The Blood That Binds Us

[Fox of Spades]

A collab between @Fox of Spades and @Haru Nyan​

The Blood That Binds Us
Chapter One: The Goblet

​

The Middle of Nowhere: En Route to the Ruins
​

Sunlight filtered through the trees as the dirt road before them stretched endlessly. There wasn't a person in sight, and it looked like there wouldn't be another village for several miles. As much as Kaz hated to admit, they were lost in the middle of nowhere. "Hey, Yvette? You used to be a pirate, right? Can't you look at a compass and tell us if we're going the right way?"

It had been half a day since they'd left the Broken Bard—a cozy tavern on the outskirts of a small settlement called Edinburg—but they'd yet to reach the ruins the archaeologist had told them about. The man had spoken of giant stone slabs covered in moss and ancient symbols, of century-old monoliths erected to form temples for the Gods. All of these, he said would be found once they were deep enough in the forest. Once they found these landmarks, all they would need to do was continue north until they reached a cave. They would recognize it immediately because of the crystals that shone a soft pastel blue, or at least, that was what the man had promised. It sounded like something out of a bard's tale, and the gold and glory that probably awaited them fueled Kaz's desire to find the ancient ruins the man had marked on their maps.

The archaeologist had introduced himself as Peter Crowe, artifact collector extraordinaire. He worked at a museum and found one of their flyers on an Adenturers for Hire post-it board. He immediately sent for them and hired them to find some sort of golden goblet. The details he'd given were shady at best, but he'd offered such a generous amount of gold, that it had been impossible to say no. It was the first decent request they'd received considering most of their quests involved menial tasks such as delivering letters or guarding caravans that were left alone a good 90 percent of the time.

Their first big adventure—their ticket to gold and glory. Kaz grinned from ear to ear at the thought.

"Of course I can!" The raven-haired woman feigned a smile as she looked at the young man, then made a mocking gesture with her hands."Do you see a compass? Do you have one? No? I thought not, so get moving." Yvette's expression turned from happy into deadpan as they trudged through the rugged roads leading towards their destination. The woman couldn't help but walk warily, even the outskirts of a nearby town would have its own fair share of creatures, so it probably wouldn't have hurt anybody to keep a weapon ready.

"What kind of pirate doesn't have a compass?" Kaz teased.

"The one that gets shipwrecked with the rest of her crew, now less talking and more exploring." Yvette sighed in an annoyed tone, glancing at Kaz with an unamused look on her face.

"Fair enough," Kaz laughed as he pressed the smudged map even closer to his face. "Hey, Nik. You've been around. Do you reckon you know where we are?" Fighting he could handle, navigating... he was decent, to put it kindly. "Jeez, the guy could have been more specific." He spent another second glaring at the map before he passed it to Yvette. "What do you guys think?"

Yvette hummed as she looked at the map and the mark that had been left by the archaelogist, she began to talk to herself and pointed at the mark. "This is our destination." That was easy enough to figure out, but where the hell were they on the map? The forest was starting to look like a maze or labyrinth with its sheer size, but the wench had an idea to keep track of their location. "How about we create landmarks of our own so we don't get lost?" Unsheathing her sword from its scabbard, the woman looked around for a tree that stuck out like a sore thumb, something that was easy to identify even amongst all the flora and fauna. Approaching a tree that had some noticable fruits growing out of it, the woman slashed once and twice, carving an "X" shape on the trunk. "There, that should help us."

"Good idea, Yvette. Did I tell you how wonderful you are?" Kaz spent another moment sweet-talking her before he continued down the road. "Peter said it wouldn't be far, so we should be there soon. I wonder why he wants this goblet so much?" Sure, it would probably be pretty to look at and display on a mantle but the man was offering quite the hefty sum of gold. Kaz wasn't complaining but something about the whole quest just seemed a little... odd. "You'd think it's cursed or something," he joked. "Maybe we should take it for ourselves and sell it to the highest bidder? There's got to be some other archaeologist out there who's looking for it too if Peter wants it so badly, right?"

---

The Woods: En Route to the Ruins

"It should be somewhere around here," Xandra complained as they walked pass the same boulder for what felt like the nth time. The compass they'd brought along had stopped working as soon as they stepped into the woods and she couldn't help but feel as if something sinister were afoot. The forest was eerily quiet, so quiet that it was lacking the sounds of birds, insects, and the usual wildlife. "Is it weird that I get the feeling we're not alone here, Cyrl?"

"Probably just a bunch of poor sods who thought they were alone in the forest...Bah! Must've been too poor to afford a tavern." Cyrlden grunted as he glanced at his surroundings, Xandra wasn't completely false however, he could've sworn just a few moments ago he could hear some semblance of nature moving about and doing this and that, but there was nothing...It was eerie and it felt ominous. "I'd keep yer guard up if I were you."

"Of course," came the curt response. Xan had been a state mage for barely a year, several years less than Cyrlden, but she was careful and observant and she wasn't about to let her guard down just because things looked peaceful on the surface. "Let's hope it's nothing," Xan turned to the armored men and women trailing after them. "Lieutenant Falkner decided to send us the new recruits." She didn't blame the woman of course, it was a simple scouting assignment. They'd been tasked to look for anything out of the ordinary and report back should they find anything strange.

The bushes to her left rustled loudly as one of the younger recruits leaped out from behind them. "Sir Cyrlden! Ma'am Xandra!" He yelled, his face flushed and his helmet far too big for his head. He sputtered when it slipped down and covered his eyes, but that didn't stop him from saluting.

An amused smile wormed its way onto the woman's face. "At ease, soldier."

"I saw footsteps in the woods," he reported. "The tracks were fresh."

"Is that so," Xan arched an eyebrow then turned to Cyrlden. "I'm guessing we ought to check on that?"

The older man furrowed his brows, weighing his options. If anything, it at least confirmed that him and his soldiers weren't alone, and if he was right, the foreboding atmosphere must've come from these unlucky bastards. With a simple nod of his head, Cyrlden asked the young recruit to lead them in the direction. With luck, it would lead them into the ruins.

"This way, sir, ma'am!" The young recruit pointed southeast and quickly scampered off to lead the way. Slowly, the entire group followed until they disappeared into the foliage.[/HR]

 

[Bismarck]

"Oh yes I've been here before. I came here as my first mission with another, much older Crusader. Granted at the time, he was about my age, so can't knock him much." Nikolai commented, responding to what Kaz had to say. Though as normal he was quick to go off topic as he walked, absently tapping his mace against a a few trees in passing. "I believe, we fought something bad here...oh what was it? Skeletons? Zombies? Some rabid wolf?" He asked in attempts to stir a memory, "I don't remember, it just wasn't good what we encounter my comrade." He explained, as he took a more defensive stance as they walked. The chatter about the dead, and the evil seeming to make him a bit more tense.

