Lassara - Shards of Neril - Story Thread

Soldiers were swarming into the room now, entering the house through the whole in the wall where they were instantly greeted by two royal guardsmen and their swords. Both Rufus and Dietrich had their weapons drawn and were engaged with the intruders and Glungurd, who got the idea that these were the bad guys had already finished one with his hammer and the soldier he was fighting at the moment was actually more on the defense, clearly scared by the sight of a violent Odglok with a mighty weapon that would just crush any man. Alain was still trying to get that backdoor open, his sword ready though to protect the princess who he had shoved into a corner near him, to shield her from the attackers.

Irigo though, seemed not affected by what was going on around him. first he was bent on getting his hands on the young man who seemed shielded by some kind of weird power and now he had finally found the illusionist. Alaria's invisibility shielded her from everyone, except the red clad demon, which coul have almost been her downfall. No one saw what he was after when he followed her and Drax seemed to be preoccupied with the chaos that had gripped his mind. "Come little girl, come out!", the creature hissed and as Alaria turned around to face him, still believing to be invisible, he extended a hand towards the fay, again disrupting her illusion in a way that had to hurt the illusionist herself. Cowering on her knees now she couldn't run away from Irigo who was extending his claws towards the Alaria's now visible true form, ready to take his prey.

"Gotcha!", he hissed now but suddenly his face went into a pained expression when Glungurds heavy hammer came down onto the demon's forearm, crushing Irigo's bones with an audible crack.

"Leave her", the Odglok plainly told the demon, feeling compassion for the little girl and Irigo reassessed the situation. Open combat was not his strongest side and Vayne still needed to hear about the Necromancer in the woods, let alone this strange party. "Alright", another hiss and the demon whispered a word, the whole place went dark for a moment and when everyone was able to see again Irigo had vanished.

Most of this had only been noticed on the perimeter by the other people in the room. The two guardsmen, along with the mervenaries had disposed of most of the soldiers and suddenly, with a loud burst, Alain was able to break through that backdoor and he instantly pushed the princess outside. "Over here!", the captain yelled through the room.

Glungurd picked Alaria up and ran for the newly opened exit and both of the mercenaries followed, Rufus murmuring: "Come on, Kid", grabbing Drax' robe and pulling him along. Just as they exited the house another group of soldiers arrived and entered from the other side, surely to follow them on their heels when Alain shot his two guardsmen a glance and they both nodded, understanding his last order and readying themselves to hold the attackers until the princess was out of reach, before the group took off, towards the town's harbour.

By now, another hour or two had passed, and nightfall was now upon the duo. Gradually, the sounds of pursuit had died down, it seemed as if their plan had worked.

Guantano reached below to his water gourd, and removed the stopper, before taking a sip, sparingly drinking the precious water. As the moisture soothed his burning throat, Guantano re-stoppered the gourd, before fastening it back onto his belt. Licking his lips of any remaining moisture, Guantano said, "We will set up cold camp tonight Alyssa, on the off-chance that the demons are still around." The thought of a cold camp in the chilly nights of spring did not endear itself to him, much less Alyssa, but neither did getting set upon by bloodthirsty demons in the dead of night appeal to him. "We shall have to gather up some firewood and dead twigs. With a heavy dose of luck, we might just find a brace of hares out for a night roam and perhaps if not, just a gathering of berries."

Alyssa cocked her eye at him and asked, "Why would you want to go out to hunt tonight Guantano? Didn't you just say that we would hold cold camp tonight?"

Despite his tiredness, Guantano found the energy to laugh. "Why, for breakfast, my dear Alyssa! I strongly doubt that either of us would have the strength to go hunting tomorrow at dawn, and well, if we don't get food tonight, any fears of predators attracted by our catch will be purely secondary."

The grimness of the situation dawned upon Alyssa, who for a moment harbored nostalgia for the wonderful delights that Gunther had kept them preoccupied with. The thought of the boiled eggs and deliciously grilled bacon sprinkled with just the right amount of seasoning, washed down by honey ale was a mouthwatering delight that she would perhaps kill for now. "No worries milady, if all goes well I will be back in an hour or so with something that will keep you on your toes with excitement and anticipation." Venturing a wink at at her, he continued, "Perhaps you would be so kind as to look around for nice velvety soft sections of bushes for my sleeping area, since I happened to not be as well-graced as you to have my sleeping cot with me." His face now an expression of open mirth, Guantano continued, humor filling his tone, "Or if you wish to take a rest, the alternative is as equally preferable, or I might dare say, a more amenable choice in my opinion."

Balling her fists, Alyssa's expression grew from a slight frown to a clear visage of annoyance and irritation. Her eyebrows narrowed as her eyes darted for a second to her axe lying by the side.

