private The Fall of Andalasia ~Book 1~

[Alex Kennedy 1,228]

@@RunsWithSquirlz,

 

Robert stepped forward. "Madame, we've been through a great many hardships today, having been attacked by bandits and we're simply looking for a place to rest for the night. And if perhaps there's a doctor in town, some of us are wounded and in need of treatment. Could you help us?"

[RunsWithSquirlz 274]

"Bandits eh? We've been havin'trouble with 'em lately.somethings got 'em all excited" she stepped aside, swinging the door open and allowing them inside.

 

"Doctor?" She scoffed."Unless you're a horse or sheep, there ain't a bloody doctor."

 

She looked at them suspiciously "What were you doin' in these parts at this time?"

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

(Guess I'm going to post again: just going to presume that Flinch is following Adrass while Scribble is busy on his holiday. I'll avoid gmodding as much as possible.)

 

Adrass.

 

As the first true sight of civilisation came into view, Adass gave a gasping sigh of relief - a sawmill of all things. Slowing to a jog for a brief moment to squint into the distance before closing his eyes, shaking his head and resuming his thunderous stride across the stump-laden woodland. Anything was better than nothing, and while it was unlikely that they would have much worth taking, he might at least find some new clothes and a hot meal. A lumberyard meant axes - and by extension, a blacksmith.

 

Of course, money wasn't something that he carried much of normally, and the jaunt down the river hadn't exactly improved his financial standing. Still, there were ways and means to get what he needed - some which he liked more than others - a true conscience still a fairly recent and flimsy development, but a development none the less - though all were quite efficient. He only hoped that he needn't cut his way out of this secluded community.

 

...

 

"They might try to kill us on sight, or sing our praises. I've never been here but other hunters might have - I don't know." He wasn't really speaking to anyone in particular: mostly just using his temporary companion as an outlet to voice his thoughts out loud. He didn't wait for or take notice of any reply, continuing his monologue. "No coat or hat, they probably won't even be able to tell anyway. Still, we go in, get what we need and find some place to rest: stay out of the public eye if we can."

 

A preference of his own: to stay incognito. Sure, the outfit gave him away by a mile to anyone who knew what he was, but without it he would be just another traveller... albeit a particularly well-armed one with a rather worn complexion and... well, suffice to say he wouldn't fit in without at least covering up more. Scars weren't rare, but the hundreds of mishealed canyons cross-crossing his skin marked him as more than a mere sellsword or trapper. At any rate, when he hunted he tried to keep his head down - so to speak - and his eyes open. It was something he intended to do so now as well. Even if folks noticed them, there was still protection in being implacable - just a face someone had noticed, not someone they followed.

[Sekel 692]

Hepena wasn't sayinh anything as she was calmly breathing through the fire in her legs. She noticed that the sign read Boggart's Inn but it meant nothing to her. She figured to leave the talking to the silver tongues anyway. The bard had a way with words because, well, he's a bard and bards were meant to have that sort of ability. 'We're here to heal the King but I doubt the maid would like hearing that.' Helena thought wryly to herself.

[Sanctified Absence 126]

Zaddion preferred to remain silent at the woman's questions. It would seem far more reasonable to let those who had more experience talking to engage in the conversation without him. Of course there was still the matter of his clothing, he hadn't seen her making any particular fuss out of it but he still tried to remain in the background and away from any attention.

[Alex Kennedy 1,228]

@@RunsWithSquirlz,

 

Robert gestured to the lute slung across his back. "Traveling performers, ma'am. We go all over the place. Of course, the bandits pretty much put a stop to that. My lute is just about all we have left of our instruments and equipment. Of course, I'd still be happy to play a song for you, if you'd like. Just, I don't know how much the others can really contribute."

[RunsWithSquirlz 274]

"I wont have you playin' anything at this hour. Take your pick of rooms, they're all empty anyways. Mind your noise, my husband is still asleep. We'll arrange payment in the morning." She waved them off, yawning and heading back towards her own room.

 

Tulla took Helena from Robert and trudged up the stairs "I dont want him getting any ideas" Tulla whispered with the faintest smile. Whisper ascended quickly, her toes barely touching each step as she went. She was tired and any bed would do right now.

[Alex Kennedy 1,228]

@@RunsWithSquirlz,@@Dji,

 

Robert grinned. "I heard that, you know. And anyway, all you'll really accomplish by sharing a room with her is giving me much more interesting ideas." He chuckled and shook his head. "But of course, I could only dream of such things. I'm not so low as to force myself on a woman, especially not a crippled one. You two sleep well, though. As for me, I have far more work to do putting our adventures to song before I can sleep."

