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Post by Swift on Jul 28, 2007 16:44:22 GMT -5
((Aueron is the same age as Iro they're both 17)) "Directions to the light?" Aueron questioned with a sort of puzzled look, keeping his same, almost monotone voice, "There are no 'directions' through a landscape as rocky as this. You'll get lost out there if you don't get eatten by some creature first... Going out there without even a few days worth of food and water would be equivilent of running a sword into your chest." Suddenly, a third voice interjected into the conversation, "You know, that's exactly the same thing I said to you, isn't it?" Aueron's green eyes quickly shifted over towards the origion of the voice--it was a man wearing armor and carrying a short spear and shield with a helmet masking his face; Iro would surely recognize him as the same guard that spoke to him before. "I'll hand it to you kid, you sure are curious to a fault arn't you?" the guard spoke in what seemed to be a friendly, yet smirky tone. "But you want to know something? Even if you did manage to get to the origion of the light, you'd just die without even knowing what it is--magic as powerful as that can have very negative effects on mortals like us, yeah?" Aueron jumped in again, with his eyes narrowed and spoke in a more serious voice--"Who are you?" "Well, you're curious as well then, huh?" the guard chuckled slightly as though they jelous children wanting in on handed-out treats, "Alright then, you too, Swordsman, listen. If you really want to find out what that light is, you'll not find your answers where the light itself was, no, but I'll let you in on a little secret if your interested." "...this is a waist of my time," Aueron muttered before turning his back on the guard and starting to walk off down the path again. The guard lifted the metal visor just to show his mouth as he did before, showing the same smile as before--"Oh, did I forget to mention that because of that light, Saloria may be in grave danger?" Aueron instantly stopped. "Yes, the goddess herself, the entity that keeps the rest of us alive. The military is too tied up with increasing the security and stoping these... riots that sturred up with those annoying messangers, but I'm sure that you two, maybe with a little help, could surely fix the problem in our absence." "So... how 'bout it? Shall I go on?" The adventurer garbed in green turned his eyes towards the other traveler, to get his own reaction. But even then, his mind had already decided what he would do, personally--one could not just blow off a duty that might very well be a matter of the destruction of existance entirely.
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Post by mutilateddragon on Jul 28, 2007 18:12:01 GMT -5
The horses slowed, almost panting for breath as their masters had pushed them hard to get as far away from the city as possible. In the distance the two could make out two figures, one on the floor and the other knelt over him. With a slight nod from Bane they both turned their horses in towards the figures, trotting at a light pace. The sun bore down and Aeron grunted with displeasure as it seemed to focus on the back of his skull, the water they had for the journey was enough to last about four days if rationed but already Aeron's throat was dry from the dust kicked up by the horses hooves. Sweat trickled from his brow and he hadn't had a sip of alcohol in around five hours now, this was like torture to him. And with the constant snide comments from Bane he already longed for the quiet comfort of the tavern and city streets he had left behind.
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Post by lighthawk on Jul 28, 2007 19:48:49 GMT -5
The first thing Jad knew upon waking up was a terrible ringing in his ears and a memory of a huge noise. The next thing he knew was that he was falling, blasted from the tree he had been sleeping in by a rush of wind that whipped the tree in a frenzy. He twisted as he reached the ground, landing gracefully on his feet, and then fell with a complete lack of grace onto his face as a wave of pain swept through him. All around him, the trees and bushes and grasses cried out in pain as the blast wave battered them, ripping up roots, breaking limbs, stripping leaves. It was too much, all at once, the Fey couldn't take such a blow to so much of nature, and he blacked out.
Something nudged him, half rousing Jad from unconsciousness. There was a worried whine, and then something cold and wet pressed against his cheek. With a grunt of annoyance, Jad rolled away from the touch and opened his eyes. A blurred mass of gray swam before his eyes, and he had to blink to clear away the tears.
" Om'aso..." Jad groaned at the wolf, pushing the animal back so he could sit up. Om'aso gave a short bark, but Jad chose to ignore the sarcasm. He stood up, and looked around in wonderment. " What in the deep roots of the oaks was that?" he asked. The wolf growled. " Ah shut up," Jad shot back. " I'm free to sleep whenever I feel like it, now are you going to tell me what I missed or not?" Om'aso gave the Fey a tolerant look, and began to tell him, about the light, and then the explosion.
Jad gazed off into the distance, towards the spot the wolf had told him the light had been. He scratched his beard, thinking it over, but nothing came to him. In all his years, he couldn't remember anything like that. What if it happened again? Jad shuddered at the thought, the memory of the pained cries of the vegetation fresh in his mind. Another explosion like that, and he might not wake up again. It wouldn't do at all. Without a word, Jad set off across the country side, and Om'aso had to trot to catch up with the Fey's quick stride.
