Overture

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I smirk. "Easy to anger, as well. Really, it seems I must be a babysitter. And I've heard plenty of an entity coming through and wiping an entire population out, without a sweat, without bleeding, without a trace. Like it came through and people began dropping dead, from claws that appeared from no where. I have my suspicions, of course, but you all might need a milk bottle after that." A cold smile, and, "I'd rather go down fighting, and knowing what killed me, than to take an easy way out. Taking land is never easy, and ever job goes wrong. Remember that. Now, while you may hate me, please keep my horse safe, ya? I'm going to do some... patrols."

And then without another word, glance, or smirk, I pull my horse into the cave, rub its neck for a moment, and then disappear out in the cold snow again.
 
TERAN ARKLAR

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On their way down the path, Teran eyed the Oddsman from behind. Another sent by the King? He did not really seem like the type to be working in groups like this. One thing he especially did not like about the fellow already, was his comment about finding Tiamo. It sounded too sarcastic, like the fellow did not care one bit whether someone had gone missing or not. His stallion trotted behind everyone else's, carefully eyeing them as well. It was truly sad that one of their members had gone missing, but their was no way for them to turn back and look for her now. He gulped, before shaking his head. He knew that the young girl would be perfectly fine. The group passed many bodies, the stench piercing Teran's nostrils. He gagged at the gruesome sight of the parts and carcasses that laid about. This journey looked like it was going to progress onward into a nightmare.

The mountain passes cold wind was bitter against Teran's skin. He did not pack any extra wear. The clothes he had upon his body were quite warm, but he did not know how long he would last in these frigid temperatures. The group then proceeded to a nearby cave, and Teran dismounted his horse. He stroked it's mane before smiling at it.

"I may sound like a madman talking to you right now, but you've been doing really well lately. Hold out longer, OK?"

The horse neighed, and Teran turned back to the group within the cave. During their way, he ignored the quarrel between the Oddsman and Aben, but now the situation seemed to be escalating into something else. Teran payed close attention to their words, especially the ones that pertained to the 'beast' that may be lagging behind them. The Oddsman's words reminded him again about the novel he had inside of his sack. Teran sat down by a small group of rocks, before sticking his hand into his sack to pull out the fiction novel. He opened it before taking one more glance around. The air in the area started to get awkward, and Teran did not favor this kind of atmosphere.

"I see that everyone has been quite...awkward ever since our visit to the forest. Would everyone like to talk about what happened now? Maybe we can get our minds off of beating each other up or whatever other activities you buffoons favor."​
 
Jonathan watched the Oddsman go on patrol with annoyed look. The king had many people like him in his army. All of his life he had fought with people like him, born and bred for Arendanna. Jonathan's father was like this of course, that is why he died. He was a man of strength and religion. Every day he would make him say several prayers to Terra to be able to make him strong in later battles. The rituals weren't all that bad, it's just the relationship his father had with it. Jonathan believed that his prayers would go unanswered, and in the end they most definitely did.

Jonathan pulled a blanket out of his backpack and set out a wool blanket. Then he began to set food out to prepare for the night, it did not seem like they were going to leave for quite some time. Along with the food we pulled out a piece of paper and began to write something. Once he finished he pulled Atticus aside and sent him off with the letter. "Make sure you stay warm out there!" Atticus had already left the cave once Jonathan shouted that, but it was more for him than it was for Atticus. He sat back down and looked at everyone. It was becoming more tense, and if they were all working together this would not due. "I understand that all of this is hard, but we are almost to Dulemar, once we get there then we will be able to serve our kingdom. I promise you all a nice and comfy life after this."

His words echoed through the cave and it didn't help the mood. Everyone was mostly quiet, speaking at this point was hard because the snow was piling up. A couple more logs were thrown onto the fire and more blankets were given to the group. Jonathan had finished cooking the food and everyone got some stew. It had the consistency of water, but it was hearty enough because there were potatoes.

While they were eating the horses began neighing and stamping around in the stone. Jonathan stood up to go check on the horses, but he was stopped. A loud commotion came from the horses as he stood, and then a loud clang began. He didn't know what it was until it rolled down by the fire. It was a skull, licked clean it laid by the fire. The group became silent, and the horses began to quiet down. Jonathan picked up the skull, and immediately dropped it on the ground. His hands were shaking without ceasing. On the skull there was something written on it, and Jonathan read it aloud.

"Tiamo....."​
 
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Rydia eased a little by the time Jonathan had set out the food. Her eyes still looking outside, she'd eat it without qualm. Of the blankets, she only accepted one, simply draping it over her shoulders as her bedroll was placed down, "I mean no offense, but words like that can oft hold little meaning than just what they are, words." Her silence afterwards was brought to a halt once the commotion with the horses began. She watched Jonathan move to check it out, then towards outside in general. The skull glanced her vision by the corners of her eyes, and what Jonathan had said likely unnerved not just her.

