Shu's Quest

[mr_e_s]

Stark

The others were bickering amongst themselves, trying to decide what would be a good destination to head to as a group... When had they become a group? Was running from a fire such a bonding exercise? It was true that survival out here required group tactics, but Stark didn't know if he even wanted to... No, he wanted to live. He knew that much. If he didn't, he wouldn't have run so fast or so hard in the first place.His survival instincts had taken hold of him. He was only now starting to settle into a somewhat normal state of mind. Thoughts were regrouping, becoming less scattered, forming lines again. There was a particular line of thought forming now. What would happen to the other survivors? He was willing to bet this group had the most combat experience here. The couple guards that managed to escape were like Jeph, just hometown kids looking to get above the law. They'd never make it anywhere out there.

"We should... We have to help them." Stark spoke out oblivious to where in the conversation the others were. "They'll never make it to Alabaste by themselves. We need to get them there, eve if we just keep moving after." If they were to be a group, they might as well do something worthwhile. People were supposed to help people... That kid...

A Dark Knight came riding up, beaten, bloody. Wait, the blood was on the outside of the armour in splatters. That wasn't his blood. Goblin's blood was darker then that. What the Hell did he do? "There are bandits... On the road." He muttered as he approached. Stark let go of the hilt of his sword hearing that. It was at least a plausible explanation. But how did he have so much blood on him? Did he take out a full group of bandits by himself? No... No that was dumb, he probably managed to catch a couple off guard and get away on his horse. He was just really unlucky with the spatter, probably..

"Well, that makes the South even less friendly. We don't have the supplies for a trip to Corthrone anyways. There ain't any rivers or creeks or nothing between here and there, heading out without any water would be stupid. We should help the remaining townsfolk to Alabaste, and bum some supplies off them or something. I dunno. It sounds like a plan to me but my head is fucked up." Stark looked to the beaten black knight. "How about you? You don't look like you're in a hurry to head back South, wanna ride with us to Alabaste at least?" Stark realized something and turned to the rest of the...group? "Or any of you, really? Are you guys up for this? Cause I've made up my mind, I'm going with them, but if you all wanna do something else, I've got no call to stop you."

[Purg]

"My original purpose for joining with this group was to survive the wilderness to the next town," he said simply. "While the monsters are hunting, I think it would be impossible to make it anywhere without the risk of death. And traveling with more survivors, as I said, will deter further attacks. I wouldn't be against herding other travelers, then, if it gave us an increased chance of not dying along the way." He bit his thumb carefully, thinking. "I don't think we should go out of our way to rescue too many survivors, however - many of them are scattered on all sides of the village, and I imagine that few will believe that we're simply altruistically guiding them somewhere safe. If there really are bandits about as well as monsters, I find it difficult to believe that we'll be inherently trusted, especially since we're all armed."

"Those are simply my thoughts on the matter. Regardless of what is decided, I'll be accompanying those of you who turns towards the nearest settlement, at least that far." He knelt down next to the knight that had suggested camping out for the night. "But if there are bandits, goblins, wolves, and a fire elemental in the area, then we definitely should not stay in this grove any longer than necessary."

[Atremious]

He slowly sat up a bit on his horse and seemed to try and nod towards the others. He looked towards Stark, and seemed to speak carefully "I'm... in need of some medical assistance." He didn't say more. The wound in his back did hurt, and when he slowly turned, it was easy to see the crossbow bolt. Chances are he just got a few of them and was shot in the back while escaping. Thats how it looked anyway, despite the mans appearance. He seemed to be a good warrior, but even he had his weaknesses. Had he taken too many more attacks during that fight he most certainly would have died, and hoped his master would have taken mercy on him.

"I am known as Zerral. I'm a mercinary. I was traveling through when I was attacked by bandits on the road. I only managed to get two of them in passing but... I really need this crossbow bolt taken care of." He dismounted, and for special effect, he fell over on his knees in pain. Well, the pain part wasn't fake. It did hurt like crazy, but he has in all reality felt worse. He would join this group for now, if only to be near the living just a while longer. It had been millenia since he had spoken with anything, and while he was a slave to his masters will, he still had some of his humanity left, if you could call it that. He felt like letting it last a little while longer.

