NationStates Jolt Archive

The silent night had the little apprentice weary. He had been sent by his master to the tavern to buy a fresh bottle of grog for him. every step he took seemed to shake the earth and it sounded as if he could wake the dead. he kept on, trying to keep as quiet as poosible. it was a long walk to the tavern from the blacksmith shop--which is where he is apprenticing--up hills down knolls he walked for what seemed like an eternity, but had really been only a half hour. He rambled on, occasionally talking to himself to try and stay calm. then in the forest on the left of the road, he heard a twig snap. then another, and another. the apprentice stopped, then drew a small knife from his pocket. this knife was obviously not meant for the meanest of creatures, but could fend off a small goblin or kobold if used right.
"Who's there?!" he called out in a shaky voice.
another snap, but this time from the other side of the road.
he turned and looked on the road the way he came, and saw the silhouette of a short humanoid. it was well-built, from what he could see, armed with a short sword and rounded sheild. another on came out to the figures left side, then to its right. they stood there. looking. as if they were waiting for the apprentice to make a move. the one on the left leaned over to the middle and whispered something in a jibberish no man could understand. a series of snarles and barks were used in this so-called "language". the creatures looked like some form of goblin. perhaps a new clan, unheard of by man. or perhaps this was the infamous Kerrack clan that everyone has heard of.
The Kerrack was a certain clan of goblin that hung around the roadways at night and waited for passing caravans. They would send all of their male members to ambush the caravan, kill all of its passengers, and loot all of its valuables. maybe even make a meal out of its victims.
The apprentice boy stood there, shaking uncontrollably, with his little knife in his right hand. the middle goblin looked around, then rushed in with his sword over head, waving it like a flag, and screaming the whole way. The boy watched, assure of his fate of being a snack for the clan of goblins. he lifted his arms and covered his face and flinched. he heard the footsteps of the goblins slender feet growing louder the closer he came. It was closing in. Twenty feet. Fifteen feet. Ten. Five. Then FFFRRRRRRIIIIIIIIPPPPPPP---PLOT!
An arrow came in from the right and tore through the goblin's neck. It curled up on the ground holding its bloody neck, gargling blood when it breathed. it sucked in for one last breath and fell limp.
The boy, still flinching, looked up and watched in awe as a caped figure leaped out of the woods, arrow drawn, and fires at the left goblin from one hundred and fifty yards and dropped him, as he did with the first. The boy almost smiled as he watched this amazing warrior who saved his life. the right goblin, already charging, fell to another arrow between the eyes. Two more goblins flew in from each side of the road, saw their fallen comrades, and shouted a battle cry, then charged. One fell to an arrow. The warrior handed the boy his bow and drew a long sword that glimmered in the bright moonlight. He stood ready and swung as the first came, it fell in a heap at the warriors feet. Stabbed at the second, twisted, and swung in an overhead arc to slice the third down the middle to its waist. the fourth came in and the warrior swung, it blocked with a wooden shield, which shattered on impact, the goblin jabbed at the warrior, who dodged, the kicked it in its face, knocking it to the ground. then a quick, killing stab to its chest kept him there, motionless. he snatched the bow from the boy, slung it over his shoulder, and ran off into the night.
The boy ran back to the shop as fast as his legs could take him. When he arrived, his master was asleep and with a sigh of relief, the boy walk up the creaky stairs to his quaters and fell asleep.
The warrior, not really having a "home", made himself comfortable in a small cavern deep in the forest. he could still see the lights from town off through the trees. but nobody would except him there. nor anywhere else he thought. Tired from the battle on the roadway, he drifted off into a deep sleep.

~morning~

OOC: Not quite sure where you want to go with this, but since it's open, I'll stick some characters in, and see what happens.

IC:

The party of 'adventurers' was lost. 'Adventurer' could mean a lot of things, although in this context, it meant a group of rather chaotic individuals, who were happy to do practically anything, regardless of how morally dubious, to get their hands on shiny loot.

