Pathwalker - RP

[Dragonium]

Alziel strode past Ragnar while he was in mid-conversation. Morning was here, nearly fully set in, and they had to be moving. There was a continent to be mapped, and which had to be done before all the other contestants. Most had already left and begun. They'd need to be going soon, or they'd miss their chance.

He picked up his pack and reached in for his provisions. He'd need something in his stomach. There'd be a long walk ahead, and...

He cursed. The pack was devoid of food. Someone had taken his provisions. Probably one of the contestants who had already left. Damn.

He walked over to where Ragnar and Liara were still talking. "Excuse me", he said, interrupting the conversation, "Do either of you have any more food?"

Liara reached into one of her pouches, and she too realised that all of her food had been used up. Ragnar nodded gravely. He too had no more food left. After a few minutes of traversing the camp quizzing the people about, he came to the conclusion that there was no more food available in the camp.

He cursed and sat down. Eventually the morning chatter died down, and people settled down to breakfast, before realising that there was no breakfast to be had. Something had to be done.

Alziel took to one of the logs by the campfire and stood upon it. All eyes fell on him. He cleared his throat.

"We have no more food", he said, nerves clutching at his throat. "And we need to move out at some point. I suggest that you all gather up your things. We will be leaving shortly". He stepped down from the log. He had said his piece. Nevertheless it would be difficult getting everyone to co-operate. A group of this size would not be easy to manage, especially on a long walk north with little food...

He wondered if tonight those beasts would come back again. Hopefully not. He would try harder to protect Liara tonight. He had promised himself that he would do so, and it was important. The group had to go. The beasts had to be fought off. This would be life for a while.

A joke Leyland had told him once about a walking buffet came to mind, but he suppressed his laughter.

[Red XIII]

Seeing that his friend was holding out fine, Ragnar went here and there around the camp, giving the fruit to the wounded. There weren't many, and except for Anyan, Alziel and one or two more, the reasons of their wounds had nothing to do with the demons. Most of the wounded had gotten hurt while trying to escape the creatures, due to falls in most cases.

Ragnar got angry and yelled a warrior, who was drunk the night of the attack and, during the storm, stabbed another adventurer mistaking him for a demon (Luckily, the adventurer in question had a good armor, as well as the resistance of a bull). The warrior tried to take his knive out, but Ragnar was faster and took one of his swords, and pointed it against the throat of the warrior. The warrior surrendered, and left to another part of the camp.
After he finished with that, Ragnar (Still angry) closed to Alziel (Who had seen the scene).

"Can you believe that guy?! We're lucky he is going south. I'm telling ya, he could've stabbed me or you last night, and in the confussion we wouldn't have been able to defend ourselves. Can you picture it?!?! to escape from a Demon and fall against a drunken idiot!!"

Alziel laughed and looked at Ragnar, but before he said anything Ragnar continued.

"By the way, Alziel, what's the plan now? I suggest we chase the people who stole our supplies..."
Alziel stopped laughing, and answered...

[Kinslayer]

"How about we move out?" asked Anyan quickly. Alziel, Liara and Ragnar looked at him surprised. He was still lying on the floor, but he was much better than a few minutes ago. Liara's fruit truly was wonderful.

"I guess I can't move quite yet... but still there's the chance of hunting something, right?" he asked Alziel. Anyan trusted Alziel's hunting skills much more than his own.

Anyan's true worry was if the beasts would return... in that case they should be ready.

"If I get the chance of standing up, I will. We should search for a cave or something in case of that those things returned. We mustn't give them the chance of attacking from above... ugh!" suddenly, Anyan's stomach ached. He wasn't fully recovered.

"I gues I can't play the tough man right now huh?" he said. He wasn't joking, he was mad at himself.

Anyan stared to the sky a little bit. "I'll... try to rest more." he said, he laid back and closed his eyes, to sleep a little bit.

[Red XIII]

Ragnar remembered something suddenly.
"Sorry, Alziel. We'll talk later."
Ragnar started running towards the beach, thinking "The ship! I must get to the ship!"

After a long run (That seemed short in Ragnar's scared head) Ragnar got to the beach where the ship was.

Luckily, the ship was still there. After a short talk with his sailor Ragnar saw that the ship was never in danger.

Though, some of the creatures had tried to attack it.

"You should keep the ship here. The creatures seem unable to attack it for some reason." Ragnar said to the sailor.