"I mean not to be a bother, but I can travel with you, and if I can recieve some aid, I will be of no trouble"

[CATS]

Other survivors......Kyle hadn't even thought about that, but of course. It's not like absolutely no one but some random guys in a bar would have the sense to run. Stark was right, going back into the town itself was out of the question, but they still needed to help the people who had made it out of the town. Kyle wasn't sure what to think about the fact that someone else had to remind him of this. Had it simply slipped his mind in the rush and the panic? Or had he changed along with the world over the past few years? He hoped it was the former.

Suddenly, a man in black armor rode up and introduced himself, seeming to be heavily injured. Could they trust this person? But, could Kyle trust any of these people? He had already recognized two guardsmen. Who was to say the corrupt town guardsmen wouldn't turn tail and desert him at the first sign of trouble? That probably went for everyone in this little group. They weren't friends, they barely knew each other; they had simply been forced together by unfortunate circumstances. This strange man in black armor was no less trustworthy than anyone else. If anything the conspicuous apparel made him less threatening--highwaymen and bandits often wore normal clothing, pretending to be traveling merchants or traders until the last minute. No self-respecting thief would go out in night-black plate mail; that sort of get-up would raise eyebrows from a mile away, he'd never catch anyone with their guard down.

"I wouldn't mind your company. As for your wounds, I am sorry, but I don't think any of us have medical supplies. You will likely have to wait until we can stop to receive some kind of treatment. There simply isn't time right now, and there's not much we can do for you anyways," Kyle said to Zerral. It was true; pulling that crossbow bolt out would cause the wound to start gushing blood, which would be even more dangerous than leaving it in. It wouldn't be safe to remove until they could stop and make a proper bandage for it. Kyle turned back to the rest of the group.

"Stark and Dom are both right. It doesn't matter if people don't trust us, we still have to try; and it doesn't matter how tired we are, we definitely can't stay here for the night. Even if we got lucky and they didn't find us, I'd still be too busy worrying about a goblin's fangs at my throat to get any sleep, and I'm willing to bet the same would go for the rest of us. On that note, we're wasting time. The longer we sit here, the more people die out there. I'm going now, and hopefully I'll have all of you with me. Aside from those two, I mean, they're probably better off staying here," he said, indicating the two drunkards.

Kyle stood up and fastened his shield to his arm, then set off into the brush, occasionally hacking limbs and bushes aside with his sword. He couldn't tell if anyone was following him, and he didn't have time to check. After a few minutes, he emerged from the woods with a good view of the besieged township. It was nothing more than a single raging, sky-scraping inferno now......no one else would be coming out of there. The good news was that the fire elemental would be busy with that for a while, hopefully giving them a chance to gather what survivors they could and get the hell away from here. Kyle could already see a few people fleeing in different directions, probably the absolute last to make it out of the town. The closest was a woman running towards the woods, clasping an infant to her breast, while three direwolves gave chase. Needless to say, she wasn't going to make it into the trees without help.

Kyle yelled to get the attention of both the beasts and their prey, then raised his shield and charged. One washed-up soldier, fairly worn out already, against three direwolves......he sure hoped a few of the others were coming behind him.

[rn7]

"Oh boy oh boy oh boy! Time to impress the ladies. Wait, we don't have any chicks here do we?" A disappointed Fargo got out his dual bucklers and latched them on. Closing his eyes for a moment to concentrate, Fargo prepped up for some wind magics. A tinge of difficulty with Kyle in the way, but Fargo figured the armor was heavy enough that it wouldn't be pushed around.

"Ha!" Fargo thrust both his hands in front of him. Green waves of wind wrapped around his bucklers then burst off. More of a gentle push if... no wait, he overjuiced that one.A huge surge of air propelled the targets in front of him, giving Kyle a bit of a speed boost, and pushing one wolf out of the way.

"Sorry!" Fargo yelled over the roaring wind.

[mr_e_s]

Stark

"AAAAUGH!"

Stark rushed past Fargo, past Kyle, past the women and children, and into a Direwolf waiting for the perfect time to pounce. It would never find it though, instead it found the tip of his blade in the inner reaches of it's throat. The second wolf pounced from the side before Stark could remove his blade. He grabbed it by the throat as it tried to tear out his own. It's firce jaws snapping at his face now, furious at being held back. Not that Stark was doing a great job at holding it back, keeping it just far enough away to keep his face from being bitten off. He turned his face to the side as he bought his left hand down and back up as quick as he could humanly manage. It wasn't quite fast enough to escape harm, but he did what he had to do. The sword was in the belly of the beast.Well, more the chest of the beast. He wasn't sure what he hit, but it seemed vital, as there was only a yelp before the beast fell limp. It's jaws still resting on the bit of his face they managed to cut up before falling uselessly to the side.

