Fantasy ~The Lords of the Magistone~

[Rukatin]

Jerrick takes a vial and raises it cautiously. He uncorks it and gives a sniff. He then shrugs and down it in one gulp. Jerrick shudders as his strength slowly begins to return. "Thanks friend. You may have just given us strength to live through the night." Jerrick then inspects himself. Cloak: burnt, torn, but still usable. It won't look pretty, but functionality over aesthetics. Armor: Intact. Nothing regular maintenance won't fix. Bitten ankle: Store, but the potion seems to have done it's job. But his boot now has bite marks on it.


Jerrick thinks upon what he did back there. 'I've never used that much magic at once before. That is what magical exertion must be'

 

[Effervescent]

The second battle had worn Rederik physically, though he was familiar with working through the exertion. As the last hound fell, he approached Ein, his pace somewhat quickening as he took in the man's state. His footing faltered at the sound of the nickname. Red. It was a name his eldest brother called him endearingly. At first he never liked the name, for he thought it was a jab at his condition, making light of his appearance. But regardless of its progression from negative to positive, it reminded him of his brother, and the memory stung. He slipped the daggers into their sheaths as he spoke, pushing back his memories. "Do you require assistance?"


Naraya's gaze perked at the sight of the ball of light, her body instinctively lowering to the ground somewhat as her tail began to swish from side to side. Rederik took note of the orb, but did not take his eyes off of Ein out of respect. He trusted Naraya would deal with the thing should it prove to be of negative nature.

 

[SkyGinge]

FREE POSTING is now Active


(everybody is free to post as normal)


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Skyre eyed her with pitiful care as she spoke. As it turned out, he had got off rather well from it - apart from the tiredness, he faced only a several bruises and a couple of small scratched. That's not to say they wouldn't hurt, but he certainly wasn't in the same state as his companion. For a moment he wished he was upfront enough to ask to carry her.


Instead, he spread a playful grin across his face and said; "Well, at least everything else is fine, hey?" Something in the nearby forest caught his attention, and he noticed that Ari and Jerrick were right nearby. "I very much hope we have a healer amongst the bunch of us." Skyre mused aloud, before turning back to Desiree. "There's other people nearby, we should group up. Can you walk ok, or... erm?"

 

[Kharmin]

Desiree rolled her eyes and returned Skyre's grin with one of her own, tinged with a hint of sarcasm, "Oh, everything else is perfectly swell."


She sighed, wrapped her cloak around her tattered clothes and stood a bit taller as some of the fatigue began to wane. She was considerably weakened from the exertion of her earlier magic use; however, the short respite and the cold water from the brook had begun to return some vitality.


She glanced toward the edge of the forest where Skyre had looked, but she didn't see anything.


"Aye, a healer would be nice," she agreed as she turned her attention back to the young mage, "but I'd almost settle for a cook with a fully stocked kitchen and a hot bath." Desiree smiled warmly and pointed to the satchel at Skyre's waist, "Got any of those in there, fly-boy?"


"As for walking," she continued with a more serious tone, "I will do what I must do. My strength is returning so as long as you don't set too brisk of a pace I will manage."

 

[SkyGinge]

"Why, as a matter of fact, I do," he teased, "along with the entire Castle of Light." He grinned, and then turned to face away from her, musing. "You know, it's quite a shame that magic can't be used for material manipulation. Would have saved us a lot of trouble." Ever since magic had began true development and research as the universities were set up, mystic magicians had attempted to manipulate time and space through magic. But there had been absolutely no success - it truly was impossible. "I think we shouldn't stray too far from this river to camp tonight, though I'm sure it'll widen out a little further downstream - we can use it for washing and bathing in the morning, as well as for clean water if we get somebody like that fire guy to filter it. We need to try and re-group with the others."


Skyre imagined that after all of the attacks, Desiree was perhaps one of the worst off, and so decided that they would try to help her not exhaust herself. "Come along then. There's a pair just the other side of these trees." He indicated in their direction, and set off at a calm pace.

 

[Kharmin]

Desiree snickered at Skyre's jest. Her tired face relaxed and glowed as it radiated an inner beauty that hadn't yet shown. She wasn't a gorgeous woman, but she was rather pretty even with a ratted mess of hair and a rumpled general state of appearance. Her bright blue eyes danced with mirth.


