The Blood That Binds Us

[LVL1337N00B]

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[BCOLOR=transparent]"Not like I 'ad much choice in th' matter, aye? Was either that or get smashed by a fockin' runaway cart"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent], Ophelia explained to Nikolai, reaching down to rub her ankle as his magic took effect. It still felt a little sore, but she figured that much was just from walking as much as she had. Otherwise, it seemed as though the crusader's magicks had completely done away with her injury. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"I'll be certain to return th' fav'r, Nik. Treat y' to a few rounds or summin' once we's come back to town."[/BCOLOR]

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[BCOLOR=transparent]"Got my thanks, geezer"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent], Ryleigh said, knocking the back of his fist against the larger man's plate-clad chest. 'Geezer' might have seemed an odd choice considering the archer was actually older than Nikolai, but none could argue which of the two [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]seemed[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] older. Nikolai was more mature and experienced. Also his hair was gray. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Much fun as it'd be to watch Ophelia 'obble along all pitiful-like, can't say I savor it bein' my kin what slows us down."[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] The truth of the matter was that he just didn't like seeing his sister hurt, but he'd never say as much. Too bad for him, he wasn't as good at fooling people as she was.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Further into their trek, the younger of the Kinnon siblings took note of how nervous Ivara seemed to be, or maybe imagined it. In any case, she was beginning to feel a bit on-edge herself. At first glance, it appeared as though her brother was much calmer, but he'd drawn his bow from its place on his back and his free hand rested atop his quiver. Ophelia had hoped to find reassurance in seeing him relaxed, but he was likely just as tense as she was. She'd have to find someone else to rely on this time. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Might be there's a whole fancy dinner set waitin' fer us"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent], she added to Yvette's conversation with Ivara, sidling up next to the older woman, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Better take it all, aye? Nev'r know when some oth'r scholar might be lookin' fer an ancient soup spoon."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]While his sister looked to their favorite pirate barmaid for comfort, Ryleigh was quickly finding his worries replaced by painful boredom as he walked alongside the crusader. By the time the man had put a pin in his story, the archer's posture had slumped and more than one yawn had passed his lips. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"I's sure we could all do with a nap aft'r that rivetin' tale"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent], he said to the now halted Nikolai, rubbing at his eyes with his free hand, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"But I'd rath'r find this fockin' thing 'fore some'n else beats us to the punch."[/BCOLOR]

 

[Fox of Spades]

"An entire dinner set? I like the sound of that." Kaz broke into a grin. "Imagine how much gold that would get us. We'd be filthy rich." He could hear Nikolai spouting something about the crusaders and the monsters they fought, but the story was severely lacking in details. By the sound of things, it was 90 percent prayer, 10 perfect actual story. Nikolai was great, but the ex-thief tuned the man out in favor of listening to the Kinnon siblings. "Mhm, Crowe didn't say much about the Goblet. Something about it being a rare artifact? He didn't say anything else, but he's an archaeologist. They study rocks and dead stuff, so maybe it belongs to some important dead person?" Kaz aired out his thoughts but stopped when the crusader stopped walking altogether.

Kaz arched an eyebrow, wondering if the man saw anything strange, but the puzzle pieces fell into place when Nikolai knelt down to pray in the middle of the woods. It sounded counter-productive, but after all the walking they did, a break would be nice.

He released the cart and turned to Ribibi. "Hey, Ribibi, think you can help me out? Look for a cave?" He nodded to one of the many trees, and while Nik prayed for guidance, he decided to put his eyes to work. Kaz strode past Silas and began climbing up the nearest tree. Spending several years with the thieves' guild made climbing a piece of cake. He wasn't as fast as Ribibi, of course (she was a natural), but he made quick progress and soon he was straddling a branch and staring out into the woods.

There were trees, trees, and even more trees. Kaz made a face and raised his arms to reach for the branch above him. He hauled himself higher and higher until he finally saw it. Several stone slabs, not nearly as tall as the trees that surrounded them, but large enough. The rocks formed a strange circle, giving them a man-made, moved-there-on-purpose look.

"I see something," he called out to his friends below. "A little ways north from here—I'm going to die!" In his excitement, Kaz had pitched forward, nearly toppling headfirst to his death. He managed to regain his balance and clung to the tree for dear life. Realizing how embarrassing that must have looked, he cleared his throat. "I think I saw the ruins. Rocks, lots of rocks."

 

[MixedUpGuy]

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As Didara heard the push back from his idea for raising a stone pillar up he felt a bump from behind him. Uncertainty wrapped his mind in a tight shadow as to why his body gave the reaction it did. Perhaps he was so focused on the discussion in front of him, he simply lost himself to his surroundings. Maybe the thought of being followed by some unpleasant folks made him think this was the first to arrive. Slightly less believable, though still possible, it could have been that Didara was easily frightened by sudden movement or contact that he wasn't expecting. Either way, the yelp that escaped his throat made him more than blush afterwards as even Ribbi likely would have confused him for a small dog who just had their tail stepped on by an inconsiderate human.

The mage stood still and looked back at Ivara, then to the others before quickly straightening himself up and fixing his headgear that rested on top of his ears. Turning to the large amazon the blonde man wanted to berate the warrioress for not paying attention to where she was going. In his head however he saw the hypocrisy of his statement though as he also wasn't being very vigilant himself. Instead he simply patted her on the shoulder and smiled as he walked off to be alone and try to slow his beating chest.

