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| Will of the Free, Will of the Forest | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Sep 11 2012, 08:26 PM (961 Views) | |
| Legend Blueshard | Sep 16 2012, 12:40 PM Post #21 |
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Miner
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"Not everyone," argued Legend. "Just everyone who bothers to tell me their names." "That reminds me," said a sheridan next to him, extending his hand. "Thank you for rescuing us. I'm..." "Stop! No names." Legend shook the horned man's open palm. "And save the thanks for later. Krovlar will probably throw another banquet when we get back to Middlebrook." "You've been to Middlebrook? Humans?" The sheridans descended into bewilderment. Legend waved this off and began scanning the forest. "I'll explain later. First, we're missing five sheridans and a human from our party. We can't just leave without them." The miner circled their rest area, noting the bags and half-eaten sandwiches left behind. "Look, they didn't even finish eating..." |
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| Aru | Sep 16 2012, 12:50 PM Post #22 |
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"You don't think.." Aru's frown grew wider as she spoke. "You don't think that while we were helping them the other were taken, again, do you?" she asked, sighing a bit as she made eye contact with Legend. All she really wanted was to take a break and tend to her wound's and Legend's, but it didn't seem like they would have time. "What do we do? Follow them again and keep running down the same road, or turn around and go back to Middlebrook?" Aru pulled herself off of Legend and stood up on her own, deciding that she should carry her own weight. "We can't just go back with half a group each time, can we?" |
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| Legend Blueshard | Sep 16 2012, 01:15 PM Post #23 |
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Miner
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Legend immediately shook his head. If they lost even one person, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself. "I shouldn't have run off," he apologized. "If I stuck with the group, this probably wouldn't have happened. Let's see if we can track them down. If we don't locate the rest of the group by this afternoon, we'll regroup and come up with a strategy. With a group as big as ours, we shouldn't have to worry about getting captured as long as we don't split up." Between Legend, Aru, and the freed captives, their subgroup was seven strong. He had faith in their numbers. The sound of leaves rustling and the sensation of an approaching life force sucked Legend's attention in like a magnet. He stared west with a firm grip on his pick. "Something's coming," he warned. Before long, a wide-eyed sheridan stumbled into the rest area with his hand over his chest. Leaves stuck to one of his bone-colored horns like meat on a shish kebab. Legend raised his eyebrows at the panting sheridan. It was the woods guide from their platoon. The sheridan was clearly in no condition to speak as he recovered from a sprint that left his cheeks snow white. |
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| Aru | Sep 16 2012, 01:21 PM Post #24 |
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Aru didn't bother to stop when the sheridan ran out into view. When she saw that they weren't all captured, she was filled with hope. Aru ran straight up to the sheridan male and put two hands on his shoulders. "It is good to see you are well." Aru said with a smile. "Where are the others?" Edited by Aru, Sep 16 2012, 01:22 PM.
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| Legend Blueshard | Sep 16 2012, 01:42 PM Post #25 |
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Miner
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"Close..." the sheridan replied with a dry, sandy voice. "Need help... Hurry!" He pointed into the forest behind him and nearly lost his balance as his head spun round and round. "Okay, but you're coming with us," Legend ruled. He grabbed the man's arm and helped him stabilize. As a group, they advanced into a thicker portion of the woods west of the main trail. The pale-faced woods guide soon slipped back into his professional role as he took the lead. Once the color returned to his face, he passed an explanation over his shoulder. "We were going to follow you and Aru, but... One of the warriors... Said he heard shouts in this direction... We followed him into the trees, and he..." They stepped into a diamond-shaped clearing, and spots of blood strewn on the grass caught Legend's eye. "He was a traitor. He put shackles on my people." "Huh? I don't understand what you're saying... One of the sheridans who came with us captured the others?" "I'm afraid so," said the woods guide. "Hurry, we have to catch up with them." "Why would he surrender his own kind to the crusaders?!" Legend protested. "And what about Oyster?" "I don't remember seeing the human... Perhaps he escaped." |
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| Aru | Sep 16 2012, 01:50 PM Post #26 |