"Yes sir. good luck on your journey." The sailor answered.

After doing that, Ragnar headed back to the camp, (Running too) to tell his friends the good news.

[Kinslayer]

Anyan was back in his sleep. An yet another dream staretd to trouble him.

Delliah, dressed in white clothes again, appeared on a prairy full of grass. She seemed sad and as if she was crying due to real suffering.

"Anyan... welcome back..." she said, with her sweet, yet sadenned voice.

"Something is wrong..." he said. "Delliah... this is all an illusion. A dream of mine... is it?" Anyan was troubled about this late dreams.

Delliah got closer to him. She hugged him slowly, and kissed him.

Anyan had forgotten such purity, such love, mixed in only an action.

"You tell me... was that an illusion...?" asked Delliah.

Anyan cried of emotion... But then jumped to reality.

"Why do you appear in my dreams...? First you told me to stop my vengeance... Now...?"

Delliah stopped her momentary smile.

"Anyan... I spoke to the gods... And they have a mission for you."

Anyan was shocked about this. A mission? From the gods?

"How... how is this possible..?" he asked.
Delliah seemed troubled again, as she sterted to walk awya form Anyan.

"They told me to tell you this: 'Memories are recalled as couples are formed. Where your emptiness lies... What you feel as incomplete, there lies your struggle. A mirror shall form infront of you...'... Please Anyan... Understand this... and be safe. This is for you..."

Delliah started to speak slowly and gently. She rose over her feet, as a shining light came out of her hands and sorrounded Anyan completely. Suddenly, he felt refreshed and stronger.

"That sprite's fruit surely helped you out, if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be able to cast this healing spell in you, you would have been in a much weaker shape... Look out for her Anyan, she seems nice... Farewell, I shall not come in your dreams again... Oh! And make sure you walk north now..." Delliah stared to Anyan with her eyes filled with tears, as she faded away.

"DELLIAH!!!!!" screamed Anyan, as he woke up in sweat and stood quickly.

"Am I... standing..?" he muttered. Everybody at the campe was surprised by his unnatural healing. Saine, Alziel and Liara stared at him surprised, with their eyes wide open. Even the sprite couldn't believe such a healing.

Anyan's face showed something that not many could see until that day: he was happy, and not smiling for vengeance. He was truly happy.

He realized his overjoy, so, he became serious again in a blink of an eye. Anyan, then walked towards Alziel and Liara.

"I swear, I shall explain this matter later... I have a heartbeat... we should really be heading towards the north. I will explain it all in time, I swear... But thena gain... which will be the plan...?" he said. He never had talked so quickly.

[Moosetroop11]

Liara had little time to wonder about Anyan's sudden recovery; she caught her breath and suddenly put her hands on her knees. After a few seconds of slow breathing she stood up again. She had forgotton how weak she was, and had reserved the fruit, allowing herself none. She turned to Alziel.

"Well? Are we heading out?"

[Red XIII]

Ragnar got to camp just in time to see Anyan's recovery.
"Mmmm... How strange. There is something here I can't see through... Well, life has such misteries anyways!" Ragnar thought.
He closed to the group and heard Liara's question.

"I agree with Liara! That's the spirit, that's how young people should think!" Ragnar said "Just give me five minutes to rest my ol' bones, I come from a long run."

"Right, I noticed you were missing. Were did you go?" Alziel asked.

Ragnar sat down before answering. He did so, still hesitated from his run. "Well, I honestly got scared. I remembered the attack from last night, and feared that a similar thing could've happened to the ship."

The group stared at Ragnar with a glimpse of worry in the eyes. The ship!!! They had forgoten about the ship!! Ragnar smiled, and continued...

"Don't worry, the ship and its crew are ok. There is some kind of spell in that beach, the cratures don't seem to be able to get close. We shouldn't worry about the ship going anywere without us, I already took care of that" (Ragnar blinked an eye to the group) "But  I don't know if it will last. We must get this job over with, and return to the ship."
Ragnar took some bread and beer out of his pack... It was the last of his rations and had somehow survived the thiefs.

"Let's eat this to celebrate Anyan's recovery. We can go after we finish eating". Ragnar divided the bread in even parts, and shared it with his companions. "Sorry, I'm keeping the beer for me!" Ragnar said laughing.....