"Castle or no, as long as I can clean up and get something to eat I'll be content," she replied.


She thought a moment as the two of them began to set off toward the direction Skyre indicated. She used her quarterstaff as a walking stick to help support her weight and found that her pace was not so diminished as she had thought.


"How many do you think survived?" she pondered aloud. "With so many of us in such close proximity, it would be a shame to lose any of us."

 

[SkyGinge]

"I'm sure it won't be too hard to hunt for early-twilight wildlife with the amount of us that there are," Skyre acknowledged, "and I actually I suspect that everybody survived. There were enough of us working together for us to be safe, though I expect many herald injuries like yours." Subtly, Skyre twirled his hands as he swung his arms in movement - he used up the very last of his magic energy in gifting Desiree a small, supportive flurry of wind that lightened her movements, hense why she found it easier to walk. It was only a very short distance to the other pair, and Skyre broken through the foliage to greet them both. His footsteps were loud on the twigs beneath his feet, bringing immediate attention to him. He nodded politely to the other two.


"Are you both ok?" he asked. "Also thank you very much for your help in that battle. Without it, I'm sure the pair of us and many more would be dead." Skyre smiled warmly, strong in stature and now beginning to truly regain energy. He was still a little vacant in his eyes, however, mind still whirring on about something the new pair hadn't witnessed.

 

[Kharmin]

Desiree felt Skyre's wind surround her and help ease her steps. She wrinkled her nose at the scent of it and considered scolding him for his uninvited assistance, but then relaxed as she realized that he was only trying to be helpful. She had to admit that the extra boost did indeed make things easier.


Still, she thought, he's just a kid and shouldn't burden himself so with my condition. She suppressed a chuckle. Perhaps chivalry hasn't completely died yet.


At the edge of the forest, they met with two of the other survivors. A man about her age, with tanned skin, broad shoulders with a large sword. His cool, blue eyes were set in a gentle face framed by dark, black hair. At his side, a young lad with rust brown hair was mostly covered by a long, purple cloak. The youth didn't appear to be conscious to Desiree, but was breathing.


The fight at the hut had happened so fast that Desiree couldn't recall seeing either of these survivors there; however, Skyre acknowledged their part in the battle and thus far, she didn't have a good reason to not trust her fly-boy.

 

[Windnotes]

The second wave of the shadow hounds had left Vaelem's limbs feeling heavy as millstones, and he himself felt a bit like a lumbering giant. He'd fought at the mutts to the point of exhaustion, cleaving and rending their wispy forms with broad slashes of his glinting greatsword.


He had no justification for complaint, though. He'd escaped the battle largely unscathed, apart from a few minor cuts and bruises. The young woman's electrical burst had left him with a pounding headache, but he'd definitely had worse, and to be fair, she seemed much worse off than he was.


Electric magic had never agreed with him, to the point where he had refused to bunk with any lightning mages when he'd learned rudimentary ice magic at the academy. Some of his friends would show off, creating flurries of sparks at the food hall. They never noticed as Vaelem's eyebrows would knit together, his face contorted in a grimace. He'd had to excuse himself on multiple occasions to see Anveli, a young healer he had taken a liking to. She was always compassionate towards him and Vaelem found himself visiting her even without head pains. She had thick, auburn hair and an dazzling smile. Unlike others, she didn't appear to be intimidated by his large stature and menacing figure. When Vaelem left the academy, Anveli left with him and they returned to Vaelem's hometown to be married in the small chapel beside the sea. That was years ago, another lifetime it seemed.


Vaelem returned to the present. He stood beside Ari and Jerrick, his gloved hands resting atop the pommel of his sword. Skyre and a new woman approached from the edge of the clearing. He couldn't help but find it strange that so many people would converge on one point after being separated for so long. It seemed that fate might finally be smiling upon them.

 

[SkyGinge]

Skyre suddenly noticed the third figure, Vaelem, masked a little by the shadow of a tree. "And you too, Vaelem, didn't see you there," Skyre nodded to him. In the distance, the sun was beginning to fade behind the mountains, and Skyre wondered how far the younger girl from earlier had got in we travels. "Is there anybody else back at the hut?" he asked, before continuing, "We should probably try to set up a camp somewhere, perhaps further downstream. Can somebody make a sign that'll indicate to the others where we all are? Then we can meet up and swiftly find a camping spot too."


