NationStates Jolt Archive

Viktor found his back to the others after carrying Icarus to the camp and staying a few minutes to see if he stirred before heading back, he arrived somewhere in the middle of Fayalins response to Lanu's question and glanced at his own staff thinking how he had just used it as came naturally and that Lanu's motions has a bit more of a definate action behind them, though regardless he preferred to use magic, though it might be useful to pick up some self defence skills.

"I too should perhaps investigate some ways of fighting with my staff, as distasteful as it is, it seems however that our enemies are capable of nullifying magic and it wouldn't do to be unprepared." Viktor said with a slight grimace as he remembered the cut from the axe across his chest, it was shallow and not particularly serious, but was a nuisance none the less. "In that last fight i merely did as seemed natural and i think my appearence probably lead them to underestimate me." He reached up to his cut and moved traced the cut, it had already seemed to have stopped bleeding, much to his relief and after a moment he traced the cut on the fabric and his shirt mended itself, leaving only a slightly bloodstained line as any indication of a scratch.

When Kiten returned he was reminded of the reality of the situation and that there were a variety of dead or at least wounded individuals around who might still pose a threat. "Perhaps someone should check to make sure just how dead some of our attackers are...?

Camp, Gaireth Protectorate

“I c-c-can’t answer your qu-qu-question,” answered Fayalin indignantly, her stammer becoming more prominent as she got more worked up. “I d-d-don’t know w-w-what they wanted, and I t-t-told you everything I d-d-do know.” While she was technically telling the truth, she wasn’t telling him everything she suspected, in that she had a nasty feeling the bandits attempts to kidnap her were related to the visions she had started having. But since she was terrified of even telling the others about the visions, she wasn’t going to mention her theory.

She took the staff, and attempted to mimic Lanu’s movements from what he had shown her. Unlike his, her movements were unsure and carried little force behind them, and the expression on her face showed that she was not at all confident. Before she could say anything else, or think about asking Tovius for lessons, she heard William’s request for her attention.

“C-coming,” she called in return, and, after finding a water skin, hurried over to the wounded mage. She knelt down beside him, setting the staff down, and began to search through her bag for a bandage. She quickly cleaned the wound using the water and a piece of cloth, then gently began winding the bandage around it until it was completely covered. She then cut the excess length of the bandage off with her dirk and tied it firmly in place. “Th-there you go,” she told him.

Before Fayalin got to him, William looked at Kiten and asked, smiling, "Why would I be the interrogator? I thought you, the master of poisons and shadows, would be far more adept at drilling the information you want from his mind."

As Fayalin bandaged his shoulder, he pulled the arrowhead out of his leg, then shifted as the girl finished with the lower limb. His trousers would need repair, but that was not an immediate concern. He watched the girl, trembling a little as she worked. Somewhere, deep inside of him, he was reminded of his young cousin. "Girl, you are still young, and seem to possess that innocence I lost long before it was my time to do so. But something troubles you, that much I can tell. If I were you, I'd not make the same brash mistakes that I did in my younger days, especially the one of keeping secret something that should be told. I won't force you to do anything, but I want you to do me a favor."

William pointed back at the camp, to where Nald was. "That boy's life, whether he likes it or not, is in our hands. The same is for his sister's. More so, actually, then his. I can go on if they perish. I will attribute it to the design of the Great Architect, the 'Supreme God' that I feel called to pray to. But I will not forget them, as I have not forgotten the others whose deaths I either delivered, or failed to prevent. I can go on, but that will still haunt me. I wonder, will you be able to do as I have done? Shall you accept what occurs, and hold it in your heart to better yourself, or will you do otherwise? Will you let the grief devour you, for the knowledge that your words could have saved two innocent lives, and probably more? Or will you run the risk that I tread each day with my existence, the risk of turning and succumbing to the darkness that has enthralled the monster we seek? We are each the masters of our souls. Tend to yours, and if you feel so, speak what you feel must be spoken. You have my oath that I will not hold you at fault for speaking what you believe will help others. But you also have this oath from me. Should your silence slay any person, I will never forgive you, in this world, or whatever world may be next."

William stood, taking his cloak and wrapping himself in it. He was able to move his shoulder with less pain, so that while he would have a scar on his skin, the muscle would eventually heal.

Camp
Gaireth Protectorate

Tovius was in the midst of the camp, checking over those who were not with him when the hydra was subdued, when he overheard Lanu and Fayalin talking about why the attackers were going after her. He was about to leave his own comments to the matter when William shouted to him from the field.

Looking at the shortsword in his hand, still slick and dark in parts of the blade from the blood, he replied, "Thanks for the warning."

After seeing that everyone was more or less okay, the legionnaire grabbed a disposable cloth and carefully cleaned his sword, making sure to avoid letting any of the blood touch his hands. Even with the blood wiped off, the invisible poison could still be coating the blade, and so he cautiously inserted the sword into its sheath.

Glancing back up after finishing his work, he saw Fayalin attempting some maneuvers with her staff. It was not exactly a style of fighting that he would personally teach, but to each his (or her) own.

To Viktor, "Thibault and I will check on the attackers that are left behind." He nodded to Thibault to get started on it before turning back to the court historian. "Help everyone else get ready to leave. Even if we were not surrounded by dead bodies, I'd rather get out of here as soon as possible."

Approaching William, Fayalin, and Kiten, he said to the latter of the three, "Make sure the unconcscious man is tied up - I don't want him trying to escape when he wakes up for his interrogation."

A brief look to the hardened mound told him that the hydra appeared to still be trapped, but the lack of noises from within it said little else.

To Fayalin, "Perhaps we can ask the Oracle about those men. Another reason to move quickly, before they can attack us again."

Back to the drow, "We're close to the river that divides this side of the Protectorate from the side that Aervyn is on. Do you sense which way the girl has been taken? If they crossed the river and continued toward Aervyn, then we'll lose several days going in that direction instead of south. As much as I would like to help that girl, there appears to be other things of more import happening at the moment, and we may have to bypass Aervyn altogether."

William motioned to Tovius, asking him for help in dealing with the unconscious one while the other two worked. Once they were out of earshot of the others, including the drow, William spoke up, not looking at Tovius so as to not make it appear that he was holding an intentional conversation.