Her eyes sharpened as it now seems they're still not alone, she draws her bow and nocks back an arrow, the bowline straining back as she looks off outside, teeth grit as she takes a more serious, faintly angered atmosphere. "Whatever and whoever it is.. Sounds like they're actively coming for us. They either don't like what we saw, or we're just the next batch of victims... Captain, did those bodies have any discerning detail about them at all? Or were they too mutilated to find such a sign.. Whatever it is, I believe our mission has become more than just a landgrab, I've had that feeling since the forest."​
 
Serina headed towards Teran from her corner of the cave, and was about to speak of what she saw in the forest when the skull rolled into the cave. When the captain read the name written on the skull, she stood frozen, unsure of what to do. She hadn't known the thief very well, but that was still another person dead, eaten, it would seem. Rydia's words snapped her our of her reverie. Discerning details... she was immediately reminded of what she found in the forest. Hesitantly, she spoke up. "Captain, I-I found this while I was in the forest. It was close to a mutilated body," she said, handing over the pendant with the symbol she had found on the forest ground.
 
"I...I..."
He stopped as the pendant was handed to him and he looked over it. Then he threw it up against the wall and immediately pulled out his sword. He stood at the ready to fight whatever beast was coming for them. "That pendant belonged to a warrior from Gehen, he was renown throughout the army as 'The Cleaver.' He would be first in line and chop any soldier who came near him. If he was killed, then we may be facing more than we thought, and possibly another army. We need to leave as soon as possible, even if the snow may slow us down." Jonathan began to ready his things and put out the fire. He didn't wait for anyone and continued on to get the horses ready.​
 
Aben would have been halfway through with his soup when he saw the skull, slowly finishing his mouthful, before setting it off to the side, moving to slowly rouse himself, gathering up his things as he says "I'm not sure what you're intending here Jonathan. We were on horseback on open ground and this thing still caught up to us so quickly..." He'd finish gathering his things and then turn to Jonathan, a cutting gaze etched into his face and eyes, saying "Be straight with us now, because this may be the last time we get to talk like this. You've kept something from us, haven't you? What are we really getting into here?" His fingers rest at the head of his warhammer, still thrust through it's holder for the moment, leaning to his right a little bit.

Ezekul clutches at the hilt of his dagger having been heartily spooning down the soup moments before, now appearing a little green. He scrambles away from the fire for a moment, pushing himself up off the wall of the cave, looking around as he says "Shilakas, Shilakas... That's what the dying man told me it's name was, d-don't names hold power over magical beings in the stories?" He'd look around, nervously inching to the fire before it's put out, looking about the cave afterwards and starting to back up to the exit, fingers wrapped around the dagger tightly enough that bright white knuckles showed beneath the skin, blood leaving his hand. "Sh-should we really go out there? I mean... It threw the skull in here... M-might it be safer to only have to defend the entrance?"
 
Serina stood frightened and confused. She didn't know whether to listen to Aben or the Captain. On one hand, the cave was a defensible position, on the other hand, if the things easily took out a much larger group, fleeing might be their best choice. But whatever they did, it would probably be safer if she were armed. She walked over to her horse and pulled out her bow and slung her quiver over her shoulder. With slighly shaky hands, she nocked an arrow and stared at the landscape outside of the cave, looking for signs of movement.
 
The Oddsman had somewhat traveled, going up the stone face that the cave sat in, and sat at the top, shivering and cold, wrapped in his coat-like armor and leather. Maybe 5, 10 minutes had passed when he saw something move, something darker than the snow around him. He peered into the gloom, and barely heard the horses and small sounds of disturbance inside the cave, and the creature moved off, seeming to not notice him.

Well of course, with this snow, noses would be useless, as well as eyesight. Something that big wouldn't be able to spot something as small as me from that distance, especially without even knowing I'm here. It already knows our behavior, find shelter, and stay in it until any bad weather passes... but it didn't expect me, did it?

He knew that he wasn't liked; he was fine with that. Hated, probably. Fine with that too. But what he didn't want, was to be hated because he failed, or because he let someone down. Rather be hated because he's a complete jerk, than someone who let a friend die. He stood up, shaking the loose snow off his shoulders and body, stretching and getting the cold soreness out of his limbs, and then he jumped over the edge of the cave.

From inside the cave, the Oddsman randomly fell from the top of the cave, feet outstretched and loose to meet the ground, arms wide and ready to balance. Hitting the ground with a thud, he miscalculated, and collapsed onto the ground, like a sack of potatoes. The cold got to me more than I thought... I'll have to watch out for that next time.

"So, anyone else see the great looming shadow that stood outside the cave for a moment? Or was it just me?" he asked, sarcastic and pained from the cold and fall, lying on the ground.
 