Jad traveled quickly across the wilderness, up hill or down, over stream or rocks or through thick trees, he could pass with ease. When the town came into sight ahead however, he paused. The Fey didn't like towns, and the thought of walking through one slowed him down as no obsticle of nature would. With a sigh of impatience, he turned, and began to circle around the town, rather than walking through it. His new path eventually brought him to a road, and he would have walked right over it and left it behind, except a pair of voices caught his ears, and he slowed to listen.
"But anyway, I was just wondering if maybe you could do a wolf? If you could do that, I would accept that as payment, and then we'd be equal." "A wolf? Hm. That's a bit more complicated than I'm used to... I should be able to handle it though."
Jad's eyes narrowed. What was this about a wolf as payment? He didn't like the sound of that. Hunters? Trappers maybe? Jad growled a bit in his throat and drew his cloak in around him, moving now with stealth instead of speed. Besides him, Om'aso slinked along, low to the ground.
Rounding the bend in the road, Jad saw two figures just off the road. An elf man and a human woman, or at least she looked human, but Jad couldn't help but think something seemed a little...off about her. He inched in closer to listen, not wanting to be mistaken in what he heard...
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Post by Rekona on Jul 28, 2007 20:57:04 GMT -5
((XD I'm sorry, I must say LH that post cracked me up. Go Jad! Defend your woodland friends! Hehehehe thats giggle worthy.))
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Post by lighthawk on Jul 29, 2007 1:52:06 GMT -5
(Always pleased to bring a laugh, even if it's just a giggle, to someone. I wish I had read Dragon's post a little better and realized we were both stumbling on the same scene though...oops) Jad tensed at the sound of hooves coming behind him. He spun, and saw two men approaching on horse back. Cursing at himself for having missed them before, he tried to find a quick way out, but there wasn't time, not without simply bolting for it, and Jad wasn't about to leave the two potential wolf killers. He flung his cloak back and stood up straight, and to anyone who not been looking at him directly, it would have seemed that he simply popped up out of the ground.
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Post by Rekona on Jul 29, 2007 2:51:32 GMT -5
Without waiting for a positive or negative reaction from Isra to his sweet talking, he held up his hand, his mouth turning downwards and his eyes narrowing into a severity common to concentration. "Quiet." Kaine growled in a low voice. "I can hear something." The man strenuously got to his feet, disrespectfully using his companion's head as a crutch to steady his numb legs.
"I think we best get going before we run into something unsavory." He readjusted his quiver against his back, holding onto the strap as a comfort mechanism. "Odds are 50/50 of meeting a good person opposed to a bad one. Since I already met you and you met me, seems we're due for a bit of bad luck."
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Post by mutilateddragon on Jul 29, 2007 9:09:27 GMT -5
( ah don’t worry I always misread posts.) Aeron spotted another figure appear suddenly where he was sure there had been none stood before. Pulling the horses reins to bring the beast to a stop he gave a wary glance to Bane who merely shrugged in return. "You’d better go and check it out, werewolf. He might be dangerous and I wouldn't want my hands getting dirty this early in the day." Bane said with a smug grin. Aeron turned, mouthing curses at the man before kicking his horse forward again, muttering “coward” as he got beyond hearing distance. As he came closer he was able to distinguish that the mysterious figure was male and wore green clothes with leather amour. The figure looked to be quite small but with battle experience, although what the figure was exactly was a mystery to Aeron. The stranger looked as if he was some form of child raised in the woods, especially from his wolf companion he looked even more like a character he had read in a story once. Aeron stopped a fair distance away from the figure, and opened his mouth to speak. Nothing came, and with a moments thought he held up a hand to the man, before twisting his body round to reach into one of the satchels on the horses saddle. After a few seconds of rummaging he brought forth a leather flask an inane grin on his face, taking a deep swig of the liquid he returned his stony glare back at the stranger before him. “Where are you traveling? Me and my…’companion’ here are in need of directions towards the, um, light source from before.”
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Post by Airkshil on Jul 29, 2007 11:10:56 GMT -5
((Jeez, a lot can happen in a day O.o))
Iro tensed as he heard the voice that seemed to sneak up on them. Had the guard followed him? That would be the luck today, it seemed. But the guard, vague and nondescript as he had been before, apparently wanted to help this time. And, whats-more, he seemed sincere.
Never one to believe anything without a good reason, Iro had never truly believed that she existed. After being ostracized from several communities in that affront, he had learned to keep quiet about is beliefs. But Saloria, the goddess that all children were taught was the best thing that ever happened, being in danger was something to grab Iro's attention though. A chance for proof, one way or he other, was not a chance to be passed up.
"Why is Saloria in danger? And from what?" The questions were asked so intently that his decision was made clear without being spoken.
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Post by lighthawk on Jul 29, 2007 11:28:38 GMT -5
" The light?" Jad asked, eying the man on the horse with equal parts interest and caution. He glanced behind the man at his 'companion', then back at the man himself. " You know something of it?"
