Journey Into the North

Tell me if this is in line with your character, Jiggy, otherwise I can change it.

Henry had nabbed some meat while everyone was distracted by the confrontation of Hooper and Seraph. It was astounding what a little distraction could do, Henry though, as he ripped his teeth into the juicy meat. He had simply sneaked forward, sliced out his knife and darted back. Yet all these other humans thought it was all about male egos and proving their dominance. Henry had never and never would understand it.

"You know, if you keep stealing things like that, I'll have to cut your arm off."

Henry swung round. It was the Dwarf, tucking into his own piece of meat, with a flask in his other hand, which smelt strongly of alcohol.

"Aye, laddie, I've seen yer little games this whole trip. A small jewel here, a few coins there. One day the rest of them will notice," he said, with a neutral tone. Henry wondered whether it was a threat or a warning.

Henry swallowed. "What's your price, then, eh? I'll give you a share of everythin' I get."

Cyrus sighed. "That's not what this is about, thief, and yer know it. If we're going to succeed on this damned fool adventure, we got to trust one another. And right now there's not a hope in hell I can trust yer with anything, never mind my life."

Henry thought it was good timing for a defensive joke. "That's okay, 'cos if you died I could take that expensive cloak of yours."

Cyrus chuckled, his beard wobbling. He took a swig of his ale and walked off without answering.

Henry was left to himself.

Lol, yeah that's fine. And if anything I say regarding Henry is incorrect please inform me. Grif, does Alden have good nightvision?

Cyrus walked away from the thief, smiling; despite the man's wandering finger's, Cyrus found himself admiring the skill and agility of the man's hands and pitying the avid gleam of a scavenger that he saw in Henry's eyes.

He took another swill of Lorae, a dwarven brew far stronger then most human alcohol. It burned fiercely as it travelled down his throat, boosting his tired body with renewed energy. Looking over at the camp fire, he saw that things had settled down and everyone was helping themselves to some food and settling down into seperate positions. Grunting contentedly, he walked over to Daisy to see to her needs; brushing her down and feeding her. She seemed to be adjusting to her new companions well he thought with affection.

Leaning on her rump, he surveyed the camp again. The druid sat alone, some distance away from the rest; legs crossed and a peaceful expression on his face. Henry, as usual was alone, as were some others of the group, who said little and remained closed-mouthed. Valin and Seraph sat together, talking quietly and shooting glances at Alden's so called friends.

Cyrus knew what they were thinking. He didn't like the look of these newcomers either, indeed the only one who had seemed pleased with them was Alden himself. I wonder if that'll change when he hears about that little display Hooper put on Cyrus thought to himself, absentmindedly chewing on his beard. And indeed, what was the purpose of that unneccesarily hostile reaction? Unless of course, he wanted word of his "loyalty" to get back to Alden -- who had taken first shift and was currently somewhere high above them.

Noting his group's seperate positions, Cyrus frowned. An ordinary group of travellers, spread out as they were now, would be easy prey to the theives. Not that they were ordinary, still, he hadn't survived so many battles by taking risks. He unrolled his pack, taking out his beautiful double bladed axe, that glimmered perpetually due to the enchantments placed upon it. It felt wonderful in his hands, perfectly balanced to his needs; shrugging his powerful shoulders, he swung it about easily. Nor was he unwatched, his actions drawing the eyes of all.

He paused, hefting it in both hands. Slowly, he walked over to where Hooper and his men were seated, grouped together. They watched, still and unmoving, eyes shining a queer gold from the reflected flames. Suddenly, he threw his arm backwards and sent his axe spinning toward them. The men scattered yelling and with a metallic clang, the axe embedded itself between Hooper's splayed fingers, and into the rolled up cloak he was sitting on. had he moved but an inch, his hand would be in two, but Cyrus had not misjudged. This man was dangerous.

"Now, I'm not a dwarf who minces words, so I'll say this once and once only,"Cyrus said slowly, a hard look on his face. "I don't like the look of ya, or the convenient circumstances that brought you to us. Make one misstep and I'll kill you."

Hooper stood, carefully moving his hand, to tower over the dwarf. It was a coward's move and he knew it. "Is that right?" He said, sneering."Even though I'm Alden's guest?"

