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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2013 0:26:35 GMT -5
This was all her fault. If the bard hadn't been here to save them.... Lara didn't think they'd have made it past all these enemies. Hearing that Lara was not bad didn't have the effect it should have. The fact that she was hurt at all was her fault. "I'm sorry. This is all my fault. I put you in danger with almost no combat experience. I'm a terrible Captain."
What made things worse was that the bard had returned without either Justin or Ty following. He shook his head when Lara's hopeful eyes fell on him. In a whisper he said, "I'm sorry." Lara could feel the tears dripping down her face, and it took everything in her not to call out. She would never hear Justin's taunts, Ty's flirty comments, she'd never hear them again.
Lara hadn't realized she had fallen to her knees until she looked up to see Bartimaeus squating down to her level. "I understand this isn't easy but we can't stay here." He said, but the words went in one ear and out the other. Three of her party were dead and it was all her fault.
"Here help me get her up." Someone said, probably the bard to Rekka. Before she knew it two hands grabbed her on each side and together they headed back the way they came. Lara couldn't even turn back and the tears would not stop falling.
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Post by Sprow on Jan 13, 2013 1:52:55 GMT -5
Rekka didn't want for Lara to think that she was to blame. It wasn't her fault that they were sent out on this type of mission. This mission, Rekka hadn't been too sure about but they were still alive! That had to have counted for something! As Lara spoke, Rekka looked back at her as she had apologized.
"It's not your fault, Lara. You were doing what someone else ordered you to. I mean, granted you could choose who went along with you but it's not your fault..." she trailed off. Rekka recalled blaming herself once over her father's death. She had thought it was her fault for the loss of her eye that was the reason for her father's death. It took her a while to realize it hadn't been her fault but the person who attacked her. That person was going to pay for what he did to her and her father.
No sooner had she finished what she had to say to Lara, Bartimaeus had returned. What bothered Rekka was the fact that no one was accompanying him. An unpleasant feeling in the pit of her stomach grew, dreading what he was going to say. As Lara looked back at him as if expectantly, the bard merely apologized. There was no mistaking the look on his face or his response. The other two, Justin and Ty were dead.
Rekka watched as Lara dropped to her knees in dispair. Rekka had lowered her head then, bowing it with sorrow. She hadn't known the two for long but, despite Ty's flirtatious comments, they were good men. Justin had even been the first to extend an invitation for her to join the army of the kingdom of Cornelia. He had been a friendly man...dwarf. Justin may have been a dwarf but Rekka thought nothing of it. Justin was a person and she had respected him. Also, Lucas was dead too. The archer had been helping her and he was shot down before he even knew it!
Rekka wiped away at tears that fell from her eye. She hadn't known any of the three of them for long but she felt like they had known them for a long time. They had traveled together and now it was just Lara and herself. Bartimaeus too but he wasn't an original member to their party. What were they going to do? Where were they going to go? Were they still going to keep going like this? What other dangers were they to face if their very first skirmish ended in disaster?
As she wiped away her tears, Rekka looked up as she heard someone whispering. It was true, they couldn't afford to stay here. It was only a matter of time before their enemies started waking up. What was worse was that they could not take time to bury their friends' bodies. Rekka didn't want to know what these foes would do to defile the deceased but at least they wouldn't be around to know for sure. Lara didn't move though, she was in too much grief.
Where Rekka could feel grief, she was still in a state of shock and disbelief about what had just happened. It had yet to fully hit her. Hopefully, she'd last long enough until they were out of the danger zone. As she heard Bartimaeus speaking to her, Rekka pushed herself up as if she were robotic. The pain in her leg and on her lower rib region didn't seem to even bother her. In fact, it were as if Rekka had become numb. Knowing they had to leave was what had gotten her going.
Placing a hand about Lara's left arm, she waited as the bard grabbed hold of her other and the two of them walked the way they had come. Rekka didn't look when they passed the horses. All the while, Rekka moved on, her eye focused ahead of her. She saw nothing, heard nothing. She could only continue moving forward while remaining somehow conscious enough to keep a grip on Lara's arm until they reached whatever safe point that the bard intended for them to. The partial armor that she had been wearing had seemed to disappear now that the danger was gone.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2013 20:39:58 GMT -5
Bartimaeus led them through a maze of goblins and back the way they came. Lara focused on moving her feet and going forward. Anything to try and forget what had just happened. Yet the images of Lucas being shot with arrows and the sounds of Justin's scream and Ty's howl continued to haunt her. She was able though to walk on her own, not that her mind was ready to focus on anything just yet.
After an hours journey Bartimaeus came to a stop. "My magic on a normal human would have given up by now. I don't know how it will affect them. Either way we shouldn't stay here too long. Captain what do you want to do?" He asked Lara.
What did she want? She wanted Justin and Ty back. She wanted Lucas to be alive. She wanted to go back home.
"That is not your home idiot. You've continued to run away from your home for years now." Alvi mocked.
As much as she'd hate to admit it, he was right. Cornelia was not her home. As much as she wished it, she knew that she had to continue forward. People were counting on her. "We..." She started before chocking up and having to hold back tears. She hated to leave Ty, Justin, and Lucas in the hand of those goblins but what choice did they have?
"We have to go forward. Is there another way to go forward?"
Bartimaeus responded with a nod. "There is but we will have to continue to head back in this direction for probably half a day."
Lara turned to Rekka. "Are you ok with going forward?" From now on Lara was going to keep others opinions in mind. Her knowledge had only succeeded in getting them into trouble.
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Post by Sprow on Jan 13, 2013 21:15:44 GMT -5
It took an hour of travel before they had finally come to a stop. Rekka barely even registered that they had even though her feet had slowed and also came to a stop. Her mind just seemed to be blank, unfocused as she just stared onward. It wasn't until she heard Bartimaeus speaking when she had finally come out of her trance. Even then, she was lifeless as she merely stared at him, not seeming to register his words.