Nikolai was among the most seasoned adventurer in the group, at least when it came to exploring, and fighting. However he was also the quickest to be put on guard, and be made to fight. So he wasn't exactly easy going. He twirled his weapon around a bit, "I don't like this place. It reeks of evil, and rotting wood." The man remarked, as he pulled the hood on his robes back, and lifted the face plate on his helmet up. Under the helm he was a bearded man, gray in color, but trimmed up to look decent and presentable, "Look, all I'm saying is, it's only a goblet. Why would something of that nature, be hid in such a devious, and cruel place? Even the birds refuse to sing here. It's not natural."

Although for the massive man, he silenced himself, deciding to approach their resident pirate, and map holder, "Here, let me take a look, and see if it stirs up any memories of the last time I was stuck here. I was only a boy, but maybe my old mine hasn't gone rotten, and I'll remember something."

 

[LVL1337N00B]

​

"It's ruins then, innit?", Ryleigh asked as he placed himself between Yvette and Nikolai, leaning on the smaller of the two for unneeded support while taking a glance at the map himself. Not that him looking would do them any good, he was probably about as good at reading maps as the defender near him was good at squeezing into small spaces. That is to say, not very good at all, unless the giant of a man were secretly a contortionist or capable of some sort of self-shrinking magic. "They's got 'em a real p'ticular scent, aye? All musty 'n rot'id", he went on, "Might be we oughta stick the 'ounds on it, whatcha reckon?" Without bothering to wait for any sort of response, the elder Kinnon brought his fingers up to his lips and emit a high-pitched whistle. "Oyyy, Bibi! Ivara!", he called out at full volume, waving his hand around through the air. Just then something small whizzed past his head, red and white and thin in the center. Apple core as it turned out. Without turning, he called back to his would-be assailant, "Yer aim's shite!"

​

"That's called a warnin' shot, y' loud-mouthed oaf!", Ophelia yelled from somewhere further behind, "I's got 'eavier stuff what can put yer lights out n' shut yer fockin' trap if'n y' can't tone it down y'self!" The white haired woman pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned her displeasure, eyes closed and head tilted downward as she trudged onward. Posture slumped, hair in disarray, eyes red and skin even paler than usual; This was the look of a woman suffering one hellacious hangover, one who would most certainly benefit from a little peace and quiet. Unfortunately, none would be had with her brother around.

"What's a'matter, aye? Can't take none more'n whispers? It's yer own goddamn fault, drinkin' too much a'fore we had'a start off after the bird's fancy cup!"

"It's called a fockin' gob'lit, y' empty 'eaded blighter!"

"Still a fancy cup then, innit? I ain't needin' the likes 'a you correctin' me, try'na act all fancy n' proper. You ain't come from nothin' but th' same heap'a shite as I did, y' wretch!"

Any other day, this back and forth might have gone on a while, both siblings grinning all the while. For previously stated reasons however, today Ophelia's expression was anything but amused and she'd decided there and then to drop the matter entirely in favor of plugging her ears in an attempt to block out her brother's booming voice. "Goddamn irritatin' twat", she muttered under her breath.

That exchange done with, Ryleigh spat on the ground and turned his attention back to his companions nearest him. "The gut'r rat's got a point though. If'n one fella's willin' to drop s'much coin on the gob'lit, reckon what's it gonna fetch in an auction or summin'? Worth some considerin', I says", the archer said, gesturing with his hands as if weighing their options in a literal sense. Already moving on from that train of thought and back to the more pressing issue at hand, he snapped his fingers and jammed his elbow into Nikolai's side. "Oy, 'ows about we find us a mossy rock? Oughta tell which way we's goin' with'at then, aye?"​

 

[ERode]

Ribibi's nose twitched as she scampered up Yvette's tree. Was the woman marking out her territory? Looked about right, but at the same time, cutting up the bark was a bad idea. Not everyone would notice such a thing, after all. Smarter to pee on it. No need to worry about looking at things that way. Just walk while following your own scent.

She nodded sagely at her own silent advice as she pulled herself up onto a stout branch, picking a couple fruits. Three of those yellow things were jammed into her mouth and the dark-skinned girl chewed, chipmunk like.

Then, her expression soured. How sour. Unripe? Maybe. Spitting the half-chewed clump of fruit matter off to the side, the wildling hopped off without a care, rolling and then standing up fluidly, as if it was the easiest thing in the world to do. Probably was. Even ten-year old Ribibi could do that. Catching up with her pack as they went further off, the first thing she heard was old man Nikolai's complaints about rotten wood. Tilting her head to the side, Ribibi said, "Don't like rotting wood? Lotsa food in there. Bugs good eating."

Oh, no bird song? So no birds? Then...

"Lotsa bugs, because no birds. Really good. What's evil smell like?" She sniffed the air a few more times. "Ribibi only smells rotting wood, not-rotting wood, sweat, pee…oh!"

From the heavens, like a blessing of a kind god, an apple core flew and struck the dirt, bouncing twice before Ribibi pounced, lightning fast as one hand slapped it up in the air once more for her other hand to catch. Dangling the half-eaten fruit by its stem, she tossed it in her mouth and grinned. Good food. Very sweet. Even sweeter because she just ate something super sour. What was the word again?

"Ivara, apple and yellow sour fruit! Eat one at a time and they compliment! Want Ribibi to fetch?"

Then, a pause, as she processed more of the conversation that passed from one sibling to another.

"Gobble it? What we gobbling?"

 

[MixedUpGuy]

Didara followed behind as he leaned on his staff for support, feigning exhaustion as the trip through the woods had been so tiring to this point he was growing more annoyed that the destination had yet to be reached. Surely they would have had to be close but at this point close wasn't near enough for him. He just wanted to get in the cave, get the goblet and leave with the reward as soon as possible. As Nikolai began looking over the map and the area around them he mentioned that he may have been here once in the past as a younger man. Didara laughed slightly to himself as he continued his way up to the front of the group.

