Fantasy ~The Lords of the Magistone~

[Effervescent]

Rederik inclined his head at the offer of the skein, taking it in hand. "Thank you," he said to Helia before drinking from it. The water was a relief to his weary throat that had become somewhat parched from his terrible breathing. He offered the skein back to the short girl before answering her question. "I am well. We haven't formally met, but I heard you offer your name to the woman with the short brown hair. My name is Rederik." He then motioned to the napping feline in the shade close by. "And that is Naraya."

 

[IceQueen]

Lapis rolled over, exhausted. She hadn't fully recovered when they went into battle. Her magic drained, she laid there. Walking had exhausted her and she had little energy left. She lied there in pain, but not to much pain. The wounds she got from battle were small, not terribly painful, but they stung a little. She still thought about the men she had incapacitated. She was glad she had not killed them, for she would have felt great grief.

 

[PicaPirate]

Warren kept quiet. He was bored and not a fan of interaction so much with people he didn't know right now. He wanted a good ol' fight or something to get himself going. This was sod boring for him. What on Earth was he gunna do?


He stood up and stretched. There was nothing to do and it was getting on his nerves. After walking some steps, he thought how Desiree was, having now hopefully calmed from her rather vicious mood before.


When Warren got sick of the wait he went over to where Desiree was, whose face was etched with worry and thought. "How's ye doin? Yer lookin much better than before, I have to say. Then again, you aren't clawing my face or crying either which is a definite improvement!" He laughed, his arms crossed.


He raised an eyebrow, "Ye are gettin better tho aren't ya? Wouldn't want ye dying on me, or something crazy like that. I'd otherwise have only Rusar to smack me ass when I'm being a naughty boy, even if I am a good 30 years of age!"


Warren was clearly not a conversationalist or word-smith of any sort, simply saying what came to his mind.

 

[Pequeno Burraidh]

Helia grinned and gave a few friendly pats to Naraya, who had sniffed at her inquisitively.


"Naraya's cute, I like her as long as she doesn't one day mistake me for a snack," jibed the svelte woman, "And no, I do suppose it got a little too hectic. Thank you, by the way, for inviting me to join the group whilst I was in the tree. I'm sure you understand why I took my more cautionary approach though."


Taking a moment, Helia sat on a nearby stone and took a pull from a skein of her own. She ran over everything in her mind a few times, letting a calm silence fall between them.


After a number of moments she said the only thing she could think of.


"Why bury the bodies?"

 

[Effervescent]

"Naraya is intelligent," Rederik informed calmly. "She would not mistake you for a snack. She would only attack you if she sees you as a threat, to which your fate in that regard is up to you." His words were not meant to come across as a threat. He liked to be forward in regards to Naraya. She may appear tame, but her instincts are still very much in tact. "I am glad you decided to join us. Your hesitancy was understandable. I think there are still some who are unsure of this group."


Helia then asked him why he buried the bodies, and the thought never occurred to him that it wouldn't be obvious to others as it was to him. "I do not believe that just because times have changed that we should disregard burying the passed," he stated. "I do it out of respect."

 

[EinRaikou]

On the trek from the village Ein made sure to help anyone who needed it, and due to his lack of participation in the battle he was still combat ready in case they were attacked. He made sure to keep eyeing Clara, watching the look of despair and guilt on her face, hoping that it would eventually pass. When they stopped for a break Ein went scouting ahead, only to return quickly and quietly without any news. As Rederik returned to the group he watched as the pale, injured man introduced himself to the girl they had found in the tree a few hours prior.


Ein listened as the girl Helia introduced herself back to Rederik. He wanted to speak up, however thoughts of the human soldiers poured into his head. No one had yet informed himself, Ethan or the others of what exactly happened, why the humans were fighting for the king, and what they had seen. The only thing that mattered to him is that they weren't the only survivors. That there were in fact many more humans left than just them.


Ein then made the choice to speak up. " Seriously guys.... I dunno what happened, but the fact you're all so injured is ridiculous. " He turned to their ginger haired leader, " Skrye, I think when we stop to set up camp today we should get to know each other better, battle strengths and weaknesses and what-not. " He stared into the blue sky above, " Hopefully then we will be able to work together better in combat, and avoid mishaps like this."