There was a moment of silence as the bard looked at Lara. As he did so, so had Rekka. She said nothing as she gave Lara time to think for herself. Whatever choices that Lara made would decide on their fate. With it just being them two...or three, Rekka wasn't sure how they would survive if they continued onward. It seemed like the bard intended to join them for a while though. It was a very lucky thing he had rescued them or they would have all been killed. Still, it was a sad loss losing three of their five.
As Lara struggled to speak, Rekka looked down at the ground. Finally, Lara asked if there was another way to move forward. No doubt, she intended to continue their journey. After coming this far, Rekka wasn't sure if it would be worth going back. They had come so far. As the bard answered her, Rekka just merely stood there, saying nothing. She hadn't anything to contribute to the conversation and would only do as she was told or asked. It was all she could do right now to keep herself from being effected by what happened.
When Lara spoke to her, Rekka seemed to have come to life again. Blinking for a short moment, she turned her head to look over at her captain. It was down to just them now. Was she alright with them moving forward? Well, what choice was there but to go back after traveling for so long? It were almost as if they were not even half way and yet going back would take nearly as long, it seemed. Not only that but their friends' deaths would mean nothing if they chose to go back. It would be an insult to their memory.
After a moment, Rekka gave a nod. "Yes...going back is not an option, I don't think, anymore at this point. I just hope we don't run into more trouble at the end. Maybe we'll find allies along the way?" That last part was a fruitless bid for optimism. The likely chance of them finding new allies on this journey was very low to the point of being almost rare. Still, it was some light of hope if only very faint.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2013 22:54:07 GMT -5
Lara really listened to Rekka's opinion and tried to understand it. "I'm not going to make a mistake like that again. I'll never make this kind of hasty judgement again."[/i] She told herself silently.
"I don't know about meeting any allies, but the road is much more narrower with a lot less enemies. Still we won't be out of the woods till we get out of these mountains." Bartimaeus told the two of them.
Lara nodded. They would just have to trust the bard. "How long will it take us to get through down this path of yours?" Lara asked.
The bard paused for a few moments in thought before he finally gave her an answer. "Normally I'd say three days myself. And that would be pushing myself hard. With the two of you having injuries... I'd say we'd be lucky to make it in a week."
"Let's get going then."
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As the sun set Lara found herself huffing and puffing despite the pace that Bartimaeus led. It had indeed been about half more of the day before they finally came to the trail. It was one of the side passages that took them further up one of the mountains before moving across it and down. Just this simple travel took the rest of the day. All the while, Lara had to deal with the wound in her side. The bard had stitched it up, but it continued to ache and cause her pain.
By the time they stopped by a small cave, her side was on fire. Her face was pale white, and her back was filled with sweat. She brought up the rear with Bartimaeus leading them. "We'll stop here for the night." He said, looking down the path. It was good that he said it because Lara was about to ask when they were going to stop anyway.
"Alright." She said in labored breath. Bartimaeus headed into the cave first and glanced around. Lara didn't know what he was looking for but she joined him.
"We can't build a fire tonight. This area is pretty noticeable at the bottom of the mountain. I'll sing a song if warmth around the cave that will keep us warm. Miss Rekka can you do me a favor and change the bandage on your leg and Lara's hip." Putting down the pack around his shoulder, the bard withdrew two sleeves of bandages to hand to Rekka.
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Post by Sprow on Jan 14, 2013 23:33:19 GMT -5
Rekka didn't like the idea of travel right now. Her leg hurt. Even now, while they had taken a breather, her leg was starting to throb and bring her attention back on her pain. After she gave her answer to Lara, Bartimaeus told them that the road was narrower and with less enemies. Well, that was a relief. She hoped that would be the case for them.
Lara then asked him how long it was going to take them to travel that path. The bard answered them honestly that it would probably take them a week. Rekka's stomach curdled at the thought. Did they have to? With that, they were off.
It wasn't long until they had taken the full half a day's travel to reach where they would stop. Like Lara, Rekka wasn't sure if she could last for much longer on the road. She was sweating too and her leg pained her like something awful. Due to her sweating, her other wound was getting rather uncomfortable as well. Before either of them could ask Bartimaeus if they would be stopping, he told them that they would for the night.
She watched tiredly as Bartimaeus entered a nearby cave and seemed to examine it for a moment. Not sure what he was doing, Rekka just merely watched. Maybe he was checking for enemies? She hoped so, Rekka was too tired to keep going. Seeing that Lara had entered the cave behind him, Rekka took up the rear in entering the cave. As they did so, she heard the bard telling them that they couldn't make a campfire tonight since this was too noticeable being under the mountain. Rekka was fine with that.
The bard would sing them of something warm. After he said this, he asked Rekka to bandage herself and Lara. "Alright." She took the bandages he procured and had Lara sit down first. She would tend to Lara before herself. As she settled her down, Rekka got to work.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2013 18:55:57 GMT -5
Lara was appreciative of Rekka as she addressed her wound. Peeling the old tape back was uncomfortable but once the new one was applied her wound started to feel better. "Thanks Rekka." She said, taking a seat in the cave.
The bard had taken out his lute. He struck a cord and began to play a happy tune. It was not from a song that Lara recognized, but immediately she started to feel a warmth coming from the bard and heading outward. Bartimaeus continued to play, as the warmth grew stronger and expanded around the cave. The tune the bard played continued until suddenly it ended. The bard played the instrument beautifully and the song had brought a smile to her face.
"That was a nice song." She told him with a smile.
The bard did a little bow with his upper torso. "Thank you, Captain." He responded. Taking a seat he went back into his pack and pulled out a loaf of bread and a block of cheese. "Since we can't heat a fire, we can't cook any food. This will have to do for dinner. I have enough for everyone." The bard took out his hunting knife and slit the bread and cheese to make three sandwiches. He handed one to Lara and to Rekka.
Lara just now realized that she had none of their food or even their blankets or packs. It was all back with the dead horses. "We forgot the packs back at the battle." She told Rekka with a saddened face. That was her fault too.
