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[Squee]

Harsh was the northern wind upon the mountain peaks. The snow moved at such a pace that any unsheilded skin would feel their sting a thousand times over with every passing moment. However, this was not new. The snow would always blow here day in and day out just as the tides cannot be stopped.

However, something was not right upon the Solemn Peaks north of the known world - north of bustling Arilin, blooming Harabec and a lesser known Kantele. In a valley, sheltered by the mountain walls themselves, several tents were propped up. Lights from laterns kept inside shone brightly through the tent walls and the snow, making the camp seem like a handful of stars from above. However, their purpose was far from celestial.

Inside the main tent, by an open fire and a detailed map at his side on a table, sat a man. A man whose arms were thick as tree trunks, whose eyes were slanted and dangerous and glowed with an eerie yellow if looked at in the wrong light. His hair was slick, black and hung wildly around his war-torn face. His age could not be told through sight - people get leaner and lankier as years pass by but the malice inside this man's heart seemed to give him hand-up on nature. Every passing season, the evil which resided in his mind and his soul only grew greater and that growth always brought forth new strength within him.

With a disgusting kind of grunt that seemed to clear his throat while cleaning the back of his teeth at the same time, this seemingly half-giant grabbed a slab of roasted flesh from the fire. The origin of the meat could not be guessed but it was obvious that whatever animal it came from suffered greatly before finally falling by the way the meat was hacked and mangaled. It was like the flesh was ripped off rather than cut off.

Suddenly, the opening to the tent burst open and a long, lean figure appeared. Adorned in various pelts and furs, he immediately knelt.

"Lord, sire. News come from the south," he spit out hastily as if he was afraid any other tone would result in punishment. The reply was simply another horrid grunt followed by loud chewing. The figure seemed to cringe as he reached into an inner pocket of his long, fur jacket. With a trembling hand, he pulled out a sword, broken almost clearly to the hilt. He walked to his savage master, placed it by his side and then cowered away quickly like he would be smitten right then and there.

For a while, there was no sound but the terrible throat sounds of a savage beast. Then, with a fiercly quick motion, the hilt was raised up only to be cast down again.

"This is an Arilin sword... Broken by war..." said the giant man, grim and deep. There was another pause which was broken by a sudden sniffing sound.

"Broken by the Harabec army..." Another pause ensued. It was broken when the man's tongue shot out of his mouth to lick what was left of the weapon. In the wrong light, it seemed like it was forked.

"I taste fear. The sweat of men. It's fresh..." Another brutal pause passed. The figure who entered just moments ago was backed against the door of the tent, itching to break away from this meeting.

"Arilin has fallen to the enemy. Gather 2 dozen men tonight. I will lead them down the mountains and towards Arilin. You will stay here and wait for my hawk to bring news."

"...Y-Yes, Master Ranthak. I will go with haste," the lean figure said, finishing almost as he was out of the door.

"Oh, and one more thing Grimtongue..." Ranthak's voice was harsh and low now...even more brutal to listen to than before. He let out a low burp and threw a bone to his servant.

"I am still hungry. Send another prisoner here immediately."

Grimtongue cringed as his stomache did a backflip. With eyes shut tightly and throat choked on vomit, he left quickly into the embrace of a cold winter.

Ranthak smiled to himself, revealing his teeth, decayed until they all came to sharp, jagged points. He took the hilt of the sword in his mighty hand, pointing what was left of the blade downwards upon the map. He grunted as he thrusted it downwards, piercing the name "Harabec" with an unsurpassable force, breaking the table as if it were made of brittle straw.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"...No...no...stop...don't...no...No! No!"

Squee suddenly sat up in his bed, pieces of candy laying about his sheets. A cold sweat soaked his fur until it hung low and damp. His paws clutched on to a pillow and for a moment he did not dare to move as if his terrible nightmare would come true that very second and consume them all.

Suddenly, the fear swelled into his throat and chest and could not be contained any longer. A piercing scream shot through the air and echoed through the halls of Draco Honoris' Keep followed by soft sobbings. No doubt that this would rouse many (many that would be quite irritated to be waken at this hour). So loud was the scream that it would not seem odd if the terrible, agonized shriek even began to ring through the streets of a not-so-far-away Nightmist city.

((Umm... as I read this over, I think it's a little confusing. If you have questions, don't be afraid to waste the first few posts in OOC. I won't mind answering them [as long as they're not stupid].))

[Crane]

The sleepless Europa patrolled the Large Forest on the hunt for any Undead being that dared to emerge from its underground cavern.