Stark tossed the wolf aside, got up, and looked at it for a second. It wasn't enough...

"Rrgh! Ugh! Hrrgh!"

Stark brought his sword down on the already deceased beast again and again. He wanted to mash it into a fine paste, to use the pieces as a warning to any other wolf that may attack innocents. There wasn't much more then a bloody pile left when he finally stopped swinging. Someone had killed the other wolf. He didn't feel better. Just...empty.

"Let's go."

[rn7]

"Man, what a show off," Fargo mentioned over to whoever was standing next to.

[Purg]

Dom pulled his knives out of the third wolf - it had already been wounded by impact with a tree from Fargo's apparent spell (he wouldn't have guessed that such a young boy would be proficient in magic, but, that more than made up for his lack in any martial arts), and he had taken advantage of it's dazedness. Three throwing knives, two in the flank, one in the leg - that was all it had taken for the wolf's body to shut down. He was fairly certain the blood loss would kill it, and even if he were wrong, it would be quite some time before it rose again. Stark had taken the other two - he was demonstrating extensive skill with his broadsword.

The woman fell to her knees, sobbing her thanks to the "brave warriors" who rescued her and her child. Dom tuned her out, looking further up and down the road, to ensure that no more beasts were en route to continuing the assault. The group appeared safe for now, but he wasn't certain that would last long.

"Man, what a show off," Fargo mentioned as Dom turned towards him, looking northward, towards their apparent goal. To be fair, he was right, somewhat - this Stark had a knack for rushing into combat blindly, but his skills lent themselves well to his blade. His moves were all confident, and when he struck, it was with a final certainty - he always struck true. Perhaps he could learn something from him - then again, perhaps not, if he would be leaving as soon as possible.

"We had best continue. There are more survivors in need of rescue along the road to Alabaste, I'm certain, and the sooner we make it that far, the sooner we can figure out what we'll each do individually."

A roar echoed out across the path ahead of them, though, as several survivors crashed through overgrowth, running blindly towards the group. Tears streamed from their eyes, fear plainly visible on their faces, and the reason was clear - flames erupted from the path they had taken out of the plant life, the fire elemental crawling through the inferno, throwing fireballs after the fleeing survivors. One hit directly, and the target was soon surrounded by flames, falling to the ground in screaming agony. Dom's eyes widened as he stepped back - there was nothing he could do against such a foe, and it blocked the only path to Alabaste on this side of the ruins of Oakheim.

Edited June 30, 2010 by OtherPhase

[SuperFush]

Fires raged and roiled in the forest, spreading across the once-verdant foliage. As the flames licked at the sky, trees combusted, ferns shriveled to mere ash, and the land itself seemed to shriek in burning agony. The running survivors, sweat wearing streaks in their soot-covered faces, screamed too, in fear, in pain.

In the centre of it all stood the fire elemental. What limited mental capabilities it held were solely focused on but one thought, one goal and desire: incinerate. It would scorch the land to the bedrock, boil the seas, consume even the very air required even by itself. Such is the nature of fire - while it may be the most important tool of mankind, when not held in check in is a force of utter devastation. The elemental surveyed the burning landscape with what would be called satisfaction in a creature capable of feeling such an emotion. It reached a flaming arm down to a cowering human, who screamed and covered his face.

"Frigid Deluge."

The fire elemental stared in what would pass as shock as it's flaming arm was doused in...well, a deluge of frigid water. It stumbled back, spreading embers with each step, and screamed incoherent, crackling rage at the unknown source of the intrusion. The human, confused but incredibly grateful for the miraculous save, scrambled away from the recovering fire elemental. It gathered flames around it's body, restoring its arm, and empowering itself, growing ever larger. Tongues of flame leaped from its outstretched arms towards the fleeing men and women, roiling with a malevolence and a desire to bring nothing but destruction. Out of the undergrowth, away from the elemental, another man appeared and ran in front of the fleeing humans. He outstretched his hands and chanted a short spell. A shield of ice spread out, covering the refugees. The flames collided and hissed against the barrier, but were doused before they could melt through.