"We'll have time to hunt tomorrow. I'll catch us some food. These mountains are full of animals. Don't worry about keeping a watch tonight. I put some wards by the cave. If anything approaches it they'll awake me. So that way you guys can rest."
Lara appreciated that. After the hard journey through the pass she wanted nothing more then to sleep. The rest of the night passed pretty quickly. For a while Lara chatted with Rekka and the bard, sharing the story of her first day as a captain. It did good to lighten the mood. Then not too long after that she fell asleep. It wasn't until morning that she awoke.
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Post by Sprow on Jan 17, 2013 2:03:40 GMT -5
Rekka took care to not accidentally hurt Lara further. She knew her wound was tender, Rekka's still was as well, so she took extra care to not irritate it anymore than she had to. Gingerly, she applied the new tape and the bandages to Lara's injury. Once she was done, she heard Lara thank her.
"You're welcome, Lara."
As Lara took a seat in the cave, Rekka located a spot as well and placed herself. She winced as she did so since her leg still hurt her. With Lara taken care of, Rekka unwrapped her own bandage and began to wrap it with a new one. She winced and gritted her teeth most of the time but she managed. As she worked, she heard Bartimaeus striking his lute. Just like he had promised, a warm feeling swept over the entire cave. It was a pleasant feeling and the song he played on his lute was an uplifting, cheerful one.
The tune played for a while before it finally ended. Lara had complimented the song. "Thank you, it was uplifting and warm." After thanking Lara, Bartimaeus went into his pack to pull out what appeared to be a loaf of bread and a block of cheese. Now that she saw food, Rekka remembered all of their things, save for their weapons, had been left behind. Her memory's trigger had taken place right when Lara spoke. As Lara looked over at her, Rekka lowered her head at that in dismay.
"Yeah, we did."
Bartimaeus told them that they had time tomorrow to hunt and that the mountains had plenty of animals. They needn't worry about a watch either since the bard had put up wards by the cave. If anyone went near the wards, he would be woken up by them. They could all sleep tonight without having to worry. That was a relief for Rekka, she didn't want to stay up remembering that she was still hurt or that they had lost three of their company and most of everything.
The night went by fast before they all drifted into sleep. Rekka was relieved to get some sleep after what they had been through. By the time morning had come, Rekka had managed to recover a little from everything that had happened to them so far. Of course, that didn't mean she was out of the mourning stage but the night's rest had helped her a little. When Lara woke up, Rekka was still asleep.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2013 18:12:46 GMT -5
The week that followed saw different heights, steeper climbs and descents, and even a battle with a heartless or two. But thankfully the one thing they did not run into was goblins. As they finally came to the end of the pass between the mountains, Lara knew exactly where they were. In reality the hidden pass Bartimaeus had led them down had brought them closer to the destination. No more then about five miles away the endless trees of the Enchanted Forest seemed to stretch to infinity in all directions.
"Were about a day or two west of the main road. If you guys keep heading west you'll get right to it. I'd not recommend going to the forest though. I can walk with you guys to the road if you like?" Bartimaeus did not expand further about why they should not. But for Lara she did not have too.
She was grateful for Bartimaeus's help, but she still felt reluctant to bring him in. She was going to have enough trouble getting Rekka and herself into the Kingdom of Elfhiem without adding another bard. "Thank you for the offer, but our destination is about a half a day further to the east actually."
This made the bard pause and raise an eyebrow in slight surprise. "You mean to enter the forest?!" He said suddenly excited.
Lara had not told Rekka or anyone of the company the exact destination of their mission. "I thank you for your help Bard." Perhaps now would be a good time to say their goodbyes. Lara stretched out her hand for him to shake it.
"Captain... Please... Let me join your party." Saying it in front of all of them, Lara paused. She felt like she owed Bartimaeus for saving them and getting them through the pass.
"You're already bringing one human into our home. One more isn't going to hurt your chances much." Alvi said. Lara was actually shocked to hear the voice inside her head say something positive sounding for once. Alvi hated humans, and Lara figured it was because part of her hated her human self that he existed in her mind.
Ignoring the voice, Lara turned to Rekka. "I am done making decision on my own for the rest of the company. What say you Rekka?"
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"What business do you have outside the shield scholar?" Kanam looked up to see an elven archer standing on one of the trees. He was the guard stationed at this section of the shield. He was dressed in emerald green elven armor with a wooden longbow on his back and a helm covering the top part of his head.
Kanam easily guessed that the elf was years younger then he was. 'He has no right to speak to me that way!' Kanam thought. He had finally made it after weeks of traveling. The grand shield that prevented all creatures from entering the Kingdom of Elfhiem. To get in or get out, part of the shield had to be lowered. The duty of this guard was to oversee the lowering and raising of the shield.
"There is a book in one of the human cities that I just must have. I expect to return within three days." Elves were allowed to come and go as they pleased, however that didn't mean that the guards didn't like to play with them sometimes first.
The guard let out a laugh. "Bah! You scholars and your books! Alright scholar." Part of the invisible shield hummed in the air past the tree and Kanam was greeted with a white mist. It had not been there just a moment ago. Nodding to the guard, Kanam passed the tree and the hum of the shield returned once more. If he chose to turn around now, he would find himself starring at only more endless trees and mist. In actuality the mist was an ancient magic that covered the sections of the forest around the invisible shield. Anyone who did not know the ancient elven words to signal those on the other side would find themselves wandering endlessly in mist so long as they tried to go forward. But thankfully for Kanam that was not where he was going.
Instead he was going backward, towards the entrance of the forest. There was only two entrances to the Kingdom of Elfhiem. One on this side of the forest, and one on the exact opposite side. Pulling out a book of his, Kanam opened it and waved his hand over it. Activating the magic within, Neo-Shadow heartless sprouted out of the ground around him. These heartless though were different then the normal pure heartless that many people were accustomed too. These heartless had yellow ancient scribbles glowing all over their body.
"Go my servants. Spread out and watch the forest for any human who might enter it." He watched the twenty disappear into a shadow on the ground and head out in different directions. Now all he had to do was wait.
