private The Fall of Andalasia ~Book 1~

[RunsWithSquirlz 274]

OOC:http://mlpforums.com/topic/102272-the-fall-of-andalasia-book-1-non-ponyfantasyadventuredarkbetrayalromance/

@,@@Alex Kennedy, @, @, @@Flying Ace, @@Torrent505, 

 

A caravan is on it's way to the Kingdom of Illia. For one reason or another you have chosen to travel with this party on its way to the Illian King. The Kingdom of Andalasia has trusted you with its precious gift; a princess known to heal all wounds.

The caravan sauntered along with its many carriages, servants and guards. Some were just villagers wishing to travel. An ornate wooden carriage pulled by two white horses was guarded closely in the middle; for this was where the princess stayed hidden. Most of the guards were concentrated here; flanking it on all sides by foot and steed.

 

Adrass; you have been paid to keep an eye out for enemy mages. Your skill -though outlawed-  is greatly appreciated by the King and Queen.

 

-Early Afternoon in Andalasia-

 

Tulla rode along by the side of Whispers carriage; sitting comfortably on Tugg, her chimera. The size of a large grizzly; the Gryphon-Dragon hybrid stalked the path heavily. A head of an eagle with the forebody of a lion and the rest covered in scales with whiplike tails. He had no wings but his sharp yellow eyes glaring from behind the metal beak-mask it wore was enough to deter most predators away. She gave him a hard rub on his thick mane and he growled in content. The day was quiet enough; except for the chatter of the caravan and the chirping of birds.

 

Princess Whisper had chosen to stay in her carriage thus far; nervous since it was her first time away from home. She only spoke to Tulla; her childhood friend. For a princess, she was incredibly shy towards new people, having never left the sanctuary of her castle.

 

"I really don't think you'll be spending the rest of the trip in there are you? You have to get out and stretch those spindly legs of yours!" Tulla spoke to the carriage door.

 

"I shouldn't come out unless absolutely necessary." Whisper stated from behind the door "We're getting close to Illia anyway."

 

"Eh, a day or two more until the border. It's a pity though...I heard they caught a boar earlier...might make a stew out of it. Too bad you won't come out for a fresh bowl..." Tulla said offhandedly. Tugg rumbled in agreeance at the thought of Boar stew.

 

"Maybe I will" she mumbled defeatedly. Her greatest weakness was food and Tulla always knew how to push the right buttons.

[Sekel 692]

Helena Birchwood had her arms crossed under cloak, and her head bowed. The hood of her cloak was on her head, covering her hair and making her eyes glint. To anyone that happened to glance her way, it would seem that she was sleeping but in reality, she wasn't. Her hands under her cloak kept fiddling with the contraption of her concealed crossbow that happened to be strapped to her left arm. Not one for starting a conversation, Helena merely kept her head bowed and didn't make eye contact with anyone but she knew that someone had to start talking eventually, even if it was just to break the silence.

 

Helena chose to go on this caravan simply because it offered her a chance to move from place to place without being seen, mostly, with a free rest along the way. Why the Princess would need the help of a thief is anyone's guess. She sighed and clenched her right fist, turning herself invisible. The light rays bent around her and she unclenched her fist, turning visible again. She never grew tired of that but if she used it for too long, then she would get tired and may faint from the stress of using it.

Edited July 1, 2014 by XANA

[Sanctified Absence 126]

When he heard of the caravan being sent to Illia, Zaddion saw a perfect opportunity to both serve his lords and learn much at the same time, after all even the kingdom of Illia had to contain some scraps of lore that could not be found on his homeland. Perhaps he wanted to prove himself, or perhaps he merely coveted the power that would come with the knowledge, even he could not say.

 

Using his staff as a walking stick of sorts, Zaddion spent much of his time as far away from the others as possible while still being within a safe range of the caravan main. He was not particularly interested in his companions, instead choosing the world in front of him as his companion. The world was so beautiful when one cast off the mere mortal sight and instead saw the world through the eyes of a Mage.

 

"There do not appear to be too many fluctuations," ever paranoid that others may fail in this most crucial task, Zaddion had taken it upon himself to relay the current state of the elements to the others occasionally. He was utterly absorbed in this task, so much that one could not catch his attention without shouting. Ironically despite his supposed lack of noticing others he was also in an extremely aware state, although aware in a different way, even a slight spike of the wrong elements could send him into a paranoid analytical frenzy for a few moments.

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Adrass shook his head in contempt. This was a foolish venture: it went against everything that he stood for - protecting a Witch as she crossed the border, not only allow her passage unscathed but to actively seek to preserve her life?