Guantano held up a hand towards Alyssa, "Now now princess, it would not do to murder the man getting the food. As you might have deduced, it is in your own interests to find me a comfortable spot for resting. The last time I slept upon the cold hard earth was definitely not an enjoyable experience." Making a show of shrugging, Guantano noted with a mischievous grin, "The choice is up to you my dear, but either way I win and I'm happy with both options." Setting down his gear by hers, he grabbed her shortbow and a quiver of arrows. "Don't mind if I do milady." Walking off into the forest, Guantano smiled broadly, despite his tiredness. Teasing Alyssa had definitely become his favorite past-time.

Angrily muttering something under her breath about chauvinistic male boars and something about carving a second face with an axe, Alyssa nevertheless set out finding the desired objects, absentmindedly wondering whether there were brambles nearby.

A lilting melody in the very heart of nature awaited Guantano as he awoke from slumber, rubbing his eyes as he yawned and stretched, the bed of leaves rustling as he did so.

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Sitting up with a broad smile, he was pleased to note that they were still alive, a beautiful morning too. Not too far away a brown-breasted thrush perched upon a sturdy branch, singing to its hearts content. Suddenly twitching, it took off, flapping its delicate black wings rapidly as it swooped down onto a yellow tinted flower, and in one swift motion, pecked at a spotted red beetle crawling on it. One could scarcely believe that only the previous night they were on the run in this peaceful forest from a pack of ravenous demons for their very lives.

Guantano glanced over at Alyssa, who still lay fast asleep upon her cot, the lines of worry and anxiety that often marked her face in her waking moments not present, her expression relaxed. Her soft features lay in contrast to the steel within her, and Guantano wondered what harsh events might have shaped her into what she was now. Thinking back to the night before, Guantano knew that something in her past had troubled her deeply, perhaps even now. As the cold spring breeze blew, she stirred slightly, her lips parting with a tiny sigh, but she did not awaken. Standing up, Guantano gingerly brushed off the leaves on his clothing, and carried the softest of the leaf blankets over to Alyssa, spreading it over her, taking care to make as little noise as possible.

Tip-toeing to a log upon the ground, Guantano retrieved the two hares that he had stored under a pile of rosemary and sage that he had found in his hunt, placed to disguise the smell of the kill. Sitting down and drawing his skinning knife from his belt, Guantano then proceeded to skin and dress the hares, removing the offal and other innards, leaving them in the wild as an offering of thanks for nature extending its bounty. Upon a small stack of twigs and small branches, Guantano set to work with his tinderbox, and within moments, he had brought to life a small warm orange glow upon the top of the pile. Gathering a handful of dried leaves at hand, he then placed them for the fire to consume and grow. Meanwhile, he cupped his hands around the glow, and blew gently and constantly. Soon, Guantano had nursed a sizable fire into life. Pleased with his handiwork, Guantano took a step back, before reaching into his pack for something else. Retrieving a cast iron pot and a simple wooden ladle, Guantano set it by the side first. Driving two sticks into the ground by the side of the fire before placing another overhead, connecting the two, Guantano then hung the pot from the thick wooden branch.

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It was sheer luck that he had discovered a small spring nearby during his hunt, for the sound of the water was gentle and light, and he would have missed it had he not literally stumbled upon it. Pouring his gourd to fill just enough of the pot, Guantano then stoppered his gourd before lightly jogging to the spring, arriving minutes later to refill. When he arrived back at the campsite, Guantano resumed his work at the fallen log, cutting the rabbit meat up into bite sized pieces. When that was done, he gradually chucked it all into the now boiling pot, along with the fresh herbs that he had found, stirring gently as the ingredients heated up. Taking in a deep breath, Guantano's lips lifted into a curve, clearly pleased. The growling of his stomach distracted him somewhat, but years of discipline as a mercenary allowed him to overcome his immediate needs.

Life was definitely looking up for the both of them.

Drax struggled to comprehend what he had seen as he stumbled with his ragtag group towards the harbour - the demon had somehow focused on him and would have no doubt killed him if the fey was capable of staying silent and intervention of the Voice in his head, which was disturbing to say the least, since he was fully aware of what had happened, instead of blacking out. For a brief moment, he saw the world as a tangled web of interconnected - lines? aetheric connections? fate? - through which he felt he could exert his limitless will to achieve anything he wanted. Compared to that, what he had learnt at the academy and indeed what he has read from arcane tomes appeared paltry and pedestrian.

