Pathwalker - RP

[Kinslayer]

Anyan layed on the ground... tired. He saw as Liara hugged Alziel, and as Shell fell asleep. He was glad...

"Gather my shield old man..." he said to Ragnar, who listened to him, and grabbed the shield.

"Damnit brat, you're always gettin' in trouble!" he said, cheerfully.

Anyan smiled back, and said: "Try to call Abell, and let her bring her steed... it will be of help..." Then, he fell unconsius. He was too tired.

[Red XIII]

Ragnar didn't have to go look for Abell.
She appeared at the clearing, after going down the treetop she was in.

"Abell!!"

Ragnar pointed to the wounded and said "We can't move them. We need to make a new camp here, and wait for them to be a litte better. I have to go look for some things we need."

Abell nodded, and Ragnar knew she had understood everything.

Ragnar quickly went back to the camp.

"What happened?" Saine said when he saw Ragnar come.

"More problems, someone attacked Alziel and Anyan and they are injured. Nothing Liara acn't fix, though" Ragnar answered while taking his pack and reloading his crossbow.

After that he made a small pause, and took Liara's pack.
"I'm taking some things there, to help Liara cure them. when I get there, I'll send someone. It's not a good idea to be alone in a night like this."

[Emerates]

Saine sighed as he heard Ragnar's explanations. Alziel, attacked.  He shook his head, his silent prophecy coming to pass all too quickly.

"Ragnar."  The old man turned around as Saine called his name.  "I have a bit faster way back to the new camp.  Help me gather up our companions' things."  Ragnar nodded, understanding as he remembered Saine's sudden appearance during their last battle.

After the two had situated themselves with the others' articles, Saine took a lit piece of wood in one hand and Ragnar's arm in the other and vanished.

They reappeared at the edge of the clearing where the others were staying.  Abell and Liara threw quick glances at them, then eased slightly as they saw it was Saine and Ragnar.  The two men trudged slowly towards them, moving slowly with the burden of all the others' things.

Saine noticed someone else lying on the ground, asleep.  He was too old to be Alziel, and his hair didn't match Anyan's red hair.  Then Saine noticed the small black stone lying on the ground next to the man.  It glinted in the moonlight, and as Saine passed closer, he could feel something enigmatically malignant in its essence.  That is a manifestation of evil, he thought grimly.

They placed their load half-way between Anyan and Alziel, and Saine gave the torch to Ragnar.  "Go get some firewood, Ragnar.  I have something I want to see."  Ragnar nodded again, then disappeared into the brush to find usable branches for their fire.

Saine approached the man and the stone slowly.  As he reached them, he knelt down, staring intently at the polished black sphere. Something overwhelmingly powerful emanated from it, hitting Saine in wave upon wave of dark pulses.

Saine felt himself dulled slightly as he reached for it...

[Moosetroop11]

Shell suddely yelled as if in pain, opening his eyes for a second and reaching out. Saine jumped back but the man immediately fell back to sleep.

Liara tore her attention from Alziel for a second to glance over at Saine.
"Shell's new power feels familiar. I've felt it on you at times. You have any idea what's wrong with him?"

[Ben]

Abell Dressed her steed to carry Alzeils Body to a safer, more tactically sound position.

Abell herad Saines proclomation and her eyes were immediatly drawn to the stone.

"Do you all know this man?" Abell questioned, looking to the nearly liifeless body of Shell

[Red XIII]

"Yes!!!" Ragnar said with surprise, as he let the branches he had gathered fall to the ground "Shell!!!!! What could've happened to him?!"

Then, Ragnar noticed the frog......

"How smart of you... You knew that shell liked that frog, and that he would stop when seeing it" Liara said.

Ragnar smiled
"Hahaha, no, Liara. the frog went for himself. I don't know how it got outta my pocket, and I think that it will remain a mistery."

"Well, we'll have to wait 'till Shell wakes up.If you can, cure Alziel and Anyan quick, Liara. We might need them. But please don't use too much energy."

Liara nodded, while Ragnar kneeled down and took the logs.

Everyone stayed silent for a while.
A few minutes later... the new fire was ready. but something was bugging Ragnar...... so he looked to Saine and said:
"By the way....... We DID take care of the fire in the old camp, did we?"

[Dragonium]

Alziel faded in and out of consciousness. Time passed, and though for some parts he was awake, he did not move or open his eyes. Segments of speech came to him.

He heard Ragnar talking from a short distance away, but the words were distorted, as though he was listening from the end of a tunnel.

Later, after another fit of unconsciousness, he heard Liara talking close by. He wanted to sit up and see her, but his shattered body refused him.

"How is he?", a voice said from close by. Alziel decided it was Saine.

He could now feel her presence a short distance above him. She was kneeling by his side and looking down on him, yet even if he had wanted to open his eyes he could not.