"Centurion, I have a question for you. When all of this is said and done, I would like to know, would the Republic be willing to grant political asylum to a former Eringardé? The geäs placed on me means that I can, technically, return to my homeland, but the terms leave me nothing to defend myself and no hope of survival. Add to that the fact that my presence in the North will draw more and more attention to me, well, I'm sure you can work out the odds of survival for the next five years. I would be willing to some exchange for my safe passage." As William spoke, he tied off the wrists of the man, slowed by his injuries.

"And therein lies the problem. The methods I would use would be, shall we say, gruesome and some of this group are naive, and time seems to be a factor." He replied for his methods would leave a bloody husk, but it would take quite a while to get there. Kiten knew that few, if any of them, would be able to stand the process he'd use for his people had raised it to an art form. It took a special person to sustain the calculated cruelty it needed but what to those on the surface would regard as an loathsome depraved individual was the norm within the underdark. Having given his reasons why William got to do the interrogation, he moved away to let one of the more naive to tend to the man's injuries when the 'leader' strode up.

"From the sounds of it, you've already decided that if she's been taken across the river, she's been abandoned, so why does it matter what happens to her?" Kiten asked as he took a seat on a log before laying down on it.

Viktor nodded at his dismissal and letting his staff light up to give more than sufficient light to see where he was going he walked off to gather his own things first, small objects near to where he had been struggling to sleep and hunted down the odd bit that had been displaced in the fight. Then moved onto collecting Icarus' things and left those in a neat bundle beside the unconcious man. The hwole process only took a few moments and he as reappeared beside the nervous sounding Fayalin and Lanu he asked: "Do either of you require any help?"

Camp
Gaireth Protectorate

"Because it could make all the difference if she is still on this side of river," Tovius said flatly to the drow. "But it is obvious that you are not interested in helping her, or you're lying about your abilities to track her. POssibly both. In any case, forget about my request, it was a mistake to expect cooperation from you."

The centurion walked off with William, glad that Kiten was not one of his men, for he would loathe to have such an insubordinate soldier under his command. Had Kiten been one of his men, though, then Kiten would certainly receive a good thrashing. But that was not the case, and Tovius pushed it out his mind.

He glanced over to William when the mage asked his question. Then, realizing that William did not want to appear to be in a conversation, Tovius looked away. He was usually not one for subtlety, but he could catch on to it every now and then.

"In most cases, it shouldn't be a problem, especially if the person asking for asylum has something to offer the Republic in return. Standard politics. But I'm not sure how it would apply in your case. Most people who ask for asylum are usually being actively persecuted, to the point where they could be arrested unless asylum protects that person from it. But from the sound of your...geäs, was it? From the sound of it, your government is not actively hunting you down - they are simply not giving you a helping hand. If that's the case, then you can settle in the Republic without the need for asylum. To give you full notice, though, you will likely be watched by the Republic until it is assured that you mean the Republic and its people no harm."

Seeing that the prisoner is sufficiently tied up, he asked William, "Will you be able to interrogate him while we're moving, or do you prefer to remain stationary? I'd like to keep moving, but we can spare some time if you need us to stay put."

William nodded. "Thank you. As for him, well, I've been meaning to reacquaint myself with an old method I haven't used in a while, so I can do it, but I'll need both my horse, since this leg needs some time to rest, and another for our buddy here. And some rope so that I don't have to cut up a saddle to do it. The rest I can take care of."

The process wouldn't be pleasant for the captive, but it would be less exacting than what Kiten would do. Still, the man was only useful for what he knew, so Kiten's tender administrations might prove most useful.

"How long until the we make the river?" William asked as he grabbed the man with his good arm and started dragging him back towards the horses. "I need to know how long I have before I change tactics." He whistled, calling his mount to him.

Camp, Gaireth Protectorate

“I…” was all Fayalin managed to say in reply to William’s statement, and her gaze dropped to the ground beneath her. Deep down, she knew he was right; she should tell them what she was hiding, but the prospect of doing so terrified her almost as much as the prospect of being responsible for someone’s death. Indeed, it actually scared her more, as it was a more immediate and certain event, whereas no-one could say for certain if anyone would die because of her refusal to reveal her secret.

She barely heard the comment Tovius made about asking the Oracle about their assailants, and she mumbled a response automatically, without really thinking about what had been said. She slowly returned her things to her bag as William’s words played unceasingly inside her head. It was time to make a decision, she realised. If her visions were related to the group attacking them, the others had a right to know, since it was their lives at stake.

Reluctantly, she stood up and lifted her bag onto her shoulder. Glancing around the camp, she looked for Tovius among the group. She spotted him in conversation with William, though she could not make out the words. She approached hesitantly, waiting until the two had finished and William began dragging their prisoner away before closing on Tovius and speaking. “I… I have s-something I need t-to tell you,” she said nervously, her voice almost a whisper.

Kiten shrugged as Tovius stalked off, muttering and immediately regretted it due to his ribs. The centurion should've realized by now that not everyone came from his cookie-cutter people factory that he called a military. Dark elves were not the most inter-co-operative in the best of circumstances and those males who where not enlisted into the military were even less so. Amongst the assassins especially, when they did have to work together, the one in charge typically gave a reason for asking something as different tactics and specialites belonged to different people.

He decided to take a nap and see what had happened in a couple hours.

Camp
Gaireth Protectorate

Tovius said to William, "Our only other horse is carrying the supplies for the group, but I'll see if I can redistribute the items amongst us to free up the horse. The rope shouldn't be a problem."

How well the group members would fare while carrying heavy loads, on the other hand, might. Tovius was used to carrying heavy packs and going on long marches, but the civilians in this group likely were not - especially after the fight.

He glanced toward the east when William asked about the river, noticing the slight tinge of a lighter blue that indicated the sun would be up in a few short hours. Walking with the mage, he said, "I'd say an hour, hour and a half, depending on how everyone holds up."

When Fayalin approached and spoke up, he sensed nothing out of the ordinary. After all, it seemed to him like she was always nervous and uncertain. And plus, Tovius was not with the two of them when William told her he suspected she was hiding something.

