Quest For Drymera

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After Bria left, more concerned with other things for the moment, Ril supposed there wasn't much he could do alone--besides get himself into trouble. "Aye, well..." he said, "I've never been one to have lengthy arguments with authority..." He trailed off, leaving one of his favorite phrases from his days as a pirate captain intentionally unfinished, and strolled into town, arms to his side, fingers tapping the sheathes of his blades. The other half, still in his head, was: when my tongue gets tired, my swords do the talking. But of course, that would be more trouble than it was worth. He was sure the half-expression, and its lack of an ending, had left the guards a little confused, and that brought him some satisfaction.

Of course small-time guards in a landlocked town wouldn't recognize a sea criminal, but anyone as high up as captain might have seen his likeness or heard of him in a report, or in conversation with someone from a coastal guard. Rilikan was not going to take that sort of risk. Instead, he made his way to his room, got things in order there, and lay down for a few minutes. Once he was bored of that, he left the inn, going back outside and sitting on the edge of the steps, watching the rain intently.
 
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"You're doing what?" Geburich Malvolen looked up from the mess of maps and arcane documents that littered the tavern table. His austere eyes fixed on the innkeeper who sat across from him.

"Nuffin I can do about it, Mr M. The lads 'ave put it to a vote," the innkeeper answered, scratching at his large and red-raw arms.

Malvolen set aside his pipe and ale, glaring at the innkeeper. "How many were killed?"

"Five. Good boys, all o' them. Ol' Joan Mayfield's son too. She ain't gonna be too 'appy 'bout that. So you understand, Mr M. - me 'ands are tied."

The wizard leant across the table, glancing at the other drunks who populated the inn's common room. His voice became a savage whisper. "I've been paying for safe passage for the last two months! How am I supposed to get my supplies in without your protection?"

"Well thas the least o' your problems, Mr M.," the innkeeper replied, the chair squeaking under the fat man's weight as he leaned in. "Some o' the boys wanna string you up good an' proper for what 'appened."

"You think I have a habit of killing bandits?" Malvolen hissed in outrage.

"Well, the Mayfield Boy was found with an icicle in 'is chest. And there ain't much magic in these parts. Tarquil said they looked like your type."

Malvolen sat back, puffing savagely on his pipe to calm himself. "My type?"

"Mercenaries, swords for 'ire. They even says one of 'em wuz a walkin' corpse. Me boys would ne'er had touched them, cept they wuz on the wrong route, you see? The lads reckon you wuz using 'em to sneak something in... something you didn't want us to see."

"I use the designated routes. I have ALWAYS use the designated routes! And I have nothing to hide from your bandits!"

"With due respect, Mr M., the lads disagree. They don't want nuffin more to do with ya."

Malvolen leaned in again, his knuckles white with anger as he gripped his pipe. "I have a delivery coming from the Ancil Basin. I NEED safe passage!"

The innkeeper shrugged his broad shoulders, "Like I said, Mr M - me 'ands are tied. They ain't gonna 'elp a wizard who mightz be murderin' 'em. It's bad enough you're an Isovan, but this... five lads in the grave..." The inkeeper shook his balding head, rose, and moved back to the bar.

Malvolen remained sitting with a thunderous scowl. His left hand, each finger holding a chunky ring, drummed furiously on the table, creasing the maps and documents.
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[dash=#6C9189]Bria No'el

With Gilgear leaning before her, she was able to lower the shield enough to rest it on top her head. It was still heavy, but it gave her arms a rest as she kept it balanced.

"My Father always said that it wasn't the deed but the intentions behind it. I believe it's criminal to deny someone entrance just out of fear." That was simply all it was. The law of this village was ridiculous! Something needed to be done about it so future travelers weren't so inconvenienced... but... Finding Drymera was important to her, how long would the search be delayed if she got involved in local politics?

Who knew traveling would be complicated!

