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Martin de Mignolet "What gods have cursed me with such humorless friends," asks Martin teasingly, laughing as he does so.
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Jun 21, 2012 01:10
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As the sun begins to set, Asha, Martin, and Lette come around the bend to see the freehold's forest looming ahead; passage uninterrupted by lunatic magi or possibly priests, nothing eventful bars their return. The guard- this time one beefy, muscular snake-kin naga without visible backup- gives the three an impartial, skeptical eye before slithering to one side. "Pass on." He says shortly, keeping a good grip on his weapon; "You remember the way to Gela's village, right? Fourth left, then second right, around the path first left and mind the thornbush." Tossing off the instructions casually, he coils into a little pile and rests, visored eyes back on the road coming as he leaves the visitor's to their work. However brief the directions, they're easily followed and not ten minutes pass before the three enter the teeming, heavily congested village to see their fellows outside relaxing. Most of their fellows. --- As he climbs, Alec can feel the strength starting to leave his body. Not as bad as the night prior, but a more normal and explicable exhaustion from climbing a rise on no real sleep or decent food all day. Another roar sounds, teasingly close, spurring him on, but... mere yards short of the summit of the rise, a brief slip brings Alec to one knee. And then, looming in front of him, a mere eighteen inches tall- Her. The Queen Fairy. Somehow, though, fluttering at the top of the rise with faintly glowing blue wings the small woman is more beautiful than she had been in the realm of her own mind. Stunning... for a long few seconds, it's all Alec can do to stare at the smiling, gauzily robed fae. "Alec, dear," she croons. "You came to me after all." Fairy uses innate ability: Awe! Queen Fairy prompts an Awe Check (see Powers); roll is against 11 (Alec's Will) - 4 (Fae-touched penalty to resist Fae powers) + 2 (Combat Reflexes) + 1 (Code of Honor) + 1 (Sense of Duty) = 11; roll is 13 for a failure by 2. 3d6 roll is 10, Awe check result is 12; Alec receives 14 seconds of Ecstasy, and will recover 3 seconds after that.
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Jun 21, 2012 02:45
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Isit The elf waves the newly arrived party over. "Hey, you'll never guess what happened! Its pretty loving bad!" Gesturing at Asha, she smiles. "Who is she? You look military ma'am." NoControl fucked around with this message at 03:47 on Jun 21, 2012 |
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Jun 21, 2012 03:29
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Martin de Mignolet Martin offers a wave in return. "The lady is the knight Lord Roland hired to help us; I shall let her introduce herself, though," he says, gesturing to Asha. Cocking his head to one side, he regards Isit with a concerned look. "So what happened while we were gone?"
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Jun 21, 2012 04:01
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Isit "Alec thought snow ment the world was ending. We tried to calm him down, he called us fool-liars, and ran off pretty fast. I think he's trying to walk home. Bet you can guess how that might work out."
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Jun 21, 2012 04:09
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Lette Once Lette lopes into the village, it takes no time at all for everything to go batshit. "What?! You let him go?!" Her look is one of bafflement. Puzzlement. Other double-consonant-l-e-ment words. Applement, why not. "And you're all just hanging around! He's poisoned, the doctor said this'd happen! We talked about this!" The idea that Dolan and Lo'el couldn't adequately chase the exhausted northman was nothing short of absurd. She glares openly. Time is short. Lette starts to turn Eclipse towards the treeline. "Which way did he go?"
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Jun 21, 2012 04:40
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Martin de Mignolet "...he did what?" Martin's voice rises almost immediately to a quite comical yet incredulous tone, such is his surprise that Alec actually has gone and done something so utterly mad. Exasperated, he gestures wildly as he continues. "Wait, a poisoned, delirious northman, who hasn't slept in two days, and no one could manage to stop him? That's...I do not even have the words." What Lette only thinks, he has no fear to say openly. As Lette spurs her horse around, Martin follows, eyes narrow and aflame in anger. "Wherever he is, we're going."
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Jun 21, 2012 04:46
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Dolan "North," Dolan answers calmly. "We tried to talk him out of leaving, tried to talk sense into him, but he decided he wanted to leave. I'm not one to force a man into an action that he clearly doesn't want to take, even if it might endanger him." he shrugs. "I expected him to make it a hundred feet or so then collapse. He's already well outside the forest and moving quickly. I wouldn't doubt that the fairies already have him." He looks over at Isit. "No, he thought that the queen moving north meant the world was ending. He jumped to a conclusion fifty yards away and couldn't cross the gap."