The fire elemental screeched defiance at the nondescript old man who put himself in its path. It reared and gathered all the flames within half a mile, and grew to a truly titanic size. It no longer burned. It seethed. Sheets of solid flame formed into a rough imitation of bone, muscle and sinew, while liquid fire coursed though glowing veins burning even hotter than the rest. The ground withing twenty feat of the creature was no more than a blackened husk of the fertile land it once was. It raised burning fists to the sky and prepared to bring them down, to crush and incinerate the fool standing before it.

Still feet away, however, its arm stopped. Froze, in fact. The blazing glow of the monster darkened and died, as a line of frost moved along the monster's arm. It spread across the massive body, icicles hanging from what only seconds before was a solid and living inferno. The old wizard raised a hand into the air.

"Cosmic Catastrophe. Break." He snapped his fingers, and the elemental shattered. Tiny bits of what remained drifted onto the amazed onlookers face, gently caressing and soothing wounds. The blaze had been replaced by gentle snow.

The wizard pushed his glasses up closer to his face and sighed. His shoulders visibly sagged, as though he was suddenly struck by exhaustion. The source of this exhaustion would likely be clear to anyone who had witnessed the display.

"Anyone who is burned, come here. I'll treat it as well as I am able."

[mr_e_s]

OoC: I managed to double post, somehow, I thought there was flood control, oh well, actual post on next page, sports fans.

Edited June 30, 2010 by mr_e_s

[mr_e_s]

Stark

Oh Lightkratos.... Oh Lightkratos it was back. Was it not happy? Was it not satisfied with all the death and destruction it had brought down today? Wasn't this enough? Which way was away? He had to leave. he couldn't wait for the fire to get started, not this time. He couldn't go through that again. He just couldn't. He was so lucky last time. He made it. Almost no one made it, but he made it. He couldn't not make it now. He had to go.

...No. No, man up. This thing, it had taken his...something. He didn't know, but something of who hje was had been taken. And this was what caused it. He wouldn't let it keep it. He would stand up to it. even if it killed him to do so. Stark pulled out his broadsword, he wasn't sure how to kill it, or even if he could, but he'd try. He'd make up for that kid he left behind. He wouldn't let there be any more like that.

It was throwing fireballs, it hit someone. The heat around it was so intense, the air was bending. Everything was harder to see. Did he know who'd been hit? Whoever it was, they looked finished. The creature reached down to someone. Now was his chance, he'd charge it. Here goes, time to be a man or die trying...

...Where did that ice come from? Stark stood frozen in his tracks. Something just took out an arm of the elemental. Surely now was the time to-no wait, it grew it back, that was useless. Someone he couldn't make out past the heat waves stood forward and shouted something. A wall of ice showed up. Stark knew only one man who could pull off something like that, but there was no way. It had been so long, and he was an old man then...

As the elemental was felled with an impressive show of power, Stark was certain it had to be him. He was so elated, he almost skipped over. Upon closer inspection, it was indeed the old sage, a friendly face from his past at just the right moment. About time something went right.

"Eltair!" Stark made to hug his old friend, completely taken by the moment, too much so to care about the lack of proper manliness he was showing.

[Purg]

Interesting. An elderly man - he appeared at least twice Dom's age, although that could have just been the weariness that accompanied heavy magic usage - felled the fire elemental, the creature that had basically single-handedly crushed the village of Oakheim and slain countless people. And he had done it alone. Even with magic, compared to all the fuel the elemental had used, and all the power it commanded, up until the end... That was no easy feat. Perhaps he should invest in learning some form of the mystical arts, if they held such power - as a child, he had disliked magic, preferring to fight with sticks and wooden swords with his brothers, but now...

It appeared Stark knew the man as well, pulling him into a sudden hug. Today was just full of surprises. He marveled back to that last thought, remembering all the events of the day; the jester, sliced in half, the tavern, the goblin at the gate, returning to the tavern and meeting the men he now traveled with, more goblins, the fire, and the escape... He wondered why he wasn't more tired. It was likely that adrenaline was pumping through his veins, keeping his body running, and that, if he stopped, he would collapse, as had some of the others once they had escaped. He wouldn't stop, though - to stop was to become an easy target, prey for the beasts in the wilderness, and that was not a fate he thought he was meant for.