Realizing she had gone silent, Bria cast a smile at Gilgear, having another idea. "What if we wrapped you in bandages? You would look like any other wounded soldier! It's a bit devious, but you are a wounded soldier, so it's not really lying. Come morning we wil be leaving and there won't be any harm from it."[/dash]
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Gilgear pauses, thinking about it for a moment. He nods, "I liiiiike it.... thooooough aaaare yoooou suuuuure theeee guuuuaaaardsss are soooo sssstuuuupid aaaaas tooooo noooot fiiiguuuure iiiit oooout...?" The ghoulish man thinks about it for a while, smiling once more (or trying to).

"Foooorgeeeet my objeeection... aaaaanythiiiing thaaaat geeeets my laaaady Brrrriaaa out of thhhhe raaain aaaand into the drrry, waaarm inn issss a goooood plaaaan..." He nods once more, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Glaaaad you're heeereee to thiiink foooor me... noooot myyyy stroooongest feaaaature, the brain..."
 
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[dash=#6C9189]Bria No'el

"I think you brains are just fine." Bria grinned, it only faltering for a moment when she wondered if they were rotting away like the rest of him. The thought was so morbid, she quietly had herself fumbling to hand him the shield and begin digging in her pack.

The contents of her pack wasn't well planned for long term travel. A change of clothes, a few snacks, the map, and assorted things. It was the bandages she had stashed for an emergency she needed. And this was emergency enough! There was plenty of money for replacing supplies later.

"It isn't very long, but I think we will only need to cover your face. I don't believe they will cause too much of a fuss, at least if we try the other gates? Oh! Or wait until they change shifts! That wouldn't be too long would it?"[/dash]
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Caid watched as the groups' attractive young leader ran up to check on her tiny comrade. He knew his words were virtually ignored given the severity of the situation so he decided to stay quiet until everyone was inside and he could speak to them all. The guards on the other hand had no intention of letting the groups' most interesting character, the undead soldier, into their humble town by order of their Captain. It wasn't long before Caid found himself just following the young woman into the Inn and nodded at her request. His experience in the war taught him when it was time to speak, and when it was time to just listen and obey for the good of your unit. Caid watched the little one briefly before stepping out into the hall and waved down one of the servants.

"I need a cloth and a bowl of warm water, and some fresh bread as well" Caid dropped a small coin purse into the servants' hand and watched as the young lad hurried downstairs and returned shortly after with everything he requested. Caid soaked the cloth and wrung it out before placing it on the little ones' forehead. After a few minutes of watching her, Caid stood in the doorway, leaning up against the frame, waiting for the young woman to return.
 
Ril turned his head around, looking with an eye back at the man in the doorway. His head moved to a more comfortable position, still sideways but not enough to actually see the man, and he spoke. "I didn' quite catch your name earlier. Suppose I ought to think you for taking care of our mage, as everyone else seems a bit too busy to do so. Name's Rilikan." He turned forward, returning to watching the rain, leaving the introduction hanging in the air for the stranger to take or leave.
 
Caids' mind wandered as he leaned against the door frame. His thoughts drifted back to the war, some of his missions, and then back to the day he found his entire guild slaughtered like they were animals. He tried piecing together what events would have caused the destruction of them, but nothing would surface in his memory. The only other thing he remembered was whoever killed them was highly skilled and possibly one of their own. Caid hated the thought of a betrayal, but no matter how hard he tried to put that thought out of his mind, everything pointed back to the possibility. Caid made a point to burn the entire building down so the guilds' secrets would be kept to him, and unfortunately their murderer as well. That five year old fire still burns hot inside Caids heart, so much so that he began feeling it's heat on his face.

His senses were snapped back into place when he heard an introduction being presented to him. His clenched fist eased open slowly and he removed his hood to remove the sweat from his forehead. Caid nodded at Rilikan, "It's a pleasure, Rilikan. My name's Caid. And helping your tiny comrade, I must admit was not how I wanted to gain an audience with you and your group. It may sound a bit selfish but it seemed the easiest way to get your attention without too much of a fuss." Caid paused a moment and looked back towards the room where the little one was tucked away.

"And a simple kind act as that needs no 'thanks' although appreciated. You all seem weary and a bit busy with the town guard at the moment anyways. Acknowledgment of my deed can surely wait." Caid turned and began walking back towards the room.

