Khanidi is the northernmost province of the region known as the Droia coast. A rich, fertile land that has been kept separated from the squabbles of the great nations of Ki'afisal by the large mountain ranges of Ki'afisal and Asfeltas. Bordered north by the rock formations known as the Fangs and south by the Dah'kin Kingdom of Skarrad, the Droia coastline is composed by over a dozen city states permanently struggling for control and influnce. They are locked in their little world and have become a melting pot of all cultures and races of Lemire. The perfect place for mercenaries and higher swords to make a quick buck and always be sure a small conflict or war will be right around the corner. Here in Droia, there is always someone willing to pay for a skilled mercenary.
Group 1 - Je'retiel, Padma and Virgil.
Je'retiel, Padma and Virgil, battered and tired from the fight and usage of magic. They began walking up the road they had used to get to the farm. The sun was still up in the sky, as the afternoon was barely about to start, and a pleasant breeze blew in from the east, bringing with it the fresh smell of the ocean. A good time for conversation while they made their way to town.
Unless one of his companions truly wanted to pry any information from him,
Je’retiel remained silent with his normal palpable sulleness.
Virgil, not only being a generally quiet character, but also being injured, kept a quiet composure for the beginning of the walk back. He had a strong feeling that if anyone in this group were to start the talking, it would be Padma.
"You sure are quiet",
Padma said after a while walking silently with the two men. "Is your leg alright? I've a healing potion if you need it", the shaman offered Virgil. Maybe she would be able to get ingredients at the market later and make extra pots if she remembered the recipe alright. Padma walked lightly, enjoying the feel of the sun on her skin.
‘Well, what do you want to do first?’ brusquely spoke
Je’retiel. ‘Check-in with the guild or tend to his leg?’ He probably didn’t mean anything in his abruptness, it was simply his nature. However, he did wish to proceed as efficiently as possible, especially since he was feeling a bit tuckered out.
Virgil kept on walking in near silence. He voice barely pierced the air, "I'll be fine. Let's keep on walking and we can get my leg taken care of when we get to the inn. Padma, keep your potions handy. We don't know when someone will need them more than I will."
Right after Virgil had finished speaking, the trio saw what appeared to be a commotion by the road, there were a few horses standing on the side of the road and two parked carriages, both severely damage. Next to them and standing in the middle were nearly a dozen people, intertwined in some heated debate.
Padma nodded to Virgil. She was about to answer to Je'retiel, but then the commotion at the side of the road picked her attention. "Looks like there was an accident!", she said, approaching the group to try to see what had happened and if there was any injured people.
Je'retiel looked sidelong at Virgil when the man gave his answer, then glanced to Padma, expecting some sort of response from her, as well. His eyes followed her form as she trekked onward toward what appeared to be an accident. He, too, proceeded onward, but not in any urgent sort of manner, particularly because his abilities were of the more harmful than helpful variety, anyway.
Noticing the commotion after the other two,
Virgil hurried after them. He may not have a tongue as silver as most Ravillans, but he was probably going to be enough to talk their way out of this situation.
"What's going on?"
Padma asked loud enough to be heard by the group. She didn't know what she would do if someone actually answered her, and she asked out of impulse. She had no reason why to intervene, but she was curious.
Approaching the group, Padma, Virgil and Je'retiel could easily make out those involved in the argument. On one hand there seemed to be three finely dressed people, probably nobles and all clearly Rysallean. Two of the nobles were an older man and woman, who remained quiet, looking down on the others and keeping away as if everyone else stunk, the third noble was a younger Rysallean man who was rather involved and aggressive in the discussion. Next to him was a uniformed Tiger catfolk, probably a driver, supporting him. On the other hand were three peasants, all male and middle aged, they seemed to be either ravillan or caerhamian and were dressed in simple farm worker garb. Separating the two groups were a pair of soldiers, trying to make a heads or tails of the event. One of the soldiers noticed Padma speaking and turned to her, throwing a suspecting glance to Je'retiel. "It nothing, just a crash in the road, you can move around if yer goin' to town." he said.
"Oh", said
Padma after the officer had stated the obvious. "Maybe there's something we can do to help?" she offered, though she didn't know what, really. She tried to listen what the rysallean and the farmers were saying.