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Post by Sprow on Jan 19, 2013 6:48:17 GMT -5
The week of travel after that sad day hadn't been an easy trek. There were many obstacles and they had managed to get through them all up to this point. Rekka's leg had been doing much better. They didn't even have many fights to encounter along the way. There were Heartless but so far no goblins, thankfully. Rekka wasn't sure how to handle another horde of goblins again. After what happened to their friends, Rekka wasn't too keen on meeting goblins again.
As they came to a stop at the end of the pass, Rekka could see a forest stretching out before them for what seemed like miles on end. She looked on in wonder as she heard Bartimaeous talking. Something about a main road but Rekka knew that wasn't where they would be going. Even as the bard offered, Rekka knew Lara would refuse the idea about the main road. Even as Rekka turned to look over at him, she heard Lara's response. They were heading east, not west. No doubt, into the forest.
Rekka could see what appeared to be excited at the idea of them going into the forest. Apparently, by the way he was acting, no one normally did this. Why? What lay ahead of them? Lara had not confirmed what Bartimaeus had said and merely chose to thank him instead, extending out a hand to shake. Even though it had looked like they were going to be saying their farewells at this point, Bartimaeus chose to request if he could come along.
After that, Lara had turned to Rekka, asking her for her opinion on what they should do. There was only two of them. Rekka hadn't a clue where it was they were going except in the forest. She didn't know who or what they were going to encounter along the way. The bard had proved through the week that he had been genuine in helping them. He made their group three people instead of two and he seemed to know things about fighting and hunting. What harm would it do to bring him along? She could be severely wrong about his character but she hadn't really found anything too suspicious about him. She figured whatever lay ahead of them would probably be more dangerous than he was if he wasn't the person they thought.
"...I'm not the leader of this expedition but I think three instead of two people going in there would be a little safer..." That was all she had to say on the matter. What Lara decided was up to her now. Rekka only gave her opinion when asked.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2013 20:06:10 GMT -5
Lara didn't really feel like a leader. She had done a terrible job of it so far. She'd gotten the majority of her party killed and now another person wanted to join them. Rekka did have a point though. Three were alot safer then two.
"I cannot guarantee your safety..." She trailed off.
The bard responded with, "Nor I yours."
Well that seemed to settle it then. "We go to Elfhiem." She finally announced. This close to the woods, she mine as well let them know where they were going now. They'd be entering the woods in a few hours.
"I thought only elves were allowed into Elfhiem. For the last years the elves have kept out anyone from any other race. How are we going to enter?"
"I have elven blood in my veins. They will let me in, and I will vouch for you two."
Now Bartimaeus's eyebrow raised. "A half elf from the kingdom of Cornelia being sent with urgency and danger to the Enchanted Woods and the Kingdom of Elfhiem... Just what sort of mission is this?"
Lara couldn't answer that. "I... can't say. But let's get going." Not many people knew how to find the correct path into the forest. There were many different paths that people might have taken throughout the years but only one trail that led to the shield. It took another two hours travel to get there.
The entrance was a single traveling path between two trees. It was an ancient path made from the millions of footprints of elves and humans alike since the beginning of the forest. Now they just had to follow it. "Is it the story of the confusing mists true?" Bartimaeus asked. He refereed to the ancient magic around the shield wall. Those who came down this path eventually ran into mists. The mists carried an ancient magic that would have the unfortunate receiver of the magic wandering in circles.
"Yes, but we won't reach the mists till night fall." She let them know. Lara paused and gathered her wits. It had been almost three years since she had given up her identity. By walking into this forest she would be taking it on once more.
Vaguely she heard Bartimaeus explain just what he was talking about to Lara. "According to stories theirs a mist in these woods. That's why they call it enchanted. The elves put up a mist that causes anyone who enters them into disarray. They say that the skeletons of those lost come to life to defend anyone who attacks the forest. Though Necromancy has been outlawed since the war. But these are the elves. I don't think there's many forces that could stop the elves... Isn't this just exciting Rekka?! A chance to study the elves. I've wanted to step into their world for years now!"
Whatever she said to Bartimaeus, Lara also didn't spend much time listening. "I don't want to go in. Why couldn't they just send me elsewhere? I was never accepted there..."
"You weren't really accepted in Cornelia either. That was not your home." Alvi mocked.
Lara did her best to ignore him again. "Let's do this." She said aloud suddenly. Her wits gathered, Lara entered the Enchanted Forest down the ancient trail. She began the walk through the woods, following the path. With ever step she took Lara couldn't help but feel that her fate was once again about to change.
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Post by Sprow on Jan 19, 2013 22:05:14 GMT -5
Rekka listened as Lara told Bartimaeus that she couldn't gaurantee his safety. The bard replied that he couldn't guarantee their's either. Understandable considering where they were going. They had no idea what lay ahead of them. Hopefully, the one extra person might make a bit of a difference. Three heads was certainly better than two heads. Rekka would rather not be down to just two people or one person. She wanted to make it out of here alive if she could help it.
After the bard's response, Lara then informed them as to where they were going. Elfheim? What was Elfheim? Confusedly, she looked between Bartimaeus and Lara. Something with elves, right? Even as she had come to this conclusion, Bartimaeus responded by stating he believed elves were only allowed into Elfheim. They had supposedly kept out the other races for years. Just like Bartimaeus, Rekka wondered how they were going to enter a place such as that if it was blocked off.
No sooner Bartimaeus had asked this when Lara informed them that she had elven blood in her veins and that she would be let in. Once let in, she would vouch for their entry. Rekka wasn't sure if they'd allow them to pass through. Why did the elves lock everyone outside? Surely, they had a reason of some sort. Would they even be friendly? Rekka wasn't sure but she knew Lara was friendly. Still, hearing that Lara had elf blood in her made her look over at her with curiosity. She had never met elves before in her life but had heard stories of them. She respected Lara all the more.
Bartimaeus then asked Lara what kind of mission this was. Rekka had turned to look over at Lara again. She wondered the same exact thing since she hadn't been told why they were going on this mission. Lara, though, didn't seem to know for sure herself. She couldn't answer. If it were just because she didn't know or otherwise, Rekka didn't know but she hadn't questioned her further about it.