"Your other lady friend out there asked me to keep watch over the little one, so I'm going to go ahead and check up on her. Oh and she mentioned that she'd be right back. I believe she's still pursuing getting your undead friend into town." With that Caid made his way back up to the room and pulled a chair next to the bed. He checked the temperature of the cloth and found it was still quite warm so he left it be and broke off a piece of the fresh bread.

"Well little one, if that cloth doesn't set you right, hopefully the smell of this bread will." Caid took a small whiff of the fresh aroma the bread gave off, then he took a bite and raised an eyebrow. "*gulp* Well I can't say the same for the taste. Might want to take your time coming back, you're definitely not missing much now, this bread smells much better than it tastes" Caid placed the other half of the bread back into the basket and leaned back in the chair taking small reluctant bites off his little half, waiting for everyone to return.
 
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Annalilly Hawkins


Whether it was the sound of Caid's voice or truly the smell of the bread, Annalilly started to stir. Her eyes fluttered open slowly, blinking to adjust to the lighting of the room. Her mind was still on her dream, remnants of those emotions bringing tears sliding down her cheeks. She started to sit up, using her arms to lean on as Caid talked about the taste of the bread. Annalilly watched him; her solemn expression even broke into a half smile. Talking so seriously about such things made her want to laugh, but she hadn't laughed in such a long time that it was hard to for her to do.

It was not until she had looked at him long enough in silence that she realized that he was a complete stranger to her. He was not of one the party members, and she had never seen the likes of him before. A sudden confusion struck her as she tried to remember what had happened after fighting the bandits. She could only remember being extremely tired. She sighed quietly, a demure sort of look inhabiting her face as she looked down at the washcloth that had fallen into her lap. She held it in one hand, reaching to touch her forehead with the other.

This man...He...He took care of me?

"T-Thank y-you.." She stammered uneasily.

The thought caused a sensation of tears to overwhelm her eyes again as she was reminded of the dream. She didn't know why she had seen a dream of her parents after such a long time, but she decided to put blame to her exhaustion. She had long forced herself to forget the people who had abandoned her. Still, why am I crying ? It's been so long. I should just forget. She wiped away the tears and successfully willed herself to stop tearing up.

"I'm sorry, I..." She murmured, looking down. I can't believe I fainted...Did I become a burden on the others?

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"Aauuhk!"

With a flutter a black feathers and glinting eyes, a sizeable raven swooped through the veranda and over Rilikan's head as he sat. He scowled, vexed by the flapping creature, watching as it landed on the outstetched arm of someone leaving the inn.

"Change of plans, Heydrich," muttered Malvolen as he swept past Rilikan and crossed the courtyard. He seemed to be talking to the bird, which perched patiently on his arm, cocking its head as it listened. Malvolen's staff punched the floor to emphasize each word.

"Make straight for the Ancil Basin and tell Calan to keep the dragonscale preserved in lavendar oil and beyond the ice ring. He is not to move the convoy as the paths are no longer safe. And if he uh ah ur or ah uh sudda bul muhr...."

The rest of the wizard's words became unintelligable as he moved out of hearing range. So Rilikan simply watched as the robed fellow finished his conversation and jolted his arm, sending the raven soaring away across the rooftops.

There was some more muttering and then the top of Malvolen's staff illuminated with a small sphere of light, throwing back the evening shadows. He scratched his beard, glared at the town gates, then muttered something else.

Rilikan could have sworn it was something about adventurers... something less than flattering.
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"Tree..." Garrock hates trees. They're alway in the way. Pushing with one of its massive arms, Garrock knocked the tree to the ground. That was better. Garrock continued through the woods in this matter, felling every tree that stood in the way and occasionally making a small rumbling roar. A squirrel scampered past the golem as it kicked a rock several feet ahead of it. Let it run. The squirrel wasn't big enough of a meal.
Garrock pulled one of the branches off a young tree and began to chew it slowly as it walked. No good. Meat was still the favorite food.
Just then the beast heard a mutter of voices. It forged through the woods faster in that direction. The beast came upon a small girl and what looked like a walking version of what Garrock considered leftovers. Either way, they were meat.
The creature opened its mouth and bellowed. "GAAAAAARRRRRR!!"
 