That feeling however was gone in an instant and soon he was somehow bundled out of the room, barely able to open his eyes against the banality of the material world. Somehow he managed to run, despite his ears ringing with the the sounds of clashing swords and shouting and his mind an aching mess. Somehow he held on enough to reach the harbour, where they hoped their salvation would lie. When Drax struggled to open his eyes again to find out why they had stopped, he saw a group of soldiers surrounding the few ships and boats left - evidently the truly great merchantmen and cogs having fled already when news came of the impending battle and what ships remained were seen as too important to lose. But the soldiers were surprised, clearly ignorant of the fracas occurring in the middle of the city.

Their only chance now is to break through this little blockade of men and from somewhere deep within him, Drax sought whatever reservoir of power he had within him and tried to reach towards the invisible lines again. It was a futile attempt however, and all he could grasp in his mind was the after-images of that brief moment of power. This last exertion proved to be too much for his battered body and Drax collapsed onto the pebbled road, only his shallow breath betraying the fact that he is still alive.

Alaria let out a small snarl as she managed to snap out of her discomfort. The big...thing... (she didn't really know how to categorize it) was carrying her. It was warm there so she didn't really mind. Nevertheless, she kicked Glungard to get his attention and hopped off of his hold.

She glanced behind her to spot the group of soldiers chasing after her. She snapped her fingers, causing them all to stumble and look around in confusion.

"What's going on?" one of the guards asked.

"I tried to make them go in the wrong direction.... but it's hard to do that in this place... espescially since they were expecting it..." Alaria said. "They'll regain focus soon."

"What about the people in front of us?" the princess said hurriedly.

Alaria glanced at them. She took a moment to compose herself, feeding off of the princess's own confidence. For a moment, she could see the individual thoughts of the soldiers ahead. She understood all their drives and their fears.

"I can do it," she said. She extended her arms towards the group of soldiers.

The legs of the soldier closest to the group began to quiver as he dropped to the floor.

The second soldier dropped his weapons and ran away, screaming as invisible bees dug into his skin.

The third soldier hurriedly began sheathing and unsheathing his sword as if a drill instructor was screaming instructions into his ears.

Some of them simply broke down and cried.

The rest stood merely slightly unnerved, as if somehow thrust into an unknown situation. They looked away from the group as if paranoid, but otherwise stood their ground.

Alaria began to cough. She still held on tightly to the dagger. "I...can't... go... on anymore," Alaria said. "My mind's broken too far."

Before anybody could ask what she meant, she grabbed onto Drax and turned invisible. She would drag him across the lines and towards the harbor.

Alyssa opened her eyes slowly, for a moment oblivious to their situation. She heaved herself up into a sitting position and looked at Guantano busily cooking, and smiled.
"Well, this is a nice respite from the usual running," she mumbled, and stretched her body with closed eyes. Guantano found himself staring, but luckily Alyssa didn't seem to notice anything and instead laid herself back down on the cot, purring almost unhearably.

Sensing her awakening, Guantano turned his head, glancing at her. Alyssa's lithe body flexed lightly as she stretched, and Guantano caught himself staring at her, marveling at how toned, healthy and beautiful she looked, a pang of emotion stirring within him. Averting his eyes quickly, Guantano felt his cheeks burn ever so slightly even as he returned to his cooking. Continuing his stirring, he chanced a glance in her direction, and to his relief, found her oblivious, relaxing with an expression that could only be considered pure contentment. Ah. If only life could always be like this.

Lifting the ladle, Guantano's eyes lit up when he sipped gently at the hot stew. It was just right. Reaching out to grab the two clay bowls by his side, he ladled up a healthy portion of the stew, including a generous serving of meat and some of the greens that he had found while exploring a bit. Picking up the nearest bowl and a spoon, he leisurely strolled over to Alyssa's cot.

"Good morning milady! Today, on our menu we have rabbit stew, simmered with a gathering of the finest herbs in the region!" Guantano said, a smile on his face. Grinning widely, Guantano continued, "I must apologize for the lack of wine from the finest mountain vineyards of Yonal, we appear to have run out of stock. I trust that nevertheless this meal is to the expectations of your noble palate?" Kneeling down ever so slightly, he handed the bowl into her waiting hands, before he wryly observed, "Breakfast in bed, truly no luxury can compare."

Amalia shot a worried look at the fey before she turned invisible but there was no time to think about the obviously exhausted girl right now. It only took those guards who were still standing in front of them a few moments to regain their orientation and make towards the group of what seemed like mercenaries and given the state their obviously bewitched comrades were in, these guards were not in a talking mood.

Sword at the ready Alain calculated their chances, two mercenaries, an Odglok, a princess who was not used to fighting and two magic user, both obviously not in the shape to do anything useful. Against them stood eight guardsmen who were approaching and there was no telling how quickly the others would recover.

