RunsWithSquirlz

Kingdom of Andalasia ------------------------------ The banners flew black in the sparkling Kingdom. The streets empty and the normally jovial crowds were nowhere to be seen. The people mourned for the loss of thier princess, but no one person mourned the loss greater than the King and Queen. The news of thier loss had only reached them in the few days past. The burnt remains of the caravan had been written up to raiders and barbarians, no one suspected that the Iron Maiden had any part of it. In comparison, the people of Illia only mourned for the loss of the chance to save thier dying King. The flickering glow of the fire cast it's somber light unto Queen Serene. She leaned into her velvet chair, hands folded over a thick book filled with pages of her daughters drawings. From the first scribble of her infant hands, to the later drawings and sketches of flowers and her pet dragon. The Queen was numb, hands shaking as the tears continued to roll down her cheeks "You were only 15...my little girl...". Her peace was disturbed by light rapping at the door. She arose to open the heavy door and turned her back to it once she did "Put the tray by the bed...I'm not yet hungry..." A jingle of jewelry and a faint hint of spice. The Queens mouth was covered and she was pulled back, a cold liquid oozing down her throat. Serene attempted to struggle against her unknown assailant, but it was too late, the poison was already taking effect. She was laid down upon her mattress, eyes fluttering open, struggling to see her attacker. "Rest in peace, dear Queen. I am sorry for your loss." a woman said in a thick Ka'taanese accent. Blue eyes, the Queen noted, the killer had blue eyes and raven hair. The darkness crept over her. The King was next. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kingdom of Illia -------------------------- Prince Roric peeled the skin off a grape before popping it into his mouth with a scowl. In the far corner, The Iron Maiden stood after explaining recent events. "You. You let a little girl escape?" he snapped. "We presumed her dead, my lord." she replied calmly. "Are you an idiot? An inbred dog?! Did you find her body? Or the members of her party?!" "No...but I sent Crowley to search. It has been too long since he has returned and..." she began. "The old fool? You must be mad!" "As I was saying, my lord. His crow returned. Saliere has brought us news that they have headed into Ashcreek and intend to make it into Coppershine. The princess is guarded by two mages, an assassin, a Hunter, a thief, tinkerer and a bard. The woman and her beast still accompany her as well." Roric seemed pacified by her report, playing with the bowl of grapes before him "And the other crow? Have you heard from Penelope?" The Maiden nodded "Penelope was sent earlier to Andalasia, she should be carrying out her orders by now." Roric nodded and chuckled to himself happily "Let's see if they survive Ashcreek."

Tulla played with the fur on her bracers absentmindedly while staring into the fire. Her eyes flicked up and she watched Adrass with mild curiosity. She was never good at reading people but now, in thier moment of rest and quiet, she could see something bothering him. She guessed if she asked, he would give her a half-ass3d answer or not reply at all. That was fine, she hated prying into others business. It was in these times of solitude that she found herself wondering where she came from and why her of all people was chosen by the King. It made no sense. Whenever she would inquire where she came from, King Adrian would quickly change the subject or give her a vague answer. Tugg lifted his heavy head as a small lizard creature skittered into his view. It inflated the sack underneath its chin and sang to them, copying Roberts song once again. Mimics. Tugg hated these things. He tried to swipe it away with his paw, smacking the dirt and then lifting it up. The mimic was nowhere to be seen. Another cord stroke out and he shifted his gaze to find the Mimic clinging to the back of Roberts shirt. Tugg huffed and raised his paw again, intending to smash it into oblivion. The princess shifted, drawing her tunic further down her knees and spitting out a piece of jerky into her hand. She held the mush towards Finn "C'mon little one, time to eat. Carefully now." Her words were laced with strain and tiredness. It took so much to feed her energy to both Finn and Clarke, but she wouldn't let go of either. Tulla rose and unsheathed her sword, she didn't want to think. She needed a distraction. Anything. Quietly, she walked around the crackling fire and further into the dark woods, the sound of her steps soon faded into nothing. Tulla walked for awhile, finding a suitable tree, she began to practice. She slashed and jabbed at the bark, grunting with some effort as pieces flew off. Tulla put her frustration and anger into her thrusts. But why was she so angry? Why did this feeling not go away? What was that blasted dream? She couldn't understand the empty wanting that was growing inside her. And why...why did the sight of Whisper anger her so? What was she jealous of? ( not the post im worki ng on. Thatll be when i get to my computer)

Tulla didn't like his answer but she bit the inside of her cheek "If you say so, mage." She kept her glare turned on the fire. Tulla kept her distrust to herself, the only one she seemed at ease around was Helena and possibly Dresden. To her, thwy were all a threat to the princess still.