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Closing her eyes and grimacing, Rydia laxes her arrow and moves over to Oddsman, offering a hand up as she looks outward, "Well, whatever the hell it is, we're going to have to make a choice. So what will it be?" She said towards no one in particular but to the group itself, her eyes look towards Aben and then to Jonathan, a little curious about all this herself.
 
Jonathan looked at all of them had he shook his head.
"I have no clue what is following us, I only know that we were sent to Dulemar."
Jonathan finished readying his things and then picked up the skull then went to his horse. He was silent and let the group ponder what he said.
"If this was my doing, you have died already."
The snow was falling heavily, but they had to move. What ever was following them, was definitely intelligent, and knew who they were. Jonathan sat upon his horse and headed to Dulemar. The snow was a little higher than the horse's knee so it would take a little longer to get to Dulemar now that there was so much snow. It was a couple miles through the pass and then it would be easy from there.

Teran knew that Jonathan was under too much stress at this point. He was chosen to do this by Biltmore, and so he had to do well. Teran followed suit with Jonathan and began to pack his things. The thing that was following them was not going to wait for them, so it was better to leave now then later. Teran hopped on his horse and rode out. He followed Jonathan with some space between horses to let him think to himself.
​
 
Ezekul takes only a few more glances around the cave, before finally heading over to his horse, trying to give it a comforting pat, but being just as nervous as it it'd seem, scrambling atop it in such haste he almost falls over the other side of it, yanking on the reins lightly to try and get a better grip. He'd have to force him, and his horse to even approach the exit of the cave, glancing about nervously, unable to speak. His hand would go to the knife, before he stops it, remembering that he wouldn't know what to do with it in the first place anyway before just clutching the reins of the horse tighter.

Aben takes his time getting over to his horse, climbing up and onto it, right knee refusing to bend in the cold properly as the curses and struggles to get fully mounted on it. He sits atop it awkwardly getting it to plod on over to the mouth of the cave slowly, taking a moment to adjust his hammer to be able to pull it easier from it's current position, mostly a outward show though. He knew that by this point, if whatever it was attacked them, it'd have no problem tearing through each of them, but he might as well put up a pretense of being ready for this thing to come at them. "I don't think it's your doing, but I do think your damned crown isn't letting on the whole story. It wouldn't be the first time they let a company 'disappear' from their records.
 
"Ah, a nice person. I'll have to be nicer to you, this time around," the Oddsman says, as he takes Rydia's hand. Usually, people would just leave him on the floor, so this one is worth being nice to. Nice gesture.

So he stands with aid, and shakes himself a bit, scattering more snow about him. His figure is that after being sprayed in white: his clothing is caked with snow, and the thin slit that lets him see out is just as white as the rest of him. And then he throws his hands up, panting slightly from the fall, and says, "Really, we have to move out now? I bet it just wants us to be restless and sleepless! Forget the crown, why don't we just take the land ourselves, say we're there for the people to the people over there, and say we're having aggravating difficulties to the crown! It's not like you guys are particularly loyal, if you're already talking about the crown that way. And me? I just want the money." The Oddsman stretches, popping his back, then jogging over to his horse -I named her Ink, right?- and hops on.
 
As the group began to move out, Serina loosened the death grip she had on her bow and stared longingly at her little pot of poison bubbling merrily in the corner for a moment, trying to decide if she had enough time to grab it. The miniature cauldron had cost her quite a bit of gold, and if what ever was following them was intelligent, it might use the poison inside against them. She looked back and forth between the cauldron and the horses before finally rushing over to the cauldron and kicking it over so the liquid inside oozed out into the snow. That way, anyone trying to use the poison would have a harder time getting a concentrated amount though she would have to leave her cauldron behind. That done, she rushed back to her horse and mounted with a few tries. She jerkily guided her horse after Teran and the Captain, her hands gripping the reigns tightly.
 
((Sorry for the constant post, but you wanted more depth to the character, and you might move out too soon...))

The Oddsman [Funny, that, I even refer to myself as 'The Oddsman'] glanced between Serena and her pot. As she began moving out, he steered his horse over to the cauldron, slipping his backpack over in front of him and rummaging to make room, and pulling out one of many waterskins. The Oddsman half-dismounts, reaching down to grab the heavy mini-cauldron, cleaning it out with water, and then stuffing it into the makeshift room in his bag.
 
Being the last one to get on her horse and ride with the others, Rydia continued to keep a sharp eye on their six. Whatever it or whomever it was, it certainly was sentient enough. Groups of people dead, with not much effort. Tiamo's name written and tossed at us on a skull. And who knows what could have happened to Atticus, but it could have been easy to say that he may have fallen victim shortly after he left. Only time would find out if even they make it out alive. Whatever the case, Rydia kept up the rear as best as her horse would allow it, constantly trying to leer further past the densing snow, "We can't assume we'll be safe at Dulemar either. For all we know, it could tail us the whole way, but I suppose it would be better to face it there than here. Swallow your fears and keep your eyes and ears sharp, you never know if it might even come at us now, so don't let your guard down."
 