Later he continued with the group behind the cart this time, as he was not willing to take quite another scare today since it almost ran him over and Ivara DID so earlier as it was. Though not entirely running him over, Didara shook his head as he tuned out his own overreacting to the incident. Eventually Kaz decided to climb a tree and check for anything out ahead of them. Raising an eyebrow as the thief almost fell out and land square on that brick of a head of his, Didara could only shake his head with a sigh. "I guarantee you my pillar idea would not have even brought in that risk. Would have even made a small rail for you if you so preferred." Didara laughed slightly as he took in info that Kaz let out.

Ruins. There were plenty of ruins in the world so there wasn't a guarantee that these ruins would hold the thing they were looking for. The thing about ruins though is that they always came after some kind of destruction event. Sometimes it is just the flow of time that does it. Other times, somebody wanted to make sure that whatever it was prior would not be there later on. Or even something in some cases. "Begs the question why there would be ruins out here in the first place when you really think about it. Nikolai, when you were out here did you by chance run into anything that would mark a prior outpost or even a landmark here?" Didara said as he then thought back to the paladin's suggestion to rest for a moment. The mage turned to the others and gripped his staff lightly at his side. "Plus I think the old paladin has a point. All this moving around for the moment is getting us nowhere but more lost. All we know right now is there is some shiny cup out there that somebody wants but we have no idea where it is or why it is there rather than some rich person's cabinet. I deal in magic and even I am uncomfortable with all the unknown properties going on with this quest." The mage said as he then leaned against the cart after Kaz let it go for the meantime.​

 

[KageKaioh]

Silas was dully aware that they had all started moving again, and trudged along slightly behind the cart. He had become absorbed into fiddling with a small trinket he had picked up after the oiled wheel incident. He had no idea which person it belonged to, as it was not his, but something about the small object fascinated him. It looked like it opened, but he could not figure out how. Dexterous fingers turned it this way and that, pressing and pulling.

He had zoned out the sounds of people talking, as last he knew, Nikolai was reciting one of his crusading stories. Silas liked the big guy, but he never had the attention span for droll tales for the religious. He could only really listen when the stories had something exciting in them, like fighting the undead or saving princesses.

It was only when the cart came to a halt that he broke out of the trinket's trance, as he banged his leg into the wooden frame. "Feck, that hurt!" He muttered, reaching down to rub the forming bruise. A tad confused, he looked around as Kaz walked past him and scampered up a nearby tree. He sure was going up pretty high.... and now was going to fall. The Alchemist could not help but let out a boisterous laugh at his friend's nearly painful tumble.

"You need some 'elp up there, Kaz?" He called, cupping his hands around his mouth. As soon as he offered the assistance, however, he was momentarily distracted once more as Didara spoke. "Whether or not some stuffy rich guy wants ta let it collect dust in on a shelf ain't up to us. We took th' job, didn' we? If we want to build a reputation as adventurers, we can't call it quits. A'sides, Kaz says he found those ruins, so I say we check it out afore we decide it's too dangerous or whatever." He said as he tossed the small object he had been playing with into the back of the cart. "As fer being lost, I can go join Kaz and take a look around. I reckon I have a better sense of direction than he ever will. Once we know where th' ruins are from our position, it should be easy to find our spot on th' map."

 

[Haru Nyan]

As the group trudged deeper and deeper into the forest, a sense of fatigue was overcoming the wench. She could feel it among her comrades as well, heavens know how long they've been walking, but it feels enough that her legs are starting to give way from all the walking. She momentarily stopped in her tracks to stretch and yawn, taking into account the time they had already spent in the forest, had the sun even set already? She couldn't tell from the trees towering over her and her friends, she did however take a moment to giggle and chuckle at Ophelia's joke of a dinner set awaiting them, it made her think of other inane and convoluted utensils scattered throughout the continent and how accumulating them would result in a hefty sum. "Speaking of soup...Do you all think we should set up camp for now? I'm sure some of us are tired from walking around all day. If not, we'll keep walking."

"It's settled then." Yvette said after thanking Kaz for his help in locating a clue to the ruins and wishing him luck in getting down safely. "We'll head north once we take a rest, it wouldn't do good to adventure in a bad condition." With that she began to sit down and sigh. All the walking had almost made her feet numb and what she wouldn't do just to recline, sit back and relax on a chair or lie down some satin sheets of a warm bed. "We'll need to build a fire however, and at least two of us need to be on guard duty just in case some wild beast decides to crash our party. Or if you prefer, we take turns?"​

 

[ERode]

At the word 'help', Ribibi immediately sprang into action, happy to get away from Old Man Niko and his ramblings. Though the wildling usually was enamored by the paladin's talk about knights and flaming things and EVULLLLL, she had already heard that particular story a couple dozen times and now it was just dead to her. Scrambling alongside Kaz, the brunette scaled up her own tree with all the speed of a squirrel, bouncing off branches and clawing into bark as she ascended.

Reaching the top, she poked her head out of the canopy and took a great big lungful of the fresh air. High above the sky, a flock of birds flew in a triangular formation, and for a moment, she tilted her head backwards, following their flight off towards the horizon.

Their flight away from the pack's destination.

She caught sight of the ruins once Kaz pointed them out, and smiled as he pulled off another fancy acrobatics trick of his. "As expected of Kaz!" Ribibi smiled, before running down the tree herself, tumbling just in time to catch the next set of decisions they had to make. Accurately locate the ruins and take a break? Detect wild beasts? She sniffed the air once more, and this time, amongst the moist foliage and rotting wood and EVULLLLL, the wilding caught another smell, a thin damp thread, cooler than the rest.