Cyrus stared up at the man, uncowed, and even fiercer looking for it. "Don't mistake that friendship for protection. I'm watching you Hooper." With a decisive wrench he lifted his axe clear, not at all caring for the rip in the man's cloak, and walked back to his original position near Daisy. On the way he caught an approving glance from Seraph and an unreadable look from Valin.

Settling himself down, he watched as Hooper's men gathered back around their leader. He knew he hadn't helped matters, if anything tension betwen the groups were heigthened, but he wasnt one for diplomacy. At that moment, there came the sound of beating wings and Alden swooped in. Staring around, he said brightly, "What did I miss?"

Adrian stood up and walked over to the dwarf as he stomped off. "You should really try some tact master dwarf." Adrian said.
"Shouldn't you be on my side preacher boy!" Cyrus replied belligerently.
"But I am." Adrian said. " I just don’t play all my cards at once."
Adrian continued to stare at the dwarf drinking.
Without warning he lunged for the drink, but the dwarf was too quick, swerving out of the way. He glared at Adrian. "Be careful pretty boy, don't come between me and my drink."
"Well its bad for you master Dwarf!"
"On the contrary, Lorae has restorative powers and is actually helping me. Nor am I a child boyo, I am infact older then your pappy. Now bugger off."
“Sure thing but remember, keep your good cards hidden.”
Adrian walks away from Cyrus frustrated “Oh by the way your up for next shift, it’ll give you time to calm down.” Adrian laughs vindictively and walks off.

Alden's primary vision is his best. His night vision is simply staring at a section of forest and then looking for movement.

Valin has the night vision. Alden would be best served by his hearing, which is excellent.

I'm going to go fetch Snoink's character, that will give you guys an opportunity to post more.

"That lunatic threw an axe at me!" Hooper said.

"And I'll throw another if you do anything fishy," Cyrus said, tearing into some more meat.

"You aren't planning anything funny are you Hooper?"

"No."

"That's good, then Cyrus won't have to throw an axe at you," Alden said. He walked over to where Valin and Seraph were.

"We don't trust your friends," Seraph said.

"They're still in the thief mentality. A couple of days might change that," Alden said.

"Or they'll slit our throats during the night," Valin pointed out.

"Three people trying to overwhelm twice that number? I think you over-estimate their chances," Alden said.

"They could have friends."

Alden looked around. The forest was dark.

"In that case, we should be careful," Alden said, stripping the meat from the bone. He discarded the bone and began walking toward the clearing.

"Where are you going?" Adrian asked him on the perimeter.

"I want to check something out I saw while I was flying in. I should be back within an hour," Alden said.

"Okay," Adrian said, looking towards Hooper's men.

"Keep your eyes looking out, that's where the bad guys come from."

"Cyrus should be on duty in a minute," Adrian said.

"Let him know I'm gone," Alden said, before taking off into the night.

As Tan’quin gathered brush for his bed, he noticed Hooper and his men had separated themselves from the rest of the group. There was something odd about them, something he wasn’t quite sure of. He shrugged and laid down on the brush mattress.

He heard the fire crackle and looked up to see Valin poking at it with a stick. Everyone else had gone to bed, save for Cyrus, who was on watch, and Alden, who had gone off on some excursion.

The look on Valin’s face gave him pause for a moment. There seemed to be a mixture of horror, hatred, and calm all in one. The flickers of the fire reflected off his pupils, seemingly giving his eyes a life of their own.

Tan’quin shifted in his bed, eager to finally get some rest. This day had been the beginning of his adventure, one that would take him to see the beauty of a new wilderness. He would get to experience new plants and creatures. He would get to see new lands that were undeveloped by humans and their need to destroy nature.

He settled those thoughts in his head. It wasn’t these men who were doing the chopping. They were simply here to explore. It was that foolish king who would be sending hordes into these untouched lands.

Valin shifted another log to the side, causing sparks to climb the air above the pit. He kept his focus on the hot embers beneath.

Tan’quin had just barely fallen asleep when a grating screech woke up him and the rest of the camp. Everyone reached for their weapons.

He noticed that Valin already had his long sword out and was running toward the woods behind him. He still had the glow of the fire in his eyes.

Tan’quin quickly bolted out of the way and ran for an opening in the trees, disappearing into the night’s shadows.