There were four Marsh Elves, and one human in this party; Marsh Elves, as a race, were fairly gregarious, or at least, not too picky about who they travelled with. On average, they were slightly less than five feet tall (although, taller specimens existed), with pale blue-grey skin, beady yellow eyes, and a mane of black hair that grew thickly on the head, neck and shoulders. An unpleasant smell seemed to follow them everywhere they went.

This party was led by Hisk the Hero. 'Hero' was also a debatable term, and in this context, it meant someone who travelled to far off places, met interesting people, killed them, and took their precious things. Hisk wasn't particularly impressive in appearance for a Marsh Elf, and his success could be attributed in part to his sword. Not many Marsh Elves carried swords, especially not ones quite as unnaturally sharp as 'Ribsplitter', as Hisk had named it.

The other members of the party included an archer, a trapper, and a witch doctor. The human was their bard, a rather pitiful individual by the name of Clarence, whose dream had been to write about heroic adventurers. The reality was, that Hisk's disreputable party was the only one that would let him tag along. Marsh Elves didn't really understand literature, so Clarence could be the greatest bard in all the world, as far as they knew. They trusted him to get on with it.

"I seen that rock before." said Slitch, the archer, "We're goin' round in circles, Hisk. I thought you said you knew this place."

"Shut up," snapped Hisk, "We ain't lost. I'm just... makin' sure no goblins can track us - y'know, there's goblins in these parts. Heaps o' them."

"I ain't seen one." muttered Gatty, the trapper, "An' I know howta spot signs o' goblins."

"I'm cold and tired." sulked Nug, the witch doctor, "We been wanderin' around for ages. Let's find somewhere to camp for the night."

"Hey, what about that cave over there?" Slitch pointed, at a small cavern in the woods, "That should keep us outta the cold. We can have a fire in the entrance."

The group wandered over to inspect the small cave.

"I reckon it's more of a cavern." muttered Nug, as they peered inside.

"Nah, looks like a grotto to me." said Slitch, sniffing at the interior.

"What are you on about?" Hisk snapped at Slitch, "It's clearly a cavern, right, 'cos in a grotto you got-"

"Perhaps we could call a caveat against this argument." said a pathetic voice, "Ahaha! A caveat!"

The Marsh Elves gave Clarence the bard a withering look. He shuffled his feet, "A caveat, you see, because we're at a cave..."

The Marsh Elves stared at him some more, and he sagged, miserably. Hisk shook his head, and stepped into the cave. He sniffed again, "Here, lads, I reckon there's somebody in here..."

Zaknafein (the warrior) awoke to the argument and got up slowly, unsheathing his dagger from the ankle strap. He crept around the corner, seeing a lone figure at the mouth of the cave, and made his move. Zak grabbed the man from behind, pulled back his head, and put the dagger to his exposed throat.
"Friend or foe"!? he screamed wildly.
*********************************
The boy woke to his master yelling again. He did this every morning.
"Where are my tools"?! he would yell.
"Where did you leave them" the boy replied.
"Dont you talk back to me, boy"!
The boy, Raistlin, just sighed, knowing he would have to try to find them again, even though he didnt lose them. "I wonder who that man was last night" he muttered to himself. "I wonder if he will come back". So many questions, so little answers.

Within a split-second of the warrior appearing, Slitch had an arrow nocked, and his bow pointed at Zaknafein.

"Slitch! Hold it!" gasped Hisk, who had the dagger at his throat, "Friends! We're friends! No foes in these parts, 'cept goblins!"

The Marsh Elves, who were short and swarthy-looking, and smelt even worse than goblins, tried to look innocent. Gatty and Nug were holding spears, but glancing uncertainly at Hisk and Zaknafein, not sure how to handle the situation. Clarence was hiding timidly behind a tree, only the occasional nervous twang of his lute giving away his presence. Slitch kept his bow pointed at the warrior, "Hisk, what do we do?"

"Do nothing!" Hisk snapped, and drew a sharp breath as he felt the dagger prick against his skin, "Lemme go! We're just travellers, looking for somewhere to rest! Ain't that right, boys?"

The Marsh Elves nodded, "Yeah, that's right!" "Just travellers, us!" "Don't mean no harm, nope!"

Hisk, who was a good deal shorter than Zaknafein, tried to peer round at his captor, "See? Friends!!"