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Post by Swift on Jul 29, 2007 12:45:44 GMT -5
The guard lowered his helmet's visor, hiding the smile that seemed to be forever stuck to his face and moved closer to the two teenagers who seemed to be highly interested in what he would say--not a surprise, though, he had already noticed how curious they both happened to be. "Well, you see, we believe that the large light you saw previously was actually an attempt on the Goddess's life gone-wrong," he spoke in a hushed tone to ensure only Aueron and Iro were his only listeners, "We have no idea someone would try to assasinate her, and the world itself along with it, but we do know there's one little side-effect of the light... "You see, there is a powerful barrier of magic surrounding the entire room that Saloria sleeps inside in order to make sure no one is able to enter that room and tamper with the very life of this world--it was fool-proof... until now." The guard paused for a moment, and took in another breath before speaking, taking it slowly to make sure the two fully understood him, "It seems that purple light you saw appear had a very negative impact on that barrier, and actually weakened it to the point in which someone could litterally smash through it with a blade or club. There is a way to fix it, but as I said the whole military is tied up while the barrier is weak and the riots are still going on. I'm only a guard, so I haven't heard much, but I heard rumors that the barrier itself is fortified with the goddess's very own tears long, long ago. Of course, the wise men of that era were sure to have reserves to mend it." "And where are these tears?" Aueron asked in a very concerned voice. "The Temple of Souls," the guard answered, "located across the sea--you can take a boat from the port near here. But, as with everything so far, there's a complication... In order to open the large seal on the temple, four human souls must be collected at an alter at the entrance, meaning..." the guard lifted to show his trademark smile again, "you're going to need a few friends." Aueron looked slightly puzzled, as many questions still lingered in his mind, but he supposed it would be enough--it was probally personal suicide enough for the guard to be telling such secrets to them in the first place. "Just one thing," the swordsman inquired, "how do we get to the temple once we get across the sea?" "Right," the guard nodded and reached into a satchel around his waist and soon pulled out a necklace that held what appeared to be a glowing ruby as a trinket. "Hold onto this, and I'll be able to speak through my own to you to give you directions--just DON'T let any of the other guards see you with it, or it'll be the death of you and me both--the Holy City likes to keep its very important secrets, well... secret. When you've rounded up your 'friends' and arrived on the other side of the sea, contact me. Any... other questions?" he asked as though he was slightly eager to move on now--probally feeling a bit nervous now with everything he had told the two kids.
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Post by Airkshil on Jul 29, 2007 13:02:29 GMT -5
Collect four souls? That sounded as though they were going to have to kill people for no reason. More to the point, if the higher-ups told all this to a guard and not to the people, what were they trying to hide? There was more to this guard than met the eye.
The information he had just absorbed was quite a bit to take in all at once. Mental images and thoughts were still bouncing in Iro's skull, making it hard to form coherent thoughts of his own. So, instead of asking the questions he probably should have, Iro simply shook his head.
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Post by mutilateddragon on Jul 29, 2007 14:38:59 GMT -5
Aeron looked awkward as he replied to the stranger "We, only know that it errupted from the ground...around here?" He waved his finger in a circle motion towards the distance to indicate the area the light had been seen. "And...that it may have had something to do with Saloria." A small stone struck the back of Aerons head, and he turned around looking dazed. "You're not supposed to tell him! You'll ruin my whole idea!" Shouted Bane who had heard Aeron mention the word Saloria. Aeron simply shrugged and turned back to the stranger. "So do you know the directions to where it came from?"
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Post by lighthawk on Jul 29, 2007 16:53:31 GMT -5
Jad glared at Bane for a moment, not thinking much of a man that threw rocks at his companions. Om'aso felt the same way, and growled, making the horses shift nervously. Jad slowly returned his gaze to Aeron. " I have no idea," he told the man. " I was asleep when it happened, so I missed half the show. Om'aso here saw it though, if you want to ask him for details. Personally, I was just going to head off towards the general area until something became clear..."
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Post by mutilateddragon on Jul 29, 2007 17:55:40 GMT -5
Aeron looked at the wolf, then back at the man. "Ask the wolf? But...I can't understand them, or they me to my knowledge." He said with a look of confusion. At this point Bane had trotted up to join the two to listen into their conversation, his glare boring a hole into the back of Aeron's skull.
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Post by lighthawk on Jul 29, 2007 19:39:29 GMT -5
Om'aso yipped a laugh at the man, and Jad smirked. " He says that man's knowledge of things is...well never mind that really." He paused to listen to the wolf, nodding at the barking growls, then spoke again. " Om'aso thinks he knows about where the spot is, and that you're welcome to tag along if you can keep up...oh and he promises not to eat your horses while we travel together."
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