There's a Light

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 The group has walked a fair distance from their original camping spot. They find another clearing not far off the trail to stop for breakfast. With any luck, they should be at the boarder of Fremontia and Jadros by early evening.

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"Cal," Silvia calls to the elf boy. "Are you any good at hunting with those arrows? I'm gonna need something more filling than mushrooms if we're gonna be walking all day."

Chance was looking up in the sky, enjoying the vastness of it and remembered how much he loved outdoors, though he would settle for the roof of a tavern over his head any day. After hearing Silvia's question Chance piped in as well. "Ya I agree. I mean I could try to sneak up on some food but an arrow can travel a lot faster and more silent than I ever could."

Rosie had started munching on a biscuit from her pack and took a swig of water from her canteen. It was a nice day, and it made the previous night's events seem less foreboding.

Cal started to say something smart about what Chance had just said, thought better of it, and turned it into "Yeah, I am decently capable, as long as the target isn't moving." He paused. "You any good at finding things to shoot at?" He said it as his way of asking her to join him in an early-morning hunt.

Silvia shrugs. "I have eyes." She doesn't have a problem helping him look, though the thought of actually killing an animal doens't appeal to her at all. Mostly the blood getting on her clothes or hands. She walks off away from the clearing, careful that her footsteps make as little noise as possible. She doesn't check if Cal is following; she just expects it.

"...so I guess we'll be sitting here for awhile to wait for them to come back?" Leala asked the others. She didn't bother coming with; she couldn't call animals to her, and if they went hunting, all she could do is possibly lug a sword at them. Plus, she was a little tired, as they had had to leave in the second-to-last shift and she hadn't gotten as much sleep as she wanted.

"I guess so," Chance replies back to Cal. Watching Silvia start to walk off Chance immediately joins her in the hunt for some food.

Cal accompanies Silvia out of the clearing.

"I'm gonna go find some water, guys." Rosie headed off in another direction. She thought she heard a stream, and her pan from the night before was still unwashed.

After walking for several minutes, Silvia spies something move behind a tree in the distances. She gives a silent signal to Cal and gestures toward the tree.

Cal, with bow and arrow at the ready, looks in the direction of Silvia's signal. He'd heard it move, but couldn't see whatever it was. He aims in the direction of the tree and waits.

A large stag cautiously emerges from behind the tree. It looks around the tree and spies the group, sees Cal's movement, and bolts off away from the group.

Cal, who had been aiming generally in that direction, sees the stag and pulls back on his bow. He aims, Lead the target, ark the shot, and releases.

Rosie found the stream and began to scrub the pan. The woods were beautiful, though not all the foliage was familiar to her. She would be careful when she gathered food.

Given the stag's current retreating position, the arrow hits its hindquarter. Its leg buckles for a moment, but it continues to run off, but now with a serious limp.

"Woo!" Cal says, getting up to chase the stag. "C'mon lets go!"

Silvia hikes up her dress to remove her blade. "Shoot it again!" she shouts to the elf, the only one of the group with a long-range weapon.

Cal pauses just an instant before hurrying another arrow out of the quiver. He stands, lines the shot, holds his breath and releases.

This time the arrow hits the stag's other hind leg, and it collapses. The animal is still alive and struggling, but is no longer able to move from its spot.

Silvia runs to catch up, dagger ready.

Cal does a little happy dance for two shots in a row before following behind Silvia, he face 'glowing'.

Silvia gives Cal a funny look. Maybe some of the stereotypes about elves were true... She reaches the wounded stag, closes her eyes, and stabs it with her dagger.

The animal makes a loud, pain-filled noise, and its breathing becoming labored.

Cal loses some of his glow as he sees the blood.

Silvia looks up at Cal, who hasn't made any move to help her kill this thing, and rolls her eyes. She stabs the animal again, and after a few moments, it stops moving. She stands, waiting for Cal to redeem himself a little by offering to carry the creature back to the clearing.

Chance just caught up with Silvia and Cal, his short legs couldn't run as fast as their longer ones could. When he noticed Cal's handiwork he congratulates him by saying, "Oh nice work, we're going to eat like kings!" He doesn't see Cal's reaction because his eyes are wholy on the animal.

Silvia shoots an icy look at Chance, whiping her bloodied blade off on the grass beside the dead animal. She stands and replaces the dagger in her garter, marching back to the clearing in a huff and leaving the giant dead animal for the two "men" to carry.

With her clean pan in one hand and a bag of wild berries in the other, Rosie headed back to the clearing.

Leala looked up, at least pleased that some people were coming back from leaving her all alone in the cold, creepy wilderness. "Er, kill anything?" she asked Silvia, noting an air of distaste surrounding the pretty woman.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I did," Silvia responds with obvious bitterness in her tone. "The boys are carrying back a large stag. We could probably dry out some of the meat and save it for later."

"Oh," Leala replied. "Well, that's good." She sighed. "Although we'll have to build another fire to dry the meat."

"I'll help with that," Rosie said as she entered the clearing. "All I brought is berries..."

Chance looks from Cal to the stag and wondered how they both could ever lift it from where it died back to the campsite. "Umm, how are we going to do this?" Chance grabbed the head of the stag and pulled with all of his might. The stag moved barely an inch.

Rosie began walking around the edge of the clearing, gathering sticks. As she made her way, she spoke to the other two, "Do you trust Chance? I admit I've never done anything like this before... Are quests always this... vague? And what happens if there isn't really a treasure or something?"

"Then I suggest we do what the men in black failed to do and take out our aggression on him," Leala said. "But I think he thinks there's a treasure to come out of all this--he has money issues, after all. Probably wants more."

Cal stares at the stag for a moment, "I really don't know." He tries to pick it up, and can clearly see that between the two of them, it's not going to be carried. "Maybe we can tie a few sticks together and drag it?" He glances around. "I think that'd work." He quickly brings two sturdy logs side by side, and begins tying them together with cross sticks so that the stag would fit easily on it, but it's still small enough to be maneuvered through the trees. "While I'm doing this," Cal looks to Chance, "can you cut its head off?"

Chance shrugs and he immediatly gets down to work. His slender dagger cutting not so precise due to the stag's thick neck. After what seems like a very logn time, Chance finaly cuts the head fromt he body, but to find that some blood has found its way to Chance. 

"What I'm worried about is where exactly we're going in Jadros," Silvia admits. "I mean, there are a few people there who aren't very friendly to we Fremontians. Did anyone catch a glimpse of Chance's map?"