It took them two hours to get to what appeared to be some sort of trail. It lay between two trees and as they got there, Rekka heard Bartimaeus ask about the confusing mists. Furrowing her brows, puzzled, Rekka glanced over at the bard. What was he talking about? Some sort of enchantment? Lara confirmed that they were true and wouldn't reach them until nightfall. Well, that was grand. Did Lara have the ability to get through the mists all by herself?
As she wondered about the mists, she heard Bartimaeus explaining it to her. Rekka looked over at him all the while. Apparently, people got lost in the mists and died in them. Rekka wasn't sure if she liked the sound of that. It made matters worse for her to hear from Bartimaeus that the people that died in there, their skeletons, returned to attack those that attacked the forest. Or did he mean defend them? Either way, she didn't like the sound of that. Then Bartimaeus talked about how Necromancy was banned but these were the elves. The bard didn't think there were forces out there that could stop the elves. According to the bard, he wanted to study them since a while now and was excited about the idea of stepping into their world.
"Where I've never met an elf before...I'm not sure if I share your view on this one, Bartimaeus. It sounds to me like they don't want to bother with anyone. I don't think this will be a friendly encounter for any of us..." she trailed off. Lara then urged them to continue onward. Without saying anything more, Rekka followed Lara's lead into the forbidding looking forest. What horrors they might find, she wasn't sure. Hopefully, they weren't about to die.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2013 23:34:20 GMT -5
As they entered the forest Lara heard Bartimaeus continuing to talk with Rekka. "But that's just stupid. What kind of people lock themselves away from the rest of the world? Their missing out on so many stories,tales, and adventures. Man if I was an elf and stuck in these words for years I don't know what I'd do with myself. Besides they can probably teach us so much!"
Lara didn't know what to say to that so instead she kept them going forward. The trail they followed was only about five feet long. It was a dirt trail with trees crowding around them. Here and there was sign of someone's path. Like many elves, Amber had been taught well on how to track. There was more then just footprints to look at when tracking.
As they continued to walk and the sun began to move in behind their backs Lara saw several different clues that someone had recently been on near this path. Some stepped on branches here, crushed leaves there. Lara didn't know how old these signs were, but they couldn't be to long ago. If Lara had to guess maybe a day or so. "I hope those are human tracks and not elves."[/i] Lara was kind of hoping that they would have to stay in the woods one more night before running into any elves.
Lara was vaguely aware that Bartimaeus continued to speak with Rekka as they traveled. He really did have a lot to say about where they were going and what he thought. He didn't seem to care much if Rekka did or not. "I wonder how old he is?"[/i] Lara thought to herself. He was not a young man by any means. If she had to place his age, she'd guess maybe mid to late forties.
The day continued and overhead the sky began to darken. No doubt if there weren't so many tees in the way they could see more the setting sun n the sky. The forest though became a much darker place then during the day. Soon it would be so dark that they would probably have to stop. They had not yet entered the mists, which was sort of a relief for Lara.
"Perhaps we should stop. I almost hit my head on a tree branch back there Captain." Bartimaeus suggested. She stopped and took a moment to try and look around. There were various animals that populated these woods: deer, squirrels, owls and other birds. There was no really camp sites for them. They'd have to make one.
"Ya you're probably right. Tomorrow we'll reach the shield."
"Actually I don't see you living beyond today." A male voice spoke from somewhere behind all of them. Eyes floating to the surrounding trees, Lara watched an elf step out onto the path. It was a man she had never met before. He stood shorter then Bartimaeus, with a slim body, black spectacles on his face, and the signature pointy ears. He was dressed in white pants, a long blue coat, and a black cape around his shoulders. The hood was pulled back revealing his long hair. Part of it, the area immediately around his head, was black while the part flowing down his shoulder had turned white. In his hand he held an open book of some kind.
"And who might you be?" Bartimaeus asked before Lara could respond.
The elf did not answer. Instead his eyes tightened which caused a number of creatures to pop out of the ground around them. They looked to be neoshadow heartless in body and appearance except for the fact that glowing yellow script was written all over their bodies. Lara swore and summoned her axe. Bartimaeus withdrew a hunting knife and held it in a battle ready stance.
"I do wonder what sort of mission has an elf coming to kill us Miss Miss Lara." He told her. I
Lara really had no clue as to why this elf was hunting them. Why would an elf come and hunt them? Maybe this was some sort of misunderstanding. "Were not dangerous! I have elevan blood even! I know the words!" Lara really didn't know if they could take on an elf and what had to be ten to fifteen neoshadow heartless around them.
The elf didn't answer. Instead he whisked his free hand forward and the neoshadow heartless charged. "Aww hell! Here they come! Rekka I'll try and stay in your blind spot."
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Post by Sprow on Jan 20, 2013 0:44:17 GMT -5
Rekka sighed to herself as Bartimaeus continued to talk. The way he was speaking, it was easy to mistake him for someone younger. Yet, appearance wise, he looked like his was somewhere in his middle age. Maybe the idea of elves just sparked that in him? After all, many who were on the brink of discovering something tended to get giddy. Rekka couldn't really share his excitement though. She was dreading how things would go when they got to Elfheim. The fact they shut others out only told Rekka that they wouldn't be welcome here. No doubt, they shut others out for a reason. What that was, she didn't know but she knew that it wasn't a welcoming sign to those who weren't elves or of elven blood.
All the while, Rekka replied to Bartimaeus's words. "Well, they must have a reason for locking themselves away. Not sure what but if it's something bad, I'd rather not know. Some things are best left for the unknown for what we might find may be much worse than having not known in the first place." Her father had taught her that one. There were some things best left to the unknown. Discovering everything wasn't always a good thing since what may be found could turn out to be dangerous to those that learned the secrets that were suppose to be hidden.