Gilgear didn't even warn Bria before he pushed off from his kneeling position, grabbing her and sprinting behind the gates as fast as his barely-decayed legs could take him... little slower than it could have been because of his armor, but not that bad. The mud from the rain was hardly an obstacle for him, but it might slow down that rock-monster a bit.

He couldn't fight it with Bria here - she might get hurt, or he'd have attempted it. While it was dishonorable to flee, he had someone to protect at the moment - someone that would still need his protection after today. He was not so dumb as to give his unlife away so soon... not anymore.

If the rock monster followed them past the gates, it would have to deal with the guards... and, if it followed them to the inn... the guards and the rest of the adventurers. Either way, a monster so close to the town was a poor idea...

Gilgear smiled a bit, though - to fight off this monster with the guards might be a better way of showing his good intentions than sneaking in... while dangerous, it might really have been a fortunate event to have the dumb creature attack.
 
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[dash=#6C9189]Bria No'el

"What is th- EEP!" Bria found herself swept off her feet rather unexpectedly before she could question what that big... thing was! The evening didn't provide much light, not with the clouds and the haze of rain. All she had managed to make out was a very large ambiguous form. Even now as she tried to tilt and see what Gilgear had them running from, she could quite figure out what it was.

But the sudden shouting of the guardsmen was starting to give an idea!

First they had shouted at Gilgear, running in to the town like he was. But once they saw what was behind him, they changed targets immediately. Men were shouting for some reinforcement. A golum was invading the village![/dash]
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Caid stared up at the ceiling after taking another small bite of the bread when a small rustling from the bed caught his attention. The little one was awake finally. He could see she had a lot to take in all of a sudden, waking up in a bed with a stranger sitting beside it must not have been what she was expecting, but she handled it well, save for the tears in her eyes which Caid could only presume was for some other reason perhaps.

"T-Thank y-you" Her voice was sweet and childlike. Caid nodded as he formed a smirk across his lips.

"I'm sorry, I..."
"You passed out on the way here. My name is Caid. I was following your group since Halantown so I was the first to notice you collapse. Your other female companion urged me to rush you here so here you are. They're right outside trying to figure out how to get your undead comrade through the city gates, but the guards here aren't too fond of his kind. It's almost as if they're s..." Caids' ears perked as he heard shouts from outside. He made his way to the room door and glanced back at the girl.

"I'll go see what's going on. Just relax there for a bit, eat some bread if you can. I hope you're hungry enough to get past the bland taste" another smirk formed over his lips as Caid lifted his hood back over his head and headed downstairs to stop back at Riliken.

"What's all the shouting ab..." Caid looked out into the street and noticed their undead companion racing down the street holding their other lady friend.

"Oh...well I see they figured out how to get your friend inside." Caid looked back towards the gate and realized the guards weren't chasing the running undead soldier seeing as how they were preoccupied in attempting to stop a charging golem, but to no avail. The large rock-being plowed right through them before any reinforcements even began heading towards the gate. Caid glanced back at Riliken.

"I can slow it down for a few moments until you're all gathered. Oh and your little friend picked a fine time to wake up by the way. She's still resting in her bed." With that Caid took off, sprinting straight towards the golem and passing the undead soldier and the young female leader along the way. Caid figured the soldier was moving her away and given the chance, would come back to fight the golem. Caids' plan was simple; just slow it down to let them gather their group together or escape. He knew they would be a more formidable match against the golem than the pathetic town guard.

Caid lined up his path straight for the golem and pressed himself harder to gather more speed because he knew he would need as much momentum as possible in order to pull his idea off. The distance closed in between Caid and the golem quickly. The heavy steps of the creature shook the ground slightly with every step. Caid prepped his chain daggers from inside his sleaves and at the last second, he launched his right dagger into the ground just past the golems' left foot and the same thing with his left dagger by the golems right foot. Just before the creature could reach out to swat him away, Caid launched himself forward and slid on his back between the golems' legs, his head just barely missed by the creatures large boulder-like hand.