The night was moonless and cold; only the faint purple glow from his Shield of Faith provided any form of light, powered by his guardian deity, Amadora; however, Europa and Amadora felt a coldness that went deeper than the ambient temperature.

"The night is dark, Amadora," he spoke to her with a pinch of fear in his voice. A wandering Demonic Soldier tried to ambush him at that moment, but his senses picked up its presence and he immediately channelled Amadora's energy through his palms in a massive white beam of energy. Their Depurate Undead caused the soldier to disintegrate and evaporate in very little time.

"There is turbulence in the spirit world," Amadora warned, although Europa was the only one who could hear her. "Many people are dreaming a common nightmare."

"There is something beyond the evil of the undead disturbing the spirits and deities." Europa exited the forest into the eerily silent meadow, Amadora hovering close behind him.

Europa suddenly stopped dead and lifted his shamanic mask, revealing his elven face. "It's here!" At that instant, there was a ear-piercing scream from the nearby Draco Honoris Keep, plus a few similar but distant screams in Nightmist.

"It's Squee - poor child." Europa felt sympathy for his friend as he began sobbing in his bed.

"I will check on him, Europa." Amadora offered, which Europa quickly nodded to.

Amadora floated up the outside wall of the Draco Honoris Keep, while Europa stood in the meadow, staring at the stars and some distant stormclouds somewhere to the North.

"There is an evil at work here," Europa muttered to himself.

Edited by Crane, 24 August 2004 - 09:32 PM.

[green_mantis]

Being the light sleeper that he was, Snowstrider was awakened by a shrill scream somewhere off in the distance. He instantly drew a knife from under his pillow as he sat up, expecting that someone had come to kill him. After looking around the room quickly, and seeing nothing, he sheathed his knife back under his pillow.
"Curse those people, screaming in their warm beds in the middle of the night. They probably wouldn't last a day in the wilderness." He chuckles, remembering a small group of travelers who had lost their guide and were stranded in the wilderness a few days before.
"Those poor people. They wouldn't have had a chance if I had not brought them here." He stated as he laid himself back down, and went back to sleep in his room above the hunter's tavern in Arilin.

[Crane]

"You disgust me even more than the elves, Ranthak!" Olist snarled as a rather green-looking Grimtongue dragged her towards the tower of a man. Olist was a female Drow, and a prisoner of Ranthak's clan. When she was captured, she had made the mistake of assuming he was not a threat because he was male.

"We influenced the recent occupation of Arilin by Harabecan forces, and you take advantage of our stealthy work by slaying our sisters! I hope you are proud, Ranthak." She stared into his eyes, awaiting whatever fate was in store for her without a hint of fear.

((OOC: Sorry if any of this is classed as god-modding))

[Opie]

((OOC: Before i start I'd just like to say WOOOHOOO! Another fantasy based RP done by Squee. It's about time ! oh, and i know it's getting old for me to be using Opie YET AGAIN, but i thought it acctually worked better for this one. I guess i just wanted to ask if i could use one more character (Blaster) before i just went ahead and did it.))

[Squee]

Only dully illuminated by the light of the open fire in his tent, Ranthak stood up to his full height. Though not incredibly tall, his body had been sculpted and shaped by the intense hate that filled every fibre of his being. He was imitating to the couragous and a down-right horror to anyone else. And his eyes... his eyes burned brightly, a slight yellow hue about them. Slanted and menacing, it was like he was always holding back some long fueled resentment.

"Do you honestly think I care about Arilin?" he said as his body raised and fell with every one of his breaths. In his silhouette, his long finger-nails (grown and hardened by his malevolance or perhaps the harsh winters he had passed in the mountains) were clearly outlined. It was as if he became ever more beastly with each passing day. If there was any man left inside Ranthak, it would only be found at the very bottom of his jet-black heart and, even then, it would be so small and miniscure that it might as well have been non-existant.

Grimtongue will suffer by the ear tomorrow. When I say I need a prisoner, I mean I need men or women or children... Not this...this...elven disgrace.

...But...perhaps this little ordeal will prove of some worth.

"Sit," Ranthak mumbled in a voice that was soft yet boomed with a kind of power that would lead (or perhaps force) troops into the very pits of hell.

"Tell me of Harabec. Tell me of the king. Have the years begun to eat away at him yet?"

((Go ahead and use as many characters as you want...just...you know, keep it sane and use your best judgement.))

Edited by Squee, 25 August 2004 - 10:42 PM.