"Trusting Nikolai to remember where he has been decades ago is almost as difficult as finding fresh worms in the scorching desert. It took us almost an hour to help find Nikolai's helmet as we left the tavern almost a day ago and it wasn't until we realized he just left it on the counter that we were able to start on this journey in the first place," Didara joked as in reality, it was he who hid the helmet behind the front desk and pleaded with the inn keeper not to say anything as he wanted to just see how long it would take for the old Crusader to get frustrated with the whole venture. Of course no one knew that except for Kaz and Silas but only after some prodding between the three of them. "I'd sooner trust little Ribbi to lead us onward."

The mage stuck his staff in the ground as he continued to walk towards the tree were a few bitten into fruits fell near his feat. Didara gave a slightly disgusted look as they were covered in more spit than juice of the fruit. Ribbi herself was never the cleanest eater but even that seemed to be a bit excessive. When the young girl ask about the goblet, he leaned down with a smile. "We are not going to gobble anything there little Ribbi. We are looking for a fancy cup, called a goblet. We talked about this back at the inn before we left. The goblet likely is very valuable, and we need to find it in the cave deeper in the forest. But we are not going to eat it." Didara joked as he went back to get his staff.

While Yvette finished marking the tree Didara rolled his eyes and slapped his staff on the ground to make a small mound of dirt rise to about ankle level on him. "If it ends up getting dark out here Yvette the marking of a tree isn't going to do us much good unless you stab the thing like a pig with a pike. May I suggest my magic make us our points of reference. Besides," Didara then leaned down as he pointed at his make shift marker. "I can always make it bigger and harder to miss if we really are lost." He said with a smile and a chuckle to himself.

 

[KageKaioh]

Several dozen feet from where the rest of the motley crew was chattering sat the rickety wagon they had just gotten. It was obviously used and abused, but it held up over the rough terrain of the forest well enough. Now, one may wonder as to why the wagon was not with the adventurers, instead resting on the loamy dirt path. The answer is simply this: someone decided it would be a good idea to tell the smallest member of the group that they must take a turn pulling it.

"Oh... come... on!" The petite man in question was at the front of the wooden, wheeled box, straining against the rope that was tied betwixt the bars a horse would be harnessed to. "I told them.... urrrrgh! This wasn'... gonna fecking work!" He huffed, cursing under his breath as his boots dug deeper into the soft ground. In a last attempt to make the damned thing move, he leaned into the loop of rope with all of his weight- which was not much more than a large sack of flour. For a moment, he dangled there, propped up at a steep angle and staring at the ground. "Aw, screw this."

Righting himself, he dropped the rope and stepped over it. Looking up to the shrinking figures of his friends, he cupped his hands around his mouth. "Yello! A liddle help here!" He called. Clearly, something was happening, as everyone seemed to be converging on Yvette, and the Kinnons were arguing- not that they ever stopped. As such, his cries fell on deaf ears. Dropping his hands to his sides, he gave another huff and pouted slightly. It was then that his fingers brushed the pouch at his side. A light went off in his head.

Swiftly, he flipped up the cover and pulled out a glass bottle filled with a thick yellow-green liquid. Giving it a swirl as he brought it up to eye level, he smiled. "I guess I will jus' have to help myself, then, huh?" He said as he walked around to the side of the wagon. Crouching down, he uncorked the bottle and carefully tipped it, allowing a small trickle of the liquid to run along the wheel to the ground. After doing the same to the other wheels, he smacked the cork back onto the vial and put it back into his trusty pouch. The Alchemist then took up the rope once more and placed his boots in the divots they had made previously.

With renewed determination, he took a big step forward, pulling with all his strength... then hit the ground face-first. A loud clatter went over his head, creaking and squeaking in his ears. Pushing himself up, he watched as the wagon rolled on, without him. "Uh oh..." He said, seconds before realization set in. His eyes then went wide. "OH, OH SHIT!" He sprang up, dashing after the cart with a stumble.

"MOVE! Everyone get out of the fecking way!" Clearly that was too much oil of slipperiness.

 

[Baddamobs]

​

This little jaunt into the woods had started off pretty nostalgic for Ivara. The notion of travelling under the lush canopy of dense woodland with her 'family' reminded the ex-Amazonian of when she had still been welcome in her old tribe, her memories of the good days outweighing the bad. It was nice to reminisce about that stage in her life for a while, but then the differences had started to become too stark for her to ignore: unlike the animated woods of her childhood, this forest was uncomfortably still, as if it were holding its breath. Where there had been the cheerful song of birds drifting through the air, instead there was an odd silence. And instead of her tribe-sisters…

"…Might be we oughta stick the 'ounds on it, whatcha reckon? Oyyy, Bibi! Ivara!"

Ivara half jumped in place, knocked out of her reverie. She looked up, eyes quickly locking onto the waving Ryleigh. Ivara had managed to find herself towards the back of the group; a combination of her ponderous steps and wandering thoughts. It took her a second to understand what Ryleigh was requesting, but she smiled with a shrug when she did, calling back.

"I'm afraid my nose can only detect when meat has cooked through, not lost ruins. Not exactly in a rush to find it, anyway…" Ivara said that last more to herself, glancing around at the trees around them with no small amount of trepidation. This whole place unnerved her, and she had a prickling sensation at the back of her neck, like she was being watched. She tried to convince herself that it was just her paranoia acting up, but the young woman couldn't shake the feeling like this was a bad idea.

"Ivara, apple and yellow sour fruit! Eat one at a time and they compliment! Want Ribibi to fetch?"

Ivara turned her attention back to the forefront of the party, seeing Ribibi gesturing to a fruit laden tree with enthusiasm. Say what you would about the wildling girl, Ribibi's willingness to shove strange and potentially dangerous food into her mouth had so far proved invaluable to Ivara's growing repertoire of recipes. Ivara grinned, glad for the distraction from her surroundings, and shot the other girl an eager thumbs-up.

"Grab as many as you can carry, Little Hopper! I'll see what I can do with them later."

Ivara would need to try a few of these fruits herself to identify just how sour they were, but a few ideas were already starting to alight in her mind. She knew that they had a few more apples in their possession, so they had plenty of raw ingredients for experimentation. The two fruits might taste good raw, but what if you cooked them through, with something to serve as a base? Maybe even use something sugary while cooking to lock in the flavours. She knew that she had some honey and ginger stored on the cart; using them both with the fruits would make a disaster, but if they were cooked first and served as a basis… Of course; all of this depended on whether they had enough room in the cart for all these raw ingredients. Where was the cart, anyway?

"MOVE! Everyone get out of the fecking way!"

Ivara had about half of a second to turn around and realise that the party's cart was barrelling towards her at breakneck speeds before the entire thing rammed into her.