"Ribibi smelled it. No problem getting there. No food until gobble it get. Hunger makes good hunt."

She nodded at that, before her gaze turned towards Ivara.

"No cooking. Just leg rest. Ok?"

 

[Bismarck]

Nikolai stood up, going over to the cart, the man plainly began to strip out of his armor. Or at least most of it. His shield and helmet came first, as they were set down with great care. They were always the two things he lost the easiest. Next to come off were his massive shoulder pads, a bit excessive, but he'd never had a shoulder bone broken in battle so they worked. Though he did take the daggers off them, setting those aside for something else. Finally he began to disrobe, tossing off his massive cloth coverings, to reveal his aging suit of plate mail underneath, it looked alright, save for a few dings, and the metal looking dull instead of shiny.

It took around ten to fifteen minutes for the massive man to get out of his armor, the gauntlets, his elbow and upper armor protection. His chest piece, which freed his torso to the air, leaving his upper half entirely bare after he removed the protective shirt he work under the armor. The gods only knew how he didn't die of heat stroke, from the amount of layers he had on over, and under his armor.

Though he kept on his pants, after his leg armor, and massive metal boots were removed, he didn't feel like bothering anyone with his nudity, not today at least. So he settled in, strapping his two daggers to his waist, where they normally went when he wasn't in his armor, and left the rest of his equipment in the cart. Slipping on another pair of boots, which he was lucky enough to find this time, he got out most of his bag of scholars tools, and books.

Grinning a bit he noted Kaz almost falling out of the tree, but catching himself, "See my friends, Kaz had found our ruins, and even avoided death at the hands of that tree, and gravity...and he only found the idea to climb to those heights, when I stopped to pray. I tell you all, the gods are with us, they give us guidance, even when we don't realize it. And they hold us up, when we need it most." The tall crusader explained, as he took a seat on the ground, leaning up against a tree, he began to read a book once more. Settling in to relax for the rest of the evening.

"Oh and Ribbi, do remember to come back for your evening lessons. I can't quite remember what were talking about last time. I think it was the alphabet...or was it numbers beyond ten?" Nikolai asked, with a sigh, as he looked back down at his book. How the cold didn't bother him, few would understand. He always made some side remark, of the gods keeping him warm. But it was hard to believe the gods could keep someone without a shirt, and only a bit of body hair, and a beard to stay warm in this weather. "Also my Comrades, keep the fires low. Smoke attracts many things, and what smoke doesn't pull in, noise does. So please, no loud tales, no screaming tonight. Stay quiet in this forest of evil. For what wonders out from the brush could range from something as harmless as a squirrel, to something as deadly as a wraith." Nikolai explained, what he didn't mention, was that he was currently reading a history book over the region they were in. Weirdly it brought a cheerful gleam to his eyes...something about excessive amounts of evil, and undead, made him happy. Because it gave him a purpose still.

 

[LVL1337N00B]

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"Preach on then, bruva Nikolai", Ryleigh said as he approached the bare-chested man, freshly procured and half-empty bottle in hand. One might assume it to be the bottle left in Ivara's care, had this one not still been corked. The swiftness with which these spirits had been found must have been the result of some divine guidance, or perhaps a nose overly familiar with the scent of booze, telling of a problem. "Reckon it's by their divine wisdom our lady giant gets fockin' smashed, aye?", the archer asked, bringing up the incident from a little earlier, "Fink I might'a saw their shiny litt'ol 'ands givin' our cart th' shove roight outta poor Silas' grasp."

The brown bearded man opened the bottle he held, keeping its cork in his other fist instead of spitting it out into the woods this time. He drank deeply of the ale, his head gradually tilting further back and only straightening once he was done. He closed one eye and held a hand out toward the crusader, fingers all curled but for an index finger pointed skyward as though to ask that he wait. The negligibly older gent belched, long and loud, then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Praise be them what made 'er such a big gal, such that she can stand after summin' like that." With little more than a quarter of the bottle's contents remaining, Ryleigh offered the beverage to his burly companion.

Before the grayed warrior might have had the chance to take the bottle however, Ophelia happened along and snatched it up from her brother's hand in passing. "Kind of y', dear brother", she said as she walked away, drinking more modest amounts at once than Ryleigh.

"Oy, get yer own grog!"

"Oh sod off, y' dullard", she said with a dismissive wave on her way back to where Yvette stood. "I'll get us a fire goin', providin' we got wood an' a bit of tinder", Ophelia offered, rubbing her thumb against her index and middle finger, "Oughtta be good to kick back for a tic, give th' dogs a chance to quit their barkin'." The snowy haired woman shook the stolen bottle she held, swirling the spirits inside. "Thirsty?", she asked the older woman, offering the remainder to her much the same as Ryleigh offered to Nikolai. Holding the bottle out for Yvette, Ophelia turned her head toward the group's ex-thief, "Reckon how much longer a walk we's got? Can't be much farth'r if'n y' see it from 'ere, aye Kaz?"

 

[Fox of Spades]

Welp, Didara and Silas were laughing at him, but at least Ribibi still thought he was cool. In more ways than one, she was a lot like his little sister. The top of a really tall tree was not the best place to feel feelings, but amidst the playful banter below, Kaz found himself feeling homesick. He missed his little sister's stories, his mother's godawful cooking, and even the disapproving look his dad would shoot him whenever he vanished off to God knows where.

There were lots of things he missed about home, but if he had to pick one thing, it'd have to be how he was always the coolest person in his sister's eyes. Here, on the road, he was just another adventurer in search of gold and glory. He wondered if the others ever felt the same way and made a mental note to strike up a conversation with Ivara later on.