Leala shook her head. "I guess we don't have to tell anybody we're Fremontians," she suggested. "Do they have some sort of accent? I'm, er... I've never traveled quite that far." Or at all, she added silently.

"Great." Cal drags the stag onto it. He picks up the two sticks, it was heavy, but not unmanageable. "Here, Chance, help me pull." Cal sets off for the camp, stag in tow.

When the boys return, the women have pepared a fire. Silvia gets to work cutting strips of meat off the carcass, enlisting anyone with a dagger or sharp object of any kind to do the same.

Trying to act nonchalant, Leala leaned against a tree so that her sword was hidden. She really didn't want it to be used as a kitchen utensil. However, after a bit, she remembers a small knife she had tucked in her bag. Leala took off her wrist guards and dug in, cutting off large hunks and spearing them on sticks to hang over the fire and dry on a makeshift spit.

Exhausted from dragging the animal, Cal sits against a nearby tree, not really in the mood to help cook.

The group has a hearty breakfast and manages to save some jerky from the kill for later meals. They continue their trek through the wilderness without anything serious happening. Finally, as the sun just hits the horizon, they cross the boarder into Jadros.

The group continued down the road. As they crested a hill, a man hailed them.

"Greetings, questers! Beautiful day, isn't it? Oh, I can see that you're in a hurry, but just a moment of your time--" His clear eyes twinkled as he spoke, but it was also apparent that this speech was rehearsed.

Leala leveled her own glare at the man, also rehearsed. She just automatically felt he was wasting her time, and she was a little high-strung as it was. Her hand casually rested on her hip, but it was close to her sword, and the message was clear. However, a small part of Leala was thinking, I must look so BADASS!

Cal stops with the rest of the group and with a unconvinced look on his face, he waits for the guy to pitch his agenda.

Silvia puts a hand on her hip and raises a seductive eyebrow. "Well, we are sort of in the middle of something..." she says, hoping that the attractive man can find a good reason to keep their attention. The eye candy, at the very least, was reason enough to take a break from walking.

"Good, good! Now, wherever you're off to, you don't look nearly equipped enough. No protection, and not a decent weapon among you!" The man took cursory stock of their armaments and noted that, indeed, the travelers were sadly underarmed. Not that his own sword was much better. But he didn't want to call attention to that. "You don't know what you'll encounter on your journey, do you? Goblins? Sorcerers? Rodents of Unusual Size? You need to be prepared for prodigious perils! Magical menaces! Whatever monstrous miscreations you may have the misfortune to meet."

As he spoke, he made eye contact with each of them in turn. His gaze ended with (and remained on) the human woman.

Cal couldn't hide the interest in his eyes.

Leala, however, was totally bored. This guy might be cheaper, but she'd still be infinitely more comfortable buying a sword from an actual swordsmith or weapons shop. She was mildly entertained by the alliteration, but her gaze landed on a shrub as she stared at it, eyes half-lidded as she waited for the group to move on.

"You'd be surprised how... resourceful we can be," Silvia replies with a smile. The man hasn't proven himself to be friend or foe or otherwise, though so far he seems harmless enough. "But what are you suggesting we do, in any case?"

"Oh, I'm glad you asked!" He kept up the animated chatter-- "But what you need aren't weapons or skill, but something much more powerful. A troll, perhaps? A trained dragon? No, no. Far too messy, and not entirely legal. What you need, my traveling friends, are these." Out from under his cloak, he drew a handful of very, very shiny crystals. Very shiny.

Leala's mouth twitched. She liked shiny things. Her bored look turned to a suspicious-but-curious one. "I don't see how those are useful unless we were to shove them in somebody's eyes," she pointed out.

"O ye of little faith! These crystals are infused with the strongest, most ancient magic." He held a translucent, sulfur-yellow stone up to the sunlight. "This... this will heal any wound, cure any ill!" He presented another, this time a dark, muddy red crystal with sharp-looking edges. "Affix this wondrous token to any blade and it will be endowed with the fury of the god of war!" He picked an especially sparkly gem that flashed fuchsia and lavender as he turned it in his fingers. He presented it toward Leala, and his voice became softer. "This," the man said, "if kept close to you at all times, will grant your heart's most secret desire."

At those words Leala was practically twitching to keep up her cool, distant demeanor. He had caught her attention. Her gaze flicked to the wishing crystal, and the red crystal, although she didn't make any motion to try and touch them. "And how are we to believe you?" she finally asked. "They look like something I would have found in my grandmother's attic."

Rosie watch all this quietly. She had encountered snake-oil salesman-types before. He was definitely a con man, but she didn't want to say anything just yet. He was cute and entertaining... and he was trying so hard! It might be nicer to let him think he was doing well. Leala seemed like she was genuinely interested, anyway, and, worst-case, the most gullible among them would be out a few coins.

Chance's fingers started to rub against his thumbs as he looked at the stone the merchant presented to Leala. Chance, being a theif and living on the streets, obviously knew that this whole get up could just be a con, but the idea of his secret desire granted was a wonderful idea to Chance. "So how are we to know that they are really enchanted?"

“It’s proof you want, then? You’re a discerning one, aren’t you?” The man withdrew his wares from under the elf girl’s nose and placed them back somewhere in the folds of his cloak. This time, he brought out a small handful of chartreuse shards. As he showed them to the group in the palm of his gloved hand, he spoke in a conspiratorial tone. “Once, in a time immemorial, a young, spiritually-inclined elf sought out the most venerable of his race. After journeying more miles than any of us will in a lifetime, he found the elder deep in a cavern that was ancient even then. The younger asked the older an impossible question that has now been lost to the ages—- but the question itself is trivial now. The wise one instructed him to wait in the dark recesses of the cave—- in the dank, dripping bowels—- until the answer came to him. In what form he would not say. But above all, The young elf was not to fall asleep. Of course, to make this prolonged parable more precise, he did indeed fall victim to the specters of slumber. The lethargic youth's body fell to the ground and spontaneously petrified—- into this!” He thrust the cluster of crystal bits forward for emphasis. “A tiny trace of this, just a pinch into your water, will give you a supernatural burst of energy! It lasts for hours and prevents dullness and torpor in all races. SO. Any takers?” He flashed a sincere and enthusiastic grin.

Cal couldn't hide his interest in the crystal that healed any wound. He stared at the contents of the new guy's hand. "How much?"