[Crane]

"No male gives orders to a female Drow, you disgusting ogre!" Olist snarled fearlessly at Ranthak, but she sat down anyway. "And give me one good reason why I should help you after you dare imprison me and slay my sisters."

Edited by Crane, 25 August 2004 - 11:11 PM.

[Squee]

"Because, unless you do, I will burn the rest of your sisters to feed my troops," he snarled right back at her, leaning forward to look directly into her eyes - so close that his hot, putrid breath could be felt.

"If I found you then what makes you think I won't find your sisters," he continued, retracting himself back to his spot by his shattered table and his blazing fire.

"Now, talk of things. And do it quickly."

[Opie]

"Watch out!"

Yells the tall red headed Paladin as he slings a bow over his shoulder. He wears a blue cloak concealing his sword and sheild. He is accompanied bye a short and stout dwarf who is wearing leather armor and carries a huge double-sided mithril axe on his back.

"Blaster I said WATCH OUT!" Opie yelled as Blaster tripped over a large root on the mountain side.

"Woah! I'm falling!"

Blaster yelled. As he fell down the mountain he grabbed Opie's arm for support, only to find himself falling again, yet this time with Opie at his side.

"Well...ouch...at least...oof...we'll...ARG!... get...gah!...to Arilin...ah!.. Faster!"

[Crane]

Olist stared at Ranthak and had the desire to slit his throat, but she had to admit that he had won her over.

"That crackpot of a king, Housmeld... he left his dirty work to General Kashtil. Pity his mercenaries kept our Archers busy, otherwise Kashtil would have been easily slain," Olist had a sense of pride about herself as she spoke so harshly about the king of Harabec and his right-hand man, even when talking to this monster of a man. "All the king does is sit on his throne all day and night long - I dare say he cannot fend for himself, the fool!"

-----

Amadora floated up the side of the Draco Honoris' Keep, leaving Europa to stargaze for a while. She floated through a wall and proceeded to the room where the soft sobs were coming from, invisible to all.

She emerged into Squee's room and came across the poor wretch sniffling into his pillow.

"Poor child," she thought, hovering just above his bed if she could be seen.

Edited by Crane, 26 August 2004 - 05:41 PM.

[Charon]

"Because, unless you do, I will burn the rest of your sisters to feed my troops," he snarled right back at her, leaning forward to look directly into her eyes - so close that his hot, putrid breath could be felt.

"If I found you then what makes you think I won't find your sisters," he continued, retracting himself back to his spot by his shattered table and his blazing fire.

"Now, talk of things. And do it quickly."

((Forgive me if I pretend that Ranthak therefore has some of those he deems to be Olist's sisters... to threaten her with first of all... but is aware that other Drow prowl around. I just wanted to cut in on your rp, and I'm afraid this seemed a good way ^^))

Ne'kales shifted awkwardly from where she lay, leaning against Khalin as she forced herself more upright. Besides her, her sister stirred but Ne'kales took no notice. The light was painfully bright but her eyes were adjusting and through the haze she saw... what did she see?

First she took stock... Khalin as she knew was besides her... was there anyone else she knew? No... noone. She and her sister had been sent out looking for Olist, much to Ne'kales' chagrin. She hated it when she was told to look for her more 'important' sisters... hated it. There had been more of them, though she couldn't see them here with her... had they been slain? If so, it might have saved her the effort, she realised with a cold smile... but the the realisation came to her

"Udos zhahen thalack'velus (We were ambushed)" she muttered, then, with distaste "Udos zhahen ply'ussus... lueth pholor l'shinduago (We were captured... and on the surface)" And then the wry smile came to her face, remembering the ones who had taken them by surprise. They'd slain many warriors but in the end had been no match for the force which had come upon them... a pity they had lost when their oponents were mere males, but any can be overwhelmed. On the other hand they had been vicious, she'd admired that of them. And they had power.

She looked around at the other prisoners and her face twisted in distaste. To be lumped in with so many... and yet as ever twisted ambition played with her mind. Power was power, no matter in what form it came, and those who had captured them had power. She cast a glance at her still drowsy sister... the fool never had been much good at taking her poisons, though normally she was immune to them as Ne'kales herself was. With her sisters she stood more chance... but with her sisters... well, with her sisters she would have to share the power she was about to seek.

She'd always known that as the youngest she stood little or no chance of obtaining notable reknown or power within the world of the Ilythiiri, not with so many sisters in line ahead of her, vying for the title of matron of their house, or as head of this trade or that, seeking a place in the clergy... She was the runt, the one they hadn't bothered to train... so that she wouldn't be a threat.