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Jun 21, 2012 04:48
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Lette "He's not well! I can't believe I even need to- no, no time. We don't have much light left." She orients herself towards the north path, then points a finger at Dolan. "Don't think we're done talking about this! "Ia!" With that, the horse took flight. Aeolius fucked around with this message at 04:56 on Jun 21, 2012 |
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Jun 21, 2012 04:53
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Martin de Mignolet "Talk sense? The man was clearly not of sound mind when we left, I can't imagine how much worse he might be now. He is ill, he cannot make decisions for himself like that." Martin shakes his head at Dolan, utterly flabbergasted. "I just don't understand. No matter. Saddle up and ride with us, we have work to do." He spares a hopeful glance back at Asha. "Pray, help us find our mad friend? I regret there is not time to rest. We can explain on the way," he says almost plaintively. Even if Alec was clearly mad even before the fairy poison took him, and a bit of a source of frustration, he was still a comrade and in the care of the "Baron" and his friends. Martin could not simply let walk to his death. As Lette leaves abruptly, he curses. "God drat it. We'll all talk later. Ha!" And he too spurs his horse towards the woods, merely hoping the others will follow.
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Jun 21, 2012 04:55
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Isit "He became belligerent, and honestly was close to attacking us. Would you suggest we risked conflict in the home of our hosts? If you find him, he might attack you. Better hope there is no other enemy in the area, right?"
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Jun 21, 2012 04:57
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Lette "No time for them to saddle up, we'll be at it all night!" She calls back bitterly.
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Jun 21, 2012 04:57
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Dolan Dolan raises a hand out towards Lette as she begins to speed off, and lets his hand drop as Martin follows her. he simply shakes his head, muttering about fools rushing in to get themselves killed. "Well this has certainly turned into a magnificent loving day," he says to Isit. Turning back again, he offers a small bow to the centaur who accompanied Lette and Martin. "Ma'am."
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Jun 21, 2012 05:05
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Asha She nods sagely, sharing Lette's sentiment by and large; after so short a while, already she was growing rather fond of her first acquaintances among her newest charge. "Many of us do." She muses to Lette quietly in regard to the stars. "Because the stars do not answer." Her eyes gleam at this. "I should like the opportunity to meet Naantali personally just the same." Martin shares a regard for the surroundings of his apparent recent adventures and such draws the centaur to arch a brow anew. "Nay but harpies..." She begins to offer before blinking at Lette's boast, both brows rising dubiously of the other woman. "I should like the opportunity to see such a feat as well." She murmurs with genuine apparent interest. The matter of militant preparations garners more serious consideration, however; Asha furrows her brow. "Noah will require troops more than anything, should such conflict come." She shakes her head. "After the battle between brothers, I'd hoped..." After trailing off, the centaur simply draws a long breath and quickens her canter--taking pains to ensure she can remain properly watchful of the pair she accompanies. "The stars sire no sons nor daughters, either..." She mutters beneath her breath, taking the lead by a good few paces; when Lette takes the lead, Asha cocks her head before maneuvering to match the woman's pace. For now, she would rather not consider Noah nor Lord Roland's readiness... ~ Freehold lay ahead, or at least the forest in which it lay; Asha brings the heel of a palm to shield her eyes against the sunset as she peers before trotting along ahead with her companions. When the trio come upon the sight of Freehold's naga protector, the centaur grows tense--her steps more forceful and tail flitting restlessly as she nears. She makes no remark to the guardian, but keeps a watchful eye on the serpent-kin until he is well out of sight--muttering imperceptibly to herself before her attention shifts instead to the elven woman ahead. Lette and Martin take pleasantly enough to the newest face and Asha herself bows her head in a nod. "Once, yes." Her lips draw to a thin smile. "Though one never truly ceases. I am called Asha--" She blinks, brows rising slightly as a dwarf is observed in kind--but more pointedly, the four are swift to come to considerable concern over a missing fifth it seemed. "Fairies?" She cocks her head before looking to Martin with a curt nod. "Of course." To the dwarf, she offers something of small bow herself. "When I return." She offers with a thin-lipped smile. With a smooth gesture Asha breaks then to a swift canter--hastening to fall in with her new companions. "What can you tell me of the one we seek?" She calls over the thunder of hooves.