With his masked face, glowering eyes and general bearing,
Je'retiel certainly deserved any sour or questioning looks he received. He returned only a furtive glance back to the man before looking at the ground. He listened as Padma offered assistance , then interjected, 'What
can we do?'. His gloved hands were raised palm-up, his shoulders slightly shrugged.
Virgil walked up to Padma, looking over the group of people and seeing the two soldiers. He leaned over to Padma, "If this is just an accident in the road, then why are they taking up the entire way and bickering about it like it's some sort of grand event?" He asked in a hushed tone to her. He stood back straight and watched as the nobles and peasants exchanged words before speaking to the soldiers, "It seems that this is a bit more than a regular accident here, let us help try to settle this."
"There's no wounded". shrugged the soldier, after taking a glance at Padma, who seemed like a healer. "But if one of you knows about magic, that could help us out." he added as his partner finally managed to get the two parties in the argument to be quiet for a second. The second soldier, seemingly a human woman who looked like she may have some catfolk in her, walked to her partner. "Ok, they both claim the other group rammed into them... I think we just go with the noblemen story and save ourselves some grief, they could really get on our case if we antagonize them." she sighed. Turning back for a second, her partner argued. "Yeah but the fine will ruin the peasants, the nobles can pay the fine and be ok even if they weren't at fault."
"Know about magic?"
Padma glanced over at Je'retiel, and then asked, "why is that?" she didn't see how this accident could relate to magic in any way. She listened what the woman said, and it bothered her that none of the options were to actually find out what had happened. Nevertheless, she understood the guard's position on the matter.
"Peasants say they were coming in the road and the other carriage was war enough to let them go through." sighed the female guard, crossing her arms as she explained. "But the other carriage was going too fast, they say the horses were Hasted." she continued. Then, the make guard interjected, "Casting magic on animals is forbidden, cast Haste on horses to win races, Harden on chickens to increase their weight for a sale, etc. If the horse WAS hasted, then the peasants couldn't have measured the distance accurately... if it wasn't, then they made a dangerous turn into the road..." he explained.
When Padma looked at him,
Je’retiel made eye contact with her. He listened to what both guards had to say, though he was not overly concerned with these civil matters. It would seem, however, that they were momentarily embroiled in this situation, and the sooner it was resolved, the sooner they could get back to the inn. ‘…if one of us,’ he started, indicating with a sweep of his hand the trio of which he was a member, ‘ …happens to be a practitioner of magic, then we might be able to ascertain any residual magic from a spell cast on the… poor beast?’ He looked between the two guards when he was through with his conjecture.
"Let's take a look", said
Padma, not waiting for the guards to answer. She simply grabbed Je'retiel by the arm and pulled him over to where the horses were, as if that was the most natural thing to do. She released him when they were next to the animals, and tried to detect for herself if there was anything odd about them. Although she didn't say anything, she expected Je'retiel to do the same. (Sense magic)
Je'retiel pulled back in resistance but still toddled forward with Padma, as if she were pulling along an unwilling child. When they reached their destination, he took half a step away from her, straightened-u
p and flashed the woman a narrow-eyed look. It wasn't his M.O. to make things easy, after all. A moment passed, however, and he conceded, and did just the same as his companion. (Sense magic)
Sense Magic Roll!
Padma - 2 + 7 = 9
Je'retiel - 15 + 9 = 24
Padma and Je'retiel began scanning the horse for residual magic, though Padma could only feel a faint glimmer of magic coming from the animal, which could have even belonged to the Dah'kin standing by her, Je'retiel could notice a definite trace of a spell cast shortly before on the horse.
Padma pursed her lips as she couldn't determine for certain if there had been or not a spell casted on the horse. She gently caressed the animal's neck and sighed, thinking she wasn't very able to concentrate today and wondered why. "Hmm", she just said, remembering then Je'retiel was by her, and turned to look at him. She had completly ignored his resistance to come with her earlier, and said nothing about it now. "So?" she asked, unwilling to say she hadn't been able to distinguish a spell.
‘…so, ‘ also said Je’retiel to Padma, as if he might finish the sentence with ‘what,’ though he did not. ‘This animal has been magically tampered with,’ he eventually said, quite matter of fact, as he looked to the two guards; the female first, and then the male.