She was one of the easier ones to talk to, and it helped that he already knew a bit about her life before the adventuring.

"We'll head north once we take a rest..."

"What?" Kaz nearly toppled over for the second time that day. He wrapped his arms around the tree trunk like a clingy koala. "We're stopping to camp? I just found the ruins." Nik and Yvette were right of course, it had been a long day, and stopping to rest for awhile would be good, especially if something sinister awaited them at the ruins... but still, they were so close. He began making his way down the tree, only to be greeted by the sight of a topless Nik.

He was giving orders as usual, further cementing the nickname Kaz had given him: Team Dad.

The words went over his head and he looked to Ophelia. "It's not much farther. Maybe a kilometer or two." He wasn't too fond of the idea of splitting up, but he didn't like the idea of camping even more, not when the Goblet was so close. "Hey Nik, Yvette," he called out. "Silas, Ribibi, and I are going to check the forest. See how close the ruins are. If anything goes wrong, Silas can make an explosion, warn you of our impending death and all that." He nodded sagely. "Ophelia, you wanna tag along?"

 

[Baddamobs]

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After Kazimir announced their proximity to the ruins, two conflicting thoughts ran parallel through Ivara's mind: 'oh good, we're getting close to the goblet,' was followed shortly by 'oh no, we're getting close to the goblet.' Was every major adventure they were going to take on going to make her both relieved and trepid at the same time?

The suggestion of a rest stop was one that Ivara supported fully, since the bruise around midsection was starting to ache slightly and walking wasn't exactly helping. With any luck, a few minutes of rest would do her some good. Just as Ivara was preparing to move the cart out of the middle of lane they had been moving down, Ribibi turned to her.

"No cooking. Just leg rest. Ok?"

"Oh no no no," Ivara stood up straight; folding her arms in what she hoped was a similar manner to how the elder Tribe-sisters had when she had down something to disapprove of. "I'm not having any of you running around in the woods on an empty stomach. If you just give me five minutes, I'll make a packed lunch, at the least."

Well, this was a kick to the shins: she had already been drawing up what she would need to make a soup using the fruits Ribibi had gathered for the whole group, but there would be problems if some of the group were going to eat or run off. Now she was going to have to judge what she could make in such a short space of time, and what perishables she still had to use…

"Also my Comrades, keep the fires low. Smoke attracts many things, and what smoke doesn't pull in, noise does."

"Easy for you to say, Mentor, you're not the one who has to cook with a barely lit fire here." Ivara sighed, giving the un-armoured paladin a dry look. It was a tiring prospect, trying to come up with recipes that included the dry rations they brought with them, but one that Ivara regularly faced. She understood the need for caution, but the crusader clearly didn't understand how much it pained a culinary artist such as herself to resort to such uninspired creations.

Also, while she was mentally ranting, what was the fascination with bulky armour in this land? As Nicolai had demonstrated, you had to actually take it off to get comfortable, so why bother with it? Her Tribe-sisters had never bothered with it, and they had come off just fine. True, they were blood-fuelled berserkers that could survive a sword to the chest if they were angry enough, but still.

"…Silas, Ribibi, and I are going to check the forest." Kazimir called out to the group, his words causing no small amount of concern for Ivara. "See how close the ruins are. If anything goes wrong, Silas can make an explosion, warn you of our impending death and all that."

"Are we sure splitting up is such a good idea?" Ivara, without thinking or noticing, went back to fidgeting and pulling on her ponytail. "It didn't seem like such a good idea a further back down the road, and it seems like an even worse idea, now we're closer to the ruins…Still, if you insist on going, at least take some rations with you."

She hardly approved, but she knew that wanderlust could claim any of the more adventurous members of the band a moment's notice, and she knew it was often futile to argue against. In the meantime, this camp fire wasn't going to make itself; she could take a turn guarding, certainly, but no break was complete until the campfire was burning.

 

[ERode]

"It was owls," Ribibi supplied to Nikolai, as she propped herself against a rotting log, occasionally picking out an insect or two and popping them in her mouth. They didn't have much flavour, but the texture and the crunching sound their shells made was rather wonderful…until she remember that whole spiel she had about not eating anything so they were motivated to finish the job quickly.

Well, Ribibi's stomach was always stronger than her brain anyways.

"Go ahead then, Ivara," the wildling said, ultimately shrugging. She grabbed a piece of the rotting wood and pulled the bark off, revealing a treasure trove of curled up larvae and juicy, fatty bugs. "Wanna toss into pot? Lotsa energy, lotsa crunchy."

As the whole idea of splitting up was brought up once more, Ribibi turned from the direction of the cave back to the smoulder fireplace that promised Ivara's cooking, and then once more back towards the cave. The day was growing darker, and soon, shadows would melt into darkness, the forest illuminated only by moonlight. There were other people within the forest too, tracks that were never pursued. So…

"Why not wait til dark?" Ribibi said, "Head to ruins then. Other people would be asleep, if they're dangerous. Best time to hunt anyways. I lead the way, and Nikolai already took off his armor, so he's no longer Nikoloud."

She nodded at that.

"And we can all go together!"

 

[LVL1337N00B]

Ryleigh grunted his displeasure over not getting to share a drink with his gray bearded companion. Well, it was really more about having a drink himself more than the social aspect, but whatever. His dirty fingernails raked over the brown hairs on his cheek a few times before his head turned, his attention drawn in by little Ribibi's talk of cooking bugs. A cheeky little smirk spread across his face as an idea entered his mind. "We'll hit a couple'a taverns when we's all done out 'ere, aye Nik?", he asked, or more like stated, as he stood up. He patted the crusader on the back and left him, heading straight for Ribibi.