They had no idea the ambition she had nurtured in the shadows. The 'Ranthak' who led this band of misfits had, to her mind, been a delightfully vicious man. She dimly remembered the number of slaves sent to him who had never returned, and in her mind she knew what had happened. Her sister had been disgusted, but to Ne'kales it was almost impressive. Almost. Ne'kales was not who she had seemed to be for so long.

"Khaless nau uss mzild taga dosstan (Trust no one more than yourself)" was an old drow proverb... her sisters had trusted each other and trusted in her. Not necesarily as much as they trusted in themselves but still. This was her chance. If she could alleige with this hoarde, there was every chance she might be able to obtain some power over it.
And power was everything to the young drow. Once she had power... she could return to the underground she called home with some warped ideal of honour. Her goddess was a chaotic one... now that goddess might not approve of the idea of joining forces with males, might approve more of the plans she had for them... but that aside she would most certainly approve of their brutality

"Dos shlu'ta naut xxizz nid vel'uss orn naut xxizz nintan (You cannot help those who do not help themselves)" she hissed under her breath. Her hands were bound tight but she knew what she had to do to get rid of that little problem. There was a brutal snap as agony swept across her face but then her fingers twisted and she pulled free. Tightly bound yes... but rope, and maleable. She looked bitterly down at her broken thumb before she pulled her other hand free and flexed what joints she dared.

"Ne?" asked a distant and drowsy voice besides her. This was her choice, Ne'kales realised. This was her choice and she had to make it... to free her sister, to free Khalin or not

"Shh" she whispered to the girl softly, gently "Usstan (hear) l'kyorlen doerin, fol usstan z'klaen veldri, jhal usstan orn doer rath whol dos, usstan orn (I hear the guards coming, so I must hide, but I will come back for you, I will)"

"Ne, xun naut alu(Ne, do not go)" the girl pleaded, eyes dangerous, but she couldn't manage to raised herself to the level of her free sibling, not while she was bound as she was.

"Trust me" the crude gutteral common words slid smoothly from Rychlir's lips before she darted into the shadows alone. And by those words let her sister think what she wished. There were many things which could be trusted...

"Jal khaless zhah waela (All trust is foolish)" Ne'kales smiled to herself, grimly and coldly as she forgot her left sibling and turned to her own plans. She would cause some havok for these men first. Then, when they appreciated her worth as a warrior... for that seemed to be the only way these males measured respect, she would present herself to them as an equal... though that thought turned her mind, for they would never be equal to she. She allowed herself a silent smirk as she slipped into the shadows in search of a weapon other than the knife in her boot... if she could, she wished to avoid using that just yet.

<Kezzar zhah natha kylara bol... whol nind vel'uss inbau olt colbauth (Ambition is a lethal thing... for those who get in its way)>

((ooc: Sorry Crane- I know you chose Olist's name with purpose, and the temptation was too much to resist ^^ If you don't understand that apology yet, you shall later- and then you will see the obvious reason why I chose mine, and why Ne's character is what it is... Taudl))

Edited by Charon, 27 August 2004 - 02:17 AM.

[Charon]

Styx swept the bracken off the top of the gravestone with a slight sigh. It was peaceful there, in a way... beyond the meadow and with the spirits... and yet too morbid for her to truly wish to contemplate, and with that in mind she still spent far too long tending the graves of people whose names had long worn away from the stone that marked their resting places.

She picked her cloak up from the ground, but the night wasn't cold enough for her to don that apparal. The wind was slight... but as she exited the graveyard of Nightmist city she heard a wail. For a moment she thought... it was the spirits she was leaving.

Just for a moment.

Something else drew her attention a lot sooner- the unnaturally tall elf who stood in the meadow, staring at the stars over the Barrier Forest. She tilted her head and blinked, more than a little surprised to see him there

"Europa, my friend" she called, her call fracturing and sprinkling across the meadow, much as the dew sprinkled from the grass at her feet with her footsteps "What brings you here?

Edited by Charon, 27 August 2004 - 02:01 AM.

[Crane]

Europa was not expecting to see another mortal at this time of night, but was nevertheless happy to see his human Paladin friend.

"An honour to see you this dark night, Styx," Europa bowed slightly as she approached. "There is a coldness here that roots deeper than the chill of the night. There is turbulence in the spirit world."

Europa turned to the Draco Honoris Keep briefly. "Poor Squee seemed to be feeling the evil through his dreams; my deity has gone to assess his condition."

