Beneath the Shadows Chapter One: Ancient Fears

[eclipse]

"Thanks, Leon," Raelyn said softly. She took a look at her now-ruined ribbon. Best to discard this outside of town, in a fire. I'm not sure what kind of dark magic we're dealing with, but if it can cause a village's inhabitants to disappear. . .

Edited September 22, 2013 by eclipse

[scorri]

Toqua nodded, and quickly jumped onto Serath. With a slight nudge, the wyvern sprung into the air and set off quickly in the direction that Val had headed in.

[Toogee]

[spoiler=Flashback Part 2]The Nightstalkers were an amateur mercenary band specializing in investigating and hunting down demons. It was quite a niche market; at the time, most didn’t believe the things were real. Though the group was satisfied with merely traveling around the country, the fact that they had found demons gave them proof that their own beliefs had merit. That was why the group of five was chasing down a trio of skeleton warriors.

“They headin’ to that cliff there,” Chester remarked. The portly shaman, slow as he was in running, had excellent vision. He could quite clearly see that the enemy was setting themselves up for an ambush. The shamans quickly took cover amongst the nearby trees, waiting for the right moment to strike. Chandra thought the whole situation was rather strange; the skeletons were just standing there, as if waiting for something. Whatever it was, Sebastian wasn’t waiting to find out. He did a countdown with his fingers and signaled everyone to move forward.

“ATTACK!” he cried out as spells ripped through the branches and into the skeleton warriors. It was over in a matter of seconds, the enemy nothing more than a pile of bones.

“I do believe this is the most we’ve seen in one place…ever,” Morris said while Chandra examined the bones. It was true: three was the max they’d ever seen together. As the shaman worked to gather some of the bones for evidence, the forest rustled loudly. The group quickly realized that they were about to have a much bigger encounter. Through the branches, 24 skeletons emerged, some riding skeletal horses. The mercs were now the ones in the trap, their backs to the cliff’s edge.

“Dear lord,” Chandra said in surprise. Such a number was unheard of. The others looked at each other; there would be no walking away from this. Each prepared their spells as the enemy began drawing their bows. As Chandra prepared to launch her shadow fire, Sebastian pushed her backwards. Chandra plunged off the cliff and into the river below. As the cold water began sapping her energy, all she could hear was the cries of her fellow mercenaries as the demon army quickly over powered them.

With Rimsky’s attempts to wake her, Chandra began spouting out incoherent mumblings. She was beginning to stir, a good sign considering the blow she withstood.

[Nanami Touko]

Fearing boredom would overtake her, Linn decided to bother someone else in the group, just to give herself a spot of entertainment. She spun up the leaves she was floating faster, and launched some at Caslan's face, taking care to break the magic before it hit him so just the leaves would. She giggled quite loudly as they spattered against the man's cheek. "How're you holding up, Caslan?"

[Rothene]

"Ow! What? Eh?" Caslan shouted in bewilderment as leaves suddenly assaulted him. Then, in response to Linn's question, the elven mage bent down and picked up some of the leaves, casually moisten them with some minor water magic, approached the female elf carefully, then flung them at her suddenly with a smirked on his face saying, "Pretty well I must say."

After the deed was done, Caslan darted away from Linn as he prepared a thin barely visible layer of water around him to protect against any further attacks.

[Nanami Touko]

Linn was expecting to be "assaulted" back, but wasn't expecting the assault to be wet. She exclaimed in surprise, and jumped up to shake the wet leaves off. "So, that's how it's going to be!" she said with a smirk. It was something to do, at least, and she didn't mind getting blasted with water if their little fight proved to be enjoyable. She readied some of her own magic, and shot out a small gust at the man's legs, hoping to knock him over. She didn't make a shield, though, as she didn't know how to do anything close to that.

[Rothene]

Sufficiently prepared for a magical attack directed at him, Caslan strengthened his barrier quickly, letting the gust break upon the water before using his magic to fling that water straight back at at Linn in his best aimed methods, a thin jet of water with very small hitzone but at rapid speed.