"Oy, Bibi", Ryleigh called on his way over, to get her attention. When he stood close enough to do so, he plucked one of the bugs off of the hunk of wood the young woman held. "I reckon Kazimir moight be feelin' a bit weak, in'e?", he said, holding the grub at eye level to examine it, "Might not look it, sure, but y' seen 'im near fall from that tree 'e clambered up, aye?" The archer tossed the bug toward Ribibi, fully expecting her to catch and devour the thing. "I's sure 'e could do with some extra protein. 'Ows about we give them crawlies to 'im, feed th' poor man an' 'elp 'im get back in workin' order", Ryleigh suggested, feigning concern for the young man's apparent [Only to him. Huh.] lack of energy. He came nearer and placed a hand on top of the savage's head, ruffling her hair carelessly, "I's sure 'e'll 'preciate it."
​

​

Speaking of Kazimir, it seemed at least he was more than a little eager to keep moving. While she too was ready to get this job done, she couldn't deny relief to her aching feet for any longer. "Nah, I'll pass", she responded to the thief's offer with a shake of the head, "Much as I'd like, I gotta get off my damned feet fer a bit. Feels like they's got blisters on 'em, an' them blisters got their own blisters." Immediately after saying that, she plopped down on the ground and started working to get her boots off. "Take Ryleigh instead", she offered as she pulled off the first boot, her bare toes wiggling once freed, "He might be a useless blighter, but y' can always use 'im as a distraction when shite inevitably goes South, if nothin' else"

"Sittin' on yer arse an' I's the useless one, that roight?", Ryleigh scoffed after overhearing, then patted Ribibi's head and left her side to approach Kaz. "Aye, I'll come with y'. Better me than some'n what barely knows which end of 'er sword to stick in folk", he said, crossing his arms and looking pointedly in his sister's direction. "Better we don't waste away the daylight we's got left with our thumbs in our arses, Bibi", he called back to the savage when she suggested waiting until dark, "Some of us don't see so good in the dark. Gotta 'ave my eyes on what I'm shootin' at, get me?"

"Aye, so 'urry off then. Take th' oaf an' let us 'ave a moment of peace 'an quiet", Ophelia said, gesturing with her hands to shoo them away, "On yer way off, tell Nik to find us some wood to burn. All that shite about bugs aside, talk of food is gettin' my belly started rumblin'." Nevermind letting the away group have a meal before heading out, the younger Kinnon was all too eager to have a moment apart from her brother from the sound of it.

 

[MixedUpGuy]

​

Didara spent a good amount of time in his head trying to figure out why Nikolai spent so much time praising the gods above for Kaz jumping up into the tree and checking out where the bloody ruins were. Something as simple as climbing a tree was by will of the gods, yet raising the stones itself would have been considered an 'egregious' offense to them if Didara had gone ahead with his idea from earlier more than likley. Rather than be upset, Didara just rolled his eyes and looked towards Ivara with the hopes that she would prepare something for some food after mentioning a packed lunch at the very least.

In the hurry to leave the inn they were at as well as playing the trick on Nikolai, Didara had sadly forgotten to get himself something to eat prior to leaving the prior town. The entire trip up he had been battling hunger and his own desire to speak up about it in fear the group would call him out for delaying them. At this point a small headache had been pounding off and on against his skull as if his body was screaming at him to stop ignoring the basic human need that he had been denying it for so long. The back and forth over who was going to stay and who was going further along finally became pointless as he watched Ivara leave to go and get firewood.

"Well I wish you all the best of luck in your parts of the mission. I think my next part of the operation is to help our local amazon here find some kindling for the fire and wait for some kind of meal to fill me up as I have been dying for some nicely cooked food for some time now. Do let us know if anything happens. Whether by alchemy or death screams. Either way, I think we'll all get the idea of what is happening." Didara said as he walked past Ribbi who was still messing around with rather meaty looking insects. The mage could only wince to himself at the thought of biting into one and hearing the exaggerated crunch it would likely produce. The one in his head was so loud it nearly made him vomit at the thought. With no food to spew however, just a light gag was all that arose.

Scouring the ground for any dead leaves or stray pieces of bark, Didara collected what little he could and brought it back to the camp next to the wagon. Looking at his collection he saw six or seven branch sized twigs, a handful of slightly browning leaves and a tiny nut that may have dropped from a tree that he picked up without seeing. He rolled his eyes at his amazing survival skills as he thought to himself how quickly he would have been lost to the very elements he hoped to control. Quickly tapping his stick on the ground he caused a small patch of dirt to cave in, as if he dug out the earth to make a fire pit. Didara threw his sticks and leaves into the small hole and turned towards where Ivara had left. "Ivara, I've got at least something done to help with the fire! Please be quick as my stomach is preparing to devour my bones for some kind of nourishment." He said as he sat on the ground to try and trap the sound coming from his gut between the ground and his drooping shoulders.​

 

[Bismarck]

Nikolai watched at the bottle of alcohol passed hands a few times, and he found himself still seated, without a single bottle in his hand. Giving a sigh, he got up, and went to rummage in his bag that was in the cart, pulling out his own small flask of alcohol. It was a special drink from the north, very little flavor, but it had enough kick to put most men on their back after a few sips. However with how often the tall man got into fights, and also how much time he spent teaching the rest of the group, he needed the drink to help him from getting tense. Taking a sip, the shirtless man gave a sigh as he pulled out a new book, one more fit for teaching. Though he did leave the history tome out in the open, for the world to see.