Whatever noise of panic Ivara tried to make was swallowed up when the fighter had the wind almost literally knocked out of her. Ivara managed to remain upright despite the sheer force that had hit her, ending up stuck to the front of the cart as it sped down the path. With a grunt of effort, the girl planted her boots onto the ground and strained to stop the runaway wagon. Despite putting her entire weight into forcing the thing to stop, Ivara couldn't halt the cart's frightening momentum. It was almost as if the thing's wheels had practically no fiction-

"-That pissing alchemist!"

Fuelled by sheer frustration, and with her heart thundering in her chest, Ivara readjusted her grip on the cart, grabbing it from below. With a mix of a growl and shout, the ex-Amazonian lifted. The cart's wheels only came off the ground for a split second, and it was only for a few centimetres off the ground, but it was enough. The vast majority of its energy left it, and after a few moments, cart rolled to a stop.

Breathing heavily- more from adrenaline and shock than anything else- Ivara only released her white knuckled grip after she was sure the damnable transportation had come to a complete stop. Reaching up to brush a stand of hair that had escaped her ponytail during the collision, Ivara took a few seconds to breath and steady herself. Finally, she leaned up and around to look around the cart.

She had gone from being towards the back of the group, to being a few paces in front of it. Not to mention her boots had carved twin marks into the path, occasionally decorated with various bits and pieces that had fallen off the cart. Of course, the main thing that Ivara focused on was the sight of Silas, way at the back of the group, who was suspiciously standing roughly where the cart had come from. Well, the most suspicious thing was that he was the one that had been pulling the cart before it had turned into a rolling health hazard.

Ivara turned to face Yvette, the ex-Amazonian's expression souring.

"Maybe I should take a turn pulling the cart? Indeed, maybe I should always take Silas' turn?"

 

[Fox of Spades]

The place reeked of evil and rotting wood? The forest was deathly quiet, but Kaz didn't quite feel the evilness Nikolai was implying. Rotting wood was just wood, and like Ribibi said, it provided some... interesting food ingredients. Thank the Gods Ribibi hadn't convinced Ivara to start cooking bugs. He loved her cooking to hell back, but he doubted she'd be able to make termites appetizing. Actually, maybe she could, but he didn't want to find out. The thought kept Kaz occupied as the others began discussing the best way to get to the Goblet.

Well, Nikolai, Yvette, and Didara were discussing. The Kinnons? They were bickering like they always did. The squabble brought a grin to the ex-thief's face. "Ryleigh gets it. We should auction the thing instead." He was joking of course. Now that they were adventurers for hire, they had to be more honorable—as honorable as a group of misfits like them could be. They did want to get their name out there after all, become legends. And to do that, they needed to earn trust and prove their bravery and honor and all that. "Anyways, the forest looks fine. What do you have against tree's Nik?" It was a playful prod, he made sure not to be too annoying. Kaz figured it was time to cut Nik some slack, especially after the prank Didara had played on the poor crusader.

"May I suggest my magic make us our points of reference."

That was actually a pretty good idea. Stone markers would be easier to see and it would make sure they weren't going in circles or getting hopelessly lost. Didara was silly, but that didn't mean he wasn't smart. "That's actually a pretty good idea—what the what?" The compliment was cut short as soon as Silas' shout tore through the air.

We're being ambushed, Kaz's thoughts screamed as he whipped out his daggers and spun around to face their cart?

The wagon collided with Ivara and he felt his heart leap into his throat, but it was over as soon as it started when the amazon plucked it off the ground as if it were a sack of potatoes. The day had been saved, but their items were scattered all over the place. Ivara looked, for the most part, unharmed.

"Ivara!" Kaz yelled from his position beside Nikolai. "Are you? Are you okay? Do you need a healer?"

Instead of falling flat on her face, she suggested she pull the cart in the future. Kaz's expression became a unreadable before he broke into a hearty laugh. "That's... that's a pretty good idea." He was glad everyone was alright. "Silas? Hey, bud, you okay over there?" Once confirmation had been given Kaz turned to the rest of the group and made a face. "Well, we should check our stuff and load them back into the cart before we go. Hey, Ribibi, don't eat any of Silas' weird ingredients, okay?" With that said, the ex-thief began roaming around the bushes in search of their lost ingredients.

There was a raw onion by the bushes, some bread at the base of a tree, a coat of sorts near a rock. He gathered all the items into his arms, but stopped when he noticed footprints in the soil. The nearest town was several miles away and the forest didn't look like it was home to any nearby individuals. "Hey," Kaz called out as he squatted in the dirt. "I found something." There wasn't just one pair either, there were several footprints leading deeper into the forest. "Nik might be right, it doesn't look like we're alone."

 

[Haru Nyan]

​

Yvette just rolled her eyes at the insincerity of the young man, continuing down further along the road and enjoying a moment of silence before Kaz's yap began to yammer again, although given what little they knew about the goblet he did pose a fair point. Cursed or not, it wasn't really their problem to meddle in the affairs of others, although she didn't agree to the brown-haired boy's notions of selling it to the highest bidder, they had promised Crowe after all, and it's generally not a good idea to break another's trust. Although, when Nikolai pitched in a few of his comment she couldn't agree more..."Perhaps it was used as a ritual to appease one of the gods?" The wench didn't like the thought however, knowing botched attempts at these rites have usually ended terribly.

"Don't go bursting a blood vessel with all your remembering, alright?" The raven-haired woman grinned with a sly look on her face, although that smile left her face as a look of discontent replaced it when Ryleigh oh-so gracefully squeezed in on both her and Nikolai. And while his mention of ruins having particular scents made her look at him in confusion, it did give Yvette the idea of using Ribibi's tracking abilities to see if they could locate the ruins faster, although...The limits of one's scent had to be taken in to factor, especially in the forest they were in. Who knows if Ribibi's nose won't lead them to another clearing of the forest that'll lead them further from the destination? Still, it was an idea that was worth noting and she asked for the group's opinion on the idea. Didara pitched in as well with an idea of his own, which was far better than Yvette's initial plan.

"Hmm, you're right. Make it a point to mark some of these in the case we get lost. It's better to backtrack than waste energy going endlessly on a loop." She nodded to him as she began to think of an appropriate course of action...The whole tracking thing Ryleigh had suggested was still looming over her thoughts. If anything, combining it with the marks Didara would make will make navigating easier and backtracking all the less worrisome, but what abou-A shout, Yvette's attention was instantly diverted from the next move to a voice in the distance, her stance instantly jumping into the defensive and about to draw both of her weapons, expecting a band of thieves or the local wildlife but no it was...Their cart?

