Fantasy The Black Ravine Hunt [IC]

[AnonyMouse]

Cephilia Valdergeuse
CkSmalling ~ AI10100 ~ VioletShadow ​

After Syvill’s attendant departed, Cephilia turned her attention to the bar and began to think about what she would order. Tea sounded nice. Or, perhaps, some sort of local brew. Something light and easy. Something that didn’t scream, ‘I’m drinking because I’m a nervous wreck.’

In her peripheral vision, she spied Robert King approaching. The damned Wing Clipper had summoned him. Cephilia knew nothing about this man other than what she’d seen since entering the tavern, but Alois said he was a well-known member of a guild of hunters or something, so he couldn’t be entirely bad, right? Cephilia didn’t care. Something about him made her feathers stand on end. If her wings weren't hidden away inside her coat, they would probably be bristling like an angry cat right now.

Thankfully, the elf responded to him before Cephilia could. His ‘noblewoman’ comment got under her skin more than it should have. He probably didn’t mean anything by it, but she’d been underestimated too many times before, as if being born rich meant she didn’t know how to get her hands dirty or learn a useful trade. Then again, aren’t I being just as judgmental? she thought with a small sigh as she half-turned to face him and the archer. If I want people to stop seeing me as just another noble, maybe I can start by not being such an asshole.

Just as she completed that thought, Alois finished speaking and Cephilia was about to introduce herself to Robert, but the avian knight rose and informed them all it was time to go. “I suppose we will have to continue this on the road,” Cephilia said to the hunter as she stood. “Healer, by the way. I’ll be seeing you around, Robert. Not too much, I hope, but… you know what I mean. Don’t break a leg or anything.”

Satisfied that she didn’t absolutely botch that, she bowed and then hurried to catch up with the winged knight. Unknown to her, a single black feather fluttered to the ground as she swiftly strode away. Cephilia passed Alois, Jason, and the Ocalillan girl as she caught up with the avian and matched his steps.

“My company is transporting supplies to the frontlines,” she explained to him as they walked. The words ‘my company’ still didn’t taste right. She never thought in a million years she would return home and take over the family business. “Our caravan is waiting at the bottom of the hill, southeast. Eight wagons, fully loaded, and about a dozen volunteers we picked up along the way. None willing to venture into the breach, of course, but plenty willing to join the fight to hold the line. If we’re headed to the Ravine now, there ought to be enough room for everyone. And if not, I’ll need a moment to let my people know this is where our paths diverge. If that’s alright with you, sir.”

 

[Reinhardt]

Loius LeitnerLocation: Arkae
Interactions: Everyone(?)

Time passed by as more people came and introduced themselves, adding to the group's ever-growing number. While Loius could care less about who is in this suicide squad, knowing the names of these folk is detrimental to the mission's success - and so she tried to remember each one of them, not by their names, nor by their looks, but by the impressions they gave off.

Some of them, Loius found to be a terrible addition, some were a decent, and that was not factoring the standards she was used to under Devan's division. The others, Loius simply didn't bother to care about. At one point in this task, they'll eventually be away from each other.

After a long while, the avian that seemed to be in charge decided that it was time to depart this rendezvous. Whether it was a good thing or not, Loius kept herself from commenting that they were wasting time here. Or it seemed.

"Finally.", she scoffed. "I thought the pointless nonsense would never end."

Loius rose from her seat, then followed the avian shortly.

 

[Felix Asher]

Well- forget the food. Robin rose in a rush, barely having rested his feet for a couple of minutes. For a few seconds, he mentally mourned the ache in the bottoms of his feet and in the calves. Ah, if only they'd delayed their departure just a little bit more. No, he probably shouldn't complain, this was for the good of their countries! The longer they delayed, the longer the people would be exposed to danger.

"Jason Riviera," He said, instead using their conversation as a distraction from the sour ache in the soles of his feet, "I'll remember that." He was slightly perturbed by the response, it wasn't anything like he'd been expecting. Just what did Jason mean by that? Perhaps he'd been vague on purpose- it wouldn't have been out of the expected for people to be cautious about revealing what they could do, right? The element of surprise was often an advantage in itself.

With nothing else to occupy him, he adjusted his grip on his bag and strode slightly forward to catch up with the group, mentally matching the names to their faces so that he wouldn't forget. And another thing- had the avian soldier mentioned riding? What if he didn't have a horse with him? He prayed that he wouldn't have been the only one- that would be slightly embarrassing.

Almost as if in answer, he caught the trailing end of Lady Cephilia's words and mentally heaved a sigh of relief. If it came to it, he could just ask for a ride and hope that she would oblige.