[green_mantis]

"Aagh. Curse it, I'll find no sleep here tonight." Snowstrider groaned at the realisation that he could never get a good nights sleep anymore unless he was in the wild.
"Must be getting near five in the morning." He lied to himself, one thing he could never do, was tell the time.

Snowstrider gathered his things, and descended into the common area, where some drunkards were getting an early start.

"This town is hardly the same anymore." He says to himself as he locates an obscure seat, and catches a glimpse of one of the harabec occupiers.
"I better keep a low profile...I don't want to be mistaken for a vagrant." He says with a smirk.

[Squee]

"Mmm..." Ranthak mumbled as if his mind was occupied by, no doubt, some kind of malicious idea.

For a long while, he said nothing and only the sound was the fire crackling in the background.

Housmeld was just as he had pictured him. Jolly with his carelessness. Fat with his apathy. Stupid with his naiveness.

It's going to get him killed someday, Ranthak thought silently to himself, a grin creeping on to his black lips.

He turned to the fire and, moments later, threw a slab of meat to Olist's feet. It looked like it had only been in the fire for a few minutes. The outside might be cook but the rest could be festering with...well, it was really anyone's guess.

"Eat and speak more. We will talk of things until the fire dies. Then, you will rest."

Ranthak spoke swiftly and brutally to the point. His ego had inflated itself to a large scale as he simply gave commands to others, expecting them to obey...yet, it seemed that the evil in his soul was always in control, carefully planning out all his moves.

[Vardoth]

At the time Wip was in his home town of Kantele when he heard the sudden shriek. He was antious to see what was going on so he battled his way through the Vampire Bats of the Illuminated Tunnel.

He stopped at the clearing to the Royal Forest, he felt that there was something wrong with the forest that links Harabec to Arilin on this cold night, so he rushed through the royal forest and decided to stay in the Rangers Hut in the Large Forest for the rest of the night.

<Curses> he thought to himself wishing he could remember which direction the scream came from. <I will wait untill tommorow then i find out what happened on this strange night> he thought as he put down his Enchanted Bow and lay on the bed.

Edited by Vardoth, 28 August 2004 - 07:22 PM.

[Charon]

One of the many soldiers patrolling Ranthak's camp stopped for a moment to stiffle a yawn.

Jonas cast a look around at the other soldiers nearby, one of whom cast him a distainful glance, but he was too tired to care. It wasn't enough that Ranthak had made them work and patrol all day, but now night as well... and that man was a monster, there was no other way to phrase it.

He'd been dragged away from his family, his home... or more correctly he no longer had a family and home. Part of him wanted to kill his 'Leader', but the fearful, sensible part believed he'd be ripped appart far before he succeeded in doing any damage. He was terrified of finding out how true that belief was... he knew the prisoners Ranthak sent for never came back.

He knew. They all did.

With an groan the man slumped to the floor, planting his back against one of the thick trees at the edge of the forest. Black leaves drifted down infront of him and he looked up into the branches but nothing was there

"I can't keep doing this" he whispered to himself "I can't just... Can I really keep serving him?"

Then his eyes widened, a gargled scream dying in his throat before it ever managed to escape and make itself vocal. A spray of blood across his clothing, across the ground... Jonas simply stared. As his vision faded he clung helplessly to his sword without the strength to lift it or any real intention to fight.

"Now you don't have to" a feminine voice whispered in his ear "Does that make you feel better?"

The dagger tore free of his neck and his head lolled backwards, eyes unable to see the grin of the white haired maiden staring at him as she wiped the dagger on her sleeve and slotted it back into her boot without a sound.
She fixed his scabbard around her waist before removed the sword from his death grip and sheathing it. The gloves... were of no use to her, the armour he wore far to large and ungainly for her slight frame. Small weapons? Did these soldiers not carry anything that could be deemed subtle?
There... a dagger, not nearly as sharp as the one she'd used, but a dagger none the less. She claimed that as her own, then gave the man a once over. She removed his helmet from his head and ruffled his blonde hair a little before she rose, standing tall over him.

"Kyorl jal bauth, kyone, lueth l'Quar'valsharess xal balbau dos il belbol del elendar dro... Shar'tleg dosst rath lueth Il zhal naut (Watch all about, warily, and the Goddess may give you the gift of of continued life... turn your back and She shall not)" Ne'Kales said softly, shaking her head with reproach "Oloth plynn dos(Darkness take you)"

She looked around and coughed lightly, speaking a few words to test the voice...

"Help!" she shouted loudly in what was as close to the mans voice as she could manage "There's a... a gi... HELP!" and then she melted back into the shadows of the forest.