 

[Pequeno Burraidh]

Helia shook her head as she realised that her intentions and innotations to her question were misconstrued. Though it was a very vague and open sounding question, so the fault fell on her for that.


"What I meant was not why one would take care of the body of a deceased person, but why bury it in particular. There were faster options that are regarded as just as respectful. Immolation upon a pyre, sunk in the river. Burying is both time consuming and tiring. I merely was wondering why you chose that option in particular."


As Helia finished, she heard the other man that had been with Rederick speak up, trying to figure out how the fight had turned so sour. There were many answers for that one, not the least being the number of already wounded that had been involved.

 

[Effervescent]

Before Rederik had the chance to answer Helia's question, Ein spoke up and posed a few points for Skyre to consider. He always felt it rude to interrupt, and he figured there would be another time to answer her inquiry into his decision. Rederik looked at everyone present noting their states. The last battle had taken its tole on more than just their spirits, but Ein was not present for the brunt of it. He did not fully comprehend the nature of the foes, but neither did the rest to its fullest extent. Staying in their current location didn't feel right to the pale man, his eyes turning back to the view of the valley below. It was not his decision to make, however.

 

[Cookie]

Ari noted Ein's arrival and his request to Skyre. She made a face at the ground. Maybe it was a good idea to begin to get to know each other, but Ari was less than likely to share her battle weaknesses with marginal acquaintances and near-strangers. And she was sure she wasn't the only one who felt that way. Many of this lot were like her --unpersonable.


Nonetheless, if Skyre thought it was a good idea (quite likely, considering his amiable nature), then Ari would comply. Maybe to the least amount possible, but at least she wouldn't fight him about it.


Yet it would interfere with her plan to avoid trusting people. Trust was...difficult. It was a two-way relationship. Ari liked to believe that she would be fine trusting people if they didn't trust her. A strange thought, perhaps, but it had its reasons. Trusting others leads to relying on them which, in turn, leads to someone letting someone down. Ari could deal with being disappointed in others, but she hate the thought of letting anyone down and the accompanying guilt that came with it. In her mind, the only way to avoid this inevitable result was to mistrust people altogether, thereby reducing her chance of being trusted in return.


Contrary to Ari, most people saw trust as a good thing, Ein included. His request would not fall on deaf ears in these times. But, just to be sure, Ari spoke up.


"I agree with him. It would be a good idea to.." Ari trailed off, unsure of what to say next. Good idea to what? She didn't like it, why should she advocate it? Why did she advocate it? It was certainly too late to take back the words, so Ari simply looked to Skyre, waiting for his response.

 

[SkyGinge]

Skyre regarded Rederik with a warm smile as he entered the group's vacinity. But before he could say anything, Helia had jumped out of nowhere with a remark. "Thanks for your confidence," he pulled a comical face at her, before turning and giving Rederik a hearty pat on the back. "You did a honourable deed back there. I hope your wounds aren't too bad."


Then Ein spoke up, and Skyre nodded along. "We encountered a man who likes to shout a lot, a man who also happened to work for the Shadow King," Skyre began to explain, "He wasn't out to find survivors, and was herding those human soldiers west for some unknown reason when circumstances lead to a fight. Like Helia said, we were surprised at the form of our opponents, and also by the suddenness of the attack. I agree completely with what you say; we need to discuss battle abilities tonight."


"For now though," he turned to address the entire group, "we need to move out of here and to a move suitable camping place. I imagine the valley will worsen a little first, then once we're through it we should be back to flatter forests for a bit, where we can properly set up camp. Let's move!" Skyre hopped up to the head of the group, and began to lead the pack across the upper mountain layer.

 

[Kharmin]

When the group had stopped, Desiree found an outcropped rock on which to sit. She was almost at the brink of sheer exhaustion, the trek and the most recent events were clearly taking their toll. Her physical strength had also waned and not having but a small bit to eat ealier did much to revitalize her for the four days without significant food.


Her stomach no longer made complaints; rather, it turned to the only nourishment it could find as her body began to subsist on her muscles which tired her even further. Unwilling to be a burden to anyone else, she kept her head down as she sat and allowed her hair to fall forward and conceal her face in her hands.