"What's your plan?", Rufus shot at the captain, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Ask me when we've survived these", Alain replied, pointing at the approaching soldiers, "we need to get out of here, maybe seize one of the smaller vessels, we can't sail a large ship anyway."

At that the soldiers were upon them, without even a word of warning the obvious leader of the group stormed towards Alain, bringing down his halberd that was easily parried by the captain's longsword. Another soldier stepped up to help his leader and the others spread up between the various member of the group, three of them attacking the two mercenaries who were guarding the princess and the other three weren't quite sure if they dared to attack Glungurd, who looked more dangerous than he probably was, angrily swinging his hammer from side to side.

"Try to break through!", the captain yelled over at Rufus and Dietrich, deflecting a stroke of the soldier's sword while he sidestepped the officer's halberd again, trying to get a better stand and return the attacks.

The fight continued.

"You know, I think that we should probably end this quickly." Rufus said to Dietrich.

Another blow deflected, sweat dripped down Dietrich's brow. "No :daisy:."

"No need to get nasty, I was just suggesting a logical course of action."

"Now's not the time."

"I think now is a perfectly good time to kill these folks. What do you think folks?"

The leader smiled as he landed another particularly strong blow on Rufus's sword. "No sounds like a good answer."

"I prefer yes..."

"No."

"Please?"

"Shut up and die."

"Can't we have a friendly fight to the death?"

Dietrich yelled at Rufus, "STOP PLAYING WITH HIM AND KILL HIM ALREADY YOU DUMB PIECE OF :daisy:!"

Rufus grumbled, took a step back and threw his sword at leader, who was not expecting it. He pushed the sword away, only to be jumped upon and stabbed with the daggers on Rufus's belt. A sword stabbed downwards into the soldier's back as Rufus rolled over the man now dead, and he now stuck under him.

"You are a :daisy:ing moron." Dietrich laughed. The fight continued onwards. The other guards were stil occupied by Dietrich. Rufus slowly crawled out from underneath the man, and pulled out his crossbow, firing and killing the last two guards.

"Now, where were we?"

Alyssa gratefully accepted the steaming bowl of stew. Her insides were screaming for food, even if her expression did not betray it except for the clear delight she took in sniffing in the aroma of the food. She smiled, "You're forgetting some of the most important details; The surroundings... And the company. If I settled for breakfast in bed without further ado, I'd be a vague and girly daughter of a nobleman." Her eyes smiled as she lifted the spoon to her mouth to taste the stew. "Mmmhm! And that is clearly not the case, as I'm sure both you and my parents have come to understand by now."

The right side of the pier was free now and Alain, finishing off one of the guards with aquick blow after a reposte, turned, looking at the mercenaries and Amalia: "Run! Try to make for one of the boats and get it ready to leave the harbor"

"You won't get away from us!", the officer now snarled and attacked more fiercely, throwing away his halber and drawing his sidearm longsword.

Drax, beingpulled along by an invisible hand, stumbled over to the mercenaries as well, while Glungurd swung his hammer in a circular fashion, breaking one of the soldier's spine with a single, crushing blow, another of them already lying at the Odglok's feet, the obviously fearsome warrior was now staring the last of his opponents right in the eyes and the soldier was apparently weighing the odds in his mind until he threw down his sword and took off, away from the group.

Alain used the short distraction of the officer in front of him, kneed him in the stomach and quickly brought the hilt of his sword down on the man's neck, knocking him out for the moment, before pulling Glungurd alon, following the rest of their group down the pier.

"I am most grateful that you enjoy my company Alyssa," Guantano said, a warm smile lighting up his face. Chuckling, he motioned towards the great big axe which she wielded, now lying near her cot. "That was definitely the first indication that you weren't the typical nobleman's daughter, nevertheless you do certainly swing that thing with grace and charm." At her slightly piqued expression, Guantano flashed his trademark grin. "A mere compliment milady."

With a sly smile on her face, Alyssa responded with a twinkle in her emerald eyes, "I was talking more about this beautiful place we are in Guantano." Alyssa laughed when she saw the surprise registering on Guantano's face. "A mere joke, silly."

Guantano lifted to his mouth the spoon that had stopped midway for a split second, sipping the hot stew, savoring the taste, satisfying the growls of an empty stomach. He allowed a glimpse of a smile to flash by his face as he observed, "A fine rejoinder."

Not wishing to spoil the mood, yet well aware of the realities outside this forest, his expression grew serious. "Though I may wish for us to continue enjoying nature, we've really got to get going. A small spring lies but further south of this camp, we will stop by there after we have broken camp to refill and freshen up before we continue southwards. I assume of course, that you still wish to head in the direction of Vintom?

"Yes, that seems like the best shot at finding those Shards, I think. The chase might have brought us a bit off course, though..."