With the elderly mage accompanying them - if he would, that is - there chances of survival increased several times. He found himself wishing that the old man owed Stark a favor of some kind.

[SuperFush]

A few of the refugees had begun timidly approaching Eltiar when the old sage was suddenly viciously attacked from behind. Well, not so much attacked as hugged, but it was still somewhat shocking. Luckily, he still recognized that familiar voice.

"Stark!" Eltiar turned around to hug his old friend back. "Haha! It's good to see you, old friend! What a surprise to see you here! How have you been? You finally find yourself a girl yet? Wait, what am I saying, you'll never find a girl willing to stick around with you!" Grinning, Eltiar clapped his hand down on the swordsman's shoulder. Or maybe up on his shoulder, seeing as Stark was a fair bit taller than Eltiar was. The grin soon faded, though. "Now, I don't suppose you have anything to do with this mess here? I mean, do you know what caused it?"

[CATS]

Wow, that sure was lucky. Such a powerful wizard who just so happened to be in the right place at the right time, and more than that, happened to have enough of a conscience to address the situation. Some wizards would've passed on by, claiming that it was none of their business and that they were above such mundane affairs as the fate of one dirty little town. If only he had been here a bit earlier, when the monsters first showed up.....at least he showed up at all, though. Kyle wanted to thank the man, but that would have to wait; there was a small crowd of burn victims gathering around him, not to mention Stark, who looked like he was old buddies with the guy.

Kyle looked around at the group, which had swelled exponentially while he was watching the clash between wizard and elemental. The wizard's spells had drawn survivors to them like a beacon in the sky, and had the opposite effect on the monsters. Whether it's a schoolyard or a battlefield, any group of bullies will back off if someone smacks their leader around. These goblins and wolves were no exception. The few that still remained in Kyle's field of view were retreating at full speed. The end result was that almost all of the survivors had grouped together and were safe, for now at least. Kyle sat down and exhaled heavily, then turned to the others.

"Looks like we can spend the night here, after all."

It was a fairly large group now, too many for Kyle to count at a glance. They didn't have tents or food, but they did have a couple blessings to count. The wizard could obviously provide clean water, and Kyle could lay down under a tree and sleep in peace tonight. That would be more than enough for him.

He was neither surprised nor happy to see that the town guardsmen were over-represented in the group of survivors; he saw roughly one tabard to every two peasants. It was easy to imagine the guards forming a defensive circle and retreating from the town with swords drawn, using the citizens as easy prey to distract the monsters while they got out with their own hides, rather than staying behind and trying to cover for the fleeing townspeople. Perhaps he could talk to the other survivors, collect witness accounts, try and get the guardsmen into court if such a thing had happened (as Kyle was almost certain that it had). But.....judges these days ruled based on whichever side had the deepest pockets, and it was doubtful that these peasants would turn over what little money they might have left to imprison some corrupt guards. They probably hated the guards as much as he did, and they'd probably have rumbling bellies by the time they reached another town, too. Kyle sighed.

[mr_e_s]

Stark

Stark's smile was obvious as he chuckled at the old man's jibes. "Haha, yeah... For some reason the girls tend to get squeamish when I show 'em what's under the patch. Like they're surprised I'm missing my eye." Stark didn't pull the patch back, but he did play around with it a bit. He almost had to every time he mentioned it. Like he had to make sure the eye hadn't grown back or whatever. It was a dumb little habit, but he supposed a lot of habits were dumb if you stopped and took a good look at 'em.

The old wizard lost some of the magic in the air about him when his smile dropped. Looked like he put a lot into that. Well of course he did. Stark had been stupid not to think of that. He asked Stark if he knew what was up here. That was too bad, Stark had been just about to ask that himself. "No, I dunno what happened. Just, some goblins showed up and we started fighting them, then before we knew it, everything was burning down. It was crazy..." Stark's smile finally faded too. At least that thing was dead now. He hadn't really stopped to think about it before, but... "Yeah... I mean, why were there a bunch of small fry monsters coming with that elemental. A good chunk of them burned up too, it don't make sense..."