Rekka and Bartimaeus continued to talk. It seemed like Bartimaeus though was the one continuing the conversation regardless of what Rekka had to say. Sometimes it seemed like he wasn't even listening and was just tossing out what came to mind. He really was excited about Elfheim and the elves, that was for sure. She didn't think the elves evil but she wasn't as excited. This place felt rather creepy.
Eventually, Bartimaeus took a moment, during their travel, to suggest they stop for the night. She, too, had her shortcomings in the darkness. Rekka had stumbled a few times and even almost ran into a tree. When Lara agreed they should stop, she heard her say that they would hopefully reach the shield by tomorrow.
Before Rekka could respond, a voice from nowhere had come. Looking around, Rekka eventually found a strange figure standing there on the path behind them. He was holding some kind of book and had the heavy implication that he was a mage sort or close to it with the way he was dressed. Seeing the pointed ears only told Rekka that this had to be an elf. She had heard they all had pointy ears. This one was no different. Judging by the way he had spoken to them, he wasn't here to be friendly.
As Lara asked him who he might be, the elf simply chose to tighten his glare on them. As he did so, Heartless appeared but these ones were strange. They had inscriptions or something running all over their bodies. Seeing as this obviously wasn't going to end well, Rekka had drawn her sword and got into a battle ready stance as well. She wasn't sure how this was going to go since she never encountered an elf before. She didn't know what their magic entitled or how dangerous they really were.
As they were ready for battle, Rekka heard Lara try to tell the elf that they were harmless and that she had elven blood. That she knew the words, apparently. Rekka wasn't sure what she had meant by that but she would have thought those words would have appeased the elf. They hadn't. Rekka wasn't entirely surprised to know this. Now, there were around ten to fifteen enemies surrounding them.
Hearing Lara's words, Rekka felt the blood pumping in her chest and could almost hear it in her own ears. "Why do these things always happen to us?" she simply stated in response as the things charged them, Lara saying that she'd try to be in Rekka's blind spot.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2013 1:19:03 GMT -5
The heartless came for them. Bartimaeus stood closest to the elf and the heartless in front of him. As the first one charged he held his hunting dagger tight with the blade pointed towards the ground and the edge of the blade out towards the enemy. As they came rushing towards him he let one of the creatures swipe forward and used his speed and agility to pivot away from the attack and to drive his dagger into the back of the creature's head. A swipe down its back caused his enemy to disappear defeated. As another came forward he continued his attacks.
Lara on the other hand found herself facing three at the same time. One had came head on, while the other from the right. The third was heading towards Rekka's blind spot, and was the closest to the two of them. Getting behind it just in time to stop it from sending a claw towards Rekka's back, Lara's axe found its mark in the heartless's head.
Not time to reply just yet, Lara blocked an oncoming attack from her front by raising her axe sideways while gripping the blade by both the bottom and by the head of the axe. The oncoming claw of the heartless bounced off of the handle of the axe, and Lara kicked out with her foot to send the creature back.
"I have no idea!" Lara barley managed to say as the other heartless reached her. It had the smarts to disappear into a shadow as Lara swiped with her axe. It traveled under her legs and came out the other side. Lara stepped forward, but not before feeling a scratch on her back. "Should have summoned my armor. But there's no time now."[/i]
Lara had no clue how many of the heartless had headed for Rekka. There were ten to fifteen of them after all. Lara extended her arm while she attacked on an arc across her shoulder. The attack had caused her to spin towards her opponent who had been coming after her after having cut her skin. But now it collided with Lara's axe. Two more heartless were coming at her now, from her right and left. The right though was coming towards Rekka's current blind spot. If that wasn't bad enough Lara caught something red in the corner of her eye. Instinct told Lara to move and so she moved. She had to jump right towards one of the charging heartless but she did it. And not a moment too soon either. While the heartless had been attacking, the elf had begun to cast his magic. Three balls of fire, six feet tall raced through the air towards Rekka, Lara, and Bartimaeus each. And the elf was already beginning to enchant for his second spell.
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Post by Sprow on Jan 20, 2013 2:03:43 GMT -5
The three of them didn't have much time to think as the strange Heartless rushed them. Focusing on one that was ahead of three, Rekka swung her sword at it. She managed to slice its forearm, the Heartless stopping in its tracks. She could see the strike had hurt it but it didn't make any sort of painful noise in response. It wasn't out of commission though and they both knew it. Recovering from the scratch she had given it, one that would've normally cut off a limb on a regular being, it charged at her again. This time, in unison with its friends.
Rekka side stepped the one she had hurt and jabbed her sword toward one of the other Heartless. As she did so, she felt something make impact with her weapon. She had found her mark in the forehead of the Heartless. It dispersed immediately but it hadn't been her only opponent. The final one, the one that hadn't been sidestepped, had scratched her side. Wincing, Rekka pulled her weapon away from where she had jabbed it, turned, and swung at the one that had clawed her. She managed to make her sword's blade clash with the Heartless's other hand just narrowly preventing the claws from that hand from scratching her a second time.
How nasty her injury was, Rekka didn't know as she checked to see how the others were doing. Everyone, so far, appeared to be still alive. Lara had responded to what Rekka said earlier about why it seemed they kept getting into these kind of messes. They really didn't have a good streak of luck since coming out here. When that luck would change, if at all, depended on whether or not they lived.
Pushing back the Heartless by pushing against the blade of her weapon with all her might, Rekka managed to make the Neoshadow she had been blocking earlier stagger back a step. It earned her the perfect opportunity to jab it in where the heart should be. The creature perished in an instant. Much like it's comrade from earlier, it had dispersed in a puff of black, wispy smoke. Two out of the four that had been charging her had been taken care of. The one she sidestepped seemed to have focused on someone else right now. As for the other one of the four, it had sunk into the ground and was circling her. Rekka watched it carefully, also trying to keep her guard up around her in the meantime in case the thing was serving as merely a distraction for another Heartless to attack her.