"Aha", said Padma, trusting what Je'retiel said and supporting his statement standing next to him. "So that's why the accident happened", she added, looking at the guards. It was entirely their decision now on what to do now about the nobles, but it was pretty obvious now they deserved a fine.
Both guards stood there dumbfounded for a second, they really had no reason to distrust these strangers and their magic seemed to have work, shrugging, they went over the the other people and began talking to the nobles and the peasants. The nobles quickly lost their composture after being accused and began yelling out threats and insults, nevertheless the two guards escorted them towards town. Waving goodbye to Padma, Virgil, Je'retiel and the peasants. One of the peasants finally approached the trio of adventurers and bowed humbly. "Thank you very much for your help... those nobles think they can do whatever they want..." sighed the old man as he bowed. "I swear if you had not been around as witnesses, the guards would have let them go even knowing the crash was their faut."
As the guards toted the nobles away, Je’retiel squinted and watched for only a moment. ‘A pity, what a little money and a little power can do to people,’ the dah’kin ironically quipped in his monotone drawl to the old man. ‘You’re… welcome.’ The words were a little stilted, and, because of his speech impediment, it was difficult to decipher the true meaning of what he said, sometimes. ‘If there is nothing else…’ he started, then glanced at Padma and Virgil.
Padma waved goodbye to the guards and nodded in agreement with Je'retiel's words, although she seemed to miss the irony he had intended and showed a happy smile on her face. "Glad to be of help", she said, "I hope you have a safe journey", she added, then turned back to the men of her group. "Right. Let's just go to the guild and the inn and maybe we'll manage to get some rest", the girl thought aloud smiling, and resumed walking towards the town.
Virgil smiled and nodded, standing back and watching as the other two had worked their magic, "Alright, we do need to get back to the guild hall. Hopefully the others will be back before too long, and we have things to do in town," the knight said, readjusting his gear for the walk ahead.
Je’retiel’s mouth appeared to move beneath the cover of his balaclava, but he said nothing. It was probably some suppressed snide remark aimed at Virgil. Besides, the knight and Padma had already beat a retreat back toward town, and he saw no reason not to do so as well. With one last sweeping look at the wreckage and peasants, the dah’kin followed suit and walked after the other two.
After a few more minutes of walking, the group finally came across the entrance to the city, walking past the guards, they flashed their freelancer's guild badges so they would not be hassled with questions. Walking up the main road, they could see the port city vibrate with life around them, people walked the streets, peddled goods out in the open, products were being shipped from one place to the other, the typical sights of a wealthy port town. Finally, they arrived at the central square once more, the Freelancer's guild was almost empty, as their members would usually come by to pick jobs in the morning and stay out till nighttime. However, there seemed to be someone checking the posting boards, an exceptionally large, armored Terran.
His eyes focused solely on the board, Radix followed the writing with his finger as he read. A scowl slowly crept across his face and quirked his head. It seemed that in this town every job involved armed conflict . . . There were at least a few promising choices, though. With a sigh, Radix turned away from the posting boards and stepped away, though he stopped when he saw the group entering the freelancer's guild. "Pardon me, but all of you wouldn't also happen to be working for this guild?" Radix asked with a polite bow of his head as he stepped toward them. The ruddy-skinned Terran was at least a foot taller than all of them, but he didn't seem bothered by it.
Though it appeared that Radix was addressing the trio, Je’retiel did his best to not make eye contact with the knight. His dark, shifty eyes only made his masked countenance appear all-the-more suspicious. Besides, it seemed that the winsome Padma to like to strike-up conversations with strangers, so maybe she would handle him.
"Yes..." said Padma glaring at the large terran in the eyes as she stood next to Je'retiel, in the opposite attitude than the mage. She had seen some strange people in the caravans since she had left her grandma's home, but she thought she had never encountered a planetarii like this one. Still, she didn't seem scared of his size. "...We just joined today. Are you looking to join, too?" she asked.
Radix's eyes scanned the group even as Padma gave her response. Although she was the most eager to answer, and clearly confident, the masked man with the dark, beady eyes attracted his attention the most. Radix figured that, with that outfit and the fact that he worked for a mercenary guild, he was either an assassin or a spellcaster. Peeling his eyes from Je'retiel for a moment, Radix responded, "I already have, actually. I was gazing over the postings," he continued with a gesture of his hand to the boards, "But no job on the list seemed suitable for one person."