Zak relaxed his tight grip on the blade, and took a long sigh of relief. He wasn't looking for another fight. He hated it. But he also knew that fighting was the only way to survive in Akara. He lowered the knife, still uneasy about this odd band of elves. Still grasping the dagger, he let go of this 'Hisk' character. He stood still, not know what the group would take as 'hostile', and tried to ignore the horrid smell emitting from these odd band of creatures.
"Just looking for a place to stay, huh?" he asked in a sarcastic tone (but being more serious than not). Zak was obviously in a confused state and couldn't tell if the one they call 'Hisk' was telling the truth. But being fairly young (22) and foolish, he decided to trust them. He didn't know why, but there was a sort of honest look coming from each one. He wanted to ask the band if he may join them, basically because he had nowhere else to go, but he was afraid of rejection. Hed been living in the cave for over a week now and was looking for some adventure. "I have food" he offered. "Not much, but its food" he corrected himself.

Hisk took a few steps back after being released, keeping his distance for the time being. He shook his head at Slitch, and gestured at him to lower his bow. The archer hesitated, before complying, sticking the arrow back in its quiver.

"Right," said Hisk, keeping an eye on Zak's dagger, "We're all friends here, eh?"

The other three Marsh Elves shuffled into the cave. Clarence peered out from behind his tree.

"Set up a fire, lads." Hisk told the elves, "We'll share provisions, and exchange stories, I reckon. Clarence, bring that grog over here!"

Slitch tilted his head at Hisk, and leaned over to him, hissing, "We don't need to share our stuff, he says he's got some."

"Shut up, Slitch!" Hisk whispered sharply, "I know what I'm doin'!" He turned back to Zaknafein, smiling, "Like I said, we're just travellers. Lookin' for a bit of adventure in these parts. My name's Hisk." he prodded his chest importantly with a thumb, "That one's Slitch, that's Gatty, Nug, and the human's called Clarence."

He accepted the bottle of grog passed to him by Clarence, and took a swig, before offering the strong, and slightly noxious-smelling liquor to Zak, "So, who are you, then?"

Zak sheath the dagger and took a seat on the cool cavern floor. "My name is Zaknafein De' Nurinth." He replied. "who are you? Or better yet, what are you?" he asked curiously. Zak had never seen these elf-like creatures before and was actually amazed by their presence. The grog was passed to him and he took a long swig, immediatly spitting it out

Hisk chuckled dryly, and passed the grog on to Slitch, "We're elves from the Black Marsh." he said, "Heard there was a clan of goblins in these parts, causin' a bit of trouble, so we thought we'd come out an' have a look."

"I tole yer, Hisk," said Gatty, "I ain't seen no trace of gobbos yet. We're goin' round in circles."

Hisk scowled at the trapper, "I know what I heard! You just ain't lookin' right."

"Yeah." muttered Slitch, "Just like we wasn't lookin' right that time you said there was a troll with a hoard o' diamonds up Sharrow way. Found plenty of trolls alright, but not a single diamond."

Hisk and Slitch stood face to face, scowling at each other. Hisk waved a hand for emphasis, "If you're so smart, Slitch, why don't you lead? Let's not forget that time you lost all our coin on a dog fight! Or when you got drunk in Vissengeur, and tole ol' Rawshank where all our loot was hid! Why don't you lead, if you know howta do it so much better than me?"

Slitch glanced at the others, before turning his eyes back to Hisk, "I weren't drunk! He tricked me with his mind games!"

Hisk laughed, "Rawshank? He couldn't trick a starvin' dog inta chewin' a bone! You just-" he glanced at Zak, who was still sitting there, and smiled pleasantly. "We'll finish this some other time." he hissed to Slitch, and sat down again.

"I am writing the story of our adventures." said Clarence to Zak, ignoring the bickering elves, "Perhaps you could tell me what it is that you do, so that I can write it in?" he asked, hopefully.