The lone traveler was surprised. This could be easier than expected. "For these stimulating morsels? One gold coin for what I'm holding here. And this will keep you alert for days, my elven friend. Care to try?"

At that, Leala snorted. "A whole gold piece for something that might not work?" she said. That's food for like... a week! she added internally. She really didn't want to spend food money on some cheap trinket in any case. Just like that, Leala was back to being bored and waiting for this guy to give up.

"May I have your canteen a moment?" The man held out his empty hand toward Leala.

Leala thought about it for just a moment. If the guy ran off with her water she didn't think she'd be too heartbroken. She handed over her canteen.

The peddler pinched a magical shard between his gloved finger and thumb and crumbled it into the water. He gave it a few good shakes and passed it back to the girl. "Have a drink! Oh, and the name's Dorian, by the way."

Leala took back her canteen, looked at it, then at the guy. "...it's not like I don't trust you or anything," she said. "I mean, I know I just met you less than ten minutes ago, and you're probably like a really good guy, I'm sure. But I am not putting this in my mouth."

"Of course! Why should you trust me?" He snatched back the canteen, took a small sip, and offered it back. "Perfectly safe, bona fide magic."

Leala looked helplessly at Silvia, as if expecting her to fix the problem. The girl seemed like more of a 'people person'... Well, in a sense of the word. Leala couldn't really see a way to get rid of this guy unless she either took a drink or bought something of his. And while the second might result in lack of food money, the first could possibly end up with Leala on her back staring at her hands as she tripped out on some exotic herb and he took her money anyway. However, she was also not one to turn away from a challenge... and as far as she was concerned, this was it. She took a swig from her canteen and waited nervously, still looking at Silvia like her own personal bodyguard. "Oh, and my name's Leala," she muttered, her mind on her possible impending doom.

Silvia takes a step away from Leala. For all she knows, this new fellow just put powdered purple mushroom in the canteen. But she relaxes when the elf girl fails to explode. "So... how quick is this stuff supposed to work?"

"Just give it a few minutes," Dorian said. "The aura needs time to synchronize with your karma. In the meantime, what are the rest of your names?"

"I'm Silvia," says the human girl, giving a deep curtsy to him that allows him to see a good ways down her top.

Chance admired Silvia's curtsy as much as Dorian should have as well. Turning back to Dorian, Chance nods his head and states his name.

"And this is Rosie and Cal," Silvia says, batting her eyelashes prettily.

"Nice to meet you all," Dorian said. "While we wait for the mystic energies, mind if I ask where you're off to? I frequent this area and am familiar with the lay of the land. I could offer the most invaluable service of guide-- or at least lend you the voice of experience."

Leala's head was still trying to work on how an aura could synchronize with her karma--or however he put that.  As it was, she could feel herself be a bit more awake, but she could swear it was only because she was sniffing out a scam. "Are you just desperate for money, or what?" she asked, in her usual blunt way. Because while the group did not look like wandering monks, a group of teenagers who couldn't even afford faster transportation than walking and better weapons while doing so probably wouldn't have enough money to interest the normal salesman.

Cal, very curious, wanted a sip from the canteen. He looks to Leala: "May I have a drink?" He politely goes to take the canteen.

"Well, assuming that whatever you gave Leala doesn't kill her outright in the next few moments, we actually could use a guide." Silvia bites her lower lip and a cute little line forms between her eyebrows. "The problem is, we've only just started our quest. We don't have any money to pay you for your services... yet." She looks as though she will cry if Dorian does not agree to accompany the group despite this pitfall.

Leala absentmindedly held out the canteen for Cal, her eyes shifting between Dorian and Silvia, honestly wondering why Silvia was so desperate. I mean, the guy's good looking and all, but... Leala trailed off in her thoughts, a small part of her agreeing that that might be a good enough reason.

"I do seem to have come across a stretch of financial hardship, it's true." Dorian addressed Leala. "But most travels are monetarily motivated, and I'd be willing to wager that this one is too. So if I were to do a good job as guide, you would be more likely to have the riches with which to repay me. Am I right?"

Rosie looked to Chance. He would know best whether they would need a guide, right? This was "his" treasure they were after. She didn't seem to feel the attraction toward the man that the others did, but.... "Chance, do you know exactly where we're going? Will we need his help?"

Chance looked to Rosie and whispered to her, "Well I'm been in Jadros a few times but it has been a while since. We don't really know if we can trust him or not, but his help would be useful." Stepping another foot towards Rosie just so that this salesman had no chance of overhearing. "Let's not tell him specifically what we're after, just vague details of the quest." Stepping back to where he once was, Chance spoke up to Dorian. "That seems about right, would you be interested in guiding us?"

Dorian smiled winningly at Chance, the apparent leader. "Of course!" He stood up a little straighter, clapped his hands together once, and looked around at the group. "Where're we off to, my winsome wanderers?"

Rosie thought to herself that she herself didn't know much more than the "vague details of the quest," as Chance put things. She was also keeping a sharp eye on Leala.

"Chance has the map," Silvia says, all smiles that a new person has joined the group. "We're looking for an item called the rusiel," she explains, having not heard Chances conversation with Rosie and seeing no harm in telling him what the quest actually is. "You wouldn't happen to know where it is offhand, would you?"

Oh, gods... the rusiel? Were they serious? "The tales are many but few have actually laid eyes on the relic itself." In Dorian's experience, those few were the one-eyed crazy-drunk-sailor-types in the dark corners of seedy taverns who spoke primarily in strings of curses and lunatic ravings. He was fairly sure that if the thing did exist, tales of its power had been greatly exaggerated. But hey. "I myself do not know where it lies today. Most likely in a place nigh-inaccessible, or else another group of intrepid adventurers would have reclaimed it before you. But there's always a first time! How about we take a gander at that map, Chance?"

Cal had been listening to all this, save Chance's whisper to Rosie, but was more curious about the contents of the canteen. He took a large swig and wondered what Karma was.

Chance closed his eyes and sighed, he truly didn't want to let just anybody see his map he had come to possess. Reluctantly he unviels the map of where the Rusiel is so that Dorian can see. "From what I have gathered, it's near the outskirts of Jadros, almost on the edge of the Wilds, near the mountain ranges. Ever been around that area?"

Dorian had. It wasn't fun. Very full of monsters. "Yes, in my far and distant wanderings, I have seen that region." He left it at that for the moment... no sense in killing their sense of adventure this soon.