She didn't speak, just simply observed the banter that was going on around her. Whisper gleamed as much information as she could from the ponies, not wanting to interject and get yelled at for a mistake. She found it slightly amusing that she had met another Whisper. But this one was so drastically different than her. Well they all were really. It took some time for her to work up the nerve to even board the train, it was frightening.

"Sure, one or two of those brutes, no problem. But a pack of them can take down Tugg as easily as if he were a small child. With game being as scarce as it is, I'd imagine we seem quite tasty." She broke off a tsig and threw it into the flames. Curiousity bit at her "Something bothering you, Zaddion? You seem more tuned out then usual." As the notes carried themselves on thin air, something or things far in the bushes seemed to be copying them. A few seconds behind the original notes, and in varying pitches. Something copied Roberts music, and as it did, it skimpered closer and closer to hear better.

"Direwolves. From the sound of it..."Tulla sighed into the crisp air. Though the bard played a sad song, it was comforting in the least to hear music. Anything but the silence. Tugg, free from his harness, plopped down heavily behind Robert. He enjoyed this humans strange noises. The princess sneezed lightly and tightened her grip on Clarke.

PART 2: Ashcreek Forest & Beyond The night before thier journey was a quiet one. Tulla agreed with Adrass and whatever they didn't take from the loft, she threw into the fire. She couldn't bring herself to burn down the stable itself; claiming that it should be left for whatever animals that wished to be sheltered from the elements. What they couldn't carry was stacked into Clarkes cart but after much trying no one could seem to get it to move on its own. So Tugg was delegated to pull the cart by muscle. Ashcreek was eerily quiet, no birds or insects could be heard, only wind rustling the dead branches of trees. Whisper rode in the cart besides Clarke, holding his hand. She had been thinking about Lances words and how thier tinkerer would die whether she liked it or not. And she didn't. And he wouldn't. She kept her hand on him while she stroked Finn with the other. The princess had been quietly sharing her life energy with Clarke, believing or hoping that if he was tied to her, the forest could not take him away. She was tired but didn't show it. Tulla practiced with the sword, using trees as her dummies. It was thier second day in the cursed forest and she was already weary of all the silence and no signs of extra food. On the night of the 2nd day, as they crouched around a small fire, wolves howled in the distance.

Tulla thanked Dresden and headed over to the stables, gathering a few broken planks along the way. She set them down amd clicked her tongue for Tugg. He let out a low rumble and shot a tiny jet of fire; igniting the small pile. Whisper frowned at Adrass but pushed his comment aside "If we blindly run into Ashcreek in the middle of the night, none of us may come back alive. Even you." Her party healed to the best of her ability, the princess joined Lance, Helena and Robert. She scowled at his nickname for Clarke but found it best to keep her lips sealed. While he was talking to Helena, Whisper gingerly examined his mangled hand. She had never heard of Lady Valentine before, but that was of no surprise to her. There was still so much for her to learn beyond the walls of her castle. Slowly the sinews of his hand began to stitch together. "How do we get him back? From the forest?" She mumbled a little shakily. Tulla had been listening quietly to thier conversation. As she stared into the flames before her, her mind drifted back to her dream. It was unsettling that she had been Queen of a kingdom. The Andalasian Kingdom no less. The last minutes of her ordeal, Tulla had raised a sword to the crowd. She knew the sword well. Nephilim. Forged from the hide of an ancient dragon, imbued with unknown magicks. Blazingly silver with a smooth sapphire set in its hilt. She knew it because it hung between the thrones in court. It's sister sword, Ishtar was still at home in the courts of the Northern Lands. But why did she have it? Shaking the thoughts from her head, she passed the others and climbed into the loft. Though she was loathe to use magical items, doing anything else would help clear her mind.