But the conversation was over, for now. The villagers had gathered around Eltair, asking him to heal their wounds, and he had been obliging. Stark figured it was best to let him do his thing, and he returned to the others. Kyle was just talking about setting up for the night. "No." Stark cut in, still walking up to the group. "We can't stop here. You think Eltair is still up for keeping guard over everyone after that?" Stark slumped himself into a sitting position. "No, we got everyone together, and it's still early afternoon. Alabaste is pretty close, we can probably make it there by nightfall if we don't get slowed down too much. I don't want a group of people this large camping out here. Monsters see a big group they back off, they see a group too big, they know they can grab a few and get away clean. No one else has to die here today."

[SuperFush]

Eltiar looked glumly at Stark for a moment. "I'm not that old, you know. But, you're right. I don't think I could take down a fire elemental even half that size again without rest. We should try to get to the road." He held his hands up to his forehead. Expending so much of his power in one burst like that always left him with quite the headache. "It's fortunate that you're heading to Alabaste. I just came from there. It's...well, the city has it's own set of problems, but there should be room for all these people." He waved his arm out and smiled. "And, you and your friends could come stay with us. If I had known you were living so close by, I'd have come down to visit. Yuki misses you a lot, you know. Oh, right."

Eltiar stepped up to the other men who had defended the villagers and bowed his head to them. "Nice to meet you all! My name is Eltiar "Eisig" Verkler. My magic is at your service."

Edited June 30, 2010 by SuperFush

[mr_e_s]

Stark

Oh man, Yuki, he'd just been thinking about her yesterday... He kinda missed hanging out at Eltair's place and playing with her. It was nice to feel like people, if only for a while. He hadn't done anything like that in so long. Come to think of it, he probably replaced it with... drinking. Drinking also involved a fair amount of laughter, but tended to end in headaches and bad decisions. Not that playing Dress up and ending up in a floral blouse and bonnet was a good decision either, but at least he didn't pass out with them on.

"Are you good to travel though, Eltair?" Stark said, after giving the boys a chance to meet him. "I know you'd like to give it a rest right now, but I really don't think we should spend a night out here in a group this large. You remember what happened out at the Kambria Mountainrange base camp..." Stark set off about trying to get the word out that they were going to make a small pilgrimage to Alabaste, to get everyone to safety. A lot of the survivors apparently had been guardsmen, so they knew enough to listen when he spoke, at least. Stark had kind of a reputation for giving orders. A lot of guys gave him lip for it, but they did listen, for the most part.

Just needed to get them to Alabaste, then figure out what to do... He could do this.

[rn7]

"Don't worry guys, I'll scout ahead." Fargo stowed his bucklers away and marched forth before any one else could protest. For the most part, the road there was uneventful and lacked much of interest, much to Fargo's disappointment. Though it always seemed that he saw something out of the corner of his eye, like a claw or something dragging dead bodies. His paranoia, right?

So deep in thought, Fargo veered off course for a bit, only realizing he had done so after smacking hard into a tree. He fell down, and his hand contacted something gritty feeling. He turned down to looked at it, and it caught him completely by surprise.

"Oh!" Fargo screamed a bit, and hoped no one heard that girly shriek of his. There was a body there, slightly dead. Actually completely dead. A recently dead as well. All the distinguishing features were unrecognizable. The facial features were completely distorted and the body as a whole had been burnt completely away. Notably, there were no eyeballs on the figure, and the tongue had exploded such that the chunks stuck to the back of the teeth. It didn't look like something of fire produced this, unless the dead guy was slowcooked or something.

"I'd best be getting back, sorry dead dude." Fargo stood off and dusted off the dead people ashes off him. The main road wasn't too far away, so it wouldn't be too bad.

"I'm afraid... you've seen too much. Apologies." A voice escaped from the forest. Fargo quickly turned around, only to get met with a blinding flash of light. An unconscious Fargo collapsed on the ground shortly after.

[lunarAegis]

Jeph

Jeph passed in and out of full consciousness. The group seemed to know where he should be going. He was mostly on autopilot right now. There were goblins, wolves, and a fire elemental, but he wasn't really in any condition to do anything about them. He knew he had ten fingers, but those herbs he added to his last few drinks were now kicking in and everything was getting pretty shiny.

Edited June 30, 2010 by lunarAegis

[CATS]

Kyle nodded in agreement with Stark's advice; his plan made sense. He had no idea what would happen once they were in Alabaste, but that problem would have to wait until they got there. Now the old wizard was coming over.

"Nice to meet you all! My name is Eltiar "Eisig" Verkler. My magic is at your service," he said.