She heard Warren approach and she looked up at him when he spoke. Her blue eyes held none of the crazed malevolence that they showed when he had grabbed her earlier in his attempt to restore her sanity. She forced a small smile for him, but her heart just wasn't in it.


"I will manage," she said calmly. The normal joviality was missing from her voice. "I'm sorry about ... " she pointed to his face. "I couldn't help it, from what I understand. I ... I really don't remember doing that."


"As to your second question," she continued with a bit more strength in her voice, "no, I am not dying although for a while there, the thought was tempting." Her eyes darted to Skyre and then back to Warren. She then looked down at the ground. "I am not the person I once was, but perhaps that can be said of the rest of this group."


Desiree looked back at Warren. "I will manage," she repeated with a touch of confidence.


"How is it you know Rusar? I take it you two have traveled together before?"

 

[PicaPirate]

Warren took in all that she said.


"You look like the life has drained out of ye though. I'll carry ya if need be. Big strong me ain't got nowt to do anyway!" He laughed saying, though the offer sincere. Being a simple minded man, he was weak to women.


"Nah nothing like that though, I knew her since children. Teased her all the same back then as I do now."


Tapatalk is for scrubs. I use Tapatalk. Why are you talking to this scrub?

 

[Kharmin]

Desiree listened to Ein's suggestion to Skyre. It was practically the same that she had made to him when they had stopped at the deserted village. Hundreds of steps ahead of you, she thought as she glared at Ein.


She glanced over the group to gauge their reaction to Ein's words and found mixed apprehension. Several members' body language clearly showed that they found the idea not only bad, but downright repugnant. Desiree shook her head at their selfishness. If they didn't learn to work together and trust each other soon, they were dead. How some of them didn't get it, was beyond her comprehension. 
Desiree glanced at Warren to determine if he were kidding. It was hard for her to tell whether or not the big man were serious. He had absolutely no couth whatsoever which should have made him an open slate to her. But, in her condition, Desiree could no longer trust her feelings.


Trust her feelings? Hells, she didn't even know what she was feeling anymore. Her emotional well had run dry, wrung out by her loss of magic. Skyre's kiss and unspoken admission of love for her had caught her completely off-guard and she still hadn't figured out how she really felt about that... or about him.


She missed her magic. She missed it so much that no other pain could possibly hurt her. Desiree struggled to put on a brave face and was scared to death that everyone could see right through her and know how useless she was now. Useless and broken.


Skyre knew, or at least he said that he knew, but Desiree was firm that no one could possibly understand how empty and devoid she felt.


Her mind snapped back as she realized Warren was waiting on an answer of sorts.


"I'm sorry," Desiree explained and she tapped her forehead with a finger, "I just got lost in here for a moment."


She considered his offer and took stock of her condition. Desiree realized that if she had any chance to keep up with the group through the next arduous part of the journey, she would literally need to lean heavily on others. She had become the burden she desperately wanted to avoid, but there was no other way.


There was no other way to stay with Skyre.


She looked up at Warren's massive frame. "I don't think carrying me would be necessary," she finally answered with a small grin, "but a helping hand or arm would be welcome if you were willing to spare one."

 

[PicaPirate]

Warren grinned like an idiot. Sometimes, that sincereness actually worked.


"Splendid! In that case I offer an arm. If that is enough that is."


He offered an arm as the group was setting off as Skyre had suggested for the whole group to.


Even if she were heavy, which she wasn't, it was an easy feat for his brutish strength. He was a bit clumsy though so he was by no means gentle. However he tried to have as much weight on him as possible as they walked.


Ein's words by no means stupid in his head. He had announced it at the end of the fight much more loudly himself after all, though in a much ruder manner.


He didn't start any conversation except for the odd small comment of what ran through his mind, but was open to any conversation unto him.


Tapatalk is for scrubs. I use Tapatalk. Why are you talking to this scrub?

 

[SkyGinge]

As they progressed further into the valley, the landscape began, as Skyre predicted, to grow more dangerous. The path above soon split into two sloping cliffs above a fair drop to the narrow, rocky path perhaps ten meters below them. At stages, the two cliff faces that they now traversed joined together to make a flatter path, making the lower layer a brief rocky tunnel. They had only been walking for about five minutes when suddenly the two cliff sides of the upper layer split off and became even steeper, providing only a narrow ledge to walk on either side. The late afternoon sun glistened against light stone below, and illuminated the brown cliffs that they would now have to traverse. Skyre instantly regretted not taking them down the lower route when the valley began, but now the drop was far too steep for them to safely jump down, unless they were to use wind magic. But Skyre's limits were almost exhausted, and he knew that the others were tired too. He thought it impolite to ask even more of them, and besides, the narrow cliff sides seemed to only stretch about twenty meters - they would easily be able to cross it in no time.