Drawing upon water from his surroundings rapidly to use for atatck and defense was easy for the well practiced mage, but his repertoire of ways to hit with magic was severely lacking beyond the basic predictable steps. Fighting was not his field of expertise.

Feeling confident at his shot, Caslan yelled out triumphantly, "Dodge this!"

[Nanami Touko]

Linn started laughing, but quickly got a blast of water in her face, coughing a bit as she caught her breath. "Now you're gonna get it!" she said with a smile, pushing out a big gust of wind at the mage. She was sure it would knock him off his feet this time! I hope I didn't put too much power into it, actually... He's got his lovely water shield, he should be fine! We're just playing around, anyway.

[Bluedoom]

"Thanks for yer help... Raelyn, and Leon." he chuckled and said, looking at how much his wound had healed up thanks to their efforts. Sighing, he said, "I'm sorry 'bout yer ribbon, Raelyn. Didn't mean ter ask fer that. Hng, guess Chandra ain't wakin' up soon. Help me mount her on ter my horse, 'bout time we head back to camp."

He then proceeded to lift Chandra by her shoulders. He muttered "You've got ter teach me how ter use a blade one of these days, Raelyn. You were good out there yerself, Raelyn, and its best if I learn ter handle mahself better at melee."

Edited September 22, 2013 by Bluedoom

[Rothene]

Not anticipating counter attack as strong as the one coming at him, Caslan quickly concentrated most of his water on a smaller location to block the wind, not having the time to draw more water from the surroundings. Then he remembered to his horror that air tends to move around corners.

The force of the air dispersing around his water shield, while weakened was still strong enough to knock the not very sturdy and battle weary elf back in such a way that he almost lost his footing. Grunting, Caslan barely maintained his stance.

Concentrating on the surrounding moisture and blood from nearby, the elven mage formed a much thicker barrier of blood and water around him, putting too much priority on reinforcing his barrier to even perform an attack.

[eclipse]

"You've got your own niche, with that bow of yours," Raelyn commented. "Swords out here are far more common. I'm glad that you're the one firing over my shoulder!" She looked at the unconscious shaman. "Lifting people was never my specialty. All yours~!"

[Nanami Touko]

Linn laughed again, and simply walked up to the mage, poking her finger at his barrier. "How do you do this? It's wonderful! I wish I knew how to put up a barrier. Perhaps my face wouldn't be soaked if I knew how!" She wiped her face off on a dry part of her dress, and continued to circle around Caslan, inspecting his magic with much scrutiny (though she didn't know what exactly she was inspecting.) "So, do you just will it to shape up like this? Do you speak certain words? Is there a memory or something else that you think of to get it to form a barrier? Can you breath in there?! Can wind even do something like this?" She began to trail off as she popped out questions, simply smiling and occasionally giggling as she watched the water hold its shape.

Edited September 22, 2013 by I have opinions

[Rothene]

"Well, for beginners, it's best to work with incantations. It took me a while of practice to get used to making water form a barrier around me," Letting the barrier harmlessly seep into the ground, Caslan continued, "now, I can do it without words and strengthen it by willing more water into it. But if I wanted it stronger and more efficient, I'll have to fall back to words."

"I'm sure wind can do the same, but, remember the words serve as a focus or catalyst. They just make the casting better and easier," Caslan said scratching his chin in thought. "Yeah, I sort of recall the elders teaching the other mages the same lines for every barrier spell, but with the elements changed to be specific to the mage."

[Nanami Touko]

"Oh. That's unfortunate, then. I never had a teacher, nor did I learn any words for barriers. I don't suppose you'd be able to help me with that later, could you? I'd appreciate it, greatly." She clasped her hands together and smiled up at the elven man. "And perhaps I can help you with flinging magic, as it seems to be the only concept I have a firm grasp of. Not to be rude, but you don't seem to be as good at it as I am at that...though that's probably because I don't know what I'm doing, rather than actually knowing, like you do." Linn put her hand on her chin and started to parse that, wondering if it actually made sense.

[Snike]

Out of the corner of his eye, Andre spied Caslan and Linn, - the elven mages - playing around. In the middle of a battlefield. Right. The mercenary stormed over to the two newcomers, frowning.