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"Where I come from, traitors do not live." Aru announced, holding her spear with one hand and her open wound with the other. "It is a sad thing to see, when one turns his back on his own race, in a time of need as well." Aru looked to the sheridan leading their group when she paused. "What will your people do with him?" Aru asked, her head perking up when she heard the sound of chains near by. |
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| Legend Blueshard | Sep 16 2012, 02:15 PM Post #27 |
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Miner
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"Impa will decide," said the sheridan. When the group of three chained men became visible through the trees, any further explanation was cut short. Legend ran ahead with his pick at the ready. "Stop right there!" he called ahead. The sheridans in shackles faltered at the sound of his voice. After missing the first half-step, they came to a halt as ordered. Their wrists were bound together by two and a half feet of chain each, requiring them to stand close to one another. Not one of the three carried a weapon. At the front of the line, the traitorous warrior their guide mentioned turned around. This one held a dagger in one hand and the lead captive's chain in the other. "Stay out of our affairs, humans!" the warrior shouted back. When the rescued sheridans glided into view, his jaw slackened. "Stand down, traitor!" one of the freed captives demanded. The group surrounded the rogue warrior of Impa. "I am no traitor..." the warrior hissed. "Impa has spoken. These men foul the waters of our race. It is my duty to deliver them to the humans, who will punish them in her name." Legend stepped away from the tense circle with a hand on his forehead. "We will consult Krovlar," said one of the spear-wielding sheridans. "It is not your place to speak for Impa." "You will join them in the realm of the damned!" the alleged traitor continued. Arms grabbed at him from all sides, disarming his knife. Legend watched in silence as the group wrested the chain from his hand and retrieved the key. In a few short minutes, they concluded the ordeal. The traitor found himself in the very same shackles used to bind his brethren. In the aftermath, Legend trailed far behind the sheridans en route to their previous rest stop. He wrapped an arm around Aru to support her even though she had already demonstrated her ability to walk. The sight of the group of sheridans surrounding their own with grim faces reminded Legend that this matter was the responsibility of sheridankind. Contrary to the so-called ancient writings of Middlebrook, he and Aru had long since fulfilled their role. "On second thought, I don't think we should involve ourselves in this any further..." he told her quietly. "I'll give them the decree from the Lord-Saint, and we can continue north. Is that alright with you?" |
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| Aru | Sep 16 2012, 02:31 PM Post #28 |
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Aru nodded, leaning against Legend for support. "I agree. We did what we said we would. The sheridan males will go back to Middlebrook and meet with their mates. I would rather not hear what Impa decides for them, but.." she admitted, still smiling as she trailed off. "..We could go back and stay for the night and leave in the morning. We should both clean up, and I am sure there will be food." Aru laughed a little, thinking about how quickly Legend could and would stuff his face. Aru stopped where she was, watching the males continue ahead of the pair. "So, what should we do?" |
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| Legend Blueshard | Sep 16 2012, 02:59 PM Post #29 |
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Miner
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Though Legend preferred to keep his nose out of the sheridans' business, realistically, he couldn't deny the opportunity for a hot celebratory meal. Their commitment fulfilled, he and Aru should be able to continue north on their own schedule - at least in theory. With at least a full day's distance between here and Svalbard, he didn't mind the possibility of a bath in the brook, either. "You're right," he agreed. "Let's stick around until tomorrow morning. We'll be better prepared for the journey if we rest up." They maintained their distance from the sheridan mass nevertheless. Legend enjoyed the privacy. "That'll give us a chance to do something about your leg, too..." Though he didn't give it much thought, his own face had begun to swell. Bruises dotted the sides of his jaw line like the spots of a dalmatian. "To tell you the truth, this mess with the humans and sheridans worries me. If a civil war breaks out in Knives, the balance of power between this country and Faust will be disrupted. The front lines could move much further south - which would put peaceful villages in the line of fire." He could just imagine his own village of Fret burned to the ground in the midst of a war zone. "It's not my business, but I wish there was more I could do." The outcome might scar him, but at least he could still make those choices for himself. Edited by Legend Blueshard, Sep 16 2012, 03:23 PM.
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| Legend Blueshard | Sep 16 2012, 03:28 PM Post #30 |
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Miner
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Event Complete Legend advanced to level 13. Aru advanced to level 12. |
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