Everyone in the group laughed.... For the first time since they had boarded the ship.

[Dragonium]

Alziel nodded. "Aye. We have hardly any food left, but we may as well eat what we have, instead of constantly stopping to rest. We have a long walk ahead of us. We need to cover some ground".

Liara seemed to stop in thought. Alziel watched her thinking, studying her appearance, before she spoke. "This is a mapping contest", she said, though it was obvious that she was not interested in the contest in the least. "So how will we be mapping while we move?".

It was a fair point. They all had the same mapping equipment, but few of them had actually planned how they were going to go about producing their map.

"Well", Alziel said, caught off guard, "I've spent a while living in woodland, so I can remember how far we've travelled, and the surroundings, and make up something from that. That way I can travel all day and just work for an hour or so every evening to get down what I've seen during the day".

He had to admit, it was not a very good plan.

"Does that sound alright to you?"

Liara nodded. "Then that's what I'll do", Alziel finished. He smiled, so did Liara, and then the two of them broke into laughter.

He caught sight of something over Liara's shoulder, off over the plains towards the north. Just on the edge of view was a pale section if discolouration against the lifeless sky. It was large; very large. In fact it was so large that as Alziel stared at it, and liara turned to do the same, it was obvious what it was.

"It's a mountain", Alziel mumbled. He was amazed that he had not seen it earlier.

"We didn't see it", Liara said with a frown, voicing Alziel's thoughts. "I wonder if we'll be able to see the lay of the land better if we get closer to it?".

"Maybe", Alziel said. He turned and looked at the state of the camp. People were lazily strolling about, packing their things and eating whatever they had left. They'd have to hunt again tonight, with more people to gather food this time.

Liara knew what he was thinking again. "Animals live on mountains, don't they?", she muttered in his ear.

He nodded. "Let's get our things together. You and I can lead the group. We have a destination".

He smiled, and she smiled back. The two stared at each other for a moment before Liara broke away to fetch her knapsack.

[Kinslayer]

"We are heading towards that mountain...?" said Anyan. He was totally back to normality. He had repaired his light black leather armor, and had put it back on. The Viper, resting on the sheath was ready for another fight.

He stared towards that dark looking mountain ahead. There was something odd about it...

Anyan was sure that his services would be less needed in the wilderness than Alziel's, although he had lived in the wild. Alziel seemed more experienced.

Anyan stared to Ragnar and said : "Good thing we're going now. I can't stand this place anymore... Darn, I need a true rematch with one of those things..."

Ragnar stared to his friend: "You're crazy, brat... You're crazy."

[Moosetroop11]

There was an air of newfound confidence and freshness about the contestants now that had never been present before: on the boat they saw each other as enemies, but since the attack they had become allies. Now they walked towards the promise of the mountain in the shield of their companion's presence, a simple and easy task to take their minds off of the horrors that they had experienced just days before.

Liara was thinking about Shell. He hadn't seemed particularly special or interesting, but he had disappeared during the battle. Had he deserted them? Not without his frog, certainly. And the frog still sat happily in Ragnar's pocket. She felt a pang of guilt that she had not even tried to get to know him, when the chances were that he was already dead.

She stretched her fragile wings, which picked up the breeze. Her whole body was stiff from lying unconsious. She knew that the party's morale would only last as long as their food supply.

[Dragonium]

Alziel sighed as he looked out over the plains.

There was an emptiness about it, still. The plains, as he saw them, were completely flat, apart from the single visible mountain. There was hardly any wind at all. No obstacle to break up the emptiness; just a stillness of yellowed grass.

It unnerved him. The silence. The emptiness.

Even if it was an unwelcoming mountain, it would be more comforting to him than this.

Still, he was the leader of the group now. He'd have to take them where he thought was best. Surviving was more important than winning at the moment.

He strode to the centre of the camp, and called for attention.

"Everyone", he said loudly, "Get your things and start walking north. No exceptions. We're leaving. Now".

He walked back to leae the camp, and passed Liara with her wings spread as he did so. Despite her obvious tiredness from the previous night, Alziel could see, as she watched him pass, a twinkle of admiration in her eye.

[Kinslayer]

Anyan left Ragnar's company, as he stared towards the mountain again. He felt a bit tired yet...

He drew off his sword, and went some steps outside the camp, towards north. It was time to let his knowledge in formations due to his past as a knight come out.