Hearing the cry some of the patrolling soldiers turned immediately, a melee of shouts of "What was that?" and "Where did that come from?"

"My God!" came the yell "Over here, by the forest!"

Dear Jonas' body had been found, it seemed... and from the cover of the darkness, Ne'Kales was watching, nodding with a satisfied smile.

Edited by Charon, 01 September 2004 - 05:25 PM.

[Charon]

"I feel the cold, if not the turbulence" Styx nodded in agreement before smiling a little wryly "The spirits haven't yet said anything to me, although admittedly, any who wish to do so bother me when I sleep, and I haven't done that in a little while"

She followed his gaze to Draco Keep, but couldn't keep her gaze on it. Her gaze turned instead to the stars to the north... to the north east... She blinked and tore her gaze away and back to her friend

"I hope he's okay" she nodded faintly "Your deity... Amadora correct? I'm sure she'll be able to help you out..."

She took a few steps towards the woods, partly to get out of the meadow which wasn't as safe for her as it was Europa
<Then again, if his deity's on envoy duty is it safe for him either?> she mused with a mental smile that turned into a real one as she looked back. No matter how she felt if there were people with her a smile was always there... and it wouldn't do to fall back on that now

"But there are other more direct ways of enquiring about someone's wellbeing that those of us without deities use. I hear there are these interesting things called doors. And one can walk up to them, and knock on them, and occasionally people answer"

[Opie]

With a loud CRASH Opie and Blaster land at the bottom of the "mountain." As Opie looked back up at it and said admiringly "I can't believe we conquered that beast of a mountain! I feel like such a bigger man now."

Blaster turned and looked at the same piece of land, but all he could see was an overly steep hill."Opie, you really need to calm down, and pull you BLOODY HEAD OUT OF THE CLOUDS! That's a hill not a mountain! now come over here and pull me out of this hole."

Opie frowned as he looked down at where Blaster had landed. He had indeed landed in a large hole only slightly smaller than his waist. "You really don't have to be so much of a spoil-sport. I was just having some fun. This is really far too easy to be hunting these rabbits and deer. Now here we go, ally-oop!"

He tried pulling Blaster out but ended up slipping off his arm and falling on his rear. "Come on you woman! Put some BACK INTO IT!"

I wouldn't need to put so much back into it if you would LAY OFF THE SALTED PORK!!!"

Opie looked off into the middle of the field and noticed the two figures and considered calling out for help, but that was before he slipped and fell down the hole with Blaster to find a cave underneath. "CRAP!"

((ooc purple is both lol, i won't use it much, but i needed it.))

[green_mantis]

Snowstrider nearly choked on his porridge.
"Curse it, even the food here isn't worth eating anymore."

He tosses the spoon back into the bowl and leaves.

"I'll go find Opie, it should be easy if he still keeps his bumbling dwarf companion." He sets off, quickly finding the tracks, but is still disturbed by the scream he heard that night.

[Crane]

Olist looked down at the slab of meat at her feet. She picked it up, but she knew better than to eat from the hands of an enemy, especially one who was a bad cook. Then, her ears pricked at the death cry nearby, only she immediately picked it out as fake; no matter how closely it resembled the sound of a man...

"Ne'kales... sister..." she whispered to herself ever so slightly, no louder than a small draught. She was certain that Ranthak heard the cry too.

"There is something else, Ranthak," she sneered, gracefully and stealthily slicing the bonds around her wrists with the dagger hidden in her right boot. "Do not think for a moment that we will let you claim King Housmeld for yourself; he is our prize, as are the pathetic, reckless beings who descreated our subterranean homeland!" She returned her hands behind her back to give the impression they were still bound, only this time, her concealed dagger was in her hand rather than bonds about her wrists.

[Squee]

Squee could not sleep. No matter how hard he try, sleep would always just be out of reach. There was a nagging feeling in the back of his mind - it wouldn't let him sleep. Now was not the time for sleep.

Like a drunken man, Squee tore open a drawer in his desk and pulled out a piece of parchment. He took a deep breath as he sat down, dipping a paw into the well of ink. With closed eyes, he placed his hand on the paper and began to draw.

At first, nothing but random markings appeared as he let his hand work without the aid of conscious mind. Squee would not give up; he took out another sheet and tried again. Just as before, only random splotches of black ink appeared when he opened his eyes.

Frustration began to wrinkle his brow but he endured it a third time. When he opened his eyes again, he noticed something in his markings - two large dark splotches a ways from each other, seperated by dotted splotches. It was Arilin and Harabec, seperated by the Royal Forest.