"I dont know" Zak Groaned."There really isnt much to write about me". "Well except for last night. I was taking a stroll along the creek when i heard a shout off in the distance. I immediatly started running over to investigate. When i saw what was going on, i lept out into the road. It was a young boy. He was in trouble. Normally i wouldnt have helped anyone in a situation like that. But i guess you could say that i saw myself in that boy." Zak sighed and leaned back against the cavern wall. "Like i said. Not very interesting"

"Oh no, please, do go on!" said Clarence, taking a quill and a battered journal out of his bag, "It sounds a great deal more exciting than anything that's happened to us lately."

"Eh?" Hisk glanced at Clarence, "What about that fight we was in last week, in that tavern? Ain't you been writin' that down?"

Clarence sighed, "Hisk, that was the thirty-seventh bar room brawl we've been in this year. I've given up writing about all of them."

Hisk shrugged, "Dunno why. It was great; what about when that guy grabbed Slitch by the legs, and used him to club that other guy? That was pure gold."

Slitch grumbled, "You wouldn't be sayin' that if it was you."

Clarence waved a hand dismissively, and turned back to Zak, quill hovering eagerly over the page, "Ignore them. Please, tell me all about it. What kind of trouble was it?"

A young woman with a bleeding wrist stumbled through the woods. At her sides hung a pair of short swords and a small bow and quiver were slung across her back. The loss of blood was getting to her and she was beginning to black out when she smelled a fire. It took all of her strength, but she managed to force herself into the cave.

"I need some help..." She managed to mutter before she collapsed. The flickering light revealed a good-sized piece of a tooth lodged in her wrist.

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Not too far away, pair of men slunk through the forest. The younger one, nineteen with white hair, paused and sniffed the air.

"She went this way." The older man, looking to be in his early thirties and black haired, shakes his head.

"You sure, Zev?" Zev (for this was the younger's name) looked back and beared his teeth. Two fangs rose from his jaw and one more came down from the top. He ran his tongue around the stub that had once been a fourth fang.

"Yeah, I'm sure Ulric. I'm tracking myself, after all."

OOC: hey stickwood this is me alnaylya. i made a new nation. ok moving on to the rp...

"Goblins. A whole tribe it seemed. I think they were going to try and make a meal out of the poor fellow." said Zak, who leaned back and said "I think im gonna call it a night guys". and he closed his eyes.

"Hah! Told you there was goblins!" Hisk sneered at the other elves.

"Huh." Gatty muttered, "Maybe they was just passin' through. I ain't seen any sign of 'em!"

Just as Hisk was opening his mouth to further rub in his apparent victory in the goblin argument, some woman came stumbling into the cave mouth and collapsed. Hisk's eyes widened, as he looked at the woman's wrist, with a fragment of tooth still stuck in it.

"Goblins!" The elves yelped, and jumped to their feet. Slitch had an arrow drawn and nocked in an instant, Gatty and Nug were wielding their spears nervously, and Clarence had shuffled off to hide behind a rock.

There was a metallic ring, as Hisk drew his sword, Ribsplitter. The short black blade almost seemed to hum, as its unnaturally sharp edge cut through the air. Hisk sniffed at the surrounding forest.

"Can't smell no goblins, but I tole yer they was around here." he said, as they peered into the shadows, trying to spot whatever might have attacked the woman.

"What about 'er?" Slitch nodded at the collapsed woman.

"She ain't goin' anywhere." said Hisk, "We'll deal with her in a minute."

The elves continued to peer out into the woods, weapons ready.

Careful to stay just out of sight, Zev and Ulric looked at eachother.

"What are those things?"

"Not sure, Zev, they look a little like those 'elf' things I've read about... What do you want to do about them."

"Do you think they taste better than they smell?"

"You're kinding."

"Yeah... Let's see if we can't scare them off." And then Zev reared back his head and howled. Ulric shook his head for a moment, but then joined in. The pair of mournful cries echoed through the forest.

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The woman's eyes snapped open when she heard the sound. Everything was foggy, but she knew she had to get out of there. She struggled to stand but could not pick herself up.

The elves jumped, at the sound of howling.

"What's that?" said Nug, looking around frantically.

"I reckon they got Wargs." said Hisk, who didn't seem particularly disturbed, peering around and trying to locate the source of the sound in the darkness.

"Don't smell like wargs." said Slitch, sniffing the air.