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Jun 21, 2012 05:14
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Martin de Mignolet "He's a northerner, brave and stupid," quips Martin as they ride. "We were attacked on the road when we first came here. Faeries, and a wizard, perhaps under their thrall. Alec - the northerner - and our friend Isit - the elf - were poisoned," he says between breaths, coaxing his horse to go as fast as can be done safely in the trees. "She has held up well to the poison. Alec not so much."
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Jun 21, 2012 05:25
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Asha Swiftly the centaur gallops, maneuvering deftly to and fro as the trio weaves among the trees; a north-man, Martin had said--of what she could recall of them, Asha's brow knits. "A wizard?" And fairies, mentioned again; as thoughts flit to opportunistic brigands, Asha only steels her quick pace further. "I know little of poisons, but we will find him--then perhaps, find one who does?" It had been days cooped up within Noah's walls; now, though Asha would scarce admit it aloud, to dash with such speed was an exhilirating relief unto itself--if only for want of more pleasant circumstances...
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Jun 21, 2012 05:37
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Alecpre: Rage and love meld as light
takes over from darkness, yet
sense and hate weld in darkness.
Rage unending as terrible and true;
ecstasy binding and anger grinding
against the monster named Alec.
Horrible things peculate joy
from the honorable northman,
with angels with wings of blood.
Heart blood and pleasure do
join in a bloody symphony,
with loss and pain of old.
Etches of memory in time;
Etches of pain in chyme.
Bile of loss and joy mixed
with dirt into a pool.
Anger stood victorious over sense;
Ecstasy stood victorious over body.
Both exist within and throughout all.
Both subsist within and throughout all.
Death
drops
down
on
to
joy.
Axe-man fucked around with this message at 06:27 on Jun 21, 2012 |
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Jun 21, 2012 05:38
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Martin de Mignolet "There is a doctor here in the forest who had tended him; she knows the fairy poison well. Causes the mind and the legs to wander," explains Martin, slowing slightly to weave between the trees, incapable of quite matching pace with the centaur knight. "I do worry we won't find him in time. Or at all."
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Jun 21, 2012 05:40
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Isit "Well Dolan, I'll sure as gently caress try and explain the situation to them. drat fool only thinks about himself, not the others put in danger by his actions." She goes to spit, but stops, that'd be rude. "Feh, there's his honor for you. Mind couldn't handle the strain. Poor man. Too proud and stupid. But that's a man for you. Maybe he has the luck of the simple and they'll find him after all." Taking another sip of water, she lies down. "I like the centaur though."
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Jun 21, 2012 06:01
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Lette With the other two near at hand, Lette charged forward as well as the terrain and her steed would permit. She fumed quietly, baffled at how the others could have been so irresponsible. She said she wasn't done scolding, but in truth, she may well have been; the very idea left her speechless. But this was no time to go losing one's voice. While Martin set his to the task of bringing Asha up to speed on their objective, Lette put hers to a different use. "ALEC!" she called, one hand cupped. "ALEC!" Going around some thorns, she spared a glance back to the others. "How far do you think he's gotten? We should have asked how long ago he left. Stupid, stupid."
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Jun 21, 2012 06:07
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Martin de Mignolet "Who knows? If you had asked me to make a wager, I'd have guessed he could not even make half a mile, if that. For all we know it could be leagues." Martin sighs heavily, realizing how futile this likely was, yet resolved to keep going anyway. Alec might well have done the same for him. "They thought they were doing by him right, but they let him go. drat fools, couldn't save the real fool from himself." A dozen different curses drift through his conscious mind as he rides on, but he gives voice to none of them; it would solve nothing.