"I'm fine with you two practicing magic with each other, but don't do it on a battlefield, regardless of whether or not the battle is over," he said, crossing his arms. "Show some respect for the fallen."

[Xinnidy]

Alfonso found himself reserved as the battle ended and the others went to their business. He kept pondering about the demons, as his face became blank, likely a sign of being dragged down to earth. We only won because of that traveler and Sayina... I don't think I served much purpose either. Dear heavens, do I feel useless. Think, Alfonso, what if we found more of them...

Such thoughts were broken as Adari's crew arrived the battlefield, leaving the aged knight's heart relieved, but still hesitant to bump into other people's business. He shruged, and turned himself to Aeson, that had taken his time after healing the swordsman. "Say, are you busy?" He approached the cleric. "If you don't mind, I'd like to borrow your healing skills for a moment. I'm sure it's nothing serious, but I'd rather not move around with this burning feeling near my guts, you know." He offered a cheerful grin, pointing to his side, where the shade had hit with its foul magic.

Edited September 22, 2013 by Xinnidy

[Bluedoom]

"Heh, thank for that. Still, I don't wanna be caught off guard and be stuck with a bow if worse come to worst. And I ain't cut for lifting people either, that's what happens when ye're born as a dwarf, everyone too heavy and tall fer yeh to carry. Oye Jacob, could yeh lend me a hand? I need ter mount Chandra and take her ter da camp." he said as he tried to lift chandra up but to no avail, he was too short to lift her properly. her legs caved in to quickly, and Rimsky was just standing there, holding only her torso up.

"She seems ter be mumbling stuff and moving a bit. Hope she's coming ter soon." he muttered.

[Nanami Touko]

Hearing another person higher than her start scolding, Linn stopped, turning her attention to him. "Show respect, even if they're demons? Though I suppose you mean the villagers; Alright." She shrugged, and turned herself back to Caslan. "I'd rather not anger our COs more, so let's save the rest of the discussion for the inn. I suppose we'll be leaving soon enough, anyway." Linn hummed to herself, and placed herself back where she was before. At least she wasn't about to die from boredom, and had something to do when they were done here.

[Shin]

"No problem, Alfonso." Aeson replied. "I cannot thank you enough for your aid in that last battle. Do look after yourself as well though."

Aeson began healing his ally. The wounds inflicted by shades were rather peculiar, much unlike anything he'd seen before. Nonetheless, healing was healing, regardless of the wound.

[Nanami Touko]

It was just when Linn had sat down that she'd remembered about Ernce. She'd gone so far as to bring him into their group, and then spent the whole time talking to Caslan! How rude of her! She glanced around, and found him standing in the doorway of the house they'd inspected. Bounding on over, she sighed, and stood next to him. "So! Standing here. In the door way. What's on your mind?"

[Oersted]

Ernce had been looking out of the doorway keeping watch as he'd silently volunteered for when something pushed him from behind. He managed to keep his balance and nearly stabbed whatever had shoved him until he realized it had been the two elves. As he moved back to his spot in the doorway he briefly pondered how they hadn't seen him but it slipped from his mind when the two elves began a mock fight. He watched with a mild amusement but fell asleep around the time Caslan put up his blood and water barrier.

[spoiler=Dreams]

"Man that was too easy!" one of the recruits next to Ernce shouted with excitement. His hair was auburn red and he was rather tall. His name was Johnathon although he insisted that they call him John. "I mean I know they were just grunts and this was our first mission... But still!" John sat down in the shade as he continued to speak. "So long as the peace holds out like it has we'll be doing the easy stuff like this for a while." John let out a contented sigh. "Personally I wouldn't mind this but a few of us," he paused and motioned to some of his comrades, Ernce included, "would probably like to move up at a quicker pace."

Several of the other recruits laughed at the John's jab at their arguably more knightly comrades. The comrades in question didn't mind this; mostly because they knew he was simply trying to lighten the mood for those of them who took killing harder than the rest. Eventually the majority them were laughing but it stopped when one of them, a stalky, sandy-haired youth know as Brett pointed up at the sky and shouted, "Hey, isn't that someone from the royal air division? What would they be out here for?"