He stopped walking and nodded to her. "Yes?"

When William realized how close the river was, he did a quick reassessment of his options. The nearby water meant that he could use a drowning simulation, and he wouldn't need the second horse. "Leave the pack horse. With the river this close, it'll be quicker for me to simply start then. It speeds us up, and is just enough time for me to soften him up."

Retrieving a long, flat board of appropriate dimensions, William inserted int between the man's arms and leg ties. As Fayalin approached Tovius, he nodded his approval before moving on. He was out of earshot, and while he could appreciate a reasonable degree of privacy, at least Fayalin was talking. Granted, Tovius was a bit of traditionalist thinker, and not the cynic that Will was, but then again, Tovius was in much better shape right now, and for whatever his arrogance, Will did have to begrudgingly recognize a logical claim to authority. Granted, he could follow through Hatriole lands, but it was too roundabout, and for whatever reason, they were intended to meet on Gaireth lands.

Turning back to the prisoner, now effectively tied to the plank of wood with his arms and the ropes around his ankles, he borrowed some extension of rope, tying the man to the back of his saddle. The short ride would serve to gently 'rock' him awake, though Will wasn't done yet. Knowing the propensity for rope to fray when moving against dry wood, he emptied his water skin onto the bonds that he and Tovius had tied. Soaking both the ropes and portions of the plank, it would keep the man secure. Wet ropes were incredibly difficult to break, and the softening of the wood would allow it to expand, dulling the corners and tightening the grip around the ankles. The expansion wouldn't be much, but then again, the man didn't have much room to give up, and this way neither of the ties would be coming undone.

William began whistling an old Eringaard tune, a joyful one that farmers often whistled while they worked. Considering what was about to happen, it was rather contradictory, but it helped pass the time.

Camp, Gaireth Protectorate

Even though she had Tovius’ attention now, Fayalin did not speak immediately. Instead she fidgeted with the hem of her cloak where her other arm emerged from beneath it, as she tried to find the right words to explain what had been happening, without sounding like she was mad. Eventually, she managed to form something that would have to do, since she wasn’t going to get anything better. She started talking, but her eyes were determinedly looking anywhere but at the legionary.

“S-since the d-d-day we met, I…” a brief pause, “I’ve b-been having these strange d-d-dreams. Th-they’re all the same; the land is d-dead around me, and th-there’s this thing on a p-pedestal in front of me. And w-when I pick it up, th-the land comes back to life. The f-first time I was on my own, b-but every t-time since then, you were there, and the others.” She gestured around the remains of their camp.

“After the f-first t-t-time I had the d-dream, there w-was this c-carving in my hand, w-which I’d n-never seen before,” she continued, one hand disappearing inside her cloak and re-emerging a moment later with the small wooden talisman in it, which she held out for inspection. “That was only a c-couple of hours b-before I met you.” Her face flickered as she tried not to remember the unpleasant events. “And then there was that t-t-time in the tunnels, w-when I knew which w-way to go. It was like s-someone was t-telling me which tunnel was the right one.” There was a long pause, before she added, “I… I think I’m having v-visions…”

She stopped, and finally looked up to meet the gaze of the other. Her eyes told him that she was utterly terrified of what he might say, and the glistening water showed that she was on the brink of bursting into tears.

Camp
Gaireth Protectorate

With a nod to the departing William, Tovius said quickly to him, "Let me know if I should keep some distance between the rest of us and your...work."

Turning back to Fayalin, he waited for her to speak. But with each passing second of silence, his patience began growing thinner. His soldiers would not waste his time like this, fidgeting about. Then again, she was a civilian from an isolated forest town, not one of his men. So he waited with renewed patience for Fayalin to say what she wanted to.

His face was unreadable while she talked as he looked from her face to the talisman and back to her face. Only until after she had finished did his brows furrow in tought, and his eyes returned to the object in her hands.

"Eovia... That explains..." the legionnaire began whispering. He looked up and about, scanning the horizons before looking directly in her eyes. "Things may be more dire than I expected, if a goddess is involved - and from what you just said to me, I have reason to believe that the goddess is very much involved. Walk with me."

Tovius started for the main camp area at a quick pace. "Have you received any messages, instructions, anything of the sort, during any of these visions?" he asked her.

Spotting Lanu, he waved at the dark man and said, "Please wake up those who have gone back to sleep, and have everyone ready to leave immediately. And you know how to disguise tracks, right? I'd like you to hide our trails if you can. But not yet; I'll tell you when once we get closer to the fork between Aervyn and the southern road."

Moving along, he beckoned to Viktor to follow them as he headed toward Elva. He then said to the elf, "I wish to ask a question. Since you are well attuned to nature, do you know of anything that can turn a dead land into a living one in a short span of time? It's some kind of object that sits upon a pedastal, and Eovia may have some interest in it."

Looking to Viktor, "Or have you heard or read of anything like that in your capacity as a scribe for your people?"

Viktor saw Tovius beckon and quickly moved to join them, for a moment he looked deep in thought and then said: "Part of my duty has always been to examine all prophecies from each land, you may think it a waste of time but there would appear to be some truth to this one at least..." Viktor fell silent for a second: "There is a prophecy of ours which states that at one time our lands will come under threat and only a relic from a foreign god can save it, protecting us like a shield would it's wielder. It could refer to your Eovia."

He paused for a moment before continuing trying to remember it make sure he recalled it correctly: "One of your own Tal'theren prophecies that your land will suffer from a grave disturbance in the natural scheme of things. The prophesied timings and some other specifics lead me to believe that these two prophecies coincide, and may describe the situation we find ourselves in."

Almost imediately after he finished explaining his curiosity and perhaps suspicion kicked in. "Where have you recieved this sudden intelligence, has the oracle appeared once again? or something else perhaps?"

Camp, Gaireth Protectorate

Fayalin was silent for a moment as she walked alongside the legionary, trying to remember what exactly had been in her visions.
“I don’t think so…” she said, eventually. “After I met you, you j-just appeared in the vision; there was n-nothing else.” Her stammer had noticeably diminished now that she knew Tovius believed her. “And when we were in the t-tunnels, there wasn’t even a vision. I could just feel which way to go. And ever since that n-night, I’ve had this feeling of pain, b-but it’s not mine. I think Eovia is in pain,” she finished quietly.