"Well", she began, slowly. She was hesitant and quiet, and it was clear that she was holding back tears. "The fingers on his right hand are broken, and we need to keep them bound. He has a few bruises".

She stopped. Alziel could feel her move her face in closer to his.

"And?", Saine said, cold as ever.

Liara was silent for a moment. "His ribs are ruined", she said. Her voice trembled. "It's a nasty injury".

"Can you fix it?"

"I don't know. If it's just a few broken ribs, I might be able to help him heal, but it's really up to him to work hard and get better". She stopped, and when she spoke again her voice was trembling and higher-pitched.

"If it's worse...".

She trailed off, and Alziel knew what she meant. There was a silence, but Liara's presence stayed above his. After a moment he felt a few hot drops land on his face, and he knew that she was crying for him.

A second presence came forward, Saine's. "Come on now", he said quietly. First his, and then Liara's presences, both left him to lie alone in the dirt.

He could hear Liara's sobs drifting away, and as he tried to hear more, desperately clinging on to thought, his stomach lurched and everything became numb again.

[Moosetroop11]

The days that followed were testiment to Alziel and the effect he had had on everyone. No-one even mentioned leaving the man behind.

Day and night the swamp tried to move in on the party- small creatures that kept Ragnar, Saine and Abell busy. Liara devoted her attention to Alziel, and Anyan healed himself well, until he began to join the parties that gathered good wood for the fire.

But as time passed, and no edible creatures appeared, it became obvious that if Alziel did not recover soon, the party's food supply would become dangerously low.

One evening, Anyan awoke to check on Alziel (Liara had been persuaded to get some rest) and noticed an empty patch of grass where Shell had lain. The black stone, however, was still sitting on the ground, where no-one had dared disturb it.

"Old man! Saine! Wake up!"

"What?" Ragnar murmered sleepily.

Anyan looked over at Liara. She was best left to rest.
"Shell's gone missing. We can find him on our own."


OOC: Oops, a bit more character control than I should have had, here. I hope you don't mind >.>

[Kinslayer]

OCC: Nevermind, it's not like you had Anyan dressed in pink clothes or something XD Moving on :p

BIC:

Ragnar stared to Anyan with a puzzled look... What could have happened?

And that black stone... it attrackted men somehow...

Anyan's head was now sorrounded by a white bandana, due to his wound on his head, but his both legs had healed good.

His bronza shield had endured nicely Shell's attacks, so Anyan had began using it.

"We should search for him... Abell is here and she can check on Liara. But we should walk slowly, and be silent..."

Anyan knew about things... but tracking someone wasn't one of them. Though, he knew that the swamp's ground was soft... so he searched for some footprints.

Anyan saw foot shaped images on the ground, heading towards the forest.

"It's probably a trap..." he thought. "I'll go on the head, Ragnar, follow me, and Saine, stay on the tail... let's go inside there..." said Anyan.

There was something terribly wrong...

[Red XIII]

"Bad  idea..." Ragnar said "But it's the only thing we can do now. Be careful everyone!"

Liara and Abell nodded, seeing the group get into the swamp.

Ragnar took his gear (With plenty of bolts this time) and followed the group.

The air was still.... And Ragnar tried to follow the tracks.

Soon, they lost the trail.

"It's impossible, let's get back" Ragnar said. the others looked at him.............

[Dragonium]

Alziel awoke.

The group had done their work on him. His shirt had been removed, and he was now wrapped in a tight bandage around his torso. His right hand was similarly bound, and in a sling across his shoulder. He was surprised that he was now more comfortable; Liara's healing magic had not yet made him well, he could tell from the medical equipment wrapped around him, but it had so far been enough to numb the pain slightly.

He sat up painfully and looked around. It seemed that the group had left the camp, all but Liara, who was sleeping soundly some distance away, and Abell, sat opposite the fire staring into the darkness. She must have sensed Alziel's awaking, for she turned, stood, and approached as soon as he saw her.

"You are awake", she pointed out. "Good". Abell knelt next to him for a moment, staring closely into his face, and seemingly troubled.

"Tell me", she said after a moment, "Why did you go off into the dark?"

"I don't know", he said simply. He did not want to go into detail about the bizarre feeling that had clouded his mind before, which had now abated. Even so, he knew Abell suspected something.

"How is she", he said, gesturing with his head to Liara.

"She is... tired. She has been working hard. To heal you".

"I see". He sighed. Liara had tired herself out trying to get him back to health. He was touched, and at the same time felt guilty.

"You should rest", Abell said simply. She stood, and walked away to the other side of the fire again.

Alziel thought to sit up and wait for the group to return so that he could greet them, but eventually the effort of sitting upright wore him out, and thus he lay down and went back to sleep.

[Moosetroop11]

Shell stood alone in the darkness, trying to think. His head was beginning to clear, but all was not well- as if a forest had stood in his mind, been stricken by a blinding fog, and now, as the fog dissapated, the damage could be seen all too well. The frog looked at him worriedly.