"I swear dear Ribbi, you'd make a cleric of my order faint with how you eat. Granted I've eaten a few bugs in my lifetime, survival technique. But certainly not a great way to sustain yourself. That's what meat, and vegetables, even fruit are for." Nikolai remarked, as he opened to the first few pages of the book, gesturing for Ribbi to come over, however she seemed much more interested in her little feasts. With a sigh the bear of a man picked up his history book again, chuckling a bit at the Nikoloud comment, he wasn't exactly a lumbering brute in armor. However he wasn't quiet either, it certainly made a good bit of noise, even with the cloth robes over it to help muffle the sound.

Flipping a few pages more into the tome of history on the area, each time made him seem to get a bit more tense. With his shirt off, it was easy to see the occasional flex, or reach for the blades strapped to his waist. Eventually he stood up, "I find it unwise to travel at night. Between my reading, and years of experience, Wraiths and other undead wander the most at night. A skeleton isn't much a fear to any of us, easily broken into pieces. But a wraith, a wraith my friends will suck your soul from your body, and they are very, very rarely affected by weapons of our mortal realm." Nikolai explained, as he slipped a dagger out of its sheath, and swung at the air in a lazy manner, "Much how a blade cuts air, is how a blade cuts a wraith, a ghost, or any other evil spirit." The crusader remarked, as he looked around, "So it is imperative you either all stay here, or we all pack up camp and walk together. Separating leaves you vulnerable to attack. That is simple strategy. Ribbi would even agree, if you go hunting, you assault the animal at the back of the pack, or away from the herd. Not the one in the middle.

 

[KageKaioh]

Silas jerked forward a bit as he watched Kaz nearly fall again. Sure, he was laughing, but he was also genuinely concerned of his friend's health. Logically, he knew he could not catch the larger man or anything, but he didn't want Kaz to get hurt. As he listened to what the rouge was saying, he stashed away the idea of another concoction- a liquid that becomes a springy, sticky netting when flung, sort of like a spider's web.

Crossing his arms, Sil leaned against the cart and pondered as each person spoke. It sounded like a good idea for the stealthy ones to scout, but it also sounded like a good idea for them to stick together. It made sense for wait for night's cover, but Ryleigh made a solid point in that not everyone could fight well in low light. Nik also was being logical in that smaller groups can succumb to attacks. Unfortunately, this meant that the Alchemist agreed with each of them. After a few more moments of pondering, he walked over to Ribibi and picked a grub off the hunk of rotted wood she held in wait for Ivara and slurped it down. It had a nutty flavour, but the way it burst in his mouth was fairly unpleasant. "These would be better roasted in butter." He muttered, unfazed.

Turning back to the rest of the crew, he decided to put his two coins in. "Honestly, I have to say that sending Kaz, Ribibi and I in for a quick look-see would be best. Even armies use scouts, and they have enough men to take on pretty much anythin'. Th' idea is to know what you are gettin' into before you risk putting down your best fighters, right? That way, if it is too much for us to handle at once, we can make a plan of attack." He said, looking to Nik. "Asides, with us bein' all quiet like, I doubt we would get enough attention to fall under attack like a larger group might. Even if we did, like Kaz says, I can use somethin' to make a flash or loud sound. I can also put down a smokescreen for us to get out quick."

It sounded like a solid plan to him, and if they hurried, they would not have to risk the dangers of the forest at night. He just hoped that the others saw it that way, so they could make a decision and stop wasting daylight.

 

[Haru Nyan]

​

Yvette became a tad tense at the notion of splitting up, gods know how that usually ends...As much she wanted to let the three stay here where it was safe, she knew that the wanderlust they had were far too strong to contain. Hesitant, she nodded to the three and to lighten her worries, said that they can just scream like girls and everyone else will come running to them. Taking a look at the group settling in, the wench took in her surroundings with a slight more relaxed mindset, she took the time to observe what everyone was doing.

Seeing Nikolai without his armor on put a coy smile on the wench's face, she couldn't help but tease him during moments like this. Although she doesn't blame the man, wearing gods-know-how-many tons of armor, the members of his order must be sweating like pigs after extended periods of time, they must be really eager to take off the armor every once in a while. "Giving some of us a little eye candy, Nikolai?" She said while giving an impish giggle, but hey, when you're built like a rock it's hard not to appreciate it.

"Thought you'd never ask." The wench said in response to being offered a drink. Bottle in hand, Yvette began to down most of its contents. "Ya call that ale? Thought I was downing tap water!" she said with a hearty laugh. Seeing Didara help Ivara out in setting up the camp fire made her stomach growl a tad. "What'll you be cooking for us today?" She wondered aloud, whatever it was she just wanted to eat it the moment it was done, not even caring if it was piping hot and going to burn her fingers.​

 

[Fox of Spades]

"Ryleigh's right Ribibi, some of us can't see in the dark. We'll have to go now if want to be able to scout the area." Once the sun was down, it'd be difficult to check the surrounding woods for clues or possible threats. Unfortunately, Ivara and Nikolai weren't too keen on splitting up. He understood how they felt, he'd felt the same way earlier after all. However, things had changed and now, scouting the perimeter was most likely their best course of action.

"Don't worry about us, guys. Like Didara and Yvette said, we'll make sure we shriek loudly if things go wrong."

