. “A drink…”

The greasy faced balding man looked her up and down. He arched a brow. “A drink?”

“Something that will burn me from the inside out…” She rested her chin on her hand. “Surprise me.”

The barkeep laughed and moved on to prepare her beverage. Drumming her fingers on the surprisingly clean wooden counter, she whistled. “Got any stories goin’ round these parts? Been hearin’ tales of mad creatures…”

“Oy?” The bar tender slammed a glass full of amber liquid down in front of the figure. He stroked his beard thoughtfully. “Mad creatures and mad peoples to match,” Noticing the stranger lean in closer, he continued. “…yeah, stories been going about the pub. Mad little Halfling woman got herself killed by Belmoth. She’s known, well, was known for bein’ a smart and scary one…but can’t be all THAT smart if she be getting’ herself involved with the business of magicked minotaurs.”

She sipped tepidly to the drink. “She does sound like a stupid one,” commented the robed figure in a sympathetic tone. Despite the sincerity in her voice, it almost sounded like there was a smile behind her words…almost turning away in her smug satisfaction, the barkeep held her attention with three simple words.

“It gets better.”

“Hmm..?” She cocked her head. “Better than a suicidal Half woman?”

“Ay…there’s heresay there’s an elf involved…”

The woman’s bandaged grip tightened on the mug. Knuckles losing their color, she spoke in a slightly altered tone. “Tell me more…”

~~~~~~~~~~

Janey navigated her way through a particularly thick part of the forest, the lack of a trail potentially bothersome to those unused to the terrain. Combined with the pale grey colors of the early morning sky and the steady incline upwards, it made for a discouraging path, seemingly impractical for those looking for easy passage into the next city. However, unbeknownst to many, it was also the fastest path into the city. If one were willing to overcome a majority of the obstacles, it was possible to make it into town by midday; the evening if you took things slowly.

Hopefully the afternoon… Janey clapped her hands together and scanned the rocky path before her. Hmm… She wrapped bandages around her palms and fingers, beaming once satisfied. Carefully securing her weaponry, she started to scale the mountain peak, the Halfling moving swiftly despite her small size. Cringing in a semblance of guilt from leaving the others, she shrugged off her worries. The strange group looked like a capable bunch and surely had others who would guide them around better. Well... She smiled, a crack in the distance making her press herself closer to the wall.

Just in time.

A loose piece of the worn mountain fell, jagged rock skimming past Janey and crashing to the ground below. She glanced aside. …well, maybe not *better* but definitely safer in this case. her head, she continued on her journey upwards…

(OOC: Hmm. Okay. Kind of lied. My internet isn't consistent, this is true. But Wednesdays I'm free (so that gives me time to think/write). However, I don't want to hold up *others* is my problem...which is why Janey is solo (for now)?)