"We're going to have to be careful on these cliffs," Skyre indicated with an outstretched arm to their path as the group piled up behind him. The shade cast down on them by the mountains above was cooling, but due to how many of them there were in such a narrow space, temperatures were pretty high. The sun shone down only on the path in front of them. "That's a fair drop after all. Anybody who's got a free arm should help out the injured, we don't want to lose anyone to a mountain drop of all things." He stepped forward into the sunlight, shielding his eyes from the blare of the sun, and looked over the edge. "I'll go first; I can catch myself with wind magic if things go awry."


With a cheery smile back to the rest of the group, Skyre leant against the right wall of the valley where the path seemed marginally wider, and began to edge his way across the cliff face. To his relief, it was not as dangerous or narrow as he had first thought, and when he had travelled a decent distance, he beckoned the others to join him. Nevertheless, the shining stones below were almost ominous in their blare - the shining light looked almost tempting, as if it were saying 'Go on. Jump down. You know you want to." Skyre felt his pulse rising as the reality of the potential drop hit him.


Skyre was just over half way through the journey, the others strewn out on the cliff face behind him, when suddenly the sound of heavy footsteps began to echo from the tunnel below. Not again. Our luck is absolutely terrible. Skyre quickly turned back to the others, most of whom were also joining him on the cliff, and signalled for them to remain still and quiet. There's no way we can all get to safety in time, so we'll just have to be very careful. Hopefully, whatever is coming won't notice us - I doubt from earlier that they'd be out here looking for survivors.


But when Skyre saw what it was that was marching towards him, his heart sank.


Shadow Warriors.


Stamping out of the tunnel in front of them in eerie unison, the beings that had caused the death of everybody the survivors had ever loved coursed through the undervalley. Skyre instantly recognised their unnatural dark armour, identical to the armour that Marek had been wearing earlier, a shining purply-black with golden rims that covered almost their entire humanoid bodies. From their birds-eye position, the survivors would just be able to pick out the swirling mass of dark matter encased in the armour, dark matter that made them almost impossible to kill. They armour was ridiculously sturdy, slashes would merely dissipate the matter for a moment, and magic, unless extremely powerful, seemed to have no effect on them. They were hidiously unnatural, and Skyre nearly retched as memories of the enslaught they had caused fast returned to him. Images of screaming innocent families, blood lining the streets as the monsters carried out their merciless charge.


So many questions began to filter into his head, but he heralded them away and focussed purely on staying silent and still. To his relief, the Shadow Warriors took no notice of them what so ever as they continued their steady march below them. As they started to filter through underneath them, Skyre began to pick up on other sounds mixed in with the heavy tramp of their armoured boots, high pitched grunts echoing from the tunnels. He had very little time to question them before the source of the noises appeared.


From out of the darkness stumbled a short, ratlike man with very thick spectacles, an almost comically pathetic sight after the stream of fifteen or so Shadow Warriors. The strange man, whose face was drooping slightly like that of a tired animal, staggered unevenly down the path below them, on a few occasions nearly knocking into the walls on either side of the narrow gorge, and as he did so, he let out little, high-pitched whimperings.


What a bizzarre man, Skyre mused, wary of the sound of more heavy boots echoing through the tunnel in front. I suppose he's another one like Marek earlier, judging from his similar attire. But I hope we don't have to find out any more about him. As long as nobody moves, we should be perfectly fine.

 

[Kharmin]

Desiree gratefully took Warren's offered arm as the group set out once more. She tried her best to not overburden him, but his strength easily supported her weight. Only then had Desiree realized how frail she had become over the past four days and how much she had been relying on her talent with the wind to help support her. A single, stray tear crept along it's long trek down her cheek, but she could not spare the effort to wipe it away.