There was a pause, then she suddenly spoke up again. “No, wait a m-minute. There w-was a message, when you rescued me from the bandits.” She shuddered involuntarily at the memory. “It was…” a brief pause, as she tried to remember the exact words of the message, “‘In day they hide, in night they show. When life has died, their numbers grow,’ it said,” she told him, speaking the words of the message very slowly and clearly, and completely without stammering, though she didn’t notice that.

When Tovius spoke to Viktor and Elva about what she had told him, she remained very quiet, and was unconsciously hiding herself behind the legionary to some extent, to try and shield herself from any questions about her involvement in the new information behind Tovius’ questions.

"Don't worry," said William, preparing to depart. "With the river so close, I'll just head there now, and go up river enough to make sure that I can spare the young ones some unpleasantness."

Having tied the plank to his saddle, William climbed onto his horse and set off for the river, looking over the tall grass for any sign of attack, natural or otherwise. The chance of another attack was slim on the group, but alone, he was at a greater risk.

Once the river was in sight, he scanned the bank before finding a sufficiently sized rock that far enough away to prevent any muffled screams from reaching the others when they moved. And with water close enough by, he would have all the resources he needed to start the interrogation. It was technique that relied on keeping the man immobilized as he was, with the board set so that his feet were elevated. Then, one simply began pouring water over the face, normally leaving the nose covered to allow breathing. However, the subject would think he, or rarely she, was drowning, and the psychological toll was extreme. If that didn't work, then William would simply wait for the boat ride, and slowly drip water on the man's head until he told everything.

As William traveled to his chosen spot, he smelled the air, knowing that the beautiful day ahead would be lost on himself, and the man that had the answers to his questions.

Camp
Gaireth Protectorate

Tovius did not say anything when Fayalin told him the...riddle? Prophecy? He simply tried to memorize it before beginning the conversation with the others.

When Viktor spoke, the legionnaire fell silent in thought.

"Something else," he said in reply to the mage's question. A look to Fayalin, and Tovius said, "It appears that Fayalin here is receiving messages from the gods. Eovia, in particular. And I believe I saw Eovia's power in action before to protect Fayalin from those bandits several weeks ago-" he glanced at Elva, "-I would think that those vines came from you, but you and Lanu did not show up until some time after that."

Back to Viktor, "Do those prophecies say anything else? If the prophecies are connected, and they are talking about what is happening now, then the more information we have, the better."

"And if you can think of anything that may prove helpful, Elva, please don't hesitate to share it."

Looking around at the camp, Tovius judged that everything was sufficiently packed up and everyone looked ready to go. "Let's move out," he said to the others. William has gone on ahead, we'll catch up to him at the river. Thibault, if you can please bring up the rear."

To get everyone going, he grabbed the reins of the pack horse and gently pulled on it to start up the horse, guiding it down the road to the Ael River. He briefly wondered if he should do anything about the dead bodies of their assailants - say, burying them - but quickly dismissed it.


Ael River
Gaireth Protectorate

It was still early when William reached the river with his prisoner, so the ferries were not yet in service. But the spot that the mage selected was far enough away from the ferry docks that it did not matter whether the ferries were running or not, as no one was likely to hear any screaming coming from William's victim.

And scream he did. Cold, wet, tightly bound, and blindfolded, the attacker turned captive soon awoke from his drug-induced stupor, gagging and choking from the water that covered his face and went into his mouth.

Ael River

"Stop the screaming," William asked politely, setting the water skin down. "The human body is an interesting thing. Did you know that your emotional and cognitive functions are controlled in your brain? Funny, how we talk about love conquering the heart, yet what we feel occurs in our heads. We don't know all the specifics, but it turns out that brain injuries are what cause emotional destabilizations." William waited for the man to stop sputtering, letting the man catch his breath.

"You see, the water entering your mouth is not sufficient to drown, at least how I've been pouring it. But the downwards flow over your nose tricks your mind into thinking you're drowning. Want to see how long it takes for your mind to learn differently? I've never yet had it happen before, since I get my information before we ever get to the point of resistance."

Pouring another amount of water on the man's face, simply to further weaken him, William plucked a few nearby blackberries to eat. By temporarily restraining his questions, he provided no anchor of resistance, no reason for which the process was being done.

"Tell me what you know. Why were you attacking us? Who was the man that was leading you? Why did you want the girl? Oh, and apologize for the arrow. My leg is gonna be sore, which means more horse-riding for me." William waited, ready to pour more water on if the man didn't tell him what he wanted.

Ael River
Gaireth Protectorate

The man tried to hold out as long as he could, holding his breath until he was turning purple and had to gasp for air, which only gave William an easier shot at getting water in the man's mouth.

"Farìus," he finally sputtered out, shivering in the cold wetness. "I don't know what -choke- he wants with 'er, I swear! I just do what I'm told!"

Kiten was slow to rise for his injury slowed his body but not his senses as he tilted his head to stare at Lanu's approach. Sitting up, he gently pressed a finger along his ribs to detect which one, or ones, had been fractured. Following behind the others, he slowly began falling behind until he presented a well back rear-guard rather than his former position. He did however as he walked, begin 'playing' with a knife in a manner that a street preformer would love to emulate.

William was satisfied with the man's response, but just to be sure, he poured more water on and repeated his request. When the man reinforced the story, this time with more pleading, Will knew that he had gotten all he would acquire. He took his poisoned sword, and after getting a nice, heartfelt apology for the leg wound, he poked the man's right thigh. Will needed to know just how deadly his sword had become, since there was no quantifiable guide for lethality when it came to bonding this type of poison to weapons. Viktor might have some reference, but there was no substitute for an on-hand test. Besides, the man had no other use, and Will was a pragmatist in these matters.

The poison on William's blade was slow to take effect, but take it did, and the restrained prisoner was dead before too long.

After he met up with the rest of the group, no one was able to find any traces of Vanion or of Caeli, so Tovius made the decision to give up the chase. With Lanu disguising their trail, they headed south to the Arii River.