"Then we shall head southwards." Looking skyward and shielding his eyes with an outstretched hand, he observed, "I judge it likely that we are but perhaps an hours walk from the main road, best to get going if we are to reach Vintom by dark, now that we have no mounts." Saying the last phrase with a sigh and evident frustration, Guantano went on about his work.

Within minutes, the camp had been totally dismantled, and now, not a trace remained except some char marks and ash where the fire had once stood. As the duo walked southwards towards the spring, Guantano remarked offhandedly, "Perhaps it may do for myself to purchase a bow at next opportunity, another bow would have significantly reduced the risks to our persons when we were attacked." At Alyssa's glance towards his knives, Guantano laughed, a deep reverberating sound. "I may be more comfortable with my knives Alyssa, but by no means am I a stranger to the bow." Gesturing to the campsite that lay behind them, he asked with a grin, "Or have you forgotten already the most sumptuous meal caught and prepared by yours truly?"

"Of course not, my compliments to the chef on his masterpiece adorned with much finery." Alyssa smiled, her tone sarcastic but punctuated with mirth.

They soon reached the spring, and were greeted with a pool of water, its surface a clear blue hued sheen as it reflected the light off the morning sun. Cupping some water and rinsing the culinary items, Guantano also filled up the gourds which they carried. That done, he then dipped his head into the pool of water, the cold cool waters dripping down his face, a sigh of contentment accompanying the resulting feeling of refreshment, before he ran a hand through to brush off any excess liquid. Alyssa did likewise, and Guantano could not help but gaze upon her chestnut brown hair as it swayed about in the wind. As she swung her hair to the side, running her hands down its length, her gaze faced towards him, and their eyes locked as she noticed his stare.

Knowing he'd been spotted, but not willing to allow her to have the first word, Guantano immediately said, "If the lady would forgive the lack of her grooming finery, but we had best quickly move." She nodded once, her gaze returning elsewhere, face impassive. Guantano couldn't tell if she saw through his spontaneously planned scheme or not.

Absentmindedly, he recalled the words of his old mentor when he was back still in Calvan's Company living the dangerous life. "Never mix business with pleasure, it never ends well." With a chuckle the older man had added, "Unless you're in a w:daisy:house of course."

Time would tell whether the older man would prove to be right. Guantano would hardly admit it to himself, but he hoped Calvan was wrong.

Alyssa's emotions seldomly stirred, she had been through too much that was too hard on them for her to notice the more healthy, minor outswings that seemed to dictate the life of so many pedestrian people with simple lives, but as their eyes interlocked, something inside her had given a jolt, even if her face had not betrayed her. She was almost sure she saw through the desperate catch by Guantano to avoid an awkward silence, but she was so thankful for it that she bought it at face value. She walked behind him, letting his superior knowledge of the surrounding terrain guide them, struggling with herself in silence.

No. Men are cruel beasts, soldiers are worse, and the worst of those are lordless soldiers. If Guantano had looked back, he would have noticed that Alyssa's teeth were firmly clinched together.
But what about you? Are you any better?
She didn't know.

Guantano remained oblivious of Alyssa's inner struggle, but nonetheless he noticed an almost palatable tension that lingered in the air. Out of respect for whatever inner deliberations might have been going on in Alyssa's mind, the journey southeastwards was conducted in general silence. Curt and brief exchanges were the only evidence of communication between the two following that encounter by the spring. It weighed on Guantano's mind heavily. Perhaps he had brought up bad memories, he silently wondered. Guantano shrugged inwardly, time would tell, he thought. With that, he resumed the trek across the forest, his mind a whirl, reflective of the contemplative atmosphere that had sprung up.

By midday, the main road was in sight, a thick stream of light beaming through the last obstacles that lay between them and the open road. "Well Alyssa, a good omen perhaps. A ray of hope in these dark tumultuous times." Guantano said with a half-smile, leaving it ambiguous what he was referring to.

Four men, two women and a miniature troll were frantically outrunning a mob of guardsmen clumsily chasing them down Leon's Pier. The entire docks had been filling with a surprisingly fast forming fog and even the sun’s light was dimmed. Dodging abandoned crates and spools of rope the group were making for the silhouette of a likely tall ship at the end of the path, what they expected to do when they got there, what with a mob of angry men barely 30 seconds behind them, was unknown but there was no other way off the pier save for the sea so they ran anyway.

They were starting to make out the ship when the fog lifted suddenly and they were blinded by the sun hanging low in the sky before them. They paused stunned as their eyes were still used to the gloom and turned away from the painful glare back towards the town, what they saw was a white wall of fog shining bright from the sun just standing unnaturally, cutting off half of the pier from Leon. The shouts of the perusing guards emanating from inside the fog snapped the group from their daze and sent them running further down the pier to the ship.