"Once that's done, we should head off downstream," Skyre announced, and then turned and strode back through the foliage to the waters edge; leaving no time for argument ensured co-operation between so many people, though Skyre was just inadvertently hoeing the leadership skills that he was completely unaware of. He allowed the others to walk behind him after one had set off the signal behind him, leading alone upfront, his slim frame bathes in orange evening light.

 

[EinRaikou]

Ein gave Rederik a half heartened smile. He took notice to the way the man walking towards him reacted to the nickname he gave. ' I think I struck a nerve...'





"Some help would be amazing" Ein said to his new comrade. 'Comrade?' The thought of this word filled his mind with relief. It has been so long since he had the company of another human.


"We should probably probably find everyone else," Ein said just as he spotted Naraya cautiously watching the orb of light. " I think I saw the fire user and Ari run off that way. "

 

[Windnotes]

Vaelem gave a brisk nod to Skyre before sheathing his sword and moving towards the edge of the clearing. He found several large branches and laid them in an arrow formation, pointing in the direction they'd be heading. Using the tip of his sword, he wrote out the words, "REGROUP - DOWNSTREAM," in the ground near the arrow. He stuck the remaining branch straight up from the tip of the arrow and tied a bit of cloth from his sleeve around it so that the others would be sure to see it. Vaelem rose and moved after Skyre, walking slowly through the twilight in the woods.


Though the man was younger than himself, Vaelem couldn't help but feel Skyre had a knack for leadership, though he seemed to be unaware of it.

 

[Effervescent]

Rederik approached Ein further, offering an arm as aid to help support the man. Naraya stalked off after the ball of light as it retreated back into the woods. It looked to have been floating in the direction Jerrick and Ari had left, which made for an excellent device to follow as reference. Ari was a wielder of light and thunder. He twisted the wrist of his previously injured arm in recollection of her deed. Perhaps the orb was hers and she was guiding them.


The pale man guided Ein back into the forest at a pace set by his comrade. The ball of light traveled too quickly for the pair to follow fully in Ein's state, so Rederik took to his tracking skills. Occasionally, he'd pause their progression to study the earth and flora around them, noting imprints or broken twigs. The tracks eventually brought them to the rest of the group, though Naraya was nowhere to be found. Concern etched his features as he began to frantically scan the forest, or what he could see through the dimming light of day.


"Naraya?" he called out. If the ball of light was Ari's, Naraya should have been at the stream well before them. She was never one to wander too far off, though she did so on occasion to hunt. He began to wonder if her injuries were severe enough for her to look for a peaceful place to die.


The white beast, however, was trailing behind the true conjurer of the light orb, Ethan. Naraya padded quietly as the mage made his way through the woods and up the hill, keeping a good distance between them so as not to cause alarm. The orb of light was her target. She wanted to eat it.

 

[EinRaikou]

Ein nodded a thank-you to Rederik for the help he gave before turning his attention to the remainder of the group walking through the woods straight ahead.


"Did we miss much?" he called out to the group from behind. Ein as still struggling at walking from his injury, but the bleeding had at least subsided. " I see we picked up another straggler," Ein said referring to the girl with fair blonde hair.

 

[SkyGinge]

Skyre lead the group along the waters edge, their boot treading on the small grey stones that made the streams small beach, water flowing peacefully beside them. The river soon began to widen a little and twist, heading steadily downhill and leading them into the trough of a valley. To Skyre's joy, the river soon began to head west - the morning journey to the other girls camp would not take long after all.


On the horizon, golden sunlight erupted out of the crevice created by two distant mountains. Admiring the evidently romantic scenery with distant eyes, Skyre couldn't help replaying over the events leading up to the kiss over and over, trying to conjure up a clear image of the events. He smiled wryly, wondering if she knew what an emotion tornado she had unleashed in him. Or maybe she had came to the action out of more than just sinple appreciation. Don't be ridiculous, Skyre. You only met her an hour ago. But the young man couldn't resist, and as the moment was relived, Desiree grew prettier and prettier.