For the rest of the night, Squee stayed up at his desk, hard at work. The constant dipping into the black ink stained his fur and skin to the bone and, for the rest of his days, there was a strange discolouring on his right paw.

It took a total of 22 times before Squee finally rested. At the end of his endevour, Squee was left with a finely detailed map minus labels and names. However, he refused to lay himself to rest - there was still much to be done.

He took off his sleeping attire and quickly put on his every-day robes (devoid of any magical glowing despite the many runes embued on it) and grabbed his staff. He filled a bag with supplies (food and water rations as well as a slew of mana crystals to fuel his spells) and then tucked the map into a fold inside his clothes.

He shuffled out of his room and eventually out of Draco Honoris' Keep, sighing heavily. It would be dawn soon, he would have to hurry.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ranthak simply grunted to Olist as he stood to his full height.

"You Drow are more trouble than you're worth... No matter, though..."

Slowly, Ranthak turned his back to Olist and called out the back-flap of his tent.

"Blacken Sole, Rotting Tooth, cut the ears off the prisoners then remove their eyes followed by their tongue. Then remove their fingers and toes one by one. Do not sedate them! Tie the bonds tighter!" his terrible voice called out of the tent into the frigid mountain air.

[Crane]

"Magnificent," Amadora gazed at what Squee was drawing. She too recognised the markings as a perfect map of Arilin and Harabec.

As Squee left his room, Amadora scanned the map and produced a ghostly clone of it. She then hovered through the wall, with the phantom parchment seemingly attached to her, back to Europa.

Europa waited in the meadow for what seemed like an eternity. He noticed a faint blue glow eminating from the eastern sky... dawn was nearing. He then noticed a white glow from the North, but he soon realised that was his deity returning.

"Squee interpreted his nightmare, Europa." She revealed the ghostly parchment to him and it spontaneously became a real one as he grasped it.

"Arilin and Harabec..." he said, analysing the map.

"Squee is approaching. He wishes to embark on a mission relating to that map he drew."

"There is a force at work here, inciting the mutual hatred between the two cities. I would like to say it is the Drow, as reports from the survivors say that their archers tried to interfere. But there is something else..."

He stopped in mid-sentence as he caught sight of the small figure of Squee running towards him from the Draco Honoris keep. He wasn't sure if Squee had seen him yet.

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Olist revealed an evil grin as Ranthak turned his back to her.

"Vedaust, Ranthak!" she thought happily, lobbing her dagger. It spun through the air, on target for the back of Ranthak's neck (if he had one).

Edited by Crane, 18 September 2004 - 02:44 PM.

[Squee]

"Mmm..." Ranthak grunted as he picked up the sounds of movement coming from behind him. Quickly, he turned his body, catching the dagger deep into his upper left arm (for his shoulders were big enough that they actually created a valley where the bottom of Ranthak's neck should be).

A small trickle of blood dribbled forth but he neither flinched or cried in pain. Very calmly and cooly, he reached over and pulled the dagger out. Still stained with his blood, he threw it at Olist's feet where it stuck into the ground with a loud twang.

"...Care to try again?" he taunted her in a low, subtle voice with a sly grin on his face.

[Crane]

Olist looked at the dagger wedged in the floor between her feet, then up at Ranthak. Then she felt something she rarely felt, fear; she was now extremely worried, unlike a Drow. Although she was confused at why Ranthak did not kill her when he had the chance just now. She kicked at the dagger to release it from the hard ground, throwing up a small fountain of soil. Keeping her eye on Ranthak, she retrieved the dagger and took on what looked like a martial arts stance with the dagger in her hand, blade pointing down for chopping rather than up for stabbing.

"Ne'kales... Usstan gumash kl'ae dosst xxizz ghil, dalninil... (Ne'kales... I could use your assistance here, sister...)" she uttered with a tone of fear in her voice.

[green_mantis]

Snowstrider tracked Opie's tracks from the hill he fell from to the hole he fell down.
"Now where is he? His tracks stop here, but even HE wouldn't be careless enough to fall down...would he? Snowstrider looks around to see if anyone is watching. "If you aren't down here I'll find you and throw you down." Snowstrider says as he hops down the hole.

[Squee]

((I should explain the geography of this RP now in case anybody writes something conflicting.))

Squee hated being in Arilin. The tension here... it was too great. It was as if another war would break out at the drop of a pin... and if he was too helpless to stop the first war, what chance did he have with a second or third?