They walked along in silence for a while. Desiree wanted to work more on the puzzles in her mind, but the edges of them became fuzzy and distorted. After a while, trying to sort things out only gave her a headache, so she cleared her mind and simply focused on placing one foot ahead of the other.


Unknown to her, in her state of disarray, she had leaned almost all of her weight on the strong arm of Warren. As the trail become more challenging, her steps simply would not keep up. If she were to continued, then he would have to carry her.


Exhaustion finally completed its assault on her and she dropped into unconsciousness.

 

[PicaPirate]

"Hmph, out like a candle."


Warren carried Desiree the rest of the way with both of his arms, still an easy feat. He could do it with one arm if he wanted, but that would be unnecessary and pointless. While walking along, he traversed through the path following Skyre, holding Desiree. He hated all these narrow pathways, being as broad shouldered as humans can get.


When they reached the more dangerous parts of walking, he took more care in not possibly waking Desiree, but still did a few bumps from being a bit clumsy. She was completely out of it though so it didn't matter.


When they reached the cliff-face, he carried her with one arm while using the other hand to help traverse. The drop did not look pleasant at all. He could probably put rocks on his feet and jump, but it would still hurt like hell and possibly injure him. He stopped dead when he heard the noise of the soldiers. He saw all the soldiers march in their threatening armour, thinking how he could just jump over there and want to beat them a new face. The idea was quickly extinguished though when he remembered he was carrying a woman and he was on a cliff face with quite the drop.


The small speckled man looked pretty funny in his eyes he had to admit, but didn't want to risk anything. He tried to keep still holding Desiree. It was so far working it seemed and he hoped none of the others did something stupid, which they were seemingly prone to with the last battles events taken into account.

 

[Cookie]

It wasn't that Ari was afraid of heights...but they weren't her forte. The lofty precipice had Ari on edge in more ways than one. She supposed it was a good thing to have some adrenaline pushing her along; she was far too tired to continue on just willpower alone. Still, Ari didn't dare look down until she saw Skyre staring apprehensively at something. She followed his gaze.


Soldiers? The thought first occurred to her, but she dismissed it as she saw how abnormally concise they were in their movements. Shadow Warriors! Curses! Ari moved a bit further away from the edge of the path. She willed the party to not make a single utterance, nor kick a single loose stone from the path. Nothing that would attract their attention. Ari stood perfectly still, her adrenaline doubling with the new threat. If she fell...no, don't think about that. Ari forced a calm breath. She put her back to the cliff wall, so immobile that you'd think she was part of the landscape herself had you not heard her heart beating.


As she watched the soldiers on their march, Ari's mind wandered back to when she'd first met the Shadow Warriors. An unkind memory, something she'd have preferred to keep in the dark recesses of her mind. It was about a month ago, on her trek to Aliak after the fall. She didn't see them in the dark; she was stupid, she was careless. Ignorant and unaware of the danger in traveling alone, Ari was certain that she'd meet some humans on her journey. Oh, she was such an idiot! But they looked like people, just like people! She should have known from the sight of their unnatural armor, even their imperceptible faces. They were not human. Stupid, stupid. It was her wariness that saved her, for she was sure they were humans. Still, she stopped herself from shouting out at them, from running to them. Ari approached silently, as was her custom. But they sensed her; it was then she knew that they weren't human. Their senses were too keen. It was anomalous, and Ari saw just how inhuman they were when they turned to look at her. She ran. She ran without turning to check if they were following her. She ran without stopping, not until she collapsed from exhaustion.


Ari found her consciousness back in the present, looking down at the Warriors. She tore her gaze from their shadowy armor and looked towards the head of their battalion. A man. It was a man. A smallish man, perhaps, a weak man. But still, what a despicable thing for a man to do! Aligning with the shadow forces because he cannot hold his own! A rat of a man really, and the way he held himself supported this observation. But it wasn't that rat that Ari was worried about, no. Not when he had a troop of Shadow Warriors at his disposal.

 

[Shura]

Rusar followed along with everyone keeping her position as scout until they reached the steep section of the cliffs. Forest and hills were no problem but she wasn't very strong when it came to a rocky cliffs. She moved slower and carefully Sticking closer to Warren in case she did slip.