 

Political implications be damned, this was unheard of. What was more, there were other mages among the caravan, if the stench of the arcane was anything to judge by.

 

Grumbling under his breath, the hunter glanced aside at the party under his charge as he pulled the hood of his greatcoat down to his shoulders, feeling the roughly-hewn hair brush against his neck as he did. True, they looked anything but evil practitioners or masterminds: a princess and her royal guard, travellers, wanderers and peasants... but that was the danger of course: the deceivers could be anywhere. It was the hidden motivations that unnerved him.

 

He sniffed loudly from behind the cloth that covered the lower section of his face. How was he supposed to find the accursed mages with so much interference, so many of the practitioners so nearby - it was ludicrous...

 

"Think its clear, 'least as far as I can tell through this stench." He finally announced - voice muffled slightly by the cloth, but still clear and loud. His voice dropped to a muttered growl again. "The order would have me burned and salt the ashes if they knew about this... this is way beyond radical... It's bleeding stupid."

 

...

 

For all of his complaining though, the hunter kept his eyes open. He was well aware of the Princess, her abilities and more to the point, the fact that there were likely far worse Witches willing to do harm to her. It was this which he was counting on - that she might draw something more foul that he might wipe from the earth.

 

The hunter brushed a hand against the handle of the longer of the two blades slung across his back, before resting it against one of the pistols strapped to his chest. He could feel the nullifying knives bound tightly in their place by his right thigh - there was no need for reassurance of their presence.

 

"I'm starting to feel like this is a huge waste of my time, there's been sight nor sound of a Mage since we left. Probably because they're all here..."

Edited July 1, 2014 by Cinderscribe

[Flying Ace 142]

Dresden was probably the happiest of the bunch as he was standing on top of the carriage with his hands on his waist, he couldn't miss the chance of escorting the princess who had awesome powers to another kingdom why she was needed confused Dresden but that was mostly his fault since he really wasn't paying attention.

 

He took a big breath of air and exhaled loudly, "Smell that my comrades! That's adventure, or maybe its the chimera they smell the same." Dresden laughed at his own joke, "is anyone else enjoying the ride? Come on someone has to be."

 

​Dresden looked around at everyone else expecting the responses he usually got when he talked to anyone: groans of annoyance, chuckles, a response, and even glares. Oh yes Dresden was going to enjoy this little trip. 

[Sekel 692]

@@Flying Ace

Helena glared at the ceiling above her, hearing the voice come from that direction. "I'm certainly not enjoying the ride. At least I'll be back in my own country." Helena said to him, finally giving in to the temptation of speaking her mind. She stopped fiddling with her crossbow and had now taken an arrow out of her quiver and tinkering with it. "Besides. I think it's yourself that you're smelling because that's the only thing I smell through the ceiling." Helena told him, smiling to herself. She soon dropped it though but it still made her feel good on the inside.

Edited July 2, 2014 by XANA

[Alex Kennedy 1,228]

((I'm assuming Robert and Tulla haven't met before in this world.))

 

For all the traveling he did, Robert had never actually been to Illia before. Since he didn't like traveling alone anyway, this caravan had been the perfect opportunity to explore someplace new. Judging by the diverse group of people they'd gathered, it was going to be an interesting journey. Plus, he'd heard mention of boar stew, which was always promising. So right now he was feeling pretty happy with his decision to go along for the ride. Even more so when he looked around and realized that there were quite a few beautiful women in their group. In fact, once he got past the fact that she was riding on a chimaera, the woman in front of him was indeed quite stunning. Never one to pass up an opportunity, he stepped up to her side and struck up a conversation.

 

@@RunsWithSquirlz,

 

"Excuse me miss, but you mentioned boar stew just now, didn't you? Because as it happens, I'm pretty good at cooking on the road, and while I don't think I've ever made food for this many people before, I wouldn't mind giving it a shot. I have a good recipe for boar." 

[Flying Ace 142]

@@Flying Ace

Helena glared at the ceiling above her, hearing the voice come from that direction. "I'm certainly not enjoying the ride. At least I'll be back in my own country." Helena said to him, finally giving in to the temptation of speaking her mind. She stopped fiddling with her crossbow and had now taken an arrow out of her quiver and tinkering with it. "Besides. I think it's yourself that you're smelling because that's the only thing I smell through the ceiling." Helena told him, smiling to herself. She soon dropped it though but it still made her feel good on the inside.

"Oh now that was mean of you to say," Dresden explained as he put a hand over his heart as if the insult physically wounded him though his smile never weavered. "You may be right actually it may be me...so I smell like adventure." Dresden stated as he sat crossed leg on the carriage and rested his head in his hand. "Now that's something to think about."