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Jun 21, 2012 06:14
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Lette "We don't know if he's changed directions or... I don't know!" Panic was not going to help anyone. Lette took a few breaths. At this point, her options included... no, there was only one option that came to mind. She shifted her lyre into her lap and laid one hand on the necklace he had given her — listening to it, to the fervent desire to see her friend safe. A pattern slowly emerged: the soft, delicate song of a seeking heart. Seeker, effective skill 16 +1 for the necklace and/or knowing Alec. Aeolius fucked around with this message at 09:30 on Jul 2, 2012 |
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Jun 21, 2012 07:01
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Lo'el He keeps himself out of the way and silent as the others return and voices start to rise in anger at his own apparent failings during their absence. He gazes wide-eyed and silently at the centaur that seems to have joined them. No doubt, many questions would be asked of her when time allowed it. Working up the courage to speak only comes just as the three arrivals turn and charge off into the forest. "Gods..." he says to Isit and Dolan. "Wait here and keep an eye out for each other. I'll follow them as best I can. They will need the help and information if they intend to start a chase." Dropping his pack to hold only his spear and what he wears, the faun takes off at a run into the trees. Tracking by magic will only get the others so far and they had not heard all there was to be said. Jumping to conclusions seems to be becoming a habit. "You misunderstand!" He runs and dodges around the passing trees nimbly as he catches up to the others. Even on horseback, they still have to navigate themselves around dense woodland and the time it takes to do so is more then enough for the forest-born faun to catch up and call over to them. "When Dolan spoke with you both, he then told us of the queen's march north. Alec became enraged and started screaming that it must be these Jötunn coming south. Any attempts we made to calm him just made him angrier and he stormed off into the village. Understand that, we did not believe he would be able to walk far in his condition before he simply collapsed. Even then, we doubted the guards would be foolish enough to let him past the village entrance. We...we thought the time by himself in the village might give him a chance to calm down. I am sorry...I should have realized." Anticipating a ditch up ahead, he makes a slight detour to avoid slipping in and runs up alongside the others again. "Only a few minutes later, I went after him and we realized Alec had somehow slipped past the guards and left the village. Dolan was able to cast a spell and see that he had already made it far north and was exiting the forest. Understand; if Dolan's spell was correct, then Alec made it many miles north in the space of only a few minutes. Fairy magic no doubt. Dolan and I realized that; just the two of us leaving to fight off fairies and subdue Alec would have been as foolish as the actions Alec has taken himself. He may not be well, but at the pace he is moving now, we may not be able to reach him until he can break the spell himself and be wise enough to come back to us." He tries not to look up at Lette and Martin. Their anger at the situation is understandable and he had been a fool for not realizing sooner that Alec shouldn't have been left alone. Still, it is easy to judge the actions of others when you yourself are absent from the chaotic event. He almost wonders how Martin and Lette would have acted had they been witness to Alec's behavior. No matter, arguing would not get their companion back. "If you wish to yell at me for my foolishness, then do so. But if Isit's condition is anything to go by, then Alec was at least aware of what his actions would bring. I will do what I can to help, but there is only so much that can be done in protecting a man from himself." "Hello, my lady." he says, looking briefly at the centaur before he turns forward again to dodge a tree. "I am Lo'el Vo'Rintel. It is a blessing to know that someone such as yourself is joining us in all this madness. I will follow you three for as far as I am able. I do not intend to abandon Alec, no matter what you may think." He continues in his pace at keeping up with the riders as they navigate slowly around the many trees, bushes and other forest obstacles in their path. The faun diverts his attention to the ground as they go, searching for clues. Broken twigs that have been trampled under foot, scuffed dirt from the boot of a man or anything that may show the path that Alec took in his rapid journey. Tracking - 15
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Jun 21, 2012 10:10
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Dolan Dolan grimaces as Lo'el takes off with the others, and sits down against the tree as the faun disappears into the trees. "And then there were two." He can only shake his head. They did not understand, it seemed. Or did not want to understand. Alec was probably lost by now. Likely not dead but certainly beyond them to retrieve. He had underestimated the fairies, assumed that Alec would collapse before making it far enough for them to take him, but he was wrong, and that was his mistake. He would not rush into an obvious trap as some sort of penance for it, though. "Have any of your previous jobs been plagued by fools and heroes like this before?"