Before she could even mull things over as to why their cart was about to nearly run them over, Ivara swooped in and in feat of strength, stopped the thing. But not without causing a mess of their supplies and sending them all over the place. The wench sighed as she closed her eyes and tried to keep her composure, she nodded at Ivara's suggestion. "Gladly." Without hesitation however, she and the others had helped with collecting a bunch of their materials that had been scattered. After helping the group on their little collectible hunt, Yvette's expression turned into a somber one, after hearing Kaz's statement...Not alone, eh?​

 

[KageKaioh]

Sil's eyes went wide as the cart slammed straight into Ivara, the shock of it causing him to slide to a stop, boots throwing bits of loam and dirt. Was she okay? How many broken bones does she have? How many healing tinctures does he have left? So many questions raced through the young man's head as he stared, unblinking. It took a moment, but he came to realize that Ivara was not, in fact, a crumpled heap in the road. Further more, the cart that had reached peak speed ground to a halt as a guttural cry rang through the trees. It was like a scene from one of those Epics old men told at taverns- A feat of raw strength and will. Except... the enemy was a cart, rather than a dragon. A little less exciting.

When Ivara turned her head to glare at him with those dark, piercing eyes of hers, Silas could not help but give a sheepish smile and duck his head down into his shoulders. Looks like it was the scraps for dinner again. Not that this was much different from usual, though. Just what did the Amazon have against him, anyway? Well, besides his less than well thought-out ideas, such as this one. Oh, right, she hates his "cowardly" way of fighting. Pft.

He stood there awkwardly for a few more moments, shuffling his toes into the ground until he saw Kaz and Yvette start to gather the scattered possessions of the crew. He jumped into motion, scrambling around and grabbing everything that was further back along the road. He may cause messes, but he at least makes sure to help clean them up.

As he brought an armful of assorted goods to the wagon (minus one apple that he pocketed for later), Sil heard Kaz's warning. The Alchemist might be prone to goofing off, but he wasn't oblivious- most of the time, anyway. The smile he normally wore dimmed slightly as his bright eyes narrowed, scanning the woods around with keen vision.

"Do ya think it might be someone lookin' to steal the gob'et once we do the work?" He said, not asking anyone in particular. To him, it made sense. Shady folk would be right on it, letting the gang of misfits risk life and limb to get the treasure, rather than doing it themselves. Anyone in that tavern could have overheard them accepting this quest.

 

[Bismarck]

Nikolai watched as the cart was lifted up, the Crusader was silent as he looked Ivara over, a small grin crossing his old, uncovered face. He shook his head a bit, "She'll be fine, best not to waste healing magic, and potions on a few scrapes. Lest we end up as weak as the nobles who hire us." The man replied gruffly, as he took a look at the map one last time. The mention of the gods made the man shiver a bit in his armor, "The Great ones, or so they are called. The most evil of all the gods. Though the most mysterious. I do hope this Goblet is not for them." The tall man remarked, as he put his helmet back down to cover his face, and put his hood on. Returning to his look of the faceless executioner, tall, foreboding, and without an identity beyond his massive armor.

The mention of footsteps did intrigue him however, the bear of a man approach them too look them over. "Ribbi, my dear. Come here will you. Anyone who wants to come with me, instead of pick up bread, we will let Ribbi lead us to them. I don't like being tracked, so we will stop this from happening." Nikolai proclaimed, as he stood a bit more proud, seeming cheerful about the idea of getting to swing his mace around, and cleanse some of the horrors that must lurk around these woods. "That is, if you agree to act as my Blood hound of Justice Ribbi, and some of the others wish to accompany us. I'm not a fan of fighting alone, I can wear down opponents in one on one combat, but I'm not a whole brigade, capable of taking on a group of fiends."

With that said however, Nikolai started to try and follow the footprints a bit on his own. Praying they weren't just their own, from hours of walking. "Perhaps those of you, less versed in Physical combat, and more adept at trickery...and magic." The tall man almost hissed the last word, "Should stay here and protect the cart, while the rest of us go see what the problem is today."

 

[LVL1337N00B]

[BCOLOR=transparent]

[/BCOLOR]​

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ophelia had been crouched in front of Didara's earthen slab when the alchemist yelled for everyone to move, carving into it what she'd call runes but were actually scribbly symbols that meant absolutely nothing. She'd intended to try fooling the mage into saying something silly, but quickly forgot all about that as she turned to see their cart barreling toward her. She scrambled to her feet and dove out of the way in time to avoid being hit, still close enough however that the wind whipped her hair about. She lay where she landed for several silent moments with a look on her face that clearly said something along the lines of, "Holy shit."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]When she pulled herself out of it and sat upright, the first words out of the younger Kinnon's mouth were, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"What'n the hell'd you do, ya runty littol gob-shite? I ain't never seen no cart move so fast in m'life." [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]There was a grin on the woman's face, but it was apparent that she was still shaken. Ophelia breathed a sigh and stood up, but the moment she tried to take a step she winced and grit her teeth. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Agh, fockin' hell"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent], she grumbled, finding herself a tree to lean back against.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]