"Allright people, I guess we all know that Alziel is the head for now. We need to be sharp this days! The attack on last night was nothing compared to what we can do with our forces alltogether! Grab all the necessary equipment: food, weapons, armor, etc. Leave behind what you don't need!"

The contestants listened to him. Some saw him with a bit of fear, because of his looks, but some respected him, for having killed Broadsword.

He caught the look of Ragnar. He smiled and muttered something like "stop showing off, brat heh".

Anyan looked at the floor, then to the mountain again. It surely looked big.

Suddenly something came to his mind...

"Will I find... my father in this lands?" he thought. That sudden idea left him thinking a little bit. He just stepped back and swinged his sword twice in the air, then he saved it in it's sheat.

"Delliah, enlighten me on this journey through dreadful lands..." he muttered, as he sat patiently, waiting for the others to go.

[Moosetroop11]

The group was eager to move on and so they did without delay; a few people carrying tents that had been hastily packed, the others moving ahead, scouting for a path, for food, and for danger. Liara walked slowly and so Alziel walked with her, amidst the tent carriers and those with minor injuries.

The ground was cracked and flat, but there were small ridges every now and then which Anyan was using to gain a better view of the land. Every now and then Anyan would shout things back to Alziel, who would nod and retreat into thought. Some of the other contestants were also spying out the area, but Liara spotted parchment in their hands and she suspected that they did not trust Alziel's mapping skills over their own.

[Red XIII]

Alziel got to a ridge, and Ragnar followed him.
"That mountain... How strange we didn't see it before." Ragnar said.
Alziel nodded. "We must've been really distacted back there."
Ragnar took out one of his telescopes and explored the area. "Well, it's not too far. Let's hope we can have some cover once we get there."
Ragnar handed the telescope to Alziel "Take it. I brought two or three just in case I broke one. Since you are doing all the mapping,  I think it will come in handy!"

[Emerates]

"It's rather obvious he is attracted to you," Saine said from slightly behind Liara.  Alziel was coming to the apex of another of the land's ridges, giving Saine a moment to talk to Liara in private.  His opening statement had caught her off guard, surprised her.

"Excuse me?" she asked.  It was not the usual agitated tone people used with the response.  More of a serious question than a voiced annoyance.

"Alziel.  It's obvious he finds you attractive, as most sane men would and do, and desires companionship with you.  Even if he doesn't know it yet."  Saine looked down at her.  When she wasn't flying about on her wings, she stood only to his shoulders.  Her sharp features looked up at him, studying.

"I doubt it," she said flatly.

"I'm sorry, you must think me conceited, coming and saying things like this."  Saine's expression softened, and he smiled slightly, his cold blue eyes starting to shine.  "However, I noticed that small moment you two had back at camp.  I think the feelings go both ways."

Liara looked at the ground as they walked.  "I've never even talked to you before.  This is a bit... awkward."

"The word 'awkward' follows me everywhere I go.  It's normal.  And if you hadn't noticed the small dispute I started with Alziel, my social skills are inept at best."  Saine's smile deepened, became less contrived.  "Let's start over, or for the first time, as it were.  My name is Saine, and I must say it is a pleasure to meet you, my dear sprite."

Liara looked up again.  Her smile returned.  "Liara."  Saine produced his hand, which she took to shake.  He gripped her hand firmly but not harshly, and shook up and down twice before releasing.

"I hope to be able to talk to you later, Liara.  However, I have an apology to make.  If you'll excuse me..."  Saine bowed his head as low as he could while walking, then broke away to Liara's right to pursue Alziel over the ridge.

"Alziel!" he called down.  He was several meters ahead, so Saine jogged forward a few paces.

"What is it?"  Alziel's gaze was hard, obviously not too pleased to see his comrade, and his voice came out flat.

"I would just like to apologize for earlier.  This is the first group I've ever travelled with, and I am not used to following anyone's instincts but my own."  Saine paused for a moment, before continuing.  "So, I apologize for the argument earlier and for acting so.... cold.  From now on, I'll give my advice in a more courteous manner."

Alziel seemed to consider this for a moment before answering.  "Fine.  But now, I should get back to viewing the landscape."

"If you would like, I could lend you a hand in the cartographry.  I have made art in the past, and I could help refine the details of your map if you are interested in allowing me to lend a hand."

Alziel answered....