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Jun 21, 2012 16:57
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Isit "gently caress yes. We had a posse a few weeks ago to take down bandits. Even split on the bounties, less a bonus for anyone injured. Good deal. We all worked well together except 'Charge Ahead Ted', guess how he got that name. And he was pious. Before anything we had to pray. I sure as hell didn't, so he got in my face. But what could you do? We needed the sword. Anyways we were setting an ambush and nearly had the bandits. And who leaps out of the shrubs, but Ted! Fucker challenges them to a duel. They laugh, and the leader charges. Old Ted took a knife to the gut. After we killed the fuckers, wih casualties on our side cause of the loss of surprise, Ted lumps up to me and tries to stab my rear end. Apparently I stole his honor by killing the leader. I let him try and fight me, but his guts were exposed, and he passed out. Unfortunately he died before the medic could treat him. The medic saved him for last, reasoning he wouldn't waste time on a man determined to be a moron. Plus she hated him." Raising an eyebrow, she looks from Dolan to the little gnolls, who had gathered for story time. "An important lesson. Never start a fair fight if you can help it. Would you like to hear the story about auntie Isit and the proper way to take a man into custody in a tavern?"
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Jun 21, 2012 19:26
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Martin de Mignolet Martin looks almost stunned that the faun somehow managed to catch up to them so quickly. "I don't misunderstand. Well-meaning, but still a mistake. You knew that already though," he says in a surprisingly even tone as he maneuvers himself and his horse in between trees and brush. "I suppose it can't be helped, Lo'el. Being mad at you, or Dolan, or Isit, solves nothing," he adds regretfully. The 'Baron' rolls Lo'el's story around in his mind. If Alec was truly that far away, then he was likely already taken. Hadn't Isit made a deal with the fairies, though? Perhaps they could be negotiated with again. Or perhaps Alec was simply gone - a terrible thought, but one his mind kept crawling inevitably back to.
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Jun 21, 2012 19:28
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Lo'el Constantly switching his gaze between the oncoming trees and the ground below, the faun keeps to as straight a path north as possible. Dolan's spell was all they have for guidance at the moment and he hopes above everything that the spirit in the dwarf's mind hasn't played with his mind and sent them on the wrong path. No matter, if he is blessed at all, then he will pick up the northerner's trail soon enough. He hops his way onto a fallen log ahead that covers a small ditch and balances his way across it quickly, slipping off just in time to hop back down to the ground below as the ditch is passed by. In that moment, he remembers sights of some of the more acrobatic fauns in the herd; running and leaping across obstacles and even along thick tree branches without a single slip in their balance. The thought fades as he ducks under a low branch, just managing to avoid it hitting his head. Best to keep his mind focused for now. Keeping pace with the others is not easily achieved and more then once, he finds himself lagging behind as they pass through wider spaces for the horses and centaur to gain some speed, only managing to close the gap himself as they slow down to avoid obstacles that he can better move around unmounted. "This is a difficult situation." he says between quick breaths. "The doctor said that no fairies lived in the forest, but if Alec really has managed to leave it by now..." He leaves that trail of thought unsaid. If he could realize the slim chance of saving Alec, then the others must have had the thought a great deal of time before him. "Lady Isit is still poisoned herself and must be healed soon. The fairies said they left an antidote where we fought the madman yesterday. Isit believes that the fairies may be there themselves to deliver it to us. If that is so, then we could perhaps talk them into releasing Alec and curing the both of them. If they truly want an alliance, then they would have no choice but to accept, yes?"
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Jun 21, 2012 20:35
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Martin de Mignolet "I am not sure I would trust the antidote now," replies Martin solemnly, cursing as a stray branch grazes his arm - not enough to unbalance him, but enough to annoy him when he's already in a rotten mood. "Nor would I trust any deal they offer, now. But you're right that it could be our only chance."
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Jun 21, 2012 21:02
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Lo'el "Well, Isit made this deal for the antidote after she and Alec were poisoned. And from her words, it seems genuine that the fairies want an alliance with Noah. Perhaps they had no control over whether Alec fell under the influence of the poison once it was in his system. Or maybe they are intending to send Alec back to us once they have him, as a sign of good will? Hard to know any of this for sure without talking to one of these fairies." Pushing himself off a nearby tree, he dodges and weaves between some bushes before he tries to keep up the pace again. "I hate to admit it, but reaching Alec before the fairies may be impossible now. Perhaps we should return to save Isit at the very least and bargain with them for Alec, if they are waiting for us. Trusting in their antidote is the only option we have if we hope to save her and Alec too."