As Caid fully slid under the creature, his position landed him directly behind it. In one quick fluid motion Caid quickly stood and turned to face the creatures' back which also crossed his chains where he gripped and pulled hard to raise the chains against the creatures' legs. His momentum combined with the golems' caused the beast to fly forward, landing with an earth shaking thud against the ground.

A large cloud of dust creeped over to Caid as his tugged his chains once more, causing his blades to practically jump out of the ground and right into his hands. He rolled up his left sleeve and wrapped the chain back around his forearm, sheathing the blade inside the left greave. Caid swung his right dagger playfully on his right side as he slowly began to approach the fallen golem. He knew this thing would not be down for long and Caid just wanted to stall its' movement for the time being, which he clearly had done.

"Your move big guy"
 
Rilikan was up, watching the gigantic thing charging in, by the time Caid got outside. He hadn't bothered the old wizard, as he was clearly busy with something, possibly something illegal, and to an old pirate, that was simply not something one intruded on. But he wished, to an extent, that he had bothered the fellow now, as perhaps an experienced wizard would know how to get rid of a rampaging golem, or at least find out what it was after.

Perhaps their young mage had studied on the topic a little bit, he mused, about-facing and heading back inside. He ran through the inn, dodging around dismayed workers and confused guests, to where Annalily was, before stopping short, as calmly as ever, if panting a little bit. The ground shook for a second or two, which he could only assume was the big, heavy golem's fault, and after that pause he had breath enough to speak well.
"Right. I don't suppose you know anything about dispelling golems..?"
 
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Malvolen was shoved aside as some woman and a leper ran past him, splashing his robe with mud.

"Watch your step!" he snapped, turning to glare as Gilgear and Bria fled into the Inn. But then he was notably distracted by the large Stone Golem rushing down the main street, causing screams and general mayhem. "Hmm..."

A militia guard landed in the courtyard next to him, splashing his robe with more mud.

"Gods damn you!"

Another two guards rushed over, helping their injured comrade and looking nervously at the wizard. "We need you 'elp, Mr Malvolen! You saids you would 'elp us!"

Another guard was flung into a stable nearby. Malvolen scowled. It was true, he had offered the guards certain arcane services in return for turning a blind eye to his deliveries from the Ancil Basin. Not that this arrangement mattered any more....

"Yes, yes," he snapped at the guards, "Just stay out of the way!"

As the militia scurried off with their wound, Malvolen leant on his staff and watched Caid hurtled down the street, sliding under the creature's legs with a fine display of chain-fighting and amateur dramatics.

Bandit-slayers in the woods and now a rampaging golem... Malvolen suspected some foul play. Perhaps another wizard - and one considerably more powerful than himself - had plans for this town.

It was time to move. There was no doubt about it.

But he was damned if he was going to let a golem trash his room before he was properly packed.

Crouching down in the gathering rain, Malvolen laid his staff aside and produced a small knife from his robes. He sliced open the palm of his hand and let a few drops of blood fall into the dirt, before bandaging the wound over. His other hand played with the bloody earth, working it into a paste.

"Adventurers, wizards, golems... BASTARDS!" he muttered as he worked.


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Annalilly Hawkins

Stunned by his sudden movements, it only took Annalilly a few moments to realize that Caid was gone. Throwing a halfhearted glance towards the food, she instead headed to the bathroom and washed up in a hurry. She was quite thankful for the supplies of heated water that had been left for their bathing. After rushing through the procedure of showering, Annalilly pulled on the clothes that had been in her backpack, glad that it had survived the onslaught of the pouring rain. She didn't feel sick, but she was a little cold so she settled for warmer clothes. She carried her pile of dirty clothes out of the bathroom and placed them on the floor beside her bed. It would be easy to wash and dry them later...

It was around this time that she noticed that the room was shaking irregularly. At first, she'd thought she was dizzy from being tired, but that wasn't quite it, after all. I'll go see what's happening outside... Running a hand through her hair, using a spell to dry it quickly, Annalilly looked up just in time to see Ril enter the room. He seemed like he had run all the way.


"Right. I don't suppose you know anything about dispelling golems..?"