 

[CkSmalling]

Robert King
(Mentions: AnonyMouse , AI10100 )
​

Robert tried his best to hide his expression and failed misery. A member of the famous Jormungandr , and the Wing Clippers to boot. He was very impressed until she revealed the medallion of the guild. Carefully, he took it in his hands and explored the medallion. He was very very impressed. He gave back and made a small bow. "Alois Vanviel of the Wing clippers. It is an honor to be in your presence. The stories of the legendary squadron have been told and retold many times. It will be a privilege to see you in actual combat. I apologize before hand if I fail to suppress my excitement." He stood upright and took a large sip off his drink. "I am full aware of my reputation. I will not be surprised if you take it upon yourself to steer clear of me. Again it is an honor to meet a member of the famous squadron."

He turned to the princess who didn't even give him her name. "Well that was rude." He thought to himself. But decided not to dwell much on that. She was a healer and that was pretty much what she was going to get from her for now. Although she said a comment that was totally unnecessary. "Not too much, I hope, but… you know what I mean. Don’t break a leg or anything. What did she mean by that? Does that mean that she was not interested in his company? Was he smelling weird again? Did that woman lie to me about my scent? He was tempted to take a whiff of his armpit but decided not to. He gently bowed and smiled. " Nice to meet you Your Highness. Pleasure talking to you."

The sound of the avian filled the room. I guess it was time to move out. He bowed to the ladies one last time and made his way to the counter.

"Anna, please fill my water-skin with water?"

"Not wine?"

"Water. You will miss me."

"I pretty much doubt that."

He smiled, grabbed the filled water skin and bowed to Anna. "Later."

He followed the rest of the members of the expedition outside of the tavern.

 

[Lekiel]

Lady luck had been smiling upon him ever since he decided to take up the job from the official escort whose tabard he now wore, noticeably oversized for his pubescent age. The older boy had groaned when he found out he was to escort a Chubican, and had quickly outsourced the task to anyone willing to take his place; unofficially of course. With the wars still fresh in most minds, Penn had been the only one to jump at the opportunity. Nevermind the fact that it only paid one silver; ninety percent of the total cut went the messenger as 'referral fee', whatever the heck that was. He needed whatever coin he could glean so that his sister could continue her apprenticeship at the bakery. He'd been told that he only needed to drop the Chubican in Arkae, but Penn had decided to stay. Though dour, snobbish and perpetually moody, the tall Chubican had been very generous with his tips and young Penn had already earned more than he would have in a month. A further plus was that the only mistreatment he'd suffered thus far, was being told rather tersely, to shut up his inquisitive chattering. Such could not be said even for the fellow Eadigian masters he'd slaved under. He rather suspected that either Chubicans weren't as bad as everyone else claimed they were, or the ranger saw something appealing within his small wiry frame.

“He’s a real charmer, isn’t he?” A pleasant cadence interrupted the young boy's thoughts, stealing his attention away from his musings. Nonplussed, he blinked at the red-eyed dark haired noblewoman. It took him a moment and a furthering of the conversation for him to realize who she was referring to.

"I thought so too!" Penn grinned brightly at the noblewoman with the odd looking back, replying to her suggestion of ordering tea. He was pleased with the knowledge that he was not the only one to have thought of serving the Chubican elf tea. If even she would've made the err, surely he wasn't so ignorant and unknowledgeable as most would have him feel. Penn puffed up his chest and mimicked a deeper voice in mocking jest of the haflelf.

"Tea!? I didn't know you Eadigians have such weak dainty stomachs! What do you take me for? A paper-faced royal!? Penn chortled at his own joke. He did quickly calm down, after his brief bout of mirth, bowing and taking his leave off the lady.

⊰~❇~⊱​

"One house special coming right up!" Penn set the tankard down with an audible thud, spilling some of the froth from the overflowing container. "It's supposed to be the best in all Arkae!" He looked on expectantly as the Ivory Ranger eyed the drink with raised brows, before taking a hearty swig.

Syvill set the tankard down and glanced around the room, before noticing that the young boy was still staring at him wide-eyed.

"What? I said you can leave."

"How's it!?" Penn pressed.

Syvill grunted and made a face. "Barely passable. Now get out of my face." He flicked another gold coin at the boy, before shooing him off. Where he was headed, gold would only be a weight burden anyway.

Before too long, the avian soldier announced that they were departing. Syvill chugged the rest of his drink's contents and strode out after the rest of the troop, blatantly disregarding the presence of the others. He doubted many of them would be anything more than meat shields anyway.