"Well it's settled then," Silvia declares. "You can guide us, you're willing to wait for payment until we finish our quest, and Leala and Cal aren't dead. So let's get going!" She starts to move, but then realizes that she doesn't know where they're going, so she stops and waits for Dorian to lead the way.

Leala took back her canteen and put it into her supplies once more, wondering if she should save it. Maybe it really was all Dorian was hyping it up to be, and it just took a while. Leala was starting to feel more awake as it was. She stretched, waiting for Dorian to lead the way as well... Leala only hoped where they were going had a lot of monsters.

Cal followed behind, not really sure if he trusted the newcomer or not.

"Yes, do let's. We've got a lot of trudging ahead of us, and we don't want to lose our daylight!" Dorian nodded in agreement with Silvia and began to walk too.

Rosie was also ready to get moving and followed Dorian. She still smelled a rat and didn't much trust him. He was dashing but in a slimy kind of way. "So, Dorian, where did you say you were from?"

"I didn't, Rosie, but I grew up in Goldwater. It's a larger town this side of the border. Bustling commerce, thriving economy..." Dorian smiled as he thought of his childhood home. "But I've been wandering for years. Leala, Cal, how're you feeling? Invigorated?"

"Er," Leala managed to say, thinking about it. "I guess a little more awake. How long does this stuff take to work again?"

Cal hadn't been listening. "uh.. what?" His attention went to Dorian for a moment before a leaf blew in his peripheral vision, which distracted him away.

Chance, still not fully trusting Dorian, asked, "So how come you started to wander instead of staying in the city?" Chance has met many suspicious people in his life, mainly due to the fact that many thought he was in the same group, so he learned fast not to become to trusting.

"Just a minute more, Leala," Dorian responded. "Looks like our pretty friend is already feeling the awakening powers, though."

Rosie glanced back at Cal, and seeing him begin to wander, snapped her fingers in his general direction. "Cal! Focus!"

Dorian chuckled at the halfling girl and the distractible elf, then turned his attention to Chance. "City folk don't have much appreciation for the mysterious. The occult and obscure just aren't worth their time. Out in the wilderness there's adventure and wonders like you'll never see within the confines of urban life-- fortune and glory! Besides, I prefer the fresh air." He breathed deeply and ran his fingers through his hair, scratching behind his slightly-pointed ears. "Where did you hear about the Rusiel, Chance?"

Cal, whose attention had already gone from leaf to Leala to Dorian back to leaf and now finally on Rosie, said "What? Do you want me to carry you? I can. And what do you mean 'pretty'? I love the mysterious; how my dad stayed married to my mother is beyond me. My the scenery is nice around here, nothing like back home. Ya know, I'm feeling a little hungry." He started out talking to Rosie, then likely Dorian, but after that, it wasn't as clear.

Chance was about to answer Dorian but stopped right after to give Cal a very puzzeled look. Slowly turnign his head back from Cal to Dorian, Chance asked sarcastically, "Umm, did you slip him anything in that drink of yours?" When Chance realized that he wouldn't be able to shake off Dorian's question, Chance replied, "Well, to be honest I heard the tale from my friend. His name was Riley, he was a captain of Jadros, who had close ties with the royalty, until an official of Jadros betrayed him and convinced everyone he was a traitor."

Dorian's face fell. This was worse than he thought. "Riley? That... that..." What he wanted to say was scum. He bit his tongue. "And you trust his story?" Dorian tried to hide the disappointment and disgust in his voice.

Chance shrugged Dorian's reply off, totally understanding the dissapointment in Dorian's voice. "Hey look pal, Riley was my best friend. I'd trust him to the ends of the earth."

"You know Riley?" Leala asked. She tried to hide her disappointment in Dorian's assessment, and mistrust in Chance's. The guy had made people want to kill him... She was just a little skeptical of his judgment.

"Was?" Dorian was, again, surprised. "Is he no longer your friend or is he deceased?" The latter would have made him happier, and his tone was getting darker. In response to Leala, he just grunted. A little too pissed to answer using words, apparently.

Chance, still a sore subject about his friend, didn't bother answering Dorian. With that Chance started to walk a bit faster to get out of the awkward situation. 

The group continues walking, and soon it becomes dark. The wilderness is a little spooky, but they don't have any run-ins. 

Leala and Cal, the elves of the group, are the first to notice the light up ahead. From where they are, it's kind of small, very orange and flickering slightly.

Leala frowned as she noticed it, having been bored and staring at various things around her for quite some time. Was that... a fire? "Hey, guys," she said. "Do you see that?" She pointed up ahead, straight at the light.

"Yeah." Cal said, having noticed it too. "What is it?"

Silvia squints into the distance. "I don't see anything. Is it in the direction that we're headed?"

"Yeah, that's right in our path," said Dorian, who could now see the fire, too, his eyes being stronger than a full-blooded human's. "No clue what it is though... there's no civilization for miles."

"It's like... a light. Flickering. Guys, if it's a forest fire, we shouldn't get too close," Leala said, her voice worried.

As the group got a little closer they could see what the source of the flickering light was. It wasn't a forest fire but actually a small cottage at the base of a single mountain that was on fire. It looked as though it was burning for no more than fifteen minutes.

Chance looked from the burning cottage to his map and with a look of trepidation on his face he slowly turned his gaze back to the fire. He stopped walking dropped his jaw as he slowly said, "No...no...no."

"Is that where the rusiel is supposed to be?" Silvia asks.

Something is moving near the house. A few somethings, actually.

Dorian knew they were in the general vicinity of the X on Chance's map, and judging by the halfling's reaction, either the rusiel itself or something key to finding it had been in the house. "Chance, you didn't tell me someone else was looking for it, too. What did I get myself involved in?"

Rosie was worried, too. If Dorian was right and there was more to this than Chance originally told them.... well, wait. This seemed a little like deja vu. Hadn't he left out some important, life-threatening details already? She looked around for Cal, and then noticed the movement by the burning house. "Guys... there are people. I think."

Cal moved next to Rosie. Up until now, he hadn't shot anything except on what he intended on eating, but there's a first time for everything, he presumed. He crouched to one knee, studying the house. "Looks like we're gonna have to borrow what they've likely just stolen."

Leala scowled, drawing her sword almost immediately. "Were there innocent people in that cabin?" she said, her anger building up, ready to charge directly into the fray and heroically kill everything in sight.