What she didn't expect was the elf to take part in the battle. She had believed that he had summoned the Heartless and was controlling them that way. She didn't think that he would go as far as casting spells at them in the meantime. Rekka had been very wrong in that assumption. Unlike Lara and Bartimaeus, Rekka hadn't seen the fireballs coming her way. So, when she was hit by them, she was surprised. In fact, she was extremely surprised but one would've thought she felt a large amount of pain by now. Instead, all Rekka could feel was pure shock at what had happened. She knew something had hit simultaneously but she wasn't feeling any pain.
'That's odd...I should be burned!' she thought to herself, finally registering what had hit her had been fire balls. Blinking, Rekka looked back over at the elf as if she were seeing him for the very first time. How was she able to withstand the fireballs? It made no sense to her!
Rekka didn't have much time to dwell on what had happened. Another Heartless came up from behind and wrapped its arms about her, hugging her very tightly as if it intended to either hold her down or give her a very unpleasant bear hug. Whatever the case, Rekka grunted in pain as she flailed her legs about in attempts to squirm free.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2013 22:20:29 GMT -5
As Lara leaped and rolled she looked up to see the fireball heading straight towards Rekka! Lara opened her mouth to warn the only real member of her original party left, but she was to late. Lara did cry out, but it was in horror as Rekka was engulfed by the fire. Swears of various variety escaped her mouth. Two years of working with the Army and years of training with the elves allowed her to catch the swipping arm of a heartless to her left. She was still on the ground though, so she had to swing her axe upward to slice off the charging claw.
Wounding the neoshadow, the creature stepped back instead of doing what it should have done and kept on attacking. This gave Lara the chance to get to her feet. She was going to head over towards Rekka, but she stopped in confusion when she saw that Rekka was not only still alive but unharmed. She had seen the girl engulfed in fire not just a few moments ago didn't she? Rekka had her own heartless still to deal with and Lara found herself facing still two more. Lara would have to ask about it later.
Bartimaeus on the other hand was having a hard time dealing with the enemy. Not because he lacked skill. In fact with each enemy that came after him he somehow miraculously dodged the attack and sliced the enemy. Of course there was nothing miraculous about it, just plain skill. However the bard's target was not the heartless. He was charging after the elf.
When the fire ball came charging towards him, he used his momentum to roll right underneath the fire just a moment before it passed. The elf though was a very formidable opponent. While it took him time to cast a spell, as he had just now, Bartimaeus watched him send neoshadow after neoshadow towards him from out of that book of his. They all appeared with the same glowing scribbles.
They came out every few seconds, one of them meeting Bartimaeus in battle while the other two headed in different directions towards other opponents. As he closed the distance to about ten feet between himself and the elf, the frustration began to show on his face. Bartimaeus met another neoshadow as it swiped downward at him. Pausing to let those claws pass, Bartimaeus cut off both arms before sending his knife into the chest of the enemy in a quick jab.
Seven feet... Six... Five.... Whatever spell the elf was casting, it was complete. The elf raised his hand and spikes of ice appeared in the air and shot towards all of them from above. There were about nine of them, each a foot long and half a foot in circumference. There was no moving forward out of that! Bartimaeus ran to the right as three headed towards himself, three at Lara, and three at Rekka.
Dodging one, then the other, and finally the third, Bartimaeus found himself about fifteen feet away from the elf again. And he was quickly summoning more heartless! "You have got to be kidding me!" Bartimaeus complained aloud.
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Post by Sprow on Jan 20, 2013 23:22:56 GMT -5
Rekka was just as shocked and surprised as Lara was to know she was still alive after that. How could she survive flames? Rekka was a normal person. This shouldn't have happened as far as she knew. Still, she was happy that she hadn't died. It wouldn't have been pleasant to go up in flames like that. She had seen how wild the flames had gone around her at that moment. Somehow, she seemed unharmed as far as she knew.
Her moment of surprise though didn't impede the Heartless she had left. It had gotten a good hold on her from behind, pulling her into the most uncomfortable bear hug. Already, she could feel herself getting dizzy from the grip. Flailing with her legs, Rekka wasn't able to get any leverage and the good she was doing was just moving a bit. If she didn't think of something fast, she was going to fall unconscious from lack of oxygen getting to her lungs.
Frustration welled up inside of her. As if sensing her frustration, Rekka saw something snake about her limbs. It was that red armor again! Well, partial armor. For some reason, she felt a bit heated. The armor felt like it was hot but her skin wasn't burning despite her discomfort. The Heartless seemed to sense it too for it had seemed to lessen its grip on her and even let her go on its own accord! A lot of strange things were happening to her today!
Landing on the ground, Rekka turned and jabbed at the Heartless, catching it in the chest. It dispersed as soon as her sword met that spot. As she turned her attention on the others, Rekka saw ice spikes being thrown at them! Out of instinct, Rekka had sidestepped one and rolled out of the way from a second. The third grazed her shoulder though. A painful sting there made her wince and cry out a bit as she gripped her injury. Blood dribbled from the wound. She heard Bartimaeus say something in frustration. Looking over, she saw yet more Heartless with scribbles on them!
Where were those damn things coming from? That book?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2013 0:21:05 GMT -5
The heartless kept coming! Was there no end to them! Lara had just finished off another one when another appeared. There were three of them coming once again! One came towards Rekka's bind spot, but Lara was to far away to help her out. She was busy with one who was much closer and coming at her right. Getting her axe up in a swipe, she was not rewarded for her attack. The enemy was staying away form her axe, and disappeared into the ground just as she swiped. It appeared on the other side of her while another of its companion joined it in attack.
Lara had to step back, but not before feeling the claws of one of them as they scratched at her chest. Back peddling Lara swore. She shared the same frustration that Bartimaeus was surely feeling. Then came the ice spikes! For once her dodging did something well. She stepped backward to dodge the first spike of ice as one of the heartless shot forward. The ice impaled the heartless instead of her.
The second came charging right after her, and Lara barley managed to back peddle from that one. The third one though came to soon for her to move out of the way. Lara had no choice but to try and swing her axe at the oncoming spike. It was ice after all. Making contact with the spike like she was swinging a baseball bat, Lara sent shards of ice scattering in all directions. Some struck her in the torso, just missing her neck and face, while others struck the other heartless coming at her. It did more damage to her then the heartless though.