"Have you gotta disagree with everythin' I say?" Hisk demanded of Slitch.

"Just sayin'" said Slitch.

Hisk scowled, and turned back to stare out at the woods, brandishing Ribsplitter, "Come out, ya gobbos!" he yelled, "We know yer out there! Come 'ere an' I'll cleave a chunk off ya!!"

OOC: so this werewolf dude is evil right?

Zak stood back. not wanting to fight again, but would if he had to.

ooc: Not exactly evil... Hey, is anyone gonna help the bleeding woman?
IC:
"Gobbos?" Ulric looked over at Zev, "They think we're goblins?"

"Hey!" Zev shouted, "When's the last time you heard a goblin howl?"

Hisk exchanged a glance with the other elves, who shrugged.

He yelled back into the darkness, "When he's on a warg! If you ain't goblins, what are ya? Come out 'ere where I can see ya, or clear off!"

The elves were mosty ignoring the bleeding woman, being more concerned with whoever was skulking around in the woods. The human bard, Clarence, peered out from behind his rock, "Um, miss, are you alright?"

"Hey, Ulric, what's a warg?"

"No idea"

The two stepped out of the trees, mantaining a carful distance from the sword-weilding elf.

"Sorry to bother you gentlemen. We're looking for a woman who may have passed through here."

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"Don't let them take me," The woman muttered.

The woman crawl away from all of the strangers and pulled her heavy cloak around her shoulders and fell into a deep trance.

The elves glared at each other wondering who would die next.

The ceaseless yammering of a rather diverse gathering of races ahead alerted the wanderer, his odd-looking fin-ears pricking up at the noises...

'Odd... I detect humans, or just their blood... Possibly werewolf... Argh! That stench... Most definitely Marsh elf, their odor is unique...'

The wanderer was Keltin Kastlin, an Argonian hunter. His large reptillian feet made little noise as he padded towards the gathering. Keltin's spear was of typical Argonian design: A five-foot Blackwood pole with a four-inch steel barb on one end. His clothing was as standard as his spear. Keltin wore the typical gray homespun trousers & tunic favored by those in his profession. A cuirass of Netch leather protected his chest. Chitin covered his right arm, down to his clawed fingers. His left was protected by the same material as his chest. A dirty cloth scarf that was at one time a shining white was wrapped around his neck, it was now a dingy brown from road dirt & mud.
A headband of similar color & material encircled what passed for a forehead on his species, the excess hanging down his back to the base of his neck. A simple steel knife was affixed in a horizontal fashion at the small of his back.

As a precautionary measure, he wrapped the dirty scarf around his snout to conceal his identity, after all, these people where unknown to him. Keltin moved forward slowly, creeping up over a small cave to peer at the gathering below him...

A wounded female human sat against a tree, while a few Marsh elves conversed with a pair of not-quite humans... There was something odd about them... He could smell a male human somewhere nearby, and was sure there where more elves than where visible from his position, but there was no safe way to be sure...

ooc: Did Slender Goddess just RP my character? Or do they have a character in this that I just overlooked?

ooc: Did Slender Goddess just RP my character? Or do they have a character in this that I just overlooked?

OOC: A good question. Perhaps they thought you'd abandoned the character in favor of your other two & decided to use it to RP with.

ooc: Did Slender Goddess just RP my character? Or do they have a character in this that I just overlooked?

OOC: Well, they appear to be hijacking my elves, too, so I vote we ignore that post.

Sorry for the absence, folks, but christmas got in the way a bit.

IC:
As the newcomers stepped into the open, there was a creak, as Slitch drew his bowstring taut. Hisk brandished his sword at them.

"Stay where you are!" he demanded, "Why were you howlin' at us?" he sniffed and added, "What are yer, anyway? Don't smell like human."

Clarence cleared his throat, "Um... Hisk, it would seem that she doesn't want to go with these... er... people."

Hisk glanced back over his shoulder, "Well, yeah, anyway she's in our camp now, Finders Keepers and all that."

( Deffnaite Tag if i only knew what to wright i would join lol)

OOC: I fear I might have to break out the defibrilator for this thread, its heart seems to have stopped...