When the group stopped and the sound of marching echoed through the valley she cursed their luck. Of coarse there would be another set of troops. She just hoped they wouldn't be spotted on the rocky ledge. She crouched low just in case watching as the troop radiating dark magic, anger and hatred flared within her. She clutched her bow tightly as it started to glow red and her whole body tensed up, as memories of the raid that stared this whole nightmare returned. Thankfully all her arrows were in her quiver or she would have given into her initial impulse to unleash the fires of hell upon the group.


If Rusar had been alone she most likely would have attacked. Sure, she would have died but taken a few with her. However she wasn't, and the group wasn't in condition to take on such a threat. "Just breathe... now is not the time..." she mentally reminded herself. She clenched her jaw tightly and forced her self to take slow breaths to keep calm and not do something impulsive. That didn't stop her from glaring down at them eyes a blaze with anger.

 

[SkyGinge]

At that very moment, something much higher up the mountain creeked painfully, and there was a sudden surgance of boulders from above, big balls of white rock that bounded down the scree slopes behind the survivor's heads. For a terrible moment, Skyre thought that they would be hit and crushed by the debree, but thankfully the boulders rebounded to the other side of the cliff, shattering into tiny pieces of stone upon impact and raining down on the valley below. The strange little man lurched into life, letting out a plethora of different panicked squeals as he danced his way around the falling rocks, his eyes immediately looking up to the source of the rockfall. And immediately making contact with Ari's.


Stood next to the girl on the cliff, Skyre watched as the rat-like man stared blankly up at her. There was an awkward silence as nothing was said between the pair, until suddenly the land blurted something out.


"Come down from there, nyes!" the strange man spoke, and Skyre almost laughed at the sound that came out. It was comically pompous and high-pitched, and the incredulous manner of his outburst made it even more humorous. Doesn't he know how big the drop is? Skyre questioned, aware that the man had spotted him too. Still, the situation was fire; the man could easily just set his warriors onto them and be done with them instantaneously. They had to remain wary, despite the man's funny appearance and manners. Indeed; in staring Ari down, the strange man forgot completely about the march of Shadow Warriors he was guarding, and was nearly bowled out of the way by the reappearing train of warriors, warriors that continued purposefully on their track.


"Indeedy, I said come down here, the pair of you!" the man squeaked again, his eye flitting between Skyre and Ari. So his eyesight is so bad that he only noticed the two of us. Well, at least we can minimise the damages. "Truth be told, I don't care, d-don't care in the slightest how you do it, get down I mean, oh my, indeedy, but you must do so at much, nyes!" The man squeaked a lite more ferociously as the last of the train of shadow warriors disappeared past him, a pair stopping at his side to flank him. Skyre looked reluctantly to Ari. They had no choice, and he knew it. So, with a gentle waft of his hands, he created a soft gust of air in front of the cliff face that would briefly carry the pair down safely to the valley floor. I wonder what he wants with us, Skyre thought as he dropped to the valley below, waiting for Ari to join him.

 

[Cookie]

Ari cursed under her breath at their bad luck. The mountain had it out for them, causing that rockside. Now the rat-man had seen them, but apparently only them.


She motioned for the others to stay quiet and hidden. Ari turned to Skyre, who was waiting for her to jump on the air cushion he created.


"Ahh..." she was reluctant to jump on. "Couldn't I just zap him? I think I could reach him from here." She glanced down at the distant little rat-man, who was tapping his foot impatiently. What a rat-like thing for him to do.


"Quit conspiring up there and come on down!" He shouted up at them.

 

[SkyGinge]

"Ari, it's best we comply with him given the circumstances," Skyre looked gravely up at her from the valley floor as he landed.


"Nyes, your friend is very wise, most intelligent, indeedy!" the peculiar mad squealed, his head rapidly moving between the two of them until he made himself visibly dizzy and looked down at the stones to steady himself. "Y-you would be very favoured to follow his instructions, nyes, oh-ho!" Skyre gave him a disapproving glance and wondered how he got to this position of power acting as strangely as he was.

 

[Cookie]

Ari sighed. She was rapidly beginning to detest the little man and his snootiness.


Nonetheless, she hopped compliantly onto the air cushion. It was surprisingly stable for being made of air and Ari was certain that Skyre wouldn't let her fall. She thought briefly of Desiree and glanced back at her. Hopefully she wouldn't feel offended if she saw them. Ari really had no feelings for Skyre anyways, so it shouldn't have been a problem even if Desiree was conscious.