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Jun 21, 2012 23:26
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Dolan Dolan grunts and shakes his head. "At least he only got himself killed. I knew a lad once. Unid. Bright but foolish. Only joined the Corps to be a hero, not to actually do what needed doing. We learned one day that some rebels against the royal family had gotten their hands on a torirgar -- it's like a bomb, but sucks everything in instead of exploding outward -- and planted it somewhere in the city. An hour of searching later and we find it, they've already armed and shielded the drat thing so we have to seal it off. Just as we're finishing the seal, Unid sees a half dozen people who didn't get out in time, and cracks the seal to let them out." He shudders, just slightly. "You ever see a dozen fully armoured dwarves get sucked through a gap an inch wide? I'm just lucky I was called away for a moment." He pops a wineskin out from his bags, yanks the stopper out, and takes a long pull before handing it over to Isit. "So how do you take a man into custody in a tavern?"
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Jun 22, 2012 01:02
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Isit Isit winces in sympathy. "Fully armored. gently caress that's nasty. What happened to the lad?" Laughing, she takes a small sip. "Oh, only one way to do that. Yell about him being a cheating bastard, kick him in the boys, and drag his drunk rear end home. Anyone in a tavern will buy that, and applaud the show."
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Jun 22, 2012 01:06
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Many move out, desperate to find their wayward companion; soon Lette's plaintive spell is joined by Lo'el. With good effect; though Lette, like Dolan before her, could readily 'see' that Alec was a handful of miles north, she could not fathom her way through the forest labyrinth with such a spell. That was left to the faun, horses and centaur slowing perforce as the faun had to take the lead. Several subtle, far-from-obvious turns were needed to follow the northman- soon enough, though, they could tell they were heading for the edge of the forest only to find their path blocked by a seemingly fresh, impenetrable tangle of ivy and flowers. Only Asha, newcomer to the group, sees through it; it's not plant life at all, but a rather thick, convincing illusion of it without form or solidity. Perhaps a fairy trick to delay pursuit- but perhaps in another light a defense mechanism thrown up by the monsters themselves to daunt anyone trying to enter the forest through an unguarded back path. --- The queen fairy smiles at Alec, and floats up to his face unworried by the risk of retaliation. "Come, daughters," She murmurs. "Our new guest is overlarge, and sorely burdened by cares and bulk- let us relieve both at the same time, shall we?" A pair of fey emerge from cover on the ground- one perches on his shoulders, legs wrapping gently around Alec's neck and the other resting on the man's back, hands reaching under the armor and tunic to bare skin on the small of his back. The queen herself reaches out and touches Alec on the nose, and all three begin chanting an oddly beautiful sequence of syllables in sequence. The chanting continues, Alec still lost in bliss at simply seeing the Queen's form; slowly, his mind becomes aware that she's growing steadily larger, the weight of the familiar fairies from before growing ever more of a burden. They slip off to either side, their part in the ritual done as Alec falls forward. After a few seconds, the awe fades, and he can get to his feet- only to look the smiling Queen in the eye, and with her daughters unobtrusively to either side. The Queen looks tense, balanced- "Northman, you have been taken and are now my captive. Will you insist on being my prisoner, or will you swear fealty to me and gain some measure of respect in your new home?" His arms and legs are free; whether there was ever a dragon, he cannot know, save that it doesn't roar anymore. He still has his weapons; there was still a chance that he could... try to stab the Queen, ready as she was for a fight with her wings tensely vibrating in the still air. He might succeed. Or he could just let his duty fall, and take up a new one- after all, if the Jotun had come, he'd already failed his oath. What more was there for a man of honor? --- Seeker spell succeeded, and tracking spell critically so; Lo'el has no problem tracing Alec's route through the forest, and Asha sees through a fine illusion meant to bar their way to the rescue. Nothing yet about Alec has changed save for his size; the mental effects are over as well.
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Jun 22, 2012 01:21
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Dolan "Unid was right at the breech. We managed to find the guards' bodies, mangled as they were, but Unid was torn apart. All told I think close to fifty died when it should have only been six." He alternates between laughing and wincing at Isit's detail. "Well, I guess that's one way to do it." Gus Hobbleton fucked around with this message at 01:35 on Jun 22, 2012 |
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Jun 22, 2012 01:32
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Lo'el Blessedly, the trail is soon picked up as he takes a brief moment to catch his breath and notices a fresh print in the dirt at his hooves. Alec's footprint. Judging by the length and depression created in the ground, it had to belong to the man. Keeping track of the northerner's trail is easy enough as the faun moves forward to locate another step and then another as he leads the others through strange twists and turns that Alec must have made in his quick journey north. "We should be on the forest's edge soon enough. We should...oh." He falls silent as they suddenly come across the tangle of plant life that stretches out before them. "Strange...I wonder how he made it past this." He scans around briefly for a moment, looking for a path Alec may have taken to pass by.