OOC: Please read my post in the discussion thread before posting here.


I felt their presence long before the others were alerted. I could see that Valin sensed something was amiss as well. Whatever was stalking us...was pure chaos. It had waken me out of a dead sleep, something that was not easy when I was at ease.

Even as Valin was up and running toward the closest of the creatures that had managed to surround us, I was heading in the opposite direction, to our flank. The others were just starting to rise, albeit quickly, and we needed support from all sides. The commander in me took over.

"On your FEET people! Multiple contacts all around! Pair off! Don't get separated--if you are unable to fight, get near someone who can!" I yelled as I jumped over the slumbering body of Adrian, who awoke with a start.

The first of the creatures, a diminutive imp with razors for teeth and tiny horns protruding from its forehead, growled at me as it leapt through the brush, a small dagger flashing in its hand.

"Foul beast--feel the fury of FALTHYR!" I cried out as I pulled my longsword from the scabbard on my back. Folded steel rang out against the rough iron of the imp's dagger and the smaller weapon shattered as my father's longsword tore through it and cleaved the creature in two.

Its battle cry turned to a grunt of confusion as it looked down at its ruined torso before its eyes glazed over.

Even as the corpse fell, though, three more rushed forward to take its place. As quickly as I could manage, I slipped my shield from my back and onto my arm, ready to defend against a trio of adversaries. I hoped one of my companions, at least, had obeyed my orders. If not, then there would be many, many of the bastards behind me.

(Hunter you can God-mode me for now, I will post something tomorrow. For now, I am going to sleep)

(Could someone god-mode me i've got school if you can do it Jiggity.)

Alden landed at the foot of a great cave.

Quietly, he tiptoed into the cave, when he heard a loud snoring.

This is the right place all right, Alden thought.

"Ursa?" Alden called.

"Mmmh." A giant furry lump rolled over.

"Ursa, wake up!"

"Mnnh."

"Come on Ursa!"

"Go away."

"Ursa! Don't you know who I am?"

"Perfectly, go away."

"Oh come now, aren't you interested in why I'm here?"

"No. Leave now."

"You don't mean that. Besides, you won't want me to leave after you hear my business offer."

"Does it involve sleep?"

"Well, not exactly-"

"Go away."

"Well that's really rude; just turning away an old friend like he's garbage."

"Versus charging into my home, uninvited, and waking me up?"

"That's not the same. Were you me, you'd wake yourself up too."

"No, I'd leave and get some sleep."

"You're waking up! Great!"

"You better be out of here before I finish."

"That's the spirit, you can't wait to get down to business then."

"Just leave me alone."

"Come on lazy bones, it's time to get up."

"Wake me in Spring."

"It is Spring."

"Then wake me in the summer."

"If you sleep any longer than you have all ready and people will think you're dead."

"I can see it now, 'here lies Ursa the Great, somewhat less great for the snoring, but nonetheless he's here."

"At least you haven't lost your sense of humor."

"You like it?" Ursa turned towards Alden.

"It's great!"

"Good, then I'll go back to sleep before it turns ugly," Ursa said, turning back.

"Oh no you don't!" Alden said, tossing a rock underneath the bear as Ursa rolled on top of it.

"That was low."

"You'd have done it for me too."

"Wait, I might be able to get comfortable." He moved around some.

"Nevermind, that just made it worse."

"Why don't you get up and make yourself comfortable then?"

Ursa just growled.

"Fine, sleep on that rock for a month."

Ursa finally got up. He was massive.

"All right, I'm up. Now what?"

"You can listen to my offer and fall back to sleep if you're not interested."

"I'm not interested. Good night."

"Don't be silly," Alden said.

"I'm not being silly, I mean to sleep for a long time."

There was a massive growling.

"Was that your stomach?" Alden asked.

"You fool! You woke up my stomach!"

"Is he hungry?"

"Yes."

"I know a place where we can get some food."

"Where?"

"It's only that way for a little while."

"So, we'll go there and grab some food."

"If you hear my proposition. Otherwise, there's no food."

"You aren't looking too bad..."

"Don't be silly, I taste terrible. What you want is some nice tasty deer."

The two friends walked out of the cave.