[/BCOLOR]​

[BCOLOR=transparent]Meanwhile, Ryleigh had plenty of time to get himself out of harm's way. By the time the cart had passed him, he was already booming with laughter. That laughter only grew louder once the thing had stopped and he'd had time to properly take in everything around him; Kazimir's blades were out and ready for battle, Silas shrank under Ivara's gaze and perhaps most amusingly, the giant herself had gotten the runaway cart under control and the first thing she says is that maybe she should take over Silas' cart-pulling duty. It was almost too much.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Thanks for sparin' our shite, killer"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent], Ryleigh teased, slapping Kazimir on the back as he passed him. While others had already begun collecting the items that had fallen off the cart, he was instead casually making his way over to the Amazon. One thing did catch his eye however, and he moved to swipe the item along the way. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"You're a right fockin' beastly lass then. You born from a goddamn ogre or summin'?"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent], the archer remarked with another laugh, reaching up and hooking an arm around Ivara's shoulder. He might have sounded like he was still just teasing, maybe he was, but he was genuinely impressed with what she'd just pulled off. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Oy, 'ows about a drink?"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent], he asked, raising the bottle he held and clamping his teeth down into the cork at the top, pulling it out with a little squeak and spitting it out somewhere off to the side,[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] "Prob'ly achin' fer one 'bout now, aye?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ryleigh took a long swig from the bottle, paying no heed to the overflow rolling down from the corner of his lips and eventually dripping from his beard. Once he was done he'd shove the bottle into Ivara's chest and tilt his head back, yelling to his companions behind them, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"You lot all still in one piece?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"I done busted up my fockin' ankle"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent], Ophelia called back to her brother.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Aye, so yer all fine."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"I know you 'eard me, ya mis'rable fockin' arse!"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Walk it off, ya goddamn wuss!"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ophelia growled, but opted to let it go instead of fighting on. Though shock had come as a distraction from her hangover, it couldn't last for long and sure enough, the pounding in her skull had returned. She held her head with one hand and grimaced until the brunt of it passed, then turned her gaze downward and frowned. The amateur enchanter looked almost depressed for all of about two seconds before her brow furrowed and she snapped her head toward the direction of her brother's voice.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Oy, Nik. You can fix 'er with yer magic, aye?"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent], Ryleigh asked, cutting his sister off before she could bark at him like she wanted to, "Maybe you got some kinda poultice or summin', Silas?" He could just feel the little smirk creeping across Ophelia's face as he showed his concern, like any good big brother ought to. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Don't need no dead weight"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent], he added in with that in mind, heading toward the crusader, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"If can't nothin' be done, somebody help 'er walk. I'll go help to find whoever the fock what's out there n' shoot 'em dead if need be."[/BCOLOR]

 

[Baddamobs]

​

While everyone else set about collecting the bits and pieces that had fallen off the cart, Ivara set about collecting her wits. The young woman focused on poking and prodding about her person, double checking she didn't suffer any injuries that the runaway cart could have caused without her noticing. She couldn't find any major injuries, but winced when she touched the right side of her midsection. That definitely felt like at least a bruise, though Ivara supposed it could have been worse. With any luck, that was the most dangerous thing that would happen today.

"…Nik might be right, it doesn't look like we're alone."

…Ivara wasn't sure if mental jinxing was a real phenomenon, but she supposed she deserved that.

Wringing her ponytail with nervous agitation, Ivara scanned the foliage as her heart began to once again increase its pace. That earlier feeling of being watched had returned tenfold, and every shadow now seemed to house an assassin waiting to strike. Hell, how did they know they hadn't just wandered straight into some sort of trap? The built woman knew that she was just letting worry grip her, but she couldn't shake the fear that an arrow or knife was about to find its way between the ribs of one of the party.

"Do ya think it might be someone lookin' to steal the gob'et once we do the work?"

"More likely it's someone trying to get the damn thing before us, right?" Ivara said, uncertain if she actually believed that or if she was trying to just imagine a slightly less dangerous situation to take comfort in. "I mean, why bother waiting for us to get it when they could just rush ahead and grab it for themselves? H-hell, maybe it's just some forest dwelling folk, and they're just trying to stay out of our way!"

Alright, that last one really was unlikely, but it would have been best possible outcome. Ivara knew that this trip had promised some danger, but she thought it would have been limited to wild animals or the danger of tedium as they wandered around in circles looking for some decrepit ruins. Then again, the amount of gold they had been promised to be wouldn't have been nearly as high if that had been the case, even if that was just a very small silver lining. Just as this grim thought that had cleared Ivara's head, Nikolai had stood up and asked for Ribibi's tracking ability, stating.

"I don't like being tracked, so we will stop this from happening."

"Far be it from me to disagree with you, Mentor, but I don't know if that's a good idea." Ivara about faced, and took a few steps closer to where the group was gathered around the footprints. She had a great deal of respect for the older warrior she was addressing: the old crusader exemplified many traits that made a great fighter, and his experience was something she hoped to learn from, but she couldn't stand idly by while their group was put into more danger than they already could be. "I think we-"

Ivara suddenly found herself cut off when a arm circled around her shoulder, and she found her head partially ducked down to meet more levelly with Ryleigh Kinnon's. When her eyes took in the man's bearded face and amused grin so close, Ivara felt her hands unconsciously curled into fists, the metal of her gauntlets almost imperceptibly creaking as she did so.

"You're a right fockin' beastly lass then. You born from a goddamn ogre or summin'?"

While Ivara tried to process if this was some kind of roundabout compliment, Ryleigh had already raised a bottle into view.

"Oy, 'ows about a drink?" Without missing a beat, he had already uncorked it with his teeth with one simple motion, ejecting the cork with a spit. "Prob'ly achin' fer one 'bout now, aye?" So saying, he raised the bottle to his lips, gulping down a good mouthful before he was done. Finally, Ryleigh pressed the bottle into her chest and scrambling hands as naturally as could be, and was soon off to look after his sister. The only thing that Ivara had clearly processed from the encounter was that they now couldn't re-cork the bottle of alcohol, annoyingly.

Honestly, it was still taking Ivara a while to get used to this whole 'regular interactions with males' thing. She had spent her entire childhood being raised in a world where contact with any kind of man was in an extremely limited capacity, and the ex-Amzon had fully expected to live the rest of her life in that world before she had been booted out. While Ivara was doing her best to get used to just being around so many guys, both in the party and otherwise, physical contact was still kind of an issue. One time her panic had been so great, she had nearly decked the then recently met Kazimir when he had given her a friendly pat on the back. In any case, Ivara found herself standing with an open bottle of alcohol in her hands, staring confusedly after Ryleigh.

"…Right. Anyway," Ivara turned back to Nikolai, resolving to stay on topic. "I think we need to stick together. Splitting up the group can only invite disaster, one way or the other. I say we just…ignore the tracks, and carry on. If we push on to the goblet, grab it and leave, we might avoid trouble all together."

The idea was optimistic, perhaps naively so, but Ivara didn't care much to think of the alternative.

 

[ERode]

Hm? As Didara explained just how a 'gobble it' wasn't a 'gobble it' but instead was a 'goblet', Ribibi could only furrow her brows at the mental gymnastics it required to differentiate between two phonetically similar phrases. A valuable goblet? But if it wasn't something they could eat or something they could sleep in…how was it valuable?

The beast girl had, of course, been instructed in the importance of money, but it still befuddled her that her pack cared much about money. Sleeping outside wasn't that bad, was it? And food was good even without those fancy powdery things that Ivara loves to sprinkle. She mulled over the value of a goblet for a couple more minutes, before the axe-cook gave her a task that was much more easily performed: fetch more fruits.