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Jun 22, 2012 01:35
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Asha Vaulting deftly over a low ditch, the centaur hisses through her teeth as Martin speaks of the addling effects of the poison in question; ducking a low branch, Asha soldiers swiftly around and through thick brush as she keeps a quick pace. "Worry not--we will find him." She is, herself, convinced of such--how far could a poisoned man truly tread? There is a brief but heated exchange between her companions before Lette's lyre draws pause from Asha--ears cocking abruptly to the source of the sound before the centaur slows her pace to listen for a moment. Then, a fine faun emerges from the forest at the trio's flank--and Asha looks to the new arrival with surprise. "I am Asha," she raises her voice as hooves kick through the dirt and loam, "and you flatter me, Lo'el." She nods curtly then to his declaration--and makes a concerted effort to follow the faun's lead. As the four follow the strange and twisting trail, she listens to talk of an antidote; she tenses slightly as thoughts return to the wiles of the fairies--it was decidedly unfamiliar territory. What could Asha do in the face of such, if they were foe? To level a lance against one so small... Ahead, the way appears impassable and the four are given pause. Asha straightens, trotting a brisk brief pace from side to side as she slows to a stomping halt; she blinks then, brows furrowing before going high. "There!" She points, arm outstretched. "It is false--an illusion hides the way ahead!" Turning sharply, she reaches to scoop an arm against Lo'el before abruptly hoisting the faun onto her back--twinging briefly but steeling herself. "Here, we've no time to spare." She mutters before she gestures to Lette and Martin. "Follow me!" With a sharp thud of hoods, Asha charges onward and headlong through the would-be barrier! Overconfidence.
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Jun 22, 2012 02:00
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Lette Her eyes unfocus for a moment as the spell takes effect. She shakes her head, blinking rapidly. "He's alive! In a clearing. He really did go far, gods." Lette shakes her head, scowling at the talk of the antidote. "If those fairies have visited any harm on him, then so help me I'll cook up an antidote of my own. Somehow. Even if he's perfectly well, in fact. Better to weather the stuff than find yourself in debt to a fairy." Between her da's musings on property and her ma's head for lore, Lette knows well that debt doesn't quite work the same for fae as for most creatures. Her eyes widen as Asha quickly finds the way through. "Glammer!? Then we must be close!" Though the centaur passes through with no trouble, it still takes a moment of coaxing for Eclipse to accept the truth and follow. "Don't get too far ahead," she calls forward, hoping Asha can even hear her through all that metal.
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Jun 22, 2012 02:06
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Isit The elf makes a dismissive gesture. "Feh. It's only sad that that kid took so many with him. I heard about a unit, not mine naturally, that had a commander so bad that somehow he took five arrows and a spear to his backside in a battle. loving nobles. Such a terrible accident."
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Jun 22, 2012 02:33
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Dolan "Naturally," Dolan echoes. He pauses a moment before speaking again. "You ever wonder if we should be more upset than we are at this kind of thing? At people being killed by their own stupidity? That maybe they could have been smacked upside the head a few more times until they got it?" He takes a pull from the skin. "Unid was an idiot, but he was useful. I lost a good asset that day."
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Jun 22, 2012 04:23
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Isit "It used to bother me, but after so many battles you build up this sort of math that makes it tolerable. Mourn friends first. Then useful allies. Then poor fucks you knew in passing. By the time you get to idiots, people you don't like, or the poor sods that are both, you have no tears left. You wste your efforts on friends and the ones that want saving. Might be harsh, but what else is there? Care to much and you die for people you got no respect for."
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Jun 22, 2012 04:35
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| # ? May 31, 2024 01:38 |
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Dolan "Hah! So we're damaged goods are we?" He takes another swig before passing the wineskin back again. "I guess I can drink to that. I'd rather be damaged than dead."
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Jun 22, 2012 04:44
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