 

[Cookie]

"Yes Skyre, are you going to introduce your friend?" Ari said teasingly, though she kept a straight face.


Ari could now walk and move normally, having drunken the root potion and one of her own as well. However, she was still feeling the side effects and lagged well behind the group. Speaking up was her way of telling everyone that she was still there.


She'd noticed Skyre's stare at his new friend. The color of his cheeks mirrored that of his hair and he was smiling. Ari smiled too, a little envious. Not of his affection, no the new girl could have that if she so chose. They would make a cute couple. And Ari didn't have feelings for any of the group. Rather, she was envious of Skyre himself. Being so able to trust someone to the point where he was practically developing a crush. Aurelia was unable to even trust the man who'd saved her. Her mind was so focused on how things could go sour with people that it barred her from forming close relationships. In some aspects, this was a good thing, but if she was going to be part of this group, she would have to begin to trust these people. And Ari was absolutely certain that she wasn't ready for that.

 

[Effervescent]

Rederik continued to search for his lost companion as he helped Ein down the trail Skyre led. The caravan of weary travelers was easy to keep track of through his peripheral, though he would occasionally hold his attention to the ground to insure Ein wouldn't trip over a beached birch or stray boulder. He would call out for Naraya every so often, but the further they headed downstream, the more his concern for being departed from his friend forever rose.


He decided he would carry Ein to wherever Skyre felt was fit to set camp and then double back for Naraya on his own. He'd be back before sunrise to insure they wouldn't be left behind. Even if they traveled before then, he knew he could track them down easily. His gaze turned down at the unique crunch of stone against stone below his feet. The banks of the river were not of any easily tracked material, though he knew at some point a fire would be made, and brush would be broken when entering the woods. He'd have to rely on such factors and keep a better eye out for the signs. It made him wish his sight were better.


The words spoken by those further down the line of the newly formed group were muted and muffled in his ears. He focused more on the sounds surrounding them. He heard the hops of of a bird through the matted leaves on the floor of the forest, its beak occasionally thrashing a piece or two about in order to access the earth below in search for food. A couple of squirrels chased each other up a tree and across to another before spiraling back down to the ground. A light breeze fluttered through the lush canopies above where the setting sun filtered through in orange and golden rays. He did not hear Naraya's familiar rhythmic gate.

 

[Rukatin]

Jerrick trudges along behind Ari. "I don't think I ever introduced myself. My name is Jerrick." He seems to not speak often.


Jerrick however, has thoughts racing through his head. Never in his life did he imagine coming across a group of such talented individuals. "Maybe it is fate..." He mumbles to himself.

 

[SkyGinge]

"Our new friend," Skyre corrected, without turning around from his lead at the front. "She's Desiree, although I'm sure she's perfectly capable of introducing herself." Now in a more peaceful situation, Skyre had gone back to being more enigmatic, though his integrity was maintained through his voice as always. His thoughts immediately flooded ack to the earlier events, and Skyre sighed to himself. He knew he was easily susceptible to falling for others, but not to that extent. He had never garnered much romantic attention although he had had many crushes - he had remained too distant and respectful to make his affections known.

 

[EinRaikou]

From behind the group it was beginning to get hard to hear what everyone was saying. 'I think he said Desiree, but I'm sure I'll find out for sure when we get to camp.'


Suddenly something occurred to Ein, and he turned to Reddick, " Hey Red.... where is your little friend gone?


Ein scouted the ground around them, while trying to avoid tripping over any branches and rocks in the road, searching for the white coated mammal.

 

[Cookie]

Ari began to feel prematurely fatigued. You're fine, she told herself, get it together. She paused a moment beside a tree to regain her faltering balance. It couldn't be much further until they rested...could it? In any case, Ari was reluctant to down another potion what with the amount she'd used that day. She took a deep breath and forged on.


The sun had retreated, leaving the group in the night. Aurelia reviewed the events of the day. It was weird to think that when she woke up, she was traveling alone. Now, just hours later, she was part of an ever-expanding group and she was actually getting used to it. How the tides had turned...