[Sekel 692]

@@RunsWithSquirlz, @@Alex Kennedy

Helena was keeping quiet until she found herself being carried by Tulla instead. "What are you doing? I can-" Helena's protests were cut short when she remembered the injuries to her legs. "Oh yeah." Helena muttered to gerself. She heard what Robert said and responded with a question: "Bard, if two girls sharing a room gives you ideas, then how would you react if they became reality?" Helena asked seriously, teasing him slightly. There's no harm in teasing, right?

Edited July 23, 2014 by Dji

[Alex Kennedy 1,228]

@@Dji,

 

His grin didn't fade in the slightest. "Maybe some day you'll get to see first hand how I'd react. Of course, I doubt I'd ever get so lucky.  But if you find yourself feeling lonely or anything, just feel free to stop by my room, alright? Or I could come over there. Whatever." He chuckled again and walked off into an empty room. 

[Flying Ace 142]

@@Alex Kennedy, @@Dji, @@RunsWithSquirlz

"Ok, you two enough with the little romance you can sing about each other's love in the morning," Dresden said with a chuckle as he climbed the steps to a empty room. "Well, good night everybody I'll see in the morning...or afternoon if that's when I wake up." Dresden said.

[Shadow Dancer 111]

I went to a empty room ignoring the jokes being past around, when I entered the room it was noting too impressive just an old bed, in a pretty small room. I did not mind I've slept in worse conditions. With those observations done I sat on the bed and fell asleep sometime later.

[Sekel 692]

Helena stared after Robert with her mouth slightly. She didn't realise he would take it literally! She then heard what Dresden said and thought the possibility over. Was it flirting? If that's what he was implying then it could have been but ... she didn't really know. It was a problem for the morning and right now, Helena just wanted to sleep.

@@RunsWithSquirlz

"Let's just go to sleep." Helena said tiredly.

[Scribblegroove 565]

Flinch

 

The density of the forest had decreased to the point of revealing paths and roads between the trees. He noticed that there were several treestumps nearby. This was a logging forest by no doubt, but the sawmill was nowhere to be seen. He hoped they would find it sooner than later, since he wasn't sure how much longer his potion would suffice. He had a few more doses, but if the maiden caught up with them there would be no alchemical elixr he could make to save them.

 

His hopes were fulfilled when the lumberyard finally panned into view. He didn't know for sure how Adrass would handle entering this area and no alert any lumberjacks or villagers, but he was certain that he himself would attract much more attention in his attire. Pitch-black coat and a hood. That had shady written all over it.

 

But perhaps that wasn't a bad thing. The medic emblem was still proudly displayed on his chest. Any villagers in the area would trust him if he told them he was a traveling doctor in need of supplies.

 

"Perhaps we should travel on to the village that lies ahead. I'm not sure of how much use this place can be. Otherwise you might want to let me do the talking. I'm used to handling distressed or suspicious villagers..." He told Adrass as they closed the distance between them and the sawmill.

[Torrent505 370]

Since it was the middle of the night the lumber yard was dark and abandoned, well almost. The main room had an unnatural light coming from it, light that didn't flicked or shift as a torch flame should. Inside the room was a single short man working on something in the rooms center where the saw mills main blade should have been. Most of the light came from strange glass jars in the top of a even stranger cart behind him, the cart was metal with turning gears and expanding and compressing billows all sorts of tubes and shifting parts, from it came a sense of mixed magick's though water was the strongest. The other bit of light came from the end of a hose that the man held were a small focus blue flame raged.

 

The short man was stout and very well muscled, on his back two strange contraptions one like a sword the other like a large version of Adrass's pistols. His hair was unkempt and on his face was a pair of glasses lined with a multitude of all types of lenses that could shift and slide into place.

 

He was a traveling tinkerer, a man devoted to science, knowledge and the gods of wisdom and invention; these strange men and their order had machines that they claimed where not magic, though rarely seemed to be anything less.

 

Clarke Volkreig was his name and he had come to the little village because of their successful lumber industry, he had shown them his inventions and convinced them to pay him to make some upgrades to the facility. He was working all night, he wanted to get the job done get paid and leave this podunk place in the morning.