"That's it!" Lara exclaimed. She took the time to summon her own armor. Lara hadn't noticed that Rekka had armor of her own as well. Lara's came on the same way it always did, appearing on her in forms of kaji writing at first. Then it came into being as the white armor that she was accustom too. At least with the armor she would be more protected!
The other heartless that had yet to die had changed directions from targeting her and was heading towards Rekka's blind spot. Spotting Rekka, Lara saw the armor she wore. "Can she summon armor too?" She asked herself as she charged towards the heartless with blue ice shards sticking out of its body.
Meanwhile, Lara would probably see about six more heartless come out of the book and head towards Rekka and Bartimaeus. Four headed towards Rekka while two started towards Bartimaeus. The bard charged towards the elf again. The heartless came for him like they always did, two at a time. The first that met him leaped towards him as if to tackle him to the ground. It met Bartimaeus's hunting knife in its chest. As it dispersed the other heartless came right after it! It attacked with more cunning this time, coming from below and grabbing Bartimaeus's legs.
The bard didn't dodge this one, and he found himself being brought to the floor. The neoshadow rose up and its claw came down right towards Bartimaeus's head. Thankfully the bard had kept a hold of his hunting dagger. He punched the dagger forward! If a heartless could show shock, the bard was pretty sure he would have.
Bringing himself off the ground, Bartimaeus eyed daggers at the elf. This was no noble style of fighting! But what should one suspect form a sorcerer? Or perhaps it would be better to call him a summoner? The elf had not summoned anymore neoshadows out of his book. Lara was helping Rekka with the four that he had summoned after attacking a heartless that was heading towards Rekka's back. Both girls were in armor. That was interesting since neither had been wearing any, nor had any with them. Bartimaeus would have to ask about that later.
The elf was enchanting who knows what again as he read from his book. Bartimaeus had enough of this. It was time they finished this battle. Picking up a twig, Bartimaeus threw it at the elf. For once he landed a hit! Not that it did much, but the elf lost hiss concentration and was forced to turn back to Bartimaeus. "Take that ya stupid elf!" The bard thought to himself.
Hunting dagger in hand, he charged towards the elf! And met two Invisible Heartless as they appeared from his book. At first glance they were nothing but pure shadows, but upon closer look Bartimaeus could see the muscular frame, the heart shaped hole in its torso, the sharp blue horns, the two blue wings, and the swords they held in their hands. And of course there was the writing covering their bodies as well. This battle just got a whole lot tougher.
"I did not retire and become a story teller to become a warrior again! My days of fighting were supposed to be over! I just want to sit and write my ballads!"
Before the bard was frustrated. Now he was angry. Suddenly he broke into song. His voice started off soft, but like his playing, it was quite good. The song he sung was in a deep tone that was clearly not a song of good tiding. "The swords they sting, the song we sing, of ages past, while the battle continues to last. The blood will boil, And our enemy shall see turmoil, while the sound of the sword never fails." By the time he finished his song, the magic should spread to his allies. His blood began to race and Bartimaeus could feel his body telling him to run and attack and go berserk. His party's speed and strength were increased by the magic. Bartimaeus charged forward, this time much faster then before.
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Post by Sprow on Jan 21, 2013 1:57:30 GMT -5
Rekka cursed under her breath as she made to move, her shoulder stinging painfully. Standing up straight, she assessed that they were dealing with yet more Heartless. It really did look like that book was the source of that elf's power. Before she could think of trying to get that book from him though, something from the side hit her. Due to her partial armor, her side didn't receive the full extent of the attack that had come her way.
It was a scratch and would've been nastier if it weren't for the armor protecting her ribs. Gritting her teeth in pain, Rekka discovered it had been a Heartless again. Somehow, the thing had crept up on her while she was busy pondering. Not only that but it had been in the spot where she couldn't see. Rekka hated having no eye there to help her detect things on that side. Still, not like it could be helped. These kind of injuries were permanent and there was no way her eye could ever be restored. She'd have to learn to detect by other means when it came to combat. That is, if she managed to survive this encounter.
Having been hurt on the side where her sword arm was, it was now difficult to lift the sword without being rewarded with a nasty stab of pain there. Still, she somehow managed to swing the sword up to block another scratch just barely. Wincing all the while, Rekka guessed her wounds could have been much worse. She was still able to stand and move. Unaware that Lara had noticed her armor, Rekka focused on the Heartless that had scratched her. When would these cease to be? It was frustrating!
Shoving with all her might, Rekka let out a bit of a groan as she managed to send the Heartless backward. Extending a hand at it, she fired a fireball at it. She didn't know how she did it but like the first time, it seemed connected with her emotion. She watched the Heartless take the attack in the face and die.
Seeing that her enemy was dead, Rekka took a second to breathe before turning toward the others. There were quite a nasty number of Heartless still here and on top of it, more were coming! These ones looked very different and if she didn't know any better, she'd say the weapons they carried looked foreboding. Were these stronger foes? "Oh...hell!" she managed to utter before being engaged by another Heartless. Well, this time two of them.
As she fought, struggling to keep alive, she heard someone singing. It sounded like Bartimaeus. Oddly, during the song, she suddenly felt herself getting lighter on her feet and that swing she did back there alarmed her. She had somehow severed the head off of that Heartless without much recoil felt on her arm from it. It felt like the singing was the cause of her feeling this way. After lopping off the head of that Heartless so easily, she could have sworn Bartimaeus had to have been responsible. Somehow, he had given them a boost in their abilities. Well, physical capabilities anyway.
Even as this thought came to mind, Rekka found herself dealing with some Heartless yet again. Furrowing her brows, Rekka swung at them in a horizontal arch. The things had been coming at her around the same time so she was very surprised to see herself make quite a mark on them. Somehow, she had severed through their midriffs. All three of them were gone in an instant!
"I er...didn't think I'd...do that..." she stated before engaging in yet another fight. The Heartless never seemed to cease.
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