Surely he could not go back to the others now. He only just remembered them- faces, companions. Not enemies. The nagging feeling at the back of his brain still told him otherwise, of course. He had lain, broken, in the mud, as the group spared his life and discussed his condition. Through concentration he had started to silence the dark call he had been subjected to, but it had been replaced by something far more terrible.

Guilt had led him away from the camp and into the deeper parts of the swamp. He could already hear some others trying to follow him- they were getting close. But he did not deserve their kindness. He had made up his mind- his destiny laid at the bottom of the marsh. Only once he had taken his own life would he not have to face the terrible injuries he had inflicted upon his friends, or hear the mindflayer calling him back into service.

Shell took a step towards the edge, his expertise assuring him that the water was deep. Reeds would drag him under.
He placed the frog on the ground, a lifetime of believing in fate beginning to return to his memory. If he did not jump now, he would not be able to bring himself to do so at all.

***

Anyan was about to agree with Ragnar, when he thought he spotted something in between the trees.

"Wait! I think I can see him!"

[Kinslayer]

"Wait! I think I can see him!" said Anyan to Ragnar, as he spotted a shade through the trees.

Before the old man could answer, Anyan rushed as always, through the marsh, with his shield ready, yet the Viper inside the sheath.

The marshes were deeper now, as they had reached the very center of it...

Anyan went through some trees, and found Shell, standing next to a cliff, staring at the bottom.

"Shell...? What do you expect to do...?" said Anyan, a bit agitated from the run, but overall worried.

Shell stared back at him. Then he stared to the edge again, and said: "I'm sorry..."

Anyan understood what Shell intended to do.

"I do not certainly know what happened to you. But I, not only I, but the group knows that you weren't yourself..."

Shell stared to the edge again, and said no reply. Anyan rethought his words, and the seconds were vital...

"A warrior's way to die lies not in this kind..." said Anyan: "You, as I, are a warrior of pride, honour and strenght. You showed not only me, but the entire group that yuo are indeed someone whose strenght is enormous, and that you are lion hearted. Do not waste yourself ilke this. If you feel that you have made a mistake, then fix it, by fighting at our side, and showing us your true spirit..."

Anyan knew not what else to say. He could only wait for Shell's answer...

[Ben]

Abell continued staring into the darkness beyond the treeline. Her beast had gone out to scout for Vegetation that was suitable for delicate stomached Humans to eat.

Abell was too proud to admit that she too had a hand in Mendin ng Alzeils wounds.

As she stared into the darkness, her mind wandered back to the days Prior.

Abells home was gone. The books she had grown up reading were gone. The books she had yet to decipher...they too were gone. By now her meadow was a smouldering waste. And through this she couldnt help but think more was going on than had seemed.

Ill magics were appearing in areas that normally horboured no such witchcraft. This black stone. And the Rise of the Illithyds. The Khal-ah-ad at war, swarming in numbers she had never witnessed or even heard of.

Dark sprites, and undead. These visitors were surely not her enemy..however, there were apparently others that took a seperate path. It was not likely that they had all perished. Some would be cunning enough to survive.

And the Commisioner of her allies quest. The King that kept the truth from his subjects.

Abell knew there was a force pulling the group in a direction. And Abell knew where that direction would take them. Straight into the bustling city of merchants, Mages and theives guilds. She would not think the name of the town, or the sect of templars that wait there...for they would then see her location and comorades.

If it was not the city itself, it was surely close enough to pose great danger.

However, Abell was certain that somebody there was respoonsible for the wars raging her land. Disturbing the Peace of nature. Throwing off the balances of life she had sworn to protect.

Abell had turned her back on almost all of the way of the people of her Father, the Demonic Nobel that she was not to name...And had sworn to serve nature...And rid her home of the vile. Now her home was gone. These people were her home...
At least until she had a chance to avenge her home.

[Moosetroop11]

Shell glanced back at Ragnar, and his eyes revealed a sad truth- Shell was lost and afraid. In life he had relied on fate to bring him to success, but somewhere on the continent he had seen something to convince him to abandon hope. Suicide was the only path he could decide for himself. He needed guidance.

"Shell, help us. We need your help."

Shell turned to face Anyan. "Do you know what you're fighting? I doubt it."
Anyan looked grave. "I know that whatever it is, I owe it to my memories to fight it to the end."
Shell shook his head. By this time Saine and Ragnar had arrived.

"Stop this nonsense, Shell" Saine scowled. "I doubt you came to this continent seeking death."
"I don't want to have to look after the frog again" added Ragnar. "He belongs with you. You belong with us."

The group said nothing as they made their way back to camp, Shell in their midst. It wasn't his time to die, he'd known that really. It was clear, though, that he wouldn't be giving details of his experiences for a long time to come. He sat on a half rotten log as if nothing had happened and closed his eyes to try and get some sleep.