[Sekel 692]

@@Flying Ace
Feeling rather bored, Helena put the arrow she was tinkering with away, walked up to the carriage door and glanced around at the other occupants. Shrugging, she opened the door and grabbed on to the top of the doorframe with one hand. She got a little running speed and with a jump, she flipped herself over on to the roof and closed the door. Now the occupants don't need to be worried about the wind.

She turned around after closing the door and saw him sitting cross legged on the roof. Moving with the carriage's motion, she walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder, disappearing at the same time.

Edited July 2, 2014 by XANA

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Adrass.

 

Glancing aside at the disruption, Adrass felt his left hand whip to his back and his right balled into a fist around the handle of the flintlock. Of course he was right - mages everywhere. It took a good deal of self restraint to keep his weapons sheathed once the girl had vanished into nothingness....

 

Not vanished - he could still smell her.

 

Slowly lowering his sword arm, the hunter shook his head again: mostly in disbelief over how he had let himself get into this situation.

 

@@RunsWithSquirlz,

 

With a heavy sigh, he wandered alongside the enclosed carriage that supposedly contained the witch-princess, closed his eyes to silently admonish his own foolishness and spoke up.

 

"You know, we'll be coming close to the border soon - it would probably be a good idea to get some fresh air while we're still safe in your homeland."

 

Once more, the cloth around his mouth obscured the words. He didn't even know if she could hear him: certainly, he hadn't heard any response when the tamer beside the carriage had addressed it - perhaps this was a trap of some kind. Perhaps the princess had been taken away at some stage, or perhaps she had been an imposter all along! Of course, it was unlikely that any attempt on his life would be made on this side of the border...

 

'Or perhaps she's just nervous about having a bloody mage-slayer escorting her...'

 

He cast that particular dangerous thought aside before it could do any more harm.

 

"Once we cross the border we'll have to be on our guard. You might not get another chance like this. What's wrong, you allergic to sunlight, or wildflowers or something?"

 

... so it wasn't the customary way to speak to royalty! He had her best interests in mind (much to his own distaste) and was already on edge: and by his usual standard level of conversation this would probably be considered eloquent by those who knew him better.

[Sanctified Absence 126]

Zaddion felt it, a spike in the element of light, the spike was unnatural and could have only come from a- twisting on his feet to face the rough direction of the fluctuation Zaddion readies his staff in both arms. The tip of his staff glowing with white wisps of light, the Mage scanned the sight before him with fearsome determination.

 

Realizing one of the group was missing and connecting the dots, Zaddion's face quickly turned from determination to anger and annoyance. 

 

"Immature imbecile!" He turned away from the carriage, muttering in sheer annoyance as he returned to his self-appointed duties, "any real spell-caster would see the idiocy of such an act..."

Edited July 2, 2014 by Blissful Chaos

[RunsWithSquirlz 274]

@,

 

After a few moments a nervous voice replied meekly through the carriage door "I've never been this far from home before...I must admit I am scared."

 

The voice was familiar somewhat. Had she seen this man prior? She faintly remembered her parents meeting with an imposing man before they had sent her away. Could this be the Witch Hunter?

 

"Excuse me...but my parents failed to give me your name." she asked politely.

 

Then after a few more moments of nervous silence "If...If I were to take a walk, would you join me?". If this was indeed him; then she felt safe. If her parents thought it best to hire someone like him; she had no quarrel. 

 

@@Alex Kennedy,

 

"It's for a small crew. Including the Princess.But you're more then welcome to give it a shot" she smirked down at the traveller. Tulla was mildly surprised to see a bard in their party but then again; there were other people she worried more about. The bard seemed harmless enough. Tugg swayed his massive head; giving Robert a side-long glance before turning forward again and grunting.

 

Mages! The one on top of a carriage being particularly loud. Curse him if a dragon heard his boisterousness. She smiled a bit though; it was making the caravan slightly more lively.

 

"Why are you coming? Have you ever left Andalasia?" she looked back down at the bard.

 

Tugg kept a watchful eye on Zaddion; he never liked being so close to a torrent of magic.

Edited July 2, 2014 by RunsWithSquirlz

[Alex Kennedy 1,228]

@@RunsWithSquirlz,

 

Robert wasn't entirely sure whether to be intimidated or fascinated by the griffon, so he decided instead to focus on it's beautiful rider. "I've been around quite a bit. That's my lot in life, as a bard. I've never been to Illia before, though. Any number of other places, but not this one in particular. What about you? Do you travel much?" 

[RunsWithSquirlz 274]

@@Alex Kennedy,

 

"I've hunted all over Northern Andalasia. This is already farther than I've been before." she kept her attention on the far tree line; catching a glimpse of a deer or two.