Generally flat fields slowly rose and dipped until the countryside undulated with grassy hills. For nearly two weeks the ten journeyed through these lands, all while the bright of the full moon faded into the dark of the new one. The untamed fields were withered and dying, but the farther they got from Eavana, the better the wild grasses looked.

Hope began growing in the legionnaire, as perhaps things may not be as bad as it seemed back at Eavana. Yet something nagged at him, telling him that this hope may be short-lived. But they met with no further aggression, which certainly bolstered spirits and allowed the wounds from the most recent bandit attack to heal properly.

The sound of rushing water began filling the air, and the legionary patrols in the area reported no major activity along the Tal'theran/Hatriole borders, although that did little to ease Thibault. Acquiring passage on a river boat, they started making much better time, and those who were not used to prolonged travel by foot earned a brief respite.

The river boat was floating down the Arii River one day, about midway between where the group boarded it and where the coast was, when Tovius looked to the south and saw a plume of black smoke coming from the eastern side of the river. Something was happening farther down on the Tal'theran half of the shore, just out of the sight due to a large bend in the river.

He looked back over his shoulder to where some of the others were standing on the deck. "Elva, Icarus. Do either of you sense anything from the land over there?"

Icarus nodded, "The earth trembles... large numbers have amassed on the shore down river. What they're doing there, I couldn't tell you."

He eyed the smoke rising from beyond the bend warily. Few of the powers in this area were friendly to the Eringaardé.

Meanwhile, Laun stood at the railing of the deck, and watched the smoke coil high into the air. The scent of it hung in his nose. As he watched, he was oblivious to a small flame dancing across his fingertips.

Elva trembled as she felt the screams reach her mind. "I feel it too... the trees scream out in horror as the land shakes. They dread their end. Fire approaches their roots..."

The image of trees pulling back despite their rooted positions haunted her mind as flames flickered in her eyes, a cleansing but natural enemy of the flora. A light burn couldn't wipe out the underbrush to allow the trees to grow, but this was an inferno knocking on their doorstep.

"We must help. It will consume them all..."

Arii River
Tal'theran/Hatriole Border

Tovius nodded to confirm that he heard the two before going to the captain of the boat to persuade him to move the vessel faster. Soon the rowers double-timed it but it still took another quarter of an hour before the craft rounded the bend.

Farther down the river was a Tal'theran village surrounded by a thin population of trees. The village looked to be recently devasted, with walls torn down and much of the buildings still burning down. The fires were slowly but steadily spreading outwards from the dried grass and would reach the light undergrowth of the surrounding trees shortly. The only people in the village were a number of still bodies that littered the ground, but none of them gave any indications of life.

"Beach along the shore there," Tovius said to the captain.

"What? No!" said the captain. "It's dangerous there. I'm not putting my ship in harm's way!"

Tovius glared hard at the captain. "I am a centurion of the XIIth Legion. Do you wish to obstruct legionary business?"

The captain opened his mouth to say something back, but thought better of it. Grumbling, he brushed past Tovius and ordered the boat to beach along the shore by the village.

After some more rowing, the boat rumbled as it grated across the pebbles of the river bed and came to a stop. Grabbing his shield, Tovius jumped off the side of the boat and landed on the wet shore a few feet below. He warily approached the closest of the still bodies, watching out for potential threats from both ambushers and the still body itself.

It was a boy, perhaps ten years of age, lying with his face down. A gash ran diagonally across the boy's back, and the clothing around the wound was red with blood. Tovius kneeled next to the boy and reached out to turn him over. As he did so, the boy gasped in air, surprising the legionary and causing him to instinctively reach for his sheathed sword. Instead of drawing it out, though, he instead looked back behind him and shouted, "Fayalin, this one's alive. See what you can do for him."

Looking back down at the trembling boy, he said in his normal volume, "Don't worry, I'm a legionnaire. Who did this to you?"

The boys lips quivered and he looked like he was about to burst into tears. Tovius realized that he was not going to get anything out of the boy, at least not while the boy was in this state. "Fayalin will tend to your injuries," he said before standing back up to look for someone else who might be able to provide him with some answers.

The fires, meanwhile, had reached the line of trees and were just starting to lick the trunks.

A truism, amongst assassins and others like them, was that if you were being watched, then you were walking dead. A simplistic and brutal view, but a very accurate one for if a target, or thier guardians could see you, then chances of completing a mission or even survival plummeted to next to nothing. As such many successful assassins began to develop a sense of when they were being observed, even if they couldn't see anyone who might see them.

Kiten felt it as an itch between his shoulderblades and reached into his cloak to draw a pair of curved and wickedly sharp daggers. "I wouldn't care to much about that child at the moment. Something is here and it is unlikely to be a friendly something." He muttered as he began scanning buildings and likely hiding places. There was something that watching him, which offended him and more annoying was it's talent for concealment.

Viktor had upto this point been attempting to relax inside the ship, but it was not his preferred method of travel and he had not truely been comfortable since they started moving, so when that movement stopped more than just curiosity drove him up to the deck and what he saw was not what he expected or hoped, to be sure it was hardly his problem if a foreign village had been attacked, but regardless it seemed that Tovius had decided to investigate and Viktor may as well try to get this hopefully minor detour over with as quickly as possible.

He hopped off of the boat and looked around, having firm ground under his feet again felt strange, after a moment he levelled his gaze at the village and began to make intricate gestures, what he was doing quickly became clear as water from the river behind him formed into globes and moved through the air before drenching the flames, starting with those closest to the river and focusing primarily on what was left of the village. If there were any survivors of this attack - which at first glance seemed unlikely - they would appreciate having something to go back to.

Save for a snide glare, Thibault had remained silent and inactive. He didn't like his advice to be ignored, and more so by privileged mages. Petty, perhaps, but a bandit has little need to be anything but.

Something suddenly awakened in him, that smell, that nauseating aroma so familiar. Out of instinct he clutched his sword ready to pounce on the wounded remnants of the population. However, the sight of Tovius tending to a wounded child, quickly reminded the brigand of his place.