That, and Silas did say he had smoke bombs with him. Kaz nodded to Ophelia when she said she was staying then turned to Ivara with a smile. "Thanks for the offer, but looks like we'll have to eat when we come back. Gotta go while the sun's still up. It's appreciated though." He put on his most charming smile. "What we did to deserve you, Ivara. I'll never know."

Kaz turned to the rest of the group (the ones who'd decided to stay) and waved. "Well, off we go! See ya when we see ya. Nik, feel free to say a prayer for us. Every little thing helps."

---

Forest → Ruins

The treck to the ruins was, for the most part, uneventful. There were trees, more trees, and even more trees. Basically, it was a forest with not much going on. Considering what Nikolai had said about wraiths and ghosts, this was good. Boring but good.

"So," Kaz spoke up, putting an end to the silence that had fallen over them. "I couldn't help but overhear, but Ryleigh... were you and Ribibi plotting something back at camp? You were looking at me all funny." The ex-thief narrowed his eyes at the resident archer. "After that, I don't feel like I can trust you right now." And that was the reason he was walking to Silas' right and making sure that he kept the alchemist between him and Ryleigh at all times.

He liked messing around and all, but being the victim was never fun. "Anyways, we shouldn't be too far away now—wait." The chatty young man came to an abrupt halt. There were footprints in the ground, more than several pairs all leading towards where they were expecting the ruins to be. "People were here, keep your guard up." It didn't sound very reliable considering it was coming from the chattiest member of their scouting party. To Kaz's credit, he quieted down and unsheathed his daggers.

Slowly, he crept past several bushes and scanned their surroundings.

"All clear," he whispered. They proceeded, and eventually, laid eyes on the large slabs of stone amongst the trees.

Kaz eyed the ancient inscriptions on the stone monoliths. "It's just like Crowe said." If that was the case, it meant the cave wouldn't be much farther ahead. They would head north, and once they found the blue crystals, it would lead them to the cave and Goblet that Crowe was after. Kaz stood in awe of the giant structures, but no matter how hard he tried to focus, he couldn't stop the thought of the footprints from creeping back into his head.

There were more footprints scattered around the stone slabs, but for some reason, none of them seemed to head north.

Perhaps this was a good thing. Maybe whoever was in the forest with them was headed someplace else?[/HR]

 

[Baddamobs]

​

Ivara had never been one to sniff at any kind of food that was offered to her, especially since experience had taught her that mostly anything can taste good if you put the effort in. Hell, this had been paramount for her survival back when she and Ribibi had basically been scavenging for anything edible. So Ivara was hardly a picky eater.

That all being said, the sight of Ribibi peeling back a piece of bark and offering the 'treasure' of disgusting bugs underneath still made Ivara's stomach do uncomfortable flips.

"Wanna toss into pot? Lotsa energy, lotsa crunchy."

"N-no, Ribibi, I'm fine, thanks." Ivara took several steps back, face twisting into a grimace almost as much as her stomach was twisting in general. As much as she tried to maintain some kind of 'big sister' persona, Ivara had to admit it was difficult to keep up when Ribibi was involved. "I think we'll just cook what we have in the wagon for now, alright?"

Talk of bugs aside, it sounded like the general consensus was to go forward with the plan to split up. To be fair, the idea of sending just their more agile and stealthy units was certainly made the plan somewhat less…volatile and likely to fail. Still, the idea of separating the group didn't sit especially well with Ivara, even if Kazimir assured,

"Don't worry about us, guys. Like Didara and Yvette said, we'll make sure we shriek loudly if things go wrong." He even had the gall to add, "What we did to deserve you, Ivara. I'll never know."

"Pfft," Ivara shook her head at the thief's wit with a amused smile, and called to Ryleigh and Ribibi as the group departed. "If you should happen to misplace either Kazimir or Silas, you both get the missing man's rations. Think about it." Ivara jokingly tapped the side of her skull, before more seriously waving the group off. Luckily, before the paranoia about all the possible ill things that could befall the departing group of rouges (and Ribibi), Ivara became aware of the chorus of calls for nourishment.

"…talk of food is gettin' my belly started rumblin'."
"Ivara, I've got at least something done to help with the fire! Please be quick as my stomach is preparing to devour my bones-"
"What'll you be cooking for us today?"
By the sounds of it, it wouldn't be too dull back here at camp, at least for the resident chef. Ivara relished the challenge.

"Haha, all of you stand back." Ivara rolled her shoulders, before interlocking her fingers and pushing them out, the metal of her gauntlets clacking in time with the bones of her fingers. "Just watch a master get to work. To answer your question, Yvette, we'll be using some of the fruit that Ribibi collected earlier, combined with some of the more perishable foodstuff we've got in the wagon. I still need to actually try the fruit to see for myself, but if it's anything like how Ribibi describes, I believe I can make a…a real…gah, come on…"

As she had been speaking, Ivara had reached into the wagon, and retrieved a neat and compact tinderbox. She had been trying to get the fire pit that Didara had created to actually light up, but either her gloved fingers weren't quite up to the task, or the old tinderbox's tools were finally giving up the ghost. After a few more futile attempts, Ivara finally just pushed the whole box aside, cursing,

"[Useless trash.]" Ivara huffed, slamming the lid of the tinderbox closed. It took her a second to realise she had had just cursed in her home tongue, and she stiffened with the realisation.

Even if there were still times where she missed her old home, Ivara tried to avoid slipping back into the language of her previous family. It was a rough dialect: too many growling vowels, too many words and phrases which needed to be practically spat out. If she was being honest, she almost preferred speaking the language her new friends shared, despite occasionally slipping out of it.