"One way to find out," Silvia replies, hiking up her skirt to retrieve the dagger in her garter. She then takes off in a sprint towards the burning house.

Cal, the archer, stays more or less where he is. He's close enough to shoot straight over the house, if need be. Regardless, he is rather in the open, and glances laterally for a rock or tree to stand behind, and starts moving towards one. "I'm taking cover over there." He says to Rosie while motioning towards his direction. "I got your back if you want to go in."

Leala was already moving, ignoring Cal. She held her sword close to her torso, already ready to attack as she ran towards the cabin. She was thinking that a battle cry would sound pretty freaking cool. However, Leala couldn't think of one. She mentally puts it on her to-do list.

Chance wasn't so sure about the idea of attacking something or things that they didn't even know what it was yet, but he had to get inside the house so he slowly jogged after Leala.

As the group got closer to the burning cottage, they could barely make out eleven five foot creatures, all of them howling in glee at the inferno. Goblins. At the back of the group near the base of the mountain that the cottage was adjacent to was an older woman tied by the hands, obviously a prisoner.

Leala stopped her advance, but only to place one fist on her hip and point her sword at the goblins holding the old woman captive. "Release her!" she shouted. In the back of her head, she marveled at how she could walk or shout anything, as her knees were shaking in fright, and her mouth was dry.

All of the goblins turned around to notice Leala and the rest of the group running towards them. Their leader, the only smart one of the party, silently thanked his goblin diety for the attackers not trying to sneak up behind them. At once all eleven goblins charged Leala and the rest of the group that was coming up behind her.

Leala gripped her sword and charged into the thick of it, swinging at the evildoers. She went to stab where she assumed the first goblin's stomach would be, although of course she hadn't paid that much attention in her classes.

Rosie was near the back of the group, and had time to draw her axe. She readied herself and swung at the closest set of goblin shins. She hoped Cal still had enough room to use his arrows.

Dorian readied his rusty blade-- and Leala got rushed. He ran to help her and aimed a swing at the same goblin's neck.

The first goblin was prepared for Leala's attack; this wasn't his first raiding party. The goblin countered and was about to strike a deadly blow to Leala's chest but Dorian swung and hit the unsuspecting goblin at it's neck. Due to the rusty blade, it didn't swipe the head clean off but stopped a few inches from the other side. The goblin was of course dead, but partially stuck on Dorian's blade.

Due to Rosie's height the goblin she swung at wasn't prepared for such a big blow and her axe shattered the goblin's shins. Down on the ground almost helpless, the goblin called out for help while barely swinging its club at Rosie but missing horribly.

Three goblins saw Dorian and Leala as their first targets so they rushed ahead, with their two clubs and one short sword raised above their disgusting heads.

Two other goblins heard the shin-shattered goblin's cry and ran towards him, not out of loyalty but believing that Rosie will be an easy kill due to her size.

The four goblins left split up into two groups and one group headed towards the archer, Cal, while the other went towards Silvia and Chance.

Chance gritted his teeth, not wanting to fight but seeing how he had no other option he readied his dagger out. Seeing how two goblins were going after Cal, Chance grabs a rock from the ground and throws it at one of the goblin's head. Scoring a hit, the goblin fell flat to his face, dazed but certainly not out of the fight.

"Thanks!" Leala yelled, more trying to draw attention to herself than be grateful while Dorian dislodged his blade. She swung around to gain momentum as she swiped her blade across the closest goblin's chest, getting too close for its club to be much use. She was also attempting to keep all of them in her sight and just hoped that since their weapons were clumsier, they'd move slower, and she'd have more time to react.

"It was nothing," Dorian grunted as he pulled his sword free. He raised it quickly to defend himself, then slashed at another attacker, one with a club. He and Leala were fighting back to back.

Rosie ran back to join Cal, hoping he could pick most of their attackers off before they got close. "Quick, Cal! Shoot!"

Silvia waits for the charging goblin to run right up to her before she steps to the side and grabs its shoulder in one movement. The goblin's feet continue to move while his upper body comes to a halt, and his momentum works against him - he falls flat on his back.

Chance jumps upon the goblin that Silvia threw down and quickly slashed his throat with his dagger. In a panic the goblin starts to sieze up, and in doing so punches Chance square in the eye and launches him a few feet away. 

Leala scored a minor hit on the closest goblin's chest and made it stumble back in between the two other goblins. The goblin with the sword, their leader, and the other goblin circled around Leala and Dorian. While both was on Dorian's side, the slightly injured goblin rushed Leala, hoping to capture the element of suprise.

The other goblin thats facing off against Silvia slowed down his rush considerably, seeing what the female human did to his goblin comrade. With a howl, the goblin raised his club and aimed towards Silvia's head, hoping to finish this one off with one hit.

With Rosie's back turned, the two goblins chasing her increased their speed; knowing that she couldn't protect herself in that position. Swinging their clubs only a foot away from her back, it would only take a few more seconds before their clubs would knock Rosie out of the fight.

Since the next goblin has slowed down considerably, Silvia has enough time to see his attack and get out of the way as the club comes down where her head had been seconds ago. She thrusts her dagger into its abdominal area, hoping for a quick kill. Her weapon is certainly not the best for battling.

Leala barely caught the charge from the goblin in time. With hardly any time to think, she rushed it in return, getting less than a foot away before her sword came up, aimed at the goblin's stomach, only inches away. Leala only hoped its considerable momentum would do the rest as she braced herself.

Silvia's goblin felt the cold steel of Silvia's dagger in its stomach. His hand let go of the club and the look of sheer horror and agony could be seen on the goblin's face. That face was held for many seconds; the Goblin looking directly in Silvia's eyes the whole time.

Leala had the right idea but the momentum of the goblin was just slightly more powerful than Leala's bracing stance. The sword pierced through the goblin as if it was made of paper; too perfect did the sword puncture the goblin's stomach that it barely slowed it down. The goblin reflexively threw its weight against Leala, stopped for a second and then the goblin's weight pushing both of them down.

Without thinking, Silvia abruptly lets go of her dagger. She's never actually killed for non-food purposes, and it's a little unsettling. She immediately regrets her squeamish reaction, as she's now weaponless and not entirely sure if the goblin is dead enough for her to retrieve it.