No matter how powerful he became, no matter how many hours he spent in his dark vault studying passage after passage, scroll after scroll, he knew deep down inside that he was powerless.

He glanced down at his map and sighed. He was at the northern outskirts of the town looking out at the vast plains north of Arilin (the plains he had seen as he peered from the top of Harabec's castle). There were no labels on his map, only features and sketchy ones at that.

He would need to cross the plains, following a fairly gentle stream that ran close to Arilin. After what seemed like a day or two's travel on foot, the plains would slowly give way to a dense forest. A jungle, perhaps - it was difficult to tell from a simple map made by paw. Either way, it stretched far and only stopped at the foot of the mountains. Perhaps two more days to trek through the jungle if things remained calm and without any trouble.

Then, he would have to climb the mountains. Those terrible, terrible mountains. Closing his eyes, Squee remembered his vivid dream. Ice and fire and pain and suffering - turmoil in its most horrid form.

But now was not the time to be afraid. He had to do this, he had to take all his doubt and his fear and hide it deep down inside - lock it away and keep it there until his quest was done.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped on to the firm grass and began to walk north.

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"You push me to my limits," Ranthak growled under his breath, the fire beginning to die down in the tent. Though dawn was close, the sun would not shine down on this mountain valley for a long while.

The bared his fang-like teeth and looked down at the Drow, his body seeming to grow bigger.

"Give me your little knife and I'll let you go back to your sisters to do what you please," he continued, reaching out with his terribly large hand, the skin rough and black.

"Or I can kill you now. I'll be content both ways."

[Crane]

Europa was a little bit bemused that Squee ran straight past him en route to Arilin, he was definitely entranced by the nightmare he felt. Europa and Amadora looked down at the map and then to Squee's figure slowly fading into the Large Forest - they looked at each other and thought the same thing... follow him!

He called out to him, but Squee did not seem to hear. It was not until they were all deep inside Arilin that they started catching each other up.

"Squee, my friend," Europa yelled to Squee as he began to trek into unknown territory.

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Olist looked up and down the colossal figure of Ranthak; no way was she ever going to trust this brute.

"If you are asking for my knife why did you throw it back at me in the first place?" she snarled at him. "I will never give you my weapon in a truce - I rather die than live a coward." Something told Olist that she would not survive if she tried to face Ranthak one-on-one, but if she ran away she would be exiled from the Drow sisterhood. So she kept her composture and her deep red eyes focused on Ranthak, the dagger gleaming in the light from what was left of the fire.

"Ne'kales..." she uttered through clenched teeth.

[Squee]

"I thought you were smart enough to know when to quit..." Ranthak snarled to her.

"Apparently not!"

It was now that Ranthak let out a mighty roar, one that rang throughout the mountains and could even be faintly heard by those atune to soft sounds all across the country-side. He would crush this Drow like the little, insignificant bug that she was.

Then, as if his mighty call was enough to scare the very embers in the pit, the last fire-light faded out of the tent.

He clentched his bare fists and raised them into the air, teeth bared. And in one swift motion, he brought them down upon Olist like boulders being thrown from the top of a cliff.

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No... I waited too long. I should've left before dawn, I can't let anyone follow me, Squee thought to himself as he shut his eyes tightly. He breathed hard then turned around to Europa, face cloaked in the hood of his azure robes.

"H-Hewo, Euwopa... S-Souldn't you still be asweep?" he said, gripping his staff tightly. He needed to leave soon - time was not on his side. If he was going to stop...whatever was coming, he had to go now.

(("Hellow, Europa... Shouldn't you still be asleep?"))

[Crane]

Olist was ready for Ranthak to attack, although his battlecry was enough to knock her off-guard and she left her reaction a little too late. She shuffled back to avoid his fists, but her free arm was struck, and it broke under the force. She cried out in pain. She began to realise her foolishness in trying to kill Ranthak and her belief that Ne'kales would assist her - she had forgotten what her sister's name meant... caution and distrust.

She had no choice now - fight and die. As Ranthak's fists pounded the earth, she used all the strength she could muster in order to resist the pain in her left arm and made a slash for the veins on the back of his hands.

"Ussta dro whol Lolth, ussta quar'valsharess! (My life for Lolth, my goddess!)," she cried.

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"The Undead are at their most active during the nighttime hours, Squee," Europa proudly replied. "It is then that I seek to release their souls and purify this realm."

Europa could see Squee was desperate to depart. "But there is an evil here that roots deeper than the Undead; and I sense you are entranced by it, my friend. Where is it that you wish to go?"