At Roads End "The Journey"

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seraphina321

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It had been a long wait as the several heroes were summoned but finally a small select few were lead to the library to speak with the kings advisor and court magician Marlos. Thye three Heroes had been led away discreetly by way of the king lining up all applicants and having them enter his chambers one at a time and then keeping ones he approved and sending the others on their way. Upon arriving to the library the small party was greeted by Marols a young man with short dusty brown hair and green eyes. He wore robes similar to a quire boy but imbued with deep red and purples as he worked sorting several books before finally acknowledging them."oh forgive me I was just putting up the last record tomes for today's events..you as you all most likely know have been chosen by his majesty ahead of the others as the most likely to succeed in finding the person we believe can heal the princess.

IHave you map right here."he says and lays out a piece of parchment quickly marking two areas."this is the main road if you pass up the salvage tavern and take the left fork in the road as you reach the outer territories you will reach a small winding path fallow it and keep going don't stop for anything until you've reached the scarecrow fields….it should be safe as long as you follow the path under no circumstances should you leave it until you reach this area."he says circling the field carefully on the map. Past that area the map was completely blank and the warriors probably knew why because it was the dark forest the only unmapped area in the whole regain. Mainly because the trees tended to uproot themselves and scholars and map makers alike never entered the forest without vanishing.
"I'm afraid besides giving you protective charms there's not much more I can do for you the court magician died last year and I am only his apprentice all I know is that the person you seek is past the boiling swamps and isn't very friendly.

He says gulping a little before he straitens his robes .digging into one of his pockets he lays out a bag of lovely vcut gems worth more than the mans weight if gold."this is for them when you find them…all I have is a name and its Marwins.."he says a little nervously and licks his lips." if you find them bring them back with you immediately or at least try and strike a deal remember stick to the path until you reach the fields..any other way into the forest is a death trap..there are horses and gear awaiting you in the court yard you best be moving the king sends the others out first thing in the morning and I dought they will deal well with knowing the competition is ahead of them." he states knowing the hundred or so warriors cut throats and magicians would xo anything for half a kingdom not to mention the gold the king had offered. Rolling up the map he stuffs it into a map case for them and lays it aside with a book bound in leather with gold leaf print that read. "a practical guide to surviving an enchanted forest."
 
Demetri watched as many of the men and women left. Obviously they wern't chosen by the king. He looked at the other two, a femal and a male. The female seemed to be an elf and the male a human in his thirty's. He shifted his gaze tword the library and then at the man who came to greet them. He looked young and gentle as if the perfect man to work along side the king. He was glancing down at the books and he looked around the room at all the boks on the shelf, kept nice and orderly as if every single book was in its rightful place.

When the man known as Marlos showed the map his gray eyes darted downward tword the map and he looked were the man was pointing. He brought his left hand to his face gently rubbing his chin as if in deep thought and he nodded his head slowly collecting his thoughts and then rested his hand at his side. When he placed the map down his eyes looked to the side at the paper that seemed to be a giude on survivng the forest. He couldn't help but smirk slightly and nod slowly once more.
 
Gaul glanced at the two with him, a younger man and an elf. Obviously they had useful skills to have been chosen, but he'd have to see for himself just how good they were. But for the moment he focused his attention on the young apprentice wizard. The robes spoke wealth but what else would you expect from someone in a royal position like the one he was in. He studied the map as it was shown but what caught is eye was the book. 'Practical Guide to Surviving an Enchanted Forest' He looked back to the apprentice. "Is there anything we should be alert for, of a unusual nature?" He asked with a self assured smile that easily fit with his relaxed posture as he motioned towards the book, Tera his pet drake, crawled behind his head to his other shoulder as he moved. He didn't like assuming things but for such a specific book to be out, there had to be some reason behind it's being so easily at hand.
 
"If the forest is indeed enchanted, human," the elf spoke up after frowning at the map, filled with singularly uninformative symbols that meant little to the forest guardian, "then the creatures within will be a greatly diverse mixture of both mundane and magical beasts. It is entirely possible that magical corruption will have occured to some of the species, and there is likely to be a very large and varied fey population within its boundaries."


Lettara idly stroked the horn-tip of her bow with the thumb of her left hand, pushing a lock of hair out of her face as she leaned over to look at the book a little more closely, "I am intrigued by the fact that such an apparently dangerous locale has a 'guide book'. Whom was the author of this… illustrious tome?"
 