Virgil eyed over the terran before a flash of inspiration hit him. He jumped at the opportunity, "Great. We could use someone like you. We have suspicion that we'll be dealing with a nest of exhorians soon and could certainly use some extra muscle around," the knight said energetically, thinking that it would be good to have someone else around who could also take a few solid hits. Being of his stature, this terran had better be able to take a bit of punishment.
Accustomed as he was to having people appraise him by his appearance, Je’retiel remained silent and unruffled aside Padma,. He listened carefully to the exchange between the newcomer, the healer and Virgil. The dah’kin inclined his head, almost as if he were going to nod in agreement with what smaller knight had said, but he did not.
It took Padma a couple more minutes to decide if it would be a good idea or not to have this terran in the group, but as Virgil made the invitation she just shrugged and thought that at least they could try. "Sure, are you interested in joining us? I'm Padma, by the way. What's your name?", she asked.
Although his brooding eyes lit up with surprise for a moment, first, a near undetectable twitch of a smile formed on his lips. "Actually, I appreciate the offer," he told them humbly. "I doubt I could've found one to do on my own . . . My name is Radix," he told them, giving his last name, "It's good to meet you Padma." Radix inclined his head and offered his hand to her. "May I have your names as well?" He asked Virgil and Je'retiel.
Virgil smiled as the Terran accepted the offer. The smaller knight extended his hand towards the hulking Radix, "My name's Virgil Argentus, knight of Nesha and protector of the down-trodden. But in reality, I just like sounding more impotant than I am," he said with a slight chuckle and a smile.
‘My name is Je’retiel,’ he said, after Virgil finished speaking, and did his best to maintain a level tone to keep his speech impediment from being too obvious. The young man answered a little absently, since he was not looking at Radix or the others, instead he was looking back the way they’d come. He didn’t appear agitated or antsy, but it might be assumed that he was wondering when the other trio would arrive. Well, at least one of them, at any rate.
Radix gave Virgil a firm handshake and laughed at the smaller man's joke. "Nonsense. You seem noble enough," he replied with a chuckle. "It's good to meet all three of you." He was itching a bit for some answers, though, and decided to ask the questions. "So . . . Is this all of your group? And which mission were you embarking on?" Radix asked.
Padma looked at Je'retiel, and wondered if he was waiting for his scary sister to come back. She hadn't met many dah'kin before and it was most interesting to see how different they were. She returned her attention to Radix when he inquired about their group. "Oh no, there's more of us. They went to scout an area for our next task, and should be coming back shortly. And we were coming here to inform about the success of our previous mission, so we should enter", she explained, pointing at the guild's entrance. "I think it would be better to wait for the rest to return to explain what the mission is about", she said, figuring they would have more details about it, and walked into the building.
Virgil's expression returned to a more stoic look, "Yes. We have a little bit of business to attend to inside. We should take a brief break before they return. I need to get this leg patched up before we start on anything else."
Nodding his head, Radix followed Padma to the door. He didn't go in quite yet, though, and instead waited for Virgil and Je'retiel. It was only then that he noticed Virgil's leg and the nasty wound it carried. "You're quite a strong man to walk around so confidently with such a wound," Radix told Virgil aloud.
Not waiting for anyone, Je’retiel followed Padma into the building, eager to settle their fees owed and reward with the guild, then get back to The Seaside Den. Virgil had the contract, however, and they probably wouldn’t be able to proceed without it. With a tired sigh, the dah’kin slid his fingers under the knit mask’s opening around his eyes and rubbed his itchy forehead.
Virgil smiled at the Terran's words to him, "This wound? I got that fighting to help defend the more unfortunate. My wound is less important than what could have happened if I didn't go in there and get this," He said with a little bit of pride welling up in him. He turned towards the door of the guild hall and began to walk in, over-exaggerating his limp a little bit.
Radix grabbed the door and held it open for Virgil. He hadn't the knight move much before, so the limp seemed real to him. The words were certainly exaggerated though. "But of course, if you took too serious of a wound, you'd never be able to defend the unfortunate again," he commented before following the others inside.
The group found themselves once more in the receiving hall of the of the Freelancer's guild, the comely Rysallean woman was sitting there as usual, but many of the freelancers, warriors and adventurers that were there earlier were gone.