The group of junior soldiers turned to where Brett was pointing and found that indeed there was royal pegasus knight flying towards them. Immediately they began to talk amongst themselves about why one of the royal pegasus knights would be all the way out here until their commander ordered them into a line and demanded silence. When the knight landed she shared a few whispers with the commander before turning to the junior soldiers. "Which one of you is Ernce Briet?" she asked.

"I am he ma'am," Ernce answered as he stepped forward. "What is it that you need from me?" The pegasus knight briefly looked him over before reaching into one of the pouches fastened to her pegasus's saddle. From the pouch she removed a curved circular object wrapped in leather. She appeared to steel herself as she handed him the leather wrapped item. "I regret to inform you but your father, sir Arton fell in battle trying to protect your village..." Ernce responded by dropping the shield in shock.

Ernce was jolted from his dream when Linn suddenly started speaking to him. Normally he would've been angry about being so rudely awoken but in this case he didn't mind that much; the less time he spent in the past the better. However he was bothered by the fact that she randomly decided to speak to a sleeping man and expected a coherent reply. "Huh, what was that? My thoughts?" he asked as he yawned and rubbed his eyes. "Well I was asleep but before that I was keeping watch in case more monsters showed up or we were almost left behind. Other than that not much."

Edited September 22, 2013 by Oersted

[Nanami Touko]

"Oh, you were sleeping! Sorry, I didn't hear any snoring. I just assumed you were standing there... What were you dreaming about?" she inquired as she leaned herself on the opposite door edge. "I mean, you might not have been dreaming, but you didn't look very happy. You were frowning and grunting... You alright?" she hopped herself off the door edge and stepped a bit closer to him. "If you need to talk, feel free to let me know what's on your mind. Letting these kinds of things out is better than bottling them up." She felt like a bit of a hypocrite at her last line, but she shook the thought away quickly.

[Snike]

"I'm on it," Jacob said, as he put his axe away and moved to help the dwarf. The Celisan took most of the weight, and, within moments, Chandra was now completely off of the ground. "Now, we're placing her on your horse, right?"

***

"Thank you," Andre said, as the elves began to move away. He made his way to a nearby wall, and leaned against it, surveying the battleground. It was almost unbelievable that monsters were about in Celisa. The Primos would have to hear about this, even though they probably wouldn't care.

[Xinnidy]

Alfonso patiently waited until Aeson's staff stopped shining a clear light, signifying the process was done. "Bahaha! Thanks, friend. That should do the trick." The knight spun his arm, checking if his sides would still hurt from the movements. Thankfully, it was indeed a healing spell well performed. "Those skills are certainly handy! It seems all of the truly injured were taken care of, too. I suppose we'll be readying to leave this abandoned village soon. Heh!" He turned around, giving another look to his surroundings, just to be on the safe side.

It seemed Linn and the other younger members (or... relatively, at least.) were done searching one of the houses and were talking and playing amongst themselves... with one of the veterans seemingly joining the conversation, what a bless to be youthful and popular!

Shrugging at the nothing, Alfonso led Rosa by the reins as he approached the young ones, which were at the house entrance by the time he got closer. "Hahaha! Hello!" He greeted Ernce and Linn, voice boisterous as expected. "Found anything useful at the house? You seemed to take a good time inside, I expect interesting finds! ... And say, wasn't there another young lad with you both?"

[Oersted]

"It's rather personal and I'd prefer if-," was all Ernce managed to say before Alfonso rode up and interrupted him. Honestly he was thankful for the interruption although if he would hazard a guess Linn wouldn't drop the subject that easily. With any luck she'd wait until Alfonso left before bringing it up again. Turning to Alfonso he answered the mounted man's second question, having no clue about the first one. "He's still inside I believe. Perhaps he's found something and is hoping to hog it all to himself." Ernce doubted Zeff would do something like that but it was still a funny thought to entertain. Much more so than the thought of Linn inevitably asking about his dream again.