Morlos sighs and gauges the reactions of his guests before he smiles some ."well Seeing as the lady seems to know much of enchantments you would be seeing most of what she describes..but much worse." he admits sheepishly as he lays a small set of necklaces out that shone with silver and a tigers eye jewel secured in a wire cage."it seems that the enchantments of the dark forest are much …more evil and dangerous than the regular enchanted forest. There left over leakage from the rain of the shadow king. His great undead and cursed armies decayed on the spot that the forest first sprang from. "he admits and sighs before smiling." the guide was made by my master before his passing he is the only man said to have made it into the forest and out again alive. He told me wondrous tales but sadly he died only a few days short of entering the forest here at the castle."he mutters before checking all the things he'd laid out one last time and nodding." that should do it the tigers eye is a natral ward to evil and the map will do you until you enter the forest…im afraid do to trees uprooting themselves and the changing streams the forest is a bit dangerous and not mapped but there are spells in the guide tome for undoing treachery and clearing ones path perhaps it will help you." he says simply before turning away to shelve a few more books. "Your steeds await in the stables and from there you should easily find the dirt path through the village…its all but empty thanks to the king holding the meetings today." he calls before a large burly man in blue nights armor escorts them out the library doors.
 
Demetri looked over at the female intruiged by how much she knew but then again he wasn't all that much since she was an elf. He ran his hand throgh his short yet slightly curly hair and gazed up at all the books. He enjoyed reading as such when he wasn't busy training or wandering through towns. When the burly man came to escort them. He followed the man down the hall resting his hands at his sides and looked around at the pictures on the walll. When ariving outside he looked at the three horses and smiled at the one that best suited him. It was a black horse with a long black mane it had a white nose as it was probubally a mixed breed and the masculine form he knew it would he a great help to him. He walked over tword the horse and rubbed its back then looking at the others " is there anything needed before heading out?"
 
Gaul nodded, that explained why the elf was along, she knew the terrain. He followed the knight out, and picked a grey mare that looked to have been breed for speed. He shook his head "I can't say I do. Everything I need I can carry with me." he said though he did start moving a few things from his pack into the saddlebags on the horse's saddle. "However I do believe introductions are in order." he gave a short bow and his drake tera lept from his shoulder to the horse's saddle to avoid being pitched off. "I am Gaul Narr. You can say I've a bit of skill with a sword." he said simply. He didn't care to brag about his exploits, especially when about a 5th of the time it ended up with someone dead.
 
Lettara pet the nose of her brown mare, a docile, compact creature, that looked experienced with carrying riders through tough terrain. She checked the saddle and made some small adjustments for comfort of both herself and the horse, before turning and frowning, "Unless you have secreted iron rations upon your persons in places that are invisible to the naked eye, I would suggest we get grain for the horses, water for both, and food for ourselves. Hard rations will be fine for short-term, but we will likely need to hunt and add to our diet with food found in the forest. The journey may take just a day or two, or it might take more than a week. It is entirely defined by the terrain and the nature of the threats between ourselves and our destination."

"As to introductions," she added after hanging her ornately decorated bow from her saddle, "I am Lettara: Forest Guardian and known by my people as the Touch of the Forest. I am the best archer in the realms. I make this statement not as a boast or challenge, but as a mere statement of fact. I understand that your short-lived race is opinionated and prefers to resolve conflicts without help. I ask only that you consider my council when it comes to matters of the forests and the creatures within the same. Our survival will then, in my own opinion, be better facilitated."
 
Demetri looked at the male and then nodded his head in aproval " it is nice to meet you Gual". His voice was gentle and kind. He petted the horse and looked around the area that they were in before adjusting his bag and placing things. He looked at the female who intoduced herself as Lettara, he listened to her speak an she seemed somewhat not so fond of humans so to speak. Looking at both of them he began " im Demetri Ryon it is a pleasure to meet the both of you, im quite skilled in the word as well and i can use a bow although it is not my strong point". He brought himself ontop the horse and looked out for a moment. " I do agree though about getting food for ourselves and the hourses as well".
 
"that would be my position"calls a young woman as she aproches the group having caught the tail end of there conversation she smile some.she was in jester garb."im sorry to be so late but we have a pick of supplies ready for you the king payed for everything himself."she says brightly her dusty yellow hair falling in her eyes as she pulls a half dead looking mule into sight.On its back a harness that was connected to a whole cart full of supplies to pick through.Blankets cloths extra weaponry packs of dried meats, vegetables, beans and fruits.As well as small carrying parcels of fresh flour and grain.Stacked high the cart was a treasure trove itself and everything was packed thin to fit in backpacks or saddle bags including large water skins with special hooks to attach to the horses saddle and wrap around under its stomach.
 