Padma approached the Rysallean lady, not very sure about what was she supposed to say, since this was the first time ever she had been in a guild. "Hello again", she greeted, with a small wave of her hand. "We've returned successfully from our assignment, and the exhorian as been dealt with", she said. "However, there seems to be a nest of those creatures around, and part of our group went to scout the area. Have you heard anything about that?", she asked. Maybe someone had offered a reward for dealing with them. She didn't remember how much the payment was for the quest they had just finished, but hoped the woman would know and give them the money without asking.
Virgil stepped up to the counter, pulling the certificate from his pouch and sliding it onto the desk, unfurled so that the Rysallean could see the signature. She knight stood back from the desk quietly, waiting for this to get sorted out before he asked where there was a healer around.
As the others approached the counter, Je’retiel sidled up along with them, though at his normal slight, stand-offish distance. He listened carefully as Padma explained the situation regarding their successful mission, and the prospective nest extermination. He shifted his eyes from the shaman to the secretary and watched her unblinkingly while waiting for her response.
Radix entered behind the group, closing the door behind him. He stayed near the entrance, leaning against the wall. As of yet, he wasn't officially part of their group, and thus he wasn't going to intrude on their return. He listened keenly to what Padma said, though. Exhorians certainly wouldn't be easy to take out . . . A slight grin played on Radix' lips, invisible as usual.
Group 2 - Az'rim, Lilee and Chese.
Led by the old man's instructions, Lilee, Az'rim and Chese headed for the supposed exhorian nest located near the farmland. Separating from the other group, the smaller party came to the edge of a forest, according to the old man, there should be a hill ahead, in the middle of the forested area, where the exhorians had excavated to make their lair, before they went ahead, it was probably ideal that the trio decided on how they would do things in their scouting mission.
Chese was quite excited as they neared the woods. "Trees!" She then chose an easy-to-climb tree and climbed it right up. (Climb)
With incredible swiftness and skill, Cheese made her way up to the top of the tree, using the branches and knots to push herself up, after a few minutes she was perched near the top, sitting on a branch with her legs around the tree.
"What the? what are you doing?!" called out Lilee after Chese. There had to be something in her Catfolk blood that pushed the girl to chase stuff that ran, because she took off after Chese and began trying to climb the same tree the Rysallean woman was on. "Where are you going?!" she called out. (Climb)
Unfortunately for Lilee, she had been raised by Lions, not tigers or panthers, who actually knew how to climb, after a few feet up the tree, she fell backwards pulled down by her axe, flopping back first onto the floor.
"Just climbing, it's been months since last time!" replied Chese to Lilee and hugged the tree happily. She didn't seem to react to Lilee's falling and instead said: "I'll come back down... Though I guess I could see if I can see that hill from up here." She then eyed in the direction of the forest and tried to see something over the shorter trees and through the taller ones' foliage. (Spot)
From atop the canopy, Chese could not see particularly far into the forest, however, she did notice a strange looking clearing ahead, probably housing a hill, since the trees appeared taller, strangely enough, the clearing was perfectly circular too.
Having walked in silence, unenthused about the company she was in, Az'rim maintained the cowl about her silver locks until they reached the woods. Immediately, she stepped under the canopy and sighed almost imperceivably at the reprieve for her sensitive onyx eyes. She looked almost bored as Chese climbed a tree until Lilee attempted the same maneuver and failed, at which she snorted. Ignoring the annoying lynx girl, Az'rim dared a glance up towards Chese and called, "What do you see?"
Chese raised an eyebrow at the clearing that seemed to be ahead and then climbed down. "There's a some kind of circular clearing and what seemed to be the hill the farmer mentioned. We should head there, but I think not directly to the clearing, because then we'll be seen easily. I say we circle it so we can take a look but won't go too close." Chese smiled again. "Sound good? Maybe I should walk at front, what do you say?"
'Sounds like a capital plan,' Az'rim dryly replied, in reference to both suggestions. She ruminated upon Lilee's graceless tumble from the tree, and briefly considered the thought that it might have been a mistake, allowing her to come along.
Lilee stood up and dusted the back of her pants, looking around at the others. "So I'm guessing i'll go last?" she asked adjusting her axe behind her back and walking towards the edge of the woods. "What do we do if they notice us?"