The guardsmen had been equally stunned by the end of the fog and time it took for them to regain their bearings had given the group time to reach the ship, an abandoned single mast brig, but they were gathering their wits. The group cut the mooring lines but it proved pointless, the mast was missing its sails. Even if they had pushed off they would find themselves adrift in the port. Seeing no alternative Alain ushered the group onto the brig’s deck and dragged back the gangplank while a small group of soldiers, ahead of the bulk of the guard's forces, gathered around the ship and hel on to the cut mooring lines, using grappling hooks to keep the ship tied to the pier.

With their lives hanging by a thread, Glungurd suddenly climbed the railing, looking back at Alain: "I'll save your sheep, you find mine!", and with that the Odglok summoned all the strength in his short legs and jumped onto the pier, right in the middle of the surprised group of guardsmen, swinging his hammer in a fierce roundhouse blow, sending two of the men onto their backs immediately, the others barely jumping out of reach. "Go!", he yelled back at the captain, who was hesitatig, while Dietrich, with Drax and Rufus adding strength to the shove, already used his halberd to push off and shortly after Rufus loosed a crossbow bolt into the nearest guard’s gut.
Unperturbed the rest of the mob charged to the edge of the pier and a few, avoiding Glungurds deadly blows, even jumped towards the brig but either fell short or were cut down before they could gain their balance. Among those who remained on the pier, Glungurd was wreaking havoc, a group of five guards where already down on the ground, their limbs or skulls crushed by the mighty rock he was swinging but even more were advancing towards the slowly retreating Odglok, who would be back against the end of the pier soon. Alain sighed and sheathed his sword as the guards stood at the edge of the pier unsure of what to do next as the Brig slowly floated away. Before they could relax though, a crossbow bolt whistled past his ear. Some of the guardsmen had brought crossbows and were trading shots with Rufus.
As crossbow bolts shot over and into the deck Alain ran towards the princess, who was taking cover near the aft castle, pulled her to the doors beside the stairs and shoved her into what he assumed was the former captain’s cabin and had closed the doors when a crossbow bolt slammed into his head. With a crash of buckling metal Alain crashed to the floor, his head swimming.

After several minutes Alain pulled himself to the handrail and leant against it as he wrenched his now deformed helm off and tried shaking away a concussion. Looking to the pier he noticed they had drifted further away, the guardsmen had been bolstered and were now trying to catch the ship with grappling hooks along with a flurry of now more inaccurate crossbow bolts though they only were able to get one tug each time before Dietrich cut the lines. They seemed to have stopped drifting away though. He glanced to the others, Rufus was sporting several cuts, Dietrich seemed unharmed as was Drax, who was hiding behind the railing, next to Alaria. The fey was staring slack jawed east and seemed mesmerised at whatever she was looking at. “So pretty...” Glungurd was nowhere to be seen, but the pier was crawling with guardsmen and the captain had to assume that the brave Odglok had fallen to their assault.

Alain shifted himself around, wincing at the stab of pain that shot through his skull like lightning, and gasped. On the horizon were four suns: one White, one Gold and two Violet. The violet suns seemed to be getting closer.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

OOC: above courtesy of Greyblades, apart from a few changes/additions, mostly dealing with B_Rays request to leave the game permanently.

"Perhaps... But there are dark clouds looming on the horizon. We have a task to do, and as much as I would like to lay down in the grass and enjoy the sunshine, I think we would regret it later."
Right after the words had left Alyssa's lips, she realized the alternative interpretation that was probably not that long to occur to Guantano. She almost hit herself.
"Let's just keep moving, okay? Being caught after that chase would be a shame."

Hearing Alyssa's hasty withdrawal following what was probably her realization over the double entente, Guantano fought hard to refrain from laughing and making a suggestive rejoinder, out of respect for Alyssa.

While granting her the peace in withdrawing gracefully, Guantano nevertheless cracked a smile and said, "Oh Milady, but the chase is the most exciting part of the journey!"

"Right, but I don't have another horse to sacrifice."
Nudge nudge.

By now, the duo had cleared the forest, and were once again upon the main road, perhaps a few minutes of hard riding south from where they were chased into the forest the previous evening.

Glancing at the city of Leon, now a small blob on the horizon, Guantano was relieved to see the city still standing. They had not razed it to the ground. Silently, Guantano wondered if Gunther, that old joker, had survived the siege.

Sighing as he considered just how much life had changed over a few days, Guantano looked over to Alyssa, who followed after him. "I doubt we're going to be able to find another rich fat merchant," he said almost wistfully. "If we are lucky, we'll reach Vintom by nightfall."