 

"So then, your focus is on Illia? I've never wanted to travel to that place...but here I am. And don't worry..." she gave Tugg a hard pat. "He's a softie, aren't you Tugg, you big vat of lard?" she joked with the beast. Tugg retaliated by bouncing her up and gurgling; feigning attack by turning his head and nipping at her thigh.

 

Tulla laughed and wrestled the head away "What's your name bard?"

[Alex Kennedy 1,228]

@@RunsWithSquirlz,

 

Robert chuckled at their display. He could tell he was going to like this girl, and maybe her mount wasn't as scary as it looked either. "Me? I'm Robert. Robert Kelly. It's not so much that I want to travel to Illia as it is that I want to travel everywhere, and that happens to include Illia. Anyway, what's your name?"

[Sekel 692]

@

While waiting for him to react, Helena quietly and carefully, laid down on top of the carriage. She was stil invisible but then again, she didn't realise that there were other people who could sense magic. Until one called her an immature imbecile. She frowned slightly and jumped off the carriage, landing with a slight thud on the ground. She then quickly jogged to the mage and tapped him on the shoulder; reappearing as she did so. "You think I'm an immature imbecile huh?" She asked him with a subtle threatening tone in her voice.

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Adrass.

 

@@RunsWithSquirlz,

 

"Mardrak." Stated the hunter, maintaining his pace beside the carriage as he glanced suspiciously about into the distance for no real reason than to ease his paranoia. The mages were squabbling amongst themselves it seemed - that was a good sign.

 

"Adrass Mardrak, I'm a..." He paused. What was he to these people? Not a hunter, certainly. Nor a guide or (woe betide anyone chance the idea) a diplomat... he was little more than a hired sword who just happened to have the right kind of qualification.

 

He shrugged, a pretty pointless gesture considering the princess was still hidden away behind the door.

 

"... a guard. Sort of. Dont fret, it's quite safe."

 

Well, that was probably the best description that didn't involve explaining that his regular duties would involve tracking down and exterminating her kind. Somehow, he suspected that she wouldn't take that minor fact particually well.

[Flying Ace 142]

Dres

@@Flying Ace

Feeling rather bored, Helena put the arrow she was tinkering with away, walked up to the carriage door and glanced around at the other occupants. Shrugging, she opened the door and grabbed on to the top of the doorframe with one hand. She got a little running speed and with a jump, she flipped herself over on to the roof and closed the door. Now the occupants don't need to be worried about the wind.

She turned around after closing the door and saw him sitting cross legged on the roof. Moving with the carriage's motion, she walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder, disappearing at the same time.

@

While waiting for him to react, Helena quietly and carefully, laid down on top of the carriage. She was stil invisible but then again, she didn't realise that there were other people who could sense magic. Until one called her an immature imbecile. She frowned slightly and jumped off the carriage, landing with a slight thud on the ground. She then quickly jogged to the mage and tapped him on the shoulder; reappearing as she did so. "You think I'm an immature imbecile huh?" She asked him with a subtle threatening tone in her voice.

(Sorry I was in the middle of moving) Dresden felt the Carriage sway slightly which let him know that someone had joined him but he would pretend he didnt hear that until they came close and them he would scare them. Soon enough he felt a tap on His shoulder and spranged up, " AH Ha-what?" No one was behind him though what ever happened cause one of them to call out an immature some word Dresden didn't hear.

"Hey you was to see immature I'll give you immature!" Dresden yelled with a grin, snapping his fingers he formed a ball of water in his right hand which he started to toss back and forth between his hand, "ah I can never get old of this, this is really fun."

[Sanctified Absence 126]

@

Zaddion had finally found some peace, but it seems that fate was a rather cruel thing indeed, as at the very moment he had found himself engaged in something he was to be interrupted yet again. Some of these people clearly had no sense of the gravity the task bared, or at least that was the conclusion he came to.

 

"So you were the one who squandered her talent on trivial matters?" He sighed, not even bothering to stop nor turn around, Zaddion was not one for conversation even with those he deemed acceptable, but this girl? He had even less patience for those he deemed fools "Then yes, yes I do."

 

@@Flying Ace

Hearing someone else call from the caravan behind him, it took no particular amount of will to just ignore the voice completely, if these people want to distract him from his duties for something obviously more important, then he had little time for them.

 

"However as you appear too ignorant to realise why, I shall enlighten you," his previous emotions quickly faded into a sense of emotionless yet still fuelled duty. "If I, an admittedly lowly Mage compared to some out there, could tell you performed that without looking, imagine how much attention you could've attracted were there others of my skills nearby. If our charge has such a fearsome guard then surely there are others looking for her, it would be best not to attract such... Characters."