With a very unwarrior-like squeak Leala fell over. She only rolled at the last second to get out of the goblin's way, still briefly getting trapped by its arm before she fought her way free in a panic. Leala scrambled to her feet, now sword-less and wondering how to get it back. Maybe the goblin would have the good grace to not die on its stomach so she could work on tugging her blade free.

Dorian tried to cover for Leala while she worked her weapon out of the goblin-corpse, attacking their remaining enemy. He tried to stay between them, and swung at the goblin's midsection.

Rosie heard the monsters running after her, and and turned to swing at one's legs again. She too was squeamish about doing lethal damage to a non-food, mostly-intelligent creature.

Unfortunately for Leala, the goblin died on the sword, with its stomach to the ground.

As Dorian swung for one of the two goblins that was attacking him, the goblin he aimed for deflected the swipe. Due to the low intelligence of goblins Dorian's deflected blow went straight into the other goblin's chest; puncturing a lung. While this was a small victory for Dorian, the first goblin that deflected his swipe aimed for his chest. It wasn't a hard of a hit as it could have been since he momentarily deflected Dorian's strike but it certainly knocked Dorian to the ground.

Apparently luck was with Rosie for when she swung at the first goblin's legs, the goblin jumped over the swipe but stumbled as it landed. Falling in place, the second goblin tripped over the first and both landed on their stomachs. Rosie had both of their necks in sight for a clean kill but only for a few seconds before they would get up.

Silvia's goblin started to wail in agony and with Silvia letting go of the dagger it had nothing to support itself from falling. It fell flat on its back with Silvia's dagger still protruding from its stomach. It continued to wail but made no move towards his fallen weapon.

Chance got up from being thrown off, a black spot under his eye already could be seen. Ignoring his cuts and scratches Chance raced back into the fray, looking around to see who needed the most help. Noticing Leala and Dorian both in trouble Chance ran to them, trying to think of something to do along the way. The remaining uninjured goblin raised his club for a fatal blow to Dorian's head when Chance jumped into the goblin with all of his might. Chance barely made it budge, but it did distract the goblin and made it turn around.

"Oh Gods damn it all--Ack!" Leala started to say about her goblin before spying another just barely get distracted from beating Dorian's skull to fragments. Without thinking, she jumped over Dorian, clasped her hands together, and put all of her strength into a harsh blow aimed directly at the base of the goblin's neck.

Silvia tentatively reaches for her dagger, but the thrashing goblin makes her nervous, so instead she picks up its club. Closing her eyes, she slams the club down on the goblin's head, hoping she'll be able to hit it at point-blank range, even without looking.

Chance looks up at the goblin with the knowledge that he will probably get smashed any moment, and if it wasn't for Leala's ferocious attack to the goblin's neck it would have been. To the unsuspecting goblin, the blow to the back of the neck shattered the top of the spine; rendering it dead before it even knew what happened. Chance barely had time to leap from his spot sideways to avoid being crushed by the now dead goblin. 

Silvia's goblin didn't even have a chance to see what was coming to it. Throughout the wails of agony it didn't hear the sound of death rushing down with the club when it connected squarely with the goblin's head.

Leala paused in victory for a moment before her hand started shooting pain up her arm. "Oo-ooow!" she groaned, gripping the hand that had been on the outside of her little man-made club. "By the gods that smarts." She looked at her hand, assuming at the best a bruise to be forming. At least it wasn't her sword hand. She looked around for more goblins, seeing if she had time to go grab her sword before jumping into any more fights.

Cal heard Rosie call for him, and released an arrow straight for the goblins on the ground. He felt it was rather an unsportsmanlike shot, but not necessarily, since this was life or death. Since the group had ran almost straight in front of him, he didn't have the self-confidence to shoot between friend and foe however, now that everyone was spreading out a little, he could get much clearer shots. He swings his arm back, a second arrow ready in seconds.

Rosie closed her eyes and chopped down on an exposed goblin-neck. Adrenaline and survival instinct kicked in, apparently.

Cal missed the goblin lying on the ground by inches; the arrow sticking out of the ground right next to its head. By that time the other goblin that was rushing at him was at a swinging distance. The goblin took a step forward and swung at the reloading Cal.

Rosie's axe chopped down right on one of the goblin's neck, splattering blood everyone and onto everything that was close. The other goblin managed to get to his feet by the time the now deceased goblin had stopped croaking, though it still was disorriented fromt he fall.

Leala could see that Rosie still had one more goblin and Cal had one attacking him and another getting to its feet towards the archer.

With determined motions, Leala kicked the impaled, dead goblin over, then grabbed her sword and with one motion pulled it from its corpse. Well, it stuck on some important bits, but Leala liked to imagine it was one fluid motion. She then darted towards the closest one, which was near Rosie, jumping at its back and biting back a war cry this time as she aimed her sword in a brutal blow at its backside.

The goblin caught Cal slightly off guard as he was concentrating on the ones after Rosie. At such a close range, all he could do was to leap blindly back, his heel catching on a root. He falls flat backwards making little of a lateral movement.

Leala and Rosie's goblin was taken by surprise when a sword could be seen sticking through his back and out of his chest. It just simply looked down and never turned his gaze back up; slowly falling to the ground at Rosie's feet. 

As Cal fell backwards the goblin roared in victory, raising its club over his head for the killing blow.

Cal had dropped his bow in the fall, now almost completely defenseless. He grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it straight for the goblin's eyes, rolling laterally to evade the club and reacquaint himself with his bow. 

The goblin stepped back, the dirt going straight into its eyes. Turning around, rubbing its eye furiously to get the dirt out. Once it had its eyes cleared, it surveyed the scene and noticed that all of the companions on the house raid were dead. Figuring that he probably couldn't take on this new party by himself, with goblin nature he turned tail and ran away from Cal and the rest of the group.

Leala bit her lip, trying to think if she should go after this one or not. However, the goblin was this time really really stuck on her sword. She started attempting to tug it from the guy, although with the adrenaline still pumping through her veins, her motions were shaky. She looked around while she tried to dislodge her weapon for the little old woman they had attacked the goblins to save.

Silvia pries the dagger out of the dead creature, an obvious look of distaste on her face. She wipes the blood on the grass, but doesn't put it away yet. She heads back over to Cal, Rosie and Silvia. "Everyone still in one piece?"

Chance got up, his adrenaline slowing down now and the pain in his eye starting to mount. "I'm in one piece, how is everyone else?" Starting to rub his eye, Chance looked around to see how everyone else was doing.