"Believe me when I say that I'm pleased to make your acquaintance, Eltiar. You have my thanks for saving my life, as well as the lives of all these others. I doubt there is much I could do for a man of such power, but if there is any way that I might repay you, please let me know," Kyle said.

After the introductions were made, Stark spoke briefly with Eltiar again, and then set off to inform the survivors of his plan. Not long after, the kid Kyle had carried out of the bar decided to "scout ahead" and dashed off. Kyle started to tell him not to run off by himself, but it was no use, the guy was already long gone. He seemed to move with an unnatural quality of speed and haste; must be that wind magic. It looked like he wasn't drunk anymore, though, so he should be fine. In contrast, the other drunk looked like he was somehow becoming more intoxicated. Kyle had a sinking feeling that he would get stuck carrying the guy to Alabaste. Maybe he could convince the others to take turns at it.

An awkward silence fell over the remaining men. After a few moments, Kyle figured he might as well try and talk while they were waiting for everyone else to get ready.

"Well, now that we've all had our lives uprooted, what do you all plan on doing once we reach Alabaste? Or do you have no idea what you'll do, like me?" Kyle said to the others.

[Csquared08]

"Well, I have a few things in mind, but all of them personal." replied Rutem, no longer exhausted, but once again filled with energy. Must be a surge in adrenaline; there is no way I recovered that fast. Then, with a look of concern spreading over his face, he said, "Fargo Capcillon was rumored to have lived in that town. After all, I owe him money and fully intend on paying him back. And if I traveled all this way just for him to die..." Rutem trailed off, clearly demonstrating he would be most displeased if his long journey was for nothing.

Edited July 1, 2010 by Csquared08

[Purg]

Dom shrugged. "I didn't live in Oakheim, just a traveling mercenary with no work. The only jobs these days are related to monsters, or bandits - and one man, with a few exceptions, is not strong enough to handle many jobs alone. I have no plans once we reach Alabaste - if any of you have any, I may accompany you further, but my road ends there, for now." He began to grow concerned, though, about the boy who had run to scout ahead - he had lost his way into the brush, and hadn't emerged since. He hadn't heard any shouts or signs of an attack - but, in this case, no news was not good news.

"Kyle, Stark, Eltiar - I'm going to go investigate, to see if he's been caught by something. If I don't return in several minutes, or shout something back, then I'd suggest moving away from this spot as quickly as possible." He pulled out a stiletto and his leather whip, making his way through the path the young man had taken. His path was clear - his footfalls were heavy on the ash from the fire elemental, and even when the signs of the fire vanished, he could still track his path through other signs.

He was close, but he had no idea what kind of threat could have kept him away for so long.

[rn7]

Fargo woke up several moments later on a cold stone floor. He wasn't chained up or constrained in any way, and there were windows in the room. He was missing all of his clothes and belongings aside from his underpants. Peering outside, he could see that he had already made it to Alabaste.

"Surprisingly fast, I should scout ahead more often!" Fargo commented to no one in particular. He turned to move, only to find out his bones and joints really ached. He had felt this sensation before, and was not particular sure exactly where. In any case, he couldn't stay here too long. Fargo went for the wooden door and tried to open it. It was locked, of course, but Fargo always had other means of breaking and entering. Or in this case, exiting. He wriggled his fingers and tried to open the door from the other end, using his wind magic. It didn't seem to work, he probably needed a key. Fargo pushed against the door. The wood seemed kind of weak and crusty. Fargo planted himself on the other side of the wall, and then on a count of three, charged at the wooden door, throwing all of his weight at the thing. The wood creaked and bent, but it would not break down. After repeated attempts, Fargo decided that this might not work after all.

He cupped his hands over each other, and chucked a few wind bursts. It was the same deal here as well. No choice then. He'd had to use one of his other moves. He really hated using them without his bucklers though, he would always accidentally cut himself, and it felt like a huge papercut all the way down his forearm. Fargo braced himself, spreading his legs a bit and planting himself in the middle of the room. With a fluid motion, Fargo brought out his arms to the side, the swiped them close. A spiraling projectile of wind rocketed toward the door, tearing a small hole in it, and then burst. Just big enough. Fargo kicked the rest of the door down.

Outside, it looked like some sort of bell tower. Ropes and rods everywhere, connected to a series of increasingly bigger bells. Last of which was just as big as Fargo was tall.