"Yeah, cover our backs so we won't get attacked from our most vulnerable spot!" said Chese happily and took out her fan again. "Hm... Let's say we just run, maybe they'll think we won't be coming back if they see us fleeing like a bunch of rabbits and then we can still surprise them tomorrow." She then turned and eyed the trees in front of her. "Shall we go?" With that, she headed in, walking carefully.
Move silently!
Chese - 14 + 9 = 23 Passed!
Lilee - 5 + 5 = 10 Failed!
Az'rim - 3 + 10 = 13, Passed!
The trio of women slowly stepped into the woods and tried to move stealthily through them, which was not particularly hard for Chese or Az'rim, but seemed impossible for Lilee. She walked stepping in every single puddle, cracking every single dry branch and even clanking her axe against a tree or two. Luckily the sounds of the forest themselves drowned the girl's noise. Finally, they made it to the edge of the clearing, from there, they saw the hill Chese had pointed out, on top were the remains of an enormous and ancient dead tree, and a cave as clearly visible up the hill, amongst its roots, but there was no way to tell if this was indeed the exhorian den.
Unsurprisingly, Az’rim shot a dark look at Lilee as she lumbered through the wood. The dah’kin remained poised behind but slightly off to the side of Chese, so she could see into the clearing when they arrived at its edge. Since they were unable to see any apparent evidence of exhorians, Az’rim then, with a deft hand, drew back her hood to cock an ear out, in hopes of hearing any sort of communicatory screeching or sounds. (Listen)
There was nothing Chese do to prevent Lilee from fumbling, so she just tried to see if they were noticed by anything. When they arrived close to the clearing and Az'rim listened, Chese used her eyes to survey the hill and the clearing as well as she could. (spot)
Listen!
Az'rim - 9 + 16 = 25.
Spot!
Chese - 7 + 6 = 13.
Az'rim's Dah'kin ears were used to the echoing sounds of the endless caves of Skarrad, and it was hard to her for filter out the chirping of the birds and Lilee's fumbling noises. However, she had another trick up her sleeve, the small indentations of the edge of a Dah'kin ear allows them to sense the most minute vibration, like the antennae of a moth. With those, she could feel a series of tiny, low frequency screeches coming from the cave.
On the other hand, Chese took a quick look around and noticed nothing that would indicate this was an exhorian lair outside the hill, if she wanted a better look, the group would have to look into the cave.
In the meantime, Lilee finally caugh up with the other two and drew her ax, gripping the handle tightly. "So... should we just go in and check it out?" she asked with a grin.
Az’rim focused on the vibratory sounds coming from the uphill hollow. ‘Ah-ah-ah,’ she so softly said to Lilee, ‘not so fast…’ and turned to briefly raise her left hand, palm outward, signaling ‘stop’. She turned back to Chese and finished, ‘…I can sense their communication, very subtle but it sounds of exhorian.’
Chese was about to speak when Az'rim seemed to concentrate more and thus waited until the dah'kin had said what she had to say. "That's good, I was about to say I didn't see anything and that we should go closer to see if there are tracks or something. Hm, then again, we really should find out how many of those buggers there are if we possibly can. Not sure how we could do that without going in..." She looked a little thoughtful.
As Chese spoke, Az’rim focused again on the mound in the midst of the clearing. Hers was an expression of meticulous calculation as she mentally regarded the possibilities for approach. ‘We could enter the nest, however we would have to maintain the utmost in stealth,’ she said, not even bothering to acknowledge Lilee, figuring that Chese would understand. 'We might attempt agitation of the nest, from a distance,' she then suggested.
Chese listened to Az'rim and nodded. She understood that Lilee should stay outside but she said nothing since she didn't want to be impolite. "Yeah... We could throw a burning piece of something in, I suppose. But how smart are these things? Would they raise their level of alertness for more than an hour or two based on something like that?"
"They're bugs!" said Lilee shrugging, she was aching to get something
killed or at least done. "I can stay back if you want, and then we can head back to town and at least get some grub." added the little lynx girl as her tail moved in S shapes behind her back.