 

[wafflegirl]

Elayne Ocalillan
____​

Elayne let out a sigh of relief when a woman, who looked much like she was part of a high society, said that there would be wagons. She was worried that they would travel on foot, like how some military troops did. Elayne wasn't cut out for that kind of torture. The girl pulled her hair into a bun, hoping to relieve herself from the heat of the afternoon. Suddenly, her stomach began to grumble. When was the last time she ate? Probably when she had her breakfast at the manor before leaving. Honestly, she would rather starve than to eat whatever this place had to offer. But she had no choice, she must preserve her energy if she wanted to make it out of this alive.

Elayne stopped on her tracks, letting the group walk ahead of her as she go to the nearest food stall and bought herself a loaf of bread. It bothered her to eat something without using her silver cutlery, regardless, she devoured the whole thing within seconds as she caught up with the group. She was busy pulling a flask from her bag that she bumped into a boy with brown hair and green eyes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that." She eyed him. He was definitely part of the expedition, but Elayne wasn't quite sure if he was fit for it. He'll be gored to death in no time. Beside him was a...child? Why would there be a child in this dangerous mission?

"I see someone made a mistake," she said, referring to the kid.

_____​

Mentioned: AnonyMouse
Interaction: Felix Asher BlueJay1403

 

[AnonyMouse]

The Avian Knight BlueJay1403 ~ wafflegirl ~ AI10100 ~ Felix Asher ~ CkSmalling ~ Lekiel ~ Reinhardt​

The knight took his time responding to Cephilia’s offer. For a moment, she wasn’t even sure if he’d heard her. He simply kept walking, his pace swift, but steady. After what seemed like an eternity, words began to spill from beneath his helm.

“We’re not going all the way to the frontlines,” he said, “but we are headed in that general direction. Your caravan should get us where we’re going… but we need to move quickly.”

He said the last part with a sense of urgency and danger that made the raven-haired noblewoman flinch. It was not his intention to frighten her or make her worry, but he needed to impress upon her the urgency of the situation. As if to punctuate that fact, his squire, the diminutive woman in the gray cloak, returned pulling two horses by the reins. It was rather obvious which horse belonged to which rider: his was a sturdy black warhorse, nearly as imposing as the man himself. Hers was a small white mare.

“Thank you,” the knight said, taking the reins of both horses. He finally stopped walking and the entire group stopped with him. “How quickly can your caravan be ready?” he said to Lady Valdergeuse. Although the words were directed at her, he didn’t lower his voice.

“Immediately,” she replied.

“How quickly can they get us to Kejyx?” he asked, which only earned him a blank stare from the woman. It was a small town, abandoned now. He wasn’t surprised she hadn’t heard of it. “It’s in the Eastern Foothills, not far from Harbest. You’ve heard of Harbest?”

“Yes,” she nodded eagerly. “A day and a half. Less if we really push. We could get there in under twenty four hours if we dump some-”

“No, no, you’re taking much-needed supplies to the frontlines. Don’t dump anything for our sake,” the knight said. “A day and half will do just fine. Go.”

The woman nodded and sprinted off to go prep her wagon train to receive them. His gray-cloaked squire wordlessly followed after her, her blue shawl trailing behind her like a wispy spectre.

After they were gone, the knight turned his attention to the group. “As you just heard, we won’t be going to the frontlines. I’ll explain more once we’re underway, but the short version is as follows: we’ve found a back door into the heart of the Black Ravine… and the enemy is threatening to shut that door as we speak. We need to get there before they do. Should we fail, we will have to fight our way through the Horde’s main forces and descend into the Ravine at the frontlines.” He paused, for emphasis: “And you know how well that has worked in the past.”

This was not the first time a party of heroes had been gathered to investigate the Ravine. The Empire had organized three such expeditions. Chubica had tried it four or five times. And private groups had taken a stab at it half dozen times as well.

They all died. Horribly. Or never returned.

But this time will be different, the knight thought. Our group is smaller, more diverse, and --most importantly-- we’re not waltzing in through the front door like a bunch of lemmings. Discovering that cave system is a game changer everything. We mustn't squander this blessing.

“We have at least a day’s ride ahead of us,” The knight said. “Those of you with mounts, get them. Those without, follow me; we’ll make room for you in the caravan. We’ll all be traveling on foot once we get where we’re going, so don’t spare the horses. We can’t take them with us into the underground.”

With a mighty flap of his wings, he boosted himself up onto his horse. It was truly a marvel to see a man move so quickly in so much armor. As he settled into the saddle, his squire’s white mare shifted uneasily. He still gripped her reins, as well as his own.

“We ride in ten,” the knight said with finality as he turned his steed toward where the caravan waited and began to trot away. “I’ll answer your questions once we’re on the road.”