Gaul chuckled "They had said that supplies would be waiting and so they were." He said lightly as he walked over to the cart with his mare in tow and started to put items in the saddlebags "Perfect timing, Miss." he said with a smile as he packed a larger amount of travel rations and a few extra blankets and knives. As far as clothing went he was well enough off that he could go from there.
 
For herself, Lettara took a woolen cloak, two blankets, a quiver of ordinary arrows for hunting, and enough horse grain for five days. She also took two waterskins, making sure they were full, and after a little thought, resigned herself to a week of human-made hard rations. She much preferred nuts and berries along with perhaps rabbit jerky for a longer trip, but while she took enough for two days, she knew that trying to make such things last longer would result in mold and rotting fruit.

She stowed a bag of flower away, in case she had an opportunity to bake, although their travel was likely to preclude them from building an oven and waiting the necessary hours for it to be heated for baking bread, "I believe I am prepared. We should perhaps include some common antivenoms and antitoxins, considering the enchanted forest may well have poisonous creatures."

She looks at the young woman that had brought out the overloaded mule, "Young lady, do you have such things in your supplies?"
 
The jester smiles broadly."Im happy to serve monsieur oh and yes madam i have something i think you'll rather like."She says with a chuckle and moves away to the cart.She uncovers a small cage and inside is a furry critter curled up and sleeping peacefully."hes called the assassins bane..he eats nothing but the most venomous of animals with him you should have no troubles of illness and your guide should tell you what plants aren't safe."She says before carefully unlatching the animal cage and letting the creature loose.The weasel sniffs the air and then lopes off the cart and makes a run for the horses vanishing into one of Demetri's saddle bag.

The Assassins Bane
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Demetri looks at the jester and then retrived a few herbs and wrappings, a warm like quilt, wool lether, and a bow. He decided it would be the perfect time to use just incase anything out of the ordinary required it and he wasn't able to use his blade. His saddle and bag were quite full after getting everything he sought necessiary and he nooded to the jester. When she opens one of the small cages he looks down to see a small cute little weasel. He watched as the weasel sniffed and crawled into bag. It would be a great help now that the weasel was basically an aid. Climbling onto his hourse once more he waited.
 
Gaul finished stuffing things into his saddlebags and tugged the bindings to make sure everything was secured and ready to go. He swung back up onto his mare and leaned on the saddlehorn. "Well I think that's about everything I need. Is there anything else that we might be missing or are we ready to begin our search for this mysterious figure with a cure?" He asked with a bit of a jovial tone in his voice as he waited for the others to reply.
 
Climbing up onto her own mount, and after taking a few moments to get to know her a little better, Lettara nods, agreeing with Gaul's sentiment that they should depart, "The sooner we are arrived at our destination, the sooner we may return and save the young princess from her dire fate."

"May spirits grant us victory in this endeavor!" the elf adds, holding up her hand, gripping the center of her longbow. "A child hangs in the balance, and in the protection of said child, nothing will stand in our way: so sayeth Lettara of the Forest Tribes."
 
The jester woman smiles and stands back before pointing down the dirt path that ran through the village.'that is your path to start milady and sirs once you reach the forest the map should guide you ..but i give you head... beware the forests enticements.Do not leave your path until the map says so.
 
Demetri nodded and looked at the jester " thank you for your kindness and help for the journey". He tapped his horse slightly and his stead started trotting acroos the grass. He opened his small bag and glanced at the map once before placing it back in the bag. He stopped at the beggining of
the path and waited for the two before starting off letting everything the jester said ring in his head beware forest enchantments and dont leave path unless map says so. He knew they were two simple things but yet he also knew not to underestimate the enchanted forest.
 
Gaul smiled at the others "Well said, fair maiden." he said leading his mount into a walk. "We shall return promptly." He told the jester with a wave as they rode out of the castle. After a couple of minutes he looked over to Demetri "So what's the fastest way to get to the forest? Roads or cross country? We're not to leave the road in the forest but nothing says we have to follow it the whole way." He suggested, directing the question to the one with the map. As the elven maiden said time was of the essence and anything that got them moving faster was a good thing.
 
"The road is a long curve, and does indeed add some time to the journey, but the curve is because of a large lake. One might wish to avoid taking the curve, but swimming will take more time, unless you know something about your horse that I do not?" the elf says with a wry smile, finding any suggestion of a 'short-cut' to be fraught with potential dangers.

"We should not tarry overly. The road has it's own potential dangers, but they are preferable to those that will likely face us in the forest. Such a blight on nature is uncomfortable to me."
 
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