Something pulled his attention towards the shoreline. The most subtle things were out of place: rocks pushed aside in several spaced patterns, the shore greeting the water in an unusual form.

"Tracks." Thibault announced to no one in particular. "I can't make them out too well, but the fact I can make them out at all, means they're very fresh. There's a lot of them..."

The leather hilt of his sword squealed as he clenched his grip in frustration.

William landed solidly on his left leg, the right still stiff from the bandit raid near the Ael River. At least his arm was healed, and he had been practicing with it for the past week to return it to its former condition. He walked along the shore, noting the oddly jagged shore line, stepping out of the way of one of Viktor's spheres of water before stepping into the recesses of the shore. Boats had been run up to the shore, likely raiders.

"Thibault, those tracks, can you tell where they lead? Looks like there were boats here." Scanning the water for any sign of the boats, Will drew out his blade, the poisoned one that he had marked by altering the pommel with two unique characters.

Arii River
Tal'theran/Hatriole Border

"Likely Hatriole tracks," Tovius said as he glanced at the ground that Thibault was looking at. "This wouldn't be the first time they raided across the border."

All of the other bodies strewn on the ground were lifeless. The centurion would get no information save for what the injured boy had to offer.

The fires were slowly being put out by Viktor's water globes, and the black smoke soon gave way to that of gray steam.

A branch moved against the breeze. It was on a tree farther back in the woods, safe from the previously encroaching fire. The movement was so slight that it was imperceptible to Tovius.

"I'm no tracker," Tovius continued, "but by the looks of the tracks there are far more people than we ought to confront by ourselves. The legion must have noticed the smoke and someone should be coming to investigate. We'll wait for the legion to arrive and let them take care of the survivor before we resume going downstream."

As with the trip from Penrhyn to Eavana, Fayalin was glad they had eventually acquired a boat to hasten their journey, and rest their feet. On most of the evenings since the bandit attack, after they had made camp for the night and then at various times throughout each day after they had boarded the boat, she had pestered someone, usually Tovius, to try and teach her how to use her staff to defend herself. She had proven a determined, if rather inept student, but she could now at least wield the staff in a vaguely convincing manner, though she struggled to find the resolve to actually hit someone with enough force to injure them.

When Tovius noticed the smoke to the South, Fayalin had been sat in the shade out of the way, slowly drifting off to sleep and thinking of home. The sudden increase in activity broke through her reverie though, and she joined the others to see what was going on. As they approached the source of the smoke, close enough to realise there was a village there, she disappeared briefly to collect her healer’s bag, then watched the devastation close in with a hand at her mouth in horror.

She knew that any injured people in the village would be her responsibility, so after the boat had grounded and Tovius jumped off to rush in and search for survivors, she carefully disembarked from the boat as well. She hurried over to him when he called for her, and knelt down beside the young boy. She cautiously pulled back the material of the boy’s shirt, so she could see the wound more clearly, and opened her bag to begin treating him.

“Hello. My name is Fayalin. I’m here to help you,” she told him softly, “What’s your name?” she asked, before looking round to the others. “I need some hot water,” she said loudly, to instruction addressed to whoever was listening. She pulled a cloth bundle from her bag, unfolded it and selected one of the leaves of the pain-killing herb. “Suck this for me, please,” she instructed the boy, gently pushing the leaf into his mouth. “It will help lessen the pain.”

There was a long silence as Thibault glared down at the slightly misshapen shore.

"It's impossible to tell." He admitted before raising his eyes toward the horizon. "However, any raider would have some kind of home base, and I imagine they would nestle themselves along the shore. I am certain we'll cross either them, or those who know of them."

His ears twinged as Tovius estimated the numbers they were against.

Your father never reared from a battle, but I suppose that is why I am crippled, and he is lost altogether.

Thibault slouched against a collection of large rocks, blade resting on his shoulder, he began humming a limerick he had learned when he was young.

Arii River
Tal'theran/Hatriole Border

The gash along the back was a clean cut and was fairly shallow, but the boy had lost a lot of blood already. So much so that it was surprising that he was still alive. He was pale, cold, and shivering when Fayalin got to him.

"Ei...Ei...Eidolos," the boy stammered before Fayalin pushed the leaf into his mouth.

Tovius said, "Lanu, you can create controlled fires, right? So that they won't spread and create more work for Mister Zhalfus there? Please help Fayalin with the hot water. William, if you and Icarus wouldn't mind keeping watch in case whoever did this to the village comes back, I'd appreciate it."

He did not bother asking anything of the drow, as he had a feeling the drow would either ignore him or give him an attitude for it.

The legionnaire then knelt down by Thibault, allowing him to speak to the other man on a face-to-face level but still be able to jump to his feet quickly should the need arise. Speaking quietly to keep from unnecessarily worrying the others, he said, "As the most combat experienced person here, I refer to you. As you just said, it is likely that we may come across whoever attacked this place. If we run into the main party, then we would be greatly outnumbered. At least on land, we would be able to better defend ourselves, but it could happen while we are back on the boat. Do you have any suggestions on how to even those odds?"

The branch in the forest swayed against the breeze ever so slightly once again before returning to normal.

"We'll need to use the terrain to our advantage." Thibault replied quietly his eyes darting swiftly in the direction of the forest. "I'll leave that in your hands, as for me, I'm going to go look around."

Standing slowly, the brigand placed his hand on Tovius' shoulder.

"Keep in mind we only need to buy enough time for the Legion to arrive." He added drawing a slick grin before dashing off towards the woods.

Something's still here, just gotta give them enough time to prepare.

The blade screamed sharply as he yanked it from it's sheath, then began whistling softly as the air rushed through it's intricate design.

Viktor hesitated as he saw Thibault dart off into the woods, the globes he was moving hovering in the air as he diverted his attention elsewhere, several people seemed a little on edge and he was beginning to feel it too. Looking around he noticed the globes still hovering there and waved them off to put out a few more fires before stopping, what little was left would soon die out of it its own accord.

He approached Tovius: "Are we under threat waiting here?" he asked with a wave in the direction Thibault had run off in, they were after all extremely open to attack here, with a few of their number still on the boat and the ones on the shore scattered.