‘Only bugs? It just took six of us to dispatch with one of them,’ Az’rim tersely said. ‘Though I agree we have to make a decision.’ She looked at Chese and shrugged one shoulder. ‘There is a chance we’ll stir things up, whatever we do, so let’s not over think it. Make this as quick as possible. I’m not sure I’d want an abundance of those creatures scrambling around while we hide in trees and behind rocks, anyway.’
Chese seemed quite contemplative for a moment before voicing her opinion: "I'm not fond of suicidal or too provocative attempts, so I vote we just go check for tracks around the cave. That ought to give us an estimate of how many of them are there and it's safe enough!"
Though it wouldn’t likely be of too much help, Az’rim readied her bow, anyway. ‘We’ll let Lilee know if we need her?’ she said, looking from Chese to the lynx. ‘Otherwise she’ll stay here?’ These were statements marauding as questions, though the dah’kin wasn’t overly blatant about it.
"Sure", replied Chese to Az'rim. She didn't really have a strong opinion of where Lilee should be. "Well, shall we go then? I think we'd better stay in the forested area until we're close enough to the cave. You don't mind if I take the front, do you?" came Chese's statement in the form of a question as she took point and started sneaking through the terrain toward their destination.
Move Silently!
19+9 = 28, Success!
Chese managed to move closer to the cave with incredible dexterity and agility, without making a single noise. Hugging the edge of the forest, she came to be right next to the entrance, leaning on one of the roots of the dead tree while waiting for Az'rim.
‘By all means, lead the way,’ Az’rim said with a slightly too gracious flourish of her hand. She crept delicately after Chese, following carefully in the scoundrel’s quiet footsteps.
Move Silently!
20+10 = 30, Success!
Proving even more proficient than Chese, Az'rim glided over next to the Rysallean woman almost as if she was not touching the ground at all.
Chese smiled at Az'rim and whispered quietly: "Now the tracks..." Though she wasn't that good at interpreting tracks, Chese started to quietly investigate the cave's surroundings in search of any tracks that might reveal the number of the exhorians. (Search)
A brief glance was the only acknowledgement Az’rim provided Chese; after all, they were atop an active exhorian nest. The dah’kin dropped to one knee and rested a hand on the gnarled tree root. She became stone still while her dark eyes scrutinized the ground around the opening, hoping to find some evidence that would keep them from actually having to enter the buggy residence for further information. (search) (knowledge on tracks)
Search Roll!
Chese - 5 + 6 - 11!
Az'rim - 5 + 6 - 11!
Unfortunately for Chese and Az'rim, neither of them could easily pick tracks from the ground, the moist ground of the forest kept permanent tracks from forming. Nevertheless, both women spotted some scratches on the bark and strange, yellowish remains on the ground.
Knowledge!
Az'rim - 19 + 6 - 25!
Az'rim, could, however, easily identify the strange remains, these were small chunks of chitin armor from exhorians, and the scratches seemed to match the clawed feet of exhorian warriors.
Az'rim leveled up!
Though she maintained a stoic expression, Az’rim was not pleased to see that the tracks were too degraded to be of use. For a moment, she worked her fingertips just over, but not touching, the damp, track-riddled ground, and picked-up a fragment of chitin. She was quiet still as she stood to observe the areas of gouged tree bark, her free hand resting against the trunk. ‘Warriors,’ she barely mouthed the word to Chese.
Chese just stared dully at the traces since she didn't know what to make of them. She looked at Az'rim and got her word, but that didn't help much. Since the dah'kin didn't say anything about their number, Chese assumed she didn't know either. The next step would then be to enter the cave, which didn't appeal to Chese at all. Imitating Az'rim's quietness, she asked: "Should we go in?"
Az'rim closed her fingers around the carapace shard then stood. She regarded the scratched bark a long moment before turning her attention to Chese. 'Probably not,' she responded calmly and frankly, though she knew that since there was no apparent way of knowing the nest's population from the outside, they'd have to venture in at least partway.
Sighing, Chese turned to stare at the cave entrance. After a short moment, she started sneaking toward the cave, advancing very slowly and making sure that she would always have time to observe her surroundings and flee, should the inhabitants of the cave notice her. (Move silently, Spot)
Move Silently!
11+12 = 23!
Spot!
13+7 = 20!
Chese swiftly moved towards the entrance of the cave, making very little noise in the process. As she walked, however, she could notice movement out of the corner of her eyes. The movement didn't come from the cave but from the forest, around the area where Lilee was waiting!