Clearing her throat, Ivara looked up at the remaining Kinnon.

"Ophelia, do you think you can…do that thing?" Ivara waved her hands about in a vague fashion. "You know that magic thing. With the fire? That thing."

 

[ERode]

A quick snap of her head and Ribibi caught the bug in her mouth, swallowing it whole and enjoy the strange sensation of it wriggling its way down her throat. Ryleigh's suggestion did make sense to her. Kaz was a super thief, after all, and super thieves totally needed to eat more than it seemed like he did. Nodding at the older man's suggestion, she tore off a few more chunks of bug-infested bark, before bundling it up in her cloak. Tying a knot over it and creating a makeshift pocket, she patted it a few times and nodded.

"But torches," Ribibi said, as Kaz forgot that fire created light. The pack's course of action was already solidified at that point, though, and it was with a shrug that the brunette tagged along. Ivara's food would be waiting when they came back. Might as well go now then.

---

In the forest of rotting wood and fat bugs and EVIL, Ribibi stayed a couple of paces ahead of the others, her sharper senses giving her a stronger idea of where exactly the ruins were located, and her own familiarity with wilderness making thick brush a breeze to get past. Nevertheless, when Kaz mentioned Ryleigh and Ribibi's chatter, the brunette slowed down to untie the master thief's lunch.

"Ivara didn't pack lunch, and you didn't eat," she said simply, brushing a few smaller insects off her cloak, "So here, Kaz. Eat up and grow strong!"

Two handfuls of bark were thrust in his hands next with a smile, and Ribibi headed off once more, eager to be the first to get a ground-level view of the ruins. A couple more moments passed, before tracks were found and Ribibi started paying more attention to where her own feet landed. It definitely looked like certain others had come ahead of them now, and the wildling silenced herself completely, eyes flickering around erratically from one detail to another.

Stone pillars with markings on them. Tracks that diverged in every direction except north. Why come here specifically though? Ribibi scratched her nose, considering for a moment, the activation of her brands.

Not now though.

The gobble-it wasn't prey. It was just an object. No scent to track, so only one direction to go.

She rubbed her feet together vigourously, removing loose dirt, before heading off without a word, feet tapping lightly against the pale stone.[/hr]

 

[LVL1337N00B]

[BCOLOR=transparent]

[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]En Route to the Ruins[/BCOLOR]​

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Y' wound me, Kaz. An' 'ere I thought we was pals"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent], Ryleigh said, feigning hurt over the thief's suspicion. The older man was unable to keep up that already poor facade for long, a wide grin stretching across his face the moment Ribibi approached Kazimir. He looked away briefly in an attempt to keep laughter at bay, but had already begun to chuckle as he explained, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"We was worried 'bout y' is all. Reckon how many times y' 'bout fell t' yer death in one go?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ryleigh lost it when the little savage gave Kaz his lunch, but was quickly put on edge when he mentioned someone had been there. He fell uncharacteristically silent as they proceeded, bow drawn and arrow nocked. If they ran into someone else out here, he'd be ready to fight. He kept toward the back of the group, turning from time to time to check behind them and to their sides for any sort of ambush. When Silas gave the all-clear, his guard lowered somewhat, but not entirely.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]The archer nodded at Kaz's observation, approaching one of the slabs. Gloved fingers brushed across the letters carved into stone, wondering just what they meant. Probably something along the lines of, "Don't fock with my cup" or "Beat it or else, y' blighters", he figured. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"We's prob'ly walkin' into a trap. Bet they's hidin' in th' woods or perched somewheres up high, jus' waitin' fer us t' make one good mistake"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent], he thought aloud, likely chasing away any hopeful thoughts that their mission would go off without a hitch, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Might be they's got 'em an alchemist of their own too. Oy, what sorta traps y' reckon y' could set if'n y' was more competent, Silas?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]

[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Back at Camp[/BCOLOR]​

[BCOLOR=transparent]Her attention directed by Yvette's comment, Ophelia found herself staring holes through the crusader's chest. Though not a particularly unusual event, she still couldn't keep her focus when the old man went bare. Warriors had such nice bodies, she thought. Nikolai and Ivara were both such finely built creatures. She wondered what they might look like joined at the hip, one muscular body smooshed up against the other. Ophelia glanced toward the giantess and back to the crusader a couple of times, face flushed and practically drooling as she grew carried away with her thoughts. After some time she was able to snap out of it, shaking her head and directing her gaze to the ground, lest she be pulled back into her own mind.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]When she did return to the world around her, Ivara had made some request of her. She was sure of that, but unclear on what exactly she wanted. The white haired woman breathed in and exhaled slowly, hoping to calm herself. While doing so, Didara's pit and the discarded tinder-box near it caught her eye and filled in the blanks for her. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Fire. Yeah. Y' got it"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent], she said, scrambling to her feet and kicking some fallen leaves and twigs into the pit, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Comin' roight up."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ophelia drew her sword from it's sheath and let the flat side of its blade rest on her open palm, which had soon begun to glow with a gentle orange light. The blade became wreathed in flame as her hand slid along it. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Agh! Fockin' 'ell!"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent], she exclaimed as she drew her hand away, revealing a burned and nicked hand. The hand still clutching the sword's grip thrust the blade down into the pit, its enchanted fires soon consuming the natural kindling surrounding it, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"There. Fires fockin' started. Better go get some proper burnin' wood if'n y' want it t' last."[/BCOLOR]