"No. I was rarely ever approached. Maybe because I always smelled like the stables, or maybe it was the King." She scrubbes flakes of blood off. "He was always very protective of me, even though the lady Queen didn't seem to approve." Maybe someone did show interest once, but Tulla had never noticed as such.

Tulla raised an eyebrow at Dresden, goosebumps prickling her arms "Romance...? Wha...?" She glanced around at the others "Well, Whisper looks smitten...Robert and Helena, well I might not call that romance but yeah. I can't imagine the rest of these sods with a woman. What about you? Leave a lover behind?"

She gave him a weak smile "Yeah, I'd love that." Tulla stripped off her fur bracers and let them fall into the dirt. The bear hide was matted with blood and ash. She held out her arms to aignal she was ready to be doused "Try not to blast me or anything, it's as cold as a Windigos ass out here." Whisper cracked her fingers and checked the rest of Adrass, his wounds had healed, leaving light scars in some places "I'm glad you're back...even though you might not be." Tugg shrugged Clarke into his cart and aniffed him, why the human chose now to nap was beyond him. But he learned that these pink things were strange creatures.

She frowned at Lance, the innuendos flying over her head. She whispered to Tugg and he scooped up Clarkes unconscious body onto his back. The princess made her rounds, healing up thier wounds and finally returning to Adrass. She said nothing as she concentrated on his wounds. Tulla heaved herself off the ground and went to sit on a boulder, covering her face with her hands. The initial shock and adrenaline had worn off and left her weak. At this point, all she wanted was to wash all the blood off her skin. As Dresden doused the Inn, the fire crackled and faded away, leaving a smoking pile of wood and rubble.

Whisper blushed furiously, holding the rose trinket in front of her and keeping Clarke behind her and Tugg. "It's been over a hundred years since a Life mage has been born, most of what I can do or take has been lost in time and old burned books..." Could she trust this man? Clarke had been the only one of them to possess the knowledge of how to travel through Ashcreek. The closer and longer she stood near the gnarled trees of the forest, the more out of place she felt. But if what the Flow Dancer said was true, Clarke was there. The forest took him and she was determined to bring him back. They would all get to Illia. Whisper looked at Helena and Indicus, then back at Lance. "You'll be our guide...but you will stay with Adrass and he will keep an eye on you. Helena, keep an eye on his every movement while I heal the party...and you Lance. I'll take care of your hand once we make it through the forest." Tugg growled deeply, embers drifting down his metal beak.

(Hes in the field iant he?) A large shadow lumbered towards the dying body of Clarke, Tugg sauntered up to him, sniffing his body. He had been getting his wits about him, trying to figure out what was happening. Whisper knelt next to Adrass and had been about to examine the bloody patches of clothes when a chill shook her body. Her open palms shook as it overtook her thin frame. What a dreadful feeling, deep in her heart, as if a piece was fading away. The princess could feel the joined pain of her friends, the magick in her veins urging her to help. Death. It was death. Clarke... Scanning around, everyone was accounted for and alive, except for the tinkerer. Whisper leapt up and ran barefoot around and past the burning Inn and through the smoke. She charged through the field, following the tug in her stomach, luckily she caught sight of Tugg. "Claaaarkeeeee!" She tumbled next to him on the grass "No you don't! You will not die here! No one will die again around me!"

They were joined together once more, Whisper let go of Helens hand and ran to Clarke. Before anything, she scooped Finn out of his arms and cooed to him "Baby dragon...you're okay...I'm here..." "Right." Tulla said from the ground "Everyone's here, minus a few bits, I vote we settle down and figure out what we're gonna do. Plus, an inventory check..."

Tulla laid on her back, heaving with exhaustion as she gave Adrass a dry chuckle. "You look like shit." she squinted through the haze and looked at the state of dis-repair of her group-mate. Whisper yelped as Helena caught her and quickly stood "Thanks!!!! Where are the others?!"