With that, Guantano resumed the march southwards, deep-down he hoped that the army was behind them, not ahead of them. If not, two weary travelers would not be much of a problem for whoever manned the gate then.

In a blaze of violet light a great fist passed over the still brig and slammed into the middle of the pier, smashed wood, and stone flew into the air as the panicking guards found themselves cut off from the mainland, stranded on a thin island. A second hand fell into the water with a crash and the brig started shuddering, sending the occupants toppling over the deck as the front of the ship rose from the water bit by bit. Alain grasped the rail to steady himself. The rest didn’t.
Rufus and Dietrich were sent head over heels into the aft castle stairs, Drax slammed into the cabin doors and Alaria fell onto Drax. Their combined weight proved too much for the door and it flew open as the ship became ever more vertical sending the duo tumbling down the cabin, past a confused princess, through the window into the waiting palm of the other giant hand. The hand deposited the tangled two onto the growing pile that was Rufus and Dietrich and flew back to the aft where it took hold of the back of the ship. With the combined effort of two giant hands the ship was levelled out and, with a view that caused Alain’s head to spin more than ever, hoisted into the air and carried towards the horizon.


Aboard The White Scale the entire crew were assembled to watch the spectacle of Cedrick trying to put a flying brig back into the water without killing the occupants.
“Easy... Easy... Easy... Now drop it.” Splash! “I think that went well.”
After afew annoyed mutterings the now soaked crew returned to work as Thomas and Gilford peered over the ships rail at the tangled heap resting on the smaller ship’s deck.
“Oh dear, think they’re dead?”
The pile of bodies started groaning, a dishevelled Udine staggered out of the cabin and Alain dragged himself to his feet just to retch over the side.
“Give it a minute.”

"Ach, fine; if you really want to look for those tree huggers, we'll head over to the road. Now, get on! They won't bite!"
With Morangul's....reassuring comments (not really) , Frijyk tentatively stepped onto the chariot, making sure he
wouldn't fall through the shadow. To his relief, the chariot was quite solid.
Morangul cackled, a sound that sent shivers down the Borian's spine.
"Now then.....AWAAAAAAAY!!!!"
And with that, the shadow horses snorted, and leaped into the air at an alarming speed, jerking the chariot off the ground.
"Bye the way, hold on!" Morangul said to Frijyk, who almost fell off when they launched.
Frijyk had a sour look on his face when he turned to Morngul, "Thanks for the warning", he deadpanned, which only made Morangul
cackle again.
Its going to be a long ride.....Frijyk thought to himself as the trees whipped by him.

----------------

After a short time of flying, during which Morangul was cackling all the while,
the lich nudged the young warrior, as his cackle slowly died, and his face of glee
was replaced with a more grim one.
"What is it Morangul?"
"We are at the road, but I sense demons nearby.....perhaps our tree hugging friends ran into them...."

Frijyk looked down, and sure enough, they were at the road.
"Morangul, I just thought of something...." he said slowly, "And what would that be?" Morangul asked.
"Well, wouldn't elves normally.....stay in the forest instead of come to a road traveled by humans?

There was silence for a few moments.
"Morangul?"

"Well.....this was your idea, not mine! And, unless my old eyes deceive me, I do believe I see
some people on the road!"

Frijyk squinted, and he saw two specks far down the road.
How does he know what they are? Frijyk wondered, until he remembered he was standing next to a wizard
who was who knows how old.

"Well, before we scare them half to death, we should-"

"AWAAAAAAAAAY!"
And they shot off again, this time speeding towards the unfortunate souls ahead of them.

Frijyk could only sigh.
And hold on for dear life.

It wasn't too long since they had reemerged from the forest and continued on their journey southwards. Thankfully, the sun was behind them and not relentlessly shining into their eyes, but it was small comfort as the heat sizzled their backs. Wiping the sweat off his brow, Guantano paused for a moment, raising a hand to signal Alyssa to stop.

"Wait. Do you hear that?"

As the sound of boots treading across the road ceased, the duo heard a very unusual noise. In the distance, somewhere, something that sounded vaguely like a horse whinnied, and was accompanied by... cackling? Tis not the ordinary laugh of humans. Guantano instantly snapped around when he heard it, a spine-chilling cackle. Had the demons caught up with them? He wondered.

Narrowing his eyes as the sun glared into his eyes, he looked at the road from Leon. To his puzzlement, the road was empty. Learning from the lessons of the previous battle, he raised a hand to shield his eyes and looked up into the sky. Defying all expectations, steeds seemingly made out of the very shadows effortlessly pulled along a chariot with two occupants in the sky, advancing upon the duo with maximum speed. Seated at the fore was a wizened old man clad in rich robes, and just behind him, was another human.