 

[Felix Asher]

Robin instinctively braced himself as someone bumped into him, faltering slightly in stride as he shot the lady a smile. She had been one of the last few to arrive, and it took him longer than he would have liked to pull her name from his memory. It didn’t help that he had been talking with Jason at that point. “Elayne, was it? Don’t worry about it.” He said, with a small wave of his free hand. He had a quip ready in response, but before he could use it, she had already changed the topic, shifting the attention towards the young vixen boy.

Her next words didn’t quite settle so well as his logical side thought it should. Of course, by no means should a child ever be sent to the front lines of a war, let alone one with a nature such as this. However, Robin had already decided earlier to give him the benefit of doubt- and whether it was mistake or not on his part, well- he would come to that when it mattered. Besides, a lack of faith and confidence in someone could be just as devastating as a wounding blow. He should know, of all people. “I’m sure Jason was not mistaken about his intentions,” Robin ventured carefully, not wanting to offend Elayne, “He made that clear earlier, before quite a few of us arrived.” His gaze shifted quickly over to Jason, checking to see if he had heard.

“Regardless, perhaps he’ll be more pivotal to this campaign than we expected.” Shrugging, he kept his tone light, far from serious but devoid of any mocking intent. If the knight in charge had let him stay on, then who were they to dispute that?



Speak of the devil- his thoughts were interrupted by the knight’s voice, loud and clear even from the front. Robin listened intently as he spoke of their plan, the back door, and the caravan. Listening to his somber tone, Robin felt the first stirrings of hesitance in his gut. A half-formed plan and his skills had led him this far, down a road that seemingly ended here. Well, this was what he’d worked for, so why was he hesitating? He swallowed his fear and pushed it back, far, far back. It was normal to feel nervous, everybody did. It would be those who could overcome that fear that would stand out.

“I don’t suppose any of you have a horse?” He wondered, directed mostly at Elayne and Jason. “I’ll be with the caravan, since I walked here.” He flashed them another half grin before heading for the avian knight, taking a silent moment to marvel at his dexterity, as if the armour he wore was nothing but silken cloth. Ah, if the knight would be leading them into the Ravine, well, that put him slightly more at ease.

[ wafflegirl BlueJay1403 AnonyMouse ]

 

[AI10100]

Alois Vanviel
Interacting with: BlueJay1403 ​

Alois had originally been surprised with Robert's reaction. He seemed to actually be impressed, and the elf couldn't help but smile with pride. No matter what the Eadigians saw her as, any Chubican would not be afraid or spiteful of her position. Alois is quite happy that there were fellow Chubicans because at least she didn't have to be kept under a strict gaze because of mutual - though it wasn't very mutual on her part - distrust.

It was quite interesting to hear that their resident child - Jason - actually does have some form of magic. It's just that he doesn't know how to control it. How very fascinating. Alois, herself, wasn't quite as well-versed with magic as she would have liked. Her parents and her sister were all well-versed in magic, so there was no reason as to why she couldn't use them. If only she had a bit more time to learn more from her master, then maybe she wouldn't have this kind of predicament.

The elf had followed the knight with her mind somewhere else, thinking about Jason's mysterious magical prowess and then game plans as to how she can work with these others. Without the general trust of a squad - and that meant they trusted each other with their lives - it would be very difficult to actually work together. Alois had always been the kind of person who made do-or-die shots - arrows flying centimeters from an ally's face to strike the enemy behind. It was useful for surprise attacks. She wondered if any of them would be willing to trust her like that.

Her thoughts stalled when the knight began to speak. So they would be going through a back door? Good enough for her. Alois had always been operating on the game plan of hit and run. Sneak and shoot. So this was an excellent plan for her. Of course, she had her reservations about it. If the monsters were trying, desperately, to close it then wouldn't they have it guarded? But, perhaps less so than the frontlines.

She made her way to the caravan but paused and then headed for Jason. "Hey, Jason, my parents were eager magical researchers. I'm not as good at it as they are, but maybe I can help? Especially if when we go into battle and you accidentally tap into it, maybe I can study it." Alois offered. If he was coming with them anyway, might as well find out something that would make him more useful than just bait.

 

[CkSmalling]

Robert King
[Mentions: AI10100 , BlueJay1403 ]​

Robert listened on the Avian Knight's recommendation and nodded in agreement. Although all he wanted to do was slice something up, he just decided to go with the flow. When he mentioned the word 'horde' he froze for a moment. He remembered him clearly losing the fight between only a handful so he multiplied the enemies he encountered by like 1000. His math skills suck but he got a vivid image on how tough the battle was going to be. He looked around at the people he was travelling with and made a conclusion that everyone will be killed.