"Tell me more about this deer,"

"Well, it's at a wagon where some adventurers and I are camped...." Alden said as they entered into the forest.

Cyrus stared about the forest, alert. Even without the moonlight, the forest was well defined to his eyes. Dwarves were born and raised in darkness, spending their lives mining light, sparkling jewels and metals. Despite his vision, there was no warning of movement or attack and yet still, one came. The only warning he had, was the sense of night deepening, coiling as if in preparation to strike.

Cyrus was a veteran warrior, hvaing fought in many battles, often against opponents twice his size so when a horde of screeching imps exploded into the camp, he was well able to cope. A soldier who paused on a battlefield was a dead man. Squashing his surpirse ruthlessly, he swung smoothly into action, cutting an imp in two on his first swipe. Behind him, he heard the camp rouse, Seraph calling out and mobilising their resources.

Screaming out battle cries in the Dwarven tongue, he swung Bright Star about, cutting and slicing; blood and gore sprayed all about him till even his great muscles began to tire. He had taken only a few and more were arriving by the second. Embedding his deep into the skull of a brutish imp, at least twice the size of the others, he began to make a tactical retreat. He was no fool, he knew his limitations.

Sirloaz, the human hunter came to his aid, thrusting a torch into the the fray. Imps recoiled with screams and grunts, clearing a circle about the two. There was no expression on his face, no fear or anger, just a cool mask of efficiency. Cyrus was impressed despite himself. Laughing wildly in the faces of his enemies, he sliced and executed deady reverse-cuts. And on came the imps.

Henry's crossbow was in his hand even before he realised it when Seraph's voice bellowed into the night air. His sleeping place -- hidden behind a rocky outcrop -- gave him the perfect position to reload his crossbow and eye out a target.

One of the tall humans near to him was stumbling under attack by three of the devilish creatures. He had long black hair, and sword that shone blue. Henry thought his name was Adrian, but the unneccesary though was lost as soon as it came.

Adrian deflected a quick dagger stab from one of the Imps and counter-attacked, but lost his footing against the nimble creatures. Henry knew he needed help soon, otherwise one of those daggers would pierce his flesh. The sound of clanging metal and curses sounded across the camp, but Henry concentrated and aimed the thin crossbow at the neck of one of the creatures. He pulled the trigger, and light weapon jerked back as the bolt flew foward. Henry saw it slam into the shoulder of one of the Imps, and the creature fell back, shouting in a strange language.

Adrian took the advantage well, his sword slashing into another of the Imps, cutting off one of its arms. Henry smiled, and reloaded his crossbow quickly; the design of the weapon he had stolen had made it incredibly easy to pull back and fit a new bolt in, and he did it with an easy familiarity.

Just as he raised his crossbow to shoot down another creature, he heard a horrible shriek behind him.

It was his reflexes that saved him. He dropped and rolled to one side, the dagger stabbing into empty air as the fluent body of Henry. The thief got to his feet and immediately fired his crossbow, but the shot was done wih too much haste and the Imp ducked, the bolt flying over his head. Two more of the creatures circled him, and Henry gulped, reaching for the short sword at his side. He was no warrior, and he knew it.

The first Imp charged at him. Henry changed into a defensive stance and took a deep breath.

Cyrus was tiring and quickly. His arms, beard, and face were streaked with blood and gore, only a little of which was his own. Although it felt like forever, he knew the battle had started only some minutes ago.

Distracted as he was, he didnt sense the imp till too late. A sneaky little demon, coming up from behind, bit into the back of his leg. Bellowing into the night, he beheaded the beast with a backhand slice, but was now hindered by the injury.

Stumbling backwards, he twisted and turned, trusting to Sirloaz to cover his back with his long, flashing blade. Wiht his slight repreive he could take a moment to scan the battle. He saw, the thief, Henry faced by two advancing imps and knew that if someone didn't get to him soon, he would most likely fall to them. For that matter, where was Hooper and his "trusty" cohort? Rage engulfed him as he realised they were nowhere to be seen.