"Eh...Golem?" Annalilly was incredulous. Who here had the magical prowess to summon a stone golem ? She could only assume of course, that it was a golem of stone that was causing this earthquake. She looked at Ril for a moment, not quite frowning and then glanced at the door, "You can't dispell the golem unless you find the wizard that summoned it...And magic spells are useless against them.." she started to walk out of the room, concerned. She tugged Ril's arm, pulling him through the inn again all the way to the front door, "The best way is to create distractions and barriers to confuse it and hinder its movements. When its defenses are lessened, attacks are more effective," she was saying, her eyes widening at the sight of the golem. "Caid!" she exclaimed, surprised to see that the man had brought the golem down on his own. I can't be emotional now. Of course he's capable. He's been travelling alone, hasn't it ?

Then, her eye caught a burst of magic to the side. She peered out of the entrance of inn to see a grumpy looking wizard preparing some kind of spell. She squinted to try and see what he was doing, but she couldn't quite tell. In an attempt to sense the magic, Annalilly closed her eyes. Instead, she felt something else; there was something strange about this golem. It's magic...it was... "C-Captain R-Ril...This Golem..." her eyes fluttered open, her emotions expressed evidently on her face. If she hadn't just woken up perhaps she would've had better control of herself, but she couldn't help being surprised, "It wasn't summoned by someone close by.."

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How dare this still-living meal knock Garrock on the ground?! Pushing with its massive arms, the beast stood onto one foot, then the next.
As fast as the monster could manage, Garrock spun around to strike the man with its mighty fist. The man was too quick and Garrock instead hit the ground where he'd been standing. But the man had moved in front of Garrock's other hand to avoid its first attack. The beast swung this second arm, sending the man crashing against the wall of a second-story bakery, before collapsing through an awning and into a display of baked goods. The beast then turned to face the rest of the town and bellowed once more.
"GGAAAAAARRRRRRR!!!"
 
"Really? Then I suppose that narrows our options to distracting it right out of town or destroying it completely. And I'm none too strong for the latter." Ril paused, watching Caid get knocked into a bakery. He made a mental note to dodge backwards if punched at, not to the side. "Looks like it's my turn all the same. If you've enough strength, please hit it with a spell the instant it looks like it's definitely going to hit me," he instructed Sakura. "Once it's turned to you I can catch my breath and have another go at it. And if you don't, get someone else to hit it hard for the same effect. Else it'll just plow through everyone one at a time, you understand?"

Not waiting for an answer, he ran toward the creature while it was busy roaring again, drawing a sword and using his own momentum to smack the flat of its blade against the thing's side...not that he expected that to hurt it. Then he ran right on behind the creature, stopped, turned, and sheathed the sword in one motion, looking to see whether he had its attention or not.
 
Garrock felt something tap its side. It was barely noticable, but the blur of a figure running past him was easier to spot. Garrock turned around until it was staring this new rival in the face. This man seemed just as unmoved by Garrock's presence as the man before. The beast slammed both its fists into the ground, lining it with cracks, and sent out another roar.
"Hah! I've had worse roars and breath from newcomers to me ship!"
The man drew his sword and pointed it right between Garrock's eyes. The golem opened its mouth and encased half the sword in stone. There came an uncomfortable grating sound as the beasts stone molars grinded against the metal. The man pulled his sword from out of Garrock's throat and thrust it at the beast, before stepping back out of the way. He had scratched Garrock's boulder of a head. A faint crack ran down its face.
The sword was worse for wear. it was dented on the flat of the blade and coated in saliva.
But despite coming off better than the weapon that had attacked it, Garrock was still madder than ever. The beast lunged at the man, its arms locked together like a giant hammer. Luckily that hammer wasn't quick enough, or the man would have his skull inside his shoes. Garrock saw that the man was now two feet further back. Garrock lunged again, and once more missed. He darted around the golem, once more slashing at the beast's face during his run.
Now Garrock had finally had all it could stand. Using its massive hands as a pendulum, the beast whirled its body around too fast for the human to react in time. The sword hit the ground, while the man hit, and went through, the door he had emerged from. Garrock roared again, Daring anyone else to challenge.
 
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