The group moved through the past at a rather slow rate. The slow began to bear down on them as they moved down the mountain. The snowy peaks soon faded away as they were reaching the final lengths of the mountain. The whistles and wind of the mountain became silent, and the snow melted away. It had taken then about two hours to move through the pass since they left the cave. It was possible that it may have been Abella's Cavern, but the snow forbade any sight of indicators to tell. The sun was going down, so they would be able to make it to Dulemar by nightfall. On their way the pine trees blocked the view of the group as they followed the dirt path to the wreckage of Dulemar.

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The moon rose over Dulemar setting dark mood. War had left an irreversible stain upon this place, and it was not a pretty sight. There were several graves around with flowers around them or other valuables. Along with the graves there were swords and spears placed all around with a grim sign in the front of it all. "To all those who enter this place, you shall never leave the same again." The ravens cawed overhead as the group surveyed the area. All the houses were broken in or burned down. Other than the valuables on the graves, there really wasn't anything of worth. The sullen town of Dulemar was nothing more than a destroyed farming town. From your perspective there was no way there was anything here that would help with the war effort. Maybe this trip was just to scout out an area, or maybe they needed casualties to raise more warriors. The group moved further into Dulemar, and there was not a human in sight. The group of Gehennian warriors that had come here must have been the first, or maybe the last of army if they had moved through here. There were no signs of a army marching through here, or a sign of any living creature affecting it. Dulemar seemed frozen in time almost, this serene place hid many things to the naked eye, so there needed to be some investigation.

Jonathan hopped off of his horse and walked through the area looking over everything. "Spread out, but keep in pairs, we need to see what is really going on here." Jonathan went by himself and left the group to decide where to go. It was obvious that Jonathan was still trying to make sense of this bizarre situation.​
 
Aben would hide his uneasiness much better than he likely should, having drawn himself the conclusion that the army that they had seen had likely gone a different way than the one that they had, and he took comfort in the thought. He'd rein in at a tree, taking a few moments to dismount awkwardly, and streching out as he watches Jonathan leave. He'd take a few steps over towards a sapling, reaching out to it and plucking off one of the leaves, mostly experimentally, trying to prove a theory that even he didn't know, mostly just trying to see if anything he knows applies, as he squeezes the leaf, hoping to feel some modicum of moisture, that slimy watery stuff normally kept in leaves as he barks a command to Ezekul, not seeming concerned with what the rest of the group does as he says "Ezekul, climb the tallest thing you can, I don't think the other group passed this way, so I want a idea of where they did, look for old fire pits or something."

Ezekul would have already dismounted long before his adoptive father, having been giving his horse a few comforting pats to try and ease his own nerves before Aben speaks. He looks around to the rest of the group, before saying "I'm not sure we should be alone out here... I mean, I know Jonathan went off on his own, but uh... I'm going to go with his pairing idea... Anyone else a good climber?" He asks, looking around, hoping to himself that whoever he gets paired with is at least able to use their weapon instead of just gesture threateningly like he could only do. His hands clasp together, left over right, scratching at the mark on his hand nervously as he does so, not really sure what to say or do now, the very atmosphere of the place having cowed him heavily.
 
The draft today was considerably worse then normal for Freyja. The damp wind that came from the crater in the roof of her home managed to find itself creeping into its basement. She got up from her beaten mattress in the corner; it was time to check her traps all around Dulemar. She tied her scarlet colored hair into a high ponytail, slipping on simple attire consisting of, dark animal hide jeans, black boots and a dark green vest that also offered a hood.

She climbed up a ladder, opening the secret hatch into the lobby of what was once an orphanage and her home. She avoided the large tree that had only recently fallen into the roof. Freyja wondered if today would be any different then just her normal survival efforts but Dulemar had gone quiet these past few days. She walked quietly her boots tapping against the cobble path before coming to the town hall, naturally scaling the side by the stronger vines like many times before. Freyja found her perch aside the bell her eyes scanning the streets to see if any unlucky animal succumbed to the ankle biters scattered around. Oh how she remembered Dulemar was like before everything had went to hell, her and the other orphans would always rest at the town center over there before heading off to "borrow" from the bakery that was once down the street. The thought of her hometown's decimation brought back sad feelings.
 
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Serina dismounted from her horse and untied her bow from its place behind her saddle. She looked between the remaining group members, too shy to approach any on her own initiative. She looked over at Ezekul when he asked for a good climber. She had climbed some trees when she was younger, but that was at least ten years ago and the tree Ezekul seem intent upon climbing was rather tall... it would be better if she stayed on the ground, but that left just left her looking back and forth between the remaining group members again.
 
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