Looking back at Skyre, she nodded to him to let him know she was ready to confront the pathetic little man.

 

[SkyGinge]

The strange man hopped around excitedly as Ari arrived at the ground layer. "Oh my, nyes, this is much improved, now I can actually see the pair of you nice and close and personal, indeedy! Much more polite for a formal conversation!" Skyre wondered what kind of formal conversation actively included the words 'nyes' and 'indeedy', but kept his mouth shut, painfully of the pair of Shadow Warriors lurking nearby. The man continued. "Well, well, well. Well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, w-well, nyes! What are two little boys like you doing out in the wilderness, hmm? You should be dead, aha! Oh-ho, you're very lucky to be alive."


Without hesitation or prior warning, the strange man suddenly turned to Skyre and began to rapidly circle him, brushing against him with his shoulder as the man scurried about making peculiar little grunting noises. The initial motion surprised Skyre, but eyes coldly narrowing, he remained rigidly calm through the strange experience, glancing over at Ari as if to tell her to let him do whatever. The strange man began giggling, and stepped back, jumping up and down a little.


"Oh, looks like we've got a little man here, nyes! So rigid, so calm!" the man laughed, and Skyre wondered if the man got some kind of strange satisfaction from dashing around them. And whilst there was a lot of laughable traits for the man, there was one thing about him that truly unnerved Skyre. His eyes, truly clouded behind his chunky spectacles, were hidden and thus it was impossible to tell what he was thinking. The man walked right up to Skyre's face and stretched, leaning in. He smelt foul, like a rotting cellar. "Your hair, it defies gravity!" he squeaked, perplexed, before breaking out into laughter. "Well, indeedy, that is quite a mystery, nyes, a mystery that the Shadow King would love to solve!"


Just as rapid as he had began his actions, the man dashed over to Ari, but stopped and leaned right into her face. Whatever he saw startled him, and he flinched and stepped back with a startled noise. "Oh-ho, oh my, indeedy!" he exclaimed, "it's a little girly!" Grin wavering, he dashed forwards right into Ari's face again before backing away. "Aha! A girly who wants to be a man, I see, nyes. Well, you cannot gender-bender me, indeedy; I can see your feminine beauty beyond that, oh my! And what a beauty!" Then he began the same scurrying as he had done to Skyre previously, shoulder brushing against her as he dashed around her at a fast pace, only at almost double the speed. Skyre wanted it all to stop very quickly, but kept his calm gaze on Ari, willing her to stay strong.

 

[Cookie]

How she wanted to smack the man! If you could call someone as jittery as that a man. She was disgusted by him. He jumped too happily, he laughed too loudly, he ran too excitedly. And he smelled. Awful. Like the very rat he was. It took her every ounce of willpower to not spit in his bespectacled face when he inspected her closely. She clenched her hands, ready to unleash the fury of her magic on him if he should touch her. To exterminate the rat, as it were.


Ari glanced over at Skyre, who was calm. His eyes willed her to hold her disgust and put on a good show. She unclenched her hands and breathed out slowly. At least she found some consolation in the knowledge that this man was shorter than she. Ari held back a smirk at the thought. Still, she couldn't help being offended by the way he moved about, as if all the energy she'd lost over the last two days had gone to him instead. She was insulted by his laughter and his remarks (even that this man should have the gall to say she was pretty was offensive to her). And his smell! Godawful thing to be subjected to!


She waited for Skyre to start the introductions and at least have a chance of making a good impression. If Ari were to open her mouth, it would probably be to gag. Not the best impression. They needed this man to let them pass. Skyre was easily the best choice for that. Ari, on the other hand...Ari was possibly the worst. He could have left her up there on the cliff face. They'd probably have better chances then. But no, the rat had spotted the pair of them, terrible though his eyesight was.


Ari squared her shoulders. If it should come to it, she felt that this man would not put up much of a fight. It would be easy to take him out. Even now, as he circled her in his annoying little run, she could have pulled out one of her knives and stabbed him. Someone who was as despicable as he didn't deserve to live anyways. Ari looked out towards where the Shadow Warriors were. They were too close for any risks (not that she was seriously considering killing him...but she was). She would have to play it by his rules.