"Fine," Leala said, finally tugging her weapon free, still looking for the little old woman. She also looked at the cabin, to see if it was salvageable.

Cal stood there watching the fleeing goblin, wondering if he could hit it or not. He turns his attention to the rest of the group, searching for Rosie. "I'm fine. Did we save the damsel?"

"HELP!" Calls a dry, withered voice. The old woman - far from the damsel that Cal seems to have suggested - is still in one piece, and still tied up. "SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!"

Leala ran to her side, looking as heroic as possible when there was a bit of blood on the side of her face. "Sorry, ma'am," she said, dropping to her side and using her sword-she didn't have a dagger at hand-to cut the ropes. "Are you alright?"

The woman seems impressed enough with Leala. "Oh dearie, it was awful. Those creatures, they just came right into my house and lit it on fire and tied me right up! Thank the gods that you arrived!"

Rosie was still staring at the goblin she'd killed, visibly not okay. She'd never taken a life before.

Leala looked at the house, which was still probably at least a little on fire. "Have any idea why they would do that?" she asked. "That's a pretty awful thing to do to just one woman without being pretty pissed off."

Cal spots Rosie and starts for her. He got the impression from her expression that she wasn't 100%, and was completely clueless about what to say, so he just crouched next to her, hoping his presence would help somehow.

Silvia makes her way to Leala and the old woman, also curious as to how this goblin raid began.

"Goodness, I'm not sure. I'm certainly not enough to feed a goblin, let alone a whole clan of them."

"They didn't seem to want to eat you," Silvia points out. "I mean, they tied you up. Not something they would do if they were just gonna eat you."

"Not that evildoers need reason to be... evil," Leala said seriously. "Are... are you going to be alright? With your house and all?" Leala added, a little more nervously.

Dorian had cleaned his blade and joined the group talking to the woman. He listened quietly to their conversation, but also kept an eye out for more trouble. Surveying the scene, he saw Rosie at the edge of the firelight. She shook as she stared at the body at her feet... Dorian remembered that feeling. She'd be fine eventually. At the moment, information was more important.

"Oh, my beautiful house!" the woman wails. Her small cottage is, after all, still ablaze. "Everything will surely be destroyed! All of my valuables!"

At this, Dorian perked up. "What exactly do you have? Maybe we can... save it."

Rosie barely noticed Cal, but having another person near her gave her shock an outlet. "It.... I... bleed... dead. I killed it. Him. Killed him." She felt sick to her stomach.

Cal put his hand on her shoulder. "Hey." He tried to get her to look away from the goblin.

Chance came up to the old woman and silently thanked that she was still alive throughout the whole ordeal. It only just occurred to to him that the cottage was still on fire. "Oh man, is the Rusiel still in there?"

The woman's face drops a little. "What was that, dearie?" she asks Chance. "My ears aren't what they used to be."

Rosie mostly snapped out of it when she heard the word "rusiel". She blinked and shook her head. "I'm fine. Fine. Really." She walked quickly over to the group around the old woman, staring straight ahead.

"The RUSIEL," Dorian said loudly. "Do you have it?"

The woman stands, shakily and abruptly. "That's what you're after, then? I ought to have known... you're in the same lot as those... those things that destroyed my home!"

Silvia steps back, avoiding elderly spittle as it bursts from the woman's mouth. She looks to the others, wondering what to say now.

"No, no," Leala said, trying to be soothing. "We're on the side of good. I mean, okay," she added, stammering over her words, "we were on a quest for... whatever the Rusiel is. But we wouldn't kidnap an old woman and burn her house down for it." She glared at the others, her way of letting them know that if anybody were to disagree with that statement she'd feast on their liver. "We just, ah... It would help us if you could tell us where it is... if it's not already destroyed." She looked mournfully at the house-on-fire, wondering if this was the end of her adventure. She didn't think that the goblins wouldn't have burned down the house if it contained something that valuable.

Rosie leaned toward Chance and asked quietly, "The Rusiel-- does it-- can it-- burn?"

The woman glowers at Leala. "Whatever your means to get it, if it's the Rusiel you're after, no good will come of your quest. I spit on it." She does, spitting at Leala, then Chance, Dorian, Rosie and Silvia.

Silvia frowns, knowing that it will be difficult to find a place to wash the saliva off her skirt in the middle of the wilderness.

Leala mimicked Silvia in her frown. "God, don't have to be such a cunt about it," she muttered under her breath, wiping the spit off of her arm with a piece of her shirt. "I mean, we did just save your life. A little gratitude."

Chance tried hard not to curse at the old woman since his treausre was on the line. After wiping her spit off of himself, he laughed nervously and tried to put a pleading look on his face. "Please, we've traveled pretty far to get here. Why do you say 'no good will come from the quest'? I think being rich is pretty good."

Cal stands up, and follows Rosie to the rest of the group. He stands near Leala and whispers to her: "If it's so important, why is some old lady the one protecting it?"

"I've no gratitude for the likes of you. I'd rather be dead than be saved by some mangy children after the Rusiel."

Silvia sighs. The woman was obviously not going to be very helpful. Not willingly, at least. "Look, none of us here are they types to ordinarily threaten old ladies, but we need to know where the Rusiel is."

"Well you're out of luck then. I would never assist you hooligans on your quest."

Silvia hikes up her skirt and grabs the hilt of her dagger, growing impatient.

Leala would have ordinarily immediately stopped Silvia, but for once in her life she hesitated. She was just spit at and called a hooligan and mangy. She had showered this week and didn't appreciate the last comment. Were the heroes even allowed to be called hooligans? Weren't there rules? "Listen, if an old lady is the only one protecting the Rusiel, it's not like it'll stay out of the bad guy's hands for long," Leala said to Cal, not bothering to lower her voice too much. "I'd rather we were the ones who 'got our hands' on it, though. If the goblins are that desperate for it, it must be powerful. I'd rather the Forces of Evil not have something like that. I don't know if anybody, including us, could take it from them then."

"Well," Cal begins "she was pretty much dead if us hooligans hadn't shown up. I guess we could just return her to her fate we so rudely interrupted."

The old woman's eyes go wide. "After the Rusiel and threatening a harmless old woman. Well I've never!"

Silvia finally draws her dagger. "Tell us where the Rusiel is and we'll be on our way." It is not a request. "Our map says it's here, so don't bother lying to us."