With the speedy advance of the chariot, Guantano had no time for further inspection. "Shadow steeds approach from the South, in the sky! We are going to have to stand our ground, its too fast!" He shouted to Alyssa, his experience as a mercenary leader taking over.

Guantano unsheathed both his weapons, and out of the corner of his eye he could see Alyssa had withdrawn her shortbow, and was drawing a bead on the lead horse. She let loose, and an arrow raced towards the steed, and struck it dead on in the head, only to pass through. The targeted portion of the head split apart into a dark purple mist, and in moments it had gathered back together, forming a solid frame once more, with the two blood red eyes at the fore. Alyssa's eyes narrowed at the ineffectual strike, and angrily snorted, this time aiming at the passengers.

As the chariot landed, the two individuals hopped out of the chariot, and turned to face the duo. As he got a better look at the new arrivals, Guantano's eyes widened when he saw that the younger human's skin was tinged a blue color, though his face looked pale as he stepped out of the chariot, his footing somewhat unsteady. The robed individual however, was clearly unaffected, probably used to the mode of transportation. He was the dangerous one.

"So what do we have here. Two humans walking all by themselves on a road to Vintom. Either the two of you are part of Vayne's forward party or you're more foolish than I actually thought to be in the way of Vayne's army." The old man said, his face contorted into a mix of glee and mirth.

Immediately, Guantano raised his weapon, and said menacingly. "You won't be the first demon to have tried and failed to kill two humans recently, scoundrel."

At this, the blue human stirred somewhat when Guantano called the old man a demon, but the old man seemed to not have noticed.

Glancing at Guantano's side, the old man's gaze turned to Alyssa. "Put your bow down my dear, I'm very tired of those bothersome pesky arrows. And as you can see, it won't do you much good anyway."

Alyssa let fly the arrow anyway, at this range it was impossible to miss, but just before it hit the old man, he raised his hand and the arrow stopped but inches away from his skull. Dropping his hand, the arrow likewise followed, falling harmlessly to the ground.

Sighing, the wizened man clutched his staff and motioned with it. Shadows gathered around the staff before he launched it at Alyssa, who cried out in surprise as her bow was yanked from her grasp and fell to the road with a dull thud.

"I warned you that it wouldn't work, but it would lovely to not have to deal with such distractions." The man said with an almost reprimanding tone as if lecturing a child. "All I wanted was to come and have a nice chat."

The duo glanced at each other, evidently they didn't really have a choice.

Guantano lowered his swords slightly. With a suspicious gaze still affixed upon the old man, in contrast with the latter's calm expression, he said with a weary tone, "So be it."

"Can your frail constitution bear the exhausting tasks of walking and talking at once, warlock? I believe you said something about being ahead of the Demon army and I would prefer it that way."
Alyssa said, the malice in her voice clear. She leaned forward comically slow and demonstratively picked up the bow and re-set it in her belted quiver, before she turned and began walking towards Vintom again, her voice being carried backwards. "What do you want to know, warlock? Pray ask, before I lose my patience."

((Lookit me being a double-post))

Morangul gave his bone chilling cackle when he head the malice in the woman's tone.
"You've got spunk, lassie! However, it won't do you much good if you are indeed heading to Vintom.
The army and the demons would arrive shortly after you, and I'm sure both of you would make nice meals for
whatever demon is hungry!" With that last sentence, Morangul was staring at the woman the entire time,
waiting for her to flinch. When she did not, Morangul smiled and said, "Of course, that is if they want to eat;
if you haven't noticed yet, the majority of the demons are males....."

At that, the woman did flinch, causing the old lich to cackle once again.
When he finally stopped, Morangul realized he never introduced himself.
"Ah, but where are my manners? My name is Morangul, and my friend here," he pointed to
Frijyk, who was still trying not to fall over,"is Frijyk, a Borian. Now that we are done,
you mind telling us who you are?"

"We've outrun demons before and we'll do so again if we need to. Also, with all these magical powers at your command and hurtling out of the skies, would you have me believe that you're not aware of who we are, warlock? If that is the case, hell even if it isn't, you need to answer my question before I'm answering yours. What. Do. You. Want."

Frijyk stepped forward now, having regained steady footing on the ground.

"We want to kill the demons."

The two human warriors looked surprised at his sudden interjection. They, like the demon Irigo, had assumed that Morangul was the one in charge, but Frijyk was determined to put an end to those assumptions. He had much to learn from the old wizard... but his motives were his own.

"We were looking for a pair of elves we had met before. At a distance, it looked like you were they."

"Well, I'm sad to disappoint you but my ears are perfectly round and smooth. Was that everything?"
Even Guantano was starting to wonder how Alyssa managed to make her voice sound that much like a whip.