[RunsWithSquirlz 274]

Tulla tried hard not to laugh as she bumped the door to their room open with her hip, things were bound to get interesting. Well, more than they already were. She laid Helena down on her cot and threw herself down on the other. It took only seconds for her to fall asleep.

 

Whisper flushed a furious red overhearing the raunchy conversation. She quickly darted into her own room and closed the door behind her with a soft click. The small fire in the hearth was a welcome sight and the princess curled up under her sheets. Finn stayed clasped to her breast; she didn't want to let him go.

 

Many times, she had thrown open her balcony doors to allow Finn to fly into her bedchambers. She would get into trouble if her parents knew she slept with a dragon. It was beneath a princess. He was far too dangerous.

 

He was her best friend and she loved him. These thoughts helped her drift off into an easy sleep.

[Sekel 692]

When Helena was laid on her cot, she felt herself drifting off to sleep but there were just too many thoughts swirling wround her mind to offer her any chance of sleep. She yawned slightly and managed to turn on her side without to much pain. Breathing calmly, she tried to quell the thoughts and thinking that she was somewhat successsful, she fell asleep soon after.

[Sanctified Absence 126]

After a few minutes of deep thought, Zaddion made his way to one of the rooms that were still empty. It definitely wasn't the dark room filled with scrolls and occasional arcane looking objects, but he had grown used to that ever since he left his place of learning on this voyage. "They just can't grasp the seriousness of the situation can they?" Being a lonely person he had adopted the sometimes worrying habit of talking out loud to himself.

 

Leaning into his pouch before pulling out the chains and Tome, Zaddion quietly bound his book back into its proper state before collapsing into what was supposedly bedding. He was far too tired to remain awake for long, even with his precious book of Shadow Magick sprawled on the floor in the open.   

[Flying Ace 142]

Dresden took off his vest and looked at a small mirror and winced; both his shoulders were red with blood he'll have to apologize to the owners tomorrow. With effort Dresden was able to get into bed with out problems but instead of falling asleep he reached into his pockets to pull out a wet piece of paper with his magic he was able to get all the water out so he could read the four words written on it, 'He's name is Dresden.' It was all he had of his parents.

[Shadow Dancer 111]

I figured that we were about three months away if things were smooth and simple. Six or more if things went to hell. "Well this jorney is closer to being finished, then I can go back to the simple life of killing when given a contract." With that thought in my head I went to sleep.

Edited July 23, 2014 by Shadow Dancer

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Adrass.

 

"Indeed."

 

Adrass slowed slightly as the pair made their way into the lumber yard - making no attempt to either draw or avoid attention as he strode onwards. Hands moving to his front, he began to draw the still-damp pistols one by one - filling their firing mechanisms and barrels with sand. It would soak up the water and - with time - brush out with a quick breath to leave a dry firearm that would hopefully work as well as it had in the past.

 

It would be disastrous to need to replace the pistols - there weren't many who dabbled with the technical know how to manufacture such weapons, leaving them costly tools to replace... and it wasn't like the order would supply him with new weapons after all if this came to light.

 

"Just a roof over our heads would be a welcome change right now." He said as he strode onwards. "And some new clothing. Once we're prepared I can track them by their stench - we find the princess and we stay beside her until that demon finds us again."

 

Just why he was announcing his plan to the doctor, Adrass wasn't certain. Possibly just because he was there - but he seemed as reliable as anyone else he had met this side of the border so far. Perhaps not the most cheerful fellow... but reliable at least. Anyway - it might be useful to have a medical practitioner at hand.

[Alex Kennedy 1,228]

Just as he said he would be, Robert was up for many hours longer working on recording the day's events for the ages. When he had finally made note of everything that happened that day, he left things open at the end. He had a feeling they were just getting started.

[Torrent505 370]

Grave had lost the ability to sense the pair when they made their way on to the saw mills stone set yard, he flared his earth magic both as a last futile attempt to sense them and hopefully as a brief warning to the hunter to sense the path behind them and feel the Iron Maiden's approach. He had decided if they had made it that far he would rather not kill them, the Iron Maiden was unlikely to reward him much for just a hunter and doctor after all. Still he needed to at least go through the motions of hunting them, so only a few minutes after they had arrived his bike squeaked onto the yards cobblestones.

 

He saw the light inside the mill and murmured to himself, "they wouldn't have been so foolish." He didn't bother to search the area in depth instead heading straight for the light and noise. Inside was not either of his targets but a short man with a metal contraption working on some other metal contraption, Grave called out to him, "you there stop working on that strange-fangled thing and come here, I have some questions for you."