(OOC: Lets get something going if we can)

William turned to acknowledge Tovius's command when he noticed an odd swaying of a tree branch. Turning back, he scanned the opposite bank, moving along so that he crossed the drow's path.

"In the trees, beyond the fire. Somebody's climbed up there."

Leaving it at that, stood by Icarus, facing the opposite direction. "You ready?" he asked, spinning his blade in his hand.

Elva, after disembarking from the boat and surveying the chaotic scene, felt slightly helpless. There was little she could too in the present situation, though she did remind herself that she helped save the trees by warning the party of their impending doom. Fighting or tracking as many of the others were considering was not something she could do in her presently depleted state unless her life was in serious jeopardy. Shapeshifting into a large animal capable of fighting would require more energy than she had to give for another few days.

And I can't heal either... Elva thought as she watched Fayalin attend to an injured boy. But then a thought came to her. She couldn't heal people, but that didn't mean she couldn't 'heal' nature - that was part of her repertoire. It isn't much... she thought as she closed her eyes and extended her arms to her side. Around her, the burned grass and singed flora began to grow back as if no harm had ever been done. In fact, it was healthier and greener than it had appeared in many months.

"There... that's something."

Arii River
Tal'theran/Hatriole Border

"Are we under threat waiting here?"

"We could be under threat anywhere," said Tovius. "But yes, we have more reason to be wary here than elsewhere. Whoever did this could come back."

Seeing that Viktor's water globes have taken out the fires that once threatened the surrounding trees and the ruins of the village proper, the centurion said, "Rest up, we may need your special abilities soon. But if we are fortunate, we will encounter a legionnaire first, who can provide us with better information on what is going on here and who can take the survivor off our hands. It's better to wait a while longer for that information than to head blindly downriver."

Taking note of those who were already busy doing something and those who were not as busy, Tovius gestured to Lanu and Icarus to join him and Viktor. "We have indications that a large group of people moved off into the forest and that they likely came from boats on the bank. Seeing as how none of those boats are in sight any longer, I'd wager that a group of them stayed in the boats and moved elsewhere, so we could be facing a small army on both sides. Mister Zhalfus, you appear to have a way with water, so if you can keep attention on the river, and Icarus, if you can keep watch along the forest perimeter, then between the two of you disrupting any potential attacks, the rest of us may be able to hold out against a larger force."

Moments after Elva did what she could to restore the local environment, a breeze stirred up some pollen which floated over to the elf. Holding in place a couple of feet in front of Elva's face, the pollen took on the rough form of a small, half-foot tall woman. "Beware," it said to the druid, "for the firestarters are near." With another breeze, the pollen dispersed and disappeared.

As Thibault approached the tree, the movements became more agitated until the snapping of thinner branches were heard. With a few grunts, someone fell out of the tree and landed hard on their back. A young man, barely old enough to avoid being called a boy and sporting his first fluffs that would later grow into a beard, groaned. He wore a tan-colored hide, in a style that Thibault would recognize as a Hatriole scout, a detached unit of a larger raiding or even a war party.

Coming to his senses and seeing Thibault's continued advance, he grabbed the horn that hung on a strap around his shoulder and brought it up to his lips.

A shingle shriek screamed as the blade swung into the boy's neck. Thibault stared into the boy's fading eyes for a single moment, a guilt ridden eternity seemed to have passed before a a gurgled warning blared into the skies.

"Shit!" Thibault shouted before removing the blade and swiftly finishing the kill. All the anger towards himself poured into the next wild flurry of slices; hacking madly into the remaining grunts and shortly after, the earth.

The long haired veteran fell to a knee over the boy panting heavily.

I didn't- I didn't have a choice. It was you or me, and better you than me right? That's just the way of the world.

A hundred questions should have been racing through his mind: "Did their reserve hear the alarm? Where is the best defensive position? Is their any intelligence in their possession?" Instead his mind was wrapped around the phrase: "I'm sorry."

Moments after Elva did what she could to restore the local environment, a breeze stirred up some pollen which floated over to the elf. Holding in place a couple of feet in front of Elva's face, the pollen took on the rough form of a small, half-foot tall woman. "Beware," it said to the druid, "for the firestarters are near." With another breeze, the pollen dispersed and disappeared.

As the flower girl appeared before and then disappeared after delivering its message, Elva glanced around nervously in fear that the spirit's warning was true. Never before had they failed her, and this one came to her without calling it, making the danger and urgency all the greater. Nature's spirits feared and were caring for their Mother and Elva would be their angel of protection.

"Guys," Elva said meekly at first before gaining her confidence and repeating it louder. "I think they're coming back... the ones that did this. We should be prepared." Unfortunately, fire was the greatest conqueror of nature, especially when it was being controlled by man, and she was relatively helpless against it. The orbs of water would have to do their job if the flames started anew.

Without waiting for further response, Elva closed her eyes and concentrated deeply on her inner energy, matching it to the vibrations felt throughout the forest. In a twirl of brilliance and sparkles, the druidess disappeared into thin air and took the form of a snowy eagle. She beat her wings heartily and rose higher into the air. Propelling herself forward, she screamed across the sky, using her now enhanced eagle eyes to scan the forest floor for enemies. She circled the area, ready to alert her companions any way she could if she caught sight of the firestarters.

“That’s a nice name,” Fayalin told the boy, “Well, Eidolos, don’t you worry. I’ll have you all better in no time.” The words rang hollow on her own ears though; she could tell that the child had lost a lot of blood. She did not share the opinion she had just given him, and she knew that his survival was essentially out of her hands already. She could heal the wound to his back, she was fairly sure of that, but if he had lost too much blood, or if the blade had been poisoned, then there was very little she could do to help.

She removed two small boxes from her bag in preparation to treat the slash wound, then looked around to see if anyone was responding to her instruction for water. No-one that she could see appeared to be doing so though, in fact most of her companions were close together, apparently conversing about something. She noticed two of their number were not in sight, and guessed that they were keeping a lookout in case the people who had attacked the village came back.