He found his belongings on a table, next to a recently inked letter. He quickly affixed his clothes on, and then peeked at the letter.

Dear Mr. Novel,

I have found the target. He was lurking around in the south woods. I shall deliver him to you as soon

The writing ended there, in a blot of ink. It seemed whoever wrote this was in a hurry. The sudden sound of metal clanking brought Fargo back to attention. Quickly looking down the window, Fargo found several people fighting a single man wielding a short sword. It didn't seem fair at all, at least until the guy threw a giant bolt of lightning, frying the attackers much like that burnt body in the woods.

"Ahh, so that's how they do it. Gotta remember that if I ever cook some meat." Another crack of lightning got Fargo on track. He needed to get out of there before Mr. Lightning was finished with the little squirts. Lacking any forethought whatsoever, Fargo leapt off of the railing and slid down it. The rope horridly chafed and burned, causing Fargo to scream in agony. Additionally, Fargo's weight on the rope made the bells ring. An ear-explodingly loud dong tore through the air, and Fargo covered his ears in reflex. This caused him to let go of the rope, and he freefalled down.

Realizing he didn't want to be a pancake, Fargo reached out to the rope and grabbed it, realizing what he should have done in the first place. Fargo attached his bucklers and slid the rest of the way down, pain free.

Fargo clattered on the ground and was met with Mr. Lightning. The man growled then filled his palm with a ball of electricity. Fargo gave a goofy grin and shrugged.

"Back to your room," the man ordered.

"Make me! You'll never take me alive!" Fargo got up and bolted out of there, being sure to leave a little surprise for Mr. Lightning. The man turned to chase, but the slipstream Fargo created made the man immediately fall over onto his behind. The man misfired his lightning orb, smacking it into one of the bells, and making it fall. Before the lightning man could get out of the way, the giant metal bell clasped down on him, trapping him inside. Fargo merrily made his way to the marketplace. He was hungry for some meat.

Edited July 1, 2010 by rn7

[mr_e_s]

Stark

Stark didn't really take in any of the conversation going on elsewhere, he barely noticed and didn't really care when Fargo ran off. He wasn't even thinknig about Oakheim. He was lost in the past, both in thought and in conversation. He was animatedly chatting with Eltair as the others were getting ready to go and Eltair was taking a small break from healing. Stark's energy was clearly not reflected in the old man, though he'd been doing his best to keep up. It was more patience then anything else reflected in Eltair's voice. He probably understood something Stark didn't. Something Stark didn't want to.

"...And then he sat down right on the three foot tall spider, the fat bastard killied the deadly thing accidentally! We didn't even want him there and he 'slayed' the poisonous beast of Whitefall, remember?" Good times. Stark missed them. It sounded dumb, but monster hunting was great. A lot of people wouldn't do it cause there was a chance you'd die, but honestly, the best times of his life had been fighting things that could have killed him. He didn't realize just how much he missed it until he'd started fighting again. Maybe it was seeing his old friend and mentor that really sparked the urge for better days to return.

Either way, he wanted to kill some more shit, he hoped they ran into something on the way to Alabaste.

Oh, and it looked like the group was finally moving, awesome.

[rn7]

"Whatdoya mean it's 133 and a third ducats?!? That's a ridiculous amount of money!" Fargo was caught arguing with one of the shopkeeps. The item in question was a slab of meat of unknown origin. Raw, else the price would be even higher.

"Hey buddy! I don't make the rules around here! With the recent surge of immigration, we humble shopkeeps have to raise the price to keep supply! We at the trader's guild unanimously agreed to raise the price by 1333.33%! It's the only reasonable option!" The trader replied while gazing upon his reflection in his multiple and newly bought golden rings.

"Liar! I saw the last person just buy one for 10 ducats! Ten! You know, the same number of rings you have on your grubby fingers!" Fargo snapped back, clearly unsatisfied with the trader's explanation.

"Citizen's discount. You wouldn't understand, foreigner!" the trader had none of it.

"Fooey! This is a ripoff and a scam!" Fargo slammed his fist into the shopkeep's table, then stormed off. "Better off hunting my own grub!"

"Ha! Good luck with that. No one's been outside hunting since those monsters started appearing! Have fun going to your death! And no, I won't give a discount for your funeral either!" The shopkeep stood up and yelled after Fargo, not noticing the other customers used the distraction to clean out as much of the shopkeep's food as possible.