 

The man turned around and squinted at Grave before reaching up and switching around different lenses on his goggles. "How rudimentary." was all said before simply staring at the old man with his brow furrowed.

 

Grave was confused by the comment, "what?"

 

"You're transportation, a simple frame and wheels, how bare boned, undeveloped and boring. Though I am curious how do you propel it? Some sort of magic I assume?"

 

Grave made a disgusted face, the little man was a tinkerer and Grave loathed tinkerers, they were always changing things never letting things alone or accepting good enough. "That does not matter, what are you doing here? How long have you been here? Have you seen two men come through?"

 

Clarke raised a brow, "Of course it matters! It's how you move the device without a means of propulsion it wouldn't even be a transport!"

 

Grave rubbed his wrinkled face in annoyance, the fellow probably wouldn't answer anything until he heard what he wanted, "yes it's magick, earth magick, I have dirt in this coffin. Now please answer my questions."

 

Clarke grinned, "I knew it was raw magick, so unrefined. I'm here on contract to build the mill a large saw-of-chains, I've been working all night and I've seen no one but you." He seemed to think for a moment, "And you are trespassing I must ask you to leave."

 

"No worries I have no plans to share foul company." Grave muttered to himself as he head back towards the yard, but the Tinkerer had already turned back to his work and did not respond if he had heard.

 

Outside the Iron Maiden had just arrived, Grave went to her, "I've lost there trail here, but I got close enough to get a good sense of them, they were too heavy and had a gait that indicates they were males. So even if we manage to hunt them down now it won't get you the princess. I didn't sense any bodies in the river or people in the woods as I traveled so you best hurry down stream in my opinion, who knows how far that river might carry a body." Grave stretched and yawned, "I'm going to the village, I didn't catch anyone so consider the information free, if you want to hire me again you can find me there. The only man in the lumber yard is a tinkerer who's too caught in his work to notice if the building collapsed around him. I'll take my leave, you do not wish to see a man my age without proper beauty sleep." He cracked a grin at that before turn his bike and starting for town, he hoped the two men wouldn't be along the way.

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Adrass.

 

It had been a while since he had gotten a good nights rest - deep sleep wasn't something one expected out on the road anyway and unconsciousness had the unfortunate side effect of not being anywhere near as restful as it might appear from an outsiders point of view. The... concoction, helped somewhat, but Adrass was fighting a loosing battle with his fatigue. His pace slowed to a steady jog, and finally to a solid walk. He willed himself onward, but there was little more that his body could give.

 

As the village came into view, it was a relief like he hadn't felt in a while. He paused momentarily - considering his options. The best thing to do would be to bed down for the night here - find an outcropping somewhere and rest: enter the village in the morning when folks were awake. There would be fewer questions, more people awake and less mistrustful superstition. Of course that carried its own problems, but it was easier to keep ones head down in a crowd...

 

The vile surge of magic rocked through his bones from the very ground itself. A mage - one if the earth most likely - was somewhere behind them. Instinctively, his eyes closed as he denied its grasping towards his mind - mentally shooing the black powers away. He glanced back at the doctor and jerked his head in the direction of the village.

 

"We don't want to be here - we'll wait out the rest of the night somewhere in town, an alley or open window or something, andfind better lodging in the morning."

 

The faint smudge of an orange glow on the horizon suggested that dawn wasn't far away at any rate. It's warm glow gave him pause as he considered an old friend it reminded him of, before shaking his head, hoisting the swords further up his back and beginning the final stretch towards the town.

[RunsWithSquirlz 274]

The Maiden stood by the mill; uncaring for the tinkerer inside. Some of her best men stood around her, waiting for her order.

 

"Ser Crowley" she adressed a gaunt soldier with deep gray armor and tattered cape "My party shall be departing back to the Capitol. The Prince will want to know of these happenings, whether they are good or not. Stay here and see if you can track survivors."

 

"As you wish m'lady. What shall I do if I find them?" He replied.

 

"Kill the rest but save the girl for me. The princess shall only fall to my blade." She motioned for the rest to follow and she trudged onward, further searching the banks of the river. Ser Crowley watched them go, the large raven perched on his shoulder ruffled its feathers; cocking his head. The man said nothing and he walked back into the shadows, disappearing like smoke.

Edited July 24, 2014 by RunsWithSquirlz