Edited July 2, 2014 by Blissful Chaos

[Sekel 692]

@, @@Flying Ace

Helena glanced at the carriage and found him making a water ball fly back and forth between his fingers. She gave an extremely small smile and turned back to the mage. "I don't think it's trivial if it helps me out with what I do." She said quietly and in some ways, that may seem even more dangerous; then she dropped back to run back towards the carriage. Getting just enough momentum, she jumped onto the door side of the carriage and climbed up. She got up and sat down, watching him throw the ball back and forth between his hands.

[RunsWithSquirlz 274]

@@Alex Kennedy,

 

"Tulla and this is Tugg, nice to meet you Robert" she said; somewhat distracted by Zaddion and Helena.  The woman was very lithe; sneaking around like a fox.

 

@,

 

With a soft click the carriage door opened and the thin figure of Whisper slunk out. Maybe not as gracefully as most princesses' do; but it wasn't her concern. She gathered the long thin fabric of her green skirt and easily picked up the pace between Adrass and her carriage. She was tall for her age, her long legs helping her match his stride.

 

Of course, this surprised the soldiers and for a moment they were confused before turning back to attention. "Adrass, surely you must be more than a guard,no?" she asked innocently.

 

She saw the ball of liquid and laughed happily. Magic was such a wonder and even though she was one of them, the wonders of it never ceased to amaze her.

 

As soon as the Princess stepped out from her carriage though; a burst of magic crossed over them. Washing them over in a cooling feeling; they felt a surge within their own powers as well.

[Alex Kennedy 1,228]

@@RunsWithSquirlz,

 

((It should be noted that, due to a lack of any real training, and the fact that he doesn't practice the usual kind of magic, Robert's ability to sense magic is underdeveloped, and he wouldn't really notice it most of the time.))

 

He looked over at the others and laughed a bit. "Looks like we've got a whole bunch of weirdos traveling with us, huh? Not that I really mind. The people you meet are half the fun of traveling. And anyway, some people might say that I'm rather strange myself." It was about then that he felt a strange feeling come over him, like a gentle breeze. "Did you feel that? It's strange, I kind of have an urge to start singing all of a sudden."

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Adrass.

 

@@RunsWithSquirlz,

 

Adrass shivered slightly as the unpleasant chill of magic warped around him - his body and mind denying it through years of conditioning and abuse. He followed the princesses gaze and scowled towards the warlock who was so brazenly flaunting his dark ways for all to see.

 

Quickly averting his eyes and forcing a neutral expression into his face, he returned his sight to the princess before him.

 

She was young - that was the first thing that he noticed. No doubt idealistic and naive, at least to her own way of thinking. Even to him she looked... innocent... but thinking in such a way was a deadly trap that he wasn't going to allow himself to fall into.

 

"More? Oh no... I'm just the best of a bad situation." He shrugged. "Or the worst of a good one - depends on your point of view. Either way, I'm here to make sure you get to Illia unharmed."

 

'... and I still think its a terrible choice of work...' His mind added silently in the refuge of his head.

 

He paused - never really being much of a talker. It came with his line of work. Casting around for a line of conversation so that he might at least learn something about his charge, he settled on the closest thing to common-ground that the two of the had.

 

"Heard your friend saying you should get outside and I figured you might want to get some air while we're still in your own kingdom, that's all." He shrugged offhandedly. "Just say if you need anything, I guess."

[Sekel 692]

Helena withdrew a crossbow bolt from the quiver she keeps under her cloak and began to mess around with it. She doesn't have the proper tools to fashion inventive crossbow bolts but she does have the tools to fashion new ordinary crossbow bolts if need be. She paused in her work to look as the princess came out of the carriage, it was then that she felt something course through her body. "What was that?'

[Sanctified Absence 126]

Another spike in the elements? If these companions could not keep their magic in check for much longer Zaddion was going to blow a fuse, even with his patience and willpower.

 

"Alright, who's too ignorant to understand the simple idea of..." Turning to the caravan behind him he quickly saw the cause of the sudden burst. Giving a slight respectful bow without bending his knees Zaddion suddenly regretted the choice of words in his previous statement.

 

"Princess, are you sure it is wisest to expose yourself so far into the wilderness?" Regaining his composure and retrieving his tight grip on the staff Zaddion could not help feel strange when looking towards their charge. The Magick aura she generated both confused and intrigued him, especially when he felt the very same energy flow through himself.   

Edited July 2, 2014 by Blissful Chaos