Ari found herself sitting on the forest floor. While she was thinking, her body saw fit to take a break. "No, this is unacceptable." Ari told herself, trying to rise. She stood shakily, leaning against a tree for support. Skyre was leading the group onward and if she didn't catch up, Ari would soon be left behind. She turned her head in the opposite direction and spotted Ein and Rederik advancing. Rederik's feline friend was nowhere in sight, but it was good to know they had followed. Ari looked back towards Skyre's group, who were already fading into the forest. She took the moment to rest, resolving to walk with Ein and Rederik when they approached.

 

[Effervescent]

The sound of the nickname brought his mind back to the group. He didn't look at Ein, though he turned his attention forward while his focus was deterred from his search. His mother had taught him manners and he only just began to realize he had neglected them for far too long. Lack of interactions with his fellow humans should not diminish her teachings. A sigh escaped his lips.


"I do not know where Naraya is," he answered. "She will likely catch up." He paused a moment and looked the man over from head to toe. His condition looked rather worse for wear and he wondered how long Ein had until he could walk no further. "What brought you to the clearing, Ein?"

 

[EinRaikou]

Ein saw Ari ahead waiting for them. He paused to think about the question until she was within walking distance of them. He nodded to the girl as she rejoined in the walk beside them.


" To be completely honest.... I don't know... I've been travelling from town to town in hopes of finding someone... anyone that could help...." he stopped his thought. It occurred to him that his idea of going after the Shadow King to avenge his brother was a suicide mission. " ... Help with surviving."


He thought back to earlier that afternoon. To when this band of misfits first met up in that forest clearing. " I was heading to the next town over to see if I could find any other survivors when I heard you, Skrye and the big guy with the sword fighting off in the distance."


He again thought to himself, ' How odd is it we were all there... It's as if someone, or something called us all together." He quickly snapped back to reality. " What about the two of you?"

 

[SkyGinge]

Skyre lead on alone, the way he liked it. Solitude allowed him to gather his thoughts properly on any normal day, but his mind was too preoccupied that night. In his enigmatic mannerisms and tendancies, Skyre had a natural air of experience, knowledge and authority that far surpassed his years; that was partially what made him such a good leader. Even in a vacant moment, he still appeared such.


Skyre realised that he had never actually had his love recipricated. Well, I suppose you could count... His vacant daydream cracked and fell to pieces, his unseeable expression suddenly serious. No. Don't rekindle those memories. She's long dead now, and we were only friends anyway. That one moment was an anomaly, and you know it. Composing himself, Skyre focussed and kept moving on.


As the sun finally faded completely, the stream beside them had grown into a wider river, the water still clean and pure. The beach too had lengthened, and across the middle of one section of the river lay a fallen oak, roots coated in earth. It was at this point that Skyre decided to turn left into the forest, leading the group to a small clearing protected by a sizeable layer of trees. Upon a small hill, the clearing had a clear view of the twinkling stars, enough space to give the group proper privacy, yet small enough for them to be able to see their surrounding easily. The clearing lay just under five minutes walk from the river, making it easily accessable to the group.


"We should make camp here," Skyre turned and announced as everybody arrived at the clearing. Now, everybody could have a well earned rest - somebody could set up a fire or hunt, and people could bathe and wash their wounds at the river nearby. Skyre, ever the hard-worker, smiled gently to his companions before heading off immediately in search of firewood.

 

[Effervescent]

Rederik offered his other free arm towards Ari instinctively, though would not touch her. He was helping Ein walk, but that didn't mean he would be rude and not at least offer to help, even if it would lag them a bit behind. He was confident in his tracking skills for it not to matter to him, and she appeared to be struggling.


"The next town over from where we once were is abandoned," Rederik said to Ein. "I was there not but two days ago. There's still a fair amount of loot left behind with what wasn't taken by the survivors or thieves. As for what brought me to the clearing, I couldn't bare the thought of someone suffering a fate to as many shadow hounds as I had heard. I'm a capable individual and would be remiss if I did not lend aid where I know I can. There's so few of us left in the world. All lives are precious now more than ever."


Whether or not Ari accepted his help, he insured she did not lag behind by keeping a watch of her in his peripheral. No one liked to be directly watched, for he knew so from his own experiences. Stares were often unwanted and made people uncomfortable. They made their way into the woods following Skyre's direction. Rederik made sure to step first, pushing down small plants or feeling for holes that might make Ein's and Ari's trek more dangerous for their state.