Chese leveled up!
While there was no apparent display of dismay or discontent about the task ahead of them from Az’rim as she crept after Chese, she was definitely thinking it. Now closer to the cave, she again cocked an ear, hoping their journey over the mound hadn’t alarmed the creatures within of their presence. (Move silently, Listen)
Move Silently!
13+9 = 22!
Listen!
16+9 = 25!
Az'rim followed Chese as silently as the first girl did, and then heard some shuffling movement in the brush, followed by a yell by Lilee.
"We've got company!!" yelled out the catfolk girl as a group of half a dozen exhorian soldiers came out of the forest, carrying a dead deer. The girl began banging her ax on a nearby tree, to get the soldiers' attention. The soldiers screeched, drawing attention from the exhorians inside the cave. "Make a run for it!" yelled out the Lynx.
Even though she managed to see where movement was, Chese was still rather struck by surprise when Lilee started yelling. "Gah! Oh well, that's a cue..." she said at the same time as she started running away from the cave and any exhorians, confident that Az'rim would follow her.
After Lilee drew Az’rim and Chese’s attention to the returning soldiers, the dah’kin didn’t have to be told twice that she needed to get out of there post haste. ‘Damnit…’ she uttered while running with her companion.
As the two girls began running, Lilee went after them, but a second group of Exhorians came from the cave, this time only one or two warrior, cutting her way out. Figuring these eight made up the entire fighting force of a hive this size, the girl drew her ax and snickered. "Keep going!" she growled with a wicked grin. "I'll make sure they don't follow!!" she said, turning to the larger group and running at them, with her ax up in the air and growling wildly. This was the last the two women saw before they made their way back into the thicket.
Chese ran swiftly to a distance so that they wouldn't be visible through all the trees but the sounds of battle could still be heard. That was when she realized what Lilee had said and stopped dead on her tracks, which incidentally almost made her fall and she remembered she should've jumped against a tree or something. She turned back and listened to the sounds they had been running away from and hoping to spot the little lynx coming their way. (Spot, Listen)
Unfortunately, Chese could not hear anything other than the distant noise of metal against chitin, screeches and squeals of pain. At this point it was impossible to know who was winning the fight, as the thicket kept them from seeing the clearing and the noise was too ambiguous!
When Chese came to a halt, so did Az’rim, though she ran several steps ahead before looking back at the other woman. ‘What are you doing?’ she asked in a harsh, whispered tone. After a moment and a couple deep breaths to regulate her breathing, she insisted, ‘We cannot wait for her!'
"Shh!" whispered Chese back and had the brief thought of whether the dah'kin would be so eager to leave if it was her brother in the claws of the exhorians. They had a head start, and if Lilee could make her escape, they really needed to be there to help her get away if she was hurt. Then again, it was more probable Lilee had just made a suicide mission, but Chese really didn't want to think about it that way. She did have quite enough sense of self-preservation to not run after Lilee. Standing very tensely and ready to spring into movement again, Chese took one more moment to listen to the sounds of battle. (Spot, listen)
Chese turned once more, but nothing had changed from before. There was some shuffling and movement in the nearby brush, though, which could easily be forest animals fleeing from the scuffle or a second exhorian detachment heading their way.
‘Chese… ‘ Az’rim said shortly, her voice remaining susurrant, though much less harsh this time. ‘Please, we have to go,’ as the hunter spoke, she stepped forward and reached to grab at her companion’s sleeve or arm, whatever she could get a hold on. ‘Lilee is… strong. If she survives this, she will find us. If she doesn’t, we could be in trouble very soon,’ Az’rim hurriedly made her case. Mostly, of course, it would be quite suspicious if the dah’kin appeared by herself back in town, but she was not overly fond of the thought of losing more than one member of the newly formed team in the span of less than a day.
A little distressed that she couldn't make out anything more from the sounds, Chese's attention was soon caught by Az'rim's plea, mostly because it was so unexpected. Chese stared at the dah'kin for a couple of seconds, but then said: "Fine, let's go." She then started moving again but kept on glancing behind her.
Pleased that she seemed to have convinced Chese to keep moving, Az’rim fell silent and proceeded onward through the wood without another look back.
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