They were beset on all sides, betrayed at the last by Alden and his band of thieves. He saw Tan'quin the druid come rushing to Henry's aid, stabbing one of the creature's in the neck. From the corner of his eyes he saw a demon hurtle toward him, a scarlet streak, ululating wildy Cyrus adroitly moved aside (as much as was possible with his injured leg); just as the creature passed him, he seized a hold of one of its horns and swung it about. The creature screamed in a strange tongue before he released it and sent it crashing into a tree, silencing it forever.

Just then, he heard the sound on beating wings, only just, over the din of the battle; it was accompanied by an ominous thumping that shook the earth. He had no time to check it out, hearing as he did a strained cry from help from Sirloaz, he endeavoured to join him once more.

Valin

I spat on the corpse of my latest kill, then looked up at the sounds of battle back at the camp. I'd managed to stall the attack from on side by striking early, but the others, it seemed, were still gridlocked in combat.

Sword in hand, I took to the woods and skirted around the camp, where I found the rogue in desperate situations, defending against two of the imps.

All sense of stealth forgotten, I sprinted for the man, hoping, despite the fact that he was, in fact, a thief, that I would get to him before an impish blade got through his rather meager defense.

Then I was within five paces of the skirmish. I leapt into the air and threw out my foot to catch the first imp in the left cheek with a flying kick, then slammed my sword down on the other, drawing a shallow line of red down its chest. I landed in a defensive crouch, ready to parry its riposte, but it was not necessary.

The imp distracted, Henry had driven his blade into the back of its neck, where it gurgled for a moment before sliding off the blade into a heap on the ground.

I nodded and gave a two fingered salute, then indicated the crossbow laying on the ground.

"Put that to good use--there are plenty more where that cam from!"

Even as he picked up the crossbow and began to reload it, I was of again, heading in the last direction I saw Seraph.

Adrian

Adrian felt the fear almost engulf him -- the old memories of blood and screams echoing in his mind, and the horrible urge to run and save his own skin. He bit his tongue and tried to fight it back.

Then there was the Imp, thrusting the dagger toward him. Adrian took a deep breath and called upon his holy righteousness to strike the chaotic beast. He felt power flow through his arms and the sword swung like it was alive, beheading the demonic Imp, its detached head rolling around on the ground.

Another Imp appeared beside its now fallen comrade, but it seemed less aggressive, and more concerned at its own well-being, and rather than throwing itself toward Adrian, it crept around him, waiting for an opportunity.

Adrian seized the advantage and charged forward, his sword arched above his right shoulder before it cut down toward the Imp's head. The creature dodged and stabbed back, but Adrian was ahead of him, holding in his hand a knife encrusted with gems. The glittering weapon landed in the Imp's side, and blood spilled. Adrian finished it off with a stab from his sword, and then stepped back, breathing heavily.

The fear abated. Most of the creatures were backing away, unsure whether to attack or run. The skirmish was at a critical point. Adrian sighed and ran forward to help the others.

Henry

The elf was right. There were still plenty more Imps to come, and Henry had felled one already with a sharp shot into an Imp's back. Most of the creatures were running into the forest, but a small pack still fought on, though they were losing against the flashing swords and axes of the rest of the party.

Henry saw blood dripping from Cyrus's axe and beard as he sliced through the chest of another Imp.

It was the sudden entrance of Adrian and Valin into the main fight that swung the balance -- the larger numbers of the Imps was suddenly countered by the flanking by the two warriors, who smashed through, killing three instantly. Seraph rallied the rest. Tan'quin, Sirloaz and Cyrus pushed forward, their weapons slicing and thrusting.

Henry picked his target -- a central Imp, protected in the middle, who held in his hand a glittering short sword, rather than the rusty daggers of his fellows. Despite the darkness, Henry could aim his shot due to the flashes of moonlight and his intuition. The crossbow jerked back and the Imp fell, a bolt protruding from his forehead.

The effect was instant; the rest of the creatures suddenly began to run back to the forest, chased and harried by the blades of the party. Seraph cleaved one of the beast in two and Valin pulled out his bow and shot one more in the back as it tried to escape.

Silence fell. The sound of swords clashing and chaotic screams had died out. Henry moved out from the rock outcrop, realising he had been cut, blood sliding down his leg. He felt it with his fingers and sighed in relief as he realised it was shallow. The rest of the party put away their weapons and sat down, a mixture of relief, confusion, tiredness and quiet on their faces.

It was over. For now at least.