"Ok," Ribibi said, running back up the tree. Plucking more of the unripe fruits, she bundled them up in the front of her cloak before bunching the coarse fabric together, creating a makeshift bag. From her vantage point, she could also see Silas get to work with the cart, having pushed it so hard that it was now…out of control? "Wow," she muttered to herself, "Strong."

Not as strong as Ivara though, who caught it without a problem at all. Carefully making it down the tree, the brunette approached the site of the accident, before plopping her bounty into the cart. "There you go," she said, smiling at the barbarian. "And no. Silas take his own turns. Build strength. Don't be useless. Ivara should cook instead."

Then, her brow furrowed once more. Dropping down onto all fours, Ribibi's nose twitched as she sniffed the wheels of the cart. Then, she took a quick lick. Mixed with dirt, grass, and a splinter that she had to pluck out of her tongue, the savage caught something else as well.

She turned to Silas. "Oil? Why cook a wheel?"

That was clearly a question for another time, though, as Nikolai called the young girl over. Bounding to the side of the crusader, she turned from the tracks that Kaz pointed out back to the crusader. Tracking the people who walked here? Hunting? She thought for a moment, before smiling.

Two knuckles rapped against the crusader's armor, as Ribibi said, "No Nikolai. Too loud. No Ryleigh. Too stinky. Silas and Kaz. Ok?"

Apparently, Ivara wasn't 'ok' with it, and Ribibi frowned. On one hand, she DID want to be in the good graces of the food-maker, but on the other hand, walking around looking for a goblet wasn't nearly as fun as walking around looking for people who might have food on them.

"No 'ok'?"

 

[MixedUpGuy]

The mage, being so well adapted to reacting to sudden changes and screams from his fellow adventurers, turned as the wagon was picked up by Ivara with her amazon strength. The wind of the wagon as it blew by his face felt like a sudden harsh breeze one would feel on the pier during the onset of a small hurricane. After relaxing his sudden widened eyes back to normal, Didara quickly took his step back and smiled. "Well, remind me to always be behind Silas whenever he decides to pull the wagon. At least that way I have little chance of being run over. Unless he has some kind of concoction that has the ability to have the wagon go up hill rather than down."

Didara's quip was followed with a small chuckle as he continued towards the wagon where Ivara was and leaned against the wood with a nod. "Getting into separate groups would only make it harder to backtrack as it is. I can't make my stone markers from a distance, especially if I have no idea where any of you would be going once we went off in different directions." He told the others. It was then that Didara noticed the footsteps Kaz pointed out going towards the forest itself.

This made him slightly concerned as the idea of leaving his stone markers around might make it easier for someone to trail them back to where they started or even tail them to their eventual location. Last thing they needed was to be followed with not only the wagon but without any real idea as to where they were in the first place. Then an idea struck him as he looked back over at his first marker and gestured towards it.

"As far as trying to get a better idea of where in the world we actually are, I might be able to do something similar to that but on a grander scale. Perhaps a pillar tall enough to get over the trees to see anything in the distance, like a mountain or rock face where the cave would be." Didara's suggestion was followed with small finger wag however, with a small chuckle to himself as well. "Sadly though I think climbing the thing would only keep us here longer. The best way about it would be to have someone stand still, let me make the pillar and push them up."

The suggestion was not impossible for Didara, pending the height. Anything taller than a large red wood likely would leave him dazed, but based on the estimated height of the trees around them, and with Ribbi being able to climb up them so quickly it shouldn't take too much of his energy to do so. Probably just leave him more winded than tired. "I'm more than open to suggestions on who has the better balance of us all." The mage smiled as he tapped his staff on the ground twice with a chuckle.

 

[Fox of Spades]

As soon as Kaz pointed out the footsteps, suggestion after suggestion was tossed up for consideration. Was someone tracking them? Was it merely a coincidence? What was the best decision to make? There was no way to tell for sure, but at the moment, he had to agree with Ivara. They needed to stick together, safety in numbers and all that.

That, and they had to take the tracks into consideration too. If the footsteps turned out to be nothing important, they'd simply be wasting their time. He pondered on the ideas his friend's had brought up, only pausing to answer when Ryleigh slapped him on the back. "I don't think we should split up. We're not looking for a fight, we're just looking for the goblet. I'm with Ivara on this, finding it and hightailing out of here is probably our best option."

Kaz liked adventure as much as the next guy, but the quicker they got this over with, the better. Also, following footsteps deep into a weird forest they'd never been to before (all of them except Nik anyway) sounded like a surefire way to get ambushed and killed. "And Nik, Silas, see if you can patch up Ophelia." He added to Ryleigh's request. "We need everyone to be ready for everything."

He made his way towards the cart to deposit the items he'd gathered just as Ribibi made her way towards Nik. Despite the serious atmosphere, the girl's words made him chuckle. She'd just called Silas useless, and while Kaz didn't believe that, the way the wilding had dissed the alchemist was kind of funny. "Cheer up," he joked as swung an arm around Silas' shoulder. "She might think you're useless, but at least she thinks you're good enough to hunt down folks with her." The smile on Kaz's face turned utterly devious as he whispered into the alchemist's ear. "We'll probably remember this forever—wait what?" The ex-thief immediately pulled away from Silas and locked his eyes onto Didara.

An earth pillar that would allow them to see over the forest. It was a solid idea, but it would also give away their location. And if bad people were in those woods, it would be best to stay undetected.

"Smart. You're smart, Didara. Still, I don't think we should be drawing any attention to ourselves." He tsked. "There's a lot of footsteps and those tracks look fresh. You should save your strength. I wish I could say this will be easy, but we don't know what we'll face when we get to the ruins. We don't want you to be too tired before we slay any cool monsters, right?"

He tapped the mage on the shoulder then made his way to the cart. "Let's go, I'll handle the cart. Yvette, uhhh, try and read the map, see if we're close to the ruins. We shouldn't be too far. Ribibi, do you know how to find caves?" He wasn't sure sensing caves was a thing, but might as well ask. With the final words said, they began making their way deep into the forest, together.

 

[ERode]

​

Smelling a cave? That wasn't a problem at all for the wildling, but as far as 'sensing' it? Ribibi wasn't really magical, and while the dank, cool, earthy scent of a cave wasn't something she'd miss if she was close by, it wasn't also something she'd be able to smell from within a forest full of rotting wood. The stench was overpowering, after all, even if it was mildly pleasant, and as time passed on, she was focused on more hunting down mushrooms rather than detecting the presence of a cave from an unknown distance away.

After a couple of minutes, she slid a fingernail between her teeth, dislodging some fungal matter.