“I’ll be right back,” she said softly, touching the boy gently on the arm before standing up and walking over to Tovius. “I n-need some hot water t-to clean that boy’s wound before I can dress it,” she told the legionnaire again as she approached, “or it will probably g-get infected…” she trailed off when she caught the end of what he was saying to the others. “A-are they c-coming back?” she whispered.

Arii River
Tal'theran/Hatriole Border

Tovius' head snapped toward the direction of the horn blow. It was cut short, probably by Thibault, but it was enough for the legionnaire to notice. Holding back some unsavory words, he simply nodded to what Elva had to say.

To Fayalin, "It's getting more likely, yes. I'll start a fire for you-" He glanced quickly at Viktor and the white eagle in the sky and added, "A small, contained campfire. Excuse me for a moment."

He approached their beached boat and spoke briefly with the captain before climbing back onto it and disappearing below decks. When he reappeared, he was carrying a small bundle and a cooking pot. Tovius jumped off the boat as the captain gave orders to his crew to push off from the shore.

"They're getting ready to take off," the centurion said as he got back to the group. "In case we need to make a hasty retreat from here."

Grabbing a few pieces of lightly charred wood, he kneeled down and opened the bundle to reveal a piece of flint and some tinder. Pulling out his dagger, he set to work on producing a flame. After a few unsuccessful attempts, the tinder finally started smoldering and Tovius gently blew on it until it burst into flames before placing the smaller pieces of wood on it. "Here you go," he said to Fayalin before standing up. "Have the boy ready to board the boat immediately when I tell you to, or we will have to leave him behind."

“But…” started Fayalin, wanting to complain that even if she could clean and dress the boy’s wound, he probably shouldn’t be moved for a while. However, she knew that Tovius wouldn’t agree with her, and he was probably right. “I-I’ll do my best…” she acknowledged eventually. She knelt down to the small fire and carefully added a few more pieces of wood, then picked up the cooking pot Tovius had left her and hurried over to the river to fill it.

A minute later she had the pot set on top of the fire, which was now burning fiercely. As she waited for the water to heat up, she found a piece of cloth in her bag and checked she had everything that she needed ready. She was very conscious of the fact that they had little time, but she couldn’t make things go any faster than they were. It seemed like ages before the water started to boil, but she knew it couldn’t have been more than a couple of minutes. As quickly as she could, with a brief warning that it would hurt, she began cleaning the boy’s wound with the cloth, dipping it in the water every so often to wet it again.

When the wound was as clean as she could get it, she opened one of the boxes, took a pinch of the powered root from within and sprinkled it along the entire length of the laceration. Then she took the other box and smeared some of the salve it contained over the wound, her free hand holding the boy down to prevent him from struggling too much. With that done, the boxes quickly disappeared back into her bag, and she brought out a roll of bandage. She quickly glanced round at her companions, to see if anything was happening, then hurriedly began to wrap the bandage around the boy’s torso.

As Elva the snowy owl made what may have well been her twentieth or even thirtieth wide arcing circle around the general area, something caught her attention in the distance. Her owl eyes, used generally by the species to catch sight of tiny mice scurrying on the ground below, had no problem picking up the large movements of a tiny army on the horizon. Even through the canopy, the march forward was easy to detect, though exactly how many and their intention could not be divined.

Cutting away from her loop, she dived down towards the group and let out a little screech as she zoomed by. She rose up in the air again and proceeded to dive bomb past them again. Hopefully they would understand the message. There would be no other logical reason for her actions as she suddenly cut towards the direction of the marching men and rose higher into the sky. She was going to get a closer look.

William noted the bird's flight, especially the two dips over a specific space. He bumped Icarus with his elbow, and pointed with his blade. "Time to go to work," he said. He approached the edge of the clearing, putting his back to a large tree, turning his head slightly to watch the direction of Elva's marker with his periferal vision. "Thibault," he called, restraining his voice from a shout that would carry any further than was necessary. "We've got a party moving in."

Viktor had taken the opportunity while they waited to seat himself resting against a low wall that was all that was left of one of the former houses to consider the possibilities of a conflict. If they were outnumbered, his abilities would be more useful covering there retreat by river than directly attacking there foes, Icarus and William could probably handle the offence.

He had not been seated long when Elva's screech brought him out of his reverie and prompted a sigh, it was likely they did not have long.

Arii River
Tal'theran/Hatriole Border

The boy that Fayalin was working on was cold but otherwise seemed to be in fairly well of, given the condition he was in. Surprisingly, he struggled little, only making an occasional sound or spasm of the arm.

Despite the bright, white owl form flying around during daylight, Elva went largely unnoticed by the group of men moving through the trees. They were well-armed, but lightly armored to make for quicker movement through the lands they were raiding. None of them were carrying any spoils of their most recent raid, though, further freeing them from the burden of carrying the weight around.

After Elva's confirmation that something was coming their way, Tovius did the last bit of preparation. But there was only so much you could do to prepare a poorly-denfensible position, and the rest of the time was spent readying his own mind and body for a likely fight.

When movement could finally be seen through the woods, Tovius alerted the other fighters in the group. To Fayalin, he said, "Start moving the boy to the boat."

The raiders already knew that someone was there, and so Tovius figured a sneak attack on the raiders would not be as effective - at least, not for himself. Lanu, Thibault, the Drow, and the others would have had a better chance of a surprise attack in such a situation. For himself, Tovius would stand in the open and attempt diplomacy. Should that fail, then he would need to rely on the others' surprise attacks to get the upper hand over the raiders.

"I am Centurion Veralion of the Republic's Twelfth Legion," he shouted to the figures clustering beneath the trees around the edge of the village. "I wish to speak with your leader."

Tovius waited, but the raiders did not respond. It appeared that they were talking to one another, but at this distance the legionnaire could not make out any of it. He was about to make his request a second time when one of the raiders let out a roar, shortly copied by all of the other raiders. From the sound of it, Tovius estimated the raiders to be at somewhere around a hundred men strong.

Before he could do much more, the horde of raiders surged forth from beneath the trees and into the village. Several ran straight for Tovius, while others spread out through the village, apparently in search for more legionnaires that could hiding in the debris.

The centurion pulled his shortsword out, spread his legs out one in front of the other, lifted his shield, and braced himself for the attack.