The woman smirks. "Your map is dated, obviously. But even if the Rusiel were still here, I would never let you just take it!"

Rosie glanced back to Cal, and whispered, "ARE we the good guys? We don't even know who wants this thing. Hell, we might have been on the same side as the... the goblins."

Leala felt uncomfortable with drawing her sword on the old woman, so she just went with a glare. "I don't really feel like arguing with you, old woman," she said, almost scolding her. "It's either us or more goblins. And I don't think the goblins will try and talk the information out of you. Plus," she added, "if we leave you'll be in the middle of the forest without any shelter or extra clothes or... Dignity. At least we could provide protection until the next town." It was a weak bargaining device but it was all Leala could think of short of threatening her.

Cal turns back to Rosie and whispers. "I... I hope so. I mean I was being sarcastic a moment ago. But really, I hope we ARE on the good side."

Chance was growing frusterated; usually people who have been helped are more generous with information and what not in return for their lives. Out of anger Chance grabbed his dagger and threw it into the mud, not near the old woman but not far away. 

Dorian wiped his hand down this face. "This isn't going anywhere..." He addressed the woman. "Are you going to help us at all or not? If you don't have it, who does? And where are they taking it?"

"And honestly, what IS it?" Rosie clamped her hands over her mouth-- was she supposed to admit they didn't know what they were looking for?

The old woman recoils from the dagger that didn't hit her, but blinks when she hears Rosie's question. She laughs. "You children don't even know what you're getting yourself into." She no longer seems to be worried about giving them information. "So ignorant. Do you really think they would keep the Rusiel in one place forever? Any maps or information you get will no doubt be outdated by the time you find the spot you're looking for." She gathers up a few things around her and begins to leave. "Good luck with your quest!" she calls sarcastically.

"Thanks!" Cal says as if she hadn't been sarcastic. He knew she had been. "So what now for you?"

Leala curses a few times. If there was one thing she could learn about the elven language, it was the really bad curse words. "What would it take to make you see that giving us the information would be good?!" she exclaimed, clenching her fists in frustration.

"So" Cal says generally, "While Leala is speaking to the lady, why don't the rest of us do something potentially useful. Raiding the dead for things of value, perhaps? Dorian? Rosie? Anyone?"

"There's nothing on them," Silvia replies, eyeing a nearby body. "Their clubs aren't worth the effort to drag them to a town and sell. Though a town would be useful at this point. Dorian, what's close?"

Dorian scratched the back of his head and looked up at the stars, getting his bearings. "The next town is about six hours' walking distance. We should camp tonight."

Rosie was glad for the break; she'd had about all she could handle for one night, and now that the adrenaline from the fight was wearing off, she was exhausted. "You go head and check, Cal."

Leala sniffed. She wasn't about to go looting dead bodies. She nudged a goblin with her toe. Useless, ugly dead bodies. But she was feeling the same sort of exhaustion Rosie was and just turned away from the old lady, dismissing her.

"This will smell in the morning," Silvia says, indicating the dead bodies. "And might attract scavenger animals. We should make camp a bit further off. We've still got enough deer meat from yesterday for supper, right?"

"Deer meat soup?" Cal says while strolling off to check the bodies, trying to make light of his disgust.

"Can we, uh, not talk about food right now?" Leala quipped, cocking an eyebrow at her group. In some weird way, it just felt disrespectful.

"Yeah, let's keep moving. We'll find a better spot." Dorian adjusted his pack and waited for the others.

Rosie suppressed a groan and trudged toward Dorian. "Yeah, we've got food." Her tone and eyes were dull.

The group walks a bit off from the cottage and finds a clearing to make camp. Silvia starts making a fire with the abundant kindling available in the foresty area.

Rosie approached the growing fire and sat down next to her pack. "Silvia," she started, "you've fought before, right?"

Silvia half-smiles at the question, but doesn't look up from lighting the fire. "I grew up with a single mother, in a town where silly boys thought they could be scoundrels." The fire lights and she steps back, warming her hands over it.

Chance plopped himself close the the fire, wanting to get near something warm to ward off the chill that was soon to follow the night. Also half-smiling with Silvia when Chance heard the phraze, "silly boys," because he used to be in the same situations from beign bullied by fools who thought themselves all powerful. Still, the loss of a trail from the old woman dampened the hafling's naturally jovial spirit. He was trying to figure out any other way to find out the where abouts of the Rusiel. In the deepest part of Chance, he knew there was another way possible to find it, but he didn't want to chance that until there was no other possible path to take.

Leala had been expecting a rush after the fight, but all she felt was... tired. She had just beaten a bunch of Bad Guys! They saved a damsel! Well, an old lady who hadn't seen damselhood since the darker ages. Who was a bitch. But maybe she needed to be more selfless. Leala fell quiet as she mulled over her current situation, absently cleaning the hilt of her sword with a cloth. It caught on places where there was a scratch or two, but it was still a decent sword, and she never felt more grateful than now.

"Mm." Rosie was hoping for more than that from Silvia, but she was getting too tired to push for more conversation. Her eyelids drooped.

Dorian joined the others near the fire and noticed Rosie nodding off. "Mind if I borrow your pan?"

"Nngh." Bleary-eyed, Rosie shook her head and pushed the pack toward him.

Dorian dug through Rosie's things and found the leftover food and pans. He began heating it over the now-steady fire. As he turned to ask if she had any salt, Rosie slumped onto his arm, asleep.

He gingerly scooted away while managing slide her pack under her head without triggering any poison darts or large boulders.

"Soooooooo..." Leala started, pursing her lips in boredom. "Rest here, continue on in the morning?" She frowned, looking off. "We're definitely not the only ones after the treasure," she muttered as an afterthought.

Cal yawned. "I'm all for some sleep." He laid propped up by his elbows, absent-mindedly staring at Leala, but not actually looking at her.

Leala noticed this and frowned, blowing out an exasperated sigh. She was tired enough to wildly guess that he was staring at her for the same reason the elves at her old village did. "What are you looking at, blondie?" she growled. She didn't exactly want a fight with the elf but hey, her sword was out.

But no fighting takes place tonight, as everyone is exhausted from their adventures today. The group sleeps undisturbed this night, and they are well rested by morning to beging their journey again. But with their only lead on the Rusiel obsolete, where will they go? Chance might have a brilliant idea up his sleeve, but perhaps they'll find help from an unexpected source...

The game continues at Small Town Girl

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The Rusiel