"Can't smell caves. Too many trees. Didara make caves appear?"

Why were they looking for a cave again? Winter was over, so it's not like they were going to find a sleeping bear for lunch.​

 

[Baddamobs]

​

With Kazimir handling the cart, Yvette handling the map, and Ribibi handling…being Ribibi, there wasn't a whole lot for Ivara to be doing as the motley group continued their way through the trees. The cart itself, continuing the trend of being the most problematic thing on this trip, would sometimes find itself getting struck due to the overgrown parts of the path they were travelling along, requiring a few good shoves by the whole group to get it moving again. Other than that, however, the going was progressively fairly untroubled.

Ivara hated it.

The constant level of uncertainty that plagued the air, the almost defining silence of the forest around them, and most of all the fact she didn't have something to distract herself from her own overbearing anxiety. At least if she had been pushing the cart or reading a map she could have preoccupied herself with some thoughts beyond just 'I really hope that some dangerous killer doesn't jump out of the bush I'm walking past.' She almost wished one would, just to finally diffuse the tension that had wounded a tight knot in her stomach.

Ivara forced a breath in through her nose, and out through her mouth. She was being panicky again. She just needed to find some calming thoughts, and to rebalance her centre. She should just focus on how lucrative this little escapade was going to be, since the reward at the end was indeed substantial. It wouldn't make the whole group rich, per say, but it was going to be quite the pay out even after they split the money between the nine of them.

…Well, eight of them. Ribibi had never really shown much in the way of avarice, and a part of Ivara half doubted the girl understood monetary value. The ex-Amazonian didn't know what the wildling planned to do with her share, but she doubted there were any plans to keep it. Thinking about it, did the Kinnons share their wealth with each other? That had been the way of the siblings back in her old tribe, but maybe things were different between brother and sister? The mysteries of this new relationship continued to mount…

Just as Ivara's thoughts were straying, and her gaze looking absently into the tree line, she found herself walking straight into the back of Didara.

"Whoops, sorry." Ivara moved to help steady the mage, smiling sheepishly. "I was miles away."

Admittedly, being 'miles away' from this wood would be nice, but that wasn't an excuse to go accidently walking into people. After helping to steady the mage and after both had picked the pace back up, Ivara realized she should probably help to fill the silence. This was as good as a time to drum up some conversation, right?

"So…this goblet we're looking for. Is it…part of a rare set or something?" Ivara folded her arms as she walked, looking sceptically off into the distance. "I understand that some people are willing to pay a lot for valuable baubles, but it must be pretty rare for the amount we're going to be paid. I mean, assuming we find it."
​

 

[Haru Nyan]

​

It was one of the very few times that Yvette was inclined to agree with Kaz. They were pretty numerous that was for sure, but whose to say that the strangers didn't have a fleet of their own? "Agreed. At best they'll listen to reason, and at worst they'll probably leave us to die in a ditch." While following the trail could lead them closer (or father) from their goal, it wouldn't be worth to waste it on the lives of the group, and that's even assuming it didn't lead them to a trap of some sort.

The wench glanced at the map again, trying to draw a conclusion as to where the hell they were right now. But it seemed like they were just back to square one, then Didara's idea made her put a finger on her chin and hum. Yvette began to mull it over, but it just seemed half-baked...It spelled bad news to the group, they'd stick out like a sore thumb perched atop a pillar in the middle of the forest like that. She nodded her head from left to right, it was too risky, but it was a welcome idea still. "Kaz is right. There really isn't a reason for us to be attracting attention to ourselves." Unless of course they were deliberately trying to fake out others within the forest.

Her eyes focused once again on the map, Yvette marched onward with her nose in the piece of paper. Her head darted from here and there, trying to decipher a concrete location of both the ruins and themselves, but that proved to be more than challenging. While, trying to make sense of their path, the wench made small talk with Ivara, sharing what plausible theories the mysterious goblet may hold. "Could be. Crowe wasn't willing to say much, although I wouldn't put it behind him."

 

[Bismarck]

Nikolai gave a defeated sigh, as he went back to tapping his shield with his large pace, or whistling to keep himself from boredom. Though at the mention of a twisted ankle, he dismissively waved a hand, muttered a few words, as a trickle of light left his body. "Try to avoid further injury friends. Any magic to heal, or fix something is very draining. I'm a combat paladin, not a healing cleric." The man explained, it always seemed magic, even the use of his specialty in divine would slow him down for a few moments. As he finished his small complaint, the strand of light that left his fingers, wound its way around Ophelia's leg, before disappearing as her body would be made to absorb the magic. Her leg would feel better within a few seconds after the process. "Personally I reccomend we start bringing actual medical supplies with us."

As time went on, walking with the group, pushing the cart around, Nikolai became bored. He pulled out one of his many tomes, dusting it off, as he tossed it open. He was looking for a certain story to tell, and once he found it, he grinned to himself. The man removed his helmet, and pulled his hood off as well, leaving him once again exposed. "So I don't lose my mind, and go off chasing something, why don't I recite my favorite tale?" He asked aloud, though it was entirely rhetorical, because nothing was going to stop the old man, except a slap to the back of the head with a club.

Clearing his throat, the man began to read the page aloud as he walked, "In times of dire situation, when one is lost, most will turn to faith for guidance. Those strong enough in their beliefs will find that faith to lead them anywhere," he paused for a moment, a thought seeming to strike him, "Such as that of the first Paladin. A young man, a soldier sat along the walls of his castle, watching the approach of an army of the damned and the broken. One that mortal men couldn't defeat normally."

Nikolai smiled a bit at some old memories he had of fighting similar things to the story, not all of them good, but all of them meaningful, "So he prayed for hours, begging the gods, of all that is good in this world for help, for hope. In those many hours, just a few days before the siege, he saw a vision. A red flame, just like the one one my shield. The red flame set alone in a cave, waiting for someone to claim it." The tall bear of a man continued, before something seemed to strike him again. His mind slowly turning over the meaning, and the usefulness of the story. "So the soldier abandon his post, called a coward, he only offered that he would return. He left, guided by the gods to this holy fire, he didn't know the path, but his body still moved him..."

Stopping then and there, he actually dug his feet in, and closed his book. The story was one of his favorites to tell, and yet he cut it short, as he actually got down into his usual praying position. "Don't think me a madman for this comrades. But we aren't going to find the damn thing wandering. Besides we've been here for hours. Let us sit down, and rest. I will pray for guidance, perhaps a glimmer of hope will find us...or at least we'll get some sleep out of this ordeal."