On the bright side, he will be able to see each and everyone's skillset if they manage to survive. Though his interest was in the kid. He was still perplexed on what he is doing here. Maybe he is lost or is trying to prove to someone or 'some girl' that he is the bravest little child in all of the kingdoms. 'We all have done some crazy things in our loves but this takes the cake.'He mentally said smiling and scanning.

The elf won't have a problem. I mean she is part of a legendary squadron so seeing here in action might be good for the eyes and soul combined. The princess who didn't say what her name was also spiked his interest. What is she going to do, throw money to the ground and hope for the best? Well he was very much curious.

"I should have brought a horse." He said that out loud and very much absentmindedly. And with his very loud voice, there was a chance that someone heard that. He looked around and saw that a good number of the squad had a horse. Fortunately, there was a carriage. At least there was no more walking. He made his way to the carriage and saw Alois going in as well. At least he had some company. Right next to her was a kid. Her kid? He mad his way to them.

"Hi Alois. Great seeing you again. I can see you have brought your child? Was that in the poster? Cute kid."

He turned to the kid. " Wasup, what's your name kid? I'm Robert."

 

[AnonyMouse]

Cephilia ValdergeuseMentioned in post: BlueJay1403 ~ wafflegirl ~ AI10100 ~ Felix Asher ~ CkSmalling​

Cephilia hurried toward where the caravan was waiting, so she could make preparations to receive her new friends. She hoped the caravan leader hadn’t unhitched the horses yet. The avian knight seemed to be in a hurry and she didn’t want any delays.

As she made her way down the hill, she suddenly felt eyes on her and turned to see the knight’s squire following closely behind. Cephila hadn’t even heard the woman approach and her steps were nearly silent.

It was a little unnerving, but Cephilia hid her discomfort with a quick smile. “You here to help? Thanks,” she said cheerfully.

The petite blonde woman just nodded.

“I’m Cephilia by the way. Cephilia Valdergeuse. I don’t think you were there when everyone was making introductions,” Cephilia said.

The woman said nothing.

“I’m a healer. I guess you’re a squire to that knight, right? Or his assistant…?”

Cephilia paused for a reply, but the woman said nothing.

“Or a mage… or… something…” Cephilia finished with a small sigh. “You don’t talk much, do you?”

“I listen,” the petite blonde woman said, her voice barely above a whisper. Cephilia had to lean in slightly to hear her. She waited, expecting more, but the woman said nothing else.

“Well, umm… listening is good… I guess. Everyone likes a good listener,” Cephilia said, feeling kind of awkward. It was like talking to a wall. “Oh, look, we’re here,” she said as they reached the wagon train. “I’ll go talk to the caravan leader and make sure everything’s ready, okay? You can, umm, wait here or… something. It was nice talking with you.”

She chatted with the caravan leader for a few moments about how best to rearrange the cargo to make room for her friends. After a minute or so, they reached a consensus and he departed to speak with the drivers of each wagon. There were eight wagons in all, mostly filled with weapons and armor and supplies, except for the first, which was her personal carriage, smaller and more luxurious than the others. Her uncle was riding in that one. Even though it was far comfier than the others and could probably seat about four people with ample room to stretch out, Cephilia didn’t want to ride with him any further.

He can have it all to himself, she thought dismissively. Besides, where they were headed, she needed to get out of the habit of being ‘comfortable.’

The last two wagons held about a dozen men in total, bound for the front lines. Cephilia watched as the volunteer soldiers emerged from the eighth wagon and piled into the seventh one. Once it was empty, number seven’s driver brought the wagon forward.

“All ready, ma’am,” he said as he brought the horse and carriage to a stop before her. “Should be able to comfortably seat ten men. A dozen or more, if they don’t mind “

“Thank you. Sadly, we don’t have a dozen,” Cephilia said with a teasing smirk. “It seems the Black Ravine isn’t a popular travel destination this time of year. I can’t imagine why.”

“It’s a matter of taste, I think,” the wagon driver said, grinning down at her from his high seat.

She turned in time to see the avian knight and the rest of the crew descending the hill. The winged Eadigian gave her a simple nod of acknowledgement as he brought his massive steed to a stop and his squire returned to his side.

“Welcome,” Cephilia said, opening the door of the wagon. Robert, Alois, and the young vixen were the first to board. Robin and Elayne weren't far behind.

 

[BlueJay1403]

Jason was silent as he boarded the wagon. Apart from a small "thank you" that is. He was deep in thought about the expedition, was he really sure? The vixen boy didn't have to think for long about his answer.